No. 1 Gilman wrestling wins first MIAA tournament title, halting No. 2 Mount Saint Joseph’s dominant run

Gilman’s Emmitt Sherlock won his 165-pound match to capture a Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association wrestling title Saturday in his home gym. The win also gave him the Outstanding Wrestler Award for the tournament.

Still, even with all the excitement, Sherlock had a bigger goal on his mind.

“We want to win the team title,” said Sherlock, a junior who has already committed to the University of Virginia. “Gilman last won the dual title in 1990 [in the Maryland Scholastic Association], and both the dual and individual titles in 1973. We want to make history.”

The Greyhounds made sure his wish came true, scoring 249 points to outpace defending champion Mount Saint Joseph by 34 points. The No. 2 Gaels finished with 215 points, while No. 3 Loyola Blakefield finished third with 213.5.

Mount Saint Joseph has dominated the MIAA tournament in recent years, winning six of the past seven titles.

“It took our whole team to accomplish this,” Gilman coach Bryn Holmes said. “Our guys just all-around wrestled tough. We got a lot of bonus points, which were obviously important. This is just the beginning for us. We’re not done yet, though.”

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The Greyhounds got three winners, first at 106 pounds, where freshman Liam McGettigan pinned Loyola’s Phillip Key 2:45 into their match. Gilman added to its total at 144 pounds as senior Tyson Sherlock pinned St. Frances’ Walter Smith. Then Emmitt Sherlock scored his tech fall over St. Paul’s Hayden Myers, 24-9.

In another tournament highlight, St. Frances’ Isiah Womack won his school’s first individual title when he defeated Mount Saint Joseph’s Jake Tamai at 120 pounds. Womack, who was fifth in the public school tournament last year while a student at Montgomery County’s Richard Montgomery, said winning the title was a little bit shocking.

“I’ve improved so much this year, but I never thought I’d win this,” Womack said. “I had a moment to myself after the match to think about it, and I realized how special this is.”

The Gaels also recorded three individual titles. At 138 pounds, Carter Nogle beat Spalding’s Shane Leitzel, 10-2. Nicolas Barnabae won his 157-pound title match, knocking off Gilman’s Arthur Konschak, 7-4. At 190 pounds, Austin Lewis won his second MIAA crown, defeating Gilman’s Gabe Smith, 3-2.

No. 4 Archbishop Spalding, which finished fourth in the team scores, also had three winners. Sean Garretson (126) pinned Mount Saint Joseph’s Bryan Santangelo at 3:29, while Vincent Paolucci won a close decision over the Gaels’ Tyler Stephens. Delmar White rounded out the winners for the Cavaliers at heavyweight, pinning Loyola’s Luke Randazzo in 3:53.

Loyola brought home two titles of its own, starting at 113 where Jayden Jackson squeaked out a 7-6 decision over Mount Saint Joseph’s Joseph Cooper. The Dons added to their haul at 150, where Judah Aybar defeated Gilman’s John Jurkovic, 5-0.

Also winning individual titles were Calvert Hall’s Sisto Averno III, who defeated Gilman’s Nick Haughey at 175 pounds, 8-2. Averno led his match throughout but got turned by Haughey and was pinned, leading to an eruption from the Gilman faithful. However, after a consultation, the referees ruled that the pin came just one second after the period ended, so it was disallowed.

McDonogh’s Noah Onkst also repeated as a champion when he pinned St. Frances’ Douglas Johnson 1:44 into their 215-pound match.

TEAM SCORES

A Conference

1. Gilman, 249: 2. Mount Saint Joseph, 215; 3. Loyola Blakefield, 213.5; 4. Archbishop Spalding, 208; 5. St. Frances, 145; 6. Calvert Hall, 110.5; 7. McDonogh, 100.5; 8. Archbishop Curley, 88; 9. Boys’ Latin, 51; 10. John Carroll, 22

B Conference

1. Severn, 67; 2. St. Paul’s, 59; 3. Gerstell Academy, 37; 4. Pallotti, 32; 5. Mount Carmel 27; 6. St. Mary’s, 19; 7. Friends, 9

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS

106: McGettigan (GIL) p Key (LOY), 2:45; 113: Jackson (LOY) d Cooper (MSJ), 7-6; 120: I. Womack (SF) d Tamai (MSJ), 7-6; 126: Garretson (AS) p Santangelo (MSJ), 3:29; 132: Paolucci (AS) d Stephens (MSJ), 5-2; 138: Nogle (MSJ) d Leitzel (AS), 10-2; 144: T. Sherlock (GIL) p Smith (SF), 5:10; 150: Aybar (LOY) d Jurkovic (GIL), 5-0; 157: Barnabae (MSJ) d Konschak (GIL) 7-4: 165: E. Sherlock (GIL) tech fall over Myers (StP), 24-9; 175: Averno III d Haughey, 3-2; 190: Lewis (MSJ) d Smith (GIL), 3-2; 215: Onkst (McD) d Johnson (SF), 1:44; 285: White (AS) p Randazzo (LOY), 3:53