November 12, 1998

In his 21st season as head coach at Maryland, John McHugh has one of his toughest challenges at hand.

"We have the youngest team that I have been involved with in a long time," McHugh admits. While a roster with only one senior and a slew of underclassmen might appear to lack depth, the Terps gained a lot of experience last season.

Senior captain Ted Harlan (141 lbs.) leads a core of five returning starters back to the mat for the Terps' second season in the newly-renovated Ritchie Coliseum. Harlan quietly became one of the top wrestlers in the ACC last season after filling the lineup spot vacated by All-American Jim Guzzio. In addition to winning eight of his 10 dual meets, Harlan placed second at the Millersville Invitational and took third in a competitive weight class at the ACC Championships.

Also returning to the lineup are four sophomores who combined to form one of McHugh's strongest recruiting classes ever two summers ago. At 125 pounds, Joe Guzzio, Jim's younger brother, is expected to continue his success at the lightest division. He began his Terrapin career with back-to-back top eight finishes at the West Virginia and East Stroudsburg opens and was the also the only ACC freshman to earn Wrestler of the Week honors.

At 141, Mark Mansueto will build off of his 4-6 dual record. After solid performances in most of the preseason tournaments and a third-place finish at the midseason Congressional Cup, he showed remarkable perseverance against many of the ACC's toughest opponents.

Josh Weidman is expected to start at 165 and expand on the potential he showed coming out of Hershey High School. After placing three straight years in the Pennsylvania state tournament and competing in all 11 duals for Maryland as a freshman, he has a lot of experience after only one collegiate season.

Rounding out the fab four is Chad Masemer at 184. Masemer twice qualified for the Pennsylvania state meet while at Littlestown High School. He held his school record for wins and made an immediate mark on Maryland wrestling, including three gutsy performances at the end of the year against the nation's top wrestlers in his division.

Also returning for Maryland are a number of past role players who see this season as an opportunity to step up in their classes. At heavyweight, juniors Jule Dolci and Paul Fitzmaurice, each of whom wrestled in two duals for the Terps last season, will square off in their bids to earn the starting spot. Both men bring aggressiveness, toughness and leadership to the Maryland lineup.

At 133, sophomore Brandon York is ready to add his name to the "fab" list after a year tearing up the open tournaments. A Damascus High School graduate, where he won the Maryland state championship twice and posted a 100-8 career record, York finished third at the Edinboro Open last spring. While he spent most of the season competing with Guzzio, he has moved up a weight class to add more versatility to the lineup.

Juniors Mike Tomaino (190), Robert Takseraas (133), Scott Herfel (133) and Grant Newman (157) all have experience and are expected to be strong challengers at multiple positions. Sophomore Rob Booth (149) is also in a position to start for Maryland.

Following up a solid 1997 recruiting class, Coach McHugh added a number of solid freshmen to the team this past summer. Nick Cilento (125), Tony Capone (149), Jake Stork (157), Jeff Salvo (149), Sal Aquia (174), Brian Robinovitz (141), Rashad Henderson (174) and Justin Rix (190) all have a chance to earn starting spots in their first season and might beat out some of the returning starters.

The talent for the Terps is unlimited and they all hope to continue the "Working Tradition" that has made the University of Maryland the most successful program in ACC history.

Weight Class Preview
Note: All weight classes were increased seven pounds by the NCAA for the 1998-99 season.

125 lbs.Sophomore Joe Guzzio looks to improve on his stellar rookie season. After top eight finishes at the first two collegiate tournaments of his career, Guzzio finished with 23 wins and a team-high seven pins. In addition, he finished the regular season with back-to-back dual meet pins, earning ACC Performer of the Week honors. Freshman Nick Cilento from Colonia, N.J., was a 1998 region champ and a three-time district champion. At Colonia High School, he set two major school records with 107 wins and 60 pins and had a 28-3 record as a senior. Cilento is expected to participate in the major tournaments and back up Guzzio throughout the year.

133 lbs. Sophomore Brandon York is the front-runner in possibly the most competitive weight class for the Terps. Although he has not participated in any dual meets, York compiled a 13-5 record in three major tournaments. At the Edinboro Open, he took third place after winning six of his seven matches. Right behind York are juniors Scott Herfel and Robert Takseraas, both of whom are returning lettermen and were regular starters in 1996-97.

141 lbs.Senior captain Ted Harlan will most likely start at this position. Arguably the biggest surprise of the 1997-98 season, he emerged as one of the top wrestlers in the ACC and by recording eight dual wins. He began with a sixth-place finish at the East Stroudsburg Open and took second at Millersville midway through the season. Harlan capped off the year with a third-place finish at the ACC. If Harlan does not make weight and starts at 149, freshman Bryan Robinovitz, a four-time New Jersey state qualifier--who placed third as a senior--will get the nod. He holds Hillsborough High School's mark for wins with 106. Sophomore letterman Mark Mansueto will likely redshirt.

149 lbs.Sophomore Rob Booth, who had a solid preseason, has outdistanced all wrestlers at 149. If Ted Harlan starts at 141, Booth will use his experience from his '97-98 redshirt season to make an immediate for the Terps in the middle of the lineup. As New Jersey state runner-up at Camden Catholic, Booth competed in three tournaments last season, including a solid Penn State Open performance. He will be challenged by freshmen Tony Capone and Jeff Salvo.

157 lbs.Junior Grant Newman and freshman Jake Stork are the two main possibilities to start at this position. Newman won four of six matches at Millersville last season after earning a remarkable 12 varsity letters in high school. Stork was a Pennsylvania state champ as a senior and finished fifth the year before. He compiled a 132-16 career record, including 72 pins.

165 lbs.Sophomore Josh Weidman could possibly redshirt the '98-99 season, but is still the primary starter at 165. He competed in all 11 dual meets in 1997-98 at 158 pounds and posted a 3-8 dual record. He began his freshman campaign by winning six of his first eight matches and finished in the top eight at East Stroudsburg. At Hershey High School in Pennsylvania, he was a three-time state place-winner (6th, 4th, 3rd). Freshman Sal Aquia might move down from 174 to fill the position, if necessary, although sophomore Joe Paoletti has shown potential in the preseason.

174 lbs.Sal Aquia comes to Maryland after a post-graduate year at Blair Academy. As a senior at Archbishop Curley, he was a state champion who captained a team that was ranked as high as No. 1 in Maryland. He was a state runner-up as a junior. Freshman Rashad Henderson could become a factor at 174, 184 or 190. According to McHugh, Henderson has been getting consistently bigger throughout the preseason. He was a second team all-state selection as a senior after placing first in his district and fifth in the region.

184 lbs.Sophomore Chad Masemer appears to be the strongest prospect to start at 184 this season. Although junior Mike Tomaino might be better suited to compete in this weight class, McHugh will likely push to have his experieneced wrestlers at the top weights. Masemer, who competed in all 11 duals as a freshman, is one of the strongest wrestlers on the team. Tomaino, on the other hand, competed in more tournaments (6) than any other Terp last season.

190 lbs.Mike Tomaino and freshman Justin Rix will battle with each other, unless one of the heavyweights drops down a class to challenge them. Weight plays a major role in this decision as Tomaino could actually wrestle at three different classes. Wrestling for Centennial High School, Rix was named first team all-county after taking third in Maryland. Off the mat, he demonstrated his versatility as a starting lineman on Centennial's football team and by being named to Howard County's all-academic team.

HWT For the second consecutive year, juniors Paul Fitzmaurice and Jule Dolci are part of a battle for the heavyweight starting spot. Each wrestled in two duals last season for the injured Dave Carter, but neither stands out as the front-runner. While Fitzmaurice takes an overpowering, aggressive approach to the mat, Dolci can be characterized as a more technical wrestler.