CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio -- The hype and attention around the Walsh Jesuit Ironman is unreal on a year-to-year basis. It is like Daytona 500 of the high school wrestling season, and lord knows did it deliver with flying colors this year. Major stories were abound from both the team dynamic, with the top four teams in the country competing for the title on day two; and the individual as well, with eleven wrestlers ranked either first or second on the brackets.
The medal matches on Saturday night in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio started with the 195 pound weight class, so the proceedings would end with the 182 pound matches. This final was a showdown of the nation's top two ranked wrestlers in the weight class, Zahid Valencia (St. John Bosco, Calif.) and Myles Martin (McDonogh, Md.). Also on the line in this match was a potential fourth Ironman title for Valencia, who would become just the second wrestler to be a four-time Ironman champion; the other being David Taylor (St. Paris Graham, Ohio), who would go on to be a four-time national finalist and two-time Hodge Trophy winner at Penn State.
What the match was lacking for in action, as each wrestler only had one meaningful deep leg attack during the first seven minutes of the bout, the drama trumped that by a factor of tens. Martin and Valencia would trade escapes during the second and third periods, as well as in the thirty-second tiebreaker periods. Then, in the ultimate tiebreaker, Martin chose down. Therefore, Valencia needed to ride out Martin, who had escaped quickly twice earlier in the match, to make history.
"All that was on my mind was number four," said Valencia after the match. "I wanted it so bad, and God gave me the strength to pull it out."
That is what happened, as over the course of multiple sequences, he was able to prevent Martin from earning the escape during the 30 second ultimate tiebreaker period. That fourth Ironman title gave Valencia a piece of history, and the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler award.
"I've left a legacy behind (with that fourth Ironman title)," added Valencia.
Two other phenoms from St. John Bosco added Ironman titles on Saturday night to already robust resumes, Cade Olivas (106) and Anthony Valencia (170), who both also are ranked No. 1 regardless of weight class in their respective grades.
Olivas, just a freshman, added to an already robust wrestling resume with an 8-3 championship match victory against No. 9 Drew Mattin (Delta, Ohio). Cade scored a takedown in each period, adding a two-point near fall with the takedown he scored in the first period.
"I come in with the same game plan for every match," responded Olivas when asked about how high school is different than his previous wrestling. "I've gotten the job done with it so far (over his youth wrestling career), so why change."
Four of five matches for Anthony Valencia were decided by major decision or pin, which included a 12-3 victory in the championship final against No. 5 Kamal Bey (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.). Both wrestlers started the match of strong, as each threw the other at the edge of the mat, but was unable to score. However, Anthony would get the action started with a five point-move midway through the first period.
He then added an additional takedown in each period on the way to earning a second consecutive title at the Walsh Ironman. "Experience," was what Anthony cited for why he was able to come out on top in the key flurry situations of the match.
"Doing it again means a lot," added Anthony about ¬repeating as champion. "In fact it means more than winning the first one."
Heading into the tournament's second day, the top four teams in the country were within five points of one another in the standings. After the quarterfinal round, No. 3 Wyoming Seminary, Pa. kind of bowed out due to a 2-6 performance. However, No. 1 Blair Academy, N.J. (6-2), No. 2 Oak Park River Forest, Ill. (5-2), and No. 4 St. Paris Graham, Ohio (6-2) were all packed together.
Then, at high noon the fourth-ranked Falcons came out on fire, as they pulled five wrestlers into the championship final – as opposed to the trio that Blair Academy and OPRF were able to advance. The sizzle continued on Saturday night, as St. Paris Graham would see three of its wrestlers earn weight class titles on the way to a team title with 211 points (Blair Academy was second with 189.5)
Champions for St. Paris Graham were No. 11 Mitch Moore (113), No. 10 Eli Seipel (126), and No. 6 Alex Marinelli (160).
The freshman sensation Moore beat his third nationally ranked wrestler of the tournament on Saturday night in a 6-1 decision over No. 4 Jason Renteria (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.), who is now a two-time Ironman runner-up. Moore scored a takedown with near falls in the first period, rode Renteria out in the second period, and added a third period takedown for the comprehensive victory.
"I've been coming here since I was little to watch the tournament," said the freshman sensation Moore. "While alone in the (wrestling) room with (head coach) Jeff (Jordan) after last weekend's tournament, I told him I would win (this Ironman title)."
Seipel happened not to have to face a single ranked wrestler on the way to his title, which was a one-step improvement from last year's runner-up finish. The championship victory came against Coltan Williams (Trinity Christian Academy, Texas), who had beaten No. 4 Austin Assad (Brecksville, Ohio) 6-5 in the tiebreakers during the semifinal.
Seipel scored takedowns in the first and second period of the championship bout to give the necessary margin in a 7-2 finals victory. "It's great to go out on top at the Ironman," said Seipel about both his individual title and the Falcons' team title. "Now I want to help us get that national title."
The junior Marinelli was in his third Ironman final, and third against a Blair Academy wrestler, having fallen short against Russ Parsons and Dylan Milonas the previous two seasons. On this occasion, he would be going against defending Ironman champion Mason Manville, who is ranked No. 2 nationally at 160 pounds.
The wrestlers traded escapes in regulation, while Marinelli had the best scoring chance, as he got deep in on a single leg attack during the third period. However, Manville was able to defend his way out of the situation. Then in overtime, on a virtually identical setup and finish, Marinelli was that bit crisper and got the takedown and 3-1 victory.
"I work to my position, get (Manville) out of his," said Marinelli about his match strategy in the final against an opponent whose positioning and defense is supreme. "Stalk, creep, push, attack. Just good Iowa style wrestling."
In addition to the three weight class champions, St. Paris Graham added runner-up finishes from No. 9 Eli Stickley (120) and Rocky Jordan (132), a fourth from No. 12 Brent Moore (145), a fifth from Justin Stickley (106), a sixth from Garrett Jordan (170), and a seventh from No. 13 Kyle Lawson (152).
"I thought we could win, but there were a lot of question marks," said Falcons' head coach Jeff Jordan about his pre-tournament expectation. "It ended up coming down to the young guys and a couple unexpected kids stepping it up."
It is likely that St. Paris Graham will jump up to No. 1 nationally on Wednesday in the Fab50, and they are scheduled to make a trip to current No. 1 Blair Academy, N.J. for a dual meet in three weeks. "We have to keep at it, and working towards that match," added Jordan. "It's going to be a tough one out there."
Speaking of Blair Academy, they had one singular champion, and that was No. 13 David Showunmi at 220 pounds. In a weight class where he was the lone nationally ranked wrestler, Showunmi did not give up a single offensive point all tournament. The championship bout was a 7-2 victory over James Ford (Worthington Kilboune, Ohio); Showunmi scoring a takedown in each period.
"It feels good to break-through (on the national scene)," said Showunmi, who will be attending Stanford next year, though he's unsure if he'll end up at 197 or 285.
Like champions St. Paris Graham, the runner-up Buccaneers also placed nine wrestlers. In addition to their champion Showunmi, No. 1 Matthew Kolodzik (138) and No. 2 Mason Manville (160) finished in second; No. 3 Charles Tucker (132), No. 10 Jordan Kutler (152), and No. 6 Brandon Dallavia (170) earned third; Neil Putnam (195) was seventh; while Zach Sherman (113) and Chase Singletary (182) took eighth.
Blair Academy first-year head coach Brian Antonelli credited the champion Falcons on their performance, "They were darn tough, they were prepared, they came to win, and they more than deserved the championship."
"There was some good, and some not so good about the team performance," added Antonelli. "We do have a lot to work on going forward. In particular, getting escapes, not giving up reversals, and just closing out matches and situations."
Finishing third in the standings, almost 40 points behind St. Paris Graham was No. 2 Oak Park River Forest, Ill. The Huskies placed eight wrestlers, and they were without probably their second best wrestler – Larry Early, who is ranked No. 4 nationally at 145 pounds. Winning a championship was Isaiah White at 152 pounds, where he is ranked No. 2 nationally.
White came through in the finals of the tournament's toughest weight class with a 3-1 overtime victory against No. 3 Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Pa.). The wrestlers traded escapes in regulation, before White timed up a beautiful low single into an elevated finish for the sudden victory.
"I wasn't gonna lose," said White about the overtime in the final. "I trained all summer and fall for this moment."
He also earned narrow victories over two other nationally ranked wrestlers earlier on Saturday; White upended No. 4 Josh Maruca (Franklin Regional, Pa.) 6-4 in the tiebreaker during the semifinal, and previously beat No. 13 Kyle Lawson (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) 3-1 in the quarterfinal.
The Huskies went 1-2 in finals like Blair Academy, as Renteria and Bey finished in second place. Also placing were No. 11 Anthony Madrigal (106) in third, No. 14 Matthew Rundell (160) in fifth, Alex Madrigal (120) in sixth, as well as No. 17 Gabe Townsell (126) and Ben Bergen (195) in eighth.
"We did pretty well," said Oak Park River Forest head coach Paul Collins about his team's performance, "especially being short-handed (no Early and also no state qualifier Allen Stallings at 220). However, we still can improve, especially in terms of toughness."
Two other number one in the nation wrestlers, both from Franklin Regional (Pa.) both won weight class titles on Saturday evening – Spencer Lee (120) and Michael Kemerer (145).
Lee, who is also ranked No. 1 overall in the sophomore class, dominated No. 9 Stickley in the championship match by 13-2 major decision. The story was told in the first period, one that ended up with Lee on top 8-0 after a takedown and two sets of three-point near falls. Lee added a takedown in the second period, but did give up a takedown late in the third period.
Given Lee's early-career success, there's a ton of expectation and coverage surrounding his wrestling. A FILA Cadet world freestyle title, two Super 32 titles, now two Ironman titles will do that. However, he tries to keep in the moment. "I work hard on relaxing, as I'll get so tight it consumes energy," commented Lee. "I tell myself to have fun, you've got to love the sport to enjoy and achieve, so just relax."
Kemerer came through on Saturday night with a 7-1 decision over Wade Hodges (Wauseon, Ohio) for his first Ironman title after finishing as runner-up last year. Takedowns in the first and second period, along with a second period near fall were the points to spark the title. This Ironman title, combined with the Super 32 Challenge title, pretty much removes the "runner-up curse" from his present being.
"It's great to have people to work with on a daily basis that test me," said Kemerer about having elite level teammates right around him in weight (Maruca and Josh Shields). "We've been practicing together for years, and it helps us all get better."
A number one wrestler that fell short on Saturday was Matthew Kolodzik (Blair Academy, N.J.), who lost in overtime by 5-3 decision to No. 5 Davion Jeffries (Broken Arrow, Okla.). Kolodzik scored the opening takedown, and led 3-1 after two periods. However, Jeffries came through with a reversal just after the halfway point of the third period, and rode it out to force overtime.
Then, in the overtime, Jeffries scored off of counter action to a double leg attack. "I had been preparing for (his) offense all week, along with No. 2 Ke-Shawn Hayes (who scratched prior to the tournament). All the hard work paid off (in an Ironman title)."
Rounding out the weight class champions were No. 8 Cameron Kelly (Bellbrook, Ohio) at 132 pounds, Dylan Reynolds (Saegertown, Pa.) at 195, and No. 8 Kevin Vough (Elyria, Ohio) at 285.
Kelly upended freshman sensation Rocky Jordan (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) by 3-1 decision in the final, the difference being a second period takedown. That came after Jordan beat No. 3 Charles Tucker (Blair Academy, N.J.) 6-4, and Kelly beat two-time state champion Jarred Ganger (Covington, Ohio) 4-2 in their semifinal bouts.
"Winning this title feels great, and it validates the hard work," said Kelly. "Especially after falling just short of placing at both Fargo and Super 32. The wrestling was there (at those two), but the conditioning fell short, not today though."
Reynolds beat nationally ranked wrestlers in the semifinal and final to win his title, 3-2 over No. 17 Bailey Faust (Lexington, Ohio) in the semifinal and 7-6 over No. 13 Matt Stencel (Oregon Clay, Ohio) in the final. Reynolds scored a pair of takedowns in the first period, and persevered through the last four minutes of the bout.
"Getting early takedowns is something I do to get me going," said Reynolds. "It helps me feel comfortable and safe though the rest of the match."
Though Vough was ranked below No. 3 Tate Orndorff (Unviersity, Wash.), Vough is now 2-0 against Orndorff in folkstyle competition, the previous meeting happening at the Flo Nationals. Both wrestlers were extraordinarily aggressive with upper-body ties throughout the match. Orndorff was successful for a takedown in the first period, while Vough scored the pin off a toss at the 3:45 mark.
"Having wrestled him before, I knew what he had," said Vough. "I just had to find the right position and time, and I did."
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