InterMat Staff

The top seed at 63 kg Jesse Thielke at the 2016 Olympics (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 55 kg 1. Max Nowry (Army WCAP) 2. Dalton Duffield (Army WCAP) 3. Jacob Cochran (Northern Michigan) 4. Camden Russell (MWC) 60 kg 1. Dalton Roberts (Army WCAP) 2. Ildar Hafizov (Army WCAP) 3. Dylan Koontz (Titan Mercury WC) 4. Alex Thomsen (Nebraska WTC) 63 kg 1. Jesse Thielke (Army WCAP) 2. Corbin Nirschl (MWC) 3. Aidan Nutter (NYAC) 4. King Sandoval (Bandits WC) 67 kg 1. Peyton Omania (Michigan RTC/NYAC) 2. Alejandro Sancho (Army WCAP) 3. Alston Nutter (Sunkist Kids) 4. Lenny Merkin (Princeton WC) 5. Jamel Johnson (Marines) 6. Robert Perez III (Sunkist Kids) 7. Jessy Williams (Spartan Combat RTC) 8. Morgan Flaharty (NYAC) 72 kg 1. Benji Peak (Sunkist Kids) 2. Orlando Ponce (Minnesota Storm) 3. Michael Hooker (Army WCAP) 4. Joe Betterman (Betterman Elite) 5. Eddie Smith (Pickaxe WC) 77 kg 1. Kamal Bey (Army WCAP) 2. Britton Holmes (Army WCAP) 3. Payton Jacobson (Sunkist Kids) 4. Alec Ortiz (Minnesota Storm) 5. Fritz Schierl (Titan Mercury WC) 6. Riley Briggs (West Coast Greco RTC) 82 kg 1. Spencer Woods (Army WCAP) 2. Tommy Brackett (Tennessee) 3. Tyler Cunningham (MWC) 4. Ryan Epps (Minnesota Storm) 5. Jordan Lara (505 WC) 6. Jake Fisher (Curby Style WC) 87 kg 1. Alan Vera (NYAC) 2. George Sikes (NYAC) 3. Christian DuLaney (Minnesota Storm) 4. Timothy Young (Illinois) 97 kg 1. Lucas Sheridan (Army WCAP) 2. Khymba Johnson (NYAC) 3. Chad Porter (Sunkist Kids) 4. Guy Patron (Dubuque WC) 5. Christian Rouleau (Minnesota Storm) 130 kg 1. Cohlton Schultz (Sunkist Kids WC) 2. West Cathcart (NYAC) 3. Courtney Freeman (Marines) 4. Keaton Fanning (Northern Michigan) 5. Kaleb Reeves (Eastern Iowa WC) 6. David Tate Orndorff (Titan Mercury WC)

The top seed at 76 kg Victoria Francis (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 50 kg 1. Erin Golston (Badger WC/NYAC) 2. Alleida Martinez (Titan Mercury WC) 3. Sage Mortimer (Tornado WC/Titan Mercury WC) 4. Nina Pham (Texas WC) 53 kg 1. Ronna Heaton (Badger WC/Sunkist Kids) 2. Areana Vilaescusa (Army WCAP) 3. Alyssa Lampe (Beaver Dam RTC) 4. Estrella Dorado Marin (Army WCAP) 55 kg 1. Jacarra Winchester (USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC) 2. Marissa Gallegos (Colorado Mesa) 3. Alisha Howk (Sunkist Kids) 4. Lauren Mason (Brunson UVRTC) 57 kg 1. Amanda Martinez (Cardinal WC) 2. Cameron Guerin (Titan Mercury WC) 3. Alex Hedrick (Titan Mercury WC) 4. Adriana Dorado Marin (Army WCAP) 5. Ngao Shoua Whitethorn (Victory School of Wrestling) 59 kg 1. Xochitl Mota-Pettis (Rise RTC/USOPTC) 2. Brenda Reyna (Army WCAP) 3. Nanea Estrella (Spartan Combat RTC) 4. Claire DiCugno (Colorado Mesa) 5. Bridgette Duty (Army WCAP) 62 kg 1. Kayla Miracle (Sunkist Kids) 2. Jennifer Page Rogers (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) 3. Alex Liles (Army WCAP) 4. Andrea Schlabach (Grand View WC) 5. Adaugo Nwachukwu (Swamp Monsters WC) 6. Nina Makem (Twin Cities RTC) 7. Emmily Patneaud (McKendree Bearcat WC) 65 kg 1. Emma Bruntil (USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC) 2. Mallory Velte (Beaver Dam RTC/Titan Mercury WC) 3. Destiny Lyng (California) 4. Rachel Watters (Hawkeye WC/NYAC) 5. Amanda Hendey (Titan Mercury WC) 68 kg 1. Solin Piearcy (Menlo WC) 2. Nahiela Magee (Army WCAP) 3. Sienna Ramirez (Southern Oregon RTC) 4. Kairah Cantillo (Grand View WC) 72 kg 1. Amit Elor (NYC RTC/Titan Mercury WC) 2. Skylar Grote (Beaver Dam RTC/NYAC) 3. Marlynne Deede (Twin Cities RTC) 4. Aury Naylor (Georgia) 76 kg 1. Victoria Francis (Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC) 2. Yelena Makoyed (Cardinal WC) 3. Dymond Guilford (USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC) 4. Precious Bell (Titan Mercury WC) 5. Joye Levendusky (McKendree Bearcat WC) 6. Tristan Kelly (Army WCAP) 7. Jordan Nelson (Hawkeye WC)

The top seed at 61 kg Tyler Graff (photos courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 57 kg 1. Matthew Ramos, Boilermaker RTC 2. Jakob Camacho, Wolfpack Wrestling Club 3. Joey Prata, Oklahoma Regional Training Center 61 kg 1. Tyler Graff, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 2. Nico Megaludis, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 3. Seth Gross, Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club 4. Joshua Rodriguez , Nittany Lion Wrestling Club 5. Daniel DeShazer, Gopher Wrestling Club – RTC 6. Josh Kramer, Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club 7. Brandon Wright, Indiana 8. Gabriel Townsell, California Regional Training Center (CA RTC) 65 kg 1. Evan Henderson, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 2. Patricio Lugo, Hawkeye Wrestling Club 3. Luke Pletcher, Pittsburgh Wrestling Club 4. Ian Parker, Iowa 5. Matthew Kolodzik, New Jersey RTC 6. Kendric Maple, Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club 7. Dean Heil, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 70 kg 1. Alec Pantaleo, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 2. Jordan Oliver, Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club 3. Tyler Berger, California Regional Training Center (CA RTC) 4. Anthony Ashnault, New York Athletic Club 5. Harold 'Brock' Mauller, Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club 6. Will Lewan, Cliff Keen Wrestling Club 7. Austin Gomez, Wisconsin Regional Training Center 8. Sam Sasso, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 9. Yahya Thomas, Wildcat Wrestling Club 74 kg 1. Jason Nolf,, Nittany Lion Wrestling Club 2. Thomas Gantt, Wolfpack Wrestling Club 3. Joshua Shields, Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club 4. Joey Lavallee, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 5. Cameron Amine, Cliff Keen Wrestling Club 79 kg 1. Alex Dieringer, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 2. Isaiah Martinez, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 3. Chance Marsteller, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 4. Evan Wick, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 5. Taylor Lujan, Panther Wrestling Club RTC 6. Michael O'Malley, Pennsylvania RTC 7. David McFadden, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 8. Vincenzo Joseph, California Regional Training Center (CA RTC) 86 kg 1. Mark Hall, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 2. Trent Hidlay, Wolfpack Wrestling Club 3. Nick Reenan, Wolfpack Wrestling Club 4. Owen Webster, Gopher Wrestling Club – RTC 5. Andrew Morgan, Spartan Combat RTC 92 kg 1. Isaac Trumble, Wolfpack Wrestling Club 2. Cameron Caffey, Michigan Wrestling Club 3. Michael Battista, Cavalier Wrestling Club 4. Max Shaw, Tar Heel Wrestling Club 97 kg 1. Michael Macchiavello, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 2. Jonathan Aiello, Cavalier Wrestling Club 3. Josef Rau, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 4. Christopher Smith, Southeast Regional Training Center, Inc 5. Samuel Mitchell, Bulls Wrestling Club 6. Timothy Dudley, Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club 125 kg 1. Hayden Zillmer, Gopher Wrestling Club – RTC 2. Dominique Bradley, Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club 3. Ty Walz, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 4. Demetrius Thomas, Pittsburgh Wrestling Club 5. Christian Lance, Nebraska Wrestling Training Center 6. Jordan Wood, Lehigh Valley Wrestling Club 7. Lucas Davison, Wildcat Wrestling Club 8. Wyatt Hendrickson, Air Force Regional Training Center 9. David Tate Orndorff, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 10. Derek White, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC)

Sergio Lemley at the 2021 Fargo Junior freestyle finals (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Over the weekend, the top-ranked 126 lber in the nation, Sergio Lemley (Mt. Carmel, IL), gave a verbal commitment to the University of Michigan. Lemley joins an already stacked recruiting Class of 2023 for the Wolverines, as he becomes the fourth top-50 recruit to commit to Sean Bormet's squad. Lemley is a three-time state champion, with titles one and three coming in Illinois, and an Indiana state championship sandwiched in between. Over the last year, Lemley has had an excellent run at national-level events. He made the Fargo Junior freestyle national finals last July at 126 lbs, before grabbing fifth at the Super 32. Around the same time, Lemley claimed a title at the IndianaMat Hoosier Preseason Open. During the high school season, Lemley was third at the Walsh Ironman and won the Dvorak and the Chicago Catholic League championship. To win his 2022 state title, Lemley posted a decisive 10-5 victory over Vincent Robinson (Homewood-Flossmoor, IL). Robinson was responsible for Lemley's only loss of the 2021-22 season, when he defeated him in the Ironman semifinals. Currently, Lemley is the #37 overall wrestler in the Class of 2023, though I'd expect him to move up a bit in MatScouts forthcoming Big Board update. He, along with #14 Beau Mantanona (Palm Desert, CA), #28 Caden Horwath (Davison, MI), and #45 Dylan Gilcher (Detroit Central Catholic, MI), form an imposing recruiting class for Michigan. Lemley projects as a 141 lber for the Wolverines. Provided that holds up, it would fill a huge need for Michigan. They only currently have two 141's on the roster and one of them is senior Drew Mattin. Lemley's commitment provides an infusion of talent, while also addressing a possible hole for the team in the future. For all current recruiting information, check out InterMat's College Commitment Page .

Wyatt Henson at the 2022 Southern Scuffle (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) This afternoon, one of the top redshirt freshmen in the transfer portal, Wyatt Henson, made his transfer decision public via social media. Henson spent a year in Iowa City redshirting for the University of Iowa in 2021-22. In the fall of 2022 he'll enroll at Oklahoma and have four years of eligibility remaining for the Sooners. Henson amassed an 18-2 record competing unattached for Iowa in 2021-22. He won titles at the Luther, Lindenwood, and Cyclone Open, before entering Southern Scuffle against DI competitors. Henson took fifth at the Southern Scuffle and suffered his only two losses during his redshirt campaign to the eventual Big 12 finalists Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) and Allan Hart (Missouri). Now moving along to that conference, Henson may have multiple opportunities to overturn those results. Also at the Scuffle, Henson picked up wins over MAC champion Quinn Kinner (Rider) and 2021 national qualifier Angelo Martinoni (CSU Bakersfield). Getting a wrestler of Henson's caliber (#16 recruit in the Class of 2021) is huge for the Sooners as he'll fit in well with their current lineup. Jacob Butler was a returning national qualifier at 141 lbs, but did so with a 9-15 record. At this time, it's not totally clear whether Henson will be at 133 or 141. Henson entered the transfer portal quickly after 2022 All-American Real Woods announced he was transferring from Stanford to Iowa. Norman, Oklahoma is familiar to the Henson family, as Wyatt's father, Sammie, the world champion and Olympic silver medalist, had two coaching stints at the school. First in 1997-2000 and most recently, 2009-11.

Nick Suriano in 2016 (left) and in 2022 (photos courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Earlier this week, InterMat released our re-ranking of the high school Class of 2017 . Typically, five years after graduation is the perfect time to do such an exercise. Because of extra eligibility, due to the Covid year, many wrestlers from the Class of 2017 will still compete in 2022-23, rendering that feature somewhat futile. With that being said, it seemed necessary to revisit last year's feature where Josh Loew re-ranked the high school Class of 2016 . In doing so, we came up with a new #1 wrestler and also had two new faces crack the top five. Here is the new top-25 after collegiate achievements from 2021-22 have been factored into the Class of 2016. Their ranking from the 2021 featured has been bolded after their accomplishments. 1. Nick Suriano (Michigan via Rutgers, Penn State/Bergen Catholic, N.J.) - 2016 high school rank: 2nd - 3x NCAA finalist, 2019 and 2022 NCAA champion; 2x Big Ten champion, undefeated in 2022. 2021 Rank: 4th 2. Mark Hall (Penn State/Apple Valley, Minn.) - 2016 high school rank: 1st - 3x NCAA finalist, 2017 NCAA champion; was seeded 1st in the 2020 NCAA tournament 2021 Rank: 1st 3. Ryan Deakin (Northwestern/Legacy, Colo.) - 2016 high school rank: 95th - 3x NCAA All-American; 2022 undefeated NCAA champion, was seeded 1st in the 2020 NCAA tournament, 3x Big Ten Champion 2021 Rank: 9th 4. Max Dean (Penn State via Cornell/Lowell, Mich.) - 2016 high school rank: 63rd - 3x NCAA All-American, 2022 NCAA champion, 2022 Big Ten Champion, 2019 EIWA champion 2021 Rank: 11th 5. Hayden Hidlay (NC State/Mifflin County, Pa.) - 2016 high school rank: 13th - 4x NCAA All-American, 2018 runner-up; was seeded 2nd in the 2020 NCAA tournament, 4x ACC champion 2021 Rank: 2nd 6. Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers via Northwestern/Christian Brothers Academy, N.J.) - 2016 high school rank: 60th - 4x NCAA All-American; was seeded 1st in the 2020 NCAA tournament, 2x Big Ten champion 2021 Rank: 3rd 7. Evan Wick (Wisconsin/San Marino, Calif.) - 2016 high school rank: 39th - 3x NCAA All-American; was seeded 8th in the 2020 NCAA tournament; seeded 1st at the 2022 NCAA Championships 2021 Rank: 10th 8. Luke Pletcher (Ohio State/Greater Latrobe, Pa.) - 2016 high school rank: 8th - 2x NCAA All-American; was seeded first in the 2020 NCAA tournament; 2020 Big Ten Champion 2021 Rank: 5th 9. Alex Marinelli (Iowa/St. Paris Graham, Ohio) - 2016 high school rank: 3rd - 4x NCAA All-American; was seeded 1st in the 2020 NCAA tournament; Seeded 1st 3x's, 4x Big Ten Champion 2021 Rank: 6th 10. Jack Mueller (Virginia/Trinity Christian Academy, Texas) - 2016 high school rank: 25th - 2x NCAA All-American, 2019 runner-up; round of 12 in 2018; was seeded 4th in the 2020 NCAA tournament 2021 Rank: 7th 11. Jordan Wood (Lehigh/Boyertown, Pa.) - 2016 high school rank: 10th - 2x NCAA All-American, was seeded 9th in the 2020 NCAA tournament, 5x EIWA Champion 2021 Rank: 18th 12. Tariq Wilson (North Carolina State/Steubenville) - 2016 high school rank: 75th - 3x NCAA All-American; round of 12 in 2019; was seeded 15th in the 2020 NCAA tournament, 2x ACC Champion 2021 Rank: 13th 13. Chad Red (Nebraska/New Palestine, Ind.) - 2016 high school rank: 5th - 3x NCAA All-American; was seeded 6th in the 2020 NCAA tournament, 2019 Big Ten runner-up 2021 Rank: 8th 14. Isaiah White (Nebraska via Notre Dame College/Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) - 2016 high school rank: 4th - 2019 NCAA All-American, 2017 NCAA Division II champion ; was seeded 5th in the 2020 NCAA Division I tournament 2021 Rank: 12th 15. Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh/South Park, Pa.) - 2016 high school rank: 33rd - 2021 NCAA runner-up; was seeded 11th in the 2020 NCAA tournament, 3x ACC Champion, 2022 NCAA Round of 12 finisher 2021 Rank: 22nd 16. Kaleb Young (Iowa/Punxsatawney, Pa.) - 2016 high school rank: 26th - 2x NCAA All-American; was seeded 8th in the 2020 NCAA tournament 2021 Rank: 14th 17. Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State via Edinboro/Franklin Area, Pa.) - 2016 high school rank: 30th - 2x NCAA All-American; was seeded 14th in the 2020 NCAA tournament 2021 Rank: 15th 18. Mitch McKee (Minnesota/St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.) - 2016 high school rank: 20th - 2019 NCAA All-American; was seeded 10th in the 2020 NCAA tournament; 2x NCAA Round of 12 finisher 2021 Rank: 16th 19. Taylor Venz (Nebraska/Farmington, Minn.) - 2016 high school rank: weight class only - 2018 NCAA All-American; was seeded 7th in the 2020 NCAA tournament; 3x NCAA Round of 12 finisher 2021 Rank: 17th 20. Matt Stencel (Central Michigan/Oregon Clay, Ohio) - 2016 high school rank: 16th - 2019 NCAA All-American; was seeded 5th in the 2020 NCAA tournament; 5x MAC Champion 2021 Rank: 20th 21. Eric Schultz (Nebraska/Tinley Park, Ill.) - 2016 high school rank: 40th - 2022 NCAA All-American, seeded 3rd in the 2020 NCAA tournament; 3x Big Ten Runner-up, 3x NCAA top-3 seed 2021 Rank: 25th 22. Jarrett Degen (Iowa State via Virginia Tech/Belgrade, Mont.) - 2016 high school rank: 86th - 2019 NCAA All-American; was seeded 8th in the 2020 NCAA tournament; 2018 NCAA Round of 12 finisher 2021 Rank: 19th 23. Drew Hildebrandt (Central Michigan/Penn, Ind.) - 2016 high school rank: weight class only - 2021 NCAA All-American; was seeded 6th in the 2020 NCAA tournament 2021 Rank: 21st 24. Ben Darmstadt (Cornell/Elyria, Ohio) - 2016 high school rank: 28th - 2018 NCAA All-American; was seeded 4th in the 2020 NCAA tournament 2021 Rank: 23rd 25. Taylor Lamont (Utah Valley/Maple Mountain, Utah) - 2016 high school rank: 23rd - 2021 NCAA All-American; round of 12 in 2018; was seeded 17th in the 2020 NCAA tournament, 2021 Big 12 Runner-Up 2021 Rank: 24th For final review, the top 25 overall wrestlers in the Class of 2016 were as follows: 1. Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn./Penn State) 2. Nick Suriano (Bergen Catholic, N.J./Michigan, via Rutgers, Penn State) 3. Alex Marinelli (St. Paris Graham, Ohio/Iowa) 4. Isaiah White (Oak Park River Forest, Ill./Nebraska via Notre Dame College) 5. Chad Red (New Palestine, Ind./Nebraska) 6. Osawaru Odighizuwa (David Douglas, Ore./UCLA football) 7. Mason Manville (Wyoming Seminary, Pa./Penn State) 8. Luke Pletcher (Greater Latrobe, Pa./Ohio State) 9. Nick Reenan (Wyoming Seminary, Pa./NC State) 10. Jordan Wood (Boyertown, Pa./Lehigh) 11. Kamal Bey (Oak Park River Forest, Ill./USOTC for Greco-Roman) 12. Beau Breske (Hartford Area, Wis./Wisconsin via Nebraska) 13. Hayden Hidlay (Mifflin County, Pa./NC State) 14. Samuel Colbray (Hermiston, Ore./Iowa State) 15. Luke Karam (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa./Lehigh) 16. Matt Stencel (Oregon Clay, Ohio/Central Michigan) 17. Griffin Parriott (New Prague, Minn./Purdue) 18. Thomas Bullard (Archer, Ga./North Carolina State) 19. Chris Weiler (Wyoming Seminary, Pa./Wisconsin via Lehigh) 20. Mitch McKee (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn./Minnesota) 21. Blake Rypel (Indianapolis Cathedral, Ind./Southeastern University via Indiana) 22. Micky Phillippi (Derry, Pa./Pittsburgh via Virginia) 23. Taylor Lamont (Maple Mountain, Utah/Utah Valley) 24. Rudy Yates (Carl Sandburg, Ill./Northern Iowa) 25. Jack Mueller (Trinity Christian Academy, Texas/Virginia)

Missouri after the 2022 Big 12 Championships (photo courtesy of Mark Lundy; LutteLens.com) In March, we wrapped up another wrestling season. Here, I thought I'd take a look at some highs, and some lows, for every team in the Big 12 this past year. Air Force High Point-Wyatt Hendrickson wins Big 12 Low Point-Air Force does not get an All-American in 2022 Wyatt Hendrickson made history for Air Force wrestling this season becoming the first Big 12 Champion in program history and finishing the regular season and Big 12 tournament with an unblemished record. Conversely, all the hype and excitement surrounding Wyatt's performance to that point, had most Air Force fans looking for their first All-American since 2003, when Kevin Hoy finished as the NCAA runner-up. That didn't happen, and though Hendrickson's performance during the season and Big 12 tournament was incredible, the NCAA tournament left a bit of a bad taste. Utah Valley High Point-Second Best Attendance Ever vs. Oklahoma State Low Point-Losing Demetrius Romero to Injury Setting attendance marks is something all programs constantly strive to do. On December 20th, when Oklahoma State traveled to Utah Valley, the Wolverines had their second-best crowd ever on hand with 3,522, only behind a Penn State dual in 2012 where a return to Utah for Cael Sanderson topped this. Losing Demetrius Romero to injury was a dagger for Utah Valley this season. I personally had him picked to win the Big 12 in my preseason predictions. Just really tough to see a program miss out on a guy like him that could set historical marks for their team. West Virginia High Point-Hall finishes as All-American Low Point-6-8 Dual Season West Virginia had two great postseason performances. Killian Cardinale won the Big 12 tournament and Peyton Hall finished as an All-American for the Mountaineers. On the flipside, their dual season wasn't great. They went 6-8 on the year and 1-6 in the Big 12. They seem to have the guys that can win big things, the conference tournament, All-American honors, etc.… But they haven't developed the kind of depth that wins a lot of duals yet. Oklahoma High Point-The Big 12 tournament Low Point-Dom Demas Enters Portal I don't know what it is about Lou Rosselli's teams, but they always seem to wrestle their best in Tulsa at the Big 12 tournament. After bringing home a share of the conference tournament in 2021, they finished runner up to Missouri in 2022 and received automatic bids for nine of their wrestlers. The Sooners lost one of their top guys this season. After filling in briefly at 149, Dom Demas missed the rest of the year then entered the transfer portal in February. Tough for the Sooners to lose a two-time All-American and their “Most Outstanding Wrestler” from the 2020 season. Iowa State High Point-Dual Season Low Point-Postseason In a year where the Big 12 team race was as wide open as it's been in the last decade, Iowa State emerged as the favorite heading into the tournament after an undefeated conference dual season and a 15-1 overall record with their only loss coming to then #1 Iowa. With the lofty expectations created by their regular season, the postseason was a bit of a disappointment. They finished third in the Big 12 tournament behind Missouri and OU, both who they beat in duals during the season. Then the NCAA tournament was marred by an early loss for David Carr, who many had pegged as one of the heaviest favorites to repeat as a National Champion. South Dakota State High Point-Dual win over Missouri Low Point-Central Michigan loss In January, South Dakota State went to Missouri and knocked off the eventual Big 12 Champions 21-12 in one of the bigger dual wins in program history. The next day, with all that momentum, hype, etc… they dropped a dual to Central Michigan in Edwardsville. This wasn't that bad of a loss. Central Michigan is good, matched up well with SDSU, and picked up a few key upsets to win. But the fact that it comes off one of the bigger wins in program history, is a tough pill to swallow. North Dakota State High Point-Win over Wyoming 22-14 Low Point-32-3 dual loss to South Dakota State Wyoming and North Dakota State at Wyoming in January was one of the marquee duals for the conference at the time. A massive upset and pin for Owen Pentz over Stephen Buchanan was the catalyst that pushed NDSU over Wyoming to give them one of their biggest wins of the season. On the flipside, the Bison were taken behind the woodshed when they wrestled their rivals South Dakota State to close out the dual season. A 32-3 loss to your biggest rival never goes over well. Oklahoma State High Point-Everything before January 24th Low Point-January 24th and everything following If there's a clear event that defined Oklahoma State's wrestling season, it's AJ Ferrari's rollover accident on January 24th. Thankfully, Ferrari ultimately walked away fine when considering the severity of the accident, but that was a clear turning point in the season for Oklahoma State. They were 11-0 leading up to the accident and closed out the rest of the season with a 3-4 record including losses to Northern Iowa, Iowa State, Missouri, and Iowa, and one of the worst finishes in program history at the NCAA Tournament. Northern Iowa High Point-19-15 win over Oklahoma State Low Point-4 Loss dual streak to start the season. In many ways, Northern Iowa's season had the opposite pattern of Oklahoma State's. They faced a gauntlet of a dual stretch to start the season with Missouri, Virginia Tech, Cornell, and Penn State, then started to turn things around a bit before a historic win over then #3 Oklahoma State in Stillwater on January 29th. They picked up three more solid dual wins to close out the year, then qualified seven for the NCAA tournament and crowned one All-American. Missouri High Point-Big 12 Title Low Point-Four dual losses Missouri returned to the Big 12 with a bang by taking the conference title and crowning the 165-pound NCAA champion with Keegan O'Toole. Both could certainly be described as the high point of the season, but I went with the Big 12 because of the entire team effort in the process. The low point was a bit of a lackluster dual season that included four losses to teams they reasonably could have beaten in Virginia Tech, NC State, South Dakota State, and Iowa State. Wyoming High Point-Stephen Buchanan's Season Low Point-Loss of Brian Andrews Wyoming came into the season with a lot of hype. They finished fourth at the Big 12 tournament last season, scoring their most points ever at the tournament. They also returned four Big 12 finalists and were considered a potential dark horse to win the Big 12 at the beginning of the season. The loss of their heavyweight and last year's Big 12 runner-up Brian Andrews to injury started them off on a sour note that they never seemed to recover from, but the bright spot was Stephen Buchanan's Big 12 title and third place finish at the NCAA tournament. Northern Colorado High Point-Andrew Alirez's Big 12 Title Low Point-Alirez's bloodround finish With any wrestling program it's tough to make history, but Alirez did that for Northern Colorado by winning the program's first ever Big 12 title. He had a chance to make some more by becoming their first All-American since 2010, a few weeks later. He came just one match short of that, giving up a fall to Minnesota's Jakob Bergeland in the bloodround, after going up 2-0 early in the match. It's a tough way to end the season for Alirez, but he'll have a chance to make some more history for the Bears next season and moving forward.

Clay Guida at the Garlic City Rumble in Gilroy, California (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The MMA schedule keeps moving and as always there will be plenty of wrestlers in action. Bellator has shows on both Friday and Saturday, while the UFC will hold down their regular Saturday night time slot. The following is a look at some of the top wrestlers in action on those shows. Friday - Bellator 278 Danny Sabatello vs. Jornel Lugo Sabatello was a three-time NCAA qualifier for Purdue who finished his eligibility in 2016. As a senior, he went 20-18 and picked up key wins over Anthony Abidin (Nebraska), Tommy Thorn (Minnesota) and Zach Finesilver (Duke). Sabatello made his MMA debut in 2018. After a win in his Bellator debut last year, he holds an 11-1 record. His opponent signed with Bellator in 2019 after only two professional fights. Lugo's record currently stands at 8-0, and he last fought in February when he picked up a decision victory over Brian Moore. Dante Schiro vs. Scotty Hao Schiro will be looking for a bounce-back here after dropping a split decision against fellow wrestler Logan Storley in his Bellator debut last August. After a prep career at Madison's La Follette, Schiro spent his college days at Wisconsin Whitewater where he was part of the wrestling and soccer team. He has been fighting as a professional since 2018 and currently has an 8-3 record. Schiro will get a much more manageable opponent in his Bellator return fight. Hao has a 5-3, and he has dropped three of his last five fights. Makoa Cooper vs. Blake Perry Expect the Hawaii crowd to get behind Cooper in this one. He is the son of MMA veteran Ray Cooper, and the brother of PFL champion Ray Cooper III. Not only was Cooper a state champion wrestler in Hawaii, but he has been joined in that accomplishment by his father, three brothers and his sister. This will be his second professional fight after he won his debut last month over Ratavious Thrasher at Titan FC 74. For his Bellator debut, Cooper will face off against a fellow wrestler. Perry wrestled on the collegiate level for Baldwin Wallace. This will be his professional debut after he went 5-3 as an amateur. Perry lost three of his first five amateur fights including a loss against Makoa's brother Blake. However, he finished his amateur run on a four-fight winning streak. Bellator 278 takes place Friday night. Cooper, Perry and Schiro will all fight on the undercard, which airs live on Bellator's YouTube page at 8:00pm ET. Sabatello's fight will be part of the main card, which is scheduled to begin at 10:00pm ET on Showtime. Saturday - UFC Vegas 52 Clay Guida vs. Claudio Puelles For the 59th time in his MMA career, Guida will step into the cage to fight. The veteran started his career back in 2003, but prior to that, he spent his time on the wrestling mats. The former Harper College wrestler is coming off a win over Leonardo Santos last December. Guida also scored a victory over Billy Quarantillo in a grappling match two weeks after his last MMA win. On Saturday, he faces off against Puelles who is 11-2 overall and 4-1 in the UFC since joining the promotion in 2016. Montana De La Rosa vs. Maycee Barber On the high school level, De La Rosa was a strong competitor and placed as high as fifth at Cadet nationals. She was offered a scholarship by Oklahoma City, but she transferred back to her home in Texas shortly after enrolling. De La Rosa has been fighting in the UFC since competing on the 26th season of "The Ultimate Fighter" and has a 5-2 record with the promotion. In this bout, she will face off against Barber who holds a 9-2 record despite only being 23 years old. Alexandr Romanov vs. Chase Sherman Romanov represents Moldova on the international wrestling scene, and has been active recently. He competed at both the 2019 World Championships as well as the 2021 Olympic Qualification tournament. Romanov's best result was a bronze medal at the 2016 World University Championships. He is scheduled to fight Sherman who has a 15-9 record and has been in and out of the UFC since 2016. Lando Vannata vs. Charles Jourdain Vannata went 88-15 over his last two seasons of high school wrestling and finished fifth in the state of Florida as a senior. He then continued his wrestling career at UT Chattanooga, but he dropped out after a single semester. Less than two years later in 2012, Vannata made his professional MMA debut. He won his first seven fights before signing with the UFC in 2016. Vannata has gone 4-5-2 in the UFC and 12-5-2 overall. On Saturday, he faces off against Jourdain who is 12-4 and has been fighting in the UFC since 2019. The entire UFC Vegas 52 show will air live on ESPN+. All of the wrestlers will be part of the main card, which airs live at 9:00pm ET. Saturday - Bellator 279 Juan Archuleta vs. Raufeon Stots This Bellator bantamweight tournament bout is probably the biggest match between former wrestlers this weekend. Archuleta was a two-time California Community College champion for Sacramento City and then transferred to Purdue. As a junior at the Big Ten school, he finished fourth in the conference and qualified for the 2009 NCAA tournament. Archuleta made his MMA debut in 2013 and won 23 of his first 24 fights. In 2020, he defeated Patchy Mix to claim the Bellator bantamweight title but dropped it in his next fight against current champion Sergio Pettis. Stots started his collegiate wrestling career at Labette where he was a two-time NJCAA qualifier and one-time All-American. He then transferred to Nebraska-Kearney where he was a two-time NCAA Division II champion. After finishing his college career in 2013, Stots made his professional MMA debut in 2015. He has started his career with a 17-1 record with his only loss coming against UFC contender Merab Dvalishvili. Kai Kamaka III vs. Justin Gonzales Kamaka was a Hawaii state champion who continued his wrestling career at Midland University. He made his professional MMA debut in 2012 and signed with the UFC in 2020. Kamaka left the promotion in 2021 after going 1-2-1. He returned to Bellator last December and won a decision over John de Jesus. Now, he faces off against Gonzales who has experience facing former wrestlers. Last year, he defeated former Ohio wrestler Tywan Claxton and lost against Aaron Pico. Kamaka's fight will be part of the preliminary card, which airs live on Bellator's YouTube page at 8:00pm ET. The main card, which will feature Archuleta vs. Stotts, begins at 10:00pm ET on Showtime.

2021 NCAA All-American Michael Beard (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Welcome to another edition of the Jagger Bag. Hope you all had a good holiday weekend but now it's time to get back to some wrestling. We kick things off with the National Freestyle Duals this weekend followed by the big guns at the US Open next week. The last month has felt like an age and I'm excited to see mat action again. From Cadets to Seniors the country seems to be more loaded than ever and we should all just enjoy the amount of talent we get to see. Many questions will be answered in the next few weeks. And since that's also what I do, let's get to some. Who's a darkhorse college guy who can make Final X? Lee C. I'm very interested in seeing where Carson Kharchla stands with the big boys at 74kg. There may be a new crop of challengers for two-time World Champ Kyle Dake and Carson may very be the guy left standing when the smoke clears. If he's even competing. You never quite know until it's tournament time. Editor's note: Here are the current entries for the US Open in Senior Men's Freestyle. As of now, Kharchla has not entered, but he still has time. Where does Michael Beard end up now that he is in the portal? @Obrats Michael Beard may be the guy with the most potential to enter the portal this year. It's insane that he has three years left since his first match was against a sophomore Greg Bulsak in 2019. With an AA already on his resume, and four years of college experience with three to go, I don't think we will ever see this kind of situation play out again. Throw in the alleged bags of cash and Beard is in an excellent situation to maximize his worth. I'd like to see him uphold his original commitment and return to Northwestern, but it's really anyone's guess where he ends up. My guess is Michigan. Find me a more perfect storyline than a guy losing his spot only to transfer to a rival, that just happens to be the home state of the guy who beat him, just to challenge him on the big stage. Who is your celebrity crush? Who is your celebrity look alike? @AustinSommer Meemaw from Young Sheldon. Annie Potts all day baby! Also, people used to say I look like Tom Green but I don't see it. Is Vito a darkhorse? FinishedNumber Vitali Arujau is a threat to win any tournament he enters on American soil. One of these days he will breakthrough. What are your thoughts on Rutgers (the mecca of Italian wrestling)? @SethPetar Messina Olivieri Raimo Cetta Fongaro DeSantis Soldano Casale Esposito Colucci And those are just the guys who are Italian on their dads' side. I know some of the other guys have to have some Italian moms, too. It's Jersey, everyone's a little Italian. Can anyone tell me what happened to OSU's Echemendia this year? @buckeyenomo Much like your handle, he's a buckeye no mo. Currently in the transfer portal, I'd be mildly shocked if he gets picked up by another school. I'm also not so sure his current "sponsorship" falls under NIL guidelines.

Spencer Lee in high school (left) and at Iowa (photos courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) One of the longstanding traditions at InterMat is the re-ranking of high school recruiting classes five years after the wrestlers enrolled in college. Wrestlers are re-ranked based on the accomplishments racked up during their collegiate tenure. During normal circumstances, this would encompass almost all of the wrestlers in the Class of 2017. But we aren't in a typical stretch of wrestling seasons. Due to the extra year of eligibility after Covid, the bulk of the wrestlers below have at least another year of competition on the books. With another season's worth of accomplishments, there could be some shuffling on this list were it to be revisited a year from now. As far as recruiting classes go, it's hard to top 2017. There are three multiple-time NCAA champions already (and counting…), along with two other champions and four national finalists. Looking back at the original top-ten (from 2017), all ten wrestlers qualified for the NCAA tournament at least once and eight have earned All-American honors. Below are the wrestlers from the Class of 2017 re-ranked after five years in college. Below the top-25 and honorable mentions, you'll find the original rankings of this class, from 2017. 1. Spencer Lee (Iowa/Franklin Regional, PA) - 2017 high school rank: 2nd - 3x NCAA Champion, 2x Big Ten Champion, 2x Hodge Trophy winner 2. Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell/Hilton, NY) - 2017 high school rank: 3rd - 3x NCAA Champion, 3x EIWA Champion 3. Nick Lee (Penn State/Mater Dei, IN) - 2017 high school rank: 9th - 2x NCAA Champion, 5x All-American, 4x NCAA All-American, 2022 Big Ten Champion 4. Daton Fix (Oklahoma State/Sand Springs, OK) - 2017 high school rank: 1st - 3x NCAA Runner-Up, 3x Big 12 Champion, 2x NCAA #1 seed 5. Austin O'Connor (North Carolina/St. Rita, IL) - 2017 high school rank: 12th - 2021 NCAA Champion, 4x All-American, 3x NCAA All-American, 2x ACC Champion 6. Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech/Bound Brook, NJ) - 2017 high school rank: 19th - 2019 NCAA Champion, 2x NCAA Finalist, 2x NCAA All-American, 2x ACC Champion 7. Jacob Warner (Iowa/Washington, IL) - 2017 high school rank: 7th - 2022 NCAA Runner-Up, 4x All-American, 3x NCAA All-American, 3x Big Ten 3rd place 8. Vito Arujau (Cornell/Syosset, NY) - 2017 high school rank: 4th - 2x NCAA All-American, 2022 EIWA Champion, 2022 NCAA #2 seed 9. Austin DeSanto (Iowa via Drexel/Exeter, PA) - 2017 high school rank: 17th - 4x All-American, 3x NCAA All-American, 2x Big Ten Runner-Up 10. Brandon Courtney (Arizona State/Desert Edge, AZ) - 2017 high school rank: 76th - 3x All-American, 2x NCAA All-American, 2021 NCAA Runner-Up, 3x Pac-12 Champion 11. Mike Labriola (Nebraska/Bethlehem Catholic, PA) - 2017 high school rank: 5th - 4x All-American, 3x NCAA All-American 12. Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh/Bethel Park, PA) - 2017 high school rank: 30th - 2x All-American, 2021 NCAA Runner-Up, 2x ACC Champion 13. Michael McGee (Arizona State via Old Dominion/Plainfield East, IL) - 2017 high school rank: 99th - 2x NCAA All-American, 3x conference champion (1x Pac-12/2x MAC) 14. Jonathan Millner (Appalachian State/Ben Smith, NC) - 2017 high school rank: NR - 2x NCAA All-American, 3x SoCon Champion 15. Trent Hillger (Wisconsin/Lake Fenton, MI) - 2017 high school rank: 21st - 3x All-American, 2x NCAA All-American 16. Jake Woodley (Oklahoma/North Allegheny, PA) - 2017 high school rank: 18th - 2021 NCAA 6th, 2019 Big 12 3rd 17. Grant Willits (Oregon State/Pueblo County, CO) - 2017 high school rank: 61st - 2022 NCAA 4th Place, 2x Pac-12 Champion 18. Austin Gomez (Wisconsin via Iowa State/Glenbard North, IL) - 2017 high school rank: 11th - 2022 NCAA 4th Place, 2022 Big Ten Champion 19. Yahya Thomas (Northwestern/Mount Carmel, IL) - 2017 high school rank: NR - 2021 NCAA 3rd Place, 3x National Qualifier 20. Kaleb Romero (Ohio State/Mechanicsburg, OH) - 2017 high school rank: 16th - 2022 NCAA 6th Place, 3x National Qualifier 21. Hunter Willits (Oregon State/Pueblo County, CO) - 2017 high school rank: 29th - 2022 NCAA 7th Place, 4x Pac-12 Runner-Up 22. Patrick Brucki (Michigan via Princeton/Carl Sandburg, IL) - 2017 high school rank: 35th - 2019 NCAA 4th Place, 2019 EIWA Champion, 2022 Big Ten 3rd Place 23. Dom Demas (Oklahoma/Dublin Coffman, OH) - 2017 high school rank: 43rd - 2x All-American, 2019 NCAA 4th Place, 2x Big 12 Champion 24. Ethan Smith (Ohio State/Sparrows Point, MD) - 2017 high school rank: 33rd -2021 NCAA 5th Place, 2021 Big Ten Runner-Up 25. Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech/Christiansburg, VA) - 2017 high school rank: 50th - 2x All-American, 2021 NCAA 7th Place, 2020 ACC Champion ***Honorable Mentions*** (in alphabetical order) Noah Adams (West Virginia/Independence, WV) - 2017 high school rank; 27th - 3x NCAA Qualifier, #2 seed at 2020 NCAA's, 2020 All-American Brady Berge (Penn State/Kasson-Mantorville, MN) - 2017 high school rank: 6th - 3x NCAA Qualifier, 2021 NCAA Round of 12 finisher, 2022 Big Ten 3rd Place Jake Bergeland (Minnesota/Centennial, MN) - 2017 high school rank: NR - 2022 NCAA 7th Place, 2022 Big Ten 3rd Place Cameron Caffey (Michigan State/Carbondale, IL) - 2017 high school rank: NR - 2020 All-American, 4x National Qualifier, 2021 NCAA Round of 12 finisher, 2020 Big Ten Runner-Up Killian Cardinale (West Virginia via Old Dominion/Brentsville, VA) - 2017 high school rank: NR - 2021 NCAA 7th Place, 2022 Big 12 Champion, 2022 NCAA #5 seed Marcus Coleman (Iowa State/Ames, IA) - 2017 high school rank: 78th - 2022 NCAA 7th Place, 2022 Big 12 3rd Place Louie DePrez (Binghamton/Hilton, NY) - 2017 high school rank: 8th - 2021 NCAA 8th Place, 3x EIWA Champion Rayvon Foley (Michigan State/Pioneer, MI) - 2017 high school rank: NR - 2019 NCAA 7th Place, 2021 Big Ten 3rd Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State/Heritage Hall, OK) - 2017 high school rank: 15th - 2x NCAA qualifier, 2022 NCAA Round of 12 finisher, 2x Big 12 Champion Clay Lautt (North Carolina/St. James Academy, KS) - 2017 high school rank: NR - 2022 NCAA 8th Place, 2020 ACC Champion Max Murin (Iowa/Central Cambria, PA) - 2017 high school rank: 44th - 4x NCAA Qualifier, 3x NCAA Round of 12 finisher, 2022 Big Ten 3rd Place Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State/Marian Catholic, IL) - 2017 high school rank: 46th - 2020 NWCA 2nd Team All-American, 4x NCAA Qualifier, 2021 NCAA Round of 12 finisher, 4x Pac-12 Champion Zach Sherman (North Carolina/Blair Academy, NJ) - 2017 high school rank: 48th - 2021 NCAA 7th Place, 2020 ACC Champion Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois/Mexico, MO) - 2017 high school rank: NR - 2021 NCAA 6th Place, 3x MAC Champion High profile seniors with notable wrestling success outside of NCAA Division I: #45 Nick Boykin (Riverdale, TN) - Junior and U23 World Team member in Greco-Roman #56 Wyatt Wriedt (North Scott, IA/Nebraska/Loras) - 2021 NWCA DIII National Champion #82 Paxton Rosen (Edmond, OK/Campbell/Central Oklahoma) - 2x DII All-American For final review, the top 25 overall wrestlers in the Class of 2017 were as follows: 1. Daton Fix (Sand Springs, OK/Oklahoma State) 2. Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional, PA/Iowa) 3. Yianni Diakomihalis (Hilton, NY/Cornell) 4. Vito Arujau (Syosset, NY/Cornell) 5. Mikey Labriola (Bethlehem Catholic, PA/Nebraska) 6. Brady Berge (Kasson-Mantorville, MN/Penn State) 7. Jacob Warner (Washington, IL/Iowa) 8. Louie DePrez (Hilton, NY/Binghamton) 9. Nick Lee (Mater Dei, IN/Penn State) 10. Chase Singletary (Blair Academy, NJ/Ohio State) 11. Austin Gomez (Carol Stream, IL/Wisconsin via Iowa State) 12. Austin O'Connor (St. Rita, IL/North Carolina) 13. Cam Coy (Penn Trafford, PA/Virginia) 14. Quentin Hovis (Poway, CA/Navy) 15. Kaden Gfeller (Heritage Hall, OK/Oklahoma State) 16. Kaleb Romero (Mechanicsburg, OH/Ohio State) 17. Austin Desanto (Exeter, PA/Iowa via Drexel) 18. Jake Woodley (North Allegheny, PA/Oklahoma) 19. Mekhi Lewis (Bound Brook, NJ/Virginia Tech) 20. Jarod Verkleeren (Belle Vernon, PA/Virginia via Penn State) 21. Trent Hillger (Lake Fenton, MI/Wisconsin) 22. Tanner Litterell (Tuttle, OK/Oklahoma) 23. Zack Donathan (Mason, OH/Lincoln College) 24. John Borst (Sherando, VA/Virginia Tech) 25. Jake Allar (St. Michael/Albertville, MN/Minnesota)

Bloomsburg, Pa. -- Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Mansfield universities have received NCAA approval to proceed with their plan to retain a full complement of NCAA athletic programs on the campuses that currently host them. Each campus will maintain its full menu sports offerings and remain wholly independent of each other. All athletic programs will continue to use their respective location name, existing logos, colors, mascots, and traditions. "I extend our thanks to our NCAA colleagues and the Membership Committee for its consideration and approval of our plan to maintain the full complement of athletic teams at Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Mansfield," said Bashar W. Hanna, president of Bloomsburg University and interim president of Lock Haven and Mansfield universities. "Through our collaboration, we've ensured that our student-athletes have the opportunity to compete as they do today. Intercollegiate athletics hold a special place as part of the fabric of each of our campus communities and institutional brands. Together we can confidently move forward into the 2022-23 academic year and beyond - to cheer on the Huskies, Bald Eagles, and Mounties." "The NCAA's decision is another major decision toward building these powerhouse institutions and is great news for our universities, our system, Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, and above all, our student-athletes," said Dr. Daniel Greenstein, chancellor of Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education. "I congratulate President Bashar Hanna, students, faculty, staff, and trustees at Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Mansfield for this accomplishment. The excitement of intercollegiate athletics will continue for players and fans when the integrated university begins enrolling students in August." "Today is a great day for the Bloomsburg Huskies athletic department after the months-long integration discussions to announce that we are remaining intact as planned from the start," said Michael McFarland, director of athletics at Bloomsburg. "To our current student-athletes, future Huskies, coaches, and alumni, we are excited about retaining our brand while still offering a solid athletic program with expanded academic opportunities for recruits. It is a great day to be a Husky." Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Mansfield are charter members of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) and compete primarily at the NCAA Division II level. Bloomsburg sponsors 23 varsity athletic programs including an NCAA Division I men's wrestling program that competes in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). Lock Haven sponsors 21 varsity athletic programs including Division I men's wrestling and field hockey. The men's wrestling program is an affiliate member of the MAC and the field hockey team competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10). Mansfield sponsors 13 varsity athletic programs including sprint football, which is a member of the Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL). The integration of Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Mansfield universities is a bold investment in the communities and people of Pennsylvania with the mission to expand high-quality, affordable academic opportunities to support the needs of all learners. First proposed in September 2020, the integration plan received initial approval by the institutional accrediting agency, Middle States Commission on Higher Education in March 2022. The three institutions will officially unite as Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania on July 1, 2022, though each will retain their respective location name - Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Mansfield - maintaining existing logos, colors, mascots, and traditions. Existing foundations and alumni associations will remain separate and continue to support their respective campuses. Donors can continue to designate funds to support programs or a campus of their choosing.

New Edinboro Fighting Scot Luke Kemerer (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) It's always been a staple of the collegiate offseason, but with the advent of the transfer portal, keeping track of wrestlers who have found new homes can be difficult to do. Over the spring, summer, and most likely, into the fall, we'll keep a running list of who's going where on the transfer front. As team's finalize their Class of 2022's in the coming weeks, expect to see more updates. For now, here's what we've heard on the DI transfer front.

Nick Lee at the Olympic Trials (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Considering the style is not really contested on the senior level, an NCAA Division I title is probably the richest prize in all of folkstyle wrestling. While it is a huge accomplishment in its own right, finishing first at the NCAA tournament also qualifies a competitor for the subsequent World Team Trials. There are some solid arguments against the NCAA tournament being a qualifier. For example, it is an entirely different style. Many of the country's top young stars are competing extensively in freestyle already, so in many cases, NCAA champions have already qualified. However, the majority of wrestling fans seem to enjoy seeing the top college stars on the freestyle, and occasionally Greco, scene, so the qualification spot is not likely to disappear. In that spirit, let's take a look back at the performances of NCAA champions in the World/Olympic trials immediately following the last five college tournaments. 2021 Six of the 10 champions from the 2021 NCAA tournament chose to enter the Olympic Trials. At heavyweight, Gable Steveson defeated Tanner Hall and Greg Kerkvliet to make the finals. He then bested Nick Gwiazdowski in the best-of-three series to win a spot on the team. From there, Steveson went on an incredible run in Tokyo and captured Olympic gold. Nick Lee placed third at 65 kg with his only loss coming against eventual tournament champion Jordan Oliver. The then-junior picked up three-straight victories over fellow NCAA champions, Nahshon Garrett, Zain Retherford and Yianni Diakomihalis, on the backside to finish in third. David Carr, Aaron Brooks, Carter Starocci and AJ Ferrari all failed to place. Brooks did pick up a pair of impressive victories over veterans Nate Jackson and Sammy Brooks, but he was ultimately eliminated on the backside by Pat Downey. Spencer Lee, Roman Bravo-Young, Austin O'Connor and Shane Griffith were the four champions who chose not to participate in the Olympic Trials. 2019 Yianni Diakomihalis not only qualified for the World Team Trials in 2019 via the NCAA tournament, but he also then earned the opportunity to sit in Final X thanks to a gold medal performance at the U.S. Open. He ran through Retherford, Oliver and Frank Molinaro on the way to that tournament title and then followed that up with a victory over Bajrang Punia at Beat the Streets. Despite that momentum, Diakomihalis came up short against Retherford in the best-of-three series at Final X. After a controversial finish in the second match, a special wrestle-off was ordered for June. Retherford won, once again, and took the sport on the World team at 65 kg. Bo Nickal also won the U.S. Open in 2019 at 92 kg. Since J'den Cox was already sitting in the Final X finals, Nickal's victory only earned him a spot in the challenge tournament finals. The then-Penn State wrestler defeated fellow former NCAA champion Michael Macchiavello to advance to Final X. There Nickal ran into Cox and dropped a pair of matches. Zahid Valencia (79 kg), Jason Nolf (74 kg) and Anthony Ashnault (70 kg) all made the finals of the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament. However, all three ran into veteran competitors and their progress toward the World team was stopped there. Drew Foster also entered the Trials in 2019 and failed to place. Lee, Nick Suriano, Mekhi Lewis and Anthony Cassar did not compete in the Trials process in 2019 despite earning a spot via the NCAA tournament. 2018 Back in 2018 only three NCAA champions took part in the World Team Trials process. The highlight, of course, was Kyle Snyder at 97 kg. Prior to the start of his senior year at Ohio State, Snyder won his third World/Olympic title at the 2017 World Championships. This allowed him to sit in the finals of Final X with or without an NCAA title. He won his third-straight NCAA title and then beat rival Kyven Gadson in back-to-back matches to make yet another World team. Valencia walked off the college mats and promptly won the challenge tournament at 79 kg. He defeated former Maryland All-American Josh Asper and then won two-straight matches over former Hodge Trophy winner Alex Dieringer to make Final X. He then faced off against Kyle Dake in a three-match series to determine the World team representative. Dake won the series in two-straight matches, but Valencia did manage to keep it close in the second bout and lost by only one point. Seth Gross entered the 61 kg Challenge Tournament. He won his first match over Darrius Little. In true Gross fashion, it was a high-scoring shootout, and he walked away with a 12-11 victory. However, Gross dropped his next match against Garrett and was ultimately eliminated by Jon Morrison in the consolation bracket. 2017 The year was a particularly strong year for collegiate champions at the World Team Trials. While six of the NCAA champions entered the Trials, three eventually made the team and two brought home medals. Fresh off his second NCAA title, Snyder advanced straight to the finals thanks to his 2016 Olympic gold medal. There he faced off against Gadson, and he dominated the series. Not only did the Ohio State wrestler sweep the two-match series, but he also outscored Gadson 13-2. Snyder would go on to win another gold at the 2017 World Championships. In the finals, he handed Abdulrashid Sadualev one of only two losses in his 146-match senior career. Cox also found himself sitting in the Trials finals after securing a bronze medal at the previous Olympics. David Taylor worked his way through the bracket and set up one of the best Senior-level rivalries in the sport. Taylor won the first bout of the three-match series via a 9-3 score, but Cox was able to control the last two bouts with his defense and earned the spot on the team with 4-3 and 5-3 victories respectively. Cox would go on to win another bronze medal at the 2017 World tournament. Retherford was the third NCAA champion to make the 2017 World team. After winning his second of three college titles, he defeated Jaydin Eierman, Nick Dardanes and Bernard Futrell to make the finals. Waiting for him in the finals was 2016 Olympian Frank Molinaro. In the all-Penn State best-of-three series, Molinaro won the first match, but Retherford stormed back with a 6-0 shutout and a 7-4 victory in the rubber match. Darian Cruz and Dean Heil both entered the 2017 Trials but failed to place at the event. 2016 After winning a surprise gold medal at the 2015 World Championships, Snyder made a late return to college in 2016. He made his season debut on Jan. 17 and wrestled only three matches before the Big Ten tournament. Snyder went on to win his first NCAA title over Nick Gwiazdowski. He then became one of the seven NCAA champions to enter the 2016 Olympic Trials. Snyder advanced straight to the finals where he bested Jake Varner in a three-match series. Varner won the first match via criteria as the final score was 4-4. However, Snyder then won two-straight matches to make the team. He would go on to become the youngest Olympic gold medalist in American wrestling history. Cox won his second NCAA title in 2016 and the cut down to 86 kg for the Olympic Trials. He defeated Clayton Foster, Jake Herbert, and Keith Gavin to make the finals. There he faced off against Dake who had bulked up to avoid Jordan Burroughs at 74 kg. Cox set the tone in the first match with an 8-1 victory. Dake evened things with a 5-3 victory in the second match. Ultimately, Cox would reverse that result in the deciding match as he completed a 5-3 decision and qualified for his first Senior-level team. The Missouri wrestler would then go on to win the Olympic Qualification Tournament to qualify the weight for Brazil. Cox then brought home a bronze medal with victories over veterans Alireza Karimi of Iran and Refineries Salas of Cuba. Retherford and Dieringer both finished third at the Trials at 65 kg and 74 kg respectively. Heil, Garrett, and Nico Megaludis would also enter the event, but failed to place.

SIUE head coach Jeremy Spates (center) with Daryl Thomas (right) (photo courtesy of SIUE athletics) It may have flown under the radar as the hire was officially announced during the opening week of the 2021-22 collegiate wrestling season, but SIU Edwardsville bringing Edwardsville native Daryl Thomas home and to the Cougar coaching staff could prove to be a stroke of genius for head coach Jeremy Spates. Thomas and the members of the SIUE coaching staff have hit the recruiting trail hard and are getting some excellent verbal commitments. Thomas joined the SIUE staff after spending the previous two seasons at Campbell. Before that, Thomas assisted at Old Dominion, which is where he really developed a reputation for being a top-flight recruiter. Last week, SIU Edwardsville received its second verbal from a top-100 prospect from the Class of 2023. It was their third out of the top-150. For comparison's sake, the Cougars only signed three Big Board'ers from 2018 to 2021. The team may have taken some lumps on the mat in 2021-22, going 1-14 and not having any national qualifiers this season, but that hasn't mattered on the recruiting front, as the Cougar staff has been able to sell their program to talented high school juniors and seniors. The latest commit for SIUE is Braxton Strick (Ozark, MO), who is currently ranked #79 overall in the Class of 2023. Strick is a three-time Missouri Class 4 state placewinner. Each year, he has improved by a step on the state podium, topping out as a state champion in 2022. Last summer, Strick was eighth in Fargo's 16U Greco-Roman national tournament. Strick joins #86 Santino Robinson (Mascoutah, IL) and #137 Brock Woodcock (St. Clair, MO) as rising seniors that have already pledged to SIUE. Robinson is an Illinois state runner-up, while Woodcock is a two-time Missouri state champion that was recently third at NHSCA Junior Nationals. Just because SIUE has all the makings of an excellent Class of 2023, don't think that the Cougar staff will have to wait another year to reap the rewards of a remarkable recruiting class. Frankly, the 2022 class is going to be solid itself. Two of the top 250 seniors have inked with SIUE, #189 Daniel Guanajuato (Valiant Prep, AZ) and #234 Bradley Gillum (Dekalb, IL). Guanajuato was third at both UWW Cadets in freestyle, along with Fargo's Juniors. His Fargo placement came at 106 lbs, while he was 48 kg for UWW's. If Guanajuato can grow into a full-sized college 125, he'll be a steal for the SIUE staff. Gillium was a double AA in Fargo at the 16U level in 2019, including a title in Greco, and was seventh in Junior Greco last summer. Gillum was a two-time Illinois state runner-up and a champion at the open state tournament in 2021. Though not on the Senior Big Board, Marcel Lopez (New London, IA) joined the elite fraternity of four-time Iowa state champions (30) this February. Lopez competes at Iowa's smallest classification and may get overlooked nationally. In addition to the quality of the Cougars recruits, the staff is also marking their recruiting territory. Gillum and Robinson are top-flight in-state recruits. SIUE has made recruiting Missouri a priority as Strick and Woodcock hail from the neighboring state. Another '22 recruit, Andrew Doehring, is from Missouri. The Cougar staff has also secured commitments from Indiana and Ohio, two other midwest states that typically have plenty of DI talent. Along with the in-state and regional recruiting, SIUE has ventured to the west coast to get Guanajuato and Alec Peralta (Temecula Valley, CA). Daniel Guanajuato will join his older brother, Davian, who went 6-5 wrestling unattached as a true freshman in 2021-22. As the recruiting battles end and high-quality talent enrolls at SIU Edwardsville, another fight begins. That's the task of developing green true freshmen into productive DI wrestlers. But, I imagine that Spates' staff embraces that phase as getting the wrestlers on-campus can be the difficult part for many non-Power Five wrestling programs.

Kael Lauridsen at the 2021 UWW Cadet WTT's (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) The Nebraska staff got great news this morning as one of the top juniors, in-state, #36 Kael Lauridsen (Bennington, NE) announced his commitment to the Big Red over social media. Lauridsen is a three-time Nebraska state champion, winning at 106 lbs as a freshman and 113 in each of the past two seasons. The future Husker finished his junior year ranked #2 in the nation at 113 lbs. Lauridsen has plenty of credentials outside of his home state, as well. Before this high school season, he was seventh at the Super 32, while competing at 120 lbs. That was where he entered Fargo, as well. Lauridsen left the FargoDome with some hardware, winning a 16U Greco title and finishing fourth in freestyle. A couple months prior, he was a runner-up to Spencer Moore at the Cadet World Team Trials. Not only does Lauridsen have national-level accolades, but he also has made an impact outside of the United States. In 2018, Lauridsen was a Pan-American U15 champion in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. A year later, he was a bronze medalist at the U15 World School Combat Games. Last year, Lauridsen doubled up again at the Pan-American Championships, this time in the Cadet age group. Lauridsen is the third junior to verbal to Nebraska, joining #40 Alan Koehler (Prior Lake, MN) and #156 Griffin Ray (Hillsboro, MO). With a large frame, Lauridsen could even see action as high as 141 lbs once he matriculates to Lincoln. That should serve Nebraska well as the Huskers don't appear to have a clear-cut, young, long-term solution at that weight class in the pipeline. For more recruiting news, check out our college commitment page .

(L to R: Hayley Snyder [Jay Bennett/The Marietta Times]; Josie Davis [Josh Brown/AIM Media Midwest]; Alaina Jackson [John Hulkenberg]) The last time we tapped into the #SanctionOH movement, back in mid-December, Kimberly Root was beating the “Sanction!” drum from way out in California. A month later, the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) made waves in the wrestling community when they became the 33rd state in the Union to sanction girls wrestling at the high school level, approving a girls, stand-alone state tournament for the 2022-2023 season. The decision to sanction girls wrestling in the great wrestling state of Ohio only adds to the national chorus calling for the advancement and promotion of girls and women's wrestling from the youth through the NCAA Division 1 level. The decision by the OHSAA also adds a dramatic layer to the coming season for a few particular competitors. While bureaucrats debated, high school girls in Ohio have been competing for their individual state titles – “unofficial” or otherwise – since 2020, under the authority of the Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association (OHSWCA). With official, OHSAA-sanctioned state titles on the line in 2023, three girls will have the opportunity to secure for themselves an unprecedented fourth Ohio state title. And just as previous states experienced as they mulled over the decision to adopt girls wrestling, the competition in Ohio has only grown fiercer in the lead up to achieving official sanctioning. Hayley Snyder (Warren High School), Josie Davis (Sidney High School), and Alaina Jackson (Minerva High School) have each won three consecutive OHSWCA state titles – with a year remaining in their high school careers. A mix of achievement and serendipity has placed them each in a position to make history in the very first year of the OHSAA state tournament era. And if history is any indicator, all three have a very strong chance of becoming the first “four-timer” in the Ohio girls high school wrestling record books. Hayley Snyder of Warren has dominated the lightweight class, winning the 2020 and 2021 state titles at 101lbs, before winning the 110lbs OHSWCA state title this year. She has enjoyed consistent success at the state tournament, recording seven falls in eleven total matches between 2020 and 2022. Snyder's closest match was in the 2021 state final, a 3-0 shutout. A potential threat to Snyder's bid for a fourth state title is Chloe Dearwester of Harrison High School. Dearwester, a two-time OHSWCA state champion in her own right (106lbs in 2021; 105lbs in 2022), enters the 2022-2023 season as a junior and is on track to be a four-timer herself. It would not be the first time a state champion moved weight classes in an attempt to “block” another champion from earning four. Snyder will need to be prepared to defeat an opponent of her own caliber, or at least the caliber of Dearwester (whichever is higher), when she takes the mat at the OHSAA state tournament if she intends to be the first four-timer. Another hammer chasing history is Josie Davis of Sidney High. Davis has won state titles at 126lbs, 121lbs, and 125lbs – in that order – in the past three years, and has little intention of stopping. Davis has pinned all of her opponents at the state tournament so far, earning ten falls in eleven matches. Her only non-fall victory came in the 2021 finals, a 9-2 decision over Rachel Nusky of Badin High for Davis's second title. Davis separated that result this year, pinning Nusky in 56 seconds for her third title. Nusky, the Badin senior-to-be and twice a state runner-up, will need to make a big jump to threaten Davis's aim of a fourth state title. To say Minerva heavyweight Alaina Jackson has “dominated” the field would be almost disingenuous. Jackson has pinned every opponent at the state tournament en route to three state championships at 235lbs, and it doesn't look like there will be much in her way of a fourth. Jackson defeated Karlie Harlow of Greeneview High in the state finals the past two seasons, earning first and second period falls, respectively. Harlow, a three-time Ohio state placer, returns as a senior next season and will aim to close the gap against Jackson. Another potential threat to Jackson's pursuit of a fourth state title is Savannah Isaac of Whitmer High, a two-time state champion that has locked down the 189lbs/190lbs division the last two years. Entering 2022-2023 as a junior, Isaac may be in the middle of her competitive upswing, which could put her on a collision course with Alaina Jackson for the inaugural OHSAA heavyweight title. As of USAWrestling's February 11th national rankings, Snyder is ranked No. 24 at 112lbs; Davis, No. 14 at 127lbs; and Jackson, No. 10 at 225lbs. Keep an eye on these Ohioans, on the mat and in the national rankings, as they chase a membership into the exclusive “four-timers'' state champions club over the next year. With the official stamp of the OHSAA on the medals, a fourth state title may taste that much sweeter when the final whistle blows.

Max Nowry (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) We're about a week and a half out from the US Open which takes place from the South Point Casino, along with a handful of other age-level events. Today we'll look at the entries for the Senior Greco-Roman portion of the tournament. We've already posted the men's and women'sfreestyle entries Entries as of 4:00pm (est) 4/18/2022 Men's Greco-Roman 55 kg Jacob Cochran (NMU) Dalton Duffield (Army WCAP) Stephen Emrich (MN) Brady Koontz (TMWC) Max Nowry (TMWC) Dominic Robertson (All Navy Wrestling) Camden Russell (MWC Wrestling Academy) Cole Smith (TMWC) Drew West (IL) 60 kg Max Black (Black Fox Wrestling Academy) Mitchell Brown (Air Force RTC) Kegan Calkins (IL) Jonathan Gurule (NMU) Ildar Hafizov (Army WCAP) Dylan Koontz (TMWC) Nick Masters (Princeton WC) Hunter Pfantz (Mustang WC) Dalton Roberts (Army WCAP) Kenny Sanders (WA) Alex Thomsen (Nebraska RTC) Taylor Ticknor (Stars WC) Jeffrey Warra (FL) 63 kg Joey Cape (Central Coast RTC) Colton Davis (All Navy Wrestling) Dwayne Guerrero (West Coast Greco RTC) Corbin Nirschl (MWC Wrestling Academy) Aidan Nutter (NYAC) Diego Romero (FL) Farrokh Safaeinejad (FL) King Sandoval (Bandits WC) Jesse Thielke (Army WCAP) 67 kg Paul Bagnoli (NE) Joe Betterman (Betterman Elite) Charlie Dill (Curby 3-Style WC) Brenton Dotter (Rhinelander WC) Sheldon Ealy (All Navy Wrestling) Justin Feldman (Betterman Elite) Morgan Flaherty (NYAC) Kaden Hine (Colorado Mesa WC) Jamel Johnson (US Marines) Tylik Mawyer (All Navy Wrestling) Lenny Merkin (Princeton WC) Nathan Moore (Northern Colorado WC) Jakob Murillo (Brunson UVRTC) Timothy Nevarez (Yuba Sutter Combat) Alston Nutter (Sunkist Kids WC) Peyton Omania (MI) Robert Perez III (Sunkist Kids WC) Jason Reiser (Waialua WC) Dante Rodriguez (NE) Alejandro Sancho (Army WCAP) Logan Savvy (NYAC) Max Schierl (WI) 72 kg Robert Adams (AJ WC) Dominic Damon (NMU) Logan Hatch (G-R Development) Michael Hooker (Army WCAP) Sean Howk (Mustang WC) Tallin Johnson (Mustang WC) Brody Olson (NMU) Benji Peak (Sunkist Kids) Orlando Ponce (Minnesota Storm) Tyler Soltau (Mustang WC) Santonio Thompson Jr. (NC) Noah Wachsmuth (Cobra All-Stars) Bobby Yamashita (All Navy Wrestling) 77 kg Kamal Bey (Army WCAP) Bryon Brand (MI) Tytus Coombs (CSU Pueblo RTC) Geoffrey Curtis (SoCo WC) Nektoe Demison (All Navy Wrestling) Jack Ervien (Viking WC) Britton Holmes (Army WCAP) Payton Jacobsson (Sunkist Kids WC) Justin McCunn (Viking WC) George Minasyan (CA) Khalid Morales (All Navy Wrestling) Terrance Parks (NY) Tony Raupp (Mustang WC) Glenn Rhees (Viking WC) Fritz Schierl (TMWC) Matthew Shirk (PA) Luke Silva (IL) Antonio Washington Jr. (Bluff City WC) 82 kg Khalil Abdush Shakur (Morris Fitness WC) Tyler Cunningham (MWC Wrestling Academy) Aaron Dobbs (NMU) Anthony Edson (All Navy Wrestling) Ryan Epps (Minnesota Storm) Javier Gomez (Montwood HS) Josiah Green (OR) Jake Hendricks (Pennsylvania RTC) Richard Hicks (CA) Jordan Lara (505 WC) Ben Lee (IA) Carter Marx (Mustang WC) Jamal Morris (Cardinal Gibbons HS) Spencer Woods (Army WCAP) 87 kg Kevin Bostwick (Mustang WC) Austin Craig (All Navy Wrestling) Christian DuLaney (Minnesota Storm) Jovan Mercado (MI) George Sikes (NYAC) Caden Steffan (Mustang WC) Alan Vera (NYAC) Timothy Young (IL) 97 kg Kash Anderson (Colorado Mesa WC) Dylan Buschow (Mustang WC) Justyn Cox (All Navy Wrestling) Kyle DeBerry (AZ) Ryan French (TX) Ben Gould (CSU Pueblo RTC) Joshua Guerrero (All Navy Wrestling) Erik Hinckley (KS) Khymba Johnson (NYAC) Hadyn Maley (Roseburg Mat Club) Guy Patron (Dubuque WC) Chad Porter (Sunkist Kids WC) 130 kg Ryan Bascue (Spartan Mat Club) West Cathcart (NYAC) Tyler Curd (Kobra Kai) Keaton Fanning (NMU) Tom Foote (NYAC) Courtney Freeman (US Marines) Sage Hecox (Hecox Team Benaiah) Tate Orndorff (TMWC) Kaleb Reeves (Eastern Iowa WC) Cohlton Schultz (Sunkist Kids) Warren Smith (Rise RTC)

2021 World Bronze medalist Kayla Miracle (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) We're about a week and a half out from the US Open which takes place from the South Point Casino, along with a handful of other age-level events. Today we'll look at the entries for the Senior women's freestyle portion of the tournament, followed by Greco-Roman. We've already posted the men's freestyle entries. Entries as of 2:00pm (est) 4/18/2022 Women's Freestyle 50 kg Mariah Anderson (Air Force RTC) Victoria Anthony (Sunkist Kids WC) Charlotte Fowler (River Valley WC) Erin Golston (NYAC) Greta Gustafson (Santa Cruz County Wrestlers Union) Alyssa Lampe (Sunkist Kids WC) Alleida Martinez (TMWC) Sage Mortimer (TMWC) Nina Pham (Texas WC) Arelys Valles (Grand View WC) 53 kg Paige Denke (SD) Estrella Dorado Marin (Army WCAP) Haley Franich (Air Force RTC) Ronna Heaton (Sunkist Kids WC) Tiare Ikei (TMWC) JoNiesha Kennedy (Texas WC) Victoria Smith (CA) Areana Villaescusa (Army WCAP) 55 kg Marissa Gallegos (Colorado Mesa WC) Alisha Howk (Sunkist Kids WC) Lauren Mason (Brunson UVRTC) Nichole Moore (KS) Cara Romeike (Bronco Women's WC) Samantha Shepherd (MI) Rachel Silverman (Silverback WC) Jacarra Winchester (TMWC) 57 kg Claire DiCugno (Colorado Mesa WC) Adriana Dorado Marin (Army WCAP) Cameron Guerin (TMWC) Alex Hedrick (TMWC) Charlotte Kouyoumtjian (Twin Cities RTC) Amanda Martinez (Cardinal WC) Alisha Narvaez (McKendree Bearcat WC) Tateum Park (Twin Cities RTC) Genesis Ramirez (All-Navy Wrestling) Ngao Shoua Whitethorn (Victory School of Wrestling) 59 kg Hailey Corona (UT) Aspen DeHerrera (Texas WC) Bridgette Duty (Army WCAP) Nanea Estrella (HI) Autumn Flanigan (Twin Cities RTC) Madyson Gray (Lawrence Elite WC) Nonnie Justice (MO) Esther Han (Bruin WC) Xochitl Mota-Pettis (Rise RTC) Isabell Nunez (Ascend Wrestling Academy) Brenda Reyna (Army WCAP) 62 kg Sierra Brown Ton (Twin Cities RTC) Cierra Foster (Team Idaho WC) Jolynn Harris (Colorado Mesa WC) Alex Liles (Army WCAP) Janae Liljenquist (UT) Morgan Mackey (Legends of Gold LV) Nina Makem (Twin Cities RTC) Kayla Miracle (Sunkist Kids WC) Adaugo Nwachukwu (Swamp Monsters WC) Andrea Schlabach (Grand View WC) Mya Velasquez (Twin Cities RTC) 65 kg Anayka Besco (KS) Emma Bruntil (TMWC) Kairiah Cantillo (CA) Dalia Garibay (Colorado Mesa WC) Alexis Gomez (Grand View WC) Amanda Hendey (TMWC) Andrea Jones (Grays Harbor WC) Katerina Lange (Twin Cities RTC) Olivia Pizano (OR) CarrieAnn Randolph (TN) Erica Schroeder (CA) Mallory Velte (TMWC) Rachel Watters (IA) 68 kg Nahiela Magee (Army WCAP) Solin Piearcy (Menlo WC) 72 kg Marlynne Deede (Twin Cities RTC) Amit Elor (TMWC) Marilyn Garcia (CA) Skylar Grote (NYAC) Michelle Montague (FL) Aury Naylor (GA) 76 kg Precious Bell (TMWC) Victoria Francis (TMWC) Dymond Guilford (TMWC) Melissa Jacobs (Twin Cities RTC) Tristan Kelly (Army WCAP) Ashley Lekas (Texas Pride WC) Yelena Makoyed (Cardinal WC) Jordan Nelson (IA) Tiaira Scott (KY)

The Cliff Keen Wrestling Club's Alex Dieringer (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) We're about a week and a half out from the US Open which takes place from the South Point Casino, along with a handful of other age-level events. Today we'll look at the entries for the Senior men's freestyle portion of the tournament, followed by women's freestyle and Greco-Roman. Entries as of noon (est) 4/18/2022 Men's Freestyle 57 kg Cian Apple (Colorado Mesa WC) Jakob Camacho (Wolfpack WC) Dawson Collins (Colorado Mesa WC) Noah Cortez (WA) Greg Diakomihalis (Spartan Combat RTC) Juan Diaz (CA) Foster Griffin (TX) Bryson Hamada (Hawaii Wrestling Academy) Dalton Henderson (VA) Sam Latona (Southeast RTC) Anthony Molton (Buies Creek WC) Hunter Pfantz (Mustang WC) Saoul Prado (Aniciete Training Club) Joey Prata (Oklahoma RTC) Matt Ramos (Boilermaker RTC) Aden Reeves (Viking WC) Timothy Romero (Colorado Mesa WC) Caleb Smith (Boone RTC) Derek Wilson (NV) 61 kg Paul Bianchi (Arkansas RTC) Mitchell Brown (Air Force RTC) Julian Chlebove (Sunkist Kids WC) Colton Davis (All-Navy) Daniel DeShazer (Gopher WC) Luciano Fasulo (La Grande Mat Club) Sean Fausz (TMWC) Justin Folley (NV) Ernesto Garcia (NV) Tyler Graff (TMWC) Seth Gross (Sunkist Kids WC) Peter Hammer (TX) Wyatt Henson (Sunkist Kids WC) Josh Jones (Patriot Elite WC) Josh Kramer (Sunkist Kids WC) Timothy Levine (NE RTC) Shelton Mack (TMWC) Nick Masters (Princeton WC) Nico Megaludis (TMWC) Jesse Mendez (Region Wrestling Academy) Thomas Miracle (ID) Dustin Norris (Boilermaker RTC) Ethan Rotondo (Sunkist Kids WC) Justin Sampson (Mustang WC) Gabe Tagg (Jackrabbit WC) Gabe Townsell (California RTC) Jason Valencia (CA) Taylor Vasquez (Mustang WC) Gabe Vidlak (Oklahoma RTC) Brandon Wright (IN) 65 kg Austin Almaguer (WA) Paul Bagnoli (NV) Justin Benjamin (Izzy Style Wrestling) Xavear Cullors (Air Force RTC) Ben Freeman (Bulls WC) Shannon Hanna (Buies Creek WC) Dean Heil (TMWC) Evan Henderson (TMWC) Matt Kolodzik (New Jersey RTC) Pat Lugo (Hawkeye WC) Colton McCrystal (Stalemates) Kendric Maple (Sunkist Kids) Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh WC) Matthew Minton (Yuba Sutter Combat) Jeremy Monk (MN) Jordan Monroe (Spatola Wrestling) Isaiah Mora (CA) Tristan Moran (WI) Timothy Nevarez (Yuba Sutter Combat) Ian Parker (IA) Luke Pletcher (Pittsburgh WC) We Rachal (Illinois RTC) Joshua Reyes (OR) Federico Robles (AZ) Matthew Ryan (Bulls WC) Joshua Saunders (TMWC) Kyle Shoop (Bulls WC) Kyle Smith (UT) Ty Smith (Brunson UVRTC) Kanen Storr (TMWC) Julian Tagg (OH) Yahya Thomas (Wildcat WC) Brock Zacherl (Clarion RTC) Zack Zeamer (Oklahoma RTC) 70 kg Bryce Andonian (Southeast RTC) Anthony Ashnault (NYAC) Tyler Berger (California RTC) Caleb Blasius (CA) Michael Blockhus (Gopher WC) Gabe Blough (KS) Tyrae Carter (Rise RTC) Seonghun Chung (OR) John Diener (Mustang WC) Dallas Evans (FL) Ryan Fillingame (CA) Austin Gomez (Wisconsin RTC) Riley Gurr (Beaver Dam RTC) AC Headlee (Sunkist Kids) Sean Howk (Mustang WC) Jake Keating (Cavalier WC) Jason Kraisser (MD) Will Lewan (Cliff Keen WC) Brock Mauller (Sunkist Kids) Alec McDoulett (OK) Christian Monserrat (NYAC) Brent Moore (Clarion RTC) Dayne Morton (Wolves WC) Jordan Oliver (Sunkist Kids) Alec Pantaleo (TMWC) Elroy Perkin (WI) Ariel Rodriguez (Colorado Mesa WC) Graham Rooks (Indiana RTC) Sammy Sasso (TMWC) Ed Scott (Wolfpack WC) Noah Styskal (NE) Tyler Soltau (Mustang WC) Jacori Teemer (Sunkist Kids) Jarod Verkleeren (Cavalier WC) Jonathan Viveros (CA) Luka Wick (TMWC) Evan Yant (Panther WC) Grant Zamin (Cardinal WC) Doug Zapf (Pennsylvania RTC) 74 kg Robert Adams (AJ WC) Noor Almusahwi (CA) Cam Amine (Cliff Keen WC) Anthony Asatrian (NJ) Kolbi Caffey (Carbondale WC) Andrew Cerniglia (PA) Isaiah Crosby (Beaver Dam RTC) Evan Delong (Clarion RTC) Nektoe Demison (All Navy Wrestling) Tommy Gantt (Wolfpack WC) Shane Gantz (Higher Level Wrestling) Tallin Johnson (Mustang WC) Joey Lavallee (TMWC) Joey Mora (CA) Khalid Morales (All Navy Wrestling) Peter Pappas (Patriot Elite WC) Quentin Perez (California RTC) Collin Purinton (Sunkist Kids WC) Loranzo Rajaonarivelo (Patriot Elite WC) Hunter Shaut (Bulls WC) Josh Shields (Sunkist Kids WC) Tyler Shilson (Twin Cities RTC) Jon Van Brill (Seagull WC) Jacob Wright (Wyoming RTC) 79 kg Jordan Baughman (NE) Tytus Coombs (CSU Pueblo RTC) Alex Dieringer (TMWC) Parker Drake (Alpha Pack Wrestling) Seth Gleave (IN) Josiah Green (OR) Hayden Hastings (Wyoming RTC) Nick Incontrera (Pennsylvania RTC) Vincenzo Joseph (California RTC) Jared Krattiger (Gopher WC) Taylor Lujan (Panther WC) Chance Marsteller (TMWC) Isaiah Martinez (TMWC) David McFadden (TMWC) Jamal Morris (Fort Lauderdale WC) Val Park (OK) Jacen Petersen (Mountain Man Wrestling Academy) Dustin Plott (Cowboy RTC) Casey Randles (Viking WC) Dylan Ranieri (Colorado Mesa WC) Tony Raupp (Mustang WC) Mason Reiniche (Beaver Dam RTC) Devin Skatzka (Spartan Combat RTC) Hudson Stewart (Cavalier WC) Kyle Terry (KY) Brian Topp (FL) Antonio Washington Jr. (Bluff City WC) Isaiah White (Sunkist Kids WC) Evan Wick (TMWC) Sam Wolf (Air Force RTC) 86 kg Kevin Bostwick (Mustang WC) Julien Broderson (IA) Jason Bynarowicz (Colorado Mesa WC) Marcus Coleman (IA) Kohl Drake (Alpha Pack Wrestling) Nathan Dugan (Princeton WC) Max Hale (Pennsylvania RTC) Mark Hall (TMWC) Trent Hidlay (Wolfpack WC) Caleb Hopkins (Buies Creek WC) Nate Jackson (NYAC) Hunter Johns (OH) Kendrick Jones (Viking WC) Gavin Kane (Tar Heel WC) Ryan Law (OK) Carter Marx (Mustang WC) Andrew Morgan (Spartan Combat RTC) Nick Reenan (Wolfpack WC) Caden Steffan (Mustang WC) John Stout (Pennsylvania RTC) Owen Webster (Gopher WC) David Willoughby (Texas WC) Timothy Young (IL) 92 kg Kash Anderson (Colorado Mesa WC) Michael Battista (Cavalier WC) Cam Caffey (Michigan WC) Logan Colbert (CA) Donovan Corn (AZ) Timothy Dudley (Sunkist Kids WC) Levi Hopkins (Buies Creek WC) Jake Koser (Navy-Marine Corps WC) Michael Macchiavello (TMWC) Basil Minto (IA) Zachary Peterson (SMI WC) Max Shaw (Tar Heel WC) Robert Striggow (Cliff Keen WC) Isaac Trumble (Wolfpack WC) 97 kg Jay Aiello (Cavalier WC) Stephen Brady (MO) Davidson Cassagnol (Willpower WC) Ben Gould (Colorado Mesa WC) Evontay Johnson (NY) Darien Kauffman (Stampede WC) Duncan Lee (IA) Samuel Mitchell (Bulls WC) Joe Rau (TMWC) Marco Retano (La Grande Mat Club) Andy Smith (Southeast RTC) Morgan Smith (Ohio RTC) 125 kg Dom Bradley (Sunkist Kids WC) Dominick Cotton (CA) Antonio DaCosta (CA) Lucas Davison (Wildcat WC) Konner Doucet (Cowboy RTC) Lewis Fernandes (Spartan Combat RTC) Brandon Halsey (CA) Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force RTC) Ethan Laird (Broncs WC) Christian Lance (Nebraska RTC) Tate Orndorff (TMWC) Lord Oroke (NV) Borys Peresadko (CA) Sam Schuyler (NY) Demetrius Thoms (Pittsburgh WC) Gary Traub (Beaver Dam RTC) Owen Trephan (Wildcat WC) Ryan Vasbinder (MI) Ty Walz (TMWC) Derek White (TMWC) Nick Williams (North Valley RTC) Jordan Wood (Lehigh Valley WC) Hayden Zillmer (Gopher WC)

Logan Massa at the 2022 NCAA Champions (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) This most recent collegiate season was one that we've never seen before. Because of the “Covid year,” active wrestlers were granted an extra year of eligibility. That resulted in a bunch of sixth and seventh year seniors taking the mat, along with incoming freshmen and other underclassmen. It gave us some of the deepest weight classes we've ever seen. But, did having that many sixth (and beyond) year seniors work to their benefit? In some cases yes, and in others, no. Another year of wear and tear from a DI wrestling room rendered some of these veterans less impactful than expected, while some others had better achievements than any previous season. Here are the wrestlers who made it to Detroit and were in their sixth (or greater) year of competition in college. Their season record is listed first, followed by their NCAA performance and their conference placement. As you'll notice, the results vary greatly from each. 125 lbs #1 Nick Suriano (Michigan) - 16-0; NCAA Champion, Big Ten Champion #9 Devin Schroder (Purdue) - 19-6; 0-2 @ NCAA's, Big Ten 6th #16 Drew Hildebrandt (Penn State) - 10-5; 1-2 @ NCAA's, Big Ten 10th #19 Joey Prata (Oklahoma) - 19-9; NCAA Bloodround, Big 12 4th #20 Fabian Gutierrez (Chattanooga) - 21-7; 1-2 @ NCAA's, SoCon Champion #21 Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley) - 12-6; 2-2 @ NCAA's, Big 12 5th 133 lbs #4 Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech) - 22-4; NCAA 6th, ACC Champion #11 Devan Turner (Oregon State) - 25-9; NCAA 8th; Pac-12 3rd #12 Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) - 18-8; NCAA Bloodround; ACC Runner-Up #13 Brock Hudkins (Indiana) - 14-6; 1-2 @ NCAA's, Big Ten 10th 141 lbs #2 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) - 19-3; 2-2 @ NCAA's Big Ten Runner-Up #3 Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) - 30-1; NCAA 3rd; Big Ten 6th #13 Ian Parker (Iowa State) - 13-5; 1-2 @ NCAA's, Big 12 5th #14 Dresden Simon (Central Michigan) - 20-7; 2-2 @ NCAA's, MAC At-Large #15 Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina) - 21-4; NCAA Runner-Up, ACC At-Large #19 Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska) - 15-8; NCAA Bloodround, Big Ten At-Large #24 Stevan Micic (Michigan) - 13-8; NCAA Bloodround; Big Ten 4th 149 lbs #2 Tariq Wilson (NC State) - 19-2; NCAA 7th; ACC Champion #7 Josh Heil (Campbell) - 12-4; 1-2 @ NCAA's, SoCon Runner-Up #12 Mike Van Brill (Rutgers) - 21-6; 1-2 @ NCAA's, Big Ten 6th #14 Josh Finesilver (Duke) - 28-7; 1-2 @ NCAA's, ACC 4th #17 Jarrett Degen (Iowa State) - 18-7; 0-2 @ NCAA's, Big 12 4th #27 Cory Crooks (Oregon State) - 17-11; 2-2 @ NCAA's, Pac-12 3rd #29 John Arceri (Buffalo) - 22-12; 0-2 @ NCAA's, MAC 4th 157 lbs #2 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) - 18-0; NCAA Champion, Big Ten Champion #9 Kaleb Young (Iowa) - 19-9; 2-2 @ NCAA's, Big Ten 4th #13 Justin Thomas (Oklahoma) - 21-9; 1-2 @ NCAA's, Big 12 4th #20 Elijah Cleary (Pittsburgh) - 14-10; 1-2 @ NCAA's, ACC 5th #30 Ben Barton (Lock Haven) - 25-9; 0-2 @ NCAA's, MAC Champion #31 Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma State) - 11-10; 1-2 @ NCAA's, Big 12 At-Large 165 lbs #1 Evan Wick (Cal Poly) - 23-1; NCAA 3rd; Pac-12 Champion #3 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) - 26-3; NCAA 5th; Big Ten Champion #10 Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh) - 19-7; NCAA Bloodround; ACC Champion #16 Luke Weber (North Dakota State) - 22-9; 1-2 @ NCAA's, Big 12 4th #18 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) - 18-8; 2-2 @ NCAA's, Pac-12 At-Large #21 Thomas Bullard (NC State) - 20-8; 1-2 @ NCAA's, ACC 3rd 174 lbs #3 Logan Massa (Michigan) 20-4; NCAA 5th; Big Ten Runner-UP #4 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) - 19-3; NCAA 3rd; ACC Runner-Up #5 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) - 14-4; NCAA 4th; Big Ten 6th #13 Matt Finesilver (Duke) - 29-9; 2-2 @ NCAA's, ACC 4th #19 Thomas Flitz (Appalachian State) - 17-8; 1-2 @ NCAA's, SoCon Champ 184 lbs #1 Myles Amine (Michigan) - 21-2; NCAA 2nd; Big Ten Champion #10 Taylor Venz (Nebraska) - 19-10; NCAA Bloodround, Big Ten 5th #16 Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) - 17-8; 2-2 @ NCAA's, Big 12 At-Large #27 Keegan Moore (Oklahoma) - 10-6; 2-2 @ NCAA's, Big 12 4th #28 Gregg Harvey (Pittsburgh) - 10-12; 0-2 @ NCAA's, ACC 4th #29 Chris Weiler (Wisconsin) - 11-15; 0-2 @ NCAA's, Big Ten 12th #30 Max Lyon (Purdue) - 16-15; NCAA Bloodround, Big Ten At-Large 197 lbs #1 Max Dean (Penn State) - 23-1; NCAA Champion, Big Ten Champion #3 Eric Schultz (Nebraska) - 20-4; NCAA 7th, Big Ten Runner-Up #14 Greg Bulsak (Rutgers) - 26-8; NCAA 8th, Big Ten 7th #17 Jay Aiello (Virginia) - 16-5; NCAA Bloodround, ACC 3rd #25 Jaron Smith (Maryland) - 20-15; 1-2 @ NCAA's, Big Ten At-Large #27 Alan Clothier (Northern Colorado) - 14-14; 0-2 @ NCAA's, Big 12 At-Large 285 lbs #7 Jordan Wood ( Lehigh) - 27-3; NCAA 3rd, EIWA Champion #8 Matt Stencel (Central Michigan) - 20-6; 2-2 @ NCAA's, MAC Champion #10 Nathan Traxler (Virginia Tech) - 21-4; 1-2 @ NCAA's, ACC Champion #11 Gary Traub (Oregon State) - 23-7; NCAA Bloodround; Pac-12 Runner-Up #12 Christian Lance (Nebraska) - 19-11; NCAA 8th; Big Ten 7th #28 Michael McAleavey (The Citadel) - 24-12; 0-2 @ NCAA's, SoCon Runner-Up

Aaron Pico at the 2016 Olympic Trials (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) This weekend is packed with MMA events, and as one might expect, there will be plenty of wrestlers in action. The slate features multiple former All-Americans and some international competitors with impressive credentials. Friday - Bellator 277 AJ McKee vs. Patricio Pitbull McKee won the Bellator featherweight title from Pitbull in dramatic fashion last July. The former wrestler will make his first title defense in a rematch. McKee was a standout wrestler and CIF Southern Sectional champion for Long Beach Poly before going on to wrestle for Notre Dame College and Cerritos College. While at Cerritos, he picked up a CCCAA state championship. Pitbull had held the Bellator featherweight title since 2017 before McKee stopped him with a guillotine choke two minutes into their fight at Bellator 263. Corey Anderson vs. Vadim Nemkov Anderson's collegiate wrestling career began at Lincoln College where he was an NJCAA All-American. He then made a stop at Newberry College, before eventually finding a home at Wisconsin-Whitewater. As a senior at the Division III school, he went 46-5 and finished second. Here Anderson will face off against Bellator light heavyweight champion Nemkov in the finals of the promotion's heavyweight tournament. The former wrestler left the UFC in 2020 and has won three-straight bouts over Melvin Manhoef, Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov and Ryan Bader to earn a title shot. Aaron Pico vs. Adli Edwards After three medals at the age-group World Championships, Pico made news by announcing he was forgoing college in exchange for an early start on his MMA career. After making the finals of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, he made his professional MMA debut in 2017. Things got off to a bit of a rough start as he went 4-3 in his first seven fights. However, things have settled down recently, and he is riding a five-fight winning streak. His opponent has also had recent success. He holds a 9-1 record and is on a seven-fight winning streak. Edwards last fought earlier this month as he stopped Josh Harvey with a head and arm choke at XMMA 4. Tim Johnson vs. Linton Vassell Johnson has been fighting professionally since 2010. Prior to that, he was a two-time NCAA Division II qualifier for Minnesota Moorhead. Johnson could really use a win here as he is coming off back-to-back losses against Valentin Moldavsky and Fedor Emelianenko. Vassell should be a tough challenge. He moved up to heavyweight in 2019 and has gone 3-1 including a victory over former wrestler Tyrell Fortune in his last fight. Tyrell Fortune vs. Rakim Cleveland Fortune will be looking to get back on track after falling against Vassell by split decision last November. During his collegiate days, Fortune was a two-time NJCAA champion at Clackamas and eventually transferred to Grand Canyon. At the new school, he won an NCAA Division II title. Fortune also excelled in both freestyle and Greco, as he came one match away from picking up a pair of bronze medals at the 2013 World University Games. Fortune made his MMA debut with Bellator in 2016 and holds an 11-2 record. Cleveland has a 22-14-1 record. He made his Bellator debut last November and fell via first-round Kimura against Steve Mowry. Cleveland does hold a signature victory over UFC veteran Houston Alexander. Kyle Crutchmer vs. Michael Lombardo Crutchmer was a two-time All-American for Oklahoma State, who finished his eligibility in 2017. He made his MMA debut the following year and won four fights before signing with Bellator in 2019. Since suffering his first loss in 2020, Crutchmer has bounced back with victories over Levan Chokheli and Oliver Enkamp. Lombardo should be an interesting test for the former Cowboy wrestler. Lombardo has gone 12-2 as a professional, fought twice on Dana White's Contender Series and is coming off a victory over Kyron Bowen under the PFL banner last year. The Bellator 277 main card, which features McKee, Anderson, Pico and Johnson, airs live on Showtime at 10:00pm ET. The preliminary card begins at 7:00pm ET on the promotion's YouTube page. Friday - CFFC 107 Mark Grey vs. Hector Iglesias Grey kicked off his amateur MMA career in 2021. He went 4-0 with all of his victories coming via unanimous decision under the CFFC banner. Per his Instagram, his bout against Iglesias will be his professional debut. On the high school level, Grey was a four-time National Prep champion before Blair Academy, before going to Cornell for college . There he was a three-time NCAA qualifier and finished with an 81-42 record. Iglesias has a 3-2 amateur MMA career with his last fight coming in 2019. Last year, he fought in a pair of amateur kickboxing fights and won both by stoppage. Grey's fight will be part of the preliminary card, which starts at 7:00pm ET on CFFC's YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/c/CageFuryMMA/featured). Friday - Rizin Trigger 3rd Kazuma Kuramoto vs. Yuto Hokamura Kuramoto had an extensive Greco-Roman wrestling career before making the transition to MMA in 2017. His best finishes were a silver medal at the 2008 World University Championships and another silver at the 2012 Asian Championships. Kuramoto began his MMA career with Shooto and signed with Rizin in 2020. He has gone 2-1 in Japan's biggest promotion to push his professional record to 9-2. His opponent, known mostly as “Kintaro,” holds a 14-11-2 record and has been fighting professionally since 2011. Takeshi Izumi vs. Grant Bogdanove Izumi twice represented Japan at the World Championships in Greco-Roman. Over the course of his career, his signature result was a gold medal at the 2017 Asian Championship. He also added a gold at the 2017 Grand Prix of Spain. In his last wrestling action, he placed fifth at the Japanese national championships in 2019. This will be his MMA debut. Bogdanove made his MMA debut last year and won a pair of fights. In his last contest he scored a submission over professional wrestler Keisuke Okuda in a little over a minute. The Rizin event will air live on internet pay per view at 1:00am ET. Saturday - UFC Vegas 51 Pat Sabatini vs. TJ Laramie Sabatini wrestled for Bristol High School in Pennsylvania before continuing his career at Rider. He made his professional MMA debut in 2014 and built a 13-3 record before signing with the UFC last year. In the Octagon, he has gone 3-0 with victories over Tristan Connelly, Jamall Emmers and Tucker Lutz. Laramie is currently 12-4 as a professional, but he lost his only UFC bout against Darrick Minner back in 2020. William Knight vs. Devin Clark Knight was a state champion wrestler for Manchester High in Connecticut. The "Knightmare" made his UFC debut in 2020 after winning a spot via Dana White's Contenders Series. He is now 3-2 in the promotion after dropping a decision against Maxim Grishin last February. Clark won a South Dakota state championship as a senior and continued his wrestling career at Rochester Tech. There he was a two-time NJCAA All-American and won the 184-pound title in 2009. He made his MMA debut in 2013 and signed with the UFC in 2016. Clark currently has a 12-6 record overall and a 6-6 record in the Octagon. Drakkar Klose vs. Brandon Jenkins Klose was a Michigan state champion in high school and made the finals three times. He wrestled collegiately for North Idaho and Lindenwood. Klose has been fighting professionally since 2014 and joined the UFC in 2017. He has gone 5-2 in the promotion but is coming off a loss against Beneil Dariush in his last fight. Jenkins made his UFC debut last September and lost via third-round stoppage against Zhu Rong. The defeat dropped his professional record to 15-8. Sabatini will be on the main card, which airs live on ESPN at 8:30pm ET. The rest of the wrestlers will be part of the undercard that is scheduled to begin at 5:30pm ET on ESPN+.

Duke 174 lber Matt Finesilver (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Spring is in the air and Freestyle/Greco season is upon us. Leave the headgear and ankle bands at home, we don't need 'em. It's always fun to see what changes every year. Who got better? Who got worse? Who grew a beard? Who's making a comeback? Can anyone explain what exactly Titan Mercury is? Why am I watching Bridgerton while writing this? Oops, wrong chat. Anyway, it seems like forever since we've had a proper World Team qualifying process and I'm excited for it. Where else can you get national champs hitting in early rounds at tournaments? The best of the best. Seth Petarra won't get much sleep in the next few months. Speaking of the Italian Devil... Do you think there should be an Intermat Masterchef? If you answered yes, why do you think I would win? Who are your All-Italian American first-teamers after NCAA's? @SethPetar A little-known fact about the CEO of Italians is that he loves to cook. If you think his articles are in-depth, you should see his recipe for pork shoulder. Give me the Brain, the CEO, and DiMarco in a cooking competition and I'll judge the crap out of it. You pick an All-Italian team and come meet my All-Jagger team for a dual meet. But seriously folks, our guy Seth churns out the best Freestyle content on the interwebs and nobody has a deeper knowledge of international wrestlers ready to break out. The guy follows Kyrgyzstan cadets. Which Intermat employee would be the easiest/hardest to strike out? @IndianaMat I thought about this one for awhile. The toughest might be Willie. I can picture him just being a nuisance at the plate. Small strike zone, probably crouching over the plate spitting juice between pitches. I'd probably just bean him in the ass to great applause. Then I'll just strike out everyone else while huffing Bogey's in the dugout. If Handsome Matt Finesilver is on the move, what places does Jags think he should consider? @Rhino184 It's going to be quite strange to see a Finesilver not wearing Duke blue, but this is the world we live in with an infinite amount of Finesilver's and eligibility. How about Northern Colorado? Taking that last year and coming home seems to be a trend and Matt can put a little notch in his belt by being the only brother to represent his home state. Which programs do you see winning #WrestlingShirtADayinMay this year? @DutrowJim Nobody does a better job of marketing than Allyson Schwab. Get on the Panther Train before they run out of stock. Do I still have to ask questions in off-season? @PelikanHead Of course, you still have to ask questions. There's no offseason here at Intermat. I rely on you for half my content and can't have you showing up in November all out of shape asking dumb questions like if Penn State can repeat. You don't see Rhino taking a break. The Michigan Ref is asking questions in the room right now. Iron questions sharpen iron questions. Is PKHead's question's use of 'offseason' actually a troll of Yianni and/or freestyle? @JpPearson71 I think every Pelikan Head tweet has a hint of troll to it. The man is a Picasso with 280 characters and you should all be following him. Jags, you're the manager of Mailbag right? Will you pull yourself out of the mailbag after 7 questions? Or would you advocate to finish out the final two? @MichWrestlinRef Told you the ref was asking questions in the room right now. Seeing as this is the seventh question I guess we'll find out. For the record, I've maybe missed five questions so far in my time writing this column. I know what it's like to be left on read. If Intermat did a documentary on Jagger, what would the documentary be named? @AustinSommer Smoke Rise: The Jagger Chronicles Well, that was only eight questions, so no perfect game, but the good news is I get another chance next week. Happy Passover today and Happy Easter this Sunday. CadburyCreme Eggs are my jam.

Scottie Boykin (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) USAF ACADEMY – Head wrestling coach Sam Barber has announced the addition of Scottie Boykin to the AF Wrestling staff as a volunteer assistant coach and head coach of the Air Force Regional Training Center (AFRTC). Boykin comes to the Academy by way of Cornell where he served as the Spartan Combat RTC head coach. Boykin replaces Dustin Kilgore who after six seasons of positive impact on the program is leaving the program for opportunities outside of wrestling. "I am excited to add Scottie Boykin to our staff," Head coach Sam Barber said. "He is a hardworking and high energy young coach that will take over where Coach Kilgore left off in being an exemplar for our cadet-athletes on and off the mat." "I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to coach at the United States Air Force Academy," Boykin said. "The Academy is a prestigious institution, and its reputation speaks for itself. I look forward to getting to work alongside Coach Barber and staff, and help these young men reach their highest athletic potential on the national and world stage." "Scottie received high praise from Coach Grey and Coach Eslinger, two leaders in our sport that I have much respect and appreciation for," Barber continued. "Coach Boykin's commitment to pursuing excellence while living a life of character and integrity make him a great fit for coaching at the United States Air Force Academy. His knowledge and passion for the sport of wrestling is infectious, I'm excited to watch him share that passion and enthusiasm with our team!" During his time at the Spartan Combat RTC Development Program Boykin helped develop and prepare the top national recruits before getting into Cornell. He assisted in the coaching four top-20 seeds going into their inaugural NCAA tournament their freshman year (Julian Ramirez 165, Chris Foca 174, Jacob Cardenas 197, Lewis Fernandez HWT). Prior to his stint in Ithaca, New York, Boykin served as the volunteer assistant coach at his Alma Mater UT-Chattanooga. While attending Chattanooga, Boykin became a two-time Southern Conference Champion at 197 pounds and made three appearances at the NCAA National Tournament. He had 94 career wins, which is eighth all-time at UTC. After graduating with a degree in sports administration, Boykin competed Dave Schultz Memorial International tournament where he battled his way to finalist. He is a two-time US OPEN Freestyle All-American (8th 2019, 4th 2021), and a two-time World Team Trials qualifier.

Ivan Ivanov (right) (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Ivan R. Ivanov of Boise, Idaho has been named to the new position of General Manager, Greco-Roman Programs by USA Wrestling, the National Governing Body for wrestling in the United States. Ivanov was a World silver medalist as an athlete and is a highly-respected Greco-Roman coach at the Senior and age-group levels. He will be tasked to transform Greco-Roman wrestling in the United States, from the youth development pipeline through performance on the Olympic and World level. “We're truly excited to have Ivan Ivanov accept this new role within our Greco-Roman program. This is an extremely important hire within our organization at a pivotal time for our Greco-Roman program. We had a great deal of interest in this position and some very strong candidates to take into consideration. There is a lot of work to be done from this point forward, but we are confident that Ivan possesses not only the passion, but the vision to help lead our Greco-Roman program. It's going to take a lot of people in a lot of different areas to help elevate our Greco-Roman program to the levels we continually want to see it succeed. Ivan is ready to hit the ground running and his leadership will help build the U.S. Greco program into a recognizable force among the current world powers,” said Cody Bickley, USA Wrestling Director of National Teams High Performance. Ivanov will lead every aspect of the USA Wrestling Greco-Roman program. He will be given the opportunity to evaluate every facet of the U.S. Greco-Roman program. In this new role, the General Manager will create the strategic direction for the sport and will be empowered to re-imagine how USA Wrestling operates its development and high-performance efforts. “With my club, we are doing well using a system of training which I have experience with and understand very well. I want to share my methods of training with the rest of the coaches in America. In this new position with USA Wrestling, I will be able to engage with coaches, share methods and bring valuable resources to them and their athletes. We can move ahead with Greco-Roman and start winning medals at all ages. That is my biggest motivation,” said Ivanov. “It all starts with the coaches. As coaches, we have a lot of work to do. It is going to be hard, not easy, but I am very optimistic that if we all work together, we will make some great results for U.S. Greco-Roman. The first priority will be the elite team, the next Olympic Team, and we will know very soon who those athletes are. We need to focus our energy on that team, so we have well-prepared athletes for the Paris Olympics. We then want to go down to the Juniors, our grassroots, which is the next Olympic cycle,” he said. Since 2010, Ivanov has been the owner and head coach for the Suples Wrestling Club in Boise, where he trains wrestlers from the age-group through the Senior level. Ivanov planned and instructed a specialized Greco-Roman technique and training curriculum at Suples WC. His training methods include online teaching platforms as well as web instruction and demonstration. In 2004, Ivanov founded Suples, LTD, which specializes in wrestling training products and educational courses. As CEO, Ivanov is responsible for all business development and operations for the company. He was the designer and innovator for wide variety of training product lines, which are used by wrestling clubs and organizations around the world. From 2002-2009, Ivanov served as the head Greco-Roman coach for the U.S. Olympic Education Center (USOEC), which is affiliated with Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Mich. This was a university-based program specializing in selected Olympic sports. Under his direction, the USOEC developed into one of the top Greco-Roman training locations in the nation. Ivanov coached numerous athletes to Senior National Teams and national titles, as well as athletes who made age-group World Teams and won national titles. Among the star athletes developed by Ivanov were two-time Olympian Spenser Mango, two-time World medalist and Olympian Justin Lester, Olympian Chas Betts, and many others. Other coaching stints for Ivanov were with the Treehouse Athletic Club in Utah, and at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. He has coached numerous U.S. teams on international tours, including serving as assistant coach for the 2001 Junior World Team and on the coaching staff for Senior World Teams. Ivanov is a gold-certified coach within USA Wrestling's National Coaches Education Program. In 2009, Ivanov was named USA Wrestling Greco-Roman Coach of the Year. Ivanov emigrated to the United States from Bulgaria, where he was a world-class Greco-Roman athlete. He won a World silver medal at 62 kg in 1994, and placed fifth at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga. He was also fourth at the 1995 European Championships. He was a student-athlete at the Sports School and Technical College in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria. He was also a student-athlete for the Bulgarian World Class Army Wrestling Program, based in Sofia, where he trained and also received educational training in military technical skills. He was awarded with the Honored Master of Sport from the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation in 1996. “I am all about building a USA Greco-Roman identity, a style that is typical for America. It is our USA cultural style. This will be very specific for our country, for what we are trying to do. We will build a complete USA team identity. We must have our own style, after evaluating our strengths and weaknesses. We need to build a style that we understand. Our athletes need to wrestle that way, with our coaches coaching that way. We need to find a way that we train while, at the same time, making it difficult for people to figure out what we are doing. We are not coming here to fight with rusty weapons, but with new weapons. This is who I am. I am very optimistic about U.S. Greco-Roman because we have a lot of resources. We need to work effectively and work together,” said Ivanov.

2022 NCAA 3rd Place Bryce Andonian (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The Hokie's finished another strong year in Blacksburg with a top-10 finish at the NCAA Championships and extending their streak of having three or more All-Americans for the ninth year--one of five programs in the country to claim such a streak. They were ACC Runners-Up in both duals and the tournament behind NC State. The Hokies only lose two starters from this top-10 team--Korbin Myers and Nathan Traxler--and have a lot of talented wrestlers ready to move up into starting roles. There will be a lot of shifting in weight from last year's lineup; Sam Latona, Bryce Andonian, and Connor Brady are all moving up a weight class. While the incoming recruiting class is small in number, it is deep in talent. The Hokies bring in #8 TJ Stewart, #16 Caleb Henson and #81 Tom Crook. There are bound to be changes to this lineup, but here is what I see from the Hokies next year. 125: Eddie Ventresca/Cooper Flynn With veteran Sam Latona moving up, the Hokies have two solid options fighting for the spot at 125. Cooper Flynn went 15-3 in his redshirt campaign with two of those losses to Ventresca, who was 15-6 on the year. The Hokies coaches are excited about the future at 125 and think both of these guys could step in to make an immediate impact. 133: Sam Latona It's no secret that Latona had a tough cut to maintain 125 the last two years--and this seemed to have a big impact on the start of the season last year. He was 4-6 in the first half of the season, albeit against some stout competition. Latona came into the new year on a tear and had an 8-match winning streak before falling 3-1 to Jakob Camacho in the ACC title match. He went on to make the bloodround at the NCAA tournament, one match short of repeating his All-American performance. I think a focused Sam Latona, who isn't consumed by a big cut, is a dangerous Sam Latona. He has shown he can go with anyone in the country and I could see him making a statement next year. I'm excited to see him fill out his frame a little more and be focused on the mat instead of the bike as much--I'm sure Sam is excited about that as well. 141: Collin Gerardi/Tom Crook Collin Gerardi will likely hold the spot at 141 again next season after winning the spot this year and earning a berth in the NCAA tournament. Gerardi was over .500 on the year and is a notoriously stingy defensive wrestler. He has been great at winning close matches and minimizing damage against higher-ranked opponents. However, there will be competition from four-time Florida State Champion Tom Crook who is coming in as part of a stacked recruiting class for the Hokies. Crook is a top-100 recruit who has a skill set that translates very well to college; he will be a great long-term solution for the Hokies. 149: Caleb Henson There is real potential for blue-chip recruit Caleb Henson to immediately step into the lineup. Henson is a top-20 recruit that has an impressive resume--3x GA State Champ, Fargo Champ, Super 32 Champ; that also includes a title at the Southeast Open (ahem, Hokie Open). Henson ran through the 149 bracket last season and showed that he is college-ready out of the gate. Kylan Montgomery saw some time in the starting lineup last year while filling in for Bryce Andonian. This could be a weight where the Hokies look to the transfer portal for a short-term solution if they want to give Henson a year to redshirt. 157: Bryce Andonian If you don't enjoy watching the chaotic beauty of Bryce Andonian wrestling, we can't be friends. Andonian has been must-see viewing every time he steps on the mat since he arrived in Blacksburg, but really put on a show for the national audience this year at the NCAA tournament. The move up a weight class could be a blessing for Andonian. 149 has been a more difficult cut than it may seem. Andonian had an amazing run at the NCAA tournament that had three of the most entertaining matches of the tournament. He fell just short of a trip to the finals against Ridge Lovett, but came back to beat Austin Gomez for a second time to finish his All-American run in third place. Andonian caps off his impressive year with a Bronze at the Junior World Championships and an All-American finish in Detroit--it's hard not to think that this momentum will continue as he moves up a weight class. 165: Connor Brady/Clayton Ulrey/Transfer This will be an interesting weight for the Hokies. They have two experienced starters in Connor Brady--potentially moving up from 157--and Clayton Ulrey, who held the 165 spot this season. Both have a load of potential and could be big contributors for the Hokies. Brady started the season off very strong with a 9-2 record before going winless in conference duals. He did pick up a critical win at ACCs to qualify for the NCAA tournament where he went 1-2. Ulrey had an opposite experience-he started slow and improved throughout the year, picking up some big wins along the way. He went 2-2 at ACCs and fell just short of an NCAA berth. Watch out for the wildcard here of a move from the transfer portal. Both Brady and Ulrey could benefit from a year of growth; Brady to grow into the weight and Ulrey to continue to improve to his fullest potential. 174: Mekhi Lewis What more can one say about Mekhi Lewis? Lewis is the quiet leader of this team on and off the mat. He is a three-time NCAA qualifier and only has one loss in that tournament; a heartbreaker in the finals last month. Junior World Champ, NCAA Champ and two-time NCAA finalist. The move up to 174 was seamless for Lewis and he looked incredible at the higher weight. He was big enough and strong enough to hang with even the biggest 174's and he didn't lose any of the speed that makes him so dangerous on his reattacks. Lewis only had two losses on the year, 3-1 in sudden victory to Hayden Hidlay and 6-5 in TB1 to Carter Starocci in the NCAA finals. I have no doubt that Mekhi will grow from those tough losses and be an even more dangerous wrestler next season--and I can't wait to see it. 184: Hunter Bolen The return of the Christiansburg Cowboy is one of the bigger stories of the offseason for the Hokies. Bolen is an All-American and a four-time NCAA qualifier and will return to Blacksburg looking to add more hardware to his shelf. He has consistently been in the top-tier of wrestlers at 184 since moving up after his first season. Bolen is 60-12 as a starter at 184. The return of Bolen will allow for another blue-chip recruit time to acclimate to college. TJ Stewart is a huge signing for the Hokies and will be a major part of the continued success in Blacksburg. Stewart is from Virginia but attends Blair Academy where he was a National Prep Champion in addition to his Fargo accolades--winning as both a Cadet and a Junior. Stewart was the #1 ranked wrestler at 182 and #10 in the class of 2022; he has an incredible amount of potential and will be a fan favorite in Blacksburg. I would guess Stewart will get a redshirt and Bolen will be on a limited schedule, so look for another VA guy-Sam Fisher-to get reps in the lineup as well. 197: Dakota Howard/Andy Smith This weight will again be a battle between Howard and Smith for the starting spot. Howard edged out Smith for the spot last season; Smith struggled with returning from injuries as he tried to make a push for the lineup later in the year. Howard is a fan favorite and gives everything he has every match; he was over .500 on the year and had some solid wins to help the team. Smith has a lot of upside, but has struggled to stay healthy--if he is 100% he can be a dangerous option at 197. 285: Hunter Catka Catka started as a true freshman in 2021 and he had a 10-4 record and was an NCAA qualifier. He redshirted last season behind Nathan Traxler and competed unattached with a 10-6 record. Catka is a very large human and is incredibly athletic and fast for his size. He benefited greatly from a year of training with Traxler and will be a force at heavyweight; I expect big things from Catka.