Weights to Follow at Freestyle State Part 1: Junior Division

I love freestyle season because there are so many fun matchups. Some of the wrestlers either get bigger or choose not to cut weight so we see high school state champions meetup who were two or three weight classes apart during the high school season. In this article, we're going to take a look at some weights that could feature some fantastic action.

Junior 138

Waylen Pentz, Kaleb Sanchez, Russell Evans, and Ryder Robinson are all in this weight.

Pentz has a style that crosses over rather seamlessly to freestyle. He is great at scoring when opponents get in on leg attacks and the freestyle rules will give him the opportunity to pile up double digit points in a hurry if they don't finish quickly and properly.

Sanchez is one of the breakout stars of the 2021 season. He won his first state title by denying Brian Evans a fourth and then earned All-American status out in Virginia Beach at NHSCA Nationals. Sanchez is a gritty competitor with great offense from elbow control. Can he keep the elbow trapped and pick up wins with a trap-arm gut wrench?

Russell Evans helped Beaver to their first team title in February while individually winning a state title and going 31-0 down at 126 pounds. He's just a freshman with a high ceiling and has his brothers with him in the room to help him reach his goals. I'm interested to see how he does moving up to 138 this weekend against some credentialed upperclassmen.

Ryder Robinson has placed at state twice in as many trips. He has a fun, dynamic style and the ability to hit anyone with a slide-by. He has a tendency to get into wild matches which in freestyle could result in matches with football scores on the board after the dust settles. He presents challenges to just about anyone when he's firing on all cylinders.

Junior 145

Meet the contenders at 145 pounds: Alex Emmer, Brady Merkley, Colton Erickson, and Jacob Finlinson.

As everyone is aware, Alex Emmer migrated to Utah from New Mexico and became the king of 138 pounds during the high school season. He picked up huge wins every weekend and captured titles at the Rumble and the state tournament. I'm very intrigued to see him compete under freestyle rules.

Brady Merkley helped the Utes win a state title this season and won his third in row. He embodies Uintah wrestling well. He's hard-nosed with solid fundamentals. He's experienced in freestyle as well.

Colton Erickson was Woods Cross' first state champion in a couple of decades. He keeps improving with each season and from what I've heard, he's a mat rat who's always working. He has a great style for freestyle so look for him to be right in the mix to win this weight.

Jacob Finlinson is a lot like Waylen Pentz. He's great at scoring when opponents attack his legs and with the exposure rules of freestyle, their margin for error while finishing against Finlinson is narrow. Finlinson is also great with tilts and typically, good tilters are good gut-wrenchers.

Junior 160

A trio of state champions are featured in this bracket. Riggin Boger, Maclaine Percival, and Josh Holmes.

Boger of Altamont is fresh off of an All-American effort in Virginia Beach. He's also a two-time state champion and only a sophomore. He uses his length well and maintains great position in a way that will benefit him in any style.

Percival was one of my favorite wrestlers to watch this last season. I love his motion from the neutral position and how he times his double leg entries. His ability to transition from a takedown to trapping a wrist is a massive benefit for freestyle so I'll be paying attention to how the adapts that chain wrestling.

Josh Holmes was all the way down at 138 pounds in February and won a very deep weight in the 4A division. He's an experienced competitor from a great program. It will be interesting to see how he adjusts moving up three weight classes.

Next Up

Freestyle state is one the funnest events of the year for wrestling nerds because we get to see state champions from different weights and divisions get after it. I'm currently working on another one of these articles for the 16U division. Stay tuned!