98: There are five returning All-Americans in Greco-Roman from last year that headline this weight class. There is the possibility of a rematch from the Cadet 91 pound final of last year in this weight class, as Colton Howell (Missouri) and Bobby Nachreiner (Wisconsin) are the early favorites in this weight. Howell beat Nachreiner in last year’s final, and the pair of wrestlers was champions at the FILA Cadet Nationals this April -- Howell won at 92, while Nachreiner took gold at 101. Gabe Foltz (Minnesota) and Nkosi Moody (Illinois) earned All-American status at Cadet 84 pounds, while Jesse Smith (Alabama) earned his honor in this weight class.
105: This weight class is headlined by a trio of wrestlers that ended the scholastic season ranked in their weight class. Freddie Rodriguez (Michigan) was ranked 18th at 112 pounds, and was a FILA Cadet National champion in both styles this past April. Ruben Navejas (Washington) was ranked 13th at 103 pounds, and a double finalist last summer in the Junior 98 pound weight class, champion in freestyle and runner-up in Greco-Roman. Kevon Powell (Illinois) finished the season ranked 16th at 103 pounds, and finished fourth place in both styles at the Junior level last summer. Javier Guillen (Arizona) was a Junior Greco All-American, while Jake Smith (Alabama) placed in Cadet Greco.
112: Four wrestlers in this weight class finished the scholastic season ranked in their weight class, and two of them earned All-American honors in Greco-Roman last summer. Tyler Fraley (New Jersey) was a finalist in both styles at Cadet 105, winning a title in Greco-Roman, this past year, Fraley finished the scholastic season ranked fifth at 103 and third at FILA Cadet 119 in Greco. Nashon Garrett (California) was in both styles at Cadet 105 last summer, and ended the scholastic season ranked eighth at 103 pounds. Steven Hopkins (Washington) finished the scholastic season ranked ninth at 103 pounds, and was third in this past April’s FILA Cadet Nationals at 110 pounds. Rounding out this quartet is Cory Clark (Iowa) who ended the scholastic season ranked 10th at 112 pounds. Six others in this weight class were Cadet Greco All-Americans last summer, while a seventh earned such honors at the Junior level.
119: The pre-tournament favorite is Carson Kuhn (Utah), who ended his senior season ranked 11th at 119 pounds and 86th in the Class of 2010. Kuhn placed top three in Greco-Roman during both years of his Cadet career. The two other wrestlers with ranking in this weight class are Joey Dance (Virginia) and Nathan Kraisser (Maryland). Dance ended the scholastic season ranked 16th at 112 pounds, and was a double Cadet National finalist last summer (runner-up in Greco). Kraisser was an All-American in Cadet Greco last summer, finished as runner-up at FILA Cadets this past April, and is ranked 47th in the Class of 2012. Five other wrestlers earned All-American honors in Greco-Roman last summer, three at the Junior level and two at the Cadet level. Another wrestler meriting attention is Hayden Zillmer (Minnesota), who swept both styles in Fargo as a Cadet during 2007 and 2008 but did not earn All-American honors at all last summer.
125: There are four ranked wrestlers in the field at this weight class, three of whom were among the elite at their weight during the scholastic season. Brock Banta (Idaho) and Rossi Bruno (Florida) were Junior Greco All-Americans at 119 pounds last summer, Banta was ranked 17th at 125 at the end of the scholastic season, while Bruno ranked 15th at 119 pounds. Mark Grey (New Jersey) and Kevin Norstrem (Florida) were double All-Americans at the Cadet level last summer. Grey won the Greco-Roman tournament at 112 pounds, and finished the school year ranked ninth at 119 pounds. Norstrem competed last summer at 119 pounds, finishing third in Greco-Roman, was champion of the 127 pound weight class at the FILA Cadet Nationals this past April, and is ranked fifth among all wrestlers in the Class of 2013. Three other wrestlers in this weight class were FILA Cadet Greco All-Americans in April, Patrick Myers (Pennsylvania) was an All-American in both styles of the Junior Nationals last summer, and Kavon Jones (Nebraska) joins Grey as a Cadet National Greco champion in this weight class.
130: This weight class is headlined by a pair of wrestlers ranked among the top 100 seniors-to-be in the nation. Matt Kelliher (Minnesota) is ranked 56th, while Daniel DeShazer (Kansas) is ranked 99th. Joe Denova (Georgia) and Tyler Liberatore (Florida) are among a trio of returning Junior Greco All-Americans in this weight class. There are two wrestlers that earned Cadet Greco All-American honors last summer, two others that were FILA All-Americans this past spring in Greco. Another wrestler to watch in this weight class is 2008 Cadet National champion Drew Lexvold (Minnesota).
135: A pair of college-bound wrestlers that were nationally ranked at 135 pounds this past scholastic season headline this weight class. AJ Schopp (Pennsylvania) was ranked fifth at the weight and 67th overall in the Class of 2010. Kade Moss (Utah) was ranked 17th in this weight class and a Junior Greco All-American last summer. Five other wrestlers return with Greco All-American credentials, three at the Cadet level and two at the Junior level. Two other wrestlers to watch are Zach Tanenbaum (Kansas) and Keenan Hagerty (Missouri).
140: Alex Dieringer (Wisconsin), a Cadet National double champion last summer, is one of four top 100 recruits from the Class of 2011 in this weight class. Dieringer ended the scholastic season ranked 19th at 140 pounds, and is currently 31st among all incoming seniors. Travis Himmelman (Colorado) is a returning Junior Greco All-American, and is ranked 42nd in his graduating class. Lex Ozias (Maryland) is ranked 54th, while returning Junior Greco All-American Elijah Sullivan (Iowa) is ranked 69th. Six other wrestlers were Cadet Greco All-Americans last summer, heading that group are runner-up Casey George (Idaho) and third place finisher Jacob Falk (Utah). Ryan Lubeck (Wisconsin) was a FILA Cadet champion in Greco this past April, and AJ Zemke (Wisconsin) is a third participant in this weight that was a Junior Greco All-American last summer. Two others to watch are Cullen Morrissey (Wisconsin) and Taylor Moeder (Kansas).
145: Three elite college bound wrestlers -- ranked inside the top 60 of the Class of 2010 -- make this a weight class chalk full of elite talent. Ravaughn Perkins (Nebraska) and Dylan Ness (Minnesota) would have to be considered joint favorites, as this pair of wrestlers met in the Junior Greco final at 140 last summer, Perkins came home the winner in that matchup. Steven Hernandez (Nevada) placed third in Junior Greco at 145, and like Ness also earned All-American honors in freestyle. Four more wrestlers are in the top 100 of the Class of 2011. Blake Roulo (Virginia) is ranked 38th, and finished third in Junior Greco at 140 last summer, Ryne Cokeley (Kansas) is ranked 43rd, Colby Kloetzer (Idaho) is ranked 51st, and Lucas Smith (Illinois) is ranked 76th, also earning Cadet Greco All-American honors last summer. Ranked among the top 50 in the Class of 2012 are #45 Clark Glass (Florida) and #41 Zach Brunson (Oregon), Brunson was also a Cadet double All-American last summer, runner-up in Greco-Roman. There are three additional wrestlers that earned All-American honors in Cadet Greco last summer, and two others that were FILA All-Americans this spring.
152: Yet to lose a match in two years of Fargo competition -- Greco and freestyle -- Taylor Massa (Michigan) moves up to the Junior level, where he is the pre-tournament favorite in this weight class, and he is also the top-ranked member of the Class of 2012. Four other wrestlers are also ranked in their graduating class, two in the top 100 of the Class of 2011, and a pair of Cadet Greco runners-up inside the top 50 of the Class of 2012. Returning Cadet Greco champion Brad Dolezal (Wisconsin) is ranked 73rd in the Class of 2011, while Junior Greco runner-up Kory DeBerry (Arizona) is ranked 82nd. Justin Koethe (Iowa) is 26th in the Class of 2012, and also a FILA Cadet Greco runner-up, while Dylan Reel (Illinois), also a FILA Cadet freestyle champion, is ranked 34th. Zak Benitz (Wisconsin) joins Massa and Dolezal as returning Cadet Greco champions in this weight class. Yet the most formidable challenger to Massa may be the forgotten name of Derek Olson (Wisconsin), twice an All-American in Greco (2008 Juniors, 2007 Cadets).
160: For being a middle-weight, this weight class is relatively lean in quality. Even so, there are a few notable names to discuss. There are three returning Junior Greco All-Americans, anchored by Seth Thomas (Oregon) -- ranked 79th in the Class of 2011, the two others are Joey Moorhouse (Illinois) and Zach Skates (Oklahoma). Another wrestler to note is 2008 Cadet Greco-Roman champion Wally Figaro (Florida), who beat Massa last month at the Junior Duals in Oklahoma City. Three wrestlers in this weight class were also Cadet Greco All-Americans last summer, headed by Kyle Crutchmer (Oklahoma). Crutchmer was actually an All-American in both styles in Fargo, finished as a runner-up in both styles at the FILA Cadet Nationals in April, and is ranked 48th among Class of 2012 wrestlers. One other wrestler to watch is Cody Allala (Virginia).
171: Returning Junior Greco All-Americans Stephen McPeek (Texas) and Nathaniel Brown (Pennsylvania) headline the field at this weight class, McPeek ended the scholastic season ranked 17th at 189 pounds, while Brown is ranked 53rd among all Class of 2011 wrestlers. A third lead contender would be Devin Peterson (Wisconsin), who swept Cadet national titles last summer in Fargo and is ranked 12th in the Class of 2012. An additional top 100 Class of 2011 recruit is Kris Klapprodt (South Dakota), who is ranked 68th. There is one other returning Cadet Greco All-American in this weight class, Joel Bauman (Minnesota) was a Junior Greco All-American last summer, and Micah Kullman (Ohio) was the FILA Junior Greco champion in April.
189: The strong pre-tournament favorite in this weight class is Tyler Beckwith (New York), who is bound for Binghampton University and ended the season ranked 11th in the Class of 2010. Beckwith was also a double Junior National All-American last summer, and runner-up in Greco. The other ranked wrestler in this weight class is Lucas Sheridan (California), who is ranked 83rd in the Class of 2011, Sheridan earned All-American honors in both styles at the Cadet Nationals last summer and FILA Cadet Nationals in April. Four other wrestlers were Cadet Greco All-Americans last summer, while a pair earned such honors at the Junior level. This includes arguably the most viable challenger to Beckwith in Austin Morehead (California). Two additional contenders worth mentioning are Ethan Blackstock (Georgia) and Jayd Docken (South Dakota), both of whom are college bound.
215: This weight class has a strong injection of five wrestlers that ended the scholastic season ranked at 215 pounds, and are college bound in just about one month. This includes wrestlers that ended last season ranked second through fifth in the weight class, Spencer Myers (Pennsylvania), Trevor Rupp (Idaho), Scott Schiller (North Dakota), and Alex Polizzi (Wisconsin). Myers failed to earn All-American honors in Greco, but was fifth in freestyle, while the other three earned All-American honors in both styles -- including Greco runner-up Rupp. Kyle Caylor (Kansas) earned All-American honors in Greco and ended the scholastic season ranked 18th. There are four additional wrestlers ranked in the top 100 for the Class of 2011, led by Tanner Hall (Idaho), whose stock shot up this spring with a FILA Cadet double championship and All-American honors in both styles at FILA Juniors. Ranked 15th in his class, Hall was also a Cadet Greco champion last summer. Tank Knowles (California) is ranked 33rd, Nick Gwiazdowski (New York) is ranked 36th, and Jay Taylor is ranked 94th. Three others were Cadet Greco All-Americans last summer, while an additional wrestler to watch is Matthew Loew (New York).
285: The defending Cadet and Junior Greco champions in this weight class are both in the field, Orry Elor (California) and Niko Bogojevic (Wisconsin). Bogojevic enters this competition as the favorite, and he ended his senior season of scholastic wrestling ranked 10th in the weight class. Two other wrestlers in this weight class ended the scholastic season ranked ninth -- Connor Medbery (Colorado) at 215, and Donny Longendyke (Minnesota) at 285 pounds. Medbery, a Junior Greco All-American, is ranked 16th in the Class of 2011, while Longendyke, a Cadet Greco All-American (and freestyle champion) is ranked 18th. Two others in this weight were Cadet Greco All-Americans last summer as well.
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