Jax Forrest Makes History at PowerAde as Lake Highland Prep Captures First-Ever Team Title

With Bo Bassett sidelined, Bishop McCort’s Jax Forrest claimed a record fourth PowerAde championship while Lake Highland Prep finally broke through in the team race

In his final event as a high school wrestler, Jax Forrest (left) won his fourth PowerAde crown. Bishop McCort teammate Melvin Miller (160) also won at PowerAde. / Bill Bassett

The talk of the town in Strabane, Pennsylvania ahead of Canon-McMillan High School’s PowerAde Wrestling Tournament was the Crusher Combo of Jax Forrest and Bo Bassett and their pursuits of a fourth Championship.

PowerAde Eve: The Crusher Combo and the Weight of Expectation

On PowerAde Eve, they were both preparing in different ways. Bassett was dealing with an ailment and the distinct possibility he would be inactive. Forrest, on the other hand, was gearing up, firing on all cylinders as he entered what would be his final high school tournament.

The team race was also on everyone’s mind as No. 3 Blair Academy out of New Jersey had bested Florida’s No. 4 Lake Highland Prep in back-to-back weeks, including for Beast Supremacy. They were the top two teams in the field.

Who would deal the best with altering their optimal 14-man lineup into 13 spots?

It turns out, that would be the Highlanders as they placed nine of their twelve wrestlers to outpace runners-up, No. 6 Malvern Prep of the host state, 189.5-176.5 points. Blair was third with 165 points. Like last year’s National Prep Tournament Title, this was the Highlanders first time ever taking home the PowerAde crown.

Bassett Scratched, Spotlight Shifts to Forrest

On competition day (Monday the 29th), Bassett would be a scratch. A decision that was not arrived at easily or lightly debated. To pass on an opportunity to join the elite club was disappointing but it placed the spotlight solely on Forrest, a fitting tribute to a wrestler who is already a legend in the sport.

A Once-in-a-Generation Talent

Forrest made the world team this year between his junior and senior campaigns. That is the big boy team, so if this was an Olympic Year, Forrest would have been an Olympian as a high schooler. To do this he defeated Seth Gross in the finals of the U.S. Open then took out World Silver Medalist Vito Arujau at Final X.

“Yea, Bo was going for number four,” said Bishop McCort coach Bill Bassett. “He got really sick and was going to give it a try. But it just didn’t make sense. He hasn’t missed a major event ever. He wrestled every seeded wrestler in his bracket this year already. He will recover and be ready to roll for the rest of the season.  The hardest part was getting him to realize it was ok to sit this one out. He is a competitor and not used to ever sitting out anything.”

As the season began, there were rumblings of some impending changes in Crusher land. If the rumors were true, it would change the national landscape at the top of the team race. As news broke of Forrest’s possible early graduation, he appeared in a dual meet, but that was it. Eventually it came to pass, officially, that he would indeed, be embarking early for Oklahoma State.

When the seeds for PowerAde were released, it made sense to see Forrest would be making his final appearance in his home state, a few hours from home in pursuit of history. As was stated in a recent announcement, but unknown when, the Cusher singlet would be donned one more time by Forrest.

Forrest’s Path to a Fourth Crown

Forrest’s run to the top started with a round of 32 technical fall, 19-3, over No. 30 Brian Little (St. Joseph Regional, NJ), then a couple more techs including one versus No. 43 Aiden Herndon (Cedar Cliff, PA), 22-5, in the quarters before being slowed a bit by No. 6 Dale Corbin of Pennsylvania’s Wyoming Seminary, 9-1, in the semis.

A Chaotic Final and a Champion’s Answer

This set up a showdown with No. 4 Karson Brown out of St. Edward, Ohio, a wrestler who was the number one man at 138 pounds following Ironman. Since the completion of that event, the reemergence of Forrest plus Lake Highland Prep’s Tyler DeKraker coming down from 144 pounds and Gilroy, California’s Moses Mendoza migrating up from 132 altered the 138-pound landscape.

DeKraker and Mendoza have wins on their resumes over Brown. Brown sat aside Blair Academy’s Ryan Rios with a fall, 2:56, after Rios upset DeKraker in the quarters, 12-7. That win over Rios delivered Brown to the finals match with Forrest. The bout started out with Forrest firmly in command, building an 8-2 lead.

From there, Brown decided he would no longer allow the senior to cruise without serious opposition and secured a reversal, then more points in a chaotic series, briefly exposing Forrest’s back and sending the scorekeeping into a frenzy. A sequence of events that began on a Forrest cradle plus back points and ended with Forrest fighting off his back led to confusion due to the rapid-fire action.

After a discussion between the referee and scorer’s table, an incorrect score was posted. Our card indicated 16-10 and that was what they ultimately settled on. Brown kept coming, though, gaining a third period takedown and coming close to a cradle on the edge with the score at 17-13, but Forrest had an answer, as he worked to a final tally of 20-13.

“Jax is a special wrestler and person,” remarked Bassett. “It was great seeing him wrap up his high school career winning his fourth Powerade and getting to wrestle with his little brother (Jamison). Jax is going to do some amazing things. Jax and Bo have really had amazing High School careers and did so many things that haven’t been done before or often.”

Joining the PowerAde Quad Club

Forrest was named the Outstanding Wrestler and joins the four-time PowerAde Champion Circle as its seventh addition. The previous six are: Ty Moore (1986-1989), Marshall Peppelman (2006-2009), Nico Megaludis (2007-2010), Jimmy Gulibon (2008-2011), Chance Marstellar (2010-2013), and Luke Pletcher (2012-2015)

While the soon to be Cowboy was not able to share the accomplishment in its projected manner, Forrest had another teammate repeat as champion alongside him in No. 2 Melvin Miller at 160 pounds. Miller, a junior, was third here as a freshman and secured title number two on a 16-4 major decision of No. 4 Zeno Moore of Lake Highland in his gold medal match.

“Melvin is wrestling better than ever,” Bassett offered. “He looked great at Beast and even better at Powerade. Melvin is a special talent and starting to lock in. We will be transitioning over to freestyle after the new year. The focus now is on making world teams and winning world titles.” 

Norwin’s No. 1 Landon Sidun is now the next Pennsylvanian in line to join the quad club after the junior locked down his third crown with a dominant 12-0 major decision of No. 34 JoJo Burke (Southern Regional, NJ). Sidun manhandled Burke, twisting and tossing him for the first takedown to set the tone and followed it with a four-point tilt. More points came for Sidun as he kept Burke at bay as the clock ticked down.

Right behind Sidun is Grove City’s No. 9 Chase Karenbauer, a Pennsylvania sophomore, whose 1-0 decision of No. 10 Braiden Lotier (Bishop McDevitt) at 114 pounds granted him his second trip atop the PowerAde Awards Stand.

Lake Highland Prep Breaks Through in the Team Race

Lake Highland Prep has been so close in each of those prior encounters with Blair. Neither had a shot to win Ironman as No. 1 Faith Christian Academy surprised many with an easy win. At the Beast, this or that made the difference. At PowerAde, this and that, and more went the Highlander way on the second day.

“(This was the) first week we were closer to being whole considering some injuries that affected the Ironman and Beast lineups,” said Lake Highland Prep coach Mike Palazzo. “Good thing is that we are “closer” but still not whole. So, I’m looking forward to getting to 100%. (I’m) happy with how the team dealt with the shift and overall, it turned out to be a positive.” 

Charlie Desena (152) was Lake Highland Prep's lone PowerAde title, but his performance helped lead the Highlanders to the team championship. / Mike Palazzo

The first day ended with, by Lake Highland Standards, a poorly executed quarter final effort. Favored guys fell, close outcomes were not going their way, it looked like another week left figuring what went wrong again was on tap as they sat in fourth on Monday night, 16.5 points behind first place Malvern Prep.

Tuesday morning went well, but it was in the final round where the title was decided with the Highlanders showing up strong by winning six of their nine bouts. All placement matches were contested at the same time; there are no standalone championship finals at PowerAde.

“Actually, our quarter final round the night prior was 100% the worst round I have ever had; So, you can imagine that it was very likely the talk that night probably covered it (getting motivated for Tuesday). Like, I said the first day was not so pretty, but I’m super proud that they came back the next day and got it done. It makes me proud!”

How the Highlanders Won It

The round started at 145 pounds as to end at Forrest’s 139-pound class. Malvern received enough points from the opening effort of No. 10 Matt O’Neill’s 5:19 decking of Blair’s No. 40 Weston Borgers to slide past Lake Highland in the standings by a half point, 174.5-174.

The Highlanders’ 6-3 trip through the final round was countered by a 3-4 record from the Friars and a 3-3 stand from the Bucs of Blair. That was the difference in the end and the title was sewn up before the final matches at this one to save on the late round drama from a week ago at the Beast.

Champions, Upsets, and Statement Wins Across the Board

Lake Highland’s lone champ was No. 4 Charlie DeSena at 152 pounds. Overtime was needed for the senior to improve on last season’s seventh place finish, but he was able to edge No. 10 Jason Dube of Ohio’s Spire Academy, 2-1.

“(I’m) proud of Charlie and love seeing him enjoying the fight and getting a title!” Palazzo added. “(I’m) looking forward to the weeks ahead and how good we can and will be. (I) want it to be known that when we do well it’s everyone’s win; the coaching staff, the guys at home training, and the LHP Administration.”

Moore fell to Miller for second at 157 pounds in one of the few missteps of the final round by the Highlanders. DeKraker came back for third and was joined as a bronze medalist by No. 39 Yandel Morales (139 pounds), who authored a 7-2 upset of No. 23 Stephen Myers (Parkersburg, WV) for one of his wins.

Colton Bell was fifth at 215 pounds for Lake Highland. Jackson Angelo (No. 21 at 175) was sixth at 189 pounds. Finishing with wins by placing seventh were No. 9 Lucas Boe (165 pounds) and Grant Silverfield (285). Clinton Plotner stood in the number eight spot at 145 pounds.

Blair Academy and Malvern Prep also split their gold medal matches. Blair’s finalists shined the brightest for the Bucs as No. 8 Salah Tsarni avenged back-to-back losses to No. 7 Dominic Sumpolec (Notre Dame-Green Pond, PA). At Ironman, Sumpolec won in overtime, and at the Beast it was an 8-4 score.

“Facing Sumpolec twice in the last couple of weeks helped a lot,” Tsarni said. “I had a good sense of what he likes to do and what he does not. I knew he was not overly offensive, so my focus was on keeping a steady pace, staying disciplined, and holding strong position the whole time.

Tsarni and Sumpolec were scoreless after the first. A couple of second period penalty points, coupled with a third-period escape, gave the Buc a 3-1 lead. As time expired, an increasingly frustrated Sumpolec got sloppy, giving Tsarni an opportunity to slip a whizzer at the end for the final points of a 6-1 outcome.

“I felt good about the match,” reflected Tsarni, who transferred to Blair from Maryland’s Bullis School this year. “I stuck to my plan, controlled the tempo, stayed patient, and did not force anything. I wanted to make him work and be ready when openings came. Beating someone who beat me twice already felt good. But I try not to think about that during the match. I want to focus on my wrestling and trust the work I have been putting in at Blair.

“Being at Blair is awesome. The atmosphere and the competition make it a great experience. This was my first title win in a while, and it means a lot. It’s a step in the right direction and I know there’s many more to come.”

Borgers may have gotten tripped up in the finals by O’Neill but how he got there will have him stepping into 2026 wearing a wide grin after picking off two top ten grapplers to arrive in the finals, No. 7 Tyler Traves (Mountain View, VA) and No. 9 Robert Duffy (Christian Brothers Academy, NJ). Duffy was the top seed at 145.

The Bucs’ sixth-place finishing, unranked Ryan Rios (139 pounds) shocked two highly rated folks of his own in DeKraker and No. 12 Tyler Conroy (Malvern Prep). DeKraker was a Beast of the East Champion at 144 pounds and Conroy was a Beast Finalist at 138.

Blair’s other three placers were, No. 14 Cael Mielnik (3rd at 285 pounds), Wyatt Stauffer (7th at 121), and Joseph Schinder (8th at 160 pounds).

The Friars saw O’Neill’s joy unaccompanied by any from No. 11 Lukas Zalota as he dropped the heavyweight final to No. 7 Cristian Alvarez (St. Joseph Regional), 6-5. Alvarez trailed most of the match, being in the hole, 5-1, in the second before mounting a comeback that included a takedown and escape to close the scoring.

Malvern’s title hopes were dealt a blow with the elimination of Conroy, a fate that also befell Beast of the East Champ, No. 14 Evan Cies (107 pounds). Landing on the PowerAde podium for the Friars were Bradley Dimiglio (4th at 215 pounds), Lukas Littleton-Mascaro (5th at 133), No. 33 Chase Hetrick (5th at 172 pounds), No. 27 Declan O’Byrne landed in sixth at 152 pounds, and Rocco Lombardo was eighth at 121.

Outside of Tsarni’s upset of Sumpolec at 189 pounds, the gold medal round only saw one other upset and that occurred at the weight right before 189, 172 pounds. Pennsylvania’s No. 12 Gage Wentzel (Montoursville) was favored in a meeting with University, West Virginia’s Max Fortier (No. 30 at 165).

Both were unexpected finalists with Wentzel taking out No. 7 David Perez (Ponaganset, RI) and Fortier dishing out multiple sad endings despite Christmas Cheer in the air as he brushed aside two foes ranked higher than him at 165 pounds, No. 21 Mason Horwat (Derry Area, PA) and Boe. The big points for Fortier versus Wentzel came in the third period of a 4-1 win when he finished a scramble in takedown position.

The heavily favored, No. 1 Kooper Deputy of Pennsylvania’s Chestnut Ridge overwhelmed No. 21 Maximus Quarry (Notre Dame-Green Pond) in a finals bout that resulted in a 10-3 score. Trinity’s No. 15 Will Detar came through on his prognostication by downing No. 26 Kavin Muyleart (Cedar Cliff), 2-1 in tiebreaker, of an all-Pennsylvania final at 133 pounds.

Max Dinges of Pennsylvania’s Penns Valley rode an upset of Kooper’s brother, No. 11 Dom, into the 127-pound finals where he met Christian Brothers’ No. 3 Paul Kenny and was not kindly received as he was disposed of with an 18-3 tech fall.

Kenny’s Colt teammate, No. 21 Tyler Palumbo felt some of those unfriendly vibes from an Illinois Boy, No. 15 Kai Calcutt of the Loyola Academy, who mistreated Palumbo before he stuck him with five seconds remaining in the match, 5:55.

Team Scores (Top 15)

1-Lake Highland Prep (FL) 189.5

2-Malvern Prep (PA) 176.5

3-Blair Academy (NJ) 165

4-Christian Brothers Academy (NJ) 160.5

5-Wyoming Seminary (PA) 156.5

6-Bishop McCort (PA) 133.5

7-St. Joseph Regional (NJ) 128.5

8-Bishop McDevitt (PA) 123.5

9-Notre Dame-Green Pond (PA) 105

10-St. Edward (OH) 101

11-Baylor School (TN) 96.5

12-Chestnut Ridge (PA) 95

13-Kiski Area (PA) 88

14-Montoursville (PA) 86.5

15-Trinity (PA) 85.5

Finals

107-Kooper Deputy (Chestnut Ridge) DEC Maximus Quarry (Notre Dame GP), 10-3

114-Chase Karenbauer (Grove City) DEC Braiden Lotier (Bishop McDevitt), 1-0

121-Landon Sidun (Norwin) MD Jojo Burke (St. Joseph Regional-NJ), 12-0

127-Paul Kenny (Christian Brothers Acad.-NJ) TF Max Dinges (Penns Valley), 18-3 4:52

133-Will Detar (Trinity Camp Hill) DEC Kavin Muyleart (Cedar Cliff), 2-1 TB2

139-Jax Forrest (Bishop McCort) DEC Karson Brown (St. Edward-OH), 20-13

145-Matt Oniell (Malvern Prep) F Weston Borgers (Blair Academy-NJ), 5:19

152-Charlie Desena (Lake Highland Prep-FL) DEC Jason Dube (Spire Academy), 2-1 TB2

160-Melvin Miller (Bishop McCort) MD Zeno Moore (Lake Highland Prep-FL), 16-4

172-Max Fortier (University-WV) DEC Gage Wentzel (Montoursville), 4-1

189-Salah Tsarni (Blair Academy-NJ) DEC Dominic Sumpolec (Notre Dame GP), 6-1

215-Kai Calcutt (Loyola Academy-IL) F Tyler Palumbo (Christian Brothers Acad.-NJ), 5:55

285-Cristian Alvarez (St. Joseph Regional-NJ) DEC Lukas Zalota (Malvern Prep), 6-5

3rd Place

107-Arav Pandey (Trinity Camp Hill) DEC Branden Eisenhour (Montoursville), 7-1

114-Shiloh Joyce (Christian Brothers Acad.-NJ) DEC Charlie Esposito (St. Joseph Regional-NJ), 4-1 SV

121-Mateo Gallegos (DuBois) DEC Brock Rothermel (Line Mountain), 1-0

127-Dominic Deputy (Chestnut Ridge) DEC Mikey Bautista (St. Joseph Regional-NJ), 7-0

133-Yandel Morales (Lake Highland Prep-FL) TF Erik Carlile (Penns Valley), 17-2 5:00

139-Tyler Dekraker (Lake Highland Prep-FL) M FOR Camden Baum (Bishop McDevitt), 0-0 0:00

145-Tyler Traves (Mountain View-VA) DEC Greyson Music (Bishop McDevitt), 7-6 TB2

152-Michael Turi (Wyoming Seminary) DEC James Whitbred (State College), 4-2

160-Griffin Laplante (St. Francis-NY) TF Brian Chamberlain (Wyoming Seminary), 18-3 2:11

172-Titus Norman (Baylor-TN) DEC Mason Horwat (Derry), 5-4 TB2

189-Mario Hutcherson (Kiski Area) DEC Tavio Hoose (St. Francis-NY), 7-3

215-Satoshi Davis (Slam Academy-NV) F Bradley Dimiglio (Malvern Prep), 1:34

285-Cael Mielnik (Blair Academy-NJ) DEC Colin Whyte (West Greene), 7-3

5th Place

107-Santino Edgar (Christian Brothers Acad.-NJ) DEC Lee Dreshman (Canon-McMillan), 6-3

114-Brock Humphrey (Linsly School-WV) MD Camron Smith (Trinity Camp Hill), 13-1

121-Gabe Swann (Baylor-TN) F Tommy Gretz (Connellsville), 1:28

127-Conner Whitley (St. Edward-OH) DEC Zane Crouse (Bishop McDevitt), 2-1

133-Lukas Littleton mascaro (Malvern Prep) DEC Stephen Myers (Parkersburg-WV), 4-1 SV

139-Dale Corbin (Wyoming Seminary) DEC Ryan Rios (Blair Academy-NJ), 7-1

145-Bobby Duffy (Christian Brothers Acad.-NJ) DEF Drake Hooiman (Slam Academy-NV)

152-Hudson Hohman (Grove City) DEC Declan Obyrne (Malvern Prep), 5-2 SV

160-Nicky Negron (Bishop McDevitt) MD Billy Tyler (Brentsville-VA), 15-7

172-Chase Hetrick (Malvern Prep) DEF David Perez (Ponaganset-RI)

189-Hunter Snyder (Greater Latrobe) DEC Angelo Jackson (Lake Highland Prep-FL), 8-2

215-Colton Bell (Lake Highland Prep-FL) DEC Aiden Peterson (St. Edward-OH), 9-3

285-Anderson Palian (Wyoming Seminary) DEC Isaiah Taylor (AIM Academy), 1-0

7th Place

107-Ace Chittum (Cleveland-TN) DEC Bryce Thomas (Moon), 2-1

114-Cael Muller (Notre Dame GP) MD Will Webb (Wyoming Seminary), 10-1

121-Wyatt Stauffer (Blair Academy-NJ) DEC Rocco Lombardo (Malvern Prep), 2-0

127-Logan Stewart (Reynolds) F Nolan Rice (Connellsville), 7:30

133-Mason Whitney (Abington Heights) DEC Marcus Heck (Wyoming Seminary), 4-1

139-Aiden Herndon (Cedar Cliff) DEF Dalton Wenner (Cranberry)

145-Kai Vielma (Connellsville) DEC Clinton Plotner (Lake Highland Prep-FL), 4-1

152-Matthew Arndt (Battlefield-VA) DEC Michael Ruane (Franklin Regional), 4-1

160-Owen Ivcic (Bentworth) DEC Joseph Schinder (Blair Academy-NJ), 8-5

172-Lucas Boe (Lake Highland Prep-FL) DEC Liam Costa (Moon), 7-4

189-Lucas Parietti (Wyoming Seminary) MD Rudy Wagner (Frank Cox-VA), 10-1

215-Cooper Roscosky (Kiski Area) DEC Luke Hockenberry (Bellefonte), 7-1

285-Grant Silverfield (Lake Highland Prep-FL) DEC Haiden Cox (Science Hill-TN), 14-7