One of the great debates for wrestling fans in New Jersey on an annual basis is which team should be crowned No. 1 by The Star-Ledger at season's end. Normally the end of the regular season -- marked by the group wrestling state finals (dual meets) -- provides some degree of an answer. However, like last year, Sunday's wrestling at the Ritacco Center in Toms River left more questions than answers.
Heading into the day, No. 34 High Point could have sealed up the No. 1 spot with a Group 3 state title -- most likely defeating South Plainfield in the process. The resulting victory would have given it head-to-head wins against the other three title contenders -- having beaten No. 35 Long Branch, 24-23, and No. 38 Jackson Memorial, 36-20, earlier in the season. High Point had defeated Passaic Valley, 45-29, in the semifinal round, while South Plainfield narrowly escaped against unranked Timber Creek, 29-28, despite only winning six matches.
However, the finals match would be a different story. South Plainfield won the first of four matches they would win by margin of two points or less at 285 pounds, Bobby Sacks defeating Trevor Papenmeier 3-1 in overtime to take a 7-6 lead as the match turned back to 103 pounds. High Point took two of the next three matches, with Nick Francavilla (112) winning by a 7-2 decision and Billy Gould (119) winning by a 4-3 decision to lead 12-11 through seven matches. The next five matches would go the way of South Plainfield -- all by decisions -- to cinch the dual meet victory.
The last three of those matches were all decided by two points or less. At 135 pounds, Nick Heilmann defeated Drew Wagenhoffer 5-3; the freshman Corey Stasenko upended Tom DiVitantonio 9-8 at 140 pounds; and finally senior Ryan Sacco would defeat Joe Gaccione 6-5 in the ultimate tiebreaker to send the Tiger bench into delirium. With the dual out of reach, South Plainfield would concede forfeits to Ethan Orr (152) and John Guzzo (160) to narrow the final margin to 26-24.
Long Branch was dominant in its journey to the Group 2 title with a 50-18 win over West Essex in the semifinal round, and a 37-19 victory over West Deptford in the championship final. Also boosting the Long Branch cause is their Shore Conference championship, culminated with a victory over Jackson Memorial 29-23 in which they won eight of the fourteen bouts.
Speaking of Jackson Memorial, they were convincing winners of the big-school Group 4 championship on Sunday with a 48-10 semifinal win over Washington followed up by a 38-19 victory over Hunterdon Central. Those two teams were ranked 11th and fifth respectively in The Star-Ledger poll of this past week in the Garden State. Earlier during the season, the Jaguars earned a 34-20 victory over South Plainfield in which they took home nine of 14 matches.
Rounding out the state titles handed out on Sunday at the Ritacco Center were those won by Paulsboro in small-school Group 1, Don Bosco Prep winning the non-Public Group A title, and Camden Catholic taking home the non-Public Group B championship. The title for Paulsboro was a repeat championship, and more notably a record 27th championship.
Ram-tough three-peat in Keystone State
In a rather anti-climactic championship final match, No. 6 Central Dauphin earned its third consecutive title in the Class AAA team wrestling championships with a 41-28 victory over No. 30 Parkland. The Rams came out all guns ablazing with the dual meet starting at 160 pounds, as that enabled their two best wrestlers -- Marshall Peppelman and Kenny Courts -- to start the dual meet. Peppelman, ranked first in the nation, earned a 10-0 major decision victory against the formidable Wade Rivera; while the sixth ranked Courts followed it up with a pin in 1:15 against Andrew Laudenslager. By the time 11th ranked Tyson Dippery secured a fall in 1:51 against Ian Evans, Central Dauphin had a 31-0 dual meet lead.
Parkland would attempt to cut into the lead with a 2-0 decision from Mike Fake at 112 pounds followed up by a second-period pin from Brandon Davis at 119. However, a 13-2 major decision from Kevin Gooding (125) and second period pin by Tyler Buckman (135) cinched the dual with four matches remaining. Parkland would win those four matches to reduce the margin to a more respectable one.
However, it was a semifinal match against seventh-ranked Central Mountain which created the electricity in the GIANT Center during the competition on Saturday morning. That dual meet started with the nation's top-ranked wrestler at 145 pounds, Andrew Alton, stepping on the mat. Alton would secure a pin in 30 seconds against Wesley Rick. The strategy then began, as the Wildcats weighed in Tyler Buckwalter down one weight class from his normal 160-pound spot in the lineup. Buckwatler went to the mat and secured a second-period fall to extend the Central Mountain lead to 12-0. At 160 pounds, Central Mountain was hoping to create a matchup placing No. 1 against No. 1 -- Dylan Alton facing Marshall Peppelman.
However, that was not to be, as Central Dauphin smartly bumped out of that matchup. Dylan Alton would secure a 23 second pin against Justin Wolfe to extend the lead out to 18-0. The Rams condensed the deficit down to 18-10 with a second period pin from Marshall Peppelman at 171, and Kenny Courts earning an 11-3 major decision against Dylan Caprio -- as the pair of starting 171 pounders went up to 189. The Wildcats responded with a pair of decisions from Cody Dolan and Zach Corl to take a 24-10 lead heading into the turn, and an area of the lineup that favored Central Dauphin.
Over the next five matches, the Rams would turn that 24-10 deficit into a 35-24 lead with pins from Tyson Dippery (103), Shyheim Brown (112), and Tyler Buckman (130); while Nick Varndell (119) earned a 4-0 decision, and Kevin Gooding (125) secured a 14-2 major decision. They would need every point as Jordan Rich (135) secured a third-period pin for Central Mountain against Colton Peppelman to set up the last match of the dual.
A technical fall would secure the dual for the Wildcats on criteria, while a pin would win it outright. Cadet National freestyle All-American Brian Brill took to the mats on such a mission, and was close to securing the pin early in the match but had to settle for a 10-1 major decision victory over AJ Sweigard.
Central Dauphin won their opening match of the tournament on Friday afternoon with a 52-10 victory over Kiski Area, while Central Mountain had two wins on Friday afternoon -- 42-20 over Council Rock South, and 40-24 over District 11 champions Easton. The Wildcats replicated those victories to take third place in the tournament, winning 36-25 over Council Rock South and 38-25 over Easton in consolation. After the quarterfinal loss, Easton battled through three tough consolation matches with WPIAL opposition -- winning 32-28 over No. 36 Connellsville, 31-30 over Kiski Area, and 31-21 over Canon-McMillan.
Fort LeBeouf was the unexpected winner of the Class AA team championship, as they had to battle through a mid-week play-in dual meet and four matches once they reached the GIANT Center. The Bison started their journey with a 38-28 victory over Shady Side Academy on Thursday afternoon. It was followed up by a 38-22 victory over Ridgway to advance to the quarterfinal. Two wins by forfeit, three pins, and a 7-4 decision from Craig Cihon at 189 pounds were enough to defeat Benton 33-30 and advance the Bison to the semifinal round.
Fort LeBeouf had a similarly close semifinal bout against Schuylkill Valley, this time winning eight of the dual matches to secure a 32-30 victory. Key to that was winning the match opening bout in overtime, an 8-6 victory by Shawn Stancliff at 145 pounds. The Bison were then able to upset Reynolds in the final 32-29, the opponent they had lost to in the District 10 final last weekend. Two keys to that were winning by injury default at 130 pounds in a match they had lost the previous week -- Kody Pace getting the win against Adam Matthews -- and then winning a one point match at 189 pounds, Cihon securing a 7-6 victory over Jeremy Fowler.
Finishing in third place in the Class AA tournament was Pen Argyl with a 31-24 victory over Ridgway.
Alabama State Wrestling Championships
Hoover won a closely contested state championship battle in the Class 6A (big-school) group scoring 170-1/2 points led by four finalists, including a pair of champions in Michael Bond (125) and Carl Brown (160). Finishing second with three finalists was Vestavia Hills with 160-1/2 points, led by a pair of champions in Phillip Cato (130) and Henry Carlson (145); Carlson was ranked 16th in the nation at 140 pounds. Despite having no champions, Oak Mountain finished third with 146-1/2 points, as four wrestlers finished in second place. With a pair of championships from Nick Hall (140) and Josh Gillaspie (152), Thompson was fourth with 124 points. Like Oak Mountain, Prattville had a quartet of runners-up; however, they finished back in fifth place with 110-1/2 points.
Southside Gadsden was the dominant team in Class 5A with six state finalists, getting a pair of championship titles from Seth Perman (130) and Garrett Kitchens (152); as the squad scored 153 points. With five finalists, Arab finished second scoring 127-1/2 points; two champions emerged for the team in Jarod Stephenson (125) and Blake Suttles (171). Similarly, Tallassee had two champions from five finalists; however, they finished third with 125 points. Winning titles for Tallassee were Chris Adams (145) and TC Robinson (285). Three finalists and a pair of championships from Leo Gaspar (112) and Clint Wright (135) gave Fort Payne 123-1/2 points in a fourth place finish. Two other squads also had a pair of champions -- Brandon Buchanan (140) and Tyler Newton (160) giving Hayden titles, while Scottsboro had title wins from Brandon Womack (103) and Alex Whigham (189).
Walter Wellborn won the small school title in Class 1A-4A with 127 points, anchored by six finalists -- also getting a pair of championships from Dalton Carroll (140) and Tyler McCarson (145). Oak Grove had five in the finals, but only getting a single title from Dillon Campbell (215); they finished in second with 108-1/2 points. Piedmont was third with 104 points from four finalists, and getting a trio of championships from Jonathon Propes (135), Clay Dent (171), and Demestress Jackson (285). Cleburne County had a pair of champions as well, getting titles from Timothy Mayfield (112) and Bryan Roblens (130).
Link to results: http://www.trackwrestling.com/predefinedtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=915009
Montana State Wrestling Championships
It was a shootout in the big-school Class AA tournament between Kalispell and Billings Skyview. Each team only had a pair of champions -- Shawn Lau (140) and Caleb Allen-Schmid (160) for Kalispell, with Nick Hinebauch (105) and Carson Hillard (189) winning for Billing Skyview. Kalispell had two other runners-up and fourteen total placers to score 274 points. Skyview had three other runners-up, but only thirteen total placers, in scoring 259 points. Bozeman was the squad with the most champions -- three total -- Colin Rupert (112), Marshall (145) and Michael (152) Carpenter ascending to the top of the podium. Great Falls and Missoula Sentinel each had a pair of champions as well; Cole Mendenhall (119) and Josh Murin (125) for Great Falls, Tanen Doty (1710 and Bentley Alsup (215) for Missoula Sentinel.
Havre was the dominant team in the Class A tournament with three champions -- Duell Stadel (112), Kent Pattison (152), and Mitchell Schnittgen (285) -- and two second place finishers on the way to scoring 215 points. Finishing second with 196-1/2 points was Belgrade, who had Bryce Weatherston (105) winning their lone title, but two other wrestlers finished as runner-up. Fergus County, Ronan, and Dawson County each had a pair of wrestlers on top of the podium. Champions for Fergus County were Ryan Martin (140) and Connor Malone (160); Tyler Kinn (95) and Garret Tennant (135) won titles for Dawson County; while Cameron Neiss (130) and Toby Cheff (189) won the titles for Ronan.
With a total of seven top three placers, Glasgow earned the title in the small-school Class BC tournament scoring a total of 185 points. Champions for Glasgow were Luke Zeiger (130), Parker Miller (215), and Tyler Shumway (285); one wrestler took second; three others took third. Broadwater had five finalists on the way to scoring 151 points. Chris Wagner (112), 10th in the nation Jade Rauser (119), and Val Rauser (125) ascended to the top of the podium. For third place Forsyth, Dallen Bauer (135) was the lone champion; however, they also had two wrestlers take second place as part of a 141-1/2 point effort. Chinook joined Glasgow and Broadwater in having three wrestlers win championships -- William Miller (152), Robert (160) and Benjamin (171) Stroh earning the titles.
Link to results: http://mtguard.com/linksmthighschoolsports.php
Utah State Wrestling Tournament
Five teams had a pair of champions in the big-school, Class 5A, tournament. However, with four finalists it was Viewmont winning the championship by the narrowest of margins. Titles for Viewmont were won by Danner Kjar (145) and Mitch Rasmussen (152), while two others finished second -- as the team scored 164-1/2 points. One point back, at 163-1/2 was Pleasant Grove with a pair of championships from Korbin Levin (112) and Dustin Dennison (215). Finishing third with 151 points was Bingham, with titles coming from 19th ranked Kade Moss (135) and Kesni Tausinga (285). Also winning a pair of titles were Alta and Weber. 11th ranked Carson Kuhn (119) and Mark Michels (125) won back-to-back titles for Alta, while Derek Malan (130) and Janitz Arbon (160) were champions for Weber.
With five champions, Payson dominated their way to a Class 4A title with 258-1/2 points -- as they also had a sixth wrestler take second place. Titles for Payson came from Mitch Brown (112), Zac (125) and Brady (171) Loveless, Brock Brown (130), and Colton Cannon (160). Box Elder and Mountain Crest waged a close battle for second place approximately 30 points in back of first place. Five finalists for Box Elder led the squad to 226-1/2 points; championships earned by Koleton Hardy (135) and Daniel Crook (285). Four finalists -- and just the title from Raider Lofthouse (152) -- gave Mountain Crest 225-1/2 points.
Delta and Wasatch set an assault on the brackets in the Class 3A tournament, and it was Delta that stood on top at the end of the event, as they had seven finalists. The quintet that won titles on the way to 342-1/2 team points were Taggart Harris (119), Jace Abbot (130), Derek Peterson (135), Justin Penn (145), and Brendan Willoughby (160). Wasatch was in second place with 236-1/2 points, led by five wrestlers in the championship final -- with a pair of champions in Gerritt Bradley (103) and Kaleb Moritz (189).
Three teams essentially had a monopoly on the happenings of the Class 2A tournament, as they won 13 of the 14 contested weight class brackets. Leading the way with 235-1/2 points was Millard, which had nine wrestlers in the finals and four standing on top of the podium. Champions for Millard were Brendan Turner (103), Dakota Payne (140), Renden Shields (189), and Thomas Kesler (215). Five titles were won by the second place squad Southern Summitt, which had only six total finalists and 197 points. Champions for that squad were Colton Thornton (125), Jeff McCormick (130), Junsen Crandall (152), Niko Klus (171), and Colten Argyle (285). Northern Sevier was one point back in third place with 196 points, as they split eight championship bouts -- winning titles from Cy Robins (112), Kade Johnson (119), Dixon Richins (135), and Daniel Beenfield (145).
Ten finalists led the way to Altamont scoring 223 points to occupy the top spot of the small-school Class 1A standings. The team had six wrestlers win championships -- they were Brady Enman (103), Zach Hatch (140), Bryson (145) and Kyle (152) Foy, Landon Miles (160), and Dalton Smith (285). Finishing in second place was Monticello with 169 points, as the squad had eight finalists with three champions in David Boyle (119), CJ Cardasco (135), and MJ Wagstaff (215). Rich also had multiple champions, with Austin Clark (171) and Tyler Larsen (189) earning the top step of the podium in their weight classes.
Link to results: http://www.uhsaa.org/info/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=6&id=27&Itemid=69
Maryland Dual Meet Wrestling Tournaments delayed
The weather delayed the regional and state wrestling tournaments that were supposed to be held during the past week. The regional tournaments in Class 1A/2A (small-school) and Class 3A/4A (big-school) will be held this evening (Tuesday 2-16), while the state tournaments will be held one week from tonight (Tuesday 2-23)
North Carolina Dual Meet Playoffs
Parkland earned the Class 4A championship, winning five consecutive matches during the past week -- including a 38-14 victory over perennial champions Cary in the final. The narrowest of the matches came in a 36-35 semifinal victory over Davie County. Croatan had a first round bye, and then dominated four matches to win the Class 2A championship -- this included a 36-18 victory over Piedmont in the final match. West Wilkes won the title among small schools in Class 1A with a 60-9 victory over Rosewood; however, in the semifinal and quarterfinal they had much closer matches -- defeating Robinsville 36-33 and Bishop McGuiness 33-25 in those respective matches.
Unlike the other three finals that were held this past Saturday, the Class 3A final between JM Robinson and Orange was postponed until Monday night due to weather. Robinson had three consecutive narrow victories in order to advance to the final -- 37-35 over Anson County in the round of 16, 35-33 over SW Randolph in the quarterfinal, and 33-30 over Enka in the semifinal. The closest match in Orange's run to the final was a 36-30 victory over Union Pines in the quarterfinal round.
Oklahoma Dual State Wrestling Championships
Muskogee -- ranked 27th by Amateur Wrestling News -- earned its first dual state championship in program history one year after falling a step short of the big-school (Class 6A) title. Last year, a program defining victory came in a semifinal upset of Tulsa Union. This year's defining victory came in a 35-23 semifinal victory against 26th ranked Broken Arrow. The championship final ended up being anticlimactic, as the Roughers dominated Tulsa Union in a 42-15 victory.
The Zebras from Claremore were repeat champions in Class 5A, as their toughest match came in a 32-22 semifinal victory over Altus. The championship final saw Claremore upend Deer Creek 57-12. Tuttle earned the title in Class 4A, with its most notable victory coming in a 45-20 defeat of defending state champions Cushing during the semifinal. To earn the title, Tuttle defeated Sallisaw 51-15 in the final. Finally, the small school Class 3A tournament saw perennial title winners Perry earn the trophy with a 54-12 victory over Cascia Hall in the final.
South Carolina State Duals
Of the four classifications, only one has had its final as scheduled. Among the smallest schools in Class 1A, Chesterfield defeated Bamberg-Ehrhardt 33-31 in the final match. Hanahan won the lower state tournament in Class 2A; however, the state association ruled them to have used an ineligible wrestler, which forfeits them from the tournament. That squad has filed an injunction to delay the completion of the tournament. Winning upper state in Class 2A was Woodruff.
Delayed until mid-week are state finals in the big-school Class 4A and Class 3A tournaments. Battling it out in Class 4A will be Rock Hill and Fort Dorchester, while Lugoff-Elgin and Hilton Head seek the 3A title.
Championships this week ...
Individual Bracket: Arizona (Class 5A/I and 5A/II), Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington.
*Divisional tournaments will be held in the six New England Reigonal states.
Dual Meet: Arizona and North Dakota
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