The weight class rankings reflect wrestling through the end of the scholastic state tournament season, as well as the major post-season national tournaments and all-star meets. While freestyle and Greco-Roman has started for the spring/summer, those results were not considered as inputs into the end of season rankings. In addition to the weight class rankings, graduating class rankings will be released tomorrow (Friday 4/16) -- and reflective of the weight class rankings both in terms of criteria and rank ordering.
The one exception is that the junior high rankings (Class of 2014+) reflect results through this past weekend -- which included multiple major tournaments with the Reno World Championships, FILA Cadet Nationals, among other events.
For the Class of 2010, this is the last time a Top 100 will be done for this group. For the other four groups, this is the last time for them in the said format.
Come the mid-June rankings, which will be graduating class only, the ranking will be done with the Class of 2011 as the new senior class ranked out to the top 100. The Classes of 2012 and 2013 will be juniors and sophomores ranked out to 50; while the incoming Class of 2014 will be freshmen evaluated out to 25, with junior high wrestlers from the Classes of 2015 and 2016 ranked to 15.
As always, the ranking process this year is one that involves a rigorous and thorough examination. It is also one that will never be without debate, disagreement, and discussion. Most of the time - the areas of contention are more about ordering wrestlers in the middle of the rankings, as well as about which wrestlers to include towards the back portions (i.e. closer to No. 20).
However, the following is a discussion of the top portion of the rankings in each weight class.
103: The year started with Super 32 finalists Joey Dance (Christiansburg, VA) and Freddie Rodriguez (Holt, MI) as well as two-time Cadet National double champion Nick Roberts (North Star, PA) on top of the rankings. When Dance and Rodriguez moved up to 112 pounds early in the season, Roberts inherited the No. 1 position with Tyler Fraley (Colts Neck, NJ) close behind in the second position. State tournament upsets significantly opened up the debate, as Zain Retherford (Line Mountain, PA) defeated Roberts in the semifinal round on the way to winning his state title; and Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield, NJ) capped off an undefeated freshman season with his victory over Fraley in the state final. The end of season No. 1 is Cody Phillips (Union County, IN) -- a two-time state champion who has yet to lose a match during his high school career.
112: Evan Silver (Blair Academy, NJ) opened the season as the top-ranked wrestler coming off of National Prep titles in his freshman and sophomore seasons. He remained No. 1 throughout the season, with only one loss up at 119 pounds to Nick Brascetta (Graham, OH); and also won his third consecutive National Prep championship. Silver affirmed his No. 1 status with victories in the semifinal and final of the Walsh Ironman over second-ranked Jimmy Gulibon (Derry Area, PA) and third-ranked Alex Cisneros (Selma, CA). Gulibon and Cisneros, both sophomores, won their second state titles each this past year -- and earned second titles at their major in-season tournaments (Reno and Powerade respectively).
119: With his last competitively relevant loss coming in the summer of 2008 at Fargo, Ryak Finch (Safford, AZ) started the season in the top position of the rankings, and kept the top position throughout the 2009-10 season. Finch -- a double Junior National champion at 112 pounds in 2009, and NHSCA Sophomore and Junior National champion -- was selected for both major all-star meets, winning those matchups. Ranked in the second position is Nico Megaludis (Franklin Regional, PA) -- a Junior National freestyle runner-up this past summer, and has a career record of 119-1 in three years of high school. The only loss for Megaludis was a 1-0 defeat to Mark Rappo in the state semifinals his freshman year; Megaludis seeks to become only the third ever four-time Powerade champion this December. Third in the rankings is junior Mason Beckman (Reynolds, PA), who was champion at the Ironman in a bracket that included five of the next six wrestlers ranked in this weight.
125: The best wrestler in high school this season is the top-ranked wrestler in this weight class. Logan Stieber (Monroeville, OH) closed his career with approximately 180 consecutive wins after an opening weekend defeat in the Walsh Ironman finals his freshman year against David Taylor (Penn State/Graham, OH). Stieber earned a fourth state championship, and dominated third-ranked Mitchell Port (Bellefonte, PA) in the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic. Ranked second in this weight is junior Jesse Thielke (Germantown, WI), a three-time state champion and one of the nation's best young talents -- especially in Greco-Roman. Port was a Powerade champion, defeating Devin Carter (Christiansburg, VA) in the final, and earned an elusive state title this past season.
130: After the completion of the state tournament season, the No. 1 wrestler was Frank Cagnina (Queen of Peace, NJ). However, Cagnina was upset by Keith Surber (O'Fallon, IL) in the Wrestling USA/Cliff Keen Dream Team Classic this past weekend. Surber becomes the No. 1 wrestler on the strength of that upset victory, his NHSCA Senior Nationals championship and Most Oustanding Wrestler honor, and a 51-1 record on the way to an Illinois state title (the one loss coming to 135 pound state champion Chris Dardanes by a 5-4 score). Cagnina is still ranked very highly in the second position on the strength of his third New Jersey state championship, a Super 32 championship, an undefeated run at the Junior National Freestyle Duals, and a head-to-head win over third-ranked Nick Schenk in the finals of Mount Mat Madness. Schenk (St. Mark's, DE) was a Junior National freestyle All-American this past summer; and champion at the Beast of the East over Penn State signee Sam Sherlock (West Mifflin, PA) -- Sherlock had his season come to a premature end immediately after that tournament.
135: Josh Dziewa (Council Rock South, PA) earned an elusive state title during his senior season, one in which he went 33-1 with his only loss coming to the top-ranked 145 pound wrestler in the country Andrew Alton in the Escape the Rock finals. Dziewa was a Junior National freestyle champion this past summer, and earned a major decision against second-ranked Ryen Nieman in the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic. Nieman (Bullock Creek, MI) finished as a three-time state champion with a 174-0 in-season record during his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons. He also finished third place in freestyle at the Junior Nationals this past summer. Though Chris Dardanes (Oak Park River Forest, IL) was a state champion, Junior National freestyle All-American at 130, and earned a 6-4 overtime victory against Nieman this past weekend -- he is only ranked sixth due to some losses to wrestlers ranked outside the top ten during the course of the season. The third-ranked wrestler is three-time National Prep champion Austin Ormsbee (Blair Academy, NJ); however, he missed the early part of this past scholastic season, and has yet to earn All-American honors in Fargo.
140: Among the many great wrestlers to compete in the Blair singlet, one must say that Chris Villalonga is truly among the best performers. A four-time National Prep champion, Villalonga did not lose a match after late December in his freshman year (a quarterfinal loss to Dan Kelly at the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic. His only other losses were in the finals of the Walsh Ironman (Tony Ramos) and Beast of the East (Eric Olanowski) during that freshman year. Villalonga is a three-time Walsh Ironman and Beast of the East champion, defeated second-ranked Josh Kindig (Blue Mountain, PA) in the Dapper Dan, and capped off his career with an NHSCA Senior Nationals championship. Kindig finishes as a two-time Pennsylvania state champion and three-time state finalist; a three-time Super 32 finalist, winning the 140 pound weight class this year; and many All-American honors in Fargo, including a third in Greco and second in freestyle this past summer. Third in the rankings is three-time state champion senior Josh Ballweg (Waverly Shell-Rock, IA), who finished fourth in Junior National freestyle this past summer.
145: Andrew Alton (Central Mountain, PA) finished as an undefeated state champion for the second consecutive season, after third place finishes in the prior two seasons. Andrew won a second consecutive Walsh Ironman championship, after earning a fourth consecutive freestyle championship in Fargo this past summer (two as a Cadet and two as a Junior). Second in this weight class is senior Dylan Ness (Bloomington Kennedy, MN) after winning an elusive state title, having fallen in the semifinals the two prior seasons; Ness also earned double All-American honors at the Junior level in Fargo this past summer, after winning double Cadet titles in 2008. Ranked third in this weight class is Ben Dorsay (Cox, VA), who won a third state championship to cap off a season in which he also won the Beast of the East.
152: Jackson Morse (Lowell, MI) ends the season in the top position after his victory over Dylan Alton (Central Mountain, PA) in the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic. Morse scored a last-second takedown to secure the 7-6 victory, which was a repeat of his 6-5 victory in the 2008 Super 32 semifinals. Morse defeated Joey Napoli (Lehigh/Cumberland Valley, PA) to win the 2008 Super 32 Challenge, and earned the 2009 Super 32 title at 152 pounds with victories over fifth-ranked Joey Cozart (Brandon, FL) and fourth-ranked Taylor Massa (St. John's, MI). Morse capped off his high school career with a third state title at 160 pounds, a weight class selected in order to accommodate teammates into the lineup; however, he did weigh in at 152 during the course of the season. Like his brother Andrew, Dylan Alton finished as an undefeated state champion for a second consecutive season and was a repeat Ironman champion. Dylan also won his third state championship this past year, after winning a third consecutive freestyle title in Fargo last summer (two Junior, one Cadet). Third in the weight is Destin McCauley (Apple Valley, MN) who won his fourth state championship in five state finals appearances going back to seventh grade. He finished third in the Junior National freestyle competition, and also has wins over Massa (Western Junior Regional freestyle) and Cozart (Cheesehead) within the last calendar year.
160: Marshall Peppelman (Central Dauphin, PA) capped off a career in which he was a four-time state finalist and three-time state champion with a 1-0 victory over third-ranked Nick Sulzer (St. Edward, OH) to remain the top-ranked wrestler in this weight class. Peppelman became the second wrestler to ever win four titles at the Powerade, and also won his third Beast of the East championship during this season. Second-ranked in this weight class is Nick Moore (Iowa City West, IA), who finishes his career with four state championships and a record of 169-0. Even in losing to Peppelman at the Dapper Dan, Sulzer had a dominant senior season -- winning his first state championship (career placements were 2-3-2-1), earning titles at the Walsh Ironman and NHSCA Senior Nationals, and earning All-American honors at Junior Nationals in freestyle this past summer.
171: Junior sensation Chris Phillips (Monroeville, OH) remained in the top spot all season and closed out the season with a third consecutive state championship. Despite battling injury throughout the season, Derek Garcia (Sedro-Woolley, WA) was dominant in winning his fourth state championship after earning a Junior National freestyle title this past summer; Garcia is ranked second nationally in the weight class. Ranked third in this weight class is three-time state finalist, two-time state champion, Tyler Beckwith (Greene, NY) -- who became the first wrestler to win four different NHSCA grade-level championships with his title at the NHSCA Senior Nationals three weeks ago. Beckwith was also a double All-American in Fargo, with a runner-up finish in Greco-Roman.
189: Andrew Campolattano (Bound Brook, NJ) started off the season in the No. 1 spot, as he had been undefeated in two seasons of high school competition and was a Junior National Greco-Roman champion this past summer. However, a 7-2 loss to Michael Evans (Blair Academy, NJ) saw him move out of the No. 1 position. At that point in time, Lee Munster (Fox Lake Grant, IL) inherited the position due to his two state titles and having a head-to-head victory over Evans in Fargo freestyle (Munster was second, and Evans took third). However, in his state tournament qualifier, he lost by fall to 13th ranked Sterling Hecox (Machesney Park Harlem, IL) -- though Munster did avenge that result to earn a third state championship the next weekend. As a result, Evans moved to the No. 1 position, and remained No. 1 on the strength of at least ten wins over nationally ranked opponents this year; titles at the Walsh Ironman, Beast of the East, Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic; a National Prep championship; and wins in both major all-star meets. Campolattano ends up second. In third is two-time state champion junior Morgan McIntosh (Calvary Chapel, CA) who missed the first half of the season due to injuries that precluded him from major off-season competition last summer; however, he did come back in impressive fashion for his state series, and with a title at FloNationals. Munster closes out his senior season fourth at this weight class.
215: Kyle Cowan (Cascia, OK) maintain his No. 1 ranking throughout a senior season that he capped off with a third consecutive state championship. Ranked second in the weight is Spencer Myers (Selinsgrove, PA), who won a state championship this past season after being named all-state in football and earning All-American honors at Junior Nationals in freestyle this past summer. Myers also secured a 3-2 victory over third-ranked Trevor Rupp (Pocatello, ID) at the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic. Rupp earned a repeat state title this season after double All-American honors in Fargo this past summer (second in Greco-Roman, third in freestyle).
285: Mike McMullan (Wyoming Seminary, PA) -- now a two-time National Prep champion -- jumped Jimmy Lawson (Manchester, NJ) into the No. 1 position after his one-point victory over Bobby Telford (St. Mark's, DE) in the finals of the Beast of the East. At the time, McMullan had already won an Ironman title, and he would go on to pin sixth-ranked Henry Chirino (Brandon, FL) in the finals of the Cheesehead. Lawson remained in the second position, as he would go onto win Most Oustanding Wrestler honors at the state tournament in securing four pins for a third state title; he would also win the NHSCA Senior Nationals with a finals victory over seventh-ranked Lance Moore (Lackawana Trail, NY). Telford maintained the third position, with a second straight state championship, and dominated fourth-ranked Evan Craig (Abington Heights, DE) with a pin in the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic.
The five wrestlers at the top of their respective graduating classes (complete rankings to be released tomorrow, Friday 4-16) at the end of this scholastic season are Logan Stieber (Monroeville, OH) for the Class of 2010; Chris Phillips (Monroeville, OH) for the Class of 2011; Taylor Massa (St. John's, MI) for the Class of 2012; Ben Whitford (Marmion Academy, IL) for the Class of 2013; and Jered Cortez (Illinois) for junior high wrestlers.
Counting the wrestlers ranked by state (35 states represented):
39: PA
31: NJ
28: OH
17: CA
16: IA, IL
14: NY
12: OK
9: MI, MO, WI
8: MN, VA
7: IN
6: KS, SD
5: DE, FL, WA
3: GA, ID, ND, NE
2: AZ, CO, TN, TX, UT
1: AK, HI, MA, MD, MT, NV, WY
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