For the fourth year in a row Flo’s premier event, Who’s #1, will take place at Lehigh University in the legendary Snakepit. It will feature a dual meet format where the top high school wrestlers in the Nation collide and many have an opportunity to claim or defend a #1 National ranking.

Also for the fourth straight season Young Guns WC head coach Jody Strittmatter will be heading one of the teams. In 2016 he will be coach of Team Green which features six Pennsylvania wrestlers, three of which train at Young Guns.

Listen in to the PA Power Podcast as we preview the 2016 Who’s #1 and chat with 2x PIAA State Champion Cameron Coy (Penn Trafford). We also discuss some of the recent College Commitments and those still remaining. You can find the match-ups below in addition to a preview of all six of Pennsylvania’s participants! Don’t forget to subscribe to the PA Power Podcast on iTunes and give us a review!

 

120: #1 Gavin Teasdale vs #2 Jordan Decatur
126: #2 Roman Bravo-Young vs. #4 Nick Raimo
132: #1 Daton Fix vs #2 Austin Gomez
138: #1 Nick Lee vs #3 Sammy Sasso
145: #4 Jarod Verkleeren vs #2 Kaden Gfeller
152: #1 David Carr vs #2 Cam Coy
160: #1 Brady Berge vs #2 Shane Griffith
170: #1 Mikey Labriola vs #2 Travis Wittlake
182: #1 Michael Beard vs #2 Jelani Embree
61kg: Tony Ramos vs Cody Brewer

 

Cameron Coy

152 lbs.

Penn Trafford

Senior

2x PIAA State Champion

#2 in Nation by Flo

Verbal to Virginia

VS. #1 David Carr (Ohio)

 

2x PIAA State Champion Cameron Coy will make his Snakepit debut when he takes on Ohio’s David Carr who is coming of a Cadet World Bronze Medal at the World Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia. It was the first time Carr represented Team USA as he was a Cadet World Team Trials Runner-up in 2015. The 2x Ohio State Champion won his first State title at Dayton Christian and followed that up in 2016 with a State Championship at power program Massillon Perry High School. David Carr enters his first Who’s #1 Event as the top ranked wrestler in the Nation at 152 lbs. one ahead of #2 Cameron Coy.

Pennsylvania Wrestling fans may be scratching their heads saying “Wait a second…there was  family by the name of Carr from Erie who were all really good!.”

That is correct!

David Carr is the son of Pennsylvania legend Nate Carr who was the patriarch of the Carr family from Erie, PA. Growing up Nate Carr Sr. was one of sixteen children where older brother Jimmy would make history as the youngest wrestler in the U.S. to make an Olympic Wrestling team at the age of 16. It was Nate Carr who piled on the credentials as a 3x NCAA National Champion for Iowa State and a 1988 Olympic Bronze Medalist. David Carr’s older brother, Nate Carr Jr., is currently an assistant coach at Lock Haven University.

David Carr, although from Ohio, clearly has a Pennsylvania connection and comes from one of the best, if not the top, wrestling families in the Nation. Last season David and Cameron had one common opponent in Belle Vernon Area stud Jarod Verkleeren (Hempfield Area). David Carr defeated Verkleeren in the prestigious Walsh Ironman at 145 lbs. coming out on top in ride-out (4-4 in UTB). Coy, a University of Virginia recruit, faced off with Verkleeren in the Westmoreland County Coaches Association Tournament finals winning (2-0).

David Carr and Cameron Coy should put on a show to remember at Who’s #1!

 

 

Gavin Teasdale

120 lbs.

Jefferson Morgan

Junior

2x PIAA State Champion

#1 in Nation by Flo

Verbal to Iowa

VS. #2 Jordan Decatur (Ohio)

 

Yet another Pennsylvania vs. Ohio match-up will take place at 120 lbs. when 2x undefeated PIAA State Champion Gavin Teasdale takes on Jordan Decatur. It will be the third straight year that Gavin Teasdale will compete inside the Snakepit at Who’s #1 having a (1-1) record there. In 2015 at 113 lbs. Gavin defeated Roman Bravo-Young (AZ) and in 2014 at 106 lbs. he fell to Cade Olivas (California).

The junior, a 2x Fargo National Champion, has represented Team USA twice at the Cadet World Championship and has already given a verbal commitment to the Iowa Hawkeyes. He will take on Ohio stud Jordan Decatur of powerhouse CVCA who is a sophomore and already owns two Fargo Cadet National Championships. Last season as a freshman he was a Ironman fourth place but was left out of the individual post-season after being disqualified at sectional weigh-ins.

This past summer Decatur was the Cadet World Team Trials runner-up falling to RBY in the finals. Decatur is an offensive machine that could prove a tough match-up for Gavin. Teasdale is the top ranked wrestler in the Nation according to Flo while Decatur comes in at second. Teasdale is an experienced wrestler who will have his club coach Jody Strittmatter in his corner. My money’s on Gavin’s experience in the event to get him a victory and defend his #1 ranking.

 

 

Jarod Verkleeren

145 lbs.

Hempfield Area

Senior

1x PIAA State Medalist

#4 in Nation by Flo

Verbal to Iowa State

VS. #2 Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma)

 

Like Gavin Teasdale, senior Jarod Verkleeren will be making a repeat trip to Lehigh at Who’s #1. Last season Jarod was victorious at the event edging out Kyle Bierdumpfel (Don Bosco, NJ), who is now at Harvard, in the 145 lbs. bout. In 2015 Jarod placed fourth in the PIAA State Tournament, was a UWW Cadet World Freestyle Champion, and an Ironman Runner-up. After his junior season came to a controversial end at Belle Vernon Area he won a FloNationals Championship and was a Fargo Junior Nationals Runner-up. Now at Hempfield Area High School the senior committed to the Iowa State Cyclones and head coach Kevin Jackson.

There is no question Jarod is one of the top Freestyle wrestlers in the Nation and his Folkstyle skills should no longer be a question. His opponent is one that he may see in his college career competing in the Big XII Conference. Kaden Gefeller, a 3x Oklahoma State Champion from Heritage Hall, will be staying home to attend Oklahoma State University next season. Gfeller has grown into one of the most recognizable names competing in events such as Fargo, Super 32, Freakshow, and FloNationals.

He was a 2013 Fargo Cadet Freestyle National Champion at 94 lbs., a 2014 Fargo Cadet Freestyle National Third Place at 106 lbs., and a 2015 Fargo Junior Freestyle National Third Place at 126 lbs. In 2015 an injury during warms-ups forced Gfeller to miss his second Junior Nationals. In 2015 he was a FloNationals Champion at 113 lbs. before hitting a growth spurt that put him up several weights.

Verkleeren enters ranked #4 in the Nation while Gfeller is #2.

 

 

Sammy Sasso

138 lbs.

Nazareth Area

Junior

2x PIAA State Medalist

#3 in Nation by Flo

VS. #1 Nick Lee (Indiana)

Sammy Sasso won’t have to travel far for his first appearance in the Flo Who’s #1 Event. The Nazareth Area junior comes in ranked #3 in the Nation by Flo and boasts an impressive resume. The 2x PIAA State Medalist will take on an absolute monster in Indiana’s Nick Lee. Ranked #1 in the Nation by Flo Nick Lee will be spending considerable time in Pennsylvania as he will be attending Penn State in 2017. The Evansville Mater Dei senior is a 3x Indiana State Medalist and 1x Champion. Don’t get confused by him only having one Indiana State Championship, as a freshman he fell to stud Steve Micic in 2014 and Chad Red in 2016.

Both Sammy and Nick Lee have found success competing in Fargo, ND with Lee owning both a Cadet and Junior National Freestyle Championship. This season in Fargo Nick Lee won the Junior National Championship in Freestyle at 138 lbs. with an exciting (11-10) victory over Kanen Storr in the finals to cap an incredible run. He was a 2014 Fargo Cadet National Freestyle Champion at 132 lbs.

 

Michael Beard

182 lbs.

Malvern Prep

Junior

National Prep Champion

#1 in Nation by Flo

VS. #2 Jelani Embree (Michigan)

 

2016 National Prep Champion Michael Beard will look to prove he is worthy of a #1 Ranking in the Nation by Flo when he meets Michigan’s Jelani Embree at Who’s #1. The junior was a 2016 Cadet World Team Trials Runner-up and a 2016 Escape the Rock Champion. Beard is a classic Pennsylvania wrestler who is heavy on top, tough to score on, and solid from his feet. He loves to grind out matches by piling up points. Over the summer Michael travelled south to Peru where he competed in the Pan-Am Cadet Games and came away with a Gold Medal in Freestyle.

His opponent is a senior from Warren Lincoln High School in Michigan where he was a State Champion in 2016. Embree is a physical specimen who has also been successful in Freestyle winning a Cadet National Championship and making a Cadet World Team before an injury kept him out of competing. An offensive machine he and Beard will have conflicting styles that could make for an interesting match.

If Beard can slow down and frustrate a strong Embree I think he wins the bout.

 

 

Mikey Labriola

170 lbs.

Bethlehem Catholic

Senior

PIAA State Champion

#1 in Nation by Flo

Verbal to Nebraska

VS. #2 Travis Wittlake (Oregon)

 

The second District XI representative in the Snakepit will be BECA senior Mikey Labriola. The 2016 PIAA State Champion is a 3x State Medalist who is heading to Nebraska in 2017. Mikey, who doesn’t wrestle a ton of Freestyle, has placed in the Beast of the East, Super 32, and was a King of the Mountain Champion his junior year. He has a Nebraska like blast-double and his upper body strength is unmatched.

Labriola will be taking on a stud in Travis Wittlake who will be making the trip east from Oregon. Wittlake has been busy this summer as he recently returned from the Cadet World Championships in Georgia bringing home a World Bronze Medal. In Fargo he breezed through to a Cadet National Championship in both Greco and Freestyle. There are rumors that the senior could be attending Penn State but nothing has been confirmed.  He comes in ranked #2 in the Nation, one behind Labriola, but has a chance to grab the #1 spot.

These two match-up very well and expect a lot of scoring. If Labriola can stay focused and do what he does best on his feet I think he can come out on top. Wittlake could be worn down from a long Freestyle season or use the momentum as a benefit in Pennsylvania.