Ironman returns with top high school wrestlers from 21 states

Famously known as “The Ironman,” this high school tournament started in 1994, when Walsh Jesuit High School of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, first welcomed some of the top high school wrestlers in the nation. It soon became a prestigious annual event each December … until last year when the pandemic cancelled the event.

WIN Magazine will provide an in-depth look at this year’s Ironman in its next issue that will be printed on Dec. 17. Click on image or call 888-305-0606 above to subscribe to WIN Magazine.

That is why organizers of this event are thrilled to say The Ironman is back this Friday-Saturday, Dec. 10-11, when 113 high schools from 21 different states will send a full or partial line-up to compete in the 14 NFHS weight classes that will go into effect in the ’23-’24 season. Each state had the option to adopt it early or wait until ’23-’24. Ohio and New Jersey opted for the new weights this season. Since the tournament is sanctioned in Ohio, the Ironman must use Ohio’s new weight classes.

Among the more notable schools are Blair Academy (N.J.), which has won 15 team championships of the legendary tournament, and Wyoming Seminary (Pa.), which won the 2019 Ironman.

This year’s tournament begins Friday morning at 10 a.m. (EST), with quarterfinals slated to begin Friday night. The semifinals will begin Saturday morning at 10 a.m., with the finals scheduled — as well as third- and fifth-place matches — for 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon.

The following is a list of the tournament’s preseeds at the new weight classes as well as the wrestler’s preseason rankings at the previous NFHS weight classes.

2021 Walsh Jesuit Ironman Pre-Seeds