A bit of movement since the November 19th rankings. But this weekend is really when things begin to heat up. #1 Lake Highland Prep is joined by #13 Lake Gibson and #21 Cardinal Gibbons at the Walsh Ironman. LHP will bring their full squad with Gibson and Gibbons bringing a few select individuals to compete in the toughest in-season high school tournament in the country. Can’t make it to Ohio? No worries. We have plenty of action on tap this weekend here in the Dirty South.

#2 Camden County, #3 South Dade, and #9 Southwest Miami will head to Kissimmee for the Danny Byron. Lake Gibson, Fleming Island, and many of the other top teams in Florida as well as Glynn Academy and Colquitt County from Georgia will be there. The deepest tournament of the weekend has to be the Southern Slam at Eastside High School in Greenville, South Carolina. The Eagles will host a bevy of top teams from around the Southeast including fellow ranked teams in #11 Union Pines (North Carolina), #8 Baylor (although they have Ironman and Blackhorse on their schedules as well … so interested to see who is at the Slam for Baylor), #17 Ola (Georgia), HM Jefferson (GA), HM Mill Creek (GA), and HM Indian Land (SC) - each will get their shot to knockoff #5 and defending Slam Champions Buford (GA).

Huntsville plays host to the best tournament in Alabama with Creekview and Dalton entertaining some solid competition in Georgia. The Danny Byron isn’t the only top tournament in the Sunshine State with Charlotte hosting Captain Archer and Hialeah Gardens hosting the southern part of the state at the HTown Throwdown. Up in North Carolina we get another look at #15 Hough as they head to the Jim King Orange Invitational. Cape Fear, Cardinal Gibbons (NC), Seaforth, Wheatmore, and others will try to take that ranking away from the Huskies. Another tournament to watch is the Eye of the Tiger at Mt Pleasant with Honorable Mention teams in Avery County and Hickory Ridge.

We finish our tour of the SE in Tennessee with the Stewart Schay Blackhorse Invitational. Six different states (Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee) will be on hand including #24 Summit and #25 Father Ryan as well as Honorable Mention teams like Mountain Brook (AL), Nolensville (TN), and Signal Mountain (TN).

Here are a few tournaments (that are listed on track or floarena) to keep an eye on this weekend across the SE:

Men

Alabama

• Gulf Coast Clash at the Mobile Convention Center

  • 64 Teams that are mostly from Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

  • A few teams to watch include: Brother Martin (LA), Colquitt County (GA), Gardendale (AL), Hewitt Trussville (AL), Jesuit (LA), McAdory (AL), Oak Mountain (AL), and Vancleave (MS).

  • Top 25 Teams include: #21 Mountain Brook (AL), HM Thompson (AL)

Georgia

• Buford Invitational

• Ringgold Invitational

  • All Georgia Teams - 16 Teams

  • A few teams to watch include: Gordon Lee, Lovett, Ringgold, Sonoraville, and Trion.

  • Top 25 Teams Include: HM Rockmart

• Sequoyah Invitational

  • A few teams to watch include: Commerce (GA), Harrison (GA), North Forsyth (GA), and Pope (GA).
    

North Carolina

• Husky Invitational at Hough High School

  • 17 teams - all from North Carolina except Indian Land from South Carolina

  • A few teams to watch include: Foard, Hickory Ridge, Mooresville, and Newton-Conover

  • Top 25 Teams Include: #16 Hough, HM Indian Land (SC)

• King of Wake Invitational at East Wake Magnet School

  • 28 teams - all from North Carolina

  • A few teams to watch include: Holly Springs, Laney and Millbrook

  • Top 25 Teams Include: #11 Union Pines (NC)

• Red Wolf Invitational at Cedar Ridge High School

  • 24 teams - all from North Carolina

  • A few teams to watch include: Cape Fear, Carrboro, NW Guilford, Orange, Panther Creek, Seaforth, and West Rowan.

South Carolina

Tennessee

• Vandergriff Invitational at Hixson

  • 17 teams from Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee

  • Top 25 Teams Include: #14 Huntsville (AL), HM Soddy Daisy (TN)

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Women

Alabama

• Girls Gulf Coast Clash at Mobile Convention Center

  • 57 Teams that are mostly from Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

  • A few teams to watch include: Northridge (AL), St. Martin (MS), and Vancleave (MS).

  • Top 25 Teams include: #3 Daphne (AL), #7 Carrollton (GA), #10 Lumpkin County (GA), #16 Thompson (AL), and #18 Enterprise (AL).

Georgia

• Sequoyah Invitational

  • A few teams to watch include: Campbell (GA), Chestatee (GA), Gainesville (GA), North Forsyth (GA), and Pope (GA)

Tennessee

• Vandergriff Invitational at Hixson

  • A few teams to watch include: Baylor

  • Top 25 Teams include: #1 Cleveland, HM Bradley Central

Below are the Top 25 teams in the SE as we begin the 2024-2025 season.

USA Wrestling, FloWrestling and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum has published the National Rankings for high school girls wrestlers for November 2024. This national ranking evaluates all girls enrolled in grades 8-12, and athletes from all 50 states are eligible for selection.

This ranking included the major preseason competitions, including Who’s Number One, Super 32, the USA Wrestling Preseason Nationals, the Ultimate Club Championships, the Journeymen World Classic, the Freak Show and many others. Any individuals that are ranked nationally in the latest National Rankings (November 15th) are listed with their team.

One last note - coaches of teams that feel they should be considered for the top 25 (or should be ranked higher than we have them) - please email us. Coaches, parents, and athletes are encouraged to provide information about specific athletes for the committee to consider when doing individual rankings. If they have any information on specific wrestlers who should be considered for rankings please send us an email.

1. Cleveland (TN) - Caroline Hilton (#18 at 130); Piper Fowler (#1 at 170)

2. Flagler Palm Coast (FL) - Joslyn Johnson (#5 at 105); Mariah Mills (#18 at 110); Christina Borgmann (#10 at 130)

3. Daphne (AL)

4. Hernando (FL) - Grace Leota (#3 at 190)

5. South Dade (FL) - Beyonce Espinosa (#15 at 115); Willow White (#22 at 120)

6. West Creek (TN) - Marianna Bowen (#14 at 130); Irelynn Laurin (#25 at 170)

7. Carrollton (GA)

8. Hoke County (NC)

9. Jordan (GA)

10. Lumpkin County (GA) - Greta Garbuzovas (#14 at 140)

11. Central Phenix City (AL)

12. Riverdale (FL)

13. Orlando Freedom (FL)

14. North Miami (FL) - Mya Bethel (#2 at 155)

15. Montgomery Central (TN) - Easton Dadiomoff (#14 at 95); Audrey Levendusky (#18 at 155)

16. Thompson (AL) - Aenaya Vines (#22 at 135)

17. Lumberton (NC)

18. Enterprise (AL)

19. Rock Hill (SC)

20. Osceola (FL)

21. Woodward Academy (GA)

22. Clarksville (TN)

23. Jack Britt (NC) - Sumaiya Aamoud (#18 at 145)

24. Havelock (NC)

25. Gilmer (GA)

Others receiving votes (alphabetical order): Blythewood (SC), Bradley Central (TN), Greenbrier (GA), Greenwood (SC), Laney (NC), Middleburg (FL), North Henderson (NC), North Oconee (GA), Northwest (TN), Swain County (NC), and Weaver (AL)

I’ll be honest … picking the Top 25 for the Girls was not easy. The talent level varies significantly within teams and that sometimes makes it hard to discern which teams would battle their way through a tournament of the top 64 teams. Cleveland won the Knockout a year ago and finished top 5 in the country according to Flo, USA Wrestling, and others. They return World Champion Piper Fowler as well as welcoming Caroline Hilton to the crew this season. That said, they did lose some significant firepower and it will be interesting to see them compete in some of the tournaments this season (like Wonder Woman in Missouri). Will they hold onto their #1 ranking when all is said and done? We will see. Chomping at their heels is Flagler Palm Coast from Florida. FPC was already one of the top programs in Florida in 2024, but the addition of nationally-ranked Mariah Mills as well as previous nationally-ranked Kendall Bibla and Tianna Fries makes this team the team to beat in my opinion in the Sunshine State. FPC will be pushed by our #4 team in Hernando with Grace Leota and Emma Bauknight as well as South Dade, Riverdale, and others - so the battle within Florida will be superb and that should be reflected in the top 25.

Daphne (Alabama) finished last season just outside the top 50 nationally and return nearly everyone. The biggest challenge in ranking Daphne is that we haven’t seen them against Georgia State Champs Carrollton or the Florida teams just to the south. But they are a force and come in as our #3 ranked team. South Dade is #5 and might be one of the best dual teams in the SE … with Beyonce Espinosa and others they are building to one of the best IBT teams as well. West Creek has put together an solid squad and will look to push Cleveland this year in Tennessee. Carrollton, Hoke County (NC), Jordan (GA), and Lumpkin County (GA) round out our top 10. I expect we will see a ton of changes over the season as we learn more about each of the squads above. Don’t be surprised if a team like Havelock (NC) or Bradley Central (TN) moves up as the season progresses. There is a lot of uncertainty on the girls side.