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By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com
Ending the first day in first place was fun, but Tuscarora’s wrestling team still went to bed Friday night with the same goal it had when it entered the Damascus Holiday Tournament.
Place in the top three.
Then, surprisingly enough, the Titans entered Saturday’s championship finals still ahead, this time by just one point. And yet again, with just one finalist compared to multiple finalists by their challengers, they just hoped to hold on to a top three finish.
One by one, everybody Tuscarora needed to lose lost. And the big win the Titans had to have came from a freshman, who like his team had a worse showing in Tuscarora’s own, less-challenging tournament two weeks ago.
By the end, Tuscarora couldn’t believe it had just won the Damascus Holiday Tournament, beating last year’s champion Glenelg and Virginia’s South County by five points, 165-160. Georgetown Prep finished in fourth with 154 team points.
Tuscarora had just one champion – 135-pound freshman Austin Wenzlaff – and he was the only Titan in the finals. Tuscarora had two third-place finishers in senior Robby McClughan and sophomore Johnny White, and eight placers in fifth, sixth and seventh. The Titans had 11 of their 13 wrestlers in the top eight.
By comparison, Glenelg, South County and Georgetown Prep had a combined nine wrestlers in the finals.
“I didn’t expect to be here right now, but it feels good,†Wenzlaff said. “I didn’t think I was going to win the semifinals match. I went out there and wrestled hard and did it again in the finals.â€
Wenzlaff (12-2) beat Georgetown Prep’s Eric Fessell, 2-0, in the 135-pound final for the decisive match. After two scoreless periods Wenzlaff notched a reverse on the edge of the mat.
Wenzlaff was as shocked as anybody. He finished third at the Titan Thunder tournament two weeks ago and entered against a much tougher bracket this time around.
But despite being a freshman, Wenzlaff is accustomed to winning. He won states in fifth grade, placed seventh at Eastern Nationals and placed at states every year for the past seven years.
He’s the perfect example of the kind of wrestler Tuscarora Coach T.J. Salb expected to make a big impact in a year or two. But not this quickly.
“We knew we had the talent,†Salb said. “We just didn’t know it would come to fruition this quickly … I figured we might be still a year away from being at this point.â€
Tuscarora got inspired performances from little-known wrestlers such as 189-pounder Nick Bradford, who won a combined 10 matches over the past two seasons while he shed more than 50 pounds of weight. Bradford pinned his way to a seventh place finish.
The Titans won all but one of their consolation finals matches after trailing Glenelg by 6.5 points entering the consolation finals. After Liberty’s Jeff Shea beat South County’s John Fitzgerald at 145, Tuscarora knew it had the title locked up and immediately swarmed to hug Shea – a complete stranger.
For Tuscarora, it’s the school’s first-ever tournament title.
“It made everyone on the team happy, made my coaches happy and most of all made my parents happy,†Wenzlaff said. “Coach said he’d make me honorary captain for a week, so that’s good.â€
GLENELG ADJUSTING
When Glenelg won the Damascus Holiday Tournament last year, it did it largely behind its big guns in Chris Stinnett, Tim Chase and Danny Bichner — all of which won state 2A/1A championships last year.
But now that they have moved on, Glenelg is undergoing some major changes.
Unlike last season, the team ran on the first day of practice. It was a sign that unlike last year when the Gladiators could lean on their handful of dominant wrestlers, Glenelg was going to have to work harder as a team if it was going to have a chance at defending its state title this year.
Glenelg 119-pounder Zach Gerber and 125-pounder Brendan Conway took a step towards showing the Gladiators’ cupboards are still stocked, both winning titles to bring the Gladiators six points from defending their Damascus Holiday Tournament team championship.
Gerber beat Williamsport’s Kemper Baker, 2-1, and Conway eked out a 4-3 decision over Severna Park’s Brady Massaro, which looks like it could be the start of a rivalry this year. It is Conway’s second Damascus Holiday Tournament title.
Glenelg also had 160-pounder Billy Kuczarski in the finals. Had he won by pin, the Gladiators would have won the tournament. But Kuczarski lost to Georgetown prep’s Billy Gribbin, 13-5.
“It’s a lot more serious now,†said Gerber, who notched his first tournament victory. “We have to set an example for everyone else in the room.â€
BANNISTER IS OUTSTANDING AGAIN
When Andrew Bannister’s career record of 174-19 heading into the Damascus Holiday Tournament finals was announced, the crowd gasped in disbelief and applauded him before the match even started.
In a Maryland public school, 100 career wins is a major milestone. What Bannister has done at the WCAC’s Bishop McNamara, a school without much of any wrestling tradition, is remarkable.
Bannister built on his legacy by winning his second Damascus Holiday Tournament title in convincing fashion, 9-1, over Potomac’s Kaison Tanabe in one of the evening’s highest-anticipated finals. He was also named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler.
It’s not every day that a three-time private school state champion goes against someone who has actually beaten him. Tanabe beat Bannister once in three meetings last year, knocking him out of title contention at the St. Albans tournament.
“He’s kind of strong, so I have to keep working on him and break him down,†Bannister said before the match.
Bannister did just that, methodically picking Tanabe apart throughout the match en route to a 9-1 major decision victory. Being named Outstanding Wrestler is nothing new either, as he was also named the Outstanding Wrestler at all three state championships he won.
“That would be pretty nice to keep piling them up,†Bannister said, looking ahead to a Damascus title. But while capturing the Damascus crown is quite an accomplishment, Bannister has bigger goals for the season.
“My motivation this year is to make it to the finals and try to win National Preps this year,†said Bannister, who took fourth at Nationals last year.
A TRIUMPHANT RETURN FOR MROHS
It seemed like the perfect idea for Wootton heavyweight Kevin Mrohs to take off last season from wrestling. He wanted to hone his body for a potential college football scholarship, which paid off with a trip to the playoffs.
Just one problem, though. He missed wrestling.
Mrohs started to miss wrestling after sitting out all last year and has returned even better this season. He is now 11-2 on the season and has tournament championships at the Titan Thunder and Damascus Holiday Tournament.
Mrohs defeated Liberty’s Dan Duvall, 5-3, in Saturday’s finals. He won a 5-3 decision in the semifinals and via a pair of pins before that.
“I just missed it,†Mrohs said. “I realized it like the physical workout. It’s so intense. Just beating people one-on-one, its different then taking the whole team on.â€
NICHOLS FEELING THE URGENCY
After placing second at states as a sophomore, a lot was expected of Severna Park’s Billy Nichols last year. First there were swollen glands in his throat, then came the mono.
After dropping 15 pounds, Nichols wrestled in the state tournament and didn’t even place. This was after placing second at Mount Mat Madness, a tournament considered more difficult than the Maryland state tournament.
“I’m looking to win it this year,†Nichols said. “A state title is my main goal and it’s my senior year so it’s what I need to do.â€
But first things first, Nichols took care of business at the Damascus Holiday Tournament, pounding Williamsport’s Robbie Mies, 10-1, in the 215-pound finals. Mies finished fifth in the 2A/1A state tournament last year and had pinned his way to the finals.
Nichols got up 4-0 early and never relented, showing the urgency to dominate this season.
After finally getting healthy in April last year, after the wrestling season was over, Nichols went to Junior Nationals to show what he had. He came one place from placing, showing just how talented Nichols is.
“I had so many expectations and everybody expected me to do so well,†Nichols said. “There’s a lot of pressure on my from my coaches and especially my dad so I’ve been training hard.â€
REPRESENTING FOR VIRGINIA
South County was one of just two Virginia schools entered in the tournament and the lone public school of the two. The Virginia residents nearly showed Maryland how it’s done.
South County put two wrestlers in the finals, and although both lost it was a good showing.
Senior 103-pounder Patrick Shaffer pinned his way into the finals, where he met Eric Friedman of St. Paul’s, who placed eighth at the prestigious Beast of the East already this season. Shaffer held his own but fell, 4-0.
Still, even placing that high is an accomplishment for Shaffer, who now just has two losses on the season and became the school’s first district champion last year. Shaffer has come a long way since the days when he weighed about 84 pounds as a freshman.
“Once you’re giving up 14, 15, sometimes 20 pounds to kids, it’s hard to battle,†South County Coach Andy Jimmo said. “He was still a tough kid, fought through all the way.â€
“I always had the technique,†Shaffer added. “But technique only goes so far when you’re giving up 20 pounds.â€
Shaffer began to start growing last year and finally was up to a healthy 103 pounds. Steadily, his record improved to the point where he feels he should be competing for some major hardware this season.
“This is the first year I’ve actually been the biggest kid in my weight class,†Shaffer said. “I think it helped out now with all the experience and wresting kids bigger than me.â€
FRIEDMAN CONTINUES HOT START
He’s only a freshman and we’re not even into the New Year and St. Paul’s 103-pounder Eric Friedman’s wins are already starting to blur together.
After beating Shaffer in the finals, Eric said he wasn’t sure whether this was his first tournament victory or not. It may be memorable considering it came against a senior while Friedman is just starting what could be a long career of collecting medals.
Friedman did, however, know that he placed eighth at Beast of the East, where some of the nation’s best wrestlers come to play. He is now 17-3 on the season.
“I knew I had a tough match and I’m just glad I wrestled well,†Friedman said. “ I’m used to being the smallest so it’s nice to have someone older than me at the same weight.â€
THE REPEATERS
Below is a brief recap for those wrestlers who repeated as Damascus Holiday Tournament champions.
Gonzaga 112-pounder Paul O’Neill was nearly on his back in the first few seconds of his match but quickly got a reverse and stuck Pete Galli of St. Paul’s in one minute, 32 seconds.
“I noticed he was high and I just stepped around and stuck with it and got him on his back,†O’Neill said. “He was good. Thank God I pinned him in the first.â€
Walkersville brothers Tyler (140) and Zach White (152) each repeated as Damascus Holiday Tournament champions as well. Both were aggressive in the finals and scored easy wins.
Tyler beat Wootton’s Eric Mears, 14-2, and Zach topped Randle Hernandez of Bullis, 7-1.
“It feels good to get this one for our new coach,” Zach White said.
TEAM SCORES
1. Tuscarora – 165.00
2. Glenelg – 160.00
South County – 160.00
4. Georgetown Prep – 154.00
5. Liberty – 123.00
6. Severna Park – 108.50
7. Williamsport – 103.50
8. Wootton – 103.00
9. Landon – 94.50
10. St. Pauls – 93.00
11. Good Counsel – 89.00
12. Calvert Hall – 76.00
13. Damascus – 74.50
14. Churchill – 65.50
15. Bullis – 58.00
16. Walkersville – 57.00
17. Bishop McNamara – 55.50
18. Gonzaga – 35.50
19. Potomac School – 19.50
FINALS RESULTS
103 – Eric Friedman (St. Pauls) dec. Patrick Shaffer (South County), 4-0
112 – Paul O’Neill (Gonzaga) fall Pete Galli (St. Pauls), 1:32
119 – Zach Gerber (Glenelg) dec. Kemper Baker (Williamsport), 2-1
125 – Brendon Conway (Glenelg) dec. Brady Massaro (Severna Park), 4-3
130 – Andrew Bannister (McNamara) maj. Kaison Tanabe (Potomac), 9-1
135 – Austin Wenzlaff (Tuscarora) dec. Eric Fessell (Georgetown Prep), 2-0
140 – Tyler White (Walkersville) maj. Eric Mears (Wootton), 14-2
145 – Jeff Shea (Liberty) dec. John Fitzgerald (South County), 5-1
152 – Zach White (Walkersville) dec. Randle Hernandez (Bullis), 7-1
160 – Billy Gribbin (Georgetown Prep) maj. Billy Kuczarski (Glenelg), 13-5
171 – Tony Gardner (Calvert Hall) fall Giancarlo Zerega (Georgetown Prep), 2:39
189 – Junioe Monzey (Georgetown Prep) dec. Cullen Cassidy (Landon), 3-2
215 – Billy Nichols (Severna Park) maj. Robbie Mies (Williamsport), 10-1
285 – Kevin Mrohs (Wootton) dec. Dan Duvall (Liberty), 5-3
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