The United States Merchant Marine Academy wrestling team's Class of 2011 was recently named one of the top four recruiting classes in the nation for NCAA Division III by Intermatwrestle.com. Several of the recruits were nationally ranked with one receiving All-American recognition from both Intermat and USA Wrestling. Most of the recruits qualified for their state tournaments in both their junior and senior years, with many placing on multiple occasions. North Central, Olivet and UW-Oshkosh were the other programs recognized by the organization.

"Without assistant wrestling coaches Charlie Hill and Shawn Swift, there is no way we would have brought in such a highly regarded recruiting class in the summer of 2007," said head coach Tim Alger. "With that being said, we are thrilled with our recruiting class. I am a little more tempered about it because it's good to have them here, but we haven't done anything with them yet. There's a lot to do before we even hit the wrestling season in terms of first-trimester grades and even making it through INDOC before that."

Jordan Alfaro wrestled for Jack Britt High School in Fayetteville, NC, where he was a four-time state qualifier and three-time state place winner, placing third in 2006 and 2007 at 125. Jordan also competed at the Super 32 national preseason and NHSCA Senior Nationals tournaments where he matched up against some of the top wrestlers, including the No. 2 and No. 4 ranked students in the country.

James Beshada wrestled for Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, NJ, where he qualified for the tough New Jersey State Tournament in both his junior and senior years. As a senior, he was undefeated during the regular season and placed second at the state tournament at 130 pounds. He was the Eastern National runner-up in 2006 and competed at the Senior Nationals, losing to the No. 3 ranked wrestler in the nation.

Brandon LaDick wrestled for West Linn High School in Oregon where he was a three-time state place winner, finishing second in his senior year when he was also nationally ranked as high as 19th at 140 pounds by USA Wrestling. He was also a three-time member of the Oregon National Freestyle and Greco Team and three-time runner-up at the Oregon State Freestyle Tournament. LaDick also competed at the Fargo National Freestyle Tournament in 2006, finishing 2-2.

Nick Swanson wrestled for Wauconda High School in Illinois. He qualified for the AA state tournament in 2007 and was ranked No. 9 in the state at 140 pounds. His only regular season loss as a senior was a decision to an All-American ranked No. 3 in the nation.

Nate Buckley wrestled for Patch High School in Brussels, Belgium, where his father is currently stationed with the U.S. Marine Corps. He compiled a senior record of 23-3 and placed third in the Department of Defense Dependent School European Championship at 135 pounds.

Dan Twito comes to Kings Point from Cedar Falls, Iowa where he was a three-time state tournament place winner, finishing third as a junior and senior, and compiling a regular season record of 35-2 during his senior year. He was periodically ranked No. 1 in the state and received a Special Mention national ranking from USA Wrestling at 145 pounds during his junior and senior years. Twito hopes to qualify for the Division III National Tournament, which is to be held in Cedar Rapids, near his home town of Cedar Falls. Twito was active in his church, was a Boys State participant and graduated in the top 10 percent of his class. He also plans to play soccer for the Mariners.

Scott Lowe joins his brother at Kings Point out of Mentor High School in Ohio. Scott was a two-time Ohio State Tournament qualifier. He was named Academic All-Ohio and finished his senior year ranked No. 10 in the state at 140 pounds. He also participated in the National Dual Tournament as part of Team Ohio.

Paul Carter wrestled for Northern-Calvert High School in Maryland where he was a three-time Maryland State Tournament place-winner, placing second in 2006. Carter will spend a year at the Kings Point affiliated prep school, New Mexico Military Institute, before enrolling in the summer of 2008.

Vincent Renaut wrestled for Plymouth South High School in Massachusetts where he was a two-time Massachusetts State and New England champion. Renaut was undefeated during his junior and senior regular seasons. Following his senior season, he competed in the NHSCA Seniors National Tournament where he defeated two All-Americans enroute to an impressive second-place finish. Renaut was ranked No. 6 in the nation by Intermat at 152 pounds, while USA Wrestling had him pegged at No. 8. Both organizations named him an All-American. Reanut selected Kings Point over several scholarship offers from Division I schools, citing the unmatched career opportunities that he saw as a Kings Point graduate.

Stefan Stein comes to Kings Point from Tampa Prep in Tampa, FL, and is one of several recruits from the sunshine state. He posted a 28-11 regular season record as a senior and qualified for the Florida State Tournament at 160 pounds.

Justin Diesel wrestled for Minisink Valley in New York. He was a three-time Section 9 place-winner, including a first-place finish in 2007. Diesel then went on to place third at the New York State Tournament at 171 pounds. He also competed at the post-season NHSCA Senior Nationals where he went 3-2.

Sean Patrick comes to Kings Point from Florida where he wrestled for Brandon High School, which has one of the top wrestling programs in the nation. Patrick was a two-time state tournament qualifier and carried a 43-1 record and a No. 1 state ranking into the 2007 State Tournament at 171 pounds, but had to settle for a fourth-place finish after two close decisions.

Judd Connell wrestled for Hastings High School in Minnesota. He was a two-time state tournament qualifier, placing fourth at 189 in 2007 after compiling a 36-5 regular season record. Standing 6 feet 4 inches, Connell expects to initially wrestle at 197 pounds and then build up to heavyweight.

"It's a very, very nice class," said Alger. "Coming on top of Eric Vincent and Philip Greene from last year, it's a really nice addition. We feel really good about it."

The Mariners will compete at the Doug Parker Invitational hosted by Springfield College to open up the 2007-08 season on Nov. 17. Last season, Vincent led the way for Alger's club in his Mariner debut by placing first in the 197-pound weight class at the meet.