Quarterfinals set at Boys National Recruiting Showcase; returning champs Mauger, Rairdon, Butler on track

The elite Boys National High School Recruiting Showcase kicked off today with early round action, as the quarterfinals have been set at Hyvee Hall at the Iowa Events Center.

The National High School Recruiting Showcase is an elite tournament with a restricted field, featuring athletes who must meet specific achievement criteria to be included in the field.

All three of the returning champions are on track for a shot at another title: Mack Mauger of Idaho (120), Jackzen Rairdon of Colorado (144) and Albert Butler of Georgia (285).

Mauger, a 2022 Junior Triple Crown winner and the top seed, scored a pin and technical fall on Friday. He will face Ryder Shelton of Victory Wrestling in the quarterfinals in the morning.

Rairdon, who has won the National High School Recruiting Showcase two times already, moved onto the quarterfinals, where he will face Tony Macaluso of the Pueblo County Wrestling Club. Rairdon had a tough battle in the round of 16, edging Ty Saulter of the Summit Wrestling Academy in sudden victory, 2-0.

Butler is in a four-athlete round robin, which will not begin until Saturday morning.

Both of the returning Showcase runners-up have also advanced to the quarterfinals, Koufax Christensen of Iowa (126) and Hudson Rogers of Idaho (170).

Caden Correll of Illinois, a winner of the Brian Keck Preseason Nationals in Grades 9-10 last year, moved up to the Showcase this year and reached the 106-pound quarterfinals, where he will battle Blake Hawkins of the Bear Cave Wrestling Club.

Two other Preseason National champions from Grades 9-10 last year are also in the Showcase quarterfinals,

Adonis Bonar III of MWC Wrestling Academy (190) and Dreshaun Ross of Sebolt Wrestling Academy (220).  Both have their first match on Saturday morning. Ross was a 16U Nationals double champion in Fargo last summer.

Mauger’s 120 pounds is the weight class with the most state champions registered with 17. There was an upset in the round of 16, as two-time Idaho state champion Talen Eck of Team Idaho WC knocked off Iowa state champion and No. 2 seed Jake Knight of the Sebolt Wrestling Academy, 6-4 in sudden victory.

The quarterfinals will begin at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday morning.

The Showcase, which is held alongside the Brian Keck Memorial Preseason Nationals, is broadcast live by FloWrestling.

BOYS NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL RECRUITING SHOWCASE

At Des Moines, Iowa, October 27, 2023

Quarterfinals pairings

106 pounds

Royce Malone (Monrovia Youth Wrestling Club) vs. Jayden Grijalva (South Central Punisher Wrestling)

Caden Correll (Illinois) vs. Blake Hawkins (Bear Cave Wrestling Club)

William Du Chemin (First There Training Facility) vs. Aiden Hahn (Thoroughbred Wrestling Academy)

Mathew Prine (Moen Wrestling Academy) vs. Cole Caniglia (MWC Wrestling Academy)

113 pounds

Thiago Guardiola (Wisconsin) vs. Abdirahman Unle (MWC Wrestling Academy)

Nolan Brown (Big Game Wrestling Club MT) vs. Cale Vandermark (Moen Wrestling Academy)

Mikey Ruiz (Canyon Randall High School Wrestling) vs. Zachariah Morse (Team Champs Wrestling Club)

Mason Shirk (Big Game Wrestling Club) vs. Mac Crosson (Sebolt Wrestling Academy)

120 pounds

Mack Mauger (Team Idaho Wrestling Club) vs. Ryder Shelton (Victory Wrestling)

Justin Jones (Virginia) vs. Louis Gill (Pennsylvania)

Elijah Lowe (Lake Gibson High School Wrestling) vs. Tyson Roach (Bronco Wrestling Club)

Deven Casey (Izzy Style Wrestling) vs. Talen Eck (Team Idaho Wrestling Club)

126 pounds

Caio Aron (Boneyard Wrestling Academy) vs. Koufax Christensen (Sebolt Wrestling Academy)

Jaxton Packer (Team Idaho Wrestling Club) vs. Keyan Hernandez (Team Champs Wrestling Club)

Gianni Bottone (Reverence Wrestling Club) vs. Michael Lopez (Black Fox Wrestling Academy)

Joshua Vazquez (Cory Clark Wrestling) vs. Wyatt Unser (Victory School of Wrestling)

132 pounds

Jayce Luna (Sebolt Wrestling Academy) vs. Anthony Harris (The Empire Wrestling Club)

Maksim Mukhamedaliyev (Izzy Style Wrestling) vs. Damien Reyes (Goldman`s Wrestling Academy of the Rockies)

Zachary Parisi (Izzy Style Wrestling) vs. Noah Keen (Spartan Wrestling Club)

Maximus Brady (Florida) vs. Ryan Rider (Moen Wrestling Academy)

138 pounds

Garrett McChesney (McChesney Grappling Academy) vs. Emmett Nelson (Askren Wrestling Academy

Gabriel Romans (Best Trained Wrestling) vs. Blake Cosby (Michigan)

Cadyn Wild (Big Game Wrestling Club) vs. Tyson Brown (Nebraska)

Nathaniel Ruiz (Canyon Randall High School Wrestling) vs. Maverick Mueller (Waconia Wrestling Club)

144 pounds

Evan Gosz (Alber Athletics Wrestling Club) vs. Dylan Bratt (Chickasha Wrestling)

Landon Desselle (Spartan Wrestling Club) vs. Billy Greenwood (GRIT Athletics Wrestling Club)

Carson Weber (Illinois) vs. Jaydon Robinson (Victory Elite Wrestling)

Tony Macaluso (Pueblo County Wrestling Club) vs. Jackzen Rairdon (Bear Cave Wrestling Club)

150 pounds

Isaak Chavez (Goldman`s Wrestling Academy of the Rockies) vs. Gil Mossburg (Ascend Wrestling Academy)

Jadyn Johnson (Cardinal Wrestling Club) vs. Logan Trenary (Moen Wrestling Academy)

Brandon Dean (Force Wrestling Club) vs. Mercer Ashley (Cardinal Wrestling Club)

Caleb Juarez (Caprock High School Wrestling) vs. Carlos Valdez (Team Idaho Wrestling Club)

157 pounds

Kaden MacKenzie (Team Idaho Wrestling Club) vs. Jack Lewis (Sebolt Wrestling Academy)

Malachia Harris (Kentucky) vs. Cooper Zickefoose (Claremore Wrestling Club)

Zyon Trujillo (Gold Rush Wrestling) vs. Bronson Baxter (Spartan Mat Club)

Luke Swanson (Pinnacle Wrestling Club) vs. Brandon Ploehn (Stallions Wrestling Club)

165 pounds

Logan Cole (Montana) vs. Patrick Kubisa (Minnesota)

Gunnar Mullen (Park Wrestling Club) vs. Tanner Hodgins (New Jersey)

Ezekiel McEwen (Mat Demon Wrestling Club) vs. Owen Uppinghouse (Illinois)

Anthony Garcia (Team Champs Wrestling Club) vs. Charles Petit (MN Elite Wrestling Club)

175 pounds

Hudson Rogers (Team Idaho WC) vs. Caden Wilson (Tri-City Tyrants)

Jayden Ford (Maize WC) vs. Jay Everside (Tennessee Wrestling Academy)

Toren Vandenbush (Askren Wrestling Academy) vs. Ryan Beirne (Right Coast Wrestling

Rhett Briggs (South Central Punisher) vs. Owen Wasley (Victory School of Wrestling)

190 pounds

Adonis Bonar III (MWC Wrestling Academy) vs. Kyler Scranton (Big Game WC)

Owen Burling (Askren Wrestling Academy) vs. Sam Andres (Nebraska)

Damarion Ross (Iowa) vs. Leonardo Tovar (Izzy Style Wrestling)

Max McWilliams (Calvary Chapel HS), bye

220 pounds

Dreshaun Ross (Sebolt Wrestling Academy), bye

Asher Sheldon (Izzy Style Wrestling) vs. Kyle Olviera (Stonghold Wrestling)

Ronnell Parker-Borrero (FordDynasty WC), bye

Jake Fernandez (Platte County WC) vs. Ronan Wunsch (Maize WC)

285 pounds (Round Robin)

Albert Butler (Level Up Wrestling Center)

Gabriel Garibaldi (New York)

Koen Mattern (Lake Stevens WC)

Zack Chatman (Alabama)