Joe Breen

1 Days of school missed by Eastern Tech's sixth-ranked, 152-pound wrestler John Mullinix since he began kindergarten. Unfortunately for Mullinix, his absence was on Friday, when flu-like symptoms caused him to miss last weekend's Baltimore County tournament. The former county runner-up could return for this weekend's Class 2A-1A North regionals. 10 Wrestlers out of 14 starters for McDonogh's top-ranked team that were ranked last week in The Sun. They were: Eric Filipowicz (103 pounds)

McDonogh 152-pounder Bryn Holmes and Mount St. Joseph 160-pounder Mack Lewnes were impressive in Saturday's National Preps tournament at Lehigh University, winning titles in the event for the second time in their careers. Holmes, who pinned his way to last year's crown, this year had three pins, a 6-0 semifinal victory and a 15-4 rout of Blair Academy of New Jersey's Eric Medina in the title bout en route to earning Outstanding Wrestler honors in the event for the second straight season.

Still a bit banged up and tired from the Mount Mat Madness Tournament over the weekend, the Boys' Latin wrestling team didn't get any sympathy from visiting McDonogh last night. Instead, No. 5 McDonogh took full advantage of favorable matchups and didn't let up for a second in an unexpectedly easy time over No. 10 Boys' Latin. Heavyweight Luis Gimenez, Joe Breen (119 pounds), Ricky Tippett (140) and Jesse Sataloff (160) scored pins, but it was the effort of Luke Rebertus (145) that best summed up the Eagles' 54-18 victory.

Anne Arundel What Class 4A-3A East regional wrestling tournament at Broadneck When Friday and Saturday, times TBA Outlook All but one (Class 2A's Southern) of the county's 12 public schools will compete in the tournament, which is comprised of 23 teams overall and includes schools from Harford, Howard and Wicomico counties. The top four wrestlers in each weight class advance to the state tournament at the University of Maryland on March 3-4. Baltimore City Who, what No. 2 Walbrook vs. No. 3 Southwestern in the Baltimore City boys basketball championship game at Northwestern When Today, 6 p.m. Outlook Defending Baltimore City and Class 4A state champion Walbrook looks to repeat its earlier victory over the Sabers, who lost their season opener, 72-68, to Walbrook in the final 20 seconds.

Talk within Baltimore private school wrestling circles often has centered on the arrival of a corps of talented McDonogh newcomers, a group one Eagles fan dubbed, "The Fab Five Freshmen." But while four of the wrestlers have been rising to the challenge for the top-ranked Eagles, there is one -- Albert Woody Jr. -- who has felt like he hasn't. But the 119-pounder delivered last night at third-ranked Archbishop Curley, routing his Friars rival, Ali Saadalev, 13-3, during a 51-19 victory in a Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference dual meet.

Senior forward Jazman Ramsey and freshman center Simone Egwu combined for 33 points and 23 rebounds to lead No. 6 Arundel (16-4, 14-0 Anne Arundel County) past host Annapolis last night, 68-55, in girls basketball. The Panthers (14-5, 9-5) got a season-high 31 points from senior Omara Parker. The Wildcats scored the last 13 points of the second quarter to take a 30-16 halftime lead. Girls basketball St. Mary's 56, Mount de Sales 41 -- Mary Ruttum scored 24 points to lead the Saints (4-21)

McDonogh coach Pete Welch called it a victory that was almost a decade in the making. The Eagles have slowly built their wrestling program to a point that it's a rival for any of the other top schools in the state. Just one week after beating perennial power Mount St. Joseph to capture their first Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association championship in four years, the Eagles held off the Gaels again yesterday to win their first Maryland private schools tournament. McDonogh, the host school, finished with 248.5 points, eight better than Mount St. Joseph and 59.5 ahead of third-place Archbishop Curley.

A week after dominating the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament, the Mount St. Joseph juggernaut crushed an even bigger opponent last night at McDonogh: the private schools state wrestling tournament. With 269 points and five champions, the Gaels, the nation's 13th-ranked team, took the tournament title for the third straight year. They won titles with Jon Kohler (130), Brandon Propst (145), Mack Lewnes (160), Jake Bohn (171), and Kevin O'Connor (189). "We didn't have a situation where somebody gave them this state and national ranking and they rested on their laurels," Mount St. Joseph coach Jay Braunstein said.

Jason Lanciotti built a five-point lead before pinning St. Paul's Mike Lima to become one of 10 Mount St. Joseph wrestlers to reach today's semifinals of Maryland Private Schools state tournament at McDonogh. Also advancing for the No. 1 Gaels, who lead second-place DeMatha, 130-104, were the Lewnes brothers, top-ranked Sam (160 pounds) and second-ranked Mack (152), along with top-ranked Andrew Gold (103), No. 2 Bruce Dulski (112), Louis Ruonavar (119), No. 1 Tim Bohlman (125), No. 4 Dave Dulski (130)

It hasn't been an easy season for the Mount St. Joseph wrestling team. The top-ranked Gaels have been plagued by injuries, most noticeably with state champion Mark Tsikerdanos (130 pounds) and standout Greg Gold (112) sidelined for the year. "We took a real snake-bite when we lost those guys," said Mack Lewnes (160), last year's Sun All-Metro Wrestler of the Year. "Even though we've had all the injuries, we've made adjustments and we've come back." The persistence paid off for the Gaels yesterday as the team won the MIAA tournament with 282.5 points -- 83.5 points ahead of second-place Archbishop Curley -- and placed 13 of its 14 wrestlers at the event.

1 Days of school missed by Eastern Tech's sixth-ranked, 152-pound wrestler John Mullinix since he began kindergarten. Unfortunately for Mullinix, his absence was on Friday, when flu-like symptoms caused him to miss last weekend's Baltimore County tournament. The former county runner-up could return for this weekend's Class 2A-1A North regionals. 10 Wrestlers out of 14 starters for McDonogh's top-ranked team that were ranked last week in The Sun. They were: Eric Filipowicz (103 pounds)

McDonogh coach Pete Welch called it a victory that was almost a decade in the making. The Eagles have slowly built their wrestling program to a point that it's a rival for any of the other top schools in the state. Just one week after beating perennial power Mount St. Joseph to capture their first Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association championship in four years, the Eagles held off the Gaels again yesterday to win their first Maryland private schools tournament. McDonogh, the host school, finished with 248.5 points, eight better than Mount St. Joseph and 59.5 ahead of third-place Archbishop Curley.

As he wrestled in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association heavyweight consolation final yesterday, McDonogh sophomore Doug Schenk had no idea his team's championship hopes rested solely on his shoulders. But as Schenk (27-11) pinned Rob Mutschler of Spalding, he vaulted McDonogh to an insurmountable total of 249.5 points -- 3.5 ahead of host Mount St. Joseph -- and its first MIAA tournament title in four years. Curley (204.5) finished third. "It feels awesome," Schenk said. "I didn't know it all came down to me, but I'm glad I could win it for the team."

Senior forward Jazman Ramsey and freshman center Simone Egwu combined for 33 points and 23 rebounds to lead No. 6 Arundel (16-4, 14-0 Anne Arundel County) past host Annapolis last night, 68-55, in girls basketball. The Panthers (14-5, 9-5) got a season-high 31 points from senior Omara Parker. The Wildcats scored the last 13 points of the second quarter to take a 30-16 halftime lead. Girls basketball St. Mary's 56, Mount de Sales 41 -- Mary Ruttum scored 24 points to lead the Saints (4-21)

Talk within Baltimore private school wrestling circles often has centered on the arrival of a corps of talented McDonogh newcomers, a group one Eagles fan dubbed, "The Fab Five Freshmen." But while four of the wrestlers have been rising to the challenge for the top-ranked Eagles, there is one -- Albert Woody Jr. -- who has felt like he hasn't. But the 119-pounder delivered last night at third-ranked Archbishop Curley, routing his Friars rival, Ali Saadalev, 13-3, during a 51-19 victory in a Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference dual meet.

For three days, McDonogh's National Preps champion Bryn Holmes was bedridden with a viral infection. "He wasn't in school all week until Thursday," said his mother, Erin. "We told him if he didn't go Thursday, he'd have to stay home." But there was no way that the competitor inside of the two-time state champion 152-pounder was going to let him miss yesterday's 24-team Mount Mat Madness Invitational -- not with a final chance to face St. Mark's Andrew Bradley, who had beaten him twice in one day earlier this year.

For two years at South Carroll, Andrew Gold was an undersized 103-pounder who struggled not only against the weight of his mostly larger rivals but also against opponents who matched his technical skills. Last night in the eighth annual Hammond Invitational, the transfer to Mount St. Joseph showed he's worthy of his No. 1 state ranking as he scored a 17-0 technical fall, pins in the first and second period - the latter over fourth-ranked Joe Breen of McDonogh - and a 10-2 major decision over Jeremy Shaw of St. Mark's in the title bout.

Anne Arundel What Class 4A-3A East regional wrestling tournament at Broadneck When Friday and Saturday, times TBA Outlook All but one (Class 2A's Southern) of the county's 12 public schools will compete in the tournament, which is comprised of 23 teams overall and includes schools from Harford, Howard and Wicomico counties. The top four wrestlers in each weight class advance to the state tournament at the University of Maryland on March 3-4. Baltimore City Who, what No. 2 Walbrook vs. No. 3 Southwestern in the Baltimore City boys basketball championship game at Northwestern When Today, 6 p.m. Outlook Defending Baltimore City and Class 4A state champion Walbrook looks to repeat its earlier victory over the Sabers, who lost their season opener, 72-68, to Walbrook in the final 20 seconds.

McDonogh is expected to soar to new heights, according to the preseason talk circulating in Maryland's high school wrestling community. The No. 2-ranked Eagles landed at St. Benedict's High of New Jersey last weekend, and then took to the skies. Led by 125-pound sophomore Ben Levin, whose second-period pin of National Preps champ Dan White of the Peddie School was the upset of the event, the Eagles (253 points) overcame host and runner-up St. Benedict's (207 points) and the rest of the 12-team field for the title in Saturday's Mike Caruso Invitational.

McDonogh junior Bryn Holmes and Pallotti senior Tim Jennings took different approaches to achieve the same result as they captured National Preps wrestling championships Saturday at Lehigh University. Holmes (42-3) pinned all five opponents, including Tyler Thurgood of Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J., in 55 seconds of their 152-pound title match. Jennings (38-3), a two-time private schools state champ, was more methodical. He won two overtime bouts and a third match 2-1 before blanking Brian Gable of Northeast Catholic in Philadelphia for the 215-pound crown.