With five returning NCAA qualifiers, the Princeton coaching staff was already excited about the 2015-16 wrestling season. They are even more optimistic after announcing an impressive group of eight newcomers who will make up the Princeton Class of 2019, including four who are nationally ranked at the respective weight classes.
“Coming off the momentum of two Top 25 national recruiting classes we figured we could get a very good class this year and the recruits that committed to our program certainly did not disappoint," head coach Chris Ayres said. "This class is easily the most accomplished group of recruits, boasting a collective 25 state or national prep medals, 14 finals appearances and 10 titles. Additionally, four of the recruits in this class were nationally ranked in Flowrestling or Intermat, at #1, 14, 16 and 16.
"While the group is ultra talented, they also fill the weight areas we targeted at the beginning of the year, which should result in an incredibly strong lineup in the 2015-2016 season," Ayres added. "I would like to thank these young men for joining us on this adventure to being one of the top programs in the country. I would also like to recognize Coaches Gray, Dubuque, and Jamison for their tireless efforts in providing these recruits with a first-class recruiting experience, which allowed the recruits to truly understand how amazing Princeton University is and how good the Tiger wrestling program will be.”
You can read about the Princeton Class of 2019 below.
| 125 • Centerburg, Ohio • Northridge High School |
| • three-time All-Ohio selection |
| • four-time Ohio state tournament qualifier |
| • first-team All-Metro honoree |
| • two-time district champion |
| • AAU Junior Olympics bronze medalist |
| • "Super 12" selection by This Week's News |
| • won 181 matches in high school |
| • class valedictorian |
| • Academic All-Ohio |
| • National Honor Society member |
| 125 • Cedar Rapids, Iowa • Linn-Mar High School |
| • Fargo Junior Freestyle All-American (fourth place) |
| • USA Folkstyle Nationals All-American (multiple years) |
| • placed Top 4 at USA Folkstyle Nationals in 2012, 2013 |
| • 2014, 2015 Iowa state high school championships medalist |
| • 2014, 2015 Academic All-Iowa |
| • three-time National Duals Team Iowa Member |
| • State Cup Championship Team member (2010, 2011, 2014) |
| • multi-year letterwinner in soccer |
| • member of the Olympic Development Team |
| 125/133 • Galloway, N.J. • Holy Spirit High School |
| • ranked 16th by InterMat, 19th by FloWrestling at 126 |
| • 2015 New Jersey state champion |
| • placed Top 3 at N.J. states three years (third, second, first) |
| • three-time Beast of the East placewinner |
| • two-time region champion; four-time district champion |
| • 2015 Most Outstanding Wrestler at district championships |
| • member of the National Honor Society |
| • Presidential Academic Award recipient |
| 141/149 • Commack, N.Y. • Commack High School |
| • ranked 16th by InterMat, 16th by FloWrestling at 138 |
| • three-time All-American |
| • New York state finalist in 2015 |
| • three-time all-state honoree |
| • 2015 NHSCA Senior national champion |
| • 2014 Super 32 Finalist |
| • went 203-19 during high school career |
| • High Honor Roll member |
141/149 • Bellbrook, Ohio • Blair Academy
|
| • nation's top-ranked wrestler by Intermat, FloWrestling at 138 |
| • three-time National Prep champion |
| • Iron Man champion |
| • Beast of the East champion |
| • Fargo Cadet Freestyle champion |
| • Ohio state champion |
| • Clinch Gear 2015 first-team All-American |
| 149/157 • Flowery Branch, Ga. • Jefferson High School |
| • two-time High School Wrestling All-American |
| • Iowa Nationals runner-up |
| • placed third at NHSCA Junior Nationals |
| • three-time high school state champion |
| • went 151-17 in high school |
| • NHSCA Academic All-American |
| • The Clash Academic Award Recipient |
| • class salutatorian |
| 157 • Ridgewood, N.J. • Delbarton High School |
| • ranked 14th by InterMat, 17th by FloWrestling at 152 |
| • 2015 New Jersey state champion |
| • placed fourth at the 2014 state championships |
| • placed fifth at the Beast of the East |
| • placed fourth at the Powerade Championships |
| • took sixth at the Super 32 Championships |
| • regional champion; two-time district champion |
| • two-time county champion |
174/184 • Salt Lake City, Utah • West High School
|
| • 2015 Utah state champion |
| • Most Outstanding Wrestler at 2015 Utah state championships |
| • four-time Utah state placewinner |
| • two-time Top-5 finisher at Reno Tournament of Champions |
| • winningest wrestler in West High School history (138) |
| • Don Buchanan placewinner |
| • academic all-state honoree |
