Doc Buchanan Invitational
Over 90 schools, including six nationally ranked squads, will be sending wrestlers to this pre-eminent event in the western part of the United States on Friday and Saturday. In recent years, this tournament is arguably a top five in-season event across the United States. The field this year also includes 28 nationally ranked wrestlers in their respective weight classes, as well as wrestlers from six states other than California.
Host Clovis, ranked No. 6 nationally, is only the third highest ranked team in the field -- one that also includes No. 2 Bergen Catholic (N.J.) and No. 5 Buchanan. The other three nationally ranked teams are No. 37 Bakersfield, No. 46 Pomona (Colo.), and No. 47 San Marino.
Below is a listing of wrestlers to watch in the field (nationally ranked first, then alphabetically by school).
106: No. 3 Nico Aguilar (Gilroy), No. 14 Christian Nunez (St. John Bosco), No. 18 Mosha Schwartz (Ponderosa, Colo.), Izzak Olejnik (Bakersfield), Matthew Olguin (Buchanan), Elijah Palacio (Calvary Chapel), Brandon Betancourt (Clovis), Coltan Yapoujian (Pomona, Colo.)
113: Carmen Ferrante (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), Jaden Abas (Frontier), Justin Pacheco (Pomona, Colo.), Josiah Nava (Pueblo County, Colo.)
120: No. 2 Justin Mejia (Clovis), No. 17 David Campbell (Mission Oak), No. 19 Gerard Angelo (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), Patrick Ramirez (De La Salle), Tomas Gutierrez (Pomona, Colo.), Ian Timmins (Wooster, Nev.)
126: No. 1 Nick Suriano (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), Isaiah Palomino (Bellarmine), Donovan Guerrero (De La Salle), Devan Turner (Dixon), Theorius Robison (Pomona, Colo.), Grant Willits (Pueblo County, Colo.), Zander Silva (San Marino), Robert Garcia (Selma)
132: No. 9 Navonte Demison (Bakersfield), No. 13 Chris Sandoval (Pueblo County, Colo.), No. 17 Durbin Lloren (Buchanan), Chris Foca (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), Chris DeLoza (Clovis North), Curtis Booth (Folsom), Alex Felix (Gilroy), Trence Gillem (Helix), Dayton Marvel (Pomona, Colo.)
138: No. 4 Shane Griffith (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), No. 9 Jaden Enriquez (Mission Oak), No. 17 Julian Flores (San Marino), J.J. Figueroa (Bakersfield), Brady O'Keefe (Carson City, Nev.), Jake Douglas (Lake Stevens, Wash.), Jacob Greenwood (Poudre, Colo.)
145: No. 5 Zander Wick (San Marino), No. 10 Quentin Hovis (Seton Catholic, Ariz.), Brandon Martino (Clovis), Ruben Gacia (Selma)
152: No. 4 Evan Wick (San Marino), No. 6 Israel Saavedra (Granite Bay), Greg Gaxiola (Buchanan), Jared Hill (Clovis), Brandon Claiborne (Oak Ridge), Hunter Willits (Pueblo County, Colo.), Brandon Konecny (Seton Catholic, Ariz.)
160: No. 10 Justin Thomas (Calvary Chapel), No. 11 Layne van Anrooy (Roseburg, Ore.), No. 18 Abner Romero (Buchanan), Sam Loera (Bakersfield), Beau Colombin (Windsor)
170: No. 10 Jeremy Thomas (Calvary Chapel), No. 11 Joe Grello (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), Michael Soler (Lake Stevens, Wash.), Dominic Ducharme (Windsor)
182: No. 8 Josh Hokit (Clovis), Josh McKenzie (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), Anthony Montalvo (Buchanan), Roman Romero (McNair), Wyatt Westfall (North Medford, Ore.), Abel Garcia (Oakdale), Haydn Maley (Roseburg, Ore.), Bridger Barker (Seton Catholic, Ariz.)
195: No. 5 Kevin Mulligan (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), No. 11 A.J. Nevills (Clovis), Trevor Ervin (Buchanan), Noe Garcia (Gilroy), Danny Salas (St. John Bosco)
220: No. 9 Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa, Colo.), No. 20 Bevan Brandt (Bullard), Danny DeLorenzi (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), Darryl Aiello (De La Salle), Christian Ayala (Pacifica)
285: No. 6 Seth Nevills (Clovis), Jarrod Snyder (Frontier), Christian Rebottaro (Monta Vista Christian)
Cheesehead Invitational
Similar to the Doc Buchanan, another prominent and nationally elite tournament is on the docket this weekend. This one is being hosted by Kaukauna High School, located near Green Bay (Wis.).
Of the 28 teams from six states in the field, eight of the squads are ranked among the nation's top 40 teams: No. 7 Carl Sandburg (Ill.), No. 14 Southeast Polk (Iowa), No. 16 Apple Valley (Minn.), No. 18 St. Michael-Albertville (Minn.), No. 21 Mt. Carmel (Ill.), No. 27 Montini Catholic (Ill.), No. 33 Platte County (Mo.), and No. 39 Kasson-Mantorville (Minn.). Additional teams to note include Lockport (Ill.), Kaukauna (Wis.), Stoughton (Wis.), Wisconsin Rapids (Wis.), Waverly-Shell Rock (Iowa), and Thompson (Ala.)
From an individual standpoint, two wrestlers ranked No. 1 in their respective weight class are in the field, both from Apple Valley: Mark Hall (170) and Gable Steveson (220). Each wrestler is also ranked as the top overall wrestler in their respective grade level, Hall for the Class of 2016 and Steveson for the Class of 2018.
The tournament is the nation's best hybrid format (pool-to-bracket) event. Preliminary matches and/or byes based on seeding are used to determine entry into the upper pools or the consolation bracket. The upper pools, four-by-four, consist of the top 16 wrestlers. From there, the top two wrestlers in each pool will compete in an eight-man bracket for the top eight positions; while the remaining wrestlers will compete in a bracket for ninth place.
Below is a listing of nationally ranked wrestlers in the field, 21 in total.
106: No. 10 Joey Melendez (Montini Catholic, Ill.), No. 16 Patrick McKee (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.)
113: No. 2 Real Woods (Montini Catholic, Ill.)
126: No. 7 Matthew Schmitt (Platte County, Mo.)
132: No. 6 Rudy Yates (Carl Sandburg, Ill.), No. 8 Dylan Duncan (Montini Catholic, Ill.)
138: No. 5 Mitch McKee (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.), No. 16 Will Lewan (Montini Catholic, Ill.)
145: No. 3 Austin O'Connor (St. Rita's, Ill.), No. 14 Ethan Karsten (Platte County, Mo.)
152: No. 3 Griffin Parriott (New Prague, Minn.), No. 12 Jake Allar (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.), No. 19 Shane Tucker (Mt. Carmel, Ill.)
160: No. 4 Brady Berge (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.), No. 9 Lucas Jeske (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.)
170: No. 1 Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.)
182: No. 3 Beau Breske (Hartford Union, Wis.), No. 18 Patrick Brucki (Carl Sandburg, Ill.)
195: No. 16 Jacob Raschka (Pewaukee, Wis.)
220: No. 1 Gable Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn.), No. 6 Ethan Andersen (Southeast Polk, Iowa)
Nation's oldest tournament: the 72nd annual Geary (Okla.) Invitational
One of the most unique and longest-standing scholastic wrestling events happens this Friday and Saturday in Oklahoma with the Geary invitational. First and foremost, it is the longest lasting in-season scholastic wrestling tournament in the United States. Secondly, the draw is 100% random, no seeds; also, there are challenge matches for "true second" after the completion of the tournament.
About 25 teams from five different states are slated to compete. Anchoring the field are No. 3 Blair Academy (N.J.) and No. 11 Tuttle (Okla.). Other notable teams include fellow Oklahoma state champions Broken Arrow and Collinsville. Below is a list of nationally ranked wrestlers, along with other state champs (and some finalists).
106: No. 13 Michael Colaiocco (Blair Academy, N.J.)
113: No. 17 Paxton Rosen (Edmond North, Okla.), Marcus Robinson (Arkansas City, Kans.), Rhett Golowenski (Tutle, Okla.), Mason Naifeh (Tulsa Union, Okla.), Canon Randall (Westmoore, Okla.)
120: No. 20 Garrett Rowe (Choctaw, Okla.), Zach Sherman (Blair Academy, N.J.), Xavier Torres (Canyon Randall, Texas), Noah MacQuigg (Tuttle, Okla.)
126: No. 12 Dalton Duffield (Westmoore, Okla.), Montorie Bridges (Altus, Okla.), Andrew Nieman (Stillwater, Okla.)
132: No. 3 Daton Fix (Sand Springs, Okla.), No. 11 Requir van de Merwe (Blair Academy, N.J.), Nate Keim (Collinsville, Okla.), Tanner Litterell (Tuttle, Okla.)
138: Ryan Rochford (Rio Rancho, N.M.), Brik Filippo (Tuttle, Okla.)
152: John Manning (Blair Academy, N.J.), Elijah Tanner (Collinsville, Okla.), Ross Shawnee (Geary, Okla.), Joseph Messer (Norman North, Okla.), Dayton Garrett (Tuttle, Okla.)
160: No. 17 Ryan Karoly (Blair Academy, N.J.), Kendall Biddle (Arkansas City, Kans.)
170: No. 4 Brandon Dallavia (Blair Academy, N.J.), Tanner Johnson (Tuttle, Okla.)
195: No. 3 Chase Singletary (Blair Academy, N.J.), Skyler Haynes (Broken Arrow, Okla.)
220: Nick Mosco (Blair Academy, N.J.), Blake Berryhill (Tuttle, Okla.)
285: Keegan Pride (Altus, Okla.)
Mat Mayhem High School Duals
Nationally ranked squads in No. 24 Lowell (Mich.) and No. 36 Brownsburg (Ind.) headline the eight high school teams that will be competed on Saturday at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne (Ind.) as part of the NWCA Mat Mayhem festivities. Other squads include defending Michigan state champions in Brighton and Richmond, though neither is favored to repeat in their division this year; Dakota and Oxford, who are both top ten squads in Michigan's big-school division (D1); Mechanicsburg (Ohio), who is a candidate to finish second in Ohio's small-school division (Division III), and finished top five at the Brecksville Invitational last week; and Merrillville, a potential top ten team in single-class Indiana.
The teams will be split into two pools, where they will wrestle dual meets against the three other teams in their pool. Then each squad will wrestle a cross-over bout against the team that placed in the corresponding position of the other pool.
There is a smattering of nationally ranked wrestlers from these teams.
126: No. 13 Lucas Hall (Lowell, Mich.)
160: No. 12 Kaleb Romero (Mechanicsburg, Ohio), No. 16 Jacob Covaciu (Merrillville, Ind.)
195: No. 6 Max Dean (Lowell, Mich.)
220: No. 8 Lucas Ready (Brighton, Mich.)
285: No. 2 Shawn Streck (Merrillville, Ind.)
Detroit Catholic Central (Mich.) Super Duals
Also on Saturday in the Great Lakes region is the annual Super Duals event at Detroit Catholic Central (Mich.). Eight teams will compete in four dual meet each. Three of the out of state teams are nationally ranked, No. 8 St. Edward (Ohio), No. 9 Oak Park River Forest (Ill.), and No. 35 Brecksville (Ohio); the other out-of-state team is Portage (Ind.), a probable top ten team in single-class Indiana.
All four in-state teams are viewed as top ten squads statewide; Detroit Catholic Central and Davison are viewed as next best to nationally ranked Hartland in the big-school division (D1), St. Johns is rated next best to nationally ranked Lowell in Division 2, while Hudson is second in the small-school division (D4).
To my understanding, here is the order of matches for the three nationally ranked teams. Matches will take place at 9:00 a.m., 11:00, 1:00 p.m., and 3:00 Eastern Time.
St. Edward: Portage, St. Johns, Hudson, Detroit Catholic Central
OPRF: Detroit Catholic Central, Davison, Portage, Brecksville
Brecksville: Davison, Hudson, Detroit Catholic Central, OPRF
It should be noted that St. Edward beat OPRF in a dual meet last week at the Clash, St. Edward has a dual meet against Davison scheduled for the end of the month, and it is possible that St. Edward and Brecksville could meet during the state dual meet tournament in February
Quick hitters
New to the Fab 50 national team rankings this week are four schools: No. 35 Brecksville (Ohio), No. 36 Brownsburg (Ind.), No. 41 Anoka (Minn.), and No. 50 West Des Moines Valley (Iowa).
**Brecksville won their home tournament last week out-pointing three nationally ranked teams: No. 17 Elyria (Ohio), though without a returning state champion; No. 25 Delta (Ohio), second to the champion Bees by a half-point; and No. 38 Olentangy Liberty (Ohio), who were missing three or four starters.
**Brownsburg won the big-school (Class 3A) IHSWCA Team State title last week with a 34-24 victory, eight matches to six, over now No. 42 Warren Central, who were ranked No. 25 natonally at the time.
**Anoka won the third place bracket at The Clash XIV, including a 34-27 victory over now No. 44 Park Hill (Mo.), who was ranked No. 41 at the time
**West Des Moines Valley joins the rankings this week, and will be immediately tested when they host No. 29 Fort Dodge (Iowa) as part of a tri-meet tomorrow night.
One will see some familiar wrestlers subtracted from the individual weight class rankings. That is due to their not having yet competed during the 2015-16 season. When those wrestlers return to the mat, they will return to the weight class rankings in their rightful positions.
No. 30 Nazareth (Pa.) is the top seed in the National High School Division portion of this weekend's Virginia Duals, to be held on Friday and Saturday in Hampton. Primary challenge for the Blue Eagles will come from Colonial Forge (Va.), who was ranked in the pre-season, but dropped out due to some struggles; however the Eagles are the event's defending champion.
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