David Taylor (Photo/BuckeyeWrestling.com)Taylor (Penn State), Grajales (Michigan), and Perry (Oklahoma State) all redshirted this past season. One has to wonder, considering Dake's immediate success, what kind of impact Taylor, Grajales, and Perry will have in their first official season of collegiate wrestling. Could the Class of 2009 go down as one of most accomplished classes ever? If this past collegiate wrestling season is any indication, it certainly has the makings of what looks to be a special class.
Dake was not the only Class of 2009 wrestler to earn All-American honors as a true freshman. Two other InterMat Top 100 recruits from the Class of 2009, Tyler Caldwell (Goddard, KS) and Cashe Quiroga (Lawrence North, IN), found places on the All-American podium at the Qwest Center in Omaha. Interestingly, Caldwell and Quiroga were ranked 43rd and 65th respectively coming out of high school.
Of the InterMat Top 10 recruits from the Class of 2009, only three started this past season as true freshmen.
Below is a look at how the InterMat Top 10 recruits fared this past collegiate wrestling season ... and what other wrestlers in the Top 100 made an impact.
1. David Taylor (Penn State)
Taylor began his redshirt season with an 11-4 exhibition loss to teammate Cyler Sanderson, a two-time All-American, at Penn State's intrasquad. Taylor, a four-time state champion who won everything under the sun as a high school wrestler, went on to compile a 21-2 record at 157 pounds in open tournament competition. His first loss came to two-time All-American Bubba Jenkins, a teammate at the time, 4-3, at the East Stroudsburg Open. His only other loss came to Sanderson, 9-7, at the Nittany Lion Open.
2. Eric Grajales (Michigan)
Grajales tore his ACL before stepping foot on the Michigan campus, which prevented him from competing as a true freshman. He wrestled one match, picking up a pin at the Simonson Open on January 23, before injury defaulting out of the tournament.
Chris PerryPerry, the younger brother of four-time All-American and two-time NCAA champion Mark Perry, went 15-1 as a redshirt at 184 pounds. His only loss came to teammate and All-American Clayton Foster, 7-4, in the championship match at the Central Missouri Open. Of his 15 victories, 10 came with bonus points. Perry won tournament titles at the Missouri Open, Fort Hays State Open, and Roger Denker Open.
4. Kyle Dake (Cornell)
Dake put together a sensational true freshman campaign at Cornell. The Lansing, New York native went 33-2 and became the first true freshman since Dustin Schlatter in 2004 to win an NCAA title. He was named 2010 InterMat Freshman of the Year.
5. Ed Ruth (Penn State)
Ruth compiled a 14-3 mark as a redshirt at 184 pounds. He won the Floyd 'Shorty' Hitchcock Memorial Open on January 17. Two of his losses came to teammate Quentin Wright, a 2009 true freshman All-American who redshirted this past season, and his other loss came to redshirt Chris Honeycutt of Edinboro, who went 26-1 with a victory over All-American Dustin Kilgore of Kent State.
Collin PalmerPalmer, the younger brother of Buckeye four-time All-American Lance Palmer, saw limited action this season as a redshirt. The four-time Ohio state champion was runner-up at the Cleveland State Open on December 13, losing in the finals at 149 pounds, 3-2, to Purdue's Sam Patcsil.
7. Jake Kemerer (Penn State)
Kemerer redshirted and competed in three open tournaments, going 11-4 at 165 pounds. He placed third at both the Washington & Jefferson Open and East Stroudsburg Open.
8. R.J. Pena (Oregon State)
Pena started for the Beavers at 149 pounds and put together a solid true freshman season. He placed seventh at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and spent much of the season ranked nationally. But Pena struggled mightily at the end of the season, losing his final four matches of the regular season. At the Pac-10 Championships, Pena lost in the opening round, but bounced back to place fifth, which was not good enough to get him into the NCAA Championships. He finished the season with a 29-13 record.
9. Joey Napoli (Lehigh)
Napoli earned the starting nod at 149 pounds for Lehigh. He compiled a season record of 21-12. His season ended with a disappointing 0-2 performance at the EIWA Championships.
10. Tony Ramos (Iowa)
Ramos redshirted and went a perfect 12-0 at 133 pounds while competing in open tournaments. He won tournament titles at York Open, Grand View Open, and Duhawk Open.
Other InterMat Top 100 recruits from the Class of 2009 who made an immediate impact …
No. 14 John Nicholson (Old Dominion)
Nicholson started for Old Dominion at 149 pounds and finished with a 23-8 record. He won the Hokie Open and placed seventh at the Southern Scuffle.
No. 27 David Klingsheim (Nebraska)
Klingsheim started at 125 pound s for Nebraska and went 15-16.
No. 28 Alex Ekstrom (Oklahoma)
Ekstrom was the starter for the first part of the season at 133 pounds for Oklahoma before Kendric Maple took over the spot. He finished with a 6-8 record.
No. 29 Shane Young (West Virginia)
Young went 16-10 and qualified for the NCAA Championships at 125 pounds for West Virginia.
No. 32 Sean Boyle (Michigan)
Boyle went 20-21 as Michigan's starter at 125 pounds. His season ended with a 1-2 performance at the Big Ten Championships.
No. 36 Robby Fisher (Minnesota State-Mankato)
Fisher went 20-15 for Division II Minnesota State-Mankato, but failed to qualify for the NCAAs. His biggest win of the season was a pin over two-time NCAA Division I qualifier Elijah Nacita of Cal State Bakersfield at the Reno Tournament of Champions.
No. 37 Ellis Coleman (USOEC/U.S. Olympic Training Center)
Coleman started the season in the USOEC program in Northern Michigan, but transferred out and is now a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, focusing on Greco-Roman full-time. He recently placed
No. 39 Eloheim Palma (North Carolina State)
Palma started at heavyweight for North Carolina State and went 23-16.
No. 40 Orlando Scales (Notre Dame)
Scales was an NAIA runner-up for national team champion Notre Dame College at heavyweight, losing in the finals to Simon Fraser's Arjan Bhullar, the Canadian World Team member in men's freestyle.
No. 41 CJ Napier (Nebraska)
Napier was the starter at 133 pounds for Nebraska and compiled a record of 16-15.
No. 42 Ian Paddock (Ohio State)
Paddock was an NCAA qualifier at 133 pounds for Ohio State, going 2-2 in Omaha.
No. 43 Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma)
Oklahoma's Caldwell earned All-American honors, finishing fifth at 165 pounds. He won over 30 matches.
No. 52 Cory Lear (Bucknell)
Lear went 20-11 at 165 pounds for Bucknell during the absence of All-American Andy Rendos from the lineup.
No. 61 Joe Colon (Iowa Central)
Colon was an undefeated NJCAA champion for Iowa Central. He registered a victory over Division III champion Clayton Rush of Coe during the regular season.
No. 62 Joe Waltko (Clarion)
Waltko earned the starting spot at 125 pounds for Clarion and went 15-16 on the season.
No. 64 Steven Keith (Harvard)
Keith started at 125 pounds for Harvard and qualified for the NCAA Championships after a third-place finish at the EIWA Championships.
No. 65 Cashe Quiroga (Purdue)
Quiroga, who started at 125 pounds for Purdue, earned All-American honors with a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. He finished with a 28-15 mark.
No. 68 Brendan Ard (Wisconsin)
Ard earned the starting spot in the Wisconsin lineup at 174 pounds, finishing with a 1-11 record.
No. 72 Brian Stephens (Virginia Tech)
Stephens was thrust into the starting lineup for Virginia Tech at 149 pounds after an injury to Pete Yates. He made the most of the opportunity. Stephens won 23 matches (including 12 in a row at one point) and captured the ACC title to earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Championships.
No. 73 Dale Shull (North Carolina State)
Shull dropped down to 133 pounds for the latter part of the season for North Carolina State after wrestling 141 pounds. He was 18-16 on the season and finished 4th at the ACC Championships at 133 pounds.
80. Justin LaValle (Old Dominion)
LaValle started at 133 pounds for Old Dominion, which allowed two-time NCAA qualifier Kyle Hutter to redshirt. He compiled a 17-13 mark and placed fourth at the CAA Championships.
No. 81 Erik Spjut (Virginia Tech)
Spjut began the season as the starter at 133 pounds for Virginia Tech, but knee injury cut his season short. He finished with a 7-6 record.
No. 88 Nick Pica (Iowa Central)
Pica placed third in the NJCAA Championships at 184 pounds for Iowa Central.
No. 90 Luke Vaith (Hofstra)
Vaith spent much of the season as Hofstra's starter at 141 pounds before dropping down to 133 pounds at the end of January. He finished with an overall record of 16-18.
No. 91 Bret Baumbach (Stanford)
Baumbach started for Stanford at 141 pounds and finished with a 10-22 record.
No. 96 Roger McCovey (North Idaho)
McCovey was an NJCAA runner-up at heavyweight for North Idaho.
No. 100 Ryan Mango (Stanford)
Mango, the younger brother of 2008 Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler Spenser Mango, started at 125 pounds for Stanford and qualified for the NCAA Championships, going 1-2 in Omaha, after a third-place finish at the Pac-10 Championships. He compiled a 25-15 record.
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