Prince George’s County once dominated Maryland wrestling, winning five of the first 10 state tournaments after the event began in 1970.
During that span, Laurel won back-to-back crowns in 1971 and 1972, with Parkdale taking another in 1974. High Point followed by winning states in 1977 two years before Largo did so in 1979.
After the state tournament split into separate programs in 1980 – AA-A for larger schools and B-C for the smaller ones – PG County swept the first five large school crowns. That period included Bowie winning back-to-back in 1980 and ‘81, and again in ‘83 and ‘84, with Duval doing so in 1982.
Current Bowie assistant Dave Pottorff became that program’s fourth of an eventual 18 individual state champions as a senior in 1977. Pottorff twice placed third at counties before winning that title, earned three regional crowns, and placed third and fourth at states before winning as a senior.
Pottorff's career record of 67-5 included four overtime losses and three to eventual state champions along with his never having lost a dual meet match.
The Bulldogs became state powers not long after Pottorff’s graduation, winning AA-A tournament championships in 1980, 1981, 1983 and 1984.
“Prince George's County wrestling was without a doubt very dominant back in the late 1970s. During my senior year, for instance, PG county had four of the top five teams in the state tournament with High Point winning it all. After that, Largo and Bowie were constantly producing quality teams with individual and team state titles,” Pottorff said.
“In the early to mid-1980s, Bowie won the state tournament team title four out of five years with multiple champions and place-winners. The one year in the middle when they didn't win, Duval was the team that won. Coaches Beryl Cohen of Laurel and Dave Phillips of Bowie both went on to become Hall Of Fame coaches in Maryland. It was the best of times for PG wrestling.”
Pottorff is among those who sees promise not only in his alma mater, but in defending county champion Eleanor Roosevelt, which edged the Bulldogs, 162.5-to-158 for last year’s tournament crown.
The Bulldogs have a dual meet record of 12-1 and are led by defending Class 4A-3A state champion Jamil Morrow, who is top-ranked at 215 pounds by Legacy Wrestling. The Raiders are 2-0 in dual meets led by third-ranked sophomore Austin Hayes (106), a returning Class 4A-3A state runner-up.
“Jamil Morrow has been a big part of the resurgence of Bowie wrestling. He is undoubtedly the team leader after finishing as an undefeated state champion at 215 pounds as junior year. Austin Hayes is looking to join Jamil as a state champion this year,” Pottorff said. “I have seen both of these fine young men at almost every open tournament this year, which is a testament to their dedication to improve their skills. They give me hope that this is a trend overall and I like the direction PG wrestling appears to be headed in.”
A returning county and Class 4A-3A South Regional champion, Hayes lost his 106-pound state title bout, 10-8, to South River freshman Jackson Peoples, who is currently ranked 10th at 120 pounds. Hayes ended the year with a record of 40-1 (36 pins).
Coached by his father, Cortez Hayes, Austin has a record of 11-0 with six pins during his quest to become only the Raiders’ second state champion along with Chilbueze Onwuka. Onwuka was a 220-pound state champion in 2016, defeating Cornell Wilson of Paint Branch, 4-2, in overtime.
“Losing 10-8 in the state championship was hard for me to get over,” said Austin Hayes, who has a 3.7 grade point average and lists cooking, playing chess, golf and studying the stock market among his hobbies. “With the help of my inner circle, a review of the tournament has been addressed, and I’m confident about my training and the season moving forward.”
The Raiders return three county runners-up in seniors Steven Faniyi (120) and Ethan Lilly (144) along with 15th-ranked junior Leo Foreman (138). Senior Ezike “Daniel” Nnaaeemeka placed fourth at counties and is ranked 12th at 215 pounds.
Foreman was a regional champion, finished last season with a record of 37-5, and has a record of 11-0 this year. Faniyi was fifth at regions after going 27-4, and is currently 10-1 on the year. Nnaaeemeka went 36-6, was third at regions last year, and is currently 8-1 this season. Lilly was fourth at regions with a record of 17-7 and is 6-5 this year.
Also wrestling well for the Raiders’ girls is 3rd-ranked senior Jennifer Djobo (135), who was third at both regions and states last season.
Cortez-Hayes has guided the Raiders since 1996, also earning county tournament titles 2019 and 2022. The Raiders were also regional dual meet champions in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022.
“The next few years look very promising,” Cortez Hayes said. “We have over 14 returning wrestlers with two or more years of experience.”
Morrow went 37-0 last year, earning his state title with a 5-1 decision over Chesapeake-Anne Arundel’s County champion junior Xander Dodd, whom he also defeated, 8-2, for the previous weekend’s Class 4A-3A East Region crown. Morrow used a 51-second pin and decisions by 6-1 and 11-5 to reach the finals against Dodd (41-3).
A winner of two county titles after having placed third once, Morrow became Bowie’s first state champion since 132-pound Nathaniel White in 2018 and only the third Bulldog wrestler to win a pair of state titles, joining three-time champion Stanley Proctor and two-time title-winner Norman Brown.
Proctor won titles at 138 pounds in 1983, 145 in 1984, and 155 in 1985. Brown won crowns at 155 in 1984 and 167 in 1985.
Class 4A-3A state champion Jamil Morrow is top-ranked at 215 pounds with a record of 17-0 that includes eight pins and two technical falls. Morrow has yet to yield a takedown either this season or last, according to his coach, Shomari Stewart.
Morrow went 5-0 with four pins and a technical fall on the first day of the December 6-7 Battle of The Boro Tournament at Boonsboro. Morrow missed the second day in order to take an SAT exam.
The Bulldogs have a dual meet record of 12-1, their lone setback coming against Bel Air, 36-35, at the Clash Of The Titans Duals at New Town High. The Clash Of The Titans ended in a three-way tie, with Bel Air losing to Century, which, in turn, lost to Bowie, 38-33.
“Bel Air ended up winning the tournament on criteria and we were second,” said Stewart, a 2014 Bowie graduate who finished third at counties and fourth at regions and states as a 170-pound senior. “Jamil went 9-0 with four pins at the Clash of The Titans tournament and won Outstanding Wrestler for his weight class. He’s received a lot of forfeits due to people ducking him.”
Bulldogs’ junior Carter Tucker (165) and sophomore Jeffrey Archer (126) are also having excellent seasons.
Archer has a record of 15-5, having gone 8-1 at The Clash Of The Titans Duals to earn Outstanding Wrestler for his division.
Tucker has an overall record of 14-2, having gone 9-0 at Clash Of The Titans and finishing as a runner-up for Outstanding Wrestler at his weight. Bulldogs’ junior Jaden Barksdale (113) returns after having placed fifth at counties.
Bowie’s state champions
Three-time champ
1983 Stanley Proctor 138
1984 Stanley Proctor 145
1985 Stanley Proctor 155
Two-time champ
1984 Norman Brown 155
1985 Norman Brown 167
Individual champs
1970 Mike Bray 130
1974 Gene Bates 155
1976 Pete Ong 98
1977 Dave Pottorf 132
1978 John Ong 105
1979 Andy Stone 119
1980 Marty Bowser 126
1980 Jimmy Williams 138
1980 Maurice Ross 155
1981 Kevin Hosey 119
1983 Stanley Proctor 138
1983 Steve Arslanian 145
1984 Stanley Proctor 145
1984 Norman Brown 155
1985 Stanley Proctor 155
1985 Norman Brown 167
1988 Robbie Waldman 126
2018 Nathaniel White 132
2024 Jamil Morrow 215
AA-A championships for Bowie
1980
1981
1983
1984
Roosevelt’s state champion
2016 Chibueze Onwuka 220
AA-A championships for Prince George’s County
Laurel 1971, 1972
Parkdale 1974
High Point 1977
Largo 1979
Duval 1982
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