Last Saturday’s MIAA Tournament provided a shakeup at the top positions of the team state rankings. Gilman came in as the No. 1 team, looking for its second straight championship, hoping some lineup juggling would do the trick for them as they were without No. 2 Gabe Smith at 190lbs.
Losing a defending state champion from your lineup changes the complexion of a lineup. It means sacrifices will need to be made to fill that hole. At the MIAA affair, No. 7 Arthur Konschak slid up to 175 from his customary 165lb slot. No. 1 Emmitt Sherlock abandoned the 175lb post that saw him place third at Ironman and fourth at the Beast of the East to man Smith’s 190lb class.
The move worked great since both captured crowns at the new weights. But that was not enough to overcome then No. 2 Archbishop Spalding’s depth that saw them place twelve of their wrestlers to Gilman’s eight. Spalding won the team race, but the Greyhounds were not in second, that honor went to No. 4 at the time, Mt. St. Joseph.
The MIAA team race resulted in Spalding ascending to the No. 1 ranking in the state, with St. Joe climbing up one spot to No. 3 and Gilman landing behind the Gaels at No. 4. St. Joe lost their dual versus Gilman by two-points on the final match, so the MIAA outcome makes the new change reasonable. Spalding won the War on the Shore ahead of No. 2 South Carroll.
The Cavaliers seem poised to repeat their MIAA Title run with twelve wrestlers seeded (the MIS Seeds eight wrestlers per weight). The Gaels and Dons have ten each, there are eight Greyhounds seeded, and nine Eagles have a nest in the top eight.
A tournament like the MIS is deeper and therefore more difficult to navigate than the smaller brackets of the MIAA. Will the influx of outside talent break up the MIAA party at the top of the standings? Will their infusion alter the outcomes from last week’s order of business?
Spalding has six in the top three, eight St. Joe guys are in those positions, five Gilman guys are in the top two and eight in the top four, Loyola-Blakefield has four in the top two.
So, the most-high end firepower is held by the Gaels and Greyhounds. We will see again this week if the Cavaliers’ depth and balance will tip the scales in their favor.
We do realize the MIS will be, and always is, littered with upsets, but we are limiting our preview to the top two to three guys in each weight since we’re trying to write an article and not a book.
Spalding’s top seeds are both top rated at their weights in Maryland, Sean Garretson (126) and Zane Leitzel (138). Garretson was crowned a champion as a 106lb freshman, third as a sophomore, and second a year ago. The senior has never met his likely finals opponent, former state champion, No. 3 Jake Tamai (Mt. St. Joe). Tamai, a junior, followed his title up with a second-place finish last season.
Like Garretson, Leitzel has never met the No. 2 seed in his bracket either, No. 3 Rohan “RJ” Bucknor (Bullis). Leitzel was eighth at Beast of the East this year to earn his status as the top dog at 138. The junior would like to improve upon a third-place freshman finish and runner-up last year. Bucknor was a silver medalist at 132 last year and has placed fourth and sixth at MIS.
Receiving No. 2 seeds for the Cavaliers were No. 3 Eli Chesla (113) and No. 6 Quentin Bailey (120). Third seeds are No. 4 Charlie Mutschler (106) and No. 8 Henry Gessford (144). No. 22 Josh Taylor was seeded fifth at 165.
No. 12 Rock Zang (132), No. 13 Ryder Kolat (150), and No. 17 Luke Winkler (190) will begin the action as number six seeds. No. 18 Dylan Briles (157) and Luke Barulli (215) are seventh seeds.
No. 1 Corey Brown (106), No. 6 Ben Scheiner (132), and No. 3 Brooklyn Pickett (144) were granted top spots for Mt. St. Joe. Brown is currently ranked 10th in the country by Sports Illustrated. In the MIAA finals, Brown had a surprisingly easy time ringing up a 15-0 technical fall of No. 2 Tyler Verceles of Loyola, who is No. 30 in those national rankings. They are likely on a collision course to meet again.
Scheiner is an upstart sophomore who blew up at the MIAA Tournament with two upsets to reach the 132lb finals before he was upended by Garretson. With Garretson vacating back to 126lbs, that leaves Scheiner as the No. 1 guy over No. 7 Zach Glory (Gilman) and Mo. 8 Mason Comegys (McDonogh), who he beat to reach the MIAA finals. Glory beat Scheiner 8-6 in their earlier dual encounter.
Pickett is just a freshman but was positioned atop the 144lb bracket given his win over No. 1 Evan Boblits (St. Mary’s Ryken) at the Gaels’ Demolition Duals. Melfi is a three-time state placer (5th each time) and National Prep placer last year. The two have never met, but Melfi does not hold a win on his ledger bigger than Pickett’s over Boblits. Melfi handled Gessford easily for his first MIAA crown last week. Can Melfi conjure some magic this week and pull an upset for his first state crown as a senior?
Tamai and No. 2 Cameron Cannaday (157) are St. Joe’s number twos. No. 7 James Wright (113), No. 7 CJ Votta (120), and No. 4 Tyler Stephens are seeded third. No. 18 Connor Allison is in the seventh spot at 150 and Thomas Brandel was placed eighth at 285.
Gilman’s four top seeds all claimed MIAA titles last week and two of them are looking to add to their state championship count and the other two are seeking their first.
Unfortunately, there won’t be a third possible repeat offender as Gabe Smith was not entered into the field, thus ending his season as you need to compete at the MIS Tournament in order to be eligible for the National Prep Tournament.
This turn of events led Gilman to run back their MIAA configuration with Konschak and Sherlock at the higher weights. Sherlock is ranked 8th in the country by SI at 175lbs and is seeking his third consecutive crown. The move to 190lb could deliver Sherlock the elusive National Prep Championship. The senior was second last year and would’ve been in line to meet Blair Academy’s No. 3 William Henckel in the finals this year. Henckel has beaten Sherlock three times, twice this year at Ironman and Beast and at the 2023 edition of Ironman.
The move to 190 positions him to go after No. 3 Lane Foard (Benedictine Prep, VA), who is the No. 1 seed currently for the National Prep Tournament at 190lbs. Sherlock is 4-0 versus Foard over his sophomore and junior seasons. Winning twice at Ray Oliver and twice at National Preps.
Sherlock’s move up to 190 has made national honorable mention, Bullis’ No. 2 Sepanta Ahanj-Elias’s path to his first title more difficult. Prior to the change he was lined up to face Saint France’s No. 3 Elijah Josey, who he beat 4-0 at War on the Shore. Now that is a semifinal match with Sherlock lingering after.
No. 1 Liam McGettigan is seeking his second trip to the top of the podium. The sophomore is 3-0 versus Chesla going back to last year. No. 1 John Jurkovic was second last year. The senior is 2-0 against Cannaday this year and 3-2 overall in their careers. Cannaday was second as a freshman at states and third twice since then.
Konschak won a battle of sophomores in the MIAA finals by pinning No. 8 Riley Miller (Loyola). They are the top two seeds here. Konschak and Miller were fifth last year at 157 and 165 respectively. Glory is seeded second for the Greyhounds. No. 5 Christian Wirts (106), No. 8 JD Vassar (120), and No. 11 Isaiah Trusty (215) come in as four seeds.
Both of Loyola’s number one seeds are hoping to capture their first state glory. No. 1 Luke Randazzo is a senior, so this is it for him after finishing as a runner-up last year and fourth as a freshman. The Don missed this gauntlet as a sophomore.
Who knows who he will see in the finals because the MIAA heavyweights take turns beating each other week-to-week. No. 19 Kahlil Regan (Archbishop Curley) made the finals at the MIAA tournament and was pinned by Randazzo in the first period, 1:19. Could the young freshman from Landon, third-seeded Jason Hinton, break-through for a run to the finals?
No. 2 Jayden Jackson came into last year’s edition as the favorite and was upset by then St. Mary’s Ryken wrestler Ethan Valdisera, a wrestler Jackson beat at Ray Oliver and would again defeat at National Preps. Jackson has beaten the number two seed, Bailey of Spalding at each of the last two Ray Oliver standoffs. The junior has been third and second in the last two seasons.
Verceles and Miller are the Dons second rated guys. Starting in the fourth position will be No. 15 Brendan Tobin (113), No. 10 Cayden Farver (126), No. 5 Josh Hale (138), and No. 6 Nevan McKneely (150). Sitting at No. 8 are No. 20 Evan Jackson (132) and No. 18 Noah Brannon (190).
To see McDonogh with no number ones or twos shows that even with this year’s tremendous success, there is still work to be done. No. 5 Wes Baumgartner (126) and Comegys are third seeds, who along with No. 6 Jacob Naylor (106) formed an impressive freshmen class for the Eagles. Naylor and No. 9 Dominic Manna (150) are seeded fifth. No. 13 Cole Genua is the sixth seed at 138. Seventh seeds were given to Reid Swirnow (120), Leo Marks (175), and Logan Brown (285). Max Stanziale comes in at the eighth position at 215.
No. 12 Saint Frances has two number two seeds to go along with the third seeded Josey, No. 4 Braxton McAvey (150) and No. 9 Douglas Johnson (215). Both captured MIAA crowns last weekend. McAvey was fourth for James M Bennett at the 2A/1A states last year.
Johnson has placed seventh and third in his last two MIS appearances. Josey was a New Hampshire state champion that placed second in the New England Championships a year ago. Josey has lost to Sherlock twice, 21-6 (dual), and 1-0 (MIAA Finals).
No. 13 Bullis has one of Maryland’s best on its roster in No. 1 Salah Tsarni (165). Tsarni is ranked 12th nationally and is looking to lock down his second state title. His freshman crown came against No. 4 Rhonin Swenson (Bishop McNamara) by a 6-2 score. Tsarni beat Swenson again at preps, 9-5, on the way to a seventh-place finish. Those two are currently projected to meet in the finals. In addition to last year’s second place, Swenson has finished sixth and fourth at states.
In addition to their two seeds, Bucknor and Ahanj-Elias, No. 3 Noah Tucker is the three seed at 157 for Bullis. Tucker was fourth here as a freshman last year losing to Jurkovic and forfeiting to Cannaday. The sophomore is dangerous though, as evidenced by last year’s 7-5 overtime win versus Jurkovic at Ray Oliver.
Boblits is No. 15 Ryken’s sole number one guy. A returning champ, Boblits was second as a freshman then missed his second year due to illness. Boblits and McAvey have not met, but Boblits won the War on the Shore Tournament and McAvey was fifth there. Boblits’ name can be found amongst the 150lb honorable mention entries in SI’s national rankings. No. 10 Evan Gavins is seeded third for the Knights, so a year after failing to place he is projected to hit pay dirt. Gavin is 2-2 with the Panthers’ Johnson this year. He lost the most recent meeting which is why he is seeded below Johnson.
The final No. 1 seed hails from No. 14 Landon and it’s a senior hoping to stand at the top spot after being fourth twice and second last year, No. 4 Tiller Smith (215). Smith and Johnson have not met this year, but Smith owned him in two meetings last year, winning the dual meet and state tournament dance.
At the end of the day on Friday, the jockeying will be underway. How things go on Saturday could provide one of the wildest and tightest team races in recent years. Can Gilman shake off their disappointing MIAA tournament and get back on top? Will St. Joe take the final step and dethrone Spalding before they get settled into the penthouse? Or will the Cavaliers prove that last week was not a fluke? Once again, we ask, will star power or depth win out? Which course will pave the way to state glory?
VARSITY SCHEDULE
Friday, February 14, 2025
1:00pm Team entrance doors open (coaches & wrestlers)
1:00pm Team check-in at the head table
1:30pm Weigh-Ins & Skin Check
2:30pm Main entrance doors open for spectators
3:30pm Wrestling begins
Championship Round of 32
Championship Round of 16 / Consolation Round 1
Consolation Round 2
Championship Quarter Finals / Consolation Rounds 3
Saturday, February 15, 2025
8:30am Team entrance doors open (coaches & wrestlers)
9:00am Weigh-Ins & Skin Check
9:00am Main entrance doors open for spectators
10:00am Wrestling begins
Consolation Round 4
Championship Semi-Finals & Consolations Quarter Finals
Consolation Semi-Finals
Championship Finals & Medal Matches (1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th Simultaneously)
The seeds: Only eight are seeded, nine and ten on here are alternates that will slide into seeds if anyone misses weight or doesn’t show up.
106 Corey Brown Mount Saint Joseph 1
106 Tyler Verceles Loyola-Blakefield 2
106 Charlie Mutschler Archbishop Spalding 3
106 Christian Wirts Gilman School 4
106 Jacob Naylor McDonogh School 5
106 Elijah Adams Landon School 6
106 Gavin Young Calvert Hall College 7
106 Samora Wolokolie Our Lady of Mt. Carmel 8
106 Zebulon Bolden St. Frances Academy 9
106 Liam Rose Archbishop Curley 10
113 Liam McGettigan Gilman School 1
113 Eli Chesla Archbishop Spalding 2
113 James Wright Mount Saint Joseph 3
113 Brendan Tobin Loyola-Blakefield 4
113 William Jacques Georgetown Prep 5
113 Evan Kaliakoudas Archbishop Curley 6
113 Becket Geary St. Mary`s Ryken 7
113 Ansar Kmt DeMatha Catholic 8
113 Teddy Abramson Landon School 9
113 Bradley Alexander St. Frances Academy 10
120 Jayden Jackson Loyola-Blakefield 1
120 Quentin Bailey Archbishop Spalding 2
120 CJ Votta Mount Saint Joseph 3
120 JD Vassar Gilman School 4
120 Freddy Brinkman Georgetown Prep 5
120 Dexter Kane DeMatha Catholic 6
120 Reid Swirnow McDonogh School 7
120 Cody Lehman Calvert Hall College 8
120 Judah Brown Landon School 9
120 Owen Clark Bullis School 10
126 Sean Garretson Archbishop Spalding 1
126 Jake Tamai Mount Saint Joseph 2
126 Wes Baumgartner McDonogh School 3
126 Cayden Farver Loyola-Blakefield 4
126 Michael Holmes St. James School 5
126 EJ Hill Boys` Latin School 6
126 Kamren Griffin St. Frances Academy 7
126 Michael Banks Our Lady of Mt. Carmel 8
126 Kenson Noel Georgetown Prep 9
126 Domingo Escudero Landon School 10
132 Ben Scheiner Mount Saint Joseph 1
132 Zach Glory Gilman School 2
132 Mason Comegys McDonogh School 3
132 Christian Manley Our Lady of Mt. Carmel 4
132 Henry Moltumyr St. Mary`s Ryken 5
132 Rock Zang Archbishop Spalding 6
132 Dominic Montgomery Severn School 7
132 Evan Jackson Loyola-Blakefield 8
132 Damien Fraley Good Counsel 9
132 Chase Pugh St. James School 10
138 Zane Leitzel Archbishop Spalding 1
138 Rohan (RJ) Bucknor Bullis School 2
138 Tyler Stephens Mount Saint Joseph 3
138 Joshua Hale Loyola-Blakefield 4
138 Oscar Davis Archbishop Curley 5
138 Cole Genua McDonogh School 6
138 Joe Papalia Landon School 7
138 Niko Rakis Good Counsel 8
138 Evan Clarke Our Lady of Mt. Carmel 9
138 Spartan Koslov Georgetown Prep 10
144 Brooklyn Pickett Mount Saint Joseph 1
144 Nick Melfi Severn School 2
144 Henry Gessford Archbishop Spalding 3
144 Soshiant Ahanj-Elias Bullis School 4
144 Noah Shird St. Frances Academy 5
144 Brodie Burdette St. James School 6
144 Joshua Jackson Calvert Hall College 7
144 Seve Lombardo Boys` Latin School 8
144 Lincoln Weeks Loyola-Blakefield 9
144 Max Murray Landon School 10
150 Evan Boblits St. Mary`s Ryken 1
150 Braxton McAvey St. Frances Academy 2
150 Griffin Stewart Calvert Hall College 3
150 Nevan McKneely Loyola-Blakefield 4
150 Dominic Manna McDonogh School 5
150 Ryder Kolat Archbishop Spalding 6
150 Connor Allison Mount Saint Joseph 7
150 Cyrus Na The Heights School 8
150 Isiah Stanley St. Mary`s Anapolis 9
150 Justin Jackson Georgetown Prep 10
157 John Jurkovic Gilman School 1
157 Cameron Cannaday Mount Saint Joseph 2
157 Noah Tucker Bullis School 3
157 Chase Carpinteri St. Frances Academy 4
157 Liam Kilner The Heights School 5
157 Aidan Kammar Calvert Hall College 6
157 Dylan Briles Archbishop Spalding 7
157 Connor Koegel Landon School 8
157 Nathan Shepherd Loyola-Blakefield 9
157 Caden Gardner McDonogh School 10
165 Salah Tsarni Bullis School 1
165 Rhonin Swenson Bishop McNamara 2
165 Hayden Myers The St. Paul`s School for Boys 3
165 William Martin DeMatha Catholic 4
165 Josh Taylor Archbishop Spalding 5
165 Dylan Fish Archbishop Curley 6
165 Derrick Grant St. Frances Academy 7
165 Jack Bruffey Gerstell Academy 8
165 Alex Stowbunenko-Saitschenko Calvert Hall College 9
165 Yiannis Rosenthal Good Counsel 10
175 Arthur Konshak Gilman School 1
175 Riley Miller Loyola-Blakefield 2
175 Joseph Lagman DeMatha Catholic 3
175 Matthew Green St. Mary`s Ryken 4
175 Izaac Robertucci Calvert Hall College 5
175 Adeoluwa Adewuyi Archbishop Curley 6
175 Leo Marks McDonogh School 7
175 Jakayveon Burton Our Lady of Mt. Carmel 8
175 Isaiah Yirenkyi Good Counsel 9
175 Peter Baird The Heights School 10
190 Emmitt Sherlock Gilman School 1
190 Sepanta Ahanj-Elias Bullis School 2
190 Elijah Josey St. Frances Academy 3
190 George Tate Good Counsel 4
190 Bailen Boutz Archbishop Curley 5
190 Luke Winkler Archbishop Spalding 6
190 Ryan Ellis Gerstell Academy 7
190 Noah Brannan Loyola-Blakefield 8
190 Toby Leys DeMatha Catholic 9
190 Benny Laupert Boys` Latin School 10
215 Tiller Smith Landon School 1
215 Douglas Johnson St. Frances Academy 2
215 Evan Gavin St. Mary`s Ryken 3
215 Isaiah Trusty Gilman School 4
215 Derek Owumi St. James School 5
215 Stephan Mason Bullis School 6
215 Luke Barulli Archbishop Spalding 7
215 Max Stanziale McDonogh School 8
215 Khalee White Archbishop Curley 9
215 Talin Krashoc Severn School 10
285 Luke Randazzo Loyola-Blakefield 1
285 Kahlil Regan Archbishop Curley 2
285 Jason Hinton Landon School 3
285 Bryton Brown Good Counsel 4
285 Sean Jewett St. Mary`s Ryken 5
285 Baen Summerlin Maryland School for the Deaf 6
285 Logan Brown McDonogh School 7
285 Thomas Brandel Mount Saint Joseph 8
285 Mike Byrne Archbishop Spalding 9
285 Noah Lawrence Gilman School 10
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