Roller-Coaster Season Ends At States

After a long three months with many twists and turns, the Magruder wrestling team had a bittersweet end to their season at the Maryland wrestling championships this weekend.

On the one hand, Magruder performed very well as a team. They finished in eighth place with 58 points, and were the top team from Montgomery County. They also had three wrestlers place in the top six of their weight classes.

However, the injury bug hit the Colonels once again, knocking a wrestler out of the tournament, and none of the five who competed this weekend won the state title they were chasing.

“Overall I'm pleased with our performance,” Magruder coach Max Sartoph said. “While it would have been nice to get a win, we did really well, especially when you consider the way we started this season.”

While the Colonels didn't have any state champions this year, they did have two wrestlers, Parke Overmiller and Jordan Tolbert, reach the finals. Overmiller fell to now three-time state champion Nathan Kraisser, 11-3, in his match. Kraisser is considered to be one of the best wrestlers in the state, and is nationally ranked by several publications, so Overmiller knew he had a tough task in front of him.

“I'm disappointed, but I knew I was going against someone who was real tough,” Overmiller said. “It really doesn't bum me that much. I knew I had a somewhat slim chance of winning, so I just went out there and had fun.”

Despite the disappointing end to his career at Magruder, Overmiller smiled as he thought about the past two years, after joining the team as a junior.

“When I came in [to Magruder] I didn't know what to expect,” Overmiller said. “But my coaches...and my teammates were just awesome...I couldn't have asked for a better two seasons.”

Jordan Tolbert also reached the finals of the 135-pound weight class. There he faced Alex Rice from Chesapeake. For the first three minutes, Tolbert seemed to be in control of the match. He was able to escape an early predicament when he balanced on one leg for about thirty seconds, and then got a takedown at the end of the first period. He got a reversal early in the second period to add to his points lead.

However, Rice was able to get a reversal of his own in the second period, and in the third period had another reversal to gain control. Rice was able to put enough pressure and leverage when he was in control to flip Tolbert onto his back, and despite Tolbert doing everything he could to keep his shoulders up, Rice was able to score the pin with 26 seconds left in the match.

“I was shocked,” Overmiller said. “He was in control, and I thought Jordan would pull out the win by a point or two. When he got thrown to his back, I was in shock...I didn't even know what to say to him.”

Sartoph echoed the disappointment, though he had a more positive outlook on what Tolbert did this season.

“That was a great accomplishment just for him to be able to participate at all this season [after starting the season with an injury],” Sartoph said. “He's ending as the all-time winningest Magruder wrestler...I feel really bad that he wasn't able to accomplish his final goal, but he's leaving here with so many great accomplishments in his career.”

Freshman Andrew Conine finished in sixth place in his first appearance at the state tournament. He pulled off an upset in the first round over Alex Truitt of Leonardtown, and had a chance to make it to the finals. However, he ended up losing to eventual champion Hunter Sutton from Churchill, and finished in sixth.

“It's great he placed in his first year,” Sartoph said. “Anybody's first year at states, whether they're a freshman or a senior, is always eye opening. Some can't ever wrestle well on that big stage, and Andrew handled it in his first year.”

Cammeron Mayberry, expected to perform well at states, suffered an ankle injury at regionals. He lost in his first match on Saturday, and after trying to battle through the consolation bracket, including winning a match, he had to forfeit as his ankle couldn't hold up anymore.

“It's a shame for Cammeron,” Sartoph said. “He had such a great season, and only lost to one person all year...To wrestle at all this weekend was amazing, and to get that win was incredible.”

Sartoph said that he will have fond memories of the senior class, and high hopes for next year.

“It was a great class, with Parke and Jordan and Tony [Maroulis] and the others,” Sartoph said. “We're losing a lot of experience, but we have a lot of guys coming back, and hopefully we can do even better next year.”