With only three top 15 seniors in the field, none ranked higher than No. 9 Joey Silva (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), and just two others within the top 25 -- there was clear opportunity for some of the younger talents across the country to shine. Shine is what they did, with seven of the 14 weight classes being won by non-seniors; while eight other underclassmen finished as runners-up. That is compared to the approximately nine weight class titles won by seniors during each of the previous three editions of the tournament.
History was made when Ryan Crookham (Pennsylvania) won the 113-pound weight class, as he became the first wrestler still in Junior High to win a high school division Super 32 title. In the recent past, Spencer Lee was runner-up at 106 pounds as an eighth grader in 2012, while Luke Pletcher was a semifinalist as an eighth grader at 106 the previous year.
After winning the middle school division the previous three years, Crookham beat five very accomplished opponents on the way to his championship. It started with a 1-0 decision over UWW Cadet freestyle runner-up Isaac Salas (St. John Bosco, Calif.) in the round of 32; in the round of 16 it was a 5-1 win over Junior National double All-American Cody Phippen (Platte County, Mo.); his first match Sunday morning was a 5-2 quarterfinal victory over NHSCA Junior Nationals champion Dylan Ryder (Half Hollow Hills West, N.Y.); the semifinal match was a 1-0 victory over returning Super 32 runner-up Greg Diakomihalis (Hilton, N.Y.); while it was a 2-0 victory over Eric Barnett (Hortonville, Wis.) in the final. The last four of those opponents were state champions in high school last season.
Another three-time middle school division champion made history in the high school division, as Adam Busiello (Eastport-South Manor, N.Y.) won his third title in the high school division, this one coming at 120 pounds. Busiello is now 34-0 across six years of competing at the Super 32. Should he emerge as champion again next year, Busiello would be the first wrestler to win four high school division Super 32 titles; nine wrestlers have now won three championships, most notable among them is two-time Cadet World champion Yianni Diakomihalis.
Patrick Kennedy (Photo/Mary Christen, The Guillotine)The underclass champion to boost his "stock" the most was Patrick Kennedy (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.). Though he is already ranked No. 5 overall in the sophomore class, he had the best Sunday of any wrestler in the field to win the 170-pound weight class. The quarterfinal match was an 8-5 victory over No. 61 senior Emil Soehnlen (Massillon Perry, Ohio), then it was a 3-1 tiebreaker decision over No. 25 senior Trent Hidlay (Mifflin County, Pa.), before a 10-6 finals victory over No. 19 junior Chris Foca (Bergen Catholic, N.J.). It was a performance that earned him co-Outstanding Wrestler honors with Joey Silva (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), who joined Busiello in winning a third Super 32 high school division title.
Sophomores shined this past weekend, with Cullan Schriever (Mason City, Iowa) and Braxton Amos (Parkersburg South, W.Va.) joining Kennedy in winning weight class titles; while Beau Bartlett (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), Jesse Vasquez (Santiago Corona, Calif.), and Dustin Plott (Tuttle, Okla.) finished as runners-up.
Out of those performances the run to the championship match by No. 6 overall sophomore Vasquez was most impressive. Up three weights from a state championship in the past high school season, he advanced to the quarterfinals with two pins (including one over a state champion) and then a 10-0 major decision and 6-3 decision, each over Pennsylvania big-school state qualifiers. His quarterfinal victory came over No. 4 junior Julian Chlebove (Northampton, Pa.) by 5-1 decision, while the semifinal was a 3-1 overtime decision over No. 7 sophomore Josh Saunders (Christian Brothers College, Mo.). The finals defeat was 3-2 against Silva, though Vasquez was in deep on a leg attack right as the match ended.
No. 4 overall sophomore Bartlett beat three eventual tournament placers on the way to the championship bout at 126 pounds. In the round of 16 it was an 8-3 victory over 2016 state champion Asa Garcia (Avon, Ind.), the quarterfinal bout was a 7-4 win over Junior freestyle All-American Aaron Schulist (Mukwanago, Wis.), while the semifinal was a 4-1 defeat of No. 8 sophomore Sam Hillegas (North Hills, Pa.).
No. 18 overall sophomore Plott had three notable wins of his own on the way to the 160-pound final. In the round of 16, it was 9-2 victory over state champion Kenny O'Neil (Prior Lake, Minn.); the quarterfinal was an 8-4 win over No. 33 sophomore Mason Reiniche (Baylor School, Tenn.); while it was a 12-8 semifinal defeat of state champion Danny Braunagel (Althoff Catholic, Ill.). The championship match was against No. 63 senior Ryan Thomas (St. Paris Graham, Ohio), one in which Plott led 4-2 after a period scoring two takedowns, but he then lost 7-7 in a tiebreaker rideout.
Joining Busiello as juniors to win titles were Ryan Anderson (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) and Brevin Balmeceda (South Dade, Fla.). Other underclass runners-up were freshman Richard Figueroa (Selma, Calif.), along with juniors Eric Barnett (Hortonville, Wis.), Travis Ford-Melton (Marian Catholic, Ill.), Jaden Abas (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.), and Chris Foca (Bergen Catholic, N.J.).
The other narrative in the lede was one of unheralded seniors having the chance to emerge given the nature of this field, which though loaded was missing the extreme high end of seniors. From outside the top 100 of the Class of 2018, Mason Phillips (Stanwood, Wash.) won the 145-pound weight class; while Quincy Monday (Carrboro, N.C.), Peter Acciardi (Don Bosco Prep, N.J.), and Max Darrah (Whitfield, Mo.) finished as runners-up.
Out of that group, the run of Flo Nationals placer and three-time state champion Monday impressed most. He beat a pair of state fourth place finishers by a 5-2 score to reach the quarterfinals on Sunday morning, Sam Webster (Shakopee, Minn.) in the round of 32 and Lawrence Saenz (Vacaville, Calif.) in the round of 16. Then to reach the finals on Sunday, Monday beat a pair of top 100 seniors, 5-3 over No. 51 Brock Mauller (Father Tolton Catholic, Mo.) in the quarterfinal and then 2-1 over No. 69 Jake Silverstein (Hauppauge, N.Y.) in the semifinal.
One last observation about the tournament is the nature of the field's depth. Just to merely place in this tournament is a true accomplishment. This is just a flavor for some of the notable matches that occurred in the consolation bracket prior to placement being confirmed.
113: battle of top 40 overall sophomores, Anthony Clark (Delbarton, N.J.) vs. Dylan Cedeno (Fair Lawn, N.J.); NHSCA Sophomore Nationals champion Sam Latona (Thompson, Ala.) vs. NHSCA Junior Nationals champion Dylan Ryder (Half Hollow Hills West, N.Y.); Latona vs. UWW Cadet freestyle runner-up Isaac Salas (St. John Bosco, Calif.); Cedeno vs. National Prep champion Drew Munch (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.); Latona vs. No. 12 overall freshman Vincent Zerban (Christian Brothers College, Mo.); Salas vs. Sammy Alvarez (St. Joseph Montvale, N.J.).
126: Cadet double All-American (Greco champ) Phillip Moomey (Kearney, Neb.) vs. Junior freestyle All-American Aaron Schulist (Mukwanago, Wis.).
132: Flo Nationals placer Jackson Henson (Penn Foster, W.Va.) vs. No. 3 overall sophomore Nick Raimo (Hanover Park, N.J.); Raimo vs. three-time state champion Sam Stuhl (Ellsworth, Wis.)/
138: Jeremy Schoenherr (Stratford, Wis.) vs. Michael Blockhus (New Hampton, Iowa), rematch of a semifinal from the Junior National freestyle tournament this summer.
152: Battle of top 50 overall seniors, both were returning Super 32 placers, Josiah Rider (Grand Junction, Colo.) vs. Justin Ruffin (Union Grove, Ga.).
160: No. 33 overall junior Mason Reiniche (Baylor School, Tenn.) vs. No. 77 overall senior Erich Byelick (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.); No. 49 overall junior Robert Kanniard (Wall Township, N.J.) vs. No. 39 overall senior Phil Conigliaro (Belmont Hill, Mass.).
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