Manchester Wrestling

About

The Manchester Wrestling Program is a Junior League Wrestling Program based out of Manchester, Maryland. The team is part of the North Carroll Rec Council, and competes in the Maryland Junior Wrestling League (MJWL) and the Carroll County Wrestling Association (CWA). The MJWL is comprised of approximately 24 teams from throughout the state of Maryland, and the CWA is comprised of approximately 4 teams in Carroll County.

Mission

To provide young athletes with a solid foundation in the sport of wrestling, while also teaching the core values of integrity, discipline, and mental toughness from humility and grit.

Goal

To develop our youth not only into better wrestlers, but also to help them become better individuals prepared for the world in which they live.

The only thing you deserve, is what you earn.

— Tom Brands

History

Manchester Wrestling is a legacy rec program, having been the first of its kind in Carroll County.  It is one of the oldest wrestling programs created within the state of Maryland, and also one of the oldest programs in North Carroll Rec Council. 

Our program was founded in 1974 by a young ambitious lifelong resident of Carroll County, named Kenneth Kiler.  At the time, there were no youth wrestling programs outside of the school system, and Ken wanted to create a space for them to share his passion of the sport.  Being the first of its kind in Carroll County, resources were hard to come by, so Ken used donated gymnastics mats and taped them together for practice. And at that time, he started coaching a small group of boys.

Today the program has over 100 athletes, both boys and girls, and is considered one of the top Junior League Wrestling Programs in the state of Maryland.  Manchester Wrestling has produced many champion wrestlers including an NCAA Division I All-American, a Junior College 2x National Champion, multiple Division I wrestlers, and multiple High School State Champions in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Texas.

Manchester Wrestling has stayed successful because of Ken’s mentorship, mission, and values he has passed on to the coaches and program leads over the years.  Ken has received several awards over the years from his continuous community service in wrestling.

·         Lifetime Service to Wrestling award from the National Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame 2009

·         Maryland Wrestling Officials Association’s William T Hastings Contribution to Wrestling Award 2009

·         Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association Service to Wrestling Award 2013

·         Carroll County Sports Hall of Fame 2018