Eighty years ago, Severn was a major player in wrestling. Wrestling was the first sport to be played at the school in 1920, and the team went undefeated.
The enthusiasm lasted for a number of decades but began to fade, and 17 years ago the sport was no longer part of the school's extracurricular offerings.
That will change next year.
Athletic director Julian Domenech, a Severn grad and in his second year at the school, has been hearing from parents, teachers and youth leaders that wrestling is growing in popularity and he has decided to bring it back.
"I have three young kids in youth sports, and I've been hearing about the resurgence of the sport at the youth level," he said. "All we have at Severn is basketball and swimming in the winter, and I thought wrestling might be a way to broaden what we offer our kids.
"After doing some research, I found there are middle school wrestling programs and that youth wrestling has been on the upswing for the last four or five years."
Domenech said that besides being something else for kids to do at the school, he believes it will also strengthen the character of those who compete.
"The more I've learned about it, the more I see it is a time-consuming sport for which you have to be passionate and dedicated," he said. "There is a lot of growing up involved in it."
Domenech hired a new soccer coach last week: Mike McCarthy, who has been teaching and running camps for Coerver Soccer and has a semipro background. Now, the AD said, he is concentrating on finding a wrestling coach.
"We've gotten some inquiries about the position," he said. "We're looking for someone who will be the best fit for Severn. Someone who will build the program correctly and teach on and off the mat. We're doing our due diligence."
Domenech said he hopes to have the wrestling coach in place within a month.
"We're excited about this," he said. "Wrestling was here before and very successful. It [went] by the wayside, but now it's coming back."