3x NCAA All-American Sebastian Rivera (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com)Two weeks ago, we looked at the remaining schedules for the undefeated wrestlers in the national rankings. As these things tend to do, they've worked themselves out a bit as a handful of them have fallen from the ranks of the unbeaten since.
Now we have eliminated the bouts that have taken place along with the wrestlers that have been handed an "L" since our first release. Additionally, we have some commentary pointing out some of the critical matches remaining and how they may affect a wrestler's ability to finish unbeaten and if there's any history between the competitors.
With some huge matches on the docket for this weekend, the list is sure to shrink even further a week from now.
As always, please check out our friends at WrestleStat ! Getting information like this would be a mess without such a great resource.
125
#1 Nick Suriano (Michigan)
February 4th vs. Jeremiah Reno (Nebraska)
February 11th vs. Jacob Moran (Indiana)
February 13th vs. Tristan Lujan (Michigan State)
February 20th vs. Brock Bergelin (Central Michigan)
#2 Patrick Glory (Princeton)
February 5th vs. Vito Arujau (Cornell)
February 11th vs. Jaret Lane (Lehigh)
February 12th vs. Ryan Miller (Penn)
February 18th vs. Dylan Shawver (Rutgers)
#3 Vito Arujau (Cornell)
February 5th vs. Patrick Glory (Princeton)
February 6th vs. Antonio Mininno (Drexel)
February 6th vs. Ryan Miller (Penn)
February 12th vs. Micah Roes (Binghamton)
February 20th vs. Eric Barnett (Wisconsin)
#5 Killian Cardinale (West Virginia)
February 4th vs. Kysen Terukina (Iowa State)
February 5th vs. Brody Teske (Northern Iowa)
February 12th vs. Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley)
February 18th vs. Jake Svihel (Wyoming)
The remainder of Nick Suriano's pre-Big Ten schedule looks pretty manageable. One of the top regular season bouts will take place this Saturday as #2 Patrick Glory (Princeton) and #3 Vito Arujau (Cornell) are expected to clash. They last met on the collegiate mats during the 2018-19 season as Arujau pinned Glory in dual competition, while Glory returned the favor at the EIWA Championships. Killian Cardinale has an imposing slate of duals as both 2021 Big 12 finalists (Brody Teske/Taylor LaMont) are on the horizon.
Dropped off since last update: #6 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Oklahoma State), #7 Drew Hildebrandt (Penn State), #19 Kysen Terukina (Iowa State)
133
#1 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State)
February 4th vs. Will Bentancourt (Ohio State)
February 6th vs. Alex Thomsen (Nebraska)
February 20th vs. Richie Koehler (Rider)
#2 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State)
February 4th vs. Gabe Tagg (South Dakota State)
February 6th vs. Trey Crawford (Missouri)
February 12th vs. Austin DeSanto (Iowa)
February 18th vs. Kurt Phipps (Bucknell)
February 20th vs. Tony Madrigal (Oklahoma)
#11 Brock Hudkins (Indiana)
February 6th vs. Lucas Byrd (Illinois)
February 11th vs. Dylan Ragusin (Michigan)
February 13th vs. Will Betancourt (Ohio State)
February 20th vs. Brayden Palmer (Chattanooga)
There's a pretty clear path to an undefeated season for Roman Bravo-Young. The biggest hurdle for #2 Daton Fix is Austin DeSanto at the "Battle at the Ballpark." He and DeSanto have had some close matches in the past. Another factor is Fix is slated to compete in both the freestyle dual with Iran and OSU's match with the Hawkeyes. A surprise undefeated wrestler is #11 Brock Hudkins. His next two opponents will represent his stiffest competition of the year and would lead to a top-eight ranking provided he wins.
Dropped off since last update: #3 Austin DeSanto (Iowa), #10 Jaime Hernandez (North Carolina)
141
#1 Nick Lee (Penn State)
February 4th vs. Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio State)
February 6th vs. Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska)
February 20th vs. Quinn Kinner (Rider)
#3 Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers)
February 3rd vs. Quinn Kinner (Rider)
February 6th vs. Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio State)
February 12th vs. Danny Bertoni (Maryland)
February 18th vs. Danny Coles (Princeton)
February 19th vs. Matt Kazimir (Columbia)
#5 Dylan Duncan (Illinois)
February 4th vs. Jake Bergeland (Minnesota)
February 6th vs. Cayden Rooks (Indiana)
February 11th vs. Joe Zargo (Wisconsin)
February 13th vs. Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska)
#6 Real Woods (Stanford)
February 4th vs. Julian Chlebove (Arizona State)
February 12th vs. Angelo Martinoni (CSU Bakersfield)
February 19th vs. Lawrence Saenz (Cal Poly)
February 20th vs. Grant Willits (Oregon State)
#7 Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina)
February 4th vs. Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh)
February 11th vs. Collin Gerardi (Virginia Tech)
February 18th vs. Ryan Jack (NC State)
Sebastian Rivera has gotten through the most difficult part of his schedule and appears to be on the fast-track of being undefeated. The biggest potential roadblock for Nick Lee is three-time All-American Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska). While Red Jr. has never defeated Lee, two of their three career meetings have been within two points.
Dylan Duncan made his season debut on Saturday and his remaining four opponents are either ranked or returning national qualifiers. Most notable are Jake Bergeland (Minnesota) and Red Jr.
Real Woods has a heavy dose of Pac-12 competition on the docket. One of his upcoming opponents is Grant Willits (Oregon State), who pinned him at the conference meet last year (though under different circumstances).
One of the surprising undefeated wrestlers at this weight is Kizhan Clarke. Friday's meeting with a red-hot Cole Matthews could be the deciding factor between him and a perfect record. Collin Gerardi and Ryan Jack are also very capable though.
This leads to a discussion on Big Ten seeding as the top-five wrestlers at this weight are from the conference. Lee and Rivera are likely to be without a loss heading into Lincoln. Duncan could finish undefeated too. Jaydin Eierman and Stevan Micic just lost their first conference matches on Friday. Red Jr. also hasn't lost to a B1G opponent and he'll play a role in this whole situation with bouts against Micic, Lee, Duncan, Eierman.
Dropped off since last update: #2 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa), #20 Darren Miller (Bucknell)
149
#1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell)
February 5th vs. Marshall Keller (Princeton)
February 6th vs. Luke Nicher (Drexel)
February 6th vs. Anthony Artalona (Penn)
February 12th vs. Nick Lombard (Binghamton)
February 20th vs. Austin Gomez (Wisconsin)
#3 Tariq Wilson (NC State)
February 4th vs. Jarod Verkleeren (Virginia)
February 11th vs. Dan Mancini (Pittsburgh)
February 18th vs. Zach Sherman (North Carolina)
February 20th vs. Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech)
#6 Josh Heil (Campbell)
February 6th vs. David Loniewski (Davidson)
February 13th vs. Jonathan Millner (Appalachian State)
Mark your calendars for February 20th, as that date will be instrumental at this weight class. While Yianni Diakomihalis is still a huge favorite, a match with Austin Gomez will be plenty of fun. Tariq Wilson also has a match with Bryce Andonian that same day. Two days earlier, Wilson will renew the rivalry with Zach Sherman. While Wilson has controlled the series to the tune of 6-1, their matches have generally been close. There is a top-ten match brewing in the SoCon as Josh Heil and Jonathan Millner are ready to meet on February 13th. The two met in the 2021 SoCon finals and Millner was victorious 2-0.
Dropped off since last update: None
157
#1 David Carr (Iowa State)
February 4th vs. Alex Hornfeck (West Virginia)
February 5th vs. Giano Petrucelli (Air Force)
February 11th vs. Derek Holschlag (Northern Iowa)
February 16th vs. Jarrett Jacques (Missouri)
#2 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern)
February 6th vs. Lucas Cordio (Maryland)
February 11th vs. Chase Saldate (Michigan State)
February 13th vs. Anthony Gibson (Northern Illinois)
February 19th vs. Kendall Coleman (Purdue)
#3 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State)
February 4th vs. Charlie Darracott (Stanford)
February 6th vs. Chase Tebbets (Little Rock)
February 12th vs. Jarrett Jacques (Missouri)
February 18th vs. Josh Humphreys (Lehigh)
#10 Ed Scott (NC State)
January 28th vs. Wade Ungar (Duke)
February 4th vs. Jake Keating (Virginia)
February 11th vs. Elijah Cleary (Pittsburgh)
February 18th vs. Austin O'Connor (North Carolina)
February 20th vs. Connor Brady (Virginia Tech)
It's reasonable to assume that David Carr and Ryan Deakin both finish the regular season unbeaten. One of the most significant matches at this weight for the remainder of the year is #3 Jacori Teemer versus #8 Josh Humphreys. The pair last met in 2020 and Teemer got the 8-6 win. Humphreys has improved significantly this year. In the ACC, Ed Scott has three tough matches to finish the season. He has 2021 NCAA champion Austin O'Connor sandwiched around Elijah Cleary and Connor Brady.
Dropped off since last update: None
165
#1 Evan Wick (Cal Poly)
February 4th vs. Matt Olguin (Oregon State)
February 13th vs. Augustine Garcia (CSU Bakersfield)
February 13th vs. Jack Ganos (Air Force)
February 19th vs. Shane Griffith (Stanford)
#2 Keegan O'Toole (Missouri)
February 6th vs. Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State)
February 12th vs. Anthony Valencia (Arizona State)
February 16th vs. Isaac Judge (Iowa State)
#7 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin)
February 5th vs. Alex Marinelli (Iowa)
February 11th vs. Danny Braunagel (Illinois)
February 17th vs. Austin Yant (Northern Iowa)
February 20th vs. Julian Ramirez (Cornell)
#15 Justin McCoy (Virginia)
February 4th vs. Thomas Bullard (NC State)
February 12th vs. Gabe Dinette (Duke)
February 18th vs. Clayton Ulrey (Virginia Tech)
Most likely to finish unbeaten in this crew at 165 lbs is Justin McCoy, who is currently ranked 15th. Top-ranked Evan Wick has a CKLV finals rematch with 2021 NCAA champion Shane Griffith looming on the last weekend of the year. They're likely to meet at the Pac-12 tournament too. The next two weeks should feature Keegan O'Toole against a pair of returning All-Americans with Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State) and Anthony Valencia (Arizona State). O'Toole has missed the last two weeks for Mizzou, so hopefully he'll be ready.
True freshman Dean Hamiti has quite the homestretch of matches to end the year. Saturday's he'll square off with three-time Big Ten champion Alex Marinelli (Iowa) in one of the best matches of the week. The last few days of the regular season have him in non-conference bouts against a red-hot Austin Yant (Northern Iowa) and a top-ten opponent in Julian Ramirez (Cornell).
Dropped off since last update: #5 Alex Marinelli (Iowa), #8 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State)
174
#1 Carter Starocci (Penn State)
February 4th vs. Ethan Smith (Ohio State)
February 6th vs. Mikey Labriola (Nebraska)
February 20th vs. Shane Reitsma (Rider)
#3 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech)
February 4th vs. Matt Finesilver (Duke)
February 11th vs. Clay Lautt (North Carolina)
February 18th vs. Justin Phillips (Virginia)
February 20th vs. Hayden Hidlay (NC State)
#4 Hayden Hidlay (NC State)
February 4th vs. Justin Phillips (Virginia)
February 11th vs. James Lledo (Pittsburgh)
February 18th vs. Clay Lautt (North Carolina)
February 20th vs. Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech)
This weekend will be no cakewalk for the defending 174 lb champion Carter Starocci. Bouts against Ethan Smith and Mikey Labriola will both be dogfights. Last season's Big Ten semifinal against Labriola went into sudden victory and Smith's teammate, Kaleb Romero, took Starocci into tiebreakers during their 2021 dual.
The biggest match in the ACC for the remainder of the year is one we thought we missed in Hayden Hidlay vs Mekhi Lewis. Since the teams announced they will compete in a non-conference dual on the final weekend of the year, we'll finally get this one. A battle of undefeated NCAA finalists. Beforehand, both will have to contend with North Carolina's Clay Lautt, while Lewis still has the dangerous Matt Finesilver.
Dropped off since last update: #2 Michael Kemerer (Iowa), #6 Logan Massa (Michigan, #8 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State)
184
#1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State)
February 4th vs. Kaleb Romero (Ohio State)
February 6th vs. Taylor Venz (Nebraska)
February 20th vs. George Walton (Rider)
#3 Trent Hidlay (NC State)
February 4th vs. Michael Battista (Virginia)
February 11th vs. Gregg Harvey (Pittsburgh)
February 18th vs. Gavin Kane (North Carolina)
February 20th vs. Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech)
#6 Bernie Truax (Cal Poly)
February 4th vs. Trey Munoz (Oregon State)
February 13th vs. Jacob Hansen (CSU Bakersfield)
February 13th vs. Jake Thompson (Air Force)
February 19th vs. Judah Duhm (Stanford)
Like his teammate, Starocci, Aaron Brooks has an imposing pair of bout looming this weekend. Kaleb Romero is incredibly difficult to score on and has went to extra time with Myles Amine (Michigan) and Abe Assad (Iowa). Taylor Venz is responsible for Brooks' only career loss, though the Nittany Lion star has three times since that 2019-20 dual. Rival Hunter Bolen is awaiting Trent Hidlay at the end of his schedule. Though Hidlay got the upperhand at the 2021 ACC Championships, Bolen had won their previous three meetings.
The biggest test on the remainder of Bernie Truax's schedule is Trey Munoz on Friday. Munoz has been excellent, of late, and is pushing for a spot in the top-ten. Remember, Truax is considered undefeated because he lost to post-graduate Mark Hall.
Dropped off since last update: #2 Myles Amine (Michigan)
197
#1 AJ Ferrari (Oklahoma State)
February 4th vs. Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State)
February 6th vs. Rocky Elam (Missouri)
February 12th vs. Jacob Warner (Iowa)
February 18th vs. Mason McCready (Bucknell)
February 20th vs. Jake Woodley (Oklahoma)
There's only one unbeaten 197 lber and it's the returning national champion AJ Ferrari. Obviously, his condition is still unknown after a serious car accident less than a week ago. From a wrestling standpoint, his remaining schedule would be daunting with three AA's and a dangerous Tanner Sloan in the mix. Right now, that's secondary and we hope to see Ferrari as soon as possible.
Dropped off since last update: #2 Max Dean (Penn State), #13 Jay Aiello (Virginia)
285
#1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota)
February 4th vs. Luke Luffman (Illinois)
February 6th vs. Michael Woulfe (Purdue)
February 11th vs. Tate Orndorff (Ohio State)
#2 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State)
February 4th vs. Peter Ming (Stanford)
February 6th vs. Josiah Hill (Little Rock)
February 12th vs. Zach Elam (Missouri)
February 18th vs. Jordan Wood (Lehigh)
#6 Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force)
February 4th vs. Tyrell Gordon (Northern Iowa)
February 5th vs. Sam Schuyler (Iowa State)
February 11th vs. Brian Andrews (Wyoming)
February 13th vs. Jacob Sieder (CSU Bakersfield)
February 13th vs. Sam Aguilar (Cal Poly)
February 20th vs. Robert Winters (Northern Colorado)
On Friday night, Gable Steveson went through his most significant test in NCAA runner-up Mason Parris and seemed to have little trouble doing so. There's little doubt that he'll finish his third consecutive regular season without a loss. Cohlton Schultz has a few difficult non-conference matches at the tail end of his schedule. He'll close with duals against Zach Elam and All-American Jordan Wood.
An undefeated wrestler most may overlook is Air Force's Wyatt Hendrickson. While Hendrickson doesn't have anyone ranked above #15 (Brian Andrews) on his schedule, it does have a bunch of dangerous foes. If available, Andrews is a two-time Big 12 finalist (2020 champion) who is responsible for one of Hendrickson's losses last season. The Iowa-contingent, Gordon and Schuyler, are both tough-outs and Schuyler is on a nine-match winning streak.
Dropped off since last update: #3 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State), #4 Mason Parris (Michigan),
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