Andrew Alton defeated Josh Kindig to win the Junior Nationals freestyle title at 140 pounds in a battle of two of the nation's top recruits from Pennsylvania (Photo/Dave Jedlicka/jedicheetah.com)Other seniors ranked first in their weight classes classes are Ryak Finch (Safford, AZ) at 119 pounds; Josh Dziewa (Council Rock South, PA) at 135 pounds; Kyle Cowan (Cascia, OK) at 215 pounds; and Jimmy Lawson (Manchester, NH) at 285 pounds. These wrestlers are ranked 23rd, 26th, 25th, and 18th respectively in the Class of 2010.
The top two ranked juniors also find themselves at the head of their respective weight classes. Chris Phillips (Monroeville, OH) -- No. 1 in the Class of 2011 -- is also No. 1 at 171 pounds. Second-ranked in this junior class is Andrew Campolattano (Bound Brook, NJ) -- who is ranked first among wrestlers at 189 pounds this season. The other junior at the top of his weight class is Evan Silver (Blair Academy, NJ); who is first at 112 pounds, and ninth in the Class of 2011.
The remaining No. 1 ranking in a weight class goes to freshman Joey Dance (Christiansburg, VA), who is ranked fifth overall in the Class of 2012. Ranked first in that class is Ben Whitford (Marmion Academy, IL); who is ranked seventh among wrestlers at 119 pounds.
Rounding out the class rankings, Taylor Massa (St John's, MI) is ranked tops among sophomores; while Jered Cortez, who is from Illinois, is at the head of the junior high rankings.
As the 2009-10 season is about to begin, one of the major stories has to be the absolute dominance of the Keystone State; in particular the Class of 2010. Five seniors rank first in the country, and 24 find themselves in the top 20 of their respective weight class. Sixteen of the InterMat Top 100 wrestlers in this graduating class are from Pennsylvania.
Overall, there are 35 Pennsylvania wrestlers ranked in their respective weight class, by far the most of any state. Next in line is New Jersey with twenty-eight, and Ohio with 25. These three states also have eleven of the wrestlers ranked first in their weight class (Five for Pennsylvania, three each for Ohio and New Jersey. Other states that have double digits in terms of nationally ranked wrestlers are Iowa and California with 16 each, Illinois with 15, while Missouri and New York have 11 ranked wrestlers each. In all, 39 of the 49 states that sanction high school wrestling have at least one wrestler ranked.
Blair Academy (NJ) has several nationally-ranked wrestlers, but Evan Silver (112) is the lone Buccaneer who begins the season ranked No. 1The team with the second most ranked wrestlers in the country is actually St Edward, OH with five. However, the perception is that they do not have the broad lineup depth to compare to the five squads listed above. There are five teams other than Graham and Apple Valley with four nationally ranked wrestlers; those would be Central Dauphin, PA; St Mark's, DE; Park Hill, MO; and Eastern Regional, NJ.
InterMat looks forward to covering the high school wrestling scene during the course of the season. Five events currently are slated to have live coverage -- Walsh Ironman, Beast of the East, Ohio State Wrestling Championships, Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic, and Flo Nationals. However, additional events may be added to the docket as the year proceeds.
The weight class rankings and graduating class rankings will be updated at varying times throughout the season. In addition, expect weekly previews and recaps starting with the first weekend of December.
View Weight Class Rankings
View Class/Recruiting Rankings (Platinum)
Listen to Josh Lowe's Breakdown (TDR)
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