Wrestling Brings in 11 New Recruits in Class of 2020

NORFOLK, Va. – Head coach Steve Martin of the Old Dominion wrestling team announced the signing of 11 student athletes on Tuesday morning. 
 
The 2020 class includes Kolby Allred, Tyler Badgett, Bilal Bailey, Ashton Habeil, Jake Harrier, Dajun Johnson, Steven Kolcheff, Marc Shaeffer, Sage Serbenta, Nick Stonecheck and Connor Williams.
 
"We're extremely please with the recruiting class we've built for this year," said Martin. "Coaches Thomas and Beazley did a great job in securing this class. They really went across the country and got kids from seven different states who fill needs in all 10 weight classes.
 
"Seven out of the 11 athletes are nationally ranked in the top-20 in their weight class, and five of them are on FloWrestling's Top-200 High School Big Board, so we're getting quality wrestlers that will be ready to go right off the bat. We're looking forward to seeing these guys scrap for the next five years." 
 
Seven states are represented in in the recruiting class, with three wrestlers coming from Michigan, two hailing from Illinois and Florida, while the remaining four come from California, Ohio, Georgia, Wisconsin and Virginia. 
 
Lower Weights
Connor Williams, out of Lake Gibson High School in Florida, is projected to wrestle at 125/133 pounds for the Monarchs. Williams won a Florida State Championship at 106 pounds in 2017. He was a two-time state finalist and a three-time state place winner as well. Williams is member of a Lake Gibson team that won two Dual State Championships and was a teammate of current Monarch wrestler Shannon Hanna.

Antoine Allen, who signed on November 26 after this article initially came out, is coming to ODU by way of Cincinnati, Ohio, the eighth state represented in this class. He is a two-time state placewinner and recently placed sixth at the Super 32, which is regarded as one of the top high school folk style tournaments in the nation. Allen is projected to wrestle at 133 pounds in the coming years for the Monarchs. 
 
Middle Weights
Seven of the signed wrestlers are projected to wrestle in the middleweight classes. Jake Harrier will be hitting the mats at 141 pounds for the Monarchs, coming out of Jacobs High School in Illinois. Harrier has totaled 118 wins in his high school career so far, and has been an Illinois State place winner. He was also the 2019 Preseason National runner-up at 138 pounds.
 
Nick Stonecheck, the lone recruit from Georgia that Martin and his team of coaches are bringing in, has won three Georgia State Championships and is ranked 12th in the nation in the 145-pound weight class, according to Intermat. Coming out of Buford High School, Stonecheck was named a Cadet National All-American with a third-place finish and a 2019 NHSCA All-American, also with a third-place finish at 138 pounds. 
 
Marc Shaeffer is coming out of Michigan as a two-time state place winner. This past year, he was state runner-up at 140 pounds and helped Detroit Catholic Central to its 14th State Championship. In total, he was on a Detroit Catholic Central team that has won three-straight state championships and is going for its fourth in his senior season. Shaeffer is projected to wrestle at 149/157 pounds
 
Kolby Allred is a local of the area, coming to Norfolk from Great Bridge High School in nearby Chesapeake. He is a two-time defending Virginia State Champion, winning in both his sophomore and junior years at 145 pounds, and was state runner-up in his freshman season. Also as a freshman, Allred was named an NHSCA Freshman Finalist. Allred is projected to wrestle at 157 pounds for ODU. 
 
Coming all the way from Rancho Bernardo, California, Tyler Badgett is coming to ODU and is projected to wrestle at 157 pounds. He is ranked 15th at 152 pounds on Intermat's rankings, and is also featured on FloWrestling's 2020 Top-200 High School Big Board. This past season, Badgett was the California state runner-up at 152 pounds.
 
The second of two recruits coming out of Illinois is Bilal Bailey, who is projected to wrestle at 157/165 for ODU. Bailey is coming to ODU ranked seventh in the country by both Intermat and FloWrestling in his weight class, and is featured on FloWrestling's 2020 Top-200 High School Big Board, coming in at 34th overall. He is an Illinois State Champion and a two-time state finalist, as well as a Fargo Junior All-American. 
 
The lone wrestler coming out of the state of Wisconsin is Dajun Johnson, who will be wrestling at 165/174 pounds. While wrestling at Whitefish Bay High School, Johnson was a Wisconsin State Champion and a two-time state place winner. This past season, he was named a 2019 Junior Double All-American, placing in both freestyle and Greco wrestling. Johnson is currently ranked 16th and 18th in FloWrestling's and Intermat's rankings of the top high school wrestlers at 170 pounds, respectively. He is also featured in FloWrestling's Top-200 High School Big Board of 2020. 
 
Upper Weights
2019 FloNational Champion Sage Serbenta will be wrestling at 184 pounds for the Monarchs in future seasons. Serbenta finished his junior season with a 46-1 record and a Michigan State Championship at 189 pounds out of Cedar Springs HS. He is also a three-time state place winner and is currently ranked 11th in FloWrestling's rankings and 18th in Intermat's at his weight class. Serbenta is also listed on FloWrestling's 2020 Top-200 High School Big Board, checking in at 94.
 
Ashton Habeil is another wrestler coming to Norfolk out of Lake Gibson High School in Florida, joining his teammate Connor Williams. Habeil is a two-time Florida State Champion, a one-time state finalist and is a 2019 Junior Greco All-American. Currently, he is ranked 17th in Intermat's rankings of the top wrestlers at 182 pounds, and 19th in FloWrestling's rankings of the top wrestlers at 195 pounds. Habeil can also be found on FloWrestling's 2020 Top-200 High School Big Board, and he is projected to wrestle at 197 pounds for ODU.
 
Rounding out the talented class of 11 wrestlers is Steven Kolcheff out of Detroit Catholic Central High School in Michigan. Kolcheff is projected to wrestle at 285 pounds, and is coming off of a junior season where he was named Michigan State Champion and helped lead his team to its third-straight state championship. Kolcheff is ranked 12th in his weight class on FloWrestling and 17th in Intermat's rankings. 
 
2020 Signing Class (By Weight Class)

Connor Williams – 125/133
Hometown – Lakeland, Fla.
National Rank – N/A
 
Assistant Head Coach Daryl Thomas on Williams:
 
"Connor is a great addition and another addition from the Lake Gibson pipeline we've built up. He's a tough kid with great upside. He adds some more depth to our lightweights."




Antoine Allen – 133
Hometown – Cincinnati, Ohio
National Rank – No. 17 at 126 pounds (FloWrestling)
 
Assistant Head Coach Daryl Thomas on Allen:
 
"Antoine is a kid from a great family that wrestled for one of the top high schools in the country. He placed at the Super 32, which is regarded as the top high school folk style tournament in the country. He will be a great add to our lightweight group"



Jake Harrier – 141
Hometown – Algonquin, Ill.
National Rank – N/A
 
Assistant Head Coach Daryl Thomas on Harrier:
 
"Jake is another skilled wrestler out of the state of Illinois. It's great to continue to keep this pipeline rolling with another exceptional student athlete. Jake is also a great student toting a 3.6 GPA. He is the type of kid any program would love to have."
 


Nick Stonecheck – 149
Hometown – Alpharetta, Ga.
National Rank – No. 12 at 145 pounds (Intermat)
 
Assistant Head Coach Daryl Thomas on Stonecheck:
 
"Nick is a kid out of Georgia where there is a lot of talent coming out of right now. He has so much potential to do great things at this level. He's very credentialed on the state and national level. Above that, he's another hard-nosed tough kid from the southeast region."


 
Marc Shaeffer – 149/157
Hometown – Brighton, Mi.
National Rank – N/A
 
Assistant Head Coach Daryl Thomas on Shaeffer:
 
"Marc is a very skilled and technical wrestler. We like that, as we're a program that prides itself on skill and the technical development of our athletes. Marc's best wrestling is ahead of him. Marc is also from the same high school as coach Beazley, Detroit Catholic Central, which is one of the top HS programs in the nation. Currently they are ranked 5th in the nation."


 
Kolby Allred – 157
Hometown – Great Bridge, Va.
National Rank – N/A
 
Assistant Head Coach Daryl Thomas on Allred:
 
"Kolby is a kid that has a ton of history with coach Martin. His dad was a state champion for Steve when he was coaching at Great Bridge. Kolby has had a great HS career, winning two state championships while making the finals three times. We're making it a huge priority to keep the best Virginia kids home, especially within the Hampton roads area."


 
Tyler Badgett – 157
Hometown – Rancho Bernardo, Calif.
National Rank – No. 15 at 152 pounds (Intermat)
No. 196 in FloWrestling's 2020 Top-200 High School Big Board
 
Assistant Head Coach Daryl Thomas on Badgett:
 
"With Tyler I like to use the term better late than never. We found out about him late and quickly loved his film during the evaluation process. Tyler is a state runner in the state of California that is arguably the toughest in the country. He lost in the ultimate tiebreak against the #1 ranked kid in the country. We think we got a steal in Tyler Badgett."


 
Bilal "BJ" Bailey – 157/165
Hometown – Chicago, Ill.
National Rank – No. 7 at 160 pounds (FloWrestling and Intermat)
No. 34 in FloWrestling's 2020 Top-200 High School Big Board
 
Assistant Head Coach Daryl Thomas on Bailey:
 
"BJ is a huge pick up for our program. I think it's fair to say from a rankings standpoint, he's one of our two headliners in this class. He's No. 34 overall in the class and No. 7 at 160 lbs. We feel like he has National Title potential once he gets into our program. I've known him and his family for a long time and they expect nothing less than for him to do a lot of winning on and off the mat here at Old Dominion." 


 
Dajun Johnson – 165/174
Hometown – Whitefish Bay, Wi.
National Rank – No. 16 at 170 (FloWrestling)
No. 18 at 170 (Intermat)
No. 141 in FloWrestling's 2020 Top-200 High School Big Board
 
Assistant Head Coach Daryl Thomas on Johnson:
 
"Dajun had a phenomenal summer where he became a double All-American at the Junior National Championships. He's ranked in the top-150 overall and top-20 at his weight. His style is an attacking style with a ton of skill to couple with it. We think he's got a bright future and his best wrestling is ahead of him." 


 
Sage Serbenta – 165/174
Hometown – Cedar Springs, Mi..
National Rank – No. 11 at 182 (FloWrestling)
No. 18 at 182 (Intermat)
No. 94 in FloWrestling's 2020 Top-200 High School Big Board
 
Assistant Head Coach Daryl Thomas on Serbenta:
 
"Coach Beazley did a great job quickly developing a relationship with Sage when he joined the staff. Sage is another of the headliners for the class of 2020. He's No. 94 overall and ranking in the top-12 at 182 lbs. We feel he's much better than where he's ranked as he had an injury keep him sidelined during some of the big national ranking events. If not for that, he may be much higher. We think championships are in his future."


 
Ashton Habeil – 197
Hometown – Lakeland, Fla.
National Rank – No. 19 at 195 (FloWrestling)
No. 17 at 182 (Intermat)
No. 103 in FloWrestling's 2020 Top-200 High School Big Board
 
Assistant Head Coach Daryl Thomas on Habeil:
 
"Another of the Lake Gibson products is Ashton Habeil. He's a phenomenal athlete with some high level ability in the top position, which is so crucial at this level. We think he can be very good in our system. We can't wait to begin the development process with him."


 
Steven Kolcheff – 285
Hometown – Howell, Mi.
National Rank – No. 12 at 195 (FloWrestling)
No. 17 at 182 (Intermat)
 
Assistant Head Coach Daryl Thomas on Kolcheff:
 
"Steven is another of the Detroit Catholic Central kids that is going to be a dynamite heavyweight at the next level. Although he's ranked 12th nationally, he also played football so he's a little under the radar nationally. We can't wait to watch him compete on this level."