Northmont senior Jesse Walker was enjoying a great 2009 high school wrestling season.

Coming off a junior campaign in which he placed at state, he finally entered the Greater Miami Valley Wrestling Association’s Holiday Tournament as the top seed at 130.

Walker didn’t get to enjoy being the top seed for long. His opponent in a rat tail matchup was Graham freshman Bo Jordan. The tournament didn’t seed freshmen, but Jordan looked like the top seed the rest, recording pins and technical falls all the way to the title. Walker battled back through eight grueling consolation rounds to finish third for the third straight year.

Last season, the 106 bracket took a beating thanks to unseeded freshmen Matthew Kolodzik of Miami Valley defeating classmate Jarred Ganger of Troy Christian in the finals. Bellbrook’s Cameron Kelly was third and Michael May of Eaton sixth, making four freshmen in the top six.

“Walker was pretty good, it was an unfortunate draw,” said Butler coach Mark Peck, one of the mainstays in organizing the Holiday tournament. “We got the idea of trying to at least separate the top freshmen from a seed until the quarters or semis, but we are not going to seed a freshman ahead of a returning state finalist.”

Peck asked coaches if they were interested in seeing freshmen seeded in the tournament.

“They liked the idea of separating the top freshmen and seeding them, but wanted it done on an individual basis,” Peck said. “It would not be fair to make it a blanket criteria for all freshmen.”

For the first time, the Holiday will seed freshmen. The tournament kicks off today at 11 a.m. at the Nutter Center.

To be eligible for seeding, freshmen had to place in the top three at the junior high state tournament or finish as an All-American at nationals in Fargo, N.D. Freshmen will then enter the seed list on the criteria as if they were a state alternate in high school last year.

Graham freshman Alex Marinelli is a two-time junior high state champ. Unseeded, he was second at the recent Ironman at Walsh Jesuit.

“He is the primo freshman coming in,” Peck said. “It will be interesting to see where he will be with some of the other 152 pounders in the field.”