Friday, February 17^th, four of MACA’s wrestlers went to McDonogh School in Owings Mills to compete in the Maryland Independent School State Wrestling Championships. With only four wrestlers, MACA finished 10^th out of 17 teams in the B Division and ahead of MAWL rival Heights and McLean Schools and just behind Annapolis Area Christian School. Saint Mary’s Won the B division and host McDonogh won the A division convincingly. Fellow Mid-Atlantic Wrestling League members Maryland School For the Deaf finished 4^th. Senior Dillon Van Houten was the standout winning 3 matches at the tournament.

Jesse takes a shot

Team Captain Jesse Cherry (120lbs) capped off his impressive freshman campaign with a win over Mount Saint Joe’s Langeluttig in a dominant 7-4 decision. With a 5^th place finish at the Franklin tournament and 1^st place honors at the Baltimore Lutheran Duals, Cherry came in with tournament experience. Jesse finished the year with 20 wins and 54 takedowns. Losses to the 7^th and 8^th place wrestlers kept Jesse from placing in the tournament this year. He looks to build on his top 24 finish next year.

William Coard Looks to control Darius Johnson

Fellow freshman William Coard (138lbs) finished his season with a pin over Saint Paul’s Darius Johnson. Coard lost to the 2^nd place Scott Strapelli from John Carroll who is seeded 5^th in the nation. Coard’s freshman year included a 2^nd place finish at the Baltimore Lutheran Duals and 3^rd place Honors in the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling League.

Daniel Helt works a front headlock

Senior Daniel Helt (132lbs) displayed why he’s been a leader in the wrestling room for the past 3 years. His 22 career wins (17 this season), 2^nd place finish at the Baltimore Lutheran duals and 3^rd place finish at the league tourney set up his final time wearing MACA blue on the mat. His first match was against the tournament champion Daniel Sanchez from Georgetown Prep who will be seeded 6^th in the nation this weekend. But Daniel came back to Pin Bullis School’s Tony Scott in 2:07 to finish in the top 16. Daniel has built his legacy at MACA through hard work and a dedication to doing things the right way.

Dillon Van Houten Takes Down His opponent.

Senior team captain Dillon Van Houten (154lbs) chose to go on a mission’s trip to Costa Rica instead of competing in the league tournament despite being the clear favorite to finish in 1^st place. This dedication to God first is exactly what he has taught the younger wrestlers this year. Van Houten finished a career at MACA that included a record 25 victories with 3 wins to finish in the top 12 of 32 wrestlers. His first victory was a rematch against Mt Carmel’s Grant Taylor who defeated Dillon early in the season. Dillon’s 58 second pin sent him to the next round where he lost to Michael Sprague (9^th in the nation). He then pinned Charlie Blake (friends school) in 2:32 and John Wancowicz to finish a stellar senior year.

TN 2012 from MACA on Vimeo.

“The MACA Lions Varsity Wrestling team competed in the 2nd annual Baltimore Lutheran Duals tournament on Saturday Jan 7th. The other schools in the tournament included Jemicy and Balitmore Lutheran (Baltimore County Private schools), Covenant Life (a Christian school from Gaithersburg MD) and Model Secondary School for the Deaf (a High School run by Gallaudet university). At the end of the day, there was a 3 way tie between CLS, Baltimore Lutheran and Model for 1st place. The highlight of the day was when the MACA wrestlers and the CLS squad took time before their match to pray together.

Several MACA wrestlers had success on the day. None more than Team captain Dillon Van Houten who went 4-0 and earned a 1st place medal and his 17th varsity Win. Fellow Team Captain Jesse Cherry earned a 3-1 record on the day- his only loss coming in a rematch against Ben Huff from CLS (Last year’s league champion). Cherry defeated Huff in a close match on December 3rd and the two should have a chance to settle the tie In the MAWL Championships Feb 4th. Cherry’s varsity record now stands at 12-5 already tying the record for most wins in a single season. Freshman William Coard and senior Daniel Helt took home second place medals. Next year, MACA should be in contention to win this tournament.”

January 7, 2011 would be the second-annual Lions vs. Alumni showdown. The Lions would beat the alumni by a score of 69-42. The alumni roster consisted of 7 class of 2010 graduates, including Joey Dassalous, Sam Fraley, Kevin Gammell, Brad Braden, Stephen Dankert, Caleb Scully, and Chris Eagan. It also included 3 class of 2011 graduates, Isaac Burrall, Luke Bailey, and Ross Brighoff. Wearing a MACA jersey for the first time since graduating, Burrall would put up a team-leading 9 points. Stephen Dankert added 7 in his second alumni game. For the present Lions, senior Daniel Craig would score a team-leading 15 points, while sophomore  Tyler Lipman would add 11.