Compiling the national team rankings is always an interesting beast. Between the vastness of the United States, the many different schedule structures that teams have, and comparing teams across different contexts (i.e. dual meet, smaller tournament, elite national tournament) -- there is a lot to be considered.
As a simple example, the No. 12 ranked team in the country (Buchanan, Calif.) does not have a single weight class ranked wrestler; however their projected lineup features 12 starters with state tournament experience in single-class California, which means they are extraordinarily deep and balanced. Conversely, there are schools with multiple ranked wrestlers that are not Fab 50 squads due to a lack of depth in the lineup behind those ranked wrestlers.
Mason Manville, a multiple-time Fargo champion and 2014 Cadet World champion in freestyle, is one of seven Blair Academy wrestlers who appears in the preseason InterMat high school wrestling rankings powered by Flips Wrestling (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Nipping right at the heels of Blair Academy, and it was a very close call for the top spot, is preseason No. 2 Oak Park River Forest, Ill. The Huskies also ended the 2014-15 season in the second position, and like the Buccaneers, they also start the season with seven ranked wrestlers: No. 12 Anthony Madrigal at 106, No. 4 Jason Renteria at 113, No. 17 Gabe Townsell at 126, No. 4 Larry Early at 145, No. 2 Isaiah White at 152, No. 14 Matthew Rundell at 160, and No. 5 Kamal Bey at 170. The lone common event for the two teams is at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman on December 12th and 13th in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
That prestigious field also features the next two teams in the rankings, No. 3 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) and No. 4 St. Paris Graham (Ohio). The Blue Knights, which upended Blair Academy at National Preps last year, feature five weight class ranked wrestlers; while the fourteen-time defending Ohio Division II state champion Falcons have six of their own.
The stars of national high school wrestling feature in the No. 1 positions across the weight classes. Three of the four wrestlers presently at the top of the rankings for their respective grade levels also hold the catbird seat in their respective weight classes. Freshman Cade Olivas (St. John Bosco, Calif.) is tops at 106 pounds, sophomore Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional, Pa.) leads the way at 120, while junior Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.) anchors the group at 170; Anthony Valencia (St. John Bosco, Calif.), the nation’s top senior, is ranked second to Hall at 170.
Below is a profile of the wrestlers currently holding top positions in each of the weight classes:
106: Cade Olivas (St. John Bosco, Calif.)
Olivas has been a known commodity for a long time prior to high school, winning multiple Roller World of Wrestling titles, Super 32 Middle School crowns, and the such. This past summer, Olivas represented the United States in the 46-kilogram classification at the FILA Cadet World Championships in freestyle. Just two weeks ago, he confirmed the number one position with a dominant Super 32 Challenge crown -- four wins by major decision, two by 9-2 decision, and one by fall.
113: Jabari Moody (Rich Central, Ill.)
Moody won a his first state championship this past February, before also winning a NHSCA Junior National title, both coming at 106 pounds. He represented the United States this summer at the FILA Junior World Championships in the 50-kilogram classification.
120: Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional, Pa.)
Lee was a gold medalist this summer in the 50 kilgoram classification at the FILA Cadet World Championships. During the 2013-14 scholastic year, he was Oustanding Wrestler at both the Super 32 Challenge and Walsh Jesuit Ironman; while since the end of that season, he has won repeat titles at the FILA Cadet Nationals in freestyle and the Super 32 Challenge.
126: Kaid Brock (Stillwater, Okla.)
Brock is a two-time state champion and two-time Junior National freestyle All-American (finishing as runner-up in 2013). He was also a Cadet freestyle runner-up in 2012, and a FILA Cadet freestyle runner-up in 2013. Brock has verbally committed to Oklahoma State.
132: A.C. Headlee (Waynesburg, Pa.)
Though not yet a state champion (sixth and third at state), Headlee has had an extraordinarily productive career. The resume includes a Super 32 Challenge placement, a FloNationals placement, a gold medal at the Disney Duals this summer, along with a third place finish in Junior freestyle at 132 pounds this summer. Headlee has verbally committed to the University of North Carolina.
138: Matthew Kolodzik (Blair Academy, N.J.)
Kolodzik has ended each of his two high school seasons at Blair with National Prep titles, after winning a state title while competing in Ohio as a freshman. He was champion at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman this past season, after finishing as runner-up the previous two years, and has finished as a runner-up at the Beast of the East in each of the last two seasons. In addition, the Princeton-bound Kolodzik earned runner-up honors at 60 kilgorams in FILA Junior freestyle this spring.
145: Vincnezo Joseph (Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Pa.)
Joseph won a state title this past year after placing at state the previous two campaigns (seventh and third). He is also a two-time Junior National freestyle All-American, which includes a runner-up finish this summer, and was a Cadet National double All-American in the summer of 2012. Joseph has verbally committed to Penn State.
152: David McFadden (DePaul Catholic, N.J.)
The three-time state placer won a state title this past year after placing second and sixth the previous two campaigns. He was a Junior freestyle runner-up this past summer, after finishing third in Cadet freestyle in 2013. McFadden has verbally committed to Virginia Tech.
160: Logan Massa (St. Johns, Mich.)
The two-time state champion Massa has one of the most robust resumes of any wrestler in the country. He is a two-time Super 32 Challenge placer, winning the championship belt in October 2013; he was a Junior freestyle runner-up this summer, after placing third in Cadet freestyle in 2012; and this spring he was champion at 69 kilograms in the FILA Junior freestyle nationals. Massa has verbally committed to the University of Michigan.
170: Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.)
Like top-ranked sophomore Lee, top-ranked junior Hall was also a FILA Cadet World champion this summer, his title coming at 76 kilos. His resume is augmented by four state titles, a Cadet Triple Crown in 2013, and a whole litany of other stuff, including four InterMat JJ Classic titles.
182: Zahid Valencia (St. John Bosco, Calif.)
Should Valencia win the Walsh Jesuit Ironman next month, he would join David Taylor as the lone members of the four-time Ironman champion club. He has also won a pair of California state titles, a pair of Cadet National freestyle titles (doubling it with Greco-Roman in 2013), and a Super 32 Challenge title earlier this month. Valencia has verbally committed to Arizona State.
195: Bobby Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn.)
The University of Minnesota verbal commit is a two-time state champion, and was a Junior National freestyle champion this summer. The resume is augmented by two other All-American finishes in Fargo, and a FILA Cadet freestyle runner-up finish at 86 kilograms in 2013.
220: Jordan Wood (Boyertown, Pa.)
Wood has finished as a state runner-up in his first two seasons of high school, and was also a FILA Cadet world runner-up in freestyle this past summer at the 100 kilogram classification. He also was a Super 32 Challenge champion in October 2013, a FloNationals runner-up in the spring of 2013, and a Cadet National double All-American in 2013. Wood has verbally committed to Lehigh as part of their 2016 class.
285: Michael Johnson Jr. (Montini Catholic, Ill.)
Johnson was a runner-up at National Preps during both his freshman and sophomore seasons while competing at Wyoming Seminary. During his junior season at Montini, he was champion at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman, and a runner-up at the Illinois state tournament.
Both the individual weight class and national team rankings reflect a broad diversity of wrestling within the United States.
Teams from 20 different states are nationally ranked. Six teams each come from New Jersey and Pennsylvania, while five each are from Illinois and Ohio, with four coming from California. A trio of teams reside in Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Oklahoma. There are a pair of teams from Indiana; while single teams represent Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Wrestlers competing for schools in 34 different states are nationally ranked, which includes top-ranked wrestlers coming from seven different states. Having the most number one wrestlers is Pennsylvania, with four; while a pair of top ranked wrestlers come from California, Illinois, Minnesota, and New Jersey. Single number one wrestlers are from schools in Michigan and Oklahoma.
In what is a non-surprise, it is Pennsylvania with the most nationally ranked wrestlers, as 37 that compete for Keystone State schools appear in the rankings. Next in line are the 28 from New Jersey, 27 from Ohio, and 26 from Illinois. The rest in visual form:
18 -- OK
16 -- IA
14 -- CA, MI
12 -- NY
11 -- MN
10 -- IN
8 -- MD
7 -- MO
6 -- GA, VA
5 -- FL
3 -- AZ, CO, KS, OR, WI
2 -- ID, MA, ND, NE, NV, SD, UT
1 -- CT, KY, NM, SC, WA, WY
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now