2017 Super 32 Lightweight Preview

2017 Super 32 Lightweight Preview

Super 32, the toughest folkstyle tournament in the country, gets started Saturday at 8 AM Eastern time, and we're running through all of the weight classes before this year's event returns to Greensboro, NC.

Oct 24, 2017 by Willie Saylor
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It's Super 32 week. The toughest folkstyle tournament in the country gets started Saturday at 8 AM Eastern time, and we're running through all of the weight classes before this year's event returns to Greensboro, NC.

Super 32 brackets are so big and chock-full of studs that we're breaking our tournament preview into three-part series for lightweights, middleweights, and heavyweights.

Today's preview covers 106, 113, 120, and 126 pounds. We listed out all the ranked guys registered and some unranked names to keep an eye on this weekend. Below each weight, you'll see last year's final result as well as a trip down memory lane from 10 years ago.

Without further ado, check out the full preview below. WATCH LIVE HERE.

106lb

2016 Finals: Antonio Lorenzo (Del Oro, CA) decision Greg Diakomihalis (Hilton, NY) 1-0
2006 Finals: David Taylor (St Paris Graham, Ohio) d. Mark Rappo (Council Rock South, PA) 12-3

The Contenders

No. 2 - Jr. Sam Latona, AL - Fargo Champ
No. 3 - Fr. Isaac Salas, CA - Akron Runner-Up
No. 4 - So. Jeremiah Reno, MO - Akron Runner-Up
No. 7 - So. Cullan Schriever, IA - Fargo 6th
No. 11 - Fr. Richard Figueroa, CA - Fargo 3rd
No. 12 - Fr. Vinny Zerban, IL - Fargo 5th
No. 13 - So. Wil Guida, NJ - Fargo Champ
No. 14 - Jr. Brendan Garcia, CO - Fargo 3rd
No. 16 - So. Andrew Chambal, MI - Fargo Runner-Up
No. 18 - So. Anthony Noto, NY - State Champ

Brandon Holt, WV
Drake Ayala, IA
Gary Steen, PA
Nic Bouzakis, FL
Kurtis Phipps, PA
Nick Krug, GA
Jett Strickenberger, CO
Jacob Moran, IN
Jakason Burks, NE
Jake Wohltman, FL
Terry Adams, NY
Wyatt Yapoujian, CO

Commentary: Another loaded leadoff bracket. Every year Super 32 is loaded at 103/106, bringing us proven competitors such as Sam Latona, Cullan Schriever, and Jeremiah Reno as well as newcomers such as Isaac Salas, Richard Figueroa, and Nic Bouzakis.

While most of the credentials listed above are freestyle results, Latona -- who was 3rd at FloNationals -- and Salas, who won USAW Folk Nationals with back-to-back wins over Reno and Schriever, have proven high-level folk success. Vinny Zerban had a win over Schriever at Fargo.

It's almost become a rite of passage that the "next big thing' gets introduced at Super 32. Enter Nick Bouzakis. He's a phenom. Only in 8th grade, if you don't know him now, you will soon enough. The Florida talent, whose father was a New York State legend, is ready for prime time. 

Willie's Dark Horse: Buried among the ranked contenders is Wil Guida. He was a top junior high kid coming up but really hasn't hit the limelight yet in high school. On the same team as two-time Cadet world champion Kurt McHenry, Guida was forced to wrestle at 113 where he took some lumps as an undersized freshman last year. He won Fargo at 100 this summer (check out his pin in the finals below). He's talented, has a great training situation, and is finally a bit bigger.



Picks
Willie - 1) Latona, AL 2) Salas, CA 3) Bouzakis, FL 4) Reno, MO
Nomad - 1) Salas, CA 2) Bouzakis, FL 3) Figueroa, CA 4) Latona, AL
Holmes - 1) Latona, AL 2) Figueroa, CA 3) Reno, MO 4) Bouzakis, FL
Spey - 1) Salas, CA 2) Schriever, IA 3) Bouzakis, FL 4) Latona, AL


113lb

2016 Finals: Adam Busiello (Eastport-South Manor, NY) decision Robert Howard (Bergen Catholic, NJ) 5-2
2006 Finals: Eric Olanowski (Kellam, VA) d. Steve Mitcheff (Elyria, Ohio) 5-3

The Contenders

No. 3 - Jr. Antonio Lorenzo, CA - Returning Champ
No. 5 - Sr. Brandon Kaylor, WA - Returning 3rd, FloNationals Runner-Up
No. 7 - Sr. Cody Phippen, MO - Fargo 3rd
No. 8 - Jr. Sammy Alvarez, NJ - Journeymen Champ
No. 9 - Sr. Andrew Lucero, CO - Fargo 6th
No. 10 - So. Greg Diakomihalis, NY - Returning Runner-Up
No. 11 - So. Anthony Clark, NJ - Fargo 3rd
No. 12 - Jr. Noah Surtin, IL - Fargo Champ
No. 13 - Jr. Eric Barnett, WI - PSN Runner-Up
No. 15 - Jr. Riley Weir, OK - 2x Fargo AA
No. 16 - Sr. Dylan Ryder, NY - FloNationals 5th
No. 17 - Jr. Nick Oldham, IA - Conflict Champ

Beau Bayless, PA
Caden McCrary, GA
Camden Russell, NE
Chris Trelli, CT
Dante Mininno, NJ
Dylan Cedeno, NJ
Gene Quodala, VA
Jacob Lindsey, IL
Justin Pacheco, CO
Kai Orine, MO
Logan Agin, OH
Maximo Renteria, CA
Oscar Sanchez, OH
Ryan Chauvin, FL
Ryan Crookham, PA
Zach Redding, NY
Zeke Escalera, KY

Commentary: A seventh-place finisher in California his freshman year, Antonio Lorenzo came from out of nowhere to start off his sophomore campaign with a Super 32 title last year. He beat Alvarez (who had beaten second-seeded Jeremiah Reno), and then Greg Diakomihalis in the finals. Although Lorenzo is back as the returning champ, the field is tight -- the amount of parity here projects a seemingly infinite number of legitimate title contenders.

Alvarez recently beat Diakomihalis on his way to a Journeymen title, and you can watch that match below. Noah Surtin, the Fargo champ, has a career win over Lorenzo.



Willie's Dark Horse: Never heard of No. 17 Nick Oldham? Neither had I until Conflict at Carver. Oldham placed a humble fifth at his state tournament last year. But at Conflict, he knocked off Matt Ramos in the finals after Ramos beat Fargo champ Dylan Ragusin.

Picks
Willie - 1) Alvarez, NJ 2) Diakomihalis, NY 3) Surtin, IL 4) Clark, NJ
Nomad - 1) Kaylor, WA 2) Diakomihalis, NY 3) Lorenzo, CA 4) Clark, NJ
Holmes - 1) Kaylor, WA 2) Lorenzo, CA 3) Diakomihalis, NY 4) Escalera, KY
Spey - 1) Alvarez, NJ 2) Kaylor, WA 3) Lorenzo, CA 4) Diakomihalis, NY


120lb

2016 Finals: Patrick Glory (Delbarton, NJ) decision Andrew Alirez (Greeley Central, CO) 4-2
2006 Finals: Frank Perrelli (Delbarton, NJ) d. Gabriel Espinosa (Hialeah, FL) 4-2

The Contenders

No. 1 - Sr. Patrick McKee, MN - Fargo Champ
No. 3 - Jr. Adam Busiello, NY - 2x Returning Champ
No. 6 - Sr. Brody Teske, IA - Akron 3rd
No. 7 - Sr. Tommy Hoskins, OH - Fargo 7th
No. 10 - Jr. Gabe Tagg, OH - Ironman Champ
No. 12 - Sr. Graham Shore, OH - State Champ
No. 14 - Sr. Jaret Lane, PA - 2x FloNationals Finalist
No. 15 - Sr. Ben Kamali, MI - FloNationals Champ
No. 16 - Jr. Travis Ford-Melton, IL - Fargo Runner-Up
No. 18 - Jr. Aden Reeves, IA - Fargo 5th
No. 19 - Sr. Antonio Mininno, NJ - Returning 4th
No. 20 - So. Dominick Serrano, CO - Fargo Runner-Up

AJ Burkhart, PA
Anthony Sciotto, NY
Asa Garcia, IN
Cam Enriquez, PA
Brendon Fenton, OH
Christian Nunez, CA
Corey Gamet, MI
Doug Zapf, PA
Dylan Shawver, OH
Julian Sanchez, OH
Logan Heil, OH
Logan Macri, PA
Mick Burnett, OH
Nick Masters, GA
Nick Moore, OH
Phillip Moomey, NE
Reid Ballantyne, MN
Vince Mannella, GA
Zack Witmer, PA

Commentary: Adam Busiello sometimes takes weird losses -- except never in Greensboro. In fact, he's traveled there the last five years and come home with a belt every time. Typically, that would make him an overwhelming favorite. But then there's Patrick McKee.

Anyone who watched Who's #1 had to gasp at how McKee was able to repeatedly avoid being taken down against the solid leg attacks from 2017 world team member Robert Howard. How do you score on the kid?

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Speaking of Howard and the world team, Brody Teske all but had Howard beat at the Cadet trials before giving up a takedown with no time left. He's been solid but not spectacular, and though he has the ability to beat everyone in the field, it would surprise (me at least) if he could do it consecutively.

The final guy I like here is Antonio Mininno, who was ranked in the top three after his state (over Howard) and FloNationals titles; the latter finals video is below. Much like Patrick Glory a year ago, remember that the folkstyle version of Mininno is an entirely different animal.



Willie's Dark Horse: There are several -- including three top three finishers from Fargo. Dominick Serrano and Nick Masters (who gave Anthony Clark his only loss there) were runners-up, along with Moomey, who was third with wins over Jacob Lindsey and Blair's Trevor Mastrogiovanni. Also keep an eye on New York's Anthony Sciotto, who gives everyone fits with his scrambling.

Picks
Willie - 1) Busiello, NY 2) McKee, MN 3) Hoskins, OH 4) Teske, IA
Nomad - 1) Busiello, NY 2) McKee, MN 3) Mininno, NJ 4) Teske, IA
Holmes - 1) McKee, MN 2) Busiello, NY 3) Teske, IA 4) Hoskins, OH
Spey - 1) McKee, MN 2) Teske, IA 3) Busiello, NY 4) Kamali, MI


126lb

2016 Finals: Joey Silva (Lake Highland Prep, FL) decision Austin DeSanto (Exeter Township, PA) 7-2
2006 Finals: Troy Dolan (Derry, PA) d. Jarrod Garnett (Caravel Academy, DE) 6-1

The Contenders

No. 4 - Sr. Julian Chlebove, PA - Returning 3rd
No. 6 - So. Josh Saunders, MO - Returning 5th
No. 8 - Sr. Jakob Camacho, CT - Returning 4th
No. 9 - So. Beau Bartlett, AZ - Ironman Champ
No. 10 - Jr. Jordan Crace, OH - State Champ
No. 11 - Sr. Jarrett Trombley, MI - 3x State Champ
No. 12 - Jr. Cleveland Belton, CA - State Champ
No. 13 - Sr. Chris Wright, PA - State 4th
No. 14 - Jr. Marcus Castillo, AZ - Akron 3rd
No. 16 - Jr. Dylan D'Emilio, OH - Akron Champ
No. 19 - Sr. Ryan Moore, KY - FloNationals 3rd
No. 20 - Sr. Aaron Schulist, WI - Fargo 6th

Andrew Cerniglia, PA
Colton Camacho, PA
Ed Scott, PA
Gabe Hixenbaugh, AL
Keegan O'Toole, WI
Kellyn March, SD
Marckis Branford, PA
Mosha Schwartz, CO
Nathan Bonham, CO
Sam Hillegas, PA
Ty Mills, IN

Commentary: Julian Chlebove is an entirely different guy the one who lost 7-4 in the quarterfinals to eventual champ and current No. 1 Patrick Glory. Chlebove's rubber leg D and reattacks are special, and he proved his mettle with wins by 1-0 over Ryan Anderson, 1-0 over Josh Saunders, and 4-2 over Jakob Camacho for third last year.

Glory was in the registry, but it appears he will not be competing this weekend.

Saunders, Camacho, and Beau Bartlett all have the ability to win it. But like I said about Teske at 120, I don't know if there's enough separation between them and the field to pull off so many consecutive toss-ups.

Saunders and Camacho met in last year's quarters


There are two outside shots at a finals berth that I can't wait to watch. Cleveland Belton won a state title as a sophomore in single class Cali last year. He's built like a fire hydrant and will be a problem. The next guy is Jordan Crace, who this summer bumped up 15 pounds and beat Ironman and FloNationals champ Zack Donathan.

Gotta mention Jarrett Trombley, too. He's an X-factor having not competed too much nationally in quite a while.

Willie's Dark Horse: There's a wrestler in the field with wins in 2017 over three of this year's Fargo finalists. Can you pick him out? Didn't think so. It's unheralded Marcus Castillo, who could be the biggest breakout star this weekend. Oh -- those wins were against Alexander Cruz, Atilano Escobar, and Ryan Franco.

Picks
Willie - 1) Chlebove, PA 2) Crace, OH 3) Saunders, MO 4) Camacho, CT
Nomad - 1) Chlebov, PA 2) Camacho, CT 3) Crace, OH 4) Belton, CA
Holmes - 1) Chlebove, PA 2) D'Emilio, OH 3) Saunders, MO 4) Barlett, AZ
Spey - 1) Camacho, CT 2) Saunders, MO 3) Chlebove, PA 4) Belton, CA


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