by Lem Satterfield
Loyola’s 140-pound junior Colin Schuster comes from a long line of wrestling relatives.
And because of that, he’s often compared to his predecessors.
One of them is his cousin, Matt Schuster, who twice earned state titles at Franklin High in Baltimore County before graduating in 2002.
Asked recently if he was anything like Matt, Colin responded, “not really, no.”
“Matt actually lives in Alaska right now, with the Eskimos. He was hunting a bear with a bow-and-arrow two weeks ago,” said Colin Schuster. “But I’m not much into hunting grizzly bears. I’m just pretty much, you know, what you see is what you get.”
What Colin Schuster is, on the wrestling mat, however, is very similar to Matt Schuster, and that is a well-rounded, technician capable of winning any bout in a variety of ways.
As a sophomore, last season, Schuster won 46 of 52 bouts, earning an MIAA tournament title along the way.
Schuster fell short of his goal of adding the private schools state title to his list of achievements, but that’s something he plans to hunt down this season.
“At states, last year, I didn’t come ready. I lost a couple of matches that I deserved to lose, and things fell apart from there,” said Schuster.
“But I’ve had a long time to think bout it,” Schuster added. “My summer consisted of a really good camp at Clarion University, coming [to Loyola] on Mondays and Wednesdays every week, and lifting weights. All of us, as a team, banded together and worked hard. Hopefully, we’ll just be in better shape than everyone else.”
Schuster will begin the year trying to win the Parkville and Perry Hall Tournaments, each, for the third straight seasons.
After that, however, Schuster has his sights set on hunting down even more titles.
“It’s going to be very important for me to come out and be strong early,” Schuster said. “But the tournaments and the preseason don’t count as much as the last three weeks, with the MIAAs, private schools and National Preps.”
Loyola Blakefield Wrestling
Head Coach: Steve Truitt, fifth year (70-27 career)
Last year’s record: 23–8, 4th in MIAA A Conference
Outlook: The Dons lost nine starters from last year’s squad, but return Schuster.
Schuster went 46-7, leading the Dons to victories over quality programs such as Arundel, Broadneck, Calvert Hall, John Carroll, Mercerberg Academy (PA) and Owings Mills.
Top returning wrestlers: Brian Frantz, Sr., 27-17 record; Danny Smith, Sr., 29-26; Cameron Miller, Jr., 31-25; Gus Moreno, Soph., 23-19; Brian Frantz, Soph., 28-13.
Loyola’s Schedule:
December 7th & 8th – @ Parkville Invitational Tournament
December 11th – McDonogh
December 14th & 15th – @ Big 20 Invitational Tournament
December 20th – @ St. Mary’s & MSJ
December 27th & 28th – @ Arundel Invitational Tournament
January 5th – @ Winters Mill Invitational Tournament
January 11th – @ Arundel & Meade
January 12th – John Carroll, Winters Mill, & Good Counsel
January 15th – Spalding
January 18th –Broadneck & Pallotti
January 22nd – @ Boy’s Latin
January 25th & 26th – @ Arundel Duals
January 29th – Gilman
February 1st – @ Curley
February 5th – Calvert Hall
February 8th & 9th – MIAA Tournament @ MSJ
February 15th & 16th – MIS Tournament @ McDonogh
February 22nd & 23rd – National Prep Tournament @ Lehigh
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