Double Fargo Champion Andre Gonzales Releases Top Five Schools
Double Fargo Champion Andre Gonzales Releases Top Five Schools
California state champ and double Fargo champion, Andre Gonzales, releases his final five schools.
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After a third-place finish at the 2019 California state championships, Andre Gonzales took the country by storm when he went to Fargo and left as the Junior freestyle and Greco-Roman champion at 106. The Poway product followed his performance up in the FargoDome with a California state title in 2020, finished the season as the nation's second-ranked 106-pounder in the country, and currently sits at #39 on the Junior Big Board.
Watch Gonzales beat then #6 (now #20 at 113) Blake West in the Junior Freestyle finals at Fargo.
Andre Gonzales School List (listed in alphabetical order)
- Cornell
- Missouri
- Ohio State
- Stanford
- Wisconsin
To say the lightweights and 125, in particular, is crowded in Ithaca might be an understatement. Vito Arujau is back from Olympic redshirt and will only be a sophomore, Dom Lajoie qualified for the NCAA Championships last season and will be a junior this fall, the Big Red signed the 15th ranked wrestler in the class of 2020 Greg Diakomihalis, and currently own commitments from Brett Ungar, Vince Cornella, and Nico Provo who all are top-100 recruits in the class of 2021 and project as 125-pounders. If Gonzales were to join the loaded group of lightweights, he would be the Big Red's nation-leading sixth top-100 recruit in the class of 2021.
A year ago, three different wrestlers — Cameron Valdiviez, Dack Punke, and Cevion Severado — started dual meets for the Tigers. All three boasted winning records, but it was Valdiviez who got the nod at the MAC Championships but was unable to qualify for the NCAA Championships. Punke had qualified for the NCAA Championships the year prior. Missouri also has Noah Surtin on the roster who went 20-7 during his redshirt season. Valdiviez, Punke, and Severado would be redshirt seniors when Brown would arrive while Surtin would be a redshirt sophomore.
Watch Gonzales win a 2019 Junior Greco-Roman national title in Fargo.
The Buckeyes currently have four 125-pounders on the roster led by Malik Heinselman. Despite qualifying for the NCAA Championships for the second consecutive year, Heinselman struggled at times this season and finished with just an 18-15 record. Ohio State did not sign a 125-pounder in the class of 2020 and their only commit so far in the class of 2021 is Paddy Gallagher, who projects as a 165-pounder. One big thing to keep an eye on is if the nation's top-ranked recruit in the class of 2021 and fellow California hammer, Richie Figueroa, stays committed to Arizona State. Ohio State is still in the mix for the three-time CIF state champion as well as Penn State.
A year ago the Cardinal qualified half their lineup for the NCAA Championships and one of those qualifiers was true freshman Jackson DiSario at 125. If Gonzales were to sign with Stanford, DiSario would be a junior when he arrived on The Farm. Logan Ashton is on the roster as well and would also be a junior when Gonzales would get on campus. Finally, Stanford also signed Ohio state champion and 2018 Ironman champion, Kyle Rowan, in the class of 2020.
Watch Gonzales nearly take out the #6 wrestler in the class of 2022, Joey Cruz, in the Reno TOC final
Like Stanford, Wisconsin also started a true freshman the majority of the season at 125. Unlike DiSario, Eric Barnett came up just short of qualifying for the NCAA Championships after having his redshirt pulled. Ethan Rotundo is the only other 125-pounder on the roster, but he will be a senior this upcoming season. The Badgers also did not sign a 125-pounder in the class of 2020 and do not have a 125-pounder currently committed in the class of 2021.
Keep it locked on FloWrestling throughout the spring and summer as we continue to bring you the best recruiting news in the country such as school lists for the nation's top uncommitted wrestlers in the class of 2021 and breaking news when wrestlers make their college decisions.