Gable Steveson gets a takedown on Anoka's Dom Cruz at The Clash (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)Clash XVI is upon us this week, Friday and Saturday at the RCTC Regional Sports Center in Rochester, Minn. In its 16th year, The Clash serves as a showcase for excellent high school wrestling teams to prove themselves in a dual meet format. While the ultimate goal is to determine a winning team, the event's format enables every school to compete against equal caliber of competition in the majority of its dual meets.
On the first day, the 32 teams (this year 30) are split up into four brackets featuring eight teams each. Winners in the opening round compete in a semifinal and final for first through fourth place, while opening round losers compete in semifinal and final dual meets for fifth through eighth place. Then on Day 2, the four teams finishing in each placement spot on Day 1 compete in round-robin competition.
Each day is split into two sessions:
Morning/Afternoon: dual meets at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., and 1 p.m. Central Time (Brackets A & B on the first day, pools fifth through eighth on the second day)
Afternoon/Evening: dual meet at 4 p.m., 6 p.m., and 8 p.m. (Brackets C & D on the first day, championship pool through fourth pool on the second day)
This year's event features six Fab 50 squads. No. 8 St. Edward (Ohio) and No. 26 Apple Valley (Minn.) are the top seeds in Brackets A & B respectively, while No. 6 Montini Catholic (Ill.) and No. 13 Park Hill (Mo.) are top seeds in Brackets C & D; No. 30 Simley (Minn.) is second seeded to Montini in Bracket C, while No. 33 Anoka (Minn.) is the second seed in Bracket D.
Given the presence of nationally elite teams, and other teams that view themselves as contenders for such positions, there are going to be nationally ranked individuals. Though the dual meet format can in some cases de-emphasize the individual matchups, there are some that happen during the course of the event. Below are the nationally ranked individuals in the field.
106: No. 10 Jacob Rundell (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.), though he is likely to compete at 113 in some duals meets
113: No. 6 Dylan Ragusin (Montini Catholic, Ill.)
120: No. 2 Joey Melendez (Montini Catholic, Ill.), No. 16 Sam Latona (Thompson, Ala.)
126: No. 5 Patrick McKee (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.), No. 13 Ridge Lovett (Post Falls, Idaho), No. 20 Weston DiBlasi (Park Hill, Mo.); Ryan Sokol (Simley, Minn.) is also in the weight class, but not listed on his team's lineup in Track Wrestling
132: No. 3 Real Woods (Montini Catholic, Ill.), No. 20 Matt Kazimir (St. Edward, Ohio); Anthony Madrigal (Oak Park River Forest, Ill) is also in the weight class, but not listed on his team's lineup in Track Wrestling
138: No. 20 Fidel Mayora (Montini Catholic, Ill.)
145: No. 2 Alex Lloyd (Shakopee, Minn.), No. 14 Sam Dover (St. Edward, Ohio)
152: No. 5 Will Lewan (Montini Catholic, Ill.), No. 15 Tyler Eischens (Anoka, Minn.)
160: No. 4 Peyton Robb (Owatonna, Minn.)
182: No. 18 Devin Winston (Park Hill, Mo.)
195: No. 9 Cody Howard (St. Edward, Ohio), No. 11 Ashton Sharp (Park Hill, Mo.)
220: No. 2 Daniel Kerkvliet (Simley, Minn.), No. 9 Jace Punke (Washington, Ill.)
285: No. 1 Gable Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn.), No. 9 Jake Levengood (Vacaville, Calif.), No. 17 Keaton Kluever (Kaukauna, Wis.)
A breakdown for each of the Day 1 brackets is provided below.
Bracket A: Anything other than St. Edward winning would come as a total shock. The Eagles are an extremely deep team featuring the three nationally ranked wrestlers plus three returning state medalists in Angelo Rini (120), Bryce Hepner (126), and Bryce Andonian (138) along with elite freshman Padraic Gallagher (152). Ten St. Edward wrestlers either placed (four) or were one match from placing at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman earlier this month.
The Eagles open with a bye before facing the winner of a dual meet between Owatonna (Minn.) and Kearney (Mo.). Owatonna is anchored by nationally ranked Peyton Robb and returning state runner-up Cade King (182), while Kearney is led by three-time state champion Clayton Singh (120) and state runner-up Caden Green (126). The lower bracket semifinal is likely to be a showdown between Shakopee (Minn.) and Oak Park River Forest (Ill.)
Shakopee is off an excellent Minnesota Christmas Tournament, and the Sabres have a very strong top end of the roster, but their balance is a bit lacking. Alex Lloyd anchors the Shakopee roster, while he is complimented by Paxton Creese (106) along with state placers Max Crowe (120) and Sam Webster (152). Oak Park River Forest will likely be absent their best wrestler in Anthony Madrigal, but are led by nationally ranked Jacob Rundell (106/113) as well as state qualifiers Nico (120/126) and Eddie (126/132) Bolivar.
Bracket B: Apple Valley is the most susceptible of the top-seeded teams to get upset based on their lineup. However, the pairings do not put a true direct challenger in their midst. The Eagles are led by Gable Steveson, who needs no introduction. Other key wrestlers include returning/previous state placers Regan Schrempp (113), Adam Mickelson (120), Sebas Swiggum (132), Brady Gross (138), and Nate Larson (152). Apple Valley is looking at a likely semifinal against Wasatch (Utah), who faces Vacaville (Calif.) in the opening round.
Vacaville features a nationally ranked wrestler in Jake Levengood along with state medalist Lawrence Saenz (145). However, Wasatch counters with a trio of state champions in Stockton O'Brien (132), Zak Kohler (138), and D.J. Cohen (195) along with two other returning/previous state finalists in Sammy Heywood (126) and Seth Gardner (182).
The lower bracket semifinal is most likely to place St. Michael-Albertville (Minn.) against Washington (Ill.). STMA is led by Patrick McKee as well as two other wrestlers currently ranked in the top ten of Minnesota Class AAA by The Guillotine, returning state qualifiers Brandon Psyk (120) and Nolan Schmitz (195). Washington is anchored by nationally ranked Jace Punke, while also featuring state medalists in Christian Goin (120), Tyler Delaware (132), Blaize Punke (145), and Dalton Jensen (152). Commerce (Ga.) could provide STMA with a significant challenge in the opening round as their back half of the lineup is excellent with four wrestlers that have won state titles previously, most notably Chase Forrester (170) and Cade Ridley (285).
Bracket C: Montini Catholic is on-paper the best team in the event this year, as the Broncos carry the lineup breadth of St. Edward but with a higher quality from their top end wrestlers. They feature five nationally ranked wrestlers, four of whom reside in the top six of their weight class nationally. Additional wrestlers in the lineup include 2016 state medalist Dylan Burnoski (126), state medalist Matt Ortiz (170), state qualifiers Trevor Swier (182) and Peter Christensen (195), and solid freshman Nain Vasquez (106).
After an opening round bye, Montini is looking at a semifinal bout against most likely Post Falls (Idaho), who draws Prior Lake (Minn.) in the opening round. Prior Lake is led by three state medalists in Zach Smith (138), Curits LeMair (145), and Calvin Sund (195) as well as state champion Kenny O'Neil (170). Post Falls counters with a pair of state champions in nationally ranked Ridge Lovett as well as Matt McLeod (132) plus four others that finished top three last year in Jordan Grimm (120), A.J. De La Rosa (138), Mathias De La Rosa (145), and Bryadon Huber (160).
The lower bracket is likely to yield a semifinal placing Marmion Academy (Ill.) against Simley (Minn.). While the Spartans are likely to be without Cadet freestyle champion Ryan Sokol, they are anchored by Cadet world freestyle champion Daniel Kerkvliet and two-time state champion Jake Gliva (132). Additional key wrestlers include state medalist Cael Berg (120) and state qualifier Luke Zaiser (285). Marmion has been short of full strength all season, and at present are anchored by freshman Diego Sotelo (106), state placer Trevor Chumbley (132), and two-time state placer Nate Jimenez (170); the Cadets are hopeful for the return of state medalists Brad Gross (160) and Peter Ferraro (182/195) at some point this season.
Bracket D: Last year a youthful Park Hill team emerged on the scene at this event with an upset of Oak Park River Forest to win their Day 1 bracket before a Day 2 upset over Buchanan served as a total shock to the collective scholastic wrestling psyche. However, a championship pool run for the Trojans would be an expected event this year. In addition to their three nationally ranked wrestlers, Park Hill has four other returning/previous state medalists: Trey Crawford (113), Austin Kolvek (132), Josh Steele (145), and Blake Hopson (170). Complimenting that group are a pair of impact freshmen in Ethan Miller (120) and Grayston DiBlasi (138) as well as two other state qualifiers.
Their path to the finals is very manageable, a first round match against Farmington (Minn.) before a semifinal dual against either Zumbota-Mazeppa (Minn.) or Providence Catholic (Ill.) Farmington has two-time state medalist Trayton Anderson (126) in the lineup; Zumbrota-Mazeppa has three excellent upper-weights in state champion Caden Steffen (182) along with state runners-up Jacob Bennett (195) and Jarrett Haglund (220); while Providence Catholic features state runner-up Cole Smith (160), state qualifiers Dominick Ambrose (138) and Juan Bazaldua (152), along with the currently injured returning state champion Jacob Lindsey (113/120).
Nationally ranked Anoka is a clear favorite in the lower bracket, led by their core of middle-weights in two-time state placers Dylan Droegemueller (132) and Colby Njos (138), two-time state qualifier Scott Springer (145), and nationally ranked Tyler Eischens. State runner-up Brandon Frankfurth (285) is also key to the Tornadoes effort. They draw Thompson (Ala.) in the opening round, who is led by nationally ranked light-weight Sam Latona and Cadet freestyle All-American Gabe Hixenbaugh (132). The other opening round bout in the lower bracket placers Kaukauna (Wis.) vs. Glenbard North (Ill.). The Ghosts from Wisconsin feature nationally ranked Keaton Kluever, state medalists Brandon Micksh (132) and Bryson Alsteen (182), as well as 2016 state placer Zach Lee (160); while Glenbard North is led by two-time Cadet double All-American Abe Assad (170).
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