It took a referee’s warning for stalling to propel Washington-Liberty’s Liam Sloan to a region wrestling crown.
Sloan, a junior competing at 190 pounds, wasn’t having much success before receiving the warning midway through the first period during the Feb. 12 6D North Region high-school wrestling tournament at Centreville High School.
After being warned, Sloan quickly became more aggressive and physical, and a few seconds later pinned Westfield’s Chase Marvin to win his first region title.
“It’s wild and weird, but that’s how Liam wrestles sometimes,” Washington-Liberty coach Ulysses Smith told ARLnow. “His wrestling style is a little unconventional. He’s strong and just waits for his time.”
Sloan was 3-0 in the region tournament with two pins and a regular decision. He was Arlington’s only champion in the region tourney, helping the Generals finish fourth in the team scoring with 128.5 points, just three out of third place. Westfield won with 185.5.
Sloan’s 3-0 tournament finish gave him a 9-2 overall record this season heading into the state tournament, to be held Feb. 27-28 in Virginia Beach. He began the 2025-26 campaign at 175 pounds before suffering an early-season injury.
Sloan bumped up to 190 when he returned to the lineup a few weeks earlier. He had to defeat two teammates in wrestle offs to earn the starting spot at 190.
“Liam has been wrestling pretty dang well recently,” Smith said.
Prior to winning the region, Sloan won the Liberty District tournament at 190, also with a 3-0 record.
Washington-Liberty had two wrestlers finish second in the region — Josue Hernandez at 113 and Dylan Walsh at 126. In the finals, Hernandez was pinned and Walsh lost 13-12 in a seesaw match.
Third for W-L were Zachary Capps at 150 and Evan Cronin at 157. Bilegjargal Miyaragchaa at 175 and Max De La Vega at 215 were fourth. De’Quan Taylor (144) finished fifth and Austin Lightner (132) sixth.
“We had a good region tournament, and almost got third place,” Smith said.
The Wakefield Warriors had two wrestlers finish second in the region: Abubakr Abdelmutalb at 165 and Anthony Morales at 175. Each lost by technical falls in the finals.
Also for Wakefield in the region, Parker Chick was third at 106 as the Warriors finished ninth in the team standings.
Wakefield wrestler chosen best in district tourney
In the district tournament, Abdelmutalb won the title at 165 and was chosen as the tourney’s Outstanding Wrestler, going 3-0 with a pin and two technical falls. He had seven takedowns in one period in the finals.
“He put on a show in the finals,” Wakefield coach John Leinberger said.
Morales also finished first in the district at 175, going 3-0. Chick was second, Zebulon Williams (138) was third and Brian Padilla (113) fourth for Wakefield, which was sixth in the team standings.
Washington-Liberty finished third in the district for the third straight year.
In addition to Abdelmutalb, Morales and Sloan, weight classes were won at districts by Hernandez at 113, Walsh at 126 and Cronin at 157.
Second were Capps at 150 and De La Vega at 215. Third was Miyaragchaa at 175. Fourth were McLean Sieverding (106), Lightner (132) and Taylor (144).
The Yorktown Patriots placed fifth in the district, with Ian Cochran (113), Tyson Clark (126), Kellan Duck (157) and Jaeden Reid (165) finishing second. Bode Chockley was third at 120.
Prior to the district and region tournaments, Washington-Liberty won the three-team all-Arlington County meet with victories over Wakefield and Yorktown in separate dual matches.
