Placing a tournament-high eight wrestlers, No. 2 Blair Academy (N.J.) won the Beast of the East on Sunday scoring 240.5 points. The Buccaneers were anchored by a pair of weight class champions, No. 15 Michael Colaiocco (106) and No. 3 Brandon Dallavia (170). No. 19 Ryan Karoly (160) and No. 3 Chase Singletary (195) earned runner-up finishes. Other placements came from Nick Mosco (220) and Neil Putnam (285) in fourth, along with Chris Cannon (113) and John Manning (152) in fifth place. Two other wrestlers finished one match short of placement, and the Buccaneers were without No. 11 Requir van der Merwe (132)
Finishing as runner-up was a short-handed, but impressive Bergen Catholic (N.J.) squad with 201.5 points. The third-ranked Crusaders were led by championships earned by No. 1 Nick Suriano (126) and Chris Foca (132); Suriano pinned No. 2 Luke Karam (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) in the first period to become just the second ever four-time Beast of the East champion, while Foca pinned No. 14 Nick Farro (Delbarton, N.J.) in his finals bout. Five other wrestlers earned a placement finish: Gerard Angelo (120) was second, No. 9 Joe Grello (170) and No. 7 Kevin Mulligan (195) each placed third, No. 3 Shane Griffith (138) injury defaulted from the semifinals to take sixth, and Carmen Ferrante (113) earned eight. Bergen Catholic also wrestled without freshmen phenom Josh McKenzie (182) and returning state placer Danny DeLorenzi (220).
Other nationally ranked wrestlers to win titles on Sunday were No. 6 Patrick Glory (Delbarton, N.J.) at 113 pounds, No. 12 (at 126) Tyshawn White (Central Dauphin, Pa.) at 120, No. 8 (at 132) Sammy Sasso (Nazareth, Pa.) at 138, No. 1 David Carr (Massillon Perry, Ohio) at 145, No. 6 Eric Hong (Kiski Prep, Pa.) at 152, No. 6 Kyle Bierdumpfel (Don Bosco Prep, N.J.) at 160, No. 12 Kyle Gentile (Pennridge, Pa.) at 182, No. 4 Ben Darmstadt (Elyria, Ohio) at 195, and No. 5 Matt Correnti (Holy Cross, N.J.) at 220.
Additional head-on matches involving nationally ranked wrestlers in the final came at 145, where Carr beat No. 10 Quentin Hovis (Seton Catholic, Ariz.) 4-3; Hong with a 5-3 win over No. 14 Hunter Bolen (Christiansburg, Va.) at 152; Biedumpfel with a 3-2 ultimate tiebreak victory over No. 19 Ryan Karoly (Blair Academy, N.J.) at 160; Dallavia with a 6-3 decision over No. 10 (at 160) Michael Labriola (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) at 170; Gentile over No. 5 Michael Beard (Nazareth, Pa.) at 182; Darmstadt avenging a semifinal loss at the Ironman with a 2-0 victory over No. 3 Chase Singletary (Blair Academy, N.J.) at 195; and Correnti with a 6-5 win over No. 2 Jordan Wood (Boyertown, Pa.) at 220.
Rounding out the weight class champions was Mansur Abdul-Malik (St. Vincent Pallotti, Md.), who beat No. 11 Anthony Helm (Matoaca, Va.) 5-3 in the final at 285.
Tuttle champions at the KC Stampede
Even without the services of returning state runner-up Brandon Mason at 285 pounds, though the replacement placed 11th in the gold bracket, No. 17 Tuttle (Okla.) came home with the championship from the Kansas City (Mo.) Stampede this weekend. The Tigers were anchored by a trio of weight class champions: Noah McQuigg (120), Brik Filippo (138), and Blake Berryhill (220). Two other wrestlers placed second, Tanner Litterell (132) and Dayton Garrett (160); Litterell had an 8-6 semifinal win over No. 7 Colby Smith (Holt, Mo.). Additional placers within the top nine were Cale Johnson (106) in third, Rhett Golowenski (113) in fourth, and No. 20 Beau Guffey (145) in seventh.
Finishing runner-up despite the absence of No. 19 Quinn Miller at 220 pounds was No. 12 Archer (Ga.) with 258 points. They were led by a trio of weight class champions in No. 2 Thomas Bullard (160), No. 4 Daniel Bullard (170), and Jacob Lill (285). Only three additional wrestlers finished within the top nine: runner-up Chris Diaz (145), along with fourth place finishers Gavin Smith (120) and Vinny Artigues (126).
Third place in the standings, but with the second most top nine placers, was No. 23 Allen (Texas) with 243.5 points; however, the Eagles only had one wrestler place in the top three, Braeden Redlin taking second at 152 pounds. Fourth in the standings with three champions, but only three other top nine placers, was No. 41 Platte County (Mo.) with 239.5 points. Winning titles for the Pirates were Cody Phippen (106), No. 10 Matthew Schmitt (126), and No. 15 Ethan Karsten (145); their other high placer was Johnny Blankenship, third at 160 pounds.
Nationally ranked Neosho (Mo.), No. 35 in the most recent Fab 50, finished sixth with 195.5 points. They featured one weight class champion, Kyler Rea (152), and had five other wrestlers place between fourth and eight. Non-ranked Park Hill (Mo.) was fifth with 213 points, as the Trojans placed seven wrestlers within the top nine, including a pair of runners-up in Kevin Eblen (106) and No. 15 Canten Marriott (170); though five of those placed between fifth and ninth.
Rounding out the weight class champions were Sidney Oliver (Holt, Mo.) at 113 pounds, No. 3 (at 126) Daton Fix (Sand Springs, Okla.) at 132, Antonio Agee (Hayfield, Va.) at 182, and Ryan Parker (The Baylor School, Tenn.) at 195.
Carl Sandburg shows strength in winning Rex Whitlach title
Both No. 7 Oak Park River Forest (Ill.) and No. 9 Carl Sandburg (Ill.) had positives to take away from this weekend at the Rex Whitlach Invitational hosted by Hinsdale Central. The defending state champion Huskies showed that even short-handed they are a very talented team, as they had three champions, seven top three placers, and eleven on the podium in all. On the other hand, the tournament champion Eagles had essentially a full deck, placed everyone, and had five champs from nine finalists.
Carl Sandburg scored 319.5 points, led by the weight class titles from Louie Hayes (113), Kevin Stearns (120), No. 4 (at 126) Rudy Yates (132), No. 18 Patrick Brucki (182), and Cole Bateman (195); runner-up finishers were Robbie Precin (126), Anthony Cimino (138), Ben Schneider (160), and Brian Krasowski (170). Oak Park River Forest was led by champions Anthony Madrigal (126), Rollan Sturkey (170), and Allen Stallings (220); P.J. Ogunsanya (106) and Christopher Middlebrooks (285) finished as runners-up; while Roberto Campos (120) and Mike Ordonez (145) finished third.
The Huskies still felt the absence of No. 10 Jason Renteria (120), No. 17 Gabe Townsell (132), Jamie Hernandez (138), and No. 2 Isaiah White (152). Analyzing the likely impact of the four missing starters, the team points in this event would have been about equal given full personnel; which affirms the notion that Illinois Class 3A will be tightly contested this year.
Other tournament weight class champions were Hassan Johnson (Brother Rice) at 106, Mac Casella (138) and Johnny Mologousis (160) for Lyons Township, Hunter Grau (Geneseo) at 145, No. 16 Nick Foster (Belleville West) at 152, and Matt Allen (Hinsdale Central) at 285.
St. Michael-Albertville fires opening shot at Apple Valley
Even with No. 25 Apple Valley (Minn.) going seven-for-seven in medal matches, including four championship bouts, it was No. 13 St. Michael-Albertville (Minn.) that won the All Force Minnesota Christmas Tournament this weekend by 21 points. The champion Knights scored 224 points, amassing nine placers, and earning three weight class titles of their own; those coming from No. 4 Mitch McKee (138), No. 9 Jake Allar (152), and No. 10 Lucas Jeske (182). No. 9 Patrick McKee (106) was a runner-up for St. Michael-Albertville, who had two finish in fourth, one in fifth, one in sixth, and one in eight.
Tournament runners-up Apple Valley scored 203 points, anchored by the weight class titles from Nate Larson (113), Brock Morgan (145), No. 1 Mark Hall (170), and No. 1 Gable Steveson (220). Other placers were one in third, and two in seventh. Third place in the standings went to the other nationally ranked team in the event, No. 45 Kasson-Mantorville (Minn.); the lone weight class champion for the Komets was No. 5 Brady Berge (160), who beat No. 3 (at 152) Griffin Parriott (New Prague, Minn.) by 3-1 decision in the championship match. The Komets had seven other placers: one in third, two in fourth, two in fifth, one in sixth, and one in eighth.
Other showdowns of nationally ranked wrestlers in the final came at 106 and 138 pounds. Patrick McKee fell by 5-4 decision against No. 5 Aaron Cashman (Mound Westonka, Minn.) at 106, while Mitch McKee beat No. 12 Alex Lloyd (Shakopee, Minn.) 7-6 at 138.
Additional weight class champions were Jake Gliva (Simley, Minn.) at 120 pounds, Brent Jones (126) and Alex Crowe (132) of Shakopee (Minn.), No. 1 Keegan Moore (Jackson County Central, Minn.) at 195, and Brandon Metz (West Fargo, N.D.) at 285.
Buchanan with the opening statement over Clovis, win Zinkin Classic at home
Yes, it's mid-December; however, when No. 8 Buchanan (Calif.) and No. 5 Clovis (Calif.) compete against each other in the same event, the goal is to win. That's what Buchanan did in their home gym this weekend at the Zinkin Classic. Both teams had some wrestlers off of their projected weights, Clovis slightly more than Buchanan; while Clovis was without two key pieces in state round of 12 participant Brandon Martino and state sixth placer Jared Hill.
With 333.5 points on the strength of four champions, four runners-up, and medalists in every weight class, Buchanan won the tournament. Their champions were No. 13 Durbin Lloren (132), Joel Romero (138), Abner Romero (170), and Cade Belshay (182); Abner Romero upset No. 13 Anthony Mantanona (Palm Desert, Calif.) 10-6 in the championship bout. Runner-up finishers were Matthew Olguin (106), Dawson Sihvanog (113), Greg Gaxiola (152), and Jake Levatino (160); third place finishers were Trevor Ervin (195) and Isaiah Ortiz (285).
Runner-up Clovis scored 285 points, and were led by five weight class champions: Wyatt Cornelison (113), No. 2 Justin Mejia (120), No. 9 (at 182) Josh Hokit (195), No. 13 (at 195) A.J. Nevills (220), and No. 7 Seth Nevills (285). Mejia had a state finalist rematch in his finals match, as he beat No. 20 David Campbell (Mission Oak, Calif.) by 6-2 decision. The Cougars had no runners-up, but placed four wrestlers in third: Brandon Betancourt (106), Dylan Martinez (145), Jake Ladd (160), and Victor Vargas (170). An additional wrestler finished fourth.
Other weight class champions in the tournament were No. 3 Nico Aguilar (106) from Gilroy, Robert (126) and Ruben (152) Garcia from Selma, Mason Bovtain (145) from Benicia, and Brandon Claiborne (160) from Palm Desert.
Poway dominates at Reno TOC yet again
For a third straight year, it was No. 21 Poway (Calif.) coming home with the championship hardware from the Reno (Nev.) Tournament of Champions. The Titans placed seven wrestlers, which was joint most in the tournament, and with four runners-up scored 212 points. Finishing second for Poway were Jacob Allen (106), Chase Zollmann (113), Brandon Kier (132), and Chris Bailey (195); other wrestlers to place were Jason Chua (120) in fifth, Scott Kiyono (126) in seventh, and Josh Tolentino (138) in eighth.
Tournament runners-up were Pomona (Colo.) with 181.5 points, and a joint tournament-high of seven podium finishers. Anchoring the effort was freshman sensation Theorius Robison, who won the 126 pound weight class. Placing third was Colton Yapoujian (106), No. 17 (at 113) Tomas Gutierrez (120) and Jason Romero (152) finished fourth, Justin Pacheco (113) and Cameron Gonzales (182) placed sixth, while Uriah Virgil (170) earned seventh place.
The other three nationally ranked teams in the field placed outside the top five: No. 46 Roseburg (Ore.) finished sixth with 131.5 points and four placers; No. 50 Crook County (Ore.) was ninth in the standings with five placers, though none was in the top three; while No. 37 Mesa Mountain View (Ariz.) was eleventh with 119 points, and three placers.
Two teams had multiple weight class champions, a pair each for Ponderosa (Colo.) and Easton (Pa.). Champions for Ponderosa were a pair of freshman, No. 20 Mosha Schwartz at 106 pounds and No. 9 Cohlton Schultz at 220. Both Easton champions, No. 17 Evan Fidelibus (138) and Jimmy Saylor (152) came through with upsets in their finals bout; Fidelibus beat No. 9 Brock Hardy (Box Elder, Utah) 13-5, while Saylor beat No. 17 Jaron Chavez (Centennial, Idaho) 6-3.
Other champions were No. 3 Danny Vega (Ironwood Ridge, Ariz.) at 113 pounds, Jet Taylor (Sallisaw, Okla.) at 120, No. 4 Taylor LaMont (Maple Mountain, Utah) at 132, Jaron Jensen (Herriman, Utah) at 145, No. 12 Wyatt Sheets (Stilwell, Okla.) at 160, Reese Neville (Yerrington, Nev.) at 170, Jeff Oakes (Battle Mountain, Nev.) at 182, Wyatt Koelling (Davis, Utah) at 195, and Ben Bos (Wasatch, Utah) at 285.
The other notable final had Sheets beating No. 8 Layne van Anrooy (Roseburg, Ore.) by 12-8 decision at 160.
Quick hits
No. 10 St. Edward (Ohio) won the last nine matches of the dual meet to beat No. 14 Belle Vernon Area (Pa.) 45-18 on Saturday afternoon.
No. 4 St. Paris Graham (Ohio) won ten matches in a 43-18 dual meet victory over No. 47 Reynolds (Pa.) on Saturday at the Canfield Duals; Reynolds split matches at seven-apiece in a 37-28 against the host squad.
No. 26 Mt. Carmel (Ill.) upended No. 11 Marmion Academy (Ill.) 32-23 on Saturday afternoon, as the Caravan took home victories in eight weight classes; the Cadets wrestled without nationally ranked Riley DeMoss (160/170).
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