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285 Pounds - A big win for the home team
December 3rd, 2013 | Written by: Editor
285 Pound Bracket - Spartan Open Index
106 113 120 126 132 138 145 152 160 170 182 195 220 285
 
East Ascension's Karwath is, so far, the odds on wrestler to beat at 285 pounds this year.  Entering the tournament, the senior was 14-0 with championships at the Warrior and Griffin opens, the South Walton "Border Wars" in Destin, Florida, and wins over Jesuit's Dominic Carmello and Brusly's Jo'Vonte Wheeler.  The second seed was Holy Cross Junior Travis Gardner.  Gardner was also undefeated at 4-0, winning the Mandeville Open and the Rummel Junior Varsity Tournament.  Seeded third was St. Louis' Aaron Tanner.  The fourth seed was Walker's Taylor Bowden, followed by Lafayette's Matthew Montalbano at #5.
In the first period the two big men played with upper body control, but Karwath was actually attempting bear hugs.  Gardner backed out of them twice - the first time earning a warning for stalling and the second time giving a point to Karwath, who led 1-0 after two minutes.

Starting on bottom, Karwath immediately grabbed a Peterson hold and, although Gardner fought it off for a while, succeeded in the roll.  Karwath scored two reversal points and three nearfall points with the maneuver, stretching his lead to 6-0.  A little later Karwath tried to force a half-nelson, grabbed a leg in a nearside cradle, and, when Gardner finally turned, let go of the leg to concentrate on finishing the half-nelson.  Karwath scored a fall in 3:01.
Conor Karwath puts Travis Gardner on his back after a Peterson roll.
QUARTERFINALS:
The top four seeds advance to the semifinals with ease.  None of their matches made it past the first period.
SEMIFINALS:
Karwath did not take much time, 1:21 to be exact, to pin fourth seed Taylor Bowden, but the Walker senior made it interesting by shooting a fast and deep double-leg on the #1 seed (photos left).  Gardner was forced to wrestle the entire six minutes against a stubborn Aaron Tanner of St. Louis.  At the end Gardner defeated the third-seeded Tanner 9-0.
CONSOLATIONS:
Comeaux's Jamal Campbell was more than willing to accept third place without a challenge.  His would-be opponent, fifth-seeded Matthew Montalbano of Lafayette, had previously competed in five matches and was ineligible to compete again.

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