Best Pound 4 Pound Wrestlers in Tennessee - DII

[615Wrestling]

I thought I would get a new DII wrestling thread going.  There are some GREAT DII wrestlers out there and would love to develop some heated discussion around this topic.

1) Alex Whitworth - McCallie - 160

• Arguably most dominant wrestler in TN over last several years

2) David Harper - Baylor - 195

• All-American and rated high Nationally

3) James Howard - McCallie - 285

• TREMENDOUS athleticism for a HWT, DI Football talent, rated high Nationally

4) Parker Petersen - Father Ryan - 285

• 2-Time Finalist (170, 195), NHSCA AA, has been great at 3 weight classes

5) Emory Taylor - McCallie - 138

• 3x champ, DI wrestler, National Prep AA, bad losses in National tourneys

6) Gavin Cagle - McCallie - 170

• 2x champ, DI wrestler, lost to lesser wrestler last season or he would be higher

7) Garrison Dendy - Baylor - 138

     * DI talent, couple of tough losses in Florida this season

8) Dayne Dalrymple - Christian Brothers - 120

• Great talent, lost this season or would be higher

9) Jackson Bond - Baylor - 113

     * Potential to be one of the greats in the state

10) Aiden Bowers - Christian Brothers - 138

     * Will be DI wrestler, bad loss, to good wrestler, in finals at Mater Dei this year or would be higher

 

[durdon]

Here is my top 5 - you left off Corday and both lakeway Boys who are special..  these are 5 guaranteed state champs in D2 this year and 4 of the 5 would be guaranteed state champs if we only had one division.  

1) Alex Whitworth - McCallie - 170p

2) Garrison Dendy Baylor 145p 

3) Nic Corday Baylor 113p

2) David Harper - Baylor - 195p

4) kevon Roller - Lakeway - 120p

5) Brayden ivy - lakeway 138p 

 

James Howard McCallie 285p would be number 2 if he hadn’t had Acl surgery in October.. 

Edited January 15, 2021 by durdon

[615Wrestling]

1 minute ago, durdon said:

Here is my top 5 - you left off Corday and both lakeway Boys who are special..  these are 5 guaranteed state champs this year. 

1) Alex Whitworth - McCallie - 170p

2) Garrison Dendy Baylor 145p 

3) Nic Corday Baylor 113p

2) David Harper - Baylor - 195p

4) kevon Roller - Lakeway - 120p

5) Brayden ivy - lakeway 138p 

 

James Howard McCallie 285p would be number 2 if he hadn’t had Acl surgery in October.. 

It's tough this year with so few matches wrestled.  Great list though

[SnapAttack]

On 1/14/2021 at 7:41 PM, 615Wrestling said:

I thought I would get a new DII wrestling thread going.  There are some GREAT DII wrestlers out there and would love to develop some heated discussion around this topic.

1) Alex Whitworth - McCallie - 160

• Arguably most dominant wrestler in TN over last several years

2) David Harper - Baylor - 195

• All-American and rated high Nationally

3) James Howard - McCallie - 285

• TREMENDOUS athleticism for a HWT, DI Football talent, rated high Nationally

4) Parker Petersen - Father Ryan - 285

• 2-Time Finalist (170, 195), NHSCA AA, has been great at 3 weight classes

5) Emory Taylor - McCallie - 138

• 3x champ, DI wrestler, National Prep AA, bad losses in National tourneys

6) Gavin Cagle - McCallie - 170

• 2x champ, DI wrestler, lost to lesser wrestler last season or he would be higher

7) Garrison Dendy - Baylor - 138

     * DI talent, couple of tough losses in Florida this season

8) Dayne Dalrymple - Christian Brothers - 120

• Great talent, lost this season or would be higher

9) Jackson Bond - Baylor - 113

     * Potential to be one of the greats in the state

10) Aiden Bowers - Christian Brothers - 138

     * Will be DI wrestler, bad loss, to good wrestler, in finals at Mater Dei this year or would be higher

 

Corday?

 

[SportsTNFan]

On 1/14/2021 at 6:53 PM, durdon said:

Here is my top 5 - you left off Corday and both lakeway Boys who are special..  these are 5 guaranteed state champs in D2 this year and 4 of the 5 would be guaranteed state champs if we only had one division.  

1) Alex Whitworth - McCallie - 170p

2) Garrison Dendy Baylor 145p 

3) Nic Corday Baylor 113p

2) David Harper - Baylor - 195p

4) kevon Roller - Lakeway - 120p

5) Brayden ivy - lakeway 138p 

 

James Howard McCallie 285p would be number 2 if he hadn’t had Acl surgery in October.. 

Hate to hear that on Howard!! He is a beast! Enjoyed watching him wrestle and play football at McCallie! 

Will he back in February and match up against Peterson at HWT? (That seems unrealistic based on the October surgery, but you never know with athletes anymore the days!)

[durdon]

3 hours ago, FRHSIrishVol said:

Hate to hear that on Howard!! He is a beast! Enjoyed watching him wrestle and play football at McCallie! 

Will he back in February and match up against Peterson at HWT? (That seems unrealistic based on the October surgery, but you never know with athletes anymore the days!)

No, unfortunately even though his rehabbing is going extremely well and as much as he wanted to, wrestling this season was never a realistic goal. 

Edited January 22, 2021 by durdon

[cbg]

On 1/14/2021 at 6:41 PM, 615Wrestling said:

I thought I would get a new DII wrestling thread going.  There are some GREAT DII wrestlers out there and would love to develop some heated discussion around this topic.

1) Alex Whitworth - McCallie - 160

• Arguably most dominant wrestler in TN over last several years

2) David Harper - Baylor - 195

• All-American and rated high Nationally

3) James Howard - McCallie - 285

• TREMENDOUS athleticism for a HWT, DI Football talent, rated high Nationally

4) Parker Petersen - Father Ryan - 285

• 2-Time Finalist (170, 195), NHSCA AA, has been great at 3 weight classes

5) Emory Taylor - McCallie - 138

• 3x champ, DI wrestler, National Prep AA, bad losses in National tourneys

6) Gavin Cagle - McCallie - 170

• 2x champ, DI wrestler, lost to lesser wrestler last season or he would be higher

7) Garrison Dendy - Baylor - 138

     * DI talent, couple of tough losses in Florida this season

8) Dayne Dalrymple - Christian Brothers - 120

• Great talent, lost this season or would be higher

9) Jackson Bond - Baylor - 113

     * Potential to be one of the greats in the state

10) Aiden Bowers - Christian Brothers - 138

     * Will be DI wrestler, bad loss, to good wrestler, in finals at Mater Dei this year or would be higher

 

It has been reported that Parker Peterson (Father Ryan) signed to play football with Tulane.  I was not aware that Parker was a D1 football recruit.  Congratulations!

[PurplePanther]

4 hours ago, cbg said:

It has been reported that Parker Peterson (Father Ryan) signed to play football with Tulane.  I was not aware that Parker was a D1 football recruit.  Congratulations!

DE and very good at the position.  Had OVC offers and a few others as well but I believe Tulane was the biggest offer.

[TrustMe]

Great match between Dendy and Taylor tonight! Dendy came out on top- fun to watch. Two State Champs and Great wrestlers.

They wrestled at 152lb

 

Edited January 23, 2021 by TrustMe
Update

[Greenhorn]

Could be exciting at state 132-152

[knoxvball]

On 1/14/2021 at 6:41 PM, 615Wrestling said:

I thought I would get a new DII wrestling thread going.  There are some GREAT DII wrestlers out there and would love to develop some heated discussion around this topic.

1) Alex Whitworth - McCallie - 160

• Arguably most dominant wrestler in TN over last several years

2) David Harper - Baylor - 195

• All-American and rated high Nationally

3) James Howard - McCallie - 285

• TREMENDOUS athleticism for a HWT, DI Football talent, rated high Nationally

4) Parker Petersen - Father Ryan - 285

• 2-Time Finalist (170, 195), NHSCA AA, has been great at 3 weight classes

5) Emory Taylor - McCallie - 138

• 3x champ, DI wrestler, National Prep AA, bad losses in National tourneys

6) Gavin Cagle - McCallie - 170

• 2x champ, DI wrestler, lost to lesser wrestler last season or he would be higher

7) Garrison Dendy - Baylor - 138

     * DI talent, couple of tough losses in Florida this season

8) Dayne Dalrymple - Christian Brothers - 120

• Great talent, lost this season or would be higher

9) Jackson Bond - Baylor - 113

     * Potential to be one of the greats in the state

10) Aiden Bowers - Christian Brothers - 138

     * Will be DI wrestler, bad loss, to good wrestler, in finals at Mater Dei this year or would be higher

 

This is a great list!  I am surprised this hasn't gained a little more traction.  I look at this list and try to determine who doesn't just dominate Tennessee but has legitimate ability to place at tournaments like Ironman, Super 32, etc.

1) Whitworth - 4th at Super 32 - absolutely dominant in Tennessee - 5-Timer - If you are a fan of wrestling - this guy is the prototypical get the job done wrestler.  He is great from every position

2) Roller - 6th at Super 32 - may be best overall "wrestler" in Tennessee - very solid National Level wins.  He is fun to watch

3) Harper - ranked high at 195 and has matured at that weight. Wrestled Rocky Elam as well as anyone last year - will be a 4-timer

4) Petersen - the way he looks at HWT this year - he is in Top 5 HWTs in the country - very few 6'5" 250+ athletic HWTs that know how to wrestle

5) Cagle - has some high quality National wins and placed at NHSCA. tough weight though

* Obviously Howard would be in there if healthy

** These other guys are good but get shown up on National level

** Let's face it, Tennessee doesn't have the quality depth needed to create great National level wrestlers

*** In DII there are only a handful wrestlers that should be in the discussion.  Looking at Tennessee State titles doesn't automatically put you on the list

[durdon]

2 hours ago, knoxvball said:

This is a great list!  I am surprised this hasn't gained a little more traction.  I look at this list and try to determine who doesn't just dominate Tennessee but has legitimate ability to place at tournaments like Ironman, Super 32, etc.

1) Whitworth - 4th at Super 32 - absolutely dominant in Tennessee - 5-Timer - If you are a fan of wrestling - this guy is the prototypical get the job done wrestler.  He is great from every position

2) Roller - 6th at Super 32 - may be best overall "wrestler" in Tennessee - very solid National Level wins.  He is fun to watch

3) Harper - ranked high at 195 and has matured at that weight. Wrestled Rocky Elam as well as anyone last year - will be a 4-timer

4) Petersen - the way he looks at HWT this year - he is in Top 5 HWTs in the country - very few 6'5" 250+ athletic HWTs that know how to wrestle

5) Cagle - has some high quality National wins and placed at NHSCA. tough weight though

* Obviously Howard would be in there if healthy

** These other guys are good but get shown up on National level

** Let's face it, Tennessee doesn't have the quality depth needed to create great National level wrestlers

*** In DII there are only a handful wrestlers that should be in the discussion.  Looking at Tennessee State titles doesn't automatically put you on the list

You left both Corday and Dendy off your list. Both are nationally ranked by Flo, have placed at 32 and Fargo.  Both have a ton of wins against nationally ranked kids.  
if we go by Flo’s current rankings for 20/21 then it would go like this. 

#9 James Howard 

#10 Alex Whitworth 

#13 Nick Corday 

#14 Garrison Dendy 

#19 David Harper 

Since Howard is having to sit out this season to rehab his knee I would put the top 5 like this. 

1. whitworth - ranked 10th by Flo at 170. 4th at 32. 2 time placer at Preps. 

2. dendy- ranked #14 at 145 by Flo.  8th at 32.  Has a ton of wins against top 20 kids.  Double Fargo AA.  prep national placer. 

3. Corday - ranked #13 at 113 by Flo. Fargo  AA. A ton of wins against top 20 kids. 

4. Harper - ranked 19th by Flo at 195. Double Fargo AA twice. Prep national placer.  

5. Roller - not ranked by Flo but should be. 6th at super32. Prep national placer.  

It’s a really strong year in D2 this year.  I would guess it’s one of the strongest groups ever especially when you add in Dalrymple, Cagle, Ivy, Taylor, Dalon  you have 10 kids that are going to wrestle D1 in college in this junior and Senior Class. And,  of course both Howard and Peterson could wrestle D1 if they weren’t going to play D1 football instead.