VISAA Championship Race Tightens

This has gotten really close! The latest news out of Richmond (actually from the VISAA web site) is that StC’s Joe Munno (145) is out of the tournament. This means that Kevin Molloy moves up to 145 and Rennie Merhige steps in at 140. While both have the potential to place in the top four of these weight classes, the Saints probably loose a good bit of bonus points and Chris Cirenza (WFS) now looks like the favored at 145.

With much gratitude to HT, I now have the complete results from the St. Alban’s Tournament. While I am not going to totally redo my preview, it is worth taking a look at a couple things. The top four at 130 – Carpenter (BOC), Burg (WFS), Tanabe (POT), and Wesley (STC) - are all capable of winning. Carpenter, however, holds the upper hand as evidenced by his 2nd place finish last weekend. Burg & Tanabe are a toss-up. Tanabe placed higher at StA (4th v 5th), but I think Burg benefits from having wrestled a tougher schedule during the season. And I wound not count out Wesley, despite having lost to Burg twice and finishing 7th this past weekend. This could be the most competitive of all weight classes.

The second addendum to my preview concerns our friends from Randolph-Macon Academy. By virtue of his 3rd place finish, Mike Maroulis becomes one of the favorites at 152. While I did have him in the medals, I now see him making it to the finals. At the same time, David Mongellow’s 4th at StA throws 160 totally up in the air. Although he is vulnerable to challenges from below, Mongellow may be peaking at just the right time. In no particular order, Mongellow (RMA), Gottwald (STC), Tesi (LCA) and Higginbotham (VES), make this class one to watch.

In view of these developments, St. Christopher’s run of State Championships is in serious jeopardy. Woodberry Forest and, to a lesser degree, Bishop O’Connell present serious challenges to the Saints. Every wrestler will need to score for the 7-peat to be realized. This is going to be an exciting tournament.