InterMat Staff

Yianni Diakomihalis (top) and Ridge Lovett at the 2021 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Photos courtesy of Sam JanickiPhoto.com) The NCAA finals are going down in just a few short hours! Finals matchups were set last night and all of our season-long speculation will get settled. Before the action starts, take a look at the competitors that will do battle on the raised stage at Little Caesars Arena. 125 lbs - #1 Nick Suriano (Michigan) vs. #3 Patrick Glory (Princeton) It's an all-Jersey final as both finalists call New Jersey home. Top-seeded Nick Suriano joined the Wolverines in mid-season and gave them an instant title contender. In his two previous trips to the NCAA Championships, Suriano made the finals both times, coming away with a title in 2019 at 133 lbs. This year he is unbeaten with a 15-0 record. Though he's had a few close matches along the way, Suriano hasn't been in danger of losing, at all. Glory was set to be the second seed at the 2020 NCAA Tournament, but didn't have the opportunity to compete. He returned this year and claimed a title at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and did not lose until the EIWA finals. For the conference title, Glory was almost teched by Vito Arujau (Cornell). For a spot in the finals, Glory won the rubber match between the two and became the first Princeton wrestler to make an NCAA final since Greg Parker in 2002. Previous Meeting: None 133 lbs - #1 Roman Bravo-Young (Oklahoma State) vs. Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) The 133 lb final between Roman Bravo-Young and Daton Fix is the only final that is a rematch of last year's championship. Like 2021, both wrestlers come in with perfect records. Generally, these two have been a class by themselves. Bravo-Young was pushed in the semis by Austin DeSanto (Iowa), yet pulled off a late takedown for the win. They met two other times this season and both were won in a similar fashion. Fix also had a close victory over DeSanto during the regular season. To earn a spot in the finals, Fix had little trouble with Michael McGee (Arizona State) and breezed to a 5-1 win. While both finalists here are dynamic offensively, they also can shut down opponents. I'd expect a bout that follows the blueprint of their 2021 final. One that sees both hesitant to overextend themselves unless there is an obvious opening. Previous Meeting: Bravo-Young: 4-2; 2021 NCAA Finals 141 lbs - #1 Nick Lee (Penn State) vs. #15 Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina) We've got the proverbial Cinderella story with 15th seeded Kizhan Clarke meeting the undefeated, returning champion at this weight, with Nick Lee. Clarke did not automatically qualify out of the ACC and was given the 15th seed. Clarke has been winning tight matches all tournament. His four wins have come with a six-point margin. The UNC law student, Clarke, took out the second-seed, Jaydin Eierman (Iowa), in sudden victory and outlasted ACC-foe, Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh), in a bout decided on riding time criteria. Lee is a perfect 21-0 and is on a 26-match winning streak after suffering a loss in the 2021 Big Ten finals. He wasn't able to separate himself from his semifinal opponent, Real Woods (Stanford), but still managed to get by with a 3-2 victory. This should be an interesting contrast of styles as Lee can fire off attacks with the best of them, while Clarke is measured in his offensive approach and stout defensively. Previous Meeting: None 149 lbs - #1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) vs. #10 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) Don't be deceived by the seed differential here. Ridge Lovett is responsible for pushing Yianni Diakomihalis like no other wrestler during the 2021-22 campaign. Diakomihalis needed sudden victory overtime to get by Lovett at the CKLV Invitational. That loss, and two to Austin Gomez (Wisconsin), account for Lovett's three losses on the year. In the semifinals, Lovett and Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) treated the crowd to one of the best matches of the round. Lovett doesn't mind taking risks and doesn't back down from anyone. Diakomihalis is chasing his third title and riding a 74-match winning streak after downing Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) in the semifinals. Sasso and Yianni also met in the CKLV final, too. Throughout this tournament, Diakomihalis has been in control of his matches, more so than the scoreboard may indicate. He hasn't notched a bonus-point win all tournament, but hasn't been seriously threatened either. His wins in the quarters and semis came by identical 6-3 scores to Murin and Sasso. Previous Meeting: Diakomihalis: 6-4 SV; 2021 CKLV semifinals 157 lbs - #5 Quincy Monday (Princeton) vs. #2 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) What a remarkable story as Princeton has two finalists as Quincy Monday also joins teammate Pat Glory. This is Monday's first time on the podium though he was named a first-team All-American in 2020. Monday won his first EIWA title this year and parlayed that into the fifth seed. In the quarters, he avenged a regular-season loss to Ed Scott (NC State). A match later, Monday got by the defensively sound Will Lewan (Michigan), to earn his spot in the final. Opposite him will be Ryan Deakin, who finally has the opportunity to wrestle in a national championship bout. Deakin is a three-time Big Ten champion, who was seeded first last year and upset in the semifinals. He has now placed at the national tournament on three occasions and earned All-American honors four times. Previous Meetings: Deakin: 8-3; 2021 CKLV finals Deakin: 5-2; 2018 Midlands Championships 165 lbs - #5 Shane Griffith (Stanford) vs. #2 Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) In each of the past two years, Shane Griffith has lost in the Pac-12 finals. Last year, that didn't matter as he won a national championship out of the eighth position. This time he's back in the finals. Griffith was able to defeat conference rival and top-seeded, Evan Wick (Cal Poly), when it mattered most. The pair wrestled four times this season, with Wick getting his hand raised in the first three. To get the win, Griffith secured the winning takedown with just three seconds remaining in the bout. In order for Griffith to win title number two, he'll need to get by one of the favorites all season, Keegan O'Toole. Last year, as a true freshman, O'Toole only suffered one loss and finished third. Now, O'Toole comes in with a perfect 24-0 record and has racked up bonus points in two-thirds of his appearances. This week, O'Toole has suffocated his opponents and hasn't surrendered a single point in four bouts. Previous Meeting: None 174 lbs - #1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) vs. #2 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) The only champ versus champ meeting we have in store comes at 174 lbs, where both wrestlers won their titles as redshirt freshmen. Carter Starocci is the returning champion at this weight class and hasn't lost since the 2021 Big Ten finals. A 6-1 win over Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) represents Starocci's closest bout of the tournament. In the semis, he put up ten points on four-time NCAA All-American Hayden Hidlay (NC State). Even with Starocci's recent scoring output, he has been tested in close matches during the Big Ten dual season and the conference final. Also attempting to capture his second NCAA title is Lewis, who won the 165 lb bracket in 2019. Lewis was entangled in a tight bout with 2021 Big Ten runner-up, Logan Massa (Michigan), before catching him out of position and shocking him with a fall, late in the third period. Both of these past national champions are extremely difficult to score on, so I'd expect a low-scoring match with a counterattack being the difference. Previous Meeting: None 184 lbs - #1 Myles Amine (Michigan) vs. #2 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) The finals order has been determined, with 285 lbs wrapping up the competition; however, this could be the de facto main event. This tournament has only had one meeting between the top two teams; this would be the second. Though Penn State already has the team crown locked up, it's still fun. Plus, we have a contest between an Olympic medalist (Amine) and a returning national champion (Brooks). The two have already clashed twice this year, with each grabbing a win. Brooks came out on top in their dual meeting, while Amine returned the favor in the Big Ten finals. This time he should have a heavily partisan crowd on his side. While both wrestlers are amongst the best pound-for-pound in the nation, each had to gut out sudden victory wins just to appear in the finals. Previous Meetings: Brooks: 3-1; 2021-22 Dual Meet Amine: 6-4SV; 2022 Big Ten Finals 197 lbs - #1 Max Dean (Penn State) vs. #6 Jacob Warner (Iowa) It's always good to have an Iowa/Penn State match in the finals, so we get to check off that box too. One of the stories leading into Detroit was the unpredictability of this weight class. To an extent, that was correct. At the same time, the top-seed Max Dean did survive and competing on Saturday night for the second time. In 2019, Dean took out unbeaten #1 Myles Martin (Ohio State) to appear in the 184 lb finals for Cornell. Now at Penn State, Dean has been more consistent; however, he has narrowly averted disaster multiple times this season and even within the past two days. Dean was the beneficiary of “questionable” calls in both his Round of 16 and quarterfinal matches, before a decisive semifinal win over Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State). Jacob Warner has gotten onto the podium on two previous occasions, but each time he's lost before the semi's then battled back. This year, Warner pulled slight upsets over #3 Eric Schultz (Nebraska), then #2 Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming), to secure his spot on the raised mat. Considering both of their histories, with each other, and their styles, I'd anticipate a low-scoring, tight match. Previous Meeting: Dean: 8-3; 2021-22 Dual Meet 285 lbs - #1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) vs. #2 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) This will be the final bout of the evening, as it's expected to be the final collegiate appearance by Gable Steveson. The 2020 Olympic gold medalist will seek to add to his collection with a second collegiate title and perhaps his second Hodge Trophy. Standing in the way in an imposing figure in Cohlton Schultz, a Cadet World Champion. Many expected Schultz to fall to one of the Big Ten members in the bottom half of the bracket, but that wasn't the case. He withstood the offensive attacks of 2021 finalist Mason Parris (Michigan) in the quarters, then pulled a rabbit out of his hat in the semi's against Jordan Wood (Lehigh). The Lehigh big man appeared to be on his way to a winning takedown in the final seconds of their second tiebreaker; however, Schultz rolled Wood through and got the winning score of his own. Previous Meeting: None

125 lb NCAA semifinal between Patrick Glory (left) and Vito Arujau (Photos courtesy of Sam JanickiPhoto.com) 125 lbs Finalists - #1 Nick Suriano (Michigan) vs. #3 Patrick Glory 3rd - Vito Arujau (Cornell) 4th - Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern) 5th - Patrick McKee (Minnesota) 6th - Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) 7th - Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) 8th - Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State) 133 lbs Finalists - #1 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) vs. #2 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) 3rd - Austin DeSanto (Iowa) 4th - Michael McGee (Arizona State) 5th - Lucas Byrd (Illinois) 6th - Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech) 7th - Chris Cannon (Northwestern) 8th - Devan Turner (Oregon State) 141 lbs Finalists - #1 Nick Lee (Penn State) vs. #15 Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina) 3rd - Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) 4th - Grant Willits (Oregon State) 5th - Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) 6th - Real Woods (Stanford) 7th - Jake Bergeland (Minnesota) 8th - CJ Composto (Penn) 149 lbs Finalists - #1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) vs. #10 Ridge Lovett (Wisconsin) 3rd - Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) 4th - Austin Gomez (Wisconsin) 5th - Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) 6th - Jonathan Millner (Appalachian State) 7th - Tariq Wilson (NC State) 8th - Kyle Parco (Arizona State) 157 lbs Finalists - #2 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) vs. #5 Quincy Monday (Princeton) 3rd - David Carr (Iowa State) 4th - Peyton Robb (Nebraska) 5th - Will Lewan (Michigan) 6th - Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) 7th - Hunter Willits (Oregon State) 8th - Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) 165 lbs Finalists - #2 Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) vs. #5 Shane Griffith (Stanford) 3rd - Evan Wick (Cal Poly) 4th - Cam Amine (Michigan) 5th - Alex Marinelli (Iowa) 6th - Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) 7th - Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) 8th - Peyton Hall (West Virginia) 174 lbs Finalists - #1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) vs. #2 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) 3rd - Hayden Hidlay (NC State) 4th - Michael Kemerer (Iowa) 5th - Logan Massa (Michigan) 6th - Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) 7th - Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) 8th - Clay Lautt (North Carolina) 184 lbs Finalists - #1 Myles Amine (Michigan) vs. #2 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) 3rd - Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) 4th - Bernie Truax (Cal Poly) 5th - Trent Hidlay (NC State) 6th - Kaleb Romero (Ohio State) 7th - Marcus Coleman (Iowa State) 8th - Jonathan Loew (Cornell) 197 lbs Finalists - #1 Max Dean (Penn State) vs. #6 Jacob Warner (Iowa) 3rd - Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming) 4th - Rocky Elam (Missouri) 5th - Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) 6th - Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State) 7th - Eric Schultz (Nebraska) 8th - Greg Bulsak (Rutgers) 285 lbs Finalists - #1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) vs. #2 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) 3rd - Jordan Wood (Lehigh) 4th - Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) 5th - Mason Parris (Michigan) 6th - Lucas Davison (Northwestern) 7th - Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) 8th - Christian Lance (Nebraska)

Aaron Brooks, one of Penn State's five NCAA finalists (Photos courtesy of Sam JanickiPhoto.com) Saturday night at the NCAA Championships is often billed as the “best round of wrestling” all year. It's easy to see why. Six mats are arranged in a “dogbone” formation that features Round of 12 matches on the outside, with the semifinals on the middle two. In both rounds, dreams are either realized or crushed. This year was no different as twenty wrestlers advanced to tomorrow night's championship final and still have hopes of winning a national title. The night started off with a pair of New Jersey natives making the national finals at 125 lbs. Top-seeded Nick Suriano (Michigan) cruised to his third NCAA final. He previously won a title in 2019 at 133 lbs. His opponent, Patrick Glory (Princeton), became the first tiger to make a national final since Greg Parker in 2002. Glory took the rubber match in a series between he and EIWA-rival Vito Arujau (Cornell). Speaking of rivalries, they're gonna run it back at 133 lbs as Roman Bravo Young (Penn State) and Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) are slated to meet in a rematch of their 2021 finale, won by the Nittany Lion. Up at 141 lbs, Nick Lee (Penn State) is also seeking a second title. He'll do so against one of the tournament's biggest underdog's Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina). Clarke needed an at-large berth to compete in Detroit and was seeded 15th. He prevailed over ACC rival Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) on the riding time tiebreaker. Cornell's Yianni Diakomihalis is now 3-for-3 in making NCAA finals. He got by 2021 national runner-up, Sammy Sasso (Ohio State), to extend his winning streak to 73 matches and puts himself in a position to win a third NCAA final. Standing in his way is the opponent responsible for Diakomihalis' closest bout of the year, Ridge Lovett (Nebraska). Lovett survived a back-and-forth affair against the dangerous Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) to advance. One of the top seniors in the nation, Ryan Deakin (Northwestern), will have the opportunity to compete for a national title for the first time, as he handed Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) his first loss of the year. Teemer notched an early takedown, but it was all Deakin after that. The Wildcat star won with a 10-2 major decision. It took Princeton 20 years to put a wrestler in the national finals; however, it only took them four matches to have a second, in Quincy Monday. Monday held off Will Lewan (Michigan) to take a 3-2 win and lock up his spot in tomorrow's 157 lb final. The fourth time was the charm for Shane Griffith (Stanford) at 165 lbs. That was the number of times he's met top-seeded Evan Wick (Cal Poly), this year and Wick won the previous three bouts. Entangled in a tie match (with Wick holding riding time), Griffith got in on a leg attack with under :10 seconds remaining in the bout, and converted it for a takedown with :03 left. It puts him in a position to grab back-to-back titles at the weight. Griffith will face unbeaten Keegan O'Toole (Missouri), who never seemed to be in danger against Cam Amine (Michigan) and pitched a 4-0 shutout. We've got champ versus champ on the docket at 174 lbs with the top two-seeds advancing, Carter Starocci (Penn State) and Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech). Starocci was a champion at the weight class last year, as a freshman. Lewis was also a freshman national champion, in 2019, at 165 lbs. He was embroiled in a tight match with #3 Logan Massa (Michigan) when he shocked the Wolverine with a third-period fall. At 184 lbs, a Big Ten rematch is on the books with Myles Amine (Michigan) and Aaron Brooks (Penn State). Both prevailed in sudden victory of their respective matches. More intra-Big Ten action is set for 197 lbs with top-seeded Max Dean (Penn State) meeting Jacob Warner (Iowa). Dean had little trouble with #21st seeded Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State) and had a 9-3 victory. Warner made the finals and extended Iowa's streak with at least one NCAA finalist. It dated back to 1990. Minnesota native Gable Steveson (Minnesota) and Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) clashed in a bout that was closer than the score may indicate. Steveson got by with an 8-3 win, but was pushed more than anyone else has. The real fireworks at 285 lbs came in the closing seconds of the other semifinal. Jordan Wood (Lehigh) looked like he locking up a winning takedown against Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) was inevitable. Wood had Schultz up in the air, ready to score, when Schultz rolled through for a score of his own. Penn State went 5-for-6 in the semis and leads second-place Michigan 108 to 84.5 . Michigan has two finalists. Semifinal Results 125 lbs - Nick Suriano (Michigan) dec Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) 4-1 125 lbs - Patrick Glory (Princeton) maj Vito Arujau (Cornell) 13-5 133 lbs - Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) dec Austin DeSanto (Iowa) 3-1 133 lbs - Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) dec Michael McGee (Arizona State) 5-1 141 lbs - Nick Lee (Penn State) dec Real Woods (Stanford) 3-2 141 lbs - Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina) dec Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) 2-2TB 149 lbs - Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) dec Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) 6-3 149 lbs - Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) dec Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) 5-4 157 lbs - Quincy Monday (Princeton) dec Will Lewan (Michigan) 3-2 157 lbs - Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) maj Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) 10-2 165 lbs - Shane Griffith (Stanford) dec Evan Wick (Cal Poly) 7-6 165 lbs - Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) dec Cam Amine (Michigan) 4-0 174 lbs - Carter Starocci (Penn State) dec Hayden Hidlay (NC State) 10-3 174 lbs - Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) fall Logan Massa (Michigan) 6:19 184 lbs - Myles Amine (Michigan) dec Bernie Truax (Cal Poly) 3-1SV 184 lbs - Aaron Brooks (Penn State) dec Trent Hidlay (NC State) 6-4SV 197 lbs - Max Dean (Penn State) dec Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State) 9-3 197 lbs - Jacob Warner (Iowa) dec Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming) 6-4 285 lbs - Gable Steveson (Minnesota) dec Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) 8-3 285 lbs - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) dec Jordan Wood (Lehigh) 5-3TB Bloodround Results 125 lbs - Patrick McKee (Minnesota) fall Killian Cardinale (West Virginia) 3:25 125 lbs - Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) dec Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) 7-3 125 lbs - Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern) dec Joey Prata (Oklahoma) 2-0 125 lbs - Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State) fall Noah Surtin (Missouri) 5:31 133 lbs - Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech) maj Matt Ramos (Purdue) 12-2 133 lbs - Devan Turner (Oregon State) dec Brian Courtney (Virginia) 8-4 133 lbs - Chris Cannon (Northwestern) fall Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) 2:21 133 lbs - Lucas Byrd (Illinois) dec Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) 6-5 141 lbs - CJ Composto (Penn) dec Stevan Micic (Michigan) 10-4SV 141 lbs - Grant Willits (Oregon State) fall Chad Red (Nebraska) 3:45 141 lbs - Jake Bergeland (Minnesota) fall Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) 2:35 141 lbs - Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) dec Clay Carlson (South Dakota State) 6-2 149 lbs - Kyle Parco (Arizona State) dec Anthony Artlalona (Penn) 3-2 149 lbs - Jonathan Millner (Appalachian State) dec Max Murin (Iowa) 8-1 149 lbs - Tariq Wilson (NC State) dec Yahya Thomas (Northwestern) 9-5 149 lbs - Austin Gomez (Wisconsin) dec Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State) 7-4 157 lbs - Peyton Robb (Nebraska) fall Ed Scott (NC State) 4:36 157 lbs - Hunter Willits (Oregon State) dec Dazjon Casto (The Citadel) 7-6 157 lbs - Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) dec Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) 4-3 157 lbs - David Carr (Iowa State) dec Jared Franek (North Dakota State) 4-3 165 lbs - Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) maj Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh) 8-0 165 lbs - Peyton Hall (West Virginia) maj Justin McCoy (Virginia) 11-3 165 lbs - Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) dec Julian Ramirez (Cornell) 4-3 165 lbs - Alex Marinelli (Iowa) dec Phil Conigliaro (Harvard) 6-2 174 lbs - Michael Kemerer (Iowa) dec Mickey O'Malley (Drexel) 5-2 174 lbs - Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) dec Hayden Hastings (Wyoming) 5-3 174 lbs - Clay Lautt (North Carolina) dec Peyton Mocco (Missouri) 6-3 174 lbs - Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) dec Ethan Smith (Ohio State) 9-7SV 184 lbs - Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) dec Taylor Venz (Nebraska) 7-5 184 lbs - Jonathan Loew (Cornell) dec Zac Braunagel (Illinois) 3-1SV 184 lbs - Kaleb Romero (Ohio State) maj Max Lyon (Purdue) 15-6 184 lbs - Marcus Coleman (Iowa State) Maj Trey Munoz (Oregon State) 13-2 197 lbs - Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) dec Jake Woodley (Oklahoma) 5-4 197 lbs - Greg Bulsak (Rutgers) dec Louie DePrez (Binghamton) 3-2 197 lbs - Rocky Elam (Missouri) dec Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) 6-1 197 lbs - Eric Schultz (Nebraska) dec Jay Aiello (Virginia) 4-2 285 lbs - Christian Lance (Nebraska) dec Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) 4-2SV 285 lbs - Lucas Davison (Northwestern) dec Gary Traub (Oregon State) 8-2 285 lbs - Mason Parris (Michigan) maj Tate Orndorff (Ohio State) 12-1 285 lbs - Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) dec Zach Elam (Missouri) 4-0 Day Two Team Scores 1) Penn State 108 2) Michigan 84.5 3) Arizona State 63.5 4) Iowa 62 5) Nebraska 54 6) Northwestern 49 7) Virginia Tech 48 8) Cornell 45 9) Missouri 42 10) Ohio State 42

Nick Suriano at the 2022 NCAA Championships (Photos courtesy of Sam JanickiPhoto.com) Quarterfinal Results 125 lbs - Nick Suriano (Michigan) fall Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) 2:19 125 lbs - Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) dec Killian Cardinale (West Virginia) 3-2 125 lbs - Patrick Glory (Princeton) dec Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State) 7-3 125 lbs - Vito Arujau (Cornell) dec Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern) 6-0 133 lbs - Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) dec Brian Courtney (Virginia) 13-6 133 lbs - Austin DeSanto (Iowa) maj Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech) 9-0 133 lbs - Michael McGee (Arizona State) dec Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) 8-7 133 lbs - Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) fall Chris Cannon (Northwestern) 1:53 141 lbs - Nick Lee (Penn State) fall Grant Willits (Oregon State) 3:45 141 lbs - Real Woods (Stanford) tech CJ Composto (Penn) 16-0 141 lbs - Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) dec Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) 7-5 141 lbs - Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina) dec Jake Bergeland (Minnesota) 3-0 149 lbs - Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) dec Max Murin (Iowa) 6-3 149 lbs - Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) dec Kyle Parco (Arizona State) 5-1SV 149 lbs - Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) fall Austin Gomez (Wisconsin) 6:30 149 lbs - Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) fall Tariq Wilson (NC State) 4:16 157 lbs - Will Lewan (Michigan) dec Hunter Willits (Oregon State) 3-1 157 lbs - Quincy Monday (Princeton) dec Ed Scott (NC State) 5-3 157 lbs - Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) dec Jared Franek (North Dakota State) 5-3 157 lbs - Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) dec Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) 6-2 165 lbs - Evan Wick (Cal Poly) dec Peyton Hall (West Virginia) 6-2 165 lbs - Shane Griffith (Stanford) dec Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) 10-4 165 lbs - Cam Amine (Michigan) dec Alex Marinelli (Iowa) 3-1SV 165 lbs - Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) dec Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) 2-0 174 lbs - Carter Starocci (Penn State) dec Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) 6-1 174 lbs - Hayden Hidlay (NC State) dec Michael Kemerer (Iowa) 5-3 174 lbs - Logan Massa (Michigan) dec Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) 8-3 174 lbs - Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) dec Clay Lautt (North Carolina) 4-2 184 lbs - Myles Amine (Michigan) dec Zac Braunagel (Illinois) 12-5 184 lbs - Bernie Truax (Cal Poly) dec Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) 6-5 184 lbs - Trent Hidlay (NC State) dec Trey Munoz (Oregon State) 6-2 184 lbs - Aaron Brooks (Penn State) maj Kaleb Romero (Ohio State) 13-2 197 lbs - Max Dean (Penn State) dec Louie DePrez (Binghamton) 4-3 197 lbs - Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State) dec Jake Woodley (Oklahoma) 5-3 197 lbs - Jacob Warner (Iowa) dec Eric Schultz (Nebraska) 2-0 197 lbs - Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming) dec Rocky Elam (Missouri) 4-0 285 lbs - Gable Steveson (Minnesota) dec Lucas Davison (Northwestern) 10-5 285 lbs - Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) dec Christian Lance (Nebraska) 7-1 285 lbs - Jordan Wood (Lehigh) dec Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) 3-1SV 285 lbs - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) dec Mason Parris (Michigan) 6-5

NC State's 174 lber Hayden Hidlay (Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) It was a successful Thursday for the ACC in the opening day of competition at the NCAA tournament. After two rounds, NC State sits in third in the team race with 21.5 team points, six points behind leader Penn State; Virginia Tech sits in seventh with 14.5. 31 ACC wrestlers continue on to day two; 12 of these wrestlers are in the quarterfinals. Duke Both Finesilver brothers are alive in the consolation bracket after going 1-1 on Thursday. Josh will wrestle Colin Realbuto and Matt will face Chris Foca in the next round. Both will have tough tests, but are in a good spot to keep moving on. Pittsburgh Cole Matthews is the lone Panther in the quarterfinals. He was put to the test on Thursday winning both by decision, the later match in sudden victory. He will face a very dangerous Sebastian Rivera in the morning round. Here are the consolation matchups for Pitt in the first round Friday. Micky Phillippi: Oliveri-Rutgers Elijah Cleary: Keating-UVA Jake Wentzel: Cassella-Binghamton Nino Bonaccorsi: Pentz-NDSU North Carolina The Tar Heels had both heartbreak and celebration on day one. Returning National Champion Austin O'Connor continues to wrestle through a knee injury that is clearly impacting his matches and dropped his opening round bout to Dazjon Casto of The Citadel. He came back in the evening session and won so will move on to day two. Clay Lautt handled his business winning by a 7-point decision and a major decision to move to the quarters. He will face ACC foe Mekhi Lewis in the quarterfinals; Lautt is 0-2 against Lewis this season. Kizhan Clarke pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the tournament on Thursday, dropping 2 seed Jaydin Eierman with a beautiful takedown in sudden victory. He handled himself incredibly well during the 5 minute song and dance of Iowa challenging the call. Clarke has an awesome draw in the quarterfinals, as the 7-seed was knocked off in the first round. He will face 10-seed Jakob Bergeland of Minnesota. Joe Heilmann: Koderhandt-Navy Zach Sherman: Artalona-Penn Austin O'Connor: Wright-Wyoming North Carolina State The Wolfpack had a fantastic day on Thursday and are in a podium position moving into day two. They brought 10 and all 10 are still alive for the podium on day two. The Wolfpack will have four in the quarterfinals and six fighting on the backside. Tariq Wilson handled his matches, but wasn't as dynamic as we had seen him at the ACC tournament. I expect him to be more offensive today. He will face big-move Ridge Lovett of Nebraska. I don't think Lovett is as dangerous with big moves as is Bryce Andonian, and Wilson handled that chaos twice this year. Ed Scott looked fantastic all day on Friday. He won his opening match by pin and beat a dangerous Justin Thomas by a 9-6 decision. He will face Quincy Monday of Princeton in the quarterfinals. Scott beat Monday in the dual in January in an incredibly well-wrestled 6-4 decision. It will be a tough task to beat Monday again, but I like Ed's odds. Hayden Hidlay was on a mission on Thursday. He picked up a first period pin and a major decision to move to the quarterfinals. He will face a very tough-but dinged up-Michael Kemerer in the quarterfinals. I love the way Hayden matches up here and expect to see him in the semifinals. Trent Hidlay did his job and picked up two wins on Thursday, but like Wilson, didn't look as dynamic as usual. I expect him to pick up the pace on Friday. He will face Trey Munoz of Oregon State in the quarterfinals. Jakob Camacho: Ayala-Iowa Kai Orine: Drury-Utah Valley Ryan Jack: Kinner-Rider Thomas Bullard: Olejnik-NIU Isaac Trumble: Aiello-UVA Tyrie Houghton: Traub-Oregon State Virginia The Hoos had a wild swing of emotions in round two going from the high of Brian Courtney pulling off a big upset to the very low of Jay Aiello "losing" to Max Dean in what seems to be the yearly officiating abomination at the NCAA tournament. I've had the privilege of seeing Jay throughout his time in Charlottesville; he is one of the most genuine, hard-working, caring young men that you'll come across. I'm absolutely gutted for him. But knowing him, he's probably handling this setback better than most of the people in the UVA/ACC/NCAA wrestling orbit. My hope is that he'll be able to bounce back and end up on the podium where he belongs. Brian Courtney has been one of the stories of the tournament so far. He knocked off the 8-seed Rayvon Foley when he finished on top of a wild scramble at the end of the third to take the win. In his second round match, he was down 5-1 to Michael Colaiocco when he hit a wild takedown to the back to get a 6 point swing. He held onto the lead and pulled off his second upset of the tournament to move into the quarterfinals. He will have a tall order to move into the semifinals--he will face returning National Champion Roman Bravo-Young of Penn State to open the morning. Jake Keating: Cleary-Pitt Justin McCoy: Formato-App State Jay Aiello: Trumble-NC State Virginia Tech The Hokies had a great day on Thursday and are positioned well for a podium run. They brought 8 to Detroit; 4 are in the quarterfinals and 7 are still alive on day two. Sam Latona and Bryce Andonian have both pulled off "upsets" along the way to get to the quarterfinals, while Mekhi Lewis and Korbin Myers wrestled to seed. Sam Latona has looked phenomenal. He had two controlling victories to start the day and based on seeds, upset Devin Schroder to start the tournament. He will have to pull off a major upset of the 1-seed Nick Suriano to move to the semis, but it's definitely possible. Korbin Myers just continues to quietly do whatever he needs to do to win matches and advance. He picked up a 12-0 major in the first round and was up 8-4 over Hudkins before he was injured and defaulted. Myers will have a big match to start the day against 5-seed Austin Desanto. Safe to say that anyone not wearing black and gold will be pulling for the Hokie here. Bryce Andonian is just so fun to watch and has been putting on a show in Detroit. BA has put up 25 points in his first two matches, both of which never seemed to be in question. This quarterfinal matchup may have 25 points scored by each wrestler. He faces another wide-open wrestler in Austin Gomez of Wisconsin this morning. I had this match circled when I filled out my brackets and can't wait to see the show that is put on. Mekhi Lewis has also quietly done his job in the first two matches; he had a 15-7 major and an 8-5 decision to move to the quarterfinals. He will face a familiar opponent Friday morning in Clay Lautt from North Carolina. Lewis is 2-0 against Lautt this season, beating him in the dual and in the ACC finals. Connor Brady: Casto-The Citadel Hunter Bolen: Kent-Mizzou Nathan Traxler: Reid-Lock Haven

125 lb #4 seed Brandon Courtney of Arizona State (Photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) 125 lbs - Nick Suriano (Michigan) dec Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) 8-3 125 lbs - Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) dec Caleb Smith (Appalachian State) 6-2 125 lbs - Killian Cardinale (West Virginia) dec Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley) 10-8SV 125 lbs - Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) maj Fabian Gutierrez (Chattanooga) 12-3 125 lbs - Patrick Glory (Princeton) maj Jakob Camacho (NC State) 10-2 125 lbs - Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State) dec Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) 9-3 125 lbs - Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern) dec Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Oklahoma State) 3-2 125 lbs - Vito Arujau (Cornell) dec Brody Teske (Northern Iowa) 9-3 133 lbs - Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) fall Josh Koderhandt (Navy) 4:46 133 lbs - Brian Courtney (Virginia) dec Michael Colaiocco (Penn) 8-7 133 lbs - Austin DeSanto (Iowa) dec Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) 5-2 133 lbs - Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech) injdef Brock Hudkins (Indiana) 133 lbs - Michael McGee (Arizona State) dec Kyle Biscoglia (Northern Iowa) 10-4 133 lbs - Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) dec Devan Turner (Oregon State) 4-2 133 lbs - Chris Cannon (Northwestern) dec Matt Ramos (Purdue) 1-0 133 lbs - Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) dec Kai Orine (NC State) 7-4 141 lbs - Nick Lee (Penn State) dec Quinn Kinner (Rider) 9-2 141 lbs - Grant Willits (Oregon State) dec Allan Hart (Missouri) 3-1TB 141 lbs - CJ Composto (Penn) dec Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) 5-4TB 141 lbs - Real Woods (Stanford) maj Parker Filius (Purdue) 8-0 141 lbs - Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) dec Chad Red (Nebraska) 7-6SV 141 lbs - Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) dec Matt Kazimir (Columbia) 3-2TB 141 lbs - Jake Bergeland (Minnesota) dec Frankie Tal Shahar (Northwestern) 5-3 141 lbs - Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina) dec Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) 4-2SV 149 lbs - Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) dec Willie McDougald (Oklahoma) 11-5 149 lbs - Max Murin (Iowa) dec Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State) 8-4 149 lbs - Kyle Parco (Arizona State) dec Marcus Robinson (Cleveland State) 6-2 149 lbs - Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) dec Beau Bartlett (Penn State) 6-4 149 lbs - Austin Gomez (Wisconsin) maj Josh Finesilver (Duke) 19-7 149 lbs - Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) dec Jonathan Millner (Appalachian State) 16-11 149 lbs - Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) dec Josh Heil (Campbell) 8-1 149 lbs - Tariq Wilson (NC State) dec Anthony Artalona (Penn) 4-3 157 lbs - Hunter Willits (Oregon State) dec David Carr (Iowa State) 2-1TB 157 lbs - Will Lewan (Michigan) dec Kaleb Young (Iowa) 3-1SV 157 lbs - Quincy Monday (Princeton) dec Jacob Wright (Wyoming) 3-2 157 lbs - Ed Scott (NC State) dec Justin Thomas (Oklahoma) 9-6 157 lbs - Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) fall Jake Keating (Virginia) 2:43 157 lbs - Jared Franek (North Dakota State) dec Dazjon Casto (The Citadel) 3-2 157 lbs - Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) dec Peyton Robb (Lehigh) 8-5 157 lbs - Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) fall Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan) 4:36 165 lbs - Evan Wick (Cal Poly) dec Luke Weber (North Dakota State) 10-5 165 lbs - Peyton Hall (West Virginia) dec Phil Conigliaro (Harvard) 7-3 165 lbs - Shane Griffith (Stanford) dec Zach Hartman (Bucknell) 7-3 165 lbs - Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) dec Julian Ramirez (Cornell) 15-11 165 lbs - Alex Marinelli (Iowa) dec Justin McCoy (Virginia) 8-2 165 lbs - Cam Amine (Michigan) dec Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois) 4-2 165 lbs - Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) dec Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh) 7-1 165 lbs - Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) dec Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) 7-0 174 lbs - Carter Starocci (Penn State) dec Adam Kemp (Cal Poly) 10-4 174 lbs - Mike Labriola (Nebraska) dec Gerrit Nijenhuis (Purdue) 3-2 174 lbs - Michael Kemerer (Iowa) dec Cade DeVos (South Dakota State) 9-4 174 lbs - Hayden Hidlay (NC State) maj Matt Finesilver (Duke) 13-5 174 lbs - Logan Massa (Michigan) maj Thomas Flitz (Appalachian State) 15-5 174 lbs - Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) dec Mason Kauffman (Northern Illinois) 8-2 174 lbs - Clay Lautt (North Carolina) maj Tyler Eischens (Stanford) 13-4 174 lbs - Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) dec Lance Runyon (Northern Iowa) 8-5 184 lbs - Myles Amine (Michigan) dec Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) 5-1 184 lbs - Zac Braunagel (Illinois) fall Marcus Coleman (Iowa State) 6:47 184 lbs - Bernie Truax (Cal Poly) dec Tate Samuelson (Wyoming) 6-2 184 lbs - Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) dec Kyle Cochran (Maryland) 9-3 184 lbs - Trent Hidlay (NC State) dec Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) 5-3 184 lbs - Trent Munoz (Oregon State) maj Jonathan Loew (Cornell) 12-2 184 lbs - Kaleb Romero (Ohio State) dec Taylor Venz (Nebraska) 5-2 184 lbs - Aaron Brooks (Penn State) maj Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) 9-1 197 lbs - Max Dean (Penn State) dec Jay Aiello (Virginia) 4-2 197 lbs - Louie DePrez (Binghamton) dec Cam Caffey (Michigan State) 5-4 197 lbs - Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State) dec Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) 6-4SV 197 lbs - Jake Woodley (Oklahoma) dec Patrick Brucki (Michigan) 6-3 197 lbs - Eric Schultz (Nebraska) dec Greg Bulsak (Rutgers) 4-3 197 lbs - Jacob Warner (Iowa) dec Thomas Penola (Purdue) 3-1 197 lbs - Rocky Elam (Missouri) dec Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) 1-0 197 lbs - Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming) dec Luke Stout (Princeton) 6-3 285 lbs - Gable Steveson (Minnesota) tech Zach Elam (Missouri) 23-8 285 lbs - Lucas Davison (Northwestern) dec Matt Stencel (Central Michigan) 9-2 285 lbs - Christian Lance (Nebraska) dec Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force) 5-4 285 lbs - Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) maj Tate Orndorff (Ohio State) 10-1 285 lbs - Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) maj Luke Luffman (Illinois) 12-3 285 lbs - Jordan Wood (Lehigh) dec Gary Traub (Oregon State) 6-0 285 lbs - Mason Parris (Michigan) dec Nathan Traxler (Virginia Tech) 7-3 285 lbs - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) fall Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) :52

Sean Bormet and Josh Churella at the 2022 NCAA Championships (Photos courtesy of Sam JanickiPhoto.com) Top 10 Team Matrix 1-5 On Deck: Penn State: 125 C: Drew Hildebrandt vs. Logan Ashton, Stanford 133: Roman Bravo-Young vs. Josh Koderhandt, Navy 141: Nick Lee vs. Quinn Kinner, Rider 149: Beau Bartlett vs. Sammy Sasso, Ohio St. 157 C: Brady Berge vs. Derek Holschlag, N. Iowa 174: Carter Starocci vs. Adam Kemp, Cal Poly 184: Aaron Brooks vs. Hunter Bolen, Virginia Tech 197: Max Dean vs. Jay Aiello, Virginia 285: Greg Kerkvliet vs. Tate Orndorff, Ohio State Iowa: 125 C: Drake Ayala vs. Joe Manchio, Columbia 133: Austin DeSanto vs. Mickey Phillippi, Pitt 141: Jaydin Eierman vs Kizhan Clarke, N. Carolina 149: Max Murin vs. Kaden Gfeller, OK State 157: Kaleb Young vs. Will Lewam, Michigan 165: Alex Marinelli vs. Justin McCoy, Virginia 174: Michael Kemerer vs. Cade Devos, SD State 184 C: Abe Assad vs. AJ Burkhart, Lehigh 197: Jacob Warner vs. Tommy Penola, Purdue 285: Tony Cassioppi vs. Luke Luffman, Illinois Michigan: 125: Nick Suriano vs. Anthony Noto, Lock Haven 133: Dylan Ragusin vs. Devan Turner, Oregon St. 141 C: Stevan Micic vs. Carter Young, Oklahoma St. 157: Will Lewan vs. Kaleb Young, Iowa 165: Cam Amine vs. Izaak Olejnik, N. Illinois 174: Logan Massa vs. Thomas Flitz, APP State 184: Myles Amine vs. Dakota Geer, OK State 197: Patrick Brucki vs. Jake Woodley, Oklahoma 285: Mason Parris vs. Nathan Traxler, Virginia Tech Arizona St.: 125: Brandon Courtney vs. Fabian Gutierrez, Chattanooga 133: Michael McGee vs. Kyle Biscoglia, N. Iowa 149: Kyle Parco vs. Marcus Robinson, Cleveland St. 157: Jacori Teemer vs. Jake Keating, Virginia 165: Anthony Valencia vs. Keegan O'Toole, Missouri 197 C: Kordell Norfleet vs. Will Feldkamp, Clarion 285: Cohlton Schultz vs. Ethan Fernandes, Cornell NC State: 125: Jakob Camacho vs. Pat Glory, Princeton 133: Kai Orine vs. Daton Fix, Oklahoma St. 141 C: Ryan Jack vs. Wil Gil, F&M 149: Tariq Wilson vs Anthony Artalona, Penn 157: Ed Scott vs. Justin Thomas, Oklahoma 165 C: Thomas Bullard vs. Cael Carlson, Minnesota 174: Hayden Hidlay vs. Matt Finesilver, Duke 184: Trent Hidlay vs. Isaiah Salazar, Minnesota 197 C: Isaac Trumble vs. JT Brown, Army WP 285 C: Tyrie Houghton vs. Michael McAleavy, Citadel 6-10 On Deck: N. Iowa: 125: Brody Teske vs. Vito Arujau, Cornell 133: Kyle Biscoglia vs. Michael McGee, Arizona State 149 C: Colin Realbuto vs. John Arceri, Buffalo 157 C: Derek Holschlag vs. Brady Berge, Penn State 165 C: Austin Yant vs. Caleb Fish, Michigan St. 174: Lance Runyon vs. Mekhi Lewis, Virginia Tech 184: Parker Keckeisen vs. Kyle Cochran, Maryland 285 C: Tyrell Gordon vs. Trent Hillger, Wiscsonsin Nebraska: 141: Chad Red vs. Sebastian Rivera, Rutgers 149: Ridge Lovett vs. Josh Heil, Campbell 157: Peyton Robb vs. Josh Humphreys, Lehigh 165 C: Bubba Wilson vs. Roderick Mosely, Gardner-Webb 174: Mikey Labriola vs. Gerrit Nijenhuis, Purdue 184: Taylor Venz vs. Kaleb Romero, Ohio State 197: Eric Schultz vs. Greg Bulsak, Rutgers 285: Christian Lance vs. Wyatt Hendrickson, Air Force Oregon St.: 125: Brandon Kaylor vs. Eric Barnett, Wisconsin 133: Devan Turner vs. Dylan Ragusin, Michigan 141: Grant Willits vs. Alan Hart, Missouri 149 C: Cory Crooks vs. Max Brignola, Lehigh 157: Grant Willits vs. David Carr, Iowa State 165 C: Matt Olguin vs. Brian Meyer, Lehigh 184: Trent Munoz vs. Jon Loew, Cornell 285: Gary Traub vs. Jordan Wood, Lehigh Virginia Tech: 125: Sam Latona vs. Caleb Smith, APP State 133: Korbin Myers vs. Brock Hudkins, Indiana 141 C: Collin Gerardi vs. Dylan Droegemueller, ND State 149: Bryce Andonian vs. John Millner, APP State 157 C: Connor Brady vs. Chase Saldate, Michigan St. 174: Mekhi Lewis vs. Lance Runyon, N. Iowa 184: Hunter Bolen vs. Aaron Brooks, Penn State 285: Nathan Traxler vs. Mason Parris, Michigan Oklahoma State: 125: Trevor Mastrogiovanni vs. Michael DeAugustino, Northwestern 133: Daton Fix vs. Kai Orine, NC State 141 C: Carter Young vs. Stevan Micic, Michigan 149: Kaden Gfeller vs. Max Murin, Iowa 157 C: Wyatt Sheets vs. Andrew Cerniglia, Navy 174: Dustin Plott vs. Mason Kauffman, N. Illinois 184: Dakota Geer vs. Myles Amine, Michigan 285 C: Luke Surber vs. TBD

#22 seeded Dazjon Casto defeating 2021 NCAA champion Austin O'Connor (Photos courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Based on seeds, these are all of the upsets that occurred in the opening round of the 2022 NCAA Championships. 125 lbs #17 Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) dec #16 Drew Hildebrandt (Penn State) 4-2SV #24 Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) dec #9 Devin Schroder (Purdue) 4-1 #25 Caleb Smith (Appalachian State) dec #8 Patrick McKee (Minnesota) 8-5 #21 Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley) dec #12 Malik Heinselman (Ohio State) 7-2 133 lbs #25 Brian Courtney (Virginia) dec #8 Rayvon Foley (Michigan State) 4-2 #26 Matt Ramos (Purdue) fall #7 Lucas Byrd (Illinois) 2:27 141 lbs #20 Parker Filius (Purdue) maj #13 Ian Parker (Iowa State) 13-5 #19 Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska) dec #14 Dresden Simon (Central Michigan) 6-5 #26 Frankie Tal-Shahar (Northwestern) dec #7 Clay Carlson (South Dakota State) 4-3 149 lbs #21 Marcus Robinson (Cleveland State) over #12 Mike Van Brill (Rutgers) 7-5 #18 Anthony Artalona (Penn) dec #15 Legend Lamer (Cal Poly) 3-2 157 lbs #17 Hunter Willits (Oregon State) dec #16 Brady Berge (Penn State) 2-1 #22 Dazjon Casto (The Citadel) dec #11 Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) 8-2SV 165 lbs #19 Justin McCoy (Virginia) dec #14 Josh Ogunsanya (Columbia) 6-1 #18 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) dec #15 Austin Yant (Northern Iowa) 6-3 174 lbs #25 Gerrit Nijenhuis (Purdue) dec #8 Mickey O'Malley (Drexel) 6-4SV #19 Thomas Flitz (Appalachian State) dec #14 Chris Foca (Cornell) 9-6 #22 Mason Kauffman (Northern Illinois) dec #11 Peyton Mocco (Missouri) 3-1 #25 Tyler Eischens (Stanford) dec #7 Ethan Smith (Ohio State) 13-12 #18 Lance Runyon (Northern Iowa) fall #15 Anthony Mantanona (Oklahoma) 4:14 184 lbs #21 Tate Samuelson (Wyoming) dec #12 Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois) 5-3SV #19 Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) dec #14 Gavin Kane (North Carolina) 7-2 197 lbs #17 Jay Aiello (Virginia) dec #16 Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State) 5-3SV #21 Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State) dec #12 Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State) 6-4SV #18 Luke Stout (Princeton) dec #15 Isaac Trumble (NC State) 6-4SV 285 lbs #18 Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) dec #15 Taye Ghadiali (Campbell) 4-0

Lock Haven 285 lber Isaac Reid (Photos courtesy of Lock Haven athletics) According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, adversity is defined as the state or instance of serious or continued difficulty or misfortune. Isaac Reid, a redshirt sophomore for Lock Haven University and 2022 NCAA Qualifier at HWT, is unfortunately no stranger to overcoming obstacles that have caused a difficult path in life. When Reid was a junior in high school, adversity would strike for the first time. Reid stated, "My adversity started five years ago. During the Disney Duals in my junior year of high school, I dislocated my elbow. Our team made it to the finals and the team race came down to the heavyweights. I ended up pushing through and beating the #8 ranked guy in the country at the time. That moment is most notably the start to my injuries." It was only one year later that Reid would experience his second bout of misfortune. During his senior year of high school, roughly halfway through the wrestling season, he began coughing up blood and enduring uncomfortable chest pains. After various doctor appointments and testing, Reid was diagnosed with pulmonary embolisms. Pulmonary embolisms are a medical condition that results in which one or more arteries in the lungs become blocked by a blood clot. Despite this diagnosis, Reid was cleared to wrestle only two months later, where he went on to post a perfect 23-0 senior season where he became the 2018 HWT PIAA State Champion. Upon graduation, Reid was deciding between two schools, Lock Haven University and Pittsburgh. Reid stated, "I was ranked 5th in the country by FloWrestling and InterMat. I was highly talented as a recruit, but I was deciding between Lock Haven and Pittsburgh because they were both close to home." He continued, "Lock Haven's sports management program is ranked 2nd in the country, and it intrigued me as a recruit. I thought it was a good asset for me to expand my knowledge in, and it was a very high selling point for me. But ultimately, I really liked the atmosphere of the wrestling program. I knew that I would have coaches and teammates that would push me to be the best wrestler I could be. There was so much enthusiasm inside of the wrestling room and it made me excited about the program from the moment I stepped on campus." When asked about Reid's recruiting process, Head Coach Scott Moore said, "Isaac originally reached out to me on messenger right when he was able to be recruited. We started following him during his junior year of high school, as far as his results in matches and tournaments. We were in constant communication with him through texting and calling, which helped to establish a strong relationship with him and his family early on. At one point, Ryan Wolfe (former Lock Haven heavyweight coach who is now at Rider University), went down to Young Guns and UPJ to work out with Isaac. In addition, Coach Carr and I did multiple home visits. Overall, it was a very in-depth and thorough process and we knew that he would be a great fit for Lock Haven. Once Reid committed to Lock Haven University, his adversities continued. During his second year on the roster, once again, he was diagnosed with pulmonary embolisms and had blood clots in his lungs. Reid explained that this time around was a terrible experience. Over the course of the season, he was once again cleared to train, becoming bigger, better, faster, stronger, and improved his grades in the classroom as well. But wait… there's more. In his third year, during the PWC (Pittsburgh Wrestling Club) Rokfin event, Reid wrestled with a torn labrum and rotator cuff, as well as a torn LCL in his knee, but ultimately defeated Demetrius Thomas of Pitt 4-2. During the COVID shutdown and wrestling stoppages, he had surgery and rehabbed himself back strong enough to the point where he is now the heavyweight starter for the Lock Haven Eagles. Reid's role on the Lock Haven wrestling team has changed over the years, but he has always maintained a strong presence regardless of his medical diagnosis'. "I'd like to say that my role on the wrestling team is a friend, student, advocate, and leader; I'm a mixture of several things. One of the big things that gathers attention from my teammates is my courage and ability to overcome all the obstacles that have plagued me. It has refined who I am and has helped to make me a better, more well-rounded person in the wrestling room and in the classroom. I like to believe that I am an inspiration to my team," said Reid. Coach Moore went on to say, "His role is unique this year. He's been through so many different stages at Lock Haven. Initially as a freshman, he was a workout partner with Thomas Haines, who previously transferred from Ohio State. It's hard to come by guys of his size, and it was great to have a big guy in the room. Then his sophomore year, he had a blood clot and was not able to wrestle the whole season. During the COVID year, he wrestled in a few matches, but again, it was more of a training role because he had shoulder surgery. So, fast-forward to this year, it was a unique story because he was enrolled full time, but he was living at home. We kept in touch with him, but he had not been a rostered athlete until the first week of December. Through communication and conversations, it was the best fit that he finished out his career and degree at Lock Haven and was able to compete with us." He continued by stating, "His role now, he takes great pride in being a closer for us in our duals. Being a big guy with a lot of positive energy and implementing his knowledge on anyone who will listen pretty much. He has a lot of goals - financially and business-wise and things that are on his mind. He is unique in the fact that he thinks on a bigger scale than most guys. He wants to be the last match that wins it for his team. He is excited about being at Lock Haven and being around his teammates. He takes in a lot of knowledge and has a lot of lofty goals for himself." When asked about his biggest accomplishments thus far in his wrestling career despite the challenges he has faced, Reid said, "I can advocate for a few things, but I think my life-long goal growing up was to be a state champion, and I achieved that, along with an undefeated senior season. As far as college, I am nationally ranked right now, which is awesome, but I still see myself climbing up the ladder, and that is where I believe most of my accolades in wrestling will come from." Reid described who he can attribute his success to by saying, "My success can be attributed to my family, coaches, teammates, but first and foremost my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who strengthens me. It was the Lord that has truly carried me through these trials and provided me with the faith that I needed to come out better than before. Through all of this, I have learned so many lessons." When discussing Reid's accomplishments, Coach Moore mentioned, "Isaac is a guy that really thinks through the process. He has put the time in, and obviously, his size is a big advantage. He really thinks through everything. He is not sporadic when he wrestles. He is very controlled and calculated but has the ability to hit moves that other heavyweight wrestlers cannot hit because of his size and athletic ability. But like everyone else, he works hard, but his confidence is at an all-time high. Most kids talk about competing and they have doubts and negative thoughts, whereas one of his biggest attributes is his positive mindset and his willingness to take advice from others and listen to his coaches. He tries to motivate others through positive self-talk, and he ends up helping himself along the way." Throughout Reid's trials, there were many people who influenced him and his ability to overcome and adapt to life's challenges. Reid stated, "Again, I would like to say Jesus Christ has influenced me, because I believe that I don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but the principalities of darkness - like the Bible states. I feel like my biggest wrestling matches have been mental and spiritual, and I give Jesus all the glory for that. As for earthly influences, the Strittmatter brothers (Jody and John), Isaac Greeley, Chuck Tursky, the Lock Haven coaching staff, my high school coaches, and my parents have all been role models in my life and helped me overcome so many adversities. I can't single out any one specific individual because they've all been so inspirational to me and have tremendously helped me in my career." Coach Moore stated, "Isaac is appreciative of seeing what the other side looks like; of being in tough situations, having some medical conditions, and being in less fortunate situations; one's that have kept him from competing - even life-threatening would be accurate. He started to miss the sacrifice and struggle, and he realized that sacrifice was part of the process of figuring out who he is and who he wants to be, as well as what he is willing to give to see success in wrestling. Academically, he didn't have the highest grades and now he's a 3.25 student and working on getting a minor in business, and hopefully a master's next year. He has not only overcome a lot of adversity intellectually but physically. That perseverance allows him to be grateful for what he has, and it keeps him knowing that what he's been through, the future will never be that hard; at least in the meantime, he knows that he will be able to handle it." Although Reid has faced countless adversities, his future is bright. Reid said, "Academically speaking, this is my fourth year, and I am finishing my bachelor's in sports management with a minor in business. I already have endeavors in real estate and investing. I think a lot of my future will be faith-based as well. I would like to evangelize. I have several social media accounts where I share some of my testimony. It's all my personal story, and my walk with the Lord. (@The Lion Chaser on Instagram) I also see great things in wrestling still to come, along with jujitsu and wrestling. There are many opportunities. It is a very broad horizon, and there are a lot of things that I'd like to get involved in." Coach Moore said the following about why Isaac Reid is a special addition to the Lock Haven wrestling program. "He is a deep thinker, and he has so many things that he is achieving to be. Most of the time, heavyweights get labeled as big jocks, but he is a guy that has so many goals in real estate and business and wants to be successful in everything that he does. He thinks well beyond what most college kids think about. He doesn't party; he doesn't play video games, instead, he is thinking on a big scale. He is already trying to get above the curve and educate himself beyond. But he also done a lot with working with his hands, and he sees the value in internships and opportunities that will help him grow in all facets of his life. He thinks well beyond what a typically 22-year-old would think. He has a lot of interest in conversations with his coaches and professors and he is a different kind of smart that you don't typically see in college kids. Isaac Reid is a special guy who has added tremendously to our wrestling program at Lock Haven." Reid is 26-4 going into the NCAA Wrestling Championships.

The Big 12 champion at 184 lbs Parker Keckeisen (Photos courtesy of Sam Janicki;SJanickiPhoto.com) The moment is here and the NCAA tournament starts today. The ACC sends a slate of solid wrestlers to Detroit and they are all looking to bring home some hardware. Individually, I think there are some great opportunities for wrestlers to get on the podium and make a statement about the success of the conference. In the team battle, NC State has a great opportunity to bring home a trophy as well. I wish I could be there in person, but I'm certainly going to be glued to multiple screens to catch all the action. Here are your Thursday matchups: 125: Patrick McCormick (UVA) has an unfortunate draw. He starts with a pigtail match, which I think he wins, then he will have the 1 seed in Nick Suriano. Not a fun way to start a tournament. In round two, he will face either Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) or Drew Hildebrandt (PSU). Sam Latona (VT) opens with Devin Schroder of Purdue--this is a very winnable match for Latona and I think his style will work well here. I have him winning this round and facing Patrick McKee of Minnesota; and I like how he matches up here as well. Jakob Camacho (NCST) faces a former ACC foe in Joey Prata, now at Oklahoma. Camacho is a very patient wrestler and I think that is what allows him to win in the opening round. Winning in the opening round will get him the prize of facing Patrick Glory of Princeton-the 3 seed. This is a tough matchup for Camacho (for most everyone, really), but if he is able to slow Glory down, he can be in position to win. 133: Korbin Myers (VT) is the 4 seed and will open with Jake Gliva of Minnesota. Myers is the heavy favorite here and should handle the first match to face either Brock Hudkins (Indiana) or Chance Rich (CSUB). Hudkins is the higher seed, but I favor Rich in the matchup. I have Myers winning both matches on Thursday and moving on in the top side of the bracket. Micky Phillippi (Pitt) is the 12 seed and will face Codi Russell of App State in the opening round. This should be a solid match, but I favor the experience of Phillippi here. He will likely face Austin DeSanto of Iowa for a very spicy matchup in round two. Phillippi lost to Desanto last year at the NCAA tournament and will put up a very tough test for Phillippi again Thursday evening. Kai Orine (NCST) is the 15 seed and will face a familiar opponent in Joe Heilmann from North Carolina. The two split matches this season, with Orine getting the latest win at the ACC tournament. This is very much a toss-up match. The combo will face the winner/loser of the Daton Fix (OKST) and Kyle Burwick (Wisconsin) first-round match--Fix is heavily favored there. I have both of these guys moving on to day two. Brian Courtney (UVA) will have a tough first-round match with Rayvon Foley of Michigan State. Foley was a 2019 All-American and has not faced an ACC opponent outside of open tournaments since Kyle Norstrem (VT) in the 2018 Cliff Keen. This match is a major contrast of styles and if Courtney is able to initiate some scramble situations, he has the ability to win this match. His second-round match will be either Michael Coaliocco of Penn or Ramazan Attasauov of Iowa State. 141: Dylan Cedeno (UVA) has a pigtail match against Josh Mason of Bloomsburg; I have him winning and facing the top-seeded Nick Lee of Penn State in the opening round. His second-round match will also be a tough matchup with either Dylan D'Emilio of Ohio State or Quinn Kinner of Rider. Cedeno has been gaining momentum and wrestling well and he will have to be at the top of his game to get to day two in Detroit. Collin Gerardi (VT) draws five-seed Andrew Alirez of Northern Colorado in the opening round. Alirez is pretty wide open, but Gerardi has the ability to slow him down. He will face either CJ Composto of Penn or Dylan Droegemueller of North Dakota State in round two; I favor Gerardi in either of those matchups and have him moving to day two. Cole Matthews (Pitt) earned the six-seed and opened with Joey Zargo of Wisconsin in round one. Matthews should handle that match and will face either Matt Kazimir of Columbia or Shannon Hanna of Campbell, both of these guys are quick and great offensive wrestlers, but I think Matthews handles his business in both matches on day one and moves on to day two in the top bracket. We will see another all-ACC matchup with Kizhan Clarke (UNC) and Ryan Jack (NCST). They two have split matches this season with both being decided by a 4-3 score. Clarke won in the dual and Jack won in the ACC tournament. This is another coin flip match, but Jack is coming in with a lot more momentum than Clarke; Kizhan had a phenomenal season, but lost more matches at the ACC tournament than he did the whole season to that point. They will face the winner/loser of Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) and Wil Gil (F&M). I see both of them making it through to day two. 149: At the top, we have another ACC pigtail into the 1 seed… Zach Sherman (UNC) will face Dashawn Farber (Lock Haven) to move on to face Yianni Diakomihalis. In the second round, he will face either Jaret Degen (ISU) or Willie McDougal (Oklahoma). Sherman will have a tough route to get back on the podium, but his performance last year shows us that he is able to navigate the challenge. Josh Finesilver (Duke) faces Yahya Thomas (NW) in the opening round. Thomas placed third last year at the NCAA and had another strong season; he will be a tough first-round match for Finesilver, but it is winnable. Finesilver will face either Austin Gomez (Wisconsin) or Marshall Keller (Princeton) in round two and should move on to Friday action. Bryce Andonian drew Max Brignola from Lehigh to open the tournament. Andonian should be heavily favored in this matchup and faces a tough potential second-round matchup; he will face either Jonathan Millner (App State) or Cory Crooks (ORST). Millner was an All-American last year and holds two wins over ACC foe Josh Finesilver this season. Tariq Wilson (NCST) earned the two seed with his undefeated season. He will face Michael Blockhus (Minnesota) in the opening round and should move on in the top side to face either Anthony Artalona (Penn) or Legend Lamer (Cal Poly). I really like the path for Tariq and am looking forward to seeing his performance in this tournament. 157: Connor Brady (VT) will have a challenging opening bout facing the 5 seed Quincy Monday (Princeton). Brady had a great start to the season, but struggled in ACC duals; he finished on a high note at the ACC tournament and has some momentum coming into the tournament. He will face either Chase Saldate (MSU) or Jacob Wright (WYO) in the second round--I like both of these matchups for Brady. Elijah Cleary (Pitt) has a tricky first-round match with four-time NCAA qualifier Justin Thomas of Oklahoma. Thomas is the higher seed, but I wouldn't be surprised by an upset here from Cleary. In the second round, he will face either Michael Pettite (Buffalo) or ACC foe Ed Scott (NCST). Ed Scott (NCST) capped off a great season with an ACC championship and earned the 4 seed in Detroit. He will open with Michael Pettite of Buffalo and is heavily favored. He will face either Elijah Cleary (Pitt) or Justin Thomas (OU) in round two--I would favor Scott in both matchups. Jake Keating (UVA) had a strong ACC tournament and comes in at the 15 seed; he will face Kendall Coleman (Purdue) in the opening round. I think Keating matches up really well with Coleman and his length will present a challenge. In the second round, he will face either Hunter Richard (Cornell) or Jacori Teemer (ASU). Austin O'Connor (UNC) is the returning National Champion at 149 and will face a tough challenge to get back to Saturday night at 157. He will open with Dazjon Castro of The Citadel and will be a heavy favorite. In round two, he will face Garrett Model (Wisconsin) or Jared Franek (NDSU). I would favor O'Connor in both of these matches, he's very experienced and knows how to navigate this tournament. He was a little gimpy in the finals match against Scott, I'm hopeful that this week of rest was enough to get him back to full speed. 165: Thomas Bullard (NCST) is rewarded in his final NCAA appearance with a not-so-friendly draw. He opens with Zach Hartman from Bucknell, which is a winnable, but tough match. His second-round match will be against either Cael Carlson (Minnesota) or reigning National Champ Shane Griffith (Stanford). If Bullard is on his game, he is very capable of making it to day two. Justin McCoy (UVA) also has a tough but manageable draw. He will face a quietly dangerous Josh Ogunsanya (Columbia) opening round and will hit either Evan Barczak (Drexel) or Alex Marinelli (Iowa) in round two. I really like the potential paths that McCoy has and think he has a great shot at getting on the podium. Jake Wentzel (Pitt) is a returning NCAA finalist and will face Ashton Eyler of Lock Haven in the opening round. He should handle this match easily and will face either Lucas Revano of Penn or Carson Karchla of Ohio State in the evening round. I also like Wentzel's potential paths in this bracket. 174: Matt Finesilver (Duke) will open the tournament with Hayden Hastings of Wyoming. I think this is a great stylistic matchup for Finesilver. In the second round, he will either face ACC foe Hayden Hidlay (NCST) or Jay Nivison of Buffalo. Hayden Hidlay (NCST) comes in at the 4 seed and has a great path to Saturday. He will open with Jay Nivison of Buffalo and will face either Matt Finesilver (Duke) or Hayden Hastings (WYO) in the evening round. I really like the way the bracket sets up for Hidlay. Clay Lautt (UNC) is the 10 seed and will open with Troy Fisher of Northwestern. Lautt is heavily favored and matches up well here. In the evening session, he will face either Tyler Eischens (STAN) or Ethan Smith (tOSU). Smith will be a tough matchup for Lautt, but with his success this season, it is a very winnable match. Mekhi Lewis (VT) is the 2 seed and I love the way the bracket sets up for the Hokie. He will face Dennis Robin of West Virginia to open the tournament and will see either Lance Runyon (UNI) or Anthony Mantanona (OU) in the second round. Lewis has wins over both of the top seeds on the other side of his quarter--Ethan Smith (tOSU) and Clay Lautt (UNC). 184: Michael Battista (UVA) will need to come out guns blazing on Thursday if he hopes to make it to day two. He has 8-seed Marcus Coleman (ISU) in the opening round--these two could put on a show if they are both on their offense. In the second round he will face either Zac Braunagel (ILL) or Caleb Hopkins (Campbell) to be able to move on to day two. Gregg Harvey (Pitt) comes in with the 28-seed and will face Bernie Traux (Cal Poly) in the opening round. In round two, he will face either Tate Samuelson (WYO) or Brit Wilson (NIU). Trent Hidlay (NCST) earned the 3-seed and has a great path through the bracket. He will face Max Lyon of Purdue in the opening round. In round two, he will face either Isaiah Salazar (Minn) or conference foe Gavin Kane (UNC). Hidlay is 2-0 against Kane this season and is set up well going into day two. Gavin Kane (UNC) comes in at 12-2 at 184 and was given the 14 seed; I wasn't upset about a lot of seeds, but this one felt very low to me for his body of work. He will face Isaiah Salazar (Minn) in the opening round and either Max Lyon (Pur) or Trent Hidlay (NCST) in round two. Hunter Bolen (VT) enters as the 15 seed and will face a test early. In the first round he will face Abe Assad of Iowa, in the evening session he will face either AJ Burkhart ( Lehigh) or returning National Champion Aaron Brooks (PSU). Bolen has a tough draw, but should make it through to day two to continue his run at the podium. 197: Jay Aiello (UVA) will start off in a loaded quarter from the 16 seed. He will face a very dangerous 17 seed Kordell Norfleet of Arizona State to open the day Thursday. In round two, he will face either Will Feldkamp (Clarion) or the top-seeded Max Dean (PSU). 197 is a wild bracket and it will be a battle for anyone to get to the podium, but Aiello has the ability to do it. Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) will look to get back to the NCAA finals again this weekend, and will start that journey by facing Andrew Davison of Northwestern; Nino is highly favored here. He will have a tougher matchup in round two with either Gavin Hoffman (tOSU) or Tanner Sloan (SDSU). I like the way the bracket lays out for Bonaccorsi and I think he has a good path to the podium. Isaac Trumble (NCST) will have a couple tough matches on Thursday, but I like the stylistic matchups for him. In round one, he will face Luke Stout of Princeton and in the later round he will face either JT Brown (Army) or the 2 seed Stephen Buchanon (WYO). 285: Tyrie Houghton (NCST) is the 21 seed and will face Christian Lance of Nebraska to open the day--I think Houghton matches up well in this early round. In the second round he will face either Michael McEleavey (The Citadel) or the 4 seed, undefeated Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force). Quinn Miller (UVA) will face in-state rival Nathan Traxler (VT) in the opening round. The two split on the season with Miller winning in the dual and Traxler winning in the ACC tournament. They will face the winner/loser of Ben Goldin (Penn) and Mason Parris (Mich). I think both make it through to day two; I like the matchups for Traxler more stylistically moving through the bracket.

Hello Wrestling Fans, First of all, thanks for the great support we've received from you since Willie Saylor purchased InterMat on April 1st. Recently, we have had a lot of questions regarding purchasing or the renewal of InterMat Platinum subscriptions. I'm sorry an explanation like this hasn't been posted sooner. The back end of the website is no longer equipped to handle new subscriptions or to extend and renew current ones. With that in mind, we have posted all of our content on InterMat to our new Rokfin page InterMat on Rokfin. Like the website, there is some content that is subscription-based and some that is free. We will continue to do this until all of your Platinum subscriptions expire. As we look to the future, I'm inviting you to please join us on the Rokfin site. It is $9.99/month or $99.90/year and you can cancel your subscription at any time. With all of the content we've posted so far in the collegiate preseason, and more in the pipeline, we'll make sure it is well worth your money and more. Thank you for your understanding and your support! If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at Earl@Intermatwrestle.com Earl Smith

The Big 12 champion at 184 lbs Parker Keckeisen (Photos courtesy of Mark Lundy; LutteLens.com) The NCAA tournament starts Thursday and here are five questions from the Big 12 conference that we'll get answered soon enough. 5. How good is Wyatt Hendrickson? Wyatt Hendrickson has been excellent this season for Air Force. He went into the Big 12 tournament with an unblemished 19-0 record. He dominated the conference tournament and won the first-ever Big 12 title for Air Force along with the Most Outstanding Wrestler. But he hasn't seen the top guys from the Big Ten yet. He received the five seed here, but if the seeds hold, he'll run into Penn State's Greg Kerkvliet in the quarters. Can he win that? Can he contend with some of these top guys from the Big Ten? Something to watch. 4. Can Keckeisen breakthrough? Parker Keckeisen caught an interesting draw at the NCAA tournament. Aaron Brooks is a guy that's had his number, when no one else has. But by virtue of his win in the Big Ten finals, Myles Amine takes the #1 seed and should see Keckeisen in the semis. It's obviously no easy task to beat an Olympic medalist, but my gut feeling is Keckeisen "can" do it. Will he? We'll find out soon enough. 3. Can Fix finally get one? Daton Fix has two finals appearances, two overtime losses, and two second-place trophies from the NCAA tournament. He's been wrestling well and got a good draw with both Austin Desanto and Roman Bravo Young on the opposite side of the bracket. All signs point to another RBY-Fix final. Can Fix avenge his loss from last season and get his first National Title this year? 2. Can anyone push David Carr? David Carr has been untouchable this year. After dominating 157 last season, he's doing more of the same again and looks to be a heavy favorite going into this NCAA tournament. But there are a few undefeated wrestlers at this weight with Ryan Deakin and Jacori Teemer, and there are a few other talented wrestlers in the field beyond these three. Can any of them find a way to challenge David Carr or is Carr destined for another NCAA title? 1. What can the Big 12 do at 197? I'm a believer that there is one weight nationally that is better in a conference that's not the Big 10. And 197 in the Big 12 is that weight class. Even without NCAA champion AJ Ferrari. All American's Stephen Buchannan, Jake Woodley and Rocky Elam, along with Tanner Sloan, Yonger Bastida, Evan Bockman, Owen Pentz, and Alan Clothier, all enter the field this week with a chance to prove that. Buchanan is the two seed with a real chance to win a National title and Woodley, Elam, Sloan, and Bastida all look like contenders for deep runs in the tournament as well. This will be a fun weight to follow if you're a Big 12 fan.

Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson (Photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) For the last five days we have released predictions for the 2022 NCAA Championships, weight class-by-weight class. They can be found below: 125 lb preview 133 lb preview 141 lb preview 149 lb preview 157 lb preview 165 lb preview 174 lb preview 184 lb preview 197 lb preview 285 lb preview So, based on our predictions at each weight class, how do the team scores tabulate? These scores below are strictly based on placement points and advancement. No bonus points were taken into account. They can certainly make a difference based on the closeness of teams throughout the top-30. 1) Penn State (102.5) 2) Michigan (83) 3) Iowa (74.5) 4) Arizona State (60.5) 5) NC State (51) 6) Ohio State (47) 7) Cornell (46) 8) Virginia Tech (42.5) 8) Wisconsin (42.5) 10) Nebraska (41.5) 11) Iowa State (34.5) 12) Northwestern (33) 12) Pittsburgh (33) 14) Missouri (32.5) 15) Oklahoma State (30.5) 16) Minnesota (25.5) 17) Princeton (25) 18) Northern Iowa (22.5) 18) Stanford (22.5) 20) Wyoming (22) 21) Rutgers (21) 22) Cal Poly (19) 22) North Carolina (19) 24) Lehigh (18.5) 25) Penn (15.5) 26) Purdue (14.5) 26) West Virginia (14.5) 28) Binghamton (13.5) 29) Illinois (10.5) 29) South Dakota State (10.5)

The top three seeds at 285 lbs, Gable Steveson (center), Cohlton Schultz (right), and Tony Cassioppi (Photos courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) The 2022 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships are less than a week away! In a few short days, 330 wrestlers will make the trek to Detroit, Michigan, with hopes of a national title on their minds. In addition, fan seating will be at 100% capacity for the first time since Pittsburgh in 2019. Now it's in an area that hasn't hosted nationals since 2007 and even that tournament was not held downtown; it was way out in Auburn Hills. Before the action on the mat starts, InterMat will go through each individual bracket and highlight the favorites, top matches to watch, and much more. Here are the weight classes already released: 125 lb preview 133 lb preview 141 lb preview 149 lb preview 157 lb preview 165 lb preview 174 lb preview 184 lb preview 197 lb preview We'll move on to the 285 lbers as we release two of our weight class previews for the next five days: The Top Seed: Gable Steveson (Minnesota) The biggest favorite of the weekend has to be Gable Steveson at 285 lbs. The 2021 co-Hodge Trophy Winner, Steveson, is well on his way to winning the award again in 2022 and shouldn't have to share it this time. Steveson is 13-for-13 this year, claiming bonus points every time he's taken the mat, along with a pin and four tech falls. What's even more remarkable about Steveson's domination is that he's done it against a field as talented as we've ever seen at 285 lbs. Aside from him, four others in this bracket have captured age-group world titles, at one time or another in their careers. There are seven other wrestlers in the group of brought home a medal from an age-group world championship. Even with all that talent, you have to go to back to last year's national tournament to find a time where Gable was "held" without bonus. That occurred twice in St. Louis and accounted for the only occurrence last season. Steveson was one of the mainstream breakout stars from the Olympics last summer as his remarkable comeback in the gold medal match made the rounds of sports highlight shows. With that extra fame, combined with new NIL rules, many fans and media members thought we'd already witnessed Steveson's last collegiate match. However, the NIL rules allowed him to sign with the WWE, while still competing for the University of Minnesota. Because of outside obligations, Gable did not appear in every single event for the Gophers, but he did make sure to hit the important duals and ones with top-ranked opponents. Only one of his ten duals came against a non-qualifier and eight came against wrestlers seeded in the top-20. That doesn't account for the three All-Americans he dispatched at the Big Ten Championships. In Lincoln, Steveson became the first Minnesota wrestler to win the Big Ten three times, since Tony Nelson did so in 2012-14. The top seed that resulted at nationals made him the first heavyweight to earn the top-seed three times in his career. It seems like a safe bet to assume that Gable will tack five more wins on his career record, to finish 86-2 and a winner of his final 47 bouts. Ever the showman, I'd also expect some sort of flare surrounding the win, rather than settling for a two-point win. The Contenders: Gable…and? The Conference Champs: ACC: #10 Nathan Traxler (Virginia Tech) Big 12: #5 Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force) Big Ten: #1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) EIWA: #6 Jordan Wood (Lehigh) MAC: #8 Matt Stencel (Central Michigan) Pac-12: #2 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) SoCon: #15 Taye Ghadiali (Campbell) Top First-Round Matches #16 Zach Elam (Missouri) vs. #17 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin) #12 Christian Lance (Nebraska) vs. #21 Tyrie Houghton (NC State) #14 Luke Luffman (Illinois) vs. #19 Luke Surber (Oklahoma State) #10 Nathan Traxler (Virginia Tech) vs. #23 Quinn Miller (Virginia) #15 Taye Ghadiali (Campbell) vs. #18 Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) This weight class was the one I was most eagerly anticipating, as far as seeing how the seeds were doled out. It's no secret that the place to be is on the bottom half (away from Gable). Since this bracket features two other undefeated wrestlers, #2 Cohlton Schultz and #5 Wyatt Hendrickson, there were plenty of possible solutions to the seeding mess. What made things worse was that Schultz didn't hit any of the big dogs from the Big Ten and Hendrickson saw even fewer. Guys like Tony Cassioppi, Greg Kerkvliet, and Mason Parris beat up on each other, which made their records look less spectacular. Sitting on the bottom of the bracket is Schultz, the Junior world champion in Greco. Schultz's best win of the regular season came in his final dual when he outlasted #6 Jordan Wood in tiebreakers. He comes in with an 18-0 record and six falls. Last year, Schultz was an NCAA fourth-place finisher whose two defeats in St. Louis have accounted for his only collegiate losses. Those, of course, came to Cassioppi, who takes the third seed. A pair of wins over Kerkvliet at their dual and in the Big Ten semifinals helped boost Cassioppi over his Penn State counterpart. Those are Kerkvliet's only losses of the year, but he gets the fourth seed. Another meeting with Steveson could be fun, as Kerkvliet was one of two to limit Gable to a regular decision last year and also competed against him in high school, back in Minnesota. A fourth-place finish at the Big Ten's by 2021 NCAA runner-up, Mason Parris, gave him the seventh seed and sets up an intriguing quarterfinal bout with Schultz. Those two or Cassioppi would be the frontrunners to meet Steveson in the finals. Seeded ahead of Parris is #6 Jordan Wood, who made history by becoming the first (and likely last) five-time EIWA champion. #8 Matt Stencel also accomplished the same feat in the MAC. Both are past All-Americans that will have a say in who finishes on the podium this year. The mysterious Henrickson will be must-watch in the early rounds for those not familiar with the Air Force big man. A Junior world fifth-place finisher, Hendrickson, is 24-0 with an eye-popping 16 falls. Early in his Big 12 final bout, Hendrickson was in some trouble; however, he quickly rebounded and majored Luke Surber, 16-6. Quadrant to Watch: We already highlighted a potential quarterfinal bout on the bottom of the bracket between Mason Parris and Cohlton Schultz. But those two will both have to get their hands raised twice, which is no small feat considering the competition. Parris could see Nathan Traxler in the Round of 16; Traxler has only lost twice this season and was a match away from placing last year. Schultz likely has the winner of Taye Ghadiali and Lewis Fernandes in the Round of 16. Ghadiali has only lost twice this year and both have been extremely close, to Traxler and Stencel. Fernandes has been solid, but not spectacular, during his first run as the starter for the Big Red. Darkhorse All-American Contender: #14 Luke Luffman (Illinois) This is a deep weight, so there are a handful of guys who could be mentioned here. Based on the way the brackets could break, we've got Luffman advancing to the bloodround. Luffman is coming off a strong showing, taking sixth in the loaded Big Ten. That may not seem too unusual, but Luffman did log wins over #12 Christian Lance and #17 Trent Hillger while in Lincoln. If Luffman puts together a strong run on the backside, it's likely he'll face either Stencel/Davison to place. Davison has two very close wins over him earlier in the season. Extreme (+20 seed) Darkhorse All-American Contender: #21 Tyrie Houghton (NC State) All year we speculated on who would end up getting the call for NC State and it ended up being Tyrie Houghton, who went on to make the finals at the ACC Championships. Houghton first jumped into the spotlight when he was sent out to face Zach Elam and Cassioppi at the Collegiate Duals. While he fell in both contests, Houghton had his moments and proved he could hang with some of the best in the country. A week later, he was fifth at the Southern Scuffle and outlasted teammate Owen Trephan in his final bout. Even with a loss in the opening round to Lance, Houghton has a path to win a few matches and could meet Luffman in the consolation Round of 16. Projected Quarterfinals #1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) vs. #9 Lucas Davison (Northwestern) #5 Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force) vs. #4 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) #3 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) vs. #6 Jordan Wood (Lehigh) #7 Mason Parris (Michigan) vs. #2 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) Projected Semifinals #1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) vs. #4 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) #3 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) vs. #6 Mason Parris (Michigan) Projected All-Americans 1st) Gable Steveson (Minnesota) 2nd) Mason Parris (Michigan) 3rd) Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) 4th) Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) 5th) Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) 6th) Lucas Davison (Northwestern) 7th) Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force) 8th) Jordan Wood (Lehigh) Round of 12 Finishers: #10 Nathan Traxler (Virginia Tech); #14 Luke Luffman (Illinois); #12 Christian Lance (Nebraska); #8 Matt Stencel (Central Michigan) Consolation Round of 16: #16 Zach Elam (Missouri); #21 Tyrie Houghton (NC State); #13 Tate Orndorff (Ohio State); #17 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin)

The top three seeds at 197 lbs Max Dean (center), Eric Schultz (left), and Stephen Buchanan (Photos courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) The 2022 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships are less than a week away! In a few short days, 330 wrestlers will make the trek to Detroit, Michigan, with hopes of a national title on their minds. In addition, fan seating will be at 100% capacity for the first time since Pittsburgh in 2019. Now it's in an area that hasn't hosted nationals since 2007 and even that tournament was not held downtown; it was way out in Auburn Hills. Before the action on the mat starts, InterMat will go through each individual bracket and highlight the favorites, top matches to watch, and much more. Here are the weight classes already released: 125 lb preview 133 lb preview 141 lb preview 149 lb preview 157 lb preview 165 lb preview 174 lb preview 184 lb preview We'll move on to the 197 lbers as we release two of our weight class previews for the next five days: The Top Seed: Max Dean (Penn State) The fourth number one seed for Penn State is their 197 lber Max Dean. Dean is in his first year competing for the Nittany Lions after spending his first two years at Cornell. During that time, Dean earned All-American honors on two occasions and crashed the NCAA finals in 2019. As the fifth seed, Dean knocked off the previously unbeaten Myles Martin (Ohio State) in one of the more significant upsets of the tournament. Since moving to PSU, Dean has bumped up a weight to 197 lbs and hasn't missed a beat. He is 18-1 this year and has been one of the stabilizing forces in an otherwise chaotic 197 lb bracket. Dean claimed his Big Ten crown by cruising against three-time Big Ten runner-up Eric Schultz. Despite being the top seed at the tournament, Dean's road was anything but easy. He also had to face Cam Caffey and Greg Bulsak, two of the top 15 seeds at this weight. The Caffey win reversed a decision from earlier in the season. Caffey was responsible for the only blemish Dean's record in 2021-22. While Dean has consistently banked wins, he has done so in a lot of close matches. In a tournament like this, with a weight class that features capable threats up and down the bracket, it could make for another hiccup. Even his second-round opponents have spent significant time in the top ten during their careers. The Contenders: Who isn't? Any of the top 16 wrestlers? The Conference Champs: ACC: #5 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) Big 12: #2 Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming) Big Ten: #1 Max Dean (Penn State) EIWA: #8 Louie DePrez (Binghamton) MAC: #29 Ben Smith (Cleveland State) Pac-12: #16 Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State) SoCon: #33 Matthew Waddell (Chattanooga) If you've watched enough NCAA Tournament's, you'll know there's usually one weight that goes off the rails and craziness ensues. I'm not going out on a huge ledge by declaring this as “that weight.” With that being said, second-seeded Stephen Buchanan is a returning All-American that has spent the bulk of the year ranked in the top three. Buchanan won the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and handed Schultz his only loss of the regular season. Also in Vegas, Buchanan picked up a win over fourth-seeded Patrick Brucki. Schultz slides into the third seed. He was seeded second last year, but was upset in the opening round. The Husker senior is likely trying to erase that memory and get onto the NCAA podium for the first time. In each of his previous three NCAA tournaments, he went 2-2. Just carving a path to Buchanan is no easy task, as Schultz could see Greg Bulsak/Jacob Cardenas in the second round and Jacob Warner in the quarters. Schultz owns a 3-2 advantage over Warner; however, their matches are always close. Brucki, Nino Bonaccorsi, Warner, Rocky Elam, Louie DePrez, Caffey, and Yonger Bastida round out the top ten. While unlikely, any could get hot, string together five wins and come away with the title. Bonaccorsi is the returning NCAA runner-up and made his run last year as the sixth seed. To get back in the semis, he'd have to get by Brucki. The two met earlier in the season and it was Brucki who prevailed, 6-3. Warner and Elam are returning All-Americans from this bracket that have yet to meet. Warner was fourth in 2021, while Elam was fifth. DePrez has AA'ed down at 184 lbs. A few years ago, he managed a win over Dean, during their EIWA days. He's reeled off 13 straight wins after falling to Elam at the Collegiate Duals. Caffey had a rough start to his season, rolls in with a top-ten seed after taking sixth in the loaded Big Ten. Bastida gave us a glimpse of what he's capable of when he downed Warner early in the season; he's also beaten Elam twice, as well. Top First-Round Matches #16 Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State) vs. #17 Jay Aiello (Virginia) #12 Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State) vs. #21 Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State) #13 Jake Woodley (Oklahoma) vs. #20 Jake Koser (Navy) #14 Greg Bulsak (Rutgers) vs. #19 Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) #11 Thomas Penola (Purdue) vs. #22 Owen Pentz (North Dakota State) #10 Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) vs. #23 Braxton Amos (Wisconsin) #15 Isaac Trumble (NC State) vs. #18 Luke Stout (Princeton) Quadrant to Watch: There's arguments to be made about others, but I'll focus on the bottom quarterfinal. Of course, Buchanan anchors the bracket, but he'll have a pair of upstarts in the second round. Both Luke Stout and Isaac Trumble are freshmen that have gotten better as the year progresses. Trumble owns wins in each of the last two years over 2021 national runner-up, Bonaccorsi. Above them is Bastida and another excellent freshman, Braxton Amos. Amos and Bastida are both Junior World medalists, meeting in the opening round. On top of them in the bracket is the seventh seed Elam. Despite their seeds, Bastida holds the upperhand this year. While we're projecting Buchanan to win the whole thing, he could face trouble in the Round of 16 and quarters. Darkhorse All-American Contender: Anyone seeded 12th-19th Would it be that big of a surprise if #18 Stout or #19 Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) gets on the podium? A little bit, but I don't think anyone would be shocked. Same for #16 Kordell Norfleet and #17 Jay Aiello. Both were seeded in the top ten at the 2020 NCAA Tournament. Aiello seventh and Norfleet ninth. In this group, you also have #13 Jake Woodley (Oklahoma), who was a surprise semifinalist last year. Extreme (+20 seed) Darkhorse All-American Contender: #23 Braxton Amos (Wisconsin) Admit it; all year, you've been waiting for that one breakout match from Amos! He's been good and generally beat the guys ranked below him, while hanging tough with those above him. What we know is that the stage won't be too big for Amos. A wrestler with his pedigree and track record has competed at various continental and world championships, so he's not going to be intimidated by the bright lights. Maybe he takes advantage of an opponent that is. Again, with such an even field at 197 lbs, all Amos needs is some momentum from one breakout win. Projected Quarterfinals #1 Max Dean (Penn State) vs. #8 Louie DePrez (Binghamton) #5 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) vs. #4 Patrick Brucki (Michigan) #3 Eric Schultz (Nebraska) vs. #6 Jacob Warner (Iowa) #10 Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) vs. #2 Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming) Projected Semifinals #8 Louie DePrez (Binghamton) vs. #5 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) #3 Eric Schultz (Nebraska) vs. #2 Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming) Projected All-Americans 1st) Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming) 2nd) Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) 3rd) Max Dean (Penn State) 4th) Louie DePrez (Binghamton) 5th) Eric Schultz (Nebraska) 6th) Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) 7th) Rocky Elam (Missouri) 8th) Jacob Warner (Iowa) Round of 12 Finishers: #12 Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State); #14 Greg Bulsak (Rutgers); #4 Patrick Brucki (Michigan); #9 Cam Caffey (Michigan) Consolation Round of 16: #17 Jay Aiello (Virginia); #11 Thomas Penola (Purdue); #13 Jake Woodley (Oklahoma); #16 Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State)

On the night before the NCAA Division I wrestling tournament, apparel company Rudis will host Super Match. The pay-per-view event, which is only available via RUDIS+, will feature the long-awaited match between Kyle Snyder and J'den Cox. The card also features a variety of World medalists, NCAA championships and next-level high school prospects. The following is a match-by-match preview of the event. 97 kg: Kyle Snyder vs. J'Den Cox The match that many expected to be the highlight of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials will finally happen. Cox planned to move up to 97 kg for the Olympics, but "missed weight" per USA Wrestling and was removed from the bracket. Snyder, who was already sitting in the finals, scored a pair of victories over former college teammate Kollin Moore to qualify for his second Olympic Games. Snyder made the finals in Tokyo, but dropped a 6-3 match against rival Abdulrashid Sadulaev. The former Ohio State wrestler got another shot at Sadulaev in the finals of the 2021 World Championships. The Russian once again took the victory, this time by a 6-0 score. Since that loss, Snyder has won gold medals at the 2021 Russian International tournament and the 2022 Ivan Yariguin. For his career, he is now a seven-time World/Olympic medalist and a three-time gold medalist. On the college level, Snyder was a four-time NCAA finalist and a three-time champion. For the 2016 Olympics, Cox fought his way down to 86 kg and won a bronze medal. When the weights expanded, he eventually found a new home at 92 kg. After the Trials incident, Cox moved back up for the 2021 World Championships. He had little trouble at the Trials as he outscored his opposition 28-0. He then added a bronze medal at the World tournament, with his only loss coming against Kamran Ghasempour. Cox is now a five-time World/Olympic medalist, and he won gold medals at both the 2018 and 2019 World Championships. In college at Missouri, Cox was a three-time NCAA champion and a four-time All-American. This match features two of the most accomplished and gifted wrestlers currently competing for the country. It could easily become one of the biggest rivalries as well. Cox will need to rely on his trademark defense in this match. Snyder has had trouble in the past when he is not able to get out to an early lead. This contest is also the only one on the card that will be decided by a best-of-three series. That likely favors Cox. His defensive style opens the door for a match to get away from him, which happened in the 2016 Olympic Trials finals against Kyle Dake. The extra match gives him a bit of room for error. On the other hand, Cox has a limited resume at this weight, and Snyder winning this match should surprise no one. Prediction: Cox over Snyder (2-1 in the best-of-three series) 53 kg: Sarah Hildebrandt vs. Ronna Gross Hildebrandt has really started filling her trophy case. She is already a six-time gold medalist at the Pan American Championships/Games. Her first Senior-level World medal came in 2018, where she won a silver medal at 53 kg. For the Olympic year, she dropped down to 50 kg and won bronze in Tokyo. Hildebrandt returned last year for the World Championships, where she added another silver medal. At this rate, it is not hard to imagine multiple World titles in her future. Gross stayed at 53 kg for the Olympic year and made the finals of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. She came up short and dropped two-straight matches against Jacarra Winchester in the best-of-three series. Gross bounced back later in the year and earned a spot on the U23 World team. The size factor is interesting here. Hildebrandt certainly seems to be her best work down at 50 kg. With that being said, she only really needs to land one takedown in this match. Hildebrandt has one of the best leg laces in the country. She can quickly turn one opportunity on top into a match-ending sequence, and she is routinely the country's most prolific scorer in international tournaments. Prediction: Hildebrandt VSU over Gross 70 kg: Zain Retherford vs. James Green Retherford was a three-time NCAA champion and a four-time All-American during his college days at Penn State. While still in school, he defeated Jaydin Eierman, Nick Dardanes, BJ Futrell and Frank Molinaro to make the 2017 World team that brought home the team title. Retherford would return to the World Championships in 2019 after an extended series against Yianni Diakomihals, but he is still looking for his first World medal on the senior level. Earlier this year, Retherford had a dominant run through the Dan Kolov International and brought home a gold medal. Green has been the best U.S. wrestler at 70 kg for some time. He won a bronze medal at the weight in 2015 and added a silver two years later in 2017. During his college days at Nebraska, Green was a four-time All-American who finished third as a junior and senior. Last month, he took a silver medal at the Yasar Dogu after dropping the finals match against Amir Mohammad Yazdani. On the domestic scene, Green rarely loses matches at 70 kg. When he cuts down to 65 kg, things get a bit dicey. These two faced off at the 2016 Olympic Trials, and Retherford dominated the match via a 9-2 score. However, this match will likely be a different story. Green is a different wrestler when he is not depleted physically by the cut. Retherford could make things interesting with his savvy tactics and underrated scrambling, but it is hard to pick against Green at this weight. Prediction: Green VPO1 over Retherford 70 kg: Jordan Oliver vs. Alec Pantaleo Oliver won the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, but Team USA had not yet qualified the weight for the Tokyo Games. The former Oklahoma State wrestler traveled to Bulgaria for the final Olympic qualifier and, despite winning three matches, came up short of qualification. Oliver moved up to 70 kg for last year's World Team Trials, but fell in the semifinals against James Green. During his collegiate days, Oliver was a two-time NCAA champion and a four-time All-American. On the senior level, he is a four-time Senior Nationals finalist and one-time champion. Pantaleo was a three-time All-American at Michigan, with his best finish coming in 2019 when he finished third at 157 pounds. He had a strong 2021 on the senior level that saw him win a gold medal at the 2021 Pan American Championships and finish second at Senior Nationals. In January, Pantaleo traveled to Russia for the Ivan Yariguin tournament, but he dropped his only match against Alan Kudzoev by 4-4 on criteria. This match has a pretty interesting dynamic in terms of weight. Oliver is moving up from his Olympic weight of 65 kg, while Pantaleo is moving down from 74 kg after campaigning there during the Olympic year. Oliver is the much more credentialed wrestler, but time is certainly not on his side. He has a tendency to slow down the pace of matches when his offense is not readily available. That will likely spell trouble against Pantaleo, who is extremely hard to move out of position. Look for the former Michigan wrestler to keep this one close and pull out the low-scoring upset. Prediction: Pantaleo VPO1 over Oliver 86 kg: Myles Martin vs. Mark Hall Martin won an NCAA title as a true freshman in 2016. He then finished his career at Ohio State as a four-time All-American. Since exhausting his collegiate eligibility, Martin has been a regular on the domestic freestyle circuit. In 2019 he finished second at Senior Nationals with signature victories over Nick Heflin and Alex Dieringer. The following year, he won Flo's 8-Man Challenge tournament thanks to wins over Drew Foster, Nate Jackson and Taylor Lujan. Hall also won an NCAA title as a true freshman for Penn State. He also finished as a four-time All-American but missed out on his final NCAA tournament due to the pandemic. Before ever finishing his collegiate career, Hall was a three-time age-group World champion, but he has failed to make a team on the senior level. Last year, he was unable to qualify for the Olympic Trials, but bounced back with a first-place finish at the 2021 Senior Nationals. The former Nittany Lion seems intent on wrestling at 86 kg on the senior level. He wrestled in college at 174 pounds, and his best results in freestyle always seemed to come around 74 kg. Hall is skilled and athletic enough to be highly competitive with some of the best in the country, but he does seem to get overpowered at times. Martin certainly has the game to impose his will, but look for Hall to escape a close match here. They wrestled at the 2021 Matteo Pellicone. In that match, Hall was able to consistently get to legs and eventually pinned Martin in a scramble. Prediction: Hall VPO1 over Martin 62 kg: Kayla Miracle vs. Emma Bruntil After making only one previous World team, Miracle defeated Macey Kilty in the finals of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. She won only one match at the Olympic Games, but returned later in the year at the 2021 World Championships. Miracle started the tournament on a run and made the finals for a silver medal. She recently returned to action at the Bout at the Ballpark and held on for a 6-5 victory over Ana Paula Godinez. Bruntil made the finals of the 2021 World Team Trials, but dropped the three-match series against Forrest Molinari. This year, she got off to a strong start with a gold medal performance at the Ivan Yariguin tournament that included a victory over Molinari in a rematch. Bruntil then placed third at the Yasar Dogu tournament. In that event, she ran into Molinari once again and was unable to best her recent rival. Over this past year, Bruntil has gained some invaluable international experience. She could easily find herself on multiple World teams over the next few years. However, this match might be a little bit too much at this point. Miracle's performance at the last World Championships showed that she took a step forward, and fans can expect to see that domestically this year. Prediction: Miracle VPO1 over Bruntil 79 kg: Isaiah Martinez vs. Alex Dieringer Martinez was a four-time NCAA finalist and two-time champion during his time at Illinois. He lost only three matches in his collegiate career that ended in 2018. Martinez has twice made Final X. In 2018, he dropped a two-match series against Jordan Burroughs. The two rematched in another best-of-three series in 2019. This time Martinez was able to get a match off Burroughs but still came up short in his bid for a World team. Dieringer was a four-time All-American and three-time champion for Oklahoma State. As a senior in 2016, he went undefeated and took home the Dan Hodge trophy. He has continued to pile up the accolades on the international scene as he has won gold medals at the 2020 Matteo Pellicone, 2019 Bill Farrell, 2019 Yasar Dogu and 2019 Yasar Dogu, to name a few. These two have wrestled three times on the domestic freestyle circuit, with Dieringer winning all three matches. Their most recent bout came in the semifinals of the 2021 World Team Trials. Dieringer was in control throughout the contest and finished with a 6-1 victory. Martinez is probably best down at 74 kg, and Dieringer will likely have the physical edge again in this bout. Prediction: Dieringer VPO1 over Martinez 97 kg: Kollin Moore vs. Nate Jackson Moore had three top-five finishes at the NCAA tournament leading up to his senior year. In his final year, he went 27-0, won the Big Ten tournament and was the clear number-one seed going into the 2020 NCAA tournament. Unfortunately, that tournament never happened, and he never got another shot at an NCAA title. In 2021, Moore made the finals of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials and the 2021 World Team Trials. Along the way, he scored victories over the likes of Trent Hidlay, Michael Macchiavello and Braxton Amos. Jackson was a two-time All-American at Indiana who finished his eligibility in 2017. Last year he qualified for the Olympic Team Trials with a second-place finish at the Last Chance Qualifier. To earn that spot, he picked up victories over Drew Foster, Mark Hall and Max Dean. This bout will be a rematch from the semifinals of the 2021 World Team Trials. The two traded early takedowns before Moore took an extensive injury timeout with the score tied at 4-4. The action restarted, and Jackson scored a takedown in the final 30 seconds of the first period to move ahead 6-4. That score held until there were 38 seconds left in the match. Moore evened the score at 6-6 with a takedown. He then added another takedown and a pair of gut wrenches to run away with the 12-6. While the match was much closer than the final score would indicate, Moore was still the one coming forward and pressing the action. Jackson is at his best when he can rely on his defense. While that strategy got him close in their last meeting, Moore's pace and forward pressure will likely lead him to another victory here. Prediction: Moore VPO1 over Jackson 72 kg: Kennedy Blades vs. Victoria Francis Blades announced her presence to the wrestling world by making the finals of the U.S. Olympic Trials, and she is still only 17 years old. At that event, she defeated Forrest Molinari, Alexandria Glaude and Rachel Watters before eventually falling against Olympic gold medalist Tamyra Mensah-Stock in the finals. Blades then followed that performance with her own gold medal at the 2021 Junior World Championships. After a high-profile recruiting saga, she and her sister Korina recently announced they would attend Arizona State and train at the Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club. Francis made the finals of the Olympic Trials challenge tournament at 76 kg, before coming up short against Kylie Welker. She had a very active February that saw her compete at the Bout at the Ballpark and the Yasar Dogu tournament. Francis has been a member of two World teams, with her best finish coming in 2019. That year she made the bronze medal match but came up short against two-time Asian Championships gold medalist Paliha of China. Francis has the experience edge in this match, but that has been the case for many of Blades' victories. She appears to be a prodigious talent, and that is likely to be on display here. Look for this one to turn into a showcase bout. Prediction: Blades VSU over Francis 125 kg: Derek White vs. Amar Dhesi White started his collegiate career at Nebraska before transferring to Oklahoma State. He spent one year with the Cowboys at 197 pounds before moving up to heavyweight. In 2019, White made it all the way to the NCAA finals before falling against Penn State's Anthony Cassar. White has dabbled with 97 kg on the freestyle circuit, but once again, it appears as if he has found his home at heavyweight. Dhesi represents Canada on the international scene, but he spent his collegiate days at Oregon State. With the Beavers, he was a four-time NCAA qualifier and a three-time NCAA All-American. His highest finish came during his junior season, where he went 25-3 and his only loss at the NCAA tournament came against Adam Coon. In freestyle, Dhesi won the 2014 Junior World Championships. He qualified for the last Olympics by finishing second at the Pan American Olympic Qualification Tournament. White might have the higher finish at the NCAA tournament, but many believe Dhesi's best style has always been freestyle. If Dhesi is able to score an early takedown, he should be able to turn to his defense and hold on for a score. His experience against some of the best in the World will likely help him defend in par terre and hold onto the lead. Prediction: Dhesi VPO1 over White 65 kg: Evan Henderson vs. Seth Gross Henderson was an active competitor on the local circuit during the pandemic period, where most action was shut down. That actively likely provided momentum in 2021 as he won the Last Chance Qualifier with impressive victories over Shayne Van Ness, Kizhan Clarke and Pat Lugo. After failing to make the Olympic team, Henderson returned at the 2021 World Team Trials, where he finished third and defeated the likes of Dean Heil and Luke Pletcher. Gross was a two-time NCAA finalist and champion for South Dakota State before transferring to Wisconsin for this final season of collegiate wrestling in 2020. Since college Gross has been a regular on the domestic freestyle circuit and finished fourth at last year's World Team Trials at 61 kg. At the event, he scored victories over Ethan Lizak, Daniel DeShazer and Joe Colon. While Gross does compete with some regularity at higher weights, his best results in freestyle have almost always come down at 57 kg. When he has moved up as high as 65 kg, he has struggled. On the undercard of Burroughs vs. Taylor last year, he was dominated by Joey McKenna and dropped a 10-0 match. Henderson may not be the most dynamic scorer, but he will likely be able to control this match physically and take the victory. Prediction: Henderson VPO over Gross 50 kg: Emily Shilson vs. Erin Golston Shilson recently won the NCWWC title at 109 pounds for Augsburg. She outscored her opposition 38-0 on her way to the title. Despite still competing collegiately, Shilson is already a three-time World champion with victories at the 2018 Cadet World Championships and the 2021 editions of both the Junior World Championships and U23 World Championships. Coming into last year, Golston was a three-time runner-up at the U.S. Open. In 2021, she picked up victories over Chloe Kresbach, Hannah Michael and Natalie Reyna-Rodriguez to claim the 50kg title. Golston is also a three-time medalist at the Junior World Championships with bronze medals in 2011 and 2012, as well as a silver medal in 2013. Shilson and Golston have met multiple times previously, with their most recent match coming at the 2021 World Team Trials. In that bout, Golston got out to a 3-1 lead thanks to a stepout point and a takedown; however, Shilson did the rest of the scoring and came away with a 10-3 victory. Both wrestlers seem capable of scoring takedowns, but Shilson's ability to score from the top position might end up being the difference. Prediction: Shilson VPO1 over Golston 79 kg: David McFadden vs. Mitch Finesilver McFadden was a four-time All-American for Virginia Tech, with his last season coming during the pandemic shortened 2020 season. That season he picked up wins over current number-one ranked wrestler Evan Wick (Cal Poly) and national finalist Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh). On the international circuit, his best result is a silver medal performance at the 2021 Matteo Pellicone. McFadden recently went 1-2 at the Yasar Dogu tournament with a victory over 2014 World champion Khetik Tsabolov (Serbia). Finesilver finished fourth at the 2019 NCAA tournament, as a senior, to become an All-American. He left Duke as a four-time NCAA qualifier. On the international circuit, Finesilver represents Israel. Last year, he won a somewhat unlikely bronze medal at the European Championships with victories over Davud Alizalau (Belarus), Malik Amine (San Marino), and Valentin Borzin (Moldova). Last month, the former Duke wrestler was part of the international all-star team at the Bout at the Ballpark and dropped an 11-0 match against Jason Nolf. Even though both of these competitors were contemporaries in the ACC, they never met on the collegiate mats. McFadden spent his college days at 165 and 174 pounds, while Finesilver never went higher than 157. That size difference will likely be on display here. Not only is McFadden a long wrestler for 79kg, but he does a good job utilizing a reach advantage when he has it. Finesilver is certainly game, but this will be a tough contest for him. Prediction: McFadden VPO over Finesilver 152 lbs: Caleb Henson vs. Hunter Garvin Henson was the 16th recruit on the MatScouts 2022 Senior Big Board and has a very strong 2021. In that year, he won the Super 32 tournament and a Fargo title. He will attend Virginia Tech next season. He got a taste of college action earlier this season as he won the Southeast Open back in November. Garvin recently won his third Iowa state high school championship for Iowa City West. He was ranked 24th on the Big Board and will attend Stanford in the fall. Per Cody Goodwin of the Des Moines Register, Garvin is the highest-rated Iowa high school wrestler to leave the state for college since Alex Thomsen in 2018. Like many of the future college wrestlers coming out of Georgia, Henson is a physical presence who is fundamentally sound in a variety of positions. Garvin will be in a tough spot, as he will likely struggle to score and deal with the forward pressure of Henson. Prediction: Henson VPO1 over Garvin 145 lbs: Jesse Mendez vs. Casey Swiderski Mendez recently won his fourth-straight Indiana state high school championship. He has also been extremely successful on the national freestyle scene with gold medal performances at the 2019 Cadet World Team Trials and 2021 Junior World Team Trials. He was the number-one recruit on the MatScouts 2022 Senior Big Board and will attend Ohio State. Swiderski accomplished the rare accomplishment of winning four Michigan state high school championships and adding four state team titles. Fittingly enough, one of the other wrestlers to accomplish this in Michigan was former Hodge Trophy winner Brent Metcalf, who will help lead Swiderski through his collegiate career at Iowa State. Swiderski was a Fargo champion and ranked eighth on the Big Board. These two met at the 2021 Who's Number One event, where Swiderski famously pulled off the upset. This match will be the only one on the card contested under collegiate folkstyle rules. Swiderski was the much more dynamic wrestler in the WNO match, and he won the takedown battle against the more seasoned freestyle competitor. With that being said, Mendez should benefit from time away from that match and the opportunity to come in with a better gameplan. It is also entirely possible Mendez was still dealing with an injury suffered in the finals of the U23 World Team Trials only six months prior to that match. Prediction: Mendez decision over Swiderski

The top three seeds at 184 lbs Myles Amine (center), Aaron Brooks (left), and Trent Hidlay (Photos courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) The 2022 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships are less than a week away! In a few short days, 330 wrestlers will make the trek to Detroit, Michigan, with hopes of a national title on their minds. In addition, fan seating will be at 100% capacity for the first time since Pittsburgh in 2019. Now it's in an area that hasn't hosted nationals since 2007 and even that tournament was not held downtown; it was way out in Auburn Hills. Before the action on the mat starts, InterMat will go through each individual bracket and highlight the favorites, top matches to watch, and much more. Here are the weight classes already released: 125 lb preview 133 lb preview 141 lb preview 149 lb preview 157 lb preview 165 lb preview 174 lb preview We'll move on to the 184 lbers as we release two of our weight class previews for the next five days: The Top Seed: Myles Amine (Michigan) For the second consecutive season, Myles Amine will stroll into the national tournament as the top seed. Last year, it was up at 197 lbs as he was looking to keep on size for his impending Olympic run. Amine, slightly outsized and banged up, still managed to get third place which marked the fourth time he made the NCAA podium, never lower than fourth place. Amine gets the top seed after pulling a slight upset over the then-undefeated, returning NCAA champion Aaron Brooks (Penn State). A late takedown from Amine tied the bout and then another in sudden victory gave him his second career Big Ten title. It was a reversal of their dual match won by Brooks in very close fashion. A summer that saw Amine come home from Tokyo with an Olympic gold medal led to a late start for his 2021-22 campaign. Amine debuted at the MatMen Open and was a part of a super match in the championship round that pitted him against former rival and current Penn volunteer assistant Mark Hall. Though the match didn't count for NCAA purposes, Amine's 4-2 win set the tone for this season. Amine's win over Brooks ended up being the points needed for Michigan to lock up their first Big Ten team title since 1973. With Amine back for one last hurrah, could this be the picture-perfect ending? The national tournament is in Detroit and the Wolverines bring back a veteran team looking to make history. Starting with their leader, Amine, can he breakthrough and make the finals..then win the whole thing? The Contenders: #2 Aaron Brooks (Penn State); #3 Trent Hidlay (NC State), #4 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) The Conference Champs: ACC: #3 Trent Hidlay (NC State) Big 12: #4 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) Big Ten: #1 Myles Amine (Michigan) EIWA: #11 Jonathan Loew (Cornell) MAC: #12 Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois) Pac-12: #6 Trey Munoz (Oregon State) SoCon: #24 Caleb Hopkins (Campbell) Top First-Round Matches #16 Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) vs. #17 Jeremiah Kent (Missouri) #9 Zac Braunagel (Illinois) vs. #24 Caleb Hopkins (Campbell) #12 Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois) vs. #21 Tate Samuelson (Wyoming) #13 Kyle Cochran (Maryland) vs. #20 John Poznanski (Rutgers) #14 Gavin Kane (North Carolina) vs. #19 Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) #15 Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) vs. #18 Abe Assad (Iowa) This weight class has a clear-cut top tier of contenders that has separated itself from the rest of the bracket. Until his loss to Amine, Brooks was riding a 38-match winning streak that saw him claim a national title last year, without a loss. Prior to the Big Ten finals, the Nittany Lion star had only tasted defeat during his true freshman year. Brooks responded well to that loss by pinning Taylor Venz in the 2020 Big Ten semifinals. While pinning Amine is probably a stretch, it wouldn't be a shocker if Brooks was able to get the best of the Wolverine if they meet again. If they meet is the question because of undefeated third-seeded Trent Hidlay. While Hidlay didn't have the quality wins over Amine/Brooks, he probably could have received the top seed here without much argument. Hidlay dropped a nailbiter in the 2021 national finals to Brooks and has been on a mission since. He has racked up bonus points in over 88% of his matches this season, which is an absurd rate. We've said it already about other weights, but if Hidlay can run the table here (with wins over Amine/Brooks), he could get serious Hodge Trophy consideration. The sometimes-forgotten man at this weight, as far as the title contenders go, is the fourth seed, Parker Keckeisen. During two years of competition, Keckeisen's record sits at 42-2. Both losses have come at the hands of Brooks, a two-pointer in the NCAA semi's last year, and a one-pointer at the Collegiate Duals this season. Keckeisen claimed his second Big 12 title, in as many tries, in grand fashion. He majored his way through the tournament, which includes victories over a pair of top-17 seeds at nationals. The following two seeds at this weight are rivals from the Pac-12, #5 Bernie Truax (Cal Poly) and #6 Trey Munoz (Oregon State). This year the pair have met three times this year. Munoz won via fall in the Pac-12 finals, but Truax gets the higher seed based on his two previous wins. The loss to Munoz was the only official setback on Truax's 2021-22 record. Truax was an All-American last year at 174 and hasn't shown any ill effects with the move up in weight. Munoz was also at 174 last season and went 0-2 against Truax, while he was competing for Arizona State. Two veterans that finally seemed to put things together this year and emerged as podium threats are #7 Kaleb Romero and #8 Marcus Coleman. Both have shifted weights at various times in their careers, before finding a full-time home at 184 lbs. Romero had a breakout by winning the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, while Coleman carefully notched wins over Big 12 foes. After the big four, there's plenty of parody at this weight. It could be rewrestled ten times and the wrestlers that comprise the five-through-eight spots on the podium may be different every time. Different styles and how they mesh or don't will have a significant impact on the results here. Quadrant to Watch: You can't really go wrong with any of the four quadrants, but I'll take the second one. The one that includes fourth-seeded Keckeisen. Each first-round match in this quad contains an All-American. Truax, Brit Wilson, John Poznanski, and Keckeisen. Despite being a returning NCAA fourth-place finisher, Poznanski is the underdog in his first bout. He'll face #13 Kyle Cochran, an opponent that defeated him in the regular season and the Big Ten Championships. The winner of that bout faces Keckeisen. MAC champion, Wilson, only lost four of 29 matches all year; however, one of those came to Truax, his possible opponent in the Round of 16. Darkhorse All-American Contender: #11 Jonathan Loew (Cornell)/#14 Gavin Kane (North Carolina) Spoiler alert! We're projecting two double-digited seeded wrestlers to get onto the podium here. EIWA champion Jonathan Loew comes in on a 12-match winning streak and has been consistent all year for the Big Red. Kane quietly established himself as a national player after chalking up a pair of wins against returning All-American Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech). He has four losses on the year, two to Trent Hidlay and the others came down at 174 lbs. Extreme (+20 seed) Darkhorse All-American Contender: #27 Keegan Moore (Oklahoma) With such a deep weight class, there are a handful of wrestlers seeded in the 20's that could have an impact. One with an upside is Keegan Moore. Moore joined Oklahoma in the second semester and won the starting job from a ranked opponent (Darrien Roberts). He would go on to place fourth at the Big 12 Championships and earn an automatic qualifying spot in Detroit. To lock up a spot at nationals, Moore needed to defeat his ex-Oklahoma State teammate, two-time All-American, Dakota Geer. In limited action, Moore also has wins over #21 Tate Samuelson (Wyoming) and #32 Colin McCracken (Kent State). Projected Quarterfinals #1 Myles Amine (Michigan) vs. #9 Zac Braunagel (Illinois) #12 Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois) vs. #4 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) #3 Trent Hidlay (NC State) vs. #11 Jonathan Loew (Cornell) #7 Kaleb Romero (Ohio State) vs. #2 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) Projected Semifinals #1 Myles Amine (Michigan) vs. #4 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) #3 Trent Hidlay (NC State) vs. #2 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) Projected All-Americans 1st) Aaron Brooks (Penn State) 2nd) Myles Amine (Michigan) 3rd) Trent Hidlay (NC State) 4th) Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) 5th) Kaleb Romero (Ohio State) 6th) Gavin Kane (North Carolina) 7th) Jonathan Loew (Cornell) 8th) Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois) Round of 12 Finishers: #15 Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech); #9 Zac Braunagel (Illinois); #13 Kyle Cochran (Maryland); #8 Marcus Coleman (Iowa State) Consolation Round of 16: #10 Taylor Venz (Nebraska); #27 Keegan Moore (Oklahoma); #6 Trey Munoz (Oregon State); #16 Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State)

The top three seeds at 174 lbs Carter Starocci (center), Mekhi Lewis (left), and Logan Massa (Photos courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) The 2022 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships are less than a week away! In a few short days, 330 wrestlers will make the trek to Detroit, Michigan, with hopes of a national title on their minds. In addition, fan seating will be at 100% capacity for the first time since Pittsburgh in 2019. Now it's in an area that hasn't hosted nationals since 2007 and even that tournament was not held downtown; it was way out in Auburn Hills. Before the action on the mat starts, InterMat will go through each individual bracket and highlight the favorites, top matches to watch, and much more. Here are the weight classes already released: 125 lb preview 133 lb preview 141 lb preview 149 lb preview 157 lb preview 165 lb preview We'll move on to the 174 lbers as we release two of our weight class previews for the next five days: The Top Seed: Carter Starocci (Penn State) Last year, Carter Starocci surprisingly reversed the result of his Big Ten final loss to Michael Kemerer and edged the Hawkeye to become a national champion as a freshman. Just two weeks earlier, Kemerer defeated Starocci, 7-2. Starocci's title made him the third Penn State freshman to capture one during the Sanderson era. Both previous winners were in 2017, with Vincenzo Joseph and Mark Hall. Joseph ended up repeating the following year, while Hall was taken down. Which path will Starocci follow? With another year of experience under his belt and a full season of competition with a target on his back, Starocci has been tested often. His perfect record indicates he's passed those tests. Starocci has often had to dig deep and rely on grit and intelligence to get by opponents like Michael Kemerer, Chris Foca, and Logan Massa (x2). So for a wrestler that has plenty of close calls, will the next one fail to go his way? For most other opponents, outside of the top-eight, Starocci has opened up plenty this year. His bonus point percentage has risen from 25% last year to 66% in 2021-22. If he were to run the table and finish the year unbeaten, Starocci certainly should receive some Hodge Trophy consideration. Through almost two seasons of collegiate competition, Starocci sports a 32-2 record. The Contenders: #2 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech); #3 Logan Massa (Michigan), #4 Hayden Hidlay (NC State), #5 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) The Conference Champs: ACC: #2 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) Big 12: #6 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) Big Ten: #1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) EIWA: #8 Mickey O'Malley (Drexel) MAC: #22 Mason Kauffman (Northern Illinois) Pac-12: #26 Tyler Eischens (Stanford) SoCon: #19 Thomas Flitz (Appalachian State) Top First-Round Matches #16 Adam Kemp (Cal Poly) vs. #17 Nick Incontrera (Penn) #12 Cade DeVos (South Dakota State) vs. #21 Bailee O'Reilly (Minnesota) #13 Matt Finesilver (Duke) vs. #20 Hayden Hastings (Wyoming) #11 Peyton Mocco (Missouri) vs. #22 Mason Kauffman (Northern Illinois) #15 Anthony Mantanona (Oklahoma) vs. #18 Lance Runyon (Northern Iowa) This weight class has been one of the most top-heavy of the ten brackets. Of the top-five seeds, four have appeared in an NCAA final and two are past champions (Starocci and Mekhi Lewis). After the top group of contenders, there is a significant drop-off. The second seed here is the 2019 national champion at 165 lbs, Lewis. The first national champion for Virginia Tech, Mekhi, was injured late in the 2021 season and tried to compete at nationals, winning a pair of matches, before ultimately defaulting out. This year, up a weight, Lewis won his first seven matches, before suffering a loss to Hayden Hidlay in the regular-season finale. Despite being given the third seed at ACC's, Lewis avenged the loss to Hidlay in the conference semis and went on to grab his second title. Hidlay, is a past NCAA runner-up at 157 lbs, who jumped up two weights for his final season. During his time in Raleigh, Hidlay has amassed a 105-10 record with four ACC titles and three NCAA All-American honors. He'll assume the fourth seed. Checking in as the third seed is Logan Massa. A two-time NCAA All-American himself, Massa returned to Michigan in December to help his teammates potentially win a national title. Massa's only two losses of the year have come to Starocci, while he's posted wins over All-Americans Mikey Labriola and Ethan Smith. Lurking at the fifth seed is veteran Michael Kemerer. The three-time NCAA All-American has never finished lower than fourth at nationals. Kemerer suffered a pair of close losses in the regular season, which relegated him to the fourth seed at Big Ten's. There he advanced to the semifinals and locked up a bid to Detroit, before medically forfeiting out after an apparent shoulder injury. Kemerer's probably never been 100% at all this year, but if he's closer to the former he showed from early-January, he's capable of winning it all. The sixth seed here is semi-surprising, with Dustin Plott getting the nod. Plott had overall a solid season, but suffered a loss to a non-starter from Missouri and was pinned by Northern Iowa's Lance Runyon. Even so, Plott is the Big 12 champion and got a revenge win over Runyon along with Missouri's Peyton Mocco in the championship bout. Aside from Kemerer, Plott hasn't seen the upper echelon from the Big Ten and ACC at this weight. One win he does have is a 6-3 decision over the eighth-seed Mickey O'Malley, the EIWA champion. O'Malley could have some tough sledding in the second round as he takes on multiple-time AA Mikey Labriola. Labriola and seventh-seeded Ethan Smith are the Big Ten All-Americans that round out the initial group of contenders. Quadrant to Watch: Overall, this bracket has been fairly evenly distributed. There isn't one quarter that sticks out as more loaded than the others. But having to pick one, I'd go for the third. A first-round matchup between #14 Chris Foca and #19 Thomas Flitz (Appalachian State) is interesting. Foca was in the top ten at one point and has that type of talent. Late in the year, he's taken a couple of injury defaults. He medically forfeited out of the EIWA's and needed an at-large berth just to get to Detroit. If he's still ailing, Flitz could be a good upset candidate in round one. The potential 6/11 match could be a Big 12 finals rematch with Plott and Mocco. Plott got the one-point win last time, but Mocco is capable of flipping that result. However that plays out, the winner is likely to see Logan Massa. Darkhorse All-American Contender: #18 Lance Runyon (Northern Iowa) Lance Runyon almost missed the first three months of the year due to injury, but made his presence felt immediately and pinned Plott in his second dual of the season. Runyon then notched wins over two eventual national qualifiers, prior to the conference tournament. At Big 12, Runyon settled for sixth place and an automatic berth to nationals. He's got the look of a wrestler that missed a lot of mat time and is still rounding into shape. Even with a first-round match against Anthony Mantanona (Oklahoma), an opponent responsible for two of his three losses, Runyon still has a decent path to the bloodround, even with an early setback. Extreme (+20 seed) Darkhorse All-American Contender: #21 Bailee O'Reilly (Minnesota) Like a lot of things related to college wrestling in March, this one is contingent on health. Before the Big Ten Championships, Bailee O'Reilly had the look of a wrestler that suffered a few conference losses, but would shock some people once he hit non-Big Ten competition. Even amongst B1G competition, O'Reilly was turning in sizable wins over everyone outside of the top-tier. In his first match in Lincoln, O'Reilly majored Andrew McNally (Wisconsin), 11-3. Then he was injured and had to default out of a match with Labriola. If semi-healthy, the first-round bout between him and #12 Cade Devos could be a good one. Before O'Reilly established himself as Minnesota's starter, he dropped a one-point bout to DeVos in open competition. Projected Quarterfinals #1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) vs. #9 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) #5 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) vs. #4 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) #3 Logan Massa (Michigan) vs. #6 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) #7 Ethan Smith (Ohio State) vs. #2 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) Projected Semifinals #1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) vs. #4 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) #3 Logan Massa (Michigan) vs. #2 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) Projected All-Americans 1st) Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) 2nd) Carter Starocci (Penn State) 3rd) Logan Massa (Michigan) 4th) Hayden Hidlay (NC State) 5th) Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) 6th) Ethan Smith (Ohio State) 7th) Michael Kemerer (Iowa) 8th) Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) Round of 12 Finishers: #10 Clay Lautt (North Carolina); #11 Peyton Mocco (Missouri); #12 Cade Devos (South Dakota State); #18 Lance Runyon (Northern Iowa) Consolation Round of 16:#16 Adam Kemp (Cal Poly); #20 Hayden Hastings (Wyoming); #13 Matt Finesilver (Duke); #8 Mickey O'Malley (Drexel)

The top three seeds at 165 lbs Evan Wick (center), Keegan O'Toole (left), and Alex Marinelli (Photos courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) The 2022 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships are less than a week away! In a few short days, 330 wrestlers will make the trek to Detroit, Michigan, with hopes of a national title on their minds. In addition, fan seating will be at 100% capacity for the first time since Pittsburgh in 2019. Now it's in an area that hasn't hosted nationals since 2007 and even that tournament was not held downtown; it was way out in Auburn Hills. Before the action on the mat starts, InterMat will go through each individual bracket and highlight the favorites, top matches to watch, and much more. Here are the weight classes already released: 125 lb preview 133 lb preview 141 lb preview 149 lb preview 157 lb preview We'll move on to the 165 lbers as we release two of our weight class previews for the next five days: The Top Seed: Evan Wick (Cal Poly) In his first year back in his home state Evan Wick has thrived, turning in his finest regular season to date. Wick was a two-time NCAA All-American for Wisconsin, placing third and fourth, in 2018 and 2019, respectively, before earning NWCA first-team AA honors in 2020. He took an Olympic redshirt year in 2020-21 and then decided to transfer out of Madison. Back on the west coast, Wick has taken his game to another level and heads to Detroit unbeaten and is the first Mustang wrestler to earn the top seed since Chad Mendes in 2008. So far in 2020-21, Wick has three wins over the defending champion at this weight, Shane Griffith. They met at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, in dual competition, and in the Pac-12 finals. In addition to Griffith, Wick has wins over Big Ten runner-up, Cam Amine, MAC champion Izzak Olejnik, and All-American Anthony Valencia. Even so, Wick doesn't have much recent history against the rest of the primary contenders at 165 lbs. That could lead to some interesting matchups. A potential meeting with #3 Alex Marinelli is interesting because the two clashed a handful of times while he was at Wisconsin. Wick took the first meeting, but Marinelli got the next four, each being close matches. But a lot has changed since they met early in the 2019-20 season. Should Wick come out of this weight class unscathed, he should receive significant consideration for the Hodge Trophy. Obviously, Gable Steveson is a considerable favorite to repeat as the winner, but Wick has a good case. He's racked up bonus points in over 60% of his bouts and would add some high-quality victories to his ledger, no matter how the bracket unfolds. The Contenders: #2 Keegan O'Toole (Missouri); #3 Alex Marinelli (Iowa); #4 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin); #5 Shane Griffith (Stanford); #6 Cameron Amine (Michigan); #7 Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) The Conference Champs: ACC: #10 Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh) Big 12: #2 Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) Big Ten: #3 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) EIWA: #8 Phil Conigliaro (Harvard) MAC: #11 Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois) Pac-12: #1 Evan Wick (Cal Poly) SoCon: #22 Rodrick Mosley (Gardner-Webb) Top First-Round Matches #12 Zach Hartman (Bucknell) vs. #21 Thomas Bullard (NC State) #13 Julian Ramirez (Cornell) vs. #20 Will Formato (Appalachian State) #14 Josh Ogunsanya (Columbia) vs. #19 Justin McCoy (Virginia) #6 Cameron Amine (Michigan) vs. #27 Bubba Wilson (Nebraska) #15 Austin Yant (Northern Iowa) vs. #18 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) Despite the starpower at this weight, the preseason and regular season favorite in many fans' minds has been second-seeded Keegan O'Toole. As a true freshman last year, O'Toole went 19-1 and claimed third place at this weight. In 2021-22, O'Toole has yet to lose and asserted himself as one of the most enjoyable wrestlers to watch at the weight (or any weight). O'Toole has six falls on the year and bonus points in three-quarters of his appearances. One of the veterans of this weight, looking to go out on top, is Iowa's Alex Marinelli. Marinelli won his fourth Big Ten title and looks rejuvenated after a midseason loss to Carson Kharchla. A title for Marinelli would help dispel the reputation of not succeeding at nationals, despite coming in as the top-seed two different times (he was also seeded 1st in 2020). In each of his last two NCAA appearances, Marinelli has fallen to the eventual champion in the quarterfinals. The most recent wrestler to upset Marinelli in the quarters was Shane Griffith last season. Griffith's magical run to a national title helped “Save Stanford Wrestling.” This year, as the favorite, Griffith suffered an early loss to Julian Ramirez and relinquished the top spot at 165. Since then, his only other losses are to Wick. Fortunately or unfortunately, he may have the opportunity to right those wrong, but meeting Wick in the semis. Of course, standing in his way is the fourth seed, Dean Hamiti. This year's Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Hamiti has shown fearlessness with his ability to fire off shots at a high clip. I'm thinking that could give Griffith some openings. This weight class is as loaded as any of the ten. It has contenders all over the place. The top-half has All-American Zach Hartman (Bucknell) in a tough first-round match with Thomas Bullard. Also from the EIWA is the conference champ, Phil Conigliaro (Harvard) in the eighth slot and Ramirez as the 13th seed. It also has some Big 12 flavor with the conference runner-up, Peyton Hall (West Virginia), seeded ninth and the league's 2021 champion, Luke Weber (North Dakota State), as the 16. The bottom half of the bracket has more Big Ten flavor with Kharchla and Amine. The Buckeye was seeded first at the Big Ten Championships, but was knocked off by Amine in the semis. Also in the mix, are 2021 NCAA runner-up, Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh), and MAC champ Olejnik. Quadrant to Watch: The last quadrant on the bottom half of the bracket. Three of the eight wrestlers are returning All-Americans (Wentzel, Valencia, O'Toole). Bracketing certainly did the second-seeded O'Toole no favors here. He could face either a much-improved Austin Yant or Valencia in the Round of 16. There's a possibility that O'Toole seeds Wentzel in the quarters. The Panther senior is responsible for O'Toole's only collegiate loss, in the 2021 NCAA semis. But, before that rematch could take place, Wentzel would have to get by Kharchla. In mid-December, Kharchla and Wentzel met and it was the Buckeye who took a one-point decision. Darkhorse All-American Contender: #16 Luke Weber (North Dakota State) Last year, Weber was the Big 12 champion and earned the ninth seed at his first NCAA Tournament. He acquitted himself well and came within a match of placing. This time around, he's dropped a few more matches as the weight class has gotten tougher. Even so, Weber will still be a tough out for anyone in this bracket. For him to go deep into this bracket, he may have to reverse his fortunes against Austin Yant, someone who has beaten him twice in close contests. Extreme (+20 seed) Darkhorse All-American Contender: #27 Bubba Wilson (Nebraska) Typically, you'd expect a sixth-seeded Big Ten runner-up to roll over the #27 seed in the opening round. But, looking at their record, Bubba Wilson actually owns a win this year over Cam Amine. Wilson did not earn an automatic qualifying slot for the Big Ten, but stole a spot by finishing sixth at the conference meet. His recent win over Amine gives him a mental edge that most 27th seeds likely don't have at this time. Not only that, he has wrestled better towards the end of the year and his talent isn't indicative of his 13-12 record for the year. Projected Quarterfinals #1 Evan Wick (Cal Poly) vs. #9 Peyton Hall (West Virginia) #5 Shane Griffith (Stanford) vs. #4 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) #3 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) vs. #6 Cameron Amine (Michigan) #7 Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) vs. #2 Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) Projected Semifinals #1 Evan Wick (Cal Poly) vs. #5 Shane Griffith (Stanford) #3 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) vs. #2 Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) Projected All-Americans 1st) Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) 2nd) Evan Wick (Cal Poly) 3rd) Shane Griffith (Stanford) 4th) Alex Marinelli (Iowa) 5th) Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) 6th) Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) 7th) Cameron Amine (Michigan) 8th) Peyton Hall (West Virginia) Round of 12 Finishers: #10 Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh); #19 Justin McCoy (Virginia); #14 Josh Ogunsanya (Columbia); #8 Phil Conigliaro (Harvard) Consolation Round of 16: #18 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State); #11 Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois); #12 Zach Hartman (Bucknell); #15 Austin Yant (Northern Iowa)

Zain Retherford (right) (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 57 KG 2021 world bronze medalist #16 (61) Aryan Tyutrin (BLR) made his return to 57 KG after a short stint up at 61 KG that saw him take silver at the Belarusian national championships in January. Tyutrin's performance at the Dan Kolov saw him take home gold by beating the 2021 48 KG Cadet world champion Aman Aman (IND). Bronze medalists at the Dan Kolov were Aliabbas Rzazade (AZE) and Roberti Dingashvili (GEO). #17 Almaz Smanbekov (KGZ) continued his rise with a title at the Yasar Dogu over 2019 Dan Kolov champion Beka Bujiashvili (GEO). Bronze medalists at the Yasar Dogu were Muhammet Karavus (TUR) and Dan Kolov runner-up Aman Aman (IND). 2019 Russian Nationals bronze medalist Khasanhusein Badrudinov (RUS) won the championship of Dagestan over Ibadula Batyrbiev (RUS). Bronze medalists at the championship of Dagestan were Magomed Magomedov (RUS) and Omar Gasainiev (RUS). Removed from this month's rankings were #3 Ravi Kumar (IND) and #5 Gulomyon Abdullaev (UZB) as they both moved up to 61 KG, where Kumar beat Abdullaev in the finals of the Yasar Dogu. Yarygin champion #6 Ramiz Gamzatov (RUS) competed up at 61 KG for the Yasar Dogu, where he was tech falled 12-1 by Ahmet Tas (TUR). Gamzatov will continue to stay ranked at 57 KG as it is his primary weight and with the departure of #3 Kumar and #5 Abdullaev, he moves up two spots to #4. Notable ranked matches from February were Daulet Temirzhanov (KAZ) upsetting 2021 world bronze medalist #10 Horst Lehr (GER) in the round of 16 at the Yasar Dogu and Aman beating #19 Afghan Khashalov (AZE) in the semifinals of the Dan Kolov. 2021 world champion #2 Thomas Gilman (USA) tech falled Darian Cruz (PUR) 11-0 in his match at Bout at the Ballpark. Aryan Tyutrin takes the #8 spot in the rankings after winning the Dan Kolov over Aman. #10 Horst Lehr (GER) and #11 Abubakar Mutaliev (RUS) were both dropped four spots in the rankings to #14 and #15 after Lehr's loss to Temirzhanov at the Yasar Dogu and because Lehr beat Mutaliev at the 2021 world championships. Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist #12 Nurislam Sanayev (KAZ) and 2017 world champion #13 Yuki Takahashi (JPN) complete the top ten at #9 and #10. Smanbekov moves up four spots in the rankings to #13 after winning the Yasar Dogu over Beka Bujiashvili (GEO), who returns to the rankings at #16 for beating Aman in the Yasar Dogu semifinals. While only making his debut in the rankings at #17, Aman is someone to keep an eye out for, as the 2021 48 KG Cadet world champion had great wins over Temirzhanov (KAZ) and 2021 European bronze medalist Khashalov. Completing the new additions to the rankings is Temirzhanov at #18 for beating 2021 world bronze medalist Lehr at the Yasar Dogu. 61 KG Yarygin bronze medalist #5 Zelimkhan Abakarov (ALB) won gold at the Dan Kolov over 2021 57 KG Olympic runner-up #3 Ravi Kumar (IND). Bronze medalists at the Dan Kolov were Georgi Vangelov (BUL) and Josh Rodriguez (USA). After an opening-round loss to Abakarov, Rodriguez tore through the consolation bracket of the Kolov and picked up a slew of impressive wins over the likes of #15 Andrey Bekrenev (BLR) and #8 Ravinder Ravinder (IND). Rodriguez also has career wins over #8 (57) Aryan Tyutrin (BLR) and two-time U-23 world champion Reineri Andreu Ortega (CUB). Rebounding from his finals loss to #5 Zelimkhan Abakarov (ALB) at the Dan Kolov, 2021 57 KG Olympic runner-up Kumar took gold at the Yasar Dogu over #5 (57) Gulomyon Abdullaev (UZB) to avenge his 2021 Ziolkowski finals loss. Bronze medalists at the Yasar Dogu were Ulukbek Zholdoshbekov (KGZ) and Nico Megaludis (USA). Rasul Gazuev (RUS) won the championship of Dagestan over Dalgat Abdulkadyrov (RUS). Bronze medalists at the championship of Dagestan were Shamil Islamov (RUS) and Eldar Akhmadudinov (RUS). Notable athletes removed from the rankings this month were #3 Andrey Dzhelep (UKR), who hasn't competed since April 2021, where he was the European championships runner-up to #1 Abasgadzhi Magomedov (RUS). #7 Adlan Askarov (KAZ) has been removed as he moved up to 65 KG, where he lost in the round of 16 at the Yasar Dogu to Rohit Rohit (IND). #16 Aryan Tyutrin (BLR) has been removed from the rankings as he moved back down to 57 KG, where he won the Dan Kolov over #17 (57) Aman Aman (IND). Kumar (IND) and Abdullaev make their debuts in the 61 KG rankings at #3 and #4 after finishing champion and runner-up at the Yasar Dogu, respectively. #5 Zelimkhan Abakarov (ALB) moves up three spots to #2 for beating Kumar in the finals of the Dan Kolov. The final new development in the top ten is the addition of Josh Rodriguez (USA) at #8, who made his presence known by beating #15 Andrey Bekrenev (BLR) and #8 Ravinder Ravinder (IND) at the Dan Kolov. 2021 world runner-up #5 Daton Fix (USA) tech falled Guesseppe Rea (ECU) 10-0 in his match at Bout at the Ballpark. 2019 U-23 world champion Ulukbek Zholdoshbekov (KGZ) returns to the rankings at #17 after taking bronze at the Yasar Dogu over two-time European bronze medalist #19 Recep Topal (TUR) and Ahmet Tas (TUR). Yarygin bronze medalist Abdurakhman Rasulov (RUS) slots in at #16 for beating #17 Ulukbek Zholdoshbekov (KGZ) for bronze at the Yarygin. Ahmet Tas (TUR) debuts in the rankings at #18 for beating #4 (57) Ramiz Gamzatov (RUS) at the Yasar Dogu, but can't debut higher because of loss to #17 Ulukbek Zholdoshbekov (KGZ). Nico Megaludis (USA) debuts in the rankings at #19 after a great bronze medal finish at the Yasar Dogu, where he beat #20 Mohammadbagheri Yakhkeshi (IRI), Georgi Okorokov (AUS) and 2019 Alans bronze medalist Shamil Makhmudovitch Omarov (ITA). Mohammadbagheri Yakhkeshi (IRI) takes the final spot in the rankings at #20 for beating 2019 57 KG world runner-up #17 Suleyman Atli (TUR) in the quarterfinals of the Yasar Dogu. 65 KG Yarygin bronze medalist #8 Islam Dudaev (ALB) won the Dan Kolov over Anuj Kumar (IND). Bronze medalists at the Dan Kolov were Pat Lugo (USA) and Nyurgun Skryabin (BLR). Yarygin champion #6 Shamil Mamedov (RUS) won the Yasar Dogu in stunning fashion with a pin over reigning world champion #5 Zagir Shakhiev (RUS). Bronze medalists at the Yasar Dogu were Umidjon Jalolov (UZB) and #12 Joey McKenna (USA). 2021 Russian Nationals bronze medalist #15 Abdulmazhid Kudiev (RUS) won the championship of Dagestan over Movla Duduev (RUS). Bronze medalists at the championship of Dagestan were Zakarya Abdusalamov (RUS) and Dinislam Takhtarov (RUS). #15 Murshid Mutalimov (RUS) competed up at 70 KG, where he lost in the quarterfinals to Gadzhimurad Omarov (RUS). #11 Joey McKenna (USA) tech falled Kamol Begakov (TJK) 10-0 in his match at Bout at the Ballpark. Mamedov moves up one spot to #5 after pinning Shakhiev in the finals of the Yasar Dogu. 2021 world bronze medalist #9 Tulga Tumur Ochir (MGL) fell eight spots in the rankings to #17 after taking fifth at the Yasar Dogu with losses to Mamedov (RUS) and Umidjon Jalolov (UZB). All athletes from #10-16 moved up one spot in the rankings due to Tumur Ochir's fall. 2019 55 KG Cadet world champion Umidjon Jalolov (UZB) makes his debut in the rankings at #16 for beating Tumur Ochir and 2021 International Ukrainian Tournament champion Ali Rahimzade (AZE) to take bronze at the Yasar Dogu. 70 KG Zain Retherford (USA) captured gold at the Dan Kolov over 2019 Alans runner-up #16 Ramazan Ramazanov (BUL) to make his 70 KG rankings debut at #16. Bronze medalists at the Dan Kolov were Ivan Stoyanov (BUL) and Gia Avaliani (GEO). Returning 65 KG world runner-up Amir Mohammad Yazdani Charati (IRI) won gold at the Yasar Dogu over 2017 world runner-up #10 James Green (USA). Bronze medalists at the Yasar Dogu were Yarygin champion #5 Viktor Rassadin (RUS) and 2021 world bronze medalist #8 Zurab Iakobishvili (GEO). Akhmed Nurakhmaev (RUS) won the championship of Dagestan over Gadzhimurad Omarov (RUS). Bronze medalists at the championship of Dagestan were Suleiman Osmanov (RUS) and Magomedsalih Abakarov (RUS). 2020 Individual World Cup runner-up #14 Heydar Yavuz (TUR) has been removed from the rankings due to inactivity. Yavuz has not competed since April 2021 when he finished 8th at the European championships. #3 James Green (USA) tech falled Dillon Williams (CAN) 10-0 in his match at Bout at the Ballpark. Amir Mohammad Yazdani Charati (IRI) takes the #2 spot in the rankings after winning the Yasar Dogu with a victory over Iakobishvili. Green moves up seven spots in the rankings to #3 after beating Rassadin in the semis of the Yasar Dogu. Returning world runner-up #2 Ernazar Akmataliev (KGZ) falls three spots in the rankings to #5 for losing to Rassadin in the quarterfinals of the Yasar Dogu. 74 KG 70 KG Junior world runner-up Dzhabrail Gadzhiev (AZE) won the Dan Kolov over 2021 70 KG European runner-up Turan Bayramov (AZE). Bronze medalists at the Dan Kolov were Murad Kuramagomedov (HUN) and Dmitri Jioev (GEO). Two-time World/Olympic bronze medalist #17 Soner Demirtas (TUR) won the Yasar Dogu over 2021 world bronze medalist #20 Fazli Eryilmaz (TUR). Bronze medalists at the Yasar Dogu were Sumiyabazar Zandanbud (MGL) and Islambek Orozbekov (KGZ). Magomedrasul Asluev (RUS) upset 2021 Umakhanov tournament champion #13 Mohamad Nasirkhaev (RUS) to win the championship of Dagestan. Bronze medalists at the championship of Dagestan were Gadzhimurad Hasanov (RUS) and Saipulla Alibulatov (RUS). Yarygin runner-up #10 Jason Nolf (USA) tech falled 2021 European bronze medalist Mitch Finesilver (ISR) 11-0 at Bout at the Ballpark. 2021 Russian Nationals runner-up #5 Razambek Zhamalov (RUS) has been removed from the rankings. Zhamalov has not competed since the 2021 European championships, where he took 5th after losses to #3 Taimuraz Salkazanov (SVK) and #4 Frank Chamizo (ITA). 2021 Umakhanov tournament runner-up #14 Akhmad Shakhbanov (RUS) has been removed from the rankings as he moved up to 79 KG, where he was the championship of Dagestan runner-up to Begkhan Misrikhanov (RUS). Asluev debuts in the rankings at #14 for winning the championship of Dagestan over Nasirkhaev. 2021 European bronze medalist Finesilver upset Turkish national runner-up #19 Samet Ak (TUR) in the round of 16 at the Yasar Dogu. Demirtas moved up five spots to #12 and Eryilmaz moved up seven spots to #13 because they have better overall bodies of work than the likes of Asluev, Budaev, Nasirkhaev and Orozbekov. Gadzhiev completes the rankings at #20 for winning the Dan Kolov over Bayramov. 79 KG Four-time World bronze medalist Ali Shabanov (BLR) made his return to 79 KG with a title at the Dan Kolov over 2020 Asian championships runner-up Baliyan Gourav (IND). Bronze medalists at the Dan Kolov were Mostafa Ghiasi Cheka (IRI) and Valentyn Babii (UKR). Reigning world champion #1 Jordan Burroughs (USA), took out Chance Marsteller (USA) to win gold at the Yasar Dogu. Bronze medalists at the Yasar Dogu were #11 Ali Savadkouhi (IRI) and #15 Arsalan Budazhapov (KGZ). Begkhan Misrikhanov (RUS) won the championship of Dagestan over 2021 74 KG Umakhanov tournament runner-up Akhmad Shakhbanov (RUS). Bronze medalists at the championship of Dagestan were Atam Shikhmuradov (RUS) and Jamal Akhmadudinov (RUS). #1 Jordan Burroughs (USA) tech falled Nestor Taffur (COL) 11-0 in his match at Bout at the Ballpark The most important ranked matchups of this month primarily took place at the Yasar Dogu. Burroughs had two very good wins over #11 Ali Savadkouhi (IRI) and #18 Gadzhimurad Alikhmaev (RUS) to make the finals, while Marsteller had strong wins over #15 Arsalan Budazhapov (KGZ) and 2020 Russian Nationals runner-up Khetag Tsabolov (SRB). For Chance Marsteller's run through the Yasar Dogu, the American standout is able to make his debut in the rankings at #19. Four-time world bronze medalist Shabanov takes the #12 spot in the rankings. Shabanov does have a better track record at world's than the majority of the weight, but the fact that he hasn't been at 79 since 2018 (where he took world bronze) hurts his argument to outrank those with more extensive and current resumes. 86KG 2021 world bronze medalist #20 Abubakar Abakarov (AZE) beat 2021 European runner-up Sandro Aminashvili (GEO) in the finals to win gold at the Dan Kolov. Bronze medalists at the Dan Kolov were Sanjeet (IND) and Orkhan Abasov (AZE). #19 Osman Gocen (TUR) beat #18 Fatih Erdin (TUR) for gold at the Yasar Dogu. Bronze medalists at the Yasar Dogu were Bekzod Abdurakhmanov (UZB) and Gadzhimurad Magomedsaidov (AZE). #13 (79) Amanulla Gadzhimagomedov (RUS) won the championship of Dagestan over Magomednabi Magomedov (RUS). Bronze medalists at the championship of Dagestan were Shamil Aliev (RUS) and Magomedmurad Dudaev (RUS). #8 Zahid Valencia (USA) tech falled Noel Torres (MEX) 10-0 at the Bout at the Ballpark. The only change in the 86 KG rankings for this month is Gocen and Erdin trading spots after Gocen's win in the Yasar Dogu finals. 92 KG Adlan Tasuev (BLR) won the Dan Kolov over Akhmed Bataev (BUL). Bronze medalists at the Dan Kolov were #7 Osman Nurmagomedov (AZE) and Deepak Punia (IND). Ahmad Bazrigaleh (IRI) won the Yasar Dogu over #14 Erhan Yaylaci (TUR). Bronze medalists were Ahmet Bilici (TUR) and Deepak Punia (IND). Khabib Gadzhiev (RUS) won the championship of Dagestan over 2020 champion Gadzhimagomed Nazhmudinov (RUS). Bronze medalists were Ashkab Saadulaev (RUS) and Magomed Sharipov (RUS). Kollin Moore (USA) tech falled Evan Ramos (PUR) in his match at Bout at the Ballpark. #3 Batyrbek Tsakulov (SVK) has been removed from the rankings due to inactivity, having not competed since October 2020 when he took bronze at the Russian Nationals. #15 Gadzhi Radzhabov (BLR) has been removed from the rankings as he moved down to 86 KG, where he lost at the Dan Kolov to Zaur Beradze (GEO). Tasuev makes his debut in the rankings at #5 for winning the Yasar Dogu over Bataev. Bataev takes the #6 spot in the rankings for beating 2021 world bronze medalist Nurmagomedov. Bazrigaleh debuts in the 92 KG rankings at #10 for winning the Yasar Dogu over Yaylaci. Yaylaci moves up three spots to #11 and Bilici is in at #12 for them both teching #9 Guram Chertkoev (Yaylaci in the semis, Bilici for bronze). #9 Zbigniew Baranowski (POL) competed up at 97 KG for Bout at the Ballpark against #2 (97) Kyle Snyder (USA) and lost by 12-0 tech fall. 97 KG #19 Magomedkhan Magomedov (AZE) won the Dan Kolov title over Meysam Abdi (IRI). Aleksandr Hushtyn (BLR) and Radu Lefter (MDA) finished with bronze at the Dan Kolov. #9 Mohammad Mohammadian (IRI) beat #11 Alikhan Zhabrailov (RUS) in the finals of the Yasar Dogu. Bronze medalists at the Yasar Dogu were Mamed Ibragimov (KAZ) and Kollin Moore (USA). Akhmed Tazhudinov (RUS) won the championship of Dagestan over Suleiman Omarov (RUS). Bronze medalists at the championship of Dagestan were Gasan Shamkhalov (RUS) and Gadzhimagomed Tazhudinov (RUS). #2 Kyle Snyder (USA) tech falled #9 Zbigniew Baranowski (POL) 12-0 in his match at Bout at the Ballpark. Mohammadian moves up two spots in the rankings to #7 after winning the Yasar Dogu over Zhabrailov. Zhabrailov moves up two spots to #9 for beating #7 Shamil Musaev (RUS) in the quarterfinals of the Yasar Dogu. 125 KG #13 Dzianis Khramiankov (BLR) won the Dan Kolov over Jere Heino (FIN). Bronze medalists at the Dan Kolov were #5 Yadollah Mohebbi (IRI) and Rahid Hamidli (AZE). #10 Nick Gwiazdowski (USA) beat Zach Merrill (PUR) 10-0 in his match at Bout at the Ballpark. Magomed Tagirov (RUS) won the championship of Dagestan over Amirkhan Aliyev (RUS). Bronze medalists at the championship of Dagestan were Gamzat Alizhudinov (RUS) and Omar Gasainiev (RUS). In a battle between 2021 world bronze medalists, #3 Taha Akgul (TUR) beat #10 Lkhagvagerel Munkhtur (MGL) for gold at the Yasar Dogu. Bronze medalists at the Yasar Dogu were Yusup Batirmurzaev (KAZ) and Daniel Ligeti (HUN). Mohebbi falls nine spots to #14 after losing to Khramiankov at the Dan Kolov. Atsamaz Tebloev (RUS) returns to the rankings at #11 for beating #10 Nick Gwiazdowski (USA) and #11 Vitali Goloev (RUS) at the Yasar Dogu. 2020 Asian champion Batirmurzaev returns to the rankings at #10 for taking bronze at the Yasar Dogu with wins over #11 Atsamaz Tebloev (RUS) and Gennadij Cudinovic (GER). #11 Vitali Goloev (RUS) falls four spots in the rankings to #15 after his loss to #11 Atsamaz Tebloev (RUS). Pound for Pound There were some new additions and removals from the pound-for-pound for March. Removed from the pound-for-pound rankings were #12 Razambek Zhamalov (inactivity), #21 Magomed Kurbanaliev (weaker resume), and #25 Ernazar Akmataliev (loss to #4 (70) Viktor Rassadin at Yasar Dogu). New additions to the pound for pound are 65 KG Yasar Dogu champion Shamil Mamedov (RUS) at 23, 2021, 65 KG world champion Zagir Shakhiev (RUS) at #24 and 2021 Olympic and World runner-up Kyle Snyder (USA) at #25.

The top three seeds at 157 lbs David Carr (center), Ryan Deakin (left), and Jacori Teemer (Carr Photo/Mark Lundy; Deakin Photo/Sam Janicki; Teemer Photo/Tony Rotundo) The 2022 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships are less than a week away! In a few short days, 330 wrestlers will make the trek to Detroit, Michigan, with hopes of a national title on their minds. In addition, fan seating will be at 100% capacity for the first time since Pittsburgh in 2019. Now it's in an area that hasn't hosted nationals since 2007 and even that tournament was not held downtown; it was way out in Auburn Hills. Before the action on the mat starts, InterMat will go through each individual bracket and highlight the favorites, top matches to watch, and much more. Here are the weight classes already released: 125 lb preview 133 lb preview 141 lb preview 149 lb preview We'll move on to the 157 lbers as we release two of our weight class previews for the next five days: The Top Seed: David Carr (Iowa State) For the second consecutive season, David Carr comes into the national tournament with a spotless record. Last year, with limited travel and competition, there were a handful of undefeated wrestlers, which led to him getting the third seed. This time he'll assume top billing at 157 lbs. Carr has won 52 straight bouts and might be a favorite for the Hodge Trophy, were Gable Steveson (Minnesota) not around. Carr has improved his bonus point percentage in 2021-22 to 66%, which is just a hair better than last season. Aside from a sudden victory win in his first appearance of the season, Carr has generally blown through the competition. He has one other match in 2021-22 that saw his opponent stay within two points. At the Big 12 Championships, Carr put together an 8-2 win over our sixth seed, Jared Franek (North Dakota State), for his third conference title. Franek is one of the few opponents who has been able to limit Carr to a decision; however, this win had a larger margin of victory than their dual (7-3). With the way various schedules were created, it led to most of the big dogs around the country missing Carr in duals and tournaments. Therefore, we could have some fun, new matchups or ones that we haven't seen in years. One of those is between him and second-seeded Ryan Deakin. Deakin is responsible for Carr's only career loss, at the 2019 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. The Contenders: #2 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern); #3 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State); #4 Ed Scott (NC State); #5 Quincy Monday (Princeton) The Conference Champs: ACC: #4 Ed Scott (NC State) Big 12: #1 David Carr (Iowa State) Big Ten: #2 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) EIWA: #5 Quincy Monday (Princeton) MAC: #26 Ben Barton (Lock Haven) Pac-12: #3 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) SoCon: #22 Dazjon Castol (The Citadel) Top First-Round Matches #16 Brady Berge (Penn State) vs. #17 Hunter Willits (Oregon State) #9 Kaleb Young (Iowa) vs. #24 Doug Zapf (Penn) #8 Will Lewan (Michigan) vs. #25 Jarrett Jacques (Missouri) #14 Jake Keating (Virginia) vs. #19 Kendall Coleman (Purdue) #15 Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan) vs. #18 Andrew Cerniglia (Navy) We alluded to it in the discussion about David Carr, but this weight class has its talent pretty evenly distributed around the conferences. It isn't lopsided in favor of the Big Ten, for example. Each of the top-five seeds comes from different conferences, and most of them haven't met this season. 157 lbs is one of two weight classes with three undefeated contenders. The biggest threat to a repeat from Carr is Deakin, the second seed. The Wildcat star recently won his third Big Ten title and is only the third NU wrestler to accomplish this feat. In each of the last two years, Deakin has earned the top-seed at the NCAA Championships. Last year, Deakin was stunned in the semifinals by Rider's Jesse Dellavecchia and in 2020, the tournament wasn't wrestled. Could he get that elusive title? On Deakin's half of the bracket is undefeated Jacori Teemer as the third seed. Teemer fell to Deakin in the NCAA third-place bout last year, 1-0. While he's unbeaten, Teemer has played with fire a few times and prevailed in four matches that have gone to sudden victory/tiebreakers. One of which came in the Pac-12 finals to Hunter Willits. There's new blood at this weight class in the 4/5/7th seeds. #4 Ed Scott competed at 149 lbs last year, as a true freshman, and didn't qualify for St. Louis. This year, Scott has been lights out and is coming in off an ACC Championships, where he knocked off returning champion Austin O'Connor in the finals. Scott is dangerous and can end a match in a flash with his headlock. The #5 seed, Quincy Monday, hasn't actually appeared in a national tournament since 2019, because of the cancelation in 2020 and the Ivy League shutdown in 2021. His three losses in 2021-22 have come to the top-four seeds. Like Monday, Josh Humphreys has missed the last two national tournaments, as he redshirted with an injury last year. He is brutal from the top position and can neutralize anyone. Sixth-seeded Jared Franek is in good position to become the first NDSU wrestler to make the podium since the 2015 season. Two of his three losses this season came to Carr and the other was to All-American Brayton Lee (Minnesota), who is injured and not competing. Franek could have a massive second-round match with O'Connor. Provided he's healthy, O'Connor is a super-dangerous 11th seed. That loss in the ACC finals to Scott seems costly, but I like his positioning in the bracket. Finally, the Big Ten contingent of #8 Will Lewan (Michigan), #9 Kaleb Young (Iowa), #10 Peyton Robb (Nebraska), and #16 Brady Berge (Penn State) will all make a push for the podium. All four are bruisers that are capable of winning ugly and advancing, which is the primary goal. Quadrant to Watch: We've already started to talk about it; it's the third one. The one that includes a possible second-round match between Franek/O'Connor. Above it, #14 Jake Keating and #19 Kendall Coleman hit in round one. Keating is responsible for Scott's only loss of the year in an 11-10 shootout. Coleman's never shy about putting points on the board, so expect plenty between these two Illinois natives. Above them is Jacori Teemer. Keating teammate, Justin McCoy, handed Teemer his first collegiate loss, so maybe he has some tips should Keating and Teemer clash. Darkhorse All-American Contender: #16 Brady Berge (Penn State) The 16th seed for Brady Berge falls into the category of “I get it, but I don't really like it.” I understand that Berge had a limited schedule with only 11 matches versus DI competition, four of which came against 165 lbers. There wasn't a lot of information to go off of. But, Berge did finish third with two wins over Kaleb Young and a fall against Kendall Coleman (Purdue) in the process. He's certainly better than the 16th best wrestler at this weight. Berge will have a very difficult first-round match in Willits, who traditionally wrestles Teemer close. Provided he gets by Willits, Berge should meet top-seeded Carr. It's a much more difficult match than you'd expect for Carr at that point in time, as the #1 seed. To get on the podium, Berge probably has to beat some combination of Lewan/Young and Franek/O'Connor. As he gets more mat time, those are winnable matches. We've gone through two paragraphs without mentioning how great of a story it was that Berge's even here. After last season, Berge stopped competing due to injuries and took a job on the South Dakota State coaching staff. With Penn State needing help at 157/165, Berge temporarily left his post and came back to help the Nittany Lions regain a national title. He's already got a third-place finish at the Big Ten's under his belt; what else is Berge capable of doing? Extreme (+20 seed) Darkhorse All-American Contender: #27 Garrett Model (Wisconsin) Sometimes the biggest hurdle for a wrestler looking to succeed at a tournament like this is the mental block of actually beating top opposition. That's something Garrett Model doesn't have to worry about. Earlier this season, Model handed, then-undefeated Brayton Lee, his first loss of the year. Lee has an excellent track record and was an AA in 2021, so a loss to the then-9-6 Model, was shocking. While the Lee win was a highlight, it wasn't the only of the year for the Badger. At the Big Ten Championships, Model's back was against the wall in the seventh-place match. Win or rely on an at-large berth was the stakes. Across the mat from him was #21 Chase Saldate (Michigan State), who sported a 26-7 record at the time. That didn't phase Model, as he dominated the contest from start to finish and punched his ticket to Detroit with a 7-0 win. Model has his work cut out for him with a first-round match against #6 Franek. Even with an opening-round loss, there's a path for Model to grab some wins on the backside and who knows what happens from there? What we do know is that he's beaten one of the best at this weight, already. Projected Quarterfinals #1 David Carr (Iowa State) vs. #8 Will Lewan (Michigan) #4 Ed Scott (NC State) vs. #5 Quincy Monday (Princeton) #3 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) vs. #11 Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) #7 Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) vs. #2 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) Projected Semifinals #1 David Carr (Iowa State) vs. #5 Quincy Monday (Princeton) #3 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) vs. #7 Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) Projected All-Americans 1st) David Carr (Iowa State) 2nd) Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) 3rd) Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) 4th) Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) 5th) Ed Scott (NC State) 6th) Quincy Monday (Princeton) 7th) Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) 8th) Will Lewan (Michigan) Round of 12 Finishers: #10 Peyton Robb (Nebraska), #6 Jared Franek (North Dakota State), #14 Jake Keating (Virginia); #16 Brady Berge (Penn State) Consolation Round of 16: #17 Hunter Willits (Oregon State), #19 Kendall Coleman (Purdue); #27 Garrett Model (Wisconsin), #9 Kaleb Young (Iowa)

The 2022 NCAA DII National Champions (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Team Scores 1st) Nebraska-Kearney 127 2nd) Central Oklahoma 86 3rd) West Liberty 75.5 4th) St. Cloud State 67 5th) Adams State 65 6th) Indianapolis 48.5 7th) Minnesota State 39 8th) Colorado Mesa 31 9th) McKendree 30.5 10th) Gannon 30 Championship Finals 125 - Cole Laya (West Liberty) maj Josh Portillo (Nebraska-Kearney) 9-0 133 - Jonathan Andreatta (Adams State) fall Garrett Vos (St. Cloud State) 2:25 141 - Zeth Brower (Lander) dec Brandon Proudlock (Findlay) 6-4 149 - Noah Hermosillo (Adams State) dec Sam Turner (Nebraska-Kearney) 6-4SV 157 - Josiah Rider (Adams State) fall JoJo Gonzalez (American International) 2:48 165 - Matt Malcom (Nebraska-Kearney) dec Shane Gantz (Wisconsin-Parkside) 1-0 174 - Trevor Turriff (Minnesota State) dec Andrew Sams (Indianapolis) 3-2 184 - Heath Gray (Central Oklahoma) dec Connor Craig (West Liberty) 4-3 197 - Dalton Abney (Central Oklahoma) dec Derek Blubaugh (Indianapolis) 6-0 285 - Darrell Mason (Minnesota State) dec Andrew Dunn (Kutztown) 5-3 Third Place Bouts 125 - Tyshawn White (Shippensburg) dec Paxton Rosen (Central Oklahoma) 10-5 133 - Wesley Dawkins (Nebraska-Kearney) maj Reece Barnhardt (Mary) 11-3 141 - Joey Bianchini (St. Cloud State) dec Tyler Warner (West Liberty) 6-5 149 - Jacob Ealy (Pitt-Johnstown) dec Isiah Royal (Newberry) 6-2 157 - Ryan Wheeler (Colorado Mesa) fall John Ridle (Central Missouri) 1:16 165 - Cory Peterson (McKendree) dec John Dean (Belmont Abbey) 5-3 174 - Ty McGeary (West Liberty) dec Austin Eldredge (Nebraska-Kearney) 6-4 184 - Billy Higgins (Nebraska-Kearney) dec Dan Filipek (McKendree) 5-3SV 197 - Nick Mason (Tiffin) fall Cole Huss (Northern State) 6:34 285 - Kameron Teacher (St. Cloud State) dec Weston Hunt (Colorado School of Mines) 4-2 Fifth Place Bouts 125 - Dawson Collins (Colorado Mesa) maj Nicholas Daggett (UNC-Pembroke) 14-2 133 - Corey Gamet (Lake Erie) MedFFT Majid Corbett (Limestone) 141 - Nick James (Nebraska-Kearney) MedFFT Colby Smith (Lindenwood) 149 - Brik Filippo (Central Oklahoma) dec Logan Bailey (Indianapolis) 6-5 157 - Anthony Herrera (St. Cloud State) dec dec Noah Tarr (David & Elkins) 6-1 165 - Drew Weichers (Ashland) dec Evan Fisler (Gannon) 5-3 174 - Dillon Walker (Mercyhurst) dec Alex Kauffmann (Central Oklahoma) 13-9 184 - Martin Verhaeghe (Fort Hays State) dec Caden Steffen (SW Minnesota State) 6-5 197 - Gino Sita (Alderson Broaddus) dec Noah Ryan (St. Cloud State) 6-4SV 285 - Lee Herrington (Nebraska-Kearney) MedFFT Shawn Streck (Central Oklahoma) Seventh Place Bouts 125 - Kevin Radcliff (Limestone) dec Cody Fatzinger (Western Colorado) 5-2 133 - Devin Flannery (Millersville) dec Jack Huffman (Augustana) 6-5 141 - Peter Kuster (Drury) fall John Carayiannis (Belmont Abbey) 2:16 149 - Josh Laubach (Alderson Broaddus) dec Darick Lapaglia (Central Missouri) 7-1 157 - Dawson Combest (Indianapolis) dec Nathan Smith (Pitt-Johnstown) 7-2 165 - Hunter Mullen (Western Colorado) dec James Penfold (Lake Erie) 5-4 174 - Caleb Spears (Newberry) dec Allen Michel (New Mexico Highland) 6-3 184 - Anderson Salisbury (Colorado School of Mines) dec Reece Worachek (Wisconsin-Parkside) 5-2 197 - Joel Leise (Gannon) fall Logan Kemp (West Liberty) 2:36 285 - AJ Cooper (Fort Hays State) dec fall Freddie Nixon (Gannon) 3:50

The top three seeds at 149 lbs Yianni Diakomihalis (center), Austin Gomez (left), and Tariq Wilson (Photos/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) The 2022 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships are less than a week away! In a few short days, 330 wrestlers will make the trek to Detroit, Michigan, with hopes of a national title on their minds. In addition, fan seating will be at 100% capacity for the first time since Pittsburgh in 2019. Now it's in an area that hasn't hosted nationals since 2007 and even that tournament was not held downtown; it was way out in Auburn Hills. Before the action on the mat starts, InterMat will go through each individual bracket and highlight the favorites, top matches to watch, and much more. Here are the weight classes already released: 125 lb preview 133 lb preview 141 lb preview We'll move on to the 149 lbers as we release two of our weight class previews for the next five days: The Top Seed: Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) It's been awhile since we've seen Yianni Diakomihalis at the national tournament, but he's back. Yianni took off the 2019-20 trying to make the Olympic year and luckily did not compete in the season that resulted in a canceled NCAA Tournament. Last year, he and the rest of the Ivy League could not compete as the league did not allow athletics amid the pandemic. So now, Diakomihalis and the rest of his Cornell team is back. Yianni is seeking his third NCAA title, in as many tries, and his first at 149 lbs. Moving up to 149 lbs hasn't been an issue. Diakomihalis is 23-0 on the year and has tallied bonus points in almost 70% of his appearances. Yianni is in the midst of his second consecutive undefeated season and currently carries a 70-match winning streak into Detroit. Diakomihalis' second national title put him into a select group of multiple-time national champions for Cornell. He's one of five Big Red wrestlers to have multiple titles. A third would put him into a more exclusive class, as only Kyle Dake has won three or more in a Cornell singlet. Diakomihalis already has posted wins over two of his primary challengers during the regular season in #3 Austin Gomez and #4 Sammy Sasso. Yianni neutralized Sasso in the finals of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and got by Gomez in the season finale, 12-6. In his most recent appearance, Diakomihalis captured his third EIWA crown with two major decisions, a tech, and an injury default. The Contenders: #2 Tariq Wilson (NC State); #3 Austin Gomez (Wisconsin); #4 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) The Conference Champs: ACC: #2 Tariq Wilson (NC State) Big 12: #9 Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State) Big Ten: #3 Austin Gomez (Wisconsin) EIWA: #1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) MAC: Kody Komara (Kent State) Pac-12: #5 Kyle Parco (Arizona State) SoCon: #6 Jonathan Millner (Appalachian State) Top First-Round Matches #16 Willie McDougald (Oklahoma) vs. #17 Jarrett Degen (Iowa State) #13 Beau Bartlett (Penn State) vs. #20 Colin Realbuto (Northern Iowa) #14 Josh Finesilver (Duke) vs. #19 Yahya Thomas (Northwestern) #7 Dean Heil (Campbell) vs. #26 Josh Edmond (Missouri) #10 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) vs. #23 Jaden Abas (Stanford) #15 Legend Lamer (Cal Poly) vs. #18 Anthony Artalona (Penn) At first glance, once it was confirmed that Yianni Diakomihalis was going 149 lbs, late in the preseason, this weight class looked like it was "Yianni and everyone else." That hasn't necessarily changed; however, it has developed into an intriguing weight with lots of participants that can put points on the board. Look no further than the Big Ten Championships and its winner, Austin Gomez. Most had given up on Gomez's career, after he announced his retirement due to concussions and other injuries in December of 2020. I'd venture to say expectations were very low when Gomez announced he was returning and transferring from Iowa State to Wisconsin. In a new environment, Gomez has thrived and knocked off any rust. At the Big Ten's, Gomez earned a spot in the finals after imposing his will on Ridge Lovett and grabbing a :20 fall. He was victorious in the finals by locking up three takedowns on returning national runner-up, Sammy Sasso, one of the most difficult wrestlers to finish on in the country. Maybe someone with Gomez's big-move potential is best suited to knock off Yianni? The ACC has a pair of high-scoring wrestlers that should make an impact in the unbeaten two-seed Tariq Wilson and Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech). Andonian has a "throw the kitchen sink" mentality, yet Wilson has been able to stay out of trouble and cruised to a pair of victories over the Junior World bronze medalist. Wilson is a two-time NCAA third-place finisher that seems to shine brightest at nationals. The loss to Gomez slid Sasso into the fourth seed and made a CKLV rematch with Diakomihalis only possible in the semifinals. Sasso has gone 22-2 this year with only losses to Yianni and Gomez. After making the national finals in 2021 and coming very close to coming away with a title, Sasso has spent most of the season ranked #2. After the top-four seeds, you'll find a handful of guys that have quietly put together strong seasons at this weight. The fifth seed is one-loss Kyle Parco, who made a surprising run to the national podium last year, while at Fresno State. Once the Bulldog athletic department dropped their program, Parco transferred to Arizona State and has fit in perfectly. Parco is currently riding an 11-match winning streak and hasn't seen the primary contenders at 149 lbs. The Sun Devil is also responsible for the only loss of the year on #6 Jonathan Millner's (Appalachian State) resume. Millner was also a 2021 All-American, the only one for the entire SoCon. His biggest competitor was #7 Josh Heil, who lost a pair of extremely close bouts to the Mountaineer Millner. Heil was a MatMen Open champion and handed Gomez his first of two losses this season. You can still go down to the 8-10 seeds and make an argument that any of the group, that includes Max Murin (Iowa), Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State), and Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) can come away with a high finish. Murin has managed to win the close ones against everyone but Sasso. Gfeller has always been talented; however, this year, he's been as consistent as ever. Lovett came the closest to knocking off Yianni (in the CKLV semis) and is capable of beating anyone in the bracket. Quadrant to Watch: It has to be the bottom quad. In our "Best First-Round Matches" article, the match from 149 lbs we detailed was #10 Ridge Lovett vs. #23 Jaden Abas. A top-ten wrestler against a returning All-American is awesome right off the bat. The winner of that contest would face either Heil or #26 Josh Edmond. Down below is the 15/18 match with Legend Lamer and Anthony Artalona, both sporting identical 14-5 records, both were conference runner's-up this year. The winner of their match would likely face #2 Wilson. But before you go penciling Tariq in, you have to respect his opponent Michael Blockhus (Minnesota). Blockhus did not earn an automatic qualifying spot for the Big Ten, but had a strong showing at the conference meet and came away with fifth place. There he picked up wins over past national qualifiers Graham Rooks (Indiana) and Kanen Storr (Michigan). Any of the wrestlers that emerge to face Wilson in the quarters could present a problem for the Wolfpack senior. Darkhorse All-American Contender: #19 Yahya Thomas (Northwestern) We saw what happened last year when Yahya Thomas needed an at-large berth and was given the #25 seed at the national tournament. All he did was give Sasso a scare, before knocking off the third and fourth seeds on his way to third place. This year, Thomas has built off of that performance and has generally been consistent. He tripped up at the Big Ten's in a weight class that had fewer bids than one would expect. Just like last year, the road to the podium would be a tough one. In the opening round, Thomas has 2021 Round of 12 finisher Josh Finesilver (Duke). Our brackets have Thomas meeting and defeating Murin in the bloodround, which is a match he'd like to have back. Murin rallied to beat Thomas in the Big Ten quarterfinals. Extreme (+20 seed) Darkhorse All-American Contender: #26 Josh Edmond (Missouri) Though he didn't get the nod for Mizzou in the 2021 postseason, Josh Edmond's regular-season exploits (10-0) were enough to put him on the radar for this year, up a weight, at 149 lbs. Edmond has proven to be one of the more exciting wrestlers to watch at any weight. He often tries to finish high off of a leg attack leading him to launch his opponents (or get launched). Should he be able to pull a first-round upset, Edmond would likely get Ridge Lovett and that could result in fireworks with the skillsets of both wrestlers. There's a chance the brackets could break in a way that results in a third match between Edmond and Jarrett Degen. The point totals in the first two bouts between them were 16 and 28 points, both in Degen's favor. Anything can happen at the NCAA Tournament and it's good to get behind an underdog that can put points on the board. Projected Quarterfinals #1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) vs. #8 Max Murin (Iowa) #4 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) vs. #5 Kyle Parco (Arizona State) #3 Austin Gomez (Wisconsin) vs. #11 Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) #2 Tariq Wilson (NC State) vs. #10 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) Projected Semifinals #1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) vs. #4 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) #3 Austin Gomez (Wisconsin) vs. #10 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) Projected All-Americans 1st) Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) 2nd) Austin Gomez (Wisconsin) 3rd) Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) 4th) Kyle Parco (Arizona State) 5th) Tariq Wilson (NC State) 6th) Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) 7th) Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) 8th) Yahya Thomas (Northwestern) Round of 12 Finishers: #17 Jarrett Degen (Iowa State); #8 Max Murin (Iowa); #14 Josh Finesilver (Duke); #9 Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State) Consolation Round of 16: #26 Josh Edmond (Missouri); #6 Jonathan Millner (Appalachian State); #12 Mike Van Brill (Rutgers); #15 Legend Lamer (Cal Poly)

The top three seeds at 141 lbs Nick Lee (center), Jaydin Eierman (left), and Sebastian Rivera (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) The 2022 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships are less than a week away! In a few short days, 330 wrestlers will make the trek to Detroit, Michigan, with hopes of a national title on their minds. In addition, fan seating will be at 100% capacity for the first time since Pittsburgh in 2019. Now it's in an area that hasn't hosted nationals since 2007 and even that tournament was not held downtown; it was way out in Auburn Hills. Before the action on the mat starts, InterMat will go through each individual bracket and highlight the favorites, top matches to watch, and much more. Here are the weight classes already released 125 lb preview 133 lb preview We'll move on to the 141 lbers as we release two of our weight class previews for the next five days: The Top Seed: Nick Lee (Penn State) Nick Lee has held the top spot at 141 lbs the whole year after reversing his 2021 Big Ten finals result against Jaydin Eierman in the NCAA finals, two weeks later. Eierman is the only wrestler to have seriously test Lee this year, as the Hawkeye had a late rally to push their dual meeting into sudden victory, yet Lee found a way to win. In his five years competing at Penn State, Lee has gone 114-13, with more than half of those losses coming as a true freshman in 2017-18. Despite having a national title and making the NCAA podium on three previous occasions, Lee had yet to win a Big Ten title, until last week. The manner in which he won was quite anticlimactic as Eierman did not compete in the championship bout and medically forfeited. Lee's final senior for Penn State has been slightly odd. He has a lower bonus point percentage than at any point of his career; however, he never seems to be in close matches (outside from Eierman). In 2019-20, Lee notched five victories via fall. Over the last two years, he's only combined for one. Regardless, Lee is getting it done and a favorite to grab back-to-back titles, especially considering the health of his two most formidable challengers. The Contenders: #2 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa); #3 Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers); #4 Real Woods (Stanford); #5 Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado); #6 Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh); #7 Clay Carlson (South Dakota State) The Conference Champs: ACC: #6 Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) Big 12: #5 Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) Big Ten: #1 Nick Lee (Penn State) EIWA: #11 Matt Kazimir (Columbia) MAC: #16 Quinn Kinner (Rider) Pac-12: #4 Real Woods (Stanford) SoCon: #22 Shannon Hanna (Campbell) Top First-Round Matches #16 Quinn Kinner (Rider) vs. #17 Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio State) #9 Allan Hart (Missouri) vs. #24 Stevan Micic (Michigan) #13 Ian Parker (Iowa State) vs. #20 Parker Filius (Purdue) #14 Dresden Simon (Central Michigan) vs. #19 Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska) #15 Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina) vs. #18 Ryan Jack (NC State) All year this weight class looked like it had the top-three….and everyone else. Lee, Jaydin Eierman, and Sebastian Rivera, have combined to AA ten times with four Big Ten titles and finished first, second, and fourth at nationals in 2021. Some returners that may have been poised to break into the big three, like Dylan Duncan (Illinois) and Stevan Micic, have dealt with injuries and off-the-mat rust, which has led to an even greater distance between the competition. As is typically the case in collegiate wrestling, injuries have been a neutralizing factor for some of the contenders at 141 lbs. Sebastian Rivera was injured in mid-February and missed the Scarlet Knights final dual of the year. He advanced to the semifinals of the Big Ten Championships, setting up a highly anticipated bout with Jaydin Eierman, but medically forfeited out of the tournament. Up until the injury, Rivera was looking as good as ever, and may have been a favorite here, in some people's. Even with his injury, Sebass still managed to post bonus points in his two Big Ten tournament contests. For the year, Rivera has only failed to rack up bonus once in 24 bouts. Also with injury concerns is Eierman, who received Rivera's forfeit then turned around forfeited to Lee in the conference final. Eierman hasn't looked quite as explosive as in the past this year, still has been excellent and brings a 17-1 record into Detroit. He, like Rivera, is looking for that elusive national title. Both have done about all that can be done in college, without having that final honor. If Eierman were to do so, he'd obviously become the first wrestler ever to improve their placement from 5, to 4, to 3, to 2, and to 1 sequentially. With some wounded veterans trying to patch themselves up for one last run, that could mean blood in the water for the younger sharks at this weight. The fourth seed is Real Woods, who is looking to get on the NCAA podium for the first time. He had a remarkable freshman campaign, losing only one bout, interrupted by Covid in 2020. Last year, presented plenty of off-the-mat distractions and Woods, still made the Round of 12. This time, he's 14-1 with a quick fall to Grant Willits, representing the only blemish on his record. Woods avenged that loss a bit in the Pac-12 finals as he majored Willits, 8-0. Also in the same quadrant as Woods is #5 seed Andrew Alirez. Alirez made history for his hometown program as he became Northern Colorado's first Big 12 champion last weekend. Alirez has finally been healthy for a full season and flourished with a finals appearance (losing to Woods) at the Southern Scuffle and in Vegas. More new faces from in a title-contending sense are the sixth seed Cole Matthews and seventh-seeded Clay Carlson. Matthews got red hot after the MatMen Open and hasn't lost since. That run has included wins over then top-ten opponents Kizhan Clarke and Stevan Micic, along with a : 36-second fall of eventual EIWA champion Matt Kazimir. The Panther's run extended into Charlottesville, where he built his winning streak up to 13 and captured his first ACC crown. Carlson was an All-American in 2021, but did so in relatively surprising fashion. This year, with higher expectations, Carlson has raised his game, too. Carlson started the year with 16 straight wins, a streak that encompassed the CKLV Invitational. In the finals, he secured a winning takedown over Alirez, before getting a fall at the buzzer. Quadrant to Watch: The bottom one! We've already mentioned Carlson and he's the seventh seed here. His opening round match is against Frankie Tal-Shahar (Northwestern), one of those freshman that seems to be figuring things out at the right time of year. Below them is the #10 seed Jake Bergeland (Minnesota). Bergeland has quietly put together a really strong season, punctuated by third in the Big Ten. In a normal situation, I'd like to pick him to knock off the number seven; however, he's already lost to Carlson three times this year. Below them is #15 Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina) and #16 Ryan Jack (NC State). Clarke was ranked in the top ten all year and owned a win over Chad Red Jr. He was on the road to an excellent seed before a subpar showing at the ACC's. As luck will have it, one of those wrestlers who upset Clarke at ACC's was Jack. Could Ryan go on a similar run like his brother Ryan? In 2015, the elder Jack downed the 4, 5, and 12 seeds to make the NCAA semi's as an unheralded freshman. Oh yeah, this quadrant includes the second-seeded Eierman. If he shows any signs of vulnerability, there are four or five guys here that could take him out. Wouldn't a rematch of Eierman and Jack's memorable Collegiate Duals bout be fun in the second round? Jack jumped out to an early lead, before and Eierman rally; yet Jack came ever-so-close to pinning Eierman defensively at the final buzzer. Darkhorse All-American Contender: #19 Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska) Ok, so our two darkhorse All-American candidates get mentioned on technicalities, their seeds. Chad Red Jr. went 1-2 at Big Ten's and needed an at-large berth to get in. At that tournament, he repeatedly showed a tenacity to relinquish early leads. Is it a negative sign of things to come? Red Jr's track record works in his favor. Generally, he hasn't peaked at Big Ten's. In 2019 he made the finals, but his other placements at the event were 7th, 4th, and 3rd. However, every time Red Jr has competed at nationals, he's found the podium. Even in 2019, the year of his best Big Ten showing, Red Jr was saddled with the #16 seed. Now coming from the 19th seed shouldn't be intimidating for the vet. Red Jr. will have to be ready to go from round one, as he has Dresden Simon, who was ranked in the top-12 for most of the year, before an uneven performance at his conference tournament. Extreme (+20 seed) Darkhorse All-American Contender: #24 Stevan Micic (Michigan) Once again, someone with an extremely long resume, so picking Micic to possibly make the podium isn't going out on a limb. But, as the 24th seed, his path to the top-eight is not easy. Right off the bat, Micic has Big 12 runner-up, Allan Hart (Missouri), who was a Round of 12 finisher last season. Then #8 Grant Willits/#25 Carter Young awaits, win or lose. If Micic could make it through those first two matches, Nick Lee would be looming. One of the underrated themes from Michigan's Big Ten title run was the job that Micic did coming through the backside. Micic dropped his first bout of the tournament, but battled in close match after close match, to take fourth behind Bergeland. That type of perseverance in a senior that's been on the scene as long as Micic and has such sky-high expectations is admirable. Micic is either dealing with some sort of an ailment or isn't completely adjusted to the weight class. Maybe even a combination of the two. Even so, nobody wants to run into a 24th seed with the talent and history of the Michigan All-American. The Team Race: With the way the brackets have been constructed, this may be the only opportunity for a Penn State/Iowa national final. If that's the case and the team race is close, four points for the winner could be crucial. Now both parties have to advance that far and that may be an issue for the Hawkeye after forfeiting out of Big Ten's. If you're looking at team points based on seeds, this is an opportunity where Michigan can make up some ground. Team score-wise, you don't get much for someone wrestling "up" to their 24th seed. But, if Micic, can make the Round of 12 to possibly the podium, it will provide them with points we're not otherwise expecting. Projected Quarterfinals #1 Nick Lee (Penn State) vs. #8 Grant Willits (Oregon State) #5 Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) vs. #4 Real Woods (Stanford) #3 Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) vs. #6 Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) #7 Clay Carlson (South Dakota State) vs. #2 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) Projected Semifinals #1 Nick Lee (Penn State) vs. #4 Real Woods (Stanford) #3 Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) vs. #2 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) Projected All-Americans 1st) Nick Lee (Penn State) 2nd) Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) 3rd) Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) 4th) Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) 5th) Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) 6th) Real Woods (Stanford) 7th) Chad Red Jr (Nebraska) 8th) Clay Carlson (South Dakota State) Round of 12 Finishers: #10 Jake Bergeland (Minnesota); #8 Grant Willits (Oregon State); #14 Dresden Simon (Central Michigan); #17 Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio State) Consolation Round of 16: #18 Ryan Jack (NC State); #11 Matt Kazimir (Columbia); #12 CJ Composto (Penn); #24 Stevan Micic (Michigan)