PREVIEW: WEEK OF 1/4/15
We've got a pair of fun events coming up this week! On Thursday, 1/7, we'll be taking on Lincoln-Way East HS in an all-level conference dual. Wrestling starts at 5:30, and it's a home dual, so you should be there.
Varsity heads to Kaukana, Wisconsin, on Friday morning to wrestle in the Cheesehead Tournament on Friday night and Saturday. The Cheesehead is a unique tournament that combines pool matches AND bracket style tournament wrestling, so wrestlers are guaranteed to get more matches than a traditional double-elimination style tournament.
WEEKLY RECAP
This week was all about one thing: the POWERade tournament at Canon McMillan High School in Pennsylvania. In short, a less-than-full strength lineup placed 6th, even with many wrestlers truthfully not wrestling anywhere near their potential. Ronald Tucker was the 285 pound champion, Brandon Ramos took 5th at 126, Trevell Timmons took 6th at 152, and Shayne Oster took 8th at 145 after forfeiting out of the tournament due to injuries.
To read a full recap of the POWERade and look at some not-too-shabby photos, click here.
THIS WEEK'S ALUMNI RECAP
This week, we had five Alumni in competition. Jameson Oster (Northwestern University), Brad Johnson (University of Oklahoma), and Shaun'Qae McMurtry (Northern Illinois University) all competed at the prestigious Midlands Championships at Northwestern University. Brian Rossi (Stanford University) was in competition at the Southern Scuffle at UT Chattanooga, and Vince Dietz (St. Cloud State University) wrestled in the Viking-Warrior open in Fremont, Nebraska.
McMurtry posted a 2-2 record at 165 pounds, losing his first match to 11th ranked nemesis Austin Wilson of Nebraska by a 3-2 decision, before getting a bye and two wins. McMurtry was then eliminated after falling to South Dakota State's Luke Zilverberg, 6-5.
Johnson had a similar result as McMurtry, being eliminated from the Midlands at 197 pounds after posting a 2-2 record on the day. Johnson traded off wins and losses, winning his first bout but dropping his second to 14th ranked Aaron Studebaker of Nebraska in his second match. Johnson won his third, but dropped his fourth and was eliminated.
Jameson Oster's day started on a positive note, picking up a 9-3 decision victory in his first match. Unfortunately, Oster suffered a substantial injury (which we won't comment on publicly until either he or Northwestern chooses to) during the match, forcing him to withdraw from the tournament. Best wishes for a speedy recovery to Jamie.
At the Southern Scuffle, Brian Rossi, competing at 125 pounds for Stanford, also posted a 2-2 record. Rossi won his first match before being defeated 5-4 by Minnesota's Steve Polakowski in his second match (for those wondering why that name sounds familiar, Polakowski wrestled at Libertyville and was Rossi's only blemish on his record during his senior season, dropping an overtime decision to Polakowski in the Dvorak finals). Rossi would win his next match before losing a 12-4 major decisio to Edinboro's Sean Russell to be eliminated.
Vince Dietz had the greatest success of the alumni, winning the Viking-Warrior Open at 174 pounds. Dietz posted a 5-0 record en route to his championship, winning the championship match by a 3-2 score after the first tiebreaker round.