National high school wrestling notebook (1/1/2024)

Happy New Year!

We closed 2023 with some of the nation's top teams, and wrestlers, competing in some major events. Here is a recap.

Wyoming Seminary puts third straight PowerAde crown in the books

On Friday and Saturday (Dec 29th and 30th) some of the best wrestling programs on the East Coast participated in the PowerAde Tournament at Canon-McMillan High School in Pennsylvania.

Wyoming Seminary (Pennsylvania) was up by almost 40 points over St. Edward (Ohio) going into the finals even though Luke Lilledahl and Joe Sealey were not present. The final edge for the Blue Knights was 41.5 (229-187.5) as they crowned three champions amongst their five finalists.

No. 3 Nate Desmond (121) reprised his bronze medal bout from the Ironman with No. 6 Karson Brown (St. Edward) here but as a championship final that resulted in the same outcome, a Desmond victory, this time 5-0. The previous encounter was a 3-0 affair.

No. 3 Vince Bouzakis (152) also experienced an Ironman rematch in the finals with No. 7 Jaxon Joy (Wadsworth, Ohio). Both meetings were one-point wins for Bouzakis. The gold here was secured with a 3-2 win. The Ironman semi was won by a 4-3 tally. Joy avenged a loss to No. 6 Melvin Miller (Bishop McCort, Pennsylvania) from Super 32 with a 3-1 decision in the semis.

No. 2 Jude Correa was pushed in his 215-pound title bout with No. 9 Austin Johnson (Muncy, Pennsylvania) before pocketing the 4-3 win for his second straight PowerAde championship. Falling short in their title quests for Seminary were No. 7 Matthew Botello (133) and No. 11 Jake Dailey (189).

Placing third for the Blue Knights was No. 4 Shamus Regan (107). No. 2 Davis Motyka (114) and No. 9 Domini Federici (172) were fourth. No. 18 Anthony Evanitsky was eighth at 160-pounds. Federici fell to No. 10 Louis Cerchio (Delbarton, New Jersey) in the bronze match, 3-2, after beating Cerchio at the Hall of Fame Duals a week ago.

The second and third place teams, St. Edward and Malvern Prep (Pennsylvania), respectively each had two finalists and saw only one complete the journey to the top of the podium.

St. Edward’s No. 13 Jarrel Miller (189) came out ahead of Seminary’s Dailey, 5-3. Miller was fourth at Ironman, losing to Nate Taylor (Green Farms Academy (Connecticut), who Dailey beat at Ironman. Karson Brown was second at 121 for St. Edward.

Malvern Prep’s No. 6 Nick O’Neill made it to the top of the PowerAde awards stand for the second year in a row with a 7-0 blanking of Seminary’s Botello. This meeting was also the third-place match at Ironman, won by O’Neill, 1-0. No. 2 Jack Consiglio fell to No. 1 Pierson Manville (State College, Pennsylvania) in the 145-pound final.

Bishop McCort was the fourth-place team, and both of their champions were repeat titlists, No. 2 Jax Forrest pinned No. 10 Eren Sement (Council Rock North, Pennsylvania) in the third period at 127, at 5:25. No. 2 Bo Bassett rolled to the 138-pound gold with a 10-3 decision of No. 7 Luke Simcox (Central Mountain, Pennsylvania).

State College’s three champs equaled Seminary for a tournament high, but it was only seventh behind two teams with zero champions, St. Joe’s Regional (New Jersey) and Lake Highland Prep (Florida).

Manville edged Consiglio for the third time in a row. The first was 11-0 at The Surge. The Ironman final resulted in a 7-2 decision, and this encounter saw a 1-0 ending.

At 160, Asher Cunningham (No. 14 at 157) kept the momentum going from his third place showing at Ironman by securing the PowerAde crown with a 6-4 win over Delbarton’s Alessio Perentin (No. 7 at 165). No. 9 Nicholas Pavlechko pitched a 2-0 shutout at heavyweight over No. 18 Rocco Dellagatta (St. Joe’s Regional).

Super freshman No. 5 Landon Sidun (Norwin, Pennsylvania) was given the No. 5 seed at PowerAde and he proceeded to bust up the bracket, staring with fourth-seeded, No. 13 Ethan Timar (St. Edward), in the quarters, 3-1. His semifinal victim was No. 2 Motyka, also by a 3-1 margin.

In the finals, Sidun was facing a foe he had vanquished in the US Open U17 Freestyle Championships in the spring, No. 6 Ayden Smith (Notre Dame-Green Pond, Pennsylvania). In the 51 KG bronze bout at the US Open, Sidun posted a 6-5 win. In the PowerAde finals, Sidun used a big move at the end for back points and a 6-1 victory.

Another standout freshman made noise at 133 with No. 22 Camden Baum (Bishop McDevitt, Pennsylvania) authoring two upsets en route to a third-place finish. In the quarters, Baum took out No. 14 Jayce Paridon (Lake Highland Prep), 5-4. In the third-place match, Baum got the best of No. 10 Mason Gibson (Bishop McCort), 3-1.

At 107, No. 2 Dominic Deputy (Chestnut Ridge, Pennsylvania) won a tight match with No. 3 Cameron Sontz (Delbarton), 3-2. Sontz defeated No. 4 Regan in the semis, following up his Hall of Fame Duals win over Regan.

The second non-Pennsylvania champ is No. 3 Gage Wright from Parkersburg South, West Virginia. Wright was a runner-up here last year and ran through the 172-pound bracket with a 4-2 win over No. 2 Ryan Burton (St. Joe’s Regional) in the finals. Wright, who won the Ironman crown in early December, fell to Burton, 5-4, in the Beast of the East semis.

Blair’s skeleton crew brings home Sam Cali crown

New Jersey’s Blair Academy stayed within the confines of its home state over the holidays and competed in the Sam Cali tournament on Wednesday and Thursday (Dec 27th and 28th). The Bucs only sent five of their top guns to the affair.

All five reached the finals, with four of them securing gold. No. 9 Vince Onello captured the 106-pound title with a 4-0 blanking of Oumar Tounkara (St. Benedict’s, New Jersey). No. 1 Leo DeLuca captured his glory with a 54-second pin of Honorable Mention Logan Brzozowski (Seton Hall Prep, New Jersey).

No. 10 Logan Rozynski won a tight battle of ranked wrestlers at 144 over highly touted freshman, No. 21 Sonny Amato (Rumson-Fair Haven, New Jersey), 8-7. At 157, No. 16 Paul Ognissanti decked New Jersey’s Ryan Closterman (Somerville) in the middle frame, 3:27.

No. 13 Billy DeKraker was upset at 138 by unranked Blasé Mele (Princeton, New Jersey) in overtime, 3-1. Placing third for Blair were Barry Norman (150) and Cael Mielnik (190).

Ponaganset from Rhode Island finished in second with 205 points to Blair’s 216.5 and crowned two champions.

At 132, David Perez used two upsets to gain his supremacy. In the semis, Perez got by Honorable Mention Pat O’Keefe (St. John Vianney, New Jersey), 6-2. Perez’ biggest win came in the finals when he took out No. 18 Carson Walsh (Pope John Xxiii, New Jersey), 3-1. Preston Marchessault staked claim to the 175-pound wall chart with a first period fall of Anthony Verdi (St. Peter’s Prep, New Jersey), 1:42.

Outside of the Ponaganset wrestlers, all the gold at Sam Cali was found by New Jersey grapplers.

Nationally ranked wrestlers who won their bracket were No. 14 Jordan Chapman (Cranford) with an 8-0 major decision of Ponaganset’s Andrew Reall at 165 and No. 23 Hudson Skove (Rumson-Fair Haven) won a 3-1 bout with Xavier Williams (Paramus Catholic). Williams’ teammate, Daniel Rella (honorable mention) won the 190-pound weight with a 10-0 shutout over Conor Delaney (Rumson-Fair Haven).

The remaining champions were Lakeland’s Jack Bergmann (113), Pope John XXIII’s Dalton Weber (126), Delsea’s Jamar Dixon (150), and Nutley’s Brandon Toranzo (285).

Bergmann and Weber won two-point decisions; the others had an easier path. Bergmann defeated Seton Hall Prep’s Anthony Pellegrino, 4-2, and Weber got Joey Petriello (Dumont), 6-4.

Council Rock South wins Bethlehem Holiday Classic

The Bethlehem Holiday Classic was held on December 28th and 29th at Liberty High School in Pennsylvania and the only out of state entry was Phillipsburg, New Jersey. Council Rock South claimed top honors over Nazareth, 188.5-166.5.

Council Rock South’s three champions paced the contingency.

No. 21 Anthony Mutarelli won the 133[-pound gold with a second period pin of Northampton’s Trey Wagner. At 160, Gavin Cole used a pin of his own, in the first period, 1:26, to slay Sayyidakbar Akbarov (Blue Mountain), and Bekhruz Sadriddinov (honorable mention) captured the 172-pound glory with a 7-2 decision of Luke Fugazzotto (Northwestern Lehigh).

Also grabbing hardware for South was Pat Woloshyn (2nd at 127), third-place finishers Connor Lenahan (114) and Luke Reitter (121), and Eddie Alvarez (8th at 107.

Nazareth’s two champions are both nationally ranked and won their titles with ease. No. 12 Tahir Parkins (139) posted a major decision against No. 25 Seamus Mack (Hempfield). No. 5 Sean Kinney decked Kennett’s John Pardo (honorable mention) in the first period, 1:37, of their heavyweight bout.

Third place Easton’s lone champion, Noah Fenner, won the 107lb bracket with a 9-2 win over No. 23 Emilio Albanese (Emmaus), in what turned out to be the only upset in regard to the national rankings during the final round.

Quakertown was the only other team with multiple champs, and like Nazareth, both of theirs are nationally ranked. Mason Ziegler, who was at the Beast of the East at 120 and is ranked No. 17 there, was up at 127lbs and downed South’s Woloshyn, 11-4. No. 12 Collin Gaj won the 152lb crown with a 5-1 result over Phillipsburg’s Gavin Hawk.

No. 20 Gabe Ballard (Northampton) used an 8-2 win over Easton’s Nicholas Salamone for the 114lb gold. No. 5 Aaron Seidel (North Lebanon) posted an 8-4 decision of Greater Latrobe’s Luke Willochell at 121. West Scranton’s Michael Turi (honorable mention) claimed the 145lb wall chart with an 8-5 victory over Phillipsburg’s Luke Geleta.

The final two champs are Freedom’s Jared Karabinus, who edged Spring Ford’s Mason Richards, 4-3, at 189, and Ryan McMillan (Wilson West Lawn), who pinned Northwestern Lehigh’s Noah Schlofer at 215 in the second period, 3:04.

Massillon Perry reigns supreme at Brecksville Holiday Tournament

Massillon Perry, Ohio came out ahead of a mostly Ohio field at the Brecksville Holiday Tournament at Brecksville High School on Friday and Saturday (Dec 29th and 30th), outpointing runner-up Dublin Coffman, Ohio 235.5-207.

Perry had two champions, Charles Curtis (138, honorable mention) and No. 12 Aiden Fockler (285). Both posted major decisions in their title bouts, Curtis over Giosue Hickman (Canyon View, Arizona), 11-3, and Fockler against EJ German (Brecksville), 10-2.

Honorable mention Mason Rohr was second at 126 for Perry. Lincoln Rohr (106) and Liston Seibert (113) were third. Placing fourth were Emeric McBurney (120) and Ryder Hartshorn (190). Marshall Geckler was sixth at 157 and Brennan Warwick placed seventh at 150.

Seibert beat No. 22 Wyatt Lees (Detroit Catholic Central, Michigan), 3-1, in his third-place match. Lees won their quarter final meeting, 1-1 in UTB.

Dublin Coffman had two champs as well, Blaze Van Gundy used a 7-3 decision of Gabriel Ramirez (Canyon View) at 120 and No. 4 Ethan Birden made quick work of Jack Willen (LaSalle, Ohio), 2:20, in the 165lb final.

Perrysburg finished in third with three champions. Honorable mention Ayden Dodd upset No. 21 Jarrett Smith (Lowell, Michigan), 1-0, to capture the 106lb title. No. 8 Grey Burnett (113) downed Austin Bickerton (Highland, Ohio), 10-3, in his final. No. 2 Marcus Blaze teched No. 20 Jarvis Little (Summit, Tennessee), 23-8, to stake claim to the 132lb gold.

No. 5 Max Shulaw (St. Francis DeSales, Ohio) won a battle of ranked wrestlers at 215 over No. 22 Connor Bercume (Detroit Catholic Central), 8-0. Keegan Sell (Garrettsville Garfield, Ohio) won the 190lb bracket with a 7-0 blanking of LaSalle’s Colin Wooldridge.

LaSalle’s No. 22 Carson Thomas gained supremacy at 175 with an 11-4 decision over Luke James (Edison, Ohio). Reese Stephens (Barnesville, Ohio) put a 5-1 win over Bryson Leach (Summit) on the final line of the 150lb bracket. Leach took out Detroit Catholic Central’s Mason Stewart (honorable mention), 6-2, in the semis.

Stewart’s teammate, No. 8 Darius Marines captured his squad’s only championship with a 6-3 win over Dublin Coffman’s Grayson Woodcock (HM) at 157.

Two more Michigan grapplers took wall charts home with them, Lowell’s No. 12 Jackson Blum decked Perry’s Mason Rohr 16 seconds into the middle frame of their 126lb encounter, 2:16. Dundee’s No. 12 Blake Cosby had a much closer battle with Summit’s Landon Desselle (HM) at 145, ending with a 2-1 victory. Desselle upset Dublin Coffman’s Omar Ayoub (No. 9 at 138), 5-3 OT, in the semis.

St. John Bosco is Tournament of Champions champion

Sonora High School in California hosted the Tournament of Champions on Friday and Saturday with 73 teams, all from California, slated to compete.

St. John Bosco was missing a few starters but still came out ahead of Fountain Valley, 272-258. Holiday tournaments can be weird in regard to team races because wrestlers are on vacation and other various holiday quirks play havoc on lineups. Poway was third, but basically sent a B squad.

Some tournaments in California, including this one, allow multiple entries from the same team. At 113, we had an all St. John Bosco final with Sean Willcox (HM) shutting out Isaac Torres, 7-0.

Bosco had three other champs. At 126, Michael Romero needed overtime to get by Fountain Valley’s Anthony Lucio, 3-2 TB1. Jesse Grajeda (HM) won by default at 132. No. 9 Joseph Antonio used a major decision versus Evan Manzo (Etiwanda), 12-3, at 165.

Nathan Carillo (HM) was second at 120 for St. John Bosco. Yazir Tellez was third at 150. Placing fifth were Troy Montero (106) and Tigran Greyan (144). Landing in sixth was Brayden Carson (175).

Fountain Valley’s five finalists powered their run with two of them being crowned champions. At 106, Hunter Jauregui defeated Nathaniel Granados (Merced), 7-1. Hercules Windrath won the 138lb crown with a 3-1 win over Richard Murillo (Canyon Springs).

Taking second for Fountain Valley were Lucio, Christian Acosta-Stoeber (150), and Ryland Whitworth (215).

Poway’s lone champ was No. 25 Robert Platt, who was recently cleared for activity after a transfer from Brawley. Platt pinned Whitworth in the second period, 3:43.

Valencia’s Slater Hicks (120) was originally enrolled at St. John Bosco but transferred ahead of the season and squared off with would-be-teammate, Nathan Carillo, and came away as the victor, 1-0.

Canyon Springs Sonny Kling was unranked at 175 where our rankings had him slotted, but he took the mats at 190 and flattened No. 15 Eugenio Franco (Corona del Mar) 21 seconds into the third period.

San Marino’s Ryder Yoshitake, who is a Greco-Roman specialist, captured the 144lb gold with a 3-2 decision of Jayson Victoria (Granada). Bonita’s Tristan Fernandez had a quick pin of Acosta-Stoeber, 1:01, at 150. At 285, Santiago Benitez decked Jerry Carlos (Eisenhower) at the 4:30 mark of their title showdown.

Corona del Mar had two more runners-up in Antonio Aramburu, who was pinned by Roosevelt’s Brian Leon, 3:19 at 157, and Zion Hernandez who defaulted to Paloma Valley’s Javon Major at 175.