Future Big Ten rivals to be at different weights
By Rob Sherrill, W.I.N. High School Editor
Powerful Chicago St. Rita High, ranked No. 12 nationally by W.I.N., figured to be a heavy favorite in its dual meet against Chicago St. Patrick High, Dec. 16.
And the Mustangs, as expected, delivered, trouncing the Shamrocks, 63-3.
But it was the three points St. Patrick scored that drew a bigger-than-expected crowd to the meet and supplied the requisite drama.
Defending Class AA champions — St. Rita’s Jerome Ward, the 189-pound champion a year ago – and St. Patrick’s Joe Fagiano, who won at 215 — squared off in the match of the day at 189.
And it was Fagiano, who has signed with Indiana, who came out on top, beating Illinois commitment Ward 4-3.
Fagiano scored a takedown on a slideby in the first period for a 2-0 lead and used an escape to stretch the lead to 3-0. Ward tied the score in the third period with an escape and an early takedown, then let Fagiano go to make it 4-3. Ward, however, couldn’t score again, and the match belonged to Fagiano.
As future college 197-pounders, Fagiano and Ward will undoubtedly meet in future years. But it’s likely that this was the final meeting between the two in their high school careers. Despite recording the win, Fagiano will return to his old weight class, 215, for the rest of the season. The cut to 189 reportedly is too much to sustain for an additional two months.
Soddy Daisy nips Parkview, wins at McCallie
A pair of defending big-class state champions, Soddy Daisy High and Lilburn (Ga.) Parkview High, had a battle for the ages in the McCallie Tournament, Dec. 15-16, at Chattanooga.
Soddy Daisy led Parkview by three points entering the finals, fell behind by 11 as the Panthers came storming back with three consecutive finals wins, then rallied with three wins of their own to nip Parkview, 225.5-224.5, for the title.
Chattanooga Baylor School and Marietta (Ga.) Walton High staged a fierce battle for third place as well, with Baylor coming out on top, 198-194.
The victory concluded an inspiring first month of the season for Soddy Daisy, which had opened its season by beating Baylor for the first time in four seasons.
The tape of the tape was amazingly similar. Each team had three champions and placed nine in the top six, with Parkview holding a 6-5 edge in finalists.
The Panthers made their move as Chad Mitchell (119), Cadet National Greco-Roman champion Carson Fields (125) and Ryan Galloway (130) all won major decisions. Mitchell, a Penn State recruit who transferred to Parkview this season from Canton Seqouyah High, beat Soddy Daisy’s Wes Brett, 9-1, in the first of two head-to-head meetings between the leaders. Fields then scored an 11-3 victory over Tennessee-Chattanooga recruit Demetrius Johnson of Brighton High and Galloway dumped Nashville Montgomery Bell Academy’s John Michael Simpson, 15-2. Galloway’s win made it 224.5-213.5 in favor of the Panthers.
But Soddy Daisy got an assist from host McCallie, whose two-time Division 2 state champion Will Young beat Parkview state champion Jesse Miller 5-3 in the 140-pound final, then got to work as Jason McCroskey won at 145. Walton’s Dylan Temple helped the Trojans once again at 171, beating Parkview’s Connor Dalton 4-3, and Soddy Daisy then proceeded to finish the job.
Defending 171-pound state champions met at 189, with Soddy Daisy’s Tyler Roberson edging Walton’s Andy Olsen 2-0. Roberson set up state runnerup Mat Lettner to be the hero at 215, and Lettner didn’t disappoint, turning back Parkview’s Nandor Csonka 3-1 in a match for all the marbles.
Two-time Division 1 champion Kelly Felix (152) of Franklin High also won, 5-2, over Baylor’s Reed Doster.
And finally…
Poway’s back on top…but for how long?
Tim Boone broke up a tied match with a pin over Justin Arrendondo with six seconds remaining in a battle of state place-winners at 125 helped spark Poway (Calif.) High to a 39-17 victory over defending state champion Clovis Buchanan High in the Clovis West Shootout, Dec. 8-9. Poway beat Buchanan, 51-15 in last year’s Shootout final before Buchanan upended the Titans, 134-126.5, in the state tournament for its first-ever state crown. Buchanan 215-pounder Ryan Flores went 7-0 in the event, including five pins, to earn upper-weight OW honors.