Feb. 20, 2007 Wrestlers of the Week
The Fabulous Five
By Rob Sherrill, W.I.N. High School Editor
Needless to say, with nearly a dozen state tournaments having been wrestled this past weekend, there are far too many to avoid leaving out somebody deserving. You know who you are. Whether you make this list or not, your accomplishment made a huge impact.
Here are five seniors who made a strong case, in alphabetical order:
• Carrington Banks, McDonough (Ga.) Union Grove High: After winning three Class 5A state titles at Canton Sequoyah High, Banks made it a four-peat at 152, breezing to the title with three pins, a technical fall and a major decision. Kyle Baird (130) of Jefferson High also won his fourth title in Class A. Back in 5A, sophomore Taylor Knapp (135) of Suwanee Collins Hill High stunned junior two-time state champion Kendall Albert of cross-town Peachtree Ridge High, 6-3, ending Albert’s chance to become the state’s next four-time champion.
• Sean Joyce, Brandon (Fla.) High: Joyce won his fourth Class 2A state title, beating Dunedin High’s Dante Graham 10-4 in the 145-pound final. Joyce finished his career as the state’s all-time leading winner with a 260-9 record. Joyce, sophomore Eric Grajales (112) and senior Tom Timothy (160) all finished the season 48-0, Grajales and Timothy winning their second titles. Freshman Joe Cozart (125) also won, beating defending champion Anthony Jorge of Lakeland Lake Gibson High 6-3.
• Tucker Lane, Nucla (Colo.) High: The Nebraska recruit won his third Class 2A state title at 285, pinning his way to the state title for the second time. Lane, who pinned four opponents in a combined 7:43, had 14 state tournament pins in his career. Also in Class 2A, Kevin LeValley (145) of Limon High had three pins to become the state’s 15th four-time champion.
• Scott O’Donnell, Kansas City (Mo.) Oak Park High: How many wrestlers are underdogs in their bids to win a fourth state title? The Virginia recruit clearly was after losing four matches as a senior, including a 7-4 decision to Kansas City Park Hill High’s Corey Carr, a Class 3 state champion last year whose team moved up to the big-school Class 4 this season, in the Winnetonka Tournament last month. O’Donnell avenged that loss with a 5-4 victory in the 130-pound final. Another wrestler reversing a Winnetonka loss was the nation’s top-ranked heavyweight, Dom Bradley of Blue Springs High. The Missouri recruit handed Oak Park’s Elijah Madison his first and only loss of the season, 5-3 in the semifinals en route to his second title.
• Josh Stalcup, Estacada (Ore.) High: He reversed one of his two losses this season, pinning previously-unbeaten Nick Amuchastegui of Phoenix High with 10 seconds remaining in their 152-pound Class 4A state title match, taking his second state title. Tyler Phillips (130) of Turner Cascade High won his third 4A title with a technical fall, finishing 39-0.
“World Series” to McGill in seven
When was the last time you faced your biggest rival seven times in the same season?
The seventh and final match between Cornell recruit Eric McGill of Munster High and junior Brennan Cosgrove of nearby Hobart High took place in the Indiana state tournament final at 140 pounds, just as everybody expected.
And, as you might expect, a series this exciting had to go to the last of the ninth inning. A tie-breaking escape with 30 seconds remaining was the difference as McGill won 6-5, ending the season with a 4-3 advantage in the series – and his second state title.
It was the sixth Saturday in the past seven weeks the two had squared off. McGill (43-3) was the only one of the 14 state champions to end the season with more than one loss, and nine state champions were unbeaten. Cosgrove (46-4) had to settle for his second straight runnerup finish. No other wrestler beat either of the two during the season.
Still, the two weren’t the only headliners.
Clear Lake Hanover Central High junior Andrew Howe (152) was the clear choice as the meet’s Outstanding Wrestler. Howe finished off a 48-0 season by winning his second state title, winning all four of his matches by technical fall, a first in the state’s history. No Indiana wrestler had previously recorded more than two technical falls in a single state tournament. Howe racked up a staggering 91 points in his four victories, including 26 in his 26-9 title-match victory over senior Chris Dean of Nappanee NorthView High.
Mishawaka High, one of the favorites in the dual state tournament next weekend, became the only school to crown more than one state champion. Sophomore Josh Harper (39-0) won at 112 and senior Ian Hinton (48-0) won at 189, both repeating as state champions. Harper is unbeaten in his high school career at 87-0.
Also finishing unbeaten were seniors Reece Freeman (125) of Bloomington South High, Jamal Lawrence (145) of Merrillville High and Matt Powless (171) of Evansville Memorial High and juniors Eric Galka (130) of Hobart, who won his second title, George Malone (215) of South Bend Riley High and Chico Adams (285) of Indianapolis Perry Meridian High.
Powless became the first wrestler from his school to advance to a state final. finishes the season with a 51-0 record. Freeman scored an 8-4 decision over junior Tommy Churchard of Valparaiso High, who nipped 2005 state champion Ethan Harris of Beech Grove High 7-6 in the first round, knocking Harris out of the tournament. First-round losers are eliminated.
Evansville Mater Dei High, favored to win the dual state, led all teams with 11 state qualifiers, but senior Nick Dewig (145) was the only one to advance to the finals, losing 3-2 to Lawrence. Indianapolis Cathedral High had five state placewinners.
By Rob Sherrill, W.I.N. High School Editor
Needless to say, with nearly a dozen state tournaments having been wrestled this past weekend, there are far too many to avoid leaving out somebody deserving. You know who you are. Whether you make this list or not, your accomplishment made a huge impact.
Here are five seniors who made a strong case, in alphabetical order:
• Carrington Banks, McDonough (Ga.) Union Grove High: After winning three Class 5A state titles at Canton Sequoyah High, Banks made it a four-peat at 152, breezing to the title with three pins, a technical fall and a major decision. Kyle Baird (130) of Jefferson High also won his fourth title in Class A. Back in 5A, sophomore Taylor Knapp (135) of Suwanee Collins Hill High stunned junior two-time state champion Kendall Albert of cross-town Peachtree Ridge High, 6-3, ending Albert’s chance to become the state’s next four-time champion.
• Sean Joyce, Brandon (Fla.) High: Joyce won his fourth Class 2A state title, beating Dunedin High’s Dante Graham 10-4 in the 145-pound final. Joyce finished his career as the state’s all-time leading winner with a 260-9 record. Joyce, sophomore Eric Grajales (112) and senior Tom Timothy (160) all finished the season 48-0, Grajales and Timothy winning their second titles. Freshman Joe Cozart (125) also won, beating defending champion Anthony Jorge of Lakeland Lake Gibson High 6-3.
• Tucker Lane, Nucla (Colo.) High: The Nebraska recruit won his third Class 2A state title at 285, pinning his way to the state title for the second time. Lane, who pinned four opponents in a combined 7:43, had 14 state tournament pins in his career. Also in Class 2A, Kevin LeValley (145) of Limon High had three pins to become the state’s 15th four-time champion.
• Scott O’Donnell, Kansas City (Mo.) Oak Park High: How many wrestlers are underdogs in their bids to win a fourth state title? The Virginia recruit clearly was after losing four matches as a senior, including a 7-4 decision to Kansas City Park Hill High’s Corey Carr, a Class 3 state champion last year whose team moved up to the big-school Class 4 this season, in the Winnetonka Tournament last month. O’Donnell avenged that loss with a 5-4 victory in the 130-pound final. Another wrestler reversing a Winnetonka loss was the nation’s top-ranked heavyweight, Dom Bradley of Blue Springs High. The Missouri recruit handed Oak Park’s Elijah Madison his first and only loss of the season, 5-3 in the semifinals en route to his second title.
• Josh Stalcup, Estacada (Ore.) High: He reversed one of his two losses this season, pinning previously-unbeaten Nick Amuchastegui of Phoenix High with 10 seconds remaining in their 152-pound Class 4A state title match, taking his second state title. Tyler Phillips (130) of Turner Cascade High won his third 4A title with a technical fall, finishing 39-0.
“World Series” to McGill in seven
When was the last time you faced your biggest rival seven times in the same season?
The seventh and final match between Cornell recruit Eric McGill of Munster High and junior Brennan Cosgrove of nearby Hobart High took place in the Indiana state tournament final at 140 pounds, just as everybody expected.
And, as you might expect, a series this exciting had to go to the last of the ninth inning. A tie-breaking escape with 30 seconds remaining was the difference as McGill won 6-5, ending the season with a 4-3 advantage in the series – and his second state title.
It was the sixth Saturday in the past seven weeks the two had squared off. McGill (43-3) was the only one of the 14 state champions to end the season with more than one loss, and nine state champions were unbeaten. Cosgrove (46-4) had to settle for his second straight runnerup finish. No other wrestler beat either of the two during the season.
Still, the two weren’t the only headliners.
Clear Lake Hanover Central High junior Andrew Howe (152) was the clear choice as the meet’s Outstanding Wrestler. Howe finished off a 48-0 season by winning his second state title, winning all four of his matches by technical fall, a first in the state’s history. No Indiana wrestler had previously recorded more than two technical falls in a single state tournament. Howe racked up a staggering 91 points in his four victories, including 26 in his 26-9 title-match victory over senior Chris Dean of Nappanee NorthView High.
Mishawaka High, one of the favorites in the dual state tournament next weekend, became the only school to crown more than one state champion. Sophomore Josh Harper (39-0) won at 112 and senior Ian Hinton (48-0) won at 189, both repeating as state champions. Harper is unbeaten in his high school career at 87-0.
Also finishing unbeaten were seniors Reece Freeman (125) of Bloomington South High, Jamal Lawrence (145) of Merrillville High and Matt Powless (171) of Evansville Memorial High and juniors Eric Galka (130) of Hobart, who won his second title, George Malone (215) of South Bend Riley High and Chico Adams (285) of Indianapolis Perry Meridian High.
Powless became the first wrestler from his school to advance to a state final. finishes the season with a 51-0 record. Freeman scored an 8-4 decision over junior Tommy Churchard of Valparaiso High, who nipped 2005 state champion Ethan Harris of Beech Grove High 7-6 in the first round, knocking Harris out of the tournament. First-round losers are eliminated.
Evansville Mater Dei High, favored to win the dual state, led all teams with 11 state qualifiers, but senior Nick Dewig (145) was the only one to advance to the finals, losing 3-2 to Lawrence. Indianapolis Cathedral High had five state placewinners.