Pat Flynn

Finally.After eight years of trying, the Annapolis Panthers wrestling team grabbed the Arundel Invitational Tournament title. But Coach Dave Gehrdes had to juggle his lineup to do it."We were trying to get the strongest team possible for this tournament and I had everyone bumped up a weight class from 140 on up," said Gehrdes, whose Panthers are unbeaten in dual-meet matches at 6-0."This is one of the best fields we've wrestled in for a small tournament like this," Gehrdes added. "Our 103-pounder (Mike Zambernardi)

Pudgy and plump as a sophomore midfielder last year, Annapolis attackman Dan Flynn had no idea that he'd mature into the county public schools' most prolific lacrosse scorer a year later.But with 30 goals and 10 assists, that's exactly what he is."Last year he was a little dumpy," admitted third-year Annapolis coach Dan Hart. "He came to practice an out-of-shape 15-year-old."Flynn had only eight goals and five assists last year."I weighed190 pounds as a sophomore playing defensive end and linebacker during football season, but I worked hard over the summer to get the weight off," Flynn said.

Eight area athletes will be competing in this weekend's NCAA wrestling championships at the University of Minnesota.From local colleges, Coppin State's Keno Brown will compete in the 190-pound class, Maryland's Jim Guzzio qualified at 134 pounds and Maryland's Pat Flynn, a graduate of Annapolis High, will compete at 150 pounds.Five other wrestlers who attended area high schools are competing at the championships, including Mike Jenson, a 190-pounder at Rider College. A two-time state champion at Randallstown, Jensen is ranked 10th in the nation by Amateur Wrestling News.

North Carolina captured its fourth consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference wrestling championship yesterday at Cole Field House in College Park.The Tar Heels scored 90 points to outdistance Virginia (64), Maryland (59 1/2 ) and North Carolina State (56 1/2 ).Five Tar Heels won individual weight class championships and two others placed second. All seven qualified for the NCAA championships at Iowa on March 16-18.T. J. Jaworsky of North Carolina was named the tournament's outstanding wrestler after defeating Ryan Nunamaker of N.C. State with a technical fall in 6:40 to win the 134-pound title.

The object of the state regional wrestling tournaments, running tomorrow and Saturday at various sites, is to qualify wrestlers for the state tournament. Only the top four finishers in each weight classification will advance to the state tourney at Western Maryland College on March 1-2.One of the season's most dominant wrestlers has been Broadneck's Shawn Miller. The junior 112-pounder has pinned 22 opponents in winning all of his 27 matches. He pinned his way to the Anne Arundel County championship last weekend and will go after his second regional title in the Class 4A/3A Region IV tourney this weekend at Meade.

Team and individual rankings are made by the MSWA and are based on data provided by coaches and a special committee of area ranking coordinators.1 Old Mill2 Mt. St. Joe3 Owings Mills4 Smithsburg5 Gilman(tie) North Carroll7 Broadneck8 Bullis9 Aberdeen10 Lackey(tie) Northern-GarrettMSWA ratings103 pounds 1. Gerard Harrison. Gilman2. Steve Lundstrom, Old Mill3. Zac Fowl, Aberdeen4. Ty Long, Edgewood5. Greg Knox, Calvert Hall6. Mynor Herrera, DeMathaCharlie Bennett, Broadneck112 1. Shawn Miller, Broadneck2.

When Meade High senior wrestler Luther Scott joined the National Guard last April, he didn't expect Iraq's Aug. 2 invasion of Kuwait and the ensuing war.The 17-year-old knows that after graduation, he could be called on to join the ground forces in the Middle East, although his chances may have diminished with yesterday's Iraqi announcement that its troops would withdraw from Kuwait."

The Annapolis boys lacrosse team had three ingredients that made Friday night's 9-4 victory over Harford County's C. Milton Wright a virtual certainty -- Dan Flynn, Ryan Hurt and Chris Stauder.After several delays, including an argument about a disallowed C. Milton Wright goal and both the stadium lights and scoreboard losing power on three separate occasions, Flynn and Hurt finally gave the Panthers a much-needed power surge.Flynn recovered from a first-quarter ankle injury to rip the Mustangs for five goals to give Annapolis a 6-1 lead by late in the second period.

Second-ranked heavyweight Don Marco -- one of five Old Mill champions -- beat Southern's Robert Burley, 2-0, to help the Patriots win their seventh Anne Arundel County wrestling tournament title yesterday at Arundel High.The top-ranked, two-time defending Class 3A/4A state champion Patriots (203.5 points) broke the meet record of 200.5 they set in 1987.Second-place Broadneck (151) and third-place Annapolis (138.5) are ranked fifth by the Maryland State Wrestling Association."We had the right frame of mind and the right training coming in," said Old Mill coach Mike Hampe, who in 16 seasons has a 160-22-3 record.

Old Mill had three champions and five runners-up, as the two-time defending Class 3A-4A state champion Patriots captured their seventh Region IV title Saturday night at Meade High School."