The National Prep Tournament gets underway on Friday and concludes Saturday afternoon at Lehigh in Pennsylvania. Our latest team rankings revealed a tie at the top, just like the state tournament standings with Archbishop Spalding and the Gilman School. We noted that we will use the National Prep standings as our tiebreaker.
For comparisons sake and with all the wrestlers mentioned here, for all teams, we are sticking to just those who received seeds. There are other Marylanders in the field, but these are the ones with the best chance to bring home hardware.
Spalding comes in with six wrestlers seeded in the top 16, while Gilman counters with just four. What perhaps gives Gilman a leg up is the fact that three of those four are returning placers and projected to do so again with Spalding having just two with those circumstances.
Highlighting Gilman’s excursion is No. 1 in Maryland and No. 3 in the nation Emmitt Sherlock at 190lbs. Sherlock was given the second seed here since he only recently made the move up to 190 on the national level. The top seed is Benedictine Prep’s No. 4 Lane Foard, who Sherlock has beaten four times. At Ray Oliver and Preps as a sophomore and junior. Sherlock is in a good position to win his first title here and also become a five-time National Prep All-American after placing third as an eighth-grader, fifth as a freshman, sixth as a sophomore, and second last year.
No. 1 Liam McGettigan, who was seeded fifth at 113, just captured his second state title, and the sophomore is looking for his second prep placing after being third a year ago. No. 2 John Jurkovic (157) was seventh last year and will look for another medal run starting out of the seventh position. Freshman No. 5 Christian Wirts is the No. 14 seed at 106.
Spalding’s two returning All-Americans are both top rated at their weights in Maryland, Sean Garretson (126) and Zane Leitzel (138). The third-seeded Garretson is looking to become a four-time Prep All-American after being 4th (FR), 7th (SO), and 5th (JR). Leitzel was placed in the fifth seed and is poised to outdo last year’s seventh place finish.
Other Cavaliers receiving seeds were No. 4 Charlie Mutschler (13th at 106), No. 3 Eli Chesla (No. 8 at 113), No. 5 Quentin Bailey (15th at 120), and No. 10 Henry Gessford (No. 16 at 144).
No. 5 Loyola-Blakefield is bringing back two returning placers to go with three other seeded wrestlers. No. 2 Jayden Jackson is seeded 10th at 120lbs because of an earlier loss to McGettigan. Lake Highland Prep’s Marlo Clark beat Greens Farms Academy’s Chase Kastner, and Kastner beat McGettigan. Jackson, a junior, is an underdog when it comes to earning this third consecutive placing here.
No. 1 Luke Randazzo is seeded third at heavyweight and was fourth here last year, his first time on the prep podium. Seeded Dons joining him at Lehigh are No. 1 Tyler Verceles (4th at 106), No. 4 Josh Hale (9th seed at 138), and No. 8 Riley Miller, who is seeded 15th at 175.
No. 4 Mt. St. Joseph and No. 14 Bullis have four seeded grapplers each. Both have one guy who has visited the National Prep Podium.
No. 3 Jake Tamai finished seventh here as a freshman but did not place last year. Tamai will begin at action out of the No. 9 slot at 126. No. 3 Brooklyn Pickette is seeded fifth at 144. Starting out as eight seeds are No. 3 Tyler Stephens (138) and No. 1 Cameron Cannaday (157).
Bullis is led by top ranked sophomore Salah Tsarni, who is also ranked 11th in the country by Sports Illustrated. Tsarni was seventh here last year and is seeded second. A Beast of the East Finals match with top seeded, No. 8 Claudio Torres (Lake Highland Prep) could be on tap. Torres won that meeting hence their positions on the bracket.
No. 2 Sepanta Ahnaj-Elias is seeded fifth and could be a danger to those he encounters. Sepanta is an honorable mention entry on SI’s 190lb ranking and in the preseason at the Journeymen Fall Classic he upset No. 7 in the nation Robert Kucharczk (Lake Highland Prep).
Other Bullis grapplers granted seeds were No. 3 Noah Tucker (10th at 157) and No. 9 Soshiant Ahanj-Elias (No. 15 at 144).
No. 16 St. Mary’s Ryken’s No. 1 Evan Boblits, an honorable mention selection at 150 by SI, is in search of his third placing in his third trip to preps. Boblits, who is seeded fifth, missed his sophomore postseason due to illness, but was fourth as a freshman and fifth last year. No. 6 Evan Gavin is seeded 11th at 215lbs.
No. 6 McDonogh has two freshmen seeded and a third as an alternate if anyone scratches or misses weight. N0. 6 Jacob Naylor is 15th at 106 and No. 5 Wes Baumgartner is 13th at 126. No. 7 Mason Comegys is the alternate at 132.
No. 15 Saint Frances Academy is in a similar position to McDonogh with two seeds and one alternate. The Panthers seeded wrestlers and alternate are seniors though, No. 4 Braxton McAvey (13th at 150) and No. 3 Elijah Josey (8th at 190). Their alternate is No. 11 Chase Carpintieri (157).
Severn’s No. 5 Nicky Melfi placed eighth here last year and is the 9th seed at 144. Calvert Hall’s No. 5 Griffin Stewart placed here two years ago as a sophomore and will look to replicate that starting from the No. 14 spot at 150.
Other Marylander’s given seeds were Bishop McNamara’s No. 9 Rhonin Swenson (No. 14 at 165), DeMatha’s No. 7 Joseph Lagman (13th at 175), Landon’s No. 7 Tiller Smith (No. 12 at 215), Mt. Carmel’s No. 6 Christian Manley (No. 16 at 132), and St. Paul’s No. 8 Haden Myers (No. 13 at 165).
Seeds
106
1-Justin Farnsworth (Malvern Prep, PA) FR
2-Tanner Tran (Father Ryan, TN) JR
3-Ariah Mills (Athens Christian, GA) 8th
4-Tyler Verceles (Loyola-Blakefield, MD) FR
5-Wyatt Stauffer (Wyoming Seminary, PA) FR
6-Brock Humphrey (Linsly School, WV) FR
7-Eddie George (Blair Academy, NJ) FR
8-Royce Wetzler (Benedictine Prep, VA) SO
9-Cade Riddle (Lakeway Christian Academy, TN) 8th
10-Tristan Mouton (Baylor School, TN) SO
11-Camden Ritchie (McCallie School, TN) 8th
12-Brody Sayers (Belmont Hill, MA) FR
13-Charlie Mutschler (Archbishop Spalding, MD) FR
14-Christian Wirts (Gilman School, MD) FR
15-Jacob Naylor (McDonogh School, MD) FR
16-Carter Lirgg (Cardinal Newman School, SC) 8th
Alt-Behzod Rakhmatov (St. Thomas, TX) FR
113
1-Julian Rios (Phillips Andover, MA) JR
2-Michael Batista (Blair Academy, NJ) SO
3-Wyatt Spencer (Wyoming Seminary, PA) FR
4-Liam Davis (Lake Highland Prep, FL) JR
5-Liam McGettigan (Gilman School, MD) SO
6-Brighton Karvoski (Greens Farms Academy, CT) SO
7-Brendan Kelly (Malvern Prep, PA) JR
8-Eli Chesla (Archbishop Spalding, MD) SO
9-Liam McConaughy (Charlotte Latin School, NC) JR
10-Cash Waymire (Brentwood Academy, TN) JR
11-Joseph Drewry (Christian Brothers, TN) SO
12-Trey McKinney (Paul VI, VA) SR
13-Desmond Brown (Mount de Sales, GA) JR
14-Declan Woolbert (Belmont Hill, MA) JR
15-Joey Fortunato (St. John Paul the Great Catholic, VA) JR
120
1-Leo DeLuca (Blair Academy, NJ) SR
2-Jack Baron (Germantown Academy, PA) JR
3-Isaac Novod (Belmont Hill, MA) SO
4-Oumar Tounkara (New York Military Academy, NY) SR
5-Gabe “Christopher” Swann (Baylor School, TN) JR
6-Alex Choo (St. John’s School, TX)
7-Axel Ritchie (McCallie School, TN) JR
8-Marlo Clark (Lake Highland Prep, FL) SR
9-Chase Kastner (Greens Farms Academy, CT) SO
10-Jayden Jackson (Loyola-Blakefield, MD) JR
11-Luke Galipeau (Northfield Mount Hermon, MA) SO
12-Nolan Hardeman (Boyd Buchanan, TN) JR
13-Caleb Haney (St. Christopher’s, VA) SR
14-Rocco Lombardo (Malvern Prep, PA) 8th
15-Quentin Bailey (Archbishop Spalding, MD) SO
16-Henry Jones (Benedictine Prep, VA)
Alt-Josh White (Athens Christian, GA) SO
126
1-Matt O’Neill (Malvern Prep, PA) FR
2-Vince Anello (Blair Academy, NJ) SO
3-Sean Garretson (Archbishop Spalding, MD) SR
4-Jackson Heslin (Greens Farms Academy, CT) JR
5-Jaxon Lane (McCallie School, TN) FR
6-Luke Kibelbek (Lakeway Christian Academy, TN) SO
7-Jacob Bond (Baylor School, TN) SR
8-Nikos Filipos (Wyoming Seminary, PA) SR
9-Jake Tamai (Mt. St. Joseph, MD) JR
10-Shai Sabag (Germantown Academy, PA) SO
11-Noah Rankin (St. Christopher’s, VA) JR
12-Adaias Ortiz (Lake Highland Prep, FL)
13-Wes Baumgartner (McDonogh School, MD) FR
14-Mason Lum (St. John’s, TX) SR
15-AJ Stover (Peddie School, NJ) FR
16-Wynn Pooler (Hill School, PA) JR
Alt-George Mamakos (Linsly School, WV) FR
132
1-Matthew Botello (Wyoming Seminary, PA) SR
2-Tyler Conroy (Malvern Prep, PA) JR
3-Musa Tamaradze (New York Military Academy, NY) SR
4-Brody Gobbell (Father Ryan, TN) SR
5-Drew Roggie (St. Christopher’s, VA) JR
6-Jack Dragoumanos (Belmont Hill, MA)
7-Brady Kaupp (Greens Farms Academy, CT) SR
8-Ellis Kirsch (Blair Academy, NJ) SR
9-Maddox Preskitt (Bishop Lynch, TX) JR
10-Joshua Stonebraker (Cary School, NC) SO
11-Cole Gumlick (Lakeway Christian Academy, TN) SR
12-Dom Marinelli (Northfield Mount Hermon, MA) SR
13-Garrett Clark (Kinkaid School, TX) JR
14-Clinton Plotner (Lake Highland Prep, FL) JR
15-Braden Lane (St. John’s, TX) SO
16-Christian Manley (Mt. Carmel, MD) SR
Alt-Mason Comegys (McDonogh, MD) FR
138
1-Jayce Paridon (Lake Highland Prep, FL) SR
2-Dale Corbin (Wyoming Seminary, PA) SO
3-Casen Roark (Father Ryan, TN) SR
4-Jason Torres (Malvern Prep, PA) SR
5-Zane Leitzel (Archbishop Spalding, MD) JR
6-Weston Borgers (Blair Academy, NJ) FR
7-Hunter Avalos (All Saints, TX) SO
8-Tyler Stephens (Mt. St. Joseph, MD) SO
9-Josh Hale (Loyola-Blakefield, MD) JR
10-Jameson Burns (Benedictine Prep, VA) SO
11-Joseph Mahoney (Greens Farms Academy, CT)
12-Charles Lussier (St. Paul’s School, NH) SR
13-Robert Leeds (Germantown Academy, PA) SR
14-Malachi Puckett (Baylor School, TN) SO
15-Cainan Williams (McCallie School, TN) FR
16-Gavin Ulrich (Metrolina Christian Academy, NC) JR
Alt-Spear Gorelick (Charlotte Latin, NC) JR
144
1-Charlie DeSena (Lake Highland Prep, FL) JR
2-Matthew Dimen (Wyoming Seminary, PA) SR
3-Walker Turley (St. Christopher’s, VA) JR
4-Ben Zuckerman (Greens Farms Academy, CT) SR
5-Brooklyn Pickett (Mt. St. Joseph, MD) FR
6-Marco Cartella (Western Reserve, OH) SR
7-Gavriel Sabag (Germantown Academy, PA) JR
8-Raymond Fitzgerlad (Malvern Prep, PA) SO
9-Nicky Melfi (Severn School, MD) SR
10-Vedwin Nivas (Blair Academy, NJ) FR
11-Colby Houle (Northfield Mount Hermon, MA) SO
12-Andrew McCarthy (New York Military Academy, NY) JR
13-Andrew Pimental (Belmont Hill, MA) SR
14-Jet Ward (Gonzaga College, Washington D.C.) JR
15-Soshiant Ahanj-Elias (Bullis School, MD) FR
16-Henry Gessford (Archbishop Spalding, MD) SR
Alt-Nate Foldes (Benedictine Prep, VA) SO
150
1-Zeno Moore (Lake Highland Prep, FL) JR
2-Anthony Evanitsky (Wyoming Seminary, PA) SR
3-Tyler Hood (St. Christopher’s, VA) SR
4-Declan O’Byrne (Malvern Prep, PA) SO
5-Evan Boblits (St. Mary’s Ryken, MD) SR
6-Cole Albert (Hill School, PA) JR
7-Luke Martin (Hammond School, SC) SR
8-Jordan Joslyn (New York Military Academy, NY) SR
9-Myles Burroughs (Northfield Mount Hermon, MA) SO
10-Oliver Phillips (Baylor School, TN) JR
11-Ryan Meier (Blair Academy, NJ) JR
12-Ziko Madjidov (Poly Prep, NY) JR
13-Braxton McAvey (Saint Frances Academy, MD) SR
14-Griffin Stewart (Calvert Hall, MD) SR
15-Kenneth Riley (All Saints, TX) SR
16-Morgan Tannery (Kinkaid School, TX) JR
Alt-Trent Casto (Lakeway Christian Academy, TN) SO
157
1-Lucas Boe (Lake Highland Prep, FL) SO
2-Nate Consigli (Northfield Mount Hermon, MA) JR
3-Nadav Nafshi (Germantown Academy, PA) SR
4-Arment Waltenbaugh (Hill School, PA) JR
5-Joseph Schinder (Blair Academy, NJ) SO
6-Stephen Smith (Malvern Prep, PA) SO
7-John Jurkovic (Gilman School, MD) SR
8-Cameron Cannaday (Mt. St. Joseph, MD) SR
9-Wyatt Fry (Wyoming Seminary, PA) SO
10-Noah Tucker (Bullis School, MD) SO
11-Brodie Bedford (All Saints, TX) JR
12-Graham Furtick (Metrolina Christian Academy, NC) JR
13-Shea Morris (New York Military Academy, NY) JR
14-Justin Lim (Roxbury Latin, MA)
15-Will Motley (Greens Farms Academy, CT) JR
16-Cole Wilson (Paul VI, VA) JR
Alt-Chase Carpintieri (Saint Frances Academy, MD) SR
165
1-Claudio “CJ” Torres (Lake Highland Prep, FL) SR
2-Salah Tsarni (Bullis School, MD) SO
3-Liam Carlin (Greens Farms Academy, CT) SR
4-Luke Murray (Peninsula Catholic, VA) SR
5-Jack Chamberlain (Wyoming Seminary, PA) JR
6-Barry Norman (Blair Academy, NJ) JR
7-Titus Norman (Baylor School, TN) JR
8-Chancery Deane (Father Ryan, TN) SR
9-Mason Butler (Christian Brothers, TN) SR
10-Seth Digby (Northfield Mount Hermon, MA) PG
11-Chase Hetrick (Malvern Prep, PA) FR
12-Brody Casto (Lakeway Christian Academy, TN) SR
13-Haden Myers (St. Paul’s, MD) JR
14-Rhonin Swenson (Bishop McNamara, MD) SR
15-Bojan Sulc (Gonzaga, Washington D.C.) JR
16-Ryan Barone (Fishburne Military Academy, VA) JR
Alt-Tyler Fromm (Trinity-Pawling, NY) SR
175
1-William Henckel (Blair Academy, NJ) SR
2-Maximus Norman (Baylor School, TN) SR
3-Brian Chamberlain (Wyoming Seminary, PA) JR
4-Elliott Humphries (Northfield Mount Hermon, MA) SR
5-Ben Smith (New York Military Academy, NY) SR
6-Greyson Catlow-Sidler (William Penn Charter, PA) SR
7-Tyler Neiva (Greens Farms Academy, CT) SR
8-Miguel Rojas (Lake Highland Prep, FL) SO
9-Townsend Winans (Cape Henry Collegiate, VA) SO
10-Claiborne Tompkins (Montgomery Bell Academy, TN) SR
11-David Garnett (Stratford Academy, GA) SR
12-TC Wills (All Saints, TX) JR
13-Joesph Lagman (DeMatha School, MD) SR
14-Eric Pendlebury (St. Christopher’s, VA) JR
15-Riley Miller (Loyola-Blakefield, MD) SO
16-Maxx Miller (Trinity Pawling, NY) JR
190
1-Lane Foard (Benedictine Prep, VA) SR
2-Emmitt Sherlock (Gilman School, MD) SR
3-Robert Kucharczk (Lake Highland Prep, FL) SR
4-Isael Perez (New York Military Academy, NY) SR
5-Sepanta Ahanj-Elias (Bullis School, MD) SR
6-Reese Spiro (Northfield Mount Hermon, MA) SR
7-Jay Eversole (Lakeway Christian Academy, TN) SR
8-Elijah Josey (Saint Frances Academy, MD) SR
9-Anthony Bruscino (Wyoming Seminary, PA) SR
10-Matthew Connolly (Malvern Prep, PA) JR
11-Ryan Schneider (Greens Farms Academy, CT) JR
12-Jeremy Pitcock (Blair Academy, NJ) PG
13-Alex White (Belmont Hill, MA) SR
14-Dylan Reel (Baylor School, TN) JR
15-Joseph Brunson (Fort Worth Country Day School, TX) SR
16-Sebastian Rodriguez (St. John’s School, TX) SR
Alt-Jackson Laws (Cannon School, NC) SO
215
1-Jude Correa (Wyoming Seminary, PA) SR
2-Cash Colbert (Paul VI, VA) JR
3-Kingston Daniels Silva (Greens Farms Academy, CT) JR
4-Alex Smith (Lake Highland Prep, FL) SR
5-Dylan Greenstein (Northfield Mount Hermon, MA) SR
6-Zak Zindle (Hill School, PA) SR
7-Ryder Smith (Chattanooga Christian School, TN) JR
8-TJ Kellas (Blair Academy, NJ) FR
9-Mark Feldman (Malvern Prep, PA) FR
10-Jason Hubbard (Metrolina Christian Academy, NC) SR
11-Evan Gavin (St. Mary’s Ryken, MD) JR
12-Tiller Smith (Landon School, MD) SR
13-Tyler Rebick (Avon Old Farms, CT) SR
14-Myles Beckett (Belmont Hill, MA)
15-Michael Seward (St. Paul’s School, NH) FR
16-Kirby Johns (Hammond School, SC) SR
Alt-Elias Franks (Montgomery Bell Academy, TN) SR
285
1-Jacob Levy (Lake Highland Prep, FL) SR
2-James Bechter (Northfield Mount Hermon, MA) JR
3-Luke Randazzo (Loyola-Blakefield, MD) SR
4-Dominic Iaquinto (Greens Farms Academy, CT) SR
5-Walker Walls (Bishop Lynch, TX) SR
6-Jackson Schwab (Blair Academy, NJ) PG
7-Dante Donaldson (Hill School, PA) SR
8-Isaiah Taylor (AIM Academy, PA) JR
9-Anderson Palian (Wyoming Seminary, PA) JR
10-Stosh Zalota (Malvern Prep, PA) SR
11-James Trainer (Montgomery Bell Academy, TN) SR
12-Cooper Gentle (McCallie School, TN) JR
13-Kweku Arthur-Mensah (Trinity-Pawling, NY) SR
14-Kayden Bennett (Suffield Academy, CT) JR
15-Lance Clelland (St. Christopher’s, VA)
16-Killian McNulty (St. John Paul the Great Catholic, VA) SR
Alt-Jack Laird (Cardinal Newman School, SC) SR