Before Sunday afternoon’s wrestling dual meet between Johns Hopkins and Morgan State at Hurt Gymnasium in Baltimore, Bears sophomore Cort Vann recognized something: a larger number of fans than usual.
“Even as I was warming up, I looked up at the crowd and was like, ‘There are a lot of people here,’” said Vann, who wrestles at 174 pounds. “That was pretty shocking because there were more people there for the Johns Hopkins dual than Princeton, Penn and stuff. So just to see the community’s support for two schools from Baltimore, it was great.”
The size of those in attendance — who braved a winter storm to turn out — also caught the attention of Blue Jays coach Keith Norris.
“The crowd was kind of a larger crowd for a snow day,” he said. “I saw some Baltimore County high school coaches come to the match, and we don’t get many of the local fans to just come and watch wrestling. So I think this was a good opportunity for local fans to say, ‘I’m going to watch this match because there are two local teams.’ So it was neat to see some old faces.”
The match was notable because it was Johns Hopkins’ first against a Baltimore-area opponent since Feb. 17, 1987, when that squad clashed with Coppin State. Although the result ended lopsidedly in favor of Morgan State which rolled, 37-12, the meet’s significance extended beyond the final score.
“I think it’s good to have wrestling back at Morgan State and kind of rebuild the area,” Bears coach Kenny Monday said. “I think it’s good for the up-and-coming kids to see programs that are building and thriving. We’ve got some really good high school programs here, and I think it’s just good for Maryland. It’s good for the area, it’s good for wrestling overall. So I’m excited to be able to just compete with those guys and keep trying to build the area.”
This winter marks Morgan State’s second as a varsity sport since the university received a $2.7 million donation from the HBCU Wrestling Initiative and former Princeton wrestler and investment firm CEO Mike Novogratz to revive a program that had been dormant since the 1996-97 season because of a lack of resources. The school is the only historically Black college or university to offer the sport at the Division I level.
Shortly after Monday was hired in August 2022 to lead the Bears, Norris said he called Monday to congratulate and welcome him to Baltimore. The two then began discussing resuming the all-time series between the universities.
Although Johns Hopkins competes at the Division III level, Norris said he had no qualms about agreeing to a meet with Morgan State.
“I’m more about the individual,” he said. “So I want them ready for March, and I want them to have challenges and experience those challenges to set themselves up for future performances in February and March. In the past, we’ve wrestled the University of Maryland and the Naval Academy, and this was just another opportunity to get another Division I opponent.”
Although the Blue Jays won just three of 10 bouts, they had defeated Division II Coker, 25-17, at the Virginia Duals on Jan. 10 and were uncowed by the prospect of tangling with a bigger and stronger foe.
“We were really glad we could make the match happen,” said graduate student Chris Roybal, an Ellicott City resident and Mount Saint Joseph graduate who edged Bears sophomore Kyle Grey, 4-2, at 174 pounds. “I think it benefitted both teams. For my team, we were really excited to go against our first D-I squad. This was cool. It’s always good to go against better competition, and we were just coming off a D-II win this past weekend. So we were confident.”
The same could be said for Morgan State, which had earned its first victory over a Division I rival when it doubled up Davidson, 26-13, at the Davidson Duals on Friday. And the team wrestled Sunday with five starters — freshman Treshaun Tecson (133 pounds), sophomore Yannis Charles (149), redshirt senior Darrien Roberts (174), sophomore Kingsley Menifee (184) and redshirt junior Xavier Doolin (heavyweight) — out with injuries.
“I think it’s important for us because we’re essentially a new team building from scratch,” said Monday, who said he is considering reaching out to Stevenson in Owings Mills for a match next season. “We’re a D-I program, but we’re young. And they can compete. I think it’s good for those guys to have some competition and just provide wrestling for the area.”
Both Monday and Norris said they hope Sunday and future matchups will persuade high school and youth wrestlers in and around Baltimore to realize they can wrestle collegiately without leaving too far from home.
“Maryland has had great performances in the Olympics with Kyle Snyder and Helen Maroulis and Aaron Brooks,” Norris said. “That’s in Maryland, but not necessarily in Baltimore. So we can build something in Baltimore and create a wrestling hotbed that can be a great thing.”
Speaking of travel, Roybal said it was refreshing to have an away match just 15 minutes from campus.
“It was really nice,” he said. “It was so short. There were no hotels so you didn’t have to wait for your check-in. It was the best of both worlds.”
Johns Hopkins will have eight more dual meets before participating in the Centennial Conference Championship on Feb. 15 at Gettysburg, while Morgan State has three more before competing in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Tournament on March 7 at Lehigh. Vann said he hopes Sunday’s match can be a springboard for both teams.
“It was good to see two schools with kind of two different trajectories have a match like that,” he said. “Everyone got along, it was a good dual, and it was good wrestling. It was fun and a nice event.”
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