At 6:30 pm on February 11, the Linganore wrestling team went up against North Point in the Maryland wrestling state championship. They were victorious for the first time in school history with a score of 49 to 21.

Every day since the start of November, the team put their hard work and dedication into training for the championship six days a week.

Assistant wrestling coach David Kenderdine said that he and head coach Benjamin Arneson started off the season setting the goal of winning the state championship.

Kenderdine said, “As long as the kids put in the work and trained as hard as possible, take that in a stride [and] make it to every practice, [they would be able to] go out there and dominate their opponents in their matches.”

This consistent practice and communal effort shows a strong bond between teammates. 

Sophomore wrestler Joshua “Joshy” Arthur said, “[The team] gets along really well. We move together, we depend on each other.”

Junior Camden Scarborough agreed.

“We have a really good family bond,” said Scarborough.

The pressure to win the championship built up throughout the entire season. As the season continued, the team only improved.

Kenderdine said, “Oh, [the season] was great. We went out there, we had our low points and we had our high points. We wrestled South Carroll, and they kind of gave it to us a little bit and we had a high because we had just lost to Spring Mill (a school in West Virginia). We would practice in the practice room and use what we learned there in matches.”

The build-up was intense, but the Linganore team was able to calm themselves on the bus ride to the championship. The wrestlers were not allowed to have their phones so that they could focus. In order to bond and get into a good headspace, the entire team watched ‘Rocky’ on the way over.

Scarborough said, “As a team, I was confident [going into the championship]. The whole season we worked hard enough in competition. We had enough wrestlers to beat.”

And not only did the team win, but it was a complete blow-out. 

Arthur said, “[Winning] felt great. It was the first time in Linganore history, [and] as soon as the match started we knew [we’d win].”