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  • Photo: Photo/Tony Rotundo

    Photo: Photo/Tony Rotundo

    Three Fab 50 showdowns slated for Thursday

    The last weekend in January also happens to be one of the biggest weekends of the scholastic wrestling season when it comes to head-on dual meets. There are three nationally ranked showdowns slated for Thursday night. Overviews of the dual meets are below.

    No. 9 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) at No. 8 Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.)

    106: Drew Munch (WS) vs. Dillon Murphy (BECA)
    Battle of freshmen, Munch was fifth at Powerade in this weight class, while Murphy was two matches from placing at the Beast of the East.

    113: Mosha Schwartz (WS) vs. Kenny Herrmann (BECA)
    Schwartz was fourth at the Powerade in this weight class after placing eighth at 106 in the Ironman; while the freshman Herrmann was two matches from placing at Ironman and one away at the Beast of the East.

    120: No. 6 Beau Bartlett (WS) vs. No. 9 Ryan Anderson (BECA)
    This would be a rematch of the Ironman final, a match that Bartlett won 6-4 in overtime.

    126: No. 16 Jack Davis (WS) vs. Zach Glenn (BECA)
    Davis was runner-up at the Powerade; while Glenn placed at the state tournament last year in the 106 pound weight class, but was a reserve this season until the freshman Cole Handlovic was injured earlier this month.

    132: Jake Riegel (WS) vs. Colin Redington (BECA)
    Riegel was champion at the Powerade; while Redington is a replacement for two-time state qualifier Luke Carty, whom is no longer on the team.

    138: Benny Baker/Will Moss (WS) vs. Jared Papcsy (BECA)
    Baker was a National Prep runner-up last year at 113, Moss was National Prep champ at 106 two years ago; while Papcsy placed fifth at the Beast of the East.

    145: Alfonso Martinez (WS) vs. Michael Lewis (BECA)
    The freshman Martinez placed eighth at the Ironman down at 138 pounds, while Lewis was two matches from placing at the Ironman.

    152: Jake Stefanowicz (WS) vs. Luca Frinzi (BECA)
    Two of the relatively unheralded wrestlers on each team will battle in a potentially important match.

    160: Darrien Roberts (WS) vs. Tavion Banks (BECA)
    Another match where both wrestlers are relatively unheralded; Banks is a freshman, who is in the dual meet lineup but did not compete at Ironman or Beast of the East.

    170: Jake Hendricks (WS) vs. Ryan Zeiner (BECA)
    Cadet double All-American Hendricks placed third at the Powerade, while Zeiner was one match from placing at the Beast of the East down a weight class.

    182: Austin Cooley (WS) vs. No. 2 (at 170) Michael Labriola (BECA)
    New England regional placer Cooley was one match from placing at both the Ironman and Powerade, while Labriola won titles at the Ironman and Beast of the East at 170 pounds.

    195: Dillon Ryan (WS) vs. Jody Crouse (BECA)
    Ryan was an unexpected seventh place at the Ironman in this weight class, while Crouse missed placement at the Ironman by two matches and at the Beast by a match.

    220: Michael Doggett (WS) vs. Andrew Balukas (BECA)
    Two of the relatively unheralded wrestlers on each team will battle in a potentially important match.

    285: Forfeit (WS) vs. No. 13 Niko Camacho (BECA)
    The Blue Knights do not have a 285-pound wrestler on their NFHS eligible roster, while Camacho was champion at the Ironman and fourth at the Beast of the East.

    No. 21 Pomona (Colo.) at No. 22 Pueblo County (Colo.)

    106: Wyatt Yapoujian (Pom) vs. Brendon Garcia (PC)
    Junior National double finalist won the Top of the Rockies championship last week in a weight class that the freshman Yapoujian placed third.

    113: Justin Pacheco (Pom) vs. Josiah Nava (PC)
    Two-time state finalist Nava beat state placer Pacheco in the consolation final at last week's Top of the Rockies Tournament.

    120: Coltan Yapoujian (Pom) vs. Nathan Bonham (PC)
    Cadet National freestyle champion Yapoujian beat state placer Bonham in the semifinals at the Top of the Rockies Tournament on the way to his championship.

    126: Brendan Taylor (Pom) vs. Jaxon Garoutte (PC)
    The freshman Garoutte placed fourth at the Top of the Rockies Tournament, while Taylor failed to placed.

    Theorius Robison and Grant Willits met in the finals of the Doc Buchanan Invitational (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

    132: No. 14 Theorius Robison (Pom) vs. No. 13 Grant Willits (PC)
    Willits beat Robison 3-2 in the championship match at the Doc Buchanan invitational; Willits was champion at the Top of the Rockies last week, while Robison did not wrestle.

    138: Jace Wytulka (Pom) vs. Justin Davis (PC)
    The senior Davis was a state champion last season.

    145: Angelo Hernandez (Pom) vs. Trevor Singleton (PC)
    The sophomore Singleton missed a top six podium finish at the Top of the Rockies Tournament by one match, while Hernandez went two-and-out.

    152: Xavier Herrera (Pom) vs. No. 10 Hunter Willits (PC)
    Willits has been locked in this cycle, placing in Junior freestyle, the Super 32 Challenge, and the Ironman; he has titles at the Doc Buchanan and last weekend's Top of the Rockies. The junior Herrera is a returning state qualifier, and placed fourth in last weekend's Top of the Rockies.

    160: Jason Romero (Pom) vs. Mason Mooring (PC)
    Two-time state runner-up Romero was champion at the Top of the Rockies last weekend, while Mooring missed placement by a match.

    170: Nolan Krone (Pom) vs. Jayson Davis (PC)
    Krone placed fourth at state last year and won the Top of the Rockies last weekend. Davis placed sixth at state last year, and missed placement by one match last weekend, including a quarterfinal loss to Krone.

    182: Uriah Vigil (Pom) vs. Dante Garcia (PC)
    Neither wrestler in this match competed at the Top of the Rockies last week, and both have been in-and-out of the lineup this year; Vigil placed third at state last year, while Garcia was a state champion.

    195: Doug Mills (Pom) vs. Donovan Rincon (PC)
    Mills placed sixth at the Top of the Rockies last weekend, while Rincon did not compete in the tournament, but placed third at last year's state tournament.

    220: Angelo Arrelano (Pom) vs. Miguel Lara (PC)
    The senior Arrelano placed fourth at the Top of the Rockies, while this is a rather weak spot for Pueblo County.

    285: Brandon Micale (Pom) vs. Eulalio De La Canal (PC)
    Fellow senior Micale was champion at the Top of the Rockies last weekend, while this is a rather weak spot for Pueblo County.

    No. 7 Clovis (Calif.) at No. 2 Buchanan (Calif.)

    In last year's dual meet at Clovis, it was Buchanan that emerged with the 32-27 victory to end a 91-match in-state dual meet win streak for Clovis; the Bears won eight of fourteen bouts on that evening. In-state rankings come courtesy of The California Wrestler, as published on January 18th.

    106: Giano Petrucelli (Clovis) vs. Josh Poore/Hunter Leake (Buch)
    Petrucelli is ranked seventh statewide, while the Buchanan starter is ranked 33rd. Leake has a 7-1 loss to Petrucelli this season; while Petrucelli placed third at the Doc Buchanan, a tournament in which Poore failed to place.

    113: Brandon Paulson (Clovis) vs. No. 2 Matthew Olguin (Buch)
    Paulson is ranked eighth statewide, and placed sixth at the Doc Buchanan, which included an 8-1 loss to returning state champion Olguin. Olguin is undefeated on the season with titles at the Zinkin Classic and the Doc Buchanan.

    120: Wyatt Cornelison (Clovis) vs. No. 16 Ethan Leake (Buch)
    Cornelison is ranked 16th statewide despite placing eighth in last year's state tournament at 113 pounds. Leake is the defending state champion at 113, and has yet to lose this season, including a pair of wins over nationally ranked wrestlers at 126 pounds.

    126: No. 3 Justin Mejia (Clovis) vs. Tyler Deen (Buch)
    Mejia is a three-time state champion, and was dominant when making his season debut at the Doc Buchanan three weks ago. Deen was state champion last year in New Mexico at 113, and is ranked seventh statewide; he lost 6-3 to Mejia on the way to a fifth place finish at the Doc Buchanan.

    132: Brandon Rhoads (Clovis) vs. Wyatt Peverill (Buch)
    Neither wrestler is projected to place at state this weight class; returning state qualifier Rhoads is ranked 17th, while Peverill is tenth.

    138: Max Anderson (Clovis) vs. Brett Villarreal (Buch)
    Anderson is ranked 23rd statewide and failed to place at the Doc Buchanan; while Villarreal is second statewide after winning the Doc Buchanan, having placed fourth at state last year.

    145: Mikelli Chiaramonte (Clovis) vs. Chris Gaxiola (Buch)
    The freshman Chiaramonte is ranked 24th statewide and failed to place at the Doc Buchanan; two-time state qualifier Gaxiola is 12th statewide and placed fourth at the Doc Buchanan.

    152: Tyler Gianakopulos (Clovis) vs. Tristan Zamilpa (Buch)
    The freshman Gianakopulos is ranked 18th statewide, and went 3-2 at the Doc Buchanan in this weight class; 2015 state qualifier Zamilpa is ranked eighth, and placed seventh at the Doc Buchanan down a weight class at 145.

    160: Brandon Martino (Clovis) vs. Joel Romero (Buch)
    This would be the evening's best matchup, pitting a pair of returning state placers against one another. Each wrestler finished runner-up at the Doc Buchanan, Martino at this weight class, Romero down a weight. Martino was fifth at 152 last year, while Romero was third at 138.

    170: Victor Vargas (Clovis) vs. Jake Levatino (Buch)
    Both wrestlers in this match are seniors that qualified for the state tournament last year. Vargas was one match away from a podium finish, and is ranked third statewide in this weight class, finishing runner-up at both the Zinkin and Doc Buchanan; Levatino is ranked 11th after a seventh place finish at the Doc Buchanan.

    182: Jacob Good (Clovis) vs. Anthony Montalvo (Buch)
    Good qualified for state last year, and is ranked 13th in this weight class, but failed to place at the Doc Buchanan; he lost in the Zinkin Classic final at 196 pounds to a different Buchanan wrestler (3-0 to Ervin). Returning state runner-up Montalvo is ranked first statewide, and has titles in this weight class at the Zinkin Clasic and Doc Buchanan this season.

    195: Ruger Wyneken (Clovis) vs. Trevor Ervin (Buch)
    Both wrestlers in this match are returning state qualifiers. Wyneken is ranked ninth statewide, including a seventh place finish at the Doc Buchanan; while Ervin has missed state placement by a single bout each of the last two years, but is ranked 16th statewide after going two-and-out at the Doc Buchanan.

    220: Joey Jaramillo/Tyler Collier (Clovis) vs. No. 19 Cade Belshay (Buch)
    Collier placed third at state in this weight class last year, but has yet to compete on the season due to injury, his return is expected imminently though. His replacement, Jaramillo, is ranked 29th statewide and went 1-2 at the Doc Buchanan. Belshay placed fifth at 170 in last year's state tournament, but is the top ranked wrestler statewide in this weight class, placing third at the Doc Buchanan and winning the Zinkin Classic.

    285: No. 2 Seth Nevills (Clovis) vs. Isaiah Ortiz (Buch)
    Two-time state champion Nevills is prohibitively favored to win a third in as many years. Ortiz is ranked 24th statewide, going two-and-out at the Doc Buchanan, and finishing third at the Zinkin Classic, which included a first period loss by fall to Nevills.

    Three additional dual meets placing nationally ranked teams against one another are slated for Saturday or Sunday.

    No. 8 Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.) vs. No. 14 Nazareth (Pa.) -- Saturday at Bethlehem Liberty
    The teams are also expected to meet the following two weekends in dual meet competition as well. Next Saturday in the District XI dual meet championship, and the following Saturday in the state dual meet championship.

    No. 17 Detroit Catholic Central (Mich.) vs. No. 49 Mason (Ohio) -- Saturday at Lowell (Mich.)
    This match will take place using the Michigan weight classes, i.e. the "old" ones. Both teams happen to benefit from that structure. Mason is able to inject either a returning state qualifier or a state qualification caliber kid whom are displaced from their normal starting lineup; while Detroit Catholic Central is able to use their "normal" starting lineup, and can displace one of their upper-weights who struggled at the Medina Invitational.

    No. 9 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) at No. 10 Bergen Catholic

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