Damon Royster never intended on coaching high school wrestling.
Despite an extensive wrestling background that includes winning a Baltimore County championship in the late 1980s and competing at Coppin State, Royster just wanted to teach American government at Milford Mill High.
Those at the school, though, wanted Royster to help turn the program around since there was little guidance or direction for the few students that decided to try out for the team.
“It was more of a club than a sports team,” said Royster, who became coach in 1998. “The first thing I had to do is change the culture of the program.”
That took some time. Many of the original team members when Royster arrived became academically ineligible. Then, about four years ago, current assistant wrestling and football coach Craig Rollins arrived at the school, giving Royster additional support in recruiting quality athletes.
Now, Milford Mill boasts one of the better programs in the county. The Millers are currently in first place in the county?s Division I. They face their toughest county test to date Thursday at Hereford for a tri-meet that also includes Owings Mills.
Besides Rollins? help, Royster also credits mentors like veteran county football and wrestling coach Joe Bosley, Overlea athletic director Bruce Malinowski and Owings Mills coach Guy Pritzker for helping him along the way.
“Most of our kids only have two to three years of experience,” Rollins said. “They?ve gotten where they are with a lot of hard work.”
The Millers showed how far they?ve come Saturday, when they had three individual champions in a first-place finish at the Overlea Tournament. Leading that group is Darian Allen (103 pounds), who is currently ranked third in his weight class by the Maryland State Wrestling Association.
Royster also expects big things from Terrance Owens (125), who won at Overlea, and Nile Alexander (285), a defending county champion who placed second in the tournament.
“We had seven guys qualify for states last year, but that?s not good enough now,” Alexander said. “We want to take our team to the next level and place at states.”
Owens has similar aspirations. The sophomore is currently 18-1 after placing third in the county, winning a regional title and making the state tournament last year.
“We?re becoming battle-tested now,” Owens said. “Wrestling Owings Mills and Hereford this week will give us a good gauge of where we?re at as a team.”
