Ohio Wrestling Site's All-Decade Team: Part 1 of a Three-Part Series (103-140)

(above): David Taylor vs. Jamie Clark may have been the best individual rivalry of the decade. Photo Credit: Bob Tuneberg, Villager News

With the season upon us, there seems to be no better way to look forward than to take a quick look back at the decade of wrestling that has just been completed.  What follows is Ohio Wrestling Site’s take on who the best of the decade were in each weight. This is the first of a three part series- focusing on 103-140 lbs. Next up will be 145-285 lbs., and then, Ohio Wrestling Site will tackle the daunting task of selecting a “Wrestler of the Decade”. 

The threshold question that must be asked is what criteria was used to pick this team? First, let me tell what criteria wasn’t used- raw statistics.  The easy way to pick a team like this would be “four-time state champion” is first team, then three-time state champion, etc.  However, one would not have had to witness a single match to pick such a team, and there would be zero real analysis/insight that would go into picking such a team. Futhermore, frankly what interests me isn’t necessarily career achievements, but how high of a level a wrestler was able to reach by the end of their career- and career achievements can obscure that. Example- if I may refer back to the 90’s- Roger Chandler- a 140 his senior year- won only a single state title and in fact only QUALIFIED for a state his senior year.  Collin Palmer won four state titles in Division I, his last at 140 also, but- and I don’t mean to beat up on Palmer here- I take Chandler’s raw passion his senior year (in which he pinned or teched everyone sectionals through state and then did the same at Senior Nationals until he met Cary Kolat-widely considered the greatest high school wrestler in history- in the finals).  I would seriously challenge anyone who watched both their senior years to offer a rationale as to why Palmer wins this match.  At any rate, ranking wrestlers purely on their stats would be boring as hell, and not worth reading, so that’s not how it’s being done here.

The method I use, then, is the same as with all rankings- if I had to bet my house on it, who would I pick?  I look at dominance (can be on the scoreboard, or with control wrestlers, can be seen merely in the action itself), I look at how they did against national competition (perhaps the single greatest barometer- being the best in the nation at your weight has to speak volumes), I look at who their competition was (a huge factor, timing can be the difference between winning a single state title and winning four). Looking at those factors, these are my selections- sure, they are the picks of one guy, but they’ve certainly been influenced through hours of time wasted debating these picks with both highly knowledgeable people such as Bob Preusse, “Bucksman”, and many, many others both online and in person- so I’d like to think that what you see below represents, to some extent, a consensus of Ohio Wrestling experts.

Finally, there are, of course, many, many great wrestlers who were unable to crack the top ten- in some cases it may be inconceivable to you that they did not, but the key question to ask yourself is “if they go on, who comes off?”- you will find it’s not as clear-cut as it may seem.  With no further ado:

103 LBS
First Team:  David Taylor- Sophomore Year- 2007
Second Team: Logan Stieber- Freshman Year- 2007
Third Team: Jamie Clark- Freshman Year- 2007

Honorable Mention:
Sam White- 2007- Sophomore Year
Aaron Hart- 2004- Sophomore Year
Nick Brascetta- 2009- Sophomore Year
Hunter Stieber- 2008- Freshman Year
David Taylor- 2006- Freshman Year
Lance Palmer- 2003- Freshman Year
Daniel Early- 2002- Senior Year

David Taylor and Logan Stieber are clearly 1a and 1b here.  The two premier Ohio lightweights of their time, both dominated in Ohio and nationally the way very, very few wrestlers in this state ever have.  Without question, Taylor is the greatest Ohio mat wrestler of his era and not ever and Stieber is/was almost as tough on top and possibly better on his feet.  Despite very tough schedules, neither wrestler had a single match go the distance during their 2006-2007 season other than against the #3 choice, Jamie Clark of St. Edward.  Of course, these two great competitors met in what will be, in hindsight, one of the biggest bouts in Ohio wrestling history.  The absolutely unflappable Taylor used a late first period ankle pick and some incredible riding to wear down the seemingly unbeatable Stieber and win by a convincing 7-3 score.

It may surprise some that I took Clark over Sam White given that White ultimately captured the state title and lead the series 2-1 that year.  Let’s face it, however- the only thing that there series established over two years was that these wrestlers were dead-even, and Clark certainly gets bonus points for beating David Taylor once and nearly beating him a second time (and losing to Stieber by a point, whereas White was handled by Stieber throughout his career).  This was purely a judgment call- White would have been a fine choice, as would Hunter Stieber, Lance Palmer, or even possibly Nick Brascetta, given that he finished the year ranked #1 in the nation.

Note that neither Kyle Ott, Harry Lester, or Mason Lenhard were eligible for the team at this weight as all wrestled their last year at 103 in the 90’s.  Among the best to not quite crack the top ten here are Pat McLemore (the hardest for me to leave off), Jerome Robinson, Kory Mines, Ty Mitch, and Johnni DiJulius.

112 LBS
First Team: David Taylor- 2008 Junior Year
Second Team: Kyle Ott- 2000- Junior Year
Third Team: Mark Moos- 2001- Junior Year

Honorable Mention:
Dustin Schlatter- 2002- Freshman Year
Jamie Clark- 2008- Sophomore Year
Sam White- 2008- Junior Year
Collin Palmer- 2006- Freshman Year
Ty Mitch- 2009- Junior Year
Lance Palmer- 2004- Sophomore Year
Bo Touris- 2007- Senior Year

Once again, Taylor must be the choice here I believe.  Not far behind, however, are Kyle Ott, Mark Moos and Dustin Schlatter.  Ott is without question one of  the quickest on his feet I’ve ever seen- a wrestler so talented that even approximately 15 knee surgeries didn’t prevent him from making two NCAA finals at Illinois.  Among his achievements were winning three state titles and two big wins over Darryl Vasquez, the first 4x California State Champion.  Ott also dominated at NHSCA Senior Nationals and placed 2nd at Junior National after his sophomore year in an incredibly tough weight class.  In my view, Ott matches up poorly with Taylor in that Ott- good as he was on his feet- showed throughout his career that getting off the bottom could be his Achilles Heel.  I think Taylor takes nine of ten from Ott and the potential for a blowout is absolutely real.

Moos captured a Junior National and Senior National title before his career was finished.  He was limited to two state titles by Kyle Ott, but was without question one of the finest lightweights to go through this state.  His junior season was his best, running the table despite a loaded schedule and then winning Junior Nationals in a barnburner over the excellent Sam Hazewinkel in the finals.  His senior year, he defeated future 2x NCAA Champion Matt Valenti to win Senior Nationals.  Moos was one of the best pure technicians we’ve seen in this state.

True be told, I wouldn’t say for sure that a freshman Dustin Schlatter could not on a given day beat anyone here (Taylor would be a tall order though, figuratively and literally).  Not only did he manage to go unbeaten, he dominated against Junior National Freestyle Champion Robbie Preston (9-2 with four takedowns) and 11-6 over Coleman Scott (future NCAA Champion) at Ironman.  He then majored the defending state champion to win his first state title.  It occurs to me that Schlatter- even though he was just a freshman- presents a difficult match-up for Taylor in that he was probably slightly better on his feet and I have never seen Schlatter ridden for any significant amount of time.  Then again, he never faced anyone like Taylor on time, and I have to think the junior Taylor wins this match-up 8 out of 10 times.

Among the best not quite cracking the top ten here are Jerome Robinson, Steve Mitcheff, and Gus Sako.

(above): Logan Stieber of Monroeville shown here dismantling the excellent Johnny Papesh. Photo Credit: Bob Tuneberg, Villager News

119 LBS
First Team: Logan Stieber- 2008- Sophomore Year
Second Team: Kyle Ott- 2001- Senior Year
Third Team: Jamie Clark- 2009- Junior Year

Honorable Mention:
CP Schlatter- 2000- Freshman Year
Harry Lester- 2000- Junior Year
Mason Lenhard- 2000- Senior Year
Mark Moos- 2002- Senior Year
Ricky Deubel- 2004- Senior Year
Aaron Hart- 2006- Senior Year
Cameron Doggett- 2003- Sophomore Year

This is a very tough call but I think that Logan Stieber must be the pick as a sophomore over a senior Kyle Ott.  Ott was perhaps a step slow his senior year compared to other seasons following an off-season marred by a plethora of knee surgeries, and was stunned by Protz of West Geauga at the Top Gun Tournament. He of course rebounded with dominating performances at state and NHSCA Senior Nationals.  However, Logan Stieber shortly after this tournament won the FILA Junior Nationals against the best wrestlers 20 and under in the United States, including a shutout of Zach Sanders, a wrestler three years his senior with numerous national titles who would go on to place 5th at NCAA’s the next year.  Taking the sophomore Logan Stieber over the Senior Kyle Ott may not be the politically correct choice with some, but I don’t see him losing this bout.  Stieber I think is quick enough to hang with Ott’s blazing speed and is much stronger, and clearly better on the mat.  Advantage must go to Stieber in my view.

They say that some men are born in the wrong century- I think Jamie Clark is like that- however, not born in the wrong century, but born in the wrong decade.  Clark has had the misfortune to come through in an era where Ohio has seen unparalleled lightweights- he has butted heads with Taylor, Stieber, and Sammy White.  Despite being one of the nation’s best his entire career, he perhaps has not gotten quite the acclaim he otherwise would.  In another era, Clark could easily be a 3x unbeaten state champion right now, even on the St. Edward schedule- he is that outstanding and that consistent.  Clark’s only losses are to: Taylor, Stieber, and White.  If he’d come through in the 1990’s- Clark would be without question the premier lightweight of that decade (with all apologies to Eddie Jayne and Tim Dernlan) and possibly completes an unbeaten career as well.

Of the honorable mentions, CP Schlatter I think could possibly be in the top three. Due to his somewhat disappointing college career, some forget just how formidable he was in high school, but this is the only wrestler in Ohio who has completed a four year career without a single loss to an Ohio wrestler (he lost to an out of state wrestler, Mark Martin of Great Bridge, in overtime).  His dominating win during this season over Mason Lenhard (who would go on to win his third state title) is still one of the most impressive performances I have ever seen by a freshman (Chris Phillips over Brian Roddy and Felipe Martinez over Tony Ramos being the others that come to mind).  How advanced was he at this point in his career?  Keep in mind he teched current world team member Shawn Bunch heading into his freshman year, when Bunch was heading into his junior year.

This is simply an outstanding group, with very good 2x Division I state champions Ryan Smith and Brandon Luce being deserving of honorable mention status but not quite making the cut in this superb field. Others that are close but not quite there are Josh Zupanic (Junior Year) and Hunter Stieber (Sophomore Year).

(above): Sammy White and Zach Neibert battle in one of the best matches of the 2008-2009 season. Photo Credit: Bob Tuneberg, Villager News

125 LBS
First Team: Logan Stieber – 2009- Junior Year
Second Team: Dustin Schlatter- 2003- Sophomore Year
Third Team: Mark Jayne- 2000- Senior Year

Honorable Mention
Zach Neibert- 2009- Senior Year
Collin Palmer- 2007- Senior Year
Sam White- 2009- Senior Year
Josh Wooten- 2001- Senior Year
Lance Palmer- 2005- Junior Year
Cameron Doggett- 2005- Senior Year
Drew Opfer- 2001- Senior Year

Once again, Logan Stieber is a fairly easy choice here. Stieber missed much of the season with a broken hand, but when he came back, he promptly technical falled the excellent Jake McCombs (3rd at state in Division I).  Throughout his career, technical falls against all but the most elite have been virtually automatic for Stieber, and I’ve never seen anyone make them look quite so effortless.  Stieber’s excellence, of course, was even better demonstrated by his placing 3rd at Senior Nationals and 4th at World Team Trials shortly after the season. 

Dustin Schlatter is my #2 choice here despite having inexplicably suffered one terrible day at Ironman where he lost to Jason Johnstone and Shane Grogg. After hitting his stride in the second half of the season, he was untouchable, winning virtually every match by technical fall or fall before posting an 11-0 win over an unbeaten wrestler in the state finals.  What really showed how truly outstanding Schlatter was at this point was his accomplishments over the summer.  Faced with one of the toughest weights Fargo has seen- Schlatter dominated Alex Tsirtis and Dan Frishkorn- regarded as two of the best upperclassmen in the nation- before defeating graduated Senior Ryan Lang 6-4 in the finals.  Schlatter wrestled everywhere in the spring and summer following this season, and ran the table against numerous outstanding opponents (often by technical fall) including a win over future NCAA Runner-Up Josh Churella.  In short, Schlatter is Schlatter, and a victory by a sophomore Schlatter over a junior Stieber would be surprising, but not stunning.  Fact is, there isn’t a single year where I would rule out a victory by Dustin in this mythical tournament, even his freshman year.

Mark Jayne is my #3 choice here. Jayne is hurt perhaps by his failure to place at Senior Nationals- but a closer look reveals that this was the classic case of a guy who loses to the eventual champ and then can’t rebound in the consolations.  Gulosh of Walsh placed 3rd in his weight- a wrestler that Jayne easily defeated numerous times.  I think that Jayne’s three big school state titles, dominance in-state (almost always good for a major against virtually anyone) and excellent track record in Fargo (3rd in freestyle twice and 1st and 2nd in Greco all at the Junior Level) more than off-set that.

I almost want to go with Cameron Doggett as the #3 choice, a wrestler I always found to be very impressive. Doggett captured three state titles and easily could have won four (he beat the eventual champ Zupanic twice during the season before suffering a disastrous state tournament).  Doggett also had an outstanding track record in Fargo, big wins in-state over wrestlers like Zupanic and Deubel, two Ironman titles, and got off to an excellent start in college before suffering a career ending injury.  However, his loss to Lance Palmer his senior year bars him from being put ahead of Jayne in my view- and Jayne certainly earned his spot with his outstanding career.

Another wrestler who merits strong consideration for the #3 spot is Sam White.  White is a guy that may be overlooked a bit because he wasn’t as flashy as some and came through in an era of outstanding lightweights, but he was a virtually automatic “W” against all but the truly elite.  Among his career highlights were two wins over Jamie Clark, two runner-up finishes in Fargo to Logan Stieber, two wins over one of the nation’s best in Tony Ramos, and finally, an Ironman crown won over the excellent Zach Neibert in an incredible bout (his second win over Neibert in two meetings).  Look for White to go on to great things at Illinois.

Among the best to not crack the top ten here are Zach Neibert, Nate Gulosh, Dan Mitcheff, Keith Sulzer, J.Jaggers (Sophomore Year), and

130 LBS
First Team: Harry Lester- Senior Year- 2001
Second Team: CP Schlatter- Sophomore Year- 2001
Third Team: J.Jaggers- Junior Year- 2003

Honorable Mention
Felipe Martinez- 2009- Freshman Year
Joey Pflug- Junior Year- 2001
TJ Enright- Senior Year- 2003
Ryan Lang- 2002- Junior Year
Josh Zupanic- 2003- Senior Year
Willie Saxton- 2006- Senior Year
Daniel Kolodzik- 2008- Senior Year

The first and second team choices, ironically enough, were the same year.  The prior year, I thought that CP Schlatter might have had the edge, but in 2001 when both were 130 Lester was the man for sure. Prior to the season, Lester won the East Strousberg Open at 133 lbs. including wins over very tough collegians Justin Wilcox and Phil Mansueto.  Of course Harry’s proficiency in Greco-Roman wrestling is well-documented (two-time World Bronze Medalist), but in high school he was equally brilliant in folkstyle and freestyle wrestling (twice defeating 2x Junior National Champion and future 2x NCAA Champion Teyon Ware in Fargo, technical falling current world team member Shawn Bunch at Junior Duals, etc).  There is a very select group of Ohio wrestlers who competed at a level of similar to a NCAA All-Americans when they were still in high school- I’m not sure that Lester was quite one of those, but his senior year, he was very, very close.

CP Schlatter is a solid choice for #2. While he suffered the only loss of his storied high school carreer in this season (in overtime, to Michael Martin of Great Bridge Virginia) he beat studs like Joey Pflug and Joey Eckloff during the season before crushing the field at the state tournament.  Schlatter also destroyed all comers at junior duals that summer and was on his way to a possible junior freestyle title in a loaded 143 weight (he had an easy win over the finalist from his pool, future NCAA Champion Ben Cherrington) before injuring  his ribs and defaulting to 8th.

#3 was a much tougher choice.  I think that either Jaggers, Pflug, Enright, or even Martinez can be considered here. In the end my choice was Jaggers- because if we actually figured out how to build a time machine and held this tournament, history shows that he’d be a bad guy to best against!

Among the best not to crack the top ten here are Albert Madsen, Seth Horner (Junior Year), Cam Tessari (Sophomore Year),

(above): J.Jaggers may be the most accomplished wrestler of the decade when combining high school and college achievements. Here, he battles former Chanel teammate and NAIA National Champion Adam Koballa in a dual. Photo Credit: Bob Tuneberg, Villager News

135 LBS
First Team: David Taylor- 2009- Senior Year
Second Team: J.Jaggers- 2004- Senior Year
Third Team: Ryan Lang- 2003- Senior Year

Honorable Mention
CP Schlatter- 2002- Junior Year
Collin Palmer- 2008- Junior Year
Tony Jameson- 2007- Junior Year
Jason Johnstone- 2004- Senior Year
Pat McLemore- 2006- Senior Year
Steve Blunk- 2004- Senior Year
Chase Skonieczny- 2008- Senior Year

Yet again, David Taylor is the man here, the only wrestler to make the first team three times.  His senior season was as perfect a year as any wrestler this state has ever had. More about that later.

J.Jaggers and Ryan Lang are virtually identical choices for me, and had virtually identical season.  Both of these four-timers seemed to hit an entirely new level of dominance their senior seasons and both finished their careers as junior nationals and NHSCA Senior National Champs.

Jaggers in particular impressed during his senior season.  First, he technical falled in the finals of Ironman.  Then, he posted a convincing win over 2x Division I State Champion Jason Johnstone.  And of course there was his annual ransacking of the Schott where he didn’t go the distance for the third straight year. However- in a great preview of his collegiate career- it was a loss that seemed to vault him to an entirely new level. Flying out to California vs. the Dream Team Dual, Jaggers was unexpectedly defeated by three-time California State Champion Troy Tirapelle.  He would get his rematch on his home turf- in the semifinals of Senior Nationals which were held in Cleveland that year. Rather than the close match that one might expect- what followed was a complete massacre.  Jaggers literally put Tirapelle on his back three times in under a minute before pinning him.  Needing to do something dramatic perhaps to keep pace with that performance, Jaggers technical falled the excellent Steve Blunk of CVCA (himself a four-time state finalist and honorable mention for this team) in just two periods to win the finals.  In Fargo, Jaggers- in a true harbinger of things to come- lost in his pool to the unheralded Tim McGoldrick of Pennsylvania.  With his back against the wall- J.Jaggers did what Jaggers does- raised his game to an entirely new level.  When McGoldrick lost to Cyler Sanderson, Jaggers needed to pin Sanderson to the advance to the finals- so of course, that’s exactly what he did, and he then won in the finals as well.  Jaggers would go on to be a two-time NCAA Champion and finish his career as one of the most overall accomplished wrestlers to ever compete in this state- four-time state champion, Junior National Champion, Senior National Champion, two-time NCAA Champion.  Not much more to accomplish than that- but word on the street is Jaggers may not be done just yet as he may now try his hand at freestyle and attempt to make the United States Team for the World Championships and Olympics in years to come.  He would be competing in the toughest weight in the U.S. at 145.5, but history has shown that counting out J.Jaggers is a bad bet.

Best of the Honorable Mentions were CP Schlatter- who did what he always did in high school- dominate- and Tony Jameson.  Jameson captured his third state title in this season and while he cannot be put ahead of any of the top three- the season that he had was spectacular despite the loss to Habat. Having notched major decisions over excellent wrestlers like Pelton and Clopton earlier in the year, Jameson responded to the Habat loss at state by decimating the excellent trio of Andrew Gasber, TJ Rigel, and Habat before posting a solid 8-4 win over an unbeaten Richie Spicel in the finals.

Once again, some outstanding wrestler cannot make the cut at this unbelievable weight- but certainly deserving mention are: Matt McIntrye (Junior Year), Ryan Gambill, Aaron Martin, Jeffrey Pelton, Thomas Straughn (Junior Year), Chris Vondruska, and Anthony Constantino.

(above): Only a bona-fide superstar like Dustin Schlatter can keep Lance Palmer- headed toward becoming a 4x NCAA All-American- off the first team. Photo Credit: Bob Tuneberg, Villager News

140 LBS
First Team: Dustin Schlatter- 2004- Junior Year
Second Team: Lance Palmer- 2006- Senior Year
Third Team: Matt McIntyre- 2002- Senior Year

Honorable Mention
Collin Palmer- 2009- Senior Year
Jake Percival- 2000- Senior Year
Daniel Mason-Strauss- 2003- Senior Year
Mike Hurley- 2002- Senior Year
Richie Spicel- 2008- Senior Year
Clay Tucker- 2005- Senior Year
Zach Flake- 2003- Senior Year

What can you say about the great Dustin Schlatter that has not already been said? During this season he put on one virtuoso performance after another- highlighted by the complete domination of the aforementioned 3x state champion Troy Tirapelle (seven takedowns in a 14-6 win).  Perhaps most impressive were his victories over very tough collegians Michael Keefe and Frank Edgar at the West Virginia Open, where he captured the title.  Keefe would become an All-American the following year and Edgar was a match away from All-American the season Schlatter beat him (7-4).  Simply put, Schlatter was competing at the level of an NCAA All-American by his junior year in high school.

Despite the numerous outstanding wrestlers at this weight, Lance Palmer is a relatively easy second choice here.  Save for one dumb mistake where he pulled Dunn of Pennsylvania on top of himself and gave up a reversal and back points to lose Ironman- Palmer was an absolute machine his senior year- hammering great wrestlers left and right.  He then went to senior nationals and dominated once again.  Very few wrestlers in this state have commanded the sheer intimidation that Palmer had, with his brutal “Palmer Half” being good for a virtually automatic fall in any match.  If there was any doubt about how good Palmer was, it was quickly put to rest his freshman year in college, when he placed 4th in an absolutely loaded weight as a true freshman.

Matt McIntyre is my pick for the #3 spot.  McIntyre was an explosive, fiery competitor who competed with a ton of heart.  It’s difficult to say what was most impressive- his third place finish in a loaded 143 lb. weight his junior year in Fargo (with a win over future NCAA Runner-up Brian Stith to his credit, a wrestler who bested both Joey Pflug and CP Schlatter), or his NHSCA Senior National Title.  McIntyre beat the extremely highly regarded four-time unbeaten state champ Andy Simmons in the semis at NHSCA before winning an epic bout over fellow Ohioan Mike Hurley- himself an honorable mention choice for this team.  McIntyre fell behind in that bout by approximately seven point in that bout as he was taken down to his back by Hurley twice, only to come roaring back in the third period with an incredible barrage of takedowns to win in one of the most incredible comebacks I’ve ever seen. 

It may surprise some that Collin Palmer does not crack the top three, but the plain fact is that this is not a career achievement category, but rather a look at who was the best in his senior year- and with a decisive loss to Andrew Alton, a loss to Taylor who was up a weight, and frankly unimpressive wins at state over tough but not elite wrestlers like Sasfy and Comar, I can’t pick him over his brother or McIntyre who were so dominant during their senior campaigns.  Now, I’d take a focused Collin Palmer over virtually anyone- but we haven’t seen that in a few years unfortunately. Hopefully that can change in the coming years.

Among the best not to crack the top ten were Charlie Aggozino, Kyle Lang (Junior Year), Keith Lipp, Josh Horne, Harrison Hightower (Junior Year), Germaine Lindsey, and Shawn Harris.

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