This year's field is slated to be absolutely stacked with almost one-half of the top 100 Class of 2016 (i.e. rising seniors) wrestlers registered. In addition, close to a quarter of the top 100 from the just graduated Class of 2015 are expected to be present, along with between 10 and 15 from the Class of 2017. The depth and breadth of each weight, especially when discounting 100 and 106, is staggering to consume. College coaches abound are present to evaluate these prospects.
Below is a weight-by-weight analysis of the Junior freestyle field based on registered entrants as of Tuesday evening.
100: Jaret Lane (Pennsylvania) was the champion in Greco-Roman on Tuesday afternoon. The state placer and returning Cadet double All-American will seek to win double titles at the Junior level at week's end. Others to watch include returning Cadet freestyle All-American Ryan Chauvin (Colorado); state runners-up Trevor Giallamdardo (Michigan) and Jason Holmes (Arizona), Holmes also a returning Cadet double All-American; along with state placer returning Cadet double All-American Elijah Varona (Florida).
106: Louie Hayes (Illinois) was the champion in Greco-Roman on Tuesday afternoon. The state runner-up and returning Junior double third place finisher is a legitimate contender to win double titles this week. Others to watch will include state champions Wyatt Adams (Oklahoma), Arick Shankles (Alabama), and Joe Thomas (Maryland); state runners-up Liam Cronin (California), Brakan Mead (Ohio), and returning Junior double All-American Mason Naifeh (Oklahoma); as well as state placers Brady and Dylan Koontz (Wisconsin).
113: Odds on favorite in this weight class is Austin Gomez (Illinois), who is ranked No. 13 in the Class of 2017 and was a Cadet Nationals champion in both styles last year at this weight class. Two other grade level ranked wrestlers are among the other primary contenders: returning Junior double champion Danny Vega (Arizona) is ranked No. 33 in the Class of 2016, while UWW Cadet freestyle runner-up at 50 kilograms Drew Mattin (Ohio) is No. 48 in the Class of 2017. Three additional wrestlers are returning Junior freestyle All-Americans, 2014 Junior Triple Crown winner Randon Miranda (California), three-time state placer Drew Hildebrandt (Indiana) and two-time state placer Jonathan Tropea (New Jersey).
Six additional wrestlers in this weight class are two-time state champions; Jaxon Cole (Utah), Tomas Gutierrez (Colorado), Dom Lajoie (Michigan), Sidney Oliver (Missouri), Joey Prata (Virginia), and Jack Wagner (Iowa). Two more in this weight class are three-time state placers: three-time FloNationals placer Gage Curry (Pennsylvania) and 2013 Junior freestyle All-American Tanner Rohweder (Iowa). Three more were state champions in 2014, but not this past year: Brendan Coughlin (Maryland), Max Johnson (Michigan), and Drew West (Iowa). Others to watch in this weight include a quartet of two-time state placers: two-time runner-up Jakob Allison (Iowa), returning Cadet freestyle All-American Josh Copeland (Oklahoma), Kelan McKenna (New York), and Paxton Rosen (Oklahoma); along with state runner-up Cole Manley (Pennsylvania) and Super 32 Challenge runner-up Thomas Cox (New York).
113: While there are six grade-level ranked wrestlers in this weight class, there is one who stands out above the rest, and that is Daton Fix (Oklahoma). The nation's top-ranked Class of 2017 wrestler won the UWW Junior National title at 55 kilograms and the UWW Cadet title at 54 kilograms in the month of May; the Junior title came with multiple victories over NCAA Division I qualifiers, while the Cadet final was a two-match sweep over returning world champion Spencer Lee. The other five are Class of 2016 members.
Leading that list is No. 23 Jack Mueller (Texas), a returning Junior National freestyle champion; No. 77 Ian Parker (Michigan) is a three-time UWW Cadet freestyle All-American, and a two-time Cadet freestyle All-American in Fargo; No. 82 Dalton Duffield (Oklahoma) won the Greco-Roman title in this weight class on Tuesday; No. 89 Montorie Bridges (Oklahoma) is a state champion and returning Junior freestyle All-American; while No. 93 Noah Baughman (Wadsworth) was state champion in 2014.
Others to watch include Logan Griffin (Michigan) and Toribio Navarro (Tennessee), who each have won three-plus state titles in high school; two-time state champions Paul Bianchi (Wisconsin), Sawyer Degen (Montana), Brock Jones (Minnesota), Matthew Schmitt (Missouri), and Jacob Schwarm (Iowa); state champions Arik Furseth (Wisconsin), Brock Hudkins (Indiana), Andrew Nieman (Oklahoma), Garrett Pepple (Indiana), Garrett Rowe (Oklahoma), and Bryce West (Iowa). Schmitt is a returning Junior freestyle runner-up, Nieman and Pepple are returning Junior freestyle All-Americans, Furseth a two-time Junior freestyle All-American, while West is a returning Cadet freestyle All-American.
Additional notables in this weight class are two-time Cadet freestyle All-American Travis Piotrowski (Illinois), two-time National Prep runner-up Zach Sherman (New Jersey), Junior Greco-Roman champion Dack Punke (Illinois), and two-time state placer Dan Moran (Pennsylvania).
126: Defending Junior freestyle champion Austin Assad (Ohio), ranked No. 56 in the Class of 2015, is one of eight grade-level ranked wrestlers in this weight class. Five are from the Class of 2016: No. 45 Dylan Duncan (Illinois), last year a Cadet freestyle champion; No. 57 Brock Rathbun (Iowa), a two-time state champion; No. 58 Gabe Townsell (Illinois), champion in Greco-Roman on Tuesday; No. 73 Alex Mackall (Ohio), three-time state placer and 2014 state champion; and No. 90 Trent Olson (Wyoming), a two-time National Prep runner-up. From the 2017 class, it is No. 31 Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma) and No. 39 Navonte Demison (California); Gfeller is a two-time Cadet freestyle All-American, while Demison won Junior folkstyle in April.
Others to watch in this weight class include NHSCA Senior Nationals champion Ryan Friedman (Maryland); multi-time state champions Ted Rico (Arizona), Cameron Sykora (Minnesota), and Dalton Young (Washington); state champions Nolan Hellickson (Iowa) and Ryan Leisure (Iowa); state runners-up Nathan Cervantes (California), Cody Karstetter (Oklahoma), and Requir van der Merwe (New Jersey); two-time Cadet freestyle All-American Coltan Williams (Texas); as well as two-time state placers Nick Farro (New Jersey) and Colin Glorioso (Pennsylvania).
132: Mitch McKee (Minnesota), ranked No. 12 in the Class of 2016, made it a fourth straight year winning a Fargo championship with his Greco-Roman title on Tuesday afternoon in this weight class. He will seek to repeat as champion in Junior freestyle, though the road won't be easy five other grade-level ranked wrestlers among the competitors. Among that group is a pair of two-time Junior freestyle All-Americans ready to enroll at Oklahoma State, No. 23 in the Class of 2015 Kaid Brock (Oklahoma) and No. 62 Lincoln Olson (Michigan).
Fellow ranked wrestlers in the Class of 2016 include No. 36 Taylor LaMont (Utah) and No. 42 Hunter Marko (Wisconsin). LaMont is a two-time Cadet freestyle All-American, and was runner-up to McKee in Greco-Roman; while Marko is a two-time Junior freestyle All-American, including his 2013 title at 106 pounds. Also carrying a grade-level ranking is Ben Freeman (Michigan), a two-time Cadet and three-time UWW Cadet freestyle All-American and ranked No. 20 in the Class of 2017.
Others to watch in this weight class include returning Junior freestyle All-Americans Ryan Deakin (Colorado) and Jonathan Gabriel (Pennsylvania), Gabriel was also a state champion this past season; NHSCA Senior Nationals champion Chris Debien (Tennessee); returning Cadet freestyle All-Americans A.J. Jaffe (Illinois) and Corey Shie (Ohio), Shie also a three-time Fargo All-American in Greco-Roman; four-time state placer and 2013 Junior freestyle All-American Brandon James (Indiana); along with two-time state placer Sal Profaci (New Jersey).
138: Ten grade-level wrestlers make this one of the deepest weight classes of the whole tournament. Matthew Kolodzik (New Jersey), ranked No. 9 in the Class of 2015, is the favorite and after a second Fargo freestyle title having won as a Cadet in 2012. Four other ranked wrestlers from the graduated seniors are present as well: No. 18 Keegan Moore (Oklahoma), fourth in Junior freestyle last year; No. 38 Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma), a three-time state champion; No. 45 Cameron Kelly (Ohio), a two-time state champion and four-time finalist; and No. 70 Alex Rich (Oregon), also a four-time state champion.
Another four come from the Class of 2016: No. 30 Carter Happel (Iowa), a three-time state champion and 2014 UWW Cadet freestyle champion; No. 43 Kanen Storr (Michigan), a two-time state champion and UWW Cadet freestyle runner-up this spring; No. 86 Jarrett Degen (Montana), a NHSCA Junior Nationals champion; along with No. 98 Michael Murphy (Tennessee), a three-time state champion. The other grade-level ranked wrestler is Quentin Hovis (Arizona), ranked No. 28 in the Class of 2017, who was a Cadet freestyle All-American in 2013.
Others to watch include Ben Brancale (Minnesota), a returning Junior freestyle All-American and winner in Greco-Roman on Tuesday afternoon; two-time state champions Parker Filius (Montana) and Robert Lee (Wisconsin); New England champion Charles Kane (Connecticut); two-times National Prep placer Tyler Megonigal (Virginia) and Peter Tedesco (Massachusetts); along with four-time state finalist Tristan Moran (Oklahoma).
145: While there are seven grade-level ranked wrestlers present, it is a pair of graduated seniors from Iowa that stand from the pack. No. 15 Fredy Stroker is a three-time state champion and placed fourth last summer in Junior freestyle, while No. 14 Max Thomsen is a four-time state champion, though it should be noted that Stroker beat Thomsen in early June at the UWW Junior World Team Trials. Also nationally ranked among graduated seniors is No. 75 Patricio Lugo (Florida), a two-time state champion and NHSCA Senior Nationals runner-up.
The pair of ranked wrestlers from the Class of 2016 is No. 46 Zander Wick (California) and No. 50 Kyle Bierdumpfel (New Jersey). Wick was a state runner-up this year, and runner-up to Thomsen in Junior folkstyle; while Bierdumpfel was state champion this year after two prior runner-up finishes, and is a two-time Cadet freestyle All-American. The pair from the Class of 2017 is No. 15 Eric Hong (Pennsylvania) and No. 43 Stephan Glasgow (New Jersey). Hong is a two-time National Prep champion and two-time Cadet freestyle All-American, while Glasgow was state runner-up this past season.
At least five others in this weight class are multi-time state champions: Beau Guffey (Oklahoma), Logan Lacure (Ohio), Cole Martin (Wisconsin), Johnny O'Hearon (Utah), and Andrew Webb (Georgia); Webb was the Greco-Roman champion in this weight class on Tuesday afternoon. Also here are at least five additional state champions: Jeren Glosser (Iowa), Zachary Moore (Oklahoma), Shayne Oster (Illinois), Kyler Rea (Missouri), and Josh Wenger (Iowa); Oster was a Cadet freestyle runner-up last year. Other notables here are returning Junior freestyle All-American Hayden Pentz (Utah), two-time state placers Joshy Cortez (California) and Justin Demicco (Ohio), along with two-time state runner-up Aaron Meyer (Iowa).
152: There's also a crazy amount of talent in this weight class with nine grade-level ranked wrestlers. Tabbing a favorite here is fool's gold, but for the sake of this preview, it'll be No. 11 in the graduated senior class Michael Kemerer (Pennsylvania). The Iowa enrollee is a state champion and four-time state finalist with two Junior freestyle All-American finishes. Also ranked in the Class of 2015 is No. 42 Larry Early (Illinois), a three-time state finalist and 2014 state champion.
Junior Greco-Roman champion Hayden Hidlay (Pennsylvania) is one of five top 50 Class of 2016 wrestlers in this weight class. The No. 20 overall rising senior was third at state, losing to Kemerer in the semifinal, and also finished second in Cadet freestyle in 2013. Defending Junior freestyle champion Mason Manville (Virginia) is ranked No. 7 in the Class of 2016, but was upset in Tuesday afternoon's Greco-Roman final by Hidlay. Three-time state champion Griffin Parriott (Minnesota) is ranked No. 22 in this class, and placed third at 66 kilograms in freestyle at the UWW Junior Nationals this past May. Two-time state champion Austin Kraisser (Maryland) is No. 35 in this class, and was runner-up to Manville in Cadet freestyle in 2013. Rounding it out is No. 49 Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma), a three-time state champion.
Ranked in the Class of 2017 are No. 11 Austin O'Connor (Illinois) and No. 24 Luke Troy (California); O'Connor is a two-time state champion and returning Cadet double All-American, while was champion in Junior folkstyle with an early round victory over Parriott and placed third in Cadet freestyle last year.
Others to watch include multi-time state champions Ryan Klemp (Idaho) and Jimmy Fate (Colorado); state champions Dan Kelly (Iowa), James Nereim (Florida), James Pleski (Minnesota), and Chase Straw (Iowa); mutli-time state placers Colton Clingenpeel (Iowa), Cole Erickson (Iowa), Kyle Kaminski (Ohio), and Evan Wick (California); along with state placres Austin Hiles (Ohio), Nick Monico (Pennsylvania), and Jimmy Saylor (Pennsylvania). Among this group, Klemp, Clingenpeel, and Hiles have earned Cadet freestyle All-American honors.
160: One of the shallower weights in this tournament with just four grade-level ranked wrestlers, led by obvious favorite Joe Smith (Oklahoma). Smith, a three-time state champion and two-time Junior freestyle All-American, is ranked No. 16 in the Class of 2015. The primary challenger would be Brandon Dallavia (New Jersey), ranked No. 24 in the Class of 2016, a National Prep runner-up and returning Cadet freestyle champion. The other two grade-level ranked wrestlers are No. 80 Trace Carello (Illinois) and No. 91 Canten Marriott (Missouri), both from the Class of 2016; Carello is a two-time state placer and 2013 Cadet freestyle runner-up, while Marriott is a state champion and three-time state placer.
There are fifteen-plus additional wrestlers in this weight class whom have won a state championship at some point of their high school career. Notable among those are returning Cadet freestyle runner-up Johnny Blankenship (Missouri), three-time champion Colston DiBlasi (Missouri), Lucas Jeske (Minnesota), Blake Montrie (Michigan), Junior folkstyle champion Paden Moore (Minnesota), four-time state placer Taleb Rahmani (Ohio), and Jakob Restrepo (New York). Another wrestler to watch includes two-time state placer Jesse Porter (New York).
170: Similar to the immediately preceding weight, just four grade-level ranked wrestlers are present here. Leading the way here in three-time state champion and two-time FloNationals champion Xavier Montalvo (Illinois), ranked No. 34 in the Class of 2015. Primary challenger here is two-time Cadet Nationals double champion Beau Breske (Wisconsin), who is ranked No. 13 in the Class of 2016. Additional grade-level ranked wrestlers are Brett Bye (South Dakota) and Alex Herringshaw (New York); Bye won the Greco-Roman title on Tuesday afternoon down at 160 pounds, and is ranked No. 81 in the Class of 2015, while two-time state champion Alex Herringshaw (New York) is No. 94 in the Class of 2016.
Two additional wrestlers in this weight class are returning Junior freestyle All-Americans: state champion Jordan Bushey (New York) and two-time state runner-up Hayden Hansen (Oklahoma). At least six additional wrestlers in this weight class are two-time state champions, among them are Weston Dobler (North Dakota), Dale Hilleman (Iowa), Jacob Holschag (Iowa), and returning Cadet freestyle All-American Gary Jantzer (Oregon). Furthermore, at least ten others have won a state title during their high school career, among those include: Junior Greco-Roman runner-up Andrew Berreyesa (Nevada), Regan Bye (South Dakota), Dylan Lydy (Indiana), Andrew McNally (Ohio), Carter Nielsen (Minnesota), Kevin Parker (New York), and Matthew Rundell (Illinois). An additional wrestler to watch is Jared Siegrist (Pennsylvania), a state placer and returning Cadet freestyle All-American.
182: Unlike the two weights classes before, this weight is heavy in talent at the top end with eight grade-level ranked wrestlers. The two favorites would have to be a pair of Class of 2016 stars, No. 9 Nick Reenan (Texas) and No. 11 Keegan Moore (Minnesota). Reenan won the Greco-Roman title on Tuesday afternoon, and was a 2013 Cadet Triple Crown winner; while Moore was a Cadet Triple Crown winner last year, and won a Junior folkstyle title this spring.
Three others from the top 100 for the rising senior group are present here as well: No. 21 Nathan Traxler (Illinois), No. 25 Ben Darmstadt (Ohio), and No. 60 Owen Webster (Minnesota). State champion Traxler is a returning Junior freestyle All-American in this weight class, state champion Darmstadt was third in Cadet freestyle last summer, while 2014 state champion Webster upset Moore for the UWW Cadet freestyle world team spot at 85 kilograms in late May.
Also grade-level ranked are a pair of multi-time state champions that are headed off to college in No. 79 Seth McLeod (Idaho) and No. 85 Dylan Wisman (Virginia); Wisman is also a two-time Junior freestyle All-American in this weight class. Rounding out the ranked group of eight is Max Lyon (Iowa), a two-time state placer who is ranked No. 46 in the Class of 2017.
Others to watch include 2014 state champion Trevor Allard (New York); present year state champions Andrew Buckley (Missouri), Isaac Luellen (Kansas), and James Handwerk (Ohio); two-time state placer Garrett Hoffman (Pennsylvania); along with state placers Kyle Gentile (Pennsylvania) and Matt Wroblewski (Illinois). Buckley was runner-up in Junior Greco-Roman, Luellen and Handwerk were Cadet double All-Americans last year, Gentile went undefeated at Junior Duals in freestyle, Hoffman was undefeated at Disney, and Wroblewski is a returning Cadet freestyle All-American.
195: Another rather deep weight class with eight grade-level ranked wrestlers in its own right. Leading the way here are the Greco-Roman finalists, Samuel Colbray (Oregon) and Wyatt Koelling (Utah), No. 78 Koelling scored the upset over No. 10 Colbray in Tuesday afternoon's battle of Class of 2016 prospects. Colbray was also a Junior freestyle All-American last year in this weight class, while Koelling finished runner-up down at 182 as a Cadet. Two other ranked Class of 2016 are also present, No. 56 Kevin Mulligan (New Jersey) and No. 76 Jack Harris (Ohio); Mulligan was a Junior freestyle All-American last year and a state champion this scholastic season, while is a two-time state runner-up and 2013 Cadet freestyle runner-up.
Three others appear in the back part of the Class of 2015 top 100, No. 90 Jacob Seely (Colorado), No. 92 Daniel Chadd (Wisconsin), and No. 100 Cash Wilcke (Iowa). Chadd and Wilcke have a pair of state titles, to the one for Seely; Seely and Wilcke were Junior freestyle All-Americans last summer, while Chadd earned All-American honors last year in Junior Greco-Roman. Rounding out the grade-level ranked group is Zane Black (Pennsylvania), No. 38 in the Class of 2017, a returning Cadet freestyle All-American and National Prep placer.
Others to watch include returning Cadet freestyle All-Americans Christian Brunner (Illinois) and John Jakobsen (Pennsylvania), Brunner a two-time state placer and Jakobsen a state runner-up this year; state champions Jackson Striggow (Minnesota) and Joe Teague (Iowa); two-time state champion Jared Langley (Kansas), state runner-up Nick McShea (New York), and two-time state placer Donovan Doyle (Iowa).
220: Four top tier Class of 2016 wrestlers anchor this weight class, No. 6 Jordan Wood (Pennsylvania), No. 32 Ethan Andersen (Iowa), No. 41 Matt Stencel (Ohio), and No. 54 Matthew Correnti (New Jersey). Wood was a Cadet World silver medalist last year in this weight class, is a state champion and three-time state finalist; Andersen is a two-time state champion and the Junior folkstyle champion in this weight class; Stencel is a state champion and was a Cadet double champion last year; while Correnti is a three-time state placer, and has twice finished third in Cadet freestyle.
Others to watch include state placer James Ford (Ohio), who upset Wood to win Junior Greco-Roman on Tuesday afternoon; state champions Brian Barnes (Oregon), Christian Colucci (New Jersey), Trevor Eicher (Washington), and Christian Lance (Missouri); state runner-up Eric Johnson (Illinois); multi-time state placers Kyler Childers (Oklahoma) and Rylee Streifel (Minnesota); state placers Darryl Aiello (California) and Evan Ellis (Indiana); along with Cadet freestyle All-Americans Christian Ayala (California) and Cole Nye (Pennsylvania).
285: Five grade-level ranked wrestlers lead the way in this weight class. Those include four-time state champion, returning Junior freestyle All-American, and NHSCA Senior Nationals champion Austin Myers (Kentucky). He is ranked No. 22 in the Class of 2015. Three top 100 Class of 2016 wrestlers are also in the field, No. 39 Osawaru Odighizuwa (Oregon), No. 51 Gannon Gremmel (Iowa), and No. 79 Carter Isley (Iowa); Odighizuwa is the returning Cadet freestyle champion, Gremmel was a Cadet freestyle champion as well last year, while Isley has finished second this year in both Junior folkstyle and Greco-Roman. Rounding out the ranked group is state champion Kevin Vough (Ohio), ranked No. 12 in the Class of 2017, and a Cadet freestyle runner-up last year.
State champion Dante Jiovanetta (Florida) was the champion in Junior Greco-Roman on Tuesday afternoon. Two others in this weight class are returning Junior freestyle All-Americans, National Prep champion Michael Rogers (Pennsylvania) and two-time state champion Dan Stibral (South Dakota). Three more were Cadet double All-Americans last year: state champion Hunter Mullins (Washington), two-time state champion Brandon Metz (North Dakota), and state placer Andrew Piehl (Minnesota). Additional state champions include Sam Bouis (Virginia), Jarrod Hinrichs (Nebraska), and Alex Silberstein (Iowa); while others to watch include two-time state placer Jake Beistel (Pennsylvania), state champion Alex Silberstein (Iowa), and two-time state runner-up Korey Walker (Oklahoma).
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