Cory Clark (Photo/Wyatt Schultz, The Predicament)Note: Recap items use the previous rankings (team and individual rankings updated Jan. 11). Preview items use the new team rankings and individual rankings as of Jan. 11.
Ed Winger Invitational
Finally, the four best teams in the state of Iowa -- including the three teams that will be slugging it out for the state dual meet and individual bracket tournament championships next month in Class 3A -- will be under the same roof this season. Saturday's tournament field at Urbandale High School features eleven wrestlers ranked first in the state by The Predicament, including two weights where the top wrestler in both Class 3A and Class 2A is present, along with ten ranked second. Twelve wrestlers in this field are nationally ranked, with three weights featuring a pair of such wrestlers.
Date: Saturday, Jan. 21
Location: Urbandale (Iowa) High School
Top Teams (All from Iowa): No. 10 Bettendorf, No. 14 Southeast Polk, No. 21 Iowa City West, Denver-Tripoli, and Urbandale
Top Wrestlers (All from Iowa):
106: Jacob Schwarm (Bettendorf), Aaron Meyer (Southeast Polk)
113: No. 20 Phillip Laux (Iowa City West), Fredy Stroker (Bettendorf), Tanner Cowan (Centerville)
120: No. 7 Dylan Peters (Denver-Tripoli), Colby Knight (Urbandale), Drake Swarm (Bettendorf)
126: No. 3 Cory Clark (Southeast Polk), No. 18 Jack Hathaway (Iowa City West), Jacob Woodard (Bettendorf)
132: No. 9 Brandon Sorensen (Denver-Tripoli), No. 15 Dakota Bauer (Iowa City West), Logan Ryan (Bettendorf)
138: No. 1 John Meeks (Des Moines Roosevelt), Connor Ryan (Bettendorf), Gunnar Wolfesperger (Denver-Tripoli), Kegan Wakefield (Iowa City West)
145: No. 6 Gabriel Moreno (Urbandale), Alex Hernandez (Bettendorf)
152: Cory Chapin (Denver-Tripoli), Keegan Mumma (ADM Adel)
160: No. 16 Justin Koethe (Iowa City West), Mitch Bowman (North Scott), Dylan Blackford (Southeast Polk)
170: No. 5 Alex Meyer (Southeast Polk), Colby Vance (Bettendorf), Aaron McMurphy (Dallas Center Grimes)
182: Bryan Levsen (Bettendorf), Matt Seabold (Burlington), Garrett Smith (Denver-Tripoli)
195: Bud Smith (Southeast Polk), Mickey Pelfrey (Iowa City West), Keaton Jurevitz (Bettendorf)
220: No. 3 Willie Miklus (Southeast Polk), No. 19 Nate Shaw (Bettendorf), Joe Scanlan (Johnston)
285: Jake Scanlan (Johnston), Bryce Fisher (Southeast Polk)
Big Macs Chief at Virginia Duals
No. 9 Canon McMillan, Pa. was the clear and dominant champions of the National High School Division at the Virginia Duals this past weekend. Seven Big Macs wrestlers won all four of their matches, as Canon-McMillan swept through four dual meets winning at least nine weight classes in every single meet. Undefeated wrestlers included Dalton Macri (113), Colton Shorts (126), Sammy Minor (138), No. 8 Solomon Chishko (145), No. 3 Cody Wiercioch (170), Alex Campbell (215), and No. 14 Cody Klempay (285).
Canon McMillan won all fourteen matches in their 74-0 opening round win over Chantilly, Va. Then, they won twelve of fourteen weight classes in a 64-9 quarterfinal victory over Caesar Rodney, Del. The lone notable result in that round was a 4-1 victory for Colton Shorts (Canon McMillan) over Kaleb Lemaire at 126 pounds, a match featuring wrestlers that have placed at major national level high school tournaments this year.
The semifinal round featured a 44-22 win over No. 36 McDonogh, Md., a match in which the Big Macs only won nine weight classes. Notable results included a 3-1 victory for No. 8 Chishko (Canon McMillan) against No. 15 Jack Clark at 145 pounds, freshman Myles Martin (McDonogh) upending Powerade placer Dario Dobbin by a 1-0 score at 152, and No. 14 Klempay (Canon McMillan) beating National Prep placer Roman Braglio 10-4 at 285.
In the championship round, Canon McMillan won ten weight classes in their 47-18 win over No. 13 Christiansburg, Va. Notable about this match was the lineup movements that precluded potentially relevant matches at 113 and 120. Canon McMillan took a forfeit at 113 against No. 10 J.R. Wert, as Dalton Macri bumped up to 120 and earned an 11-3 major decision against state champion Kyle Dulaney; while Christiansburg inserted Gabe Lumpp into the lineup at 126, but he was pinned by Shorts, with No. 7 Joey Dance getting a 13-4 major decision at 132. Also of note in this match was the 12-4 major decision by No. 3 Wiercioch (Canon McMillan) over Ironman placer Tyler Miles at 170 pounds.
Additionally relevant dual meets over the two days included the a 35-30 quarterfinal victory for No. 36 McDonogh, Md. over Timber Creek, N.J., who was ranked first in the state by The Star-Ledger; No. 13 Christiansburg, Va. upended No. 44 South Plainfield, N.J. 37-29 in the semifinal round; No. 44 South Plainfield bounced back from their semifinal loss to absolutely pummel Timber Creek 56-10 in the consolation semifinal; then finally No. 44 South Plainfield beating No. 36 McDonogh 37-32 for third place.
Key results in the McDonogh vs. Timber Creek match included two-time state placer Brandon Keller (Timber Creek) earning a 10-3 victory over National Prep placer Xavi Ramos at 132 pounds, while McDonogh capped their rally from 27-0 down with a pin from Roman Braglio at 285 against a reserve wrestler because returning state placer Greg Webb was not present on the Timber Creek roster for this event.
Notable in the Christiansburg vs. South Plainfield dual was No. 10 Wert (Christiansburg) bumping up to 120 pounds to defeat No. 11 Troy Heilman 4-1, Dulaney (Christiansburg) coming through in the previous match with a 7-3 victory over Ray Jazikoff, a Super32 Challenge finals rematch at 126 pounds in which No. 6 Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield) just took it to No. 7 Dance in a 7-2 victory, and Scott Del Vecchio (South Plainfield) upending returning state runner-up Dallas Smith at 132.
Interesting matches in the South Plainfield vs. Timber Creek dual included a battle of state placers at 120 in which No. 11 Heilman (South Plaifield) beat Ricky Carter 2-0 and state qualifier Del Vecchio (South Plainfield) beating two-time state placer two-time state placer Keller 5-1 at 132.
Key in the third place match between South Plainfield and McDonogh were Del Vecchio (South Plainfield) beating National Prep placer Ramos by 12-4 major decision at 132 pounds; Corey Stasenko (South Plainfield) came up with a second win over a ranked wrestler in as many weeks, this time a 4-2 overtime victory over No. 15 Clark at 145; and the freshman Martin (McDonogh) beat the state-ranked Dylan Painton 5-0 at 152.
Ohio's best to battle: No. 7 St. Paris Graham at No. 2 St. Edward
The following are the projected matchups:
106: Eli Stickley (SPG) vs. L.J. Bentley (St. Ed's)
113: Eli Seipel vs. Alex Moore
120: No. 5 Ryan Taylor vs. Colin Heffernan
126: Micah Jordan vs. No. 2 Dean Heil
132: Nate Henkle vs. No. 8 Edgar Bright
138: Chase Crabtree vs. Nick Barber
145: No. 13 Blake Kastl vs. Markus Scheidel
152: No. 1 Bo Jordan vs. Matt Van Curen
160: No. 4 Isaac Jordan vs. Jacob Davis
170: Lane Thomas vs. No. 6 Mark Martin
182: No. 4 Huston Evans vs. No. 11 Domenic Abounader
195: Josh Couchman vs. No. 20 James Suvak
220: Anthony Welty vs. No. 14 Ty Walz
285: Darin Bovey vs. No. 4 Greg Kuhar/Joe Belford
St. Johns outlasts Detroit Catholic Central at Super Duals
With No. 28 Montini Catholic, Ill. unable to make it out of the Chicagoland area, due to a major snowstorm, for the trip to Metro Detroit, the DCC Super Duals was reduced from three showdowns involving nationally ranked teams to just one -- the match between No. 3 St. Johns, Mich. and No. 15 Detroit Catholic Central, Mich. Like last year, the squads split the match count 7-7. However, also like last year, the margin was one driven by the bonus point generating ability of the No. 3 Red Wings, who won 31-21.
Detroit Catholic Central won the opening three matches of the dual meet to take a 12-0 lead. Due to the absence of heavyweight Bob Coe, who placed fourth at Medina in the end of December, the Shamrocks had to bump wrestlers in up in the first two matches of the dual meet, 215 and 285, to cover that hole. However, Kevin Beazley came through with a pin against Blake Cooper in 34 seconds at 215 pounds, with Jay Peterson getting a 2-0 victory over Ben Proctor. Then at the turn, Trevor Zdebski earned a 9-2 victory over Drew Wixsom in a battle of freshmen at 103 pounds.
St. Johns countered with a 16-8 major decision from No. 13 Zac Hall over Myles Amine at 112 pounds and a 6-0 decision from freshman Logan Massa over T.J. Fagan at 119 to reduce the Shamrock lead to 12-7. Detroit Catholic Central then countered with a 4-3 victory from Ken Bade over Jacob Schmitt at 125 pounds in a match featuring elite juniors, each of whom have won a state title. Then, the Shamrocks extended their lead to 18-7 after Malik Amine upended Rory Bender 4-2 at 130.
Three consecutive Red Wings wins reduced their deficit to 18-16. At 135 pounds, Brant Schafer earned an 8-3 decision victory over Andrew Thompson, then Josh Pennell earned a 6-2 decision victory over Logan Marcicki in a battle of highly regarded underclassmen at 140, while Riley Hanson did his best job of damage control to reduce No. 2 Ben Whitford to just a 22-14 major decision at 145. St. Johns was deducted a team point during this string of matches as well.
Detroit Catholic Central then responded with a 1-0 victory from No. 19 (at 145) Alec Mooradian to earn their last victory of the day, and extend the lead to 21-16 after 152 pounds. Mooradian outlasted Travis Curley on the strength of an escape and his ability to ride Curley out during the period Curley had choice and chose down. No. 20 Jordan Wohlfert finally gave the Red Wings a lead, 22-21, with his first period pin over Nick Mason at the 1:44 mark.
With the Shamrocks having to flex their lineup at this point, they sent an overmatched Nick Giese onto the mats to face No. 1 Taylor Massa at 170, and Massa got the job done with a pin in 40 seconds to cinch the dual meet. St. Johns led 28-21 heading into the final match, where two-time state third placer Payne Hayden outlasted state runner-up Andrew Garcia 7-2 for the final margin. Garcia was wrestling up at least one and arguably two weight classes from his normal lineup position.
Two other notable individual match outcomes came from the dual meet involving No. 3 St Johns and Solon, Ohio. At 113 pounds, state champion Brandon Thompson (Solon) earned a 4-3 upset victory over No. 13 Zac Hall, while at 145 it was No. 2 Whitford (St. Johns) earning an 8-3 victory over No. 11 Anthony Collica in a match closer than the score would indicate. Whitford led just 4-3 late in the third period before getting a takedown and two near fall points to seal the final victory.
New Jersey All-Star Invitational on Sunday
This coming Sunday will be the annual All-Star Invitational held at Brick Memorial High School. There will be sixteen matches contested between some of the best wrestlers in the Garden State. Wrestling starts at 2:30 p.m. and the proceeds go towards scholarships for graduating high school wrestlers. The matchups are listed below. Though B.J. Clagon (Toms River South, N.J.) is the lone nationally ranked wrestler, there are a number of matches featuring top eight wrestlers according to The Star-Ledger (those rankings are listed below).
106: No. 1 Jan Rosenberg (Morris Knolls) vs. No. 4 Craig De La Cruz (Bound Brook) --Rosenberg placed third at state last year and was a Junior National double All-American, De La Cruz is a freshman and an emerging star
113: No. 7 Dylan Nace (Hunterdon Central) vs. Dave McFadden (DePaul Catholic)
120: No. 2 (at 113) Luis Gonzalez (North Bergen) vs. Chaz Coppa (Pequannock) -- Gonzalez was a state runner-up last year as a freshman
126: No. 3 Billy Ward (Buena) vs. No. 4 Anthony Giraldo -- Ward placed third at state, while Giraldo was fourth at state last year as a freshman and fourth at the Beast this year.
126: No. 6 (at 120) Robert Trombetta (Nutley) vs. No. 6 Matt Theobold (Toms River South) -- Trombetta was seventh at state last year, while Theobold went one-and-done.
126: No. 3 Brian Hamann (Jackson Memorial) vs. No. 4 Mike Pongracz (Delaware Valley) -- Hamann placed fourth at state two years ago, but was unable to compete last year, though he placed fourth a month later at the NHSCA Sophomore Nationals; Pongracz was eight last year in the state tournament.
132: No. 4 Brad Royle (Jackson Memorial) vs. No. 5 Steve Schneider (Emerson-Park Ridge) -- Royle was eighth at NHSCA Junior Nationals, though he did not make the state tournament; Schneider was eight at state
138: No. 1 B.J. Clagon (Toms River South) vs. No. 5 Joe Esposito (St. Augustine) -- Clagon is a two-time state placer in as many years of high school, including his runner-up finish last year, along with two NHSCA grade level championships; Esposito won two matches at state but fell one match short of placing
145: No. 4 (at 138) John Boyle (Rutherford) vs. Ken Theobold (Toms River South) -- Boyle was eighth at state, while Theobold was seventh
152: No. 2 Ray Bethea (Trenton) vs. No. 4 John Schleifer (East Brunswick) -- Bethea was sixth at state, while Schleifer was eighth as a freshman; both competed at 145 last year
160: No. 1 Jaeden Bernstein (Voorhees) vs. No. 4 Vinny Favia (Christian Brothers Academy) -- Bernstein has been a vaunted bridesmaid in the last year with second place finishes at state, the NHSCA Sophomore Nationals, and in Cadet Greco-Roman; while Favia was sixth at state and eighth at the NHSCA Junior Nationals
170: No. 6 Nick Zak (Jackson Liberty) vs. Keith Lemongello (Pequannock) -- Zak qualified for state, but did not place, and was champion at the NHSCA Sophomore Nationals (over Bernstein); Lemongello was eighth at the Super32 Challenge
182: No. 1 Dallas Winston (Jackson Memorial) vs. No. 3 Victor Pozsonyi (Roselle Park) -- Winston was a state runner-up last year, fourth at the Beast this year; while Pozsonyi finished seventh at state and was eighth at the NHSCA Junior Nationals
195: No. 1 Tyler Rios (Highland Park) vs. No. 4 Anthony Messner (Franklin) -- Rios was fourth at state, while Messner was one-and-done at the state tournament
220: No. 3 Mauro Correnti (Holy Cross) vs. No. 5 Colton Bigelow (Ocean Township) -- Correnti failed to make state, while Bigelow was one-and-done last year
285: No. 2 Cody Melton (Northern Burlington) vs. No. 3 John Appice (Manalapan) -- Melton was 1-2 at state in failing to place, while Appice did not qualify for state
The rest of the week that was ...
No. 1 Blair Academy, N.J. escaped from Pleasant Valley High School in Brodheadsville, Pa., with a 27-22 victory against No. 2 St. Edward, Ohio as No. 2 Mark Grey earned a 2-1 tiebreaker victory over No. 8 Edgar Bright in a "winner take all" last match at 132 pounds. For further detail: http://intermatwrestle.com/articles/9519.
No. 4 Apple Valley, Minn. swept through the competition at the Iowa City West Super Quad despite missing No. 4 Mark Hall from the lineup at 145 pounds. The Eagles earned a 44-20 victory over No. 30 Oak Park River Forest, Ill., a 75-6 victory over Marmion Academy, Ill., and a 40-16 victory over No. 21 Iowa City West, Iowa. Other results on the day were No. 21 Iowa City West upending Oak Park River Forest, 38-29, Iowa City West over Marmion Academy, 55-10, and Oak Park River Forest over Marmion Academy. Unfortunately for Marmion, they were without their three best wrestlers in No. 12 Johnny Jimenez (113), state placer Eddie Greco (126), and Cheesehead champion Angelo Silvestro (138). The most notable individual match result was No. 18 Jack Hathaway (Iowa City West) upending No. 12 Dakota Trom (Apple Valley), who had dropped down to 126 pounds.
No. 5 Clovis, Calif., dominated the Temecula Valley Invitational Tournament for their second consecutive big time showing in a major regular season in-state tournament. The Cougars scored 272-1/2 points on the strength of nine placers (all in the top four) and six finalists -- championships coming from Jonas Gaytan (120), Daniel Gaytan (126), and No. 5 Nick Nevills (285); while No. 2 Zach Nevills (170), Ryan Davies (182), and Dakota Gordon (195) took second. Second in the standings was No. 18 Poway, Calif. with 203 points anchored by nine placers in eight weight classes. Yet again, the Titans did so without a weight class champions, but at least they had three top three placers this week -- Josh Miranda (120) took second, while Victor Lopez (132) and Richard Durr (220) finished third. Third in the standings was No. 22 Bakersfield, Calif. with 150-1/2 points keyed by five finalists in four weight classes. Champions for the Drillers were No. 11 Natrelle Deminson (138), who beat teammate Micah Cruz 12-3 in the final; No. 18 Silas Nacita (170), who earned a 5-3 overtime decision in the finals against Zach Nevills; along with Kyle Pope (182). Also finishing in second was Maxx Ramirez at 145 pounds, while No. 6 Coleman Hammond made the quarterfinals at 152 pounds but did not compete on the second day. Other nationally ranked weight class champions included lower weight Outstanding Wrestler No. 5 Johnson Mai (North Torrence, Calif.) at 106 pounds; Isaiah Locsin (Live Oak, Calif.) at 113; No. 3 Isaiah Martinez (Lemoore, Calif.) at 152, who was named Champion of Champions; and No. 11 Robert Marchese (Oak Hills, Calif.) at 195 pounds, Outstanding Wrestler for upper weights.
No. 7 St. Paris Graham, Ohio dominated the Top Gun Wrestling Tournament with six champions on the way to 274-1/2 points. Champions for the Falcons were No. 5 Ryan Taylor (120), Micah Jordan (126), No. 13 Blake Kastl (145), No. 1 Bo Jordan (152), and No. 4 Huston Evans (182). Their only additional place winners were Eli Seipel, placing third at 113, and Darin Bovey, placing fourth at 285. Second place went to No. 27 Massillon Perry, Ohio with 202-1/2 points, but only Joe Tayse (195) was a weight class champion. However, No. 12 Zack Dailey was a valiant runner-up at 152, losing just 2-0 to top-ranked Bo Jordan, while five other Panthers placed -- including third place finishes from David Bavery (106) and Mitch Newhouse (138). Three additional nationally ranked wrestlers earned championships -- No. 2 Nathan Tomasello (113) and No. 10 Matt Meadows (220) from CVCA, while Walsh Jesuit's Nate Skonieczny, ranked No. 2 at 138, was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler.
No. 8 Wyoming Seminary, Pa. traveled to New York for their debut appearance in the Eastern States Classic, and left no doubt about the superior team in the field. The Blue Knights absolutely dominated the other close to 100 teams in the event coming away with 248 points from five champions and seven other placers (one fourth, two fifth, and four eighth). Champions included Evan Botwin (120), No. 9 Dominick Malone (126), No. 7 Eric Morris (170), No. 8 A.J. Vizcarrando (220), and No. 16 Michael Johnson, Jr. (285). Second place with 159 points was Shenendehowa, N.Y. with five placers, anchored by champions Nick Kelley (132) and Tony Fusco (195) as well as runner-up finisher Cole Lampman (285). Almost 50 points further back were Long Beach, N.Y. with 111-1/2 and No. 42 Wantagh, N.Y. with 109-1/2 points. Three other nationally ranked wrestlers won weight class titles -- No. 3 Quentin Murphy (Holley Central, N.Y.) at 138 pounds; No. 17 Jimmy Kloc (Iroquois, N.Y.) at 145; and No. 19 Dylan Palacio (Long Beach, N.Y.) at 152, who upset No. 2 Brian Realbuto (Somers, N.Y.) 8-5 in the championship match.
Even without the presence of Zeke Moisey, ranked No. 5 nationally at 113 pounds, No. 12 Bethlehem Catholic, Pa., still was an impressive champion at the Escape the Rock Tournament with 186-1/2 points coming from nine placers and five finalists. Winning titles for the Hawks were No. 6 Randy Cruz (132) and No. 11 Elliott Riddick (170), with runner-up finishes coming from No. 2 (at 106) Darian Cruz (113), Zane Heller (126), and Josh Alpha (195). Second place honors went to Solanco, Pa. with 155 points anchored by champion No. 9 Thomas Haines (220), runner-up finishes from Wink Charles (138) and Connor Moran (170), along with four other placers. Third in the standings was No. 37 Colonial Forge, Va. with 147-1/2 points anchored by champions Michael Hayes (126) and No. 17 David Reck (182), runner-up Connor Mariena (120), and four other placers despite the absence of returning state placer Bryce Gentry at 106 pounds. Other nationally ranked champions included No. 11 Brent Fleetwood (Smyrna, Del.) at 106 pounds, who beat No. 13 Ethan Lizak (Parkland, Pa.) 7-2 in the final; No. 11 Billy Rappo (Council Rock South, Pa.), who won a title for the host school in the tournament's toughest weight with a 5-1 victory over Darian Cruz; No. 10 Matt Cimato (LaSalle, Pa.) at 145; and No. 7 Brian Brill (Central Mountain, Pa.), who beat No. 17 Brett Harner (Norristown, Pa.) 9-2 in the championship match at 160.
No. 48 Glenbard North, Ill., beat No. 23 Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., on criteria after the dual meet ended up tied at 33-33 as part of the Neuqua Valley Mega Duals held outside of Chicago on Saturday. Both teams won their matches against three other opponents on the day. Four Glenbard North wrestelrs swept the quartet of matches -- Chris Gonzalez (113), No. 6 Jered Cortez (120), Jon Marmolejo (126), and No. 4 Bria Murphy (152).
No. 38 Camden County upset No. 25 Collins Hill on criteria after the dual meet ended up tied at 27-27 in the Class 5A championship final for the Georgia State Dual Meet Championship. The dual meet had five lead changes and four ties, including the final one. Camden County won due to having two pins, those coming from No. 20 (at 152) Austin Trott at 160 and Gray Jones at 195, as opposed to the sole Collins Hill pin, which came from Spencer Rickman at 145.
The rest of the coming week ...
No. 1 Blair Academy, N.J., and No. 30 Collins Hill, Ga., will be at the NHSCA Final Four of Wrestling held in Easton, Pa. this coming Saturday. Blair will compete in dual meets against Delaware Valley, Pa., and Franklin, Mass., during the preliminary round robin; while Collins Hill is joined by Easton, Pa., Robinson, Va., and Council Rock South, Pa., in a preliminary pool. Crossover duals will happen subsequently.
No. 3 St. Johns, Mich., will host No. 29 Lowell, Mich., in a dual meet this evening.
No. 15 Detroit Catholic Central, Mich. will be joined by No. 16 Cincinnati Moeller, Ohio, No. 29 Lowell, Mich., and Richmond, Mich., as part of a double dual on Saturday. The host Shamrocks will go against Moeller and Lowell, Moeller and Lowell will not dual one another but instead see Richmond for their second match respectively.
No. 17 Allen, Texas, and No. 20 Tulsa Union, Okla., will be among the teams competing in the Midwest National Duals hosted by Oklahoma City University on Friday and Saturday.
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