The last few weeks have seen the U15, Cadet, Junior, and Senior Nationals … and quite a performance from SE hammers (or former hammers). Apologies if I missed anyone - just let me know with a tweet or a message and I will get it fixed.

Photo Credit: Sam Janicki does a great job of covering wrestling. You can find each of his galleries by clicking the photo. NOTE: The galleries for JR and SR Pics are not yet posted. When they are I will add in a link to see them all.

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UWW U15 Nationals

Tennessee’s Cooper Hilton Wins Greco 44 kg

Hilton downed Isaiah Cortez of California 1-4, 5-1, and 6-3 in their best of 3 finals at 44 kg. Hilton won 4 in a row to reach the finals - outscoring his opponents 39-4. Other SE U15’s making the podium in Greco were:

• Lincoln Sledzianowski (4th at 38 kg)

• Brodie Christmas (5th at 48 kg)

• Hunter Sturgill (5th at 57 kg)

• Emil Necula (2nd at 68 kg)

• Bas Diaz (4th at 68 kg)

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Tennessee’s Cooper Hilton Wins Freestyle 44 kg

Hilton was back at it in freestyle as he took two straight matches from Seth Mendoza of Illinois to claim the 44 kg Freestyle title. Hilton was even more dominant in Freestyle - outscoring his opponents 43-2 on his way to the finals.

Florida’s Bas Diaz wins Freestyle 68 kg

Other SE U15’s making the podium in Freestyle were:

• Lincoln Sledzianowski (6th at 38 kg)

• Emil Necula (6th at 68 kg)

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UWW Cadet Nationals

Alabama’s Cory Land wins Greco 55 kg

Land blew through the bracket raking up wins of 10-2, 8-0, 8-0, and 10-2 before downing Gable Porter 8-0 and 8-4 in two straight matches to make his 2nd World Team. Other SE Cadet’s making the podium in Greco were:

• Sam Herring (5th at 48 kg) - TN wrestler now in PA

• Tyler Washburn (8th at 48 kg)

• Gabe Arnold (5th at 80 kg) - Georgia wrestler now at Wyoming Seminary in PA

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Sealey and Arnold make the podium in Cadet Freestyle

North Carolina’s Joe Sealey finished 6th at 71 kg (after a controversial semifinal to Levi Haines of PA). Georgia’s Gabe Arnold finished 7th at 80 kg.

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UWW Junior Nationals

Georgia’s Matthew Singleton claims the 77 kg Greco title

Georgia’s Matthew Singleton had a 14-6, 8-0, and 12-7 wins to make the finals at 77 kg. He then downed Justin McCunn (Grand View) 8-6 and 9-0 to claim the title. Other SE Junior’s making the podium in Greco were:

• Nick Masters (8th at 60 kg)

• Cody Chittum (5th at 67 kg)

• RJ Weston (8th at 72 kg)

• Dylan Kohn (4th at 77 kg)

• Ryan Cody (6th at 87 kg)

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Six SE wrestlers make the podium in JR Freestyle

• Cooper Flynn (4th at 57 kg)

• Jaxon Maroney (8th at 61 kg)

• Shannon Hanna (8th at 65 kg)

• Caleb Henson (5th at 70 kg)

• Matthew Singleton (7th at 79 kg)

• Jaxon Smith (4th at 86 kg)

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UWW Senior Nationals

Tennessee’s Nick Boykin wins his 2nd Greco SR National Title

Former Tennessee hammer Nick Boykin came back from being down 7-0 to get the fall and eanr his 2nd SR National Title at 97 kg. Other “former” SE wrestlers making the podium in Greco:

• Elijah Varona (8th at 55 kg)

• Thomas Hicks (6th at 60 kg)

• Tommy Bracket (2nd at 87 kg)

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former georgia hammer Taylor lujan wins 79 kg freestyle title

Don’t know who to give Photo Credit to - pulled from Twitter

Lujan dominated the 79 kg with 10-0, 10-0, fall, and then an 11-4 win over David McFadden to make the finals opposite Isaiah Martinez (Martinez had to forfeit the final). Other former SE hammers making the podium include:

• Pat Lugo (3rd at 65 kg)

• Timothy Dudley (3rd at 92 kg)

• Scottie Boykin (4th at 92 kg)

Same thing here with the girls as with the boys wrap up. I have only watched a few of each girls matches so far … so this won’t be in great depth, but will highlight those girls that had an outstanding weekend. For those of you unfamiliar with NHSCA - the boys are separated into their high school “class" (Senior, Junior, etc.). The girls haven’t had the # of participants for that to happen … yet. Perhaps as girls wrestling continues to grow - one bracket at NHSCA’s will be a thing of the past.

The Results

• Georgia and Florida each had National Champs - nice to see 4 of our 6 states represented in the finals as Aniyah Kelly of SC and Jailynn Tindall of TN both lost their finals match.

• Georgia had 5 All Americans including National Champ CG Bertrand

• Florida had just one - National Champ Chloe Ogden

• South Carolina had 3 AA’s

• Alabama, Tennessee and North Carolina each had 1 AA

Championship Finals

• 112: Catherine Grace Bertrand (GA) fall Chloe Herrick (MO), 1:47

• 128: Janida Garcia (CA) dec. Aniyah Kelly (SC), 5-0

• 136: Chloe Ogden (FL) fall Abby Piper (WA), 2:40

• 144: Loralei Smith Milton (WV) dec. Jailynn Tindall (TN), 8-6

All Americans

3rd/4th

• 144: Kilee Callaghan (WA) def. Yasmine Oliveira (AL), 3-2 2:05

5th/6th

• 120: Isabella Hoffman (SC) fall Sam Parcell (CA), 1:32

• 128: Aileen Lester (AK) fall Brette Spink (TN), 3:07

• 136: Kiana Daniel Los Banos (CA) fall Hannah Mains (SC), 2:35

• 144: Mia Buckner (GA) fall Brianne Honaker (VA), 1:23

7th/8th

• 112: Alyssa Valdiva (GA) fall Reagan Riddick (NC), 3:16

• 144: Tays Pascual (NY) fall Kamryn Ellis (GA), 0:33

• 160: Shianne Whited (VA) fall Caitlyn Mixon (GA), 0:56

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Briefly by Weight Class

103

No SE wrestlers made the podium. NC’s Heaven Fitch came in as the #2 seed, but dropped her quarter to California’s Kaelami Shufeldt 6-2 and then her next match 4-0 to Mia Zuniga of Washington to finish 2-2. Florida’s Kealonie Bega also went 2-2 with an 8-2 loss to Fitch. Vega had 2 good wins over Rylee Balcazar of Colorado and Charlee Shuler of VA, but couldn’t find her way to the podium through the backside.

112

Georgia’s CG Bertrand was simply outstanding on her way to the 112 lb. title. Presbyterian is getting a good one next year. Three of her 5 wins were by fall including her finals match over Chloe Herrick of Missouri. She outscored her opponents 28-1 - giving up her one point as a penalty at the end of her match vs. Isabella Ngo 13-1. Georgia also had another AA at 112 - Alyssa Valdiva who finished 7h. She finished the weekend 5-2 by pinning NC’s Reagan Riddick in the 7th/8th place match. Riddick was 3-3 with a fall of Grace Elliott of TN and a 9-0 decision of Madison Packer of CA to make the podium.

120

The South Carolina girls wrestled well this weekend and that included All American Isabella Hoffman at 120. Hoffman finished 3-2 and 5th - pinning CA’s Sam Parcell in her placement match. Hoffman ran into one of the best in PA’s Montana Delawder in the semis … Delawder rolled to the title.

128

South Carolina’s Aniyah Kelly showed why she is one of the best 128’s in the SE … she finished the weekend 4-1 with a loss to Janida Garcia of California in the the finals. Kelly had quite the back and forth semi vs. Brooklyn Grant of Delaware - eventually coming out on top of a 13-9 decision. TN’s Brette Spink also made the podium - finishing the weekend 3-3 and taking 6th. She lost to AA’s Dillard, Grant, and Aileen Lester. Spink had a nice win over Mullis of Georgia and a 10-8 decision of Lara Schecter to make top 6.

136

Florida’s Ogden is the top 136 in the country and she showed that this past weekend at NHSCA’s. She went 4-0 with 3 falls and a 12-5 decision of Alexandra Lopez of California. One of Ogden’s wins came over SC’s Hannah Mains who rebounded from that semifinal loss to make the podium in the #6 spot.

144

144 was good to the Southeast. 4 SE hammers made the podium including runner-up Jailynn Tindall of Tennessee. Tindall dominated her first 3 matches - winning with 2 falls and an 8-0 major of Mia Buckner of Georgia (who finished 5th). She dropped her finals match 8-6 - had an opportunity to tie it in the last minute with a takedown but couldn’t make it happen. Alabama’s Yasmine Oliveira had a very good tournament in taking 4th at 144. Oliveira also lost a close one to Smith in the semis 10-6 - rebounded with a 7-5 SV1 over Buckner before defaulting to Kilee Callaghan of Washington and taking 4th. Buckner finished 4-2 with her only losses coming to fellow SE wrestlers. GA’s Kamryn Ellis rounded out the SE wrestlers on the podium by finishing 8th.

160

Georgia’s Caitlyn Mixon lost her first match to Shianne Whited of Virginia and then rebounded to win two matches to make the podium - she would eventually lose a second time to Whited and take 8th.

185

185 had no SE wrestlers in a bracket that was dominated by Savannah Isaac of Ohio.

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On the rise

These 10 girls showed that they deserve a look. Sure folkstyle vs. freestyle - very different, but loved the way they battled through their brackets.

1. Jaiylnn Tindall (TN) - Bertrand could’ve been #1 on this list, but she is a known commodity and is nationally-ranked. Tindall, on the other hand,

2. Catherine Grace Bertrand (GA) - Bertrand was simply awesome on her way to the 112 lb. title - the only reason she (or Ogden) aren’t #1 on this list is because they are already “at their ceiling” in terms of being known. CG is off to Presbyterian next year and it will be interesting to see how she transitions to wrestling just freestyle in college.

3. Yasmine Oliveira (AL) - really good weekend for Oliveira. She nearly downed eventual Champ Smith in the semis - rebounded for a win in the consi semis before defaulting for 4th.

4. Aniyah Kelly (SC) - Kelly finished 2nd at 128 - she was 4-1 and looked great in making the finals.

5. Chloe Ogen (FL) - Nowhere for the #1 wrestler at 144 to go. She is already committed (signed?) to the University of North Carolina. She dominated her weight, but that was expected.

6. Alyssa Valdiva (GA) - finished on the podium in a deep 112 lb. bracket. Beat fellow SE hammer Reagan Riddick for 7th.

7. Isabella Hoffman (SC) - Hoffman made the podium in a deep 120 bracket. She lost to PA’s Delawder in the semis and ended up 5th.

8. Brette Spink (TN) - AA at 128 - lost some tough matches, but fought back through the consis to finish 6th.

9. Mia Buckner (GA) - went 4-2 and fought hard all weekend to take 6th at 144.

10. Hannah Mains (SC) - finished 6th in at 136 - made the semis where she lost to Ogden.

Same note as from the other Wrap-ups … so if you’ve read it - skip to the results.

I don’t have the time or the bandwidth to write this like a normal article … so I’m going to highlight with bullets the things that stood out to me. Keep in mind that there were tons of matches - and as of Monday I have only been able to watch a handful (I will go back over the next two weeks and watch every match that an SE wrestler competed in - but it isn’t in time for this wrap-up).

An important note … not all brackets are created equal. A wrestler could have gone 4-2 in a very deep weight - not made the podium, but in my estimation had a very good tournament. That doesn’t diminish any wrestler that made the podium in a weight that wasn’t as deep or didn’t have the top-end talent like some others … those wrestlers came to compete - they did and they did their job of making the podium. I just want everyone to know that because I highlight someone that didn’t make the podium (over someone that did) doesn’t mean anything (don’t read too much into it). The same is true for the draw … some draws are easier than others. But winning close matches and advancing says a lot - you have no control over your draw - you only have control over how you compete.

THE RESULTS

The Freshmen class has some real hammers, but it is hard to know how that will translate as they move up to high school. The freshmen held their own this weekend against some very competition. Crapps, Larson, and Bartelt each won an NHSCA National title and are well on their way to be on the radar of some college programs.

• Georgia had 7 All Americans

• Florida had 5

• Alabama had 2 finalists - no other AA’s

• Tennessee had 1 AA in Landon Desselle

• Wilfong and Murray led the way for North Carolina

FRESHMEN

Championship Finals

• 120: Jake Crapps (GA) dec. Matthew Hart (OH), 6-2

• 145: Seth Larson (GA) dec. Oliver Howard (AL), 5-1

• 182: Tucker Paynter (PA) dec. Landon Williams (AL), 12-3

• 195: Sawyer Bartelt (FL) dec. Carter Neves (OH), 3-1 SV1

All American Matches

3rd/4th

• 106: Ethan Rivera (FL) dec. Draegen Orine (MO), 9-6

• 145: Latrell Schafer (GA) dec. Noah Hall (VA), 8-2

• 160: Hoke Poe-Hogan (GA) dec. Creed Thomas (GA), 6-5

• 285: Brandon Toranzo (NJ) fall Jacquavian Daniels (GA), 5:29

5th/6th

• 126: Andrew Wittenberg (FL) dec. Bryce Griffin (IL), 6-1

• 132: Landon Desselle (TN) dec. Tristin Greene (OH), 10-1

• 152: Ryan Garvick (PA) dec. Tyler Secoy (GA), 6-4

• 170: Tre Wilfong (NC) dec. Bryce Phillips (MO), 10-2

7th/8th

• 132: Brandon Cody (FL) fall Austin Simmons (CA), 2:27

• 138: Eli Murray (NC) dec. Brandon Bauer (NJ), 9-6

• 145: Eddie Nietenbach (OH) forfeit Gunner Holland (FL)

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BRIEFLY BY WEIGHT CLASS

106

Great weight class that was headlined by Ohio hammer Beric Jordan - the eventual champ, but he got a call that most don’t over Rivera in the semis (with seconds left in a match that Rivera was leading by 1). Interested in the match - you can watch the replay n Flowrestling. Besides that hiccup - Rivera was outstanding in taking 3rd. NC’s Cameron Stinson went 5-2 and lost in the bloodround to Bryson Valdez of New Mexico. His 13-2 major of Reed Walker of Georgia was super impressive. Baglio, Tellez, and Mitchum each finished 3-2 on the weekend - but in a deep 106 lb. bracket that wasn’t close to making the podium.

113

No SE freshmen made the podium at 113, but several gave it a go. Florida State Champ Anderson Heap went 4-2 - he lost 5-4 UTB to Tyson Sherlock and then to Cash Donnell in the consis. Good run, but not quite good enough to make the podium. TN’s Jarvis Little went 5-2 - losing to Sherlock in the opening round 3-0 and then won 5 straight before being eliminated by Mason Kernan of PA. Both Heap and Little lost two wins short of making the podium.

120

Few freshmen come in with the same hype as Jake Crapps of Georgia (the only one that I can think of is Sawyer Bartelt of Florida) … and both deserve it. Crapps won 5 in a row to claim the 120 lb. title. His toughest match came in the semis vs. Omar Ayoub of Ohio … a 4-3 decision. Otherwise Crapps wasn’t really challenged. The only SE hammer to get close to making the podium was Georgia’s Noah Danforth who finished 3-2 - 2 wins shy of the podium.

126

Florida’s Andrew Wittenberg was the only SE hammer to make the podium - finishing 5th after going 5-2 on the weekend. Wittenberg is another name that might not be as familiar because he wrestles at LHP and they didn’t wrestle at the Florida State Tournament this year - I’m sure you would have heard his and others names much more if there had been an Ironman, Doc B, etc. this year. Jack Garrett of Georgia also had a good weekend, but ran into Wittenberg on the front side and then was eliminated after losing to PA’s Chase Frameli 6-1 in the consis.

132

Two SE hammers made the podium at 132 … TN’s Landon Desselle was 5th and Florida’s Brandon Cody was 7th. Desselle was 5-2 with 4 of his wins by fall and a 10-1 major over Tristin Greene of Ohio for 5th. Desselle’s win in the Round of 16 over Casper Stewart of New York where he was down late in the 3rd period and got the fall was his most impressive win. Love the fight. Cody was 4-2 with wins over California’s Austin Simmons and Virginia’s Thomas Stofka. He lost a close quarter vs. Colorado’s D’mitri Alarcon 2-1. Georgia had two - Konlin Weaver and Marley Washington - that lost in the bloodround.

138

138 was another very deep weight and just one SE hammer was able to work his way to the podium - Eli Murray of North Carolina. Murray lost his 1st round match to eventual Champ Miguel Estrada 14-5 and then won 4 in a row to make the podium. Wins over Griffin Walizer of PA and Dane Steel of West Virginia were part of that run for Murray who ended up 7th.

145

145 was loaded with SE hammers and Georgia State Champ Seth Larson won some close matches to take the title. He downed Florida State Champ Gunner Holland 3-2 in the quarters and fellow Georgian Latrell Schafer 3-1 in the semis. A 5-1 decision over Alabama’s Oliver Howard capped off a nice weekend. Howard easily handled the bottom side of the bracket on his way to the finals … beating Franlin Enkmandakh of California 6-2, Jaxon Townsed of PA 12-1, and Tyrus Jangula of North Dakota 11-0. Schafer bounced back from his semi loss to Larson to take 3rd with an 8-2 decision of Noah Hall of Virginia. Holland downed Alabama’s Cole Sykes 4-0 to make the podium - losing a close one to Noah Hall in the consi semis before medically forfeiting to 8th. In all - a great weight for the SE.

152

Georgia’s Tyler Secoy was the only SE hammer to make the podium at 152. He had 3 wins to start the tournament including an 8-5 win over NJ’s Frank DiBella and a 17-7 major of KY’s Joshua Strayer. He took a tough loss to eventual Champ Zack Ryder of New York in the semis. Unfortunately for Secoy he couldn’t get back on track and lost two close matches to finish the tournament in 6th. Overall a nice run to the podium.

160

Really good weight class that ultimately saw Jefferson (GA) teammates Hoke Poe-Hogan and Creed Thomas cross paths for 3rd. Poe-Hogan had 2 good wins before dropping his semi to eventual Champ Nate Taylor of Connecticut 4-3. Thomas took care of business on the bottom side with a fall and a 13-6 decision before dropping his semifinal match to Gunner Cramblett of Ohio 7-1. Both won their consi semis matches fairly easily and then we got to see a good 6-5 match go Poe-Hogan’s way for 3rd.

170

North Carolina’s Tre Wilfong was the only SE wrestler to make the podium at 170. He had 2 falls to start the tournament and then lost 4-2 to Utah’s Landen Shurtleff in the semis. A tough 4-3 loss to another Utahan in Cayaen Smith in the consi semis put him into the 5th/6th place match where he downed Bryce Phillips of Maryland 10-2.

182

Freshmen Division and bigger guys … the brackets have a tendency to shrink a bit. At that is especially true this year as the NHSCA put a limit on the number of wrestlers. Still Alabama’s Landon Williams looked good in a limited number of matches (he got just 3 - going 2-1 and finishing 2nd). Williams had a nice single leg takedown and then into a guillotine to pin Connecticut’s Dom Iaquinto in the 1st period of their semi.

195

195 featured several very talented freshmen. Florida’s Sawyer Bartelt had a fall and a tech fall before grinding out a 7-2 decision over VA’s Parker Ferrell (who finished 3rd). Bartelt then drew Ohio’s Carter Neves in the finals … a match that Bartelt won with a takedown in sudden victory.

220

The SE didn’t have any entries at 220 - in a bracket that was only 8 deep and won by PA’s Dante Burns.

285

Larger bracket than 220 - Georgia’s Jaquavion Daniels had a very nice tournament finishing 4th. He had 2 falls before losing to Lousiana’s Spencer Lanosga in the semis. A win over UT’s McNaughton and a loss to NJ’s Brandon Toranzo put him 4th on the podium.

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ON THE RISE

These 10 Freshmen - in my opinion - showed that the next group of high school hammers are here. Not many freshmen get a ton of attention, but if these 10 continue to develop they should have programs from all over knocking on their door.

1. Seth Larson (GA) - Larson beat Holland, Schafer and Howard to claim the 145 lb. top step. He showed he can win the close matches and has to be one of the fastest rising freshmen around.

2. Jake Crapps (GA) - Crapps is a known commodity - so a win here isn’t surprising. It was nice to see him battle with Ayoub of Ohio in the semis - showing he continues to get better every time out.

3. Sawyer Bartelt (FL) - Bartelt, like Crapps, is a known commodity. It isn’t common that you have two very good freshmen 195’s cross paths, but that happened in the finals with Bartelt and Neves. A good match for Bartelt to showcase his skills.

4. Ethan Rivera (FL) - Rivera was within a breath of knocking off Jordan in the semis. Would he have beaten Quintero of California in the finals … who knows, but he had a great tournament and deserves to be high on this list.

5. Oliver Howard (AL) - Howard (as far as I can tell) didn’t wrestle this high school season, but has wrestled in various tournaments around the SE - still making a final at 145 at NHSCA’s is big. If you didn’t know his name before this weekend … you do now.

6. Landon Williams (AL) - Williams (like Howard) didn’t wrestle the past high school season in Alabama. He had a nice run 182 lb. bracket before losing in the finals.

7. Latrell Schafer (GA) - Schafer finished 3rd in a good 145 lb. bracket with his only loss coming to eventual Champ Larson in the semis.

8. Hoke Poe-Hogan (GA) - Poe-Hogan came in as the top seed in the 160 lb. bracket … had a good tournament finishing 4-1 with his only loss coming to eventual champ Nate Taylor 4-3 in the semis.

9. Tre Wilfong (NC) - Wilfong had a really good tournament - finishing 5th at 170. His two losses were very close and he was very close to breaking through to the finals. It will be interesting to see how his first high school season goes this year.

10. Tyler Secoy (GA) - Secoy had three excellent wins to start the tournament (and make the semis). He took 2 tough losses in the consis or he would’ve been higher on this list.

Struggled in picking the last few in this group. Florida’s Andrew Wittenberg, Tennessee’s Landon Desselle as well as Georgia’s Jacquavian Daniels and Creed Thomas could be on this list. I went with Wilfong, Hoke Poe-Hogan, and Secoy partly because of the depth of the weights (although Wittenberg at 126 and Desselle at 132 had a very good weights as well). Any of the wrestlers making the podium could be in the top 10 and all are “on the rise” based on their performance this weekend.