Daton Fix, who recently won at Beat the Streets, is on Team Kong United's roster (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Yet again, many of the nation's most talented high school wrestlers will be choosing to spend their Memorial Day holiday weekend in Virginia Beach, Va. The NHSCA National Duals will feature close to 190 teams in the high school division with just under that number in combination between the middle school and elementary school divisions. Wrestling kicks off on Saturday with preliminary pool competition, which will continue on Sunday. The event concludes with the championship flight bracket on Monday, with the finals slated for 4 p.m. ET.
Team Kong United is the defending champion in the event, as they knocked off perennial champion and title contender Young Guns Black to earn gold. It took an assemblage of talented stars from across the country to get the job done for Team Kong United, and they come back this year as favorites to repeat with a similarly deep squad from a similar cross-section of the country.
Within the national dual meet tournament is the opportunity for a plethora of individuals to achieve many objectives over the weekend. Whether it is for high leverage matches against elite competition, the chance to enjoy a holiday weekend in Virginia Beach, an opportunity to hang out with friends, or just merely the opportunity to wrestle a bunch of matches -- it's all there in this event.
Based on the end of season national high school weight class rankings published by InterMat, there are 59 nationally ranked wrestlers in the field. This listing is as of Monday evening from entered rosters per the NHSCA website.
106: Jacob Decatur (Team Shutt/CVCA, Ohio), Brandon Kaylor (Team Kong United/Bonney Lake, Wash.), Zach Shupp (Pinnacle Team Toe/Fairfield, Ohio)
113: Nico Aguilar and Zach Redding (Team Kong United-Gilroy, Calif/Eastport-South Manor, N.Y.), Kyle Biscoglia (Young Guns Black/Waukee, Iowa), Brayden Curtis (Pinnacle Team Toe/Yorktown, Ind.), Dante Mininno (SEPA Blue/Gateway Regional, N.J.), Aden Reeves (Team Shutt/Albia, Iowa)
120: Adam Busiello (Team Kong United/Eastport-South Manor, N.Y.), Travis Ford-Melton (Illinois Outsiders/Marian Catholic, Ill.), Sam Hillegas (Quest-1/North Hills, Pa.), Tommy Hoskins (Pinnacle Team Toe/Legacy Christian, Ohio), Malik Johnson (Team Shutt/Christian Brothers College, Mo.), Antonio Mininno (SEPA Blue/Gateway Regional, N.J.), Chris Wright (Diesel/Central Dauphin, Pa.)
126: Julian Chlebove (Dark Knights/Northampton, Pa.), Jordan Decatur (Team Shutt/CVCA, Ohio), Daton Fix (Team Kong United/Sand Springs, Okla.), Cole Manley (Young Guns Black/Altoona, Pa.), Michael McGee (Illinois Outsiders/Plainfield East, Ill.), Joey Silva (South Florida Lightning-CFWA/Lake Highland Prep, Fla.)
132: Ryan Anderson (Renegade Elite/Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), K.J. Fenstermacher (Dark Knights/Northampton, Pa.), Franco Valdes (South Florida Lightning-CFWA/Miami Southwest, Fla.)
138: Grant Aronoff (South Florida Lightning-CFWA/St. Thomas Aquinas, Fla.), Breyden Bailey (Indiana High Rollers Black/Indianapolis Cathedral, Ind.), Brian Courtney (Bison Legend Orange/Athens, Pa.), Zack Donathan (Pinnacle Team Toe/Mason, Ohio), Max Murin (Young Guns Black/Central Cambria, Pa.), Jake Silverstein (Team Kong United/Hauppauge, N.Y.)
145: Brevin Balmeceda (South Florida Lightning-CFWA/South Dade, Fla.), Dominick Demas (Team Kong United/Dublin Coffman, Ohio), Brayton Lee (Pinnacle Team Toe/Brownsburg, Ind.), Sammy Sasso (Dark Knights/Nazareth, Pa.), Jarod Verkleeren (Young Guns Black/Hempfield Area, Pa.)
152: Nelson Brands (Young Guns Black/Iowa City West, Iowa), Jake Brindley (South Florida Lightning-CFWA/Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), Nicholas Palumbo (Team Northeast/Lenape Valley, N.J.)
160: Hayden Hastings and Brad Loughlin (Team Kong United -- Sheridan, Wyo./Yorktown, Ind.), Jaden Mattox (Pinnacle Team Toe/Grove City Central Crossing, Ohio), Emille Shannon (Illinois Outsiders/Christian Brothers College, Mo.)
170: Chris Foca (Rednose Wrestling/Bergen Catholic, N.J.), Trent Hidlay (Bison Legend Orange/Mifflin County, Pa.), Nick Kiussis (Ragin Raisings Green/Brunswick, Ohio), Anthony Mantanona (Team Kong United/Palm Desert, Calif.), Georgio Poullas (Team Shutt/Canfield, Ohio)
182: Joey Baughman (Battlezone Black/Wadsworth, Ohio), Jelani Embree (South Florida Lightning-CFWA/Warren Lincoln, Mich.), Jack Jessen (Illinois Outsiders/Willowbrook, Ill.), Cody Mulligan (Young Guns Black/Saegertown, Pa.), Casey Randles (Team Kong United/Cour d'Alene, Idaho), Travis Stefanik (Dark Knights/Nazareth, Pa.)
195: John Borst (Prestige Worldwide/Sherando, Va.), Gavin Hoffman (Bison Legend Orange/Montoursville, Pa.), Cole Nye (Diesel/Bishop McDevitt, Pa.), Anthony Walters (Young Guns Black/Bishop McCort, Pa.)
220: Cade Belshay (Team Kong United/Buchanan, Calif.), Chei Hill (South Florida Lightning-CFWA/South Dade, Fla.), Josiah Jones (Young Guns Black/Bishop McCort, Pa.), Brian Kennerly (Team Shutt/Upper Darby, Pa.), Mason Parris (Indiana High Rollers Black/Lawrenceburg, Ind.), Ryan Vasbinder (Michigan Revolution Gold/Grandville, Mich.)
285: Brian Andrews (Ragin Raisings Green/Grapevine, Texas), Niko Camacho (Renegade Elite/Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), Anthony Cassioppi (Illinois Outsiders/Hononegah, Ill.), Sammy Evans (Team Kong United/Alcoa, Tenn.), Brendan Furman (Pittsburgh Wrestling Club Black/Canon-McMillan, Pa.)
Based on the number of nationally ranked wrestlers for each team, there are six high-end contenders in the field. Team Kong United leads the way with 11 starting positions having a ranked wrestlers. Next in line is Young Guns Black with eight. South Florida Lightning/CFWA has seven, while Team Shutt and Pinnacle Team Toe have six each, with Illinois Outsiders having five. Other teams to watch include Dark Knights with four ranked wrestlers, but likely not to be forfeiting either one or two weights per dual meet, along with Bison Legend Orange and Indiana High Rollers Black; the pair of whom were top five squads last year in this event.
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