Tons of talent in the NHSCA Freshman Nationals

by Jeff Fisher
Host, NHSCA Sports Hour
Follow @NHSCARadioShow

The 8th annual NHSCA Freshman Nationals at the 25th Annual NHSCA High School National Wrestling Championships in Virginia Beach will feature 37 state champs from around America.  The 106-pound weight class is stacked with 16 champs from 13 states, plus one high school champion wrestler from Germany. 

Some notables in the 106-pound weight class...

Jose Tapia of Capital High School in New Mexico, who finished runner-up as an 8th grader at the 2013 Freshman Nationals, is back.  Tapia captured his second straight Class AAAA state title last month when he won the 113-pound weight class.  Tapia, who was unbeaten during 2013-14, also won a New Mexico state title as an eight grader.  

Last year in the 106-pound freshman final, Tapia was pinned by Tyler Warner from Ohio.

Danny Bertoni of Middletown High School in Maryland won his first competitive wrestling match when he was four years old.  Earlier this month, Bertoni won the Maryland 2A-1A 106-pound title with a perfect 44-0 record.

Dane Heberlein of Alexander High School in New York was also a perfect 44-0 this past season, winning New York's Division II 99-pound individual title.

Andrew Burpee of Habersham High School in Georgia won the state's Class 6A title with a 46-1 record. Burpee is Habersham's first-ever state champ.

Another Georgia state champ in the field at 106-pounds is Eli Hartley of Buford High School, who comes to Virginia Beach after capturing Georgia's 106-pound AAA state title in February.  Hartley was one of six individual AAA champs for Buford that also captured its first-ever Georgia AAA team title.

Hartley's gold medal came in heart-stopping style. He found himself down 3-0 to Noah Kile of Blessed Trinity after two periods in the finals.  After battling back to tie match at 3-3, Kile escaped to take a 4-3 led with 20 seconds to go.  Hartley captured the gold by taking down Kile with 0.8 seconds left on the clock.  Hartley's overall record for the 2013-14 season was 48-12.

Jacob Baird from Virgin Valley High School in Nevada also felt the joy mining freshman gold by beating a senior from his own school in Nevada's Division I-A classification Baird, who finished the year undefeated, beat teammate Clancy Leavitt in the finals.

Matthew Bolduc of Patch American captured the 106-pound title at the DODDS-Europe Wrestling Championships.  Patch American has won four Division I titles in the last five years.

Steven Shields of Brother Martin High School captured Louisiana's 106-pound Division I individual crown.  Shields was one of five individual champs for Brother Martin that has won three straight Louisiana Division I team titles.

At the other end of the spectrum is 220-pounder Sammy Evans of Alcoa High School in Tennessee.  In February, Evans won his first varsity Tennessee state title with four straight pins in the 220-pound bracket. Evans won Tennessee state titles as a middle schooler at the 7th and 8th grade levels.

At 113, Jake Brindley of Lake Highland Prep has an impressive resume with two Florida 1A state championships to his credit.  This past season Brindley finished 52-2.

Brindley's teammate Joey Silva won the Florida 1A state title as an 8th grader with 42 victories this year.

Also at 113 is New York Division II state champ Hunter Dusold of Locust Valley High School. Dusold won this year's title by defeating defending state champ Derek Spann in the 113-pound championship. 

Another state champ at 113-pound pounds is Christian Miller of Plainview High School in Nebraska.  Miller won the Nebraska Class D 113-pound title this past season with a 41-0 record.

Here are the other 2013-14 State Champs in the field...

106 - Jacob Baird, Virgin Valley HS (Nevada)
106 - Danny Bertoni, Middletown HS (Maryland)
106 - Matt Bolduc, Patch American HS (Germany)
106 - Dylan Boone, SouthLake Christian HS (North Carolina)
106 - Andrew Burpee, Habersham Central HS (Georgia)
106 - Jayce Cunha, Ironwood Ridge HS (Arizona)
106 - Luke Davis, St. John's College (Maryland)
106 - Sawyer Degan, Belgrade HS (Montana)
106 - Eli Hartley, Buford HS (Georgia)
106 - Dane Heberlein, Alexander HS (New York)
106 - Gavin Hutchens, Pigeon Forge HS (Tennessee)
106 - Bjorn Schroeder, Bozeman HS (Montana)
106 - Steven Shields, Brother Martin HS (Louisiana)
106 - Joseph Silva, Lake Highland Prep (Florida)
106 - Jose Tapia, Capital HS (New Mexico) - 2X NM champ
106 - Zachary Van Alst, Montgomery Catholic HS (Alabama)
113 - Bradley Beaulieu, Marshwood HS (Maine)
113 - Jake Brindley, Lake Highland Prep (Florida) - 2X FL champ
113 - Hunter Dusold, Locust Valley HS (New York)
113 - Christian Miller, Plainview HS (Nebraska)
113 - Reid Stewart, Brookville HS (Virginia)
120 - Knox Fuller, Bradley Central HS (Tennessee)
120 - Grant Hall, Croatan HS (North Carolina)
120 - Quentin Hovis, Seton Catholic Prep (Arizona)
120 - Franco Valdez, Southwest HS (Florida)
120 - Joshua Wyland, Benedictine College (Virginia)
126 - Hayden Hastings, Sheridan HS (Wyoming)
126 - Victor Plante II, Bedford HS (New Hampshire)
132 - Gil Gerber, Arrichion HS (North Carolina)
132 - Jacob Hart, Independence HS (West Virginia)
138 - Jared Henry, Dayton HS (Oregon)
138 - Max Wohlabaugh, Bishop Moore HS (Florida)
152 - Noah Adams, Independence HS (West Virginia)
152 - Anthony Falbo, Newtown HS (Connecticut)
160 - Caleb Little, Jefferson HS (Georgia)
182 - Justin Allman, Parkersburg South HS (West Virginia)
195 - Jeffrey Allen, Amherst College (Virginia)
220 - Sammy Evans, Alcoa HS (Tennessee)

2013 Freshman Nationals Finals

106: Tyler Warner (Ohio) pinned Jose Tapia (New Mexico), 5:45
113: Kyle Norstrem (Florida) dec. Trent Olson (Wyoming), 11-6
120: Jarrett Degen (Montana) dec. Kellen Devlin (New York), 6-4
126: Kevin Budock (Maryland) dec. Max Pickett (New Jersey), 4-3
132: Christopher Mauriello (New York) dec. Jimmy Saylor (Pennsylvania), 9-4
138: Daniel Bullard (Georgia) dec. Ryan Peters (New Hampshire), 6-0
145: Thomas Bullard (Georgia) pinned Joey Nadotti (Florida), 3:24
152: Jordan Torbitt (New York) major dec. Dean Drugac (New Jersey), 10-0
160: Brandon Dallavia (New Jersey) major dec. John Jakobsen (Pennsylvania), 12-2
170: Nick Svarda (Ohio) dec. Alan Clothier (Kansas), 11-8
182: Drew Phipps (Pennsylvania) pinned Christian Araneo (New York), 0:56
195: Matthew Correnti (New Jersey) dec. Kobe Woods (Indiana), 13-7
220: Kordell Chaney (Ohio) dec. Joe Hensley (Ohio), 8-7
285: Jake Beistel (Pennsylvania) dec. Edwin Rubio (New York), 4-3

2013 Freshman National Team Scores

1. New York – 208.5

2. Pennsylvania – 207.5

3. Ohio – 204

4. New Jersey – 184.5
5. Virginia – 135.5