Blair Academy finished No. 1 in the Fab 50 (Photo/Rob Preston)After two years looking up at the pole position of the national high school rankings, InterMat has placed Blair Academy, N.J., in the No. 1 ranking of the final Fab 50 for the 2011-12 season. Head coach Jeff Buxton shepherded his squad through a verytough early season tournament schedule with titles at the Walsh Ironman, Beast of the East, and POWERade Christmas Wrestling Tournament. Then, later in the season, the Bucs won a tight dual meet against No. 2 St. Edward, Ohio and earned a comfortable victory against No. 8 St. Paris Graham, Ohio.
2012 Final Fab 50 Team Rankings
1. Blair Academy, NJ
2. St. Edward, OH
3. Apple Valley, MN
4. St. Johns, MI
5. Clovis, CA
6. Brandon, FL
7. Canon-McMillan, PA
8. St. Paris Graham, OH
9. Wyoming Seminary, PA
10. Bettendorf, IA
11. Simley, MN
12. Bethlehem Catholic, PA
13. Southeast Polk, IA
14. Christiansburg, VA
15. Detroit Catholic Central, MI
16. Bakersfield, CA
17. Central Dauphin, PA
18. Cincinnati Moeller, OH
19. Broken Arrow, OK
20. Tulsa Union, OK
21. Poway, CA
22. Massillon Perry, OH
23. Allen, TX
24. Lowell, MI
25. Perry Meridian, IN
26. Montini Catholic, IL
27. Iowa City West, IA
28. Tuttle, OK
29. South Plainfield, NJ
30. Erie McDowell, PA
31. Oak Park River Forest, IL
32. Scott West, MN
33. Wisconsin Rapids, WI
34. Collins Hill, GA
35. Colonial Forge, VA
36. Carl Sandburg, IL
37. Blue Springs, MO
38. Easton, PA
39. Glenbard North, IL
40. Camden County, GA
41. McDonogh, Maryland
42. St. Michael-Albertville, MN
43. Luxemburg-Casco, WI
44. Jefferson, GA
45. Shenendehowa, NY
46. Marist, IL
47. Christian Brothers, TN
48. Grand Island, NE
49. Roseburg, OR
50. Kearney, MO
The season then wrapped up with a 354.5 point showing at the National Prep Championships anchored by nine individual champions -- Jordan Kutler (106), No. 8 Joey McKenna (120), No. 3 Mark Grey (132), No. 4 Todd Preston (138), No. 18 Russ Parsons (152), Patrick Coover (160), Michael Mocco (182), No. 14 Frank Mattiace (195), and No. 1 Brooks Black (285). In addition, Chaz Tucker (113) and No. 9 Dylan Milonas (145) finished as runners-up, No. 17 Max Hvolbek (126) took home third place, while David Farr (220) earned fifth.
1. Blair Academy, NJ
2. St. Edward, OH
3. Apple Valley, MN
4. St. Johns, MI
5. Clovis, CA
6. Brandon, FL
7. Canon-McMillan, PA
8. St. Paris Graham, OH
9. Wyoming Seminary, PA
10. Bettendorf, IA
11. Simley, MN
12. Bethlehem Catholic, PA
13. Southeast Polk, IA
14. Christiansburg, VA
15. Detroit Catholic Central, MI
16. Bakersfield, CA
17. Central Dauphin, PA
18. Cincinnati Moeller, OH
19. Broken Arrow, OK
20. Tulsa Union, OK
21. Poway, CA
22. Massillon Perry, OH
23. Allen, TX
24. Lowell, MI
25. Perry Meridian, IN
26. Montini Catholic, IL
27. Iowa City West, IA
28. Tuttle, OK
29. South Plainfield, NJ
30. Erie McDowell, PA
31. Oak Park River Forest, IL
32. Scott West, MN
33. Wisconsin Rapids, WI
34. Collins Hill, GA
35. Colonial Forge, VA
36. Carl Sandburg, IL
37. Blue Springs, MO
38. Easton, PA
39. Glenbard North, IL
40. Camden County, GA
41. McDonogh, Maryland
42. St. Michael-Albertville, MN
43. Luxemburg-Casco, WI
44. Jefferson, GA
45. Shenendehowa, NY
46. Marist, IL
47. Christian Brothers, TN
48. Grand Island, NE
49. Roseburg, OR
50. Kearney, MO
After what has to be the most brutal dual meet schedule in the history of national high school wrestling, St. Edward, Ohio more than earned the number two position in the rankings. The Eagles scored victories over five of the next six teams in the rankings -- No. 3 Apple Valley, Minn., No. 4 St. Johns, Mich., No. 5 Clovis, Calif., No. 6 Brandon, Fla., and No. 8 St. Paris Graham, Ohio. In addition, there were four other victories over nationally ranked opposition -- No. 14 Christiansburg, Va., No. 15 Detroit Catholic Central, Mich., No. 18 Cincinnati Moeller, Ohio, and No. 44 Jefferson, Ga.
In that lone loss to Blair Academy, the Eagles had a chance to steal the dual meet if No. 8 Edgar Bright would have upset No. 3 Grey in the last match. However, Bright came up barely short, losing 2-1 in the tiebreaker -- even though many a St. Edward fan will wonder if Bright's called takedown at the end of the first period should have stood instead of being waved off. The Bucs won that dual meet 27-22, and the Eagles were out-pointed by Blair Academy 252.5 to 240.5 at the Walsh Ironman.
Additional top ten squads include No. 7 Canon McMillan, Pa., No. 9 Wyoming Seminary, Pa., and No. 10 Bettendorf, Iowa.
Schools from 21 different states are represented in the season-ending Fab 50. Pennsylvania has the most schools in the rankings with six, Illinois is next with five (all in the back half), while Ohio and Minnesota each have four schools in the rankings, with three schools from Michigan, California, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Georgia also populating the rankings.
Get your limited edition InterMat Fab 50 T-shirt!
Limited edition InterMat Fab 50 T-shirts available. The T-shirt features the 2012 InterMat Fab 50 logo on the front, and the Top 50 high school wrestling teams on the back. Get your InterMat Fab 50 T-shirt today!
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