Steen was a 2 time Pa state champ and 3rd twice I would call that elite!
Just so this doesnt come across the wrong way, I never sniffed a section championship, so I view winning a state championship as rarified air indeed. This is also not meant to disparage Gary.
As for "Elite" at the NCAA level, let alone the Big 10, that is a whole different animal. I think Bo Pipher was a 3x champ and might have set an all time state record for pins, was it in Colorado? The majority of starters in the top 10 collegiate programs are all state champs if not multi-timers. There are oodles of state champs like Bo who can't even start at the highest level, or end up being NQs.
Being a multi time state champ is an incredible achievment at the highschool level, and doing it in Pennsylvania is yet one tier higher. That said 'Elite' has a different denotation in my dictionary. Elite means the best of the best. Gary won't qualify for nationals. Sure he could be undersized which is a really big deal at this level. Given a few more years in the program, maybe he could become a blood round guy.
When I hear elite, I think of top 4 with a chance to be an NCAA champ. Although it sounds obsurd, when you think about it, even the bottom 4 AAs at certain weight classes really can not be considered elite, if being the best of the best is the real measure.
I won't do the research, but if you take the top 20 programs in the NCAA, with 10 weight classes, that's 200 wrestlers. I would be surprised if 150 (75%) of them were not at least 1x state champs somewhere. Think about this, 50 states 5-6 years of eligibility, 10-12 weight classes, some states with multiple tiers = literary thousands of state champs at any one time available to test their metal at the collegiate level of they so choose
When I see Jason Nolf on 1 leg, completely dismantle in almost an embarrassing way, an tOSU star (multi time AA, 4x state champ) in the semis of nationals, I come away with a clear picture. I watched only 1 "elite" wrestler.
