InterMat: Inside info from the N.W.C.A

Saturday, October 20

Mornin' Ma, Mornin' Pa
It's 4:27 a.m. Eastern Time and brackets have been posted. This year's pairing has gone a lot smoother than the last two years. We'd had late nights the past two years, but everything is set and ready to go. Sara Koenig has the air mattresses set up on the floor here at the Press Area and it's just "Gimp" and yours truly ... scratch that ... Dave Barker as well, awaiting the start of the tournament. Always looking to improve, the crew here brought back pairmaster Gary "Gimp" Brownell and also brought in Doug Sikora to run the bout boards in the back gym and paperless bracketing that he made a standard at the Walsh Ironman the last three seasons and come December, a fourth. The middle school division is gone. The quality was solid, but was far overrun by the growing number of state and national champions that are calling the Super 32 their "warm up" for an increasingly competitive system of wrestling during the season. Josh Lowe of Wrestling411 has been a big assett. This kid recalls wrestlers names better than anyone I've met in a long time. As cross-checks of brackets went on just past 1 a.m., Lowe (better known as Bucksman on various message boards), recalled facts and stats at the drop of a hat. The guy is good at knowing names and credentials. I've got a file for that stuff, he's got it filed in his head. The Super 32 is also taking every precaution with the worry about MRSA infections that have been reported in the area. Mats have been cleaned repeatedly and will be cleaned often during the event to ensure the safety of the wrestlers. Not everyone passed skin checks, some were referred to doctors and everybody came back clean, so we're in the clear (no BALCO references, please). While championship matches are only four minutes (2-1-1), that didn't stop some of the best names in wrestling from showing up. Unfortunately, weather kept some kids away with flights being cancelled and delayed. ... and in case you were wondering, Gimp's not wearing shoes and has his frisbee with him.

Solid start
Wrestling's off to a solid start as there have been few matches of note in the opening round. More updates will be coming soon. Should be some good stuff coming through the pipe shortly.

Nothing shocking yet
The only seed to fall in the early action was Virginia's Tyler Spangler of St. Christopher's. An All-American in Greco-Roman and former California resident, Spangler was defated by Mike Morales of Brick, N.J. early on at 119. As stated elsewhere, the tournament was seeded, but the bracket placements are in a "non-traditional" format. Basically, that means 1-8 will still meet in the quarters, but it won't happen in the top half primarily. All the seeds 1-8 will meet in the quarters, 4-5, 2-7, 3-6's ... will all do the same.

College coaches rolling in
So far, we've seen coaches from North Carolina, Campbell, Gardner-Webb, Ohio U., Ohio State, Appalachian State, Rider, Virginia Tech, Columbia, American, Bloomsburg, Bucknell, Carson-Newman, Edinboro, King College, Northern Illinois, Penn, Washington & Lee and Elizabethtown. Good stuff.

Update for those waiting for Brackets
We'll have an updated bracket shortly, but since two systems are being used. They must be merged into one bracket so you guys back home can get full updates when they are published. Remember folks, they've got hundreds of bout sheets filtering in ... so we'll get an updated bracket posted when the time becomes available.

Unrelated note -- but we're telling everyone
I know few of you would care to know, but I'm pretty excited. Just got a call from my buyer agent -- I just bought a house. Homeownership at 28. Hey, works for me! Back to the wrestling ...

Looking to confirm?
Two upsets in the light weights have some of us up here scratching our heads trying to confirm the result. The first being Ian Paddock of New York falling to Robert Blotzer of South Allegheny, Pa. 6-3. Still looking for a confirmation off the bracket at 130. At 135, we're looking for the same as New Jersey state placewinner Cody Fobes is reported to have dropped a 4-2 match to Michigan eighth-grader Taylor Massa. Yup, they're confirmed as we pulled the bout sheets.

Coming up
Solid matches to keep an eye on this round will be Kenneth Courts, a highly touted freshman from Central Dauphin, Pa. and Kansas' C.J. Napier. Also at 135, Zac Coulas of Ocean Township, N.J., will be facing Chase Skonieczny of Walsh Jesuit Ohio in a battle of state placers. Stephen Bonanno of Wantaugh, N.Y. will face Filberto Colon of Belleville, N.J. in a solid matchup at 119 pounds with the winner likely facing Davison's Bryan Rickard. Hickory, Va., state placewinner Josh Gillis will square off with Salem, N.H., scrapper Trevor Deardon.

Good win
Fauquier, Va., senior David Yost picked up a 3-1 victory over Buchanan, Calif.,'s Justin Arredondo at 130 pounds.

Coming out party
There is no hiding for Central Dauphin freshman Kenneth Courts. After a growth spurt shot him up to the 135-pound weight class, Courts is now on everyone's radar with a 5-3 overtime victory over Kansas' C.J. Napier. Courts scored the winning points on a quick single and doubled off, driving Napier to his hips and scoring the two 15 seconds into sudden victory. Take notice.

Big quarters at 112
Solid wins by Mark Rappo and T.J. Mitchell have the two set for a solid quarterfinal at 112 pounds. Rappo, last year's state runner-up in Pennsylvania, teched Zach Huxford of Jackson Memorial (N.J.), while Mitchell scored a major decision over Colorado's Philip Grout. In another quarter, Wyoming's Tyler Cox will face Florida's Schuyler Swanton. Sean Dolan of St. Mark's (Del.) will take on PA state champion Shane Young and John Prezzia, a former PA state champion, will face Colonial Forge (Va.) two-time placer Shane Gentry.

Backyard fun
Corey Mock, son of University of North Carolina coach C.D. Mock, picked up a solid victory over California's David Klingshiem at 119 pounds. Mock will face Steve Mitcheff of Elyria (Ohio) in one quarterfinal.

Deardon knocks off Liguori
Trevor Dearden of Salem (N.H.) picked up a 12-8 decision over New York's Paul Ligouri at 125 pounds to advance to the quarters where he'll face the winner of the Tony Ramos-Tyler Bedelyon bout.

8:40 p.m. Updates
After a long session of consolations and a hectic round of quarters, it's time for some notable updates.

103 pounds
Max Nowry of Illinois and A.J. Schopp will square off at 103 in the top bracket. Nowry notched a 5-0 victory over fellow Illinois wrestler Logan Arlis, while Schopp beat another Pennsylvanian, Zachary Witman of Middletown 6-4. In the bottom, Devin Carter of Christiansburg, Va. -- now a full-sized 103-pounder -- bested scrappy Cameron Throckmorton of PA 11-5. Carter scored takedowns on counters and leg attacks and was on the attack most of the match. St. Mark's Sean Boylan will be the opponent -- a 3-0 victory over Jackson (N.J.) Tyler Biscaha.

112 pounds
Shane Young and Shane Gentry will square off in the bottom bracket quarter. Young beat Sean Dolan of Delaware, while Gentry beat John Prezzia of PA. In the top side, Mark Rappo advanced to face Tyler Cox of Wyoming.

Cubberly tops Winston in 160 pound final
Ohio's Eric Cubberly scored a 5-4 victory over New Jersey's Scott Winston at 160 pounds to grab the belt in a well-viewed bout. With a few hundred people cirlcing the mat, Cubberly went up 2-0 on a throwby and it was quickly followed by a Winston escape. To start the second, Cubberly scored two nearfall on a Fairfax roll to build a 4-1 lead. Winston cut the lead with an escape and tied it with a takedown as the second expired. Winston chose to give Cubberly the point and start neutral in the third (new rule this year), but after numerous offensive attemps, a dinged Cubberly knee and a great flurry, Cubberly fought off Winston to grab his belt and the title.

Mock strong win, tough loss
Corey Mock is coming into his own as the North Carolina state champion knocked off Steve Mitcheff of Elyria, but fell in the semifinals to Colonial Forge's Michael Garafalo 7-0.

Oh my what a 125!
It's a highly anticipated final after two solid semifinals. Eric Grajales notched an 8-0 major decision over Tony Ramos of Illinois after scoring a first period takedown, a second period escape, a takedown in a scramble situation that resulted in three nerfall and the final margin. It set up a final with Jordan Oliver of PA, a 7-3 winner over Scotti Sentes of Florida.

Boylan cruises
Sean Boylan of St. Mark's scored a 9-0 decison over Christiansburg's Devin Carter to reach the finals at 103. He'll face Max Nowry, a 2-1 winner over A.J. Schopp.

Rappo to meet Young in PA re-match
A pair of one-point victories lifted Mark Rappo and Shane Young into the finals at 112 pounds. Rappo beat Wyoming's Tyler Cox 6-5 while Young rallied to beat Shane Gentry of Virginia 5-4. The pair met in the 2007 PIAA AAA state finals in a match won by Young.

Brownlee repeats
Canon-Mac heavyweight Sam Brownlee defended his title at the Super 32 at 285 pounds with a victory over Josiah Beers of PA.

Fisher takes 215
Matt Fisher of Ohio defeated Harry Turner of New Jersey to win the title at 215 pounds.

Courts knocks off another big gun
It was tight, it was close, it was somewhat controversial, but Kenneth Courts of Central Dauphin (Pa.) topped Ryan Fields of Ohio 4-3 in the rideout. Up 3-2 with time winding down, Courts got hit for a second stall call to tie the score and force overtime. After a scramble resulted in no points in overtime, Courts chose down (old overtime rules, one 30-second period) and appeared to still be in the down position when the two drifted away from the tapper and after a two was awarded for a reversal, but time expired and there was a conversation and one point was awarded, much to the dismay of Fields and his coaches. The victory stood and Courts advanced.

Melde rallies to beat younger Peppelman at 140
After giving up the first takedown to Pennsylvania's Marshall Peppelman, New Jersey's Trevor Melde scored the 5-3 win as the two were in a head-to-toe scramble as time expired.

Jameson as good as advertised at 145
The whips and flips of Ohio's Tony Jameson have been as good as advertised for those that haven't seen him on the East Coast. Jameson countered a deep shot and cradled Georgia's Taylor Knapp, but didn't score the fall ... yet. On a restart, Knapp again was in on a shot, but Jameson whipped Knapp to his back, stepped over and got the fall at 1:40.

FINALS
103- Sean Boylan (St. Mark's, DE) dec. Max Nowry (Wheeling Park, IL) 5-2
112- Mark Rappo (Council Rock South, PA) dec. Shane Young (Penn-Trafford, PA) 4-2
119- Joey Langel (Howell, NJ) dec. Michael Garofolo (Colonial Forge, VA) 5-4
125- Eric Grajales (Brandon, FL) dec. Jordan Oliver (Easton, PA) 1-0
130- Josh Dziewa (Pennsbury, PA) dec. David Mang (Bradley Central, TN) 1-0
135- Collin Palmer (St. Edward, OH) dec. Kenneth Courts (Central Dauphin, PA) 4-2
140- Trevor Melde (DePaul Catholic, NJ) dec. Aldon Isenberg (Gardner-Edgerton, KS) 4-1
145- Tony Jameson (Austintown-Fitch, OH) dec. Walter Peppelman (Central Dauphin, PA) 1-0
152- Joe Booth (Long Island Lutheran, NY) dec. Nick Gregoris (Chapel Hill, NC) 12-8.
160- Eric Cubberly (Eastwood, OH) dec. Scott Winston (Jackson, NJ) 5-4.
171- Jacob Burge (Mason, MI) dec. Edward Ruth (Susquehanna Twp., PA) 5-4.
189- Anthony Clinton (Mt. Tabor, NC) inj. def. Max Huntely (Colonial Forge, VA)
215- Matt Fisher (Perkins, OH) dec. Harry Turner (Howell, NJ) 5-3.
285- Sam Brownlee (Canon-McMillan, PA) dec. Josiah Beers (Southwestern, PA) 3-0.

Final Notes
Some of the most anticipated matches of the finals really didn't accomplish much, which is unfortunate due to the increasing prominence of the event. Jordan Oliver and Eric Grajales wrestled to an essential stalemate on their feet, but Grajales got an escape point late in the second.

Same thing pretty much happened with Tony Jameson and Walter Peppelman. A loss of control at the end of the second netted Jameson's only point, but the two provided some great scrambles and some defensive fall opportunites throughout the match.

Tournament's over at 11:15. ... beating last year's time by about an hour.

Friday, October 19
Packed up and ready to head out. Just everyone make sure no news breaks while I'm in the car. ETA? Who knows, but I best get movin' -- JB. 9:45 a.m.

Traffic has been horrendous from Baltimore on down through Richmond on 95, but that's nothing new. Taking a breather at a rest area south of Petersburg, Va., on I-85. Still a ways to go. -- JB 4:00 p.m.

Just talked with "Gimp" down at the Greensboro Coliseum and they've got weigh-ins underway. They're concluding at 10 p.m. this year, unlike last year's 11 p.m. stop time. This should give the folks up in the crows nest confirming all the weigh-ins and bracketing some breathing room this year. Last year, several of us in the pairing room made quick naps using "noodles" and the bunting from the tables. I'll be heading down in a few after dinner with some friends from high school that live in the area. More updates on the brackets when they're complete. -- JB 6:52 p.m.