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By Wayne Catan
January 2005

Blair Wins Parkland Duals in Preparation for the Super Bowl of Wrestling — The NHSCA Final Four Duals

#1 Blair Academy to Face # 2 Great Bridge (Virginia), # 5 Easton and # 16 Rio Rancho of New Mexico on Saturday, January 22

Coming off the heels of defeating the # 28 team in the nation—Connellsville, Pennsylvania—at the Parkland Duals this past weekend in Parkland, Penn., Blair got a nice gut check heading into the NHSCA Final Four Duals. With six matches remaining in the dual against a tough Connellsville squad, the score was tied 18-18. That didn’t hinder the #1-ranked team in the nation’s focus. Blair won the last five of six weight classes to outscore Connellsville 41-22.  Hence: Blair won the Parkland Duals.  

Blair defeated Blue Mountain in the first round 50-24 then rattled off a 53-24 score against Delaware Valley (of Pennsylvania) before upending Pennridge 62-15.  The Pennridge match advanced Blair to the finals vs. Connellsville. 

“The Parkland Duals were a good drill for us leading into the NHSCA Final Four Duals. It was a long day as we had duals at 9:00 am, 11:00 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 pm. This sets the stage for us going into some really tough matches this weekend at Easton High School,” said Jeff Buxton, Blair head wrestling coach. 

“Individually, Travis Blasco had a good showing as he defeated a tough Ashin Primus of Connellsville, who beat him at the Beast of the East.  Rob Brackup, our 103-pounder, showed his mettle as he went 4-0 at the Parkland Duals.  We need a total team effort to get past Great Bridge and Easton this weekend,” Buxton continued. “And I expect nothing less.”

The NHSCA Final Four Duals will be held at Easton High School this Saturday, January 22.  The first session pits #1 Blair Academy against #2 Great Bridge of Virginia. The Key Match-ups vs. #2 Great Bridge, which takes place at 10:00 a.m. will be:

119 lbs: #19 Bryan Lashomb of Great Bridge vs. # 9 Ross Gitomer of Blair
189 lbs.: # 1 Patrick Bond of Great Bridge vs. #4 Hudson Taylor of Blair
Get ready for a rumble at 189 lbs. These two athletes (Bond and Taylor) go hard and are blue chippers. Don’t miss this matchup of behemoths.

Easton is loaded too: There top competitors include:

125-pounder, Seth Ciasulli, who was named Outstanding Wrestler at the Reno Tournament of Champions
130-pounder Josh Oliver
135-Pounder Alex Krom
….and more.

The Easton match takes place at 8:00 p.m. Blair faces Rio Rancho at 2:00 p.m.  

“This is great for our kids. Guys who have come through our program have learned a lot from this event. Where else can you see #1 go against #2. I know this meet has helped kids like Steve Mocco (NCAA Champion), Zack Esposito (NCAA Runner-up), Cory Cooperman (NCAA All-American), and Kurt Backes (NCAA All-American) handle the pressures of collegiate wrestling. “I very much look forward to doing battle this Saturday,” Buxton continued with passion.