Blair Academy's Andrew Mereola defeated Wyoming Seminary's Jake Hendricks in the semifinals of the Walsh Ironman (Photo/Sam Janicki)Though no longer occupants of the top position in the InterMat Fab 50 national high school team rankings, now No. 2 Blair Academy (N.J.) is still in hold of the proverbial keys to the national title for any team other than current No. 1 Bergen Catholic (N.J.). Due to how the rest of the season plays out, and also how teams have performed season-to-date, Friday night's dual meet with No. 3 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) traveling to Blair Academy has an absolutely crucial role in how the top spot in the national rankings will appear going forward.
Should Blair Academy win this dual meet, the top spot is likely to be exclusively the domain of the Buccaneers or Bergen Catholic until at minimum the National Prep Championships. On the other hand, if the Blue Knights were to win, things could get very interesting with Bergen Catholic and No. 4 Montini Catholic (Ill.) traveling to Wyoming Seminary one week from Saturday as part of a multi-team dual meet event.
Below is an overview of the projected matchups for what -- at least on paper -- projects to be a most excellent and very close dual meet. It should be noted that this is technically a National Prep dual meet, so teams could opt to use a wrestler that would otherwise not be eligible for a high school contest (i.e. a fifth-year, reclassified senior, or a post-graduate).
106: No. 10 Ryan Miller (B) vs. Tim Levine (WS)
These two wrestlers met in the round of 16 with Miller securing a pin at the 4:51 mark. Miller went on to finish runner-up at that tournament, while placing fifth at the Beast and winning Geary in subsequent events. The sophomore Levine qualified for state last year in California, and was a Junior National freestyle All-American at 100 pounds this summer. After missing placement by two matches at the Ironman, he would finish third at the Powerade.
113: No. 2 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (B) vs. Nic Botello (WS)
Returning National Prep champion Mastrogiovanni is one of the nation's best overall sophomores, and on the season has titles at the Ironman and Geary to his credit, while finishing runner-up to two-time Cadet world champion Kurt McHenry at the Beast. Fellow sophomore Botello missed placement at the Ironman by two matches, finished fifth at the Powerade, and upset now national No. 14 Kyle Ryder to win the Eastern States Classic.
120: No. 2 Michael Colaiocco (B) vs. Zeke Escalera (WS)
Two-time Junior National freestyle All-American has won all three of the major tournaments this season in which Blair has competed, with his only loss coming 4-3 to Cadet world team member Robert Howard this past weekend. Cadet freestyle champion Escalera did not place at the Ironman, but came back to place third at the Powerade with three wins over returning Pennsylvania state placers.
126: No. 9 Chris Cannon (B) vs. No. 2 Beau Bartlett (WS)
Both wrestlers in this match are highly credentialed, with two-time National Prep champ Cannon finishing as runner-up at the UWW Cadet National freestyle tournament last spring; while Bartlett won the Ironman and National Preps last year as a freshman. Cannon missed the first month of this season before coming back to win a title at Geary, but losing the crucial opening match against Bergen Catholic via a totally unexpected fall this past weekend; while Barlett placed third at Ironman before beating a pair of previously undefeated wrestlers for their career to win the Powerade, and then winning at Eastern States this past weekend.
132: No. 20 Travis Mastrogiovanni (B) vs. No. 5 Carson Manville (WS)
The younger Mastrogiovanni is one of the best overall freshmen in the country, finishing as a Cadet freestyle All-American this summer. He spent December down at 126, where he finished fifth at the Ironman and third at the Beast; moving up into this weight class, he won a title at Geary. On the other hand, Manville is the nation's best overall freshman, finishing as runner-up at the UWW Cadet freestyle nationals last spring and sweeping his way to double Cadet National titles in Fargo during the summer. Manville was champion at the Powerade with an upset over No. 1 Joey Silva in the final, while finishing fourth at the Ironman, both losses narrow in margin to top five opposition.
138: Malcolm Robinson (B) vs. No. 14 Jack Davis (WS)
This pair of wrestlers met head-on at the Ironman in the consolation quarterfinal, Davis winning an 8-3 decision on the way to finishing fifth, while Robinson slid back to finish eighth. Entering the season as a top 100 overall senior, it's been a disappointing one for Robinson; additional tournament places were sixth at the Beast and a runner-up at Geary to sophomore Luke Surber, along with the upset loss to Wade Unger in last weekend's dual meet defeat against Bergen Catholic. After Ironman, Davis would go on to finish runner-up at Powerade, while winning the Eastern States event down at 132 (Manville was out of the lineup).
145: Mike Madara (B) vs. Connor Kievman (WS)
The next two weight classes represent two of the three matches in this dual meet where neither competitor is nationally. This strikes in comparison to the four where both wrestlers are ranked. Two-time National Prep placer Madara spend the December competing in the 132-pound weight class, where he failed to place at either the Ironman or the Beast; in this weight class he finished fourth at Geary. It should be noted that Madara and Robinson both weighed in at 138 last week, with Robinson wrestling at 145 against Bergen Catholic and Madara at this weight in the other two matches. The sophomore Kievman has failed to place in his team's three major competitions this season (1-2 at Ironman, 3-2 at Powerade, consolation round of 12 at Eastern States).
152: Will Kaiser (B) vs. Benny Baker (WS)
Both wrestlers in this projected matchup placed fifth last year at the National Prep tournament, Kaiser at 145 and Baker at 138. Kaiser missed placement at the Ironman by one match before finishing eighth at the Beast and winning Geary; in addition, he upset three-time state placer Gerard Angelo in the Bergen Catholic dual meet last weekend. Baker did not wrestle in the Ironman, talented freshman Cole Rees did, and he was two matches from placing; since entering the lineup, Baker was fifth at the Powerade and missed placement at Eastern States by one match.
160: No. 5 Andrew Merola (B) vs. No. 18 Jake Hendricks (WS)
This pair of Ivy League bound seniors met in the semifinal round at the Ironman with Merola picking up the 2-0 decision. Cornell bound Merola went on to finish runner-up at that event, and also at Geary, while he won the title at the Beast. Penn bound Hendricks finished fourth at the Ironman and fifth at Powerade. Merola was a National Prep champion in this weight last year, while Hendricks placed fifth up at 170.
170: No. 5 Julian Ramirez (B) vs. Jake Stefanowicz (WS)
This match and the one at 220 are probably the biggest mismatches in the whole dual meet, both happening to work in favor of Blair Academy. One of the nation's best overall juniors, Ramirez placed third at the Ironman before winning titles at the Beast (avenging that Ironman semifinal loss) and at Geary; while Stefanowicz went 1-2 at the Ironman, but has bounced back to place seventh at Powerade and sixth at Eastern States.
182: No. 10 Leo Tarantino (B) vs. No. 17 Darrien Roberts (WS)
Though the pair of wrestlers did not meet at the Ironman, they had four matches against common opposition. Both wrestlers were able to muster what at the time was viewed as a 3-1 upset victory over Ryan Karoly, each also beat Blake Wilson (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio), and each lost to eventual champion A.J. Ferrari (Tarantino in the final, Roberts in the quarterfinal); while Tarantino beat nationally ranked Victor Marcelli 6-3 in the quarterfinal, with Roberts losing 7-2 in the consolation final.
Since the Ironman, Tarantino won titles at the Beast and Geary, though Jacob Cardenas avenged his loss from the Beast final this past weekend; while Roberts placed third at the Powerade, including an upset victory over Super 32 Challenge champion Cody Mulligan in the consolation final. Both wrestlers placed third at National Preps last year, Tarantino at 170 and Roberts at 160.
195: Peyton Craft (B) vs. No. 16 Austin Cooley (WS)
These two wrestlers were both in the fifth-place match at the Ironman, though Cooley had to default due to an injury sustained during his consolation semifinal bout. Subsequent to the Ironman, the freshman Craft placed third at both the Beast and Geary; while Cooley was fourth at the Powerade and beat a nationally ranked opponent to win the Eastern States Classic.
220: No. 12 Owen Trephan (B) vs. Matthew Doggett (WS)
The junior Trephan placed third at the Ironman, second at the Beast, before winning the title at Geary. Doggett missed placement at the Ironman by one match before finishing seventh at Powerade and third at Eastern States. The one common opponent these two wrestlers had was Junior National freestyle All-American Antonio McCloud; Trephan beat McCloud twice at the Ironman (quarterfinal, consolation final), while McCloud pinned Doggett in the consolation match to place.
285: Kraig Correll (B) vs. Anthony Cutrie (WS)
The senior Correll missed placing at the Ironman by one match, failed to place at the Beast, and was fifth at Geary; while fellow senior Cutrie, a New York state qualifier last year, placed fourth at the Ironman and finished second at Eastern States. Yet again, the nature of a dual meet providing the platform for a pair of relatively unheralded wrestlers to possibly partake in a high leverage bout.
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