Lehigh is God's Country for High School Recruits
Mountain Hawks ranked No. 1 in early signing
With all the talent that’s concentrated in the eastern United States, it’s a wonder Eastern colleges haven’t contended for the national championship more often.
To this day, Penn State’s 1953 title remains the lone championship for an Eastern school, despite the incredible depth found in states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey and New York.
This fall, Lehigh coach Greg Strobel added a ton of firepower.
Five blue-chip recruits, including three No. 1 wrestlers, signed with the Mountain Hawks during last month’s early-signing period, giving Lehigh an excellent chance to land the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class.
Those three, three-time New Jersey state champion Mike Grey (125-133) of Morristown (N.J.) Delbarton High, three-time Florida champion David Craig (184) of Brandon (Fla.) High and Pennsylvania champion Patrick Flynn (197) of Quakertown High all are headed to the wrestling hotbed, the Lehigh Valley.
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ree-time defending NCAA champion Oklahoma State and Big Ten power Minnesota also were active in November, and Michigan, Oklahoma, Penn State, Missouri, Iowa State and Indiana were some other schools that made significant progress during a signing period highlighted by record activity.According to our sources, a record 175 wrestlers took themselves off the board in November — fully 50 more than the 125 that were reported to us in the December issue a year ago.
A total of 61 schools, 53 in Division I, obtained a commitment from at least one wrestler in November. Here is our early assessment of Wrestling International Newsmagazine’s Top 20 classes based on early signings.
1. Lehigh — Grey, Craig and Flynn alone would give this class top-five status, but there’s more. Strobel also inked two-time Utah champion Levi Mele (125) of Vernal Uintah High and two-time New Jersey placewinner Alex Caruso (165) of Watchung Hills High.
2. Oklahoma State — coach John Smith kept pace nicely with two No. 1’s, Jordan Frishkorn (133-141) of Chesapeake (Va.) Great Bridge High and Ben Ashmore (125) of Dallas (Texas) Bishop Lynch High. Lance Thompson of hometown Stillwater High and Quinten Fuentes of Johnstown (Colo.) Roosevelt High, both two-time state champions, will battle with Frishkorn for either 133 or 141. Junior National placewinner Neil Erisman (157) of DeSoto (Kan.) High and Cody Hill (174) of Marlow High also signed on.
3. Minnesota — Coach J Robinson hit the upper weights hard, bringing in state champion Joe Nord (HWT) of Waconia High and Junior National placewinner Brent Eidenschink (197) of Detroit Lakes High, along with junior college star Yura Malamura (197) of Highline Community College. Robinson also loaded up on the middleweights, signing North Dakota aces Jake Mellmer (141) of Dickinson High and Scott Glasser (149) of Bismarck High, three-time Washington champion Brandon Sitch (157-165) of Kelso High and Jordan Kolbow (157-165) of Forest Lake High. Two-time Minnesota champion Mike Thorn (125) of St. Michael-Albertville High also will stay at home.
4. Michigan — everybody knows top-flight heavyweight Matt Guhn (HWT) of Clyde (Ohio) High, Cadet National champion Scott Giffin (174-184) of Voorhees (N.J.) Eastern High and Cadet National place-winners Anthony Biondo (149) of Clinton Township Chippewa Valley High and Chris Diehl (133) Flint Kearsley High. Not many know coach Joe McFarland’s other signees — Mark Beaudry (141) of Pueblo (Colo.) South High and Eddie Phillips (174) Lake Odessa Lakewood High — but they will soon.
5. Penn State — Nittany Lion coach Troy Sunderland was at work early, picking up northeast Ohio’s top two middlewights: David Rella (165-174) of Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit High and Josh Rohler (157) of Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High. He also signed three-time state champion Garrett Scott (141) of New Alexandria Juniata Valley High.
6. Iowa State — a year after landing the nation’s top freshman class, ISU coach Bobby Douglas is at it again, adding three more blue-chippers. Junior National champions Mark Kist (125) of Eagle Grove High and T.J. Sebolt (130) of Centerville High have five Iowa titles between them. Two-time Michigan champion Jon Reader (165) of Davison High could be the best athlete in the Class of 2006.
7. Oklahoma — Junior National champion Zach Bailey (141) of Kansas City (Mo.) Oak Park High is a good leader for any class. Coach Jack Spates also landed three rugged Oklahomans: Brian Shelton (125-133) and Jeff James (174) of powerhouse El Reno High and Eugene Young (184) of Shawnee High, who beat James in last year’s state final.
8. Missouri — four state champions led by Pennsylvania-ace Ashtin Primus (141) of Connellsville High lead coach Bryan Smith’s latest fine class. Tony Pescaglia (125) of Columbia David Hickman High and Andrew Wood (165) and Tyler Perry (HWT) of Hannibal High were state champions and Rayland (Ohio) Buckeye Local High School standouts Willie Saxton (133) and Zach Schuller (157) have had plenty of success.
9. Virginia Tech — a year after landing one of the nation’s top classes, coach Tom Brands is at it again, enticing California’s top senior, state champion Billy Murphy (133) of Hughson High. Middleweights Matt Epperly of Christiansburg High and Eric Decker of Bainbridge (N.Y.) Bainbridge/Guilford-Afton High are the future at 165 and 174, with heavyweight Jim Powers of Blairstown (N.J.) Blair Academy also signed.
10. Indiana — for the second straight year, coach Duane Goldman kept the gates around his home state’s top talent. Hometowners Kurt Kinser (157) and Paul Young (165-174) of Bloomington South High, Alex Warren (141) of Mooresville High and Nick Walpole (141-149) of Indianapolis Perry Meridian High are fine middleweight additions. An Illinois sleeper is Nate Everhart (197) of Tinley Park Victor J. Andrew High.
11. Boise State — coach Greg Randall concentrated on the middleweights as well and scored big with his state’s top recruit, three-time champion Adam Hall (149) of Bonners Ferry High. Junior National runner-up Eli Hutchison (141) of Soldotna (Alaska) Skyview High also is headed to Boise along with Washington standouts Levi Jones (133) of Nine Mile Falls High and Kurt Swartz (157) of Auburn High.
12. Cornell — a year after bringing in two No. 1 recruits, coach Rob Koll brought in another: national Prep champion Mack Lewnes (165) of Baltimore Mount St. Joseph High. Two-time Iowa champion Justin Kerber (157-165) of Emmetsburg/Armstrong-Ringsted High will push Lewnes. Josh Marcum (184) of Omaha Benson High was unbeaten in Nebraska a year ago.
13. Hofstra — like all good coaches, Tom Ryan took care of business at home, securing state champions Lou Ruggirello (125-133) of Montgomery Valley Central High and Ryan Patrovich (165) of nearby Islip High. Two-time New Jersey placewinner Will Livingston (133) of Newton Kittatinny High also bears watching.
14. Arizona State — after landing four-time Florida champion Jason Robbins a year ago, coach Thom Ortiz reached back East to Oviedo High once again, landing top-shelf heavyweight Kenny Lester and state champion David Green (197). Junior National champion Shawn Jones (125) of Blackfoot (Idaho) Snake River High is a great lower-weight addition.
15. Purdue — Junior National place-winner Brent Chriswell (174) of Port Orchard (Wash.) South Kitsap High is a major addition. Coach Jesse Reyes also mined his home state for Junior National placewinner Luke Manuel (157-165) of Grass Valley, Calif., Nevada Union High. Ohio champion Kevin Lipp (141) of Beachwood High also signed.
16. Northern Iowa — coach Brad Penrith got one of his state’s best, Junior National placewinner Montell Marion (125) of Des Moines Roosevelt. Nick Pickerell (141) of Centerville High and Andy O’Loughlin (174-184) of Gilbertville Don Bosco High also were state champions. David Greenwald (141) of Rutherford St. Mary’s High is one of New Jersey’s top seniors.
17. Iowa — two-time National Prep champion Travis Blasco (149-157) of Blair Academy had a breakout year last year and proved himself a blue-chip recruit. Coach Jim Zalesky also signed Iowa champion Matt Ballweg of Waverly-Shell Rock High.
18. Illinois — coach Mark Johnson kept two of his state’s top prospects, state champions Jimmy Kennedy (125) of Fox Lake Grant High and John Dergo (174-184) of Morris High at home. The two have combined for five top-three state finishes.
19. Lock Haven — coach Rocky Bonomo signed two solid Keystoners, double Junior National placewinner Landis Wright (157-165) of Wingate Bald Eagle Area High and state champion Donnie Ament (149) of Mount Pleasant High. He also signed lightweights Anwar Goeres (125-133) of Phoenix (N.Y.) High and Dan Lopes (133-141) of Oakhurst (N.J.) Ocean Township High.
20. (tie) Bloomsburg — new coach John Stutzman got off to a solid start, signing six prospects. Pennsylvania champion Jason Guffey of Turbotville Warrior Run High and Delaware champion Ian Moser of Camden Wyoming Caesar Rodney High are the future at 125 and 133. Matt Moley (133-141) of Royersford Spring-Ford High and Darrick Smith (174-184) of Adams (N.Y.) South Jefferson High were high placewinners.
20. (tie) Bucknell — new coach Dan Wirnsberger has been busily rebuilding the Bison program, signing the biggest class so far with 16 November recruits. Andy Rendos (157) of Brockway High, Brantley Hooks (165) of Duncan (S.C.) James F. Byrnes High and Dave Bernstein (197) of Fairfield (Conn.) Fairfield College Preparatory High were state champions.
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