9/3 - While this year's recruits coming out of Michigan lack the firepower and national recognition of last year's top recruits, they make up for it in depth. The top ten are all very even and many could argue any of the top 7 or 8 to be the #1 recruit in this class. Most of these guys lack big national sucess in Fargo, therefore, few of them sit high in national rankings and most of them sneak under alot of recruiting radars. However, they all have the tools and ability to compete in the college ranks...read below to find out why.
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Scouting Report: Waldo will be vying to become just the 2nd 4x Division 1 State
Champ in Michigan history next year. The only other to achieve the feat: NCAA
Champ and Hodge Winner Brent Metcalf, so he could be in some pretty elite
company. His in-state success has been undisputable throughout his career,
however, until this summer he had very little national expierence. However, after a
busy summer where he wrestled well at the Disney Duals and Junior Duals before earning all-american honors in Fargo, Waldo has proven that he is worthy of blue-chip recruit status. He is slick on his feet and also a good mat wrestler who is much better at folkstyle than freestyle (which makes his Fargo performance more impressive), and the best thing about Waldo is that he should be a lifetime 125lber in college, which is hard to find.
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National Accolades:
Rockford (D1)
119
125
121-3
1st-1st-1st
7th @ 2008 Junior Freestyle Nationals
5-2 @ 2008 Junior Freestyle Duals
11-1 @ 2008 Disney Duals
9-2 @ 2007 Disney Duals
Scouting Report: Elsworth's stock has soared over the past year, starting with a
solid prep season that saw him knock off big names like MSU-bound Bryant Craft
and Richard Kirksey before winning his first state title in March. Then last spring
he finished runner up at the FILA Juniors in freestyle, losing only to nationally
ranked Max Huntler of VA in a three period match. Then, to solidify himself as a
top recruit Elsworth put together a big week in Disney knocking off Ohio State
bound and 9th ranked Cody Magrum of Ohio as well as the #2 ranked sophomore Cody Lamberg of Ohio. He is built well and very athletic for a big man, so Elsworth should be a nice fit somewhere at 184 or 197 and could be argued as the top recruit in Michigan this year.
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Hesperia (D4)
152
157/165
186-6
2nd-5th-1st
11-1 @ 2008 Disney Duals
10-2 @ 2007 Disney Duals
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Hesperia (D4)
160
165/174
185-8
7th-1st-1st
4-2 @ 2008 Junior Freestyle Duals
Scouting Report: While we have Yates at #5 on this list there are many people
out there, with good reason, who would argue him to be the best in this class.
Last year he went undefeated and knocked off 2x D1 state champ Alex Ortman,
who is headed to EMU this fall. This summer he got a taste of some national
competetion as he wrestled at the Junior Freestyle Duals and did well
considering he has little freestyle expierence. His only losses at the duals came
to two Fargo champs in Conrad Polz of Illinois and Scott Winston of New Jersey
and he won a period over Winston, who was one of the top pound for pound recruits in the country last year, so he showed that he can go with the big dogs. While he has been dominant in the state over the past couple years and was solid at the Junior Duals this summer, the only negative on Yates right now is big time national expierence and quality national wins.
Scouting Report: Zeerip has already committed to follow his brother Justin's footsteps and attend the University of Michigan. He finally won his first state title last March and put together a big summer that earned him a spot as one of InterMat's Top 100 recruits. At the Disney Duals he went 11-1 and wrestled some of the best in the country. His lone loss came to Kendrick Sanders of South Dade, FL and he knocked off UNC-Greensboro bound and nationally ranked Richie Spicel of Ohio. He also downed nationally ranked Nick Sulzer of Ohio at Disney. It has never been a doubt that he has the tools to wrestle at the next level and after last summer he has proven that he can compete with the upper-echelon guys...should be a good pick up for Michigan.
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Mason (D2)
140
141/149
164-7
1st-5th-1st
10-2 @ 2008 Disney Duals
2008 Brute-Adidas National Champ
Scouting Report: Eifert has all the tools to compete at the next level - he is very
strong, quick, and technical. While he has competed well at many national events
such as the Super 32s, Brute Adidas Nationals and Ohio TOC,until this summer he
lacked some big time wins over nationally ranked guys. At Disney he knocked off
Soph National Champ Louis Trujillo of New Mexico and PA state champ Cortland
Choate, who was ranked 9th in the country among all divisions. He is good on his
feet with an array of leg attacks and wrestles well on the mat as well. In addition, he is a standout student in the classroom, which is always a plus for college coaches.
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St, Johns (D2)
130
133/141
160-7
1st-2nd-1st
4-2 @ 2007 Junior Freestyle Nationals
3rd @ 2008 Asics Folkstyle Nationals
Scouting Report: Much like Yates there is no doubt that Osterman has the tools to
compete at the next level, however, he is a little overlooked on the recruiting radar as
he has yet to break out nationally. As a sophomore he wrestled well in Fargo, going
4-2 in Junior Freestyle and falling just short of being an all-american, which made
this summer look to be his time to breakthrough. However, he suffered a hand injury
at the Junior Duals which kept him out of Fargo. He gets good grades, is technically
sound and is a mat rat who works hard. He beat some top guys in the state last year
like Schutt and Dormer and there is little doubt that Dan Osterman should be a solid 133/141lber in college.
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Sparta (D2)
171
174
91-5 (10th/11th grade only, 9th grade record unavailable)
X-2nd-1st
12-0 @ 2008 AAU Junior Olympics
5-2 @ 2007 Cadet Freestyle Nationals
Scouting Report: Miller, like many of the other recruits on this list, was pretty dominant in the state last year en route to winning a state title, however, he is still flying under the radar a little due to a lack of natiional exposure. He didnt go to Disney or Fargo this summer, but did wrestle well at the Junior Olympics, picking up a win over MSU recruit and Ohio state champ Kirk Tank. He is tall and could easily fill out his frame so he could wrestle anywhere from 165-184 in college.
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Jackson Northwest (D2)
135/140
141/149
87-15 (9th/11th grade only, 10th grade record unavailable)
6th-X-1st
13-0 @ 2008 Junior Olympics (Oustanding Wrestler)
4th @ 2008 Junior Freestyle Nationals
Scouting Report: The recruit who had the biggest breakthrough summer and gained the most ground on the recruiting scene was without a doubt Mike Leholm. The past year has done alot for Leholm after he didnt qualify for the state tournament as a sophmore. Last year as a junior he won the 130lb D2 state title and came out of nowhere to finish 4th in Fargo at the Junior Nationals. He then followed that up with a perfect performance at the Junior Olympic Freestyle Duals, picking up a win over Sr National All-American Zac Stevens. In Fargo he picked up some impressive wins, including wins over nationally ranked Bret Baumbagh of Iowa and 3x Indiana state champ Josh Harper . He may not be the most athletic kid out there but his hard nosed, gritty style is one that should make him sucessfull at the next level.
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Yale (D3)
135
141/149
167-16
3rd-3rd-1st
13-1 @ AAU Junior Olympics
10-2 @ 2008 Disney Duals
2007 AAU World Folkstyle Champ
Scouting Report: With his short, muscular, compact frame Schutt definitely has the build
of a college wrestler. He really made a name for himself at the Palace last March
winning the D3 state title in a memorable battle over Brown University bound Grant
Overcashier of Goodrich. He looked good at Disney, going 10-2 with a big win over
nationally ranked PA state champ Cortland Choate. He is strong and wrestles out of good position, which makes him hard to score on and has a style that should make the transition to college wrestling relatively smooth.
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Swan Valley (D3)
125
133
2nd-4th-3rd
3-2 @ 2008 Junior Freestyle Nationals
8-3 @ 2008 Disney Duals
4th @ Northeast Freestyle Regional
Scouting Report: Germaine may be the best wrestler in the state who has
not won a state title, but dont let his inability to win in Auburn Hills fool you, this
kid is talented. This summer he went toe-to-toe with some of the best
lightweights in the country at Fargo and showed that he is capable of wrestling
at the next level as he went three periods with 9th ranked Sean Boyle of Blair
Academy, NJ, beating Boyle 7-0 in the 2nd period and scoring an array of
takedowns. He needs more expierence wrestling in big matches, but
Germaine has as much athleticism and talent as anyone in this class. He
moves very good on his feet and has some slick leg attacks. He may not
enter college ready to step in right away but Germaine has the tools to be a solid Division 1 wrestler.
