A quick scan of Central Mountain High School’s wrestling roster and individual records were enough to foreshadow this one: Easton Area High School needed to win early and often and, preferably, by large margins in order to upset the undefeated Wildcats.

The Red Rovers succeeded with the first two parts, winning the first five weight classes and six of the first seven. In the end, though, they learned some leads just aren’t sizeable enough — especially against a team that’s loaded from 135 pounds to 285.

Central Mountain won the last seven matches — including five by fall — to beat Easton 40-24 on Friday afternoon in the PIAA Class AAA Team Wrestling Championships quarterfinals.

Easton bounced back with a 32-28 victory over Connellsville in the consolation bracket and still has a chance to place as high as third. The District 11 champion Red Rovers (15-7) will wrestle Kiski Area at 9 a.m. today in the second round of consolations at the Giant Center.

“They were extremely tough at the top,” Easton coach Steve Powell said of Central Mountain. “We needed at least two more wins and maybe three out of that lineup. That’s a good, experienced team.”

The District 6 champion improved to 16-0 and will take on another undefeated team, Central Dauphin, in the 11 a.m. semifinals. District 11 runner-up Parkland will face District 7 champ Canon-McMillan in the other semifinal.

Central Dauphin is attempting to win its third consecutive state dual-meet title. The final and consolation final are scheduled for 3 p.m.

Easton’s Evan Disora and Michael Fleck gave their team a promising start with back-to-back falls at 103 and 112. Robbie Rizzolino, Calvin Daly and Mitch Minotti pushed the Rovers’ advantage to 21-0 with decisions. And, after Mark Hartenstine posted a 7-0 victory over Brian Brill at 140, Easton owned a 24-4 lead over Central Mountain.

That’s when the Wildcats’ heft started to show.

Andrew and Dylan Alton — the Penn State-bound brothers who are ranked No. 1 nationally at their weights — responded with first-period pins at 145 and 152, respectively. Dylan Caprio (171) and Zach Corl (285) needed just 32 seconds combined to pin their opponents. Central Mountain’s Cody Dolan added a second-period fall at 215.

This weekend (Feb 12-13, 2010) is the PIAA State Team Duals Championships.  In AAA, District 6 champ Central Mountain, featuring the Alton brothers, will be competing with the defending champs from District 3, the Central Dauphin Rams featuring Marshall Peppleman.

If these 2 teams meet there is some speculation as to whether Coach Buckwalter will send one of the Altons out to meet Peppleman in hopes of disrupting the Rams line up.

That would be an interesting match indeed!

To do so CM will have to defeat traditional power Easton, (Jordan Oliver, Alex Krom are some of their alums) & take on CD in the semis.
Team Wrestling Championships to be held at the GIANT Center, Hershey, PA.

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2010 PA State Wrestling Tournament Brackets

Central Mountain HS schedule

In the lower bracket are some other top teams in Canonsburg McMillan from District 7 , (suburban Pittsburgh) & Boyertown from District 1, (suburban Philly) who beat out perrenial powers Council Rock North & South to take that title.

In AA Blue Mountain with Josh Kindig did not win their district but Shady Side Acaemy with Frank Martoletti did make it, Reynolds with Walsh Ironman Champ Mason Beckman & traditional District 9 power Ridgeway will be there as well.

Should be a very exciting weekend of PA HS wrestling in Hershey!

Read more: Piaa state team duals championships

Perennial Powers Collide Saturday

by Willie Saylor, Editor

And the winner is…

Apple Valley? Huh? Wait a second.

There’s a storm brewing in high school wrestling, the precipitates of which will change, or reconfirm, the national team rankings. When the #1 Buccaneers travel to the #3 Falcons in St. Paris, OH, Saturday, all that will be on the line is a National Championship.

To put the picture in perspective, a little backtracking is in order.

Blair Academy began the season with the designation of being the best team in the land under a tenuous banner. Despite being among the nation’s elite year-in and year-out, the Buccaneers had lost nine starters, and number of teams around the country were returning the bulk of key contributors to squads that finished at or near the top of the 2009 campaign.

There was strong support, especially for Apple Valley, Minnesota. But when Blair won the Ironman in early December much of the dissent was quelled. At that tournament, Blair was without standout 135lber, Austin Ormsbee, and still blew away a field that featured seven of the top ten, and eleven of the top twenty teams in the country, by 41pts.

Since the Ironman, Blair went on to convincing wins at The Beast of the East and the Bethlehem Holiday Classic, tournaments featuring several teams ranked nationally.

Runners-up to Blair were these very SPG Falcons who themselves were without two starters; Fr. 130 Bo Jordan, and So. Felipe Martinez, 140. Later, at the Greater Miami Valley Tournament, SPG, now at full-strength, won by a wide margin and had Martinez collect OW honors, and 171lber, Huston Evans, take the “Most Falls” award.

Further clouding the picture for this weekend’s showdown is the opposite directions the teams seemed to take in duals last weekend.

Blair survived a scare at NHSCA’s Final Four by beating #11 Collins Hill, GA, 36-33, without the services of 130lber, Robbie Preston, who sustained a hip flexor injury in the semifinals of the Bethlehem tournament.

In contrast, St. Paris Graham was firing on all cylinders as they dismantled #10 St. Edwards, 39-20.

While most experts would agree that Blair is the premier tournament team in the country, their dual meet ability, against other nationally ranked teams, seems called into question.

The Breakdown:
103
#8 So. Max Hvolbeck, BA vs. #11 So. Ryan Taylor, SPG
Hvolbeck dec. Taylor in the Ironman Coni-Semi’s.

112
#1 Jr. Evan Silver, BA vs. So. Conner Cassidy, SPG
Expect bonus pts. from undefeated Ironman Champ Silver.

119
#11 So. Mark Grey, BA vs. #6 Jr. Nick Brascetta, SPG
One of the premier bouts of the night. Brascetta won by dec. 3-1 at Ironman.

125
Fr. Russ Parsons, or Fr. Mike Deehan, BA vs. Sr. Sheldon Kegley, SPG
Parsons went 3-2 at Ironman. Kegley was 2-2.

130
Fr. Russ Parsons, or Fr. Mike Deehan, BA vs. #18 Fr. Bo Jordan, SPG
All indications are that Blair regular (and previously ranked) Robbie Preston will not wrestle, which is a considerable blow to the Blair line-up. Bo Jordan may well be one of the best among the upper echelon in the country. He was out the first part of the season, but recently took out #1 Sr. Jamie Clark in the St. Ed’s dual.

135
#5 Jr. Austin Ormsbee, BA vs. HM So. Isaac Jordan, SPG
Ormsbee is one of the top wrestlers in the country, but Jordan’s another stud in-the-making. Advantage Blair. But should be a heck of a bout. Isaac wrestled Ironman at 140 to a 4th place finish.

140
#1 Sr. Chris Villalonga, BA vs. #6 So. Felipe Martinez, SPG
Their rankings say it all. Chris V. is experienced, savvy and knows how to win scrambles and close matches. Martinez is a dynamo. Someone, please get this on tape.

145
Fr. Jack Wedholm, BA, vs. #20 Jr. Matt Stephens or Jr. Robert Mannier, SPG

152
#7 Sr. Jesse Shanaman, BA vs. #20 Stephens or Mannier, SPG
Stephens has wrestled both weights this year. It should be interesting to see if Coach Jordan goes stud-to-stud. That decision will probably be dictated by the team score at the time of the bout. Shanaman was runner-up at Ironman to #1 Alton. Stephens (at 145) lost for 3rd vs then #10 Salupo (St. Ed’s) whom he has since beat when the teams dualed.

160
Sr. Brad Bishop, BA vs. HM Jr. Kyle Ryan, SPG
Edge to Graham’s Ryan here, who placed 4th at IM.

171
Jr. Marino Orlandi, BA vs. HM So. Huston Evans, SPG
Evans is among the best 171lbers in the country. Bonus points should come here for the Falcons.

189
#1 Sr. Mike Evans, BA vs. #5 Sr. Max Thomusseit, SPG
Another premier match. Evans controlled this bout in IM finals in a 6-2 decision.

215
Sr. Dillon Hoffman, BA vs. Jr. Mark Meyer, SPG
Toss up. Hoffman placed 8th at IM. Meyer was one bout from the podium.

HWT
#15 Fr. Brooks Black vs. Sr. Lucas Williams, SPG
Black, one of the nation’s top freshman at any weight class, is a heavy favorite here.

Blair: also has the potential to bump up everyone from 112 or 119 to 145 to get the match-ups they think most strategic. If they choose to do so, expect to see Jr. Kyle Taylor at 112. With Preston likely out, this is a real possibility.

Graham: Line-up should be as-expected with the only shuffling likely at 145/152.

Notes:
Like any big dual, toss-up bouts figure to decide the match between two close teams.

For Blair: Bonus pts are key. They need to avoid them when they’re overmatched, and get them with their studs. In their close duals, one problem has been the lack of bonus pts from their top guys who seem content on riding instead of racking up points. We’ll see if that approach changes here. They certainly have the ability to.

For SPG: Needs to get bonus where they are decided favorites. If I were Coach Jordan, I’d avoid the potential Stephens/Shanaman bout.

What It All Means
If Blair wins, case closed, assuming they run the table of their remaining schedule. They would have gone undefeated in a grueling schedule, the nation’s toughest, and won in both dual and tournament formats (the latter half of the year less a very intergral 130lber.) against more ranked opponents than anyone.

If not, #2 Apple Valley has remained perfect. They won the Cheesehead which featured five nationally ranked teams, before taking the title at The Clash, a dual format tournament, with another seven ranked squads. Their line-up is a little bit Blair; with studs throughout, and a little bit Graham; having a lot of balance.

How they would fair against Blair and/or Graham will remain conjecture as they aren’t on each other’s schedule. But if Graham should come out on top Saturday, Apple Valley might be the biggest winners…all the way to the tune of national title. Blair would have a blemish. SPG would still have a second place showing as a remnant of Ironman.

What about Graham? Is it not possible for them to lay claim to the national title? After all, they would have taken out the previous #1.

There’s a shot. But for that to happen, I think the Falcons would have to dominate and win big. They would still have a second place finish, something that Apple Valley doesn’t have to admit. And although that second place finish occurred when they weren’t at full strength, neither will Blair be (by most indications) for this dual. In the end, under this scenario, Apple Valley would be the only team to remain unscathed.

The biggest winners of this dual between New Jersey and Ohio teams just may be the folks from Minnesota.

That being said, my prediction:

Blair 31, St. Paris-Graham 26

From the Masters at TheOpenMat

Perhaps the deepest concentration of talent the high school wrestling world will see during the season, the Walsh Ironman Tournament annually kicks the action into high gear. Regardless of which rankings you use, an obscene amount of top teams are present here including at least six of the top eight in the country.

The field is also laden with some of the top individuals as tournament director, Bob Preusse, extends invitations to bring in guys like Brandon Rolnick, Travis Gallegos, Jesse Delgado, and other nationally ranked wrestlers.

Without further ado, we’ll breakdown the favorites, and storylines, by weight class, in anticipation of what should be another memorable kick-off.

We also turn back the clock a bit, and list the finals’ results from five years ago.

103
Last Year: Nick Brascetta (ST Eds) def. Mark Grey (Blair) 6-3
2004: Jayk Cobbs dec. Daniel Kolodzik 4-2

Handicapping the first weight class is particularly tough early in the season when several starters are new to the line-up. But 103 does have some standout names. Kevon Powell of Montini (IL) was a Fargo placer this summer and earned the top seed despite going 0-2 here last year. He may still be undersized as he wrestled 98lbs this summer. St. Ignatius Soph, George DiCamillo, is the only returning placer (8th) back at 103. He gets the 2nd seed with Blair Academy So. Max Hvolbeck, who won NHSCA’s Preseason Nationals, getting the 3 seed.

Other Contenders:
Billy Rappo (Council Rock-South)
Cory Stainbrook (Streetsboro)
Dean Heil (St Eds)
Kaleb Lemaire (Ceasar Rodney)
Ryan Taylor (SPG)
Evan Botwin (Wyoming Seminary)

TOM’s Pick: Max Hvolbeck (BA) over Billy Rappo (CRS)

112
Last Year: Devin Carter (CBurg) dec. Hunter Steiber (Monroeville) 8-4
2004: Aaron Hart (SPG) dec Rollie Peterkin (BA) 6-4

Along with 152, 112lbs might be the deepest weight of the tournament. The top seed here goes to National Prep Champ Evan Silver who lost just once here last year (to Hunter Stieber) at the same weight in taking 3rd. On his side of the bracket, Silver will face competition from 4th seeded Jimmy Gulibon, who dominated his way to a state title as a freshman.

In the bottom half, Alex Cisneros (Selma, CA) who won a state title and NHSCA
Freshman Nationals last year gets the 3 seed. The 2nd seed goes to Wyoming Seminary’s Dom Malone, a placer (5th) at 103 last year. Last weekend, Malone beat Joey Dance of Christiansburg. Dance won Super 32’s and Fargo Cadet FS this off-season. Dance is also in this side of the bracket as the 6th seed, setting up a potential quarterfinal match-up with Cisneros.

Corey Keener (7th) of Blue Mountain and Alfredo Gray (6th) of Wadsworth also both placed last year at the Ironman at 103lbs.

Other Contenders:
Ryan Brooks (Marlow)
Daniel Gaytan (Clovis)
Jordan Hancock (Troy)
Trey Balasco (CR-South)

TOM’s Pick: Jimmy Gulibon (Derry) over Dom Malone (Seminary)

119
Last Year: Jamie Clark (ST Eds) dec Sean Boyle (BA) 5-3
2004: Lance Palmer (ST Eds) dec Ross Gitomer (BA) 5-0

This weight features a good number of previous Ironman placers with head-to-head history. The top seed is Monroeville’s Hunter Steiber, last year’s runner-up at 112lbs. On his side of the bracket is 4th seeded Ty Mitch, Ironman participant who has collected a pair of Ohio state titles and this summers Junior FS National crown. Setting up an interesting quarterfinal match, Nick Brascetta (SPG), last year’s 103lb champ, is seeded 5th. Also on that side of the bracket is Broomfield’s (CO) Courtland Hacker who placed eighth here last year.

Down below, Jerome Robinson got the nod as the second seed. Robinson, of St. Ignatius, won last year’s Ohio state title and October’s Super 32 belt. He placed 4th at 112 here last year ahead of 3 seed Kegan Squire (Wadworth) who placed 6th and Reynold’s Mason Beckman, the 7th seed, who placed 5th.

Although he’s seeded just sixth, Mark Grey is set up quite well. Wrestling for Blair Academy, Grey won National Prep’s, was a runner-up to Brascetta here last year, and was a Cadet Fargo Finalist this summer. His potential match-ups include Squire in the quarters and Robinson/Beckman in the semi’s. I like his chances to get to the finals.

Other Contenders:
Christian Bailey (Davis, OK)
Geoff Alexander (Shady Side)
Kyle Johnson (Seminary)

TOM’s Pick: Ty Mitch (Aurora) over Mark Grey (BA)

125
Last Year: Sammie White (Perry) dec Zach Neibert (SPG) 7-5
2004: Jordan Frishkorn (Great Bridge) dec Cam Doggett (SPG) 7-2

Not because of depth issues, but because both wrestlers are that good, 125 appears to be a two-horse race putting top seeded Logan Steiber (Monroeville) and 2nd seeded Devin Carter (Christiansburg) on a collision course/ Both wrestlers have won just about everything under the wrestling sun: Ironman, Fargo, multiple state titles, etc.

Up top with Steiber will be Walsh’s Johnni DiJulius a State Champ and St. Ed’s Gus Sako a state runners-up and previous Ironman placers. Another tough competitor is Dylan D’Urso (Reynolds) who placed third at 103 here last year.

On the bottom side, Carter’s main competition is likely to come in the form of CA state champion, Jesse Delgado (Gilroy), who is the 3 seed. Other main challengers will be Jerry Huff of Broomfield, who was a Fargo AA this summer, and Burrell’s Dave Makara, who placed 6th here last year at the same weight.

Other Contenders:
Jake Corrill (Moeller)
Ryan Hunsberger (Faquier)
Drew Stone (Oak Harbor)
Chase Ferman (Broken Arrow)

TOM’s Pick: Logan Steiber (Monroeville) over Devin Carter (CBurg)

130
Last Year: Chris Villalonga (BA) dec Felipe Martinez (SPG) 6-1
2004: Adam Frey (BA) dec Matt Dunn (Reynolds) 6-5

This is the first weight (of a few) in which there is a notable scratch. St. Paris Graham’s Bo Jordan is out.

Defending Ironman Champ, Jamie Clark (St Eds) leads the way as the top seed and the consensus pick to win it. In his half, Frank Martellotti (SSA), who recently signed to wrestle at Penn State next year, sits as the 4 seed and Nick Babcock of Broomfield (CO), a placer at 103 last year, is seeded 5th. A good early round match-up will be Soph. Case Garrison (Bishop Lynch) and Walsh’s Nate Skonieczny, the 8th and 9th seeds, respectively.

Cody Pack (Quincy) a CA state finalist has flown in on a solo mission. As the 2 and 3 seeds, Pack and Westlake’s Nick Lawrence are the top dogs of the bottom bracket. Also figuring to be in the mix is Tyler Raunzahn (Blue Mtn), who was 5th here last year.

Todd Preston (BA) is unseeded. Depending upon where he falls in the bracket, he could throw a monkey wrench into things. Another unseeded kid is Seminary’s Eric Morris, a freshman buzzsaw that had a tremendous youth career. Maybe this year’s Felipe Martinez?

Other Contenders:
Colten Rasche (Montini)

TOM’s Pick: Jamie Clark (St Eds) over Eric Morris (Seminary)

135
Last Year: David Taylor (SPG) dec. Joe Waltko (N. Allegheny) 16-3
2004: Brandon Shelton (El Reno) dec Travis Blasco (BA) 8-5

The scratch at 135 is Council Rock-South’s Josh Dziewa, who is out with a shoulder injury.

Monroeville’s Cam Tessari is the third top seed from his school in a span of 4 weights. On his side of the bracket, he’ll have to deal with 4 seed Luke Goettl (Mingus AZ), a Fargo GR Champ and Iowa St. signee. Also up top is 5 seed Simon Kitzis of Seminary who, despite a DNP performance here last year, has fared well in several national tournaments, including a win vs. eventual FS National Champ Dziewa at Fargo, where Kitzis would eventually place 4th.

Nick Pena of Selma (CA) also looms in the top bracket. Pena placed 3rd at the CA state tournament last year and 5th in October’s Super 32’s. Another mouth-watering, Round of 16 match-up will likely pit Pena and Bishop Lynch 9 seed, Troy Silver against each other.

Last year at this event, Felipe Martinez (SPG) burst onto the scene by upsetting blue-chipper Tony Ramos and winning runner-up honors. A Martinez-Ormsbee semi would be wild, and likely, as they are the 2 and 3 seeds. Ormsbee, a National Prep Champ for Blair, took fourth here in 2008, losing to Joe Waltko and splitting matches with Josh Kindig.

Jordan Rich (Central Mtn), who placed 5th at 125 last year, is also in the bottom bracket. He, along with 7th seeded Shawn Fayette (Miamisburg) will have a lot to say about how the bottom half unfolds.

Other Contenders:
Scott Bosak (Kiski Prep)
Alec Dieter (Clovis)
Zach Epperly (Christiansburg)
Zack Dailey (Perry)

TOM’s Pick: Cam Tessari (Monroeville) over Austin Ormsbee (Blair)

140
Last Year: Andrew Alton (CM) dec Collin Palmer (St Eds) 5-3
2004: Mikey Benefiel (Montini) dec Sean Nemec (St Eds) 4-3

Another scratch here as Blue Mountain star and Oklahoma State Cowboy recruit, Josh Kindig injured a knee at the Lock Haven Open.

Defending Ironman Champ, Chris Villalonga is the overwhelming favorite to repeat. But the top half is deep with talent and he’ll face tough opponents almost every match. The quarters will see him get the winner of 8 and 9 seeds Ian Miller (Oak Harbor) and Brian Brill (Central Mtn), a Fargo Cadet runner-up. In the other quarters, a likely match-up between the 4 and 5 seeds will pit NHSCA Soph. National Champ Caleb Ervin of Kentucky against Cody Broomall of Smyrna (DE), who placed 3rd in the same tournament.

The top two seeds in the bottom bracket are Stephen Robertson of Montini, who placed 8th at 125 here last year and Travis Shaffer (Derry) a 4th place finisher at Super 32’s

Other Contenders:
Evan Henderson (Kiski)
Clinton McAlester (Clovis)
Isaac Jordan (SPG)
Brady Epperly (Christiansburg)
Matt Martoccio (CR-South)
Nate Ball (Wadsworth)

TOM’s Pick: Chris Villalonga (Blair) over Evan Henderson (Kiski)

145
Last Year: Dylan Alton (CM) dec Brian Stephens (SPG) 5-3
2004: Dustin Schlatter (Perry) tech-fall Eric Medina (BA)

Andrew Alton is in a good position to find himself back in the finals. The 2008 Ironman Champ, who has since won another PA state title, another Fargo title, and last month won the ESU College Open, should handle the top bracket.

His top opponents will likely be 4th seeded Arizona state champ Logan Addis (Mingus) or Matt Stephen (SPG), the 5 seed, in the semis.

In the bottom half, one of the more underappreciated wrestlers in the country, Brad Squire (Wadsworth) is the 2 seed. Squire is a 3x Ohio state placewinner. Opposite him in the 3 slot is CA State Champion Cody Rodebaugh of San Lorenzo Valley.

Another wrestler to watch out for is St. Ed’s Anthony Salupo seeded 6th. The Lehigh signee is certainly capable of winning this side of the bracket.

Other Contenders:
Robert Henderson (Kiski)
James Linkous (Christiansburg)
Cody Bye (Bishop Lynch)
Andy Candiello (North Allegheny)

TOM’s Pick: Andrew Alton (Central Mtn) over Cody Rodebaugh (San Lorenzo)

152
Last Year: Brandon Rolnick (Lawrenceville) dec Nick Sulzer (St Eds) 3-1
2004: Chris Brown (Great Bridge) dec Ian Henisch (Ponderosa) 22-8

The third consecutive weight that has a returning champ, this bracket does double duty as two defending Ironman Champs are present. Dylan Alton won last year’s title at 145 while Brandon Rolnick of Lawrenceville Prep won at this very weight. While they’re the two favorites, this weight is anything but a forgone conclusion. The deepest weight class in the tournament, there are seven wrestlers here who have signed on to wrestle for Division I schools. And that’s just the seniors. Every match-up in the Round of 16 will be worth watching at this weight.

Alton gets the nod as the top seed. Up top with him will be 8 and 9 Harrison Hightower (University School), an Ohio state champ, and Cody Allala (Hopewell), a Virginia state champ . The winner will likely meet Dylan in the quarters.

Another R16 match-up that should be a dandy is 5 seed, David Habat, St. Iggy’s State Champ and Edinboro signee, versus Ceasar Rodney’s Isaiah Meade, a Fargo Cadet AA. The winner will likely face Kiski Prep’s Jason Luster in the quarters. Last year at Ironman, Habat and Luster tangled for 3rd with Luster coming out on top, 3-1.

In the bottom half, Rolnick will await the winner of the 7/10 match-up between Smyrna’s Kenny Boyles and Blair’s Jesse Shanaman, who placed 6th last season.

The 3 seed is Steven Hernandez of Bishop Gorman (NV) who’s won multiple state titles, Fargo, and all three NHSCA class events. A potential quarterfinal match waits for him with Travis Gallegos (Foothill, CA) who placed third in his state tournament and 5th at Super 32’s at 160.

Other Contenders:
Travis McKillop (Burrell)
Bryce Caiazzo (Seminary)
Rich Eva (Christiansburg)

TOM’s Pick: Dylan Alton (Central Mtn) over Steven Hernandez (Bishop Gorman)

160
Last Year: Zach Toal (Troy) dec. Kyle Lang (Brecksville) 5-3
2004: Dave Irwin (SPG) dec Mack Lewnes (St Joes) 13-3

In the top half, we might be in for a semifinal that revisits last year’s Ohio state final. That match saw Westerville’s Josh Demas, the 4th seed here, score in the waning moments to capture the state title over Nick Sulzer (St. Eds), the top seed, and who lost in the Ironman finals last year to Rolnick at 152.

The second seed is Pierce Harger (Moeller), an Ohio state champ who placed 4th here at 145 last year. Opposite him in the 3 slot is Zach Skates (OK), also a state champion, who was one round from placing at 152 in last year’s Ironman.

Other Contenders:
Trey Adamson (Bishop Lynch)
Brad Wukie (University School)
Chris Moon (Seminary)
Konner Witt (Oak Harbor)

TOM’s Pick: Josh Demas (Westerville) over Pierce Harger (Moeller)

171
Last Year: Ed Ruth (BA) dec Ethan Lofthouse (Mt Crest) 10-3
2004: Phil Keddy (Unitah) dec Dave Thompson (SPG) 3-0

Chris Phillips, one of the country’s top juniors, is Monroeville’s 4th top seeded wrestler. He’s the overwhelming favorite here, but he should get some good tests from 8th seed Clint Allala (Hopewell) and the winner of Alex Utley, the 4th seed of CVCA and SPG’s Huston Evans, who, as just a freshman placed 7th at 160 last season.

In the other half of the bracket, Shady Side’s Matt Cunningham, a state champion and Cornell recruit, grabbed the 2 seed. Third seed is Tanner Eitel of Bishop Lynch.

One wrestler to keep an eye on is unseeded Justin Lozano of Selma (CA) who looked very impressive in taking 4th at Super 32’s, including a 10-3 victory over New Jersey’s Nick Visicaro.

Other Contenders:
Johnny Field (Bishop Gorman)
Zach Nevills (Clovis)
Todd Gaydosh (Padua)

TOM’s Pick: Chris Phillips (Monroeville) over Matt Cunningham (SSA)

189
Last Year: Max Huntley (BA) dec. Max Thomusseit (SPG) 4-3
2004: Patrick Bond (Great Bridge) dec Hudson Taylor (BA) 3-1

A scratch here as Morgan MacIntosh (Calvary Chapel, CA) will not be available.
The top few guys here are solid. Starting with Evans, who double AA’d in Fargo this summer, as the top seed. On his side of the bracket is CA placer, Tommy Burriel, the 4th seed, and Matt Chavez of Mingus.

The bottom half should feature an interesting semi between 2nd seeded Max Thomusseit of SPG, a runner-up at Ironman last season, and BL import, Steve McPeek, a Fargo AA and Super 32 runner-up. Both of these guys are horses, although McPeek is a rather small 89lber, and Thomusseit is on the really big end.

Other Contenders:
Cody Johnson (Broken Arrow)
Bobby Lavelle (CR-South)
Chris Smith (Parkersburg)
Anthony Ruggiero

TOM’s Pick: Mike Evans (BA) Steve McPeek (BL)

215
Last Year: Joe McMullen (WySem) dec Ben Krakower (BA) 5-0
2004: Jason Marshall (SPG) dec Cody Gardner (CBurg) 3-1

One last notable omission as Don McNeil (Wyoming Seminary) has not been cleared for eligibility.

The #1 seed, Tank Knowles (Calvary Chapel) is the prohibitive favorite here. As just a soph last year, Knowles placed 4th at the tough California state
tournament.

His main competition in getting to the finals will come from Brian Beattie (Burrell), the 4 seed, who was an NHSCA Soph National Runner-Up.

In the other side, it should be a showdown between two Ohio guys: Nick Tavenello (Wadsworth) and Beau Wenger (Fairless Hills). Watch for Brook Gosch (Blue Mountain) to throw his hat in the ring, too.

Other Contenders:
Joe Gatto (Padua)
Spencer Willett (Brecksville)
Mark Meyer (SPG)

TOM’s Pick: Tank Knowles (CC) over Beau Wenger (Fairless Hills)

HWT
Last Year: Jeremy Johnson (Brecksville) fall Zach Corl (Blue Mt)
2004: Steve Dumas (Brush) dec Mike Edwards (Reynolds) 6-4

There’s a good crop of experienced heavies here, at least 8 deep.

Terry Williamson (Broken Arrow), who finished 4th at 215 last year, gets top billing. He’ll have to contend with Brooks Black (Blair) early. Black, a freshman in his first year at Blair, won Fargo Cadets this summer.

The other quarter bracket features Wadsworth’s Ben Buzzelli, a 6th place finisher here last year, and 5th seed Ross Ferraro of Montini.

In the bottom half, the top two seeds are National Prep Champ, Mike McMullen (Seminary) and last year’s Ironman Runner-Up, Zach Corl of Central Mountain.

Other Contenders:
Max Gladstone (Findlay)

TOM’s Pick: Mike McMullen (Seminary) over Brooks Black (Blair)

By: Willie Saylor, Editor