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Greatest Ohio High School Wrestlers of All Time

  • coachchuck
    MPhillips;1390869 wrote:Mark Zimmer
    David Taylor
    Tom Milkovich
    Alan Fried
    Kenny Ramsey
    Dustin Schlatter
    Jeff Jordan
    Tommy Rowlands
    Harry Lester
    C.P Schlatter
    Willie Wineburg
    Jared Opfer
    Jim Jordan
    John Mcgee
    Lance Palmer
    Eric Burnett
    this pretty much sums it for me

    luke fickell as well he was a stud my former college coach called him out once.... that was enough for me
  • Kras
    Lee Kemp... ok I'm old...
  • cradle3
    Kras;1392256 wrote:Lee Kemp... ok I'm old...
    very few can say they beat Gable
  • cruiser_96
    Kras;1392256 wrote:Lee Kemp... ok I'm old...
    Just shows wisdom. Lee Kemp is a bad dude! I'm a huge fan.
  • MPhillips
    http://www.leekemp.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Inside_wis_sports_article1.pdf

    :huh:


  • #1sportsfan
    You can't have a list like this without including Mike DeAnna. State Champ 1974, 1975, and 1976. Pretty good college and A.A.U. career too.
  • MPhillips
    #1sportsfan;1392442 wrote:You can't have a list like this without including Mike DeAnna. State Champ 1974, 1975, and 1976. Pretty good college and A.A.U. career too.
    I struggled leaving him and Dan Hanson off the list As well as Opfer and McGee!!!
  • Half Full Nelson
    This is always a tough question to answer, because: are you talking about JUST their HS career, or their post-HS career as well? That being said, my top 10 (in no particular order):

    Allen Freid, David Taylor, Dustin Schlatter, Lee Kemp, Logan Steiber, Jeff Jordan, Mark Zimmer, Harry Lester, John McGee and Tommy Rowlands.
  • Kras
    Now we're talkin'... I grew up in Chesterland (West by-god Geauga High). Lee attended our rival Chardon. Attended the original meatgrinders at Mayfield and Mentor annually in the late 60's/70's as my father, a local HS football coach and AD, worked the scoring tables at both. The Maple Heights glory days of Milkovich - I'd argue the original Ohio wrestling family... Deanna, Greg Drenik, Golic vs Cousineau...

    That leads to another question for y'all... How does Fickell match up with Golic / Cousineau? I'm sure he's on the podium, but ahead of those 2 beasts?
  • cruiser_96
    Luke pins them in the first or second. Like he did everyone else.
  • MPhillips
    cruiser_96;1392495 wrote:Luke pins them in the first or second. Like he did everyone else.
    *Mark Moos.
  • cruiser_96
    Luke Fickell would pin Mark Moos... whenever he finally grabbed a hold of him.
  • MPhillips
    cruiser_96;1392800 wrote:Luke Fickell would pin Mark Moos... whenever he finally grabbed a hold of him.

    Hahahahah.
    I was going with Steve Luke of course.
  • cruiser_96
    I knew that. (2-1-1-1)

    Just couldn't come up with anything clever for that. And I wanted to give props to Luke Fickell. I mean, afterall, he WOULD beat Mark Moos!
  • Head_Knight
    Jeff Ratliff
  • Bitterrunner-up
    Kras;1392478 wrote:That leads to another question for y'all... How does Fickell match up with Golic / Cousineau? I'm sure he's on the podium, but ahead of those 2 beasts?
    I've said this before...All of the greats, and there have been a lot of them, would have just been another guy Luke Fickell pinned.
  • bigkgizzle
    Has there ever been a 4x champ who has never lost? If not, then i would say any guys who lost only 1 match in their career are probably the best. Unless of course their losses were all on their records because of forfeits. If you haven't read that thread then you probably have no idea what I am referring to.
  • Half Full Nelson
    bigkgizzle;1393154 wrote:Has there ever been a 4x champ who has never lost? If not, then i would say any guys who lost only 1 match in their career are probably the best. Unless of course their losses were all on their records because of forfeits. If you haven't read that thread then you probably have no idea what I am referring to.

    I don't believe Ohio has ever had a 4-time undefeated champ. Although, I believe Chris Phillips' only loss was to an out-of-state wrestler (Ruth?) I'm actually surprised he hasn't gotten more mention in this thread. I believe Taylor had 1 loss his freshman year. That being said, I don't think the question is mathematically that simple. If a guy has a loss, or 5 losses, and all were to guys who were also 4-timers...what does that say? If the question were that objective, it'd be no fun to talk about, right?
  • Anthony Cirace at westerville south was a 2 time state champ and went 50-0 as a senior and won the midwest classic when that was still a tough tournament. and may have been the most dominant wrestler in central ohio during his time
  • Kras
    MPhillips -- If Lil' Kras surprises cruiser, the article will have a hand in it...

    For the rest of you young, naive, fickle fans (no not a spelling or grammar mistake)... not sure the big guy ever saw the skill or athleticism Golic & Cous brought the heavyweight class... 7.1975: Never has Ohio seen a greater array of heavyweights. Old Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes was drooling as he watched future Browns great nose tackle Bob Golic of St. Joseph beat Harold Smith of Canton McKinley, a future Olympian, for the title after Golic edged another future Browns linebacker, Tom Cousineau of St. Edward, in the semifinals. Cousineau wound up third. The heavyweight who placed fifth, Mike Weitzman of Eastlake North, helped his team beat Maple Heights for the state title. The sixth placer, Tim Payne of North Olmsted, won the state title in 1976.

    http://highschoolsports.cleveland.com/news/article/5100816392234876125/ohios-state-wrestling-tournament-has-produced-more-than-its-share-of-memorable-moments-pat-galbincea/
  • Bitterrunner-up
    All great wrestlers, and I still think they're just five guys Fickell would have pinned.
  • cruiser_96
    Kras;1393345 wrote:MPhillips -- If Lil' Kras surprises cruiser, the article will have a hand in it...

    ...
    Go get'm, Kras!!!!!! I'll gladly be wrong when it comes to a Cruiser Invitational Champion!!!
  • cradle3
    Half Full Nelson;1393196 wrote:I don't believe Ohio has ever had a 4-time undefeated champ. Although, I believe Chris Phillips' only loss was to an out-of-state wrestler (Ruth?) I'm actually surprised he hasn't gotten more mention in this thread. I believe Taylor had 1 loss his freshman year. That being said, I don't think the question is mathematically that simple. If a guy has a loss, or 5 losses, and all were to guys who were also 4-timers...what does that say? If the question were that objective, it'd be no fun to talk about, right?
    CP is also in this boat. His only loss came in o.t. (2) in the Beast finals to Michael Martin (Great Bridge VA).

    Nobody is close to Fickell, these guys saying "just another guy that he would've pinned" are spot on.
  • MPhillips
    Found an interesting article titled.
    The 20 Best HS Wrestlers Over The Last 20 Years
    A bit dated as it was written in 2005. Still good stuff.

    Schlatter was rated at #6 Fried at #2

    Dustin Schlatter (Ohio)

    Although he was already a four-time Cadet Nationals champion and a returning state champion, Dustin Schlatter's sophomore season started inauspiciously as he tasted defeat for the first time -- losing twice at the Ironman. Much as Gable's loss to Larry Owings seemed to drive him to new levels, so it was with Schlatter. After crushing the competition at state that year -- Schlatter had probably the finest postseason of any sophomore who ever took the mat. In that season, he faced a gauntlet of top junior and senior opponents, who seemingly all gravitated to the 135-pound weight class in the high school wrestling equivalent of the movie Highlander. While pundits were debating which upperclassmen superstar would emerge as the best out of Ryan Lang of Ohio, Dan Frishkorn of Virginia, Alex Tsirtsis of Indiana, Josh Churella of Michigan, and Charles Lloyd of Illinois, young Schlatter had other ideas and beat every single one of them. Only Ryan Lang was even close, as Schlatter beat this Senior Nationals champion, 6-4. At the time, Tsirtsis was coming off very impressive showings against collegiate competition and considered virtually untouchable. Schlatter dismantled him -- giving up only a takedown in the closing seconds of a 5-1 win. Schlatter also shut down Frishkorn, 3-0, at Fargo that year. For good measure, Schlatter scored technical fall victories that spring over the runner-up and third-place finishers at Fargo at 140 -- CJ Ettelson and Carter Downing.

    Schlatter junior season just added to his legacy, as he beat 2005 NCAA All-American Michael Keefe, 3-1, and top-12 finisher Frank Edgar, 7-4, at the West Virginia Open. At the Beast of the East that year, he faced a great opponent in three-time California state champion Troy Tirapelle of California, the brother of NCAA champion Adam Tirapelle and NCAA runner-up Alex Tirapelle. Schlatter showed himself to be on another level once again, winning by a score of 14-6. The match was worse than the score, with Schlatter scoring seven takedowns and letting Tirapelle up six times.

    While a showdown with Metcalf didn't materialize in Fargo that summer due to Schlatter breaking his wrist -- Schlatter avenged his controversial loss by winning a 4-3 decision over Metcalf for the Senior National title. Prior to that -- his closest bout in this loaded weight was 17-4. Perhaps most impressive was that as Schlatter closed his senior season, he had wrestled against five NCAA All-Americans (Frishkorn, Keefe, Churella, Drew Headlee, and Coleman Scott) and beaten all of them, as well as four wrestlers who had reached the All-American round of NCAAs (Ryan Lang, Frank Edgar, Rob Preston, and Mark McKnight) and beaten all of them as well.

    Alan Fried (Ohio)

    If Mocco personified the word intimidation, Fried personified the word intensity. The first four-time Junior Nationals freestyle champion, Fried's opponents appeared to be stuck in slow motion while he was in fast forward.

    Fried's most impressive victory may have been defeating NCAA champion Clar Anderson after his junior year in high school. Fried competed in the Olympic Trials that summer, where he would face his future coach, John Smith. Those who were there report that young Fried actually scored the first takedown against America's greatest freestyle wrestler ever.

    Perhaps most interesting was that on the way to winning Junior Nationals as a sophomore, he actually scored a technical fall over a senior from Iowa by the name of Tom Brands -- his future nemesis in college. Even as a redshirting freshman at Oklahoma State University, Fried defeated Brands at an open tournament. Brands would go on to win his first NCAA title -- and repeat the following two years with victories over Fried in the finals.

    I know, I know..."Fickell would have pinned them both..."
  • Half Full Nelson
    Don't get me wrong...I think Fickell was great, and agree that he'd probably pin everyone on this list. But, the fact that he happened to be a heavyweight and was thus larger than (almost) everyone else listed...well, you get my point. I don't think Fickell was a better all-around wrestler than David Taylor, or Allen Fried, sorry.