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Blair Academy prevails in final at NHSCA Final Four of High School Wrestling
Sunday, January 24, 2010
By BRIAN FORTNER
The Express-Times
FORKS TWP. | Only one word can describe the performance by the Blair Academy wrestling
team on Saturday: relentless.
The Buccaneers showed why they're the No. 1-ranked team in the country by once again storming the national field
at the NHSCA Final Four of High School Wrestling, capping the event with an impressive 47-15 victory over Bishop
Lynch of Texas in the championship match.
"Well, we're wrestling with a nice size hole in our lineup," Blair Academy coach Jeff Buxton said. "But
we were able to make some lineup adjustments and come through it."
Instead of the annual evening showdown with the host Red Rovers, the 8-0 Bucs had to win their pool to earn a shot
at wrestling the 16th-ranked Friars in the title match.
"We formed a good rivalry with Easton under the old format, but we like the new format because it makes the
team fight through the tournament," Buxton said. "Every match means a little bit more."
Blair knocked off No. 24 Long Branch 42-18, Benton 43-25, and No. 14 Collins Hill (Ga.) 33-30 to reach the final
round, where they won 11 of 14 bouts.
Buxton's squad was wrestling without regular 130-pounder Todd Preston, who is out with an injury.
Preston's absence didn't hurt the Bucs as they racked up bonus points in seven of their wins.
Jesse Shanaman at 152 pounds, Dillon Hoffman at 215 and Brooks Black at 285 all scored falls for the Bucs, while
Chris Villalonga won by technical fall at 140. Kyle Taylor at 119, Austin Ormsbee at 135 and Evan Silver at 112
added major decisions.
"We had to bump some people around," Buxton said. "We moved Kyle Taylor up at 119 and he did a really
good job. We felt that their 112-pounder was really good and we put Silver up against him. So we did a nice job
matching our best guys on their best."
Taylor opened the match with a 10-2 major of Bishop Lynch's Jake Goodwin.
The Bucs also got key performances from standout 189-pounder Mike Evans -- an Iowa University recruit.
Evans, ranked No. 2 nationally by InterMat Wrestling, matched up with No. 8 Steve McPeek as Blair held a 25-15
lead.
Evans, who knocked off Bound Brook's Andrew Campolattano 7-2 in the final of the Bethlehem Holiday Classic in December,
dominated McPeek on his feet, scoring three takedowns and an escape for a 7-2 decision.
"Mike has been working very hard on the things he needs to improve on," Buxton said. "Everybody
knows he's dangerous on top, so he's been working on his offense on his feet and it paid off today. He's going
to have a lot of success at the next level."
Bishop Lynch, which fell to 14-1, reached the title match by defeating Easton 33-27, then dominating High Point,
the top-ranked team in New Jersey, 46-23.
The Friars got falls from Chris Mears at 145 and Tanner Eitel at 171, and a decision from Case Garrison at 130.
Eitel, ranked 13th in the country, recorded four falls on the day.
"We knew Blair would be tough to beat," Bishop Lynch coach Tim Mathews said. "We wanted to win our
pool and get to the finals and we did that. We had a tough one with Easton. They gave us all we could handle and
we just got lucky with the matchups against High Point.
"We have some things to work on and we'll see (Blair) again at Prep Nationals. But this was a good event for
us."
Brian Fortner can be reached at sports@express-times.com.
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Easton Area High School sophomore Mitch Minotti shines
as Red Rovers endure difficult 1-3 day
Sunday, January 24, 2010
By MICHAEL BLOUSE
The Express-Times
FORKS TWP. | For the Easton Red Rover team, Saturday's NHSCA Final Four of High
School Wrestling could be termed a "brutal day."
For sophomore Mitch Minotti, the ninth annual event was a "positive experience."
Coach Steve Powell's struggling Red Rovers went 1-3 against some of the nation's top-ranked teams at Easton Area
Middle School, but the talented 130-pounder reeled off four confidence-building victories.
Easton defeated Franklin (Mass.) 42-20. The Red Rovers lost to High Point 48-14, Bishop Lynch (Tex.) 33-27 and
Collins Hill (Ga.) 45-12.
Minotti and unbeaten senior Mark Hartenstine were the only Easton wrestlers to enjoy a 4-0 day.
"We sometimes lose track that Mitch is just a sophomore because so much is expected," Powell said. "He's
wrestling very well.
"At this stage, you'd like to say he's going to be a three-time state champion but obviously he still has
a long road."
One of Minotti's wins was a 7-3 overtime decision over sophomore Case Garrison of Bishop Lynch (Tex.), an elite
130-pounder who finished fifth at the Walsh Ironman Tournament this season.
Minotti, who improved to 20-3 this season, recorded an early takedown against Garrison, then allowed the tying
two-pointer in the final 20 seconds. Garrison got in on both legs in the overtime period but Minotti quickly countered,
prevailing with a takedown and back points.
Garrison is the grandson of former Dallas Cowboys great Walt Garrison.
"I wrestled him once or twice before, for third place in the seventh- and
eighth- grade Ohio tournament," said Minotti, the No. 1 130-pounder in The Express-Times region.
"I knew I was going to get him today and I knew he was a real good wrestler. I tried to wrestle my match and
slow him down a little. ... I got the takedown and did what I had to in overtime."
Minotti also defeated Brennen Donahue of High Point, 9-0, Micky Carbone of Franklin, 8-0, and Steven Bradtmueller
of Collins Hill by fall in 1:46.
"Today's definitely a long, tough day," the younger cousin of 145-pounder Anthony Minotti said, "but
it's a positive experience."
As a team, Easton has now lost five of its last eight duals. On Saturday, the Red Rovers lost to the No. 14 (Collins
Hill), No. 19 (Bishop Lynch) and No. 21 (High Point) teams in the nation, as ranked by WIN Magazine.
Easton fell to Bishop Lynch in the final bout at 285 pounds when Dylan Smith pinned David Caldwell Jr. in the third
period. Caldwell, the replacement for heavyweight Jacob Neve who is out for undisclosed reasons, just joined the
squad Monday.
The highlight of the Red Rovers' loss to Collins Hill was Hartenstine's controversial 7-6 decision over Joel Smith
at 145 pounds.
Next up for Easton is a Wednesday night showdown against archrival Phillipsburg at Easton Area Middle School.
"It's been a brutal day," Powell said. "The competition is great for the fans, and the kids find
out what it's like to wrestle top competition all day. If they keep their heads, they can improve from this because
we just wrestled four very good teams."
One Red Rover who failed to keep his head was Anthony Minotti, who was ejected from the event for flagrant misconduct
during Saturday's opener against High Point. Anthony Minotti, who will also miss the match against Phillipsburg,
is 15-7 this season.
The mat official ruled Anthony Minotti bit Joey Gaccione in the final seconds of the bout at 145.
"He bit the kid's finger," Powell said. "It's one of those things that I didn't see and the official
didn't see, but the kid showed the bite marks on his finger. The rule is there to keep the kids under control.
"It's unfortunate. Anthony's never showed that type of behavior before in our room or in the gym."
Michael Blouse can be reached at 800-360-3601 or at mblouse@express-times.com.
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