2000-01 All-Metro wrestling team

Coach of the Year

Pedro Barbosa Hammond

Only 25 and in his first year, Barbosa is the youngest to be chosen All-Metro Coach of the Year. The 1994 Hammond graduate, a former heavyweight county champ, was often as emotionally involved in matches as his wrestlers. After an early upset loss to Mount Hebron, and when his Bears were only 10th out of 13 teams at the Hammond tournament, Maryland's toughest and most respected invitational, Barbosa felt the pressure of running a program whose healthy tradition he helped build. Barbosa internalized the blame as whispers circulated about Hammond's demise.

"He was hard on himself, searching for what was wrong with his kids," said former Hammond coach Bill Smith, who acts as Barbosa's mentor. "He knew he had to assert himself as a leader, get the kids focused on him."

Barbosa's will became that of his team, which won the 2A-1A South Region dual meet and tournament crowns, missed winning the Howard County crown by 4.5 points to River Hill, and fell short in the state tourney by .5 to Kent County. The Bears had two two individual state champs, a single-season school record, in Ryan Mackin and Jimmy Davis. While competing with a broken hand, Davis dethroned a champ to avenge an earlier loss. Russell Tebeleff, first-year starter Marshall Porter and Scott Wallace, who rebounded from a knee injury, all were third at states, where Hammond placed seven of eight qualifiers. Tebeleff three times avenged an early-season loss.

Wrestler of the Year

Ryan Davis McDonogh, 135 pounds, sophomore

Teammates nicknamed him "Pigpen" for his cluttered locker. Others call Davis "The Truth." He is the first sophomore to be named All-Metro Wrestler of the Year, and the fourth underclassman. Davis (42-3, 21 pins this season, 81-7 career) wrestled with a poise beyond his years, highlighted by his 3-1 National Prep title win over two-time New Jersey state champ Zak Stevens. Davis won his second MIAA and private schools state titles, his first National Preps crown, and tournaments at Hammond, McDonogh, St. Benedict (N.J.) and Virginia (Capitol Challenge). He was fifth at the Beast of The East tournament, the nation's No. 1 invitational, after losing decisions by a combined 14-6.

Davis twice defeated state champ Ryan Herwig of Mount St. Joseph. He also beat two-time state champ Bryan Hamper (South Carroll), Tennessee champ Whitt Casey and Virginia state runner-up Ben Guerrina. Davis beat state runner-up Danny Natterman (Loyola), MIAA champ Brian Kirhagis (Curley), and Pennsylvania section champs Brandon Ganoe and Mark Israel. Only twice in high school has Davis, 15, allowed near-fall points by an opponent. What the muscular Davis lacked in physical maturity against older wrestlers while going at 135 and 140, he made up for by initiating combat in bouts. "The best thing about him is his game face and intensity," said his coach, Pete Welch. "He wins matches mentally."

First team

Steven Conrad North Harford, 103 pounds, sophomore

Conrad (34-2, 17 pins this season, 41-2 career) missed most of last season with an elbow injury but won Harford County's title. The sophomore was second at regions and earned his school's first state title since Glen Allen in 1983. At states, Conrad routed Kent's region champ Artie Kaehler (third states) and Atholton's region champ, Doug Ramsey (fourth states), each of whom were once Maryland's No. 1-rated 103 pounders. Among other notables, Conrad three times defeated Harford Tech's Brad Dreyer and twice beat Fallston's county runner-up Chris Baum and Bel Air's Ryan Stephenson. Conrad had one win each over county champ Sam Schreck (North Carroll) and state runner-up Jeff Plasse (Oakland Mills).

Mark Frey Archbishop Curley, 112 pounds, sophomore

The sophomore (32-4, 17 pins) had two victories over National Preps champ Rudy Ruda (DeMatha), one over West Virginia's fourth-place state finisher, and a major decision over North Carroll regional runner-up Pat Maloff. Frey captured his first MIAA and private schools state titles, won tournaments at Jefferson (W.Va.) and Arundel, and was runner-up at the Curley tournament to Delaware state runner-up Bobby Shaw. Frey was 2-1 against Mount St. Joseph MIAA runner-up Tim Bohlman, and also defeated Calvert Hall's Andrew Schlaffer, who was third at states. He was Curley's only individual state champion as the Friars won their second team crown.

Matt Ennis Wilde Lake, 119 pounds, junior

The junior's penchant for comeback pins led him to county, region and state titles, as well as crowns at Parkside and South River. Ennis (33-1, 26 pins) was second at Overlea, losing, 5-4, to Deloane Catholic's John Hefner Jr. Ennis pinned three of four opponents at states, including Meade's county and region champ, Matt Harvey, in 1:13 of their title bout. Ennis twice pinned Hammond region champ Russell Tebeleff (third states), pinned Chopticon region champ Eli Black (third states), Churchill county runner-up Brendan Shapiro and Kent's Pat Redman. He earned decisions over Calvert's Clint Parker, Westminster county champ Adam Tenney), county runner-up Ross Bell (North Carroll) and county champ Mario Bracamontes (Blair).

Matt Eveleth Chesapeake-AA, 125 pounds, junior

The junior three-time state finalist used his college-oriented style to breeze to his third straight county and region titles. He pinned all four opponents en route to his second straight state title after being runner-up as a freshman. A repeat All-Metro pick, Eveleth (32-0, 25 pins this season; 97-3, 74 pins career) pinned two-time state runner-up Jake DeMatt (North East), state runner-up Jake Dove (Broadneck), South Carroll county and region champ Kellen Weber (third states), Calvert's Kyle Parker and Eastern Tech's Brandon Leyhe. He also beat state champ Mike Weber (Sparrows Point). Eveleth won his third straight Chopticon tournament, and his second at Aberdeen and Dundalk. He has won 66 straight matches and is one victory shy of the school career record.

Ryan Green River Hill, 130 pounds, junior

The junior (34-3, 96-16 career) won his third county crown and second regional crown. He was also runner-up at states after being fourth last season. The mat technician split wins with Atholton state champ Bryan Radik. He pinned region runner-up Steve Schall (Broadneck) and beat state champ Matt Schuster (Franklin), state champ Jimmy Davis (Hammond), Chesapeake-AA county champ Chris Grove, Northwest region runner-up Pouria Sadat, county champ Buddy Olson (South Carroll) and North Carroll's Kyle Smith. Down 3-1 with 12 seconds left in his title bout with Westlake's Jon Peters, Green's near-takedown was ruled out of bounds, negating the potential for overtime.

Bryan Radik Atholton, 130 pounds, senior

The senior won his second regional crown and was state champ. Radik went 32-3, raising his career victory total to 121, against the state's most difficult schedule for 130-pounders. Radik defeated state champ Zak Johns (McDonogh), state champ Matt Schuster (Franklin) state runner-up Steve Stone (Williamsport) and two-time state runner-up Jake DeMatt (North East). He split victories with state runner-up Ryan Green (River Hill) and had major decisions over region runner-up Jason Gladhill (Walkersville) and Montgomery County champ Caleb Seufert (Northwest). The flexible Radik's only other loss was 4-3 to South Carroll's 135-pound Dan Patterson.

Adam DeCosmo Old Mill, 135 pounds, senior

The repeat All-Metro earned Anne Arundel County Wrestler of the Year honors, with a single-season school record mark of 38-0 and a school career record of 136-14. Only the fourth Old Mill wrestler to go unbeaten, DeCosmo beat state champs Jon Peters (Westlake), Ryan Mackin (Hammond) and Matt Horton (Paul VI, Va.). The senior won the NOVA, Lackey and Francis Scott Key tournaments, beat state runner-up Camilo Rincon (Blair), South Carroll's Dan Patterson (third states), Annapolis' Bill Vollono (fourth states) and county champ Rob Sullivan (Eastern Tech). DeCosmo was runner-up at states as a sophomore and went 35-2 last year, losing only to Mackin and two-time All-Metro Wrestler of the Year Brandon Lauer of River Hill.

Ryan Mackin Hammond, 135 pounds, senior

Mackin had single-season school records for wins (42-2) and takedowns (196) and finished with 124 career wins. The senior won his second straight Howard County and regional crowns and his first state title. He also earned Outstanding Wrestler at counties and Outstanding Upper Weight at the Senior All-Star Classic. Mackin was 2-1 against state champ Adam DeCosmo (Old Mill). He beat Calvert Hall two-time state runner-up Kevin King (third at National Preps), state runners-up Brian Owens (Harford Tech) and Jeremiah Guard (Northern-Garrett), South Carroll's Dan Patterson (third states) and county and region runner-up Nick Liston (Old Mill). He earned a technical fall over North Harford's Chad Roland (third states) and pinned Owings Mills' Neil Saval (fourth states), McDonough's Nathan Myers (fifth states) and county champ Drew Outten (Franklin).

Ryan Herwig Mount St. Joseph, 140 pounds, senior

The slick-wrestling senior and repeat All-Metro selection went 44-4, winning MIAA and private schools state titles and finishing fifth at the National Preps tournament. The three-time private schools state finalist and two-time MIAA champ also won the Colonial Forge (Va.) tournament, was second at Hammond's tournament and fourth at the PowerAde (Pa.) tournament. Along the way, Herwig whipped two-time state champ Mikey Blake (Kent County), pinned Calvert Hall two-time state runner-up Kevin King (third at National Preps) and regional champ Cade McCarthy (Watkins Mill). He also won by a technical fall over state runner-up Jeremiah Guard (Northern-Garrett). He twice was state runner-up to National Preps champs.

Tom Boettcher Archbishop Curley, 145 pounds, junior

The junior won his second MIAA title, finished second at private school states for the second straight year, and was third at the National Preps tournament. Boettcher was a team-high 42-5 and led Curley with 26 pins. He was first at the Curley tournament and won his third straight Arundel tournament, was runner-up at the Jefferson (W.Va.) Invitational and fifth at Beast of the East. He scored major decisions over two-time state champ Fran Jackson (North Carroll), state champ Bryan Hamper (South Carroll), state champ Sam Lewnes (Mount St. Joseph) and four-time state champ Reed Carpenter, Virginia's all-time winningest wrestler. He is the youngest and perhaps most talented of Curley's three-sibling legacy, with past All-Metros Paul and Mike Boettcher.

Mike Mengel Mount Hebron, 152 pounds, junior

The junior won his first county and region crowns and was second at states for the second straight year, finishing 33-2. Mengel, a muscular leg wrestler, won tournaments at Springbrook, Arundel and Dundalk. Along the way, he twice pinned Oakland Mills region runner-up Brian McInvale, pinned and earned a technical fall over Hammond's Marshall Porter (fourth states), and also pinned Overlea county and region champ Chaudhry Afzal (third states) and county and region runner-up Randy Roberts (Eastern Tech). He also blanked Rising Sun region runner-up Travis Price, 6-0. Mengel's only other loss was in overtime to 171-pound state runner-up Mark Carbone of Atholton. His performance could signal a turnaround for a traditional conference doormat.

Luke Mays Franklin, 160 pounds, senior

The senior won his third county and regional crowns and was first at states after finishing second and third his two previous seasons. Mays was 37-1 this year with 26 pins, winning his final 31 bouts and winning tournaments at Hammond and Franklin. His lone loss, a runner-up finish at Damascus, was to Delaware's state runner-up. Mays (130-12 career) defeated region champ and state runner-up Chris Miller (Paint Branch), Einstein's Matt Butler (fourth states), Towson's Andy Posil (fourth states) and Kenwood's Tim Williams (fifth states). He also pinned state runner-up Mike Reider (Hereford) and Harford County runner-up Rick Howley (Fallston) and earned a technical fall over Thomas Stone's Jason Fish (third states).

Mark Carbone Atholton, 171 pounds, senior

The senior won his second regional crown and won his first county title after being runner-up as a junior. He also was runner-up at states and at the Hammond and Northern-Garrett tournaments, and was first at the Del Marva Classic at Wicomico. Carbone's big wins were over state champ Nate Crosby (DeMatha), Hammond's Scott Wallace (third states), state runner-up Mike Mengel (Mount Hebron), Paint Branch county and region champ Ken O'Sullivan, Mardela region champ Dave Cook, region runner-up Kevin Garmzaban (Owings Mills) and county runner-up Nick Burger (Westminster). Carbone lost decisions by three or fewer points to state champs Mark Wolf (Northern-Garrett), Sam Mays (Franklin) and Nick Carrington (McDonogh).

Adam Dayton Old Mill, 189 pounds, senior

The senior went 36-1 and had a single-season record for pins with 24. He was the only wrestler to defeat last year's state champ, Melvin Guthrie of Chesapeake-AA, but failed to qualify for states. This year, after winning county and region crowns, Dayton became his school's state-leading 27th state champ. He pinned all four opponents en route to the title, among them county and region champ Brendan McCarron (Gaithersburg) in the finals. He also decked Paint Branch's Matt Stewart (third states), regional champ Jesse Fawcett (River Hill) and county champ Ryan Dell (North Carroll) and defeated Rising Sun's Ryan Gwaltney (fourth states). He had a streak of 10 straight pins and won tournaments at Lackey and Francis Scott Key.

Robert Scott Oakland Mills, Heavyweight, senior

The 225-pound repeat state champ went 34-0 (63-1 in two years). The senior won his third straight county and region crowns, earned Howard County's Wrestler of the Year and was named Outstanding Upper Weight at the Senior All-Star Classic. Scott's state semifinal 8-2 win over Kent's unbeaten Willie Leonard (third states) was a rematch of last year's final, and his 13-8 state title win avenged last year's loss to Ryan McDonald (Williamsport). The Chopticon, Damascus and Arundel tourney champ pinned state champs Colin Doyle (Loyola) and B.J. Hicks (Delaware's Caesar Rodney), River Hill's Scott Cannon (third states), Quince Orchard's Dan Sirotkin and county and region champ Rob Mitas (Arundel). He earned major decisions over state champ Akil Patterson (Frederick), region runner-up Trey Brenneman (Northern-Garrett) and Urbana's Pat Harper (third region).

Related topic galleries: Bowling, Injuries, Chicago Bears, Teaching and Learning, Bobby Shaw, Matt Stewart, Wrestling

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