Additional accomplishments before his first high school match included a FloNationals (high school division) runner-up finish, qualifying for a Cadet World freestyle team, and winning a Super 32 Challenge title in October 2013. Among the credentials from his first high school match forward are two Walsh Jesuit Ironman titles, including an Outstanding Wrestler honor in December of 2013; two Powerade Christmas Wrestling Tournament titles; two undefeated state championship seasons (113/120); a Cadet World freestyle title in the summer of 2014 (at 50 kilos); and a second Super 32 Challenge title in the fall of 2014 (at 113 pounds).
Daton Fix defeated Spencer Lee twice at the UWW Cadet Nationals (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com)In addition to a pair of wins over Lee, Fix has a most excellent resume, especially recently. Earlier in the month of May, before the UWW Cadet Nationals, Fix won the UWW Junior Nationals in freestyle at 55 kilos. He won all matches by technical fall, including wins over a pair of NCAA Division I qualifiers in Ronnie Bresser and Ethan Lizak; as well as one in the finals over redshirting freshman Stevan Micic of Northwestern, who ended the 2013-14 high school season as the nation's top wrestler at 126 pounds.
For Fix, the UWW Cadet National title meant a second straight World Team berth at 54 kilos; his championship match victory in 2014 came over Nick Suriano, the No. 2 overall wrestler in the Class of 2016. In addition, this past season saw Fix win a second straight undefeated state title in a season of total dominance (all matches were decided by major decision or more); and in early April, Fix won a FloNationals title.
Despite the strong resume for Spencer Lee, and the compelling case for him to retain the top spot in the 2017 class for a 14th straight ranking, the decision here is to elevate Daton Fix to the No. 1 position in the Class of 2017. The resume for Fix, while not as strong as the one that Lee possesses, is sufficient when augmented by the two recent head-to-head victories.
The top two positions in this class are ones to be watched over the next two years with this class. The two wrestlers behind Lee and Fix among incoming juniors join Fix on the UWW Cadet World freestyle team this summer, Brady Berge (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.) and Yianni Diakomihalis (Hilton, N.Y.). Fellow UWW Cadet World freestyle team member Jared Verkleeren (Belle Vernon, Pa.) is ranked sixth, while Nick Lee (Evansville Mater Dei, Ind.), the Outstanding Wrestler of last summer's Cadet Nationals in freestyle, is ranked fifth.
Yet again, talent from the Keystone State stands out, as ten rising juniors appear in the top 50 for the Class of 2017. Next most is the six from California, and the five from Ohio. It's four from Illinois, with three each from New Jersey and Michigan.
Link: Top 50 Juniors
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