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Next Level

#NextLevel: November 13

Here’s a roundup of Saturday’s Matmen-area wrestlers competing in college tournaments:

Karoline Ortiz

Karoline Ortiz (Missouri Baptist, Dr Phillips ’19): Was 4-1 and placed third at 130 in the Waldorf Open. Ortiz reached the semis behind a round-of-16 tech (10-0) over Ottawa’s Ellise Romine and a 10-4 decision over Iowa Wesleyan’s JoAnna Vanderwood before falling in the semis to eventual runnerup Charlotte Kouyoumtijan (fall in 3:41). Ortiz came back in the consis with tech falls over Augsburg’s Savnnah Vold and a 12-1 tech over Vanderwood in the third-place match.

Jessica Corredor

Jessica Corredor (Missouri Baptist, Dr Phillips ’20): Was 4-1 and placed third at 109 in the Waldorf Open, contested in Forest City, IA. After a bye into the quarters, Corredor lost by fall (1:15) to eventual runnerup Alexis Miller of Central Methodist in the quarters. In the consis, Corredor came back with two pins and two techs, pinning Hastings’ Bemnet Tesfa (:21) and Ottawa’s Angelique Martinez (1:06), with tech falls over William Penn’s Brittany Cotter (12-0) and Grand View’s Chloe Krebsbach (10-0) in the third-place match.

Ana Bradshaw

Ana Bradshaw (Missouri Baptist, Fletcher ’21): Was 3-1 and placed third at 101 in the Waldorf Open. After opening with a fall over York’s Ella Whitaker (1:04) in the quarters, Bradshaw lost by fall to eventual runnerup Emma Cochran (2:31) in the semi. Bradshaw came back strongly, however, with a consi-semi pin over Grand View’s Hannah Michael (1:37) and an 11-0 tech fall in the third-place match over Central Methodist’s Abigail Jastal.

Gabe Jacobs

Gabe Jacobs (Univ of the Cumberlands, Pace ’20): Was 5-1 and placed fourth in open competition at the Grand View Open, wrestling at 197. Jacobs reached the quarters behind a 45-second pin over Lincoln College’s Desirgeon Keys in a pigtail and an 11-4 decision over the hosts’ Jaden Davis in the round of 16, but then fell, 5-0, in the quarters to eventual champ Jack Flynn of Missouri. Jacobs then took consi-side wins over Missouri Valley’s Donovan McElligott (5-0) and Davis (7-2) in the consi quarters, with a walkover win in the consi semis over Grand View’s Andrew Hamilton before reaching his own 6-match limit for the day.

Nick Kendrick

Nick Kendrick (Huntingdon, Mosley ’21): Was 3-3 and placed sixth in the 174 bracket at the Millikin Open, contested in Decatur IL. After falling Augustana (IL) College’s Clay DeBaillie (3:15) in the round of 16, Kendrick fell in the quarters to eventual runnerup Andrew Taylor of Thomas More, by pin in 1:08. In the consis, Kendrick pinned Augustana’s Will Jackman (1:05) and Thomas More’s Jacob Weigel (:33) to secure a place finish, but then took tech fall losses in the consi semis to eventual 4th Landon Kirby of Central (IA) College (15-0) and in the fifth-place match to Joliet JC (IL)’s Jeremy Pullen, 16-1.

Luke Davis

Luke Davis (Doane, Clay ’20): Was 2-2 at the Grand View Open, competing in the frosh-soph division at 133, with a win on both sides of the bracket. On the front, Davis majored Buena Vista’s Levy Cortez, 11-3, but then fell by a 19-5 major to Iowa Western CC’s Wyatt May. In the consis, Davis decisioned Lincoln College’s Jack Hale, 6-2, but then lost by fall to Saint Mary’s Hunter White in 4:35.

Josh Bower

Josh Bower (Simpson, Matanzas ’19): Was 1-2 at the Grand View Open, competing in the open division at 149. After a bye into the round of 16, Bower survived a wild match with Grand View’s Camden Baarda, taking a 13-12 decision, but then fell by 12-4 major in the quarters to eventual runnerup Jack Latimer of the hosts. Bower then fell by a 6-5 count in consi round 4 to unattached wrestler Andre Ayala.

Carlos Bogan (Keiser, Ft Walton Beach ’20, static headshot not available from school): Was 0-2 at the Grand View Open, also competing in open division at 149. Bogan lost by round of 32 tech fall to Latimer (15-0) on the front side, with a loss by fall in the consis (1:29) to Benedictine (KS)’ Gino Camarca.

Caleb Bower

Caleb Bower (Simpson, Matanzas ’19): Was 0-2 at the Grand View Open, competing in the open division at 141. Bower took losses on the front against eventual tournament champ Shea Ruffridge (16-1 tech fall) and in the consis to St Ambrose’s Riley Woods (fall in 2:16).

Xavier Stillgess

Xavier Stillgess (Huntingdon, Rutherford ’21): Was 0-2 at the Millikin Open in Decatur, IL, competing at 285. Stillgess took losses on the front from eventual 3rd Cam’ron Harper of Aurora University on the front (fall in 4:32) and in the consis to Augustana’s Jacob Ramos (fall in 5:57).

Micah Lanier

Micah Lanier (Briar Cliff, Wakulla ’18): Was 0-2 at the Dakota Wesleyan Open in Mitchell, SD, competing at 157. Lanier took losses on the front to St Cloud State’s Blake Thomsen (fall in 4:12, round of 16) and in the consis to St Cloud’s Spencer Miller (fall in 2:47).

Aston Ricks

Aston Ricks (Luther, Yulee ’21): Was 0-2 at the Luther Open, competing in the silver division at 157. Ricks took losses on the front to WI-La Crosse’s Cole Hansen (19-1 TF), the eventual tournament champion, and in the consis to WI-Eau Claire’s Christian Jacobsen by an 18-11 decision.

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Next Level Uncategorized

Couple of #NextLevels

I have been alerted to Christian Tejada (Orange Park ’14) wrestling for Newberry (new roster not updated on college’s website) and that Travis Laxton (Suwannee ’10) will be at Coker for his final season while he’s in graduate school. Laxton is not on the Coker episode yet, but I’m told he will be.

That gives me four for-sures in Josh Fox, Robert Parland and now Tejada and hopefully Laxton. Not sure about whether Coll Robertson (Ridgeview ’13) will return to North Central (IL) College. I’d heard a few things in the air about Anthony Hauser (Oakleaf ’14), but nothing concrete…who else will be competing next year?

On a related note, I did hear that Charles Cuthbert (Fleming Island ’14) won the U.S. Naval Academy’s “Plebe Smoker” event at 141 pounds this summer. Cuthbert pinned an Indiana state runnerup to win the event. His graduating class, so I have been told, has 20 state placewinners and one additional qualifier in Thomas Monaghan (Fernandina Beach ’14).

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Next Level

Next Level Note 11/4

FRIDAY MORNING UPDATE: Hannibal-LaGrange freshman Kyle McClinton (Middleburg ’13) did not start in Thursday night’s HLG dual victory over Benedictine. McClinton said on Twitter that his previous competition last weekend at 149 pounds left him weighing too much for the dual, but he would be at 141 pounds for the Trojans when they travel to Galesburg, Illinois, for the Knox College Invitational on Saturday.

I have not yet been able to determine if Frank Giordano (Ponte Vedra ’13) is on the wrestling roster still for Bacone College. Giordano did not start for Bacone in its 31-6 loss to Baker on Wednesday night.

As for the rest of the wrestlers in the @NEFloridaMatmen coverage area, the 2013-14 college wrestling season kicked off last weekend, with four wrestlers seeing action right away. Two others went through wrestle-offs prior to their seasons beginning later this week and weekend.

In Charleston, SC, Coker College freshmen Shane Carpenter (Creekside ’13) and Robert Parland (University Christian ’13) were part of the Cobras’ inaugural squad competing at The Citadel Open on Saturday.

Carpenter went 4-2 on the day at 184 pounds, with a quarterfinal loss to the eventual bracket champion Jared Holiday of Newberry, 5-1. Carpenter had one pin and three decisions, including a wrestleback quarterfinal 4-1 win over Division I opponent Alex Kruklinski of Appalachian State. Carpenter’s bid for a place-finish fell just short, with an 8-5 loss to Jesse Masters of King in the wrestleback semis.

Parland was 2-2 at 197, losing by fall in the first round to eventual bracket champion Jacob Dempsey of Life University. Parland then had one pin and one decision in the wrestlebacks before Division I wrestler Kacee Hutchinson, also of Appalachian State, eliminated him with a 4-1 decision.

Coker’s next wrestling will be next Saturday at the UNC-Pembroke Open.

Also competing at The Citadel on Saturday for Central Florida’s club team was Chris Fox, a senior (Fleming Island ’10), who was 1-2 at 125 pounds. UCF is an NCWA-sanctioned club team.

Indiana Tech freshman Ben Galloway (Fleming Island ’13) saw his first action of 2013-14 at the Baldwin-Wallace Open in Berea, Ohio, on Saturday. Galloway, competing at 174 pounds, lost by major decision to the eventual bracket champion and went 0-2 on the day.

Galloway might get a chance to catch up with fellow freshman and FI Class of 13 grad Victor Espana, now at Edinboro University, as Edinboro and Indiana Tech will be at the Michigan State Open next Saturday. It’ll be the Fighting Scots’ season-opener.

Speaking of locals who could debut at Sparty, count Ohio State redshirt freshman Josh Fox (University Christian ’12) in that mix. Fox was held out of last Sunday’s competition at Clarion (Pa.) University’s open event after he sustained what brother Zach Fox termed either a broken rib or torn cartilage after Josh sparred with Buckeye alum and U.S. Olympic hopeful J.D. Bergman in practice last week.

McClinton did make his collegiate debut for Hannibal-LaGrange last Saturday as HLG defeated Illinois State University’s club team by a 33-18 count. McClinton came up short at 149 pounds against Redbird junior Kyle Carstens, falling by an 8-3 decision.

We’ll see two more locals make their season debuts this weekend. Washington & Lee co-captain Daniel Igel (Bolles ’10) will kick off his senior season along with the Generals at the Washington & Jefferson (PA) Invitational on Saturday. Additionally, Iowa Western freshman Jamarius Jackson (Ridgeview ’13) will open at the Loras Open on Saturday. Jackson is ranked 10th by InterMat at 133 pounds in the NJCAA preseason national rankings list.

North Central (IL) College freshman Coll Robertson (Ridgeview ’13) competed in the Cardinals’ wrestleoff event last weekend. North Central will not begin its season until November 16th at the Trine University Open.

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Next Level

Next Level Note 10/29

The @NEFloridaMatmen area will have at least two wrestlers starting at the collegiate level later on this fall.

We learned a few days back about Washington & Lee senior Daniel Igel (Bolles ’10), who’ll be a co-captain for the Generals in his senior season at W&L. That was our first area college starter news.

However, on Monday, I received a message via Twitter that 2013 Creekside state champion Shane Carpenter will be Coker University’s starting 184-pounder when the Cobras travel to Charleston for The Citadel’s open tournament on Saturday. Carpenter defeated Joseph Holland, a freshman from South Carolina, for the spot.

A few other notes from around the area:

  • Robert Parland (University Christian ’13) is 1-1 in his wrestleoff at 197 pounds for Coker, going up against junior transfer Alex Green, who dropped down from 285 to contend for the spot at 197. I expect a tiebreaker match soon, given Coker’s first competition on Saturday. I have reached out to Coker’s SID (sports information director) for more information from last weekend’s Blue & Gold meet.
  • Kyle McClinton (Middleburg ’13) will be the backup at 141 pounds for Hannibal-LaGrange University, an NAIA program in Missouri. McClinton will be the #2 behind HLGU sophomore Caleb Shuck. The Trojans will face Illinois State University’s club program for their season opener on Saturday.
  • Freshmen Coll Robertson (Ridgeview ’13) and Frank Giordano (Ponte Vedra ’13) will go through wrestleoffs this week. Robertson let me know on Twitter that his wrestleoff at North Central College (IL), a Division III program, is scheduled for Saturday, while the website for Giordano’s school, Bacone (Okla.), also an NAIA program, indicated that intrasquad competition is set for Wednesday evening. Bacone’s competitive season begins on Sunday at the Baker/OCU Open.
  • Indiana Tech freshman Ben Galloway (Fleming Island ’13) went through an intrasquad meet Thursday night according to that wrestling team’s Twitter account; I do know that NAIA-level program will begin competition Saturday at the Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio) Open, so Galloway should see some mat time.
  • Also, no new word on either Edinboro freshman Victor Espana (Fleming Island ’13) or Ohio State sophomore Josh Fox (University Christian ’12) at the Division I level. I would expect Fox to get some mat time on Sunday at the Clarion (PA) Open.
  • Lastly, I have no updates on either Jamarius Jackson (Ridgeview ’13) or Cody Hankerson (University Christian ’13) competing in Iowa. Jackson is at Iowa Western, which opens competition on November 9, and Hankerson had signed with Morningside, which begins on November 15, but as of now does not appear on its roster.
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Next Level

Next Level note 10/14

Updated Friday, October 18, 9 a.m. —

For now, fomer University Christian standout and 2012 state champion Josh Fox will have to wait his turn at 184 pounds for Ohio State.

Fox lost by technical fall in the third period to 2012-13 Ohio State University starter Kenny Courts in Thursday night’s wrestleoffs at French Fieldhouse in Columbus, Ohio. Wrestleoffs have traditionally determined at least the initial starting lineup for a Division I wrestling team. As of now, by virtue of Fox’s Tuesday night preliminary victory, he is the No. 2 at the weight.

We’re continuing to monitor our other wrestlers who’ve gone on to compete at the collegiate level. Coker College is holding its intrasquad Blue & Gold competition on October 26, and Division III teams began practice this week.

Interesting note — in researching Iowa Western’s schedule to see when Ridgeview 2xer Jamarius Jackson’s season would begin — I saw a familiar name. Jackson’s head coach is Josh Watts, whom I covered back when he was in high school in Iowa. Interviewed him a couple of times, a long, long time ago.

Watch this space for more Next Level news and notes!

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Next Level

NE Florida Matmen — The Next Level

Right now, as far as I know, there are 10 wrestlers within the NEFM area that are competing at the collegiate level. Here’s the list as it stands right now. Practices have already begun, and we should start to see who might make an impact right away.

Two wrestlers are in Division I programs. University Christian’s Josh Fox (’12) is at Ohio State and Fleming Island’s Victor Espana (’13) is at Edinboro.

There are two wrestlers in Division II, both at first-year program Coker College in Hartsville, S.C. Creekside’s Shane Carpenter (’13) is one of four freshmen at 184 and UC’s Robert Parland (’13) is battling with three other Cobras for a shot at the starting berth at 197.

Right now, I know of just one wrestler in Division III, where Ridgeview’s Coll Robertson (’13) made the long jaunt to Naperville, Illinois (just two hours from where I came from before moving here) to compete for North Central College.

There are four wrestlers in NAIA programs, all 2013 grads, and all in Midwestern programs. Cody Hankerson of UC is at Morningside College, while Middleburg’s Kyle McClinton is at Hannibal-LaGrange. Ben Galloway of Fleming Island is at Indiana Tech and Ponte Vedra’s Frank Giordano is at Bacone College.

Lastly, but not least, 2A two-time champion Jamarius Jackson (Ridgeview ’13) is a first-year competitor at Iowa Western Community College, which was ranked fifth nationally in the last NJCAA nationwide rankings.

If you have knowledge of other NEFM-area wrestlers competing at the next level, let me know here! I’ll be updating their progress once the season begins in just a few weeks. That’s a very good thought…the season beginning in just a few weeks…