D1 Rankings 2016-17?

[East Valley]

The post before this it lays out next years sections. (If that is correct) Just for fun looking ahead to next year. I think the rough D1 top 5 rankings would be as follows.

Sunnyside
Cibola
Mtn. View
Corona
Chandler

Sunnyside brings back the most points from state. Two 1st, one 2nd, one 3rd & one 6th. They have 6 returning state qualifiers. On paper they appear to be the team to beat.
Cibola qualified their whole team last year. From State they return one 1st, two 3rd & two 4ths. They have 10 returning state qualifiers. They also have some tough freshman coming in. (All the teams do) Gandara will be one of them. Cibola could do some real damage for the next 2 to 3 years!
Mtn. View brings back one 2nd & one 5th from state & 4 state qualifiers. A few things make them interesting. They will have a new coach but they have great depth. They bring back an undefeated JV squad that placed 4th at Blackford. The challenge is they are unproven. To me that's why Sunnyside & Cibola have to be the early favorites.
Corona brings back 7 state qualifiers, one 3rd, two 5th & one 6th from state.
Chandler brings back 4 state qualifiers, one 3rd, one 5th & one 6th from state.
I'm not sure who Corona & Chandler have coming in next year. They should make it interesting as well! Any thoughts?

 

[Coach P]

Sunnyside is definitely the early favorite, even with Cibola bringing back lots of talent. Mt. View will be in the mix, but lost two many horses to keep up. SS has Middle School state champs coming in at 106 and 113, but they may not make the line up with Manny Garcia (JR) finally big enough to make some noise (top 3) at 106. Loaiza at 113, Several studs fighting for 120, Bravo, D Salazar, and H Salazar will round out the bottom 6 weight classes which should all be top 3. They will also get Hernandez (SR) back in the upper weights, with solid returners Gamez , Tena and their freshman HWY back also.

 

[bayoubadger]

Sunnyside also has a 160 pounder in Rees that had to sit out virtually the entire season because of knee surgery who will make some noise at 160 or 170. He had a winning record as a freshman at 195 wrestling WAY outside of his actual weight.

Sunnyside is the team to beat.

 

[East Valley]

What you are saying is true. I give Sunnyside the early edge for those reasons. Before you crown them however there are a few things to consider. Ironwood Ridge won the title last year because they had the kids who could move up weight classes to help the team. That made them a complete team. Being able to score at a bunch of different weight classes was key. Sunnyside has 6 returning state qualifiers. (5 Placers) Following the normal trend they will need 8-10 placers to win it.
Cibola had 14 score points at state & 10 return. They bring in some tough freshman and they have a lot of big men. (You know I believe that big men win it for you) They have a full team with state experience. That makes them dangerous. The only reason I think Mtn View may surprise people is they are 3 to 4 deep at each weight & their JV did well against varsity opponents. I still think Sunnyside & Cibola are the favorites looking at the data.

 

[bayoubadger]

I am sure in their infinite wisdom, the AIA will schedule a Cibola, Sunnyside and Mountain View meet for the first dual of the season, so we will get to find out right away ;-)

 

[East Valley]

bayougadger dang I laughed out loud when I read that! Geez I hope not but I won't hold my breath.

 

[AzWrestlingFan]

Winning percentage doesn't mean that wrestler is the best. This goes on every year. There is much more that goes into ranking wrestlers beyond a winning percentage.