Favorite college wrestlers of all-time

[ionel]

5 minutes ago, Ragu said:

Dean Heil (very happy to be the first to mention)

I like Dean Heil but hated watching his matches.  I'm betting you will be his only mention. 

[Ragu]

36 minutes ago, ionel said:

I like Dean Heil but hated watching his matches.  I'm betting you will be his only mention. 

Was on his way to be a 3 time champ and 4 time AA but they nerfed him by changing the rules. Missed out on his 3rd natty by barely losing to Yianni. Then lost the chance to be a 4 time AA by getting pinned by Chad Red. 

[Elevator]

Some fun and deserving nominees above.  Some of the most entertaining (tough on top, feet to back magic, or unusual tricks), from wrestlers I have seen in live matches (mostly Eastern wrestling):

Gene Mills

Jordan Leen

Jesse Jantzen

Travis Doto

Pete Yozzo

Rick Springman

Yianni

Cuvo

Vito 

a bunch of Penn State guys Zain, Nolf, Quentin Wright, RBY, Ruth and others

 

[11986]

so many greats/personal favorites of mine already mentioned, I'll add a couple more than I'm not sure I have seen yet:

Jim Martin/PSU

Scott Moore/PSU and UVA

 

[Gene Mills Fan]

Drake Ayala   I love when Drake is living on opponents legs.  But I like the Fargo Drake way more with that wicked dump in his package; he's stuck on too much head hands some matches

[Scouts Honor]

Cary Kolat

L Mac

J B

Blake Rosholt

Kerry McCoy

Stephen Neal

Steve Marianetti

Corey Olsen

Kevin Randleman

Johnny Thompson

Mark Branch

Cael

Michael Lightner

Joe Williams (especially when gable slapped him)

Mitch Clark

Dave Schultz

Mike Sheets

 

[Fadzaev2]

6 hours ago, 11986 said:

so many greats/personal favorites of mine already mentioned, I'll add a couple more than I'm not sure I have seen yet:

Jim Martin/PSU

Scott Moore/PSU and UVA

 

Dr. Jimmy Martin was fun to watch!!

 

[scourge165]

Mike Poeta is a guy who was one of my favorites. He had Burroughs and another brutal matchup, but he was such an explosive Wrestler, I was a fan. 

Started out up at 165 because of the Tirapelle's at Illinios, then goes 3, 2, 2 with losses to Leen, Burroughs in the finals and I think one of the Paulson's in the Semi's. 

I didn't read all 6 pages, but he doesn't seem like he's remembered like he should be. 

[Mojocrooksy]

Bo Jordan

Jim Jordan

Andonian

Bertin

Mark Coleman

Kevin Randleman

Ian Miller

D Taylor

L Steiber

D Schlatter

Steveson

Fried

S Lee

Jim Heffernan

 

[MPhillips]

1 hour ago, Mojocrooksy said:

Bo Jordan

Jim Jordan

Andonian

Bertin

Mark Coleman

Kevin Randleman

Ian Miller

D Taylor

L Steiber

D Schlatter

Steveson

Fried

S Lee

Jim Heffernan

 

Ohio love...

[Rassling2]

1 hour ago, Mojocrooksy said:

Bo Jordan

Jim Jordan

Andonian

Bertin

Mark Coleman

Kevin Randleman

Ian Miller

D Taylor

L Steiber

D Schlatter

Steveson

Fried

S Lee

Jim Heffernan

 

I’m happy to see Jim Jordan’s name up there! 

[RandolphTJones]

52 minutes ago, Rassling2 said:

I’m happy to see Jim Jordan’s name up there! 

A solid 1st post if I may say. 

[Konquest]

18 hours ago, scourge165 said:

Mike Poeta is a guy who was one of my favorites. He had Burroughs and another brutal matchup, but he was such an explosive Wrestler, I was a fan. 

Started out up at 165 because of the Tirapelle's at Illinios, then goes 3, 2, 2 with losses to Leen, Burroughs in the finals and I think one of the Paulson's in the Semi's. 

I didn't read all 6 pages, but he doesn't seem like he's remembered like he should be. 

I'll die on the hill that Burroughs, Leen, and Poeta (all at the same weight) were the 3 most athletic wrestlers in the NCAA that year regardless of weight class.  All 3 were an incredible mix of speed, flexibility, strength, etc.

[scourge165]

5 hours ago, Konquest said:

I'll die on the hill that Burroughs, Leen, and Poeta (all at the same weight) were the 3 most athletic wrestlers in the NCAA that year regardless of weight class.  All 3 were an incredible mix of speed, flexibility, strength, etc.

Not a hill I'd fight you on... but I MIGHT yell up it and say 'what about Caldwell.'

 

[Tripnsweep]

McIlravy was always fun to watch because it was usually all gas and no brakes with him. DeSanto was similar to that. 

[TexRef]

Robin Reed-Portland State

[DustyBottoms]

Brent Metcalf

Troy Nickerson

Mark Ironside

Nick Simmons

Mark Perry

Randy Lewis

Jon Trenge

Phil Keddy

Alan Gelogaev

Jordan Burroughs

[ionel]

10 minutes ago, DustyBottoms said:

Brent Metcalf

Troy Nickerson

Mark Ironside

Nick Simmons

Mark Perry

Randy Lewis

Jon Trenge

Phil Keddy

Alan Gelogaev

Jordan Burroughs

Which Mark Perry are you going with?  

[DustyBottoms]

7 minutes ago, ionel said:

Which Mark Perry are you going with?  

Gonna be junior- the only one I’m familiar with. His win over Hendricks in 07 was a heck of a battle. There’s just something about the special moments in wrestling - such as Perry finally beating the guy his uncle recruited over him. 

[ionel]

16 minutes ago, DustyBottoms said:

Gonna be junior- the only one I’m familiar with. His win over Hendricks in 07 was a heck of a battle. There’s just something about the special moments in wrestling - such as Perry finally beating the guy his uncle recruited over him. 

Well his uncle also let his dad go (it was time) so ...

[Antitroll2828]

Darrion Caldwell- also my favorite HS wrestler of all time 

Jason Nolf- literally invented his own moves and pinned AAs with them

Steve Mocco -285 pound grown men feared him 

Zain Retherford - his ability to break people on the mat and just punish them into oblivion is unmatched 

Anthony Cassar - 1x state qualifier 1x State champ , 1x ncaa qualifier 1x ncaa champ ,beat gable twice , wasn’t a starter and came off the bench and beat #1 ranked guy in the country in the biggest dual of the decade.. certified NJ legend 

Spencer Lee -his tilt was a work of art 

Peyton Hall- this guys knees bend in the opposite direction then normal humans it’s ridiculous 

Chad Walsh and Taylor Walsh - Wild styles ,dangerous from every position , been watching Taylor do his thing back to our elementary school days and took that style all the way to the ncaa finals 

Josh Hokit- Scoring touchdowns in bowl games then pinning people 2 weeks apart ,AAing as the 16 seed 

Noah Adams - went from losing record to undefeated ranked # 1 in the country , really fun style , gave up his last year of eligibility to become a state trooper 

Damian Hahn - my childhood idol growing up , still have a pair of autographed shoes from him 

Ben Askren - the funk was awesome and so exciting 

Ed Ruth- so much fun to watch , never a state champ ,didn’t even know who Cael Sanderson was when he took over Penn state and turned into a certified legend 

Greg Jones - just a machine , went to camp he hosted back in the day and he was a really nice guy too

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 19 hours ago by Antitroll2828

[BloodRound]

16 hours ago, Antitroll2828 said:

Josh Hokit- Scoring touchdowns in bowl games then pinning people 2 weeks apart ,AAing as the 16 seed

Made for such a good story before turning to stupid trollbait content in his UFC transition.

[VAtoSC]

Bryce Andonian-No explanation needed, just so much fun to watch

Caleb Henson-Good in every position and always looking to attack.

Devin Carter-Not the most athletic but helped elevate the VT program through hard work and toughness and a nasty whizzer step over. 

TJ Williams-Doesn't get talked about as much as other Hawkeye greats, but he was so damn slick on his feet.

Jason Nolf-To me he is the epitome the of the new age of Penn State wrestling, comfortable in anything and always trying new ways to score.

Zack Esposito-Got to watch his career from Blair through OSU. One of the slickest wrestlers on his feet I have ever seen in person. In high school he embarrassed great kids on their feet.

Cory Cooperman-Same as Esposito, got to watch him first at Blair then Lehigh. Always appeared so calm in every position, and was just a technician.

Pete Yates-Part of the program at VT with Carter as the Hokies started to really turn the corner. Got better every year culminating into a 2X All American. Remember watching him as sophomore lose to a highly ranked Josh Asper badly. They wrestled again in the ACC tournament and Yates lost in OT. The next year Yates just destroyed him.  

[alex1fly]

On 9/20/2025 at 8:27 PM, DustyBottoms said:

Gonna be junior- the only one I’m familiar with. His win over Hendricks in 07 was a heck of a battle. There’s just something about the special moments in wrestling - such as Perry finally beating the guy his uncle recruited over him. 

I had the pleasure of getting tied into a knot by Mark in practice a couple times. I was not worth his time lol. He was the first non-OSU guy I ever rooted for. His battles with Hendricks were legendary indeed.