10 Beast Of The East Quarterfinals To Watch
10 Beast Of The East Quarterfinals To Watch
Saturday's action is in the books at the Beast of the East and the stage is set for Sunday. Get prepared with 10 quarterfinals to watch.
Day 1 of the 2022 Beast of the East is in the books! After 1,486 bouts, why not take a look at 10 more? Mason Lindenmuth and Brendan Scannell have highlighted some of the most exciting matchups you can look forward to Sunday morning in the quarterfinals.
106: Dunia Sibomana (Long Beach) vs. Rylan Seacrist (Brecksville)
Sibomana’s incredible and inspiring story made national headlines last season when he won a New York state title as an eighth grader. Now, he continues to impress in his freshman campaign, winning his first two matches at Beast by 14 points and by fall. In the quarters he gets Brecksville’s Rylan Seacrist, who is looking to land on the Beast podium after falling in the bloodround at Ironman last week.
120: #17 Carter Nogle (Mt. St Joseph) vs. Santino Rodriguez (Don Bosco Prep)
Nogle, the #3 seed, was a fifth-place finisher at this tournament a year ago and hopes to climb the podium a few more steps this year. But first, he’ll need to get through unseeded Don Bosco Prep freshman Santino Rodriguez who has been impressively dominant in his run to the quarterfinals scoring over 30 points in his first three matches.
120: #13 Gauge Botero (Faith Christian Academy) vs. Kaaden Naame (St Augustine)
Botero, a double Fargo All-American and returning seventh-place finisher at this tournament a year ago, has looked as strong as ever with three falls to the quarterfinals. Botero will be looking to improve on his Beast of the East finish from last season. In his way, however, is no cake-walk. Kaaden Naame was third in the state of New Jersey last season and is coming off an upset win over the five seed Carson Wagner. Expect this one to be very competitive.
126: Carson Walsh (Pope John XXIII) vs. Luke Poore (Caravel Academy)
Pope John’s Walsh is no stranger to big-time tournament settings. He was a Fargo All-American back in 2021, and went on a roll at the New Jersey state tournament last year as a freshman, making the semis before eventually placing sixth. He’ll need to stay on a roll in the quarters if he plans to knock off Delaware’s own Luke Poore of Caravel Academy who is looking to get back in the Beast of the East semifinals for the second year in a row.
132: Cael McIntyre (Bethlehem Catholic) vs. #11 Tyler Knox (St. John’s Prep)
Pennsylvania on Massachusetts action! We have two Division 1 commits squaring off here in the quarterfinals, with McIntyre heading to American next season and Knox being a Stanford commit. McIntyre was sixth at PA states back in 2021, while Knox was an NHSCA Junior national champion this summer. Both of these guys have wrestled in just about every high-level tournament out there. Knox is coming in hot with three falls and will be looking to knock off the #3 seed to get to the semifinals.
138: #4 Tyler Vazquez (Delbarton) vs. Charles Curtis (Perry)
Vazquez, currently ranked #4 in the country, was a champion at this tournament a year ago. With that said, it was a bit of a stressful first day for the returning New Jersey state champ when he needed a takedown in the final 30 seconds to prevail in each of his first two matches. His quarterfinal opponent, Curtis, can relate. Down 4-3 in the final ticks of his round of 16 match, the junior from Ohio shot a single from space and transitioned to a big, physical lift for the takedown and the win. Don’t be surprised if the winner prevails — once again — in the final seconds of this one tomorrow.
144: Matt Repos (Central Dauphin) vs Mayson Harms (Roselle Park)
Repos is a returning Pennsylvania state runner-up. If you already didn’t know he was from Central Dauphin, you will after today. Repos has been putting on a top clinic all day with cross-wrist tilts, a Central Dauphin signature, and has been unscored upon to this point with three technical falls to get to the quarterfinals tomorrow. Harms is on a hot streak of his own, coming off of an upset win over the #2 seed Clayton Gabrielson.
144: #12 Carson Dupill (Greeneville) vs #14 Cameron Catrabone (Williamsville)
Two top 15 nationally ranked guys squaring off in the quarters. Catrabone has looked electric so far as he has three falls on the tournament. Meanwhile Dupill had a bit of a scare in a 1-0 win over Charlie Scanlan in the round of 32. He bounced back strong and picked up an 11-0 major decision in his round of 16 bout. This matchup could be a wild one as both guys will be looking to put up big points.
150: #11 Vincent Bouzakis (Notre Dame - Green Pond) vs Zach Ballante (Paramus Catholic)
This battle between sophomores is truly a tale of two very different tournaments. Notre Dame’s Bouzakis has smashed his way to the quarterfinals by way of a 53-second pin. New Jersey state placer Ballante, meanwhile, needed two one-point victories to advance to this matchup against Bouzakis. Does Bouzakis continue to dominate or can Ballante squeak out a big ranked win? Tune in and find out.
190: #5 Jude Correa (Wyoming Seminary) vs. Justin Griffith (Sanford)
A matchup we could have seen last weekend at Ironman. Correa, a Super 32 champion this fall, did not compete at Ironman while Griffith was sixth. Both of these guys have been on a tear through Day 1. Correa has three first-period falls while Griffith has a major and a 5-0 to the quarters. Expect this match to be an epic one.