The Ultimate Fan Guide to the 2010 Division 3 High School Wrestling Forecast by Brian Brakeman
Dan Cosimi - The Ohio Wrestling Network

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NUW

2010 HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING FORECAST (39th ANNUAL EDITION)
Brian F. Brakeman
January 26, 2010

Division 3

160 pounds

All-Ohio
State Champion: MH-1 Dennis Raber - Senior - Orrville High School - Orrville, Ohio [2009:D2-171-2nd, 2008:D2-152-Q]
2nd place: KF-1 Cody Rodgers - Junior - Mechanicsburg High School - Mechanicsburg, Ohio [2009:D3-171-4th, 2008:D3-152-Q]
3rd place: MH-2 Bryson Hall - Junior - Chippewa High School - Doylestown, Ohio [2009:D3-152-4th]
4th place: OC-1 Kyle Gladieux - Senior - Cardinal Stritch High School - Oregon, Ohio [2009:D3-152-Q, 2007:D3-130-Q]
5th place: MH-3 Matt Meadows - Sophomore - Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy - Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio [2009:D3-152-Q]
6th place: OC-2 Jake Elling - Senior - Liberty Center High School - Liberty Center, Ohio [2009:D3-160-8th]
7th place: OC-3 Xavier Dye - Junior - Patrick Henry High School - Hamler, Ohio [2009:D3-152-Q, 2008:D3-140-Q]
8th place: MH-4 Ken Trusnik - Senior - St. Peter Chanel High School - Bedford, Ohio [2009:D3-140-Q]

Qualifiers
10. HE-1 Jake Cochran - Senior - West Jefferson High School - West Jefferson, Ohio [2009:D3-160-Q]
11. KF-2 Miles Chapman - Senior - Hopewell-Loudon High School - Bascom, Ohio [2009:D3-152-Q, 2008:D3-135-A]
12. HE-2 Jared Wilson - Senior - Amanda-Clearcreek High School - Amanda, Ohio
14. HE-3 Ryan Hotlosz - Senior - Martins Ferry High School - Martins Ferry, Ohio
15. KF-3 Jeff Siefker - Junior - Ottawa-Glandorf High School - Ottawa, Ohio [2009:D3-152-A]
17. KF-4 Jeff Stover - Senior - Calvert High School - Tiffin, Ohio
18. OC-4 Dakota Sheets - Senior - Edgerton High School - Edgerton, Ohio
19. HE-4 Jacob Bresciani - Sophomore - Coshocton High School - Coshocton, Ohio

Challengers
9. MH-5 Pat Meade - Senior - Cuyahoga Heights High School - Cuyahoga Heights, Ohio
13. MH-6 Bobby Mann - Senior - Tuslaw High School - Massillon, Ohio [2009:D3-145-Q]
16. MH-7 Dylan Bender - Junior - Loudonville High School - Loudonville, Ohio
20. KF-5 Trevor Kunk - Senior - Coldwater High School - Coldwater, Ohio
21. HE-5 Derrick Neimeister - Senior - Westfall High School - Williamsport, Ohio
22. MH-8 Bryan Fortune - Senior - Northwestern High School - West Salem, Ohio
23. OC-5 Dylan Howard - Senior - Edison High School - Milan, Ohio
24. HE-6 Scott Robinson - Senior - Johnstown-Monroe High School - Johnstown, Ohio [2009:D3-145-A]
25. KF-6 Chase Kenner - Senior - Upper Sandusky High School - Upper Sandusky, Ohio
26. HE-7 Andrew Crook - Senior - Bellaire High School - Bellaire, Ohio
27. HE-8 Josh Morin - Senior - Harvest Preparatory High School - Columbus, Ohio

The specter of Chris Phillips has created incredible movement in not only his weight class but in the ones directly above and below him. That is no more evident than at this weight class where the supposed lineup of the participants seems to change from day to day. I have incorporated in this report the latest information I have available but I have no doubts that it will change another dozen times. Whether Raber and Dye actually participate here is still to be completely determined but this is where I have rated them.

My choice is the Division 2 state runner-up Dennis Raber. He was a few seconds away from a state title at 171 pounds when Zach Garbrandt broke his heart with points that catapulted him to a 4-3 state title win. Most inauspiciously for Raber, Orrville has been re-classified as a Division 3 school forcing him to make some difficult decisions. He began the year at 189 pounds winning at both Hoover and Smithville over less-than-noteworthy fields. He was at 171 pounds for the Top Gun and lost badly to Utley but indicated that he was moving down to 160 pounds. If he makes this weight class and performs with close-to-normal efficiency he should finish his career as a state champion.

Maple Heights District
Raber leads a very strong district at Maple Heights. Seven of my top fifteen contenders will wrestle at this venue, although several of them may opt for the somewhat easier 171-pound class. Hall was fourth in the state last year at 152 pounds and he is a big-time scorer. In district action he beat his first three opponents by a combined score of 49-9, showing his ability to score from the top position. He was second at Maple Heights, losing to Walters but then went 4-2 in Columbus, losing only to state champ Howe (giving him his closest match) and Walters again. He won at Smithville and the only loss I've recorded (admittedly incomplete) was at the Dies where he finished third. Meadows was a state qualifier as a freshman at 152 pounds but has been at several weight classes this year. With Utley now confirmed at 171 pounds, Meadows will compete here and his second place finish at the Top Gun suggests he will do well. At Medina, as an under-sized 189-pounder, he still managed to finish in fifth place, so he should be able to deal with most of the older boys at this weight class. There are two other state qualifiers here and I favor Trusnik over Mann, though I think it will be close. Both qualified at somewhat lower weight classes, Trusnik at 140 and Mann at 145, and neither was able to gain a state victory. Trusnik wrestles the more demanding schedule and was third at the CIT and fourth at Brecksville, while Mann has done well at smaller tournaments but failed to place at the Dies in a very tough weight class. Trusnik has only a tenuous grip on that fourth spot, as Meade has been on fire. He pinned Cochran at the State Duals and beat Mann at the Dies. Bender and Fortune could qualify at all three of the other districts but they're long shots here. A potential issue is that five of this group - Raber, Hall, Mann, Bender and Fortune - exit the same sectional, meaning one won't even qualify for the district tournament. Look for some movement here.

Owens Community College District
While the other districts are weaker than Maple Heights, they all have a couple of potential high state placers. There are three such wrestlers at Owens, led by Gladieux. He cruised his way through the district last year with three falls and a 12-5 win, then handled Meadows in the first round at Columbus. An overtime loss dropped him into the consolation bracket and he failed to place. He has again been dominating this year, losing only to three-time Division 1 state placer Pierce Harger. Elling was also a state quarterfinalist, losing to Utley but then pinning Cochran in his state placement bout. Dye has been at 171 pounds much of the year but I'm expecting to see him here. Only a junior, he already is a two-time state qualifier but has yet to win a bout in that venue. A state champion in junior high school, I think he is ready to place. Sheets and Howard are possibilities for that fourth spot but it is equally likely that a relatively unknown wrestler will be the fourth qualifier.

Kettering Fairmont District
Two state qualifiers lead the way at Fairmont. Rodgers was a district champ at 171 pounds last year and won four bouts to finish fourth. That last consolation loss prevented him from becoming a seedable wrestler, which would have bracketed him away from Raber assuming he wins the district again. Ironically, he lost to Dye in the state junior high finals, 1-0, and they could well meet here again. Chapman was 1-2 last year at Columbus, drawing Walters in the very first round. Siefker was a district quarterfinalist before losing a 24-14 decision to the eventual state runner-up Burns (that's the kind of bout you like to televise). He worked his way back through the consolation bracket but lost to state placer Rayl. Stover had pretty much the same experience and they would seem to be the best bets for the last two state spots. Kunk and Kramer are other options and I favor the first name should an upset occur.

Heath District
State qualifiers Cochran and Crook lead the way at Heath but I'm not sure how they will match up with the qualifiers from Maple Heights. Cochran was fourth at the Top Gun, losing 2-1 to Meadows a week after being pinned by Meade. Still, he went 1-2 at Columbus last year so you have to figure he'll do better than that this year. Crook qualified at 140 pounds last year and gave Goebel a real battle in the first round, taking him to overtime, but his tournament ended later that Thursday night. He is 20-2 as of this writing, winning for example at Barnesville. That triumph was finished with a 1-0 victory over Kaiser, who I saw as a third choice at this district. A state alternate last year, he seemed ideally positioned. However, he may move to the more difficult 152 pounds, replaced by Hotlosz, who is also good. After this trio the door is wide open with Wilson, Neimeister, Bresciani and Robinson somewhere in the fray.