Generational Recruits

[Lleynor]

Was Cael considered one coming out of High School? I didn't follow Collegiate Wrestling Recruiting at that time. 

And when I ask that, I mean was he at a Spencer Lee, Yianni, Marsteller, or Mark Hall level. Those and the guy who went to Wisconsin are the ones that I remember hearing about the most that were true can't misses, although that Wisky kid never really panned out. 

I've since seen HS videos of Kolat, and he appears to have been generational as well.

Just curious what other guys were considered upper guarantee that I didn't really get to witness. 

[JimmyCinnabon]

I don't know if recruiting in the mid to late 90's was comprehensive enough to really pin down a generational recruit. Cael was certainly a known quantity at the time and competed the Dapper Dan Classic for team USA so he was known nationally.

And are you taking about Destin McCauley as the kid from Wisconsin?

[AgaveMaria]

Cael was a top recruit but at the time if you had to pick one you thought might be a 4 timer it would have been Joe Heskett - who had beat Cael when they met at Reno in High School.

[Lleynor]

Yes. I almost said Dustin something, but knew that didn't sound quite right. I remember reading about him a good bit back in the day. Wasn't he at Apple Valley?

[jross]

[jross]

Sports Illustrated for kids at 10 years old.

[JimmyCinnabon]

15 minutes ago, Lleynor said:

Yes. I almost said Dustin something, but knew that didn't sound quite right. I remember reading about him a good bit back in the day. Wasn't he at Apple Valley?

I believe Apple Valley sounds right. McCauley I think was from Minnesota and not Wisconsin but I knew who you were talking about. I am too lazy to look it up. He was something like a 6X state champ (Mark Hall before Mark Hall). He did not fair well after high school. I think he ended up in DII or something. 

Edited November 15, 2023 by JimmyCinnabon

[Gus]

9 minutes ago, JimmyCinnabon said:

I believe Apple Valley sounds right. McCauley I think was from Minnesota and not Wisconsin but I knew who you were talking about. I am too lazy to look it up. He was something like a 6X state champ (Mark Hall before Mark Hall). He did not fair well after high school. I think he ended up in DII or something. 

He lived in SD as a kid. I did not lose much in AAU wrestling and was rarely outclassed when I did lose. He made me look like a fool on the mat. He went to apple valley MN for middle/high school and won 5 or 6 state titles. Ended up being a national finalist at Nebraska Kearney I believe. 

[poorwrestler]

McCauley won 5 state titles at Valley. When Robbie Fisher of Bloomington Kennedy (same high school as the Ness brothers) upset him in the state finals, I think it was the loudest sporting event I have ever been to. Apple Valley was *despised* around that time.


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[TNwrestling]

31 minutes ago, JimmyCinnabon said:

 He did not fair well after high school. I think he ended up in DII or something. 

Destin was a 5x state champ and 6x finalist. Went to Nebraska then transferred to Un-Kearney.  Was a 3x AA, 2x national finalist and 1x national champ. 

 

I'd hardly say that isn't fairing well after high school. 

[MNRodent]

Cael and Cole were about the same weight in high school and were very well known on the freestyle circuit at the time.  I think Cael was considered only slightly better than Cole.  Cael, along with Joe Heskett and David Kjellgard (sp) were probably among the top high school prospects from that class, but I don't think Cael was considered ahead of those others, and in fact lost to Kjellgard at Jr. Natls.

Destin McCauley seems like ancient history, but he was actually on an Apple Valley team with Mark Hall (Sr. and 7th grader).  These were the days when Apple Valley had state title contenders at almost every weight (many move-ins) and as poorwrestler mentioned above, were absolutely hated by high school wrestling fans from other schools.

 

[Wrestleknownothing]

52 minutes ago, jross said:

Worthy citizen

[JimmyCinnabon]

9 minutes ago, TNwrestling said:

Destin was a 5x state champ and 6x finalist. Went to Nebraska then transferred to Un-Kearney.  Was a 3x AA, 2x national finalist and 1x national champ. 

 

I'd hardly say that isn't fairing well after high school. 

Well then I stand corrected. He was plenty successful after high school

[jross]

Cael and Cole won their way to the 55kg World Team Trials (15/16y) in Greco and refused to wrestle each other.

[jchapman]

Destin originally committed to Wisconsin, but then Pritzlaf and Frayer left, so he never ended up going there.

[PSULou64]

You have to remember there were only a handful of high school level u.s. regional tournaments around and the NHSCA tournament was probably the most well known/only? national tournament.  But that tournament originally, and correct me if I'm wrong, was only for high school Seniors after the high school season was over.  Not just anyone could get into that one either, I think you had to be a top 3 placewinner from your state tournament.  I could be very wrong but it's 35 years now since it has been running without pause and I can't find/remember all the guidelines.

All that to say, it was very hard to know how good guys really were in the 80's, 90's and even early 2000's, especially if they came from states that weren't PA, CA, NY, NJ, Iowa, OK and a couple others.

[11986]

Metcalf, Dustin Schlatter, and Mocco were probably some of the most hyped recruits in the 2000s anyway. Nickerson too.   

[Idaho]

1 hour ago, AgaveMaria said:

Cael was a top recruit but at the time if you had to pick one you thought might be a 4 timer it would have been Joe Heskett - who had beat Cael when they met at Reno in High School.

Agreed..... I started coaching when Cael was in middle school (1992-93 ish). No internet, not as many tournaments as we have now, so the whole idea of "generational talent" was not as prevalent as it is now because you just didn't have the media coverage or the opportunities that there are now.  We relied a lot on Wrestling USA magazine and stuff HS coaches would get in the mail  to see results, articles, rankings, etc. From my old perspective, I would say Cael was a national level talent for sure, but at that time I would not have said generational as we know it now. 

[alex1fly]

OP's question can probably be answered by looking at Hodge winners, P4P rankings, NCAA champs, 4x state champs, etc. Unless this is just another way to discuss Cael's greatness.

[jross]

Cael lost to these guys around high school age and perhaps more before college.  Small list.

Tom Meacham BYU
Joe Heskett Iowa State 4xAA, National Champ
Brian Burrows Oklahoma State, Prison
David Kjeldgaard Oklahoma, Injured

In the '90s, appearing in Sports Illustrated and Wrestling magazines was good publicity.  While Cael was as good if not better than his brothers, I don't see how anyone could know he'd be a generational recruit.  

[GreenandGold]

32 minutes ago, PSULou64 said:

You have to remember there were only a handful of high school level u.s. regional tournaments around and the NHSCA tournament was probably the most well known/only? national tournament.  But that tournament originally, and correct me if I'm wrong, was only for high school Seniors after the high school season was over.  Not just anyone could get into that one either, I think you had to be a top 3 placewinner from your state tournament.  I could be very wrong but it's 35 years now since it has been running without pause and I can't find/remember all the guidelines.

All that to say, it was very hard to know how good guys really were in the 80's, 90's and even early 2000's, especially if they came from states that weren't PA, CA, NY, NJ, Iowa, OK and a couple others.

When I was there in 2004, you had to be a state finalist unless you were from CA, then it was a state placer. There may have been exceptions and who knows how much they actually checked credentials, but that's what I remember to qualify. This was really the only tournament besides Fargo to see national competition of this caliber back then. 

[PSULou64]

Even with all of that being said, winning there or losing there didn't necessarily guarantee anything.  A kid from my high school in 1995 had taken 5th, 3rd, 2nd in NJ and then won the NHSCA tournament.  He didn't even get to wrestle at the collegiate level.  Could have been that he wasn't academically gifted and flunked out of junior college.... But still.

[Warm Up Champ]

2 hours ago, AgaveMaria said:

Cael was a top recruit but at the time if you had to pick one you thought might be a 4 timer it would have been Joe Heskett - who had beat Cael when they met at Reno in High School.

145lbs.  Joe Heskett didn't even win the tourney.  The top 4 at that weight was stacked!  I believe they all were college AAs.  The early Reno TOC tournaments were so tough.  NCAA champs and AAs throughout.

Edited November 15, 2023 by Warm Up Champ

[Gus]

8 minutes ago, Warm Up Champ said:

145lbs.  Joe Heskett didn't even win the tourney.  The top 4 at that weight was stacked!  I believe they all were college AAs.  The early Reno TOC tournaments were so tough.  NCAA champs and AAs throughout.

Notice the 3rd placer at 103 @Husker_Du

Edited November 15, 2023 by Gus

[Plasmodium]

I remember McCauley getting absolutely schooled by backups at the Cowboy Open.