InterMat Staff

Central Methodist head coach and director of wrestling Sam Schmitz (Photo/Central Methodist athletics) Central Methodist University's new director of wrestling and head men's wrestling coach comes to the Eagles with no shortage of hardware. Sam Schmitz has three consecutive national titles as the women's coach and several top 5 finishes as men's assistant coach at McKendree University. Schmitz is anxious to get to work at Central. "I'm nervous and I'm excited," said Schmitz. "This is a big step for me and for my family." Schmitz said that one thing won't be any different, though. "The recipe for success doesn't change," he said. "It always has come straight from my heart." Schmitz has nine years of experience under his belt as a head coach, but some of that coaching prowess was learned from his old college coach and now Central Methodist's vice president for enrollment management and athletics, Dr. Joe Parisi. "His success was unmatched as a head coach and I did a lot of learning," Schmitz said. "He created the blueprint, especially with the small things he did outside of coaching. I've learned from that. I'm not going to do exactly as he did, but I'm adding my own touch and making the approach mine." Parisi said that he and athletics director Jeff Sherman, along with President Roger Drake, have high expectations for their new coach. "He's got great tools and a great heart," Parisi said. "He is a master technician and an excellent recruiter. We can't wait to see the changes in our program." As a college wrestler under Parisi, Schmitz was an NAIA all-American on two of Parisi's seven national championship teams. He has a proud history with Parisi, but Schmitz is also looking forward to working with legendary coach and now CMU athletic director Jeff Sherman. "You see a lot of things in 37 years as a head coach," Schmitz said. "I can't wait to visit more with him and learn." Schmitz has three consecutive NCWWC national championships under his belt at McKendree. In addition, Schmitz was the one coach nationally to serve as a clinician earlier this year at the prestigious high school national championships. Besides being the men's head coach at Central, Schmitz will serve as the director of wrestling, overseeing the Eagles' successful women's wrestling program and Head Coach Brieana Delgado. She is looking forward to learning from the veteran. "He has a great reputation and I'm looking forward to working with him," she said. "I'm also looking forward to re-connecting with his wife, who is one of my old teammates." Schmitz, from Oregon, comes to Central with his wife, Michaela, a three-time national champion and the first female to win a boys' high school championship. They have two children.

Oregon State Assistant Coach Josh Rhoden (Photo/Oregon State athletics) CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State wrestling head coach Chris Pendleton announced Wednesday that Josh Rhoden has been named an assistant coach with the Beavers. Rhoden joins the program after serving as the head coach at Clackamas Community College since 2006. While there, his teams have won the NJCAA National Championship five times, including the past four years. He's also been named the National Coach of the Year four times, earning that honor in two of the last three years. "I want to thank both Chris Pendleton and VP/Director of Athletics Scott Barnes for the opportunity to continue to do what I love, as well as, be a part of something special in Corvallis," Rhoden said. "Chris and his staff have things moving in an exciting direction and I feel very blessed to have been asked to join the staff. "Oregon State and the wrestling community in Oregon have a special place in my heart and I am excited to continue to help move wrestling forward here in our state and throughout the Pacific Northwest." Rhoden exits Clackamas after posting a 169-36-2 record. In addition to national titles in 2011, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, his Clackamas teams finished as runner ups in 2015, 2017 and 2018. He coached 33 national finalists, 101 All-Americans and 148 national qualifiers. "I'm excited to get to work Building the Dam with Coach Rhoden," Pendleton said. "His character, work ethic, and approach to building successful young men on and off the mat is exactly what we believe in at Oregon State." A Pacific University graduate, Rhoden was a graduate assistant at his alma mater from 2004-05. He then served as the head coach at Redmond High School from 2005-06 before moving to Clackamas in 2006. Rhoden joins an Oregon State program that produced four All-Americans in 2022, the Beavers' most since 1995. OSU finished 12th nationally, the team's best mark in nearly a decade, and was just half a point shy from winning the Pac-12 Championship. Pendleton, who just finished his second year as the program's head coach, was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year.

Four-time All-American Troy Nickerson (left) (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Yesterday, Cornell received a verbal commitment from Cadet World Champion, Meyer Shapiro (Wyoming Seminary, PA), the #2 overall recruit in the high school Class of 2023. Shapiro is the highest-ranked wrestler to commit to second-year head coach Mike Grey and joins a short-list of top-ten recruits that have matriculated to Ivy League school in Ithaca. How have the previous blue-chippers fared while at Cornell? Glad you asked. We have looked at the wrestlers ranked in the top ten of their respective graduating classes that wrestled for the Big Red and reminded you of some of their pre-collegiate credentials, along with a recap of their careers. This exercise starts in 2005 as individual big boards or top 100's are difficult to come by for any time before 2005. 2005 #3 Troy Nickerson (Chenango Forks, NY) In reality, Travis Lee was probably the first huge recruit of the Rob Koll-era in Ithaca, but recruiting rankings were non-existent from his senior year in high school (2001). I'd also wager that if they were "a thing," he still wouldn't have matched the hype that surrounded Troy Nickerson coming out of high school. Nickerson was New York's first-ever five-time state champion and won a pair of Cadet and Junior National Championships. Nickerson went on to AA four times for the Big Red, never finishing lower than fourth in any year. He was an NCAA finalist as a true freshman and a national champion in 2009. 2006 #3 Mike Grey (Delbarton, NJ) New Jersey's first-ever four-time state champion, Mike Grey, recorded 120 wins via fall along with a 157-2 career record. He was a Junior National Champion in freestyle and grabbed a title at NHSCA Senior Nationals. What a great signing this turned out to be as Grey had a distinguished career that included a pair of EIWA titles and appearances on the NCAA podium. As soon as Grey's competitive career finishes, he joined the Big Red coaching staff and hasn't left. Last June, after Rob Koll stepped down, Grey was named Cornell's head coach. In his first season at the helm, Grey led the team to a top-ten finish and oversaw Yianni Diakomihalis' first NCAA title. #7 Mack Lewnes (Mt. St. Joseph, MD) A two-time National Prep champion, Mack Lewnes also won all of the notable regular-season tournaments, the Ironman, the Beast, and the Powerade (x2). Lewnes was also a member of the Dapper Dan team. From the time he stepped on campus, Mack Lewnes was one of the top wrestlers in the nation. He captured four EIWA titles and placed in the top four at NCAA's on three occasions. In both 2009 and 2010, Lewnes entered the NCAA Tournament as the undefeated top seed. He was also never seeded lower than four in his four trips to nationals. 2009 #4 Kyle Dake (Lansing, NY) In 2008 Kyle Dake made his international debut when he finished in 14th place at the Junior World Championships, while competing in Greco-Roman. Dake also won the NHSCA grade-level tournament on three occasions, mixing in a pair of New York state titles for good measure. Dake would go on to have one of the most unique and outstanding collegiate careers in the history of the sport. As a true freshman, he jumped into the fray and immediately brought home a national title at 141 lbs. In each of the proceeding years, Dake moved up a weight class and claimed an NCAA championship. His final win, over returning Hodge Trophy recipient David Taylor, helped him earn the 2013 Hodge. His greatness wasn't limited to the collegiate scene as Dake has won three world titles and an Olympic bronze medal. 2010 #3 Chris Villalonga (Blair Academy, NJ) Chris Villalonga has one of the best high school careers in the history of Blair Academy wrestling, a feat in itself. Villalonga was a four-time National Prep champion and won the Ironman and Beast three times. After the high school season, Villalonga won NHSCA Senior's and was named the OW at the Dapper Dan. In each of his first two years at Cornell, Villalonga made the NCAA tournament but went 0-2 both times. After winning the first of two EIWA titles, Villalonga was seeded third at the 2014 tournament, but fell a match short of placing. He finally got on the podium as a senior when he took sixth place. #5 Marshall Peppelman (Central Dauphin, PA) A member of some incredible Central Dauphin teams, Marshall Peppleman won three Pennsylvania state titles and made the finals four times. He grabbed a pair of belts at the Super 32 and also was victorious at the Beast of the East three times. In Peppelman's best season as a collegiate (2011-12), he finished fourth in the EIWA and qualified for the NCAA Championships. Peppleman used his final year of eligibility to compete for Lehigh and he was seventh in the conference at 165 lbs. He tallied 73 wins, against 50 losses, during his collegiate career. 2012 #6 Alex Cisneros (Selma, CA) A three-time state champion and four-time finalist in single-class California, Alex Cisneros ended up being one of the top wrestlers in the Class of 2012. He ended up competing for a year at Cornell, but never broke into the starting lineup for an extended period of time. #7 Mark Grey (Blair Academy, NJ) Like his older brother, Mark Grey, made a bit of history while in high school. He was the first wrestler to win the aptly-named Beast of the East four times. Grey also was a four-time National Prep champion, competing for Blair Academy. Before his senior year, Grey made the Junior World Team in freestyle and came up a match shy of medaling. He would replicate that feat in 2013. After a grayshirt year, Grey came out and took third in the conference, a placement he'd attain twice in the following seasons. Grey received the 15th seed and ended up falling in the bloodround. That would end up being his best NCAA finish in three trips. 2017 #3 Yianni Diakomihalis (Hilton, NY) A recruit with precollegiate credentials approaching Cornell studs like Nickerson and Dake, Yianni Diakomihalis amassed a 242-3 record that included four New York state titles. He also became one of only two Americans to win a pair of Cadet World Championships, a feat he accomplished in 2015 and 2016. Right away, Diakomihalis jumped into the Big Red lineup and proved to be a title threat. His first year ended with a national title after rallying in his final three NCAA bouts. Since then, Yianni has another pair of NCAA championships and is on the brink of becoming Cornell's second four-time national champion. Only four wrestlers have achieved the feat previously. Yianni enters his final year with a 75-match winning streak. While at Cornell, Diakomihalis has already made a Senior world team. #4 Vito Arujau (Syosset, NY) Like Yianni, Vito Arujau was also a four-time New York state champion during his high school days. He also experienced some success internationally, earning a silver medal at the Cadet World Championships in 2016. Arujau also was a champion at the Super 32 and at FloNationals. Unlike Yianni, Arujau waited a year before stepping in for Cornell. In year one, Arujau made the EIWA finals before taking fourth in the nation. After a few years away, Arujau returning in 2021-22 with an EIWA title and a third-place finisher in Detroit. In freestyle, he's made the finals of the Junior World Championships and the 2020 Olympic Team Trials. 2019 #10 Julian Ramirez (Blair Academy, NJ) Julian Ramirez finally got a chance to compete officially for Cornell in 2021-22 as he delayed enrollment initially, then was hampered by the Ivy League shutdown last year. The two-time National Prep champion and three-time Beast winner proved to be quite capable with a fourth-place finish at his first EIWA tournament. He would advance to the NCAA Round of 12 before getting eliminated at the 165 lb weight class. 2020 #8 Joshua Saunders (Christian Brothers College, MO) The list of pre-collegiate achievements for Joshua Saunders was extremely impressive as he captured three Missouri state titles, two stop signs in Fargo, and berths on the Cadet and Junior World Teams, before ever enrolling at Cornell. Saunders did not see action in a dual meet last year, but was 13-4 competing in tournaments. At the Southern Scuffle, Saunders logged four wins, including one over an NCAA qualifier (Angel Martinoni), though he did not place.

2021 Cadet World Champion Meyer Shapiro (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Meyer Shapiro, the number two overall junior in the country, made his college intentions known this afternoon as he committed to Cornell University. Shapiro finished the high school season ranked #2 at 145 lbs behind Iowa State signee Casey Swiderski. A Maryland native, Shapiro attended Wyoming Seminary during the 2021-22 school year and captured a National Prep championship after racking up four falls and a major decision in the title match. Last spring, Shapiro won the Cadet WTT's in freestyle at 65 kg's. A few months later, Shapiro went to Budapest, Hungary and came home with a gold medal. In the gold medal match, Shapiro defeated Georgia's Giorgi Gogritchiani, 8-4 to lock up first place. Two bouts earlier, he defeated a Russian by two points. To clinch a medal and a berth in the finals, Shapiro teched his Azeri opponent Aghanazar Novruzov, 10-0. Also in the 2021-22 high school season, Shapiro won the Powerade Invitational for the first time. In 2019, he was third. Shapiro is easily the biggest recruit to commit to Mike Grey in his less-than-ten months as head coach. He'll join New Jersey state champion, #61 Simon Ruiz (Delbarton, NJ), as early commits from the Class of 2023. Shapiro probably projects as a 157 lber at the next level. If that's the case, Shapiro is a perfect fit as the Big Red have a few young 57's on the roster or incoming, but no one near his level of a prospect. For more commitments check out InterMat's College Commitment Page

Undefeated 2022 NCAA Champion Keegan O'Toole of Missouri (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) When the dust cleared from Detroit and the ten national champions were crowned Saturday evening, one interesting fact stuck out to me. Of the ten winners, eight of them finished the year unbeaten! That “seemed” like a big number, but was it actually? Just to make sure, we've gone through the list of NCAA champions since the turn of the century to validate that eight was an incredible total. Below are the undefeated champions by year. For the bulk of this time period (2000-22) pin/tech/major decision totals have been included too. As we went back closer to 2000, those numbers became more difficult to obtain. 2022 125 lbs - Nick Suriano (Michigan) 16-0: 3 falls, 2 techs, 7 majors 133 lbs - Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) 22-0: 4 falls, 4 techs, 4 majors 141 lbs - Nick Lee (Penn State) 22-0; 2 falls, 4 techs, 6 majors 149 lbs - Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) 28-0; 5 falls, 4 techs, 4 majors 157 lbs - Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) 18-0; 6 falls, 1 tech, 2 majors 165 lbs - Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) 25-0; 7 falls, 2 techs, 7 majors 174 lbs - Carter Starocci (Penn State) 23-0; 4 falls, 5 techs, 4 majors 285 lbs - Gable Steveson (Minnesota) 18-0; 1 fall, 6 techs, 7 majors 2021 125 lbs - Spencer Lee (Iowa) 12-0; 5 falls, 3 techs, 2 majors 133 lbs - Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) 14-0; 1 fall, 2 techs, 2 majors 149 lbs - Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) 13-0; 2 falls, 4 majors 157 lbs - David Carr (Iowa State) 20-0; 4 falls; 4 techs, 5 majors 184 lbs - Aaron Brooks (Penn State) 14-0; 2 techs, 5 majors 285 lbs - Gable Steveson (Minnesota) 17-0; 4 falls, 6 techs, 3 majors 2019 141 lbs - Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) 29-0; 7 falls, 4 techs, 5 majors 149 lbs - Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) 32-0; 8 falls, 4 techs, 7 majors 157 lbs - Jason Nolf (Penn State) 31-0; 15 falls, 4 techs, 6 majors 197 lbs - Bo Nickal (Penn State) 30-0; 18 falls, 3 techs, 6 majors 2018 149 lbs - Zain Retherford (Penn State) 31-0; 17 falls, 5 techs, 4 majors 174 lbs - Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) 32-0; 9 falls, 7 techs, 9 majors 184 lbs - Bo Nickal (Penn State) 31-0; 16 falls, 1 tech, 6 majors 2017 141 lbs - Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) 32-0; 2 falls, 4 techs, 6 majors 149 lbs - Zain Retherford (Penn State) 28-0; 17 falls, 7 techs, 1 major 157 lbs - Jason Nolf (Penn State) 27-0; 14 falls, 8 techs, 3 majors 197 lbs - J'den Cox (Missouri) 28-0; 6 falls, 6 techs, 6 majors 285 lbs - Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) 17-0; 4 falls, 5 techs, 4 majors 2016 133 lbs - Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) 37-0; 11 falls, 7 techs, 7 majors 149 lbs - Zain Retherford (Penn State) 35-0; 16 falls, 8 techs, 7 majors 165 lbs - Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) 33-0; 12 falls, 7 techs, 8 majors 285 lbs - Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) 11-0; 1 fall, 5 techs, 2 majors 2015 141 lbs - Logan Stieber (Ohio State) 29-0; 10 falls, 8 techs, 4 majors 157 lbs - Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) 35-0; 6 falls, 11 techs, 7 majors 165 lbs - Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) 32-0; 11 falls, 4 techs, 12 majors 285 lbs - Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State) 32-0; 14 falls, 1 tech, 9 majors 2014 165 lbs - David Taylor (Penn State) 34-0; 16 falls, 8 techs, 8 majors 2013 133 lbs - Logan Stieber (Ohio State) 27-0; 14 falls, 7 techs, 2 majors 141 lbs - Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) 31-0; 7 falls, 4 techs, 8 majors 149 lbs - Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) 38-0, 17 falls 165 lbs - Kyle Dake (Cornell) 37-0, 18 falls, 2 techs, 8 majors 184 lbs - Ed Ruth (Penn State) 33-0, 12 falls, 4 techs, 10 majors 197 lbs - Quentin Wright (Penn State) 32-0, 11 falls, 4 majors 2012 149 lbs - Frank Molinaro (Penn State) 33-0; 4 falls, 7 techs, 11 majors 157 lbs - Kyle Dake (Cornell) 35-0; 12 falls, 3 techs, 6 majors 165 lbs - David Taylor (Penn State) 32-0, 15 falls, 9 techs, 6 majors 174 lbs - Ed Ruth (Penn State) 31-0, 10 falls, 7 techs, 9 majors 2011 125 lbs - Anthony Robles (Arizona State) 36-0, 2 falls, 24 techs, 5 majors 133 lbs - Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) 29-0, 11 falls, 6 techs, 7 majors 141 lbs - Kellen Russell (Michigan) 38-0, four falls, 1 tech, 9 majors 165 lbs - Jordan Burroughs (Nebraska) 36-0, 6 falls, 14 techs, 9 majors 174 lbs - Jon Reader (Iowa State) 39-0, 3 falls, 11 techs, 13 majors 2010 133 lbs - Jayson Ness (Minnesota) 31-0, 19 falls 157 lbs - JP O'Connor (Harvard) 35-0, 4 falls, 6 techs, 7 majors 174 lbs - Jay Borschel (Iowa) 37-0, 10 falls, 11 majors 197 lbs - Jake Varner (Iowa State) 31-0, 10 falls, 1 tech, 10 majors 2009 125 lbs - Troy Nickerson (Cornell) 25-0 157 lbs - Jordan Burroughs (Nebraska) 35-0 174 lbs - Steve Luke (Michigan) 32-0 184 lbs - Jake Herbert (Northwestern) 34-0 2008 174 lbs - Keith Gavin (Pittsburgh) 27-0 2007 141 lbs - Derek Moore (UC Davis) 24-0 174 lbs - Ben Askren (Missouri) 42-0 184 lbs - Jake Herbert (Northwestern) 34-0 285 lbs - Cole Konrad (Minnesota) 35-0 2006 141 lbs - Nate Gallick (Iowa State) 35-0 157 lbs - Ben Cherrington (Boise State) 20-0 174 lbs - Ben Askren (Missouri) 45-0 285 lbs - Cole Konrad (Minnesota) 41-0 2005 184 lbs - Greg Jones (West Virginia) 25-0 285 lbs - Steve Mocco (Oklahoma State) 37-0 2004 157 lbs - Matt Gentry (Stanford) 42-0 184 lbs - Greg Jones (West Virginia) 26-0 2003 125 lbs - Travis Lee (Cornell) 34-0 149 lbs - Eric Larkin (Arizona State) 34-0 165 lbs - Matt Lackey (Illinois) 38-0 285 lbs - Steve Mocco (Iowa) 34-0 2002 125 lbs - Stephen Abas (Fresno State) 35-0 197 lbs - Cael Sanderson (Iowa State) 39-0 2001 125 lbs - Stephen Abas (Fresno State) 34-0 141 lbs - Michael Lightner (Oklahoma) 41-0 157 lbs - TJ Williams (Iowa) 29-0 174 lbs - Josh Koscheck (Edinboro) 42-0 184 lbs - Cael Sanderson (Iowa State) 40-0 2000 133 lbs - Eric Juergens (Iowa) 31-0 174 lbs - Byron Tucker (Oklahoma) 34-0 184 lbs - Cael Sanderson (Iowa State) 40-0

2x NCAA champion Aaron Brooks of Penn State (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Last week we looked at the bloodround., its importance, and which teams have found the most success in the NCAA Round of 12. Today, we're examining the top-half of the NCAA bracket and the money rounds. The quarterfinals, the semis, and the finals. As one may expect, Penn State dominates all three of those rounds. But to the extent in which they dominate is difficult to fathom. For instance, the Nittany Lions are 24-2 in the NCAA semifinals over the last five NCAA Tournaments (2017-22). For perspective's sake, the team with the second-most wins during that span is Ohio State, who is 8-11. Below we have the records of each DI team during the last five NCAA tournaments in these extremely important rounds, starting with the finals and working our way down to the quarters. Finals: Penn State: 21-3 Iowa: 4-3 Cornell: 3-2 Rutgers: 2-1 Arizona State, Minnesota, Missouri: 2-2 Oklahoma State: 2-4 Ohio State: 2-6 Iowa State, Lehigh, Northern Iowa, Northwestern: 1-0 North Carolina, South Dakota State, Stanford: 1-1 NC State, Virginia Tech: 1-2 Michigan: 1-4 Lock Haven, Rider, Wisconsin, Wyoming: 0-1 Illinois, Nebraska, Pittsburgh, Princeton, Virginia: 0-2 Semifinals: Penn State: 24-2 Ohio State: 8-11 Iowa: 7-8 Oklahoma State: 6-5 Michigan: 5-10 Cornell: 5-4 Minnesota: 4-1 Arizona State, Missouri: 4-5 Rutgers: 3-3 NC State, Virginia Tech: 3-6 Illinois, South Dakota State: 2-0 Nebraska, Pittsburgh, Stanford, Virginia: 2-1 North Carolina, Princeton: 2-3 Lock Haven, Rider: 2-1 Iowa State: 1-1 Northern Iowa, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Wyoming: 1-2 Lehigh: 1-3 Bucknell, Central Michigan, Kent State, Oklahoma, Oregon State: 0-1 Duke, Utah Valley: 0-2 Cal Poly: 0-3 Quarterfinals Penn State: 26-7 Ohio State: 19-7 Michigan: 15-5 Iowa: 15-15 Oklahoma State: 11-10 Cornell: 9-2 NC State: 9-7 Arizona State: 9-8 Missouri: 9-10 Virginia Tech: 9-11 Rutgers: 6-3 Princeton: 5-2 North Carolina: 5-3 Minnesota: 5-7 Lehigh: 4-7 Cal Poly: 3-1 Pittsburgh, Virginia, Wyoming: 3-3 Stanford: 3-4 Wisconsin: 3-5 Northern Iowa: 3-6 Northwestern: 3-7 Nebraska: 3-11 Duke, Utah Valley: 2-1 Iowa State, South Dakota State: 2-2 Illinois: 2-4 Bucknell, Kent State: 1-1 Central Michigan, Oklahoma: 1-2 Lock Haven: 1-3 Rider: 1-5 Oregon State: 1-7 Appalachian State, Army West Point, Buffalo, Clarion, Drexel, Eastern Michigan, Maryland, Navy, Northern Illinois, Penn, SIU Edwardsville: 0-1 Binghamton, North Dakota State, Purdue: West Virginia: 0-2 Old Dominion: 0-3

2022 NCAA DII national champion at 285 lbs Darrell Mason (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) MANHEIM, PA – The 2022 National Wrestling Coaches Association DII Wrestler of the Year is Minnesota State's Darrell “Debo” Mason and the season's Rookie of the Year is Mary's Reece Barnhardt, the Association announced Monday. Both wrestlers hail from Super Region 5 and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Mason won the 285 National Championship at the 2022 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships, while Barnhardt finished fourth at 133. Mason entered the 2022 NCAA tournament as the bracket two-seed. With his 5-3 win over top-seeded Andrew Dunn of Kutztown in the final, Debo closed out an unblemished 22-0 season as DII's top wrestler at 285. The Maverick junior was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler for his efforts, in which he outscored his opponents 21-13 in four matches. “Debo had a great, competitive season,” Minnesota State Head Coach Jim Makovsky said. “He set a goal of becoming a National Champion, but kept his focus on the daily process and the hard work that needed to be done. He dealt with a season of injuries, COVID shutdowns, and the loss of his grandmother, all while competing in a very deep, talented weight class. Overcoming those obstacles made his success even sweeter- I'm proud of him!” A First Team All-NSIC selection and NSIC Wrestler of the Year, Debo was also the Super Region 5 Champion at 285. The Chicago native came to the Mavericks from Ellsworth Community College, where he was a NJCAA runner-up in 2020. Barnhardt, a true freshman for the Mauraders, put together a campaign that ended in the highest finish by a UMary wrestler in their time in NCAA Division II. The Bismark, ND native went into the 2022 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships as the five-seed and finished the season 24-10, after a 4-2 showing at the National Tournament. “Since day one of stepping on UMary's campus, it was very evident that Reece had the ability to become an All-American as a true freshman,” Marauder Head Coach Adam Aho said. “What really separates him from others that have had similar ability is his internal drive and desire to improve every day. His mental toughness to push himself to and beyond his mental breaking point in every practice is what makes him unique, and is another reason for his success on and off the mat. This award couldn't have gone to anyone more deserving, not only because of his wrestling accolades but also because of Reece's character. He is a true representative of the UMary wrestling program on and off the mat, and I couldn't be more proud of Reece for earning the NWCA Rookie of the Year Award.” Barnhardt also earned the NSIC's Rookie of the Year honors, and was ranked as high as #6 in the NWCA Division II Coaches Rankings on the year. He also finished runner-up at both the Super Region 5 tournament and the Midwest Classic. This is the second consecutive year that the DII Wrestler of the Year has been a heavyweight from Super Region 5, as St. Cloud State's Kameron Teacher earned the honor a season ago. This is the third consecutive Rookie of the Year honor for Super Region 5, with Upper Iowa's Zach Ryg earning the award in 2021 and St. Cloud State's Joey Bianchini in 2020.

Jordan Oliver (left), Alec Pantaleo (center), and Ryan Deakin (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) On Friday, the wrestling world was shocked by the retirement of 70 kg mainstay and two-time world medalist James Green. The Nebraska alum has moved on to take a coaching position with USA Wrestling as their National Freestyle Developmental Coach. With the man who has represented the United States at 70 kg at every World Championship event since 2015 out of the picture, there's a huge void on our 2022 team. That begs the question, who steps up and takes control of the weight class? Does someone go on a Green-like run and lockdown the weight for the next six years? Or will it turn out to be more like 65 kg; a weight class with plenty of capable contenders, all trading WTT wins back-and-forth. Here are some of the key contenders who will vie for a spot on the World Team this year and going forward. What complicates 70 kg for the future is that it isn't an Olympic weight, so wrestlers in this bracket will either move up or down for the 2024 Trials. That could lead to a shakeup next year as they prep for the Olympic year. Jordan Oliver - A veteran of the international wrestling game, Jordan Oliver has been a contender for world and Olympic teams for at least two cycles. Oliver won the 65 kg Olympic Trials in 2020, but did not get to represent the United States in Tokyo since the weight was not qualified. He's still seeking his first appearance at the World/Olympic Games. In non-Olympic years we've seen Oliver up at 70 kg and it's probably a more ideal weight for him. While Oliver may take losses in an exhibition setting, it's hard to bet against him in an “official” tournament. Alec Pantaleo - The wrestler that handed Oliver a recent loss is Alec Pantaleo, at Rudis Super Match. Pantaleo has continued to grow since hitting the Senior level full-time in 2019. He also scored a win over Oliver in the 2021 FloWrestling 150 lb 8-man bracket. At one point last year, Pantaleo held the #1 ranking in the world at 70 kg after winning the Poland Open, the Matteo Pellicone, and the Pan-American Championships. At the Poland Open, he knocked off James Green in the gold medal match. Pantaleo later had to pull out of the World Team Trials, in the semifinals, due to a rib injury. While Oliver and others may have “bigger” names, Pantaleo consistently turns in excellent results and should not be considered a dark horse here. Ryan Deakin - In the last decade or so, we've seen more and more often, current or recently graduated collegiate wrestlers jump into the Senior level and experience positive results. By the time the US Open rolls around, Ryan Deakin will be just over a month removed from his final collegiate match, where he won a national title at 157 lbs. Even while competing for Northwestern, Deakin has proven himself to be one of the top contenders at 70 kg. In 2019, he knocked off James Green at the US Open and earned a berth in Final X. Only a select few domestic opponents have defeated Green, at 70 kg, since 2015. Deakin almost made the 2021 World Team Trials finals, but was thwarted by the incumbent, Green. Zain Retherford - In 2021, we saw Zain Retherford move up to this weight class after competing at the Olympic Trials at 65 kg and making the 2019 world team at that weight. Retherford finished third at the 2021 Trials, which clinched a berth in this year's Trials. In his only competition thus far in 2022, Retherford dominated the field at the Dan Kolov, where his closest bout was a four-point win in the finals. Last year's Trials loss was only 2-2, on criteria, to Oliver, so Retherford should be one of the favorites in Coralville. Tyler Berger - Who better to take over for Green than one of his former training partners at Nebraska, Tyler Berger? Berger is now out west at Stanford as a part of the California RTC. Working out with 2021 NCAA champion Shane Griffith and assistant coach Vincenzo Joseph couldn't have hurt his development, while in Palo Alto. Berger showed he was ready to compete with the top dogs at this weight as he won the Bill Farrell International with a victory over Anthony Ashnault in the final. That combined with a fourth-place showing at the 2021 WTT's earned the foreigner Cornhusker a spot in the 2022 Trials. Anthony Ashnault - Growing up, Anthony Ashnault was never known for his freestyle accolades, but has placed himself amongst the contenders on the domestic ladder since 2019. Ashnault captured the first of his two Pan-American Championships that year and later was third at the WTT's. While he did not place at the Olympic Trials, Ashnault did claim a victory over Nahshon Garrett in the process. Recently, he fell to Berger at the Bill Farrell. Current collegiate crop of 157 lbs - Quincy Monday, David Carr, and Jacori Teemer. Youth has prevailed recently on the Senior level as Gable Steveson, Daton Fix, and Yianni Diakomihalis all made world/Olympic teams within the last year, while still holding collegiate eligibility. David Carr and Jacori Teemer both captured hardware on the international front, as Carr is a Junior World Champion and Teemer has Cadet bronze to his name. Monday is a part of the NJ RTC, which has made a strong impact on the domestic scene in the past three years. Teemer hasn't qualified for the Trials and is set to compete at the Open, while Quincy Monday and Carr have locked up a spot in the WTT's based on their 2022 NCAA finish.

2x world medalist James Green (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) On Friday morning, news broke that six-time Senior World Team member James Green was retiring to take the National Freestyle Developmental Coach for USA Wrestling. Green has been a mainstay on the senior level since he graduated from Nebraska in 2015. He has made every world team since 2015 at 70 kg. Green takes over a position left vacant by Kevin Jackson after he left to join the Michigan coaching staff before the 2021-22 season. In an era dominated by former Nebraska training partner Jordan Burroughs, Kyle Snyder, and a handful of other world/Olympic champions, Green could have been overlooked, a bit. His domestic dominance at 70 kg put him on a tier by himself and he was extremely consistent. After spending the bulk of his career training out of his alma mater, Green moved to Virginia Tech's Southeast RTC in mid-2020 and has worked out in Blacksburg since. Below are just some of the many accomplishments by James during his illustrious career at Nebraska and on the freestyle circuit. International Accomplishments Six-time Senior Team Member Two-time World Medalist (3rd - 2015; 2nd - 2017) 2x Pan-American Champion (2017, 2018) 3x Grand Prix of Spain Champion (2015, 2016, 2017) 2x Final X winner (2018, 2019) 2022 Yasar Dogu silver medalist 2018 World Cup champion Member of the 2017 World Championship team Made the 2015 team after winning a special (controversial) wrestle-off against the returning 70kg team member, Nick Marable. Swept Marable 4-0 and 2-1. 2014 University World silver medalist Collegiate Accomplishments Four-time All-American (3rd: 2015; 3rd: 2014; 7th: 2013; 7th: 2012) Won the final match of the year - all four years with Nebraska. 2014 Big Ten Champion; Two-time Big Ten finalist Green and Robert Kokesh were the first Cornhuskers ever to win Big Ten titles (2014). #1 Seed at 2014 NCAA Championships NCAA Seeds (2015: #4; 2014: #1; 2013: #4, 2012: #11) One of only seven Nebraska wrestlers to earn the #1 seed since the year 2000. 129-22 career record at Nebraska. His 129 wins are fifth-most by a Nebraska wrestler. His total was one more than Jordan Burroughs'. 129-22 is good for a .854 winning percentage, eighth best in Nebraska history. He twice had 35 victories in a season. That is tied for the 20th highest total in Nebraska program history. 35-2 record in 2013-14 is good for a .946 mark. That is tied for 10th in school history. 34 wins in 2011-12 is the third-highest total for a freshman in Nebraska history. 2014 NWCA All-Star win over Ian Miller (Kent State) Nebraska co-Outstanding Wrestling 2014 Second of only two four-time NCAA All-Americans for Nebraska James never redshirted while at Nebraska

2x NAIA national champion Peyton Prussin of Life University (Photo/Life University athletics) KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and its National Administrative Council (NAC) voted to approve women's wrestling as the association's 28th national championship. The vote took place at the annual NAIA National Convention in Kansas City, Mo., on Saturday. With the vote, the sport moves from invitational to full national championship status. For any sport in the NAIA to achieve championship status, it must achieve a minimum of 40 institutions to sponsor the sport as a varsity program to receive consideration. "This is a great day for the sport of wrestling and all of our women's wrestling student-athletes," said NAIA President and CEO Jim Carr. "Women's wrestling has seen sustained growth, and we are proud to become the first collegiate athletics association to offer this as a championship sport." The NAIA will begin work on determining several logistics in terms of national championship format and qualification immediately and will announce during the summer. "It's an exciting time for NAIA Women's Wrestling. I feel like we have been building to this for so many years, so to finally be at this point amazing," said Carl Murphree, NAIA Women's Wrestling Coaches' Association President. "The NAIA has led the charge in women's wrestling and gaining championship status is a big step forward." WHAT THEY ARE SAYING Lee Miracle, Campbellsville (Ky.) Women's Wrestling Head Coach I want to take this opportunity to extend a heartfelt thanks to the visionary leaders of the NAIA who just approved women's wrestling as a championship sport. I've enjoyed collaborating with the NAIA and NWCA leaders over the years to help establish new NAIA affiliated intercollegiate women's teams, fill vacant head coaching positions, and provide CEO leadership training for the next great generation of aspiring coaches. It is no surprise that the NAIA, the governing body that pioneered the establishment of women's intercollegiate women's wrestling teams, is also the FIRST to commit to a national championship. Ashley Flavin, Life (Ga.) Women's Wrestling Head Coach I was an athlete at an NAIA school in the early 2000s when there were only a handful of schools sponsoring women's wrestling. The growth that has happened over the past 20 years, is because of the dedication from the athletes, the coaches, and the administrations that believed when most of the country did not know the sport existed. For the NAIA to elevate women's wrestling to championship status validates the dreams and the work of the thousands of young women that have come before, and the millions that will come in the future. Thank you to everyone that has played a role in this process, but especially to the young women who have always known that our place was on the mat.

James Green at Rudis Super Match (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Big news this morning out of Blacksburg. James Green, who has been competing out of the Southeast Regional Training Center for the past two years, is moving on to a new role within USA Wrestling. The Lace Man has accepted the position as the National Freestyle Developmental Coach for USAW. He will be responsible for directing the U20 OPTC Elite Resident program--identifying top-level U20 wrestlers to live and train in Colorado Springs. He will also oversee the U15, U17 and U20 Pan-Am and World Teams. The position was most recently held by Kevin Jackson, who left to take a coaching position at the University of Michigan. The success of this program has played a huge role in the recent dominance of the USA at the Cadet and Junior level. While it is a bittersweet departure from competition, this is a phenomenal opportunity both for James and for USA Wrestling. Green has held the 70kg spot for USA Wrestling in the past six World Championships. He is a two-time world medalist--silver and bronze--and has been a fixture on the world scene. He recently brought home a silver medal from the Yasar Dogu in February. Green was a four-time All-American at Nebraska, and trained there for the majority of his freestyle career before moving to Blacksburg and the SERTC.

3x NCAA All-American Bryce Meredith (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The MMA weekend features a mix of wrestling converts hoping to establish themselves as prospects and veterans looking to make the jump to the next level. Friday night's LFA 126 card features three recent NCAA Division I All-Americans in showcase fights, while Saturday's UFC will determine the future of the UFC bantamweight champion and one of the fastest rising contenders ever. LFA 128 Jimmy Lawson vs. Marino Eatman Lawson started his collegiate career at Monmouth, where he played football for two years. He then transferred to Penn State in order to wrestle. As a senior in 2015, he went 20-5 and finished sixth at the NCAA tournament to become an All-American. Lawson made his professional MMA debut in 2019 with a decision loss against Said Sowma. However, he then bounced back with three-straight victories. His opponent on Friday also comes from a wrestling background. Eatman was a two-time All-American on the junior college level. In 2005, he finished second at the NJCAA tournament at heavyweight for Harper College. He then transferred to Waubonsee College, where he finished fourth. Eatman has been fighting professionally since 2014 and holds a 5-4-1 record. Richie Miranda vs. Devon Dixon Like UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, Miranda wrestled for Nebraska Kearney. He transferred and joined the Loopers squad after two years at Santa Ana College, where he finished fourth in the California community college state championships. Miranda will bring a 3-0 record into the cage, with all three of his fights coming after he made his professional debut last year. Miranda will face off against Dixon, who made his professional debut in 2020. He won his first four fights to start his career, but he is coming off a draw against Charlie Decca last December. Bryce Meredith vs. Jay Viola After a year at North Carolina State, Meredith went on to have a storied career at Wyoming. There he was a two-time finalist and three-time All-American. As a senior in 2018, he went 33-2 with victories over Joey McKenna, Dean Heil, Kevin Jack and Jaydin Eierman. Both of his losses that season were against Yianni Diakomihalis, including the national final. Meredith had his first MMA fight last May and scored a first-round stoppage over Steven Merrill at LFA 108. Meredith's opponent holds a 3-3 record. Viola turned professional all the way back in 2006 but returned to the amateur ranks until 2019. He is coming off a loss against Mitch Raposo, who was a contestant on both "The Ultimate Fighter" and Dana White's Contender Series in 2021. Mitchell McKee vs. Jalen Jackson After two seasons that ended in the blood round, McKee finished sixth as a junior in 2019 to become an All-American for Minnesota. He returned for his senior year and qualified for the NCAA tournament that was eventually canceled due to the pandemic. McKee, who was also a silver medalist at the 2017 Junior World Championships, made his MMA debut last December and stopped Frank Posko in the second round. McKee will face off against Jackson, who will also be fighting professionally for the second time. He made his debut last January and fell via armbar submission in only 16 seconds. Brett Bye vs. Jhellani Olton Coming out of high school, Bye was the 59th ranked recruit by InterMat. He spent four years on the squad at South Dakota State and finished his run in 2019 with a 43-33 record per WrestleStat. Bye made his amateur debut last March and scored a unanimous decision over Brady Steinhorst. For his second amateur fight, Bye will take on Olton. He fought twice on the amateur level in 2021 and picked up a pair of victories. This will be his first fight since December of that year. The Bye fight will be part of the preliminary card, which begins at 8pm ET on Friday via LFA's Facebook page. The rest of the fights mentioned here will be part of the main card. It is scheduled to begin at 9pm on UFC Fight Pass. UFC 273 Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan Prior to the illegal knee that ended their first fight, Sterling relied heavily on his wrestling background against Yan. After spending his freshman season at Morrisville State, Sterling transferred to Cortland, where he was a two-time All-American. He finished his run in 2011 with a career record of 87-27. You can read plenty more about his collegiate wrestling career in InterMat's deep dive. The illegal knee that ended Sterling's first fight with Yan also awarded the former Cortland wrestler the bantamweight title. He then took time off due to injury. During his absence, Yan would win an interim version of the belt with a decision over Cory Sandhagen. This bout will unify those belts. Khamzat Chimaev vs. Gilbert Burns Chimaev has taken the UFC by storm and MMA, in general, since making his debut for the promotion in 2020. He has won all four of his fights and absorbed only one significant strike. Chimaev was born in Chechnya but relocated to Sweden in his youth. Prior to ever fighting MMA, he wrestled extensively in Sweden, including three national championships. His most recent title came in 2018 at 92 kg. Last November, Chimaev returned to his wrestling roots for a caged freestyle match against fellow UFC fighter Jack Hermansson and won despite giving up a four-point throw. Burns represents a large step up in competition for the prospect. He challenged Kamaru Usman for the UFC welterweight title in 2021 but lost via third-round stoppage. Burns bounced back with a decision over Stephen Thompson last July. The victory improved his career record to 20-4. Mark Madsen vs. Vinc Pichel Madsen was a six-time World/Olympic medalist in Greco. In 2016, he won a silver medal at the Olympics with impressive victories over Viktor Nemes (Serbia) and Peter Bacsi (Hungary). However, he ultimately came up short against Roman Vlasov (Russia) in the finals. Madsen had a few fights while actively competing in wrestling, but he changed his focus in 2018 and made his UFC debut the following year. Since joining the promotion, he has gone 3-0 and picked up a victory over veteran Clay Guida in his last fight. Pichel has been in the UFC since 2012 and has gone 7-2 with the promotion. He is riding a three-fight winning streak since losing via submission against former Edinboro All-American Gregor Gillespie in 2018. All three of these bouts are scheduled to be part of the UFC 273 main card. It airs live on ESPN+ at 10pm ET on Saturday.

2022 NCAA All-American Real Woods (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) For better or for worse, The NIL era is fully upon us, and not even three weeks into the college offseason, it's all anyone can talk about. Heck, I think all my questions are about it. It's almost as if the entire process of transferring changed when Nick Suriano jumped to an interconference school sans any penalties. Then the transfer portal became prominent. Next, everyone in 2021 received a free year. Now we've got this strange NIL situation that seems to be drenched in vagueness and nobody knows what's right and what's wrong. I don't know if Real Woods received a large sum of money or not and I really don't care. Real Woods set a goal to get a Stanford degree and was close to accomplishing that when he thought he may have lost his wrestling team for good. After that didn't happen, he was able to stay and graduate while still being able to compete. Now fully on his way to a diploma with two years of eligibility left, Real decided to take his talents elsewhere. Now it's rumored his talents were bought by the school he chose. What school is that? Iowa! Yeah, that Iowa! The most famous college wrestling team ever. The school every wrestler ever probably dreamed of wrestling for at some point. Did he maybe get some money to wrestle there? Very possible. Good for him. Get a Stanford degree, then get paid to wrestle two years at Iowa. You're living right. The NIL has opened a world of possibilities as far as recruitment. Get used to it. Real Woods is far from the last time we see this. To the mailbag. Who is Jagger giving an NIL deal to, to bring them to RU? Or any other school in Jersey, for that matter. @luke_w_wise I don't want to be accused of tampering or step on the toes of any of the fine Scarlet Knights wrestlers already rostered, but there's a two-year-old in Southeastern PA named Anthony DiMarco, Jr who shows some real promise. His old man likes to write fantasy wrestling articles, but the son is the real deal. I hear he's leaving daycare mid-semester to get into the nursery school room quicker to prepare for a possible three years of kindergarten. Top five on my Baby Big Board. My Cousin Vinny, Goodfellas, or The Godfather? What is your take on cheese? @SethPetar Cheese stinks. Mafia movies don't. One of these is a lawyer movie starring a mafia movie legend. Fun fact: mob movie comedy classic My Blue Heaven was written by Nora Ephron as a companion piece to Goodfellas, which was written by her husband, Nicholas Pileggi. Hey, what a day for a mow! How much money would need to be “in the bag” to get Jagger to enter the transfer portal? @Jkos11 And leave Intermat? Easton would fall. Have you ever been Jermed? @wiems19 Ewww. I hope not. Oh, you mean Mat Jerms. The hottest podcast on the internet. Alright, Jeremy, I'll bite on your shameless plug. But only because I named it. Seriously though, go check your local listings for my good pal Jeremy and his foray into the world of podcasting. A huge supporter of women's wrestling, the Jerm already has a great list of guests lined up. What is the percentage of Post Grads who enter the portal with years of eligibility left and will that change how you think due to the use of NIL and RTC ? @MindsetCoachBW This is where things will get tricky. If you were a lowerclassman during the free year, you are likely to graduate with at least one year of eligibility left and maybe even two. Now you have the right to be a full free agent who has fulfilled all of his duties to your original school. It's the best of both worlds. Three worlds when you throw in the money factor. And since barely anyone redshirted during the free year, you can bet your behind the coaches will think twice about sitting them for a year in the future, knowing anyone can bolt at any time. Anyone who was a true freshman last year and redshirted this year is really in the driver's seat. You have four years of eligibility left and two years of school down. The student-athletes have never had a better chance to maximize their talents for all their worth. Do you really follow college wrestling? @MaceikoW About as much as people follow you. This guy has tweeted 180 times with one person listening. Just call him on the phone. Have a good weekend all! Baseball is back!

3x NCAA All-American and 3x Bloodround winner Mikey Labriola (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) It's the round of action at the NCAA Championships where dreams are made or crushed. Win and you have the title "All-American" beside your name, for the rest of your life. Lose and you're left with a lifetime of "what could've been." Its the only round of action at the NCAA Tournament with a cool nickname (The bloodround). The NCAA Consolation Round of 12, as it's otherwise known, features some of the most intense action during the entire wrestling season. With that being said, we've decided to look back and find out who has performed best or most often in the Round of 12. Below are team win/loss records for the last five NCAA tournaments, going with most wins to least. Nebraska: 15-7 Oklahoma State: 14-6 Iowa: 13-8 Minnesota: 10-9 Missouri: 9-9 Arizona State: 9-2 Ohio State: 8-5 Virginia Tech: 8-5 Wisconsin: 7-2 Illinois: 7-3 Northwestern: 7-3 Oregon State: 7-3 Penn State: 7-3 Cornell: 6-2 Michigan: 6-4 Iowa State: 5-3 Rutgers: 5-4 Lehigh: 5-9 South Dakota State: 4-4 North Carolina: 4-5 Northern Iowa: 4-6 NC State: 4-7 Appalachian State: 3-0 Lock Haven: 3-0 West Virginia: 3-2 Old Dominion: 2-2 Fresno State: 2-0 Princeton: 2-0 Maryland: 2-1 Rider: 2-3 Wyoming: 2-3 Stanford: 2-7 Eastern Michigan: 1-0 Edinboro: 1-0 Hofstra: 1-0 Indiana: 1-0 Duke: 1-1 SIU Edwardsville: 1-1 Binghamton: 1-2 Campbell: 1-2 Michigan State: 1-2 Central Michigan: 1-3 Northern Illinois: 1-3 Penn: 1-4 Oklahoma: 1-5 Virginia: 1-5 Air Force: 0-1 Brown: 0-1 Buffalo: 0-1 Cal Poly: 0-1 Chattanooga: 0-1 Clarion: 0-1 CSU Bakersfield: 0-1 Harvard: 0-1 Kent State: 0-1 Northern Colorado: 0-1 The Citadel: 0-1 Army West Point: 0-2 Bucknell: 0-2 Drexel: 0-2 Utah Valley: 0-3 Navy: 0-4 North Dakota State: 0-4 Pittsburgh: 0-8 Purdue: 0-8

4x NCAA All-American Sebastian Rivera (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Now that the 2022 Season has concluded, every team, every conference, and every site has their "End-of-Season" awards, so why not do the same at #FantasyCollegeWrestling? The end of the season leaves us with a lump sum of pure, raw, and uncut data. While we take the time to sift through it, and create that sweet, sweet Fantasy Wrestling content you're itching for, here's a little taste. Just like in 2021, let's see this season's "All-Fantasy Wrestling Teams!" The total points scored by these 36 wrestlers came to 2,722, with only 16 of the following 36 wrestlers receiving All-American Honors. Two Champions, two runner-ups, four 3rd placers, and two placers at 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th. There were no 7th place finishers and the only weight to not have an All-American of these three Teams was 197 Just a reminder of how points were tallied in WrestleStat Leagues: The scoring used was Standart Team Scoring across all competitions (+3 for a win by decision, -4 for a loss by Major, etc.) Scoring only counted against D1 competition Wins via Forfeits (FFT) Injury (INJ) would count as +6 towards a wrestler's point total. Wins or Losses by Medical Forfeit (MFF) did not count as + or - towards a wrestler's point total. Points were only accumulated only during the regular season. First Team All Fantasy Wrestling 125: Anthony Noto (LHU) 86 Fpts 133: Daton Fix (OKST) 76 Fpts 141: Sebastian Rivera (RUT) 108 Fpts 149: Yianni Diakomihalis (COR) 88 Fpts 157: Ed Scott (NCST) 82 Fpts 165: Dean Hamiti (WISC) 93 Fpts 174: Matt Finesilver (DUKE) 87 Fpts 184: Trey Munoz (ORST) & Hunter Bolen (VT) 76 Fpts 197: Lou DePrez (BING) 76 Fpts 285: Wyatt Hendrickson (AF) 104 Fpts Floater 1: Michael McGee 74 Fpts [@ 133] Floater 2: David Carr (ISU) 69 Fpts [@ 157] The 2023 First Team All Fantasy roster has a lot of flair and scoring power and bested last season's First Team by having one (1) National Champion in its lineup. This lineup scored a whopping 1,019 Fpts this season (and 184 was only counted once). I mean, it helps when you have the season pin leader (Hendrickson) and tech leader (Rivera) on the same team. Hendrickson and Rivera were the only wrestlers of the 100 Point Club this season, in comparison to 2020 when there were 10 and three others that were within a Decision win away. Daton Fix makes his second consecutive All-Fantasy First Team, but more than doubling his 2021 season output, albeit from a shortened season (29 Fpts). Speaking of 184, both Trey Munoz and Hunter Bolen finished the regular season with the exact same stats: 76 Fpts, 23 matches wrestled, with 3.3 PPM (points per match). In fact, both had the same bonus rate of 52.2%. How could I split these two up? If anything, Bolen had six pins compared to Munoz's five. But it's my list, so I say they both make the first team. Because of the additional free year, the eligibility breakdown was a little twisted and some wrestlers who might not be technically considered freshmen, were. Not Dean Hamiti, though. The only true freshman to make the First Team (out of four total that make up these three teams) only had one loss (Marinelli) by decision, and only had two matches that were not won by bonus (against Little Rock's Tyler Brennan and Rutgers' Andrew Clark). Senior and #1 overall Fantasy Wrestler Sebastian Rivera is the only member of the All-Fantasy First Team without any eligibility left. Second Team All Fantasy Wrestling 125- Brandon Courtney (ASU) 63 Fpts 133- Rayvon Foley (MSU) 75 Fpts 141- Grant Willits (ORST) 82 Fpts 149- Josh Finesilver (DUKE) 78 Fpts 157- Chase Saldate (MSU) 81 Fpts 165- Zach Hartman (BUCK) 86 Fpts 174- Michael O'Malley (DREX) 86 Fpts 184- Parker Keckeisen (UNI) 74 Fpts 197- Jaxon Smith (MD) 70 Fpts 285- Grady Greiss (NAVY) 70 Fpts Floater 1- Lucas Byrd (ILL) 69 Fpts [@ 133] Floater 2- Peyton Hall (WVU) 69 Fpts [@165] At over 100 Fpts less, the 2023 All-Fantasy Second Team amassed a total of 903 Fpts. Captaining the point-total ship for this crew was Mickey O'Malley and his 10 Pins against D1 competition and Zach Hartman with 86 Fpts. One of the only two redshirts to make any of the three All-Fantasy teams comes from the University of Maryland with Jaxon Smith. Even though he had six losses on the season, one being by Injury Default (-6 Fpts), he was able to finish as the #25 overall Fantasy Wrestler. No member of this roster found themselves in the national finals this year. The highest placing wrestler of the Second Team was Parker Keckeisen, who finished 3rd, followed by Grant Willits, who took home 4th. And finally… that's right, folks. It wasn't Gable Steveson, it wasn't Anthony Cassioppi, it wasn't Mason Parris or Greg Kerkvliet, or National Finalist Cohlton Schultz. The second-highest scoring heavyweight was Grady Greiss from Navy, who powered his way through six tournaments and two dual meets to make the Second Team. Zach Hartman is the only wrestler in this lineup without eligibility left. Third Team All Fantasy Wrestling 125- Caleb Smith (APP) 63 Fpts 133- Joshua Koderhandt (NAVY) 75 Fpts 141- Clay Carlson (SDSU) 82 Fpts 149- Alex Madrigal (GMU) 66 Fpts 157- Andrew Cerniglia (NAVY) 80 Fpts 165- Keegan O'Toole (MIZZ) 79 Fpts 174- Mekhi Lewis (VT) 68 Fpts 184- Trent Hidlay (NCST) 69 Fpts 197- Cameron Caffey (MSU) 67 Fpts 285- Jordan Wood (LEH) 67 Fpts Floater 1- Joey Milano (NCST) 68 Fpts [@ 184] Floater 2- Jonathan Loew (COR) 66 Fpts [@ 184] Totaling an even 850 Fpts, the 2023 All-Fantasy Third Team ended up having more National Finalists than The Second Team and tying the First Team with two. 2021 Season Top 141 wrestler Clay Carlson leads this pack with 82 Fpts and only four wrestlers had more than 70 Fpts this season. The only starter to not qualify and make an All-Fantasy team, unfortunately, fell to Alex Madrigal. Due to an unfortunate injury during the semifinals of the MAC Championships in a match, he was winning and would have secured his berth to the National Tournament, if not for the lack of injury time. Jordan Wood and Alex Madrigal have exhausted their eligibility.

2x NCAA All-American Sammy Sasso(Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Last week, InterMat published an article about the teams with the top returning point scorers heading into the 2022-23 season. Looking at the standings from the 2022 NCAA Championships, we have identified five programs that are likely to exceed their point totals at the 2023 tournament. For some programs, it was because of underperformance in Detroit, while others were missing key components, and others will add talented freshmen. Below are the five teams we've identified, followed by their 2022 NCAA finish, along with the 2022 point total in parentheses. Ohio State 13th (44 points) It seems sort of strange to say about a team that placed four wrestlers on the NCAA podium, but Ohio State has a lot of room for growth in 2022-23. As of now, all four All-Americans (Sammy Sasso, Carson Kharchla, Kaleb Romero, and Gavin Hoffman) are expected back in the Buckeye lineup. It's reasonable to think that the 2021 NCAA runner-up, Sasso, could improve upon his fifth-place finish in Detroit. His two losses at the national tournament account for a quarter of his career defeats. 165 lber, Carson Kharchla, is in a weight where two of the veterans that finished ahead of him (Evan Wick - 3rd and Alex Marinelli - 5th) are done. His losses to Keegan O'Toole, Shane Griffith, and Cam Amine, were generally pretty close, so it's conceivable that he could flip one or all of those results. Kaleb Romero outwrestled his seed by a spot and I think he's capable of finishing a spot or two higher on the podium; however, sixth seems about right for him. The fourth All-American, Gavin Hoffman, severely wrestled above his seed in Detroit, making the NCAA semi's, after receiving the 21st seed. With such parity at 197, this is a finish that may be hard to replicate. That being said, Hoffman was a huge recruit for the Buckeyes and could be starting to find his potential. We'll have to see if he shows more signs of consistency in the early going next year. So, where can Ohio State improve aside from their All-Americans? Well, their 174 lber, Ethan Smith, was an AA in 2021 and lost in the bloodround in sudden victory to Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State). That weight should clear out a bit as three top-five finishers are done (Hayden Hidlay - 3rd, Michael Kemerer - 4th, Logan Massa - 5th). Smith probably starts the year in the top-six or seven. Some new faces could also provide a boost to Ohio State in 2022-23. The top recruit in the Class of 2021, Paddy Gallagher, redshirted last season and amassed a 17-2 record in open competition. Gallagher didn't necessarily have any groundbreaking wins, but with another year in the Buckeye room, he's probably ready to make an impact at 157 lbs, a weight tOSU did not qualify in 2022. Ohio State is also on the brink of inking the top-ranked recruiting class for 2022. Head coach Tom Ryan hasn't hesitated to start true freshmen, so there's a possibility that we see top-five ranked Nic Bouzakis or Jesse Mendez immediately. One of them could slot in nicely at 133 lbs; the other weight Ohio State failed to qualify last year. In addition, veterans like Malik Heinselman, Dylan D'Emilio and Tate Orndorff could continue to improve, as well. Orndorff was on the podium in 2021 and came up a match shy in Detroit. Oklahoma State 14th (38.5 points) Probably the biggest no-brainer on this list is Oklahoma State. The Cowboys suffered a massive loss when national champion AJ Ferrari was in a horrific car accident and was lost for the season. Even a very conservative third-place finish from Ferrari would have put the Cowboys in the top eight in 2022. With a big point-scorer like Daton Fix returning and assuming Ferrari is able to get back to top form, Oklahoma State should blow last season's 14th place showing out of the water. Even after taking Ferrari out of consideration, Oklahoma State was still hampered by injuries. 2021 NCAA fourth-place finisher, Travis Wittlake, didn't even qualify in 2022. If healthy, Wittlake could rack up another high AA finish in Tulsa. Just those three alone could put the Cowboys into NCAA trophy contention; however, a full, injury-free season from Dustin Plott would help too. Plott wrestled up to his sixth seed at 174 lbs, but as we mentioned earlier, there is room to move up on the podium there. Expect Oklahoma State to get a youth infusion, possibly at 149/157/184. While there may be some bumps in the road at those weights, the Cowboys have recruited extremely well in recent years, so they should be manned by talented youngsters. Iowa State 17th (37 points) The dual season was one to remember for Iowa State under head coach Kevin Dresser. The only blemish on the Cyclone's record was an early-season loss to Iowa. They would run the table throughout the rest of the Big 12 season and finished the regular season ranked fourth in the country. Some teams are better suited towards duals, as opposed to tournaments, and ISU was definitely one of those squads. With that being said, they certainly could have improved upon a 17th place finish in Detroit and should do better in Tulsa. Iowa State's biggest point-scorer, David Carr, saw his 55-match winning streak snapped at Little Caesars Arena and wasn't able to go back-to-back at 157 lbs. Carr will still be one of the favorites next year at 157 lbs and could easily add a couple extra points with a finals appearance and/or win. The Cyclones other two AA's, Marcus Coleman and Yonger Bastida, are returning next season. While both outwrestled their NCAA seeds, replicating their finishes isn't out of the question. Coleman showed vast signs of improvement at the outset of the 2021-22 campaign and Bastida just completed his second year of folkstyle competition. Other spots where Iowa State can add points? They'll have a highly-ranked incoming freshman class with a pair of top-20 recruits in Casey Swiderski and Manny Rojas. Maybe one, or both, see action at 141 and 174 lbs, respectively. Both are capable of scoring a few NCAA points in year one. Penn 27th (15.5 points) Some of the teams we're mentioning here are expected to increase their point total because they underperformed in Detroit. Penn isn't one of those teams. A larger point total would be the result of a young, growing team. Barring more transfers nationwide, Penn is the only team, as of now, that can boast ten returning NCAA qualifiers. Of the nine that competed at nationals in 2022, only Anthony Artalona had ever wrestled at the national tournament before. The cancelation of the 2020 tournament, combined with the Ivy League preventing winter sports from competing in 2021, left Penn without NCAA Championship competition for two years. Though EIWA Freshman of the Year CJ Composto was the big point-earner for the Quakers, it took a total team effort to notch 15.5 points. All nine of their qualifiers chipped in with at least one win. With the competition in the room and the talent on the coaching staff and the RTC roster, I'd imagine a few of those qualifiers will add to their NCAA win total in 2023. Aside from the All-American, Composto, a few others could take the leap and make the NCAA podium in 2023. 133 lber Michael Colaiocco, an EIWA champion, was seeded ninth this season, but had the misfortune of running into AA Lucas Byrd (Illinois) in the consi's. That match went into sudden victory. Colaiocco lost and was eliminated, while Byrd continued on to fifth place. Artalona made a run to the bloodround for the second time in his career. His bid for a spot on the podium was stopped by second-seeded Tariq Wilson (NC State). If the Quakers bring back a lineup with all of their 2022 qualifiers, they should be in good shape. That may not be the case, as the Penn staff has done an excellent job of recruiting and they have a talented freshman class enrolling in the fall. Some of the incumbents could either lose their spot or get better as they fend off challenges from the new faces. However it unfolds, I'd expect a strong showing in Tulsa from Penn. South Dakota State 44th (3.5 points) Bluntly speaking, South Dakota State had a rough NCAA tournament. Even though the Jackrabbits only had four national qualifiers, three were seeded in the top-12. Unfortunately, one of their four wrestlers, Clay Carlson at 141 lbs, made it to the bloodround and he ended up losing. Their other top-12 seeds, Cade DeVos (174) and Tanner Sloan (197), went 1-2. The good news is that each is expected back in 2022-23 and can easily improve upon their 2022 tournament. Carlson, a 2021 All-American, had an excellent 2021-22 season and racked up three wins over Minnesota's All-American Jacob Bergeland, among others. He was stopped in the bloodround by Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers). The natural order of 141 lbs should lead to Carlson jumping up in the preseason rankings. The top-three finishers at 141 (along with the #2 seed) are all moving on. At 174, DeVos lost a second-round match to Michael Kemerer (Iowa), which dropped him to face #11 Peyton Mocco (Missouri). Throughout the year, DeVos and Mocco split matches. At nationals, Mocco took the rubber match with a 6-2 win. That match happened because Mocco fell in the opening round to #22 Mason Kauffman (Northern Illinois). At a minimum, you could see DeVos wrestling up to his 12th seed if the tournament happened again or next year. Tanner Sloan lost two matches at nationals, both of which came in sudden victory. Throughout the course of the year, Sloan notched a win over two-time AA Rocky Elam (Missouri) and got to the conference finals in a deep Big 12 weight class. With both the seventh and eighth place finishers moving on, there's room for someone to jump onto the podium. Why can't Sloan be that guy? South Dakota State also has a pair of potential point scorers that didn't qualify for nationals. Tanner Cook (165) is one of the best pinners at any weight. If he gets to nationals, he could get a couple, which is almost as good as having an AA, as far as point scoring goes. Gabe Tagg (133) got a late start with the Jackrabbits, starting after New Year's. With a full year in the room, he could be ready to make a jump.

The Rudis Super Match between J'den Cox and Kyle Snyder (right)(Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 57 KG 2021 world bronze medalist #14 Horst Lehr (GER) won the U-23 European championships over Giorgi Gegelashvili (GEO). Bronze medalists at the U-23 European championships were Tofig Aliyev (AZE) and Edik Harutyunyan (ARM). Vladimir Egorov (MKD) debuts in the rankings at #16 for winning the Senior European championships over U-23 world champion Aliabbas Rzazade (AZE), who returns to the rankings at #17 for tech falling #16 Beka Bujiashvili (GEO) in the semis. Bronze medalists at the Senior European championships were Bujiashvili and Manval Khnzrtsyan (ARM). Aslan Minkailov (RUS) won the North Caucasian Federal District tournament over Nasir Shikhuev (RUS). Bronze medalists were Ibragim Khasiev (RUS) and Shamil Suleymanov (RUS). Artyom Gobaev (RUS) won Junior Russian Nationals over Lev Pavlov (RUS). Bair Bayanduev (RUS) and Imran Khunkerov (RUS) finished bronze at Junior Russian Nationals. Artyom Gobaev (RUS) also won the North Ossetian wrestling championships over Khasan Kusov (RUS) with Tamik Gobozov (RUS) and David Abacharaev (RUS) finishing with bronze. 2020 Russian Nationals bronze medalist #5 Akhmed Idrisov (RUS) teched Artyom Gobaev (RUS) 11-0 in the Dagestan vs. North Ossetia match. Zane Richards (USA) won the Bill Farrell Memorial Invitational over Michael Tortorice (USA) with Nico Provo (USA) taking bronze. 61 KG 2021 world bronze medalist #6 Arsen Harutyunyan (ARM) tech falled 2019 57 KG world runner-up Suleyman Atli (TUR) 15-3 in the European finals for his second title. Bronze medalists at the European championships were #11 Eduard Grigorev (POL) and Georgi Vangelov (BUL). Harutyunyan moves up three spots in the rankings to #3 for beating Grigorev in the semis after Grigorev had upset second ranked Zelimkhan Abakarov (ALB) in the quarterfinals. Grigorev moves up six spots in the rankings to #5 while 2021 Russian Nationals runner-up #7 Muslim Mekhtikhanov (RUS) moves up three spots to #4 for his tech fall win over Grigorev from the 2021 Ali Aliyev. Abakarov, #3 Ravi Kumar (IND) and #4 Gulomyon Abdullaev (UZB) all fell four spots in the rankings to #6, #7, and #8 respectively. Emrah Ormanoglu (TUR) won the U-23 European championships over Khamzat Arsamerzouev (FRA). Bronze medalists at the U-23 European championships were Norik Harutyunyan (ARM) and Ramaz Turmanidze (GEO). #1 Abasgadzhi Magomedov (RUS) teched Alexander Sabanov (RUS) 11-0 in the Dagestan vs. North Ossetia dual meet. Tyler Graff (USA) won the Bill Farrell Memorial Invitational over Daniel DeShazer (USA) with Paul Bianchi (USA) taking bronze. #13 Bashir Magomedov (RUS) won Junior Russian Nationals over Magomed Baitukaev (RUS) with Ramazan Bagavudinov (RUS) and Magomedamin Bekbulatov (RUS) taking bronze. Alexander Sabanov (RUS) won the North Caucasian Federal District tournament over Tamerlan Karaev (RUS) with Alik Dzaurov (RUS) and Gadzhimagomed Gadzhiev (RUS) taking bronze. 65 KG 2019 world bronze medalist #7 Ismail Musukaev (HUN) looked incredible in his gold winning performance at the European championship, tech falling reigning Olympic silver medalist #3 Haji Aliyev (AZE) 12-1 for gold. Musukaev moves up four spots to #3 for his tech fall wins over #3 Aliyev and #8 Islam Dudaev (ALB). Bronze medalists at the European championships were #8 Islam Dudaev (ALB) and Muenir Recep Aktas (TUR). Ziraddin Bayramov (AZE) won the U-23 European championships over Hrachya Margaryan (ARM). Bronze medalists at the U-23 European championships were Hamza Alaca (TUR) and Ayub Musaev (BEL). Evan Henderson (USA) beat Seth Gross at the Rudis Super Match card. Seth Gross (USA) won the Bill Farrell Memorial Invitational over Ian Parker (USA) with Matthew Kolodzik (USA) taking bronze. Cherman Tavitov (RUS) won the North Ossetia wrestling championships over Elbrus Valiev (RUS) with Dzhambul Kizinov (RUS) and Inal Karsanov (RUS) taking bronze. Magomedemi Eltemirov (RUS) won Junior Russian Nationals over Umar Umarov (RUS) with Magomed Labazanov (RUS) and Magomed Tazhudinov (RUS) taking bronze. #10 Ibragim Ibragimov (RUS) beat Dzhambol Kizinov (RUS) in the Dagestan vs. North Ossetia dual meet. 70 KG Giorgi Elbakidze (GEO) won the U-23 European championships over Narek Harutyunyan (ARM). Bronze medalists at the U-23 European championships were Ivan Stoyanov (BUL) and #18 Nicolai Grahmez (MDA). Elbakidze gets into the rankings at #18 for beating Grahmez in the semis of the U-23 European championships. 2021 world bronze medalist #10 Zurab Iakobishvili (GEO) won the Senior European championships over #17 Arman Andreasyan (ARM). Bronze medalists at the Senior European championships were #19 Grahmez and #16 Ramazan Ramazanov (BUL). #3 James Green (USA) and #14 Alec Pantaleo (USA) picked up impressive wins at the Rudis Super Match card, with Green beating two-time world rep #16 Zain Retherford (USA) and Pantaleo beating 2021 65 KG Olympic trials champion Jordan Oliver (USA). Tyler Berger (USA) also picked up a strong domestic victory in the finals of the Bill Farrell Memorial Invitational by beating two time Pan-Am champion Anthony Ashnault (USA) and Elroy Perkin (USA) took bronze. #13 Alan Kudzoev (RUS) has been removed from the rankings as he moved up to 74 KG where he took bronze at the North Ossetian wrestling championships. Kudzoev, a 2019 Junior world bronze medalist, made his rankings debut in February after beating Pantaleo at the Yarygin on his way to a fifth place finish to #11 Ruslan Zhendaev (RUS). Dzhokhar Dzhabaev (RUS) won the North Caucasian Federal District tournament over Akhmed Kasumov (RUS) with Said-Ibragim Elbderdov (RUS) and Mairbek Saidov (RUS) taking bronze. 2021 Junior World bronze medalist Stanislav Svinoboev (RUS) won his second Junior national title with a victory over Zaurbek Bugulov (RUS). Akhmed Zhiletezhev (RUS) and Farhad Atakhanov (RUS) took bronze at Junior Russian Nationals. #8 Kurban Shiraev (RUS) pinned Mohammed Kardanov (RUS) in the Dagestan vs. North Ossetia dual meet. 74 KG #3 Taimuraz Salkazanov (SVK) won his second European title in stunning fashion with a pushout in the final second to beat #4 Frank Chamizo (ITA) 7-5. Bronze medalists at the European championships were Turan Bayramov (AZE) and Giorgi Sulava (GEO). 2021 70 KG Junior world runner-up #20 Dzhabrail Gadzhiev (AZE) won the U-23 European championships over Krisztian Biro (ROU) with Ismet Ciftci (TUR) and Vasile Diacon (MDA) taking bronze. Two-time Russian Nationals champion #7 Magomed Kurbanaliev (RUS) has been removed from the rankings due to injury. Josh Shields (USA) beat Joey LaVallee (USA) in the finals of the Bill Farrell Memorial Invitational with Collin Purinton (USA) taking bronze. Top-ranked Zaurbek Sidakov (RUS) won the North Ossetia wrestling championships with an electric win over Yarygin champion #6 Cherman Valiev (RUS). Bronze medalists were Alan Kudzoev (RUS) and Robert Dzugaev (RUS). 2020 Russian Nationals champion Razambek Zhamalov (RUS) made his return to competition after a year-long lay off to recover from a shoulder and knee injury. Zhamalov slots back in at #5 after injury defaulting out of the North Caucasian Federal District finals to #16 Mohamad Nasirkhaev (RUS). Bronze medalists at the North Caucasian Federal District tournament were #14 Magomedrasul Asluev (RUS) and Khalid Elberdiev (RUS). Kamil Abdulvagabov (RUS) won Junior Russian Nationals over Anton Suchkov (RUS) with Ibragim Kadiev (RUS) and Albik Petrosyan (RUS) taking bronze. Magomed Abdulkadyrov (RUS) beat Alan Kudzoev (RUS) 6-6 in the Dagestan vs. North Ossetia dual meet. 79 KG #3 Radik Valiev (RUS) and #5 Gadzhi Nabiev (RUS) both moved up to 86 KG where Valiev won the North Ossetia wrestling championships and Nabiev won the North Caucasian Federal District tournament. Valiev and Nabiev have been removed from the rankings. Georgios Kougiomtsidis (GRE) won the U-23 and Senior European championships to earn himself the #19 spot in the rankings. Kougiomtsidis won the U-23 European championships over Evshem Shvelidze (GEO) and the Senior European championships over Ashraf Ashirov (AZE). Bronze medalists at the U-23 European championships were Abdulvasi Balta (TUR) and Ashirov). Bronze medalists at the Senior European championships were Muhammet Akdeniz (TUR) and Vladimeri Gamkrelidze (GEO). #20 Akhmad Shakhbanov (RUS) won the North Caucasian Federal District tournament by injury default over #11 Amanulla Gadzhimagomedov (RUS). Bronze medalists were Yusup-Khadzhi Aidaev (RUS) and Begkhan Misrikhanov (RUS). #8 Magomed Magomaev (RUS) teched Alik Badtiev (RUS) in the Dagestan vs. North Ossetia dual meet. Arseny Dzhioev (RUS) won Junior Russian Nationals over Magomedgadzhi Daitbekov (RUS) with Kadir Saipudinov (RUS) and Arsen Balayan (RUS) taking bronze. #5 Alex Dieringer (USA) and David McFadden (USA) picked up wins at the Rudis Super Match card beating the likes of Isaiah Martinez (USA) and Mitch Finesilver (ISR) respectively. #18 Chance Marsteller (USA) won the Bill Farrell Memorial Invitational over Tommy Gantt (USA) with Quentin Perez (USA) taking bronze. 86 KG 2021 Olympic bronze medalist #16 Myles Amine (SMR) won the European championships over U-23 European champion #20 Abubakar Abakarov (AZE). Bronze medalists at the European championships were Sebastian Jezierzanski (POL) and #18 Osman Gocen (TUR). Abakarov won the U-23 European championships over Lilian Balan (MDA). Bronze medalists at the U-23 European championships were Bagrati Gagnidze (GEO) and Emre Ciftci (TUR). 79 KG Yarygin champion #3 (79) Radik Valiev (RUS) won the North Ossetia championships over Slavik Naniev (RUS). Bronze medalists were Aslan Khapsaev (RUS) and Azamat Khadzaragov (RUS). #5 (79) Gadzhi Nabiev (RUS) won the North Caucasian Federal District tournament over Slavik Naniev (RUS). Bronze medalists were Magomed Murtazaliev (RUS) and Magomedmurad Dadaev (RUS). Mustafagadzhi Malachdibirov (RUS) won Junior Russian nationals over Timur Kotaev (RUS). Bronze medalists were Magomed Nurov (RUS) and Vitaly Tuskaev (RUS). Mark Hall (USA) beat Myles Martin (USA) on the Rudis Super Match card. Myles Martin (USA) won the Bill Farrell Memorial Invitational over Owen Webster (USA). Dylan Lydy (USA) took bronze over Andrew Morgan (USA). Shamil Magomedov (RUS) beat Slavik Naniev (RUS) in the Dagestan vs. North Ossetia matchup. 92 KG #16 Feyzullah Akturk (TUR) made a major statement in March, winning both the U-23 and Senior European championships to propel himself to #5 in the rankings. Akturk's best win this month came over Dan Kolov runner-up #7 Akhmed Bataev (BUL) in the Senior European finals to go along with the gold he earned earlier at the U-23 European championships over Joshua Morodion (GER). Bronze medalists at the Senior European championships were #8 Osman Nurmagomedov (AZE) and #18 Miriani Maisuradze (GEO). Bronze medalists at the U-23 European championships were Illia Hristov (BUL) and Daviti Koguashvili (GEO). #4 Vladislav Valiev (RUS) won the North Caucasian Federal District tournament over Muslim Magomedov (RUS). Bronze medalists were Adam Anzorov (RUS) and Khabib Gadzhiev (RUS). #15 Alan Bagaev (RUS) beat Ashkaab Sadulaev (RUS) in the Dagestan vs. North Ossetia match. Nick Reenan (USA) won the Bill Farrell Memorial Invitational by default. Magomed Sharipov (RUS) won Junior Russian Nationals over Alan Pliev (RUS). Bronze medalists at Junior Russian Nationals were Ivan Kirillov (RUS) and Igor Belskikh (RUS). 97 KG Athletes removed from the rankings this month were 2021 Olympic bronze medalist #4 Abraham Conyedo Ruano (ITA) and 2019 world silver medalist #5 Sharif Sharifov (AZE). Conyedo Ruano has been removed from the rankings as he moved up to 125 KG where he took 5th at the European championships. Sharifov has been removed from the rankings due to a shoulder injury. #19 Magomedkhan Magomedov (AZE) won the European championships over #11 Vladislav Baitsaev (HUN). Bronze medalists at the European championships were #10 Elizbar Odikadze (GEO) and Zbigniew Baranowski (POL). Magomedov moves up eleven spots in the rankings to #8 for his wins over #11 Baitsaev and #10 Odikadze. Islam Ilyasov (AZE) won the U-23 European championships over Johannes Mayer (GER). Bronze medalists at the U-23 European championships were Richard Vegh (HUN) and Radu Lefter (MDA). Georgi Gogaev (RUS) won the North Ossetian championships over Arsamag Zaseev (RUS). Bronze medalists were Arsen Alborov (RUS) and Tamerlan Kotsoev (RUS). Abdulla Kurbanov (RUS) beat Akhmed Tazhudinov (RUS) to win the Russian Junior Nationals. Bronze medalists were #16 Erik Dzhioev (RUS) and Irbek Tavgazov (RUS). Kurbanov debuts in the senior rankings at #16 for winning Junior Nationals over 2020 Senior Russian Nationals bronze medalists #16 Erik Dzhioev (RUS). Artem Tskharebov (RUS) won the North Caucasian Federal District tournament over Akhmed Tazhudinov (RUS). Zhorik Dzhioev (RUS) and Tamik Dzhikaev (RUS) finished bronze at the North Caucasian Federal District tournament. Shamil Imam Gadzhialiyev lost to #7 (125) Sergey Kozyrev (RUS) at the Dagestan vs. North Ossetia dual meet. #2 Kyle Snyder (USA) beat two-time 92 KG world champion #18 J'den Cox (USA) in two matches in the headlining match from the Rudis Super Match card. Cox takes the #11 spot in the rankings while Snyder holds down the #2 spot. Kollin Moore (USA) beat Nate Jackson (USA) 4-4 at the Rudis Super Match. Michael Macchiavello (USA) won the Bill Farrell Memorial Invitational over Joe Rau (USA). Morgan Smith (USA) took bronze. 125 KG World bronze medalist #3 Taha Akgul (TUR) won his ninth European title over 2021 world silver medalist #2 Geno Petriashvili (GEO). Akgul moves up one spot in the rankings to #2. Bronze medalists at the European championships were Daniel Ligeti (HUN) and Robert Baran (POL). Solomon Manashvili (GEO) won the U-23 European championships title over Milan Korcsog (HUN). Bronze medalists at the U-23 European championships were Aydin Ahmadov (AZE) and Adil Misirici (TUR). Artem Pukhovsky (RUS) won Junior Russian Nationals over Aslan Abakarov (RUS). Bronze medalists were Ilya Zhibalov (RUS) and Nikolai Gorbunov (RUS). Tamerlan Rasuev (RUS) won the North Caucasian Federal District tournament over Soslan Khinchagov (RUS). Bronze medalists were Gamzat Alizhudinov (RUS) and Magomed Tagirov (RUS). Hayden Zillmer (USA) won the Bill Farrell Memorial invitational over Dom Bradley (USA). 2021 Olympic rep #7 Sergey Kozyrev (RUS) competed down at 97 KG for the Dagestan vs. Alania dual meet where he beat 2021 U-23 world rep Shamil Imam Gadzhialiev. Kozyrev stays ranked at 125 KG until he has another competition at 97 KG. Amarveer Dhesi (CAN) beat Derek White (USA) on the Rudis Super Match card. Pound for Pound 2020 74 KG Individual World Cup champion Razambek Zhamalov (RUS) is back into the pound-for-pound rankings at #14 after returning from a year long lay off. Zhamalov's last results were a 5th place finish at the European championships were he lost to #10 Taimuraz Salkazanov (SVK) and #11 Frank Chamizo (ITA). Zhamalov has career wins over #6 Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov (BLR), #10 Taimuraz Salkazanov (SVK), #11 Frank Chamizo (ITA), #15 Cherman Valiev (RUS), #16 Timur Bizhoev (RUS), and #17 Magomedrasul Gazimagomedov (RUS). 2019 world bronze medalist Ismail Musukaev (HUN) returns to the pound-for-pound rankings at #14 after winning the 65 KG European title over 2021 Olympic runner-up #18 Haji Aliyev (AZE). Musukaev also holds a win over 2021 Olympic champion #4 Takuto Otoguro (JPN) from the 2019 world championships bronze medal match.

2022 CIF State Champion MJ Gaitan (Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) As we enter April, we are coming down the home stretch for recruiting in the Class of 2022. Many of the top recruits have been spoken for; however, there are some excellent prospects still on the market, looking for a home. Additionally, many coaches have already turned their attention toward the Class of 2023 and there are plenty of verbals from that group. Below are some of the notable wrestlers that have given commitments within the last week. There is a mix of juniors and seniors in the group. (Navy) Dylan Elmore - St. Thomas Aquinas, KS The Naval Academy got a major commitment from the Class of 2023 as two-time Kansas state finalist and one-time champion, Dylan Elmore, pledged to Cary Kolat's team. Elmore is currently ranked #119 on the Junior Big Board. His state title came this year at 160 lbs in Kansas' 5A bracket. Before his junior season, Elmore finished in eighth place in Fargo at the Junior freestyle tournament. He also was fourth in Greco-Roman at UWW Cadets. Recently, Dylan was an NHSCA Junior National runner-up at 160 lbs. Elmore projects at 165/174 for Navy. (Iowa State) MJ Gaitan - Temecula Valley, CA Earlier this year, MJ Gaitan committed to stay in-state and compete for Cal Baptist. Later he reopened the recruiting process and landed at Iowa State. The prior week, Gaitain's high school teammate, Ethan Perryman, committed to the Cyclones, as well. Gaitan recently capped his high school career off with a California state title at 160 lbs. In MatScouts recent rankings update, Gaitan ascended to the top spot in the nation at the weight. Within the last year, Gaitan has won a Junior National Greco-Roman title in Fargo, the Super 32, and the Doc Buchanan. He should be in the mix at 165 or 174 lbs for the Cyclones. 165 is especially useful, considering it was the only weight in which Iowa State did not qualify for nationals in 2022. (Chattanooga) Sergio Desiante - Tampa Jesuit, FL Chattanooga kept a top-200 stud in the south as they got a verbal commitment from Sergio Desiante. Sergio was a part of a strong senior nucleus that led Jesuit to its first Florida Individual State title. He chipped in with a title at 195 lbs. It was Desiante's first title after progressing a step higher on the podium in each of his four years of high school. Desiante has placed twice at the NHSCA grade-level tournament during his career. He was fifth as a freshman and senior his junior year. Sergio also was a winner at the Knockout Classic this year. Desiante could be the successor for Matthew Waddell at 197 lbs for the Mocs. Waddell was a SoCon champion this year at that weight, after qualifying for nationals twice at 184 lbs. There hasn't been a public announcement regarding Waddell's status for the 2022-23 season. (Oregon State) DJ Gillett - Crescent Valley, OR The Oregon State staff got their Class of 2023 off to a great start by keeping one of their best local products at home with DJ Gillett. Gillett is already a three-time Oregon state champion and has good credentials outside of his home state. During the high school season, Gillette was fifth at the Doc Buchanan and sixth at the Reno Tournament of Champions. Gillette's best finishes in the international styles have come in Greco, as he was third in 16U in Fargo in 2019 and fifth at UWW Cadet's last year. He likely slots in at either 141 or 149 for the Beavers. As of now, 141 looks a bit crowded with a handful of incoming freshmen; however, 149 looks like more of a long-term need. (North Dakota State) Damian Mendez - Dodge City, KS NHSCA Senior National Champion is a great addition to an already strong Class of 2022 for the North Dakota State Bison. Mendez is a four-time Kansas state finalist and three-time champion. In each of the last two years, he's won a 6A state title at 132 lbs. Last year, Mendez placed at the NHSCA grade-level tournament, when he took fourth place at 126 in the Junior tournament. Mendez projects at either of the first two weights. Neither is a pressing need, so he could have the opportunity to redshirt during his first year in Fargo. Mendez has a successful past in that town, as he placed seventh in both styles at the 16U level in 2019.

Ursinus College (Photo courtesy of Ursinus athletics) This afternoon, Ursinus College in Collegeville, PA announced that they were starting a women's wrestling program. Ursinus competes at the DIII level and is the eighth school in Pennsylvania to sponsor women's wrestling. The program will reportedly begin competition in the Fall of 2022 and hire a head coach for the women's program. Ursinus is no stranger to women wrestling in college. Two women were on the Bears roster for the 2021-22 season. One of them, Sydney Bowman, went 5-1 competing in exhibition matches last season. With Ursinus' addition, there are now 114 intercollegiate women's wrestling programs in the United States. Here's more information on the Ursinus announcement.

Stanford head coach Rob Koll (left) with Vincenzo Joseph (Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) With the conclusion of the 2022 NCAA Championships, we move onto one of the staples of the college offseason, the coaching carousel. Before it ramps up in 2022, we've decided to look back and evaluate the first seasons of the DI head coaches from the last cycle of the carousel. 2021-22 saw six DI head coaches take over new programs. There was a wide range of schools that had new hires, from top-ten programs to ones seeking their first DI qualifiers, so success has to be measured on different scales. Here are the coaches/schools, along with a recap of different parts of their programs. Their standout wrestlers, team results, recruits, and assistant coaching staff. Jason Borrelli - American Dual Record: 1-12 The team captured the first win of the Borrelli-era when they downed Duke 22-18 on December 5th. Early in the season, AU lost close matches against Sacred Heart (17-16) and George Mason (20-16). The Eagles finished 15th at the 2022 EIWA Championships with 25.5 team points. They were led by 133 lber Jack Maida, who finished fourth. Maida wrestled progressively better as the year progressed and finished 17-10. The true freshman established himself as a building block for AU going forward. Along with Maida, Max Leete (125), Patrick Ryan (141), and Timothy Fitzpatrick (174) finished with winning records. In his first year of collegiate competition, Isaac Righter (285) was just a match under .500 at 16-17. Unfortunately, the Eagles did not have a national qualifier in 2022. Borrelli assembled a coaching staff that included one of his assistants from Stanford, Alex Tirapelle, as the Associate Head Coach. Virginia Tech's multiple-time All-American Joey Dance came over from his last coaching stint at Davidson. The only holdover from the previous staff was Ganbayar Sanjaa, who stayed on as a volunteer assistant. American was very young in 2021-22, with only three seniors on their roster, so expect the team to improve significantly with another full year around Borrelli and his staff. Ned Shuck - Bellarmine Dual Record: 2-15 During his opening weekend as head coach for Bellarmine, Ned Shuck picked up a 19-18 win over SIU Edwardsville. He would add a second, by the same score, late in the regular season over Presbyterian. The Knights are transitioning from DII to DI status, so they are currently ineligible for postseason action. Had they been able to compete, there's a good chance they could have finished ahead of multiple SoCon teams. In conference dual-action, Shuck's team defeated Presbyterian and was very competitive against Davidson and Gardner-Webb. Bellarmine proved to be solid in the middleweights as Cole Nance (157), Devan Hendricks (165), and Eric Beck (174) all finished the year with winning records. Since Bellarmine is undergoing an athletic department-wide transition to DI, they will not be eligible to compete in the postseason until 2024-25. Until then, Shuck can slowly mold the program into his own image. An under-the-radar recruiter at his previous stop (Army West Point), Shuck will likely find some overlooked diamonds in the rough to be a part of his foundation at Bellarmine. The Knights staff already has a few commitments rolling in for the fall of 2022. Assisting Shuck in the 2021-22 season with Brendan Murphy, who previously assisted and helped make McKendree into a consistent threat at the DII level. Mike Grey - Cornell Dual Record: 12-3 Unlike most on this list, Mike Grey was a familiar face that took over the reins of his alma mater in 2021-22. A two-time All-American and 2011 Cornell grad, Grey was on the Big Red staff in one capacity or another since he finished competing. Cornell didn't appear to miss a beat in Grey's first year at the helm. His team defeated an upstart Penn squad at the EIWA Championships (153-143) to regain the conference title for the first time since 2017. At nationals, three All-Americans helped pace Cornell to a seventh-place finish. Yianni Diakomihalis claimed his third NCAA title, becoming only the second Cornell wrestler to achieve the feat, and extended his winning streak to 75 straight matches. His title gives Grey his first as a head coach, not a bad box to check off in year one. Vito Arujau and Jonathan Loew also made the podium for Cornell. Nine of the ten Cornell starters qualified for Detroit and two others were within a match of All-American status. Cornell's dual season was highlighted by a win over a top-ten program in Virginia Tech, along with a perfect Ivy League record. When the Big Red was last in action, they were stopped by Princeton, who claimed Ivy supremacy. That wasn't the case in 2021-22 as Grey's team downed Princeton 21-12. Grey's coaching debut came against his mentor and former Cornell head coach, Rob Koll, who moved on to Stanford. The understudy, Grey, led his team to a 30-9 victory. The staff that Grey assembled in his first year was quite impressive. He picked up Donnie Vinson (NC State) and Kellen Russell (Michigan) from the staff's of top-ten teams and offered two-time world medalist Nick Gwiazdowski his first coaching position. Cornell has always been a force on the recruiting trail under Koll and that doesn't show any signs of changing under Grey. Three top-100 recruits have signed on for 2022 (Erik Gibson, Aiden Hanning, Ashton Davis), while another has already committed (Simon Ruiz) for 2023. The Big Red will be imposing again in 2022-23 as they return 52 team points from the 2022 NCAA Championships, a figure only surpassed by Penn State and Arizona State. Mike Poeta - Illinois Dual Record: 3-7 The coaching carousel during the offseason of 2021 got off to a surprising start last year as longtime Illinois head coach Jim Heffernan stepped down. While some big names were bandied about from outside of the program, it was Poeta who was elevated to the head coaching position. Poeta got his first two wins of the year when his team downed Chattanooga and SIU Edwardsville in his dual debut. The Illini struggled during the Big Ten season, winning only one of their eight conference duals. The only victory for Poeta's team was a 36-3 drubbing over Indiana. Illinois finished in 11th place in the Big Ten after putting up 34.5 team points. Four wrestlers qualified for NCAA's automatically. In Detroit, 133 lber Lucas Byrd got on the podium as he took fifth for a second consecutive year. Zac Braunagel finished the year a match shy of placing, but ultimately had a good postseason. He was third in a Big Ten weight class that had 14 national qualifiers and was seeded ninth at 184 lbs. Longtime Illini assistant coach, Jeremy Hunter, stayed on staff and was joined by Penn State 3x national champion Ed Ruth. Bryan Medlin continued in his role as Director of Operations. The wrap on Illinois has long been “if they can only keep the best kids home.” That obviously is a priority for Poeta, who has gotten early commitments from a pair of top-100 juniors (William Baysingar and Kannon Webster). Poeta's squad will feature most of the same key players from 2021-22, as only Dylan Duncan (141) and Christian Kanzler (149) are expected to leave. Transfers Kevon Davenport (149) and Edmond Ruth (174) could provide a boost. Younger brother of assistant coach Ed, Edmond won the Clarion Open and MatMen open, defeating three national qualifiers, while competing completely unattached. Zach Sheaffer - Presbyterian Dual Record: 1-9 The Presbyterian program has been a bit of an enigma ever since its inception prior to the 2019-20. Head coach Zach Sheaffer got a late start, as he was hired significantly later in the game, than the rest of the coaches on this list. Therefore, he wasn't able to get much recruiting done for the Class of 2021 Sheaffer got his first win as a head coach in Presbyterian's second dual of the year, over NAIA Truett McConnell, 37-7. The Blue Hose narrowly lost to SoCon rival Bellarmine and put up a solid fight against Davidson and VMI. Sheaffer's inaugural year as head coach was disrupted for almost a full month, from late-December to January, as events were postponed or canceled due to Covid-related precautions. Presbyterian is a program that is still seeking its first national qualifier heading into the 2022-23 campaign. True freshman David Bertrand is the only starter that finished with a winning record, as he was 15-13, at 184 lbs. Shaeffer brought in Brian Vutianitis from Coker University to handle assistant coaching duties. The first-year staff seems to have hit the recruiting trail and it has paid off with quality early commitments from Ryan Luna (CA) and Ty Chittum (VA). They'll need to continue to improve the level of recruiting as they aim for qualifiers. Rob Koll - Stanford Dual Record: 5-4 The most shocking move of the last offseason was seeing Rob Koll move out west to take over the team at Stanford. After the Cardinal program was saved, getting a coach of Koll's caliber was a sign of things to come in the future. Koll's new team didn't back down from competition as they faced Oklahoma State and Cornell in the first month of the regular season. The Cardinal finished third in a resurgent Pac-12 Conference with 97 points and then jumped into the top-20 at Nationals with 31.5 points. Shane Griffith got back to the NCAA finals, before falling to Keegan O'Toole (165 lbs). Real Woods made the NCAA podium for the first time when he took sixth at 141 lbs. Unfortunately, Stanford will be without Woods' services going forward, as he announced over the weekend that he was graduating and transferring to Iowa. Three other Stanford wrestlers qualified for nationals (Logan Ashton - 125, Jaden Abas - 149, and Tyler Eischens - 174) and each is expected back in 2022-23. Koll assembled a strong staff of his own when he moved out to Palo Alto. Enock Francois, Vincenzo Joseph, and Grant Leeth rounded out the coaching ranks for the Cardinal. In addition, Tyler Berger and Quentin Perez are training with the California RTC. As one may expect, recruiting has ramped up with Koll at the helm. A pair of top-25 recruits, Daniel Cardenas and Hunter Garvin, headline the Class of 2022 for Stanford. While those are the most prominent names, the group this year is deep and talented. Stanford already has a top-50 recruit from 2023 in the fold with Zach Hanson. Despite the loss of Woods, a pair of All-Americans will lead Stanford into 2022-23 and they will continue to improve as they get top recruits.

Bill Ferrell Memorial International 79kg champion Chance Marsteller (Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Bill Farrell Memorial International Men's Freestyle (Round Robin) 57 kg 1st) Zane Richards (TMWC/Illinois RTC) 2nd) Michael Tortorice (Knights RTC) 3rd) Nico Provo (California RTC) 4th) Greg Diakomihalis (TMWC/Spartan Combat) 61 kg 1st) Tyler Graff (TMWC/NJRTC) over Daniel DeShazer (Gopher WC) Fall 1:41 3rd) Paul Bianchi (Arkansas RTC) over Josh Kramer (Sunkist Kids WC) 18-16 65 kg 1st) Seth Gross (Sunkist Kids) over Ian Parker (Cyclone RTC) 12-5 3rd) Matt Kolodzik (NYAC) over Vince Cornella (TMWC/Spartan Combat) 11-0 70 kg 1st) Tyler Berger (TMWC/California RTC) over Anthony Ashnault (NYAC) 6-6 3rd) Elroy Perkin (TMWC) over Evan Yant (Panther WC) 10-0 74 kg 1st) Josh Shields (Sunkist Kids WC) over Joey Lavallee (TMWC/LVWC) 5-2 3rd) Collin Purinton (Sunkist Kids WC) over Dillon Williams (Canada) 11-0 79 kg 1st) Chance Marsteller (TMWC/Annapolis RTC) over Tommy Gantt (TMWC/Wolfpack WC) 6-0 3rd) Quentin Perez (California RTC) over Jared Krattiger (Gopher WC) 11-4 86 kg 1st) Myles Martin (TMWC/Scarlet Knights WC) over Owen Webster (Gopher WC) 14-3 3rd) Dylan Lydy (Indiana RTC) over Andrew Morgan (TMWC/Spartan Combat) 11-2 92 kg 1st) Nick Reenan (TMWC/Wolfpack WC) 97 kg (Round Robin) 1st) Michael Macchiavello (TMWC/Wolfpack WC) 2nd) Joe Rau (TMWC) 3rd) Morgan Smith (TMWC/Ohio RTC) 4th) Nishan Randhawa (Panther WC) 125 kg (Round Robin) 1st) Hayden Zillmer (Gopher WC) 2nd) Dom Bradley (Sunkist Kids WC) 3rd) Ceron Francisco (TMWC/NLWC) 4th) Derek White (TMWC)

3x NCAA All-American and 2022 NCAA finalist Jacob Warner (right) (Photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Last week, we dove into the team scores from the 2022 NCAA Championships and found the top-25 teams with returning point scorers. Noticeably low on the list was Iowa, who was in 16th place as only 29.5 team points were returning in 2022-23. A drop-off was expected from a team that lost five wrestlers that earned All-American multiple times in their careers. Of course, that exercise did not include Spencer Lee at 125 lbs, who would have been a title favorite if anywhere close to healthy. Another wrestler that was not mentioned was Real Woods at 141 lbs. Just yesterday, Woods announced he was headed to Iowa City as a graduate transfer from Stanford. With Woods' addition, what could an Iowa lineup look like in 2022-23? Is his addition enough to vault the Hawkeyes back into title contention and threaten Penn State? 125: Spencer Lee/Jesse Ybarra As stated above. If Lee is anywhere near close to 100%, the rest of the 125 lb field should be on notice. He has earned bonus points in just under 80% of his collegiate bouts and has a pair of Hodge Trophy's to show for it. I'm sure the Iowa coaching staff will use caution with Lee, so expect to see some does of Jesse Ybarra mixed in, whether to start the season or to spell him along the way. If Lee is back, Iowa should be able to let Drake Ayala redshirt. 133: Cullan Schriever While losing Austin DeSanto will hurt, having Cullan Schriever waiting in the wings makes it less painful. Schriever went 15-5 with wins over three NCAA qualifiers and was fourth at the Southern Scuffle. He saw action in two duals, losing decisions to All-Americans Lucas Byrd (Illinois) and Chris Cannon (Northwestern). With another year in the Hawkeye room, Schriever may be able to reverse one of those decisions and challenge for a spot on the podium. 141: Real Woods The top three finishers at the 2022 NCAA Championships at this weight class used the remainder of their eligibility this season. That means Woods is the third-highest returning placewinner. One of those that finished above him, Grant Willits (Oregon State), has a 2-4 record against the new Hawkeye. However preseason rankings shake out, Woods should be on the shortlist of potential title contenders. 149/157: Max Murin/Wyatt Henson/Bretli Reyna/Caleb Rathjen/Sebastian Robles/Cobe Siebrecht So before Woods' transfer was made public, Wyatt Henson was penciled in as a possible successor to Jaydin Eierman at 141. With an 18-2 record and a fifth-place finish at the Southern Scuffle under his belt, as a true freshman, it's easy to see why. Now with Woods in the fold, does Henson fight it out at 141 or bump up. The incumbent at 149 is Max Murin, who has now finished in the NCAA Round of 12 on three occasions. At this point, there's no reason to believe Murin would move up to 157 lbs, but with seven months until the start of the season, he should have ample time to build himself up, if that's in the cards. Otherwise, he should be in the AA mix in a 149 lb weight class that features a possibility of seven returning podium finishers. At this time, there is no clear-cut solution at 157 lbs. Reyna, Rathjen, and Siebrecht are all talented 149's who may use this as an opportunity to jump into the lineup. Sebastian Robles was at 157 last season and went 11-5, but didn't see any action in duals. In today's new era of the transfer portal and almost a form of free agency in college sports, maybe Iowa lands a transfer here. 165: Patrick Kennedy Losing a leader like Alex Marinelli is never good, but having Patrick Kennedy waiting to take over is a good problem to have. Kennedy was a massive recruit for Iowa and should be ready to step in and challenge for a spot on the podium immediately. Last season, Kennedy went 17-3, with two of his three losses coming to AA's Marinelli and Peyton Hall (West Virginia). The Marinelli loss was via a single point and Hall's came in sudden victory. Along the way, Kennedy downed four eventual national qualifiers. 174: Nelson Brands With Michael Kemerer out for the first half of the year, Nelson Brands helped fill in this year and went 5-1. Brands has past NCAA experience in 2021, as he took one for the team and moved up to 184. 174 looks like the suitable weight for Brands, so expect him to be ranked conservatively at the beginning of the year, yet move up quickly. 184: Abe Assad After the top-tier of competition at 184, the rest of the weight class looked up for grabs in Detroit. It wouldn't have been shocking to see someone like the 18th seeded Abe Assad walk away with All-American honor or go 1-2. Unfortunately for the Hawkeyes, it was the latter and Assad left empty-handed. That doesn't mean Assad won't be a podium contender in 2022-23. He likely will. 197: Jacob Warner One of the few known commodities in the Iowa lineup next year is the three-time All-American Jacob Warner. Warner was the lone national finalist for the Hawkeyes and did so from the #6 seed. He's been the model of consistency for Iowa, three times earning a #5 seed, before last year's performance. Like 184, there is a lot of parity at this weight, so getting back to the title bout is not a given. 285: Tony Cassioppi We're operating under the assumption that Gable Steveson (Minnesota) will not return in 2022-23, which leaves 285 lbs wide open. Though he finished seventh last year, Cassioppi has beaten many of the major players at this weight, multiple times (Cohlton Schultz x2, Greg Kerkvliet x3). His biggest hurdle is Mason Parris (Michigan), as he's 0-3 career against the Wolverine star. Once again, Cassioppi is a good ace-in-hole to have closing out dual meet and it's hard to see him not having a high finish at nationals. In last week's returning point-scorers article, the Hawkeyes had a total of 29.5 returning points. If we throw 20 (conservatively) in there for Spencer Lee and give them Real Woods' 12.5 he compiled while taking sixth place, they are all the way up to 62 points. That would have put them 10 points ahead of Cornell for fourth place and just 2.5 points behind Arizona State. I'll go under the assumption that Schriever, Kennedy, and Brands, should push them ahead of the Sun Devils. The 2022-23 season already is interesting.

2022 NCAA All-American Real Woods (Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Yesterday, 2022 NCAA All-American Real Woods' name appeared in the transfer portal. Today, Woods announced that he will use his two remaining years of eligibility and transfer to Iowa. Woods amassed a 42-8 career record across three years at Stanford. This season he went 17-4 and finished sixth in the nation at 141 lbs. Woods entered the tournament as the fourth seed after capturing his second career Pac-12 Championship. Iowa has a need at 141 lbs as four-time All-American Jaydin Eierman exhausted his eligibility in 2021-22. Eierman is one of five All-Americans that will leave the Hawkeyes this year. Adding Woods to the mix will help Iowa jump back into NCAA trophy contention next season. When Stanford announced they were dropping their wrestling program, in the spring of 2020, Woods loaded up his schedule academically so he could graduate in four years. He will move on to Iowa as a graduate student. With the top three NCAA finishers at 141 lbs this year finishing their eligibility, Woods will be one of the top contenders for a national title. He immediately jumped on the scene for the Cardinal in 2019-20, with a regular season that saw him win 17 of 18 matches, before cruising to a Pac-12 title. Woods was supposed to be the third seed at the 2020 tournament that never happened. He was named a first-time All-American by the NWCA. The changing scope of the NCAA landscape indicates that Woods' move to Iowa will not be the only prominent transfer amongst the current power programs.

59 kg Bill Farrell champion Xochitl Mota-Pettis (Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Womens Freestyle Results 50 kg (Round Robin) 1st) Emily Shilson (TMWC) 2nd) Katie Dutchak (Canada) 3rd) Natalie Reyna-Rodriguez (McKendree Bearcat WC) 4th) Arelys Valles (Grand View WC) 53 kg 1st) Sage Mortimer (TMWC) 55 kg 1st) Alisha Howk (Sunkist Kids WC) over SueAnne Harms (Texas) 15-8 57 kg 1st) Tateum Park (Twin Cities RTC) 59 kg (Round Robin) 1st) Xochitl Mota-Pettis (Rise RTC) 2nd) Ronna Heaton (Sunkist Kids WC) 3rd) Ngao Shoua Whitethorn (Victory School of Wrestling) 4th) Hailey Corona (Utah) 62 kg (Round Robin) 1st) Andrea Schlabach (Grand View WC) 2nd) Sierra Brown Ton (Twin Cities RTC) 3rd) SaVannah Cosme (Sunkist Kids WC) 65 kg (Round Robin) 1st) Nina Makem (Twin Cities RTC) 2nd) Rachel Watters (Iowa) 3rd) Caitlyn Davis (South Carolina) 4th) Alioz Mason (The Factory Wrestling Club) 72 kg 1st) Aury Naylor (Georgia) 76 kg 1st) Precious Bell (TMWC) over Melissa Jacobs (Twin Cities RTC) Fall :37

63 kg Bill Farrell champion Sam Jones (Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Greco Roman Results 55 kg (Round Robin) 1st) Max Nowry (Army WCAP) 2nd) Dalton Duffield (Army WCAP) 3rd) Cole Smith (Army WCAP) 60 kg 1st) Dalton Roberts (Army WCAP) over Ildar Hafizov (Army WCAP) 6-5 3rd) Randon Miranda (Rise RTC) over Max Black (Black Fox Wrestling Academy) 12-5 63 kg 1st) Sam Jones (NYAC) over Jesse Thielke (Army WCAP) 9-0 3rd) Mason Carzino-Hartshorn (CYC - Concord) over Aidan Nutter (NMU) 5-1 67 kg 1st) Alex Sancho (Army WCAP) over Hayden Tuma (Army WCAP) Fall 2:31 3rd) Lenny Merkin (NYAC) over Calvin Germinaro (Minnesota Storm) 17-9 72 kg 1st) Patrick Smith (Minnesota Storm) over Orlando Ponce (Minnesota Storm) 8-0 3rd) Robert Perez III (Sunkids) over Garrett Johnson (MWC Wrestling Academy) 9-0 77 kg 1st) RaVaughn Perkins (NYAC) over Jesse Porter (NYAC) 6-0 3rd) Britton Holmes (Army WCAP) over Kamal Bey (Army WCAP) FFT 82 kg 1st) Ben Provisor (NYAC) over Spencer Woods (Army WCAP) 2-1 3rd) Tyler Cunningham (MWC Wrestling Academy) over Ryan Epps (Minnesota Storm) 10-5 87 kg (Round Robin) 1st) Richard Carlson (Minnesota Storm) 2nd) Alan Vera (NYAC) 3rd) Christian DuLaney (Minnesota Storm) 4th) Kodiak Stephens (Ebbetts Pass) 97 kg 1st) Nicholas Boykin (Sunkist Kids WC) over Christian Rouleau (Minnesota Storm) 10-1 3rd) Guy Patron (Dubuque WC) over Tyler Thurston (Iowa) 8-0 130 kg (Round Robin) 1st) Tanner Farmer (NYAC) 2nd) Courtney Freeman (US Marine Corps) 3rd) Kaleb Reeves (Eastern Iowa WC) 4th) Tom Foote (Massachusetts)