The Definitive National Preps Preview

Seeing Marylanders high in the National Prep Tournament Rankings/Seeds had gotten so customary it was just assumed it would always be that way. A look at the seeds for the 91st edition of the National Prep Tournament reveals times have abruptly changed.

Many of Maryland’s recent National Prep All-Americans have moved on from the High School Ranks, leaving the cupboard bare, albeit we hope temporarily. In a rare turn of events, Maryland is only returning seven wrestlers who have reached the prep podium. A strikingly low number for a state that typically holds their own at the Big Dance.

This is reflected in the seedings. With many of our guys not having a previous placement, they are already at a disadvantage in the seeding process and need to produce wins to elevate them up the list. Unfortunately, a lot of the times our wrestlers met a guy who could propel them up the ranks, they walked away in defeat.

It’s an uphill climb for our young guys. It’s time for them to take the next step, outperform their seeds, and show everyone that the next wave of Marylanders gracing Lehigh will be just as competitive as those from the past. It’s up to the young guys to get it done this year, so they return next year holding a preloaded advantage and start getting better seeds.

No. 1 Archbishop Spalding has three returning prep All-Americans. Two from last year, and another, a ghost returning from the past. Nationally ranked Zane Leitzel has landed on the podium in his last two trips, being 7th as a sophomore and 5th a year ago.

Leitzel’s two placings and his Beast of the East placing this year were pivotal to his seeding. Going into the qualifiers, Leitzel and Wyoming Seminary’s Brian Chamberlain were second and third in the rankings. Chamberlain was third in the same Beast bracket where Leitzel was sixth, and beat two guys that handled Leitzel, so that establishes their pecking order.

It was all pretty clean until both lost at their qualifiers. Chamberlain’s loss to the Hill School’s Cole Albert caused a shift in the weight class as Albert recently lost to Shea Morris of the New York Military Academy and Greens Farms Academy’s Jeremy McGrath has beaten Morris twice and also pinned Chamberlain at Ironman.

So, Leitzel lands at 7 and Mt. St. Joseph’s Brooklyn Pickett, who is also nationally rated, slides in at number 6 after beating Leitzel in the state finals.

Eli Chesla is seeded 13th at 120 pounds despite placing eighth in 2025 in one of the deepest weights. Eli Gabrielson gained prep hardware with a fourth-place finish at St. Mary’s Ryken, then spent is sophomore year in the public realm with South Carroll. Gabrielson is back at Lehigh donning a different singlet and projected to finish eighth at 126 pounds.

Other Cavaliers receiving seeds were Lane Gowl (11th at 106), Charlie Mutschler (7th at 113), Quentin Bailey (16th at 138), and Ryder Kolat (13th at 157). The prep board voted to expand the seeding to 16 a few years ago since rankings are provided that go as deep as 20 at some weights.

Word came in late Wednesday night that the 13th seed at 132 was out, so that means Spalding gains one more seeded wrestler as Isaac Cicchetti was slated as the alternate and now slides in as the 16th seed.

Joining Pickett as a sixth seed for No. 2 St. Joe is their only previous All-American, Jake Tami (132), who was 7th as a FR and 8th as a JR after not appearing as a sophomore. Tyler Stephens was also placed in placement position as the 7th seed at 144 pounds.

Receiving number 12 seeds were Nathan Matthis (120) and Connor Allison (150). The sixth seeded Gael is James Wright, coming in as 14th at 113 pounds.

No. 3 McDonogh has three guys residing in the seeds. Braidyn Taby (7th at 106) and No. 8 Jacob Naylor (113) are projected to earn some prep hardware. Dominic Manna was given the 13th seed at 165 pounds.

No. 8 Loyola-Blakefield is bringing two back who have attained All-American statuses, Tyler Verceles (5th a year ago) and Jayden Jackson (8th as a FR and SO). Going by the seeds, neither is projected to place with Jackson starting out of the number nine slot at 126 pounds and Verceles being 11th at 120. Josh Hale also received a number nine seed at 144. Charles Cooper was granted the fifth seed at 106 pounds.

Bullis and No. 9 Gilman each landed three in the seeds. Bullis has two who should place with Noah Tucker looking to improve on last year’s fourth place finish. Tucker (175) is seeded second to the guy who was the runner-up in his bracket last year, Lake Highland Prep’s Nadav Nafshi, who was at Germantown Academy in 2025. Damian DuChez is seeded 8th at 106 pounds. Soshiant Ahanj-Elias is number 15 at 165 for the Bulldogs.

None of Gilman’s Greyhounds are expected to place with Arthur Konshak (175) the highest seeded at number 11. Miles Molina is 13th at 113 and Christian Wirts, 14th at 120.

Four more from our map were seeded. DeMatha’s Cameron Black is 12th at 285. The Heights School’s Liam Kilner comes in at number 12 at 165. Ryken’s Evan Gavin begins as the number 11 guy at 215. Good Counsel’s George Tate is slotted ninth at 190 pounds.

Bullis and Gilman each lost a two-time National Prep placer in the offseason as Salah Tsarni decided to head to the Blair Academy will likely improve on his second-place finish from 2025 as Tsarni is the top-seed at 190 pounds. Liam McGettigan wasn’t a finalist, but he hit paydirt twice before heading south to Lake Highland Prep and comes into preps seeded No. 1 at 106 pounds.

Another former Greyhound and previous prep placer, Gabriel Smith, is enjoying a post-grad year at the Hill School and defeated nationally ranked Bradley DiMiglio in finals of the PA Qualifier. Smith was sixth at Lehigh as a junior but struggled with injuries in his encore. Smith was seeded third but does own a win over Paul VI’s second seeded prep runner-up Cash Colbert from two years ago when he placed at preps. Because it was from two years ago, it was not a factor in the seeding process.

Blair has another Marylander, and number one seed, on their roster in Cael Mielnik at 285. Mielnik turned heads and made a run to the finals as a freshman before succumbing in the finals and then struggled with injuries last year before bouncing back to be a dominant national force as junior.

The National Prep Website has a ton of great information about past champions and more history. This will be the 91st version.

https://www.nationalprepwrestling.org/

Friday, February 20, 2026

• 6:30am Doors open for Teams

• 7:30am Boys Weigh-In

• 9:00am Boys Wrestling Begins

• 10:30am Girls Weigh-In

• 12:00pm Girls Wresting Begins

Saturday, February 21, 2026

• 6:30am Doors for Teams

• 7:30am Boys & Girls Weigh In

• 8:30am Wrestling Begins for Boys/Girls Finals & Consolation Finals

• 12:00 or 12:30pm Boys Finals

106-Pounds

1- Liam McGettigan (Lake Highland Prep, FL) JR

2- Evan Cies (Malvern Prep, PA) FR

3- Lucas Forman (Wyoming Seminary, PA) SO

4- Jack Anello (Blair Academy, NJ) FR

5-Charles Cooper (Loyola-Blakefield, MD) FR

6-Carter Lirgg (Cardinal Newman, SC) FR

7-Braidyn Taby (McDonogh School, MD) FR

8-Damian DuChez (Bullis School, MD) SO

9- Will Hughes (Athens Christian, GA)

10- Dylan Deck (Germantown Academy, PA) FR

11- Lane Gowl (Archbishop Spalding, MD) FR

12- Braxton Rankin (St. Christopher’s, VA) FR

13- Zane Messiter (St. John’s College, D.C.) SO

14- Mateo Montanaro (Belmont Hill, MA) 8th

15- Logan Bailey (Greens Farms Academy, CT) FR

16- Rei Pate (Paul VI, VA) FR

A - Colt Brewer (Benedictine Prep, VA) FR

113-Pounds

1-Liam Davis (Lake Highland Prep, FL) SR

2-Justin Farnsworth (Malvern Prep, PA) JR

3-Royce Wetzler (Benedictine Prep, VA) JR

4-Brock Humphrey (Linsly School, WV) SO

5-Eric Bocanegra (Blair Academy, NJ) JR

6-Riley Alcantar (Baylor School, TN) FR

7-Charlie Mutschler (Archbishop Spalding, MD) SO

8-Jacob Naylor (McDonogh School, MD) SO

9-Cash Waymire (Brentwood Academy, TN) SR

10-Knox Ritchie (McCallie School, TN) FR

11-Jaxson Sgurletta (Greens Farms Academy, CT) FR

12-Aiden Morris (New York Military Academy, NY) SO

13-Miles Molina (Gilman School, MD) JR

14-James Wright (Mt. St. Joseph, MD) SR

15-Ferris Gottlich (St. Mark’s School, TX) SO

16-Jonathan Toriello (Northfield Mount Hermon, MA) FR

120-Pounds

1-Mikey Batista (Blair Academy, NJ) JR

2-Cooper Merli (New York Military Academy, NY) SR

3-Christopher Swann (Baylor School, TN) SR

4-Julian Rios (Phillips Andover, MA) SR

5-Wyatt Spencer (Wyoming Seminary, PA) SO

6-Max Berman (Germantown Academy, PA) SO

7-Rocco Lombardo (Malvern Prep, PA) FR

8-Carmello Kolb (Western Reserve, OH) SO

9-Max Lu (Haverford School, PA) FR

10-Chase Kastner (Greens Farms Academy, CT)

11-Tyler Verceles (Loyola-Blakefield, MD) SO

12-Nathan Matthis (Mt. St. Joseph, MD) FR

13-Eli Chesla (Archbishop Spalding, MD) SR

14-Christian Wirts (Gilman School, MD) SO

15-Henry Evans (Kinkaid School, TX) SO

16-Pierce Ritchey (St. Thomas, TX) SO

A-Brody Sayers (Belmont Hill, MA) SO

126-Pounds

1-Isaac Novod (Belmont Hill, MA) JR

2-Jackson Heslin (Greens Farms Academy, CT) SR

3-Johnny Green (New York Military Academy, NY)

4-Alex Marchetti (Wyoming Seminary, PA) FR

5-Jack Baron (Germantown Academy, PA) SR

6-Lukas Littleton-Mascaro (Malvern Prep, PA) SR

7- Wyatt Stauffer (Blair Academy, NJ) SO

8-Eli Gabrielson (Archbishop Spalding, MD) JR

9-Jayden Jackson (Loyola-Blakefield, MD) SR

10- Peter Rincan (Northfield Mount Hermon, MA) SR

11-Samuel Comes (Lakeway Christian Academy, TN) SR

12-Alex Choo (St. John’s, TX) SO

13-Axel Ritchie (McCallie School, TN) SR

14-Chris Phillips (Baylor School, TN) JR

15-Brady Haskell (Phillips Andover, MA) SO

16-Bradley Ament (St. Christopher’s, VA) SO

A -Ethan Reilly (Lake Highland Prep, FL)

132-Pounds

1-Shamus Regan (Lake Highland Prep, FL) JR

2-Vince Anello (Blair Academy, NJ) JR

3-Jaxon Lane (McCallie School, TN) SO

4-Shai Sabag (Germantown Academy, PA) JR

5-Marcus Heck (Wyoming Seminary, PA) JR

6-Jake Tamai (Mt. St. Joseph, MD) SR

7-Jaxsen Bailey (Greens Farms Academy, CT)

8- Drew Roggie (St Christopher’s, VA) SR

9 -AJ Stover (Peddie School, NJ) SO

10-Triston Johnson (Cardinal Newman, SC) SO

11-Josh White (Athens Christian, GA) JR

12-Garrett Clark (Kinkaid, TX) SR

13-Braedon Goes (Northfield Mount Hermon, MA) SR

14-Landon Herdic (New York Military Academy, NY) JR

15-Braydden Crum (Western Reserve, OH) SO

16-Clayton Waltenbaugh (Hill School, PA)

A-Isaac Cicchetti (Archbishop Spalding, MD) SO

138-Pounds

1-Dale Corbin (Wyoming Seminary, PA) JR

2-Tyler Conroy (Malvern Prep, PA) SR

3-Yandel Morales (Lake Highland Prep, FL) SR

4- Jack Dragoumanos (Belmont Hill, MA) SR

5- Brighton Karvoski (Greens Farms Academy, CT)

6- Ryan Rios (Blair Academy, NJ) SR

7-Malachi Puckett (Baylor School, TN) JR

8-Matteo DeFilippo (Norfolk Academy, VA) SO

9-Noah Rankin (St. Christopher’s, VA) SR

10-Gavin Ulrich (Metrolina Christian Academy, NC) SR

11-Landon Lill (Peddie School, NJ) FR

12-Adam Seidman (Germantown Academy, PA) JR

13- Matt Mercado (New York Military Academy, NY)

14- Solomon Johns (Northfield Mount Hermon, MA)

15-Robert Douangmala (Mount Saint Charles Academy, RI) SO

16-Quentin Bailey (Archbishop Spalding, MD) JR

A-George Mamakos (Linsly School, WV) SO

144-Pounds

1-Tyler DeKraker (Lake Highland Prep, FL) SR

2-Matt O’Neill (Malvern Prep, PA) SO

3-Weston Borgers (Blair Academy, NJ) SO

4-Matthew Dailey (Wyoming Seminary, PA) JR

5-George Emendorfer (Baylor School, TN) SR

6-William Hamilton (McCallie School, TN) JR

7-Tyler Stephens (Mt. St. Joseph, MD) JR

8-Joseph Mahoney (Greens Farms Academy, CT)

9-Josh Hale (Loyola-Blakefield, MD) SR

10-Nicholas Arado (Charlotte Country Day School, NC)

11-Lance Bordeleau (Northfield Mount Hermon, MA) JR

12 – Ethan Glessner (St John’s, DC) SR

13-Jack Quigley (Webb School of Knoxville, TN) SR

14-Jonathan Graham (Lakeway Christian Academy, TN) SO

15-Braden Lane (St. John’s, TX) JR

16 – Carter Cox (First Baptist Academy, TX) JR

150-Pounds

1-Charlie DeSena (Lake Highland Prep, FL) SR

2-Michael Turi (Wyoming Seminary, PA) SR

3-Declan O’Byrne (Malvern Prep, PA) JR

4-Colby Houle (Northfield Mount Hermon, MA) SR

5-Andrew McCarthy (New York Military Academy, NY) SR

6-Spear Gorelick (Charlotte Latin, NC) SR

7-Kimoni Giles (Greens Farms Academy, CT) SR

8-Elliott Crews (Benedictine Prep, VA) SO

9-Niko Colavecchio (Paul VI, VA) JR

10-Ben Koch (Blair Academy, NJ)

11-Henry Haufrect (St. John’s School, TX) JR

12-Connor Allison (Mt. St. Joseph, MD) JR

13-Ryder Kolat (Archbishop Spalding, MD) SR

14-Jack Signor (Episcopal Academy, PA) SR

15-Nicholas Raptis (Poly Prep, NY)

16– Kohlton Vargas (Christian Brothers, TN) JR

A-Henry Santini (Belmont Hill, NE) JR

157-Pounds

1-Zeno Moore (Lake Highland Prep, FL) SR

2-Jeremy McGrath (Greens Farms Academy, CT) JR

3-Shea Morris (New York Military Academy, NY) JR

4-Cole Albert (Hill School, PA) SR

5-Brian Chamberlain (Wyoming Seminary, PA) SR

6-Brooklyn Pickett (Mt. St. Joseph, MD) SO

7-Zane Leitzel (Archbishop Spalding, MD) SR

8-Joseph Schinder (Blair Academy, NJ) JR

9-Raymond Fitzgerald (Malvern Prep, PA) JR

10-Myles Burroughs (Northfield Mount Hermon, MA) JR

11-Charles Lussier (St. Paul’s School, NH) SR

12-William Phillips (Baylor School, TN) SR

13-Ziko Majidov (Poly Prep, NY) SR

14-Joshua Stonebraker (Cary School, NC) JR

15-Cainan Williams (McCallie School, TN) SO

16-Ruger Pennington (Montgomery Bell, TN) 8th

A-Grant Hay (St. Thomas, TX) JR

165-Pounds

1-Titus Norman (Baylor School, TN) SR

2-Blake Jacobson (Greens Farms Academy, CT)

3-Arment Waltenbaugh (Hill School, PA) SR

4-Barry Norman (Blair Academy, NJ) SR

5-Lucas Boe (Lake Highland Prep, FL) JR

6-Nate Consigli (Northfield Mount Hermon, MA) SR

7-Xavier Stoops (Cornerstone Christian, TX) SR

8-Jet Rank (St. Thomas, TX) JR

9-Cole Wilson (Paul VI, VA) SR

10-Jack Degl (Brunswick School, CT) SR

11-Jackson Moffit (Athens Christian, GA)

12-Liam Kilner (Heights School, MD) SR

13-Dominic Manna (McDonogh, MD) JR

14- Jameson Burns (Benedictine Prep, VA) SO

15- Soshiant Ahanj-Elias (Bullis School, MD) SO

16- Jon Cross (McCallie School, TN) JR

A- Joseph Guastella (Wyoming Seminary) FR

175-Pounds

1-Nadav Nafshi (Lake Highland Prep, FL) SR

2-Noah Tucker (Bullis School, MD) JR

3-Lucas Parietti (Wyoming Seminary, PA) SR

4-Chase Hetrick (Malvern Prep, PA) FR

5-Ryan Meier (Blair Academy, NJ) SR

6-Brodie Bedford (All Saints, TX) SR

7-Declan Bligh (Roxbury Latin School, MA)

8-Jack Harty (Greens Farms Academy, CT) JR

9-Casey Liess (Northfield Mount Hermon, MA) JR

10-William Childs (Athens Christian, GA)

11-Arthur Konschak (Gilman School, MD) JR

12-Findley Smout (Christian Brothers Academy, TN) SR

13-Gunner Colbert (Paul VI, VA) SO

14-Ryan Barone (Fishburne Military School, VA) SR

15-Oliver Loehr (St. Mark’s School, TX) JR

16-Zaydan Morgan (McCallie School, TN) JR

A-Jet Ward (Gonzaga College, DC) SR

190-Pounds

1-Salah Tsarni (Blair Academy, NJ) JR

2-Mason Chamberlain (Malvern Prep, PA) FR

3-Jackson Angelo (Lake Highland Prep, FL) SR

4-Bojan Sulc (Gonzaga, D.C.) SR

5-Lucas Alvan (Northfield Mount Hermon, MA)

6-Kaleb Jackson (Greens Farms Academy, CT) SR

7-Braeden Simoneaux (New York Military Academy, NY) JR

8-Dylan Reel (Baylor School, TN) SR

9-George Tate (Good Counsel, MD) SR

10-Townsend Winans (Cape Henry Collegiate, VA) JR

11-Brody Belville (Brentwood Academy, TN) SR

12-Jackson Laws (Cannon School, NC) JR

13-Jordan Crouch (Pope Saint John Paul II, TN) SR

14-Cooper Ledbetter (McCallie School, TN) SO

15-John Bramlett (Christian Brothers Academy, TN) SO

16-TC Wills (All Saints, TX) SR

A-Malaki Washington (Linsly, WV) SR

215-Pounds

1-Max Konopka (Greens Farms Academy, CT)

2-Cash Colbert (Paul VI, VA) SR

3-Gabriel Smith (Hill School, PA)

4-Colton Bell (Lake Highland Prep, FL) SO

5-Bradley DiMiglio (Malvern Prep, PA) FR

6-Connor Bercume (Blair Academy, NJ)

7-Cooper Gentle (McCallie School, TN) SR

8-Ty Brown (Chattanooga Christian School, TN)

9-Rock Shurette (Baylor School, TN) SO

10- Preston Burroughs (Northfield Mount Hermon, MA) SO

11- Evan Gavin (St. Mary’s Ryken, MD) SR

12-Nolan Addeo (Hammond School, SC)

13-Madden Morgan (Episcopal, TX) SR

14-Cooper Lussier (St. Paul’s School, NH)

15-Lerrod Smalls (New York Military Academy)

16-Tyler Rebick (Avon Old Farms, CT)

A-Konrad Kutt (Philips Exeter, NH) JR

285

1-Cael Mielnik (Blair Academy, NJ) JR

2-Lukas Zalota (Malvern Prep, PA) SR

3-Alex Bajoras (Wyoming Seminary, PA)

4-James Bechter (Northfield Mount Hermon, MA)

5-Ryder Smith (Chattanooga Christian School, TN) SR

6- Isaiah Taylor (AIM Academy, PA) SR

7- Ryan Schneider (Greens Farms Academy, CT) JR

8-Grant Silverfield (Lake Highland Prep, FL)

9-Preston Broadway (Metrolina Christian, NC)

10-Sean Boyd (Benedictine Prep, VA) JR

11-Lance Clelland (St. Christopher’s, VA) JR

12-Cameron Black (DeMatha, MD) SR

13-Grant Goodman (Bethlehem Christian Academy, GA) JR

14-Asher Wheatley (Bishop Lynch, TX) SR

15-Deacon Morgan (Episcopal, TX) JR

16-Deantowan Malone (Father Ryan, TN) SR

A-Cannon Voiles (McCallie School, TN) JR