Newark, De. — Broad Run High School junior John Birchmeier battled his way through a 45-man bracket to claim the 285-pound Beast of the East title on December 17 at the University of Delaware.
“It feels awesome,” Birchmeier said. “It’s something I’ve been working for for a long time.”
[adrotate banner=”19″]Seeded No. 5 to start the tournament, Birchmeier defeated Lake Highland Prep sophomore Curtis Ruff, 6-0, in the final match to claim the championship.
To get to the championship round, Birchmeier followed his first round bye with a 5-2 win over St. John’s College senior Jalen Dickerson then a 12-5 decision over North Alleghany senior Derek Devine.
Then in the quarterfinal, Birchmeier defeated Brooke Point senior Ramses Montalvo 4-2, setting up a semifinal match with McDonogh senior PJ Mustipher.
“I had a game plan to wrestle my match and to stay offensive and to push the pace the entire match,” Birchmeier said.
Mustipher was no challenge for Birchmeier, who dispatched the tournament’s No. 1 seed 9-4 to earn a spot in the championship match.
“I made my opponent uncomfortable by making him wrestle the way I wanted to wrestle,” Birchmeier said. “That opened up my offense.”
Matches
Birchmeier over Dickerson — 5-2 decision
Birchmeier over Devine — 12-5 decision
Birchmeier over Montalvo — 4-2 decision
Birchmeier over Mustipher — 9-4 decision
Birchmeier over Ruff — 6-0 decision
