Although InterMat does not conduct national high school team rankings, it cannot be oblivious to the debate that has occurred on multiple wrestling message boards across the nation and in the localities from which the teams preside over the last 15-20 days. Ever since Blair Academy, NJ narrowly escaped with a 33-30 victory against No. 9 Collins Hill, GA on the afternoon of January 23 -- with Graham, OH having traveled to St. Edward, OH later that evening and laying a 39-21 defeat on the hands of the host Eagles -- many wondered if the defending national champion Buccaneers were truly the nation's best.
With seven wrestlers included in the most recent national weight class rankings, all of whom are inside the top 10, Blair's status as a dominant tournament team is obvious. Tournament victories in the nation's two toughest tournaments -- Walsh Ironman and Beast of the East -- bear that out. However, as the dual meet against Collins Hill crystallized, there are some liabilities within the other half of the lineup that tournament wrestling has a way of massaging.
The next weekend, Blair was scheduled to travel to Graham for a dual meet. When examining the matchups involved in that dual meet, InterMat came to the conclusion that the teams would split the 14 dual meets at seven apiece. Bear in mind that of the five nationally-ranked wrestlers on the Graham roster, only three of them wrestled in the Walsh Ironman when the Falcons came in second place approximately forty points behind Blair; Bo Jordan (130) and Felipe Martinez (140) being out of the lineup. Admittedly Blair was without the services of Austin Ormsbee (135).
That dual meet saw its course with the host Graham taking home nine of 14 matches for a second consecutive week against a nationally elite team, the final score being 36-20. A big point of contention in that meet was that with a lineup hole at 145, Blair chose to cover that hole by bumping up everyone from 112 to 140. The Bucs hoped to capitalize on the created tossup match at 112 -- they were unable to do so -- and get victories at 140 and 145 from Ormsbee and Chris Villalonga, of which they only got victory from Villalonga. In terms of how the teams look at tournament-style lineups, there was only one outcome on the net that deviated from expectation, a 7-3 upset victory by Ryan Taylor of Graham against Max Hvolbeck at 103 pounds. Read InterMat recap.
However, lost in the shuffle of this Blair vs. Graham debate is a very talented squad from Apple Valley, MN which has been more or less dominant in its competition this season. The Eagles have six wrestlers ranked by InterMat -- though beyond the sensational Destin McCauley (152), all are ranked in the lower half of the rankings. These are their key tournament results season to date: champions of the Minnesota Christmas Tournament -- the toughest tournament involving primarily in-state teams -- with five finalists (four champions), with only 12th ranked Simley, MN coming remotely close; outlasting fourth-ranked Brandon, FL to win the Cheesehead -- while also distancing themselves somewhat significantly from a field that included three additional top 15 teams in the nation; champions of The Clash National Duals with victories over three top 15 ranked teams in the country -- only Simley, MN coming relatively close losing by a 32-20 score.
This past weekend was supposed to provide some clarity into the rankings debate at the top. Chapter 1 of that designed clarity was when No. 8 Wadsworth, OH -- a team that beat St. Edward in dual meet competition earlier this year -- was slated to travel to Graham for a battle of top 10 teams in the nation. However, the weather across the Buckeye State on Friday was not particularly good, and that match got canceled.
Then on Saturday, two other top 10 teams -- No. 10 St. Edward and No. 5 Wyoming Seminary, PA -- traveled to Blair Academy as part of a quadrangular. Though a prediction of record was not made in the notebook column last week, it was my belief that both St. Edward and Wyoming Seminary could split the 14 matches with Blair in a dual meet. This is despite the Eagles and Blue Knights having to combine squads to equal the number of ranked wrestlers that Blair has in its lineup -- St. Edward having four, and Wyoming Seminary with three.
At the end of the afternoon, that is exactly what happened -- the two dual meets ended up split at seven apiece, with Blair narrowly escaping with a pair of two point victories. The final scores were Blair Academy 31-29 over Wyoming Seminary, and 30-28 over St. Edward. Read InterMat recap.
Looking forward, Blair is now focused on its Prep State Tournament and then the National Prep Championships, which will be held at Lehigh University the last weekend of February. Also in those championships are Wyoming Seminary, Bishop Lynch, TX, along with some other notable squads.
Graham will compete in its league championships this coming weekend, and then close its year with the three-weekend state tournament series. Being in Division II, the state title is more or less a lock -- the only question being if the Falcons can match and/or exceed their record performances from last year; seven state titles and 282 points.
Apple Valley will host Simley this coming Friday night, a matchup of the defending Class AAA and Class AA state champions. Then, will come their run through the state tournament series in both the individual and dual meet competitions; one that should be rather unchallenged.
Three crowned dual meet champions in Volunteer State
This past weekend, three schools -- two in the public school division and one in the private school grouping -- stood atop the State Dual Meet Wrestling Tournament held at the Williamson County Expo Center in Franklin, TN. Bradley Central won the Class AAA title in Division I (public schools) with a 33-28 victory over Cleveland in the final. Prior to that match -- they had victories of 41-30 over Science Hill, 45-15 over Ravenwood, and 51-20 over Cordova. Hixson won the Class AA-A title with a 41-36 win over East Literature. However, they had a narrow first round escape, 36-33, against Greenback before a more comfortable 40-20 victory in the semifinal against Chattanooga Central.
The Division II (private school) tournament bracket was hotly contested between the top four teams, after each dominated their first round opponent. In the semifinal round, Father Ryan defeated McCallie, 34-33, and Christian Brothers defeated The Baylor School, 29-28. Baylor defeated McCallie, 41-23, in the third place match. The championship match was similarly narrow in margin, with Father Ryan upending Christian Brothers, 28-24.
Weather makes mess of PA dual meet district tournaments
The same weather front the wiped out the Wadsworth at Graham matchup on Friday night messed up many of the district dual meet tournaments this past weekend in the Keystone State.
In Class AAA (big-school), four tournament champions will advance to the quarterfinal round on Friday afternoon in Hershey. No. 6 Central Dauphin -- District 3 champions -- and Easton -- District 11 champions -- appear in the top half of the draw; while the District 1 champion Boyertown, along with the winner of this afternoon's District 7 championship match between Kiski Area and Canon-McMillan populate the bottom half.
Central Dauphin should have no problems in setting up its anticipated clash with No. 7 Central Mountain in the semifinal round. The Rams will most likely face the 7 runner-up in the quarterfinal round. This presumes that said team wins their preliminary matchup tomorrow, and then defeats (most likely) Council Rock North in the opening round Friday morning.
On the other hand, the Wildcats still have to win the District 6 championship this evening, and then most likely face Council Rock South in an opening round dual meet Friday morning. After that, it will be a clash with District 11 champions Easton. The Red Rovers are wondering why such a great tournament gets them rewarded with that draw. They survived a very tough matchup with Bethlehem Liberty, winning 29-25 in the quarterfinal Sunday afternoon prior to sweeping matches on Monday night. With District 11 only taking the top two to state, the semifinal match with rival Nazareth was "winner moves on, loser stays home." With a victory from Joey Rizzolino in the last match, Easton defeated No. 26 Nazareth, 31-29. The championship final saw Easton upset No. 27 Parkland by a 28-21 score.
The third quarter of the Class AAA draw looks to be the most unpredictable. After losing 33-27 in the semifinal round to Kiski Area, No. 38 Connellsville defeated Penn Trafford, 36-20, to take third place in District 7. Should they defeat Clearfield tonight, and Parkland do the same against Cedar Cliff, then it will be two nationally-ranked teams wrestling in Friday morning's preliminary round. The winner of which would advance to the quarterfinal to take on District 1 champion Boyertown. The bottom quarter of the draw will most likely see the champion of this afternoon's District 7 final advancing to the semifinals.
Likewise, four teams will also advance to the Class AA (small-school) quarterfinals in Hershey on Friday afternoon through district competition this weekend. The winner of the District 7 title match this afternoon between Burrell and Shady Side Academy will join District 10 champion Reynolds in the top half of the draw, while Benton and Schuylkill Valley -- District 4 and 3 champions respectively -- advance to the quarterfinal round in the bottom half.
Analysis of the bracket, seems to show that the District 7 champion and Reynolds have pretty favorable quarterfinal matchups and should see each other in a very intriguing semifinal matchup. On the other hand, life will be tougher for Benton and Schuylkill Valley in their opening match of the tournament during the quarterfinal round. It is likely that Benton will have to face the District 7 runner-up, while Schuylkill Valley draws Bedford.
The week ahead …
*Apple Valley, MN hosts Simley, MN in a battle of state champions as part of Cancer Awareness Night on Friday 2-12-10. The dual meet starts at 7:30 p.m. CST and will be broadcast live on the Minnesota Sports Broadcast Network.
*The dual meet state championships for the Keystone State will be held in Hershey, PA this Friday and Saturday in both Class AAA and AA. Preliminary play-in dual meets were scheduled for Tuesday evening, though weather issues over the weekend may back some of those later into the week.
*The Garden State will be holding its state championships in four public and two non-public groups. New Jersey conducts its individual state tournament as a single-class event that is un-scored. Teams qualified for the brackets based on power points accrued during the course of the season. Twenty-four teams qualified in the public groups, and 12 in the non-public groups. Quarterfinal matches were held last night, semifinals will be held tomorrow (Wednesday), and finals on Friday in each of the sections. The public group semifinals and finals, along with the non-public group finals, will be held this coming Sunday (2-13) at the Ritacco Center in Toms River, NJ.
*Other state dual meet championships in Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and South Carolina. Individual state tournaments will be held in Alabama, Arizona (Class 1A/2A, 3A, 4A-I, and 4A-II), Montana, and Utah.
Individual rankings are from InterMat, while team rankings are courtesy of Amateur Wrestling News (1-25-10 update).
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