What: The 16th Walsh Ironman
Where: Walsh Jesuit High School -- Cuyahoga Falls, OH
When: Friday 12-11-09 and Saturday 12-12-09
Schedule: Preliminary rounds (up to the quarterfinals) start at 1:00 p.m. ET on Friday afternoon; Saturday morning wrestling starts at 10:00 AM with the quarterfinals, the semifinals will follow, as will all consolation matches including those for seventh place; matches for first, third, and fifth will be wrestled Saturday evening starting at 6:30 p.m.
Tournament Web site: http://www.walshironman.com
Special Honoree: Harry Lester will be honored as the Ironman Legacy Award winner this year. Lester, while wrestling at CVCA was a three-time Ironman champion and four-time Ohio state champion. Since then, he has won multiple World Championship medals in Greco-Roman for the United States.
InterMat Coverage: InterMat will be providing live blog coverage of all three sessions, available from the InterMat home page. In addition, a wrap-up will be provided on Friday night, with a finals game story to be published on Sunday.
103:
Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 9 Ryan Taylor (Graham, OH); No. 11 Kevon Powell (Montini Catholic, IL); No. 15 Max Hvolbeck (Blair Academy, NJ); No. 16 Dean Heil (St. Edward, OH); and No. 17 Nathan Tomasello (CVCA, OH).
Commentary: This opening weight class is unlike ones from previous years where the field was talent-laden with multiple elite level wrestlers that were proven commodities.
Based on the preliminary seedings, the two highest ranked wrestlers would meet in a Saturday morning quarterfinal; Taylor is seeded ninth, while Powell is the tournament's top seed. Awaiting the winner of that match would likely be the freshman Heil, a finalist in the three major Roller World of Wrestling tournaments last season.
The other side of the draw includes Hvolbeck, Tomasello, and George DiCamillo (St. Ignatius, OH). DiCamillo placed last year at the Walsh Ironman, and finished third in the Super 32 this past fall. DiCamillo vs. Tomasello would be the quarterfinal with Hvolbeck awaiting the winner in the semifinal.
Friday Match to Watch: Taylor vs. Cody Stainbrook (Streetsboro, OH). This could be a preview of the medium-school division state final in Ohio this coming season.
Predicting a Finals Match: Taylor (Graham) over Hvolbeck (Blair Academy)
112:
Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 1 Evan Silver (Blair Academy, NJ); No. 3 Jimmy Gulibon (Derry Area, PA); No. 4 Alex Cisneros (Selma, CA); No. 13 Dominick Malone (Wyoming Seminary, PA); No. 1 (at 103) Joey Dance (Christiansburg, VA); and No. 13 (at 103) Daniel Gayton (Clovis, CA).
Commentary: The bracket in this weight class happens to be relatively balanced between halves and quarters. After losing a very close semifinal bout to Hunter Stieber in this weight class last year, the top-ranked Silver is favored to win his first Ironman title. However, reaching the final could be a challenge, as one of the Keystone State's finest -- Gulibon -- is the likely semifinal opponent; though Gulibon would have to get past a projected quarterfinal against fellow state champion Ryan Brooks (Marlow, OK).
The bottom half of the draw is led by another one of the nation's best sophomores, a state champion from the Golden State -- Cisneros. His road to the final involves likely matches against Dance and Malone, a pair of Cadet National freestyle All-Americans.
Unseeded Wrestler to Watch: Dean O'Bourke (Calvary Chapel, CA).
Friday Match to Watch: Dance vs. Stephen Myers (Moeller, OH). This is a battle of freshmen who were Cadet National freestyle All-Americans during the summer and are proven in Roller World of Wrestling events.
Predicting a Finals Match: Silver (Blair Academy) over Cisneros (Selma)
119:
Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 2 Hunter Stieber (Monroeville, OH); No. 2 (at 112) Jerome Robinson (St. Ignatius, OH); No. 3 Ty Mitch (Aurora, OH); No. 8 Kagan Squire (Wadsworth, OH); No. 11 Mark Grey (Blair Academy, NJ); and No. 14 Nick Brascetta (Graham, OH).
Commentary: Two of the sport's clichés hold true here -- styles make matches, and draws make tournaments. There is a group of seven wrestlers, the six that are nationally ranked and Mason Beckman (Reynolds, PA) that are a cut above the field. Based on past histories, the favorite would have to be Stieber.
Based on the bracket, it is very likely that one of the semifinals will place Stieber against two-time state champion and Junior National freestyle champion Mitch. While a Mitch vs. Brascetta quarterfinal is a battle of nationally ranked wrestlers, it is one that Mitch should win. In fact, when these two met in the 2008 state semifinal at 103 pounds, Mitch won 14-7.
Saturday morning in the bottom half of the bracket is going to be full of fireworks. Starting with projected quarterfinal bouts placing Robinson against Beckman and Squire against Grey. While Robinson would be considered a pre-match favorite against Beckman; should Beckman be able to get the match onto the mat, it would be big-time advantage to Beckman. Squire and Grey are two of the nation's finest sophomores, and Grey is my pick to pull off an upset based on the rankings.
Friday Match to Watch: Mitch v Greg Flourony (Fauquier, VA). Flournoy placed 8th at the very tough 119 pound weight class at the recent Super 32.
Predicting a Finals Match: H. Stieber (Monroeville) over Robinson (St. Ignatius)
125:
Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 1 Logan Stieber (Monroeville, OH); No. 2 Devin Carter (Christiansburg, VA); No. 5 (at 119) Jesse Delgado (Gilroy, CA); and No. 15 Gus Sako (St. Edward, OH).
Commentary: With many viewing Logan Stieber as the best wrestler in America, there comes a prevailing notion that he is some sort of untouchable. However, there is a wrestler in this weight class that has improved leaps and bounds in the last fifteen months and could bust that paradigm. The wrestler being discussed is Devin Carter, who won the Ironman at 112 last year with an 8-4 victory over the younger Stieber (Hunter). Carter bookended this championship with Super 32 titles, and also was a Junior National freestyle runner-up this past summer.
That being said, Carter does not exactly have smooth sailing to a match with Stieber on Saturday night. Standing in the way is Delgado, a California state champion and two-time Cadet National freestyle All-American, in what is likely to be a semifinal bout.
Looking through Stieber's half of the bracket, it is likely to be a semifinal date against a two-time Ohio state finalist -- either Sako or Johnni DiJulius (Walsh Jesuit, OH). DiJulius beat Sako two times in 2007-08, while Sako has the Fargo AA to his credit.
Unseeded Wrestler to Watch: State qualifier Matt Rappo (Council Rock South, PA).
Friday Match to Watch: Sako vs. Chase Ferman (Broken Arrow, OK). Ferman is a very funky wrestler who placed seventh in last year's Ironman.
Predicting a Finals Match: L. Stieber (Monroeville) over Carter (Christiansburg)
130:
Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 1 Jamie Clark (St. Edward, OH); No. 13 Colton Rasche (Montini Catholic, IL); and No. 16 (at 125) Tyler Rauenzahn (Blue Mountain, PA.
Commentary: Clark is favored to repeat as Ironman champion, and should not be truly challenged along the way. His path is likely to include a quarterfinal against either Garrison or Skonieczny, and a semifinal bout against Penn State verbal commit Frank Martelotti (Shady Side Academy, PA). Martelotti was third at state the last two years after winning the title as a freshman.
The bottom half of the draw includes nationally ranked wrestlers Rauenzahn and Rasche as the sixth and seventh seeds respectively. Nick Lawrence (Westlake, OH) is a two-time state finalist in the big-school division, and the second seed. Cody Pack (Quincy, CA) had great Fargo success early in his career but has failed to place at state the last two years, partly due to injury.
Unseeded Wrestlers to Watch: Todd Preston (Blair Academy, NJ) and Eric Morris (Wyoming Seminary, PA). These two unseeded wrestlers, who have the potential to make a dent into placement positions, could play a key role in the team race this year -- be it sealing the deal yet again for Blair or putting Wyoming Seminary into the lead group conversation.
Friday Matches to Watch: Rauenzahn v Brent Fickel (Padua, OH) and Case Garrison (Bishop Lynch, TX) vs. Nate Skonieczny (Walsh Jesuit, OH). Fickel was an Ironman quarterfinalist last year as a freshman. Garrison placed in the Ironman as a freshman, while Skonieczny was a state runner-up.
Predicting a Finals Match: Clark (St. Edward) over Rauenzahn (Blue Mountain)
135:
Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 2 Felipe Martinez (Graham, OH); No. 3 Austin Ormsbee (Blair Academy, NJ); No. 5 Cam Tessari (Monroeville, OH); No. 7 Simon Kitzis (Wyoming Seminary, PA); No. 12 Luke Goettl (Mingus, AZ); No. 14 Shawn Fayette (Miamisburg, OH); and No. 10 (at 130) Nick Pena (Selma, CA).
Notable: No. 1 Josh Dziewa (Council Rock South, PA) is a scratch due to injury.
Commentary: Despite the absence of the nation's top-ranked wrestler at this weight, this field is absolutely loaded with talent. In fact, there will be many very talented wrestlers not going to place in this weight bracket. However, the four wrestlers ranked inside the top seven of this weight class are the ones that stand a cut above, and should be in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon.
The bottom bracket semifinal between Martinez and Ormsbee could be crucial in the team battle, and is arguably a de facto final of sorts. In order to make that semifinal, Martinez is most likely going to have to beat fellow state champion Fayette -- a wrestler that he beat 3-2 at the GMVWA tournament last year. Ormsbee would have the Rich v Dailley winner in his quarterfinal.
In the top bracket, Tessari is likely to advance to the semifinal through a quarterfinal bout against fellow junior Pena, who has placed in single-class California during his first two years of high school. The other quarterfinal would place Kitzis against Goettl. While Goettl has had great success in Fargo, his performance in folkstyle at Ironman and Reno last year was somewhat disappointing. The Junior National freestyle All-American and Beast of the East champion is my pick to win that bout.
Unseeded Wrestlers to Watch: Freshmen sensations Zach Epperly (Christiansburg, VA) and Austin Matthews (Reynolds, PA).
Friday Match to Watch: Jordan Rich (Central Mountain, PA) vs. Zach Dailley (Massillon Perry, OH). Rich placed last year at the Ironman, fourth at state the last two years, and was one match away from placement honors in Fargo (JN FS) and at the Super 32. However, Dailley beat Rich almost two months ago at the preseason Lock Haven Open.
Predicting a Finals Match: Martinez (Graham) over Tessari (Monroeville)
140:
Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 2 (at 145) Chris Villalonga (Blair Academy, NJ); No. 17 (at 135) Stephen Robertson (Montini Catholic, IL); and No. 18 (at 135) Caleb Ervin (Union County, KY).
Notable: No. 1 Josh Kindig (Blue Mountain, PA) is a scratch due to injury.
Commentary: With Kindig out of this weight class, things are very clear for Villalonga to become a three-time Ironman champion. Of interest will be the bracket matches not involving Villalonga, as there is incredible balance in this weight -- do "eenie, meenie, minie, mo" to pick the matches in this bracket, and pay very close attention to the happenings on Friday and in all rounds of this bracket.
Unseeded Wrestlers to Watch: State qualifiers Connor Dempsey (Westlake, OH) and Matt Van Curen (St. Edward, OH).
Friday Matches to Watch: Robertson vs. Matt Martoccio (Council Rock South, PA); Travis Shaffer (Derry Area, PA) vs. Nate Ball (Wadsworth, OH); Evan Henderson (Kiski Prep, PA) vs. Isaac Jordan (Graham, OH); and Ian Miller (Oak Harbor, OH) vs. Brian Brill (Central Mountain, PA).
Predicting a Finals Match: Villalonga (Blair Academy) over Shaffer (Derry Area)
145:
Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 1 Andrew Alton (Central Mountain, PA); No. 10 Cody Rodebaugh (San Lorenzo Valley, CA); and No. 15 Anthony Salupo (St. Edward, OH).
Commentary: Unlike 140, this weight is not very deep overall. However, also unlike 140, this weight is relatively strong at the top. The top half of this draw will be dominated by defending champion Andrew Alton, who happens to be the strong favorite for a repeat title.
However, in the bottom half of the draw is three relatively similar wrestlers in terms of ability. Rodebaugh is a defending state champion and All-American at the NHSCA Junior Nationals. The very talented Salupo was a disappointing third at state, and sixth at NHSCA Junior Nationals. Brad Squire (Wadsworth, OH) was state champion as a freshman and Ironman champion as a sophomore, but has fallen short of hopes in the last 1-1/2 seasons -- losing a state final in 2008 and spending 2008-09 battling around injuries.
Squire is the two seed and likely to face the Rodebaugh vs. Salupo quarterfinal winner in a semifinal. As a note of interest, Rodebaugh pinned Salupo in a consolation semifinal at NHSCA Junior Nationals. In the top half, look for a semifinal involving Alton against Matt Stephens (Graham, OH).
Predicting a Finals Match: A. Alton (Central Mountain) over Rodebaugh (San Lorenzo Valley)
152:
Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 1 Dylan Alton (Central Mountain, PA); No. 3 Brandon Rolnick (Lawrenceville, NJ); No. 5 (at 145) Steven Hernandez (Bishop Gorman, NV); No. 9 David Habat (St. Ignatius, OH); No. 7 (at 160) Jason Luster (Kiski Prep, PA); No. 10 (at 160) Travis Gallegos (Foothill-PC, CA); No. 14 Jesse Shanaman (Blair Academy, NJ); and No. 17 Harrison Hightower (University School, OH).
Commentary: The reputation of the Walsh Ironman is made on weight classes such as these -- eight nationally ranked wrestlers seeking eight places in the bracket. It is possible that there might not be as many nationally ranked wrestlers at the season-ending NHSCA Senior Nationals in this type of weight class.
The top seed is defending champion Dylan Alton, who projects to have a second consecutive Ironman quarterfinal bout against Hightower. Last year, this match was a pin. The other projected quarterfinal in this half has Luster meeting Habat, which is a rematch of last year's third place bout won 3-1 by Luster.
A matchup that of New Jersey Prep School stars is one of the quarterfinals on bottom, with Rolnick favored to advance over Shanaman. The other quarterfinal is a battle of west coast stars with a pair of top 100 Class of 2010 recruits in Hernandez and Gallegos set to do battle. The double Junior National All-American, and two-time NHSCA grade-level champion, Hernandez is favored here.
Unseeded Wrestler to Watch: State champion Rich Eva (Christiansburg, VA).
Friday Matches to Watch: Hightower vs. Cody Allala (Hopewell, VA); these wrestlers met in the 2008 Super 32 with Hightower dominating the battle of future state champions. Shanaman v Kenny Boyles (Smyrna, DE); Boyles was a Junior National Greco-Roman All-American this past summer.
Predicting a Finals Match: D. Alton (Central Mountain) over Rolnick (Lawrenceville)
160:
Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 3 Nick Sulzer (St. Edward, OH); No. 6 (at 171) Josh Demas (Westerville North, OH); No. 11 (at 152) Pierce Harger (Moeller, OH); and No. 18 (at 152) Zach Skates (Broken Arrow, OK).
Commentary: While there are four nationally ranked wrestlers in this weight, three of them stand out as a cut above the rest of this field. The three top 100 Class of 2010 recruits from the Buckeye State will battle it out this weekend, and possibly in the big-school state tournament; however, one would have to think someone moves up to an easier 171 pound weight class by season's end.
The draw sets up for a state finals rematch in the top semifinal with Sulzer facing Demas. Sulzer beat Demas in the ultimate tiebreaker in the late December Medina Invitational final, before Demas won on a great counter takedown late in the state final. The quarterfinal match for Sulzer most likely will be against another state champion in Kyle Ryan (Graham, OH); while Demas projects to face the mercurial but talented Trey Adamson (Bishop Lynch, TX). On paper, Harger should have a very easy path through to the semis where he would be favored to make the final against Skates, Wukie, or Moon.
Unseeded Wrestler to Watch: State qualifier Sheldon Brandenburg (Wadsworth, OH).
Friday Match to Watch: Brad Wukie (University School, OH) vs. Chris Moon (Wyoming Seminary, PA). This battle places two talented wrestlers that fell short of their expectations in 2008-09 against each other to start 2009-10.
Predicting a Finals Match: Sulzer (St. Edward) over Harger (Moeller)
171:
Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 1 Chris Phillips (Monroeville, OH); No. 12 Tanner Eitel (Bishop Lynch, TX); and No. 18 Matthew Cunningham (Shady Side Academy, PA).
Commentary: Unlike last year, there is no real challenger to the nation's top Class of 2011 wrestler Chris Phillips -- an Ironman champion in 2007 before finishing third last year after a semifinal loss to Ed Ruth. That was the only loss of Phillips' two-year career to date. The likely semifinal for Phillips would be against one of two state runners-up, either Alex Utley (CVCA, OH) or Huston Evans (Graham, OH). Utley is the pick in that match.
The bottom half should be more interesting with Cunningham drawing a tough projected quarterfinal against Zach Nevills (Clovis, CA), who finished fifth in single-class California as a freshman. In that other bottom quarter, the very talented Eitel comes back into play after missing last season is projected to face baseball star Johnny Field (Bishop Gorman, NV).
Unseeded Wrestlers to Watch: Michael Alexander (Findlay, OH) and Justin Lozano (Selma, CA). Alexander was a state placer in Ohio's big-school division, while Lozano was a state qualifier in single-class California and placed fourth at 160 in the Super 32.
Friday Matches to Watch: Eitel vs. Charles Argue (Mount Carmel, IL); Utley vs. Jay Wieller (Wyoming Seminary, PA).
Predicting a Finals Match: Phillips (Monroeville) over Eitel (Bishop Lynch)
189:
Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 3 (at 171) Michael Evans (Blair Academy, NJ); No. 5 Max Thomusseit (Graham, OH); and No. 16 Steven McPeek (Bishop Lynch, TX).
Notable: No. 2 Morgan McIntosh (Calvary Chapel, CA) is a scratch due to injury sustained during the offseason.
Commentary: Despite the absence of McIntosh, a top five wrestler in the Class of 2011, this weight still features a pair of elite wrestlers in Evans and Thomusseit -- both are top 30 recruits in the Class of 2010. Each is likely to have one legitimate challenger on their way to a finals match.
Evans has a projected date with two-time state placer Tommy Burriel (Clovis, CA); while Thomusseit should meet against McPeek (Bishop Lynch, TX). However, McPeek has a quarterfinal bout against Bobby Lavelle (Council Rock South, PA) that he should not overlook; Lavelle is a NHSCA Junior National runner-up.
Friday Match to Watch: Thomusseit vs. Joe Tayse (Massillon Perry, OH). This is the true definition of "baptism by fire" for one of the best freshman upperweights in the nation; Tayse has to face a physically-imposing veteran wrestler in Thomusseit.
Predicting a Finals Match: Evans (Blair) over Thomusseit (Graham)
215:
Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 12 Tank Knowles (Calvary Chapel, CA).
Commentary: Compared to many an Ironman past, this year's upper-weight classifications are rather thin in terms of quality depth. There are only four wrestlers that could be argued as nationally significant in this weight class.
Leading the way here is the lone ranked wrestler -- Knowles - who was fourth at state last year as a sophomore, and a runner-up at the Reno Tournament of Champions. His likely semifinal opponent is Brian Beattie (Burrell, PA), who likewise took fourth in his state tournament as a sophomore and was runner-up at NHSCA Sophomore Nationals. The other half of the bracket features a pair of wrestlers that took third in their state tournaments last year; Nick Tavanello (Wadsworth, OH) and Beau Wenger (Fairless, OH). Of note on each is that Tavanello was a Cadet National freestyle runner-up this past summer, while Wenger lost a 3-1 bout against Thomusseit in the state semifinal.
As a result, this weight class is a bastion of opportunity for less credentialed wrestlers to make themselves known as an Ironman placer.
Predicting a Finals Match: Knowles (Calvary Chapel) over Tavanello (Wadsworth)
285:
Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 6 Mike McMullan (Wyoming Seminary, PA); No. 16 Ben Buzzelli (Wadsworth, OH); and No. 19 Terry Williamson (Broken Arrow, OK).
Commentary: The favored wrestler in this weight is the second seed McMullan, a National Prep champion last season. Navigating another thin weight class, his path should be one with limited roadblocks. The likely semifinal match is against Zach Corl (Central Mountain, PA), Max Gladstone (Findlay, OH), or Louis Barragan (Gilroy, CA). Corl was a Cadet National double All-American this past summer, eighth in his state tournament, but a runner-up in last year's Ironman; Gladstone is a two-time state qualifier and finished fourth at the NHSCA Junior Nationals this past spring; while Barragan is a two-time state qualifier.
The top half of this draw projects to a semifinal between two national ranked wrestlers in a match of polar opposites. The top seed Williamson was a state champion at 285 after bumping up from the 215 pound weight class at mid-season. On the other hand, Buzzelli is a two-time state placer at 285, and is cutting weight in order to make this classification.
Friday Match to Watch: Corl vs. Barragan.
Predicting a Finals Match: McMullan (Wyoming Seminary) over Williamson (Broken Arrow)
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