Harford County high school wrestling has been dominated by a few schools in recent years, but some coaches expect more parity in the area in 2024-’25.
Harford Tech and C. Milton Wright both won regional championships last season — the former’s third straight — and project to be right back in the mix again with strong groups of returning seniors. Bel Air, North Harford, Aberdeen and Havre de Grace were also identified as potential top teams by area coaches.
“I think the conference will have more balance than usual this year,” one coach said.
The county is also experiencing continued growth in girls wrestling. Some teams will field more girls on their rosters than ever before, headlined by Edgewood and Havre de Grace, as area coaches hope this trend continues.
Here’s what to watch for this season in Harford County wrestling. (Editor’s note: not all teams responded to requests for information.)
Aberdeen
Coach: Kyle Brown, 18th season
Last year: 9-4
Top returners: Seniors Liam Peterson (150), Chase Lineberry (144), JD Matherly (138) and Juan Rodgers (190).
Coach’s outlook: “We are returning most of our starters from last year, and most are coming with experience. We have a couple holes and we will need some of the younger wrestlers to step up in order to be in the mix.”
Bel Air
Coach: Craig Reddish, 32nd season
Last year: 20-15
Top returners: Seniors Cole Bursk (113), Grant Smith (157) and JT Nana Ouandji (175); juniors Dominic Gray (138), Andrew Montalvo (144) and Khalil Mobley (126), sophomores Alex Gray (120) and Owen Reilly (285)
Newcomers to watch: Senior Nathaniel Nitsch (165) and sophomore Makhi Feaster (215).
Coach’s outlook: “Looking to see our team grow and improve throughout the year. We want to be better at the end of the season than the beginning. Our goals are always to compete for a UCBAC title and compete at the state level individually and as a team. I want our wrestlers to have fun and work hard. The rest will take care of itself.”
C. Milton Wright
Coach: John Thornton, ninth season
Last season: 18-6, regional dual champions, state semifinalists
Top returners: Sean Downey (113), Kane Desch (120), Mitchell Nguyen (132), Devin Sweeney (165) and Jaxon Simms (190)
Newcomers to watch: Junior Aaron Moccia (175) and freshman Rory Sweeney (106)
Coach’s outlook: “We return eight starters from last year’s team that made it to the state semifinals. Joining them will be a couple solid freshmen with junior league experience along with a handful of strong junior varsity wrestlers who will make the jump to varsity this year. Our goal is always to win UCBAC, region and state titles. This team may be the best and most balanced I’ve coached since coming to C. Milton Wright in 2016, and I think we’ve got a shot to make a deep postseason run again.”
Edgewood
Coach: Ken Ewers, ninth season
Last year: 3-11
Top returners: Seniors Miles Putney (285), Shane Tressler (165) and Jamere Napper (132).
Newcomers to watch: Seniors Zaire Bouldin (132) and Malachi Coates (165); junior Jamil Vann (157).
Coach’s outlook: “Excited to have a large amount of returners for the first time in the last few years. I am also excited to see our girls numbers growing. I am looking to see our returners step up as leaders and have a great season on the mat.”
Harford Tech
Coach: Ju’Juan Burrell, eighth season
Last year: 20-6, regional champions
Top returners: Seniors Zaden Tablan (113), Nikolai Chervak (144) and Brian Vickers (175); junior Christian Donlick (15); sophomore Cameron Moore (126).
Newcomers to watch: Senior Robert Santiago (157); juniors Parker Sweeney (190) and Luke Dallaire (165)
Coach’s outlook: “We compete in tough tournaments this year with hopes to peak at the right time. We just need to stay healthy.”
Havre de Grace
Coach: David Rathfon, fourth season
Last year: 13-8
Top returners: Senior Conner Birth (126); sophomores Madison Birth (106) and Vincent Kirby (132)
Coach’s outlook: “I’m excited to watch my wrestlers grow in the sport and in life. We have scheduled some matchups with schools out of county to get some different competition.”
John Carroll
Coach: Aaron Kravitz, first season
Last year: 1-12
Top returners: Junior Alex Chervon (165); sophomores Corey Anderson, Harrison Desai, Will Hart and Michael Stefanoni.
Coach’s outlook: “My overall outlook for the team is extremely positive and excited to get the kids on the mat and start the season. I expect to see some growing pains as more than 60% of the team are first year wrestlers. However, I think we have some kids who absolutely have a chance to go out and compete with anyone. For us to be competitive, we have to put in the work in the room and focus on what we can control. Continue to learn and grow throughout the season.”
Joppatowne
Coach: Michael Schafer, fourth season
Last year: 5-31
Top returners: Joel Oyekanmi, Carsen May, Cole Bryant, Lawrence Onasanya
Newcomers to watch: James Bills, Ayden Brown, Tristan Thorne, Conner Figueroa
Coach’s outlook: “We are excited to build upon some of the success we had last season. A number of athletes have worked exceptionally hard this off-season and we are looking forward to seeing their progress.”
North Harford
Coach: Jacob Rose, second season
Last year: 5-5
Top returners: Seniors Tommy Blankenship (126), Holden Young (215) and Bryn Cespeded (110)
Newcomers to watch: Freshmen Vincent Darienzo (106) and Clark Normal (138)
Coach’s outlook: “We have a very senior heavy team this year. Ideally, we are looking to find some success in order to build a good foundation for the younger guys that are on the roster. I’m looking forward to seeing our returning underclassmen continue to improve and fall in love with the sport and continue to build the culture. To be in the mix we have to train and compete like champions. There is a motto we live by, which is ‘champions do more.’ That is exactly what we need to do in order to be competitive short and long term.”
Patterson Mill
Coach: Sean Vallowe, first season
Last year: 19-12, regional semifinalist
Top returners: Seniors Christian Joglar (144), Karleigh Gill (145) and Jacie White (170); juniors Jonathan Fletcher (175), Gabe Filling (120) and Gavin Voelker (190).
Newcomers to watch: Freshmen Owen Vallowe (113) and Ashton Winter (126)
Coach’s outlook: “I am looking forward to the junior and senior class to write their chapter of Patterson Mill wrestling. Many of them were thrown into the varsity line up as freshman and sophomores, but as upper classmen we look forward to them taking the next step and leading this young team. We need to stay healthy, and even with small numbers we have a good lineup that will compete each match this season against some really talented teams in the UCBAC.”
Perryville
Coach: Steven Bird, first season
Last year: 4-9
Top returners: Seniors Reed Trimble (157) and Kylon Mitchell (220); sophomore Saphira Hamill (120).
Newcomers to watch: Tyler Baptiste (113), Ryan Boyd (126) and Landon Miller (132).
Coach’s outlook: “Perryville returns only two conference placers and three regional qualifiers from last year’s team. The vast majority of our team will only be second year varsity starters. I am looking forward to working with this young squad of wrestlers including nine freshmen and eight sophomores and helping them develop into solid varsity starters this year and into the future.”
Have a news tip? Contact Taylor Lyons at tlyons@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/TaylorJLyons.
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