Intermat's take on Illinois for preseason rankings

[dahdah]

106 none

113 #10 Matt Garelli...Fenwick Sr

120 #5 Jered Cortez...Glenbard North So.
#15 Sebastian Pique...Sandburg Jr
#18 Barlow McGhee...Rock Island Jr

126 none

132 #4 Zane Richards...Carbondale Sr
#8 Eddie Klimara...Providence Sr

138 none

145 #5 Bryce Brill...Mt Carmel So.
#11 Kyle Langenderfer...Lincolnway East Jr
#15 Colin Holler...Sandburg Jr

152 #3 Brian Murphy...Glenbard North Jr

160 #5 Max Schneider...Lane Tech Sr

170 #10 Dylan Reel...Washington Sr
#13 Kalvin Hill...Minooka Sr

182 #3 Sam Brooks...OPRF Sr
#9 Jack Dechow...Riichmond Burton Sr
#10 Taylor McGiffen...Alton Sr

195 #4 Gage Harrah...CLC Sr
#5 Steve Congenie...Willowbrook Sr
#9 Brad Johnson...Minooka Sr

220 #1 Josh Marchok...Schaumburg Sr

285 #18 Jeremy Brazil...Vernon Hills Sr

-Pique will certify at 113
-Hill did beat Reel 8-5 at Granite City last year

Teams
#24 Sandburg
#30 Montini
#32 OPRF
#32 GBN

I still say Minooka is the team to beat this year. They are tough 160 and up. The new weights will benefit them. Conversely the new weights hurt CS & GBN. They add a 167lb IESA champ Nathan Gunn who pinned his way thru the tournament. They have the best feeder in the state with their IKWF team and their IESA teams. I think most of those kids stay put because they are way out in Minooka. Not much catholic competition especially since Providence is on the decline.

[barzagar]

Can someone give me Kalvin Hill's resume outside of winning state last year and beating Dylan Reel? He must have some other accomplishments to be ranked that high.

[PapaBearSLIM]

Originally Posted by barzagar

Can someone give me Kalvin Hill's resume outside of winning state last year and beating Dylan Reel? He must have some other accomplishments to be ranked that high.

Can you name 1 other kid with an Illinois state title and a recent win over Reel that is not ranked that high?

In your opinion what else does he need to be worthy of that ranking?

[barzagar]

Originally Posted by PapaBearSLIM

Can you name 1 other kid with an Illinois state title and a recent win over Reel that is not ranked that high?

In your opinion what else does he need to be worthy of that ranking?

Some freestyle success and/or national level tournament placings. Just like everyone else on that list that dahdah posted has. I wasn't trying to be negative; I was curious if there was something that he had wrestled in that I had missed. It just seems odd that a 1x placerwinner/champ would be ranked that high when most of the kids on that list have long freestyle resumes.

I do have a kid in mind who has similar credentials and is not ranked that high.

[PapaBearSLIM]

Originally Posted by barzagar

Some freestyle success and/or national level tournament placings. Just like everyone else on that list that dahdah posted has. I wasn't trying to be negative; I was curious if there was something that he had wrestled in that I had missed. It just seems odd that a 1x placerwinner/champ would be ranked that high when most of the kids on that list have long freestyle resumes.

I do have a kid in mind who has similar credentials and is not ranked that high.

I getcha. I guess the man to ask would have to be Mr. Twister.

Originally Posted by MR TWISTER

You do realize that I am on Intermat's staff and as a result I have the primary input on where and who is ranked from Illinois. Not the final but definetely have signifigant input on where our guys are ranked throughout the year. Because something is dated does not mean it is "always" updated. Because a particular writer signs their name to rankings does not mean they are the only ones that do (or add input) those rankings.

Carbondale, as the father of a wrestler that was nationally ranked every year of his high school career and an All American his last two, I am very much aware of what is required to wrestle the best in the country and to be nationally ranked.

Also in the very beginning I stated that FOLKSTYLE results played a higher importance than freestyle and Greco results for the purposes of this Top Ten ranking. I thought I made that real clear. So what a wrestler did 40 freestyle match after the last folkstyle match of last season. That would not be a tie breaker as much as the results of national and state folkstyle matches. While International accomplishments are mention in each wrestlers bio, a wrestler that does not freestyle like John Starzyk would not be eliminated from consideration for being a Top Ten wrestler in Illinois. That is the criteria every year for the list.

Rankings are not the bible. They are either an individual or a collaborative groups opinions. In all cases head to head plays a significant. While I won't debate or justify on this forum who is ranked or where just realize that if 100 people were asked to rank 10 wrestlers there would in most cases be from 85-100 different ranking opinions. None would be perfect nor would the be wrong. In other words.....Rankings are opinion based. Matches are factual based. Pick your poison as to which to put your faith in.

[james buss sr.]

from what i seen last year i dont think brazil would be in the top 3 or 4 in 3A.

[ddcoach]

When did Brad Johnson transfer to Minooka? I thought he was at Lockport.

[barzagar]

Originally Posted by ddcoach

When did Brad Johnson transfer to Minooka? I thought he was at Lockport.

He didn't. It's a typo.

[Bucksman]

The information I was given has Pique projected at 120. If he drops, that will be captured when it happens.

Kalvin Hill has an Illinois 3A state title in a middle-weight, which is very meaningful. So is a win over Dylan Reel. Due to not really being a FS guy, his national record is not robust. He did finish 4th at the FloNationals this past year - for purposes of reference, the losses were to Speiller and Morelli.

The team ranking looks at things from multiple prongs, not just dual meet. The bigger emphasis to me is on CORE STRENGTH (namely an ability to succeed across platforms - dual meet, normal tournament, big tournament, state tournament). Beyond Hill, Minooka is lacking in big names that can compete well in a big tournament or state tournament platform. If the Illinois Class 3A state tournament was "scored", there is no way Minooka would contend to win. The four teams selected reflect this emphasis.

[Champaign Supernova]

Surprised to see Marchok at #1. He straight up lost to McMurtry in the semis last year. Wouldn't have been surprised if that ref jumped on McMurtrys back before the match ended.