Blair Academy repeated as national championOnly one team in the entirety of the Fab 50 national high school team rankings went the whole season without losing a dual meet or finishing outside of first in a bracketed event, and that was No. 37 Camden County, Ga. Said team also did not compete in a tournament or dual meet with another nationally ranked team. Given that paradigm, how should one go about determining the No. 1 team?
Three obvious components come to mind: roster talent, dominance, and performance against other elite competition. This year's top ranked team certainly meets and exceeds those three standards. Blair Academy, N.J. has seven wrestlers in the top 20 of their respective weight classes as of the most recent rankings. Only one other team has even four, which multiple other squads have a trio of nationally ranked wrestlers.
When it comes to dominance and performance against other elite competition, take a look at their performances at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman, Beast of the East, Geary Invitational, and National Prep Championships. All of those events featured multiple other nationally ranked teams in the field. In addition, look at their 3-1 dual meet record against other teams ranked in the top 11 of the country. The wins were 40-18 over No. 4 Lake Highland Prep, 42-8 over No. 6 Malvern Prep, and 46-9 over No. 11 Bergen Catholic (N.J.). Even in the 30-27 defeat against No. 8 Wyoming Seminary, Blair Academy earned victories in eight of the fourteen weight classes.
This marks a fifth national title in six years for the Buccaneers. Unlike last year, this title is also a "wire-to-wire" crown for Blair Academy. Below is a listing of the previously crowned national champions by InterMat, since the website has compiled the Fab 50 national high school team rankings:
2016-17: Blair Academy (N.J.)
2015-16: Blair Academy (N.J.)
2014-15: St. Paris Graham (Ohio)
2013-14: Blair Academy (N.J.)
2012-13: Blair Academy (N.J.)
2011-12: Blair Academy (N.J.)
2010-11: Apple Valley (Minn.)
Rounding out the top ten of the national rankings are the following squads:
No. 2 Buchanan (Calif.): Champions of the Zinkin Classic and Doc Buchanan Invitational; champions of The Clash National High School Duals (lost to No. 25 Park Hill (Mo.) but earned victories over No. 3 St. Edward, No. 4 Lake Highland Prep, and No. 43 Anoka (Minn.); dual meet victory over No. 7 Clovis; state tournament champions
No. 3 St. Edward (Ohio): Walsh Jesuit Ironman runners-up, runners-up at The Clash National High School Duals, went 9-1 in dual meets against members of the final Fab 50 rankings (includes wins over No. 4 Lake Highland Prep and No. 5 St. Paris Graham, the lone loss against No. 2 Buchanan), state dual meet tournament champions, state tournament champions
No. 4 Lake Highland Prep (Fla.): Walsh Jesuit Ironman third place, third place at The Clash National High School Duals (beat Park Hill (Mo.), lost to Buchanan and St. Edward), runners-up at Who's Number One Duals (beat Bethlehem Catholic, lost to Blair Academy), state tournament champions
No. 5 St. Paris Graham (Ohio): Walsh Jesuit Ironman fourth place, split weight classes in dual meet loss against St. Edward, state dual meet champions, state tournament champions
No. 6 Malvern Prep (Pa.): Walsh Jesuit Ironman sixth place, Beast of the East fourth place, Escape the Rock Tournament champions, Who's Number One Duals third place (beat Bergen Catholic (N.J.) and Bethlehem Catholic, lost to Blair Academy), National Prep third place
No. 7 Clovis (Calif.): Runners-up of the Zinkin Classic and Doc Buchanan Invitational, split weight classes in dual meet loss against Buchanan, state tournament runners-up
No. 8 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.): Walsh Jesuit Ironman tenth place, Powerade champions, dual meet victories over Blair Academy and Bethlehem Catholic, National Prep runners-up
No. 9 Nazareth (Pa.): Walsh Jesuit Ironman ninth place, Beast of the East seventh place (no Stefanik), state dual meet champions (went 2-1 in dual meets against Bethlehem Catholic), state tournament champions
No. 10 Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.): Walsh Jesuit Ironman fifth place; Beast of the East runners-up; regular season dual meet losses against Lake Highland Prep, Malvern Prep, and Wyoming Seminary); state dual meet runners-up (went 1-2 in dual meets against Nazareth), state tournament runners-up (though beat Nazareth at the district and regional meets)
Teams from 20 states were represented in the rankings to start the season, while only 18 states have teams represented in the end of season rankings. Leading the way with nine Fab 50 teams is the Buckeye State of Ohio, while the Keystone State of Pennsylvania is next in line with seven. Five teams from the state of Illinois are ranked, while it's four each from Oklahoma, Minnesota, and Iowa. Three teams from California crack the rankings, all among the top thirteen. New Jersey, Colorado, and Missouri have a pair of teams are ranked. Single teams from Florida, Michigan, Texas, Georgia, Indiana, New York, Oregon, and Kansas round out the rankings.
From the preseason to end of season rankings, there was a turnover of 10 teams, which is much less than last year's 18 team switch-over. Nine of the teams switched out were ranked 40th to 50th in the preseason rankings, while the other team started the season 31st in the rankings.
The two highest positioned teams that were not ranked in the initial rankings are No. 22 Kiski Area (Pa.) and No. 23 Wadsworth (Pa.), while No. 28 Massillon Perry (Ohio) was also not in the initial rankings. Three other teams within the top 40 are new from the start of the season, as are four of the last seven teams in the rankings.
Final Fab 50 Rankings of 2016-17
No. 1 Blair Academy, New Jersey
No. 2 Buchanan, California
No. 3 St. Edward, Ohio
No. 4 Lake Highland Prep, Florida
No. 5 St. Paris Graham, Ohio
No. 6 Malvern Prep, Pennsylvania
No. 7 Clovis, California
No. 8 Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania
No. 9 Nazareth, Pennsylvania
No. 10 Bethlehem Catholic, Pennsylvania
No. 11 Bergen Catholic, New Jersey
No. 12 Elyria, Ohio
No. 13 Poway, California
No. 14 Tuttle, Oklahoma
No. 15 Detroit Catholic Central, Michigan
No. 16 Olentangy Liberty, Ohio
No. 17 Allen, Texas
No. 18 Sand Springs, Oklahoma
No. 19 Lockport, Illinois
No. 20 Pomona, Colorado
No. 21 Pueblo County, Colorado
No. 22 Kiski Area, Pennsylvania
No. 23 Wadsworth, Ohio
No. 24 Montini Catholic, Illinois
No. 25 Park Hill, Missouri
No. 26 Kasson-Mantorville, Minnesota
No. 27 Southeast Polk, Iowa
No. 28 Massillon Perry, Ohio
No. 29 Apple Valley, Minnesota
No. 30 Shakopee, Minnesota
No. 31 Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
No. 32 Choctaw, Oklahoma
No. 33 Oak Park River Forest, Illinois
No. 34 Mason, Ohio
No. 35 Staley, Missouri
No. 36 Brecksville, Ohio
No. 37 Camden County, Georgia
No. 38 Chicago Mount Carmel, Illinois
No. 39 Brownsburg, Indiana
No. 40 Fort Dodge, Iowa
No. 41 West Des Moines Valley, Iowa
No. 42 Long Beach, New York
No. 43 Anoka, Minnesota
No. 44 Northampton, Pennsylvania
No. 45 Washington, Illinois
No. 46 Roseburg, Oregon
No. 47 New Hampton, Iowa
No. 48 Goddard, Kansas
No. 49 Reynolds, Pennsylvania
No. 50 Cincinnati Elder, Ohio
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