The debate begins anew: Who is the best of the best?

Every year, the debate rages in wrestling circles: Who is the best high school wrestler in the nation? Perhaps by coincidence, in recent years there has been a clear-cut consensus top three whom fans debated between as the top wrestler -- yet their status as the top three was never really disputed. In 2002, wrestling fans argued amongst Zack Esposito, Teyon Ware, and Johny Hendricks -- all NCAA champions today. In 2003, they debated between Mark Perry, Roger Kish, and CP Schlatter. In 2004, it was Alex Tsirtsis, Michael Poeta, and Matt Fields that captured the most attention.

Never was there a better example of the "big three" phenomenon than the top trio of 2005, where Dustin Schlatter, Brent Metcalf, and Troy Nickerson entered the season with stunning resumes of success against older competition in Fargo and elsewhere. Metcalf and Schlatter split two epic bouts that settled little other than their equality.

2005-2006 appears to the exception to the "top trio" phenomenon. At the start of this season, there are two competitors who clearly stand out from the pack: David Craig and Henry Cejudo.

David Craig, hailing from the Brandon (Florida) High School juggernaut has been the top 171 in the nation since his sophomore year. In 2005-2006, to paraphrase Shakespeare, he "stands over all others at his weight class like a colossus." The odds of Craig losing a match this year are approximately the same as the odds of FILA (International Wrestling's beleaguered governing body) making a rationale decision. In other words -- zero.

David Craig of Florida has been the best 171-pounder in the nation since his sophomore year.

Consider: The likely third best 171 in the nation, Clayton Foster, was pinned in Fargo by Craig. The nation's second best 171 is clearly Brent Chriswell. Chriswell pinned or teched all foes in Fargo other than Craig, including a pin over Asics All-American First Team David Erwin, and tech falls over Clayton Foster and Jeff James (likely the fourth best 171). Chriswell also won FILA Cadets all the way up at 187.5 in dominating fashion in April. Chriswell, it may have seemed, posed a legitimate threat to Craig. It was no contest. Chriswell was simply outmatched, as Craig narrowly missed a tech fall, prevailing 8-0.

That Craig would stand head and shoulders above the field at 171 is hardly a surprise. He has been the top 171 in the nation since he was a sophomore -- in a weight class dominated by upperclassmen. Simply put, for a sophomore to be the best in the nation at such a high weight class is unprecedented. Following up a dominating performance in winning Cadet Freestyle at 160 the year before, Craig quickly established himself as possibly the best 171 in the nation that year by defeating defending 171 Cadet Nationals champion Hudson Taylor and defending 171 Junior Nationals champion Rocco Caponi back-to-back in winning the Ironman. Although the nation's best 160, Jarrod King, moved up to 171 and beat Craig that summer in Fargo, Craig merely served to solidify the argument that he was the best at 171 by toppling Pennsylvania's Kurt Brenner for third place.

Perhaps the most impressive, and easy to overlook thing about Craig's performances the last two years is that he has been outsized (although certainly not overpowered) at 171. Anecdotal reports are that his natural weight is around 170 -- that he would have been at 160 but wrestles 171 in deference to his older (former) teammate and fellow multiple-time national champion Rocky Cozart. This has been supported by the fact that even in preseason and post season open tournaments, Craig has not been seen competing higher than 171.

Henry Cejudo of Colorado was a double champion at Junior Nationals in 2004, but was held out of Fargo in 2005 because of an injury.

If Craig is No. 1, Henry Cejudo of Coronado, Colorado, would have to be No. 1a. Whereas Craig is an upper-weight, Cejudo is on the other end of the spectrum, competing at 119. The stock of this competitor just keeps rising. For years, Cejudo was merely "Angel Cejudo's brother" (his older brother has been a four-time state champion, Cadet Nationals champion, Junior Nationals champion, and FILA Junior Nationals champion among other accolades)." Now, it is Angel Cejudo who may come to be known in wrestling circles as "Henry Cejudo's brother." The younger Cejudo made his mark in 2004, winning both styles at Junior Nationals in convincing fashion in a loaded weight. Cejudo knocked off the highly-decorated Mike Grey and Franklin Gomez just to make the finals. In fact, Cejudo unthinkably tech falled Grey and pinned Gomez to add to his double title in 2003 at the cadet level.

Cejudo further raised his stock in the spring of 2005 with a triumph at FILA Junior World Team Trials. At that tourney, he first crushed Obe Blanc, a 2003 Senior High School Nationals champion, and then 2004 Senior Nationals champion/multiple Junior and Cadet Nationals champion Paul Donahoe, twice in a row. None of these matches were really close, with Cejudo actually pinning Donahoe in one of the matches. The real impressiveness of these victories was that these accomplished competitors were two and three years older than Cejudo respectively.

Cejudo added to his resume with an impressive showing at the super-tough FILA Junior World Tournament. Unfortunately, he was injured while competing there, and was thus unable to add to his title count in Fargo this summer. In his absence, rivals Gomez and Grey won titles at 119 and 125 in dominating fashion.

The Best of the Rest:

The remaining contenders for best high school wrestler in the nation might be described as the "super seven." They are, in no particular order: Zach Bailey, Mike Grey, Garrett Scott, Billy Murphy, and Lance Palmer.

Some wrestling fans may feel that Zach Bailey has dropped off the elite list after his failure to place at Junior Nationals in 2005. They would be mistaken. Bailey was reportedly hampered by an injury. Regardless, his other victories in 2005 showed that his surprise win at Juniors in 2004 was no fluke. This season alone he defeated Mitch Mueller, Sean Nemec, and Ashtin Primus among others. Mueller dominated in winning a Junior Nationals title in freestyle in 2005 at Bailey's weight class. Nemec was a Junior Nationals All-American two weight classes higher than Bailey competed.

Mike Grey has a chance to become the first four-time state champion ever in the state of New Jersey.

Only one state has never had a four-time state champion, that being single-division New Jersey. That will likely change this year when Mike Grey is crowned for the fourth year in a row. Grey has amassed over a hundred victories with only a single overtime loss -- to High School Nationals and Junior Nationals double champion Franklin Gomez. While he is a folkstyle specialist, Grey has also shown talents in freestyle. In four trips to Fargo, he has come away with All-American honors all four times, adding a Junior Nationals title to a Cadet Nationals title won in 2002.

The enigma of the "super seven" is Garrett Scott of Pennsylvania. Many wrestling fans in Pennsylvania feel that Scott is the best to come out of their state since Cary Kolat, no small statement in the nation's premier wrestling state. Scott made two appearances in Fargo, winning Cadet Nationals titles in freestyle after his eighth and ninth grade seasons. The list of wrestlers who have won Cadet Nationals titles in freestyle before entering high school at weights above 100 lbs is short and illustrious. Scott has not lost since freshman year, and his only two losses that year were 8-7 and 10-8 in overtime, respectively. As a junior, he captured his third state title with a technical fall in the finals.

However, Scott has not competed in Fargo since winning his second Cadet Nationals title after his freshman season. The only national competition against which he has competed since then was at FILA Juniors this past spring, where he finished a disappointing eighth place (in the same weight where Bailey finished third, although they never met). The bet here is that Scott will return to form in 2005-2006.

Perhaps the most intriguing of the super seven is Billy Murphy. It is safe to say that no other member of the "super seven" is less technically polished than Murphy. Perhaps the best phrase to describe Murphy would be "bull in a china shop". Incomparably quick, powerful, and aggressive, Murphy rarely sees a risk he doesn't want to take on the mat. Moreover, Murphy is the last wrestler you will ever see be content to win a close match. Indeed, after winning 19-5 in the finals of the NHSCA Junior National Championships in April, Murphy threw his headgear and anklet aside in disdain, apparently disgusted by his inability to score a tech fall in the national finals. Murphy reminds this writer of a young Tom or Terry Brands (Editor's note: Subsequent to the submission of this article, ironically, Murphy verbally committed to wrestle for Tom Brands at Virginia Tech).

Justin Kerr's Top 10 Seniors:

1. David Craig, Florida
2. Henry Cejudo, Colorado
3. Billy Murphy, California
4. Garett Scott, Pennsylvania
5. Mike Grey, New Jersey
6. Zach Bailey, Missouri
7. Lance Palmer, Ohio
8. David Rella, Ohio
9. Jordan Frishkorn, Virginia
10. Jonathan Reader, Michigan

One thought that comes to mind watching Murphy's "go-for-broke" style is that the nation's true elite would capitalize on the mistakes of this talented yet raw wrestler. However, in 11 matches at the super-tough California one-division state tournament and the NHSCA Junior Nationals, Murphy failed to score a major decision only once, and he prevailed 12-5 in that bout. Perhaps even more telling, Murphy defeated Zach Bailey at the 2004 Brute Folkstyle Nationals by a score of 3-1 (it is difficult to imagine Murphy wrestling a match this low-scoring).

However, Murphy does lack the national freestyle credentials that the other members of the "super seven" have: he has been to Fargo just once, finishing second in Cadet Freestyle in 2004 to Mike Benefiel of Illinois. Still, even this showing is impressive given Murphy's relative lack of freestyle experience.

Rounding out the "super seven" is Ohio's Lance Palmer. Palmer is a folkstyle specialist who is probably the toughest wrestler in the nation from the top position. As powerful as any wrestler in the nation pound-for-pound (except for maybe Murphy), his power half with the legs in is possibly the most feared combination in the nation. So dominating is Palmer from top that he actually pinned 12 of 12 in Sectionals through States in Ohio. However, it was his match with fellow three-time Ohio state champion Cameron Doggett of St. Paris Graham that vaulted Palmer to superstar status. In that match, Palmer found himself in a quick 4-0 hole. Against a wrestler of Doggett's credentials (two-time Ironman champion, two-time Beast of the East champion, Cadet Nationals champion, Junior Nationals third), this deficit would have seemed insurmountable. However, Palmer showed true grit in clawing his way back to a 6-4 victory.

The best was yet to come, however. Despite having competed very little in freestyle since his youth wrestling days, Palmer moved up from 125 to 140 and finished third at the Junior Nationals. His lone loss was a 4-3 decision to the much-heralded Cyler Sanderson.

Jordan Frishkorn of Virginia is one of the many top wrestlers who will be competing at the Walsh Ironman in December.

While Craig and Cejudo are on opposite ends of the spectrum, most of the remaining members "super seven" will fall between 130-140 pounds this season. Scott, Palmer, and Murphy will all be competing at the Walsh Ironman in December, along with Junior Nationals runner-up Jordan Frishkorn. Also in the mix will be dominating Cadet Nationals champions Mario Mason, Alex Meade, and Kellen Russell. Given that all of the competitors will be bunched between 130-140 pounds, wrestling fans can look forward to multiple elite match-ups. A dominating performance by one of the remaining "super seven" may raise their stock to the level of Craig and Cejudo -- creating a new "top trio" just as we've had in years past. Stay tuned.

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