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The Throw Down: Gilman vs Spalding

Writer's picture: Billy BuckheitBilly Buckheit

Wednesday evening’s showdown with No. 1 Gilman coming into No. 2 Archbishop Spalding’s house was a tale of streaks. What it lacked in back-and-forth drama was made up for by an exciting finish involving the heavyweights, with the Cavaliers being incredibly close to taking top honors away from the Greyhounds but instead falling 39-33.


“First of all, I mean, what a great opponent” remarked Gilman Coach Bryn Holmes. “It was definitely back against the wall to finish the match. (We) were kind of stuck in the corner there trying to figure out if we were going to pull it off or not. Both teams fought hard. (There were) some great matches, great matchups.”

A mini streak of two wins got the affair started in a positive manner for the visitors as No. 8 Christian Wirts secured an early takedown and rode that to an upset win over No. 4 Charlie Mutschler at 106, 3-1.


“I just wanted to wrestle my normal match,” Wirts said. “I don’t really care about what the rankings said. I knew I was going to give it all I had. I’m happy I got the win. I was hoping I could have gotten a couple bonus points because of how close the dual was at the end, but it worked out with Noah getting the big pin at the end.”


Top-rated Liam McGettigan followed that up at 113 with a 4-0 shutout of No. 2 Eli Chesla to keep the home team off the board and create a 6-0 advantage for his squad.


Spalding was favored in the next two bouts and made good on those prognostications with No. 6 Quentin Bailey sticking Noah Restencourt in the second period, 3:30, of their 120lb meeting. Maryland’s top 126lber, Sean Garretson took his cue from Bailey, but upped the ante by posting a first period fall of Anders Martin, 1:40, to push the Cavaliers ahead by six, 12-6.



World Champion Taina Fernandez does not have many firsts left to accomplish but, on this day, she wrestled her first official varsity league match. Fernandez has wrestled at the Ray Oliver Tournament, and wrestled a few junior varsity and non-team-scoring scrimmage matches versus the boys, but with the stakes at their highest Fernandez made her debut as a regular cog in the Spalding lineup.


Fernandez is the top-ranked girl in Maryland at 135lbs and met No.3 Zach Glory at 132lbs. Fernandez secured a takedown and allowed two escapes to claim a 3-2 victory.


“It feels good,” Fernadez continued. “My first one against Gilman. The team atmosphere is there, so I felt really good going into the match and I just knew I need to trust in all the hard work we’ve been putting in the room. When your teammates set a good environment for you, I feel the good vibes radiating from the team. The fact that I was just able to go out and get my job done then come back and hear the team cheering me on it meant a lot and it felt good.


“There is (a sense of relief) because it kinda just sets your season off right. It’s almost like validating in a way. It motivates me to keep putting the work in the room. But honestly, it’s a good feeling. I want to go back in the room, like, let’s get another match going.”


“(I was) really impressed with Taina pulling off a win against Zach,” Holmes proclaimed. “I thought we were in a lot of trouble there. I was hoping we would get that win, which is a six-point swing for us, and obviously played a big factor in the match.”

With their lead now at nine, 15-6, the Cavaliers continued their winning streak over the next three bouts, with all wins by pin, to build an impressive 33-6 edge over the Greyhounds.

No. 1 Zane Leitzel rolled through with a cradle to put Brandon Yoon to sleep 1 minute and 15 seconds into their 138lb bout. No. 8 Henry Gessford waited until the final frame before registering his fall in 5:19 over Sawyer Enright at 144lbs. No. 12 Ryder Kolat flattened Michael DeCosta 1:16 into their 150lb match.


Unfortunately for Spalding, that would be the end of their winning ways and the beginning of Gilman’s second streak, which would end up equaling the Cavaliers in length at six.

No. 1 John Jurkovic hit a sweet Fireman’s Carry to the back to put an end to No. 12 Dylan Briles upset hopes one minute into their 157lb bout and signal a change in the flow was about to come.


“My coaches have been telling me all week I need six for this match,” said Jurkovic. “I need six for tonight and I need six on Friday against Loyola. I was just trying to go out there and get a pretty quick pin. I was thinking I have to set the tone for the remainder of the dual and end their momentum and start out momentum for our team. So, I’m happy I was able to do that.”


No.10 Arthur Konschak grinded out a tough 5-0 win over Josh Taylor at 165. A lineup shift at 175 saw Holmes decide to send out Sawyer Peck to face James Ward and save Emmitt Sherlock for the next weight. The move worked out marvelously for Gilman when Peck stuck Ward at the 1:33 mark of the opening frame.


“I knew I needed to be a vital part of my team,” Peck said. “I didn’t know if I was going before the dual or not. But I know my team needed me, so I was going to be ready whatever the case was. I gotta show up for my team. That’s all that was in my mind. (After winning, I felt) relief, I was proud, I was also just happy I didn’t let the guys down. I think of the seniors and (how) we’re first. It feels good to be first and you want to go out with a bang, so it was for the other guys.”


Sherlock is Maryland’s No. 1 175lber and a National Champ, who placed fifth in the world in Freestyle over the summer. The senior, who is currently ranked sixth in the country at 175lbs by Sports Illustrated, made quick work of Luke Winkler at 190, dropping him in 50 seconds.

No. 15 Isaiah Trusty came out at 215lbs with his team still trailing by six, 33-27. For a moment there, it looked like Luke Barulli was about to pull off his second upset in two weeks after pinning Saint Frances Academy’s No. 10 Douglas Johnson in last week’s dual. But Trusty fought off those efforts and put an end to their meeting with a fall in 1:18 to bring the team score to a draw, 33-33.


No. 9 Noah Lawrence stepped on the mat with a chance to claim victory for his team, much like he did at against Mt. St. Joseph last week. The two Giants worked the crowd into a fervor, engaging one another with a reckless abandon that saw each of them have an opportunity to claim the win.


Late in the first period, Michael Byrne rolled through on Lawrence and caught him on his back at the edge of the mat. The Spalding faithful erupted in cheer as it looked like Byrne was about to secure the fall, but somehow, Lawrence was able to fight through that sticky situation.


Granted a fresh start with the end of the period, Lawrence would put an end to the chaos and the Cavaliers’ upset hopes when it was his turn to catch his rival on his back. This time there would be no reprise, no miraculous recovery was to come as Lawrence decked Byrne 24 seconds after the whistle to secure the win (2:24) and retain the No. 1 ranking for the Greyhounds.


“(When I was on my back) I was thinking the whole team is counting on me,” remarked Lawrence. “I’m counting on myself. I gotta get myself out of this situation and do it for people, more than just me. (Prior to that) I had him on his back with the throw. (Now) I’m thinking I gotta wrestler smarter. I know going for the throw, I don’t want to go for the trip, I want to go for the inside locks. “I chose down though (to start the second period), and I got lucky in a scramble. (With him on his back) I’m thinking this is everything I’ve worked for. You know, you put in the work, you start JV as a freshman at 165, so you put in the work for two years to get all the way to heavyweight so you can win matches like this.”


With this win in the books and another successful title defense under their belt, the Greyhounds now prepare to battle No. 5 Loyola on Friday night. Before focusing on that one, Holmes reflected on the end of this one.


“Our guys at the top came up big,” said Holmes. “We got all the sticks we needed when we needed them. Not any one match really makes the difference but Noah Lawrence coming out at a heavyweight match where he’s wrestling a kid that weighs more than 280, and he’s 240, and he gets rolled to his back. To be able to fight off his back from that spot was impressive, so I was proud of him.


“You know what, they’re just like us, (when) they win they pin. And pins make a big difference in these types of matches, and I was a little nervous because of that.”

When Sherlock arrived on the Gilman campus, the Greyhounds were a competitive team but still behind teams like McDonogh, Mt. St. Joe, and Spalding in the pecking order. Last year changed all that. Sherlock’s last ride before going to the University of Virginia is going to plan in regard to the team’s accomplishments. As of right now, they are in first place and could win their second consecutive MIAA “A” Conference Dual Meet Crown.


“Well, this match especially and MSJ, we were battling some injuries, and we got some guys sick or whatever and that doesn’t matter,” Sherlock offered. “Our team fought hard. We were missing a couple guys, and some good guys like Gabe Smith wasn’t able to wrestle tonight, and JD Vassar, a returning state champ and a returning fourth at states, so two really good guys not in our lineup."


“We were down 27 going into those last six matches. Putting Sawyer Peck, one of our JV guys in at 175 and getting the pin for us. That was the difference. Lawrence fighting off his back, maybe a second away from getting pinned, and that’s just our team, we have a lot of heart on our team. That comes from working hard every day. We know what we do in that room. Not saying other teams aren’t working hard, but we know we’re working hard and trust our training. And this was just an example of that. It was a great team effort. It was awesome.”


Next week, Spalding will put its No. 2 ranking on the line versus Loyola on Tuesday and the No. 4 Gaels on Wednesday. Laidley was down about today’s outcome but excited for the future and tournament time.


“It pretty much went the way we thought it would,” said Laidley. “We thought we had a shot at six (106), so that was a little disappointing to start. We captured points we weren’t counting on later on. Josh Taylor wrestled a great match at 65. He usually gets pinned by Konschak. So, him staying off his back was big for us. No surprises, I guess. "


“We thought we had a good shot at 215 and heavyweight if they wrestled straight up. You saw our 215lber, he pinned the Saint Frances kid, who is ranked tenth. He’s good. He is a second-year wrestler, so he makes mistakes still. We thought when Big Mike put him (Lawrence) on his back at the edge of the mat, we were going to get a pin there. That would have been pretty exciting. But (it’s) a little disappointing. I thought the kids wrestled well. I think we’re a little better tournament team, in my opinion, than in dual meets. We got some young guys. So, all in all not bad Billy. (We’re) looking forward to the St. Joe match.”


Gilman 39, Archbishop Spalding 33

(match started at 106)

106-Christian Wirts (G) dec Charlie Mutschler, 3-1

113-Liam McGettigan (G) dec Eli Chesla, 4-0

120-Quentin Bailey (AS) pinned Noah Restencourt, 3:30

126-Sean Garretson (AS) pinned Anders Martin, 1:40

132-Taina Fernandez (AS) dec Zach Glory, 3-2

138-Zane Leitzel (AS) pinned Brandon Yoon, 1:15

144-Henry Gessford (AS) pinned Sawyer Enright, 5:19

150-Ryder Kolat (AS) pinned Michael DeCosta, 1:16

157-John Jurkovic (G) pinned Dylan Briles, 1:00

165-Arthur Konschak (G) dec Josh Taylor, 5-0

175-Sawyer Peck (G) pinned James Ward, 1:33

190-Emmitt Sherlock (G) pinned Luke Winkler, :50

215-Isaiah Trusty (G) pinned Luke Barulli, 1:18

285-Noah Lawrence (G) pinned Michael Byrne, 2:24

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