A New Era for Magruder Wrestling

If you are a fan of high school wrestling in the county, you could count on two things from for the past decade. First, that Max Sartoph would be in the coaches corner barking instructions to his wrestlers. And second, that there would be a Tolbert wrestling on the mat.

However, that all is changing in the 2011-2012 season. Last spring, after the season ended, Sartoph decided to retire from wrestling, saying he wanted to try new things. To help find a replacement, Sartoph went down to the science wing at Magruder and spoke to A.J. Tao, who was coaching at Northwood.

“Last year, [Sartoph] pulled me into his office and he updated me on the situation and asked me if I was interested,” Tao said. “I love my Northwood guys, but my goals, and what I wanted to do with my team didn't align with Northwood. ... I'm interested in winning championships and going to regional duals and state duals, and since there isn't a feeder program there, at best I'd have four-year wrestlers there. This was just an opportunity I couldn't pass up.”

While one piece of the transition came quickly, another is a bit trickier. Magruder lost several major pieces of last year's team, including Parke Overmiller and Jordan Tolbert, who both reached the state finals last year, and Tony Maroulis, who would have been a state title contender before his injury last year.

“You can never replace a Jordan, Parke or Tony. They were all excellent wrestlers,” Tao said. “But that's what high school wrestling is all about. Younger guys will have to step up, step in and take their place and keep winning. That's what a successful program does.”

To do that, Tao will be relying heavily on some holdovers from last year, including 2010 Mad Mats champion and senior captain Cammeron Mayberry. Mayberry not only has to continue his success on the mat, but is going to have a leadership role on the team.

“He's definitely a natural leader, and a very vocal leader,” Tao said. “He likes to vocalize and get these guys motivated."

Mayberry relishes the role.

“My role is to always motivate the team,” he said. “We have a lot of new guys on the team, who think 'I can't beat Cammeron. I can't beat anyone,' which is not the truth at all. They need to know they're better than they think they are, so I'm going to boost their morale and keep their heads up.”

In addition to Mayberry, seniors Caymen Barnes and Tyler Dykes find themselves in leadership roles.

“Caymen is a great leader as well,” Tao said. “He's not quite as vocal, but he doesn't need to be because of Cammeron. Both Caymen and Tyler lead by example, work hard and help where they're needed. Cammeron takes care of the vocal part for everyone.”

Tao is excited about sophomore Andrew Conine, who came in sixth in last year's state tournament.

“Parke Overmiller came back in an earlier practice and they were wrestling around,” Tao said. “We'll just leave it at that. I'm excited to see what he does this year, because he looked good against Overmiller.”

The first real test for Magruder, as well as many county teams is Mad Mats, the annual tournament held at Magruder. It will be held Dec. 9-10. Mayberry thinks that the team should show well there, and possibly even take home the team title for the first time.

“We're going to be solid this year," he said. "A lot of the kids in our varsity lineup are returning from last year, and we're a solid team this year. Our scrimmage against Clarksburg just confirmed to me that we can go toe-to-toe with anyone out here.”