Prep Wrestling Insider: Tourney wide open without Graham

Holiday classic features Tecumseh, Greeneview, KR and Springfield.

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By Kermit Rowe, Staff Writer 10:53 PM Wednesday, December 28, 2011

The biggest news for area wrestling fans concerning the annual Greater Miami Valley Wrestling Association’s Holiday Classic, which starts today at Wright State University, is not who is wrestling, but who isn’t.

Graham, seven-time defending GMVWA champion and 11-time defending Division II state champion, decided not to wrestle in southwest Ohio’s top wrestling showcase this year.

Instead, the Falcons chose to travel to the not-so-frozen tundra of the upper Midwest, Minnesota, for that state’s top prep wrestling tournament, The Clash National High School Wrestling Duals on Friday and Saturday in Rochester, Minn.

“We wanted to see some of the schools up that way that we haven’t gotten to see in the past,” said Graham coach Jeff Jordan earlier this month of his reasoning for passing on the GMVWA in favor of The Clash.

The field at The Clash includes six of Amateur Wrestling News magazine’s seven top-ranked teams, including top-ranked Apple Valley out of Minnesota. Also joining the No. 4-ranked Falcons are Brandon, Fla., (No. 3) Lakewood St. Edward (No. 5), Simley, Minn., (No. 6) and Clovis, Calif. (No. 7).

“We never seem to run into those teams up there,” said Jordan of the Minnesota, California and Florida teams.

The only team missing from the top seven is No. 2 Blair Academy, N.J., which will visit Graham on Feb. 4.

That does leave the door wide open for teams competing at the GMVWA, where Graham has dominated since it first wrestled in the tourney in 2004.

“Taking those guys out certainly will make it more competitive,” said veteran Greeneview coach Mike Sizemore. “But I like wrestling against those guys because it gives you a chance to wrestle against the best in the country and see how you measure up.”

Sizemore is anxious to see how his Rams measure up against the Graham-less field.

“We’re ready,” said Sizemore. “I’ve got a freshman that’s pretty tough at 120 (junior high state placer Andrew Hoskins), but that seems like the toughest weight class. But we are doing better than I thought we would. This tourney will tell us a lot.”

Other local teams competing at the GMVWA are Springfield, Kenton Ridge and Tecumseh.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0364 or Kermit.Rowe@coxinc.com.

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