Jimmy Gulibon seeks a fourth Pennsylvania state title (Photo/Rob Preston)Dominant, but not perfect: Ohio's team state champions
All three divisions of this past weekend's state wrestling tournament in Columbus saw the favorites emerge with a decisive team championship. However, all three teams saw moments that were dissatisfying along the way.
In Division I (big school), No. 2 St. Edward was aiming to break multiple records for team points, champions, and finalists. They barely tied one of those marks, tying the Division I record for most state finalists with eight. They fell short of the divisional point record (229 by St. Edward in 2007), titlists record (6 by Cleveland West in 1951), and the all classification finalist record (9 by St. Paris Graham in 2009). Additionally, from those eight finalists, only four emerged as champions -- No. 2 Dean Heil (126), No. 4 Mark Martin (170), No. 8 Domenic Abounader (182), and No. 14 Ty Walz (220). However, with 12 total placers, the Eagles did dominate the tournament with 223.5 points.
Martin upended a fellow nationally ranked wrestler, Vince Pickett from Grove City Central Crossing, 3-2 in the final; while Abounader beat fellow defending state champ Michael Baker of Twinsburg 3-0 in the final. State runners-up included Alex Moore at 113 pounds, who lost 3-1 to now two-time state champion Brandon Thompson from Solon; No. 7 Edgar Bright, who lost 2-1 in the tiebreakers to No. 10 Joey Ward at 132 pounds, who is now a two-time state champion from Moeller; Markus Scheidel, losing 3-1 at 145 pounds to yet another repeat state champion in No. 10 Anthony Collica from Solon; and No. 20 James Suvak, who was upended 6-4 by Joe Tayse from Massillon Perry at 195 pounds.
Another projected state champion, No. 20 Jacob Davis was upset, 8-6, in overtime during the state semifinals, and lost again in overtime to take fourth place at 160 pounds. Additional placers were Nick Barber, third at 138 pounds; Colin Heffernan, fourth at 120 pounds; and Matt Van Curen, seventh at 152 pounds.
Second in the team standings was No. 26 Massillon Perry with 105.5 points, anchored by its four state champions -- Joe Tayse at 195, David Bavery at 106, Mitch Newhouse at 138, and a repeat state title for No. X Zack Dailey at 152. Additional wrestlers to place for the Panthers were seventh place finishers Isaac Bast at 132 pounds and Josh Arrendale at 160. Working with eight state qualifiers, No. 16 Cincinnati Moeller had a disappointing tournament with 65.5 points, though it was enough to take home third place in the standings. The Crusaders were anchored by a state title from No. 10 Joey Ward at 132 pounds, and also saw placement finishes from Dakota Sizemore, third at 152; Chalmer Freauf, fourth at 220; and Tyler Ziegler, sixth at 126.
Rounding out the big school state champions were Brandon Thompson (113) and No. 10 Anthony Collica (145) from Solon, each winning a second consecutive state title; No. 1 George DiCamillo (120) from St. Ignatius, who was also a repeat state champion; Roy Daniels (160) from Olentangy Liberty; and a third consecutive state title for Wadsworth's No. 5 Nick Tavanello (285).
St. Paris Graham, ranked eighth nationally, came home with a twelfth consecutive state title scoring 183.5 points anchored by four state champions. Winning their third consecutive state titles respectively were senior No. 5 Ryan Taylor (120) and No. 4 Isaac Jordan (160), along with junior No. 1 Bo Jordan (152); while it was a repeat state title for sophomore No. 17 Micah Jordan (126). However, the Falcons came up short in two championship matches placing ranked wrestlers against one another.
For a second consecutive year, No. 7 Huston Evans lost to No. 9 Chaz Gresham from Goshen in the state final, this time is was 3-2 in overtime at 182 pounds; while No. 11 Blake Kastl was unable to make it three consecutive victories over No. 14 Jake Faust from Lexington, as Faust earned a 7-4 victory, which was the first state title in program history for the Minutemen. In addition, freshmen Eli Stickley and Eli Seipel placed fifth and fourth at 106 and 113 pounds respectively for St. Paris Graham.
Second in the Division II standings were Lexington with a trio of state finalists, a pair of state champs in Faust and junior Josh Lehner (195) -- who had four technical falls in the tournament -- along with two other state placers in amassing 97.5 points. Other Minutemen placers were state runner-up Brad Metz (160), fourth place finisher Jacob Kasper (170), and fifth place finisher Calvin Campbell (120).
Third place in the standings went to No. 49 CVCA with 84.5 points on the strength of a pair of state titles won by No. 2 Nathan Tomasello (113) and No. 10 Matt Meadows (220), along with all five of their other state qualifiers earning podium finishes. Those other placers were freshman Ryan Bennett (106) taking fourth, Ricky Simonelli (126) and David Gray (170) finishing seventh, along with Josh Decatur (132) and Jeff Hojnacki (145) earning eighth place medals.
Additional state champions in Division II were freshman Cameron Kelly (106), who was the first champion in Bellbrook program history; No. 16 Brent Fickel (132) from Padua; No. 2 Nate Skonieczny (138) from Walsh Jesuit earning his second; Chris Moore (170) from Clyde; No. 9 Chaz Gresham (182) from Goshen; and Riley Shaw (285) from Washington C.H. earning a repeat title.
Finally, in Division III, Waynedale earned its first state title in program history scoring 104 points, as all six of its qualifiers placed on the podium. The Bears were led by state champion Zeb Beam (160), runner-up finishes from Zane Nelson (138) and Brenden Stanley (162), and a fourth place finish from Zack Nelson (120); while Brad Wardell (132) finished in seventh and Dakota Stanley (145) took home seventh place standing. Second in the team point race was Troy Christian with 81.5 points coming from four wrestlers -- championships won by Jordan Marshall (145) and B.J. Toal (182), a runner-up finish for Jared Ganger (106), and a fifth place medal for Garrett Hancock (113).
In addition, the following ranked wrestlers won titles in Division III -- No. 2 Matthew Kolodzik (106) from Miami Valley School, and No. 8 Mimmo Lytle (285) from Swanton was a repeat champion. The other repeat champion in the division was Jacob Danishek (132) from Dayton Christian. View results.
America's most rigorous championship: PIAA Class 3A
106: Freshman sensation Michael Kemerer (Franklin Regional) is the clear favorite in the top half of the bracket. He won the Super 32 at this weight class, but spent the vast majority of the season at 113 pounds (where he is ranked twelfth), and has an undefeated record. He has convincing wins over No. 10 Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh Central Catholic) the last two weeks. Joseph is in the opposite half of the draw, and in the same quarter-bracket as state runner-up No. 13 Ethan Lizak (Parkland). Last year's fourth place finisher at 103 pounds -- and a Beast and POWERade placer at 113 -- Zach Fuentes (Norristown) is the likely other semifinalist in the bottom half.
113: Nationally ranked wrestlers No. 10 Billy Rappo (Council Rock South), defending state champion, and freshman No. 19 Sam Krivus (Hempfield) are in opposite halves of the draw. Krivus won the regional title over Dalton Macri (Canon-McMillan), who is the likely semifinal opponent for Rappo.
120: 2010 state champion Conner Schram (Canon McMillan), ranked ninth nationally, is undefeated on the season and favored to clear the top half of the draw. His toughest challenge is likely to be returning state placer Thomas Traxler (Bellefonte) in the quarterfinal. The bottom half of the draw is anchored by POWERade champion, and Ironman placer, No. 14 Godwin Nyama (Brashear).
126: Three-time state placer and defending state champion Corey Keener (Blue Mountain) is ranked 18th and the favorite in this weight class. It is very likely that he clear to the state final, with a collision against returning third in the state Tyson Dippery (Central Dauphin) pending.
132: Shyheim Brown (Central Dauphin), ranked No. 19 nationally, is in the top half of the draw and a two-time state placer. Brown is looking at a semifinal collision against two-time state placer Devon Lotito (Bethlehem Liberty), who was third at state last year. The bottom half of the draw is anchored by state runner-up Mackenzie McGuire (Upper St. Clair).
138: The five regional feeding to state model leads to every weight having three champs on one side of the draw. Unfortunately, that can lead to some disasters in the brackets. It's happened here. The three nationally ranked wrestlers are all in the top half of the draw. The top quarter of the draw has both No. 7 Solomon Chishko (Canon McMillan) and No. 9 (at 145) Matt Cimato (LaSalle), the two wrestlers competed at 145 pounds in the Super 32 and POWERade. Both wrestlers placed in the top five at the Super 32, and Chishko upended Cimato 3-2 in the semifinal at the POWERade. Waiting in the semifinal is No. 17 Steve Spearman (Erie McDowell), a 2010 state champion who beat Chishko in the dual meet state tournament. The bottom half of the draw features only one wrestler with a state podium appearance, Chris Vassar (Cedar Cliff), whose appearance came in 2010 at 103 pounds.
145: The weight's two nationally ranked wrestlers, defending state champion Mitch Minotti (Easton) -- ranked fifth -- and No. 19 Ty Lydic (Greater Latrobe) -- never a state placer -- meet in the first round. This happened due to the fact Lydic was upset in the semifinal of the regional meet by eventual champion Heath Coles (Norwin). Coles is in the same bottom half as Minotti and Lydic, but in the other quarter along with a pair of formidable sophomores in T.C. Warner (Cumberland Valley) and Justin Staudenmayer (Plymouth-Whitemarsh). The top half of the draw is anchored by returning state finalist Garrett Hammond (Chambersburg).
152: Three names stand out as contenders in this weight class -- state placer Garrett Peppelman (Central Dauphin), 2010 state third place finisher Casey Kent (LaSalle), and state qualifier Rustin Barrick (Mechanicsburg). Peppelman and Kent project to the top semifinal, while Barrick floats in the bottom half of the draw.
160: Defending state champions, No. 1 Chance Marsteller (Kennard-Dale) and No. 7 Brian Brill (Central Mountain) look to be on a collision course in the final. Both wrestlers are undefeated and have been unchallenged this year. Not that Marsteller needs the help, but he's clear in the bottom half of the draw. In Brill's half of the draw, the opposite quarter features two regional champions in No. 15 Brett Harner (Norristown) and Zach Zavatasky (Greater Latrobe).
170: Two-time state finalist No. 2 Cody Wiercioch (Canon McMillan) has not dropped a beat in his Class 3A debut, having competed at Class AA Charleroi the previous two seasons. He is the favorite in this weight class, though the top half of the draw is tough with a quarterfinal match against fellow Super 32 placer Jacob Taylor (Bald Eagle Area) looming. Then, it's a semifinal against the winner of a first round match between state placers Connor Moran (Solanco) and Geno Morelli (DuBois). The bottom half of the draw is comparatively barren, with two-time state placer Shane Springer (Norristown) -- a 2010 state finalist -- the likely candidate to clear to the final.
182: No. 18 Matt McCutcheon (Kiski Area), third in the state last year, enters this year's tournament as the favorite. Returning state placer Ryan Burnheimer (Westmont Hilltop) is likely to be the semifinal opponent. The top half of the draw features the undefeated Chris Jastrzebski (Central Bucks West) in one quarter with Khalique Harris (Erie McDowell) and Jared Lux (North Allegheny) in the other.
195: No. 10 Perry Hills (Pittsburgh Central Catholic) is undefeated with a title at the Beast of the East, and the Maryland-bound quarterback enters this tournament as the favorite.
220: State champion as a freshman, Super 32 and POWERade champion this year, No. 9 Thomas Haines (Solanco) is undefeated and favored to win the state title. He is a good bet to clear the bottom half of the draw, while fellow undefeated Tyson Searer (Mifflin County) is the favorite in the top half of the draw.
285: State champion Avree Robinson (Susquehanna Township), ranked 18th nationally, is in the bottom half of the draw and is looking at a quarterfinal against the undefeated Brad Emerick (Coughlin). Also in the bottom half of the draw is returning third in the state Cody Klempay (Canon-McMillan), who is ranked 12th nationally. The top half of the draw is anchored by state runner-up Dawson Peck (Chambersburg), ranked 20th nationally after making his debut very late in the year and beating Robinson in the regional final. Also in that top half is two-time fifth in the state Josh Duplin (Westmont Hilltop).
The Golden Upset
Less than thirty seconds away from a fourth state title, and membership in a very select club (in fact, it just has one member -- Darrell Vasquez) in the Golden State, No. 1 Alex Cisneros from Selma saw his dream slip away. It came with a toss from Gilroy's Niko Villarreal, who is ranked 13th up at 138 pounds. The sophomore emerged with a 5-3 victory, and a true "giant killing" at the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, Calif. this past Saturday night.
The other main story was the absolute dominance of No. 5 Clovis, which has ten of its wrestlers place inside the top eight of the single class state championships. Two Cougar wrestlers finished atop the podium, each placing for the fourth time in their career. No. 6 Zach Nevills (170) won his first title after finishes of fifth, second, and third in prior years; while No. 20 Daniel Gayton (120) was a repeat champion.
It was three pins and then three narrow match victories on the title journey for Nevills. The championship match against No. 12 Silas Nacita from Bakserfield was a 7-5 victory that split their four-match series for the season at two matches apiece. Gayton opened his tournament run with four pins, a 5-1 victory over returning state third placer Emilio Saavedra from Modesto, and then a 3-2 victory in the finals over Hermilio Esquivel from Orland that avenged a loss from mid-December.
Two other wrestlers finished in second place, Jonas Gayton (113) and Dakota Gordan (195). Jonas lost 5-4 to No. 3 Isaiah Locsin from Live Oak in the final, after a string of five falls including one in the semifinals against No. 6 Micah Perez from Central Union. Gordan had three falls, a 12-4 major decision, and a 6-1 decision in the semifinals before falling to defeat against No. 11 Robert Marchese from Oak Hills in the final.
Defending state champion Nick Nevills (285), only a sophomore and ranked fourth nationally, finished third after being upset 5-4 in the semifinal round by Michael Lowman from Foothill. Other Clovis placers were Adrian Salas (160) and Ryan Davies (182) finishing fourth, Jason Ladd (182) in fifth, Julian Gayton (106) in sixth, and Vincent Hernandez (126) in seventh.
Second place in the team standings went to No. 22 Bakersfield with six placers and 129.5 points anchored by state runner-up finishes from Nacita (170), who is ranked 12th nationally, and Kyle Pope (182). Other placement finishes included No. 5 Coleman Hammond (152) in third, No. 11 Natrelle Demison (138) in fourth, Micah Cruz (132) in sixth, and Maxx Ramirez (145) in seventh. Demison fell short of expectations yet again in the state tournament, losing 7-4 to eventual state champion Brian Sergi from College Park in the semifinal round and 11-3 to Jacob Leon from Alta Loma in the consolation final.
A solid third place standing was in the cards for No. 18 Poway with their five medalists, led by fourth place finishes from Victor Lopez (132) and Connor King (170). Also placing for the Titans was Josh Miranda (120) in fifth, Richard Durr (220) in sixth, and Steve Cervantes (170) in seventh.
Another main storyline was that of the freshman sensations from St. John Bosco -- Zahid and Anthony Valencia. Ranked first in the nation at 106 pounds, Zahid dominated his way to the championship match with a pin, 8-0 major decision, technical fall, and 16-2 major decision. Then, he emerged as state champion with a 5-4 victory over Johnson Mai from North Torrence, the defending state champion who is ranked fifth nationally. In the 126 pound weight class, Anthony earned pins in the semifinal and championship match to become another freshman state champion.
Three wrestlers earned repeat California state championships -- No. 2 Isaiah Martinez (152) from Bakersfield, No. 2 Joey Davis (160) from Santa Fe, and No. 6 Nikko Reyes (182) from Clovis West. Martinez won all five of his state tournament matches by fall, including a victory in the state final over defending state champion Jake Elliott (Oakmont). That finals victory came after Elliott upended No. 5 Hammond 5-2 in the semifinal round.
Davis navigated his half of the draw with three falls, an 18-3 technical fall, and a 7-3 victory over No. 11 James Wilson from McNair in the semifinal. No. 13 Victor Pereira from Newark Memorial had a pin and three technical falls before the 10-8 victory over Salas in the semifinal round. In the final, Davis upended Pereira 12-5. In the case of Reyes, he had three first period pins and two technical falls before the 5-0 victory over Pope from Bakersfield in the final.
Rounding out the weight class champions were No. 3 Locsin (113), Brian Sergi (138) from College Park with a 4-3 victory over No. 18 Shayne Tucker from Bella Vista, No. 18 Willie Fox (145) from Gilroy, No. 11 Marchese (195), No. 20 J.T. Goodwin (220) from Bear Creek, and No. 11 Johnny Schupp (285) from Vacaville. View results
The drive for four in PIAA small-school wrestling
Despite some disappointment this year, a loss in the Ironman final and missing time in the month of January due to injury, Jimmy Gulibon (Derry Area) is ranked first nationally at 126 pounds and in position to win a fourth state title. That journey starts with an opening round match against returning state placer Zane Heller (Bethlehem Catholic), and continues with a likely quarterfinal against state placer Ian Brown (Hanover). Two-time state placer Corey Bush (Ridgway) looms in the semifinal, while two-time state placer Arty Walsh (Schuylkill Valley) -- also a 2009 state champion -- is the probable finals opponent.
Two state champions anchor the 113 pound weight class. Undefeated wrestlers Ryan Diehl (Trinity) and Jason Nolf (Kittaning) look to be meeting in the semifinal round. The junior Diehl, fourth nationally, won titles in West Virginia each of the last two years; while Nolf made the late drop into this weight class after being ranked No. 3 at 120 pounds. Nolf won state last year as a freshman at 103 pounds, keyed by a semifinal victory over Darian Cruz, and has a win over No. 4 Nick Roberts (North Star) -- the favorite at 120 pounds in Class AA -- this season.
Power programs show their power in Gopher State
After winning state dual meet titles on Thursday, both No. 3 Apple Valley and No. 11 Simley had dominant performances from their individual squads on Friday and Saturday. Even though Apple Valley had some disappointments, the Eagles still came through with four state champions -- Malou Woiwor (106), Seth Gross (120), No. 3 Mark Hall (145), and No. 10 Brandon Kingsley (160). Dayton Racer (138) finished in second place; No. 12 Dakota Trom (132), Mason Manville (152), and Ben Sullivan (170) took home bronze medals; Shamar Williams (126) finished fourth; while Daniel Woiwor (182) defaulted down to sixth place after a state semifinal loss in overtime.
The two showdown matches of Class AAA occurred at 126 and 132 pounds. In the 126 pound final, No. 12 Sam Brancale from Eden Prairie upset No. 8 Mitch Bengtson from St. Cloud Apollo with a 2-1 decision. That result avenged a 1-0 quarterfinal loss from last year's state tournament, and ended the long-standing win streak for Bengtson going back to December 2008 (his eighth grade year). No. 9 Ben Morgan from Forest Lake dominated No. 12 Dakota Trom in a 7-2 quarterfinal victory on the way to his second state title. Morgan ends his career with titles in eighth grade and his senior year, after third place finishes in the middle three years; while Trom's quest for four state titles was derailed.
Other big school (Class AAA) state champions were No. 5 Tommy Thorn (113) from St. Michael-Albertville, Grant Nehring (138) from St. Cloud Apollo, T.J. O'Hara (152) from Tartan, No. 11 Kyle Begin (170) from Anoka with his second straight state title, Chase Morelock (182) from Morehead, Tommy Peterson (195) from Lakeville South, Michael Burckhart (220) from Coon Rapids, and Bryce DeBoer (285) from Albert Lea.
On the other hand, the Spartans were the clearly dominant force in Class AA with five state champions and seven finalists. Winning titles were Juan Torres (126); No. 3 Micah Barnes (170) after two previous runner-up finishes; and a trio of wrestlers winning repeat gold medals in No. 14 Kyle Gliva (113), No. 4 Jake Short (145) and No. 14 Nick Wanzek (152). Short had to upend fellow defending state champion Gabe Fogarty 4-2 in the state semifinals prior to accruing his third fall of the tournament in the state final. Finishing as runner-up were Stephan Mincey (132) and Cody Hazlett (195). Additional state placers were McKinnon Short (138) in fourth and Matt Kadrlik (285) in fifth.
The featured weight of that tournament was at 285 pounds, where the final featured a pair of returning state champions. Seeking a third title at 285 pounds, No. 3 Austin Goergen from Caledonia reached the final with a pin, 17-0 technical fall, and 7-0 decision. However, in the final, Michael Kroells from Scott West -- who was ranked fourth at 220 before moving up to this weight class -- emerged as the dominant champion with an 8-3 victory. In the semifinal round, Kroells upended Kadrlik by 8-0 major decision after Kadrlik beat the previously undefeated Jesse Hein from Perham 5-3 in the quarterfinal and knocked off No. 7 Sam Stoll from Kasson-Mantorville 4-3 in the opening round.
Other state champions included a trio of wrestlers from Kasson-Mantorville in seventh grader Brady Berge (106), Colton Laganiere (138), and No. 17 Broc Berge (195). Another pair of champions came from Rockford and Totino-Grace respectively. For Rockford, the titles were earned by Ty Griffin (120) and John Redepenning (160); while freshman Lance Benick (182) and junior Joe Schiller (220) won titles for Totino-Grace. The remaining champion was No. 14 Joe Munos from South St. Paul, who won the 132 pound weight class for his third state title. View results.
Other state tournament results from this past weekend ...
Hawaii
Results
Maryland
4A/3A Results
2A/1A Results
Michigan
Results
Minnesota
Class AAA Results
Class AA Results
Class A Results
New England
Results
New Jersey
Results
Wisconsin
Results
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