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)