The varsity wrestling team capped off the regular season with an impressive record of 10-4, with notable wins against Kennedy, Rockville, and Richard Montgomery.

On Jan. 14, individual wrestlers competed in the Panther Individual Tournament (PIT) where co-captain Maxim Loukinov placed first in the 285-pound weight division. Wrestler Dangelo DaSilva remained undefeated at 31-0 and finished at the top of his weight class. As a group, they collectively placed second out of the 20 teams that participated in the event. Head Coach Shane Bramble was “very proud of [their] 10-4 regular season record. [They] unfortunately lost in the second round of playoffs to Urbana who actually placed second in the state as a team. Our team had an amazing finish at the PIT wrestling tournament this year where [they] placed second as a team and got to bring home some hardware.”

The team kept the momentum going with another strong win on a senior night against Blake on Jan. 25. The win was extra special for the seniors as they were honored in front of a packed gym. Senior night is typically the last home match of the season and is eagerly anticipated by both parents and athletes alike. “It was truly a fantastic feeling, embracing my last home match I will ever wrestle, in the most packed crowd I’ve ever been in front of in my wrestling career,” Mattias Onel said. “It was such an amazing night for me, but I was disappointed because my parents couldn’t come due to Covid.”

Although Onel’s parents couldn’t attend he had support from the community, as the varsity boys’ soccer team quickly stood in to represent them. Seniors Josh and Max Mirsky proudly escorted Onel as he was honored for his achievements and committed to the team throughout his high school career.

“I was happy to help Mattias out, I have always enjoyed watching wrestling, and it was even better watching my friends compete. The atmosphere was electric and I cannot wait to see what this team can do at regionals,” Josh Mirsky said.
The team entered the regional dual playoffs and was seeded fifth and matched up against a strong Urbana side. The team fought hard but ended up falling to the Hawks 52-21. They’d go on to win the event and become state finalists in the 4A division.

Even though the team’s season is over, top individual wrestlers are looking forward to counties, regionals, and then states, in the coming weeks “Varsity is gearing up for their final postseason stretch. We have counties this weekend. If our wrestlers place top six or higher they qualify for regions at Damascus Feb. 24-25. If they place in the top four at regions they qualify for the state tournament (THE BIG SHOW) at Showplace Arena in Upper Marlboro on March 2-4,” Bramble said.