Who’s Number One Boys Preview: U17 World Champions Kenny, Raney highlight impressive lineup
by Savannah Asmann, USA Wrestling
The 2023-24 high school season officially kicks off this Saturday, as FloWrestling will host its popular Who’s Number One all-star event at the UW-Parkside De Simone Arena in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Saturday, September 2.
The nation’s top boys and girls wrestlers battle for bragging rights and No. 1 rankings in this annual event, which will be broadcasted live. The girls card starts at 4:00 p.m. CT, with the boys set for about 6:20 p.m. CT.
Fans can still purchase tickets to see the event live. Floor seats have been sold out, but Bleacher seats remain for $12 each.
For more information on the event, including the broadcast link, visit FloWrestling’s Who’s Number One Coverage page.
The boys wrestling card is sure to be a thrilling event with highly anticipated matchups between some of the best young wrestlers in the country.
Who’s Number One Boys Summaries
(in match order)
170 lbs: #1 Angelo Ferrari, Texas vs #2 Ty Eise, Colorado
The first match of the night bears excitement as Ferrari takes on Eise to kick off Who’s Number One. Ferrari returns to the mat after defeating Braeden Scoles, then Joe Sealey last year in a Who’s Number One four-man bracket. The Texas native has remained undefeated since, winning a Texas state title and committing to wrestle at Iowa in college.
Eise, ranked at No. 18 overall in the class of 2025, has made his way up in the rankings with several top performances that include a Cheesehead title, a 3rd place finish at Super 32, and a fourth place finish at Ironman.
145 lbs: #1 Kollin Rath, Pennsylvania vs #2 Pierson Manville, Pennsylvania
This will be the fourth matchup between the two competitors as Rath has edged out Manville in two of their last three matchups. In the last two matches, only one takedown has been the separation between Rath and Manville. Rath is a 2023 US Open runner-up and a 2022 Fargo All-American.
Manville is coming off of a combined 20-0 record at the Elite 8 Duals, the Journeymen World Classic and Ultimate Duals. Manville placed sixth at the 2023 US Open in freestyle and second in Greco-Roman. He also placed third at Fargo in both styles, defeating several ranked opponents.
160 lbs: #1 William Henckel, New Jersey vs #2 Joe Sealey, Pennsylvania
The Who’s Number One match at 160 lbs features Wyoming Seminary's Joe Sealey and Blair Academy's Will Henckel. These two athletes have a long history that is sure to produce an exciting matchup. They most recently competed at the U20 World Team Trials, with Henckel using a late takedown to emerge victorious.
Henckel is a Fargo champ who has also made the finals of Ironman, National Preps, and the U20 World Team Trials mini tournament. Sealey is a U17 World champ with a pair of titles at both Powerade and National Preps. He plans to wrestle at Penn State following his senior year.
113 lbs: #1 Christian Castillo, Arizona vs #1 (106) Paul Kenny, New Jersey
The matchup at 113 pounds features two opponents with international experience in Christian Castillo and Paul Kenny, both of whom represented Team USA at the U17 World Championships. Kenny, a high school freshman, brought home a World title at 48 kg. He brought down last year's U17 45 kg World champ Dom Munaretto and this year's Fargo champ Grey Burnett at the U17 World Team Trials en route to a World title.
Castillo, a U17 World team member this summer, won a silver medal at the U17 World Championships last year at 48 kg. He had a strong performance at the U17 World Team Trials for the second-straight year and is currently ranked at No. 11 in the class of 2025.
132 lbs: #1 Ben Davino, Illinois vs #2 Kyler Larkin, Arizona (preview)
Larkin and Davino face off at 132 pounds for the fifth match of the night. Davino returns to Who’s Number One after defeating Marc-Anthony McGowan. He defended his ranking at Super 32 a month later, won Ironman in December with another victory over McGowan, and then capped off his junior campaign by winning the U17 World Team Spot in Las Vegas in April.
Larkin enters the bout and aims to take over the No. 1 ranking for the first time. He is coming off of a Fargo title at 132 pounds in freestyle, dominating the field with five technical falls and outscoring his opponents 70-4.
126 lbs: #1 Jax Forrest, Pennsylvania vs #4 Jordyn Raney, Kentucky
The matchup at 126 pounds features two athletes that have met previously in fast-paced, entertaining contests. Jax Forrest, who earned a Fargo title earlier this year, had a strong year in 2022-23 with a U17 World silver medal last summer, a Powerade title, and top-3 finishes at Super 32, Ironman, the U17 World Team Trials, and the U20 World Team Trials.
His opponent Jordyn Raney was last on the mat at the U17 World Championships and brought home a gold medal in Greco-Roman. Raney is also a Fargo champion and All-American, winning the bracket in Greco-Roman and placing fifth in freestyle in 2022.
220 lbs: #1 Cody Merrill, California vs #2 Sawyer Bartelt, Florida (preview)
Merrill and Bartelt are opponents that have become familiar in the past few years. They matched up against each other at the 2022 U17 US Open, each claiming a match. Merrill is coming off of his second Junior National title, having won in freestyle in 2023 and Greco-Roman in 2022. Merrill also won a bronze medal at the 2022 U17 World Championships in Greco-Roman.
Bartelt joins Merrill as a 2023 Fargo National champion in Greco-Roman. He most recently competed at the U20 World Championships. He is committed to Iowa State and has top-three performances at the US Open and U20 freestyle World Team Trials.
138 lbs: #1 Daniel Zepeda, California vs #2 Bo Bassett, Pennsylvania
It’s sure to be an exciting matchup at 138 pounds between Daniel Zepeda and Bo Bassett. Zepeda wrapped a sophomore season with a California state title at 132 and a runner-up finish in freestyle at the Junior National Championships earlier this year.
Bassett moves up to 138 pounds following 57 kg competition at the U20 World Team Trials in early Bassett's titles at Super 32, Ironman, Powerade and the U17 World Championships make him one of the most credentialed wrestlers slated to compete.
120 lbs: #1 Anthony Knox, New Jersey vs #2 Leo DeLuca, New Jersey
The bout at 120 pounds features two New Jersey products in Anthony Knox and Leo DeLuca. The latter is a National Prep champions for Blair Academy and earned his golden ticket to Who's Number One by navigating his way through a challenging Fargo bracket in July. DeLuca outscored his opponents 72-1 at the Junior National Championships.
He matches up against Knox in the pair’s first official match. Knox won his second New Jersey state title earlier this year and added titles from Fargo and Super 32. He was a runner-up at the U17 World Team Trials, falling to U17 World Champion Marcus Blaze in the best-of-three finals series.
195 lbs: #1 Connor Mirasola, Wisconsin vs #2 Aeoden Sinclair, Wisconsin
The final match of the night will be a treat for Wisconsin wrestling fans when Connor Mirasola battles Aeoden Sinclair at 195 pounds. Both products of Askren Wrestling Academy, Mirasola and Sinclair wrestle together often. They met last October at the AWA Duals, with Sinclair claiming the narrow contest.
Sinclair made the finals of Super 32, was undefeated during his high school season, and took home the title at the U17 World Team Trials to secure his spot on the U17 World Team.
Mirasola tallied several ranked victories throughout the year and put together an impressive spring and summer of freestyle that included a fifth place finish at the U20 US Open, a runner-up finish at the U20 World Team Trials and his second consecutive Junior National title.