PA Power The Surge Preview
PA Power The Surge Preview Sandwiched in between two of the toughest tournaments every year, Super 32 in mid-October and Ironman in early December, is The Surge, a relatively new event from PA Power that still attracts some notable top talent- in particular from Pennsylvania. And when looking at the field that is set for this weekend, we could get some very nice elite match ups serving as a preview for possible rematches in Ohio next month. The most notable of all of these is at 145 (PA uses its own weight classes) where #1 in the country Pierson Manville is in the same bracket as #2 Melvin Miller. Miller is coming off a Super 32 title and the only thing standing in his way from a national #1 ranking is state champ Manville. With State College competing at AAA and McCort at AA, this is a match up of the two favorites to win next March but now we could at least get to see them go at it head to head. And it turns out they’re both at Ironman as well so the winner might have to turn around and defend that victory in short order. Of course, just because you’re the top seed doesn’t mean you make it to the finals. Upsets seem to always happen. And there is other top 15 kid in this 145 bracket, Jack Consiglio of Malvern Prep who might have something to say for example in a semifinals against Miller. Consiglio will also be at Ironman so these 3 will get familiar with each other if they haven’t already. So, if you’re not already doing anything else, and you want to catch some elite competition, tune into 145 of The Surge. As for the rest of the weights, we’ll look at the current projected top 8 seeds and what stands out. 114 should be a good battle in the semifinals between Matt O’Neill and Dom Deputy. Odd that O’Neill has wins over like all this bracket but only gets a 5 seed. He even has the head to head over Deputy the last time they wrestled. But that was close. So, I might say the 8th grader is the favorite to win this weekend, that semifinal will be the best match to catch here. 121 is a good mix of fringe top 25ish type kids from PA. I think I have Pisarchick ranked slightly higher than Fanella and Sledzianowski, but no result here between the top 3 would really surprise me. I would guess Matt’s brother, Nik O’Neill is the biggest favorite of any weight at 127. Any chance to watch Bo Bassett is a good time for fans of the sport. But for him the question is how dominant will he be. His top challenger is Tahir Parkins who also carries a top 10 ranking nationally. Unfortunately for him, Bo knows top 10 wins. 139 will be a good chance to catch Mason Gibson’s return. We’ll what weight he ends up at as the season progresses but here at 139, he should come away with the win. 152 could be interesting between PA and NJ state medalists. The difference between them is that Ballante has been extremely busy this off-season, and picked up a bunch of nationally ranked wins. This has him sitting solidly in a consensus top 15 position. If he’s not on his A game, Walizer could absolutely pull this out. At 160, I have Weidemoyer top 15 and Cunningham just outside the top 25. This should be one of the better finals across the board. I’m not disregarding the rest of the bracket, Magro might test Wiedemoyer in that semifinal. In the end, I’ll be very interested in this possible Weidemoyer Cunningham final. I’m curious what Wyoming Seminary does from 144 up to 175. They have about 6 guys for those 5 spots. I think Evanitsky slots in at 144 with Bouzakis at 150 and Sealey at 157. Then there’s Chris Crawford, Jake Dailey, and Dom Federici to figure out 165 and 175. Out of the 3, Dailey is in this field at 172. He gets sophomore Adam Waters fresh off a freshman state title run. Waters might be one of the best pound for pound in the entire state. He’s a solid favorite against this field. I don’t know the rest of the weights enough to really even give a prediction or say what matches might be must-see. Another thing to add in here, like a wild card of sorts, is the Japanese team Pitt Bull that no one really has any idea how they do. I have to guess they don’t train a ton of American folkstyle wrestling but to some extent wrestling is wrestling so we shall see. I have the top 8 seeds (except 285 where there are only 5) listed below. 107 1 Tyler Conroy (Malvern Prep) 2 Eli Herring (Bishop McCort) 3 Emilio Albanese (Grit Mat Club) 4 Dakota Santamaria (Young Guns) 5 Ben Hoover (Chambersburg) 6 Brendan Kelly (Malvern Prep) 7 Michael Frye (Miller Wrestling Academy) 8 Jack Gramly (Mifflinburg) 114 1 Dominic Deputy (Orchard WC) 2 Leo Pezone (Malvern Prep) 3 Colby Martinelli (Pursuit Wrestling Academy) 4 Braiden Weaver (M2 Training Center) 5 Matthew O’Neill (Malvern Prep) 6 Tanner Guenot (M2 Training Center) 7 Logan Katz (Battlefield) 8 Caleb Hummel (4M) 121 1 Weston Pisarchick (Partner Trained) 2 Nico Fanella (TDWC) 3 Lincoln Sledzianowski (Bishop McCort) 4 Zachary Sherman (Young Guns) 5 Aiden Kunes (M2 Training Center) 6 Brady Slicker (Hickory) 7 Declan O’Byrne (Malvern Prep) 8 Charlie Lussier (MetroWest United) 127 1 Nikolaus O’Neill (Malvern Prep) 2 Lucas Fye M2 (Training Center) 3 Jason Torres (Malvern Prep) 4 Parker Sentipal (Burgettstown) 5 Durben Carpenter (Teknique Wrestling) 6 Calvin Werden (Western Reserve Academy) 7 Quinn McBride (Pennridge) 8 Ky Szewczyk (Waynesburg) 133 1 Bo Bassett (Bishop McCort) 2 Tahir Parkins (Dark Knights Wrestling Club) 3 Trey Wagner (Grit Mat Club) 4 Cole Coffin (Pennridge) 5 CJ Carr (Wyalusing) 6
2023 Walsh Ironman Preview: Ohio Ranked Wrestlers
Ranked Ohio Wrestlers At Ironman Team List Alliance OH Archbishop Moeller OH Archbold OH Aurora OH Barnesville OH Bishop Hartley OH Bishop Watterson OH Brecksville-Broadview Heights OH Buckeye OH Clay OH Copley OH Crestview OH Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy OH Dublin Coffman OH Dublin Scioto OH Edgewood OH Elyria OH Genoa Area OH Highland OH Kenston OH Keystone OH La Salle OH Lake Catholic OH Legacy Christian Academy OH Liberty Center OH Louisville OH Marysville OH Massillon Perry OH Mayfield OH Mentor OH Monroeville OH Olentangy Liberty OH Perkins OH Perrysburg OH Spire Academy OH Springboro OH St. Edward OH St. Francis DeSales OH Graham OH St. Vincent-St. Mary OH St. Xavier OH Steubenville OH Sycamore OH Wadsworth OH Walsh Jesuit OH Western Reserve Academy OH Whitmer OH Naturally, Ohio is sending the most schools to Ironman. I mean the event is in Ohio it’s probably not even right to describe it as “sending” anyone anywhere. But the host state is where the majority comes from. Within that group there are quite a few nationally ranked wrestlers. Among the kids listed below, Marcus Blaze will be the 1 seed in his weight. After him, Burnett, Joy, Birden, Shulaw, and Fockler should be among the top 3 at least in their brackets as well. St Edward and Perrysburg lead the way with 4 nationally ranked wrestlers each. They should be in a battle for Ohio team supremacy. Ranked Wrestlers 106 #4 Grey Burnett (Perrysburg) #6 Ethan Timar (St Edward) #16 Ayden Dodd (Perrysburg) #18 Rylan Seacrist (Brecksville) 126 #1 Marcus Blaze (Perrysburg) #10 Dillon Campbell (Legacy Christian) 132 #25 Cole Evans (Perrysburg) 138 #12 Kade Brown (St Edward) #20 Omar Ayoub (Dublin Coffman) 144 #3 Jax Joy (Wadsworth) #5 Ryan Bennett (St Edward) #10 Brogan Tucker (St Paris Graham) 150 #17 Eugene Harney (Sycamore) 157 #18 Grayson Woodcock (Dublin Coffman) 165 #5 Ethan Birden (Dublin Coffman) #14 Gunner Cramblett (St Paris Graham) 175 #11 Jarrel Miller (St Edward) #17 Carson Thomas (La Salle) 190 #22 Matt Kowalski (Springboro) 215 #5 Max Shulaw (St Frances DeSales) 285 #5 Aidan Fockler (Massillon Perry) #18 Aaron Ries (Wadsworth)
2023 Walsh Ironman Preview: Illinois Ranked Wrestlers
Ranked Illinois Wrestlers At Ironman Team List Conant IL Homewood-Flossmoor IL IC Catholic Prep IL Joliet Catholic Academy IL Loyola Academy IL Marist IL Marmion Academy IL Montini Catholic IL Mount Carmel IL Normal Community IL St. Charles East IL Tolono Unity IL Warren Township IL Washington Community IL As expected, StCE and MC lead the way from the state with the most ranked wrestlers, podium contenders, and championship favorites. I’ll have a more extensive write up where we’ll get more into the showdown at 132 among other things. For now, we’ll just say the best chances for an IL Ironman champion are Munaretto at 113 and Johnson at 285. They should be the 1 seed at those weights. Ranked Wrestlers 106 #22 Caden Correll (Normal) 113 #3 Dom Munaretto (St Charles East) #12 Nick Garcia (Marmion Academy) 126 #9 Seth Mendoza (Mt Carmel) 132 #3 Ben Davino (St Charles East) 138 #14 Tyler Guerra (St Charles East) 144 #21 Jaydon Robinson (Homewood-Flossmoor) 150 #23 Will Denny (Marist) 157 #13 Eddie Enright (Mt Carmel) #14 Aaron Stewart (Warren) #21 Collin Young (IC Catholic) 165 #10 Colin Kelly (Mt Carmel) 285 #2 Dillan Johnson (Joliet Catholic)
2023 Walsh Ironman Preview: PA Ranked Wrestlers
Ranked Pennsylvania Wrestlers At Ironman So it looks like the Keystone State is sending 10 schools to Ironman. 8 of the schools compete within the PIAA and 2 are part of the national preps. Below is a chart of the schools from PA at Ironman and the nationally ranked wrestlers from each. Obviously, Wyoming Seminary leads the way in terms of numbers. Schools can only enter one per weight class, so I included multiple where schools have multiple guys ranked and as we get closer to the event, perhaps it’ll become more clear how they shake out. I did go ahead and put Bachmann at 113 for this one but of course they could flip those. Canon-McMillan doesn’t currently have anyone ranked, I would guess Andrew Binni is their top contender. Export XLSExport CSV School 106 113 120 126 132 138 144 150 157 165 175 190 215 285 Bethlehem Catholic PA #17 Keanu Dillard #3 Kollin Rath Bishop McCort PA #3 Jax Forrest #1 Bo Bassett #4 (132) Mason Gibson #2 Melvin Miller #11 Sam Herring Canon-McMillan PA Faith Christian Academy PA #20 Kole Davidheiser #1 (106) Joe Bachmann #12 Gauge Botero #15 Cael Weidemoyer #4 Adam Waters #17 Mark Effendian Frazier PA #2 Rune Lawrence Malvern Prep PA #1 (MS) Matt O’Neill #10 Lukas Littleton #8 Nik O’Neill #13 Jack Consiglio Notre Dame-Green Pond PA #6 Ayden Smith Reynolds PA #7 Louie Gill State College PA #1 Pierson Manville #16 Nick Pavlechko Wyoming Seminary PA #5 Shamus Regan #8 Davis Motyka #5 Nate Desmond #2 Luke Lilledahl #12 Matt Botello #14 Anthony Evanitsky #5 Vince Bouzakis #1 Joe Sealey #8 (157) Chris Crawford #13 Dom Federici #2 Jude Correa #19 Jake Dailey
NCAA D1 Week 1: CA Results
NCAA Week 1: CA Results Iowa State vs Cleveland State 174 MJ Gaitan (Iowa State) tech fall over Ronald Dimmerling (19-3) Nebraska vs North Dakota State 125 Caleb Smith decision over Carlos Negrete (North Dakota State) (9-5) 133 Jacob Van Dee decision over Fernando Barreto (North Dakota State) (5-1) Cal Poly vs Duke 125 Dom Mendez (Cal Poly) tech fall over Logan Agin (20-3) 133 Zeth Romney (Cal Poly) tech fall over Raymond Adams (19-3) 184 Kendall La Rosa (Cal Poly) decision over Conor Becker ( 6-4) 197 Jarad Priest (Cal Poly) tech fallover Kwasi Bonsu (22-7) 285 Connor Barket decision over Joshua Harkey (Cal Poly) (12-7) Cal Poly vs Rutgers 125 #9 Dean Peterson decision over Dom Mendez (Cal Poly) (4-0) 133 #18 Dylan Shawver decision over Zeth Romney (Cal Poly) (9-3) 184 #8 Brian Soldano major decision over Kendall La Rosa (Cal Poly) (14-4) 197 #13 John Poznanski tech fall over Jarad Priest (Cal Poly) (17-1) 285 #11 Yaraslau Slavikouski tech fall over Josh Harkey (Cal Poly) (16-0) Maryland vs American 285 Seth Nevills (Maryland) decision over Will Jarrell (6-2) Oregon State vs North Carolina 141 Lachlan McNeil major decision over Cleveland Belton (Oregon State) (14-2) 184 Trey Munoz (Oregon State) fall over Chris Salazar (0:55) Stanford vs Duke 141 Jason Miranda (Stanford) tech fall over Peter Chacon (15-0) 149 Jaden Abas (Stanford) decision over Jarred Papcsy (12-7) 285 Peter Ming (Stanford) major decision over Connor Barket (12-4) Iowa vs Cal Baptist 133 Brody Teske major decision over Hunter Leake (Cal Baptist) (12-1) 184 Brennan Swafford major decision over Nathan Haas (Cal Baptist) (15-4) Clarion Open 125 Tristan Lujan (Michigan State) 133 Andre Gonzales (OSU) – 5th 149 Tyler Badgett (Pitt) – DNP 149 Marcos Polanco (Purdue) -DNP 157 Jaden Le (Columbia) – 5th 197 Jack Kilner (Edinboro) – DNP Princeton Open 141 Carter Bailey (Lehigh) – 5th 157 Oscar Aranda (Army) – DNP
2023 Clarion Open: Notable Matches & Results
Notable Matches & Results 125 Marcus Blaze dec. over Matt Ramos (4-1 SV) Note: Sheesh. Beat a top 2 kid at your high school level and then follow it up beating a returning NCAA finalist? Most had Ramos #1 at 125. I have Richard Figueroa. But either way, this is beyond impressive for the Perrysburg junior. Marcus Blaze dec. over Jax Forrest (9-4) Note: Two elite high schoolers, #2 Forrest takes on #3 Blaze in a collegiate open. And they figure to see each other again soon too. This was exactly what you would expect, and ultimately went Blaze’s way late. Vinny Kilkeary dec. over Louie Gill (3-0) Note: 3 time PIAA state champ Kilkeary (Greater Latrobe) faced current PIAA senior looking for his 2nd state title, Louie Gill. Ultimately, the older Kilkeary came out victorious. 133 Bo Bassett maj. dec. over Andre Gonzales (11-1) Note: Gonzales was a mainstay on the CA podium during his career at Poway. Bassett is a high school sophomore phenom. I was curious to see how this would go. It was all Bassett all the time. 149 Dylan D’Emilio dec. over Collin Gaj (8-4) Note: Another high school kid, Gaj, takes on a solid college opponent. D’Emilio came out of HS about the same level of recruit as Gaj will be in 2025. In the meantime, it was good to see where he is in his progress, especially after the recent loss to Conner Harer. Gaj battled well, looked strong. D’Emilio’s veteran savvy proved a little too much. 174 Rocco Welsh dec. over Simon Ruiz (4-1) Note: Two college true freshmen who finished ranked in the top 2 of their weight classes, Rocco #1. I don’t think they ever saw each other last season, but I would have slightly favored Rocco and that’s basically how it turned out. Both promising youngsters, expected to redshirt. 184 Ryder Rogotzke fall over Seth Shumate (3:32) Note: A pair of recent highly regarded upper weight recruits for the Buckeyes. It was the younger Rogotzke who got the better of this one. FINAL RESULTS 125 1Brayden Palmer (Unattached- UTC) 2Marcus Blaze (Unrostered) 3Matt Ramos (Purdue) 4Nicholas Babin (Columbia) 5Jax Forrest (Unrostered) 6Gregory Diakomihalis (Unattached) 133 1Bo Bassett (Unrostered) 2Vincent Santaniello (Pittsburgh) 3Angelo Rini (Columbia) 4Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State) 5Andre Gonzalez (Ohio State) 6Pablo Castro (Kent State) 141 1Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) 2Brandon Cannon (Ohio State) 3Briar Priest (Pittsburgh) 4Anthony Santaniello (Pittsburgh) 5Kai Owen (Columbia) 6Michael Leveille (Purdue) 149 1Dylan D`Emilio (Ohio State) 2Finn Solomon (Pittsburgh) 3Zach Price (Gardner-Webb) 4Dylan Chappell (Unattached- Bucknell) 5Nick Vafiadis (Navy) 6Jack Pletcher (Pittsburgh) 157 1Paddy Gallagher (Ohio State) 2Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (Clarion) 3Cade Wirnsberger (Bucknell) 4Jared Keslar (Pittsburgh) 5Jaden Le (Columbia) 6Joey Blaze (Purdue) 165 1Noah Mulvaney (Bucknell) 2Isaac Wilcox (Ohio State) 3Stoney Buell (Purdue) 4Josh Ogunsanya (Columbia) 6Cooper Noehre (Purdue) 6Hunter Shaut (Buffalo) 174 1Rocco Welsh (Ohio State) 2Sammy Starr (Navy) 3John Worthing (Clarion) 4Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) 5Simon Ruiz (Unrostered-Spartan Combat RTC) 6Brody Baumann (Purdue) 184 1Reece Heller (Pittsburgh) 2Cameron Pine (Clarion) 3Aaron Ayzerov (Columbia) 4James Rowley (Purdue) 6Jack McGill (Columbia) 6Ryder Rogotzke (Ohio State) 197 1Mac Stout (Pittsburgh) 2Michael Dellagatta (Unrostered-Spartan Combat RTC) 3Jack Wehmeyer (Columbia) 4Lucas Daly (Michigan State) 5Sam Mitchell (Buffalo) 6Jacob Lee (Michigan State) 285 1Nick Feldman (Ohio State) 2John Meyers (Clarion) 3Dorian Crosby (Unattached- Bucknell) 4Vincent Mueller (Columbia) 5Josh Terrill (Michigan State) 6Nolan Neves (Columbia)
High School Wrestlers In The 2023 Clarion Open
High School Wrestlers In The 2023 Clarion Open 125 lbs #2 (126 lbs) Jax Forrest – Bishop McCort, PA #3 (126 lbs) Marcus Blaze – Perrysburg, OH #7 (120 lbs) Louie Gill – Reynolds, PA (NCSU) #21 (120 lbs) Tyler Dekraker – Blair, NJ Andrew Binni – Canon-McMillan, PA (Navy) 133lbs #1 (132 lbs) Bo Bassett – Bishop McCort, PA 141 lbs Dakota King – Barnesville, OH (Ohio State) 149 lbs #2 (144 lbs) Melvin Miller – Bishop McCort, PA #3 (144 lbs) Jaxon Joy – Wadsworth, OH (Cornell) #4 (150 lbs) Collin Gaj – Quakertown, PA (VA Tech) Daxton Chase – Pleasant, OH, Ohio State Commit Skyler King – Barnesville, OH Reese Stephen – Barnesville, OH Jaden Wehler – St. Mary, PA Ty Wilson – Dublin Sciotto, OH (Penn) 165 lbs #5 (165 lbs) Ethan Birden Jr.- Coffman, OH (Ohio State) Owen McMullen – Bishop McCort, PA
For The Love Of The Game: Todd’s Talks With Anthony Knox
Anthony Knox shares a common story with a lot of youth wrestlers. Early struggles. Wins were harder to come by and success was judged more by progress from match to match than racking up championships. But, as we sit here today, we know, that changed. So, I wanted to learn a little more about what changed. How he developed into one of the very best high school wrestlers in the country. Where success is judged by dominance. And what I learned immediately was consistency. Whereas now he’s consistently dominant, he began just being consistently present. Never giving up. Never quitting. His love of the sport drove him to be better. He practiced harder. Took extra matches. Eventually, Anthony developed himself into the elite competitor we see now. Starting when he was 8, he would follow his dad to the gym where he trained as an MMA fighter. While maybe as kids we wanted to be like Mike, little Ant definitely wanted to be like big Ant, like dad. He got time to roll around before practice started and he used that time to his advantage. He cherished it. And you could say his love for the game began there. Then it became official. The matches were official and Anthony was officially a youth wrestler. And he loved it. Even as the results were going against him, he wanted more. More matches meant more development and he knew at that young age the time spent would lead to the outcomes desired. As his youth career was building, he attended Rhino Wrestling Club. There, he had access to many coaches who shaped him into who he is today. Mike Malinconico, a Jersey legend. “Mike Mal” has been a technique specialist for Flo and currently leads the Poway RTC. Anthony also had great partners. NJ State champion and Princeton freshman, Tyler Vasquez, world champ Marc-Anthony McGowan, also currently at Princeton, and many more. According to Anthony, “I always placed an emphasis on finding good competition rather than worrying about wins and losses.” And that approach to the sport has paid dividends for him. Clearly. You won’t often find a high school athlete that has that particular mindset. With that level of mature perspective. He credits his family and coaches for helping him develop along those lines. And for providing the opportunity to compete at the best events against the best kids. “Traveling out of state to big competitions with my family are some of my best childhood memories.” The list of these tournaments is extensive. Super 32 three times. Escape the Rock. Beast of the East. Fargo. He’s also quickly become the first 3 time Flo Who’s #1 winner. As if there were any doubt, he’s been #1, he’s #1 now. Consistency. The St John Vianney junior is a two-time NJ state champion, on pace to be one of the next four timers. He has a high school record of 76-1, and sits atop the national rankings at 120, something he’s keenly aware of, “I do [pay attention to rankings]. I use it as motivation. I like to prove people wrong. I don’t get mad about it, it’s just someone’s opinion, but it’s definitely motivation to get better.” Talking with Anthony, you learn how important loyalty is to him. He’s been wrestling with the same coaches for over 10 years. Consistency, loyalty, love for the game, just some of what Cornell University is getting in their 125 heir apparent. As one of the top gets in the class of ’25, whenever or wherever Anthony made his decision was going to generate news. That he did it after winning his 2nd Super 32 belt, just added more weight to the moment. About the school choice, he says, “I love the academics of an Ivy League school, but from the wrestling side, I really love the staff and the partners that I will get to go with every day.” Partners like Vito Arujau? The only 2023 senior world gold medalist still in college. Is there a better partner for an up and coming lightweight star? If there’s no limit to the brightest of the Anthony Knox star, what better place to shine. And if I know anything, he’ll do whatever it takes to get there. That’s his mindset, that passion, that love of the game. I asked what his post collegiate plans were and he was clear. He’s aiming for a spot on the 2028 Olympic team. A lofty aspiration for a kid full of meeting the loftiest. And no one said it would be easy, just worth it. And when you look back at the early mat time rolling around, the early struggles, the consistency leading to immense success, it’s definitely been worth it. And he can’t help but love that. Be sure to follow Anthony’s continued journey on Instagram: @ant.knox Rapid Fire Questions: Sushi Favorite Food? Video Games How Do You Like To Spend Your Down Time? Aruba What’s your favorite vacation destination? Don’t Care What Others Think What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
2023 Preseason Nationals: Notable Matches And Wrestlers
Notable Wrestlers & Results From Last Weekend In the wake of Super 32, another national event was held last weekend, the annual Preseason Nationals. While the entire brackets of weights weren’t as loaded with ranked wrestlers, there were some individual matches that caught our eye and did play a factor in our first set of rankings (dropping Sunday Nov. 5th). GROUP: 9th-10th 100 | Cason Craft | Champion 113 | Zaiyahn Ornelas | 2nd Place 120 | Kiernan Mienk | 2nd Place 150 | Joe Jeter | Champion GROUP: SHOWCASE 106 | Caden Correll | Champion 113 | Abdi Unle | Champion 113 | Mac Crosson | 2nd Place Key Result: Unle dec. over Crosson (7-6) 120 | Mack Mauger | 3rd Place 120 | Louie Gill | Champion 120 | Talen Eck | 2nd Place 120 | Jake Knight | 4th Place Key Result: Gill dec. over Mauger (7-0) Key Result: Eck dec. over Knight (6-4) Key Result: Mauger dec. over Knight (7-2) 126 | Caio Aron | Champion 132 | Max Brady | Champion 144 | Jaydon Robinson | Champion GROUP: 11th-12th 113 | Raekwon Shabazz | Champion 138 | Elliott Biba | Champion 144 | Dorian Olivarez | Champion 190 | Noah Blair | Champion 190 | Brent Slade | 2nd Place Key Result: Blair dec. over Slade (3-2) So, as I mentioned, not nearly the depth in the brackets to impact rankings tremendously, there were a handful of results to pay attention to that did have an effect. I’d put the Gill win over Mauger at the top of the list. One, Mauger was top 10 coming in. Two, Gill shut him out. After that, I’d go Blair over Slade. Slade is up a lot from he competed last season, but is a solid top 15 wrestler. Blair is similar, though perhaps naturally bigger. You’d expect Blair to control things but you would also want to see it close. That’s what we got. Then, I like Mauger coming back for 3rd. Undeterred by the loss to Gill, he controlled Jake Knight, himself a top 20 type, 7-2. I don’t have the Gill over Eck finals as a key result but that was an injury. Also, keep in mind there were some performances by kids throughout that definitely put them on the radar or got them into that “next 25” group. We’ll be watching how they follow up as the season unfolds.
2023 Super 32 Recap
2023 Super 32: The Full Recap 106 2023 Super 32 Top 8 1Joe Bachmann (PA) 2Rocco Hayes (IL) 3Grey Burnett (OH) 4Dominic Deputy (PA) 5Shamus Regan (SC) 6Ignacio Villasenor (CO) 7Ezekiel Witt (KS) 8Cameron Sontz (NJ) Ranked Wrestlers Entering The Weekend: 15 Top Seed & Finish: #1 Joe Bachmann (PA); 1st place Lowest Seed To Place: 13 seed Cam Sontz (NJ); 8th place New Top 25: Cooper Foster (NC) #25 There are a few freshmen coming into this season leading the way nationally in their respective weights. One of those is currently Joe Bachmann of Faith Christian Academy (PA). He just finished 3rd in the world wrestling for Puerto Rico and came into this one as the favorite for the belt. While I may have thought the real battle was going to be on the bottom half, where a collective of ranked kids would vie for a spot in the finals against Bachmann, he did get pushed in back to back matches by Ezekiel Witt and Shamus Regan. Each falling by only 1. It would be a junior from Illinois, Rocco Hayes, who got there. He did so with wins over a fellow Illinoisian named Rocco – Cassioppi. That’s a familiar name. Cassioppi came in seeded a few spots higher by way of a head to head win over Hayes just a week prior. Hayes would capitalize on the opportunity for revenge here. Hayes also was able to upend another stellar freshman, Grey Burnett from Perrysburg, OH. There was even yet another top 3 freshman in this mix, Ignacio Villasenor from Pomona, CO. He got hurt and medically forfeited out to 6th place. In the end, Bachmann would prove his superiority, winning the finals by fall. But with the results against Witt and Regan, perhaps the gap between him and the weight class isn’t as big as I had thought. He still leaves as the top wrestler in the country at 106. Notable that Deputy would lose to Rylan Seacrist early on but come back to finish 4th. 113 2023 Super 32 Top 8 1Aaron Seidel (PA) 2Domenic Munaretto (IL) 3Landon Sidun (PA) 4Joseph Uhorchuk (TN) 5Ayden Smith (PA) 6Jermaine JJ Peace (SC) 7Titan Friederichs (MN) 8Nicholas Garcia (IL) Ranked Wrestlers Entering The Weekend: 12 Top Seed & Finish: #2 Aaron Seidel (PA); 1st place Lowest Seed To Place: 22 seed Titan Friederichs (MN); 7th place New Top 25: Titan Friederichs (MN) #10; Raekwon Shabazz (CT) #21; Braiden Weaver (PA) #25 113 doesn’t have the sheer number of freshmen as 106, but it too has a phenom 9th grader sitting at the top. That would be Paul Kenny of Christian Brothers (NJ). Unfortunately, he wasn’t in this field but there certainly wasn’t a lack of excitement and top notch 113 pound action. Aaron Seidel (Northern Lebanon, PA) came in as the top seed and our #2 behind Kenny. He held onto that spot with nice wins over #7 Ayden Smith (a PA state champion from NDGP), #8 JJ Peace (Cane Bay, SC0 and #21 Raekwon Shabazz (Middletown, CT) on his way to the finals. In those finals, he would take on Illinois state champion and world champion, #3 Dom Munaretto (Lake Charles-East). The match would ultimately go Seidel’s way, 3-0. Munaretto for his part, took out another frosh phenom, #4 Landon Sidun and two prep school teammates, #9 Davis Motyka, and Nikos Filipos en route to his 2nd place finish. Some other notable performances were turned in by #5 JoJo Uhorchuk, #8 JJ Peace, and perhaps the surprise of the weight, Titan Friederichs (Watertown Mayer, MN) who leaves sitting at #10 in our rankings with a pair of wins over #11 Nick Garcia (who himself beat Motyka) and top 8th grader Matt O’Neill (Malvern Prep). I don’t know what event might bring together Christian Brothers and Northern Lebanon during the season, but I would love to get that Seidel Kenny match up. Kenny holds the recent head to head win, but that was freestyle and it was 4-4 on criteria :yikes, this is close. 120 2023 Super 32 Top 8 1Anthony Knox (NJ) 2Nathan Desmond (PA) 3Ronnie Ramirez (CA) 4Christian Castillo (AZ) 5Ethan Rivera (FL) 6Keanu Dillard (PA) 7Antonio Mills III (GA) 8Antonio Rodriguez (CA) Ranked Wrestlers Entering The Weekend: 9 Top Seed & Finish: #1 Anthony Knox (NJ); 1st place Lowest Seed To Place: unseeded Antonio Rodriguez (CA); 8th place New Top 25: #20 Israel Borge (MO), #22 Antonio Rodriguez (CA), #25 Canon Acklin (OK) There were two main storylines at 120 this year. The first was Anthony Knox going for a 2nd Super 32 belt. He got his first in 2021 and was coming back for the second one last year. That got upended by Bo Bassett in the finals and so he had to wait. It wasn’t always clear in the run up to 2023 whether it would be Bassett for a 3rd time, but it would be someone very accomplished either way. With Bassett up a few weight classes now, it turned out to be Christian Castillo. He’s just a Super 32 champion himself, as well as a world champion, Who’s #1 winner, etc. The point is, he’s a highly decorated kid and a more-than-worthy 2 seed to challenge Knox. Only it wouldn’t be Castillo in the finals. PA state champ, and new Wyoming Seminary transfer, Nate Desmond had other ideas. Some of those ideas were that he should be the finalist. And so it was. A 4-1 decision in the semifinals for Desmond. And there he was in the finals against Knox. Knox, who had to get past Desmond’s former teammate, Keanu Dillard, also a PA state champion. And he did that. A 12-2 major decision. It was one more performance in a run of dominance to the Sunday afternoon finals. Ultimately, Knox would prove to be every bit the big favorite he was coming in. In fact, he was the only champion to win every match with bonus points. A feat he now