College Update on Blair Grapplers

FORMER BLAIR WRESTLERS RUSSELL (07), TAYLOR (05), PERRY (02), MEDINA (07) EXCEL IN COLLEGE

PERRY LOOKS TO DEFEND 165 LB. NCAA TITLE; RUSSEL LOOKS TO WIN 141 LB. NCAA TITLE AS A TRUE FRESHMAN


When I was in high school it was a feat to have one or two of my former teammates wrestling in college, and none were competing on the NCAA Division I level. For Blair Academy, wrestling on the NCAA Division I level is an annual event… more than an event – Blair lands several All-Americans each year at the NCAA tournament. Last year, Mark Perry won the 165 lb. title for the University of Iowa, Kurt Backes finished in second place for Iowa State at 197 lbs., Matt Palmer placed 8th at 174 lbs. for Columbia, and Max Meltzer took home All-American honors at 141 lbs for Harvard.

This year, Mark Perry looks like he will repeat (at 165 lbs.) as he dominated the Midlands Tournament and brought the Outstanding Wrestler, Champion of Champions (voted on by the other champions), and most pins awards back with him to Iowa City. Hudson Taylor, who recently won the Southern Scuffle at 197 lbs. holds a top-8 ranking while his Maryland teammate Eric Medina is ranked in the top-10 at 149 lbs.

FAB FRESHMAN:
The real story for Blair is happening in Ann Arbor, Michigan where true freshman Kellen Russell holds the #1 ranking in America at 141 lbs. with an unblemished 15-0 record. He has defeated several All-Americans this year including Charles Griffin of Hofstra, who placed third in last year’s NCAA tournament and Big Ten rival J. Jaggers of The Ohio State University. Russell defeated these two foes at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas in early December.

Ross Gitomer (Virginia), Rollie Peterkin (UPENN), and Brendan Byrne (Maryland) are all having strong seasons at 125 lbs. Gitomer recently placed 4th at the Southern Scuffle and Peterkin placed 3rd in Las Vegas. Peterkin holds a #12 ranking. Gitomer should enter the rankings soon. Byrne will hit Gitomer in the ACC tournament.

Robbie Preston (Harvard) will soon join Adam Frey (Cornell), last year’s EIWA runner-up at 133 lbs., and Russell in the rankings at 141 lbs. Preston will be activated in February. Frey currently holds a #12 national ranking. Zack Hammond is ranked #9 at heavyweight for Cornell and wants to be an All-American as a junior. Mike Galante (165 lbs., Lehigh) is coming off a 4-1 loss to Michigan three-time All-American and #1-ranked Eric Tannenbaum of Michigan and is looking to finish strong in the EIWA championships. Joel Ahern (157 lbs., U.S. Naval Academy) had a strong showing in Reno, Nevada at the Reno Tournament of Champions and is looking to get through the EIWA championhips one weight below Galante.

As you can see, all Blair student-athletes are All-American candidates.

FORMER BLAIR WRESTLERS ON THE COACHING SCENE:
When you look in the corners of wrestling tournaments these days don’t be surprised to see a familiar face. Ex-Blair athletes are spread throughout the country coaching numerous teams. Pat Santoro is building a nice team for the University of Maryland; Cory Cooperman is doing a great job as an assistant at Cornell while Zack Esposito stayed in Stillwater to assist his Oklahoma State Cowboys. Brandon Totten is the head coach at Delaware Valley College, John Leonardis is helping to revive the Rutgers program and Chris Ayres is the shepherd at Princeton.

Check back in Feburary for another college update.

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