Class AA Tournament Preview

   Here's my synopsis and picks for the Class AA Tournament in Hershey this weekend.

   106 - There's some pretty good depth and a lot of youth here as usual, but I like the four regional champions to probably meet in the semifinals. The top half of the bracket has a very intriguing semifinal if it comes off between Reynolds' Gary Steen, the defending state champion, and Biglerville freshman Levi Haines. On the bottom, look for a battle of unbeatens between Troy's Sheldon Seymour and South Park's Joey Fischer for a right to be in the finals. Steen and Haines are getting most of the publicity here, but Seymour is actually ahead of them in Intermat's latest national rankings. Seymour is third, Steen seventh, Haines 11th, and Fischer 14th.
   Spring's championship pick - Haines over Seymour.

113 - This is pretty wide open in my book, but I think Elizabeth Forward's Ryan Michaels is probably the favorite. I got a good look at him in the Southwest Regional and he impressed. The bottom half where Michaels is though is no picnic, with Eisenhower's Logan Jaquay and Southern Columbia's Kole Biscoe among potential challengers. Up top, I'd say flip a coin.
   Spring's championship pick - Michaels over East Pennsboro's Adam Jacob.

120 - A really top-heavy bracket here with three wrestlers above the rest in my opinion. Of those three, I'd give Notre Dame's Ryan Crookham the favorite's nod over Burrell's Ian Oswalt and Reynolds' Beau Bayless. A potential Crookham-Oswalt semifinal would have a lot of eyes on it. I've seen Oswalt a bunch this year and I really like his style, but hard to go against the freshman phenom.
   Spring's championship pick - Crookham over Bayless.

126 - The top half of this draw is very interesting, with Glendale's Brock McMillen, Brockway's Anthony Glasl, Upper Dauphin's Bronson Garber, and Muncy's Bryce Vollman all contenders. Down below, I think Bishop McDevitt's Chase Shields is a cut above.
   Spring's championship pick - Shields over Garber.

132 - What a weight class we have here with nine former state medalists. Up top, everyone seems to be eyeing a Josh Jones vs. Kaden Cassidy semifinal. Cassidy likely will have to beat Quaker Valley's Conner Redinger tomorrow, as Redinger was sixth in a brutal SW Regional bracket. Remember that Saucon Valley's Jones and Bedford's Cassidy are set to be future collegiate teammates at new MAC member George Mason. Down below, the smart money is on Cambridge Springs' Tye Varndell, but don't sleep on whoever also reaches the semifinal there, likely either Sullivan County's Nate Higley, Everett's Garret Cornell, or St. Joseph's Academy's Zack Witmer.
   Spring's championship pick - Jones over Varndell.

138 - The Southwest Regional gave me the chance to see Hopewell's Jacob Ealy for the first time, and I was impressed. I had picked him to beat Forest Hills' freshman Erik Gibson in the regional final, but thought it would be a closer bout. I don't see a real challenge for Ealy up top. In the bottom of the draw, look for Gibson, Wilson's Marckis Branford, and Saegertown's Kenny Kiser to be the main players.
   Spring's championship pick - Ealy over Kiser.

145 - How about a returning state champion against a returning state runner-up? But not in the finals. That would take place on Friday morning in a quarterfinal with Palisades' Nathan Haubert, last year's winner at this weight, against St. Joseph's Academy's Caleb Dowling, who was second last March at 138. Even with that potential showdown taking the top headline here, there's a lot of firepower that includes Notre Dame's Andrew Cerniglia and Southern Columbia's Gavin Garcia in the same half as Haubert and Dowling, and Pequea Valley's Gabe Miller the top dog on the bottom.
   Spring's championship pick - Miller over Dowling.

152 - This bracket is kind of like 113 in my opinion, with a lot of good talent but perhaps a bit below some of the other weights. That said, Pope John's Ryan Vulakh might be one of the best wrestlers that most might not know much about. That includes me, though I've read a lot of good stuff about him.
   Spring's championship pick - Vulakh over Freedom's Trent Schulteis.

160 - Like the previous weight, one name stands out to me and that is defending champion Thayne Lawrence. The Frazier junior should get to the finals up top, while down below, I think St. Joseph's Academy's Tyler Stoltzfus is the favorite, but keep an eye on Saucon Valley's Matt Arcioulo, Kane's Alec English, and Southern Columbia's Cade Linn.
   Spring's championship pick - Lawrence over Stoltzfus.

170 - About the only thing Jared McGill hasn't done is win a state title. It's hard not to like the unbeaten Chestnut Ridge senior this weekend. He already has beaten five of the wrestlers in the other half of the draw at some point this season.
   Spring's championship pick - McGill over McGuffey's Christian Clutter.

182 - One of the themes of the Class AA upperweights in my opinion is the top-notch freshmen, and that begins with Mount Pleasant's Dayton Pitzer. I can't seen anyone making a serious challenge to him in the bottom of this bracket. Up top, I could see a number of scenarios, with names to watch including Jersey Shore's Hunter O'Connor, Ellwood City's Austin Walley, Brockway's Garrett McClintick, and Freedom's Bryson Miller.
   Spring's championship pick - Pitzer over McClintick.

195 - A good group here, led by regional champions Gaige Garcia, Colin Fegley, Kolby Franklin, and Cael Black. Up top, Southern Columbia's Garcia would be favored, but keep an eye on Eisenhower's Black, North Star's Hunter Tremain and Bentworth's John Vargo. Down below, St. Joseph's Academy's Franklin and Mahanoy's Fegley appear headed for a semifinal battle. While freshmen Franklin and Black should have stellar careers when it's all said and done, a state title will have to wait for either of them this time around.
   Spring's championship pick - Garcia over Franklin.

220 - Derry's Dom DeLuca and Greenville's Jacob McMaster are likely to meet in the finals here, but there are other names to watch. Reynolds' Wyatt Owen, Montoursville's Cameron Wood, and Lewisburg's Dakotah Snyder are a few of them.
   Spring's championship pick - McMaster over DeLuca.

285 - There's a lot of intrigue with the big boys, where athleticism among the top contenders has replaced the usual push back and forth we see a lot of times at this weight. The top names include Mount Union's Jake Ryan in the upper half of the draw, and Brookville's Colby Whitehill, Meyersdale's Jalen Stephens, and Southern Huntingdon's Kole Winfield down below.
   Spring's championship pick - Whitehill over Ryan.