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    Previewing postseason national events

    Across the country, the end-of-season individual state tournaments are completed over a stretch of five weekends. However, this coming week, all three major post-season national tournaments will be conducted.

    The National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) sponsors its annual grade-level nationals events in Virginia Beach, as the freshman, sophomore, and junior competitions commence today, with those finals being conducted Friday evening. The senior event will start on Friday, and continue through its finals on Sunday. At present, 1745 underclassmen are registered to compete with at least 675 seniors slated to join the fray.

    On the other hand, Flowrestling is sponsoring an all-class event for the third consecutive year. This year, the FloNationals moved to the campus of Drexel University in Philadelphia. This event will be held on Saturday and Sunday, and sold out at its capacity of 800 wrestlers.

    Finally, USA Wrestling is hosting its Folkstyle National Championships this weekend at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa for all of its age groups -- including the high school comparable Cadet and Junior levels. The joint Cadet/Junior event is on the verge of selling out at a capacity of 1300 wrestlers, with an estimated 620 Cadets and 680 Juniors expected to compete.

    With close to 4,500 high school aged wrestlers taking to the mats in these high-level tournaments this week, it is somewhat surprising to see the limited number of nationally ranked wrestlers in this list. Out of the 280 wrestlers that appear in the high school weight class rankings (14 weight classes, 20 wrestlers per weight), just a little less than one-third of this pool is currently in one of the events.

    Below is a breakdown of nationally ranked wrestlers by event ...

    At NHSCA Senior Nationals
    120: No. 9 Nick Herrmann (Amarillo Tascola, Texas), No. 20 Hermilio Esquivel (Orland, Calif.)
    126: No. 8 Nathan Kraisser (Centennial, Md.), No. 11 Hunter Weber (Marshall, Wis.), and No. 17 Max Hvolbek (Blair Academy, N.J.)
    132: No. 3 Mark Grey (Blair Academy, N.J.)
    138: No. 5 Todd Preston (Blair Academy, N.J.)
    145: No. 16 Alenick Richardson (St. Peter's Prep, N.J.), No. 19 (at 170) Jared Reis (Napoleon, N.D.)
    152: No. 12 (at 160) Dylan Palacio (Long Beach, N.Y.), No. 13 Jake Elliott (Oakmont, Calif.), No. 16 Sal Mastriani (Don Bosco Prep, N.J.), No. 17 Austin Trott (Camden County, Ga.), No. 19 Raamiah Bethea (Trenton Central, N.J.), and No. 20 Aaron Walker (Judson, Texas)
    160: No. 4 Clark Glass (Brandon, Fla.), No. 7 (at 170) Geordan Speiller (Pine Castle Christian, Fla.), No. 7 Cody Allala (Hopewell, Va.), and No. 20 Chris Nevinger (Letchworth, N.Y.)
    170: No. 3 (at 182) Jordan Thomas (Greenville, Mich.), No. 14 Silas Nacita (Bakersfield, Calif.)
    182: No. 2 (at 170) Kyle Crutchmer (Tulsa Union, Okla.), No. 10 Jake Dechow (Richmond Burton, Ill.), and No. 11 Taylor McGiffen (Alton, Ill.)
    195: No. 2 Tim Dudley (Irmo, S.C.), No. 13 Dwight Howes (Arvada, Co.), No. 18 (at 220) J.T. Goodwin (Bear Creek, Calif.), and No. 19 Shawn Scott (Holly, Mich.)
    285: No. 4 Mimmo Lytle (Swanton, Ohio), No. 5 Austin Goergen (Caledonia, Minn.), and No. 20 (at 220) Austin Lobsinger (West Valley, Calif.)

    At NHSCA Junior Nationals
    113: No. 10 Zac Gentzler (Andover Central, Kan.)
    132: No. 16 (at 126) Chris Wilkes (Whitfield, Mo.)
    138: No. 14 B.J. Clagon (Toms River South, N.J.)
    145: No. 10 (at 138) Austin Matthews (Reynolds, Pa.)
    152: No. 15 Coleman Hammond (Bakersfield, Calif.)
    182: No. 8 Domenic Abounader (St. Edward, Ohio)
    220: No. 6 J'Den Cox (Hickman, Mo.), No. 15 Spencer Empey (Reed, Nev.)

    At the NHSCA Sophomore Nationals
    106: No. 10 Brent Fleetwood (Smyrna, Del.)
    138: No. 18 Alfred Bannister (Bishop McNamara, Md.)

    At FloNationals
    106: No. 1 Zahid Valencia (St. John Bosco, Calif.)
    113: No. 13 Kyle Gliva (Simley, Minn.), No. 14 Jonas Gayton (Clovis, Calif.), and No. 20 (at 106) Domenic Forys (North Allegheny, Pa.)
    120: No. 6 (at 113) Jason Nolf (Kittaning, Pa.), No. 12 Godwin Nyama (Brashear, Pa.)
    126: No. 15 Jeffrey Ott (Belmont Hill, Mass.)
    132: No. 12 Niko Villarreal (Gilroy, Calif.)
    138: No. 2 (at 132) Alex Cisneros (Selma, Calif.), No. 3 (at 145) Jake Short (Simley, Minn.), No. 8 Matt Cimato (LaSalle, Pa.), No. 12 Tony DeAngelo (Southern Alamance, N.C.), No. 15 (at 145) Willie Fox (Gilroy, Calif.), and No. 17 Shayne Tucker (Bella Vista, Calif.)
    145: No. 14 Joey Lavallee (Reno, Nev.)
    152: No. 2 Isaiah Martinez (Lemoore, Calif.), No. 10 Josh Llopez (La Plata, Md.), No. 11 Nick Wanzek (Simley, Minn.), and No. 12 Nick Becker (Hartford, Wis.)
    160: No. 2 Joey Davis (Santa Fe, Calif.), No. 5 (at 170) Micah Barnes (Simley, Minn.), and No. 9 Victor Pereira (Newark Memorial, Calif.)
    170: No. 10 Zach Nevills (Clovis, Calif.)
    182: No. 5 Nikko Reyes (Clovis West, Calif.), No. 15 Kevin Beazley (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.), and No. 18 Ryan Wolfe (Caravel Academy, Del.)
    195: No. 5 Gage Harrah (Crystal Lake Central, Ill.)
    220: No. 1 Kyle Snyder (Good Counsel, Md.), No. 8 (at 285) Nick Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), No. 15 Spencer Empey (Reed, Nev.)
    285: No. 9 Nick Tavanello (Wadsworth, Ohio), No. 11 Dink Purnell (Sussex Tech, Del.)

    At USA Wrestling Cadet Folkstyle Nationals
    113: No. 8 (at 106) Matthew Kolodzik (Miami Valley School, Ohio), No. 15 Jens Lantz (Ellsworth, Wis.)
    152: No. 2 (at 145) Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.)

    At USA Wrestling Junior Folkstyle Nationals
    113: No. 5 Tommy Thorn (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.), No. 9 (at 106) Doug Miner (Spirit Lake Park, Iowa)
    120: No. 17 (at 113) Jordan Northrup (Machesney Park Harlem, Ill.)
    126: No. 11 Hunter Weber (Marshall, Wis.)
    145: No. 7 (at 132) Brandon Sorensen (Denver-Tripoli, Iowa), No. 20 Eleazar DeLuca (Phoenix, Ore.), No. 20 (at 138) Jack Bass (Allen, Texas)
    152: No. 7 Oliver Pierce (Allen, Texas)
    160: No. 8 (at 152) Keilan Torres (Altus, Okla.), No. 15 (at 170) Kyle Begin (Anoka, Minn.)
    170: No. 8 Alex Meyer (Southeast Polk, Iowa), No. 11 Cooper Moore (Jackson County Central, Minn.), No. 12 Zach Beard (Tuttle, Okla.)
    220: No. 2 Willie Miklus (Southeast Polk, Iowa)
    285: No. 2 Adam Coon (Fowlerville, Mich.), No. 19 (at 220) Nathan Butler (Leavenworth, Kan.)

    Glad you're back

    After missing all of his senior season, it's nice to see Steve Congenie (Villa Park, Ill.) back on the mats. The Cornell bound wrestler will be competing in the 195 pound weight class at the USA Wrestling Junior Folkstyle Nationals. Congenie is ranked 34th overall in the Class of 2012, and was a combined 82-1 in winning state titles the previous two years after finishing in fourth with a 42-5 record as a freshman.

    In terms of the weight class field, it is not too strong a weight class -- with primary challenges likely coming from a pair of two-time state champions in Alex Bambic (Desert Vista, Ariz.) and Derek Geddings (South Sioux City, Neb.), along with state runner-up Blake Blair (Edwardsville, Ill.). Given his competing at 195 here, what would fans in the Land of Lincoln have paid to see a Dvorak tournament bracket now two-time state champions No. 4 Brad Johnson (Lockport) and No. 5 Gage Harrah (Crystal Lake Central) along with Congenie in it!

    How do these tournaments matter?

    A couple of questions that people might ask with so many of the nationally ranked wrestlers "missing in action" this weekend would be: (1) Why does this matter? (2) How are the results evaluated?

    As for why this matters, the level of competition present in all of these events is still pretty high. Just because wrestlers aren't ranked doesn't mean they're not good. Only 280 total wrestlers in America can appear in the national weight class rankings. There are many non-ranked wrestlers who are state champions, high state placers, have placed in other major tournaments, etc. In addition, the difference between the select few ranked wrestlers and those just outside the rankings is not that profound.

    In addition, any time wrestlers step on the mat and test themselves against opposition, it is valued time to develop and become a better wrestler. Moreover, in these events, there are many scrutinous eyes observing these tournaments and their results. Yes, eyeballs even more important than my own!

    Those would be the eyes of college coaches. They are looking at the prospects already committed to attend their school, prospects they may want to bring in during the late period this year, and/or underclassmen to seek out in upcoming months and years. At all these events, there will be a cadre of college coaches across all levels (DI, DII, DIII, NAIA, etc.) present.

    In terms of how I evaluate these events, it is done in many ways and on many levels. The most pressing concern to some might be the upcoming final weight class rankings. These events obviously can serve as a last impression -- either for the good or the not so good. Whether it's a highly rated wrestler "putting it on the line" and then "taking care of business", or wrestlers on either side of the fringes of the rankings validating their standing, or somebody outside the rankings coming up with some huge wins ... it all matters, and it's all evaluated.

    Along with the national weight class rankings, there are the graduating class rankings that are done "pound-for-pound." Especially for the underclass wrestlers, the events this week serve as a key way to identify and determine who may belong in the rankings and/or at what level. The medalists in these events can also get their names added onto the "directories" of national rankers and college coaches. Outcomes and performances in these events -- for underclassmen -- can also serve as a tone setter for evaluation headed into next year. More importantly, from a wrestling standpoint, results here can serve as a catalyst of future performance -- whether it's headed off to college, or into the off-season of a continuing high school career.

    Final thoughts

    Best of luck to all those competing in a tournament this week(end). Here's to tournaments of great enjoyment and success for everybody, as over 4,500 wrestlers have chosen to test themselves against formidable competition.

    Keep your computers tuned into the front page of InterMat throughout the week and weekend for further information about all of the events.

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