Rising Sun's Tyler Garvin maintained the family legacy during a milestone senior season, becoming the Tigers' first wrestler to complete his career without ever experiencing a loss and only the program's second to win three state titles.
Ranked No. 1 by Legacy Wrestling, Garvin is also a three-time winner of Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference and Class 2A-1A East Regional crowns.
Those accomplishments, among others, have earned Garvin honors as Lower Weight Wrestler Of The Year for Legacy Wrestling.
Garvin's record on the year is 44-0 with 26 pins and eight technical falls, and for his career it is 136-0 with 78 pins and 20 technical falls.
In addition to becoming Rising Sun's first wrestler to complete his entire high school career without suffering defeat, Garvin joined 2008 graduate Matt Jackson – who placed third at states as a freshman – as the Tigers' only other three-time state champion.
Winning his third state title also helped Garvin to surpass the Tigers’ pair of two-time Class 2A-1A state champions in 1994 graduate Jason Townsend and 2013 alumnus Anthony Cimorosi.
Garvin also ranks third on the Tigers' career victories list behind Jackson at 147-4, and Cimorosi at 142-9, this, despite being denied a freshman year of competition as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Garvin continued a family legacy: His father, Luke, was a 103-pound Class 2A-1A state champ in 1996 and a runner-up at 112 pounds in 1997. Tyler’s uncle, Seth, was a third-place finisher at 112 pounds in 1995. Younger brother Zach is a 157-pound sophomore who placed fifth at states last month.
"Tyler has been one of our team captains since he was a sophomore after missing his freshman year of wrestling," said Seth Garvin, the Tigers' head coach. "I have been watching Tyler wrestle ever since he was a 4-year-old, and I have never coached anyone with the commitment to excellence that he has."
An "A" student who is bound for the University of Maryland where he will wrestle and major in Kinesiology, Garvin went 10-0 at the Westminster Duals in December with four pins and three technical falls , registering his 100th career victory with a fall in 2:30 over Liberty's Jonathan Piek.
“It felt great getting my 100th win, but it wasn’t necessarily what I had circled as one of my main goals,” Garvin said. “I’m working toward bigger accomplishments, but I knew it would come with consistent work and it’s a great feeling.”
Garvin won his third straight UCBAC title on falls in 3:07, 1:48, 1:50 and 2:58, also leading the Tigers to the overall team title ahead of runner-up C. Milton Wright.
Garvin won his third straight Class 2A-1A East Regional title on three technical falls, the last coming in his regional championship bout by 25-10 over Bayside Conference champion junior Liam Hugues of Stephen Decatur.
The triumph over Hughes came a week after Garvin had used a fall in 2:58 of his UCBAC title bout against North Harford junior Tommy Blankenship, who placed fifth at states as a sophomore.
At states, Garvin used a forfeit and falls in 60 seconds and in 2:39 to reach the finals, where he earned a 6-4 title-bout decision over South Carroll's second-ranked junior Evan Owen.
The victory was Garvin’s second straight and third overall against Owen, whom he overcame with a 3-1 decision for last year's Class 2A-1A state title.
Garvin was equally impressive winning states as a 106-pound sophomore comprising victories by first-round, 17-1 technical fall, 3-1 quarterfinal decision, semifinal 11-2 major decision and a championship bout 16-2 major decision.
Garvin scored his sophomore quarterfinal victory over then-unbeaten freshman Tanner Halling of Boonsboro, who ended that year with a record of 37-1 after placing third in the states.
In the two seasons since falling to Garvin, Halling has been a Class 2A-1A state runner-up as a sophomore and a Class 2A-1A state champion as a junior.
Halling, for example, finished this year with a mark of 48-0 at 126 pounds, where he used three technical victories to reach the state finals before winning his championship bout, 8-4, over sophomore Devon Opel of Northern Garrett.
Halling ended last season with a record of 45-1 at 120 pounds following a 3-2 state title-bout loss to then-freshman Jo Jo Gigliotti of South Carroll, who is ranked No. 1 at 132 pounds this year after having won his second straight Class 2A-1A state championship.
Garvin's sophomore semifinal victory was against Owen, who finished fourth as a freshman after being pinned by Halling in 2:04 of their third-place bout.
Garvin's sophomore state championship triumph was against then-sophomore Nate Wilhelm of Northern-Garrett, who owns a victory over two-time Class 2A-1A state champion sophomore Elijah Collick of Stephen Decatur. Wilhelm placed third at the states as a junior.
"There’s pressure for everyone who is top-ranked and who has everyone gunning for you," Garvin said. "That just comes with the territory. I just think about putting a target on everybody else’s back and taking everybody else out."
Mission accomplished.
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