National high school wrestling notebook (12/4/2023)

Each week during the 2023-24 high school wrestling season, look for the SBLive National Wrestling Notebook as we review recent action on the mat and take a look at what is coming up.

Here is the first edition.

Note: The individual rankings referenced here are from SBLive Sports National High School Wrestling Rankings. The team rankings mentioned are by Mat Scouts.

Wyoming Seminary (Pennsylvania) dominates its first two dual meets of the season

Friday night saw the debut of a powerful Wyoming Seminary squad, which is ranked No. 1 in the nation, as it hosted No. 6 Faith Christian Academy in a battle of Pennsylvania powers. Seminary’s strength proved too much as this turned out to be a surprisingly one-sided affair with Seminary posting a 44-12 win.

No. 1 Joe Bachmann got Faith Christian Academy off to a solid start at 106 when he posted a 7-3 win over Shamus Regan in a match that featured far more action than their 1-0 meeting at Super 32.

The good vibes from that win started to fade quickly as No. 11 Davis Motyka put Seminary’s first points on the board with a 7-4 win over Kole Davidheiser at 113lbs. The Blue Knights would go on to win the next eight matches to take an insurmountable 37-3 lead before tasting defeat again.

Putting wins in the book for Seminary were No. 2 Luke Lilledahl (126), Michael Trujillo (138, Honorable mention), Smokey McClure (145), No. 3 Vince Bouzakis (150), Anthony Evanitsky (157, No. 19 at 157), and Joe Sealey (165, No. 1 at 157). McClure’s win came over No. 18 Shane Wagner. No. 4 Nathan Desmond (120) and No. 11 Matthew Botello (132) received forfeits.

No. 4 Adam Waters stopped the bleeding for the Lions with a 3-1 win over No. 16 Dominic Federici. Seminary jumped right back in the win column with Jake Dailey (190, No. 17 at 157) and No. 2 Jude Correa (215) snuffing out their opponents. No. 9 Mark Effendian collected a forfeit at 285 to add six to the Lions' final tally.

The Blue Knights followed up that Friday night showdown with a Saturday matinee versus Green Farms Academy from Connecticut. The outcome was another lopsided win for Seminary, 52-9. Two highlights from the dual were Federici downing Xavier Giles (No. 17 at 165), 7-3, at 175 and Nathan Taylor (No. 22 at 175) winning a 5-2 match over Dailey at 190.

Pomona wins Battle of the Best Duals in Colorado

Sticking with dual meets, we shift our focus to the other side of the country for the Battle of the Best Duals held at Pine Creek High School in Colorado. No. 24 Pomona from Colorado captured the team crown with a 39-31 win over No. 23 Sunnyside (Arizona). Pomona also defeated two Colorado rivals in No. 27 Ponderosa, 48-25, and the hosts Pine Creek, 59-9.

Going unscathed over the two days at 8-0 for Pomona were Logan Dellow (106), Kyden Silz (113/120), Ignacio Villasenor (113/120, No. 2 at 106), and Kalob Ybarra (165). Posting 7-1 records were Derek Barrows (144), Dante Hutchings (175), and Maddux Najera (190).

Geno Cardenas was 4-1 at 138 and Adrian Arellano was 6-1 at 285. Tyler Capps (150) and Emmitt Munson (157) were 6-2, while Angel Serrano (132) was 5-2. Barrows’ loss was to Sunnyside’s Carlos Stanton (No. 19 at 138), 8-3.

Sunnyside downed Ponderosa, 54-17, and Pine Creek, 54-10.

Mt. Carmel (Illinois) wins Dan Gable Donnybrook

One of the legends of the sport has a tournament named after him and it takes place on the hollowed grounds of Iowa at the Xtream Arena in Coralville. No. 14 Mt. Carmel from Illinois was the highest-ranked team in the field and came away as champions by 10 points over unranked Liberty, Missouri, 401-391.

Mt. Carmel pushed four wrestlers to the finals and saw two of them pocket upset wins to claim their glory. At 157, No. 20 Eddie Enright needed overtime to gain his advantage with a reversal of Kael Voinovich (Iowa City, No. 18 at 150) for the 5-3 victory.

Mt. Carmel (Illinois) wrestler Eddie Enright poses with wrestling legend Dan Gable after Enright won the 157lbs. weight class at the Dan Gable Donnybrook last weekend in Iowa.

No. 15 Colin Kelly was in control of his 175lb final match with No. 13 Peyton Westpfahl (Liberty) from the opening whistle. Handing his foe a 7-3 decision.

Mt. Carmel’s other champ, No. 7 Set Mendoza cruised to a 9-4 win over Koufax Christensen (Waukee Northwest, Iowa) at 126lbs. Justin Williamson came up short in his title quest at 113.

Liberty crowned two champs. Hunter Taylor had little trouble with Williamson at 113, rolling to a 13-1 major decision. Gavin Linsman (No. 16 at 144) was challenged from the start of his 150lb title match with Bas Diaz (Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa), walking away as the victor, 1-0.

Wisconsin’s West Bend West saw the Mirasola brothers claim supremacy at their weights. No. 2 Conner Mirasola handled business as expected at 190 with a 25-10 thrashing of Nico Ronchetti (Joliet Catholic, Illinois).

Cole Mirasola is ranked No. 3 at 215, and a meeting with No. 6 Dreshaun Ross (Fort Dodge, Iowa) would certainly have been a match not to miss, but Mirasola chose to, literally, go after the bigger challenge and moved up to heavyweight to face off with No. 2 Dillan Johnson (Joliet Catholic).

For most of the match, Johnson’s size advantage loomed large but in the end with only a few seconds on the clock, Mirasola used his quickness to secure a late takedown and the 5-4 win.

Ross won the 215lb crown with a 2-1 win over Joey Favia (Marmion Academy, Illinois). His teammate, Dru Ayala (No. 12 at 113) captured the 120lb gold with a 2-0 decision of Luke Koenen (Wayzata, Minnesota). Koenen upset Nicholas Garcia (Marmion Academy, No. 10 at 113) 2-1 in the semis.

Iowa’s Don Bosco saw two grapplers reach the top of the awards stand with Hayden Schwab decking Benjamin Walsh (Ankeny, Iowa) in the third frame, 4:31. Koy Davidson secured the 138lb title with a 3-1 overtime win against Kael Kurtz (Iowa City).

Two more Iowans staked claim to top honors, No. 22 Kane Naaktgeboren (Linn-Marr) edged Jayden Hauter (Apple Valley, Minnesota), 8-6, at 144. Bettendorf’s Lincoln Jipp put a tech fall on the bracket, 16-1, over Max Astacio (Woodstock, Illinois) at 165.

Wayzata’s No. 10 Logan Swensen handily defeated Jayce Luna (Bettendorf) 10-1 for the 132lb gold.

PennStro Leasing Kickoff Classic

In a field that was all Pennsylvania teams, Council Rock South came out on top at Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg, outpacing traditional powerhouse Nazareth, 202.5-175.

Both squads placed four wrestlers in the finals, but the Golden Hawks crowned three champions to one for the Blue Eagles. Claiming gold for Council Rock South was Connor Lenahan with a 6-5 win over Bishop McDevitt’s Zane Crouse at 114lbs. At 121, Luke Reitter used an 8-5 decision of Greyson Music (Bishop McDevitt). Bekhruz Sadriddinov (No. 15 at 165) flattened Pennridge’s Talan Hogan 3:16 into their 172lb title bout.

Gavin Cole (160) was second for the Golden Hawks. Anthony Mutarelli (No. 20 at 126) placed third at 133, Pat Woloshyn was fourth at 127. Placing fifth were Ajay Bhatt (139) and Jeffrey Gessner (285). Scott Linkewich was sixth at 189.

Nazareth’s lone champ was No. 4 Sean Kinney, who claimed the heavyweight gold with a first-period fall of Logan Kurzweg (Wilson West Lawn), 1:25. Settling for silver were Tahir Parkins (139, No. 12 at 132), Jack Campbell (145), and Cade Campbell (152).

Bishop McDevitt claimed two wall charts with the biggest being Camden Baum’s upset of Parkins, 3-1 in overtime, at 139. At 152, Ryan Lawler also downed a Blue Eagle, Cade Campbell, 9-5.

Montgomery Area High School saw the Harer brothers earn top dog status as No. 14 Brandt blew out Hayden Yacoviello-Andrus (Bermudian Springs), 14-1. To reach the final, Brandt edged Mutarelli, 4-3, in the semis. Conner Harer (No. 5 at 157) staked claim to the 160lb gold with a 17-9 major decision of Gavin Cole.

Northern York’s No. 8 Cole Bartram was the only other nationally ranked champion in the field, and he put a 9-2 win over Caden Finck (Montgomery) on the final line of his bracket.

West Scranton’s Michael Turi has appeared in the honorable mention section of the rankings in the past. Turi won the 145lb gold with a 5-1 decision of Jack Campbell.

Downington West’s Brayden Sigle (106), Wilson West Lawn’s McKaden Speece (127), and Manheim Central’s Noah Templin (215) round out the champions.

Southern Slam

The 2023 Southern Slam in Taylors, South Carolina features some of the best teams from the southern region, and Buford, Georgia came out on top 219.5-207 over the Baylor School from Tennessee.

Both crowned three champions, but Buford had six in the finals compared to four for Baylor. DJ Clarke (113) and Drew Gorman (138, No. 6 at 132) won their golds for Buford using tech falls in the finals. Heavyweight Albert Butler had a 3-1 showdown with Garrett Crowder (Dobyns Bennett, Tennessee).

Securing silver for the Wolves were Grayson Santee (165), Conor McCloskey (190, No. 25 at 175), and Aaron Riner (215). Gavin Pope was fourth at 144 and Hudson Danielson was sixth at 150 to round out Buford’s award winners.

The Normans both collected falls in the finals for Baylor with Titus (150) dropping George Maholtz (Eastside, South Carolina) and Maximus (165, HM) planting Buford’s Santee. Hunter Sturgill (No. 17 at 150) claimed the 157 title with a 14-1 win over Eli Murray (Lake Norman, North Carolina).

Georgia’s Mill Creek led the champion count with four but surprisingly, only placed fourth behind Eastside. Teequavius Mills needed overtime at 106 to take out Nate Manos (Eastside), 9-7. Antonio Mills (No. 15 at 120) saw his 126lb bout end with a 12-5 decision over Roman Belardo (Jefferson, Georgia).

In a battle of honorable mention wrestlers at 138, the 144lb title went to the Wolve’s Blue Stiffler with a 2-1 win over Red Raider’s Nate Askew. At 175, Dom Bambinelli (No. 5 at 165) dismantled JT Spence (Liberty, South Carolina), 24-7.

The host state claimed two titles, both in the upper weights with No. 21 Cason Howle sliding by McCloskey, 3-2, at 190. Eastside’s Baron Leonard won an overtime match with Riner, 4-3, at 215.

Mason Jakob (Dobyns Bennett, HM) won the 120lb gold with a tech fall over Preston White (Chapin, South Carolina), 18-3. Tanner Spalding (Woodward Academy, Georgia) blanked Conner Doherty (Mt. Pisgah, Georgia), 16-0, for the 132lb gold.