Returning champions Mauger, Rairdon, Butler headline field at Boys National Recruiting Showcase this weekend

The Boys National High School Recruiting Showcase returns to Des Moines, Iowa this year, and a talented group of athletes will battle for national titles and All-American honors.

These will be held again at Hyvee Hall at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, Iowa, October 27-28, alongside the Brian Keck Memorial Preseason Nationals.

The National High School Recruiting Showcase is intended to be an elite tournament with a restricted field, featuring athletes who college recruiters will be watching closely. Athletes must meet specific achievement criteria to be included in the field at “the Showcase.” Included are state champions and state placewinners, National Prep champions, NHSCA Nationals All-Americans and USA Wrestling national placewinners from a variety of its age-group events. Competition will be at a high level and fierce.

Three of last year’s Boys National High School Recruiting Showcase champions return to seek a repeat: Mack Mauger of Idaho (120), Jackzen Rairdon of Colorado (144) and Albert Butler of Georgia (285). All three won at a different weight class last year, with Mauger at 113, Rairdon at 120 and Butler at 220. Rairdon will be seeking his third career title at the Showcase, after winning titles at the event when they were held in April 2022 and October 2022.

Mauger is one of the top recruits in the nation, having won the USA Wrestling Junior Triple Crown in 2022. In 2023, Mauger won two of the three legs of the Junior Triple Crown, with titles at the Folkstyle Nationals and the Greco-Roman Nationals, while placing third in the Freestyle Nationals. A senior, he has committed to compete at Missouri.

Three of the October 2022 National High School Recruiting runners-up have returned, and are seeking to win again this year: Koufax Christensen of Iowa (126), William Denny of Illinois (138) and Hudson Rogers of Idaho (170).

Another top national star entered in the tournament is Dreshaun Ross of Iowa, who is entered at 220 pounds. Ross is the No. 30 Pound-For-Pound high school wrestler, according to FloWrestling. Ross won the 16U Nationals in Fargo last summer in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. He was also a 2023 U17 Nationals champion. Ross won the USA Wrestling Preseason Nationals last year in the Grade 9-10 division.

Each year, USA Wrestling tracks the number of state high school champions who have registered for this event. This year, a total of 44 state champions are included in the field at the Showcase.

The weight class with the most state champions registered is 120 pounds, with a whopping 17 state champions entered. Along with Mack Mauger, the other state champions at 120 pounds are Makael Aguayo (Montana), Curtis Carlisle (Washington), Talen Eck (Idaho), Adan Estrada (Washington), Cole Faircloth (Nevada), Louis Gill (Pennsylvania), Mason Gutenberger (Montana), Jace Hedeman (Iowa), Justin Jones (Virginia), Jake Knight (Iowa), Jayden Rinken (Iowa), Tyson Roach (Louisiana), Xavier Rodela (Texas), Ryder Sheldon (Missouri), Kody Tanimoto (Texas Prep) and Dean Wainwright (Illinois).

The full list of state champions registered for the Showcase is below. Three-time state champions include Mauger, Keyan Hernandez of Montana (126) and Ayson Rice of South Dakota (150),

Last year was the first year that the Boys National High School Recruiting Showcase was held alongside the Brian Keck Preseason Nationals, and the quality of the competition was excellent. The boys compete in folkstyle at the Showcase, which is the style in which they wrestle in college. (The Girls National High School Recruiting Showcase is in the spring, and is in their college style, which is freestyle).

There are two other boys high school divisions being held at the Brian Keck Memorial Preseason Nationals, Grades 11-12 and Grades 9-10. There are no prequalification requirements in these divisions.

The Boys National High School will be held on Friday, October 27 and Saturday, October 28.

You can see a live broadcast of the Brian Keck Memorial Preseason Nationals and the Boys National High School Recruiting Showcase live on FloWrestling.

STATE CHAMPIONS REGISTERED FOR 2023 BOYS NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL RECRUITING SHOWCASE

106 pounds

David Hill – Oak Grove HS – 2023 Alabama 1A-4A champion - 106

113 pounds

Gage Lohr – Watertown HS – 2023 South Dakota A champion - 106

Zachariah Morse – Billings West HS – 2x - 2023 Montana AA champion – 113, 2022 Montana AA champion 103

Waylon Rogers – Orange County HS – 2023 Virginia Class 4 champion – 106

Mikey Ruiz – Canyon Randall HS – 2023 Texas 5A champion - 106

Everest Sutton - Crescent Valley HS - 2022 Oregon 5A champion – 106

120 pounds

Makael Aguayo – Billings West HS – 2023 Montana AA champion -103

Curtis Carlisle – Rogers Puyallup HS – 2023 Washington 4A champion – 106

Talen Eck – Thunder Ridge HS – 2x - 2022 Idaho 5A champion – 113, 2021 Idaho 5A champion - 98

Adan Estrada – Toppenish HS – 2x - 2023 Washington 1A champion – 113, 2022 Washington 1A champion - 106

Cole Faircloth – Arbor View HS – 2x - 2023 Nevada 4A champion – 113, 2022 Nevada 4A champion – 106

Louis Gill – Hickory HS – 2021 Pennsylvania AA champion - 106

Mason Gutenberger – Belgrade HS – 2x - 2023 Montana AA champion – 126, 2022 Montana AA champion - 120

Jace Hedeman – Union LaPorte City HS – 2x - 2023 Iowa 2A champion – 113, 2022 Iowa 2A champion - 106

Justin Jones – Orange County HS – 2023 Virginia Class 4 champion - 113

Jake       Knight   - Bettendorf HS – 2023 Iowa 3A champion – 113

Mack Mauger – Blackfoot HS– 3x – 2023 Idaho 4A champion – 106, 2022 Idaho 4A champion – 106, 2021 Idaho 4A champion – 98

Jayden Rinken – Nashua-Plainfield HS – 2023 Iowa 1A champion – 106

Tyson Roach – Sam Houston HS – 2x - 2023 Louisiana D2 champion – 126, 2022 Louisiana D2 champion - 106

Xavier Rodela – Burleson Centennial HS – 2023 Texas 5A champion - 113

Ryder Shelton – Kearney HS – 2x - 2023 Missouri Class 3 champion – 113, 2022 Missouri Class 3 champion - 106

Kody Tanimoto – All Saints Episcopal School – 2023 Texas Prep School champion – 113

Dean Wainwright – Port Byron Riverdale HS – 2023 Illinois 1A champion - 106

126 pounds

Koufax Christensen, Waukee Northwest HS – 2x – 2023 Iowa 3A champion – 120,  2022 Iowa 3A champion – 113

Keyan Hernandez – Billings West HS – 3x – 2023 Montana AA champion – 120, 2022 Montana AA champion – 113, 2021 Montana AA – 103

Cole Krutzfeldt – Lockwood HS – 2023 Montana A champion - 126

132 pounds

Maximus Brady – Mariner HS – 2x - 2023 Florida 2A champion – 126, 2022 Florida 2A champion - 113

Blade Walden – Fort Gibson HS – 2x - 2023 Oklahoma 4A champion – 126, 2022 Oklahoma 4A champion - 113

138 pounds

Marcos Torrez – Toppenish HS – 2x - 2023 Washington 1A champion – 138, 2022 Washington 1A champion - 132

145 pounds

Gabriel Bouyssou – Scituate HS – 2x – 2023 Rhode Island champion – 145, 2022 Rhode Island champion – 145

Landon Desselle - Summit HS – 2023 Tennessee AA champion – 138

Garrett McChesney – Katy Jordan HS – 2022 Texas 5A champion - 132

Jackzen Rairdon – Thompson Valley HS – 2x – 2022 Colorado 4A champion – 120, 2021 Colorado 4A champion – 106

150 pounds

Kaden MacKenzie – Fruitland HS – 2023 Idaho 3A champion – 145

Ayson Rice – Canton HS – 3x – 2023 South Dakota B champion – 145, 2022 South Dakota B champion – 126, 2021 South Dakota B champion – 120

157 pounds

Bronson Baxter – Dumas HS – 2x – 2023 Texas 5A champion – 150, 2022 Texas 5A champion – 145

Zyon Trujillo – Silverado HS – 2023 Nevada 4A champion - 150

165 pounds

Caleb Farrar – Palo Verde HS – 2023 Nevada 4A champion – 144

Ezekiel McEwen – Capital HS – 2023 Washington 3A champion - 170

175 pounds

Ronald Robinson – Desert Mountain HS – 2023 Arizona D2 champion - 175

Hudson Rogers – Gooding HS – 2021 Idaho 3A champion – 132

215 pounds

Jake Fernandez – Platte County HS – 2022 Missouri Class 3 champion - 220

Quinn Funk – Legacy HS – 2023 Colorado 5A champion – 190

Dreshaun Ross – Fort Dodge HS – 2023 Iowa 3A champion - 195

October 2022 Boys National High School Recruiting Showcase champions

106 – Zaiyahn Ornelas (Nebraska)

113 – Mack Mauger (Idaho)

120 – Jacksen Rairdon (Colorado)

126 – Kale Peterson (Iowa)

132 – Vincent Robinson (Illinois)

138 – Alex Braun (Minnesota)

145 – Antonio Alvarado (Illinois)

152 – Christopher Minto (Florida)

160 – Derek Johnson (Kansas)

170 – Brent Slade (Iowa)

195 – Karson Tompkins (Texas)

220 – Albert Butler (Georgia)

285 – Rodney Trotter, Jr. (Texas)