CO-COACHES OF THE YEAR
* Joe Thomas, Howard -- Thomas toughened the Lions' schedule, and he and assistant Dan Ricker toughened the wrestlers in practice. Though they went just 5-5-2 over the dual meet season, the Lions had two county champs and three runners-up en route to a third-place finish in the county tournament. The Lions then won their 3A-4A North Region, dethroning South Carroll, then ranked No. 11, and finishing ahead of No. 12 Dulaney to qualify six wrestlers for the states. Eric Paskin, a third-place finisher at states, is the only Howard wrestler who graduates from a team that ended with a No. 11 area ranking.
* Todd DeCrispino, Centennial -- First DeCrispino, who is in his sixth year, brought stability to a program that had seen a revolving door of coaches. And finally, this season, he and assistant Ed Rothstein brought noticeable success. The Eagles, fourth in the county tournament, had three county champs, a regional champ and a runner-up, and were the only county team to place wrestlers in the 3A-4A state tournament finals as Joon Kim (189) won a title, and Jason Nagle (125) was a runner-up. Centennial had a solid dual meet season as well, going 9-5 overall and 5-2 as county runner-up to Oakland Mills.
WRESTLER OF THE YEAR
* Joon Kim, Centennial, Jr., 189, 32-1 -- As a sophomore, Kim had a mediocre 19-11 record, was third in the county, second in the region, and was pinned in just 52 seconds of his preliminary bout of the state tournament. He ended this season as the state's top-ranked wrestler and the county's only state champ. However, the first time Kim was ranked this season -- No. 6 by the Maryland State Wrestling Association -- many thought him overrated. The criticism worsened, and his ranking evaporated after Hammond's Jimmy Weston moved up from 171 pounds and hammered Kim, 10-3, his first loss in 20 bouts. "He learned a lot from that," said Todd DeCrispino, Kim's coach. "That's just what he needed." Kim went 13-0 from there, including a 7-5 victory which dethroned Weston for the county crown. In addition, Kim (18 pins) decked all three opponents to win the regional crown. At the 3A-4A states, Kim won by default over Linganore's former No. 6 Mike Gialanella, scored six near-fall points in an 11-4 pounding of Churchill's fifth-ranked Montgomery County champ Dhani Jones, and won his title bout, 5-3, over Old Mill's No. 2-ranked Don Patterson, who was favored after having placed third the year before.
THE FIRST TEAM AT A GLANCE
* Mike Chang, Hammond, Sr., 112, 27-5 -- Chang won his second straight county crown and was second in the region after being third the year before. In winning the Lackey Tournament, Chang finished ahead of Quince Orchard's Rod Garcia, who was fTC third in 3A-4A states, Rising Sun's Seth Garvin (third 1A-2As) and Anne Arundel County champ Gene Reid (South River).
* Carlo Gerstenfeld, Wilde Lake, Sr., Hwt., 27-4 -- Gerstenfeld (235 pounds) lost 15 pounds from a year earlier and relied on his quickness and endurance to wear down opponents. He won the county crown, finished second in the regions and reached the state semifinals on a 2-0 decision of Stephen Decatur's previously unbeaten Quintin Dennis (275 pounds). A 1-0 loss to Hereford's Glen Warner (34-1) prevented Gerstenfeld from placing in the top four.
* Hansel Henry, Hammond, Jr., 160, 29-9 -- Henry, a county champ and regional runner-up, was not a pinner. But he possesses the ability to capitalize on perhaps the most critical weapon in wrestling: the takedown. Henry's 112 career takedowns demolished Hammond's previous all-time record (72). Henry dropped a 5-3 state semifinal decision to Aberdeen's 1A-2A state champ Kit Doran (33-0), an indication that he'll be among the state's best next season.
* Kevin Heywood, Centennial, Sr., 130, 20-11 -- In the county tournament finals, Heywood, who cut from 135, showed why half of his 12 pins had come via the split cradle (spladle) pinning maneuver, overcoming a 6-2 deficit in the closing seconds with the move to upset Oakland Mills' two-time county champ, Wade Mitchell, 7-6. Mitchell had entered the bout at 23-0.
* Jeremy Lignelli, Glenelg, Soph., 152, 33-2 -- This two-time county champ won the regionals and finished third in the 1A-2A states. Lignelli (five pins, seven technical falls), whose signature move is the fireman's carry, owned a pin over 3A-4A state champ Mike DiLeonardi (Old Mill), a decision over North Carroll's county champ Erik Hott and a major decision over Hansel Henry. The only losses for Lignelli were decisions to state champs Randy Owings and Zac Yinger (both of Francis Scott Key).
* Wade Mitchell, Oakland Mills, Sr., 130, 27-4 -- Mitchell (15 pins, three technical falls) appeared on his way to his third straight county crown and a place among the state's top four before injuring his shoulder in a 7-6 upset loss to Centennial's Kevin Heywood. Mitchell rebounded to place second in the region for the second straight year, but the injury was too much to continue in more than two matches at states.
* Jason Nagle, Centennial, Sr., 125, 27-6 -- Nagle (11 pins) overcame a knee injury to win the county crown and to finish second in the regions and states. This takedown artist capped the year by winning the gold medal in the senior All-Star classic, beating both Owings Mills' state champ Josh Ellin and Calvert Hall's state champ Brian Kapp on the same night.
* Chris Naylor, Oakland Mills, Soph., 103, 31-6 -- A year as the understudy behind former state champion teammate Juri Freeman served Naylor well. The muscular youth amassed 14 pins and four technical falls, winning the county crown, placing third in his region and winning his first bout at the state meet, 4-3, over Rising Sun's regional runner-up Luke Garvin.
* Choung Nguyen, Oakland Mills, Sr., 119, 17-1 -- Despite missing half the season for disciplinary reasons, Nguyen (six pins, three technical falls) ground out a successful season by winning county and regional crowns, finishing fourth in the state and earning a No. 6 state ranking. In the regionals, Nguyen bounced Damascus' Sean O'Neill, a fourth-place state finisher last year.
* Eric Paskin, Howard, Sr., 140, 32-2 -- Paskin, a takedown technician, won his second straight county and regional crowns and finished third in the 3A-4A state tournament for the second straight year. Paskin, winner of this year's Outstanding Wrestler award at the Howard County Tournament, went 30-1 last year.
* Matt Sartwell, Howard, Jr., 145, 21-8 -- Sartwell won an exciting county title battle, 7-5, over Centennial's Robert Rix. Sartwell, who ended the year with six pins and two technical falls, will be among the solid returnees to what should be a talented Lions squad next year.
* Ricky Trott, Atholton, Jr., 171, 17-2 -- Trott (eight pins) won his second straight county crown, finished third in the regions and went 1-2 at the 1A-2A state tournament, losing a quarterfinal decision to the eventual state champ, Tromaine Graves (Southern-AA). He'll be one of the state's best next season.
* Josh Zillmer, Hammond, Soph., 135, 14-0 -- A two-time county champ, Zillmer went unbeaten despite being hampered by a shoulder injury that forced him to wrestle sparingly throughout the year. Zillmer did not compete in the region or state meets, instead making the wise choice with coach Jeff Starnes to get therapy for his shoulder.
PICKING THE TEAM
The Baltimore Sun 1994-95 All-Howard County Wrestling Teams were selected by Lem Satterfield after consultation with staff writers and area coaches.