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MSJ stuns Loyola

Writer's picture: Billy BuckheitBilly Buckheit

Mt. St. Joseph came into No. 4 Loyola-Blakefield’s gym on Friday evening as the No. 5 team in Legacy Wrestling’s Maryland Rankings with the belief that Wednesday’s close battle with No. 1 Gilman meant they could also go toe-to-toe with the Dons.


“I believe the Gilman match re-enforced to our wrestlers that every point counts,” St. Joe coach Harry Barnabae said. “Bonus points are huge, and we need to win the swing matches. This team is very close and the support among them to wrestle well is tremendous. I feel the Gilman match solidified their focus going into tonight's match, as we knew that Loyola was a formidable opponent.”

On paper, the outcome looked like it would likely go Loyola’s way, and it started off that way as the Dons built 22-6 advantage after the first five matches.


The dual started at 215 where Brandan Kelly received a forfeit. No. 1 Luke Randazzo ended Thomas Brandel’s night shortly into the second frame with a 2:42 fall. No. 2 Tyler Verceles, who is ranked 27th in the country by Sports Illustrated, registered the quickest pin of the night when things turned around to the little guys with a :15 flattening of Thomas Davis at 106.


It was 18-0 Loyola when No. 1 Corey Brown, who is also No. 13 in the nation at 106, came close to beating Verceles fall time in his 113lb bout versus Connor Moles, ended the meeting in 18 seconds.


No. 2 Jayden Jackson kept the Gaels from building any momentum at that point when he rolled to a 17-3 major decision over No. 12 James Wright at 120lbs.



“Obviously, we have some holes and expected to be behind early especially since the match was beginning at the 215lb weight class,” said Barnabae. “Loyola's Luke Randazzo and Tyler Verceles are some of the top wrestlers in the state and we knew we were going to have our hands full with them.”


No. 3 Jake Tamai stepped on the mat at 126 and took immediate control of No. 11 Cayden Farver, dominating his rival until he achieved the fall with just six seconds remaining in the match, 5:54.


“Going in to it, I knew that their heavyweights were going to be good. Loyola has built a good program,” Tamia continued. “But I knew that I had a good team behind me to back me up and I wanted to be the start of something new. I wanted to change the momentum going into it and I knew I could.”

“I was team oriented all the way. I wanted to dominate the match from the start. I was thinking I wanted to do this for my teammates, for my seniors, and for my coach because he’s been preaching that we need to stick together. As soon as I got off the mat, I wanted to be right back with the team supporting everybody else.”


No. 14 Ben Scheiner followed Tamai’s fall with one of his own, taking out Tyler Truitt in the first round in 1:36. Truitt, were he a regular starter, would be in the state rankings but Loyola’s tremendous depth in that area forces Truitt in and out of the lineup.


“I was just feeding off of Jake’s energy,” Scheiner said. “I was just putting my faith in God, just going out there looking for the pin. (After my pin) I was thinking we can win this, for sure.”


No. 5 Tyler Stephens continued the Gaels run at 138lbs with a 10-0 major decision of Lincoln Weeks, who is ranked 24th at 144. Stephens’ wins tied it up at 22 all.


With unranked Connor Allison’s huge upset of Josh Hale (No. 4 at 138), 2-1 TB, at 144lbs the flow had turned into a wave that was crushing the Dons victory hopes. Allison, whose late escape in the third set up his win, used an escape in overtime then rode out Hale for the victory. The junior is in the same position as Truitt, a state level grappler without a home in the lineup.


“I’m thinking it’s going to be a tough match,” offered Allison. “But I just gotta go out there and give it my all. Just whatever happens, happens. (Late in the match) I was thinking, get up, get off the bottom as fast as possible and then work from there. (Overtime was about) keeping the pace high, keep working him down. I thought I did pretty good. It was a great win and a great win for the team, too.”

Holding their first lead of the night, 25-22, the Gaels kept piling up the wins with three more to come before their win streak could be halted at seven.


Super freshman and Fargo placer, Brooklyn Pickett (No. 3 at 144) came out at 150lbs and dismantled No. 8 Nevan McKneely, collecting points and overwhelming his foe with a 17-1 technical fall. No. 2 Cameron Cannaday followed that up with more bonus points for St. Joe, dropping Nathan Shepherd in the middle frame, 3:37.


That left the score at 36-22 in favor of the Gaels. Senior Will Hudson was unaware of the gravity of his match with Jimmy Lazzati when he stepped on the match. But much like he did as a freshman 106lber, in this same gym, Hudson came through for his team with a win that sealed the dual meet victory with a 7-3 decision to push the count to 39-22 with two bouts remaining.


“The team was wrestling good all match,” said Hudson. “Everybody was doing what they were supposed to do. We had some big wins. I know what I’m capable of. I know what I’ve been training for, and I did exactly what I was supposed to. And thankfully, we came out here and got the win. I’m just looking to continue this momentum forward through the rest of our dual meets and states and into preps.”


“No,” remarked Hudson when asked if he knew his match could secure the win for his team. “But I knew that it was going to be a big factor. I’m just happy that it all played out well. It was awesome. I was just happy for the team to be honest, because everybody in here, every single day, are such hard workers, and it’s just awesome to see that our hard work is paying off.”


The final two bouts went Loyola’s way as No. 10 Riley Miller decked Will Ennis in the second period, 2:18, at 175 and No. 6 Noah Brannon won by forfeit at 190lbs to bring the final tally to 39-34.


“We have remarkable upper-class leadership on the team, with Jake Tamai and Tyler Stephens (Captains) as well as lower-class leadership with Corey Brown and Brooklynn Pickett,” Barnabae added. “You could see and feel the momentum change on our bench and our leaders motivated the team to stay focused on each match. Tamai’s fall over Farver was the catalyst to the momentum swing in our favor. This was followed by Scheiner’s fall, Stephens’ major, the all-important, Connor Allison’s overtime victory over a very tough Josh Hale, Pickett’s tech-fall, Cannaday’s fall, with Will Hudson’s clutch victory at 165, which proved to be huge and propelled the team to victory!”


This showing, coupled with the scare the Gaels put into the Greyhounds, showed that even in their “down year” St. Joe is still a very legitimate state power. Many thought those two duals would result in lopsided losses for the Gaels, but instead they announced that they are serious players in regard to winning titles at the MIAA and State Tournaments.


“I was happy for our boys,” remarked Barnabae. “They have been putting in a great deal of time and effort into improving and it's paying off. I believe many teams are underestimating how tough our team is. Our team is young, and we have some holes, but they are very seasoned, battle tested, and are always working for the pin. This mindset will keep our team competitive in every match.”

“We still have room for improvement and will be right back on the mat as we prepare for upcoming matches against McDonogh, Calvert Hall, Spalding, Curley and hosting the Demolition Duals. It's an accomplishment if you can win the MIAA Dual meet Title, right now Gilman is positioned to do that, however, our sights are always set on winning the MIS State Championship. We came up short last year, after winning the title six consecutive times, yet I feel this year's tournament is up for grabs. The team that stays healthy and peaks at the right time will finish on top.”


For Loyola, it was a tough loss as it seemed they were poised to down St. Joe this year, especially after their recent stellar showing at the Iron Horse Duals.


“MSJ is a great team and is well coached,” Loyola coach Steve Truitt said. “They were ready to go to battle and we weren’t. It’s disappointing because we had a great weekend at Iron Horse Duals and another good win against a young and tough McDonogh team on Tuesday. We came out flat, made mistakes, gave up bonus points and that was the difference in the match. Against a good time like that, every point counts and we let it slip through our fingers.”

“As we told the guys, we can’t go back in time and change this result. We can, however, continue to grind and build towards the end of season run. We have an opportunity this week against Curley, Calvert Hall, and Gilman - all tough teams and my hope is we can use this as motivation to stack some solid results and begin to peak at the end of the season.”


Mt. St. Joseph 39, Loyola-Blakefield 34

(match started at 215)

215-Brandan Kelly (Loy) won by forfeit

285-Luke Randazzo pinned Thomas Brandel, 2:42

106-Tyler Verceles (Loy) pinned Thomas Davis, :15

113-Corey Brown (MSJ) pinned Connor Moles, :18

120-Jayden Jackson (Loy) maj-dec James Wright, 17-3

126-Jake Tamai (MSJ) pinned Cayden Farver, 5:54

132-Ben Scheiner (MSJ) pinned Tyler Truitt, 1:36

138-Tyler Stephens (MSJ) maj-dec Lincoln Weeks, 10-0

144-Connor Allison (MSJ) dec Josh Hale, 2-1 TB1

150-Brooklyn Pickett (MSJ) tech-fall Nevan McNeely, 17-1

157-Cameron Cannaday (MSJ) pinned Nathan Shepherd, 3:37

165-Will Hudson (MSJ) dec Jimmy Lazzati, 7-3

175-Riley Miller (Loy) pinned Will Ennis, 2:18

190-Noah Brannon (Loy) won by forfeit

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