By Rob Sherrill, W.I.N. High School Editor

Last fall, we at W.I.N. named Oklahoma State’s 2006-07 recruiting class No. 1 based on the results of the early signing period. At the time, we predicted that, with four recruits ranked in the top four at their respective weight classes, the Cowboys likely would stay there.

And they did … but not by much.

That’s because Oklahoma State’s chief rivals in the recruiting race also landed most of their hauls during the November signing period as well.

But that doesn’t mean many programs didn’t improve themselves dramatically after the season. Virginia Tech, Missouri and Oklahoma are three prime examples, and all three moved up. Ohio University’s strong spring landed the Bobcats a spot in the Top 25, and Navy’s best recruiting class in recent memory led the service academies. And congratulations to some other programs that didn’t make the cut and scored significant late gains, such as Boston University, George Mason, Kent State and Lock Haven.

While we expanded our early-signing list to a top 30 — giving as many programs that made a fall splash as possible some recognition — we’ve narrowed our picks to a firm Top 25 this time around. Here’s how our Top 25 looks at press time.

1. Oklahoma State — coach John Smith all but locked up this spot in the fall with Dallas, Texas, Bishop Lynch High stars Luke Ashmore (141-149) and Luke Silver (141-149), Jamal Parks (133-141) of Tulsa Union High and Clayton Foster (197) of Kamiah, Idaho, High. Two-time state champion Walter Clarke (197) of hometown Stillwater High is the major spring addition.

2. Ohio State — in his first full year of recruiting, coach Tom Ryan kept Ohio’s best talent 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 and California ace Nikko Triggas (125) of Moraga Campolindo High all came on board in the fall. A pair of Ohio Division 3 aces, two-time state champion Pat Harrington (125) of Sandusky St. Mary’s Central Catholic High and state champion Jesse Campbell (HWT) of Sullivan Black River High, headline the spring class.

3. Virginia Tech — coach Kevin Dresser was busy after the season, landing National High School champion Chris Diaz (141) of Camden Wyoming, Del., Caesar Rodney High and Pennsylvania state qualifier Dillon Evans (157) of Holland Council Rock South High. They join a loaded November group led by four-time state champion Cody Gardner (HWT) of Christiansburg High, 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.

4. Missouri — Tiger coach Bryan Smith had a great thing going in November, and it looks even better now. Two-time National Prep champion Max Shanaman (141) of Blairstown, N.J., Blair Academy, two-time Tennessee champion Brandon Wright (157) of Germantown Houston High and Cadet National place-winner Vito Krischke (125) of House Springs Northwest High make it seven ranked recruits for the program which recently landed its school its first NCAA trophy in any sport in 42 years. They join November recruits Dom Bradley (HWT) of Blue Springs High, local star K.C. Pescaglia (133) of Columbia David Hickman High, three-time Pennsylvania champion Troy Dolan (133-141) of Derry High, two-time Minnesota champion Mike Schmitz (165) of Stewartville High and three-time Georgia champion Dorian Henderson (174) of Columbus High.

5. Virginia — with six ranked November 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, coach Steve 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.

6. Penn State — three-time state champions Tim Darling (165-174) of Nazareth High and Frank Molinaro (141-149) of Manahawkin, N.J., Southern High, Jared Platt (197) from Blairstown, N.J., Blair Academy and heavyweight Cameron Wade of Bedford, Ohio, St. Peter Chanel High gave coach Troy Sunderland a solid start. National High School place-winner Micah Bollinger (167-165) of Mifflinburg High heads the spring class.

7. Hofstra — having coached three unranked wrestlers to All-America finishes this year, coach Tom Shifflet won’t have to work exclusively with dark-horses any more. His six November recruits, from four states and both coasts, had strong seasons. 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.

8. Lehigh — there’s no question that coach Greg Strobel has another top-flight class, with four nationally-ranked recruits led by heavyweight ace Zach Rey of Hopatcong, N.J., High and Junior National champion Connor McDonald (125) of Georgetown, Del., Sussex Central High. Two-time Florida champion Brandon Hatchett (157-165) of Oviedo High and New England-ace Sean Bilodeau (157-165) of North Andover, Mass., Brooks School.

9. Oregon State — the late pickups of Burke Barnes (141) from North Idaho College and Clayton Jack (HWT) of Vacaville High, who pinned his way to a California title, showed that coach Jim Zalesky means business. In November, he locked up three quality recruits from the West Coast, all three-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. Four-time state champion Shane Nay (149-157) comes from powerful Kansas City, Mo., Oak Park High.

10. Minnesota — another solid November haul keeps coach J Robinson’s squad in the Top 10. The nation’s top 125-pound prospect, National High School champion Zach Sanders of Wabasha-Kellogg High, was Job 1 and will stay at home. Two-time Colorado champion Sonny Yohn (184-197) of Alamosa High, Minnesota champion Kaleb Young (174) of Bemidji High and Michigan-ace Cody Marcicki (133) of Flint Powers Catholic High also signed last fall. Torrey Line (174-184) of Browerville/Eagle Valley High, a Minnesota state champion as a junior, will return after missing his senior season due to illness.

11. Oklahoma — the spring addition of three-time Illinois champion John Starzyk (125) of New Lenox Providence High, who picked up the Most Falls award at the High School Nationals, moves coach Jack Spates’ class up. Tulsa Union High standout Seth Vernon (141-149), Ryan Smith (149-157) of Prineville, Ore., Crook County High and Joey Fio (125-133) of Sandpoint, Idaho, High, all signed in November, have combined for eight state crowns.

12. Nebraska — coach Mark Manning also signed three quality recruits in November, including his state’s top lightweight, Andy Pokorny (125) of Bennington High. Chris Hacker (157) of El Reno, Okla., High and Tucker Lane (HWT) of Nucla, Colo., High have had plenty of Fargo success. At 133, Chicago, Ill., Mount Carmel High product Ken Jordan, who originally committed to the Huskers before attending Lincoln College, is another solid addition.

13. Edinboro — Chad Sindoni (174-184) of Athens, PA High was coach Tim Flynn’s major spring addition. All three of his November recruits won state titles: Thomas Straughn (149-157) of Massillon, OH Perry High and Chris Honeycutt (197) of Lakewood, Ohio, St. Edward High and National High School runner-up Paul Paddock (165) of Warsaw, N.Y., High.

14. Northwestern — coach Tim Cysewski’s signature local recruit, Mike Benefiel (174-184) of Lombard Montini High, had a senior season for the ages. John Schoen (197) of Chicago Marist High had key wins in a weight class that was loaded in Illinois and Robert Kellogg (157-165) of Sioux City, Iowa, North High showed what he’s made of at Fargo, winning the state as well. Ben Kuhar of Lakewood, Ohio, St. Edward High will be a force at heavyweight.

15. Cornell — four of coach Rob Koll’s seven recruits are ranked with Frank Perrelli (125) of Morristown, N.J., Delbarton High set to follow high school teammate Mike Grey to Ithaca. Other highlights: Eric McGill (141-149) of Munster, Ind., High, Colin McDonald (157-165) of Waverly High and Cameron Simaz (174-184) of Allegan, Mich., High, who have combined for seven state titles. Don’t forget two-time New England champion D.J. Meagher (149-157) of Bow, N.H., High, a National High School place-winner.

16. Navy — as coach Bruce Burnett continues to make his mark in Annapolis, make a note of this class as one of his cornerstone groups of talent. It’s a national and an eclectic group as you would expect from schools that recruit nationally. The highlights: three-time state champion Luke Rebertus (165-174) of Bear, Del, Caravel Academy; New England champions Aaron Kalil (125) of Salem, N.H., High and Tyler Saltsman (125-133) of Concord, N.H., High; double Cadet National finalist Andrew Buck (174) of Kelso, Wash., High; California champion Joe Boone (133) of Poway High; three-time West Virginia champion Dustin Haislip (133-141) of Inwood Musselman High, Virginia champion Matt Reck (197) of Stafford Colonial Forge High and Pennsylvania place-winner Jesse DeWan (174-184) of Boyertown High.

17. Ohio University — coach Joel Greenlee scored one of his best classes to date, both in November and in April. State champions Erik Schuth (184) of Brockport, N.Y., High, Darren Boing (141) of Bedford St. Peter Chanel High and Nick Purdue (174-184) of Genoa Area High and two-time state place-winner Andy Hartshorn (HWT) of Reynoldsburg High were the fall highlights. Add in state champions Matt Reedy (141) of Ravenna High and Justin Powell (HWT) of Youngstown Boardman High and two-time place-winner Germane Lindsey (141-149) of Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller High and this class, with four ranked wrestlers, has quantity and quality.

18. Pittsburgh — few had better senior seasons than Tyler Nauman (133-141) of Middletown High. Fellow November signees A.J. Brentzel (174-184) of Harrison City Penn-Trafford High and David Crowell (184-197) of Nazareth High also were state finalists. Coach Rande Stottlemyer followed up with middleweights Phil Sorrentino (157-165) of McKeesport South Allegheny High and Thad Frick (157) of Nazareth as he signed 10 in all.

19. Harvard — like his successful league colleagues, coach Jay Weiss has become a masterful salesman of an Ivy League education. New York-ace Corey Jantzen (133-141) of Shoreham-Wading River High has the talent to surpass older brother’s storybook Crimson career. So do a pair of future 125-pounders, four-time Utah champion Shay Warren of Ogden Weber High and New Jersey champion Dan Kelly of Frenchtown Delaware Valley High. Two-time Georgia champion Andy Olsen (184) of Marietta Walton High is the top upper-weight recruit.

20. Columbia — coach Brendan Buckley added one of California’s best, two-time state champion Ryan Flores (197) of Clovis Buchanan High. His top six wrestlers come from six different states. 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 seven state titles between them and Mike Pushpak (184) of Broadview Heights, Ohio, Brecksville High had a fine regular season.

21. Maryland — coach Pat Santoro was busy in November, with yet another Blair Academy standout, three-time National Prep champion Eric Medina (149-157) leading the way. Brian Letters (165) of Pittsburgh, PA Fox Chapel, Dex Lederer (133) of Langhorne, Pa., Neshaminy High and New Jersey finalist Pat Strizki (125) of Flemington Hunterdon Central High also had successful seasons.

22. Indiana — four-time New Mexico champion Matt Ortega (125-133) of Rio Rancho High opened eyes with his National High School title and local Reece Freeman (125) of Bloomington South High, who beat two state champions last year and took the state this time around, solve the lower-weight issue for coach Duane Goldman. State champion Joe Fagiano (197) of Chicago, Ill., St. Patrick High had a breakout season last year and made it to the state finals again this year.

23. Michigan — coach Joe McFarland was happy to see three-time National Prep champion Kellen Russell (141) from Blair Academy knock off Pittsburgh recruit Nauman in the National High School finals after two previous losses to him. Four-time Michigan champion Justin Zeerip (157-165) of Hesperia High, who finished his career 260-0, and David Johnson (157) of Jenison High also had High School Nationals success.

24. Arizona State — it was business as usual for coach Thom Ortiz, who focused once again — and successfully — on November quality. He locked up his state’s top recruit, Kyle DeBerry (165) of Tucson Sunnyside High and one 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.

25. Bucknell — coach Dan Wirnsberger’s November class was one of the best. Four are from Pennsylvania, led by Rob Waltko (174) of Wexford North Allegheny High. The signature recruit may be four-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.

(Rob Sherrill is one of the top high school wrestling analysts in the country and a long-time columnist of W.I.N. He also publishes the “American High School Wrestling Yearbook”. To order a copy, e-mail him at centermatpress@hotmail.com.)