Grappler Fall Classic - What happened at 135
Results:
Nic Bouzakis (PA)
Tom Crook (FL)
Richard Fedalen (MD)
Joseph Sealey (NC)
Camron Lacure (OH)
Evan Holloway (VA)
Ryan Watts (CA)
David Panone (GA)
Seeds:
Nic Bouzakis (PA)
Davin Rhoads (OH)
Tom Crook (FL)
Camron Lacure (OH)
Evan Holloway (VA)
Pierson Manville (PA)
Richard Fedalen (MD)
David Panone (GA)
Final: Bouzakis was dominant over a very talented Tom Crook winning 5-2. Crook kept it close and had some opportunities, but Bouzakis found a way to score from Crook’s best chances. Florida’s Crook showed why he is one of the best 132/138’s around (and certainly at the top in the SE), but Bouzakis was simply better.
Top side: Bouzakis dominated. He won by fall, 10-3, 12-3 over TN’s Brennan Watkins, and 11-3 over Virginia hammer Evan Holloway to advance to the finals. Holloway was impressive in the 2nd quarter of the bracket … he had two techs (one vs. GA’s Jackson Whitmire) before beating Michigan’s Mason Shrader 5-4 and then beat 4 seed Camron Lacure 6-4 SV1 to advance to the semis opposite Bouzakis. TN’s Brennan Watkins was impressive … he beat Florida Champ Alex Couto 8-6 SV1 and David Panone by fall before losing to Bouzakis.
Bottom side: Crook did what we in the SE expect … he was solid in every position. He had 2 falls then a 13-6 decision of Michigan’s Aiden Davis before beating FL’s Isaac Church 9-1 in the quarters. The bottom quarter featured a name that everyone in the SE better become accustomed to … Joe Sealey of North Carolina. Sealey, who wasn’t seeded, had a pin and then a tech fall of TN State Runner-up Sean Pitts before downing the 2 seed Davin Rhoads 13-7 in the RD 16. Sealey then lost a very close match to Maryland’s Richard Fedalen (the 7 seed) 7-5 SV1 in the Saturday evening quarters. Crook downed Fedalen 4-2 with a takedown in the 3rd period to advance to the finals.
SE highlights (not mentioned above):
So I just watched the Eli Knight vs. Isaac Church match. Knight is from Georgia and Church is from Florida. I did not see the match live and was not there to see it for myself (or what might have been said) … before I get to my summary - Knight was DQ’d by the official (and subsequently forfeited out of the tournament when he dropped to the consis). I did not see an illegal move/hold and I would need to understand why the official called it the way he did. Knight was obviously frustrated at the end of the match (and I never criticize officials - the job is too difficult, but I do not understand the call from what I saw) … perhaps someone can clarify it for me. Onto the SE highlights …
Both Knight and Church wrestled very well until their match. Church had a 6-4 win over PA’s Pierson Manville and Eli Knight beat fellow GA hammer Connor Powell 14-1 and NC’s Ian Murdock 5-4 before the “incident”. Church lost 6-0 to Panone on the backside and was eliminated.
Brennan Watkins lost his consi match in SV (sudden victory) to Watts 7-5 and was eliminated one match from the podium.
The 2nd quarter of the consi bracket was insane with Manville, Rhoads and Lacure. Murdock was eliminated by Manville and Omar Corrales wrestled well but was eliminated by Von Savoye 3-0.
Panone rebounded from his loss to Watkins to beat Wittenberg 7-0, Whitehill 3-1, Church 6-0, before losing to Sealey 12-3 and Watts 6-2 and finishing 8th.
Sealey, in turn, beat Shrader 8-6, then Panone, and then Evan Holloway 12-2 before losing to Fedalen in the consi finals.