Blair wins Beast of the East title, led by six individual champions
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by UL
NEWARK, Del. - It's called the Beast of the East for a reason. Winning this thing is a real bear.
Many of the nation's top high school athletes, who are prize recruits for the many college coaches in attendance, have the opportunity to showcase their talents.
Blair Academy of New Jersey, ranked No. 1 in the nation on the high school level, continued its domination of this event. Blair placed eight in the finals and captured six titles, sweeping the first three weight classes and setting the tone for the finals. It was Blair's ninth straight Beast team title.
Competing for Blair is an honor and a challenge for those on the team, from the new freshmen to the veteran seniors.
The tournament started with a rematch of the 2008 USA Wrestling Cadet National finals and FILA Cadet National finals. No. 1 seeded freshman Mark Grey of Blair defeated No. 3 Joe Orecchio of Don Bosco, 8-0.
Grey hit an knee pick and took Orecchio directly to his back to jump to a 5-0 lead and went on to control the action. Grey has been wrestling Orecchio for years in youth programs, and has to find a way to hold his edge when they meet in major events.
"It is real hard," said Grey. "I have wrestled him since I was a kid. We have been like best friends and we know each other real well. I try to keep wrestling my match, and do what I do best."
Although Grey is a newcomer to the Blair program, he already understands why the program has been so successful.
"I like it a lot there. Coach Jeff Buxton has helped me a lot. I have improved, even since my loss at the Ironman. At Blair, we keep going hard. We never stop. Every day, when we go into the room, we go all out, like we want to be the No. 1 wrestling team in the nation," said Grey.
He also has a respect for this tournament, which has humbled so many wrestlers and helped develop future NCAA All-Americans and USA Wrestling National Team members.
"The field I faced in the tournament was pretty good. There were a lot of tough kids. They gave me good challenges. I had to wrestle my best to win here," said Grey.
No. 1 seed Sean Boyle of Blair, a senior who will attend the Univ. of Michigan next year, repeated as a Beast of the East champion with a 10-4 victory over No. 2 Shane Gentry of Colonial Forge. Boyle scored a takedown in all three periods.
"I didn't wrestle great the first day, but today I wrestled really well today. I controlled all three of my matches," said Boyle. "I am actually from Massachusetts, and a lot of them come here and don't do much. Coming from that state and doing well here feels good. When I was a kid, I looked at the results of this event and always wanted to win it."
Boyle, one of the Blair team leaders, feels that this year's team is very talented and strong.
"We have done real well," said Boyle. "We had six in the Ironman finals, and we have eight in the Beast of the East finals. That is more than half the team. That is very good."
Other individual champions for Blair were No. 5 Evan Silver at 112 pounds, No. 1 Chris Villalonga at 130 pounds, No. 3 Austin Ormsby at 135 pounds and No. 2 Max Huntley at 189 pounds.
"We put a couple of good weekends together," said Blair head coach Jeff Buxton. "We wrestled well at the Ironman and also here. We won a lot of close matches. The kids have done a good job putting themselves in position to win. They have risen to the occasion and wrestled very well. It was a great team effort."
Although Blair had another great performance, the tournament proved to be as difficult and unpredictable as ever.
This tournament provides an opportunity for a wrestler to make a name for himself in this game. Only seven of the 14 wrestlers who were seeded No. 1 qualified for the finals. Among the finalists were an unseeded wrestler, Bo Candelaria of Middletown (Pa.) at 145 pounds, and a No. 11 at heavyweight, Bobby Telford of St. Marks (Del.).
Telford won the final match of the tournament defeating No. 5 Karl Green of Mt. St. Joseph, 2-1 in overtime. Telfort scored an escape with time running out to capture the gold and fire up the home Delaware crowd.
One of the low seeds to win the tournament was Simon Kitzis of Wyoming Seminary (Pa.), a 2008 USA Wrestling FILA Cadet Nationals champion, came in as only a No. 9 seed at 125 pounds. Kitzis scored a takedown in sudden victory overtime to defeat No. 3 Pat Owens of Germantown, 5-3.
"I liked it," said Kitzis of his low seed. "I like getting better competition and going in as an underdog and winning it. I had plenty of confidence and my plan was to win it. I wrestled my match and went at my pace. It worked well. This is just another event to me. I wrestled today like I do in practice."
Kitzis helped lead Wyoming Seminary to a second place team finish. The team had a champion, a runner-up and a third-place finisher to grab a competitive race for the runner-up trophy.
"We did very good," said Kitzis. "We had a few kids injured coming in. But our top dogs wrestled very well. We did a good job as a team."
There were six returning champions, and only three reached the finals, all winning their championship bout: Boyle, Villalonga and Marshall Peppleman of Central Dauphin at 152 pounds. Peppleman scored takedowns in the first and third periods to defeat No. 6 Adam Hogue of Blair, 5-2. Peppleman was the champion at 140 last year.
Many of the champions have an extensive background competing and winning in USA Wrestling's age-group programs. Peppleman, was a 2007 Cadet National Greco-Roman champion and freestyle runner-up. Villalonga was a 2006 Cadet National freestyle runner-up and third in 2007. Max Huntley of Blair was a 2008 FILA Cadet National double champion.
Anthony Baldasaro of Eastern (N.J.), a 2008 Cadet Nationals champion, won the 140-pound title defeating No. 6 Ryan Kemmerer of Boyertown, 7-2
Another top national star who traveled a long way to win the Beast was No. 1 Dallas Bailey of Catoosa (Okla.), who defeated No. 3 Kyle Lang of Brecksville (Ohio), 9-5 and was named Outstanding Wrestler. Bailey, who was fifth at the ASICS Junior Nationals in freestyle last year, will attend Oklahoma State next year.
Each year, from the proceeds of the event and other activities, the Delaware Wrestling Alliance presents up to $60,000 in college scholarships to wrestlers, as well as supports many other wrestling projects in the community.
EAST OF THE EAST CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
105 - No. 1 Mark Grey (Blair) dec. No. 3 Joe Orecchio (Don Bosco), 8-0
112 - No. 5 Evan Silver (Blair) dec. No. 2 Devin Carter (Christiansburg), 3-2
119 - No.1 Sean Boyle (Blair) dec. No. 2 Shane Gentry (Colonial Forge), 10-4
125 - No. 9 Simon Kitzis (Wyoming Seminary) dec. No. 3 Pat Owens (Germantown), 5-3, ot
130 - No. 1 Chris Villalonga (Blair) dec.No. 3 Sam Sherlock (West Mifflin), 3-2 ot
135 - No. 3 Austin Ormsby (Blair) dec. No. 4 Nicky Gordon (Wyoming Seminary), 6-2
140 - No. 1 Anthony Baldasaro (Eastern) dec. No. 6 Ryan Kemmerer (Boyertown), 7-2
145 - No. 1 Joey Napoli (Cumberland) vs. unseeded Bo Candelaria (Middletown), 4-2
152 - No.1 Marshall Peppleman (Central Dauphin) dec. No. 6 Adam Hogue (Blair), 5-2
160 - No. 1 Dallas Bailey (Catoosa) dec. No. 3 Kyle Lang (Brecksville), 9-5
171 - No. 2 Mike Evans (Cumberland) dec. No. 4 Mason Bailey (East Fairmont), 12-2
189 - No. 2 Max Huntley (Blair) dec. No. 4 Tony Dallago (Central Dauphin), 3-2
215 - No. 6 Jon Weber (Christianburg) dec. No. 4 Ben Krakower (Blair), 3-1
285 - No. 11 Bobby Telford (St. Marks) dec. No. 5 Karl Green (Mt. St. Joseph), 2-1, ot
Team Standings
1. Blair Academy, 329 pts.
2. Wyoming Seminary, 160 pts.
3. Central Dauphin, 145 pts.
4. St. Marks, 144.5 pts.
5. Cumberland Valley, 136 pts.
6. Northampton, 133 pts.
7. (tie) Boyerstown, 118 pts.
7. (tie) Christianburg, 118 pts.
9. Eastern Regional, 111 pts.
10. Mt. St. Joseph, 106 pts.
Most Falls - Tim Feroe, Boyerstown, 4 pins in 5:17
Outstanding Wrestler - Dallas Bailey, Catoosa (Okla.), 160 pounds
For complete brackets and results, visit:
http://www.beastwrestling.com
Many of the nation's top high school athletes, who are prize recruits for the many college coaches in attendance, have the opportunity to showcase their talents.
Blair Academy of New Jersey, ranked No. 1 in the nation on the high school level, continued its domination of this event. Blair placed eight in the finals and captured six titles, sweeping the first three weight classes and setting the tone for the finals. It was Blair's ninth straight Beast team title.
Competing for Blair is an honor and a challenge for those on the team, from the new freshmen to the veteran seniors.
The tournament started with a rematch of the 2008 USA Wrestling Cadet National finals and FILA Cadet National finals. No. 1 seeded freshman Mark Grey of Blair defeated No. 3 Joe Orecchio of Don Bosco, 8-0.
Grey hit an knee pick and took Orecchio directly to his back to jump to a 5-0 lead and went on to control the action. Grey has been wrestling Orecchio for years in youth programs, and has to find a way to hold his edge when they meet in major events.
"It is real hard," said Grey. "I have wrestled him since I was a kid. We have been like best friends and we know each other real well. I try to keep wrestling my match, and do what I do best."
Although Grey is a newcomer to the Blair program, he already understands why the program has been so successful.
"I like it a lot there. Coach Jeff Buxton has helped me a lot. I have improved, even since my loss at the Ironman. At Blair, we keep going hard. We never stop. Every day, when we go into the room, we go all out, like we want to be the No. 1 wrestling team in the nation," said Grey.
He also has a respect for this tournament, which has humbled so many wrestlers and helped develop future NCAA All-Americans and USA Wrestling National Team members.
"The field I faced in the tournament was pretty good. There were a lot of tough kids. They gave me good challenges. I had to wrestle my best to win here," said Grey.
No. 1 seed Sean Boyle of Blair, a senior who will attend the Univ. of Michigan next year, repeated as a Beast of the East champion with a 10-4 victory over No. 2 Shane Gentry of Colonial Forge. Boyle scored a takedown in all three periods.
"I didn't wrestle great the first day, but today I wrestled really well today. I controlled all three of my matches," said Boyle. "I am actually from Massachusetts, and a lot of them come here and don't do much. Coming from that state and doing well here feels good. When I was a kid, I looked at the results of this event and always wanted to win it."
Boyle, one of the Blair team leaders, feels that this year's team is very talented and strong.
"We have done real well," said Boyle. "We had six in the Ironman finals, and we have eight in the Beast of the East finals. That is more than half the team. That is very good."
Other individual champions for Blair were No. 5 Evan Silver at 112 pounds, No. 1 Chris Villalonga at 130 pounds, No. 3 Austin Ormsby at 135 pounds and No. 2 Max Huntley at 189 pounds.
"We put a couple of good weekends together," said Blair head coach Jeff Buxton. "We wrestled well at the Ironman and also here. We won a lot of close matches. The kids have done a good job putting themselves in position to win. They have risen to the occasion and wrestled very well. It was a great team effort."
Although Blair had another great performance, the tournament proved to be as difficult and unpredictable as ever.
This tournament provides an opportunity for a wrestler to make a name for himself in this game. Only seven of the 14 wrestlers who were seeded No. 1 qualified for the finals. Among the finalists were an unseeded wrestler, Bo Candelaria of Middletown (Pa.) at 145 pounds, and a No. 11 at heavyweight, Bobby Telford of St. Marks (Del.).
Telford won the final match of the tournament defeating No. 5 Karl Green of Mt. St. Joseph, 2-1 in overtime. Telfort scored an escape with time running out to capture the gold and fire up the home Delaware crowd.
One of the low seeds to win the tournament was Simon Kitzis of Wyoming Seminary (Pa.), a 2008 USA Wrestling FILA Cadet Nationals champion, came in as only a No. 9 seed at 125 pounds. Kitzis scored a takedown in sudden victory overtime to defeat No. 3 Pat Owens of Germantown, 5-3.
"I liked it," said Kitzis of his low seed. "I like getting better competition and going in as an underdog and winning it. I had plenty of confidence and my plan was to win it. I wrestled my match and went at my pace. It worked well. This is just another event to me. I wrestled today like I do in practice."
Kitzis helped lead Wyoming Seminary to a second place team finish. The team had a champion, a runner-up and a third-place finisher to grab a competitive race for the runner-up trophy.
"We did very good," said Kitzis. "We had a few kids injured coming in. But our top dogs wrestled very well. We did a good job as a team."
There were six returning champions, and only three reached the finals, all winning their championship bout: Boyle, Villalonga and Marshall Peppleman of Central Dauphin at 152 pounds. Peppleman scored takedowns in the first and third periods to defeat No. 6 Adam Hogue of Blair, 5-2. Peppleman was the champion at 140 last year.
Many of the champions have an extensive background competing and winning in USA Wrestling's age-group programs. Peppleman, was a 2007 Cadet National Greco-Roman champion and freestyle runner-up. Villalonga was a 2006 Cadet National freestyle runner-up and third in 2007. Max Huntley of Blair was a 2008 FILA Cadet National double champion.
Anthony Baldasaro of Eastern (N.J.), a 2008 Cadet Nationals champion, won the 140-pound title defeating No. 6 Ryan Kemmerer of Boyertown, 7-2
Another top national star who traveled a long way to win the Beast was No. 1 Dallas Bailey of Catoosa (Okla.), who defeated No. 3 Kyle Lang of Brecksville (Ohio), 9-5 and was named Outstanding Wrestler. Bailey, who was fifth at the ASICS Junior Nationals in freestyle last year, will attend Oklahoma State next year.
Each year, from the proceeds of the event and other activities, the Delaware Wrestling Alliance presents up to $60,000 in college scholarships to wrestlers, as well as supports many other wrestling projects in the community.
EAST OF THE EAST CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
105 - No. 1 Mark Grey (Blair) dec. No. 3 Joe Orecchio (Don Bosco), 8-0
112 - No. 5 Evan Silver (Blair) dec. No. 2 Devin Carter (Christiansburg), 3-2
119 - No.1 Sean Boyle (Blair) dec. No. 2 Shane Gentry (Colonial Forge), 10-4
125 - No. 9 Simon Kitzis (Wyoming Seminary) dec. No. 3 Pat Owens (Germantown), 5-3, ot
130 - No. 1 Chris Villalonga (Blair) dec.No. 3 Sam Sherlock (West Mifflin), 3-2 ot
135 - No. 3 Austin Ormsby (Blair) dec. No. 4 Nicky Gordon (Wyoming Seminary), 6-2
140 - No. 1 Anthony Baldasaro (Eastern) dec. No. 6 Ryan Kemmerer (Boyertown), 7-2
145 - No. 1 Joey Napoli (Cumberland) vs. unseeded Bo Candelaria (Middletown), 4-2
152 - No.1 Marshall Peppleman (Central Dauphin) dec. No. 6 Adam Hogue (Blair), 5-2
160 - No. 1 Dallas Bailey (Catoosa) dec. No. 3 Kyle Lang (Brecksville), 9-5
171 - No. 2 Mike Evans (Cumberland) dec. No. 4 Mason Bailey (East Fairmont), 12-2
189 - No. 2 Max Huntley (Blair) dec. No. 4 Tony Dallago (Central Dauphin), 3-2
215 - No. 6 Jon Weber (Christianburg) dec. No. 4 Ben Krakower (Blair), 3-1
285 - No. 11 Bobby Telford (St. Marks) dec. No. 5 Karl Green (Mt. St. Joseph), 2-1, ot
Team Standings
1. Blair Academy, 329 pts.
2. Wyoming Seminary, 160 pts.
3. Central Dauphin, 145 pts.
4. St. Marks, 144.5 pts.
5. Cumberland Valley, 136 pts.
6. Northampton, 133 pts.
7. (tie) Boyerstown, 118 pts.
7. (tie) Christianburg, 118 pts.
9. Eastern Regional, 111 pts.
10. Mt. St. Joseph, 106 pts.
Most Falls - Tim Feroe, Boyerstown, 4 pins in 5:17
Outstanding Wrestler - Dallas Bailey, Catoosa (Okla.), 160 pounds
For complete brackets and results, visit:
http://www.beastwrestling.com
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