Rella Avenges Loss; Palmer Brothers and David Taylor storm to victory

       The theme for three of the four Ohio Champions at the Beast of the East would have to be redemption. 
       Only for three wrestlers this good could there even be a need to redeem themselves from a 2nd place finish at the Walsh Ironman- possibly the toughest wrestling tournament in the nation. However, all three won the treacherous Beast of the East with style.  Ohio’s four champions were Collin Palmer, Lance Palmer, Dave Rella, and David Taylor.

Collin Palmer- The younger Palmer was every Ohio wrestling fan’s new Superman going into the Ironman finals.  After California’s Nikko Triggas proved to be kryptonite for Palmer- to the tune of a 13-2 loss- many pundits suddenly asserted that perhaps St. Edward’s latest freshman phenom had been overly-hyped.  Palmer should have put all such ideas to rest this weekend.  While he did have one tight match, a 2-1 victory over a tough Bobby Ward of Pennsylvania, Palmer won 11-0 in the semis and advanced to the finals without allowing an offensive point. 
In the finals, Palmer was matched up against two-time Cadet National Freestyle Champion Anthony Valles of Blair.  Palmer had shocked the wrestling world by dominating Valles 10-1 at Ironman.  This match was even more lopsided, as Palmer seemed to take Valles down and turn him at will.  It looked like Palmer might even get the tech fall, but he settled for a mere 12-0 decision over the national champion.

Lance Palmer- After beating 2x Ohio State Placewinner Jake Kyle of St. Paris Graham in the quarterfinals by a 6-0 score, Palmer faced two superb Cadet National Freestyle Champions in a row in Mario Mason and Luke Ashmore.  Mason proved little challenge for Palmer as he cruised to an 11-4 victory.  The finals with Ashmore had the makings of an epic showdown as Ashmore crushed Pennsylvania State Champion Ashtin Primus in the semifinals.  However, Palmer dominated this bout also- exploding through Ashmore with two double legs, and then brutally cranking him over with his power half for the 3rd period fall.  Quite frankly, in the third period it looked like Ashmore had simply had enough of Palmer.  While Palmer has always been devastating on top, the big difference for him this year is that his offense from his feet is drastically improved. 

Dave Rella- Ohio’s 2nd best senior (behind Palmer) avenged two previous losses to Mac Lewnes (one at last year’s Beast and one at the Ironman).  Rella scored a takedown in the first period, and from there, Lewnes was never really close to scoring.  Rella nearly added another takedown twice in the third as Lewnes began taking more chances.  Rella’s positioning and technique are so solid, it would be very surprising to see him lose again before Senior Nationals.  Plus, he has the best workout partners of any 160 in the nation in coaches Clint Musser and Sonny Marchette!

David Taylor- This freshman from Graham is certainly not the most physically imposing grappler, but he epitomizes the term “resilient.”  Taylor just does not stop, or concede anything, ever. There were many times where his finals opponent, the older, and seemingly bigger Fred Santaite of New Jersey, seemed about to score, but Taylor just kept flurrying until he came out on top or at least prevented Santaite from scoring.  Santaite is no slouch, as he is a cadet all-american himself, and defeated the youth wrestling legend Riley Adamson (the last youth wrestler to beat Collin Palmer) in the semifinals. Taylor’s determination was the key to pulling out a 4-2 win with a late reversal.  The remainder of Taylor’s matches were won by fall.  It’s scary to think how dominant Taylor will be next year at 103 when he actually has to cut to make the weight. 

Other Ohio Highlights

“Consolation Warrior” Jamey Srock- Akron St. Vincent’s 189 lb. grappler had the misfortune of being pitted against #1 seeded, eventual champion Jamelle Jones in the 2nd round.  Srock rebounded from this 14-7 drubbing with true grit- winning eight straight consolation bouts against a tough field, including a fall in :57 against #2 seed Jeff Siciliano of New Jersey- I suppose when you have to win eight straight bouts, getting quick pins is key!   St. Edward’s transfer Chris Honeycutt was the one wrestler who pushed Jones, taking him to overtime, but then fell to sixth place, losing to two wrestlers whom Srock defeated. 

St. Edward’s 2nd Place Finish- Though they finished 77 points behind Blair, they were able to finish 2nd in the toughest tournament in the nation without one of their best, 171 lb. wrestler Brian Roddy.  One disappointing for the Eagles was Sean Nemec, who lost to Blasco 6-4 one week after handling him at Ironman, and then to Matt Dunn, the same Pennsylania wrestler who beat Lance Palmer at the Ironman.  Nemec finished a still-respectable 5th. 

125 lb. Grapplers bite the dust- Certainly not a highlight, but noteworthy was Ohio’s vaunted group of 125 lb. wrestlers inexplicably struggling.  Fresh off a weekend that saw St. Edward’s Keith Sulzer and Graham’s Ben Jordan make the finals of Ironman, both failed to place, as did state champion Ben Llanas of Pemberville Eastwood.  In fact, Jordan was four matches away from placing and Llanas needed three more wins to make the top eight.  Ironically, the champion of this weight was Kellen Russell of Blair, a wrestler that Jordan pummeled last weekend 9-3 at the Ironman.  Of course, this entire weight was upside-down, as 3x State Champion/Cadet and Junior National Champion Mike Grey of New Jersey was beaten in the semifinals by a wrestler who didn’t even qualify for state last year!   Quentin Keyes of Walsh Jesuit was Ohio’s lone placer here, notching a 7th place finish.

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