Vote: Who is the National High School Lower Weight Wrestler of the Week? (12/10/2024)

Here are 12 nominees for your voting consideration

Dublin Coffman's (Ohio) Loc Webber shined at the Ironman, placing third. / Loc Webber Instagram

The 2024-25 high school wrestling season is fully underway and now it is time cast your vote for our weekly National High School Lower Weight Wrestler of the Week.

Here is this week's list of nominees. Voting ends at 11:59 PT on Dec. 15.

106 Wyatt Stauffer (Wyoming Seminary, PA)

Stauffer, who we had listed in the honorable mention section at 106, was not projected to place at Ironman, but the freshman did just that in landing in the seventh spot on the podium. To get there, Stauffer posted upset wins over No. 5 Brayden Wenrich (Northampton, PA) and No. 10 Cruzer Dominguez (Creighton Prep, NE).

106 Loc Webber (Dublin Coffman, OH)

Another 106lber that shined at Ironman. Webber placed third with wins over Wenrich, No. 8 Turner Ross (Edmond North, OK), Dominguez, and Stauffer.

113 Cole Welte (Skutt Catholic, NE)

Welte came into Ironman unranked in the nation and certainly not someone expected to reach the podium. A run through the consolation bracket that saw him upset No. 20 Connor Whitely (St. Edward, OH) and No. 16 Michael Batista (Blair Academy, NJ), propelled Welte to a fourth-place finish.

120 Joe Bachmann (Faith Christian Academy, PA)

No. 6 Bachmann, a sophomore, locked down his second straight Ironman title with a 6-3 overtime win over No. 10 Revin Dickman (Brownsburg, IN). Bachmann’s performance helped push his squad to the top of the team race.

120 Ethan Timar (St. Edward, OH)

Timar had a great Ironman Tournament last year that landed him in the national rankings. Over the offseason, though, Timar suffered a few losses that pushed him out of the rankings. Flash forward to Timar’s favorite tournament, and low and behold, he did it again. Coming in unranked and placing fourth with wins over No. 21 Mikey Ruiz (Canyon Randall, TX), No. 24 Shamus Regan (Wyoming Seminary), and honorable mention Liston Seibert (Massillon Perry, OH).

126 Matt O’Neill (Malvern Prep, PA)

O’Neill had shown a lot of promise wrestling high schoolers as an eighth grader last year. As expected, O'Neill had his share of ups and downs. The now freshman had a series of ups on his way to a third-place finish at Ironman, picking up wins over four nationally ranked wrestlers – No. 8 Gauge Botero (Faith Christian Academy), No. 17 Sebastian Degennaro (Jensen Beach, FL), No. 18 Karson Brown (St. Edward), and No. 30 Stephen Myers (Parkersburg, WV).

127 Aiden Kunes (Central Mountain, PA)

Kunes is unranked in the nation. The sophomore handled Bradley Wagner (Mifflinburg Area, PA), 7-1, to capture the crown at the Top Hat Tournament. Wagner spent some time in the national rankings last year, while Kunes, a sophomore, has never graced that list.

132 Manuel Saldate (SLAM! Academy, NV)

Saldate came into Ironman ranked 11th in the country and seeded fifth. When the dust settled, Saldate captured a bronze on the strength of two upset wins over No. 3 Matthew Botello (Wyoming Seminary) and No. 6 Zachary Stewart (Marmion Academy, IL).

138 Leo Maestas (Clovis North, CA)

At the Scuffle in Eastvale, Maestas decked Billy Townson (Poway, CA) in the second period, 2:41, to secure the 138lb championship. Both were in different weight classes than where we have them ranked in the country with Maestas being No. 20 at 144 and Townson sitting at No. 29 at 126.

144 Roman Stewart (Liberty, MO)

Stewart won a nail-biter in the finals of the Gardner Edgerton Tournament, 2-1 in the tiebreaker periods, over Allen, TX’s Cayden Rios. Stewart’s biggest win here came in the Pool Rounds, though, when he defeated Fargo 16U Freestyle Champ and national Honorable Mention, Justis Jesuroga (Souteast Polk, IA).

144 Tyler Turzinski (Shakopee, MN)

Turzinski claimed an unexpected title at the Dan Gable Donnybrook when he won an overtime thriller, 3-2, with No. 25 Koy Davidson (Fort Dodge, IA). Turzinski is unranked in the nation.

144 Bo Bassett (Bishop McCort, PA)

The junior snagged his third Ironman glory in three trips with his run through the bracket being defined by domination. No. 1 Bassett teched all his opponents with his finals foe, No. 9 Carlos Stanton (Sunnyside, AZ), lasting the longest on the mat at 2:23.