FloNationals Recap: The Best One Yet

Apr 9, 2013 by Willie Saylor

FloNationals Recap: The Best One Yet
Willie Saylor, Editor

Coming in to the FloNationals 2013, we thought this would be the best one yet.

If I do say so myself, it delivered.

With the talent of the field, the venue, and production of the tournament, FloNationals pushed its own standards to the next level.

Of the three major tournaments this weekend, FloNationals had what was by far the toughest field with double the amount of nationally ranked kids all of whom wrestled in a single bracket. What that meant for us was warriors that were excited to get the best competition they could and incredible bouts even from the early rounds.

What had every talking though, was the production of the event. Held in the brand new Kovalchick Complex that was seemingly built for wrestling viewers, we were able to things unseen before at high school wrestling tournaments: live wrestling and interviews on the big screen, banners of finalists that change weight class by weight class, original Flowrestling videos throughout the tournament.

It was a great show that had coaches and wrestlers thanking us and emailing how happy they were and that they would certainly be back next year.

Everyone competed valiantly and with class. And the officiating was on point. Additionally, it was encouraging to see a diverse field with strong contingents from many states. We thank you all.

One particular thing I was extremely pleased with was the talent and let-it-all-hang-out style of the finalists at the upperweights. It’s not often that the big guys are the stars of the finals. But from 182 on up, they sincerely stole the show. That’s what wrestling’s all about. Let’s hope that’s the start of a trend.

Y'all come back now, ya hear! We're already planning on unique ideas for next year.

Below I’ll go through the brackets and give commentary on how they played out.

106:
Early Rounds: Nolan Hellickson, this year’s Cheesehead Champ, was upset in the first round. NY State Champ, Luis Weierbach went down in the second. The third round saw Yianni Diakomihalis beat Gage Curry in a good match, and Eric Hong beat State Champ Devin Brown in OT.
Quarters: In a highly anticipated match, Pletcher teched Diakomihalis. Tyrone Klump beat IL State Champ, Rudy Yates.
Semis: Spencer Lee and Pletcher both posted majors over surprise semifinalists, Klump and Bloom.
Finals: Pletcher controlled the tempo on his feet.
Placings:
1st Place - Luke Pletcher of Pennsylvania
2nd Place - Spencer Lee of Pennsylvania
3rd Place - Gage Curry of Pennsylvania
4th Place - Eric Hong of Pennsylvania
5th Place - Tyrone Klump of Pennsylvania
6th Place - Shae Bloom of Pennsylvania
7th Place - Ethan McCoy of Pennsylvania
8th Place - Dj Loren of California

113:
Early Rounds: In a good match between two youngsters, Jacob Fontanez beat Todd Lane. George Phillippi (PA) State Champ, beat Cali Runner-Up Sean Williams in another good one.
Quarters: The quarters at 113 were ridiculous. 7 of the 8 were state finalists from power states. The one that wasn’t, Jake Gromacki (PA), beat Israeal Saavedra (CA), 5-3. Markus Simmons (OK) came in on fire and blitzed IL State Champ, Kyle Akins.
Semis: Piccinini put an end to Simmons run by rallying late. Boston edged Gromacki.
Finals: It was Boston’s riding ability that made the difference.
Placings:
1st Place - Nathan Boston of Kentucky
2nd Place - Nick Piccininni of New York
3rd Place - Israel Saavedra of California
4th Place - Jake Gromacki of Pennsylvania
5th Place - Markus Simmons of Oklahoma
6th Place - George Phillippi of Pennsylvania
7th Place - Kyle Akins of Illinois
8th Place - Justin Patrick of Pennsylvania

120:
Early Rounds: Nationally ranked Dom Forys was bounced early. Although his first round win was against Anthony Montanona, who went on to win the MS division. You’ll hear about him in the future. Josh Patrick beat St. Paris Graham’s Brent Moore.
Quarters: 2 PA State Champs, a Cali Champ, and a FL Champ were among the final 8.
Semis: Cruz used two takedowns to beat Prince, 5-3. Krivus had a close one with Cali’s Mason Pengilly, 3-1.
Finals: In a battle of PA State Champs, Krivus escaped in rideouts for the win.
Placings:
1st Place - Sam Krivus of Pennsylvania
2nd Place - Darian Cruz of Pennsylvania
3rd Place - Jared Prince of Florida
4th Place - Mason Pengilly of California
5th Place - Zach Valley of Pennsylvania
6th Place - Kent Lane of Pennsylvania
7th Place - Jamel Morris of Florida
8th Place - Travis Passaro of New York

126:
Early Rounds: Limmex started his improbable run with a win over FL 3xer, Jamal Morris. Drew Walker, who eventually became a finalist, rallied in the third to beat MO 2xer, Joe Velliquette. PA Freshman, Kaleb Young, pinned Cali State Champ, Parada. Magaldo edged Idaho’s Michael Cook to get to the quarters.
Quarters: Magaldo got past 2011 FloNats Champ, Saavedra. Limmex beat Cornell recruit Higginbotham.
Semis: Limmex came out of the shoot and put up a 5-0 lead on defending champ Moisey. Walker completed the unlikely final when he beat Jersey State Champ, Magaldo.
Finals: Limmex controlled the entire bout, putting a ribbon around his cinderella run to a FloNationals title.
1st Place - Nate Limmex of Michigan
2nd Place - Drew Walker of Pennsylvania
3rd Place - Mike Magaldo of New Jersey
4th Place - Zeke Moisey of Pennsylvania
5th Place - Emelio Saavedra of California
6th Place - Joey Velliquette of Missouri
7th Place - Cody Burcher of Ohio
8th Place - Jamal Morris of Florida

132:
Early Rounds: Colton Orrino (WA) continued a nice tournament, getting to the quarters by beating MI Champ Eicher. PA’s Jesse Rodgers took out GA 2xer Chandler Pyke.
Quarters: Nolf stopped Orrino, but Rodgers continued his run, beating 2x CA Runner-Up, Paul Fox. Nick Kelley pinned MI Champ, Justin Oliver.
Semis: Berger dominated Nick Kelley.
Finals: The difference here (as predicted in the FloInsider Preview) was Berger’s riding ability. He had and escape and rode out Nolf in the third for a 2-0 win.
Placings:
1st Place - Tyler Berger of Oregon
2nd Place - Jason Nolf of Pennsylvania
3rd Place - Justin Oliver of Michigan
4th Place - Nick Kelley of New York
5th Place - Paul Fox of California
6th Place - Jesse Rodgers of Pennsylvania
7th Place - Colton Orrino of Washington
8th Place - Zac Carson of Ohio

138:
Early Rounds: Next to Limmex, Cole Landowski was the tournament’s biggest surprise. Landowski started his run by knocking off 2x NY Runner-Up, Vinny DePrez, in the round of 32. PA FR stud, Jake Shaffer took out Bryce Parson (ID) the Tri State Champ.
Quarters: Dippery dominated OH’s Max Rohskopf. Landowski beat GA Champ, Jake Hodges.
Semis: Dippery edged a tough Brock Zacherl. Landowski stayed hot, beating 2x Cali Champ Villareal.
Finals: A second straight final came down to riding ability as Dippery used an escape and ride out to win 3-0.
Placings:
1st Place - Tyson Dippery of Pennsylvania
2nd Place - Cole Landowski of Pennsylvania
3rd Place - Brock Zacherl of Pennsylvania
4th Place - Nikko Villarreal of California
5th Place - Martin Sandoval of California
6th Place - Alec Pantaleo of Michigan
7th Place - Tyler Zimmer of California
8th Place - Jake Hodges of Georgia

145:
Early Rounds: KY 2xer Justin Lampe defeated PA Runner-Up Kyle Barnes. Cali Runner Up Elijah Davis was beaten by PA’s Nolan Barger.
Quarters: Clark dominated Kevin Cooper, who was 3rd here last year and went on to take 4th. Fox Baldwin really struggled with his shoulder in his win over Lampe. But the drama came from the CPags-Leeth bout where it was determined on stall calls.
Semis: Baldwin was forced to forfeit. It was legit. His shoulder was really bad. Clark reversed the Ironman result where Shields beat him.
Finals: CPags won a slow-paced but controlled bout with Clark
Placings:
1st Place - Christian Pagdilao of California
2nd Place - Jack Clark of New Jersey
3rd Place - Josh Shields of Pennsylvania
4th Place - Kevin Cooper of Kentucky
5th Place - Grant Leeth of Missouri
6th Place - Fox Baldwin of Florida
7th Place - Devin Skatzka of Michigan
8th Place - Justin Lampe of Kentucky

152:
Early Rounds: Surprisingly (at least to me) were the number of interesting (again, to me) early round bouts at this weight. Ceravalo, a WV State Champ, teched Heistand (IN). In a battle of state champs, Lujan (GA) dominated Culton (IL). 8th GR sensation, Jelani Embree (MI) went with Jon Jay Chavez for a while, before Chavez pulled away, 10-2. PA State 3rd, Ryan Preisch, took out Prep Runner-Up Zach Kelly. Perkins beat 8th grade phenom, Chase Singletary, already a 2x State Champ from Florida.
Quarters: Law edged Lujan, 5-4 in a scrappy bout. 2x IN Runner-Up Corsaro beat 2x GA State Champ, Pyke. Preisch knocked off Chavez.
Semis: Law edged Corsaro. Perkins ended Preisch’s run with a major.
Finals: Perkins was fantastic, showing length, power, speed, and feel.
Placings:
1st Place - JaVaughn Perkins of Nebraska
2nd Place - Cody Law of Pennsylvania
3rd Place - John Jay Chavez of Idaho
4th Place - Ryan Preisch of Pennsylvania
5th Place - Vinny Corsaro of Indiana
6th Place - Chad Pyke of Georgia
7th Place - Joe Mastro of New York
8th Place - Jordan Atienza of Michigan

160:
Early Rounds: All went according to plan. One kid I noticed was Brad Drover of MA. Not too shabby.
Quarters: In an ugly sequence, Drover broke his wrist against Matthews. Schleifer beat NY Champ Grimaldi in one of the best matches of the round.
Semis: Ever see a tournament without a semi? It happened here. Matthews had a back issue coming in. I haven’t gotten word yet on the Holler injury.
Finals: Martin controlled the match and once again looked great when the pace picked up. In the waning moments, and with the lead, Martin got in on a deep double when Schleifer pulled out a spladle and the win.
Placings:
1st Place - Jonathan Schleifer of New Jersey
2nd Place - Myles Martin of New Jersey
3rd Place - Tyler Grimaldi of New York
4th Place - Dakota Juarez of Michigan
5th Place - Forfeit Forfeit of Unattached
6th Place - Austin Matthews of Pennsylvania
6th Place - Colin Holler of Illinois
7th Place - Seth McLeod of Idaho
8th Place - Zaach Lowen of Idaho

170:
Quarters: Great group here. 7 of the 8 were Top 3 from power states. The ‘other’ was Elliot Antler, a New England Champion. Powerade Champ Zavatsky majored Ohio State Champ Linton. Cali Champ Santos defaulted to Freshman phenom Dietrich, a State Runner-Up from NY.
Semis: In what would be his tightest bout, Renda endge Zavatsky in OT. Ramos looked great in his 6-2 win over Deitrich.
Finals: Renda went up early and stave off a late push by Ramos.
Placings:
1st Place - Peter Renda of Pennsylvania
2nd Place - Ethan Ramos of New Jersey
3rd Place - Zack Zavatsky of Pennsylvania
4th Place - Christian Dietrich of New York
5th Place - Travis Linton of Ohio
6th Place - Tom Sleigh of Pennsylvania
7th Place - Nick Elmer of New Jersey
8th Place - Teddy Warren of Michigan

182:
Early Rounds: Several seeds went down early. Ohio’s Brandon Rogers beat WI Champ Rothwell, the 4 seed. Cali Runner-Up was beaten by Idaho’s Dakota Johnson. In a bout between state placers, Matt Williams (CA) beat NJ’s Liam Korbul.
Quarters: 3xer Chip Ness (GA) edged returning FloNats AA, Mike Macchiavello (NC), 3-2.
Semis: Sebastian and Ness both posted bonus.
Finals: In what started a run of highly entertaining upperweight finals, Sebastian and Ness scrambled through situation after situation, one of which resulted in Sebastain putting Ness on his back.
Placings:
1st Place - Johnny Sebastian of New Jersey
2nd Place - Chip Ness of Georgia
3rd Place - Michael Macchiavello of North Carolina
4th Place - Matthew Williams of California
5th Place - Jake McKiernan of Michigan
6th Place - Jhalen Flanders of Florida
7th Place - Dakota Johnson of Idaho
8th Place - Liam Korbul of New Jersey

195:
Quarters: Hart edged PA qualifier, Temple, 3-1 in OT. 3xer, Tim McDonald (ID) beat 2x Prep Placer, LJ Barlow.
Semis: Sweany beat Ohio State finalist, Kyle Conel, 3-1.
Finals: In a battle of State Champions, Hary (PA) was crafty in a 7-1 win over Sweany. His duck under in the second was a thing of beauty.
Placings:
1st Place - Jacob Hart of Pennsylvania
2nd Place - Jeramy Sweany of California
3rd Place - Tim McDonald of Idaho
4th Place - Kyle Conel of Ohio
5th Place - Lj Barlow of Pennsylvania
6th Place - Evan Ramos of New Jersey
7th Place - Nezar Haddad of Pennsylvania
8th Place - Bailey Faust of Ohio

220:
Early Rounds: Christian Jenco was taken out by Cali placer, Jordan Sepeda.
Quarters: Evan Rosborough (OH) edged Cali Runner-Up Sean Medley in OT. Michigan’s Jordan Brandon posted the biggest upset, beating nationally ranked Dane Pestano (HI).
Semis: Fr. stud Jordan Wood (PA) put an end to Brandon’s run.
Finals: Match of the night. While it was rather one-sided on the scoreboard, Wood had his opportunities. The athleticism by these two guys were amazing. They scrambled out of situations unlike any other big guys I’ve ever seen. Jones even hit an Oliver-esque shin whizzer.
Placings:
1st Place - Derrick Jones Iii of California
2nd Place - Jordan Wood of Pennsylvania
3rd Place - Sean Medley of California
4th Place - Dane Pestano of Hawaii
5th Place - Jordon Brandon of Michigan
6th Place - Evan Rosborough of Ohio
7th Place - Jordan Sepeda of California
8th Place - Franklyn Lantigua of Florida

HWT:
Early Rounds: Nationally ranked Shane Kuhn, 3rd and 4th the last two years in PA, was pinned by MI State Champ, Ryan Prescott.
Quarters: All four bouts were compelling. Nevills pinned. PA State Runner-Up dominated OH Champ, Miller. S32 Runner-Up Fleck beat Prescott. 3x state placer, Evan Daley beat nationally ranked Wesley Bernard.
Semis: Nevills got a scare when Welton put him on his back. Daley stuck Fleck.
Finals: It was all Nevills, who wrestled like a lightweight and piled up points from all positions.
Placings:
1st Place - Nick Nevills of California
2nd Place - Evan Daley of Pennsylvania
3rd Place - Wesley Bernard of Indiana
4th Place - Luke Fleck of Pennsylvania
5th Place - Andrew Welton of Pennsylvania
6th Place - Billy Miller of Ohio
7th Place - Forrest Christmann of Pennsylvania
8th Place - Ryan Prescott of Michigan

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