Hawkeye State's best to hook up at Keith Young Invitational
The season-opening Keith Young Invitational hosted by Cedar Falls, Iowa will be an opportunity to see many of the top teams and individuals across the three classifications in Iowa do battle against one another. Based on rankings compiled by The Predicament, two of the three top-ranked and second-ranked teams will be in the event.
Defending state champions and preseason top ranked teams Waverly Shell-Rock (Class 3A) and Don Bosco (Class 1A) anchor the field. Bettendorf is ranked second in Class 3A to WSR, while Denver-Tripoli is ranked second in Class 2A. In last year's event, Don Bosco outpointed Waverly Shell-Rock for the title. Six wrestlers that appear in the InterMat weight class rankings will be among the prominent wrestlers featured in the tournament.
The freshman Brandon Sorensen (Denver Tripoli), ranked 18th at 119 pounds, will receive a thorough examination in his first high school tournament. Based on rankings done by The Predicament, four other top two wrestlers in their division at this weight class appear in the field. Most notably is the pair of finalists in Class 3A at 112 pounds last year -- Brandon Jones (West Des Moines Valley) and Eric Devos (Waverly Shell-Rock). These two wrestlers met in a semifinal bout last year at the Keith Young with Devos prevailing in a hotly contested bout. However, at the state tournament, Jones reversed that outcome; the at-the-time freshman Devos fell short in the state final after he had won titles the previous two years at Apple Valley, MN.
Levi Wolfensperger (Denver Tripoli) is ranked fifth by InterMat at 125 pounds, and will be attending Northern Iowa next fall. He should receive a challenge from Brandon Welter (Don Bosco) and/or Adam Perrin (North Scott). Welter is a defending state champion and ranked first in Class 1A in the preseason, while Perrin was a state champion in 2008 and is ranked second in Class 3A.
A pair of Iowa bound wrestlers anchors their weight respective weight classes, and they are nationally ranked wrestlers. Jake Ballweg (Waverly Shell-Rock) is ranked fourth by InterMat at 140 pounds in the nation, while Michael Kelly (Cedar Falls) is ranked 13th at 152 pounds. The primary challenger in this tournament for Ballweg will be Dominic Chase (Bettendorf), who was runner-up at the Preseason Nationals held in late October. Kelly will have two wrestlers ranked second in their division's weight class according to the Predicament blocking his path to a repeat Keith Young championship; those wrestlers being Joey Trizzino (Bettendorf) and Blake Sorensen (Denver-Tripoli). Should it be Kelly against Trizzino in the final, which would be a battle of defending champions at the Keith Young.
Two other defending event champions find themselves ranked nationally by InterMat; Walt Gilmor (North Scott) is ranked 10th at 171 pounds, and Cody Krumwiede (Waverly Shell-Rock) is ranked 16th at 215 pounds. Gilmor's prime challenger in this event is Travis Mallo (Mason City). These two wrestlers are ranked directly behind Michael Moreno (Urbandale) in Class 3A at this weight class, so this might be the first of multiple meetings during the season. On the other hand, Krumwiede is a rather strong favorite in his weight class at this tournament.
Whitford, Marmion Academy demonstrate prominence at Conant
Wrestling in the state of Illinois commenced over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, with many tournaments being contested. However, the best of these tournaments was the C.O. Feutz Classic hosted by Conant High School. Marmion Academy topped a field that included the defending Class 3A (big school) champions, Oak Park River Forest, and another perennial power in Providence Catholic. Other notable squads in the field included Glenbard North and Crystal Lake Central.
Despite only two champions, compared to four from Oak Park River Forest, the Cadets used five finalists and eleven placers inside the top five to score 237-1/2 points and win the tournament by more than 50 points. Winning titles for Marmion Academy were Ben Whitford (119) and Pat Greco (145). Whitford, a freshman sensation that won a Cadet National freestyle title over the summer, used a pin, a technical fall, and a 13-8 decision to set up a much anticipated final against defending state champion Eddie Klimara (Providence Catholic). However, the battle of nationally ranked wrestlers became a major statement for Whitford, as the nation's seventh ranked wrestler at 119 pounds upended the 17th ranked Klimara by an 11-3 major decision.
Winning titles for the Huskies on their way to a second place finish were Chris (135) and Nick (140) Dardanes, as well as Sam (160) and Ben (215) Brooks. Chris and Nick rank 13th and second respectively in the nation for their weight classes according to InterMat. Providence Catholic was 12 points back of Oak Park River Forest, but they were without the services of Edwin Cooper (125) -- ranked 10th in the nation at his weight class.
Other events this weekend ...
Hopewell Wrestling Classic, Hopewell, VA
*Featured teams: Wyoming Seminary, PA; Christiansburg, VA; and Cox, VA
*Featured weight classes:
112 pounds: Dominick Malone (Wyoming Seminary), ranked 13th; Caleb Richardson (Cox), ranked 20th
119 pounds: Bryan Whitt (Cox), ranked 15th; Brandon Jeske (St Christopher's, VA), ranked fifth at 112
*Other nationally ranked wrestlers: Joey Dance (Christiansburg), ranked 1st at 103; Devin Carter (Christiansburg), ranked second at 125; Simon Kitzis (Wyoming Seminary), ranked seventh at 135; Ben Dorsay (Cox), ranked 13th at 145; Austin Fallon (Westfield, VA), ranked 19th at 189; and Mike McMullan (Wyoming Seminary), ranked sixth at 285.
War on the Shore, Ocean City, MD
It should be a battle of the giants on Saturday night in the Ocean City Convention Center, as two of the nation's four best 285 pound wrestlers will likely wrestle in the championship bout. Unlike at many a tournament, fans should make sure to stay for the heavyweight final. In a rematch of the 2008 Beast of the East final, Bobby Telford (St Mark's, DE) does battle with Karl Green (Mt St Joseph, MD). Telford, the 2008 Beast of the East champion, is ranked second while Green is fourth by InterMat.
St Mark's and Mt St Joseph are two of the events featured teams. Other top teams include Sussex Central, DE; Wheeling Park, WV; and La Plata, MD.
Show Me/Sooner Clash, Blue Springs, MO
Two of the top teams from Missouri and Oklahoma will convene at Blue Springs High School just outside of Kansas City, MO on Friday night (12-4). There will be two rounds of wrestling, as the teams will dual meet the pair from the other state.
From Missouri, Park Hill and Blue Springs finished first and third in the Class 4 (big school) state tournament this past season. Representing Oklahoma, Tulsa Union was champion in the Class 6A (big school) tournament this past season; Catoosa finished runner-up in Class 4A (medium-school) after winning state the previous two seasons.
Park Hill has four nationally ranked wrestlers according to InterMat; Skyler Wood (112) is ranked 17th, Alan Waters (125) ranked sixth, Kaleb Friedley (140) ranked eighth, and John Eblen (189) ranked 20th. In addition, Bricker Dixon (119) was Junior National freestyle All-American this past summer.
Tulsa Union is led by Ronnie Balfour, who is ranked 12th at 160 pounds. Other key wrestlers include state champion Josh Walker (112), two-time Cadet National Greco-Roman All-American Brian Crutchmer (125), 2008 Cadet National freestyle All-American Kyle Ash (145), and double Cadet National All-American Kyle Crutchmer (152).
Blue Springs is led by a pair of state finalists in Keenan Hagerty (130) and Josh Howk (145). Hagerty was a state champion last year 125, while Howk finished second at 140. Catoosa is anchored by a pair of state champions in Shane Thomas (125) and Ben Morgan (140), with Mikey Lunsford (171) as a returning runner-up.
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