As we start to turn our attention to the upcoming 2024-2025 wrestling season, we here at legacy Wrestling wanted to take a look back at what we consider the Summer Standouts. Maryland had a very successful spring and summer slate with far too many winning national accolades to list here.
We have narrowed it down to the best of the best for this recap (no slight to others who don’t appear here). These wrestlers did the most to build upon their legacies during a time when many chose to do other things.
Gilman’s soon to be senior Emmitt Sherlock is the biggest of these big dogs after capturing national championships at the U17 US Open in Freestyle and Greco-Roman. A look at the soon to be unveiled Scorebook Live National Rankings shows Sherlock sitting in the No. 5 position at 175lbs for the upcoming season.
Sherlock, a two-time state champion and three-time state placer, has a chance to become a rare five-time National Prep placer this season (he was third at 106 as an eighth grader at the NP Open during the Covid year). In FS at the US Open, the Greyhound downed No. 9 Caleb Dennee of Wisconsin, 12-1 and 9-5, in their best of three final and also took out No. 19 Liam Crook (WI), 7-0. All national rankings referenced in this article are for the 2024-2025 season.
Sherlock captured a gold in FS and bronze in GR at the Pan Am games over the summer in preparation for the U17 World Championships in Jordan. Sherlock did not bring any hardware home from that trip but did come incredibly close in his bronze medal bout loss to Romania’s Darius Sas in FS. In GR, Sherlock was eliminated after an early loss.
Future Loyola grappler, incoming Freshman Tyler Verceles captured a GR National Crown at the U15 US Open alongside Sherlock. Verceles did not place in FS at the Open. At Fargo, Verceles reached the 16U finals in FS at 94lbs before falling to honorable mention Keegan Bassett of Pennsylvania, 4-2. Verceles avenged a 16U National Duals FS loss to Georgia’s Cody Clarke (HM) at Fargo.
In GR, Verceles was third with his loss coming to another Georgia wrestler, Ariah Mills (HM). In the third-place match, Verceles pinned HM Thiago Silva (CA) in 1:28. In the US Open FS Gauntlet, one of the Dons losses was to Pennsylvania’s No. 16 Chase Karenbauer, who went on to win that bracket.
Another incoming freshman, Mt. St. Joe’s Corey Brown (No. 15 in the nation) defeated Karenbauer in the Fargo FS semis at 100lbs. In fact, Brown has never lost to Karenbauer in any of their more than ten meetings. In the Fargo finals, Brown fell to No. 7 Justin Farnsworth of Pennsylvania, 4-2.
Interestingly, at the US Open, Brown placed third in GR at 99lbs, but did not place in FS. At Fargo, the Gael was second in FS and did not reach the GR podium. In FS at Fargo, Brown also downed No. 21 JoJo Burke (NJ), 10-6. Brown’s US Open FS losses came against New Jersey’s No. 13 Sean Kenny and HM Cason Craft (OK). Kenny was seventh in their weight class at Fargo.
Perry Hall’s Victor Marks-Jenkins will look to add another undefeated high school season to his resume, and it appears he will be moving up in weight to at least 175lbs (possibly 190 for the high school season), where he sits as the No. 21 guy in the nation. Marks-Jenkins hit the USA Folkstyle Nationals in March where he took third and then competed in a few FS & GR Regions but skipped Fargo.
At the Southeast Region, Marks-Jenkins beat Fargo FS Champion Lucas Boe of Indiana, who wrestles for Lake Highland Prep in Florida during the season. The Gator handled Boe 4-1 in FS and 8-0 in GR at 165lbs. Boe defeated Bullis’ Salah Tsarni at the NHSCA Freshmen Nationals, 9-7. Marks-Jenkins also captured a MAWA Eastern National crown in the spring.
Tsarni will come into the season chasing a second state title ranked 18th in the country at 165lbs sitting right behind Boe. In addition to his runner-up finish at NHSCAs, Tsarni was a double All-American at Fargo, placing third in FS and fifth in GR in the 16U Division at 165. In FS, Tsarni defeated Crook twice, 6-2 and 12-2, as well as dropping U15 US Open FS Champ, No. 20 Mario Hutcherson of Pennsylvania, 7-2.
Another soon-to-be St. Joe grappler, Brooklyn Pickett placed fourth at Fargo in the 16U 138lb bracket. Pickett will begin the season as an HM wrestler at 138. At Fargo, his two losses were to fellow HM grapplers, Austin Ellis (UT) and Missouri’s Miller Sipes.
Throughout the spring and summer, Pickett has picked up some quality wins, including one over Iowa’s No. 25 Justis Jesurgoa at the U17 US Open. Jesuroga won Pickett’s weight class at Fargo, which is why he is currently ranked ahead of the Gael. Two other notable wins came over New Jersey state champion Ryan DeGeorge, who is HM at 132, and California fifth place state finisher Josh Requena.
St. Mary’s Ryken’s Evan Boblits (144) will look to add another state championship to the one captured last season and will do so starting in the No. 20 position of the National Rankings. While Boblits didn’t place at Fargo he made some noise even reaching the round of 16 in GR.
Practically all of the senior’s losses, with very few exceptions, in the last calendar year were to nationally ranked wrestlers. The Knight’s Fargo FS losses came to multi-time Fargo All-American Gabriel Bouyssou of Rhode Island, 4-2, and to No. 19 Easton Doster (IN). In GR, Boblits succumbed to No. 16 Mason Peterson (NE), 5-4, and Oklahoma’s All-American No. 18 Jake Miller, 2-1.
Another wrestler expected to be 144lbs in the upcoming season is South Carroll’s junior JoJo Gigliotti, who is an HM wrestler at 144 in the country. The two-time state champ beat Fargo 16U FS Champion Stephen Myers of West Virginia at last season’s Trojan Wars. The NHSCA All-American, sixth at 126 this past spring, handled Alabama state champion John Stewart, 8-1, amongst his victories there.
As a freshman, Gigliotti beat nationally ranked Carter Nogle (Mt. St. Joe) as well as two NHSCA All-Americans, Vincent Paolucci (Spalding) and Tanner Halling (Boonsboro). His upcoming junior campaign should solidify the Cavalier as a national contender.
Stephen Decatur’s two-time state champion Elijah Collick has yet to crack the national rankings but is right on the cusp of doing so. During his NHSCA All-American showing, the Seahawk downed New Mexico’s Roman Luttrell, who placed in GR at Fargo.
St. Mary’s Ryken’s Eli Gabrielson owns a win over Farnsworth from the National Prep Tournament but has been a little inconsistent on the national scene with some losses to unranked foes negating the win over Farnsworth. But his talents landed him on the NHSCA podium.
Bullis’ Noah Tucker is another wrestler on the fringes of the national scene. He too placed at the NHSCA Nationals. Other NHSCA All-Americans for Maryland this past spring were Halling, Bowie’s Jamil Morrow, Paolucci and his teammate Zane Leitzel.
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