After Graham, OH upset Blair Academy, NJ 36-20 at home in a late January dual meet, there emerged the great debate about who was the number one team in the country this season. Was it Graham -- who had beaten Blair in a dual meet, but finished second to them in a tournament; or was it Apple Valley, MN -- with its very talented lineup that had dominated all comers at the Cheesehead Invitational and Clash Duals. Both teams concluded their seasons in dominating fashion this past weekend.
Apple Valley steals show at Xcel Energy Center
The Gopher State stages both its individual and dual meet state championships concurrently each year in St. Paul, MN at Xcel Energy Center -- the home of the NHL's Minnesota Wild. The Eagles from Apple Valley were the dominating force in the big-school division in both tournaments. During the dual meet competition, Apple Valley went 35-7 in its matches with 27 of those victories either by pin or technical fall. The Eagles defeated White Bear Lake 71-12 in the quarterfinal, Eden Prairie 64-10 in the semifinal, and St. Michael-Albertville 54-12 in the championship final. Dual Meet Brackets: http://mshsl.org/mshsl/showXMLbrackets.asp?tournid=2555&bracket=5021
In the Class AAA (big-school) individual state tournament, Apple Valley qualified 12 individuals for the competition with 11 of them placing inside the top six. Nine of these wrestlers appeared in the championship final with seven winning championships -- Dakota Trom (119), No. 19 Matt Kelliher (125), Daniel Woiwor (130), No. 12 Brandon Kingsley (135), Devin Scott (140), No. 2 Destin McCauley (152), and No. 19 Steven Keogh (160). No. 17 Jordan Kingsley was lost in an upset by fall during the semifinals at 103 pounds prior to finishing third; Nate Bruner finished second at 145 pounds; No. 18 Jake Waste was upset by defending state champion Zak Coates, from Henry Sibley, 3-1 in the finals at 171 pounds; Matt Hechsel finished fifth at 189 pounds; while Luke Schmidt fell short of placement at 215 pounds finishing 2-2 in the tournament.
Other champions in Class AA tournament were No. 14 Sam Brancale (103) from Eden Prairie, who finished an undefeated season; Mitch Bengtson (112) from St. Cloud Apollo, also finishing an undefeated season; No. 2 Dylan Ness (145) from Bloomington-Kennedy, also finishing an undefeated season; Coates at 171; Dalton Henderson (189) from Owatonna; Mitch Hrovat (215) from Centennial; and No. 12 Donny Longendyke (285) from White Bear Lake, also finishing an undefeated season. Individual Tournament Bracket: http://mshsl.org/mshsl/upload/MSHSL185250wrAAA10.htm
Graham wins 10th consecutive at Schott
Likewise Graham dominated its state championships in Ohio, winning the Division II (medium-school) state championship with 223 points coming from six state champions, two other state finalists, and 11 total qualifiers. Winning titles for the Falcons were No. 18 Ryan Taylor (103), No. 17 Bo Jordan (130), Isaac Jordan (135), No. 7 Felipe Martinez (140), Huston Evans (171), and No. 5 Max Thomusseit (189). No. 5 Nick Brascetta lost in the final 7-4 to No. 7 Ty Mitch from Aurora at 119 pounds, while Huston Evans lost 2-1 in the final to No. 18 Brad Wukie of University School.
Bo Jordan defeated No. 15 Nate Skonieczny of Walsh Jesuit by a 3-1 score in the semifinal at 130 pounds, as Skonieczny ended up taking third place. Martinez defeated No. 11 Tucker Armstrong of Kenton Ridge 7-1 in the final at 140 pounds for the fourth consecutive weekend, and sixth time overall on the season. Matt Stephens (145) placed third, Sheldon Kegley (125) placed seventh, and Cory Casady (112) went two-and-out to round out the Graham performance at state.
Mitch and No. 15 Harrison Hightower (152) of University School won third state titles in Division II, while No. 15 Johnni DiJulius (125) of Walsh Jesuit joined Martinez and Thomusseit as repeat state champions. Additional state champions were BJ Miller (112) of Defiance, Ian Miller (145) of Oak Harbor, Wukie, Logan Erb (215) of Wapakoneta, and Andrew Carpenter (285) of Sheridan.
Oak Harbor was second place in the tournament with 78-1/2 points, anchored by Ian Miller's state championship -- along with runner-up finishes from Konner Witt (152) and for a second consecutive year by Drew Stone (125). Link to results: http://www.ohsaa.org/sports/wr/boys/2010/bd2rslt10.htm
The Giant is slayed
While Graham was taking care of business in Division II, there was a superlative team race -- one unseen in the big-school classification (Division I) since the last time a public school had won the title in 1977. Only two times since had the margin been ten points or less -- in 1988 when St. Ignatius upended North Olmsted 77-1/2 to 70-1/2, and in 1990 when Cleveland St. Joseph defeated Walsh Jesuit 101 to 91. In that 1977 championship won by Nordonia, they outlasted Maple Hts by a score of 58-56.
This season, two of the nation's top ten teams St. Edward and Wadsworth set off a show unseen in Division I, as both teams lapped the field with four champions and a pair of runners-up. The Grizzlies from Wadsworth outlasted the thirteen-time defending state champions St. Edward by a 172 to 167-1/2 point score.
Champions for Wadsworth were Louden Gordon (135), No. 5 Brad Squire (145), Nick Tavanello (215), and Ben Buzzelli (Wadsworth). Each wrestler had to score very late in their match to secure the victory. Gordon and Squire both knocked off St. Edward wrestlers in the finals -- Gordon with a pin in 5:59 over Mark Martin, and Squire with a 3-2 victory over No. 15 Anthony Salupo. Finishing second for the Grizzlies were No. 17 Kagan Squire (119), losing 8-3 to No. 6 Jerome Robinson of St. Ignatius), and Caleb Busson (189).
St. Edward was anchored by titles coming from No. 8 Dean Heil (103), Gus Sako (125), No. 1 Jamie Clark (130), and No. 3 Nick Sulzer (160); while Martin and Salupo finished as runners-up. The Eagles had a pair of additional place winners in Ben Kuhar (285), who finished fourth, and Edgar Bright (112) finishing sixth; while Dominic Abounader (152) went 1-2 to finish short of placement, and Matt Van Curen (140) and Ty Walz (215) went two-and-out.
Three additional Wadsworth wrestlers finished inside the top six -- Alfredo Gray (112) and Sheldon Brandenburg (160) finished fifth, and Nate Ball (140) took home sixth. The three other Grizzly qualifiers each finished short of placement, but did win a match during the tournament -- Brandon Jones (103), Clay Wenger (152), and Bart Randolph (171).
Rounding out the state champions in the big-school division were Kory Mines (112) of Maple Hts, Robinson, Randy Languis (140) of Dublin Scioto, Waquiem Comar (152) of Twinsburg, No. 5 Josh Demas (171) of Westerville North, and Nick Miller (189) of Centerville. The next three teams in the standings were far back of Wadsworth and St. Edward but relatively bunched together -- Massillon Perry with 66, Marysville with 64-1/2, and St. Ignatius with 63-1/2 rounded out the top five. Link to results: http://www.ohsaa.org/sports/wr/boys/2010/bd1rslt10.htm
Youth rules day in Golden State
Bakersfield emerged as champions of the single-class California Interscholastic Federation state wrestling championships with 126 points. Of their 11 state qualifiers, only two were seniors -- with Brian Schoene, third at 215 pounds, the only non-underclassman to earn a placement finish. Other placers for Bakersfield were junior state champion No. 15 Bryce Hammond (160), freshman Coleman Hammond (145) finishing fourth, sophomore Natrelle Demison (130) finishing fifth, and junior Ian Nickell (103) taking seventh. On the way to a state title, Hammond defeated fellow ranked wrestler No. 17 Dominic Kastl (Gilroy) 4-3 in the semifinal round.
Second among teams at the state championships were the Selma Bears with 113-1/2 points, with no seniors among the five wrestlers to qualify to state. Sophmore Alex Cisneros (112) -- ranked third nationally -- earned a second consecutive state title; while junior Nick Pena (130) -- ranked 11th -- won his first title after placing the prior two years. In the state final, Pena defeated No. 18 Bobby Morales of Laguna Hills 7-4 to avenge a loss that occurred at the Five Counties Invitational. Also placing for the Bears were juniors Nathan Zarate, second at 140, and Justin Lozano, fifth at 160.
Despite a tournament-high 12 state qualifiers, Clovis was only able to place three wrestlers in finishing third with 97 points. Senior Tommy Burriel, ranked 16th nationally, lost in the state final to No. 3 Morgan McIntosh from Calvary Chapel 3-1 at 189 pounds. Sophomores Zach Nevills (171) and Daniel Gaytan (112) finished in second and third place respectively.
In winning the championship at 125 pounds, Chris Martinez of Clovis West defeated a pair of ranked wrestlers 3-1 in overtime; No. 18 Vince Rodriguez of Clovis North in the final, and No. 12 at 119 Chris Mecate from Redlands East Valley in the semifinal. Also at that weight class, No. 16 Jesse Delgado of Gilroy earned a fourth state placement with a fourth-place medal; Reno ToC champion freshman Isaiah Martinez of Lemoore finished third; while Mecate took home fifth.
The other head-on battle of ranked wrestlers took place at 103 pounds, where No. 12 Nashon Garrett of Chico defeated No. 20 Micah Perez of Central Union 1-0 in the quarterfinal; Garrett won the weight class, while Perez took third. Two upsets of nationally ranked wrestlers took place in the championship final round, with Tyler Johnson (145) of Vacaville defeating No. 17 Cody Rodebaugh of San Lorenzo Valley 13-7 and Lefi Letuligasenoa of Elk Grove defeating No. 6 Drew Meulman of St. Francis 3-2.
Rounding out the state champions were Bryan Grubbs (119) of La Costa Canyon, David Ferry (135) of Modesto Central Catholic, Frank Martinez (140) of Northview, Nick Sierra (152) of Lemoore, James Cook (171) of Madera, McIntosh, and No. 8 Tank Knowles (215) of Calvary Chapel. Link to results: http://www.trackwrestling.com/predefinedtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=1145009
Upsets abound in Atlantic City
With team titles determined in the month of February, and only the mythical overall No. 1 team to be determined by The Star-Ledger this morning, it was all about the individuals this past weekend at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City as the Garden State decided its state champions.
The upsets started in the opening weight class, as freshman Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield) cemented an undefeated season with a 6-5 victory over No. 2 Tyler Fraley (Colts Neck) in the state final at 103 pounds. A second South Plainfield wrestler came through with an upset in the semifinal round, as Mike Wagner defeated No. 13 Billy George (Long Branch) 3-2 in the semifinal round at 189 pounds; however, Wagner could not get a second upsets, as No. 3 Andrew Campolattano (Bound Brook) won his third consecutive state title with a 9-4 victory in the final.
On the way to an undefeated state championship, sophomore Alex Shaffer (Hunterdon Central) defeated No. 15 Robert Deutsch (Eastern Regional) 3-2 in the semifinal round at 119 pounds. No. 10 Joe Duca (Paulsboro) and No. 2 Frank Cagnina (Queen of Peace) made it three consecutive weights -- and three of the first four -- with an undefeated state champion, as each dominated their brackets at 125 and 130 pounds. In fact, Cagnina defeated the previously undefeated Tyler Scotton (Willingboro) 7-0 in the final at 130.
In the next two weight classes, five undefeated wrestlers prior to the state tournament were not able to exit Atlantic City still undefeated. No. 4 Mike Morales (Brick Memorial), a defending state champion, saw his undefeated season come to an end against Scott Festejo (Long Branch) in the finals with a 7-6 loss. Also at 135 pounds, Nick Heilmann (South Plainfield) lost 5-3 in overtime against Festejo, before losing by fall in 3:59 against Sam Emburgia (Monroe Township) for third place. Ranked seventh in the country heading into the state tournament, Vinny Fava (Elmwood Park) finished seventh in the state bracket at 135.
The 140 pound bracket had three nationally ranked wrestlers, two of whom were undefeated; and also an additional undefeated wrestler. No. 17 Hank Stinson (Eastern Regional) earned the state championship with a pin in 3:16 over previously undefeated Mike Bakuckas (Hammonton) in the semifinal, before upending James Green (Willingboro) 7-5 in the championship final. No. 13 Jordan Beverly (Point Pleasant Boro) and No. 14 Ryan Dunphy (Passaic Valley) both entered the tournament undefeated. However, Dunphy saw his string end in the round of 16 with a 3-1 overtime loss to Kurtis Becker (Kingsway Regional), and two matches later, his state tournament ended outside of placement. Beverly advanced to the semifinal with a pin and 12-0 major decision, before losing by fall in 5:44 against Green; he was then able to finish third, knocking off Bakuckas with a fall in 1:31 in the placement match.
Defending state champion, No. 7 Taylor Walsh (Camden Catholic) repeated as champion with an 8-2 victory in the final over the previously undefeated Frank Crocco (Passaic Valley) at 145 pounds. Earlier in the tournament, Crocco had upended two-time defending state champion No. 4 Anthony Baldosaro (Eastern Regional) by a 9-5 score. Baldosaro lost his next match by fall to Micah Blair (Sommerville), who had been undefeated prior to the state tournament, to fail to finish in a placing position.
The 160 pound weight class saw defending state champion No. 6 Nick Visicaro (Long Branch) defeat No. 14 Preston Keiffer (Eastern Regional) 7-1 in the state championship match. However, earlier in the tournament, Keiffer had defeated No. 12 John Guzzo (High Point) 6-5 in the semifinal round. The last of the notable upsets came in the championship match at 215 pounds, as No. 19 Zach Greenwald (Paulsboro) defeated No. 17 Kevin Innis (St. Peter's Prep) 3-1 in overtime to avenge an earlier in the season loss.
Rounding out the state champions were a pair of High Point wrestlers -- Nick Francavilla (112) and Ethan Orr (152); undefeated No. 7 Ryan Callahan (171) of Walkill Valley; and undefeated No. 2 Jimmy Lawson (285) of Manchester, who was named Outstanding Wrestler with four first period pins lasting just under an aggregate of four minutes. Link to results: http://test.escapesports.com/Results/2010/2010NJSIAA.pdf
Other state championships this past weekend:
Minnesota (Dual Meet): (Class A) http://mshsl.org/mshsl/showXMLbrackets.asp?tournid=2555&bracket=5019 (Class AA) http://mshsl.org/mshsl/showXMLbrackets.asp?tournid=2555&bracket=5020
Minnesota (Individual): (Class A) http://mshsl.org/mshsl/upload/MSHSL185222wrA10.htm (Class AA) http://mshsl.org/mshsl/upload/MSHSL185235wrAA10.htm
Ohio (Division III): http://www.ohsaa.org/sports/wr/boys/2010/bd3rslt10.htm
Michigan: (Division I) http://www.mhsaa.com/wrfiles/D1/10d1home.htm (Division 2) http://www.mhsaa.com/wrfiles/D2/10d2home.htm (Division 3) http://www.mhsaa.com/wrfiles/D3/10d3home.htm (Division 4) http://www.mhsaa.com/wrfiles/D4/10d4home.htm
New England Regional: http://www.newenglandsports.com/documents/cnesspa/2010-Wrestling-Brackets-Final.pdf (Team Scores) http://www.newenglandsports.com/documents/cnesspa/2010-Wrestling-Team-Scores-Final.pdf
Maryland: (3A/4A) http://www.mpssaa.org/assets/wintersports/wrestling/3a4abrackets.pdf (1A/2A) http://www.mpssaa.org/assets/wintersports/wrestling/1a2abrackets.pdf
Wisconsin (Dual Meet): http://www.trackwrestling.com/teamtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=352009
This coming week marks the conclusion of the state championship season with the Pennsylvania State Wrestling Championships to be held in Hershey, PA at the GIANT Center. It is a fitting conclusion to the season, with the most rigorous state tournaments being held last.
Individual weight class rankings are projected to be published next week prior to the start of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships to reflect the happenings of state tournaments across the country. The last rankings of the season will be in mid-April and will reflect results from the major postseason events; both weight class and graduating class rankings to be completed at that time.
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