David Carr and Sammy Sasso could meet in the Beast of the East finals at 152 pounds (Photo/Juan Garcia)The nation's second-best regular season tournament celebrates its 25th anniversary edition this weekend at the Bob Carpenter Center on the campus of the University of Delaware in Newark. The Beast of the East field is going to be one of its best ever with ten nationally ranked teams and almost 50 nationally ranked wrestlers.
No. 1 Blair Academy (N.J.) is prohibitively favored to win the title for the 22nd time at this tournament, as the Buccaneers feature nine nationally ranked wrestlers. It should be an interesting battle for the second position in the standings with four teams ranked between sixth and fourteenth nationally: No. 6 Bergen Catholic (N.J.), No. 7 Lake Highland Prep (Fla.), No. 10 Malvern Prep (Pa.), and No. 14 Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.). Other nationally ranked teams in the field include No. 24 Brecksville (Ohio), No. 27 Delbarton (N.J.), No. 29 Nazareth (Pa.), No. 33 Massillon Perry (Ohio), and No. 41 St. Paul's (Md.).
Saturday's competition this year has been pushed up to a 7:45 a.m. Eastern Time start, with the marathon day yielding quarterfinalists on the front side and eight other wrestlers remaining on the back side. Wrestling on Sunday starts at 8:30 a.m. with the quarterfinals and two rounds of consolation before the semifinals, which are slated for about 11:15 a.m. Matches for first through eighth place are scheduled to go off at 3 p.m. ET.
Six wrestlers ranked No. 1 in the nation at their respective weight classes are present in the field: Kurt McHenry (St. Paul's, Md.) at 113 pounds, Robert Howard (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) at 120, Patrick Glory (Delbarton, N.J.) at 126, Joey Silva (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) at 132, Jacori Teemer (Long Beach, N.Y.) at 145, and David Carr (Massillon Perry, Ohio) at 152. Three of those weight classes also have the No. 2 ranked wrestler present: 113 pounds with Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Blair Academy, N.J.), 120 with Michael Colaiocco (Blair Academy, N.J.), and 126 with Jakob Camacho (Danbury, Ct.).
Joining the top two ranked wrestlers in the country at 113 pounds are four other nationally ranked wrestlers: No. 5 Anthony Clark (Delbarton, N.J.), No. 12 Sammy Alvarez (St. Joseph Montvale, N.J.), No. 15 Ryan Chauvin (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), and No. 16 Dylan Shawver (Elyria, Ohio). At least five additional state champions are present, including Aaron Howell (Robinson, Va.). Also in the field are Junior National freestyle runner-up Chris Trelli (Bristol, Ct.), two-time state medalist Eddie Ventresca (Pope John XXIII, N.J.), state medalist Enrique Sanchez (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), New England runner-up Ryan Jack (Danbury, Ct.), National Prep runner-up Chris Barnabee (Mt. St. Joseph's, Md.), and two-time state qualifier Kyle Kaiser (Paramus, N.J.).
The top two ranked wrestlers in the nation at 120 pounds are joined by a pair of nationally ranked Ohio state champions, No. 7 Julian Tagg (Brecksville, Ohio) and No. 16 Brendon Fenton (Elyria, Ohio); both Tagg and Howard were members of the Cadet World team in freestyle this summer. Additional notable wrestlers in this weight class include two-time National Prep placers Paul Truntich (Archbishop Spalding, Md.) and Hayden Brown (Phillips Exeter, N.H.), Ironman placer Matt Lackmann (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), Super 32 placer Nic Bouzakis (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), and two-time state placer Michael Kelly (St. Peter's Prep, N.J.).
Glory and Camacho, ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the country, have both won titles at the Super 32 Challenge; Glory in 2016 and Camacho in 2017. The other pair of ranked wrestlers in this weight class are No. 17 Travis Mastrogiovanni (Blair Academy, N.J.) and No. 20 Chris Wright (Central Dauphin, Pa.). Additional contenders in this weight class include state champion Chris Rivera (Fort Myers, Fla.); three-time National Prep placer King Sandoval (St. Mary's Ryken, Md.); state medalists Kenny Hermann (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), Mick Burnett (Elyria, Ohio), Sean Pierson (Nazareth, Pa.), and Josh Jones (Saucon Valley, Pa.); two-time National Prep medalist Mark Salvatore (Malvern Prep, Pa.); and impact freshman Jager Condomitti (Northampton, Pa.). The weight class also features three wrestlers that won state titles prior to the 2016-17 season.
While Silva is the No. 1 ranked wrestler at 132 pounds, and the favorite in the weight class, at least five other nationally ranked wrestlers are there to challenge. They include No. 6 Julian Chlebove (Northampton, Pa.), No. 7 Ryan Anderson (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), No. 9 Nick Raimo (Hanover Park, N.J.), No. 15 Connor McGonagle (Timberlane, N.H.), No. 18 Andrew Wert (Central Dauphin, Pa.), and No. 20 Gabe Tagg (Brecksville, Ohio). It should be noted that Chlebove did not weigh in nor wrestle in his team's dual meet on Thursday night. Three-time Super 32 champion Silva won the title in this weight class in October, while Anderson won his title one weight class higher.
Other contenders in this extraordinarily deep weight class include two-time National Prep placer Mike Madara (Blair Academy, N.J.); three-time state medalist Carmen Ferrante (Bergen Catholic, N.J.); two-time state placer Lucas Revano (Camden Catholic, N.J.); state champions Justin Rivera (Fort Myers, Fla.), Jackson Dean (Caesar Rodney, Del.), and Colin Gerardi (Powhatan, Va.); state medalist Josh Breeding (Elyria, Ohio); state qualifier Caleb Morris (Waynesburg, Pa.); and NHSCA Junior Nationals placer Micah Visuwan (Malvern Prep, Pa.).
On the other hand, national No. 1 Teemer is the lone ranked wrestler present at 145 pounds. Other challengers include Cadet freestyle All-Americans Victor Voinovich (Brecksville, Ohio) and Michael Kistler (Northampton, Pa.); two-time National Prep placer P.J. Crane (Malvern Prep, Pa.); state medalists Kai Bele (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), Trent Johnson (John Hardin, Ky.), Logan Kissell (Garrettsville Garfield, Ohio), and Robert Garcia (Pope John XXIII, N.J.); National Prep placer Nick Incontera (Blair Academy, N.J.); New England placer Alan Kovacs (Danbury, Ct.); along with at least three other state champions.
Last of the national No. 1 wrestlers in this field is Carr at 152 pounds, who is looking at a potential finals showdown with No. 3 Sammy Sasso (Nazareth, Pa.). This would be like a one-versus-two showdown in terms of quality, though it's not ranked that way; it's also highly likely to happen with no other ranked wrestler present in the field. The most direct challengers would be a pair of New Jersey runners-up in Gerard Angelo (Bergen Catholic) and Ricky Cabanillas (DePaul Catholic). Also present are Cadet freestyle All-American Luca Frinzi (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), National Prep placer William Kaiser (Blair Academy, N.J.), along with state champions Zach Feight (Battlefield, Va.) and Matt Mitchler (Mountain View, Va.).
Below are overviews of the other eight weight classes.
106: A pair of nationally ranked wrestlers lead this weight class, No. 4 Ryan Miller (Blair Academy, N.J.) and No. 10 Nick Kayal (Bergen Catholic, N.J.); Miller was runner-up at Ironman this past week. Others to watch include Cadet freestyle All-American Cooper Flynn (McDonogh, Md.) and Junior freestyle runner-up Will Guida (St. Paul's, Md.).
138: Five nationally ranked wrestlers are featured in this weight class, led by Quinn Kinner (Kingsway Regional, N.J.), who enters the tournament No. 4 in the country at 132 pounds. Also ranked are fellow Super 32 placers No. 8 Marshall Keller (Christiansburg, Va.), No. 10 Ryan Vulakh (Pope John II, Pa.), and No. 11 Jojo Aragona (Pope John XXIII, N.J.); along with No. 14 Malcolm Robinson (Blair Academy, N.J.). Other contenders include multi-time state champions River Curtis (Battlefield, Va.) and Noah Castillo (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.); state medalists Jared Papcsy (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), Marco Regalbuto (Brecksville, Ohio), and Luke Wymer (Akron SVSM, Ohio); National Prep placers Dalton Harkins (Malvern Prep, Pa.) and Irman Heard (St. Paul's, Md.); along with multi-time state qualifier Devon Britton (Northampton, Pa.).
160: A very robust weight class with five nationally ranked wrestlers, led by No. 2 Shane Griffith (Bergen Catholic, N.J.). Also present are No. 7 Andrew Merola (Blair Academy, N.J.), No. 10 Phil Conigliaro (Belmont Hill, Mass.), No. 11 Erich Byleick (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), and No. 18 Kevon Freeman (Lake Catholic, Ohio). Additional contenders include returning Beast placer John Manning (Villanova Catholic, Ontario), three-time National Prep placer Nathan Thacker (Gonzaga, D.C.), National Prep placer Zach Phillips (Mt. St. Joseph, Md.), state medalist Luke Nichter (Chambersburg, Pa.), and state runner-up Ronald Miller (Battlefield, Va.).
170: The three nationally ranked wrestlers in this weight class are positioned fourth through sixth nationally, No. 4 Emil Soehnlen (Massillon Perry, Ohio), No. 5 Julian Ramirez (Blair Academy, N.J.), and No. 6 Chris Foca (Bergen Catholic, N.J.). At the Ironman, Soehnlen was runner-up with an overtime win over Ramirez in the semifinal; while he finished third at the Super 32; Ramirez was champion at the Beast last year with wins over Carr and Griffith; while Foca finished runner-up at the Super 32.
Other contenders in this weight class include state champion Jared Lough (Colonial Forge, Va.), 2016 state champion Nick Giantonio (Christiansburg, Va.), New England runner-up Ryan Devivo (Xavier, Ct.), National Prep placers Nick Florschutz (Malvern Prep, Pa.) and Garrett Kappes (McDonogh, Md.), state placers Max Cosmides (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) and Tim Fitzpatrick (Holy Spirit, N.J.), along with two-time state qualifier Kyle Homet (Waynesburg, Pa.).
182: A trio of ranked wrestlers are present in this weight class: No. 7 Ryan Karoly (Malvern Prep, Pa.), No. 9 Leo Tarantino (Blair Academy, N.J.), and No. 14 Josh Stillings (Pennridge, Pa.). Other contenders include NHSCA Sophomore Nationals champion Jacob Cardenas (Bergen Catholic, N.J.); state medalists Cole Krepshane (Delbarton, N.J.), Cade Wilson (Nazareth, Pa.), and David Heath (Akron SVSM, Ohio); National Prep placers Jack Wimmer (McDonogh, Md.) and Justin Henry (Mt. St. Joseph's, Md.); along with state champions Jonathan Parker (Fort Dorchester, S.C.) and Sam Fisher (Fauquier, Va.).
195: Just a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers in this weight class in No. 2 Michael Beard (Malvern Prep, Pa.) and No. 12 Jack Parr (St. Paul's, Md.); Beard is seeking to earn back-to-back sweeps of the titles at the Walsh Ironman and the Beast of the East. Other contenders include two-time state champion Tony Wuest (Smyrna, Del.); two-time National Prep placer David Schultz (Mt. St. Joseph's, Md.); state medalists Zach Blackiston (Massillon Perry, Ohio), Chris Langguth (Rootstown, Ohio), and Sean Lenzch (St. Augustine Prep, N.J.); Ironman placer Peyton Craft (Blair Academy, N.J.); along with at least three additional state champions.
220: At minimum a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers feature in this weight class, while No. 11 Josh McKenzie (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) could possibly compete but is likely going to be out due to football transition issues. Those ranked wrestlers likely to compete are No. 12 Ben Goldin (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) and No. 19 Owen Trephan (Blair Academy, N.J.). Other prime contenders include state runner-up Ian Edenfield (Laurel Highlands, Pa.), 2015 National Prep placer John Urban (St. Paul's, Md.), a pair of state medalists in Ryan Boyle (Rootstown, Ohio) and Zach D'Anna (Brecksville, Ohio), along with at least three other wrestlers that won state titles last season.
285: The lone ranked wrestler in this weight class is No. 12 Gerald Brown (West Mifflin, Pa.), a returning fourth place finisher at state. Also present are Penn State football recruit P.J. Mustipher (McDonogh, Md.), runner-up at the Ironman this past weekend; Ironman placers Curtis Ruff (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) and Max Millin (Massillon Perry, Ohio); plus at least five other state champions.
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