Nick Suriano in 2016 (left) and in 2022 (photos courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Earlier this week, InterMat released our re-ranking of the high school Class of 2017 . Typically, five years after graduation is the perfect time to do such an exercise. Because of extra eligibility, due to the Covid year, many wrestlers from the Class of 2017 will still compete in 2022-23, rendering that feature somewhat futile.
With that being said, it seemed necessary to revisit last year's feature where Josh Loew re-ranked the high school Class of 2016 . In doing so, we came up with a new #1 wrestler and also had two new faces crack the top five. Here is the new top-25 after collegiate achievements from 2021-22 have been factored into the Class of 2016. Their ranking from the 2021 featured has been bolded after their accomplishments.
1. Nick Suriano (Michigan via Rutgers, Penn State/Bergen Catholic, N.J.) - 2016 high school rank: 2nd - 3x NCAA finalist, 2019 and 2022 NCAA champion; 2x Big Ten champion, undefeated in 2022. 2021 Rank: 4th
2. Mark Hall (Penn State/Apple Valley, Minn.) - 2016 high school rank: 1st - 3x NCAA finalist, 2017 NCAA champion; was seeded 1st in the 2020 NCAA tournament 2021 Rank: 1st
3. Ryan Deakin (Northwestern/Legacy, Colo.) - 2016 high school rank: 95th - 3x NCAA All-American; 2022 undefeated NCAA champion, was seeded 1st in the 2020 NCAA tournament, 3x Big Ten Champion 2021 Rank: 9th
4. Max Dean (Penn State via Cornell/Lowell, Mich.) - 2016 high school rank: 63rd - 3x NCAA All-American, 2022 NCAA champion, 2022 Big Ten Champion, 2019 EIWA champion 2021 Rank: 11th
5. Hayden Hidlay (NC State/Mifflin County, Pa.) - 2016 high school rank: 13th - 4x NCAA All-American, 2018 runner-up; was seeded 2nd in the 2020 NCAA tournament, 4x ACC champion 2021 Rank: 2nd
6. Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers via Northwestern/Christian Brothers Academy, N.J.) - 2016 high school rank: 60th - 4x NCAA All-American; was seeded 1st in the 2020 NCAA tournament, 2x Big Ten champion 2021 Rank: 3rd
7. Evan Wick (Wisconsin/San Marino, Calif.) - 2016 high school rank: 39th - 3x NCAA All-American; was seeded 8th in the 2020 NCAA tournament; seeded 1st at the 2022 NCAA Championships 2021 Rank: 10th
8. Luke Pletcher (Ohio State/Greater Latrobe, Pa.) - 2016 high school rank: 8th - 2x NCAA All-American; was seeded first in the 2020 NCAA tournament; 2020 Big Ten Champion 2021 Rank: 5th
9. Alex Marinelli (Iowa/St. Paris Graham, Ohio) - 2016 high school rank: 3rd - 4x NCAA All-American; was seeded 1st in the 2020 NCAA tournament; Seeded 1st 3x's, 4x Big Ten Champion 2021 Rank: 6th
10. Jack Mueller (Virginia/Trinity Christian Academy, Texas) - 2016 high school rank: 25th - 2x NCAA All-American, 2019 runner-up; round of 12 in 2018; was seeded 4th in the 2020 NCAA tournament 2021 Rank: 7th
11. Jordan Wood (Lehigh/Boyertown, Pa.) - 2016 high school rank: 10th - 2x NCAA All-American, was seeded 9th in the 2020 NCAA tournament, 5x EIWA Champion 2021 Rank: 18th
12. Tariq Wilson (North Carolina State/Steubenville) - 2016 high school rank: 75th - 3x NCAA All-American; round of 12 in 2019; was seeded 15th in the 2020 NCAA tournament, 2x ACC Champion 2021 Rank: 13th
13. Chad Red (Nebraska/New Palestine, Ind.) - 2016 high school rank: 5th - 3x NCAA All-American; was seeded 6th in the 2020 NCAA tournament, 2019 Big Ten runner-up 2021 Rank: 8th
14. Isaiah White (Nebraska via Notre Dame College/Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) - 2016 high school rank: 4th - 2019 NCAA All-American, 2017 NCAA Division II champion ; was seeded 5th in the 2020 NCAA Division I tournament 2021 Rank: 12th
15. Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh/South Park, Pa.) - 2016 high school rank: 33rd - 2021 NCAA runner-up; was seeded 11th in the 2020 NCAA tournament, 3x ACC Champion, 2022 NCAA Round of 12 finisher 2021 Rank: 22nd
16. Kaleb Young (Iowa/Punxsatawney, Pa.) - 2016 high school rank: 26th - 2x NCAA All-American; was seeded 8th in the 2020 NCAA tournament 2021 Rank: 14th
17. Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State via Edinboro/Franklin Area, Pa.) - 2016 high school rank: 30th - 2x NCAA All-American; was seeded 14th in the 2020 NCAA tournament 2021 Rank: 15th
18. Mitch McKee (Minnesota/St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.) - 2016 high school rank: 20th - 2019 NCAA All-American; was seeded 10th in the 2020 NCAA tournament; 2x NCAA Round of 12 finisher 2021 Rank: 16th
19. Taylor Venz (Nebraska/Farmington, Minn.) - 2016 high school rank: weight class only - 2018 NCAA All-American; was seeded 7th in the 2020 NCAA tournament; 3x NCAA Round of 12 finisher 2021 Rank: 17th
20. Matt Stencel (Central Michigan/Oregon Clay, Ohio) - 2016 high school rank: 16th - 2019 NCAA All-American; was seeded 5th in the 2020 NCAA tournament; 5x MAC Champion 2021 Rank: 20th
21. Eric Schultz (Nebraska/Tinley Park, Ill.) - 2016 high school rank: 40th - 2022 NCAA All-American, seeded 3rd in the 2020 NCAA tournament; 3x Big Ten Runner-up, 3x NCAA top-3 seed 2021 Rank: 25th
22. Jarrett Degen (Iowa State via Virginia Tech/Belgrade, Mont.) - 2016 high school rank: 86th - 2019 NCAA All-American; was seeded 8th in the 2020 NCAA tournament; 2018 NCAA Round of 12 finisher 2021 Rank: 19th
23. Drew Hildebrandt (Central Michigan/Penn, Ind.) - 2016 high school rank: weight class only - 2021 NCAA All-American; was seeded 6th in the 2020 NCAA tournament 2021 Rank: 21st
24. Ben Darmstadt (Cornell/Elyria, Ohio) - 2016 high school rank: 28th - 2018 NCAA All-American; was seeded 4th in the 2020 NCAA tournament 2021 Rank: 23rd
25. Taylor Lamont (Utah Valley/Maple Mountain, Utah) - 2016 high school rank: 23rd - 2021 NCAA All-American; round of 12 in 2018; was seeded 17th in the 2020 NCAA tournament, 2021 Big 12 Runner-Up 2021 Rank: 24th
For final review, the top 25 overall wrestlers in the Class of 2016 were as follows:
1. Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn./Penn State)
2. Nick Suriano (Bergen Catholic, N.J./Michigan, via Rutgers, Penn State)
3. Alex Marinelli (St. Paris Graham, Ohio/Iowa)
4. Isaiah White (Oak Park River Forest, Ill./Nebraska via Notre Dame College)
5. Chad Red (New Palestine, Ind./Nebraska)
6. Osawaru Odighizuwa (David Douglas, Ore./UCLA football)
7. Mason Manville (Wyoming Seminary, Pa./Penn State)
8. Luke Pletcher (Greater Latrobe, Pa./Ohio State)
9. Nick Reenan (Wyoming Seminary, Pa./NC State)
10. Jordan Wood (Boyertown, Pa./Lehigh)
11. Kamal Bey (Oak Park River Forest, Ill./USOTC for Greco-Roman)
12. Beau Breske (Hartford Area, Wis./Wisconsin via Nebraska)
13. Hayden Hidlay (Mifflin County, Pa./NC State)
14. Samuel Colbray (Hermiston, Ore./Iowa State)
15. Luke Karam (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa./Lehigh)
16. Matt Stencel (Oregon Clay, Ohio/Central Michigan)
17. Griffin Parriott (New Prague, Minn./Purdue)
18. Thomas Bullard (Archer, Ga./North Carolina State)
19. Chris Weiler (Wyoming Seminary, Pa./Wisconsin via Lehigh)
20. Mitch McKee (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn./Minnesota)
21. Blake Rypel (Indianapolis Cathedral, Ind./Southeastern University via Indiana)
22. Micky Phillippi (Derry, Pa./Pittsburgh via Virginia)
23. Taylor Lamont (Maple Mountain, Utah/Utah Valley)
24. Rudy Yates (Carl Sandburg, Ill./Northern Iowa)
25. Jack Mueller (Trinity Christian Academy, Texas/Virginia)
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