Feb. 2, 2007 • High School Preview
The Main Event
Looking for revenge, Blair travels to St. Edward
By Rob Sherrill, W.I.N. High School Editor
Tomorrow, Feb. 3, is one of those singular days in any wrestling season: the day when the nation’s No. 1 and No. 2 teams do battle in a dual meet setting.
No school has the foursome to match Blair’s Kellen Russell (130), Max Shanaman (135), Mario Mason (140) and Eric Medina (152). Yet, those four weren’t enough to rescue the Bucs in the Ironman Invitational at Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit High in December, when St. Edward prevailed, 260-237, in the team standings to wrest the nation’s No. 1 ranking away from Blair.
Medina and teammate Adam Hogue, Blair’s normal 160-pounder, each could be coming down a weight to give the visitors an even bigger advantage in the middle of the lineup.
Other key swing matches are at 112 pounds, where Blair’s Chris Villalonga continues to gain confidence; at 171, which St. Edward’s Brian Roddy owns — for now — thanks to an 8-7 Ironman win over Blair’s Cadet National runnerup, Corey Peltier; and at 285, where another fast-improving Buc, Kyle Hanson, will try to give his team another advantage over St. Edward’s Ben Kuhar, who continues to struggle in the regular season.
Two of Virginia’s top three teams complete the Super Quad: No. 11 Christiansburg High and Stafford Colonial Forge High, which continues to put it on the line against any and all comers.
The day’s schedule: St. Edward against Colonial Forge and Blair against Christiansburg at noon, followed by St. Edward-Christianburg and Blair-Colonial Forge.
It’s estimated that in most sports, the home-court advantage is worth about three points. When it comes to wrestling in the St. Edward gym, banners in the rafters, three points is a bit on the conservative side as the Eagles have proven over the years. This will go down to the last match. If that’s the case, a middle-weight draw would be to Blair’s advantage.
Checking out The Brakeman Report
There’s another highlight that surfaces at this time of the year. The 36th annual edition of The Brakeman Report, Ohio high school analyst Brian Brakeman’s comprehensive analysis of the state tournament field, team and individual, in each of Ohio’s three divisions, hit the newsstands Jan. 27.
Well, sort of.
The 97-page report is now online and can be found on Gary Baumgartner’s Ohio high school sports Web site, also known as “Baum’s Page.” Visit it at www.baumspage.com.
No single high school publication that I’m aware of goes into as much detail about wrestling in a single state. Though the report has gone online in the past five years or so, Brakeman still produces it the way he always has – it’s written by hand over a breakneck period of three to four days. Fortunately for his fingers, others do the typing.
For me, The Brakeman Report is must reading, for the occasional turn of a phrase as well as the information. But the report is much more than an informational tool. It has spawned other publications of the same type in other states across the nation.
As many of you know, I also do Illinois’ state rankings. My newsletter, The Illinois Best Weekly, has now been around for 23 seasons. But though the format and the delivery are a little different, it was The Brakeman Report that not only inspired me to initiate the publication nearly a quarter of a century ago, but provided the model that I still use to produce The Illinois Best Weekly today.
Bob Berg, the Atlanta-based attorney who has become the authority on Georgia Class 5A wrestling, also adopted The Brakeman Report model when he initiated The Bob Berg Report a few seasons back. For that reason, I’ve found it, too, to be must reading.
Two of Brakeman’s picks, St. Edward (Division 1) and St. Paris Graham High (Division 2), are no surprise. The only question regarding those two teams are how many state tournament scoring records they will shatter. He projects Marion Pleasant High will edge Troy Christian High in what looks to be a great Division 3 race.
Thanks, Brian…not only for giving us not only lots of great reading this year and in the past, but for serving as an incubator for similar publications in other states, including mine. Wrestling owes you a debt of gratitude.
Previous High School Previews
Looking for revenge, Blair travels to St. Edward
By Rob Sherrill, W.I.N. High School Editor
Tomorrow, Feb. 3, is one of those singular days in any wrestling season: the day when the nation’s No. 1 and No. 2 teams do battle in a dual meet setting.
No school has the foursome to match Blair’s Kellen Russell (130), Max Shanaman (135), Mario Mason (140) and Eric Medina (152). Yet, those four weren’t enough to rescue the Bucs in the Ironman Invitational at Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit High in December, when St. Edward prevailed, 260-237, in the team standings to wrest the nation’s No. 1 ranking away from Blair.
Medina and teammate Adam Hogue, Blair’s normal 160-pounder, each could be coming down a weight to give the visitors an even bigger advantage in the middle of the lineup.
Other key swing matches are at 112 pounds, where Blair’s Chris Villalonga continues to gain confidence; at 171, which St. Edward’s Brian Roddy owns — for now — thanks to an 8-7 Ironman win over Blair’s Cadet National runnerup, Corey Peltier; and at 285, where another fast-improving Buc, Kyle Hanson, will try to give his team another advantage over St. Edward’s Ben Kuhar, who continues to struggle in the regular season.
Two of Virginia’s top three teams complete the Super Quad: No. 11 Christiansburg High and Stafford Colonial Forge High, which continues to put it on the line against any and all comers.
The day’s schedule: St. Edward against Colonial Forge and Blair against Christiansburg at noon, followed by St. Edward-Christianburg and Blair-Colonial Forge.
It’s estimated that in most sports, the home-court advantage is worth about three points. When it comes to wrestling in the St. Edward gym, banners in the rafters, three points is a bit on the conservative side as the Eagles have proven over the years. This will go down to the last match. If that’s the case, a middle-weight draw would be to Blair’s advantage.
Checking out The Brakeman Report
There’s another highlight that surfaces at this time of the year. The 36th annual edition of The Brakeman Report, Ohio high school analyst Brian Brakeman’s comprehensive analysis of the state tournament field, team and individual, in each of Ohio’s three divisions, hit the newsstands Jan. 27.
Well, sort of.
The 97-page report is now online and can be found on Gary Baumgartner’s Ohio high school sports Web site, also known as “Baum’s Page.” Visit it at www.baumspage.com.
No single high school publication that I’m aware of goes into as much detail about wrestling in a single state. Though the report has gone online in the past five years or so, Brakeman still produces it the way he always has – it’s written by hand over a breakneck period of three to four days. Fortunately for his fingers, others do the typing.
For me, The Brakeman Report is must reading, for the occasional turn of a phrase as well as the information. But the report is much more than an informational tool. It has spawned other publications of the same type in other states across the nation.
As many of you know, I also do Illinois’ state rankings. My newsletter, The Illinois Best Weekly, has now been around for 23 seasons. But though the format and the delivery are a little different, it was The Brakeman Report that not only inspired me to initiate the publication nearly a quarter of a century ago, but provided the model that I still use to produce The Illinois Best Weekly today.
Bob Berg, the Atlanta-based attorney who has become the authority on Georgia Class 5A wrestling, also adopted The Brakeman Report model when he initiated The Bob Berg Report a few seasons back. For that reason, I’ve found it, too, to be must reading.
Two of Brakeman’s picks, St. Edward (Division 1) and St. Paris Graham High (Division 2), are no surprise. The only question regarding those two teams are how many state tournament scoring records they will shatter. He projects Marion Pleasant High will edge Troy Christian High in what looks to be a great Division 3 race.
Thanks, Brian…not only for giving us not only lots of great reading this year and in the past, but for serving as an incubator for similar publications in other states, including mine. Wrestling owes you a debt of gratitude.
Previous High School Previews