Amery (Wisconsin) wrestler Koy Hopke is No. 1 at 285 pounds

After a brief detour to 225, Hopke closes his year with a USA Folkstyle crown at 285

With this update, we bring SBLive's 2022-2023 SBLive National High School Wrestling Rankings to a close.

Fargo was the last event for outgoing seniors in the Class of 2023. Our next set of rankings will come out in September after Flo’s Who’s #1 showdown. That version will see incoming freshmen added in and last year’s seniors removed.

Quite a few wrestlers ended up in weights different than the ones in which they competed during the high school season. The final rankings reflect the weight in which these wrestlers most recently competed. Wrestlers who did not participate in the spring and summer may have moved up or down based on the results (win or lose) individuals around them.

If you have watched a Freestyle or Greco-Roman match you realize that the Olympic Styles lend themselves to fluky results and matches shift quickly. Numerous times watching these matches, we saw a wrestler on the verge of being “teched,” not only staving that reality off but registering their own tech-fall.

Given the nature of these matches and the fact that 80% of our rankings are based on Folkstyle, we will use the Olympic Style results to inform the rankings more than reshape them. In some cases, they are reliable but there are a few instances where wrestler A has multiple Folkstyle wins over wrestler B, but B defeated A in the Olympic Styles.

There are also guys who specialize in these styles, and therefore, do not excel in Folkstyle. There are wrestlers that placed at Fargo who were fifth or sixth in their state tournament and in some cases, not even placing at states.

Koy Hopke (Amery, WI) won a U17 World Championship in 2022, which set him up as the No. 1 ranked heavyweight coming into the season. Hopke kept that designation with a detour down to 220lbs during the season where he won a D2 state title. Hopke was back at 285 for the USA Folkstyle Nationals and pinned Navarro Schunke (Brandon Valley, SD) in the finals, 4:18.

Koy Hopke of Amery (Wisconsin) capped an outstanding year as the top-ranked wrestler at 285-pounds in the final SBLive National High School Wrestling Rankings / Photo courtesy of Koy Hopke Twitter

Hopke was upset by Aden Attao (Borah, ID) at the U20 World Team Trials. It was doubly surprising given that Attao won by a 12-2 tech fall. The hoped-for rematch occurred in the Junior Freestyle Finals at Fargo. Attao started that match looking like he might replicate his earlier win, but the tide changed in the second period and Hopke ended up flattening his rival with 28 seconds left, 5:32.

Attao was a Fargo champ last year then placed fourth at Super 32. At Super 32 Parker Farrell (Christiansburg, VA) and Matthew Moore (Mesa Ridge, CO) hung losses on Attao. Ferrell won Super 32 and was fourth at Ironman but did not finish the season. In addition to Hopke, Attao defeated Cater Neves (Blair Academy, NJ) at the U20 WTTs. To reach the Fargo FS finals, he beat Rocco Dellagatta (St. Joe Regional, NJ), Nick Pavlechko (State College, PA), and Richard Thomas (Edmond North, OK). Attao beat Thomas in GR on the way to that crown.

Dillan Johnson (Joliet Catholic, IL) was our No. 1 285lb guy while Hopke was down at 220. Johnson lost to Attao in the Fargo FS finals in 2022. He put together a perfect 43-0 season this year, claiming the Ironman gold over Moore, 7-3. He also beat Neves, 7-1, at Ironman. The 2A state champ had two high quality wins at the NHSCA Spring Duals versus Dmarian Lopez (Montrose, CO) and Schunke. Johnson teched Thomas, 11-1, at the Junior FS Duals.

Neves was third at Ironman, taking out Ferrell in the bronze bout, 5-3, Leighton Jones (Brownsburg, IN) and Thomas. Neves shocked Jim Mullen (St. Joe Regional, NJ) and Riley Robell (Bishop McDevitt, PA) en route to taking the Escape the Rock title. For team point purposes, Neves came down to 215 at National Preps and placed second, falling to Green Farms Academy’s Post-Grad student Steven Burrell, 5-2. Neves was back at heavyweight for the U20 US Open and WTTs, where he was third and sixth respectively.

Mullen downed Robell 2-1 in the PowerAde finals and claimed his NJ state title over Max Acciardi (Paramus Catholic), 7-3. Robell handed losses to Aiden Compton (Notre Dame-Green Pond, PA) and Pavlechko, oddly enough, at both PowerAde and then Escape the Rock, where he was third. Mullen’s Southeast Region and AA state crown came over Compton, 8-0 at regions, then 15-2 in the state finals.

Daniel Herrera (Palm Desert) is a two-time California state titlist, who posted a huge win over Moore in the Doc Buchanan finals with a fall midway through the match, 3:02. At the Junior GR Duals, Herrera fell to Thomas, but beat Thomas at the JR FS Duals.

Lopez cracked our rankings when he completed an unblemished season by upsetting Moore, 2-1, in the 4A State Finals. At NHSCA Spring Duals, Lopez beat Calvin Lachman (Quakertown, PA) in overtime, 4-2.

Aidan Fockler (Massillon Perry, OH) was second at Super 32, falling to Farrell in the finals, but beat Moore, 3-1, in the semis. Fockler won titles at the Beast of the East and Brecksville against Acciardi and Leighton Jones respectively. At the Wadsworth tournament, Fockler was tripped up by Aaron Ries of the homeschool. Fockler avenged that loss in the DI state finals, 3-2 UTB, so we are considering his complete body of work with this high of a ranking.

Moore was third at Super 32 with a win over Attao and the loss to Fockler. His second-place showing at Ironman included wins over Paul Clark (Crown Point, IN), Ferrell, and Kolton Weaver (Point Pleasant, WV).

Sampson Stillwell (St. Michael The Archangel, MO) was a 47-0 Class 2 state champ. Stillwell was third in GR at the U17 US Open, dropping a 9-6 decision to Nicholas Sahakian (St. John Bosco, CA) and beating Kai Calcutt (Loyola Academy, IL) to claim the 110 KG (roughly 243lbs) bronze. Stillwell captured the FS gold over Sahakian at the U17 US Open. That bout went the distance with Stilwell winning the first match, 10-0, losing the second 6-1, then taking the rubber match, 2-1.

Sahakian was seventh at 215 at Super 32 and wrestled at 220 during the high school season. Sahakian claimed top honors at the Reno Tournament of Champions by decking Hayden Walters (Crater, OR) in the first frame, 1:34. He came up short at Doc B, settling for silver after Jersey Robb (Bixby, OK) tallied an 11-2 major decision in the finals. Sahakian’s state championship came at the expense of Kannon Campbell (Buchanan), 5-1.

In the GR US Open finals, Sahakian swept Trayvn Boger (South Summitt, UT), 8-0 and 9-0. His run to the FS US Open Finals saw him beat Dellagatta, 18-5. After winning a U17 Pan Am Gold at 110 KG, Sahakian took to another World Stage for the GR U17 World Championships. He made it to the bronze medal match but couldn’t bring home any hardware.

Schunke won his third SD state crown, then captured the NHSCA Junior National title with an 8-0 major decision of Andre McFadden (Lake City, SC). After a runner-up finish to Hopke at Folkstyle Nationals, Schunke entered the Northern Plains Regional where he downed Soren Herzog (Simley, MN), 9-0 in the GR finals and 22-12 in the FS finals.

At the NHSCA Duals, Schunke blanked New York’s Trent Sibble, a state champ from Bolivar-Richburg, 7-0. His Fargo exploits resulted in a Double All-American performance, taking third in FS and 7th in GR in the Junior Division. Schunke beat Dellagatta 16-6 for his bronze, other wins came against Shilo Jones (Mountain View, ID) and Pavlechko.

Thomas beat Shilo Jones and Weaver to place fifth at Ironman. The two losses at Ironman were the sole blemishes on his 42-2 record. The 6A state champion handed Herrera a loss at the JR GR Duals, but Herrera got him back in FS with a 5-3 decision.

Thomas was seventh in JR FS at Fargo and third in GR. A 9-3 decision in the seventh-place match versus Caleb Rodriguez (First Baptist, FL) ended things on a high note for Thomas, after suffering losses to Attao and Shilo Jones. Thomas remains higher than Shilo Jones despite the loss because his Folkstyle accomplishments exceed Jones’.

Leighton Jones was sixth at Ironman with wins over Clark and Ries. At Indiana states, Jones beat Clark again in the semis, 6-4, en route to the top of the podium. Dellagatta competed at 172/175 during the high school season but hit a growth spurt afterward and now resides in the heavyweight division. Dellagatta was third at the U17 FS US Open, winning the bronze over Jacob Levy (Carrollton, GA), who would go on to win the 16U FS title at Fargo. In JR FS at Fargo, Dellagatta placed fourth, posting a win over Shilo Jones.

Pavlechko landed in the fifth spot on the JR FS podium at Fargo, in the fifth-place match, he saddled Shilo Jones with a loss. Pavlechko also beat Rodriguez at Fargo. Brett Carroll (Olathe East, KS) lands in the rankings with the emergence of Shilo Jones whom he beat at the USA Folkstyle Nationals, where he was third. Carroll was 49-1 claiming a 6A state title. His loss was to Tyson Terry (Omaha North, NE) in the Johnson City Classic finals.

Shilo Jones lost to Attao in the finals of five tournaments during the season, accounting for all five blemishes on his 43-5 record, including the state finals. Jones was sixth at the Folkstyle Nationals and placed in both disciplines at Fargo. The sixth-place finish in FS came with wins against Rodriguez and Thomas. Jones reached the GR finals and fell to Attao.

Herzog owns two wins over Vincent Mueller (St. Thomas Academy, MN) and has a loss to Will Sather (Eden Prairie, MN). Mueller has two wins over Sather, so we felt Herzog>Mueller>Sather made the most sense.

Compton was fifth at the Beast of the East, Escape the Rock and PowerAde. At PowerAde he upset Ries, 3-2 UTB. Compton lost to Pavlechko at Escape the Rock. Compton reached the AA state final with an upset versus Emmanuel Ulrich (Mifflinburg), 3-2. Ulrich came back for third at states. Ulrich defeated Pavlechko at the AAU Duals, 5-3.

Brock Kehler (University, WV) brought home the AAA state glory along with a 53-0 mark for the year. At the NHSCA Spring Duals, Kehler defeated Sibble. Sibble was a DII state champ and captured the NHSCA Senior National gold.

Final 2022-23 SBLive Sports National High School Rankings at 285 pounds

1-Koy Hopke (Amery, WI) JR

2-Aden Attao (Borah, ID) SR

3-Dillan Johnson (Joliet Catholic, IL) JR

4-Carter Neves (Blair Academy, NJ) JR

5-Jim Mullen (St. Joe’s Regional, NJ) SR

6-Riley Robell (Bishop McDevitt, PA) SR

7-Sean Kinney (Nazareth, PA) JR

8-Daniel Herrera (Palm Desert, CA) JR

9-Dmarian Lopez (Montrose, CO) SR

10-Aidan Fockler (Massillon Perry, OH) JR

11-Matthew Moore (Mesa Ridge, CO) SR

12-Tyson Terry (Omaha North, NE) SO

13-Sampson Stillwell (St. Michael The Archangel, MO) SO

14-Nicholas Sahakian (St. John Bosco, CA) SO

15-Navarro Schunke (Brandon Valley, SD) JR

16-Maddox Borcherding (Norwalk, IA) SR

17-Max Acciardi (Paramus Catholic, NJ) SR

18-Richard Thomas (Edmond North, OK) JR

19-Leighton Jones (Brownsburg, IN) SR

20-Spencer Lanosga (Jesuit, LA) JR

21-Paul Clark (Crown Point, IN) JR

22-Rocco Dellagata (St. Joe Regional, NJ) SO

23-Nick Pavlechko (State College, PA) JR

24-Brett Carroll (Olathe East, KS) JR

25-Shilo Jones (Mountain View, ID) JR

HM:

Soren Herzog (Simley, MN) SR

Vincent Mueller (St. Thomas Academy, MN) SR

Will Sather (Eden Prairie, MN) JR

Jake Walker (Waverly-Shell Rock, IA) SR

Carson Hagan (Dowling Catholic, IA) SR

Aiden Compton (Notre Dame, PA) SR

Emmanuel Ulrich (Mifflinburg, PA) SR

Aaron Ries (Wadsworth, OH) JR

Roosevelt Andrews (Barberton, OH) SR

Billy Brosko (Haverford Prep, PA) SR

Brock Kehler (University, WV) SO

Trent Sibble (Bolivar-Richburg, NY) SR