Blair Academy Out-Duels Lake Highland Prep in Wild Beast of the East Finish

Blair held off Lake Highland Prep by just three points in a thrilling Beast of the East team race, while Malvern Prep, Bishop McCort stars Bo Bassett and Melvin Miller, and a wave of Pennsylvania standouts stole the spotlight in Delaware

New Jersey's Blair Academy survived a close battle with Florida's Lake Highland Prep to win the 2025 Beast of the East Tournament. / Chase Palanca

Given their closeness in the standings at Ironman, last week, where No. 2 Lake Highland Prep of Florida and No. 4 Blair Academy of New Jersey finished within nine points of each other, the team chase at the 33rd Annual Beast of the East promised to be more entertaining with a lot of the other top ten teams from Ironman not in attendance.

Blair Hangs On as Final-Round Drama Decides the Team Title

That came true in the best way as fans at the University of Delaware’s Bob Carpenter Center were treated to a classic team race that saw Blair have to sit by and watch, without anyone taking the mats in the last three weights. Their lead at that point was 250-243 over the Highlanders.

Points were not likely to come at 150 pounds for the Highlanders, where Charlie DeSena was facing Bishop McCort’s Bo Bassett. So, with just six team points guaranteed if Lake Highland won the other two matches, they needed bonus points from someone. Alas, that did not happen and the final tally favored Blair at 250-247.

Blair was holding a six-point advantage as the final round started. At the Beast, that was all the placement matches at once, so the Bucs were presenting seven in the final round, while the Highlanders countered with nine. Lake Highland had the better experience, posting wins in five of those.

Blair struggled, only winning three as things wound down. Blair’s wins came in the finals and consolation finals, though, which were big points and they added an extra two at 285 pounds when No. 23 Cael Mielnik used a pin to upset No. 14 Isaiah Taylor (AIM Academy, Pennsylvania), 3:58, in his third-place match.

Two other upsets keyed Blair’s margin over Lake Highland Prep with one coming in the consolation finals as Honorable Mention Weston Borgers won an overtime tiebreaker, 7-5, over No. 29 Jackson Butler (Bishop McCort). The other propelled No. 10 Salah Tsarni into the 190-pound finals when the junior shocked No. 5 Tanner Hodgins (Howell, New Jersy) with a last second takedown to steal the win.

“You approach each event, one at a time,” Blair coach Ross Gitomer said. “I can’t control what other teams do, and so the focus of our team is to prepare for positions that need to be worked on each week. We did a better job this tournament on our attitude and effort as a whole, and our riding improved which was a focus this past week. We played a little too much into the curse of just trying to win, instead of trying to improve in positions during the matches.”

Blair’s lone champion was the heavily favored Vincenzo Anello at 132 pounds. Anello is ranked 14th in the nation in the latest High School on SI national rankings. The next highest rated guy in the field was No. 26 Kavin Muyleart (Cedar Cliff, Pennsylvania), who Anello edged in the semis, 1-0.

There were three in the field that reside in the honorable mention portion of the 132-pound rankings and one of them, New Jersey’s Anthony DiAndrea (Watchung Hills) reached the finals opposite Anello. DiAndrea pushed Anello, who is now a three-time Beast placer, to the edge as well before falling, 1-0.

No. 7 Michael Batista was second at 120 pounds for Blair. Two Bucs came in fourth, No. 16 Jack Anello (106 pounds) and Honorable Mention Finnegan O’Brien (126).

“I thought Ryan Rios at 138 made a jump this tournament, as he started showing who he is on the mat and what he is capable of on the backside of this tournament,” reflected Gitomer. “He’s starting to understand the importance of team and how that makes this whole experience meaningful. It was nice to see guys like Benji Koch at 150 have a good tournament and Cael Mielnik at heavyweight.”

Gitomer offered this in closing in regard to Lake Highland Prep and what will be continuing battles with the Highlanders as they are slated to mix it up at least four more times this season, starting with the PowerAde Tournament over the Christmas Break on the 29th and 30th, then a quad at Blair in mid-January, followed a week later by the final big tournament of the regular season – Escape The Rock, and lastly to conclude their seasons at the National Prep Tournament in February.

“In terms of Lake Highland, you can guarantee Mike (Palazzo) will have them prepared and trained,” remarked Gitomer. “They are really good.”

Lake Highland Prep’s Hammers Deliver, But Bonus Points Come Up Short

Lake Highland had four going for championships and saw half of them achieve that goal, No. 2 Tyler DeKraker (144 pounds) and No. 4 Zeno Moore (157). This marks Moore’s second straight year standing atop the Beast podium. DeKraker was a runner-up a year ago for Virginia’s Chantilly.

DeKraker was involved in a bizarre finish that saw both wrestlers get hit with mysterious stalling calls, which eventually forced overtime. The chess match with No. 11 Matthew O’Neill (Malvern Prep, Pennsylvania) was finally broken open by DeKraker in the ultimate tie-breaker period when he hit a reversal and caught O’Neill on the back to make the final score, 7-2.

“Yes, it was no doubt crazy!” Lake Highland Prep coach Mike Palazzo added. “The stall call in this situation needs to be explained and justified as to why it is being called on both sides. That match should be used as an example of the need to do so. My take: the position should be one that we are allowed to wrestle through, action should not stop. Regardless, Tyler held ground, stayed composed, made the adjustment and got the job done. (I’m) proud of him!”

Moore was facing Honorable Mention Joe Monticello of New Jersey’s Hanover Park. Monticello picked off No. 22 Josiah Sykes (Skyline, Virginia) in the quarterfinals, so he was on a roll and hopeful of having one more upset on the day. Moore snuffed that out with a controlling, 4-0, victory.

“Zeno and Tyler are both as solid as they come,” asserted Palazzo. “This week was no exception; looking forward to them continuing to lead the way.”

DeSena fell to Bassett and No. 21 Jackson Angelo (175 pounds) also landed in second. Finishing third and gaining more team points than expected was No. 21 Liam McGettigan (113). McGettigan spurred the Highlanders efforts in the final round when he got the best of No. 4 Killian Coluccio (Lacey Township, New Jersey), 8-4. Honorable Mention Yandel Morales was a third-place finisher at 138 pounds.

“Liam is doing the work and getting better each week,” Palazzo said. “(I’m) super proud of him; looking forward to him continuing to climb.”

When No. 7 Lucas Boe stepped on the mat at 165 pounds for the final set of bouts, he needed to not only beat No. 20 Arment Waltenbaugh (Hill School, Pennsylvania) but do so with bonus points. When time expired in their consolation final, neither of those things happened, as Waltenbaugh authored a 5-1 upset.

No. 17 Liam Davis was seventh at 120 pounds and Colton Bell rounds out the Highlanders placers with an eighth place showing at 190.

“We certainly had our chances to win a team title; so of course you replay lots of things in your head,” revealed Palazzo. “But when you look at the whole body of work; I’m mostly happy with our crew and excited that we definitely have not seen our strongest version just yet.”

Malvern Prep’s Five Finalists Keep Friars in the Trophy Chase

No. 6 Malvern Prep’s impressive performance with a tournament high five finalists kept them in the team race until the last few bouts as they ended in third with 233 points.

Standout freshman, No. 30 Evan Cies (106 pounds) outperformed his national ranking twice, with the first coming in the semis, 6-1, over No. 16 Jack Anello, In the finals, Cies was paired with No. 20 Maximus Quarry (Notre Dame-Green Pond) and once again was on the right side of a 6-1 outcome.

“Cies is a stud, works super hard in practice and had a great run,” said Malvern Prep coach Nathan Lautar. “Cies has great mat awareness and a big part is his freestyle and Greco training.  He was not a surprise IMO, just needed this to show everyone.  His partners in room are outstanding and they all push each other. Evan just goes out and lets it fly. (He) doesn’t over think and trusts his training.” 

Heavyweight No. 12 Lukas Zalota delivered the Friars’ second title with a 1-0 decision of Honorable Mention Mateo Vinciguerra (Woodstown, New Jersey), bettering last season’s fourth place finish. In addition to O’Neill, No. 3 Justin Farnsworth (113 pounds) and No. 8 Tyler Conroy (138) were also runners-up for Malvern. Bradley DiMiglio (215 pounds) was sixth. Honorable Mention Lukas Littleton-Mascaro finished eight at 132.

“I thought our team performed very well,” Lautar said. “We put five in finals, the most we have ever put in finals. I think (it was the) most out of any team there this past weekend. Everyone won matches on front side and back side for a great team effort. 

“We knew we had to put guys into the finals to make up for some team points. We were missing two starters this week due to illness and an injury.  They both will be back soon, and our team can hang with anyone in country. It’s going to be a fun season, and the guys will be battle tested.”

Bo Bassett, Melvin Miller Headline Pennsylvania’s Golden Brigade of Champions

With Malvern Prep’s two titles, teams from Pennsylvania accounted for half of the 2025 Beast of the East Champions. Bishop McCort had two in national number ones, Bo Bassett (150 pounds) and Melvin Miller (165). No. 1 Landon Sidun (Norwin, 120 pounds), No. 4 Keanu Dillard of Bethlehem Catholic (138), and Notre Dame-Green Pond’s No. 9 Dominic Sumpolec (190) formed the Keystone State’s Golden Brigade.

This was Bassett and Miller’s first trip to the Beast. A year ago, McCort attended the Hall of Fame Duals and prior to that were at Indiana’s Carnahan Memorial. As many are aware, the potential Crusher lineup for 2025-2026 was looking like it would be a contender for the top spot in the country.

Bishop McCort's Bo Bassett and Melvin Miller each won Beast Championships and were named Co-Outstanding Wrestlers. / Bill Bassett

Adding the Beast was done for two reasons - to seek out the best competition as many of the country’s best teams show up here, and to give their guys the first Beast exposure of their careers.

“We like to change up the schedule every year slightly,” informed Bishop McCort coach Bill Bassett. “I wanted to give Bo and Jax (Forrest) an opportunity to wrestle in the Beast. We heard about it for years and it was one of the only ones they didn’t get a chance to compete in.  

“Going into the season we had all the pieces for a No. 1 in the country type team and things happened. A few wrestlers got injured and some other things. Beast was great, the brackets were huge and competition was amazing. Both Melvin and Bo were 6-0 and each had six Tech Falls. They were both named Most Outstanding Wrestler.”

Bassett and Miller showed out in their normal manners with both finishing easy wins in the finals on technical falls, which led to them being named Outstanding Wrestlers.

Bassett’s was 15-0 over DeSena, an opponent he defeated in the Super 32 finals, 13-4.

“Anytime you get a chance to wrestle the No. 2 guy in the country that’s a great event,” relayed Bo Bassett. “I enjoyed the Beast and (was) glad I got to wrestle Charlie Desana. It’s tough wrestling in Ironman, Beast and Powerade but great preparation for college. I was feeling a little under the weather, so it was a great opportunity to overcome some adversity.”

Miller’s tech was 17-1 versus No. 15 Josh Piparo (St. Peter’s Prep, New Jersey).

“(The) Beast was fun and I got to wrestle a lot of different guys,” Miller said. “I felt I wrestled better than ever. (I’m) glad to add a Beast championship to my accomplishments.”

Breakout and Repeat Winners Reshape the National Rankings Picture

Sidun’s 5-1 decision of Blair’s Batista granted him a second consecutive Beast Crown. Dillard was second a year ago and now closes his career as a champ on an ultimate tiebreaker win with Malvern’s Conroy. Sumpolec did not place last year but had some comfort in facing last year’s 165-pound runner-up, Tsarni, as he just beat him at Ironman in the ultimate tiebreaker. This one wouldn’t be as close as Sumpolec was more aggressive resulting in an 8-4 win.

Brecksville, Ohio’s top rated 113 pounder, Rylan Seacrist, was revisiting a familiar foe in Malvern’s defending Beast Champ, Farnsworth. Farnsworth won at 106 pounds a year ago and Seacrist was second at 113. Their frequent meetings have led to head games as pre-match, Seacrist locked eyes with Farnsworth and never took his gaze off him, giving him the stank eye. If his eyes were lasers, there would have been no bout.

This marked the third time the two have tangled since the Junior Freestyle finals at Fargo, won by Seacrist, 6-1. Last week at Ironman, Seacrist widened that gap with an 11-3 major decision. It was closer than expected until in the third period, Seacrist came through a scramble and caught Farnsworth on his back with a half to secure the fall at 5:40.

Virginia’s No. 6 Cash Colbert (St. Paul VI Catholic) was another repeat titlist at 215 pounds. Colbert worked to a 7-2 decision of Jersey upstart, Rocco Salerno (Seton Hall Prep). Salerno decked No. 12 Devin Downes (Plainedge, New York) in the semis and got by Honorable Mention EJ German (Brecksville) in the quarters.

No. 15 Mason Jakob (Dobyns Bennett, Tennessee) improved on his fourth-place finish from last year with a 9-1 major decision of Jack Baron (Germantown Academy, Pennsylvania). Don Bosco Prep’s No. 11 Santino Rodriguez secured the 175-pound title on an overtime, 5-2, win in sudden victory over Angelo. Rodriguez placed seventh here as a 120-pound freshman and has not made it back to the podium until now.

Team Scores (Top 20):

1-Blair Academy (NJ) 250

2-Lake Highland Prep (FL) 247

3-Malvern Prep (PA) 233

4-Bishop McCort (PA) 176.5

5-Notre Dame-Green Pond (PA) 147

6-Brecksville (OH) 133.5

7-Bethelehem Catholic (PA) 110

7-St. Peter’s Prep (NJ) 110

9-Grassfield (VA) 99.5

10-Nazareth (PA) 94

11-Bergen Catholic (NJ) 89.5

12-Dobyns Bennett (TN) 73

13-Norwin (PA) 71

14-Whitehall (PA) 68

15-Archbishop Spalding (MD) 66.5

16-Camden Catholic (NJ) 65.5

17-Mountain View (VA) 63.5

17-Seton Hall Prep (NJ) 63.5

19-Cedar Cliff (PA) 62

20-Loyola-Blakefield (MD) 61

Individual Results

106

1st Place Match

Evan Cies (Malvern Prep) 16-0, Fr. over Maximus Quarry (Notre Dame Green Pond) 11-4, Fr. (Dec 6-1)

3rd Place Match

Shaefer Hoffman (Downingtown West) 52-9, So. over Jack Anello (Blair Academy) 11-4, Fr. (Dec 6-1)

5th Place Match

Forest Rose (Immaculata) 8-2, So. over Ryan Halal (Bergen Catholic) 9-3, Fr. (Dec 7-6)

7th Place Match

Stephen Bagocius (Camden Catholic) 8-3, Fr. over Charles Cooper (Loyola Blakefield) 12-3, . (MD 10-1)

113

1st Place Match

Rylan Seacrist (Brecksville) 42-3, . over Jusin Farnsworth (Malvern Prep) 5-1, Jr. (Fall 5:40)

3rd Place Match

Liam McGettigan (Lake Highland Preparatory School) 15-3, Jr. over Killian Coluccio (Lacey) 37-4, Jr. (Dec 8-4)

5th Place Match

Cael Muller (Notre Dame Green Pond) 12-4, So. over David Dight (Thomas Edison) 6-3, Sr. (Dec 4-0)

7th Place Match

Paden Alyea (Skyline) 15-2, Jr. over Benjamin Donato (Caesar Rodney) 13-4, Sr. (Dec 10-3)

120

1st Place Match

Landon Sidun (Norwin) 17-0, Jr. over Michael Batista (Blair Academy) 5-1, Jr. (Dec 5-1)

3rd Place Match

Alex Rozas (Teurlings Catholic) 20-1, Sr. over Dunia Sibomana Rodriguez (Long Beach) 17-2, Sr. (Dec 5-3)

5th Place Match

Dominick Morrison (Hatboro Horsham) 52-5, Jr. over Sam Wolford (Northern Lebanon) 14-3, Sr. (Dec 1-0)

7th Place Match

Liam Davis (Lake Highland Preparatory School) 10-4, Sr. over Ethan Michaels (Colts Neck) 5-3, Sr. (Dec 5-2)

126

1st Place Match

Mason Jakob (Dobyns Bennett) 17-0, Sr. over Jack Baron (Germantown Academy) 8-1, Sr. (MD 9-1)

3rd Place Match

Carter Chunko (Saucon Valley) 12-2, Jr. over Finnegan O`Brien (Blair Academy) 9-2, So. (Dec 5-0)

5th Place Match

Jack Cole (Bethlehem Catholic) 11-4, Fr. over Jayden Jackson (Loyola Blakefield) 14-4, . (Dec 7-5)

7th Place Match

Sean Elliott (Howell) 6-2, Fr. over Joseph Pellicci (Paramus Catholic) 9-4, So. (Dec 3-0)

132

1st Place Match

Vincenzo Anello (Blair Academy) 14-1, Jr. over Anthony DiAndrea (Watchung Hills) 6-1, Sr. (Dec 1-0)

3rd Place Match

Willmont Kai (Whitehall) 43-4, Sr. over Kavin Muyleart (Cedar Cliff) 7-2, Jr. (OT 4-1)

5th Place Match

Richard Delorenzo II (Toms River East) 10-2, Jr. over Colton Hagerty (Washington Township) 114-22, Sr. (Dec 7-1)

7th Place Match

Dalton Weber (Pope John Paul XIII) 6-2, . over Lukas Littleton Mascaro (Malvern Prep) 4-2, Sr. (M. For.)

138

1st Place Match

Keanu Dillard (Bethlehem Catholic) 113-9, Sr. over Tyler Conroy (Malvern Prep) 6-1, Sr. (UTB 1-1)

3rd Place Match

Yandel Morales (Lake Highland Preparatory School) 16-3, Sr. over Cole Speer (Brecksville) 47-17, . (Dec 5-4)

5th Place Match

Blake Boyer (Kennett) 13-2, Sr. over Aiden Herndon (Cedar Cliff) 6-3, Jr. (Dec 4-0)

7th Place Match

Ozias Gray (Acadiana) 29-2, Sr. over Jack Abramson (Pingry School) 66-18, Jr. (MD 8-0)

144

1st Place Match

Tyler Dekraker (Lake Highland Preparatory School) 10-1, Sr. over Matthew O`Neill (Malvern Prep) 6-1, So. (UTB 7-2)

3rd Place Match

Weston Borgers (Blair Academy) 9-3, So. over Jackson Butler (Bishop McCort) 7-4, Sr. (TB-1 7-5)

5th Place Match

Grayson Davis (Cape Henlopen) 12-3, Fr. over Laudan Henry (St Peter Prepatory) 71-18, Sr. (M. For.)

7th Place Match

Benjamin Aguilar (Mountain View) 8-2, Sr. over Lincoln Kelley (Loudon County) 18-3, Sr. (Dec 7-5)

150

1st Place Match

Bo Bassett (Bishop McCort) 13-0, Sr. over Charlie Desena (Lake Highland Preparatory School) 5-1, Sr. (TF-1.5 4:13 (15-0))

3rd Place Match

Sonny Amato (Rumson-Fair Haven Regional) 7-1, Jr. over Tyler Traves (Mountain View) 6-2, Sr. (Dec 6-1)

5th Place Match

Brady Hand (Christiansburg) 10-2, Sr. over Brooklyn Pickett (Mount St Joes) 14-4, So. (MD 10-1)

7th Place Match

Maverick Beckwith (Norwich) 144-20, Jr. over Joseph Petriello (Dumont) 5-1, Sr. (M. For.)

157

1st Place Match

Zeno Moore (Lake Highland Preparatory School) 16-1, Sr. over Joe Monticello (Hanover Park) 5-1, Jr. (Dec 4-0)

3rd Place Match

Brian Chamberlain (Wyoming Seminary) 10-3, . over Cade Campbell (Nazareth) 11-2, Sr. (Dec 4-2)

5th Place Match

Drew Moro (Brecksville) 40-17, . over Zane Leitzel (Archbishop Spalding) 11-5, Sr. (Dec 4-1)

7th Place Match

Matthew Arndt (Battlefield) 17-2, Sr. over Zachery Little (Summit) 21-3, Sr. (Dec 4-1)

165

1st Place Match

Melvin Miller (Bishop McCort) 12-1, Jr. over Josh Piparo (St Peter Prepatory) 50-13, Jr. (TF-1.5 3:34 (17-1))

3rd Place Match

Arment Waltenbaugh (The Hill School) 10-1, Sr. over Lucas Boe (Lake Highland Preparatory School) 10-4, Jr. (Dec 5-1)

5th Place Match

Billy Tyler (Brentsville) 12-2, . over Morgan Schwarz (St Joseph Metuchen) 6-3, Sr. (Fall 4:49)

7th Place Match

Ryan Gavrish (St John Vianney) 54-23, Jr. over Zack Aquila (Brecksville) 37-6, . (M. For.)

175

1st Place Match

Santino Rodriguez (Don Bosco Prep) 43-6, Sr. over Jackson Angelo (Lake Highland Preparatory School) 10-3, Sr. (SV-1 5-2)

3rd Place Match

Noah Tucker (Bullis Prep) 15-1, Jr. over Jake Robie (Christiansburg) 10-2, Sr. (SV-1 10-7)

5th Place Match

Nate Moore (Grassfield) 11-2, Sr. over Brock Frable (Southern Lehigh) 12-3, Jr. (Dec 4-2)

7th Place Match

Tyler Whitford (St Joseph Metuchen) 7-2, Sr. over Anthony Verdi (St Peter Prepatory) 101-42, Sr. (Dec 7-2)

190

1st Place Match

Dominic Sumpolec (Notre Dame Green Pond) 15-2, Sr. over Salah Tsarni (Blair Academy) 12-3, Jr. (Dec 8-4)

3rd Place Match

Tanner Hodgins (Howell) 43-9, Jr. over Nevin Mattessich (Don Bosco Prep) 43-8, Sr. (Dec 9-3)

5th Place Match

Brayden Zuercher (Nazareth) 13-2, Sr. over Braeden Simoneaux (NY Military Academy) 9-3, Jr. (Dec 4-0)

7th Place Match

Alexander Reyes (Holmdel) 5-2, Sr. over Colton Bell (Lake Highland Preparatory School) 12-5, So. (Dec 4-1)

215

1st Place Match

Cash Colbert (St Paul VI Catholic) 18-0, Sr. over Rocco Salerno (Seton Hall Prep) 5-1, Sr. (Dec 7-2)

3rd Place Match

Tyler Palumbo (Christian Brothers Academy) 93-31, Sr. over Devin Downes (Plainedge) 216-45, Sr. (Dec 10-4)

5th Place Match

Connor Smalley (Notre Dame Green Pond) 12-4, Sr. over Bradley DiMiglio (Malvern Prep) 13-5, Fr. (Dec 9-3)

7th Place Match

EJ German (Brecksville) 43-19, . over Brian Bland (Fauquier) 8-4, . (Fall 0:20)

285

1st Place Match

Lukas Zalota (Malvern Prep) 5-0, Jr. over Mateo Vinciguerra (Woodstown) 6-1, Sr. (Dec 1-0)

3rd Place Match

Cael Mielnik (Blair Academy) 16-5, Jr. over Isaiah Taylor (AIM Academy) 28-10, . (Fall 3:58)

5th Place Match

Caleb Rodriguez (Bishop McCort) 7-4, Sr. over Chris Funches (Grassfield) 5-3, Sr. (MD 8-0)

7th Place Match

Noah Knorp (Notre Dame Green Pond) 12-5, Jr. over Izaque Tomaz (Frank W Cox) 12-4, Sr. (UTB 3-2)