24th Annual NHSCA Senior National Wrestling Championships to Feature Seven 4X State Champs

by Jeff Fisher
Host, NHSCA Sports Hour
Follow @NHSCARadioShow

The talent registered in the Senior Division for 24^th annual National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) National Wrestling Championships is incredible. The field includes seven 4X state champs, with wrestlers who have won a combined 203 state championships.  In addition to the seven 4X champs; there are 18 3X state champs; and 23 2X state champions.

Our four-time state champs in the Senior Division are: Michael Billingsley of Lowry High School in Nevada; Miguel Calixto of Mount Anthony Union High School in Vermont; J’den Cox of Hickman High School in Missouri; Dani Fischer of Campbell County High School in Wyoming; Joey Lavallee of Reno High School (ranked #15 in the nation) in Nevada; Ryan Nivan of Tyngsboro High School in Massachusetts and Tyler Tate from Spring Creek High School in Nevada.

While all seven 4X champs are outstanding, Cox, who will wrestle at the University of Missouri next season, hasn’t lost since his freshman year and brings a 205-3 record to Virginia Beach.  Cox won all four of his state titles at different weight classes.

There are two 2X NHSCA champs in the Senior Division field led by Dennis Gustafson of Forest Park High School in Virginia.  Gustafson, who will wrestle in college at Virginia Tech, is currently ranked 15^th in the nation according to Win Magazine.  Coleman Hammond of Bakersfield High School in California is also a 2X NHSCA champ, who is entered at 145-pounds.  Back to defend his 2012 Junior championship at 152 is Kyle Perreault of Clovis East High School in California

Another nationally-ranked wrestler in the field is two-time National Prep champion Frank Mattiace of national champion Blair Academy in New Jersey. Entered at 195 pounds, Mattiace was 160-16 during his scholastic career and ranked #7 nationally by Win Magazine.

Last year the State of California walked away with three championships in the Senior Division, followed by Florida, New Jersey and New York with two champs apiece.  California captured the Senior title with 240.5 points, followed by New York (191) and New Jersey (159.5).

Blair Academy’s (Blairstown, New Jersey) Mark Grey won the 132-pound championship and the Senior Division’s Most Outstanding Wrestler Award.

Capturing Senior titles from California were Josh Rodriguez (Righetti HS) at 120; Natrelle Demison (Bakersfield HS) at 138 and Richard Black (Chavez HS) at 220. 

Florida’s champs were Clark Glass (Brandon HS) at 160 and Doug Vollaro of Pine Castle Christian at 285.

New Jersey’s champions were Grey and Alenick Richardson (St. Peter’s Prep) at 145. 

New York gold medalists were Dylan Palacio (Long Beach HS) at 145 and Anthony Lock (Pioneer HS) at 182.

Other states with single champs in the 2012 Senior Division were Kansas, Maryland North Carolina, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.

Lots of Familiar Faces in Junior Division of the 24th National High School Coaches Association National Wrestling Championships

by Jeff Fisher
Host, NHSCA Sports Hour
Follow @NHSCARadioShow

This year’s Junior Nationals are loaded from top-to-bottom with eleven 3X state champs in the field, plus eight 2012 NHSCA Sophomore Division champs are back to defend their titles.  In fact, three wrestlers are looking to add a third NHSCA title to their resumes.

Nathan Rose of Sibley East High School in Minnesota, Ryan Millhof of Collins Hill in Georgia and Jesse Webb of Mount Anthony Union High School in Vermont are halfway to becoming 4X NHSCA national champs.  There have only been two wrestlers in the history of the NHSCA National Wrestling Championships to win four titles.

Millhof, who is currently ranked 5^th in the nation at 120 pounds, also owns two Georgia state championships, plus a runner-up finish as a freshman. Rose, who is currently ranked 12^th in the nation at 195, is coming-off his second straight Minnesota title. Webb, who is ranked 17^th in the nation, is a 3X Vermont state champion.

The 126-pound bracket is loaded with 3X Kentucky state champ Brock Ervin of Union County High School and 2X Colorado state champ and defending 120 pound NHSCA Sophomore champ P.T. Garcia of Bear Creek High School in Colorado entered. Also at 126 are two 2X state champs Jack Mutchnik of St. Paul’s in Maryland and Cameron Perry of Gilmer High School in Georgia.  The 126-pound bracket has registrants with a combined 17 individual state championships.

Other returning 2012 Sophomore Division champs are: 3X Delaware state champ Brent Fleetwood of Smyrna High School (ranked #3 nationally @ 113 pounds); 3X South Carolina state champ Clay Walker from Eastside High; former Blair Academy (New Jersey) wrestler P.J. Klee, who sat out this season after transferring to Cardinal Newman High School in California because of transfer rules; 3X Maryland state champ Alfred Bannister of Bishop McNamara High School (ranked #5 nationally @ 138 pounds); Larry Bomstad of Atwater-Cosmos-Grove in Minnesota, who won a state championship this year.

Another top junior is Burke Paddock of Warsaw High School in New York. Burke won an NHSCA Freshman Division title and finished runner-up last year at 160 pounds.

Last year, Pennsylvania, with three champions, won the Junior National team title with 189 points to edge-out Virginia with 186.  New York finished third with 183.5 points.  

Gold Medals abound in Sophomore Division at 24th Annual National High School Coaches Association National Wrestling Championships

by Jeff Fisher
Host, NHSCA Sports Hour
Follow @NHSCARadioShow

The Sophomore Division of 24^th annual National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) National Wrestling Championships could be called “golden” with 45 wrestlers entered having won their respective state wrestling championships during the 2012-13 school year. Eighteen of those champs are 2X state champs, who will grace the mats at the Virginia Beach Convention Center April 3rd through the 7th.

Included in the field so far are four wrestlers that captured NHSCA titles as freshman: Conor Ross of Springstead High School in Florida at 170-pounds; Tevis Bartlett of Cheyenne East High School in Wyoming at 182; Kenneth Brinson of Marist High School in Georgia at 195-pounds and Gage Cervenka of Emerald High School in South Carolina at 285.  Bartlett and Cervenka are both two-time state champions, who both pinned their ways to gold in last year’s NHSCA Freshman championship matches.

Multiple two-time state champs entered at 106, 113, 120, 126 and 132.  Both 120 and 126 have three, two-time state champs.

Two-time winners at 120 are Troy Gassaway of Mount Anthony Union High School in Vermont, Gresh Jones of Sidney High School in Montana and Richard Montoya of Robertson High School in New Mexico.

At 126 pounds, the two-time champs are: Dylan LaFountain of Mount Anthony Union High School in Vermont; Brooks Law of Foxcroft Academy in Maine and Dylan Lucas of Brandon High School in Florida.

Pennsylvania won last year’s Sophomore Nationals with 213 points to outdistance second place Ohio and third place Virginia.  Pennsylvania didn’t claim any individual championships, but did have two runner-up finishes.  Minnesota, New Jersey and Ohio claimed two individual titles each in the Sophomore Division.  States with single champs were: California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, South Carolina, Vermont and West Virginia.

Eight of last year’s Sophomore champs are entered in the Junior Division this year. They are: two-time NHSCA champs Nathan Rose of Sibley East High School in Minnesota, Ryan Millhof of Collins Hill in Georgia; and Jesse Webb of Mount Anthony Union High School in Vermont; plus 2012 champs Brent Fleetwood (Delaware) at 106, P.T. Garcia (Colorado) at 120, Clay Walker (South Carolina) at 126, P.J. Klee (California) at 132, Alfred Bannister (Maryland) at 138 and Larry Bomstad (Minnesota) at 145.