Highlighting the weekend of championships across those seven states are 13 weight classes in which multiple nationally ranked wrestlers contend for a single gold medal. Furthermore, there are three weight classes in which four wrestlers are nationally ranked and another weights in which three wrestlers are ranked nationally.
Justin Mejia celebrates after winning the Doc Buchanan Invitational title (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)California: 126 pounds
The featured narrative of the upcoming weekend has to be the journey of No. 3 Justin Mejia (Clovis) towards a fourth state title. Should he be successful, Mejia would expand the club of four-time state champions in the Golden State from just one -- Darrell Vaquez (Bakersfield) from 1999 through 2002 -- to two. Just this past weekend in the Central Section masters tournament, Mejia had to survive a pair of narrow victories against nationally ranked opposition: a 4-3 semifinal victory in the ultimate tiebreaker against No. 9 Isaiah Perez (Dinbua), and a 3-2 finals victory over No. 19 Robert Garcia IV (Selma).
Keep in mind, there are no guarantees for three-time California state champions seeking a fourth title. Just look back to five years ago when Nikko Villarreal (Gilroy) used a five-point move in the last 15 seconds of the bout to deny Alex Cisneros (Selma) a fourth state title, Cisneros was up 3-0 prior to the sequence. A fourth nationally ranked wrestler is also in this field, returning state runner-up Jaden Abas (Rancho Bernardo), who is positioned No. 18 nationally. At the state tournament last year, while competing at 120 pounds, Mejia beat Abas for the title with Garcia beating Perez in the consolation final.
Based on the draw, Mejia is looking at a quarterfinal against three-time state placer Isaiah Palomino (Bellarmine Prep). The other quarter of the top half places Abas against two-time state placer Chase Zollmann (Poway) in a rematch of the San Diego masters final from the past weekend. Garcia is in the third quarter of the draw, where a quarterfinal against returning state placer Adam Velasquez (Pittman) is forecasted; however Palacio would have to clear the winner of an opening round bout between Elijah Palacio (Calvary Chapel) and returning state placer Izzak Olejnik (Bakersfield) to reach that point. On the surface, it appears that Perez down in the bottom quarter has the most manageable path to the semifinal round.
New Jersey: 152 pounds
This is one of two showdowns between returning state champions within the Garden state. No. 6 Stephan Glasgow (Bound Brook) won gold in this weight class last year and was second the weight below in 2015; while No. 7 Shane Griffith (Bergen Catholic) is a two-time state champion, last year at 138 pounds, and at 132 as a freshman in 2015. The third ranked wrestler is No. 18 Michael O'Malley (Hasbrouck Heights), runner-up last year at 145 and fifth as a freshman at 138 in 2015.
Glasgow is the top seed, entering the tournament with a 31-1 record, that loss coming 2-1 to No. 2 Cameron Coy (Penn-Trafford) in the ultimate tiebreaker during the Powerade final. In that same tournament, he beat Griffith 3-2 in the semifinal round. Griffith enters as the second seed with a 32-2 record, also splitting matches this season against No. 13 Julian Ramirez (Blair Academy, N.J.), along with a 3-0 record against the third seeded O'Malley, who is 33-3 on the season.
O'Malley is looking at a quarterfinal bout against returning state placer Avery DiNardi (Holy Cross), while it would come as a major shock if Griffith does not advance to a semifinal showdown with O'Malley. Glasgow has the clearer path to the final, with the most likely semifinal coming against a returning state qualifier, in either Dillon Taylor (St. Augustine Prep) or Robert Kanniard (Wall Township).
New Jersey: 160 pounds
The other showdown of returning state champions comes at 160 pounds, where three-time state placer Mekhi Lewis (Bound Brook) is the top seed over two-time state placer Kyle Cochran (Paramus). Lewis is undefeated on the season, while Cochran is 36-1 losing just to No. 4 Hunter Bolen (Christiansburg, Va.) 1-0 in the tiebreakers during the Beast of the East semifinal. Cochran enters the tournament ranked higher nationally at No. 5, as he was champion of the preseason Super 32 Challenge; while Lewis is No. 8 as he crashed down to sixth in that tournament after suffering an upset defeat in the semifinal.
Also in this weight class is No. 19 Chris Foca (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), who qualified for state but missed out on placement last year as a freshman at 132 pounds. He did place fifth in the preseason Super 32 Challenge, but is seeded sixth with a 31-6 season record; the losses came at the Beast as he split against Jared Lough (Colonial Forge, Va.), the Powerade where he split against Trevell Timmons (Lockport, Ill.), in a dual meet against No. 10 Andrew Merola (Blair Academy, N.J.), and then an 0-3 record against Cochran.
Lewis is looking at a semifinal against either returning state placer Michael Petite (Piscataway) or 2015 state placer Jake Maxwell (Buena Regional). The third seed in this weight is returning state runner-up A.J. Meyers (Toms River East), who lost to Matthew Garrity (Lacey Township) -- the eighth seed -- in this past weekend's regional tournament. Meyers draws Foca in the quarterfinal, while Griffith has a path from which he should reach the semifinal round.
Minnesota: 145 pounds (AAA)
Another weight class where there is a pair of state champions, as it's a collision between No. 12 Peyton Robb (Owatonna) and No. 13 Alex Lloyd (Shakopee). Robb is the undefeated top seed at 33-0, including a 4-3 at the time upset victory over Lloyd in the final of the Minnesota Christmas Tournament in mid-December; Robb is up four weight classes from last year. The second seed Lloyd won state in this weight class last year, while placing third at 120 pounds as an eighth grader in 2014; he is 39-1 on the season, having competed at 152 most of the time before dropping back down for the sectional tournament.
There is a quarterfinal showdown between two-time placers Tyler Shilson (Centennial) and Nate Larson (Apple Valley) for the right to most likely face Lloyd in the bottom half semifinal; Shilson was second at state last year in the 138 pound weight class, while Larson was fourth at 113. A rematch of last year's consolation final at 138 pounds is likely in the quarterfinals in order to see who is likely to face Robb in the top semifinal, that match placers Teddy Pierce (St. Francis) against Austin Braun (Woodbury). Both Robb and Lloyd are Class of 2018 verbal commits to South Dakota State.
New Jersey: 106 pounds
Four nationally ranked wrestlers populate the opening weight class in the Garden State entering the state tournament. The lead in that group is returning state placer Dante Mininno (Gateway-Woodbury), who is undefeated on the season and the top seed, ranked No. 6 nationally. Two of the other three ranked wrestlers are in his half of the draw, No. 14 Dylan Cedeno (Fair Lawn) and No. 20 Sammy Alvarez (St. Joseph Montvale), who are the fifth and fourth seeds respectively.
Cedeno's only loss of the season came in the region semifinal against Nicholas Denora (Passaic Valley), who is the eighth seed. Denora, who was then upset by seventh seed Nick Kayal (Bergen Catholic) in the region final, draws a round of 16 match against Cadet National double All-American Justin Bierdumpfel (Don Bosco Prep); the winner of which hits Mininno. Returning state qualifier Alvarez has just one loss on the season, that coming against No. 2 Kurt McHenry (St. Paul's, Md.) by a 5-1 score in the Escape the Rock final.
No. 11 Anthony Clark (Delbarton) is the lone ranked wrestler in the bottom half of the draw, though he is the sixth seed coming. He would most likely have to face third seed Chase Mullarkey (Holy Cross) in the quarterfinal round, who was undefeated up until losing in the region final. The second seed is the undefeated Hunter Gutierrez (Lacey Township), who beat Mullarkey in the region final, while Kayal is the seven seed.
California: 106 pounds
It is tradition that the Golden State is extremely strong in the lightest weight classes, and this year is no exception. Four nationally ranked wrestlers anchor this opening weight class, led by a pair of returning state placers in No. 3 Antonio Lorenzo (Del Oro) and No. 12 Eddie Flores (Northview); Lorenzo placed seventh last year and was champion of the preseason Super 32 Challenge, while Flores took sixth at state. Flores also won the Southern Section masters title with a 7-2 win over No. 16 Jonathan Prata (Downey), who had beaten No. 17 Aaron Nagao (Esperanza) 8-4 in the semifinal.
Flores is the top seed, and well positioned to make the semifinal. Nagao is the other ranked wrestler in his half of the draw, though a tough quarterfinal bout looms against Cole Reyes (Bakersfield Frontier), who was ranked nationally at some point earlier this season. Prata is looking at a quarterfinal date against Jacob Allen (Poway), who was a quarterfinalist last year in this state tournament weight class; while Lorenzo is looking at a battle against the talented freshman Giano Petrucelli (Clovis) in the quarterfinal round.
California: 113 pounds
The second weight class, which feels the after-effect of the opening weight class from the previous year, is also most excellent this year in California. In last year's 106 pound state final, it was Matthew Olguin (Buchanan) coming through with an (at the time) upset victory over Nico Aguilar (Gilroy), who would go on to win a Junior National freestyle title in the summer. The sophomore Olguin enters state ranked No. 2 nationally, Aguilar is ranked No. 15, while freshman phenom Jesse Vasquez (St. John Bosco) is ranked No. 5 in the country at this weight class.
A nasty semifinal bout looms in the top half-bracket as Olguin and Aguilar are in that half of the draw. It would come as a shock if either did not reach that point. Vasquez is in the bottom half of the draw, and has a straight-forward road to a semifinal date with freshman Devin Murphy (Clovis North), presuming Murphy clears Brandon Paulson (Clovis) in a likely quarterfinal. Murphy did upset Aguilar 5-3 at the Doc Buchanan in early January.
New Jersey: 113 pounds
The Garden State also has a stellar second weight class this season, as it's a trio of ranked wrestlers present, all also within the top ten nationally. The top seed in this weight class is No. 9 Antonio Mininno (Gateway-Woodbury), a returning state qualifier in this weight class that placed fourth in the preseason Super 32 Challenge; he has an in-season win against returning state champion Joe Manchio (Seneca), while the lone blemish on a 37-1 record came up a weight class.
Mininno is looking at a quarterfinal against a fellow undefeated wrestler, and also returning state qualifier, in Mitchell Polito (East Brunswick). The winner of that bout is the likely finalist. Ranked No. 10 nationally, Manchio is the second seed in this weight class, but with an absolutely brutal path. It starts with a likely round of 16 bout against returning state qualifier Kyle Kaiser (Paramus).
The other round of 16 match in that quarter places returning state qualifier Victor Lopez (West Orange) against No. 4 in the country Robert Howard (Bergen Catholic), who is (bafflingly) the tenth seed; Howard has two losses on the season, one was an upset pin against No. 6 Gabe Tagg (Brecksville, Ohio) in the Beast semifinal and the other was in overtime up a weight class. The other quarter of the bottom half features 2015 state placer Richie Koehler (Christian Brothers Academy) and 35-1 sophomore Mark Montgomery (Roselle Park). Yet another extraordinarily lopsided draw.
California: 145 pounds
A rematch of last year's 138 pound state final looms here with No. 2 Navonte Demison (Bakersfield) and No. 17 Jacob Wright (Dinuba) dominating the class. Demison, who also was runner-up at state as a sophomore and third as a freshman, beat Wright in the Central section masters final this past weekend. The pair of wrestlers are in opposite half-brackets at the state tournament. Demison is looking at a likely state semifinal bout against two-time state placer Zander Silva (Alta Loma), while Wright is likely to face returning state placer Peyton Omania (De La Salle).
Minnesota: 138 pounds (Class AAA)
Jakob Bergeland (Centennial) had a pair of unexpected milestone tournaments in the 2016 calendar year, his state title at 132 pounds and the runner-up finish at the Super 32 Challenge in October. He enters the state tournament as the second seed and ranked No. 17 nationally. The top seed in this weight class is two-time state runner-up Tyler Eischens (Anoka), who is undefeated with a 42-0 record. Ranked No. 8 nationally, Eischens had a huge two week stretch in December where he beat Bergeland 4-2 in the Minnesota Christmas Tournament final and then upset No. 3 Austin Gomez (Glenbard North, Ill.) 11-4 on the first day of The Clash National Duals. It would come as a shock if this pair did not meet for state gold on Saturday night.
New Jersey: 126 pounds
The top seed in this weight class is No. 6 Nick Raimo (Hanover Park), a two-time Cadet National double champion who ran a total gauntlet to finish runner-up at last year's state tournament. His path to last year's final included three wins over wrestlers that joined him on the podium, including a pair that were also in the 2015 state finals (Ghione and Angelo). Within his half-bracket, there is just one other returning state placer, that would be fifth seed Daniel Percelay (DePaul Catholic).
The second seed is No. 16 Shane Metzler (West Morris Central), a two-time state placer who lost 10-5 in overtime and 5-2 the last two weeks to Raimo in the district and region finals. The other returning state placer in his half-bracket is the third seed, two-time state medalist Carmen Ferrante (Bergen Catholic). It would be a significant surprise if Raimo and Metzler did not meet for a third straight weekend in the championship bout.
Michigan: 189 pounds (Division I)
Mercifully the pair of nationally ranked wrestlers are placed in opposite half-brackets. No. 18 Ryan Vasbinder (Grandville) is in the upper half, with No. 19 Brenden McRill (Davison) in the bottom half. A two-time state placer, Vasbinder finished third in the Super 32 Challenge up at 220 pounds; while McRill is a three-time state placer, including last year's state title.
The pair of wrestlers met head-on in the semifinals at the Detroit Catholic Central Invitational in early January, Vasbinder winning on that occasion 3-2. Vasbinder did lose in the final, 3-2 to No. 3 (at 182) Jelani Embree (Warren Lincoln, Mich.); while McRill has an additional in-season loss, suffering a 3-0 defeat against No. 9 (at 195) Brandon Whitman (Dundee, Mich.) the following weekend. McRill is likely to face returning state placer Dylan Powers (Saline) in the semifinal, while Vasbinder is looking at returning state placer Andrew Spisz (Hartland).
New Jersey: 170 pounds
The pair of nationally ranked wrestlers is in opposite half-brackets. Two-time state placer Dominick Mandarino (Don Bosco Prep), ranked No. 18 nationally and third last year at 152 pounds, is the top seed. Ranked No. 9 nationally is Bryan McLaughlin (Woodbridge), who placed fourth last year at 160 pounds and was fourth in the Super 32 Challenge this pre-season. He is the third seed in this weight class, with his only loss on the season coming by fall to No. 2 Michael Labriola (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) in the Beast semifinal.
The likely semifinal opponent for Mandarino will be one of two returning state qualifiers, either Vince Concina (Cranford) or Aidan Monteverdi (Seton Hall Prep); Monteverdi beat Concina in the region semi last week before losing to McLaughlin in the final. That of course presumes Monteverdi clears undefeated freshman Shane Reitsma (Howell) in the round of 16.
McLaughlin has a straight-forward path to the semifinal against most likely returning state placer Bill Janzer (Delsea Regional), who beat beat McLaughlin in last year's consolation final at 160 pounds. Janzer is 39-2 on the season, and is looking at a quarterfinal against 40-1 region champion Joey Schiele (Morris Hills).
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