21st National High School Wrestling Championships Includes Eight Defending Champions

To date, over 2,100 wrestlers are registered to compete in the 21st annual National High School Wrestling Championships presented by the U.S. Navy.
By: NHSCA
 
March 19, 2010 - PRLog -- EASTON, Pa. – To date, over 2,100 wrestlers from 47 states and Europe are registered to compete in the 21st annual National High School Wrestling Championships presented by the U.S. Navy, the NHSCA announced today.

That total includes 635 entries in the National High School Seniors Championships, the crown jewel of the National High School Wrestling Championships and Coaches Convention, which takes place from March 23-28 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center in Virginia Beach, Va.

Two weight classes, 130 and 160, each include a pair of defending Junior Division champions, setting up a pair of blockbuster matchups. At 130, four-time New Mexico champion Louis Trujillo of Rio Rancho High returns at the same weight class at which he won a title last year. Also at the weight: two-time Iowa champion Levi Wolfensperger of Denver/Tripoli High, who was voted the meet’s Outstanding Wrestler last year while winning the 119-pound title.

The 160-pound class features two-time New Jersey champion Nick Visicaro of Long Branch High, who won at the same weight a year ago, and Ohio champion Nick Sulzer of Lakewood St. Edward High, the 152-pound champion last year. Visicaro’s high school teammate, Billy George, will try to defend his title at 189.

Trujillo is one of two wrestlers who will be trying for an NHSCA first: championships in all four high school divisions. Tyler Beckwith (171) of Greene (N.Y.) High also will try to add a Senior Division title to the Freshman, Sophomore and Junior Division crowns he owns.

Two other defending champions also were entered at press time: Matthew Gurule (112) of Grand Junction (Colo.) Central High, the 103-pound champion a year ago, and Kyle Colling of Yorkshire (N.Y.) Pioneer High, back in a bid to repeat at 215.

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.

Also, the NHSCA and ESPN360.com have reached an agreement to offer wrestling fans live coverage this year’s NHSCA Senior National High School Wrestling Championships presented by U.S. Navy exclusively on ESPN's broadband sports network for the first time. The event will air live on ESPN360.com on Sunday, March 28 from 7-9 p.m. ET, and will be followed by a 30-minute highlight show that will air on ESPNU in July.

The National High School Seniors Wrestling Championships is open to any high-school senior wrestler who has been a finalist in his high school state tournament or the National Prep Championships, with several wild-card entries through a petition system. The National Juniors, Sophomores and Freshman Championships are open events, with any wrestler eligible to enter at his grade level.

“The National High School Wrestling Championships has become the nation’s outstanding high school event in any sport and the response from our member wrestling coaches has been truly gratifying,” NHSCA associate executive director Bob Ferraro Jr. said. “This event brings together the nation’s outstanding high school seniors and the nation’s college coaches the opportunity to meet and to connect in a professional setting surrounded by top-notch national competition.”

Last year’s National Seniors Championship attracted 818 competitors from a record 49 states and Europe. The finals featured an outstanding field, including five two-time state champions, seven three-time state champions and three four-time state champions. The 28 finalists combined for 51 state or National Prep Championships titles in their careers.

With a 1-2-3 finish at 112 pounds and 16 All-Americans, California won the state team title in the 20th annual Senior Division event a year ago. State runnerup Esteban Cabanas of Moreno Valley Canyon Springs High won the 112-pound title as California scored 186.5 points to capture the Chase Metcalf Memorial state team trophy for the second time in three years and fifth time in the history of the tournament. New York edged Michigan, 177.5-170, for second place, while Pennsylvania edged defending champion New Jersey, 162.5-161, for fourth place to complete the top five.

Cabanas edged Madison Gambrell of Clovis High, 5-2 in an all-California final. Gambrell, eighth in state as a junior, didn’t compete in the state meet this year. The two were California’s only finalists. Bryden Lazaro of Sacramento Bella Vista High, a California state qualifier, added a third-place finish to complete the California sweep.

Michigan, New Jersey and host Virginia each had two champions. Both of New Jersey’s champions were from Blairstown Township Blair Academy, Sean Boyle (119) and Edward Ruth (171). Virginia got titles from Michael Garofalo (125) of Stafford Colonial Forge High and Derrick Borlie (189) of Winchester Millbrook High.

Defending National Juniors champions met in the 140-pound final, with Kyle Dake (140) of Lansing (N.Y.) High beating five-time New Mexico champion Max Ortega of Rio Rancho High 5-2 to give him championships in the Sophomore, Junior and Senior Nationals. Dake won at 130 pounds last year, Ortega at 140.

Michigan’s champions were Brenan Lyon (103) of Ithaca High and Daniel Yates (160) of Hesperia High. A three-time state champion in Michigan’s smallest class, Division 4, Yates prevailed in a star-studded weight.

Three-time Kansas champion C.J. Napier (135) of Columbus High was voted the recipient of the Jeff Reese Memorial Award as the meet’s Outstanding Wrestler after prevailing in six action-filled matches by a combined total of just 16 points. Also winning titles were Dale Shull (130) of Fort Lupton (Colo.) High, Joey Napoli (145) of Mechanicsburg (Pa.) Cumberland Valley High, Cody Compton (152) of Bonne Terre (Mo.) North County High, Tony Nelson (215) of Cambridge (Minn.) Cambridge-Isanti High and Eloheim Palma (285) of Cary (N.C.) High. Mike Grillakis of Nashua (N.H.) South High, the eighth-place finisher at 215, won the Craig Wesner Memorial Award for the most falls, scoring four pins in a combined 6:26.

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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