The legacy of competitors in this event over the years is staggering. For 36 straight years (1977-2012), at least one of the NCAA Division I champions competed in the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic. Additionally, at least three of those champions during 16 of the last 18 years (all but 1997 and 2010) competed in this event.
This year's field features seven wrestlers ranked first in the country at their respective weight classes, and three matchups of the number one wrestler going up against the number two wrestler. An eighth wrestler would be ranked first in the country at his weight class, but for competing up a pair of weight classes during his state tournament for team purposes.
Main Event: Pennsylvania All-Stars vs. USA All-Stars, 6 p.m.
145: No. 5 Mikey Racciato (Pen Argyl) vs. No. 1 Ben Whitford (St. Johns, Mich.)
The Pitt-bound Racciato is a three-time state champion and four-time state placer, while University of Michigan signee Whitford finished his career as a four-time state champion.
113: No. 10 Zach Fuentes (Norristown) vs. No. 17 Paul Mascarenas (Cleveland, N.M.)
Fuentes was a three-time state placer, including a runner-up finish this season, while Mascarenas was a four-time state champion and a Junior National freestyle champion at 106 pounds this past summer.
120: No. 3 Darian Cruz (Bethlehem Catholic) vs. No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (CVCA, Ohio)
Cruz was twice a state champion and a three-time state placer after missing his freshman season due to injury, and was a Super 32 Challenge champion in October 2010. Tomasello won four state titles, the last three without losing a match, and has won Junior National freestyle titles the last two summers. These two wrestlers split matches during the 2010-11 time period, Cruz winning in the Super 32 Challenge final, and Tomasello winning the Ironman final for his first of three titles in that tournament.
285: No. 7 Aaron Bradley (Nazareth) vs. No. 2 Brooks Black (Blair Academy, N.J.)
Bradley was a state finalist the last two years, earning gold last weekend in Hershey. Black is a three-time National Prep champion and four-time finalist, having also won titles at the Ironman and Beast of the East during the last three seasons. These wrestlers met in the Beast of the East final during the course of this season, Black earning a 2-1 overtime tiebreaker victory.
160: No. 14 Cody Law (Forest Hills) vs. No. 3 Isaiah Martinez (Lemoore, Calif.)
Law has made state finals each of the last two seasons, winning gold last weekend, and finished fifth at both the FloNationals and Super 32 during the past off-season. Martinez is a four-time state placer and three-time state champion, and was champion at the FloNationals, Junior Nationals in freestyle, and Super 32 Challenge during the past off-season.
182: No. 1 Eric Morris (Wyoming Seminary) vs. No. 2 Domenic Abounader (St. Edward, Ohio)
Morris is a four-time finalist at the National Prep Championships, having won titles during the last two seasons, while Abounader is a three-time state champion. These two wrestlers could have met in the Ironman during early December, but Abounader missed that event due to injury. Neither athlete lost a match that they contested during the course of this season.
132: No. 5 (at 126) Ryan Diehl (Trinity) vs. No. 3 Dean Heil (St. Edward, Ohio)
This is a match of four-time state champions, Diehl winning his first two in West Virginia before earning gold the last two in Hershey; while Heil earned his all in Ohio's big-school division. Both also have a Super 32 Challenge title to their credit, Diehl winning his in 2011 (and finishing third this past year), while Heil won his this past October.
220: No. 1 (at 195) Ryan Solomon (Milton) vs. No. 2 (at 195) Frank Mattiace (Blair Academy, N.J.)
Solomon is the second of three wrestlers competing in their future college gym during the main event, as the Pitt-bound wrestler was a four-time state placer, winning state titles during the last two seasons. He also was a double All-American in Fargo the past three summers, highlighted by a Junior National title in Greco-Roman this past summer. Mattiace, bound for Penn in the fall, is a three-time National Prep placer, and has won titles the past two seasons.
152: No. 8 Austin Matthews (Reynolds) vs. No. 1 Jake Short (Simley, Minn.)
Matthews is a four-time state placer, having made state finals the past three years, and finally getting over the hump with Hershey gold this past weekend. He has also been a finalist the past three years at the NHSCA grade-level nationals, winning as a freshman and sophomore. Short is a four-time state champion, and has placed in Fargo freestyle the past four summers, the last two having come at the Junior National level.
126: No. 2 Connor Schram (Canon-McMillan) vs. No. 5 (at 138) Joey Dance (Christiansburg, Va.)
Schram was a four-time state finalist and bookended his high school career with state championship gold. Dance won his fourth state title up at 138 pounds, though he won titles at the Super 32 Challenge, Ironman, and Beast of the East down this weight class.
195: No. 8 Jake Hart (Hampton) vs. No. 11 Broc Berge (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.)
Hart has made the state final the last two years, and avenged last year's loss against former number one Matt McCutcheon to win Hershey gold. He also placed fifth at the Super 32 Challenge this fall. Berge is a four-time state placer, winning titles as a sophomore and junior, and finished as runner-up at the Junior Nationals in freestyle this past summer.
138: No. 1 Zain Retherford (Benton) vs. No. 2 Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield, N.J.)
These two wrestlers had a series of three freestyle matches in about a month this past spring; Retherford won the first and third meetings (club duals and FILA Cadets), while Ashnault won the middle meeting (Northeast Regional). The wrestlers also met in the Super 32 Challenge in their sophomore (finals match) and junior (semifinal) seasons, with Ashnault winning both of those meetings. Retherford bookended his career with state championships, and has been dominant in the last calendar year with titles at the NHSCA Junior Nationals, FILA Cadet Freestyle Nationals, Junior National Freestyle Championships, FILA Cadet World Freestyle Championships, Walsh Ironman, and POWERade Tournament. This past weekend, Ashnault became the first wrestler ever in the Garden State to be an undefeated four-time state champion; while his off-season resume includes five All-American finishes in Fargo and two Super 32 Challenge titles.
170: No. 1 Cody Wiercioch (Canon-McMillan) vs. No. 3 Zach Beard (Tuttle, Okla.)
Wiercioch earned his third state title this past weekend in four finals appearances, and is also a two-time Super 32 Challenge champion. He is the third of three wrestlers signed by Pitt competing in this main event. The Wyoming-bound Beard was a four-time state champion and won the Preseason Nationals this fall.
Undercard: WPIAL All-Stars vs. Virginia All-Stars, 4 p.m.
113: Seth Carr (South Fayette) vs. Sean Badua (Osbourn Park)
Carr was runner-up in the small-school (Class AA) state tournament this past weekend, while 2012 state champion Badua finished third in Virginia's big-school division this year.
120: Nate Reckner (South Side Beaver) vs. J.R. Wert (Christiansburg)
Reckner was fourth in the Class AA state tournament, while Wert won his fourth state title (three for Christiansburg and one in Georgia). Wert competed at 132 this season, but did place fourth at the Super 32 Challenge in this weight class in October.
126: Tyler Walker (North Hills) vs. Gabe Lumpp (Christiansburg)
Walker finished third in the big-school (Class AAA) state tournament, while Lumpp was a runner-up in Virginia's medium-school division.
132: Nick Zanetta (Keystone Oaks) vs. No. 9 Dennis Gustafson (Forest Park)
Zanetta has finished as runner-up the last two years at the WPIAL, regional, and state tournaments to super-star wrestlers (Jimmy Gulibon last year and Jason Nolf this year). The Pitt-bound wrestler placed eighth at the FloNationals this past spring. Gustafson bookended his career with state titles, finished fifth in the Super 32 Challenge this fall, and was runner-up at the NHSCA Junior Nationals last spring.
138: Ethan Kenney (Connellsville) vs. No. 12 Andrew Atkinson (Liberty Christian Academy)
Both wrestlers in this match competed at 132 pounds during their post-season tournaments. Kenney placed third at state, including a win over the eventual state champion in the WPIAL final, and is a three-time state placer in his career; while Atkinson finished runner-up at National Preps for the second time in a career that includes four state placements.
145: Phil Marra (Burrell) vs. Beau Donahue (Westfield)
Marra placed fourth in Class AA this season, while Donahue is a three-time state champion in the big-school division, and has placed fourth the past two years at the NHSCA grade-level nationals.
152: Heath Coles (Norwin) vs. Sean Murphy (Colonial Forge)
Coles placed fourth at state each of the last two seasons in Class AAA, while Murphy is also a two-time state placer in his state's big-school division and was eighth at the NHSCA Junior Nationals.
160: Zach Voytek (Greensburg-Salem) vs. Rory Renzi (Lake Braddock)
Voytek is a two-time Class AAA state placer, fourth and seventh, while Renzi was a big-school state champion this past season.
170: Dustin Conti (Jefferson-Morgan) vs. No. 6 (at 182) Zach Epperly (Christiansburg)
Conti placed twice in Class AA, while Epperly was a four-time state champion. During the course of his career, Epperly placed twice at the Super 32 (including fourth at 170 this year) and was fourth in Junior National freestyle this past summer.
182: Dakota DesLauriers (Burrell) vs. Ryland O'Brien (First Colonial)
DesLauriers is a four-time Class AA state placer, who earned that elusive state title this past weekend. He also placed seventh in the Super 32 Challenge this past fall. O'Brien has made the state final each of the last two years, and was state champion this year.
195: No. 10 Matt McCutcheon (Kiski Area) vs. Corbin Ramos (Matoaca)
McCutcheon placed three times in the Class AAA state tournament, making the finals each of the last two years, and won state as a junior. He also is a two-time Super 32 Challenge champion. His opponent, Ramos, was a big-school state champion this past season.
220: Garrett Vulcano (Chartiers-Houston) vs. Zach Roseberry (Brentsville)
Both wrestlers in this match competed at 195 pounds during their respective state tournaments. Vulcano was state runner-up to Ryan Solomon, while Roseberry was state champion in the medium-school division and was a NHSCA Junior Nationals runner-up last spring.
285: Antonio Broglia (Canon-McMillan) vs. Justin Williams (Skyline)
Broglia made his state tournament debut last weekend, and failed to place, though is third place finish at the Reno TOC was key in the Big Macs' title out at that event. His opponent, Williams, was state champion at 220 pounds in the medium-school division this season.
Coverage of the Event
Josh Lowe will be live at the event providing some degree of updates from both the undercard and main events on his twitter feed (@JoshMLowe). In addition, a recap will be posted on InterMat late Sunday evening or Monday morning.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now