Private School Lightweight Wrestler of the Year ... Congrats to Sean Garretson!

Archbishop Spalding’s Sean Garretson began his wrestling career with Queen Anne’s Junior League as a six-year-old. Garretson’s Father, Mike, was on the coaching staff at the time allowing for a smooth beginning to what has turned out to be a storied career that will see him go down as one of the all-time greats at Spalding.

A state title came at 45lbs for Garretson while at Queen Anne’s. A move to Central Maryland delivered three more state championships. While the youngest Garretson was toiling away at Central Maryland, his two brothers, Ryan and Mitch, were laying the groundwork for Sean’s eventual migration to the Cavalier lifestyle.

Post-Covid, Garretson joined up with the Navy Junior League squad to finish up his time in the youth scene. Navy having one of Spalding’s coaches, Donny Reyes, in the room was a factor in Sean’s move to Navy as he waited and prepared for his move up I-97.

“All my brothers went through Spalding,” Garretson explained. “I think it was just sorta, Spalding was the place for me. My brothers loved it, and all had great things to say about it. We knew the coaches really well. We knew they worked hard. So, Spalding was set. Right out of middle school, I knew I was going to Spalding.”

Because Spalding draws some of the best lightweights in the region to their program, Garretson found himself in a dog fight every day in his own room with Vinnie Paolucci. Paolucci was a sophomore when Garretson arrived, and both had their eyes on the 106lb weight class.

Paolucci, who placed at National Preps twice, won the spot to begin the year. In fact, it wasn’t just a win in a wrestle off that gave Paolucci the nod, but also a 9-2 win in the Ray Oliver finals. But according to coach Mike Laidley, Garretson worked like a mad man to force a lineup change. Eventually doing just that and capturing his first MIAA and state titles at 106lbs. The freshman version of Garretson, also stepped on the National Prep podium for the first time, standing in the number four spot when the dust settled.

“But Sean, from the moment he walked in the room was driven,” Laidley reflected. “You know Vinnie Paolucci was a hell of a wrestler and he was a year older than Sean. And there was that battle for 106 and Vinnie won the spot in the first wrestle off. But Sean was determined to take that spot, and he did.”

Garretson’s hitlist from that freshman campaign includes two big ones at Ray Oliver, one by a 6-5 score over eventual two-time state champion, John Jurkovic (Gilman). Jurkovic ended this year ranked No. 2 at 157lbs. And a pin of Loyola-Blakefield’s four-time state placer, Cayden Farver (No. 10 at 126 this year).

There was an 18-3 technical fall of Severn’s Nicky Melfi at the MIAA Tournament. Melfi would go on to be a two-time National Prep placer, MIAA Champ and four-time state placer, including a second place finish as a senior. In the state finals, Garretson decked Bullis’ Ellis Kirsch, who would win a state title the following year, then head off to New Jersey’s Blair Academy, placing at National Preps this year for a third time.

In his freshman year, Garretson was two wins away from reaching the Beast of the East podium. Unfortunately, he would improve on that as a sophomore but fall in the blood round. As if cursed to go no farther than that, Garretson’s junior and senior trips to the Beast ended in the same manner, one “W” from the podium.

The rest of Garretson’s second season at 120lbs was going great with quality wins over Gilman’s four-time state placer Zach Glory (No. 7 at 132), 10-3. A 14-6 major decision of Calvert Hall’s four-time state placer and one time prep All-American, Griffin Stewart and at the same meet, defeating Mt. St. Joseph’s Carter Nogle, 5-2.

Nogle, a three-time state champ and two-time national prep placer, would turn the tables on Garretson at the John Kelly Tournament at Ocean Lakes High School in Virginia Beach, winning in the finals, 7-3. Nogle got the best of him again in the MIAA Finals, 7-4.

At states, Garretson was stuck by St. Mary’s Ryken’s Tyler Wood in the second period, 2:55, in the semis and would not get another crack at Nogle. Garretson did come back through to take third with a 5-0 win over multi-time state placer Bryan Santangelo (Bullis/Mt. St. Joe). The preps would end with the Cavalier once again bringing home hardware with a seventh-place finish. Nogle and Wood, who were expected to place, did not gain All-American status.

Garretson’s first and only Ray Oliver title came as a junior at 126lbs when he beat Wood in the finals, 7-4. Garretson also downed fellow National Prep placer, Drew Roggie (St. Christopher’s, VA), 4-0, and his teammate, World Champion Taina Fernandez, 7-5.

Wood would take the lead, 2-1, in their rivalry when a dual meet encounter ended with Garretson getting pinned in the opening frame, 1:17. A second MIAA title came at the expense of Santangelo, by fall, 3:29. While Garretson would reach the National Prep podium once again (5th) that could not get him over the one point loss to Wood, 8-7, in the state finals.

Every time Legacy Wrestling interviewed the senior this year and the topic of states came up, it was made clear that the driving force in his training was to erase that feeling and get back on top in his last state appearance.

Garretson opened on fire at Morgan State with a 1:41 flattening of Georgetown Prep’s Kenson Noel. Another pin followed in the quarters in 3:46 over No. 14 Michael Banks (Our Lady of Mt. Carmel). A 20-3 tech was laid upon St. James’ No. 9 Michael Holmes, setting up a finals showdown of two previous state champions looking for the second crowns with St. Joe’s No. 3 Jake Tamai. Garretson would not be denied, putting a strong 14-6 major decision on the bracket.

“That was a really great feeling,” said Garreston. “Right after my previous states in 2024, that one definitely hurt, finishing runner-up. So, that day forward, I had that itch in my mind, you know, to get that state title back. It paid off. Going to practice every day and having that itch in my mind but I had that goal. On my goal sheet, that’s what I put, “126 State champ”.”

The road to that title and retribution saw Garretson take some early lumps but settle in at 126 and cruise unscathed through the back half of the season until National Preps. Three early season losses came up at 132lbs to nationally ranked wrestlers.

At Ray Oliver, national honorable mention Gino Schinina (St. Peter’s Prep, NJ) pinned Garretson in 56 seconds. Wins came over the 132lb private school state champ from Mt. Carmel, No. 5 Christian Manley, by 21-6 tech, and another tech over 132lbs state silver medalist, No. 6 Mason Comegys (McDonogh), 20-4, as Garretson bounced back for third.

Losses at the Beast came to No. 19 Luke Satriano, a three-time New York State Champ from Valley Central, and honorable mention and state runner-up, Nathan Braun (Bergen Catholic, NJ), 11-4.

The good times with championships piling up started at the War on the Shore where Garretson won every match by bonus points helping his squad win the team race over favored South Carroll. They were both top five teams in Legacy Wrestling’s Team Rankings but after the War, Spalding ascended to the number two spot, pushing South Carroll to number three.

Garretson pinned his first opponent then teched the next two including a 19-2 tally over Delaware third-place state placer Hobe Givens (Indian River). A 23-15 major decision of Andrij Szczesniuk (Coatesville, PA) preceded another major in the finals, 11-0, over Pennridge’s Quinn McBride, a junior who has placed sixth at the last two AAA Pennsylvania state tournaments.

“(Winning War on the Shore) feels great,” remarked Garretson. “There’s nothing better in the world than to win. That’s why I wrestle, you know, being first on the podium. All the hard work and practicing late, dieting, it all goes towards winning these types of tournaments. I think War on the Shore is one of those big tournaments, especially in Maryland. So, yea, it was a great feeling.”

Spalding made the trek southward again to Virginia Beach for the John Kelly Memorial Tournament and won it as a team for the first time on the back of a dominate performance from Garretson, who registered pins in his first three matches (1:29, 1:19, and 3:01 successively), then manhandled Class 6 state champ, Hayato Otero (Landstown, VA), with a 19-4 tech in 3:58.

“That (John Kelly) was a fun tournament,” said Garretson. “We had to go to Virginia Beach for that. The competition was alright there. I had a VMI commit in the finals. I did well, I just got to my shots, pushed the pace, and eventually broke him and teched him.”

The MIAA Dual Meet slate saw Garretson continue his winning ways, taking out St. Joe’s Ben Scheiner (No. 8 at 132), 19-3, No. 5 Wes Baumgartner (McDonogh), by fall, and picking up additional pins in a win over Loyola (Brendan Tobin, 3:12) and the loss to Gilman (Anders Martin, 1:41).

The loss to Gilman was decided by the heavyweights. The Cavaliers were close to taking the state’s No. 1 ranking from the Greyhounds but now they would need to do it in a tournament setting if they were going to get it done. That set the stage for the MIAA Tournament, where Spalding surprised everyone with a 31.5-point win over Mt. St. Joe, 239-207.5, with Gilman coming in third with 194.5 points.

Garretson’s impressive run to his third MIAA Title played a big role in that outcome as he only stepped on the mat three times but slapped two pins and a technical fall up on the scoreboard. The tech was another one of Manley, 19-4. In the finals, Scheiner would succumb by fall this time, 3:21.

“That was another tough one,” Garretson added. “(The) MIAA is a very hard conference in Maryland. That’s always one I want to check off the list. So, I went into that just keeping a good mindset. I actually bumped up a weight for that, so I wrestled 132 for MIAAs to help the team actually win a title. So, that felt great, especially winning that team title on top.”

Gilman tied Spalding in the team race at states leaving the rankings with co-number ones for a week. It was decided that the number one team should be settled on the mat, so National Prep standings were used, which allowed Gilman to retain the top ranking they began the year with.

Garretson made a fourth trip to the awards stand but his historic exploits were not enough to outpace Gilman. The four-time National Prep All-American placed fifth with an 8-1 win over Super 32 placer Nikos Filipos (Wyoming Seminary). Garretson’s first three bouts resulted in more domination with three techs to advance to the semis, where he was ironically, the victim of a tech, by No. 13 Vincenzo Anello (Blair Academy), 21-5. He fell to two-time prep placer, Jackson Heslin (Greens Farms Academy, CT) in the consolation semis, 12-5.

“It’s pretty cool being a four-time All-American,” offered Garretson. “Going from 106 to 126. I just think that all came from just the coaches in our room, our practice partners, everyone surrounding me just trying to make me better. They all helped me achieve that four-time All-American status and I’m grateful for that. It is an awesome feeling being able to achieve that.”

Garretson got to experience things he never had before as a Cavalier this year. Team titles were won at some big events, but the most important ones were also gained for the first time in Garretson’s tenure, MIAA and state titles, as well as a dual meet win over Mt. St. Joe on Senior Night in their gym.

“We knew this season that we had a good shot at winning it,” Garretson said. “And then we found out about Del (Delmar White) tearing his ACL. That was sad and shocking, but we didn’t let that deter us or stop us from coming into the room every day knowing we can still fight for a MIAA and state title. We just kept working hard. And we knew, if everyone does their individual job, we can eventually end up winning as a team. "

“It was a really great feeling. I love my guys and there was no better team in the world to do it with. I was very happy to win the MIAA and state title my senior year. (Beating Mt. St. Joe) was also a great feeling. I know they were a little sick and had a couple guys out, but everyone did their job. We wrestled really hard against them.”

Three-time MIAA Champ and four-time placer. Four times on the state podium, including two as a champion. Four All-American performances at National Preps. Those credentials alone, without the other accolades, give Garretson a place at the top of the Spalding hierarchy. Garretson looked back on his time in the Spalding singlet with fondness.

“I couldn’t ask for a better team or coaches. I love my guys. I love my coaches to death. They just want to make me better. They care for me so much. And then my teammates. We have the best bond in the world. The season is over, we’re still going to club practice almost every day and hanging out outside of wrestling, we have a really good bond. Spalding in general is a really good high school. There’s no better place to go than Spalding. They have a great education (system) and on top of that have a great wrestling team.”

After the season concluded a few Marylanders competed at a Border Wars Production called National Preps vs Everybody. Garretson went 2-0 at the event with a huge 10-1 win over national honorable mention, Colton Hagerty (Washington Township, NJ), a junior who was fourth at states this year and seventh as a sophomore.

This year’s incredible performance on the mat left no doubt that Garretson was one of the best Lightweights in Maryland. His method of winning, the show of class on the mat, being a leader, getting back on top as a senior, achieving four-time All-American status; all of that and more led to Legacy Wrestling’s decision to name Sean Garretson a 2024/2025 Lightweight Wrestler of the Year.

“(I’m) really appreciative of that,” said Garretson. “I don’t want to sound cocky, but I sorta earned that through just being dominant throughout the season, scoring a lot of points, teching and pinning. And just really showing what I can do out there. But like I said, I’m very grateful for this.”

For Laidley, Sean’s graduation is more than just another wrestler moving along. It’s the end of an era. The Garretson family has been around the program for the last ten years. It may not completely hit until next season when the Garretson name is not written into the lineup for the first time. But no matter when that comes, Laidley knows he experienced something special and hopes this is not goodbye.

“Sean was such a pleasure to coach. I’m really going to miss that young man. I coached his other two brothers, So, there’s been a Garretson in my program for about 10 years now. I’d have to do that math. I’m going to miss that family. Hopefully they stay close. And every year, Sean’s mentality, he comes into that room wrestling season ready and he’s competing for a title. And he loves competition day. He loves tournaments.

“You always know where we’re getting close to competition, that last couple of days in the room he’s very focused and serious. You don’t get that in a lot of kids. Wrestling is a tough sport. They don’t know what kind of dedication is truly needed to be at that level, but Sean did. In the room, he was one of the top two or three hardest workers every day, never complained, always serious about the sport. I’ve not had many kids like Sean to be honest with you. I’ve had three or four over the years.”