Vote: Who is the National High School Lower Weight Wrestler of the Week? (1/22/2025)

Here are 7 nominees for your voting consideration
St. Joe Regional's JoJo Burke (left) wrestles Will Webb from Don Bosco in a recent 106 pound match.
St. Joe Regional's JoJo Burke (left) wrestles Will Webb from Don Bosco in a recent 106 pound match. / Anne-Marie Caruso/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The 2024-25 high school wrestling season is fully underway and now it is time cast your vote for our weekly National High School Lower Weight Wrestler of the Week.


Congratulations to last week's winner: Corey Brown of Mount St. Joseph (MD).


Here is this week's list of nominees. Voting ends at 11:59 PT on Jan. 26.

JoJo Burke (St. Joseph Regional, NJ) 107

The No. 14 Burke reached the finals of the Escape the Rock Tournament where he encountered No. 5 Justin Farnsworth (Malvern Prep, PA). Burked not only won the match but did so by 13-4 major decision.

Ayden Dodd (Perrysburg, OH) 113

Dodd won the crown at the Maumee Bay Classic over Highland, Ohio’s Brandon Bickerton, 6-1. Bickerton sits a few spots above Dodd in the honorable mention section of the 113lb rankings.

Dylan Barrett (Penn Trafford, PA) 114

Barrett, who is unranked nationally, took out No. 27 Easton Mull (Chestnut Ridge, PA), 8-4, at the Brookville Ultimate Duals.

Slater Hicks (Valencia, CA) 126

Hicks is a honorable mention grappler at 126 and faced off with No. 29 Sirj Sidhu (Del Oro, CA) and walked away the 9-3 victor in the finals of the Temecula Valley Battle for the Belt.

Nathan Carillo (St. John Bosco, CA) 126

Carillo is ranked 11th in the country and recently lost two matches to No. 10 Isaiah Cortez (Gilroy, CA) at the Doc Buchanan Tournament. Our records reveal two additional losses to Cortez as a freshman. In the 5 Counties Championship bout, Carillo, now a junior, came out ahead of Cortez, 6-5.

Moses Mendoza (Gilroy, CA) 132

In the semis at the Doc B Tournament, No. 6 Ashton Besmer (Buchanan, CA) earned his higher ranking over No. 7 Mendoza with a 22-15 victory. Flash forward to Saturday’s 5 Counties finals and Mendoza gained big-time revenge with a 16-1 technical fall of Besmer.

Ryan Kennedy (Spire Academy, OH) 139

At Escape the Rock, Kennedy, a honorable mention grappler, authored two upsets to power his run to the title. In the finals, Kennedy downed No. 24 Camden Baum (Bishop McDevitt, PA), 10-7 in sudden victory overtime, in the semis, a bigger fish fell when Kennedy beat No. 8 Jayce Paridon (Lake Highland Prep, FL), 6-3.


Published
Billy Buckheit
BILLY BUCKHEIT

Billy Buckheit is a long-time high school wrestling expert and journalist who has been doing the individual national high school wrestling rankings for SBLive Sports since 2022. He also provides coverage a major high school wrestling tournaments throughout the year. Billy previously served as the senior wrestling writer for Varsity Sports Network and the Baltimore Banner. He has also served on the seeding committees for many prestigious regional and national tournaments. In addition, he is the editor of Billy B's Wrestling World, a popular Facebook page dedicated to high school wrestling, and is an editorial contributor for the Maryland State Wrestling Association (MSWA).