45th Annual POWERade Christmas Wrestling Tournament
Dates: Thursday, Dec. 29 and Friday, Dec. 30
Location Canon-McMillan High School (Canonsburg, Pa.)
Key Note: The quarterfinals (Thursday 7:30 p.m.), semifinals (Friday 11:30 a.m.), consolation finals (5:00 p.m.), and championship finals (7:30 p.m.) will be streamed live at the following link -- http://www.wrestlingreport.com/stream/combined.htm
Top Teams (Pennsylvania unless noted): No. 1 Blair Academy, N.J., No. 11 Canon McMillan, No. 26 Central Dauphin, No. 50 Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Norristown, Solanco, and Walsh Jesuit, Ohio
Notable Wrestlers (Pennsylvania unless noted):
106: No. 10 Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh Central Catholic), Zach Elvin (Central Dauphin), Ricky Cavallo (Hempfield), A.C. Headlee (Waynesburg)
113: No. 3 Joey McKenna (Blair Academy, N.J.), No. 19 Michael Kemerer (Franklin Regional), Brandon Thompson (Solon, Ohio), Sam Krivus (Hempfield), Dalton Macri (Canon McMillan), Jeremy Schwartz (Central Dauphin), Zach Fuentes (Norristown)
120: No. 15 Godwin Nyama (Brashear), No. 18 P.J. Klee (Blair Academy, N.J.), Cory Stainbrook (Walsh Jesuit, Ohio), Thomas Traxler (Bellefonte)
126: No. 2 Jimmy Gulibon (Derry Area), No. 14 Corey Keener (Blue Mountain), No. 17 Max Hvolbek (Blair Academy, N.J.), Eric Friedman (St. Paul's, Md.), Colton Shorts (Canon McMillan), Michael Kostandaras (Walsh Jesuit, Ohio)
132: No. 3 Mark Grey (Blair Academy, N.J.), Tyson Dippery (Central Dauphin), Colt Cotten (Benton), Mack McGuire (Upper St. Clair), Dennis Gustafson (Forest Park, Va.)
138: No. 1 Nate Skonieczny (Walsh Jesuit, Ohio), No. 5 Todd Preston (Blair Academy, N.J.), Shyheim Brown (Central Dauphin), Fox Baldwin (Oscoela, Fla.), Justin Arthur (Huntington, W.Va.)
145: No. 8 Solomon Chisko (Canon McMillan), No. 9 Anthony Collica (Solon, Ohio), No. 10 Dylan Milonas (Blair Academy, N.J.), No. 11 Matt Cimato (LaSalle), No. 19 Ty Lydic (Greater Latrobe)
152: No. 20 Garrett Peppelman (Central Dauphin), Russ Parsons (Blair Academy, N.J.), Casey Kent (LaSalle, Pa.), Peter Galli (St. Paul's, Md.), Kevin Johnson (Forest Park, Va.), Tyler Manion (Pittsburgh Central Catholic)
160: No. 1 Chance Marsteller (Kennard Dale), No. 17 Brett Harner (Norristown), Patrick Coover (Blair Academy, N.J.), Zack Zavatsky (Greater Latrobe)
170: No. 5 Cody Wiercioch (Canon McMillan), Tyler Rill (Mt. St. Joseph, Md.), Shane Springer (Norristown), Connor Moran (Solanco), Adam Bicak (Ripley, W.Va.)
182: Dakota DesLauriers (Burrell), Ryan Burnheimer (Westmont Hilltop), Michael Mocco (Blair Academy, N.J.)
195: No. 13 Frank Mattiace (Blair Academy, N.J.), Scott Mohring (Greater Latrobe)
220: No. 9 Thomas Haines (Solanco), David Farr (Blair Academy, N.J.), Alex Campbell (Canon McMillan), Zack DeLuca (Pittsburgh Central Catholic)
285: No. 1 Brooks Black (Blair Academy, N.J.), No. 16 Cody Klempay (Canon McMillan), Josh Duplin (Westmont Hilltop)
History made and upsets abound in Land of Lincoln's showcase event
Last week's high school notebook lead was about the extreme depth of the 113 pound weight class. Even with a pair of nationally ranked state champions scratching from the tournament -- No. 10 Matt Garelli (Oak Park Fenwick, Ill.) and No. 12 Johnny Jimenez (Marmion Academy, Ill.) -- as well as 2010 state champion John Wells (Milton, Wis.) moving up one weight class, the 113 pound weight class remained one of the tournament's main story lines.
It included arguably the tournament's most impressive performance in the championship run of Jordan Northrup (Machesney Park Harlem, Ill.), who made it three consecutive years in which the host school would earn a weight class title. He advanced to the semifinals with a pair of pins, including one against returning state placer Mark Duda (Marist, Ill.). In that semifinal, Northrup earned a 6-4 upset victory over No. 5 Phillip Laux (Iowa City West, Iowa) on the strength of a first period takedown and third period reversal. The championship final saw Northrup upend yet another state placer in Jordan Laster (Montini Catholic, Ill.) 11-5, one round after Laster defeated defending Dvorak champion Jared Parvinmehr (Barrington, Ill.) by a 2-1 decision in the semfinal.
Things went from not good to worse for Laux, as he would lose in the third place match as well, 9-6 to Duda. It was also that kind of tournament for No. 20 Iowa City West, as the Trojans placed only six wrestlers to finish third in the standings with 178.5 points. No. 12 Dakota Bauer, competing at 132 pounds, was their sole champion, and even his journey was imperfect -- struggling to win 4-3 over Chris Garcia (Montini Catholic, Ill.) in a somewhat controversial semifinal match.
Two nationally ranked Iowa City West wrestlers were also upended in the championship round. No. 13 Jack Hathaway fell to defeat against No. 5 (at 132) Eddie Klimara (Providence Catholic, Ill.) by a 7-2 score. With that result, Klimara became just the second four-time Dvorak champion joining former teammate Edwin Cooper who won his fourth just last year.
Then for the second straight year, No. 7 Justin Koethe was knocked off in the finals at 160 pounds -- coming in to the match with an undefeated record, and facing an unranked wrestler that also had an undefeated record. This year, Koethe entered the match 23-0, the vast majority of those wins coming by first period fall (including three earlier ones in this tournament). However the final was a different story, as returning state runner-up Shaun'Qae McMurtry (Lockport, Ill.) came through with the 6-3 victory.
McMurtry would not be the lone champion for Lockport to win a battle of undefeated wrestlers, as No. 7 Brad Johnson did the same at 195 pounds. However, both competitors in this match were nationally ranked, having won state championships and Junior National freestyle All-American honors in the last calendar year. Johnson earned the 6-4 victory over No. 3 Gage Harrah (Crystal Lake Central, Ill.), and was also named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler.
From the team standpoint, No. 29 Montini Catholic, Ill. made it three Dvorak Memorial championships in four years, as the Broncos scored 205.5 points on the strength of nine placers, including seven in the top three. The lone champion was Kevon Powell (120); Laster and Drew Vrebenec (138) finished in second place; while Tommy Pawleski (106), Chris Garcia (132), Conor Winel (170), and Edgar Ruano (220) earned third place finishes.
Second in the standings was Marist, Ill. with 182.5 points. Despite having no champions, the Red Hawks had a tournament-high ten placers, including a pair of runner-up finishes from juniors Ethan Benoit (182) and Tom Howell (220). In addition, only one of those place finishers was a senior, Joe Galason who finished seventh at 160 pounds.
Fourth in the standings went to Barrington, Ill. with 171 points, eight placers, including a pair of champions in Adrian Gonzalez (106) and Cameron Thomson (170), while fifth went to No. 35 Glenbard North, Ill. with 157 points on the strength of a championship from No. 4 Brian Murphy (152) and seven placers despite the absence of No. 5 Jered Cortez at 120 pounds.
Additional weight class champions were Clayton Lutzow (Crystal Lake Central, Ill.) at 138 pounds, No. 7 Bryce Brill (Mt. Carmel, Ill.) at 145, Ian Johnson (Milton, Wis.) at 182, Mike Swider (Wheaton North, Ill.) at 220, and Rob Bain (Bolingbrook, Ill.) at 285.
Medina Invitational Wrestling Tournament
Dates: Wednesday, Dec. 28 and Thursday, Dec. 29
Location Medina High School (Medina, Ohio)
Top Teams (Ohio unless noted): No. 15 Detroit Catholic Central, Mich., No. 27 Massillon Perry, Lexington, CVCA, and Richmond, Mich.
Notable Wrestlers (Ohio unless noted):
106: David Bavery (Massillon Perry), Cody Burcher (Claymont), Ruben Victoria (Mason), Trevor Zdebski (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.)
113: No. 2 Nathan Tomasello (CVCA), Ryan Hornack (Medina)
120: Calvin Campbell (Lexington), Luke Langdon (Claymont), Stephen Ireland (Richmond, Mich.)
126: Ken Bade (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.), Trevor Fiorucci (Olentangy), Ryan Murdock (Dublin Coffman)
132: Malik Amine (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.), Josh Decatur (CVCA), Logan Strope (Lancaster), Devin Skataza (Richmond, Mich.)
138: No. 20 Mitch Newhouse (Massillon Perry), Logan Marcicki (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.), Anthony Fosco (Olentangy), Garrett Edwards (Richmond, Mich.)
145: No. 16 Jake Faust (Lexington), Alec Mooradian (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.), Kyle Warner (Claymont), Matt Hammer (Medina), Matt Dobben (CVCA)
152: No. 11 Zack Dailey (Massillon Perry), Alex Bergman (Oak Harbor), Nick Mason (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.), Colin Rininger (Medina Highland), Justin Stitzlein (West Holmes)
160: Andrew Garcia (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.), Nick Corba (Beavercreek)
170: No. 7 Felipe Martinez (Genoa), Vince Pickett (Grove City Central Crossing), Garrick Montgomery (Ashland Crestview)
182: Kevin Beazley (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.), Adam Kluk (Medina Highland)
195: Joe Tayse (Massillon Perry), Josh Lehner (Lexington), Evan Rosborogh (Painesville Riverside)
220: No. 10 Matt Meadows (CVCA), Greg Sebastian (Richmond, Mich.)
285: Mike Brown (Sandusky), Bryan Young (Olentangy)
South Plainfield rallies to set tone in the Garden State
The top two nationally ranked teams that compete in NJSIAA wrestling (No. 1 Blair Academy competes in the National Prep championships, not sponsored by the state association) met this past Thursday night, as No. 34 South Plainfield made their way to No. 40 Bergen Catholic's house for a dual meet. With the starting weight being 160, things were set up for Bergen Catholic to start out strong.
The match started with Beast of the East runner-up Johnny Sebastian (160) and state alternate Alex Kruklinski (170) securing major decisions for Bergen Catholic. The train would continue rolling with decisions from Luke Iorio (182), Christian Jenco (195), Hunter Kiselick (220), and Carmine Goldstack (285) before a 17-7 major decision from Tyler Casamenti (106) gave them a 24-0 lead heading into the meat of the South Plainfield lineup.
Sophomore Ray Jazikoff (113) buffered the momentum and got the Tigers on the board with a 14-4 major decision, before state runner-up No. 10 Troy Heilman (120) scored a pin and two-time undefeated state champion No. 5 Anthony Ashnault (126) earned technical fall to reduce the South Plainfield deficit to 24-15 heading into arguably the key match of the evening at 132 pounds between two-time state qualifier Scott Del Vecchio and two-time state placer Connor Melde, who placed third at the recently completed Beast.
With the score tied 2-2 in the second period, the wrestlers butted heads, and Melde was unfortunately not able to continue as he was diagnosed by medical staff to have a concussion. Momentum was firmly with South Plainfield, and the Tigers sealed the dual meet with a first period pin from state placer Tyler Hunt (138), a 7-2 decision from Super32 placer Corey Stasenko (145), and a 13-0 major decision from Dylan Painton (152) to earn the 34-24.
The dual meet victory establishes South Plainfield as the early team to beat in the Garden State, and shows the continued relevance that Bergen Catholic will have this year -- especially if/when Melde is able to return to the mats. In addition, they should get back three-time regional qualifier Charlie Mitchell (126) from injury and state qualifier James Dawson (152/160) transitioning back from football at some point during the season.
Lowell, Mich. at Glenbard North, Ill. -- nationally ranked teams collide
This coming Thursday at noon ET a pair of nationally ranked teams will take to the mats at Glenbard North High School just outside of Chicago, Illinois. The Red Arrows from Lowell, Mich. -- ranked No. 45 nationally -- travel to take on the No. 39 Panthers in a dual meet. Below are the projected matchups.
106: Jack Bailey, L (7th at state) vs. Richard Browne, GN (No. 2 in 3A per IM)
113: TBD, L vs. Chris Gonzalez, GN (No. 9 in 3A per IM)
120: TBD, L vs. No. 5 Jered Cortez, GN (state champion, Junior freestyle All-American)
126: Nate Limmex/Jordan Hall, L (No. 2/10 in D2 at 125 per MG) vs. Jon Marmolejo, GN (state qualifier, Cadet Greco-Roman All-American)
132: Hall/Limmex, L vs. Johnny Gosinski, GN (4th at state)
138: TBD, L vs. Cody Brandle, GN
145: Gabe Morse, L (state champion, FloNationals 8th) vs. Dan Johnson, GN (Dvorak placer)
152: No. 13 Andrew Morse, L (state champion, FloNationals 3rd) vs. No. 4 Brian Murphy, GN (state runner-up, Junior freestyle runner-up)
160: Angus Arthur, L (No. 5 in D2 at 152 per MG) vs. Davis Jimque, GN
170: Kamron Dean, L (state qualifier) vs. David Johnson, GN
182: Jake Stehley, L (state qualifier) vs. Dan Fierro, GN (Dvorak placer)
195: No. 2 Gabe Dean, L (state champion, FloNationals runner-up) vs. Dan Eldridge, GN
220: Garrett Stehley, L (4th at state) vs. Cezar Vega, GN
285: Luke Stephens (state qualifier) vs. Dan McHale, GN
**Glenbard North also has junior Mario Rodriguez who could fit in the lineup between 145 and 160, though he did not compete in the Dvorak
**MG = Michigan Grappler, IM = Illinois Matmen
Brandon asserts superiority in the southeast with Kyle Maynard Duals title
This past Wednesday's Kyle Maynard Duals hosted by Collins Hill featured some of the best teams that the southeastern United States brings to the table. However, when the day was said and done, No. 5 Brandon, Fla. stood out as best of them all.
Brandon dominated three dual meets in their preliminary pool -- 58-20 over Woodland, Ga., 58-18 over Bremen, Ga., and 45-24 over McCallie, Tenn. -- to advance to a semifinal collision with Soddy Daisy, Tenn., which the Eagles won 45-24.
The other standout team of the duals was No. 25 Collins Hill, Ga., who likewise dominated their preliminary pool with three victories -- 54-21 over Manatee, Fla., 69-6 over Cass, Ga., and 60-16 over Peachtree Ridge, Ga. They advanced to the finals with a 43-30 semifinal victory over Baylor, Tenn.
In the championship match, Collins Hill scored victories in the three opening matches -- Sean Russell with a forfeit at 106 pounds, Ryan Millhof upending James Flint 3-2 at 113 in a battle of Super32 placers, and Drew Ferguson knocked off Victor Fugate 4-2 at 120. Brandon righted the ship with dominant victories from two of their anchor wrestlers -- No. 7 Rossi Bruno with a pin at 126 and No. 6 Kevin Norstrem with a 12-4 major decision victory over state runner-up Steven Bradtmuller at 132.
Collins Hill got a first period pin from Spencer Rickman at 138 before the Brandon barrage of seven straight victories began -- Dakota Greene with a 10-5 victory at 145, Travis Berridge with a first period pin at 152, No. 6 Clark Glass with an 11-3 major decision at 160, Jacob Haydock with a first period pin at 170, Kyle Koziel with a 7-2 victory over Ironman placer Andrew Krawulski at 182, Robert Enmon with the 9-5 win at 195, and Jonathan Sumitt with the 8-2 victory at 220. Super32 placer Zach Carmin did get Collins Hill a victrory at 285 with a first period pin, but by then it was too little and too late.
Rumble on the Red
Dates: Thursday, Dec. 29 and Friday, Dec. 30
Location Fargo Dome (Fargo, N.D.)
Top Teams: No. 35 Scott West, Minn.; Foley, Minn.; West Fargo, N.D.; Jackson County Central, Minn.; Skutt Catholic, Neb.
Notable Wrestlers:
106: No. 17 Jared Oftedahl (Benilde St. Margaret's, Minn.), Zach Siegle (Scott West, Minn.), Trevor Westerlund (Albert Lea, Minn.), Thomas Walton (Fargon North, N.D.)
113: Jordan Shearer (West Fargo, N.D.), Tristan Manderfield (Foley, Minn.), J.T. Sloboth (Skutt Catholic, Neb.)
120: Brett Stolarzyk (Stewartville, Minn.), Nick O'Brien (Wayzata, Minn.), Griffin Parriott (New London, Minn.), Luke Betchwars (Scott West, Minn.)
126: No. 8 Mitch Bengtson (St. Cloud Apollo, Minn.), Mitch Lexvold (Kenyon-Wanamingo, Minn.), Luke Zilverberg (Scott West, Minn.), Jake Walker (Skutt Catholic, Neb.), Keith Thell (Foley, Minn.)
132: No. 4 Thomas Gilman (Skutt Catholic, Neb.), Evan Hietpas (Kaukauna, Wis.), Oakley McClain (Kenyon-Wanamingo, Minn.), Ryan Becker (Napoleon, N.D.)
138: Nate Lynn (Adrian, Minn.), Drake Borsgard (Windom, Minn.), Andrew Fogarty (Scott West, Minn.), Anjelo Shepard (West Fargo, N.D.)
145: Gabe Fogarty (Scott West, Minn.), Grant Nehring (St. Cloud Apollo, Minn.), Adam Cooling (Madelia-Truman, Minn.), Brad Maas (Medford, Minn.)
152: No. 8 Jared Reis (Napoleon, N.D.), Curt Maas (Medford, Minn.), Adam Jackson (Rosemount, Minn.), Charlie Pesch (Scott West, Minn.), Zane Sackett (Skutt Catholic, Neb.), Travis Holt (Cambridge-Isanti, Minn.)
160: Taylor Lewandowski (Foley, Minn.), Cody Skog (Cambridge-Isanti, Minn.), Darik Vacura (Jackson County Central, Minn.), Grant Randall (Skutt Catholic, Neb.)
170: No. 9 Cooper Moore (Jackson County Central, Minn.), Trey Hable (Albert Lea, Minn.), Nick Dvorak (Scott West, Minn.), Tommy Longendyke (White Bear Lake, Minn.), Scott Van De Loo (Kaukauna, Wis.)
182: No. 16 Preston Lehmann (West Fargo, N.D.), Clayton Jennisen (Cambridge-Isanti, Minn.), Lance Benick (Totino-Grace, Minn.),
195: No. 16 Nathan Rotert (Spearfish, S.D.), Tom Peterson (Lakeville North, Minn.), Adam Josephson (Minneota, Minn.), Jarren Jensen (Rapid City Stevens, S.D.), Drew Johnson (West Fargo, N.D.)
220: No. 4 Michael Kroells (Scott West, Minn.), Josh Overbecke (Minneota, Minn.), Alex Howard (Skutt Catholic, Neb.), Andrew Beine (Napoleon, N.D.)
285: Jerrad Nieland (St. Cloud Tech, Minn.), Kyle Weimann (Elk River, Minn.), Tommy Doeden (Hillsboro, N.D.)
Scott West with mild upset over STMA in Gopher State showdown
Thursday night also marked a showcase of top 40 teams in the Gopher State, as No. 36 St. Michael-Albertville collided with No. 39 Scott West in a dual meet. St. Michael-Albertville came in having out-pointed Scott West by four points for third place at last weekend's Minnesota Christmas tournament.
The dual meet started at 106 pounds, where David Flynn (Scott West) upended Aaron Dick by a 6-4 decision. However, the rest of the lower weights went the way of St. Michael-Albertville, as they won the next five matches, but were only able to get one bonus point victory. No. 11 Tommy Thorn defeated Zach Siegle 8-4 in a match of Cadet freestyle All-Americans at 113 pounds. Then, Scott West gambled and lost, as they moved up two state placers in the lineup. The resulting match between unproven wrestlers at 120 went in favor of STMA, as Colton Schoen earned a 9-1 major decision victory over Phillip Dvorak.
The next two matches would now feature four wrestlers that placed in the state tournament, but were matches in which STMA had an on-paper advantage. That advantage held up, as Cole Sladek scored a 10-5 victory over Luke Betchwars at 126, and Mark Voss beat Luke Zilverberg by a narrow 3-2 score at 132. The final result in the five-match win string was a 1-0 decision for Lincoln Mallinger over Andrew Fogarty at 138 pounds, which gave STMA the 16-3 lead through six matches heading into the meat of the Scott West lineup.
Scott West would answer with five consecutive wins of their own starting at 145 pounds, where they dropped 152 pound Minnesota Christmas Tournament runner-up Gabe Fogarty into the lineup to get a pin against 2010 state placer Wayne Voss. That reduced the deficit down to 16-9. At 152 pounds, Patrick Dvorak entered the Scott West lineup after not wrestling in the MCT, and earned a 13-2 major decision victory. Then, at 160, state placer Charlie Pesch won 9-4; state qualifier Nick Dvorak scored a second period pin at 170; and Jake Deweese scored a 16-1 technical fall at182 pounds to extend the lead to 27-16.
At 195 pounds, St. Michael-Albertville would stem the momentum with a third period pin from MCT placer Mitchell Eull, as Scott West sent out a reserve wrestler in order to bump starters up into the last two weight classes. At 220 pounds, STMA did not have MCT placer Nick Edling, but his backup Bennie Wilson still scored a 6-2 victory over Mike Riker who placed eight at 195 pounds in last week's MCT. Then, in the evening's last match, with a 27-25 dual meet lead, No. 4 (at 220) Michael Kroells sealed the deal for Scott West with a second period pin over MCT placer Michael Kessler.
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