No matter what expectations fans carried into the old gym at the Gilman School on Wednesday evening, most were probably figuring this would be a match that had some twists and turns, but certainly not a one-sided blowout.

But a blowout is exactly what unfolded as No. 1 Mt. St. Joseph clobbered No. 3 Gilman, 56-16. The home team was never really in this dual, falling behind 30-0 before throwing any of their own points on the board.

“I felt that coaches, Bryn Holmes and Henry Franklin, would have their team prepared,” Gaels coach Harry Barnabae said. “You can always expect a challenge traveling to Gilman and tonight was no different. We knew we had our hands full with the Sherlock brothers. The brothers are such great competitors and then you add to the mix Zach Glory, and the 190 pounder Carson Mingo, that toughens their lineup. Our coaching staff had prepped our wrestlers with changes we felt that Gilman was likely to make, and I believed it benefited our guys at 132 and 215 pounds.”

The random weight draw came up 285, so the big boys finally got to start one out for a change. No. 1 Gavin Bage wasted little time, ending his opening slot in 54 seconds over Wesley Seba (No. 21 at 215).

The two extremes of wrestling were back-to-back as the 106lbers were next. Freshman Joseph Cooper (No. 8) bested Bage by posting a 29 second pin of No. 24 Anders Martin. Another freshman was next as No. 15 Jake Tamai, who was wrestling in his first high school dual meet, used a cradle to make quick work of No. 20 Sawyer Enright, 1:17.

“I was just trying to have good a first meet,” Tamai said. “Making sure I was warming up, have a good first impression, and go out there and get the job done. It was great. The Nogles and the whole team give a great atmosphere and coach Harry is a great coach. All the coaches are amazing. It’s a great experience to be here. I just went out there and did my job. Nothing more than that.”

The Nogle brothers were next up, and both are perched atop the MSWA’s state rankings at their respective weights. Carter (120) faced off with No. 5 Zach Glory in the first match to go the distance with Cater booking a 7-2 win. Coleman had the quickest fall of the night at 24 seconds against Vinay Maheshwari at 126.

The Greyhounds chose to move John Jurkovic (No. 8 at 126) to 132 in an effort to gain some points. On paper, it was a wise move as Jurkovic’s opponent was the unranked Maximus Conley. Things were going according to script when Conley flipped a switch and mounted a comeback to steal a win Gilman was certainly counting on.

“It was a great match for me,” remarked Conley. “Not the best, honestly, if I’m being honest with you. (I was) down 3-0, I knew I had to turn it up. I just trusted in myself. I believed in myself. I never stopped wrestling. My coaches have been telling me all week, never stop wrestling, and that’s what I went out there and did. Whatever the result was I didn’t care. I just knew I had to try hard and that’s what I did. (The upset) is good for me, I guess. I’m more happy that the team won.”

“I expected our upperclassmen to go out strong and set the pace, as Gavin Bage did by securing a fall at 285,” Barnabae added. “However, I was very pleased with our freshman. JoJo Cooper, James Wright, Jake Tamai, and Jaden Diggs. A group of very aggressive, competitive and coachable wrestlers. They have not backed down from any challenge this season and we expect big things from them in the near future.”

Facing a 30-0 deficit, Gilman could take solace in the fact they had the Sherlock brothers (Tyson and Emmitt) ready for action. Tyson (No. 2 at 132) moved to 138 and picked up a badly needed pin to get Gilman off the schneid. Tyson decked Shane Anderson with eight seconds left in the second period, 3:52.

Instead of rolling with Emmitt next, Holmes had another trick up his sleeve, putting his regular 144lber, Buck Franklin, out to battle Jaden Diggs. Like Jurkovic’s match, things were going according to plan initially, but the tide turned, and Diggs planted Franklin midway through the third frame, 4:57.

Emmitt (No. 4 at 138) stepped out at 152 to square off with Cameron Cannaday (No. 7 at 144). Sherlock temporarily halted the bleeding for Gilman posting a 12-2 major-decision. The score was 36-10 now. A miracle run of five six-point wins could save the day for the Greyhounds.

No. 6 Ben Smith didn’t wait long to lock down the victory for St. Joe, using a 58 second pin of Allan Gushue (honorable mention).

“I think it’s a good win for us,” said Smith. “We kinda blew them out, so it kind of solidifies our spot as No. 1 in the state. “Honestly, I didn’t really think it would be tougher. We practice hard. We work hard in the room. So, we’re pretty confident and we’re No. 1 for a reason.”

No. 1 Nicolas Barnabae (165) captured the final fall of the evening with a first period flattening versus Tyler Axilbund, 1:13. No. 5 Austin Lewis (175) picked up a 14-4 major-decision with Nick Haughey.

St. Joe had no one to send out at 190lbs so Marcus Walker received a forfeit for Gilman’s final points. No. 1 Bryce Phillips ended the night with a 10-2 major-decision in his encounter with Carson Mingo (No. 4 at 190), making the final score, 56-16.

Gilman coach Bryn Holmes took the loss in stride, realizing even though his program has improved by leaps and bounds in recent seasons, there is one more level to get to.

“They’re really freaking good man,” Holmes asserted. “We tried to make some moves and it didn’t work. They’re too good. I give credit to them. I’m looking forward to hopefully getting some rematches later on in the season and seeing where our guys are. They’re (St. Joe) the ultimate goal. We want to be the best and right now, they’re the best and they proved it today.”

Gilman will host “The Haswell M Franklin ‘50 Duals” on Saturday. Mt. St. Joe travels to the always tough War on The Shore Tournament on Friday and Saturday at Stephen Decatur High School, so there’s little time to savor the victory.

“There’s never an easy win in today’s wrestling world,” Barnabae continued. “Our team has been working hard and improving every week and we are now on to our next competition. Our goal is to finish No. 1 in the state for the sixth consecutive year and peak for the National Preps. Every week is a step closer in that direction. This weekend we are gearing up to wrestle at the War on the Shore tournament. Todd Martinek (tournament director) always does a nice job in bringing stiff competition in from out of state such as DE, VA, PA and CT.”

Mt. St. Joseph 56, Gilman 16

(match started at 285)

285-Gavin Bage (MSJ) pinned Wesley Seba, :54

106-Joseph Cooper (MSJ) pinned Anders Martin, :29

113-Jake Tamai (MSJ) pinned Sawyer Enright, 1:17

120-Carter Nogle (MSJ) dec Zach Glory, 7-2

126-Coleman Nogle (MSJ) pinned Vinay Maheshwari, :24

132-Maximus Conley (MSJ) dec John Jurkovic, 5-3

138-Tyson Sherlock (Gil) pinned Shane Anderson, 3:52

144-Jaden Diggs (MSJ) pinned Buck Franklin, 4:57

150-Emmitt Sherlock (Gil) maj-dec Cameron Cannaday, 12-2

157-Ben Smith (MSJ) pinned Allan Gushue, :58

165-Nicolas Barnabae (MSJ) pinned Tyler Axilbund, 1:13

175-Austin Lewis (MSJ) maj-dec Nick Haughey, 14-4

190-Marcus Walker (Gil) won by forfeit

215-Bryce Phillips (MSJ) maj-dec Carson Mingo, 10-2