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    Steve Elwood •

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    The Clash X: Introducing six more teams

    Related Link: The Clash X: Introducing the first 11 teams

    The Clash National Wrestling Duals recruiting committee is proud to announce six more entrants to The Clash X, which will take place Dec. 30-31 at the UCR Regional Sports Center in Rochester, Minn.

    With the announcement of these six teams, 17 teams have now been officially announced for The Clash X. The six teams introduced in this article join Apple Valley (Minn.), St. Paris Graham (Ohio), Clovis (Calif.), Simley (Minn.), Carl Sandburg (Ill.), Kasson-Mantorville (Minn.), St. Michael-Albertville (Minn.), Arrowhead (Wis.), Hastings (Minn.), Baylor (Tenn.), and Vacaville (Calif.).

    The remaining 15 teams will be introduced leading up to the event.

    12. St. Edward, Ohio
    Record at The Clash: 4-2
    Appearance at The Clash: 2nd
    Returning State Champions: 3
    Returning State Placewinners: 10

    Greg Urbas of St. Edward (Ohio) is a coaching legend (Photo/Bob Tuneberg, BuckeyeWrestling.com)
    About St. Edward: You would be hard-pressed to find a high school with a richer wrestling tradition than St. Edward. Greg Urbas has been at this school for a total of 33 years, 22 as head coach. Here are some of the unparalleled stats: St. Ed's has 26 state team titles in its trophy case. As a team, in the last 35 years, the Eagles have five runner-up finishes, two third-place finishes, one seventh-place finish, and one eighth-place finish. The rest are gold medals. Coach Urbas is another master motivator who had a less than stellar wrestling career as a competitor. In his words: "I was terrible." His coaching sure isn't. Last season this team had 10 state qualifiers. All of them placed. St. Edward had three state champions and three runner-ups, one third, one fourth, and two fifths.

    Here's the scary part: All 14 starters return. St Edward has a grand total of 54 college All-Americans. The school has produced four NCAA individual champions. The Eagles have won 11 mythical national high school wrestling titles. When asked what motivates him today, Urbas replies, "I still love teaching the sport. It gets me excited to get out of bed." This will be St. Ed's second appearance at The Clash.

    13. Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin
    Record at The Clash: 32-16
    Appearance at The Clash: 9th
    Returning State Champions: 2
    Returning State Placewinners: 10

    Devin Peterson of Wisconsin Rapids won a FILA Junior Nationals Greco-Roman title this spring (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)
    About Wisconsin Rapids: Mention the name Benitz in Wisconsin wrestling circles and you will likely hear one word: Rapids. This is another father-son duo who seems to have been around forever. Lewie (father) started coaching at Rapids in 1966. He held that spot until 2008 when his son, Scott, took the lead. But Lewie is still a huge part of the team as an assistant to his son. This longevity and dedication has produced 15 out of the last 17 state titles in Wisconsin and 20 overall. Last season, Rapids qualified 12 for the state tournament, placed 10, and had four in the finals. Wisconsin Rapids recently acknowledged its 55th year of high school wrestling. Next season could possibly be the most talented team the program has produced. There will be nine seniors from 138 to 285. This small town team produced Jack Reinwand, a 1976 NCAA champion (Wisconsin) and a bronze medalist at the 1977 World Championships.

    14. Christiansburg, Virginia
    Record at The Clash: 4-2
    Appearance at The Clash: 2nd
    Returning State Champions: 5
    Returning State Placewinners: 9

    Christiansburg's Joey Dance, a two-time state champion, is ranked as the No. 17 sophomore in the country by InterMat (Photo/Bob Tuneberg, BuckeyeWrestling.com)
    About Christiansburg: Christiansburg is making its second trip to The Clash next season. In Clash VII, the Blue Demons managed to make it into the championship bracket and finished fourth with an overall record of 4-2. This national powerhouse recently won its 10th straight state title in Class AA. Coach Daryl Weber attributes the success to traveling to national events and taking on the best talent in the nation. Weber knows a little about competition. He was an NCAA champion and three-time All-American at the University of Iowa. Christiansburg qualified all 14 wrestlers to the state tournament this past season and ended with seven state champions. Twelve of the qualifiers will be returning along with five state champions. This team will be led by five seniors. Devin Carter, who now wrestles at Virginia Tech, is likely the most recognizable alumni. He made it to the round of 12 at the NCAAs this past season as a true freshman.

    15. Colonial Forge, Virginia
    Record at The Clash: 0-0
    Appearance at The Clash: 1st
    Returning State Champions: 0
    Returning State Placewinners: 5

    About Colonial Forge: Colonial Forge is a new entrant to The Clash. Bill Swink started teaching and coaching in 1999 when this school opened its doors. It didn't take long for the "newcomer" to explode onto the Virginia wrestling scene. The lowest this team has ever placed at the state tournament is sixth. Virginia has three class sizes and Colonial Forge is in the largest (AAA). The program went on a tremendous run a few years ago, winning the state team title in 2007, 2008, and 2009. Colonial Forge finished third in 2010. Next year's team will be strong with 12 returning starters, nine state qualifiers, and five state placewinners. A few notable alumni include Max Huntley (Michigan) Shane Gentry (Maryland), and Mike Garofalo (Nassau).

    16. Archbishop Moeller, Ohio
    Record at The Clash: 6-6
    Appearance at The Clash: 3rd
    Returning State Champions: 1
    Returning State Placewinners: 5

    Archbishop Moeller's Joey Ward raises his arms in celebration after becoming the program's ninth state wrestling champion (Photo/Bob Tuneberg, BuckeyeWrestling.com)
    About Archbishop Moeller: Archbishop Moeller returns to Minnesota for its third crack at The Clash. Jeff Gaier took over this storied program 26 years ago and has guided his team to three runner-up finishes in Division I in Ohio. Winning the title in that division in Ohio is a tall order with St. Ed's dominating that top spot for the last several decades. Like many top coaches, Gaier does not come with lofty credentials as a competitor. His main claim as a coach is the ability to bring some recognition to Southwest Ohio, which isn't known for producing top wrestling programs. Archbishop Moeller qualified eight wrestlers to the state tournament, placing five, with one state champion. For the next three years this team will be on everyone's radar. Archbishop Moeller had a record five junior high state champions who will be sophomores next season.

    17. Forest Lake, Minnesota
    Record at The Clash: 4-2
    Appearance at The Clash: 2nd
    Returning State Champions: 1
    Returning State Placewinners: 3

    Forest Lake coaches Billy Pierce (left) and Gordy Morgan (right) were All-Americans at the University of Minnesota (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)
    About Forest Lake: Minnesota's favorite son, Billy Pierce, will be bringing back the Rangers of Forest Lake. We would be remiss if we didn't mention that Pierce was a two-time state champion heavyweight before embarking on a successful college wrestling career at Minnesota, where he won a Big Ten title as a freshman and earned All-American honors three times. He took the reins at Forest Lake during the school's 50th year. Prior to that, this longtime Minnesota powerhouse was coached for 32 years by current State Representative Bob Dettmer. Forest Lake returns 12 wrestlers to the lineup with five state qualifiers. Many wrestling historians argue the 1993 Forest Lake team was one of the best the state has ever produced with seven state finalists and five state champions.

    Steve Elwood can be reached at steveel@rstransportinc.com.

    This story also appears in the May 20 issue of The Guillotine. The Guillotine has been covering amateur wrestling in Minnesota since 1971. Its mission is to report and promote amateur wrestling at all levels -- from youth and high school wrestling to college and international level wrestling. Subscribe to The Guillotine.
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