In a tournament replete with upsets, Altoona (Pa.), boasting just two seniors, overcame unfavorable seeds to dethrone top-ranked Mount St. Joseph, 184-174.5, in last night's Annapolis Tournament.
The Gaels crowned more champs with David Inkman (140), Danny DeVivo (171) and Kenny Hunter (Hwt.) -- all three of whom are 8-0 and top-ranked by the Maryland State Wrestling Association.
But Altoona led by as many as 18.5 points, crowning two champions out six finalists and placing two others in the top four.
DeVivo, who has five pins and a technical fall, blanked Bullis' fifth-ranked Eugene Brodetski (6-1) by 10-0, and Inkman built a 5-1 lead in a 6-5 title-bout win over Altoona's Jeremy Hite, who had upset DeMatha's sixth-ranked Brian Page, 9-3, in the quarterfinal. The 257-pound Hunter (8-0, seven pins) had to overcame a 1-0 second-period deficit to beat Altoona's Justin Reed, 5-3.
In the night's best bout at 152, Francis Scott Key's Zac Yinger (4-0 and ranked No. 1) scored five second-period back-points to dethrone DeMatha's fourth-ranked Matt Allman (8-1) by 5-1. Yinger beat the Gaels' third-ranked Tyran Dungee, 7-2, in the semifinal.
At 130, Southern's top-ranked Tyrone Neal Jr. (5-0, four pins) scored three unanswered points in the second period for a 6-3 win and his second straight Annapolis crown over the Gaels' sixth-ranked Dan Mattson (6-2).
Neal pinned Gonzaga's John Kalil in the semifinal, and Mattson's 8-6 overtime semifinal win over Calvert Hall's third-ranked Brian Kapp (previously 9-0) avenged a 6-3 loss of a week earlier.
Another repeat champ was Severna Park's third-ranked Jamie Kuch (125, 4-0), who had two pins and a 10-0 decision before winning his title bout, 4-1, over the Gaels' sixth-ranked Jake Lissau (6-2).
Joon Kim (189, 6-0) scored his fifth pin of the year over DeMatha's Josh Bender to become Centennial's first Annapolis Tournament champ. Bender (4-1) had a 6-5 semifinal upset of Southern's fourth-ranked Trumaine Graves.
Francis Scott Key's two-time state champ Randy Owings (145, 5-1) was third after DeMatha's Robert Alexander broke a 5-5 tie with three back-points with 25 seconds left in their semifinal. Alexander (7-2) lost his title bout, 7-2, to Benny Ferro (6-1) of Bullis.
Calvert Hall's unranked Robbie Johns (112, 7-2) -- a 8-3 title-bout loser to Bullis' John Palmer (7-0) -- overcame a 5-0 deficit to pin Gilman's fourth-ranked Maakan Taghizadeh in 3:14 of their semifinal bout.
But the Pennsylvanians "shocked" coach Marty Rusnak, whose highest seeded wrestler was No. 2 Reed, beginning with Joe Nardozza (103, 4-0) taking a 7-1 semifinal upset of top seed John Pitonzo (Mount St. Joseph) before winning his title bout, 9-2, over Westminster's Bobby Biden (5-1).
A 160-pound quarterfinal upset pin of Annapolis' top seed Rich Parshleyl by Altoona's Robert Horon (160) led to Horon's 8-6 title win over St. Mary's freshman Ernie Listman in a bout that was tied three times.
A 3-0 semifinal upset Altoona's Mike Nader (119) over No. 3-ranked Gino Amasia (Calvert Hall) led to a 15-3 title-bout loss to DeMatha's top-ranked, two-time National Prep champ Todd Beckerman (9-0, six pins). Beckerman, a Crofton resident, improved his career record to 109-1.