State Championships Recap: "The I's"

State Championships Recap: "The I's"

State wrestling tournament recaps 2019.

Feb 18, 2019 by Willie Saylor
State Championships Recap: "The I's"
There were a multitude of state championships staged around the country this week. And the "I's" take precedence: Iowa, Illinois and Indiana offer the most results of national impact.

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There were a multitude of state championships staged around the country this week. And the "I's" take precedence: Iowa, Illinois and Indiana offer the most results of national impact.

Other states with championships last weekend were Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and Washington.

Here we'll go around the country sticking to the highlights and noting any upsets, ranked matchups and/or performances of those on Big Boards. 


In Iowa:

3A 106: Freshman Trevor Anderson beat freshman Big Boarder Aiden Riggins en route to the title.

2A 106: Former FR Big Boarder Marcel Lopez beat current FR Big Boarder Stevie Barnes.

3A 113: I'm trying to stick to ranked vs. ranked matchups. But despite #20 Drake Ayala not facing anyone ranked, he was still ultra impressive. Two first period falls before two techs.

3A 120: Cullan Schriever defaulted out of his semi with Carson Taylor, who went on to beat freshman Big Boarder Hunter Garvin in the finals.

1A 120: In perhaps the most anticipated bout of the entire state tournament, Adam Allard beat Daniel Kimball in a battle of returning champs. 8-3 for Allard.

3A 126: #15 Caleb Rathjen in the finals over HM Nick Oldham, 3-2.

2A 126: #58 on the freshman Big Board, Hayden Taylor won a title. 


In Illinois:

3A 113: Ranked fifth nationally, Jake Rundell was unable to compete due to illness. #15 Colton Drousias won the title beating former state champ Jacob Lindsey in the semis.

3A 120: #15 Noah Surtin and #14 Matt Ramos have gone back and forth this season, but it was Ramos with the 8-4 decision in the finals for the title.

3A 126: Monster bracket with four wrestlers who have been ranked. #13 Dylan Ragusin emerged with the title by beating #16 Anthony Molton and Joel Vandevere. Our #25 sophomore in the country, Vandevere, beat #17 Travis Ford-Melton in the semis.

3A 138: Perhaps the most unpredictable brackets of the weekend. Fargo third-placer Luke Odom dropped his opening match to senior Pat Nolan. In a battle of two of the top freshmen in the country, Damien Lopez beat Brody Hallin. Meeting in the finals were two unheralded seniors who really came on this season. St. Charles' Justin Benjamin beat Marmion's Ryan Fleck. 

3A 145: #9 Trevor Chumbley took out Akron finalist #13 Fidel Mayora, 2-1 OT.

3A 152: In another all-ranked final, #5 Jake Stiles beat #18 Reece Heller, 7-3.

2A 170: Old Dominion recruit and sixth-ranked Alex Cramer lost a 1-0 match to senior Major Dedmond in the finals.

3A 182: #4 Abe Assad got revenge for a loss at sectionals last week, pinning Jon Halverson in the finals in the first period.

3A 195: The fifth all-ranked final in 3A in Illinois saw #1 Pete Christensen beat #14 Blah Dahnweih, 3-1.

2A 220: #13 Jacob Bullock edged sophomore Big Boarder Apollo Gothard, 1-0 in the finals. 

2A 285: #4 Luke Luffman over Fargo Champ #14 Hayden Copass by fall in the finals.


In Indiana:

106: Freshman Big Boarder Brennan Cernus got it done in single-class Indiana. He beat returning runner-up Alex Cottey 6-0.

113: Returning champ #19 Jacob Moran 3-0 over freshman Big Boarder Zeke Seltzer for the title.

126: Freshman Big Boarder Jesse Mendez in one of the nation's deepest state brackets. He beat returning state champ Hunter Watts in the semis. In the other half, Ray Rioux upset two-time returning champ Brayden Curtis. Watts beat Curtis for third.

132: #17 Asa Garcia repeated as champ over HM Alec Viduya with a first period fall.

145: In the bottom half, returning state runner-up Alex Mosconi beat sophomore BB's Aiden Warren. HM Matt Lee won the top half then beat Mosconi in the finals, 5-2.

152: The top four were all underclassmen. Elliot Rodgers won the title by beating Cooper Noehre in the finals. 

160: Jordan Slivka beat #15 Donnell Washington 12-7 in the finals. Slivka is committed to Ohio University. 

170: Another entry in the "best bracket of the year" category. Clayton Fielden won the top half that included HM's Derek Blubaugh and Graham Calhoun. Nick South came out of the bottom bracket by virtue of a 1-0 win over HM Joe Walker. South, a Hoosier commit, majored Fielden 11-0 in the finals.

182: One of the best freshmen in all the country, Andrew Donahue, won the top half with #15 Carson Brewer coming out of the bottom. It was Brewer for the title 6-2 in the finals. 


In Georgia:

The Freshmen: Michael Kilic, Matt Singleton, Chase Horne and Noah Pettigrew all appear on the FR Big Board and all of them won state titles.

Caleb Henson, the highest of all the Georgia FR Big Boarders, suffered his first defeat of the year in state finals (to Jackson DiSario). 

The youth movement in Georgia is strong with 19 freshmen reaching the finals across the seven divisions. 

Another Georgian on the FR Big Board, David Harper won a state title in Tennessee this weekend. 


In Missouri:

Class 4 Team Race: Most fans thought it would be a two-way race between Park Hill and Liberty, but Christian Brothers won by 10 points over Liberty by virtue of four straight individual titles in the middle weights. 

Class 4 126: #6 Kai Orine beat sophomore Big Boarder Ethen Miller in the finals, 8-0.

Class 4 220: Junior Kale Schrader completed an undefeated season by pinning former Big Boarder Ashton Sharp in the finals.


In Nebraska:

Class A 132: #11 Phil Moomey, a Cornell recruit, won his third state title by beating FR Big Boarder Antrell Taylor, 7-3 in the finals. 


In Virginia:

New Kent Movement: You were probably impressed with the freshmen success listed in the Georgia section. Well how bout this: New Kent has three on the FR Big Board and two on the honorable mention list. All five made the state finals in Virginia with the three on the Big Board winning titles. 

Incredibly, only four of the 14 champs in Class 3 were seniors.