National Preps vs. USA

On March 18th at the Germantown Academy in Pennsylvania five Marylanders competed in the Border Brawl Production, Preps vs. Everybody. We do not know how the participants were chosen but all five of the Maryland guys are top rated at their weights in Maryland, Archbishop Spalding’s Sean Garretson and Zane Leitzel as well as the Gilman School’s Emmitt Sherlock threw down in Folkstyle. Bullis’ Noah Tucker and Loyola-Blakefield’s Tyler Verceles rolled in Freestyle.

Garretson and Leitzel wrestled two matches each, with Garretson going 2-0 and Leitzel splitting his. Garretson, a two-time state champion and four-time National Prep All-American, upset nationally ranked Colton Hagerty of Washington Township in New Jersey in his second bout at 126, 10-1 in sudden victory overtime. Hagerty, an Honorable Mention entry at 126 in Sports Illustrated’s rankings, is a junior that was fourth in the New Jersey states after being seventh as a sophomore.

Garretson’s first match came versus Christian Hoppes and resulted in a 10-3 win for Garretson. Our research indicates Hoppes’ name may be misspelled as we find a Christian Hoopes that wrestles for Washington Township, but the only result we find for Hoppes is from this affair. Hoopes wrestled at 120 in the New Jersey states and lost in the blood round.

Leitzel faced off with a familiar foe in Joe Mahoney of the Greens Farms Academy in Connecticut, a wrestler he downed 13-6 in the blood round of the National Prep Tournament en route to his second placement there. Leitzel, who won his first state championship this year, needed overtime in this meeting to defeat Mahoney, 8-5 in sudden victory.

In his second match, Leitzel encountered Blake Boyer of Kennett, a wrestler who placed fifth at the AAA state tournament in Pennsylvania. Like Leitzel, Boyer has been operating just outside of the national rankings, so this was a good test for both. Unfortunately for Leitzel, Boyer came out ahead, 4-2.

The featured match at the event saw Sherlock, No. 4 in the nation at 190lbs, return to 175 to take on Pennsylvania’s No. 6 Asher Cunningham (State College). Cunningham just won his second consecutive AAA state championship and was second at Ironman, PowerAde, and Escape the Rock. As a junior, Cunningham was third at Ironman and took first at PowerAde and Escape the Rock. The senior was the 165lb Super 32 Champ last fall.

Sherlock became a five-time National Prep All-American this year with his second straight runner-up finish there. The senior also won his third private school state title in a row and placed at Ironman for the second time in two years and placed at the Beast of the East for the third time. Cunningham’s national standing and track record suggested he would be the victor, and that was how it turned out, with an 8-4 advantage for Cunningham.

On the Freestyle front, Verceles wrestled twice, and Tucker appeared once. Verceles is ranked 29th in the country at 106 and won a private school state crown then placed fifth at preps. Verceles’ first opponent was Luca Butera (Norwin, PA), who did not place at districts in the state series. The Don cruised to a first period technical superiority win, 10-0 in 1:37.

In his second trip to the mat, Verceles was the underdog to National Prep Champion, No. 2 Ariah Mills (Athens Christian, GA). Mills, who is only an eighth grader, was a Double Champ at Fargo last summer in the 16U Division. Verceles was a Double All-American at Fargo. Mills needed more time to do it but eventually posted a 10-0 tech of Verceles in 4:37.

Tucker, who is knocking on the door of the national rankings followed up his prep All-American performance by blanking national honorable mention Mason Horwat (Derry Area), a two-time Pennsylvania AA state placer, 7-0. Both wrestlers are sophomores.