High School Wrestling Preseason Notebook - Sept. 9, 2025

Billy Buckheit | Sep 9, 2025

Traevon Ducking (top) was one of three Brownsburg (Ind.) wrestlers to win a title last week at the IndianaMat Hoosier Preseason Open. / Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The first weekend of September gave us some noteworthy high school wrestling happenings across the country. The number of events will be ramping up in the near future and blow up in October and November. We do our best to track as many events as possible. These three stood out to us over the weekend of September 6th and 7th.

IndianaMat Hoosier Preseason Open

This tournament is unique as far as open events are concerned at this time of the year. Most of the preseason options feature multiple divisions across most of the youth age groups and weights, and now a lot also includes a girl’s division. The IndianaMat gauntlet on the other hand, is strictly a high school affair, with just the typical 14 NFHS Weight Classes.

Brownsburg, Indiana, who finished 20th in High School on SI’s final team poll for the 2024-2025 season, crowned three champions, all nationally ranked, Traevon Ducking (116 – they added three pounds to the base weights, we will be using the root weight class, so 113), Braylon Reynolds (138), and Thomas Gibbs (150).

Gibbs is ranked eleventh in the nation by High School on SI at 150 pounds and won one of the more star-studded brackets as he emerged with a 10-3 decision of Honorable Mention (at 157) Jackson Bradley (Cowan, IN) in the final. Bradley upset No. 22 Ashton Hobson (Marmion Academy, IL), 13-6, in sudden death overtime in the semifinals. Hobson came back to take third.

Ducking is ranked eleventh at 106 pounds and seems to have migrated up a weight class as he’s registered at 113 pounds for Super 32 after winning the title here on a 35 second default in the finals, robbing the fans of an All-Star match versus No. 16 Jackson Wells (Harrison County, Kentucky). 

Reynolds (No. 19 at 138 pounds) needed overtime to handle a scrappy Justin Beauvais (Mountain View (Mesa), AZ), 4-1, in sudden victory. Beauvais is currently unranked by High School on SI.

The heavyweights provided the fireworks and an upset as two nationally ranked big men from Indiana went toe-to-toe with No. 24 Kameron Hazelett (Lowell) sticking No. 12 James Hartleroad (Dekalb) in 4:58. At 126 pounds, unranked Preston Waughtel (Vandalia, Illinois) joined the upset party when he got by Honorable Mention Mason Katschor (Dundee, Michigan), 4-1.

Two of Indiana’s ranked 106 pounders squared off for the top honors with the favorite holding serve as No. 12 Jeremy Carver (Delta) posted a major decision of Westfield’s No. 26 Connor Maddox. No. 14 Nathan Rioux (Avon, Indiana) took out Ohio’s Garrison Weisner (Clay, No. 26 at 138 pounds) in his semifinal then downed his high school teammate, Mason Goelz, by technical fall, 20-4, to claim the 132-pound gold. Weisner worked back to place third.

Indiana’s No. 29 Carter Fielden (Garrett) rolled to a 15-4 major decision of Zach Miracle (Bedford, Michigan) in the 175-pound final. At 215, No. 24 Joseph Favia (Marmion Academy) was cruising with three pins to reach the final before medically forfeiting to Tennessee’s Houston Rettig.

Daniel Brown (Center Grove, Indiana) put an end to Ohio’s Oliver Lester’s title hopes with a 5-4 win after Lester decked Lowell’s Noel Verduzco (honorable mention) in the quarterfinals. 4:52.

Other champs were Indiana’s Brody Wingate (190 pounds, East Central), Illinois’ Royce Lopez (165), and two from Ohio, Noah Jackson (160 pounds) and Jordan Neal (144, Lima Central Catholic).

California's Super 32 Early Entry Tournament

When going over sheets to build the first entry in the 2025/2026 High School on SI National Rankings, we noticed quite a few occurrences where wrestlers who competed at an early entry event did not surface at Super 32. So, their appearance here does not mean they will make the voyage to the East Coast in October.

California’s powerhouse teams led the title count with five schools accounting for nine of the championships, with none crowning more than two champs.

St. John Bosco had two nationally ranked grapplers from their contingency reach the top of the podium, No. 16 Luke Loren (106 pounds) and Nathan Carillo (132, No. 7 at 126 pounds). Loren won a tight match with Mark Ramirez (MTC), 10-8. Carillo defeated a wrestler who has spent some time in our national rankings, Abe Coronado (Nevade Elite WC), 11-2.

Both of Buchanan’s champs are up in weight from where we ranked them as CJ Huerta (No. 17 at 132 pounds) struck gold at 144, and Ivan Arias (No. 10 at 150 pounds) took top honors at 157. Arias is slated to be at 150 pounds for Super 32. Here he posted a 20-7 major decision of Kobe Cunanan (Valiant Prep, Arizona). Huerta won his title with a 7-0 blanking of Honorable Mention Vinnie Gutierrez (Fountain Valley, California).

We currently have Gilroy’s Kaleo Garcia and Travis Grace ranked at 175 pounds, with Garcia being No. 13 to Grace’s 16. They were both at 165 and could have met in the finals but a medical forfeit was the result with Garcia winning the crown uncontested. Eli Mendoza won the 113-pound gold for Gilroy.

Poway’s Honorable Mention, Matthew Orbeta, locked down the 138-pound title with a 2-0 decision over Orion Hill (Alpha Dawg). Bailey Holman is on our radar for a national ranking and claimed the 175-pound bracket with a 7-2 win over his squadron mate, Mason Carnrite.

Clovis saw one grappler make it to the top at 126 pounds, Anthony Garza (honorable mention at 113), on a 17-1 tech of Carlos Melgoza (Kingsburg, California).

Jonathan Rocha (Clovis North, No. 7) claimed the 190-pound bracket by winning an All-California battle of top ten guys in the country with Mason Ontiveros (No. 4 at 175 pounds, John H. Pitman), 7-6. Pitman saw Carter Vannest (No. 26 at 190 pounds) return as the 215-pound champ after putting a major on Adan Castillo of Clovis, 17-7.

Two of the final three champs hail from California, Aiden Garcia (Palma, 120 pounds) and Oakdale’s Mattthew Cooley (285). Valiant Prep’s Edgar Jimenez was the 150-pound titlist.

The Waterway Duals in Pennsylvania

The Waterway Duals in Manheim, Pennsylvania featured multiple divisions, in the high school range and beyond. Our focus will be on the High School Club Competition as that was where the big boys roamed with the top teams having rosters loaded with nationally ranked stars.

The team champion, Team Shutt Mau Mau, was one such team, that while geographically based, Pennsylvania in this instance, their roster contained wrestlers from parts far and wide, with planes, trains, or automobiles coming from California, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Ohio, and Virginia.

Mau Mau won the final over another Pennsylvania based squad, Stellar Trained Embo, 26-19. Mau Mau handled Matt Assassins Black, 37-16, in the semis and Superior Gold, 60-0, in the first round of the Gold Bracket.

No team came close to Mau Mau in their Pool E assignment as they mauled down the field starting with Mat Assassins White (64-3), and in order, Stellar Trained Seripas (59-0), Revival Blue (72-0), Triumph (39-1), and Malvern Prep (56-8). Malvern did not put forth their main team at this event, only a few of their projected starters.

Powering their collective to the top spot with 8-0 records were the Deputy’s, No. 9 Kooper (106 pounds) and No. 20 Dominic (132) from Chestnut Ridge, Pennsylvania. Missouri’s No. 9 Israel Borge (138), who wrestles at Westlake in Utah, Virginia’s No. 15 Tyler Traves (Mountain View, 150 pounds), and California’s Mason Savidan (St. John Bosco, 189). Kansas’ Noah Mathis (Lansing, 285 pounds) was 5-0 at 285 pounds with Caleb Tyler (Delone Catholic, Pennsylvania) going 3-0 in limited action.

Both Deputy’s were involved in two bouts with nationally rated foes. Kooper dazzled two honorable mention entries from Pennsylvania at 106 pounds, Schaefer Hoffman (Downingtown West), 1-0, and Nathan Schuman (Honesdale), 16-4.

Dominic is ranked at 126 pounds in the country and went overtime to defeat Honorable Mention at 126 pounds, Mason Whitney (Abington Heights, Pennsylvania), 7-4, and edged New York’s No. 22 Chris Noto (Honeoye Falls-Lima), 1-0. Borge, who we have ranked at 144 pounds, put up an 11-1 major decisión of Riker Ohearon (Carbon, Utah - honorable mention at 132 pounds).

Louisiana’s No. 9 Alex Rozas (Teurlings Catholic, 120 pounds) and Massachusetts’s Colby Houle (Northfield Mount Hermon, 160) were 7-1. Rozas’ loss was of the upset variety to a Pennsylvanian, No. 18 Sam Wolford (North Lebanon), 4-2. Houle fell to Honorable Mention McKaden Speece (Wilson, Pennsylvania), 6-2. Houle, who is unranked, surprised a different Keystone foe with a 13-1 major of Mid Valley’s Samuel Almedina (No. 29 at 165 pounds).

Harrison County, Kentucky’s George Dennis (No. 16 at 144 pounds) was tripped up twice by two unheralded guys who made a case for inclusion in the national rankings, Jack Campbell (Nazareth, Pennsylvania), 8-5, and William Sakoutis (Christian Brothers Academy, New Jersey), 8-3. Dennis was 6-2 at 145 for Mau Mau.

Pennsylvania’s Leo Murillo (100 pounds) and Virginia’s Vince von Bernewitz (Great Bridge, 113) were 5-3 for Mau Mau. Chase Williams (Central Bucks East, Pennsylvania), who we have ranked at 106 pounds, was all the way up at 126 where he went 4-4. Ibrahim Dheel of Virginia was 3-3 at 172 pounds. Jake Hughes (Beaver Local, Ohio) was 2-0 during pool action at 172.

Below we will list some of the more notable results from the Duals. Full brackets and box scores can be found here:

https://arena.flowrestling.org/event/8a3b671d-3a4d-4196-96cb-e3a1ca7f1238

100/106-No. 10 Arav Pandey (Trinity, PA) 2-0 HM Hoffman

100/106-Brennen Veverka (PA) 3-0 Hoffman

113-HM at 106 Thomas Blewett (Middletown North, NJ) 4-1 No. 29 at 106 Evan Cies (Malvern Prep, PA)

120-Gabe Campanelli (Salesianum, DE) 4-1 No. 14 at 113 Santino DiMatteo (Brick Memorial, NJ)

120-Wolford 4-1 DiMatteo

126-Zane Crouse (Bishop McDevitt, PA) 10-6 HM CJ Caines (Hanover, PA)

132-Frank Leanza (PA) 2-1 HM Whitney

132-Leanza 9-3 No. 22 at 138 Nicholas Salamone (Easton, PA)

132-Gianni Bottone (Lucy Beckham, SC) 5-3 Whitney

132-Bottone 2-1 TB2 Jack Baron (Germantown Academy, PA)

132-HM Landyn Shaffer (Deosit/Hancock, NY) 12-1 HM at 126 Erik Carlile (Penns Valley, PA)

132-Whitney 4-1 Carlile

138-Mack Santoro (Saucon Valley, PA) 7:00 UTB No. 24 Curtis “Zion” Borge (Westlake, UT)

152-No. 15 at 144 Traves 9-0 No. 25 at 157 Luke Knox (Upper Perkiomen, PA)

160-Speece 7-0 No. 16 at 157 Billy Tyler (Brentsville District, VA)

160-Nate Replogle (Central York, PA) 2-1 UTB Tyler

160-No. 22 at 157 Michael Craft (Camden Catholic, NJ) 7-2 Speece

160-Tyler 4-2 Almedina

160-Craft 16-0 Replogle

190-Savidan 10-2 Mark Spielman (Penncrest, PA)

190-Spielman 9-1 Jaden Simpson (Camden Catholic)

285-Mathis 6-2 Decker Bechtold (Owen J Roberts, PA)