After a 5-0 Saturday at the NHSCA Final Four of High School Wrestling in which they only lost nine matches during the day, one in which they faced a pair of ranked teams from New Jersey (High Point and Jackson Memorial), No. 2 Blair Academy hosted St. Paris Graham, Ohio seeking revenge for last year’s blowout loss in Ohio. And revenge is what they got on a night in which they honored Jeff Buxton.
The Bucs bookended the night with pins in just over a minute by nationally-ranked wrestlers -- No. 7 Joey McKenna (103) to open the night, and No. 5 Brooks Black (285) to close the evening. They also earned seven other wins on the evening to score a 39-18 victory, the result of which sees Graham dropping down to fifth in the national team rankings updated today.
Lower weights for Blair Academy came up huge, as they won the first six matches to open up a 27-0 lead before Graham was able to put out the majority of their heavy artillery. Coming up big for Blair were No. 1 Evan Silver (112), No. 11 Caleb Richardson (119), and No. 2 Austin Ormsbee (135) -- each of whom scored a decision over a formidable Graham opponent. Silver won 7-4 over No. 9 Ryan Taylor, Richardson 11-4 over freshman Micah Jordan, and Ormsbee 3-2 over over No. 19 Case Garrison.
The Falcons did win five of the next six bouts, starting with three in a row from nationally ranked No. 7 Nick Brascetta (140), No. 5 Bo Jordan (145), and No. 11 Matt Stephens (152). Again the absence of junior state champion Isaac Jordan (160) played a critical role in the dual meet -- this time though it was more of a death knell than anything when Michael Mocco ended the Graham win string with a 3-1 victory over Robert Mannier. Kyle Ryan (171) and No. 5 Huston Evans (189) did follow up with decision victories, but it was too little too late when mid-season transfer Frank Mattiace (215) scored a 3-1 victory for Blair over Mark Meyer to make the score 33-18.
Another week, more big matches
This coming Saturday, No. 2 Blair Academy seeks to cement their position in the rankings when they travel to Lakewood, Ohio (just to the west of Cleveland) for a quad against new No. 4 St. Edward, Ohio; No. 8 Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania; and Kiski Prep, Pennsylvania. Wrestling starts at 10:30 a.m., with St. Edward wrestling Wyoming Seminary, the Blair vs. Wyoming Seminary match should follow at 12:30 p.m., with St. Edward and Blair closing out the day starting at about 2:30 p.m.
The following is a weight-by-weight look at the quad:
103: No. 7 Joey McKenna (Blair), Tyler Ponte (Wyoming Seminary), Anthony Stanley (St. Edward), DJ Gress (Kiski Prep)
112: No. 1 Evan Silver (Blair), No. 20 Edgar Bright (St. Edward), Evan Botwin (Wyoming Seminary), Mario Bortoluzzi (Kiski Prep)
119: No. 10 Dominick Malone (Wyoming Seminary), No. 11 Caleb Richardson (Blair), No. 18 Dean Heil (St. Edward), Austin Marsico (Kiski Prep)
125: No. 3 Mark Grey (Blair), Tyler Fraley (Wyoming Seminary), Markus Scheidel (St. Edward), Brant Myers (Kiski Prep)
130: No. 10 Todd Preston (Blair), Colin Heffernan (St. Edward), Shane Phillips (Kiski Prep), Sal Diaz (Wyoming Seminary)
135: No. 2 Austin Ormsbee (Blair), RC Ramirez (Wyoming Seminary), Nick Barber (St. Edward)
140: No. 8 Evan Henderson (Kiski Prep), Cohl Fulk (Wyoming Seminary), Ross Parsons (Blair), Russ Rauber (St. Edward)
145: Matt Van Curen (St. Edward), Dylan Milonas (Blair), Reid Paswall/Steven Harty (Wyoming Seminary), Manny Markatone (Kiski Prep)
152: No. 11 (at 145) Robert Henderson (Kiski Prep), No. 14 Eric Morris (Wyoming Seminary), Mark Martin (St. Edward), Patrick Coover (Blair)
160: Domenic Abounader (St. Edward), Angelo Bortoluzzi (Kiski Prep), Adam Morris (Wyoming Seminary), Michael Mocco (Blair)
171: Jacob Davis (St. Edward), Addison Kneppshield (Blair), Ryan McMullen (Wyoming Seminary)
189: James Suvak (St. Edward), Frank Mattiace/Willie Wilson/Jamie Farr (Blair), James Missell (Kiski Prep)
215: AJ Vizcarrando (Wyoming Seminary), Ty Walz (St. Edward), Colynn Cook (Kiski Prep), Mattiace/Wilson/Farr (Blair)
285: No. 5 Brooks Black (Blair), No. 10 Greg Kuhar (St. Edward), No. 20 Terrance Jean-Jacques (Wyoming Seminary), Joe Manderino (Kiski Prep)
Garden State Chaos
For the three nationally ranked in the state of New Jersey, this was a week that saw lots of disorder and confusion. For South Plainfield, they traveled to Ithaca, New York to compete in the undercard of the Cornell-Iowa State dual meet on Sunday. They lost by a 34-26 score to unranked Spencerport. However, a crucial seven-plus point swing came at 119 pounds, where returning state placer Troy Heilmann was out of the lineup; the backup lost by major decision against his Spencerport opponent. In addition, South Plainfield forfeited the 96 pound weight class, which is sanctioned in New York State but not elsewhere across the country.
Coming off a sixth place finish at the NHSCA Final Four, including being upset by Council Rock South, Pennsylvania -- Jackson Memorial competed in the Shore Conference Tournament last week. The Jaguars advanced to the final with wins over Point Beach 71-4, Long Branch 39-18, and Raritan 43-15. The championship final saw them facing Southern Regional, a team that they beat 39-9 just ten days before. One key to note in that match was Jackson going 5-1 in matches decided by two points or less. This past Saturday, Southern went 3-1 in similar matches, got an additional pin in overtime, and were able to change a net of three outcomes from the prior dual in scoring a 28-23 victory.
Adding further to the chaos, on Monday night, the home-standings Jaguars upset High Point (generally considered the best team in New Jersey other than Blair) 31-28. The match started at 119 pounds with a tossup match placing Brian Hamann of Jackson Memorial against Billy Hagany. Trailing 2-1 late in the second period, Hamann reversed Hagany to his back and scored the fall at the 3:50 mark. In a dual meet that was split 7-7 in matches, the other key factor was the absence of No. 13 John Guzzo (160) from the lineup for High Point due to injury.
Sunday Showcase
This past Sunday featured the New Jersey Coaches Association All-Star Invitational, which matches up some of the top wrestlers in the state against one another in a showcase setting for the fans at Brick Memorial High School. Below is a listing of results for those matches.
135: Julian Quintero, North Bergen dec. Luis Filipe, Long Branch, 3-2.
135: Anthony Perrotti, West Essex dec. Zach DiPini, Pope John, 9-2.
119: Billy Ward, Buena, dec. Dante Porazzo, DePaul, 13-2.
285: Zach Troutman, New Providence, pinned Ryan Moskwa, Perth Amboy, 1:41.
152: Christian Barber, Westfield dec. Connor Brennan, Brick, 5-3.
103: Luis Gonzalez, North Bergen pinned Mike Bohling, Sayreville, :54.
125: Brandon Keller, Timber Creek dec. Dan Haines, Hopatcong, 2-1.
112: Mike Magaldo, WatchungHills dec. Kevin Corrigan, Toms River South, 6-0.
171: Tony Pafumi, St. Peter's Prep dec. Mike LaBell, Lenape Valley, 4-3.
130: B.J. Clagon, Toms River South dec. Alex Richardson, St. Peter's Prep, 10-4.
140: Connor Melde, Bergen Catholic dec. Curt Delia, Delsea, 9-1.
189: No. 9 James Fox, St. Peter's Prep dec. Brian Lussier, Cherry Hill East, 3-1.
145: No. 4 James Green, Willingboro dec. No. 13 Sal Mastriani, Don Bosco Prep, 9-4.
160: Colin Hewitt, Franklin dec. Ottis Wright, Montclair, 5-4 3 OTs.
215: No. 1 Andrew Campolattano, Bound Brook dec. Mitch Seigel, Marlboro, 5-3.
Dual Meets for Glory
The state qualifiers for the State Dual Meet Championships in Pennsylvania are this coming weekend in both Class AAA (big-school) and Class AA (small-school). In particular, keep an eye on the District 11 tournament in Class AAA where the likely final between No. 17 Easton and No. 25 Nazareth will be vital for each team’s title hopes.
The winner of that match slots into a half of the draw most likely to be anchored by Council Rock South (District 1 champ) along with teams finishing second and third in the WPIAL/District 7 championships (likely some combination of Franklin Regional, Kiski Area, and Greater Latrobe). However, the runner-up is looking at a preliminary match early next week against the District 1 runner-up and then an opening round match against likely WPIAL champion No. 26 Canon-McMillan. No. 15 Central Dauphin is likely waiting in the semifinal.
District 11 is also the place to be in Class AA, with No. 20 Bethlehem Catholic and an underrated Pen Argyl squad likely to be the finalists. This is also an imperative bracketing match, with the loser looking at an opening round match next Friday against the WPIAL champion, most likely No. 41 Burrell. Though there is not as great an imbalance with the Reynolds vs. Fort LeBeouf (District 10) loser the best team in the other quarter of that half. The bottom of half of the pre-determined state meet draw likely places Brookville (District 9) in the opposite quarter of the District 11 champion and District 10 champion.
Ranked Collisions
There are at least three dual meets involving ranked teams on the docket for the coming week. No. 17 Easton, Pennsylvania hosts No. 20 Bethlehem Catholic, Pennsylvania in a Lehigh rivalry this evening -- assuming the weather cooperates. Tomorrow night, it is a clash on the mats between No. 27 Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and No. 29 Tulsa Union, Oklahoma. Finally -- on Friday night -- No. 28 Wadsworth, Ohio travels to No. 4 St. Paris Graham, Ohio for a matchup of the defending champions in Division I and Division II.
Bakersfield with all ships on deck
Finally with all of its core wrestlers in the lineup at the right weight class, No. 9 Bakersfield, California came up with a dominant showing at the Canyon Springs Invitational this past weekend. The Drillers scored 298 points on the strength of seven finalists, and placement finishes from the first eleven weight classes. Winning championships were Ian Nickell (112), Timmy Box (135), No. 18 Coleman Hammond (145), Adam Fierro (152), No. 1 Bryce Hammond (160), and Silas Nacita (171). No. 20 Natrelle Demison (130) was pinned in the final by Chris Calgano of Clovis North, which earned Calgano the lower weight MVP, as that was his fourth pin of the tournament to go with one technical fall.
Second place honors went to Poway, California with 231-1/2 points on the strength of eight placers, anchored by upper weight MVP Porfi Sosa (215), who had four pins leading to the final and an 18-3 technical fall victory in the final match. They also had three wrestlers finish in second place -- Justin Chua (125), Josh Egli (140), and Bryant Heagney (145). The other notable champion was No. 12 Vince Rodriguez of Clovis North, California -- winning the crown at 125 pounds.
Razor thin margin at Reser TOC
For at least the third consecutive year, nationally ranked Roseburg, Oregon came home with the championship at the Reser Tournament of Champions held just outside of Portland. This tournament brings together the majority of the best individuals and teams within the state of Oregon in a singular competition. However, this year’s competition was a bit closer than the prior couple, as both champion Roseburg and runner-up Hermiston had eight wrestlers earn top six placements.
Second-place Hermiston had four in the finals, one in third, one in fifth, and two in sixth to total 170-1/2 points. Champions were Tyler Berger (125), Joey Delgado (135), and Abraham Rodriguez (145); and Bryce McMahon (152) finished as runner-up. Roseburg scored 181 points with five in the finals, two in fourth, and one in fifth. Champions for Roseburg were Drew Van Anrooy (130) and Seth Thomas (152), while Reed Van Anrooy (135), Dylan Fors (171), and Devan Fors (189) each were runners-up.
Outstanding Wrestler honors went to Delgado, while the least time wrestled award went to No. 16 (at 171) Brandon Griffin of Sprague, Oregon -- who won the 189 pound weight class with four falls leading up to a 10-6 victory in the championship match.
Fab 50 team rankings updated
The top two teams remain unchanged from two weeks ago, as Apple Valley, Minnesota and Blair Academy, New Jersey maintain their positions. Brandon, Florida moves up one position to third; St. Edward, Ohio moves up one to fourth; while St. Paris Graham, Ohio drops two positions to round out the top five.
Newly minted into the national rankings are No. 30 Longwood, New York; No. 46 Hermiston, Oregon; No. 47 Columbia, Idaho; and No. 49 St. Anthony’s, New York. Dropping out were Oakdale, California; Crown Point, Indiana; Archbishop Spalding, Maryland; and Claremore, Oklahoma.
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