To put it simply, the Illinois USA Wrestling organization has been stellar over (at least) the last decade. There are many factors to which one can attribute the success of their program, but four simple ones stand out: (1) there is a strong talent pool within the state (2) there is excellent coaching for both Greco-Roman and freestyle (3) there is strong buy-in across the board as to the importance of the Olympic styles (4) there is a high priority level placed on success.
Isaiah White (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)While that group was stellar to the extreme, it does illustrate the general landscape of the Junior National Freestyle Duals: the top teams have high quality wrestlers at most/virtually all the weight classes.
Illinois
Let's look at the Illinois projected lineup/roster for this weekend's freestyle competition. Note: weight classes are somewhat speculative, as the Illinois roster does not list weight classes at present.
100: Louie Hayes (Carl Sandburg) -- Cadet National freestyle 3rd/88 in 2013, FILA Cadet freestyle 3rd/101 in 2014
106: Kirk Johansen (Glenbard North) -- Illinois 3A state placer; Junior National freestyle 2nd/100 in 2013, Cadet National freestyle 6th/88 in 2012, FILA Junior freestyle 1st/110 in 2014, FILA Cadet freestyle 4th/92.5 in 2013
113: Carlos Fuentez (Glenbard East) -- Illinois 3A state placer; Junior National freestyle 8th/106 in 2013, Junior National freestyle 2nd/100 in 2012
120: Kyle Akins (Sycamore/Univ. of Buffalo) or Michael Cullen (Cary Grove) -- each is a three-time state placer, and each placed 3rd in Junior National freestyle in 2013; Akins won 2A state in 2013, ended 2013-14 No. 20 at 120, while Cullen was 5th/113 in Cadet National freestyle in 2012
126: Stephen Polakowski (Libertyville/Minnesota) -- ended 2013-14 ranked No. 16 at 120, Illinois 3A state runner-up, and was Junior National freestyle 8th/120 in 2013
132: Jon Marmolejo (Glenbard North/Purdue) -- three-time Illinois 3A state placer, runner-up this past year at 126, and is a three-time Fargo All-American in Greco-Roman
138: Alexander Butler (Boylan Catholic) -- two-time Illinois 2A state placer, runner-up this past year at 132, and Cadet National freestyle 3rd/132 in 2013
145: Isaiah White (Oak Park River Forest) -- Illinois 3A state champion, Cadet National freestyle champ/138 in 2013, ended 2013-14 ranked No. 12 at 138, and is ranked No. 8 overall in the Class of 2016
152: Larry Early (Oak Park River Forest) -- Illinois 3A state champion, three-time state placer, Cadet National freestyle 3rd/145 in 2013, FILA Cadet freestyle 4th/138 in 2013, and is ranked No. 42 overall in the Class of 2015
160: Bryce Brill (Mt. Carmel/Northwestern) or Garrett Sutton (Richmond-Burton/Michigan) -- Brill ended 2013-14 No. 1 nationally at 152 pounds, was the No. 3 overall recruit in the Class of 2014, and is a 2012 Junior National freestyle champion; while Sutton ended the season No. 11 overall at 160 and was No. 100 overall in the Class of 2014
170: Kamal Bey (Oak Park River Forest) -- Illinois 3A state champion, ended 2013-14 ranked No. 17 at 160, is No. 37 overall in the Class of 2016, and Cadet National freestyle 2nd/160 in 2013.
182: Colin Carr (Washington/Minnesota) -- Illinois 2A state champion
195: Nathan Traxler (Marmion Academy) -- Illinois 3A state placer, FILA Cadet freestyle 4th/187 in 2014, and is ranked No. 23 overall in the Class of 2016
220: Andrew Marsden (Crystal Lake Central) -- Illinois 2A state champion, Cadet National freestyle 5th/182 in 2013, FILA Cadet freestyle 2nd/220 in 2014, ranked No. 72 overall in the Class of 2015
285: Adarios Jones (Moline/Northern Iowa) -- Illinois 3A state champion, ended 2013-14 ranked No. 9 at 285, and two-time Fargo All-American in Greco-Roman
From the way I look at that lineup overall, the easiest path to upending Illinois would be to have a dominant group of lower-weights. While each of the Land of Lincoln wrestlers in this area is credentialed, they are not "untouchable." However, the middle of the lineup is very strong; and the upper-weights are pretty solid, where it will take very elite opposition to knock them off.
The question now becomes if there is another squad out there constructed to capitalize on Illinois (relative) vulnerabilities, while being able to contend with (and/or buffer) the superlative back half of the Land of Lincoln lineup.
Let's look at four of the more notable contenders, and how they lineup against the defending champions from Illinois.
Michigan
While Dominic LaJoie (Gaylord) and Dalton Roberts (Fowlerville) were a state champ and state runner-up respectively in high school this past year, and Roberts was fourth in Junior freestyle last summer, each falls short in matchups with their Illinois peer in the opening two weight classes.
Going through from 113-to-160 (and possibly 170 depending on how the lineup gets stretched), this lineup matches up very well weight class by weight class.
113: Ben Freeman (Walled Lake Central) or Ian Parker (St. Johns) -- Freeman ended 2013-14 ranked No. 7 at 106, is No. 19 overall in the Class of 2017; while Parker is a two-time FILA Cadet freestyle All-American and earned Cadet freestyle All-American honors last summer.
120: Kanen Storr (Leslie) -- two-time state finalist, 2013 state champion
126: Lincoln Olson (Davison) -- No. 62 overall in Class of 2015
132: Cole Weaver (Hudson/Indiana) -- ended 2013-14 No. 13 at 138, No. 88 in Class of 2014
138: Zehlin Storr (Leslie/Michigan) or Justin Oliver (Davison/Central Michigan) -- Storr was No. 14 at 138, No. 97 in Class of 2014; Oliver No. 15 at 138, No. 99 in Class of 2014
145: Zac Hall (St. Johns/Michigan) -- ended 2013-14 No. 2 at 138, No. 15 in Class of 2014
152: Myles Amine (Detroit Catholic Central) or Alec Pantaleo (Canton/Michigan) -- Amine is No. 54 in the Class of 2015, while Pantaleo is a two-time state finalist and 2012 state champion
160: Logan Massa (St. Johns) -- ended 2013-14 No. 5 at 152, and is No. 2 overall in the Class of 2015
Given the personnel at 170, along with a pair of top 100 Class of 2014 wrestlers at 138, the temptation is great to flex Massa up to 170 more often than not. Within the back four/five weight classes, the Michigan team has a pretty solid wrestler in each weight class. There may be some struggles against the elite of competition, though that will be matchup-dependent and not the rule.
170: Tristin Zienkiewicz (Farwell) -- state champion
182: Tyler Wildmo (St. Johns) -- two-time state placer
195: Jake McKiernan (Richmond/SIU Edwardsville) -- state champion
220: Landon Pelham (Tecumseh) -- two-time state placer, Cadet National freestyle runner-up in 2012, FILA Cadet freestyle 4th/220 in 2014
285: Ryan Prescott (Whitmore Prescott) -- two-time state champion
Minnesota
In many ways this team is a mirror of the Illinois team with some question marks in the lower half of the lineup and a very strong back half. The opening two weights feature Victor Gliva (Farmington) and Rylee Molitor (Sartell-St. Stephen), a state runner-up and Cadet folkstyle runner-up at 100 pounds, who would be characterized as underdogs against their peer from Illinois. Now let's look at the next five weights, which would be viewed by most as an opportunity against Illinois:
113: Brent Jones (Shakopee) -- ended 2013-14 ranked No. 16 at 106 pounds
120: Skyler Petry (Waterville-Elysian-Morristown/Minneosta) -- four-time state placer, 2014 state champion, Junior GR runner-up in 2013
126: Mitch McKee (St. Michael-Albertville) -- ended 2013-14 ranked No. 19 at 120, is No. 44 overall in the Class of 2016
132: Tommy Thorn (St. Michael-Albertville/Minnesota) -- ended 2013-14 ranked No. 3 at 126, No. 21 in Class of 2014
138: James Berg (New Prague) -- state runner-up
Now to the back half of the Gopher State lineup, which represent an interesting match-for-match battle with Illinois. One possible flex over the course of the tournament is to see a bump from one of the 145-pound wrestlers to replace the 152 starter.
145: Mark Voss (St. Michael-Albertville/North Dakota State) and/or Brady Berge (Kasson-Mantorville) -- Voss was a four-time state placer, 2014 state champion, and FILA Cadet freestyle 4th/127 in 2013; while Berge ended 2013-14 ranked No. 15 at 145, and is No. 2 overall in the Class of 2017
152: Carlson Brolsma (Osseo) -- state runner-up
160: Paden Moore (Jackson County Central) -- two-time state placer
170: Mark Hall (Apple Valley) -- ended 2013-14 No. 3 at 170, and is No. 1 overall in the Class of 2016
182: Keegan Moore (Jackson County Central) -- ended 2013-14 No. 14 at 170, and is No. 10 overall in the Class of 2016
195: Bobby Steveson (Apple Valley) -- ended 2013-14 No. 8 at 182, and is No. 16 overall in the Class of 2015
220: Paul Cheney (Apple Valley/Minnesota State-Moorhead) -- two-time state finalist, 2013 state champion
285: Luis Pinto (Prior Lake) -- state champion
New Jersey
The squad from the Garden State seems to have the first part of the formula to beating Illinois down pat, an elite lower half of the lineup (beyond the opening weight class, this team is loaded through 138).
100: Daniel Percelay (Morris Knolls)
106: Brandon Paetzell (Phillipsburg) -- ended 2013-14 No. 14 at 106
113: Ty Agaisse (Delbarton) -- ended 2013-14 No. 3 at 106, and is No. 31 overall in the Class of 2016
120: Michael Russo (St. Peter's Prep/Brown) -- two-time state placer, runner-up this past year
126: Chaz Tucker (Blair Academy) -- ended 2013-14 No. 18 at 120, and is No. 53 overall in the Class of 2015
132: Anthony Giraldo (North Bergen/Rutgers) -- ended 2013-14 No. 6 at 132, No. 47 in Class of 2014
138: Joey McKenna (Blair Academy/Stanford) -- ended 2013-14 No. 1 at 138, No. 8 in Class of 2014
The back half of the lineup is clearly not as strong as the front, and will be asked to hang on to hopefully solid leads in the key dual meets. The middle portion will have to come through strong, as beyond 182 there is no guaranteed win against the elite/contending teams. A couple of stars are here, with the rest of the group being solid, but the threshold of the competition is such that solid isn't necessarily enough.
145: Jordan Kutler (Blair Academy) -- two-time National Prep placer, 2012 champion, and FILA Cadet freestyle champion at 101 in 2012
152: Mason Manville (Blair Academy) -- ended 2013-14 No. 7 at 152 pounds, and is No. 2 overall in the Class of 2016
160: Christian Stackhouse (Riveside/North Dakota State) -- state placer, Junior National freestyle 3rd/160 in 2013
170: Josef Johnson (Delbarton/Harvard) -- two-time state placer, Cadet National freestyle 5th/152 in 2012
182: Myles Martin (McDonogh, Md.) -- ended 2013-14 No. 6 at 170, and is No. 4 overall in the Class of 2015
195: Jeff Velez (David Brearley) -- two-time state qualifier, NHSCA Junior National champion
220: Christian Colucci (St. Peter's Prep) -- two-time state qualifier
285: Will Cooley (Blair Academy/Davidson)
Oklahoma
The hosts just may be the favorites, even over the three-time defending champions. The Sooner State had a very strong senior class this year, which makes up a significant chunk of the lineup. In addition, it also was a very good year for underclassmen in Oklahoma.
Like every contending squad, there are a few relative holes. However, different than the other contending squads, there are elite level wrestlers in every part of the lineup (lower, middle, upper). Here is the projected lineup.
100: Mason Naifeh (Tulsa Union) -- state qualifier
106: Kaden Gfeller (Heritage Hall) -- ended 2013-14 ranked No. 13 at 106 pounds, and is No. 39 overall in the Class of 2017
113: Andrew Nieman (Stillwater) -- ended 2013-14 ranked No. 9 at 106
120: Daton Fix (Sand Springs) -- ended 2013-14 ranked No. 3 at 113, and is No. 3 overall in Class of 2017
126: Kaid Brock (Stillwater) -- ended 2013-14 ranked No. 15 at 132, and is No. 31 overall in Class of 2015
132: Gary Wayne Harding (Collinsville/Oklahoma State) or Keegan Moore (Putnam City) -- Harding ended 2013-14 No. 7 at 138, and No. 60 in Class of 2015; Moore ended 2013-14 No. 18 at 132, and is No. 35 in Class of 2015
138: Wyatt Sheets (Stillwell) or Tristan Moran (Stillwater) -- Sheets is a two-time state champion, Cadet National freestyle 7th/132 in 2013, and FILA Cadet freestyle 3rd/138 in 2014; Moran is a three-time state finalist, two-time state champion
145: Jonce Blaylock (Berryhill/Oklahoma State) -- two-time state champion, Junior National freestyle 6th/138 in 2013, Cadet National freestyle 2nd/125 in 2011
152: Joe Smith (Stillwater) -- ended 2013-14 ranked No. 5 at 145, and is No. 8 overall in Class of 2015
160: Jacobe Smith (Muskogee/Oklahoma State) -- state champion, three-time state placer
170: Chandler Rogers (Stillwater/Oklahoma State) -- ended 2013-14 ranked No. 5 at 170, and No. 20 in Class of 2014
182: Lance Dixon (Edmond North/Oklahoma) -- ended 2013-14 ranked No. 11 at 220
195: Joel Dixon (Edmond North/Oklahoma) -- ended 2013-14 ranked No. 9 at 182, and No. 76 in Class of 2014
220: Andrew Dixon (Edmond North/Oklahoma) and/or Kyler Childers (Sand Springs) -- Dixon ended 2013-14 ranked No. 12 at 285; Childers is a two-time state placer, state runner-up this past year, and a two-time Cadet freestyle All-American (runner-up in 2012)
285: Korey Walker (Midwest City) -- state runner-up
From a strategic standpoint, there may be some times where both weighed-in 132's wrestle at the expense of a 138. Same with one of the 220's bumping up to 285.
In all, there will be over 50 wrestlers that either finished high school ranked in the top 100 of the Class of 2014, or are currently ranked in the Classes of 2015 to 2017. It should be a weekend chock full of elite-level competition, and with a dramatic battle for the team championship.
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