As of Wednesday evening, this field included 37 of the nation's Top 100 seniors, 17 of the Top 50 juniors, 18 of the Top 50 sophomores, 9 of the Top 25 freshmen, as well as two of the Top 15 junior high wrestlers. Most notable among these wrestlers include:
Three Top 10 seniors: No. 3 Isaiah Martinez (Lemoore, Calif.), No. 7 Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), and No. 9 Cody Wiercioch (Canon McMillan, Pa.)
Four Top 10 juniors: No. 2 Kyle Snyder (Good Counsel, Md.), No. 5 Solomon Chishko (Canon McMillan, Pa.), No. 6 Thomas Haines (Solanco, Pa.), and No. 8 Josh Llopez (St. Mary's Ryken, Md.)
Three Top 5 sophomores: No. 1 Zahid Valencia (St. John Bosco, Calif.), No. 2 Fox Baldwin (Osceola, Fla.), and No. 5 Michael Kemerer (Franklin Regional, Pa.)
Six Top 7 freshmen: No. 1 Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), No. 2 Aaron Pico (St. John Bosco, Calif.), No. 4 Luke Pletcher (Greater Latrobe, Pa.), No. 5 Israel Saavedra (Modesto, Calif.), No. 6 Kyle Norstrem (Brandon, Fla.), and No. 7 Nick Suriano (Bergen Catholic, N.J.)
In addition the two-day high school tournament, the event also has a middle school division that will be wrestled on Sunday. Its field includes many of the nation's top junior high talent. When considering both the high school and middle school divisions, 11 of the top 15 ranked junior high wrestlers will be competing in Greensboro this weekend.
No. 3 Spencer Lee (Saegertown, Pa.) and No. 4 Nick Lee (Evansville Mater Dei, Ind.) are in the high school tournament at 106 and 120 pounds respectively. Registered in the middle school tournament are the following nationally ranked wrestlers: No. 9 Colton Yapoujian (Colorado) and No. 15 Gavin Teasdale (Pennsylvania) at 80 pounds, No. 2 Cade Olivas (California) at 85, No. 5 Yianni Diakomihalis (New York) and No. 7 Daton Fix (Oklahoma) at 100, No. 6 Eric Hong (Pennsylvania) at 105, No. 11 Ty Lucas (Florida) at 112, and No. 8 Chase Singletary (Florida) at 145.
This middle school division has grown into an excellent tournament with many elite competitors, and for the first time its field reached full capacity (at 400 wrestlers). The field for Sunday's tournament includes wrestlers from 33 different states. Three wrestlers seek repeat middle school division titles: Trent Snader (Pennsylvania) at 75 pounds, and then the previously mentioned Yapoujian and Olivas.
And now shifting the focus towards the high school event ...
Earlier this week we published a full, detailed weight-by-weight analysis, now let's look at five key questions for this year's Super 32 Challenge.
How has the Super 32 Challenge grown into this "800-pound gorilla?"
The event, in something of its present form, started in 1999 as a small-scale local tournament held at Morehead High School in North Carolina, where tournament co-director Dave Barker served as assistant coach. Barker was also the primary ranker for NCMat.com, the website run by the tournament's other co-director Sara Koenig. The name "Super 32" came from the statewide rankings, top eight wrestlers from each of four divisions in each weight class.
Starting in 2003, the event has reached its capacity in all but one year. After having fields of approximately 700 wrestlers in 2003 and 2004 at Morehead High School, the move was made to the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center starting with the 2005 edition of the event. Over the next five years, the 1,250 wrestler capacity was reached every year, capped off in 2009 when the tournament sold out in just over 30 minutes.
Those circumstances were the catalyst in changing to the present format of a two-day event, which has enabled more wrestlers to compete, as well as the integration of a middle school event on Sunday. From the last two Super 32 Challenge tournaments, the season ending InterMat rankings have featured just under 70 wrestlers which competed in the event (just under one-quarter of the 280 total weight class ranked wrestlers). Additionally, the tournament fields from 2010 and 2011 each included approximately 200 wrestlers that went on to win a state title, New England Regional title, or National Prep championship at season's end. The 2010 field featured four wrestlers that would end the high school season ranked number one by InterMat, while the 2011 field featured five wrestlers earning the same accomplishment.
The legacy of excellence is long-standing, as manifesting in wrestlers that end up earning All-American honors at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. At the 2012 tournament, 22 of the 80 All-Americans had participated in the Super 32 Challenge while in high school. This included a quartet of NCAA champions and two others that finished as runners-up. In the 2011 NCAA tournament, five of the ten champions were former Super 32 Challenge participants.
Which wrestlers are seeking to win an additional Super 32 Challenge title?
There are eight wrestlers who have already won a "belt" (Super 32 Challenge title) and seek another this year. Three of these wrestlers are in the 126-pound weight class: Michael Kemerer, Ryan Diehl (Trinity, Pa.), and Joey Dance (Christiansburg, Va.). Two-time runner-up Brandon Jeske (Cox, Va.) is also featured in this weight class. When considering the pair of second-place finishes from Dance the last two years, these four wrestlers have accounted for seven total finals appearances in the Super 32.
Darian Cruz (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), a 2010 champion, is featured in the 120-pound weight class; Josh Llopez competes at 160; 2010 champion Cody Wiercioch is registered at 170; Matt McCutcheon (Kiski Area, Pa.) is at 195; while Thomas Haines is at 220.
If you could only watch one possible match, what would it be?
In most weight classes, it's going to be hard to narrow down to a singular matchup because of the depth in the field. The top two "on paper" wrestlers can be hard to determine and/or can easily be blocked from reaching the final because of the depth in these weight classes. However, when one looks at the 220-pound field, it would be the shock of the tournament if Kyle Snyder and Thomas Haines did not meet in the final.
Through two high school seasons, Snyder has yet to lose a high school match and has finished in the top three in both styles in Fargo each of the last two summers. Snyder was a Cadet freestyle champion in 2011 and a Junior Greco-Roman champion this past year. Haines is the defending champion in this event, absolutely dominating his opposition along the way, and has won big-school titles in the state of Pennsylvania during his first two high school seasons.
The remarkable thing about both of these junior superstars is their refined level of wrestling technique, physical maturity, and freakish athleticism. This match will not fit the traditional upper-weight stereotype of a "grind-it-out" slog-fest in the least.
Can a freshman make history this year?
Not since Ashtin Primus (Connelsville, Pa.) in 2002, when he won the 125-pound title, has a freshman won a Super 32 Challenge title above the opening weight class. However, there are a couple of freshmen that could easily be in the hunt for a "belt" when Sunday comes around in Mark Hall (152) and Aaron Pico (132).
Hall won high school state titles each of the last two years in Minnesota's big school division; the Gopher State allows junior high wrestlers to compete in high school competition. He also was a Cadet National freestyle champion this past summer. Despite not wrestling a single in-season high school match, Pico is already a known commodity, having already doubled at the Cadet Nationals each of the last two summers in Fargo, N.D. He also had won a bushel of Roller World of Wrestling Championships over the years.
Come Sunday afternoon, what should we expect?
Based on the field composition as of Wednesday night, here are my top three wrestlers within each weight class:
106:
Luke Pletcher (Greater Latrobe, Pa.)
Hayden Lee (Garrett, Ind.)
Austin Griffiths (Southmoreland, Pa.)
113:
Zahid Valencia (St. John Bosco, Calif.)
Ryan Millhof (Collins Hill, Ga.)
Coy Ozias (Christiansburg, Va.)
120:
Nathan Tomasello (CVCA, Ohio)
Dalton Brady (Chandler, Ariz.)
J.R. Wert (Christiansburg, Va.)
126:
Joey Dance (Christiansburg, Va.)
Brandon Jeske (Cox, Va.)
Ryan Diehl (Trinity, Pa.)
132:
Dean Heil (St. Edward, Ohio)
Jason Nolf (Kittaning, Pa.)
Aaron Pico (St. John Bosco, Calif.)
138:
Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.)
Neal Molloy (Danville, Ind.)
Tyson Dippery (Central Dauphin, Pa.)
145:
Solomon Chishko (Canon McMillan, Pa.)
Colt Cotten (Benton, Pa.)
Grant Leeth (Kearney, Mo.)
152:
Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.)
Jack Bass (Robinson, Va.)
Garrett Hammond (Chambersburg, Pa.)
160:
Isaiah Martinez ((Lemoore, Calif.)
Josh Llopez (St. Mary's Ryken, Md.)
Tyler Askey (Northgate, Ga.)
170:
Cody Wiercioch (Canon McMillan, Pa.)
Zach Epperly (Christiansburg, Va.)
Brett Harner (Norristown, Pa.)
182:
Jacob Taylor (Bald Eagle Area, Pa.)
Dakota DesLauriers (Burrell, Pa.)
Taylor Jackson (The Villages, Fla.)
195:
Matt McCutcheon (Kiski Area, Pa.)
Raymond O'Donnell (Saucon Valley, Pa.)
Payne Hayden (St. Johns, Mich.)
220:
Kyle Snyder (Good Counsel, Md.)
Thomas Haines (Solanco, Pa.)
Eldon Valery (Landstown, Va.)
285:
Jesse Webb (Mt. Anthony Union, Vt.)
Luke Fleck (Franklin Regional, Pa.)
Travis Boyd (Blanchester, Ohio)
Be sure to follow InterMat throughout the weekend for updates on the Super 32 Challenge -- via Twitter (@JLowe_intermat), and recap articles updating competition after both Saturday and Sunday.
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