#WomensWednesday: Six high school round robin matchups we would like to see soon
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Samara Chavez photo from WreaperWrestling; Mia Palumbo photo from Chicago Tribune/Illinois Matmen; Cristelle Rodriguez photo from United World Wrestling
One of the great things about having rankings is that it gives wrestling fans, athletes and coaches a chance to consider exciting possible match-ups among talented athletes from all across the nation.
Sometimes, a head-to-head match between the top two athletes in the rankings can create great interest. There is often some discussion and controversy about who actually should be the No. 1 wrestler in the nation at a specific weight class. A one-on-one showdown might help answer that question.
However, when there is great talent at the top of a weight class, it might be better if it was actually a round-robin competition between the top three athletes. We looked at the most recent National Girls High School rankings and picked out six weight classes where it would be really cool to see a round robin battle to sort it all out for good. As some athletes are still establishing their weight class for the year, we might need to find a catch-weight in some cases. Until we have big events in 2021 like Folkstyle Nationals, National Duals and/or Fargo, we might need to cook up another way to get them all on the mat at the same time.
100 pounds
1. Sterling Dias, junior, Las Vegas, Nev., SLAM Academy
2. Alex Szkotnicki, sophomore, Riva, Md. Calvert High School
3. Paige Morales, sophomore, Clovis, Calif., Central High School
Why: There are lots of opinions on who should be No. 1 at this weight. The top three are all hammers. Dias is a two-time Cadet World medalist. Morales was a U15 Worlds finalist. Szoktnicki was on 2019 Cadet World Team, and won the Vorobeya Cup in Russia. There is some history here. Morales had a 2019 win over Dias in a high school tournament. Dias and Szkotnicki split their bouts at the Western State Championships this summer, with Dias winning in folkstyle and Szkotnicki winning in freestyle. Dias won Super 32 at 103, while Szkotnicki was the Super 32 champion at 97 pounds. Morales has not wrestled as much lately as the other two. A round robin would be a big test, to see if anyone can beat the other two back-to-back.
106 pounds
1. Olivia Shore, senior, St. Paris, Ohio, Miami East High School
2. Sage Mortimer, senior, Mapleton, Utah, American Leadership Academy
3. Nyla Valencia, junior, Morgan Hill, Calif., Ann Sobrato High School
Why: Shore is No. 1 here, after getting down to 108 and winning Super 32, with a victory over Valencia there. Mortimer is new to this weight, a 100-pounder last year who has wrestled up all summer. Shore was a 2018 Cadet World Team member. Mortimer made the 2019 Cadet World Team. All three were state high school champions last year. Mortimer made her name with multiple titles in Fargo over the years. Most recently, Moritmer lost her Who’s #1 bout against Mia Palumbo, who is now ranked at 112 pounds. It would be fun to put these athletes in a round robin to see how their styles match up.
112 pounds
1. Samara Chavez, senior, Arlington, Texas, Arlington Martin High School
2. Mia Palumbo, senior, Oak Lawn, Ill., Richards High School
3. Cristelle Rodriguez, junior, Fresno, Calif., Buchanan High School
Why: Of the three, Chavez has been the most active since last year, wrestling in events all summer. This fall, at the UWW Juniors, Chavez lost to Salyna Shotwell, who is ranked up at 117 for now. The next day, Chavez made the U23 Nationals finals, with wins over some tough college wrestlers. Palumbo won both Cadet and Junior National titles in 2018, then missed the 2019 season with injury. She got back on the mat recently, looking strong at a duals event this summer, then winning bouts at the Rumble on the Rooftop, then Who’s #1. Rodriguez has won the California state title two straight years, and was a 2019 Cadet World silver medalist. It might matter what style this round robin was in, because the outcome might be different in folkstyle than it would be in freestyle.
138 pounds
1. Chloe Ogden, senior, Geneva, Fla., Lake Highland Prep High School
2. Korina Blades, junior, Broadview, Ill., Wyoming Seminary (PA)
3. Skylar Hattendorf, junior, Hookset, N.H., Bow High School
Why: This round robin would feature three athletes who have all spent time as No. 1 in the National Girls High School rankings within the past year. Ogden is the one who has come on strong lately, winning Super 32 at 139, then placing third at the UWW Juniors at 141. Blades, who had been No. 1 at 128 pounds for a long stretch, was moved into this weight class after going up in weight this year. She went 4-0 at the recent Sunshine Preseason Duals at 138. Blades boasts a U15 World title from 2019. Hattendorf was a 2019 Cadet World silver medalist. She wrestled as high as 152 pounds this summer. At Who’s No. 1, Hattendorf went up in weight to wrestle another hammer, Kylie Welker, and was injured in the event. Bring all three of these young women together at the same weight and with all three healthy, and it would be a great scrap.
152 pounds
1. Amit Elor, Concord, Calif., junior, College Park High School
2. Cheyenne Bowman, senior, LaHabra, Calif., Rowland High School
3. Lillian Freitas, junior, Modesto, Calif., Wyoming Seminary (PA)
4. Destiny Rodriguez, sophomore, West Linn, Ore., West Linn High School
Why: At this weight, we ask to extend the round robin to four athletes. The top three ranked wrestlers are all from California, but have not wrestled recently. Elor, a 2019 California state champion, did not compete in the 2020 California state meet, where Bowman was the champion at 143 and Freitas was champion at 150. Freitas has since transferred to Wyoming Seminary in Pennsylvania, and would no longer be able to face Bowman at the state meet. Elor was a 2019 Cadet World bronze medalist, Bowman was on the 2018 Cadet World Team and Freitas was on the 2019 Cadet World Team. We loop in a young star in Rodriguez, a 2019 U15 World champion who has numerous ranked wins on the high school level the last two years. Bowman beat Rodriguez at this summer’s Freak Show at 155 pounds and Bowman also won Super 32 at 148 pounds. Elor beat Freitas at the 2020 Klippan Open in Sweden. Could anyone here win all three bouts in this round robin?
180 pounds
1. Brianna Staebler, senior, Whitewater, Wis., Whitewater High School
2. Sabrina Nauss, freshman, Brighton, Mich., Brighton High School
3. Brittyn Corbishley, senior, The Woodlands, Texas, College Park High School
Why: This round robin might be a toss-up. Staebler had a great 2019 year, winning 16UNationals and placing fourth at Junior Nationals, and earlier in the summer had a win over Corbishley at the 2019 National Duals. Corbishley has been wrestling often, and has gone up in weight over the summer and beaten some top ranked heavyweights. She won Super 32 at 195, but has competed in the 170’s and 180’s in some summer events. Nauss, a freshman, is new to this high level, but had a big win over Corbishley in the 2020 Preseason Nationals. Staebler went unbeaten at a dual meet event this summer up at 200 pounds. Get them at the same weight class, and a round robin would allow all three the chance to show they are the best right now.
What do you think? Could we turn this into a pretty good event live on the internet?
One of the great things about having rankings is that it gives wrestling fans, athletes and coaches a chance to consider exciting possible match-ups among talented athletes from all across the nation.
Sometimes, a head-to-head match between the top two athletes in the rankings can create great interest. There is often some discussion and controversy about who actually should be the No. 1 wrestler in the nation at a specific weight class. A one-on-one showdown might help answer that question.
However, when there is great talent at the top of a weight class, it might be better if it was actually a round-robin competition between the top three athletes. We looked at the most recent National Girls High School rankings and picked out six weight classes where it would be really cool to see a round robin battle to sort it all out for good. As some athletes are still establishing their weight class for the year, we might need to find a catch-weight in some cases. Until we have big events in 2021 like Folkstyle Nationals, National Duals and/or Fargo, we might need to cook up another way to get them all on the mat at the same time.
100 pounds
1. Sterling Dias, junior, Las Vegas, Nev., SLAM Academy
2. Alex Szkotnicki, sophomore, Riva, Md. Calvert High School
3. Paige Morales, sophomore, Clovis, Calif., Central High School
Why: There are lots of opinions on who should be No. 1 at this weight. The top three are all hammers. Dias is a two-time Cadet World medalist. Morales was a U15 Worlds finalist. Szoktnicki was on 2019 Cadet World Team, and won the Vorobeya Cup in Russia. There is some history here. Morales had a 2019 win over Dias in a high school tournament. Dias and Szkotnicki split their bouts at the Western State Championships this summer, with Dias winning in folkstyle and Szkotnicki winning in freestyle. Dias won Super 32 at 103, while Szkotnicki was the Super 32 champion at 97 pounds. Morales has not wrestled as much lately as the other two. A round robin would be a big test, to see if anyone can beat the other two back-to-back.
106 pounds
1. Olivia Shore, senior, St. Paris, Ohio, Miami East High School
2. Sage Mortimer, senior, Mapleton, Utah, American Leadership Academy
3. Nyla Valencia, junior, Morgan Hill, Calif., Ann Sobrato High School
Why: Shore is No. 1 here, after getting down to 108 and winning Super 32, with a victory over Valencia there. Mortimer is new to this weight, a 100-pounder last year who has wrestled up all summer. Shore was a 2018 Cadet World Team member. Mortimer made the 2019 Cadet World Team. All three were state high school champions last year. Mortimer made her name with multiple titles in Fargo over the years. Most recently, Moritmer lost her Who’s #1 bout against Mia Palumbo, who is now ranked at 112 pounds. It would be fun to put these athletes in a round robin to see how their styles match up.
112 pounds
1. Samara Chavez, senior, Arlington, Texas, Arlington Martin High School
2. Mia Palumbo, senior, Oak Lawn, Ill., Richards High School
3. Cristelle Rodriguez, junior, Fresno, Calif., Buchanan High School
Why: Of the three, Chavez has been the most active since last year, wrestling in events all summer. This fall, at the UWW Juniors, Chavez lost to Salyna Shotwell, who is ranked up at 117 for now. The next day, Chavez made the U23 Nationals finals, with wins over some tough college wrestlers. Palumbo won both Cadet and Junior National titles in 2018, then missed the 2019 season with injury. She got back on the mat recently, looking strong at a duals event this summer, then winning bouts at the Rumble on the Rooftop, then Who’s #1. Rodriguez has won the California state title two straight years, and was a 2019 Cadet World silver medalist. It might matter what style this round robin was in, because the outcome might be different in folkstyle than it would be in freestyle.
138 pounds
1. Chloe Ogden, senior, Geneva, Fla., Lake Highland Prep High School
2. Korina Blades, junior, Broadview, Ill., Wyoming Seminary (PA)
3. Skylar Hattendorf, junior, Hookset, N.H., Bow High School
Why: This round robin would feature three athletes who have all spent time as No. 1 in the National Girls High School rankings within the past year. Ogden is the one who has come on strong lately, winning Super 32 at 139, then placing third at the UWW Juniors at 141. Blades, who had been No. 1 at 128 pounds for a long stretch, was moved into this weight class after going up in weight this year. She went 4-0 at the recent Sunshine Preseason Duals at 138. Blades boasts a U15 World title from 2019. Hattendorf was a 2019 Cadet World silver medalist. She wrestled as high as 152 pounds this summer. At Who’s No. 1, Hattendorf went up in weight to wrestle another hammer, Kylie Welker, and was injured in the event. Bring all three of these young women together at the same weight and with all three healthy, and it would be a great scrap.
152 pounds
1. Amit Elor, Concord, Calif., junior, College Park High School
2. Cheyenne Bowman, senior, LaHabra, Calif., Rowland High School
3. Lillian Freitas, junior, Modesto, Calif., Wyoming Seminary (PA)
4. Destiny Rodriguez, sophomore, West Linn, Ore., West Linn High School
Why: At this weight, we ask to extend the round robin to four athletes. The top three ranked wrestlers are all from California, but have not wrestled recently. Elor, a 2019 California state champion, did not compete in the 2020 California state meet, where Bowman was the champion at 143 and Freitas was champion at 150. Freitas has since transferred to Wyoming Seminary in Pennsylvania, and would no longer be able to face Bowman at the state meet. Elor was a 2019 Cadet World bronze medalist, Bowman was on the 2018 Cadet World Team and Freitas was on the 2019 Cadet World Team. We loop in a young star in Rodriguez, a 2019 U15 World champion who has numerous ranked wins on the high school level the last two years. Bowman beat Rodriguez at this summer’s Freak Show at 155 pounds and Bowman also won Super 32 at 148 pounds. Elor beat Freitas at the 2020 Klippan Open in Sweden. Could anyone here win all three bouts in this round robin?
180 pounds
1. Brianna Staebler, senior, Whitewater, Wis., Whitewater High School
2. Sabrina Nauss, freshman, Brighton, Mich., Brighton High School
3. Brittyn Corbishley, senior, The Woodlands, Texas, College Park High School
Why: This round robin might be a toss-up. Staebler had a great 2019 year, winning 16UNationals and placing fourth at Junior Nationals, and earlier in the summer had a win over Corbishley at the 2019 National Duals. Corbishley has been wrestling often, and has gone up in weight over the summer and beaten some top ranked heavyweights. She won Super 32 at 195, but has competed in the 170’s and 180’s in some summer events. Nauss, a freshman, is new to this high level, but had a big win over Corbishley in the 2020 Preseason Nationals. Staebler went unbeaten at a dual meet event this summer up at 200 pounds. Get them at the same weight class, and a round robin would allow all three the chance to show they are the best right now.
What do you think? Could we turn this into a pretty good event live on the internet?
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