Bracket results and updates will be available here.
No. 3 Blair Academy, N.J. is the prohibitive favorite to take home a 15th consecutive championship at the Beast of the East, which would be their 19th in all. The Buccaneers will be joined by ten other nationally ranked teams in this prestigious field: No. 12 St. Peter's Prep, N.J., No. 15 Bergen Catholic, N.J., No. 18 Don Bosco Prep, N.J., No. 19 Cumberland Valley, Pa., No. 22 Bethlehem Catholic, Pa., No. 23 Massillon Perry, Ohio, No. 31 McDonogh, Md., No. 38 Brecksville, Ohio, No. 39 Phillipsburg, N.J., and No. 46 Colonial Forge, Va.
Myles Martin (McDonogh, Md.) will be looking to repeat as a Beast of the East champion (Photo/Rob Preston)Four wrestlers will be seeking to defend titles that they earned at last year's Beast of the East: Suriano, Martin, and L.J. Barlow (Haverford Prep, Pa.) at 195; Suriano is after a third Beast of the East title in as many seasons. Three defending champions are not in this year's field due to injury: Ty Agaisse (Delbarton, N.J.), Mason Manville (Blair Academy, N.J.), and Jordan Wood (Boyertown, Pa.)
The following is a brief summary of the field in each weight class.
106:
The top seed in this weight class is No. 16 Jonathan Tropea (St. Joseph Montvale, N.J.), who placed eighth at state last year and was third in Junior freestyle over the summer. Three other wrestlers have earned past All-American honors in Fargo among the field: Matthew Parker (Pennridge, Pa.), Jakob Campbell (Boyertown, Pa.), and Zac McCauley (Massillon Perry, Ohio)
113:
The top seed in this weight class is Joey Prata (St. Christopher's, Va.), who was runner-up at the Beast of the East last year and a National Prep champion. However, the lone nationally ranked wrestler in this field is third seed Brandon Paetzell (Phillipsburg, N.J.), a two-time state placer -- last year a state finalist – who is No. 9 in the nation. In between those two in the seedings is returning National Prep runner-up Zach Sherman (Blair Academy, N.J.), who was also a Cadet freestyle All-American this past summer. The fourth and fifth seeds in this weight class have the chance to upend Prata should that be the semifinal match -- Alec Kelly (St. Peter's Prep, N.J.), third at state last year, and returning state runner-up Dan Moran (Northampton, Pa.)
120:
Nick Suriano (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) is ranked No. 2 nationally, and a two-time defending champion in this event. He is an extremely strong favorite to win the weight class. Seeding second and third in the weight are two-time state placer Tyshawn White (Central Dauphin, Pa.), who is ranked No. 11 down at 113 pounds, and returning state runner-up Jake Newhouse (Massillon Perry, Ohio). Also meriting attention are the fourth and fifth seeds, National Prep third place finisher Requir van der Merwe (Blair Academy, N.J.) and state champion Jake Riegel (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.)
126:
This is clearly the tournament's deepest weight class with five nationally ranked wrestlers, led by top seed Austin Assad (Brecksville, Ohio). Assad is ranked No. 6 in the nation, and was a Junior National freestyle champion last summer. Additional nationally ranked wrestlers in this weight class are seeded third, fourth, fifth, and seventh: No. 10 Jose Rodriguez (Massillon Perry, Ohio), a Super 32 Challenge runner-up this fall; two-time National Prep third place finisher Steven Simpson (St. Mary's Ryken, Md.), ranked No. 14 at 120 pounds; No. 9 Anthony Cefolo (Hanover Park, N.J.), double third at Junior Nationals in Fargo this summer; and No. 20 Peter Lipari (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), a two-time state placer.
The second seed in this bracket is Luke Karam (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), a two-time state finalist and Beast of the East runner-up last year. Sixth seed Patrick D'Arcy (Holy Spirit, N.J.) placed at the Beast last year, and is a two-time state placer. Also meriting attention in this weight are two-time state champion J.D. Gregory (Hanover, Va.) and three-time National Prep placer Ryan Friedman (St. Paul's, Md.), the eighth and tenth seeds respectively.
132:
The clear top two in this weight class are a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers, No. 1 A.C. Headlee (Waynesburg, Pa.) and No. 7 Charles Tucker (Blair Academy, N.J.). These two stand head-and-shoulders above the rest of the field here. The third seed is returning Beast of the East place T.K. Megonigal (James Madison, Va.), who is also a two-time National Prep placer.
138:
Two-time Beast of the East runner-up Matthew Kolodzik (Blair Academy, N.J.), ranked No. 3 nationally, is prohibitively favored to win the tournament this year. He is the top seed, and the lone ranked wrestler in the field. Four other wrestlers in the bracket are returning place-winners in the tournament: two-time state placers Zach Elvin (Central Dauphin, Pa.) and Connor Burkert (St. Peter's Prep, N.J.), two-time National Prep placer and 2014 finalist Peter Tedesco (Belmont Hill, Mass.), and Hunter Bolen (Christiansburg, Va.). They are seeds two, three, four, and six; while the fifth seed is two-time state runner-up Kyle Bierdumpfel (Don Bosco Prep, N.J.)
145:
The lone nationally ranked wrestler in this weight class is Ryan Burkert (St. Peter's Prep, N.J.). The tournament's sixth seed is No. 13 in the nation, and a two-time state placer, including his runner-up finish last year. Top seeded in this weight class is two-time National Prep runner-up Kevin Budock (Good Counsel, Md.), and also a returning medalist in this tournament. Fellow medalist from last year Travis Vasquez (Delbarton, N.J.), who placed third at state, is the second seed. Others to watch in this weight are two-time National Prep placers Tyshawn Williams (Archbishop Curley, Md.) and Matthew Lattanze (Malvern Prep, Pa.), the fourth and fifth seeds; as well as Nick Steed (Massillon Perry, Ohio), the eighth seed and a returning state runner-up.
152:
Four nationally ranked wrestlers reside in what is probably the tournament's second deepest weight class. The top three seeds in this weight class are ranked seventh, third, and fourth: returning Beast of the East runner-up Patrick Duggan (Cumberland Valley, Pa.) and Jordan Kutler (Blair Academy, N.J.), who both were Junior freestyle All-Americans this summer, along with Cameron Harrell (McDonogh, Md.). Super 32 Challenge placers Joseph Tavoso (Delbarton, N.J.) and Neal Richards (Matoaca, Va.) are the fourth and fifth seeds, with Richards positioned No. 12 in the national rankings. Others to watch in this weight class are state champion Garrett Tingen (Fauquier, Va.) and two-time state placer Joe Trovato (Paraus, N.J.), whom are seeded seventh and tenth.
160:
Junior freestyle runner-up David McFadden (DePaul Catholic, N.J.) enters the tournament as the top seed and ranked No. 6 nationally. He is a strong favorite to win the title, though No. 19 Corbin Allen (Hanover, Va.) is also in the field, and is the second seed. In what is a very shallow weight, look for freshman Michael Beard (Malvern Prep, Pa.) to possibly place third, which would augment the sixth place finish at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman this past weekend.
170:
Super 32 champion Fox Baldwin (Osceola, Fla.) is ranked No. 2 nationally down a weight class at 160 pounds, and is the top seed here. He should receive a rather stern test in the final from Cadet double champion Brandon Dallavia (Blair Academy, N.J.), the tournament's second seed and No. 6 wrestler nationally at this weight class. National Prep placers Chris Almony (John Carroll, Md.) and Sam Rowell (Mt. St. Joseph's, Md.) are the next two seeds, though they are significantly behind the top two seeds. One to keep an eye on is Jimmy Schuitema (Phillipsburg, N.J.), the tournament's eighth seed.
182:
One of the tougher weight classes of the tournament is this one with four nationally ranked wrestlers, which is anchored by defending champion Myles Martin (McDonogh, Md.), the nation's No. 2 ranked wrestler. Rounding out the ranked wrestlers and top four seeds, in order of seed are No. 6 Dylan Wisman (Millbrook, Va.), No. 17 Chase Singletary (Blair Academy, N.J.), and No. 15 Kevin Mulligan (Bergen Catholic, N.J.). Returning Beast of the East placers are the next three seeds – Nick DePalma (DePaul Catholic, N.J.), Josh Colello (Cedar Cliff, Pa.), and Kyle Gentile (Pennridge, Pa.)
195:
Another weight class with pretty solid depth, as five returning Beast of the East placer populate the bracket. Nationally ranked wrestlers are seeded second and third, No. 17 Matthew Correnti (Holy Cross, N.J.) and No. 5 Hunter Ritter (John Carroll, Md.); Correnti is a two-time state medalist, while Ritter won the Super 32 Challenge this fall after winning a FILA Cadet freestyle title this summer. Returning tournament champion L.J. Barlow (Haverford Prep, Pa.), a three-time National Prep medalist is the top seed. National Prep placers Neil Putnam (Blair Academy, N.J.) and Desmond Johnson (Springside Chestnut Hill, Pa.), who also placed in this tournament last year, are the fourth and fifth seeds. Rounding out the top eight seeds are state runner-up T.J. Allen (Hanover, Va.), National Prep placer and Super 32 placer Kevin Snyder (Good Counsel, Md.), and state champion Tyler Love (Centreville, Va.)
220:
Three nationally ranked wrestlers reside in this weight class, and happen to occupy the top three seed lines in this bracket. Listed in seed order it goes No. 11 Andrew Dunn (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), No. 13 David Showunmi (Blair Academy, N.J.), and No. 6 Patrick Grayson (Colonial Forge, Va.); Dunn and Grayson both won Super 32 Challenge titles this fall (Dunn at 285), while Showunmi won the Walsh Jesuit Ironman last week. The next two seeds are National Prep placers Mike Smith (McDonogh, Md.) and Nick Miller (Good Counsel, MD.), while Super 32 placer Christian Colucci (St. Peter's Prep, N.J.) -- a two-time state qualifier – is the sixth seed.
285:
Two-time Beast of the East runner-up Zack Chakonis (Don Bosco Prep, N.J.) is the top seed in this weight class, and ranked second in the nation. He is also the clear favorite in this weight bracket. The other nationally ranked wrestler in this field, No. 20 Anthony Helm (Matoaca, Va.), is the fourth seed. Seeded second and third are returning Beast placer Bo Spiller (Solanco, Pa.), who placed fourth at state plast year; and D.T. Badley (St. Christopher's, Va.), who placed at the Ironman last week.
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