InterMat releases updated grade level rankings

Though summer is just a couple of weeks old, July is right upon us. It is time to start thinking about the 2011-2012 wrestling season. As the official contact period for NCAA Division I programs with prospective Class of 2012 student-athletes begins, the time is upon us to establish the initial graduating class rankings for the year. As always, the senior class (now Class of 2012) expands to a Top 100 ranking, 50 wrestlers will be ranked in both the classes of 2013 and 2014, 25 incoming freshmen from the Class of 2015 will be ranked, while 15 junior high wrestlers representing graduation in 2016 and beyond are ranked.

Class of 2012

Taylor Massa (Photo/MichiganGrappler.com)

A quartet of rising seniors has separated from the pack heading into the mid-summer period. Leading the pack is Taylor Massa (St. Johns, Mich.). This three-time state champion has a high school record of 179 wins against zero losses, and is already a two-time FILA Junior National freestyle champion. This past year, he won the "Olympic weight class" of 163 pounds in April and earned the Junior World Team spot at the Trials in May. In addition, Massa has earned a pair of double championships at the Cadet Nationals, was a double All-American last summer at the Junior Nationals, and is a four-time Super 32 Challenge placewinner (third, second, second, third).

Second in the rankings is three-time state champion Jason Tsirtsis (Crown Point, Ind.). For his high school career, he has a record of 124-2, and is undefeated the last two years. Tsirtsis is already a three-time Fargo All-American in freestyle (fourth and second as a Cadet, third as a Junior). He also is a two-time FILA Cadet Nationals champion, two-time FILA Junior Nationals placewinner, a two-time Super 32 Challenge runner-up, and a two-time FloNationals champion.

Mark Grey (Photo/Bob Tuneberg, BuckeyeWrestling.com)

Rounding out the quartet of wrestlers is Jimmy Gulibon (Derry Area, Pa.) and Mark Grey (Blair Academy, N.J.). Gulibon, a three-time state champion, has a career high school record of 111-3. During the senior season, he will be seeking a repeat Walsh Ironman title, a fourth state title, and to become only the fourth ever to win four titles at the POWERade.

This past May, Grey joined Massa as a member of the FILA Junior World Team when he won the 121-pound weight class at the FILA Junior World Team Trials. During the coming year, Grey will seek to become a four-time National Prep champion, and the first wrestler to ever win four titles at the Beast of the East. Already in his career, Grey has earned double All-American honors three times in Fargo (twice as a Cadet and last year as a Junior).

Among the InterMat Top 100 wrestlers, Ohio has the most ranked with 14 in all, nine of them in the Top 50. Next in the list is Pennsylvania with 10, followed by Iowa and Illinois with nine each, Minnesota with eight, while California and Michigan have seven each ranked. Perennial power St. Paris Graham, Ohio leads the way with four ranked wrestlers -- No. 21 Huston Evans, No. 44 Isaac Jordan, No. 47 Ryan Taylor, and No. 65 Case Garrison; Brandon, Fla. has a trio of wrestlers ranked -- No. 9 Tyler Liberatore, No. 13 Rossi Bruno, and No. 36 Clark Glass; while multiple programs have a pair ranked.

Class of 2013

Bo Jordan (Photo/Kevin Schlosser, BuckeyeWrestling.com)

The oldest son of St. Paris Graham head coach Jeff Jordan, Bo Jordan has established himself as the leader of the pack in the rising juniors group with a very impressive first two years of high school. In his two year career, Jordan has amassed 85 wins against just one loss, which came during his freshman season to Nate Skonieczny in the Top Gun final and was avenged in the state semifinals. He has two state titles and was a Walsh Ironman champion this past year. Rounding out the top five are Brooks Black (Blair Academy, N.J.), Ben Whitford (St. Johns, Mich.), Brandon Jeske (Cox, Va.), and Cody Wiercioch (Charleroi, Pa.).

Fifteen wrestlers from Pennsylvania (8) and Ohio (7) make up the bulk of the 50 wrestlers featured in this class ranking. Five wrestlers are from New Jersey, while four each are from Michigan, Minnesota, and Missouri. A trio of the wrestlers in the ranking each attends St. Edward, Ohio and St. Johns, Michigan. With each also having a pair of Class of 2012 wrestlers in the Top 100, both programs have five ranked wrestlers in the upper two grades. Ranked for St. Edward are No. 12 Dean Heil, No. 18 Domenic Abounader, and No. 35 Edgar Bright; while No. 3 Ben Whitford, No. 25 Jacob Schmitt, and No. 38 Josh Pennell are raked for St. Johns.

Class of 2014

Chance Marsteller

There is absolutely zero equivocation about the wrestler that heads the group that just completed their freshman year of high school. Chance Marsteller (Kennard-Dale, Pa.) finished the year undefeated at 42-0, and dominated his way to a POWERade championship as well as a state title. Last summer, Marsteller was a Cadet National All-American in Greco-Roman and a freestyle champion. Having spent significant time at the Olympic Training Center, and coming off of an undefeated Cadet National Duals in both styles, look for Marsteller to dominate his way to double Cadet National titles later in July.

Rounding out the top five of a very impressive group in this class is Kyle Synder (Good Counsel, Maryland), Solomon Chisko (Canon-McMillan, Pa.), Nick Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), and Bryce Brill (Marmion Academy, Ill.). Snyder was undefeated at 215 pounds, while winning titles at the Beast of the East, Mount Mat Madness, and National Prep Championships. Chisko finished third in the state as a freshman 130 pound wrestler, was a POWERade runner-up, and third at the Super 32 Challenge. Nevills was a state champion at 285 pounds in the single class California state tournament, and finished runner-up at the Cheesehead. After a Cadet National freestyle runner-up finish last summer, Brill had an impressive freshman year anchored by titles at the Dvorak and state tournament.

Blair Academy, N.J. has an awesome group in this grade with four of its wrestlers ranked -- No. 9 Joey McKenna, No. 13 Patrick Coover, No. 18 Dylan Milonas, and No. 27 P.J. Klee. When considering the presence of Mark Grey, Todd Preston, and Brooks Black in the Class of 2012 and 2013 rankings, the Buccaneers have seven ranked wrestlers in their program.

Class of 2015

Zahid Valencia

The excellent feature written by InterMat senior writer Andrew Hipps provided a profile on some of the top incoming freshmen for the coming season. Zahid Valencia (St. John Bosco, Calif.) is currently the top incoming freshman, and has already shown signs of positive success against high school competition. This includes the October 2010 Southwest Kickoff Classic title in Las Vegas as well as a fifth place finish at the 2010 Flo Nationals.

Some of the top wrestlers not featured in the earlier article include: Dylan Lucas (Brandon, Fla.), who was a state champion as an eighth-grader for Tampa Bay Christian and a Cadet National Greco-Roman champion last summer; the trio of Michael Kemerer, Josh Maruca, and Josh Shields that won PJW 13/14 division state titles this past year and will all compete for Franklin Regional, Pa. this fall; and Tristan Rifenburg (Norwich, N.Y.) who is already a two-time state finalist before even entering ninth grade.

Class of 2016+

Mark Hall (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)

With one season remaining before entering the ninth grade, Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.) already has accomplishments that many wrestlers can only dream of when they exit high school. After a state runner-up finish at 119 pounds while competing for Ryle, Ky. during the 09-10 season, Hall transferred onto the nation's top-ranked team, Apple Valley, and was a key part of their success this past season. He earned a state title with a 46-3 record to end the high school season ranked No. 16 at 130 pounds as a seventh-grader. Already this offseason, he has added to his impressive wrestling resume with a dominant age group championship at the Ohio Tournament of Champions, and an undefeated record in both styles at the Schoolboy National Duals.

The next three wrestlers in the rankings are Mason Manville (Virginia), Aaron Pico (California), and Luke Pletcher (Pennsylvania). Manville has won two legs of the Roller World of Wrestling Triple Crown each of the last two years, including back-to-back titles at the Tulsa Nationals, and is also a two-time Super 32 Challenge junior high division champion. He dominated his way to double titles at Schoolboy Nationals this week, where he did not surrender a single point in 10 matches. Pico was a Roller World of Wrestling Triple Crown winner in 2009-10 while competing in the 12-and-under division, and was a dominant champion in the 15-and-under division at the Tulsa Kickoff Classic and Tulsa Nationals during 2010-11. Along with winning the Super 32 Challenge junior high division title this past year, Pletcher won a fourth PJW championship -- this time in the 13/14 division; with a championship next year, he would join Jimmy Gulibon in rarified air as a five-time PJW state champion.

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