So true. However, for purposes of determining national high school rankings, titles are largely won in December. The majority of the action between top high school stars of different states this season has already take place -- at the Ironman, the Beast of the East, Reno, Powerade, Bethlehem, and even at preseason events like the Super 32 Challenge and the Lock Haven Fall Classic. With the dust settling from all of these "super tournaments," here are the competitors whose "stock" has gone up the most.
Eric MedinaZach Kemmerer -- Many overlooked this competitor from Pennsylvania since he has not finished higher than fifth in his own state tournament. However, a closer look reveals that he defeated the state champion in his division, the outstanding Ashtin Primus, during the season last year. Kemmerer has been one of the biggest stories of the season thus far, winning the Ironman and Beast of the East tournaments. Kemmerer has posted wins over NHSCA Juniors Nationals champion Kevin Lipp, Sean Harris, and Pat McLemore -- all Ohio state champions -- as well as Junior National All-American Max Shanaman of Blair Academy. Look for Kemmerer to claim his first state title this year.
Jamelle Jones -- Jones winning Beast was perhaps not a huge surprise. However, the ease with which he dispatched Matthew Edmondson of in the finals was. Edmondson had reached the finals on the strength of four falls and a 13-3 shellacking of New Jersey state runner-up Jeff Siciliano, and pinned nationally ranked David Green of Oviedo one week later. Against Jones, however, Edmondson was outmatched, as Jones scored four takedowns versus four escapes for Edmondson in an 8-4 win. Very light on his feet, Jones has a superb counter-offense. For his efforts, Jones moved up to No. 20 in the Rev Power Rankings. In this writer's view, Jones may be the top 189 in the nation.
Nikko TriggasJohn Weakley -- Never a state place-winner in Ohio, Weakley may be the most improved wrestler in the nation. As explosive an upper-weight as you will ever see, Weakley simply blows through most of his opponents with his "blast double." Weakley put his name on the map with a 14-5 drubbing of nationally ranked David Green of Oviedo (Flordia) High School in the Ironman finals. He also had a lopsided win over Beast of the East third place finisher Jamey Srock early in the year. While he was upset by St. Edward's Chris Honeycutt in overtime at the Medina Invitational, even in that match he scored three of the four takedowns in regulation.
Cody Gardner -- The big man from Christiansburg, Virginia has won the Ironman, Beast of the East, and Powerade tournaments with only one close match -- a 4-3 win over Jared Platt of Blair Academy. His Ironman, Beast, and Powerade final results consisted of a 14-4 major decision and two falls. Gardner is brutal on top as well as extremely agile on his feet. Only a junior, he is without question the best 215 in the nation this year.
Scott Winston -- The Cadet Nationals runner-up from New Jersey has taken his game to another level this fall. Winston was undefeated his freshman year (22-0) when he suffered a season-ending injury. Now a sophomore, Winston is still undefeated, and looking like a good bet to win his first of three New Jersey state titles. Winston recently won all of his matches at "The Clash," with his only close match coming when he bumped up to 152 to take on one of Illinois best, Eric Pretto. Most impressively, Winston defeated Eric Medina in the preseason this fall, despite being a weight class smaller. Winston threw Medina for five en route to a 7-3 win.
Bubba Jenkins -- Jenkins fell off the radar of many due to failing to place at Junior Nationals last summer. However, a closer look at his 5-2 record at that tournament reveals that he had one close loss to the outstanding graduated senior Sean Reynolds of Illinois, five dominating victories, and one inexplicable loss to Kyle DeBerry. In other words, he was outstanding in six out of seven matches. At the Beast of the East, Jenkins overcame a big move to rebound against one of the nation's top juniors, Tim Darling of Pennsylvania, with a 10-7 win. In the finals, he handled Travis Blasco of Blair Academy, 7-3, on the strength of three solid takedowns. Blasco managed only three escapes. At the Powerade, Jenkins never went the distance up to the finals, where he won 15-7. This writer believes that Jenkins may be the best 145 in the nation right now.
Luke Silver -- The junior from Bishop Lynch (Texas) was considered for the Rev Power Rankings and left off the top 50 juniors as a close "honorable mention." Silver has proven me wrong and is clearly one of the most talented juniors in the nation. First, he won the Super32 Challenge (easily the toughest preseason tournament in the nation). Silver's next major tournament was the Beast of the East. Remarkably, he did not allow an offensive point until the closing seconds of his bout with Jordan Frishkorn, rated as the No. 11 senior in the nation in the Rev Power Rankings and widely recognized as the second best 130 in the nation. That takedown gave Frishkorn the bout, 3-1. For his outstanding season thus far, Silver went from not being in the top 50, to being the No. 19 junior in the nation. He may still be too low.
There is much great wrestling to go this year -- yet to come before the state tournaments are the NHSCA Final Four Duals and the St. Edward's/Blair Dual. Of course, most of these questions will be resolved not by rankings, but on the mat at NHSCA Senior and Junior Nationals in Pittsburgh in late March, but the picture of whom the nation's elite are is becoming much clearer. Stay tuned.
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