As the 2010-2011 school year approaches, college recruiting for this year's seniors will begin to get into full swing in the coming months.
This year's senior recruiting class is headlined by four wrestlers who are currently ranked as Top 100 recruits in the country according to InterMat. Conor Youtsey (Mason), Devin Pommerenke (Rogers City), Joe Rendina (Dundee), and Roger Wildmo (Durand) have all been dominant in the state of Michigan and have also been very successful at numerous major national events.
After the top four, things get a little more dicey as we have a diverse group of wrestlers in this class, some who have gotten out nationally and made a name for themselves, and others who remain under a lot of people's radars.
Read below for an in-depth breakdown of the Top 10 recruits coming out of the Great Lakes State.
1. Conor Youtsey
High School: Mason
Projected 2010-11 High School Weight Class: 125
Projected College Weight Class: 125
Conor Youtsey (Photo/MichiganGrappler.com)Between the Junior Duals and Fargo, Youtsey beat five wrestlers are 2010 Freestyle All-Americans: Hunter Weber (WI), Dixon (MO), Rob Deutsch (NJ), Eric DeVos (IA), and Thomas Gilman (NE). He has been one of the best wrestlers in Michigan since arriving on the scene as a freshman, losing only twice throughout his prep career. However, his past summer of big wins is what has sealed him as the No. 1 recruit in this class. His physical and stingy style should help him compete right away in college. He holds position and keeps himself in matches, which sets him up for big time wins. A couple other intangibles that make Youtsey attractive to college coaches should be his small stature and his performance in the classroom. He has been the same size for almost three years and still did not appear to be a full 119-pounder this summer in Fargo, so staying at 125 pounds for his collegiate career should not be an issue and he has a 3.8 GPA.
2. Devin Pommerenke
High School: Rogers City
Projected 2010-11 High School Weight Class: 285
Projected College Weight Class: 285
Analysis: D-Pomm has been a big name in Michigan wrestling since entering Rogers City High School as an oversized freshman a few years ago. He took some losses his freshman year, but since then all he has done is win and dominate, especially within the state. He has also proven himself against the nation's top heavyweights over the past couple offseasons. He won the FloNationals last spring, but his win at the Northeast Regionals was even more impressive as he knocked off two nationally-ranked heavyweights in Cadet National double champ Brooks Black of Pennsylvania (Blair Academy, NJ) and ASICS High School All-American Lance Moore of New York. Pommerenke is rare in that he is a can't-miss type heavyweight who is not only big, strong, and tough, but he has a lot of tools on the mat and has wrestled almost all his life. When times get tough he has tricks up his sleeve and he is capable of out-wrestling many big men who are all brute strength, with little technical skill. Throw in the fact that it is difficult for colleges to land many top heavyweights due to their playing football, and there is no doubt that D-Pomm is one of the top dogs in this class. He has already committed to Central Michigan where he will continue the long line of top Michigan heavyweight recruits wrestling in Mt. Pleasant (Bubba Gritter, Jarod Trice, and now Pommernke)
3. Joe Rendina
High School: Dundee
Projected 2010-11 High School Weight Class: 130/135
Projected College Weight Class: 133
Analysis: Rendina has been consistently performing well against the top guys in the country throughout his career. An injury kept him out of Fargo this year and hindered him a little at the Junior Duals, although he still went 6-2 with a couple big wins over Tyler Pendergrast of Delaware and former Fargo AA Jameson Oster of Illinois. A healthy Fargo for Rendina could have set him up for an argument to be No. 1. Prior to this summer he went deep into the bracket in Fargo every year, including last summer when he was a match from placing as a first year Junior. Last fall he placed sixth at the Super 32 Challenge and this spring he was on a roll before getting injured at the Junior Duals, winning Northeast and Central Regional titles with a few big wins, including a win over Joey Gosinksi in the Central Regional finals. Gosinski went on to place fifth in Fargo at Rendina's weight. Rendina has also been an All-American at FILA Cadets and he won the 2009 Western Junior Regionals in Vegas, so there is no way you can question his ability to compete with the best guys in the country. His length should make him tough to deal with in college, especially if he ends up at 133 pounds in college where most of his opponents will be short and stocky. In addition, he is very good on the mat, scrambles well, and has always competed year-round, so the transition to college wrestling and training should be no issue for Rendina. With all that being said the attribute that might help Rendina the most at the next level is his aggressive nature and his inability to stop attacking. He is always on the attack, always pushing the pace, and doesn't seem to be the kind of kid who will be intimidated or afraid to mix it up regardless of who he wrestles.
4. Roger Wildmo
High School: Durand
Projected 2010-11 High School Weight Class: 140/145
Projected College Weight Class: 149
Roger Wildmo (Photo/MichiganGrappler.com)Wildmo's lack of summer competition may keep him a little under-recognized nationally. However, he has proven his dominance in the state over the past two years as well as his ability to compete with and beat the best kids in the country. He is currently still rated by InterMat as one of the Top 50 recruits in the country and is considered a Top 20 140-pounder by just about every national poll. Also, let's not forget that he barely lost to Ryen Nieman, who left high school a few months ago widely considered one of the best wrestlers in the country, twice during his sophomore season and summer. Wildmo will definitely benefit from college riding time and has the skill set to contend for All-American status almost immediately in college.
5. Chris Rau
High School: Dundee
Projected 2010-11 High School Weight Class: 135
Projected College Weight Class: 141
Analysis: Rau has been one of the top wrestlers in the state throughout his career and has really been on the map since his freshman year when he handed B.J. Suitor his first loss. He finally got the monkey off his back last year and won his first state title and odds are that he will win his second state title this year. He did a good job of getting out a lot nationally in the past year and while he failed to place or earn All-American status at any big time events, he fared well against many top name guys at the Americas Cup, Junior Duals, and Fargo. He has proven that he can hang in matches with these guys and that alone benefits him because college coaches know that he is not afraid to get out there and mix it up with the top guys in the land and that he is just a few adjustments away from beating some of those guys. As previously stated, his offense on his feet is dangerous and versatile and he is really capable of taking down anybody. At times he has a tendency to shut down a little in big matches. However, his wealth of national experience should do a lot for his confidence and I would not be surprised to see him breakout this year at a big time event, whether it be The Grappler Fall Classic, Super 32, or Senior Nationals.
6. Victor Vettese
High School: Avondale
Projected 2010-11 High School Weight Class: 130
Projected College Weight Class: 141
Analysis: In terms of in-state success there are few people in this class who can match Vettese. His only career loss at the state meet was a good finals match last year to three-time state champ Tyler Keselring, who is now at CMU. Vettese has a long build and wrestles well from all positions. He is a pretty even-keeled wrestler who never seems to lose his cool or get rattled, which is something you like to see at the college level. The big question mark with Vettese is what kind of success he would have on the national level. He has very little out-of-state experience and has not really wrestled in any of the big time national events, which is what keeps him under a lot of radars and out of our top five. While he has not gotten out nationally, he has had close matches with Michigan guys who have had national success, such as Keselring and Alec Mooradian, so one might speculate that he has what it takes to compete with the nation's best. If he takes advantage of some preseason or postseason national tournaments he is capable of scoring some big time wins and seriously raising his stock. However, his in-state success alone should make him very attractive already for most schools.
7. Brandon Fifield
High School: Leslie
Projected 2010-11 High School Weight Class: 119
Projected College Weight Class: 125
Brandon Fifield (Photo/MichiganGrappler.com)8. Camryn Jackson
High School: Lansing Eastern
Projected 2010-11 High School Weight Class: 130
Projected College Weight Class: 141
Analysis: Jackson emerged as a top recruit this summer as he raised his stock immensely with a strong off-season of freestyle success. He went 7-1 at the Junior Duals and then put together the best couple days of wrestling of his career in Fargo to finish sixth and earn All American honors. After not making the state tournament until his junior season you would expect Jackson to still have a lot of room to grow and improve. With his athleticism and physical tools, he has the capability of developing into a solid college wrestler. He announced his commitment last week and will be wrestling for the University of Michigan, where he should benefit from All-American Kellen Russell and former No. 1 high school recruit Eric Grajales to work out with. Although this summer was the first time he broke out with big-time success, he has trained and competed year-round throughout his career, so the grind of college should be no issue for Jackson.
9. Justin Heiserman
High School: Dundee
Projected 2010-11 High School Weight Class: 189
Projected College Weight Class: 197
Justin Heiserman (Photo/MichiganGrappler.com)10. Joey White
High School: Dundee
Projected 2010-11 High School Weight Class: 125
Projected College Weight Class: 133
Analysis: White has consistently been one of the top lightweights in the state throughout his career. However, he has fallen just short of winning state titles and up until this summer, he has not done much nationally. However, this summer at Disney he made a statement for himself as a legitimate D1 college prospect, going undefeated with a few big wins including a win over three-time state champ Nick Smith of Ida in a rematch of this year's D3 state finals. In addition to knocking off Smith, who will be wrestling at Northern Illinois this fall, White also knocked off Fargo All-American Tyson Dippery of Pennsylvania and two-time Illinois state champ Topher Carton. White is a little guy who could possibly see time at 125 for a year or two if needed, but look will likely end up at 133 before it's all over. With his success in Disney, he should have now proven that he can compete with the top-tier kids in the country and should begin to open some collegiate options for him.
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