Day one showed why Powerade is one the very best high school tournaments in the country, featuring some of the brightest stars in the sport, a few crazy upsets, and the best 170 pound bracket you will likely find all year. 

Day two kicked off with some sizzling semis and now we are just a parade of champions away from diving into the finals. 

Watch the 2019 Powerade Live On FloWrestling

Dec. 27-28 | 8:15 a.m. ET

No shortage of drama remains as we look to find out if we will see a three-time champion, the coronation of a local superstar, a continuation of a magical run from a pinning machine, Pennsylvania big boy bragging rights and a single bright spotlight on one of the most athletic clashes of the year. Let’s get you up to speed before strapping on our red and green ankle bands..

106: Mac Church vs Briar Priest

This entire bracket blew itself to bits early on day one, with Mac Church as the only seeded survivor headed to day two with championship dreams intact. Following a tight quarter with Jacob Van Dee, his semi was a normal day at the office. 

Briar Priest emerged from the craziness on the other side and is super active, racking up points from every position. He beat Danny Sheen in his second match by some distance and has never looked back. Can Church contain him, as he likes a much more controlled setting to stage his sequences, or is Priest a whirling dervish of activity coming at him from all angles? That will tell the story of this one.

113: Gary Steen vs Carter Dibert

After all of the excitement at 106 it was a bit of a relief for the seeds at 113 to hold tight. Steen has been dominant in looking like the title is virtually his already, while Dibert had to grind one out against Brennen Cernus. This is a repeat of the 106 semi last year that Steen controlled 3-0 and Dibert will be working hard to reverse history and come out on top.

120: Dominic Chavez vs Kyle Hauserman

One of the big questions entering Powerade was how will Texas state champ Chavez handle the rugged landscape of Western Pennsylvania lightweights. It can be a harrowing adventure for even the best prepared. Chavez has handled it all just fine (as I predicted - pats back repeatedly) and has also displayed a power and determination on the edges that might have come as a surprise to those in attendance. 

Hauserman is the quintessential PA grinder and managed to side step the casualties mounting in this bracket as he progressed through. He had an epic (VERY PA style) semi win over Joey Fischer, getting a reversal deep in ultimate tie-breakers, and will need to fully recharge during the break if he is to stop Chavez’s stampede.

126: Nic Bouzakis vs Kurtis Phipps

The 126 field was kind enough to provide us with a fair amount of excitement as freshman Meyer Shapiro and Rocco Welsh cut through the competition early. Unfortunately for both, Bouzakis and Phipps were having nothing to do with that and ended their runs with ease in the semis. Bouzakis has been, well… Nic Bouzakis. Crushing everyone with his quickness and power and generally looking unstoppable. 

Phipps has had a lot more work to do but he arrives full of confidence and ready for action. A raised hand with Bouzakis in his Greco hat feels inevitable, but Phipps will be doing all that he can to prevent it.

132: Alejandro Herrera-Rondon vs Gabe Willochell

I sent a good chunk of the preview anticipating a revenge match for Herrera-Rondon with Drew Munch, but Gabe Willochell must have spent his time gameplanning instead of reading my forecasts as he has been the story of this bracket, and has the opportunity to make himself the story of the entire tournament. 

Pinning his way to the final he has been ruthless in snatching his chances and springing into action with the ref slapping the mat before anyone knows what hit them. Any engagement in the first period has always ended up with Willochell gaining the pin and getting his arm raised. 

Munch fell in the quarter and then Patrick Noonan in the semi. Can he keep it going? Herrara-Rondon has phenomenal defense but Willochell will get a lot of looks. As the matches matter more he has instinctively tightened up more, squeaking by Ian Oswalt 1-0 in the semi, which has been a chronic issue in his high school career so far. 

It’s hard to not seeing that continuing so it will be pretty exciting to see if Willochell can find that opening to take his streak all the way to the top of the mountain at some point across three periods.

138: Sam Hillegas vs Beau Bartlett

Before we get started with possibly the premier match up of the finals, we should acknowledge the fun Cinderella run Chanz Shearer had through the bracket, pinning folks right and left. Unfortunately he found number one in the country Beau Bartlett more than ready to give him a taste of his own medicine in the semi, getting stuck pretty quickly. 

I thought that Wyatt Henson might serve as more of a challenge for the 10th ranked Hillegas, but both of these guys head for the finals without a scratch on them. All the better for what is sure to be a hyper athletic contest. No shortage of history here as Bartlett famously gave Hillegas his first ever high school defeat on these mats. 

Making Bartlett the two seed surely just tossed an 18 wheeler full of fuel on to the fire and we can expect nothing short of a four alarmer for this one.

145: Lachlan McNeil vs Erik Gibson

Lachlan McNeil has jumped levels this year and then some. As soon as I think someone is going to give him a bit of a test he turns around and cradles them out of nowhere. It is pretty exciting to see kids make that next step and McNeil is definitely there. 

Gibson had a bit of a scare in his tight quarter but he will be bringing an active game and lots of muscle to the match in hopes of topping the number one kid in the country. At some point McNeil will look to wrap him up from top and it will be very interesting to see if Gibson can fight his way through the attack and get this on their feet where he can be most dangerous.

152: Ed Scott vs Brayden Roberts

Brayden Roberts is crazy tough. Always has been and always will be. He is a kid that you can never count out and he just missed meeting Dalton Harkins in the Ironman final. 

Roberts made sure to make the most of that match up here at Powerade as he locked down the Ironman and Beast champ 1-0, refusing to let him off the mat. Ed Scott is a Pennsylvania favorite and I was looking forward to him running roughshod as the top seed. However, he had his hands full early on with Sammy Starr, needing to pull it out in the third, and then only won his semi over Caleb Dowling with a takedown with 8 seconds remaining. 

Every time I looked in on his match with Dowling (thank you FloArena split screen!) it felt like Dowling was just about to roll him over on his back. Has Scott been flirting with danger and it is all about to catch up with him with the suffocating Roberts awaiting? Or will be be able to open things up and give the fans the show they have been waiting for from him?

160: John Martin Best vs Jack Blumer

John Martin Best probably breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn’t going to have to face the freshman phenom Gabe Arnold again after Arnold edged him at Ironman. That was before he realized that he would instead be facing Jack Blumer who pretty easily extinguished the supernova that Arnold had been prior to their semi. 

Both Blumer and Best looked completely at ease against serious competition, as Best kept Luca Augustine in check on his side. As an interesting side note, you have to think that Best and Blumer were side by side on the WVU recruiting checklist, with Best leaving his home state and deciding on the Air Force and Blumer continuing the PA pipeline and committing to Tim Flynn’s project. 

Both wrestlers are rock solid across all aspects of their game, and while they might lack the flash of an Arnold, we can expect a pretty killer display of talent and skill.

170: Tyler Stoltzfus vs Shane Reitsma

Our best bracket of the tournament tightened up considerably in the semis and also heads towards the final with a good bit of controversy behind it. In one semi we had Tyler Stoltzfus and Trey Kibe continuing their epic rivalry. It was a mat wrestling clinic that Kibe seemed to have the upper hand in before Stoltzfus gained a crucial reversal with a minute remaining and held on for dear life. 

On the other side we had defending champ Connor O’Neil hot off his Beast title tangling with Shane Reitsma. Reitsma announced his intentions for this season with an early win over Dom Mata and continued that roll here as he expertly navigated Lenny Pinto in the quarter. The two fought a very tight back and forth with neither giving an inch. 

Down 2-0 in the third courtesy of two O’Neil escapes, Reitsma got a takedown before being reversed with 30 seconds to go. After a restart he rolled into position with a few ticks left and appeared to step over O’Neil with a single second left. There was no signal and we appeared headed to sudden victory. After a conference the reversal was awarded giving Reitsma the win. 

To say O’Neil was not happy about it would be an understatement, as he launched his headgear into the stands and walked off with the ankle bands, officially losing by flagrant misconduct.

We know we will get amazing wrestling in this match up, but will the drama linger over everything?

182: Gerrit Nijenhuis vs Cole Rees

The time has arrived for Gerrit Nijenhuis to claim a Powerade title right on his home mat during his senior year, can Wyoming Sem’s Cole Rees spoil the celebration? 

Nijenhuis was easing his way through the competition prior to his semi with Nate Warden. He was in control at all times but spent the third period on bottom for far too long and I imagine he will be inspired to put on a better show for the big final. Rees has worked his way through a tight quarter and an even tighter semi, showing a lot of guts and grit. 

He will need all of that and more if he is going to stop the lion’s mane mullett from roaring as the crowd explodes. (I am also making a personal request that as the Biggest of Big Mac’s in the finals, should Nijenhuis thrill the hometown crowd with a win they should give everyone a double decker with special sauce immediately afterwards.)

195: Luke Stout vs Nick Feldman

In my preview I referred to Luke Stout as being somewhat of a “cooler”, as guys in his weight class can look amazing against everyone right up until the moment they try to pull the same tricks against Stout, only to be instantly shut down. No one has looked better than Nick Feldman. 

Fresh off his Beast title he has been showcasing his mountain lion style of lightning strike quickness and brutal efficiency, along with a propensity to play with his prey for a bit before finishing it off. Whether he can deploy any of that against Stout remains to be seen. 

Stout has been dominant for some time and reminds us all that he is an elite talent when needed at these things. Feldman has forced his way into that elite conversation as well with his Fargo and Ironman and Beast runs - can Stout throw some ice water on all that talk?

220: Braxton Amos vs Kolby Franklin

I am hard pressed to think of another wrestler in the country who looks as dangerous as Braxton Amos does every time he steps on the mat. Even against ranked foes Amos feels like he is practicing, picking out the spots he wants to work on and executing every move with an extra edge to let his opponents know that they have been broken before the first whistle even blew. As he looks for his third Powerade title (following his three-peat at Super 32 and Ironman) the only thing standing in his way is Kolby Franklin. 

I had hoped these two past Fargo champs might hit at Ironman but Franklin fell in the quarters and ended up finishing fourth. Franklin has looked rock solid all weekend and clearly has a very bright future, but there doesn’t seem to be anything or anyone that can stop Amos currently.

285: Isaiah Vance vs Cole Deery

Despite starting their semifinal matches at different times Vance and Deery secured falls at the exact same moment on opposite mats, previewing what could be a pretty dynamic clash of the big men. In the classic heavyweight bracket watch it has been two bulls wrecking house on opposite sides headed towards an inevitable showdown. 

Deery plays very much a power game, which has earned him an Ironman title and third at Beast already this year. It will be interesting to see how cautious he is and how well he can move Vance around the mat. Vance has plenty of power as well but he is also happy to take chances sliding in to snatch a leg or working his way out on the ground. He can also be exhausting to move around. Vance has more tools at his disposal but he will have to avoid being thrown by Deery at all costs.