Graham dominates the country’s No. 1 team
Jersey Shore might be a popular TV program, but Saturday night in St. Paris another show took place. Call this one Jersey Sore.
Feeding off the frenzy of a packed gym, Graham upended national No. 1 Blair Academy of New Jersey, 36-21, in a monstrous dual witnessed by a standing room only crowd of 1,200-plus. The Falcons, No. 3 in the national rankings, should be a lock for the new top spot when the polls are released this week. With a win over No. 8 Wadsworth next week, Graham will have for all intents and purposes wrapped up its second national championship in three years. The Falcons beat No. 9 Lakewood St. Edward last weekend.
Blair was no match for the Falcons who dominated from the get-go.
Graham won the first three matches and captured nine of 14 overall.
Two of Blair’s wins – victories at 125 (over state placer Sheldon Kegley) and 189 (over state champion Max Thomusseit) – came in overtime. The Buccaneers had two wins by pin (152 and Hwt.), while Chris Villalonga, the nation’s No. 1 wrestler at 140, bumped up to 145 and beat Graham’s Matt Stephens 11-5
The Falcons were dominant in their wins.
Freshman Bo Jordan (130) and junior Mark Meyer (215) won via pin, while sophomore Huston Evans (171) won by tech fall, 23-8. Sophomore Issac Jordan (135) and junior Kyle Ryan (160) each won by major decision.
At 140, sophomore Felipe Martinez won 10-3, while sophomore Ryan Taylor (103) and freshman Conner Cassidy (112) also won via decision.
The Falcons closest victory was also possibly its most impressive.
At 119, junior Nick Brascetta overtook Blair’s Evan Silver 3-1 with a takedown in the closing seconds. Brascetta entered the match ranked No. 4 in the country at 119, while Silver was No. 1 at 112.
Did you notice that none of Graham’s winners were seniors? Scary.
The Falcons should be No. 1 for a while.
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