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A look at 10 incoming freshmen to watch in 2012-13

6/29/2012 A ndrew Hipps, InterMatWrestle Senior Editor andrew@intermatwrestle.com, Twitter: @InterMat

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Last year several freshmen show ed they could compete w ith the nation's best high school w restlers. The Valencia brothers, Zahid and Anthony, made California w restling history as the only tw o freshman brothers ever to w in a state championship in the same year. Zahid finished the season ranked No. 1 at 106 pounds after a perfect 40-0 season. But it w asn't only freshmen lightw eights w ho made w aves on the national scene. Heavyw eight Michael Johnson Jr. (W yoming Seminary, Pa.) w as a Prep National runner-up w ho finished the season ranked 13th nationally among all heavyw eights. So w ho w ill the breakout freshmen be in 2012-13? Below is a list of 10 incoming freshmen to w atch. Please note: Wrestles are listed in no particular order, and this is not an all-inclusive list or ranking of the nation's top freshmen in 2012-13, but merely a sampling of freshmen wrestlers to watch.

Mark Hall
High School: Undecided Projected Weight Class: 152/160 About Hall: Hall has received the most national attention among this group of incoming freshmen, and deservedly so. He w ill be entering high school w ith three high school state finals appearances and tw o high school state championships already on his w restling resume. Hall w as a state runner-up in Kentucky in 2010, and then claimed back-to-back Minnesota state titles in 2011 and 2012 w restling for national pow er Apple Valley. He w on three major preseason events in 2011, Grappler Fall Classic, InterMat JJ Classic, and NUW AY Southw est Kickoff Classic. Hall w ent undefeated this past season en route to w inning a state championship at 145 pounds. His most notable w in this past season came over nationally ranked Jake Short of Simley at the Minnesota Christmas Tournament. Hall finished the season ranked No. 3 nationally at 145 pounds.
Mark Hall (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)

Apple Valley assistant coach Bill Demaray on Hall: "Mark is an outstanding student-athlete w ho has spent years preparing to become one of the premier w restlers in the country. He is very relaxed and confident w hen he is competing and is like a cat that is ready to strike at any moment. He is a very caring person w ho w ill help others w ithout being asked. Mark is the kind of person that any coach w ould be lucky and honored to have on their team."

Luke Pletcher
High School: Greater Latrobe, Pa. Projected Weight Class: 106/113

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About Pletcher: Pletcher is the Keystone State's most accomplished incoming freshman. He is a five-time PJW state champion and an eight-time TOC champion. As an eighth-grader, Pletcher finished fourth at the Super 32 Challenge competing at 106 pounds in the high school division. He lost a heartbreaker, 1-0 (ultimate tiebreaker), in the semifinals to fellow PA w restler Michael Kemerer, w ho finished the season ranked seventh nationally at 106 pounds. This spring Pletcher finished third at FloNationals and fifth at FILA Cadet Nationals in freestyle. Last month he notched a w in over PIAA state champion Ethan Lizak, ranked sixth nationally, at the NHSCA National Duals.
Luke Pletcher

Pittsburgh Wrestling Club coach Jason Peters: "Luke's committed. He w orks really hard. He w ants to learn. He's tough. He's just a good kid. We've just been kind of fortunate to get the opportunity to w ork w ith him, to get a kid that has good drive that you can actually teach high-level w restling to. It's been fun. The unique thing about Luke is that he has some great traits. His parents hold him accountable. He w orks hard. He w ants to be good at w restling. And he's tough. Those guys are hard to beat."

Jose Champagne
High School: Montini Catholic, Ill. or Low ell, Ind. Projected Weight Class: 132 About Champagne: Champagne w as adopted from Colombia and has only been in the U.S. for five years. He is just now completing his fourth full year of w restling. Champagne did not speak a w ord of English w hen he w as adopted, but has come a long w ay in a short period of time, both in the classroom as an honor roll student and on the mat as one of the nation's top incoming freshmen w restlers. He is an eight-time state champion in Indiana. He has also w on many national events, including USA W restling Nationals, Super 32 Challenge (middle school division), and Liberty Nationals. This year he w as an Indiana Triple Crow n w inner as a Cadet, w inning state titles in folkstyle, freestyle, and Greco-Roman.

Jose Champagne

Izzy Style & Montini Catholic coach Izzy Martinez on Champagne: "He's only w restled a few years, so he hasn't been in the grind since he w as 5, 6, or 7 like many of these kids. He's relatively new to the sport, so I think mentally he's charged. He has a full battery. He's not drained. He's not tired. He doesn't hate it. Mentally, he's ready to w in. He learns w ell. Not only that, but he's very competitive. That's probably one of the biggest things you can't teach kids is a competitive drive."

Aaron Pico
High School: St. John Bosco, Calif. Projected Weight Class: 132 About Pico: Last year St. John Bosco High School in California had tw o of the nation's top freshmen in the Valencia brothers, Zahid and Anthony. Both w on state championships. This year the program has another freshman phenom on its hands in Pico. He has been successful in national age group events for several years, but his major coming out performance came last summer in Fargo w hen he w on Cadet National titles in both freestyle and Greco-Roman, and did so in dominant fashion. Pico added a Cadet National folkstyle title this spring, w here he w ent 5-0 w ith three pins and tw o major decisions. He w on 19-7 in the finals. At the California state freestyle tournament this spring, Pico did not surrender a single point and w on every match by fall or technical fall. Pico w ill be a heavy favorite to w in double titles again this summer in Fargo to cap

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off his Cadet Triple Crow n.

A aron Pico (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)

St. John Bosco coach Omar Delgado on Pico: "Aaron "Cheeks" Pico is a complete phenom in the sport of w restling. W hat sets him apart is not only his w ork ethic, and athletic ability, but his total commitment to the sport of w restling. Cheeks doesn't just like w restling, he loves w restling, and w ants to be the best in the w orld. I am truly blessed to have the Valencia boys and now Aaron "Cheeks" Pico in my w restling room. Cheeks w ill push the Valencia boys to be the best, as w ill the Valencia boys push Cheeks because the commitment they have to living like champions is hard to find in one young man let alone three. I look forw ard to journeying w ith him for the next four years."

Mason Manville
High School: Apple Valley, Minn. Projected Weight Class: 145 About Manville: Manville has been dominating national age group events for several years. This past season he moved from Virginia to Minnesota to w restle for national pow er Apple Valley, and made an immediate impact in the lineup. Manville w on the Minnesota Christmas Tournament, w hich included a victory over Junior National folkstyle champion Nick Wanzek of Simley. He w restled everyw here from 138 pounds to 152 pounds for the Eagles. Manville w ent undefeated at The Clash. He entered the state tournament ranked No. 1 in Minnesota's Class AAA at 152 pounds, but w as upset in the state semifinals and finished third. Manville has been impressive this spring and summer. He w on both styles at Southeast Regionals. He placed fourth at FILA Cadet Nationals in both freestyle and GrecoRoman. Manville competed on Team Minnesota at the Cadet National Duals and posted a perfect 14-0 record in freestyle and Greco-Roman.

Mason Manville (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)

Apple Valley assistant coach Bill Demaray on Manville: "Mason is a very intense individual w hen he is preparing to compete or w hile he is competing. He has set high but achievable goals of someday being an Olympic/World champion. I personally love w atching him prepare and compete because he goes full out the w hole time. In the practice room he is alw ays w orking hard to get better. Mason has been coached by his dad David and w ithout a doubt this has given Mason a leg up on his competition. Technically and emotionally Mason has been prepared very w ell by his dad."

Kyle Norstrem
High School: Brandon, Fla. Projected Weight Class: 113 About Norstrem: Norstrem, like Mark Hall, already has a high school state championship on his resume before he even begins his freshman year of high school. This past season as an eighth-grader at Tampa Bay Christian, Norstrem compiled a record of 41-1 en route to claiming a Florida state championship at 106 pounds. In addition, he has an excellent resume in GrecoRoman w restling, as a tw o-time FILA Cadet National finalist (champion this past year) and finishing third at the Cadet Nationals last summer. He w ill be w restling at national pow er Brandon High School for his freshman year, w here he w ill join older brother Kevin, w ho is one of the nation's top high school seniors.

Kyle Norstrem

USA Wrestling Developmental Greco-Roman coach Ike Anderson on Norstrem: "Kyle is a hard-w orking young man w ho is alw ays looking for w ays to get better. He loves learning new things on and off the mat."

Keegan Moore
High School: Jackson County Central, Minn. Projected Weight Class: 152/160/170 About Moore: Moore, the youngest in a family of

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seven, comes from a w restling family. His older brother Cooper w as a nationally ranked 170pounder this past season and signed w ith Northern Iow a. His brother Paden, w ho w ill be a sophomore, placed fifth in the state tournament at 145 pounds. Moore w restles for Minnesota legendary high school w restling coach Randy Baker at Jackson County Central, a program that has w on four state championships over the past five seasons. Several collegiate standouts have come out of the program, including four-time NCAA Division I All-American Chad Kraft, NCAA Division II champion Nate Baker, and three-time NCAA Division I qualifier Cole VonOhlen, among others. Moore is a six-time Minnesota/USA W restling Triple Crow n w inner (state champion in all three styles), w hich ties the state record. He has w restled tw o years on the varsity at JCC, and qualified for the state tournament this past season as an eighth-grader, w here he w ent 2-2 at 138 pounds. This spring Moore posted a 20-0 record at the Schoolboy Duals, earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. He w as also a USA W restling national champion in folkstyle.
Keegan Moore (Photo/Dan Condon, Jackson County Pilot)

Jackson County Central coach Randy Baker on Moore: "Keegan is very athletic. He has a lot of natural tools. He also has a lot of experience. He's done a lot of w restling since the high school season ended. He should improve pretty fast w ith the w orkout partners he has."

Brent Moore
High School: St. Paris Graham, Ohio Projected Weight Class: 120/126 About Moore: Moore is the Buckeye State's top incoming freshman. He is expected to be an immediate impact freshman for Jeff Jordan at national pow er St. Paris Graham. Last fall Moore claimed a title at the Super 32 Challenge (middle school division). He w ent undefeated this past season in junior school w restling at Graham, and claimed an OAC junior high state championship. He w as also a Philo Electric Invitational champion, w hich included a 3-2 victory over Luke Pletcher. This spring he w ent 8-0 at the Schoolboy National Duals in freestyle. He w as also undefeated at the AAU Middle School National Duals. He w as a fifth-place finisher at the Ohio TOC, w here he split matches w ith nationally ranked Matthew Kolodzik.

Brent Moore

St. Paris Graham coach Jeff Jordan on Moore: "Brent understands how to really rise to the occasion w hen match time arrives. He thrives on the spotlight and is able to elevate his intensity level higher than his opponent w hen it is time to compete. He has a tremendous w ork ethic, but w hat truly makes him special is his insatiable w ill to w in."

Luke Karam
High School: Bethlehem Catholic, Pa. Projected Weight Class: 106 About Karam: Karam posted a perfect 51-0 record through tw o years of junior high w restling. He is a tw o-time junior high District XI champion, Cadet freestyle state champion, Cadet National freestyle runner-up, and Eastern Nationals runner-up. Karam w as also undefeated at the Cadet National Duals in freestyle in each of the past tw o years. Bethlehem Catholic coach Jeff Karam on Karam: "I am really excited to have Luke and his brother (Cole)

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be a part of the high school team. They w ere born into w restling (literally). I w as actually coaching in a match w hen I got the call from my w ife that she w as in labor. I had to leave in the middle of the match and meet her at the hospital. Luke has been very self-motivated since he first started w restling at age 5. Luke has a great mental attitude about the sport and show s a lot of maturity for someone of his age. He constantly looks at w ays to improve his technique and is an extremely hard w orker. Luke also is surrounded by some great w orkout partners in the room. He gets the opportunity to drill w ith Darian Cruz (nationally ranked, returning state champ) on a daily basis. Darian has been a great role model for Luke in preparing him for high school w restling."

Luke Karam

Nick Suriano
High School: Undecided Projected Weight Class: 106 About Suriano: Suriano trains at the Apex W restling Club in New Jersey, w hich is run by former Michigan tw o-time All-American Damion Logan. Suriano w on his third Tulsa Nationals title this year. He has w on the War at the Shore three times and the Super 32 Challenge (middle school division) tw ice. Apex head coach Damion Logan on Suriano: "Nick Suriano is a very focused, hard-w orking individual w ho has inspiration to be the best he can possibly be. Because of that, he's one of the kids that is alw ays paying attention, trying to get the most out of his training and w orkouts because he needs all the answ ers for success."

Nick Suriano

Apex assistant coach Matt Wernikoff on Suriano: "I think w hat makes Nick successful is that he w ants to w in very badly, and he has an understanding of w hat it's going to take to w in on the high school level and on the national level. He's w illing to make the sacrifices. He does all the little intangibles right."

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