Centennial’s Chris Lee Wins Big at the Wrestling County Championships

At the 51st annual Howard County wrestling tournament on Saturday, February 22, Centennial placed eighth in the standings, but junior Chris Lee shined for the Eagles.

In the finals for the 120-pound division, Lee won by decision 7-3 over Griffin Ordowski from Mount Hebron High School to take home the championship. The victory for Lee marks his first county championship. It was a significant improvement after last season when Lee finished third in the tournament.

“It was a lot of weight lifted off my shoulders, I knew being a county champion was very possible and I only had my junior and senior year left,” said Lee. “Getting the job done made me feel accomplished and made the sacrifices I made through the season all worth it.”

Lee was the only wrestler from Centennial to make it to the finals, but many placed in the top five in the tournament. Junior Ibaad Shaikh placed third in the 113-pound division. In the 132-pound division, sophomore Nick Shapiro finished fourth, and junior Matt Harris also achieved fourth in the 160-pound division.

As a team, Centennial placed eighth in the tournament after scoring 100 points.

Following counties, Centennial wrestlers Lee, Shaikh, Harris, and Shapiro all competed in the regional tournament on Saturday, February 29. Unfortunately for the Eagles, none were champions, but many made it far in the tournament.

In the 120-pound division, Lee was defeated in the third place match of the tournament, while Shaikh placed fifth in the 113 pound-division after defeating Nick Bakhtiar from River Hill High School.

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