The Five Counties Invitational, hosted by Fountain Valley High School in California, was a tournament marked by great depth and superlative balance across the field. Only one school had two tournament champions, no school placed more than five individuals, and close to 60 schools had a wrestler place within the top eight.
Sophomore Alex Cisneros (112), ranked third nationally, continued his dominant run though in-state competition with a pin, technical fall, two majors, and a 3-0 decision on the way to a repeat title at the Five Counties Invitational. He anchored the team champion Selma, CA squad which had five total placers. Nick Pena (130) and Justin Lozano (160) placed third, Nathan Zarate (140) finished fourth, while Nick Escalera (152) placed fifth as the Bears scored 132 points. Pena -- ranked 11th nationally at 135 pounds -- was upset 8-6 by Chris Calcagno of Clovis North, CA in the semifinal round.
In the final at 130 pounds, Bobby Morales of Laguna Hills, CA defeated Calcagno by a 10-5 decision. In his other five matches during the tournament -- Morales won two by fall, one by technical fall, one by major decision, and other by decision. That performance earned Morales MVP honors for the lower weights. Frank Martinez (140) of Northview, CA was named MVP among middle weights; while seventh ranked Drew Meulman (285) of St. Francis, CA was MVP among the upper weights. Meulman won all five of his matches by fall, and the only match to go past the first period was his championship bout -- won by fall in 4:46 against Wyatt Baker of Servite, CA.
Coming in second place was Calvary Chapel, CA -- the only team to have multiple champions -- with 130.5 points. Also with five placers, the Church Boyz were anchored by champions from a pair of nationally ranked juniors. Morgan McIntosh (189) -- ranked second nationally -- went through this tournament in dominant fashion with three pins and two 15-6 major decisions, one of which came against Reno ToC champion Chace Eskam of Carlsbad, CA. Also winning a title was eighth ranked Tank Knowles (215); other placers for Calvary Chapel took home third, fourth, and seventh place.
The other team to muster five placers was Bakersfield, CA -- which came in third place with 119-1/2 points. The lone champion was junior Bryce Hammond, ranked 17th nationally at 160 pounds. In the championship final, Hammond defeated Dominic Kastl of Gilroy, CA by a 1-0 score. Timmy Box (140) earned runner-up honors for Bakersfield; while the squad's other placers took third, fifth, and sixth.
Two of the evening's most notable finals came at 119 and 125 pounds. Chris Mecate -- ranked 15th nationally from Redlands East Valley, CA -- defeated Reno ToC and Doc Buchanan champion Zach Zimmer of Clovis West by a 3-1 score. Mecate also earned a 3-2 victory over Texas state champion Bryan Grubbs from La Costa Canyon, CA in the semifinal round. Vince Rodriguez of Clovis North, CA defeated defending state champion Jesse Delgado -- ranked 17th nationally from Clovis, CA -- by a 4-2 score in the finals match
Rounding out the weight class champions were Naishon Garrett (103) of Chico, CA; Jake Briggs (135) of Bella Vista, CA; 16th ranked Cody Rodebaugh (145) of San Lorenzo Valley, CA; Denzel Hawkins (152) of Centennial, CA; and Jonathan Beck (171) of Rancho Bernardo, CA.
Garden State best dual it out
This past Friday night in front of a crowd as full as it could be at High Point Regional High School in New Jersey, it was a battle of the top two ranked teams in the state according to The Star-Ledger. Top ranked High Point hosted second ranked Long Branch. This was a rematch of last year, when Long Branch defeated High Point 28-27 on criteria in front of 4,500 people at Rutgers University. Long Branch would end the 2008-09 season as the number one team according to The Star-Ledger. This night did not disappoint, and it started out with the opening match at 160 pounds.
With Long Branch selecting even matches, High Point had to present first. Out came 13th ranked John Guzzo, Junior National freestyle All-American. In response, Long Branch sent out defending state champion Nick Visicaro, who is ranked seventh nationally. After a scoreless first period and a reversal by Guzzo to start the second period, Visicaro was a ball of fire for the duration. Two takedowns in the second period gave him a 5-4 lead heading into the third period, where it was two more takedowns in sealing up the 10-5 victory.
After another decision by Long Branch at 171, the first of two overtime bouts in the dual meet came at 189 pounds. Trailing 6-0 in the dual meet, High Point needed all the help they could get. Gavin Donahue came through with a 2-1 victory in the tiebreak periods over Paul Tracey. That made the score 6-3 for Long Branch, and match moved on to 215 pounds. Ranked 15th nationally at 189, Long Branch made the calculation to bump Billy George up to this weight class for a battle against Billy Smith. Rallying from a 3-1 deficit after two periods, George came up with a takedown with 17 seconds left in the match for a 5-3 win. This was one of four regulation matches decided by two points or less, all of which swung in favor of Long Branch.
Winning at both points on the turn, the dual meet was tied at 9-9 heading to the 112 and 119 pound one-two combination for High Point. At 112 pounds, it was one of only two matches in the course of the dual meet that had bonus points. High Point's Billy Gould secured the fall in 1:11 to give them their first lead of the dual meet at 15-9. State champion Nick Francavilla extended that lead to 18-9 with a 9-2 victory at 119 pounds.
Long Branch would win the next four matches of the dual meet to take a 23-18 lead. At 125 pounds, Matt Eggie earned the 4-3 victory with a reversal scored at three seconds remaining in the match. The other match with bonus points in the dual meet came at 130 pounds, where Andrew Cornell scored the 17-2 technical fall victory. A battle of state placers occurred at 135 pounds, as Scott Festejo defeated Drew Wagenhoffer 8-6 in a back-and-forth match. Finally, Louis Filipe secured a 9-8 victory over Tom DiVitantonio in an action packed 140 pound match.
The evening's other overtime match came in the penultimate match at 145 pounds, where Joe Gaccione hit a headlock to the back to end a long scramble and earn the 6-1 victory against Andrew Cornell. This cut the Long Branch lead to 23-21, and set up kind of a coronation for High Point at 152. Ethan Orr would earn a 7-0 decision to give High Point the needed points for a 24-23 dual meet victory.
Also, on Saturday in New Jersey, it was fifth ranked Jackson Memorial defeating third ranked South Plainfield by a 34-20 score. South Plainfield was coming off a strong third place finish at the Virignia Duals, where the Tigers only loss came by one point to St. Mark's DE -- a top ten team nationally. However, starting at 145 in this dual meet did not play to the South Plainfield strength, which is with their young and talented lower weights.
Devin Biscaha would get the ship sailing for the Jaguars with a match opening 2-1 victory over Ryan Sacco at 145 pounds. After major decisions by James Kelly and Doug Hamann, a Dallas Winston technical fall at 171 pounds, would give the Jaguars a 16-0 lead through four matches. State placer Mike Wagner stemmed the tide, as South Plainfield got on the board with a 17-0 technical fall.
However, a 3-1 decision from Drew Murphy at 215 pounds and a pin from Joe Nolan would give the Jaguars a 25-5 lead as the turn came. South Plainfield did cut the deficit to 25-11 after decisions from a pair of freshmen -- Anthony Ashnault and Troy Heilmann at 103 and 112 pounds respectively. Any realistic hopes of a South Plainfield rally came screeching to a halt when Spencer Young earned a 6-5 decision over Tyler Hunt to give Jackson a 28-11 lead with four matches left. The two teams split the last four matches to yield the final score.
Knights cap gauntlet with win despite being short-handed
For a second straight week -- Wyoming Seminary, PA won a very tough tournament -- this time at Mount Mat Madness outside of Baltimore, MD -- without the services of their ace Mike McMullan, ranked first nationally at 285 pounds. In addition, the Knights saw Kyle Johnson -- seeded second in the tournament at 119 pounds -- have to default out of the tournament after a first round win by fall.
The lone Wyoming Seminary title came from Dominick Malone at 112 pounds, and it was the sophomore's second title at the tournament. Malone avenged a Beast of the East semifinal loss to Tyler Pendergast of St. Mark's with a 3-2 victory in the battle of nationally ranked wrestlers. The Knights had three other finalists in Evan Botwin (103), Chris Moon (160), and Jay Wieller (171) -- all of whom fell short in their matches, and a total of ten top six place finishers in scoring 217-1/2 team points. Fifth-ranked Simon Kitzis (135) came in third after being upset 4-3 in the semifinals by Trevor Kushner of Westmont Hilltop, PA. Cohl Fulk (140) joined Kitzis with a third place finish, two wrestlers took fourth, one was fifth, and another took sixth.
St. Mark's, DE fell short in the team race by a 217-1/2 to 212-1/2 score. The Spartans had two wrestlers -- Michael Mauk (189) and Bobby Telford (285) - come home with titles. Two other wrestlers, Pendergast and Nick Schenk (130), both lost 3-2 decisions in the championship final. Schenk lost to defending tournament champion Frank Cagnina from Queen of Peace, NJ in a battle of the second and fourth ranked wrestlers at 130 pounds in the nation. Nationally ranked wrestlers Sean Dolan (119) and Sean Boylan (125) both were upset by unranked wrestlers in the semifinals, but came back to take home third place. Only two other Spartans earned top six place finishes -- one took fourth, while another took fifth.
In the semifinal round at 130 pounds, Schenk defeated 18th ranked Jacob Crawford (Robinson, VA) by a 3-2 score. The top bracket semifinal had Cagnina with a win over one of the nation's best freshmen in Eric Morris (Wyoming Seminary, PA) with a second period fall. Crawford defeated Morris by a 2-1 score for third place, a match very similar to his consolation semifinal victory at the Beast of the East.
The only other team with multiple champions was Southern Garrett, MD -- who got titles from Lex Ozias (140) and Bubba Scheffel (160). Rounding out the weight class champions are Kaleb Lemaire (103) of Casesar Rodney, DE; Jake Verheyen (119) of Spring Grove, PA; 12th ranked Patrick Prada (125) of DeMatha Catholic, MD; Cody Broomall (130) of Smyrna, MD; 11th ranked at 140 Codey Combs (145) of Sussex Central, DE; Matthew Miller (152) of John Carroll, MD; Bobby Bowman (171) of Mt St. Joseph's, MD; and Danny Lee (215) of Walt Whitman, MD.
Verheyen was the wrestler who upset Dolan, with a pin in a wild second period scramble in the top bracket semifinal at 119 pounds. Prada defeated multiple-time state champion, and NHSCA Junior National All-American, Adam Krop of Urbana, MD by a 3-1 score in the final at 125 pounds. This was after Krop earned a 3-2 upset victory over Boylan in the semifinal round.
Graham guns down the field for fourth consecutive year
In the Top Gun Tournament for a fourth consecutive year, Graham, OH came up to Alliance, OH and earned a fourth consecutive tournament championship trophy. Even without a pair of state finalists in Kyle Ryan (160) and Huston Evans (171), the Falcons still mustered seven finalists -- four of whom won tournament titles -- and a total of 260-1/2 points.
Felipe Martinez (140) defeated Tucker Armstrong of Kenton Ridge, OH 7-3 in a battle of the sixth and 12th ranked wrestlers nationally. For a second consecutive week, it was a battle of state champions and nationally ranked wrestlers at 119 pounds; and for a second straight time, it was Graham's Nick Brascetta defeating Ty Mitch of Aurora -- this time by a 4-2 score. Matt Stephens (145) and sixth ranked Max Thomusseit (189) earned the other two titles.
Runners-up for Graham were 13th ranked Ryan Taylor (103), who lost a 9-8 decision to Jordan Conaway of New Oxford, PA after upending 14th ranked Nathan Tomasello of CVCA, OH 8-7 in the semifinal round; freshman sensation Bo Jordan (130), who lost 2-1 in the ultimate tiebreaker on a rideout against 19th ranked Nate Skonieczny of Walsh Jesuit; and Isaac Jordan (135), who lost 1-0 when Zach Dailey of Massillon Perry, OH rode him out in the third period.
Skonieczny and Dailey were both one of a pair of champions for their respective teams. Johnni DiJulius (125) joined Skonieczny as a Top Gun champion, his second straight title in the tournament, with a 4-3 victory after riding out double Junior National All-American Patrick Myers of Penn Cambria, PA in the championship final. Mitch Newhouse (112) joined his fellow sophomore Dailey as a tournament champion with a 4-3 victory over returning state placer Shawn Ague of Austintown Fitch, OH; it was the third state placer that Newhouse beat in the tournament.
Dailey and Newhouse were two of ten total placers for Massillon Perry, OH in the tournament. The Panthers earned a dominant second place finish in the tournament with 216-1/2 points. DiJulius and Skonieczny sparked Walsh Jesuit to a tied for third place finish with across the street neighbors CVCA, OH -- each scoring 136-1/2 points.
Rounding out the Top Gun champions were Conaway; 14th ranked Harrison Hightower (152) of University School, OH; Damien Perry (160) of Mentor, OH; Alex Utley (171) of CVCA, OH; Joe Poyser (215) of Louisville, OH; and Kosta Karageorge (285) of Thomas Worthington, OH.
Tight race at the Geneseo
The Land of Lincoln's top team in the big-school division, and a perennial state power were locked in a battle for the team at the Geneseo Wrestling Invitational this past weekend in northwestern Illinois. It was the perennial power Providence Catholic, IL coming on top in very narrow fashion over Minooka, the top-ranked big school in the state of Illinois.
Despite only mustering one weight class championship -- coming from 16th ranked Eddie Klimara (119) -- the Celtics used four runner-up finishers and eleven total top six placers to earn the team title. Mike Togher (130), Edwin Cooper (135), Cody Klaver (140), and Jacob Sheffer (215) all took second place. In the tournament's best championship final, Cheesehead champion Jake Sueflohn of Arrowhead, WI defeated Cooper 7-5 in overtime; Cooper is ranked 11th in the 130 pound weight class.
Minooka had a tournament-high 12 wrestlers earn placement finishes; however, only three wrestlers advanced to the championship finals. Winning titles were Leo Ruettiger (112) and Kalvin Hill (145), while Corbet Oughton (103) took home second place. The final team score saw Minooka with 200 points, while Providence Catholic scored 202-1/2.
Three teams joined Minooka with a pair of champions -- Stagg, IL; Granite City, IL; and Cedar Rapids Prairie, IA. Kevin Malarick (103) and Kevin Moylan (125) won titles for Stagg, Tyler Prazma (152) and Casey Gushleff (285) won titles for Granite City, while Payton Wagner (160) and Josh Lambrecht (215) won titles for Cedar Rapids Prairie.
Rounding out the weight class champions were 14th ranked Keith Surber (130) of O'Fallon, IL; Sueflohn; Nate Jackson (140) of Marian Catholic, IL; eighth ranked Jahwon Akui (171) of St. Rita, IL; and Wes Cathcart (189) of the host school Geneseo, IL.
Bishop Lynch with three-peat at Lone Star Duals
For the third straight year, Bishop Lynch, TX won the high school championship at the Lone Star Duals hosted by South Grand Prairie High School located just outside of Dallas, TX. The joint high school and college dual meet contests provide the opportunity to showcase wrestling in the state of Texas.
It was a terrific finals match between Bishop Lynch and Oviedo, FL. In the fifteen weight classes -- Texas adds a 180 pound match in addition to the 14 sanctioned in NFHS competition -- Bishop Lynch won eight matches while Oviedo took home seven. In the five matches decided by two points or less, Bishop Lynch held a 3-2 edge. This included a 6-4 victory from 19th ranked Stephen McPeek of Bishop Lynch, TX over Jay Taylor in the 189 pound weight class.
Both squads had dominated its seven opponents prior to the championship final. In the preliminary pools, each team wrestled five matches. Each time only had one match decided by 50 points or less - Bishop Lynch defeated Gulf, FL 65-22; while Oviedo defeated Klein Collins, TX 62-12. Both squads had a bye into the championship bracket quarterfinals. Neither team had a match between the quarterfinal and semifinal decided by less than 40 points.
Bishop Lynch defeated Lawton, OK 61-13 in the semifinal after upending the host South Grand Prairie, TX squad 63-22 in the quarterfinal. Oviedo upended Gulf, FL 62-20 in the semifina and before that knocked off Oak Park Staley, MO 59-6 in the quarterfinal round.
Georgia high school state dual meet champions
Congratulations go to Collins Hill (5A -- big school), Loganville (4A), Gilmer (3A), Jefferson (2A), and Bremen (1A -- small school) on winning state dual meet crowns. Full results are available on Track Wrestling.
Key events of the coming weekend
• Dual meet: Graham, OH at St. Edward, OH on Saturday 1-23-10 at 7:00 PM.
• NHSCA Final Four of Wrestling at Easton, PA on Saturday 1-23-10 at 11:00 AM.
*Pool A: Blair Academy, NJ; Benton, PA; Collins Hill, GA; and Long Branch, NJ
*Pool B: Bishop Lynch, TX; Franklin, MA; Easton, PA; and High Point, NJ.
Each team will wrestle the others within their pool. The champion of each pool will wrestle for the title at 7:00 PM. Also at 7:00 -- Phillipsburg, NJ will wrestle one of the three New Jersey teams in the competition that is not in the championship match; while there will be another match involving two teams that did not wrestle each other earlier on.
• Tulsa Nationals, Friday 1-22 and Saturday 1-23
*The nation's pre-eminent competition involving youth and junior high wrestlers, and some high school wrestlers too. Competition is held in five different age groups from six all the way to 15.
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