National team rankings
Before previewing the upcoming weekend, let's look at how the national rankings evolved this week.
Walsh Ironman
The major event this coming weekend is the Walsh Ironman in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. A comprehensive preview for that tournament will be posted on Thursday. However, it should be noted that six of the nation's top eleven teams are in the field, and either full or partial entries from nine other Fab 50 teams. Many of those squads will be short-handed for the event this weekend, but the field is still loaded with a capital L.
King of the Mountain
The next biggest tournament on the docket for this weekend is the King of the Mountain, which is hosted by Central Mountain, Pa. The field features a pair of nationally ranked teams in No. 6 Bethlehem Catholic, Pa. and No. 34 Boyertown, Pa. Additional notable teams in the 30-plus team field include include Council Rock South (Pa.), Greater Latrobe (Pa.), Nazareth (Pa.), North Allegheny (Pa.), and Parkersburg South (W.Va.)
Sixteen nationally ranked wrestlers from eight weight class feature in the field, including four whom are ranked No. 2 nationally. Luke Pletcher (Greater Latrobe), ranked second at 132 pounds, anchors what is the tournament's feature weight class, as he is potentially joined by three other ranked wrestlers: No. 9 Sammy Sasso (Nazareth), No. 16 Zach Trampe (Council Rock South), and No. 19 Wade Cummings (Downington East, Pa.). Also present are two-time state placer Brett Kulp (Exeter Township, Pa.), 2014 state placer Joey Gould (Bethlehem Catholic), and returning state placer Lucas Miller (Boyertown).
Also ranked second nationally is Jordan Wood (Boyertown), who competes at 220 pounds, a weight class in this tournament that features three other nationally ranked competitors. Those would be No. 15 Cole Nye (Bishop McDevitt, Pa.), No. 18 Jacob Robb (Armstrong, Pa.), and No. 20 Francis Duggan (North Allegheny).
Luke Karam (Bethlehem Catholic) is ranked No. 2 at 126 pounds, a weight class that in this tournament also features No. 9 Ethan McCoy (Greater Latrobe), along with another pair of returning state placers in John Pipa (Bishop McDevitt) and Derek Wilson (South-Western). Rounding out the No. 2 ranked wrestlers is Cameron Coy (Penn Trafford, Pa.) at 145 pounds. His weight classes features two other state placers, Stephen Maloney (Bethlehem Catholic) and Colin Edsell (Wyalusing, Pa.)
The other weight class in this tournament to feature multiple ranked wrestlers is 152 pounds, with No. 4 Hayden Hidlay (Mifflin County, Pa.) and No. 10 Jonathan Ross (Northern York, Pa.). Also in that field is state chamion Branden Lamey (Sanford Del.). Rounding out the ranked wrestlers are No. 9 Austin DeSanto (Exeter Township), No. 9 Michael Labriola (Bethlehem Catholic), and No. 20 Jacob Oliver (Huntingdon, Pa.)
Additional state champions in this tournament field are Tyson Klump (Nazareth) at 113 pounds and Justin Allman (Parkersburg South, W.Va.) at 195.
Despite no nationally ranked wrestlers projected to be present, the tournament's most robust weight class may be at 138 pounds, where there are seven returning and/or previous state placers in the field. That group is led (in terms of credentials) by a pair of two-time state runners-up in Cole Wetzel (Boiling Springs, Pa.) and Luke McDonogh (Sanford). Also present are 2013/2014 state placer Colin Glorioso (Huntingdon), 2014 state placer Riley Palmer (Council Rock South), Jake Hinkson (North Allegheny, Pa.), Brock Port (Bellefonte), and Matt Schmall (Northern Lehigh).
Council Bluffs Wrestling Classic
Another event this weekend that features a pair of nationally ranked teams is the Council Bluffs Wrestling Classic, which is being held at the Mid-American Center in Iowa. Anchoring the field are No. 27 Fort Dodge, Iowa and No. 35 Apple Valley, Minn. Other notable teams include three of the top five teams from last year's Nebraska big-school state tournament (Grand Island, Kearney, and Creighton Prep), state runners-up from the two biggest divisions in the Kansas state tournament (Olathe North and St. James Academy), three other teams ranked in the preseason top ten for their state classification in Iowa (Waukee, Glenwood, and Underwood), along with a team ranked in the top ten for their state classification in Minnesota (Totino-Grace).
The field features a 34-team field and uses a pool-to-bracket format. The first day of the tournament involves pools of either four or five wrestlers, the top two of which will advance to an upper bracket on day two; it is a 16-man bracket in which losers in the first two rounds can compete for fifth.
Seven nationally ranked wrestlers anchor the field, including a pair of grapplers at 170 pounds, No. 1 Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.) and No. 19 Marcus Coleman (Ames, Iowa). It could become a showcase weight, as the field also may feature state champion Clay Lautt (St. James Academy, Kansas) and two-time Cadet double All-American Anthony Sherry (Glenwood, Iowa).
Also among the ranked wrestlers is national No. 1 Gable Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn.) at 220 pounds. At 113 pounds, it is No. 19 Brody Teske (Fort Dodge, Iowa); also in his weight class could be state champion Jake Stogdill (Millard North, Neb.) and Super 32 placer Kyle Biscgolia (Waukee, Iowa). At 120 pounds, it is No. 13 Alex Thomsen (Underwood, Iowa); while also in his weight class could be two-time state runner-up Jakob Allison (Waukee, Iowa). At 152 pounds, it is No. 11 Colton Clingenpeel (Council Bluffs Jefferson, Iowa); while state placer Matt Malcolm (Glenwood, Iowa) could also be in the weight class. Lastly at 195 pounds, it is No. 12 Sam Cook (Fort Dodge, Iowa); while state placer Jared Florell (Totino-Grace, Minn.) could appear.
Two other potential juicy weight classes are 106 and 126 pounds. At 106, it is Drew Bennett (Fort Dodge, Iowa), Cade Devos (Waukee, Iowa), and Jace Koelzer (Olathe South, Kansas); while the 126 pound weight class features four returning state runners-up, two of whom were state champions in 2014; the former state champions are Corbin Nirschl (Basehor-Linwood, Kansas) and Kaleb Poppelwell (Maysville, Mo.), and the others are two-time state placer Bryden Curry (Sgt. Bluff-Luton, Iowa) along with Triston Lara (Fort Dodge, Iowa).
Jim Graves Invitational
Nationally ranked Lake Highland Prep, Fla. (No. 16 overall) anchors a solid multi-state field of teams coming to Brandon, Fla. for the Jim Graves Invitational this Friday and Saturday. Other teams to watch include the host school, Camden County (Ga.), and South Dade (Fla.).
Six nationally ranked wrestlers are present in the field, including a pair at 126 pounds in No. 5 Kyle Norstrem (Brandon) and No. 10 Joey Silva (Lake Highland Prep). Also in this weight class is a third state champion in Brevin Balmaceda (South Dade).
Mason Wohltman (Lake Highland Prep), ranked No. 20 at 113 pounds, will be competing in a weight class that also features state champion Alex Victor (Braddock, Fla.) and state placer Abe Guariello (Fort LeBoeuf, Pa.). Jake Brindley (Lake Highland Prep), ranked No. 19 at 138 pounds is likely to be at 145 this weekend, with his drop down coming in the next tournament; his likely challengers include two-time state champion Ozzy Lugo (South Dade) and state champion John Hayden Hill (Vestavia Hills, Ala.). Also up a weight this weekend is Elijah Cleary (Lake Highland Prep), ranked No. 12 at 160 pounds, but expected to be at 170. Last among the ranked wrestlers is No. 14 Dante Jiovanetta (Coral Shores, Fla.), who competes at 285 pounds; that weight class is also expected to feature returning state runner-up Kyron Taylor (South Dade).
Arguably the deepest weight of this event is going to be at 138 pounds, which features four notable wrestlers: 2014 state champion Frankie Bruno (Brandon), Super 32 placer and state runner-up Denton Spencer (Camden County), state champion Matthew Pugh (Vestavia Hills), and state placer Jarrette Carter (Fort LeBoeuf).
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