1997 Maryland State Wrestling Champions

MPSSAA Champions
3A/4A : Sherwood
1A/2A : Lackey
MIS : Dematha

MPSSAA Dual Meet Champions
3A/4A : Arundel
1A/2A : Lackey

National Prep Top Maryland Team Scores

1. Dematha 188.5

2. Mount St. Joseph 110

6. Archbishop Curley 76.5

8. Calvert Hall 73.5

10. Bullis 61

12. Gilman 59

National Prep Individual Results

106 1st Will Filbert, McDonogh 3rd Chris Hanlon, Calvert Hall, 4th Nick Delonga, DeMatha 6th Thomas Yoon, Gilman

112 4th Willie Harris, DeMatha

119 5th Tony Russo, Calvert Hall

125 3rd Rob Johns, Calvert Hall 8th Kyle Chiaverini, Mount St. Joseph

130 3rd Drew Robertson, DeMatha, 8th Brian McDermott, Mount St. Joseph

135 5th Mike Boettcher, Curley

140 2nd Wes Cummings, DeMatha 3rd Erick Schaeffer, Mount St. Joseph 6th Andy Seal, McDonogh

145 2nd Dan Mattison, Mount St. Joseph 3rd John Paoletti,  Bullis

152 1st Billy Phillips, DeMatha

160 1st Sal Aquia, Curley 5th Jason Leneau, Boys Latin, 7th Billy Moore, Bullis

171 7th Alonzo McPhaul, DeMatha

189 7th Daegan Smith, Bullis

215 3rd Vince Tuohey, Gilman 4th Khris Edwards, Dematha

275 4th Will Lewis, DeMatha 6th Ben Dyer, Mount St. Joseph 7th Nick Alevrogiannis, St. Pauls 8th Brandon Carver, Boys Latin

1997 Baltimore Sun Final Wrestling Rankings
1. Mount St. Joseph (13-0)
2. Arundel (18-0)
3. Hammond (15-2)
4. Westminster (16-2)
5. Curley (10-1)
6. Owings Mills (16-2)
7. Old Mill (12-3)
8. Calvert Hall (22-7)
9. McDonogh (13-3)
10. Eastern Tech (15-2)
11. Francis Scott Key (12-4)
12. Boy’s Latin (7-3)
13. Aberdeen (15-2)
14. Northeast (10-3)
15. Dulaney (10-5)

1997 Maryland Public High School Championships
MPSSAA Wrestling Championships
At Western Maryland College

Team Scores

3A/4A
1. Sherwood 115
2. Frederick 103
3. Westminster 86
4. Damascus 76
5. Northern-Cal 72
6. Old Mill 56.5
7. Arundel, Linganore 51
9. Quince Orchard 48.5
10. C. Milton Wright 47
11. Westlake 45
12. Calvert, Seneca Valley 42
14. Einstein 41.5
15. Douglas-PG 38
16. Annapolis 36
17. EVT 35.5
18. Thomas Johnson 30.5
19. Kenwood 28.5

1a/2a
1. Lackey 99.5
2. Owings Mills 82
3. Glenelg 79.5
4. Hammond 72.5
5. Rising Sun 71.5
6. Sparrows Point 65.5
7. Southern-Garrett 62.5
8. Mardela 57
9. Northeast-AA 51.5
10. F.S. Key, Northern, Kent County 49
13. North East 42.5
14. Wheaton 39
15. Oakland Mills 34.5
16. Overlea 34
17. Middletown 32
18. Central, Catoctin 29
20. Southern-AA 27.

Notes: On the 1a/2a side of the finals Lackey defeats Owings Mills without having a wrestler in the finals. They complete a season that saw them also win the state dual meet title, again by defeating Owings Mills. Owings Mills had won the last two 1a/2a titles.

Championship Finals
3A/4A
103. Chris Combs, Old Mill d. Dan Hemminger, Annapolis 5-0
112. Bobby Monday, Sherwood d. Rich Reesey, Dundalk 7-4
119. Jason Gabrielson, Northern-Calvert p. Gahl, Walter Johnson 1:50
125. Brandon York, Damascus d. Miller, Northern-Calvert 7-3
130. Dustin Bane, Frederick d. Chuck Jones, Kenwood 8-6(OT)
135. Dave Spicer, Westminster d. Mike Reilly, C. M. Wright 2-1
140. Darren Black, Frederick Douglas d. Tim Grozkowski, Franklin 2-1
145. Shane Hildebrand, Frederick d. Ponce, Cal 6-2
152. Ryan Green, Linganore mj. Patterson, Frederick 8-0
160. Bo Harper, Frederick d. Damion Powell Sherwood 5-4
171. Loren Morgan, Seneca Valley d. Stone, Northern-Calvert 10-5
189. Ryan Hoffman, Thomas Johnson d. Holton, West Lake 13-6
275. Graham Manley, Sherwood mj. Johnson, Seneca Valley 10-1

Championship Finals
1A/2A
103. Nick Alley, Southern-AA p. Kevin Stine, Mardela 1:56
112. Davey Blake, Kent County mj. Garvin, Rising Sun 14-3
119. Rodney Stine, Mardela p. James Axel, Aberdeen 1:42
125. Tommy Free, Sparrows Point tf. Darren Hollingsworth, North Caroline 15-0
130. Mike Young, Sparrows Point d. John Nguyen Oakland Mills 1-0
135. Jim O’Connor, Glenelg mj. Eric Lonabaugh, Northeast-Cecil 13-4
140. Scott Munsey, Wheaton d. Ari Dolid, Owings Mills 5-1
145. Tyrone Eaton, Northeast-AA d. Zane Harshman Middletown 10-4
152. Steve Kessler, Owings Mills d. Nathan Rickman Southern- Garrett 6-2
160. Jeremy Lignelli, Glenelg tf. Cody Brenneman Northern 17-2
171. Premell Pettway, Central-PG mj. Terry Lawson Overlea 18-5
189. Jimi Massey, Williamsport d. Boyer, Kent County 10-8
275. Greg Forbes, Milford Mill d. Brian Neal, Howard 7-5

Notes: Steve Kessler of Owings Mills wins his fourth state championship. He becomes the second public school wrestler to do so, after Matt Slutzky of Aberdeen who won his fourth title in 1992. Kessler also became the first public school wrestler to go undefeated over 4 years of varsity competition. Kessler defeated the same wrestler, Nathan Rickman of Southern Garrett, for his last two championships. He finished his year 151-0.
Brian Crane of Paint Branch went undefeated in his three years of varsity competition and won three state titles. Crane finished his run of three titles in 1983.
Private school champ Lenny Bernstein of the Bullis school finished an undefeated high school career as well. Bernstein graduated in 1984 with a career of 110-0 and three National Prep Championships.
Todd Beckerman of Dematha’s high school career has a single loss in his 208-1 record. Beckerman has the state’s longest winning streak of 167 matches. He is also the first Marylander, and first-ever winner of four National Prep Championships.

1997 Maryland High School Championships
Maryland Independent Schools Wrestling Championships
at The Bullis High School
February 1-2, 1997

Team Scores
A Division
1. Dematha 259.5
2. Mount St. Joe 198
3. Curley 164
4. Bullis 157
5. Calvert Hall 147.5
6. Boys’ Latin 135
7. McDonogh 119.5
8. Gilman 99.5
9. Landon 68
10. St. Mary’s 62
11. John Carroll 46
12. Annapolis Christian 33
13. Loyola 32

B Division
1. Spalding 93.5
2. St. Paul’s 57
3. Bishop McNamara 46
4. Good Council 43
5. Bowling Brook 26
6. Georgetown Prep 24.5
7. Maryland School for the Deaf 20
8. Friends 13.5
9. West Nottingham 11
10 Pallotti 4
11. St. Andrews 0

Championship Finals
103 Will Filbert, McDonogh d. Delonga, 8-4
112 Kyle Beckerman, Dematha d. Chris Hanlon, Calvert Hall 10-4
119 Willie Harris, Dematha d. Tony Russo, Calvert Hall 3-2
125 Tony Rodriguez, Dematha d. Kyle Chiaverini, MSJ 4-3
130 Drew Robertson, Dematha mj. Rob Johns, Calvert Hall 15-1
135 Mike Boettcher, Curley d. Joe Smith, McDonogh 12-7
140 Wes Cummings, Dematha d. Gary Colbert, Boys Latin 1-0
145 Dan Mattson, MSJ p. Mike Light, Calvert Hall 5:16
152 John Pallotti, Bullis, d. Mike Kernan, St. Paul’s 5-3
160 Sal Aquia, Curley, mj. Jason Leneau, Boys’ Latin 15-4
171 Josh White, St. Mary’s d. Damian Davis, Gilman 10-5
189 Kris Edwards, Dematha d. Zain Marfani, Spalding 9-8
275 Ben Dyer, MSJ d. William Lewis, Dematha 1-1 (OT criteria)

Notes:  Billy Phillips 152, of Dematha won a National Prep title, Archbishop Curley’s Sal Aquia 160, won a National Prep title. Will Filbert 103 of McDonogh won a National Prep title.

MIAA Championship
Maryland Independent Athletic Association
At Mount St. Joseph High School
February 14-15, 1997

Team Scores

Championship Finals
103 Will Filbert, (McD) tf. Henry Frisky, (BL) 15-0
112 Chris Hanlon (CH) d. Gendron (MSJ) 12-3
119 Tony Russo (CH) d. Diem (CUR) 2-1
125 Kyle Chiaverini (MSJ) d. Rob Arnold (BL) 10-4
130 Rob Johns (MCD) d. Paul Boettcher (CUR) 6-4
135 Smith (MCD) d. Mike Boettcher (CUR) 3-1 (OT)
140 Erik Schafer (MSJ) d. Gary Colbert (BL) 10-7
145 Dan Mattson (MSJ) d. Mike Light (CH) 17-5
152 Mike Schaal (MSJ) d. Mike Kernan (STP) 3-2
160 Jason Leneau (BL) d. Sal Aquia (CUR) 3-1
171 Josh White, (STM) d. Damian Davis (GIL) 7-5
189 Ernie Listman (STM) d. Phil Rosenbaum (MCD) 8-6
UNL Ben Dyer (MSJ) p. Nick Alevrogiannis (STP) 4:22

Jason Leneau was named the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler.

Maryland Public School Dual Championships
Two Divisions 3A/4A and 1A/2A

3A/4A Championship

Arundel 36 Westminster 17
103 Greg Klingler (A) mj Reiter 9-1
112 Bobby Biden (W) tf. Pat Crouse 18-2
119 Grant Lindsay (W) d. Ortman 7-6
125 Brian Schroeder (A) d. Kyle Burger 4-3
130 Wayne Nichols (A) mj. J Reiter 14-0
135 Dave Spicer (W) d. Nick Smith 3-0
140 Graham Harris (A) d. Tim Sharkey 8-5
145 Billy Mathis (W) d. Steve Benvard 6-2
152 Isaac Haertel (A) p. Winston 1:32
160 Rob Connolly (A) mj Austin Lanham 12-4
171 Matt Neidig (A) p. Jared Brown 3:31
189 Ray Henry (W) d. Jeff Blachly 9-7
Hwt Bobby Kilby (A) p. Swan 5:00

Note. In the finals, Arundel ranked No. 3 in the state defeated Westminster ranked No. 5. Westminster advanced to the finals by upsetting the No. 2 seed Frederick 27-24.

Class 1A/2A Finals

Lackey 54 Owings Mills 17

103 Lee (L) p. Schlein 1:56
112 Kirby (L) p. Kaplan 4:36
119 Howard (L) p. Pritzker 1:20
125 Steve Kellner (OM) d. Blackburn 8-6
130 Robertson (L) p. Hanson :46
135 Drew Bowers (OM) p. Martucci :39
140 Kmeciak (L) p. Noelte 2:19
145 Ari Dolid (OM) d. Hannah 6-3
152 Steve Kessler (OM) tf. Shegoge 22-6
160 Gilligan (L) p. Himowitz 2:27
171 McPherson (L) p. Myers 1:59
189 Kassiris (L) p. Rafael 2:45
HWT Leon (L) f

Notes
In the semi-final matches Owings Mills defeated Rising Sun 36-28. Lackey gained the finals by defeating Francis Scott Key 43-24.

1997 Anne Arundel County Wrestling Championships

Team Scores
1. Arundel 241
2. Old Mill 173
3. Northeast 151
4. Chesapeake 133
5. Annapolis 116.5
6. North County 95
7. Southern 90.5
8. Meade 71
9. South River 59
10. Severna Park 56.5
11. Broadneck 55
12. Glen Burnie 38.5

Championship Finals
103. Couch, NE d. Alley SR 2-1
112. Combs, OM d. Pandillo, MD 8-7
119. Orman, AR d. Oreader, OM 4-3
125. Howard, C p. Schroeder, AR 5:51
130. Sampson, OM d. Nichols, AR 7-3
135. Serago, OM d. A. Hemmenger, ANN 3-1
140. Harris, AR p. Lukens, ANN 3:10
145. Eaton, NE. mj Glenn, SOU 17-7
152. Haertel, AR d. Aye, NC 9-2
160. Cinchetti, OM mj. Connolly AR 10-0
171. Duncan, CHES d. Neldig AR 11-8
189. Serio, NE d. Young, BR 6-3
UNL. Brooks, ANN p. Johnson, OM 1:19

1997 Baltimore County Wrestling Championships
At Franklin High School

1. Eastern Tech 176
2. Dulaney 171.5
3. Owings Mills 170
4. Sparrows Point 94
5. Kenwood 76
6 Towson 75.5
7. Dundalk 74
8. Pikesville 71
9. Patapsco 69
10. Overlea 60
11. Parkville 58.8
12. Perry Hall 57
13. Franklin 55
14. Western Tech 35
15. Carver 33
16. Hereford 32
17. Catonsville 28.5
18. Woodlawn 26.5
19. Loch Raven 22
20. Milford Mill 18
21. Chesapeake BC 14

Baltimore County Championship Finals
103. Knox, Dulaney d. Narlis, Towson 7-4
112. Rich Reesey, Dundalk mj. Heath, Parkville 14-3
119 Demetrios Gourgoulianis, Eastern Tech d. Shallang Pikesville 5-0
125. Tom Free, Sparrows Point d. Kellner, Owings Mills 6-0
130. Chuck Jones, Kenwood mj. Matt Bullock, Dulaney 19-7
135. Drew Bowers, Owings Mills tf. Jason Roberts, Eastern Tech 16-1
140. Groszowski, Franklin mj. Derek Oxendine, Overlea 22-13
145. Mark Lasek, Patapsco p. Ari Dolid, Owings Mills :55
152. Steve Kessler, Owings Mills tf. Jumake Ajanku, Milford Mill 15-0
160. Hector Santana, Eastern Tech p. Myrick, Kenwood 5:39
171. Lawson, Overlea d. Paul, Towson 6-4
189. Jamie Blankenship, Eastern Tech p. Mallory, Kenwood 3:32
UNL. Anthony Smith, Owings Mills d. Ryan Frost, Dulaney 3-1OT

Notes: Notes: Matt Bulloch started out as the # 5 seed and pinned defending county champ Grant Ohler in the quarters and beat defending state champion and #1 seed Mike Young in the semis.
This was the 2nd straight year Young took 4th in the county and won the state title a few weeks later
Dulaney pretty much had the tournament sealed and Eastern Tech pinned all their opponents from 160 to HWT in all the placement rounds to pick up 8 bonus points to win the counties. Owings Mills Steve Kessler becomes only the third Baltimore County wrestler to win four county championships. He is currently 141-0. The team championship was the tightest since 1969 when four teams were separated by three points.

1997 Baltimore City Championships
(At Poly High School)

Team Scores
1. Patterson 261
2. Southwestern 192.5
3. Poly 163
4. City 150
5. Dunbar 77.5
6. Walbrook 71
7. Mervo 66.5
8. Northern 58
9. Douglass 57
10. Edmondson 37
11. Lake Clifton 31
12. Carver 28
13. Northwestern 4

Baltimore City Championship Finals
103. Thorn Brown, WAL p. Antonio Patterson, (PAT) 4:42
112. Aaron Saradpon, POL p. Marvin Anderson CAR 3:26
119. Aaron Jones, PAT d. Dyn-Juan McNair (MER) 13-11OT
125. Cory Rideout, SW mj. Charles Harris, PAT 19-7
130. Victor Ghee, NOR d. Edward Kempa, PAT 6-4
135. Andre Wooden, SW tf. Jimmy Walker, PAT 20-3
140. Dennis Perry, DOUG d. Richard Johnson, PAT 8-4
145. Lloyd Chavious, PAT d. Davon Fowler, CITY, 18-15
152. Dominique Camper, CITY d. Joe White, POL 7-4
160. Marshall Duvall, SW p. Jermaine Haygood, PAT :29
171. Leonard Bridgeforth, PAT p. Wayne Frazier, POL 2:46
189. Rashaan Torian, MER d. Desmond Foster, CITY 7-1
UNL Claude Marrow, PAT p. Danyelle Jackson NOR 2:10

Notes: Patterson had ten wrestlers in the finals and finished with four champions. The Patterson team also went 13-0 in dual meets this year. The tournament was sponsored by Baltimore Raven Jonathan Ogden. Aaron Saradpon of Poly and Claude Marrow of Patterson each won their third City championship.

1997 Harford County Wresting Championships
28th Annual at Joppatown High School

Team Scores
1. Aberdeen 177
2. North Harford 142.5
3. Fallston 135
4. Bel Air 112.5
5. C. Milton Wright 90
6. Harford Tech 52.5
7. Havre de Grace 49.5
8. Edgewood 40.5
9. Joppatown 37

Individual Finals
103. Stone, BA d. Moravec, CMW 4-0
112. Mike Strobel, FAL d. Randall Overstreet ABD 8-3 OT
119. Ben Imhoff, FAL d. Tom Guerrera ABD 4-3
125. James Axel, ABD tf. Desper, NH 15-0
130. Dillard, NH d. Petrey, FAL 6-1
135. Mike Reilly, CMW d. Ishibashi ABD 9-3
140. Paul Ercolano, FAL p. Paul Johnson, HDG 1:35
145. Chris Schneck, CMW p. Shawn Loper, BA 9-4
152. Tim Smallwood, BA d. Jerod Guerra, ABD 3-2
160. Cross, NH mj. J. Gads, ABD 12-1
171. Matt Kunkel, ABD d. Jeremy Mason, NH 15-8
189. Zeller, JT d. Sims, ABD 7-3
275 Jeremiah Albright, BA d. Steve Voelker, FAL 4-3

Notes: Aberdeen won its 13th consecutive team title and 19th overall team title. It was also the last county tournament for coach Dick Slutzky who is retiring at the end of the year.

1997 Howard County Wrestling Championships

Team Scores
1. Hammond 230
2. Oakland Mills 183
3. Glenelg 120.5
4. Wilde Lake 115
5. Atholton 99.5
6. River Hill 95.5
7. Howard 92.5
8. Centennial 87.5
9. Mount Hebron 44
10. Long Reach 31

Championship Finals
103. Dauberman, RH d. Bhanot, HOW 8-5
112. Porter, LR d. Dennis, HAM 5-4
119. Zillmer, HAM d. Sutton, OM 7-1
125. Naylor, OM d. Osborn, HAM 5-1 (OT)
130. Nguyen, OM p. Loeffler, ATH :36
135. O’Connor, GLN mj. Stevens, WL 10-2
140. Zillmer, HAM p. Thomas, MH 2:18
145. McGraill, HAM d. Zancan, ATH 10-5
152. McFadden, ATH d. Clark, HAM 8-5
160. Lignelli, GLN d. Oakis HAM 5-1
171. Ferguson, GLN d. Curtin, HAM 3-0
189. Frizzelle, OM d. Ferguson, GLN 4-3 (2OT)
275 Neal, HOW d. Perkins, CEN 3-2

1997 Baltimore Sun All-Metro Wrestling team

First Team
103 Will Filbert (38-1), McDonough Junior
112 Chris Combs (35-1), Old Mill, Sophomore
119 James Axel (32-2), Aberdeen Junior
125 Tommy Free (31-1), Sparrows Point Senior
130 Chuck Jones (32-2) Kenwood Senior
135 Jimmy O’Connor (32-0) Glenelg Junior
135 Mike Boettcher (37-6) Curley Junior
140 Erik Schafer (37-6), Mount St. Joe Senior
145 Tyrone Eaton (27-1) Northeast Senior
145 Danny Mattson (35-2), Mount St. Joe Senior
152 Steve Kessler, Owings Mills Senior
160 Sal Aquia (38-2), Curley Senior
160 Jeremy Lignelli (36-1), Glenelg Senior
160 Jason Leneau (30-5), Boys’ Latin Junior
171 Josh White (30-3), St. Mary’s Senior
189 Jamie Blankenship (36-2), Eastern Tech Senior
275 Greg Forbes (21-0), Milford Mill Senior

Second Team
103 Nick Alley Southern AA Sophomore
112 Bobby Biden Westminster Junior
119 Demetrios Gourgoulianis EVT Junior
125 Kyle Chiaverni Mount St. Joseph Junior
130 Rob Johns Calvert Hall Junior
130 Mike Young Sparrows Point Senior
135 Joe Smith McDonough Senior
135 Dave Spicer Westminster Junior
135 Mike Reilly C. Milton Wright Senior
140 Ari Dolid Owings Mills Senior
145 Tim Groszkowski Franklin Senior
152 Mike Schall Mount St. Joseph Junior
160 Carl Ciccetti Chesapeake AA Senior
171 Damian Davis Gilman Sophomore
189 Ray Henry Howard Senior
Hwt Brian Neal Howard Senior
Hwt Anthony Smith Owings Mills Senior

Baltimore Sun Coach of the Year: Henry Franklin, Calvert Hall. Calvert Hall ended the year ranked No. 8. They finished with a 22-7 dual meet record and finished fourth at MIAA’s fifth at the MIS states and eighth at National preps. Franklin is in his third year coaching at Calvert Hall.

Baltimore Sun Wrestler of the Year: Steve Kessler, Owings Mills. Kessler finished his high school this year 151-0, and won his fourth state championship. He is ranked No. 3 nationally. Over his career he has 73 pins and 46 technical falls,