National high school wrestling notebook (12/19/2023)

Blair dominates Beast of the East; St. John Bosco (CA) wins in Reno; Host Buchanan (CA) prevails at Zinkin Classic; Brownsburg (IN) takes Carnahan Memorial; Liberty (MO) finishes on top at KC Stampede

Blair Academy runs away with Beast of the East title

New Jersey’s Blair Academy, which is No. 2 in the nation by Mat Scouts, had little trouble winning the prestigious Beast of the East Tournament at the Bob Carpenter Center at the University of Delaware, last weekend, coming eight points shy of winning by 100, 282.5-190.5 over Pennsylvania’s Faith Christian Academy (No. 6). No. 8 Malvern Prep of Pennsylvania finished in third, just a point behind FCA, with 189.5.

Blair’s five champions were a tournament high with no other teams crowning more than one champion. In another interesting twist, all the championships were won by wrestlers representing New Jersey or Pennsylvania schools, except for Salesianum, Delaware’s James Miller, who received a forfeit from No. 22 Hudson Skove (Fair Haven, New Jersey) for the 215-pound title.

Blair Academy (New Jersey) routed the field in winning the 2023 Beast of the East team title at the University of Delaware last week

Two of the Bucs' champions came out ahead of one-point affairs, No. 13 Matty Lopes got by No. 23 Caedyn Ricciardi (St. Peter Prep, New Jersey), 4-3, and No. 3 Carter Neves posted a 3-2 win over No. 4 Sean Kinney (Nazareth, Pennsylvania).

No. 1 Leo DeLuca won a 5-2 decision at 120-pounds over North Lebanon, Pennsylvania’s Aaron Seidel (No. 2 at 113). No. 19 Paul Ognissanti (157) hung a 15-5 major decision on unranked Charlie Scanlan (Bethlehem Catholic, Pennsylvania). No. 5 William Henckel had the easiest time of the Blair grapplers, rolling to a 22-7 technical fall of Central Dauphin, Pennsylvania’s Ryan Garvick (Honorable Mention) in the 165-pound final, and with that run was named Outstanding Wrestler.

Other Buccaneers earning hardware were No. 17 Billy DeKraker (2nd at 138), placing third was No. 7 Vincenzo Anello (106) and No. 10 Logan Rozynski, Peter Snyder (HM was 6th at 175), and Michael Batista (113) finished eighth.

Faith Christian Academy saw two wrestlers reach the finals with No. 1 Joe Bachmann blanking No. 8 Cameron Sontz (Delbarton, New Jersey), 3-0, in the 106-pound finals. No. 8 Adam Waters settled for silver at 175.

Malvern Prep’s lone finalist, No. 2 Jack Consiglio, who completed his journey to the top of the 144-pound podium by edging Brooke Point, Virginia’s Chase Van Hoven (HM), 4-3.

Two other Pennsylvanians staked their claim to gold, Bethlehem Catholic’s No. 7 Kollin Rath won a battle of similar first names, 2-1 in the tiebreaker period, over No. 14 Collin Gaj (Quakertown, Pennsylvania) and No. 8 Ayden Smith (Notre Dame) avenged a loss by fall at Super 32 to No. 7 JoJo Uhorchuck (Signal Mountain, Tennessee), 5-3, at 113-pounds.

Coupled with Blair’s five champions, the four additional titles won by New Jersey wrestlers gave them a tournament high, nine gold medalists.

No. 3 Anthony Knox (St. John Vianney) worked to a solid 16-9 win in the 126-pound final over Sammy Spaulding (Camden Catholic, New Jersey) for his second straight Beast crown.

Brick Memorial’s No. 5 Harvey Ludington (190) was making his second consecutive finals appearance, and he bested his runner-up finish from a year ago by pinning Daniel Rella (Paramus Catholic, New Jersey) in the third period, 4:17.

Also attaining their first Beast glory were Delbarton’s Jayden James (No. 17 at 132) at 138 with a 5-3 decision of DeKraker, and No. 5 Ryan Burton (St. Joseph Regional), who put a 4-2 victory on the bracket over FCA’s Waters. Burton authored a mild upset of No. 3 Gage Wright (Parkersburg South, West Virginia) in the semis, 5-4. Wright won top honors Ironman.

California’s St. John Bosco wins Reno Tournament of Champions

The Reno Tournament of Champions at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada is kind of like the West Coast Beast of the East, where the brackets are littered with nationally ranked wrestlers. No wrestler shined as much as Sunnyside, Arizona’s Sergio Vega (No. 3 at 132), who captured his third straight Reno crown at 138-pounds with a 5-0 shutout of Giosue Hickman (Tuttle, Oklahoma) to run his career high school record to 90-0. Vega’s squad, who is ranked 35th in the nation, finished in third place.

No. 15 St. John Bosco came out on top of No. 11 Gilroy, California, 268-220, with both teams crowning three champions. But SJB had five in the finals compared to three for Gilroy.

Winning gold for the Braves were Grigor Cholakyan (157, No. 5 at 150) with a third period decking of Pleasant Grove, Utah’s Bradlee Farrer, 5:52, Joseph Antonio (165, No. 3 at 150) putting a 4-1 win over No. 14 Dylan Pile (Los Gatos, California) in the books, and No. 6 Nicholas Sahakian winning the heavyweight supremacy with a 7-2 decision of No. 23 Shilo Jones (Mountain View, Idaho).

Securing silver for St. John Bosco was Sean Willcox (113, HM) and Nathan Carillo (120). Walking away with bronze were Troy Montero (106) and Tigran Greyan (144). Placing fifth was Michael Romero (126, HM). No. 25 Jesse Grajeda was seventh at 132 and Yazir Tellez landed in the eighth position at 150.

Reno allowed multiple entries per team. We only listed the highest place winner at each weight for the Braves.

Gilroy’s three champs were No. 4 Isaiah Cortez, who received a forfeit from his teammate at 126-pounds, Moses Mendoza (No. 10 at 120). No. 15 Elijah Cortez squeaked by Victor Alexander Gutierrez (Central Catholic, California), 6-5, for the 132-pound title. At 144, Moses Mirabal surprised Sunnyside’s Carlos Stanton (No. 16 at 138) with a second period fall, 3:37.

California wrestlers claimed gold in ten of the weights. Hesperia’s Paulo Valdez won a battle of honorable mention wrestlers, 8-2, over SJB’s Willcox. No. 4 Ronnie Ramirez (Walnut) won a tight one with SJB’s Carillo, 3-2 at 120. Oakdale’s Carlos Garcia used a similar score to get by Hudson Rogers (Meridian, Idaho), and Vacaville’s No. 15 Thomas Sandoval won a one-point match of his own, 5-4 over No. 25 Leimana Fager (Corner Canyon, Utah).

Meridian’s Jason Mara (No. 19) won the 150-pound gold with a 3-1 overtime outcome versus No. 12 Ethan Parco (Los Gatos). Parco handed No. 3 Daniel Zepeda (Gilroy) a 6-4 loss in the semis.

Allen, Texas claimed one title from 106-pounder Maddux Tindal with a 9-0 blanking of Tanner Telford (Corner Canyon). Darrell Leslie (Toppenish) took one wall chart back to Washington with his 4-1 decision of Carson Cooley (Meridian) at 215.

Buchanan wins its own Zinkin Classic Tournament

No. 10 Buchanan hosted the Zinkin Classic this weekend and kept the team trophy in their house, outpointing runner-up No. 31 Bakersfield, 380-281.5. No. 24 Clovis was the third-place team with 255.5 points.

All the tournament champs hail from California with Buchanan leading the way with six titlists. Bakersfield and Clovis had two each.

Taking top honors for the Bears were No. 19 Rocklin Zinkin (113), Ashton Besmer (126), No. 18 Joseph Toscano (144), No. 6 Leo Contino (157), Sean-Michael Roberts (190), and Bryson Harrington (285). Zinkin, Toscano, and Contino had easy paths to victory.

Besmer upset Clovis’ Nikade Zinkin (HM), 4-3. Roberts won a tight affair with Sonny Acuna (Northview), 4-2. Harrington won the heavyweight battle 3-1 over Bakersfield’s Adam Stanley.

Blake Woodward (106) and Gavin Bauder (HM at 138) came up short in their title quests. No. 19 CJ Huerta was third at 120. Anthony Harris was fourth at 132. Placing fifth was Alec Dansby, and taking sixth were Jaxtyn Frost (150) and Brock Kitchen (175).

Bakersfield’s Aiden Simmons pulled off a mild upset of Bauder, 3-2, for the 138-pound gold. At 215, Michael Murillo duplicated the feat of Simmons as an unranked wrestler who beat one of our honorable mention selections with a 2-1 win over Fountain Valley’s Ryland Whitworth.

Placing second for Bakersfield were Austin Simmons (165), Jake Honey (175), and Stanley.

Clovis’ two champs were Anthony Garza (106) and Joesph Buck (175). Garza blanked Woodward, 2-0. Buck renewed his rivalry with Honey, taking this meeting 7-3, for his third straight win over his adversary (by our records, which show Honey winning their first two meetings last year).

Landing in the second spot for Clovis were Nikade Zinkin and Noah Reynolds (150).

Clovis West crowned Leo Maestas (HM) as the 132lb champ after receiving a forfeit from his teammate, Jeff Lopez. Clovis North’s Max Del Bosque hung a 5-1 loss on Reynolds at 150.

Central’s Anthony Castillo won the 120lb title bout 5-4 over Golden West’s Caleb Rivas. Castillio’s shining moment came in the semifinals, though, with an 8-2 victory over Buchanan’s Huerta.

Chaminade College Prep’s Arvin Khosravy downed Austin Simmons, 3-1, for the 165lb title.

Brownsburg edged Bishop McCort for Carnahan Memorial Championship

No. 16 Brownsburg, Indiana edged No. 14 Bishop McCort, Pennsylvania, 210-198, for the team glory at the Carnahan Memorial Tournament at Crown Point High School in Indiana.

Despite only crowning two champions to Bishop McCort’s five, Brownsburg found the points to claim the team trophy this weekend. No. 12 Revin Dickman (113) and No. 14 Jake Hockaday (132) paced their squad with big wins in the finals, Dickman by fall, 1:42, over Bryan Sterling (Dundee, Michigan) and Hockaday by tech, 23-8, versus Logan Dawson (Lowell, Michigan).

Placing second for the Bulldogs were Caden Brewer (215) and Max Forrester (285). Third place finishers were Preston Haines (120), Tommy Gibbs (150), and Gunner Henry (190, HM). Parker Reynolds was fourth at 144. Brady Ison (138, HM) and Mason Day (157) were fifth. Taking sixth were Jese Derringer (165) and Griffin Campbell (175).

Winning gold for Bishop McCort were Lincoln Sledzianowski (120), No. 2 Jax Forrest (126), No. 2 Bo Bassett (138), Melvin Miller (150, No. 3 at 144), and No. 22 Devon Magro (157).

Four of the matches were close but Bassett dominated on his way to winning the Outstanding Wrestler award capping it off by flattening Colin McDowell (Arrowhead Union, Wisconsin) in the finals, 1:32.

Sledzianowski defeated Crown Point’s Gavin Jendreas, 7-3. Forrest won a classic battle with No. 5 Seth Mendoza (Mt. Carmel, Illinois), 8-5. Miller moved to 150 and got by No. 8 Wyatt Duchateau (Arrowhead Union), 4-3. Magro won a 6-3 showdown with No. 25 Eddie Enright (Mt. Carmel).

No. 18 Mt. Carmel was third with 171.5 points and one champion, No. 4 Colin Kelly, who put a 16-6 major decision on No. 8 Gunner Cramblett (Graham, Ohio).

The host school is ranked 27th in the nation and they saw two wrestlers reach the top of the podium, the Clark Brothers, Will (215) and Paul (285). Will, No. 19 at 215, decked Brewer in 1:02. Paul, also No. 19, used a pin, too, his in the final frame, 4:57, over Forrester.

Two Michigan grapplers left with top honors. Dundee’s Blake Cosby (No. 25 at 138) surprised No. 12 Brogan Tucker (Graham) 6-2 to claim the 144-pound gold. Lowell’s No. 22 Jarrett Smith won a 6-3 match with Graham’s Jake Landis.

Cleveland, Tennessee’s Logan Fowler (No. 13 at 157) moved up to 165 and downed No. 24 Anthony Rinehart (Crown Point), 5-3. No. 23 Matt Kowalski (Springboro, Ohio) posted a major decision in the 190lb finals over Cleveland’s Lucas Szymborski, 9-1.

Liberty stakes claim to top honors at the KC Stampede

The Bartle Hall in Kansas City, Missouri hosted the KC Stampede this weekend where No. 28 Liberty, Missouri won the team race over No. 34 Buford, Georgia, 212-176.5.

Hunter Taylor (No. 4 at 113) reached the Ironman finals last week at 113 but was up at 120 here and had little trouble with Aiden Shields (Valley Center, Kansas) gaining a fall in the third period, 5:06.

No. 14 Peyton Westpfahl had the quickest fall of the finals in 43 seconds over Carter Temple (Kearney, Missouri) at 175. At 144, No. 24 Gavin Linsman didn’t have to wait long to avenge his Ironman loss to No. 23 David Gleason (Staley, Missouri), winning the finals bout, 6-3.

No. 34 Buford’s lone champ was No. 9 Drew Gorman with a 14-5 major decision of No. 21 Jackson Tucker (Hillsboro, Missouri) at 138-pounds.

No. 37 Baylor School from Tennessee put up 172 points and pushed two wrestlers to the top of the awards stand, No. 24 Hunter Sturgill (157) and Maximus Norman (165, HM). Sturgill defeated Alex Hutchcraft (Smithville, Missouri), 7-3. Norman edged Hillsboro’s Sam Richardson, 1-0.

Wrestlers from the host state claimed three other golds, Fort Osage’s Kaison Schreier downed Jordan Bell (St. Pius X, Missouri), 9-7, at 106. No. 22 Porter Matecki (Whitfield) won a 1-0 decision over Canon Acklin (Collinsville, Oklahoma) at 126, and No. 5 Sampson Stillwell (St. Michael the Archangel) won an overtime battle of heavyweight titans over No. 16 Spencer Lanosga (Jesuit, Louisiana), 7-4.

Neighboring Kansas collected three titles with two going to Maize grapplers, Ayden Flores (190, HM) and Ronan Wunsch (215). Both wrestled close matches with Wunsch going into overtime, 4-2, over Burford’s Aaron Riner. Flores got by Isaac Sheeren (Klein, Texas), 3-2.

At 113, Easton Broxterman (Washburn Rural) won the crown with a 5-0 outcome against Staley’s Miller Sipes.

Canyon Randall, Texas’ Michael Ruiz won the 113lb weight with a 6-1 victory over Erik Egstad (Park Hill, Missouri). The 150lb title went to Westmoore, Oklahoma’s Richard Rios with a 3-1 win over St. Pius X’s Marco Dalakishvili.