For All the Marbles: St. Edward’s take on BlairAcademy for the National Championship Saturday Nite! 

            This was supposed to be the year.  Then Big Ben Kuhar went down.
            Lakewood St. Edward’s, dominant in Ohio for some many years, has been chasing Blair Academy, the nation’s best team, for the past five years.  They have been the top two programs in the nation, but clearly Blair has been #1 and St. Ed’s #2.   Blair Academy looked a little less invincible than most years going into this season- while St. Ed’s had never returned more talent.  Most observers felt that this year could be the time for St. Ed’s to be climb to the #1 spot in the nation.
            Then “Big Ben” went down.  And so did the hopes of Lakewood St. Edward’s fans. 
            Ben Kuhar, St. Ed’s state runner-up and cadet national champion heavyweight, was probably the most difficult wrestler for St. Ed’s to replace in their lineup.  In many weights, particularly in the middleweights, St. Ed’s has wrestlers on their “Green Team” (what St. Ed’s calls their 2nd string) who could go to state and even place.  Heavyweight is a more difficult situation- virtually no team has two elite heavyweights.  So when Kuhar suffered an ACL injury in football, the feeling was that St. Ed’s chances of unseating Blair Academy went down with him. 
            Indeed, St. Ed’s has come up short against Blair in two tournaments, the Ironman and Beast of the East, already this year.  At Ironman it was very close, at Beast, a blowout.  However, St. Ed’s was missing key wrestlers at both tournaments.  Now, for the first time, they will challenge Blair with a lineup that is at full strength.  The stakes are simple:  the winner will be declared the mythical national champion.  Ohio Wrestling Site breaks down what you can expect, weight by weight:

103- John Cobos (St. Ed’s) vs. Keefer Taylor
            Freshman Cobos has been a quality starter for St. Ed’s.  Taylor is probably the weak link of the Blair lineup.  Bonus points are possible here.

Ohio Wrestling Site Pick: Cobos by decision   3-0

112 Collin Palmer vs. Anthony Valles
        Coming into the season, Palmer (along with David Taylor) was the most talked about freshman in Ohio since Dustin Schlatter.  Simply put, he has lived up to the hype.  Two-time cadet national champion Valles has been one of the wrestlers Palmer has used to make a name for himself.  Palmer has already bested Valles by major decision twice!  There has been some talk that Valles will drop to 103 for this dual.  Don’t count on it- if Valles could make 112 he likely would have done so already.
 
 Ohio Wrestling Site Pick: Palmer by major decision  7-0

119: Neil Birt vs. Alex Cournoyer
     Ironman Placer Cournoyer comes in as the favorite here.  Neither wrestler placed at the Beast but Cournoyer made it two rounds further.  Birt placed at state at 103 last year, and could possibly pull an upset.

Ohio Wrestling Site Pick: Cournoyer by decision   7-3
 
125- Keith Sulzer vs. Kellen Russell
     This match will feature two control wrestlers who know how to win close bouts.  Russell is a defending Cadet National Champion, Sulzer is a 2004 Cadet National Runner-up who also won NHSCA Junior Nationals.  Sulzer won the Ironman and Russell took 3rd in his weight, falling to Ben Jordan of St. Paris Graham.  However, Sulzer failed to place at Beast while Russell won the weight.  Don’t expect a barnburner between these two methodical competitors- but this is one of the key bouts of the night.

 Ohio Wrestling Site Pick: Russell by decision   7-6

130- Danny Gonsor vs Garrett Frey
            Injured most of the season, cadet national all-american Danny Gonsor has returned in top form.  Frey is the younger brother of the outstanding Adam Frey but is only a freshman.  A fall is possible here. 

Ohio Wrestling Site Pick: Gonsor by major decision   11-6

135- Shawn Harris vs. Max Shanaman
            2004 state champion and 2005 state runner-up Harris has shown flashes of brilliance (such as his win over Ryan Cubberly) but has found the move from 112 to 135 to be difficult for the most part. Most recently he was on the losing end of a 14-7 match with Cincinnati Moeller’s Germaine Lindsey.  Shanaman is a junior national all-american who has placed 5th at Ironman and 2nd at Beast- comfortably ahead of Harris at both tournaments.  A Harris win here is possible, however- and would be a huge momentum shift for St. Ed’s.

Ohio Wrestling Site Pick: Shanaman by decision   11-9

Ohio Wrestling Site Pick: Palmer by decision  14-9

Ohio Wrestling Site Pick: Nemec by decision  17-9

Ohio Wrestling Site Pick: Medina by decision  17-12

Ohio Wrestling Site Pick: Tomasone by major decision  21-12

171- Brian Roddy vs. Ryland Geiger
            Geiger of Blair Academy has been better than expected, placing 6th at Beast.  However, the relentless Roddy is fresh off pinning Ironman/Powerade champion Eric Cameron at the state duals.  Many observers believe he is the best sophomore upperweight in Ohio since Luke Fickell.  Look for Roddy to hammer Geiger- Roddy also pinned cadet national champ Rob Waltko so a fall is not out of question here.

Ohio Wrestling Site Pick: Roddy by major decision  25-12

 189- Chris Honeycutt vs. Reid Fliehr
            Fliehr is the son of former WWF wrestler Ric Flair. However, he is simply no match for the tenacious Honeycutt- who is one of the nation’s elite 189’s.

Ohio Wrestling Site Pick: Honeycutt by decision  28-12

Ohio Wrestling Site Pick: Platt by major decision  28-16

Ohio Wrestling Site Pick:  Powers by Fall  28-22

            That, wrestling fans, is how the bout stacks up on paper in our view: 28-22 St. Ed’s.  However, in a dual like this, credentials can be thrown out the window- expect the unexpected.  Momentum and emotion will play a huge role.  Very likely, the winner will be determined, like last year, by the Sean Nemec/Travis Blasco bout.  Stay Tuned.

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OhioWrestlingSite.com 2005