Gotta tip your cap to Journeymen founder and promoter-extraordinairre Frank Popolizio.

He's been running really solid events like Northeast Duals, Pop & Flo, and Journeymen for years.

But he's outdone himself for the Classic this year. The field is absolutely loaded with over 40 nationally ranked wrestlers from Jersey to Cali.

To put that number (40+) in perspective, last year's Beast of the East had 31 ranked wrestlers.

The Journeymen Classic is also unique in that it features pools, usually of eight. So we can get a snapshot of who will likely hit. With that in mind, here are the Top Ten matches we are most anticipating this weekend.

Action starts Saturday with the Overflo brackets, leading to the main event on Sunday. You can watch in its entirety here on FLO PRO.


#5 - Josh Saunders vs. The Field at 113lbs.
The Story: Saunders is the #1 JR High wrestler in America and enters his 8th grade year with a lot of hype and promise. As just a 7th grader, he had a great showing at 106lbs at FloNationals where he made the blood round. He'll face a stiff test here with ranked wrestlers and state champs from NJ, NY, and PA, but all eyes will be on Saunders to see 'where he's at' in his progression.


#4 - Tyler Warner, OH vs. Nick Raimo, NJ - 120lbs.
The Story: When discussing the best wrestlers in the country, Tyler Warner isn't a name that immediately pops into the mind of most fans. But I'm telling you, Warner is in for a dynamite season where, I believe, he'll flirt with #1 status. The 120lb. bracket here is loaded, so projecting the finalists might be an exercise in futility. 
There are seven ranked wrestlers in the Top 20 and another ranked in his recruiting class. It will be chaos, and it's one of those brackets I can see the finalists coming in with a loss.
That being said, Nick Raimo comes in as a freshman as a star already after winning a Fargo title. What a treat that would be.


#3 - Cadet World Champ, Yianni vs. Fargo Cadet Champ, Sasso
The Story: Yianni is a wunderkind. The World Champ has won just about everything. But the country saw the toughness out of Sasso in his gritty performance in Fargo this year. The way the seedings currently sit, this match-up would occur before the finals. Yianni is a heavy favorite, but this match-up is super tasty. Along with Yianni and Sasso, Grant Aranoff, who beat Sasso in NHSCA finals, is slated to be in their side of the pool.



#2 - Hayden Hidlay, PA vs. Mason Manville, VA
The Story: The #1 and #2 wrestlers in the country, Hidlay and Manville are getting closely acquainted. Hidlay won meetings in both styles at Fargo to signal his arrival atop the 152lb pecking order. They could meet here, and then they have a date at Who's #1 in three weeks. But also not that Manville will have to get past #7-Kyle Lawson to reach Hidlay.



#1 - Nick Suriano, NJ vs. Vitali Arajau, NY
The Story: How do you top a #1 vs. #2 match-up? A dash of superstar, a pinch of enigma, a smidge of border war. Suriano has been undoubtedly one of the hottest names on the high school scene for four years now. He enters his senior season with three state titles and not a single regular season loss. The intrigue, in addition to Arajau being really damn good, is that we haven't seen Suriano compete since his state tournament - a time period during which Arajau reached Cadet Trials finals and smoked his way through Fargo. Where is Suriano? How good is he right now? And is Arajau good enough to beat him? What ever happens in those six minutes, wrestling aficiaonados will be glued to this match.