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  • Photo: Photo/Rob Preston

    Photo: Photo/Rob Preston

    High School Weekend Recap

    For many states, this past weekend was the opening weekend of competition in the 2015-16 regular season. Even though some would call it a bit of the "calm before the storm" and for some teams it seemed that more were missing than active, there were some developments worth discussing.

    Gardner Edgerton Invitational

    No. 9 Southeast Polk, Iowa did win the title at the Gardner Edgerton Invitational in Kansas. However, it was not as dominant a showing for the Rams as the ranking could suggest. They scored 221 points to outlast unranked Platte County, Mo. (210) and Broken Arrow, Okla. (204.5). Half of the team for Southeast Polk placed in the top three, with the lone weight class title coming from No. 4 Ethan Andersen at 220 pounds; runner-up finishes came from Adam Brown (120), Nathan Lendt (126), and Kameron Padavich (182) with third place finishes earned by Gauge Perrien (113), Zach Barnes (132), and Daniel Ramirez (285). Four other Rams wrestlers placed within the top five, two in fourth (which meant they won their preliminary pool) and two in fifth (won the mini-bracket for second place in the pool).

    Leading the way for Platte County were a trio of weight class champions in Cody Phippen (106), No. 12 (at 126) Matthew Schmitt (132), and No. 16 Ethan Karsten (145). Five other wrestlers placed within the top four -- Johnny Blankenship (160) finished second, Dakota Schmidt (182) and Casey Jumps (220) finished third, while Austin Kincaid (120) and Trey Dockery (126) took fourth. Only three other wrestlers fnished first or second in their pool, with those three finishing below fifth.

    Broken Arrow also had a trio of weight class champions in Tyler Lawley (113), Isaiah Page (182), and Trenton Lieurance (285). Other key placement winners were a trio taking third and a trio taking fifth. The other two schools with multiple champions were Skutt Catholic, Neb. and Cascia Hall, Okla. Champions for Skutt Catholic were Korbin Meink (120) and Brendon Wheeler (195), while Tanner (138) and Scout (152) Skidgel took gold for Cascia Hall.

    Archer dominates at Southern Slam

    No. 13 Archer, Ga., dominated a diverse field of teams from the southeastern United States in the Southern Slam hosted this past weekend hosted by Eastside, S.C. Even without nationally ranked 220 pound wrestler Quinn Miller, who is on his way back from the football season, the Tigers still amassed 300 points to overwhelm tournament runners-up Rock Hill, S.C. (177 points).

    The usual suspects did the work for Archer, as they got four championships, those coming from Vinny Artigues (126), Chris Diaz (145), No. 2 Thomas Bullard (160), No. 4 Daniel Bullard (170). Another quartet earned runner-up honors -- Gavin Smith (120), Peter Myndrescu (138), Brayden Forth (195), and Jacob Lill (285). Twelve wrestlers for the Tigers placed in total with the other placers being one in third, two in fifth, and one in sixth. The other two notable champions in the event were A.J. Leitten (Fort Mill, S.C.) at 132 pounds and Alan Salgado (Rock Hill, S.C.) at 285.

    Mount Carmel scores victory over higher ranked Montini Catholic

    As part of a quad hosted by Mount Carmel, Ill. on Saturday, the host Caravan (ranked No. 36 nationally) upended No. 34 Montini Catholic by a 38-22 score. Mount Carmel won six of the eleven contested weight classes, as well as earning three victories in forfeited bouts at 182, 195, and 220 pounds. Will Lewan won the dual meet's opening bout at 138 pounds by 8-5 decision for the Broncos, but by the time Matthew Reyes secured a 6-1 victory at 285, the Caravan had amassed a mathematically insurmountable 35-3 lead. In the back part of the dual meet, nationally ranked wrestlers No. 13 Joey Melendez (106), No. 6 (at 113) Real Woods (120), and No. 5 (at 138) Dylan Duncan (132) scored victories for the Broncos by either technical fall or pin; also late in the dual meet came a notable result, as Montini Catholic's Jimmy Pawleski upended Cadet freestyle All-American Yahya Thomas by 3-2 score at 126 pounds.

    Reloaded Apple Valley wins by narrow margin at Winona Invitational

    Despite significant losses to graduation, No. 39 Apple Valley, Minn. still has lots of talent and retained the winning touch at the Winona Invitational this past Saturday. The Eagles won seven of the fourteen weight classes on the way to scoring 269.5 points. Champions included Nate Larson (120), Kyle Rathman (132), Brock Morgan (145), Jalen Thul (152), No. 1 (at 170) Mark Hall (182), No. 1 Gable Steveson (220), and Tanyi Besong (285). Three others earned runner-up finishes.

    Tournament runners-up were a formidable team from Kasson-Mantorville, Minn. The Komets had nine finalists, and six champions, on the way to scoring 257 pounds. Weight class champions included Robby Horsman (106), Keaten Schorr (126), Isaac Haman (138), No. 5 Brady Berge (160), Andy Bigelow (170), and Noah Ryan (195).

    Kiski Area upsets North Allegheny at Eastern Area Tournament

    The opening weekend of wrestling for WPIAL teams offered a notable statement, as Kiski Area, Pa. out-pointed No. 44 North Allegheny, Pa. to win the Eastern Area Tournament at Gateway. The Cavaliers placed nine wrestlers, including six finalists on the way to 226 points. Leading the way were weight class champions Cam Connor (113) and Matt Siszka (126), while runner-up finishes were accrued by Darren Miller (106), Joe Blumer (138), Tom Starr (160), and Tyler Worthing (182). Chad Kuhn (220) placed third, Brad Nagy (170) took fourth, and Danny Starr (152) was sixth.

    The runner-up Tigers placed eleven on the podium, but had only three finalists, on the way to scoring 208.5 points. Like Kiski Area, they had a pair of champions, those titles being won by Jake Hinkson (138) and Sean Hoover (160). The runner-up finish came from No. 18 Francis Duggan at 220 pounds, who lost to returning state runner-up Jacob Robb of Armstrong, Pa. Another three wrestlers finished third, Jacob Downing (106), Sean Kalmeyer (152), and Jake Woodley (182); while it was two more in fifth and another two in sixth place.

    Other notable weight class champions included No. 1 (at 113) Gavin Teasdale (Jefferson Morgan) at 120, No. 2 Cameron Coy (Penn-Trafford) at 145, No. 14 Nino Bonaccorsi (Bethel Park) at 170, and No. 15 Drew Phipps (Norwin) at 195. The tournament's most interesting final came at 182 came at 182 pounds, where Bill Bowlen (Jefferson Morgan) beat Tyler Worthing (Kiski Area) 5-3 in the tiebreaker, the match pitting returning state placers against one another.

    Check out this one on Tuesday night

    Should be an interesting dual meet when No. 19 Neosho, Mo., travels south to take on Collinsville, Okla. Last year when the teams met, they split matches at seven apiece, but it was major bonus points that enabled Neosho to take home a 37-28 victory. It was five pins and a major decision for Neosho compared to two pins and a major for the Cardinals. This year, Neosho travels to take on a Collinsville team that features two returning state champions, two runners-up, and additional placer, and two other returning qualifiers.

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