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Thursday & Friday, December 30th & 31st, 2004
University Center Rochester Field House
Clash Action Photos - photos
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The Clash III 2004 Runners-Up - Owatonna.
Clash III Final results
The Clash III closed the same way it began with a bang! Overall champion Carl Sandburg, IL was awarded the championship after finishing in a tie with Owatonna, MN with a session record two wins and one loss. Tie breaking criteria of head-to-head competition broke the tie as Carl Sandburg beat Owatonna by a score of 31-18 earlier in the session. Carl Sandburg finished the tournament with a 5-1 overall record, as did Owatonna. Wasatch ended the tournament in third place of division 1 finishing 1-2 on the day. Again head-to-head tiebreaker criteria were used to determine 3rd and 4th place. Wisconsin Rapids looked very tough, but just did not have enough and finished in 4th place with a 4-2 overall record.
Apple Valley recovered their loss from yesterday; which broke their consecutive win streak at 199 over Minnesota schools and finished the session at 3-0. With two wins over Minnesota schools today, their current streak stands at two. Apple Valley finishes in first place for division 2 with an overall 5-1 record, while a very strong St. Michael, MN team took second with a 2-1 session record and an overall 4-2 record. The two teams will be the favorites to win their respective classes in the Minnesota state tournament. Rounding out the division in 3rd place is Albert Lea, MN with a 1-2 session record; overall 3-3 and Lake Stevens, WA finished 4th with an 0-3 record for the session and 2-4 overall.
The division 3 crown went to Glenbard North, IL as they defeated Vacaville, CA in their last match of the day 42-22. Glenbard finished the session 3-0 and a tournament won-loss record of 5-1. Glenbard, which has the only woman wrestler in The Clash Caitlin Chase at 103, came back strong in the final day to claim their crown. Finishing second in the division is Omaha Skutt with a strong second day record of 2-1 and overall 4-2. Pierz ended the day 1-2 for a tournament total of three wins and three losses. Vacaville, CA had a disappointing day going 0-3 for an overall record of 2-4 and a fourth place finish in this division.
In division 4 Sedro Woolley, WA finished the session at 3-0 and an overall 4-2 to claim the division crown. Taking the second place position is Simley, MN with a 2-1 record for the day; overall record of 3-3. Third place went to Class A Frazee, MN with a session record of 1-2 and a tournament record of 2-4. Finally, Hastings, MN finished the day with an 0-3 record for a tournament record of 1-5.
This tournament turned out to be one of the closest Clash battles ever. Carl Sandburg in its first trip to The Clash, found a little good luck in Owatonna. A loss by Owatonna to Wisconsin Rapids would have handed the championship to Rapids, relegating Sandburg to a 4th place finish.
Next year's Clash will be held at approximately the same time and place next year. Many of the top finishers are expected to return to battle it out.
The participants in Divisions 5-8 completed their matches to crown champions in four divisions. Adrian, MN claimed victory in Division 5 with a final round 46-19 victory over Grand Meadow, MN ending up with a final day record of 3-0 and overall tournament record of 5-1. Adrian had a strong showing with victories over Minnesota ranked teams Litchfield, Grand Meadow, and Omaha Gross.
Coon Rapids, MN won their final match to claim the championship in Division 6 with a 40-27 victory over Winner, SD, finishing with a final day record of 2-1 and a tournament total of 4 victories in 6 matches. This division was close as two teams finished with 2-1 records on the day and each secured a 3-3 overall record. Coon Rapids won the championship based upon head-to-head competition.
Omaha Burke powered to a final victory over Lodi, WI 47-24 to claim the crown in Division 7 with a session record of 3-0. Omaha completed the two-day tournament with an overall record of 4-2. Also competing in this division was Omaha Gross finishing with a 0-3 record today and overall 1-5. Later today another Omaha team, Omaha Skutt will be competing in Division 3 to complete the competition for the three Omaha schools that attended The Clash.
Rochester (MN) Mayo wrapped up the Division 8 crown with a razor-thin victory over Minot, ND. The match ended in a 36-36 tie as Minot forfeited the heavyweight match after recording a fall in the 215 # match. Mayo then was awarded the match on tiebreaker criteria. Both Mayo and Minot will travel home with the respect of wrestling fans from around the country as they fought hard and gutted it out in their match. Mayo ended the tournament 3-3.
Today's action has been fierce as teams from all over the U.S. wrestled hard while continuing to fight off jet lag; well at least some of the teams are fighting the effects of travel. Teams from Higley, AZ, Hayfield, VA, and El Modeno, CA all competed in early round action. Then there are the teams that counted their travel in minutes rather than in hours or days, as Division 5 was made up of Minnesota teams in close proximity to each other. Adrian, Litchfield, Grand Meadow, and Goodhue were matched together for their round-robin bracket.
In earlier action in Division 5, which boasts the shortest distance that teams had to travel to face each other, Adrian, MN #2 (MN AA) outdistanced Litchfield, MN, #6 (MN AA) 40-21 and Grand Meadow, MN put away Goodhue, MN early winning 41-15.
Championship matches begin 4:00 p.m. with the teams competing in Divisions 1-4. Many of the teams are nationally ranked, including Wasatch, UT, Carl Sandburg, IL, Wisconsin Rapids, WI, Owatonna, MN and others. A number of the individual wrestlers are still in contention for the outstanding wrestler award with many great match ups scheduled for this round.
The first day of action at The Clash III is now in the books. While many seeds held to form beating whomever came up against them; others did not fare as well. Apple Valley, MN saw their 199 match win streak over Minnesota schools come to an end at the hands of Owatonna, MN 40-24. Owatonna recorded five pins along the way.
Simley, MN failed to defend their Bracket number 2 seed by losing two matches during the day falling to Omaha Skutt and Lake Stevens, WA.
Carl Sandburg, IL showed their strength by overpowering Albert Lea, MN 48-7. Sandburg took an early lead and never looked back in the contest. Sandburg next faces Owatonna in a Division 1 match on Friday morning. Two state favorites from Minnesota will meet in Division 2 in the opening match featuring Apple Valley and Albert Lea. In a battle for pride, Higley, AZ will face Rochester Mayo (MN) with both teams desperately searching for their first win of the tournament.
Two teams that participated in Clash II greatly improved their standing with strong performances on the day. Wisconsin Rapids now finds itself in the Division 1 bracket while Vacaville, CA improved from a Bracket 7 position in Clash II to tomorrow's Bracket 3. Many wrestlers put in outstanding individual performances to help lead their teams. A few of the outstanding undefeated wrestlers include Cyler Sanderson of Wasatch (UT), Richard Fessler of Apple Valley, and Russell Smith of Owatonna. In a fiery match up Wisconsin's top ranked 103# Josh Chappa from Wisconsin Rapids fell to #1 Ranked (Class AA) Collin Pitts of Caledonia, MN 13-8. Pitts went 3-0 on the day.
In another hotly contested individual match, heavyweight Dallin Norton #1 (Utah) of Wasatch won by fall over top ranked (WA) and previously unbeaten Clinton Osborn of Lake Stevens. The match was very close at 3-1 in the second period when the fall occurred. Norton stayed unbeaten on the day with three falls. Another undefeated wrestler for the day is Adam Klonowski at 152 pounds for Wisconsin Rapids recording a pin, tech-fall and a major decision.
Several key match ups are slated for tomorrow's final action. Division 1 match ups include #8 nationally ranked Wasatch will face #33 Wisconsin Rapids. Also in Division 1 #20 Carl Sandburg will lock horns with #25 Owatonna.
In results from the third round of the afternoon session: GMLOK defeated Coon Rapids 47-15 in a battle of two Minnesota teams; Caledonia, MN topped Higley, AZ 58-22; Goodhue was a 57-13 winner over El Modena, CA; Minot, ND suffered a 42-22 setback at the hands of Lodi, WI; Frazee fell short 36-25 to Pierz in another clash featuring Minnesota squads; Vacaville handled a challenge from fellow California team Sedro Wolley with a 41-27 triumph; Sandburg thumped Albert Lea 48-7 and in the last match Wisconsin Rapids beat a feisty St. Michael, MN team 32-26.
Clash III opened on schedule and as expected the top seeds held serve in the first round of the morning session with many overpowering their opponents. Top-ranked teams from around the nation have traveled to Rochester, MN to lay it on the line in their quest to emerge as The Clash III champion. This year's teams are hoping to follow in the footsteps of Clash II champion Apple Valley, MN and the inaugural champ Glenbard North, IL who accomplished the feat two years ago.
Second-round action heated up much like the temperatures in Rochester that are expected to reach nearly 50 degrees. Fans attending Clash III are being treated to great wrestling and unseasonably warm temperatures.
In round 1 of session 1, all of the top seeds won their respective matches, including #8 nationally ranked Wasatch, Utah, #12 Apple Valley, #25 Owatonna, and #35 Simley. Simley faced one of the toughest challenges in the morning session as they squared off with Omaha Burke, NE. The match remained tied at 15 apiece after seven matches, but Simley's strength in the upper weights allowed them to take command coming down the stretch with a 43-21 triumph.
Bracket A results saw Apple Valley manufacture a 48-12 victory over Gross Catholic, NE; Owatonna was a 75-3 winner over Hayfield, VA; Hastings topped Winner, SD 50-24; and Glenbard North turned back Adrian in a 39-14 contest.
In Bracket B, Wasatch, UT topped Rochester Mayo by a 73-6 margin; Simley handed Omaha Burke, NE a 43-21 setback; Omaha-Skutt downed Litchfield 46-18; and Lake Stevens, WA defeated Stewartville 52-12.
One surprise emerged from the second round of morning wrestling action at The Clash III in Rochester, MN. Lake Stevens, WA (#3 seed in Bracket B) upset Simley (seeded second in the bracket) by a 37-22 margin. All the other higher seeds held, including defending Clash champion Apple Valley with a narrow 35-30 triumph over Glenbard North of Illinois.
In other winner's matches, Owatonna bombarded Hastings 63-3 in Bracket A and Wasatch topped Omaha-Skutt 37-26 in Bracket B. In the final round of the morning session, Apple Valley in their quest to reach consecutive win 200 over Minnesota schools ran into buzz-saw Owatonna, MN. Owatonna sped to a 40-21 victory fueled by a strong performance in the lower weights and #1 ranked 171 pounder Russell Smith. Owatonna put an end to one of the great winning streaks in any sport in Minnesota. Owatonna will join Wasatch High from Heber City, UT in the Division 1 bracket along with 3-0 winners from the afternoon session. Apple Valley, MN and Lake Stevens, WA will be placed into the Division 2 bracket. Glenbard North made short work of Hastings, MN and secured a spot in Division 3 along with Omaha Skutt who beat Simley 43-19. Hastings and Simley will both go to Division 4.
In other action, Adrian, MN defeated Winner, SD 50-24 and Litchfield, MN topped Stewartville, MN 39-28 and both winners are headed to Division 5 for tomorrow's action. Winner and Stewartville will both go into Division 6. Omaha Gross defeated Hayfield, VA 47-25, while Omaha Burke, manhandled Rochester Mayo, MN by a 43-16 margin, sending both Omaha teams to Division 7. Mayo and Hayfield will compete in Division 8.
Afternoon competition begins at 4:00 p.m. today with Sedro Woolley, WA taking on Grand Meadow, MN and Pierz, MN facing off against El Modena, CA. Also in action yet today will be top seeds St. Michael, MN and Carl Sandburg, IL. Lodi, WI, winner of Division 3 in Clash II will square off with Frazee, MN also in the afternoon session.
The results of the afternoon session will determine the remaining participants in each of the eight divisions for Friday's final rounds of competition. Action will be begin at 9:00 a.m. Friday with each team wrestling three matches.
December 29, 2004
The Clash III is nearly underway. With just over 24 hours till the opening match the excitement continues to build as teams from around the nation gather in Rochester, MN to begin the third annual Clash National High School Wrestling Duals.
With many nationally top ranked teams, this is the strongest contingent of teams to participate in the tournament. The wrestlers are not only talented athletically, but also academically as shown by the applications received for the Wellstone Scholar/Athlete award, named in the memory of former U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone.
14 Wrestlers have been chosen for the award based upon their academics, community involvement and athletic performance. The Clash III organizing committee would like to extend its congratulations to the fine athletes that were chosen for this prestigious award and encourage them to raise the bar even higher for those that follow. They are to be commended for their community, church and school involvement as well.