When we previewed the MIAA Tournament it became obvious that a close look revealed that even though Gilman was the No. 1 team in the state and had beaten all challengers during the dual season, they seemed vulnerable.
No. 2 Archbishop Spalding’s coach Mike Laidley even alluded to that in a post-match interview after beating St. Joe in one of their final duals, when he said, “Honestly, we’re a better tournament team. I like our chances against Gilman. They have four kids that are just really good and tough. But I believe we got six or seven weight classes that we’re going to do very well in the states on, so it’s going to be fun.”
Given how the action played out on Saturday at the Gilman School, Laidley now looks like a Soothsayer. The Cavaliers held the lead most of the day and were up by 21 over No. 4 Mt. St. Joseph after the semifinals, 191-170. Gilman was lingering in third with 155.5 points.
When the final heavyweight bout was completed a glance at the team tally revealed there would be a new champion this year as Spalding dethroned Gilman, who finished third behind the Gaels. It was their first time atop the standings in 14 years.
“We knew based on our recent tournaments (we had a good shot),” Spalding coach Mike Laidley said. “You know we won, War on the Shore and went down to Virginia Beach, beat all the good Virginia teams. We knew our guys wrestled well in tournaments. I know we felt like we were a better tournament team. So, we liked our chances.”
The Cavaliers count ended at 239, St. Joe had 207.5, and the Greyhounds (194.5) barely held of No. 5 Loyola-Blakefield (193) for third. 8th ranked McDonogh continued its recent resurgence that includes a dual meet win over Spalding with 154 points and a fifth-place finish.
“We just felt like our kids really typically have always gotten better throughout the season. Always progressed and we've done well. We take a lot of pride in our conditioning, and you know our kids can go three periods with anybody,” Laidley continued. “But for the most part, we feel like, hey, our guys put in a lot of hard work. You get to this position. And we had thirteen of our kids seeded and every kid, we had 11 of the 13 wrestle to their seed or better. And we told them that, you know, going into this thing, I counted up the seeds from Gilman and I calculated the advancement points, and I said look Gilman’s up on us by like nine points based on these seeds. We need to rely on bonus points.”
While Spalding didn’t have the final round they hoped for, two of their guys earned gold medals, No. 2 Sean Garretson (132) and No. 1 Zane Leitzel (138).
Garretson encountered a familiar foe in Mt. St. Joe’s No. 15 Ben Scheiner. In the dual meet, Garretson posted a technical fall of Scheiner, here he upped the ante by sticking Scheiner in the second period, 3:21. For the senior, it is his third title to go along with a second-place finish as a sophomore.
“It felt great to win my senior year in dominant fashion,” Garretson continued. “Compared to my previous years I felt like I was in more control throughout my matches this tournament. That is a result of my training and coaches helping me improve year after year. It felt even better to experience our team’s first MIAA title since I’ve been here. Everyone did their job on Saturday, and it resulted in a championship we haven’t seen in a long time.”
Leitzel, a junior, almost ended in the same second place position as he did a year ago in his battle with St. Joe’s No. 5 Tyler Stephens, needing to rally back from an early deficit and secure a takedown at the very end of the match for the 5-4 victory.
“I knew I had to keep my composure and continue wrestling and wear him down because I knew I had the gas tank to keep wrestling and get that final score,” said Leitzel. “It's a big accomplishment for the team and I feel we were an underdog coming in, but we were hungry, and we knew what we had to do to make it happen and win as a team.”
The Cavs pushed three more into the championship finals who had to settle for silver after disappointing outcomes, No. 3 Eli Chesla (113), No. 7 Isaac Cicchetti (120), and No. 8 Henry Gessford (144).
No. 6 Charlie Mutschler’s bronze medal run included avenging two dual meet losses to No. 4 Christian Wirts (Gilman) and No. 5 Jacob Naylor (McDonogh). Also bringing home bronze for Spalding were No. 23 Josh Taylor (165) and Luke Barulli (215). Luke Winkler was fourth at 190. Placing fifth for the Cavaliers were No. 4 Quentin Bailey (126), No. 13 Ryder Kolat (150), and Michael Byrne (285).
St. Joe replicated Spalding’s finals results, crowning two champs out of five finalists. The guys who stood at the top of the podium were No. 1 Corey Brown (106) and No. 2 Jake Tamai (126).
In our preview, we remarked how great it would be to see two nationally ranked guys duke it out in the 106lb finals and we were granted that as Brown, who is No. 10 in Sports Illustrated’s latest national rankings, was set to face No. 30 Tyler Verceles of Loyola-Blakefield, who is number two in Maryland. Brown’s impressive showing versus Verceles resulted in a 15-0 technical fall that earned him the Outstanding Wrestler award. Brown also earned the award for most team points scored by an individual.
“I think winning my first MIAA title as a freshman is great,” Brown said. “And I can't wait till the next three. Winning MIAAs in such a dominant manner felt amazing. I went into the tournament trying to score bonus points for my team and that's actually what I did. I also want to give credit to my teammates and coaches for getting me ready for the end of the season and preparing me to perform like how I performed at MIAAs.
“Being named the outstanding wrestler means a lot to me. I know that I have put the work in this season and getting to see the results against a national ranked opponent shows how hard I've worked.”
Tamai was steady in his match with No. 5 Wes Baumgartner (McDonogh) picking up an escape and a takedown in authoring a 4-0 shutout of the freshman sensation.
“It’s good to bounce back from previous years,” remarked Tamai. “I thought I underperformed last year and came into the tournament wanting to show everyone that I’m back. I thought I could’ve pushed the pace a little more and missed some opportunities. He’s a good kid and good wrestler, but I have my sights set on bigger competition next week.”
Standing on the second spot of the podium for the Gaels were Scheiner, Stephens, and No. 2 Cameron Cannaday (157). Scheiner put two upsets on the bracket as the sixth seed. In the quarters, Scheiner downed No. 8 Mason Comegys (McDonogh) and in the semis, fried a bigger fish, No. 4 Zach Glory (Gilman).
No. 7 James Wright (113) and No. 8 CJ Votta (120) secured bronze medals. Votta pinned Gilman’s No. 6 JD Vassar in the consolation finals in 39 seconds to reverse a 7-5 dual meet loss. No. 25 Thomas Brandel was fourth at 285 and Connor Allison took sixth at 150.
Gilman was first in one category at this year’s installment and that was in the champions count where they pushed four guys to the top spots of their weights. Three of them are also No. 1 in the state, Liam McGettigan (113), John Jurkovic (157), and Emmitt Sherlock (190). Arthur Konschak (No. 14 at 165) secured gold at 175.
McGettigan is a sophomore who won it all last year and positioned himself as a potential four-timer after blanking Chesla 4-0. Jurkovic fell to Cannaday the first two times they met last season. Then the Greyhound turned the table on his rival, beating him at this tournament last year and then again in their dual meet encounter in January. A 9-6 win here is now Jurkovic’s third straight over the Gael.
“Winning the individual MIAA title feels good,” remarked Jurkovic. “Especially after battling through a tough opponent in the finals, but I’m disappointed in how the team performed as a whole. We’ve put in the work, and I know we’re capable of more. That said, I’m excited to see us bounce back and compete at states next weekend.”
Konschak registered one of just three pins in the finals in the second period, 3:11, of his bout with No. 8 Riley Miller from Loyola.
“A gold medal always feels great to receive,” Konschak said. “I came into the tournament wanting to have fun and that’s what I did. I wish as a team we could have done better, but things happen for a reason. I am excited for next week and can’t wait to see how things turn out.”
Sherlock, perhaps disappointed with the way the team race went or dealing with serious emotions due to wrestling his final match in the Gilman gym, won a 1-0 match with No. 3 Elijah Josey (Saint Frances Academy), after earlier teching the Panther in their dual meet, 21-6.
“It was definitely good to end with a win,” Sherlock elaborated. “I competed, giving up 20 lbs, and I think that represents what I would do for my team. I'm definitely going to miss competing at Gilman, as it has meant so much to my career. But right now, I'm focused on finishing my high school career on a high note with states and National Preps.”
No. 9 Isaiah Trusty was second at 215. Glory came back for third at 132. Placing fourth were Wirts and Vassar.
Loyola’s No. 1 Luke Randazzo has waited his entire career to taste the ultimate glory at the MIAA Tournament. A third-place finish as a freshman was followed up with two consecutive second place finishes. The senior made no doubt about it and ended his meeting with Archbishop Curley’s No. 23 Kahlil Regan with little fuss at the 1:19 mark of the opening frame.
“This win is special because it was my last opportunity,” said Randazzo. “Finishing second twice and third once, this win tops off my MIAA tournament career. It means a lot and I want to thank Loyola, my teammates and my parents, for supporting me and having faith in me. Being injured in my junior year and only having one month to practice and compete was difficult and I was disappointed in myself. That just makes this win even sweeter.”
Teammate, No. 2 Jayden Jackson is very familiar with getting his hand raised at the MIAA Tournament as it has happened in every one of his matches here over the last three years. The junior is now lined up for a fourth crown next year after putting up a second period tech of Cicchetti, 19-3.
“Winning my third MIAA championship feels incredible and it’s exciting to think that I could become a four-time champ,” Jackson added. “But I'm trying to take it one step at a time. This win has only fueled my drive to keep pushing forward, stay humble, and improve every day.”
No. 12 Saint Frances Academy took the second most gold medals home with three of their grapplers ascending to the top of their weights. All three are first time champs.
No. 15 Chase Carpintieri has probably looked at this gym as his personal house of horrors as he missed weight as a sophomore and then broke his thumb here last year. As a senior, it all came together for him this year with a 10-4 decision of St. Paul’s No. 16 Haden Myers at 165lbs.
“I feel like I had to win MIAAs for my last year because every year something always happens to me,” Carpintieri reflected. “Like last year was my hand and the year before that I missed weight, but I feel good. I knew if I just keep working, I would win because his gas tank was running low, so I knew that all I need was to push the pace.”
No. 11 Douglas Johnson was given the sixth seed at 215lbs after a few tough losses dropped his stock during the dual portion of the schedule. After navigating to the finals, Johnson was able to gain revenge for his loss to Trusty, who pinned him in their dual meeting, by posting an 8-3 decision for his gold.
“(I was) mainly taking it one match at a time. Having a short memory of what happened in the past,” Johnson recalled. “I can’t do anything about it today, all I can do is look forward and be in the moment. Also, not defining me by loses, and using the opportunities God gave me today being in this environment again as a senior. I’m very happy and appreciative for winning the title, it’s been a long time coming and seeking it. And I finally got it. And beating the people I lost to; it’s been a confidence boost because of the ups and downs this season.”
No. 5 Braxton McAvey’s 150lb final opponent was No. 4 Griffin Stewart of Calvert Hall. McAvey put a surprising 11-1 major decision on the final line of the bracket.
“I wasn’t really thinking so much, as I know how to wrestle through every position that I get put into,” McAvey said. “It’s cool (the MIAA title) but I’m ready for something bigger and just showing people I can compete.”
The final champ hails from Severn, No. 5 Nicky Melfi. The senior, who was a National Prep placer last year, won his title with ease by a 17-I tech fall over Gessford.
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel was the “B” Conference champion, ending Severn’s run of titles. Mt. Carmel also won the “B” Conference Dual Title. They placed four here, No. 9 Christian Manley was fourth at 132, Jeffrey Harris was fifth at 144, with Matai Hughes (157) and Jakayveon Burton (175) placing sixth.
Surveying what his squad had accomplished came through with a lot of pride from Laidley.
“We thought across the board, everybody wrestled well, especially my upper weights 190, 215, and heavyweight,” reflected Laidley. “Each one of them wrestled above their seed. Big Mike, my heavyweight, pinned the Gilman kid, the second seed, and he finished fifth. So, we are very excited, half our team are sophomore and younger. We're a strong team this year, but we feel like in the next two-to-three years, we're not going to skip a beat.”
“It has been a while, but if people do the research, we typically have at least three holes, if not four. You know, this is the first year that I can remember since probably 2012 or 2013 that we have a full lineup. You know, and that makes a big difference. When you have three weight classes, you're not scoring any points on. It just puts pressure on the other guys, and you can only get so many bonus points. So, we felt like, hey, we're finally on the even playing field with Gilman, Loyola and Saint Joseph. You know, we've always been battling ten or eleven against fourteen. This year, it's 14 on 14.”
Team Scores:
1-Archbishop Spalding 239
2-Mt. St. Joseph 207.5
3-Gilman 194.5
4-Loyola-Blakefield 193
5-McDonogh 154
6-Saint Frances Academy 154
7-Archbishop Curley 126.5
8-Calvert Hall 111
9-Boys’ Latin 65.5
10-Our Lady of Mt. Carmel 64
11-Severn 57.5
12-St. Paul’s 43.5
13-Gerstell Academy 38
14-St. Mary’s of Annapolis 10
15-St. Vincent Pallotti 9
16-Friends School of Baltimore 7.5
17-John Carroll 0
106
1st Place Match
Corey Brown (Mount Saint Joseph) 34-1, Fr. over Tyler Verceles (Loyola-Blakefield) 37-3, Fr. (TF-1.5 3:58 (15-0))
3rd Place Match
Charlie Mutschler (Archbishop Spalding) 20-11, Fr. over Christian Wirts (Gilman School) 29-9, Fr. (Dec 4-0)
5th Place Match
Jacob Naylor (McDonogh School) 34-12, Fr. over Gavin Young (Calvert Hall College) 2-3, Fr. (For.)
113
1st Place Match
Liam McGettigan (Gilman School) 31-5, So. over Eli Chesla (Archbishop Spalding) 17-7, Jr. (Dec 4-0)
3rd Place Match
James Wright (Mount Saint Joseph) 16-7, Jr. over Evan Kaliakoudas (Archbishop Curley) 36-7, Fr. (MD 12-2)
5th Place Match
bradley Alexander (St. Frances Academy) 15-12, Fr. over Weylin Myers (Gerstell Academy) 17-8, So. (For.)
120
1st Place Match
Jayden Jackson (Loyola-Blakefield) 29-3, Jr. over Isaac Cicchetti (Archbishop Spalding) 14-4, Fr. (TF-1.5 2:49 (19-3))
3rd Place Match
CJ Votta (Mount Saint Joseph) 20-12, Fr. over JD Vassar (Gilman School) 20-8, So. (Fall 0:39)
5th Place Match
Cody Lehman (Calvert Hall College) 3-2, So. over Patrick Gross (The Saint Paul`s School for Boys) 2-3, Jr. (MD 15-1)
126
1st Place Match
Jake Tamai (Mount Saint Joseph) 35-3, Jr. over Wes Baumgartner (McDonogh School) 37-10, Fr. (Dec 4-0)
3rd Place Match
Cayden Farver (Loyola-Blakefield) 28-13, Sr. over EJ Hill (Boys` Latin School) 24-12, Sr. (TF-1.5 4:00 (19-3))
5th Place Match
Quentin Bailey (Archbishop Spalding) 21-10, So. over Kamren Griffin (St. Frances Academy) 14-10, Sr. (For.)
132
1st Place Match
Sean Garretson (Archbishop Spalding) 24-3, Sr. over Ben Scheiner (Mount Saint Joseph) 28-13, So. (Fall 3:21)
3rd Place Match
Zach Glory (Gilman School) 29-13, Sr. over Christian Manley (Our Lady of Mt. Carmel) 3-2, Sr. (Dec 8-2)
5th Place Match
Mason Comegys (McDonogh School) 36-12, Fr. over Dom Montgomery (Severn School) 25-6, So. (Fall 4:38)
138
1st Place Match
Zane Leitzel (Archbishop Spalding) 27-4, Jr. over Tyler Stephens (Mount Saint Joseph) 37-6, So. (Dec 5-4)
3rd Place Match
Joshua Hale (Loyola-Blakefield) 32-10, Jr. over Oscar Davis (Archbishop Curley) 38-13, So. (Fall 0:52)
5th Place Match
Cole Genua (McDonogh School) 24-12, So. over Joshua Jackson (Calvert Hall College) 3-3, Jr. (Fall 2:35)
144
1st Place Match
Nicky Melfi (Severn School) 26-3, Sr. over Henry Gessford (Archbishop Spalding) 17-6, Sr. (TF-1.5 3:28 (17-1))
3rd Place Match
Seve Lombardo (Boys` Latin School) 24-9, Sr. over Lincoln Weeks (Loyola-Blakefield) 13-6, So. (Dec 4-2)
5th Place Match
Jeffery Harris (Our Lady of Mt. Carmel) 3-2, So. over Tyler Crimmins (McDonogh School) 14-22, Sr. (Dec 8-7)
150
1st Place Match
Braxton McAvey (St. Frances Academy) 27-5, Sr. over Griffin Stewart (Calvert Hall College) 2-1, Sr. (MD 11-1)
3rd Place Match
Nevan McKneely (Loyola-Blakefield) 21-6, Jr. over Dominic Manna (McDonogh School) 32-13, So. (Dec 7-6)
5th Place Match
Ryder Kolat (Archbishop Spalding) 13-7, Jr. over Connor Allison (Mount Saint Joseph) 32-11, So. (Dec 1-0)
157
1st Place Match
John Jurkovic (Gilman School) 33-7, Sr. over Cameron Cannaday (Mount Saint Joseph) 26-9, Sr. (Dec 9-6)
3rd Place Match
Aidan Kammar (Calvert Hall College) 5-1, Sr. over Derrick Grant (St. Frances Academy) 15-13, Sr. (Dec 13-6)
5th Place Match
Caden Gardner (McDonogh School) 25-15, Jr. over Matai Hughes (Our Lady of Mt. Carmel) 2-3, So. (Fall 1:41)
165
1st Place Match
Chase Carpinteri (St. Frances Academy) 22-5, Sr. over Hayden Myers (The Saint Paul`s School for Boys) 2-1, Jr. (Dec 10-4)
3rd Place Match
Josh Taylor (Archbishop Spalding) 17-11, Jr. over Dylan Fish (Archbishop Curley) 37-11, Sr. (Dec 4-1)
5th Place Match
Jack Bruffey (Gerstell Academy) 25-3, Sr. over Alex Stowbunenko-Saitschenko (Calvert Hall College) 3-3, Jr. (Dec 8-5)
175
1st Place Match
Arthur Konshak (Gilman School) 34-7, So. over Riley Miller (Loyola-Blakefield) 15-9, So. (Fall 3:11)
3rd Place Match
Izaac Robertucci (Calvert Hall College) 4-1, So. over Leo Marks (McDonogh School) 25-13, Sr. (TF-1.5 5:00 (15-0))
5th Place Match
Adeoluwa Adewuyi (Archbishop Curley) 34-15, Jr. over Jakayveon Burton (Our Lady of Mt. Carmel) 1-3, So. (Dec 13-10)
190
1st Place Match
Emmitt Sherlock (Gilman School) 42-3, Sr. over Elijah Josey (St. Frances Academy) 28-6, Sr. (Dec 1-0)
3rd Place Match
Bailen Boutz (Archbishop Curley) 40-7, Jr. over Luke Winkler (Archbishop Spalding) 16-5, Fr. (Fall 2:21)
5th Place Match
Talin Krashoc (Severn School) 20-10, Jr. over Ryan Ellis (Gerstell Academy) 19-6, Jr. (Fall 3:34)
215
1st Place Match
Douglas Johnson (St. Frances Academy) 25-13, Sr. over Isaiah Trusty (Gilman School) 21-3, Jr. (Dec 8-3)
3rd Place Match
Luke Barulli (Archbishop Spalding) 15-7, So. over Max Stanziale (McDonogh School) 19-9, Sr. (SV-1 10-7)
5th Place Match
Khalee White (Archbishop Curley) 36-13, Sr. over Anderson Foster III (St. Vincent Pallotti) 2-3, Jr. (Dec 1-0)
285
1st Place Match
Luke Randazzo (Loyola-Blakefield) 34-3, Sr. over Kahlil Regan (Archbishop Curley) 39-6, Sr. (Fall 1:19)
3rd Place Match
Logan Brown (McDonogh School) 16-10, Fr. over Thomas Brandel (Mount Saint Joseph) 9-10, Sr. (Dec 4-0)
5th Place Match
Michael Byrne (Archbishop Spalding) 15-7, So. over Carter Beck (Boys` Latin School) 18-6, Jr. (M. For.)
コメント