2016 Walsh Ironman

2016 Walsh Ironman Preview: 152-285

2016 Walsh Ironman Preview: 152-285

The Walsh Jesuit Ironman 152-285 preview leads off with the second toughest weight class of the tournament, and you certainly won't want to blink when these wrestlers hit the mats on Friday and Saturday.

Dec 9, 2016 by Ryan Holmes
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We've already taken a look at the great competition that is competing at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman at 106-145 pounds, and now it's time to dig into the tournament's other half of the contenders at 152-285 heading to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, on Friday and Saturday.

This preview leads off with the second toughest weight class of the tournament, and you certainly won't want to blink when these wrestlers hit the mats. Watch it all go down live on FloWrestling this weekend.

152

Contenders
1. No. 1 David Carr - Massillon Perry, OH
2. No. 3 Quentin Hovis - Poway, CA
3. No. 5 Anthony Artalona - Tampa Prep, FL
4. No. 10 (at 160) Julian Ramirez - Blair Academy, NJ
5. No. 10 Rocky Jordan - St. Paris Graham, OH
6. No. 17 Hunter Willits - Pueblo County, CO
7. Connor Brady - Olentangy Liberty, OH
8. Jason Romero - Pomona, CO
9. Nick Giantonio - Christiansburg, VA
10. Bryce Marcus - St. Thomas Aquinas, FL
11. Brock Wilson - Nazareth, PA

Commentary: The 152-pounders are the second deepest weight after 126. The David Carr versus Quentin Hovis matchup was close when they met last year at the Beast of the East, and if they meet again it will be just as close. But I won't say that that match is destined to happen. This is a very deep field. Outside of the Hovis and Carr there are three guys just waiting for their chance to pounce. Julian Ramirez is tough, and I think that this will be a good test for him. He's beaten some top-level guys, but he will have to really pull out the big guns to get the job done here. Anthony Artalona is another Florida boy ready to do some damage, but my eyes are on Rocky Jordan. All I'll say when it comes to him is watch out. This weight is going to be nothing but flames.

Picks
Holmes: 1. Carr  2. Hovis  3. Jordan  4. Ramirez
CP: 1. Carr  2. Hovis  3. Jordan  4. Artalona
Bratke: 1. Carr  2. Hovis  3. Ramirez  4. Jordan
Willie:  1. Carr   2. Hovis   3. Brady   4. Willits

David Carr claims the Ironman title in OT over Cadet World champion Jarod Verkleeren.

160

Contenders
1. No. 4 Max Wohlabaugh - Winter Springs, FL
2. No. 6 Hunter Bolen - Christiansburg, VA
3. No. 14 Luke Troy - Martin Luther King, CA
4. No. 13 (at 152) Andrew Merola - Blair Academy, NJ
5. No. 17 Nick Kiussis - Brunswick, OH
6. Georgio Poullas - Canfield, OH
7. No. 20 (at 152) Erich Byelick - Lake Highland Prep, FL
11. Mason Smith - Walton Verona, KY
12. Caleb Wise - Broken Arrow, OK

Commentary: With top-seed Kyle Lawson now out, things change a little. But even before Lawson was taken out, Hunter Bolen stuck out like a sore thumb for some reason when I looked at this list of contenders. He's got a lot to work with, and I can see him in the finals against Luke Troy. My dark-horse pick is Andrew Merola. I know, I know. He's a legit guy, so why is he my dark horse? Because I think that as a No. 5 seed he's properly placed to do some low-key damage and maybe sneak up on someone.

Picks
Holmes: 1. Bolen  2. Troy  3. Merola  4. Kiussis
CP: 1. Bolen  2. Troy  3. Wohlabaugh  4. Merola
Bratke: 1. Bolen  2. Wohlabaugh   3. Merola  4. Troy
Willie:  1. Wohlabaugh   2. Bolen  3. Merola  4. Byelick

Hunter Bolen punches his ticket to the FloNational finals.


170

Contenders
1. No. 1 Mikey Labriola - Bethlehem Catholic, IL
2. No. 3 Ryan Karoly - Malvern Prep, PA
3. No. 5 Bryce Rogers - Lake Highland Prep, FL
4. Casey Cornett - Simon Kenton, KY
6. No. 18 Joey Baughman - Wadsworth, OH
8. David Crawford - Canfield, OH
9. Trevor Lawson - Olentangy Liberty, OH
12. Jake Hendricks - Wyoming Seminary, PA

Commentary: For me, it's a three-horse race between Mikey Labs, Ryan Karoly and Brown-bound Bryce Rogers, who really opened some eyes when he won the title at Super 32. Karoly will have his hands full with Rogers in the semifinals. Mikey Labriola has a pace that is going to be tough for these guys to match. It's going to be fun to watch them scrap.

Picks
Holmes: 1. Labriola  2. Rogers  3. Karoly  4. Lawson
CP: 1. Rogers  2. Labriola  3. Karoly  4. Cornett
Bratke: 1. Labriola  2. Rogers  3. Karoly  4. Cornett
Willie: 1. Labriola  2. Karoly  3. Rogers  4. Tarantino

Mikey Labriola defends his No. 1 ranking at Who's #1.


182

Contenders
1. No. 1 Michael Beard - Malvern Prep, PA
2. No. 13 (at 182) Chasen Blair - Rancho Bernardo, CA
3. No. 6 Travis Stefanik - Nazareth, PA
4. J.T. Brown - Elyria, OH
7. Tyler Stepic - St. Edward, OH
10. Carter Davis - St. Christopher's, VA

Commentary: This weight is deeper than it looks. It may not have the huge cast of characters, but what it does have are some serious competitors. If Beard wrestles like he did at Who's #1, it's going to be incredibly hard to keep up with him. I think this will be a good way to gauge where Princeton commit Travis Stefanik is at early in the year. Stefanik has put on some legit size since placing third in the state this past season at 160 and winning FloNationals. So it will be a good way to see how he handles the weight jump. Tyler Stepic will certainly outplace his seed. He's got the tools to maybe even pull some big upsets.

Picks
Holmes: 1. Beard  2. Stefanik  3. Blair  4. Stepic
CP: 1. Beard  2. Stefanik  3. Blair  4. Brown
Bratke: 1. Beard  2. Stefanik  3. Blair  4. Brown
Willie: 1. Beard  2. Stefanik  3. Blair  4. Brown

Michael Beard dominates at Who's #1.


195

Contenders
1. No. 1 Jacob Warner - Washington, IL
2. No. 19 (at 220) Nick Mosco - Blair Academy, NJ
3. Aaron Naples - Brunswick, OH
4. Danny Salas - St. John Bosco, CA
5. Tony Banister - Wauseon, OH
7. Josiah Gittman - St. Thomas Aquinas, FL
14. Jody Crouse - Bethlehem Catholic, PA

Commentary: This is Jacob Warner's world. He's in a class all his own here. Last year he gave Nick Reenan a run for his money in the finals at 182, and after watching him at Worlds this past summer it's pretty apparent that he has made some serious improvements. Danny Salas will be a tough opponent for Warner in the semifinals, but in the end it will be all about the future Hawkeye.

Picks
Holmes: 1. Warner  2. Naples  3. Salas  4. Mosco
CP: 1. Warner  2. Mosco  3. Salas  4. Naples
Bratke: 1. Warner  2. Mosco  3. Salas  4. Banister
Willie: 1. Warner  2. Mosco  3. Naples  4. Salas

Jacob Warner claims Cadet World bronze.


220

Contenders
1. No. 1 Chase Singletary - Blair Academy, NJ
2. No. 3 Cohlton Schultz - Ponderosa, CO
3. No. 4 Jared Campbell - St. Edward, OH
4. No. 6 Ben Sullivan - National Trail, OH
5. No. 15 Ben Goldin - Lake Highland Prep, FL
6. No. 19 Brady Daniel - Good Counsel, MD
7. Jeffrey Allen - Amherst County, VA
9. Jace Punke - Washington, IL

Commentary: Two of my favorite big men, Chase Singletary and Cohlton Schultz, are on a collision course for one another like a pair of freight trains, and when they hit in the finals expect to see an explosion. Schultz already owns a pretty convincing win over Campbell, but if you know Campbell, you know he's coming hard. However, I still see it going Schultz's way. Ben Sullivan isn't being overlooked and shouldn't be by anyone, but he's going to need his A-plus game to beat Singletary. Also, expect Ben Goldin, Brady Daniel and Jeffrey Allen to do some good things too. Allen didn't have the outing he was hoping for at S32 so he'll be looking to get on the right track at Ironman.

Picks
Holmes: 1. Singletary  2. Schultz  3. Campbell  4. Sullivan
CP: 1. Singletary  2. Schultz  3. Campbell  4. Allen
Bratke: 1. Singletary  2. Schultz  3. Campbell  4. Goldin
Willie: 1. Singletary  2. Schultz   3. Daniel   4. Campbell

Chase Singletary defeats Jared Campbell at Junior Duals.


285

Contenders
1. No. 5 Kevin Vough - Elyria, OH
2. No. 12 (at 220) Seth Janney - Malvern Prep, PA
3. No. 11 Niko Camacho - Bethlehem Catholic, PA
4. Trenton Lieurance - Broken Arrow, OK
5. Wade Wheeler - Amherst County, VA
6. Jake Levengood - Vacaville, CA

Commentary: Kevin Vough has returned. Last year he was still pretty banged up from a rough football season and missed Ironman along with a good portion of the regular season. There is a good crop of big men in Cuyahoga Falls that will be looking to get the job done against Vough, who has made it to the finals at Ironman before. Vough is the obvious front-runner, but it's anyone's game. I do like the potential matchup between Seth Janney and Niko Camacho, though. I feel like that one will be won late.

Picks
Holmes: 1. Vough  2. Camacho  3. Lieurance  4. Janney
CP: 1. Vough  2. Janney  3. Camacho  4. Lieurance
Bratke: 1. Vough  2. Janney  3. Camacho  4. Lieurance
Willie:  1. Vough  2. Camacho  3. Janney   4. Lieurance

Kevin Vough pins in the 2014 Ironman finals.


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