Mike Jenson

Mike Jenson Jr. is never far away from the Bible.When the Randallstown wrestler was defeating Dundalk's Wes Souders for the 160-pound Baltimore county title last year, his Bible was just a glance away."

Basketball fans at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia have never seen anyone quite like Brian Parker.A former Atholton High and Howard Community College star, Parker is the shortest player on the team at 5 feet 10. Yet he is showing Atlantic Canadians a style of basketball no one else in the region can duplicate.A point guard, Parker is dazzling opponents as well as fans with his up-tempo, change-of-pace, run-right-by-you style.Dalhousie's leading scorer (18.4 ppg), Parker has hit 20 points in each of the past five games, including 30 against Acadia.

Sixty-four of the state's best wrestlers were honored yesterday by the Maryland State Wrestling Association at its first annual Outstanding Wrestlers Banquet at Friends School.Among the honorees were Gilman's John Kim (135 pounds), Mount St. Joseph's Kevin Neville (152) and Randallstown's Mike Jenson (171), each ranked No. 1 by the MSWA.Kim, 39-0 this season, said the banquet -- the first of its kind in state wrestling history -- was a step in the right direction."Wrestling in Maryland isn't overly supported like basketball or football," said Kim. "It's good to see this kind of thing for wrestling.

In many ways, Steve Kessler is an average teen-ager. He's "down" with popular clothing and haircuts, and has school work, social activities and a weekend job. And his musical tastes range from rap's Wu-Tang Clan to heavy metal's Pantera.But when it comes to wrestling, the Owings Mills student sets an entirely different tempo.The two-time All-Metro choice is a public school record 98-0 (45 pins, 29 technical falls) entering today's Baltimore County tournament, where he can reach 102 wins.In addition, the two-time state champ and the only freshman to go unbeaten, can attain some major milestones before hegraduates:* He can become the second four-time state champion -- Aberdeen's Matt Slutzky (122-5-1)

Sixty-four of the state's best wrestlers were honored yesterday by the Maryland State Wrestling Association at its first annual Outstanding Wrestlers Banquet at Friends School.Among the honorees were Gilman's John Kim (135 pounds), Mount St. Joseph's Kevin Neville (152) and Randallstown's Mike Jenson (171), each ranked No. 1 by the MSWA.Kim, 39-0 this season, said the banquet -- the first of its kind in state wrestling history -- was a step in the right direction."Wrestling in Maryland isn't overly supported like basketball or football," said Kim. "It's good to see this kind of thing for wrestling.

Perry Hall wrestling coach Al Miller saw his seven-match undefeated streak end in a loss to Randallstown yesterday -- and it was a familiar scene. The Rams were the only team to defeat Perry Hall last season, too.Randallstown defeated the Gators, 45-20, on five falls and is the only undefeated team in the county."

Mount St. Joseph wrestler Kevin Neville always is seeking challenge.Take Tuesday's Senior All-Star Classic at Johns Hopkins, where the 152-pound National Prep runner-up scored a technical fall over his first of two opponents -- Old Mill's fifth-ranked state champ Todd Hultgren.The next opponent for Neville, a two-time Maryland Scholastic Association champ, was Loch Raven's sixth-ranked, two-time regional champ, Mike Brammer. Neville entered the event ranked No. 2 behind Rising Sun's Jason Townsend, a junior who just three days earlier had pinned Brammer in 1:40 for his second straight 2A-1A title.

No. 7 North Carroll ran away with the McDonogh tournament crown, but Gilman's John Kim walked off with the outstanding wrestler award after handing the Panthers' Tom Dell his first loss.Kim scored a takedown 25 seconds into the first sudden-death overtime period to win the 135-pound match Saturday, improving his record to 11-0. The loss dropped two-time state runner-up Dell to 9-1 with seven pins.Kim overcame a 4-3 second-period deficit with two escapes, the second coming with 45 seconds left in regulation to gain a 5-4 lead.

Basketball fans at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia have never seen anyone quite like Brian Parker.A former Atholton High and Howard Community College star, Parker is the shortest player on the team at 5 feet 10. Yet he is showing Atlantic Canadians a style of basketball no one else in the region can duplicate.A point guard, Parker is dazzling opponents as well as fans with his up-tempo, change-of-pace, run-right-by-you style.Dalhousie's leading scorer (18.4 ppg), Parker has hit 20 points in each of the past five games, including 30 against Acadia.

Jonathan Dietrich (Calvert Hall) has made an immediate impact as a freshman on Bucknell's cross country team.Dietrich was the team's top finisher at the Maryland Invitational, finishing fourth overall to lead the Bison over Maryland, George Mason and George Washington.He was among Bucknell's top three finishers in three of the school's first four meets and was the fifth when the team was runner-up to Army in the Patriot League championships last weekend.* Junior Ben Lyng (Towson) was third among American's nine finishers and 50th in a field of 74 in the Colonial Athletic Association championships.

Jonathan Dietrich (Calvert Hall) has made an immediate impact as a freshman on Bucknell's cross country team.Dietrich was the team's top finisher at the Maryland Invitational, finishing fourth overall to lead the Bison over Maryland, George Mason and George Washington.He was among Bucknell's top three finishers in three of the school's first four meets and was the fifth when the team was runner-up to Army in the Patriot League championships last weekend.* Junior Ben Lyng (Towson) was third among American's nine finishers and 50th in a field of 74 in the Colonial Athletic Association championships.

What began in jest has become a serious commitment for Dunbar's Martius Harding.And if the 15-year-old junior remains on course, his new-found hobby could mean an all-expenses-paid college education.In March, Harding completed his second varsity wrestling season, yet he compiled a 27-6 record with 13 pins. He was second in the Baltimore City and Maryland Scholastic Association tournaments. His year-ending 1A-2A state runner-up finish was the highest of any city wrestler, earning him a No. 6 ranking by the Maryland State Wrestling Association.

Mount St. Joseph wrestler Kevin Neville always is seeking challenge.Take Tuesday's Senior All-Star Classic at Johns Hopkins, where the 152-pound National Prep runner-up scored a technical fall over his first of two opponents -- Old Mill's fifth-ranked state champ Todd Hultgren.The next opponent for Neville, a two-time Maryland Scholastic Association champ, was Loch Raven's sixth-ranked, two-time regional champ, Mike Brammer. Neville entered the event ranked No. 2 behind Rising Sun's Jason Townsend, a junior who just three days earlier had pinned Brammer in 1:40 for his second straight 2A-1A title.

Mount St. Joseph wrestler Kevin Neville always is seeking challenge.Take Tuesday's Senior All-Star Classic at Johns Hopkins, where the 152-pound National Prep runner-up scored a technical fall over his first of two opponents -- Old Mill's fifth-ranked state champ Todd Hultgren.The next opponent for Neville, a two-time Maryland Scholastic Association champ, was Loch Raven's sixth-ranked, two-time regional champ, Mike Brammer. Neville entered the event ranked No. 2 behind Rising Sun's Jason Townsend, a junior who just three days earlier had pinned Brammer in 1:40 for his second straight 2A-1A title.

When the Arundel High wrestling team was concluding practice one day last week with simulated matches, Greg Booth challenged Sean Quigley.In the simulated matches, team members face each other and think they are down by one point with 10 seconds remaining. In about three seconds, Booth tossed his teammate to the mat, resulting in less practice time for himself. Quigley just shook his head in disbelief.The senior is doing the same thing to the competition -- dominating. Booth's career mark is 75-23, and the Arundel co-captain, ranked No. 3 by the Maryland State Wrestling Association, has a chance to post the most wins for a Wildcats wrestler since 1971, when Buddy Hepfer became the school's head coach.

Charlie Bennett only broke even in last weekend's Freestyle Junior Nationals in St. Paul, Minn.But to the 114-pound senior wrestler from Broadneck High, the accomplishment was nearly as great as winning his second straight Region IV title at 112 pounds last winter, or capturing the 103-pound Class 4A-3A state title as a sophomore."

WESTMINSTER -- Old Mill had two individual champions and placed four others in the top four of their weight classes, capturing its third straight Class 3A-4A state wrestling title last night.The Patriots outdistanced second place North Carroll, 130.5-99.5."When we lost the Annapolis tournament to Mount St. Joseph's earlier this year, we knew we needed to work hard," said 16th-year Old Mill coach Mike Hampe. "But we didn't go crazy. The kids just continued to work hard and then turned it up a notch this weekend."

Charlie Bennett only broke even in last weekend's Freestyle Junior Nationals in St. Paul, Minn.But to the 114-pound senior wrestler from Broadneck High, the accomplishment was nearly as great as winning his second straight Region IV title at 112 pounds last winter, or capturing the 103-pound Class 4A-3A state title as a sophomore."

Highland resident Danny DeVivo wrestled to an 8-4 record while competing in both the Greco-Roman and freestyle categories at last weekend's Junior National championships at St. Paul, Minn.The youngest member of the Maryland Junior Team at age 15, DeVivo's 6-2 slate in the freestyle competition left him just one match shy of gaining All-American status in a weight class made up of 110 wrestlers. A wrestler must finish among in the top eight to be considered an All-American."I felt real good about the way I wrestled," said DeVivo (154 pounds)

Sixty-four of the state's best wrestlers were honored yesterday by the Maryland State Wrestling Association at its first annual Outstanding Wrestlers Banquet at Friends School.Among the honorees were Gilman's John Kim (135 pounds), Mount St. Joseph's Kevin Neville (152) and Randallstown's Mike Jenson (171), each ranked No. 1 by the MSWA.Kim, 39-0 this season, said the banquet -- the first of its kind in state wrestling history -- was a step in the right direction."Wrestling in Maryland isn't overly supported like basketball or football," said Kim. "It's good to see this kind of thing for wrestling.