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 Sophomore class doesn’t have the profile of the class in front of them … to be fair few classes in recent SE memory do. But that doesn’t mean that this class should be overlooked by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, several wrestlers used this weekend’s NHSCA tournament as a bulletin board to demonstrate their talent.
North Carolina led the way with 2 Champs - Jackson Baglio and Jeremiah Price. Unfortunately no other sophs from NC made the podium.
Florida led the way (again) in terms of AA’s. Florida had 8 wrestlers make the podium and watched teammates Eligh Rivera and David McClelland square off for the 126 lb. title.
Tennessee stood out with some outstanding performances and put 5 on the podium.
Georgia and Alabama each had 2 All Americans (and one of those 2 could be counted as from Tennessee - Omaury Alvarez wrestles at Baylor, but is from Georgia) and South Carolina had 1.
SOPHOMORES
Championship Finals
113: Jackson Baglio (NC) dec. Jacob Joyce (RI), 6-4
126: Eligh Rivera (FL) dec. David McClelland (FL), 6-4
145: Jeremiah Price (NC) dec. Dagen Condomitti (PA), 2-1
170: Dylan Newsome (OH) dec. Omaury Alvarez (GA/TN), 6-4
All American Matches
3rd/4th
106: Bryson Terrell (TN) dec. Caleb Uhorchuk (TN), 6-0
120: Cooper Haase (FL) dec. Jaden Pepe (PA), 7-3
145: Ethan Mojena (FL) dec. Brayden Shelton (MD), 8-2
160: Rafael Hipolito (AL) dec. Patrick Johnson (WV), 13-7
220: Noah Todd (TN) forfeit over Myles johnson (OH)
5th/6th
106: Ty Tice (SC) dec. Luke Sirianni (PA), 10-8
120: Amantee Mills (GA) dec. Ethan Lebin (PA), 5-0
170: Daniel Comer Williams (FL) dec. Toby Schoffstall (VA), 3-0
182: Matthew Furman (PA) dec. Thomas Stadel (TN), 10-2
285: Derrick Hart (FL) dec. Gage Howard (UT), 3-1 SV1
7th/8th
138: Luke Belcher (TN) dec. Cooper French (AZ), 10-2
170: Nathan Fury (KS) forfeit over Dominic Joyce (FL)
285: Nathaniel Box (FL) dec. Max Sunderman (AL), 5-2
BRIEFLY BY WEIGHT CLASS
106
The SE brought several good Sophomore 106’s to Virginia Beach. The most notable one missing was Tyler Washburn of Florida who was in Wisconsin trying to make a World Team in both Freestyle and Greco. Still the SE had 3 make the podium in TN’s Bryson Terrell and Caleb Uhorchuk and South Carolina’s Ty Tice. Terrell is the only one of the three that didn’t win a state title this year (losing in the TN 3A finals), but he finished the highest of the 3 on the podium (and beat Tice 5-0 and Uhorchuk 6-0 on his way to 3rd). Terrell’s only loss came to eventual Champ Brady Roark of MO in the semis. Uhorchuk finished 5-2 and was in some really good matches. He beat Dolan of WV 4-2 in sudden victory, beat Sirianni 3-2 and lost to PA’’s Wagner 3-2. Tice lost his first match - an 8-6 decision to Toby Bullerman of Indiana and then won 6 in a row to make the podium (including avenging his earlier loss to Billerman 1-0 in the consi quarters). Georgia’s Kolby Dempsey was 3-2.
113
Jackson Baglio wrestled outstanding on his way to the 113 lb. title. He had 4 falls, an 11-2 decision of Milheim of PA before downing Rhode Island’s Jacob Joyce 6-4 in the finals. Baglio probably had the best tournament of any SE sophomore. No other SE wrestlers made the podium, but several had good tournaments. Alabama’s Hudson Waldrop was 3-2 as was North Carolina Hunter Gundry was also 3-2 (with a nice 8-0 win over Waldrop in the consis). Several other SE hammers went 2-2.
120
Really good weight class that saw two SE hammers make the podium - Florida’s Cooper Haase in 3rd and Georgia’s Amantee Mills in 5th. Haase wrestled great in winning some tight matches … he beat AJ Rallo of Missouri 5-3 and then Massachustetts Tyler Knox 4-2 in an ultimate tibreaker. His only loss came to eventual Champ Luke Poore of Delaware 3-2 in the semis. Haase beat Mills 1-0 to make the consi finals. Mills had 2 losses on the weekend (to go along with his 6 wins) - one to Haase and one to eventual Runner-up Joel Brown of Maryland (4-2 in the quarters). Some context … Mills beat Oklahoma’s Braden Potts (a Knockout placer) 4-2 in the round of 32. South Carolina’s Ben Guilliam also had a good weekend - going 3-2 with a loss to Haase and PA’s Dylan Granahan.
126
It doesn’t happen often that you get an SE vs. SE matchup in a national final … it is even rarer still to get the same state in the finals (it happened 3 times in 2021). It is probably unheard of to have teammates in the finals against one another. But that is what happened at Soph 126 with Lake Highland Prep teammates Eligh Rivera and David McClelland. Rivera absolutely dominated the bottom side of the bracket (except his match with PA’s Barnhart - get a chance go watch this quarter) - he had 3 falls and a tech fall before downing David Cross of Missouri 6-0 in the semis. McLelland was also dominant on the top side - 2 falls a 7-3 decision over O’Donnell of PA and a 9-5 decision of Gage Owen of Maryland. NC’s Brock Carey was 5-2 on the weekend, but defaulted his last match to Ethan Kolb (who finished 7th). Fellow Floridian Aaron Lanster went 4-2 and lost in the consis (2 wins from making the podium). Georgia’s Conner Kimbrough and TN’s Connor Warnock each went 3-2.
132
Soph 132 was one of the deepest weights of the tournament. No SE hammers made the podium - Missouri’s Carter McCallister was outstanding in taking the top step. NC’s Tyler Tracy was 4-2 with a nice 8-2 win over TN’s Gumlick. Tracy lost his opening match to eventual 3rd place finisher Collin Arch of Missouri - he rebounded with 4 wins before being eliminated. Alabama’s Devin Stone also finished the weekend 4-2 - advancing to the quarters before taking 2 losses (to Marrero and Roth - both finished on the podium).
138
Bradley Central’s (TN) Luke Belcher was the only SE hammer to navigate through a tough 138 lb. bracket and make the podium - he finished 7th with a 10-2 win over AZ’s Cooper French. Belcher lost a close quarter to Antonio Rodrigues (MD) 4-3 … he finished the weekend 5-2. North Carolina’s Daniel Tierney was closest of the SE hammers to making the podium. He lost in the bloodround to PA’s Andrew Harmon after getting some nice wins (including a 10-0 decision of Duke Byfield of Florida and 8-2 of GA’s Elijah Doolittle). GA’s Lance Thacker, Tyler McKnight, and Eli Doolittle, NC’s Logan Fite, and TN’s Ryan Tisdale all had nice weekend’s but none were able to breakthrough to find the podium.
145
Florida’s Ethan Mojena came in as the top seed at 145 … he finished the weekend 9-1 and 3rd on the podium. His only loss coming in the round of 16 to Avery Allen of Montana (who ended up not making the podium). Mojena’s six straight wins on the backside was impressive. Perhaps more impressive was North Carolina’s Jeremiah Price who won 6 in a row on the front side to claim the title at 145. Price was super in tough matches - he beat Dominic Frontino (PA) 3-1 SV in the quarters, Missouri’s Brayden Shelton 8-7 UTB in the semis and then downed Dagen Condomitti (PA) 2-1 in the finals. Outstanding job by both of these two SE hammers. Florida’s Alex Soto, Georgia’s Kacen Taylor, and South Carolina’s Santiago Rueda were each 3-2, but in a bracket as large and deep as SO 145 - that wasn’t close to making the podium.
152
No SE hammers made the podium in a very deep 152 bracket. Georgia’s Joey Bertrand finished 5-2 and some nice wins over TN’s Aidan Brenot (1-0) and Adrian Ochoa (FL). Florida’s Adrian Ochoa also had a good weekend finihsing 3-2.
160
Alabama’s Rafael Hipolito put the finishing touches on a really good sophomore season. He went 7-1 at 160 and finished 3rd with his only loss coming to eventual Champ Sergio Montoya of California in the quarters. Florida’s Nick Giompalo lost his opening match to eventual Champ Montoya and then won 5 in a row before losing in the bloodround. Giompalo could’ve made the list of those on the rise if I had opened a few more spots. South Carolina’s Gabriel Juarez finished the weekend 4-2 (with a close loss to Hipolito in the bloodround). GA’s Zac McKnight 3-2 (loss to Hipolito and Patrick Johnson of West Virginia who finished 4th).
170
3 SE hammers made the podium at 170 including Baylor’s (TN) Omaury Alvarez who reached the finals before losing to Ohio’s Dylan Newsome 6-4. Alvarez had some nice wins over some tough competition - he finished the tournament 5-1 with wins over Justin Griffith of NJ 5-4 and Toby Schoffstall of VA 6-4. LHP’s Daniel Comer Williams isn’t probably well known to many Floridians because LHP didn’t wrestle in the FHSAA this year - but watching him wrestle Gabe Arnold earlier in the year - you knew he would be a problem. He finished 5-2 with losses to eventual Champ Newsome and NJ’s Griffith and ended up 5th on the podium. The final SE wrestler to make the podium is Florida’s Dominic Joyce who was 8th (he medically forfeited his last match). Really good tournament especially a tough 9-8 win over Damon Nelson of Maryland in the bloodround.
182
Very good tournament for Tennessee State Placer Thomas Stadel of Maryville. Stadel finished 3-3 and took 6th, but it was his ability to get close wins that stood out. He beat Kade Werner of PA 4-3 in his opening match, Sam Schmidt of Oklahoma 5-1 to make the podium and John Roberts of Oklahoma 4-2 to finish top 6.
195
No SE hammers made the podium, but TN’s Hayden McDonald went 3-2 and lost in the bloodround 8-1 to Dustin Gue of Virginia.
220
TN’s Noah Todd stepped up in a big way and finished 3rd with an impressive 5-1 record. He had nice wins over Brothers of West Virginia and Evans of PA and took his only loss in overtime to runner-up Sam Sorenson of New York. TN’s Caleb Wolfe bounced back from a first round loss to Trent Sibble to win 3 in a row before losing in the bloodround to John Vinciguerra of NJ 3-2.
285
3 SE wrestlers made the podium at 285 - FL’s Derrick Hart was 5th, FL’s Nathaniel Box was 7th, and AL’s Maddox Sunderman was 8th. Good showing for the SE big guys. Sunderman lost to both Hart (2-0) and Box (5-2). Hart wrestled extremely well finishing the weekend 5-2 … he lost to PA’s Brosko 3-2 in the quarters, but rebounded to make the podium. He had a nice win over Utah’s Gage Howard for 5th. Box was in some close matches this weekend … losing in TB2 to Gage Howard, but beating Ohio’s Tyler Jackson 3-2. Young heavyweights continue to get better … Florida and Alabama should keep an eye out for these 3 over the next two years.
On the Rise
The following 10 Sophomores - in my opinion - saw their stock rise after the NHSCA’s. The Sophomore season is a good year to make a name if you want to wrestle in college. These 10 wrestled well enough to pop up on some radars.
Jackson Baglio (NC) - Jackson not only claimed the top spot at 113 - he did so in dominating style. He had 4 falls (3 in the 1st period), a major decision, and then beat Joyce 6-4 for the title. In the final he gave up the first takedown, but then rallied for a 3-2 lead after the 1st period. Joyce got a reversal to start the 2nd, but Baglio got a reversal about 30 seconds later and never looked back on his way to a 6-4 win.
Rafael Hipolito (AL) - Hipolito had to be flying well under the radar back in February … since then he has burst onto the scene. He won a very tough weight in the Alabama 5A-6A State Tournament and followed that up with a 3rd place finish at NHSCA’s - his only loss coming to eventual champ. Four months ago - few people outside of the Pelham area knew how good Hipolito was … that is no longer the case.
Jeremiah Price (NC) - Few had a better weekend than Jeremiah Price. He could be #1 on this list, but we went with #3 because he came into the tournament with the expectation of making a run at the title. Still the close matches he won in the quarters, semis, and finals were outstanding.
Cooper Haase (FL) - Haase broke through this weekend and really made a run at a national title. He lost a close match in the semis, but demonstrated he has all of the ability to claim a national title.
Noah Todd (TN) - nearly made the 220 final - losing to eventual runner-up Sorenson of New York in the semis. If schools are looking for a developing heavyweight - look no further than Todd who continues to get better each time out.
Eligh Rivera (FL) - Rivera would probably not usually make this list because he is already recognized as one of the best Sophomore 126’s around … but what stood out was how dominant he was and how he was able to knock off Spencer Barnhart (with a fall) in the ultimate tiebreaker.
Bryson Terrell (TN) - beat Tice and Uhorchuk to take 3rd at 106. Only loss came to the eventual Champ in the semis. Really good tournament for Bryson.
David McClelland (FL) - McClelland seems to be getting better and better … and a very good room will help make those types of jumps. He was in control of every match - except in the finals vs. Rivera. A nice run to the finals puts him #8 on this list.
Omaury Alvarez (TN/GA) - Alvarez made a nice run to the finals … he (like Price, Mojena, and Rivera) is probably on some radar’s already, but a run to the finals here can only help raise his stock.
Ethan Mojena (FL) - won 6 in a row in the backside to finish 3rd at 145. I know Ethan had set his sights on the top step, but to rebound and fight your way back through the bracket speaks volumes.
