Sunday, December 29, 2013

Westchester's Azzam wins #800 and #801 on same day

by Jeff Fisher
Host, NHSCA Sports Hour
Follow @NHSCARadioShow
www.nhsca.com

Congratulations go out today to Westchester High School's (Los Angeles) boys' head basketball coach Ed Azzam, who joined the very elite 800 Wins Club.  In fact, Azzam, who has coached the Comets since 1979 won #800 by defeating Alemany 74-67 in the MaxPreps Holiday Classic in Palm Springs, California and then a several hours later, he won #801 with a victory of Issaquah High from Washington.

Azzam becomes the sixth coach in California to reach the 800 win plateau.  He's now two wins shy of tying Crenshaw's Willie West as the all-time winningest coach in the LA City Section with 803 victories.

California All-Time Coaching Victories List 


1. Gary McKnight (Mater Dei) - 960
2. Mike Phelps (Alameda St. Joseph, Oakland Bishop O'Dowd) - 843
3. Lou Cvijanovich (Oxnard Santa Clara) - 829
4. Willie West (Los Angeles Crenshaw) - 803
5. Abe Abrami (Emeryville Emery) - 802

Azzam and Gary McKnight of Mater Dei are the only coaches still active on the above list.

Monday, December 23, 2013

Blair Academy wins Beast of the East

Courtesy of Beast of the East website

by Jeff Fisher

Host, NHSCA Sports Hour
Follow @NHSCARadioShow
Follow @NHSCA

The Beast of the East is wrestled annually in Delaware, but this year, the nation's first state sure looked a lot like New Jersey.

Blair Academy (New Jersey), the #1 team in the nation, followed-up its Ironman title with the BOE team title without much of a challenge.  New Jersey's Bergen Catholic finished second in the team chase.  On the individual side of things, seven wrestlers from the Garden State won individual gold medals.

Zeke Moisey of Bethlehem Catholic (Pennsylvania) won the Most Outstanding Wrestler Award.

Beast of the East Individual Champs

106 - Ty Agaissee - Delbarton (NJ)

113 - Nick Suriano - Bergen Catholic (NJ)
120 - Scott Parker - Pennridge (PA)
126 - Zeke Moisey - Bethlehem Catholic (PA)
132 - Anthony Giraldo - North Bergen (NJ)
138 - Joey McKenna - Blair Academy (NJ)
145 - Alfred Bannister - Bishop McNamara (MD)
152 - Mason Manville - Blair Academy (NJ)
160 - Dylan Milonas - Blair Academy (NJ)
170 - Myles Martin - McDonogh (MD)
182 - Johnny Sebastian - Bergen Catholic (NJ)
195 - L.J. Barlow - Haverford School (PA)
220 - Jordan Wood - Boyertown (PA)
285 - Thomas Haines - Solanco (PA)

Beast of the East Team Standings


1. Blair Academy (NJ) - 272
2. Bergen Cathlic (NJ) - 164.5
3. Wyoming Seminary (PA) - 163
4. McDonogh (MD) - 126
5. Nazareth (PA) - 123.5
6. Massillon Perry (OH) - 121.5
7. Bethlehem Catholic (PA) - 112.5
8. Central Dauphin (PA) - 108
9. Brecksville (OH) - 104
10. Cumberland Valley (PA) - 102.5

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Poway wins Reno Tournament of Champions

by Jeff Fisher
Host, NHSCA Sports Hour
Follow @NHSCARadioShow
www.nhsca.com

Poway (California) captured its second Reno Tournament of Champions team title in three years by placing eight wrestlers in the Top eight.  Pleasant Grove from Utah finished second, 14-and-a-half points behind the San Diego County team.

Individual Champs

106 - Tomas Gutierrez - Pomona (CO)
113 - Joey Cisneros - Redwood (CA)
120 - Sean Cannon - Green Valley (NV)
126 - William Olivas - Sunnyside (AZ)
132 - Dusty Hone - Cedar (UT)
138 - Sergio Enloe - Poway (CA)
145 - Tyler Berger - Crook County (OR)
152 - Dajour Reese - Chandler (AZ)
160 - Jon-Jay Chavez - Centennial (ID)
170 - Kimball Bastian - Maple Mountain (UT)
182 - Dylan Gabel - Ponderosa (CO)
195 - Tevis Barlett - Cheyenne East (WY)
220 - Jeramy Seany - Vacaville (CA)
285 - Zach Dawe - Pleasant Grove (UT)

Team Standings

1. Poway (CA) - 211
2. Pleasant Grove (UT) - 196.5
3. Centennial (ID) - 174
4. Mountain View (AZ) - 155.5
5. Crook County (OR) - 147.5
6. Vacaville (CA) - 143
7. Pomona (CO) - 134
8. Maple Mountain (UT) - 129
9. Phillipsburg (NJ) - 124.5
10. Cibola (CA) - 122

Monday, December 16, 2013

Field Hockey: Eastern finishes #1 in the nation

by Jeff Fisher
For the fifth time in the seven year history of New Jersey's Tournament of Champions in field hockey, Eastern High School was the best that the Garden State had to offer in the sport.  That fact was just one of many that led to Top of the Circle naming the Voorhees, New Jersey school as the top team in the nation in its final national poll.  Eastern finished the season 26-0-1.  Watertown (Massachusetts) finished #2
1. Voorhees Eastern (N.J.) 26-0-1
2. Watertown (Mass.) 23-0
3. Hummelstown Lower Dauphin (Pa.) 25-1
4. Villanova Academy of Notre Dame de Namur (Pa.) 22-1
5. Shrub Oak Lakeland (N.Y.) 20-0
6. Emmaus (Pa.) 26-1
7. Summit Oak Knoll (N.J.) 24-2
8. North Caldwell West Essex (N.J.) 23-2
9. Darien (Conn.) 19-1-1
10. Fredericksburg Chancellor (Va.) 22-1
11. Lake Forest (Ill.) 27-1-1
12. Newtown Square Episcopal Academy (Pa.) 22-1-1
13. West Chester (Pa.) Henderson 24-1
14. Walpole (Mass.) 23-0-1
15. St. Louis Mary Institute-Country Day School (Mo.) 22-0-2
16. Louisville Assumption (Ky.)
17. Millersville Penn Manor (Pa.) 23-4-1
18. Chantilly Westfield (Va.) 22-2
19. Clifton Park Shenendehowa (N.Y.) 20-2
20. Gloucester (Va.) 24-1
21. Wilton (Conn.) 19-0-1
22. Virginia Beach First Colonial (Va.) 21-2
23. Farmville Sachem East (N.Y.) 21-1
24. Milford Lauralton Hall (Conn.) 18-1-1
25. Kingston Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) 19-6-1
26. West Long Branch Shore Regional (N.J.) 24-1-1
27. Lakeville Hotchkiss School (Conn.) 17-0
28. Greenwich (Conn.) Academy 19-2
29. Mountain Top Crestwood (Pa.) 24-1
30. Gahanna Columbus Academy (Ohio) 18-2-1
31. Louisville Sacred Heart (Ky.)
32. San Diego Canyon Crest Academy (Calif.) 23-4
33. Lewes Cape Henlopen (Del.) 18-0-1
34. Stafford Mountain View (Va.) 21-1
35. Skowhegan (Maine) Area 18-0
36. San Diego Scripps Ranch (Calif.) 18-4
37. Dover Foxcroft Academy (Maine) 17-0-1
38. Severna Park (Md.) 13-3-1
39. Providence Moses Brown School (R.I.) 16-0-3
40. Bel Air C. Milton Wright (Md.) 18-1
41. Los Gatos (Calif.) 18-0
42. East Chapel Hill (N.C.) 18-3
43. Carrboro (N.C.) 14-8
44. Stonington (Conn.) 18-2
45. Newport Nokomis Regional (Maine) 18-0
46. Denver Colorado Academy (Colo.) 17-0
47. Charlotte (N.C.) Country Day School 14-3-1
48. Richmond Collegiate (Va.) 17-5
49. Ocean City (N.J.) 19-6
50. Windham (N.H.) 16-1


And bear in mind:  Los Angeles Harvard-Westlake (Calif.) 14-1-1, Oklahoma City Casady School (Okla.) 11-1-1, Severn Archbishop Spalding (Md.) 21-1, Catonsville Mount de Sales (Md.) 19-1, Sykesville Century (Md.) 14-4, Hampstead North Carroll (Md.) 14-3, Exeter (N.H.) 14-3, Berlin (N.H.) 16-1, Hightstown Peddie School (N.J.) 12-4-2, Sag Harbor Pierson-Bridgehampton (N.Y.) 16-4, Smithfield (R.I.) 12-3-1, Stowe (Vt.) 14-3, Essex (Vt.) 13-1-3, Bristol Mount Abraham Union (Vt.) 10-3-3, Harland Arrowhead (Wisc.) 14-3

Blair Academy win another Ironman Title

Spencer Lee of Franklin Regional (PA) win Ironman Outstanding Wrestler Award
Courtesy of Win Magazine


by Jeff Fisher
Host, NHSCA Sports Hour
Follow @NHSCARadioShow
Follow @NHSCA

For the 12th time in 20 years, Blair Academy (New Jersey) left Walsh Jesuit High School (Ohio) with the team title at the prestigious Ironman Wrestling Tournament.

Blair Academy crowned three champs - Matthew Kolodzik (126), Joey McKenna (138) and Dylan Milonas (160).

Blair, which entered the season as the #1 ranked team in America by Win Magazine, outdistanced Graham High School (St. Paris, Ohio) for the team title.

Franklin Regional (Pennsylvania) freshman Spencer Lee won the 113 pound title, plus the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler Award.

Ironman Final Team Standings

1. Blair Academy (NJ) - 207.5
2. Graham (OH) - 171
3. Oak Park-River Forest (IL) - 154.5
4. Edmond North (OK) - 114.5
5. Montini Catholic (IL) - 110
6. Massillon Perry (OH) - 105.5
7. Franklin Regional (PA) - 98.5
8. Wyoming Seminary (PA) - 94.5
T9. Broken Arrow (OK) - 80
T9. Claymont (OH) - 80

Ironman Individual Champs

106 - Tyler Warner - Claymont (OH)
113 - Spencer Lee - Franklin Regional (PA)
120 - Ke-Shawn Hayes - Park Hill (MO)
126 - Matthew Kolodzik - Blair Academy (NJ)
132-  Zahid Valencia - St. John Bosco (CA)
138 - Joey McKenna - Blair Academy (NJ)
145 - Micah Jordan - Graham (OH)
152 - Jacob Danishek - Dayton Christian (OH)
160 - Dylan Milonas - Blair Academy (NJ)
170 - Anthony Valencia - St. John Bosco (CA)
182 - Bo Nickal - Allen (TX)
195 - Derek White - Edmond North (OK)
220 - Edgar Ruano - Montini Catholic (IL)
285 - Michael Johnson - Montini Catholic (IL)

Scot Davis wins 1,000th Dual Match



by Jeff Fisher
Host, NHSCA Sports Hour
Follow @NHSCARadioShow
Follow @NHSCA

Scot Davis of Eden Prairie High School (Minnesota) entered the most exclusive of exclusive Winner's Circles Friday night when he won his 1,000th career dual meet with 58-17 win over Columbia Heights - he's the only high school wrestling coach with that many victories.  You can listen to my interview with Davis last Thursday, who at the time was three wins away from the magical number by clicking here.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

HS Wrestling: Eden Prairie's Scot Davis closes-in on 1,000 coaching victories

by Jeff Fisher
Host, NHSCA Sports Hour
Follow @NHSCARadioShow
Follow @NHSCA


Courtesy of FlatheadBeacon.com
I'm really looking forward to this Thursday's NHSCA Sports Hour interview with America's winningest high school wrestling coach Scot Davis, who is three victories away from his 1,000th coaching win.  

Davis, who is in his first year at Eden Prairie (Minnesota), is currently three wins away from the magical mark, and barring an upset or two against Spring Lake Park and Cooper, he stands a good chance of getting #1000 on Friday night against Columbia Heights.

Davis' all-time record currently stands at 997-161-3. Eden Praire is Davis' sixth high school.

This past weekend, Christopher Columbus (Florida) head coach Jim Husk moved into second place on the all-time dual meet victories list.  Husk entered the season tied with Russ Riegel, who retired at the end of the 2011 season.

All-Time Dual Meet Victories
…heading into 2013-14 season from USAwrestling.com
*still active

*1. Scott Davis - 996 (Eden Praire, MN; Belcourt, ND; Bird Island Lake Lillian, MN; Hutchinson, MN; Owatonna, MN; Flathead, MT)
*T2. Jim Husk - 864 (Christopher Columbus, FL; Miami Southridge, FL; Southwest, FL; Archbishop Curley, FL)
T2. Russ Riegel - 864 (Hunterdon Central, NJ; Harrison County, KY)
4. Rex Peckinpaugh - 829 (New Castle, IN)
5. Bruce Bittenbender - 809 (Stevensville Lakeshore, MI)
6. Mike Rodriguez - 734 (Detroit Kimball, MI; River Rouge, MI; Detroit Catholic Central, MI)
7. Jim Glasser - 730 (The Lovett School, GA)
*8. Danny Upchurch - 720 (Wayne County, KY)
9. Carl Schnellenback - 713 (Ridley, PA)
10. Bill Sutter - 698 (Goodhue, MN)




Monday, December 9, 2013

Final NHSCA/XCNation.com High School Cross Country Rankings

Boys Cross Country Power Rankings (Final)

1. Gig Harbor (Washington)
2. Christian Brothers Academy (New Jersey)
3. Brentwood (Tennessee)
4. Fayetteville-Manlius (New York)
5. Carmel (Indiana)
6. St. Xavier (Ohio)
7. American Fork (Utah)
8. North Central (Washington)
9. Arcadia (California)
10. Edina (Minnesota)

Click here to view entire Top 25.

Girls Cross Country Power Rankings (Final)

1. Wayzata (Minnesota)
2. Fayetteville-Manlius (New York)
3. Davis (Utah)
4. Carmel (Indiana)
5. Monarch (Colorado)
6. Fort Collins (Colorado)
7. Unionville (Pennsylvania)
8. Great Oak (California)
9. Simi Valley (California)
10. Glenbard West (Illinois)

Click here to view entire Top 25.

Wayzata surprises Fayetteville-Manlius girls at Nike Cross Nationals

by Jeff Fisher
Host, NHSCA Sports Hour
Follow @NHSCARadioShow
Follow @NHSCA

After years of domination, the Fayetteville-Manlius girls' cross country program finds itself in an unfamiliar position today.  F-M's string of seven straight national titles at the Nike Cross Nationals came to an end on Saturday in Portland, Oregon when Wayzata High (Minnesota) surprised the field with a first-place finish.  Wayzata won the team title with 108 points to F-M's 120.

The victory didn't come as a surprise to David Taylor of XCnation.com.  XCnation.com had Wayzata ranked #1 in its power rankings coming into the NXN's.  Davis High School from Utah finished third.

On the boys side - Gig Harbor from Washington won the title.

NXN Final Team Standings (Top 4)

Girls

1. Wayzata (Minnesota)
2. Fayetteville-Manlius (New York)
3. Davis (Utah)
4. Carmel (Indiana)

Boys

1. Gig Harbor (Washington)
2. Christian Brothers Academy (New Jersey)
3. Brentwood (Tennessee)
4. Fayetteville-Manlius (New York)