Among the awards and medals earned so far throughout the year, one stands out. An often overlooked and underappreciated sport at Severn; a physical, hand-to-hand combat on the mat that pits two trained athletes against one another in a high-octane endurance battle. This sport, if you haven’t guessed it by now, is wrestling.
Often flying under the radar, Severn wrestling has reached new heights. The Admirals recently dominated at the MIAA Championship meet, bringing home an incredible 1st place victory for the B Conference. Ryan Money won the championship at 145 lbs; Reid Gills finished 3rd at 170 lbs; and Nicky Melfi finished 4th at 106 lbs.
I interviewed both Blake Hoyt, ’23 and Ryan Money, ’22, to get a solid grasp on what the season has been like from the athletes’ perspective. Blake mentioned the incredible team bonds that have been built over the years: “At the beginning of the season the team was pretty tight since most of us knew each other.” Blake explained how the comaraderie gained from working together is an essential piece of team success, and described team unity to be a huge contributor to their success. One aspect that sets wrestling apart is the extreme demands on conditioning. Top-notch conditioning is the often-hated essential that builds necessary endurance and strength. Blake described the intense conditioning that wrestlers faced early in the season, which led to the weeding out of many potential members who couldn’t handle the overwhelming physical toll.
I spoke with senior Ryan Money, an incredible grappler who took home the first place medal in his weight class during the conference championship meet. I first asked Ryan if at the beginning of the season he would have expected the team to have done so well. “No, actually I didn’t even think we would have enough [wrestlers] for a [complete] team to come out,” Ryan explained. “I also didn’t know the state rankings at that point.” Ryan assumed a leadership role early, becoming team captain and encouraging potential wrestling recruits to help bolster the team’s roster.
After winning the B-Conference championship, the Admirals went to the State Wrestling Championship at Harford Community College. At States, the boys finished in second place. Ryan Money also finished in second place overall in his weight class, losing 2-1 in double overtime. Congratulations to the wrestlers for their tremendous success this season! GO ADMIRALS!!!
