By Rob Sherrill, W.I.N. High School Editor
Recruiting is the lifeblood of college sports and wrestling is no exception.
Oklahoma State has ruled the roost the last half-decade at the NCAAs. A look at the early signing period just completed shows why the Cowboys plan to stay near the top for some time.
Based on the early signing period that concluded Nov. 15, Oklahoma State has the inside track on the No. 1 recruiting class for 2006-07. Coach John Smith signed four recruits, two ranked No. 1 at their weight class according to W.I.N. and all four in the top four.
Many of the nation’s top wrestling schools added to their stables of talent during the early signing period as well. But so did some schools that aren’t among college wrestling’s elite — not yet, anyway — in a year that so far promises plenty of drama and plenty of feel-good stories about the new kids on the block having more than their once-usual share of success.
Perhaps the most startling addition to the recruiting elite is Delaware State. In his first full year of recruiting, second-year coach Earl Walker — make that Dr. Earl Walker — is solidly on the way to making the Hornets competitive with a class that will rank with the best. Walker, a Middletown, Del., native ,who has built a successful psychology practice, is showing that he’s ready for the challenge of building a wrestling program as well.
Coaches who have spent the last two years building depth in the room, such as Bucknell coach Dan Wirnsberger and Bloomsburg coach John Stutzman, continued on that path with solid early classes. And new coaches replacing legends had success as well.
Anyone who thought recruiting would fall off at Virginia Tech or at Hofstra, where influential coaches Tom Brands and Tom Ryan, respectively, left to take over higher-profile programs in the Big Ten, was sadly mistaken. Incoming coaches Kevin Dresser at Virginia Tech and Tom Shifflet at Hofstra, who brought with them histories of successfully building other programs, hit the ground running. And both have recruiting classes destined to make the top 10.
And if you think Oklahoma’s Bedlam Series and the Iowa-Iowa State series are where college wrestling rivalries begin and end, you haven’t been watching the recruiting war going on in a state 1,000 miles to the east: Virginia. If Dresser and Virginia coach Steve Garland — another young coach who knows the ins and outs of recruiting — stack two or three more recruiting classes like these together, it will be difficult to get a seat at Virginia-Virginia Tech matches in the future.
Some programs that don’t make this list were successful nonetheless. Boise State coach Greg Randall kept his state’s and area’s top recruit, Junior National champion Kirk Smith of Boise Centennial High, at home. Corey Jantzen, one of the top seniors in a New York wrestling world with plenty of them this year, will follow his brother and former NCAA champion, Jesse, to wrestle for Jay Weiss at Harvard. Kent State coach Jim Andrassy locked up his best local talent, state champion Dustin Kilgore of Berea High. And Pennsylvania coach Zeke Jones beat out Penn State for eastern Pennsylvania ace Zack Kemmerer of Pennsburg Upper Perkiomen High.
Here are some highlights of the big winners in the early recruiting process.
1. Oklahoma State — Having acquired lightweight Ben Ashmore last year, Smith went back to Dallas, TX Bishop Lynch High and picked up brother Luke (141-149) and Luke Silver (141-149). Jamal Parks (133-141) of Tulsa Union High and Clayton Foster (197) of Kamiah, ID High make the Cowboys the only school to sign two W.I.N. No. 1 recruits and, with Luke Ashmore, three Junior National champions.
2. Ohio State — Ryan is committed to keeping Ohio’s best talent — wherever it is — at home and he matched the Cowboys with four top-four recruits. Bo Touris (125) of West Chester Lakota West High, Sean Nemec (157) of Lakewood St. Edward High, Colt Sponseller (165) of Millersburg West Holmes High and John Weakley (197) of Cuyahoga Falls Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy have combined for six Ohio state titles. Junior National champion Nikko Triggas (125) of Moraga, Calif., Campolindo High is another statement recruit.
3. Virginia — With six ranked recruits led by three in the top three, Shawn Harris (141) of Lakewood, Ohio, St. Edward, Michael Chaires (165) of Albany, N.Y., Christian Brothers Academy and Chris Henrich (174) of Fort Washington, Pa., Germantown Academy, Garland is making his recruiting ability known. Matt Bonson (125) of Lewistown, Pa. High; Nick Nelson (149) of Glenshaw, Pa. Shaler High and Scott O’Donnell (133) of Kansas City, Mo. Oak Park High are the other ranked recruits.
4. Virginia Tech — Dresser, a long-time successful coach at Christianburg (Virginia) High School, can recruit, too, as his national-best eight ranked recruits attest. Top-ranked Cody Gardner (Hwt) of Christiansburg High will stay local as Dresser loaded up in the upper weights. Other upper weights bound for Blacksburg are Matt Ryan (165-174) of Canonsburg, Pa. Canon-McMillan High, Anthony Trongone (174) of Cherry Hill, N.J. Camden Catholic High, Tom Spellman (174-184) of Newton, N.J.Kittatinny High; D.J. Bruce (184-197) of Naperville, Ill. North High and David Marone (197) of Broomfield, Colo. High.
5. Penn State — Coach Troy Sunderland raided New Jersey for two of that state’s best: Frank Molinaro (141-149) of Manahawkin Southern High and Jared Platt (197) from the Blairstown Blair Academy stable. He also picked up a pair of upper-weight aces, two-time Pennsylvania champion Tim Darling (165-174) of Nazareth High and heavyweight Cameron Wade of Bedford, Ohio St. Peter Chanel High.
6. Minnesota — The nation’s top 125-pound prospect, four-time state champion Zach Sanders of Wabasha-Kellogg High, was job 1 for the Gophers, who induced Sanders to stay in his home state. Two-time Colorado champion Sonny Yohn (184-197) of Alamosa High, one call away from a Junior National title last summer, also is headed north as coach J Robinson landed four ranked recruits.
7. Missouri — Coach Brian Smith has landed high on this list for a couple of years now. This time, he landed four ranked recruits and seven overall. Two of the best from Missouri — No. 1 heavyweight Dom Bradley of Blue Springs High and local star K.C. Pescaglia (133) of Columbia David Hickman High — are headed to Columbia. Two-time Pennsylvania champion Troy Dolan (133-141) of Derry High continues the Pittsburgh-area pipeline and Mike Schmitz (165) of Stewartville High is a fine Minnesota recruit.
8. Hofstra — Like his Virginia Tech coaching counterpart, the Pride’s Shifflet showed his recruiting acumen right out of the box by signing six recruits from four states and both coasts. Justin Accordino (141) of Wilkes-Barre James M. Coughlin High and Lawrence Beckman (174) of Greenville H.A. Reynolds High are solid Pennsylvania recruits and Justin Danz (165) of Single Springs, Calif., Ponderosa High will come across the nation. Shifflet also kept a pair of talented locals: Tyler Mashkow (125) of Islip High and P.J. Gillespie (157) of Long Beach High.
9. Arizona State — It was business as usual for Sun Devil coach Thom Ortiz, who focused once again — and successfully — on quality. He locked up his state’s top recruit, Kyle DeBerry (165) of Tucson Sunnyside High and got the most impressive of Rio Rancho, N.M. High’s Four Horsemen, Vicente Varela (141). Greco-Roman ace Jesse Robbins (174) of Oviedo, Fla., High will follow brother Jason to Tempe. All three are top-six recruits.
10. Nebraska — Husker coach Mark Manning also signed three quality recruits, including his state’s top lightweight, Andy Pokorny (125) of Bennington High. Chris Hacker (157) of El Reno, Okla., High and Tucker Lane (285) of Nucla, Ohio, High have had plenty of Fargo success.
11. Oregon State — Former Iowa coach Jim Zalesky may be coaching in new surroundings, but he can still recruit. Zalesky locked up three quality recruits from the West Coast, all two-time state champions: Tyler Phillips (125-133) of Turner Cascade High and Josh Stalcup (157-165) of Estacada High from his state and Kelly Kubec (133) from Lake Stevens, Wash., High. Shane Nay (149-157) comes from powerful Kansas City, Mo., Oak Park High.
12. North Carolina — There are some good seniors in North Carolina this year and Thomas Ferguson (157) of Cary High has as much upside potential as any. Coach C.D. Mock also picked up a pair of Pennsylvania lightweights, Jason DeLuca (125) of Dillsburg Northern High and Mike Robinson (125-133) of Lewistown High as well as New Jersey-ace Kyle Kiss (174) of Oakhurst Ocean Township High.
13. Edinboro — Add Tim Flynn to the list of coaches getting off to one of their best starts in some time. He went south to Ohio to land two ranked recruits, Thomas Straughn (149-157) of Massillon Perry High and Chris Honeycutt (197) of Lakewood St. Edward High. Paul Paddock (165) of Warsaw High is another member of New York’s solid senior class.
14. Northwestern — Things have been looking up in Evanston the past couple of years and coach Tim Cysewski cashed in by locking up a signature local recruit, Mike Benefiel (174-184) of Lombard Montini High. Robert Kellogg (157-165) of Sioux City, Iowa, North High showed what he’s made of at Fargo and a healthy Ben Kuhar of Lakewood, Ohio, St. Edward High will be a force at heavyweight.
15. Cornell — Half of coach Rob Koll’s six recruits are ranked with Frank Perrelli (125) of Morristown, NJ Delbarton High set to follow high school teammate Mike Grey to Ithaca. Other highlights: Eric McGill (141-149) of Munster, IN High, Colin McDonald (157-165) of Waverly High and Cameron Simaz (174-184) of Allegan, MI High, who have combined for five state titles.
16. Oklahoma — Tulsa Union High has two top-notch recruits this year and coach Jack Spates staked his claim to half the duo in Seth Vernon (133-141). He’s also looking good after Ryan Smith (149-157) of Prineville, Ore., Crook County High shined at Fargo. Joey Fio (125-133) of Sandpoint, Idaho, High, injured in last year’s state tournament, is a diamond in the rough.
17. Delaware State — Walker’s four recruits come from four different states. He started at home, landing Wilmington St. Mark’s High-standout Tommy Abbott (149). T.J. Hepburn (141) of Ledyard, Conn., High is one of the top wrestlers in New England. Eric Olanowski (125) of Virginia Beach, Va., Floyd E. Kellam High comes from a tough wrestling area.
18. Bucknell — Coach Wirnsberger continues to build his numbers with nine recruits. Four are from Pennsylvania, led by Rob Waltko (174) of Wexford North Allegheny High. The signature recruit may be three-time Colorado champion Kevin LeValley (149) of Limon High. Eric Harris (133) of Green River, Wyom., High and Kevin Carrillo (125-133) of Belen, N.M., High are two more talented lightweights from out West.
19. Iowa — Brands mined his Illinois connections and came away with state champions Jerome Ward (184-197) of Chicago St. Rita High and Jordan Johnson (Hwt), who will compete as a senior at Bettendorf High in Iowa after winning the Illinois state title at Naperville North High. Brodie Ambrose (174-184) of Eldridge, Iowa, North Scott High is a third upper-weight recruit.
20. Columbia — Coach Brendan Buckley got four fine middleweight commitments from four states, including Islip High local Paul Vaeth (149-157). Ryan Wilson (133) of Rahway, N.J., High, Eren Civan (157) of Bethesda, Md., Walt Whitman High and Travis Creagan (157-165) of Cleveland, Tenn., Bradley Central High have six state titles between them.
21. Michigan State — Potential four-time champion Collin Dozier (133-141) of Virginia Beach Frank W. Cox High will be part of life after the Simmons brothers. Coach Tom Minkel also brought in Mishawaka, Ind., High-ace Ian Hinton (174).
22. Michigan — Coach Joe McFarland got one of the nation’s top middleweights, Junior National champion Kellen Russell (141) from Blairstown, N.J., Blair Academy. He’s also high on three-time Michigan champion Justin Zeerip (157-165) of Hesperia High.
23. Lehigh — Junior National champion Connor McDonald (125) of Georgetown, Del,, Sussex Central High is one of the top lightweights in the East. Coach Greg Strobel also signed Florida champion Brandon Hatchett of Oviedo High, who followed with a strong Fargo performance.
24. Maryland — Coach Pat Santoro continues his building process with Blairstown, N.J., Blair Academy standout Eric Medina (149-157) leading the way. Brian Letters (165) of Pittsburgh, Pa., Fox Chapel is another fine middleweight.
25. Bloomsburg — Lightweight Chris Sheetz (125) of Pennsburg Upper Perkiomen High and upperweight Ryan Lamagra (174-184) of Ontario, N.Y.,Wayne High were state champions. Stutzman also got an experienced heavyweight in Nate Knepp of Lewistown Indian Valley High.
• An expanded recruiting ranking, including five more teams, can be found at WIN-Magazine.com. n