Clinch Gear National High School Team Rankings 1.4.2011
Published on January 4, 2011 by viratas · No Comments
Clinch Gear National High School Team Rankings and Cheesehead Recap
Willie Saylor, Editor
The top teams all across the land were in action last week. No bigger event was staged than the Cheesehead in Kaukauna, Wisconsin which featured seven of our top eighteen.
#1 Apple Valley led wire-to-wire in Kaukauna. Despite crowing just one champ, the Eagles displayed incredible balance by placing eight in the finals and thirteen in the top six. They outpaced Runners-Up #3 Blair Academy by over 80 pts.
Blair distanced themselves from the rest field, with nearly a triple-digit margin over 3rd place, and then 12th-ranked Simley. The Bucs crowned a tournament-high five champions.
Simley made a strong case to move up considerably in the rankings. The Trojans placed half their line-up in the top 4.
The biggest movers, however, will be Clovis, who checked in last week at #18. The perennial powerhouse led by the esteemed Tirapelle family, rolled their way to 4th place at the Cheesehead, out-pointing 3 other nationally squads on the virtues of one champ, two finalists, and eight in the top 6.
Wisconsin Rapids, Wyoming Seminary, and Marmion Academy, finished 5th through 7th, respectively.
The outstanding field at the Cheesehead was obvious. It’s not every day that you get 7 of the Top 15 teams in the same building to compete.
What’s less apparent to the average fan is just how great of an event and an environment this tournament is. It’s a well-oiled machine that goes off without a hitch thanks to its plethora of dedicated and accommodating staff and volunteers.
And from a fans perspective, the action couldn’t get much better.
Because of its unique pool bracketing, you get de facto quarter and semi-finals on Day I before heading into the Day II mini-tournament.
We were privileged enough to see a Brooks Black-Nick Nevills barnburner twice. And a guy like Dom Malone (WySem) who was caught and pinned in a pool match, can claim redemption like he did by winning the title in a rematch in the finals with George Fisher (Marmion), the guy who pinned him.
What it means to you and I is: we don’t have to wait around through the fluff to get to the meat of the match-ups.
In other action:
Outside of Wisconsin, 10 of the other 13 ranked squads competed.
Here’s how they did:
•#2 St. Paris-Graham more than doubled up the field at the Miami Valley Tournament with 330 team points to Runners-Up Centerville’s 140.
•#4 Brandon won the Heart of Dixie Classic at Vestavia Hills (Alabama’s most distinguished team) by a whopping 270pts.
•#5 Bakersfield, despite missing the services of two starters, won a tough intra-state dual with Oakdale, who is ranked as the 3rd best team in the Golden State.
•#8 St. Ed’s won the Medina Tournament (OH) convincingly over #16 Massillon-Perry, 288 to 208. Ed’s had six champs on seven finalists. Perry had seven in the top 4.
•#13 Easton rolled to the Manheim title over Robinson (VA) and Reynolds. The Red Rovers crowned five champs.
•#14 Bethlehem Catholic had eight champs and a runner-up as they hosted their annual Christmas City Tournament.
•#18 High Point led the Mustang Classic field with five champs and a runner-up.
•#19 St. John’s bested some of Michigan’s Best including Detroit Central Catholic in winning the Goodrich Invitational. St. John’s 224pts topped DCC’s 201, and Dundee’s 186.5. St. John’s was 6-for-6 in the finals.
•#20 Roseburg blitzed the Douglas County Invite. They had 8 champions on 10 finalists and posted a team score of 220.5 that nearly doubled up 2nd place Reedsport’s 113.
This upcoming week’s big event is The Clash in Rochester, Minnesota. The 9th edition of this event will feature 10 TOM-recognized teams; 6 ranked, and 4 honorable mention. For brackets visit: http://theclash.theopenmat.org
And watch for our preview coming shortly. We will also offer live event coverage.
Other big events this week include the Doc Buchanan in California where most of the state’s big dogs will tangle including #5Bakersfield and #10 Clovis.
St. Ed’s and Perry will see each other for the second consecutive week. They’ll both be at Wadsworth, this time, for a dual showdown.
Like always, our Individual National Rankings will be released Wednesday.
# 1 Apple Valley, Minnesota
Previous: #1
Last Week: Won Cheesehead
This Week: The Clash
# 2 St. Paris-Graham, OH
Previous: #2
Last Week: Won Miami Valley Conference Tourney
This Week: Home Duals 1/9
#3 Blair Academy, New Jersey
Previous: #3
Last Week: 2nd at Cheesehead
This Week: Home vs. Bergen Catholic 1/7
#4 Brandon, Florida
Previous: #4
Last Week: Heart of Dixie Champs
This Week: The Clash
#5 Bakersfield, California
Previous: #5
Last Week: Defeated Oakdale 29-24
This Week: Doc Buchanan
#6 St. Edwards, Ohio
Previous: #8
Last Week: Medina Champs
This Week: Ohio Duals @ Wadsworth
#7 Simley, Minnesota
Previous: #12
Last Week: 3rd @ Cheesehead
This Week: The Clash
#8 Iowa City-West, Iowa
Previous: #7
Last Week: Idle
This Week: Lepic Duals
#9 Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa
Previous: #8
Last Week: Idle
This Week: The Clash
#10 Clovis, California
Previous: #17
Last Week: 4th @ Cheesehead
This Week: Doc Buchanan#11 Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin
Previous: #11
Last Week: 5th @ Cheesehead
This Week: The Clash
#12 Wyoming Seminary
Previous: #6
Last Week: 6th @ Cheesehead
This Week: Idle
#13 Marmion Academy, Illinois
Previous: #7
Last Week: 7th @ Cheesehead
This Week: Idle
#14 St. Johns, Michigan
Previous: #19
Last Week: Won Goodrich Invite
This Week: East Lansing Quad
#15 Easton, Pennsylvania
Previous: #13
Last Week: Won Manheim Holiday Tournament
This Week: Easton Invitational (Duals)
#16 Bethlehem Catholic, Pennsylvania
Previous: #14
Last Week: Won Christmas City Tournament
This Week: Dual
#17 Tulsa Union, Oklahoma
Previous: #18
Last Week: Idle
This Week: Duals vs. Bixby, Claremore, and Lawton, and McArthur; Geary Tournament
#18 Massillon-Perry, Ohio
Previous: #19
Last Week: Medina Invitational Runners-Up
This Week: Ohio Duals @ Wadsworth
#19 High Point, New Jersey
Previous: #18
Last Week: Won Mustang Classic Tourney
This Week: Duals vs. Sparta and Brearly. Minuteman Tourney
#20 Roseburg, Oregon
Previous: #20
Last Week: Won Douglas County Invite
This Week: The Clash
Notes:
The Top 5 stay intact with results to confirm their positions. St. Ed’s, now with their full contingent on the mats, moves into the 6th slot.
Simley gets a big boost, from 12th to 7th, behind St. Ed’s and in front of the Iowa schools, who we’ll learn more about this weekend.
Clovis is the biggest mover; from 17th to 10th after a fantastic showing at the Cheesehead. There are two events which we’ll be able to use to further gauge them this week; they’ll face #5Bakersfield as well as many of CA’s best at the Doc Buchanan. Also, the results of Simley and Rapids duals vs. the Iowa schools should serve as a barometer.
Rapids stays put at #11. There were two teams ranked ahead of them that they finished better than, and two teams ranked behind them that out-placed them.
Another team on the rise is St. Johns, Michigan. They move up five spots, and ahead of Easton at #14.
#19 High Point is an interesting team. They could be much better than their ranking, but their loss to Perry at King of the Mountain keeps them there for now. They will have an opportunity to move up in a few weeks with a good showing at The Final Four.
Honorable Mention:
•Bettendorf, Iowa
•Cannon-McMillan, Pennsylvania
•Carl Sandberg, Illinois
•Central Dauphin, Pennsylvania
•Christiansburg, Virginia
•Crystal Lake Central, Illinois
•Collins Hill, Georgia
•Cox, Virginia
•Glenbard North, Illinois
•Park Hill, Missouri
•Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Pennsylvania
•South Plainfield, New Jersey
•Springstead, Florida
