Mason Parris is the nation's top-ranked 220-pounder (Photo/Paul Tincher, IndianaMat)With the major preseason tournaments all but done, and official scholastic season practices either having started already or about to start, it is now time for the presentation of the preseason national high school weight class rankings. The top 20 wrestlers in each weight class are recognized, with the most elite wrestler named as the No. 1 wrestler in the country.
To start the 2017-18 season, here are the top ranked wrestlers in each weight class.
106 pounds: Jacob Decatur (CVCA, Ohio)
The junior finished last season ranked No. 6 nationally at 106 pounds after winning his first state title. Decatur went 38-2, while giving up less than five takedowns (if that many) during those 40 matches. Both losses came against Cadet World team member Julian Tagg in December, 3-2 in the ultimate tiebreaker in the Walsh Ironman quarters and 3-2 in the semifinals at Brecksville; Decatur had the lone takedown scored within those two matches.
113 pounds: Kurt McHenry (St. Paul's, Md.)
The junior is a two-time Cadet World champion, having won titles at 42 and 46 kilograms the last two summers. He was third at National Preps in his freshman campaign as a rather undersized 106 pound wrestler, while last season he did not compete at the National Prep tournament. The highlight match of 2016-17 for him was a decisive 4-2 decision victory over fellow Cadet World team member Julian Tagg in the Beast of the East final.
120 pounds: Adam Busiello (Eastport-South Manor, N.Y.)
The junior is now a three-time Super 32 Challenge champion and a three-time state champion (includes a state title at 99 pounds in eighth grade). Busiello finished his freshman season as the nation's No. 1 ranked wrestler at 106 pounds, while ending this past season No. 12 in this weight class.
126 pounds: Patrick Glory (Delbarton, N.J.)
The senior verbal commit to Princeton ended last season ranked No. 1 in the nation at 120 pounds after winning his first state title, was runner-up the previous two seasons. This summer Glory finished third in Junior freestyle at 120 pounds, while last month he earned a win over Gavin Teasdale in the Who's Number One showcase event.
132 pounds: Joey Silva (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.)
When it comes to folkstyle productivity, this Michigan commit is unmatched for this year's pool of wrestlers. Four state titles (including one at 106 pounds as an eighth grader), three NHSCA grade level titles, and three Super 32 Challenge titles.
138 pounds: Jacori Teemer (Long Beach, N.Y.)
Three-time state champion Teemer made a profound leap this spring when he dominated fellow national No. 1 Sammy Sasso to win the Cadet World team spot at 63 kilograms. The Arizona State commit would go on to win a bronze medal at the World Championships in Greece. Other 2016-17 resume highlights included a third-place finish at the Super 32 Challenge (Silva won the weight class), a NHSCA Junior Nationals title, and a FloNationals title.
145 pounds: Sammy Sasso (Nazareth, Pa.)
This Ohio State commit had a perfectly clean junior season in 2016-17. Highlights included a Super 32 Challenge title, an undefeated state championship that included tournament championships at the Ironman and Beast of the East, along with a FloNationals title (a repeat in that event).
152 pounds: Brayton Lee (Brownsburg, Ind.)
This two-time state champion enters his senior season with a career record of 130-1, including 89 straight wins. His lone high school loss came by fall in the semi-state quarterfinals as a freshman, which due to the asinine state series structure in Indiana precluded him from state tournament qualification. Subsequently, Lee's offseason resume includes a pair of third place finishes in Fargo freestyle (2015 Cadet, 2017 Junior) and a pair of Super 32 Challenge placements (5th in 2015, 3rd in 2016).
160 pounds: David Carr (Massillon Perry, Ohio)
The Iowa State commit has already won four state titles, which includes one in eighth grade over Trae Blackwell while competing in Kentucky; the last two have also come in high profile state finals bouts against defending state champions, beating Dominick Demas as a sophomore and Jaden Mattox this past season. Carr is also a 2015 Super 32 Challenge champion, a 2015 Walsh Ironman champion, a 2016 Cadet World bronze medalist, and a Junior National freestyle champion this summer.
170 pounds: Patrick Kennedy (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.)
The lone wrestler that is not a junior or senior among those ranked No. 1 nationally is this sophomore from Minnesota, who won a state title this past season and was third at both the UWW Cadet Nationals and Cadet Nationals in freestyle this past offseason. Catalyzing his leap to the top of this weight class is a Sunday at the Super 32 Challenge where he beat wrestlers ranked 6th, 2nd, and 7th in succession on the way to a championship.
182 pounds: Travis Wittlake (Marshfield, Ore.)
A 2016 Cadet World bronze medalist at 76 kilograms, this Oklahoma State commit was a repeat UWW Cadet National freestyle champion in June. However, injury would preclude him from competing in Greece, and subsequently domestic runner-up Aaron Brooks would go on to win the gold medal. Wittlake is also a three-time state champion and five-time Cadet National champion (two folkstyle titles, two Greco titles, and 2016 freestyle title).
195 pounds: Gavin Hoffman (Montoursville, Pa.)
The two-time state champion is also a two-time Super 32 placer (2016 runner-up), two-time FloNationals placer (2017 champion), three-time NHSCA grade level chamion, and a two-time Cadet freestyle All-American (2016 runner-up). Hoffman was a Cadet world bronze medalist this summer at 85 kilograms, and the Ohio State commit upended Michael Beard at the Who's Number one showcase to propel into this top position.
220 pounds: Mason Parris (Lawrenceburg, Ind.)
The two-time state champion, with both titles coming in this weight class, has a career record of 159-1 (including 106 consecutive wins). The Michigan commit was a FloNationals champion this past spring, and passed up on many "power five" division I football offers as a linebacker to wrestle collegiately; he was a three-star recruit and a top ten overall player in Indiana's football Class of 2018.
285 pounds: Gable Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn.)
The nation's top overall wrestler without any argument is a three-time state champion, and was a state runner-up in eighth grade. He has won world-level titles in freestyle each of the past three summers. In 2015 and 2016, he won Cadet titles at 100 kilograms, while this year it was a Junior title at 125 kilograms. It should be noted Steveson was in his first year of Junior eligibility, and was still eligible to compete at Cadet Worlds in terms of age.
Wrestlers ranked by state (high school attending), 37 states in all:
34: Pennsylvania
32: New Jersey
26: Ohio
24: California
19: Illinois
15: Iowa, Missouri
12: New York
11: Minnesota
9: Colorado, Wisconsin
8: Michigan
7: Florida, Indiana, Oklahoma
5: Maryland
4: Georgia
3: Utah, Texas, Washington
2: Arizona, Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, South Dakota, Tennessee, West Virgnia
1: Alabama, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Virginia
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