Nic Bouzakis at the 2021 Junior WTT's (Photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com)Big news for the Buckeyes today on the recruiting front! As reported on MatScouts "The First Word", Tom Ryan's team has landed the number two overall recruit in the Class of 2022, Nic Bouzakis (Wyoming Seminary, PA). Bouzakis is a Junior World Team member in Greco-Roman and a two-time Super 32 champion. Before going to Junior World's Bouzakis took third in Fargo's Junior Freestyle tournament, while competing at 132 lbs. The last time he was in Fargo, he brought home a stop sign after winning 16U freestyle.
On the scholastic front, Bouzakis was a 2020 National Prep champion for Wyoming Seminary. He did not compete in the open event in 2021. A Florida native originally, Bouzakis captured three state championships before enrolling at Sem. The first two titles came as a seventh and eighth grader, respectively. Bouzakis also made headlines as an eighth-grader when he became the first middle schooler to win a title at the Powerade Invitational.
Bouzakis' commitment now gives the Buckeyes two of the top three wrestlers in the Class of 2022 (alongside #3 Nick Feldman). They also have commitments from in-state products #24 Seth Shumate (Dublin Coffman) and #105 Gavin Brown (Legacy Christian Academy). At the next level, Bouzakis projects as a 133/141 lber. 133, in particular, has been a spot where the Buckeyes have failed to qualify for nationals in each of the last two seasons. Currently, Anthony Echemendia is expected to try and make the weight for the 2021-22 season, but that's probably not a long-term solution.
With Bouzakis' commitment, only #1 Jesse Mendez (Crown Point, IN) and #9 Hunter Garvin (Iowa City West, IA) are still available among top-ten seniors.
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