Inside the Spangler Center at The Potomac School, two wrestling mats stretched across the floor, their edges just feet from the other track, basketball and squash practices. A sparse crowd of parents and a few students was assembled in the bleachers, their cheers competing with the background noise of Potomac winter athletics practices. The sharp smack of medicine balls echoed through the gym, paired with the sound of basketballs bouncing on the adjacent court.
For GDS’ wrestling team, the stakes were higher than the crowd suggested. With only two wrestlers—senior captain Beck Holtzman and freshman Stuart Mitchell—the team came in with the fifth and last-place seed in the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAC) Dual Championships on Wednesday, Feb. 5.
This was the second MAC Championship for the GDS team after competing in the individual championships on Saturday. The individual championships crown a winner in each weight class, with wrestlers earning points for their team through their placement in their class. The dual championships pit each MAC squad against another in a round-robin format, with the winner being the school with the best record. If a school wins both tournaments, they earn the MAC banner, but if the two tournaments are split between two schools, the schools become co-champions. GDS won both MAC tournaments in 2022.
Holtzman, a Wesleyan University commit, was battling more than just his opponents. Feeling under the weather, he stepped onto the mat for his first match against Sean Fishbein of St. Andrew’s Episcopal School. Holtzman was wrestling two weight classes up from his normal at 150 pounds. Despite the illness, Holtzman dominated, pinning Fishbein with 32 seconds left in the first period to secure critical points for GDS. “It was helpful that I bumped up two weight classes for our team,” Holtzman said. “We needed points in terms of team MACs so we wouldn’t get last. But outside of that, it was just kind of a practice for me.”
Mitchell mirrored Holtzman’s strong start. Wrestling at 138 pounds, he pinned Hugh Kaine of St. Andrew’s with one second left in the first period, demonstrating improved technique that has developed over his freshman season.
“We tied off at the beginning and didn’t really change any points,” Mitchell said. “I got one point due to an escape, and then I pinned him.”
In the second round, Holtzman’s most anticipated match loomed—a rematch against Brodie Burdette of Saint James, the only wrestler to beat him earlier in the season. The two had split their first two meetings of the year 1-1, and Holtzman, despite battling illness, wanted to settle the score. Moments before stepping onto the mat, Holtzman paced the gym floor, playing Katy Perry’s California Gurls out loud from his phone speaker; the pop anthem serving as his hype song.
“I feel like shit,” Holtzman said before the match. “My whole body hurts. I’m sick.” Still, his focus remained on the task ahead. “I don’t feel my best, but I’m just going to wrestle hard and wrestle well.”
When the match began, it was Burdette who struck first, taking an early 3-0 lead in the first period with a takedown. As the seconds wound down, confusion erupted when points continued to be added to Burdette’s score even after time had expired—an error by the student managing the scoreboard left the referees unaware the period had ended, frustrating GDS head coach Grayson Shepperd.
Burdette never relinquished control, steadily widening the gap between him and Holtzman. Holtzman earned two points after two successful escapes, but Burdette held onto the lead going into the third and final period.
Burdette elected to begin the third period in referee’s position: a starting position where one wrestler, in this case, Holtzman, starts on their hands and knees and with their opponent on top. Burdette couldn’t gain sufficient control for a takedown, and Holtzman never escaped Burdette’s hold. As they grappled on the ground, both wrestlers glanced at the clock. With 30 seconds left in the period, the referee called a stalemate position, and the two returned to the center of the ring. No more points were earned and Burdette won by a score of 12-2.
Mitchell faced Saint James’ Ben Celeste in his second-round match but struggled against an unexpected armbar, falling in 48 seconds. “I haven’t really practiced how to get out of that recently. I did at the beginning of the season but it really hasn’t been my focus,” Mitchell said.
Holtzman rebounded in the third round with a commanding 17-1 technical fall over Adar Weinman from The Potomac School, using precise counterattacks to keep his opponent off balance. Mitchell won by forfeit as Potomac had no one in his weight class; he returned in GDS’ final round to pin Tillie Owen of Sidwell Friends School in just 30 seconds.
Holtzman closed his tournament with another dominant performance, securing a 17-0 technical fall over Dylan Verma of Sidwell in just two minutes. But it wasn’t just the scoreline that drew attention. Holtzman capped the match by executing a leg cradle—a variation of the traditional cradle that uses the legs instead of the arms to trap an opponent, leaving the wrestler’s hands-free.
The move, according to Holtzman, is often considered disrespectful in wrestling circles. “I’m not going to try that hard to get it,” Holtzman said before the match. “But if I do, I’ll just sit on the mat and smile.”
True to his word, Holtzman put Verma in the cradle.
Head coach Grayson Shepperd acknowledged the move with mixed feelings. “It’s just a little bit of showboating,” he admitted. “I’m not a fan of it, honestly.” Still, Shepperd praised the resilience and consistency both Holtzman and Mitchell showed throughout the tournament. “Beck [Holtzman] and Stuart [Mitchell] went out there and took care of business in most of their matches,” Shepperd said. “Coming here with two people isn’t ideal, but we focus on individual growth. Both of them delivered.”
Despite forfeiting 23 matches due to their small roster, GDS finished fourth overall, ahead of St. Andrew’s. Saint James claimed first place, followed by The Potomac School and Sidwell Friends. Flint Hill and Maret do not field wrestling teams.
With the MAC season behind them, Holtzman and Mitchell now set their sights on state and national competitions. Holtzman, currently at 94 career wins, will chase the milestone 100 at the upcoming D.C. State Championships, while Mitchell looks to cap off a promising freshman campaign.