Vincenzo Joseph was a Fargo champion before he went on to win two NCAA titles at Penn State (Photos/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Every year after the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, InterMat looks back at the redshirt senior class to see which wrestlers from the high school senior class of five years ago had the best collegiate careers.
This year, the group to be discussed is the Class of 2015. With the NCAAs being canceled, the discussion is certainly incomplete, as the seeding for the tournament is an imperfect replica of what the tournament was going to be. However, below is this year's attempt at ranking the top 25 collegiate careers for wrestlers from the high school Class of 2015.
1. Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State/Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Pa.)
Rank in 2015: No. 7
Accomplishments: Three-time NCAA finalist, two-time NCAA champion; was seeded No. 2 in the 2020 NCAA tournament
2. Zahid Valencia (Arizona State/St. John Bosco, Calif.)
Rank in 2015: No. 3
Accomplishments: Two-time NCAA champion, three-time All-American, was suspended prior to the Pac-12 Championships, but was clear No. 1 at 184 pounds at the time of suspension
3. Myles Martin (Ohio State/McDonogh, Md.)
Rank in 2015: No. 4
Accomplishments: Four-time NCAA All-American, two-time NCAA finalist, 2015 NCAA champion; no redshirt year
4. Kollin Moore (Ohio State/Norwayne, Ohio)
Rank in 2015: No. 32
Accomplishments: Three-time NCAA All-American, 2019 NCAA runner-up; was seeded No. 1 in the 2020 NCAA tournament
5. Myles Amine (Michigan/Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.)
Rank in 2015: No. 40
Accomplishments: Three-time NCAA All-American; Olympic redshirt in 2019-20 after qualifying for the Olympics at the 2019 World Championships competing for San Marino
6. Jaydin Eierman (Missouri/Father Tolton Catholic, Mo.)
Rank in 2015: No. 52
Accomplishments: Three-time NCAA All-American; was on Olympic redshirt this year, along with transferring to Iowa to complete collegiate career in 2020-21
7. Matthew Kolodzik (Princeton/Blair Academy, N.J.)
Rank in 2015: No. 9
Accomplishments: Three-time NCAA All-American; was seeded No. 6 in the 2020 NCAA tournament
8. David McFadden (Virginia Tech/DePaul Catholic, N.J.)
Rank in 2015: No. 12
Accomplishments: Three-time NCAA All-American (including as true freshman in 2016); was seeded No. 7 in the 2020 NCAA tournament
9. Michael Kemerer (Iowa/Franklin Regional, Pa.)
Rank in 2015: No. 11
Accomplishments: Two-time NCAA All-American (medical redshirt in 2018-19); was seeded No. 2 in the 2020 NCAA tournament
10. Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State/Ward Melville, N.Y.)
Rank in 2015: No. 25
Accomplishments: Two-time NCAA All-American, additional round of 12 appearance in 2018; was seeded No. 3 in the 2020 NCAA tournament
11. Jordan Kutler (Lehigh/Blair Academy, N.J.)
Rank in 2015: No. 21
Accomplishments: Two-time NCAA All-American; was seeded No. 3 in the 2020 NCAA tournament
12. Josh Shields (Arizona State/Franklin Regional, Pa.)
Rank in 2015: No. 29
Accomplishments: Two-time NCAA All-American, additional tournament appearance in 2017; was seeded No. 6 in the 2020 NCAA tournament
13. Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State/Stillwater, Okla.)
Rank in 2015: No. 23
Accomplishments: Two-time NCAA All-American, additional round of 12 appearance
14. Patricio Lugo (Iowa via Edinboro/South Dade, Fla.)
Rank in 2015: No. 7
Accomplishments: 2020 NCAA All-American, additional tournament appearances in 2016 and 2017 (including round of 12 as a true freshman); was seeded No. 1 in the 2020 NCAA tournament
15. Joe Smith (Oklahoma State/Stillwater, Okla.)
Rank in 2015: No. 16
Accomplishments: Two-time NCAA All-American (as true freshman and sophomore), additional tournament appearance in 2019; was seeded No. 12 in the 2020 NCAA tournament
16. Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa/Carrollton, Ga.)
Rank in 2015: No. 17
Accomplishments: Four-time NCAA qualifier, round of 12 appearances in 2018 and 2019, also qualified in 2017; was seeded No. 1 in the 2020 NCAA tournament
17. Youssif Hemida (Maryland/Mamaroneck, N.Y.)
Rank in 2015: Weight class ranked only
Accomplishments: Two-time NCAA All-American, additional round of 12 appearance; no redshirt year
18. Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa)
Rank in 2015: No. 27
Accomplishments: 2019 NCAA All-American, additional tournament appearances in 2016 and (round of 12) 2017; was seeded No. 5 in the 2020 NCAA tournament
19. Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa/Union, Iowa)
Rank in 2015: No. 14
Accomplishments: 2017 NCAA All-American, round of 12 each of the following two years; was seeded No. 13 in the 2020 NCAA tournament
20. Logan Massa (Michigan/St. Johns, Mich.)
Rank in 2015: No. 2
Accomplishments: 2017 NCAA All-American, qualified in 2018, round of 12 in 2019; Olympic redshirt in 2019-20
21. Te'Shan Campbell (Ohio State via Pittsburgh/Penn Hills, Pa.)
Rank in 2015: No. 6
Accomplishments: Four-time NCAA qualifier, round of 12 in 2019; no redshirt year
22. Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma State/Yukon, Okla.)
Rank in 2015: No. 38
Accomplishments: 2019 NCAA All-American; was seeded No. 5 in the 2020 NCAA tournament
23. Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven/Boiling Springs, Pa.)
Rank in 2015: Not ranked
Accomplishments: 2019 NCAA All-American, also qualified for 2017 and 2018 tournaments; was seeded No. 20 in the 2020 NCAA tournament
24. Davion Jeffries (Oklahoma/Collinsville, Okla.)
Rank in 2015: No. 20
Accomplishments: Four-time NCAA qualifier; no redshirt year
25. Dylan Lydy (Purdue/Benjamin Davis, Ind.)
Rank in 2015: Not ranked
Accomplishments: Round of 12 in the 2018 and 2019 NCAA tournaments; was seeded No. 4 in the 2020 NCAA tournament
Wrestlers with notable success outside of NCAA Division I
Lance Benick (Totino-Grace, Minn.)
high school rank: No. 5
Accomplishments: 2019 NCAA Division III champion at Augsburg
Andrew Dunn (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.)
high school rank: 51st
Accomplishments: 2019 NCAA Division II champion at Kutztown, also qualified for 2018 NCAA Division I tournament at Virginia Tech
Jose Rodriguez (Massillon Pery, Ohio via Wantagh, N.Y.)
high school rank: 54th
Accomplishments: 2019 NCAA Division II champion at Notre Dame College, also qualified for 2017 NCAA Division I tournament at Ohio State
Angus Arthur (St. Johns, Mich.)
high school rank: 94th
Accomplishments: competing at the senior level in freestyle for Jamaica, just won a Pan-American Games title in early March
High profile seniors with notable success on the football field
Kenneth Brinson (Marist, Ga.)
Rank in 2015: 24th
Accomplishments: Four-year starter at linebacker for Army West Point; is enrolled at Stanford University in a combined graduate MD/Ph.D. program
Jacob Marnin (Southeast Polk, Iowa)
Rank in 2015: 47th
Accomplishments: Four-year starter on the offensive line for Southern Illinois, two-time FCS Academic All-American
Gage Cervenka (Emerald, S.C.)
Rank in 2015: 53rd
Accomplishments: Second team all-ACC in 2019 as an offensive lineman at Clemson, part-time starter on the 2018 national title-winning Clemson team as an offensive lineman
Jan Johnson (Governor Mifflin, Pa.)
Rank in 2015: 88th
Accomplishments: Two-year starter at linebacker for Penn State, went from walk-on to scholarship player, and was a team captain in 2019
InterMat Class of 2015 Rankings
1. Anthony Valencia (St. John Bosco, Calif./Arizona State)
2. Logan Massa (St. Johns, Mich./Michigan)
3. Zahid Valencia (St. John Bosco, Calif./Arizona State)
4. Myles Martin (McDonogh, Md./Ohio State)
5. Lance Benick (Totino-Grace, Minn./Augsburg via Arizona State)
6. Fox Baldwin (Osceola, Fla./Virginia)
7. Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Pa./Penn State)
8. Bobby Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn./Minnesota)
9. Matthew Kolodzik (Blair Academy, N.J./Princeton)
10. Sam Krivus (Hempfield Area, Pa./Virginia)
11. Michael Kemerer (Franklin Regional, Pa./Iowa)
12. David McFadden (DePaul Catholic, N.J./Virginia Tech)
13. Ke-Shawn Hayes (Park Hill, Mo./Ohio State)
14. Max Thomsen (Union, Iowa/Northern Iowa)
15. Fredy Stroker (Bettendorf, Iowa/Cornell via Minnesota)
16. Joe Smith (Stillwater, Okla./Oklahoma State)
17. Taylor Lujan (Carrollton, Ga./Northern Iowa)
18. Keegan Moore (Putnam City, Okla./West Virignia)
19. Michael Johnson, Jr. (Montini Catholic, Ill./Duke via Yale football)
20. Davion Jeffries (Collinsville, Okla./Oklahoma)
21. Jordan Kutler (Blair Academy, N.J./Lehigh)
22. Austin Myers (Campbell County, Ky./Missouri via West Virginia)
23. Kaid Brock (Stillwater, Okla./Oklahoma)
24. Kenneth Brinson (Marist, Ga./Army West Point football)
25. Nick Piccininni (Ward Melville, N.Y./Oklahoma State)
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