Ranking reminders
Wednesday's Fab 50 team rankings are the penultimate edition for 2014-15. The inputs needed to compile the final Fab 50 will be done after this weekend; however, due to the NCAA Division I tournament being conducted next week, the final Fab 50 will be published two weeks from today.
The national weight class rankings published Wednesday were the third from last edition. An update reflecting this weekend's activity will be posted two weeks from today, while the final rankings will be published in mid-April after the postseason national tournaments have concluded.
Five statement individual performances from the past weekend of state tournaments
1. Michael Kemerer (Franklin Regional), Pennsylvania Class 3A state champion at 145 pounds
The Iowa signee cemented his status as the nation's top-ranked wrestler in his weight class with a pair of wins over wrestlers ranked in the top five nationally on the way to an elusive state title after finishing second the previous three years. Kemerer beat No. 5 Hayden Hidlay (Mifflin County) 9-4 in the quarterfinal and then upended No. 4 Patrick Duggan (Cumberland Valley) 3-2 in the final. His other two wins both came by fall.
2. Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh Central Catholic), Pennsylvania Class 3A state champion at 152
The Penn State signee, who is ranked No. 2 nationally in this weight class, performed supremely on the way to a repeat state title. His tournament started with a first period pin, before a 20-5 technical fall in the second period over fellow regional champion Kazim Bakhriyev (Scranton), who would go onto finish fifth. In the semifinal, it was a 13-3 major decision against the Kaleb Young (Punxsatawney), who is nationally ranked; and then the championship match was a 12-7 major decision over No. 7 Josh Maruca (Franklin Regional).
3. Ralphy Tovar (Poway), California state champion at 145
After somewhat disappointing fifth and fourth place finishes the previous two years at state, the fourth place finish of last year was in particular below expectation, the senior finally came up big when the lights were brightest. Tovar, who is ranked No. 17 nationally, came through with three pins and a win by default during his first four matches to advance to the semifinal. His semifinal match was a showdown with No. 20 in the nation Jeremy Thomas (Santiago Corona), which he won 3-2; and then it was a 5-0 victory in the final over No. 19 Zander Wick (San Marino).
4. Patrick D'Arcy (Holy Spirit), New Jersey state champion at 126
Entering the tournament unranked despite having placed third and second at the state tournament, the Princeton signee was looking for a career-defining performance. In successfully clearing a state tournament bracket that featured at least eight wrestlers that had already appeared on the podium at the state, that goal was accomplished. From a gauntlet standpoint, the path for D'Arcy started with a 1-0 decision victory in the quarterfinal over returning state placer Joe Ferinde (Nutley). It continued in a semifinal upset, 2-1 in the tiebreaker, over nationally ranked Ryan Pomrinca (North Hunterdon); and concluded in a 4-1 tiebreak upset win over nationally ranked Anthony Cefolo (Hanover Park), who had won state in his junior and senior campaigns. D'Arcy appears in this week's rankings at No. 16.
5. Gerard Angelo (Hanover Park), New Jersey state champion at 106
The freshman entered the state tournament as quite frankly an afterthought. After an early round win over fellow freshman Patrick Glory (Delbarton), who is in the national rankings, Angelo would lose to Glory in four subsequent meetings. This included 4-2 and 1-0 outcomes at the district and regional levels. Angelo's state tournament opened with two major decisions, before a quarterfinal match with Super 32 Challenge placer Shane Metzler (West Morris Central); Angelo won that bout 3-2. Next, it was a semifinal match against fellow freshman Quinn Kinner (Kingsway), who was an undefeated and nationally ranked; Angelo earned a 5-2 decision there. That set up state finals rematch with Glory, who had beaten the weight class favorite Jonathan Tropea (St. Joseph Montvale) 12-10 in overtime during the quarterfinal. Despite the non-positive recent history, Angelo would earn a 4-3 decision victory for state gold, and is now ranked No. 16 nationally at this weight class.
Two new teams in the penultimate Fab 50 national team rankings
Qualifying five wrestlers to the Pennsylvania Class AAA state tournament, and having each place inside the top six, Boyertown finished fourth in the team standings with 75 points. The three teams ahead of them are the nationally ranked squads from Franklin Regional, Bethlehem Catholic, and Greater Latrobe; while nationally ranked Belle Vernon and Cumberland Valley were outplaced by the Bears. On the individual side of things, No. 1 Jordan Wood (220) anchored the Boyertown effort with a state title; while the other placers were Jakob Campbell (106) in third, Lucas Miller (126) in fifth, along with Gregg Harvey (182) and Tommy Killoran (285) in sixth.
During the regular season, Brick Memorial won a group state title in dual meet competition, and lost just one dual meet overall (49-26 to No. 10 Bergen Catholic). Then, in the state tournament series, they won the unofficial title at the regional tournament. Despite qualifying just four wrestlers to the state tournament, all four of those Mustang wrestlers made it to the state final; Alec Donovan (145) earned gold, while runner-up finishes were achieved by Gianni Ghione (113), Cliff Ruggiero (160), and Nick Rivera (285).
Boyertown enters the rankings at No. 43, while Brick Memorial joins the fray at No. 49 overall.
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