by Colin Regan, Sports Information Coordinator and Upper School Faculty

A contingent of six Gilman wrestlers made their way up to Lehigh University to compete in the National Prep Wrestling Championships (National Preps) this past weekend. The team finished as the top team from Maryland in 10th place out of 120+ competing schools and left with two individual placements. In addition, Head Varsity Wrestling Coach Bryn Holmes was named the 2025 National Preps Head Coach of the Year.

The six Greyhound wrestlers — Emmitt Sherlock '25, John Jurkovic '25, Zach Glory '25, Liam McGettigan '27, JD Vassar '27, and Christian Wirts '28 — fought hard for two days of intense competition and finished with a team score of 87.5 points. Each wrestler won at least one match, with Sherlock and McGettigan winding up on the podium in their respective weight classes.

Competing on the mat for the last time in a Gilman uniform, Sherlock capped his legendary high school career by placing second. Competing at 190 lbs and seeded second coming into the weekend, he started the tournament out strong with three straight falls on Friday to advance himself to Saturday's semifinals, where he faced the No. 6 ranked wrestler out of powerhouse Northfield Mount Hermon, whom he outlasted in a 1-0 decision. Although Sherlock lost a hard-fought final to the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the finals, his second-place finish earned him All-American honors for the fifth straight year, an unprecedented accomplishment cementing his legacy as one of the greatest wrestlers to ever step on the mats at Gilman.

Joining Sherlock as a podium finisher and also qualifying for All-American honors was McGettigan, earning the honor for a second straight year. Entering the weekend seeded fifth at 113 lbs, he won his first two bouts on Friday before suffering a tight loss in the quarterfinal round to the eventual champion. McGettigan responded by winning three consecutive matches in the consolation bracket, including two falls, one of which was over a rival from Archbishop Spalding, whom he defeated for the fifth time this season, and a 2-1 upset decision over the No. 3 seed out of Wyoming Seminary in the consolation semifinals to advance to the third-place match. In that match, McGettigan fought hard but ultimately fell to the No. 1 overall seed to finish fourth.

Glory (132 lbs), Jurkovic (157 lbs), and Wirts (106 lbs) all made the Boys Round of 16 in the championship bracket before being eliminated in a trio of hard-fought matches. Each of those three then fought hard to advance through the consolation bracket, with all three winning multiple matches before ultimately losing in the "blood round," the last round before placement rounds.

In addition to the six members of the team who took part in the tournament this weekend, Arthur Konschak '27 and Isaiah Trusty '26 both qualified for the tournament through their performance at the Maryland Independent Schools (MIS) State Championship last weekend but were unable to participate.

"What a great showing by our wrestlers. For everyone to get a win and a second and fourth-place finish is great," said Holmes. "As coaches, we talk about creating a culture that creates success, and I think we have done so in large part through our seniors. All of them together have carried this team to two state titles and two top ten finishes at National Preps."

Congratulations, wrestlers and coaches, on a tremendous season!