Jan. 22, 2007 • Week in Review
Blair tunes up for St. Edward showdown, rules NHSCA Final Four
By Rob Sherrill, W.I.N. Editor
With victories over Dallas (Texas) Bishop Lynch High, 64-3, Nazareth High, 45-19 and host Easton High, 49-16, Blairstown (N.J.) Blair Academy again ruled the roost as they went 3-0 in the 10th annual National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) Final Four of High School Wrestling Jan. 20. The Bucs travel to Lakewood, Ohio to meet top-ranked St. Edward High in two weeks.
The meet featured four teams ranked in W.I.N. magazine’s Top 25 – No. 2 Blair, No. 4 Nazareth, No. 15 Easton and No. 23 Hermiston (Ore.) High.
Blair’s Eric Medina (152) was voted the winner of the Terry Gibson Award as the meet’s Outstanding Wrestler. Medina had solid victories over Bishop Lynch’s Johnny Koepp, 5-2 and Nazareth’s Tim Darling, 11-5, before pinning Easton’s Jeremy Snyder in 67 seconds.
Chris Villalonga (112), Joe Stanzione (125), Kellen Russell (130-135), Mario Mason (140-145), Corey Peltier (171) and Jared Platt (215-285) also went 3-0 for Blair.
Russell posted a 5-2 victory over Nazareth’s Bobby Ward and the Bucs made up for a pair of losses by standout Max Shanaman, who fell 6-2 to Oklahoma State recruit Luke Silver of Bishop Lynch at 140 and to Nazareth’s Mike Greck for the second time this season, 3-2.
Medina’s victory over Koepp was the third straight match in the Blair-Bishop Lynch dual involving highly-ranked wrestlers. After Silver’s victory over Shanaman in a match that would turn out to be Bishop Lynch’s only points in the dual, Mason moved up a weight to 145 and beat Bishop Lynch’s Luke Ashmore 12-6. Mason had beaten Ashmore in overtime in last year’s Final Four.
Easton was 2-1 in the event, beating Hermiston 42-25 and Bishop Lynch 53-24 in the first two rounds. The Red Rovers fell behind Hermiston 8-0 before getting pins from Kegan Handlovic (112), state champion Jordan Oliver (119) and Juju Drummond (130) and technical falls from Desmond Moore (103) and Mark Hartenstine (125) in a five-match blitz to take command, 28-8. The meet ended at 189 with a 3-2 upset by Easton’s Cory Rutt over Troy Kessell, a part of W.I.N.’s rankings earlier in the season.
Nazareth split its two matches, rebounding from its loss to Blair by beating Hermiston 38-21. Greck added to his big day with a 3-1 victory over state champion Brent Parks of Hermiston, down to 135 for the first time after being at 140 all season. Hermiston also beat Bishop Lynch 48-21.
Easton led Blair 7-3 after Oliver’s 17-4 decision over Garrett Frey. But Stanzione (125) and Russell (130) followed with pins as Blair won three straight matches and eight of the next nine to pull away.
Three-match winners for Easton: Moore (103), Oliver (119) and Rutt (189). Silver and Hermiston’s Josh Barraza (285) also went 3-0.
Catholic League interesting off the mat, too
The Chicago (Ill.) Catholic League Championships Saturday at Chicago St. Rita High provided some great matches on the mat … and some bizarre drama off it. New Lenox Providence High outdistanced St. Rita, 220.5-210, despite forfeiting back-to-back finals matches to a pair of Mustang wrestlers.
The finals forfeits were an anticlimactic conclusion to a drama that started at weigh-ins that morning. Objections were raised over skin rashes on a pair of St. Rita wrestlers: 119-pounder Joe Scardina and 125-pounder John Majka. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that wrestling in those weight classes was held up as questions raised over the validity of a doctor’s note presented on behalf of the wrestlers was resolved. Officials at the Illinois High School Association were called, who signed off on the validity of the note.
Coaches from schools set to wrestle the two forfeited their matches in protest. In the end, Scardina won the title without wrestling a match — winning twice by forfeit (or, officially, by default), including the final over Providence’s Jake Wojcik — and Majka wrestled only once before picking up a pair of forfeits (defaults), including the final over the Celtics’ Mark Augle.
However, there was plenty of great wrestling as well. Two-time state champion John Starzyk of Providence, up a weight at 130, was nearly derailed in his bid to become the Catholic League’s ninth four-time champion as he trailed Cadet National placewinner Bobby Barnhisel of Oak Park Fenwick High 7-2 in the first period. Starzyk, who had a three-year, 120-match winning streak snapped in a 6-2 loss to Nate Moore of Iowa City (Iowa) West High in the Geneseo Bi-State Tournament final, capped a furious rally with an escape at the third-period buzzer to tie the match at 11-11, then got a takedown in overtime to win, 13-11.
The win allowed Starzyk to join his coach, Keith Healy, on the elite list. Healy was the first four-time league champion, winning from 1980-83 at Burbank St. Laurence High.
Four matches later, three-time state champion Albert White (152) of St. Rita joined Starzyk as the league’s 10th four-time champion. White earned the Tony Lawless Award as the top senior wrestler. Kankakee Bishop McNamara High’s Jake Kimberlin (160) edged Providence’s Brian Reynolds 4-3 and was voted the meet’s Outstanding Wrestler.
Chicago Mount Carmel High’s Christian Brantley made his season debut at 215, winning that weight class, and B.J. Futrell (103) stayed unbeaten, prevailing in a weight class that included three Cadet National placewinners. Mount Carmel finished third with 141.5 points.
By Rob Sherrill, W.I.N. Editor
With victories over Dallas (Texas) Bishop Lynch High, 64-3, Nazareth High, 45-19 and host Easton High, 49-16, Blairstown (N.J.) Blair Academy again ruled the roost as they went 3-0 in the 10th annual National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) Final Four of High School Wrestling Jan. 20. The Bucs travel to Lakewood, Ohio to meet top-ranked St. Edward High in two weeks.
The meet featured four teams ranked in W.I.N. magazine’s Top 25 – No. 2 Blair, No. 4 Nazareth, No. 15 Easton and No. 23 Hermiston (Ore.) High.
Blair’s Eric Medina (152) was voted the winner of the Terry Gibson Award as the meet’s Outstanding Wrestler. Medina had solid victories over Bishop Lynch’s Johnny Koepp, 5-2 and Nazareth’s Tim Darling, 11-5, before pinning Easton’s Jeremy Snyder in 67 seconds.
Chris Villalonga (112), Joe Stanzione (125), Kellen Russell (130-135), Mario Mason (140-145), Corey Peltier (171) and Jared Platt (215-285) also went 3-0 for Blair.
Russell posted a 5-2 victory over Nazareth’s Bobby Ward and the Bucs made up for a pair of losses by standout Max Shanaman, who fell 6-2 to Oklahoma State recruit Luke Silver of Bishop Lynch at 140 and to Nazareth’s Mike Greck for the second time this season, 3-2.
Medina’s victory over Koepp was the third straight match in the Blair-Bishop Lynch dual involving highly-ranked wrestlers. After Silver’s victory over Shanaman in a match that would turn out to be Bishop Lynch’s only points in the dual, Mason moved up a weight to 145 and beat Bishop Lynch’s Luke Ashmore 12-6. Mason had beaten Ashmore in overtime in last year’s Final Four.
Easton was 2-1 in the event, beating Hermiston 42-25 and Bishop Lynch 53-24 in the first two rounds. The Red Rovers fell behind Hermiston 8-0 before getting pins from Kegan Handlovic (112), state champion Jordan Oliver (119) and Juju Drummond (130) and technical falls from Desmond Moore (103) and Mark Hartenstine (125) in a five-match blitz to take command, 28-8. The meet ended at 189 with a 3-2 upset by Easton’s Cory Rutt over Troy Kessell, a part of W.I.N.’s rankings earlier in the season.
Nazareth split its two matches, rebounding from its loss to Blair by beating Hermiston 38-21. Greck added to his big day with a 3-1 victory over state champion Brent Parks of Hermiston, down to 135 for the first time after being at 140 all season. Hermiston also beat Bishop Lynch 48-21.
Easton led Blair 7-3 after Oliver’s 17-4 decision over Garrett Frey. But Stanzione (125) and Russell (130) followed with pins as Blair won three straight matches and eight of the next nine to pull away.
Three-match winners for Easton: Moore (103), Oliver (119) and Rutt (189). Silver and Hermiston’s Josh Barraza (285) also went 3-0.
Catholic League interesting off the mat, too
The Chicago (Ill.) Catholic League Championships Saturday at Chicago St. Rita High provided some great matches on the mat … and some bizarre drama off it. New Lenox Providence High outdistanced St. Rita, 220.5-210, despite forfeiting back-to-back finals matches to a pair of Mustang wrestlers.
The finals forfeits were an anticlimactic conclusion to a drama that started at weigh-ins that morning. Objections were raised over skin rashes on a pair of St. Rita wrestlers: 119-pounder Joe Scardina and 125-pounder John Majka. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that wrestling in those weight classes was held up as questions raised over the validity of a doctor’s note presented on behalf of the wrestlers was resolved. Officials at the Illinois High School Association were called, who signed off on the validity of the note.
Coaches from schools set to wrestle the two forfeited their matches in protest. In the end, Scardina won the title without wrestling a match — winning twice by forfeit (or, officially, by default), including the final over Providence’s Jake Wojcik — and Majka wrestled only once before picking up a pair of forfeits (defaults), including the final over the Celtics’ Mark Augle.
However, there was plenty of great wrestling as well. Two-time state champion John Starzyk of Providence, up a weight at 130, was nearly derailed in his bid to become the Catholic League’s ninth four-time champion as he trailed Cadet National placewinner Bobby Barnhisel of Oak Park Fenwick High 7-2 in the first period. Starzyk, who had a three-year, 120-match winning streak snapped in a 6-2 loss to Nate Moore of Iowa City (Iowa) West High in the Geneseo Bi-State Tournament final, capped a furious rally with an escape at the third-period buzzer to tie the match at 11-11, then got a takedown in overtime to win, 13-11.
The win allowed Starzyk to join his coach, Keith Healy, on the elite list. Healy was the first four-time league champion, winning from 1980-83 at Burbank St. Laurence High.
Four matches later, three-time state champion Albert White (152) of St. Rita joined Starzyk as the league’s 10th four-time champion. White earned the Tony Lawless Award as the top senior wrestler. Kankakee Bishop McNamara High’s Jake Kimberlin (160) edged Providence’s Brian Reynolds 4-3 and was voted the meet’s Outstanding Wrestler.
Chicago Mount Carmel High’s Christian Brantley made his season debut at 215, winning that weight class, and B.J. Futrell (103) stayed unbeaten, prevailing in a weight class that included three Cadet National placewinners. Mount Carmel finished third with 141.5 points.