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    Dan Ransick •

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    No. 3 Graham rolls to victory over No. 1 Blair Academy

    Photo/Kevin Schlosser/BuckeyeWrestling.com)
    ST. PARIS, Ohio -- In what was one of the most anticipated duals in years and the mythical national title on the line, No. 3 Graham, OH did not disappoint the packed home crowd where it was standing-room only. The Falcons ran away with a 36-21 victory over No. 1 Blair Academy, NJ in a scene that could only be described as something out of Hoosiers as the tiny rural town watched the hometown team steamroll the defending national champions. Blair undoubtedly was the team of the decade for the first part of the 2000s. The question now is will Graham be the new team of the decade as they only have three seniors on this team and many more studs still in the pipeline.

    Graham jumped out early in at 103 with a come from behind victory as Ryan Taylor defeated Max Hvlobeck, 7-3. Hvlobeck got on the scoreboard first with a quick takedown, but that was all he was able to do from there as Taylor was able to get a takedown and two back points in the second period to take the lead from there. Graham jumped out to the quick 3-0 lead and never looked back. Blair then sent out the backup 112 to wrestle Connor Cassidy in hopes of getting on the board but it wasn't meant to be as Cassidy comes through with probably the biggest victory of the night, winning 5-2.

    Graham's Nick Brascetta came up with a crucial victory at 119 pounds over Blair's Evan Silver (Photo/Kevin Schlosser/BuckeyeWrestling.com)
    Blair then bumped up No. 1 at 112 Evan Silver to wrestle No. 4 Nick Brascetta at 119 in hopes of scoring the victory here. They were tied 1-1 going late into the third until Brascetta hit a beautiful single leg and finished right on the edge to win 3-1 as the clock ran out. Mike Grey finally got on the board over unheralded Sheldon Kegley at 125 but not before it went into overtime. Both wrestlers had scoring opportunities but both fought out tremendously each time until Grey hit a beautiful double leg to win the match.

    At 130, sensational freshman Bo Jordan did not disappoint the home crowd as he came out fast and strong with two quick takedowns over Russ Parsons. Then he hit him with a nasty half nelson and pinned him in the first as Graham continued to pile it on Blair leading now at this point 15-3. Not to be outdone by his cousin Bo, Isaac Jordan went out and then dismantled Todd Preston with an array of single leg takedowns to win 15-5 in a match that saw Jordan break Preston in the third period.

    Graham's Felipe Martinez put Blair's Austin Ormsbee on his back en route to a 10-3 victory at 140 pounds (Photo/Kevin Schlosser/BuckeyeWrestling.com)
    Buxton's plan of bumping up his better wrestlers truly backfired as No. 3 at 135 Austin Ormsbee faced off against No. 7 Felipe Martinez. Martinez struck first with a quick takedown but it was his gator roll that deflated Blair's chances of winning this match as he got five points off his patented move to take the lead from there and never look back. Ormsbee fought out of it with a neck bridge, but it still wasn't able to get any offensive points as he fell 10-3. At this point the dual was 21-3 after the match as Graham was deducted a team point for excessive celebration.

    Chris Villalonga finally got Blair going again with an 11-5 decision over Matt Stephens at 145. Blair looked like maybe they could get a rally going as Jesse Shannaman pinned the freshman Mannier as they closed the gap to 21-12 after 152. However, that was as close it as it got as Kyle Ryan ended the short lived rally with a 17-7 major decision over Brad Bishop. Huston Evans then followed it up with a 23-8 technical fall over Mario Orlandi at 171 to pretty much seal the fate of Blair as they trailed 30-12.

    Graham celebrates after a 36-21 victory over Blair (Photo/Kevin Schlosser/BuckeyeWrestling.com)
    In the match of the night No. 2 Mike Evans prevailed over No. 5 Max Thomusseit, 4-2, in overtime. The match was hotly contested as Thomusseit struck with a first period takedown off an ensuing scramble but Evans was able to escape. Evans was able to ride out Thomusseit in the third period to force overtime and was finally able to finish a shot on the massive Thomusseit at the edge for the victory. However, it was a bittersweet win for Evans because this officially clinched the win for Graham. Graham, however, wasn't done as Mark Meyer was able to get a pin to send the coaches up in the air as they added the points for good measure. Blair was able to get a pin at heavy as Brooks Black overpowered Lucas Williams but the point was moot, Graham had officially dethroned Blair Academy.

    Final score: St. Paris Graham 36, Blair Academy 21

    Results:
    103: Ryan Taylor (G) dec. Max Hvolbeck, 7-3
    112: Connor Casady (G) dec. Kyle Taylor, 5-2
    119: Nick Brascetta (G) dec. Evan Silver, 3-1
    125: Mark Grey (B) dec. Sheldon Kegley, 3-1 OT
    130: Bo Jordan (G) pinned Mark Stillman, 1:28
    135: Issac Jordan (G) major dec. Todd Preston, 15-5
    140: Felipe Martinez (G) dec. Austin Ormsbee, 10-3
    145: Chris Villalonga (B) dec. Matt Stephens, 11-5
    152: Jesse Shanaman (B) pin Robert Mannier, 3:15
    160: Kyle Ryan (G) major dec. Brad Bishop, 17-7
    171: Huston Evans (G) technical fall Marco Orlandi, 23-8
    189: Michael Evans (B) dec. Max Thomusseit, 4-2 OT
    215: Mark Meyer (G) pin Dillon Hoffman, 3:59
    285: Brooks Black (B) pinned Lucas Williams, :57

    Related Content:
    Photos (BuckeyeWrestling.com)
    Videos (Gohiocasts)
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