Gilman unseats St. Joseph as the dominant power in MIAA A Conference wrestling

by Billy Buckheit

When the 2023-24 MIAA wrestling season got underway the A Conference was still considered to be Mount St. Joseph’s territory and even though other teams were improved, the Gaels seemed poised to dominate the landscape again.

St. Joe finished the first month of the season in its familiar perch atop the state rankings. As the new year dawned, they held off a game Archbishop Spalding squad in their gym, 32-30, but showed their first hint of weakness in some time.

The Gaels of recent seasons were accustomed to winning all their dual meets and typically winning big, posting large margins of victory. 

Mid-January’s War On The Shore saw St. Joe going toe-to-toe with St. Mary’s-Ryken for the second place slot behind Xavier from Connecticut. The Gaels enjoyed a late comeback at the War and finished 2.5 points ahead of Ryken to retain their No. 1 ranking in the state of Maryland.

Gilman finished behind Ryken at the season-opening Ray Oliver tournament, but both of those teams have a different look six weeks later. Ryken lost public school state champion transfer Drew Montgomery from its lineup at 138-pounds and didn’t replace him with anyone, creating a hole in their lineup.

Meanwhile, Gilman got two wrestlers important for their future goals into their optimal weight classes with Gabe Smith dropping from 215 to 190 and Arthur Konshak being able to cut down to 157.

The stars aligned perfectly for Bryn Holmes’ Greyhounds when they took on the Gaels on January 17th in their home gym. A year ago, the Gaels throttled them in the same setting. This year, though, would mark the changing of the guard as Gilman toppled its longtime rival, 44-23, and took over the top spot in the MIAA and state pecking order.

The Greyhounds took a little time to celebrate then had to turn their attention to an intimidating back-to-back slate the following week with a trip to Loyola on a Tuesday before hosting Spalding the next day. 

Gilman fell behind early to the Dons but stormed back on the strength of bonus points and timely wins coupled with the power of their upper weights to claim a 39-34 victory that was clinched with two matches left to wrestle.

The encounter with Spalding would be far less stressful as the Greyhounds toppled the Cavaliers 47-27. The dangerous part of Gilman’s dual meet slate is behind them, and it appears they will be the MIAA A Conference Dual Meet Champions barring some unforeseen craziness unfolding. Gilman has never won the MIAA A Conference dual meet title of the MIAA Tournament.

St. Joe and Loyola will meet on Friday February 2nd at Loyola. A few seasons ago, Loyola beat St. Joe at the Bauerlein Duals but has not been able to replicate that in a MIAA Dual meet setting. Given the fact that Loyola beat Spalding, 47-28, at the Iron Horse Duals, it appears, at least on paper and from prior results, that this could be the year the Dons topple the Gaels in league action.

Loyola, St. Joe and Spalding have all handed last year’s B Conference darlings, St. Frances Academy, one sided losses. Calvert Hall beat Curley, 42-34. McDonogh handled Curley in their dual meet. 

After the “Big 4” it seems like the pecking order is something close to St. Frances, Calvert Hall, McDonogh, then Curley.

The race for the B Conference dual meet crown is extremely tight. As of this post, St. Paul’s has completed its league schedule and holds first place at 6-1.

The Crusaders only loss came to Severn, which is tied for second with Mount Carmel, both at 5-1. Mount Carmel handed Severn its only loss. Severn still has match to make-up with Glenelg Country while Mount Carmel still must wrestle Gerstell Academy. If the both the Admirals and Cougars win their final matches, there will be a three-way tie for first place with all three teams holding a 1-1 head-to-head record.

Individually as we close in on the end of the season, here are the top three wrestlers in each weight class.

106

1-Liam McGettigan (Gilman)

2-Phil Key (Loyola)

3-Joey Womack (St. Frances Academy)

113

1-Jayden Jackson (Loyola)

2-Quentin Bailey (Spalding)

3-Joseph Cooper (Mt. St. Joe)

120

1-Jake Tamai (Mt. St. Joe)

2-Henry Gessford (Spalding)

3-Isisah Womack (St. Frances Academy)

126

1-Sean Garretson (Spalding)

2-Zach Glory (Gilman)

3-Bryan Santangelo (Mt. St. Joe)

132

1-Vincent Paolucci (Spalding)

2-Tyler Stephens (Mt. St. Joe)

3-Josh Hale (Loyola)

138

1-Carter Nogle (Mt. St. Joe)

2-Zane Leitzel (Spalding)

3-Griffin Stewart (Calvert Hall)

144

1-Tyson Sherlock (Gilman)

2-Walter Smith (St. Frances Academy)

3-Ryder Kolat (Spalding)

150

1-Judah Aybar (Loyola)

2-Cameron Cannaday (Mt. St. Joe)

3-John Jurkovic (Gilman)

157

1-Chase Carpintieri (St. Frances Academy)

2-Arthur Konshak (Gilman)

3-Nevan McKneely (Loyola)

165

1-Emmitt Sherlock (Gilman)

2-Nicolas Barnabae (Mt. St. Joe)

3-Dylan Fish (Curley)

175

1-Sisto Averno III (Calvert Hall)

2-JJ DiMonte (McDonogh)

3-Scott Anderson (Curley)

190

1-Austin Lewis (Mt. St. Joe)

2-Gabriel Smith (Gilman)

3-Aiden Shenck (Severn)

215

1-Noah Onkst (McDonogh)

2-Aiden Bird (Loyola)

3-Douglas Johnson (St. Frances Academy)

285

1-Luke Randazzo (Loyola)

2-Delmar White (Spalding)

3-Maxwell Garland (Calvert Hall)

The 2024 MIAA Wrestling Tournament will take place on Saturday, February 10th at Gilman. As was the case last year, the entire event will be wrestled in a single day, The schedule is as follows:

7:00 AM. - Doors Open  

7:30 AM - Wrestlers in the tournament arrive 

8:00 AM - Weigh-ins, Skin Check, Hair and Nails 

9:00 AM - Tournament workers arrive (all JV wrestlers) 

9:15 AM - Coaches Meeting 

9:30 AM - Matches begin on 4 Mats 

12:30 PM - Consolation Semifinals (2 Mats) 

3:00 PM - Finals (1st, 3rd, 5th on 3 mats)