Related Link: Weight Class Rankings
As the autumn leaves unfortunately fall, and snow is unfortunately on the brink for much of America, this means just two things: (1) wrestling season is virtually upon us (2) it's time for some preseason rankings. This article marks the unveiling of the preseason weight class and team national rankings.
The ranking process is an ever dynamic one that involves much consideration. With the proliferation of "profile" events during the preseason, regular season, and postseason, the awareness and cognizance about performance of the top wrestlers is at an all time high. Accompanying that is a dizzying set of outcomes that seemingly do not align, and create a sense of chaos for the ranker.
It is important to remember that no one result can be considered in isolation. As the person doing the rankings, I will freely admit that I can create arguments for multiple orderings of the wrestlers. I can use the same set of results, and make differing arguments, just depending on my disposition. These rankings reflect my analysis of all wrestlers' total records in comparison with one another, and the overall pool in a given weight class.
InterMatWrestle.com No. 1 Wrestlers
106: Darian Cruz (Pennsylvania)
113: Jarred Brooks (Indiana)
120: Nick Roberts (Pennsylvania)
126: Jimmy Gulibon (Pennsylvania)
132: Mark Grey (New Jersey)
138: Nate Skonieczny (Ohio)
145: Jason Tsirtsis (Indiana)
152: Brian Realbuto (New York)
160: Chance Marsteller (Pennsylvania)
170: Taylor Massa (Michigan)
182: Jordan Rogers (Washington)
195: Devin Peterson (Wisconsin)
220: Josh Marchok (Illinois)
285: Brooks Black (New Jersey)
Seemingly a yearly trend, and ever justified by their performance at the NCAA Division I tournament every year in mid-March, Pennsylvania wrestlers dominate the national rankings. Four Keystone State prep stars hold number one positions in their weight classes: Darian Cruz (Bethlehem Catholic) at 106 pounds, Nick Roberts (North Star) at 120, Jimmy Gulibon (Derry Area) at 126, and Chance Marsteller (Kennard Dale) at 160. In all, 39 grapplers from that state reside inside the top 20 of their weight class nationally.
106: Darian Cruz (Pennsylvania)
113: Jarred Brooks (Indiana)
120: Nick Roberts (Pennsylvania)
126: Jimmy Gulibon (Pennsylvania)
132: Mark Grey (New Jersey)
138: Nate Skonieczny (Ohio)
145: Jason Tsirtsis (Indiana)
152: Brian Realbuto (New York)
160: Chance Marsteller (Pennsylvania)
170: Taylor Massa (Michigan)
182: Jordan Rogers (Washington)
195: Devin Peterson (Wisconsin)
220: Josh Marchok (Illinois)
285: Brooks Black (New Jersey)
Rounding out the top-five states in terms of ranked wrestlers is Ohio with 28, Illinois with 22, California with 21, and Minnesota with 20. Other states with double digit wrestlers in the national rankings are Iowa with 16, New Jersey with 14, Michigan with 13, while Indiana and Oklahoma have 12 each.
Other states with ranked wrestlers are as follows: Virginia and Florida -- 9 each; Wisconsin -- 7; Missouri and New York -- 6; Oregon and Maryland -- 5; Nebraska -- 4; Georgia and Washington -- 3; North Dakota, New Mexico, Texas, Idaho, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Montana, and Nevada -- 2; South Dakota, Colorado, Kansas, South Carolina, Delaware, Hawaii, Arizona, Connecticut, and Kentucky -- 1. In all, 37 states have a wrestler residing in the rankings.
On the team side of things, a similar yearly trend is present at the top of the rankings. Perennially a presence at the top of the rankings, this year Blair Academy, N.J., occupies the top spot to start the season. Six Buccaneer wrestlers appear in the rankings, including a pair occupying the top spot -- Mark Grey at 132 pounds and Brooks Black at 285.
Additional wrestlers ranked first in their weight class are Jarred Brooks (Warsaw, Ind.) at 113 pounds, Nate Skonieczny (Walsh Jesuit, Ohio) at 138, Jason Tsirtsis (Crown Point, Ind.) at 145, Brian Realbuto (Somers, N.Y.) at 152, Taylor Massa (St. John's, Mich.) at 170, Jordan Rogers (Mead, Wash.) at 182, Devin Peterson (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) at 195, and Josh Marchok (Schaumburg, Ill.) at 220.
Even though Blair is at the top of the team rankings, the battle behind for the second spot is one that fans should keep an eye on throughout the season. There are six or seven teams that can viably stake a claim to that spot. In as much as anything, it comes down to matchups and format of competition (big tournament, medium tournament, dual meets) for which program gets the nod.
Joining Blair Academy with six wrestlers ranked, tied for the most nationally, is No. 7 St. Paris Graham, Ohio. Though the defending Walsh Ironman champions are star laden, the rest of the lineup is littered with questions and unproven commodities. Three of the other top programs have five wrestlers each in the rankings -- No. 2 St. Edward, Ohio; No. 3 St. John's, Mich.; and No. 6 Apple Valley, Minn. Rounding out the cluster of teams is No. 4 Brandon, Fla., with four in the rankings, while No. 5 Clovis, Calif., and No. 8 Simley, Minn., have three wrestlers each ranked.
In closing, a commentary on the upcoming season cannot go without discussion of the new weight classes approved by the NFHS, which the vast majority of states (in fact almost all) have chosen to implement. The nuts and bolts of the changes are as follows: (1) the opening weight changes from 103 to 106 pounds (2) the lower-middleweight portion of the lineup loses a weight class, as what was five weights from 125-145 (125, 130, 135, 140, 145) is now shrunk to four (126, 132, 138, 145) (3) the upperweight portion of the lineup gains a weight class, as what was three weight classes from 171-215 (171, 189, 215) now becomes four weights (170, 182, 195, 220).
From the ranking standpoint, the threshold to be ranked in the lower-middleweights will be higher than before due to the consolidation. On the other hand, it is highly probable that the threshold in the upperweights will be slightly lower than before. The ranking process is no easier or tougher based on this dynamic, it is just different. It was also interesting in the study of the team rankings to see how the weight class change impact the varying squads across the country. Some teams benefitted from the change since they had their glut of core wrestlers in middle and upper-weights. However, more squads seemed to be adversely affected by having to contract their lower and middle-weights into less classes, either sub-optimally placing a kid in the position to cut too much, be undersized up a weight class, or possibly get closed out the lineup.
The 2011-12 season is one that merits everyone's attention, and I look forward to providing comprehensive coverage of the key events and developments as they arise.
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