The duo entered their 144-pound title bout of last Saturday’s Raymond Oliver Tournament at McDonogh as defending champions not only of the event itself but also within their respective conferences.
On one side was junior Evan Boblitz of St. Mary’s Ryken, a two-time Washington Catholic Athletic Conference title winner.
On the other was senior Tyson Sherlock of Gilman, a titlist not only in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association and Maryland Private Schools state tournaments at 132 as a junior after having placed second and third at each as a sophomore.
In addition, Sherlock was also a third-place finisher at last year’s National Preps Tournament as well as last year's National High School Coaches’ Association tournament champion after being a fourth as a freshman and a runner-up as a sophomore.
Sherlock went 7-0 at the NHSCA's with his four pins comprising falls in 75, 99, 73 and 77 seconds before winning his quarterfinal and semifinal bouts by scores of 6-4, and 3-0. Sherlock won his title bout by forfeit over Mason Kernan of Bethel Park, Pa, who succumbed to food poisoning.
The task appeared to be a herculean one for Boblitz given Sherlock’s accomplishments, not to mention the fact that the Knights’ wrestler missed the final two events of last season due to an illness.
“My freshman year I was second at states and fourth at National Preps, but I got sick last year, so I wasn’t able to compete in states or National Preps,” Boblitz said. “I had practiced with Tyson on the Maryland Team, but this was going to be the first time I would be in a full match with him, and I knew it was going to be tough.”
Boblitz was able to pull off an overtime rideout victory, being the only champion among the St Mary’s Ryken’s eight wrestlers who placed within the top four of their weight classes and pacing the Knights (228,5 points) to the overall title ahead of runner-up Archbishop Spalding (197.5) in the 26-team tournament.
The dramatic finish is best described by Boblitz, who lived it.
“First period was scoreless, but in the second period, I got a quick escape to go ahead, 1-0. In the third period, Tyson got an escape. After we both held each other down for two overtime periods, I chose top for the ultimate rideout. That’s when the final period was broken into two breaks of 15 seconds each,” Boblitz said.
“First 15 seconds, I used an inside chop into a claw and he tried to use a Granby to get out of it and stood up. So, I dropped down to a leg to take him back down, but we ended up in a stalemate. On the restart, I did the same thing, and he kept trying to get Granby to get out of it. But I was able to follow him, stay in control and wait as the time ran out.”
Boblitz reached the finals on a pair of first-period pins, a technical fall in the quarterfinals, and an overtime, 4-1, semifinal decision over eventual sophomore third-place finisher Walker Turkey of St. Christophers in Virginia.
“He went for a double-leg on me in overtime and I was able to throw him by to get my takedown. It was 3-1 but he argued with the referee at the end and got penalized,” Boblitz said. “I had never heard of Walker before, but later on I found out he had placed at National Preps at the weight above me. There was a lot of scrambling in another 1-1 match where each of us escaped.”
Coached by Jason Gabrielson, a 45-year-old former state champion at Riverdale Baptist before winning a pair of MPSSAA crowns at Northern of Calvert County, the Knights had runners-up in freshman Eli Gabrielson (106), senior Tyler Wood (126), and junior Will Buckler (157), with third-place finishes from freshman Ethan Valdisera (113) and junior Drew Montgomery (138) and fourth-place efforts from junior Austin Wood (120) and senior Brandon Jefferson (165).
Juniors Sean Garretson (126) and Delmar White (285) earned titles for the Cavaliers, with runners-up in junior Henry Gessford (120), senior Vincent Paolucci (132), sophomore Zane Leitzel (138) and senior Charlie Gessford (150). Cavaliers’ sophomore Eli Chesla (106) was third, and freshman Quentin Bailey (113) was fourth.
A returning MIAA tournament runner-up, Garretson was also a third-place state finisher who placed seventh at the National Preps Tournament.
Garretson gained a measure of revenge with a 7-4 title bout victory that dethroned defending tournament champion, Tyler Wood, of St. Mary’s Ryken. Wood pinned Garretson last year on the way to finishing second at states.
“I didn’t have a great match against him the last time we wrestled, and I knew that it was important to have a different mindset and I have definitely improved,” Garretson said. “I got a great warmup, and I just took it one move and one point at a time. It felt great to win, and I feel like I’m a much better wrestler this year thanks to the work I put in during the offseason.”
Garretson reached the finals on a technical fall, a 7-5 quarterfinal victory over freshman practice partner and teammate, Taina Fernandez, and a 4-0 semifinal victory over sophomore Drew Roggie of St. Christophers of Virginia.
Roggie was sixth at last year’s National Preps Tournament where he defeated Jake Tamai of Mount St. Joseph, the latter being a returning MIAA and private schools state champion.
White went 4-0 comprising falls in 55 and 54 seconds, a 5-0 decision over DeMatha senior Jordan Williams, and a 5-1 title bout victory over Delaware Military Academy junior Cael DeNigris.
White starred as a defensive end last month on the Cavaliers' football team, which routed McDonogh, 40-7, to earn its second straight MIAA A Conference crown.
A three-sport athlete who also plays first base in baseball, White transferred from Chesapeake-Anne Arundel, where, as a 285-pound sophomore at Chesapeake last season he was a county champion.
White went 37-0 at Chesapeake before suffering a season-ending ACL injury in advance of the Class 4A-3A South Regional and Class 4A-3A state tournaments. White was ranked No. 3 in Class 4A-3A and No. 5 overall. As a freshman, White placed third at counties, second at regions, and sixth at states.
Henry Gessford was a MIAA tournament runner-up who placed fourth at states, Paolucci, an MIAA runner-up who was second at states, Leitzel, an MIAA runner-up who was third at states, and Charlie Gessford, an MIAA runner-up who was fourth at states. Chesla was third at MIAAs and fourth at states.
Freshman Liam McGettigan and Junior Emmit Sherlock (165) shared the championship podium for the third-place Greyhounds (178.5 points), with a runner-up in junior Gabriel Smith (215). McGettigan reached the finals on an 87-second fall, a technical fall, and a 70-second semifinal pin against Chesla.
“I pinned Eli with a bar. I have wrestled Eli a few times in practices but never in a match,” said McGettigan, who won a tight championship match, 4-2, over Eli Gabrielson of St. Mary’s Ryken in the finals.
“It was late in the third period [against Gabrielson] and I caught him with a chin whip. Any win at this level is nice, but I have big goals for myself, and I was confident going into the match.” An accomplished junior league wrestler, McGettigan keeps himself busy during the offseason.
“I have wrestled mostly in Pennsylvania the last few years at American Dream Wrestling Club and competed mostly in national level events only. Last year, I was All-American at The Super 32. My goal was to wrestle the gold pool at the big events and I accomplished that,” McGettigan said.
“I did win back-to-back Maryland state titles a few years back, but when the tournament was pushed to later on in the calendar year, it conflicted with my club lacrosse team, so we made the decision not to compete. I have since stopped playing lacrosse and I will focus mainly on wrestling.”
The 6-foot-2 Emmitt Sherlock used four first-period pins to reach the finals, where his second-period escape stood up for a 1-0 decision over junior Lane Foard of Benedictine College Preparatory in Virginia, who was seventh at last year's NHSCAs and eighth at National Preps. The victory was Sherlock’s third over Foard, including last year's Ray Oliver finals and another at National Preps.
“We had wrestled in the past and I had ridden him out pretty much every time, so he knew I was pretty good on top, and we were basically on our feet the entire match,” said Sherlock, who is committed to the University of Virginia. “Last year in this tournament, he took me down and I was down by a point with about 20 seconds left. I had to get a takedown to win it. At National Preps, I beat him, 3-0.”
Sherlock is coming off an exemplary season, having won both the MIAA and private school State crowns at 138 pounds after having placed third at both as a freshman. Sherlock placed sixth at National Preps, and third at last year's NHSCA's after being a title winner a year earlier.
At NHSCA’s, Sherlock went 7-1 with three technical falls, two major decisions and a pair of 1-0 decisions -- the latter two in his consolation semifinals and consolation finals bouts. Sherlock lost his semifinal bout, 9-6, to eventual champion Anthony Evanitsky of Pennsylvania.
Last year, Emmitt vanquished graduated three-time Class 2A-1A state champion, Mike Pizzuto, of South Carroll, as well as sophomore two-time Class 4A-3A state title winner Calvin Kraisser of Centennial.
“I have high expectations for myself,” Sherlock said. “But I’m not really feeling any pressure.”
McDonogh crowned sophomore Giuseppe (JJ) DiMonte (175) and senior Noah Onkst (215), who are up from 165 and 190 pounds a year ago.
"I’m really proud of both of these kids. Noah is coming off of four days of practice after finishing a great football season. He really showed his strength and athleticism in this tournament and he’s only going to get better as the season progresses," said Pete Welch, who is in his 31st season coaching the Eagles.
"JJ has been on a mission since last season. He’s worked hard all year long, made a commitment to the sport, and it paid off this weekend. It was exciting to see him grow through the tournament and knock off some kids that have beaten him in the past. Both are super kids. (It’s a) great start for them. I am excited to see them both continue to develop throughout the season."
A 165-pound MIAA runner-up last year who was sixth at states, DiMonte scored consecutive 12-10 overtime victories over junior state runner-up Sepanta Ahanj-Elias of Bullis in the semifinals and senior third-place state finisher Nate Furgeson of Landon.
“Against the guy from Bullis, he took a shot, there was a scramble, and I got the match-winning takedown to come out on top. Against Nate from Landon, I got a high-crotch single-leg in overtime and ended it pretty quickly,” said DiMonte, who reached the semifinals following a pair of first-period pins and a major decision.
“I’ve wrestled Nate probably seven or eight times in the past, including last year at states, and I finally got him in the finals of my first high school tournament that I’ve ever been able to win. It felt amazing to do it in front of my teammates and in front of a lot of people who didn’t think I could do it.”
A returning MIAA champion and state runner-up, Onkst used four pins to reach the finals, where he earned an 8-2 decision over Gilman junior Gabriel Smith.
Onkst was a middle linebacker on the Eagles’ MIAA A Conference runner-up football team.
“I’m still in football shape as far as my conditioning,” Onkst said. “So, it was great to be able to finish most of my matches early.”
Tournament Results
1-St. Mary's Ryken, MD 228.5
2-Archbishop Spalding, MD 197.5
3-Gilman, MD Gilman, MD 178.5
4-St. Christophers, VA 172.0
5-New Kent, VA 157.0
6-Paul VI, VA Paul VI, VA 145.5
7-Frank W. Cox, VA 125.0
8-Caesar Rodney, DE 123.0
9-Landon, MD 116.5
10-Delaware Military Academy, DE 108.0
11-Benedictine, VA 96.0
12-Loyola-Blakefield, MD 84.5
13-McDonogh School, MD 77.0
14-Calvert Hall College, MD 76.0
15-Smyrna, DE 75.5
16-Bullis, MD Bullis School, MD 65.5
17-Gonzaga, DC 52.0
18-DeMatha Catholic, MD 40.0
19-Oakton, VA 36.0
20-Severn School, MD 35.0
21-Good Counsel, MD 30.0
21-St. Johns College, DC 30.0
23-The Heights School, MD 18.0
24-Georgetown Prep, MD 17.0
25-Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, MD 14.0
26-Alexandria City, VA 4.0
106
1st Place Match
Liam McGettigan (Gilman) 4-0, Fr. over Eli Gabrielson (St. Mary`s Ryken) 3-1, Fr. (Dec 4-2)
3rd Place Match
Eli Chesla (Archbishop Spalding) 45-13, So. over Tristan Carter (New Kent) 59-4, So. (Dec 5-2)
5th Place Match
Beckett Geary (St. Mary`s Ryken) 4-2, Fr. over Seth Pringle (Frank W. Cox) 30-21, Jr. (M. For.)
7th Place Match
Cole Perrin (Delaware Military Academy) 3-2, Fr. over Luke Houchins (Benedictine) 21-17, Jr. (Dec 7-2)
113
1st Place Match
Noah Rankin (St. Christophers) 44-10, So. over Jayden Jackson (Loyola-Blakefield) 25-8, So. (SV-1 2-0)
3rd Place Match
Ethan Valdisera (St. Mary`s Ryken) 4-1, Fr. over Quentin Bailey (Archbishop Spalding) 5-2, Fr. (Fall 0:47)
5th Place Match
Trey McKinney (Paul VI) 41-21, Jr. over Aiden Dougherty (Frank W. Cox) 22-18, Jr. (Dec 11-4)
7th Place Match
JD Vassar (Gilman) 3-2, Fr. over Rock Zang (Archbishop Spalding) 2-3, Jr. (Fall 4:26)
120
1st Place Match
Kyle Gibson (New Kent) 37-9, Sr. over Henry Gessford (Archbishop Spalding) 33-18, Jr. (Fall 5:48)
3rd Place Match
James Hanley (Landon) 4-1, Sr. over Austin Wood (St. Mary`s Ryken) 34-10, Jr. (Dec 2-1)
5th Place Match
Cole Moffett (Caesar Rodney) 4-2, Jr. over Leo Badolato (Paul VI) 45-13, So. (M. For.)
7th Place Match
Henry Moltumyr (St. Mary`s Ryken) 3-2, Fr. over Carson Miller (Frank W. Cox) 39-9, So. (Fall 3:45)
126
1st Place Match
Sean Garretson (Archbishop Spalding) 47-5, Jr. over Tyler Wood (St. Mary`s Ryken) 39-9, Sr. (Dec 7-4)
3rd Place Match
Taina Fernandez (Archbishop Spalding) 5-1, Fr. over Drew Roggie (St. Christophers) 38-14, So. (Dec 5-3)
5th Place Match
Spencer Keys (Frank W. Cox) 5-2, Fr. over Tyler Truitt (Loyola-Blakefield) 6-5, Jr. (Dec 3-1)
7th Place Match
Gavin Mundy (Delaware Military Academy) 30-15, Jr. over Sam Stamper (New Kent) 37-18, Jr. (MD 12-4)
132
1st Place Match
Trevor Copes (Caesar Rodney) 4-0, Jr. over Vincent Paolucci (Archbishop Spalding) 39-8, Sr. (Dec 6-2)
3rd Place Match
Nick Melfi (Severn School) 34-7, Jr. over Mike Groszkowski (Archbishop Spalding) 6-2, Fr. (Dec 4-3)
5th Place Match
Josh Hale (Loyola-Blakefield) 30-21, So. over Adam Ayala (New Kent) 36-9, So. (MD 11-2)
7th Place Match
Zach Glory (Gilman) 35-17, Jr. over Nate Foldes (Benedictine) 3-2, Fr. (M. For.)
138
1st Place Match
Brycen Arbogast (Benedictine) 27-8, Sr. over Zane Leitzel (Archbishop Spalding) 48-10, So. (Dec 4-2)
3rd Place Match
Drew Montgomery (St. Mary`s Ryken) 48-1, Jr. over Griffin Stewart (Calvert Hall College) 39-14, Jr. (Dec 5-1)
5th Place Match
Noah Cuic (New Kent) 38-24, Jr. over Cole Wilson (Paul VI) 30-7, So. (Inj. 0:00)
7th Place Match
Caleb Haney (St. Christophers) 33-12, Jr. over Dominic Manna (McDonogh School) 4-3, Fr. (Dec 9-2)
144
1st Place Match
Evan Boblits (St. Mary`s Ryken) 38-3, Jr. over Tyson Sherlock (Gilman) 49-6, Sr. (UTB 1-1)
3rd Place Match
Walker Turley (St. Christophers) 39-13, So. over Noah Bentley (New Kent) 41-11, Sr. (Dec 7-0)
5th Place Match
Karl Ludwig (Frank W. Cox) 33-9, So. over Will Levy (Landon) 3-3, Sr. (For.)
7th Place Match
Ryder Kolat (Archbishop Spalding) 4-2, So. over Sam Parsons (Benedictine) 22-15, Jr. (Dec 6-0)
150
1st Place Match
Tyler Hood (St. Christophers) 41-15, Jr. over Charlie Gessford (Archbishop Spalding) 42-16, Sr. (Fall 3:50)
3rd Place Match
Noah Tucker (Bullis) 7-1, Fr. over Kai Lewis (Paul VI) 6-2, Fr. (TB-1 3-1)
5th Place Match
John Jurkovic (Gilman) 20-8, Jr. over Josh Strong (St. Mary`s Ryken) 38-16, Sr. (MD 11-0)
7th Place Match
Charles Perrin (Delaware Military Academy) 36-18, Jr. over Jackson Grandel (Delaware Military Academy) 25-11, So. (M. For.)
157
1st Place Match
Mitchell Faglioni (St. Christophers) 36-14, Jr. over Will Buckler (St. Mary`s Ryken) 47-9, Jr. (Dec 10-6)
3rd Place Match
Salah Tsarni (Bullis) 4-1, Fr. over Merrit Clinton (Paul VI) 54-14, So. (Fall 3:55)
5th Place Match
Matt VanSice (Gonzaga) 37-11, Jr. over Ronin Foldes (Benedictine) 23-13, Jr. (Dec 3-2)
7th Place Match
Alek Martinez (Oakton) 32-15, Sr. over Joe Kilner (The Heights School) 29-16, Sr. (MD 8-0)
165
1st Place Match
Emmitt Sherlock (Gilman) 48-9, Jr. over Lane Foard (Benedictine) 34-8, Jr. (Dec 1-0)
3rd Place Match
Leif Clinton (Paul VI) 45-9, Sr. over Brandon Jefferson (St. Mary`s Ryken) 4-2, Sr. (Fall 2:12)
5th Place Match
Liam Johnson (St. Christophers) 19-12, So. over Arthur Konshak (Gilman) 5-3, Fr. (Dec 6-0)
7th Place Match
Brandon West (Smyrna) 4-2, Sr. over Ethan MacDonnell (Delaware Military Academy) 21-15, Sr. (Fall 1:45)
175
1st Place Match
Giuseppe DiMonte (McDonogh School) 27-17, So. over Nate Furgeson (Landon) 4-1, Sr. (SV-1 12-10)
3rd Place Match
Sepanta Ahanj-Elias (Bullis) 4-1, Jr. over Bojan Sulc (Gonzaga) 36-12, So. (MD 13-0)
5th Place Match
Koen Bowling (St. Mary`s Ryken) 3-2, Jr. over Ethan Vayro (St. Mary`s Ryken) 3-3, Fr. (For.)
7th Place Match
Noah Brannan (Loyola-Blakefield) 19-13, Jr. over Joseph Lagman (Dematha Catholic) 3-3, Jr. (Dec 1-0)
190
1st Place Match
Cash Colbert (Paul VI) 59-9, So. over Rudy Wagner (Frank W. Cox) 32-15, So. (Dec 8-3)
3rd Place Match
Hayden Moaney (Delaware Military Academy) 32-11, Sr. over French (DP) Pope (Landon) 4-2, Jr. (Fall 0:45)
5th Place Match
George Tate (Good Counsel) 24-16, So. over Jude Howard (Georgetown Prep) 26-13, Sr. (Fall 5:00)
7th Place Match
Sebastian Chaney (Gilman) 3-2, Sr. over Owen Dixon (Caesar Rodney) 2-3, Sr. (Fall 0:58)
215
1st Place Match
Noah Onkst (McDonogh School) 5-0, Sr. over Gabriel Smith (Gilman) 10-4, Jr. (Dec 8-2)
3rd Place Match
Tiller Smith (Landon) 4-1, Jr. over Owyn Meister (Caesar Rodney) 4-2, Sr. (Fall 2:06)
5th Place Match
Howard Otto (Calvert Hall College) 27-15, Sr. over Donnell Dawkins (Our Lady of Mt. Carmel) 4-3, . (Dec 16-9)
7th Place Match
Aidan Shenck (Severn School) 23-9, Sr. over Cory Siebert (New Kent) 6-8, Jr. (Dec 3-0)
285
1st Place Match
Delmar White (Archbishop Spalding) 41-0, Jr. over Cael DeNigris (Delaware Military Academy) 43-9, Jr. (Dec 5-1)
3rd Place Match
Chijioke Eule (Smyrna) 33-12, Sr. over Jordan Williams (Dematha Catholic) 2-2, Sr. (Dec 3-0)
5th Place Match
Pedro Williamson (New Kent) 20-14, Sr. over Maxwell Garland (Calvert Hall College) 33-13, Jr. (Fall 0:51)
7th Place Match
Sean Jewett (St. Mary`s Ryken) 30-20, Jr. over Caleb Kellum (Caesar Rodney) 2-3, Sr. (Fall 2:41)
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