Northmont vs. St. Ignatius
Carlisle vs. Brookville
Beavercreek vs. Carroll
Graham wrestlers No. 1 in nation
Falcons ascend to top spot after defeating Blair Academy and Lakewood St. Edward.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Graham High School wrestling coach Jeff Jordan is usually measured when assessing the potential of the Falcons. So, when Jordan let it slip before the season this may be his best squad yet, people took notice.
The Falcons, after winning the Ironman title and hammering Division I power Lakewood St. Edward, sit atop the Amateur Wrestling News national high school rankings.
Extras
"When I wrestled at Wisconsin, we finished fifth in the country, and when I coached at Purdue, we were seventh in the country," Jordan said. "We have won seven straight state titles here, but this team has more talent than any I have ever been associated with.
"But, I told the guys it doesn't mean anything if you don't go out and prove it."
Graham beat previous No. 1 Blair Academy to win the Ironman at Walsh Jesuit in Cuyahoga Falls. Then the Falcons pinned host St. Ed 47-13 in a dual that featured some incredible personal results:
• Freshman Matt Stephens (140 pounds) overcame an 8-3 deficit in the third period to defeat three-time state placer Neil Birt.
• Zac Thomusseit (189) pinned Brian Roddy, ranked No. 1 in the nation.
• Mark Meyer (135) had a courageous effort despite losing and underwent knee surgery Wednesday after injuring a leg.
"He hopped on one leg the rest of the match to save team points," Jordan said. "He would not let me throw in the towel on his match. He sucked it up for the team.
"We just got things snowballing in the right direction. When Zac pinned Roddy, that was the straw that broke the camel's back."
The Falcons have the Holiday Tournament at Vandalia next weekend. Graham also will host nationally ranked Troy Christian and Marian Pleasant in a tri-match, and then head to the State Duals.
"Coach (Steve) Goudy does a great job at Troy Christian, and he is going to have his guys fired up," Jordan said. "We can't falter. If we do, that No. 1 ranking will go away, so maybe it does add more pressure."
Bolts take title
Northmont tallied 311 points to win the Xenia Invitational after the event was shortened to the five round-robin rounds because of the weather last weekend. Scoring was based on pool winners and the finals pairings.
Northmont had eight in the championship match and two others going for third. Ben Logan was second (239) and had five going for titles.
Xenia — back on the upswing in area wrestling — was third (215) with three going for titles.
