Wyoming Seminary's Nic Bouzakis is ranked No. 1 at 126 pounds (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com)With the ever-increasing nationalization of all high school sports, a showdown between No. 1 and No. 2 within the course of a given season is much more the norm than the exception. It should be noted that this is a 20-plus year trend within scholastic wrestling, while for other sports it is much more recent than that. This year's No. 1 against No. 2 dual meet will happen on Friday night when second-ranked Blair Academy (N.J.) plays host to top-ranked Wyoming Seminary (Pa.). Befitting the nationalized trend of high school sports is the fact two prep schools are on top of the Fab 50 national high school team rankings.
Below are the projected matches along with an overview of the contestants.
106: No. 11 Brandon Cannon or Daniel Sheen (Wyoming Seminary) vs. No. 2 Marc-Anthony McGowan (Blair Academy)
Cannon was the backup for the Blue Knights at 106 pounds through the month of December, though he did win the Beast of the East after McGowan was upset 1-0 in the semifinal round by current No. 14 Tyler Vazquez (Delbarton, N.J.); McGowan reversed that defeat this past weekend in a 5-3 victory. Cannon was also champion of the Eastern States Classic this past weekend, while Sheen placed seventh at the Walsh Ironman (McGowan was champion) before failing to place at Powerade. On the other hand, McGowan was a Cadet World freestyle gold medalist at 45 kilos this summer, while at the trials in Akron, Cannon failed to place top eight and Sheen was fourth.
113: No. 20 Brennen Cernus (Wyoming Seminary) vs. Mason Stefanelli (Blair Academy)
Both wrestlers were high school state champions as freshmen; Cernus won an Indiana state title at Culver Academies, while Stefanelli was a Hawaii state champion at Punahou. This season, Cernus placed fifth at the Ironman and third at Powerade while Stefanelli failed to place at both Ironman and the Beast of the East.
120: Gregor McNeil (Wyoming Seminary) vs. No. 12 Ryan Miller (Blair Academy)
McNeil was a high school state champion last year as a sophomore at 99 pounds for Hilton (N.Y.), while Miller is a two-time National Prep champion. McNeil failed to place at the Ironman and was runner-up at Powerade, while Miller was third at Ironman and runner-up at the Beast of the East.
126: No. 1 Nic Bouzakis (Wyoming Seminary) vs. No. 4 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Blair Academy)
The sophomore Bouzakis was a two-time state champion at Lake Highland Prep (Fla.) before transferring to Wyoming Seminary, while the Oklahoma State signee Mastrogiovanni is a three-time National Prep champion. On the season, Bouzakis has titles at both the Ironman and Powerade, along with a runner-up at the Powerade due to disqualification in the final when his opponent could not continue after an illegal slam; Mastrogiovanni was out for the first month-plus of the season before returning for the Blair Duals this past weekend. This is one of the most crucial matches of the whole dual meet.
132: No. 11 Drew Munch (Wyoming Seminary) vs. No. 1 Shayne Van Ness (Blair Academy)
The senior Munch is a Lehigh signee and a two-time National Prep placer, including winning the title at 106 pounds as a freshman in 2017; while the junior van Ness was runner-up at National Preps last year to Beau Bartlett after a season in which he won titles at the Ironman and Beast of the East. This season Munch was champion at the Walsh Ironman pinning in all matches but the final before finishing third at the Powerade, while van Ness was out for the first month-plus before returning for the Blair Duals.
138: No. 1 Beau Bartlett (Wyoming Seminary) vs. No. 14 Lucas Chittum (Blair Academy)
Penn State signee Bartlett is a three-time National Prep champion, while the freshman Chittum was a high school state champion two years ago when competing for McCallie (Tenn.) as a junior high wrestler. On the current season has won titles at the Ironman, Powerade, and Eastern States Classic; while Chittum failed to place at the Ironman but went on to win titles at the Beast of the East and the Gut Check.
145: No. 1 Lachlan McNeil (Wyoming Seminary) vs. Lorenzo Norman (Blair Academy)
McNeil, a North Carolina signee, was runner-up last year at National Preps in the 120-pound weight class; while in this past off-season he was third in Junior freestyle and a Super 32 champion. During the current season, McNeil has titles at the Ironman, Powerade, and Eastern States Classic to his credit; while Norman is a very talented freshman but failed to make the second day at either the Ironman or Beast of the East.
152: Connor Kievman (Wyoming Seminary) vs. No. 3 Travis Mastrogiovanni (Blair Academy)
The senior Kievman is a two-time National Prep champion, while the junior Mastrogiovanni is a two-time National Prep finalist, winning it last year at 138 pounds. This past spring, Mastrogiovanni was runner-up at the Cadet World Team Trails in freestyle at 70 kilos. On the current season, Kievman failed to place at the Ironman before taking sixth at the Powerade; while Mastrogiovanni was runner-up at the Ironman, then missed almost a month of competition before returning at the Blair Duals.
160: No. 14 Gabriel Arnold (Wyoming Seminary) vs. Thomas Stewart (Blair Academy)
The freshman Arnold had an excellent youth career in Georgia, and it's continued this year with a third-place finish at the Ironman and an appearance in the semifinals of the Powerade. Stewart placed third at National Preps last year as a freshman for St. John's College (D.C.), and in the off-season was a 16U National freestyle champion; however, he failed to place at both the Ironman and the Beast of the East this season. This is yet another opportunity Blair Academy has to "steal" a match in which their wrestler is the lower-ranked competitor.
170: Andrew Donahue (Wyoming Seminary) vs. No. 7 Domonic Mata, Oliver Tipton, or Sean Kilrain (Blair Academy)
The sophomore Donahue was a state runner-up last year for Culver Academies (Ind.) before transferring to the Blue Knights, while Mata was a state champion for Poway (Calif.) in 2018 before winning a National Prep title last year for Blair Academy. On the current season, Donahue placed sixth at the Ironman and eighth at Powerade, before winning the Eastern States Classic, while Mata was fourth at Ironman and second at the Beast of the East. However, Mata was not in the Buccaneers' lineup for either The Gut Check tournament or the Blair Duals. The possible absence of Mata could be an impactful factor in Friday night's dual.
182: Cole Rees (Wyoming Seminary) vs. No. 8 Rylan Rogers (Blair Academy)
The junior Rees was fourth at National Preps last year in the 170-pound weight class, while the sophomore Rogers was third up at 195 pounds. This past off-season, Rogers was runner-up at both the Cadet World Team Trials and 16U Nationals in freestyle. At the Ironman, Rogers was champion while Rees placed seventh; Rees was runner-up at Powerade, while Rogers was runner-up at the Beast of the East.
195: TBD (Wyoming Seminary) vs. No. 9 Peyton Craft (Blair Academy)
Projected Blue Knights' starter Kyle Costello, who was sixth at the NHSCA Junior Nationals last spring has yet to compete this season. The junior Craft is a two-time National Prep placer, including a runner-up finish last year. On the current season Craft was third at Ironman, second at the Beast of the East, and upended two nationally ranked wrestlers at the Blair Duals.
220: No. 10 Kolby Franklin (Wyoming Seminary) vs. No. 12 Noah Pettigrew (Blair Academy)
This match features a pair of nationally elite sophomores, both of whom were at different schools as freshmen last year; Franklin was a state runner-up at 195 for St. Joseph's Catholic (Pa.), while Pettigrew was a state champion at 195 for Valdosta (Ga.). Both wrestlers placed at the Cadet World Team Trials in freestyle at 92 kilos and have combined for seven All-American finishes at the 16U Nationals between 2018 and 2019. At the Ironman, Franklin upended Pettigrew 3-2 in the ultimate tiebreaker of their consolation semifinal bout; Pettigrew was fourth at the Beast, while Franklin was runner-up at Powerade.
285: Nate Miller or Jacob Kaminski (Wyoming Seminary) vs. Elijah Anthony (Blair Academy)
Anthony upended Miller 10-7 in the second round at the Walsh Ironman, though both wrestlers would go on to bow out of the tournament one match short of placement. Anthony finished eighth at the Beast of the East, while Miller was seventh at the Ironman. Returning National Prep runner-up Kaminski, who was fourth and then first at Oak Park Fenwick (Ill.) in 2017 and 2018, has yet to compete this season; his presence would be an obvious "game changer" for this weight class matchup.
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