Previewing the Boy's High School division of the 2021 USAW High School National Recruiting Showcase

The 2021 USAW High School National Recruiting Showcase kicks off tomorrow morning in Coralville, IA, with high school boys wrestling. Some of the top wrestlers in the country will be in attendance, looking to impress potential future coaches. The event will be streamed live on Trackwrestling beginning at 9:00 a.m. CST. Below, let’s take a look at some of the big names and contenders in the brackets.

106 pounds
State champions registered as of 3/23 – 3
The 106 pound bracket features two wrestlers currently ranked in the top 10 at 106 pounds by Trackwrestling, No. 3 Aden Valencia and No. 7 Grigor Cholakyan. Both California natives, Valencia is a U15 World champion in both freestyle and Greco-Roman while Cholakyan is a 2019 Fargo 16U All-American in freestyle and Greco-Roman. Last week, Cholakyan placed second at the High School National Recruiting Showcase Arizona qualifier at 120 pounds, while Valencia won the tournament at 106 pounds.

Others to watch in the bracket include Montana state champs Braden Linville and Keyan Hernandez as well as Louisiana state champ Landon Reaux.

113 pounds
State champions registered as of 3/23 – 6
Two more California studs lead the way at 113 pounds with Dominic Mendez and Ethan Perryman, who finished fourth and fifth last year at the California state tournament at 106 pounds. Mendez won last week’s Arizona qualifier at 113 pounds while Perryman took first at 120 pounds. Other wrestlers to keep your eyes on are Michigan’s Marcello Milani, who won the Indiana qualifier at this weight class last weekend and two-time Alabama state champion Yanni Vines.

120 pounds
State champions registered as of 3/23 – 13
Illinois has strong representation at 120 pounds, with 2020 state champion Joseph Fernau and 2020 state third-place finisher Nick Gonzalez coming into the tournament as strong contenders. Fernau is a 2019 Fargo 16U All-American in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. Gonzalez won the Wisconsin qualifier at this weight class last week and was also an 11th-12th grade division champion at the 2020 Brian Keck Memorial Preseason Nationals. Evan Frost of Louisiana, a three-time state champion, and Oregon state champion Dj Gillett are also wrestlers who could make some noise.

126 pounds
State champions registered as of 3/23 – 13
Lehigh commit Carter Bailey of California is a wrestler to watch in the deep 126 pounds weight class. A Super 32 place winner, Bailey won the Utah qualifier two weeks ago and is a 2019 16U Folkstyle Nationals runner-up. Jacob Frost, a three-time Louisiana state champ, will also look to contend for a title. As will Illinois state champion Phoenix Blakely, Oregon state champ Nash Singleton and Indiana qualifier champion Jacob Macatangay of Illinois.

132 pounds
State champions registered as of 3/23 – 14
2020 California state runner-up Damion Elliot will look to reach the top of the podium in Iowa. Elliot won the Arizona qualifier last week. Colorado state champions Dominic Hargrove and Weston Dalton also enter the tournament with the potential to make deep runs. Others to watch include 2019 Minnesota state champion Pierson Manville, who has been in and out of the rankings this year, and Washington state champion Q’Veli Quintanilla, a 2019 Fargo 16U Greco-Roman All-American.

138 pounds
State champions registered as of 3/23 – 17
The 138 pound weight class is absolutely loaded with 17 state champions. Among the front runners are Alabama state champ James Latona, a 2020 Brian Keck Preseason Nationals runner-up, Tennessee state champ Brayden Ivy and Delaware state champ Ethan Gray. Another wrestler to watch is Texas state champ Tagen Jamison, the Kansas qualifier champion.

145 pounds
State champions registered as of 3/23 – 8
Leading the way at 145 pounds is Missouri state champion Kyle Dutton, a 2019 Fargo 16U Greco-Roman All-American. Illinois’s Tommy Curran, the Wisconsin qualifier champion is another hammer in the field. Oregon state champ Daschle Lamer and two-time Utah state champion Avery Allen, the Utah qualifier champion, should not be counted out either.

152 pounds
State champions registered as of 3/23 – 9
California’s M.J. Gaitan, who is currently ranked No. 8 at 145 pounds, will attempt to move up and claim a title at 152 pounds. Gaitan won the Utah qualifier at 152 pounds two weeks ago. Mitchell Mesenbrink, a two-time Wisconsin state champ and Super 32 place winner is also a wrestler to watch. Mesenbrink is a 2019 Fargo 16U All-American in freestyle. 2019 15U World Team member Jayden Colon of Illinois could be a potential dark horse in the bracket. Colon is a 15U Pan Am champion in Greco-Roman and freestyle. Two-time Oklahoma state champion Jose Flores and two-time Montana state champion Drake Rhodes also have the potential to go far in the bracket.

160 pounds
State champions registered as of 3/23 – 12
Michael Caliendo of Illinois is one of the frontrunners at 160 pounds. Caliendo was the Wisconsin qualifier champion and the Brian Keck Preseason National’s runner-up in the 11th and 12th grade division. Two-time New Mexico state champion Alexander Holguin, the Utah qualifier champ at 170 pounds will cut down to 160 and expect to vie for a title as well. Three-time Montana state champion Hunter Meinzen will also be in the hunt.

170 pounds
State champions registered as of 3/23 – 6
Carson Manville, currently ranked No. 13 at 182, is the most credentialed wrestler in the 170 pound field. Manville is a 2018 Cadet World Team member and finished fourth at the Youth Olympic Games in freestyle. He is also a two-time Fargo 16U champion both freestyle and Greco-Roman. One of the wrestlers looking to push Manville will be Brayden Thompson of Illinois. Thompson won the Wisconsin qualifier champion and is a 2019 Fargo 16U All-American. He also won the 2020 Brian Keck Preseason Nationals in the 9th and 10th grade division. Three-time Montana State champ Rylin Burns and two-time Montana state champ Beau Chacon are others to watch in the bracket.

182 pounds
State champions registered as of 3/23 – 5
Two-time Kansas state champ Jared Simma will look to compete for a title at 182 pounds. Simma is a 2019 Fargo 16U Greco-Roman finalist and freestyle All-American. Nevada state champ Caleb Uhlenhopp and Oregon state champ Brook Byers will also be contenders.

195 pounds
State champions registered as of 3/23 – 2
Two-time Colorado state champ Jack Forbes and Florida’s Michael Tal-shahar are the only state champions at 195 pounds. Tal-Shahar is a 2019 Fargo runner-up in freestyle and All-American in Greco-Roman. Others to watch include Noah Wenzel the Wisconsin qualifier and Brian Keck Preseason Nationals runner-up and Raife Smart, the Wisconsin qualifier champion.

220 pounds
As of Tuesday, there were no state champs registered to compete at 220 pounds. Dzhabrail Khurshidov of Illinois was the Wisconsin qualifier champion and is one of the frontrunners entering the tournament. Tyler Crossno of Arkansas, the Kansas qualifier champion and Ian Clifford, the Indiana qualifier champion are also wrestlers of note.

285 pounds
285 pounds is another weight class without any state champions. Illinois’s Apollo Gothard, a 2019 Fargo 16U All-American in freestyle and Greco-Roman, is the Wisconsin qualifier champion and the most credentialed wrestler in the bracket. California’s Emilio Franco, the Brian Keck Preseason Nationals champion in the 11th-12th grade division is also entered. Kansas qualifier champion Aiden Butler of Texas, and the Arizona qualifier champion, Jake Andrews of California, are also potential contenders.