InterMat Staff

Missouri 125 lber Noah Surtin (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) What better way to start the year than with a massive tournament! The Southern Scuffle has become the New Year's tradition! Ringing 2022 with some of the top wrestlers in the nation butting heads. Like many other things in our country, the Scuffle was canceled in 2021, so this will be a triumphant return for the tournament that has been held on the campus of Chattanooga for the last decade. Here is a weight-by-weight breakdown of the ten brackets that will be contested Saturday and Sunday, along with picks for the top-eight in each. 125 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #8 Killian Cardinale (West Virginia); #9 Patrick McKee (Minnesota); #12 Noah Surtin (Missouri); #21 Fabian Gutierrez (Chattanooga); #32 Caleb Smith (Appalachian State) Unranked Threats: Drake Ayala (Iowa); Cooper Flynn (Virginia Tech); Jace Koelzer (Northern Colorado); Brett Ungar (Spartan Combat RTC); Reece Witcraft (Oklahoma State) A pair of returning All-Americans headline this opening weight class, with #8 Killian Cardinale and #9 Patrick McKee. The two did not meet at the 2021 NCAA Championships, but they did see each other in 2019-20, while Cardinale was still at Old Dominion and McKee prevailed, 7-3. Before penciling these two into the finals, Noah Surtin could have something to say about it all. Surtin is coming in off of an unbeaten showing at the Collegiate Duals, where he knocked off a pair of opponents, then ranked in the top-12 (Jakob Camacho - NC State and Jaret Lane - Lehigh). He happened to lose to both Cardinale and McKee at the 2021 NCAA Tournament, but has improved dramatically since. The SoCon is responsible for the final two ranked wrestlers with Fabian Gutierrez and Caleb Smith. Gutierrez represents the host-Mocs best chance at a high placer. Last week, Gutierrez suffered a loss to Cardinale, but beat a talented Logan Heil. The highest returning placewinner expected to enter is Smith, who was fifth in 2020, while redshirting. He made his way into the rankings after a championship at the Keystone Classic and hasn't looked back. We'll get a glimpse into the future at this weight as a handful of talented, redshirting freshmen are expected to compete. First and foremost is Drake Ayala, a top-five overall recruit, from the Class of 2021. Ayala has only seen action in six bouts this year and his only loss came at the hands of McKee. Virginia Tech's prized lightweight star is Cooper Flynn. Like Ayala, with just a single setback on his record, Flynn already has logged wins over two national qualifiers from Campbell and North Carolina's starter, Spencer Moore. Future Cornell wrestler and current Spartan Combat RTC member, Brett Ungar, already has some good wins on his resume, too. He downed Heil and majored returning national qualifier Micah Roes (Binghamton), during his collegiate debut. Big 12 veterans Reece Witcraft and Jace Koelzer should also challenge for spots on the podium. Witcraft is a big-move guy that could get on a roll in a tournament of this magnitude. Finals Prediction: Noah Surtin over Patrick McKee 3rd) Killian Cardinale; 4th) Drake Ayala; 5th) Cooper Flynn; 6th) Caleb Smith 7th) Reece Witcraft; 8th) Fabian Gutierrez 133 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #11 Rayvon Foley (Michigan State); #17 Chance Rich (CSU Bakersfield); #18 Kai Orine (NC State); #21 Codi Russell (Appalachian State); #25 Jake Gliva (Minnesota); #26 Kellyn March (North Dakota State); #28 Richie Koehler (Rider); #29 Jackson DiSario (Stanford); #30 Dom LaJoie (Cornell) Unranked Threats: Connor Brown (Missouri); Trey Crawford (Missouri); Cullan Schriever (Iowa); Derek Spann (Buffalo) Though this weight class doesn't have any top-ten ranked wrestlers, it's among the deepest of any weight class at the Scuffle. #11 Rayvon Foley is the only returning All-American of the bunch. Since a loss the opening week of the season, Foley has reeled off nine straight wins and claimed a title at the Navy Classic. While Foley is the clear favorite, there are any number of contenders to face him in the finals, depending on seeding. Next in-line, rankings-wise, is Chance Rich, an NCAA Round of 12 finisher in 2021. Rich was recently a runner-up at the Reno Tournament of Champions and is 5-1 on the year. Fellow Pac-12 wrestler, Jackson DiSario (Stanford) was the third in Reno and is a two-time national qualifier. The two haven't met this season, though they both share a loss to Oregon State's Devan Turner. Others with past NCAA experience at this weight are Codi Russell, Richie Koehler, Connor Brown, and Derek Spann. The highest returning placewinner from the last incarnation of the Scuffle is Kai Orine, who was fourth in 2020, while redshirting. In his last outing, Orine was majored by #3 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) at the Collegiate Duals, which marked his first loss of the year. He's still in a positional battle with past qualifier Jarrett Trombley, so a deep run may be a necessity. Aside from Foley, more B1G flavor is here with Jake Gliva, who is having a breakout year for Minnesota. Gliva was sixth at the CKLV Invitational, where he defeated two ranked opponents and a third that was previously ranked. Another victim of Gliva this season is Kellyn March, whose on a bit of a heater, himself. March tallied a pair of falls and a 6-0 win over Spann during the most recent road trip for the Bison. Finals Prediction: Rayvon Foley over Jake Gliva 3rd) Kai Orine; 4th) Kai Orine; 5th) Kellyn March; 6th) Chance Rich; 7th) Cullan Schriever; 8th) Jackson DiSario 141 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #6 Clay Carlson (South Dakota State); #7 Real Woods (Stanford); #8 Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado); #22 Angelo Martinoni (CSU Bakersfield); #26 Quinn Kinner (Rider); #28 Collin Gerardi (Virginia Tech); #30 Dylan Droegemueller (North Dakota State) Unranked Threats: Anthony Brito (Appalachian State); Wyatt Henson (Iowa); Dusty Hone (Oklahoma State); Marcos Polano (Minnesota); Franco Valdes (Chattanooga) Three top-eight wrestlers are in the mix at 141 lbs and we have the chance to see a possible rematch between Clay Carlson and Andrew Alirez, who battled in a back-and-forth affair during the CKLV finals. On paper, the result was a fall in Carlson's favor, but the match was still in doubt in the moments leading up to the final whistle. That loss accounted for Alirez's only of the year, while Carlson is still unblemished at 13-0. Before we get another meeting between these two Big 12 foes, Real Woods may have something to say about that. Woods has made the Scuffle finals on two occasions, winning in 2020 and finishing second in 2019. Also in 2020, Alirez was a Scuffle runner-up to Woods' teammate Jaden Abas. Woods has only seen action in three bouts this year, as he won all three in Reno before medically forfeiting out. A Woods/Carlson final could be fun, since the two met in the NCAA Round of 12 last year, with Carlson prevailing 11-4 Angelo Martinoni, Quinn Kinner, Collin Gerardi, and Dylan Droegemueller round out the ranked wrestlers at this weight. Martinoni and Gerardi both have some positive history here in Chattanooga. Each has a sixth-place finish on their resume. Martinoni's came in 2020 and Gerardi did so the year before, at 133 lbs. Earlier this year, Martinoni was eighth at the CKLV. A young guy to watch here is Iowa's redshirting freshman Wyatt Henson. So far, Henson has won three open tournaments (Luther, Lindenwood, and Cyclone) and is 13-0. This tournament would constitute a significant step up in competition as Henson has only faced four DI opponents. Some vets with past NCAA experience in this bracket are Anthony Brito, Dusty Hone, and Marcos Polanco. Hone was also third at the Scuffle in 2020. Brito shocked the SoCon by winning its title at 141 in 2021; however, earlier in the season, he suffered a loss to Franco Valdes of the host school. Finals Prediction: Clay Carlson over Real Woods 3rd) Andrew Alirez; 4th) Wyatt Henson; 5th) Angelo Martinoni; 6th) Collin Gerardi; 7th) Dusty Hone; 8th) Quinn Kinner 149 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #5 Jonathan Millner (Appalachian State); #7 Josh Finesilver (Duke); #22 Josh Edmond (Missouri); #26 Alex Madrigal (George Mason); #32 Zach Price (South Dakota State) Unranked Threats: Ben Alanis (Northern Colorado); Cody Chittum (High School); Alek Martin (South Dakota State); Travis Mastrogiovanni (Oklahoma State); Michael North (Maryland); Peyton Omania (Michigan State); Caleb Rathjen (Iowa); Chris Sandoval (Northern Colorado); Victor Voinovich (Oklahoma State) Frequent Scuffle-goers Appalachian State is looking for their first finalist at this tournament since Denzel Dejournette did so in 2012! #5 Jonathan Millner should be the top seed and favored to not only make the finals, but win the whole thing. The 2021 All-American's record sits at a cool 8-1 heading into Chattanooga. Millner picked up a win over the likely #2 seed, Josh Finesilver, at ASU's Mountaineer Invitational. In one of his most recent outings, Millner downed fellow All-American Zach Sherman. The loss to Millner accounts for the only defeat of the year for Finesilver, who has competed early and often, already seeing action in 17 bouts. Not only has Finesilver won frequently, but he's also done so in dominating fashion. More than 50% of his wins included bonus points. There's a bit of a drop-off between the North Carolina boys and the rest of the field, but Josh Edmond, Alex Madrigal, and Zach Price account for the rest of the ranked competitors expected to compete. Edmond had a bit of a tough go of things at the Collegiate Duals. We'll see how he responds and adjusts. The last time Madrigal was here, he left with a fifth-place medal. In 11 contests this season, his only loss came to Millner. Price was an NCAA Round of 12 finisher last year at 133 lbs, and has taken some lumps this year, moving up two weights. This may be a weight class we look back on and marvel at three years down the road. A handful of talented redshirts are expected to do battle here, like Caleb Rathjen, Ben Alanis, Victor Voinovich, Travis Mastrogiovanni, and Alek Martin. Each was considered a top-50 recruit from the Class of 2021. Finally, the Class of 2023 is represented by perhaps the best high school junior in the nation, Cody Chittum. The Minnesota recruit is from Tennessee and has a physical style that will make him fit in with a boatload of DI studs. Finals Prediction: Jonathan Millner over Josh Finesilver 3rd) Josh Edmond; 4th) Victor Voinovich; 5th) Caleb Rathjen; 6th) Alex Madrigal; 7th) Peyton Omania; 8th) Ben Alanis 157 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #4 Brayton Lee (Minnesota); #8 Jared Franek (North Dakota State); #21 Chase Saldate (Michigan State); #23 Jarrett Jacques (Missouri); #24 Colton Yapoujian (Cornell); #31 Dazjon Casto (The Citadel); #32 Cody Bond (Appalachian State) Unranked Threats: Terrell Barraclough (Penn State); AJ Kovacs (NC State); Parker Kropman (Drexel); Joe Lee (Penn State); Brock Mauller (Missouri) Losing North Carolina late, negated one of the best matches of the tournament, one between 2021 NCAA champion Austin O'Connor and Brayton Lee. Lee is still expected to be in action and his biggest threat could come from Jared Franek. These two already clashed once this year, at the Bison Open, a match won by Lee in sudden victory. Someone capable of ruining a potential Lee/Franek rematch is two-time NCAA All-American Brock Mauller. Through three years of competition, Mauller is 83-8 with a pair of top-six finishes at nationals. Those numbers came down at 149 lbs, so we're not sure what to expect from Mauller up at 157 lbs. He's currently in redshirt and hasn't competed in 2021-22. Aside from Maulller, maybe Chase Saldate is capable of knocking off one of these top-ten foes atop the weight. Saldate is 13-1 on the year with a title at the MSU Open and a boatload of bonus-point wins. This field will represent a step-up in competition for most of his season. Another Missouri Tiger will vie for a spot on the podium in Jarrett Jacques. Jacques is looking to right the ship after a 1-2 showing at the Collegiate Duals. Cornell's Colton Yapoujian went 2-1 at the duals, though their teams did not meet. A pair of SoCon stars will make a push for the podium here, as Dazjon Casto and Cody Bond are looking to move up from the bottom of the national rankings. Penn State is still trying to figure out this weight class and two of their contenders, Terrell Barraclough and Joe Lee, are expected to be in action here. Another non-starter to watch is AJ Kovacs, who is responsible for the only loss of the year on teammate Ed Scott's resume. Kovacs also has a seven-point win over Casto. Finals Prediction: Brayton Lee over Brock Mauller 3rd) Jared Franek; 4th) Chase Saldate; 5th) Colton Yapoujian; 6th) Joe Lee; 7th) Jarrett Jacques; 8th) AJ Kovacs 165 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #3 Keegan O'Toole (Missouri); #7 Luke Weber (North Dakota State); #12 Peyton Hall (West Virginia); #19 Thomas Bullard (NC State); #20 Andrew Sparks (Minnesota); #24 Will Formato (Appalachian State); #26 Tanner Cook (South Dakota State) Unranked Threats: Donald Cates (NC State); Gabe Dinette (Duke); Alex Facundo (Penn State); Caleb Fish (Michigan State); Patrick Kennedy (Iowa); RJ Mosley (Gardner-Webb); Drew Nicholson (Chattanooga); Selwyn Porter (The Citadel); Clayton Ulrey (Virginia Tech) Like most tournaments this year, the 165 lb weight class will be one of the headliners. Undefeated Keegan O'Toole leads the charge. The 2021 All-American has only lost once in his collegiate career and has bonus points in over 87% of his matches this year. One of those victims was Luke Weber, a 2021 Big 12 champion. O'Toole pinned Weber in his 2021-22 debut. That loss is Weber's only of the year. Another unbeaten member of this bracket is West Virginia's Peyton Hall. As of yet, Hall hasn't met any of the primary contenders at the weight, but still sports a sparkling 13-0 record. After the Big 12 contingent, look out for North Carolina's best with Thomas Bullard and Will Formato. The pair have met five times in the collegiate careers, with Bullard holding a 3-2 edge; however, Formato took the most recent meeting, 6-1. Bullard is looking to place here for the second time, as he was fourth in 2020. Some big guns at this weight are sitting in the “unranked threats” category, including Patrick Kennedy and Alex Facundo. Through a year and a half of collegiate competition, Kennedy's only losses have come to multiple-time AA's Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) and teammate Alex Marinelli. The Marinelli loss was by a single point this year at the Luther Open. Facundo was considered one of the top recruits in the Class of 2021, but his only appearance of the year was at the Clarion Open, where he went 6-1. While the PSU staff seemed poised to keep him in redshirt, a deep run at the Scuffle may force them to reconsider. Two other under-the-radar guys to watch are Donald Cates and Caleb Fish. Cates was inserted for the Collegiate Duals and responded with an early takedown against Marinelli, then fought to avoid bonus points. So far, he's 12-4 on the year. In only the third dual appearance of Fish's career, he knocked off 2021 NCAA All-American Zach Hartman (Bucknell), 9-5. Finals Prediction: Keegan O'Toole over Patrick Kennedy 3rd) Peyton Hall; 4th) Luke Weber; 5th) Alex Facundo; 6th) Will Formato; 7th) Thomas Bullard; 8th) Tanner Cook 174 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #8 Matt Finesilver (Duke); #12 Cade DeVos (South Dakota State); #13 Peyton Mocco (Missouri); #15 Mickey O'Malley (Drexel); #28 Tyler Eischens (Stanford); #31 Triston Wills (Little Rock); #33 Thomas Flitz (Appalachian State) Unranked Threats: Austin Brenner (North Dakota State); Peyton Craft (Cornell); Logan Messer (George Mason); Bailee O'Reilly (Minnesota); Dom Solis (Maryland); Albert Urias (CSU Bakersfield) This should be the second weight class with a Finesilver in the mix. Matt has placed twice at this tournament, taking fifth in 2019 and eighth in 2018. He's a perfect 17-0 on the year and has not had a match closer than four points. The most likely finals opponent for Finesilver could be the rapidly improving Cade DeVos. Moving up two weights, hasn't affected the Iowa native and he was fourth at the CKLV Invitational. This year he's posted wins over five returning national qualifiers in 13 wins. Expected to make life difficult for Finesilver and DeVos pre-finals are Peyton Mocco and Mickey O'Malley. Mocco is only 5-3 on the year, but has a pair of losses to top-five opponents in Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) and Hayden Hidlay (NC State). The Lewis match ended up in tiebreakers, before Mocco fell, 11-9. O'Malley already has seven falls in his nine wins this season. In his most recent outing, he pinned Maryland's Dom Solis and lost 6-2 to Finesilver. One of the guys on the rise at this weight is #33 Thomas Flitz. Against North Carolina, Flitz knocked off Clay Lautt, who was ranked in the top-ten, at the time. He was seventh at this weight in 2020. Austin Brenner and Albert Urias are both entrants that spent some time ranked in the top-33 this year. True freshman Logan Messer has piled up the wins (18-5) and could be seeking a breakthrough. Also, Bailee O'Reilly is a past NCAA qualifier that is trying to work his way back into the Gopher lineup with a 13-3 record. Finals Prediction: Matt Finesilver over Cade DeVos 3rd) Mickey O'Malley; 4th) Peyton Mocco; 5th) Tyler Eischens; 6th) Thomas Flitz; 7th) Bailee O'Reilly; 8th) Austin Brenner 184 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #13 Jonathan Loew (Cornell); #14 Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech); #15 Jeremiah Kent (Missouri); #28 Layne Malczewski (Michigan State); #29 Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota); #32 Kyle Cochran (Maryland) Unranked Threats: Jha'Quan Anderson (Gardner-Webb); Anthony Carman (West Virginia); Colton Hawks (Missouri); Bryan McLaughlin (Drexel); DJ Parker (North Dakota State); Matthew Waddell (Chattanooga) The only returning All-American at 184 lbs is Virginia Tech's Hunter Bolen. He's expected to take the second seed after a sudden victory loss to Jonathan Loew at the Collegiate Duals. Bolen has also faced the third seed, Jeremiah Kent, this year and prevailed 6-3. With Loew being such a difficult matchup, due to his height, I'd expect a different gameplan from Bolen since he's already had his hands on the Big Red 184 lber. Loew showed he was for real with a third-place finish at the CKLV Invitational. At that event, he downed three past national qualifiers. Kent has been consistent this year, aside from his losses to the ACC All-Americans (Bolen and Trent Hidlay - NC State). The rest of the ranked wrestlers at this weight hail from the Big Ten. Layne Malczewski is a two-time national qualifier that was the 15th seed at the NCAA Championships. Isaiah Salazar has been good this season, but in limited doses. He's only competed in six matches and in his only loss, Salazar took two-time AA Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) to sudden victory. Salazar is looking for that signature win(s) to boost his stock. Maryland veteran Kyle Cochran has been nearly perfect in the earlygoing, with a 9-1 record. His only loss was avenged two weeks later in dual competition. One young unranked guy to watch is DJ Parker of North Dakota State. Parker competed unattached for the first month of the year and suffered a few losses to returning AA's, plus a one-pointer to Salazar. He was a fast riser during his final years of high school and could continue that upward trajectory here. The depth of the Mizzou lineup has kept Colton Hawks on the outside, but he's capable of a deep run here. Hawks was a Junior World Team member in 2021 and is 2-1 in open competition this year. Finals Prediction: Hunter Bolen over Jonathan Loew 3rd) Jeremiah Kent; 4th) Isaiah Salazar; 5th) Layne Malczewski; 6th) Kyle Cochran; 7th) DJ Parker; 8th) Colton Hawks 197 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #7 Rocky Elam (Missouri); #18 Owen Pentz (North Dakota State); #19 Jacob Cardenas (Cornell); #20 Cameron Caffey (Michigan State); #22 Tanner Sloan (North Dakota State); #24 Alan Clothier (Northern Colorado); #31 Michial Foy (Minnesota) Unranked Threats: Michael Beard (Penn State); Matt Correnti (Rider); Josh Loomer (CSU Bakersfield); Kaden Russell (Duke); Jaron Smith (Maryland) There's the potential for a lot of fun here at 197 lbs. 2021 Junior World Champion Rocky Elam leads the charge. When we last saw Elam, he went 2-1 at the Collegiate Duals and suffered his first loss of the 2021-22 campaign. Even so, Elam figures to be in the mix for a national title at a deep 197 lb weight class and the favorite here. Elam already has a major decision victory over the likely three-seed, Owen Pentz. Pentz made himself known last year when he upset #2 Eric Schultz (Nebraska) at the NCAA Championships. He was the 31st seed last year, but will be much higher after starting the season 8-2. One of the new faces to watch at this weight has been Jacob Cardenas. He has supplanted All-American Ben Darmstadt as the Big Red starter at 197 lbs and has performed admirably thus far. Cardenas nearly knocked off former teammate, Max Dean (Penn State), at the Collegiate Duals, a match that could have propelled Cornell to an upset. Speaking of Penn State, the Nittany Lions 2021 All-American, Michael Beard, is here and has a real chance at a title. In limited action, Beard is 4-0 with bonus points in all four appearances. He and Elam met in the NCAA consolations last year and Elam prevailed, 5-0. Two others at this weight were top-15 seeds at the NCAA Tournament last year with Cameron Caffey (#10) and Tanner Sloan (#13). Both fell in the Round of 12 last season, but have taken a few lumps this year. Sloan is 1-2, while Caffey is 11-3. Someone on the rise at this weight is #31 Michial Foy of Minnesota. Foy had a 9-3 win over Sloan in dual meet action and majored his way through the UNI Open in his last outing. Northern Colorado's Alan Clothier will attempt to make the podium for a fourth time at the Scuffle. He was seventh in 2020 for UNC, after placing twice for Appalachian State. He and veterans like Matt Correnti, Josh Loomer, Kaden Russell, and Jaron Smith, are capable of deep runs. Finals Prediction: Rocky Elam over Michael Beard 3rd) Jacob Cardenas; 4th) Cameron Caffey; 5th) Tanner Sloan; 6th) Owen Pentz; 7th) Michial Foy; 8th) Alan Clothier 285 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #15 Zach Elam (Missouri); #18 Lewis Fernandes (Cornell); #19 Michael Wolfgram (West Virginia); #20 Owen Trephan (NC State); #23 Brandon Metz (North Dakota State); #24 AJ Nevills (South Dakota State); #29 Zach Schrader (Maryland) Unranked Threats: Hunter Catka (Virginia Tech); Aaron Costello (Iowa); Austin Harris (Oklahoma State); Michael McAleavey (The Citadel); Seth Nevills (Penn State); Jacob Seely (Northern Colorado); Deonte Wilson (NC State) If any weight class had the chance to go sideways, it could be 285 lbs. #15 Zach Elam is the highest-ranked wrestler in the bracket; however, seven others are among the top-33, along with some unranked notables. The Big 12 is extremely deep at heavyweight and it'll be on display with Elam, Michael Wolfgram, Brandon Metz, AJ Nevills, Jacob Seely, and Austin Harris. Wolfgram has really broken out this year, while Metz and Nevills are as steady as they come. Seely is a veteran that is back for one last ride and Harris was the Cowboys starter last year and advanced to the NCAA Round of 12. NC State comes in with a strong triumvirate of big men, #20 Owen Trephan, 2021 ACC champion Deonte Wilson, and Tyrie Houghton. Any or all three could end up in the top-eight. Lewis Fernandes has the opportunity to be that All-American heavyweight that Cornell has long yearned for. He had a tough draw at the Collegiate Duals, but fought valiantly. The last of the ranked wrestlers is Maryland's Zach Schrader, a graduate transfer from Cal Baptist. Schrader and the rest of the Terp upperweights have been heavily responsible for his squad starting with a 3-2 dual record. There are many others that could break into the top-eight, including NCAA qualifier Hunter Catka, Aaron Costello, and Seth Nevills. Finals Prediction: Michael Wolfgram over Zach Elam 3rd) Lewis Fernandes; 4th) Seth Nevills; 5th) Owen Trephan; 6th) Brandon Metz; 7th) Deonte Wilson; 8th) Hunter Catka

Olympic champion Gable Steveson (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The inaugural and prestigious Intermat end of the year awards are upon us and that means getting to relive the best of 2021 for men's freestyle. The categories for this article came from a question from @AndrewA1994 on Twitter. Most Improved: #4 (74) Taimuraz Salkazanov (SVK) Already a 70 KG U-23 world champion in 2018 and a Senior World bronze medalist at 79 KG in 2019, Taimuraz Salkazanov had a compelling resume going into 2021, but hadn't yet proved himself as a true elite in the deepest weight class in the world at 74KG. Salkazanov's 2021 campaign started off on a rough note, being pinned against Alipasha Umarpashaev of Bulgaria in the Round of 16 of the European Olympic Qualifier. Umarpashaev wrestled a career-best tournament at the European Olympic Qualifier, beating Salkazanov and Olympic runner-up #2 Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov (BLR) but even with those wins still failed to qualify after finishing 5th after losses to #10 Avtandil Kentchadze (GEO) and Georgios Kougiomitsidis (GRE). Going into the European championships against the likes of world champions #5 Frank Chamizo (ITA), #6 Razambek Zhamalov (RUS), and Khetag Tsabolov (SRB), along with 2018 world runner-up Avtandil Kentchadze (GEO), all on his side of the bracket, Salkazanov was given a snowball's chance in hell of placing, let alone winning the tournament. Salkazanov's beginning of the European championships started off with a convincing 5-2 win over Marc Dietsche (SUI), but as comfortable of an opener as he had, he would be faced with a massive challenger in his Round of 16 match against two-time world champion #5 Frank Chamizo (ITA). Between Chamizo and Salkazanov, you could not find two more disparate wrestlers. Chamizo is an exceptional scrambler who scores effortlessly on his opponent's offense, while Salkazanov grinds his opponents down with impeccable handfighting and seals matches with a strong double leg, underhook knee pick or head inside single. With both men having scored a takedown and Chamizo leading 2-2 going into the final 15 seconds of the match, Salkazanov was able to perfectly time a knee pull single and turning the corner to finish a double leg transition to a powerful 4-point trap arm throw. Italy challenged the clutch takedown from Salkazanov, but Salkazanov was not to be beaten that day and walked away with the biggest win of his career by a 6-2 score over two-time world champion Frank Chamizo. While his previous match against Chamizo was defined by an explosive match-ending takedown, Salkazanov's quarterfinal against 2018 world runner-up #10 Avtandil Kentchadze (GEO) would be a war of attrition. Down 5-0 to Kentchadze early into the 2nd period, Salkazanov became a man possessed. Kentchadze, assured of his own victory, was in no state of worry even as Salkazanov got two pushouts and a failed challenge call against Kentchadze. An aggressive Kentchadze kept charging forward, determined to pull ahead of Salkazanov, but the Slovakian matched his best offense with impeccable defense and grit. Salkazanov kept coming and kept coming, with Kentchadze having no answer for the continued pressure of the Slovakian. In the turning point of the match, Salkazanov breaks through Kentchadze to a body lock and runs the Georgian out of bounds for a stepout to make the score 5-4 and you see a wayward glance from Kentchadze to his coaches and a hurried gasp for breath of a man who knows his time has come. In the waning seconds of the match, Salkazanov made the score 5-5 with only 15 seconds left on the clock. Salkazanov, sensing that victory is at hands, continues to charge forward and runs Kentchadze towards the edge and with the fleeing Georgian called for passivity, Salkazanov would punch his way into the semifinals with a 6-5 win to get the chance to face Russian Nationals runner-up #6 Razambek Zhamalov (RUS). Continuing the trend of his past matches against Chamizo and Kentchadze, Salkazanov fell behind Zhamalov 4-0 at the end of the first period. Having wrestled Zhamalov before at the 2020 Individual World Cup and knowing how the talented Chechen's mat control, Salkazanov knew he had to get on the attack right away and got in on an elbow post head-inside single within the first ten seconds of the match, but wasn't able to finish against the defense of Zhamalov. Timing a Zhamalov club, Salkazanov was able to time another head inside single and, with Zhamalov doing the splits, was able to secure a stepout and his first point of the match to make the score 4-1 with under two minutes left. Hard handfighting continued between Salkazanov and Zhamalov and Zhamalov was able to set up an overunder body lock and walkout by Salkazanov for a step out to go up 5-1. With Zhamalov fading, Salkazanov was able to get in again on a head-inside single and converted this time for his first takedown of the match to cut the lead to 5-3. Another elbow-post double from Salkazanov was brought up to an underhook by Zhamalov and Salkazanov sprinted through him to the edge to earn a controversial takedown off a Zhamalov headstand counter. A failed Zhamalov challenge gave Salkazanov a 6-5 lead and a cool head to fend off a late charge from Zhamalov secured him the spot in the European finals. The gold medal was a foregone conclusion for Salkazanov in his finals match against Miroslav Kirov (BUL) as after a 2-0 feeling out opening period, Salkazanov exploded through an underhook knee pick for four and a gut wrench to go up 8-0. A head inside single finished the match 10-0 for Salkazanov and secured his European gold medal. Having put together the tournament of his life at the European championships and cemented himself as a serious medal contender in the Tokyo Olympics, Salkazanov still had the task of qualifying for Tokyo at the World Olympic Qualifier. Zurab Kapraev (ROM) and a 6-4 revenge win over Alipasha Umarpashaev (BUL) put Salkazanov in the semifinals of the World Olympic Qualifier against past Russian National champion #2 Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov (BLR). It isn't often at the highest level between two of the best in the world that you see a real clinic. Salkazanov was on the wrong side of a clinic in counter wrestling administered by Kadimagomedov. Overhook shucks, massive chest wraps and deft scrambling put together an absolutely punishing, one-sided 12-4 loss for Salkazanov and stomped his dreams of a medal in Tokyo into dust. As his final warm-up competition before the Senior world championships in Oslo, Salkazanov competed at the Alexander Medved Prize Tournament. Making the semis, he faced off against 2019 Intercontinental Cup runner-up Magomed Dibirgadzhiev (RUS). A close match with Salkazanov leading late, a last-second ankle pick for Dibirgadzhiev would secure the victory for Dibirgadzhiev and continue Salkazanov's fall from grace after his European conquest. Oslo would be a chance at redemption for Salkazanov and to prove he was better than just a flash in the pan from Euros. A rubber match against Alipasha Umarpashaev went the way of Salkazanov in a 3-0 clash to set up a quarterfinal bout against Russian standout #7 Timur Bizhoev (RUS). Bizhoev, an absolute master at neutralizing his opponent's offense with exceptional handfighting and mat control, on paper was a terrible matchup for Salkazanov, as he would prevent any chances of the talented Slovakian breaking his hands head defense and neutralized any of the big offensive flurries that Salkazanov had used to power his way through Euros. Odds and predictions are but kindling to fuel the fire of a man hellbent on achieving a goal. Even with the supposed superiority of Bizhoev and trailing 2-1 with 5 seconds left on the clock stuck underneath Bizhoev in a front headlock, Salkazanov exploded through on a short duck, picking up and carrying Bizhoev out of bounds for an amazing comeback 2-2 win on criteria. Late match heroics and heart-pounding comebacks weren't needed in his semifinals bout against #10 Avtandil Kentchadze (GEO) as three step-outs and a double leg at the end of the match sealed Salkazanov's second Senior world medal and his first finals appearance. Against Olympic bronze medalist and reigning two-time 79 KG world champion #3 Kyle Dake (USA), Salkazanov was outgunned throughout and an ankle pick to a navy finish to a pair of gut wrenches spelled the end of Salkazanov's gold medal chances as he fell to the American 7-2. Salkazanov's spot as the most improved wrestler of the year not only comes from elite wins over World/Olympic medalists in #5 Frank Chamizo (ITA), #6 Razambek Zhamalov (RUS), #7 Timur Bizhoev (RUS) and #10 Avtandil Kentchadze (GEO), but his ability throughout the year to overcome setbacks and adversity and come back better from it. Coming off the high of his European title that was followed by a thrashing by Kadimagomedov and a close loss to Dibirgadzhiev, Salkazanov came back dialed in for world's and scored his most clutch comeback of his career against Bizhoev. And showing he's no longer just a close match, but a person who can really break away and beat the best in the world consistently is the reason why I picked Taimuraz Salkazanov as my most improved wrestler of the year. Best Match of the Year: #8 Abdulmazhid Kudiev (RUS) vs. #16 Erik Arushanian (UKR), 65 KG U-23 European Championships Finals. Before even entering the U-23 European championships, Kudiev and Arushanian had already cemented themselves as premier prospects at 65 KG. Arushanian made his name off a Junior world title at 70 KG over Vasile Diacon (MDA), before taking bronze at the Senior European championships in 2020 at 65 KG. While Kudiev lacked the international notoriety of Arushanian, his impressive bronze medal finish at Senior Russian Nationals that saw him upset two-time medalist #9 Murshid Mutalimov (RUS) and tech falling two-time 61 KG national runner-up Ramazan Ferzaliev (RUS) cemented his status as a legitimate contender. Both Kudiev and Arushanian were dominant on their way to the finals, with both men winning all their matches by tech fall or pin. The match between the two would begin with a feeling-out process and as Arushanian got a passivity point against Kudiev, he perfectly timed the Russian's pressure to a high drag off a 2-1 to get the first takedown of the match and go up 3-0. Kudiev responded with a stepover on a failed Arushanian gut wrench to cut the score to 3-2 to end the first period. The second period had no feeling-out process between the two as they clashed right off the whistle. Arushanian caught Kudiev charging in on a step-around knee block, threw off a shot and countered with a cross ankle pick to further his lead to 5-2 as he continued to exploit the unfettered forward aggression of Kudiev. A wild scramble ensued as Kudiev turned back into Arushanian and got up to his feet; with Arushanian having a single up in the air, he used a small cut back to get free before attempting a shot and giving up another takedown to make the score 7-2 Arushanian lead. The second half of the second period would begin with Kudiev earning his first takedown of the match off an underhook throwby to a bodylock to cut Arushanian's lead to 7-4. Countering Arushanian's 2-1, Kudiev used a back-step single and was blown back up to his feet after no action. With his hips back and leaning forward, Kudiev pressed his way forward to an over-under bodylock, perfectly setting himself up for a HUGE headlock for 4 from Arushanian to push the Ukrainian's lead to 11-4. Kudiev jumping right back into the fray, uses a short outside step duck and locks up a his own headlock and sends Arushanian FLYING to answer back with his own 4 point move and cut the score to 11-8. After both men's wild exchange trading headlocks, the match's pace started to slow in the final seconds and with Kudiev pressing in again for a bodylock, Arushanian timed a smart low double to extend his lead to 13-8. Kudiev, sensing the stakes at hand, pushed forward and used a misdirection duck to score the final takedown of the match to make the final score 13-10 Arushanian. What earned Kudiev/Arushanian the distinction of match of the year was two things. One was that they're both elite wrestlers near the top of the weight class in an evenly matched contest. The second one is the quality of action that went down with both men absolutely going to war. From trading headlocks to Kudiev's late attacks and Arushanian's brilliant counters, the match had it all. Sure, you could have higher-ranked guys in higher stakes matches than the U-23 European finals, but when the bouts are 3-2 or 4-2 and the most you're getting is a passivity point and stepout based match, as good the guys may be, that's not what wins match of the year. Wrestler of the Year: #1 (74) Zaurbek Sidakov (RUS) Simply put, Sidakov was the best there was in the best weight class in the world all year. Coming into 2021 after a disappointing bronze medal finish at 2020 Russian Nationals from his upset loss to Khetag Tsabolov (SRB), Sidakov had to prove himself at Russian Nationals if he wanted to win his third World/Olympic title. Sidakov won close matches against #7 Timur Bizhoev (RUS) and #8 Magomed Kurbanaliev (RUS) to set up the highly anticipated finals match against returning national champion #6 Razambek Zhamalov (RUS). The match against Zhamalov had been building up since the 2020 Russian Nationals. Zhamalov was the uncrowned king in Russia, a pound-for-pound talent with incredible wins over world medalists #2 Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov (BLR), #4 Taimuraz Salkazanov (SVK), #5 Frank Chamizo (ITA), #6 (70) David Baev (RUS), #7 Timur Bizhoev (RUS), #8 Magomed Kurbanaliev (RUS) and #9 Magomedrasul Gazimagomedov (RUS). The match meant so much for both men; the chance for Zhamalov to stake his claim as king of the hill against the reigning two-time world champion Sidakov and compete for Olympic gold and, for Sidakov, the chance to retake his spot in the top and further his argument as one of the greatest 74 KG wrestlers of all time with a third World/ Olympic title in Tokyo. Leading Sidakov 2-0 after a stepout and a passivity point going into the final 30 seconds of the match, Zhamalov looked to have taken his spot as Russia's new leader at 74 KG. An extended shot from Sidakov was able to score a pushout with 10 seconds left on the clock to cut the lead to 2-1 for Zhamalov. Channeling yet another last-second come from behind win that defined his world title runs in 2018 & 2019, Sidakov managed to get a final pushout with 3 seconds left on the clock to take the 2-2 lead on criteria and fend off a hard-charging Zhamalov to win his third career Russian National title and reclaim his top spot at 74 KG and pound-for-pound. Coming off titles at Russian Nationals in March and the Sassari tournament in June, Sidakov came into the Tokyo Olympics as the favorite to win gold for the Summer Olympics. Having already proven himself against Russia's best at 74 KG, Sidakov was well prepared for what was to come in Tokyo. With tech fall wins over Daniyar Kaisanov (KAZ) and Augusto Midana (GBS) and a 13-6 quarterfinal win over #20 Bekzod Abdurakhmanov (UZB) sandwiched between them, Sidakov was able to make the Olympic finals against an old foe in Belaruse's #2 Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov. Kadimagomedov had been wrestling the best tournament of his life on his way to the Tokyo Olympic finals. An opening round 12-8 win over four-time world medalist Geandry Garzon (CUB) put him in the quarterfinals against reigning two-time 79 KG #3 world champion Kyle Dake (USA). Dake was seen as Sidakov's toughest challenge, outside of Russia, and given a very real chance to unseat the North Ossetian standout. Any chance Dake had of beating Sidakov was forgotten after the absolute thrashing that Kadimagomedov put on him, countering Dake time and time again for an 11-0 tech fall victory. Two-time world champion #5 Frank Chamizo (ITA) would be Kadimagomedov's final test before his chance at a rubber match against Sidakov, and a clutch reversal from Kadimagomedov earned him the 9-7 victory over Chamizo and a chance at Olympic gold over Sidakov. The 7-0 final score of the Olympic Finals match between Sidakov and Kadimagomedov was deceptive because it doesn't accurately portray just how neck-and-neck the match was. Sidakov had transformed himself into Kadimagomedov's kryptonite since their last meeting at the 70 KG Russian Nationals in 2017. Sidakov did this by being able to constantly readjust himself when he is on a shot against Kadimagomedov and avoid the Belarusian's match ensign counters and force Kadi to take the initiative in the match where Sidakov held the upper hand. Considering they're both even on scrambling, Sidakov showing Kadimagomedov he could handle his best counters and still come out unscathed, puts the initiative on Kadimagomedov to go on the attack. A 3-0 lead for Sidakov off a passivity point and takedown extended to a 5-0 lead after exposure off a cradle against a Kadimagomedov and a focused Sidakov iced off his Olympic finals match with two step-outs to take the 7-0 victory and walk away with gold. To cap off his history-making year, Sidakov competed in December at the Alrosa Cup in a rematch of the Olympic finals against #2 Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov (BLR). In what was a nearly identical match to their encounter in Tokyo, Sidakov won 6-1 this time, scoring a takedown and gut wrench along with two step-outs to Kadimagomedov's lone step out of the match. Sidakov's ability to come up clutch time and time again against the cream of the crop at 74 KG has earned him the well-deserved distinction of wrestler of the year. While #1 (97) Abdulrashid Sadulaev (RUS) may have more World/Olympic titles, then Sidakov with seven compared to Sidakov's three, but when you look at the superior quality of competition of Sidakov beating the likes of Zhamalov, Chamizo, Kadimagomedov, and Burroughs in the past quad over Sadulaev's competition of Snyder and Sharifov gives him the right to the top spot over Sadulaev. Performance of the Year: #2 Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov (BLR) Olympic Finals Run at 74KG. Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov has been a persistent force but has never been able to put together a full run at a World/Olympic championships until 2021. A Russian Nationals title in 2017 at 70 KG and a European title in 2020 at 79 KG were his career-best highlights going into 20201 with wins over the likes of #1 Zaurbek Sidakov (RUS), #1 (70) Magomedmurad Gadzhiev (POL), #5 (86) Magomed Ramazanov (RUS) and #9 Magomedrasul Gazimagomedov (RUS) to bolster his credit as a bonafide title contender. Except, Kadimagomedov never put it all together with his sole world championships appearance for Russia being soiled by a quarterfinals loss to Yakup Gor (TUR) that eliminated him and for Belarus as the #1 wrestler in the world in 2020 at the 79 KG Individual World Cup, he had to settle for bronze after a loss to #5 (79) Akhmed Usmanov (RUS). Kadimagomedov had developed the unwanted reputation of a high-class choke artist, flying close to the sun but always crashing back down. 2021 was a year of unprecedented consistency for Kadimagomedov and save for an early hiccup at the European Olympic Qualifier that saw him eliminated in the quarterfinals by Alipasha Umarpashaev (BUL), Kadimagomedov was a changed man through and through. The European Olympic Qualifier was the first view of what Kadimagomedov would bring to the table in Tokyo. Wins over 2014 65 KG world bronze medalist Mihail Sava (MDA), 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Soner Demirtas (TUR) and #12 (79) Arsalan Budazhapov (KGZ) were nice, but the real target was in the semifinals against reigning European champion #4 Taimuraz Salkazanov (SVK). Salkazanov had just come off the tournament of his life at the European championships with wins over past world champions #5 Frank Chamizo (ITA), #6 Razambek Zhamalov (RUS), and #10 Avtandil Kentchadze (GEO). Sure, Kadimagomedov was a live wire and could be dangerous to Salkazanov, but the winning machine with ice in his veins that was Salkazanov that pulled off upset after upset in Warsaw wasn't supposed to be fazed by a choke artist like Kadimagomedov. This was Salkazanov's time and Kadimagomedov was wasting it. The match that unfolded between Salkazanov and Kadimagomedov was a masterclass. A far cry from the close quarter triumphant slugfests that carried Salkazanov to European gold, this match belonged solely to Kadimagomedov, who flawlessly played the role of matador to the bull that was Salkazanov. Rib cracking chest wraps flung Salkazanov across the mat and deftly timed overhook shucks sent the Slovakian standout crashing to the mat while Kadimagomedov barely broke a sweat. After all was said and done, the man who was but an afterthought held the world at attention with a 12-4 dismantling of the lauded Salkazanov. Tokyo defied all expectations for Kadimagomedov. Put on the same side as two-time world champions Kyle Dake (USA) and Frank Chamizo (ITA), Kadimagomedov was discounted from the start. There's no way he can defend Dake's upper body power and strength; he'd be lucky to make it out alive. Chamizo won't fall for his counters; Kadimagomedov can't scramble with him. Pressure can change a man in ways he cannot foresee. Some shatter under the weight of uncertainty and loss of control, while others transform and become something more, something greater than before. Kadimagomedov was a man defined by the latter and nowhere was this more clear than his absolute thrashing of Kyle Dake. Unfazed by the aggression and power of the American legend, Kadimagomedov was ahead at every turn and diffused the man formerly known as Kid Dynamite for an 11-0 tech fall victory. Frank Chamizo was a different puzzle for Kadimagomedov to solve and while the Cuban fought tooth and nail against the Belarusian, Kadi would show out again, outscrambling the scrambling savant Chamizo for a last-second exposure and the 9-7 win to make the Olympic finals. Against top-ranked Zaurbek Sidakov, Kadimagomedov was a game but outmatched opponent, no longer the matador as he was against Salkazanov and Dake or the gunslinger quick to draw as he was against Chamizo. Against the caliber of Sidakov, Kadimagomedov was brought back down to Earth and made human again in a 7-0 loss and relegated to Olympic silver. Even ending his year without gold, Kadimagomedov's career transformation in 2021 makes him deserving of the performance of the year. In the toughest weight class in the world, Kadimagomedov's ability to outclass and dominate a pound-for-pound standout the likes of Kyle Dake and to still maintain the composure to outscramble Frank Chamizo to a clutch win make for me the biggest career turnaround and performance of the year. Upset of the Year: #1 Hassan Yazdani Charati (IRI) over #2 David Taylor at the 86 KG World Championships Finals As a man with the modest title of "The Greatest," Hassan Yazdani Charati of Iran has a prestigious reputation to maintain. A 3x World/Olympic champion with an Olympic title in 2016 at 74 KG and world titles at 86 KG in 2017 and 2019, Yazdani should have clearly been seen as the consensus best 86 KG in the world, hands down. There was no question that he was indeed The Greatest, right? Even for all that he had done, Yazdani's performance. through the 2017-2021 quad were always defined by David Taylor, even in his absence. The 2017 world championships saw Yazdani lauded for his dominance over the field, but critics were quick to point out his inability to beat David Taylor at the World Cup and took to appointing Taylor, the uncrowned king of 86KG. 2018 saw the rematch between Yazdani and Taylor in the opening round of the World Championships and it would again be Taylor triumphing over Yazdani, this time on his way to claiming world gold. 2019 saw Taylor absent from the world championships as he was sidelined with a knee injury. It wouldn't be until their rubber match in Tokyo this year that Yazdani would get his chance at revenge, and leading Taylor throughout, the Iranian was struck with tragedy as Taylor capitalized on a clutch late double leg to secure Olympic gold and shatter Yazdani's dream of a second Olympic title. The world championships in Oslo saw Yazdani and Taylor on a collision course for each other. Both men dominated their respective brackets to set up their final meeting of the quad and the world watched with bated breath. Would it be Taylor who would claim the last title of the quad as his, or would it be Yazdani who would finally fulfill his title as the greatest? A focused and driven Yazdani was in the driver's seat throughout the whole match, denying Taylor any chance or establishing an offensive rhythm and bullying the American across the mat. Yazdani's fourth world title and closure against Taylor were achieved by a 6-2 victory. Yazdani wins the honor of upset of the year for reversing three past losses to Taylor and re-establishing himself as the king of the 86 KG weight class. Breakout of the Year: Gable Steveson, 125 KG Olympic Champion. Gable Steveson has had the wrestling world's attention at every stage in his career. Three age-group world titles, an NCAA title, a Final X runner-up finish in 2019. Wrestling with technique surpassing even the best lightweight wrestlers in the world combined with once-in-a-generation raw power and athleticism. When Gable finally made the Olympic team by beating two-time world bronze medalist #9 Nick Gwiazdowski (USA) in two straight matches, all eyes were on him to breakthrough in Tokyo and cashed in on the massive potential he had. Gable's run to the Olympic finals redefined the state of the heavyweight division. What had been a two-person race between three-time World/Olympic champion #3 Taha Akgul (TUR) and three-time world champion #2 Geno Petriashvili (GEO) was broken wide open by Gable. In a true passing of the guard moment, Gable dominated the reigning Olympic champion #3 Taha Akgul (TUR) in an 8-0 shutout and followed it up with a 5-0 win over world bronze medalist #10 Lkhagvagerel Munkhtur (MGL). Awaiting him in the finals was reigning three-time world champion #2 Geno Petriashvili (GEO), who overcame adversity time and time again to pull away as the clear winner of the quad from 2017-2019. What ensued was an amazing match that saw Gable dominate early, but Petriashvili pulled back later with a pair of exposures to take an 8-5 lead in the closing moments of the match. Sensing the importance of the moment he was in, Gable went to another level and scored two back-to-back takedowns over the Georgian legend along with a failed challenge from Petriashvili to walk away with the 10-8 victory and Olympic gold. Gable's career-defining performance that saw him unseat the two kings of the heavyweight division rightfully earned him the award for breakout of the year. Comeback of the Year: Gable Steveson's 125 KG Olympic Finals Match against #2 Geno Petriashvili (GEO) Gable Steveson had his sights set on taking the title of king of the heavyweight division in Tokyo and having already beaten the reigning Olympic champion #3 Taha Akgul (TUR), he only had one man left standing in his way. Three-time world champion #2 Geno Petriashvili (GEO) had established himself as the premier heavyweight of the quad with world titles in 2017, 2018 and 2019 and, time after time, set the standard for heavyweight. In a battle of heavyweight supremacy to lay claim to the most coveted title in wrestling, Gable was the one to strike first, running out a decisive lead over Petriashvili with incredible takedowns that showcased the speed and technical mastery of a man half his size. Petriashvili, as game as they come, regained control of the match and pulled ahead with a pair of counter exposures to take the 8-5 lead with short time left in the match. In an absolutely unreal turn of events, Gable was able to earn two takedowns with less than seconds on the clock to take the 9-8 victory that was 10-8 after a failed Petriashvili challenge. Steveson's ability to overcome massive adversity and pull off a career-defining upset win in the closing seconds of a match against the caliber of an opponent like Petriashvili rightfully earns him the award of comeback of the year.

2021 MatMen Open champion Greg Bulsak (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) I think I'll forego the classic opening this week as it's the last day of the year and there's really nothing left to be said. On that note, let me say a bunch more things. What first-semester result surprised you most? Are you going to NCAAs? Do u consider yourself a Rutgers homer? Which school has the worst fans? sup? @PelikanHead Stalemates Award Winner I'm old and weathered, so nothing surprises me, but I would like to see Sam Latona get back on his feet. If I go to NCAAs, who will watch my eight screens at home? A homer? I won't cheer for any wrestler against a Rutgers guy, but I wouldn't consider myself a homer, where I'm just shouting out stalling at every dual for no reason. I love every fan of every team. Hey. Who's someone that's completely off everyone's radar, but you think will contend for an NCAA title in March? Conversely, who's an NCAA champ that you think definitely will not repeat?? @sleepyvinny Random out of nowhere champs are a rarity, but they do happen. Obviously, this might be the most difficult year ever to pull one with ten champs returning, but I'll say Greg Bulsak of Rutgers (not a homer) has a real chance at making some noise. He's vastly experienced after five years, he's in great shape, and started the year on in absolute heater capped off by a title at Midlands 2: Electric Boogaloo. I say why not! Who definitely won't repeat? Easily David Carr or Austin O'Connor. In fact, I'll guarantee one doesn't. Top 5 favorite bands of all time? @ItsJustARide94 My music taste is mostly the rock and roll, but it spans about five decades, so it's tough to narrow it down to five. I'll pick two straight classics, a hair band, and two grunge/alternative from my angst years. In no particular order: Alice in Chains-Grittiest and grungiest band of the era and can turn around and hit you with a gorgeous piece of music like Jar of Flies. Nobody in rock did dual vocals better than Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell. Def Leppard-just a catalog of hits and they never get old. The Allman Brothers-I'm not like an Allman Brothers nut, but they're the soundtrack to the American road trip. Stone Temple Pilots-A band that changed stylistically so much in a decade (sometimes from one song to the next) and it all still holds up today. Led Zeppelin-Behemoths. Rock Gods like this do not exist anymore. Jagger, in this tumultuous time of the wrestling world, what's a good New Year's resolution you'd recommend for us all? I'll take my answer off the air. @NotTomNotTerry I covered this on my new podcast called Resolution Podcast. Do you still love Suriano? @PierceStowman I'll have to see him on the mat first before I know if the spark is still there. If wrestling tournaments ever had little concerts like the Super Bowl halftime show, which bands or artists do you think would be good choices for NCAAs? @oldestgreatest Gabriel Townsell, of course! In fact, book it for this year. The fans of Stanford had to endure the pain of potentially losing their program last year and didn't get to see their colors fly. I say we celebrate the team that fought to stay alive by having one of their finest student-athletes get the honor. How does it feel to have Willem Dafoe compared to you? @JonnyG7613 He's the one who should feel honored. Hey, Happy New Year, everyone! I never thought a year ago I'd be closing 2021 with a mailbag column, but here we are. With any luck, I'll be closing 2022 the same way, by acting like an idiot. Enjoy tonight, everyone, be safe and be well. You're more important to those around you than you can ever know; never forget that.

125 lb champion Justin Cardani (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Championship Finals 125 lbs - Justin Cardani (Illinois) dec Ryan Miller (Penn) 4-3 133 lbs - Lucas Byrd (Illinois) dec Micky Phillipi (Pittsburgh) 5-4 141 lbs - Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) tech CJ Composto (Penn) 18-3 149 lbs - Josh Heil (Campbell) dec Austin Gomez (Wisconsin) 3-1SV 157 lbs - Elijah Cleary (Pittsburgh) dec Doug Zapf (Penn) 9-8 165 lbs - Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) maj Phil Conigliaro (Harvard) 21-6 174 lbs - Edmond Ruth (Unattached) dec Mason Kauffman (Northern Illinois) 3-2TB 184 lbs - Myles Amine (Michigan) dec Mark Hall (Michigan) 4-2 197 lbs - Greg Bulsak (Rutgers) dec Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) 3-2 285 lbs - Trent Hillger (Wisconsin) dec Ethan Laird (Rider - Unattached) 2-0 Third Place Matches 125 lbs - Antonio Lorenzo (Cal Poly) maj Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) 13-5 133 lbs - Drew Mattin (Michigan) maj Julian Farber (Northern Iowa) 10-0 141 lbs - Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) fall Joe Zargo (Wisconsin) 4:14 149 lbs - Anthony Artalona (Penn) dec Anthony White (Rutgers) 3-1 157 lbs - Jake Keating (Virginia) dec Alex Carida (Bloomsburg) 5-3 165 lbs - Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh) dec Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois) 3-0 174 lbs - Manuel Rojas (High School) dec Reece Heller (Hofstra) 8-4 184 lbs - Bernie Truax (Cal Poly) fall Zac Braunagel (Illinois) :46 197 lbs - Braxton Amos (Wisconsin) dec Cody Baldridge (North Central) 3-1 285 lbs - Luke Luffman (Illinois) dec Nathan Taylor (Lehigh) 6-1 Fifth Place Matches 125 lbs - Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) maj Blair Orr (Penn) 12-3 133 lbs - Joey Olivieri (Rutgers) maj Carter Bailey (Lehigh) 16-3 141 lbs - Parker Filius (Purdue) dec McKenzie Bell (Rider) 9-6 149 lbs - Max Brignola (Lehigh) dec Lukus Stricker (Harvard) 8-5 157 lbs - Brawley Lamer (Cal Poly) MedFFT Kendall Coleman (Purdue) 165 lbs - Zach Hartman (Bucknell) dec Lucas Revano (Penn) 7-0 174 lbs - Gerrit Nijenhuis (Purdue) maj Connor O'Neill (Rutgers) 14-3 184 lbs - Trey Munoz (Oregon State) dec Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois) 12-7 197 lbs - Cole Urbas (Penn) MedFFT Ryan Reyes (Oregon State) 285 lbs - Michael Woulfe (Purdue) dec Jake Slinger (Pittsburgh) 8-4 Seventh Place Matches 125 lbs - Gage Curry (Pittsburgh) dec Lucian Brink (Northern Illinois) 4-2 133 lbs - Jack Wagner (Northern Iowa) dec Kurt Phipps (Bucknell) 8-4 141 lbs - We Rachel (Illinois) fall Carmen Ferrante (Penn) 2:56 149 lbs - Al DeSantis (Rutgers) MedFFT Christian Kanzler (Illinois) 157 lbs - Grant Zamin (Unattached) dec Garrett Model (Wisconsin) 4-3 165 lbs - Holden Heller (Hofstra) dec Danny Braunagel (Illinois) 6-5 174 lbs - Nick Incontrera (Penn) maj Joshua Kim (Harvard) 8-0 184 lbs - Neil Antrassian (Penn) dec Gregg Harvey (Pittsburgh) 8-3 197 lbs - Chris Kober (Campbell) dec Levi Hopkins (Campbell) 6-1 285 lbs - Ben Goldin (Penn) dec Boone McDermott (Rutgers) 6-4 Team Scores 1) Pittsburgh 121.5 2) Penn 118 3) Wisconsin 117 4) Illinois 105 5) Rutgers 94

The 2021 MatMen Open (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) 125 lbs Quarterfinals #25 Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) dec Zurich Storm (Campbell) 3-2 #33 Ryan Miller (Penn) dec Blake West (Northern Illinois) 9-3 #29 Justin Cardani (Illinois) dec Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) 3-2 #30 Antonio Lorenzo (Cal Poly) dec #26 Gage Curry (Pittsburgh) 7-5SV Semifinal Matchups #25 Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) vs. #33 Ryan Miller (Penn) #29 Justin Cardani (Illinois) vs. #30 Antonio Lorenzo (Cal Poly) 133 lbs Quarterfinals #7 Lucas Byrd (Illinois) fall Cole Rhone (Bloomsburg) 2:46 Drew Mattin (Michigan) dec #13 Michael Colaiocco (Penn) 10-3 Carter Bailey (Lehigh) fall #12 Sammy Alvarez (Rutgers) 2:20 #6 Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) dec Joey Olivieri (Rutgers) 2-0 Semifinal Matchups #7 Lucas Byrd (Illinois) vs. Drew Mattin (Michigan) #6 Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) vs. Carter Bailey (Lehigh) 141 lbs Quarterfinals #4 Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) fall McKenzie Bell (Rider) 6:56 Joe Zargo (Wisconsin) dec #32 Carmen Ferrante (Penn) 5-2 #24 Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) dec Ethan Basile (Northern Iowa) 9-2 CJ Composto (Penn) maj #14 Parker Filius (Purdue) 9-1 Semifinal Matchups #4 Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) vs. Joe Zargo (Wisconsin) #24 Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) vs. CJ Composto (Penn) 149 lbs Quarterfinals #10 Josh Heil (Campbell) dec Anthony Cheloni (Northern Illinois) 3-1 Anthony White (Rutgers) dec Kolby Depron (Bucknell) 5-1 #27 Anthony Artalona (Penn) dec Max Brignola (Lehigh) 6-3 #11 Austin Gomez (Wisconsin) fall Marshall Keller (Princeton) 1:15 Semifinal Matchups #10 Josh Heil (Campbell) vs. Anthony White (Rutgers) #11 Austin Gomez (Wisconsin) vs. #27 Anthony Artalona (Penn) 157 lbs Quarterfinals #10 Kendall Coleman (Purdue) dec Grant Zamin (Unattached) 6-2 #28 Elijah Cleary (Pittsburgh) dec Brawley Lamer (Cal Poly) 5-4 #33 Alex Carida (Bloomsburg) dec Jake Keating (Virginia) 7-2 #20 Doug Zapf (Penn) dec Garrett Model (Wisconsin) 9-6 Semifinal Matchups #10 Kendall Coleman (Purdue) vs. #28 Elijah Cleary (Pittsburgh) #20 Doug Zapf (Penn) vs. #33 Alex Carida (Bloomsburg) 165 lbs Quarterfinals #8 Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh) dec Holden Heller (Hofstra) 5-2 #14 Phil Conigliaro (Harvard) dec #18 Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois) 6-3 #17 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) dec #21 Danny Braunagel (Illinois) 10-0 #15 Zach Hartman (Bucknell) dec #29 Lucas Revano (Penn) 4-3 Semifinal Matchups #8 Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh) vs. #14 Phil Conigliaro (Harvard) #15 Zach Hartman (Bucknell) vs. #17 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) 174 lbs Quarterfinals Reece Heller (Hofstra) fall Nate Dugan (Princeton) 4:41 #30 Mason Kauffman (Northern Illinois) dec #29 Joshua Kim (Harvard) 6-3 Manuel Rojas (High School) dec #25 Gerrit Nijenhuis (Purdue) 8-6 Edmond Ruth (Unattached) dec Nick Incontrera (Penn) 4-3 Semifinal Matchups #30 Mason Kauffman (Northern Illinois) vs. Reece Heller (Hofstra) Manuel Rojas (High School) vs. Edmond Ruth (Unattached) 184 lbs Quarterfinals Mark Hall (Unattached) dec #31 Gregg Harvey (Pittsburgh) 10-4 #6 Bernie Truax (Cal Poly) dec #19 Zac Braunagel (Illinois) 6-1 #7 Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois) dec #16 Trey Munoz (Oregon State) #2 Myles Amine (Michigan) dec Neil Antrassian (Penn) 7-1 Semifinal Matchups Mark Hall (Unattached) vs. #6 Bernie Truax (Cal Poly) #2 Myles Amine (Michigan) vs. #7 Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois) 197 lbs Quarterfinals #2 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) dec Levi Hopkins (Campbell) 11-3 Ryan Reyes (Oregon State) dec Cole Urbas (Penn) 4-2 #26 Braxton Amos (Wisconsin) dec Chris Kober (Campbell) 7-1 #12 Greg Bulsak (Rutgers) maj Cody Baldridge (North Central) 13-2 Semifinal Matchups #2 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) vs. Ryan Reyes (Oregon State) #12 Greg Bulsak (Rutgers) vs. #26 Braxton Amos (Wisconsin) 285 lbs Quarterfinals #5 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin) maj Michael Woulfe (Purdue) 11-3 #29 Jake Slinger (Pittsburgh) dec #26 Boone McDermott (Rutgers) 8-5 #17 Luke Luffman (Illinois) dec Ben Goldin (Penn) 6-2 Ethan Laird (Rider) maj Sam Aguilar (Cal Poly) 12-4 Semifinal Matchups #5 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin) vs. #29 Jake Slinger (Pittsburgh) #17 Luke Luffman (Illinois) vs. Ethan Laird (Rider)

New Penn State Nittany Lion Drew Hildebrandt (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) On Wednesday morning, the second-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions officially added 2021 NCAA All-American Drew Hildebrandt to their roster. In late November, Hildebrandt was listed as a student in the PSU directory, further confirming speculation that Hildebrandt intended on suiting up for PSU this season. Hildbrandt was a senior in 2021, but had an extra year of eligibility remaining due to the Covid-year. Before the season, he indicated that he did not intend to use the year. A few months later, his name surfaced as a potential fit at 125 lbs for the Nittany Lions. Getting Hildebrandt would be a massive boost for a Penn State team that has seen the combination of Jakob Campbell and Baylor Shunk go 1-5 in dual action at the opening weight. For whatever reason, 125 lbs has been difficult for Penn State to fill since the graduation of NCAA champion Nico Megaludis in 2016. A year later, Nick Suriano had an excellent true freshman season, but was injured late in the year, didn't compete at nationals, and ended up transferring out. Since then, only Robbie Howard, in 2021, was able to qualify for NCAA's. Howard still has a lingering injury and is not competing this year. The Nittany Lions are expected to be in a tight team race with Iowa and getting a returning All-American like Hildebrandt could nudge Penn State ahead of the defending champions. Including Drew, Cael Sanderson's squad could send out a lineup with seven returning All-Americans (with four national champs). Hildebrandt is a three-time NCAA qualifier that went 14-2 last season and finished fourth in the nation at 125 lbs. His only losses on the year came to Spencer Lee (Iowa) in the NCAA semis and Patrick McKee (Minnesota) in the third-place bout. Hildebrandt was a two-time MAC champion and earned the sixth seed at the 2020 NCAA Tournament that ended up canceled. Penn State returns to the mat on January 7th as they take on Maryland. Looking at the Nittany Lion schedule, some dates to circle, in reference to Hildebrandt are January 21st vs Michigan (Nick Suriano), January 28th vs Iowa (#1 Spencer Lee), and February 4th vs Ohio State (#16 Malik Heinselman).

Cal Poly's Legend Lamer (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) All start times Pacific Standard Time. InterMat Individual/Tournament/Dual Rankings (December 22) are used where appropriate. Despite the precautionary cancellation of this year's Midlands Championships, the conclusion of 2021 is still expected to ignite the kind of fireworks wrestling fans have grown accustomed to in non-pandemic years. With the emergence of the ILMatMen Open and the (since canceled) Hawkeye Open in the wake of the Midlands, the entire Pac-12 conference is expected on a wrestling mat sometime during the week ahead, with a neutral-site, powderkeg dual-meet pitting #6 Arizona State against #4 Michigan on January 3rd headlining the upcoming span of days. Upcoming Wednesday, December 29th - Thursday, December 30th ILMatMen Open - Day 1 & 2 (8am, Live on Rokfin) Preseeds Pac-12 Teams Expected: #4 Arizona State (partial), #16 Cal Poly (partial), Oregon State (partial) With teams like Rutgers, Pennsylvania, and Pittsburgh bringing their studs to compete, heated contests are predicted in the Prairie State. Partial teams and select entrants are the norm for the Pac-12 at the ILMatMen Open, with Cal Poly expected to field the largest contingent of around half a line-up. The anticipated return of #6 Bernie Truax (184), whom we haven't seen since the Michigan State Open, highlights the Pac-12 entrants, alongside fellow Mustangs, #30 Antonio Lorenzo (125) and #18 Legend Lamer (149), among others. Also expected in the field are bubble-range/back-up wrestlers in Arizona State's Julian Chlebove (133) and Oregon State's Ryan Reyes (197), as well as #16 Trey Munoz (184) – who is fresh off a Reno TOC title. Truax may find himself immediately in the thick of things, with 184lbs expecting four other All-Americans, including graduate and past NCAA Champion Mark Hall (formerly of Penn State, now on staff at Penn), and super senior and 2021 Olympic Bronze, #2 Myles Amine (Michigan). If he intends to truly vie for a national title, Truax will need the challenge brought by the likes of Hall and Amine. Another All-American in the bracket is #7 Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois). Fellow conference competitor Trey Munoz will also stake his claim at the weight, and there is the chance that Truax and Munoz wrestle head-to-head. At 125lbs, seven wrestlers ranked between #25 and #33 – including Lorenzo – are expected. At 149lbs, Legend Lamer will chase #10 Josh Heil (Campbell) and #11 Austin Gomez (Wisconsin) as he aims to propel himself into the national top ten. Chlebove is in a deep-weight at 133lbs, as several national qualifiers chase the top-two seeded wrestlers in All-American, #7 Lucas Byrd and NCAA Top 12, #6 Micky Phillippi. Finally, at 197lbs, Ryan Reyes aims to solidify his place as the starter for the Beavers as well as reintroduce himself in the national conversation, as he has returning NCAA Runner-up, #2 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt), #12 Greg Bulsak (Rutgers), and age-group phenom, #26 Braxton Amos (Wisconsin) at the top of his bracket. Saturday, January 1st - Sunday, January 2nd Southern Scuffle - Day 1 & 2 (7am, Live on FloWrestling) Pac-12 Teams Expected: #21 Stanford, Little Rock, CSU Bakersfield Entry lists indicate the majority of the No. 1's from #21 Stanford, Little Rock, and CSU Bakersfield will be scuffling in Tennessee when the new year logs its first hours. With ranked wrestlers, All-Americans and national qualifiers aplenty at each weight class, this edition of the Southern Scuffle is set to host a quality of competition we've grown to expect from the event. The 133lbs weight-class intends to feature a strong Pac-12 contingent, with #17 Chance Rich (CSU Bakersfield) and #29 Jackson DiSario entered. Ranked opponents may include All-American, #11 Rayvon Foley (Michigan State), #25 Jake Gliva (Minnesota), and #26 Kellyn March (North Dakota State). Unranked Jaylen Carson (133) has wrestled well in the first semester and may be set to breakout onto the national scene with a noteworthy performance at the Scuffle. A weight above, 141lbs is also shaping into a densely-packed bracket, with the Pac-12's #7 Real Woods (Stanford) and #22 Angelo Martinoni (CSU Bakersfield) slated to pursue the likes of #6 Clay Carlson (South Dakota State), #8 Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado), and #9 Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina). Other ranked wrestlers in the field include #13 Matt Kazimir (Columbia), #15 Allan Hart (Missouri), and #28 Collin Gerardi (Virginia Tech). The 174lbs weight-class appears to be anybody's bracket to win, with #8 Matt Finesilver, a 2x NCAA Qualifier, leading the entrants in credentials. #28 Tyler Eischens (Stanford), #31 Triston Wills (Little Rock), and UR Albert Urias (CSU Bakersfield) will have the opportunities to further their claims as serious contenders on the national scene as they look to knock off ranked opponents in #11 Chris Foca (Cornell), #12 Cade DeVos (South Dakota State), #13 Peyton Mocco (Missouri), #15 Michael O'Malley (Drexel), #17 Clay Lautt (North Carolina), and #33 Thomas Flitz (Appalachian State). Monday, January 3rd #6 Arizona State vs. #4 Michigan (5pm, Live on FloWrestling) Fresh off a Collegiate Duals performance that saw Arizona State top Hofstra and then-#9 Virginia Tech, before dropping a 29-10 dual-meet to #2 Penn State, Coach Zeke Jones will field his #6 Sun Devils against Coach Sean Bormet's #4 Michigan Men. The gossip among the community suggests the dual will mark the return of one Nick Suriano, NCAA Champion and Runner-up, to the collegiate landscape. We shall see if he takes the mat against NCAA Runner-up Brandon Courtney at 125lbs. Of note, Michigan may put out a line-up that features ten ranked (or rankable) wrestlers with two Olympians among them. Potential match-ups: 125: #4 Brandon Courtney vs. #19 Jack Medley / UR Nick Suriano 133: #4 Michael McGee vs. #8 Dylan Ragusin 141: #17 Jesse Vasquez vs. #3 Stevan Micic 149: #9 Kyle Parco vs. #17 Kanen Storr 157: #3 Jacori Teemer vs. #15 Will Lewan 165: #6 Anthony Valencia vs. #10 Cameron Amine 174: UR Zane Coleman vs. #6 Logan Massa 184: UR Josh Nummer vs. #2 Myles Amine 197: #9 Kordell Norfleet vs. #8 Patrick Brucki 285: #3 Cohlton Schultz vs. #2 Mason Parris

Penn Volunteer Assistant Mark Hall (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) **NOTE: The 2021 Midlands Championships have been replaced by the Matmen Open** Wednesday 12/29 Brown @ Matmen Open - Hoffman Estates, IL (all day) Bucknell @ Matmen Open - Hoffman Estates, IL (all day) Franklin & Marshall @ Matmen Open - Hoffman Estates, IL (all day) Harvard @ Matmen Open - Hoffman Estates, IL (all day) Navy @ Matmen Open - Hoffman Estates, IL (all day) Penn @ Matmen Open - Hoffman Estates, IL (all day) Princeton @ Matmen Open - Hoffman Estates, IL (all day) Thursday 12/30 Brown @ Matmen Open - Hoffman Estates, IL (all day) Bucknell @ Matmen Open - Hoffman Estates, IL (all day) Franklin & Marshall @ Matmen Open - Hoffman Estates, IL (all day) Harvard @ Matmen Open - Hoffman Estates, IL (all day) Navy @ Matmen Open - Hoffman Estates, IL (all day) Penn @ Matmen Open - Hoffman Estates, IL (all day) Princeton @ Matmen Open - Hoffman Estates, IL (all day) Saturday 1/1 Cornell @ Southern Scuffle - Chattanooga, TN (all day) Drexel @ Southern Scuffle - Chattanooga, TN (all day) Sunday 1/2 Cornell @ Southern Scuffle - Chattanooga, TN (all day) Drexel @ Southern Scuffle - Chattanooga, TN (all day) Monday 1/3 American vs. Ohio State (#8) - Washington D.C. (7:30PM) *ALL STARTING TIMES ARE LISTED IN EST* What I'm Most Excited For: As you may or may not know, the "Midlands" are continuing, thanks to a few of the great people in this sport. The event was cancelled, then brought back all within a 24-hour span. Multiple teams from various conferences, plus eight EIWA teams - this will be a great event. There are no brackets yet, but the possibility of great matchups will be endless. In addition, volunteer coach at Penn, Mark Hall will be competing at 184lbs. Who isn't excited for that? The Scuffle will have 3 EIWA teams in attendance. The field for this team is similar to the field for Midlands. Teams from all over the country will be traveling to the event, representing various conferences. A few teams are sending partial line-ups, so once we see brackets it will be easier to decipher some of the possible matchups. Where you'll find me: I'll be enjoying some time at home for the holidays. The MatMen Open and Southern Scuffle will be streamed, so I will be watching from the comfort of my own couch. Once January rolls around, dual meet season picks up and I'll be finding myself at more live events. Until then, I'll be enjoying the holidays. I hope everyone else does too. Stay safe and healthy!

Olympic bronze medalist Myles Amine (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Just five days ago, shockwaves were sent through the collegiate wrestling community as the Midlands Championships announced that they were canceling their 2021 tournament out of “an abundance of caution” due to public safety concerns. Before most could even lament the bad news, Illinois Matmen's Izzy Martinez and MatScouts founder/InterMat owner Willie Saylor rallied the troops and set in motion a plan to host and run the tournament. With that, the MatMen Open was born. Since Martinez and Saylor were able to secure the same venue (NOW Arena) for the same dates, the majority of the schools committed to the Midlands, kept their plans intact to head to the greater Chicago area. Earlier today, preseeds were announced for the MatMen Open. Now we have a preview of the action taking place on December 29th and 30th on the Illinois MatMen Rokfin page. 125 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #25 Dylan Shawver (Rutgers); #26 Gage Curry (Pittsburgh); #29 Justin Cardani (Illinois); #30 Antonio Lorenzo (Cal Poly); #31 Anthony Molton (Campbell), #33 Ryan Miller (Penn) Unranked Threats: Zurich Storm (Campbell); Colton Camacho (Pittsburgh); Hunter Adrian (Brown); Bryce West (Northern Illinois); Drew West (Northern Illinois) This is an extremely interesting weight class as there are plenty of ranked wrestlers expected to enter, with no clear-cut favorite. To top it off, no one at the weight is ranked higher than 25th in the nation. The bottom quarter of the rankings will certainly get sorted out, with seven participants between 25-33 entered. As far as rankings go, the favorite is undefeated Dylan Shawver. After going 4-3 last year as a true freshman, Shawver has gone 9-0 this season, though he has yet to face an opponent currently ranked. That should change after this week. The most decorated wrestler in this bracket is Gage Curry, who has competed in four NCAA Tournaments before transferring to Pittsburgh. His Panther teammate Colton Camacho is also in the field and is very close in ability. The Pitt 125's aren't the only notable teammates to watch out for. Campbell's tandem of Anthony Molton and Zurich Storm are both capable of placing, as are the West twins of Northern Illinois, Bryce and Drew. Finally, Antonio Lorenzo and Ryan Miller are a pair of new faces that could rise with strong performances. Lorenzo broke into the national rankings after a fifth-place showing at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Miller made the final of the Keystone Classic and has excelled on the freestyle circuit. Finals Prediction: Dylan Shawver over Ryan Miller 3rd) Gage Curry 4th) Anthony Molton 5th) Justin Cardani 6th) Colton Camacho 7th) Antonio Lorenzo 8th) Hunter Adrian 133 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #6 Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh); #7 Lucas Byrd (Illinois); #12 Sammy Alvarez (Rutgers); #13 Michael Colaiocco (Penn); #23 Kyle Burwick (Wisconsin); #33 Matt Ramos (Purdue) Unranked Threats: Drew Mattin (Michigan); Jack Skudlarczyk (Northern Iowa); Cole Rhone (Bloomsburg); Kurt Phipps (Bucknell); Nick Masters (Princeton) After a couple of days at the Collegiate Duals that produced some upheaval amongst the 133 lb contenders, the MatMen Open should also bring some clarity to the potential backhalf of the NCAA podium and the top-ten. The favorites are returning All-American Lucas Byrd and Micky Phillipi, both of the top-ten wrestlers at this weight. Byrd has only seen action twice this year and suffered a loss to Tony Madrigal (Oklahoma) at the Michigan State Open on the opening weekend of the season. Philippi also has a single blemish on his 2021-22 ledger, coming after a weird defensive fall in the closing seconds against Malyke Hines (Lehigh). These two are no strangers to each other. They clashed in the NCAA Round of 12 last season, in a bout won by Byrd in tiebreakers. It marked the second time that Phillippi has fallen a match shy of All-American status. Two potential threats to a Byrd/Phillippi rematch are #12 Sammy Alvarez and #13 Michael Colaicco. Alvarez was the victim of an Anthony Sobotker (Binghamton) headlock in his first appearance this year, but has since righted the ship and been a stable force in the Scarlet Knights lineup. He should get his first significant tests of the year with his competition at the Open. The same can be said for the unbeaten Colaiocco. A win at the Journeymen Collegiate Challenge over Reno TOC winner #16 Devan Turner (Oregon State) accounts for the best win thus far for Colaiocco. The label unranked applies to Drew Mattin, but only because of the star power of the Michigan lineup. Mattin is 11-2 on the year with a pair of wins over NCAA qualifiers on his resume, including one over #23 Kyle Burwick, who is expected to compete here. Other possible darkhorses include Kurt Phipps and Nick Masters. Phipps recently defeated then-ranked Derek Spann (Buffalo), while Masters downed NCAA qualifier Mosha Schwartz (Northern Colorado) at the CKLV Invitational. Finals Prediction: Micky Phillippi over Lucas Byrd 3rd) Michael Colaiocco 4th) Sammy Alvarez 5th) Drew Mattin 6th) Kyle Burwick 7th) Matt Ramos 8th) Kurt Phipps 141 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #4 Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern); #14 Parker Filius (Purdue); #24 Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh); #25 Cayden Rooks (Indiana); #32 Carmen Ferrante (Penn) Unranked Threats: Joe Zargo (Wisconsin); Wil Gil (Franklin & Marshall); CJ Composto (Penn); McKenzie Bell (Rider); Jaivon Jones (Northern Illinois) Unless there is a major late-addition, the only returning Midlands champion at any weight competing in this field is Sebastian Rivera. Rivera should be a significant favorite to win for the second time in Hoffman Estates. Everytime that Rivera has stepped on the mat in 2021-22, he has come away with bonus points. The only two multi-time NCAA qualifiers after Rivera are Parker Filius and Cole Matthews. Filius won a pair of matches at the NCAA Championships last year and was sixth at the CKLV Invitational earlier this month. Matthews is a two-time third-place finisher in some loaded ACC weight classes. Two of the wrestlers near the bottom half of the rankings that have experienced some success in tournament action this year are Cayden Rooks and Carmen Ferrante. Rooks was third at the Mountaineer Invitational and fifth at the Cleveland State Open. Ferrante won the Keystone Classic. One of the more overlooked wrestlers in the country is Wil Gil, who didn't compete last year due to F&M's athletic department policies. Gil won the Bearcat Open and tallied 60 wins in between the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. This tournament should also provide the biggest widespread test for freshman Joe Zargo. Zargo suffered a close loss to unbeaten Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina) in November, but has been solid ever since. He has spent time in the national rankings already this year. A notable here that is under redshirt is 2021 MAC runner-up McKenzie Bell. While competing unattached this year, Bell has dropped a few bouts to wrestlers in this field (CJ Composto - Penn and Justin Bierdumpfel - Brown). Finals Prediction: Sebastian Rivera over Parker Filius 3rd) Cole Matthews 4th) Joe Zargo 5th) Wil Gil 6th) Carmen Ferrante 7th) McKenzie Bell 8th) Jaivon Jones 149 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #10 Josh Heil (Campbell); #11 Austin Gomez (Wisconsin); #18 Legend Lamer (Cal Poly); #27 Anthony Artalona (Penn) Unranked Threats: Chance Lamer (Michigan); Anthony White (Rutgers); Kolby DePron (Bucknell); Marshall Keller (Princeton); Anthony Cheloni (Northern Illinois) One of the fun quirks regarding this weight class is that we have a pair of Lamer brothers in the field. #18 Legend, a seventh-place finisher at the CKLV Invitational, and younger brother Chance, one of the top recruits in the Class of 2021. Chance started the year at 141 lbs, but has moved up and captured wins over two NCAA qualifiers at the CSU Open. Aside from Legend, two of the favorites here are Josh Heil and Austin Gomez. While Heil hasn't competed in a month, he is 4-0, with all four wins coming over past national qualifiers. In 2019, Heil became just the second Campbell wrestler to make the Midlands finals. Expect Gomez to have the crowd on his side since he returns very close to his hometown of Carol Stream. Since transferring to Wisconsin, Gomez has a second-lease on his wrestling career and is capitalizing with a 4-0 record. Another 2019 Midlands placer that will compete here is Anthony Artalona, who was sixth at the 157 lb weight class. Artalona was an NCAA Round of 12 finisher as a freshman in 2018-19, but has battled injuries since. In his only bout this year, Artalona fell to Penn State's Beau Bartlett in tiebreakers. Someone you may overlook since he's not Rutgers' current starter is Anthony White. The true freshman has amassed a 14-1 record this year and has a win over #31 Brent Moore (Clarion). White's win in sudden victory over Moore was his only non-bonus point win at the Shorty Hitchcock Open. Another freshman that's coming around is Bucknell's Kolby DePron. DePron is now 15-4 and boasts a win over 2021 national qualifier Peyton Omania (Michigan State). Finals Prediction: Austin Gomez over Josh Heil 3rd) Legend Lamer 4th) Chance Lamer 5th) Anthony White 6th) Anthony Artalona 7th) Kolby DePron 8th) Marshall Keller 157 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #10 Kendall Coleman (Purdue); #20 Doug Zapf (Penn); #28 Elijah Cleary (Pittsburgh); #29 Robert Kanniard (Rutgers); #33 Alex Carida (Bloomsburg) Unranked Threats: Jake Keating (Virginia), Munktulga Zuunbayan (Northern Illinois); AJ Jaffe (Harvard); Cooper Noehre (Purdue); Garrett Model (Wisconsin) 2019 Midlands fourth-place finisher Kendall Coleman will try and move up a couple steps on the podium in this trip to the greater Chicago area. Coleman may have three losses on his record already, but two have come against the top-two wrestlers in the nation. The biggest threat to a title for Coleman is Penn's Doug Zapf. Zapf now famously started his career as a 133 lber for the Quakers, but has rapidly grown. His results on the mat have also increased as his weight has gone up. Zapf is responsible for Josh Humphreys' (Lehigh) only loss of the year. Humphreys was one of the standouts at last week's Collegiate Duals. After Coleman-Zapf, there's a drop-off in between them and the rest of the possible contenders. Though Elijah Cleary and Robert Kanniard are in different conferences now, they were both in the B1G last year and Kanniard came out on top when they met. Also, UVA's national qualifier Jake Keating makes his first appearance of the year. The biggest wild card at this weight is Munktulga Zuunbayan of Northern Illinois. The Harper College transfer was impressive at the Michigan State Open with wins over Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan) and Trevor Chumbley (Northwestern). Since then, he competed at the Jim Koch Open and dropped a bout to Wisconsin-Parkside's Ben Durocher. Finals Prediction: Kendall Coleman over Doug Zapf 3rd) Jake Keating 4th) Robert Kanniard 5th) Elijah Cleary 6th) Munktulga Zuunbayan 7th) Garrett Model 8th) AJ Jaffe 165 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #8 Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh); #14 Phil Conigliaro (Harvard); #15 Zach Hartman (Bucknell); #17 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin); #18 Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois); #21 Danny Braunagel (Illinois); #29 Lucas Revano (Penn) Unranked Threats: Michael Caliendo (North Dakota State); Holden Heller (Hofstra); Blaine Bergey (Princeton); At the 165 lb weight class, we could be in for a match between two of the returning NCAA semifinalists with Jake Wentzel and Zach Hartman. Wentzel is 3-2 on the year after going 13-2 all of last season. He'll need to tally wins here to keep up in a loaded 165 lb bracket, nationally. Wentzel is looking to rebound after dropping a close bout to Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) in his most recent dual appearance. Hartman got back on the winning track, as well, ten days ago when he pinned and teched opponents from Lock Haven and Buffalo. Hartman was stunned by Michigan State's freshman, Caleb Fish, for his lone loss of the year in early December. One of Hartman's fellow contenders for the 2022 EIWA crown is Havard's Phil Conigliaro. In Vegas, Conigliaro made the medal stand for the second time in his career, taking sixth at a stacked weight. This tournament should provide the first significant test(s) for Wisconsin's super-freshman Dean Hamiti. Considered one of the top recruits in the Class of 2021, Hamiti has lived up to the hype with a perfect 7-0 and bonus points in six of those contests. In his most recent appearance, Hamiti pinned Izzak Olejnik in the finals of the Cougar Clash. And speaking of, Olejnik will fall in as the number four seed at this weight. Olejnik was eighth at the 2019 Midlands, losing to Conigliaro in the process (Conigliaro was fifth). Illinois' brawler Dan Braunagel is sure to find his way to the podium. Braunagel is currently 5-2 on the year and lost to in-state rival Olejnik at the 2021 NCAA Championships. One name you may not know, but soon will, is the ninth seed Michael Caliendo. The Illinois product is redshirting at North Dakota State and has put together an excellent campaign. He's currently 10-0 with wins over a pair of past national qualifiers. Finals Prediction: Jake Wentzel over Dean Hamiti 3rd) Zach Hartman 4th) Phil Conigliaro 5th) Michael Caliendo 6th) Dan Braunagel 7th) Izzak Olejnik 8th) Holden Heller 174 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #16 Jackson Turley (Rutgers); #21 Nick Incontrera (Penn); #25 Gerrit Nijenhuis (Purdue); #29 Joshua Kim (Harvard); #30 Mason Kauffman (Northern Illinois) Unranked Threats: Edmond Ruth (Unattached); Hunter Kernan (Pittsburgh); Reece Heller (Hofstra); AJ Pedro (Brown); Joseph Walker (Michigan) This weight isn't expected to be as loaded as some of the others, but we will get to see the return of Rutgers All-American Jackson Turley. Early in the season, Turley was beaten by Clarion's John Worthing 12-6 and hasn't competed since. Turley made a relatively unexpected run to the NCAA podium last year, knocking off the likes of Andrew McNally and Donnell Washington. Maybe the biggest wild card at this weight is seventh-seeded Edmond Ruth. Ruth picked up some solid wins at 184 lbs, competing unattached, while winning the Clarion Open on the opening week of the season. If he manages the weight well, he could be a factor here. A couple of slightly unheralded Ivy Leaguers, Nick Incontrera and Joshua Kim, should vie for spots high on the podium. The two have already met this year, with Incontrera coming out victorious at the Keystone Classic. He ended up second, while Kim settled for third. Returning national qualifiers Gerrit Nijenhuis and Mason Kauffman could have an impact, too. Hofstra's Reece Heller has put together some solid wins competing unattached this year and is now 9-2. His only losses have come to Kim and Hunter Kernan, who is also in the field. Finals Prediction: Jackson Turley over Edmond Ruth 3rd) Nick Incontrera 4th) Gerrit Nijenhuis 5th) Joseph Walker 6th) Joshua Kim 7th) Hunter Kernan 8th) Mason Kauffman 184 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #2 Myles Amine (Michigan); #6 Bernie Truax (Cal Poly); #7 Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois);#16 Trey Munoz (Oregon State); #19 Zac Braunagel (Illinois); #24 Chris Weiler (Wisconsin); #31 Gregg Harvey (Pittsburgh) Unranked Threats: Mark Hall (Post-Grad); Logan Deacetis (Bucknell); Neil Antrassian (Penn) This weight class went through some attrition during the last 24 hours, losing two top-ten ranked wrestlers in John Poznanski (Rutgers) and Donnell Washington (Indiana); however, it still boasts four past All-Americans and five in the top-20. Even with a talented field like this, the favorite could be listed in the “unranked threats” category as Mark Hall is the top-seed at the weight. The three-time NCAA finalist (2017 champion), Hall, is currently on the staff at the University of Pennsylvania and was a 2021 US Open Champion in freestyle. Speaking of freestyle credentials, it's hard to match the second seed, Myles Amine. This summer, Amine became San Marino's first-ever Olympic medalist in wrestling, when he captured the bronze medal at 86 kg. The other two returning All-Americans at this weight are Bernie Truax and Brit Wilson. Both may get overlooked because they don't compete for Big Ten/Big 12 programs. It will be good to see both opponents like Hall and Amine. The two were supposed to meet at the Michigan State Open; however, Truax medically forfeited out of the tournament and hasn't been in action since. Wilson has been very active and currently sports a 15-0 record. A new face at this weight is Trey Munoz. The Arizona State transfer shined at the Reno Tournament of Champions, up a weight from 2020-21, and won the whole thing. In the process, Munoz downed a top-15 opponent in Tate Samuelson (Wyoming). Some veterans that will definitely have deep runs are Zac Braunagel and Chris Weiler. The Badger, Weiler, has a head-to-head win over Braunagel last season, but has already dropped three bouts this year and, as a result, fell in the rankings. Finals Prediction: Myles Amine over Mark Hall 3rd) Brit Wilson 4th) Bernie Truax 5th) Trey Munoz 6th) Chris Weiler 7th) Zac Braunagel 8th) Logan Deacetis 197 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #2 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh); #12 Greg Bulsak (Rutgers); #26 Braxton Amos (Wisconsin) Unranked Threats: Ryan Reyes (Oregon State); Chris Kober (Campbell); Cody Baldridge (North Central); Cole Urbas (Penn); Levi Hopkins (Campbell); Kolby Franklin (HS); Caden Rogers (HS) Even without an extremely deep field at 197 lbs, there's a lot to be excited about. Returning NCAA runner-up Nino Bonaccorsi will headline this group. Bonaccorsi made the U23 World Team, so he missed the first few competitions upon his return. But since he's been back, Bonaccorsi has picked up where he left off. Which is putting points on the board! Bonaccorsi has scored ten points in all three of his wins this season, the most recent coming against #21 Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State). The veteran with the best track record, aside from Bonaccorsi, is Greg Bulsak, a graduate transfer, formerly of Clarion. The four-time national qualifier has been extremely impressive during his time with Rutgers, compiling bonus points in all but two of his eight wins. Looking to make the next step is Wisconsin's stud freshman Braxton Amos. A Junior World champion in freestyle and medalist in Greco-Roman, Amos came into this year with plenty of fanfare and high expectations. Some of the hype subsided after a dual loss to Hofstra's Trey Rogers. His results since, though not against top-tier talent, indicate that loss was more likely a blip on the radar, than a sign of things to come. There are three others in this bracket with past NCAA experience, Ryan Reyes, Chris Kober, and Cole Urbas. Well, we should specify at the DI level, because North Central's Cody Baldridge made the DIII tournament in 2019 and 2020. Also, a pair of talented Pennsylvania high schoolers are slated to compete. Wyoming Seminary's Kolby Franklin and Malvern Prep's Caden Rogers are both top-50 recruits from the Class of 2022. Franklin has signed with Iowa, while Rogers will stay in-state to wrestle for Lehigh. Finals Prediction: Nino Bonaccorsi over Braxton Amos 3rd) Greg Bulsak 4th) Chris Kober 5th) Cole Urbas 6th) Ryan Reyes 7th) Kolby Franklin 8th) Cody Baldridge 285 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #5 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin); #17 Luke Luffman (Illinois); #26 Boone McDermott (Rutgers); #28 Jake Slinger (Pittsburgh) Unranked Threats: Ethan Laird (Rider); Jack DelGarbino (Princeton); Ben Goldin (Penn); Michael Woulfe (Purdue); Sam Aguilar (Cal Poly); Vincenzo Pelusi (Franklin & Marshall); Christian Carroll (HS) A two-time Midlands placewinner (3rd and 8th), Trent Hillger is seeking to take the next step and come out of Illinois with a title in late December. Also, a two-time NCAA All-American, Hillger is undefeated and has falls in four of his six wins this year. He has quite a familiar face amongst the contenders in Luke Luffman. Last year, the two split matches; however, Hillger holds the career edge 2-1 between the two. The second seed is Rider's Ethan Laird, another Bronc that is taking the year off. Laird was the seventh seed at the 2021 NCAA Championships and advanced to the Round of 12 before his elimination. He has won all eight of his bouts this year, including titles at the Bearcat and Patriot Open's. Near the bottom of the nationals lies Boone McDermott and Jake Slinger. Both have been instrumental in their respective team's success this year, as Slinger has clinched a pair of Pitt wins in the final bout with falls. McDermott won his first seven matches this year, before falling to Army's Ben Sullivan in sudden victory. Others to watch include Jack DelGarbino, who had one of the biggest upsets of the young season, when he pinned U23 world champion Tony Cassioppi (Iowa). Purdue's Michael Woulfe is a past national qualifier for the Naval Academy that is finishing his eligibility with the Boilermakers. He has made the most of his opportunity with a 7-4 record. Finally, we'll get a glimpse into the future as one of the top high school juniors in the nation, Christian Carroll, has entered. Carroll is a UPenn recruit that dominated his way to a Junior freestyle title in Fargo and his second Super 32 crown in October. Finals Prediction: Trent Hillger over Luke Luffman 3rd) Ethan Laird 4th) Boone McDermott 5th) Christian Carroll 6th) Ben Goldin 7th) Jack DelGarbino 8th) Sam Aguilar

Top-Seeded 141 lber Sebastian Rivera (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) 125 Seed Name Team Intermat WrestleStat 1 Shawver, Dylan Rutgers 25 22 2 Curry, Gage Pittsburgh 26 41 3 Cardani, Justin Illinois 29 50 4 Miller, Ryan Pennsylvania 33 36 5 Molton, Anthony Campbell University 31 89 6 Bayless, Beau Harvard 45 7 Lorenzo, Antonio Cal Poly 30 49 8 Storm, Zurich Campbell University 77 9 Camacho, Colton Pittsburgh 56 10 Adrian, Hunter Brown University 53 11 West, Blake Northern Illinois-Unattached 94 133 Seed Name Team Intermat WrestleStat 1 Byrd, Lucas Illinois 7 8 2 Phillippi, Micky Pittsburgh 6 6 3 Alvarez, Sammy Rutgers 12 5 4 Colaiocco, Michael Pennsylvania 13 16 5 Mattin, Drew Michigan Beat Burwick 40 6 Burwick, Kyle Wisconsin 23 46 7 Ramos, Matt Purdue 33 30 8 Skudlarzyk, Jack Northern Iowa 52 9 Phipps, Kurt Bucknell 57 10 Rhone, Cole Bloomsburg 73 11 Olivieri, Joey Rutgers-Unattached RS 35 141 Seed Name Team Intermat WrestleStat 1 Rivera, Sebastian Rutgers 4 4 2 Filius, Parker Purdue 14 21 3 Matthews, Cole Pittsburgh 24 18 4 Ferrante, Carmen Pennsylvania 32 64 5 Zargo, Joseph Wisconsin 38 6 Composto, Cj Pennsylvania 22 7 Gil, Wil Franklin & Marshall 49 8 Bell, McKenzie Unattached RS 28 9 Jones, Jaivon Northern Illinois 76 10 Munch, Drew Lehigh 85 11 Basile, Ethan Northern Iowa 92 149 Seed Name Team Intermat WrestleStat 1 Heil, Josh Campbell University 10 16 2 Gomez, Austin Wisconsin 11 10 3 Lamer, Legend Cal Poly 18 35 4 Artalona, Anthony Pennsylvania 27 27 5 Lamer, Chance Michigan RS 36 6 White, Anthony Rutgers-Unattached 30 7 DePron, Kolby Bucknell 54 8 Keller, Marshall Princeton 78 9 Cheloni, Anthony Northern Illinois 92 10 Kemerer, Luke Pittsburgh 82 11 Saito, Blake Brown University 52 157 Seed Name Team Intermat WrestleStat 1 Coleman, Kendall Purdue 10 19 2 Zapf, Doug Pennsylvania 20 15 3 Keating, Jake Virginia-Unattached RS 32 4 Cleary, Elijah Pittsburgh 28 45 5 Kanniard, Robert Rutgers 29 31 6 Carida, Alex Bloomsburg 33 47 7 Zuunbayan, Munktulga Northern Illinois 27 8 Jaffe, Aj Harvard 38 9 Noehre, Cooper Purdue 53 10 Model, Garrett Wisconsin 54 165 Seed Name Team Intermat WrestleStat 1 Wentzel, Jake Pittsburgh 8 13 2 Hartman, Zach Bucknell 15 11 3 Hamiti, Dean Wisconsin 17 9 4 Olejnik, Izzak Northern Illinois 18 18 5 Conigliaro, Philip Harvard 14 17 6 Braunagel, Dan Illinois 21 22 7 Revano, Lucas Pennsylvania 29 33 8 Heller, Holden Hofstra 29 9 Caliendo, Michael NDSU-Unattached RS 19 10 Bergey, Blaine Princeton 95 11 Buell, Stoney Purdue 100 174 Seed Name Team Intermat WrestleStat 1 Turley, Jackson Rutgers 16 18 2 Incontrera, Nick Pennsylvania 21 20 3 Nijenhuis, Gerrit Purdue 25 25 4 Kim, Josh Harvard 29 29 5 Kauffman, Mason Northern Illinois 30 46 6 Pedro, Anthony Brown University 67 7 Ruth, Edmond Unattached Won Clarion 8 Kernan, Hunter Pittsburgh 65 9 Heller, Reece Hofstra 74 10 Walker, Joe Michigan 99 184 Seed Name Team Intermat WrestleStat 1 Hall, Mark Unattached GR GR 2 Amine, Myles Michigan 2 1 3 Poznanski, John Rutgers 5 5 4 Truax, Bernie Cal Poly 6 10 5 Wilson, Brit Northern Illinois 7 7 6 Munoz, Trey Oregon State 16 19 7 Braunagel, Zach Illinois 19 22 8 Weiler, Chris Wisconsin 24 32 9 Harvey, Gregg Pittsburgh 31 26 197 Seed Name Team Intermat WrestleStat 1 Bonaccorsi, Nino Pittsburgh 2 3 2 Bulsak, Greg Rutgers 12 15 3 Amos, Braxton Wisconsin 26 30 4 Reyes, Ryan Oregon State 29 5 Urbas, Cole Pennsylvania 36 6 Kober, Chris Campbell University 48 7 Baldridge, Cody North Central College 3rd DIII 8 Hopkins, Levi Campbell University 59 9 Franklin, Kolby Unattached Won LHU 10 Rogers, Caden Unattached 11 Striggow, Robert Michigan 83 12 Tracy, Trent Cal Poly 87 285 Seed Name Team Intermat WrestleStat 1 Hillger, Trent Wisconsin 5 6 2 Laird, Ethan Rider-Unattached RS 11 3 Luffman, Luke Illinois 17 23 4 McDermott, Boone Rutgers 26 27 5 Slinger, Jake Pittsburgh 28 35 6 Goldin, Ben Pennsylvania 43 7 Carroll, Christian Unattached JR FS Finalist 8 DelGarbino, Jack Princeton 21 9 Woulfe, Michael Purdue 60 10 Aguilar, Sam Cal Poly 69 11 Pelusi, Vincenzo Franklin & Marshall 72 12 Christensen, Peter Wisconsin-Unattached 78 13 Cover, Matthew Princeton 83

Michigan State's Chase Saldate (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) We Fantasy Team Managers have hit a season milestone this week: The Halfway Point. Remember back in middle school when you had progress reports? In my day (yeah, I'm using that old-man phrase), back in 2002, before Study Island or teachers corresponded regularly with your parents via the inter-web, we had actual sheets of paper with each subject listed. Each teacher would fill out your current scholastic subject status within their class and, by the end of the week, had to return the progress report signed by a parent or guardian. Now, I was neither steady enough to freehand my parent's signature nor have the necessary tracing paper available to overlay and copy their signature as they were both products of the 60s catholic school system and were proficient in cursive, which meant a full spelled-out signature. Not just a wispy couple strokes of the pen. My usual go-to move was to wake my dad up at 6am (hours before I needed to actually leave for school) and get him to sign the random piece of paper I put in front of his one open bloodshot eye. Bingo-bango, no questions asked. This one time, however, I had a 62% in math. That number alone would stand out even to the sleepiest of fathers, and to boot, was written in blood-red ink. The only teacher to use red ink, in fact. Had she used a black pen, even possibly a darker blue shade, I could have finagled a pencil overlay to make it look like an 82%. But again, red ink. I rummaged through the several junk drawers, in the kitchen, the several bags of freebies doctors used to get back in the day from drug reps (like pens, pencils, golf balls, music CDs, etc.), until the miracle moment. While sneaking into my dad's office and going through his desk drawer for the literal hail mary search, I found a small rectangular case with graphite to fill into a reusable pencil. And what do ya know, it was RED graphite. I lightly traced an “8” over the “6” in 62%, woke dad up at 6am who gave the paper a once-over, signed it, lightly erased the red graphite (gently so not to take off the coloring of the paper the progress report was printed on, and no one was the wiser. That's a long and random story to set up this midway progress report in #FantasyCollegeWrestling. At the beginning of the season, you most likely saw wrestlers like Spencer Lee, Gable Steveson, Roman Bravo-Young, and Yianni Diakomihalis going in the first couple of rounds. Surprise Surprise, though they are still ranked atop their respective weight rankings, they are not at the top of the list for Best Fantasy Wrestlers. The current top 13 Fantasy Wrestlers across all weights (stats provided by WrestleStat): #1. Matt Finesilver (Duke) 72 fantasy points/17 matches/4.20 PPM #2. Ed Scott (NC State) 60 fantasy points/16 matches/3.80 PPM #3. Chase Saldate (Michigan State) 56 fantasy points/14 matches/4.00 PPM #4. Josh Finesilver (Duke) 56 fantasy points/17 matches/3.30 PPM #5. Logan Messer (George Mason) 53 fantasy points/23 matches/2.30 PPM #6. Joey Milano (NC State) 52 fantasy points/20 matches/2.60 PPM #7. Donnell Washington (Indiana) 51 fantasy points/9 matches/5.70 PPM #8. Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois) 50 fantasy points/15 matches/3.30 PPM #9. Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) 49 fantasy points/12 matches/4.10 PPM #10 Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) 48 fantasy points/18 matches/2.70 PPM #11 Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) 47 fantasy points/9 matches/5.20 PPM #12 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) 47 fantasy points/11 matches/4.30 PPM #13 Seth Koleno (Clarion) 47 fantasy points/24 matches/2.00 PPM So, how many of these wrestlers are on your team? How has your season been going thus far? Has your roster been exceeding your expectations or underperforming? Is your team at the top of the standings or sinking quicker than the hips of a bad leg-rider? Have your Transfer Portal add/drops been working out or have they been more of a distraction in the locker room? On to Week 9… We find ourselves with a few last major tournaments of the 2022 season in the Matmen Open (also known as the “New Midlands”), Hawkeye Open, and Southern Scuffle before hitting the “back nine” and regular-season stretch to wrap up the regular season. As I often say, it really depends on how the seeds shake out and the bracket is set to determine who is going to have a great day and who is going to have a not so good day, so since it's mainly tournament driven, I'm going to break each weight into two sections: Probably Taken (meaning that there is a high probability that this wrestler is already rostered within your league) and Most Likely Available (meaning the wrestler will probably be available in the Transfer Portal). Unfortunately, at the time of this article, little detail has been sent out about the Hawkeye Open. I'm expecting some more info to come in shortly, so keep the notifications “ON” to @FantasyD1Wrestl. We do have a few duals this week, including the (confusingly awkward scheduling of) Northwestern HOSTING (yeah…) SIU-Edwardsville and Virginia on Dec 29 and Oregon State @ Utah Valley on 1/2. Wrestlers I Like This Week Wrestler (School)- competition for the week [Proj Score] *organized by tournament name first, then by school name* 125: Probably Taken: Justin Cardani (Illinois)- Matmen Open Noah Surtin (Missouri)- Southern Scuffle Pat McKee (Minnesota)- Southern Scuffle Most Likely Available: Dylan Shawver (Rutgers)- Matmen Open Jacob Moran (Indiana)- Matmen Open Reece Witcraft (Oklahoma State)- Southern Scuffle Joe Manchio (Columbia)- Southern Scuffle Killian Cardinale (West Virginia)- Southern Scuffle Fabian Gutierrez (Chattanooga)- Southern Scuffle Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech)- Southern Scuffle Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern)- Vs SIU-Edwardsville, Vs Virginia [+7] Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley)- Vs Oregon State [+4] 133: Probably Taken: Lucas Byrd (illinois)- Matmen Open Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh)- Matmen Open Sammy Alverez (Rutgers)- Matmen Open Rayvon Foley (Michigan State)- Southern Scuffle Chris Cannon (Northwestern)- Vs SIU-Edwardsville, Vs Virginia [+8] Most Likely Available: Michael Colaiocco (U Penn)- Matmen Open Drew Mattin (Michigan)- Matmen Open Brock Hudkins (Indiana)- Matmen Open Matt Ramos (Purdue)- Matmen Open Chance Rich (CSU Bakersfield)- Southern Scuffle Angelo Rini (Columbia)- Southern Scuffle Kai Orine (NC State)- Southern Scuffle Connor Brown (Missouri)- Southern Scuffle Kellyn March (North Dakota State)- Southern Scuffle Derek Spann (Buffalo)- Southern Scuffle Jake Gliva (Minnesota)- Southern Scuffle 141: Probably Taken: Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers)- Matmen Open Clay Carlson (South Dakota State)- Southern Scuffle Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado State)- Southern Scuffle Kizahn Clarke (North Carolina)- Southern Scuffle Real Woods (Stanford)- Southern Scuffle Allan Hart (Missouri)- Southern Scuffle Grant Willits (Oregon State)- @ Utah Valley [+4] Most Likely Available: Wil Gil (Franklin & Marshall)- Matmen Open Parker Filius (Purdue)- Matmen Open Joey Zargo (Wisconsin)- Matmen Open Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina)- Southern Scuffle Quinn Kinner (Rider)- Southern Scuffle Dusty Hone (Oklahoma State)- Southern Scuffle 149: Probably Taken: Austin Gomez (Wisconsin)- Matmen Open Josh Heil (Campbell)- Matmen Open Josh Edmond (Missouri)- Southern Scuffle Jonathan Millner (Appalachian State)- Southern Scuffle Josh Finesilver (Duke)- Southern Scuffle Zach Sherman (North Carolina)- Southern Scuffle Yahya Thomas (Northwestern)- Vs SIU-Edwardsville, Vs Virginia [+7] Most Likely Available: Anthony White (Rutgers)- Matmen Open Anthony Artalona (U Penn)- Matmen Open Chance Lamer (Michigan)- Matmen Open Max Brignola (Lehigh)- Matmen Open Victor Voinovich (Oklahoma State)- Southern Scuffle Alex Madrigal (George Mason)- Southern Scuffle 157: Probably Taken: Kendall Coleman (Purdue)- Matmen Open Doug Zapf (U Penn)- Matmen Open Austin O'Connor (North Carolina)- Southern Scuffle Brayton Lee (Minnesota)- Southern Scuffle Chase Saldate (Michigan State)- Southern Scuffle Jared Franek (North Dakota State)- Southern Scuffle Jarrett Jacques (Missouri)- Southern Scuffle Ryan Deakin (Northwestern)- Vs SIU-Edwardsville, Vs Virginia [+10] Most Likely Available: Brock Mauller (Missouri)- Southern Scuffle Colton Yapoujian (Cornell)- Southern Scuffle 165: Probably Taken: Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh)- Matmen Open Zach Hartman (Bucknell)- Matmen Open Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois)- Matmen Open Julian Ramirez (Cornell)- Southern Scuffle Shane Griffith (Stanford)- Southern Scuffle Keegan O'Toole (Missouri)- Southern Scuffle Peyton Hall (West Virginia)- Southern Scuffle Most Likely Available: Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin)- Matmen Open Phil Conigliaro (Harvard)- Matmen Open Luke Weber (North Dakota State)- Southern Scuffle Alex Facundo (Penn State)- Southern Scuffle PJ Ogunsanya (Columbia)- Southern Scuffle 174: Probably Taken: Matt Finesilver (Duke)- Southern Scuffle Chris Foca (Cornell)- Southern Scuffle Peyton Mocco (Missouri)- Southern Scuffle Michael O'Malley (Drexel)- Southern Scuffle Most Likely Available: Josh Kim (Harvard)- Matmen Open Jackson Turley (Rutgers)- Matmen Open Cade DeVos (South Dakota State)- Southern Scuffle Tyler Eischens (Stanford)- Southern Scuffle Bailey O'Reilly (Minnesota)- Southern Scuffle 184: Probably Taken: Myles Amine (Michigan)- Matmen Open John Poznanski (Rutgers)- Matmen Open Bernie Truax (Cal Poly)- Matmen Open Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois)- Matmen Open Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech)- Southern Scuffle Jeremiah Kent (Missouri)- Southern Scuffle Most Likely Available: Donnell Washington (Indiana)- Matmen Open Trey Munoz (Oregon State)- Matmen Open Chris Weiler (Wisconsin)- Matmen Open Jonathan Loew (Cornell)- Southern Scuffle Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota)- Southern Scuffle Layne Malczewski (Michigan State)- Southern Scuffle Gavin Kane (North Carolina)- Southern Scuffle 197: Probably Taken: Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh)- Matmen Open Braxton Amos (Wisconsin)- Matmen Open Rocky Elam (Missouri)- Southern Scuffle Jacob Cardenas (Cornell)- Southern Scuffle Cam Caffey (Michigan State)- Southern Scuffle Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State)- Southern Scuffle Most Likely Available: Greg Bulsak (Rutgers)- Matmen Open Michael Beard (Penn State)- Southern Scuffle Jaron Smith (Maryland)- Southern Scuffle Owen Pentz (North Dakota State)- Southern Scuffle Andrew Davison (Northwestern)- Vs SIU-Edwardsville, Vs Virginia [+7] 285: Probably Taken: Trent Hillger (Wisconsin)- Matmen Open Zach Elam (Missouri)- Southern Scuffle Lewis Fernandes (Cornell)- Southern Scuffle Most Likely Available: Ethan Laird (Rider)- Matmen Open Boone McDermott (Rutgers)- Matmen Open Luke Luffman (Illinois)- Matmen Open Michael Wolfgram (West Virginia)- Southern Scuffle Hunter Catka (Virginia Tech)- Southern Scuffle Owen Trephan (NC State)- Southern Scuffle Austin Harris (Oklahoma State)- Southern Scuffle Konner Doucet (Oklahoma State)- Southern Scuffle Gary Traub (Oregon State)- @ Utah Valley [+4] Think I missed someone? Disagree with someone on the list or their projection? Want to know our thoughts on a matchup? Let me know! Win the week!

Keegan O'Toole at the Collegiate Duals (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Friday 12/17 Oklahoma State DEF Air Force 45-0 Oklahoma State DEF Wyoming 30-3 Saturday 12/18 South Dakota State DEF Harper College (59-0), Kent State (33-6), Northern Illinois (26-9) at Huskie Duals at Northern Illinois Sunday 12/19 California Baptist, Wyoming, Oklahoma State(Non-Starters), Utah Valley(Unattached) at Reno Tournament of Champions, Reno, NV Wyoming-2nd place team 133-Job Greenwood-4th 141-Chase Zollman-2nd 149-Jaron Jensen-1st 157-Jacob Wright-1st 174-Hayden Hastings-1st 184-Tate Samuelson-2nd 197-Stephen Buchanan-1st 285-Terren Swartz-5th Cal Baptist-5th place team 149-Chaz Hallmark-5th 157-AJ Raya-4th 165-Frank Almaguer-5th Oklahoma State-9th place team 157-Jalin Harper-3rd 184-Gavin Stika-3rd 285-Austin Harris-3rd Utah Valley-Unattached 141-Isaiah Delgado-3rd Iowa State DEF Purdue 23-10 Monday 12/20 Oklahoma State DEF Utah Valley 37-0 Most Exciting: Wyoming and Oregon State going down to the wire at Reno. Going into the 165-pound finals at Reno, Oregon State and Wyoming were tied at 167. Oregon State had finalists at 165-184-285 and one in the third-place match at 197. Wyoming had finalists at 174-184-197. Oregon State lost at 165 then Wyoming won at 174. Oregon State then won the third-place match at 197 to go up one. The head-to-head between Trey Munoz and Tate Samuelson at 184 was already expected to be crucial, but it suddenly became a match that looked like it would essentially decide the tournament as Wyoming was a heavy favorite at 197 and Oregon State a favorite at 285. Munoz got an early takedown, then Samuelson got an escape. Samuelson got a quick escape in the second and Munoz in the third. Samuelson had a late flurry of attacks but was unable to get in on anything and Munoz won 3-1. Buchanan then decided he would keep this team race alive. He got a major decision at 197 with a last second takedown. This major for Buchanan tied things up at 172 going into the HWT final. A win for Traub and Oregon State wins it, a loss for Traub and Oregon State and Wyoming tie. In sudden victory “Gas Tank” Gary Traub got a takedown on the edge to win and give Oregon State the team title What I may have missed on: Preseason Big 12 Wrestler of the Year I went with Daton Fix as my Preseason Wrestler of the Year. It was a pretty bold prediction with returning champions David Carr and AJ Ferrari two other available options. David Carr has been destroying people this year. On Sunday he picked up a fall over Kendall Coleman and has bonus point wins in six of his eight matches this season. He did get pushed by Nebraska's Peyton Robb though, and Ryan Deakin is still out there, so maybe I wasn't crazy to go with Fix? But Carr looks poised to potentially go undefeated and pick up a lot of bonus points in the process. Collegiate Duals: Missouri (2-1) 33-6 over Binghamton, (L) 19-12 to NC State, 26-9 over Lehigh Noah Surtin (125), Allan Hart (141), and Keegan O'Toole (165) all went 3-0 Northern Iowa (1-2) (L) 29-7 to Cornell, (L) 29-9 to Penn State), 33-9 over Hofstra Brody Teske (125), Cael Happel (141), Austin Yant (165), and Parker Keckeisen (184) all went 2-1.

Trent Hidlay greeting Isaac Trumble (right) (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Duke: The Blue Devils opened their home slate with three duals in Cameron Indoor on Sunday and came away with a 3-0 record to move their season record to 6-4. Duke took the first dual over Bloomsburg 29-9, led by pins from Kaden Russell at 197 and #8 Matt Finesilver at 174. They also picked up bonus points from Logan Agin at 125 and #9 Josh Finesilver at 149, both picking up major decisions. The second dual was a 30-10 win over The Citadel, which was again led by bonus points from Russell with an 18-0 tech fall, Agin with a pin in 19 seconds, Josh Finesilver with a fall in the first period and Matt Finesilver closing out the dual with a major decision. The Blue Devils closed out the day with a 30-7 drubbing of the late addition Presbyterian. They were led again by Russell with a 16-0 tech and ended the dual with three straight bonus-point wins. Wade Unger (157) picked up a major decision, followed by Gabe Dinette doing the same at 165. Matt Finesilver ended the evening with an 18-0 tech fall. Duke looked great from the opening whistle. Kaden Russell is breaking through and making the impact I thought he could. Another big thing we saw is Stanford transfer Gabe Dinette going 3-0 on the day. He could be a big piece providing more stability in the middle of the lineup. Both Finesilver brothers also capped off unbeaten days. Josh closes out the first half of the season at 16-1 with the #9 ranking at 149, while brother Matt remains undefeated at 17-0 and is ranked #8 at 174. Logan Agin also had a 3-0 day and had a highlight reel 0:19 second pin. The Blue Devils are off to their best start since the 2014-2015 season. They are back in action at the Southern Scuffle on January 1st. North Carolina: The Tar Heels traveled to Boone to battle with the Appalachian State Mountaineers on Friday night. The dual was back and forth throughout, but UNC was able to pull out a 17-15 win. Joe Heilmann stepped in at 133 and made some big noise knocking off #23 Codi Russell 4-3. #9 Kizhan Clarke continued his undefeated start to the season with a decision win, bringing his record to 9-0 on the year. #17 Zach Sherman had yet another top-10 opponent in All-American #7 Jonathan Millner and fell in a 5-2 decision. #7 Austin O'Connor delivered another bonus point win with a 12-3 major decision at 157. In one of the more surprising results of the night, #9 Clay Lautt--who had been on a hot streak--lost a 6-5 decision to Thomas Flitz. #21 Gavin Kane got the team back on track with a decision win, followed by a major decision at 197 from #30 Max Shaw to give the Tar Heels the lead for good. It was a rowdy atmosphere in Boone and the dual was a battle. The Tar Heels were able to do what needed to be done to pick up the win and get back to Chapel Hill. They are back in action at the Southern Scuffle on January 1st. NC State: The #5 Wolfpack made a big statement at the Collegiate Duals in Florida on Monday and Tuesday. They ran through Binghamton 35-9 to start the event on a high note. #5 Jakob Camacho started off the dual with a pin at 125, followed by an injury default for Jarrett Trombley at 133. Hunter Lewis lost a decision at 141, then the Wolfpack rolled off five wins in a row. #3 Tariq Wilson picked up a decision at 149, then #23 Ed Scott kicked off a big weekend with an 18-1 tech fall and #18 Thomas Bullard earned a decision at 165. The Hidlay Brothers both got BONUS, with #5 Hayden notching a major decision at 174 and #3 Trent with a dominating tech fall at 184. #15 Isaac Trumble fell to #12 Lou DePrez at 197 and #28 Owen Trephan ended the dual with a ranked win over #22 Joe Doyle. The second dual was a highly anticipated matchup with #10 Missouri that was a back-and-forth battle throughout. The Tigers got the first win with #15 Noah Surtin earning a late takedown to seal a decision win over #5 Jakob Camacho. #17 Kai Orine continued his hot start and evened up the dual with a decision win. It tilted back at 141 with #14 Allan Hart earning a decision win over #16 Ryan Jack. The next two matches were big wins over ranked opponents for the Wolfpack. #3 Tariq Wilson with an 11-8 decision over a very dangerous #18 Josh Edmond and #23 Ed Scott with the "upset" decision over #14 Jarrett Jacques. #18 Thomas Bullard held #3, Keegan O'Toole, to a decision-an impressive feat-at 165 to even up the dual at 9-9. Once Hidlaymania began, the Wolfpack made another run. #5 Hayden Hidlay won by decision over #14 Peyton Mocco and #3 Trent Hidlay with the workmanlike effort to get a bonus point for the team with a major decision over Jeremiah Kent. #15 Isaac Trumble picked up a huge win over #4 Rocky Elam to seal the dual for the Wolfpack. The dual was wrapped up with a very impressive fight from third-string heavyweight Tyrie Houghton, who showed some incredible potential in his 6-5 loss to #16 Zach Elam. Overall, this was a very entertaining dual and you could feel the momentum sway from match to match before the Wolfpack made a run in the middle-upper weights. The win over Missouri set up a high stakes dual against the returning National Champion #1 Iowa Hawkeyes…this one didn't disappoint either. In what is the early front-runner for Dual of the Year, the Hawkeyes won the last two bouts in a wild dual to win 19-15. #5 Jakob Camacho faced a tough task with three-time NCAA Champ Spencer Lee returning to action for the Hawkeyes. He wrestled amazingly and held the high-scoring Lee to his first non-bonus point win of the season in a 6-1 decision. #17 Kai Orine faced the second big gun for Iowa in #3 Austin DeSanto. Orine wrestled well against the very aggressive DeSanto and lost the major decision 16-7. This next match could be a whole paragraph in itself. Suffice to say, #16 Ryan Jack wrestled out of his mind and lost in a controversial finish to #2 Jaydin Eierman. Jack controlled the match from the outset and was up on Eierman going into the 3rd. The Hawkeye was able to take a late lead and was riding Jack with a 7-6 lead at the end of regulation. While in the scramble to escape, Jack secured Eierman's head and arched to put him on his back and looked to get the defensive fall as time expired. Whether it was a pin or not will depend on who you ask--but there were certainly a lot of people upset about the no-call and it will be one that will be debated through the season. Pin or not, Jack was very impressive that match and made a statement on the national scene. That wild match put Iowa up 7-6. #3 Tariq Wilson gave the Wolfpack the lead back with a 7-3 decision win. At 157, #23 Ed Scott put his name on the national radar with a pin of #8 Kaleb Young in 1:10. Scott dug a left underhook and ripped a righty headlock to put Young on his back and give the Wolfpack some momentum and pulled them back within one. Donald Cates got the call at 165 and fought hard to hold #1 Alex Marinelli to a 7-2 decision. #5 Hayden Hidlay picked up a 4-2 decision over the very-defensive Nelson Brands and #3 Trent Hidlay followed with a 6-0 decision over Abe Assad as he continued to fight for bonus for the team and gave the Wolfpack the first lead of the night 15-13. This was short-lived as #15 Isaac Trumble lost a heartbreaker to #7 Jacob Warner 3-2 to give the Hawkeyes the lead for good. Tyrie Houghton fought valiantly and looked to possibly have some back points against #6 Tony Cassioppi, but fell 6-2 to give Iowa the 19-15 win and the pool title for the Collegiate Duals. I can't imagine anyone watching this event and not coming away incredibly impressed with the Wolfpack. This event showed the team's depth with multiple people winning and/or being competitive with high-level wrestlers at multiple weights. It also provided statement wins for Ed Scott and Isaac Trumble and statement weekends for Tariq Wilson, Hayden and Trent Hidlay. Most importantly, everyone who watched the broadcast could see the culture that Coach Popolizio has built in Raleigh; it was evident by their performances on the mat and their support on the bench. There is something special happening at NC State and this was an excellent chance for fans across the country to see what we have been seeing in the conference. The Wolfpack will return to action at the Southern Scuffle and will announce their lineup prior to the event. Pittsburgh: The Panthers were off this week and were slated to return to action at The Midlands. Since the cancellation of the event, Pitt has committed to attending the "Midlands V2" hosted by Illinois Matmen. Virginia: The Cavaliers were off this week and were slated to return to action at The Midlands, but since the cancellation, they have had a change of plans. After they received the news, Coach Garland and Coach Storniolo from Northwestern agreed to compete in a tri with SIUE. Virginia Tech: The #9 Hokies entered the Collegiate Duals knowing they would face some stiff competition in their pool. They opened with Hofstra and made a statement with a 35-3 win. #16 Sam Latona opened with a major decision at 125, followed by an 18-4 tech fall from #4 Korbin Myers. They traded decisions at 141 and 149, with Collin Gerardi winning for the Hokies at 141 and Kylan Montgomery fighting hard while filling in for Bryce Andonian. The rest of the dual was all Virginia Tech. #22 Conor Brady won 6-3 at 157, followed by a beautiful pin from Clayton Ulrey at 165--I continue to be impressed every time he steps on the mat with the effort he always gives to the team. #4 Mekhi Lewis put on a scoring clinic with a 16-0 tech fall in just over three minutes. #9 Hunter Bolen wrestled incredibly well and controlled the match against #25 Charles Small to pick up the 6-3 decision. The dual closed out with two more wins over ranked wrestlers for the Hokies. Dakota Howard upset #26 Trey Rogers 5-3 at 197 and #14 Nathan Traxler won a convincing 7-1 decision over a very dangerous #20 Zachary Knighton-Ward. The Hokies hoped that this momentum would carry them into a tough dual with #6 Arizona State, but the Sun Devils had their own plans. Arizona State has eight ranked wrestlers and they performed about as well as they possibly could in this dual. #16 Sam Latona faced national runner-up #3 Brandon Courtney and fell in an 8-4 decision. #4 Korbin Myers dropped his first match of the season in a back-and-forth match against #14 Michael McGee 8-7. Colln Gerardi put up a great fight and almost pulled off the upset over #15 Jesse Vasquez. Kylan Montgomery had the unfortunate job of facing #5 Kyle Parco and fell 14-1 in what was a very anticipated match for Bryce Andonian. The next two matches were heartbreakers for the Hokies as they tried to climb back into the dual. #22 Conor Brady lost in sudden victory to #3 Jacori Teemer at 157 in a match that he wrestled incredibly well. At 165, Clayton Ulrey gave #6 Anthony Valencia one of his best matches of the year, falling 11-9. At 174, #4 Mekhi Lewis tried to put the team on his back and get them back in the dual, reeling off another tech fall 19-3. #9 Hunter Bolen followed that up with a 20-2 tech fall in the second period. The Hokies hopes were cut the next match as Dakota Howard fell to #9 Kordell Norfleet. In the final bout, we were hoping for a rematch of last year's PAC-12 Championship match between #14 Nathan Traxler and #3 Colton Schultz, but the Sun Devils sent out a backup and Traxler picked up an 8-1 decision to end the dual. Hokies 13 Sun Devils 23 The final dual matched the Hokies with a very dangerous and well-balanced Cornell lineup. #16 Sam Latona opened the dual against #3 Vito Arujau and fell 12-2. #4 Korbin Myers rebounded from a tough loss against ASU to pick up win #100 with a 9-3 decision over Dom LaJoie; he was pushing for a major but couldn't finish before time expired. Collin Gerardi wrestled a phenomenal match to earn a 6-0 decision at 141. Kylan Montgomery had another monster test against two-time NCAA champ Yianni Diakomihalis and fell in a 19-3 tech fall. #22 Conor Brady wrapped up a solid weekend with a ranked win in a very close bout with #25 Colton Yapujian, winning 2-1. Clayton Ulrey put up another impressive fight against #10 Julian Ramirez and nearly pulled off the upset, falling 4-2. #4 Mekhi Lewis gave Hokie Nation a scare against #10 Chris Foca. Lewis was in on legs several times throughout the match, but couldn't finish. The bout went to sudden victory--no points were scored in the first two minutes, so it went to alternating ride-outs. Foca seemed confused by the position and chose top to open; Lewis was able to score escapes in both ride-out periods and took the bout 3-1. #9 Hunter Bolen dropped his first match of the year at 184 in a heartbreaker. He controlled the match for about six minutes and thirty seconds and looked to have the win in hand. #15 Jonathan Loew scored a takedown with 10 seconds remaining to send the match to overtime and secured another in overtime to knock off Bolen. At 197 Andy Smith made his season debut against #19 Jacob Cardenas and fell in a close 3-2 match. #14 Nathan Traxler finished up an undefeated weekend in a battle with #19 Lewis Fernandes. In a very entertaining heavyweight bout, Traxler took the 5-3 win to end the dual on a good note for the Hokies. Hokies 15 Cornell 18 The Hokies return to action on January 1st at the Southern Scuffle.

Arizona State All-American Anthony Valencia (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The wrestling gods saw fit to give us a week full of excitement both on and off the mat as we approached the Christmas holiday. At the time of this writing, event organizers and college teams are scrambling in the wake of the cancellation of the Ken Kraft Midlands tournament. Fortunately, it appears the powers that are known as MatScouts (among others) are already working to make the best of the cancellation. Prior to this news, however, college wrestling fans had all eyes on the inaugural Collegiate Wrestling Duals, hosted in Niceville, Florida by Journeymen Wrestling. A not-so-"national duals" event brought together some of the best teams in the land and it surely delivered in terms of ranked match-ups, upsets, and controversy. For the Pac-12, another well-attended tournament for the conference in Nevada - this time, the Reno Tournament of Champions - primed fans for the action to come in the following days. Reno Tournament of Champions (December 19th) The team-title and nine finalists overall highlighted another successful tournament for the Pac-12 conference, with Oregon State leading the conference effort at the Reno Tournament of Champions (Reno TOC). The Beavers came away with the tournament title, five individual titles, and, importantly, many head-to-head victories over conference opponents. Conference match-ups were inevitable, as a portion of the #25 Stanford squad, a non-starter contingent of #16 (tied) Cal Poly, and an unexpected CSU Bakersfield line-up joined Oregon State in Reno. These match-ups provided us with an early gauge of where conference competitors compare against one another as we head into the second semester. TOC titles from #13 Brandon Kaylor (125), #21 Devan Turner (133), #11 Grant Willits (141), UR Trey Munoz (184), and #10 Gary Traub (285) highlighted the Beavers' performance, with Munoz winning the bracket in his first "attached" competition of the season. En route to the finals, Munoz topped two teammates as well as two unranked opponents in Clarion's Ryan Weinzen and Northern Colorado's Branson Britten. Munoz capped his perfect outing with a 3-2 decision over #17 Tate Samuelson of Wyoming to earn the tournament title. "Gas Tank" Gary earned his second straight tournament victory topping, among others, three Pac-12 opponents. Traub opened the tournament with a 6-4 decision over Stanford's UR Seamus O'Malley and ended his tournament with two decisions over Cal Poly - a 9-3 decision over Trevor Tinker and a 3-1 sudden-victory decision over Sam Aguilar in the finals, respectively. Traub's sudden-victory takedown in the championship match was the bump Oregon State (174pts) needed to take the team title from second-place Wyoming (172pts). Devan Turner defeated two, ranked conference opponents for his 133lbs Reno TOC title. In the semis, Turner blanked #33 Jackson DiSario (Stanford), 5-0, before beating rival, #15 Chance Rich (CSU Bakersfield), 7-3, in the finals. At 149lbs, Lane Stigall of Oregon State finished in third-place, losing by fall in the semifinals to Cal Poly's Luka Wick. Unattached Beaver Isaiah Crosby reached the tournament finals at 157lbs, losing a 7-5 decision to #12 Jacob Wright of Wyoming to finish runner-up. At 165lbs, UR Matthew Olguin advanced to the finals, but fell to Clarion's Cameron Pine, 7-4. At 174lbs for the Beavers (and the Roadrunners of Bakersfield), the bane of the day was one Casey Randles of Grand View. A graduate transfer from Division 1 Wyoming, Randles is currently ranked #3 in the NAIA at 174, and earned victories over both #25 Mateo Olmos and UR Mason Reiniche. Despite their loss to Randles, both Olmos and Reiniche earned victories over conference opponents on their path to sixth- and third-place victories. Olmos put a 12-4 major on #28 Tyler Eischens (Stanford), while Reiniche topped Jarad Priest (Cal Poly) by decision and pinned Cael Valencia (Arizona State). Finally, the battle for the leading role at 197lbs continued for Oregon State, as Ryan Reyes defeated teammate JJ Dixon by 10-2 major decision in the consolation finals. Although Reyes won the head-to-head in definitive fashion, both Reyes and Dixon earned notable conference wins on their day. Dixon nearly majored #32 Nick Stemmet (Stanford) in an 11-4 decision in addition to a 12-0 major over UR Mateo Morales (CSU Bakersfield). For his part, Reyes got past Josh Loomer (CSU Bakersfield), 4-3. I would be remiss to omit the fact that performances among conference wrestlers were fraught with early departures (i.e., medical forfeits and defaults). The aforementioned Oregon State was no exception, with #25 Mateo Olmos forfeiting the fifth-place bout to CSU Bakersfield's rising, UR Albert Urias (174). (Urias, like Oregon State's Olmos and Reiniche, also took a loss to Grand View's Casey Randles.) The script was flipped at 141 and 165 for the Roadrunners, with #20 Angelo Martinoni (141) bowing out of the tournament after an unranked loss to Chase Zollman (Wyoming) and UR Augustine Garcia (165) doing the same after a 14-0 major decision loss to UR Cameron Pine (Clarion). The Roadrunner effort was led by #15 Chance Rich's runner-up finish at 133lbs, followed by Urias's fifth-place medal and UR Josh Loomer's sixth-place medal at 197lbs. The Stanford Cardinal experienced a couple early departures of their own on the day, with All-American Real Woods (141) stepping out of the tournament after reaching the semifinals and All-American, #11 Jaden Abas (149) injury defaulting out during a match with Oregon State's Lane Stigall. Despite the early departures, the Cardinal were lifted by medal performances from #33 Jackson DiSario (third at 133) and #32 Nick Stemmet (fifth at 197). Stemmet bounced back from his conference-loss to Oregon State's JJ Dixon to go on and defeat Cal Poly's Trent Tracy, 3-1, and CSU Bakersfield's Josh Loomer, 7-3. The Cal Poly contingent came away from Reno TOC with a pair of finalists, a third-place, and a fifth-place finisher. At 133lbs, UR Abe Hinrichsen benefited from early departures, with two consolation victories by no contest giving him the fifth-place medal. To his credit, Hinrichsen wrestled #15 Chance Rich (CSU Bakersfield) tough, falling 3-1 in sudden victory. Luka Wick (149) made the finals, but forfeited to Jaron Jensen (Wyoming). Finally, Cal Poly's two heavyweights, Trevor Tinker and Sam Aguilar, finished third and second behind Oregon State's #10 Gary Traub. While the rest of the Sun Devils traveled to Florida for the Collegiate Wrestling Duals, Cael Valencia split matches against conference competitors to finish fourth at 174lbs. Valencia notched an important victory in the quarterfinals over Stanford's #28 Tyler Eischens, before dropping falls in the semifinal and third-place bout to #15 Hayden Hastings (Wyoming) and UR Mason Reiniche (Oregon State), respectively. Collegiate Wrestling Duals - Day 1 (December 20th) The #6 Arizona State Sun Devils represented the Pac-12 conference in the inaugural Collegiate Wrestling Duals, taking on Hofstra and #9 Virginia Tech on Day 1. With Frank Molinaro and Anthony Valencia stepping off the plane fresh off a Mexican National title (freestyle), Arizona State took it to Hofstra, winning eight of the nine contested bouts (in addition to a forfeit victory at 133lbs). Arizona State fielded their No.1's at all but 184lbs, winning the first six bouts of the dual-meet before Freshman Jacob Ortiz dropped a 10-1 major to #25 Charles Small at 184lbs. The Sun Devils stopped the bleeding immediately, closing out the dual with two major decisions over ranked opponents. At 197, #8 Kordell Norfleet put a 14-3 spread on #26 Trey Rogers, followed by a 12-3 major from #3 Cohlton Schultz over #20 Zachary Knighton-Ward at heavyweight to cap a 42-4 dual-victory for Arizona State. Facing a fellow top-10 program in Virginia Tech, Arizona State displayed some grit, earning decisions in each of the first six bouts to build a practically insurmountable lead in the dual - four of which victories were within two points or less. Exceptions were an 8-4 decision from #3 Brandon Courtney (125) over #16 Sam Latona and a 14-1 major from #5 Kyle Parco (149) over UR Kylan Montgomery. Taking command of the dual was no easy task, as the first six bouts of the dual featured three ranked match-ups. #14 Michael McGee upset #4-ranked 133lber Korbin Myers, 8-7, to the praise of Head Coach Zeke Jones. "The game-ball goes to Michael McGee, getting a top-five win, a guy that beat him last year at the NCAA tournament. And the way he did it: really gritty, really tactical, really solid - I liked [it]," Jones told @ArizonaWrestler on Rokfin. Finally, #3 Jacori Teemer fended off #22 Connor Brady, 3-1. When all was said and done, Arizona State toppled Virginia Tech, 23-13, winning seven of ten matches. Collegiate Wrestling Duals - Day 2 (December 21st) Two Day 1 victories set the stage for the highly-anticipated showdown between #6 Arizona State and #2 Penn State. The Sun Devils wrestled the Nittany Lions tough through the first six matches, splitting them evenly to enter the final four matches with the dual knotted at 10-10. At 125lbs, #3 Brandon Courtney (125) came out with fire in his veins against unranked Jakob Campbell, scoring takedowns nearly at will with his patented, slick style. Hunting for bonus, Courtney came away with an 18-7 major to start the dual strong for Arizona State. The Sun Devils then weathered a three match stretch that included #14 Michael McGee (133) holding National Champion and #1 Roman Bravo-Young to a 6-2 decision. #15 Jesse Vasquez survived his test against National Champion, #1 Nick Lee, conceding "only" a 14-3 major decision at 141lbs. With the dual score at 10-4 Penn State entering 157lbs, it was now Penn State's turn to weather the Sun Devil's best. #3 Jacori Teemer took on a scrappy, albeit unranked, Tony Negron of Penn State. Scoring on a takedown quickly in the match, Teemer appeared en route to a bonus point victory, but Negron's efforts kept Teemer honest and at-bay, ultimately keeping Teemer to an 8-3 decision. Similarly, at 165lbs, #6 Anthony Valencia for Arizona State was well in control of his match against #26 Creighton Edsell, leading 10-3 with short-time in the bout. Hunting for a major decision, Valencia gave away a takedown at the end of the bout when he attempted a chest-wrap throw on the edge. A 10-5 decision at 165lbs was good enough to tie the dual, 10-10. Then, the Nittany Lions pulled away. Fielding #1 Carter Starocci (174), #1 Aaron Brooks (184), #3 Max Dean (197), and #4 Greg Kerkvliet (285), the Penn State back-four overwhelmed the remaining Arizona State wrestlers, earning a tech-fall, fall, major, and major to close out the dual. Unranked Zane Coleman (174), Josh Nummer (184), and Chad Porter (285) did their best against their top-four match-ups, but nonetheless gave-up a collective six bonus-points. At 197lbs, #8 Kordell Norfleet conceded a definitive 10-1 major decision to a physical Max Dean. Of note, with the dual-meet lost, #3 Cohlton Schultz did not take the mat at heavyweight against #4 Kerkvliet. Final score, 29-10 Penn State, with Arizona State finishing second in the blue-pool at the inaugural Collegiate Wrestling Duals. I hope you enjoyed catching up on all things Pac-12 from this past week! We at InterMat wish you all a warm and safe holiday. If you're itching to watch the action from this week yourself, the Reno TOC event is on-demand via FloWrestling, while the Collegiate Wrestling Duals' replays are now available on-demand via @CollegiateDuals on Rokfin.

3x NCAA Champion Spencer Lee takes on Jakob Camacho (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Before the Collegiate Duals, InterMat published an article with five important questions regarding teams or athletes competing in the event. Now that all has finished in Niceville, we've circled back around to see how these questions were answered. 1) Will we see Iowa's full lineup? The answer was, “We saw more of it than we have.” The biggest addition for the Hawkeyes was the return of Spencer Lee. In our preview and our original article, we stated how we doubted Lee would go in all three, but we ended up proven wrong. The three-time NCAA champion wrestled in all of Iowa's three duals and got his hand raised each time. Lee started with a tech over Brock Bergelin (Central Michigan), then majored then-#11 Jaret Lane (Lehigh) and was held to a decision by then-#5 Jakob Camacho (NC State). I'd say the results are about what you'd expect from Lee, given the circumstances. It was his first competition since March and the Camacho match was the first bout of what most expected to be a tight-dual. If a wrestler as talented as Camacho wants to ensure the margin of victory is under eight points, it's difficult for anyone to rack up bonus, particularly a less-than 100% Spencer Lee. All along, the information the public was given regarding Lee's status was that he probably wouldn't compete in every single event for the Hawkeyes. I don't think any changes regarding this going forward. Expect to see Lee in some of the more prominent dates on Iowa's dual schedule or if Tom Brands has devised some sort of regular schedule. Now, some fans were a bit concerned as he defeated Lane by major decision, without accumulating any riding time points. Let's keep that thought in the back of our minds, but also remember it was his first time out and Lane is a long, difficult guy to wrestle. The other big question mark regarding Iowa's lineup was Michael Kemerer at 174 lbs. Kemerer was listed on the roster put out by Iowa and even weighed in. That was likely preplanned and just used to get Kemerer accustomed to getting down to weight. It didn't appear as if Kemerer ever warmed up or was planning to wrestle. One piece we didn't necessarily count on seeing was Abe Assad at 184 lbs. Assad was famously pinned by Wisconsin high school star Clayton Whiting at the Luther Open and hasn't been in the lineup since. In his absence, Myles Wilson had went 2-1 in dual competition. Assad made his presence felt immediately and tossed Ben Cushman (Central Michigan) for a fall in his first match back. After a major decision against Lehigh, the stakes were much higher against returning NCAA runner-up Trent Hidlay (NC State), in the Hawkeyes barnburner with the Wolfpack. Assad was taken to his back and seemingly ready to surrender a fall. He fought from getting pinned and lost 6-0. While three additional points wouldn't have won the match for NC State, the momentum created by a fall could have changed the outcome of the decision bout at 197 lbs. Iowa was scheduled to appear at the Midlands, which was canceled yesterday (though some form of the tournament is expected to be held). Rumors of a Hawkeye Open appear to be credible on New Year's Day. I still wouldn't hold my breath expecting Lee and/or Kemerer. A January 6th dual with Minnesota might by the optimal time to see the Iowa lineup altogether for the first time. 2) Is Vito going down to 125? All signs pointed to Cornell's Vito Arujau returning to 125 lbs during his trip to Florida. Those hints proved to be accurate and the Big Red star looked incredible on the mat. His tournament started with an 18-7 major decision of #10 Brody Teske (Northern Iowa). In Cornell's showdown with #2 Penn State, Arujau struck early and gave his team a 6-0 lead after needing less than a minute to pin Jakob Campbell. He wrapped up his tournament by majoring 2021 All-American Sam Latona (Virginia Tech), which set the stage for a minor upset of the Hokies. In the course of a couple of weeks, 125 lbs went from a seemingly two-horse race (Lee and Patrick Glory - Princeton), to one of the most intriguing weight classes in the country. In addition to the Olympic Trials, finalist Arujau returning, 2019 NCAA champion Nick Suriano will return and compete for Michigan. Additionally, 2021 NCAA finalist Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) looked as aggressive and dangerous as ever. Now Spencer Lee has wins in some form or fashion over all of the key contenders at one point in their careers. As of now, he's still the man to beat. But, it's safe to assume that even as he gets more mat time, Lee won't be the walking tech-fall machine, that we're accustomed to seeing. It's also a safe assumption that Suriano, Arujau, Glory, and Courtney won't care what condition the two-time Hodge Trophy winner is in. All of this will lead to a highly anticipated showdown at the Big Ten Championships (Michigan is not on Iowa's schedule) and some incredible potential NCAA semifinal and final matchups. 3) Will Arizona State unleash Cael Valencia? This one got answered a day before the event as Cael Valencia competed unattached at the Reno Tournament of Champions. Valencia got off to a hot start with bonus points in each of his first two bouts. Next up, he logged a pair of close wins over returning national qualifiers Timothy Fitzpatrick (American) and Tyler Eischens (Stanford). In the semis, the competition was even stiffer and Valencia was pinned by Wyoming's #14 Hayden Hastings. For third place, he was pinned again, this time by Mason Reiniche (Oregon State). Those results would lead you to believe that it's not a “slam-dunk” decision that Valencia should come out of redshirt. While an NCAA berth looks like it would probably be a formality, barring any significant injuries, just getting the to dance doesn't have any impact on the team race. While the battle for an NCAA team trophy appears to be as tight as any year in recent memory, you have to get on the podium to really have an impact. Can Valencia get onto the podium this year? With his talent, the coaching staff at ASU, and the typical development of a freshman from December-March, it's certainly a possibility. But this year, 174 is no joke, especially at the top. 8 All-Americans return, including 2 national champions and four past finalists. Just getting to the Round of 12 would be a good achievement for a true freshman. This begs the age-old question: how many points is it worth bringing a freshman out of redshirt? Remember, there are also plenty of other considerations that the ASU staff has to keep in mind, in these “will they-won't they” redshirt situations. More than just on-the-mat performance. Arizona State's current starter, Zane Coleman, got a pair of matches at the duals. He led off with a win over a solid competitor in Ross McFarland (Hofstra), before falling victim to returning NCAA champion Carter Starocci (Penn State) via technical fall in the championship bout. Ryan Rochford also stepped in against Virginia Tech and lost to 2019 NCAA champion Mekhi Lewis by tech, as well. 4) What the heck happens with Mizzou/NC State? Before the madness that was Iowa/NC State, the Wolfpack had a pretty darn entertaining dual with Missouri. It was one that could have gone a bunch of different ways and led to a 5-5 split for our conference correspondent crews' weekly picks. If not for the Red pool final, it would have been in the running for Dual of the Year, thus far. Right off the bat, we saw a top-five ranked opponent go down in Jakob Camacho at 125 lbs. He fell victim to Noah Surtin, who has been on a tear of late. Since suffering his only loss of the year to #10 Brody Teske, Surtin has responded by defeating Latona, Lane, and now Camacho. One match in and NC State was playing catch-up and had a limited path to victory. The dual turned back towards the middle ground as the Wolfpack notched an upset of their own at 157 lbs. Second-year freshman, Ed Scott, displayed excellent skills on top and rode out then-#15 Jarrett Jacques to grab a 3-2 win. That gave the Wolfpack a 9-6 lead. At 184 lbs, Trent Hidlay was relentless and put NC State up by seven points when he pushed hard for a major against Jeremiah Kent (Missouri). That bonus point looks like it would be the difference-maker as the final two bouts featured a favored Missouri wrestler. Isaac Trumble ended up making it a moot point as he handed Rocky Elam (Missouri) only his third collegiate loss. Trumble gutted out a close 5-3 win which clinched the dual for the Wolfpack at 19-9, heading into the 285 lbs contest. Even at 285 lbs, with the dual locked up and third-string Tyrie Houghton on the mat, NC State still had reason to cheer. Houghton fought tooth and nail against #16 Zach Elam and earned a takedown at the buzzer to pull within a point in the final score (6-5). 5) Where's the best chance for a day one upset (team-wise)? So, this ended up being a trick question as no one was able to pull an upset on day one. But, for intents and purposes of the original question, it was actually Cornell who came closest to knocking off #2 Penn State in the final round of the day. Through four matches, the dual played out as one may expect. Cornell held a 10-8 lead based on a fall at 125 lbs from Arujau and a major by Yianni at 149 lbs. The next weight (157) was a bit of a toss-up as Colton Yapoujian grinded out a two-point win over Joe Lee (Penn State). Julian Ramirez (165) then held out to defeat a game Creighton Edsell, which extended Cornell's lead to 16-8, heading into the final four bouts and the meat of the Penn State lineup. The two difference-making matches ended up occurring at 174 and 197 lbs. 174 lbs saw returning national champion Carter Starocci get pushed to the brink by Cornell's Chris Foca. Starocci needed to ride Foca for the entire third period to amass sufficient riding time for a 3-2 win. At 197 lbs, Max Dean and Cornell's Jacob Cardenas engaged in multiple scramble situations, the last of which was won by Dean; however, Cardenas was close to finishing a couple of different times. Had he been able to secure a takedown, he likely would have won and put the Big Red up 19-15 heading into 285 lbs. In the blue pool third-place bout, Cornell saw 184 lber Jonathan Loew outlast 2021 All-American Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) in sudden victory, which boosted his team past then-#9 Virginia Tech. Cornell (then #11) pulled the slight-upset and knocked off the Hokies 18-15. More exposure for some of these athletes that have been a part of Cornell's program for a few years (Foca, Loew, Lewis Fernandes) and were unable to compete due to the Ivy shutdown last season, have proven that Cornell has a stacked team, that is now top-ten worthy.

Lehigh's 2x EIWA champion Josh Humphreys (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Below is a recap of last week's EIWA action, with individual highlights worth noting. Notable News Cornell is back. They are really, really good. And they are on top of the EIWA right now. Chris Foca is the real deal. He's in the mix at 174lb. Vito Arujau is back down to 125lb, and he looks fantastic. Manzona Bryant is legit at 149lb. Plus, he's entertaining to watch. Josh Humphreys is lethal from the top position. It hurts my shoulders watching him power half people. American The Eagles made a trip out west to compete at the Reno Tournament of Champions. Max Leete (125) was the only placewinner. He took home fifth place with a 5-1 record on the day. Andy Fallon (125) lost to Leete in tiebreaker, going 3-2 during his campaign. At heavyweight, Isaac Rigther had two pins under a minute each. Then dropped a match to Gary Traub (#10) of Oregon State and Austin Harris of Oklahoma State. Antonio Segura went 5-1 on the day, reaching his match limit at 157lb. At 149lb, Ryan Zimmerman wrestled 5 matches, winning 3 of them. American saw some unique competition with this trip. Assuming this was the intention, it worked out well for this team. Many wrestlers won at least one match, while others won at least two. What a good way to bring in the second semester! I believe the more confidence this team gains, the more dangerous they will become. Army – no action last week Binghamton The Bearcats traveled to Sacred Heart for a dual on Saturday. Then, they competed in the Collegiate Duals in Florida. Sam Deprez (184) had a nice win over returning National Qualifier, Joe Accousti of Sacred Heart. At 141lbs, Ryan Anderson made his return after spending some time on the sidelines. Boxscore: Binghamton 39, Sacred Heart 7 125 – Kyle Randall (SHU) MD Nick Curley (BU), 15-4 133 – HM Anthony Sobotker (BU) WBF Anthony Petrillo (SHU), 3:20 141 – Ryan Anderson (BU) TF Jordan Carlucci (SHU), 18-0 149 – Nick Lombard (BU) MD Cole McGill (SHU), 12-4 157 – Nick Palumbo (SHU) Tyler Martin (BU), 2-1 165 – Brevin Cassella (BU) WBF Scotty Jarosz (SHU), 4:59 174 – Jacob Nolan (BU) WBF Robert Hetherman (SHU), 0:58 184 – Sam DePrez (BU) dec. Joe Accousti (SHU), 3-1 197 – No. 12 Lou DePrez (BU) WBF Dante Del Bonis (SHU), 5:52 Hwt – No. 22 Joe Doyle (BU) dec. Mark Blokh (SHU), 7-2 At the Collegiate Duals, the Bearcats went 0-3, but had strong performances with some of the best teams in the country. They came out to wrestle hard and did not back down. Plus, they were a last-minute addition to the event. We need to give props where props are due! Boxscores #5 NC State 35, Binghamton 7 125: #5 Jakob Camacho (NCSU) WBF Nick Curley; 5:29 – 6-0 133: Jarrett Trombley (NCSU) INJ Anthony Sobotker; 5:30 – 12-0 141: Ryan Anderson (BING) dec. Hunter Lewis; 8-2 – 12-3 149: #3 Tariq Wilson (NCSU) dec. Nick Lombard; 9-4 – 15-3 157: #23 Ed Scott (NCSU) tech fall Tyler Martin; 18-1 – 20-3 165: #18 Thomas Bullard (NCSU) dec. Brevin Cassella; 6-0 – 23-3 174: #5 Hayden Hidlay (NCSU) major dec. Jacob Nolan; 12-3 – 27-3 184: #3 Trent Hidlay (NCSU) tech fall Sam Deprez; 19-4 – 32-3 197: #12 Lou Deprez (BING) major dec. #15 Isaac Trumble; 10-2 – 32-7 285: #28 Owen Trephan (NCSU) dec. #22 Joe Doyle; 5-2 – 35-7 Boxscore: No. 10 Missouri, 33, Binghamton, 6 125: (15) Noah Surtin def. Nick Curley by 18-0 technical fall (3:44) 133: Anthony Sobotker over Connor Brown by fall (2:56) 141: (14) Allan Hart vs. Ryan Anderson by 4-0 149: (18) Josh Edmond over Nick Lombard by 3-2 decision 157: (15) Jarrett Jacques over Logan Gumble by fall (1:01) 165: (3) Keegan O'Toole over Brevin Cassella by 13-4 major decision 174: (14) Peyton Mocco over Jacob Nolan by 6-2 decision 184: (11) Jeremiah Kent over Sam DePrez by 11-4 decision 197: (4) Rocky Elam over (12) Lou DePrez by 4-0 decision 285: (16) Zach Elam over (22) Joe Doyle by 4-0 decision Boxscore: CMU 26, Binghamton 16 125: Brock Bergelin (CMU) TF Nick Curley (BU), 16-0, 4:45. CMU leads 5-0. 133: Binghamton forfeits bout vs. Ja'Kerrion Merrit (CMU). CMU leads 11-0. 141: No. 7 Dresden Simon (CMU) DEC Ryan Anderson (BU), 5-2. CMU leads 14-0. 149: Corbyn Munson (CMU) DEC Nick Lombard (BU), 6-5. CMU leads 17-0. 157: No. 19 Johnny Lovett (CMU) FALL Tyler Martin (BU), 3:52. CMU leads 23-0. 165: Brevin Cassella (BU) MD Tracy Hubbard (CMU), 10-1. CMU leads 23-4. 174: Brett Fedewa (CMU) DEC Jacob Nolan (BU), 2-1. CMU leads 26-4. 184: Cory Day (BU) MD Ben Cushman (CMU), 14-4. CMU leads 26-8. 197: No. 12 Lou DePrez (BU) DEC Aaron Bolo (CMU), 8-4. CMU leads 26-11. 285: No. 22 Joe Doyle (BU) TF Cade Dallwitz (CMU), 18-0. CMU wins 26-16. Brown – no action last week Bucknell The Bison hosted a tri-meet along with Buffalo and Lock Haven. Zach Hartman (#15 – 165) had a first period fall and a tech fall on the day. At 133lb, Kurt Phipps was 2-0 on the day, including a win over Spann (#29) of Buffalo. Boxscore: Buffalo 18 – Bucknell 15 125: Brandon Seidman (BU) dec. over Tristan Daugherty (UB) 5-4 133: Kurt Phipps (BU) dec. over #29 Derek Spann (UB) 9-5 141: Ben Freeman (UB) dec. over Noah Levett (BU) 6-4 149: John Arceri (UB) dec. over Kolby DePron (BU) 6-4 (SV-1) 157: Ty Raines (UB) dec. over Nick Delp (BU) 4-2 165: #15 Zach Hartman (BU) fall over Noah Grover (UB) 2:28 174: Giuseppe Hoose (UB) dec. over Nolan Springer (BU) 10-5 184: Peter Acciardi (UB) dec. over Logan Deacetis (BU) 9-8 197: Sam Mitchell (UB) dec. over Mason McCready (BU) 2-0 285: Luke Niemeyer (BU) dec. over Toby Cahill (UB) 9-5 Boxscore: Lock Haven 15 – Bucknell 21 125: #27 Anthony Noto (LHU) fall over Brandon Seidman (BU) 4:48 133: Kurt Phipps (BU) maj. dec. over Matt Maloney (LHU) 10-1 141: Nick Stonecheck (LHU) dec. over Noah Levett (BU) 5-3 149: Kolby DePron (BU) dec. over Connor Eck (LHU) 6-1 157: Ben Barton (LHU) dec. over Nick Delp (BU) 5-1 165: #15 Zach Hartman (BU) tech fall over Ashton Eyler (LHU) 20-4 (4:47) 174: Sam Barnes (BU) dec. over Tyler Stoltzfus (LHU) 10-3 184: Logan Deacetis (BU) dec. over Colin Fegley (LHU) 5-3 197: Mason McCready (BU) dec. over Parker McClellan (LHU) 4-2 (SV-1) 285: Isaac Reid (LHU) maj. dec. over Luke Niemeyer (BU) 11-2 Bucknell had another solid performance. The Buffalo match-up was essentially dead even. With so many close individual matches, this dual could have gone either way. Hartman is back to form after getting upset a few weeks ago. Phipps has been coming on as of late too. I've said it before, I see the potential in this team. They have a bunch of guys that will end up on the podium at EIWA's. Columbia – no action last week. Cornell (#9) The Big Red traveled to the Sunshine state to compete at the Collegiate Duals. And boy, did they impress. They entered the event as the 11th ranked team. They improved to 9th in the latest rankings. Yianni (#1 – 149) had himself a nice outing with two majors and a tech fall. Vito Arujau (#3 – 125) may have been more impressive with major decisions over returning All-American Sam Latona (#17) of Virginia Tech and Brody Teske (#10) of UNI. At 165lb, Julian Ramirez (#9) went 3-0 as well. He had wins over Austin Yant (#22) of UNI and Creighton Edsell (#27) of Penn State. Chris Foca (#11) lost to two returning NCAA Champions. With a 3-2 loss to Carter Starocci (#1) of Penn State and 3-1 tiebreaker loss to Mekhi Lewis (#4) of Virginia Tech, he is right in the mix to earn All-American honors. At 197lb, Jacob Cardenas (#19) went 2-1 over his three matches. He nearly pulled off the upset over Max Dean of (#3) of Penn State, which could have led to a Cornell victory. Dom LaJoie (#30) earned his way into the rankings at 133lb after a 5-2 win over Kyle Biscoglia (#32) of UNI. Jonathan Loew (#13) had a nice upset win over 2X All-American Hunter Bolen (#14) of Virginia Tech. Boxscore: #11 Cornell 29, #22 Northern Iowa 7 125: #5 (133) Vito Arujau (C) won by major decision over #10 Brody Teske (UNI), 18-7 133: Dom LaJoie (C) won by decision over #31 Kyle Biscoglia (UNI), 5-2 141: #26 Cael Happel (UNI) won by major decision over Cole Handlovic (C), 14-6 149: #1 Yianni Diakomihalis (C) won by major decision over Colin Realbuto (UNI), 14-6 157: #25 Colton Yapoujian (C) won by decision over Derek Holschlag (UNI), 2-1 165: #9 Julian Ramirez (C) won by decision over #23 Austin Yant (UNI), 4-3 174: #12 Chris Foca (C) won by decision over Pat Schoenfelder (UNI), 13-6 184: #4 Parker Keckeisen (UNI) won by decision over #15 Jonathan Loew (C), 6-2 197: #19 Jacob Cardenas (C) won by fall over Noah Glaser (UNI), 5:12 285: #18 Lewis Fernandes (C) won by decision over Tyrell Gordon (UNI), 4-0 Boxscore: #2 Penn State 18, #11 Cornell 16 125 #5 (133) Vito Arujau (C) won by fall over Jakob Campbell (PSU), 0:58 133: #1 Ramon Bravo-Young (PSU) won by major decision over Dom LaJoie (C), 21-9 141: #1 Nick Lee (PSU) won by major decision over Cole Handlovic (C), 13-3 149: #1 Yianni Diakomihalis (C) won by major decision over #22 Beau Bartlett (PSU), 11-3 157: #25 Colton Yapoujian (C) won by decision over Joe Lee (PSU), 4-2 165: #9 Julian Ramirez C) won by decision over #26 Creighton Edsell (PSU), 7-5 174: #1 Carter Starocci (PSU) won by decision over #12 Chris Foca (C), 3-2 184: #1 Aaron Brooks (PSU) won by major decision over #15 Jonathan Loew (C), 15-3 197: #3 Max Dean (PSU) won by decision over #19 Jacob Cardenas (C), 4-2 285: #4 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) won by decision over #18 Lewis Fernandes (C), 5-0 Boxscore: #11 Cornell 18, #8 Virginia Tech 15 125: #5 (133) Vito Arujau (C) won by major decision over #16 Sam Latona (VT), 10-2 133: #4 Korbin Myers (VT) won by decision over Dom LaJoie (C), 9-3 141: Collin Gerardi (VT) won by decision over Cole Handlovic (C), 6-0 149: #1 Yianni Diakomihalis (C) won by technical fall over Kylan Montgomery (VT), 19-3 157: #22 Connor Brady (VT) won by decision over #25 Colton Yapoujian (C), 2-1 165: #9 Julian Ramirez (C) won by decision over Clayton Ulrey (VT), 4-2 174: #4 Mekhi Lewis (VT) won by decision over #12 Chris Foca (C), 3-1 (ot1) 184: #15 Jonathan Loew (C) won by decision over #9 Hunter Bolen (VT), 7-5 (sv1) 197: #19 Jacob Cardenas (C) won by decision over Harrison Smith (VT), 3-2 285: #14 Nathan Traxler (VT) won by decision over #18 Lewis Fernandes (C), 5-3 What else can be said about Cornell that wasn't already said? Vito is back down to his 125lb weight class and looking dominant in the process. With LaJoie earning a spot in the rankings, that makes NINE Big Red wrestlers ranked in the top 33. Yes, I said 9! This team is stacked. In my opinion, they are the front runners to win the conference. Even though other teams will disagree, they are stacked up and down the lineup. The real question is, do they have enough firepower to earn a trophy at NCAA's? Drexel – no action last week Franklin & Marshall – no action last week Harvard – no action last week Hofstra The Pride took a trip down to Florida for the Collegiate Duals. Hofstra had some very tough matchups against two top-ten teams. They did not have a ton of wins, but they came to compete. Michael Leandrou (149lb) earned himself a win against Virginia Tech. At 184, Charles Small (#27) had a major decision. He dropped two matches to All-Americans Hunter Bolen (#9) of Virginia Tech and Parker Keckeisen (#4) of UNI. Trey Rogers (#33 – 197) had a decision over Noah Glaser of UNI. Boxscore: #8 Virginia Tech 35, Hofstra 3 125: #16 Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) maj. dec. Jacob Moon (Hofstra), 11-2 133: #4 Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech) tech fall Ty Cymmerman (Hofstra), 18-2 (7:00) 141: #31 Collin Gerardi (Virginia Tech) dec. Justin Hoyle (Hofstra), 4-1 149: Michael Leandrou (Hofstra) dec. Kylan Montgomery (Virginia Tech), 3-1 157: #22 Connor Brady (Virginia Tech) dec. Joe McGinty (Hofstra), 6-3 165: Clayton Ulrey (Virginia Tech) WBF Mario Biancamano (Hofstra), 0:55 174: #4 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) tech fall Ericson Velasquez (Hofstra), 16-0 (3:10) 184: #9 Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) dec. #25 Charles Small (Hofstra), 6-3 197: Dakota Howard (Virginia Tech) dec. #26 Trey Rogers (Hofstra), 5-3 285: #14 Nathan Traxler (Virginia Tech) dec. #20 Zachary Knighton-Ward (Hofstra), 7-1 Boxscore: #6 Arizona State 42, Hofstra 4 125: #3 Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) WBF Dylan Acevedo-Switzer (Hofstra), 4:11 133: #14 Michael McGee (Arizona State) wins by forfeit. 141: #15 Jesse Vasquez (Arizona State) dec. Justin Hoyle (Hofstra), 14-9 149: #5 Kyle Parco (Arizona State) tech fall Michael Leandrou (Hofstra), 17-0 (4:40) 157: #3 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) tech fall Joe McGinty (Hofstra), 18-3 (4:17) 165: #6 Anthony Valenca (Arizona State) WBF Mario Biancamano (Hofstra), 0:27 174: Zane Coleman (Arizona State) dec. Ross McFarland (Hofstra), 5-2 184: #25 Charles Small (Hofstra) maj. dec. Jacob Ortiz (Arizona State), 10-1 197: #8 Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State) maj. dec. #25 Trey Rogers (Hofstra), 14-3 285: #3 Cohlton Schulz (Arizona State) maj. dec. #20 Zachary Knighton-Ward (Hofstra), 12-3 Boxscore: #22 Northern Iowa 33, Hofstra 9 125: Jacob Moon (Hofstra) wins by forfeit. 133: #31 Kyle Biscoglia (Northern Iowa) WBF Dylan Acevedo-Switzer (Hofstra), 2:00 141: #26 Cael Happel (Northern Iowa) dec. Justin Hoyle (Hofstra), 10-4 149: Colin Realbuto (Northern Iowa) WBF Michael Leandrou (Hofstra), 4:56 157: Cayd Lara (Northern Iowa) WBF Joe McGinty (Hofstra), 3:35 165: #23 Austin Yant (Northern Iowa) dec. Ricky Stamm (Hofstra), 6-0 174: Pat Schoenfelder (Northern Iowa) dec. Ross McFarland (Hofstra), 6-2 184: #4 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) dec. #25 Charles Small (Hofstra), 10-3 197: #26 Trey Rogers (Hofstra) dec. Noah Glaser (Northern Iowa), 5-3 285: Tyrell Gordon (Northern Iowa) dec. #20 Zachary Knighton-Ward (Hofstra), 4-2 This was a tough outing for Hofstra. They are not afraid to compete against the best in the nation, though. If this is not motivation to keep improving, I'm not sure what is. I'm not worried about The Pride. They have a handful of guys that will be EIWA placers, and they have a few guys who can go on a run and upset ranked guys. Coach Papadatos will have these guys peaking when it matters. This ain't his first rodeo. Lehigh (#21) The Mountain Hawks took part in the Collegiate Duals in Niceville, Florida. Connor McGonagle (#33 – 141) earned his way into the rankings with a win over Dresden Simon (#11) of CMU. At 157lb, Josh Humphreys (#9) had a great outing. He secured majors over Johnny Lovett (#19) of CMU and 2X All-American Kaleb Young (#12) of Iowa. He then pinned Jarrett Jacques (#23) of Missouri. Jordan Wood (#8 – 285) went 2-1 with wins over Matt Stencel (#9) of CMU and Zach Elam (#15) of Missouri. His lone loss was to Tony Cassioppi (#6). Manzona Bryant (#30) defeated 2020 NWCA All-American Max Murin (#12) of Iowa. Boxscore: No. 17 Lehigh 25, Central Michigan 6 125 – Jaret Lane (Lehigh) dec. Brock Bergelin (CMU) 4-3 133 – Ja'Kerion Merritt (CMU) dec. Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) 3-2 141 – Connor McGonagle (Lehigh) dec. Dresden Simon (CMU) 7-5 149 – Corbyn Munson (CMU) dec. Manzona Bryant IV (Lehigh) 12-9 157 – Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) major dec. Johnny Lovett (CMU) 10-1 165 – Brian Meyer (Lehigh) dec. Tracy Hubbard (CMU) 3-1, sv 174 – Jake Logan (Lehigh) dec. Bret Fedewa (CMU) 5-3 184 – AJ Burkhart (Lehigh) dec. Ben Cushman (CMU) 8-7 197 – JT Davis (Lehigh) dec. Aaron Bolo (CMU) 3-2 285 – Jordan Wood (Lehigh) dec. Matt Stencel (CMU) 3-1, sv Boxscore: No. 1 Iowa 28, No. 17 Lehigh 7 125: Spencer Lee (Iowa) major dec. Jaret Lane (Lehigh) 8-0 133: Austin DeSanto (Iowa) tech fall Satoshi Abe (Lehigh) 20-5, 3:59 141: Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) dec. Connor McGonagle (Lehigh) 8-3 149: Manzona Bryant IV (Lehigh) dec. Max Murin (Iowa) 7-5, sv 157: Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) major dec. Kaleb Young (Iowa) 11-2 165: Alex Marinelli (Iowa) dec. Brian Meyer (Lehigh) 6-2 174: Nelson Brands (Iowa) dec. Jake Logan (Lehigh) 3-2 184: Abe Assad (Iowa) major dec. AJ Burkhart (Lehigh) 16-5 197: Jacob Warner (Iowa) dec. JT Davis (Lehigh) 6-1 285: Anthony Cassioppi (Iowa) dec. Jordan Wood (Lehigh) 3-2 Boxscore: No. 10 Missouri 26, No. 17 Lehigh 9 125: Noah Surtin (Missouri) dec. Jaret Lane (Lehigh) 10-4 133: Connor Brown (Missouri) dec. Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) 7-4 141: Allan Hart (Missouri) dec. Connor McGonagle (Lehigh) 8-3 149: Josh Edmond (Missouri) dec Manzona Bryant IV (Lehigh) 10-4, sv 157: Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) Fall Jarrett Jacques (Missouri) 3:31 165: Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) major dec. Brian Meyer (Lehigh) 13-5 174: Peyton Mocco (Missouri) dec. Jake Logan (Lehigh) 6-4 184: Jeremiah Kent (Missouri) dec. AJ Burkhart (Lehigh) 6-2 197: Rocky Elam (Missouri) major dec. JT Davis (Lehigh) 12-3 285: Jordan Wood (Lehigh) dec. Zach Elam (Missouri) 2-1 The Mountain Hawks are a very solid team. To me, they had a great team effort overall while at the duals. Malyke Hines did not compete, which hurt them a little. Lehigh, in my opinion, is one of the best teams at peaking in March. This team will be ready by the time March arrives. Every year they have a few guys who by far out-wrestle their seed. I do not expect this year to be any different. Long Island The Sharks hosted a dual meet for the first time this season. They welcomed the Bloomsburg Huskies. The following week, they competed in the Wilkes Open. James Johnston gave the Sharks the first victory of the night at 165lb. James Langan (184) and Nunzio Crowley (197) both earned decisions in their matches. At 174lb, Ryan Ferro had the only bonus point victory. Boxscore: Bloomsburg 24 vs LIU Sharks 13 125: Bronson Garber (BLOOM) def. Robbie Sagaris (LIU), dec. 6-5 133: Cole Rhone (BLOOM) def. Bryce Cockrell (LIU), tech fall, 19-1 141: Josh Mason (BLOOM) def. Chris Gomez (LIU), fall (1:43) 149: Cade Balestrini (BLOOM) def. Drew Witham (LIU), dec. 4-0 157: Alex Carida (BLOOM) def. Rhise Royster (LIU), maj. dec. 11-2 165: James Johnston (LIU) def. Cody Harrrison (BLOOM), dec. 6-4 174: Ryan Ferro (LIU) def. Matt Benedetti (BLOOM), maj. dec.12-4 184: James Langan (LIU) def. Buridano Stolfi (BLOOM), dec. 2-1 197: Nunzio Crowley (LIU) def. David Tuttle (BLOOM), dec. 2-1 285: Shane Noonan (BLOOM) def. Tim Nagosky (LIU), dec. 3-2 At the Wilkes Open, the Sharks had 4 champions. Bryce Cockrell (133), Drew Witham (149), James Johnston (157), and Nunzio Crowley (197) all wrestled to a gold medal. Long Island was in this dual. Even though they dropped the first five matches, they rallied to win four straight. And, hey, if two of those one-point decisions they dropped go the other way, they win this one. I know – “shoulda, coulda, woulda” but this was a good performance by LIU. Not only is it good to see them competitive, but they seem to be improving as the season progresses. The newest team in the EIWA is looking good heading into the second semester. Navy – no action last week Penn – no action last week Princeton – no action last week Sacred Heart The Pioneers hosted Binghamton to a dual on Saturday. At 125lb, Kyle Randall earned a major decision to start off the dual. The other win of the night came from Nick Palumbo at 157lb. Boxscore: Binghamton 39, Sacred Heart 7 125 – Kyle Randall (SHU) MD Nick Curley (BU), 15-4 133 – HM Anthony Sobotker (BU) WBF Anthony Petrillo (SHU), 3:20 141 – Ryan Anderson (BU) TF Jordan Carlucci (SHU), 18-0 149 – Nick Lombard (BU) MD Cole McGill (SHU), 12-4 157 – Nick Palumbo (SHU) Tyler Martin (BU), 2-1 165 – Brevin Cassella (BU) WBF Scotty Jarosz (SHU), 4:59 174 – Jacob Nolan (BU) WBF Robert Hetherman (SHU), 0:58 184 – Sam DePrez (BU) dec. Joe Accousti (SHU), 3-1 197 – No. 12 Lou DePrez (BU) WBF Dante Del Bonis (SHU), 5:52 Hwt – No. 22 Joe Doyle (BU) dec. Mark Blokh (SHU), 7-2 As I mentioned before, Binghamton is a very good team. This was a tough result for Sacred Heart, as I'm sure they expected a closer score than what occurred. If there is anything we know about this team, it's that they will bounce back. Look for them to keep up the positive results after the holiday season.

Matt Dernlan coaching Binghamton University (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The sport of wrestling and Rudis are synonymous; The two go together like peanut butter and jelly, or wrestlers and perseverance. Perseverance; it's a word that every wrestler doesn't just cling to, but one that defines their very character, a word engrained in the very fiber of their being. Think I'm being dramatic - you must not be a wrestler. According to Oxford Language, to persevere means, "to continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no prospect of success." Matt Dernlan, a fellow wrestler, coach, role model, father, husband and friend to many, is doing exactly that - he is persevering. When what began as a fever and chills, turned into a loss of speech and a change in behavior was quickly accompanied by severe pain in his chest and back, Matt's wife ,Carie, the mother of their 3 beautiful children, knew it was time to head to the ER. After being transported to a brain and spine unit, the medical team discovered 15-20 brain lesions on Matt's brain and diagnosed him with blood sepsis. A few days later, Matt lost mobility of his right leg. As he continued to battle the intensifying pain in his upper back and chest, Matt soon realized it was no longer just his right leg that he lacked feeling in, but both legs became completely immobile and numb. Thankfully, according to Matt, "A very insistent and intuitive Infectious Disease Doctor fast-tracked him to the head of the line for a scan of his entire spine." Less than 24 hours after his scans, Matt was rushed off to have a very critical surgery - one that would hopefully restore feeling in his legs and his hands, which at that point had also become immobile. Matt's surgery involved cutting open his back to gain access to his spinal cord, cutting it in two and flushing out all of the infection. A sample of that fluid would later reveal that the bacteria streptococcus was the cause of his severe pain and illness. It was an illness so rare the hospital informed the Dernlan's Matt's case was one of 200 cases reported in the last 100 years! While under close watch in the ICU, Matt's chest pain continued to intensify; this led to more scans. An abscess was found behind his heart which meant another surgery. Because of the location of the abscess and the procedure the doctors performed, Matt was put on a feeding tube. Despite facing and overcoming multiple medical anomalies, Matt still wasn't in the clear; After 7 days in the ICU, Matt was taken back to OSU's Brain and Spine unit where he stayed for 13 days with no motor function below his chest. On October 14th, Matt was transferred to Dodd Rehabilitation Hospital, where he participated in 3-4 hours of rehabilitation and therapy a day and had round-the-clock medical care. The medical costs began to pile up, but Matt wasn't finished yet, and he's not finished now either. After months of living in a hospital, away from his children and his wife, on November 19th, Matt was finally released to be with his family and continue his fight to overcome this very rare disease and difficult recovery. In the weeks since, Matt has focused on becoming independent again, regaining his strength both physically and mentally, and regaining motor function in both of his legs. Matt was told it may take months to a year before doctors will know just how much of a recovery he will make, yet, he continues to push himself forward and makes gains every day. He is committed to the best recovery he can achieve. His family and friends have come together to create a GoFundMe to help mitigate the costs of his medical care and continued rehabilitation. Matt Dernlan is well known in the wrestling community for many reasons - He was a great coach, acting as an assistant at Penn State and successful head coach at both Clarion and Binghamton before he joined Rudis as the Chief of Staff. You may have also heard him on the Rudis Wrestling Podcast with co-host Jason Bryant. Matt has long been a voice for wrestlers everywhere, helping them to perfect the craft in his 7+ years of coaching D1 athletes, and continuing to grow the sport and contribute to the wrestling community on and off the air. While he typically was the one to rally around his athletes, it is now our turn to rally around Matt and his beautiful family. All donations made to his GoFundMe will be used to help assist with medical bills and purchase items needed to make his home wheelchair accessible. While I recognize making a monetary donation is not always feasible, I do ask that you keep Matt and his family in your thoughts and prayers. I know first hand the adjustment from hospital to home under new and ever-changing circumstances, is a difficult one, and at times completely overwhelming. However, our family is also well aware of the power of prayer and community. When the wrestling community came together to help support my husband, Richard Perry, it was the messages of encouragement, the prayers, the support that made those dark days, the difficult ones that seemed never-ending, somehow better. It was because of this community we kept fighting when we felt we had no more fight to give. I am praying that Matt and his family, his children, who will watch their father overcome some of the most difficult of life's obstacles, are reminded that they are never alone because of the support and love the wrestling community will show them. I know this community is a special one, it's a tight knit "we got your back" kind of family, let's remind the Dernlan's just how much support they have. Again, this is the link to Matt's GoFundMe page.

Central Michigan 149 lber Corbyn Munson (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Bloomsburg: The Huskies traveled to Duke University, where they had a double-header against The Citadel and Duke. The Huskies went 1-1 on the weekend, defeating The Citadel 21-15, and coming up short to Duke, 29-9. Alex Carida (157), the lone wrestler to sweep both of his matches, won in nail-biting fashion. Carida posted a 5-4 decision over Dazjon Casto of The Citadel, and a 5-2 decision over Wade Ungar of Duke. Buffalo: On Saturday, the Bulls swept their matches against Bucknell University and Lock Haven, defeating Bucknell 18-15 and Lock Haven 21-10. Following the sweep, the Bulls moved to a season record of 5-4. Three wrestlers went 2-0 on the day, reigning victorious over both opponents. Ben Freeman (141) defeated Noah Levett of Bucknell 6-4 and Nick Stonecheck of Lockhaven 10-4. John Arceri (149) won by decision over Kolby DePron of Bucknell in sudden victory 6-4, and by decision over Connor Eck of Lock Haven 6-4. Peter Acciardi (184) captured the win over Logan Deacetis of Bucknell 9-8, and Colin Fegley of Lock Haven 4-1. The Bulls will wrestle Clarion University on Thursday, December 23rd at 7:00pm in Alumni Arena. Central Michigan: The Chippewas traveled to the Journeyman Collegiate Duals, where they placed 5th overall in the red pool. On day one, the Chippewas fell short to Lehigh 35-6 in their first match and Iowa 44-0 in the next round. On day two, Central Michigan topped Binghamton 26-11. The following wrestlers defeated their opponents, helping to secure a fifth-place finish: Brock Bergelin (125) by tech fall over Nick Curley 16-0, Vince Perez (133) by FFT, Dresden Simon (141) by decision over Ryan Anderson 5-2, Corbyn Munson (149) by decision over Nick Lombard 6-5, Johnny Lovett (157) by fall over Tyler Martin in 3:52, and Bret Fedewa by decision over NCAA qualifier Jacob Nolan 2-1. Clarion: The Golden Eagles made the trip to Reno, Nevada, where they competed at the Reno Tournament of Champions. The Golden Eagles had two wrestlers reach the finals, and left with one champion. Freshman, Joey Fischer (125) fell short to Brandon Kaylor of Oregon State in the finals 4-3. However, Cameron Pine (165) captured the title after defeating Matt Olguin of Oregon State 7-4. Clarion will be back in action on Thursday, December 23rd, as they take on The University at Buffalo in Alumni Arena at 7:00pm. Edinboro: The Fighting Scots fell short to Kent State on Tuesday evening, losing 30-6. Two wrestlers came out on top, adding another victory to their season record. Gabe Willochell (141) defeated Louis Newell 8-4, and Max Millin (HWT) won by decision over Jacob Cover in sudden victory 5-3. George Mason: The Patriots traveled to Gardner-Webb, where they went 1-2 in dual meets. The Patriots came up short against Ohio University 27-9 and Garnder-Webb 22-14. George Mason ended their weekend by defeating Davidson 25-18. Alex Madrigal (149), the lone wrestler to go 3-0. He beat his opponents in dominating fashion. He won by decision over Alec Hagan of Ohio 9-3, by tech fall over Corbin Dion of Gardner-Webb 22-7, and another tech fall over David Loniewski of Davidson 21-4. Three additional wrestlers in the Patriots lineup went 2-1 on the weekend. Kaden Cassidy (141) had a win over Trevon Majette of Gardner-Webb 5-3 and pinned Gavin Damasco of Davidson in 4:13. Tyler Kocak (165) was victorious over Sean O'Dwyer of Ohio 5-2 and Jaden Hardrick of Davidson 4-2. Logan Messer (174) won by decision over Evan Schenk of Garnder-Webb 9-5 and tech falled Steven Newell of Davidson 18-2. The Patriots will return to action on Saturday, January 1st and Sunday, January 2nd, at the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Kent State: The Golden Flashes traveled to Northern Illinois, where they competed against Northern Illinois, South Dakota State, and Harper. The Golden Flashes went 1-2 in dual meets, falling short to Northern Illinois 20-12 and South Dakota State 33-6. Kent came out on top over Harper 39-10. Jake Ferri (125) went 3-0, defeating Bryce West of Northern Illinois 9-6, Tanner Jordan of South Dakota State 6-4, and received a forfeit from Harper. Brendon Fenton (133) also went 3-0 this weekend, winning by decision over Mikey Kaminski of Northern Illinois in sudden victory 3-1, Caleb Gross of South Dakota State 5-2, and Tuvsin Zunnbayan of Harper 4-2. Tyler Bates (197) was 2-1 on the weekend, reigning victorious over Tristin Gauman of Northern Illinois 3-1 and Ethan Shedbalker of Harper by fall in 1:09. The Golden Flashes won big over Edinboro on Tuesday evening, defeating the Fighting Scots 30-6. The Golden Flashes will return to action on Friday, January 7th, at 7:00pm against Cleveland State University. Lock Haven: The Eagles traveled to the Bucknell Tri-Meet, where they competed against Bucknell University and The University at Buffalo, falling short to both opponents. The Eagles were defeated by Buffalo 21-10 and Bucknell 21-15. Although the Eagles came up short against two tough opponents, three wrestlers went a perfect 2-0, defeating both opponents. Anthony Noto (125) won by decision over Tristan Daugherty of Buffalo 6-2 and Brandon Seidman of Bucknell by fall in 4:48. Ben Barton (157) defeated Ty Raines of Buffalo 6-1 and Nick Delp of Bucknell 5-1. Isaac Reid (HWT) won by decision over Toby Cahill of Buffalo 8-4 and by major decision over Luke Niemeyer of Bucknell 11-2. The Eagles are slated to compete on Friday, January 7th, at the David Lehman F&M Open in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Northern Illinois: The Huskies went 2-1 this weekend, defeating Kent State 20-12 and Harper 42-6, before falling short against South Dakota State 26-9. Two wrestlers went 3-0 on the weekend. Izzak Olejnik (165) had wins over Najee Lockett of Kent State 10-2, Aaron Taylor by fall in :38, and Tanner Cook of South Dakota State 8-3. Brit Wilson (184) defeated Colin McCracken of Kent State 10-2, Ethan Shedbalker by fall in 2:10, and Cade King of South Dakota State 5-2. Two additional Huskies went 2-1 on the weekend. Anthony Gibson (157) was victorious over Enrique Mungaia of Kent State 9-4 and Kenny O'Neill of South Dakota State 4-0. Mason Kauffman won by decision over Michael Ferree of Kent State 6-5 and by tech fall over Sam Dombos 16-1. Ohio University: The Bobcats traveled to Gardner-Webb, where they defeated George Mason University 27-9 and Gardner-Webb 27-9, adding two more dual wins to their record. Four Bobcats went 2–0 in competition, defeating both opponents. Oscar Sanchez (125) won by decision over Ben Monn of George Mason 8-4 and Aedyn Concepcion of Gardner-Webb 7-4. Jordan Slivka (157) defeated Avery Bassett of George Mason by major decision 8-0 and Taylor Parks of Gardner-Webb 2-0. Sal Perrine (174) won a nail-biter against Logan Messer of George Mason 4-3 and by fall over Evan Schenk of Gardner-Webb in 3:57. Zayne Lehman (184) was victorious over Kyle Davis of George Mason by major decision 10-2 and Jha'Quan Anderson of Garnder-Webb 3-1.

Beau Bartlett (left) and Jacob Warner (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Big Ten correspondent Cody Goodwin recaps the biggest results from around the Big Ten Conference - this time, on a Wednesday. Nebraska - The Huskers were supposed to wrestle South Dakota State, but didn't "due to COVID-related illnesses within the Nebraska program." A reminder, now that we've reached the unofficial midway point of the '21-22 season, to stay safe, stay vigilant, and be smart. We've had a few COVID-19 hiccups through the first few months this season. Here's hoping we have even fewer over the next few. Iowa - The Hawkeyes won the Red Pool at the Journeymen Collegiate Wrestling Duals, going 3-0 with wins over Central Michigan (44-0), Lehigh (28-7) and N.C. State (19-15). On the whole, Iowa wrestlers went 24-6 overall in individual matchups, with nine bonus-point wins. They're now 6-0 this season. Iowa was carried mostly by the front- and back-end of its lineup: Spencer Lee (125), Austin DeSanto (133), Jaydin Eierman (141), Jacob Warner (197), Tony Cassioppi (285), plus Alex Marinelli (165), went a combined 18-0 with seven bonus-point victories. The other four weights went a combined 6-6 - and four of those losses came against N.C. State in the Red Pool final, in a spectacular, intense, contentious dual. Still, the Hawkeyes prevailed, and will take a 24-dual win streak into 2022. Lee made his season debut, went 3-0 and outscored his opponents 31-1, which included two wins over top-12 guys. DeSanto scored two technical falls and a major decision while outscoring his opponents 53-13. Eierman notched two come-from-behind wins, over Central Michigan's Dresden Simon (down 11-2, won 13-12), and N.C. State's Ryan Jack (down 5-2, won 7-6). Abe Assad rejoined the lineup at 184 and went 2-1 with a major and a pin. Iowa also went 5-2 in matches decided by two points or fewer. Penn State - The Nittany Lions won the Blue Pool at the Journeymen Collegiate Wrestling Duals, going 3-0 with wins over Northern Iowa (29-9), Cornell (21-16) and Arizona State (29-10). On the whole, Penn State wrestlers went 20-10 overall in individual matchups, with 13 bonus-point wins. They're now 8-0 this season. Penn State was carried mostly by its heavier weights: Carter Starocci (174), Aaron Brooks (184), Max Dean (197) and Greg Kerkvliet (285) went a combined 12-0 with eight bonus-point wins. Those guys were especially crucial in the Nittany Lions' dual against Cornell on Monday night. The Big Red won four of the first six weights - highlighted by a pin from Vito Arujau at 125 and a major from Yianni Diakomihalis at 149 - to lead 16-8, then Starocci, Brooks, Dean and Kerkvliet all won out to give Penn State a 21-16 win. Roman Bravo-Young (133) and Nick Lee (141) also both went 3-0 - RBY recorded a pin and a major, Lee registered three majors, outscoring his opponents 45-10. So, similar to Iowa, that's six weights that went 18-0 with 13 bonus-point wins. The other four weights went a combined 2-10. Beau Bartlett picked up both wins at 149, including a gutsy 3-1 overtime win over Kyle Parco. Here's a thought: How much fun would it have been if, I don't know, Iowa and Penn State would've wrestled on Tuesday to decide who actually was the best team? Guess we'll have to wait until January 28, when the Nittany Lions come to Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Maybe Cael Sanderson should bring the trophy his team won, sit it next to the trophy Iowa won, and the winner that night in Iowa City can keep them both. Purdue - Lost to Iowa State, 23-13, in a dual at Humboldt High School in Iowa, which is the hometown of both Kevin Dresser, the Cyclones' head coach, and Tony Ersland, Purdue's head coach. Dresser and Ersland both won two state titles for Humboldt (Dresser in 1980-81, Ersland in 1991-92) both wrestling at Iowa. They, with the help of Humboldt high school coach Chad Beaman, started working to schedule this dual once Dresser was hired back at Iowa State ahead of the '17-18 season. They wanted to do it last year, but COVID-19 pushed it back a year. With almost 2,000 people crammed into Humboldt's small gym, the Boilermakers raced out to an 11-0 lead thanks to major decisions from both Devin Schroder (10-0 over Corey Cabanban) and Parker Filius (14-2 over Charlie Klepps), plus an insane overtime victory for Matthew Ramos, 5-3 over Ramazan Attasauov at 133. Two matches later, the Cyclones led 11-10. Jarrett Degen beat Trey Kruse, 20-1, and David Carr pinned - yes, pinned, in a tilt - Kendall Coleman, who threw his headgear afterward, which docked the Boilermakers a team point. Those results basically swung the dual in Iowa State's favor. After Hayden Lohrey's 5-3 win over Austin Kraisser at 165, the Cyclones won the final four matches, a run highlighted by Joel Devine's 4-1 win over Gerrit Nijenhuis and Yonger Bastida's 6-4 win over Thomas Penola, his second-straight victory over a top-10 opponent. Marcus Coleman added an 8-2 win over Max Lyon at 184, and Sam Schuyler closed it with a 2-0 win over Michael Woulfe at heavyweight. Michigan State - Bullied Baldwin Wallace, 37-9, and Olivet, 41-0. The Spartans won 18-of-20 matches across both duals, and seven guys went 2-0: Rayvon Foley (133), Eddie Homrock (149), Caleb Fish (165), Nathan Jimenez (174), Layne Malczewski (184), Cam Caffey (197) and Brad Wilton (285). Chase Saldate and Jaden Enriquez both won their matchups at 157, and old Big Ten friend Jacob Decatur, a former Buckeye who's now at Baldwin Wallace, beat Julian Saldana, 3-2, at 125 pounds. Idle Teams: Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Rutgers, Wisconsin.

(photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Today, the Midlands Twitter account announced they there were canceling the 2021 tournament due to health and safety concerns. It will not be rescheduled. This was the note posted on Twitter.

Penn State's Max Dean (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Day Two Fifth-Place Matches Central Michigan 26 Binghamton 11 125 - Brock Bergelin (Central Michigan) tech Nick Curley (Binghamton) 16-0 133 - Vince Perez (Central Michigan) FFT 141 - Dresden Simon (Central Michigan) dec Ryan Anderson (Binghamton) 5-2 149 - Corbyn Munson (Central Michigan) dec Nick Lombard (Binghamton) 6-5 157 - Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan) fall Tyler Martin (Binghamton) 3:52 165 - Brevin Cassella (Binghamton) maj Tracy Hubbard (Central Michigan) 10-1 174 - Bret Fedewa (Central Michigan) dec Jacob Nolan (Binghamton) 2-1 184 - Cory Day (Binghamton) maj Ben Cushman (Central Michigan) 14-4 197 - Louie DePrez (Binghamton) dec Aaron Bolo (Central Michigan) 8-4 285 - Joe Doyle (Binghamton) tech Cade Dallwitz (Central Michigan) 18-0 Northern Iowa 33 Hofstra 9 125 - Jacob Moon (Hofstra) FFT 133 - Kyle Biscoglia (Northern Iowa) fall Dylan Acevedo (Hofstra) 2:00 141 - Cael Happel (Northern Iowa) dec Justin Hoyle (Hofstra) 10-4 149 - Colin Realbuto (Northern Iowa) fall Michael Leandrou (Hofstra) 4:56 157 - Cayd Lara (Northern Iowa) fall Joey McGinty (Hofstra) 3:35 165 - Austin Yant (Northern Iowa) dec Ricky Stamm (Hofstra) 6-0 174 - Pat Schoenfelder (Northern Iowa) dec Ross McFarland (Hofstra) 6-2 184 - Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) dec Charles Small (Hofstra) 10-3 197 - Trey Rogers (Hofstra) dec Noah Glaser (Northern Iowa) 5-3 285 - Tyrell Gordon (Northern Iowa) dec Zachary Knighton-Ward (Hofstra) 4-2 Third Place Bouts Cornell 18 Virginia Tech 15 125 - Vito Arujau (Cornell) maj Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) 10-2 133 - Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech) dec Dom LaJoie (Cornell) 9-3 141 - Collin Gerardi (Virginia Tech) dec Cole Handlovic (Cornell) 6-0 149 - Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) tech Kylan Montgomery (Virginia Tech) 19-3 157 - Connor Brady (Virginia Tech) dec Colton Yapoujian (Cornell) 2-1 165 - Julian Ramirez (Cornell) dec Clayton Ulrey (Virginia Tech) 4-2 174 - Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) dec Chris Foca (Cornell) 3-1TB 184 - Jonathan Loew (Cornell) dec Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) 7-5SV 197 - Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) dec Andy Smith (Virginia Tech) 3-2 285 - Nathan Traxler (Virginia Tech) dec Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) 5-3 Missouri 26 Lehigh 9 125 - Noah Surtin (Missouri) dec Jaret Lane (Lehigh) 10-4 133 - Connor Brown (Missouri) dec Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) 7-4 141 - Allan Hart (Missouri) dec Connor McGonagle (Lehigh) 8-3 149 - Josh Edmond (Missouri) dec Manzona Bryant (Lehigh) 10-4SV 157 - Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) fall Jarrett Jacques (Missouri) 3:31 165 - Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) maj Brian Meyer (Lehigh) 13-5 174 - Peyton Mocco (Missouri) dec Jake Logan (Lehigh) 6-4 184 - Jeremiah Kent (Missouri) dec AJ Burkhart (Lehigh) 6-2 197 - Rocky Elam (Missouri) maj JT Davis (Lehigh) 12-3 285 - Jordan Wood (Lehigh) dec Zach Elam (Missouri) 2-1 Pool Championship Iowa 19 NC State 15 125 - Spencer Lee (Iowa) dec Jakob Camacho (NC State) 6-1 133 - Austin DeSanto (Iowa) maj Kai Orine (NC State) 16-7 141 - Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) dec Ryan Jack (NC State) 7-6 149 - Tariq Wilson (NC State) dec Cole Siebrecht (Iowa) 7-3 157 - Ed Scott (NC State) fall Kaleb Young (Iowa) 1:10 165 - Alex Marinelli (Iowa) dec Donald Cates (NC State) 7-2 174 - Hayden Hidlay (NC State) dec Nelson Brands (Iowa) 4-2 184 - Trent Hidlay (NC State) dec Abe Assad (Iowa) 6-0 197 - Jacob Warner (Iowa) dec Isaac Trumble (NC State) 3-2 285 - Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) dec Tyrie Houghton (NC State) 6-2 Penn State 29 Arizona State 10 125 - Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) maj Jakob Campbell (Penn State) 18-7 133 - Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) dec Michael McGee (Arizona State) 6-2 141 - Nick Lee (Penn State) maj Jesse Vasquez (Arizona State) 14-3 149 - Beau Bartlett (Penn State) dec Kyle Parco (Arizona State) 3-1SV 157 - Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) dec Tony Negron (Penn State) 8-3 165 - Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) dec Creighton Edsell (Penn State) 10-5 174 - Carter Starocci (Penn State) tech Zane Coleman (Arizona State) 17-2 184 - Aaron Brooks (Penn State) fall Josh Nummer (Arizona State) 1:48 197 - Max Dean (Penn State) maj Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State) 10-1 285 - Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) maj Chad Porter (Arizona State) 9-0

NC State's Kevin Jack against Iowa's Brody Grothus (photo courtesy of NC State athletics) February 22nd, 2016 #4 NC State 21 #2 Iowa 17 Setting the Stage: This dual meet took place as a part of the "National Duals" series of matches, intended to be like college football bowl games and matched up some of the top non-conference schools, in a single, stand-alone dual. Iowa came into the match with a perfect 16-0 record. After an 18-16 win over Oklahoma State (in Kinnick Stadium) in their first outing of the season, the Hawkeyes were not seriously tested. The only other team to break into the "teens" in scoring against Iowa was South Dakota State, who Iowa defeated 28-15 (while forfeiting 197 lbs). This was a year where the Big Ten schedule matrix did not pair Iowa up with then-#1 Penn State. The Hawkeyes were carried by their lightweight tandem, #2 Thomas Gilman at 125 and #3 Cory Clark at 133, along with #2 Brandon Sorensen. NC State carried a ridiculous 22-1 dual record into Carver-Hawkeye Arena. A couple months earlier, head coach Pat Popolizio led his squad into Stillwater, for a win over his alma mater Oklahoma State. The only blemish on NC State's 2015-16 resume was a thrilling 19-14 loss to conference rival Virginia Tech a few weeks earlier. The Wolfpack were led by two-time returning NCAA champion Nick Gwiazdowski at heavyweight. The selection process for the National Duals was highly controversial since it appeared that Virginia Tech was the most likely opponent for the Hawkeyes. There was still lingering bad blood between the programs as Hawkeye head coach Tom Brands spent two years at the helm for the Hokies, before spurning them for his alma mater. That led to then-Hokie head coach Kevin Dresser publicly calling out Brands and the Iowa team. One way or another, NC State was selected and traveled to Iowa City as heavy underdogs, despite a #4 national ranking. The match: 125 : #2 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) maj #20 Sean Fausz (NC State) 15-5 133 - #3 Cory Clark (Iowa) dec #30 Jamal Morris (NC State) 9-3 141 - #3 Kevin Jack (NC State) tech Brody Grothus (Iowa) 18-3 149 - #2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) maj Beau Donahue (Iowa) 13-4 157 - #4 Tommy Gantt (NC State) maj #17 Edwin Cooper (Iowa) 13-5 165 - #6 Max Rohskopf (NC State) dec Patrick Rhodes (Iowa) 6-3 174 - #10 Alex Meyer (Iowa) dec Nick Hall (NC State) 4-2 184 - #17 Pete Renda (NC State) dec #9 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) 7-3 197 - #4 Nathan Burak (Iowa) dec #16 Michael Boykin (NC State) 9-4 285 - #1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State) InjDef #6 Sam Stoll (Iowa) The Aftermath: The win marked the first time an ACC school had defeated Iowa…ever. It was also the first time any team had traveled to Iowa and Oklahoma State and beaten both in the same season. NC State had a substandard NCAA Tournament and ended up in 11th place. Gwiazdowski fell in an epic final to Kyle Snyder, while Renda was third and Gantt eighth. Iowa, behind three NCAA runner's-up (Gilman, Clark, Sorensen), finished fifth with 81 points. Also on the podium were Nathan Burak (4th) and Alex Meyers and Sam Brooks (both 8th). November 22nd, 2019 #5 Arizona State 19 #1 Penn State 18 Setting the Stage: The fruits of Zeke Jones' recruiting labors from the Class of 2015 were starting to pay off as a veteran Sun Devil team combined with some talented freshmen joined forces for an imposing squad. Even so, Arizona State didn't really give off any hints that they were about to slay the Penn State giant. In the first event of the year, the Journeymen Duals, Arizona State only defeated Purdue by three points. They came into their dual with Penn State 4-0 after dominating a pair of non-DI opponents. Cael Sanderson's team headed west riding a 60-match dual winning streak that dated back to the 2015 season. Though the Nittany Lions had lost two NCAA Champions to graduation (Jason Nolf and Bo Nickal), they still had a loaded team that featured past champions like Vincenzo Joseph, Mark Hall, and Anthony Cassar, along with budding stars Roman Bravo-Young and Nick Lee. The Arizona State trip was the second dual meet of the year for the Nittany Lions, who had shut out Navy, 45-0. Later at the Army West Point Invite, Penn State came away with four champions. The match: 125 - Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) maj Brody Teske (Penn State) 19-7 133 - #3 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) dec #11 Josh Kramer (Arizona State) 7-6 141 - #3 Nick Lee (Penn State) tech Corey Crooks (Arizona State) 18-3 149 - #21 Josh Maruca (Arizona State) dec Jarod Verkleeren (Penn State) 5-4 157 - Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) dec Bo Pipher (Penn State) 9-4 165 - #1 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) dec Josh Shields (Arizona State) 7-4 174 - #1 Mark Hall (Penn State) maj Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) 11-3 184 - #1 Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) FFT 197 - Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State) dec Kyle Conel (Penn State) 10-4 285 - #1 Anthony Cassar (Penn State) dec Tanner Hall (Arizona State) 9-5 The aftermath: Two weeks after defeating Penn State, Arizona State finished third at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. About a month later, at their next dual meet, the Sun Devils were knocked off by Ohio State 17-16. Late in February, ASU got stunned by Lehigh, 19-14. The day before the Lehigh loss, news broke of a suspension for two-time NCAA champion Zahid Valencia due to a failed drug test. Speaking of Lehigh, Penn State dominated their in-state rivals 23-10 in the first match post-loss. A modest six-match winning streak was then halted by Iowa in a memorable dual in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. In their final Big Ten dual of the season, the Nittany Lions hosted Ohio State at the Bryce Jordan Center and grabbed a 20-16 win. The Arizona State match also occurred before freshman Aaron Brooks was pulled from redshirt. Once Kyle Conel went down via injury, Shakur Rasheed moved to 197 lbs and Brooks was needed to fill in at 184. This ended up being the season that will be famously remembered as having the 2020 NCAA Tournament canceled due to the Covid outbreak. Penn State stars Vincenzo Joseph and Mark Hall were not able to pursue additional titles, along with five other teammates and six ASU wrestlers that qualified. Since the 2010-11 season, Arizona State is one of only two non-Big Ten teams to defeat Penn State in dual competition (Oklahoma State/2014-15). Though this dual was only two years ago, only six starters are expected to compete today. ASU (Courtney, Teemer, A Valencia, Norfleet). PSU (Bravo-Young, Lee).

Cohlton Schultz and Greg Kerkvliet at the 2021 NCAA Championships (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) After one day of action from Niceville, Florida, the finals of the pool competition have been set. As expected, top-ranked Iowa was not tested by either #21 Lehigh or Central Michigan and cruised to the finals of the Red Pool. Meeting the Hawkeyes will be #5 NC State, who overcame #10 Missouri in the best dual of the day. A pair of second-year freshmen upset top-15 opponents and helped the Wolfpack to victory. The Blue Pool featured #6 Arizona State, who crushed Hofstra and Virginia Tech, to earn a spot in Tuesday's final match. #2 Penn State relied on their upperweight superstars to comeback from a 16-8 deficit after the 165 lb bout. Monday's action sets the stage for a meeting between #1 Iowa State and #5 NC State in one pool, with #2 Penn State taking on #6 Arizona State in the other. Both duals are jam-packed with great matchups, and each could come down to the wire. Before getting into our preview of the final bouts, here's a schedule of the day's action. All times are Eastern. 2pm - Central Michigan vs. Binghamton, Hofstra vs. Northern Iowa 4pm - Missouri vs. Lehigh, Virginia Tech vs. Cornell 6pm - Iowa vs. NC State 8pm - Penn State vs. Arizona State #1 Iowa vs. #5 NC State 125 - #1 Spencer Lee vs. #5 Jakob Camacho Intriguing matchup here, as three-time NCAA champion Spencer Lee just saw his first action of the year yesterday. To be specific, it was his first official matches of any sort in almost nine months, to the date. While Lee put up a major decision and a tech fall and didn't surrender a single point, he did look a bit rusty. Or at least not like a three-time defending champion. At the same time, his opponent, Jakob Camacho, is looking to rebound after an upset loss to #15 Noah Surtin. Camacho got down early and mustered a late rally, but it ended up not being enough. Like anyone who faces Lee, if Camacho limits damage in the first period and a half, he may be able to steal it late. Obviously, that's easier said than done. Also, if Lee's knee isn't responding well after his first two matches, Iowa coach Tom Brands could turn to Jesse Ybarra. Pick: Lee by decision (3-0 Iowa) 133 - #3 Austin DeSanto vs. #17 Kai Orine Austin DeSanto continued his winning ways and sliced through his first two opponents like and knife and hot butter. Or, however the expression goes. Combined, DeSanto needed just over six minutes to dispose of Vince Perez (Central Michigan) and Satoshi Abe (Lehigh). He outscored the duo by a total score of 36-6. Perez didn't even make it out of the first period. Today's competition for DeSanto will stiffen as he'll face unbeaten Kai Orine. Orine only saw action in one bout yesterday, but did his job and defeated former NCAA qualifier Connor Brown (Missouri), who is typically a 125 lber. This will easily be Orine's most significant test, to date. Aside from teammate Jarrett Trombley, he has yet to face a ranked opponent as the Wolfpack starter. Trombley also could get the call here, as well. Pick: DeSanto by major decision (7-0 Iowa) 141 - #2 Jaydin Eierman vs. #16 Ryan Jack Seventh-year senior Jaydin Eierman has been on the collegiate scene so long that he was in a weight class with Ryan Jack's older brother, Kevin, for two seasons, though they never met. In 2017, the elder Jack outplaced Eierman (3rd to 5th), but Eierman turned the tables in 2018 (4th to 6th). Yesterday, Eierman had his eyes opened, getting in a huge, early hole to #7 Dresden Simon (Central Michigan), 9-2. He responded with a rally that saw Eierman ride out the Chippewa star for a 13-12 victory. In the nightcap, Eierman had more trouble than one may have expected, but still prevailed 8-3 over Connor McGonagle (Lehigh). Like Orine, Ryan Jack didn't go against Binghamton, but was needed against #10 Missouri. There Jack would face #14 Allan Hart. Jack got into an early hole and couldn't cut into the lead and fell, 9-3. Like his teammate at 133, this will be Jack's biggest test of the young season, though maybe it's a decent time to face Eierman. Pick: Eierman by major decision (11-0 Iowa) 149 - #8 Max Murin vs. #3 Tariq Wilson This will be a bout between two longtime veterans that have been used sparingly by their respective head coaches in the first two months of the season. Max Murin had an up-and-down day on Monday. He started with a solid 14-5 major decision over Central Michigan's Corbyn Munson. That represented his highest scoring output since the 2020 Big Ten Championships. In the second dual of the day, Murin was taken down by Manzona Bryant (Lehigh) in sudden victory. Earlier in the day. Munson had a solid comeback to edge Bryant. Sixth-year senior Tariq Wilson continued to shine at his new weight class and turned in a pair of wins Monday. He jumped out to an early lead on #18 Josh Edmond (Missouri) and withstood a late rally to win 11-8. This is the third collegiate weight class for the two-time NCAA third-place finishing Wilson. In 2020, he and Murin were in the same 141 lb bracket. Though they never met, Murin was seeded 7th at NCAA's and Wilson 15th. That being said, Wilson is the play here. Pick: Wilson by decision (11-3 Iowa) 157 - #8 Kaleb Young vs. #23 Ed Scott This matchup may look lopsided on paper, but after yesterday it's way closer than the numbers would indicate. In the opener, Kaleb Young notched a solid 6-0 victory over #19 Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan). He even led #10 Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) into the third period, but gave up a reversal and two sets of nearfalls to lose 11-2. It marked the only time in his collegiate career that Young surrendered any sort of bonus points. Today he'll face a wrestler that is also tough on top in second-year freshman Ed Scott. Since moving up to 157 lbs, Scott has looked remarkably good. His only blemish in 2021-22 was a one-point loss to a teammate on the opening week of the year. Scott's top ability was a big reason why he was able to knock off #15 Jarrett Jacques (Missouri) in the second match of the day. It also provided a spark for the Wolfpack, teamwise. I also wonder if Young is okay. Humphreys was brutal with the power half he used to turn the Hawkeye. Pick: Scott by decision (11-6 Iowa) 165 - #1 Alex Marinelli vs. #18 Thomas Bullard Throughout the course of his Iowa career, Alex Marinelli has only lost one regular-season bout. Monday, he didn't come close to losing number two. He stalled out Tracy Hubbard (Central Michigan) in the opener, before solving a tricky Brian Meyer (Lehigh) for a 6-2 win. Finally, we'll have a match with some history between its competitors. In each of the last two NCAA Tournaments conducted, Marinelli has been the #1 seed at 165 lbs and met Bullard in the Round of 16. In both instances, Marinelli was able to rack up bonus points. With a close dual meet hanging in the balance, I think the defensive-minded Bullard may be able to limit damage by The Bull. In his last bout, Bullard kept #3 Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) to a 9-3 regular decision. Pick: Marinelli by decision (14-6 Iowa) 174 - #2 Michael Kemerer/Nelson Brands vs. #5 Hayden Hidlay The man that Iowa wrestlers and fans call “Grandpa” was seen on the Hawkeye bench sporting the second-best mustache of the tournament (props to Hofstra's Trey Rogers) and even weighed in Monday morning. Even so, I wouldn't hold out for a first appearance of the year for Kemerer. Jumping back in against an opponent of Hayden Hidlay's caliber isn't how things typically work. Iowa still has someone more than capable at the weight, as Nelson Brands went 2-0 yesterday. Brands solved the defensive riddles of Jake Logan (Lehigh) late in their bout to take a tight, 3-2 win. A bout between Brands and Hidlay may be the most physical affair of the day. Both are no strangers to a hard handfight. Hayden has moved up two weight classes, but it's difficult to tell by the eye-test or weighing his results. He continued a bonus point-scoring streak with his win over NCAA qualifier Jake Nolan (Binghamton), though it was snapped with his win over #14 Peyton Mocco (Missouri). Pick: Hidlay by decision (14-9 Iowa) 184 - Abe Assad vs. #3 Trent Hidlay Yesterday also marked the return of Abe Assad to the Hawkeye lineup. Assad was famously pinned by high schooler Clayton Whiting at the Luther Open and has been conspicuously absent since. He returned with a vengeance and pinned Ben Cushman (Central Michigan) before majoring AJ Burkhart (Lehigh). In a limited sample size, Assad is showing the form that made him the #11 seed at the 2020 NCAA Championships, as a true freshman. He'll get a test Tuesday from one of the best in the weight class, with NCAA runner-up Trent Hidlay. Before an upset at 197, Hidlay's 13-5 major decision over #11 Jeremiah Kent (Missouri) looked like a possible dual-winner for the Wolfpack. Through five matches this year, Hidlay has logged bonus points in all five and looked more dangerous offensively than in the past. Pick: Hidlay by decision (14-12 Iowa) 197 - #7 Jacob Warner vs. #15 Isaac Trumble What to do at 197 lbs as we have a “Steady Eddy” (Jacob Warner) set to take on a high-ceiling youngster that experienced some highs and lows on Monday. We'll start with Warner, who cruised to a pair of one-sided regular decisions over solid competition yesterday. Warner wasn't able to pile up points, but was never seriously threatened, at any point. Isaac Trumble got down early to All-American Louie DePrez (Binghamton) in his first match and never rebounded. But in the Missouri dual, his 5-3 win over Junior World Champion and NCAA All-American Rocky Elam sealed the deal for Pat Popolizio's team. Could Trumble build off his teammate's momentum at 174/184 again and take out his second AA of the tournament? Pick: Trumble by decision (15-14 NC State) 285 - #6 Tony Cassioppi vs. #28 Owen Trephan/Deonte Wilson Our picks have the Hawkeyes trailing for the first time this dual and during the entire time in Florida. But, what better man to turn to than their All-American Tony Cassioppi. Pre-tournament, we thought Cassioppi's round-robin path was among the toughest in the entire event, as he drew top-ten opponents from Central Michigan and Lehigh. Cassioppi was leading CMU's Matt Stencel before an apparent knee injury forced the Chippewa big man to default. A late takedown against the stingy Jordan Wood gave Cassioppi his second win of the day. NC State will have plenty of options at this weight, though none are over enticing against an opponent of Cassioppi's caliber. Owen Trephan seems to have emerged as the starter based on head-to-head wins over 2021 ACC champion Deonte Wilson. That being said, Wilson has gotten the nod in the last couple of dates heading into Florida. Also, if the dual is clinched before 285 lbs, the NC State could turn to Tyrie Houghton, as they did against Missouri. Houghton never backed down from #16 Zach Elam and grabbed a takedown at the buzzer that pulled the score to a single point. Pick: Cassioppi by decision (17-15 Iowa) #2 Penn State vs. #6 Arizona State 125 - Jakob Campbell vs. #3 Brandon Courtney Penn State has struggled to fill in for injured 2021 NCAA qualifier Robbie Howard in the earlygoing this year and those continued Monday as Bucknell-transfer Jakob Campbell fell to 0-3 on the year. That could be deceiving, though, as his two opponents were #5 (133) Vito Arujau (Cornell) and #10 Brody Teske (Northern Iowa). His third loss this year was to #11 Jaret Lane (Lehigh). It doesn't get any easier for Campbell, as he'll face the returning NCAA runner-up Brandon Courtney. Courtney looked as good as ever yesterday with a fall against Hofstra and an 8-4 win over returning All-American Sam Latona (Virginia Tech). After going 14-11 as a part-time starter in 2018-19, Courtney has compiled a 49-6 record since. Pick: Courtney by major (4-0 Arizona State) 133 - #1 Roman Bravo-Young vs. #14 Michael McGee One of the key matches to watch this dual will take place at 133 lbs with returning, undefeated NCAA champion Roman Bravo-Young meeting AA Michael McGee. I'm not sure if it will be overly close, but it will be a lot of fun to watch, with lots of good action. Bravo-Young did as you would expect and notched a pin and nearly teched Cornell's Dom LaJoie in the Monday night session. But, McGee will represent the highest-ranked opponent of the year for the Nittany Lions star. McGee looked as good as ever with an exciting 8-7 win over #4 ranked Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech). That marked the first regular-season loss for Korbin Myers since February 22nd, 2019. Earlier in the year, McGee suffered a one-point loss to then-unranked Job Greenwood, but that looks like a longtime in the review after his showing Monday. Though both were in the same NCAA weight class last year, they did not meet. Pick: Bravo-Young by major (4-4 Tie) 141 - #1 Nick Lee vs. #15 Jesse Vasquez After being held to “just” regular decisions in his last two dual outings, Nick Lee came back Monday with a pair of major decisions over #26 Cael Happel (Northern Iowa) and Cole Handlovic (Cornell). With a tight dual expected here, the 2021 NCAA champion may need to roll up bonus points again to ensure his team's victory Tuesday night. Freshman Jesse Vasquez will get his first serious test of his collegiate career when he faces off with the returning champ. Vasquez came into this event 5-0, but hasn't faced any top-tiered competition. In his first bout Monday afternoon, Vasquez looked to be headed to a major decision against Justin Hoyle (Hofstra), but faded a bit and won 14-9. He later downed NCAA qualifier Collin Gerardi (Virginia Tech) in a match that appeared closer on the scoreboard than it actually was in real life. Pick: Lee by decision (7-4 Penn State) 149 - #22 Beau Bartlett vs. #5 Kyle Parco Unfortunately, we didn't get to see one of the top potential matches of the tournament as Virginia Tech's #6 Bryce Andonian didn't weigh-in and couldn't compete against #5 Kyle Parco. Both wrestlers have a wide-open style and put points on the board. Parco, a surprise All-American for Fresno State in 2021, has proven he's no fluke with a 10-0 start to the year. Neither opponent he saw on Monday presented much of a challenge and Parco dominated to the tune of 31-1. It will make for a good clash of styles when Parco and Beau Bartlett square off. Bartlett is typically methodical in his attacks and sound defensively. Bartlett picked his spots in a 4-3 win over #28 Tristan Lara (Northern Iowa), before falling to two-time NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell). It'll be interesting to see which wrestlers' strength dictates the match here. Pick: Parco by decision (7-7 Tie) 157 - Joe Lee/Tony Negron vs. #3 Jacori Teemer Another unsettled weight for the Nittany Lions has been 157 lbs. 2021 NCAA qualifier (at 165 lbs) Joe Lee was assumed to be the frontrunner in the preseason, but he was majored by Terrell Barraclough in the wrestle-offs. Barraclough saw some action, but recently Tony Negron has gotten the call. Negron fell 5-2 to Derek Holschlag (Northern Iowa) in the first dual yesterday. That created an opening for Lee to make his 2021-22 debut, which he did against Cornell's Colton Yapoujian. Lee couldn't figure out Yapoujian's defense and was beaten 4-2. This evening, it doesn't get any easier as 7-0, #3 Jacori Teemer is looming. Teemer is off to a blazing start, scoring double digits in each of his first six bouts, before being held in check by an ever-improving Connor Brady (Virginia Tech). Teemer still managed a win in sudden victory over the Hokie. If the Sun Devils win, it may be because they get bonus here. Pick: Teemer by major decision (11-7 Arizona State) 165 - #26 Creighton Edsell vs. #6 Anthony Valencia A nice development for Penn State has been the emergence of Creighton Edsell at 165 lbs. Edsell came into this event unbeaten and recently had defeated returning national qualifier Brian Meyer (Lehigh). Yesterday though, Edsell suffered through his first two losses of the year, falling to #23 Austin Yant (Northern Iowa) and #9 Julian Ramirez (Cornell). Now, Edsell will have to contend with the newest member of the Mexican National Team, Anthony Valencia. Valencia showed no signs of jetlag, after traveling to make the team on Saturday, as he only needed :27 seconds to pin Mario Biancamano (Hofstra) in his first match. Against Virginia Tech, he survived a late charge from Clayton Ulrey to hang on, 11-9. Pick: Valencia by decision (14-7 Arizona State) 174 - #1 Carter Starocci vs. Zane Coleman/Ryan Rochford Like the Cornell dual, Penn State could find themselves trailing again after 165 lbs, but their final four is unmatched in college wrestling. Returning champion Carter Starocci showed he was unflappable as he was tested by the Big Red's Chris Foca. Deadlocked in a 2-2 bout and starting the third period on top, Starocci rode out Foca for the period and earned riding time in the process. In the grand scheme of things, that win will be more valuable for Starocci than if he rolled to a major. A major decision is what he did in the opening match against Northern Iowa's Pat Schoenfelder. The Sun Devils used both Zane Coleman and Ryan Rochford yesterday. Coleman has seen the bulk of the action for Zeke Jones' team and sports an 8-3 record. Rochford got the unenviable task of dealing with 2019 NCAA champion Mekhi Lewis and was the victim of a tech fall. Whoever gets tabbed to start will have to avoid bonus points, which is a tall task. Pick: Starocci by major decision (14-11 Arizona State) 184 - #1 Aaron Brooks vs. Josh Nummer Carter Starocci wasn't the only Penn State national champion that was forced to dig deep on Monday. Aaron Brooks had to fend off a challenge from his 2021 NCAA semifinal opponent Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa), in his first bout. Keckeisen pushed Brooks in the third period, but ultimately couldn't penetrate his defense. A 3-2 win for the Nittany Lion champ extended his current winning streak to 27 matches. Brooks also had a game opponent in his second match, #15 Jonathan Loew (Cornell); however, he nearly pinned Loew early in the bout, which blew the contest open and he coasted to a 15-3 win. Josh Nummer is expected to get the call and try to limit his Penn State counterpart. Nummer couldn't do so yesterday against All-American Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech), as he fell via tech fall. Pick: Brooks by tech fall (16-14 Penn State) 197 - #3 Max Dean vs. #8 Kordell Norfleet Max Dean also got his first scare of the 2021-22 season when he emerged victorious after a close call against former teammate Jacob Cardenas (Cornell). Dean won a late scramble and rode Cardenas out for a 4-2 win. Coming into that match, Dean did not have a match closer than ten points. Norfleet has dealt with solid competition in his first two matches yesterday, but shined with 14-3 major decisions over returning national qualifiers #26 Trey Rogers (Hofstra) and Dakota Howard (Virginia Tech). For the Sun Devils to be in position to win the dual, they'd have to get a win somewhere between 174-197 and this is the most logical spot. Pick: Dean by decision (19-14 Penn State) 285 - #4 Greg Kerkvliet vs. #3 Cohlton Schultz This is a rematch of the 2021 NCAA consolation quarterfinal bout between Cohlton Schultz and Greg Kerkvliet. There it was Schultz who came out on top with a 14-8 decision. Whenever the two meet, it marks the rare time that a pair of Cadet World Champions collide on the collegiate scene. During their 2021 meeting, Kerkvliet was only a few weeks removed from a scary knee injury that threatened his season, so we expect a different wrestler this time around. Both come into this match unbeaten and the result could play a huge role in NCAA seeding, as the winner could be on the opposite side of the bracket from Olympic champion Gable Steveson (Minnesota). But that's a little ways down the line. Schultz will turn to his Greco-Roman roots and look to impose his will with an underhook or a bodylock. Kerkvliet has more of an arsenal of leg attacks. But, if Kerkvliet is overly aggressive, Schultz is talented enough to take advantage. Pick: Kerkvliet by decision (22-14 Penn State)

Jeff Buxton in Fargo in 2021 (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) On Monday morning, Rutgers' Scarlet Knights Wrestling Club announced the hiring of legendary head coach Jeff Buxton. Buxton will lead the SKWC going forward as their head coach. Buxton is no stranger to New Jersey wrestling fans as he was at the helm as Blair Academy's head coach for 30 years. His teams captured National Prep titles during all 30 of those seasons. Ten times during that stretch his teams were deemed #1 overall in the nation. Future NCAA champions that wrestled under Buxton include, Pat Santoro, Mark Perry, Steve Mocco, Kellen Russell, and Ed Ruth. Prior to the SKWC, Buxton has led the Lehigh Valley Wrestling Club since 2012. He has also been active coaching freestyle on Team New Jersey and internationally at the Senior level. In 2019, Buxton was named a volunteer coach for the freestyle world team at the World Championships in Nur-Sultan. Over the weekend, one of the SKWC's wrestlers, Sebastian Rivera, earned a spot on the Puerto Rican world team for 2022. With the coaches already on staff at Rutgers, combined with Buxton's addition, this provide a huge boost for Rivera and others. Buxton himself was an NCAA qualifier for the University of Rhode Island.

2019 Midlands finals setup (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) CHICAGO, Ill. – The 58th annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, the nation's premier non-conference wrestling tournament, returns this year on Dec. 29-30 and will be available exclusively on B1G+. In addition to assembling the top men's wrestlers from more than 35 teams across the country, the Midlands will also make history this year by adding a women's division. For the first time ever, more than 150 women's wrestlers from 11 different schools will participate in the championships and wrestle on Dec. 30. Big Ten Network veteran wrestling broadcasters Shane Sparks and Jim Gibbons will anchor the four sessions on B1G+. For sessions one and two on Dec. 29, B1G+ will feature 10 individual mat cameras as well as a whip-around coverage focused on best action at a given moment. On Dec. 30, B1G+ will once again be home to individual mat cameras for both the men's and women's divisions in sessions three and four, along with the whip-around feed. For fans interested in streaming the Midlands, more than 40 Big Ten duals this winter and Big Ten wrestling championships coverage it the spring, an annual wrestling pass is available on B1G+ for 15% off ($59.49) when using the code ‘MIDLANDS'. To subscribe, visit www.bigtenplus.com, click on subscribe and choose the wrestling sport pass. After you create a B1G+ account, enter code ‘MIDLANDS' under the payment details. Eight Big Ten teams, including seven ranked in Intermat's top 25, are scheduled to compete. The list includes No. 1 Iowa, No. 4 Michigan, No. 12 Rutgers, No. 15 Northwestern, No. 16 Wisconsin, No. 17 Illinois, No. 18 Purdue and Indiana. Additional 2021 Midlands coverage can be found on the B1G Wrestling Instagram page and Big Ten Network YouTube wrestling page. Midlands Championships Schedule Wednesday Dec. 29 Session 1: B1G+ (10:30 a.m) Wednesday Dec. 29 Session 2: B1G+ (8 p.m.) Thursday Dec. 30 Session 3: B1G+ (Noon) Thursday Dec. 30 Session 4: B1G+ (7 p.m.) About Big Ten Network A joint venture between the Big Ten Conference and Fox Networks, Big Ten Network is the first internationally distributed network dedicated to covering one of the premier collegiate conferences in the country. With more than 1,700 events across all platforms, the 24/7 network is the ultimate destination for Big Ten fans and alumni across the country, allowing them to see their favorite teams, regardless of where they live. The Fox Sports App is the digital extension of the Big Ten Network, delivering live games and on-demand programming to Big Ten Network customers via the web, smartphones, and tablets. Network events include football, men's and women's basketball games, dozens of Big Ten Olympic sports and championship events, studio shows and classic games. Original programming highlights activities and accomplishments of some of the nation's finest universities, including the Emmy-nominated The Journey. The network is carried by all the major video distributors across the United State and Canada, such as DIRECTV, DISH, Verizon FiOS, AT&T U-Verse, Charter Spectrum, Xfinity, Altice USA, Cox Contour TV, Mediacom, RCN, WOW!, and approximately 300 additional video providers across North America. Big Ten Network is also available through the majority of streaming providers, including DIRECTV Stream, fuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, Vidgo and YouTube TV. For additional information, please visit www.btn.com.