Blair Outscores Central Dauphin (PA), Colonial Forge (VA) To Win Its 12th Beast of the East Title

BOYLE, VILLALONGA WIN GOLD…VALLES, PELTIER BRING HOME SILVER MEDALS

Newark, Delaware: Most college students at the University of Delaware, where the Beast of the East wrestling tournament is held, are headed south or home for the holidays. As usual, the Blair Academy wrestling squad was fighting its way through a tough field of teams inside the university’s Bob Carpenter Center, as they do every year.

It wouldn’t be easy as Blair was without #1-ranked Mario Mason (145 lbs.) and 160 lbs. starter Adam Hogue. Both were nursing injuries and are expected be back shortly.

Leading the Buccaneers, however, was Sean Boyle who defeated Sean Dolan of St. Marks (DE) 8-4 in the 112 lbs. finals for a gold medal, and Chris Villalonga who defeated two-time New Jersey state champion Joe Trause of Bergen Catholic 3-0 at 125 lbs. Anthony Valles (130 lbs.) and Cory Peltier (171 lbs.) had fine showings bringing home silver medals.

“We went in undermanned without Mario {Mason} and Adam {Hogue}; we also lost our 189 pounder Ben Krakower in the first round to a concussion. So, the other kids had to battle harder as a team and put together a solid effort,” said Jeff Buxton, Blair Head Coach. “They did just that and I am proud of them.”

“Chris Villalonga had an excellent tournament defeating a two-time state champion in Joe Trause 3-0. In the semi-finals he beat another New Jersey state champ Patrick Hunter. Having back-to-back wins at two national tournaments is not an easy task, but Chris is doing it mellifluously. Also impressive was Sean Boyle as he won his first national tournament. He wrestled well in all phases of his wrestling,” Buxton added.

Evan Silver had a nice showing finishing in fifth place at 103 lbs. Tony Buxton is improving and is looking forward to a strong January and February. Austin Ormsbee placed third at 135 lbs.; John Guzzo (140 lbs.) wrestled well in Delaware and is honing his mat wrestling this week. Jesse Shanaman came one match from placing at 152 lbs. C.J. Cobb wrestled like a warrior as he lost in the second round then won six straight bouts before losing to Braden Turner of Northampton 8-0 for fifth place. (Cobb was up two weight classes at145 lbs. filling in for Mario Mason). Steve Hanslik ran into a tough opponent from Colonial Forge at 215 lbs. and must rebound at the Bethlehem Holiday Classic.

And bringing it home for the Bucs was Kyle Hansen who defeated Tim Watson of Bald Eagle Area 3-1 OT for the bronze medal at 285 lbs. Hansen had three nationally ranked opponents in his weight class and showed the nations top coaches that he is a force to be reckoned with. Carter Lorant is looking to break through at 160 lbs. and must keep working hard.

“C.J. Cobb lost in the second round then won six straight before losing for fifth place; that is a great effort by C.J. In addition, Evan {Silver} lost a tough quarterfinals bout to the #1 seed – giving him his toughest match of the tourney. Evan is showing a lot of improvement every week,” Buxton said.

“Right now we have stepped up our training in preparation for the Bethlehem Holiday Classic, which draws strong competition from the Lehigh Valley. Then we go into the Easton Invitational, NHSCA Wrestling Festival, The NHSCA Final Four Duals, and The Blair Super Quad. We have a tough schedule ahead of us, but we are getting ready and getting better every day in the room,” said Jeff Buxton.

Final scores at the 2007 Beast of the East: Blair Academy 234.5, Central Dauphin (PA) 214.5, Colonial Forge (VA) 180.5, Jackson Memorial (NJ) 127.

Log onto www.blairwrestling.com over the holiday break for an update on the Bethlehem Holiday Classic and to read an article on former Blair athletes who are vying for NCAA Division I crowns this year. They include: Mark Perry of Iowa, Kellen Russell of Michigan, Adam Frey of Cornell, Robbie Preston of Harvard, Eric Medina and Hudson Taylor of Maryland, Zack Hammond of Cornell, to name a few.

Please direct all questions and comments to buxtoj@blair.edu.