Blair Academy Defeats#2
Apple Valley (Minn.), # 3 Easton (Penn.) and #4 St. Paris Graham
(Ohio) to Capture NHSCA/Final Four Duals of Wrestling
WEEKEND
VICTORY AT NHSCA/FINAL-FOUR DUALS RATIFIES BLAIR AS NUMBER ONE
TEAM IN THE USA...AGAIN
Blair
Academy is on a roll, but that’s nothing new for the team that
has captured three consecutive national titles. What’s new for
Blair is that they are doing it {winning} without any superstars.
(Hold that thought for a few minutes because you’ll notice that
there are, indeed, a few nationally-ranked Buccaneers listed at
the end of this article.)
This
is the year of “Total Team” effort for the Blair Academy Buccaneers,
and the maxim is holding true. So
now, let’s take a quick look at Blair Academy’s 2003-2004 Season:
DECEMBER 12-13, 2003: Blair wins the Walsh Jesuit Ironman Tournament.
DECEMBER 20-31--Blair Academy wins the prestigious Beast of the
East competition. (Please note that these are the two toughest
high school-level tournaments in the nation with several top-10
teams competing.) DECEMBER 29-30—Blair wins the Bethlehem Holiday
Classic, defeating # 6 Northampton in the process.
Are
you following? By the way, Blair won the Bethlehem Holiday Classic
without a full line-up (Travis Blasco, for one, was home convalescing).
Now, flip the page to 2004: JANUARY 9, 2004: Blair defeats #5
St. Edwards of Ohio, 36-12. Now that is impressive! Ladies and
gentleman— you line them up and Blair will knock them down.
That
leads us up to this past weekend (JANUARY 17, 2004)—NHSCA/Final
Four Duals where the top four ranked teams in the nation battled
for the #1 ranking in the USA. The competition took place at #
3 Easton, a notoriously tough “away” venue in which
to compete. In the morning session, Blair rolled through #2 Apple
Valley, Minn. by a score of 42-20. In the afternoon session Blair
defeated a tough #4-ranked St. Paris Graham (Ohio) 38-21. Then
in the finals Blair defeated Easton 46-20 in their home gym, leaving
no doubt as to which team carries the nation’s #1 ranking.
Ladies and gentleman, once again–it’s Blair Academy.
For four years in a row.
This
year, the fourth, is being conducted by a “Total Team”
effort. “I am proud of our guys this year. We have been working
on a lot of little tactics, and it’s paying off,” Blair
Head Coach, Jeff Buxton, said. “Our guys have come together
as a team and they are helping each other develop...it’s
not over though...we have a tough February heading into the National
Preps; we will work as hard or harder through February.”
Individuals: Adam Frey is still undefeated and holds a #4 ranking
in the USA at 130 lbs. A fast-improving Kellen Russell picked
off #3 ranked Aaron Hart of St. Paris Graham in their match Saturday
to avenge a Beast finals loss to Hart. (Russell is currently ranked
#6 at 103 lbs.) Greg Romano holds steady at #9 at 140 lbs; Ben
Kinerson bumps up to #12 at 215 lbs, and thespian, Hudson Taylor,
is ranked #4 at 171 lbs.
We
hope all of you can join us at the National Prep Tournament on
February 27-28 at Lehigh University. We will have a special social
at the conclusion of the meet. Thank you for your continued support.
We hope to see you in a few weeks.
