Glaring at the wrestler pinned beneath him, sophomore Hunter Ritter racked up his fifth win at the National High School Championships in Virginia Beach, April 5-7.  Ritter placed first among sophomores in his 170 pound weight class, beating his opponents by either 15 points or more or pinning them.  A technical fall, beating opponents by 15 points or more, and pinning opponents immediately end matches.

“It’s a very big deal.  Only three Marylanders have done this [won nationals] … His athleticism is superior,” wrestling head coach Keith Watson said.

“It’s probably the biggest award I’ve won.  It was good just how bad I beat everyone,” Ritter said.

This season, Ritter has also placed first at states and in the MIAA ‘A’ division 170 pound weight class.  At states, he also won the Outstanding Wrestler award chosen by all of the wrestlers at the tournament.

Winning titles such as these as helped Division 1 college coaches hear about him, according to Ritter.

College coaches are “licking their chops when they see his talent,” Watson said.

Ritter hopes to be among the top three wrestlers in the country following this win.

Kailey Tracy is the Copy Chief for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.