Wrestling: My predictions for Division III duals on Saturday

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Let’s just assume the brackets hold up in the Southern Section Division III dual meet championships, and top-seeded South Hills faces second-seeded Santa Fe in the finals.

Now, I know fans of St. John Bosco, Ventura, Monclair, Lakewood and others may not be so quick to make such an assumption (and for the record, neither were South Hills Head Coach Robb Froh and Santa Fe Head Coach Sal Garcia). And I don’t blame them.

But the Huskies and Chiefs are the only Division III teams ranked in the Southern Section coaches’ poll (Santa Fe at No. 6 and South Hills at No. 8) and the only Division III teams ranked in the state (Santa Fe at No. 12 and South Hills at No. 26).

Both teams also have more ranked wrestlers than the other aforementioned squads. So, with plenty of confidence (not really) I’m predicting a rematch of last year’s championship meet, which Santa Fe won, 38-21.

What could make a big difference this time around is that Santa Fe lost exactly half of its starters from the team that won its second dual meet championship in three years. South Hills, which last won the duals crown in 2003, returned all but two from its starting lineup of a year ago. That experience could come in handy, particularly in the upper weights, where Garcia said his squad is rather young.

Still, Santa Fe could get some precious points by beating some of South Hills’ top-ranked wrestlers, guys who might normally provide guaranteed points for the Huskies. Senior Marcus Orona of Santa Fe is 30-2 at 119 and is the top-ranked wrestler at 119. Senior Thomas Williams of South Hills is a returning state champion and is ranked second in the Southern Section and third in the state. Orona took first at the Five Counties tournament last month and Williams was third, but they did not face each other.

Also at Five Counties, Santa Fe’s 171-pound wrestler Niko Crouch (ranked No. 6 in both the Southern Section and state) pinned another one of South Hills’ stars, Josh Pearson (No. 3 in Southern Section, No. 7 in state). A repeat of that result could also be huge for the Chiefs.

No matter what, I see this being about as close as a dual meet can get. So I’m going to go with South Hills, the veteran team, pulling it out by the smallest of margins, something like 25-24.

Click here to get the brackets for all dual meet ‘playoffs’ on Saturday.

-- Chuck Schilken, guest blogger

-- Image from www.wrestlingsbest.com.