Sophomores Champions Hall, Brown Back For Power-packed National Juniors Championships

March 19, 2010 - PRLog -- VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – State champions Earl Hall (112) of Homestead (Fla.) South Dade High and Nathaniel Brown (171) of Lewisburg (Pa.) High are set to compete in what is expected to be the toughest field ever in the 6th annual NHSCA National High School Junior Wrestling Championships presented by the U.S. Navy, which take place March 23-26 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center.

Hall was the 103-pound champion last year, while Brown returns at the same weight class at which he won a year ago. Blake Roulo (145) of Ettrick (Va.) Matoaca High, who owns National Freshman and National Sophomores titles, is among 12 other National Sophomores champions who could return. Roulo owns five NHSCA national event titles.

The other National Sophomores champions who could return, with last year’s weight class: West Virginia stars Joshua Fisher (112) of Spencer Roane County High and Rusty Maness (119) of Point Pleasant High; Pennsylvanians David Makara (125) of Lower Burrell Burrell High and Caleb Baker (285) of Edinboro General McLane High; James Green (130) of Willingboro (N.J.) High; Caleb Ervin (135) of Morganfield (Ky.) Union County High; Steven Keogh (140) of Apple Valley (Minn.) High; Bryce Hammond (152) of Bakersfield (Calif.) High; Kris Klapprodt (160) of Rapid City (S.D.) Stevens High; Michael Kennedy (189) of Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Blackman High; and Connor Medbery (215) of Loveland (Colo.) High, voted the meet’s Outstanding Wrestler.

The power-packed field already includes 88 wrestlers who have won at least one state championship during their careers. Included in that total are 23 two-time state champions and 10 with three titles or more. The 125-pound class is particularly strong, with four two-time state champions and three three-time state champions among its 13 titlists. And Brown faces a potential matchup against five-time South Dakota champion Logan Storley of Webster (S.D.) High, a Freshman Division champion in 2008.

For the first time, the action from all 30 mats will be broadcast live on the NHSCA’s web site, www.nhsca.com. More than 3,000 matches will be wrestled throughout the event, believed to be the first of its kind with 30 different feeds on a single grid.

In last year’s Junior Division tournament, Pennsylvania scored 259 points, capping a sweep of the three underclass divisions, with New Jersey edging 2008 Juniors champion New York, 221-218 for second place. California (143.5) and Ohio (119) rounded out the top five.

Winning titles for Pennsylvania were Mitchell Port (125) of Bellefonte High and Tyler Demott (285) of Benton High.

Levi Wolfensperger (119) of Denver/Tripoli (Iowa) High, a two-time state champion, was voted the meet’s Outstanding Wrestler.

Louis Trujillo (130) of Rip Rancho (N.M.) High and Tyler Beckwith (171) of Greene (N.Y.) High made it three National High School titles in as many years, adding Junior crowns to the Freshman and Sophomore titles they won the past two seasons. Two other National Sophomores champions, Ryak Finch (112) of Safford (Ariz.) High, the winner of the Most Falls award in the National Freshman meet two years ago, and Steven Hernandez (145) of Las Vegas Bishop Gorman High, also repeated as Junior Division champions.

New Jersey led all states with three champions. Two came from Long Branch High: state champion Nick Visicaro (160) and Bill George (189), third in state. Scott Festejo (eighth at 125) and Andrew Cornell (sixth at 130) gave Long Branch four Junior All-Americans. The Garden State‘s other champion were Vinny Fava (135) of Ramsey Don Bosco Preparatory School, also third in state this year.

New York also had two champions. Joining Beckwith was another Division 2 state champion, Kyle Colling (215) of Yorkshire Pioneer High. Colling, whose brother Randy was a Senior Nationals finalist in 2008, won by injury default over Spencer Myers of Selinsgrove (Pa.) High, a Freshman Nationals champion in 2007.

Also winning titles were Matthew Gurule (103) of Grand Junction (Colo.) Central High, four-time Alaska champion Nathan Hoffer (140) of Anchorage East High and Nick Sulzer (152) of Lakewood (Ohio) St. Edward High.

State champion Taylor Walsh of Cherry Hill (N.J.) Camden Catholic High, who finished fourth at 135, won the tournament’s Most Falls award with five pins in a combined 11:56.

The National High School Juniors Wrestling Championships is an open event, and is open to any high-school wrestler completing his junior year. More than three-quarters of the wrestlers qualified for their high school state tournament at least once. More than half are state placewinners, and nearly 20 per cent have won a state title.

The NHSCA continues its involvement in high-profile high school sports events across the board. In addition to a full schedule of wrestling events, the NHSCA conducted its annual 7-on-7 football championships at storied Hoover High School in Hoover, Ala. in July and will host the National High School Basketball Festival at Salisbury, Md. Dec. 26-30. The NHSCA selects Coaches and Senior Athletes of the Year in 20 boys and girls sports, and sponsors more than two dozen national championship events in 11 sports.

In partnership with Navy Special Operations, the NHSCA conducts the Navy SEAL Fitness Challenge in 1,200 high schools throughout America. This serves as a replacement for President Kennedy’s Council on Fitness that was popular in the 1970’s and 1980’s. In partnership with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, the NHSCA conducts Character and Leadership Workshops and reach more than 800 Pennsylvania high schools and 9,600 athletes and coaches.

The NHSCA also has entered a sponsorship agreement with the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) for the state football and wrestling championships. Check the Web sites of the NHSCA and the PIAA for more details as they are announced.

Founded in 1989, the National High School Coaches Association is a not-for-profit 501c3 service organization providing support and leadership programs for the nation’s 500,000 high school coaches and 10 million high school athletes.


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