No. 10 Oak Park River Forest, Ill., and No. 13 Carl Sandburg, Ill, -- the crème de la crème of the Illinois big-school division at present -- are in the same event yet again this coming Saturday, a dual meet tournament hosted by Carl Sandburg. The squads were in the same bracket tournament at Hinsdale Central last month with Oak Park River Forest winning by eight points, while at the Clash, Carl Sandburg finished fourth in the championship pool and Oak Park River Forest won the second place pool.
Come Saturday, the squads should meet in the last dual meet of the day, presuming each is able to advance through a preliminary pool. The other six teams in the event are Antioch, Sycamore, Hononegah, New Trier, South Elgin, and Sycamore.
Below is a projection of matchups for the Oak Park River Forest at Carl Sandburg final dual (Illinois Matmen ranking in Class 3A as of January 2nd is listed):
106: No. 6 Robert Campos (OPRF) vs. Christian Robertson (Carl Sandburg): Campos is ranked higher despite losing a head-on match, by 5-2 decision at the Rex Whitlach Invitational in mid-December.
113: Gabe Townsell vs. No. 9 Jim Pellegrino: The pair of wrestlers split matches at the Rex Whitlach Invitational, and Pellegrino qualified for state last year at 106 pounds.
120: No. 4 Matt Rundell vs. No. 12 Jake Vales: Rundell was runner-up at state in the 106 pound class last year, and beat Vales 6-0 at the Rex Whitlach Invitational.
126: No. 3 Isaiah White vs. Brian Krasowski: These two freshmen did not wrestle at the Rex Whitlach Invitational, though White was second and Krasowski fourth.
132: No. 2 Larry Early vs. Tom Slattery: Early finished third at state last year as a freshman, and earned a technical fall victory over fellow sophomore Slattery at the Rex Whitlach Invitational.
138: No. 12 Jake O'Mara vs. No. 8 John Pellegrino: Pellegrino has a 7-6 victory over O'Mara at the Rex Whitlach Invitational earlier this season to his credit. The junior from Carl Sandburg made state last year, while the senior O'Mara was a Junior Greco-Roman All-American this past summer.
145: No. 10 Johnny Gahagan vs. No. 11 Alante Walker: The pair of juniors wrestled in the Rex Whitlach final with Gahagan, who also was a state qualifier last year, earning a 13-3 major decision victory.
152: No. 10 Kamaal Bey vs. No. 4 Mitch Cook: Cook placed fourth at state last year and earned a 9-6 decision over Bey at the Rex Whitlach Invitational.
160: No. 1 Davonte Mahomes vs. No. 7 C.J. Brucki: Mahomes finished third at state and is ranked No. 18 nationally; also was champion at the Rex Whitlach Invitational while Brucki finished third.
170: Al Stallings vs. No. 1 Colin Holler: Holler is a three-time state placer and ranked No. 11 nationally, while Stallings enters high school with multiple IKWF titles but is still a freshman.
182: No. 2 Joe Ariola vs. Chris Pajak: Ariola was champion at the Rex Whitlach Invitational, and was a state qualifier last season. He also won the NUWAY Vegas event at 189 pounds. The senior Pajak has been in and out of the lineup across a couple of weights going 3-3 at the Clash.
195: No. 5 Andre Lee vs. No. 1 (at 182) Ricky Robertson: Though Robertson is ranked No. 3 nationally at 182 pounds, he is most likely to be in this weight class for the dual meet, as he was in winning the Rex Whitlach Invitational; along the way he beat the junior Lee 9-3. Lee happened to go 4-2 at the Clash.
220: Malik Brumant vs. No. 9 (at 195) Bill Gore: The senior Gore was a state qualifier last year, and is likely to bump into this class for the dual, while the junior Brumant is relatively unproven.
285: Adam Lempke vs. Nate Sonneveld: Neither team is strong here; OPRF has a sophomore with Carl Sandburg rostering a senior.
A couple of other factors within this dual meet could be some lineup shifting done by either team in order to optimize matchups, as well as the possible return of a wrestlers from injury. Carl Sandburg will most likely remain without the presence of two-time state finalist Sebastian Pique in the 120/126 range; while Oak Park River Forest could get have junior Emonte Logan, a relative upgrade at 220, returning to the lineup.
Major events from last weekend -- catch up time
Three events from last weekend's docket were covered with separate content on InterMat, we'll give a brief discussion here.
Keyed by a head-to-head victory at 285 pounds in the penultimate championship match on Saturday night, No. 8 Clovis, Calif. scored the tournament victory as hosts of the Doc Buchanan Invitational by two points (180-178) over No. 3 Wyoming Seminary, Pa. Also playing a role in that was the inability of No. 1 Eric Morris (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) to compete in the 182 pound final due to injury, which gave Adrian Salas of Clovis an injury default victory.
Using nine top seven finishes, including a title from No. 18 Nolan Hellickson at 106 pounds, No. 16 Southeast Polk, Iowa scored the tournament title at the Cheesehead Invitational with 593.5 points. Finishing second with three champions and nine top seven finishers of their own was No. 7 Montini Catholic, Ill. with 575 points despite missing state placer Mike Maduko in the lineup at 170 pounds. Jake Short (Simley, Minn.), who is ranked No. 1 nationally, earned Outstanding Wrestler honors with his 3-1 finals victory over No. 2 Brian Murphy (Glenbard North, Ill.) in the ultimate tiebreaker.
Despite missing three of their normal starters, No. 1 Blair Academy, N.J. won nine of fourteen weight classes in a 37-25 victory over No. 11 St. Paris Graham, Ohio. Even though the squads feature an abundance of nationally ranked wrestlers, no weight class contested last Saturday featured a pair of wrestlers in the national rankings.
Broken Arrow repeats as Geary Invitational Tournament champions
No. 23 Broken Arrow, Okla., replicated the feat from last year, as they finished in first place at the 69th annual Geary Invitational Wrestling Tournament this past weekend. The Tigers were led by four champions and four other place-finishers in scoring 149 points. Those champions were Zack Edwards (132), Tanner Bailey (145), Paden Bailey (152), and Carlos Taylor (285). Other placers were Markus Simmons (120) taking third, Braxton Owens (138) in fourth, Brock Warren (182) finishing as runner-up, and Christian Vaverka (195) placing fifth.
It was No. 30 Edmond North, Okla., finishing second with the same four champions that Broken Arrow had, but only seven other total placers in scoring 128-1/2 points. Champions for Edmond North were Derek White (170), No. 16 Lance Dixon (182), Joel Dixon (195), and No. 5 Andrew Dixon (220); while other placers included Cy Trindle (113) in third, Josh Armstrong (120) finishing fifth, and Josh Breece (126) earning second.
The team with the most placers was Lawton McArthur, Okla. with nine in all. However, none were champions, and they finished third in the standings with 108-1/2 points. Their effort was led by runner-up finishes from Cole Powers (120) and No. 15 Ricky McCarty (160).
Additional weight class champions included Montorie Bridge (Altus, Okla.) at 106 pounds, Markawae Sanders (Duncan, Okla.) at 113, Cub Yeager (Locust Grove, Okla.) at 120, Hayden Hansen (Norman North, Okla.) at 126, Alec Warren (Edmond Memorial, Okla.) at 138, and No. 5 Keilan Torres (Altus, Okla.) at 160. The highlight individual came at 160, where Torres upended McCarty by a 6-4 decision.
Blair Academy to face another test on Saturday
Come 6:00 p.m. ET at the NHSCA Final Four Festival of Wrestling in York, Pa., No. 1 Blair Academy, N.J. is schedule to compete against No. 3 Wyoming Seminary, Pa. There will be a live webcast of this dual meet, information available as the week moves on at http://www.nhsca.com. Each team will compete in other dual meets earlier in the day as part of the event.
Among the other teams in the field are Don Bosco Prep, N.J., Robinson, Va., and Benton, Pa. Two top-ranked wrestlers in the nation are among the competitors here: Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.) at 138 and Eric Morris (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) at 182. The following represents a breakdown of possible matchups in the showcase dual meet, Blair Academy vs. Wyoming Seminary:
106: Matt Deehan (Blair Academy) vs. forfeit (Wyoming Seminary): Wyoming Seminary has not had a 106 pound wrestler in any of their competitions this year.
113: Chaz Tucker vs. Danny Boychuck: Both wrestlers were runners-up at the National Prep Championships last year, Tucker at 113 and Boychuck at 106.
120: No. 2 Matthew Kolodzik vs. Jeremy Schwartz: Kolodzik was a Cadet freestyle national champion last summer, won the POWERade right before New Year's, and was runner-up at the Ironman and Beast of the East; Schwartz has placed at the Beast and Super 32 in previous years.
126: No. 4 Joey McKenna vs. No. 18 Judson Preskitt: McKenna is a two-time National Prep champion, and was a Junior freestyle runner-up this past summer; Preskitt is a two-time National Prep placer and was runner-up at the Ironman this season.
132: Michael Monica vs. Tyler Ponte
138: No. 6 Mason Manville vs. Jesse Holton: Manville was runner-up at the Ironman, Beast of the East, and POWERade already this season; during the past off-season, he was a double finalist at the Cadet Nationals.
145: No. 12 Dylan Milonas vs. Jake Savoca: Milonas is a two-time National Prep runner-up, while Savoca placed fourth at the New England Regional Championships last year.
152: No. 5 Russ Parsons vs. Tyrel White: Parsons was a National Prep champion last year, while White finished fourth at National Preps.
160: Jack Wedholm vs. Chris Weiler: Wedholm placed at the Ironman, Beast of the East, and POWERade, while the freshman Weiler placed at Ironman and was a Cadet National double All-American this past summer.
170: Patrick Coover vs. Nicky Hall: Coover is a defending National Prep champion, while White has placed twice in the state of New York.
182: Addison Knepshield vs. No. 1 Eric Morris: Knepshield placed at the Ironman, Beast of the East, and POWERade, while Morris was an Ironman and Beast of the East champion. One wonders if Morris will be able to compete after having to default to injury prior to the start of the championship match at the Doc Buchanan Invitational.
195: No. 4 Frank Mattiace vs. Matt Doggett: Mattiace was a champion at National Preps last year, while Doggett finished eighth.
220: David Showunmi vs. No. 11 Garrett Ryan: Showunmi placed at the Ironman, Beast of the East, and POWERade, while Ryan was a double All-American at the Junior Nationals last summer.
285: No. 2 Brooks Black vs. No. 8 Michael Johnson, Jr.: This is a rematch of last year's National Prep Championships final as well as the Ironman final, both matches won by Black.
Hermiston wins title at the Rollie Lane
Continuing their traveling schedule, No. 41 Hermiston, Ore., won the championship at the Rollie Lane Invitational in Idaho by a narrow margin over No. 42 Pomona, Colo. as each squad placed eight wrestlers inside the top six. Hermiston was led by three champions: No. 13 Tyler Berger (138), Abraham Rodriguez (160), and Samuel Colbray (195); Isaac Aguilar (120) finished as runner-up; Caleb (220) and Jake (285) Batease finished third; while A.J. Garcia (113) and Beau Gleed (132) finished fifth.
Pomona had a pair of champions -- Tomas Gutierrez (98) and Travis Torres (113) -- among their eight placers. Other medalists were Austin Marvel (138) and Archie Colgan (160) finishing third, while Josh Rosales (120), Lucas Vagher (126), Raymond Robledo (132), and Ethan Wright (152) each finished fifth.
Rounding out the weight class champions were Cole Verner (Green River, Wyo.) at 106, Drake Foster (Post Falls, Idaho) at 120, Michael Cook (Kuna, Idaho) at 126, Bryce Parson (Lewiston, Idaho) at 132, No. 20 Joey Lavallee (Reno, Nev.) at 145, Kris McFarlane (Centennial, Idaho) at 152, Troy Richardson (Melba, Idaho) at 170, Austin Schaffer (Columbia, Idaho) at 182, Carson Purcell (Boise, Idaho) at 220, and Cole McGinnis (Gooding, Idaho) at 285.
Most notable among the weight classes was 145 pounds, where Lavallee earned a 4-2 decision victory over Christian Pagdilao (Santiago Corona, Calif.) in the final. In their respective semifinal matches, Lavallee defeated three-time state champion Jared Johnshoy (Melba, Idaho) -- twice a Junior National All-American in Fargo -- by 7-3 score, and Pagdilao beat Reno TOC champion Jon-Jay Chavez Centennial, Idaho) by 7-6 decision.
Clovis seeks to build upon Doc Buchanan Invitational title
No. 8 Clovis, Calif. will not rest on their laurels after earning the title as hosts of the Doc Buchanan Invitational this past weekend. The Cougars will strap it back on the line at De LaSalle (Calif.) High School as part of a quad meet along with No. 45 Vacaville, Calif. and Gilroy, Calif. Key wrestlers for Clovis include Julian Gayton (113), Jonas Gayton (126), Jason Ladd (145), No. 20 Adrian Salas (182), Matt Weiss (195), and No. 3 Nick Nevills (285); notable wrestlers for Vacaville include Gionn Peralta (106/113), Kasey Klaus (120), Zach Dawson (152), Chris Lai (182), and Jeremy Sweany (195); and featured wrestlers for Gilroy include Jesse Vasquez (113), Victor Olmos (126), Paul Fox (138), and Nikko Villarreal (145).
Major events this weekend -- look ahead
These two additional events on the docket for this weekend will be covered in event-specific previews on InterMat during the week.
No. 14 Detroit Catholic Central, Mich., will be hosting its annual Super Duals event on Saturday starting at 10:00 a.m. ET. Ten other teams will be participating, including three inside the top 12 of the Fab50: No. 2 St. Edward, Ohio, No. 7 Montini Catholic, Ill., and No. 12 St. Johns, Mich.
It is extremely likely that there will be a first-time champion of the Virginia Duals in the National High School Division. Defending champion Canon-McMillan, Pa., is not entered in the event, and the lone previous champions in the field -- Christiansburg, Va. and Nazareth, Pa. -- do not rate among the favorites. The top three seeds are No. 26 South Plainfield, N.J., No. 32 McDonogh, Md., and No. 47 Colonial Forge, Va.
Where are some of the remaining ranked teams this weekend?
No. 17 Collinsville, Okla., and No. 37 Blue Springs, Mo., travel to Basheor, Kan., to be part of the Bobcat Classic on Friday and Saturday.
No. 23 Broken Arrow, Okla., and No. 30 Edmond North, Okla., will be part of the Sapulpa Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
No. 41 Bettendorf, Iowa will host archrival Davenport Assumption, Iowa in a dual meet on Thursday night.
Rankings reminder
Both the InterMat Fab50 national team rankings and the national individual weight class rankings were updated today.
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