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Michigan dominates FloNationals behind 4 Champs, 21 Placers

Massa downs Luster in battle of nation's top sophomores, Rodriguez crushes #1 ranked wrestler

FloNational Coverage Section

3/28 - The state of Michigan crowned 4 champions today at the first ever

FloNationals. Freddie Rodriguez (103), Conor Youtsey (119), Taylor

Massa (152), and Devin Pommerenke (285) all won their respective

weights.

The tournament staff rearranged the order of the Finals matches, as

opposed to running them in weight class order. They set it up so that

Taylor Massa's final match was the featured match of the night.

Massa, ranked 3rd nationally at 152lbs by InterMat, squared off with

#6 ranked Jason Luster of PA in a battle of arguably the nation's top two

sophomores.

Luster came out firing as he scored two first period takedowns on

Massa for an early lead, however, the 2x state champion came roaring

back as he used a constant, high paced attack to wear Luster down and

take the lead in the 3rd period before going on to a 9-6 win and FloNational Title.

"He got two right off the bat and I was just thinking I knew he would get tired and that would take a lot out of him so I could come back and get it done," said Massa, "It (him getting tired) brings my wind back - like taking it from him and giving it to me, I was just like 'Ok hes getting tired, its kill time now."

Freddie Rodriguez's 103lb match also a highly touted matchup as the 2x state champ s

quared off with the current #1 ranked 103lber in the country, Cody Phillips of Indiana

who is also a 2x state champ who has yet to lose in his prep career. The match,

however, was not nearly as closely contested as many would have anticipated.

Rodriguez was dominant from the start as he took an early lead that he would never

surrender. In the second period, the Holt sophomore started cutting Phillips loose

and really racking up some points before catching him on his back and sealing the

deal with a fall in the 3rd period.

"I didn't expect to be this dominant but I knew if just always attack, attack, attack

and go after him I would be somewhat dominant but not this good," said Rodriguez

following his big finals win. Rodriguez made a statement on the weekend as he

stormed through the bracket with a three falls, a tech-fall, and a 15-6 major decision.

He knocked off two ranked wrestlers, #1 Phillips as well as #18 Kevon Powell of

Illinois in the semifinals.

Mason junior Conor Youtsey lived up to his #1 seed as he won the 119lb title without

surrendering an offensive point on the weekend. The 2x state champ knocked off 3x West Virginia state champ Josh Fisher 5-2 in the finals to cap off a weekend in which he outscored his four opponents 30-6.

Devin Pommerenke's FloNational title came in similiar fashion to his Division 4 state title earlier this month as Pommerenke pinned his way through the bracket, just as he did in Auburn Hills. The Rogers City junior capped off his tournament with a 2nd period fall over PA state qualifier Jeff Tarley in the finals.

Michigan's overall showing as a state was eye-catching as our 4 individual

champions was more than any other state, and a total of 21 Michiganders

placed in the top 8 in their respective weights.

St Johns sophomore Jordan Wohflert lost a close 3-1 decision to Indiana

state champ Eric Roach in the 145lb finals to finish runner-up. Wohflert, who

was the #2 seed, picked up a dominant semifinals win over Nebraska state

champ Chase White 9-5.

3 of the top 4 finishers at 145lbs hailed from Michigan as Tony Burge of

Mason edged Lowell's Andrew Morse in the consolation finals in a battle of

State Runners-Up. Burge lost his opening round match in a double overtime

war with eventual champ Roach, then stormed back through the consolation

bracket, rattling off six straight wins, including a victories over White and

Morse, to finish 3rd.

2x state champ Roger Wildmo of Durand lost 13-6 to 8th ranked Nick

Dardanes of Illinois in the semifinals, before bouncing back with two impressive victories to finish 3rd. Wildmo scored a fall over returning NHSCA Junior National Champion Vinny Fava of New Jersey and then knocked off top seed Jake Sueflohn of Wisconsin 6-2, who is currently ranked 4th in the country at 135lbs.

Lowell sophomore Gabe Dean also bounced back from a

semifinal loss to finish 3rd. Dean fell to #3 ranked

Morgan McIntosh, who went on to win the title and was

named Outstanding Wrestler, 13-7 in the semifinals. The

Division 1 state runner up then won his last two matches

to finish 3rd at 189lbs, including a 6-4 finals win over

California state placer Preston Quam.

Another notable performance of note that may go

unnoticed by many is that of Kevin Beazley, who finished

5th at 152lbs. Beazley lost his 2nd round match to

Indiana state champ Sam Bennett, however, the

Farmington Hills Harrison sophomore then battled back to

the placing rounds with two wins over nationally

recognized wrestlers. Beazley first knocked off #2 seed

Seth Thomas of Oregon 11-10. Thomas is ranked 15th

by InterMat at 145lbs, is a 3x state champ and multiple

Fargo All-American. Beazley, who was 7th in the Michigan State Tournament this year, then knocked off Pennsylvania state champ and University of Pittsburgh recruit Jordan Moss 14-10 to get into the top 6.

Read below for a full listing of Michigan's placers. Click below for brackets. Click below to check out all the videos from the FloNationals.

FloNationals Brackets

MI Grappler's FloNationals Video Page

Michigan Placewinners

103 - Freddie Rodriguez (Holt), 1st

119 - Conor Youtsey (Mason), 1st

119 - Nick Smith (Ida), 5th

119 - Buddy Poyner (Lake Fenton), 8th

130 - Leon Shannon (Wyandotte), 7th

135 - Roger Wildmo (Durand), 3rd

140 - Dakota Cooley (Chelsea), 7th

140 - Brian Gibbs (Bedford), 8th