Powerade 2024

[Tom McAndrew]

Powerade 2024 is taking place over 12/27 & 12/28. The finals are now set:


107: #4 seed Chase Karenbauer (Grove City; PA) vs. #7 seed JoJo Burke (St. Joseph Regional; NJ)
114: #1 seed Cameron Sonata (Delbarton; NJ)) vs. unseeded Mateo Gallegos (DuBois; PA)
121: #1 seed Landon Sidun (Norwin; PA) vs. #2 seed Paul Kenny (Christian Brothers Acad; NJ)
127: #4 seed Karson Brown (St. Edward; OH) vs. #3 seed Matt O'Neill (Malvern Prep; PA)
133: #1 seed Jax Forrest (Bishop McCort; PA) vs. #3 seed Mathew Botello (Wyoming Sem.; PA)
139: #8 seed Drake Hooiman (Slam Acad; NV) vs. #3 seed Jayce Paridon (Lake Highland; FL)
145: #1 seed Bo Bassett (Bishop McCort; PA) vs. unseeded Declan O'Byrne (Malvern Prep)
152: #1 seed Jayden James (Delbarton; NJ) vs. #2 seed Zeno Moore (Lake Highland; FL)
160: #1 seed Alessio Perentin (Delbarton; NJ) vs. #2 seed Melvin Miller (Bishop McCort; PA)
172: #1 seed Asher Cunningham (State College; PA) vs. #2 seed Ryan Burton (St. Joseph Regional; NJ)
189: #1 seed Robert Kucharczk (Lake Highland; FL) vs. unseeded Carl Betz (Delbarton; NJ)
215: #1 seed Jude Correa (Wyoming Sem; PA) vs. #2 seed Austin Johnson (Muncy; PA)
285: #5 seed Lukas Zalota (Malvern Prep; PA) vs. #2 seed Jacob Levy (Lake Highland; FL)

I believe PSU had 3 verbals in the competition
- 127: #1 seed Nate Desmond (Wyoming Sem; PA) -- he forfeited his opening match. I'm not sure if he missed weight, or if he got injured before the match
- 139: #2 seed Sam Herring (Bishop McCort; PA) -- he lost to #3 seed Jayce Paridon (Lake Highland; FL) in the semis, 3-1, TB2. Paridon got a REV in TB2. He won his Consolation R8 match against #1 seed Camden Baum (Bishop McDevitt; PA), by DEC, 4-2. He'll wrestle unseeded Dale Corbin (Wyoming Sem; PA) for 3rd place.
- 172: #1 seed Asher Cunningham -- he's into the finals

Others of interest in the competition:
- 133: #1 seed Jax Forest -- he's into the finals
- 145: #1 seed Bo Bassett -- he's into the finals
- 160: #2 seed Melvin Miller -- he's into the finals

I'm posting this on the fly; apologies if I missed any wrestlers that PSU is recruiting.

 

[Tom McAndrew]

Finals results:

107: #4 seed Chase Karenbauer (Grove City; PA) DEC, 5-3, over #7 seed JoJo Burke (St. Joseph Regional; NJ)
114: #1 seed Cameron Sonata (Delbarton; NJ)) DEC, 9-2, over unseeded Mateo Gallegos (DuBois; PA)
121: #1 seed Landon Sidun (Norwin; PA) DEC, 7-6, over #2 seed Paul Kenny (Christian Brothers Acad; NJ)
127: #4 seed Karson Brown (St. Edward; OH) DEC, 6-4, over #3 seed Matt O'Neill (Malvern Prep; PA)
133: #1 seed Jax Forrest (Bishop McCort; PA) MAJ, 11-3, over #3 seed Mathew Botello (Wyoming Sem.; PA)
139: #3 seed Jayce Paridon (Lake Highland; FL) MAJ, 8-0, over #8 seed Drake Hooiman (Slam Acad; NV)
145: #1 seed Bo Bassett (Bishop McCort; PA) PIN, @ 2:31, over unseeded Declan O'Byrne (Malvern Prep)
152: #1 seed Jayden James (Delbarton; NJ) MAJ, 16-4, over #2 seed Zeno Moore (Lake Highland; FL)
160: #2 seed Melvin Miller (Bishop McCort; PA) DEC, 4-2, over #1 seed Alessio Perentin (Delbarton; NJ)
172: #2 seed Ryan Burton (St. Joseph Regional; NJ) PIN, @ 5:15, over #1 seed Asher Cunningham (State College; PA)
189: #1 seed Robert Kucharczk (Lake Highland; FL) DEC, 4-0, over unseeded Carl Betz (Delbarton; NJ)
215: #1 seed Jude Correa (Wyoming Sem; PA) DEC, 4-0, over #2 seed Austin Johnson (Muncy; PA)
285: #2 seed Jacob Levy (Lake Highland; FL) DEC, 5-2, over #5 seed Lukas Zalota (Malvern Prep; PA)

At 139, #2 seed Sam Herring (Bishop McCort; PA) MAJ, 8-0, over unseeded Dale Corbin (Wyoming Sem; PA) for 3rd place

I was somewhat surprised by the results for Asher Cunningham. He won by PIN in R32, by TF in R16, by PIN in the Quarters, and by TF in the Semis. His opponent in the final, #2 seed Ryan Burton, had done well in the bottom bracket, but had not been as dominant as Asher, winning by TF in R32, MAJ in R16, TF in Quarters, and TF in the Semis. He was leading Asher 11-4 in the 3rd period when he got the pin. He had secured 3 TDs and a REV before getting the fall, whereas Asher had only scored points by 4 escapes.

 

[El_Jefe]

I was somewhat surprised by the results for Asher Cunningham. He won by PIN in R32, by TF in R16, by PIN in the Quarters, and by TF in the Semis. His opponent in the final, #2 seed Ryan Burton, had done well in the bottom bracket, but had not been as dominant as Asher, winning by TF in R32, MAJ in R16, TF in Quarters, and TF in the Semis. He was leading Asher 11-4 in the 3rd period when he got the pin. He had secured 3 TDs and a REV before getting the fall, whereas Asher had only scored points by 4 escapes.

Burton is very good, and is headed to VT. He was going to be a formidable challenge for Asher, though I don't think anyone imagine him dominating like that.

It looked like Asher hit his head on the final takedown and called for injury time before getting rolled for the pin (with little resistance). Not sure why it wasn't granted. The head ref maybe couldn't see it, but the 2nd ref should've seen it. But that just changes the final score, not the W-L result.

Asher is a bit too dependent on getting into scrambles. It's an issue against guys with clean finishes -- though Burton also won the scrambles. Gives him something to work on.

Also: as long as he stays healthy, he's gonna win states this year. Matches like this will help his development, with no effect on his postseason.

 

[El_Jefe]

Should also note: Asher has had some conditioning issue of late. Two recent matches where he had big early leads and faded late -- the OT loss to Henckel at Ironman, and the win over Wirnsberger at King of the Mountain.

He's never gassed before, and there were some rumors of him being sick.

That might have been a factor in the Burton match. He wasn't tested at all until the finals, so no opportunity for him to gas until then, and Burton was his 5th match in 2 days.

 

[Adler01]

Asher Must improved on his Feet. Once that happens and it will he’s going to be in that Elite Category. Yes something definitely seem off tho….

 

[Tom McAndrew]

 

[Adler01]

Wow. Bo even uses a lot of the PSU move’s. Looks like ZAIN RUTHERFORD out there wrestling. Pace and Pain being Instilled….Next Zain Rutherford at PSU….You can really tell he has Trained with Zain and a lot of guys in the NLWC….Lots of Love from Nitt Nation Towards Bo Bassett….Let’s Go…Jack Forrest as well….Both will Fit Perfectly….

 

[Tom McAndrew]

 

[El_Jefe]

In the final sequence, Cunningham hit his head hard on the mat twice and got crossfaced. And he was holding his nose afterward.

Still, that doesn't explain why he waited until he was getting turned before giving the whirlybird signal.

 

[Tom McAndrew]

In the final sequence, Cunningham hit his head hard on the mat twice and got crossfaced. And he was holding his nose afterward.

Still, that doesn't explain why he waited until he was getting turned before giving the whirlybird signal.

Yeah, I saw what you had referenced in your earlier reply when I watched the video.

The 2nd ref is kind of in a no-win situation in a sequence like that. They don't have the ability to stop the match -- only the main ref can do that. They could call out "he wants a TO" (or something like that), but a lot of refs don't want (and will say not to make such comments before the match) when they are the main ref.

When I'm reffing a match where a kid makes a gesture indicating they are in duress, I have a to make a split-second decision as to what to do. If I'm reffing youth, it's a lot more of a challenge, as some of the beginners/neophytes will act as if they are acute pain whenever they get turned. The ref is always looking to protect the wrestlers, but if the wrestler has given evidence earlier in the match that leads the ref to doubt a distress signal, you generally let things play out (at least for a few more seconds, if not completely). In Cunningham's match, I'm not sure why the ref didn't stop the match. If you watch closely, it's pretty clear that Asher is not right after hitting his head. Perhaps the main ref didn't see the signal, or perhaps he didn't feel a stoppage was warranted.

An interesting point to consider. With the new rules on NF in high school, if the match had been stopped due to Asher's signal, Burton would have been awarded 5 points -- 4 for the max NF he could have attained , plus the additional point for the stoppage.