His weight and win trajectory are both super impressive and he hit new highs by joining the Team USA U17 Freestyle and Greco-roman teams this summer.
Gilman senior Emmit Sherlock may become the personification of the phrase, “the bigger they are, the harder they fall.” For as the University of Virginia-bound senior has grown in height and weight, so have his accolades, prowess and reputation on the wrestling mats.
Standing at 6-foot-3, Sherlock is ranked No. 1 at 175 pounds by Legacy Wrestling after having competed in succession at 106 pounds as an eighth grader at National Preps, at 120 there as a freshman, at 138 as a sophomore, and at 165 last season.
After placing third at the National Preps as an eighth grader, Sherlock has finished fifth in that event as a freshman, sixth as a sophomore and was a runner-up last year, setting him up to become a rare five-time National Prep All-American.
Sherlock will be after his third straight titles in both the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association’s A Conference and the Maryland Private Schools State tournaments. In victory, Sherlock would match the Greyhounds’ three-time MIAA private schools champion Mike Faust, who also earned a trio of National Prep crowns before graduating in 2000.
Gerard “Rock” Harrison is a 1993 Gilman graduate who won lower-weight MVP at the senior All-Star classic as a 112-pounder by scoring a first-period pin over Class 2A-1A state champion Jeremy Myers (30-2 record) of North Carroll and flattening third-place Class 4A-3A state finisher Danny Suite (32-2) of Laurel in 35 seconds.
Harrison is a former Maryland Scholastic Association champion and National Preps runner-up who placed third in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament at the University of Virginia and now serves as an ESPN college wrestling lead analyst.
“I do not recall any three-time MSA champions at Gilman, but Emmitt has a number of pound-for-pound accolades,” said Harrison, an assistant at his alma mater. “That includes being a double-world team member in freestyle and greco in the same year. If Emmit performs this senior season like he has done in the past, then he will go down as the most accomplished wrestler in Gilman’s 100-plus year wrestling history.”
Sherlock returns to lead a Greyhounds’ contingent which won last year’s MIAA tournament in resounding fashion, eclipsing the Gaels by the score of 249-215.
Sherlock will be joined by six returning MIAA tournament placewinning teammates comprising sophomore champion Liam McGettigan (106 last year), senior runners-up John Jurkovic (150), Arthur Konschak (157) and Gabriel Smith (190), and third-place finishers in sophomore JD Vasser (113) and senior Zach Glory (132). McGettigan was first at states and third at National Preps.
Among Sherlock’s accolades of a year ago were his winning the Ray Oliver Tournament at McDonough after having twice been a runner-up, placing seventh at the prestigious Iron Man Tournament, finishing fourth at the Beast Of The East Tournament, and defeating National Preps runner-up Xavier Giles of Connecticut’s Green Farms Academy at the Gilman Duals.
Another of Sherlock’s career highlights occurred during the Greyhounds’ 43-22 victory over league power Mount St. Joseph a year ago, when he scored his 100th-career victory by second-period fall over fellow MIAA and private schools state champion Nicolas Barnabee.
Coach Bryn Holmes, in his 15th season, not only presided over Gilman’s first-ever MIAA A conference dual meet title winners, but also, a team that earned the program’s first league crown since 1990 when the Greyhounds reigned atop the former Maryland Scholastic Association’s A conference as dual meet kings.
Gilman's victory represented only the Greyhounds' third-ever over the Gaels in their schools' histories, and their first over the storied program since winning, 40-36, during the 2012-13 season. Gilman also defeated Mount St. Joseph in 1990.
The Greyhounds went 9-0 in the MIAA A conference and 12-1 overall, with other notable league victories coming against fourth-ranked Loyola (39-34), sixth-ranked Archbishop Spalding (47-27) and 13th-ranked St. Frances (63-9).
Furthermore, the triumph over the Gaels allowed the top-ranked Greyhounds to host the MIAA tournament as conference champions for the first time in school history.
As a sophomore, Sherlock also defeated South Carroll’s eventual three-time state champion Mike Pizzuto and Centennial’s Calvin Kraisser. Pizzuto was handed his first career loss by Sherlock, and Kraisser is a senior projected to win his fourth state title at the end of this season.
Sherlock has also placed first and third as a freshman and sophomore at the National High School Coaches’ Association National Wrestling Tournament, where Tyson has placed fourth, second and first as a freshman, sophomore and junior.
A freshman at Davidson University, Tyson finished second, first and first at MIAAs as a sophomore, junior and senior, and third, first and second at private school states during those same three years.
Among Holmes’ assistants are Harrison and former MSA champion Henry Franklin as well as fourth-place MSA finisher Dave Mason – all of whom are Gilman graduates. Another assistant, Zach Stavish, was a Class 2A-1A state champion at South Carroll. Stephen Yorkman and Cameo Blankenship are also assistants.
A 2006 graduate of league rival McDonogh, Holmes won three each in MIAA and private school state titles and twice earned National Preps crowns while placing third and fourth as a sophomore and freshman.
“Emmitt has been a huge part of taking our program to the next level,” said Holmes, who was named Outstanding Wrestler during each of his final two years winning the National Preps Tournament. “His ability to work with the younger guys and to build them up has created an environment that breeds success. Clearly, Emmitt has been successful so far, but we are looking to push the limits this year for one last time at Gilman.”
Legacy Wrestling caught up to Sherlock for this Q&A.
Legacy Wrestling: Can you discuss where you were at the point in last season after winning the Gilman Duals over National Prep runner-up Xavier Giles of Green Farms Academy?
Emmit Sherlock: Last year was my first time at a bigger weight class up at 165 pounds after being at 106 as an eighth grader at National Preps, 120 as a freshman and at 138 during my sophomore year.
Then I kind of made the jump after my sophomore season. I’ve always been a tall guy, and I was sort of getting sick of cutting weight and slimming myself down. I made a choice to get bigger over the summer and I wrestled up at 160 and Fargo.
I ended up wrestling up at 165 for our first month of the high school season during my junior year.
So I was kind of just getting used to it from a strength standpoint. I was able to figure it out and to realize what was working for me against the bigger guys.
You started to see that later on in the year when I just started to get better and better. But even now, you can see that I’m still getting better and better against these bigger, stronger but slower guys.
LW: Can you talk about how big was it to score your 100th-career victory by second-period fall over fellow MIAA and private schools state champion Nicolas Barnabee during your 43-22 victory over Mount St. Joseph?
ES: I knew Barnabee was good and that he was a state champion before. I’ve wrestled a lot of Maryland state champs before and I’ve beaten up on most of them. I kind of chased that. I was ready for that match. It was one that I had circled.
I didn’t want it to be close. He’s a football player and he’s not doing what I do during the summer. He didn’t have the gas tank that I have. So I was like, “I might as well put on a show. I beat him pretty good and I pinned him.
LW: Did you think that the match wasn’t going to happen or perhaps in order for them to have a chance to win that they would move him away from you?
ES: We always think about that, especially in the MIAA. A lot of guys were forfeiting against me or bumping up to try to avoid me to get the extra team point, which obviously makes sense. But we knew that if he did that then I would just go up.
LW: What did it mean for you and your brother, Tyson, to follow that up by winning your second straight individual MIAA and state titles along with your first-ever team MIAA title for your school?
ES: Obviously it’s cool that I got another individual accomplishment, but the team win was more important to me to be honest. When I got to Gilman in the seventh grade, we were always finishing last or close to last as a team in the MIAA.
To think that we could be the top team in the MIAA when we might have initially thought that it wasn’t possible? A lot of people when I moved here were like, “Why are you going to Gilman?” It’s such a good school.
When you look at our coaching staff, coach [Bryn] Holmes is amazing. If you look at the rankings, Gilman is one of the best schools in Maryland, academically. It’s an individual sport, but when you look at the coaching staff, I’ve gotten what I’ve needed there.
We’ve got a few other guys coming back with Zach Glory and Gabriel Smith John Jurkovic who all came along with me. I just believe we’ve really got something special. To get that done and to win for the first time in three decades, that was a big thing for us and for the school.
LW: Being a runner-up at National Preps was not only your highest finish at National Preps, but also your fourth placement there, what does that prestigious honor mean to you?
ES: That means a lot. It was awesome during the Covid year to place third there as an eighth-grader, which is pretty high.
To be able to end up with five placements for All-American status, there are not many who can do that. But to win a National title this year, is, hopefully, what the plan is.
LW: What does it mean to your personal legacy to be essentially the leader of the defending MIAA and private schools state champions at Gilman?
ES: Obviously I’m the leader and the captain on Gilman’s team. When I go into the room every day I kind of set the standard. If you see me in there, I’m always talking and always enjoying myself.
I’m not one of those guys that takes it so serious to the point where in college you might burn out. I’m just having fun. I know that I still have five or six years in this sport. I’m not going to bang my head every day.
I’m healthy with this sport. I love this sport. I kind of just want to enjoy my excitement for this sport and I bring that to the room every day. For the guys who might be in their first year of wrestling, I want them to be excited for the sport.
We play games in the room at Gilman, but we also get it in, too. I just try to share my passion for the sport with the other guys in the room.
LW: Can you talk about the substance among the MIAA tournament placewinners returning to this year’s team with yourself, Liam McGettigan, JD Vasser, Zach Glory, John Jurkovic, Arthur Konschak, and Gabriel Smith?
ES: Those are the guys who are the core of our team. Those guys have been here and done some stuff. That’s seven guys, and we’re really going to depend on them this year.
They’re awesome and they know what to expect. They’ve done it, so we’re going to rely on them a lot and we’re expecting big things from them.
LW: Will the pressure of being the No. 1 team make a diamond out of you guys or how do you think you guys will handle that?
ES: Coach Holmes has been talking about that. Last year, we weren’t expected to win. Maybe we were expected to finish third or fourth. People didn’t realize what we had and we kind of snuck up on people. But now, people know what we have coming back.
With me, people know how good I am. It’s pressure, but it’s just that we have to keep on doing what we’re doing. If you worry about the pressure, you don’t want the pressure to wear you down. I don’t call it pressure. If people know about you, then that’s cool.
LW: You beat two public school state champions in South Carroll’s Mike Pizzuto – a three time state champion who suffered his first loss in the state against you – and Centennial’s Calvin Kraisser, who will likely become a four-time state champion. What do those matches mean to you, and what about the potential for you being a similar target for others?
ES: I always knew that Mike Pizzuto had something like 100 or so wins with no losses in this state. I was a sophomore underclassman in a private school. All of the public school guys knew about and thought of Calvin and Pizzuto as the top, public school guys.
I always knew that I was better than them. They compete in Maryland all year long and I was competing in Fargo. My schedule was a lot harder than theirs. This is due to being at a private school, which is a blessing. I knew I could beat them. I’m just glad that I got a chance to show that.
Usually we don’t wrestle South Carroll, but that year, we had a South Carroll dual, and I was glad to have that. Calvin came to our Gilman tournament. So it was awesome to have a chance to wrestle them. I always knew and believed that would happen, and I’m glad I got that opportunity.
LW: Can you talk about being a 6-foot-3, 175-pounder who is capable of using your leg-riding skills with those dimensions at this weight?
ES: Leg-riding has been an essential part of my folkstyle career. You’re probably going to see me start off a little raw this year coming from freestyle where I’ve been training on my feet a lot.
By the state tournament and National Preps, later in the year that’s when I’m usually peaking on my top and bottom positions because obviously during the summer I’ve been focused on my freestyle.
The ability to take a guy down and to put a ride on him after you’ve already broken them on their feet, now they’re getting tired. So you put a ride on them, that’s really the end of the match. If you look at some of my scores against the top guys, I’ve won a lot of 1-0 matches.
That’s just off of the rides. That’s a mind-set thing. It sucks getting legs put on you, I’m not gonna lie. I’ve had them put on me myself, and it doesn’t happen a lot, but when it does, I’m like, “dang it.”
If you’ve watched coach Holmes, his leg-riding is outstanding. The only time he puts legs on in practice is when he wrestles me. He’s taught me a lot with leg-riding.
LW: What kind of mentality does Bryn Holmes bring with his coaching style?
ES: Every time before a match he says, “Let it fly, no pressure, just go after it.” That just means don’t be hesitant, go out there and give it all you’ve got. That’s how you lose a lot of matches is when you’re hesitant or when you’re scared.
Especially for me, like in the Iron Man tournament where I’m going to be wrestling against a lot of top guys in the country just like me. You might see one of these guys holding back, and that’s how you lose.
As a coach, he’s been probably the most influential man for me at Gilman throughout my six years there. He’s a big reason why I went there. He means a lot to me. To have him by my side every time. It’s going to suck and be a little different.
LW: Why did you choose the University of Virginia?
ES: It was between N.C. State and Virginia. N.C. State, while they were recruiting me, was the No. 2 team in the country. They’re like fifth, now. They’re an outstanding ACC powerhouse. But Virginia, something about their coaching staff just felt like home.
The school is really good and among the top 25 academic schools in the country. I could probably have gotten into N.C. State on my own, but I couldn’t have gotten into Virginia on my own. I used wrestling to do that and chose Virginia.
Those guys are outstanding. I’m probably going to major in Economics. One thing that I like about Virginia is that they have a one-year, accelerated Masters’ Program. Once I redshirt, that will be five years and I’ll get my Masters Degree.
LW: Can you give me a prediction on how Gilman will do this year?
ES: A lot of teams are pretty close in the MIAA, maybe even closer than last year. I don’t think there will be any one front-runner, although you could probably say that’s us because of last year.
But I would see there are going to be four or five teams that are going to be pretty close.
You’re going to have that with Spalding, Loyola and we’re going to be good. MSJ’s going to be good and McDonogh’s going to be creeping up because they have a lot of freshmen. I think we can do it again as long as those seven guys can get placements as high as possible.
We have Gabe, me, Liam, John and Zach Glory who could win state titles. If we take care of business there, five state champions is kind of hard to beat. But it’s going to be close because every team is pretty good. It’s going to be a lot of fun for the fans, so pay attention to our league this year.
Comments