In a tournament field featuring teams from four states, it was No. 23 Massillon Perry, Ohio that dominated the show at the King of the Mountain Wrestling Tournament hosted by Central Mountain HS in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. The Panthers had four champions and eleven placers in all for a score of 253 points, which was fifty points greater than the rest of the field.
Champions for Massillon Perry were Artem Timchenko (112), Mitch Newhouse (119), Zach Dailey (140), and Joe Tayse (189), Anthony Wise (215) came in second, while Doug Mayse (285) took third place. The finals victory by Newhouse was one of many upsets during the championship round.
Going into the finals match, his opponent -- Zain Retherford (Line Moutain, Pennsylvania) -- won his first three matches by pin in the first period, and it was a 16-0 technical fall victory in the semifinals for the defending state champion (and ranked third nationally at 112 pounds). However, the championship final was a 7-3 victory for Newhouse, his fourth of the young season against returning state finalists.
The tournament's chief giant killer was 135-pound champion Ty Lydic (Greater Latrobe, Pennsylvania). Only a one-time state qualifier, Lydic beat a pair of returning state medalists just to reach the championship match; a 7-4 victory over Matt Rappo (Council Rock South, Pennsylvania) in the quarterfinal, and a 5-4 victory over Mikey Racciato (Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania) in the semifinal. Then, in the final, Lydic was placed against defending state champion Steve Spearman (Erie McDowell, Pennsylvania) -- who is also ranked second in the country.
With a 5-1 victory in the sudden victory period, Lydic sealed Outstanding Wrestler honors for the tournament and anchored his school's second place finish in the standings with 203 points. Greater Latrobe did this with tremendous depth, as they only had two other top three finishers -- Scott Mohring (189) finishing second and Chace Small (112) finishing third -- but had six other wrestlers place in the top eight.
Finishing a very close third despite having five wrestlers in the championship finals was No. 10 High Point, New Jersey with 199 points. However, the Wildcats fell short in the depth department with only three other wrestlers earning a spot on the podium. This included Nick Francavilla, who is a top 100 rated prospect in the Class of 2011, having to injury default during the semifinal and fall all the way down to sixth place.
Two of the other nationally ranked Wildcats were able to secure weight class championships, with Ethan Orr winning the title at 171 pounds and No. 18 Billy Smith defeating No. 14 Zach Corl (Central Moutain, Pennsylvania) 2-1 in the final at 285 pounds. The last of the nationally ranked quartet, No. 4 John Guzzo, fell in the 160 pound final to Tyler Buckwalter (Central Mountain, Pennsylvania) by a 3-1 overtime decision. Also finishing in second place were Drew Wagenhoffer (140) and Joey Gaccione (145).
Buckwalter was one of a pair of champions for the host school, as Brian Brill (152) also emerged as weight class champion for Central Mountain.
Rounding out the list of weight class champions were Danny Martoccio (103) for Council Rock South, Pennsylvania; No. 2 Mason Beckman (125) for Reynolds, Pennsylvania; Cameron Throckmorton (130) for South-Western, Pennsylvania; Travis Erdman (145) for Line Mountain, Pennsylvania; and Dave Quackenbos (215) for Red Lion, Pensylvania.
Minnesota Christmas Tournament features peaks and valleys
The finest teams from the Gopher State, along with four from three other states, met in Rochester this past weekend for the Minnesota Christmas Tournament. With Apple Valley, Minnesota (the top ranked team nationally) and three other Fab 50 members leading the standings, this was a great scholastic wrestling showcase.
In something seemingly as constant as death, taxes, and long winters in Minnesota, No. 1 Apple Valley dominated the field to take home the tournament title with 298 points. Even without Steven Keogh, ranked sixth nationally at 160 pounds, the Eagles still had eight in the finals with five of those young men standing atop the podium.
Champions ranged from the youngest to the most seasoned of wrestlers on the Apple Valley squad. Mark Hall, the nation's top junior high wrestler, dominated his way to a championship in the 130 pound weight class; which included a 10-0 major decision victory over No. 16 Ben Morgan (Forest Lake, Minnesota) in the semifinal. Destin McCauley, the nation's top wrestler in the Class of 2011, only was on the mat for about eleven minutes as he secured five pins in as many matches to win the 152 pound weight class. Three other nationally-ranked wrestlers won championships as well -- Jordan Kingsley (112), Dakota Trom (125), and Jake Waste (171).
However, it was not 100 percent joy for Apple Valley, as two nationally-ranked wrestlers along with Matt Hechsel (189) fell in the championship match. At 135 pounds, No. 7 Matt Kelliher lost a 4-2 decision against No. 19 Bronson Steuber (Jackson County Central, Minnesota). While at 140 pounds, No. 7 Brandon Kingsley (Apple Valley, Minnesota) lost by fall to No. 9 Jake Short (Simley, Minnesota). This came after Brandon had not even wrestled one full match in winning his four prior matches by fall.
Short, named the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler, was one of a pair of champions for the second place team from Simley, Minnesota. The ninth ranked team in the country amassed 246 points, as they had four runners-up and another wrestler finish in third place. Joining Short as champion was No. 19 Kyle Gliva, who won the 103 pound weight class. They key match being a notable pin in the first tiebreaker period against No. 20 Tommy Thorn (STMA, Minnesota) in the semifinal round. Runners-up for Spartans were Pedro DeLao (119), Nick Wanzek (145), Dan Dick (152), and Micah Barnes (171).
It was just under eighty points further back to the third place team from Kasson-Mantorville, Minnesota, which was anchored by Broc Berge -- champion of the 189 pound weight class. Another four wrestlers finished in the top three for the 42nd ranked team in the nation. Runners-up were Nate Thomas (112) and Sam Stoll (285), while Tony Morrow (119) and Garrett Garness (135) took home third place.
Fourth in the standings was No. 47 St. Michael-Albertville, Minnesota despite having zero wrestlers in the finals. The squad scored 154 points with three wrestlers finishing in third place, and another pair in fourth.
Other weight class champions included Tyler Isaacson (119) for Forest Lake, Minnesota, Zach Rohr (145) for Hastings, Minnesota, Cooper Moore (160) for Jackson County Central, Minnesota, No. 16 Michael Kroells (215) for Scott West, Minnnesota, and No. 2 Donny Longendyke (285) for White Bear Lake, Minnesota.
Repeat champion at KC Wrestling Classic
After graduating the core of what was perceived as the best team in Georgia high school wrestling history, Collins Hill was supposed to suffer somewhat of a drop-off. However, don't tell that to this group of Eagles that were ranked No. 28 in the country prior to the Kansas City Wrestling Classic this past weekend.
It is an event truly testing both the top-end quality of a team, as well as its overall lineup balance. The first day consists of eight four-man round-robin groups. The top two wrestlers of each group move on to the championship bracket on the second day, with remaining wrestlers participating in a consolation bracket. The championship bracket has an “umbrella” format, which means that first round losers can finish only as high as ninth, and those losing in the quarterfinals can only finish fifth.
Four nationally ranked teams were among the 32-team field that consisted of squads from nine states. At the end of two days of wrestling, despite not crowning a single champion, Collins Hill emerged as the top team with 472 points keyed by a tournament-high eight wrestlers finishing inside the top eight. The lone finalist was Bazell Partridge, who finished second at 125 pounds. Sean Russell (103) and Drew Ferguson-Mitchell (112) finished third place, Mac Bennett (189) took fourth, while a pair of wrestlers finished in fifth and seventh respectively.
On the other hand, No. 37 Oak Park, Missouri had five individual champions but was only third in the standings with 432-1/2 points. Those on top of the podium for the Northmen were No. 18 Noah Teaney (103), No. 5 Cody Brewer (130), Cain Salas (135), Hashem Omari (215), and John Cervantes (285). However, only one other wrestler even finished inside the top eight, that being Brian Haynes (152) finishing in fifth, and just two others even made it to the championship bracket on day two.
The second place team, Neosho, Missouri represented a combination of these two extremes. Blake Stauffer (171) as the lone champion, Nate Rodriguez (119) took home second place, Payne Haller (145) and No. 17 Dallas Smith (189) finished in third place, with Riley Plew (285) taking home fourth place. However, in totaling 451-1/2 points, Neosho also had wrestlers finish in sixth and eighth place for a total of seven inside the top eight.
Joining Neosho with seven inside the top eight was No. 25 Allen, Texas -- which ended up fifth place in the standings with 412 points despite being without the services of two-time state runner-up Jarrod Trotter at 130 pounds and having just one senior in the lineup. That one senior, Ophir Bernstein, was champion of the 189 pound weight class and had five pins along the way. Joining Bernstein as champion was sophomore sensation Oliver Pierce at 152 pounds. Nick Cobb (215) finished second, Matt Meyer (160) took home third place, two others earned fifth place and another ended up in sixth.
Rounding out the top six of the standings were Blue Springs, Missouri, and No. 21 Claremore, Oklahoma -- each had six wrestlers finishing inside the top eight. With 419-1/2 points, Blue Springs finished in fourth place led by a trio of tournament runners-up: Darick Lapaglia (130), Greg Hagerty (135), and Keenan Hagerty (140). Claremore finished in sixth place with 411 points, and were led by Gunnar Woodburn (103) and No. 15 Calib Freeman (112) finishing in second place.
Additional weight class champions included Jeret Singh (112) from Kearney, Missouri who earned a 5-1 victory over Freeman in the final; No. 7 Thomas Gilman (119) from Skutt Catholic, Nebraska; No. 4 Bricker Dixon (125) and Preston Crouse (145) from Park Hill, Missouri; Jacob Gregerson (140) from Granite City, Illinois; and Zach Beard (160) from Tuttle, Oklahoma.
New features provide spark for Trojans in Battle of Waterloo
The debut Battle of Waterloo lived up to its hype of placing the top teams in the Hawkeye State against each other in dual meet action. After bracket wrestling on Friday, the championship pool for Saturday late afternoon and evening would include the three nationally ranked teams in Iowa along with the defending champions of the medium-school classification.
Link to day one results: http://wcfcourier.com/app/tournaments/battleWloo/
No. 11 Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa; No. 12 Bettendorf, Iowa; and No. 14 Iowa City West, Iowa dominate their pools. Denver-Tripoli, Iowa the fourth pool champion -- they went unchallenged but for a 37-30 victory over Mason City, Iowa in the pool final.
Link to day two results: http://wcfcourier.com/app/tournaments/battleWloo/day2/
With Iowa City West able to add Phillip Laux (103/112) and Dakota Bauer (130) to the lineup, they were able to defeat all three opponents on the second day. The Trojans opened the day with a 38-26 victory over Denver-Tripoli; the matchup of note saw No. 13 Dylan Peters (Denver-Tripoli) defeat No. 5 (at 103) Laux 6-1 at 112 pounds. Iowa City West was then able to defeat Bettendorf 42-20, the individual matchup of note having No. 12 Elijah Sullivan (Iowa City West) defeat No. 10 Bo Schlosser 3-2 at 140 pounds.
This set up a rematch of a semifinal from last week at the Cedar Rapids Duals against Waverly-Shell Rock in the final match of the evening. The Go-Hawks had earned victories over Bettendorf (40-21) and Denver-Tripoli (43-19) in the first two matches of championship bracket competition. A result to note on the individual side was that Denver-Tripoli bumped up No. 15 Brandon Sorensen up one weight class to 135 pounds, and saw him go down to defeat by a 7-1 score against Kolton Rottink.
Last week the Go-Hawks came home with the 33-31 victory over the Trojans; however, on this day Iowa City West prevailed 33-30. In the other dual meet, Denver-Tripoli upset Bettendorf 35-32. Through three weekends of wrestling, the much bantered Bettendorf squad seems somewhat out of sorts, with missing different key pieces each weekend; this time it was No. 12 Brodie Berrie at 285 pounds and Alex Hernandez at 130/135.
Mason City, Iowa came home with the title in the second place bracket, while North Scott, Iowa earned title honors in the third place bracket.
Lots of happiness to go around at Reno TOC
Despite the perennial force from No. 24 Easton, Pennsylvania traveling out to Reno, Nevada and winning yet another championship, it was a very balanced tournament. Every single weight class was won by a wrestler from a different school. Only four schools had even a pair of wrestlers in the championship match.
The Red Rovers were anchored by Mitch Minotti, champion of the 145 pound weight class with a 3-0 victory over No. 19 (at 140) Jacob Falk (West Jordan, Utah). Prior to that final, Minotti had two pins, two major decisions, and one technical fall. In addition, Easton had one wrestler place third, a pair each finishing fifth and sixth, and another wrestler finish seventh to score a total of 171 points.
After finishing with seven finalists as hosts of the Mid-American Nationals, No. 18 Tulsa Union, Oklahoma had just five medalists in Reno this past weekend. They were anchored by Kyle Crutchmer, who won the 160 pound weight class with a 4-3 decision over Zach Brunson (Churchill, Oregon) in a battle of top 50 juniors.
Finishing in third place was No. 13 Roseburg, Oregon -- the third of the three nationally ranked teams in the field. Lone champion for Roseburg was Drew Van Anrooy at 135 pounds. Their two nationally-ranked wrestlers -- Seth Thomas (152) and Dylan Fors (171) -- both finished in fifth place.
Two of the weight class champions had to beat a pair of nationally-ranked wrestlers to secure their titles. Nashon Garrett (Chico, California) -- ranked fifth at 112 pounds -- earned the 119-pound championship with a 3-1 semifinal win over No. 12 (at 125) Kyle Garcia (Choctaw, Oklahoma) and a 6-4 victory over No. 17 Steven Knoblach (Clovis West, California). Just to reach the final at 152 pounds, Taylor West (Borah, Idaho) defeated No. 20 Austin Breckenridge (Cheyenne Central, Wyoming) 3-2 in the quarterfinal and earned a pin in 5:20 over No. 10 (at 160) Seth Thomas (Roseburg, Oregon). Then, West defeated Logan Addis (Mingus, Arizona) 5-0 in the finals match.
Two additional wrestlers used an upset prior to the final to catalyze their run to the top of the podium. No. 15 Fabian Garcia (Turlock, California) defeated No. 3 Vince Rodriguez (Clovis North, California) 7-6 in the quarterfinal at 125 pounds. Hudson Buck (Vacaville, California) pinned No. 5 Lucas Sheridan (De La Salle, California) in 33 seconds during the semifinal round at 189 pounds. Both Rodriguez and Sheridan came back to take third place. An additional note of interest is that Sheridan had four pins prior to the semifinal loss, and then two pins in the consolation bracket.
Other weight class champions were Isaiah Locsin (Live Oak, California) at 103 pounds, No. 4 (at 103) Victor Lopez (Calexico, California) winning the title at 112, Shayne Tucker (Bella Vista, Califoria) at 130, No. 16 (at 160) Nikko Reyes (Clovis West, California) at 171, Spencer Empey (Reed, Nevada) at 215, and Kesni Tausinga (Bingham, Utah) at 285.
Supreme balance at Tri-State
The Tri-State Invitational this past weekend was an extremely balanced tournament held at North Idaho College. Fifty-four teams from across the western third of the United States convened, eighteen teams had a finalist, and eleven came home with a champion. The top four teams finished within 12 points, and the top seven were within 20-1/2 points of one another.
One of the three teams to emerge with a pair of champions -- Mead, Washington -- left the event with the tournament title. They had six total placers, four in the top three (tied for a tournament high), to score 162 points in all. Weight class champions were Jeremy Golding at 135 pounds and No. 4 Jordan Rogers at 171; Rogers won all five matches by fall in just under seven minutes, with four of them in the first period. Tyler McLean was second at 140 pounds, and Chandler Rogers was third at 145.
The second place team -- University, Washington -- joined Mead with a tournament high of four wrestlers in the top four, and having six wrestlers in all. Their sole champion was Dustin Johnson at 189 pounds, Tyler Clark finished second at 112, with Jacob Fry and Jake Laden finishing third at 17 and 215 pounds respectively.
The second of three teams with a pair of champions was Lake Stevens, Washington, which got top of the podium finishes from Ryan Rodorgo at 119 pounds and Andrew King at 152. However, they only had three additional placers -- one in third, one in fifth, and one in seventh -- to total 152-1/2 points. Post Falls, Idaho finished in fourth place with 150 points despite having a tournament high seven total placers. However, they had no finalists, with three wrestlers finishing in third place: James Ost at 135 pounds, Tyler Booth at 140, and Nathan McLeod at 152. The other team with two weight class champions was No. 41 Hermiston, Oregon, who got titles from Tyler Berger at 125 pounds and Joey Delgado at 130. However, they ended up in seventh place with 141-1/2 points.
Rounding out the weight class champions were Josh Newberg (Kelso, Washington) at 103, Dalton Brady (Chandler, Arizona) at 112, Kyle Lear (Libby, Montana) at 140, Casey George (Lewiston, Idaho) at 145 winning all five matches by fall, Dylan miller (Deer Park, Washington) at 160, No. 1 Tanner Hall (Meridian, Idaho) at 215, and Kabe Fluaitt (Moses Lake, Washington) at 285.
Updated national team rankings
Apple Valley, Minnesota remains in the top position after dominating the Minnesota Christmas Tournament. The most notable upward movement comes from Bethlehem Catholic, Pennsylvania -- as they join the rankings at No. 18 after finishing seventh at the Ironman and fourth at the Beast of the East. The biggest downward movement came from Bettendorf, Iowa, which is now No. 34 after occupying the No. 12 spot in the previous rankings.
New teams in the rankings -- other than Bethlehem Catholic -- include No. 39 Francis Howell Central, Missouri, No. 47 Neosho, Missouri, and No. 48 Timber Creek, New Jersey. Those dropping out of the rankings are Oak Park, Missouri; Hermiston, Oregon; Washington Township, New Jersey; and Council Rock South, Pennsylvania.
Dvorak Memorial serves as Illinois Super Bowl
The Dvorak Memorial Wrestling Invitational to be held today and tomorrow serves as the showcase wrestling event in Illinois during the regular season. The twenty-nine team field features five teams that are nationally ranked: No. 9 Iowa City West, Iowa, No. 12 Marmion Academy, Illinois, No. 25 Montini Catholic, Illinois, No. 26 Glenbard North, Illinois, and No. 33 Crystal Lake Central, Illinois. Iowa City West, Glenbard North, and Marmion Academy are the top ranked teams in their respective state tournament classification. There are eight other teams in this field ranked in the top ten of either Class AAA or Class AA in the Land of Lincoln according to Illinois Best Weekly.
On the individual side of things, there are twenty ranked number first in their state tournament classification for their particular weight class according to either Illinois Best Weekly or The Predicament. According to the national individual rankings, twenty-one total wrestlers appear in the rankings. Below is a listing of wrestlers by weight class.
103: No. 5 Phillip Laux (Iowa City West, Iowa) and No. 7 Matt Garelli (Oak Park Fenwick, Illinois)
112: No. 2 Jered Cortez (Marmion Academy, Illinois)
119: No. 18 (at 112) Kevon Powell (Montini Catholic, Illinois) and No. 20 Derek Elmore (Machesney Park Harlem, Illinois)
125: No. 10 Eddie Klimara (Providence Catholic, Illinois), No. 16 Jack Hathaway (Iowa City West, Iowa), and Eddie Greco (Marmion Academy, Illinois)
130: No. 8 (at 135) Jameson Oster (Lockport, Illinois), No. 9 Ben Whitford (Marmion Academy, Illinois), and No. 14 Joey Gosinski (Glenbard North, Illinois)
140: No. 9 (at 135) Trevor Jauch (Crystal Lake Central, Illinois), No. 12 Elijah Sullivan (Iowa City West, Iowa), and No. 20 Brian Murphy (Glenbard North, Illinois)
145: No. 3 Edwin Cooper (Providence Catholic, Illinois) and Frank Baer (Montini Catholic, Illinois)
152: No. 6 Joey Kielbasa (Crystal Lake Central, Illinois)
160: No. 12 Justin Koethe (Iowa City West, Iowa) and Josh Anthony (Machesney Park Harlem, Illinois)
171: No. 8 Sam Brooks (Oak Park River Forest, Illinois)
189: No. 2 (at 171) Jahwon Akui (St. Rita, Illinois) and No. 5 (at 215) Gage Harrah (Crystal Lake Central, Illinois)
215: No. 3 (at 189) Austin Marsden (Crystal Lake Central, Illinois)
285: No. 7 Jack Allen (Hinsdale Central, Illinois) and Ross Ferraro (Montini Catholic, Illinois)
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays
Here's to best wishes during this holiday season, and hoping that everyone has a happy and healthy one. Updated individual weight class rankings will be published on Monday along with a preview notebook for the major holiday tournaments of next week.
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