flyingcement Posted February 20 Posted February 20 While I may not have a bias toward any particular team, I do tend to root for guys who came through the Lehigh Valley. From my experience, the strength of the youth system in the region is spread throughout mostly public schools with just a handful of private schools. It's generally accessible to everyone. And the culture and history are rich, boosted by Lehigh University and their success in NCAA wrestling. This is a pocket of land with 131 mile circumference and a population of just over 861,000. As a percentage of the US population it makes up 0.26%. As a percentage of division 1 wrestlers, the region supplies 2.04% of the overall pool. This translates into this region below having a 7.95 times greater conversion rate from resident to division one wrestler. Weight Wrestler College High School WS Rank Status NQ AA VEWL Program 125 Brett Ungar Cornell Notre Dame - Green Pond 21 Starter 1 0 N/A 125 Ryan Milller Pennsylvania Blair Academy 33 Backup 2 0 Stroudsburg 125 Carson Wagner Binghamton Northampton 93 Starter 0 0 Pocono Summit 125 Brandan Chletsos Rutgers Notre Dame - Green Pond 120 Backup 0 0 Palmer Township 125 Braxton Appello Ohio State Easton 187 Backup 0 0 Palmer Township 133 Ryan Crookham Lehigh Saucon Valley 3 Starter 0 0 N/A 133 Julian Chlebove Arizona State Northampton 34 Starter 0 0 Northampton 133 Sean Pierson Princeton Nazareth 46 Starter 0 0 Nazareth 133 Devon Britton Rutgers Northampton 112 Backup 0 0 Northampton 133 Charlie Bunting George Mason Nazareth 167 Redshirt 0 0 Bangor 133 Ashton Campbell Bloomsburg Bethlehem Catholic 216 Redshirt 0 0 Palisades 141 Dante Frinzi Harvard Bethlehem Catholic 147 Backup 0 0 N/A 141 Cael McIntyre American Bethlehem Catholic 184 Starter 0 0 Forks Township 141 David Kreidler Navy Central Catholic 218 Backup 0 0 N/A 149 Tyler Kasak Penn State Bethlehem Catholic 11 Starter 0 0 N/A 149 DaShawn Farber Lock Haven Nazareth 109 Backup 1 0 East Stroudsburg 149 Drew Munch Lehigh Wyoming Seminary 119 Backup 0 0 East Stroudsburg 149 Cole Handlovic Cornell Bethlehem Catholic 134 Backup 0 0 Wilson 149 Kenny Herrmann Harvard Bethlehem Catholic 136 Backup 0 0 Palisades 149 Jarred Papcsy Duke Bethlehem Catholic 150 Starter 0 0 Nazareth 149 Steven Storm Lehigh Pocono Mountain East 154 Backup 0 0 Pocono Mountain 149 Ethan Szerenscits American Northampton 168 Starter 0 0 Northampton 149 Matthew Arciuolo Columbia Saucon Valley 202 Backup 0 0 N/A 149 Oliver Fairchild Campbell Easton 249 Redshirt 0 0 Forks Township 149 CJ Fritz Bloomsburg Northampton 254 Backup 0 0 Lehigh Township 149 Jonathan Miers Princeton Easton 264 Backup 0 0 Forks Township 149 Jake Doone Air Force Nazareth 286 Backup 0 0 Nazareth 157 Sammy Sasso Ohio State Nazareth 3 Injured 4 2, 5, 2 Nazareth 157 Nathan Haubert Lehigh Palisades 84 Backup 0 0 Palisades 157 Luca Frinzi Lehigh Bethlehem Catholic 97 Backup 1 0 N/A 157 Dominic Wheatley Franklin & Marshall Nazareth 234 Starter 0 0 Nazareth 157 Dagen Condomitti Oregon State Northampton 259 Redshirt 0 0 Northampton 157 Marco Albenese Binghamton Emmaus 288 Redshirt 0 0 East Penn 157 Christopher Arciuolo Franklin & Marshall Saucon Valley 290 Backup 0 0 N/A 157 Anthon Micci Franklin & Marshall Wilson 293 Backup 0 0 Wilson 165 Andrew Cerniglia Navy Notre Dame - Green Pond 19 Starter 2 0 Nazareth 165 Liam Scrivanich Rider Saucon Valley 62 Redshirt 0 0 N/A 165 Evan Maag George Mason Notre Dame - Green Pond 67 Starter 0 0 Bethlehem Catholic 165 Holden Garcia Princeton Notre Dame - Green Pond 72 Backup 0 0 N/A 165 Benjamin Haubert Citadel Palisades 75 Starter 0 0 Palisades 165 Evan Gleason Harvard Easton 129 Backup 0 0 Forks Township 165 Jagger Condomitti Nebraska Northampton 146 Backup 0 0 Northampton 165 Landon Muth VMI Bethlehem Catholic 254 Redshirt 0 0 Lehigh Township 165 Riley Hughes Bloomsburg Bethlehem Catholic 267 Redshirt 0 0 N/A 174 Darrien Roberts Morgan State Wyoming Seminary 76 Redshirt 0 0 East Stroudsburg 174 Connor Herceg Lehigh Nazareth 80 Starter 0 0 Nazareth 174 Nick Foster George Mason Nazareth 202 Backup 0 0 N/A 174 Anthony DeRosa Bloomsburg Bethlehem Catholic 217 Backup 0 0 N/A 174 Luke Thomas Bloomsburg Bethlehem Catholic 238 Backup 0 0 Whitehall 174 Nathan Stefanik Princeton Nazareth 278 Backup 0 0 Nazareth 184 Lenny Pinto Nebraska Stroudsburg 5 Starter 1 0 East Stroudsburg 184 Adrian Gacek Clarion Parkland 109 Redshirt 0 0 N/A 197 Sonny Sasso Virginia Tech Nazareth 22 Redshirt 0 0 Nazareth 197 Kolby Flank Bloomsburg Wilson 114 Backup 0 0 Wilson 197 Caden Wright Lehigh Emmaus 156 Backup 0 0 East Penn 197 Chase Levey Drexel Nazareth 168 Backup 0 0 Nazareth 285 Matthew Cruise Pennsylvania Easton 165 Backup 0 0 N/A 285 Karam Chakif Lehigh Dieruff 186 Backup 0 0 N/A 8
jchapman Posted February 20 Posted February 20 Looks like a lot of them stick close to home. Makes sense, there are a ton of D1 opportunities relatively close to the Lehigh Valley. 1 Craig Henning got screwed in the 2007 NCAA Finals.
Rassling Posted February 21 Posted February 21 6 hours ago, flyingcement said: While I may not have a bias toward any particular team, I do tend to root for guys who came through the Lehigh Valley. From my experience, the strength of the youth system in the region is spread throughout mostly public schools with just a handful of private schools. It's generally accessible to everyone. And the culture and history are rich, boosted by Lehigh University and their success in NCAA wrestling. This is a pocket of land with 131 mile circumference and a population of just over 861,000. As a percentage of the US population it makes up 0.26%. As a percentage of division 1 wrestlers, the region supplies 2.04% of the overall pool. This translates into this region below having a 7.95 times greater conversion rate from resident to division one wrestler. Weight Wrestler College High School WS Rank Status NQ AA VEWL Program 125 Brett Ungar Cornell Notre Dame - Green Pond 21 Starter 1 0 N/A 125 Ryan Milller Pennsylvania Blair Academy 33 Backup 2 0 Stroudsburg 125 Carson Wagner Binghamton Northampton 93 Starter 0 0 Pocono Summit 125 Brandan Chletsos Rutgers Notre Dame - Green Pond 120 Backup 0 0 Palmer Township 125 Braxton Appello Ohio State Easton 187 Backup 0 0 Palmer Township 133 Ryan Crookham Lehigh Saucon Valley 3 Starter 0 0 N/A 133 Julian Chlebove Arizona State Northampton 34 Starter 0 0 Northampton 133 Sean Pierson Princeton Nazareth 46 Starter 0 0 Nazareth 133 Devon Britton Rutgers Northampton 112 Backup 0 0 Northampton 133 Charlie Bunting George Mason Nazareth 167 Redshirt 0 0 Bangor 133 Ashton Campbell Bloomsburg Bethlehem Catholic 216 Redshirt 0 0 Palisades 141 Dante Frinzi Harvard Bethlehem Catholic 147 Backup 0 0 N/A 141 Cael McIntyre American Bethlehem Catholic 184 Starter 0 0 Forks Township 141 David Kreidler Navy Central Catholic 218 Backup 0 0 N/A 149 Tyler Kasak Penn State Bethlehem Catholic 11 Starter 0 0 N/A 149 DaShawn Farber Lock Haven Nazareth 109 Backup 1 0 East Stroudsburg 149 Drew Munch Lehigh Wyoming Seminary 119 Backup 0 0 East Stroudsburg 149 Cole Handlovic Cornell Bethlehem Catholic 134 Backup 0 0 Wilson 149 Kenny Herrmann Harvard Bethlehem Catholic 136 Backup 0 0 Palisades 149 Jarred Papcsy Duke Bethlehem Catholic 150 Starter 0 0 Nazareth 149 Steven Storm Lehigh Pocono Mountain East 154 Backup 0 0 Pocono Mountain 149 Ethan Szerenscits American Northampton 168 Starter 0 0 Northampton 149 Matthew Arciuolo Columbia Saucon Valley 202 Backup 0 0 N/A 149 Oliver Fairchild Campbell Easton 249 Redshirt 0 0 Forks Township 149 CJ Fritz Bloomsburg Northampton 254 Backup 0 0 Lehigh Township 149 Jonathan Miers Princeton Easton 264 Backup 0 0 Forks Township 149 Jake Doone Air Force Nazareth 286 Backup 0 0 Nazareth 157 Sammy Sasso Ohio State Nazareth 3 Injured 4 2, 5, 2 Nazareth 157 Nathan Haubert Lehigh Palisades 84 Backup 0 0 Palisades 157 Luca Frinzi Lehigh Bethlehem Catholic 97 Backup 1 0 N/A 157 Dominic Wheatley Franklin & Marshall Nazareth 234 Starter 0 0 Nazareth 157 Dagen Condomitti Oregon State Northampton 259 Redshirt 0 0 Northampton 157 Marco Albenese Binghamton Emmaus 288 Redshirt 0 0 East Penn 157 Christopher Arciuolo Franklin & Marshall Saucon Valley 290 Backup 0 0 N/A 157 Anthon Micci Franklin & Marshall Wilson 293 Backup 0 0 Wilson 165 Andrew Cerniglia Navy Notre Dame - Green Pond 19 Starter 2 0 Nazareth 165 Liam Scrivanich Rider Saucon Valley 62 Redshirt 0 0 N/A 165 Evan Maag George Mason Notre Dame - Green Pond 67 Starter 0 0 Bethlehem Catholic 165 Holden Garcia Princeton Notre Dame - Green Pond 72 Backup 0 0 N/A 165 Benjamin Haubert Citadel Palisades 75 Starter 0 0 Palisades 165 Evan Gleason Harvard Easton 129 Backup 0 0 Forks Township 165 Jagger Condomitti Nebraska Northampton 146 Backup 0 0 Northampton 165 Landon Muth VMI Bethlehem Catholic 254 Redshirt 0 0 Lehigh Township 165 Riley Hughes Bloomsburg Bethlehem Catholic 267 Redshirt 0 0 N/A 174 Darrien Roberts Morgan State Wyoming Seminary 76 Redshirt 0 0 East Stroudsburg 174 Connor Herceg Lehigh Nazareth 80 Starter 0 0 Nazareth 174 Nick Foster George Mason Nazareth 202 Backup 0 0 N/A 174 Anthony DeRosa Bloomsburg Bethlehem Catholic 217 Backup 0 0 N/A 174 Luke Thomas Bloomsburg Bethlehem Catholic 238 Backup 0 0 Whitehall 174 Nathan Stefanik Princeton Nazareth 278 Backup 0 0 Nazareth 184 Lenny Pinto Nebraska Stroudsburg 5 Starter 1 0 East Stroudsburg 184 Adrian Gacek Clarion Parkland 109 Redshirt 0 0 N/A 197 Sonny Sasso Virginia Tech Nazareth 22 Redshirt 0 0 Nazareth 197 Kolby Flank Bloomsburg Wilson 114 Backup 0 0 Wilson 197 Caden Wright Lehigh Emmaus 156 Backup 0 0 East Penn 197 Chase Levey Drexel Nazareth 168 Backup 0 0 Nazareth 285 Matthew Cruise Pennsylvania Easton 165 Backup 0 0 N/A 285 Karam Chakif Lehigh Dieruff 186 Backup 0 0 N/A Good stuff. PA in general continues to churn out one stud after another. 1
flyingcement Posted February 21 Author Posted February 21 (edited) To put out the best possible starting lineup for a dual among these lads, I might go like this: 125: Brett Ungar 133: Ryan Crookham 141: Julian Chlebove 149: Tyler Kasak 157: Sammy Sasso (Evan Maag as replacement if you won't allow me to choose an injured wrestler) 165: Andrew Cerniglia 174: Connor Herceg 184: Lenny Pinto 197: Sonny Sasso 285: Matthew Cruise Other than heavyweight, 174, and perhaps 157 (depending on how you view it), you have seven guys that are good enough to qualify for nationals. After that you figure you'd have Sammy Sasso and Crookham as title threats, guaranteed AA. Kasak, and Pinto as likely AA. And then Cerniglia, Chlebove, Sonny Sasso and Ungar capable of making a little noise. It's not a team per se, but I would be rooting for these guys individually Edited February 21 by flyingcement 1
flyingcement Posted February 21 Author Posted February 21 Here are the colleges represented by the region right now: Conference College ACC Duke ACC Virginia Tech Big 12 Air Force Big Ten Nebraska Big Ten Ohio State Big Ten Penn State Big Ten Rutgers EIWA American EIWA Binghamton EIWA Columbia EIWA Cornell EIWA Drexel EIWA Franklin & Marshall EIWA Harvard EIWA Lehigh EIWA Morgan State EIWA Navy EIWA Pennsylvania EIWA Princeton MAC Bloomsburg MAC Clarion MAC George Mason MAC Lock Haven MAC Rider PAC 12 Arizona State PAC 12 Oregon State SoCon Campbell SoCon Citadel SoCon VMI
flyingcement Posted February 21 Author Posted February 21 (edited) 36% of all division 1 wresting colleges and 100% of conferences have a guy from the Lehigh Valley Edited February 21 by flyingcement 1
flyingcement Posted February 21 Author Posted February 21 33% of schools in the region have a former athlete wrestling Division 1 High School Bethlehem Catholic Central Catholic Dieruff Easton Emmaus Nazareth Northampton Notre Dame - Green Pond Palisades Parkland Pocono Mountain East Saucon Valley Stroudsburg Wilson 56% of Valley Elementary Programs have a guy in Division 1 VEWL Program Bangor Bethlehem Catholic East Penn East Stroudsburg Forks Township Lehigh Township Nazareth Northampton Palisades Palmer Township Pocono Mountain Pocono Summit Stroudsburg Whitehall Wilson 2
flyingcement Posted February 21 Author Posted February 21 The point of showing all of that is to highlight that this isn't the result of a couple of good coaches or programs - or a result of a couple of good relationships with college programs. It's very widespread and varied, because this area benefits from having a strong wrestling ecosystem. 4
Jim L Posted February 21 Posted February 21 6 hours ago, flyingcement said: 36% of all division 1 wresting colleges and 100% of conferences have a guy from the Lehigh Valley 6 hours ago, flyingcement said: The point of showing all of that is to highlight that this isn't the result of a couple of good coaches or programs - or a result of a couple of good relationships with college programs. It's very widespread and varied, because this area benefits from having a strong wrestling ecosystem. Absolutely. There is frequently discussions about what a makes regions so good in a sport. A lot wrestling fans like to talk about how kids from one area are inherently tougher, this is a good narrative but doesn't hold up. The strong ecosystem makes the most sense: tradition, coaching and competition 1
Jim L Posted February 21 Posted February 21 6 hours ago, flyingcement said: The point of showing all of that is to highlight that this isn't the result of a couple of good coaches or programs - or a result of a couple of good relationships with college programs. It's very widespread and varied, because this area benefits from having a strong wrestling ecosystem. Also surprising that they only have 7.95 times greater conversion rate from resident to division one wrestler than average. There are large states and metro areas that are essentially wrestling deserts when it comes to producing DI wrestlers
gimpeltf Posted February 21 Posted February 21 50 minutes ago, jross said: Which comes first? The D1 schools or the local talent? I'll give you a couple of reasons that I've heard over the years as to why Pa is so good. 1. Back in the day (40s-50s in particular) the top 4 wrestling colleges in the state sent their coaches out to local high schools to give clinics as the sport was in its HS infancy. Those areas where the colleges were became the states hot spots. One might surprise you. In no particular order- A. Western Pa (WPIAL)- Pitt (Rex Peery) B. North Central Pa- Penn State (Doc Speidel) C Eastern Pa- Lehigh (Sheridan/Leeman) D. South Central Pa- F&M (Believe it or not- they were among the top teams in the country back in the day) (Uncle Charley Mayser) 2. The State College system. Used to be known as the State Teachers Colleges. Several of them have dropped over the years. The PSAC was never a qualifying conference but the league tournament was one of the best in the country. So what would happen is that a kid would wrestle in HS, go to one of these colleges to wrestle and to become a teacher. Would get a job as a teacher and a coach and the cycle would continue in an upward motion. 9
ionel Posted February 21 Posted February 21 2 hours ago, Jim L said: Also surprising that they only have 7.95 times greater conversion rate from resident to division one wrestler than average. There are large states and metro areas that are essentially wrestling deserts when it comes to producing DI wrestlers The numbers need to be related to the number of high school kids who have the opportunity to wrestle, not just general population. Then look at of those with access to HS wrestling how many had junior high wrestling, how many had access to a club program. Yeah there are a lot of big deserts across the country and a lot of areas with no or poor access to club. 2 2BPE 11/17/24 SMC
Natty Boh Army Posted February 21 Posted February 21 Growing up wrestling in a neighboring state, we quickly learned to fear and respect PA wrestlers- especially those from the Lehigh Valley. My high school team traditionally competed in a medium-sized tournament in the region (Christmas City). As freshman in the pre-information age, the veteran upperclassmen routinely horrified us with tales of this tournament- how the top guys in our state would struggle just to place, and about the physical style of wrestling in the area, which typically left nearly everyone on the team bruised and battered. We were also told that the local wrestlers in this area were borderline feral, that their only breaks from toil in mines and factories came from wrestling. It sounds quite silly in retrospect. But again, as a young and impressionable 14-year old in the "word of mouth" era, this left a mark, and I will put the D11 area up against any other area in the country in terms of both quality and quantity of output. 4
Formally140 Posted February 21 Posted February 21 6 hours ago, gimpeltf said: I'll give you a couple of reasons that I've heard over the years as to why Pa is so good. 1. Back in the day (40s-50s in particular) the top 4 wrestling colleges in the state sent their coaches out to local high schools to give clinics as the sport was in its HS infancy. Those areas where the colleges were became the states hot spots. One might surprise you. In no particular order- A. Western Pa (WPIAL)- Pitt (Rex Peery) B. North Central Pa- Penn State (Doc Speidel) C Eastern Pa- Lehigh (Sheridan/Leeman) D. South Central Pa- F&M (Believe it or not- they were among the top teams in the country back in the day) (Uncle Charley Mayser) 2. The State College system. Used to be known as the State Teachers Colleges. Several of them have dropped over the years. The PSAC was never a qualifying conference but the league tournament was one of the best in the country. So what would happen is that a kid would wrestle in HS, go to one of these colleges to wrestle and to become a teacher. Would get a job as a teacher and a coach and the cycle would continue in an upward motion. Last part can’t be understated. In PA, and to some degree OH, you’re much more likely to get a borderline random school with a coach who wrestled in college for 4 years and that coach consistently produces 1-2 state level kids at an “average” program. Whereas in most other states, that level of coach is almost always only in the powerhouse or club scene 2
Wrestleknownothing Posted February 21 Posted February 21 9 hours ago, gimpeltf said: I'll give you a couple of reasons that I've heard over the years as to why Pa is so good. 1. Back in the day (40s-50s in particular) the top 4 wrestling colleges in the state sent their coaches out to local high schools to give clinics as the sport was in its HS infancy. Those areas where the colleges were became the states hot spots. One might surprise you. In no particular order- A. Western Pa (WPIAL)- Pitt (Rex Peery) B. North Central Pa- Penn State (Doc Speidel) C Eastern Pa- Lehigh (Sheridan/Leeman) D. South Central Pa- F&M (Believe it or not- they were among the top teams in the country back in the day) (Uncle Charley Mayser) 2. The State College system. Used to be known as the State Teachers Colleges. Several of them have dropped over the years. The PSAC was never a qualifying conference but the league tournament was one of the best in the country. So what would happen is that a kid would wrestle in HS, go to one of these colleges to wrestle and to become a teacher. Would get a job as a teacher and a coach and the cycle would continue in an upward motion. Great color. Thanks for sharing this. I think I speak for everyone when I say we appreciate your historical context and extensive knowledge. 2 Drowning in data, but thirsting for knowledge
flyingcement Posted February 22 Author Posted February 22 11 minutes ago, Wrestleknownothing said: Great color. Thanks for sharing this. I think I speak for everyone when I say we appreciate your historical context and extensive knowledge. We need a way to start formally downloading all of the knowledge from gimp's brain. For the sake of future generations. I would hate to think about so much of this information being passed on by mouth only. 1
Wrestleknownothing Posted February 22 Posted February 22 13 minutes ago, flyingcement said: We need a way to start formally downloading all of the knowledge from gimp's brain. For the sake of future generations. I would hate to think about so much of this information being passed on by mouth only. And kudos to you for starting a great topic and drawing the information out. 2 Drowning in data, but thirsting for knowledge
juniorvarsity Posted February 22 Posted February 22 Super impressed. You stated all this in a great way too. Compare these numbers to where most of us live. It's wild. Someone else from another hotspot should chime in or create a new thread about dense areas 1
lu_alum Posted February 22 Posted February 22 1 hour ago, flyingcement said: We need a way to start formally downloading all of the knowledge from gimp's brain. For the sake of future generations. I would hate to think about so much of this information being passed on by mouth only. He's not bad... for a Jersey guy! He attended a HS with a pretty good reputation. Imagine how much smarter he'd be if he grew up on the other side of the river. 1
gimpeltf Posted February 22 Posted February 22 2 minutes ago, lu_alum said: He's not bad... for a Jersey guy! He attended a HS with a pretty good reputation. Imagine how much smarter he'd be if he grew up on the other side of the river. 1
gimpeltf Posted February 22 Posted February 22 1 hour ago, flyingcement said: We need a way to start formally downloading all of the knowledge from gimp's brain. For the sake of future generations. I would hate to think about so much of this information being passed on by mouth only. 1
flyingcement Posted February 22 Author Posted February 22 4 hours ago, gimpeltf said: Just in case it wasn't clear - I wasn't being facetious. You should be interviewed by MatScouts or Flo for these insights 1
Jim L Posted February 22 Posted February 22 10 hours ago, lu_alum said: He's not bad... for a Jersey guy! He attended a HS with a pretty good reputation. Imagine how much smarter he'd be if he grew up on the other side of the river. Phillipsburg? 1
Jim L Posted February 22 Posted February 22 I moved to the Lehigh Valley after growing and wrestling in Massachusetts and despite all the talent and tradition, wrestling was a still a niche sport there. Public TV showed some Lehigh matches and the PIAAs which was amazing to me. The local paper would cover the HS matches and the PIAAs, but the NCAAs barely got a mention. Sometime they would give a brief box score of the local HS and Lehigh wrestlers did at NCAA, but not much more. I never recall hearing anyone talkng about wrestlers. Occasionally I would meet guys that used to wrestle and talked about their glory days, but no more than in Mass. And none of them were wrestling fans that still followed the sport. 3 Maybe things have changed since the emergence of Penn State, as their alumni were everywhere and unbearable when talking college FB. 1
Hanah Schuster Apple Valley, Minnesota Class of 2025 Committed to Sioux Falls (Women) Projected Weight: 117
Johanna Steinlicht Brookings, South Dakota Class of 2025 Committed to Sioux Falls (Women) Projected Weight: 145
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