PA Dapper Dan Team Selected to take on USA
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Pen Argyl Area Mikey Racciatto 3X State Champion. Photo by: Matt Smith The Express Times
The 2013 Pennsylvania Dapper Dan Classic Team has been selected and this years team projects to make it a match against the USA All-Stars.
PA Team Listed Here!
USA Team Listed Here!
Dapper Dan Classic Info Found Here!
Team PA is headlined by…
3X PIAA State Champion Mikey Racciatto (Pen Argyl Area)
3X PIAA State Champion Cody Wiercioch (Canon-McMillan)
2X State Champion Zain Retherford (Benton Area)
2X State Champion Darian Cruz (Bethlehem Catholic)
2X National Prep Champion Eric Morris (Wyoming Seminary)
2X State Champion Connor Schram (Canon-McMillan)
4X State Champion Ryan Diehl (Trinity – Camp Hill)
2X State Champion Ryan Solomon (Milton Area)
Team USA is full of the Nation’s top seniors and should be favored to win at least 10 of the 13 matches. At 120 lbs. seniors Darian Cruz (Bethlehem Catholic) and Nathan Tomasello (Cuyahoga Valley Christian, Ohio) are two of the top wrestlers in the Nation with Tomasello being ranked #1 in the Nation by Intermat at 120 lbs. while Cruz comes in ranked #3. The two both wrestled in this season’s Beast of the East Tournament in Delaware but they did not meet as Tomasello won the Championship at 120 lbs. and Cruz finished in third losing to the runner-up in the semi-finals. At 126 lbs. Nationally #1 ranked Joey Dance (Christiansburg, VA) will take on Nationally #3 ranked Connor Schram (Canon-McMillan) in what predicts to be an entertaining bout. Dance won the Beast of the East this season by defeating Ryan Dihel (Trinity – Camp Hill) who will be competing at 132 lbs. in for team PA in the Dapper Dan. Dance defeated Diehl (9-7 OT) while his opponent Schram defeated Diehl at the POWERade Tournament by a score of (3-1).
At 138 lbs. PA’s Zain Retherford comes in National #1 ranked just in front of his opponent Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield, NJ) who is National #2 ranked and is undefeated in his career at (170-0). If tat wasn’t enough at 145 lbs. Team USA is represented by Ben Whitford (St. Johns, Michigan) who is (165-1) in his career and Nationally ranked #1 at 145 lbs. His opponent, Mikey Racciatto (Pen Argyl Arear) is ranked Nationally #5 and will be wrestling at his future home mat as the senior will attend the University of Pittsburgh in the Fall.
At 285 lbs. heavyweights Brooks Black (Blair Academy, NJ), who grew up in Pennsylvania, will have a re-match with Nazareth Area’s Aaron Bradley. The two faced each other in the finals of this season’s Beast of the East Tournament with Brooks Black coming away with the tight victory (2-1 in TB).[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]