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Iowa State University Athletics
Cyclone Wrestling Adds Top-10 Recruiting Class
07.21.2008 | Wrestling
AMES, Iowa - Some of the top wrestling talent in the country will be coming to Ames, Iowa in the fall. Third-year Iowa State head coach Cael Sanderson and his staff has signed the sixth-best recruiting class of 2008, according to Intermat. This is Sanderson's second class ranked in the top 10. In 2005, Sanderson, who was then assisting former head coach Bobby Douglas, signed the top overall class.
The class is headlined by two stateside talents who are also among the nation's best in their respective weight classes. Eric Thompson, of Waverly, Iowa, is the top-ranked heavyweight wrestler in the nation and is a two-time Iowa high school state champion. Andrew Long, of Creston, Iowa, is the younger brother of Iowa State assistant coach Dylan Long and is the fourth-ranked 125-pounder overall. Long is a three-time Iowa high school state champion.
Chris Spangler, of Naperville, Ill., is a former Illinois high school state champ who was a four-time state qualifier. Spangler is rated as the eighth-best 171-pound recruit in the country. Spangler is joining the Cyclone wrestling squad after finishing a senior campaign that saw him finish third in the state and post a 44-1 record.
Nate Carr Jr. is transferring from Iowa Central Community College into a program where his father was a former great. Nate Sr. won three NCAA titles for Iowa State during the early-1980s. Carr Jr. held a prep record of 210-2 and won three Georgia high school state titles. Carr Jr. was the 2007 National Junior College champion at 157 pounds and will have three years of eligibility at Iowa State.
Two prep wrestlers from Sanderson's home state have signed with the Cyclones. Matt Brown, of West Valley City, Utah, and Cole Shafer, of Wasatch, Utah, will be in Ames in August. Brown is rated by Intermat as the 10th-best prep 145-pounder in the nation and was a three-time state champion. Shafer was a two-time Utah high school state champion while wrestling at 171 pounds. Shafer wrestled for Cael Sanderson's father, Steve Sanderson at Wasatch High School.
Anthony Valles comes to Iowa State from one of the top prep wrestling programs in the nation. Valles wrestled for Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J., and claimed the 130-pound title at the New Jersey state prep school championships. Valles finished his prep career with a record of 117-9.
Another transfer is coming to the Cyclones by way of Northern Illinois. Duke Burke was a two-time NCAA qualifier for the Huskie wrestlers at 184 and 174 pounds, respectively.
Ridge Kiley, from Eagle Grove, Iowa, Marshall Koethe, of Bode, Iowa, and Jared Ramsay, from Cambridge, Iowa, are three in-state additions to the 2008 class. Kiley capped his high school career with a state title at 112 pounds. Kiley is a three-time placewinner. Koethe won two Iowa high school state titles, and was a four-time place winner. Ramsay was an Iowa high school state runner-up for Ballard-Huxley at 152 pounds and 160 pounds his junior and senior years, respectively.
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