As was the expectation, the Buccaneers came out strong in the opening three weight classes. No. 10 Ryan Miller upended Tim Levine 7-3 in the evening's opening bout at 106 pounds. Then it was a pair of momentum crucial pins from wrestlers ranked No. 2 nationally, Trevor Mastrogiovanni in 1:51 over Nic Botello at 113 and Michael Colaiocco late in the match at the 5:32 mark over Zeke Escalera at 120.
However, the Blue Knights countered with three wins of their own to level the dual meet at 15-15. In a battle of top ten 126-pound wrestlers, each of whom was a National Prep champion last year, No. 2 Beau Bartlett pinned No. 9 Chris Cannon in 2:53. Then, Wyoming Seminary flipped wrestlers from their nationally ranked weight classes. No. 14 (at 138) Jack Davis won the 132 pound bout 9-7 over No. 20 Travis Mastrogiovanni, and No. 5 (at 132) Carson Manville earned a win by disqualification at 138 over three-time National Prep placer Malcolm Robinson.
The next five bouts would tell the tale in the dual meet. Starting with the 145 and 152 bouts, which placed relatively unheralded wrestlers -- in the context of this dual meet -- against one another.
Blair Academy won the 145 pound match on the strength of two-time National Prep placer Mike Madara, who was up two weight classes from where he wrestled at the Ironman and Beast. Madara beat fellow junior Mosha Schwartz, last year a National Prep runner-up at 113 pounds, by a 9-3 decision. At 152 pounds it was Will Kaiser winning a 4-3 decision for the Buccaneers over fellow National Prep fifth place finisher Benny Baker.
With the No. 2 team in the country up 21-15 through eight bouts, the 160 pound match featured a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers. Blair Academy added fuel to their burst as No. 5 Andrew Merola upended No. 18 Jake Hendricks in a 4-0 decision. The win streak extended to four when No. 5 Julian Ramirez pinned Jake Stefanowicz at the 1:32 mark. After No. 10 Leo Tarantino won a tight 6-5 decision over No. 17 Darrien Roberts at 182, the dual meet was all over but for determining the final score.
Five successive wins for Blair Academy turned a 15-15 tie into a 33-15 rout, where Wyoming Seminary would need to pin out just to tie the score, but most likely lose on criteria.
At 195 pounds, it was No. 16 Austin Cooley giving the Blue Knights a consolaton victory, 6-4 in the bout over freshman Peyton Craft, as Blair Academy now cinched the dual meet.
The Buccaneers would get one last win on the evening from No. 12 Owen Trephan in a 19-6 major decision over Michael Doggett. However, Wyoming Seminary's Anthony Cutrie would tell the final tale on this Friday night with a pin over Kraig Correll at the 4:13 mark to cement the final score as No. 2 Blair Academy 37 and No. 3 Wyoming Seminary 24.
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