Max Schwartz’s New England rankings, Dec. 26, 2022

Sports journalist Max Schwartz has compiled his latest New England public high school wrestling rankings after three weeks of action around the region this month with new No. 1 ratings for wrestlers in six weight classes (106, 138, 152, 160, 220 and 285 pounds).

Results from the Marlboro Early Bird, Sandwich Early Bird, Big Red, Wayland Holiday Tournament, Wilmington Sons of Italy, Milford Invitational, Knighthawk Classic in Massachusetts are included along with results from the Nick Garoffolo Ludlowe Invitational, Lancer Invitational, Guilford Invitational, CJ McCormack Tournament, Frank Chaves Holiday Tournament in Connecticut and the Londonderry Holiday Tournament (NH) and North Providence tournaments.

Is there a typo, a missed key result or a weight change? Please email Max at [email protected]

Rankings of Dec. 26, 2022

106

As usual, there is a lot of movement in and out of this weight class as wrestlers mature and grow. Yandel Morales (Andover, MA) finds himself as the new No. 1 ranked wrestler. No. 2 Raekwon Shabazz (Xavier, CT) is looking to keep a strong season going after an impressive fifth place finish at the prestigious Beast of the East tournament in Delaware. No. 4 Emmet Logan (Lowell, MA) and No. 5 Cole Glynn (Central Catholic, MA) also pop in for the first time, both having great seasons in Massachusetts so far.

113

No. 1 Alex Schaeublin (St. John’s Prep, MA) still finds himself atop this weight class. No. 2 James Blood (Sanford, ME) jumps up a weight, and looks like the top threat to Schaeublin up top.No. 5 Jared Hood (Ponaganset, RI) moves up after calculating a missed result against No. 6 Ryan Conlan (La Salle Academy, RI).

120

No. 1 stays the same with Peyton Ellis (Coventry, RI), but boy is there a lot of movement below him. No. 2 Miles Darling (Essex Tech/Masconomet, MA) jumps up from 106 and also has a 6-4 win over No. 9 Brayton Carbone (Shawsheen Tech, MA). No. 4 Isaiah Adams (Avon, CT) looks to throw his hat in the mix as he is up from 113, along with another Connecticut foe in No. 5 Joe Mahoney (New Fairfield, CT). Mahoney was previously at 106 pounds.

126

Some movement here, but mostly due to just adjusting weights. No. 3 Michael Boulaunger Jr. (Milford, MA) moves up after beating No. 5 Jack Callahan (Tewskbury, MA), 11-3. No. 10 Andrew McCarthey (Mount Hope, RI) also dropped a close 11-9 sudden victory loss to Callahan. No. 9 Dominick Spadaro (Fairfield Warde, CT) is up from 113 and will be looking to make some noise in this weight class.

132

No. 2 Kaden Warde (Killingly, CT) moves up a weight and finds himself still with silver in the rankings. Following him is No. 3 Dyllan Davis (Wells, ME). No. 6 Gavin Ripley (Oceanside, ME) and No. 7 Kiaben Kennedy (Bedford, NH) have also found a new home in this weight class.

138

No. 1 Sidney Tildsley (Shawsheen Tech, MA) claims the top spot after dropping down a weight class. No. 3 Tyler Kadish (Newton South, MA) bumps up from 132. And No. 5 Kyle Levesque (Xavier, CT) jumps in from 126. No. 7 Joe Joyce (Ponaganset, RI) slides in after pinning No. 9 Jaydin D’Ambrosio (St. John’s Prep, MA).

145

As is clear from the previous weight classes, the weights of the athletes are still getting adjusted and rankings have moved a ton in other spots, but at No. 1 for 145 is still Gabriel Bouysouu (Scituate, RI). No. 8 Josh Howard is up from 138 pounds and dropped a close 4-2 decision to No. 7 Jonah Weber (Avon, CT)

152

No. 1 Aidan Clark (Skowhegan, ME) moves up a weight after taking out a tough in-state foe in new No. 5 Brody Maxon (Wells, ME), who beat No. 6 Lucas Liccy (Mountain Valley, ME) earlier that night.

160

This weight class has become a dangerous dance, as the rankings are completely stacked. No. 1 Rawson Iwanicki (St. John’s Prep, MA) finds himself as the clear favorite. The top challengers for his throne include No. 2 Andrew Reall (Ponaganset, RI), No. 3 Jack Richardson (Killingly, CT), and No. 4 Brent Nicholosi (Haverhill, MA). Both Richardson and Nicholosi are up from 145.

At No. 5 is Khalil Bourjeli, who was fifth in New England at 138 pounds as a freshman in 2020 and then lost his sophomore and junior seasons to COVID and injuries, respectively. He’s looking to get right back on pace with a spot on the podium.

170

A good amount of movement here as weights get adjusted. Most notably, No. 4 Fisher Stites (Newtown, CT) is up from 160, as is No. 7 Isal Perez (Hope, RI).

No. 2 Oliver Parker (Central Falls/Blackstone Valley, RI) makes a splash in the rankings after pinning No. 3 Nicholas Baccala (Ponaganset, RI) in the finals of the Northern Providence Tournament.

182

No. 2 Nate Blanchette (Central Catholic, MA) moves up a weight class and will look to challenge No. 1 Spencer Fine (Bishop Hendricken, RI). No. 3 Issac Heiner (Mattanwcook/Lee, ME) will also look to finish towards the top this year.

195

Surprisingly, some stability here at 195 pounds. There are not many changes at this weight class except for the fact that No. 6 Imanol Tavares (Hope, RI) is now up from 170.

220

Our previous number one moved up a weight class, so Patrick DesLauries (Ashland, MA) now sits on the throne. Chasing him is No. 2 James Duhancik (Stratford, CT) and No. 3 Michael DiOrio (Ponaganset, RI). No. 7 Chris Folsom (Essex, VT) comes into the rankings after a win over No. 8 Christopher Reiss (New Milford, CT).

285

This weight class was due for a big change when Nebraska commit No. 1 Hampton Kaye-Kuter (Milford, MA) came up to heavyweight. The future Husker now finds himself in the top spot. Otherwise, not many changes at heavyweight.

New England Top 15 teams

Some slight movement in the team race, but still sitting pretty at the top is No. 1 Ponaganset, RI (Glocester, RI). Following them, now somewhat closely, is No. 2 Danbury (CT) who find themselves moving up. No. 3 St. John’s Prep (Danvers, MA) comes in after them, falling a spot from our last update. No. 4 Xavier (Middletown, CT) also has moved up. Some of the biggest movers include No. 5 Milford (MA) who’s jumped up eight spots from number thirteen. No. 13 Minnechuag (Wilbraham, MA), No. 14 Wells (ME), and No. 15 Simsbury (CT) all make their debut in the top 15.

The team rankings are based on the number of wrestlers ranked on the respective team.

Max Schwartz was a wrestler as Norwalk High in Norwalk, Connecticut. Now, he is a sports journalist, specializing in wrestling. He’s published multiple pieces with wrestling giant Flowrestling.com, including pre-covid New England Rankings, as well as with up-and-coming Division I wrestling news site Fancowrestling.com. This is his second year doing New England rankings for Connecticut Wrestling Online.

Week 1 2022-23, Dec. 12