High School

Bishop McCort Crushes Wyoming Seminary in High-Stakes Wrestling Showdown

Crushers dominate the Blue Knights in a decisive 37-17 victory, shaking up Pennsylvania’s wrestling rankings and cementing their place as a top contender

Billy Buckheit

Bishop McCort's Keegan Bassett (right) set the tone for his teams 37-17 rout of top-ranked Wyoming Seminary with a 12-4 major decision over Seminary's Wyatt Stauffer at 106.
Bishop McCort's Keegan Bassett (right) set the tone for his teams 37-17 rout of top-ranked Wyoming Seminary with a 12-4 major decision over Seminary's Wyatt Stauffer at 106. / Bishop McCort Wrestling

Wednesday night’s showdown in Kingston, Pennsylvania in the Carpenter Athletic Center between No. 1 Wyoming Seminary and No. 3 Bishop McCort did not have any of the magic in store for it the way the Blue Knights had in their earlier dual with then No. 1 Faith Christian Academy. On this night, sadly for the home team, the mojo was on the side of the Crushers who steamrolled to a 37-17 victory by winning ten of the fourteen matches.

After the excitement of the dual with Faith Christian, fans were hoping to see a similarly engaging affair. Bishop McCort wanted no part of that and instead began dismantling Seminary by winning eight of the first nine, including six straight in the middle of the dual to stick a dagger in the Blue Knights’ hearts.

A PowerAde rematch kicked the slate off at 106 lbs with No. 11 Keegan Bassett stepping on the mat as the favorite for McCort to face No. 12 Wyatt Stauffer, a wrestler he defeated 7-2 in their first encounter. In Pennsylvania, the host school determines the weight classes when the National Prep Tournament teams are involved, so this meeting had the 14 standard NFHS weights as it was hosted by Seminary.

A big throw jolted the Crushers and Bassett out to a 7-0 edge. That set the tone of a match that felt tighter than the 12-4 major decision Bassett claimed. Stauffer escaped after that initial toss and picked up a late first period takedown to end the opener, 7-4. From there, Bassett was selfish with the points.

Another Powerade rematch was next on the card. This time the hosts were the favorite as No. 25 Wyatt Spencer trotted out for them to take on honorable mention Eli Herring, who he downed 6-2 over the Holidays. The first inclination that things were not going to go Seminary’s way came in this match when Herring rode Spener out the entire third period while carrying an 8-5 advantage.

No. 12 Shamus Regan threw a major decision on the board at 120 lbs, 12-2, over Jack Silfies, to get points on the team tally for the hosts, and bring his squad within three of McCort, 7-4.

It was widely believed that Jax Forrest (No. 1 at 132 lbs) was coming down to 126 for this dual. It would be an incredibly strategic move to get Forrest on No. 3 Nathan Desmond, who would likely beat any other Crusher in his vicinity. Desmond was injured during warmups at PowerAde. The extent of that injury and his availability are unknown.

What is also unknow to us is whether both weighed in and at 126, or did Desmond not even step on the scale. Whatever occurred, it led to Forrest remaining at 132 and Austin Carfley coming out at 126 to greet Nikos Filipos. Filipos, if he were their regular starter would be nationally ranked as he placed at Super 32, so he is quite the accomplished backup.

Carfley is a solid freshman but one Filipos was expected to handle somewhat easily. The “It’s why we wrestle the matches” folks were smiling as Carfley showed grit in coming back to score a 5-4 upset win and deflate the home fans with what was the second indicator that the voodoo on this night was favoring the Crushers.  

From there, McCort added to that run and owned the next four weights, what started as a slight 7-4 edge, would grow to a 28-4 ginormous advantage.

Forrest posted a 19-8 major decision over Dale Corbin (No. 27 at 138) at 132 lbs. No. 8 Sam Herring offered the third disheartening result to the Blue Knights at 138 when he rode a free escape to 1-0 win over Matthew Botello (No. 5 at 132). Herring held Botello down the entire second frame. Before the third began, Botello elected to let Herring up instead of trying to equal his rival’s feat.

Matthew Dimen was one of the heroes when Seminary downed Faith Christian. Could he muster some more good vibes for his team or would the Crushers wave of momentum prove to powerful? The wave was too much for Dimen as Jackson Butler won the battle of unranked wrestlers at 144, 4-2.

No. 1 Bo Bassett slid up to 150 where it was possible No. 22 Anthony Evanitsky would be his adversary. Evanitsky has been out with an injury, but he contributed to their win over Faith Christian, so one would not have been surprised to see him in the lineup for this one. Alas, he was not, instead Bassett was up to his usual tricks of overpowering his opponents with a flurry of moves versus Wyatt Fry, with the end result being a 21-5 technical fall.

The fourth and final dagger, and the one that really started to feel painful as the realization of a loss drew near, came at 157 lbs when No. 7 Devon Magro won an exciting overtime extravaganza with No. 5 Vince Bouzakis, another wrestler who has been injured. Their match was filled with highlights and ended with 27 points being scored, 14 of them by Magro to author an upset that left his squad with an almost unsurmountable 24-point lead, 28-4.

Mathematically, Seminary was still in it, but this one felt over long before the math finally said it was.

Jack Chamberlain came out strong for the Blue Knights versus Jayden O’Farrill at 165. Chamberlian not only gained a victory but tacked on one additional bonus point at a time they were badly needed. His 20-10 win left Seminary still needing a miracle that came in the form of three pins and a tech fall.

At 28-8, with four matches to go, four wins like that would equate to a 31-28 win. Of course, all on hand knew the victory would likely be sealed for McCort in the next match at 175. Afterall, Melvin Miller is ranked third in the nation at 165lbs, his opponent was going to be honorable mention Brian Chamberlain.  Miller, who has been prone to wrestling his foes close, was likely jacked up because of the moment and rolled like a machine to a 20-9 major decision and a 32-8 lead that was now safe.

The subdued reaction by McCort to the finality of the win reflected the feeling that this was a foregone conclusion, which was the result of their early dominance. The one-sided win may have contributed to the subtle response as a lot of cheering and excitement accompanied those earlier exploits.

With more to come in the dual, there was little time to celebrate anyhow, three more matches remained to determine the final tally. CJ Pensiero registered the Crushers’ final points as he added five more to the count with a 17-0 tech of Nolan McCarthy.

The Blue Knights ended the night with two wins. The first by No. 1 Jude Correa, who decked Matteo Noronha in 19 seconds at 215. Heavyweight Anderson Palian closed it out with a 3-1 decision over Caleb Rodriguez to leave the final score at 37-17.

For team rankings ramifications, this will push Faith Christian Academy back to the No. 1 spot as they do have the Ironman tournament win over Wyoming Seminary. Bishop McCort has never beaten Faith Christian (FCA won Ironman), so they cannot move ahead of a team they never defeated because of this win. The logical move will leave the new top three as 1) Faith Christian Academy, 2) Bishop McCort, 3) Wyoming Seminary.

Bishop McCort 37, Wyoming Seminary 17

106-Keegan Bassett (BM) maj dec Wyatt Stauffer, 12-4

113-Eli Herring (BM) dec Wyatt Spencer, 8-5

120-Shamus Regan (WS) maj dec Jack Silfies, 12-2

126-Austin Carfley (BM) dec Nikos Filipos, 5-4

132-Jax Forrest (BM) maj dec Dale Corbin, 19-8

138-Sam Herring (BM) dec Matthew Botello, 1-0

144-Jackson Butler dec Matthew Dimen, 4-2

150-Bo Bassett tech fall Wyatt Fry, 21-5

157-Devon Magro (BM) dec Vince Bouzakis, 14-13 TB-1

165-Jack Chamberlain (WS) maj dec Jayden O’Farrill, 20-10

175-Melvin Miller (BM) maj dec Brian Chamberlain, 20-9

190-CJ Pensiero (BM) tech fall Nolan McCarthy

215-Jude Correa (WS) pinned Matteo Noronha, :19

285-Anderson Palian (WS) dec Caleb Rodriguez, 3-1

Published
Billy Buckheit
BILLY BUCKHEIT

Billy Buckheit is a long-time high school wrestling expert and journalist who has been doing the individual national high school wrestling rankings for SBLive Sports since 2022. He also provides coverage a major high school wrestling tournaments throughout the year. Billy previously served as the senior wrestling writer for Varsity Sports Network and the Baltimore Banner. He has also served on the seeding committees for many prestigious regional and national tournaments. In addition, he is the editor of Billy B's Wrestling World, a popular Facebook page dedicated to high school wrestling, and is an editorial contributor for the Maryland State Wrestling Association (MSWA).

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