When 26th-ranked Archbishop Curley edged 22nd-ranked Calvert Hall for the crown in last weekend’s clash of Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association stalwarts at the Knightmare Invitational at Parkville High, the programs renewed an intense yet friendly rivalry of family legacies.
Guiding their Alma Mater were the Boettcher brothers in head coach Paul, 43, and assistant, Mike, 44, who graduated from Archbishop Curley in 1999 and 1998 respectively. A third Boettcher sibling, Tom, 40, graduated from Curley in 2002 but is not an assistant for the Friars’ program.
Also on hand were Boettcher's parents, Michael Sr. and Debra, who witnessed a third-place finish at Parkville from their freshman grandson, Reed (138), whose father is Paul.
“It's a little bit strange coaching your own kid at this level,” Paul Boettcher said. “I'm incredibly proud of what Reed has been able to accomplish so far in his career, and very excited to see what he'll do in the future.”
Also directing their Alma Mater were the Knox siblings, head coach, Chris, 44, and assistant, Greg, 50, who graduated from Calvert Hall in ‘99 and ‘92. The youngest Knox brother, James, 37, is also an assistant for the Cardinals who graduated from Dulaney High in 2005.
“It’s great being back at my Alma Mater, Calvert Hall, to coach,” Greg Knox said. “The Parkville Knightmare tournament is a great event to start the season. Our team wrestled much better the second day and nearly allowed us to take the team title away from a familiar foe in Curley and the Boettcher brothers.”
Paul Boettcher won 146 matches for the Friars, earned one MIAA crown, three championship appearances and placed first, second and fourth in the private schools' state tournament. Paul also twice finished third at National Preps and earned fourth place at the National High School Coaches’ Association Tournament.
Mike won 141 bouts at Curley, earned a pair of MIAA titles in four title-bout berths, won a pair of private schools' state titles, and placed second and fourth on two other occasions. Mike also placed fourth, fifth and seventh at National Preps.
Tom totaled 156 career victories, earning three MIAA crowns in four title match appearances, earned first once, second twice and third once at private school states, and placed third and fifth at National Preps.
Chris Knox began his sophomore year at Dulaney, where he earned a county title and finished second at regions before transferring to Calvert Hall for his junior and senior seasons. Chris won a pair of MIAA titles and finished first and third at National Preps. A fourth-place finisher at the summer Junior Nationals.
Greg competed in the Maryland Scholastic Association, where he placed first and third. Greg was a two-time champion in the National Preps tournament, once as a Calvert Hall senior and once as a postgraduate at the Peddie School. Greg also finished fourth as a junior at National Preps.
James Knox was a four-time Baltimore County champion, twice finished first at regionals as well as second and third, placed first, second, third and fifth in the Class 4A-3A state tournament.
Chris Knox and Paul Boettcher were juniors, and Mike Boettcher, a senior, in 1998, when the Top-ranked Friars came-from-behind to win the night’s final bout on the way to vanquishing the second-ranked Cardinals, 28-25.
1998 Curley v Calvert Hall
“Mike, Chris and I all pinned our opponents, but later that season, Calvert Hall won the MIAA Tournament, beating us by a half point, and then they went on to win the state tournament,” Paul Boettcher said. “I think this is awesome that this has come back full circle, renewing that old rivalry with two guys now coaching their teams who were both there back when both programs were at their peaks.”
Another decorated Friars’ assistant is Tim Schoen, a 1982 graduate of Chesapeake-Baltimore County who served as an assistant at Curley in 1998. Schoen became the Bay Hawks’ first state champion as a junior before finishing second as a senior when the tournament’s smaller schools’ classification was “B-C,” and the larger was “AA-A.”
Schoen also placed third in the Baltimore County tournament as a sophomore before winning counties and regions as a junior. A two-time regional champion, Schoen was later joined as a state champion by Bayhawks’ wrestlers Sean Castorina in 1985, and Kevin Kessler in 1990.
“The Parkville tournament was an awesome experience,” Chris Knox said. “What a great rivalry we’ve had over the years with Curley, the Boettcher family and, of course, Tim Schoen.”
There were other accomplished coaches in the Parkville gymnasium last weekend.
Third-place Arundel (195 points) was guided by coach Rob Connolly and assistant Jeff Blachly, each of whom won Class 4A-3A state titles as wrestlers at Arundel High in the late 1990s.
Connolly was an unbeaten 160-pound state champion at 35-0 as a senior in 1998 when the Wildcats earned the Class 4A-3A state tournament crown.
Blachly weighed just 195 as a runner-up at 275 pounds in '98, and only 212 pounds in 1999 when he earned the 275-pound Class 4A-3A crown with an 8-4 decision over Magruder's Juan Reyna.
Fourth-place Rising Sun has the Garvin brothers, head coach Seth, 47, and assistant Luke, 45. Luke was a 103-pound Class 2A-1A state champ in 1996 and a runner-up at 112 pounds in 1997. Seth, 47, was a third-place finisher at 112 pounds in 1995. Another Rising Sun's assistant is Anthony Cimorosi, who graduated in 2013 as a two-time Class 2A-1A state champion.
Luke also had the opportunity to watch as his son, seventh-ranked junior Zach Garvin (165), was named the tournament’s Outstanding Upperweight Wrestler.
Zach Garvin’s victories comprised a 49-second pin as well as consecutive technical falls of 18-2 and, 17-0, the latter in his championship rout of the 11th-ranked junior Dylan Fish of Archbishop Curley, who was third at last year’s MIAA tournament.
Assistant coach Randy Pickett of fifth place Linganore graduated from Damascus in 1996 after winning three Montgomery County titles in four championship berths, one regional crown in four title match appearances. Pickett earned a Class 4A-3A state title as a senior.
Pickett’s son, sixth-ranked senior Peyton (165), is a returning third-place state finisher. At Parkville, Peyton earned falls in 2:50, 1:58 and 25 seconds to earn his title shot against eighth-ranked MIAA runner-up Haden Myers of St. Paul’s, a junior who lost, 9-0.
Head coaches Justin Fitch of ninth-place Boys’ Latin, and Shawn Sims of 10th-place Lansdowne are each guiding their Alma Mater.
Fitch was a runner-up at MIAA and private school states and placed fifth at National Preps as a senior in 2005. Fitch also finished third and seventh in the states.
Sims earned 122 career victories for the Vikings before graduating in 2002. During that time as a Lansdowne wrestler, Sims earned first, second, third and fourth placements in the Baltimore County tournament, captured three regional crowns after finishing fourth as a freshman, and placed second and third at Class 2A-1A states.
コメント