"I went after him, I was aggressive. It just wasn't enough."
Eichelberger (36-1) fell one win short of the perfect season.
"I'm disappointed," he said. "But when I look back at my senior year, I'm going to be happy. Not too many kids have wrestled in the state finals. It was something else."
Of the 13 Washington County wrestlers who qualified for the two-day tournament, six placed in the top six of their 16-man brackets. Joining Reilley and Eichelberger on the podiums were Williamsport's Robbie Mies (fifth at 160) and North's De'lon Agee (sixth at 130), Joe Breehl (fifth at 135) and Dan Mazzei (fourth at 171).
The Hubs' four placewinners matched their most ever. They also had four in 1998.
"Peaking at the right time was the key," said North coach Greg Slick, whose Hubs finished eighth in the team standings. "We planned our training - the conditioning and mental part - to get ready for this time of the year. This is when it's important."
Mazzei (33-5), just a sophomore, went 3-2 at his first Maryland state tournament. He fell 5-0 to Elkton senior Travis Bullock (36-2), the East region champ, in the consolation final.
Mazzei placed one position higher than he did at the Pennsylvania Independent Schools state tournament at 171 for Mercersburg Academy last year.
The Hubs proudly take ownership.
"I really don't feel like he transferred from Mercersburg. I feel like he came back to North High, where he belongs," Slick said. "He came up through the Hagerstown YMCA program, wrestled junior league in our program and I worked with him at camps."
Breehl, a senior, took the longest route to the podium. After dropping his first match Friday, he rebounded by winning four of five bouts in the consolation bracket, including three straight to start.
"I've wrestled back all year," said Breehl (32-10). "It really wasn't anything new, just another tournament."
He had hoped for more, however, from his final bout Saturday - beginning with an actual bout. He defeated Travis Kolstrom of Sparrows Point by injury default in the match for fifth place - a match that never began.
"I wanted one more match," Breehl said. "It's disappointing."
Agee (27-9), also a senior, had more reason to be disappointed. After going 2-0 Friday, he went 0-3 Saturday.
"The last match, I just didn't feel like I had any juice left in me," said Agee, who lost 7-1 to Eastern Tech's Dustin Peddicord in the match for fifth place.
Agee, though, did join some rather rare company as a two-time state placewinner. He placed fifth at 103 as a sophomore.
"Yeah, I'm excited about my accomplishment," he said. "But I feel like I should have been able to do better this year."
Mies (37-7), a junior, put his name in the Williamsport record book Saturday.
His second-period pin of Carver Vo Tech's Danny Johnson in the bout for fifth gave him 37 wins and 27 pins for the season, matching both single-season records at Williamsport. Adam Bridendolph won 37 matches for the Wildcats in the 2003-04 season, and Ryan McDonald, a 2001 Williamsport graduate, twice had 27 pins.
"I hear people talking about them in our school a lot," Mies said. "They're well-respected. To tie their numbers feels really good.
"I'm going to work really hard to surpass them next year."
Smithsburg sophomore Monica Hovermale, who became the first girl in the history of the 2A-1A state tournament to win a bout Friday, fell one win shy of placing at 103.
Hovermale began Saturday with a 7-5 consolation-round victory over South Carroll's Chris Wampler, last week's West region champ. But she then fell 7-5 to Glenelg's Zach Gerber in the consolation quarterfinals, finishing 2-2 for the tournament and 26-5 for the season.
Smithsburg senior Brandon Knight (145) and North junior Demetrius Myers (215) also both bowed out in the consolation quarterfinals.
Knight (28-7), a three-time state qualifier, began Saturday with a 9-6 consolation-round win over Owings Mills' Mitch Barker - the 100th and final victory of his prep career.
Williamsport's Peter Smith (140), North's Jake Turner (152) and Smithsburg's Tyler Scott (189) each finished 1-2 for the tourney after dropping their first matches Saturday. Turner, a junior, was the county's only returning state placewinner from last year. He placed fifth at 135.
