InterMat: Inside info from the N.W.C.A
brought to you byBrute Wrestling
Junior Freestyle Notes
By Jason Bryant & Pat Tocci
Session II
Hard-luck draw of the day
You can't help but feel bad for Minnesota's John Sundgren. The 130-pounder wrestling in Pool B had the unfortunate displeasure of wrestling Iowa's Joey Slaton in the first round, falling 10-0. And his next bout didn't get any easier, with Sundgren falling to Pennsylvania's Adam Frey 10-0.
Wasserman goes down
Oklahoma's Brice Wasserman, a graduated senior bound for Tennessee-Chattanooga, lost his second round bout on a 4-4 referee's decision to Illinois' Kyle Hunter. Wasserman now has New York's Chris Iorio in round three. The draws continue to be brutal, even for tough wrestlers.
Update: Wasserman eliminated following a 6-4 loss to Chris Iorio of New York
Points a-plenty
Virginia's Terry Lee will go home to Norfolk with a win under his belt, but he had to work for it in a 20-19 victory over North Dakota's Nickoas Walton. Lee's tournament could be coming to a close soon, as Zack Bailey is his third-round opponent.
Flying solo
He might have a wrestling name and he's off to a quick start, but it's a lonely time for Victor Mocco of New Hampshire. He's the state's only representative at the Junior Freestyle (and Cadet for that matter) tournament. Mocco, a 152-pounder from Exeter, N.H., won his opening round bout 10-0 over Minnesota's Shane Swenson.
We like freestyle too
While Steve Courtney might be training with U.S. Greco-Roman National Team member Jake Clark while in Okinawa, Courtney got his first win of the tournament after going 0-2 in Greco with a fall over Colorado's Antonio Covarrubias at 5:52.
Greco champ just going to hang out
Texas' first Junior National Champion since 1983 won't try for a double title. Justin Wren of Bishop Lynch, did not weigh in for the freestyle competition at heavyweight. The Texas state-record holder for five-point throws is headed to the U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan University next year to concentrate on Greco-Roman. 215-pound champion Robby Smith of California will also be at the USOEC as Wren's roomate.
According to Texas USA Wrestling state chairman Al Roger, if Wren won the Junior Greco title, he would "never touch another man's legs again."
Top guns hit at 119
In one of the deepest pools of the tournament, some of the top names in the weight met in round 3. Franklin Gomez of Puerto Rico knocked off Montell Marionn of Iowa 9-1. Marion put a tough battle but Gomez was a little bit faster, stronger and more athletic in the scrambles.
Match saw several great scrambles and action and in each instence Gomez came out on top. Gomez also was far superior from top. The round also saw Ben Ashmore of Texas knock off Cory Fish of Washington 12-4. Ashmore built up a 6-0 lead scoring off a gut and front head lock before Fish was able to get on the board with his own turn. Ashmore put the match away with a "Kenny Monday" three point double. Monday was in Ashmore's corner.
Hawaii scores a big win
Bulla Tuzon of Hawaii won by decision over Scott Giffin of New Jersey 16-13. Giffen a New Jersey state champion is also nationally ranked by Intermat while Tuzon was an Hawaiin state champion.
Anson comes back to win
Iowa state champion Kyle Anson came back from an early defecit to pin Oklahoma state champion Jamal Parks of Oklahoma.
Eidenschink pins Brandvold
Brent Eidenschink of Minnesota had a big win in round 2 with a fall in :57 over Trevor Brandvold of Wisconsin. Branvold was ranked 4th by Intermat for juniors.
Beebe techs Harris
Connor Beebe of Illinois scored a 13-3 win over Shawn Harris of Ohio in a matchup of top wrestlers at 125.
Peterkin hangs on
Rollie Peterkin of Massachuessetts built an 11-2 lead over Cory Fish of Washington and then had to hang on to win 11-9. Peterkin's win eliminated Fish from the competition. In pool B, Flip Novaochkov of California scored a tech fall over Scott O'Donnell of Missouri to eliminate O'Donnell.
Benefiel goes down
Intermat's number one ranked sophomore, Mike Benefiel of Illinois took a loss in the third round to Chase Pami of Nevada 4-0. Pami was a nationally ranked senior by InterMat.
Dragon down to 145
Matt Dragon of Pennsylvania finished second in the Junior Greco championships on Tuesday evening. Dragon decided to drop to 145 for the freestyle competition for a shot at Brent Metcalf of Michigan. Dragon is 4-0 and has not given up a point in the tournament. Metcalf and Dragon had a tight match at the Dapper Dan Classic which was won by Metcalf.
Session I
What a way to start
Listen to this A Pool: Franklin Gomez (Puerto Rico), T.J. Wunnicke (Wisconsin), Montrell Marion (Iowa), Joey Martin (Connecticut), P.J. Gillespie (New York), Anthony Easter (West Virginia), Rollie Peterkin (Massachussets), Cory Fish (Washington), Ben Ashmore (Texas), Matt Ortega (New Mexico), and Bryan LaShomb (Virginia).
Update: Gomez defeated Wunnicke 11-4 in the first round while Ortega was defeated 11-1 to Levi Mele of Wyoming in the first round. Things don't get easier for either wrestler as Wunnicke meets Marion in round 2 while Ortega meets Ashmore. In Pool B, O'Donnell of Missouri lost by tech fall to Anthony Hayes of Washington.
Notable names missing
Patrick McCaffery of Iowa, Troy Nickerson of New York, Dustin Schlatter of Ohio, Henry Cejudo of Colorado or Arizona (whichever way you want to look at it), Mitch Smith of West Virginia, Patrick Bond of Virginia, and Matt Coughlin of Indiana
135 deep in pool A
The 135 pool A has people buzzing with Reece Humphrey of Indiana, Zach Bailey of Missouri, Cesar Grajales of Florida and Matt Vacanti of Nebraska.
English gets a scare
Indiana's Wesley English nearly found his championship hopes dashed in the opening round, but English hung on to beat Michigan's Jason Brew 9-8 at 145 pounds.
Updated: 8:29 p.m. CDT
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