It’s the final week of state championship season. In this week’s High School Insider, we’re previewing and recapping three of the country’s most powerhouse wrestling states.

Wrapping Things Up in Ohio

State duals wrapped up just over three weeks ago with the usual Ohio powers St Ed’s and Graham taking home Division I and Division II titles, respectively, while South Range was the champ in Division III. This weekend in Columbus is the individual state tournament, where plenty of Ohio’s hammers are expected to collide with state titles on the line.

For a lot of fans across the country, you can expect many of the names you became familiar with at Ironman at the start of the season to make some noise this weekend, as well.

In Division II, Graham will see if it can crown champs at back-to-back weights with defending champ Beric Jordan at 106 pounds and teammate #9 Brogan Tucker at 113 pounds. Jordan enters ranked #1 in the country and should be a heavy favorite to win his second title. Tucker could be in the finals, too. But his path is no joke. First, he’ll need to get through returning state placer #13 Billy Smith — who he pinned earlier this season — before a likely semi with returning finalist #10 Codie Cuerbo in a top 10 matchup. Undefeated Tyler Hisey, a third-place finisher last year, has a really nice draw to the finals opposite that loaded top-side. Don’t be surprised to see some rankings shakeups after this one.

There’s a lot of the same at 215 pounds, a weight with three ranked wrestlers, #13 Carter Neves, #14 Max Shulaw, and #17 Kyle Snider (yeah, you’re reading that right. Not Kyle Snyder – Kyle Snider). Neves owns two wins over Snider this year, both at Ironman, while Shulaw took out Neves that same weekend on his way to a third-place finish at the nation’s toughest tournament.

The state’s highest-ranked wrestler, national #1 at 195 pounds, Dylan Fishback, is expected to win his second straight state championship after winning by tech fall in the finals last year.

In Division I, #11 Joey Blaze was part of one of 2021’s most exciting finals matchups when he beat Jake Niffenegger in tiebreakers and you can expect some stiff competition for Blaze once again in the 144-pound bracket where he’ll clash with #14 Ethan Birden if both make the finals. It would be a rematch of the fifth-place match at Ironman where Blaze won 5-1. Blaze’s younger brother Marcus, a freshman and Ironman champion, is a favorite at 113 pounds. 

126 pounds in Division I might just be the most exciting weight class across all divisions this weekend in Columbus, though. #13 Omar Ayoub and #14 Brennan Cernus may be the favorites to make the finals according to rankings, but there’s still eight other returning state placers at the weight. Ryan Bennett, from St Ed’s, was the 106-pound state champ a year ago. Ayoub and Cernus will both face returning state placers in Charles Curtis and Mason Brugh right of the bat in the first round. Anyone can win this weight class.

If you’re on future Buckeye watch, there’s two big-time recruits to be on the lookout for. First, there’s #6 Luke Geog from St Ed’s who should take home the title at 175 pounds. Then, there’s defending state champ and former Who’s #1 competitor Seth Shumate at 195 pounds who is certainly the favorite to win it all again.

You can find the Archived videos HERE with action beginning Friday.

Four Takeaways From New Jersey States 

For New Jersey wrestling fans, this is their version of a family reunion. After a year away from Atlantic City, it was good to be back in Boardwalk Hall.

The top two teams in the state, Bergen Catholic and Delbarton had three state finalists each, but it was the The Boardwalk Hall Boys from Brick Memorial who stole the show once again, punching three into the finals. It’s a group that includes #16 Anthony Santaniello, freshman state champ #16 Harvey Ludington and two-time champ #7 Evan Tallmadge. There must be something about that familiar ocean air because this team seems to really turn it on when the stage is biggest, with 10 state finalists in the past three seasons. Delbarton, meanwhile, went 3-for-3 in the finals.

Martin Cosgrove won the battle of the state champs over P.J. Casale. Despite a late push from Casale, the Camden Catholic senior controlled the match throughout thanks to two first-period takedowns to represent as South Jersey’s only champ. He’ll be doing his college wrestling just across the Delaware River at Penn.

Joe Fongaro’s win against #9 Ty Whalen was the biggest upset of the state finals. Whalen had teched his way to the finals before the high-scoring finals affair in which Fongaro jumped out to an early lead. Every time it looked like Whalen was climbing back in it, Fongaro found a way to score again, culminating in a 10-9 victory. The Boonton senior is staying close to home next year, when he heads to Rutgers.

Anthony Knox and Adrian DeJesus backed up the season-long hype, climbing atop the state championship podium in their freshman campaigns. Knox was methodical all weekend long before leaving no doubt in the finals with a 7-2 win over Jared Brunner. For his title, DeJesus used a reversal and mean third-period ride to beat fellow freshman — and Knox’s teammate at St John Vianney — Patrick O’Keefe after O’Keefe struck first with a sweet attack that would be an easy candidate for Flo Dirty Takedown of the Week.

FloWrestling is Live from PA States All Weekend 

FloWrestling is on the ground all weekend long from Hershey, Pennsylvania. History has shown us that we can expect many of the NCAA’s future stars to be scattered throughout these brackets.

Check out our full weight by weight previews and predictions for both AA & AAA!

As David Bray pointed out, more than 20 percent of the nation’s ranked high school wrestlers will be in competition in Ohio and Pennsylvania this weekend.

So, don’t miss out on any of the other State Championship action at our State Championship HUB!