D1CW's Top 50 Wrestlers for 2012: 11-20
Over the course of the next five weeks D1CW will release its list of top 50 wrestlers for the 2012-13 season.
To be considered a wrestler has to have competed officially at least one season at the collegiate level. No 2012-13 Freshman or Redshirt Freshman. Upperclassmen who are coming off of redshirt season's or are planning on redshirting in 2012-13 are eligible. Remember picking out a top 50 is not meant to be a "ranking" and the entire season is taken into consideration rather than just a bad match or two at NCAA's.
#20 Dylan Ness (Minnesota) 149 LBS
Photo Courtesy of Univesity of Minnesota Eric Miller
Resume:
2012 NCAA Runner-Up
(W) dec vs Shane Welsh (Lehigh) 4-2
(W) dec vs Corey Jantzen (Harvard) 11-7
(W) dec vs Jamal Parks (Oklahoma State) 3-2
(W) dec vs Tyler Nauman (Pittsburgh) 8-5
(L) dec vs Frank Molinaro (Penn State) 4-1
2012 Big Ten Runner-Up
(W) fall vs Taylor Walsh (Indiana) 2:38
(W) dec vs Eric Grajales (Michigan) 9-7
(L) tech vs Frank Molinaro (Penn State) 15-0
2012 Wins vs 2012 NCAA All-Americans: 1 (Tyler Nauman)
Record vs 2012 NCAA Qualifiers: 11-8
Dylan Ness' suprising run to the NCAA finals was one reason why Minnesota was able to finish 2nd in the nation at National's in 2011-12. Perhaps the biggest win of Dylan's young career came in the NCAA Quarterfinals against then undefeated Jamal Parks of Oklahoma State. Parks had beaten Dylan twice earlier in the regular season. Ness will be happy to see his NCAA Finals opponent Frank Molinaro gone, as four of his nine losses came to the Penn State senior. Three of those came in tournament finals, the Southern Scuffle and Big Ten's prior to the NCAA's. Ness will enter his Sophomore season as one of the favorites at 149lbs.
Photo Courtesy of Univesity of Minnesota Jerry Lee
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#19 Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) 141 LBS
Photo Courtesy of Oklahoma Athletic Communications
Resume:
2012 NCAA 4th Place
(W) fall vs Nathan Hoffer (Arizona State) 4:48
(W) maj vs Mike Nevinger (Cornell) 13-2
(W) maj vs Zach Neibert (Virginia Tech) 15-3
(L) dec vs Montell Marion (Iowa) 3-1SV
(W) fall vs Michael Mangrum (Oregon State) 4:19
(L) dec vs Boris Novachkov (Cal Poly) 4-3TB
2012 Big 12 Champ
(W) dec vs Nick Hucke (Missouri) 4-0
(W) dec vs Josh Kindig (Oklahoma State) 11-4
2012 Wins vs 2012 NCAA All-Americans: 3 (Montell Marion, Mike Nevinger, Michael Mangurm)
Record vs 2012 NCAA Qualifiers: 18-3
To say that Kendric Maple was an unknown coming into the 2011-12 season would probably be inaccurate and a bit insulting, but what is true, is that most fans did not expect that the Sooner Sophomore would enter the NCAA Tournament as the two seed with only one blemish on his record. Maple competed as a True Freshman in 2009-10 and made it to the NCAA Championships, winning two matches along the way. After redshirting the next season, Kendric came back better than ever and won his first 19 matches of the year a streak that included tournament titles at the Brockport/Oklahoma Gold and Midlands Championships. Following the Midlands victory over 2x NCAA Runner-Up Montell Marion, Maple held D1CW's #1 ranking at 141 for three weeks.
Photo Courtesy of Oklahoma Athletic Communications
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#18 Robert Hamlin (Lehigh) 184 LBS
Photo Courtesy of Lehigh Athletic Communications
Resume:
2012 NCAA 4th Place
(W) maj vs Casey Newburg (Kent State) 10-2
(W) dec vs Tony Dallago (Illinois) 8-3
(W) dec vs Josh Ihnen (Nebraska) 7-4
(L) dec vs Quentin Wright (Penn State) 3-2
(W) dec vs Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota) 3-2
(L) dec vs Austin Trotman (Appalachian State) 3-1SV
2011 NCAA Runner-Up
2012 EIWA Champ
(W) dec vs Erich Smith (Penn) 7-1
(W) fall vs Michael Gorman (Army) 2:53
(W) dec vs Luke Rebertus (Navy) 2-1
(W) dec vs Steve Bosak (Cornell) 3-2
2012 Wins vs 2012 All-Americans: 6 (Quentin Wright, Ben Bennett x2, Steve Bosak, Josh Ihnen, Kevin Steinhaus)
Record vs 2012 NCAA Qualifiers: 19-3
Like Kendric Maple before him, Robert Hamlin came into college without a huge national resume, but has improved with leaps and bounds throughout his career at Lehigh. The "Vermonster" went from a Freshman season where he lost 11 of 30 bouts and went 0-2 at the NCAA Tournament to an EIWA Championship and NCAA Finals appearance one year later, and one weight class heavier. Over the past two seasons Hamlin has recorded four victories over 2012 NCAA Champion Steve Bosak and two over 2011 NCAA Champion Quentin Wright. In each of the last two seasons he has accumulated identical 32-3 records
Photo Courtesy of Lehigh Athletic Communications
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#17 Jason Chamberlain (Boise State) 149 LBS
Photo Courtesy of Boise State Athletic Communications
Resume:
2011 NCAA 3rd Place
(W) maj vs Dane Johnson (Pittsburgh) 13-4
(W) dec vs Joey Napoli (Lehigh) 6-4SV
(W) dec vs Kevin LeValley (Bucknell) 4-3TB
(L) dec vs Frank Molinaro (Penn State) 3-1
(W) dec vs Jamal Parks (Oklahoma State) 3-1SV
(W) dec vs Ganbayar Sanjaa (American) 3-0
2011 Pac 10 Champ
(W) tech vs John Cardenas (Cal-State Bakersfield) 19-4
(W) maj vs Timmy Boone (Stanford) 21-7
(W) dec vs Scott Sakaguchi (Oregon State) 5-2
2011 Wins vs 2011 NCAA All-Americans: 3 (Kevin LeValley, Jamal Parks, Ganbayar Sanjaa)
Record vs 2011 NCAA Qualifiers: 16-2
Until recently Jason Chamberlain was one of the more anonymous superstars of collegiate wrestling. Taking redshirt in the 2011-12 season did not help matters for Jason. That all changed last week when Chamberlain defeated 2012 NCAA Champ Frank Molinaro in the Freestyle University World Team Trials. When Jason last competed for Boise State he placed third in the nation competing at 149lbs in 2010-11. That same season Chamberlain won the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, the Reno Tournament of Champions and his second Pac-10 Championship.
Photo Courtesy of Boise State Athletic Communications
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#16 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) 184 LBS
Photo Courtesy of Oklahoma State Athletic Communications
Resume:
2012 NCAA 3rd Place
(W) dec vs Chris Moon (Virginia Tech) 9-4
(W) dec vs Curran Jacobs (Michigan State) 6-2
(W) dec vs Jordan Blanton (Illinois) 3-2TB
(L) dec vs Nick Amuchastegui (Stanford) 6-3
(W) dec vs Nick Heflin (Ohio State) 8-7
(W) dec vs Jordan Blanton (Illinois) 4-1
2012 Big 12 Champ
(W) fall vs Kyle Detmer (Oklahoma) 6:14
(W) dec vs Dorian Henderson (Missouri) 8-2
2012 Wins vs 2012 NCAA All-Americans: 8 (Kevin Steinhaus, Joe LeBlanc, Ethen Lofthouse, Jordan Blanton x3, Logan Storley, Nick Heflin)
Record vs 2012 NCAA Qualifiers: 21-1
Chris Perry truly had a remarkable 2011-12 campagin, he just had the unfortunate position of competing in a weight class with two other wrestlers who came into the NCAA Championships undefeated (Ed Ruth, Nick Amuchastegui). Perry's loss to Amuchastegui in the NCAA Semi's was his first and only of the season. He had an impressive 8 wins over 2012 NCAA All-Americans. Two of the eight were at 184lbs where Perry started his season and won all eleven of his matches. His 21-1 record against NCAA Qualifiers gives him the most wins against qualifiers and highest winning percentage of all wrestlers profiled thus far.
Photo Courtesy of WrestlersareWarriors
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#15 Derek St. John (Iowa) 157 LBS
Photo Courtesy of Iowa Athletic Communications
Resume:
2012 NCAA Runner-Up
(W) maj vs Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) 9-1
(W) dec vs RJ Pena (Oregon State) 8-4
(W) dec vs Dylan Alton (Penn State) 3-1SV
(W) dec vs Jason Welch (Northwestern) 5-1
(L) dec vs Kyle Dake (Cornell) 4-1
2011 NCAA 4th Place
2012 Big Ten Champ
(W) dec vs James Green (Nebraska) 6-4SV
(W) dec vs Dylan Alton (Penn State) 3-1SV
(W) dec vs Jason Welch (Northwestern) 4-3
2012 Wins vs 2012 NCAA All-Americans: 5 (James Green, Dylan Alton x2, Jason Welch)
Record vs 2012 NCAA Qualifiers: 8-3
Derek St. John's 2011-12 season came be divided into two parts, the injured portion at the middle of the schedule and the healthier part at the end of the season. St. John injured a knee and when he attempted to return he lost a pair of lopsided matches to opponents he would normally beat. One of them, RJ Pena of Oregon State majored St. John, yet Derek was able to avenge the loss iin the second round of the NCAA Championships. Down the stretch St. John was at his best late in matches and into extra time, using sudden victory time in his wins over All-American's James Green and Dylan Alton (twice). His NCAA Runner-Up finish is his second All-American honor in as many tries.
Photo Courtesy of WrestlersareWarriors
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#14 Alan Gelogaev (Oklahoma State) 285 LBS
Photo Courtesy of Oklahoma State Athletic Communications
Resume:
2012 Injured
2010 NCAA 7th Place
2012 Wins vs 2012 NCAA All-Americans: 5 (Tony Nelson, Nick Gwiazdowski x2, Jeremy Johnson, Bobby Telford)
Record vs 2012 NCAA Qualifiers: 11-0
Initially having a wrestler who was injured and did not compete in the 2012 postseason as high as #14 may come as a shock to some, but "Z's" numbers in the 2011-12 season are amazing. Overall Gelogaev's official record was 24-0 before his season ending injury, although he did suffer an "unofficial" loss to a wrestler who was not enrolled collegiately that season. Early in the year Z destroyed eventual NCAA Champion Tony Nelson in a 16-5 major decision. In fact, in Gelogaev's five wins over NCAA All-American's, his 16-9 decision over Nick Gwiazdowski was his closest match, if you want to call that close. An arguement could be made that Alan should be higher, but I have took into consideration that he has had season-ending injuries in each of the last two season.
Photo Courtesy of Tech-Fall
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#13 Tony Ramos (Iowa) 133 LBS
Photo Courtesy of Iowa Athletic Communications
Resume:
2012 NCAA 3rd Place
(W) dec vs Brian Owen (Boise State) 9-2
(W) dec vs Aaron Kalil (Navy) 4-1
(W) fall vs Steven Keith (Harvard) 1:57
(L) dec vs Logan Stieber (Ohio State) 4-2
(W) dec vs Devin Carter (Virginia Tech) 8-3
(W) fall vs Chris Dardanes (Minnesota) 6:50
2012 Big Ten Runner-Up
(W) maj vs Ridge Kiley (Nebraska) 12-2
(W) dec vs BJ Futrell (Illinois) 6-1
(L) dec vs Logan Stieber (Ohio State) 5-2
2012 Wins vs 2012 NCAA All-Americans: 11 (BJ Futrell x4, Devin Carter, Jordan Oliver, Chris Dardanes x3, Steven Keith)
Record vs 2012 NCAA Qualifiers: 17-4
Simply put, Tony Ramos most likely had the best 2011-12 season of anyone who did not make the NCAA Finals. The numbers speak for themselves and the biggest number is the 11; the number of All-Americans Ramos defeated last season. No wrestler profiled so far has beaten more than 8!!! Those eleven wins represent one third of Tony's win total. The biggest win came in the Oklahoma State dual where Ramos upset returning NCAA Champion Jordan Oliver. Two of Tony's four losses came to 2012 NCAA Champ Logan Stieber, both losses were hard-fought, close matches. Expect these two rivals to butt heads multiple times over the next two seasons for Big Ten and NCAA Championships.
Photo Courtesy of Iowa Athletic Communications
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#12 Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma State) 165 LBS
Photo Courtesy of Oklahoma Athletic Communications
Resume:
2011 NCAA Runner-Up
(W) dec vs Bubby Graham (American) 4-1
(W) dec vs Donnie Jones (West Virginia) 7-2
(W) dec vs PJ Gillespie (Hofstra) 2-1
(W) dec vs Andrew Howe (Wisconsin) 2-2RTTB
(L) maj vs Jordan Burroughs (Nebraska) 11-3
2011 NCAA 5th Place
2011 Big 12 Runner-Up
(W) dec vs Zach Toal (Missouri) 6-0
(L) dec vs Jordan Burroughs (Nebraska) 2-1
2011 Wins vs 2011 NCAA All-Americans: 8 (Mike Letts, Colby Covington, Jordan Blanton, Josh Asper, Brandon Hatchett, Shane Onufer, PJ Gillespie, Andrew Howe)
Record vs 2011 NCAA Qualifiers: 20-5
Tyler Caldwell was another wrestler who took an redshirt for the 2010-11 season in an attempt to make the Olympic team. He also will be switching schools in the upcoming season, moving from Oklahoma to Oklahoma State. Tyler's last collegiate competition saw him pull one of the biggest upsets of the 2010-11 season, defeating the returning NCAA Champion Andrew Howe in the NCAA Semi-Finals. During that season Caldwell spent a bulk of the time competing at 174 where he beat three eventual All-American's before dropping back down to 165. In 2011-12 Caldwell will look to play the spoiler again when he could be matched up with undefeated NCAA Champion David Taylor of Penn State.
Photo Courtesy of TechFall
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#11 Quentin Wright (Penn State) 197 LBS
Photo Courtesy of Penn State Athletic Communications
Resume:
2012 NCAA Runner-Up
(W) maj vs Thomas Ferguson (North Carolina) 11-0
(W) maj vs Ben Clymer (Hofstra) 10-2
(W) fall vs Ben Bennett (Central Michigan) 2:35
(W) dec vs Robert Hamlin (Lehigh) 3-2
(L) dec vs Steve Bosak (Cornell) 4-2SV
2011 NCAA Champ
2009 NCAA 6th Place
2012 Big Ten 3rd Place
(W) fall vs Luke Sheridan (Indiana) 2:17
(W) dec vs Tony Dallago (Illinois) 7-2SV
(L) dec vs Josh Ihnen (Nebraska) 3-1
(W) maj vs Ian Hinton (Michigan State) 9-0
(W) dec vs Tony Dallago (Illinois) 8-7
2012 Wins vs 2012 NCAA All-Americans: 4 (Steve Bosak, Josh Ihnen, Ben Bennett, Robert Hamlin)
Record vs 2012 NCAA Qualifiers: 12-3
After winning an NCAA Title in 2010-11, Quentin Wright came up just short of repeating falling to longtime rival Steve Bosak in overtime of the NCAA Finals. Earlier in the season, at the Southern Scuffle Finals Quentin dominated Bosak with a 10-3 decision. This was the third time in three years that Wright was an All-American for the Nittany Lions. Like most of his PSU teammates, Wright is explosive, eighteen of his 30 wins in the 2011-12 season came via tech fall or pin. This season he will move up and compete at 197lbs.
Photo Courtesy of WrestlersareWarriors