With the 2014-15 season unofficially underway for most wrestlers already, here is the first update to the grade rankings for the year. This update is reflective of preseason activity. There are no changes to the top wrestler within each of the grade levels: Anthony Valencia (St. John Bosco, Calif.) still leads the Class of 2015, Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.) is the anchor in the Class of 2016, Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional, Pa.) tops the 2017 class, Cade Olivas (St. John Bosco, Calif.) is best in the Class of 2018, while Josh McKenzie (New Jersey) is best among Junior High wrestlers.
Among the most notable movement for the Class of 2015 is the slight upticks for Zahid Valencia (St. John Bosco, Calif.) and Matthew Kolodzik (Blair Academy, N.J.); Valencia is up two spots to third, while Kolodzik is also up two spots to fifth. Two major movements within the top 50 were 16-spot improvements for No. 18 Larry Early (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) and No. 34 Davion Jeffries (Broken Arrow, Okla.). New wrestlers in the top 100 include Preseason Nationals runner-up Cameron Loving (Altus, Okla.) at No. 68; Preseason Nationals champion Luke Fortuna (Montini Catholic, Ill.) and Alex Rich (Crescent Valley, Ore.) in at No. 79 and 94 respectively; and Super 32 champion Patrick Grayson (Colonial Forge, Va.) enters in position No. 100.
Thomas Bullard (Archer, Ga.) moves up 20 positions to No. 22 in the Class of 2016 rankings after winning a Super 32 Challenge title (Photo/Rob Preston)
The most significant upward movement in the Class of 2016 came from Super 32 Challenge champion Thomas Bullard (Archer, Ga.), who moves up 20 positions all the way to No. 22. The most notable new wrestlers in the top 50 are Julian Flores (San Marino, Calif.), a Southwest Kickoff Classic placer now ranked No. 21; InterMat JJ Classic runner-up Griffin Parriott (New Prague, Minn.), now in at No. 32 after also placing at the Super 32 Challenge; and Super 32 Challenge runner-up Brett Donner (Wall Township, N.J.), who enters in the rankings at No. 33 overall.
For the Class of 2017, the most notable upward mover in the rankings was Jared Verkleeren (Belle Vernon, Pa.), now up to No. 6 overall after placing fourth at the Super 32 Challenge. The highest ranked debutant is Jake Brindley (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), in all the way at No. 23 after his placement in the 126 pound weight class at the Super 32 Challenge. For the freshmen class, there are two debutants into the rankings primarily based on preseason tournament performance -- Preseason Nationals champion Nate Jimenez (Marmion Academy, Ill.) sits at No. 16, while Jaden Mattox (Grove City Central Crossing, Ohio) slots in No. 21.
InterMat Platinum is required to view all the rankings. InterMat ranks the top 100 seniors, top 50 juniors, top 50 sophomores, top 25 freshmen, and top 15 junior high wrestlers.
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