2x NCAA All-American Alex Marinelli (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com; Graphic/Anna-Lee Marie)
Welcome to a new recurring feature from InterMat as we lead into the 2021-22 collegiate season. We are about 50 days away from the start of the new season, so what better way to ring in the new year than to use that time to count down the top-50 current collegiate wrestlers. Each day a new wrestler will be released.
These rankings have been compiled by members of the InterMat staff and used a combination of collegiate achievements, with 2021 accomplishments carrying more weight than past years, along with win-loss records and notable wins. While we are counting down the top-50 wrestlers based primarily on collegiate accomplishments, it is impossible to totally ignore achievements in the international settings, so they did factor in slightly, too.
Before getting to the next wrestler on the list, look at the wrestlers previously profiled:
#50 - Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State)
#49 - Ben Darmstadt (Cornell)
#48 - Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State)
#47 - Kaleb Young (Iowa)
#46 - Rocky Elam (Missouri)
#45 - Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska)
#44 - Brandon Courtney (Arizona State)
#43 - Brock Mauller (Missouri)
#42 - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State)
#41 - John Poznanski (Rutgers)
#40 - Brayton Lee (Minnesota)
#39 - Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State)
#38 - Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa)
#37 - Tariq Wilson (NC State)
#36 - Jacob Warner (Iowa)
#35 - Jacori Teemer (Arizona State)
#34 - Tony Cassioppi (Iowa)
#33 - Vito Arujau (Cornell)
#32 - Patrick Glory (Princeton)
#31 - Max Dean (Penn State)
#30 - Keegan O'Toole (Missouri)
#29 - Mike Labriola (Nebraska)
#28 - Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh)
#27 - Austin DeSanto (Iowa)
#26 - Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh)
#25 - Evan Wick (Cal Poly)
Next is…
#24 Alex Marinelli (Iowa)
Weight: 165 lbs
Year: Senior
Career Record: 73-10
Hometown: Miamisburg, Ohio
College Accomplishments: 2020 NWCA 1st Team All-American, 2019 NCAA 7th, 2018 NCAA 6th, 3x Big Ten Champ
2021-22 Preseason Ranking: #2nd at 165 lbs
In the Class of 2016, the Iowa Hawkeyes landed, Alex Marinelli, one of the most sought-after recruits in the nation (#3), even though they have not had a long track record of success with the state of Ohio. The following year, with redshirt freshman Joey Gunther penciled in at 165 lbs, Marinelli was given a redshirt.
Marinelli's first unattached competition was the Grand View Open, which he won without having a bout closer than six points. Next up was the Midlands Championships, a staple on the Hawkeye's schedule. Marinelli acquitted himself well and finished fourth at a difficult weight. His two losses came to two-time NCAA champion Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) and Anthony Valencia (Arizona State).
The final competition during Marinelli's redshirt campaign was the Missouri Valley Open. Marinelli pinned his first three opponents before meeting Hawkeye teammate Kaleb Young in the finals. In a one-point bout, it was Marinelli who got the win. He finished his redshirt campaign with a 13-2 record with the only losses coming against top-flight competition at the Midlands.
The official start to Marinelli's Iowa career was delayed a bit as he didn't take the mat until the Hawkeyes dual with Rutgers in early December of 2017. The wrestler affectionately known as “The Bull†passed his first test by overcoming U23 World Champion Richie Lewis in sudden victory, 6-4. Marinelli and Lewis would meet just a few weeks later in the semifinals of the Midlands. Once again, it was a close affair (3-2), but Marinelli pulled out a win. He'd take the title after getting by Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton) 3-1 in sudden victory.
Post-Midlands, Marinelli's Big Ten schedule was quite daunting, though you wouldn't notice it by looking at his spotless record. Marinelli successfully navigated a conference dual slate that included opponents like Logan Massa (Michigan) and Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State), along with an out-of-conference win over Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma State).
Marinelli moved into the Big Ten Championships with a 14-0 record. That unblemished ledger wouldn't hold as Marinelli suffered three losses to a pair of opponents he had defeated in the past (Lewis, Massa). His sixth-place finish at B1G's ended up netting him the fifth seed at his first NCAA Tournament.
Though it was the NCAA Tournament, Marinelli's first two opponents in Cleveland were Big Ten foes. He prevailed by pins in both contests of Jacob Morrissey (Purdue) and Nick Wanzek (Minnesota). It was the third win of the year over Wanzek but the first with bonus points.
Those two wins propelled Marinelli into the NCAA Quarterfinal round. There he met the #4 seed Chad Walsh of Rider. The two engaged in an entertaining scrap and it was Marinelli who came out on top, 7-6. The win secured All-American status for the Hawkeye and booked a date with top-seeded and undefeated Isaiah Martinez (Illinois). In a battle of two, stout 165 lbers, the veteran, Martinez, got his hand raised, 5-2.
After the Martinez loss, Marinelli took the semi-slide to sixth place. He lost back-to-back contests and surrendered bonus points for the only two times in his career. Evan Wick (Wisconsin) majored him in the consolation semifinals, before David McFadden (Virginia Tech) spladled and pinned him for fifth place.
Similar to his redshirt freshman year, Marinelli got off to a blazing start in 2018-19 and never looked back. For the second consecutive season, he went undefeated during the regular season. That run included his second Midlands title. His 165 lb weight class was one of the marquee brackets of the event. Marinelli needed to go through All-Americans Josh Shields (Arizona State) and Wick to win his title.
The Big Ten dual season provided another opportunity for Marinelli and Wick to clash. Again, the Hawkeye got by in an excruciatingly close, 6-4 win in sudden victory. Aside from the Wick win, Marinelli best dual conquest down the stretch in the regular season came when he shutout Isaiah White (Nebraska), 3-0.
A perfect regular season mark gave Marinelli the top seed at the 2019 Big Ten Championships. Just to make the final, he needed to get by frequent combatant Wick, which he did by the score of 2-1. In the finals, Marinelli had two-time defending national champion, Vincenzo Joseph. Marinelli won all of the big exchanges and nullified the dangerous Joseph for a 9-3 win and his first Big Ten title. That led to the number one seed at nationals.
In Pittsburgh, Marinelli got one of the more brutal draws for a top-seed in recent memory. Because of little 2018-19 seeding data, two-time All-American Joseph Smith (Oklahoma State) was pitted against Marinelli after a pig-tail win. Smith jumped out to an early lead, but eventually, the Hawkeye took over for a 7-4 win. After a 12-4 major decision over Thomas Bullard (NC State), Marinelli drew Virginia Tech freshman Mekhi Lewis in the quarterfinals. The Junior World Champion neutralized Marinelli and struck late to pull the upset, 3-1.
At this point, just getting on the podium was not a given. In the bloodround, Marinelli needed to go through Massa, an opponent that had defeated him twice in the 2018 Big Ten Championships. Marinelli did what he needed to do and got by the Wolverine, 5-3. Next up, was Chance Marsteller (Lock Haven), who was competing in his home state for his final NCAA tournament. With the home crowd behind him, Marsteller outdueled Marinelli in a 9-6 win.
The Marsteller loss relegated Marinelli to the seventh-place bout, where he'd face fellow Iowa collegiate star Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa). Marinelli ended his tournament with a 9-3 win over the Panther.
Early in the 2019-20 season, Marinelli had yet another meeting with rival Evan Wick. Like their previous clashes, scoring was at a minimum, but the Hawkeye came out on top, 4-2.
In what had become a late-December tradition, Marinelli grabbed his third Midlands crown. This time he pinned four of his six opponents and got past three-time All-American David McFadden in the final round.
In late January, during the Hawkeyes massive dual with rival Penn State, Marinelli dropped a match to Joseph, 7-5. It was the first, and still the only, dual and regular-season loss for the star 165 lber. One of the most significant wins for Marinelli in the 2019-20 year came in the season finale against Oklahoma State's Travis Wittlake. Marinelli held off the stud freshman as Iowa blew out their hated rivals, 34-6.
A possible rematch with Joseph at the 2020 Big Ten finals was one of the headliner bouts at the conference meet. It came to fruition in the championship match and Marinelli was able to even the score with a 3-2 win.
The win over Joseph was enough to boost Marinelli into the top seed at the 2020 NCAA Championships. As we know, that tournament never happened due to the Covid pandemic. Some of the notables on Marinelli's half of the bracket were, #4 Wittlake, #5 Isaiah White, #8 Wick, and #9 Tanner Skidgel (Navy).
Based on his seeding, Marinelli was named a First-Team NWCA All-American. Alex also led the Hawkeyes with eight falls and posted the highest bonus point percentage (52.3%) of his career.
The abridged 2021 season saw Marinelli only participate in two dual meets. His prep for the postseason included wins over Andrew Sparks (Minnesota) and Peyton Robb (Nebraska). That was good enough to give Marinelli the top seed at the 2021 Big Ten Championships. While Marinelli came away with his third conference title, this one was more of a workman-like performance. He had a two-point win over Cameron Amine (Michigan) in the semis and a one-point victory against Ethan Smith (Ohio State) in the championship bout.
For the third time in his career, Marinelli was awarded the number one seed at the NCAA Championships. After an opening-round major decision over Austin Yant (Northern Iowa), Marinelli faced the same Round of 16 opponent from 2019, Thomas Bullard. Just like 2019, he prevailed with a major decision. Unfortunately, also like the 2019 tournament, Marinelli was upset by the eighth seed. This time it was Shane Griffith (Stanford) during his storybook run that helped get the exposure needed to save Stanford Wrestling. After the loss to Griffith, Marinelli did not wrestle in the Round of 12 due to injury.
Looking at Marinelli and his ranking, it's probably one of the more controversial. One could argue that due to his limited number of losses, his three Big Ten titles, and three #1 seed's at nationals, he should be higher. On the other hand, Marinelli has never finished higher than sixth. Of course, he lost the opportunity for a potential title in 2020.
Strengths: Marinelli lives up to his “bull†nickname with his wrestling style. He is very physical and an active handfighter. Marinelli keeps his stance and is typically in good position. He can score from a variety of single-leg attacks. Either from neutral or from the top position, Marinelli can rack up pins with a cow-catcher. From the top, Marinelli riding with a lot of pressure. While he typically, tries to get multiple takedowns, he can ride out, if needed.
2021-22 Outlook: Despite the results from the 2021 NCAA Tournament, Marinelli still may be the odds-on favorite to win the 165 lb weight class. This group is shaping up to be as deep as any weight class in the country, so he'll have his hands full. Despite never having finished higher than sixth, it would be a surprise if he were lower than third.
2x NCAA All-American Alex Marinelli (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com)
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now