Takedown Report

High school stars ready to compete at Flowrestling’s Who’s #1 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena

BY MIKE WILLIS, USA WRESTLING | OCT. 03, 2019
Starting in 2013, Flowrestling has annually held “Who’s #1”, an exhibition between some of the nation’s top-ranked high school wrestlers, in Grace Hall at Lehigh University. On Saturday, for the first time, Who’s #1 will take place at Carver-Hawkeye Arena at the University of Iowa. Like always, the card will feature elite high school wrestlers duking it out for the top spot in the country. Traditionally Who’s #1 features a four-man mini tournament at one weight class. This year, the weight class is 132 pounds, and it will feature No. 1 Jesse Mendez of Indiana vs. No. 4 Ryan Jack of Connecticut and No. 2 Dominick Serrano of Colorado vs. No. 3 Shayne Van Ness of New Jersey. The winners of the preliminary matches will square off in the finals.

Mendez, a sophomore, has had a tremendous 2019, winning the 2019 FloNationals Cadet freestyle tournament, 16U Folkstyle Nationals, and Cadet World Team Trials in men’s freestyle. Internationally, he was a Pan Am champion in men’s freestyle and Greco-Roman and placed 9th at the Cadet World Championships. Mendez is the only underclassman competing at the event. Jack, his opponent, is a senior committed to North Carolina State. He is a 2019 NHSCA champion and a 2018 Super 32 runner-up. Jack is the younger brother of two-time Wolfpack All-American Kevin Jack. At Super 32, Jack defeated both Serrano and Mendez. Serrano is also a senior and committed to the University of Nebraska. He is a two-time Fargo champion and a three-time Colorado state champion. He finished third at Cadet World Team trials this year, only losing to Mendez.

Van Ness is an uncommitted junior. Last season, he won Ironman, Beast of the East and Super 32 while finishing runner-up at the National Prep Championships. He has defeated all three of the other wrestlers in this mini bracket. After the opening bouts at 132, the action will shift to 120, where No. 1 Jesse Ybarra of Arizona will face No. 2 Jakason Burks of Nebraska. Ybarra is a senior committed to the University of Iowa. This year he finished second at Cadet World Team Trials and third at FloNationals in Cadet freestyle. Ybarra defeated Burks, 4-1, in the Cadet World Team Trials semifinals. Burks is a senior and committed to Oklahoma State University. In 2019, he finished third at Cadet World Team Trials, second at Fargo in Junior men’s freestyle and third in Fargo in Junior Greco-Roman. Burks was a 2018 Cadet Greco-Roman World Team member and a Fargo 16U Greco-Roman champion. Rest of the story at https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2019/October/03/Whos-number-one?mc_cid=493b0ed634&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

October 8, 2019 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized