Knockout Xmas Classic - Breaking Down 144-157
Part 3 of many from the Men’s Knockout Christmas Classic
We have begun uploading video from the finals, but thought that a quick breakdown of how each weight class played out would also be appropriate. We do not have video from every final, but the ones we do will be embedded in each of the posts.
144 lb. Seeds:
EJ Solis (South Dade, FL)
J’Veion Redmon (Ola, GA)
Conner Doherty (Mt Pisgah, GA)
Colson Hoffman (Central Carroll, GA)
Michael Kersey (First Baptist, FL)
Cael Kubatzke (Fernandina Beach, FL)
Dylan Villers (McCallie, TN)
Cale Prater (Social Circle, GA)
Top Side:
Top Seed EJ Solis posted a fall and technical falls to advance out of the top quarter of the bracket. The 2nd quarter of the bracket featured a pair of State Champions in #5 seed Michael Kersey (Florida) and 4 seed Colson Hoffman (Georgia). Each posted falls or technical falls to setup a solid quarter between the two. The score ended up 9-2, but it was far closer than that throughout … coming down to 2-2 in the final minute of the match before Hoffman got a takedown and 4 nearfall to advance. Solis jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the semis and cruised to a 14-4 decision to advance to another Knockout final (he was 2nd here two years ago).
Bottom Side:
The bottom side played out fairly close to what was expected. Georgia State Champ Conner Doherty, the 3 seed handled business in the 3rd quarter of the bracket with 2 technical falls before holding off a tough Xavier Albo of Jesuit 7-5 in the quarters. Talon Maple was the surprise of the bracket … he had a technical fall and a major decision win before pinning Tennessee State Placer Dylan Villers in the Round of 16. He then downed #2 seed J’Veion Redmon - 8-0 major decision to reach the semis. Maple won 8-5 to punch his ticket to the Knockout finals (and as the #10 seed - one of the lowest seeds to make the finals in years).
Backside:
The backside went much as expected with both semifinalists that lost advancing to the consi finals for an All-Georgia match … Hoffman downed Doherty 11-6 to take 3rd. Hoffman beat Redmon 2-1 in one consi semi and Dohery beat Kersey 6-3 in the other. The two names that stood out in making a run were Jaiden Oliver of Lake Gibson who beat Haines, Amos, and Albo before losing to Redmon and Dylan Villers who downed Manghisi, Novoa, and Williams before losing to Kersey.
Finals: EJ Solis (South Dade) 2x Florida State Champ; 4x Fargo All American - vs. Talon Maple (Zephyrhills Christian) - Florida State Runner-up
144 lb. Top 6:
EJ Solis (South Dade, FL)
Talon Maple (Zephyrhills Christian, FL)
Colson Hoffman (Central Carroll, GA)
Conner Doherty (Mt Pisgah, GA)
Michael Kersey (First Baptist, FL)
J’Veion Redmon (Ola, GA)
150 lb. Seeds:
Beau Hickman (Tuttle, OK)
Nikolas Blake (Hagerty, FL)
Jose Gutierrez (Doral, FL)
Mason O’Dell (Mater Lakes, FL)
Tristan Sainz (Somerset, FL)
Gavin Nolan (Clearwater Central Catholic, FL)
Grant Rowe (Blackwell, OK)
Mason Basile (Jesuit, FL)
Top Side:
Oklahoma State Champ, and #1 seed, Hickman cruised to the quarters with a fall and a 16-1 technical fall. Jesuit’s Mason Basile did the same thing from the 8 seed. Hickman then downed Basile 13-4 to advance to the semis on the top side. The 2nd quarter had 5 seed Tristan Sainz getting a fall and a solid 10-3 decision of Aiden Hutchins to advance to the quarters. Lake Gibson’s LeAndre Campbell had a great Friday afternoon/evening with a fall, a 10-2 decision of Armand Williams of South Dade before pinning #4 seed Mason O’Dell to advance to the quarters opposite Sainz. Sainz downed Campbell 10-4 and then pushed Hickman in their semifinal … losing 4-2 in the closest match Hickman would have the entire weekend.
Bottom Side:
The bottom side went fairly close to the seeding … the one exception was #6 seed Gavin Nolan downing #3 seed Jose Gutierrez 9-2 in the quarters. In the bottom quarter, 2x Oklahoma State Placer Grant Rowe downed Jonathan Moder before losing to #2 seed Nik Blake by fall in the quarters. Blake followed that up with a fall of Nolan in the semis to punch his ticket back to the Knockout finals (he was 2nd a year ago at 138).
Backside:
There were some outstanding matches on the backside as we sorted out spots onthe podium. Tristan Sainz downed Grant Rowe 8-2 and Mason Basile 3-2 to take 3rd. Basile won 3 in a row to make the consi finals including wins over Bruner, Kracht, and Nolan. Rowe won a tight 1-0 match in the consi quarters to eliminate Jose Gutierrez.
Finals: Beau Hickman (Tuttle, OK) - 3x Oklahoma State Champion; Fargo All American vs. Nik Blake (Hagerty, FL) - 2x Florida State Placer; 2x Knockout Placer
150 lb. Top 6:
Beau Hickman (Tuttle, OK)
Nikolas Blake (Hagerty, FL)
Tristan Sainz (Somerset, FL)
Mason Basile (Jesuit, FL)
Grant Rowe (Blackwell, OK)
Gavin Nolan (Clearwater Central Catholic, FL)
157 lb. Seeds:
Noah Nininger (Staunton River, VA)
Brian Papcun (Ola, GA)
Asher Bacon (First Baptist, FL)
Brock Weaver (Camden County, GA)
Tyree Graham (South Dade, FL)
KJ Vazquez (Tampa Jesuit, FL)
Brandon Bringer (South Effingham, GA)
Eric Hodge (Somerset, FL)
Top Side:
Noah Nininger was on another level … not just in the early part of the tournament, but throughout. He had 2 quick falls before pinning Eric Hodge in just over a minute in the quarters. The 2nd quarter played out as expected with the #4 and #5 seeds both advancing to the quarters. Four seed Brock Weaver downed Tyree Graham 1-0 on an escape to start the 3rd period. Weaver then pulled Nininger in the semis … an 18-2 technical fall and Nininger was into the finals after just over 6 minutes on the mat.
Bottom Side:
The bottom side went as expected as well with all four of the top seeds advancing to the quarters. #3 Asher Bacon had two technical falls and faced #6 KJ Vazquez (who had two falls) in the quarters. Bacon downed Vazquez 4-2 (got an early takedown in the 1st period and that would prove to be the difference). In the bottom quarter - #2 seed Brian Papcun had two falls and #7 seed Brandon Bringer had a technical fall and fall. But it was all Papcun in that quarterfinal as he downed Bringer 15-0. That left #2 vs. #3 in the semis … Bacon won 3-2 and scored his 3 points on a penalty in the first, an escape in the 2nd and a stall call in the 3rd with 10 seconds left. Papcun got a reversal in the 2nd period for his only points.
Backside:
Again the bracket went pretty much as expected (based on the seeds). Weaver downed Vazquez and Papcun to take 3rd and Hodge downed Vazquez 4-1 to take 5th. Tyree Graham, the 5 seed, lost to Hodge 7-1 in the consi quarters. Carrollton’s Connor Stephens had the best run on the backside with a fall, a 7-3 decision and an 11-8 sudden victory win over Bringer before falling to Vazquez in the consi quarters.
Finals: Noah Nininger of Staunton River (VA) - 3x Virginia State Champion; Ironman Champion; Super 32 All American vs. Asher Bacon of First Baptist Naples (FL) - Florida State Champion; Florida State Placer; Knockout Placer
157 lb. Top 6:
Noah Nininger (Staunton River, VA)
Asher Bacon (First Baptist, FL)
Brock Weaver (Camden County, GA)
Brian Papcun (Ola, GA)
Eric Hodge (Somerset, FL)
KJ Vazquez (Tampa Jesuit, FL)
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