The Saturday night dual meet will feature nine nationally ranked wrestlers between the teams, with the likelihood of two matches where both wrestlers are ranked. Below are the likely matchups and some information about each of the participants.
106: L.J. Bentley (St. Edward) vs. No. 5 Eli Stickley (St. Paris Graham): Bentley qualified for state last year as a freshman, was a NHSCA grade-level champion, and finished seventh at the Ironman; while Stickley placed fifth at state during his freshman campaign, finished sixth at the Super 32 Challenge, and won the Ironman.
113: Sal Corrao vs. Eli Seipel: The senior Corrao is in his initial season as a starter for the Eagles, while the sophomore Seipel placed fourth at state last year and sixth at the Ironman.
120: Kurt Wysocki/Austin Hiles vs. Brent Moore: This weight class has been a struggle for St. Edward all year, as Wysocki did not place in any of their three December tournaments; however, we could see the initial appearance for the freshman Hiles in this weight, as the junior high state runner-up has been in reserve at 126. For the host Falcons, the freshman Moore was a junior high state champion last year.
126: Chance Driscoll vs. Mario Kastl: The senior Driscoll is in his first year as a starter, and placed seventh at the Dvorak and third at Medina; while the freshman Kastl was a junior high state runner-up, having stepped into the lineup with the injury to senior Chase Crabtree.
Dean Heil and Micah Jordan are expected to meet on Saturday in a rematch of the Ironman semifinals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)138: No. 17 Colin Heffernan vs. Nate Henkle: The senior Heffernan placed fourth at state last year, and has titles at both the Dvorak and Medina to his credit this year. For Graham, it's the junior Henkle, who was a state alternate last season.
145: No. 3 Edgar Bright vs. Garrett Jordan: Bright is a three-time state placer, finishing as runner-up each of the last two years, and was champion of the Walsh Ironman this year. For Graham, it's a rather unproven freshman taking to the mat.
152: No. 9 Markus Scheidel vs. No. 8 Alex Marinelli: The Columbia-bound Scheidel has placed twice at state, including last year's runner-up finish, and was seventh at the Ironman in his second placement at this prestigious tournament. The freshman Marinelli stormed onto the high school scene with his runner-up finish at the Walsh Ironman, and this multi-time junior high state champ has not looked back since.
160: Robbie Rogers/Ray Barr vs. No. 1 Bo Jordan: Graham sends out arguably the best wrestler in the country regardless of weight class in Bo Jordan, a three-time state champion and three-time Ironman champion who is bound for Ohio State. St. Edward may choose to shift Rogers up to 170, as he's better equipped to win the tossup match in the next weight class.
170: Rogers/Barr vs. Lane Thomas: Both Rogers and Barr have placed eighth in one tournament this year, Rogers at the Dvorak and Barr at Medina. For Graham, the junior Thomas went 1-2 at the district tournament last year, but has shown decently this year winning two matches at the Ironman and placing third at the GMVWA over the Christmas holiday.
182: No. 2 Domenic Abounader vs. Josh Couchman: This starts the back four portion for the Falcons where they are relatively weak; this weight features a sophomore who did place a respectable fourth at the GMVWA. However, facing off against two-time state champion Abounader, who is bound for Michigan next year is a very tough road to hoe.
195: Gabe Dzuro vs. Cole Thedor: The junior Dzuro finished second at the Ironman and fourth at Medina in his first year as a starter at St. Edward, while the sophomore Thedor went two-and-out for Graham at the Ironman.
220: Parker Knapp vs. Anthony Welty: The sophomore Knapp, Cadet freestyle All-American this past summer, was runner-up at the Dvorak with two wins over Illinois state placers and finished third at Medina. On the other hand, the senior Welty went 1-2 at the Ironman and placed sixth at the GMVWA.
285: Ralph Nichols vs. Cabel Courtwright: The junior Nichols was champion at Medina and fifth at the Dvorak, while the sophomore Courtwright went two-and-out at the Ironman and failed to place at the GMVWA.
InterMat contributor Dan Ransick will be providing coverage of this dual meet with updates during the match and a recap afterwards.
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