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When thinking of a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup, those are usually set for a big city in California or in the southern part of the United States.
Friday night, it will be in the backyard of Northeastern Pennsylvania. All eyes will be on Kingston when the top two-ranked high school wrestling teams in the country square off at the Carpenter Athletic Center, where No. 2 Wyoming Seminary will host rival No. 1 Blair Academy at 7 p.m. To top that off, admission is free.
“It’s a great event for the area,” Sem coach Scott Green said. “You don’t get an opportunity in the area in any other sport to see No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the country, and we’re happy to be a part of that and to bring that type of competition to the area.”
This is the sixth straight year that the two have met in a dual. For the last five, they have rotated home sites. The first year, 2014, the site was the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex, won by Blair by three points when it was ranked No. 1 and Sem was No. 3.
The next year, Sem hosted while being ranked No. 4 and topped the top-ranked Buccaneers by 19 points. Once the dual was officially in hand, Blair forfeited the final several bouts and got booed out of the raucous gymnasium.
The only other time both squads were ranked first and second came in 2016 at Blair’s building in New Jersey. The Blue Knights were ranked first and fell by 15 points. In 2017, the series continued in Kingston with Sem winning in the final bout as the third-ranked team to knock off the No. 1 Buccaneers.
With an electric crowd expected once again, Green said his team will be ready to feed off that energy.
“When you look at this rivalry the last four years, it’s gone to the home team and the last three years, the away team was No. 1 in the country,” he said. “So yes, the home crowd was a factor. When you think back to some of our wins the last few years, the crowd has really played a factor and the kids have played off that emotion.”
A total of 17 nationally ranked wrestlers are expected to participate in the match, with two highly-anticipated rematches likely to take place.
There could be as many as seven bouts pitting nationally-ranked athletes against one another.
At 132, Wyoming Seminary’s Beau Bartlett (No. 7) should see the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the country in the weight in Shayne Van Ness, who topped Bartlett at the Beat of the East. Another interesting bout to watch is at 220 where Blair’s Owen Trephan (No. 2) will face Jake Kaminski (No. 9). The two squared off in the Ironman Tournament semifinals last month with Trephan winning in overtime.
“Beau has always been a sparkplug for us in this dual. So we’re looking to see if he made the adjustments,” Green added. “Jake and Owen was an incredible semi match at the Ironman, so we’re looking forward to seeing that too.”
Adding more accolades to the talent pool, Wyoming Seminary currently has 10 Division 1 recruits on its roster, while Blair Academy has seven that are ranked nationally.
No. 1 Blair Academy at No. 2 Wyoming Seminary
7 p.m. Friday
Carpenter Athletic Center, Kingston
Nationally-ranked wrestlers
According to InterMat
106: Daniel Wask, Blair Academy (No. 20)
113: Troy Spratley, Wyoming Seminary (No. 6); Ryan Miller, Blair Academy (No. 8)
120: Trevor Mastrogiovanni, Blair Academy (No. 5); Lachlan McNeil, Wyoming Seminary (No. 9)
126: Michael Colaiocco, Blair Academy (No. 2); Drew Munch, Wyoming Seminary (No. 14)
132: Shayne Van Ness, Blair Academy (No. 1); Beau Bartlett, Wyoming Seminary (No. 7)
138: Travis Mastrogiovanni, Blair Academy (No. 5); Jonathan Miers, Wyoming Seminary (No. 8)
160: Domonic Mata, Blair Academy (No. 16)
170: Julian Ramirez, Blair Academy (No. 2)
182: Darrien Roberts, Wyoming Seminary (No. 8); Peyton Craft, Blair Academy (No. 14)
220: Owen Trephan, Blair Academy (No. 2); Jacob Kaminski, Wyoming Seminary (No. 9)
Wyoming Seminary vs. Blair Academy
Series history
2014: No. 1 Blair Academy 27, No. 3 Wyoming Seminary 24
*2015: No. 4 Wyoming Seminary 39, No. 1 Blair Academy 20
2016: No. 2 Blair Academy 35, No. 1 Wyoming Seminary 20
*2017: No. 3 Wyoming Seminary 31, No. 1 Blair Academy 27
2018: No. 1 Blair Academy 37, No. 2 Wyoming Seminary 24
*held at Wyoming Seminary