Who’s No. 1 Boys Wrestling: Salah Tsarni, Sammy Sanchez Score Upsets in Stillwater

Saturday evening saw FloWrestling’s Who’s No. 1 stage its 14th edition — and first in Oklahoma — at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater.

The ladies opened with an 11-bout matinee card, and the boys followed with 11 contested matches of their own, down from the scheduled 13 after a couple of battles were lost at the scale.

Tsarni Slays an Old Ghost

Maryland’s No. 2 Salah Tsarni, who competes for New Jersey’s Blair Academy, authored one of two upsets based on our rankings. California’s Sammy Sanchez (Esperanza) delivered the other.

Tsarni’s was surely more gratifying because it came against a wrestler who pinned him in their only previous meeting, No. 1 Mario Carini (Poway, California), in last year’s Super 32 third-place match.

The 190-pounders hold the same positions in FloWrestling’s rankings, and it appeared things might stay that way after a first period in which Tsarni looked overmatched.

Carini countered one of Tsarni’s attacks with a cross-leg single for a takedown and a 3-0 lead. Tsarni escaped but also received a stalling warning.

The U17 World silver medalist got back into it with some slick second-period work, expertly turning the corner on a shot to tie the match at 4-4.

They traded escapes the rest of the way and entered overtime tied 5-5.

The boys competed under collegiate folkstyle rules, meaning a three-minute first period and a two-minute opening overtime period rather than the one-minute overtime used in high school.

That played a role in Tsarni’s victory.

With the clock past the one-minute mark, Tsarni worked from a whizzer, stepped over Carini’s legs and broke him down before collecting two near-fall points in the transaction.

Tsarni had slayed an old ghost with a stunning 10-5 overtime victory.

Sanchez and Sidun Go Down to the Wire

Another quirk of using college rules is the existence of riding time.

In most of the matches it was window dressing. In this humdinger, it decided everything.

The 126-pound chess match between No. 1 Landon Sidun (Norwin, Pennsylvania) and No. 2 Sammy Sanchez (Esperanza, California) featured plenty of action and several moments when it appeared one of them was ready to — or actually had — put points on the board.

They took turns escaping from each other in regulation and continued doing the same through the overtime periods.

At the end of overtime, Sidun’s corner asked for a review to determine whether he had earned near-fall points before Sanchez escaped.

He hadn't.

With no back points awarded, riding time decided the winner.

That favored Sanchez, who was finally declared the victor after a scoreboard error initially resulted in Sidun’s hand being raised.

Domination = Grey Burnett

In one of the night’s most impressive displays, No. 1 Grey Burnett (Perrysburg, Ohio) overwhelmed No. 2 Paul Kenny (Christian Brothers Academy, New Jersey), coming close to winning by technical fall before settling for a 13-1 major decision.

Burnett seemed to be in another gear, operating at a higher level than Kenny and dominating the neutral position.

The first takedown came after each wrestler had a turn with the other’s leg elevated. Kenny escaped, and from there it was all Burnett.

Burnett blasted through for his second takedown and ended the opening period ahead 6-1.

An escape started Burnett’s scoring in the second. He later worked an outside single into another takedown and added two near-fall points with a hard suck-back.

At 12-1, Kenny managed to shut down Burnett’s offense but couldn’t generate any of his own. A scoreless third followed before Burnett picked up another point for riding time to produce the 13-1 final.

Mastny Shows He Is No Joke, Shuts Out Moylan

Illinois’ No. 2 Jimmy Mastny (Marian Central Catholic) is expected to leave high school soon for college, but for now he remains eligible to compete.

That was bad news for California’s No. 4 Mick Moylan (Poway).

The U17 World bronze medalist manhandled Moylan at 215 pounds on his way to a 9-0 major decision.

Neither wrestler scored in the opening period. Moylan chose bottom for the second and paid for it when Mastny wrapped him up in a tilt for four near-fall points.

Mastny piled up two minutes of riding time while containing Moylan for the entire period.

An escape in the third led to Mastny’s first takedown and even more riding time. When it was all said and done, the riding-time point completed the 9-0 shutout.

Mangano Has Surprisingly Easy Time With Anderson

One of the few discrepancies between our rankings and FloWrestling’s comes at 138 pounds.

We have New York’s Gavin Mangano (Shoreham-Wading River) at No. 1 and Valiant Prep, Arizona’s Dean Anderson at No. 2.

Flo has them reversed, presumably based on Anderson’s stellar offseason while Mangano was relatively quiet.

We kept Mangano ahead because of his 1-0 victory over Anderson at last year’s Super 32.

Their 2026 meeting wasn't nearly as close.

Mangano once again defeated Anderson, this time by a much more comfortable 9-4 margin.

Mangano nearly secured his first takedown with a cradle but instead used it as the starting point for the sequence. The New Yorker revisited the cradle in the third period and secured another takedown, although no back points came with it.

Mangano was all over Anderson in terms of riding time and picked up another point there.

Grajeda and Dube Survive Late Scares From Indiana Foes

California’s Jesse Grajeda (St. John Bosco) and Pennsylvania’s Jason Dube, who competes for Ohio’s Spire Academy, appeared to be comfortably in the driver’s seat against their Indiana opponents.

Then things got interesting.

No. 1 Grajeda faced No. 6 Braylon Reynolds (Brownsburg) at 144 pounds and was explosive on his feet early, building a 6-1 advantage with a powerful single-leg takedown and big blast double.

Reynolds escaped on a Granby in the second to make it 6-3, with all of his points coming on escapes.

The scoring slowed before Grajeda escaped to begin the third, giving him a 7-5 lead.

Near the edge of the mat with only a few ticks remaining, Reynolds appeared to have done enough with a bear hug to earn a takedown.

It wasn't awarded.

Reynolds’ corner called for a review, but the replay showed that Grajeda’s whizzer had saved him. No takedown was awarded, and Grajeda escaped with the 7-5 victory.

A similar script unfolded in No. 1 Dube’s 150-pound match against Crown Point’s Clinton Shepherd.

The matchup was announced after our most recent boys rankings update, so Shepherd is not currently ranked by us. He was among the first would-be seniors to announce his intention to forgo his senior season.

Flo has Shepherd ranked No. 2, and that’s where we expect to slot him in our next report.

Shepherd came incredibly close to claiming the No. 1 spot.

Dube scored the match’s only takedown on a low single in the first period and later added an escape. Shepherd kept it tight, but Dube survived the late scare for a 4-3 victory.

Big Second Period Propels Melvin Miller

The talents of Bishop McCort, Pennsylvania’s No. 1 Melvin Miller are well known, and his accolades are well documented.

The senior’s exploits have landed him atop our Pound-for-Pound rankings.

One of the few things that has eluded Miller is a spot on a World Team. His opponent Saturday, No. 2 Camryn Howard (Bellport, New York), made the U17 team this year.

Miller handled Howard with a huge second period in which all of his offensive points went on the board.

The first period was scoreless before Miller started the second on bottom and picked up a reversal.

Howard escaped.

Then it went off the rails for him.

Miller disoriented Howard with a slick ankle pickle and attacked relentlessly, eventually collecting four near-fall points to blow the match open at 9-1.

Howard escaped late in the second and added another in the third. Miller collected a riding-time point to push the final margin to 10-3.

Aquila and O’Farrill Dazzle the Crowd

Miller’s former Bishop McCort teammate, No. 1 Jayden O’Farrill, who now attends State College in Pennsylvania, put on a showcase of athletic talent with No. 2 Zack Aquila (Brecksville, Ohio).

A lightning-quick ankle pick off the whistle announced Aquila’s intentions to push the pace.

At Fargo, Aquila appeared gassed at times. Conditioning wasn't his enemy Saturday, as evidenced by an explosive second-period shot that kept him in the match.

No, what hurt Aquila in Stillwater was O’Farrill’s incredible skill and athleticism.

Aquila matched him in those areas. Just not on the scoreboard.

O’Farrill took over in the first period with takedowns that came from working like a dog and grinding until he finished.

Aquila unleashed another big shot in the second and pulled within one at 8-7.

After escaping, O’Farrill used a hard snap-down for another takedown. Aquila escaped for what would be his final point.

A 12-8 score entering the third became 16-8 after a stalling call and single-leg takedown. O’Farrill added another point for riding time to arrive at the 17-8 final.

Mac Crosson Bests Michael Romero

The 157-pound result qualifies as an upset according to FloWrestling’s rankings.

Not ours.

We entered the night with Iowa’s Mac Crosson (Indianola) at No. 1 and St. John Bosco’s Michael Romero at No. 2.

The match illustrated just how little separated them.

They were tied 1-1 at the end of regulation, and overtime ultimately decided it.

Romero needed an injury timeout after banging heads with Crosson as they mixed it up. Because of the stoppage, Crosson was able to choose to restart from the referee’s position on bottom.

The winning escape came shortly thereafter, giving Crosson a 2-1 overtime victory.

Wenrich Follows Fargo Win Over Batista With Who’s No. 1 Triumph

Pennsylvania’s No. 2 Brayden Wenrich (Northampton) and New Jersey’s No. 3 Michael Batista (Blair Academy) are developing quite a rivalry.

Saturday brought their third meeting since the spring.

Batista won the first. Wenrich has now started a streak.

Wenrich followed his Fargo freestyle championship victory over Batista with a 4-2 folkstyle win in Stillwater.

The deciding move came early with Wenrich’s first-period takedown. From there, it was nothing but escapes.

Missed Opportunities

A couple of wrestlers had problems making weight, turning two anticipated matches into forfeit victories.

No. 2 Luke Loren (St. John Bosco, California) collected the forfeit at 106 pounds, while No. 2 Evan Restivo (State College, Pennsylvania) did the same at 113.

The No. 1-ranked wrestler at each weight came up heavy at the scale.

Hawaii’s Analu Woode (Nanakuli) missing weight at 113 was surprising.

Pennsylvania’s Kooper Deputy (Chestnut Ridge) having difficulty getting to 106 was less shocking given that he is registered at 113 pounds for Super 32.

Two of the most anticipated No. 1-vs.-No. 2 showdowns of the evening disappeared before anyone could step on the mat.

Who’s No. 1 Boys Results

113 pounds: No. 2 Evan Restivo (Pennsylvania) won by forfeit

144 pounds: No. 1 Jesse Grajeda (California) dec. No. 6 Braylon Reynolds (Indiana), 7-5

215 pounds: No. 2 Jimmy Mastny (Illinois) maj. dec. No. 4 Mick Moylan (California), 9-0

120 pounds: No. 2 Brayden Wenrich (Pennsylvania) dec. No. 3 Michael Batista (New Jersey), 4-2

106 pounds: No. 2 Luke Loren (California) won by forfeit

138 pounds: No. 1 Gavin Mangano (New York) dec. No. 2 Dean Anderson (Arizona), 9-4

150 pounds: No. 1 Jason Dube (Ohio/Pennsylvania) dec. Clinton Shepherd (Indiana), 4-3

190 pounds: No. 2 Salah Tsarni (Maryland/New Jersey) dec. No. 1 Mario Carini (California), 10-5, SV OT

157 pounds: No. 1 Mac Crosson (Iowa) dec. No. 2 Michael Romero (California), 2-1, SV OT

175 pounds: No. 1 Jayden O’Farrill (Pennsylvania) dec. No. 2 Zack Aquila (Ohio), 17-8

132 pounds: No. 1 Grey Burnett (Ohio) maj. dec. No. 2 Paul Kenny (New Jersey), 13-1

126 pounds: No. 2 Sammy Sanchez (California) dec. No. 1 Landon Sidun (Pennsylvania), 2-2, OT TB2

165 pounds: No. 1 Melvin Miller (Pennsylvania) dec. Camryn Howard (New York), 10-3

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