Another Domino Falls: St. Edward Eagles Continue March toward national title by Knocking off Graham 41-17

They expect it.  That’s what was unmistakable when you talked to the stoic coaches of St. Edward after their big triumphs at both the Ironman and the Super Eight Duals.  The perfectionist streak of coaches Heffernan, Leonard, and Urbas is unmistakable.  Speaking with them after both matches, you can tell that- while proud of their wrestlers- they believe that they could do a little better yet (a scary proposition).  Quite frankly, I think it may take a shut-out of Blair Academy for Coach Heffernan to break a smile! 

Despite the high “bar” they set, the St. Edward coaches have to be (secretly) pleased with the performance of their team this year.  After defeating Blair Academy handily last week, St.Edward faced a Graham squad that was fresh off an impressive win over #3 in the nation Oak Park in the previous round.  While some might have felt that Graham was ready to challenge St. Edward, in the end it was……… quite simply, no contest as St. Edward added another feather in their cap, and showed why this year’s squad may end up being the best Ohio team ever assembled.

Perhaps the most pivotal bout of the night was the David Taylor/Jamie Clark match-up- a battle between dominating cadet national champions.   This match seemed to set the tone for the entire night.  The relentless Clark (a freshman weighing around 100 lbs. reportedly) went on the attack for the entire six minutes against Taylor- the undisputed #1 ranked 103 in the country.  Showing a variety of brilliant leg attacks, Clark controlled the action for the first two periods of the match, seemingly in on Taylor’s legs constantly for the first two periods.  The crafty Taylor eluded nice takedown attempts by Clark on at least three occasions with superb scrambling and hustle of his own, before Clark finally converted a takedown near the edge for a 2-1 lead in the 2nd period.  Taylor scored a crucial reversal with about ten seconds to go in the second period.  From there, Taylor added another “shuck” takedown early in the 3rd period to go up 5-2 and really take control of the match.  David Taylor rode out the remainder of the third period- though he was never really close to turning Clark.  With about :20 left Taylor was hit with his second stalling call, cutting his lead to 5-3 and bringing Jamie Clark to within striking distance.  This seemed to give Clark new life (not that he’s taken a break the entire match) - on pure desire he got out of Taylor’s vaunted leg rides- and came very close to the match-tying reversal in the closing seconds. 

Despite the loss, the fact that the undersized Clark conceded nothing to Taylor- indeed, he wrestled like he had no idea that he was not supposed to stand a chance- seemed to really set the tone for the match for St. Edward.  Clark’s intensity level and “hustle” were unmatched.  Assistant Coach John Heffernan agreed, though he was not completely satisfied with Clark’s match.  “I wish everyone would wrestle at that intensity level. But it was still a loss.  There are no moral victories.  David Taylor is a great wrestler, but Jamie Clark can beat him.”  I then asked Coach Heffernan if Clark was still a light 103 as he appeared to be, and he indicated that he was.  When I remarked what a great future Clark had, Heffernan agreed and stated “remember that we have two great freshman 103’s” (referring to Gus Sako).

After Zach Neibert outlasted Nick Sulzer for the second straight week by a score of 1-0, Cordell Longstreath took the mat against St. Edward backup Finnegan.  Longstreathd showed a vast arsenal in scoring a 21-6 technical fall.  The previously wide-open 119 lb. weight class in Division II just got a favorite, as Longsteath beat a nationally ranked wrestler for the 2nd week in a row, this time defeating Mac Bailey of Oak Park in the semi-finals (though the weight was also greatly shook up by #2 Justin Flores dropping a 10-4 bout to previously unraked freshman Brad Wukie).  Longstreath has great leverage and quickness; and is equally tough on his feet and on the mat.  I’d look for him to become a bona-fide start this year.  At any rate, the Longstreath tech extended Graham’s lead to 11-0. 

The 11-0 lead would be the high-water mark for Graham.  Next up was Collin Palmer versus Brian Stephens- a battle of two sophomores ranked #1 in the state.  Like so many others, Stephens track record against Palmer has been highly unsuccessful to date.  However, he achieved what may have been a “moral victory” (with apologies to Coach Heffernan) in holding Palmer to an 8-3 decision (on the heels of Palmer beating him 12-0 at Ironman last weekend).  While Palmer scored four takedowns to Stephens three escapes, Stephens was in on a number of nice shots and made Palmer work for everything in a very competitive match (that nonetheless was never in doubt).

Max Thomusseit came out very intense for Graham in the next bout against #1 ranked Neil Birt.  The freshman Thomuesseit scored the first takedown plus two backpoints in a healock..  From there, a number of fairly high-risk power moves were attempted by Thomusseit.  A sequence developed where Thomusseit would make a nice attempt at a big move, Birt would counter and nearly score, and Thomusseit would keep hustling and get a stalemate.  Nonetheless, Thomusseit was tied with Birt 5-5 late in the 2nd period- as Graham fans still smelled a potential upset. And then, the entire match, and indeed the entire dual, changed. Birt hit Thomusseit with a beautiful throw late in the second period, the gusty Thomusseit fought it off- but Birt would not be denied and scored the fall with about :05 left on the clock.  Graham needed an upset or two at some point to have a chance in this dual- so going from a potential upset to giving up “six” effectively dashed their hopes.  Even though they had the lead at 11-9, there were few if any weights in the upperweights in which they were favored- so they needed to be ahead by a larger margin at this point. 

At the end of every season there are perhaps 5-10 matches which stand out- and will be remember by those who saw them for years to come.  One of these matches happened at 135 lbs., where 2x state champion Ben Jordan of Graham squared off against double cadet all-american Andrew Gasber of St. Edward in what was expected to be a routine, controlled win for Jordan.   Perhaps caught up in the emotion of the dual, the methodical Jordan came out as aggressively as I have ever seen him (against a tough opponent at least).  Jordan quickly scored a single-leg takedown and went to an “arm bundle” for what appeared to be back points but none were given.  Jordan then went back to that move and scored a three-point near-fall for a 5-0 lead as the first period closed.  In the second period, Jordan immediately went on the attack, shooting a double.  Jordan was driving through Gasber, seemingly on his way to a route of the sophomore.  But then, in the blink of an eye, Gasber hit one of the most beautiful throws I have ever seen- I would classify it as a “whip-over” or “hip-toss” perhaps, but really it was so fast I would have to see it again to be certain.  At any rate, Jordan was on his back, in an extremely tight position that was almost a double-grapevine, with about 1:40 left on the clock.  Jordan fought it off as best he could- but he was going nowhere, as Gasber scored the fall.  At this point all chance of the match being competitive went out the window- as Graham trailed 21-11 and was only favored in one of the eight remaining matches.

The steady Shawn Harris followed up with another workman-like win over Joe Newland, by a 7-4 count.  Coby Boyd showed why (like Harris) he is one of the top ten wrestlers in Ohio.  Coming off a huge win over 3x Missouri State Champion Shane Nay in the previous round- Boyd found himself in an uncharacteristic position against Dan Gonsor- behind 5-4 in the third period.  However, that score is deceptive as Boyd had two takedowns to none up to that point- but trailed as a result of yielding three escapes and two penalty points.  Even though he trailed, somehow there was no doubt that he was going to get it done.  Boyd went on the attack, resulting in Gonsor being hit for stalling to knot the score at 5-5 with about a minute to go.  Gonsor used his leverage to get in on a very nice single shortly thereafter.  However, a stalemate was called after he failed to finish it after about thirty seconds of being in on Boyd’s leg- a call which was very unpopular with the St. Edward crowd.  In my view the call was correct as the official had given Gonsor ample time to finish the takedown.  With a fresh start, Boyd simply blew threw Gonsor with a “bully-double” for a takedown and two back points late in the third, for the 9-5 final.  Boyd is easily one of the top ten wrestlers in the nation at 145 lbs., and possibly top five (the wrestler he defeated in the previous round, Shane Nay, is rated #5 in the nation by www.revwrestling.com and #4 in the nation by www.amateurwrestlingnews.com.  With all apologies to 2x state champ Kevin Hardy- who has looked great in the early going himself- the junior from Graham is Ohio’s best 145 in my view.
Next up is what was a “swing match” on paper- Josh Luster of Graham (now the back-up to James Mannier) against first-year starter Scott Elliott of St. Edward.  Elliott struggled at the Ironman, posting an 0-2 record (though his draw had a lot to do with that).  What a difference a week makes!  The Elliott that wrestled Saturday night was a potential top three state finisher.  Elliott simply dominated what looked to be a “toss-up” in all phases-  tallying three takedowns, a three point near-fall, and a reversal in a 12-5 win.   I am unclear on why Graham went with Luster instead of Mannier (one of Ohio’s best sophomores) here.  It’s interesting to note (in handicapping St.Edward/Graham dual #2) that Mannier defeated the wrestler at Ironman (Dave Ebbott) by a score of 12-4 who then eliminated Elliott from the tournament.

The next bout was a very surprising result to me.   The first period went “according to Hoyle” as two-time state champion Sean Nemec scored two takedowns and a near fall for a 6-1 lead over Zac Thomusseit of Graham.  The next two periods saw the wrestlers trade escapes- followed by Thomusseit scoring a late takedown to chip the lead away to a surprisingly close 7-4 final.  Thomusseit, a junior, has grown into the 160 lb. weight class this year- after making the unprecedented move from 103 to 160 between his freshman and sophomore years.  A finals appearance opposite Colt Sponseller is not at all out the question for Thomusseit- though he is competing in a stacked weight class.

Much to the displeasure of the St. Edward crowd, Graham forfeited to two of St. Edward’s best- Brian Roddy and Chris Honeycutt- at 171 and 189.   David Thompson (171) was injured in his semifinal against Brent Haynes of Oak Park.  Preliminary reports are that he has torn the lateral meniscus in his right knee- meaning he should be back before season’s end.  Earlier in the day, Roddy had a big win over Anthony Trongone, a state runner-up in single-division New Jersey last season.  Trongone is currently ranked #10 in the nation in the Rev Rankings.  Graham forfeited to Honeycutt because they believed that 189 lb. Logan White had a better chance against Ben Rios at 215.  The freshman White wrestled Rios tough in the early going but was eventually pinned by the much larger senior (White looks to me as though he would be a 171 if not for Thompson).

A great night ended on a down note for the St. Edward Eagles, as sophomore Adam Walls stunned Ben Kuhar.  Walls scored the only two takedowns of the match to edge Kuhar 4-2.  Kuhar has yet to get back in the groove after missing a year with a knee injury.  In a loaded Division I heavyweight class, he’ll have to turn it up a notch to have a chance to capture his first state title.  However, watching Kuhar’s reactions after the match- I have a hunch (and it’s nothing more than that), that this loss was exactly what was needed to “awaken” the sleeping giant, so to speak.  The Walls upset of Kuhar brought the final score to a more respectable 41-17. 

CAN GRAHAM BEAT ST. EDWARD???

In a word, no.  Graham now has the #3 team in the nation.  Going into the match they were ranked #5 with Oak Park #3 and Nazareth #4 (www.amateurwrestlingnews.com).  They defeated Oak Park by a score of 36-22 score this weekend.  I asked the man behind the rankings, Bob Preusse, if Graham would now move to #3.  He indicated it would depend on how Nazareth fared at the Beast.  Nazareth finished 2nd, 81 points behind Blair.  Graham finished 63 points behind Blair at the Ironman.   I think that given that, and their decisive win over the previous #3 team, they are the better choice for the third spot. 

So it may be surprising, that the answer to the question of whether they can beat St. Edward, is simply “no” (barring a slew of injuries or illness).  Graham’s chances of unseating St. Edward as Ohio’s top team basically died when Cody Smith transferred to Beavercreek.  Smith was a state qualifier last year at 189 as a freshman.  Despite all of the great wrestlers on the Graham team- for purposes of dualing St. Edward, Smith may have been the worst guy they could have lost.  While Graham probably has (at least) a half dozen wrestlers not in the starting line-up who are good enough to go to state in the lower and middleweights, they have much less depth in the upperweights- in fact they are currently forfeiting the 215 lb. class.  Presuming that Smith would have been a slight favorite over Ben Rios, losing him is a nine-point swing in St. Edward’s favor.  The fact is, against the virtual “murderer’s row” that St. Edward fields from 160-275, Graham is not favored in a single weight.  It’s pretty tough to beat St. Edward if they sweep you in the final five weights (presuming Kuhar avenges his unexpected loss to Walls).

This year’s St. Edward squad is very likely to set a state scoring record in my view- there are no less than six wrestlers who will be ranked #1 at this point and 2-3 more who are legitimate title contenders.   I look for the tide to turn next year and this to be a very even match-up between the teams.  Graham is only graduating two starters; Newland and Thompson, and Coach Jeff Jordan has solid replacements for both in (junior high state champ) Joe Martinez and Ivan Vest.  The rest of the team will be a year better, and they will add Cadet All-American Matt Stephens, who is probably good enough to place at state right now despite being an eighth grade middleweight.   

As interesting as the finals of a major tournament can be, from a fan standpoint, nothing can match the intensity of a heated dual.  You really saw no one play defense all night and I didn’t see a single wrestler come out flat.  Truly, there was never a dull moment.  Round II of this great rivalry goes down January 21st at Graham high school. 

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