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The air was stiflingly hot. The humidity was unbearable.

But for Magruder head coach Max Sartoph and nearly 130 high school wrestlers from public and private institutions around the state, there was "something pretty cool" taking place Thursday evening inside Blake High's gymnasium.

It was the first night of the inaugural Maryland Summer Wrestling League.

"Man, there were a lot of people here," said Sartoph, who runs the league with Blake's Rob Pinsky and Olney Boys and Girls Club Wrestling Commissioner Jarrod Elwell. "I'm just excited we got it under way and it's really a go at this point. … There are a lot of very experienced kids here and there are a lot of new kids, which is great. What a great way for a kid that has never wrestled before to experience the sport."

After years of watching off-season leagues grow for football, basketball, baseball, softball, lacrosse and volleyball, Montgomery County wrestling coaches decided to look into creating a league of their own. Their athletes would go to weeklong summer camps, but they wanted to offer a local, longer and more affordable option.

When the Montgomery County Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association decided two years ago to allow its coaches to have contact with their student-athletes during the summer months, that dream became a reality.

In conjunction with a weekly skills clinic, the league is designed to get student-athletes two or three matches a night. MSWL is composed of eight teams, loosely divided along school lines. After a few weeks of round-robin matches, the teams will be seeded for playoffs.

"Part of the challenge is having everybody benefit," said Pinsky. "The clinic was geared more towards older kids. We want to make it something for everybody. The coaches are trying to match up good guys with good guys and experience so everyone gets an even match."

There are a handful of veteran wrestlers registered, such as state qualifiers Jordan Tolbert (Magruder, 112 pounds), Taylor Leighton (Whitman, 171), Danny Lee (Whitman, 215) and Michael Henning (Northwest, 125). But MSWL is primarily composed of younger, less experienced athletes.

"I think that is it exactly," said Walter Johnson head coach Rob Yi. "A lot of the [novice] wrestlers need extra time that we can't give them during the season. It's great to see more experienced guys here just to get to see them in the offseason. But really, it's geared to younger guys getting more experience."

Added Walter Johnson rising sophomore James Parker: "It's pretty great. They got some big names like [former NCAA national champion] Kelly Ward giving instruction. … A lot of the guys wrestle with a lot of intensity, so I have to work on that. I get to learn from older guys and see what they do and how they have made themselves successful."

While Parker worked on learning more basic techniques, Leighton focused on fine-tuning his standing offense in a victory over DeMatha heavyweight Dylan Devine. Meanwhile, Tolbert was working on his defense and "entire wrestling arsenal" during a pair of wins.

"[MSWL] is exciting," said Tolbert. "It's new to the sport of wrestling in Montgomery County. Now we can compete with some of the top sports in the nation. Wrestling is not a small sport."