Rob Sherrill High School Notebook: Criteria decided another close Top-10 dual

Rob Sherrill High School Notebook (Jan. 25, 2013)

Graham eases past St. Edward on criteria

Rob Sherrill

In a meet that ended with a 7-7 match split, three-time Ohio champion Bo Jordan (160) scored the only pin of the match, helping host St. Paris Graham past Lakewood St. Edward on criteria Tuesday after the two teams tied, 29-29.

Graham took a 10-0 lead on a decision by Mario Kastl (120) and a major decision by Brent Moore (126), who were flip-flopped from their normal weights for the meet. Then, at 132 pounds, Graham junior Micah Jordan repeated his Walsh Ironman victory over Dean Heil, rallying with a takedown late in the third period for a 4-3 victory.

Bo Jordan (right), who won his third Ironman in December, helped St. Paris Graham edge St. Eds as his pin also provided the tie-breaking criteria.

St. Edward rallied with back-to-back technical falls from Colin Heffernan (138) and Edgar Bright (145), tying the match at 10-10, then took a 13-10 lead on Markus Scheidel’s 9-7 victory over freshman standout Alex Marinelli at 152.

Jordan’s 31-second pin gave Graham a 16-13 lead, but St. Edward won the next three matches. Ray Barr (170) and Gabe Dzuro (195) sandwiched decisions around Domenic Abounader’s forfeit win at 182. But Anthony Welty’s injury default win over Parker Knapp at 220 did more than just pull the Falcons within 25-22. It provided the eventual margin of victory as Graham’s second six-point win.

Ralph Nichols’ major decision at 285 made St. Edward’s lead 29-22, but a dramatic rally brought Graham back into the match at 103. Ahead of Ironman champion Eli Stickley, 4-1 after two periods, L.J. Bentley was penalized three times for four points for stalling on the bottom in the third period, giving Stickley a 5-4 victory and narrowing St. Edward’s lead to 29-25. Eli Seipel followed with a 14-4 major decision over Sal Corrao at 113 to tie the score at 29 and cap the comeback.

It was the second St. Edward dual against a Top 10 national opponent to be decided on criteria this month. On Jan. 12, the Eagles came out on the winning end against Lombard (Ill.) Montini on an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

No. 3 Westfield impresses at Eastern States, then dumps No. 2 Robinson

            Westfield High may not be the prettiest dual-meet team, but this Chantilly (Va.) school isn’t easy to beat in the middleweights.

The starting weight of 132 couldn’t have been any kinder to the Bulldogs, ranked No. 3 in big-school Group 3A, who won seven of the first eight matches in a 34-29 victory over No. 2 Fairfax Robinson on Jan. 9.

Westfield raced to a 12-0 lead on decisions by Garret Maged (132) and state placewinner Derek Arnold (138) and a pin by Beau Donahue (145), the 152-pound state champion last year. Arnold scored an 8-2 victory over Dallas Smith, a Group 2A state champion at Christiansburg last year. Two-time state runner-up Jack Bass scored a technical fall for Robinson at 152, but state placewinner Stephen Aiello (160), Frank Aiello (170), state placewinner Tyler Morson (182) and Frank Knies (195) all scored decisions to extend the lead to 24-5. Two pins and a forfeit brought Robinson within 24-23 before Gabe Ryan (113) scored a pin and David Aiello (120) a major decision to clinch the win.

The following weekend, Donahue finished second and Arnold third to lead five place-winners as Westfield (102.5 points) finished third behind New York powers Wantagh (138.5) and Clifton Park Shenendehowa (111.5) in the Eastern States Classic at Sheldrake, N.Y., the highest out-of-state team finish in the field of 109.

            It turned out to be a pretty good weekend for Robinson as well. With William Riggs pinning Judson Preskitt in the opening match (126) and Smith (138) and Cole DiPasquale (170) adding pins of their own, the Rams tied No. 3 Kingston (Pa.) Wyoming Seminary, 32-32, winning on an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Coupled with Montini’s aforementioned loss under similar circumstances to St. Edward, it was the first time two Top 10 teams lost such matches on the same day.

Singh, Park Hill gain revenge

            It’s been quite a year for Kearney (Mo.) 113-pounder Jaret Singh.

Fourth in the Walsh Ironman at a strong weight class, Singh put together a dominating 6-0 run at The Clash National Duals over the holidays, scoring wins over three nationally-ranked opponents. And on Jan. 17, the two-time state champion added a 5-4 victory over top-five rival Ke-Shawn Hayes of Kansas City Park Hill in one of the most anticipated post-holiday dual meets in western Missouri.

With the victory, Singh avenged a 4-3 loss to Hayes in the finals of the Park Hill Duals on Dec. 1.

Unfortunately for Singh, so did Park Hill. The Trojans, 31-27 losers to Kearney back in December, evened the score Thursday with a 32-20 victory. In another rematch between state place-winners at 120, Park Hill’s John Erneste edged Seth Brayfield, 1-0. Brayfield had scored a 5-3 victory over Erneste in overtime in December.