In the evening's opening match, Evan wrestled defending Ironman champion Cam Tessari (Monroeville, OH) who is ranked No. 2 in the country. Prior to the match, Henderson -- ranked 12th nationally up one weigh at 145 pounds -- shutout his first two opponents and dominated the next two only giving up a third period takedown in each match when it was already in control.
Evan opened up the scoring with a first period takedown, rode Tessari out for the period, and scored an escape to start the second period to build a 3-0 lead. Tessari chose neutral in the third period, was in deep on a shot, but Henderson was able to somehow win an awesome scramble to score the takedown and build a 5-0 lead. Tessari did escape and score a late takedown to shrink the margin down to the final score, which was 5-3 in favor of Henderson.
After the championship match, Evan said, "I knew I could do it. I've just got to believe in myself. It's such an important thing that I write 'believe' on the inside of my head gear. The only person that can beat me is me."
The other big part of his success is being able to wrestle with twin brother Robert on a daily basis. "It's awesome. We battle every single day. It gets so intense that there are some days it ends in fist fights, though it makes us both better."
However, Robert was not able to replicate the success of Robert in the 145 pound final, where he faced No. 6 Bo Jordan (Graham, OH). Though Graham was in the lead heading into the final round, every point would be precious. Jordan was able to dominate the match, with three takedowns including two off of a pancake -- which was the same move he used to pin a nationally ranked wrestler in Travis Shaffer (Derry Area, PA) in the quarterfinal. The second pancake of this match during the third period stretched it out to a 9-1 major decision.
"My dad (head coach Jeff Jordan) always emphasizes, 'pound the head and attack relentlessly,' I listened and it worked out great," Bo Jordan commented after the match.
The first of two finalists for Oak Harbor, OH was returning runner-up Ian Miller, who is No. 2 in the country at 152 pounds. Miller was able to improve his podium position by one step with an 8-6 victory over Stephen Robertson (Montini Catholic, IL), and opponent that he beat 5-2 last year in the quarterfinal round at 140 pounds.
After a disappointing sixth place finish at the Super32, up one weight class at 171 pounds while in the course of the football season, No. 3 Jason Luster (Pittsburgh Central Catholic, PA) found the 160 pound weight class to be an optimal home in winning his first Walsh Ironman title. Luster, having placed third the previous two years, had just finished the football season two weekends ago.
He was a running back on a team that lost in the semifinals of the WPIAL tournament after having won the first eleven games of the season.
Another wrestler ranked third in the country that contributed a state playoff football team was champion at 171 pounds, Chris Phillips (Monroeville, OH) dominated Keith Witt (Oak Harbor, OH) in a 12-4 major decision. Phillips, with a pair of takedowns in each period, won a second Ironman championship to bookend his career.
"I don't pay attention to anything except the match in front of me," responded Phillips to his perspective on all the peripheral conversation that is out there. "Also, new shoes fit the new spirit for this year."
The first of four No. 1 in the nation wrestlers to compete in the championship round took the mat at 189 pounds. Unable to compete at the Ironman last year due to injury, Morgan McIntosh (Calvary Chapel, CA) sought to add the one missing piece to his scholastic wrestling resume.
Despite what by his standards was an underwhelming performance, he did get that missing Ironman championship with a 2-1 decision over No. 7 Huston Evans (Graham, OH) on a penalty point in the third period when Evans was called for a second stalling violation.
"Huston was strong, physical, and able to battle me hard. However, I should've been able to make the necessary adjustments to open up and get more consistent attack going," opined McIntosh after the championship match.
Like with Kiski Prep and Oak Harbor, the first teammate to wrestle in the finals won and the next one to go fell short. Defending Ironman champion Tank Knowles (Calvary Chapel, CA) -- ranked No. 4 nationally at 215 pounds -- took the mat against No. 2 Tanner Hall (Meridian, ID). Hall, a double finalist at the Junior Nationals in Fargo, had beaten Knowles during the course of the Greco-Roman competition.
With a takedown in each the first and third period, and despite giving up a second period takedown, Hall was able to secure the 6-3 victory for an Ironman title. Coming all the way from Idaho as a single entry, he was motivated by "the prestige and reputation of the Ironman tournament."
With Graham having stretched their three point lead the start the session out to 14 points, Blair Academy had three championship finals left and needed to start ratcheting up the wins. In what has emerged as one of the great rivalries of the calendar year 2010 in high school aged wrestling, No. 5 Brooks Black (Blair Academy, NJ) wrestled No. 9 Doug Vollaro (Oviedo, FL) for the fifth time in seven months.
Having earned victories in both freestyle and Greco-Roman at the FILA Cadet and Cadet Nationals, Black came in with a mental edge. After scoring a first period takedown to gain the lead, and then regaining it at a 3-2 margin with a third period escape, the mental edge gained in those prior matches would play an integral role in the third period.
Despite Vollaro bringing a strong attack to the table, Black stayed in his element and was able to defend aggressively to bring home the 3-2 win. "I just worked relentlessly, kept my focus, and stayed in my element. If I did that, I knew I would win the match."
Going from big to small, there still was a rivalry match to be held at 103 pounds, where Nathan Tomasello (CVCA, OH) and Darian Cruz (Bethlehem Catholic, PA) did battle for the third time in four or five months. Cruz -- ranked first nationally -- had beaten No. 2 Tomasello both in the pool of the Cadet National freestyle tournament and in an overtime final at the Super32 Challenege.
In keeping with past history, the match was low-scoring. However, unlike previous matches, no takedown was secured. With regulation ending in a 1-1 tie, the match went to overtime, and then to the two 30-second tiebreak periods. Each wrestler rode the other one out in the tiebreak period. Having scored first with a second period escape, Tomasello chose the top position.
"I just thought that I felt better on top because I seemed to control him in that first tiebreak, while I wasn't sure I could escape within thirty seconds as was necessary to win," explained Tomasello.
Cruz did his darndest to escape during that ultimate tiebreak period, got into the scramble, and it could have ended either way -- Cruz winning with a reversal or a loss of control escape, or a no change situation which would give Tomasello the victory. "I was trying to still ride, but my hip position fell a little bit too low. We rolled around as a result, and I was hoping to maintain the necessary control to get the title," is what Tomasello offered as analysis of the tiebreaker period.
With No. 14 Ryan Taylor (Graham, OH) representing the Falcons last hope to stretch what was now just a six-point lead, he had to take on defending champion No. 8 George DiCamillo (St. Ignatius, OH) in the 112 pound championship match. The two prior 2009 Ironman champions to wrestle before DiCamillo had fallen short in their efforts to repeat.
It looked like a similar feat would befell DiCamillo after trailing 5-4 very late in the match. However, DiCamillo would initiate a takedown attempt, get involved in a long scramble, and somehow end up on top for the match-winning takedown. The final score was 6-5 for DiCamillo despite some questions from the Graham contingent about the awarding of that takedown.
"I could've done more to finish that opportunity better," said DiCamillo. "I was just trying tork (Taylor) as hard as possible to get into a controlling position, and once the takedown was given it was about closing out the limited time (inside ten second) left on the clock."
This was the third significant deficit that DiCamillo had to overcome in his matches against nationally ranked opponents over the weekend. Earlier in the tournament he rallied back to defeat No. 11 Zeke Moisey (Bethlehem Catholic, PA) in overtime and No. 2 Jered Cortez (Marmion Academy, IL) by an 8-6 score.
"It's all about belief and confidence. Anytime I'm in trouble in a match, I believe I can score enough points to catch up. I am confident that I can get it done. I know that I can push it that extra bit harder," added DiCamillo.
With four weights remaining, Blair Academy had a wrestler competing all the classes, and Graham was done up six points. Blair had two going for first, one seeking third, and the other after a fifth place position. "At that point we were just waiting around hoping that our efforts for the tournament would end up being enough," observed Graham head coach Jeff Jordan.
After getting past a very tough semifinal match against No. 11 Joey Dance (Christiansburg, VA), one in which he escaped with a 4-3 victory in the ultimate tiebreaker, No. 2 Jimmy Gulibon (Derry Area, PA) would face No. 9 Dominick Malone (Wyoming Seminary, PA) in the final. Like the semifinal, Gulibon did come out strong with the opening takedown. However, unlike that semifinal match, that type of performance continued for the six minutes.
Scoring a total of five takedowns, two each in the first and third period, Gulibon secured an Ironman championship at 119 pounds with an 11-3 major decision. "I just went out and wrestled the match. No nerves, no nothing, no worries, and gave it my best," said Gulibon about his championship match performance.
With Caleb Richardson having lost to Dance for the second time in the tournament -- this time in the ultimate tiebreaker when he got ridden out -- Blair Academy still trailed by six with now three matches to go. Mark Grey -- ranked third nationally up a weight at 130 -- sought his first Ironman, and also sought to avenge a 7-1 loss in last year's 119 pound semifinal to Mason Beckman (Reynolds, PA).
Seeking to defend his Ironman title, No. 2 Beckman got out with a strong start off the bat scoring the opening takedown. That score served to be the difference after the six minutes was wrestled, Beckman repeating as champion with a 3-2 victory.
"I'm not worried about the outcome, win or lose, it's all about the performance. If I generate opportunities in attack, execute overall, and wrestle efficiently -- the results are just a byproduct," was the assessment Beckman offered after repeating as Ironman champion.
In a battle of the third and fourth ranked Class of 2013 wrestlers, both of whom are top ten nationally in the 130 pound weight class, No. 7 Brandon Jeske (Cox, VA) took on No. 9 Ben Whitford (Marmion Academy, IL). Taking to heart the title of anchor for one of the true "programs on the rise" nationally, Whitford was able to avenge a loss sustained at the FILA Cadet Nationals this past April with a 3-1 victory. The difference in the match was a second period counter type of takedown, when he was able to hip/headlock toss Jeske at the edge of the mat.
Despite a lineup that had eight freshman or sophomores and two seniors, the Cadets from just outside of Chicago, took fourth place in the tournament with 103 points. Head coach Dean Branstetter commented: "I had no expectations heading into this tournament. We just wanted the kids to showcase their skills, see where they stood on a national level, and would worry about the team standing after the fact. Placing fourth in a field of this caliber is icing on the cake."
After Todd Preston lost 1-0 in his fifth place match, the team score remained at a margin of six points: Graham, OH with 198 points and Blair Academy, NJ with 192 points. Graham had clinched at least a tie for the team championship. After the completion of the tournament, head coach Jeff Jordan stated that "despite some adversities, everyone contributed to the title (all but one of the wrestlers in the lineup won at least a match), and things are starting to come together a bit better."
However, on the line in the last match of the evening was something even more important -- a No. 1 position in the nation and the Outstanding Wrestler award.
Two No. 1 wrestlers in the nation took to the mat -- Hunter Stieber (Monroeville, OH) and Austin Ormsbee (Blair Academy, NJ). The Junior National freestyle champion and three-time National Prep champion Ormsbee was in his first Ironman final, and ranked first up a weight at 140 pounds. On the other hand, Stieber was in his fourth Ironman final, and also the first wrestler in the 17-year history of the Ironman to be top seed all four years.
An early takedown for Stieber, which came off of an ankle pick from an underhook tie, was the difference in a 3-2 victory. The result gave Hunter bookend Ironman titles, having won it as a freshman at 103 before finishing second the last two years at 112 and 119. It was also a second straight Outstanding Wrestler trophy taken home to the Stieber household, with older brother Logan having won it last year when he won the 125 pound weight class. That match, like this one, was the last match of the evening.
"It feels awesome, I'm so happy," were the words of Stieber as he came off the podium as champion of the 135 pound weight class and earning Outstanding Wrestler honors.
That statement can apply to all of the champions at the Ironman, and also for so many of the placers as they look at things in retrospect and build towards the rest of their seasons.
Photos (BuckeyeWrestling.com)
Videos (Flowrestling.com)
Brackets
Team Standings & Placewinners
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now