Photo/Jeff Beshey, The GuillotineThe 10th edition of The Clash National High School Wrestling Duals is shaping up to be the best one yet.
Come this Friday and Saturday, the 32-team field featuring 14 teams in the InterMat Fab 50 -- as well as 38 nationally ranked wrestlers -- will showcase its talents at the UCR Regional Sports Center in Rochester, Minn., the same venue in which the InterMat JJ Classic is held. Given all that is present, there are sure to be some dynamic matchups, both from a team and individual perspective.
Nationally Ranked Teams
No. 2 St. Edward, Ohio, No. 4 Apple Valley, Minn., No. 5 Brandon, Fla., No. 6 Clovis, Calif., No. 7 St. Paris Graham, Ohio, No. 8 Simley, Minn., No. 13 Christiansburg, Va., No. 19 Cincinnati Moeller, Ohio, No. 31 Carl Sandburg, Ill., No. 33 Colonial Forge, Va., No. 36 St. Michael-Albertville, Minn., No. 46 Kasson-Mantorville, Minn., No. 48 Marist, Ill., and No. 49 Vacaville, Calif.
Nationally Ranked Wrestlers
106: No. 14 Coy Ozias (Christiansburg, Va.), No. 16 Dylan Lucas (Brandon, Fla.)
113: No. 10 Tommy Thorn (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.), No. 14 J.R. Wert (Christiansburg, Va.)
120: No. 4 Ryan Taylor (St. Paris Graham, Ohio)
126: No. 1 Dean Heil (St. Edward, Ohio), No. 6 Joey Dance (Christiansburg, Va.), No. 7 Rossi Bruno (Brandon, Fla.), No. 19 Daniel Gayton (Clovis, Calif.)
132: No. 5 Kevin Norstrem (Brandon, Fla.), No. 9 Edgar Bright (St. Edward, Ohio), No. 10 Ben Morgan (Forest Lake, Minn.), No. 11 Dakota Trom (Apple Valley, Minn.), No. 12 Joey Ward (Cincinnati Moeller, Ohio)
138: None
145: No. 4 Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), No. 5 Jake Short (Simley, Minn.), No. 15 Blake Kastl (St. Paris Graham, Ohio), No. 20 Colin Holler (Carl Sandburg, Ill.)
152: No. 1 Bo Jordan (St. Paris Graham, Ohio)
160: No. 4 Isaac Jordan (St. Paris Graham, Ohio), No. 6 Brandon Kingsley (Apple Valley, Minn.), No. 7 Clark Glass (Brandon, Fla.), No. 10 Zach Epperly (Christiansburg, Va.)
170: No. 3 Mark Martin (St. Edward, Ohio), No. 4 Zach Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), No. 12 Kyle Begin (Anoka, Minn.), No. 14 Ricky Robertson (Carl Sandburg, Ill.)
182: No. 5 Huston Evans (St. Paris Graham, Ohio), No. 10 Micah Barnes (Simley, Minn.), No. 12 Domenic Abounader (St. Edward, Ohio), No. 18 David Reck (Colonial Forge, Va.), No. 19 Daniel Woiwor (Apple Valley, Minn.)
195: No. 19 James Suvak (St. Edward, Ohio)
220: No. 14 Ty Walz (St. Edward, Ohio)
285: No. 4 Nick Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), No. 7 Greg Kuhar (St. Edward, Ohio), No. 9 Sam Stoll (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.), No. 15 Tanner Lowe (Coon Rapids, Minn.)
For Day 1 competition on Friday, the field is split into four 8-team brackets, and will wrestle three dual meets each to determine their placement into round-robin mini-tournaments to be held on Saturday. Those teams winning first round matches on Friday will finish in the top four, while those losing can finish as high as fifth. Competition on Saturday features eight 4-team pools involving teams that finished in the same position in their bracket on Friday.
Each day includes two sessions, which will feature one-half of the field respectively. Wrestling in the morning session begins at 9 a.m. CT each day, and continues with rounds at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The evening session commences at 4 p.m. CT daily, with subsequent round at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. On Friday, brackets A and B wrestle in the morning, while brackets C and D compete in the evening. On Saturday, top four teams wrestle in the evening, with teams finishing fifth through eighth competing in the morning.
No. 2 St. Edward, Ohio, is the anchor team of Bracket A that goes off on Friday morning. The Eagles should have zero problems with Punahou, Hawaii. In fact it would be no surprise if St. Edward swept all 14 matches in this dual meet, which means they would advance to face either Hastings, Minn., or Jefferson, Ga. Hastings features five wrestlers ranked in the top 10 in Class 3A in the most recent rankings from The Guillotine, and Jefferson just dominated the WRAL Tournament in North Carolina with three champs from six finalists. Jefferson is led by two-time state champion Forrest Przybysz (170), who has placed at the Super 32 and NHSCA Junior Nationals in the last year, and state runner-up Jake Sherman (160), who also placed at NHSCA Sophomore Nationals this past April. Hastings is anchored by three-time state placer Eric Bauer (132) and returning state runner-up Isaac Eichmann (220).
In reality, one can move St. Edward onto the championship final in Bracket A against either No. 13 Christiansburg, Va., or No. 31 Carl Sandburg, Ill. Even though Arrowhead, Wisc., has three higher profile wrestlers in state champion and Cadet freestyle runner-up Andrew Crone (120), state placer Mitch Berenz (138), and state champion Adam Yde (145), they should pose minimal problem for Christiansburg. The most attractive matches would place Crone against state champion Kyle Dulaney and Berenz against Gabe Lumpp in a battle of wrestlers that took fourth in the state last year. Similar things can be said about ACGC, Minn., and its five wrestlers ranked in the top four of Class 1A facing Carl Sandburg. Two matches of some interest feature Tyler Berghuis (120) facing state champion and Cadet freestyle All-American Sebastian Pique, as well as Larry Bomstad (145) facing state placer and Cadet freestyle champion Colin Holler.
The pool semifinal between Christiansburg and Carl Sandburg is one that should be tightly contested. The Blue Demons are favored in four of the first five weight classes with Ozias, Wert, Dance, and Dallas Smith (132). The question becomes if they can find two or three other wins in the back portion of the lineup, other than the expected one from Beast of the East champion Zach Epperly. Remember that Carl Sandburg was a giant killer last year, unexpectedly advancing to the Day 2 championship round-robin. Either way, one would expect St. Edward to advance to the championship pool this year.
Bracket B is home to the other team in this field with supreme balance and talent in No. 4 Apple Valley, Minn. Also, the Eagles, they have a comprehensive lineup that should dominate Mitchell, S.D., in the opening round, though two middleweight matches could be of some intrigue. State champion Jason Greenaway going against Kingsley at 160, along with two-time state champion Brent Havlik facing off with NHSCA Junior National runner-up Ben Sullivan at 170. The second round match for Apple Valley would be another one they should dominate against either Coon Rapids, Minn., or Baylor, Tenn. Coon Rapids has two wrestlers ranked first in Class 3A by The Guillotine in Michael Burckhardt (195) and Tanner Lowe (285), while Blaine Tschida (106) is ranked second. Baylor most notably features multiple-time state champions Zach Watson (126) and Brandon Brunner (132); Watson is nationally ranked, having placed at the Super 32 and NHSCA Junior Nationals this year.
Again, Apple Valley can be penned into the championship match against one of two teams -- No. 19 Cincinnati Moeller, Ohio, or No. 33 Colonial Forge, Va. Both the Crusaders and Eagles should advance out of the first round with minimal problem before facing off in a tight semifinal match. Colonial Forge draws Owatonna, Minn., in the first round, featuring six wrestlers that are ranked in the top ten of their Class 3A weight class according to The Guillotine. However, none ranks higher than fifth. The best match would have to be at 138, where Colonial Forge features three-time state placer Gary Woods, and Owatonna has Ben Anderson. Moeller should have virtually no problems with Corona del Sol, Ariz.
The semifinal should feature multiple tossup matches, including those at 126, 170, and 195. At 126 for Colonial Forge is two-time state placer Michael Hayes, who also placed at the Beast of the East, facing state alternate Tyler Ziegler, who made the second day at the Walsh Ironman. At 170 pounds, it is a battle of state qualifiers with Zach Martinez representing the Eagles, and Michael Blum competing for the Crusaders. Finally at 195, it is a battle of state placers as Beast placer Michael Garrity competes against Moeller's Jerry Thornberry. Either way, look for three-time defending Clash champion Apple Valley to advance to the championship pool for a sixth consecutive year.
On the other hand, the two afternoon brackets do not possess a clear favorite. Instead these brackets feature joint favorites, each that should reach the finals with limited challenge. Bracket C has No. 6 Clovis, Calif., and No. 7 St. Paris Graham, Ohio; while Bracket D features No. 5 Brandon, Fla., and No. 8 Simley, Minn. These two brackets also feature another pair of nationally ranked teams -- No. 46 Kasson Mantorville, Minn., and No. 48 Marist, Ill., reside in Bracket C, while No. 36 St. Michael-Albertville, Minn., and No. 49 Vacaville, Calif., reside in Bracket D.
Clovis draws a first round match against Anoka, Minn., ranked No. 10 in Class 3A by The Guillotine. Expect this dual meet to be a blowout. However, arguably the highlight match of the 4 p.m. CT session should come from this dual meet at 170 pounds. It will be a battle of nationally ranked wrestlers as three-time state placer Zach Nevills (Clovis) faces state champion Kyle Begin. The other match in the top half of Bracket C places Marist against Luxemburg-Casco, Wis., in what could be a very intriguing dual meet. Marist comes into The Clash after a runner-up finish at the Dvorak, where they had 10 wrestlers earn placement finishes; while Luxemburg-Casco is the top team in Wisconsin's Division 2, and earlier this season out-pointed No. 23 Wisconsin Rapids in a medium-field tournament and has beaten them in a 7-7 match count dual meet. Key swing matches in this dual meet include Peter Andreotti (Marist) against state placer Mike Ullana at 152, freshman Alex Benoit (Marist) against Matt Zellner at 170, and Dvorak runner-up Ethan Benoit (Marist) against Jordan Padonsky at 182.
St. Paris Graham draws a first round match against Prior Lake, Minn., which is anchored by state runner-up Tanner Johnshoy (113). There is little in the way of key matches in this dual meet, and this is one that the Falcons should win as handily that a team with some key lineup holes can win. They are looking at a semifinal date with Kasson-Mantorville, after the Komets upend Pierre, S.D., in the first round. The lone real match of interest in that one could be at 120 pounds, with state champion Tanner Monfroe facing off against 2010 state champion Nate Thomas, presuming he is back in the lineup. The St. Paris Graham vs. Kasson-Mantorville semifinal features little in the way of intriguing matchups, with the closest being at 120 pounds -- Nate Thomas against two-time state champion Ryan Taylor. Additional key wrestlers for the Komets are seventh-grader Brady Berge (106), state champion Broc Berge (195), and Cadet National double champion Sam Stoll (285).
The showdown between Clovis and St. Paris Graham most likely will come down somewhat to lineup strategy, and somewhat to swing matches. Neither team has proven commodities at 106, 113, 132, or 138. Ryan Taylor should give Graham a win at 120; Daniel Gayton should do the same at 126, though it is a battle of state champions with Micah Jordan wrestling for Graham; two-time California state placer Blake Kastl should be able to give Graham a win at 145 against state qualifier Jason Ladd; two-time state champions Bo Jordan (152) and Isaac Jordan (160) should help the Falcons continue the momentum; three-time placer Zach Nevills turns things around for Clovis temporarily at 170, with Ironman champion Huston Evans set to turn it back for the Falcons at 182 against Ryan Davies; and then look for Clovis to win the back three matches with state placer Dakota Gordon, M. Weiss, and sophomore state champion Nick Nevills.
In Bracket D, Brandon opens with Ironwood Ridge, Ariz. The Eagles should advance to the semifinal round with very limited challenge, the only question being how many wins Brandon is able to muster. Their opponent will be the winner of a first round match between nationally ranked Vacaville and Forest Lake. Forest Lake is excellent in the front-to-middle portion of the lineup, as they have six wrestlers ranked in the top ten of their Class 3A weight class according to The Guillotine from 106 to 152. However, their back end is a total liability, one that can get exposed by Vacaville; who has state qualifier Chris Lai, Cadet Greco-Roman All-American Jeremy Sweany, and nationally ranked state placer Johnny Schupp within the last four weights. The best matchup in looking at base lineups is at 106, where Vacaville has state placer Gionn Peralta going against Minnesota Christmas Tournament placer Luke McCord. Brandon should be able to get through either Forest Lake or Vacaville with limited problem; though if it is Forest Lake, the battle between Kevin Norstrem and Ben Morgan would be of high intrigue, while the best individual match against Vacaville would either be Peralta against Dylan Lucas at 106 or Lai against Kyle Koziel at 182.
In the other half of Bracket D, Simley should likewise have minimal first round problems with Rapid City Central, S.D. The best wrestler for Rapid City Central would be Evan Weiler (132), returning state placer Aero Amo at 170 pounds, and Jake Weber (285). Against Simley, that makes the most intriguing match for Weber against two-time state qualifier Matt Kadrlik. The other opening dual in the bottom half is also one of limited intrigue with St. Michael-Albertville facing Lewiston, Idaho. However, the individual match at 126 could place state champion Josh Carlton for Lewiston against two-time state placer and Cadet freestyle All-American Cole Sladek. While Simley would be favored against St. Michael-Albertville in the semifinal of this bracket, there are some matches of interest, starting at 113 pounds where state champions and Cadet freestyle All-Americans Tommy Thorn (STMA) and Kyle Gliva would take to the mats. At 126, it would be Sladek against 2010 state placer Juan Torres. Three additional matches of interest that involve Minnesota Christmas Tournament placers against each other take place at 132, 138, and 285 ... Mark Voss vs. Stephen Mincey at 132, Lincoln Mallinger vs. Mack Short at 138, Michael Kessler against Matt Kadrlik at 285.
Even though Brandon has more high-profile national level wrestlers, their lack of quality in the back three weights could adversely affect them in the championship match as Simley has two very solid wrestlers in those weight classes -- state qualifier Cody Hazlett (195) and two-time state qualifier Kadrlik. In addition, three swing matches matches merit attention, as Brandon will probably need two of them to make it a 7-7 dual meet. At 113 pounds, the match between James Flint (Brandon) and Kyle Gliva features a pair of wrestlers that were state champions and Cadet All-Americans in the last year; 138 pounds features freshman state placer Troy Joyce (Brandon) against sophomore state qualifier Mack Short; while it is a pair of unproven wrestlers at 220. On paper, Brandon should get wins from Dylan Lucas (106), Rossi Bruno (126) over Torres, Kevin Norstrem (132) over Mincey, Clark Glass (160), and Jacob Haydock (170); while Simley is favored with Pedro DeLao (120) over Victor Fugate, Jake Short (145) over Dakota Greene, Nick Wanzek (152) over Travis Berridge, Micah Barnes (182) over Koziel, Hazlett, and Kardlik.
Predicted Day 2 (Evening) Pools
Teams are listed by predicted order of finish
1st: St. Edward, Apple Valley, Clovis, Simley
2nd: Brandon, St. Paris Graham, Christiansburg, Cincinnati Moeller
3rd: Carl Sandburg, Colonial Forge, St. Michael-Albertville, Marist/Luxemburg-Casco/Kasson-Mantorville
4th: Marist/Luxemburg-Casco/Kasson-Matorville, Vacaville, Hastings, Coon Rapids/Baylor
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