PA Recruiting: Several Big Names Make College Commitments
Many of Pennsylvania’s top recruits have made their college choices over the last week including six ranked in the Top 100 of 2017 seniors. Leading the charge are PIAA State Runner-up Jimmy Hoffman (Hazleton Area) and Zack Trampe (Council Rock South) in addition to 2016 FloNationals Champion Travis Stefanik and Super 32 Champion Brian Kennerly.
View the Top 300 Recruits of the Class of 2017 here!
#19 Travis Stefanik (Nazareth Area) – Princeton
For Nazareth Area senior Travis Stefanik the two sport star will be heading to Princeton to continue his academic and wrestling careers in the Ivy League. Stefanik is the second Blue Eagle wrestler to commit to an Ivy League school as teammate #26 Brock Wilson heads to Harvard. Stefanik comes in ranked #15 in the Class of 2017 with an impressive junior season that included a third place finish in the PIAA State Tournament and a FloNationals Championship. It was the first PIAA State medal earned in his two trips to the GIANT Center as the senior will be an integral part in Nazareth’s success this season.
#21 Jimmy Hoffman (Hazleton Area) – Lehigh
Jimmy Hoffman, ranked #21 in the Class of 2017, has committed to Lehigh. He is a 3x PIAA State Qualifier and in 2016 earned his first career medal when he advanced into the 132 lbs. finals. Hoffman had a great State Tournament after narrowly making it to the GIANT Center. He was a District 2 Runner-up and at the North East Region he finished in fourth but bounced back the next week in Hershey upsetting several wrestlers and advancing into the PIAA State Finals at 132 lbs. Hoffman has a career record of (118-23) and projects to be 133/141 for the Mountain Hawks and head coach Pat Santoro.
#22 Zack Trampe (Council Rock South) – Binghamton
2015 PIAA State Runner-up Zack Trampe will be joining teammate Joey Doyle by heading north to Binghamton University in New York. Trampe was ranked #1 in the State most of his junior season at 132 lbs. and entered the PIAA State Tournament with a (45-1) record. In the semi-finals Zack was upset by Jimmy Hoffman and ended up in sixth place. It was his second career PIAA State medal after finishing as the State Runner-up in 2015. He owns a career record of (128-21) and will again be in the hunt his senior season for a PIAA State Championship. He projects to be a 133 lbs. wrestler for Binghamton.
#47 Joey Blumer (Kiski Area) – Penn State
The crafty Joey Blumer has committed to Penn State as he beings his final season at Kiski Area. The 2015 PIAA State seventh place medalist can scramble with the best and has only improved over his high school career. Blumer will join former Kiski Area State Champion Matt McCutcheon in Happy Valley next season. Joey, who has a ton of upside, projects to compete at 149 for the Nittany Lions. In October 2016 he competed in the Super 32 Challenge and had a solid performance finishing in seventh place at 145 lbs. After dropping a (3-1) bout to Nationally ranked Brik Filippo of Oklahoma, Blumer bounced back to win five straight matches in the consolation round including an impressive (4-3) decision over 2x PIAA State Runner-up and Princeton recruit John Pipa (Bishop McDevitt).
#62 Christian Hutzell (Meyersdale) – Pitt-Johnstown
Meyersdale senior Christian Hutzell will be staying close to home as the District 5 star has committed to Pitt-Johnstown and head coach Pat Pecora. Hutzell came on strong at the PIAA State Tournament in March 2016 picking up four wins en route to a sixth place finish. What made the run special for Christian was the fact he was a District 5 runner-up and a South West Regional fourth place but ended up sixth in the State. Hutzell avenged a loss in the District 5 finals to Wes Graham (Everett) score (3-2) at the PIAA State Tournament as he reversed the score on Graham winning (3-2) to guarantee a spot on the podium in Hershey. It was the first trip to the PIAA State Tournament.
#67 Brian Kennerly (Upper Darby) – Virginia
Senior Brian Kennerly made headlines in Greensboro, NC when he upended PIAA State Champion Cole Nye in the Super 32 Finals at 220 lbs. to win the Championship Belt. Brian had a breakout season in 2016 after just one season of full varsity competition. Kennerly was cut from the high school basketball team and took up wrestling which has paid off exponentially for the talented athlete. His sophomore season Brian went (22-14) but greatly improved in the offseason as he improved to (40-6) as a junior earning a spot in the PIAA State Tournament. He was a 2016 South East Regional Runner-up and went (1-2) at the State Tournament. He proved that his wrestling skills are greatly improving at the Super 32 knocking off quality opponents en route to the prestigious Championship belt. He projects to compete at 197 lbs. for Virginia. Watch the interview with Kennerly after winning the Super 32 Championship below.