Each year there is always a breakout star who comes in and “wows” the state. Think of Dylan Shelton’s run at the state tournament last year to the finals from the 16 seed. Or Zane Kropman wrestling 12 matches all year and winning a state title, after making the blood round the year before. If those don’t ring a bell, how about Jonny Tutku coming in as an 8th grader and torching the field en route to his state title, or Rory White’s breakout year that earned him a fourth place finish.

Below is a snapshot of some intriguing prospects for this year who could potentially breakthrough another barrier or “level.” Maybe they had strong offseason results and are hitting another level, or perhaps their section was loaded with talent and they’re flying under the radar.

Note that this list isn’t comprehensive, but a few names we’ll be tracking closely throughout the year.

Landon Lee (Herricks – VIII), 215lbs
Outside of incoming freshmen Dominic Darch, Lee is the only non-senior currently in the state rankings where he is ranked 7th. Last year at the state tournament he had a close 7-4 match against state finalist Alex Berisha before ultimately dipping out in the consolations. This summer he attended NHSCA Sophomore Nationals where he earned his second All-American finish at the tournament. It’s a realistic possibility to see him in the state finals this year, and when this weight clears out with the seniors currently in it, he should be a favorite to make a state title run in 2026-27.

Quentin Getzin (Ithaca – IV), 165lbs
Last year Getzin lost in the Section IV finals match to Coleton Owen (Horseheads) in a close 5-3 battle, where Owen would then go on to place 6th at the state tournament. Getzin had been ranked inside the top 8 all year, and Getzin had also previously beaten Owen in ultimate tie breaker. Getzin managed to garner wins over state finalist Jacob Stephenson and other state medalists in Waylan Winseman and Chase Richards. Getzin will enter the year ranked 4th at 165lbs in what is his last dance, and could be well positioned to make a state finals appearance against either Cam Howard or Griff LaPlante.

Matt Peterson (Islip – XI), 126lbs
Peterson has turned into a top 5 freshman in the state and is currently ranked 12th in the state at 126lbs. Last year Peterson would take 4th at the Section 11 tournament where the two reps that were sent to Albany ended up placing 3rd and 6th. Peterson is now ranked 2nd in Section 11 at 126lbs and looks poised to make a run at the state tournament in a deep weight and deep section as just a freshman. He should be no stranger to a tough schedule, so it’ll be interesting to see how things play out in his freshman campaign.

Andrew Poh (Valley Stream North – VIII), 126lbs
Poh made the blood round of the Division I state tournament last year in what was a loaded 116lbs bracket with 4 D1 college commits. Shortly after Poh would earn NHSCA All-American honors, and in doing so knocked off a New Jersey wrestler who took 3rd at the state tournament. Poh would then have a great Journeymen Fall Classic where he finished 6th, and in doing so soundly beat Vinny Mastrianni 10-4. He seems to have made significant strides this summer, and looks poised to have a great senior year.

Brody O’Hern (Chenango Forks – IV), 103lbs
Those that pay attention to New York wrestling know that Brody O’Hern has been an elite mainstay on the junior high circuit for a number of years, and now he will be competing against the big boys now. He recently went 8-2 in the freestyle portion of 14U Duals this summer. O’Hern has historically wrestled 85lbs over the last year and will need to get above 95lbs to be able to compete. O’Hern should be a favorite to qualify for the state tournament in Section IV, and it’ll be interesting to see how he competes at tournaments like Windsor over Christmas Break against some of the best in the state.

Joe Scott (Letchworth – V), 138lbs
The sophomore comes into the season having already placed three times at the state tournament (7-6-5) going back to his 7th grade year. Scott came up just short of earning his third NHSCA All-American honors this spring as he fell in the blood round, but quickly redeemed himself at the Journeymen Fall Classic in October when he placed 7th. One of his signature wins came in the consolation bracket, where he beat Bucknell commit and the #160 senior in the country in Antonio Boni.

Scott will compete either at 132lbs or 138lbs this year, and right now D2 has a ton of depth between 126lbs and 144lbs. Any of those weights will be a meatgrinder to navigate, and Scott typically tends to be the only underclassmen battling the seasoned vets. He is certainly capable of making a run this year, and is a tough out for whoever he wrestles.

Yanni Drapaniotis (Unatego-UV-Franklin – IV), 190lbs
Drapaniotis closed out his junior season compiling over 40 wins against 2 losses en route to a third place finish at the D2 state tournament. At one point throughout the year he put together 23 pins in a row before teching the next guy he wrestled, just to rattle off 6 more after that. Drapaniotis just went 2-2 at Super 32 with both of his losses coming to kids who made deep runs in the tournament, and he also soundly beat Judah Heeg, who is currently the #151 senior in the country. He’s certainly a state title contender this year.

Matthias Welles (Waverly – IV), 215lbs
Welles is an interesting guy to watch for a couple reasons this year. Last year on his weight certification he came in at 238lbs before dropping all the way down to 215lbs so both he and Beeman could pack a punch. He spent most of his time ranked 3rd in the state with both of the kids ranked ahead of him having graduated. Ultimately he would get sidelined with a season ending injury that happened in the finals of Southern Tier against Mason Depew.

Looking at the trajectory of Welles, he made the blood round of the state tournament at 189lbs as an 8th grader before finishing 6th at 215lbs as a freshman. He was beating upperclassmen at big boy weights while still in middle school, and torching his way through a competitive D2 Section IV tournament. Welles looks better positioned on the scale this year as he came in at 219lbs on his certification just a week ago, and could be in a solid position to win two consecutive state titles to close out his high school career.

Kevin Vasquez (Kings Park – XI), 157lbs
During the 2024-25 season Vasquez put together a solid junior campaign that saw him rattle off more than 30 wins against 3 losses while battling through a tough Section XI schedule in Division I. Both of the Section XI reps at the state tournament in John De La Rosa and Kingston Strouse would end up finishing 5th and 6th, a testament to the depth of Section XI. Kings Park has now dropped to Division II this year, where Vasquez now sits ranked in the top 8 of his respective weight to start the year. He should be in a great position to place at the state tournament, and if he ended up making the finals that wouldn’t be shocking.

Kade Mustin (Oxford-Greene – IV), 132lbs
The Section IV tournament last year at 124lbs was a treat for spectators, nerve-racking for parents, and an absolute monster to navigate for every wrestler. The three reps out of Section IV ended up placing 1st, 3rd, and 7th at the state tournament which is absolutely ridiculous. Lucas Hoffman, who took 7th, beat Jason Canedo (Deposit-Hancock) 1-0 to qualify for the state tournament, and Canedo beat Mustin in a closely contested bout.

Now let’s talk about Kade Mustin. Mustin was just a freshman last year where he managed to pull together a 37-10 record with 7 of those losses coming to returning state medalists. Then at the Section IV tournament in the 5th place match, he beat Logan Bellis, who took 3rd at the state tournament the year prior. With a summer under his belt, would love to see what Mustin has in the works for his sophomore campaign. He could very well be poised for a breakout year, and assuming he breaks through Section IV, he could do some real damage at the state tournament.

Ben Weinstein (Horace Greeley – I), 190lbs
Section I has been notorious for having great upperweight depth over the course of the last few years. Last year was no exception as 190lbs featured Barron Ransom, Salvatore DiSenso, and Dylan Shelton. Weinstein ended up pinning Ransom for 3rd place at the Section I tournament, and Ransom had previously beaten highly ranked individuals in Zack Filip, Jared Marine, and Sal DiSenso earlier in the year.

Weinstein had a solid year too – he put together a record of 22-5 and two of those losses were medical forfeits. It’ll be interesting to see what comes of Weinstein this year, but Dylan Shelton proved last season that you can go from taking 5th in Section I to making the state finals a year later. Perhaps Weinstein will be the next, and he’s definitely on our radar of kids who can make it happen.