No. 8 McDonogh sent a ripple through wrestling circles on Monday evening when they defeated No. 2 Archbishop Spalding in a dual meet that was bumped up from Tuesday night to accommodate the MIAA seeding meeting planned for that night.
Will McDonogh, or some other team perpetrate anymore surprises on Saturday at the Gilman School? It’s foolish to count out No. 4 Mt. St. Joseph, however unlikely it may seem on paper. During their state title run of six titles, the Gaels were all but counted out of it one year. After losing a dual meet and the MIAA Tournament to McDonogh, it was assumed they would again fall to the Eagles at states, but St. Joe triumphed.
Will Gilman maintain its recently acquired status as top dogs in the state? The Greyhounds ascended to the top position by dethroning the Gaels last year, first with a dual meet victory and then with the MIAA Tournament crown. The dual meet season awarded them their second straight “A” Conference Dual Meet Championship.
There were a few close matches mixed in there, especially at the end of the season with St. Joe, Spalding, and No. 5 Loyola-Blakefield. But the Greyhounds persevered and staved off defeat, despite some bleak moments.
Gilman’s biggest threat on paper as we look at the seeds is likely to come from Spalding. The Greyhounds are top heavy with eight of their guys seeded first or second. The Cavaliers carry only have four such grapplers on their roster but have eight others seeded in the top five to Gilman’s one.
What side will win? Star-power or balance?
Two defending MIAA and state champs are among the Greyhounds top seeds, No. 1 Liam McGettigan (113) and No. 1 Emmitt Sherlock (190). McGettigan ran the table last year as a freshman. Sherlock was third in the MIAA as a freshman then reeled of titles the last two years. Sherlock is ranked seventh in the nation at 175lbs by Sports Illustrated.
No. 1 John Jurkovic (157) was second a season ago and hopes to gain a championship in his last attempt. No. 9 Isaiah Trusty was unheralded coming into the year but has worked his way from unranked to top ten in the state, and now the No. 1 seed at 215lbs.
No. 2 seeds for Gilman are No. 6 JD Vassar (120), No. 4 Zach Glory (132), Arthur Konschak (175, No. 14 at 165), and No. 18 Noah Lawrence (285). No. 4 Christian Wirts (106) adds to their highly rated count as the three seed at 106lbs.
No. 2 Sean Garretson (132) has sandwiched gold medal runs around a runner-up finish as a sophomore. Garretson, who is sliding up from 126 where he was rated number one in the state, is seeking to become a four-time finalist and three-time champ.
No. 1 Zane Leitzel, who is on the cusp of the national rankings following his eighth place showing at the Beast of the East, has progressively improved in each visit to the MIAA Tournament, finishing third as a freshman and second a season ago. Will the third time be the charm for the junior?
No. 3 Eli Chesla (113) and No. 4 Quentin Bailey (126) are the Cavaliers’ number two seeds. The rest of their top five brigade was either given a three or five seed.
Coming in the third position are No. 7 Isaac Cicchetti (120), No. 8 Henry Gessford (144), No. 11 Dylan Briles (157), and No. 23 Josh Taylor (165). Those with a number five aside their names are No. 6 Charlie Mutschler (106), No. 13 Ryder Kolat (150), Luke Winkler (190), and Luke Barulli (215).
The Gaels have three perched atop their brackets including two freshman Fargo All-Americans No. 1 Corey Brown (106) and No. 3 Brooklyn Pickett (144). No. 2 Jake Tamai, a junior, was placed in the lead position at 126lbs.
Brown is currently ranked 10th in the country in Sports Illustrated’s latest national rankings. Pickett picked off the state’s No. 1 150lber, Evan Boblits of St. Mary’s Ryken at the Gaels’ recent Demolition Duals Tournament. Boblits is listed in the honorable mention section of the 150lbs national rankings. Tamai didn’t wrestle at MIAAs as a freshman but won states that year. As a sophomore, Tamia was second at each.
No. 2 Cameron Cannaday (157) is St. Joe’s sole man with a No. 2 starting slot. No. 5 Tyler Stephens is third at 138. No. 8 Chad “CJ” Votta, a Kids All-American over the summer, was placed in the number four seat at 120. No. 7 James Wright (113) and No. 25 Thomas Brandel (285) were granted fifth seeds.
Loyola equaled St. Joe’s three number one seeds with two of them seeking their first trips to the top of the podium, one with time to spare No. 8 Riley Miller (175), the other with time running down on him, No. 1 Luke Randazzo (285).
Miller, a sophomore, finished fourth in his initial campaign. The big senior and unquestioned leader for the Dons has come close twice with runner-up placings as a second-year man and again as a junior. A bronze was secured by Randazzo as a young freshman. The senior gets one last crack at the big prize this weekend.
Junior No. 2 Jayden Jackson stood on the top rung of the MIAA awards stand after his first MIAA experience and duplicated that outcome in 2024. The path to a third trek to the top step begins as the No. 1 man in the 120lb bracket. No. 2 Tyler Verceles, who is a Fargo All-American and ranked 29th nationally by SI, is seeded second to Brown at 106. One can hope we get to see a battle of nationally ranked freshmen in the 106lb finals. No. 4 Josh Hale is seeded second at 138.
Loyola placed three more wrestlers in the top five spots in the seeds, coming out of the third position are No. 6 Nevan McKneely (150) and No. 6 Noah Brannon (190). At 126, No. 11 Cayden Farver is seeded fourth.
No. 8 McDonogh has spent a few seasons out in the wilderness but is back with the pack and has been working its way up the chain all season. A historical moment was enjoyed by the Eagles when coach Pete Welch earned his 400th career win versus Archbishop Curley.
A sign there is more work to be done by the Eagles reveals itself while checking out the seeds as McDonogh has no top seeds, or even number twos. A thing that used to be as common as the sun rising and sitting.
The young upstart Eagles have a bright future, though, and those high seeds will surely be returning to them in short order. For now, two of their top freshmen were given three seeds, No. 5 Wes Baumgartner (126) and No. 8 Mason Comegys (132). Baumgartner was a Kids All-American along with Votta. 215lber Max Stanziale was gifted the third seed.
Coming in as four seeds are No. 5 Jacob Naylor (106), No. 12 Cole Genua (138), No. 9 Dominic Manna (150), and Caden Gardner (157). Naylor is a part of the Eagles stellar group of freshmen.
No. 12 Saint Frances Academy and No. 27 Calvert Hall possess the last two number-one seeds. For the Panthers, No. 15 Chase Carpintieri was raised to the highest point at 165. No. 4 Griffin Stewart enjoys those heights for the Cardinals at 150lbs.
Both have five each in the top five. The Panthers have two number two seeds, No. 5 Braxton McAvey (150) and No. 3 Elijah Josey (190). No. 17 Noah Shird is seeded fourth at 144 and No. 21 Kamren Griffin is fifth at 126.
Calvert Hall has one second seeded grappler, No. 10 Maxwell Garland (215). Receiving four seeds were No. 25 Izaac Robertucci (175) and No. 19 Maxwell Ohamou (285). No. 13 Josh Jackson begins the action as the five seed at 138.
With seven of the top seeds there is a history with the No. 2 seed opposite them on the bracket. In addition to those seven it is likely that Brown and Verceles have met numerous times as junior leaguers.
McGettigan got the best of Chesla at December’s Ray Oliver affair. Jackson ran into Vassar twice last year and handed him losses on both occasions. Garretson and Glory had three encounters two years ago with Garretson coming out ahead in all of them. Leitzel has faced Hale twice this season and walked off the mat at Ray Oliver and War on the Shore victorious both times.
Jurkovic fell to Cannaday in both of their regular season meetings a year ago then got the best of his rival at the MIAA Tournament and held serve with a dual meet win this year to even their series at two wins apiece. Trusty captured the title at the Adam Janet Tournament by defeating Garland. Randazzo decked Lawrence in their dual.
So, the stage is set. A season’s worth of results has been sifted through. The competitors have been lined up. The brackets are ready to be printed. Now, it’s time for the fun part.
Will the start of the finals be accompanied by scoreboard watching? Or will someone step up and take control of the team race early? When the last hand is raised, will we have a repeat team champion, or will one of the other contenders maneuver their way to the top?
Starting at 9:30 am on Saturday morning we will begin to have those answers. The finals are slated for 3pm. If you are not able to bring your body to the building, there is a remote viewing option available for the final round over the interweb at Gilman’s YouTube channel.
Saturday’s Schedule:
7:30 AM Doors Open for Spectators
8:00 AM Weigh-ins, Skin Check, Hair and Nails
9:00 AM Tournament workers arrive
9:15 AM Coaches meeting
9:30 AM Matches begin on 4 Mats
(1st Round, Quarter Finals, 1st Round Consolations, Quarter Final Consolations)
Championship Semi Finals on 2 mats and 3rd Round Consolation on 2 mats (Remove one mat)
12:30 PM Consolation Semi Finals (2 Mats)
3:00 PM Finals (1st, 3rd, 5th on 3 mats)
Seeds:
106
1-Corey Brown (Mt. St. Joe)
2-Tyler Verceles (Loyola)
3-Christian Wirts (Gilman)
4-Jacob Naylor (McDonogh)
5-Charlie Mutschler (Spalding)
6-Zeb Bolden (Saint Frances Academy)
7-Gavin Young (Calvert Hall)
8-Liam Rose (Archbishop Curley)
Alt-Samora Wolokolie (Our Lady of Mt. Carmel)
113
1-Liam McGettigan (Gilman)
2-Eli Chesla (Spalding)
3-Weylin Myers (Gerstell Academy)
4-Evan Kaliakoudas (Curley)
5-James Wright (Mt. St. Joe)
6-Bradley Alexander (St. Frances)
7-Brandon Bates (Mt. Carmel)
8-Andrew Savino (Calvert Hall)
Alt-Connor Moles (Loyola)
120
1-Jayden Jackson (Loyola)
2-JD Vassar (Gilman)
3-Isaac Cicchetti (Spalding)
4-Chad “CJ” Votta (Mt. St. Joe)
5-Cole Polly (Mt. Carmel)
6-Reid Swirnow (McDonogh)
7-Cody Lehman (Calvert Hall)
8-Patrick Gross (St. Paul’s)
Alt-Markwan Hawkins (St. Frances)
126
1-Jake Tamai (Mt. St. Joe)
2-Quentin Bailey (Spalding)
3-Wes Baumgartner (McDonogh)
4-Cayden Farver (Loyola)
5-Kamren Griffin (St. Frances)
6-Michael Banks (Mt. Carmel)
7-EJ Hill (Boys’ Latin)
8-Paul Tomayko (St. Paul’)
Alt-Anders Martin (Gilman)
132
1-Sean Garretson (Spalding)
2-Zach Glory (Gilman)
3-Mason Comegys (McDonogh)
4-Christian Manley (Mt. Carmel)
5-Dom Montgomery (Severn)
6-Ben Scheiner (Mt. St. Joe)
7-Evan Jackson (Loyola)
8-Devon Pringle (Boys’ Latin)
Alt-Charlie Dyke (St. Mary’s)
138
1-Zane Leitzel (Spalding)
2-Josh Hale (Loyola)
3-Tyler Stephens (Mt. St. Joe)
4-Cole Genua (McDonogh)
5-Josh Jackson (Calvert Hall)
6-Oscar Davis (Curley)
7-Sawyer Enright (Gilman)
8-Evan Clarke (Mt. Carmel)
Alt-Rowan Ward (Severn)
144
1-Brooklyn Pickett (Mt. St. Joe)
2-Nicky Melfi (Severn)
3-Henry Gessford (Spalding)
4-Noah Shird (St. Frances)
5-Seve Lombardo (Boys’ Latin)
6-Lincoln Weeks (Loyola)
7-Lincoln Holmes (Friends School of Baltimore)
8-Reed Boettcher (Curley)
Alt-Luke Feldtmose (St. Mary’s)
150
1-Griffin Stewart (Calvert Hall)
2-Braxton McAvey (St. Frances)
3-Nevan McKneely (Loyola)
4-Dominic Manna (McDonogh)
5-Ryder Kolat (Spalding)
6-Connor Allison (Mt. St. Joe)
7-Isaiah Stanley (St. Mary’s)
8-Ma’qyo Hughes (Mt. Carmel)
Alt-Rowen Myers (Gerstell)
157
1-John Jurkovic (Gilman)
2-Cameron Cannaday (Mt. St. Joe)
3-Dylan Briles (Spalding)
4-Caden Gardner (McDonogh)
5-Matai Hughes (Mt. Carmel)
6-Derrick Grant (St. Frances)
7-Aidan Kammar (Calvert Hall)
8-Nathan Shepherd (Loyola)
Alt-Noah Bernstein (Boys’ Latin)
165
1-Chase Carpintieri (St. Frances)
2-Haden Myers (St. Paul’s)
3-Josh Taylor (Spalding)
4-Dylan Fish (Curley)
5-Jack Bruffey (Gerstell)
6-Kamal Fisher (Pallotti)
7-Will Hudson (Mt. St. Joe)
8-Alex Stowbunenko-Saitschenko (Calvert Hall)
Alt-Sawyer Peck
175
1-Riley Miller (Loyola)
2-Arthur Konschak (Gilman)
3-Jakayveon Burton (Mt. Carmel)
4-Izaac Robertucci (Calvert Hall)
5-Jack Farrell (Boys’ Latin)
6-Garrett Greb (Mt. St. Joe)
7-Adeoluwa Adewuyi (Curley)
8-Leo Marks (McDonogh)
Alt-James Ward (Spalding)
190
1-Emmitt Sherlock (Gilman)
2-Elijah Josey (St. Frances)
3-Noah Brannan (Loyola)
4-Talin Krashoc (Severn)
5-Luke Winkler (Spalding)
6-Bailen Boutz (Curley)
7-Ryan Ellis (Gerstell)
8-Benny Laupert (Boys’ Latin)
215
1-Isaiah Trusty (Gilman)
2-Maxwell Garland (Calvert Hall)
3-Max Stanziale (McDonogh)
4-Khalee White (Curley)
5-Luke Barulli (Spalding)
6-Douglas Johnson (St. Frances)
7-Anderson Foster III (Pallotti)
8-Ari Kravitz (Gerstell)
Alt-Brendan Kelly (Loyola)
285
1-Luke Randazzo (Loyola)
2-Noah Lawrence (Gilman)
3-Kahlil Regan (Curley)
4-Maxwell Ohamou (Calvert Hall)
5-Thomas Brandel (Mt. St. Joe)
6-Logan Brown (McDonogh)
7-Michael Byrne (Spalding)
8-Carter Beck (Boys’ Latin)
Alt-Evan Smith-Matlock (St. Frances)