By Rob Sherrill

Their duals on the mat have become Iowa college wrestling classics over the years.

            But here’s a message to those who thought that Cael Sanderson’s decision to jump ship from Iowa State to awaken Big Ten-sleeping giant Penn State would cripple the Cyclones as they try to keep up with defending NCAA champion Iowa: reports of Iowa State’s demise seem greatly exaggerated. Kevin Jackson and Chris Bono stepped up to the plate and kept the Cyclones squarely in the heat of the recruiting battle.

            The horse race between the two schools could go right down to the wire in the spring. They may wind up with the nation’s top two recruiting classes.

            Sanderson, as expected, did get off to a strong start. In landing local twins Andrew and Dylan Alton of Mill Hall Central Mountain High, he and his Nittany Lions matched Ohio State as the only programs to land two prospects ranked No. 1 by WIN.

            Of course, Iowa’s Big Ten rivals, most notably Northwestern to date, and with Nebraska leading the charge against Iowa State in the Big 12, they might have something to say when we issue our final recruiting grades in the spring. Then there’s Cornell, which leads the Ivy league’s fall haul.

            As usual, the big boys got out of the gate fast. Big Ten teams landed five of the top 10 spots and six of the top 12, with eight of the conference’s 11 teams making the top 25.                         The top 13 spots include four Big 12 teams and Oklahoma State, the only conference school that didn’t make the cut, didn’t get shut out. Coach John Smith signed Pennsylvania blue-chipper Josh Kindig (141) of Schuylkill Haven Blue Mountain High.

            Virginia Tech’s Kevin Dresser, who signed a national-high nine recruits, led three Atlantic Coast Conference teams on the list. The Ivy League continues to impress, as Cornell’s Rob Koll and Columbia’s Brendan Buckley had strong starts. And give Princeton’s Chris Ayres an A-plus for an impressive recruiting haul in his third season on the job.

            Navy’s Bruce Burnett made the list for the second straight year, and Arizona State’s Shawn Charles hit the ground running with an impressive opening class. Cal Poly’s John Azevedo, who just missed it last year, made it this year.

            By our count, 215 seniors — about 5 percent more than last year — took themselves off the board by making early commitments to Division I schools. Here are some highlights of the big winners in the early recruiting process.

            1. Iowa: A huge middle-weight haul for coach Tom Brands, who once again scored in his home area with three eastern Iowa recruits. Three-time state champion Nick Moore (157) is his newest Iowa City West High recruit, while two-time champion Jake Ballweg (141) of Waverly-Shell Rock High and state champion Michael Kelly (149-157) of Cedar Falls High also are locals. Brands reached east for four other standouts. Junior National champion Josh Dziewa (141) of Holland (Pa.) Council Rock South High and Cadet National champion Anthony Baldosaro (149) of Voorhees (N.J.) Eastern High complete the middle-weight group. Mike Evans (184), now of Blairstown Township (N.J.) Blair Academy, and top-ranked heavyweight Bobby Telford of Wilmington (Del.) St. Mark’s High also signed.

            2. Northwestern: There is plenty of star power in coach Tim Cysewski’s latest class, which contains five top-11 recruits. Two-time state champion Lee Munster (184) of Fox Lake Grant High, National Prep champion Michael McMullan (HWT) of Kingston (Pa.) Wyoming Seminary, state champions Colin Shober (149) of Leesport (Pa.) Schuylkill Valley High and Kaleb Friedley (149-157) of Kansas City (Mo.) Park Hill High and Pierce Harger (165) of Cincinnati (Ohio) Archbishop Moeller High and Alex Polizzi (197) of Beloit (Wis.) Memorial are future middle- and upper-weight stars. Pat Greco (141) of Aurora Marmion Academy also committed.

            3. Cornell: Koll concentrated on the lower weights last season. This year, all six recruits will fill the gap between 149 and 184 pounds. Chris Villalonga (149-157) of Blairstown Township (N.J.) Blair Academy, one of two Bucs in this class, and two-time Pennsylvania champion Marshall Peppelman (165) of Harrisburg Central Dauphin High are ranked No. 2, while Matt Cunningham (174) of Pittsburgh (Pa.) Shady Side Academy and Evan Knight (184) of Urbandale (Iowa) High also are ranked in the top 10. Ryan Dunphy (141-149) of Little Falls (N.J.) Passaic Valley High and Jesse Shanaman (157-165), also of Blair Academy, also committed.

            4. Iowa State: Game on for Jackson and Bono, who kept pace with the Hawks by signing eight recruits. They include two of Arizona’s best: Ryak Finch (125) of Safford High and Luke Goettl (141) of Cottonwood Mingus High — who have combined for five state titles — and three-time Florida champion Joe Cozart (149) of Brandon High. The Cyclones also got serious about their home turf, keeping five in-state recruits at home: state champions Brandon Jones (125) of West Des Moines Valley High, Michael Moreno (165) of Urbandale High, Kyven Gadson (184) of Waterloo East High and Trevor Voelker (197) of Dallas Center-Grimes High, along with Mike England (165-174) of Centerville High.

            5. Nebraska: Middleweights were coach Mark Manning’s top priority and he scored big with two-time state champion Robert Kokesh (165) of Wagner (S.D.) High and three Missouri standouts, state champions Greg Amos (149) of Wentzville Holt High and Dakota Magrew (174) of Timberland High and Brandon Wilbourn (157) of St. Charles Francis Howell Central High. Manning also signed three Illinois recruits — Ryne Harris (125) of Belleville Althoff High, three-time placewinner Keith Surber (133) of O’Fallon High and Matt Dwyer (197) of Rockton Hononegah High — along with Blake Meeks (141) of Des Moines (Iowa) Roosevelt High.

            6. Virginia Tech: Dresser’s list of nine recruits starts with four great 125-pounders, led by two-time state champion Devin Carter of nearby Christiansburg High. Then there are two-time state champions T.J. Mitchell (125-133) of Suwanee (Ga.) Collins Hill High and Avi Friedman of Owings Mills (Md.) High and Ohio champion Ty Mitch of Aurora High. The middleweights also got a makeover, led by Ohio champion Harrison Hightower (165) of Hunting Valley University School, Tanner Eitel (174) of Dallas (Texas) Bishop Lynch High and New York-standout Angelo Malvestuto (184) of Sanborn Niagara-Wheatfield High.           

            7. Penn State: Sanderson’s first recruiting class has the Altons (149-157) at the top. State champion Sam Sherlock (133) of West Mifflin High fills an immediate need and two-time champion Dirk Cowburn (165-174) of Coudersport High complete a quartet going to State College which own six state crowns already.

            8. Ohio State: Coach Tom Ryan’s newest class features a pair of No. 1’s: Logan Stieber (125) of Monroeville High and Derek Garcia (165) of Sedro Woolley (Wash.) High, both three-time state champions. State champion Josh Demas (174) of nearby Westerville North High and state runner-up Drew Stone (125) of Oak Harbor High also signed on.

            9. Oklahoma: Not surprisingly, two-time state champion Justin DeAngelis (149) was the leader among coach Jack Spates’ class of seven recruits, four of whom are ranked. Two other Oklahomans, state runners-up Ronnie Balfour (157) of Tulsa Union High and Quincy Mondaine (197-285) of Muskogee High, also committed, as did one of Kansas’ best, state champion Parker Madl (165-174) of Stilwell Blue Valley High. Spates went east for three additional recruits: Florida-champion Chase Gordon (149) of Oviedo High, New York-champion Kyle Colling (HWT) of Yorkshire Pioneer High and South Carolina-champion Derek Geiges (133) of Charleston Bishop England High.

            10. Minnesota: Coach J Robinson added to his middle-weight depth by locking up local star Dylan Ness (149-157) of Bloomington Kennedy High and adding Illinois’ twin standouts, Chris (133) and Nick Dardanes (141) of Oak Park-River Forest High. He also added a pair of upper weights, Tyler Lehmann (184), the former Apple Valley High standout who now attends West Fargo (N.D.) High, and athletic Joel Bauman (197) of Kerhoven-Murdock-Sunburg High.

            11. Rutgers: Coach Scott Goodale took care of business in central New Jersey, inking two-time state heavyweight champion Jimmy Lawson of Manchester High, state champion Nick Visicaro (165) of Long Branch High and state runner-up Jordan Beverly (141-149) of Point Pleasant Boro High. He also dipped into New York for state placewinner Anthony Volpe (157) of Rocky Point High.

            12. Illinois: The buck now stops with new coach Jim Heffernan, but he’s still got his recruiting touch. He picked up a pair of national-class recruits, two-time state champions Jamie Clark (133) of Lakewood (Ohio) St. Edward High and Jackson Morse (157-165) of Lowell (Mich.) High. Illinois runner-up Jed Lightfoot (141-149) of Yorkville High also will stay at home.

            13. Missouri: Coach Brian Smith picked up four more in-state recruits, two from powerhouse Kansas City Park Hill High: three-time state champion Alan Waters (125) and runner-up John Eblen (197). From eastern Missouri come state champion Drake Houdashelt (157) of St. Peters Fort Zumwalt West High and Phillip Perry (174) of Hannibal High. Wyoming Seminary lightweight Simon Kitzis (141) also will head to Columbia.

            14. Lehigh: The headliners of coach Pat Santoro’s six-recruit group would make any class: two-time New Jersey-champion Frank Cagnina (133) of North Arlington Queen of Peace High, New York-champion Stephen Dutton (141) of Hauppauge High and Pennsylvania-champion Eric Hess (165) of Benton High. Anthony Salupo (149) of Lakewood (Ohio) St. Edward High was third in state last year.

            15. Arizona State: Sun Devils fans can take pride in Shawn Charles’ first recruiting class, because he scored big with four fine recruits, led by a pair of potential four-time state champions: Louis Trujillo (133) of Rio Rancho (N.M.) High and Nathan Hoffer (141) of Anchorage (Alaska) East High. He also kept one of Arizona’s best lightweights, two-time state champion Shane McGough (125-133) of nearby Scottsdale Desert Mountain High, at home and went east for Georgia-champion Joel Smith (141-149) of powerful Suwanee Collins Hill High.

            16. Indiana: Coach Duane Goldman added five ranked recruits. He’ll have plenty of depth in the lower weights, featuring athletic recruits from three different states: home-grown state champion Brandon Wright (125-133), now of Indianapolis Warren Central High, Zach Zimmer (125) of Fresno (Calif.) Clovis West High and Joe Duca (125-133) of Paulsboro (N.J.) High. Two-time Michigan champion Ryan Nieman (141-149) of Midland Bullock Creek High has moved up the charts in the past year and Preston Keiffer (165) of Voorhees (N.J.) Eastern High is another south-Jersey standout.

            17. Edinboro: Coach Tim Flynn stays close to home every year … and scores big every year. This year was no exception as he brought in state champion Nate Gaffney (197) from the highly-productive Connellsville High pipeline and two-time state place-winner David Habat (157) from northeast Ohio’s Cleveland St. Ignatius High. He also mined central Pennsylvania for a pair of lower-weight grinders, Mitchell Port (133) of Bellefonte High and A.J. Schopp (133-141) of Tyrone High, who have combined for five state placings.

            18. Bucknell: Coach Dan Wirnsberger continued to build depth with six more recruits, the same as last year. He concentrated on the 174-184 portion of his line-up, bringing in Stephen McPeek (174-184), now of Dallas (Texas) Bishop Lynch High, Jamie Westwood (174-184) of North Arlington (N.J.) Queen of Peace High and Virginia-champion Austin Fallon (184-197) of Chantilly Westfield High. Three-time Pennsylvania place-winner Jordan Rich (141) has been a key part of Mill Hall Central Mountain High’s nationally-ranked teams.

            19. Princeton: The Tigers’ best-ever recruiting class is led by Lawrenceville (N.J.) School-standout Brandon Rolnick (157-165), who elected to stay close to home. Two-time Maryland champion Adam Krop (133-141) of Ijamsville Urbana High, Ohio-champion Robert Shepherd (141-149) of Mason High and New Jersey runner-up Ryan Callahan (174-184) of Hamburg Wallkill Valley High also are highly regarded. Completing Ayres’ class is Cadet National placewinner Dan Santoro (197) of Barrington (Ill.) High.

            20. North Carolina: Coach C.D. Mock picked up four recruits from the Philadelphia area, led by National Prep champion Patrick Owens (133) of Fort Washington Germantown Academy and Jamie Callender (197) of Newtown Council Rock North High and Andre Petroski (184) of Springfield High, who finished 2-3 in the state tournament last year. Jacob Corrill (125-133) of Cincinnati (Ohio) Archbishop Moeller, Ben Brooks (184) of Oak Park (Ill.) O.P.-River Forest High and Wyoming Seminary’s Bryce Caiazzo (157) also signed on.

            21. Virginia: Coach Steve Garland signed seven recruits, including a pair of St. Edward seniors: Gus Sako (125) and Nick Sulzer (174). Alabama champion Tanner Moon (125) of Birmingham Oak Mountain High and Derek Papagianopoulos (HWT) of Cambridge (Mass.) Buckingham, Browne and Nichols School also are highly regarded. Three additional place-winners, led by Joe Spisak (133) of Boiling Springs High, complete the class.

            22. Boise State: Coach Greg Randall picked up two Western plums, Nevada-standout Steven Hernandez (149) of Las Vegas Bishop Gorman High and two-time Utah champion Carson Kuhn (125) of Sandy Alta High. He also mined the junior college ranks for talented Deron Winn (174) of Meramec (Mo.) Community College.

            23. Cal Poly: State champion Jesse Delgado (125) of Gilroy High and highly-regarded Tucker Armstrong (141) of Newport Beach Corona del Mar High will stay home for Azevedo, who continues to put together a quality home-grown roster. He also signed two California middleweights, Dominic Kastl (157-165) of Gilroy and Travis Gallegos (165-174) of Palo Cedro Foothill High, third in state last year

            24. Navy: Burnett’s five recruits, from five different states, all have finished in the top four in their state or the National Prep Championships. The biggest names are Florida state champion Joe Locksmith (133-141) of Kissimmee Osceola High, New York runner-up Justis Flamio (125-133) of Mahopac High and the lone in-state recruit, Pat Prada (125) of Hyattsville DeMatha High, a two-time independent state champion. Wyoming Seminary contributes yet another Division I recruit to the mix, Jay Wieller (174-184).

            25. Michigan State: All five of coach Tom Minkel’s recruits have been state finalists and will be the future in the middle and upper weights. The headliners are two-time Indiana-champion Sean McMurray (157) of Portage High, two-time Illinois place-winner Nick Proctor (165) of Naperville Neuqua Valley High and Michigan-champion Nick McDiarmid (197) of Hartland High. Minkel also kept John Rizgallah (184) of Allegan High and Nick Humes (149) of Stevensville Lakeshore High at home. n