Blair Academy Denies Wyoming Seminary A Perfect Weekend on the Mat

After's big win over Delbarton, The Blue Knights Cannot Pull a Sweep of New Jersey Powers

Blair Academy wrestling coach Ross Gitomer had his team ready for its showdown with Wyoming Seminary as the Bucs build momentum in advance of the National Preps. / Michael Karas-Daily Record / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

No. 11 Wyoming Seminary woke up on Saturday morning feeling pretty good. Afterall, the night before, the Blue Knights shocked No. 4 Delbarton 30-26 in their home gym in Kingston, Pennsylvania, and would be welcoming in National Prep rival, No. 3 Blair Academy, for a Saturday afternoon matinee.

Despite 3 Upsets, Blair Still Manages a 16-Point Dual Victory

Blair would have a more joyous ride home than the Green Wave as they kept Seminary from celebrating a perfect weekend with a 42-26 win that came with a 16-point margin despite three upsets from the Blue Knights.

Blair Seeks to Keep Improving as It Prepares for National Preps

“We are going to keep improving over the next few weeks, and the kids will wrestle their best at National Preps,” said Blair Academy coach Ross Gitomer. “TJ (Kellas) made a mid-match adjustment mentally which was nice to see - much of that has to do with him maturing and acting more like a young man, instead of a boy. He also was biting at the bit to wrestle.

“I didn't give much thought to Delbarton/Sem - I saw Wyoming Seminary won but that didn't surprise me, Seminary is always tough, and their kids work hard in matches. Eric Bocanegra sparked some momentum for the team, and he continues to improve and grow as a person and wrestler.”

Early Results Gave The Hosts Reason for Optimism

It initially looked like the locals were going to ride Friday night’s mojo into Saturday when early unexpected wins were thrown on the scoresheet by No. 3 Lucas Forman (106 pounds) and No. 7 Alex Marchetti (126). Forman was the victim of an upset the night before when Delbarton’s unranked nationally, Finn Anderson, clipped his wings.

Forman is ranked 20th at 106 pounds in the latest High School on SI Boys’ National Rankings. Unless otherwise noted, the rankings referred to in this article are from the National Prep Report. We are choosing to use the National Prep Tournament rankings since this is a battle set in that environment.

Forman gained immediate redemption for that loss when he encountered No. 1 Jack Anello when the dual started rolling at 106 pounds. The Buc scored a first period takedown and chose the bottom in the second. After a restart, Forman locked up a cradle and stuck Anello halfway through the period, 3:01.

Marchetti has been circling our national rankings since December, spending some time on the list, then falling out due to the inconsistent nature of a freshman in middle weights. On Saturday, Marchetti flashed more of his potential as he stayed poised with No. 2 Finn O’Brien and popped in a slick Merkle with 2 seconds left for the winning points of a 4-1 decision.

Wyoming Seminary’s third win no one saw coming occurred at 175 pounds and would be the final points added to their count. No. 6 Lucas Parietti traded escapes with No. 4 Ryan Meier, leaving the winner to be decided in overtime. Parietti won it in the ultimate tiebreaker round, 2-1.

The Bucs Big Guns Restored Control

The Blue Knights were holding a one-point edge after Parietti’s points were applied, 26-25. There were three matches to be contested. In two of those, Blair would be trotting out high-level talent in number ones, Salah Tsarni (190 pounds) and Cael Mielnik (285).

Tsarni was given a forfeit, which brought about 215 pounds and a match between Blair’s No. 6 TJ Kellas and Sem’s Nolan McCarthy. Kellas had an easy time with the unranked McCarthy, and his subsequent 21-6 technical fall shut the door on the Blue Knights upset hopes. Kellas’ tech put Blair up by 10 with one bout remaining, 36-26.

At heavyweight, Mielnik closed on an exclamation mark for the Bucs with his first period decking of No. 6 Anderson Palian, 1:12. On Friday, Palian was the hero, on Saturday, he was not thrust into that role as his match was just window dressing for the outcome.

After the first four matches the Blue Knights had a 12-11 lead, they would fall behind and remain that way until the 157-pound weight class concluded with a 16-1 tech fall by No. 2 Brian Chamberlain over No. 5 Joseph Schinder, leaving the score 23-21 for Sem.

Contributing to those points were No. 1 Dale Corbin, who used an old school Chancery to pin No. 4 Ryan Rios in 50 Seconds at 138 pounds, and No. 2 Michael Turi (150). Turi scored all four of his points in the final frame to defeat No. 12 Ben Koch, 4-0.

Blair’s early wins were picked up by No. 7 Eric Bocanegra (113 pounds), No. 1 Michael Batista (120), No. 2 Vincenzo Anello (132 pounds), and No. 3 Weston Borgers (144).

Bocanegra dropped the hammer on Ryan Haynes with a 19-3 tech fall. Batista decked No. 7 Wyatt Spencer in 3:22. Anello used a near-side cradle to put No. 3 Marcus Heck away in 1:33. Borgers worked to a 13-4 major decision against No. 4 Matt Dailey.

At 165 pounds, No. 4 Barry Norman chipped in a 14-4 major over Lewis Chaney to take the lead back for Blair after Chamberlain’s win, 25-23. Parietti’s overtime win came next for Sem’s final time out front before it all fell apart at 26-25.

Blair Academy 42, Wyoming Seminary 26

(match started at 106)

106-Lucas Forman (W) pinned Jack Anello, 3:01

113-Eric Bocanegra (B) tech-fall Ryan Haynes, 19-3

120-Michael Batista (B) pinned Wyatt Spencer, 3:22

126-Alex Marchetti (W) dec Finn O’Brien, 4-1

132-Vincenzo Anello (B) pinned Marcus Heck, 1:33

138-Dale Corbin (W) pinned Ryan Rios, :50

144-Weston Borgers (B) maj-dec Matt Dailey, 13-4

150-Michael Turi (W) dec Ben Koch, 4-0

157-Brian Chamberlain (W) tech-fall Joseph Schinder, 16-1

165-Barry Norman (B) maj-dec Lewis Chaney, 14-4

175-Lucas Parietti (W) dec Ryan Meier, 2-1 UTB

190-Salah Tsarni (B) won by forfeit

215-TJ Kellas (B) tech-fall Nolan McCarthy, 21-6

285-Cael Mielnik (B) pinned Anderson Palian, 1:12