InterMat Staff

Granite Hills

Piedmont

Jiyugaoka Gakuen

Soda Springs

Lake Central

Commerce

Bald Eagle Area

Columbus DeSales

Stillwater

Appleton North

Bixby

Bixby

Everyone has a list of things that they can say where they were and what they were doing when they happened. I will always remember where I was and what I was doing when I learned that George Carlin had died, as well as when Michael Jackson died. I will always remember my first concert (Journey at Pine Knob). I will always remember proposing to my wife and how I’d never been more nervous to get an answer that I was fairly confident in. There are just things, some good, some bad, some in between, and some with specific significance to specific people. For me, attending Grand Valley State University's first dual meet since returning to NCAA Division II competition will be one of those things that I remember. Here, I’ll do my best to walk you through what that experience was like and share some videos of what I got to experience. It all began with a social at the nearby Main Street Pub. There alumni, parents, friends of the program, and other connected folks got to sit and eat and share stories. What was immediately amazing to me was seeing how many people were here from generations before, and who took time out of their day to sit and hear from the President of the University (Philomena Mentella), Athletic Director (Keri Becker), and the steps towards this special day. They discussed and celebrated some of the people and alumni who had a big impact on this eventual result, and we all had the chance to applaud their efforts. Specifically, John and Diane Harris whose generous donation helped build the new facilities. I’d be remiss if I didn’t refer to the special guests who were there for this social as well. Dan Gable, Lee Kemp, and Myles Amine were all in attendance, which should share some of the significance of this event. Jim Scott, former Laker Wrestling Coach and Laker Hall of Famer, had the chance to ask the question to these three individuals “Who is the person that had the greatest influence on your journey” Below you’ll see two videos as these greats answer. My apologies to Lee Kemp as my video cut out halfway through his answer, which is why this is broken into two parts. Part One Part Two From here we all cruised over to the GV Fieldhouse to prepare to watch the dual. It was great being there beforehand though. Many got in line to get autographs and pictures from the three legends. Autographs and entering the arena for the GVSU dual I had the chance to wander around and mingle with some of the great people that GVSU and West Michigan wrestling has to offer. Shoutout to Cornerstone University Head Coach Chris Williamson who I had the chance to talk with about his team and some of their development since they started the program just a couple of years back. In their second season, they had an All-American, nbd, and have continued to develop strong wrestlers and members of their community. I also had the chance to catch up with several GVSU alumni whom I’ve had the pleasure of meeting over the years, John Aikens, Travis Eisen, Chris Eggleston, and others. I also got to catch up with Ryan Lancaster who has been running the GVSU club team since the two separated, and JJ Johnson who runs MI Grappler. I even got to meet Jake Short, who is running the GVSU Women’s program which will begin next season, and who I had the pleasure of interviewing on Bloodround (episode #439 if you want to check that out). I ran into fellow CMU Chippewas alum Brad Anderson, who coaches at Forest Hills Central and had some of his High School alumni competing in this dual. Enough about my mingling. Let’s get to the dual itself. By the time this got going, the whole place was packed. The anticipation had built to its boiling point, and everyone was ready for the action. It was an awesome dual with several back-and-forth matches. You wouldn’t necessarily think that the first home dual would be such a home-field advantage, but it absolutely was. Check this out: GVSU 149 Chris Donathan entrance At the break, with the score 11-9 GVSU over Cornerstone, Dan Gable addressed the entire crowd which you can enjoy here After the dual, I was able to get a walk-through of their facilities and even catch up with Joey Simcoe - Head Coach of the GVSU Lakers team. It was awesome getting a chance to catch up with him, learn about his vision for the program, his feelings after this dual, and his decision to come to GVSU. Check out a quick walkthrough and interview with Coach Simcoe. GVSU Head Coach Joey Simcoe GVSU head coach Joey Simcoe; photo courtesy of GVSU athletics I tell you what, I enjoyed reliving this experience from last week while putting this together, but I can honestly say it’s impossible to really put into words the feelings going through that building. There was a tremendous sense of pride and joy just floating through the arena. It was like having Stevie Ray Vaughn playing in my head, but it wasn’t (that reference will work for like three of you, and that’s enough for me). It’s hard to replicate the experience of a program coming back after 30+ years of being gone from the NCAA D2 scene, and I get that. However, what we can do is to continue to support our programs that are here and to make sure that administrators know that they’re valued. Support our programs while they’re here rather than when they’re gone. You don’t have to compete to impact the future of your favorite programs, you just have to show up.

Jackson County Central

Chase County

Legacy Christian Academy

Mead

Paulsboro

Southern Regional

Simley

Daniel Boone

St. Joseph's Regional

Mallard Creek

St. Joseph's Regional

Opening week is in the books and we saw some up-and-down performances across the ACC. Let’s take a look at how it all shook out and what lies ahead this week. Duke: The Blue Devils made a west coast trip to open the season with duals against Rutgers, Cal Poly, and Stanford. They went 0-3 on the weekend, suffering shutout losses to Rutgers and Stanford while picking up two wins against Cal Poly from freshman Aidan Wallace at 165 and sophomore Connor Barket at 285. The Blue Devils are back in action in Morgantown, West Virginia on Sunday with duals against Kent State, Cleveland State, and West Virginia. I’m looking forward to the Kent State and Cleveland State duals. I mentioned in their preview that I think these two duals against similarly ranked and experienced teams will be a good gauge for where they are to open the season and they have another set of duals before conference season against Chattanooga and Gardner-Webb that will help show the progress they have made throughout the season. North Carolina: The Tar Heels opened their season hosting the Carolina Duals, taking wins over Greensboro College and Queens and dropping a back-and-forth dual to Oregon State. They took lopsided wins over Greensboro 48-3 and Queens 41-10, before dropping a close dual to the Beavers 24-13. Spencer Moore picked up a huge upset win over #11 Brandon Kaylor to open the dual, followed by Caden McCrary topping Gabe Wisnehunt (PAC12 Wrestler of the Week) giving him his only loss of the weekend. #3 Lachlan McNeil continued the streak, picking up a dominant major decision over #20 Cleveland Belton. The momentum didn’t continue for the Tar Heels. They dropped the next two matches from Jaydon Scott and Danny Nini on 2-1 sudden victory decisions; they also dropped decisions at 174 (Sabino Portella) by decision and 184 (Chris Salazar) by fall; #6 Gavin Kane did not compete last week. The Heels took another win from #18 Max Shaw at 197 before dropping the final match at 285 from #33 Aydin Guttridge. The dual was closer than the final score---losing back-to-back heartbreakers in sudden victory (one on a penalty point after a called takedown) shifted the momentum for the Beavers and they were not able to recover. They will travel to Pennsylvania for Journeymen Wranglemania this weekend where they will face Buffalo and Arizona State. There will be some high-caliber matchups to watch--especially against the Sun Devils. Ranked Matchups: 125: #32 Spencer Moore v #2 Richie Figueroa 133: #22 Caden McCrary v #15 Julian Chlebove 141: #3 Lachlan McNeil v #18 Jesse Vasquez 197: #18 Max Shaw v #30 Anthony Montalvo North Carolina State: The Wolfpack arguably had the best week out of all the teams in the ACC picking up two dual wins while only dropping one individual bout. They opened at the Battle at Liberty with a dual against Presbyterian at Ft. Liberty and followed that up with a Friday night dual in Boone against Appalachian State. The Wolfpack featured several younger wrestlers against Presbyterian in a lopsided dual 48-0. Dylan Fishback (184) opened his season with a pin as did Chase Horne (285). Jacob Cox (133), Jackson Arrington (149) and AJ Kovacs (165) won by tech fall. Alex Faison (174) and Christian Knop (197) both won by major while Tyler Tracy (141) and Zach Karagias (157) won by decision; Jakob Camacho opened his season with a forfeit win. They traveled to Boone for another dual Friday night, picking up the second win of the season 40-3. The dual started at 149 with a major decision from #7 Jackson Arrington over #25 Cody Bond, followed by a decision win from #5 Ed Scott over #20 Tommy Askey. #33 AJ Kovacs and #22 Alex Faison picked up decision wins before #29 Dylan Fishback got his second pin in as many matches at 184. #5 Trent Hidlay made his 197 debut and looked phenomenal in a 19-4 tech fall; he looked strong and fast at 197 and was still able to utilize his underhook to initiate offense. Hoagie Boy at 197 is going to be fun. #8 Owen Trephan earned a fall at 285 and #12 Jakob Camacho put together a 19-3 major decision in his first match of the season. The lone loss was at 133 where Jarrett Trombley took the mat, not #4 Kai Orine. Trombley wrestled a solid match but dropped a 4-2 decision. NC State will be heading north to compete in their first Journeymen event of the season at Wranglemania. They will face Bloomsburg and Purdue. There will be some solid matchups against Purdue--with the marquee match being at 125 with Jakob Camacho and NCAA runner-up Matt Ramos. I love this matchup for Camacho and I think he can dictate the match and pick up the win. Ranked Matchups 125: #11 Jakob Camacho v #3 Matt Ramos 133: #4 Kai Orine v #29 Dustin Norris 184: #28 Dylan Fishback v #33 James Rowley 285: #8 Owen Trephan v #26 Hayden Copass Pittsburgh: The Panthers sent a partial lineup to the Clarion Open on Sunday. They ended the day with titles from #16 Mac Stout at 197 and #14 Reece Heller at 184 both bringing home the gladiator helmet. Heller went 5-0, picking up bonus points in every match (2 pins, 2 tech falls, 1 forfeit) to win his first Clarion Open title. Stout earned his second straight title at Clarion, this time without surrendering an offensive point. Redshirt Freshman #32 Vinny Santaniello also made the finals and dropped a tight match to high school phenom Bo Bassett. Stantaniello picked up a huge win in the semifinals over #8 Nic Bouzakis. Transfer Finn Solomon made an immediate impact for the Panthers making the finals by beating #26 Dylan Chappell before dropping to #5 Dylan D’Emilio to get a silver in his first outing for the Panthers. Also placing for the Panthers were Briar Priest: 3rd place at 141, Anthony Santaniello: 4th at 141, Jack Pletcher: 6th at 149, and #30 Jared Keslar: 4th at 157. The Panthers will travel south to Annapolis for the Navy Duals on Sunday where they will face Navy, Morgan State, and VMI. The dual against Navy could be sneaky good. The Midshipmen knocked off #23 Illinois last weekend and are coming home ready for another upset. There will be several ranked vs ranked matchups to keep your eye on. Ranked Matchups: 133: #10 Vinnie Santaniello v #17 Brendan Ferretti 141: #7 Cole Matthews v #23 Josh Koderhandt 165: #11 Holden Heller v #23 Andrew Cerniglia 174: #22 Luca Augustine v #30 Danny Wask 184: #13 Reece Heller v #18 David Key 285: #9 Dayton Pitzer v #13 Grady Griess Virginia: The Hoos sent a small group to Roanoke for the Southeast Open on Saturday coming home with eight placers. Coach Garland was very upfront that he thought the team underperformed last week and he has higher expectations for this crew than what they saw on Saturday. There were bright spots for the Cavs and he highlighted those as well; there were some great wins and finishes in both the freshman/sophomore and open divisions. In the freshman/sophomore division, they were led by Stephen Burrell, at 197, who won four straight by bonus points before falling in the finals to finish in 2nd. Cooper Rudolph went 2-1 to finish in 3rd at 285 and Michael Murphy went 5-1 to finish in 5th at 157. In the Open division, they were led by Kyle Montaperto (125), #21 Jack Gioffre (141), and Dylan Cedeno (157) who all finished in third on the day. Gioffre had a great match against Sammy Hillegas to open the tournament and went 3-1 on the day after falling to #22 Jordan Titus in the semifinals. Cedeno seems much more comfortable at his new weight and went 3-1 with a semifinal loss to #19 Peyton Kellar before winning his final match. Gable Porter and Nick Hamilton both made the 5th/6th match. Gable won to take fifth and Hamilton had met his match limit so he couldn’t wrestle and settled for sixth. I was very impressed with the poise of both who came back from early-round losses and strung together multiple wins--Gable went pin, major, tech, decision and Hamilton went pin, pin, major, major after their losses. The Hoos will be back on the road for the App State Open in Boone this weekend. I’m expecting a more focused and disciplined UVA squad this week. Virginia Tech: The Hokies were also at the Southeast Open; this will forever and always be the Hokie Open to me, but a huge shoutout to Coach Yetzer in Roanoke for taking the reins of this great opening tournament. They sent a younger lineup for the tournament, with only three likely starters wrestling last weekend. #4 Caleb Henson won his third straight Southeast Open title at 149 going 5-0 with all bonus point victories and didn’t surrender any offensive points. Safe to say the All-American is ready to roll again this season. #3 Sam Latona suffered his seemingly annual Southeast Open loss in the semifinals to Gabe Wisenhunt in a very scrappy match. Just like I said both other times, I’m not worried about it and I’m not going to put a lot of stock in that loss. Sam has shown that he can win when it counts the most and will use this as a learning experience for the new scoring system. I love Sam and he knows that; which is why I can say that it amazes me that he has more All-American finishes than Southeast Open titles. The good news is he has an amazing bounce-back opportunity Friday night against Nic Bouzakis. #24 Sam Fisher also made the finals, going 3-0 before falling to #3 Trey Munoz to finish in 2nd. Clayton Ulrey was the last finalist for the Hokies; he went 4-0 before falling to #19 Peyton Kellar in the finals. Also placing in the Open division was Tom Crook, 5th at 149. The Hokies fared very well in the freshman/sophomore division, bringing home four titles. Logan Frazier (133), Hunter Mason (141), Luke Robie (149), Rafael Hipolito (157) all finished on top of the podium for Virginia Tech. The Hokies have a huge match Friday night to open dual competition; they will welcome #7 Ohio State to Cassell Coliseum for a top-10 battle. The last two years have come down to the final match and I expect fireworks again this year. All ten bouts will feature a ranked wrestler with eight ranked-versus-ranked matchups. We will have a full breakdown of the dual later this week and I will be in Blacksburg to provide pre and post-match coverage on Friday. Ranked Matchups 133: #7 Sam Latona v #14 Nic Bouzakis 149: #4 Caleb Henson v #5 Dylan D’Emilio 157: #6 Bryce Andonian v #16 Paddy Gallagher 165: #16 Connor Brady v #18 Bryce Hepner 174: #3 Mekhi Lewis v #7 Carson Kharchla 184: #21 Sam Fisher v #11 Gavin Hoffman 197: #14 Andy Smith v #19 Luke Geog 285: #16 Hunter Catka v #20 Nick Feldman