#1 Gilman Wins Big: MIAA Champs

Gilman defends its top Legacy Wrestling ranking, wins MIAA Tournament

Some of the chatter on Saturday morning at the Gilman School as the MIAA Tournament got underway was whether Gilman, the No. 1 team in Legacy Wrestling’s Maryland team rankings, could handle the pressure of being the favorite with a chiseled and battle tested Mt. St. Joe team hungry for revenge following a dual meet loss in January to the Greyhounds.

As the semi-finals began the teams were fairly close and as the wins were thrown in the books the lead changed hands a few times with No. 2 St. Joe and No. 4 Loyola taking turns atop the standings. Gilman’s strength lies in the upper weights and as they went to work the Greyhounds ascended to the top and would never look back.

The events of the day led to Gilman acquiring its first MIAA Tournament Championship since the changeover from the old MSA Conference.

“The culture that we have developed in the room has paid dividends” said Gilman coach Bryn Holmes. “Everyone is striving to be their best in every situation. On top of that they are all having fun and have meshed as a true team.”

Going into the finals the Greyhounds were up 226.5-200 over the Gaels. They would grow that edge to a victory margin of 34 over St. Joe, 249-215. In fact, the intense team race turned out to be for second as Archbishop Spalding jumped back into the picture with a phenomenal final round that saw them come from 22 back of St. Joe to be with seven of the Gaels when the dust settled.

If the rankings held true at 285, then St. Joe would have tumbled to the third position, but Spalding’s No. 2 Delmar White flattened Loyola’s top-dog Luke Randazzo, late in the second period, 3:53, for a startling turn of events that left the Dons trailing the Gaels by 1.5 points (215-213.5). Spalding accrued 208 points en route to their fourth-place finish.

“I was praying, asking God for help,” said White. “I knew he was a good wrestler, so I had to wrestle smart, and my coaches helped me prepare for this match every day. I was kind of nervous going into the match, but God helped me calm down. It was a good match and he put up a good fight. It feels good but I'll see him again at states, so I have to prepare for that match.”

The unquestioned leaders for the Greyhounds led the way as the Sherlock brothers secured their second consecutive MIAA Titles. Tyson decked St. Frances’ Walter Smith in the third frame at 144, 5:10.

“Winning the MIAA title feels good, but I’m way more satisfied about our team performance,” Tyson Sherlock offered. “We were able to make history in wining the tournament as well as the dual season. Next, is states where I think we can get it done again, but everybody has to come and perform. I think there we can get a few matches back that we lost in MIAAs and do even better. Overall, this season has been the most fun season I’ve had during my high school career, but there’s a lot more work to be done.”

Emmitt threw points on the board until a tech-fall was declared, 24-9, over St. Paul’s Hayden Myers at 165.

“I’m proud of myself for winning my second MIAA title,” Emmitt Sherlock continued. “It was good to get it done and get rolling with the post season. However, it was bigger than just my accomplishment for me. Today was an amazing day for the program. This was our first time ever winning the tournament title since its inception. Our team has been talking about finishing off our last chapters of this team’s book the way we want too. And we’re doing exactly that with winning both the dual and tournament championships.”

“Now, the next step is next weekend where we hope to win a state title. The team knows it is going to take everything to get it done. All I know is this team has done everything we’re supposed to do to get it done next weekend whether we win or lose. Regardless of next weekend, what we have done in the last few weeks is remarkable and this team has made history for the program. I’m proud to be a part of this team.”

Both are the No. 1 ranked grapplers in the state at their respective weights. Furthermore, Tyson sits in the honorable mention section of Scorebook Live’s National Rankings, Emmitt is No. 12 in the nation.

Gilman’s other champ, Liam McGettigan, is also the top man in the state at 106 and ranked 13th in the country by SBLive. The freshman used a fall to secure his win over Loyola’s No. 6 Phil Key.

Placing second for the Greyhounds were John Jurkovic (150), Arthur Konschak (157), Nick Haughey (175), and Gabriel Smith (190).

Jurkovic and Konschak used upsets to reach the finals. Jurkovic, who is ranked 5th in the state, previously lost to the Gaels’ No. 2 Cameron Cannaday at the Penn Manor Tournament in Pennsylvania and in their dual meet showdown. In the Semis, Jurkovic came out ahead of Cannaday, 3-2.

No. 17 Konschak had one previous encounter with St. Frances’ Chase Carpintieri (No. 10) and it resulted in a 5-2 dual meet loss. On Saturday, Konschak took Carpintieri into overtime before securing a 6-4 victory.

Zach Glory (132) and Sebastian Chaney (215) were bronze medalists for Gilman. JD Vassar (113) and Buck Franklin (138) landed on the fourth spot of the podium.

“(I’m) really proud of the guys on the team,” Holmes added. “They left it all on the mat. They were confident and didn't hold back in any match. A few key wins in the semis for us were John Jurkovic beating Cannaday, a very good wrestler, and Arthur Konschak beating Carpinteri, another very good wrestler. This is a special team and has been a great season for me as a coach. I can't wait to see what they can do next weekend for the Independent States.”

Mt. St. Joe equaled Gilman with seven finalists and three champions. Reaching the top spot were three-time MIAA Champ Carter Nogle (138), two-time champ No. 1 Austin Lewis (190), and No. 2 Nicolas Barnabae (157).

Nogle, who is ranked No. 1 in Maryland and is honorable mention in SBLive’s national rankings, disposed of Spalding’s Zane Leitzel with a 10-2 major decision. Lewis beat Gilman’s No. 3 Smith for the third time this season, 3-2, (Beast of the East and dual meet). Barnabae won a 7-4 decision over No. 17 Konschak.

“I was very glad to be able to win my third MIAA title,” Nogle said. “From a bad ending to my season last year, I have truly given it my all and loved the process. Zane is a tough wrestler, and I can always expect to go out and have a great match. Obviously, we didn’t get what we wanted as a team, but you get what you earn, and we didn’t earn the title today. You can’t do the same thing and expect different results.”

Falling short in their title quests for the Gaels were Joseph Cooper (113), Jake Tamai (120), Bryan Santangelo (126), and Tyler Stephens (132). Cooper (No. 5) exacted revenge on Spalding’s No. 4 Quentin Bailey for his 7-5 dual meet loss, slaying the Cavalier 9-6 in the semis.

Loyola’s two champions are the No. 1 guys in the state at their respective weights. Judah Aybar locked down his third crown with a 5-0 shutout of Jurkovic. Sophomore Jayden Jackson is two-for-two in MIAA finals after a 7-6 win over Cooper.

“I’ve had a crazy season with injuries to both my MCL’s, broken fingers, and a sprained ankle,” Aybar explained. “But it’s all about just learning how to push through and wrestle my match no matter what. It felt great to win another MIAA title and I’m so lucky to have the support of my friends and family. I’m looking forward to states and preps because MIAA is only the beginning.”

In addition to White, Spalding saw two others stand atop the podium, No. 2 Vincent Paolucci (132) for the first time and No. 2 Sean Garretson (126) for the second. Paolucci beat St. Joe’s No. 8 Stephens, 5-2. Garretson pinned a St. Joe foe, No. 5 Santangelo, 3:29. Garretson, a junior, claimed his first MIAA gold as a freshman and was a runner-up last year.

Fifth place St. Frances’ Isisah Womack (No. 6) won his school’s first ever MIAA Title with a 7-6 win over the Gaels’ Tamai in the finals. Womack is now 2-1 versus Tamai, who was ranked No. 2 in the state and is a defending private school state champ. Womack defeated Tamai in their dual meet encounter then fell at War on the Shore.

Womack, the third seed, also upset the No. 2 seed Spalding’s No. 3 Henry Gessford, 6-4 in overtime. The two had not met before Saturday but Gessford has beaten St. Mary’s Ryken’s Austin Wood and Wood beat Womack at War on the Shore.

“It felt really good because it’s my first year in private school and winning it just makes me feel amazing,” Womack remarked. I feel like I could've wrestled a little better. I could have put a little bit more pressure on him, but I was also wrestling the whole tournament with an injured shoulder. It (the big wins and title) tells me that I can beat anyone as long as I wrestle as hard as I can and don’t give up.”

Calvert Hall and McDonogh had one champ each and both were repeat titlists. The Cardinals’ No. 3 Sisto Averno III (175) beat Gilman’s No. 12 Haughey, 8-2. No. 1 Noah Onkst (215) dropped St. France’s Douglas Johnson in the first period, 1:45. Johnson (No. 13) was seeded third and beat second seeded No. 11 Aiden Bird of Loyola, 5-1, to reach the finals. Bird beat Johnson 1-0 earlier this season.

Team Scores

1-Gilman 249

2-Mt. St. Joseph 215

3-Loyola-Blakefield 213.5

4-Archbishop Spalding 208

5-St. Frances Academy 145

6-Calvert Hall 110.5

7-McDonogh 100.5

8-Archbishop Curley 88

9-Severn 67

10-St. Paul’s 59

11-Boys’ Latin 51

1st Place Match

Delmar White (Archbishop Spalding) 36-3, Jr. over Luke Randazzo (Loyola-Blakefield) 15-2, Jr. (Fall 3:53)

3rd Place Match

Maxwell Garland (Calvert Hall College) 20-10, Jr. over Kahlil Regan (Archbishop Curley) 37-8, Jr. (Fall 1:26)

5th Place Match

William Brockel (Saint Paul`s School) 25-10, Jr. over Thomas Brandel (Mount Saint Joseph) 10-6, Jr. (TB-1 4-1)

#1 Gilman Wins Big: MIAA Champs

Team Scores

106

113

120

126

132

138

144

150

157

165

175

190

215

285

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