2020 National Prep Wrestling Championship

2020 National Preps Upperweight Preview: 152-285

2020 National Preps Upperweight Preview: 152-285

Big John Foster previews the seven upper weights at the upcoming 2020 National Prep tournament this weekend at Lehigh.

Feb 20, 2020
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By John Foster

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By John Foster

National Preps is rich in tradition in so many ways, both in its history of top wrestlers standing atop its podium, and also in its never-ending rollout of jaw-dropping matches that take place once all of that talent is left to claw over one another to reach that postseason pinnacle.

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There has been no shortage of drama leading into National Preps this year, and virtually everything we knew at the beginning of the year had changed by mid-season, and most of what we knew at mid-season has now hit the ejector seat button and blasted off into space.

What we are left with might be a few names missing from the billboards, but it has been replaced with one of the craziest team races in recent memory! Blair Academy has dominated Preps for the past 40 years. Wyoming Seminary snuck in a title in 2014, but even then Blair counted a victory as the team with the most points sans post-grads. This year promised the two heavyweights of the high school wrestling world throwing haymaker after haymaker as Sem pulled together every last resource in hoping for the upset. However, with three starters (who were also serious title threats) now out of Blair’s lineup, has the title shockingly already been decided? Even more unimaginable — could a young upstart like Malvern Prep continue their magical run this year and knock Blair all the way back into third place?

Previous National Prep Brackets: 2017 | 2018 | 2019

What once seemed absolutely impossible, is now a potentially very real scenario. Malvern’s young and tenacious roster has hammers in all the right places, and if they are going to climb that ladder they will have to do it with the heavier half of the weights. Luckily for me, that is my department, and I will show you how this might all play out, and highlight some of the other must-watch kids set to bring the fire to Stabler Arena.

Seeds are listed next to the athlete's name.

152 Pounds

  1. #11 - Dalton Harkins (Malvern Prep) SR
  2. Connor Kievman (Wyoming Seminary) SR
  3. Braeden Baller (Liberty Christian-TX) SO
  4. Zane Cox (Benedictine) SO
  5. Chris Roybal (Mt. St. Joe) SR
  6. Kevin Schork (St. Christopher's) JR
  7. Isaac Ruderman (Bullis) SR
  8. Josh Aybar (Loyola) SR
  9. Nick Bell (Brunswick) JR
  10. Owen Quinn (Germantown)
  11. Jackson Snider (Friends’ Central) SR
  12. Hunter Hockensmith (NMH) SR

Along with 126, this bracket has been turned completely upside down with the absence of either of the Mastrogiovanni brothers in the lineup for Blair (on the chance that you are unaware, neither Travis or Trevor competed at the NY/NJ Qualifier). There had been season-long anticipation for a rematch to the controversial Ironman final between Dalton Harkins and Travis, where Harkins took the title, and Mastro was injured and could not join the field at Beast the following weekend. Not to worry, though, as we have another rematch potentially on tap, as Harkins squared off against Connor Kievman in the final of the PAISWT last weekend in a tight affair.

The two have tangled previously, with Harkins in control of their Powerade match, but Kievman brought a different strategy to the party last week and it will be interesting to see if he can expand on it here. An early takedown for Kievman, paired with two Harkins escapes, had them knotted until the final seconds when Harkins full third-period ride finally manifested some swipes and a three-point tilt. That top game has done him wonders as Harkins is having an incredible season, winning Ironman and Beast, and finishing third at Powerade and Escape The Rock. He makes it very difficult to get free from his clutches and his array of mat returns and nearfall capabilities ensures that he will be must-see viewing in each and every round.

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While you can be certain Harkins will look to cap his senior year atop the podium, he has never won here before, losing in the semi three years in a row, so the field has a glimmer of hope. Two wrestlers who could care less about this team race talk and will look to shake all of this up to their advantage are Zane Cox and Braeden Baller, both of whom impressed here last year while finding their way to the end of the podium. Coming in Cox edged Kevin Schork to win Virginia, and following an uneven Ironman and Beast he has really picked up speed this season, including winning Melee on the Metro. Baller has given everyone in Texas fits and can keep matches tight against elite talent.

Chris Roybal is a bit of a dark horse as the senior wrestles with a steely determination and outside of Harkins might just be the strongest wrestler physically at this weight. In a season where few things have gone as expected for Mount St. Joe, Roybal has been a dependable constant. He had little trouble with Isaac Ruderman in the MIS final after Ruderman surprised Josh Aybar in the semi by winning the takedown battle. Evan Kisselev is another dark horse who has the potential to reach the podium as he has been at both 160 and 152 this season before taking the 152 New England qualifier by beating Nick Bell.

Harkins has put together a fantastic season and I think this ties a bow on it. He is just too good and too physical for most of this field. Kievman will bring a solid game plan for the final after separating himself from the crowd.

Foster's Picks: 1) Harkins, Malvern 2) Kievman, Sem 3) Roybal, MSJ 4) Kisselev, Roxbury

160 Pounds

  1. #9 - Gabe Arnold (Wyoming Seminary) FR
  2. Harrison Trahan (McDonogh) JR
  3. Connor Strong (Mt. St. Joe) SR
  4. Aurelius Dunbar (Mercersburg) SR
  5. Jack Wehmeyer (Malvern Prep) SO
  6. Ibrahim Mendheim (St. Benedict’s) SR
  7. TJ Stewart (Blair Academy) SO
  8. Kendrick Williams (All Saints) SR
  9. Michael Bartush (Green Farms Academy) SO
  10. Dylan Lewis (Spalding) SO
  11. Damon Nelson (Loyola) FR
  12. Pearson Hill (Hopkins School) FR

Don’t be fooled by only seeing a single ranked wrestler on that list. The next five have either been ranked previously or have been on the bubble continuously. This is a sneaky-good bracket that will be insanely entertaining! After the dual between Wyoming Seminary and Blair, I asked anyone that would listen what is it that I have to do to make sure that I can witness as many matches between Gabe Arnold and TJ Stewart as is possible over the next two years??? Stewart bumped up so they did not hit there, but I have a strong suspicion I will get my first dose this weekend.

Arnold has been amazing as a freshman, and while there have been some learning curve moments, the combination of talent, mat awareness, and blinding athleticism that he has an overabundance of can be truly dazzling. When Travis Mastrogiavanni bumped up to take him on in the dual, Arnold’s tie-breaker win showed just how elite his talent might be. Another bump up in that dual followed as Stewart (who at 170 looked a lot more like the lightning bolt that struck Maryland his freshman year) beat Andrew Donahue. Stewart has all of the skills to match Arnold, assuming he has a handle on the weight at this point in the season. Those early-season struggles, including a loss to Aurelius Dunbar at Beast, means he will be seeded in a deadly trap position for the quarters.

Going into the PA qualifier Arnold had a tight win over Dunbar and a more comfortable one over Jack Wehmeyer previously. The local contingent had a tight weekend, as Dunbar edged Wehmeyer, before Arnold edged Dunbar in the final 3-1, with all of the scoring taking place in the 2nd. That feels like the right order for things, but none of those three put enough distance between them to be certain, particularly regarding Dunbar and Arnold. If we depend just on results from this season, the two could be destined for a quick rematch. Wehmeyer closed his gap with Dunbar from earlier in the year and is somewhat inconsistent. He was 8th here last year and Malvern will be desperate for an improved finish to help their cause.

I am a fan of Connor Strong and it has been tough to watch him battle injuries during his high school career. Looking like he was returning to full strength early in the season, he had a solid Journeyman and then Beast, including dominating Harrison Trahan along the way. However, he sat out for a long period and after returning to action late in the season, Strong found Traham eagerly awaiting him in the Maryland Independent States final, where Harrison was a literal house on fire, torching the mat and everything around him on the way to victory. Earlier in the day Trahan also got revenge on Damon Nelson, who caught him at MIAA the week before. Depending on which versions of Strong and Trahan show up here, they could have a major say in how this all plays out.

Where they put Stewart in the bracket could decide far too much here to speculate, and Strong losing to Trahan last week only further complicates the seeding. I will be praying that somehow someway I am not once again denied the Arnold and Stewart battle, and should they meet, whenever that is, it is the de facto final. But there is too much talent here to be assured of anything and any of the top six guys could go on a run. I am going with my gut though and saying Arnold’s star will get knocked around the sky, but will shine the brightest in the end.

Foster's Picks: 1) Arnold, Sem 2) Stewart, Blair 3) Dunbar, Mercersburg 4) Strong, MSJ

170 Pounds

  1. Andrew Donahue (Wyoming Seminary) SO
  2. Caden Rogers (Malvern Prep) SO
  3. Aiden Hanning (NMH) JR
  4. Ryan Tremain (Benedictine) JR
  5. Zachary Vasquez (San Antonio Christian) SR
  6. Nadji Ngbokoli (Brunswick) SR
  7. Mark Schadt (Avon Old Farms) SR
  8. Luis Perez (Suffield Academy) SR
  9. Sean Kilrain (Blair Academy) SR
  10. James Conway (Loyola) SR
  11. CJ Polesovsky (John Carroll) SR
  12. Tony Zancan (Mt. St. Joe) SR

With #7 Dom Mata unable to compete, this is a wide-open weight. I mean WIDE-OPEN! What has been the most exciting weight nationally all season arrives at Preps with a major opportunity for someone to make a huge name for themselves. The field is somewhat shockingly without mega stars, but that will change by the time the finals conclude. Topping the list of hopefuls is Wyoming Seminary’s Andrew Donahue. Donahue arrived this season with enormous expectations and a high ranking, and those expectations have been tempered somewhat once the realization set in that his elite skill set hasn’t always been in sync with his growing body. As the season has progressed, and he has been able to work away from the spotlight, Donahue has rounded into shape and is beginning to look an awful lot like the wrestler we had all pinned our big man hopes on.

Donahue has been showing a lot of poise of late and had a last-second takedown to beat Caden Rogers in the PAISWT final. He also beat him on the backside at Powerade. Rogers will be desperate to try to find a way to claw his way to the final and see if he can have better luck the third time. A deep run here from Rogers could be critical for Malvern’s team points as well.

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Aiden Hanning won the New England qualifier in impressive fashion over Nadji Ngbokoli, and beat Harrison Shapiro and hung tough with Rylan Rogers up at 182 at The Battle of Germantown earlier in the year. Caden Rogers nipped him 2-1 at The Bissell so he will be looking to even that score. Hanning has wrestled up in weight and will be big and will be fearless, he is an NHSCA placer and went 4-2 at Super32 in a crushing bracket and will be looking to work his way into the final here.

James Conway won Maryland and leads a surging Loyola program that is headed in the right direction. In the final he beat CJ Polesovsky, who bested a Nomad special in the semi with Liam Kammer looking to do Calvert Hall proud. Sean Kilrain is the surprise representative for Blair and they will need some points from him. Kilrain is tough to gauge as he did most of his high school wrestling in Europe with the military base squads, but he certainly has the pedigree with his Dad in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Morey Levy was in for St. Christopher's instead of Loudon Hurt and he got on a roll at the qualifier, only being stopped in the final 12-7 by Ryan Tremain. Levy hadn’t shown that potential previously, but I am all for kids that turn it up at the end of their junior year. Tremain’s results are all over the place and he either wins big or loses big, but is never dull. Zachary Vasquez is another one who can be all or nothing with see-saw scores. By the round of 16 I expect some wild matches with this crew as they start to sort themselves out.

This will be a real test for Donahue, and I think he passes it. A Hanning and Rogers semi has the potential to be phenomenal and the survivor might not have much left for the final. Also expect a lot of eyes on Kilrain early as the crowd tries to figure out Blair’s big-picture chances.

Foster's Picks:  1. Donahue 2. Hanning 3. Rogers 4. Conway

182 Pounds

  1. #7 - Rylan Rogers (Blair Academy) SO
  2. Cole Rees (Wyoming Seminary) JR
  3. #18 - Dominic Solis (McDonogh) SR
  4. Harrison Shapiro (Belmont Hill) SR
  5. Andrew Connelly (Malvern Prep) SO
  6. Luke Duthie (Germantown) JR
  7. Brady Colbert (St. John’s-DC) FR
  8. Austin Brown (Bullis) SR
  9. Josh Khoshayev (Poly Prep) JR
  10. Lucas Hughes (Trinity Pawling) SR
  11. Owen Brine (Portsmouth Abbey) SR
  12. Ethan Wilson (Liberty Christian-TX) JR

Rylan Rogers brings a level of slickness that few in this tournament have, and he has used it to offset the instances where he might be out muscled a little with older and bigger foes. That size difference occasionally means that his matches are not quite as spectacular as his freestyle exploits, where he has been a finalist at Fargo and Akron, but he more than gets the job done. Arriving this season as an NHSCA champ, he added an Ironman title and was runner-up at Beast, and he is very experienced for his young age and will have no trouble at all navigating a tournament like this.

Dom Solis fought back to fourth in that Ironman field and lost his quarterfinal to Rogers at Beast before battling back for seventh. He has been very good locally but hasn’t been able to get over that hump against the national kids in front of him. Solis is also the owner of one of my favorite moments in Maryland wrestling’s recent history when he disappeared between the semis and the final of what I think was the MIAA championship his sophomore year, only to emerge with a wild shaved bowl cut hairstyle like he had just returned from a forced basic training with a barbershop manned by blind assassins. I am pretty sure he won the final just by freaking out the other wrestler. I loved it (and even if I am remembering this incorrectly, please, no one correct me!) and I have been advocating for people to somehow show up at the finals with dramatic hairstyle changes ever since.

Last year at Preps Cole Rees was able to hold off Solis 4-3 and the two look to be pretty well-matched (both Rees and Solis also traded matches with JT Davis this year.) Rees was seventh at Ironman and notched a big win over Nate Warden, and he was runner up at Powerade. I would be shocked if they are not the 2 and 3 seed one way or the other and a tight and tense semifinal looks to be in their future.

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There is a little drop off in the field from there. Freshman Brady Colbert has impressed and had a solid run up the back of Beast with wins over Warden and Andrew Connelly before being stopped by Solis in the bloodround. He also won Ocean Lakes and Mount Mat Madness and will be one to watch here. Connelly is solid but he will need to accrue some team points and hit the podium for Malvern, so his path could be filled with landmines. Harrison Shapiro is a returning eighth here and will be happy Darrien Roberts graduated. Ethan Wilson was impressive in qualifying in Texas. Austin Brown is long and lean and talented, but can be muscled around.

This is Rogers’ title to lose, with the real battle likely in the semi to see whether Solis or Rees gets to stand on the featured mat at the end of Saturday opposite him.

Foster's Picks: 1) Rogers, Blair 2) Rees, Sem 3) Solis, McD 4) Colbert, St. John's

195 Pounds

  1. #7 - Nicholas Feldman (Malvern Prep) SO
  2. #8 - Peyton Craft (Blair Academy) JR
  3. Jack Wimmer (McDonogh) SR
  4. Parker Warner (Mt. St. Joe) SR
  5. Dustin Radford (Spalding) SR
  6. Aiden Weber (St. Mary’s Ryken) SR
  7. Trinidad Gonzalez (Wyoming Seminary) SR
  8. Clayton Ostrover (Brunswick) SR
  9. Kadari Machen (Gonzaga) SR
  10. Jeff Miller (Trinity Pawling) JR
  11. Dean Omirly (Charlotte Latin) JR
  12. Payton Rose (Noble & Green) SO

I have been proudly fronting the Nick Feldman Appreciation Society all season long. It is hard not to like all aspects of this kid on the mat. He wrestles with a real edge and has a physicality to his game, along with a tenacious desire to improve and compete. I think I have likened him to a wolverine, a cougar, and a jaguar at various junctures in my writing this year. He is also the same kid who throws enormous smiles and goofy waves to the crowd during the parade of champions or when walking out to his bouts. If you are not already a card-carrying member, watching him this weekend will surely convert you.

Feldman has had an eye-opening sophomore campaign. After a stellar offseason he rampaged into an epic clash at Ironman, losing to Seth Shumate in the final 10-8. The following week he savaged the field at Beast for a crown. Luke Stout edged him 3-2 in the Powerade final and Gaige Garcia had to basically invent a new move to best him at Escape The Rock. He is overdue to bring home another title and will have Preps squarely in his sights. In taking that title at Beast, he dispatched Jack Wimmer in the semi and Peyton Craft in the final, so does Craft have a different answer this weekend?

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Craft has distanced himself from the rest of the field, beating Wimmer, Parker Warner, and David Harper this season already. He is also, well, pretty battle-tested and “crafty” (no apologies!) and will be well-coached to make adjustments. After his disappointing loss to Ben Vanadia at Ironman, Craft turned right around and reversed that result at Beast. He hasn’t had a chance to wrestle Feldman again, but can he bring a different approach that nullifies the athleticism Felman wields? Craft was a finalist here last year and has far more second-place finishes on his resume than he would like, so you can guarantee that he will throw everything at the wolverine (had to pick one!) if he gets another opportunity.

The battle for third could be pretty intense here as Wimmer is a guy in and out of the rankings all season and always in the mix, but he never quite breaks through. He employs a steady dose of underhooks and pushing forward and finally took home a Maryland title last weekend. But he surprisingly needed extra time to do it against Warner, who looks more comfortable at 195 and will hope to close that gap completely should the rivals meet again. Just behind them in Maryland is Dustin Radford who was sixth here last year, and just a hair behind him in Maryland is Aiden Weber. Weber lost by 8-7 to Wimmer in the semi and then in sudden victory to Radford and has been a revelation locally and is my dark horse here. The previously mentioned Harper was seventh in that bracket as a freshman but won’t be here with Baylor anchored in TN. Trinidad Gonzalez finished up at Bristol Eastern last year as a state champ and has been plugged in for Sem and will be working hard to find some team points here.

This feels like an inevitable final between top-10 combatants and the main question might just be how does Craft change his approach once he gets there? Feldman is not quite unbeatable just yet (that will likely start next season, so be warned upperweights!) but he is an intense and disciplined opponent and I think he will be too much here once again.

Foster's Picks: 1) Feldman, Malvern 2) Craft, Blair 3) Weber, Ryken 4) Wimmer, McD

220 Pounds

  1. #3 - Kyonte Hamilton (Georgetown Prep) JR
  2. #10 - Kolby Franklin (Wyoming Seminary) SO
  3. #12 - Noah Pettigrew (Blair Academy) SO
  4. William Gunn (Williston) SR
  5. Harrison Levans (Germantown) JR
  6. Billy Brosko (Haverford) SO
  7. Mattheus Carroll (Gilman) JR
  8. Jackson Bonitz (McDonogh) SR
  9. William Thayer (St. Paul’s-NE) JR
  10. Roman LaBrosse (Western Reserve) SR
  11. Charlie Holub (Bishop Lynch) JR
  12. Cesar Espinal (St. Benedict’s) SR

The top of this field is an incredible mix of athleticism, power, and potential. Kyonte Hamilton, Kolby Franklin and Noah Pettigrew are all elite talents and have the ability to win this. They were all thrown together to start the season at Ironman where Pettigrew beat Hamilton, Franklin beat Pettigrew, and then Hamilton beat Franklin. Soon after, Hamilton avenged the loss, beating Pettigrew at Beast, and Franklin added another win over Pettigrew as well at the Sem-Blair dual, tilting their blossoming rivalry in his favor.

As the season has progressed Hamilton has been spectacular, displaying some sparkling new tools, from his deadly leg defense to a crippling cross-wrist tilt, hitting as many majors as is possible and winning everything post-Ironman. Earning that top seed is crucial as he can wait out the survivor of Franklin and Pettigrew’s side. Franklin brings a big-man style with mountains of power and looks increasingly like a heavyweight come college. Pettigrew is happier getting to legs and working his way through scrambles, and is wily and tough, and looks far more like a future 197. Folkstyle brings Franklin’s advantages to the forefront, but Pettigrew will hardly concede an inch to him and this could be an incredible semi that could go either way.

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Even though all three in the trio are young, between them there aren’t a lot of things they haven’t won, except for Preps that is, so one of them will be making that first-ever climb to the top of the storied podium here in Stabler. Behind those three beasts is a field of guys caught in no man’s land that are too light to go heavy and grind, but too big to be anywhere else. Mattheus Carroll is super long, until he matches up against the skyscraper that is Hamilton. William Gunn was at 182 the previous season and had a very rough visit to Preps last year so he will be looking for redemption now that he has filled out. Kechaun Bennett also had a tough tournament last go-round, but he has the raw athleticism that has turned him into a prized football recruit so it will be curious to see if he can do more damage on this visit. Charlie Holub will come up from Texas and will be looking for falls where he can find them. Harrison Levans, Jackson Bonitz, and Owen Vietmeier are all solid, if unspectacular. Vietmeier will have the tallest task as his eventual journey through the back of the bracket could be vital in hunting for team points.

Kyonte still has one or two loose moments per tournament, and he can get away with that up until the final here. If he has the focus he has shown more often than not this season, it won’t matter whether it is Franklin or Pettigrew that emerges from their battle. I think it will be Franklin, and Kolby might spend the entire match waiting for a mistake that never arrives.

Foster's Picks: 1) Hamilton, GT Prep 2) Franklin, Sem 3) Pettigrew, Blair 4) Carroll, Gilman

285 Pounds

  1. #9 - Cole Deery (Malvern Prep) JR
  2. #18 - Garrett Kappes (McDonogh) SR
  3. Liam Dietrich (Trinity Pawling) JR
  4. George Harrington (Phillips Exeter) SR
  5. Elijah Anthony (Blair Academy) SR
  6. Nate Miller (Wyoming Seminary) SR
  7. Hudson Jones (Charlotte Christian Academy) SO
  8. Brandon Roberts (Good Counsel) SR
  9. Brian Daughtry (Benedictine) SR
  10. JD Francone (Gonzaga) SO
  11. Terrence McCauley (St. Mary’s Ryken) SO
  12. Brennan Wicks (Bishop McNamara) SR

At the beginning of this season I circled heavyweight as a pivotal spot in the Preps team race, yet nothing has gone as planned at this weight, and now the entire team race has been thrown sideways as well. After all of that, this could still be a swing weight if Malvern Prep’s Cole Deery can continue his monster season and bring home the title. Should they edge out Blair for second, this might be one that is decisive.

Deery will be the favorite, and rightly so. When the void unexpectedly happened at the top of this weight, Deery burst right through it and took full advantage. Titles at Ironman, Powerade and Escape The Rock showed just how far he had come. Deery is a pinner and should be watched in every match. His lone stumble was a third at Beast, where he recovered to beat James Howard 5-2 in the third-place bout. Howard is a promising talent but unfortunately McCallie won’t be able to attend for a rematch. Not to worry, Deery will be planning on pinning anything in his path regardless of who it is.

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Likely the two seed, but a bit of a wildcard, is a slimmed-down bulked up Garrett Kappes. A lot has been written about Kappes' dramatic (literal) growth during his high school career, jumping weight classes as he finally ended up as a large heavyweight. A lot has also been written about his inability to stay healthy and see out big tournaments. This season was more of the same as he injury-defaulted out at Super 32 and then was surprised with the top seed at Ironman, but struggled both early and late in the tournament; he eventually injury-defaulted out for sixth, all while Deery celebrated his first major.

My biggest concern was that the added weight had turned him into a one-dimensional plodder on offense, but a new Kappes emerged for the MIAA and MIS tournaments in Maryland. Looking to be at least 20 pounds lighter, he was more active and aggressive, pushing forward with his favored underhook and seeming far more confident. Kappes has made a habit of getting healthy right as the postseason arrives, allowing him to best Kyonte Hamilton for a state title and third here last year at 220. Has he geared up for another run at just the right time?

Liam Dietrich comes in hot off of his pin of George Harrington in the New England qualifier. Dietrich was fourth last year and showed an ability to capitalize on mistakes and stick guys. His bottom game can let him down, but you have to take the big guy down first to try your luck. Harrington is a little older and will hope that veteran savviness can help him go deep into the bracket. Hudson Jones is a still learning and slightly undersized sophomore who can be all or nothing, so when he makes a mistake he can end up on his back, but far more often he is the one doing the pinning and he will be active against bigger opponents, as he was in taking third at The Prep Slam.

Eli Anthony is also light for the weight but had the huge win over Nate Miller to win the Sem-Blair dual and he did so by wrestling a much more effective style. He tends to be placed in these big tournaments as something of a damper, working to stay around as long as he can and grind out some points for the sake of the team. With Blair now in a precarious team point position, can he be allowed to open up and risk an early exit against bigger foes, or will they batten down the hatches again and gameplan to grind their way through? Miller is happy with that grind, as is Brandon Roberts and crew who will all be hoping for the right break to end up on the podium. Roberts made his way to the Maryland final last weekend with a tiebreaker over Brennan Wicks, who is the classic mega-giant with a rugby background who is raw but dangerous. Wicks lost the third-place match to Terrence McCauley who is active and fearless and might inject some excitement into the bracket. We always seem to have some big man surprises from Texas at Preps at heavyweight but Gabe Moore is a still-growing freshman who likes to go upper body, so that is likely a name for the future.

If Kappes can make it to the final without being banged up he will be looking for the upset. Deery has picked up confidence with each tournament and will just stick to his own attack, so it will be very interesting if Kappes changes his approach should they meet, as he won’t be moving Big Cole around very easily. Below those two it could go a million ways but I am throwing big man caution to the wind and going double dark horse with Cinderella runs from Jones and McCauley.

Foster's Picks: 1) Deery, Malvern 2) Kappes, McD 3) Jones, CCA 4) McCauley, Ryken