Boys’ Latin wrestling coach Drew Haugh had not seen his team deliver such a decisive victory over Gilman in his 17 years on the job.
The Lakers used nine pins to rout the youthful Greyhounds, 60-18, in Roland Park Wednesday in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference opener for both schools.
“I really didn’t expect it to be that big of a difference between the teams,” Haugh said. “I did it on paper and with the matchups, I thought it would be like, '42-30.' But our motto is, ‘Pin to Win.’ We don’t want technical falls. We don’t want major decisions. We want the six points and the pins.”
Anthony Wyler (160), Rocco Bruno (182), Joe Santangello (195), Kahlan Lee-Lerner (138), Nate Malinowski (152), Koby Russell (132), Evan Gaines (145), Brandon Kagen (106) and Jamie Rice (120) all recorded pins for Boys Latin.
Rice got the Lakers’ first fall, pinning Drew Franklin in 5:34.
After Braeden Alevizatos scored a 5-2 decision over Nick Malinowski, Russell and Lee-Lerner recorded pins in the next two bouts to put the Lakers ahead, 18-3.
“You get on a roll and one wrestler feeds off the next,” Haugh said. “Then everybody is going out there and looking for pins.”
Gilman junior Ben Gushie stopped the Lakers’ momentum briefly as he decked Noah Michael in 53 seconds at 145.
Boys’ Latin then took the next six matches — five by pin and one by forfeit to Jack Morton — to boost its advantage to 54-9.
“Some guys got pins we weren’t really expecting to get pins,” said Haugh, noting Santangello, a senior, and Rice, a freshman.
Gilman’s other points came when football standout and senior Jahee Jackson edged senior Gavin Howell, 4-2, at heavyweight and freshman Cole Brown accepted a forfeit at 113.
“You have to give credit to Boys’ Latin,” said Gilman coach Bryn Holmes, whose team had only three seniors in the starting lineup. “Their guys stepped up when they needed pins and won the matches when they were that close. That was the difference.”