How many times have we talked about this rivalry before? Once again it’s a Blair Academy vs Wyoming Seminary battle.
 
Over the past two season the Bucs and Blue Knights have gone back and forth. Last year, Blair outplaced Sem at Ironman (Blair was 2nd and Sem was 4th). Then Sem won the dual, but went on to fall short at National Preps as Blair took home the title. Fast forward to this year where the results have been switched. Each team has sat at the top spot of the ASICS FloRankings at one point this season with Blair currently holding it.
 
Coming into the tournament, Blair has six top-seeded wrestlers to Sem’s two. The biggest match-up that everyone will be watching out for will be at 195-pounds where #1-Chase Singletary and #1 (at 182) Nick Reenan will be on a collision course for a rematch. Singletary gave Reenan his first in-season loss in about two years so you know Reenan will be out for revenge.
 
Anyway, enough about the rivalry we’ve talked about forever. There’s plenty of match-ups that will be well-worth the price of admission.
 
Here are a few other things to watch out for besides the team race:
 

• At 106, the three-man race between Michael Colaiocco, Shane Hanson-Ashworth and Kurt McHenry will be interesting. Especially if Jared Thomas shows up to ruin their party.
• Joey Prata will be looking for his third Prep title at 120 and Jack Mueller is going for his fourth at 126.
• At 145, Eric Hong will try to get back to the top of the podium after coming in second last year but he will have to get by Kevin Budock, who is a two-time runner-up looking for his first title.

There are going to be some awesome battles at each weight, so you won’t want to look away for a second because you never know when the next great contender will arise.
 
Now here are the top contender at each weight class.
 
106
Contenders
#16-Michael Colaiocco, Blair
Shane Hanson-Ashworth, Malvern Prep
Kurt McHenry, St. Paul’s
Paul Trunitch, Archbishop Spalding
Jared Thomas, Good Counsel
Justin Hoyle, Wyoming Seminary
 
Commentary:  Like I said in the intro, this is going to be fun to watch. We could see a rematch of the Beast of the East finals between McHenry and Colaiocco in the finals or it could be Hanson-Ashworth. At the Beast, Hanson-Ashworth was one match (one-point) away from meeting Colaiocco, so he could make up for his missed opportunity this weekend. The darkhorse here is Thomas. But he will have to get by Trunitch, who he lost to twice this year, in the quarters. 
 
Holmes’ picks: 1. Colaiocco  2. McHenry  3. Hanson-Ashworth  4. Thomas
Willie’s picks: 1. Colaiocco  2. McHenry  3. Hanson-Ashworth  4. Hoyle


 
113
Contenders
#20-Chris Cannon, Blair
Benny Baker, Wyoming Seminary
King Sandoval, St. Mary’s
Connor Alexander, St. Christopher
Henry Hague, Malvern Prep
Luke Strapelli, John Carroll
 
Commentary: Cannon is truly the head of the class here. He shouldn’t have too tough of a time taking the title here. As far as who will be meeting him in the final, that’s pretty wide open. Cannon already owns a 19-4 tech over Baker and then Sandoval and Alexander are a pair of promising contenders. Sandoval, who is a returning 5th place finisher, could be the one to come out of the bottom half.
 
Holmes’ picks: 1. Cannon  2. Sandoval  3. Baker  4. Alexander
Willie’s picks: 1. Cannon  2. Sandoval  3. Strapelli   4. Baker



120
Contenders
Joey Prata, St. Christopher
#17-Jack Davis, Wyoming Seminary
#18-Trey Chalifioux, Father Ryan
Cody Trybus, Mount St. Joseph
Mike Madera, Blair
 
Commentary: Can Joey get his third title? It’s possible. Last year he scored the winning takedown in the final seconds of the match to get the 2-1 victory over Zach Sherman, who is now up at 126, to get his second title. He will have his hands full with Jack Davis though. Davis has had a pretty solid year and can be the guy to stop Prata party. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it, but it’s tough to pick against the returning two-timer.
 
Holmes’ picks: 1. Prata  2. Davis  3. Trybus  4. Chalifioux
Willie’s picks: 1. Chalifoux  2. Davis  3. Madera  4. Prata



126
Contenders
#2-Jack Mueller, Trinity Christian
Zach Sherman, Blair
Daniel Planta, St. Paul’s
Malcolm Robinson, St. Johns College
Jake Riegel, Wyoming Seminary
Nick Lattanze, Malvern Prep
 
Commentary: It’s Mueller’s world and the rest of the field is just living in it. However, I am surprised to see him (and Sherman) here at 126 after both were at 120 to start the season. But it shouldn’t make much of a difference as he goes for his fourth title. Planta and Sherman will be another fun one in the semis. Planta got the W when they met at the Beast 3-2 and Sherman won 5-1 at last year’s Prep tournament so these guys know each other well. 
 
Holmes’ picks: 1. Mueller  2. Sherman   3. Reigel 4. Planta
Willie’s picks: 1. Mueller  2. Sherman  3. Planta  4. Robinson



132
Contenders
#12-Requir Van Der Merwe, Blair
Trent Olson, Wyoming Seminary
Jackson Turley, St. Christopher
Imran Heard, St. Johns College
PJ Crane, Malvern Prep
Joseph Rossetti, Exeter
 
Commentary: Van Der Merwe had one of the most controversial matches of the tournament last year against Ryan Friedman in the semis before taking his runner-up finish to Mueller. Van Der Merwe should see Olson in the final where I see him taking it to win the title. The guy to give the top-seeded Buc a problem will be Turley, who he should see in the semis.  
 
Holmes’ picks: 1. Van Der Merwe  2. Olson  3. Turley  4. Crane
Willie’s picks: 1. Van Der Merwe  2. Olson  3. Rossetti  4. Heard

 
 138
Contenders
Peter Tedesco, Belmont Hill
Patrick Munn, Wyoming Seminary
Josh Wyland, Benedictine
Ethan Krause, Georgetown Prep
Quinn Devaney, McDonogh
Shane Brackup, Blair
Eli King, Father Ryan
 
Commentary: Tedesco will look to get back to the finals and claim the title this year. Munn won’t make it easy, but it’s Tedesco’s to lose.
 
Holmes’ picks: 1. Tedesco 2. Munn  3. Wyland  4. Devaney
Willie’s picks: 1. Tedesco  2. Munn  3. King  4. Devaney


 
145
Contenders
#6-Eric Hong, Kiski Prep
#20-Kevin Budock, Good Counsel
Lenny Merkin, Poly Prep
Sam Martino, McDonogh
Jon Errico, Brunswick
Phil Conigliaro, Belmont Hill
Michael Murphy, Baylor
Andrew Merola, Blair
 
Commentary: This is the deepest weight in the tournament. In addition to the two ranked wrestlers, Murphy and Merkin were both ranked at one time. Merola and Conigliaro appear on the Sophomore Big Board. Eric Hong will be looking to get back on top after taking second last year while Kevin Budock is hoping to get on top for the first time after a pair of runner-up finishes the last two years. I’m sorry to say it but, Kevin, I don’t see it happening. Hong is going to bring the heat. I’m not at all saying it won’t be a good, actually great, match, but I am going with Hong to win his first.
 
Holmes’ picks: 1. Hong  2. Budock  3. Conigliaro  4. Merkin
Willie’s picks: 1. Hong  2. Conigliaro  3. Merola  4. Budock



 152
Contenders
#1-Mason Manville, Wyoming Seminary
William MacDonald, Gonzaga
John Manning, Blair
Bailey Thomas, Good Counsel
Mason Reinche, Baylor
 
Commentary: Manville, Mason...
 
Holmes’ picks: 1. Manville 2. Ciccitto 3. Manning 4. MacDonald
Willie’s picks: 1. Manville  2. Reiniche 3. Manning  4. MacDonald


 
160
Contenders
#15-Ryan Karoly, Blair
Will Verallis, Wyoming Seminary
Dale Tiongson, St. Paul’s
Garrett Neff, Good Counsel
Matt Lattanze, Malvern Prep
 
Commentary: Another 1 vs 2 match coming here. Verallis outplaced Karoly at Ironman despite losing to him in overtime in the quarters. But the rematch will be another great one and this time it probably won’t go to overtime. Keep an eye out for the rematch between Tiongson and Neff as well. They met in the 7th place match at the Beast and Neff got the fall in OT so they should bring some fireworks too.
 
Holmes’ picks: 1. Karoly  2. Verallis 3. Neff 4. Tiongson
Willie’s picks: 1. Karoly  2. Verallis 3. Tiongson 4. Lattanze


 
170
Contenders
#6-Brandon Dallavia, Blair
Paul Hutton, Good Counsel
Greg Kleinsmith, Wyoming Seminary
Carter Davis, St. Christopher
 
Commentary: Dallavia should take the title here with a win over Hutton in the final. Hutton came one match away from meeting Dallavia at the Beast in the quarters so this time around I expect him to get his opportunity. But Dallavia will be too much for just about everyone in the field.
 
Holmes’ picks: 1. Dallavia 2. Hutton 3. Davis 4. Kleinsmith
Willie’s picks: 1. Dallavia 2. Hutton 3. Davis 4. Kleinsmith


 
182
Contenders
#8-Michael Beard, Malvern Prep
#6 (at 195)-Christian Dietrich, Wyoming Seminary
Khamari Whimper, Baylor
Brian Hennessy, St. Johns College
 
Commentary: This is going to be an interesting match between Beard and Dietrich. Dietrich had to miss last year’s tournament with an injury so leaving with a title is all that’s on his mind. For Beard, it will be a bit different. Last year he made the final against Reenan, losing 6-4, It should be smooth sailing for both on their way to the finals, but whoever brings the offense will take home the title.
 
Holmes’ picks: 1. Beard 2. Dietrich  3. Hennessey  4. Whimper
Willie’s picks: 1. Beard 2. Dietrich  3. Whimper  4. Hennessy


 
195
Contenders
#1-Chase Singletary, Blair
#1 (at 182)-Nick Reenan, Wyoming Seminary
#18-Ryan Parker, Baylor
#17-RaShon Lusane, Malvern Prep
Kevin Snyder, Good Counsel
 
Commentary: This is the one we all want to see. Reenan won it all last year after coming up short the year before against his now teammate, Mason Manville. Since then it’s been pretty hard to find another guy that has beaten Reenan because they didn’t exist until this year when Singletary got the win over him in overtime. Singletary is a bad match-up for Reenan because he is hard to score on, stays in good position and uses his size advantage nicely. But it’s going to be pretty hard to defeat Reenan twice and I am not sure that Singletary can pull it off.
 
Holmes’ picks: 1. Reenan 2. Singletary 3. Lusane  4. Parker
Willie’s picks: 1. Reenan 2. Singletary 3. Snyder  4. Parker



220
Contenders
#13-Seth Janney, Malvern Prep
#14-Will Hilliard, Wyoming Seminary
Nick Mosco, Blair
Dymir Davis-Carruth, Hill School
 
Commentary: Janney will be making his National Prep tournament debut since transferring to Malvern Prep this season after his runner-up finish at PA states to Jordan Wood. He and Hilliard are pretty evenly matched so expect a good one when they meet in the finals.
 
Holmes’ picks: 1. Hilliard  2. Janney  3. Mosco 4. Davis-Carruth
Willie’s picks: 1. Hilliard  2. Janney  3. Mosco   4. Daniel


 
285
Contenders
Mike Rogers, Wyoming Seminary
Neil Putnam, Blair
Mansur Abdul-Malik, St. Vincent Pallotti
Chidibiere Broderick, Peddie
Owen Rosenberger, Brooks School
 
Commentary: A 5th year Senior, Rogers, couldn’t participate during the regular season, but picking against him just won’t happen. 
 
Holmes’ picks: 1. Rogers  2. Putnam 3. Abdul-Malik 4. Broderick
Willie’s picks: 1. Rogers  2. Abdul-Malik  3. Putnam  4. Rosenberger