We’ve had some tournaments to look at but the season really gets started with the first major duals.
Duals are the lifeblood of the sport from a spectator standpoint and I hope we continue to see that aspect of a team’s schedule feature big matches with competitive battles.
While it’s difficult to envision anyone keeping a dual competitive with Sem this season, FCA has some very high caliber wrestlers that will make things interesting and provide what should be exciting moments.
When we talk about the strength of Sem, we start with a line up that has 11 out of 14 starters ranked nationally. Then we look at some of the quality among those ranked. Where we find a couple world champions, Super 32 champions, and former PIAA champions making their prep debuts. To say the Blue Knights are loaded in 2023 is a massive understatement.
So, it’s a daunting task ahead of FCA. One I’m sure that they’re excited for. And we as fans are excited as well.
One of the great things about duals is to see the way coaches maneuver their line ups. Especially when you come in as a heavy underdog against a team like Sem, what does FCA do about it? We shall see. Sometimes there’s not much you can do.
Unfortunately, one of their heavy hitters, Gauge Botero is out. He could have possibly lined up against Desmond at 120, giving FCA a real chance to flip that one. He could have taken on Lilledahl at 126, pulling a massive upset or at least keeping those team points down. Either way, he’s out so that’s one less nationally ranked match up we’ll get.
Looking at the projected line ups, we’ll still get 5 nationally ranked battles: 106, 113, 165, 175, and with Correa up this week, 285.
Based simply on the rankings, 106 is the headliner. Then you look at their 1-0 result at Super 32 and you think there’s a chance Regan flips this outcome here, in his home gym. I’m also interested to see how Weidemoyer bounces back after a tough loss to Asher Cunningham at The Surge with another battle against a top 20 opponent. And then the Adam Waters Dom Federici showdown at 175 should be great.
| Matches | Faith Christian | Wyoming Seminary | Winner | Team Points | FCA Score | Sem Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 106 | #1 Joe Bachmann | #5 Shamus Regan | Bachmann | FCA (3) | 3 | |
| 113 | #21 Kole Davidheiser | #9 Davis Motyka | Motyka | Sem (3) | 3 | |
| 120 | Dominic Reynolds | #5 Nate Desmond | Desmond | Sem (6) | 9 | |
| 126 | Owin Brunner | #2 Luke Lilledahl | Lilledahl | Sem (6) | 15 | |
| 132 | Arment Waltenbaugh | #14 Matt Botello | Botello | Sem (4) | 19 | |
| 138 | Mason Wagner | Mike Trujillo/Smokey McClure | Wagner | FCA (3) | 6 | |
| 144 | Shane Wagner | #15 Anthony Evanitsky | Evanitsky | Sem (3) | 22 | |
| 150 | Chase Hontz | #5 Vince Bouzakis | Bouzakis | Sem (3) | 25 | |
| 157 | Max Stein | #1 Joe Sealey | Sealey | Sem (5) | 30 | |
| 165 | #25 (157) Cael Weidemoyer | #14 Jake Dailey | Dailey | Sem (3) | 33 | |
| 175 | #4 Adam Waters | #13 Dom Federici | Waters | FCA (3) | 9 | |
| 190 | Cody Wagner | TBD | Wagner | FCA (3) | 12 | |
| 215 | Jason Singer | TBD | Singer | FCA (3) | 15 | |
| 285 | #18 Mark Effendian | #2 (215) Jude Correa | Correa | Sem (4) | 37 | |
| FINAL SCORE | 15 | 37 |
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Based in Western PA. Right in the heart of WPIAL country, Todd brings an insider’s view from the country’s epicenter of wrestling. He’s excited to build on the TKDWN tradition of starting with the story first. The athletes, the coaches, their families and supporters, there is no shortage of stories to tell. And Todd will bring his unique perspective to help us continue to deliver top notch content for the world’s greatest sport!
