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    A look at 10 incoming freshmen to watch in 2011-12

    Every high school wrestling season there are freshmen who turn heads and prove that age does not matter. This past season there were several freshmen across the country who burst onto the high school wrestling scene and not only captured state championships, but showed they could compete with the nation's best high school wrestlers. Names like Chance Marsteller and Kyle Snyder immediately come to mind.

    Marsteller won the POWERade and finished his freshman season as an undefeated state champion in Pennsylvania. Snyder, a 215-pounder from Maryland, went a perfect 55-0, did not surrender a takedown all season, and won the Beast of the East, Mount Mat Madness, and National Preps.

    So who will the breakout freshmen be in 2011-12? Below is a list of 10 incoming freshmen to watch.

    Please note: This is not an all-inclusive list or ranking of the nation's top freshmen in 2011-12, but merely a sampling of names to watch.

    Fox Baldwin
    High School: Osceola, Florida
    Projected Weight Class: 132/138

    Fox Baldwin
    About Baldwin: Baldwin has already put together a very impressive high school wrestling resume before even beginning his freshman season. In his sixth, seventh, and eighth grade seasons, Baldwin compiled a high school record of 180-15 and placed three times at the state tournament. He was a high school state champion this past season at 119 pounds, going 61-2 with 53 pins. Baldwin holds national high school records for most wins before ninth grade (180) and most pins before ninth grade (131), both records his brother Pete previously held. He wrestled for Lake Highland Prep the last three seasons, but will be wrestling for Osceola in 2011-12. This spring Baldwin placed fifth at FloNationals and won a Brute adidas Nationals title.

    Osceola coach Jim Bird on Baldwin: "Fox is ahead of where his two-time state champ, record-setting brother Pete was at this age. He is a better athlete, has more refined skills from his feet, and almost as good on top. He will be fun to watch when he grows some muscles to go along with his technique. Maybe Fox can be the next breakout freshman at POWERade this year."

    Zahid Valencia
    High School: St. John Bosco, California
    Projected Weight Class: 126

    Zahid Valencia
    About Valencia: Valencia's pre-high school production has many California wrestling aficionados believing that he is about to make a big splash in the Golden State as a freshman, much like Eric Guerrero, Stephen Abas, Darrell Vasquez, and Alex Cisneros did before him. Valencia has already made waves in some national high school wrestling events. He placed fifth at FloNationals in 2010 as a seventh-grader at 103 pounds. This past season, Valencia won the NUWAY Southwest Kickoff Classic as an eighth-grader at 115 pounds, beating Junior National freestyle champion Ruben Navejas in the finals. He has wins throughout his career over many of the nation's best, including Nathan Tomasello, Mark Hall, Bryce Brill, Isaiah Martinez, Dom Malone, Brandon Sorenson, and Gary Wayne Harding. Valencia is a four-time Trinity Award winner who been dominating national events for several years. His brother Anthony is also a multiple-time national champion and an incoming freshman to keep an eye on.

    St. John Bosco coach Omar Delgado on Valencia: "Zahid is the hardest working young man I have ever had the pleasure of coaching. He is completely dedicated to his academic and wrestling goals. Zahid always shows up a half hour before practice and will read a book or complete his homework for the day. He trains twice a day every day unless he is competing in a tournament. Zahid absolutely loves the sport of wrestling and I know that his father Ruben has never had to tell him to get ready for practice because Zahid looks forward to practice and competition more so than any other boy I have ever coached. Zahid has big dreams and with his work ethic I know Zahid can make those dreams come true."

    Sammy Krivus
    High School: Hempfield Area, Pennsylvania
    Projected Weight Class: 106/113

    Sammy Krivus
    About Krivus: The Keystone State is loaded with talented incoming freshmen and Krivus is at or near the top of the list, along with Franklin Regional's tremendous trio of Michael Kemerer, Josh Maruca, and Josh Shields. Krivus went a perfect 59-0 this season and captured his third PJW state title in four years. He has been in the PJW state finals every year since 2007, with his only two PJW state losses coming to Jason Nolf during that span. He had three wins this past season over Fredy Stroker, another nationally-ranked junior high wrestler, including a 1-0 victory in the PJW state quarterfinals. Krivus has won several national events, including the Super 32 Challenge (middle school division), Northeast Nationals twice, Philo Electric Invitational, and War at the South Jersey Shore. Krivus is very solid on his feet. He's always on the attack and is tough to score on. Krivus is also a bear on the mat. He is expected to start the season at 113 pounds before dropping to 106 pounds.

    Hempfield Area coach Vince DeAugustine on Krivus: "Sammy probably has the most natural ability that I've seen in a long time, combined with an incredible work ethic. He was born to wrestle. If he continues to buy into the philosophy that I preach to him, the sky is definitely the limit for him."

    Ke-Shawn Hayes
    High School: Park Hill, Missouri
    Projected Weight Class: 106

    Ke-Shawn Hayes
    About Hayes: Hayes will be stepping into a solid lineup at Park Hill, a program that has won two Missouri Class 4 titles in the last three seasons. He should be in the mix to win a state championship as a freshman at 106 pounds. Hayes is a two-time Trinity Award winner, two-time Tulsa Nationals champion, five-time Cliff Keen Tulsa Kickoff Classic champion, two-time Reno Worlds champion, and four-time Liberty Nationals champion. Hayes has won 15 state championships in folkstyle, freestyle, and Greco-Roman.

    Park Hill coach Jason Keck on Hayes: "One of the things that sets Ke-Shawn apart from others is his maturity at a young age. Everybody matures at a different rate, but he's one of those guys that gets it early on. That's one of his biggest assets, just having the maturity level to know what it takes to be the best. And then not only recognizing it, but then actually going out and consistently doing it. A lot of kids know what it takes, but it's hard to do, not only from a physical standpoint, but a mental standpoint. Ke-Shawn is one of those kids that is mentally mature enough to realize that and not make any excuses ... just go and get it done."

    Michael Johnson Jr.
    High School: TBD
    Projected Weight Class: 285

    Michael Johnson Jr.
    About Johnson: Standing 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighing 280 pounds, Johnson is a monster of an incoming freshman. He has won everything under the sun as a youth wrestler, including, two USAW Triple Crowns, four IL/USAW Triple Crowns, Ultimate Dominator Award twice, Tulsa Nationals multiple times, and many other national events. He has twice been named TheMat.com Athlete of the Week for his achievements. Last year he hurt his shoulder at Cadet National Duals, which prevented him from wrestling in Fargo. He is expected to make his Fargo debut this summer. Johnson is also a former swimmer and weightlifting national champion.

    Montini Catholic coach Israel Martinez on Johnson: "Michael Johnson Jr. is a wonderful kid. He's very respectful. He trains hard. It's going to be exciting to finally see him compete with guys that are his size and as mature as him. Michael Johnson Jr. has the ability to do whatever he wants. He's fast. He's strong. He's athletic for a big guy. He's going to be a force to be reckoned with."

    Davion Jeffries
    High School: Collinsville, Oklahoma
    Projected Weight Class: 106

    Davion Jeffries
    About Jeffries: Jeffries is a special talent who has the tools to be in the hunt for a state title as a freshman, but will be in a dogfight just to make the lineup at Collinvsille, a program that won both the dual team and state championship in Oklahoma's Class 5A this past season. He is expected to battle with Christian Moody, Wyatt Jordan, and Jacob Finley for the starting spot at 106 pounds. Coach Wes Harding's Cardinals graduate only two seniors and had underclassmen state champions at 112, 119, and 125 this past season, so the future looks bright at Collinsville. Jeffries is a two-time Trinity Award winner, six-time Cliff Keen champion, four-time Tulsa Nationals champion, three-time Reno Worlds champion, seven-time USJOC champion, and three-time All-American in freestyle.

    Collinsville coach Wes Harding on Jeffries: "Davion's major strength is his flexibility. He can actually do a back bridge and put his feet on top of his head. He's a dangerous wrestler because he's one of the those wrestlers that nobody wrestles like. He can pin the best kid at any time. His flexibility makes him an outstanding scrambler. Most of the time he ends up on top in scrambles."

    Fredy Stroker
    High School: Bettendorf, Iowa
    Projected Weight Class: 106

    Fredy Stroker
    About Stroker: Stroker, an Army brat, was born in Panama and has been in wrestling in Pennsylvania with the aforementioned incoming freshmen from the Keystone State. Stroker, though, will be moving to Iowa later this summer to begin his high school career at Bettendorf. He is a five-time PJW state placewinner, which includes three trips to the state finals. He won a PJW state championship in 2010 with a 6-2 victory over Jason Nolf, who was an undefeated PIAA state champion this past season. Stroker is a Tulsa Nationals champion, two-time 2010 MAWA Eastern Nationals champion, Cliff Keen Eastern Worlds champion, West Coast Nationals champion, two-time Northeast Nationals champion, Liberty Nationals champion, and American Crown Award recipient. This spring he won Cadet state titles in both freestyle and Greco-Roman.

    All-American Wrestling Club coach Rob Waller on Stroker: "Fred has the will to win. He has great speed too. You can't teach speed."

    To read more about Fredy Stoker, check out the profile story published on InterMat.

    Luke Norland
    High School: Jackson County Central, Minnesota
    Projected Weight Class: 145/152

    Luke Norland
    About Norland: Norland grew up wrestling in Spirit Lake, Iowa, but moved over to nearby Jackson, Minnesota last fall. He has a youth wrestling resume that indicates that he could make an impact at the high school level as a freshman. In 2010, Norland captured the Trinity Award, and also made the USAW Schoolboy Duals All-Tournament Team in both Greco-Roman and freestyle, going a perfect 15-0. He wrestles for Minnesota high school coaching legend Randy Baker at Jackson County Central, a perennial powerhouse program in southwestern Minnesota that has churned out several college wrestling standouts, including Chad Kraft, Nate Baker, Travis Rutt, and Cole VonOhlen. An injury (hairline fracture) kept Norland off the mat for much of his eighth grade season, including the section tournament, but he still managed to win nearly 20 matches and give some of the state's best fits.

    Jackson County Central coach Randy Baker on Norland: "Luke is a tough eighth-grader. He'll do well. He has some good defensive skills. I think his composure is kind of uncanny for someone his age. Nothing seems to bother him. He can be ahead or behind and it doesn't show. You can tell he's wrestled a lot. He has been in a lot of situations. He has some good practice partners too."

    Matthew Kolodzik
    High School: Miami Valley, Ohio
    Projected Weight Class: 106

    Matthew Kolodzik
    About Koldzick: Kolodzik became just the seventh wrestler ever to win three Ohio junior high state (OAC) titles, putting him in the same company as Ohio high school wrestling greats like David Taylor, Logan Stieber, and Chris Phillips. This spring Kolodzik won a Central Regional Cadet freestyle title and placed third at FILA Cadet Nationals. He captured a Super 32 Challenge title in the middle school division this past year. He is also two-time Schoolboy Nationals freestyle champion. His older brother Daniel was a two-time Ohio state champion and currently wrestles at Princeton

    Eastside Cincinnati Catholic coach Duane Meyer on Kolodzik: "Matthew is an amazing wrestler with a great work ethic and a wonderful personality. Matthew, while obviously driven to achieve individual goals in our sport, understands the importance of team wrestling. Whether it is pushing the action for bonus points or working on the side with a practice partner, Matthew constantly displays the leadership and poise that make him such a well-rounded young man, as well as being one of the top junior high wrestlers in the nation. I am confident Matthew will continue to see success at the high school level, and I am looking forward to seeing him on the mat again this winter."

    Markus "Pupp" Simmons
    High School: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
    Projected Weight Class: 106

    Markus Simmons
    About Simmons: Simmons is expected to step in and start as the 106-pounder for Broken Arrow, a wrestling powerhouse program in Oklahoma that won the regional, dual state, and state championship this past season, becoming the first Class 6A program to accomplish that Triple Crown since 2005. He is a six-time state champion, two-time junior high state champion, and three-time freestyle state champion. Simmons has won the Trinity Award, Tulsa Nationals twice, Cliff Keen Kickoff Classic three times, Reno Worlds three times, USJOC four times, Liberty Nationals, and has been a member of the World All-Star First Team five times.

    Collinsville coach Wes Harding on Simmons: "Pupp is an all-around athlete. He's not going to be real big. His dad is not huge. He'll be a solid 106-pounder. All that I can say about Pupp is that he's an outstanding athlete with natural ability. He's done it his whole life and has gotten good."
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