Lowe: Re-ranking recruits from Class of 2009

After the completion of last month's electric NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Oklahoma City, there was much reflection about the high level of talent that is exiting collegiate wrestling after this season. Among the more notable wrestlers in this group are three-time champion Ed Ruth (Penn State), two-time champion and two-time Hodge Trophy recipient David Taylor (Penn State), as well as two-time champions Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) and Tony Nelson (Minnesota). All of those wrestlers are fifth-year seniors, which means they graduated from high school in 2009.

In 2013, Class of 2009 graduates finished 1-3 at 165 (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

With that as the context, let's revisit that high school graduating class. It also happens to be one that includes four-time NCAA champion and 2013 Hodge Trophy recipient Kyle Dake (Cornell). Dake won his four national titles without the benefit of a redshirt year. Another notable high school graduate in 2009 was Ellis Coleman, who did not wrestle collegiately, but represented the United States at the 2012 Olympic Games in Greco-Roman wrestling.

This feature is a re-ranking of the top 25 wrestlers from the Class of 2009 based on college wrestling accomplishments at the Division I level. The complete list of top 100 recruits from 2009 is included in the sidebar for reference.

Re-Ranking Class of 2009

Top 100 recruits in Class of 2009
No. 1 David Taylor
No. 2 Eric Grajales
No. 3 Chris Perry
No. 4 Kyle Dake
No. 5 Ed Ruth
No. 6 Collin Palmer
No. 7 Jake Kemerer
No. 8 R.J. Pena
No. 9 Joey Napoli
No. 10 Tony Ramos
No. 11 Jon Morrison
No. 12 Dan Yates
No. 13 Sam White
No. 14 John Nicholson
No. 15 Derek St. John
No. 16 Jon Fausey
No. 17 Ethen Lofthouse
No. 18 Matt Lester
No. 19 Andrew Clement
No. 20 Caleb Kolb
No. 21 Dallas Bailey
No. 22 Alec Ortiz
No. 23 Zach Toal
No. 24 Max Huntley
No. 25 Zach Neibert
No. 26 Alex Bridgeford
No. 27 David Klingsheim
No. 28 Alex Ekstrom
No. 29 Shane Young
No. 30 David Thorn
No. 31 Glenn Carson
No. 32 Sean Boyle
No. 33 Tyler Cox
No. 34 Zach Clemente
No. 35 Jake Swartz
No. 36 Robbie Fisher
No. 37 Ellis Coleman
No. 38 Mac Bailey
No. 39 Eloheim Palma
No. 40 Orlando Scales
No. 41 C.J. Napier
No. 42 Ian Paddock
No. 43 Tyler Caldwell
No. 44 Trent Weatherman
No. 45 Vincent Dellefave
No. 46 Ryan LeBlanc
No. 47 Brock Gutches
No. 48 Patrick Martinez
No. 49 Tony Nelson
No. 50 Kyle Lang
No. 51 Bobby Barnhisel
No. 52 Corey Lear
No. 53 Ladd Rupp
No. 54 Stephen Swan
No. 55 Kendrick Sanders
No. 56 Dylan Carew
No. 57 Max Ortega
No. 58 Michael McClure
No. 59 Michael Garofalo
No. 60 Derrick Borlie
No. 61 Joe Colon
No. 62 Joe Waltko
No. 63 Camden Eppert
No. 64 Steven Keith
No. 65 Cashe Quiroga
No. 66 Kevin Barrett
No. 67 Austin Meys
No. 68 Brendan Ard
No. 69 Martin Gonzalez
No. 70 Cody Compton
No. 71 Zach White
No. 72 Brian Stephens
No. 73 Dale Shull
No. 74 Shane Gentry
No. 75 Kyle Waldo
No. 76 Jeremy Goree
No. 77 Tanner Keck
No. 78 John Greisheimer
No. 79 Jimmy Sheptock
No. 80 Justin Lavalle
No. 81 Erik Spjut
No. 82 Tony Dallago
No. 83 Nicky Gordon
No. 84 Kevin Steinhaus
No. 85 Steve Santos
No. 86 Nick Lester
No. 87 Nick Heflin
No. 88 Nick Pica
No. 89 Kellen Bounous
No. 90 Luke Vaith
No. 91 Bret Baumbach
No. 92 Sean Owen
No. 93 Brandon Rocha
No. 94 Jeremy Johnson
No. 95 Znick Ferrell
No. 96 Roger McCovey
No. 97 Boaz Beard
No. 98 Kyle Meyer
No. 99 Evan Yenolevich
No. 100 Ryan Mango

No. 1 Kyle Dake (Cornell)
Rank in 2009: No. 4
Dake was a four-time NCAA champion without a redshirt, Dan Hodge Trophy recipient, and InterMat Wrestler of the Year.

No. 2 David Taylor (Penn State)
Rank in 2009: No. 1
Taylor was a four-time NCAA finalist, two-time NCAA champion, Dan Hodge Trophy recipient twice, and InterMat Wrestler of the Year.

No. 3 Ed Ruth (Penn State)
Rank in 2009: No. 5
Ruth was a four-time All-American, three-time NCAA champion, and InterMat Wrestler of the Year.

No. 4 Tony Nelson (Minnesota)
Rank in 2009: No. 49
Nelson was a four-time All-American, three-time NCAA finalist, and two-time NCAA champion.

No. 5 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State)
Rank in 2009: No. 3
Perry was a four-time NCAA qualifier, round of 12 finisher, three-time All-American, and two-time NCAA champion.

No. 6 Derek St. John (Iowa)
Rank in 2009: No. 15
St. John was a four-time All-American and NCAA champion.

No. 7 Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma State)
Rank in 2009: No. 43
Caldwell, who started his career at Oklahoma, was a four-time All-American and two-time NCAA runner-up.

No. 8 Tony Ramos (Iowa)
Rank in 2009: No. 10
Ramos was a four-time NCAA qualifier, round of 12 finisher, three-time All-American, and NCAA champion.

No. 9 Kendric Maple (Oklahoma)
Rank in 2009: Not in top 100
Maple was a four-time NCAA qualifier, three-time All-American, and NCAA champion.

No. 10 Nick Heflin (Ohio State)
Rank in 2009: No. 87
Heflin was a four-time NCAA qualifier, round of 12 finisher, three-time All-American, and NCAA runner-up.

No. 11 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota)
Rank in 2009: No. 84
Steinhaus was a four-time NCAA qualifier, round of 12 finisher, and three-time All-American.

No. 12 Jimmy Sheptock (Maryland)
Rank in 2009: No. 79
Sheptock was a three-time NCAA qualifier, round of 12 finisher, and two-time All-American, and NCAA runner-up.

No. 13 Ryan Mango (Stanford)
Rank in 2009: No. 100
Mango was a four-time NCAA qualifier, round of 12 finisher, and two-time All-American.

No. 14 Scott Sakaguchi (Oregon State)
Rank in 2009: Not in top 100
Sakaguchi was a four-time NCAA qualifier, round of 12 finisher, and two-time All-American.

No. 15 Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa)
Rank in 2009: No. 17
Lofthouse was a four-time NCAA qualifier and two-time All-American.

No. 16 Jeremy Johnson (Ohio)
Rank in 2009: No. 94
Johnson was a four-time NCAA qualifier, round of 12 finisher, and two-time All-American.

No. 17 Eric Grajales (Michigan)
Rank in 2009: No. 2
Grajales was a four-time NCAA qualifier, two-time round of 12 finisher, and All-American.

No. 18 Joe Colon (Northern Iowa)
Rank in 2009: No. 61
Colon was an NJCAA champion, two-time NCAA qualifier, round of 12 finisher, and All-American.

No. 19 Steve Santos (Columbia)
Rank in 2009: No. 85
Santos was a two-time NCAA qualifier, round of 12 finisher, and All-American.

No. 20 Steven Monk (North Dakota State)
Rank in 2009: Not in top 100
Monk was a three-time NCAA qualifier, two-time round of 12 finisher, and All-American.

No. 21 David Thorn (Minnesota)
Rank in 2009: No. 30
Thorn was a three-time NCAA qualifier and two-time All-American.

No. 22 Mike Nevinger (Cornell)
Rank in 2009: Not in top 100
Nevinger was a three-time NCAA qualifier and two-time All-American.

No. 23 Ryan Loder (Northern Iowa)
Rank in 2009: Not in top 100
Loder was a four-time NCAA qualifier, three-time round of 12 finisher, and All-American.

No. 24 Jon Morrison (Oklahoma State)
Rank in 2009: No. 11
Morrison was a four-time NCAA qualifier and All-American.

No. 25 Zach Neibert (Virginia Tech)
Rank in 2009: No. 25
Neibert was a three-time NCAA qualifier, two-time round of 12 finisher, and All-American.

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Lowe: Re-ranking recruits from Class of 2009

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