Friday night in Ohio's Stark County, the Buccaneers shutout Massillon Jackson 76-0 before a decisive 37-15 victory No. 8 Massillon Perry in which they won 11 of 14 weight classes. Then, on Saturday night at No. 5 St. Paris Graham, it was more of the same in a 38-20 victory over the host Falcons, as Blair Academy won nine matches.
Links: Recap | Results
NHSCA Final Four Wrestling Festival
This coming Saturday, the top ranked Buccaneers travel to the York (Pa.) Expo Center for the NHSCA Final Four Wrestling Festival. Should things go to plan, come 4:40 p.m. ET, No. 1 Blair Academy would face No. 7 Wyoming Seminary, Pa., in the championship bout. In preliminary competition, the top-ranked Buccaneers will have matches against Tukhannock and Bishop McDevitt; while the seventh-ranked Blue Knights have matches against Benton, Pennsbury, and East Stroudsburg South.
Presuming each squad goes undefeated in the preliminary rounds, they would have a bye into the semifinal round, which is slated for a 3 p.m. start. In all probability, Blair Academy is looking at a semifinal against either DePaul Catholic (N.J.) or John Carroll (Md.), while Wyoming Seminary would likely meet either Spring Grove or Pen Argyl.
Link: Pools and Bracket
Projected matchups for the Blair Academy vs. Wyoming Seminary dual:
106: Zach Sherman (B) vs. John Busiello/Will Moss (WS)
113: Requir van der Merwe (B) vs. Trent Olson/TBD (WS)
120: No. 17 Chaz Tucker (B) vs. Jimmy Overheiser (WS)
126: No. 8 Matthew Kolodzik (B) vs. Danny Boychuck (WS)
132: Jordan Kutler (B) vs. Will Crisco (WS)
138: No. 1 Joey McKenna (B) vs. Will Verallis (WS)
145: Walker Dempsey (B) vs. Tyler Ponte (WS)
152: No. 8 Mason Manville (B) vs. No. 10 Nick Reenan (WS)
160: No. 3 Dylan Milonas/Michael Monica (B) vs. No. 20 Chris Weiler (WS)
170: No. 16 Brandon Dallavia (B) vs. Ryan McMullan (WS)
182: Nicholas DiNapoli (B) vs. Greg Kleinsmith/Sal Diaz (WS)
195: David Showunmi (B) vs. Michael Rogers (WS)
220: Neil Putnam (B) vs. Matthew Doggett (WS)
285: Will Cooley (B) vs. Jake Scanlan (WS)
Catch up on the Cheesehead Invitational
While on Sunday up in Green Bay, the Packers and 49ers froze their behinds off in a NFL playoff game at Lambeau Field, some of the nation's more formidable high school wrestlers and teams battled it out in nearby Kaukauna on Friday and Saturday. After two days of competition, No. 11 Montini Catholic (Ill.) stood on top of the 26-team field with its second Cheesehead Invitational title in the 16-year history of the event.
The Broncos were anchored by five finalists -- including weight class titles won by Vincent Turk (138) and No. 9 Michael Johnson, Jr. (285) -- and another five wrestlers who finished between third and sixth on the way to a 554.5 point finish. Runner-up finishes came from Chris Garcia (145), Xavier Montalvo (160), and Edgar Ruano (220). The next two teams in the standings, Kaukauna (Wis.) and Lockport (Ill.), were previously not ranked in the InterMat Fab 50 and will now move into the rankings at No. 34 and No. 50 respectively.
The host Kaukauna squad was led by weight class champion Robert Lee (132), seven other wrestlers who placed in the top eight, and three other wrestlers who finished in ninth -- meaning that they were “champions” of the second-tier bracket. The most notable other contributors in their 521 team point effort were third place finishers Ty Lee (106) and Bailey VanHandel (138). Third place Lockport scored 492 points, and were led by a pair of weight class champions in Brian Rossi (113), who is now No. 11 nationally after beating No. 15 Anthony Bosco (Marmion Academy, Ill.) by 4-3 decision in the tiebreaker in his debut at the weight class; and No. 12 Tyler Johnson (195). The Porters also had six other wrestlers place between third and seventh.
Defending tournament champions Southeast Polk (Iowa), which is ranked No. 25 nationally, finished a very narrow fourth place with 491.5 points despite the absence of returning state placer Keegan Shaw (132). The Rams were led by five wrestlers in the top three places, and four others within the top nine (one seventh, two eighth, and one ninth). Weight class champions were Nolan Hellickson (113) and Ethan Andersen (220), runner-up finishes came from Aaron Meyer (138) and Jake Marnin (285), while Briar Dittmer (145) placed third.
Waverly-Shell Rock (Iowa), ranked No. 39 nationally, finished fifth with 442 points. The Go-Hawks were led by weight class champion Bryce Steiert (145), two runners-up, and a single wrestler each in third and fourth. No. 29 in the nation Marmion Academy (Ill.) finished seventh in the standings with 392.5 points despite having a pair of wrestlers each finish first, No. 13 Johnny Jimenez (126) and Nathan Traxler (182); second, No. 15 Anthony Bosco (113) and Trace Carello (152), and third. The Cadets were without two key starters who placed the prior week at the Dvorak.
Rounding out the weight class champions were No. 8 Austin O'Connor (St. Rita, Ill.) at 106 pounds, No. 1 Bryce Brill (Mt. Carmel, Ill.) at 152, No. 12 Gable Frandsen (Ellsworth, Wis.) at 160, and No. 10 Beau Breske (Hartford Union, Wis.) at 170. Of note among those titles was the run by the previously unranked Frandsen, who beat a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers -- No. 17 Spencer Derifield (Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa) and No. 13 Xavier Montalvo (Montini Catholic, Ill.) -- on the way to his title.
Link: Brackets and Results
Nation's oldest high school wrestling tournament: Geary Invitational turns 70
Twenty-four teams, including four members of the InterMat Fab 50 will assemble in Geary, Okla. for the nation's oldest high school wrestling tournament this Friday and Saturday. Competition will be held in two sessions on each day, 11:30 a.m./ 6 p.m. CTl on Friday, and 10 a.m./6 p.m. on Saturday. The tournament, as tradition holds, is totally unseeded and has challenge matches for true second -- if applicable -- after the championship finals. Team points are also only awarded for placement and bonus accruals.
Teams to watch in the field include No. 12 Edmond North, No. 15 Broken Arrow, No. 30 Tuttle, No. 46 Lawton McArthur, Collinsville, and Tulsa Union. The following nationally ranked individuals appear in the field:
106: No. 13 Paxton Rosen (Edmond North)
113: No. 8 Christian Moody (Collinsville)
120: No. 12 Markus Simmons (Broken Arrow)
126: No. 17 Davion Jeffries (Broken Arrow)
132: No. 13 Jacob Rubio (Canyon Randall, Texas)
138: No. 10 Gary Wayne Harding (Collinsville)
145: No. 17 Tanner Bailey (Broken Arrow)
170: No. 13 Lance Dixon (Edmond North)
182: No. 11 Joel Dixon (Edmond North)
195: No. 4 Derek White (Edmond North)
220: No. 12 Andrew Dixon (Edmond North)
Clovis makes a big statement at home in the Doc Buchanan Invitational
For anyone who had doubts about the caliber of squad for No. 4 Clovis, Calif., this year, those should be eliminated once and for all after their total domination of the Doc Buchanan Invitational this past weekend. Rated as the best tournament in the western third of the country, some view it as almost a de facto California state tournament. While I wouldn't go that far, the field was formidable.
The host Cougars scored 239.5 points to win by almost 90 points. They were led by a trio of weight class champions: No. 11 Justin Mejia (106), Matt Weiss (220), and No. 1 Nick Nevills (285). Eight additional Clovis wrestlers earned a spot on the placement podium: Khristian Olivas (132) was second, Dominic Kincaid (152) and Josh Hokit (160) were third, Julian Gaytan (120) was fifth, Isaiah Hokit (138) and Adam Prentice (195) were sixth, Tristian Gilliland (113) was seventh, while A.J. Nevills (182) took eighth.
After a runner-up finish in the event, Buchanan moved up 12 spots in the Fab 50 to No. 33 nationally. The neighboring Bears placed seven wrestlers, which were led by the weight class title won by Durbin Lloren (120), who upset defending state champion Israel Saavedra (Modesto) 11-6 in the final; as a result, Saavedra dropped eight spots in the rankings to No. 14 in the country.
Despite the absence of their best wrestler, No. 13 Ralphy Tovar (145), No. 31 Poway finished in third place with 128 points. The Titans placed seven wrestlers of their own, led by a third place finish from Segio Enloe (138). The other two Fab 50 teams in the field -- No. 35 Clovis West and No. 40 Pleasant Grove, Utah -- occupied the next two spots in the standings.
Clovis West placed six wrestlers -- including a trio of runners-up in No. 11 Michael Knoblauch (126), Chris Garcia (145), and Tyler Zimmer (152) -- on the way to 122 points, while Pleasant Grove placed five wrestlers -- led by a pair of third place finishes from Nelson Jones (106) and Zach Dawe (285) -- on the way to 100.5 points.
Two weight class finals featured a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers. At 126 pounds, No. 9 Mason Pengilly (Porterville) upended No. 11 Michael Knoblauch (Clovis West) 3-2; while at 182 pounds, Nick Fiegner (Folsom) defeated Corey Griego (Sultana) 4-2, as a result Fiegner moved up three spots to No. 6 while Griego dropped one spot to No. 7.
Rounding out the weight class champions were No. 20 Adrian Camposano (Central) at 113 pounds, No. 1 Zahid Valencia (St. John Bosco) at 132, Uzo Uwoama (Bloomington) at 138, No. 8 Nikko Villarreal (Gilroy) at 145, No. 15 Paul Fox (Gilroy) at 152, Bryan Salinas (Northview) at 160, No. 2 Anthony Valencia (St. John Bosco) at 170, and Cody Vigoren (Lake Stevens, Wash.) at 195.
Link: Brackets and Results
Virginia Duals -- National H.S. Division
This year marks the 20th edition of the National High School Division as a part of the Virginia Duals, an event which started with the National College Division in 1981. This event serves as the innovator for the team advancement concept within the dual meet structure. Come Friday and Saturday at the Hampton Coliseum, there will be three divisions on college competition and two divisions of high school competition.
The defending champion in the National H.S. Division is South Plainfield (N.J.). The Tigers are seeded fourth after suffering massive graduation losses from last year's squad, which was anchored by four-time undefeated New Jersey state champion Anthony Ashnault among others. McDonogh (Md.), which was runner-up in last year's event and is ranked No. 32 in the nation, enters the tournament as the second seed.
This year's top seed is No. 14 Nazareth (Pa.), a three-time champion of this event most recently winning the tournament in 2007. The Blue Eagles will open competition on Friday with Gloucsester (Va.) at 9 a.m. ET, and are most likely positioned to wrestle in a 1 p.m. quarterfinal against either Timber Creek (N.J.) or St. Anthony's (N.Y.). Two wins would put them into Saturday's semifinal round at 2:00 p.m. The defending champion Tigers would be who the Blue Eagles should see by seed; however, No. 5 seed Colonial Forge (Va.) could upend South Plainfield on Friday afternoon.
McDonogh anchors the lower half bracket, and is slated to face St. Christopher's (Va.) in the opening round at 11 a.m. The Eagles then likely will face either Lexington (S.C.) or Camden Catholic (N.J.) in a 3 p.m. quarterfinal. The two seeded teams in the other quarter of the lower half are No. 37 Don Bosco Prep (N.J.) and Arvada West (Colo.)
Quick bits of look ahead
An event-specific preview on the Detroit Catholic Central Super Duals to be held on Saturday in Novi, Mich. will be posted on Thursday. Six Fab 50 teams are among the twelve school field: No. 3 Oak Park River Forest (Ill.), No. 11 Montini Catholic (Ill.), No. 20 Detroit Catholic Central (Mich.), No. 23 Brecksville (Ohio), No. 26 Davison (Mich.), and No. 38 St. Johns (Mich.). Wrestling starts at 10 a.m. ET.
On Thursday night, No. 12 Broken Arrow and No. 15 Edmond North are slated to wrestle each other as part of a triangular meet at Putnam City, Okla.
On Sunday, No. 25 Southeast Polk will wrestle No. 27 Bettendorf in a dual meet at 10:30 a.m. Central Time at Hilton Coliseum prior to the Iowa State dual meet against Oklahoma.
No. 21 St. Edward, Ohio will host No. 29 Marmion Academy, Ill., as part of a quadrangular meet that includes Toledo Central Catholic, Ohio and Marysville, Ohio. Wrestling starts at 11:00 a.m. Eastern in Lakewood.
No. 6 Bergen Catholic and No. 19 St. Peter's Prep are among the teams slated to compete in the Garden State Duals this Saturday at Rutgers University.
No. 35 Clovis West, Calif. will be among the over 130 teams slated to compete at the Eastern States Wrestling Classic at Sullivan Community College in New York State this coming Friday and Saturday. Wrestling starts at 10:30 a.m. Eastern on Friday, with Saturday's competition slated for a 9:15 a.m. start with the quarterfinals and medal matches being conducted at approximately 4:15 p.m.
Brief notes from the past weekend
For a full recap of The Clash XII -- National High School Wrestling Duals, read this article. As a result of the tournament Apple Valley (Minn.) and Oak Park River Forest (Ill.) flipped positions between No. 2 and No. 3 nationally.
With their championship at the Rollie Lane Tournament in Idaho, Crook County (Ore.) moves into the Fab 50 at No. 42. A runner-up finish in the event sees Kuna (Idaho) move up six spots to No. 44, while a third place finish causes Centennial (Idaho) to slide back four spots to No. 47.
It was certainly a dramatic day in Lakewood, Ohio as No. 21 St. Edward, No. 28 Claymont, and Wadsworth split dual meets against one another. The host Eagles beat Wadsworth 39-15 (11 matches to 3) in round one, Wadsworth upset Claymont 31-29 (8 matches to 6) in round two, while Claymont upset St. Edward 31-29 despite winning only six weight classes in the final round.
After placing eight wrestlers in the top three -- including four weight class champions -- in one of the tougher in-season tournaments in the state of Michigan, Lowell moved up six spots to No. 17 in the nation. Winning titles for the Red Arrows were Lucas Hall (112), Bailey Jack (130), Jordan Hall (135), and No. 13 at 220 Josh Colegrove (215). Runner-up finishes for Lowell came from Zeth Dean (119) and Garrett Stehley (189), while Kanon Dean (160) and Max Dean (171) finished third.
After winning the Class 3A IHSWCA Team State Duals in Westfield, Ind. this past weekend Franklin moved into the Fab 50 as the No. 49 ranked team in the country. The Grizzly Cubs won their opening round bout 41-21 over Warren Central. They followed that up with a 27-26 victory in the semifinal round against perennial state champion Perry Meridian, which was ranked No. 30 headed into the event. The crucial bouts for Franklin in that dual meet came at 182 pounds where Mike Petrole won a 3-1 overtime decision against Nathan Warman, and the 4-3 decision from Quinn York in the penultimate bout at 285 pounds against Shane Corman to clinch the dual meet. Then, in the finals, the Grizzly Cubs upended Evansville Mater Dei 30-27 when returning state third placer D.J. Smith closed out the dual meet with a 15-4 major decision against Kyle Luigs at 113 pounds.
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