A new season is right around the corner! It is impossible to begin a state rankings article/forecast without mentioning the new weight classes. They are, in a word, terrible- but this is what we are stuck with (for now). More on this situation next week, and what fans of the sport who feel the same can and should do to bring about a reversal of this lame-brained decision.
That said, the one upside of the new weight class is that from a fan's perspective, they are creating some titanic matchups in those condensed middleweight classes. Last year, the Division I state finals were the least interesting I can recall- completely lacking a true "marquee match-up" (which I am defining as a match between two nationally ranked wrestlers) other than possibly George Dicamillo vs.Edgar Bright. With so many classes in the middleweights and a below average senior class- basically the top wrestlers almost "colluded" one might say to avoid each other and thus become a heavy favorite to win their respective weight classes in a finals round that was unusually lacking in drama (perhaps we were spoiled by the unforgettable Wadsworth/St. Edward race of 2010). Condensing the middle weights, along with the fact that so many great wrestlers are returning this year, will make such "collusion" impossible and we have some unbelievable matchups and weight classes to look forward to- most notably, a battle between state champions and Junior National All-Americans Anthony Collica and Zach Dailey at 145, a terrific four man-battle at 132 with four wrestlers that have already been state finalists, and just absolutely loaded fields at 120, 138, and 145.
Huge caveat here- these weight classes listed below are not 100% accurate but based on the best information currently available- it's a big state, so in some cases, I currently have no reliable information and am going with "best guess", while in other cases I no doubt have bad information, and finally, in other cases the wrestlers may simply change their mind before the season starts.
One final caveat- as long-time fans of this site know, I do not compile rankings in what you might call the "traditional" way. Typically, rankings are simply done by ranking the highest placing returning guy 1st, and next highest 2nd, and so forth. To me, this is a display of mental laziness, requiring absolutely no insight and not worth reading. The 2011 state tournament was just one tournament in the entire career of these wrestlers- an important one, to be sure, but to focus entirely on one tournament and ignore the rest of their careers makes zero sense to me. Thus, you will get seemingly odd results such as a guy who hasn't made it to state yet ranked 3rd. With no further ado, here are the current Division I Preseason State Rankings.