Wasilla were champions in the Class 4A competition in Alaska by 20 points over runner-up South Anchorage. Two wrestlers had undefeated seasons on their way to state titles: Paul Steffensen (Kenai Central) at 126 pounds and Anthony Sierra (East Anchorage) at 145. Results
Fab 50 development
Per a report on Minneapolis television station KARE last week, nationally ranked wrestler 152 pound wrestler Dayton Racer is no longer part of the Apple Valley wrestling program. Though speculation is rampant, there is nothing further that has been positively confirmed at this time.
While competing for Apple Valley this season, Racer's 4-2 victory over 2012 state runner-up Matthew Rundell in the final match of their Clash XII championship dual meet against Oak Park River Forest (Ill.) enabled the Eagles to score a 30-27 victory in that dual meet; one in which the squads split the fourteen weight classes at seven matches apiece.
In terms of the Fab 50 national rankings, Apple Valley will drop back two positions to No. 4, while Oak Park River Forest and Clovis (Calif.) each slide up one position to second and third respectively.
Blair Academy closes out regular season with victory over eighth nationally ranked team
This past Friday evening, No. 1 Blair Academy (N.J.) scored their eighth win in as many dual meets against top 30 in the nation competition with a 37-22 victory over No. 20 Bound Brook, N.J. Though they were short two starters from the lineup, the Buccaneers were still able to win eight weight classes, including four via pins.
Blair Academy jumped out to a 16-0 lead after the opening four bouts, which culminated with a 6-3 victory for No. 5 Matthew Kolodzik over returning state champion Craig De La Cruz at 126 pounds. Bound Brook did get on the board when freshman Mekhi Lewis upended returning National Prep placer Alex Rinaldi 8-3 at 132. However, hopes of momentum were stopped when No. 1 in the nation Joey McKenna scored a pin 1:03 into the next bout.
Junior Nicholas Accetta did counter for the Crusaders with a 7-5 decision over National Prep runner-up Walker Dempsey at 145 pounds. However, again that was quickly buffered by a pin from No. 8 Mason Manville 1:20 into the 152 match. In the 160 pound match, Bound Brook would cut the deficit to 28-10 with a 10-0 major decision from state placer Josh Ugalde.
Wins in the next two matches by the Buccaneers would put the dual meet out of reach, as No. 19 Brandon Dallavia (170) scored a pin in 1:18, while Nick DiNapoli (182) earned a mild upset in a 2-1 victory over state qualifier Isaiah Soto. Bound Brook closed out the dual meet with three victories to shrink the final margin down to 37-22. Results
Clovis to host yet another nationally ranked neighbor
With an in-state dual meet victory streak that has now reached 83 in a row, No. 3 Clovis (Calif.) will host No. 36 Clovis West in the concluding dual meet of the season for both teams. Each squad has already wrestled No. 34 Buchanan; Clovis won nine bouts in a 39-14 victory, while Clovis West lost 37-32 despite the teams splitting the bouts at seven apiece.
Based on competitions so far, here are the projected lineups for tonight's match, which is slated for a 7 p.m. Pacific Time start:
106: No. 5 Justin Mejia (Clovis) vs. Chris Marin (CW). Mejia is 2-0 vs. Marin this season, 10-1 and 4-0 the match scores.
113: Tristan Gilliland (Clovis) vs. Bryce Morita (CW)
120: Julian Gaytan (Clovis) vs. Isack Espana (CW)
126: Khristian Olivas (Clovis) vs. No. 16 Michael Knoblauch (CW)
132: Isaiah Hokit (Clovis) vs. Bobby Miguel (CW)
138: Lane Barnes (Clovis) vs. Chris Lane (CW)
145: Jared Hill (Clovis) vs. Chris Garcia (CW)
152: Dominic Kincaid (Clovis) vs. Tyler Zimmer (CW). Zimmer has a 4-2 victory over Kincaid from the Doc Buchanan Invitational.
160: Josh Hokit (Clovis) vs. Luke Lierly (CW)
170: Brody Brand (Clovis) vs. George Espana/Eric Gilkburg (CW)
182: A.J. Nevills (Clovis) vs. Espana/Gilkburg (CW)
195: Matt Weiss/Adam Prentice (Clovis) vs. Alex Ku (CW)
220: Weiss/Prentice (Clovis) vs. Cortes Morales (CW). Weiss beat Morales 10-2 at the Zinkin Classic in December.
285: No. 1 Nick Nevills (Clovis) vs. Austin Cox (CW)
Based on the state rankings of the projected starters, Clovis West is favored in four weight classes (126, 138, 145, and 152). This is a reflection of just how truly balanced Clovis is across their lineup.
No. 13 BECA steamrolls competition in Keystone State Class AA state duals
In this the sixteenth year for the state dual meet championships in Pennsylvania, Bethlehem Catholic became just the third team to win state titles in four consecutive years. The Hawks joined a pair of Class AAA (big-school) programs as owners of that accomplishment: Easton (2001-2004) and Central Dauphin (2008-2011). They are also prohibitively favored to win their third straight individual tournament championship next month.
Bethlehem Cahtolic won their first two matches by shutouts, 73-0 over Lower Moreland and 62-0 over Fort LeBoeuf. It was then a 59-3 victory in the semifinal over Hamburg, before their second straight victory over Reynolds in the final; this time the score was 41-15. For the weekend, the Hawks went an absurd 51-5. Quite frankly the only question left by the end of the weekend in Hershey was how they would fare if competing in the Class AAA tournament.
Franklin Regional wins Class AAA, but lots of peripheral stories
While No. 8 Franklin Regional was more or less dominant on their way to a Class AAA championship, their first ever in either the dual meet or individual competition, there were many tight matches and the like on the periphery.
First is the journey of North Allegheny to the semifinal round, all of which comes with their second-best wrestler (returning state placer Jesse Rodgers) out of the lineup. In the previous week's WPIAL team tournament, they needed a 32-28 win over Kiski Area just to advance to the semifinals, a necessity to qualify for state. After getting blown out 49-24 by Franklin Regional on Friday night, they then won a 29-28 battle with Canon-McMillan to advance to the playoff. The playoff was the easiest match, a 72-6 victory over Pittsburgh City League champions Allderdice.
The Tigers drew nationally ranked Cumberland Valley in their opening bout at the GIANT Center on Thursday evening. Yet again, the Tigers emerged with a victory, this time it was 29-28 as the teams split the bouts at seven apiece. Results Then, on Friday afternoon, they came through with a criteria victory after a 27-27 dual meet against Parkland. Key in that dual meet was Parkland was docked a team point during the course of the match, which turned a 28-27 Trojans victory into a 28-27 loss when the criteria point was added. Results Just to reach the point of a tied dual meet, the Tigers needed wins in four of the last five weight classes, with three of those coming by one or two points.
What was a majestic run got derailed in the semifinal by No. 40 Greater Latrobe in the form of a 34-29 victory in yet another 7-7 match count dual meet. Results Key for North Allegheny in that match was a 7-5 mild upset victory from Luke Landefeld against returning National Prep runner-up Ethan McCoy at 113 pounds. However, bonus points made the difference in favor of Greater Latrobe. That included a match opening technical fall for No. 17 Dom Scalise (160), a major decision wrestling up one weight class for No. 3 Zack Zavatsky (195), and a pin for No. 1 Luke Pletcher (120).
The run ended on Saturday morning when No. 45 Cumberland Valley avenged the loss from Thursday evening with a 31-28 victory in what was yet another 7-7 match count dual meet. Results Cumberland Valley would end up taking fourth place, after losing 39-18 to No. 26 Nazareth in the consolation final. Results
Franklin Regional's run to the championship was rather straight forward. It started with a 67-9 victory over Wilson in which the Panthers won 12 of 14 matches, and continued with a 54-16 victory over Erie McDowell in which they won eleven bouts. In both the semifinal on Friday night (38-22 over Nazareth) and final on Saturday afternoon (37-23 over Greater Latrobe), Franklin Regional would win nine weight classes. Semifinal Results | Finals Results
Five Panthers wrestlers went 4-0 on the weekend to anchor their team state title effort: No. 3 Devin Brown (106), No. 1 Spencer Lee (113), Dom Giannangeli (126), No. 2 Michael Kemerer (138), and No. 10 Josh Shields (152).
Massillon Perry wins debut title, St. Paris Graham and Delta repeat in Ohio
After years on in of heartbreak, No. 7 Massillon Perry finally came through with that elusive state title in wrestling. The Panthers were runners-up in last year's initial edition of the team state tournament, and had finished second in nine of the last eleven individual bracket state tournaments. However, this year they came up golden in dominant fashion. In three dual meets on Saturday, Massillon Perry had a cumulative record of 32-10 in the individual matches.
The opening round dual was a 54-9 victory over Delaware Hayes, one in which it was 48-0 after the first ten matches were wrestled. Between 106 and 170, Massillon Perry has very few peers in terms of lineup quality nationally. The Panthers put a similar assault on St. Edward, as they led 45-3 through 170 in the course of a 48-15 victory. That victory over St. Edward was the first ever in program history for Massillon Perry.
In the other semifinal, No. 21 Brecksville put a similar assault on a highly regarded Cincinnati Moeller squad within the first ten weight classes. The Bees won nine matches, including an unexpected upset pin from Troy Lang against state runner-up Quinton Rosser at 170, to hold a 42-3 lead. Said dual meet ended up in a 45-21 Brecksville victory.
The state championship match in Division I was more or less a coronation for Massillon Perry. They opened up a 10-0 lead after two matches, an 11-1 major decision from Thomas Genetin (106) followed by a pin in 2:44 from No. 4 Jose Rodriguez (113), and never looked back. No. 10 Austin Assad provided a momentary buffer for the Bees with a 3-1 victory over Jake Newhouse at 120; however, a 17-1 technical fall from David Bavery (126) followed by a 4-3 decision on a late reversal for Jason Spencer (132) stretched the lead to 18-3.
A pair of consecutive decision victories for Sonny Lucas (138) and Grayson Davis (145) against returning Panthers state qualifiers cut the deficit to 18-9, but Massillon Perry stuffed out hope with wins in the next three matches. No. 13 Casey Sparkman (152) scored a 28-12 technical fall against freshman Luke Strnad, No. 12 Tony Dailey (160) scored a 13-6 decision victory over fellow state placer Austin Strnad despite giving up the first takedown, and Isaac Bast (170) earned a 3-2 victory over Troy Lang.
The dual meet was clinched at that point, as the Panthers led 29-9 with four matches to go, including one assured victory by forfeit. However, things got even better when Timmy Armstrong scored a massive upset in pinning returning state placer Josh Murphy (195) in 45 seconds. The final score was a Massillon Perry 48-9 victory.
Joining the Panthers as dual meet state champions in Ohio were No. 5 St. Paris Graham in Division II and No. 49 Delta in Division III. St. Paris Graham upended No. 31 Claymont in the championship final by a 35-24 score, as they won eight bouts. However, that score-line does not fully tell the tale, as the dual meet was clinched within ten bouts; the Falcons held a 35-6 lead after state placer Lane Thomas scored a 19-4 technical fall over state qualifier Matt Dennis at 170. Each team also scored a victory against a projected state champion for the opponent. At 120 pounds, Mario Kastl from St. Paris Graham upended Dustin Warner 6-0; while in the 138 class, it was three-time Claymont state placer Cody Burcher earning a 1-0 victory over Kyle Lawson on a first period penalty point.
Delta won twelve weight classes in their quarterfinal and semifinal bouts, a 70-8 win over Blanchester followed by a 65-6 win over Tulsaw in what was a rematch of last year's state dual meet final. Even with a couple of tossup matches going against the Panthers in the final, superior depth enabled them to win eight weight classes in a 40-26 victory over Dayton Christian. Results
Action for the coming weekend
Individual bracket state tournaments will be conducted in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Montana, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah.
The individual bracket state finals were also scheduled for Arizona this coming weekend; however, sectional tournaments across that state were delayed due to a skin condition that impacted multiple programs. On Tuesday afternoon, a decision was made to hold the state tournament in Divisions III and IV (the smaller-school classifications) this week, with sectional tournaments in Division I and II (bigger-school classifications) this week and their state tournaments next week.
Dual meet state tournaments are slated for completion in North Dakota, Maryland, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and New Jersey.
Oklahoma Class 6A
Three of the nation's fifteen best teams find themselves within the big-school (6A) classification in the Sooner State. Competition will be held on Saturday at Yukon High School with a live stream available through http://www.foxsportsoklahoma.com. Quarterfinals are slated for Noon Central, semifinals at 2 p.m., and finals at 6:30 p.m. No. 12 Broken Arrow and No. 15 Edmond North are in the upper bracket, which means they would most likely meet in the semifinal round, presuming each gets past a first round opponent; Broken Arrow faces Southmoore, while Edmond North draws Muskogee. No. 11 Stillwater anchors the lower bracket, where they'll face Midwest City in the opening round, before a semifinal round match against either Yukon or Tulsa Union.
New Jersey, Non-Public Group A
Though there will be six team state titles (Groups 4, 3, 2, and 1; and Non-Public A, B) decided in New Jersey on Sunday afternoon at Pine Belt Arena in Toms River, one of the tournaments will provide most of the intrigue. That would be the Non-Public A classification with three nationally ranked teams -- No. 9 Bergen Catholic, No. 24 Don Bosco Prep, and No. 25 St. Peter's Prep -- along with a formidable Delbarton.
The unfortunate thing is that all the good teams in this class are in the North section, which means that Sunday's final against the South section champion (most likely St. Augustine Prep) will be an absolute coronation. North section semifinals this evening, and the final on Friday this evening are the ones worth watching; tonight it is Bergen Catholic hosting Delbarton and Don Bosco Prep hosting St. Peter's Prep, with the winners slated to meet on Friday evening.
Additional dual meet state champions from last week
Parkland rallied back from a 21-12 deficit to upend Jack Britt 30-24 in order to win an eighth consecutive North Carolina Class 4A title on Saturday night. The result also cemented another undefeated season for the Mustangs, and kept their staggeringly long winning streak alive. Rounding out the dual meet state champions in the Tar Heel State for 2013-14 were Morehead (Class 3A), Newton-Conover (Class 2A), and Mitchell (Class 1A).
The state dual meet championships in Delaware were contested on Tuesday evening at Smyrna High School. While the individual tournament is single-class, there are two divisions in the dual meet competition. Semifinal matches in Division I placed Smyrna against Salesanium, with Caesar Rodney slated to face Cape Henelopen; while in Division II, Milford faced Lake Forest, and St. George's Tech was to face Hodgson. The winners would face each other for the title. Results
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