Gary is on vacation this week so he asked Jim Best, RCN high school wrestling color commentator, for his thoughts on local high school wrestling:
The winter sports season is in full swing, and with it comes extensive coverage of local high school wrestling action. This will be my ninth “RCN” season, working alongside Scott Barr, commentating on some of the best high school wrestling action in the nation. With every new season, Scott and I find ourselves in conversations about District XI wrestlers that graduated and went off to college to 1) further their education, and 2) extend their respective wrestling careers. This season has been no different, and we are fortunate to have plenty of wrestlers to discuss. District XI has long been considered a “hot bed” of high school wrestling by college wrestling coaches, so it is no surprise that the most recent Division 1 college wrestling rankings have eight former District XI wrestlers ranked among the top 20 wrestlers in their respective weight classes. Although I have never been a huge fan of “rankings” in any sport (I much prefer the pecking order to be determined via head to head competition), the rankings that I trust the most come from the writers of the Amateur Wrestling News publication. This publication is the Sports Illustrated for passionate wrestling fans like myself – we rejoice on the day that the monthly publication arrives in the mailbox!
Corey Keener (freshman, Central Michigan) from Blue Mountain High School is ranked seventh in the 125 pound weight class. Zach Horan (sophomore, Central Michigan) from Nazareth High School is ranked eleventh in the 141 pound weight class. Josh Kindig (junior, Oklahoma State) from Blue Mountain High School is ranked sixth in the 149 pound weight class. Mike Ottinger (junior, Central Michigan) from Parkland High School and Elliot Riddick (freshman, Lehigh) from Bethlehem Catholic High School are ranked ninth and fifteenth respectively in the 174 pound weight class. Jimmy Sheptock (senior, Maryland) from Northampton High School is ranked third in the 184 pound weight class. Brandon Palik (senior, Drexel) from Saucon Valley High School is ranked thirteenth in the 197 pound weight class, and Justin Grant (senior, Bloomsburg) from Easton High School is ranked nineteenth in the 285 pound weight class (also referred to as “heavyweight”).
In addition, there are several other former District XI wrestlers that are making noise in the college wrestling world. Mitch Minotti (Easton/Lehigh), Mike Racciato (Penn Argyl/University of Pittsburgh), Cole Sheptock (Northampton/University of Pittsburgh) and Darian Cruz (Bethlehem Catholic/Lehigh) are all “knocking on the door” to enter the top 20 rankings. At the Division 2 level, Ziad Haddad (junior, Kutztown University) from Bethlehem Catholic High School is ranked first in the 285 pound weight class, Evan Yenolevich (senior, Kutztown University) from Northwestern High School is ranked ninth at the 133 pound weight class, Bradan Turner (senior, East Stroudsburg University) from Northampton High School is ranked eleventh at the 165 pound weight class, and at the Division 3 level, Mark Hartenstine (senior, Wilkes University) from Easton High School is ranked fifth at the 149 pound weight class.
Now, these are just the guys that I currently keep track of. There are plenty more former District XI wrestlers who are “out there” and competing at the collegiate level, and I apologize for not recognizing them in this blog. Some of these wrestlers continue to compete because they receive the rare wrestling scholarship money as a reward for their wrestling abilities, but all of them continue to compete because they love the sport of wrestling. My guess is that none of them are competing to get mentioned in this blog!
Like every athlete that competes at the collegiate level, these wrestlers need to delicately balance the demands of training and competing with the demands of excelling in the classroom. As an observer from afar, and as a former college wrestler, I have the utmost respect for how these young men conduct themselves and keep their priorities in perspective. Over the years, numerous District XI wrestlers, that competed at the collegiate level, returned to the area after graduation and have since contributed to the local high school wrestling scene in a coaching role.
As a District XI wrestling community, we should be proud of these athletes and continue to fully support them, in whatever ways that we can, no matter where they are now.
NFL PICKS FOR THIS WEEK
Last week – 15-1; (Overall: 166-89-1 – 65%)
Kansas City
Cincinnati
San Francisco
Philadelphia
