Buckeye Wrestling’s 2007-08 Incoming Class Tabbed No. 1

COLUMBUS, Ohio – After earning the No. 2 ranking by Wrestling International Newsmagazine in May, the Ohio State wrestling team’s 2007-08 incoming class was regarded the best in the nation among Division I programs by wrestling Web site intermatwrestle.com Friday. Buckeye head coach Tom Ryan’s first recruiting class consists of eight of the top wrestlers in the nation who combined for 14 state high school individual titles, while three wrestlers earned National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) All-America honors.

The Buckeye fall signees were Sean Nemec, Colt Sponseller, Bo Touris, Nikko Triggas and John Weakley.

Nemec, who hails from Lakewood, Ohio, and attended St. Edward High School, was a three-time high school state champion as a four-time finalist. He also was the 2004 Cadet Freestyle National Champion. A two-time junior national freestyle All-American, Nemec finished third at 152 pounds in 2006 and sixth at 145 pounds in 2005.

A student at West Holmes High School in Millersburg, Ohio, Sponseller was a three-time high school state champion. Wrestling at 160 pounds, Sponseller was the 2007 NHSCA Senior National Champion (160), as well as the 2006 NHSCA Junior National Champion (152).

Touris is a native of West Chester, Ohio, and attended Lakota West High School. The 2007 Ohio High School state champion at 112 pounds, Touris went on to finish fourth at the 2007 NHSCA Senior Nationals. Touris also was the Ohio Cadet Greco Roman and Freestyle state champion and a Fargo Nationals Cadet Greco Roman National champion.

Hailing from Moraga, Calif., where he attended Campolindo High School, Triggas wrestled at 119 pounds and was the third freshman at any weight in the history of Campolindo to become a high school state champion. A four-time state qualifier, Triggas again won the state championship in 2006. Triggas also was the 2005 and 2006 Cadet Greco Roman Champion and was the 2007 Senior National runner-up. Most recently Triggas won the gold medal in the Greco Roman competition before winning the bronze medal in the freestyle at the 2007 Pan American Juniors Championships in Maracaibo, Venezuela.

Weakley is from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, and prepped at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, where he was the 2006 and 2007 Ohio High School state champion at 189 pounds. The 2007 PAC Outstanding Wrestler, Weakley helped the Royals to its third consecutive PAC team title, as he earned his fourth conference championship. Weakley's freestyle and Greco Roman credentials include becoming a three-time All-American, three-time freestyle state champion, three-time Greco Roman state champion and the Greco Roman Junior National runner-up in 2006.

Jesse Campbell, Patrick Harrington, Pat Zamaria and Ross Ambrose signed with Ohio State in the spring.

A product of Sullivan Black River High School, Campbell is the 2007 Ohio High School state champion at heavyweight.

Harrington is from Sandusky, Ohio, and attended St. Mary Central Catholic High School. He is a two-time Ohio High School state champion, winning in 2007 at 119 pounds and in 2006 at 103 pounds. He also advanced to the round of 12 at the 2007 NHSCA Senior National Championships.

Zamaria comes to Ohio State from Brecksville High School and was a fourth-place finisher at the OHSAA tournament.

InterMat Division I Recruiting Class Rankings for 2007
1. Ohio State
2. Missouri
3. Penn State
4. Virginia Tech
5. Minnesota
6. Oklahoma State
7. Michigan
8. Virginia
9. Northern Iowa
10. Kent State
11. Oklahoma
12. Oregon State
13. Lehigh
14. Edinboro
15. Cornell
16. Old Dominion
17. Lock Haven
18. Nebraska
19. Hofstra
20. Harvard
21. Penn
22. Michigan State
23. Eastern Michigan
24. Columbia
25. Indiana
26. Iowa State
27. Iowa
28. Bucknell
29. George Mason
30. Northwestern