Diamonds in the rough.. worst high school credentials to make the D1 podium?

[BruceyB]

I just stumbled across the old Jaggers finals match against Ryan Williams from the 2009 finals. Williams best finish was 7th in PIAAs during high school. Unlike our esteemed friend WKN, I pose a trivia question without having any answers.. But it raised the question.. who are some of the most successful D1 wrestlers you recall with a lack of high school success? 

Requirement for your answers is zero high school state championships. Don't you dare say Anthony Cassar on this thread.

[Fletcher]

Vince Robinson. Zero HS championships, though everyone in IL knows he had the talent level to be a multi-time state champ. So it's not like he had dramatic improvement at NC St., just bad luck in HS.

[WrestlingRasta]

Bruce Baumgartner

[Wrestleknownothing]

25 minutes ago, BruceyB said:

I pose a trivia question without having any answers..

This is a better way to do it. You get more engagement, more debate. I am just not creative enough to come up with good questions like this. 

[1032004]

Drew Foster?

[wrestle87]

38 minutes ago, WrestlingRasta said:

Bruce Baumgartner

Smallest of worlds, my high school coach coached baumgartner when he was in high school.  I'm pretty sure he took 3rd in New Jersey, I assume in his senior year of high school.

[Antitroll2828]

10 minutes ago, wrestle87 said:

Smallest of worlds, my high school coach coached baumgartner when he was in high school.  I'm pretty sure he took 3rd in New Jersey, I assume in his senior year of high school.

Yea he took 3rd his senior yr losing in the semis to the legendary Paul Finn who is the only guy in NJ history to go undefeated with all pins for an entire season .. that weight class was pretty wild , Baumgartner beat future pro wrestler bam bam Bigelow in that tournament , also jim Jeffcoat who played 15 years for the Dallas cowboys and won 2 superbowls lost on the otherside to Finn

[Wrasslin]

Feels like Steve Neal should be the poster boy for this. Placed 4th as a senior in HS in 1994 (only time he placed), goes to CSU Bakersfield where he proceeds to go 4,2,1,1 at NCAAs (last 2 seasons undefeated), wins US Open, Pan Ams, and a World Championship in 1999, and second at 2000 Olympic Trials. Switches to football and becomes a 3x Super Bowl Champ with the Patriots. Who woulda thunk it? Nothing short of spectacular!

...There's also Anthony Cassar...

[Stockton]

Brock Lesnar

[jchapman]

Ben Peterson  2X NCAA Champ, 3X AA, Oly Champ, Oly Silver, World Bronze

[11986]

2 hours ago, BruceyB said:

I just stumbled across the old Jaggers finals match against Ryan Williams from the 2009 finals. Williams best finish was 7th in PIAAs during high school. Unlike our esteemed friend WKN, I pose a trivia question without having any answers.. But it raised the question.. who are some of the most successful D1 wrestlers you recall with a lack of high school success? 

Requirement for your answers is zero high school state championships. Don't you dare say Anthony Cassar on this thread.

Jason Bryant would know for sure, but I think Ryan Williams either got sick or injured the year he placed 7th after being one of the favorites or maybe another year he was picked to win and got sick/injured...anyway, still a great story.

 

[PortaJohn]

2 hours ago, BruceyB said:

who are some of the most successful D1 wrestlers you recall with a lack of high school success? 

Requirement for your answers is zero high school state championships

I remember this topic from a year ago.  Guys from PA with no PIAA titles.  Some with Prep Titles.  Credit goes to @lu_alum

[ScottishSteel]

I wanna add Connor Hartman and Mike Macchiavello to the conversation but I think they both did win a state title (Washington and North Carolina respectfully) their senior years

[PortaJohn]

This one is a little outside the box but I think Travis Lee fits the bill.  Prior to his run at Junior Nationals his Sr year he was overlooked by all the top coaches except Koll.  The wrestler from Hawaii wasn't getting much love in HS.  He is also the spark that propelled the Cornell program.  I'd put him at the top of the list for this category. 

[Frank]

Scott & Josh Moore 

[The Kid]

1 hour ago, 11986 said:

Jason Bryant would know for sure, but I think Ryan Williams either got sick or injured the year he placed 7th after being one of the favorites or maybe another year he was picked to win and got sick/injured...anyway, still a great story.

 

Joe Kemmerer beat him pretty easily.  I don't think Williams was beating Joe K that season. 

[OMW]

Chris Ayers - AA for Lehigh with 120 wins in college.

Non-placer at PA State(s).

[jeffrideal]

Dan St. John 

[BloodRound]

Troy Heilman made the podium as a senior without ever winning a state title in NJ... multi-time runner-up though.

Edited Thursday at 04:51 PM by BloodRound

[ionel]

2 hours ago, PortaJohn said:

I remember this topic from a year ago.  Guys from PA with no PIAA titles.  Some with Prep Titles.  Credit goes to @lu_alum

Ed Hamer ... you telling me no one saw that coming?  

[BuckyBadger]

1 hour ago, PortaJohn said:

This one is a little outside the box but I think Travis Lee fits the bill.  Prior to his run at Junior Nationals his Sr year he was overlooked by all the top coaches except Koll.  The wrestler from Hawaii wasn't getting much love in HS.  He is also the spark that propelled the Cornell program.  I'd put him at the top of the list for this category. 

I think he may have won HS nationals or placed pretty high. He was really good coming out of HS, I think he was more overlooked being from HI as opposed to not having won big tournaments.

Edit: never mind, I saw you said prior to junior nationals.

Edited Thursday at 05:39 PM by BuckyBadger

[Elevator]

Dick DiBatista - never lost a match in high school or college and was only a 2x NCAA champ as frosh could not compete and one year cancelled for WWII.  Not sure how/why he did not get a PIAA title - were there such things in the 1930s?

 

 

[boconnell]

Tervel Dlagnev wasn't a D1 AA but he was a D2 multiple champ who beat D1 Champ Dustin Fox at the midlands.  

I think he was a 1X 5th in Texas at 215.  That might not have made him a state qualifier in a lot of states, and he ends up an NCAA champ level guy with a ton of World Teams.  I'm not sure anyone who reached those heights was lower in HS.

[Wrasslin]

Being true to my CA roots, while not technically qualified, it seems disingenuous (almost criminal) to not include Mark Schultz in this tread. He's the ultimate Diamond in the Rough- hear me out . . .

Mark Schultz won a CA state championship his senior year (1978) wrestling for Palo Alto High, which technically disqualifies him from this thread. He won in R16 7-6, Quarters 4-4 OT, 5-2 in semis and 7-4 in finals, hardly dominate, but also upsetting 3 undefeated wrestlers along the way.

What makes his senior run improbable (and more so his later accomplishments), is that prior to winning that state title, he is the only wrestler in CA history to never win a single tournament before his run up to a state title (just crazy). Mark's official CA high school record is 34-8, including 4-6 as a junior. 

Not highly recruited, he attended UCLA and went 18-8 as a freshman...transfers Oklahoma in 1979 and redshirts- fails to place in every tournament that year (flashback to high school). We all know what happens after that...In 1980, unranked, beats #1 Mike DeAnna, gets ranked #2 and goes on to win 3 NCAA D1 Championships, including denying Ed Banach (another all-time great) a chance to become the first 4x D1 champ. Continues on to be a 2x World Champ, Olympic Champ, and a legend in our sport.

[BuckyBadger]

29 minutes ago, boconnell said:

Tervel Dlagnev wasn't a D1 AA but he was a D2 multiple champ who beat D1 Champ Dustin Fox at the midlands.  

I think he was a 1X 5th in Texas at 215.  That might not have made him a state qualifier in a lot of states, and he ends up an NCAA champ level guy with a ton of World Teams.  I'm not sure anyone who reached those heights was lower in HS.

Winner right here.