Best Wrestler To Come out of High School

[GG121AND2]

There is a tendency on the internet to discount the accomplishments of any wrestler who competed prior to Dan Gable. National Wrestling Hall of Fame Distinguished Member, Gerry Leeman, won his first national (senior) freestyle championship while in high school at Osage. He would later go on to be a fighter pilot in WWII, win an NCAA title (and OW) at Iowa State Teachers College and an Olympic Silver Medal. He then coached Lehigh for many years.

 

[jvclark]

It was Matt Rial.

Oops. My bad. Thanks for the assist. Story still the same I guess.

 

[Ihawkd9times]

I have come to the conclusion over the years that the most underrated Iowa HS Champ and college wrestler of all time may just be Tim Krieger.

 

[jvclark]

I have come to the conclusion over the years that the most underrated Iowa HS Champ and college wrestler of all time may just be Tim Krieger.

As an opponent, if you were to underrate or look past him, you were going to get ruined. He was a beast.

 

[Ihawkd9times]

As an opponent, if you were to underrate or look past him, you were going to get ruined. He was a beast.

Agreed would love to see Krieger in his day vs Metcalf or Zain.

 

[pablow]

As an opponent, if you were to underrate or look past him, you were going to get ruined. He was a beast.

I can't imagine anyone underrating or looking pass Krieger - he was pretty much the top of the heap.

 

[pablow]

The first great high school wrestler I saw was Rich Binek. I saw him in the 1969 State Championhip in Cedar Fall. A couple of months earlier he won gold at the Junior Worlds. He was big and moved like a cat - an absolutely outstanding wrestler.

 

[bcdeputy]

Best I recall was Royce Alger... he was a year ahead of me in high school and I just enjoyed watching him wrestle. He was one of my all time favorite Hawkeye wrestlers also

 

[93hawkeye]

The two best I saw with my own eyes while they were in high school were Dan Knight and Jeff McGinness
Knight just looked plain invincible, never out of position and always looking for the pin or tech fall.
McGinness also looked invincible but almost bored sometimes...like he was so good he would intentionally try risky moves/positions just to make it interesting for himself

 

[GG121AND2]

I have come to the conclusion over the years that the most underrated Iowa HS Champ and college wrestler of all time may just be Tim Krieger.

You would get comedian, Greg Warren's, vote.

 

[slicone]

I have come to the conclusion over the years that the most underrated Iowa HS Champ and college wrestler of all time may just be Tim Krieger.

ya he was ok

 

[mike tognetti]

Kind of crazy nobody has voted for Fix (as of now), and he beat Spencer.

I did, if Fix was going to Iowa everybody would be saying who the hell is this S Lee kid!

 

[Brandsfan]

These are always so subjective and tough ones to answer.
If I remember correctly EVERY kid Spencer wrestled in high school (regular folkstyle in PA) going into his senior season, he put on their back. He only had one decision and the rest were all bonus wins. I don't remember ever hearing about someone doing that or even close.
As for Iowa, I was near the age of a lot of good IA wrestlers ... Brands', Rice, Moorman, Moreno, the Light's, etc.... Moreno was SO slick and fast.
IN PERSON, at the state tournament the best that I remember watching were McGinnis, and I know I'll probably take crap for this but Alex Thompson. I remember watching him as a freshman just destroy the returning champ. Look forward to watching him get that fourth next year.
Now all states included ... tough. Kolat, Gable, Hall, Spencer, Fix, and what Gable S. is doing is amazing.

 

[woodsiding]

Sestak?

Yeah, that's who I was thinking of.

 

[bnicolls]

Yeah, that's who I was thinking of.

Cejudo

Dominated HS competition, then wins the Olympics. Not sure how you can top that. I guess that was his problem. Still pisses me off to see his pic on a big roof in the Springs advertising the OTC

 

[bman546]

Didn't Cejudo win the US Open around the time he graduated from high school? I think that wins it. While we're at it, don't forget Laurence Jackson out of CA in the mid 80s.

 

[HawkeyeEmpire]

Didn't Cejudo win the US Open around the time he graduated from high school? I think that wins it. While we're at it, don't forget Laurence Jackson out of CA in the mid 80s.

Cejudo was 21 years old when he won the olympics
Edit: Sorry I read your post wrong

 

[mike tognetti]

Cejudo was 21 years old when he won the olympics

Normal age for a HS senior that wrestles!

 

[Exo]

Normal age for a HS senior that wrestles!

18?

 

[greconv]

Didn't Cejudo win the US Open around the time he graduated from high school? I think that wins it. While we're at it, don't forget Laurence Jackson out of CA in the mid 80s.

Yes, won it his senior year.

 

[GG121AND2]

Cejudo

Dominated HS competition, then wins the Olympics. Not sure how you can top that. I guess that was his problem. Still pisses me off to see his pic on a big roof in the Springs advertising the OTC

...and his autographed pictures all over the walls in the Colo. Springs Applebee's? My wife and I stayed kind of close to Coronado in July and I drove up there just to see it.

 

[rider976]

Yes, won it his senior year.

Yup, that was pretty impressive by Cejudo and he should definitely be in the conversation.

I wasn't able to find out why/how Jimmy Carr lost as a freshman/sophomore in high school,
but I did find something else very interesting. Below is a great SI article on Carr's career.
According to the article, while still in high school Carr wrestled Soviet Roman Dmitriyev twice, tying him once and beating him once. Dmitriyev won gold at 48 kg at the 1972 Olympics and the 1973 Worlds, bronze at 52 kg at the 1974 Worlds and silver at 48 kg at the 1976 Olympics.

I also found a NYT article confirming that they wrestled to a 5-5 tie at 114 lbs in 1973. BUT check out that USA - USSR dual - Ivan Yarvgin wrestled in it and won 6-3 at 220.
AND Dan "freakin" Gable wrestled his final international match and won 12-2 with 8 takedowns ! Quote "The crowd gave Gable a standing ovation after his one-sided triumph at 149 1/2 pounds, the most decisive and impressive victory of the evening." !

https://www.si.com/vault/1975/02/24/616208/driving-up-with-a-compact-carr

http://www.nytimes.com/1973/06/02/a...-soviet-taylor-bows-shout-for-action-the.html

 

[ping72]