From team races to national No. 1s to college commits, this year's Ironman is ridiculous

The 30th annual Ironman Tournament invades the mats of Walsh Jesuit on Friday and Saturday and, wow, is it loaded.

Tournament director Pete Zaccari and seeding director Corey Haddad have put together a stunning field.

Here’s a look at five big storylines heading in:

How tough is the Ironman?

“The Ironman is where state champions come to die.”

You see that quote from longtime St. Edward coach Greg Urbas all the time this time of year.

This year’s tournament won’t be any different. As we said Tuesday, seven national No. 1s will hit the mats at Walsh.

But it goes way deeper than that. There are 86 nationally ranked athletes in the field and 136 wrestlers with national honorable mention status.

What is the toughest weight class at the Ironman this year?

That easy. It’s 165 pounds, and it’s not close with three top-ranked wrestlers in the bracket.

With the season just starting there’s always jockeying the first couple of weeks as stars settle into their weight classes. That leaves the Ironman with loaded brackets.

Angelo Ferrari of Melissa, Texas, is ranked first by MatScouts.com at 175 and is an Iowa commit, and Joe Sealey of Wyoming Seminary, Pa., is ranked first at 157 and is a Penn State recruit.

William Henckel of Blair Academy, N.J., is top-ranked at 165.

Need more?

LaDarion Lockett of Stillwater, Okla., is ranked second at 157 and Dublin Coffman’s Ethan Birden is ranked third at 165.

What’s the deepest weight class at this year's Ironman?

That would be at 175 with nine nationally ranked standouts.

Tyler Eise of Ponderosa, Col., is ranked second and is a Nebraska commit. Nate Blanchette or Providence Central Catholic, Mass., is ranked seventh and is a Rutgers recruit.

Adam Waters (Faith Christian Academy, Pa.) is eighth. Gage Wright (Parkersburg South, W.Va., Virginia Tech commit) is ninth.

Dom Federici (10th, Wyoming Seminary, Columbia commit), Carson Thomas (15th, Cincinnati LaSalle, Indiana), Talon McCollom (17th, Edmond North, Okla., Air Force), Elijah Penton (Winter Springs, Fla., Navy) are also ranked.

Peyton Westpfahl is in the weight class and is eighth at 190.

What two area wrestlers have the best chance to reach the Ironman finals?

Only Western Reserve’s Sam Cartella reached the championship match last season to finish second.

This year’s Ironman has kept up with its image as the toughest wrestling tournament in the nation once again.

Wadsworth’s Jaxon Joy and Perry’s Aidan Fockler have the best chances to reach the round of two from Greater Akron/Canton.

Joy is a three-time finalist, two-time champion and Cornell commit and finished seventh last season at Ironman. He is seeded third. He holds a third-place finish at the Junior National Freestyle Tournament in Fargo this year and was third at the Super 32.

Pennsylvania state champion and Bethlehem Catholic junior Kollin Rath, who is raked second in the nation, is the favorite to emerge from the other side in Joy's bracket. Wyoming Seminary’s Vince Bouzakis, who is ranked fourth, could be the hurdle Joy needs to clear.

Fockler returns as a state champion and is a Central Michigan commit and is seeded second. He missed last season’s Ironman with an injury but is a 2021 Super 32 placer and finished eighth at the Ironman as a sophomore and is a three-time Fargo All-American.

Carter Neves of Blair Academy (N.J.) is seeded first. He’s an Ohio State commit and is ranked third in the nation.

Sampson Stillwell of St. Michael the Archangel, Mo., is seeded third and comes in as a two-time state champion and U17 World team member.

What does the team race at the Ironman look like?

Wyoming Seminary, Blair Academy, Edmond and St. Edward come in as the top four teams in the nation. That makes for a great team race.

Here’s a look at all four teams:

Wyoming Seminary – Top seeds Luke Lilledahl (126) and Jude Correa (215), three second seeds, two third seeds, a fifth seed and two sixth seeds.

Reigning champion Blair Academy – Top seeds Leo DeLuca (120), Paul Ognissanti (157) and Neves (285). Two fourth seeds and a seventh, eighth, ninth, 11th and 14th seed.

Edmond North – No top seeds. Two fourth, 10th and 14th seeds and a fifth, sixth, seventh, ninth, 12th and 16th seed.

St. Edward – No top seeds. Two ninth seeds and a third, fifth, seventh, eighth and 16th seed.

Contact Brad Bournival at bbournival@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @bbournival

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Wrestling with success: The 30th annual Ironman is beyond elite