It is that time of year! The State Tournament is more than a month in the books and with all the major post-season National events wrapped up, we will begin putting together our post-season Dream Teams and Class Rankings.
The first order of business is crowning the 2014 Prep Wrestler of The Year. We have 6 finalists this year who were all unbeaten in the State Of Michigan en route to state titles and all excelled at numerous National events last off-season.
Read up on the finalists, let us know who you think should win the Wrestler of The Year Award by taking part in our fan poll, and check back next week to see who wins!
Arthur won his 2nd straight Division 2 State Championship impressively with a 47-0 record and one of the best D2 finals wins of the tournament, holding off Lehigh bound senior Garrett Stehley of Lowell 5-2 in the finals.
Last summer he broke out nationally winning the FILA Cadet National Title in both Freestyle and Greco, which earned him a spot on the Cadet World Team that competeted at the World Championships overseas.
He is ranked #5 in the country by FloWrestling at 182lbs and Intermat has him as the #26 pound-for-pound wrestler in the Junior Class nationally.
In his first and only year of competing in the state of Michigan, Nick Bennett was about as impressive as you can be. He went 43-0 en route to the Division 1 STate Championship at 152lbs and scored all bonus point wins from Districts all the way through the State Finals including a 9-1 Major Decision win over Dom Latora in the finals.
He was stellar nationally as well, winning the Grappler Fall Classic and finishing 3rd at the Super 32 Challenge this fall. FloWrestling ranks him #11 at 152lbs in the Post-Season rankings and Intermat nabbed him as the #83 pound for pound senior in the country.
Garcia finished the season 41-1 with his lone loss coming from an out-of-state foe in Davonte Mahomes of Illinois at the CC Super Duals. Aside from that, he was unbeaten in the state including a pair of wins over nationally ranked nemsis Jordan Cooks of Davison at Team and Individual States. Garcia capped his career as a 3x Division 1 State Champion and has excelled nationally throughout his career, most recently placing 4th at the Super 32 Challenge in October and earning Junior Freestyle All-American honors in Fargo last summer, taking 7th at 170lbs.
He is signed to wrestle at Cornell next year and finishes the season ranked #15 in the country at 170lbs by Flo and the #79 recruit in the country by InterMat.
Zac Hall capped a stellar career in which he became the 18th ever 4x MHSAA State Champion. He did so in dominant fashion, posting a 52-0 career record with a fall, tech-fall, major decision, and 6-1 decision en route to his 4th title. In terms of national competetion, Hall continued to shine winning the NUWAY Freak Show and the GFC last fall and was 5th in a stacked Junior 132lb bracket in Fargo last summer.
Hall is signed to wrestle at the University of Michigan next fall and finishes the season ranked #5 in the country at 138lbs by FloWrestling and is the #15 senior recruit in the country according to InterMat.
Logan Massa cruised through his Junior seasonwith a 51-0 record and his 2nd straight D2 State Title with four wins all by fall at the State Tournament. Injuries kept him out of Fargo last summer, but he still emerged nationally last Spring and this fall. Last spring he was a FILA Cadet National Runner-Up losing only to phenom Aaron Pico and bumped up to FILA Junior age division a few weeks prior, earning All-American honors finishing 3rd
He finishes the year ranked #3 in the country by FloWrestling at 152lbs and is the #2 overall Junior in the country according to InterMat.
Weaver won his 3rd state title with a 57-0 record. In addition to his in-state dominance, he has also shined nationally throughout his career including a 4th place finish at the NUWAY Freak Show this fall and one of the most impressive DNP finishes you will ever see in Fargo. He failed to place in the Junior 132lb bracket, but defeated the eventual National Champ, Seth Gross 11-9.
Weaver will wrestle for the Indiana Hoosiers next fall and finishes his senior season ranked #11 in the country in his weight class by Flo and the #90 senior in the country across all weights by InterMat.
Become a Grappler Gold member and get access to premium Grappler articles and videos. Now only $12.99/month!