Minnesota is known for its rich Greco-Roman wrestling tradition, but the Land of 10,000 Lakes churns out top national talent in all three styles of wrestling year in and year out. Last year Minnesota sent 23 high school wrestlers to Division I programs. In addition, Minnesota had the nation's top-ranked high school wrestling program, Apple Valley, and four teams in the final InterMat Fab 50 team rankings.
This year Minnesota could send even more wrestlers to Division I programs than last year when the dust settles. Only Pennsylvania and Ohio have more wrestlers ranked in the InterMat Top 100 seniors than Minnesota. Seven of the 10 wrestlers on this Wrestling 49 list have already committed to Division I programs, with the top four committing to the University of Minnesota.
Brandon Kingsley defeated Mason Manville at the 2011 InterMat JJ Classic (Photo/The Guillotine)Projected 2011-12 High School Weight Class: 152
Projected College Weight Class: 149/157
Analysis: Kingsley, who is ranked as the No. 6 overall senior in the country by InterMat, has been a dominant force in Apple Valley's lineup ever since he became a starter as a freshman. Kingsley is a three-time state champion with career record of 169-6. His coming out party came his freshman season when he pinned David Thorn, who was one of the nation's top seniors at the time, in the finals of the Minnesota Christmas Tournament. Kingsley is a pinning machine. Of his 169 career wins, 126 have come by way of pin. He recently captured a title at the InterMat JJ Classic, which included a 4-2 victory over Mason Manville, who is ranked as the nation's No. 3 junior high wrestler. Kingsley committed to the University of Minnesota at the end of his junior year.
2. Dakota Trom (Apple Valley)
Projected 2011-12 High School Weight Class: 132
Projected College Weight Class: 141
Analysis: Trom, like his Apple Valley teammate Kingsley, will be in search of his fourth state championship. Trom's state titles have come at 112, 119, and 125 pounds. He has gone 134-8 over the past three seasons. Trom was a runner-up at the Cheesehead the past two seasons and a Cadet National freestyle runner-up in 2010. He is ranked as the nation's No. 48 overall senior by InterMat and recently committed to the University of Minnesota. He projects as a 141-pounder in college and will look to follow in the footsteps of another Apple Valley great, Chad Erikson, who finished as a two-time All-American at 141 pounds for the Gophers.
Sam Brancale was an InterMat JJ Classic champion at 132 pounds and OW (Photo/The Guillotine)Projected 2011-12 High School Weight Class: 132
Projected College Weight Class: 125/133
Analysis: Brancale entered high school with an impressive wrestling resume in national age group events, but weighed less than 100 pounds when he was a freshman. Still, despite being an undersized 103-pounder, Brancale managed a sixth-place finish at the state tournament in 2009. He grew into the 103-pound weight class as a sophomore and dominated his competition, going a perfect 42-0 en route to a state championship. As a junior, Brancale entered the state tournament ranked No. 1 in the state, but lost 1-0 in the quarterfinals to nationally-ranked Mitch Bengtson (St. Cloud Apollo), and came back to finish third. Brancale has been a FILA Cadet double All-American the past two years. He is ranked as the nation's No. 56 overall senior by InterMat. Brancale recently claimed a title at the InterMat JJ Classic and was named the event's Outstanding Wrestler.
4. Michael Kroells (Scott West)
Projected 2011-12 High School Weight Class: 220/285
Projected College Weight Class: 285
Analysis: Kroells is mobile, athletic big man who has shined in state and national events. He was an undefeated (47-0) state champion last season at 215 pounds, has twice been in the state finals, and has earned three state medals. Kroells, the nation's No. 63 overall senior, will bring a 133-28 record into his senior season. He was a Cadet National folkstyle champion in 2010. This past spring Kroells registered a win over the nation's No. 1 heavyweight last season, Donny Longendyke (White Bear Lake). He recently pinned Cadet National double champion Sam Stoll (Kasson-Mantorville) to win the InterMat JJ Classic title at heavyweight. Kroells has committed to the University of Minnesota, where he will look to carry on the Gopher heavyweight legacy.
5. Ben Morgan (Forest Lake)
Projected 2011-12 High School Weight Class: 138
Projected College Weight Class: 133/141
Analysis: Morgan, the son of 1996 Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler Gordy Morgan, won a state championship before any wrestler on this list. That state title came when Morgan was an eighth-grader at 112 pounds, and many predicted he would be a five-time state champion. But Morgan has been unable to get back to the state finals, let alone win a state title, since entering high school, and will begin his senior season in search of the elusive second state title. He has finished third at the state tournament in each of the past three seasons. Morgan has twice been a freestyle All-American in Fargo. He is a four-time Rumble on the Red champion and two-time Minnesota Christmas Tournament champion. Morgan, who is ranked as the nation's No. 84 overall senior by InterMat, recently committed to the University of Nebraska.
Ben Sullivan gets in on a shot against Iowa City West's Justin Koethe at the InterMat JJ Classic (Photo/The Guillotine)Projected 2011-12 High School Weight Class: 160
Projected College Weight Class: 165
Analysis: Sullivan has flown under the radar a bit, partly because of the fact that he was unable to compete on Apple Valley's varsity team last season after moving to Minnesota from Alaska. He was an undefeated (41-0) state champion as a sophomore in Alaska. Sullivan showed that he is one of the nation's best by reaching the NHSCA Junior National finals at 160 pounds. He recently went toe-to-toe with Justin Koethe (Iowa City West), the nation's No. 31 overall senior, in the finals of the InterMat JJ Classic, but fell 10-7.
7. Micah Barnes (Simley)
Projected 2011-12 High School Weight Class: 160
Projected College Weight Class: 165
Analysis: Barnes, who recently committed to Old Dominion University, will be counted on to help lead Simley to another state title and high national ranking. He earned All-American honors this year in folkstyle and freestyle at the Junior level. Barnes will be looking for the elusive state title after finishing runner-up as a sophomore and junior. He won the Cheesehead last season, beating Apple Valley's Steven Keogh in the finals.
8. Austin Goergen (Caledonia/Houston)
Projected 2011-12 High School Weight Class: 285
Projected College Weight Class: 285
Analysis: Goergen, a two-time state champion at heavyweight, is the biggest wild card on this list because of the fact that he has not been competing in national events. Some evaluate him as one of the nation's top heavyweights with tremendous college potential, while others see him as a solid in-state heavyweight with limited college potential. Goergen was unheralded (and unranked in the state) when he won his first state championship as a sophomore. Last year he was an undefeated state champion who went unchallenged at the state tournament.
9. Joey Munos (South St. Paul)
Projected 2011-12 High School Weight Class: 138
Projected College Weight Class: 141
Analysis: Munos has put together an impressive wrestling resume, earning two state titles, four state medals, and a Junior National folkstyle championship this past spring. He wrestles for the same high school (South St. Paul) that produced Jake Clark, a two-time U.S. World Team member in Greco-Roman and a 2012 Olympic hopeful.
10. Cooper Moore (Jackson County Central)
Projected 2011-12 High School Weight Class: 170
Projected College Weight Class: 165/174
Analysis: Moore is a three-sport athlete from the same school that produced Chad Kraft, Nate Baker, Travis Rutt, and Cole Von Ohlen. He first wrestled in the state tournament as a seventh-grader at 103 pounds in 2007. Moore earned his first state medal (fourth) as a freshman, and then captured a state title as a sophomore at 160 pounds. Last year he took a No. 1 ranking into the state tournament, but suffered a concussion in the first round and was forced to default out the event. Moore is a two-time Junior National folkstyle All-American. He recently committed to Northern Iowa University and projects as a 165/174-pounder in college.
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