Collins Hill to face nation's best at Final Four

By Brandon Brigman
GNWA Correspondent

Collins Hill coach Cliff Ramos has heard all the talk about his Eagles wrestling the nation's No. 1 team.

But Ramos is adamant that Saturday's tournament at the 9th annual Final Four of High School Wrestling Championships is not about just wrestling top-ranked Blair Academy (N.J.).

"A lot of people don't realize it's not about Blair," Ramos said.

Ramos feels like the Eagles' first-round match against No. 24-ranked Long Branch (N.J.) would be bigger for the program.

"If we win that dual, that would be the biggest win for a Georgia team ever," Ramos said. "I'm not even concerned about Blair because no one is going to touch Blair."

Ramos did concede the novelty of wrestling the nation's No. 1 team was pretty thrilling for his program.

“That is cool,” Ramos said. “We won’t back down. It’s a little different though. They would beat a lot of small college teams.”

Blair, the No. 1 ranked team by Amateur Wrestling News, features seven wrestlers nationally ranked, including three of the country’s No. 1 wrestlers.

“Blair has a good shot of shutting out everyone,” Ramos said. “If we could win two or three matches I would be overjoyed."

No. 14 Collins Hill does not have any wrestlers ranked by AWN, but does feature college signees Joel Smith (Arizona State), T.J. Mitchell (Virginia Tech) and C.J. Collins (Fort Hays State).

"I have watched them thanks to Flo wrestling," Blair Academy coach Jeff Buxton said. "They have a solid team. I like their 112, 125, 215 and 145 and we're going to try and match our best with their's. They have 14 solid kids on their team. We've prepared a lot for them just like we have for all the teams."

The eight-team tournament features five teams that are nationally ranked. Along with Blair Academy and Collins Hill, No. 19 Bishop Lynch (Texas), No. 21 High Point (Pa.) and No. 24 Long Branch (Pa.), Benton
(Pa.), Easton (Pa.) and Franklin (Ma.) are in the tournament.

Collins Hill has traveled a national schedule this season, winning the Toshiba Midwest Classic in Kansas City and placing second at the Powerade Invitational. The Eagles lost to No. 4 Brandon (Fla.) by 10
points in a dual last month.

“We went to Kansas City and that was tough. We went to Powerade and that was really tough. This is another level,” Ramos said.

Collins Hill has been one of the top teams in Georgia over the last 10 years. That in-state success and recent national exposure is what attracted the Final Four to invite the Eagles.

"We look at rankings, rosters and who's coming back," said Bob Ferraro, the Executive Director of the National High School Coaches Association. "Collins Hill is a team that has been good for a long time, not just the last two years. They are always on the radar when you look at the top teams across the country.
"They're on the national radar the last few years and are deserving to be invited."

The Final Four begins Saturday at 11 a.m. All of the matches will be aired live on the NHSCA.com Web site. The finals will be televised on DirecTV and Dish Network on Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. and on America One affiliates Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. The following are Georgia television stations scheduled to show the finals according to NHSCA.com.

CSS Atlanta GA
W35BB Dublin GA
WBEK Augusta GA
WCGT Columbus GA
WMGR Bainbridge GA
WNEG Toccoa GA
WSST Cordele GA

Here's some other comments from the teleconference the NHSCA held with coaches from the Final Four.

Ramos on competing in the Final Four
"We're really looking forward to it. There's not a lot of strong teams in this part of the country, so we need to face some teams that are as good or better than us and I think we will. We're looking forward to it."

Buxton on if he feels any extra pressure of being No. 1
"No, not really. What I try to do is put them against great competition to make them better and this is certainly one of those events. We don't talk about it much. Our goal is to get better each week and
produce 14 prep national champions."

Buxton on Collins Hill
"Collins Hill is a little like Highpoint and wrestle similar on top. I'm excited about wrestling them."


SCHEDULE
11 a.m.
Mat 1: Blair Academy vs. Benton High School
Mat 2: Collins Hill High School vs. Long Branch High School
Mat 3: Bishop Lynch High School vs. Franklin
 
1 p.m.
Mat 1 - Easton vs. High Point
Mat 2 - Blair vs. Collins Hill
Mat 3 - Benton vs. Long Branch

3 p.m.
Mat 1 - Bishop Lynch vs. Easton
Mat 2 - Franklin vs. High Point
Mat 3 - Blair vs. Long Branch

5 p.m.
Mat 1 - Benton vs. Collins Hill
Mat 2 - Bishop Lynch vs. High Point
Mat 3 - Franklin vs. Easton
 
7 p.m.
Mat 1 - NJ Team (Blair, High Point or Long Branch) vs. Phillipsburg (NJ)
Mat 2 - Pool winner A vs. B
Mat 3 - Pool A vs. Pool B (one team from each pool)