2021 NCAA finalist Nino Bonaccorsi (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)
Next is…
Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh)
Weight: 197 lbs
Year: Junior
Career Record: 57-15
Hometown: Bethel Park, Pennsylvania
College Accomplishments: 2021 NCAA Runner-Up, 2021 ACC Champion
2021-22 Preseason Ranking: #2 at 197 lbs
It shouldn't come as a surprise that Nino Bonaccorsi ended up at Pittsburgh. His older brother Nick was a three-time NCAA qualifier and Round of 12 finisher from 2013-16. The family also grew up in the outskirts of the city, about ten miles away from campus.
Bonaccorsi came into college as a 184 lber and competed at that weight during his redshirt season. He hit the ground running and won 13 of his first 14 bouts while wrestling unattached. The only loss during that run came to Dakota Geer, then of Edinboro, in the season-opening Clarion Open. Just over a month later, at the Cleveland State Open, Bonaccorsi avenged that loss to the tune of 8-5.
Nino's strong run took him into the Midlands, where he fell in the quarterfinals to two-time All-American Nate Jackson, who was competing as a post-grad. Not dismayed in the least bit, Bonaccorsi won three straight consolation bouts, before getting shut out by Jordan Ellingwood (Central Michigan) 7-0 in the third-place match. Earlier in the tournament, he had registered another win over Geer.
For the remainder of the year, Bonaccorsi only lost twice and both came to Binghamton's redshirting freshman Louie DePrez. Once at the Edinboro Open and then at the National Collegiate Open. The biggest win for Bonaccorsi during that home stretch came at the expense of Cam Caffey (Michigan State).
Bonaccori's official Panther debut took place in a 2018-19 dual with CSU Bakersfield's Dom Ducharme. He would earn bonus points in a 15-5 major decision. Bonaccorsi's first official loss came in his next outing against the eventual NCAA champion Drew Foster (Northern Iowa). Marking off more “official†landmarks, in Bonaccorsi's first bracketed tournament, he took seventh at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. At that event, Bonaccorsi picked up two wins over returning NCAA qualifiers (Kayne MacCallum - Oklahoma and Will Schany - Virginia).
Following the CKLV, Bonaccorsi won 12 of his remaining 14 duals. The only losses came to All-American's Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) and Jacobe Smith (Oklahoma State). He was able to down one of his own in ACC-rival Chip Ness (North Carolina).
At the ACC Championships, Bonaccorsi notched his second win of the year over Nick Reenan (NC State), but suffered his third loss of the year at the hands of Zavatsky in the conference finals. A runner-up finish at the ACC Championships was good enough for the 13th seed for Bonaccorsi.
Wrestling at the NCAA Championships in front of his hometown crowd, Bonaccorsi did his job in the opening round with an 11-4 decision over Will Sumner (Utah Valley). In the Round of 16, Bonaccorsi scored his biggest win of the year when he upset #4 Emery Parker (Illinois), 9-7. Parker was a returning All-American and went on to rebound and finish fifth.
Bonaccorsi's surprising run to the quarterfinals came to an end against #5 Max Dean (Cornell), who shut out the Panther freshman, 6-0. In a strange coincidence, that was the same score in the bloodround, where Bonaccorsi fell to old rival Dakota Geer, now at Oklahoma State.
The sophomore year for Bonaccorsi began with a title at the Michigan State Open and his closest bout was a six-point win versus Jelani Embree (Michigan). A week later, Bonaccorsi was knocked off by Andrew Morgan (Campbell), 11-8 in the first dual of the season. He would win out for the rest of the 2019 calendar year, a small five-match streak that was highlighted by an 8-3 victory over 2018 NCAA Round of 12'er Chris Weiler (Lehigh).
Next up was the Southern Scuffle, which could be described as “hit or miss†for Bonaccorsi. The good news is that he advanced to the semifinals and majored or teched all of his opponents. On the flip side, he was majored himself by DePrez. Undaunted, Bonaccorsi came back with two more bonus-point wins for third.
In the first dual post-Scuffle, Bonaccorsi fell to Oklahoma State freshman Anthony Montalvo. Two matches later, he was beaten in a conference dual by another tough freshman, Trent Hidlay (NC State). It was during the final dual of the year when Bonaccorsi notched perhaps his most impressive win of the year. He outlasted Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) 10-8 in tiebreakers to hand the Hokie only his second loss of the year.
Even with the Bolen win, Bonaccorsi still fell on Hidlay's half of the bracket at the ACC Championships. This time he was closer to Hidlay, but still was defeated 3-2 in tiebreakers. The third-place showing was enough to warrant the 10th seed at the 2020 NCAA Championships.
With the onset of the Covid pandemic, the 2020 national tournament did not happen and Bonaccorsi was deemed an NWCA 2nd Team All-American based on his seeding. Nino was slated to face 23rd seed Marcus Coleman (Iowa State) in the opening round had the tournament been conducted. A win would have likely set up a match with #6 Caffey, who was fresh off a finals appearance at the Big Ten Championships.
Other notables on Bonaccorsi's half of the bracket include #2 Bolen, #3 Aaron Brooks (Penn State), #7 Taylor Venz (Nebraska), and #11 Abe Assad (Iowa).
For the 2021 season, Bonaccorsi would move up to compete at 197 lbs. He showed no ill-effects after the move and immediately teched then pinned two opponents from Navy in his debut. Less than a week later, he logged a solid 7-2 victory over Lehigh's two-time NCAA qualifier Jake Jakobsen. In late November, Bonaccorsi suffered his only loss pre-NCAA's when he was caught by true freshman Isaac Trumble (NC State) and downed, 6-1.
After an unblemished ACC mark, Bonaccorsi was given the top-seed at the conference meet. There he still needed to get past a tough Reenan to make his second ACC final. In the title match, he defeated Jay Aiello (Virginia), a 2020 ACC champion at the weight and the seventh seed at the NCAA Tournament.
The win over Aiello, an ACC title, and a 9-1 record was worthy of the sixth seed at the 2021 NCAA Championships for Bonaccorsi. In St. Louis, Bonaccorsi came out on a mission, winning his first two bouts by major decision. The second of which came against Aiello; his third win of the year over the Cavalier.
In the quarterfinals, Bonaccorsi was tasked with taking on the #3 seed, unbeaten Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State). Norfleet proved to be little trouble for Bonaccorsi and he prevailed, 4-1. That upset cemented his status as a 2021 NCAA All-American. Not content, Bonaccorsi had to deal with one of the Cinderella stories of the tournament in #26 Jake Woodley (Oklahoma) in the semis. Midnight struck for Woodley, as Bonaccorsi again got by with a 4-1 win.
The NCAA finals would see Bonaccorsi opposite one of the most-talked-about figures at the entire tournament, AJ Ferrari (Oklahoma State). Less than a minute into their championship bout, Ferrari struck with a low attack off of a reshot. That takedown proved to be the difference in a 4-1 win for the Cowboy freshman.
After the NCAA season, Bonaccorsi would stay active by earning a place on the U23 World Team at 92 kg. To get to the final, Bonaccorsi defeated Caffey. His opponent in the best-of-three finals, Rocky Elam (Missouri), ended up making the Junior team and won a world title at that level.
Strengths: Bonaccorsi is a unique 197 lber. His footwork and pace make him difficult to deal with for most of his opposition. He's also a high-volume shooter, especially compared to the rest of the weight class. Bonaccorsi tends to operate best in space. He can convert doubles and sweep singles with regularity. His length and working from space typically prevent opponents from reaching his legs. Nino is good on top. Normally, he's not going to get many turns against top competition, but can still ride enough to surpass the riding time criteria.
2021-22 Outlook: As evidenced by his NCAA finish in March, Bonaccorsi will go into this year as one of the leading contenders for a national title. He wrestled a close bout with Ferrari in the national finals and Ferrari is still hobbled as a result. While occasionally it may get him into trouble, Bonaccorsi's style makes him a difficult matchup for anyone at this weight.
2021 NCAA finalist Nino Bonaccorsi (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com)
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