Best of ‘07-’08: The Nation’s Dirty Dozen Seniors
The Top Twelve ‘07-’08 Seniors in High School wrestling have been established. Oklahoma State’s #1 recruit Jordan Oliver from Pennsylvania powerhouse Easton topped Rutgers-bound #2 Scott Winston in the ranking.
HSWrestling.Net’s Dirty Dozen
#1 Jordan Oliver (22%)
#2 Scott Winston (15%)
#3 Jason Welch (11%)
#4 Alex Meade (10%)
#5 Nate Moore (8%)
#6 Quentin Wright (7%)
#7 Jake Deitchler (7%)
#8 Tyler Graff (6%)
#9 Mario Mason (4%)
#10 Michael Mangrum (4%)
#11 Jon Burns (3%)
#12 Cody Yohn (2%)
Jordan Oliver vs. Matt McDonough (Dream Team Classic): (Protected Content)
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:35 pm
I am not sure who exactly voted or comprised these results but they are clearly wrong. I think someone inverted the numbers for #10 and #1 because hands down Michael Mangrum is the #1 High School wrestler in the country. Having beat most of the wrestlers ranked ahead of him (atleast in his weight class) it just goes to show how a Washington State wrestler doesnt get the kind of respect as the East Coast. Michael has racked up 9 Junior National Titles, 3 Undefeated State H.S. Championships with a 2nd place finish his freshman year (only lost to the champion and beat him later at nationals)Someone please tell me why these rankings are so lopsided.I am willing to bet that if Michael wrestles anyone of these higher ranked kids in college he will shred them. By the way I am an official and seen East Coast wrestling, which is good but overrated.Michael has dominated them for years! I hope someone gets their dislexia fixed next time they post something so wacked out!
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:47 pm
I think that this is really messed up. Some boys from Wisconsin really deserve to be up there.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:32 pm
techfall- The site polled over 2,500 people; over 950 from the west coast voted. HSWrestling.Net does not select the winners- the readers do. Think of it like the “People’s Choice Awards” of High School Wrestling. In our opinion the rankings are very accurate; its going to be extremely tough to win a vote against Oliver (175-5 in PA) and Winston (1st Undefeated Wrestler in NJ) and it certainly doesn’t require a response that deprecates people who have dyslexia.
We do, however, wish Michael the best of luck.
Pink- Joe Budi and Nick Hucke were both in the poll.. just didn’t receive enough votes to make it through the early rounds of polling.
April 24th, 2008 at 8:58 am
The point of my comments werent to get anybody on the defensive side, as it apparently has. Once again, my points are valid as Michael has beaten wrestlers on the board ranked higher than him. I know PA is considered one of the best States for H.S. wrestling but how many national titles does Oliver have? Has he wrestled outside the state of PA? Maybe the Tri-State in Idaho? I know Tyler Graff (ranked #8) could probably share how Michael has terrorized him on the mat but yet he is ranked higher. I guess until two great wrestlers actually meet on the mat it’s all opinions. It’s too bad Jordan and Michael aren’t in the same weight class in college, we would then know the truth.
April 24th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
It has nothing to do with being defensive on our end I offered you a simple explanation as to why he wasn’t higher. Regardless, your comments certainly were meant to offend and were also rude to anyone who suffers from Dyslexia.
Oliver defended his #1 ranking by beating #8 Tyler Graff in the Dapper Dan and by beating Fila Junior Greco-Roman Champion Matt McDonough in USA vs. IA. Have they (Mangrum and Graff) wrestled in Folkstyle in the past 2 years?
May 8th, 2008 at 7:26 am
After all the hoopla about the top 10 I wondered why Mangrum wasnt selected to the Dapper Dan (or any Dreamteam or USA team. At our recent Officials Banquet I asked some of the most prolific High School wrestling officials that same question. I got two responses. The first was that Michael was already training with Pac-10 wrestlers and focusing on college at this point, which is understandable, and turned it down. The second was that the East Coast likes to win their own tournament and many times (each year) wont select a “better wrestler” from somewhere else in the country. This I do believe. I just think it’s funny that not only has Mangrum been shredding High School wrestlers for the last 4 years, but also College wrestlers. I am anxiously awaiting to see what freshman steps up and shows us who is really deserving of all the hype.Maybe Oliver and Graff will Redshirt for an extra year?
May 8th, 2008 at 8:34 am
We believe that anyone in the Dirty Dozen is capable of walking onto the mat in division 1 and starting their true freshman season. Whether or not that is a fit for the program they are attending is another story.