Greg Kerkvliet is the nation's No. 1 senior recruit (Photo/Mary Christen, The Guillotine)Link: Top 100 Senior Rankings
The end of June has traditionally marked the release of the initial top 100 for the rising senior class. This year is no exception, as the rankings are being published today, most notably with a change in the No. 1 position. For close to 2.5 years (since mid-January 2016), Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa, Colo.) has occupied the top position for the Class of 2019. The new occupant is another projected collegiate heavyweight, Greg Kerkvliet (Simley, Minn.). Both wrestlers were Cadet world champions last summer at 100 kilograms, Schultz in Greco-Roman and Kerkvliet in freestyle.
For this year's World Championships, Kerkvliet is still an age-eligible Cadet (2001 birthday), while Schultz (a 2000 birthday) is now only Junior eligible. Kerkvliet qualified for both the Cadet and Junior world teams in freestyle, with all wins on the way to qualification coming via shutout technical fall; those matches coming at the UWW Junior National tournament in April, the best-of-three series in May during the Junior World Team Trials, and the UWW Cadet National Championships in June. He will be competing next week at 110 kilos (243 pounds) in Croatia at the Cadet Worlds, while competing at 97 kilos (214 pounds) in Slovakia at the Junior World come mid-September.
Cohlton Schultz (Photo/Sam Janicki)Similarly, Schultz will represent the United States on two world teams in Greco-Roman at 130 kilos (286 pounds), the Junior and U23 squads. At the UWW Junior National tournament, Schultz won all matches by shutout technical fall. Then at the U23 National Championships in June, Schultz won all but one match by technical fall, that one by pin; while the following weekend at the Junior World Team Trials for Greco-Roman, he was extended to a third match in his finals series by Anthony Cassioppi.
During the 2017-18 scholastic season, each wrestler demonstrated clear dominance during almost all their schedule. Kerkvliet did have one blemish, that coming by a 3-2 score while bumping up to 285 pounds for a dual meet matchup against InterMat High School Wrestler of the Year Gable Steveson. All but two of his other matches were wins by fall or forfeit; those coming in a 15-5 victory over nationally ranked Boone McDermott in the finals of the Minnesota Christmas Tournament and a 19-4 technical fall in the state finals bout at 220 pounds.
Schultz was undefeated competing at 285 pounds, including a signature 3-2 victory over four-time California state champion Seth Nevills in the finals of the Doc Buchanan Invitational. All but four other matches during the season ended in pin or were forfeits, a pair each at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman (10-3 and 5-3 decisions) and the Reno Tournament of Champions (15-0 technical fall and 3-0 decision).
Rounding out the top five are two-time Cadet world freestyle champion Kurt McHenry (St. Paul's, Md.), 2017 Cadet World Team member Jordan Decatur (CVCA, Ohio), and National Prep champion Julian Ramirez (Blair Academy, N.J.). Additional top ten wrestlers are Junior World Team Trials finals series participant Andrew Alirez (Greeley Central, Colo.), Connor Brady (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio), three-time Super 32 Challenge champion Adam Busiello (Eastport-South Manor, N.Y.), Super 32 Challenge champion Ryan Anderson (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), and state champion Carson Kharchla (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio).
Wrestlers from and/or attending high schools in New Jersey and Ohio dominate the Class of 2019 top 100, 15 and 13 from those states respectively are ranked. Seven of the 15 New Jersey wrestlers are from either Blair Academy (four) or Bergen Catholic (three), while four pairs of teammates are among those ranked from the Buckeye State (CVCA, Olentangy Liberty, St. Edward, and Wadsworth). Ten wrestlers from Illinois, including three from Lockport and a pair from Montini Catholic, are the third most for any state; while it's eight each from California (including a pair from St. John Bosco) and Pennsylvania to round out the top five.
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