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Discussion Topic: Maddox Shaw and Vince Bouzakis
Drew Taylor added to this discussion on July 18, 2024
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The OSU middleweight recruits competed at Fargo in junior freestyle, and both performed well.
Shaw was third at 150, losing a tight semifinal to Oklahoma State commit Landon Robideau. This was a rematch of a Super 32 final won by Shaw. Nice little rivalry brewing.
Bouzakis rolled to the semifinals at 157 before defaulting to sixth. Maybe he’s hurt. Would have enjoyed watching a potential final against Bishop McCort phenom Melvin Miller.
Shaw and Bouzakis are excellent gets. Maybe not at the level of Mendez or Welsh, but close. Both are dynamic on their feet and can score in a variety of ways. Expectations should be high.
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Discussion Topic: Maddox Shaw and Vince Bouzakis
Nick Lecklider added to this discussion on July 21, 2024
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I am excited about both these kids being buckeyes. Fargo made me realize how weak Ohio has become and how important Pennsylvania has to be for the buckeyes.
There are currently two high schoolers even ranked in the top ten in a weight class from Ohio. Blaze and Burnett who may not even keep that ranking after a bad Fargo. Burnett did not place in a weight class where his teammate Dodd got second place.
20 years ago Ohio had handful of guys who were ranked one or close to one all at the same time. Palmer, Schlatter, Steve Luke, Pucillo, Jaggers, Dennis, Johnstone, Doggett just off the top of my head. Ohio just isn’t what it once was.
Other than Blaze I’m not sure there is another high schooler in state that would add much value to the buckeyes lineup. The jury is still out for Burnett imo. Feister brothers haven’t been tested in years and wrestling is a distant priority to them. They both have literally pinned or teched every opponent for last few years. Their nfl dreams will probably keep them from even finishing four years of wrestling in high school. Also they want to get big for football so one of them going 215 might not be in the cards after a season or two.
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Discussion Topic: Maddox Shaw and Vince Bouzakis
Drew Taylor added to this discussion on July 21, 2024
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Who are the Feister brothers? My ignorance is another sign of how far Ohio has fallen in high school wrestling. I should know them.
Ohio State at the time Russ Hellickson left was considered a great job in part because the recruits in the state were so good. Nick mentioned most of them.
The declined in talent is pronounced. The last blue chipper before Blaze was maybe Carson Kharchla or Jordan Decatur.
That the Buckeyes continue to recruit as well as almost any program is a testament to Tom Ryan, Anthony Ralph, and the others.
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Discussion Topic: Maddox Shaw and Vince Bouzakis
Nick Lecklider added to this discussion on July 21, 2024
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The Feister brothers go to Hoban.
The older one will be a sophomore next year. Freshman season he went 31-0 and all pins and tech falls. He was projected heavyweight champ that got injured at sectionals. He won junior high titles as a 6 7 and 8 grader and completely dominated. Won the trinity award for winning three national tournaments and never had a close match.
The younger one is going to be a freshman. He dominated the last two junior high state tournament also by pinning and tech falling everyone. As a 7th grader he beat Zmorowski badly in the finals. One year later Zmoroski nearly won a high school title as a freshman. Needless to say both Feisters are very good.
Hoban is a nationally ranked football program and that is why they go there. As a freshman Feister played both ways. They are down to only wrestling a few months a year now and really want to concentrate on football. It’s probably only a matter of time before they give up wrestling completely if I had to guess. And with them both wanting to get big for football only one could wrestle heavyweight anyway, and cutting weight may not be the best for them. Hopefully they stick it out but we will never see them at an Ironman bc they will always make deep playoff runs in football. I would love to see them against some of the best guys.
Paddy Gallagher was the top recruit in his class you forgot about also.
If Sammy comes back next year half the lineup will be from Pennsylvania. I can only imagine if Tom Ryan was at Ohio State during the Hellickson era what kind of teams he may have been able to build. Heck he was able to get Pucillo one of the best to commit to Hofstra. Pennsylvania was also much easier to recruit during the Hellickson era.
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Discussion Topic: Maddox Shaw and Vince Bouzakis
Drew Taylor added to this discussion on July 22, 2024
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Nick, you never disappoint. Good stuff.
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Discussion Topic: Maddox Shaw and Vince Bouzakis
Nick Lecklider added to this discussion on July 22, 2024
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In just a short period of time Ohio had at least 8 different NCAA finalist during the mid 2000s. Palmer, Jaggers, Luke, Bergman, Schlatter, Miller, Fox, and pucillo. Since 2019 Ohio has had one David Carr.
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Discussion Topic: Maddox Shaw and Vince Bouzakis
Drew Taylor added to this discussion on July 22, 2024
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Add two more. I assume you’re counting 2019. Micah Jordan and Kollin Moore were in the finals that year.
The decline has come despite St. Ed’s and Graham continuing to dominate their respective divisions - albeit with fewer high end DI prospects than in decades past.
Ohio is doing okay. The early 2000s were a golden era that is very hard to sustain.
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Discussion Topic: Maddox Shaw and Vince Bouzakis
Nick Lecklider added to this discussion on July 22, 2024
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Yes I meant since after the 2019 season. To be fair Moore would have been in 2020 however.
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Discussion Topic: Maddox Shaw and Vince Bouzakis
Hank Kornblut added to this discussion on July 22, 2024
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Ohio is diminished. From the 1970s until the mid 2000's, this state always had a big portion of the best talent in the country. Suddenly the bottom has dropped out compared to what it used to be.
1) The decline in NE Ohio talent. The Cleveland/Akron area used to produce massive amounts of studs on the regular and they showed up both at the state meet and the national level. Cinci and Columbus and Toledo are all improved but none have filled the void. We need to see a return to greatness in the NE. St Eds still has a great program but it's no longer in a regular conversation as best in the nation. Wadsworth, Mass Perry and Brecksville have done a nice job. But there is too little
2) The nation has changed. A variety of otherwise pedestrian states have clubs producing superstars. States like Wisconsin have the Askrens. There are a bunch of great clubs (Young Guns) in PA. Where are the great Ohio wrestlers going to train? There are clubs but nothing comparable at the moment except for possibly whatever is going on in Perrysburg. There are quite a few states with better overall club wrestling than we're seeing in Ohio. Why? What is the issue?
I'm spitballing but it's obvious that the depth which made Ohio special is no longer the same. Either that or other states made moves to improve that haven't happened here. In my area, Mike Kulzyki (sp) runs the wrestling factory. Adam Koballa has Arsenal. Eds does their thing. But where is the one place that these kids go to become true superstars? Why haven't we seen more Bo Bassetts and Jax Forrests in the NE? Other than PA, Ohio used to produce these kids. Now?
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