Blair Academy Wrestlers Reel Off Two Major Tournament Victories

BUCS WIN “BEAST OF THE EAST” AND “BETHLEHEM HOLIDAY CLASSIC” TOURNAMENTS

COLLEGE UPDATE: BACKES, FREY, MELTZER, PERRY, PALMER, PRESTON, TAYLOR POISED FOR ALL-AMERICAN STATUS AND WILL MAKE STRONG RUN FOR INDIVIDUAL NCAA CROWNS

While most students are relaxing and celebrating their holiday seasons, the Blair Buccaneer wrestlers were hard at work in the wrestling room and in gymnasiums in Newark, Delaware and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania competing for important team and individual titles.

These titles are even more important this year than previous years as Blair is coming off a second-place finish at the Ironman Tournament.

Blair came away with first place victories in both the “Beast of the East” Tournament and the “Bethlehem Holiday Classic,” two of the nation’s premier high school events.

“Advancing six to the finals like the Ironman and Beast is a great feat as our team is progressing nicely due to the high-caliber competition we have faced. Some of the younger guys (i.e., Tony Buxton, Garrett Frey, and Kyle Hanson) are showing great improvement and that shows the hard work is paying off,” said Jeff Buxton, Blair Head Coach.

Highlights for the Buccaneer wrestlers at the “Beast of the East” and “Bethlehem Holiday Classic”follow:

103 lbs: Tony Buxton placed in both major tournaments coming away with a fourth-place trophy at the Holiday Classic and eighth-place trophy at the Beast of the East.
112 lbs: Chris Villalonga, who is ranked in the top six in the United States, placed second at the Beast of the East and third in Bethlehem.
119 lbs: Garrett Frey placed fourth in Bethlehem.
125 lbs: Joe Stanzione placed third at the Holiday Classic in Bethlehem.
130 lbs: Kellen Russell finished second at the Beast of the East.
135 lbs: Max Shanaman is keeping his national ranking with strong showings in both the Beast and Holiday Classic (2nd, 1st).
140 lbs: Mario Mason is looking extremely smooth with victories in both tournaments; his Holiday Classic crown came up one weight class--145 lbs.
145 lbs: Jesse Shanaman is filling this spot nicely and is improving every match.
152 lbs: Eric Medina placed for the third consecutive year at the Beast and then came away with a 10-6 win over Tim Darling of Nazareth, who is ranked #4 in the United States, in the finals of the Holiday Classic. Darling is a two-time Pennsylvania State Champion.
160 lbs: Adam Hogue placed fifth in the Holiday Classic.
171 lbs: Corey Peltier is on fire and that’s an understatement. He pinned Kyle Kiss of Ocean Township in the finals of the Beast, then came away with a 5-1 victory over Cory Getz of Warwick, Penn. at the Holiday Classic.
189 lbs: Reid Fliehr is coming into his own and showed his improvement with a fourth-place finish at the Holiday Classic.
215 lbs: Jared Platt is looking like the blue-chip athlete that he is. He lost to #1 (in the U.S.) Cody Gardner of Virginia (2-1 o.t.) in the Beast finals, but destroyed all of his opponents at the Holiday Classic.
HWT: Kyle Hanson is on a tear. He pinned his way through the Holiday Classic and earned the tournament’s Most Pins in Least Time Award. Hanson pinned Wilson High’s Chris Labatch in 3:20 in the finals.

“Eric (Medina) continued to demonstrate his abilities to perform at a high level as he beat a two-time Pennsylvania State Champion, Tim Darling, 10-6 in the finals of the Holiday Classic. Eric scored four takedowns in a very dominating performance,” Buxton added.

Next up for the Bucs is Caravel Academy at the Easton Invitational on January 6, which opens up the team’s dual meet season. The NHSCA Duals in Pleasant Valley, Penn. is slated for January 13. All of this competition is in preparation for the THROWDOWN—SHOWDOWN with St. Edward of Ohio on Feb. 3 in Cleveland. Be there.

COLLEGE UPDATE:
THE IVY LEAGUE: FREY-PRESTON-MELTZER-PALMER: We knew Adam Frey was special when he was at Blair, now he is showing that he is special at Cornell. Adam defeated several highly-ranked opponents in the Southern Scuffle in North Carolina to earn the 133 lbs. individual title for the Cornell Big Red. Look for Adam to receive a nice national ranking and to be ready come NCAA time. Robbie Preston, who competes for Ivy League rival Harvard placed third at the Midlands and will see Adam in the Easterns, a dual, and at the NCAA’s. Both are looking like strong All America/NCAA Champion candidates. Max Meltzer placed third in a strong 141 lbs. weight class at the 2006 Midlands. Max lost to #1-ranked Ryan Lange of Northwestern and will come away with a top-six national ranking. Max knows all of this is in preparation for the NCAA Championships in Auburn Hills, Michigan this March. Max looks strong and technically sound and knows that the madness begins in March. Matt Palmer, an All-America for the Lions of Columbia, should be in the hunt at 174 lbs. Palmer knows it will be tough going but he goes tough, especially on top. Rollie Peterkin also competed for UPENN at the Midlands and is looking to get stronger and adjust to the NCAA Div. I competition in 2007-2008.

THE IOWANS: Mark Perry and Kurt Backes compete for rivals in Iowa; Perry for the Hawkeyes of Iowa…Backes for the Cyclones of Iowa State, but they are still Blair athletes at heart and both were in the finals of the 2006 Midlands and both will be in the thick of it come NCAA time--Perry at 165 lbs…Backes at 197 lbs. Perry has already made one trip to the finals and Backes is an All-American. Both could win individual NCAA Titles.

TERP NATION: Hudson Taylor is ranked nationally at 197 lbs., placing two former Blair grapplers on a possible collision course this March (Taylor vs. Backes). Hudson has had a nice freshman campaign for the Terps of Maryland and this past weekend he placed fourth at the Southern Scuffle. Look for Hudson to win an ACC Title and be in the thick of it at the NCAA’s. (The Terps are coached by former Blair stud Pat Santoro).

“It’s always good to see our guys progress to the next level. We had several former Blair athletes place high in, perhaps, the toughest weekend of collegiate wrestling. This shows are high school athletes what is awaiting them on the next level and that the hard work we are putting in now pays off later too,” said Jeff Buxton. “I am excited to see our guys in Michigan this March at the NCAA’s…it will be a great tournament.”

Also competing in the Southern Scuffle were Jim Powers a freshman for the Hokies of Virginia Tech, Ross Gitomer of the Univ. of Virginia, Alex Maciag and Greg Romano for the Tar Heels of North Carolina and Alex Ustics of the U.S. Naval Academy. All had strong showings and are looking to improve come conference and NCAA qualification time.