Rocco Welsh: Umma Do Me
2023 PA STATE FINALS: AAA DAY 2 UPDATE
Facebook Instagram tkdwn PA PA State Finals AAA Day 2 Semifinals Edit Weight Name School Name School 107 Luke Sirianni Abington Heights Colby Martinelli Pennridge 107 Santino Sloboda Butler Keanu Dillard BECA 114 Nate Desmond BECA Logan Sallot McDowell 114 Carson Wagner Northampton Kaedyn Williams Manheim Township 121 Cael Nasdeo Williamsport Marco Tocci Warwick 121 Mason Ziegler Quakertown Dean Houser Daniel Boone 127 Vinny Kilkeary Greater Latrobe Hayden Cunningham State College 127 Antonio Binni Canon-McMillan Seamus Mack Hempfield 133 Maddox Shaw Thomas Jefferson Cael McIntyre BECA 133 Luke Simcox Central Mountain Anthony Ferraro Pine Richland 139 Pierson Manville State College Blake Reihner Trinity 139 Dalton Perry Central Mountain Kollin Rath BECA 145 Mac Church Waynesburg Asher Cunningham State College 145 Collin Gaj Quakertown Matt Repos Central Dauphin 152 Ty Watters West Allegheny Dagen Condomitti Northampton 152 Lucas Kapusta Hempfield Area Ryan Garvick Central Dauphin 160 Shawn Taylor West Allegheny Bekhruz Sadriddinov Council Rock South 160 Dylan Evans Chartiers Valley Dominic Frontino Shippensburg 172 Rocco Welsh Waynesburg Luke Thomas BECA 172 Matt Furman Canon-McMillan Talan Hogan Pennridge 189 Tucker Hogan Dan Boone Dean Bechtold Owen J Roberts 189 Cole Bartram Northern Hadyn Packer Jersey Shore 215 Sonny Sasso Nazareth John Pardo Kennett 215 Jose Garcia JP McCaskey Dillon Bechtold Owen J Roberts 285 Sean Kinney Nazareth Ty Banco Trinity Area 285 Layton Schmick Carlisle Nick Pavlechko State College Team Standings (Top 5) BECA (68) State College (45) Nazareth (40.5) Quakertown (34) Waynesburg (33) Similar to AA, the leader here, BECA, is running away with it. State College brought 5 qualifiers, still have 4 in the semifinals. Should keep their place here. Nazareth has 6 wrestlers still scoring points including two big favorites at 215 and 285. Waynesburg and Quakertown team finish could come down to a Mac Church vs Collin Gaj finals. Central Dauphin and West Allegheny are just outside the top 5 and one of them could sneak in if things go their way. Storylines BECA maintains stranglehold over AAA. 12 of 13 top seeds alive in semifinals. Top guys dominated quarterfinals. Looking like we get the classic finish at 139. Anthony Ferraro keeps cinderella run alive from pigtails into semifinals at 133. Keanu Dillard and Dean Bechtold alive to be freshman champions. Wrestlers doing the consi run (lose first round, guaranteed medal, still alive): 107 | Max Tancini 121 | Brady Joling 121 | Ryan Klingensmith 189 | Caleb Marzolino 215 | Owen Ott Most Anticipated Semis 114 | Carson Wagner vs Kaedyn Williams 127 | Cooper Hornack vs Cyrus Hurd 133 | Maddox Shaw vs Cael McIntyre 139 | Dalton Perry vs Kollin Rath 145 | Collin Gaj vs Matt Repos 152 | Ty Watters vs Dagen Condomitti 160 | Shawn Taylor vs Bekhruz Sadriddinov 189 | Cole Bartram vs Haden Packer 215 | Austin Johnson vs Dan Church Pennsylvania State Finals Hub
2023 PA STATE FINALS: AA DAY 2 UPDATE
Facebook Instagram tkdwn PA PA State Finals AA Day 2 Semifinals Edit Weight Name School Name School 107 Aaron Seidel Northern Lebanon Cam Baker Burrell 107 Will Detar Trinity Dom Deputy Chestnut Ridge 114 Ayden Smith NDGP Weston Pisarchick Brockway 114 Mason McLendon Susquenita Landon Bainey West Branch 121 Gauge Botero FCA Hudson Hohman Grove City 121 Brandt Harer Montgomery Lucas Fye Bald Eagle Area 127 Chris Vargo Bentworth Hunter Gould Conneaut 127 Cooper Hornack Burrell Cyrus Hurd North East 133 Jaden Pepe Wyoming Area Mason Wagner FCA 133 Scott Johnson Muncy Conner Heckman Midd-West 139 Anthony Evanitsky Wyoming Area Brady Collins Clearfield 139 Reagan Milheim Warrior Run Chase Hontz FCA 145 Kaden Milheim Warrior Run Vince Bouzakis NDGP 145 Ryan Lawler Bishop McDevitt Cade Wirnsberger Meadowbrook Christian 152 Conner Harer Montgomery Cael Weidemoyer FCA 152 Cam Milheim Warrior Run Max Bluhm Lackawanna Trail 160 Grant MacKay Laurel Collin Hearn Conneaut 160 Deegan Ross Lackawanna Trail Hunter Hohman Grove City 172 Holden Garcia NDGP Jalen Wagner Reynolds 172 Adam Waters FCA Braeden Welsh Fort Cherry 189 Rune Lawrence Frazier Magnus Lloyd General McLane 189 Jakob Gilfoil Bishop McDevitt Jackson Zimmerman Brookville 215 Austin Johnson Muncy Danny Church Fort LeBouef 215 Brenan Morgan Central Valley Abe Keep Girard 285 Riley Robell Bishop McDevitt Carson Neely Port Allegheny 285 Aiden Compton NDGP Emmanuel Ulrich Mifflin County Team Standings (Top 5) Faith Christian (79) Notre Dame GP (49) Bishop McDevitt (37) Warrior Run (33) Burrell (30) Faith Christian qualified 11 wrestlers and still have all 11 alive for medals. Margin will only widen. NDGP is likely to get 4 finalists, could finish anywhere from 0 to 4 champions. McDevitt with 3 in semifinals including one of the biggest favorites. Warrior Run has 3 Milheim’s left. You figure at least one is bringing home the state title. The battle for 5th is actually quite interesting. Burrell is there currently but 4 schools are within 4 points of them. All 5 schools have 2 semifinalists and 1 consolation wrestler left. In fact, Muncy is probably the favorite to sneak in here. Storylines Nobody is stopping FCA train. Sierra Chiesa made history qualifying for boys state finals. She reached the bloodround and was eliminated. All the Milheims still alive. 12 out of 13 top seeds still alive in semifinals. Looking forward to the next Holden Garcia vs Adam Waters round in the 172 finals. Grant MacKay looks unstoppable at 160. Riley Robell is a monster, but we knew that. Wyoming Area brought two wrestlers, looking like two champions. Botero and Lawrence top seeds with 1-0 quarterfinals results. Vulnerable? Or biggest obstacle now out of the way? Wrestlers doing the consi run (lose first round, guaranteed medal, still alive): 127 | Hayden Yacoviello 133 | Chase Bell 133 | Noah Doi 139 | Wyatt Lazzar 139 | Liam Cornetto 145 | Chase Burke 152 | Liam Scrivanich 160 | Justice Hockenberry 172 | Lucas Lawler 189 | Jake Scheib 215 | Brayden McFetridge 215 | Dante Burns 285 | Owen Reber 285 | Gavin Thompson Most Anticipated Semis 107 | Will Detar vs Dom Deputy 114 | Ayden Smith vs Weston Pisarchick 127 | Cooper Hornack vs Cyrus Hurd 133 | Scott Johnson vs Conner Heckman 139 | Reagan Milheim vs Chase Hontz 145 | Kaden Milheim vs Vince Bouzakis 215 | Austin Johnson vs Dan Church Pennsylvania State Finals Hub
New Jersey State Finals: Biggest Takeaways
2023 PIAA Team States: Best Duals First of all, what a joke it is they didn’t approve my media credential. Whatever, I’m only still a little bitter over it. Well, Liz, you said I could still write my stories, so here’s a couple, one of which not so great for the NJSIAA. Maybe instead of being so concerned about my company you make a more detailed schedule of each session available to the public. Wrestling starts at 9. What round? All the rounds? Quarterfinals at noon, no quarterfinals at 11, no quarterfinals immediately after the first round of consolations. Who can keep track of that? Do better. Anyway, here’s my 3 biggest takeaways, and the list of boys and girls champions. Harvey Ludington vs Simon Ruiz It’s not often things that are crazy hyped live up to the hype. In fact, it’s rare enough that you can probably think of some singular events or moments or pieces of art like a movie or album that did live up to lofty expectations. Much more are those things that disappoint, leave us wanting, saying that’s it, that wasn’t worth the wait or I can’t believe I was all excited for that. What a let down. Well Ludington, who my friend Brock Hite (with me in attendance) and I affectionately dubbed “Luddy”, and Ruiz, who we didn’t tag with a nickname, definitely falls under that group of things that lived up to it. The hype. It was the most anticipated of all 14 finals matches. A weight for the ages in terms of depth and quantity of contenders. But it had a 1, 2 seed, a 1, 2, punch that everyone was holding out for. Two state champions. A sophomore looking to stay alive for 4. A senior looking to close out a stellar career. And we got it. Friday night solidified it. And from then started the countdown. The individual match itself was fantastic. An early takedown for the veteran Ruiz and he was able to finish the 1st period without giving up the escape, keeping the 2-0 score in tact. That first period ride out would foreshadow the match’s end. Period two began with Ruiz taking down and he was able to get out with about a minute thirty left. This meant Luddy – sorry we’re not actually going to keep calling him that but for now – had that long to try to cut into Ruiz’s lead before the final frame. And when it looked like Ruiz may slide into the 3rd with a 3-0 lead, Ludington struck pay dirt on a leg attack and got the 2, almost as time expired. And then time expired. Trailing 3-2 heading into the 3rd, Ludington would choose down. While the math on that decision generally checks out, the information gained from the 1st period might have suggested you go down to Ruiz, you may never get back up. You take neutral and you have 2 minutes to get a takedown from a vantage point – on your feet – that Ludington had proven to be Ruiz’s equal. Some will say it’s a tough call. Others will say choosing down is a no brainer. I still maintain I’d rather take my chances with a full period of neutral. Anyway, the crowd screamed for stalling as Ruiz put on a 2 minute clinic of mat wrestling. There were moments where Ludington looked to be getting free, so close. But not quite ever out. And that’s how it would end. With Ruiz on top. In this match, on the podium. For his career. He’ll be at Cornell starting next year while Ludington gets two more shots at another NJ state title, being only a sophomore. We commend both on an excellent main event and the best way to end a great three days of Garden State grappling. Team Race Now, the last match of the finals was great in and of itself. And for those left in attendance, they were rewarded for sticking around. I do wonder how much more excitement there could have been had the crowd known about the team race brewing. Earlier in the day, Brock and I looked at the team score and looked out to mat 5 where Aidan Schlett was getting ready to battle for a St Joseph’s Regional team that had come fighting back to take the team lead from Delbarton. Surprised, we started figuring the math. Schlett can get 2 plus any bonus for 5th. 3 finalists means 4 points each plus any bonus after the finals. Well, they entered the finals with a 6.5 point lead. If all 3 finalists win, it’s up to 18.5. Delbarton had 5 finalists of their own. One big underdog at 120 and then 4 favorites. That would be 16 points for the Green Wave and put them 2.5 points behind. They would need bonus in one or two to push them over the top. Either way, it was going to be drama-filled to the end, like the dual between them a month or so ago. And the finals started at 190 and SJR’s Michael Dellagatta came out and handled his business. One down. Mullen took the mat 2 matches later and ultimately had his hand raised in another one of the best battles of the night. Well, 2 for 2. And SJR had themselves a 14.5 point lead. Then the Green Wave had Dan Jones against Anthony Knox and an upset there would have been huge for the team score but it was a massive task as Knox is one of the state’s best pound for pound. So after 120 it would be 138 for the next shot at a champion. And senior Tyler Vazquez came through. Lead down to 10.5. At 144, SJR’s lone remaining finalist, Yannis Charles, took the mat against the kid who had pulled one of the weekend’s most memorable moments with a pin in the semifinals over top seed Julian George. And while SJR
Fresh Men: Rocklin Zinkin, CJ Huerta, Joseph Toscano
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Nicco Ruiz
2023 Illinois State Finals: 2A Quarterfinals
Facebook Twitter Instagram tkdwn 106 Anthony Alanis (Grayslake Central) vs Sammy Niyonkuru (Rock Island) Ivan Munoz (Ottawa) vs Morgan Turner (Bremen) Harrison Dea (Morton) vs Gavin Rockey (Wauconda) Noah Avina (Joliet Catholic) vs Bradley Ruckman (Civic Memorial) 113 Drew Davis (Glenwood) vs Cory Zator (Lemont) Truth Vesey (Rock Island) vs Ben Dunne (Montini) Jason Hampton (Joliet Catholic) vs Nate Randle (Wauconda) Gavin Hanrahan (Antioch) vs Deven Casey (Aurora Christian) 120 Gylan Sims (Joliet Catholic) vs Daniel McGhee (Rock Island) Tyler Evans (Prairie Ridge) vs Dillon White (Mt Vernon) Xavier Villalobos (Rochelle) vs Nore Turner (Bremen) Austin Dangles (St Rita) vs Josh Vazquez (Aurora Christian) 126 Colby Crouch (Triad) vs Nate Sanchez (St Ignatius) Tyler Weidman (Grayslake Central) vs Wyatt Medlin (Washington) Bobby Conway (Brother Rice) vs Caleb Scott (Civic Memorial) Korbin Bateman (Mattoon) vs Jordan Rasof (Deerfield) 132 Santino Robinson (Mascoutah) vs Zach Montez (Geneseo) Jacob Redington (Freeport) vs Adgar Albino (Antioch) Caden Muscleman (Oak Forest) vs Evan Willock (Normal) John Madonna (Glenwood) vs Peyton Cox (Washington) 138 Gauge Shipp (Galesburg) vs Patrick Tinsley (Wheeling) Logan Andrews (Wauconda) vs Dylan Watts (Bloomington) Jake Hamiti (Joliet Catholic) vs Pat Mullen (Aurora Christian) Eli Gonzalez (Washington) vs Anthony Streib (Antioch) 145 Kannon Webster (Washington) vs Rider Searcy (Mt Vernon) Aidan Blackburn (Mattoon) vs Johnny O’Connor (Lemont) Bryce Griffin (Civic Memorial) vs Hunter Daniel (Oak Forest) Josh Holland (Crete) vs Caleb Nobiling (Antioch) 152 David Mayora (Montini) vs Gus Cambier (Sycamore) Aidan Postma (Triad) vs Connor Cumbee (Joliet Catholic) Taythan Silva (Aurora Christian) vs Nick Cheshier (Wauconda) Noah O’Connor (Lemont) vs Collin Reif (Jacksonville) 160 Mason Alessio (Joliet Catholic) vs Zane Hulet (Washington) Ben Butler (Crystal Lake South) vs Ilya Dvoryannikov (Vernon Hills) Nick Mueller (Dunlap) vs Ben Vazquez (Antioch) Will Prater (Montini) vs Zack Crawford (Sycamore) 170 Abe Wojcikiewicz (Civic Memoriał) vs Amare Overton (Rock Island) Cayden Parks (Crystal Lake South) vs Aseal Rubalcava (Evergreen Park) Blake Hinrichsen (Washington) vs Max Corral (Oak Forest) Brenden Banz (Normal) vs Aiden Cohen (Deerfield) 182 Brennan Houser (Mahomet) vs Jack Paris (Fenwick) Brock Metzger (Rochelle) vs Nico Ronchetti (Joliet Catholic) Steven Marquez (Rock Island) vs Phil Shaw (Danville) Chuck Connolly (Brother Rice) vs Matty Jans (Grayslake Central) 195 Mateo Casillas (Mahomet) vs Nate Wrublik (Lemont) Josh Hoffer (Washington) vs Evan Jocic (Montini) Gambino Perez (Brother Rice) vs Brandon Bray (Glenwood) Aiden Taylor (Carbondale) vs Andrew Marquez (Rock Island) 220 Jack Barnhart (Centennial) vs Griffin Carr (Hinsdale) Eduardo Antunes (Evergreen Park) vs Justin Hoffer (Washington) Hunter Powell (Joliet Catholic) vs Alex Hamrick (Glenwood) Connor Lorden (La Salle) vs Alex Jackson (Bremen) 285 Dillan Johnson (Joliet Catholic) vs Lincoln Cooley (Sycamore) Andy Burburijia (Crystal Lake South) vs Robert Hull (Southeast/Springfield) Braden Hunter (Aurora Christian) vs Alex Pasquale (Lemont) Eric Perez-Nava (Bremen) vs Karl Schmalz (Niles Notre Dame) ROUND 1 UPSETS 138 | Eli Gonzalez over Ben Capitosti 138 | Patrick Tinsley over Sam Schuitt 195 | Evan Jocic over Mason Randall BEST QUARTERS 113 | Deven Casey vs Gavin Hanrahan 120 | Tyler Evans vs Dillon White 126 | Korbin Bateman vs Jordan Rasof 132 | Santino Robinson vs Zach Montez 145 | Kannon Webster vs Rider Searcy 152 | David Mayora vs Gus Cambier 160 | Will Prater vs Zack Crawford 170 | Cayden Parks vs Aseal Rubalcava 170 | Zane Pannell vs Kyus Root 182 | Phillip Shaw vs Steven Marquez 195 | Aiden Taylor vs Andrew Marquez 220 | Connor Lorden vs Alex Jackson Illinois State Finals Hub
“All Rise”: Phoenix Blakely Interview
2023 PIAA Team States: AA Notable Duals
2023 PIAA Team States: Best Duals AA Quarterfinals: Notre Dame – Green Pond (ND) vs Faith Christian Academy (FCA) 107 Tanner Berkenstock DEC 7-6 over Kole Davisheiser ND 3 114 Ayden Smith FOR ND 6 121 Gauge Botero F 1:00 over Cooper Feltman FCA 6 127 Arment Waltenbaugh MD 11-2 over Gavyn Kelton FCA 4 133 Mason Wagner DEC 3-0 over Tanner McQueen FCA 3 139 Bryson Vaughn DEC 4-0 over Chase Hontz ND 3 145 Vincent Bouzakis DEC 8-5 over Shane Wagner ND 3 152 Max Stein DEC 4-2 over Keegan Ramsay FCA 3 160 Cael Weidemoyer DEC 5-1 over Joseph Lapenna FCA 3 172 Adam Waters F 0:47 over Edward Melhem FCA 6 189 Holden Garcia TF 21-6 over Jason Singer ND 5 215 Mark Effendian DEC 2-0 over Jared Blobe FCA 3 285 Aiden Compton FOR ND 6 Faith Christian Academy: 28 Notre Dame Green Pond: 26 ___________________________ AAA 3rd Place Match: Central Dauphin vs Canon-McMillan 107 Thunder Beard F 4:38 over Tanner Mizenko CD 6 114 Luke Hitchcock DEC 5-2 over Collier Hartman CD 3 121 Brandon Dami FOR CM 6 127 William Flanagan DEC 5-2 over Ryder Joseph CD 3 133 Andrew Binni MD 20-6 over Dallas Schorr CM 4 139 Gavin Reynolds F 2:28 over Luke Shaffer CD 6 145 Matt Repos F 0:07 over Aaron Fisher CD 6 152 Mike Beers F 1:22 over Racer Litster CD 6 160 Ryan Garvick F 1:11 over Antonio DePaoli CD 6 172 Matthew Furman F 2:51 over Arthur Ruud CM 6 189 Gabriel Stafford MD 18-6 over Eli Poyer CM 4 215 Geno Calgaro FOR CM 6 285 Noah Livesay F 2:48 over Luke Nye CM 6 ADJUSTMENTS: -1 189 GABRIEL STAFFORD Central Dauphin 36 Canon-McMillan 31 ___________________________ Consolation Semis: Waynesburg vs Canon McMillan 107 Tanner Mizenko F 2:48 over Floyd Huff CM 6 114 Ky Szewczyk FOR WC 6 121 Brandon Dami FOR CM 6 127 Ryder Joseph TF 15-0 over Albert Medlen CM 5 133 Luke Shaffer F 4:05 over Luke Rush CM 6 139 Andrew Binni F 3:40 over Daniel Huffman CM 6 145 Mac Church FOR WC 6 152 Nate Jones DEC 7-5 over Josiah Gardner WC 3 160 Jake Stephenson DEC 10-3 over Blake Ward WC 3 172 Matthew Furman MD 12-4 over Roan Tustin CM 4 189 Brody Evans DEC 5-4 over Gabriel Stafford WC 3 215 Rocco Welsh TF 27-12 over Geno Calgaro WC 5 285 Eli Makel F 0:54 over Noah Livesay WC 6 Canon-McMillan 33 Waynesburg Central 32