Central Dauphin's Tyson Dippery attempts to escape from Blair Academy's Mark Grey (Photo/Rob Preston)All recap items use rankings from the previous week (team from Feb. 1, individual from Jan. 11), while preview items use the newly updated team and individual rankings.
Drive for Five: Central Dauphin looking for unprecedented championship
Starting on Thursday afternoon, No. 25 Central Dauphin, Pa., will be after an unprecedented fifth consecutive PIAA Class 3A dual meet championship. In addition, the Rams will be seeking to further extend their state record of 93 consecutive dual meet victories, last losing in January 2008 to Cumberland Valley, Pa.
However, it won't be easy with the presence of defending state traditional champion Canon McMillan, who is ranked fifth in the country. Despite the absence of two-time state finalist Conner Schram (120), who is ranked No. 9 nationally, the Big Macs beat the Rams by more than 60 points at the POWERade in late December. Should the squads win a pair of matches beforehand, they would meet late Friday in the semifinal round.
It is highly likely this matchup will occur, though both teams will have a nominal opening round test before a less competitive quarterfinal. Canon McMillan is looking at a match with Parkland first round, before a quarterfinal against either Delaware Valley or DuBois; while Central Dauphin has an opening round match with Norristown, before a likely quarterfinal against LaSalle College (presuming a victory over Jersey Shore in the first round).
In the other half of the draw, No. 30 Easton would be considered the favorites to appear in a second consecutive final. They are looking at a first round match against Big Spring, a quarterfinal against Erie McDowell or North Allegheny, and a semifinal against most likely Owen J. Roberts or Mechanicsburg.
In Class AA, No. 12 Bethlehem Catholic is after a second consecutive Class 2A championship, and would appear to be solid favorites. The Hawks are looking at a likely rematch from last year's final against Fort LeBoeuf in the quarterfinal round as the biggest challenge in their half of the draw. The other half of the draw seems likely to come down to a semifinal between Pen Argyl (assuming they get past Burrell in the opening round) and Boiling Springs (presuming they get past an opening round match against Reynolds).
Class AAA Bracket: http://www.piaa.org/assets/web/documents/2012_PIAA_AAA_TW_Brax.pdf
Class AA Bracket: http://www.piaa.org/assets/web/documents/2012_PIAA_AA_TW_Brax.pdf
Blair Academy emerges with victory in Buckeye State road trip
No. 1 Blair Academy, N.J., made their way to No. 8 St. Paris Graham, Ohio, for a dual meet this past Saturday evening. Despite having three nationally ranked wrestlers fall to defeat (two of them in upset fashion), the nation's top team still won eight matches in a 35-19 victory. Key to the result were tossup victories in the opening two matches from freshmen Jordan Kutler (106) and Chaz Tucker (113) against their fellow Class of 2015 opposition; Kutler with a 5-0 victory over Eli Stickley, while Tucker upended Eli Seipel 5-3.
The Falcons countered those two decisions with decisions of their own at 120 and 126 pounds. At 120, it was No. 5 Ryan Taylor upending No. 3 (at 113) Joey McKenna by a 4-2 score, while Micah Jordan earned the 8-5 victory at 126 over No. 15 Max Hvolbek. Then, as expected, Blair Academy came back with wins in the next two matches, although the margins were closer than expected -- No. 2 Mark Grey earned a 13-3 major decision over Nate Henkle at 132, while No. 4 Todd Preston upended Chase Crabtree 10-4 at 138.
Graham answered that 13-6 deficit with a trio of consecutive wins to take a 16-13 lead through nine matches. No. 13 Blake Kastl upset No. 9 Dylan Milonas by a 7-3 score at 145 pounds, No. 1 Bo Jordan upended Russ Parsons by major decision, and No. 4 Isaac Jordan defeated Patrick Coover 6-2. Blair Academy reclaimed the lead with an 11-2 major decision from Addison Knepshield at 170, while Huston Evans answered back with a 6-1 decision victory over Michael Mocco at 182 to give the Falcons a 19-17 lead heading into the last three matches.
Frank Mattiace, ranked No. 15 nationally, would give Blair the lead for good with a pin at 195 pounds, while Graham forfeited the evening's last two matches to give top-ranked Blair the remaining margin of victory.
Group time in the Garden State
The dual meet state championships, which are being conducted this week, mark the traditional conclusion of the regular season for programs in New Jersey that are members of the state athletic association. The group championships, which started on Monday with preliminary matches, feature the 24 of the best teams in each of four public-school classifications and 12 in the two non-public classifications.
Semifinals in each of the sections (four sections for public schools, and two for non-public) are tonight, with sectional championships on Friday night. The championships will be held on Sunday at Toms River North. Semifinals in the public school events are at 10:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., with championship matches in all six classifications at either 3:30 p.m. or 6:00.
Ranked first overall in the state by The Star-Ledger, and No. 39 nationally by InterMat, Jackson Memorial enters the Group 4 (big-school) tournament as a very slight favorite. The Jaguars are undefeated in dual meets this year, but have been tested a few times this year. This includes by probable Central Section finals opponent Brick Memorial, which is ranked sixth statewide and lost 35-24 to Jackson Memorial (8 matches to 6) in late December. However it was the Jaguars that went 3-1 in matches decided by two points or less. However, in order to reach Friday's final, the Mustangs will have to replicate their 34-24 victory over ninth-ranked Howell from eleven days prior in the Shore Conference Tournament final.
Fourth-ranked Southern Regional gave Jackson their toughest test of the season, winning eight of the fourteen weight classes three weeks ago but losing the dual meet 27-26. They are the favorites in the South section of Group 4. Eighth ranked Phillipsburg is the likely champion of the North 2 sectional, though they will have to navigate a pair of ranked teams to reach Sunday's competition -- North Hunterdon tonight, and most likely Watchung Hills on Friday. Morris Knolls is the highest ranked team in the North 1 section, clearly the weakest of the four in Group 4.
Group 3 is anchored by the state's other nationally ranked team South Plainfield, which is No. 38 in the InterMat rankings and third in the state rankings. They are prohibitive favorites to advance through the North 2 section, with a match tonight against Nutley and then most likely facing Warren Hills on Friday night. The Tigers have reached the state final the last two years, but in each year they have barely escaped a match with Timber Creek along the way. However, this year the teams met at the Virginia Duals in mid-January, with South Plainfield winning 52-10 in a dual meet that got out of hand quickly aided by the Tigers 4-0 record in matches decided by two points or less.
Timber Creek is favored to advance out of the South section, though they will most likely have to beat a ranked Torms River South squad on Friday night. Tenth ranked Ocean Township is the favorite to advance out of the Central section, while either Paramus or Northern Highlands is the likely team out of the North 1 section featuring no state-ranked teams.
Moving down from Group 3, where they won state last year on the way to being named the top team overall in New Jersey, High Point is free of expectation in Group 2 after losing the core of the roster that was so successful the last few years. However, they are the clear favorites to advance to Sunday's final four from the North 1 section. Overall, the group is wide open for any team to win it. The highest ranked teams are (in order), Delsea Regional, Delaware Valley, and Voorhees; they exit the south, central, and north 2 sections respectively.
Bound Brook, ranked 12th, is the lone team in The Star-Ledger top 20 among those in the Group 1 field. They are prohibitively favored to advance to the final four on Sunday from the Central section. Perennial champions Paulsboro yet again should clear the south section. The three teams ranked directly behind Bound Brook in Group 1 are all in the North 1 section -- Emerson Boro, Pequannock and Kittatiny -- while Hanover Park leads the field in North 2.
St. Peter's Prep appears to be the favorite in Non-Public A. They are ranked second in the state by The Star-Ledger, but have a challenging north section bracket to navigate. Tonight's semifinal is against Don Bosco Prep, while the opposite semifinal features seventh-ranked Bergen Catholic and eleventh-ranked Delbarton. All four teams placed a pair of wrestlers in the mid-December Beast of the East. If healthy, which Bergen Catholic has not been much of the year, they might have the best lineup in the whole state.
Finally, it is the Non-Public B group, which has been the perennial domain of Camden Catholic. They are again favored. Most likely, they'll have Bishop Ahr in Friday's sectional final and DePaul Catholic in Sunday's championship match.
Back-half domination for Tulsa Union in the Sooner State showdown
The two best teams in the Sooner State battled it out on the mats this past Thursday, as No. 18 Tulsa Union, Okla., traveled to No. 17 Broken Arrow, Okla., for a dual meet. Through eight matches (285 to 145), it was a very competitive dual, with Tulsa Union holding a 22-19 lead as the teams won four matches apiece.
Tulsa Union victories came from pins by Abdullah Aliya (285), Josh Walker (120), and Luke Wolfensperger (126), along with a 14-6 major decision by Brian Crutchmer (132). Broken Arrow answered with pins from No. 8 Chase Ferman (138) and Tanner Bailey (145), a 12-0 major decision by No. 10 Markus Simmons (106), and a 7-0 decision from Zack Edwards. However, four consecutive Redskins victories would extend the lead to 35-19, and clinch the mildest of upsets for Tulsa Union.
Victories came from decisions by No. 13 Kyle Ash (152), Cale Wilson (160), and Ky Young (170), as well as a major decision by Blasé Walser (182). No. 3 Kyle Crutchmer moved up one weight class from normal to take a forfeit from Broken Arrow at 195, while Tulsa Union forfeited to No. 19 Seth Calvert -- also up a weight class - in the final match at 220. Of interest are two things -- (1) Tulsa Union flipped Wilson and Young, as well as Walser and Crutchmer from their probable state series weights (2) the teams could meet again this coming week in the state duals.
Other highlights from the week that was ...
No. 3 Apple Valley, Minn. defeated No. 43 Kasson-Mantorville, Minn., 52-17, on Friday night, winning 10 of 14 matches.
The Class 4A Alaska state championship happened this past Friday and Saturday. Service High School earned 250-1/2 points on the way to the championship, while Wasilla (214-1/2 points) and Kodiak (201-1/2) finished second and third respectively. Service was led by state championships from John Pounds (126), Jacob Lunsford (138), Rilen Skieens (152), Daniel Murakami (160), and Stephen Ellis (195). Direct link to all results: http://www.trackwrestling.com/predefinedtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=27749009
No. 31 Christian Brothers, Tenn. earned the state dual meet championship in Division II, even though they barely escaped Baylor in the semifinal round with a 27-26 victory despite winning just 6 of 14 matches. The championship final was a much easier match, as they won nine matches in a 41-22 victory over Father Ryan. Soddy Daisy won the Division I Class AAA title with a 29-22 victory over Cleveland, while Chattanooga Central was the Division I Class A-AA champion with a 33-27 win against Pigeon Forge. Tournament home page: http://tssaa.org/2011Champions/StateDualWrestling/home.htm
Foley, Minn., upset No. 38 St. Michael-Albertville, Minn., 29-28, in part of a Saturday triangular hosted by St. Michael-Albertville. This reversed a result from last month.
In preparation for the PIAA Dual Meet Championships this week (already started on Monday with preliminary matches), No. 5 Canon McMillan, Pa.; No.12 Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.; No. 25 Central Dauphin, Pa.; and No. 30 Easton, Pa., all won their district dual meet championships as expected.
Also in the week to come ...
No. 11 Simley, Minn., will play host to No. 41 St. Michael-Albertville, Minn., in a dual meet on Friday night.
Traditional (i.e. individual bracket) state tournaments will be held in Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Montana this week; while additional dual meet championships will be held in Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and South Carolina.
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