By Rob Sherrill, W.I.N. High School Editor
More than half the high school state tournaments were now in the books by March 1. And there have been plenty of great moments, both inside and outside those tournaments.
Team trophies have been won.
Dominating state tournament performances have been recorded.
Records have been set and streaks have come to an end.
Year in and year out, wrestling is more than just takedowns and reversals, pins and upsets. Memories are created, many of which not only last a lifetime, but are talked about 20 years down the road when that “greatest match you ever saw” conversation rolls around once again. After all, fans are the ones who close the wrestling circle.
It’s quite a task to reduce those great moments down to eight, but I’m going to give it a shot. So read on and recapture some of your own great memories. By the way, these are in no particular order.

1. St. Edward rallies to beat Blair Academy
It wasn’t a state tournament moment, but it was still a February highlight.
Trailing visiting Blairstown (N.J.) Blair Academy 27-26 heading into the final match, Lakewood (Ohio) St. Edward High got a clutch victory from senior 145-pounder Dan Gonsor. The Virginia recruit was bumped up a weight to 152 and responded with a 7-4 victory over Blair’s Adam Hogue, giving the Eagles a 29-27 stunner, breaking Blair’s six-year winning streak in their annual series.
Gonsor built a 5-0 first-period lead over Hogue in front of a standing-room-only crowd. Then, after Hogue had closed to within 5-4 in the third period, Gonsor scored a clinching takedown late to seal the victory and a likely St. Edward national crown.
St. Edward dominated the match early, building a 13-0 lead behind upper-weight stars Sean Nemec (160), Brian Roddy (171) and Chris Honeycutt (189) that the Eagles eventually stretched to 22-4 behind Jamie Clark’s pin at 103. But Garrett Frey’s pin at 119 sparked a Blair rally that saw them add victories by Kellen Russell (130), Max Shanaman (135) and Mario Mason (140) to pull within 26-24. Blair took its only lead at 145, where St. Edward junior Connor Suba held three-time National Prep champion Eric Medina to a decision, 8-1.

2. Colonial Forge stuns Great Bridge in Virginia Group AAA
Talk about a program that made great strides the past couple of years.
Stafford Colonial Forge High put its team to the test with another killer schedule — the Eagles wrestled in six different states this season — and scored an upset for the ages, ending Chesapeake Great Bridge High’s streak of eight consecutive Group AAA state crowns, 169.5-152.
Great Bridge had won 14 of the previous 15 Group AAA state titles.
Each team had two champions, five finalists and seven placewinners in the top four. But Colonial Forge added three more place-winners for a 10-7 overall edge.
Joe Pantaleo (125) and Matt Reck (215) won titles for Colonial Forge, which survived upset losses to lower-weight aces Shane Gentry (112) and Mike Garfalo (119) to win. Great Bridge’s P.J. Clamp (135) and Scott Cust (189) also won, but the Wildcats had no entry — and therefore no points — at 145.
Another eight-year winning streak was snapped in Maine, where Waterboro Massabesic High outscored North Berwick Noble High 145.5-130.5 to win the Class A crown. A ninth straight victory would have given Noble the state record. Instead, the Knights still share the record originally established by Sanford High from 1961-68.
With only two starters graduating from the title squad, Massabesic could start a streak of its own a year from now.

3. Blanton’s display of class in Illinois
Having seen every Illinois state tournament since 1979, I’m not given to throwing out superlatives lightly. But this weekend, I saw perhaps the most elite group of talent in the history of this state engage in the most entertaining finals round in my nearly 30 years of watching first-hand.
Maybe ever.
Lots of states will produce more than one four-time state champion this year. None of them will produce a pair surrounded by more drama or pressure than Chicago St. Rita High’s Albert White (152) and Lombard Montini High’s Mike Benefiel (171).
And Benefiel, committed to Northwestern, had to turn back a hard-charging Jordan Blanton of Richmond-Burton High in a battle of Junior National All-Americans. The match was the first final in state tournament history between two wrestlers who both had a shot at keeping four-time state title streaks alive.
On the opening whistle, Benefiel hit a picture-perfect fireman’s carry and took Blanton to his back and just three seconds into the match, the two-time state champion was nearly flat and fighting for his life.
Benefiel held him there for nearly 30 seconds — the crowd of 10,000-plus on their feet screaming — before Blanton finally lifted one shoulder. Benefiel readjusted his head-and arm combination and soon Blanton was fighting off his back again. Then Benefiel switched off to a cross-face cradle — and again had Blanton nearly motionless and flat. Somehow, some way, Blanton fought off his back and out of danger after spending three-quarters of the opening period on his back — leaving the spectators more drained than the wrestlers.
But Benefiel had a 7-0 lead and his fourth state title firmly in hand, 8-2.
But the story of the match was Blanton’s display of grace and sportsmanship as one of the nation’s matches of the year was coming to an end.
As the final seconds ticked down, Blanton, knowing his opponent had been the better wrestler on this night, didn’t wait for the referee. Instead, Blanton gave him a quick hug, then raised Benefiel’s hand himself — one of the classiest gestures I’ve ever witnessed at the end of a match.
How tough must that have been? Blanton entered the match with a 111-0 career record and two state crowns of his own. Clearly he wanted this match as much as his opponent — and was deeply disappointed in the result.
But it was a match that produced two winners.
And there’s no doubt everyone in Illinois will be rooting for Blanton to close his career with a third state crown a year from now.

4. McGill-Cosgrove “World Series” goes to Game 7
The ongoing series between Indiana’s top two 140-pounders, senior Eric McGill of Munster High and junior Brennan Cosgrove of Hobart High, came to resemble baseball’s World Series before it finally ended in the state finals.
McGill, the defending 125-pound state champion who is committed to Cornell, won the first two matches between the two this season, 9-8 and 10-9. Cosgrove, the state runner-up at 135 a year ago, appeared to have taken a solid advantage in the series with victories of 6-2, 3-1 and 11-9 in the Calumet regional last week.
Then, at the Merrillville semi-state tournament — the final pre-state qualifying level — Cosgrove held a 5-0 advantage when he slammed McGill to the mat on his head and shoulder early in the third period. A slam was called, McGill was not permitted to continue and was awarded the match to even the series at 3-3.
In an era when teams normally try for even a single rematch over the course of a season, this season’s series was truly unique. In their sixth meeting in a tournament final in a span a seven weeks, Game 7 went to the wire, with McGill recording an escape with 30 seconds remaining for a 6-5 victory and the state title. McGill finished his career as a two-time state champion, while Cosgrove enters his senior year as a two-time state runner-up.
A World Series, indeed.

5. Flathead rewrites record book in Montana
Kalispell Flathead High had its ups and downs on the mat during the regular season. But when state tournament time rolled around, the Braves not only repeated as Class AA team champion in Montana, but took everything that wasn’t nailed down.
Records fell left and right, including the state tournament scoring record, as Flathead scored 347.5 points to claim their third title in four years, winning by 103 points over Great Falls Charles M. Russell High.
Flathead’s point total broke their own record of 325 points, set in 2004. The Braves also set new AA records since the All-Class format began 19 years ago by advancing nine to the finals — the previous record was eight, set by Billings Skyview in 2001 and 2002 and tied by Kalispell in 2004 — and 18 state placewinners, bettering by one the record of 17 they set last year.
Freshman Shawn Lau (98) pinned his way to a state title, scoring four pins in 7 minutes, 32 seconds, and was joined by junior Brian Ham (119) and sophomore Bryce Stacy (145) as champions. Even that was an improvement over their state title seasons, when they went 1-for-8 and 0-for-7 in the finals.
What Flathead accomplished may not be seen again any time soon. One reason: Kalispell adds a second four-year school next season, when Glacier High opens its doors. However, coach Jeff Thompson has said he’ll remain at Flathead after the transition.

6. Concord ends years of frustration against Timberlane
This was another pre-state tournament highlight that was no less riveting: the match billed as New Hampshire’s “Match of the Century,” between the state’s two unbeaten 500-pound gorillas: Plaistow Timberlane High and Concord High.
Something had to give. Concord came into the match with a 20-0 record, while Timberlane boasted an 18-0 mark, 69 consecutive dual-meet victories and seven straight Division 1 and Meet of Champions team titles, with the Crimson Tide posting runner-up finishes in most of those seasons.
The two had met previously in a pair of tournaments, Concord edging Timberlane 218.5-217 at the Lowell (Mass.) Holiday Tournament and Timberlane (196 points) winning the Sanford (Maine) Tournament of Champions, with Concord (182.5) finishing third.
Not only did Concord end more than a decade of frustration with a 28-22 stunner, but the Crimson Tide pulled it off before a stunned capacity crowd in Timberlane’s gym.
With his team trailing 13-10, Concord sophomore Brandon Paige (119) scored the shocker of the night. Paige, who had lost both previous meetings to defending state and New England champion Joey O’Connor, one of those by pin, picked up a reversal with 25 seconds remaining and rode O’Connor out to preserve a 2-1 stunner over the Owls standout, and suddenly Concord had pulled even at 13-13.
Denzil Garvey (130), four-time Division 1 champion Tyler Saltsman (135), headed for the Naval Academy, Alex Buessing (140) and Derek Bisson (145) scored consecutive victories to give Concord a 28-16 lead with one match remaining, wrapping up the meet.
Timberlane did score some revenge in the state tournament. The Owls edged Concord by two points, 239.5-237.5, in the Division 1 state meet and also won the Meet of Champions title the next week to make it eight straight.
But on one cold February night, Concord was the king of the Granite State.

7. Oak Park ends season right with two four-time champions
The national spotlight can be a cruel mistress.
Missouri powerhouse Kansas City Oak Park High discovered that the hard way this season, taking its lumps in a pair of events: the St. Edward Elite 8 Duals in December and the Lepic Duals at Iowa City (Iowa) West High in January.
The Northmen dropped a pair of dual meets — their only four losses of the season — at both events, quite a blow considering they hadn’t experienced a close match in their previous two appearances in the Lepic Duals.
But the state tournament always presents an opportunity for redemption, and Oak Park seized the opportunity. Not only did they take their seventh consecutive state title, but two of their four-year leaders, Scott O’Donnell (130) and Shane Nay (145) led six Class 4 state champions by winning their fourth state titles. Both avenged losses in the Kansas City Winnetonka Tournament in January.
O’Donnell, the subject of this issue’s Q&A feature, lost four times this season, scored a 5-4 victory over fellow state champion Corey Carr of cross-town rival Park Hill High, who won the Class 3 crown a year ago. Nay, who lost five times against that tough schedule, recorded a technical fall for his victory after edging Missouri-recruit Brandon Wiest of O’Fallon Fort Zumwalt West High 2-1 in extended overtime in the semifinals.
Mac Bailey (119) and Dylan Joiner (140) won their second titles and Ray Hall (152) and Brent Haynes (171) also won.
Tucson (Ariz.) Sunnyside High also had a pair of four-time Class 5A Division 2 state champions: North Carolina State-recruit Mike Moreno (130) and Arizona State-recruit Kyle DeBerry (160). Moreno won his first two titles at Class 3A Sahuarita High.

8. Mount Anthony, Paulsboro, Blair continue streaks
Bennington (Vt.) Mount Anthony High won its 19th consecutive state title with another dominating performance, scoring an even 300 points and sending 11 wrestlers to the finals. John Andrews (119) and Scott Legacy (125) won their second state titles and Jacob Shortt (112), Kyle Elithorpe (152), D.J. Legacy (171) and Matt McVay (189) also won for the Patriots.
Two streaks stayed alive in New Jersey. Paulsboro (N.J.) High has won every Group 1 dual state title — all 25 of them. The Red Raiders, who lost only to nationally-ranked Jackson Memorial High and Camden Wyoming (Del.) Caesar Rodney High this season, also finished second behind Jackson as the No. 1 team in New Jersey balloting.
But Blair stands alone in the streak department. With 349 points, the Bucs made it 27 straight National Prep Championships team crowns. Kingston (Pa.) Wyoming Seminary Preparatory School (186.5) finished second.

(Rob Sherrill is one of the top high school wrestling analysts in the country and a long-time columnist of W.I.N. He also publishes the “American High School Wrestling Yearbook”. To order a copy, e-mail him at centermatpress@hotmail.com.)