FloWrestling’s 'Who’s No. 1' spotlights nation's best high school wrestlers
KENOSHA, WISCONSIN - FloWrestling created the Who’s No. 1 event in 2013, and for the most part, the nation’s top wrestlers do not dodge the event, in fact – they embrace it. As do many college coaches, some of the many on hand were Iowa’s Tom Brands, former Cornell coach Robb Koll (who just took the head spot at his alma mater North Carolina), and Chris Bono from the host state’s University of Wisconsin.
(Rankings referenced in the article are from Flo Wrestling’s Rankings/Seedings for this event.)
Flo rolled out the mats at UW Parkside’s De Simone Arena in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The crowd was packed deep and ready for a showcase. The action that unfolded left no one wanting their money back.
No. 2 Pierson Manville (State College, PA) stepped on the mat at 145 lbs to face a familiar foe in state rival Kollin Rath (Bethlehem Catholic) in the second match of the night. Rath seemed surprisingly tentative for a man who had two wins over his opponent in their last two meetings (Escape the Rock and AAA state finals), allowing Manville to control the pace for most of the match. In fact, the underdog dominated in the top position, riding Rath for the entire second period. He added an escape point in the third then kept good position and defense on his feet to prevail, 2-0.
Flo’s affair uses the NCAA’s framework with a three-minute first period and riding time. This year, they observed all the new changes, including the three-point takedown. That dynamic certainly made things very interesting in some of these clashes.
The third match on the card gave us a mild upset when No. 2 Joe Sealey (Wyoming Seminary, PA) avenged a loss from the U20 World Team Trials to No. 1 William Henckel (Blair Academy, NJ). Sealey, who is known as a takedown artist, used a takedown on a sweet shot a minute into the match to gain the edge he needed. Henckel escaped in the first, and from there, the two would trade escapes, with Henckel getting off a quick shot after his third-period escape, only to see Sealey somehow fend it off, despite having him close to succumbing. Sealey prevailed, 4-2.
The third, and final upset occurred at 195 in a Battle of Homegrown Titans with No. 1 Connor Mirasola (West Bend West, WI) staring down No. 2 Aeoden Sinclair (Milton, WI). This, given its local implications, was the night’s main event and final match of the slate. After a scoreless first, Sinclair rode his Askren Academy Club teammate out for the entire second frame.
Sinclair chose the bottom for the final period. Mirasola took the optional start position, then let Sinclair up. It looked like it could go Mirasola’s way when he executed a slick shot, but Sinclair was quick on the reattack to get his own takedown, then locked down riding time for the 5-1 victory.
At 170, No. 1 Angelo Ferrari (Melissa, TX) fought off a couple of close takedowns from No. 2 Ty Eise (Ponderosa, CO), to end up securing one of his own plus adding riding time to his tally, for a 5-1 win, to start the boys’ competition off. The girls had an afternoon slate, which we have listed results for after the article.
The wildest and most entertaining bout took place in the middle of the night at 126. Bout No. 6 featured a 2022 World Silver Medalist in Freestyle, No. 1 Jax Forrest (Bishop McCort, PA) toeing the line with a 2023 World Gold Medalist in Greco Roman, No. 4 Jordyn Raney (Union County, KY).
Initially, Forrest’s Freestyle work was paying dividends as he rallied from Raney’s early takedown in the first period to end with a 10-6 lead. The two would go on to post 33 total points in a match that looked one-way in the favor of Forrest when he built a 12-6 lead with a reversal in the second only to see Raney escape and then secure a takedown to cut the lead to two, 12-10.
The final frame kept the chaos coming, Raney went on the defense and posted a quick escape. Forrest came out ahead of a scramble on the edge for a 15-11 lead. Another Raney escape led to another takedown with 33 seconds left. From there, Raney rode Forrest out to force overtime, which ended relatively quickly on a pass-by for Forrest and the 18-15 win.
Two matches later, Daniel Zepeda (Gilroy, CA) reinforced his No. 1 ranking with a dominant performance over No. 2 Bo Bassett (Bishop McCort, PA). Bassett had moments when he looked like the wrestler we expect, but in the grand scheme of things, he was overpowered by Zepeda in this match. A move back down in weight would not be shocking for Bassett, as he looked undersized even against a leaner 138lber like Zepeda.
The match started with perhaps the craziest scramble of the night, unfolding with Zepeda securing a takedown 40 seconds in, then catching Bassett on his back in a subsequent series to take a 6-0 lead. Bassett did escape and then got a takedown of his own in the first period, which ended with Zepeda on his feet after an escape.
Bassett chose bottom for the start of the second, and after a reversal, things were looking up. From this point on, Zepeda went into overdrive to spoil Bassett’s night, escaping and securing a takedown in the middle frame for an 11-6 edge. Bassett would add an escape in the final period during an onslaught from Zepeda that saw him put seven points on the board for an 18-7 lead before he registered the fall with three seconds left, 6:57.
The most exciting finish took place in the Co-Main Event with No. 1 Anthony Knox (St. John Vianney, NJ) squaring off with a grappler from the same state in Blair Academy’s No. 2 Leo DeLuca. For most of the match, it looked like DeLuca would be taking the No. 1 spot at 120 lbs.
The match was tight, but DeLuca was in the driver’s seat until the end. DeLuca was ahead 3-2 but had a riding time point on the table going into the third, but, just 1:03, so he wisely chose neutral so as to not allow Knox to get his riding time under a minute. All was going to plan until Knox caught DeLuca in a bad position with 15 seconds left and posted a takedown that ended with four back points, and a 9-3 win.
No. 1 Cody Merrill (Gilroy, CA) was a machine at Fargo and kept that precision rolling here at 220 as he cruised to a 14-3 major decision of No. 2 Sawyer Bartelt (South Dade, FL). Four takedowns and over two minutes of riding time paced the Merrill Machine in Kenosha.
No. 1 Ben Davino (St. Charles East, IL) is a machine in his own right. His only loss in recent times was at the U17 Worlds. Some of his wins in the last twelve months include Forrest, Mason Gibson (Bishop McCort, PA), and Marc-Anthony McGowan (Blair Academy, NJ).
Davino used a quick single-leg takedown to secure an early lead over No. 2 Kyler Larkin (Valiant Prep, AZ). Larkin escaped to end the 132lb bout with a 3-1 score going into the second period. The two would each post escapes the rest of the way with Davino ending as the victor, 4-2.
Former World Silver Medalist, No. 1 Christian Castillo (Valiant Prep, AZ) won a 113lb showdown with incoming freshman Paul Kenny (Christian Brothers Academy, NJ), who just captured a 48 KG (roughly 106lbs) U17 World Title. Kenny is Flo’s No. 1 106lber.
Time will tell where Kenny will fall for the season, but on this night, he fell to Castillo, 4-1, in a match that needed overtime to be decided. Lots of action somehow equaled no points, even after both grapplers looked to have gained an edge. The 1-1 score at the end of regulation was credited to escapes for both. About 30 seconds into OT, Castillo hit a go behind after catching Kenny on his knees.
Boys’ Box Results (matches listed in order of competition):
170-Angelo Ferrari Allen, TX (Texas) DEC Ty Eise Parker, CO (Colorado), 5-1
145-Pierson Manville State College, PA (Pennsylvania) DEC Kollin Rath Bethlehem, PA (Pennsylvania), 2-0
160-Joe Sealey High Point, NC (Pennsylvania) DEC William Henckel Blairstown, NJ (New Jersey), 4-2
113-Christian Castillo Glendale, AZ (Arizona) DEC Paul Kenny NJ (New Jersey), 4-1 SV
132-Ben Davino ST CHARLES, IL (Illinois) DEC Kyler Larkin Gilbert, AZ (Arizona), 4-2
126-Jax Forrest Chapel Hill, NC (Pennsylvania) DEC Jordyn Raney Sturgis, KY (Kentucky), 18-15 SV
220-Cody Merrill Ontario, CA (California) MD Sawyer Bartelt Miami, FL (Florida), 14-3
138-Daniel Zepeda Gilroy, CA (California) F Bo Bassett Windber, PA (Pennsylvania), 6:27
120-Anthony Knox Freehold, NJ (New Jersey) DEC Leo Deluca Blairstown, NJ (New Jersey), 9-3
195-Aeoden Sinclair Edgerton, WI (Wisconsin) DEC Connor Mirasola Jackson, WI (Wisconsin), 5-1
Girls’ Results (matches listed in order of competition):
100-Madison Nieuwenhuis Vicksburg, MI (Michigan) VPO1 Rianne Murphy Crown Point, IN (Indiana), 2-2
127-Taina Fernandez Bowie, MD (Maryland) VSU Carley Ceshker Genoa City, WI (Wisconsin), 10-0 2:57
138-Kaidance Gerg Meridian, ID (Idaho) VPO1 Valerie Hamilton Gridley, IL (Illinois), 6-4
144-Nebi Tsarni Montgomery Village, MD (Maryland) VPO1 May Prado Marietta, GA (Georgia), 10-4
164-Naomi Simon Decorah, IA (Iowa) VFA Alexandria Alli Ashley, OH (Ohio), 6-0 1:12
112-Gabriella Gomez Carol Stream, IL (Illinois) VPO1 Clare Booe FL (Florida), 7-1
117-Isabella marie Gonzales Fresno, CA (California) VPO1 Karlee Brooks Kapolei Hi, AZ (Arizona), 4-4
122-Everest Leydecker (Arizona) VPO1 Aubre Krazer Easton, PA (Pennsylvania), 6-2
132-Haylie Jaffe Toughkenamon, PA (Pennsylvania) VPO1 Cadence Diduch Baileyville, IL (Illinois), 10-2
106-Audrey Jimenez Tucson, AZ (Arizona) VSU Anaya Falcon Yorba Linda, CA (California), 11-0 1:51
