HS Recruiting News
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Both Rocklin (113) and Nikade (126) won state titles last year. Nikade visited this spring with the former coaching staff. They are cousins and the great-nephews of former Fresno coach Dennis Deliddo.
I believe the family has some MMA ties and with DC specifically as well.
Yep. Father Dewayne Zinkin is the head of Zinkin Entertainment. Agent to a lot of MMA stars. You take these kids for the money alone, lol.
I’d love to land Stewart… this kid is high end imo.
Really athletic kid and he's in a weight range we're running thin on. Him and Dee could really push each other! Love the guys that are double champs and are comfortable in throw situations. Super important skill to have imo.
This kid would be a huge pick up for OK State. I know it is still early, with him entering his Jr year, but anyone know which way he may be leaning? Stillwater and Warren both going to the Ironman this year? If so, could see him and Lockett matched up against eachother.
Stewart's ceiling is scary high. Oklahoma State would be a tremendous spot for him to reach his potential.
He’s ranked #18 in ‘26. Projected as a 157lb. Askren kid
Someone shared either way back in this thread or in another one that Askren wasn’t wild about the previous staff because they (allegedly) let guys get away with a lot of partying. Think Askren even has a more recent video where he talks about how excited he was about the DT hire and what it meant for team lifestyle and culture.
The article about Wolbert and Haakon from WIWrestle
Kellen Wolbert and Haakon Peterson are both juniors, Fargo Champs, 2x State Champs, friends and are the two highest ranked P4P wrestlers in Wisconsin. Wolbert currently ranked #1 P4P on our Wiwrestle Top 50 and #11 in the country at 138lbs by Flowrestling is entering his junior year at Oconomowoc High School. His friend, Haakon Peterson is #2 in our P4P and is ranked #3 in the country at 113lbs by Flowrestling is also entering his junior year at Dodgeville High School. However, I have done the ever reliable "size him up" technique when I last saw Peterson and I don't believe he will ever be touching 113, maybe even 120 again.
As the top two recruits in our state and certainly among the best recruits in the country it should come as no surprise that every coach in the country wants to earn these guys commitment! I've spent years around them both and their credentials speak for themselves, but their IQ for understanding wrestling and its intricate positions is also on another level. Not to mention they are both genuinely good humans.
Many of you may already know all this, but I know somethinggg you don't knowww. Both of these guys Top 10 for college. An extensive list that has been narrowed down by both. Wolbert actually narrowed it down a little further to his Top 7 and Peterson is at his Top 9. They both spend a lot of time in the same practice room and to me it
comes as no surprise that their future college choices look similar.
*Listed in alphabetical order. Not by rank.
Wolbert's Top 7
Cornell
Indiana
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
Oklahoma State
Wisconsin (Visiting this weekend)
All the schools are excellent wrestling programs, but they all also have engineering programs. Wolbert told me that he wants to pick a school for its wrestling and environment, but also a school that has his desired major (engineering).
*Peterson's Top 9
lowa
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
NC State (Visited)
Oklahoma State (Visited)
Penn State
Stanford
Wisconsin (Visiting this weekend)
When I see this list by Peterson the first thing I think of is academics. Each of these schools is known to have strong academics and several of them rank among the best in the country in that category. They also rank highly as strong and secure wrestling programs, highlighted by Champions Penn State. Peterson will have a lot of options athletically, but like Wolbert he knows he wants a school that offers his desired academic path as well. That being Pre-Med.
Both Wolbert and Peterson told me they intend to take all their visits and Peterson has already gotten things rolling on that front. I was told he had a fantastic visit at Oklahoma State but he is excited to see his other options as well. Wolbert kicks off his visits this weekend by heading to Madison to visit University of Wisconsin! The Wisconsin native will not be alone as Peterson will also be joining him this weekend in Madison. I'm sure for many of us Wisconsin natives that is some exciting
news.
You don't have to go on a visit to talk to a college coach about potential future weight classes, but from the sounds of it thus far going on a visit would not have helped much anyway. I'm not all that surprised by this news, because many coaches want to simply recruit the best kids and the best wrestlers and in a few years from now you can then figure out what weight class might be best for them and or the team. As fans it's certainly fun to speculate, but as coaches it can be a headache trying to speculate what someone might weigh over the next 1-3 years for when they are actually ready to step into your college lineup.
As both Kellen Wolbert and Haakon Peterson are among our states best wrestlers we will be sure to keep a close eye on both their recruiting trails and keep you all in the loop when it comes time for these two student athletes to make their decision.
Kellen Wolbert and Haakon Peterson are both juniors, Fargo Champs, 2x State Champs, friends and are the two highest ranked P4P wrestlers in Wisconsin. Wolbert currently ranked #1 P4P on our Wiwrestle Top 50 and #11 in the country at 138lbs by Flowrestling is entering his junior year at Oconomowoc High School. His friend, Haakon Peterson is #2 in our P4P and is ranked #3 in the country at 113lbs by Flowrestling is also entering his junior year at Dodgeville High School. However, I have done the ever reliable "size him up" technique when I last saw Peterson and I don't believe he will ever be touching 113, maybe even 120 again.
As the top two recruits in our state and certainly among the best recruits in the country it should come as no surprise that every coach in the country wants to earn these guys commitment! I've spent years around them both and their credentials speak for themselves, but their IQ for understanding wrestling and its intricate positions is also on another level. Not to mention they are both genuinely good humans.
Many of you may already know all this, but I know somethinggg you don't knowww. Both of these guys Top 10 for college. An extensive list that has been narrowed down by both. Wolbert actually narrowed it down a little further to his Top 7 and Peterson is at his Top 9. They both spend a lot of time in the same practice room and to me it
comes as no surprise that their future college choices look similar.
*Listed in alphabetical order. Not by rank.
Wolbert's Top 7
Cornell
Indiana
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
Oklahoma State
Wisconsin (Visiting this weekend)
All the schools are excellent wrestling programs, but they all also have engineering programs. Wolbert told me that he wants to pick a school for its wrestling and environment, but also a school that has his desired major (engineering).
*Peterson's Top 9
lowa
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
NC State (Visited)
Oklahoma State (Visited)
Penn State
Stanford
Wisconsin (Visiting this weekend)
When I see this list by Peterson the first thing I think of is academics. Each of these schools is known to have strong academics and several of them rank among the best in the country in that category. They also rank highly as strong and secure wrestling programs, highlighted by Champions Penn State. Peterson will have a lot of options athletically, but like Wolbert he knows he wants a school that offers his desired academic path as well. That being Pre-Med.
Both Wolbert and Peterson told me they intend to take all their visits and Peterson has already gotten things rolling on that front. I was told he had a fantastic visit at Oklahoma State but he is excited to see his other options as well. Wolbert kicks off his visits this weekend by heading to Madison to visit University of Wisconsin! The Wisconsin native will not be alone as Peterson will also be joining him this weekend in Madison. I'm sure for many of us Wisconsin natives that is some exciting
news.
You don't have to go on a visit to talk to a college coach about potential future weight classes, but from the sounds of it thus far going on a visit would not have helped much anyway. I'm not all that surprised by this news, because many coaches want to simply recruit the best kids and the best wrestlers and in a few years from now you can then figure out what weight class might be best for them and or the team. As fans it's certainly fun to speculate, but as coaches it can be a headache trying to speculate what someone might weigh over the next 1-3 years for when they are actually ready to step into your college lineup.
As both Kellen Wolbert and Haakon Peterson are among our states best wrestlers we will be sure to keep a close eye on both their recruiting trails and keep you all in the loop when it comes time for these two student athletes to make their decision.
Haakon is ranked #35 in ‘26 and is projected to 133 by Willie. Lol he also already looks good in orange.
They’re both Askren kids and the fact that we’re in the top proves what we’ve heard about Ben being all in on his kids wrestling for DT imo.
Speaking of future recruits Flo just announced that Ignacio Villasensor will be wrestling U17 world champ Munaretto in WNO in late September and the article mentioned that Villasenor has recently moved to Stillwater to wrestle for the Pioneers after winning a Colorado state title as a freshman.
I think the DT hire has changed a lot of old thinking. Old “enemies” can become new friends.
Haakon is pretty small definitely a kid that could hold 125 for a few years imo
Askren is IMO the best youth coach in the nation. Not just in technique but in teaching his kids to enjoy the sport and maintain their long term passion for it and growth potential. He and DT have a great relationship from PNL, which they founded together and he would 100% trust a kid to go to the new Oklahoma State culture.
He doesn't steer his kids away if they really want a school but yes he will be honest if he knows the culture of a program and wants to let them know if he thinks it's detrimental. You can call it hating (like Iowa fans) but he's been on the record before, these are kids he watched grow up and he's responsible for them, no s*** he is going to be honest if he doesn't see a fit.
Fun (not for PSU fans) story @vhsalum shared before, Keegan O'Toole really wanted PSU out of HS and Askren asked Cael to take a look but Cael passed for Facundo. One thing I really respect out of Askren is he never ever has publicly dunked on Facundo (despite being egged on to in FRL) He really is in it for the kids. Guessing Cael learned his lesson on not taking AWA kids since in all likelihood, 30% of his lineup after this year will be AWA kids (Mesenbrink and the 2 Mirasolas)
AWA recruiting battles between Cael and DT will be key going forward as I am very confident Ben (especially being full time now) is going to produce another Keegan O'Toole, Mitchell Mesenbrink or Parker Keckeisen soon.
He doesn't steer his kids away if they really want a school but yes he will be honest if he knows the culture of a program and wants to let them know if he thinks it's detrimental. You can call it hating (like Iowa fans) but he's been on the record before, these are kids he watched grow up and he's responsible for them, no s*** he is going to be honest if he doesn't see a fit.
Fun (not for PSU fans) story @vhsalum shared before, Keegan O'Toole really wanted PSU out of HS and Askren asked Cael to take a look but Cael passed for Facundo. One thing I really respect out of Askren is he never ever has publicly dunked on Facundo (despite being egged on to in FRL) He really is in it for the kids. Guessing Cael learned his lesson on not taking AWA kids since in all likelihood, 30% of his lineup after this year will be AWA kids (Mesenbrink and the 2 Mirasolas)
AWA recruiting battles between Cael and DT will be key going forward as I am very confident Ben (especially being full time now) is going to produce another Keegan O'Toole, Mitchell Mesenbrink or Parker Keckeisen soon.
It would be nice to land these guys, but the best part of making his list is that he's an Askren kid. Right or wrong Ben didn't seem to be a fan of the old staff and let recruits know it. Hopefully we can land some of his club kids now, Ben and Max have really been pumping out some good wrestlers.
Absolutely
And as Ben alludes to… his kids are just starting to peak going into college. They rarely have beasts in junior high or 9th grade. They don’t rush the grind. That’s one reason his guys are having so much success in college. They aren’t worn down or burnt out. They are just hitting their stride and are very very well coached technically, mentally and culturally by the time college hits.
Mesenbrink might be the best illustration of the Askren training philosophy ever. He had maybe the biggest jump of all time from junior to senior year of HS. He DNPed at Fargo after his junior year of HS, placed 7th at Super 32 then randomly came out for U20s beating Levi Haines and winning world silver.
A big reason is Mitch said developed a passion for wrestling on his own that year and committed to really mastering his weaknesses. Ben always saw immense buried potential in him but didn't want to force it out of him by being a hardass (similarly neither did Mitch's dad, who is another AWA coach)
A big reason is Mitch said developed a passion for wrestling on his own that year and committed to really mastering his weaknesses. Ben always saw immense buried potential in him but didn't want to force it out of him by being a hardass (similarly neither did Mitch's dad, who is another AWA coach)
Sounds like those are lessons some wrestling parents and coaches should really learn into. Even the highest of high level youth wrestlers are still kids.
Another recruit in this weekend was 165er Riley Johnson of Omaha Skutt. Class of 2026. 2x finalist and 1x champ in NE so far. Made the semis at Fargo losing to Aaron Stewart and then fell to 6th place. Looks really tall so may be 184-197 in the end.
great post. Ben and Max are not anti OSU. They are pro athlete and will support them toward the program that will help them forward. I fully expect that OSU is now on that list.
Ben's greatest ability is to inspire self-motivated greatness. Because it's easy to say - hey, we're not going to push these guys hard when they're young. Because the fact is - the work has to be done. As a high schooler, you can't avoid doing 2x a days, 5-7 days a week and become elite. It's just not possible.
KOT - Askren watched him a u17s one year when he didn't place and told him that he didn't want it to be hard. That he just wanted easy wins, and if it didn't happen, he wouldn't try. That one conversation entirely changed KOT and how he would compete.
Mesenbrink - after he placed 7th at Super 32, Askren told him he wasnt committed enough to handfight, and until he actually committed to getting better there, he was never going to be elite.
Askren is going to keep pumping out good kids because he's innately great at telling kids the truth and it inciting their passion to be great.
Word on the street is that DT caught a fish today. A large one so it seems.
You know this would be a pretty funny troll if you were talking about DT catching actual fish😂
That wouldn’t be funny at all
Tip top of the old big boards supposedly
If the so called "insiders" on the penn st boards know what they're talking about I would have to think it's Jax. Blaze is getting ready for Jr worlds and Bassett is still doing his countdown.
This is all coming through them at this point. Some of the most plugged in guys over there are pushing it. Fingers crossed.
I guess the actual message is that it’s someone Cael REALLY wanted. That narrows it down but it could extend to guys like Stewart as well. Who knows
This guy 100% would not post that for Aaron Stewart (who is a stud but not someone I think Cael is all in for right now and certainly wouldn't warrant a "brace yourselves" post)
