Wrestler of the Year
Brandon Lauer,
River Hill
Lauer, a junior 112-pounder, went 37-0 and extended his two-year career record to 72-0.
Lauer, a repeat All-Metro selection, earned his second Howard County, region and state titles. He also repeated as Howard County Wrestler of the Year.
Ranked No.1 in the state and 13th nationally, Lauer won a battle of state champs for his second state title, 6-3, over Southern-AA's Nick Alley -- who twice defeated Class 3A-4A champ Jeff Eveleth (Chesapeake-AA). Lauer's toughest win at states was a 10-9 victory over third-place finisher John Narlis of Towson, one of the last Marylanders to defeat Chris Knox of Calvert Hall.
Lauer also pinned Gaithersburg's state runner-up Mark Anderson in 59 seconds, had a technical fall of South Carroll's county and region champ Dan Patterson (third states), defeated Mardela's Kevin Stine (third at states at 119), beat Lackey's district champ Jesse McKeever (third at states at 125), and pinned Frederick County and region champ Brooks McClain of Walkersville.
Lauer has six victories over Atholton's Bryan Radik, a fourth-place finisher at the states. Lauer had 19 pins and is a national Amateur Athletic Union and Eastern National champion.
He is a 3.8 student and a member of River Hill's National Honor Society. He is also the school's SGA vice president.
Lauer began his third year of training with the Maryland junior national team earlier this week. His immediate goal is to earn All-America honors at the Asic Tigers Junior National Tournament in Fargo, N.D., in late July.
Joe Rosenbaum,
McDonogh
Rosenbaum, a senior 171-pounder, pinned 25 opponents en route to being an MIAA champ, a private schools runner-up and a fourth-place finisher at National Preps.
Ranked No.2 in the state behind DeMatha's two-time National Preps champ Wes Cummings, Rosenbaum finished 39-3.
Rosenbaum took a 35-0 record into his state title bout with Cummings but dropped a 7-1 decision. One of Rosenbaum's pins at states came against National Preps runner-up Marvin McClain of West Nottingham Academy.
Rosenbaum earned All-America and first-team All-Metro lacrosse honors as a defenseman.
He will play lacrosse at Princeton.
Tony Russo,
Calvert Hall
Russo, a senior 145-pounder, won his third MIAA title and finished second in the state private schools tournament and second in the National Preps.
Ranked No.2 in the state, Russo has a state private schools title and two seconds. This season he went 45-6 with 19 pins.
Russo suffered three one-point losses to two-time National Preps champ Drew Robertson (DeMatha), including one in the national finals.
Russo's biggest win came against Blair Academy's Jody Giurcich, a former National Preps champ who twice defeated Robertson. Russo also beat DeMatha's 160-pound state champ Joe Sargent and state runner-up T.J. Salb (Damascus).
John Thornton,
C. Milton Wright
Thornton, a senior 171-pounder, won his second straight Harford County and region titles, and his first state title after being third and sixth the two previous seasons.
Using a deliberate style and the most basic moves, Thornton finished 36-0 and allowed only 17 points to be scored against him this season.
Thornton had been thwarted at states the two previous years by Frederick wrestlers Keith Patterson and Ivan Zdanov. This year he earned the title with a 5-2 victory over Frederick's Omari Patterson.
Thornton finished his career at 114-21.
As a 130-pounder during his freshman season, Thornton was a Virginia state champ.
Matt Pandullo,
Meade
Pandullo, a senior 119-pounder, won his first state title and the second for Meade by defeating Old Mill's Adam DeCosmo, 4-3.
Anne Arundel County's Wrestler of the Year, Pandullo went 33-1 and won his second straight county and region crowns. He holds the Meade career record for wins with 123 vs. 17 losses.
At states this season, Pandullo also defeated Montgomery County and region champ Blake Rolen (Springbrook), and his overtime quarterfinal win over Kevin Bryant (Bladensburg) avenged a loss from a year earlier.
Pandullo had wins over former state champs Chris Combs (Old Mill), Nick Alley (Southern-AA) and Vaymond Dennis (Hammond).
Coach of the Year
Bruce Malinowski,
Overlea
Only two of Malinowski's wrestlers had junior-league experience, and one of his state place-winners had only three years of experience. Yet the former two-time state champ and Kenwood graduate guided his Falcons to a 4-0 record in the Class 1A-2A state duals tournament.
Two examples of his impact: Region champ Chaudhry Afzal is a second-year wrestler up from the JV. State runner-up Derrick Oxendine, a two-time county and region champ, is a third-year wrestler.
Malinowski was chosen Maryland's Coach of the Year by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
Matt Kunkel,
Aberdeen
Kunkel, a senior 189-pounder, finished 32-0 and won the state title that eluded him last season.
Last year, Kunkel lost an overtime state title bout to Linganore's George O'Brien, 4-2. The setback was one of Kunkel's two losses vs. 30 wins.
At this year's state tournament, Kunkel was bothered by the flu but won the title by dealing SMAC and region champ Paul Sheran (Calvert) his only loss of the season, 6-5.
Kunkel, a three-time Harford County and two-time region champ, also decisioned Milford Mill's Muhummad Howard (third states) and pinned region runner-up Chip Williams (Chopticon).
Kunkel amassed 105 career victories.
Bryan McDermott,
Mount St. Joseph
McDermott, a senior 135-pounder, finished 49-2 with MIAA and state private schools titles. He was fourth at National Preps.
Ranked No. 1 in Maryland, McDermott twice defeated Sherwood's former two-time state champ, Bobby Monday (Mercersburg Academy). He also decisioned state champ Aron Dorsey (Quince Orchard) and former state champ Vaymond Dennis (Hammond).
McDermott went 3-2 vs. state runner-up Kevin Gabrielson (DeMatha).
McDermott became the fourth Gaels' wrestler to win the prestigious PowerAde event in Bethlehem, Pa.
He has a wrestling scholarship to Duquesne University.
Chris Knox,
Calvert Hall
Knox, a senior 112-pounder, finished 46-2 and unbeaten in Maryland for the second straight season.
The Baltimore City/County Wrestler of the Year, Knox tied with River Hill's Brandon Lauer for the state's No. 1 ranking at 112. He was ranked No. 2 nationally by USA Wrestling.
Knox won the National Preps crown and his second straight MIAA and state private schools titles. He had 17 first-period falls and 137 takedowns, and didn't allow a takedown in Maryland.
A B-average student with a 1,030 SAT score, Knox is considering West Virginia, Franklin & Marshall, North Carolina, Michigan State and The Hill School in Pottstown, Pa.
Fran Jackson,
North Carroll
Jackson, a sophomore 125-pounder, won his second straight county, region and state titles. He is on pace to join Matt Slutzky (Aberdeen) and Steve Kessler (Owings Mills) as Maryland's only four-time state champs.
Jackson went 32-2 and improved his career mark to 64-4. He pinned MIAA champ Steve Chester (McDonogh) and decisioned Howard County champ Brian Frank (Howard) and three-time Carroll County champ Chris Reiter (Westminster). He beat Montgomery County and region champ Nick O'Gwin for his state title, after O'Gwin pinned two-time state champ Chris Combs (Old Mill).
Jackson is the third wrestler to win a state title after moving up at least three weight classes.
Darian Kess,
Archibishop Curley
Kess, a sophomore 103-pounder, went 45-5 and scored a school-record 210 takedowns and allowed only 13.
A former four-time junior-league champ, Kess won MIAA and state private schools titles and was runner-up at the National Preps.
Ranked No.1 in Maryland, Kess had 21 pins. He had wins over No.2-ranked Zak Johns (McDonogh), then-top-ranked Luke Palumbo (Annapolis Area Christian), third-ranked Max Meltzer (Bullis), state runner-up Matt Eveleth (Chesapeake-AA) and Howard County champ Jason Friert (Hammond).
Palumbo was the only Maryland wrestler to defeat Kess -- in the first event of the season.
Paul Boettcher,
Archbishop Curley
Boettcher, a senior 152-pounder, went 41-2 and brought his career victory total to 136. His 19 pins gave him 67 for his career. His 110 takedowns improved his career school-record to 242.
Boettcher won Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association and state private schools championships and was third at the National Preps tournament.
He had wins over Calvert Hall's three-time MIAA champ Tony Russo, Harford County champ John Ishibashi (Aberdeen), three-time Carroll County champ Mike Muller (South Carroll) and Annapolis' state runner-up Andrew Hemminger.
Boettcher was an MIAA and state runner-up last season, and was fourth at National Preps.
Brian Bricker,
Archbishop Curley
Bricker, a senior 130-pounder, was an MIAA champ and finished second at the state private schools tournament and fourth at the National Preps. He finished 42-7.
Bricker amassed 18 pins, including one over McDonogh's MIAA champ Steve Chester. He also had 23 takedowns.
Bricker (108 career wins) also defeated Arundel's two-time county and region champ Pat Ortman and North East's region runner-up, Chris LaPorte.
Counter-wrestling and leg riding are two of Bricker's strengths.
He is effective in extending opponents pursuing double- or single-leg shots and getting behind them for points.
Bricker is also an A student.
Kyle Burger,
Westminster
Burger, a senior 135-pounder, beat Southern Maryland Athletic Conference champ Blair Surgent (Calvert) to complete Carroll County, region and state title sweeps.
The three-time county and region champ went 33-2 and split wins with Class 1A-2A state champ Chris Kehne (Walkersville). Burger beat Anne Arundel County and region champ Eric Hill (Old Mill), Montgomery County champ Kevin Hunt (Einstein), SMAC champ Jesse McKeever (Lackey) and private schools runner-up Brian Bricker (Curley).
Burger is a 4.0 student and has never missed a day of school at Westminster.
He is considering Drexel, Lehigh and Maryland.
Shawn Calhoun,
Archibishop Curley
Calhoun, a senior 140-pounder, won MIAA and private schools titles in addition to all seven of the Maryland tournaments in which he competed.
Calhoun finished 40-4. He had 108 career victories and 23 pins -- including three straight en route to the MIAA tournament title, which is one less than the single-season record at Curley.
He defeated DeMatha's state runner-up Nick Glanden to win the difficult Hammond Invitational, where Einstein's state runner-up Timur Chabuk was third.
Calhoun also pinned former Anne Arundel County champ Pat Crouse of Arundel High.
Calhoun finished third at the MIAAs and private schools tournament as a junior.
Damien Davis,
Gilman
Davis, a senior 189-pounder, repeated as MIAA and state private schools champ. Ranked No. 1 at 189 the past two seasons, Davis finished 38-6 and was runner-up at the National Preps for the second straight year.
One of Davis' victories came against Delaware state champ Pete Santoro (St. Mark's), who is ranked No.7 nationally by USA Wrestling. Davis, an honorable-mention pick in USA Wrestling with a 126-20 career mark, was an All-Metro pick last winter.
Davis also earned All-Metro honors in lacrosse last spring as a defenseman and in football last fall as a running back. He was named The Sun's Male Athlete of the Year last spring. He plans to play lacrosse at Princeton.
Mike Faust,
Gilman
Faust, a junior heavyweight, went 47-1 and won his final 36 matches. He was ranked No.1 in Maryland and No. 1 by Amateur Wrestling News.
Faust won the Beast of the East tournament, his second straight MIAA and state private schools tournament titles, and National Preps.
An All-Metro pick last season, Faust twice avenged his lone loss of the season to DeMatha's Mark Hayes. Faust also won the Gilman Duals, and had victories over Hammond's state runner-up Matt Nelson and St. Paul's Nick Alevrogiannis (third at private school states).
Faust played fullback and linebacker on last fall's 10-0 Greyhounds football team.
Andrew Hemminger,
Annapolis
Hemminger, a senior 152-pounder, improved on third-place state finishes the previous two seasons by taking second at states. He went 30-2 and won his second straight county and region titles.
Hemminger's 105 career victories are the most by any Annapolis wrestler. This season he had wins over state champ Joe Sargent (DeMatha), state runner-up Kyle Woods (DeMatha), two-time Baltimore City champ Taven Phillips (Mervo), three-time Carroll County champ Mike Muller (South Carroll), and Southern-Garrett's Nick Dolan (third states).
A member of the National Honor Society, Hemminger has a 3.9 GPA and a 1,260 SAT score.