2018 Super 32 Challenge

2018 Super 32 Lightweight Preview

2018 Super 32 Lightweight Preview

Analysis of the field and contenders for the lightweights at this year's Super 32.

Oct 18, 2018 by Willie Saylor
null

Unlock this video, live events, and more with a subscription!

Get Started

Already a subscriber? Log In

We know. The full Super 32 Preview was biblical in length.

Unlock this article, live events, and more with a subscription!

Get Started

Already a subscriber? Log In

We know. The full Super 32 Preview was biblical in length.

Such is the task to do a field with so much talent the proper justice.

To make it more digestible, we've broken it down into light-, middle-, and upper-weights.


WATCH SUPER 32 LIVE ON FLO

Oct. 27-28 | 8:00 AM Eastern


106 Pounds

2017 Finals: Cullan Schriever, IA dec. Richie Figueroa, CA, 4-2

2012 Finals: Nick Suriano, NJ dec. Spencer Lee, PA, 4-3

2007 Finals: Alex Cisneros (CA) dec. Jacob Crawford (VA) 3-2


The Ranked: (13)

#1 - Richard Figueroa (CA) - Cadet World Silver

#2 - Nick Fea (NY)

#3 - Braxton Brown (TX) - State Champ

#7 - Cole Skinner (OH) - 2017 Cadet World 5th

#9 - Jordan Williams (OK) - Fargo Cadet Champ

#10 - Stevo Poulin (NY) - Fargo 3rd

#11 - Alex Almeyda (NJ) - Fargo Runner-Up

#12 - Joseph Fischer (PA) - Fargo JR Champ

#13 - Levi Haines (PA)

#15 - Drake Ayala (IA) - Fargo 4th

#16 - Max Black (CO) - Fargo 5th

#19 - Jack Maida (NJ) - Fargo 7th

#20 - Zachary Espalin (AZ) - Fargo 4th


Other Contenders

8th-Maxximus Martinez, CA - Fargo Champ

8th-Nasir Bailey, IL

Rocco Camillaci, NY - State 5th

Joey Cangro, NJ - S32 Middle School Runner-Up

Dylan Chappell, PA

Alex Cottey, IN - Fargo 7th

Christian Decatur, NC - State Champ

Richard Fedalen, MD - Fargo 5th

Carter Fousek, IA - Fargo Runner-Up

Paul Garcia, NE

Kyle Montaperto, NC - S32 Middle School Champ

Danny Nini, FL - State Champ

Diego Sotelo, IL - State Runner-Up

Gary Steen, PA - State Champ

Jett Strickenberger, CO - 2017 Fargo Cadet Champ

Brett Ungar, NJ - State 6th 

Matt Vulakh, PA - State 8th

Kyle Waterman, PA - State 5th

Hayden Zinken, CA


Commentary:

Figs comes in as the undisputed #1. He’s won Cali States, Akron, and made the finals at Cadet Worlds since his appearance here last year where he lost to Schriever in the finals. He beat Skinner, the reigning World Teamer at the time, 9-1 in Akron.

null

Unlock this video, live events, and more with a subscription!

Get Started

Already a subscriber? Log In


I think Nick Fea is the next best kid in the bracket. We’ll see where he gets seeded. The incoming Wyoming Seminary freshman beat Braxton Brown last month at Waterway Duals.

There are three kids here that I think could make jumps based on now being fully sized 106’s. Stevo Poulin did great in Akron and Fargo and I consider him much better in folk, as evidenced by his performance at the Journeymen Fall Classic. Poulin had some excellent battles with Jordan Williams this summer. Williams didn’t have a great Akron, but a couple months later he was lights out in winning Fargo. Expect him to be a finalist contender.

The third is my darkhorse pick - Jett Strickenberger. He was a Fargo Champ in 2017 at 94lbs but took some lumps at 106 as a Frosh. If he’s full-sized, he’s gonna ‘upset’ some ranked guys. Book it.

I’d like to mention a few others - Maxximus Martinez who won Fargo and was Runner-Up at the Cadet Trials. He’s among the most talented but I think he’ll be much too small.

Martinez won the 85lb middle school division last October, and coming up to the high school ranks with him is Kyle Montaperto. A North Carolina native, Montaperto gave up just one point en route to the 95lb finals last year, where he scored a first period pin. After also going undefeated at VAC duals, it's clear he's one to keep an eye on.

Nomad is very interested in seeing Alex Almeyda, an incoming freshman at powerhouse Bergen Catholic. And let’s see if Levi Haines can keep it rolling. The incoming freshman just beat three ranked foes at Journeymen.

Willie's Picks:  1. Figueroa (CA)     2.  Fea (NY)     3.  Williams (OK)      4. Brown (TX)

5. Strickenberger (CO)       6. Poulin (NY)       7.  Fischer (PA)      8. Almeyda (NJ)

Nomad's Picks:   1.  Figueroa (CA)   2.  Williams (OK)   3.  Poulin (NY)   4.  Brown

5.  Fea (NY)   6. Almeyda  (NJ)  7. Skinner (OH)   8. Montaperto  (NC)  


113 Pounds

2017 Finals: Ryan Crookham, PA dec. Eric Barnett, WI, 2-0

2012 Finals: Ryan Millhof, GA dec. Sean Russell, GA, 1-0

2008 Finals: Devin Carter (VA) dec. Robert Dyar (AL) 9-5


The Ranked (11)

#1 - Greg Diakomihalis (NY) - CORNELL - Cadet Trials 3rd

#3 - Cullan Schriever (IA) - IOWA - Returning Champ

#4 @ 106 - Vince Cornella (CO) - State Champ

#6 - Jacob Moran (IN) - INDIANA - NHSCA Champ

#8 -  Sam Latona (AL) - VIRGINIA TECH - Returning 7th

#9 - Logan Agin (OH) - State 3rd

#10 - Dustin Norris (OH) - Fargo 4th

#12 - Daniel Cardenas (CO) - Fargo Runner-Up

#13 - Cooper Flynn (MD) - Fargo 3rd

#17 - Joey Thompson (MN) - Fargo 5th

#20 - Jordan Titus, NY - NHSCA Runner-Up


Other Contenders:

Terry Adams, NY - State Champ

Nick Babin, NJ - Returning 6th

Paxton Creese, MN - Fargo GR Champ

Koby Early, NC - NHSCA 8th

Josiah Encarnacion, NY - State 4th

Ivan Garcia, NY - State 5th

Tim Levine, CA - Prep 4th

Nick Kayal, NJ - State 4th

Garrett Lautzenheiser, OH - Fargo 8th

Tristan Lujan, CA - NHSCA Champ

Jacob Mann, MO - Cadet Trials 4th

Kase Mauger, ID - Cadet Trials 7th

Quinn Melofchik, NJ - State 7th

Ben Monn, PA - State 6th

Jacob Moon, OH - Ironman 6th

Nico Nardone, NJ - State 3rd 

Anthony Noto, NY - Returning 7th

Dean Peterson, NJ - State Runner-Up

Jeremiah Reno, MO - Returning 3rd

James Riveira, MD - State Champ

Zeke Seltzer (IN) - Fargo 6th

Troy Spratley, NY


Commentary: Greg D., with wins over both Schriever (at Akron) and Burks (WNO), has established himself as the clear top dog. That being said, this weight is incredibly deep; he’ll be tested early and often.

It’s so deep that picking someone to navigate it with no slip ups might be a fool’s errand. But Greg and Schriever, last year’s champ at 106, are the frontrunners. Greg was 6th at 113.

null

Unlock this video, live events, and more with a subscription!

Get Started

Already a subscriber? Log In


Also in the mix to make the finals should be Sam Latona and Jeremiah Reno. Latona hasn’t wrestled in a major in quite a while. He won Fargo in 2017. Reno DNP’d at Fargo, losing by tech to Dominic Chavez and Jon Prata. But he had a fantastic 3rd place showing a year ago at S32 with wins over Burks, Bouzakis, Lautzenheiser, and Moran. His only loss came to Richie Figueroa. I think Reno rebounds here, but keep in mind he went 126 at Agony in Ames and could bump up in weight.

I really like the 2nd and 3rd place finishers from the Fargo 113 bracket. Daniel Cardenas is one of the top FR in the country. And Cooper Flynn continues to impress. Both lost only to Burks in July.

Give me Norris as a darkhorse pick, we saw him get third at FloNats. He has good leg attacks working off ties. And he’s huge. If he can finish his shots on some of the scrambly guys, he’s gonna be problems.

Keep an eye on Spratley. He hasn’t wrestled in many majors, but the word is that he’s the real deal.


Willie's Picks:  1. Greg D. (NY)        2.  Schriever (IA)      3.   Norris (OH)    

4.  Reno (MO)      5. Flynn (TN)       6. Cardenas (CO)       7. Lujan (CA)       8. Spratley (NY)

Nomad's Picks:  1. Greg D. (NY)   2. Schriever (IA)   3. Norris (OH)   4. Flynn (TN)

5. Cardenas (CO)   6. Lujan (CA)   7. Cornella (CO)    8. Moran (IN)



120 Pounds

2017 Finals: Adam Busiello, NY dec. Travis Ford-Melton, IL, 4-2 OT

2012 Finals: Sam Krivus, PA dec. Josh Alber, IL, 5-1

2008 Finals: David Klingsheim (CA) maj. dec. Frank Goodwin (MD) 12-0

The Ranked (10)

#4 - Julian Tagg (OH) - Cadet Trials Runner-Up

#7 - Lucas Byrd (OH) - MARYLAND - Ironman 5th

#10 - Nic Bouzakis (FL) - Returning 5th

#11 - Ryan Sullivan (PA) - PITT - State Champ

#12 - Maximo Renteria (CA) - State Champ

#13 - Corey Gamet (MI) - N.D. STATE - Fargo 5th

#17 - Anthony Clark (NJ) - Returning 5th 

#20 - Dylan Cedeno (NJ) - FloNationals 4th

#20 @ 126 - Kyle Gollhofer (GA) - N. IOWA - Returning 6th

 

Other Contenders:

Adam Allard, IA - State Champ

Patrick Allis, AZ - State Champ

Sammy Alvarez, NJ - NC STATE - State Runner-Up

Beau Bayless, PA - FloNationals 7th

Brandon Chletsos, PA - S32 Middle School 3rd

Tyler Crew, GA - State Champ

Killian Delaney, PA - State Runner-Up, NHSCA Runner-Up

Carson Eldred, IN - State 4th

Dean Hamiti, IL - State Champ

Ryan Jack, CT - Journeymen Champ

Peyton Keller, OH - FloNationals 5th

Nick Krug, GA - State Champ

Antonio Lorenzo, CA - CAL POLY - Returning 4th

Brayden Lowery, IN - State 5th

Ben Lunn, MN - State Runner-Up

Matt Maloney, PA - LOCK HAVEN - State 5th 

Richie Markulics, PA - EDINBORO - State 3rd 

Nick Masters, GA - Cadet Trials 7th

Brock McMillen, PA - FloNationals Champ

Lachlan McNeil, CAN - Cadet Pan Am Champ

Jesse Mendez, IN - FloNationals 3rd 

Nick Oldham, IA - State Champ

Kurtis Phipps, PA - FloNationals 6th

Ramon Ramos, AZ - State Champ

Oscar Sanchez, OH - OHIO - State Runner-Up

Carson Sauriol, CA - State 5th

Jordan Strmiska, TX - State Runner-Up

Destin Summers, ID - State Runner-Up

Noah Surtin, IL - MISSOURI - Returning 3rd

Wyatt Yapoujian, CO - State Runner-Up

Nain Vasquez, IL - State 4th

Eddie Ventresca, NJ - State 3rd 

Will Vombaur, CO - State Champ

Commentary:

Incredibly loaded. Tons of contenders to place. There will be Round of 64 matches that will be of consequence. 

Tagg beat made a World Team in 2016 and was the runner-up at trials this year.

null

Unlock this video, live events, and more with a subscription!

Get Started

Already a subscriber? Log In


How good is Bouzakis? In Akron he teched eventual Fargo Runner-Up Caleb Rathjen. He also just beat Gamet in the finals of GFC.

Surtin has been an enigma. At one time he looked like one of the best 125 prospects in America, but he’s hit a cold streak, going just 2-2 in Fargo and falling out of the rankings completely. With Top 3 finishes in several majors, he has the ability. Let’s see if he gets back on track here. He beat Clark here last year.

In Greensboro in 2017 Clark beat Diakomihalis, Sanchez, Latona, Cedeno, and Oldham. 

Those are the guys I think have established themselves as clear contenders. As far as darkhorses...where do we start?

Alvarez has a ton of talent as evidenced by his Beast win over Robbie Howard last year. But he’s 0-for-2 in his last two opens (S32 and FloNats). He did beat Ventresca, 1-0 last year, and I’m super high on Ventresca. I think he makes noise this weekend.

Another guy I like is Antonio Lorenzo. He won S32 two years ago beating Greg D. in the finals and was 4th last year. 

Ryan Jack is coming off a JMen title with a win over Sean Pierson.

And finally, give me Killian Delaney to beat guys he’s not supposed to. I think the country will know his name after this weekend. He lost a close and controversial bout to Greg D. at Waterway last month.

Willie's Picks:  1. Tagg (OH)        2.  Renteria (CA)   3.  Clark (NJ)      

4. Bouzakis (FL)     5. Byrd (OH)    6. Delaney (PA)     7. Ventresca (NJ)      8. Lorenzo (CA) 


126 Pounds

2017 Finals: Jakob Camacho, CT dec. Beau Bartlett, AZ, 6-4

2012 Finals: Joey Dance, VA dec. Michael Kemerer, PA, 4-3

2008 Finals: Tucker Armstrong (OH) dec. Frank Cagnina (NJ) 3-2

The Ranked (9)

#2 - Dominick Serrano (CO) - Fargo Champ, FloNationals Champ

#3 - Adam Busiello (NY) - PENN ST. - 3x S32 HS Champion

#4 - Travis Ford Melton (IL) - PURDUE - Returning Runner-Up

#8 - Sean Pierson (PA) - FloNationals Runner-Up

#9 -  Kai Orine (MO) - NC STATE - Fargo 5th 

#14 - Teague Travis (MO) - Fargo 3rd 

#15 - Bretli Reyna (FL) - NHSCA Runner-Up

#17 - Reid Ballantyne (MN) - Fargo 4th

#20 - Vinny Zerban (MO) - Fargo 8th

 

Other Contenders:

Austin Almaguer, WA - State Champ

Earl Blake, MD - Fargo 7th

Logan Boe, IN - State 5th

Ashton Brandon, IN - State 7th

Elijah Bundro, PA - State 4th

Dylan Burnoski, IL - State 4th

Colton Camacho, PA - FloNationals 7th

Marcus Castillo, AZ - LITTLE ROCK 

Brayden Curtis, IN - State Champ

Tommy Deck, KY - State Champ

Jackson DiSario, GA - State Champ

Cian Fischer, WI - State Runner-Up

Logan Heil, OH - CLEVELAND ST. - State 6th

Caleb Henson, GA - S32 Middle School Runner-Up

Noah Horst, TN - Fargo 8th

Tyler Hunt, GA - Returning 6th

Chris Kelly, AZ/OH - State Runner-Up

Michael Kilic, GA - S32 Middle School Champ

Trey Lane, FL - VIRGINIA - State Champ

Brandon LaRue, NJ - State 6th

Caleb Lemmons, FL - State 4th

Vince Manella, GA - State Champ

Gabe Martinez, TX - State Runner-Up

Caden McCrary, GA - Cadet Trials 6th

Bret Minor, KS - State 3rd 

Joey Olivieri, NJ - State Champ

Brayden Palmer, TN - FloNationals 7th

Brandon Paulson, CA - State 6th

Brock Peele, IN - State 7th

Zach Redding, NY - State Champ

Davin Rhoads, OH - State 7th

Jake Svihel, MN - State Runner-Up

Hunter Watts, IN - State Champ

Gabe Willochell, PA  - State 6th

Zack Witmer, PA - State 5th 

Shayne Van Ness, NJ - NHSCA Champ

Commentary:

Contrasting 120, the 126 field seems top heavy and the top contenders more certain.

Busiello’s run at S32 is, frankly, absurd. Win or lose this year, three straight (and more if you count MS) S32 titles in a row is unlikely to ever be replicated. 

Now, for history. Can Busi make it four?

Here’s the book on him: he takes the occasional loss - sometimes to guys that have no business beating him - but he just gets it done in Greensboro

null


Back is Ford-Melton, who pushed him to the brink in the finals last year. Manella just beat him in Grappler Fall Classic last week. But remember, Ford-Melton also lost at GFC last year before making S32 finals. 

The other obvious threat is Dom Serrano, who is, when he’s on, darn near unbeatable. He won both FloNationals (over Pierson) and Fargo (over Burnett). However, in between he lost to Teague Travis. In Akron, Travis beat Serrano, Dylan Ragusin, and Zeke Escalera.

I’m taking those four as the top placers.

My top darkhorse is Joey Olivieri. Ultra talented, Olivieri went from state champ as a FR at 106 to 3-2 at Fargo 126. If he’s grown into and adjusted to the weight, it wouldn’t surprise me to see him make a dent in this bracket. 

I’m also interested in GA’s Tyler Hunt who took 6th last year beating Asa Garcia, majoring Mosha Schwartz, and losing to Connor McGonagle, Dylan D’Emilio, and Sammy Hillegas (all Top 10 guys) by a total of 4 points. 

Watch for Indiana's Brayden Palmer who beat Manella and Reyna to win GFC.

Willie's Picks:  1. Serrano (CO)        2. Busiello (NY)       3.  Ford-Melton (IL)    

4. Travis (MO)       5. Orine (MO)       6. Palmer (TN)       7. Olivieri (NJ)       8. Hunt (GA)