Iowa's Mark Perry returned to end his career as a two time NCAA champion.
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| 2008 Champion 125 Angel Escobedo of Indiana |
Most of the world thinks of the state of Indiana as a "basketball state." Angel Escobedo has been on a mission his whole life to make people think of Indiana as a "basketball AND wrestling state." He's more than done his part. In high school he won 223 matches winning four state titles for Griffith High school. In college, he won four All American honors for the Hoosiers, winning the NCAA title in his sophomore season of 2008. As a freshman in 2007 he placed 4th, taking 5th place honors in 2009 as a junior. An injury his senior season kept him from being as competitive as he would have otherwise been, but nevertheless he still came back to finish a strong 3rd. Post college, he won Pan-American Silver in 2015. Coaching at Iowa State for a while, he now heads the Hoosier program as Indiana's head coach.
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| 2008 Champion 133 Coleman Scott of Oklahoma State |
A three time Pennsylvania state champion for Waynesburg Central high school, Scott took his talents to Oklahoma State where he was a four time All American for the Cowboys. Placing 8th as a freshman in 2005, he was 5th in the nation as a sophomore in 2006. Making the NCAA finals in 2007 as a junior, he ended his collegiate career as the NCAA champion in 2008. Post college he has success on the international scene winning Olympic Bronze in 2012. He followed it up with World Cup Silver in 2015. Today Scott is the head coach at North Carolina.
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| 2008 Champion 141 J Jaggers of Ohio State |
A four time state champion for St Peter Chanel, J Jaggers was 7th in the nation as a sophomore in 2007 before winning back to back NCAA titles in 2008 and 2009. 107 victories, he now coaches at Ohio State.
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| 2008 Champion 149 Brent Metcalf of Iowa |
Strictly business, winning four Michigan state titles for Davison high school, Metcalf won 228 matches during his prep career. 156 of those matches were by fall. Missing out on his freshman season due to transfer rules when he went from Virginia Tech to Iowa, Metcalf was an absolute terror on the mat winning the NCAA title as a sophomore in 2008. He would finish NCAA-runner up in 2009, but come back to win his second NCAA title in 2010. Post college Metcalf won both Pan American Bronze as well as Gold, along with two Gold medals at the World Cup. He is now part of the Iowa State coaching staff.
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| 2008 Champion 157 Jordan Leen of Cornell |
I made the argument earlier that Bill Harlow of Oklahoma State, three time NCAA finalist and one time NCAA champion is the best wrestler to ever come out of the state of Tennessee. If anyone can give Harlow a run for his money in that honorable distinction it might be Jordan Leen. Competing for Baylor School, he won four state titles racking up 214 victories. Competing for the Big Red in college, Leen's NCAA title came in his junior season of 2008. In 2007 as a sophomore he took 8th place All American honors, wrapping up his career with a 3rd place finish in 2009. Post college he coached at Duke, Pittsburgh and Virginia.
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| 2008 Champion 174 Keith Gavin of Pittsburgh |
I remember when I first saw the name Keith Gavin listed high in the rankings. I wasn't the only one who thought at the time, "Keith Gavin?" He did seem to come out of nowhere. He had never won a state title at Lackwanna Trail high school going 7th & 3rd at the state championships. He didn't qualify for the NCAA's as a true freshman and he went 0-2 as a true sophomore. Nevertheless there he was as a redshirt junior in the rankings & a short time later, he more than proved he deserved to be there. Making the NCAA finals in 2007, he showed Ben Askren he was not afraid of him as he scored the first takedown and made Askren work for every point he scored in the match. Winning the NCAA title as a senior, Gavin coached at both Oklahoma and Virginia before taking over the reigns at Pittsburgh.
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| 2008 Champion 184 Mike Pucillo of Ohio State |
A state champion for Walsh Jesuit, Pucillo made immediate impact for the Buckeyes placing 6th at the NCAA championships as a freshman in 2007. He won the NCAA title as a sophomore in 2008, taking NCAA runner-up honors in 2009. Unfortunately as a senior in 2010, Pucillo would suffer a hand injury that virtually left him without any strength in his right arm or an ability to grip. This hampered his performance as he finished one match shy of All American honors. He finished his career with a record of 107-16.
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| 2008 Champion 197 Phil Davis of Penn State |
If the NCAA would have had a worst hair cut championship, during his freshman and sophomore seasons, Phil Davis would have won national titles in that too. A graduate of Harrisburg High school, he's yet another NCAA champion that never won a state title.In his freshman campaign of 2005 he placed 7th, making the NCAA finals as a sophomore in 2006. He'd place 5th in 2007 as a junior ending his career as NCAA champion as a senior in 2008. Post college he got into MMA where he won championships in Bellator. I also have to thank Davis for showing me that people actually did read my stuff. During his junior year of 2007, I predicted Davis to finish 3rd at nationals. He saw the prediction and he let me know. Up until that point, I figured no one of consequence read them. He let me know what he thought of being predicted 3rd instead of 1st!
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| 2008 Champion HWT Dustin Fox of Northwestern |
Fox came to Northwestern from Ohio where he won two state titles for Galion high school. While competing for the Wildcats, Fox was one match shy of All American as a freshman in 2005. Finishing a disappointing 1-2 at the 2006 NCAA championships, he came back strong as a junior to finish in 3rd place. He ended his collegiate career by winning the NCAA title in 2008, going 109-29 overall.
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Perry already mentioned
Escobedo, Lee and Pucillo did not repeat
Metcalf did not repeat in 2009 but did in 2010
Jaggers repeated
Scott, Gavin, Davis and Fox were all seniors
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