Preseason Who's Who in DI

1. Sunnyside: Returning Points 147.5

Perennial Powerhouse Sunnyside is once again the team to beat in DI. They are led by Xavier Chavez who will be pursuing his 4th State Title along with Jack Thrush and Malik Hoskins as returning State Champions. They return 3 other State Placers in Cruz(2nd), Balderama(3rd) , and Landavaso (5th) but more importantly will bring in a slew of young talented kids who will score big and immediately. They will need to fill the top of their line-up after graduating the majority of their big guys, but make no mistake, Sunnyside is far from vulnerable.

2 Canyon View: Returning Points: 209* in division II

Some may be dismissive of Canyon View's run in DII and chalk it up to being in the weakest Division in Arizona. While I would agree that DII is well, not good, you would be a fool to doubt Canyon View. They wrestled the toughest schedule in the State last year and their studs are studs in any division. Led by four returning State Champions (Ramirez 120, Bamba 126, Ralls 132, Robles 157) and a whopping 6 returning State Placers. They are going to be a formidable challenger in DI immediately. With new Coach Skylar Crespo at the helm who was a 4x Michigan State Champion and wrestled for Michigan State, they will look to put Division I on notice.

3. Liberty: Returning Points: 107

Liberty was 3rd last year and return the best big guys in the state in Moss, Schulte, Hopson. Pair that trio with Carson Miles down low and they have the beginnings of a very tough tournament team. They will have to fill some holes, but rumors of a big transfer coming in give them enough of a push into the top 3.

4. Gila Ridge: Returning Points: 80.5

Gila Ridge had a solid year last year placing 6th in the State Tournament and return 80.5 points to help them try to improve on that end. They are led by Cannon Farrar who will look to repeat on his state championship performance from last year and return 3 other state placers in Sevilla, Labady, and Tanaka.

5. Desert Ridge: Returning Points: 79

Coach Jackson will rely heavily on returning placers Handy, Judd, and Bermudez to build around this year. DR graduates 4 Seniors from last years 5th place squad but has some decent blocks to build around.

6. Mesa Mountain View: Returning Points: 47

Graduated a whopping 9 seniors from last year's 2nd place team, but Coach Anderson and his staff are masters at doing more with less. They consistently seem to develop tough squads year after year despite not getting many big names from the middle school/youth circuit. With only 3 returning placers in Gillett, Taren, and Hernandez, they will need to do more of the same this year. But if track record is any indication, the Toros will always find themselves near the top.

7. Casteel: Returning Points: 39.5

Casteel returns 7 qualifiers headlined by runner-up Mahlon Pobstman. They have a solid dual squat but will need the previously mentioned qualifiers to find their way to the podium if they want to improve on last year's 7th place finish.

8. Marana: Returning Points: 41.5

Anchored by returning 3rd place finishers Leland Frost and Xander Poulin, Marana always seems to crank out tough wrestlers. In their first year under new Head Coach Aaron WIne they will need to build a team around their two horses to remain near the top of Arizona's toughest division.