Though there were some mitigating circumstances, 17th ranked-Oviedo did not live up to its part of the showdown. After a dominant string in the first six matches of preliminary competition, and a 61-15 victory over Citrus in the quarterfinal, they fell short in the semifinal round. South Dade earned a 34-25 upset victory.
However, keep in mind that Jay Taylor -- ranked 7th nationally at 215 pounds -- has left the program (moved to Burrell, PA) and 189 pound starter Lee Wildes, a Junior National All-American in Greco-Roman was out of the lineup due to injury. They did bounce back to finish third place with a 56-16 victory over Winter Springs.
In the championship final, Brandon won 12 of the matches to defeated South Dade 54-12. South Dade won by forfeit at 103 pounds, and 14th-ranked Earl Hall earned a pin at 119 pounds.
Still Kings of the Hill
Despite the loss of three state champions, including a pair of NHSCA Senior Nationals finalists in TJ Mitchell and Joel Smith, 50th ranked Collins Hill entered the season as the dominant team in the state of Georgia. The Eagles also graduated four other state placers (two third's, a fourth, and a fifth). Even with these losses, based on their opening weekend performance at the Alexander Duals, it looks like they did not lose a step.
In their four preliminary pool matches of the tournament, they completely dominated the opposition; 80-0 over Central Carrollton, 81-0 over Douglas County, 55-12 over Sonoraville, and 58-15 over Woodward.
While in the other pool, last year's state runners-up to Collins Hill -- Pope -- won all three of their matches: 60-24 over Henry County, 57-0 over Hardaway, and 47-24 over Alexander. That final pool match featured the Class 4A individual state champions from last year, Alexander, wrestling against the Class 5A runners-up to Collins Hill in both the individual and dual meet tournaments.
The championship final match resulted in a convincing Collins Hill win by a 47-18 score.
Opening Salvos fired in the Land of Lincoln
After yet another terrific off-season that merited much props and discussion, it is now time for regular season wrestling to start in the state of Illinois. The featured tournament of the opening week is the C.O. Feutz Classic hosted by Conant High School outside of Chicago. While defending champion Marmion Academy -- ranked 18th nationally -- is not in the tournament field, there are four superlative teams in this event.
Leading the field is Crystal Lake Central, ranked 36th nationally with four individuals in the weight class rankings. The Tigers were state runner-up and third place the last two years in Class 2A losing to Montini Catholic in both years. Other featured teams are 2009 Class 3A state champions Oak Park River Forest; Glenbard North, third in Class 3A each of the last two years; and perennial power Providence Catholic.
The following wrestlers in this field are nationally ranked:
125: No. 10 Eddie Klimara (Providence Catholic)
130: No. 14 Joey Gosinski (Glenbard North)
135: No. 9 Trevor Jauch (Crystal Lake Central)
140: No. 20 Brian Murphy (Glenbard North)
145: No. 3 Edwin Cooper (Providence Catholic)
152: No. 6 Joey Kielbasa (Crystal Lake Central)
171: No. 8 Sam Brooks (Oak Park River Forest)
189: No. 3 Austin Marsden (Crystal Lake Central)
215: No. 5 Gage Harrah (Crystal Lake Central), No. 11 Josh Marchok (Schaumburg)
High School Bedlam
The four week preseason open tournament period in the state of Oklahoma ends with a true showcase event on the campus of the University of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Open will be conducted this Saturday with both a high school and junior high division. Now in its 40th year, the high school division has featured many of the best scholastic wrestlers the state of Oklahoma has to offer, as well as those from all of "middle America."
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