This article was originally written on February 2025.
MoCo wrestling teams have grown in name and strength over the past year, with teams rising to the occasion and beating former “powerhouse teams”. Getting rid of the prior dynamic where teams such as Northwest dominated the wrestling field, a new essence has been created. Teams have been getting new coaches, all with a common goal of winning counties and regionals, and just in general growing in strength and popularity, forming a stronger appearance and discipline principle than in the earlier season, and making meets tenser than before. Bethesda-ChevyChase HS, Churchill HS, Richard Montgomery HS and Northwest HS have all had an exceptional season, with many of their players being state-bound.
Northwest, a typical “powerhouse team,” as described by their opponents, held strong this season. With only one recorded loss, placing first at a tournament on Jan. 28th with 54 points overall, and second on the Feb. 4 tournament with 27 points, showcases strength. Although a loss to Urbana HS on Feb. 9 by nine points can be seen as a setback, the wrestlers have bounced back by having “a great showing at the MCPS county tournament this Friday (Feb. 21) and Saturday (Feb. 22) with multiple wrestlers medaling as well as the team placing” (@NORTHWESTJAGUARSWRESTLING on Instagram). By placing eighth in the tournament, Northwest won the west division of MCPS. Beyond this, five notable players have qualified for the state championships; Auggie Dandenault, Logan Brown, Adrian Johnson, Cooper Bunting as an alternate, and Kyle Osborn as an alternate.
B-CC has had quite a few unusual losses this season, some being against their rivals, Northwest, Whitman, and Churchill, and others being against Damascus, Montgomery Blair, and Clarksburg, with a drastic range in points. Despite this, BCC had an impressive turnout with state qualifiers, with 8 total wrestlers being state-bound; Ethan Makle, Caden Glass, and Dajorn Smith, all of whom were regional champions. Additionally, Manuela Tebeka, Efrata Mekene, Nick MacWilliams, Enrique Herrera, and Nana Blankson have also qualified for states.
Richard Montgomery has seen some major growth this year. Team captains have been enforcing a more serious atmosphere when approaching practices, RM alumni have visited practices to push the pace, and the team has two new varsity coaches, all leading to incredible growth on the mat. Winning over Northwest this past season has showcased how much this team has grown this season. Aside from this, RM had three county champions for the 2025 MCPS County Championship. Similar to Northwest, five wrestlers qualified for the state championships; Juliana Wong, Cielo Prieto, Isaiah Womack, Emma Higgs and Kevin Rosenblatt.
Starting off the season with a massive 54-15 win over Blake HS on Dec. 6, 2024, Winston Churchill HS has made some noise. Only ten days later, Churchill placed first in the Walter Johnson and Blair conference game. Shortly after, Churchill defeated Northwest on Jan. 3, with a small downfall of losing 45-20 only two days later on Jan. 5 to BCC. However, the team made a statement by coming back with a 84-0 win over Blake HS on Jan. 22. To top this off, Churchill placed second at the MPSSAA 4A Region Semifinal & Final conference game on Feb. 8, and at the MCPS Tournament on Feb. 23, Joao Guerra made the finals, with four other players placing. Four players qualified for state this year, Joao Guerra, who also won the region championships, and Mason Hu. As alternates, Adam Bazyluk and Jeremy Kwon placed as state alternates. The team also hit a major milestone, with Jeremy Kwon becoming the tenth wrestler in school history to reach 100 wins.
Written by Ronya Sen
Photo Courtesy of Claudia Raye and Creative Commons