Desi McNelis thought that he might have a moment to breathe and sigh when it finally happened.
He didn’t.
Seconds after Parkville wrestling secured its win over New Town in the third round of the Digital Duals, McNelis was surrounded. Teammates handed him slips of paper marked “600,” unfurled a poster signed by the team and chanted the number as they posed for photos — a celebration of his milestone 600th career victory.
McNelis’ coaching career has spanned more than 46 years across four schools, and as far as the 70-year-old knows, no high school wrestling coach in Maryland had reached the mark before Friday.
“It’s a big relief,” McNelis said. “To do it with this year’s group means a lot. They’ve been a great group.”
It is a number McNelis never set out to chase — until it was within reach — and one he has spent the past few seasons circling. On Friday, it finally arrived in his last season as coach.
The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association could not confirm whether another coach has ever reached the milestone, but among active coaches, McNelis is the first to do so. North Hagerstown’s Greg Slick is also closing in, with 583 career wins as of Thursday.
“Without Desi, Baltimore wrestling wouldn’t be what it is,” 280-pounder Kris Lloyd Jr. said. “This man is very special.”
McNelis’ path to coaching began with a long and decorated wrestling career of his own.
A Loyola Blakefield graduate, he wrestled through college at Loyola College and Essex Community College before transferring to East Stroudsburg, where he became a Division I starter. He continued competing well beyond college, qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Trials four times and wrestling internationally, including representing Ireland in competition.
McNelis began his coaching journey at St. Paul’s in 1980. As a high school wrestler, he was frustrated by coaches who had never wrestled themselves. His own wrestlers never dealt with that.
Andy Schnydman, who wrestled for McNelis from 1987 to 1992, described him as a “technician” who got on the mat to demonstrate moves and wrestle with his athletes. McNelis took pride in development over results, Schnydman said, molding athletes into strong competitors by tailoring techniques to each wrestler’s body and strengths.
“He’s not going to teach you what everybody else is being taught,” Schnydman said. “He’s gonna find out the way you work, and then find out what works for you.”
While Schnydman arrived at St. Paul’s as a lacrosse player, wrestling under McNelis sparked a lifelong attachment to the sport.
He went on to coach wrestling for more than 20 years after a college lacrosse career, modeling the same teacher-first approach he learned from McNelis. In 2016, their paths crossed again when McNelis joined Schnydman’s staff as an assistant at Pikesville, later taking over as co-head after Schnydman lost his vision.
“He made me love wrestling,” Schnydman said. “There’s nobody like him. He’s one of a kind. He wants to win, and he always finds a way — no matter the situation.”
Outside of wrestling, McNelis called himself a “jack-of-all-trades.” He was a standout endurance and strength athlete, placing 19th in the Maryland Marathon, competing on a Guinness World Records-holding 100-man, 100-mile relay team and winning three Mid-Atlantic weightlifting championships in lighter divisions.
He said he never set out to chase records when he began coaching. But after reaching 400 wins, then 500, the milestone began to feel attainable — and eventually became a goal.
The self-proclaimed “tech idiot” won’t miss entering lineups and statistics into a computer, but he doesn’t plan to walk away from the sport entirely. McNelis said that he hopes to remain involved as a volunteer coach.
“I want to teach,” he said.
Even after four hip replacements, McNelis can still be found on the mat with his wrestlers. His nephew, Kieron McNelis, said that family gatherings often turn into impromptu lessons, with McNelis dropping to the floor to demonstrate techniques and break down movements for his children.
“His passion is passing it on to the next generation,” said Kieron McNelis, who wrestled for his uncle at Delaney in 1998-99. “If you want to talk wrestling, he’s in. He’s always willing to get on the mat and teach.”
McNelis’ career has already earned its share of honors. In 2006, he received the Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award from the Maryland chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Baltimore County Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2015.
But 600 carries its own weight, a rare achievement in Maryland high school wrestling.
And one McNelis can finally exhale with.
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