Legacy Hot Take -- Don't Miss MIS

The Maryland Private Schools State Tournament used to be a staple at the McDonogh School but was moved to Harford Community College for a spell and then after a year at Morgan State -- the MIS now returns back to McDonogh’s campus on Friday an Saturday.

Will the teams mixing in from the rest of the state break up the top six MIAA teams or will the state rankings hold? No. 1 Archbishop Spalding and No. 2 Mount St. Joseph slightly pulled themselves from the pack at the MIAA Tournament with the Cavaliers out pointing the Gaels, 274.5-266.

The tally was so close that if either one of the losses versus Spalding went their way, the Gaels would have been the champs. They had four head-to-head meetings in the gold medal round and split them. As it stands right now, and if the seeds hold, they will battle each other in four weights again during the MIS Finals.

The teams coming in from outside the MIAA could chip away at the point totals, allowing McDonogh to slide to the top if they pop off and exceed a few seeds. Upsets happen. The right ones could boost McDonogh to an unexpected finish. We will discuss some of the potential finals matches below and wait to see who will be denied the finish we projected.

One of the pivotal matches for the team race will be round two for Spalding’s No. 1 Zane Leitzel and St. Joe’s No. 2 Brooklyn Pickett at 157 pounds. Both are nationally ranked by High School on SI and will run back a MIAA final that was won in overtime by Leitzel, 2-1. This is also a battle of defending state champions.

Another place the Gaels could steal some points is at 120 pounds when No. 2 Nathan Matthis faces No. 1 Tyler Verceles for the fourth time this season. Verceles beat Matthis at the Beast of the East and in the MIAA Finals. Matthis gained the upper hand in their dual encounter. If he were to do it again, those points could change the trajectory of the team chase.

A third defending champion is also set for a challenge in the finals as No. 3 Arthur Konschak of Gilman will likely face No. 1 Noah Tucker (Bullis), who is ranked 25th in the country, in the 175-pound finals. Unlike Leitzel and Verceles, Konschak has no prior success with his likely foe as Tucker decked him at Ray Oliver. Tucker was third at MIS in 2025.

St. Mary’s Ryken’s No. 2 Evan Gavin is the only returning champ who won’t be having nightmares about his opponent as Gavin stuck No. 5 Stephan Mason (Good Counsel) in 50 seconds at the Beast.

St. Joe’s No. 1 Jake Tamai hopes to replicate Spalding’s Sean Garretson ending of a year ago. Like Garretson, Tamai was a freshman state champ that never revisited the top in subsequent tries. Garretson broke through as a senior for his second title. Tamai will look to have his story go that way when he revisits his MIAA final rival, No. 4 Isaac Cicchetti, who is fittingly from Spalding. Tamai blanked Cicchetti, 8-0, on a major decision at MIAAs.

Charles Cooper (Loyola-Blakefield) and Bullis’ Damian DuChez could form one of just four potential number one versus number two showdowns at MIS in the 106-pound finals. Cooper earned his number one ranking when he placed at Beast of the East while DuChez did not, then cemented it with a head-to-head win over DuChez in the War on the Shore finals, 10-4.

Spalding’s other three number one seeds were No. 1 Charlie Mutschler (113 pounds), No. 2 Eli Gabrielson (126), and No. 3 Quentin Bailey (138). Mutschler could meet No. 2 Jacob Naylor (McDonogh). Gabrielson will have his fifth entanglement with defending state champion, No. 3 Jayden Jackson (Loyola). Gabrielson has won all four with the MIAA final of 5-3 being the closest after three shutouts by the Cavalier.

Bailey slots back in after Taina Fernandez’ s history making appearance at the MIAA Tournament where she became the first ever female champion with a comeback win over No. 6 Ben Scheiner (Mt. St. Joe). Bailey defeated Fernandez in overtime at Ray Oliver, so that gave him the edge over Scheiner in the seeds even though he missed the MIAAs.

Fernandez is off to pursue more history at the National Prep Tournament where she will be on the hunt for her third title in three tries with hopes of a fourth down the line. Since she had no intention of competing with the boys at National Preps, it made sense to get Bailey back in the lineup.

One of the MIAA matchups with Spalding that went St. Joe’s way was the product of a comeback at 150 pounds when No. 2 Connor Allsion battled back and then pinned No. 3 Ryder Kolat. This potential rematch will go a long way in determining the team champion.

No. 2 Tyler Stephens (144) has taken down No. 3 Josh Hale (Loyola-Blakefield) three times this year and others in years past, so he’s as close to a sure bet as you can get for the Gaels. But upsets happen…all the time.

McDonogh’s top seed is No. 3 Dominic Manna (165 pounds). Good Counsel has two top-seeds, No. 2 George Tate (190 pounds) and No. 3 Bryton Brown (285). Brown earned his spot when he evened the score with No. 4 Cameron Black (DeMatha) at WCACs. Black beat Brown at Ray Oliver.

Spalding had all 14 of their guys seeded in the top six. All but one of St. Joe’s 13 appear in the top six. All 11 of McDonogh’s seeded grapplers are top five or better. No. 8 Loyola and No. 10 Curley had eight seeded. No. 9 Gilman had seven get placed on the brackets. In addition, Loyola had two alternates and Curley one.

There was one alternate picked at each weight. In the event of a scratch or someone missing weight in the top eight, everyone will move up and the alternate will slide into the seeds. Otherwise, the alternate will just be drawn into the bracket randomly like the rest of the unseeded wrestlers.

There was talk on the seeding meeting video call of going old school and holding the championship finals alone in the old gym after the other placement matches. Legacy Wrestling has not heard if a final decision on that has been made. Logistics were discussed but some of that depended on what happens with the basketball teams and their need for the facility.

Seeds

106

1-Charles Cooper (Loyola-Blakefield)

2-Damian DuChez (Bullis)

3-Braidyn Taby (McDonogh)

4-Lane Gowl (Archbishop Spalding)

5-Alessandro Barrios (Mt. St. Joseph)

6-Rawle Fortune (Bishop McNamara)

7-Danny Stefko (St. Mary’s Ryken)

8-Julian McCrimon (DeMatha)

Alt-Dominic Blocker (Archbishop Curley)

113

1-Charlie Mutschler (Archbishop Spalding)

2-Jacob Naylor (McDonogh)

3-Miles Molina (Gilman)

4-James Wright (Mt. St. Joseph)

5-Samora Wolokolie (Mt. Carmel)

6-Elijah Adams (Landon)

7-Liam Rose (Archbishop Curley)

8-Logan Myers (Loyola-Blakefield)

Alt-Channing Branch (DeMatha)

120

1-Tyler Verceles (Loyola-Blakefield)

2-Nathan Matthis (Mt. St. Joseph)

3-Eli Chesla (Archbishop Spalding)

4-Becket Geary (St. Mary’s Ryken)

5-Christian Wirts (Gilman)

6-Zeb Bolden (DeMatha)

7-Thomas Bradford (Landon)

8-Cole Fitzsimmons (Good Counsel)

Alt-Patrick Malloy (Georgetown Prep)

126

1-Eli Gabrielson (Archbishop Spalding)

2-Jayden Jackson (Loyola-Blakefield)

3-CJ Votta (Mt. St. Joseph)

4-Damian Manna (McDonogh)

5-Freddy Brinkman (Georgetown Prep)

6-Evan Kaliakoudas (Archbishop Curley)

7-Micah Brown (Covenant Life)

8-Aloysius Fitzpatrick-Murphy (Maryland School for the Deaf)

Alt-Dexter Kane (DeMatha)

132

1-Jake Tamai (Mt. St. Joseph)

2-Isaac Cicchetti (Archbishop Spalding)

3-Wes Baumgartner (McDonogh)

4-Michael Holmes (St. Mary’s Ryken)

5-Brendan Tobin (Loyola-Blakefield)

6-JD Vassar (Gilman)

7-Cooper Monroe (Boys’ Latin)

8-Ansar Kmt (DeMatha)

Alt-Solomon Clark (Bullis)

138

1-Quentin Bailey (Archbishop Spalding)

2-Ben Scheiner (Mt. St. Joseph)

3-Mason Comegys (McDonogh)

4-Henry Moltumyr (St. Mary’s Ryken)

5-Niko Rakis (Good Counsel)

6-Lincoln Weeks (Loyola-Blakefield)

7-Kenson Noel (Georgetown Prep)

8-Reef Kneidl (Archbishop Curley)

Alt-Makana Neverosky (Landon)

144

1-Tyler Stephens (Mt. St. Joseph)

2-Josh Hale (Loyola-Blakefield)

3-W. Nathaniel Jacques (Georgetown Prep)

4-Josh Jackson (Calvert Hall)

5-Cole Genua (McDonogh)

6-William McDonough (Archbishop Spalding)

7-Cameron Jefferson (St. Mary’s Ryken)

8-Patrick DeZee (Landon)

Alt-Lincoln Holmes (Friends School)

150

1-Connor Allison (Mt. St. Joseph)

2-Ryder Kolat (Archbishop Spalding)

3-Oscar Davis (Archbishop Curley)

4-Blake Taylor (McDonogh)

5-Evan Clarke (Mt. Carmel)

6-Seth Parks (St. Paul’s)

7-Spartan Koslov (Georgetown Prep)

8-Reginald Barnett (DeMatha)

Alt-Amir Cartwright (Loyola-Blakefield)

157

1-Zane Leitzel (Archbishop Spalding)

2-Brooklyn Pickett (Mt. St. Joseph)

3-Caden Gardner (McDonogh)

4-Max Murray (Landon)

5-Keegan Wengert (Loyola-Blakefield)

6-Bradlee Anderson (Archbishop Curley)

7-Michael DeCosta (Gilman)

8-Braylin Muldrew (Bishop McNamara)

Alt-Joseph Fangmeyer (Good Counsel)

165

1-Dominic Manna (McDonogh)

2-Liam Kilner (Heights School)

3-Soshiant Ahanj-Elias (Bullis)

4-Sawyer Peck (Gilman)

5-Josh Taylor (Archbishop Spalding)

6-Kayden Tyler (Mt. St. Joseph)

7-Jack Garland (Calvert Hall)

8-Justin Jackson (Georgetown Prep)

Alt-Clausen Smith (Landon)

175

1-Noah Tucker (Bullis)

2-Arthur Konschak (Gilman)

3-Izaac Robertucci (Calvert Hall)

4-Max Solis (Mt. St. Joseph)

5-Rudolph Berry III (Archbishop Spalding)

6-Jakayveon Burton (Mt. Carmel)

7-Adeoluwa Adewuyi (Archbishop Curley)

8-Josh Davies (St. James)

Alt-Josue Sanchez (Maryland School for the Deaf)

190

1-George Tate (Good Counsel)

2-JJ DiMonte (McDonogh)

3-Hayden Myers (St. Paul’s)

4-Baileen Boutz (Archbishop Curley)

5-Luke Winkler (Archbishop Spalding)

6-William Ennis (Mt. St. Joseph)

7-Henry Gunlock (Heights School)

8-Harlem Bell (Calvert Hall)

Alt-Evan Socha (Loyola-Blakefield)

215

1-Evan Garvin (St. Mary’s Ryken)

2-Stephan Mason (Bullis)

3-Tavon Mitchell (Mt. Carmel)

4-Josiah Williamson (Archbishop Curley)

5-Luke Barulli (Archbishop Spalding)

6-Samual Parkhurst (Good Counsel)

7-Mac Ridgley (Calvert Hall)

8-Jonah Selassie (Mt. St. Joseph)

Alt-Foster Anderson III (Pallotti)

285

1-Bryton Brown (Good Counsel)

2-Cameron Black (DeMatha)

3-Noah Lawrence (Gilman)

4-Logan Brown (McDonogh)

5-Owen Stewart (Calvert Hall)

6-Michael Byrne (Archbishop Spalding)

7-Baen Summerlin (Maryland School for the Deaf)

8-Cole Bryant (Mt. Carmel)

Alt-Jack O’Neal (St. James)