David Taylor (photo by Jon Malinowski)112 -- Perhaps after his disappointing loss in the Ironman finals, RevWrestling.com's No. 1 freshman, Colin Palmer, felt he needed to redeem himself. Something must have gotten this young wrestler's "inner-fire" going as he waltzed through six matches without allowing an offensive point. While he did have one close match, a 2-1 win over a very tough Bobby Ward, Palmer won his semifinals match by a score of 11-0 over eventual third place finisher Fred Rodgers to set up a rematch with two-time Cadet National Freestyle champion Anthony Valles -- whom he had beaten by a shocking score of 10-1 at the Ironman.
Perhaps the one thing no one expected was a more lopsided result in their second meeting. Yet that is exactly what transpired -- as Palmer scored an early takedown, threw the legs in and turned Valles with a power-half that must made older brother Lance proud. The second period was more of the same, as Palmer first took Valles down with a beautiful inside trip, and then turned him again for a 10-0 lead. Palmer closed out the scoring with another takedown in the third to win 12-0.
The No. 1 seed at this weight, Eric Olanowski, failed to place. Ward eliminated him in the placement round by a score of 3-1 and went on to take fourth.
119 -- Though not the flashiest, Ben Ashmore was clearly one of the top five wrestlers in this tournament. For the second straight year, Ashmore dominated the field, not yielding an offensive point -- in fact, he yielded only one escape the entire tournament. The great thing about Ashmore is, while he may not pile up points like some of the nation's elite, he is always in control and virtually impossible to score on or escape from -- truly great in all phases. His final against the surprising John Trumbetti (who emerged from his No. 6 seed by defeating Junior Nationals finalist Aaron Hart, 5-0) was not nearly as close as the 6-0 score. All three periods began with Ashmore either immediately taking down or reversing Trumbetti, and then riding him out for the remainder of the period with ease. No one can say that Oklahoma State Coach John Smith didn't know what he was doing when he recruited this kid! Hart came back to place third.
Kellen Russell (photo by Jon Malinowski)His finals opponent, Kellen Russell, epitomizes the term "workman-like." His scores for the tournament included the double-overtime final, a 1-0 semi-final, a solid 7-4 quarterfinal win over Dak Adamson of Bishop Lynch, and qualifying round wins by scores of 2-0 and 3-1. Russell is very persistent and always in good position.
Jordan Frishkorn (photo by Jon Malinowski)135 -- At the start of the season, this writer claimed that Junior Zack Kemmerer of Upper Perkiomen, Pennsylvania, was one of the best juniors in the nation despite not having placed higher than fifth in his own state tournament -- perhaps leading some to question my sanity. However, Kemmerer has backed up my confidence in his abilities with wins now at the Ironman and the Beast of the East, one of only four wrestlers to win both. Kemmerer is nearly impossible to take down or ride, and gets the key takedowns when he needs them. His finals win was against Junior Nationals All-American Max Shanaman of Blair Academy by a score of 6-3. Two third-period takedowns were the key to Kemmerer's victory.
140 -- Like his younger brother Collin, Lance Palmer flat-out came to wrestle at the Beast of the East. On the heels of a surprising loss to Matt Dunn of Reynoldsburg in last weekend's Ironman final, Palmer defeated Cadet National Freestyle champion Mario Mason by a score of 11-4 in the semifinals to face another Cadet Nationals champion, Luke Ashmore of Bishop Lynch, in his finals. It appeared that Ashmore (a junior who is Ben's younger brother) might have posed a legitimate challenge to Palmer's supremacy after he knocked off Pennsylvania state champion Ashtin Primus, 11-4, in his own semifinal. However, Palmer dominated the bout from start to finish, blowing through Ashmore with two powerful double-leg takedowns and riding him relentlessly throughout the match. Palmer finally cranked Ashmore over with his lethal power-half to score a fall late in the third period. Primus defeated Mason in a close bout for third place.
145 -- In the toughest weight in the tournament, No. 3 seed Bubba Jenkins defeated all comers and established himself as one of the nation's elite seniors. Jenkins defeated Tim Darling of Pennsylvania, the No. 6 junior in RevWrestling's.com Power Rankings, by a score of 10-7 in the semifinals. Meanwhile, the other semifinal saw Blair Academy's Travis Blasco reverse his Ironman loss to Sean Nemec of Lakewood St. Edward's with a 6-4 win. Blasco now leads their series 2-1. Blasco was simply no match for the slick, yet solid Jenkins, however, as Jenkins notched three takedowns and yielded just three escapes in a convincing 7-3 finals win. Matt Dunn rebounded from an early loss by fall to Quentin Wright to place fourth, falling to Darling for third. Dunn now has two nice feathers in his cap courtesy of St. Edward's, as he defeated Nemec by a scoring of 8-2. Nemec finished fifth.
152 -- Eric Medina of Blair Academy showed for the second straight week why he is rated by ReWrestling.com as the No. 1 junior in the nation by adding a Beast crown to last week's Ironman title. Simply put, Medina is the total package. He combines an explosive offense with superb counter-wrestling, and is devastating from the top position. His finals opponent, Phil Black, was simply outmatched in a 9-3 final that wasn't as close as the score. Medina has the look of a future NCAA champion in this writer's opinion.
160 -- Dave Rella avenged his Ironman loss to Mac Lewnes with a 3-1 final win. A first period takedown was the key to Rella victory, as the two rivals traded escapes thereafter. Rella and Lewnes have very similar styles, and probably the only thing that has been decided between their two matches this season is that they are about even. Unseeded and unheralded Chris Heinrich was brilliant here, placing third with wins over three-time state champion Matt Epperly of Christiansburg, Virginia, and highly regarded Brent Fiorito of Upper Perkiomen for third. Heinrich also gave Rella his only remotely close bout heading into the finals, falling 7-4 in the quarterfinals. Landis Wright, who had one of the finest pre-season's of any high school wrestler in the nation (placing fourth at the Penn State Open among other accomplishments), had an inexplicably disastrous weekend, getting tech falled by Epperly before being eliminated, 7-1, by Fiorito. Fiorito also eliminated Cadet Nationals champion Luke Rebertus of Maryland.
171 -- Pennsylvania state champion and No. 1 seed Mike Letts scored a workman-like 3-2 win over the No. 2 seed, Kyle Kiss, in the finals. Letts was much more impressive in scoring a technical fall in the semifinals against eventual third place finisher Nathan Murin.
Freshman Zach Benzio may be the best freshman upper-weight in the nation, scoring five straight consolation falls and six straight wins to rebound from a first period loss. Benzio may have just run out of gas as he then fell to eighth place. You will hear his name a lot in the future.
189 -- Jamelle Jones scored four takedowns in his 8-4 finals win over No. 3 seeded Matt Edmondson. Only a junior, Jones has as slick counter-offense as you will see in a high school upper-weight. Unseeded Jamey Srock of Akron St. Vincent rebounded from a second round loss to Jones (14-7) to score eight straight consolation round wins and place third against a tough field.
215 -- Junior Cody Gardner is simply the best 215 in the nation. Gardner's quickness and mobility are outstanding for a big man to say the least. Slick on his feet, Gardner can also wrestle on the mat -- which he showed in scoring a late fall against No. 2 seed Joey Lindamood in the finals to add a Beast title to his Ironman crown last weekend.
Hwt -- Looking more like a 215 than a heavyweight, Mike Ragone of Camden, New Jersey established himself as the class of this weight, taking a 3-0 win in the finals over Charlie Weber after registering a 15-3 semifinals win. No. 1 seed Brandon Kendzierski failed to place at this weight.
Team Race -- Blair Academy's dominance had to be the second most surprising story of the tourney (after Grey going down, of course). Blair outdistanced second place St. Edward's 255 to 178. St. Edwards was hampered by an injury to 171 Brian Roddy, but nonetheless, Blair made a statement. Christiansburg, Virginia, is laying claim to being the best public school program in the nation, as they finished in third place with 162 points.
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