OSU Wrestling: Who to Watch at ‘Who’s Number 1?’

On October 7 the high school wrestling season “unofficially” kicks off with “Who’s Number 1?”, an All-Star match put on by FloWrestling to decide the top-ranked high school wrestlers nationally at each weight class. One of the most notable matches of this included Daton Fix and a 30-minute battle with NCAA runner-up Nick Suriano.

There are quite a few guys OSU is in the mix for wrestling at this and I thought I’d run down who and what fans should be on the lookout for.

113: No. 1 Jakason Burks (NE) vs. No. 2 Greg Diakomihalis

Burks is currently the No. 1-ranked wrestler at 113 pounds. He’s a junior out of Nebraska and came in on a visit the weekend of September 8-9. He’s No. 1 for a reason. As a Fargo champ and World Team member, Burks has had a very impressive prep career. An opportunity to wrestle alongside Daton Fix is a big recruiting sell for a kid at that weight, so I have to think the Cowboys have a shot. He’s wrestling the brother of NCAA champ Yianni Diakomihalis.

Awesome weekend, had a lot of fun, thank you for the opportunity and thank you to @TCaldwell165 @chrisperry174 @_Greatest_Ever1 pic.twitter.com/Gp9Ieim0IU

— Jakason Burks (Juh-Kay-Son) (@thekid_jwb) September 9, 2018

152: No. 1 Andrew Alirez (CO) vs. No. 2 Jace Luchau (CA)

Luchau is coming in on a visit on the weekend of October 12. He was a double All-American this year at Fargo and has had a pretty abrupt rise up in the recruiting rankings of late and made it all the way up to No. 2. He tweeted this out back in August.

*not a commitment, but I got this in the mail today and I thought it was the best thing ever… pic.twitter.com/m5xcVBiOeK

— Jace Luchau (@jace_cute_face) August 17, 2018

He projects as a 157 in college.

160: No. 1 Brevin Balmeceda (FL) vs. No. 2 Alex Facundo (MI)

I wrote this last weekend when Balmeceda just had OSU in his top six. Had to make some tweaks when he committed to OSU on Tuesday. An absolutely massive pickup for the Cowboys. At the time he was the second-highest ranked recruit in the 2019 class that was still uncommitted. He’s ranked this high for a reason. He wins a lot of big national tournaments and seems to really show out when the spot light’s on him. Great size fit for the Cowboys. At 157 or 165 he could easily come in and redshirt, then have a very good chance to start as a freshman.

170: Julian Ramirez (FL) vs. No. 2 Carson Kharchla (OH)

Kharchla lit the wrestling world up this summer, winning the toughest weight at Fargo and knocking off current Cowboy freshman Travis Wittlake. The Cowboys have been after him for a bit according to FloWrestling. He has a visit scheduled for October 12. One concern brought up by a lot of people is the question of how would OSU make the lineup work with Kharchla, Wittlake, and another superstar recruit from the 2020 class Dustin Plott, who’s out of Tuttle, Oklahoma and a high priority for next year’s class.

I think they could actually make it work and it could function pretty well, I explained how last month. The upside is that if OSU were to get all three, it makes for a lot of talent around the same size that can all develop together. Ultimately, the main concern with Kharchla is him opting to stay in-state and go to Ohio State. It would be a huge get for the Cowboys to pick up Kharchla. Kharchla is the highest ranked uncommitted recruit in the 2019 class.

Who’s Number 1? will take place in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania this Sunday, October 7 starting at 1 p.m. Central time, and will live-streamed by FloWrestling.