Gardner-Edgerton Invitational
The event in Kansas this past Saturday saw out of state teams dominate the proceedings, with the co-champions and four of the top six teams not being from Kansas. Southeast Polk, Iowa and Broken Arrow, Okla. each had four champions and nine top four finishers on the way to scoring 246 points; the Rams drop two positions to No. 8 nationally, while the Tigers move up eight to fourteenth.
Winning titles for Southeast Polk were Zach Barnes (120), Nolan Hellickson (126), No. 9 Ethan Andersen (220), and No. 4 Jacob Marnin (285); Hellickson was named Oustanding Wrestler after a 3-1 finals win over Junior National freestyle runner-up Matthew Schmitt (Platte County, Mo.). Runners-up for the Rams were Nathan Lendt (113) and Mason Kerr (170), Keegan Shaw (138) and Deion Mikesell (195) took home third, while Aaron Meyer (145) earned fourth.
Champions for Broken Arrow were Tyler Lawley (106), No. 5 Davion Jeffries (138), Blake Warren (152), and Steven Allen (195). Runner-up finishes came from previously ranked Paden Bailey (160), Isaiah Page (182), and Trenton Lieurance (285); while Brady Mattioda (113) and Tajuan Daniels (120) placed fourth.
Rounding out the weight class champions for the event were Korbin Meink (Skutt Catholic, Neb.) at 113 pounds; No. 20 (at 138) Ethan Karsten (Platte County, Mo.) at 145; No. 18 Isaac Dulgarian (170) and Emilio Fowler (182) from Olathe North, Kan.; and a pair of wrestler from St. James Academy, Kan. in Zak Hensley (132) and Clay Lautt (160). Lautt upended the previously ranked Bailey of Broken Arrow by 10-9 decision in the final.
Both championship squads were impacted by missing personnel. Southeast Polk had returning state runner-up Briar Dittmer have to injury default out of the tournament during his second match of pool competition, which turned a likely weight class title into a 12th place finish. Broken Arrow was without the presence of Markus Simmons, who is ranked No. 8 nationally at 126 pounds. Simmons most likely wins the title at either 126 or 132, weight classes where his Tigers teammates placed fifth and ninth.
Keith Young Invitational
Despite having seven wrestlers in the finals, and five weight class champions, returning Iowa big-school state champions Bettendorf did not win the tournament. Instead it was Union, Iowa who earned the title despite having only two champions from four finalists. The Knights won the title with superior depth, as they had 11 total placers (8 in the top four); while the Bulldogs did not garner a place-winner outside of their finalists.
Both Union wrestlers who won titles did so in “upset fashion”. Max Thomsen upended Fredy Stroker 4-1 in the ultimate tiebreaker at 145 pounds, in a battle of wrestlers ranked in the top five nationally; this week's rankings have Thomsen up two spots to third, while Stroker holds serve at second. In a battle of Iowa state champions at 170 pounds, the previously unranked Jacob Holschlag upended Isaiah Patton (Dowling Catholic, Iowa) 6-3 in the tiebreaker; Holschlag moves into the rankings at No. 10, while future Northern Iowa teammate Patton dropped a position down to eleventh. Runner-up finishers for the Knights were John Hellman (106) and Derek Holschlag (113).
The five Bettendorf wrestlers to win titles were Jack Wagner (113), Jacob Schwarm (120), Paul Glynn (132), No. 17 Jacob Woodard (152), and Dayton Racer (160). The championship won by Racer came in what could be perceived as an upset, as he upended a fellow nationally ranked wrestler Bryce Steiert (Waverly-Shell Rock) by 5-2 decision in the final. As a result of the tournament, Racer moves up two spots to No. 10 in the nation, while Steiert holds serve at seventh. Runner-up finishes for the Bulldogs came from Jackson Gallagher (126) and Fredy Stroker.
Rounding out the event's weight class champions were Spencer Hutchinson (West Des Moines Valley, Iowa) at 106 pounds, Darien Collins (Pleasant Valley, Iowa) at 126, Dan Kelly (Cedar Falls, Iowa) at 138, Dylan Meister (182) and Brady Hesuinkvelt (285) from Denver-Tripoli, Iowa, along with No. 20 Colin Kreiter (195) and Cordell Eaton (220) from North Scott, Iowa.
In the team rankings, Bettendorf drops ten spots to No. 24 in the country, while Union joins the rankings at No. 44. A bigger picture development this week for the Bulldogs is that per reporting from Andy Hamilton of the Des Moines Register, they will be without the services of returning state placer Max Erpelding at 285 for the duration of the season.
King of the Mountain
Moving onward to some events for the upcoming week with one of the top in-season tournaments conducted in the Keystone State. This year's King of the Mountain tournament held at Central Mountain features 33 schools, all from Pennsylvania, including a pair of Fab 50 ranked teams: No. 22 Bethlehem Catholic and No. 43 Greater Latrobe. The other primary team contender is North Allegheny.
Below is a listing of prime contenders in each weight class this coming Friday and Saturday:
106: Matthew Parker (Pennridge), Jakob Campbell (Boyertown), Alan Diltz (Benton)
113: Kordell Rush (Pennridge), Riley Palmer (Council Rock South)
120: Luke Karam (Bethlehem Catholic), Derek Gulotta (Owen J. Roberts), Ricky Cavallo (Hempfield Area), John Pipa (Bishop McDevitt)
126: Jonathan Gabriel (Bedford), Ethan McCoy (Greater Latrobe), Colin Glorioso (Huntingdon), Jake Riegel (Bethlehem Catholic), Brock Port (Bellefonte)
132: No. 2 Luke Pletcher (Greater Latrobe), No. 17 Korbin Myers (Boiling Sprngs), Joey Gould (Bethlehem Catholic), Josh Giorgio (Schuylkill Valley)
138: No. 4 Sam Krivus (Hempfield Area), No. 10 Cameron Coy (Penn Trafford)
145: No. 7 Hayden Hidlay (Mifflin County), Mike Labriola (Bethlehem Catholic), Kyle Shoop (Boiling Springs), Demetri D'Orsaneo (Owen J. Roberts)
152: Jacob Oliver (Huntingdon)
170: Jake Shaffer (Greater Latrobe)
182: Corey Hazel (Penns Valley)
195: Zach Smith (North Allegheny), Logan Womelsdorf (Benton)
220: No. 1 Jordan Wood (Boyertown), No. 11 Andrew Dunn (Bethlehem Catholic), Dylan Otis (Wyalusing), Garrett Reinwald (Fort LeBoeuf), Fred Mantsch (Hempfield Area)
285: Alan Beattie (Burrell), Jacob Robb (Kittanning)
Five Seasons Duals
Two Fab 50 teams are slated to attend this event on Saturday at the pair of high schools in Cedar Rapids, Iowa: No. 24 Bettendorf, Iowa and No. 32 Kaukauna, Wis. The Bulldogs and Ghosts are on opposite halves of the draw (Bettendorf the second seed, Kaukauna the first seed).
Kaukauna has drawn the Cedar Rapids Prairie JV for their first dual meet, and then face the winner of a match between Pleasant Valley and Cedar Rapids Kennedy. The Ghosts' semifinal will most likely be against either Cedar Rapids Prairie (ranked No. 4 in Iowa 3A) or Alburnett (No. 1 in Iowa 1A). Bettendorf opens with Cedar Rapids Washington before a likely quarterfinal against Iowa City West (ranked No. 5 in Iowa 3A), and then a likely semifinal aganst Linn-Mar (No. 7 in Iowa 3A).
Projected lineups for Bettendorf vs. Kaukauna
106: Tyler Cole vs. Jacob Schramm/Michael Kolosso
113: Jack Wagner (state champ) vs. Ty Lee (state 2nd)
120: Jacob Schwarm (state champ) vs. Trent Leon
126: Jackson Gallagher vs. Zach Kenney
132: Paul Glynn (state 2nd) vs. Tres Leon (state 3rd '13)
138: Josh Walls vs. Zach Lee
145: No. 2 Fredy Stroker vs. No. 17 (at 138) Robert Lee
152: No. 17 Jacob Woodard vs. Bailey Van Handel (state qualifier '13)
160: No. 10 Dayton Racer vs. Justin Kloehn (two-time state qualifier)
170: Drew Sass (state qualifier)/Kelcey Kintz vs. Zach Skukoski
182: Keegan Glaus vs. Trent Trull/Zach Frassetto
195: Brady Neyrinck vs. Zach Hoen/Mason Van Asten
220: Josh Malik vs. Alex Martin
285: Tingle Kelcey vs. Keaton Kluever
Southern Showdown at Jim Graves Invitational
This coming Friday and Saturday will be a showcase for some of the elite talent in the southeastern United States as eighteen teams from three states assemble at Brandon, Fla. for the Jim Graves Invitational. The host Brandon Eagles are ranked No. 37 nationally, and are joined by No. 50 South Dade, Fla. in the field along with formidable squads from Lake Highland Prep, Fla. and Vestavia Hills, Ala.
Notable wrestlers in the field include the following:
106: No. 10 Joey Silva (Lake Highland Prep), Elijah Varona (South Dade)
120: No. 5 Kyle Norstrem (Brandon)
126: Jake Brindley (Lake Highland Prep), Francisco Valdes (Southwest Miami), Frankie Bruno (Brandon), Ozzy Lugo (South Dade), Denton Spencer (Camden County, Ga.), Josh Rogers (Vestavia Hills)
138: Justin Ramirez (South Dade)
145: No. 8 Patricio Lugo (South Dade), Jackson Hall (Hoover, Ala.), John Hayden Hill (Vestavia Hills)
152: Isaiah Crosby (South Dade), Troy Joyce (Brandon), Anthony Petrone (Lake Highland Prep)
160: Dakota Greene (Brandon), Elijah Cleary (Lake Highland Prep), Morgan Paugh (Vestavia Hills)
170: Bunmi Smith (Camden County, Ga.)
220: Brett Winters (Hoover, Ala.)
285: Colton Lynn (St. Thomas Aquinas)
Quick hitters
The other major upward mover in this week's Fab 50 was St. Edward, Ohio, which moved up eight spots all the way to No. 23 after a narrow 31-23 defeat against No. 10 Franklin Regional, Pa. The Eagles won six of the thirteen contested weight classes against the defending dual meet and traditional state champions in Pennsylvania's big-school classification. Of key note is that St. Edward would have won a seventh weight class if their starting 285 pound wrestler was available (that weight class was forfeited by both teams). However, junior Michael O'Malley was making key contributions at the defensive end position to a state championship football team this past Saturday. There was one notable upset in the dual meet, as Franklin Regional sophomore Gus Solomon upended returning state placer L.J. Bentley: a Pitt signee: by a 7-4 score at 126 pounds.
On Saturday, No. 17 Marmion Academy, Ill. came through with a 45-23 victory against fellow nationally ranked squad Marist, Ill. Of most consequence was the match between nationally ranked 182 pound wrestlers, a match won by Nathan Traxler (Marmion Academy) 4-3; Traxler moved up one position to No. 11, while Alex Benoit drops three slots to thirteenth nationally. As a team, Marist dropped eight slots to No. 36, as uncertainty about the RedHawks' squad this season is abound.
The biggest drop within the Fab 50 was for Delta, Ohio, which took a 16-slot fall to No. 45 in the nation. The Panthers were upended 36-24 on Saturday by Mason, Ohio. While they did wrestle without 2013 state champion Jake Spiess (120/126) and state third place finisher Jesse Beverly (152), Delta went 0-4 in matches decided by one point. Among those losing by one point were three returning state qualifiers/placers: Dustin Marteney up weight classes at 152, Mark Francis (170), and Ryan Patchin (182).
Dropping out of this week's Fab 50 are Mediapolis, Iowa and Penn, Ind. Those squads were No. 46 and No. 49 respectively last week. Mediapolis was beaten by Davenport Assumption, Iowa in a Thursday night dual meet as they lost nine of fourteen weight classes; while Penn was out-pointed in a tournament on the weekend by Portage, Ind.
One other notable event for the coming weekend is the Council Bluffs (Iowa) Wrestling Classic on Friday and Saturday. The 32-team field features teams from five states, and could include a showdown final at 195 pounds between No. 1 Bobby Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn.) and No. 3 Lance Benick (Totino Grace, Minn.). This would be a rematch of the Junior National freestyle final from this July, a match that Steveson won, and the wrestlers could also meet again next weekend at the Minnesota Christmas Tournament.
What's on tap this week for Fab 50 teams
See link.
Walsh Jesuit Ironman
The main event for the coming week is the nation's No. 1 tournament, the Walsh Jesuit Ironman, which will be on Friday and Saturday in Cuayhoga Falls, Ohio (which is southeast of Cleveland). A separate, event specific preview will be posted tomorrow (Thursday) to discuss this event, which features the top four teams in the country along with many other ranked wrestlers and teams.
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