Sem at Blair Dual Recap
So, we already gave the match-by-match recap (you can find on FB or IG). Here, I have 4 moments from the dual that stood out and set the tone for the entire competition.
We knew we were in store from some great wrestling, but you never know how a dual unfolds and this one was not short on storylines, drama, and nail-biting results.
Takes Two To Tangle
When looking at the line ups for the two teams heading into this one, one thing stood out to me more than anything else. Each team has a world gold medalist. Needless to say, it isn’t common to have one world champion in a dual let alone two. But the added intrigue came from the fact they are very close in weight. Luke Lilledahl has been competing at 120 basically the entire year. Marc-Anthony McGowan has been at 126. We thought it might take a little finessing of the line up to make this match up happen. And in the end, I thought nah they couldn’t give us something this elite on a Friday night. But they did. And we’re all glad they did.
It lived up to whatever expectations you might have for a match between wrestlers of this caliber.
These two stepped on the mat as the 4th match of the dual. A dual that saw Wyoming Seminary holding a slight 6-5 lead. Would the visitor extend it a bit, would the home team step in front.
They spent the first period sort of feeling each other out. And it ended with zeroes across the board. Lilledahl took down to start period 2 and got the escape for the 1-0 lead. A little less than halfway through the 2nd period and McGowan was in on Lilledahl’s left leg. Super quick from the 3-point stance he often works from and he was around for 2 and the 1 point lead. Lilledahl would get the escape before the period ended and they went into the 3rd tied 2-2. McGowan chose to start down and got himself the 1 point escape and a 3-2 lead. With about a minute left, you could just feel the energy from Lilledahl kick up a few notches while it seemed like McGowan was trying his best to just hang on. Luke tried a double leg, blocked. But the ability to adjust in real time, he went right to a throw by, and was like he willed the takedown. With only 30 seconds left, he was able to ride out the period and come away with the 4-3 win.
Like I say, I wasn’t sure we’d get to see this one, and we did. And it proved once again that the only thing better than one gold medalist is two.
No Small Fry
One of the issues with putting together a preview of – any wrestling event really, but – duals in particular is the lack of certainty around a line up. Heading into this showdown Friday night, Blair wrestlers for the most part had dropped a weight but that doesn’t mean they stick to that in a dual. And we did see Leo DeLuca stay down at 113 but we saw everyone else from McGowan up stay where they’ve been.
On the other side, if Wyoming Seminary were going to put Lilledahl up from 120 to take on McGowan at 126 (which we know now they did do), it would leave a vacancy at 120. One of the reasons I wasn’t convinced we would see this is because I couldn’t figure out what they would do at 120.
Well, what they did was wrestle one of their lower school kids. Wyatt Fry isn’t in high school yet but he got the call to take on Ryan Meier. So let’s break down what all of this meant for the dual.
106 pounds was a toss up between two top 10 kids in the country. I thought the home gym advantage would swing it Tyler Dekraker’s way, but Davis Motyka came up big. This was a match that the Blue Knights needed to go their way to take this dual down to the wire and they got it.
They were at a clear disadvantage at 113 where bonus for Blair was imminent and the Bucs did get 5 team points to take their first lead of the evening.
By choosing to wrestle Lilledahl up they were saying, we’re not letting your gold medalist get bonus and we think ours can win. If they were right (which they ended up being) that would give them a 6-5 advantage over those 3 weights. The wildcard was 120.
To make all of this strategy really pay off, they needed the youngster to step up, in a hostile environment, let’s call it the deep fryer, and he did. With a solid 4-1 win where he never really looked to be in trouble.
Now, Blair was still able to overcome the 9-5 deficit to win the dual in the end. But the fact it was tied, and came down to HWT at all, was due in large part to the effort of Wyatt Fry, who showed he’s ready for this stage now, leaving the competition feeling a little salty (haha that’s so corny I love it).
Flip The Script
When you get an event like this that features the very best, there will almost certainly be a history between some guys head-to-head. And we got that on this night as well. There were more possible rematches we could have seen as well, like LeDuca vs Lilledahl, but we did get two.
Matty Lopes of Blair had suffered a close defeat at the hands of Matt Botello of Wyoming Seminary. Likewise Pete Snyder of Blair had lost to Dom Federici of Wyoming Seminary. They would both run these back. And the math worked out that Blair reversing the outcomes, going 2-0 in these matches, is what ultimately won them the dual.
Lopes looked particularly locked-in scoring the only takedown of the match and riding out the entire 3rd period on top – not letting Botello get a chance to score in the end. 3-0 final scores don’t appear dominating, but Lopes was as in control as one could be.
As for the Snyder Federici rematch, that was perhaps the most thrilling bout of the evening. The full 3 periods wasn’t even enough to decide this one. They followed up a scoreless first period with back to back 3-1 scores to make it 4-4 and they :channeling my inner Dan Patrick for those who used to watch SportsCenter back in the early 90s: headed to overtime. Even in the extra minute, it wasn’t clear it would be decided then. But Snyder perhaps fueled by the home crowd, got it done.
The Blair win made the team score 26-14 instead of 23-17. At 23-17 if the subsequent matches go back to back pins for the Blue Knights (which is how they did go) then it’s 29-23 Sem and the loss at HWT just ties it at 29 a piece and it goes to criteria. And in this case*, it would have been the 9th criteria which is “total first points scored”. I haven’t calculated that but it’s possible even THAT was tied.
It’s goes to show how difficult it is to beat the same opponent multiple times, particularly at this level.
(*because one of the tie breakers is “fewest forfeits” I would assume in this scenario WS sends out a HWT wrestler to avoid that result.)
Hulk Logan
When Logan Rozysnki took the mat at 144, Blair had just regained the lead 11-9 but there wasn’t much by way of fireworks. The crowd was certainly buzzing with the Bucs pulling out back to back wins at 132 and 138 but they were waiting for more. Something to blow the lid off the gym.
I know we all hate basketball, but when a team goes on a run you can start to feel the electricity in the crowd. And sometimes a guy finds himself open for a 3 and you know if that goes in it’s pretty much the dagger. Sometimes he misses it. But sometimes he hits it.
And that’s what Rozynski did with his 1st period win by fall.
It was the first time the ref’s hand slapped the mat for any match and it was for the home team and it ran the score from 11-9 to 17-9, and set the table for the Blair win.
Logan knew it. The Blair team knew it. The fans in the stands knew it. It was THE moment of the dual.
Conclusion
It was my first time to Blair. First time on the campus. First time seeing this dual live. And it was everything a good high school competition is supposed to be. The crowd was excited and into it from the first match to the last. There’s respect between these two top programs that underscores one of the best on-the-mat rivalries in the country. And the dual itself had multiple lead changes, big moments, clutch finishes, celebration and heartbreak.
One of the biggest reasons I do this stuff is that the sport is insanely difficult. To be great requires sacrifice and young athletes who are juggling many plates to find the focus and dedication to this craft is impressive and worthy of recognition. And it is events like this one that live up to the hype, and provide stories that folks will remember, that keeps me excited each day I get to be a spectator and bring out my inner-fan.
And now the season continues, who will ride the wave of this evening to a National Prep Championship? Who will bounce back? Does this result solidify Blair as the team favorite next month or do teams like Malvern and Wyoming Seminary have a real chance to chase them down? We shall see.
In the meantime, well done Blair on the win. Well done everyone in building the two programs currently setting the standard across the country.
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