Wisconsin Top 10 “Juniors”
The top ten seniors have already been released
and for the most part there has been a positive response. I will
admit that we did miss a wrestler or two, however the idea of this
is to rank the top 10, not everyone that made it to state. The top
ten is an elite list, especially in this state. At first we didn’t
want to list any other considerations for the thought of when do you
stop. If you list one, then someone’s credentials would be close to
that one. Then it becomes a domino effect and soon your listing all
the returning state qualifiers and then some. So we will continue to
list some other considerations, but will have to draw the line
somewhere. Remember to send in your sophomore and freshman
nominations to
wiwresrankingstaff@wiwrestling.com .
Anyways, to the juniors. This class is one of the most talented
classes in recent memory. With all of the talent, it sure makes it
tough to rank.
1. Zac Cibula, Luxemburg-Casco
Everyone in the state heard of this kid as he
was coming up through grade school. You could say a lot about most
of the guys on this list in fact. The expectations were already set
in place for him and he exceeded them. Zac’s biggest attribute is
how he gets up for the big matches. After taking third at
sectionals his freshman year, he headed into state with five
losses. Many knew he had a chance, but not many had him inked in as
their division two 130-pound champion as a freshman. Well after he
won a very exciting 6-4 overtime match over West De Pere’s Tony
Kazik, some people began penciling him in as a four time state
champ. Zac is making those people look pretty good as he won his
second state championship last season at 140 pounds. Zac has a
career record of 102-6.
2. Cole Schmitt, Belleville/Monticello/New
Glarus
If there could be a tie on this list, Cole
could have easily been tied with Zac as the best junior in the
state. It was very hard not to rank a kid that is coming off of a
phenomenal off season that included a Greco Roman national
championship number one. Not to mention a sophomore season in which
he went undefeated on his way to a 135 pound division two state
championship. Cole also went to state his freshman year and took
sixth at 125 pounds. He has a career record of 84-5. His
impressive off season accolades include a freestyle state
championship, Northern Plains freestyle and Greco championships, and
went 9-0 at cadet duals in Greco.
3. Bobby Wunnicke, Dodgeville
I'm sure many of you are aware of this
situation that revolved around the division two 112 pound champion
last season. I wont get into too much detail, but even though Bobby
may have lost the match, he still goes down in the books as a state
champion. State champion or not, he still would have been ranked
third in this list. Bobby also won a state championship his freshman
season at 103 pounds.
He has a career record of 85-2.
4. Andrew Dahl, Cashton
Andrew only had one loss last season on his way
to his second straight division three state championship. That loss
came to a young man also on this list, Bobby Wunnicke. Andrew won
his first state championship at 103 pounds. His career record is
91-5.
5. Jody Van Laanen, Ashwaubenon
Although he has yet to place in the top 4 at
state, I would put this kids technique up against anyone’s in the
state. A few injuries and some extremely tough state brackets are
the only things that kept him from placing higher at state. Both
his freshman and sophomore years he has lost in the quarterfinals
and came back to take 6th and 5th
respectively. Last year he ran into the eventual champion and our 7th
ranked senior, Ben Sarbacker who defeated him 4-0. His career
record is 76-9.
6. Malachi Root, Green Bay Preble/East
If you had to name one junior who hasn’t won a
state title that two years ago you would have thought had the best
chance of winning two of them by now, most of you would have named
Malachi. After losing by just one point in the state championship
his freshman year, many fans already had Malachi penciled in as a
state champion for sure last year. Unfortunately he became ill
during the state tournament and lost to Arrowhead’s Andrew Zwerlein,
who he had won by a major decision earlier in the season, in the
semifinals. He went on to win his third place match. He has a
career record of 98-5.
7. Joe Budi, Kaukauna
Imagine taking 6th place as a
freshman at 152 pounds, then setting high goals for yourself the
following season only to fall short of reaching those goals by not
making it out of sectionals. Some might have been pretty down on
themselves or might have even taken a few months off from wrestling,
but not Joe. Joe went right back to work and proved that not only
was he one of the best in the state, but also one of the best in the
nation by winning the cadet national folkstyle tournament last April
in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
8. Grant Sutter, Dodgeville
Now before you go and say “what is he doing on
the list, he only took 4th at state,” remember that
these rankings are all around. Hey if college coaches can look at
freestyle and Greco when they are recruiting, then we can when we
are looking at rankings. The fact that Grant has earned all-american
honors the past three years at the Greco National Championships
makes him deserving of a spot on our list.
9. Cody Friemoth, Niellsville
Had it not been for the number one ranked
wrestler on this list, Cody might have a state championship.
Instead, after losing by just two points to Cibula in last year’s
140 pound quarterfinals, he had to wrestle back and settle for 5th
place. Actually, if you get a chance, go back and look at that
bracket. There is another junior that you will see below that Cody
had to knock off before even getting a chance at Cibula. Wow what a
bracket. Like Budi, Cody also won a cadet national folkstyle
championship in the offseason. Cody also made it to state his
freshman year but did not place. He enters this season with a 90-14
career record.
10. Matt Gille, Manitowoc Roncalli
Like most of the kids on this list, Matt had a
tremendous amount of success as he was coming up through grade
school wrestling. Numerous state and national titles put the
bull’s-eye on his back before he even got to high school. Matt
found success right away qualifying at 112 pounds his freshman
year. After losing to the eventual champion Greg Sonnentag in the
quarterfinals, Matt wrestled back to place 5th. He
followed that up with a third place finish last season. Matt’s
career record is 77-7.
Close considerations
Casey Sobrilsky, Beaver Dam- 2006 4th, 2005 6th
Jed Domke, Viroqua- 2006 2nd, 2005 dnp
Nick Hucke, Arrowhead- 2006 state champ
Grant Miller, Dodgeville- 2x state qualifier
Billy Schlottke, Mukwonago-2006 2nd
Zak Saevre, Ashwaubenon -2006 state qualifier 2nd
Northern plains freestyle, 1st Northern Plains Greco
Sam Engelland, Neenah -2006 state qualifier, Cadet Greco
All-American (8th)
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