2010 ASICS/Vaughan Junior National Championships Preview – Freestyle

Welcome to TOM’s 2010 Preview of the ASICS Vaughn Junior Freestyle Championships. This preview is based on wrestlers registered for the event. As we all know things may change before the actual event begins. If that happens some of this info may become irrelevant.

As with anything, we do not know every wrestler from every state. We base this on the information and research we have. We have attempted to give you a preview of each weight and provide you with some guys to keep an eye on that we feel may have good tournaments. By no means is it meant to be all inclusive. There are many fine young men who could win the event; this is just to give people a way to follow the event.

If we are missing someone or if you think there are other wrestlers that people should keep and eye on, please leave a comment so people can be informed.

The tournament looks to be an exciting one. There are a few weights that are loaded and as we all know, there are always guys who come out of nowhere to make things even more interesting. Video will be available each day of the event and you can find it on the right side of this website.

There are some notable guys also missing from the registrations opening the door to new names and faces. We will have to wait and see how we do with our predictions.

Cadet Preview

Results
Cadet Greco
Cadet Freestyle
Junior Greco
Junior Freestyle
Women

Coverage
Video
Chat
TheMat.com Special Section

98

Currently ranked wrestlers (Rankings here)
N/A

Outgoing seniors
N/A

A lot of new faces here so bear with us. We will do our best to preview the weight and make predictions, if we miss someone we apologize, but we looked at each guy in the weight to point out a few guys we think will contend. Team Missouri roles into Fargo with three guys that all have a shot at winning this weight. Colton Howell leads the way. He went undefeated at the Junior Duals and was a 2009 Double All-American and won a Cadet National Championship. The second guy from the Missouri squad is JJ Dorrell who posted a 9-1 record at the Duals and should be in the mix. To round out the Missouri contingent is Auston Finley who owns a 5th place finish at this year FILA Cadet Championships.

Now Missouri is not the only state competing this year and there are several others who have a chance of winning this one. Bobby Nachreiner of Wisconsin was this years FILA Cadet Greco National Champion. We will see if his Freestyle is where it needs to be to put him self in the top spot. Look for Zach Howell of Delaware to also be in contention. He as 6-2 at the duals and was a 2009 Cadet AA placing 4th. An interesting wrestler who we think may be right there at the end is Illinois wrestler Nkosi Moody. Moody was 6th at FILA Cadets this year and is also a returning AA from 2009. To wrap this weight up we have our dark horse pick in Juan Javier Jimenez of California. He was the CA state freestyle champ this year and may lack some national exposure but do not be surprised if he finds himself in a position to win it.

TOM’s Prediction
1. Colton Howell (MO)
2. Bobby Nachreiner (WI)
3. Nkosi Moody (IL)
4. Juan Javier Jimenez (CA)

105

Currently ranked wrestlers (Rankings here)
#2 (112) Freddie Rodriguez (MI)
#20 (112) Ruben Navejas (WA)

Outgoing seniors
N/A

This is not a large weight, but we will go out on a limb and say there is a clear favorite. #2 Freddie Rodriguez of Michigan is the man to beat here. We could go on and on about the summer this guy is having, but we do not have the time. He has beat many of the nation’s best already and looks to win his title in Fargo. But we wrestle the matches for a reason. Washington’s #20 Rueben Navejas certainly thinks he has a good chance here. Navejas is a returning National Champion (98 lbs) from 2009. He was also 2nd in Greco last year. Look for these two to be on a collision course to the finals. Kevon Powell of Illinois will be waiting for them and has his own plans of ending this one at the top. Powell is a returning double AA and past FILA Cadet runner-up. We can not guarantee anything, but we would expect that when the dust settles these three will be in the top spots.

There are two other guys we suggest you keep an eye on and may just upset one of the top 3 guys. California’s Manny Marin is a 2009 double AA (98 lbs) and will be looking to show he can win this thing as well. Finally we have Jake Smith of Alabama. Smith was a Greco AA last year placing 3rd and should be in the mix for the top 8.

TOM’s Prediction
1. Freddie Rodriguez (MI)
2. Ruben Navejas (WA)
3. Kevon Powell (IL)
4. Manny Marin (CA)

112

Currently ranked wrestlers (Rankings here)
#5 Nahshon Garrett (CA)
#6 Corey Clark (IA)
#8 Derek Elmore (IL)
#9 Tyler Fraley (NJ)
#13 Curtis Lampert (NV)
#14 Kegan Galvadon (CO)
#16 Steven Hopkins (WA)
#8 (119) Evan Silver (MD)

Outgoing seniors
N/A

Now things start to really get interesting and far more difficult to predict we are focusing here on the guys we have ranked with a few exceptions. This weight contains eight ranked wrestlers from TOM’s latest rankings. Look for some early battles at this weight. Out of the gate we are looking at #5 Nahshon Garrett of California. Garrett was a CA state champ this year and was a double AA last year. We will say this when this years tournament is done there most likely will be some major shake ups in our rankings. The next guy to take a look at is Iowa’s Corey Clark. Clark has been impressive this year. He is already a 2 time IA state HS champ. He went 5-1 at the Junior Duals and should be in a position to make a run here.

#8 Derek Elmore of team Illinois is talented wrestler that will be right there at the end as well. He was 5-1 at the duals losing to Clark and was a double AA last year in Fargo. #9 Tyler Fraley of New Jersey will be looking to place himself in a spot to win as well. Fraley went 10-0 at the duals and posted some impressive wins. Interesting is that he has 4 AA honors already, and is a 2-Time Greco Fargo Champion. Last year he was a double finalist. In Freestyle he has a runner-up finish in 2009 and a 3rd in 2008. Fraley may just be the man to beat here.

#13 Curtis Lampert of Nevada adds to the depth of this weight. Although he lacks the national credentials of some of the others here, he has been solid in his home state and looks to become a national name. Next we have #14 Kegan Galvadon of Colorado. He was a Cadet AA last year and has impressed in state. Look for him to provide some tests to the top guys. #16 Steven Hopkins of Washington looks to make his own statement. Rounding out our preview of this weight is #8 (119) Evan Silver of Maryland. With the drop into 112 he makes himself a contender for the top spot. Known for his folk style Silver deserves a hard look. He is a past AA here and should be right there at the end of this one.

TOM’s Prediction
1. Tyler Fraley (NJ)
2. Evan Silver (MD)
3. Nahshon Garrett (CA)
4. Corey Clark (IA)

119

Currently ranked wrestlers (Rankings here)
#8 (103) Morgan Engbrecht (SD)
#6 Conor Youtsey (MI)
#10 Bricker Dixon (MO)
#14 Nathan Kraisser (MD)
#18 Joseph Martinez (CO)
#19 Joey Dance (VA)

Others to watch
Eric DeVos (IA)
Robert Deutsch (NJ)
Hayden Zillmer (MN)

Outgoing seniors (Last Years Rankings)
Carson Kuhn (Utah) – 3rd last year, Sr. Nat. 2nd

Interesting weight and to be honest any number of guys could win this one. There is a lot of talent and a lot past accomplishments. Some of these guys have may not have had the best year, but have shown they can win big events in the past. #6 Conor Youtsey of Michigan is one of the favorites based on the summer he has been having. He went 10-1 at the Junior Duals posting some impressive wins, he did drop a match so as we have said nothing is a given. Out going Senior Carson Kuhn of Utah will be looking to improve upon his 3rd place finish last year. He was a Senior National runner-up this year as well. He ended up at #14 in our end of the year rankings. #19 Joey Dance of Virginia has to be a major consideration here as well. Dance who was last years 105 lbs freestyle Champion and Greco finalist has struggle some this year but we would not count him out of this one. He was also a double AA in 2008.

#10 Bricker Dixon of Missouri went 9-1 at the duals losing a close match to Youtsey. He was an AA last year placing 6th and looks to make a move forward is this tough weight. We are also interested in seeing how #14 Nathan Kraisser Maryland does here. He is a previous AA and was the Cadet FILA runner-up this year. He has some good wins this year and should be considered a threat to the top spot. #18 Joseph Martinez of Colorado should be a consideration to do well. He is not a well known name but has been very solid in his home state. Moving up from 103 is #8 Morgan Engbrecht of South Dakota. We will see how he handles the weight. If he does, look for him to be in the mix.

Well that covered our ranked wrestlers, but let me assure you there are several others at this weight that could end up winning this and are on our bubble for the rankings. Eric DeVos of Iowa was 3rd last year at Cadet Nationals and is well known by many as one tough wrestler. He was also 7-1 at the duals. Do not count DeVos out here. New Jersey’s Rob Deutsch is a past Cadet Finalist and has been solid this summer. He went 9-1 at the duals with his only loss coming to Youtesy and he will be looking to avenge that. Wrapping up this weight we have Hayden Zillmer of Team Minnesota who is a past Cadet Double National Champion. Zillmer has not been at the top of his game but you can not count him out here.

TOM’s Prediction
1. Joey Dance (VA)
2. Carson Kuhn (UT)
3. Bricker Dixon (MO)
4. Conor Youtsey (MI)

125

Currently ranked wrestlers (Rankings here)
#3 Mark Grey (NJ)
#3 (130) Johnni Di Julius (OH)
#5 Kevin Norstrem (FL)
#6 (130) Rossi Bruno (FL)
#10 Jeffrey Ott (MA)
#11 Cody Brewer (MO)
#12 Eddie Klimara (IL)
#12 (130) Bronson Steuber (MN)
#13 (130) Alec Mooradian (MI)
#20 Kyle Larson (IA)

Outgoing seniors
N/A

Wow, is one word to describe this one. 10 ranked wrestlers fight for the top spot and numerous guys coming down a weight to make this very interesting to say the least. This may be one of the toughest weights for us to pick the top four. But nobody likes a quitter so we will give it an AA effort. Let’s kick it off with #3 Mark Grey of New Jersey. He has been here the past 2 years, competed in both styles and has been in the finals every time and has captured 3 National Titles already and a 2nd place finish. It is pretty hard to argue with that in our opinion. Look for Grey to make a run at a 4th national title here (Maybe 5th depending how Greco goes). A guy who has beat Grey twice this year is #5 Kevin Norstrem of Florida. He was 8-1 at the duals only losing to top ranked Theilke of Wisconsin who is not at this weight. He was also the Cadet FILA runner-up in Freestyle where he beat Grey and lost to Jeske.

Next we have our 130 #3 Johnni Di Julius of Ohio. He went a perfect 10-0 at the Duals with some very impressive wins. He has had a great year and is looking to cap it off with a national title, and trust us that will not be an easy task at this weight. The drop in weight should help him as well. Another Florida wrestler that should also be considered for the top spot is #6 (130) Rossi Bruno. He has 6 AA honors already and is now looking to make claim to the top spot in the nation. There is a possibility of an all FL final here. Adding to the mix is #10 Jeff Ott of Massachusetts. He has been beating some tough competition out east and is looking to become a national contender.

As we continue we will now look at #11 Cody Brewer of Team Missouri. This former Cadet Double National Champion looks to get back to the top of the podium after not competing in 2009. #12 Eddie Klimera of Illinois had a good Dual event going 7-1 with some pretty nice wins. Another #12 (130) from Minnesota is Bronson Steuber. He did go 6-1 at the duals. He has beaten some tough guys in the past and deserves a look here. Another guy coming down from our 130 rankings is #13 Alec Mooradian of Michigan. Mooradian is a talent and should be looking at AA status. Watch for #20 Kyle Larson of Iowa. He went 7-0 at the duals with some decent wins. Finally an unranked guy that may surprise some people here is Brandon Nelson of Indiana who posted a perfect record at the duals and beat # 12 Klimara.

TOM’s Prediction
1. Mark Grey (NJ)
2. Johnni Di Julius (OH)
3. Rossi Bruno (FL)
4. Kevin Norstrem (FL)

130

Currently ranked wrestlers (Rankings here)
#18 (125) Alex Shaffer (NJ)
#11 Tyler Liberatore (FL)
#14 Jameson Oster (IL)
#16 Arty Walsh (PA)
#3 (135) Terrell Wilbourn (MO)
#10 (135) Matt Kelliher (MN)

Outgoing seniors
N/A

This is an interesting weight in the sense of the fact it is pretty wide open. You could see some guys lesser known make a run. We are covering guys, but do not be shocked if we miss some here that are currently not in our rankings. On paper the favorite is #3 Terrell Wilbourn of Missouri. Wilbourn went 5-0 at the duals and looked good doing so. He was last years Cadet National Champion and managed a 3rd the year before that. He looks to add a Junior Title this year. Coming down from 135 is #10 Matt Keliher of Minnesota and he will be looking to knock Wilbourn off. He went 3-2 at the duals but those losses came at the hands of two of the top kids in the land. He was 3rd last year and 6th the year before. He will be looking for that #1 this year.

#16 Arty Walsh of Pennsylvania will also look to keep things rolling after an impressive 9-1 at the duals. Walsh should be right there at the end of this one. #18 Alex Shaffer of New Jersey is a little lesser know on the freestyle circuit but capable of doing well here. Not to be counted out is #11 Tyler Liberatore of Florida. He just went 9-0 at the duals and will look to continue that success here. Ending our preview of this weight is Illinois wrestler #14 Jameson Oster who owns some wins over some good kids. Look for him to make his case for AA honors this year.

TOM’s Prediction
1. Terrell Wilbourn (MO)
2. Matt Kelliher (MN)
3. Arty Walsh (PA)
4. Tyler Liberatore (FL)

135

Currently ranked wrestlers (Rankings here)
#18 (130) Tony DeAngelo (NC)
#1 Jason Tsirtsis (IN)
#7 Nate Skonieczny (OH)
#9 Jake Sueflohn (WI)
#12 Ty Lydic (PA)
#16 Quinton Murphy (NY)
#18 Zack Tanenbaum (KS )
#6 (140) Austin Ormsbee (NJ)
#15 (140) Bo Schlosser (IA)

Outgoing seniors (Last year’s rankings)
#1 Josh Dziewa (PA)
Seth Lange (SD)
Kade Moss (UT)

Well this kicks off a run of weight classes that should be full of fireworks. If you are a wrestling fan things really start to get interesting now. The favorite is the defending champion and Iowa recruit who had has an amazing year Josh Dziewa (last years #1). Dziewa exploded on the scene last year when he won the title and has not looked back sense. We are excited to see him in Fargo. Our Current #1 wrestler in the weight Indiana’s Jason Tsirtsis is hoping that he ends this event on top. A Cadet runner-up last year he looks to earn that title this year. He also has a Cadet FILA title under his belt as well as numerous other honors.

The fun is nowhere near ending there though. There are a lot of guys here that have a chance of walking away the 2010 National Champion. We will just go down the list. #6 (140) Austin Ormsbee of New Jersey had a decent duals and has had some good wins this past year. Look for him with the weight drop to be in the mix early. #7 Nate Skonieczny is looking to make a statement as well. He should prove to be a force at this weight also. One guy we are interested in seeing here is #9 Jake Sueflon of Wisconsin. He went 8-2 at the duals and looked good. He took one loss to a very tough Rinken of IA who is not ranked, but is entered at this weight. His other loss was to Steiber of Ohio who is not entered here. He has beaten some tough guys this year including Ormsbee. Next in-line is #12 Ty Lydic of Pennsylvania look for him to challenge many in this deep field.

New York has #16 Quinton Murphy. Murphy placed 3rd at Cadet FILA’s beating Lydic and only losing to the champion Tsirtsis. Murphy should do well here. #15 (140) Bo Schlosser of Iowa is one tough customer. He has some big wins in his career and do not be surprised if he pulls off an upset or two here. Rounding out our ranked wrestlers at this weight is #18 Zack Tanenbaum of Kansas. He has been very tough on his local turf, let’s see how he does here.

We now have two more outgoing seniors we think you should also keep a close eye on. Seth Lange of South Dakota ended up #15 in our year end rankings and is a very tough wrestler. As a senior he is looking at going out with a bang. Kade Moss of Utah was a Greco AA last year and finished up a great HS career. Look for him to me in the mix down the stretch as well.

TOM’s Prediction
1. Josh Dziewa (PA)
2. Jason Tsirtsis (IN)
3. Jake Sueflohn (WI)
4. Nate Skonieczny (OH)

140

Currently ranked wrestlers (Rankings here)
#3 Edwin Cooper (IL)
#7 Travis Himmelman (CO)
#13 Lex Ozias (MD)
#18 Devin Scott (MN)
#20 Casey George (ID)

Outgoing seniors (End of last year rank noted)
#3 Jacob Ballweg (IA)
#19 Luke Goettl (AZ)
#1 Josh Kindig (PA)

Others to Watch
Matthew Cimato (PA)
Alex Dieringer (Wisconsin)

This has all the ingredients to be another interesting and entertaining weight. We will say that there is a favorite here and it is Last year’s #1 Josh Kindig of Pennsylvania. He has won before and has pretty much been unstoppable. Look for him to be the man to beat here. #3 Edwin Cooper is one guy who would like to beat him. Cooper went 10-1 at the Duals losing to Ballweg. He has a lot of credentials and should be considered a serious contender for the top spot. #7 Travis Himmelman of Colorado was an AA last year in Greco and some wins over some top opponents makes him a wrestler to watch. #18 Devin Scott of Minnesota went 7-1 at the duals and will look for a top 8 finish in this tough weight. #20 Casey George of Idaho was a Cadet runner-up in Greco last year. Let’s see how he does on Freestyle this year.

Last years #3 Jacob Ballweg had a few tough losses this off season but has shown he is someone that can contend. He has a win this year over cooper but also has a loss to Scott. We will see how things shake out at this weight. Draws will be interesting for sure. #19 (last year) Luke Goettl from Arizona is looking to end his HS career on a high note as well. He has beaten some big names in the past and has 4 HS titles to his name. You can not count him out of the mix here.

There are two wrestlers not currently in the rankings we feel will make their case. Matthew Cimato of Pennsylvania is one of them. This summer at the NHSCA Duals he went undefeated and posted a 7-1 make at the Disney Duals. We would not count him out in this weight at all. Finally, is Alex Dieringer of Wisconsin. He was undefeated at the duals and holds a win over top wrestler Dylan Ness this year. Look for him to be right there in the thick of things.

TOM’s Prediction
1. Josh Kindig (PA)
2. Edwin Cooper (IL)
3. Jacob Ballweg (IA)
4. Alex Dieringer (WI)

145

Currently ranked wrestlers (Rankings here)
#1 Zachary Brunson (OR)
#2 Blake Roulo (VA)
#3 James Green (NJ)
#5 Jordan Wohlfert (MI)
#8 Jeremy Davenport (OK)
#11 Colby Kloetzer (ID)
#18 STEPHEN ROBERTSON (IL)
#20 Henry Carlson (AL)
#14 (135) Caleb Ervin (KY)
#4 (152) Ryne Cokeley (KS)
#5 (152) Joey Kielbasa (IL)
#7 (152) Christopher Castillo (WA)
#19 (152) Logan Addis (AZ)

Outgoing seniors (End of last year rank noted)
#8 Kaleb Friedley (MO)
# 3 Dylan Ness (MN)
#10 RaVaughn Perkins (NB)
#2 Colin Shober, (PA)
#7 Stephen Hernandez (NV)

Really? Where should we even start with this one? We have stated before that a weight is loaded but we really mean it this time. With that said we will look at the guys we feel may end up at the top instead of breaking down each wrestler in this one. As you can see above, there is more then enough talent to go around. 19 Wrestlers who are currently or ended the year ranked in our top 20. We will break this weight down in two groups of four.

In group 1 we start with our current #1 wrestler (Less out going seniors) Zach Brunson of Oregon. He is already a 3 time AA and had a 3rd place finish this year at FILA Cadet Nationals while wrestling up at 152. He is coming off a great HS season winning the State Tournament with 4 falls and racking up some impressive wins. Brunson should be right in there with the older guys and should not be counted out. Last years #2 Colin Shober has to be considered for the top spot here as well. Shober is a 2-time PA state champ and dominated the event his senior year. He added a 3rd place finish at the Senior Nationals. Then there is last year’s #3 Dylan Ness of Minnesota. For starters he posted a 9-0 record at the Duals a 5 time AA and he has 3 Fargo National Titles under his belt already (2 in Greco and 1 in freestyle). On paper he is the one to beat. Rounding out the first group is #4 Ryne Cokeley of Kansas who went 6-0 at the duals and was a HS Nationals runner-up. He has some real nice wins under his belt and will have his skills tested with this group.

The second group kicks off with Nebraska’s RaVaughn Perkins. He has 3 AA honors and was last years Greco Champ. Look for Perkins to push people and mix things up. He is very capable of winning the whole thing. Stephen Hernandez who was our #7 last year is tough and will bring his workman style to this tough class. Like many of the weights, draws will be key for many of these guys. Next, watch our # 3 Blake Roulo of (VA) who captured a High School National Title this year and should be right there in the mix. We will end this weight for now with James Green of New Jersey who went 10-0 at the duals where he had some pretty big wins and if he continues on that path he should be in a good position.

TOM’s Prediction
1. Dylan Ness (MN)
2. Zach Brunson (OR)
3. Colin Shober (PA)
4. James Green (NJ)

152

Currently ranked wrestlers (Rankings here)
#1 Destin McCauley (MN)
#1 (160) Taylor Massa (MI)
#2 (160) Dylan Reel (IL)
#6 Justin Koethe (IA)
#9 Kory DeBerry (AZ)
#11 David Wesley (VA)
#13 Cody Caldwell (IA)
#14 (140) Lorenzo Thomas (PA)
#9 (145) Devin Aguirre (OK)

Outgoing seniors
N/A

While maybe not as deep as the last weight, but this one may have the match up people most want to see. We start with our #1 ranked wrestler at this weight Destin McCauley of Minnesota. He is already a 4-time AA, 4-time State Champion and Cadet National Champion. He also had an impressive 3rd place finishes at the FILA Junior Nationals and FILA Junior World Team Trials. Then you have #1 (160) Taylor Massa from Team Michigan. Let’s see Massa had been a double champion the past 2 years. That is 4 National Titles in 2 years. Add to that a FILA Junior National Title this year and you have 5 National Titles. That is why everyone is looking forward to this match up. If they meet up it should be an exciting one.

Several wrestlers will be trying to prevent that match up and earn the top spot for themselves. #2 (160) Dylan Reel of Team Illinois is one of them. Reel lost to Massa at the duals but it was a good match for him if he can improve off that who knows what could happen. He has been an AA in the past and was a FILA Cadet Champion as well. Then you have Iowa’s #6 Justin Koethe. Although he did not have the best day at the Duals, we all know he is very capable of beating top wrestlers. He won FILA Cadets this year knocking of Brunson from Oregon. He was a double finalist last year and was the Cadet Freestyle National Champion. As you can see he should not be ignored.

* Editors Note. We had this wrong when we published it. We have adjusted this weight, it will be the only one we do.

TOM’s Prediction
1. Destin McCauley (MN)
2. Taylor Massa (MI)
3. Dylan Reel (IL)
4. Justin Koethe (IA)

160

Currently ranked wrestlers (Rankings here)
#3 (152) Ian Miller (OH)
#4 Jordan Thomas (MI)
#13 Seth Thomas (OR)
#14 Kyle Crutchmer (OK)
#17 Wally Figaro (FL)
#18 James Wilson (CA)
#13 (171) Zach Skates (OK)

Outgoing seniors (End of last year rank noted)
#5 Robert Kokesh (SD)
#11 Michael Kelly (IA)
#2 Nick Moore (IA)
#19 Nick Proctor (IL)

We have another weight that has some depth and guys moving in from other weights. We think that there will be some interesting match ups in this one. Both Oklahoma and Iowa have two guys capable of making a run. We start this one off with last year’s #2 wrestler Nick Moore of Team Iowa. He has plenty of credentials including 4 IA State titles and a 10-0 run at the Duals this year. The depth at the weight will make Moore earn it if he wins this weight. Coming up from 152 is Ohio’s #3 (152) Ian Miller. Miller is coming off a great performance at the Duals where he went 7-0 knocking of several highly ranked wrestlers. He appears to be at the top of his game and we expect him to be right there at the end. Last year’s #5 Robert Kokesh has had a great year and should be able to make some noise here. We would not count him out of title contention.

#4 Jordan Thomas of Team Michigan will also be looking to make some noise, if you look at his duals record you may be asking why we are making such a statement. He went 6-4 but if you look at who he had in that weight you may see why. Also, those matches were all at 171 where he lost some very close matches to some very big names. #11 (Last year) Michael Kelly of Iowa will also look to do some damage here. Kelly has to be able to get past in-state rival Moore to have a shot. Oregon’s #13 Seth Thomas is also a wrestler of interest. Already a 3-time AA he is looking to make a move to the top of the podium. Oklahoma has two guys at this weight that may be able to work their way into the mix. #14 Kyle Crutchmer went 6-2 at the duals and was a finalist in both styles at the FILA Cadet Nationals this year. Rounding this weight out is #13 (171) Zach Skates of Oklahoma. Skates is coming down a weight and that should put him in the mix here. He also went 6-2 at the duals and both loses came to top guys. He is also a 3-time AA.

TOM’s Prediction
1. Nick Moore (IA)
2. Ian Miller (OH)
3. Robert Kokesh (SD)
4. Kyle Crutchmer (OK)

171
Currently ranked wrestlers (Rankings here)
#3 Logan Storley (SD)
#4 Devin Peterson (WI)
#6 Jake Waste (MN)
#12 Kris Klapprodt (SD)
#15 Nate Brown (PA)

Outgoing seniors (End of last year rank noted)
#17 Zack Coates (MN)
#15 Mike England (IA)
#5 Michael Moreno (IA)
#4 Nick Sulzer (OH)
#18 Stephen McPeek (TX)

This is an interesting weight with a good mix of young and old here. We really think that this one could shake out any one of numerous ways. In a way it is a battle between the old and new guard. We will start with last years #4 wrestler from Ohio Nick Sulzer. Sulzer has beat several people in this field recently and has positioned himself as the front runner. He did go 9-1 at the duals and his only loss came to a wrestler not entered here. #4 Devin Peterson of Team Wisconsin has been wrestling pretty well as of late as well. He has some wins over others in this weight and needs to be considered a contender.

Our #3 Logan Storley of South Dakota has had a great year and looks to continue it here. He won HS Nationals this year so we know he can go with the best in the country. #5 (Last year) Michael Moreno of Iowa went 8-2 at the duals. While he did lose to Peterson and Sulzer, but he did beat Akui who beat the other two. With that said he deserves some serious consideration. One person we are interested in seeing how he does is last year’s #17 Zack Coates of Minnesota. He is a 2-time state champion and won the Flo Nationals this year. He may be a dark horse but could surprise people. Also, briefly do not count out #6 Jake Waste of Minnesota. He has some losses to others in this group, but he is very tough and could reverse some of those. Take a look at the others we listed. We would not be surprised if any of the remaining guys break the top four.

TOM’s Prediction
1. Nick Sulzer (OH)
2. Logan Storley (SD)
3. Michael Moreno (IA)
4. Devin Peterson (WI)

189
Currently ranked wrestlers (Rankings here)
#2 Morgan Mcintosh (CA)
#4 Austin Marsden (IL)
#6 Lucas Sheridan (CA)
#9 Mike Mauk (DE)
#17 Ian Korb (OH)
#19 Riley Argyle (ID)
#10 (171) Drake Stein (IN)
#19 (171) John Bolich (PA)

Outgoing seniors (End of last year rank noted)
#2 Tyler Beckwith (NY)

On paper this weight looks to be a two horse race. This year’s #2 Morgan Mcintosh of Team California is a past double finalist and was 3rd this year at FILA Juniors only losing to Penn State Wrestler Ed Ruth. Last years #2 (171) Tyler Beckwith of New York is an exciting wrestler who has been very tough this year. He has beat some tough guys, had four AA honors and a National HS title. The question here is how will the move up in weight play a role?

#4 Austin Marsden of Team Illinois deserves a hard look here as well. He went 7-0 at the duals and won the FILA Cadet Nationals already this year. Marsden was also last years Cadet National Champion. He has been here before and will look to make it two championships in a row. Another California wrestler to watch is #6 Lucas Sheridan. Sheridan was the runner up to Marsden at the FILA Nationals, dropping a close match in the finals. Last year he finished 2nd and 3rd here so we know he can make some noise. The remaining guys as well as a few others we do not have ranked will also be up for the challenge.

TOM’s Prediction
1. Morgan Mcintosh (CA)
2. Austin Marsden (IL)
3. Tyler Beckwith (NY)
4. Lucas Sheridan (CA)

215
Currently ranked wrestlers (Rankings here)
#2 Tank Knowles (CA)
#4 Gage Harrah (IL)
#5 (189) Tanner Hall (ID)
#6 Cody Krumwiede (IA)
#8 Nick Gwiazdowski (NY)
#10 Michael Sojka (IL)
#13 Patrick Gillen (CT)
#14 Jay Taylor (FL)
#20 West Cathcart (IL)
#3 (189) Curtis Berger (OR)
#11 (189) Clint Wilson (SD)

Outgoing seniors (End of last year rank noted)
#17 Kyle Caylor (KS)
#1 Spencer Myers (PA)
#4 Alex Polizzi (WI)
#2 Trevor Rupp (ID)
#5 Scott Schiller (ND)

Here we have another weight I feel confident in saying is loaded. There is a lot of talent gathered here and a large number of seniors who turned out. This one may be tough for the younger guys to break into the top spots. So let’s start out with the leading candidate from the non-seniors #2 Tank Knowles of California. The CA State High School Champion was a double AA last season is considered one of the better big men in the country right now. He has his hands full in this one though. Last year’s #1 Spencer Myers of Team Pennsylvania is very tough and in our opinion he is the man to beat here. Looking to show he is the top man in the land is #2 (Last year) Trevor Rupp who looks to avenge a loss to Myers. He was 2nd at Junior FILA’s this year and placed 2nd and 3rd at this event last year.

Our current #4 Gage Harrah of Team Illinois is another one to watch. He was last year’s Cadet National Champ at this weight, this year’s FILA Cadet runner-up and went perfect at the duals. His loss at FILA Cadet’s was to #5 (189) Tanner Hall from Idaho. Hall has numerous National Titles under his belt and should be taken as a serious threat here. He does have a loss this you to Rupp in Greco. We are going to look at two more guys here. The first is last year’s #4 Alex Polizzi of Wisconsin. He has wins over some pretty top notch guys as well as some losses to guys in this weight. He went 10-1 at the duals with his only loss coming to Caylor of Kansas (listed above). Finally we will look at North Dakota wrestler and last year’s #5 Scott Schiller. Schiller went 5-0 at the duals; he did drop a match to Polizzi in Greco though. He has been an AA four times at Fargo and we expect him to add to that this year.

TOM’s Prediction
1. Spencer Myers (PA)
2. Trevor Rupp (ID)
3. Tank Knowles (CA)
4. Tanner Hall (ID)

285
Currently ranked wrestlers (Rankings here)
#1 Austin Blythe (IA)
#1 (215) Connor Medbery (CO)
#3 Donnie Longendyke (MN)
#14 Greg Kuhar (OH)
#16 Orry Elor (CA)

Outgoing seniors (End of last year rank noted)
#7 Niko Bogojevic (WI)
#19 Derek Papagianopoulis (MA)

Well we are ending with a smaller weight, but I would not say it is any less interesting. We have two #1 ranked wrestlers and one former #1. Austin Blythe of Team Iowa recently took over the #1 spot after his dominating performance at the Junior Duals where he went 9-0 beating former #1 Longendyke of Minnesota. He also had a win over last year’s #7 Niko Bogojevic of Wisconsin. Longendyke is not having the summer he may have hoped for, but nothing to be to down about. He was the Cadet National Champion last year and will be looking to avenge that loss and take back that top spot.

Let’s not forget #1 (215) Connor Medbery is looking to show he is the best big man in the land. Medbery has been on a role. The question is how will be how handles the big men. We think he will be right there in the mix. We mentioned Bogojevic earlier and for good reason. He is a multiple AA and was last years Greco Champion in Fargo. He is talented and will push all of the above mentioned guys. The other guys we have listed are all capable and may make their move. We suggest keeping a close eye of Team Massachusetts #19 (last year) Derek Papagianopoulis. He is talented and could easily find himself in a good position.

TOM’s Prediction
1. Donnie Longendyke (MN)
2. Austin Blythe (IA)
3. Connor Medberry (CO)
4. Niko Bogojevic (WI)