Wrestling Winter Preview

Returning from an excellent season, placing first in the MIS (Maryland Independent State Championship), the Gilman Wrestling team looks to build off this success and recover from the loss of many strong wrestlers. As coach Bryn Holmes puts it, “I think my goal for this year is to at least finish in the top three for the states and to see how high we can climb in the MIAA.”

Like any team, the Gilman Wrestling team is facing challenges this year, but it also possesses some unique strengths that could propel it forward. The main obstacle this year is that the team has lost seven of its 14 varsity starters from last year, including Emmett Sherlock and John Jurkovic, who were among the strongest wrestlers on last year’s team. Helping to mitigate this problem is the team’s strong junior class, led by wrestlers Arthur Konschak ‘27 and JD Vassar ‘27. The team also possesses an experienced senior class, with seniors Noah Lawrence ‘26 and Isaiah Trusty ‘26 leading the charge. Another major obstacle for the team is the highly competitive Maryland wrestling scene. As Coach Holmes explains, “The league is very strong. There’s no team that’s unbelievably good, but there are a bunch of teams that are pretty good.” This year, the greatest contenders within the MIAA are Mount St. Joseph’s, a consistently competitive team; Spalding, last year's close runner-up with a great deal of depth; and Loyola Blakefield. Although the competition is strong, varsity starter JD Vassar maintains a positive outlook, “I’m excited. Obviously, a little bit of an underdog mentality this year might go a long way. So I’m excited to see it.” The path to victory will require both discipline and luck, according to JD,” I think it’ll be a little more of a grind this year than years prior… I think one of the main priorities is everybody staying healthy, because us not having Gabe last year was really, really detrimental to us.” While the path to victory won’t be easy, the Gilman Wrestling team is shaping up to be a serious contender in both the MIAA and the MIS.