Eight wrestlers whose stock has risen greatly

In stark contrast to in-state competition, the majority of the competition relevant to national wrestling rankings takes place in the first month of the season. One of the most interesting developments during this time is how certain relatively unheralded wrestlers progress to a level that was completely unforeseeable based on their prior performances â€¦ and knock off the nation's best. Other wrestlers are well-known -- but take their game to a whole new level in this time. The following are the eight wrestlers whose stock has gone up the most in the early going.

Mario Mason, New Jersey, 140 pounds

Mario Mason (Photo/Tony Rotundo)

Turn back the clock two years. At that time, Mario Mason was Adam Frey's unknown backup who burst onto the scene as a freshman with a win over Jordan Frishkorn at the NHSCA Final Four, where he was named Most Outstanding Wrestler. From there, he dominated the Cadet Nationals (freestyle) later that summer. Mason seemed destined for greatness. He put together an excellent sophomore season, but lopsided losses against Lance Palmer and perhaps missing what should have been a great opportunity to win Junior National Freestyle (when Palmer was inexplicably pinned) put somewhat of a down note on his sophomore campaign. Now, Mason is right back where he was as a freshman -- one of the best of his class. Mason sewed up the No. 1 national ranking at 140 pounds with wins at the Ironman and Beast -- in possibly the most loaded weights classes at both tournaments.

Perhaps the best wrestler in the nation at controlling positioning and imposing his style on his opponent, Mason defeated four of the nation's best in Nick Nelson, Shawn Harris, Luke Silver, and Tommy Abbott (avenging a loss from last season) to win the Ironman and Beast. Probably the least physically imposing of these competitors,
Mason capped his great run with a beautiful overtime double leg takedown of Abbott. In his weight class at both events, but failing to advance to the finals, was preseason No. 1 Zack Kemmerer. Also in his weight class at Beast of the East was Junior Nationals champion Jamal Parks of Oklahoma. Parks lost for the second time this season to Luke Silver of Bishop Lynch, whom Mason then defeated 5-2 in the semifinals.

RJ Pena, Oregon, 125 pounds

Pena was originally one of the top ranked freshman in the nation his freshman year in the Rev Power Rankings -- due to a track record in youth national competition that surpassed all other sophomores except Collin Palmer, David Taylor, and Riley Adamson. Even though he won an Oregon state title as a freshman, Pena fell off the radar a bit as he did not compete in Fargo last summer. In fact, he has had no national tournament competition since 2004. However, suffice it to say that Pena etched his name near the top five of Rev Power Sophomore Rankings with his performance at the Reno Tournament of Champions.

A seventh-place finisher last year at Reno, Pena took out (in order) Boris Novachkov, Riley Adamson, and Justin Durham. Novachkov was fresh off a win at the Ironman in a weight class which featured nationally ranked stars Collin Palmer, Colin Johnston, Anthony Valles, and Troy Dolan, where he received the MVP award. This was Pena's only close match of the tournament as he prevailed 6-4. In the next two rounds Pena blasted youth wrestling legend Riley Adamson (who would go on to take third) by a score of 11-3 before pinning Justin Durham -- in a wild bout that would have saw him have roughly an eight point lead if not for the fall). Pena reportedly scored the fall with a "snake" maneuver from his feet. A strong case can be made that Pena deserves a ranking in the top five at this weight, and possibly among the top five sophomores nationally in all weights.

Jason Welch, California, 160 pounds

Jason Welch (Photo/Tony Rotundo)

For much of last year, Jason Welch of California was ranked as the nation's best sophomore. His stock slipped a bit due to some disappointing losses (a major decision against Eric Medina and a later-avenged loss to Luke Manuel), followed by his failure to place at "Fargo" one year after placing fifth at the Junior Nationals in freestyle. Welch has returned with a vengeance to say the least. At the Ironman, he cruised to the finals where he faced highly-decorated Sean Nemec of Ohio in a battle for, potentially, the No. 1 ranking in the nation. While Welch is noted for his offensive prowess, in this match, it was his defensive wizardry that carried the day. Time and time again, Nemec got in on single-leg takedowns in the "crackdown" position -- and time and time again, Welch frustrated his attempts to score. The score was 1-0 late in the match (but possibly the best 1-0 match this writer has ever seen) when Welch converted a takedown to close out the match with a 3-0 win- the second win of his career versus Nemec in as many meetings.

At Reno, Welch clearly cranked up his offense, scoring all technical falls up to the finals, when he dismantled the very tough Cody Yohn, 15-1. Welch is one of a handful of wrestlers for whom a case that they are the nation's top junior can be made.

Hunter Collins, California, 171 Pounds

One of the biggest upsets of the season took place at the Reno Tournament of Champions, where Hunter Collins scored the only two takedowns of the match in a 5-2 win over Kirk Smith. Smith is the defending Junior National Freestyle and Fila Cadet Freestyle champion and rated No. 1 in the nation (and was ranked as the No. 3 senior in the country in all weights). Collins was a highly regarded junior, but ironically, only considered (at best) the third best junior in California (behind Welch and two-time state champion Louis Bland -- the wrestler who defeated him last year at state).

From a national rankings standpoint -- the jury is still out on Collins to some extent. It's difficult to rank Collins in the top five of this loaded weight given that he has yet to win a state title and placed second at Cadet Nationals last summer to a wrestler that is not in the top five (Romero Cotton). At the present time it still remains somewhat in doubt whether there will be a Bland/Collins rematch at 171 (which would be possibly the biggest state match-up of the year) or whether Bland will stay at 189 -- though it appears Bland will be at 171. Should Collins prevail in his rematch with Bland -- there will be plausible arguments that he is not only the nation's best 171, but the top recruit for 2008 as well.

Garrett Goebel, Illinois, 285 Pounds

Garrett Goebel (Photo/Tony Rotundo)

Going into the season, the picture as to who was the nation's top heavyweight was a complete muddle. After Ironman, there is little doubt in this writer's mind -- and he is a wrestler that has yet to make a state final and was not ranked at 285 at the start of the year. Garrett Goebel slipped off the nation's radar when he placed just fifth in Illinois at 215 last year as a sophomore, after placing fourth at 215 the year before. A closer look at that performance shows that he was in one of the toughest 215-pound weight classes ever assembled. In the off-season, Goebel grew several inches (he appeared from press row to be about 6'5"), while maintaining the mobility of a much lighter wrestler.

At the Ironman, after pinning his first three opponents, he was pitted against underrated Frank Becker and former two-time Cadet Nationals champion Ben Kuhar. Both of these Ohio wrestlers own several wins against Junior National runner-up Cameron Wade in the past couple of years. Goebel simply dominated in all phases against Becker, approaching a technical fall before he finally scored the fall. Against Kuhar, in the finals, it was, once again, no contest. Goebel scored easy takedown in each of the three periods for a 7-0 final score. Finally, the nation has an elite heavyweight.

Luke Lanno, New Jersey, 152 Pounds

The 152-pound weight class at Beast of the East just may have been the toughest weight class in the nation until Senior Nationals. There were two wrestlers who have been ranked No. 1 in the nation at some point in there career who did not make the finals -- in fact one dropped all the way to seventh place (defending Ironman and Beast Champ Eric Medina of Blair Academy). It was Luke Lanno, fourth in the state in New Jersey last season, who pulled the upset of the year in the Beast quarterfinals by defeating Medina 7-5. Just in case one thought that was a fluke, he next defeated former Cadet National Freestyle runner-up Johnny Koepp of Bishop Lynch, 9-8. That win setup a final against another former Cadet Nationals runner-up, Sean Bilodeau of Massachusetts. Bilodeau had earlier defeated two-time Pennsylvania AAA state champion (and preseason No. 1) Tim Darling by a stunning 12-7 count.

In a classic battle between speed and power, the rugged Lanno outlasted and really out-hustled the slick Bilodeau, prevailing by a score of 7-5. What is really unthinkable is that Medina -- at various points in his career considered the best wrestler in the nation in his grade -- is now only the third best 152 in his own state behind Lanno and Scott Winston. Lanno will attempt to unseat defending state champion Winston, a junior who has yet to be defeated in high school competition in one of the most anticipated match-ups of the year.

Fred Santaite, New Jersey, 119 Pounds

It's not that Fred Santaite didn't have the credentials. He was not only state champion in New Jersey's treacherous single division tournament last year, but he was also the runner-up at both the Beast of the East and Junior National Freestyle tournaments. However, any seasoned observer knows the jump from 103 to 119 is a huge one. A wrestler literally goes from wrestling boys to wrestling men. Which is what made Fred Santaite's conquest of the Beast of the East so unlikely. History shows that most wrestlers who make this jump have a decline in productivity. However, Fred Santaite jumped from 103 (and 105 in Fargo) to 119 this season and knocked off two of the nation's elite. First, he took out Chris Sheetz of Pennsylvania. Sheetz is a former Pennsylvania AAA state champ who was fresh off a win at Ironman (where he defeated Junior National All-American Travis Coffey and No. 2-ranked Nikko Triggas). It was certainly a surprise, then, that Santaite knocked off Sheetz by a score of 5-3 in the semifinals of the Beast. Ironically, while Sergent defeated the Ironman champ, the wrestler who defeated Santaite in "Fargo", Ben Sergent, failed to place in the top eight at Ironman.

Few gave the fireplug from New Jersey even a remote chance of winning in his next bout against Junior Nationals champion Connor McDonald of Delaware. Yet again, McDonald failed to read the scouting report and came out the victor over one of the nation's top seniors by a 5-4 count

Tyler Nauman, Pennsylvania, 130 Pounds

It was no secret that Tyler Nauman of Pennsylvania is an excellent wrestler. Nauman has placed high at many tournaments, but not really won any major tournaments yet. Last year he placed second in the state in Pennsylvania, but only eighth (albeit in a loaded weight) at Beast of the East.

Tyler Nauman (Photo/Tony Rotundo)

By contrast, Kellen Russell came in, simply put, as champion of pretty much all he has entered. Cadet and Junior National Freestyle champion. Defending Beast champion. (in the same weight in which Nauman took eighth). National Prep champion. And most recently, Ironman champion -- in a performance marked by complete domination. So, despite a couple of nice wins in the quarterfinals and semifinals over Shane Smith and Bobby Ward, few thought that Nauman stood more than a marginal chance in the finals against Russell. However, like Santaite, Nauman reminded the fans of why the matches are "still wrestled on the mat." In a battle of two of the toughest wrestlers to take down in the nation, Nauman converted and early slide-by to a takedown and made it hold up -- as he stunned Russell, 3-2.

Other wrestlers whose stock rose greatly in the preseason include: Skip Crooks, Colin Johnston, David Taylor, the Lakewood St. Edward trio of Jamie Clark, Chris Honeycutt, and Shawn Harris, Alex Meade, Eric Olanowski, Sean Bilodeau, Jamelle Jones, and Chris Villalonga.

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