The following, is an unsolicited anonymous review by a frequent poster on the Guillotine message board

The following, is an unsolicited anonymous review by a frequent poster on the Guillotine message board. This was posted under the Clash thread here.

Posted by: sumomidgets Apr 7 2008, 01:46 PM

Here are some notes I have compiled on the current teams entered in the Clash along with a few teams who are highly expected to attend. I will list these teams in the order in which I have them ranked. My ranking is based on returning starters, previous Clash results, & results on the national level. I have no clue on who each team has coming in for freshman, nor do I have any idea who a team has for quality backups to fill holes left by seniors graduating. These are pre-pre-pre season assessments and rankings. The end of year National Rankings I didn't factor in what so ever because that is exactly what they are end of last year rankings and they do not accurately reflect who will be ranked and where at the beginning of next season. So just because your in the Top 40 now, doesn't mean you will be ranked ahead of a team that isn't currently in the top 40.

#1 APPLE VALLEY, MINNESOTA - 2008 CLASS AAA DUAL STATE CHAMPS

RETURN - Eric Devos 2x State Champ, Matt Kelliher State Runner-up, Destin McCauley 3x State Champ, Justin LaValle State Champ, Jarrett Hoeppner 4th State, Craig Kelliher 3rd State, & Tyler Lehmann State Champ

GRADUATE - 7 Starters

SUMMARY - Yes they lose 7 starters, but the quality of the other 7 returning nobody can match, and we all know there are several other individuals in the AV room ready to step into those holes

#2 LAKEWOOD ST. EDWARDS, OHIO - 2008 DIVISION 1 TRADITIONAL STATE CHAMPS

RETURN - Gus Sako State Champ, Jamie Clark State Champ, Jon Cobos SQ, Anthony Salupo 5th State, Nick Sulzer 3rd State, Collin Palmer State Champ, Andrew Gasber 5th State in 07, Mike Green SQ, and Mark Horton.

GRADUATE - 5 Starters

SUMMARY - If anybody can compete with Apple Valley it will be St. Ed's they return a wealth of talent only slightly out done by Apple Valley and they might end up being deeper than AV, we will have to see at the start of next year.

#3 CHRISTIANSBURG, VIRGINIA - 2008 AA STATE CHAMPS

RETURN - Devin Carter State Champ, Jeff Meredith 7th State, Andrew Robertson State Runner-up, Luke Rakes SQ, Rich Eva 5th State, Derek Woody State Runner-up, Braden Carter State Runner-up, David Cheney SQ, Jon Weber 5th State, & Jacob Phillips.

GRADUATE - 4 Starters

SUMMARY - I don't think they are quite on the same level as AV & St. Eds, but they will be close and sounds like they will be tougher next year than they were this year.

#4 BALLARD HUXLEY, IOWA - 2008 2A STATE DUAL CHAMPS AND TRADITIONAL CHAMPS

RETURN - Tyler Grask State Champ, Tanner Weatherman State Runner-up, Tanner Hiatt State Runner-up, Taylor Eichinger 7th State, Trent Weatherman State Champ, Brock Weatherman State Champ, TJ Hiatt 8th State in 07, Chris Schaudt 8th State, Easton Bridgewater, and Bo Cosens.

GRADUATE - 4 Starters

SUMMARY - Had a nice showing at the Clash in 2008 and lots of talent coming back for next year. I would look for them to be as tough as or tougher than they were in 08.

#5 MONTINI CATHOLIC LOMBARD, ILLINOIS - 2008 CLASS AA STATE DUAL CHAMPS

RETURN - Colton Rasche SQ, Jake Gregerson State Runner-up, Frank Baer SQ, Isaiah Gonzalez State Runner-up, Carl Foreside State Runner-up, Elliot Hudson, & Grant Goebel

GRADUATE - 5 Starters

SUMMARY - Lost some firepower off of last years squad, but lots of talent still returns. I'm sure they have plenty of guys ready to step in and fill the holes as well.

#6 DON BOSCO GILBERTVILLE, IOWA - 2008 1A STATE DUAL CHAMPS AND TRADITIONAL CHAMPS

RETURN - Brandon Welter State Runner Up, Cole Welter State Champ 07 & 5th in 08, Ben McMahon 4th State, Bart Reiter 3x State Champ, Vance Ortner 6th State, Clay Welter State Champ, Jake Thome SQ in 06 & 07, Taylor Kettman 3rd State, Cory Becker 5th State

GRADUATE - 5 Starters

SUMMARY - Return a lot of talent off of a team who broke many 1A Iowa State Records in 2008. Might be just behind Ballard in star power, but may end up having more depth.

#7 HIGH POINT REGIONAL, NEW JERSEY - 2008 DUAL STATE CHAMPS

RETURN - Nick Francavilla 7th State, Billy Gould SQ, Tyler Forbeck 8th State, Joe Caccione SQ, Joe Donahue SQ, along with 4 other starters.

GRADUATE - 5 Starters

SUMMARY - The individual New Jersey state tournament is tough, but this team had a very strong dual team last year, and walked through the New Jersey dual tourney. I would expect them to be a major player in the Clash in 2009.

#8 COLLINS HILL, GEORGIA - 2008 STATE DUAL CHAMPS & TRADITIONAL CHAMPS

RETURN - Joseph Doyague SQ, TJ Mitchell 3rd State, Allen Willard SQ, John Allgood SQ, Joel Smith State Runner Up, Sam Hoppenbrouwer SQ, Taylor Knapp State Champ, Gary Tiller State Runner-up, & CJ Collins 6th State.

GRADUATE - 5 Starters

SUMMARY - I know the Georgia State Tourney isn't the best, but this team put up some great performances against National powers last year only losing to Christiansburg, VA 33-28 & Colonial Forge 31-29. They destroyed 2008 Clash Entrant Carl Harrison 47-10. This team returns must of its studs, and will come with something to prove next year.

#9 OMAHA SKUTT CATHOLIC, NEBRASKA - TRADITIONAL STATE CHAMPS

RETURN - Zach Cottle 2x State Champ, Christian Loges State Runner-up, Andy Hollins State 6th Place, matt Katusin 2x State Champ, Derek Vogel State Champ, Jacob Hasz SQ, and Matt Kathol SQ.

GRADUATE - 7 very good starters

SUMMARY- This team broke all of their own records again in 08, but loses a lot of their studs. What they have returning is top notch, but they do have 7 spots to fill.

#10 WAUSUA WEST, WISCONSIN - 2008 DIVISION 1 STATE DUAL CHAMPS AND TRADITIONAL RUNNER-UP

RETURN - Joey Marsh 6th State, Jason Kyle sQ, Sam Umlauf 3rd State, Shawn Perry 3rd State, Marcus Casillas SQ, Jackson Hein State Runner-up, Jon Schuster, Steven Monk, and Ryan Piel.

GRADUATE - 5 Starters

SUMMARY - This team had a great year in 2008, but I think the best is yet to come out of this young team in 2009.

#11 HASTINGS, MINNESOTA - *DIDNT QUALIFY FOR STATE DUALS, THEY WERE IN SAME SECTION AS APPLE VALLEY, WOULD HAVE BEEN THE #2
AAA TEAM IN MINNESOTA

RETURN - Zach Rohr 5th State, Tyler Rohr SQ, Luke Vaith State Runner-up, Brendan Eichmann State Runner-up, Jeff Engstrom, Bobby Petersen, Nate Williams, & Jesse Wellman

GRADUATE - 6 Starters

SUMMARY - They lose some very tough seniors but do return some pretty good guys. They will have holes to fill, if they what to top last years performance at the Clash.

#12 SIMLEY, MINNESOTA - 2008 CLASS AA STATE DUAL CHAMPS

RETURN - Dan Dick 3rd State, Tommy Glenn 5th State, Connor Anderson SQ, Kurtis Julson SQ, Jack Barnes 4th State, Torrie Morgan SQ, Mic Berg SQ, Jake Hoffner SQ, Charlie Gelhaye SQ, & Cola Jensen

GRADUATE - 4 Starters

SUMMARY - This team is very well balanced and return 10 starters. If they wrestle well, I can see them finishing higher than this #12 ranking.

#13 BUCHANAN, CALIFORNIA - 2008 TRADITIONAL STATE 5TH PLACE

RETURN - Anthony Waters SQ, Nathan Roberts SQ, Martin Fabbian SQ, Stephen West 3rd State, Jake Gingold SQ, Kyle Papendorf SQ, Holden Smith SQ. Others?

GRADUATE - at least 3 Starters

SUMMARY - I don't have full data on their starting line-up from last year, but they do return 7 guys who wrestled in one of the toughest state tourneys in the nation.

#14 PERHAM, MINNESOTA - 2008 CLASS AA STATE DUAL RUNNER-UP

RETURN - Andrew Gorentz SQ, Isaac Werner 4th State, Sam Warne SQ, Dwight Jenne 6th State, Charlie Schmitz 6th State, Sam Meyer SQ, Nathan Schmitz State Runner-up, Jacob Werner, Joe Berns, Chris Scheidecker, Casey Sazama, & Jesse Hein.

GRADUATE - ONLY 2 Starters

SUMMARY - An excellent addition to the Clash and the right year for them to attend with 12 returning starters.

#15 ALBERT LEA, MINNESOTA - 2008 CLASS AAA STATE DUAL RUNNER-UP

RETURN - Cory Hansen State Runner-up, Cody Hansen 3rd State, Trevor Rasmussen 6th State, Logan Kortan 5th State, Adam Kernes SQ, Ethan Reed SQ, Carter Kortan, Connor Kortan, & Matt Tiegs.

GRADUATE - 5 Starters

SUMMARY - Some excellent starters returning, but they might not have quite as much depth as they did this year.

#16 IOWA CITY WEST, IOWA - 2008 3A STATE DUAL RUNNER-UP & TRADITIONAL RUNNER-UP

RETURN - Hunter St. John SQ, Dylan Carew 3rd State, Nick Moore State Champ, Derek St. John State Champ, Matt Behnami SQ, Jon Skarda, Tracy Bowers, David Solis, & Dan Downing

GRADUATE - 5 Starters

SUMMARY - ICW lost 5 terrific seniors off of last years team, and they are not built for a dual tourney. They do have 3 guys who could easily make the all tournament team in Carew, Moore, & Derek St. John. They will be competitive but not top tier.

#17 NEUQUA VALLEY, ILLINOIS

RETURN - Matt Walters SQ, Nick Proctor State 3rd Place, and 7 other starters.

GRADUATE - 5 Starters

SUMMARY- This team doesn't have to many dominating guys, but what they do have is pretty good balance and they hung well with many of the better teams in Illinois last year.

#18 CINCINNATI ARCHBISHOP MOELLER, OHIO - DIVISION 1 TRADITIONAL STATE 6TH PLACE

RETURN - Jacob Corrill State 7th Place, Pierce Harger State 7th Place, and 6 other starters all with .500 or better records.

GRADUATE - 6 Starters

SUMMARY- These guys aren't the dominating team they once were, but they are still good. There are holes to fill however, if they want to be one of the Top teams at the Clash this year.

#19 PONDEROSA, COLORADO - 2008 5A TRADITIONAL STATE CHAMPS

RETURN - Sam Jones SQ, Zeke Hofer State Runner-up, Steve Kelly 5th State, Austin Gabel 3rd State, Jake Snider State Champ, Dan Kelly State Champ, Stephone King State Runner-up, Derek Good SQ, Jake Blatnik, & Gary Miller

GRADUATE - 4 Starters

SUMMARY - Return most of their studs from last years team, and only graduate 4 total, I would expect them to finish around they same area they did last year and they will be very competitive.

#20 CAROL STREAM GLENBARD NORTH, ILLINOIS - 2008 STATE DUAL QUALIFIER LOST TO CHAMPS MONTINI 29-27

RETURN - Joe Gosinski 6th State, Tony Ramos State Champ, Jimmy Chase State Champ, Jordan Brooks, & Chris VanGundy.

GRADUATE - 9 Starters

SUMMARY - I know Glenbard North #20? Well they are graduating 9 starters, and 2 of their 5 returners were not very good. They have a lot of holes to fill and we will have to see how the beginning of next year goes for them to move up.

#21 WAVERLY SHELL ROCK, IOWA - CLASS 3A STATE DUAL CHAMPS & TRADITIONAL CHAMPS

RETURN - Jordan Rinken State 4th Place, Cody Caldwell State 4th Place, Jacob Ballweg State Champ, & Cody Krumwiede State 6th Place.

GRADUATE - 10 Starters

SUMMARY- They were the dream team last year, but they lose 10 seniors. Time will tell how well they are able to recover from losing that many guys all in one year.

#22 ROSEBURG, OREGON - 2008 6A TRADITIONAL STATE CHAMPS

RETURN - 2 State Champs, 2 State Runner-ups, 2 3rd Place Finishers, a 5th, 2 6th's, a 8th, and 6 other state qualifiers.

GRADUATE - 4 Starters

SUMMARY - In Oregon you can qualify more than 1 guy at a weight for state, so they had several weights where more than 1 kid qualified and in some cases more than 1 guy placed. I believe they will be well balanced, but the Clash will be a true test for them and a chance for them to proof they belong in the national scene. At this point I think they have definitely proven they are the best team in Oregon, but not on the national scene.

#23 ST. MICHAEL ALBERTSVILLE, MINNESOTA - 2008 CLASS AA DUAL STATE 6TH PLACE

RETURN - Dustin Kottke SQ, Mark Frank SQ, Kyle Salonek SQ, David Thorn State Champ, Jake Lillie SQ, Ben Horn SQ, Jake Horn 6th State, Jordan Campa 3rd State, Kraig Schumm SQ, Jordan Scherber, Shaun Little, & Ryan Kessler

GRADUATE - 2 Starters

SUMMARY - Graduate only 2 starters and have several state qualifiers returning but a lot of those SQ returning only had records around .500 which leads me to believe they were in an easy section. I think if nothing else they will be very well balanced, but I'm not sure they finish on the top half of the Clash field at this point.

#24 BLUE SPRINGS, MISSOURI - CLASS 4 TRADITIONAL STATE 3RD PLACE

RETURN - Mauricio Garcia SQ, Keenan Hagerty State 3rd Place, Luke Greco State 4th Place, Tyler Thompson State 4th Place, Josh Howk State 3rd Place, Lewis Foutz SQ, Billy Foutz SQ, & Drew Kerber SQ.

GRADUATE - 6 Starters

SUMMARY- Return 8 guys with state tournament experience, but they lost a lot of their better guys to graduation. If they want to finish at or above where they did last year, there is work to be done.

#25 TULSA UNION, OKLAHOMA - CLASS 5A TRADITIONAL 7TH PLACE & STATE DUAL PARTICIPANT

RETURN - Ryan Biddick 4th State, Trae Treleaven SQ, Grant Sullivan SQ, Tyler Greenhaw State Runner Up, Joey Sheridan State Champ, Cody Beisel, & Ronnie Balfour

GRADUATE - 6 Starters

SUMMARY - In Class 5A Oklahoma their are only 32 schools. 8 kids qualify for the state tourney and only 4 place. Its big

school Oklahoma but its only 32 schools. They will have some good individuals, but I'm not sure they can hang very well with the big dogs at this tourney.

#26 MOUNT CARMEL , ILLINOIS -

RETURN - Kevin Skrzypiec SQ, Natron Jackson SQ, Justin Perkins SQ, David krzypiec SQ, Brian Strenk SQ, Charles Argue SQ, Nick Gelsosomo, & Luke Coogan

GRADUATE - 6 Starters

SUMMARY - Lose some good seniors but have 6 returning state qualifiers. They have holes to fill, but will be competitive.

#27 WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WISCONSIN - 2008 DIVISION 1 TRADITIONAL STATE 5TH PLACE

RETURN - Ben Best 4th State, Doug Fuller SQ, Vance Grube State Runner-up, and 7 other starters

GRADUATE - 4 Starters

SUMMARY - Return 10 starters but they have work to do, a lot of their returners have .500 or below .500 records. I think this will be another down year for them.

#28 VACAVILLE, CALIFORNIA - 2008 TRADITIONAL STATE 6TH PLACE

RETURN - Tyler Johnson SQ, Taylor Hodel 3rd State, Adam Delagarza SQ, others??

GRADUATE - At least 5 probably more

SUMMARY - I couldn't find complete data on their team from last year, so they could move up from this ranking. Buchanan, CA is definitely the better team among the 2 teams from CA coming.

#29 STURGIS BROWN, SOUTH DAKOTA - CLASS A STATE TRADITIONAL 3RD PLACE

RETURN - Tanner Bothwell State 6th, JT Paris SQ, Seth Lange State Champ, Josh keszler State Runner-up, Nate Wilson State 6th, Rex Lyon State 7th, Sheldon Larsen State 3rd, Kyle Kopplin State 7th, Drew Hunt State 7th, Clint Wilson State 5th, Jake

Stygles State 5th, & Matt Wardell SQ.

GRADUATE - 2 Starters

SUMMARY- Return 10 State Place winners and have great balance. I may have them a little underrated here, but history doesn't bode well with South Dakota teams in the Clash, and this will be the toughest tourney to date. This could be a surprise team.

#30 KENYON-WANAMINGO, MINNESOTA - 2008 CLASS A STATE DUAL 5TH PLACE

RETURN - Mitchel Lexvold 5th State, Chad Lexvold 4th State, Drew Lexvold SQ, Caleb Langer SQ, and 8 other starters.

GRADUATE - 2 Starters

SUMMARY - Only graduate 2 starters, but only have 3 Lexvold brothers returning, they need about 6 more Lexvold brothers to finish on the top half of the Clash.

#31 LUXEMBURG-CASCO, WISCONSIN - 2008 DIVISION 2 STATE DUAL PART. & TRADITIONAL CHAMPS

RETURN - Justin Mudlaff State Champ, Trevor Spude STate Runner up, and 7 other starters

GRADUATE - 5 Starters

SUMMARY - Have 2 studs returning but most of their other returners had below .500 records. They might be a year late for the Clash.

#32 KASSON-MANTORVILLE, MINNESOTA

RETURN - Garret Garness SQ, Donovan Sullivan State 3rd Place, Casey Johnson SQ, Miles Brannan SQ in 07, Shelby Deno State 5th Place, Jason Cirksena SQ, and 5 other starters.

GRADUATE - 3 Starters

SUMMARY- Return 11 total starters, but they are young, and only 6 of the 11 returners had winning records last year.

This field is deep, and my rankings are based primarily on returning starters, and the strength of the team’s individual state tourney. No way will this be how the rankings will look come mid December 2008, when we can all see how each team has filled spots graduating seniors have left. Incoming freshman will also be a huge factor. Teams I can see with a good chance of moving up are Archbishop Moeller, OH, Glenbard North, IL, Waverly SR, IA, Mount Carmel, IL, & Vacaville, CA. This tourney will be action packed, and just about every meet will keep everybody on the edge of their seats.