I posted one of these around the same time last year, who do you guys think? Keep in mind this is who you think will be the best this year, not what happened last year. feel free to post other if i didnt mention them.

My vote is out there......

Wow!!! This is a good one.

If I have it correct, the question is who will have the best year? (at least that's how I'm answering it.)

But not yet. I have to view the statewide landscape. Initial leaning goes to Pickett, but how do you overlook RETURNING STATE CHAMP Chase Delande (yeah, baby!) and overall stud Trevor Forrucci!?!?! We'll see where the ball lands.

The middle wts will be pretty stiff
Murdock,Timchenko,McDougle,McDougle, Strope,Fiorucci,Ryan,Foahrider,McCurdy,Penzone,Spearman,Mulluchey,Riley,Foscoe, plus Bradley and Canal kids. Not much room for error

Define "central Ohio"? Are we talking about Franklin County & its suburbs or anyone attending a central district?
Cause it seems to me guys like Zon Fields & some guys from claymont might need added to the poll depending on what you mean by central Ohio.

i heard this earlier this week, but if pickett and delande happened to meet next year at 160, i put all money on pickett.

Is Pickett wrestling 160 this year......

wildcat, it will be tough for pickett to make that but i think that he will. But I doubt delande will be at 160.

Shoot and Sprawl has a valid point. However, I think we're talking I-270 and just around...leagues with a school in or around the loop.

Other names to consider: ???

cruiser_96;863292 wrote:Shoot and Sprawl has a valid point. However, I think we're talking I-270 and just around...leagues with a school in or around the loop.

Other names to consider: ???

Wasn't Fields "All Metro"?
Marysville isn't exactly inside 270.
This looks more like an O.C.C. poll. (Except for Alder & Ready).

How about Gutierrez? Senior 106, S.P.

Westie...you think Delande is 152.....

what about luf t145 or leidecker from Teays Valley. at JO murdock 126 and pickett 171 and leidecker180 looked real good. I think this is hard because of wt class around the state
what wt do you see some of the kids going

I would put Joe Boswell - CW above some of the names on the original list. D2 District champ last year as a junior after missing his soph year as his family had moved to Europe. Had the unfortunate timing to get really sick at the state tourney.....was at the hospital immediately after losing his 2nd match. He was a SQ as a 9th grader. He will be tough this year......

thought timchenko went to perry?

Shoot and Sprawl;863459 wrote:Wasn't Fields "All Metro"?
Marysville isn't exactly inside 270.
This looks more like an O.C.C. poll. (Except for Alder & Ready).

How about Gutierrez? Senior 106, S.P.

What league is Marion Pleasant in? Are any of the teams in that league inside I-270? Aren't they in the Presidential League? Is that even a league!?!?! Come on Cruiser!!! Quit making stuff up.

Shoot and Sprawl;863459 wrote:Wasn't Fields "All Metro"?
Marysville isn't exactly inside 270.
This looks more like an O.C.C. poll. (Except for Alder & Ready).

How about Gutierrez? Senior 106, S.P.

To be fair, you might as well include the Central District, all teams wrestling in the District tournament next year. Which would include Marysville, OCC team but not Claymont

Anyone who underestimates Vince Pickett is very foolish.

OK, In my mind, it's a three horse race.

You've got Timchenko moving back to Orange, a 2X placer entering his junior year. He's likely a 120-pounder and depending on where DiCamillo ends up, he's a legit contender. I look for him to open up his offense a little more this year and distance himself from all but there very best. The problem is, there are just a ton of excellent wrestlers floating around those light weights. Bright looks to move up this year, and the word is that so will Heil, but I've already mentioned DiCamillo and guys like McClay (Massillon Washington), Screptock (Clay) and Brandon Thompson (Solon) are there as well. You can probably count on at least one stud freshman and a breakout year from a 103-pounder moving up as well. there's just a lot of great competition out there that make it tougher for a guy like Timchenko to improve on his fifth-place finish from a year ago. I think he will improve on it, but only slightly.

My knee-jerk reaction was to go with Pickett. A 2X placer who has made one of those jumps wrestlers sometimes do. The difference between him this year and last is staggering...much larger, IMO, than the jump he made going from 8th in DIII as a sophomore to 4th in DI as a junior. He's aggressive and long and tough in all positions. He always looks to score and has a mean streak in him that you can't teach. I would like to see Crossing beef up there schedule a little more this year to get him more battle tested for The Schott.

This brings us to Delande. I get that his weight class wasn't the strongest bracket last year, but I can't remember seeing a JUNIOR, DI state champion get less respect. The kid was 46-2 with a pretty solid Davidson schedule. You can only beat the people they put in front of you. It's not his fault VanCuren didn't qualify. It's not his fault Wenger and Range went down before they got to him. I liken Delande's title run to Jaggers' first NCAA title. And here's the important part...there's no telling what winning a state title will do to a kid like Delande. Achieving a goal like that can change a man (or so I've been told). He'll have a swagger and a confidence that will carry him through the season. Every room he walks in, he's the State Champ in the room. Some people might feel added pressure with a situation like that, but I suspect Delande will thrive in it. Much like Jaggers' second title run, Delande may take a few losses here and there, but when the chips are down he'll win..because he knows he can.

One big question mark for my top two (Delande and Pickett) , is where Mark Martin chooses to wrestle. If Martin is at 152 with Delande, then the runner-up is the best he can do. The same can be said for Pickett if Martin ends up at 160. Martin is coming off a Fargo All American and is poised to have a breakout year on the National level. Obviously if Delande can stay down at 145 to defend his title, he would avoid Martin, but then he would likely have to contend with Dailey (another Fargo AA and defending champ from Perry). Pickett is kind of a tweener right now. He's a little small for 171, but 160 would be a tough cut. His choice of weight class depends heavily on where the two St Edward starts end up. If Martin is at 152 and Abounader at 170, then 160 is a no-brainer. If Martin is at 160 and Abounader at 170, then I believe runner-up is the best he can do as well.

Long story short, I voted for Delande.

I saw Martin yesterday. Very impressive. But then again, it's the first time I've actually watched him. (there's a lot going on at the Schott.)

Anywho, There are a few more kids out and about that we will begin bringing up, slowly but surely.

I watched Pickett last year.....I am not sure they were even matches.....he dominated.....any idea on what thier schedule is looking like...might help people decide....

Pickett is very good!!! There's plenty out there with Timchenko,Delande, Fields, Smith, Leidecker,Luft,Murdock,Furucci,Forrider........I would go with Delande(State Camp!) then Pickett a very close 2nd!! If they wrestled against each other I would have to bet on Pickett though.....you just cant say that a State Champ(it is on paper ha!) is not worthy of a #1 ranking