InterMat Staff

2x NCAA qualifier Fabian Gutierrez (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Chattanooga Mocs “Back to a New Normal” “We're ready to see guys really compete and see guys compete more outside the conference, and learn how to fight. We're really excited to see open tournaments again.” -Head Coach Kyle Ruschell TOP RETURNERS The Chattanooga Mocs will see their entire lineup return this season, including NCAA Qualifiers Fabian Gutierrez (125), Drew Nicholson (165), Matthew Waddell (184), and Logan Andrew (197). KEY DEPARTURES The Mocs lose Tanner Smith and Aiden Murphy (149) from their roster as well as Hunter Fortner (174). TOP NEWCOMERS 133: Brayden Palmer - transfer from Clarion University 149: Noah Castillo 149: Grant Lundy 165: Caleb Waddell - younger brother to Matthew Waddell (184) 285: Matthias Ervin WRESTLERS TO WATCH Essentially, UTC's entire lineup is one to watch out for this season, but the few that Coach Ruschell expects to see big performances from this season include: 125: Fabian Gutierrez 133: Brayden Palmer 165: Drew Nicholson 285: Matthias Ervin POTENTIAL LINEUP 125: Fabian Gutierrez 133: Brayden Palmer 141: Franco Valdes 149: Noah Castillo/Grant Lundy 157: Weston Wichman 165: Drew Nicholson 174: Thomas Sell/Carial Tarter 184: Matthew Waddell 197: Micah Ervin 285: Grayson Walthall/Matthias Ervin EVENTS TO WATCH/ATTEND Jan 1-2: Southern Scuffle @ McKenzie Arena Jan 14-15: Virginia Duals @ Hampton, VA Jan 30: Campbell @ Campbell Feb 6: Appalachian State @ Home

2021 NCAA All-American Demetrius Romero (Photo/Larry Slater; LBSPhoto.smugmug.com) Saturday 11/6 Air Force at Battle at the Citadel, hosted by The Citadel, 9:00 AM Oklahoma at Michigan State Open, hosted by Michigan State, 9:30 AM FloWrestling Oklahoma State(non-starters) at Trojan Open, hosted by Little Rock, 10:30 AM (9:30 AM) California Baptist at North Dakota State, 2:00 PM (1:00 PM) NDSU All-Access Sunday 11/7 West Virginia at Clarion Open, hosted by Clarion, 9:00 AM FloWrestling Utah Valley vs. Doane at Northern Colorado, 11:30 AM (9:30 AM) FloWrestling Northwest Kansas Tech at Northern Colorado, 1:00 PM (11:00 AM) FloWrestling Utah Valley vs. North Idaho at Northern Colorado, 1:00 PM (11:00 AM) FloWrestling North Idaho at Northern Colorado, 2:30 PM (12:30 PM) FloWrestling Doane at Northern Colorado, 4:00 PM (2:00 PM) FloWrestling Utah Valley vs. Northwest Kansas Tech at Northern Colorado, 4:00 PM (2:00 PM) FloWrestling Utah Valley at Northern Colorado, 6:00 PM (4:00 PM) FloWrestling *Also Dom Demas(Oklahoma) and Brock Mauller(Missouri) at the U23 World Championships on Friday and Saturday What I'm Most Excited For: The open tournaments. I love this portion of the season as you get to see the future of your program and how guys are developing. As a guy who's covered Oklahoma State for years, this can be one of the only times you get to see a lot of the young guys, in these early season tournaments. For Oklahoma State fans it's the Trojan Open, WVU fans it's the Clarion Open, Oklahoma at Michigan State, etc… All of those are great follows for any die-hards wanting to see what they may have in a few years. Best Dual: Utah Valley at Northern Colorado It loses a little luster with Taylor LaMont not competing, as he's at the U23 tournament in Serbia currently, but this is a decent dual and I'm really intrigued to potentially see Andrew Alirez(141) and Demetrius Romero(165) at their new weight classes for the first time

Rutgers 133 lber Sammy Alvarez (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Like I said, Week 1 is always the hardest. Not every wrestle-off has been completed, there are still wrestlers who have an unknown starting weight, and tournaments are back with assumed, but ultimately unknown entrants. Let's get this out of the way now. It's a 16 week season and you're going to have a down week or two in that time. You're going to get upset, you're going to question your team, you're going to get a visit from Captain Hindsight. Just remember, it's week 1, and there is plenty of time to right the ship. If this is your first time playing #FantasyCollegeWrestling, think of it as a learning opportunity and try to look past the wins and losses. This weekend you'll get to see the madness and excitement that Fantasy College Wrestling can offer, and not even every team will be wrestling (like Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Penn State, etc.). Instead of watching a team or two, or maybe focusing on just one tournament as you have in the past, you'll be checking each stream, each forum, and each team's Twitter page to check on your guys and how they are doing. It's going to be madness, but in a good way. We really need to get something like the NFL Redzone for it all (wink wink, nudge nudge). Right now is the "calm before the storm." Everything is at peace; there hasn't been any real drama, any bad ref call, any ducking controversies… yet. With a full season comes a full slate of topics and discussions to dive into and get reactions from. I look forward to doing that with you here in these Weekly Outlooks for the 2022 #FantasyCollegeWrestling Season (#FCW22). So in this Week 1 together, enjoy the matches, enjoy the competition…. but enjoy it more by winning the week. And to do that, we need to set some optimal lineups. This week has 57 of the 78 D1 teams in action, 10 of which finished in the Top-20 last season at the NCAA Tournament. There are several duals on the slate, but like in years past, the bulk of the competition lies with Open Tournaments. Michigan State Open, Southeast Open (formerly the Hokie Open), The Citadel Open, Menlo Open, Clarion Open, East Stroudsburg Open, etc., etc. I hate to say it again, but Week 1 is the hardest because there are so many unknowns as compared to a couple weeks from now. Hell, we still don't know what weight Yianni Diakomihalis is going! After reviewing the matchups and tournament entries for the week, the list compiled is to be used as a guide in helping you set the best lineup you can. Remember, it's about matchups, not necessarily getting and setting the highest-ranked wrestler in your lineup. Tournament entries can change in an instant, so be sure to stay tuned to our Twitter (@FantasyD1Wrestl) for updates and any new information will be added to the comments section of the article. For a better understanding of why some of these wrestlers were chosen for the Week's Outlook, tune in to the Fantasy College Wrestling Podcast (#FCWpodcast) that will come out each week as well. Wrestlers I Like This Week Wrestler (School)- competition for the week [Proj Score] 125: Anthony Noto (Lock Haven)- Clarion Open Colton Camacho (Pittsburgh)- Clarion Open Gary Steen (Penn State)- Clarion Open Gage Curry (Pittsburgh)- Clarion Open Luke Werner (Lock Haven)- Clarion Open Joey Prata (Oklahoma)- Michigan State Open Ed Ventresca (Virginia Tech)- Southeast Open (Fresh/Soph Division) Joe Manchio (Columbia)- Southeast Open (Open Division) Sam Latona (Virginia Tech)- Southeast Open (Open Division) Brock Hudkins (Indiana)- Vs Bellarmine & SIU-Edwardsville (@BELL) [+7] Devin Schroder (Purdue)- Vs Drexel, Vs Rider [+7] Micah Roes (Binghamton)- Vs Cleveland State & Rutgers (@RUT) [+6] Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State)- Vs Campbell, Vs Lehigh [+6] Malik Heinselman (Ohio State)- Vs North Carolina [+4] Patrick McCormick (Virginia)- @ American [+4] 133: Joey Oliveri (Rutgers)- East Stroudsburg Open Lucas Byrd (Illinois)- Michigan State Open Rayvon Foley (Michigan State)- Michigan State Open Angelo Rini (Columbia)- Southeast Open (Open Division) Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech)- Southeast Open (Open Division) Nick Masters (Princeton)- Southeast Open (Open Division) Sammy Alvarez (Rutgers)- Vs Binghamton, Vs Cleveland State [+8] Aaron Schulist (SIU-Edwardsville)- Vs Bellarmine & Indiana (@BELL) [+6] Brian Courtney (Virginia)- @ American [+4] Kellyn March (North Dakota State)- Vs California Baptist [+4] Mosha Schwartz (Northern Colorado)- Utah Valley [+3] 141: Danny Pucino (Illinois)- Michigan State Open Dresden Simon (Central Michigan)- Michigan State Open Kaden Cassidy (George Mason)- Southeast Open (Fresh/Soph Division) Collin Girardi (Virginia Tech)- Southeast Open (Open Division) Matthew Kazimir (Columbia)- Southeast Open (Open Division) Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers)- Vs Binghamton, Vs Cleveland State [+10] Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado)- Utah Valley [+4] Dylan Cedeno (Virginia)- @ American [+4] 149: Brent Moore (Clarion)- Clarion Open Shane Van Ness (Penn State)- Clarion Open Anthony White (Rutgers)- East Stroudsburg Open Mitch Moore (Oklahoma)- Michigan State Open Alex Madrigal (George Mason)- Southeast Open (Open Division) Luke Nichter (Drexel)- Vs Purdue [+3], East Stroudsburg Open Jarod Verkleeren (Virginia)- @ American [+4] 157: Kolby Ho (Clarion)- Clarion Open Andrew Cerniglia (Navy)- Clarion Open Alejandro Hererra-Rondon (Oklahoma)- Michigan State Open Quincy Monday (Princeton)- Southeast Open (Open Division) Parker Kropman (Drexel)- Vs Purdue [-3], East Stroudsburg Open Justin Ruffin (SIU-Edwardsville)- Vs Bellarmine & Indiana (@BELL) [+7] Kendall Coleman (Purdue)- Vs Drexel, Vs Rider [+7] Robert Kanniard (Rutgers)- Vs Binghamton, Vs Cleveland State [+7] Jake Keating (Virginia)- @ American [+4] Jared Franek (North Dakota State)- Vs California Baptist [+4] 165: Dalton Harkins (Army)- East Stroudsburg Open Grant Cuomo (Princeton)- Southeast Open (Open Division) Alex Facundo (Penn State)- Clarion Open Peyton Hall (West Virginia)- Clarion Open Ricky Stamm (Hofstra)- Clarion Open Holden Heller (Hofstra)- Clarion Open Danny Braunagel (Illinois)- Michigan State Open Evan Wick (Cal Poly)- Michigan State Open Jacob Tucker (Michigan State)- Michigan State Open Clayton Ulrey (Virginia Tech)- Southeast Open (Open Division) Job Chishko (VMI)- Southeast Open (Open Division) Evan Barczak (Drexel)- Vs Purdue [+3], East Stroudsburg Open Luke Weber (North Dakota State)- Vs California Baptist [+4] Carson Kharchla (Ohio State)- Vs North Carolina [+4] Justin McCoy (Virginia)- @ American [+4] Demetrius Romero (Utah Valley)- Northern Colorado [+3] 174: Luca Augustine (Pittsburgh)- Clarion Open Anthony Mantanona (Oklahoma)- Michigan State Open Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech)- Southeast Open (Open Division) Michael O'Malley (Drexel)- Vs Purdue [+3], East Stroudsburg Open Jackson Turley (Rutgers)- Vs Binghamton, Vs Cleveland State [+8] Donnell Washington (Indiana)- Vs Bellarmine & SIU-Edwardsville (@BELL) [+7] Ethan Smith (Ohio State)- Vs North Carolina [+3] 184: Sahm Abdulrazzaq (Army)- East Stroudsburg Open Charles Small (Hofstra)- Clarion Open David Key (Navy)- Clarion Open Bernie Truax (Cal Poly)- Michigan State Open Zac Braunagel (Illinois)- Michigan State Open Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech)- Southeast Open (Open Division) Tanner Harvey (Oregon State)- Vs Campbell, Vs Lehigh [+7], Menlo Open Brian McLaughlin (Drexel)- Vs Purdue [-3], East Stroudsburg Open Max Lyon (Purdue)- Vs Drexel, Vs Rider [+6] Michael Battista (Virginia)- @ American [+4] 197: Jake Koser (Navy)- Clarion Open Cam Caffey (Michigan State)- Michigan State Open Jake Woodley (Oklahoma)- Michigan State Open Tyler Mousaw (VMI)- Southeast Open (Fresh/Soph Division) Luke Stout (Princeton)- Southeast Open (Open Division) Greg Bulsak (Rutgers)- Vs Binghamton, Vs Cleveland State [+7] Garrett Hoffman (Indiana)- Vs Bellarmine & SIU-Edwardsville (@BELL) [+6] Thomas Penola (Purdue)- Vs Drexel, Vs Rider [+6] Alan Clothier (Northern Colorado)- Utah Valley [+3] 285: Ryan Catka (Navy)- East Stroudsburg Open Zachary Knighton-Ward (Hofstra)- Clarion Open Zach Schrader (Maryland)- Clarion Open Matt Stencel (Central Michigan)- Michigan State Open Nathan Traxler (Virginia Tech)- Southeast Open (Open Division) Colton McKiernan (SIU-Edwardsville)- Vs Bellarmine & Indiana (@BELL) [+7] Tate Orndorff (Ohio State)- Vs North Carolina [+3] Think there is someone we missed? Let me know!

2021 All-Americans Louie DePrez (left) and John Poznanski in the NCAA quarterfinals (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Friday 11/5 Brown - Brown vs White Wrestle-Offs @ Providence, R.I. (7PM) Saturday 11/6 American vs. Sacred Heart - Washington D.C. (6PM) ESPN+ American vs. Virginia - Washington, DC (7:30PM) ESPN+ Drexel vs Purdue - Philadelphia, PA (1PM) FloWrestling Lehigh vs Campbell - Corvallis, OR (8PM) Pac-12.com Lehigh @ Oregon St - Corvallis, OR (11PM) Pac-12.com Penn - Wrestle-Offs, Day 1 - Philadelphia, PA (3PM) Sunday 11/7 Binghamton vs Cleveland St, New Jersey City University, & Rutgers @ Rutgers Quad - Piscataway, NJ (10AM, 11:30AM, & 1PM) BTN+ --Binghamton/Rutgers link Columbia @ Southeast Open - Salem, VA (all day) FloWrestling Drexel @ ESU Open - East Stroudsburg, PA (all day) Franklin & Marshall @ Clarion Open - Clarion, PA (all day) FloWrestling Hofstra @ Clarion Open - Clarion, PA (all day) FloWrestling Navy @ Clarion Open - Clarion, PA (all day) FloWrestling Penn - Wrestle-Offs, Day 2 - Philadelphia, PA (3PM) Princeton @ Southeast Open - Salem, VA (all day) FloWrestling What I'm Most Excited For: It's the start of the season, I'm excited for all of it! I want to see the starting line-up for Lehigh, as a few expected starters lost wrestle offs a week ago. With 3 EIWA teams at the Clarion Open, it will be a good early season test for everyone involved - maybe we'll see some intraconference competition week one of the season. Finally, the Southeast Open will welcome 2 EIWA teams down south. I am also curious to see how Binghamton compares with a powerful Rutgers team. Ryan Anderson vs Seabass is a good test for Anderson. The most anticipated match-up for this dual (and maybe the country) is two returning All-Americans at 184lbs. Poznanski (Rutgers) vs Deprez (Binghamton) is a rematch from last year's NCAA quarterfinal, in which Poz won 8-4. Where you'll find me: I'll be in Philadelphia much of the day Saturday. Catch me on the live broadcast for the Drexel vs Purdue match (Flowrestling). If time allows, I'll be up the street at the 2nd day of Penn wrestle offs afterwards.

2021 NCAA All-American Zach Sherman (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) It's finally here!! Wrestling season is upon us and the ACC teams are all in action this week. UNC opened up competition Monday with home duals against Life and Queens University. The Tar Heels only dropped one match on the day, beating the returning NAIA National Champion, Life, 29-6, and dropping Queens 48-0. UNC will wrap up week one with a big dual in Columbus, Ohio, taking on the Buckeyes. There will be some great head-to-head matchups in this dual and I can't wait to watch. A couple of big ones to keep an eye on--at 149, All-American Zach Sherman will face NCAA Runner-up (to teammate Austin O'Connor) Sammy Sasso. At his new weight of 157, O'Connor could meet highly touted freshman Paddy Gallagher, but the rumor is he will wrestle unattached to start the season. I'm also very interested to see how true freshman Spencer Moore competes at 125 with three-time NCAA qualifier Malik Heinselman. There are enough toss-up matches to make this a very competitive dual, and it should be a lot of fun to watch. Duke and NC State will both be sending squads to the Citadel Open in South Carolina. The Wolfpack will use the performances in South Carolina to make roster decisions moving forward. The Citadel will host Duke, NC State, Air Force, Presbyterian and Belmont Abbey. Pitt will send their full squad to Clarion Open along with several redshirts. The Panthers held their Blue-Gold intrasquad match over the weekend. As Coach Gavin mentioned, there will be a few hotly contested weights this year and no clear decisions have been made for starters. There were some very close matches at the Blue-Gold Dual and the staff will use those results as well as the performances at Clarion to finalize the lineup. Other teams at Clarion include: West Virginia, Hofstra, Clarion, Navy, Buffalo, Kent State, Maryland, Lock Haven, and Bloomsburg. UVA will have a busy weekend to kick off the year. The starting lineup (sans Jay Aiello, who is competing at the U23 World Championships in Serbia, along with Nino Bonaccorsi of Pittsburgh) will head north to open the season with a dual at American University. There are no ranked versus ranked matches, but you will see some young faces getting experience for the Hoos. On Sunday, UVA will head south on 81 to Roanoke for the Southeast Open (this will always be the Hokie Open in my mind). Virginia Tech will also be at the Southeast Open and will have their full starting lineup ready to roll in addition to redshirts and non-starters. The Southeast Open (ahem, Hokie Open) usually provides some solid competition to start the season. The Hokies will use the results this weekend to factor into starting decisions at a couple of weights that are still in the air. This year the following teams are participating: VT, UVA, VMI, Appalachian State, Columbia, Davidson, George Mason, and Princeton. There will also be unattached wrestlers from area colleges and RTCs. Keep your eyes out for a Hokie commit testing the waters on the college level this weekend!

2021 NCAA finals(Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) DI wrestling is back and will be in full-force this weekend as 26 duals and a host of open tournaments are on the slate. Since it can be difficult to figure out where and when to watch all of these events, InterMat has put together a list of all of the live-streamed events occurring this weekend. Below are the dates/times and how to watch each match. Thursday, November 4: Belmont Abbey at Gardner-Webb, 7:00 PM Gardner-Webb Facebook Saturday, November 6: Air Force, Duke, NC State, Presbyterian, The Citadel at Battle at the Citadel, 9:00 AM Cal Poly, Central Michigan, Edinboro, Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Ohio, Oklahoma, Wisconsin at Michigan State Open, hosted by Michigan State, 9:30 AM FloWrestling Little Rock at Trojan Open, hosted by Little Rock, 10:30 AM Purdue at Drexel, 1:00 PM FloWrestling California Baptist at North Dakota State, 2:00 PM NDSU All-Access Cumberland at Chattanooga, 5:00 PM ESPN+ Sacred Heart at American, 6:00 PM ESPN+ Virginia at American, 7:30 PM ESPN+ Campbell vs. Lehigh at Oregon State, 8:00 PM Pac-12.com Purdue at Rider, 8:00 PM ESPN+ Campbell at Oregon State, 9:30 PM Pac-12.com Lehigh at Oregon State, 11:00 PM Pac-12.com Sunday, November 7: Bloomsburg, Buffalo, Clarion, Hofstra, Kent State, Lock Haven, Maryland, Navy, Pittsburgh, West Virginia at Clarion Open, hosted by Clarion, 9:00 AM FloWrestling Drexel, Franklin & Marshall at East Stroudsburg Open, 9:00 AM Appalachian State, Columbia, Davidson, George Mason, Princeton, Virginia, Virginia Tech, VMI at Southeast Open, hosted by Roanoke, 9:00 AM FloWrestling Binghamton vs. Cleveland State at Rutgers, 10:00 AM New Jersey City at Rutgers, 10:00 AM BTN+ Utah Valley vs. Doane at Northern Colorado, 11:30 AM FloWrestling Binghamton vs. New Jersey City at Rutgers, 11:30 AM Cleveland State at Rutgers, 11:30 AM BTN+ SIU Edwardsville at Bellarmine, 12:00 PM BU Knights Sports Network CSU Bakersfield, Stanford at Menlo Open, 12:00 PM FloWrestling Northwest Kansas Tech at Northern Colorado, 1:00 PM FloWrestling Utah Valley vs. North Idaho at Northern Colorado, 1:00 PM FloWrestling North Carolina at Ohio State, 1:00 PM BTN+ Binghamton at Rutgers, 1:00 PM BTN+ Cleveland State vs. New Jersey City at Rutgers, 1:00 PM Indiana vs. SIU Edwardsville at Bellarmine, 1:30 PM North Idaho at Northern Colorado, 2:30 PM FloWrestling Indiana at Bellarmine, 3:00 PM BU Knights Sports Network Doane at Northern Colorado, 4:00 PM FloWrestling Utah Valley vs. Northwest Kansas Tech at Northern Colorado, 4:00 PM FloWrestling Utah Valley at Northern Colorado, 6:00 PM FloWrestling

2021 NCAA champion Austin O'Connor (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com; Graphic/Anna-Lee Marie) Welcome to a new recurring feature from InterMat as we lead into the 2021-22 collegiate season. We are about 50 days away from the start of the new season, so what better way to ring in the new year than to use that time to count down the top-50 current collegiate wrestlers. Each day a new wrestler will be released. These rankings have been compiled by members of the InterMat staff and used a combination of collegiate achievements, with 2021 accomplishments carrying more weight than past years, along with win-loss records and notable wins. While we are counting down the top-50 wrestlers based primarily on collegiate accomplishments, it is impossible to totally ignore achievements in the international settings, so they did factor in slightly, too. Before getting to the next wrestler on the list, look at the wrestlers previously profiled: #50 - Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) #49 - Ben Darmstadt (Cornell) #48 - Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) #47 - Kaleb Young (Iowa) #46 - Rocky Elam (Missouri) #45 - Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska) #44 - Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) #43 - Brock Mauller (Missouri) #42 - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) #41 - John Poznanski (Rutgers) #40 - Brayton Lee (Minnesota) #39 - Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State) #38 - Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) #37 - Tariq Wilson (NC State) #36 - Jacob Warner (Iowa) #35 - Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) #34 - Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) #33 - Vito Arujau (Cornell) #32 - Patrick Glory (Princeton) #31 - Max Dean (Penn State) #30 - Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) #29 - Mike Labriola (Nebraska) #28 - Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) #27 - Austin DeSanto (Iowa) #26 - Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh) #25 - Evan Wick (Cal Poly) #24 - Alex Marinelli (Iowa) #23 - Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) #22 - Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) #21 - Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) #20 - Trent Hidlay (NC State) #19 - Stevan Micic (Michigan) #18 - Hayden Hidlay (NC State) #17 - Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) #16 - Michael Kemerer (Iowa) #15 - Mason Parris (Michigan) #14 - Shane Griffith (Stanford) #13 - AJ Ferrari (Oklahoma State) #12 - Carter Starocci (Penn State) #11 - Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) #10 - Myles Amine (Michigan) #9 - Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) #8 - Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) Next up is… #7 Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) Weight: 157 lbs Year: Senior Career Record: 74-7 Hometown: Lockport, Illinois College Accomplishments: 2021 NCAA Champ, 2x ACC Champion, 2020 NWCA 1st Team All-American, 2019 NCAA 3rd Place 2021-22 Preseason Ranking: #2 at 157 lbs Four Illinois state titles made Austin O'Connor one of the top recruits in the Class of 2017 and saw him become the highest-ranked signee for North Carolina in at least a decade. O'Connor redshirted during his initial season in Chapel Hill and responded with a 20-3 season competing unattached. His best showing came at the Midlands, where he finished seventh. At the Midlands, O'Connor's biggest win came over Minnesota's Steve Bleise, who made the NCAA Round of 12 in the previous season. O'Connor finished the season with 11 straight wins, including the Appalachian Open and the Warrior Winter Open. In his first event officially competing for UNC, O'Connor finished third in a loaded weight class at the Hokie Open. O'Connor lost to Mitch Finesilver (Duke) 3-2, but added wins over Josh Heil (Campbell) and Matt Zovistoski (Appalachian State). A month later, at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, O'Connor had his breakout tournament. He lost to Micah Jordan (Ohio State), but stormed back with wins over Heil, Brock Zacherl (Clarion), Jared Prince (Navy) and Finesilver to take third. Post Vegas, O'Connor picked up two wins over past All-Americans by downing Tommy Thorn (Minnesota) and Justin Oliver (NC State). The only losses during that period came at the hands of Matt Kolodzik (Princeton) and Finesilver. The ACC was loaded at 149 lbs and O'Connor had an imposing road at the conference meet. He notched another win over Oliver before, yet another, contest against Finesilver. This time it was all Finesilver, who prevailed with a 5-1 win. That runner-up finish yielded the sixth seed for O'Connor at the 2019 NCAA Championships. In Pittsburgh, O'Connor grinded out wins over Tejon Anthony (George Mason) and Heil to earn a spot in the quarterfinals. The quarters saw the conference rivals O'Connor and Finesilver clash again. This time the freshman used a takedown in sudden victory to move into the semifinals. In the semis, O'Connor suffered his second lost of the bout of the year to Jordan, 7-3. O'Connor bounced back in style to finish in third place by downing Brock Mauller (Missouri) 4-3 and Finesilver, 7-5. That finish was the highest by a Tar Heel wrestler since Justin Harty made the NCAA finals in 1996. He also ended the year with a 3-3 record versus Finesilver. O'Connor started the year ranked #1 in the country at 149 lbs, but he had a minor injury that sidelined him for the first month-plus in the 2019-20 season. His year got off to a good start with three falls and five bonus-point wins at the Cleveland State Open. Two weeks later, O'Connor made the finals of the Midlands, but came up short against Pat Lugo (Iowa), 8-4. Before the Lugo match, O'Connor downed Lugo's teammates Vince Turk and Jaren Glosser. That loss to Lugo proved to be his only one of the year. O'Connor was able to rack up bonus points in half of his 12 regular-season wins post-Midlands. At the ACC Championships, O'Connor weathered the storm from a dangerous Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) to claim his first ACC title, 11-7. That win, coupled with a 25-1 record, was good enough for second place at the 2020 NCAA Championships. O'Connor did not get to pursue his first NCAA title since the tournament was eventually canceled at the onset of the Covid pandemic. Other notables on O'Connor's half of the bracket included #3 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State), #6 Kolodzik, #7 Brayton Lee (Minnesota), and #10 Kanen Storr (Michigan). The 2021 season kicked off in January and didn't see O'Connor seriously tested at all during the dual season. Of his six regular-season duals, only an 11-4 win over Andonian failed to reach bonus-point territory. O'Connor did need to dig deep in the ACC finals as Andonian jumped out to an early 6-0 lead. Not phased, O'Connor chipped away at the lead and eventually claimed his second ACC crown with a 10-8 win. For the second consecutive year, O'Connor was awarded the second seed at the NCAA Championships. Aside from a first-round major decision, O'Connor put together a series of workman-like wins to advance through the brackets. He scored a 5-2 win over eventual All-American Jonathan Millner (Appalachian State) in the quarters, before surviving a battle of attrition in tiebreakers with Brock Mauller (Missouri), 2-1 in the semifinals. The Mauller win put O'Connor into the national finals opposite Sasso, who was was also undefeated and came in as the weight classes top seed. A takedown in the third period proved to be the deciding marker for O'Connor; however, he had to fend off a near-score in the closing second by Sasso to get his hand raised after a 3-2 win. The NCAA title for O'Connor made him the first Tar Heel wrestler to win a national title since TJ Jaworsky did so for the third time in 1995. Strengths: O'Connor is someone whose offense has evolved and grown during his time in Chapel Hill. He is a strong handfighter and stout defensively with heavy hips and excellent balance. Offensively, O'Connor has a good double leg and is dangerous from a front headlock. Against an opponent like Andonian, he was able to counter and even score with upperbody techniques. On the mat, O'Connor is a strong rider and can add to his score with tilts, as he often ties up his opponents wrists. 2021-22 Outlook: O'Connor has moved up to a new weight class in 2021-22. Being an unbeaten national champion, you have to make the Tar Heel one of the favorites; however, the incumbent at the weight, David Carr (Iowa State), also navigated through the 2021 campaign without a loss. For now, he'll have to settle for the #2 ranking. 2021 NCAA champion Austin O'Connor (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

3x All-American Stevan Micic (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Michigan Wolverines The Michigan wrestling program is celebrating its 100th season in 2021-22, and it's fitting that this yearlong commemoration is coming at a time when the program is as good as it's ever been. The Wolverines have consistently become a national power in recent years. They took fourth at the 2018 NCAA Championships, then fifth in both 2019 and 2021, marking the best four-year stretch for Michigan since their four top-five finishes in five years from 1962-67 under legendary coach Cliff Keen. This run of great wrestling began in 2017-18, Joe McFarland's final year as head coach, and has continued under Sean Bormet, who's been at the helm every year since. The Wolverines enter the' 21-22 season with a star-powered lineup and big expectations, and Bormet is excited about their potential this winter. "I've seen a lot of consistency, a lot of grit, a lot of determination," he said. "The mentality they bring to the room week in and week out has been awesome. "This lineup, we've got the team that can get it done. We have one of the most experienced and talented rosters we've ever had." TOP RETURNERS When we say "star-powered" in reference to Michigan's lineup, we mean some SERIOUS star power. Three out of four All-Americans are back from last season, in Cam Amine (165), Myles Amine (197), and Mason Parris (285). Cam will be back at 165, but Myles plans to drop to 184. Parris will man the end of the lineup. Myles, of course, is also an Olympic bronze medalist, and Parris is a returning NCAA finalist and past Junior world champ. Even more, Stevan Micic returns after taking an Olympic redshirt. He's a three-time All-American with a 74-11 overall record in three seasons with the Wolverines. He's done all of his previous damage at 133 pounds, but plans to bump to 141 this season, which means there will be a few interesting lineup battles for Michigan at the lighter weights. "We're fortunate that Stevan and Myles decided to come back and wrestle," Bormet said. "These guys love Michigan. They're doing it for the program and they want to make a run at the team title." Behind those four, Michigan has tons of experience filling in the other spots. Jack Medley is back down at 125 after wrestling 133 last season, and he'll battle with Kurt McHenry for the starting spot. Dylan Ragusin, who was down at 125 last season, is now up at 133, and he'll compete with Drew Mattin to keep that spot. Kanen Storr, a three-time NCAA qualifier, is back again at 149. So is Will Lewan, a two-time NCAA qualifier and past Cadet world champion, at 157. Bormet expects Max Maylor to lead the battle at 174, but Jaden Bullock and Joe Walker will also be in the mix, and Jelani Embree, an NCAA qualifier in 2020, will get time in spots at 184. KEY DEPARTURES One big loss from Michigan's lineup this season is Logan Massa, who is no longer listed on Michigan's roster. He finished his college career as a two-time All-American, a four-time NCAA qualifier, and with an 86-23 career record, all at 165 and 174 pounds. That's a huge hole to fill. Massa scored 17 points at the 2021 NCAA Championships, where Michigan scored 69 to finish fifth, ahead of North Carolina State (68) and Minnesota and Missouri (both 64). Bormet said he likes what Maylor, Bullock, and Walker have all done in the preseason to try and fill that hole. The Wolverines plan to send a bunch of wrestlers to the Michigan State Open this coming weekend, so perhaps that'll give an indication as to who the leader is in this particular lineup battle. We shouldn't rule out the possibility that Massa could potentially come back at the beginning of next semester, either, should he decide to do so. TOP NEWCOMERS Michigan may be losing one All-American in Massa, but gained another in Pat Brucki, who transferred to Michigan after three stellar years at Princeton. Brucki was a three-time NCAA qualifier and 2019 All-American with an 82-18 overall record. Bormet expects him to step right in at 197 since Myles Amine is dropping to 184. Brucki's addition gives Michigan All-Americans at 184, 197 and 285. Combine that with Cam Amine's All-American finish at 165, and the Wolverines will have four All-Americans in the last five weights. With Micic anchoring the front-half of the lineup, and capable wrestlers filling in everywhere else, it's easy to see why many are excited about this year's Michigan team. WRESTLERS TO WATCH There are plenty of options here - Myles is among the toughest wrestlers, pound-for-pound, in the country; Parris is one of the most exciting; Ragusin was once the wrestling community's darling; Brucki, Storr, Lewan are all capable - but we're picking Stevan Micic. Ready for this? Micic's first college season was back in 2014-15, at Northwestern. He redshirted and went 17-3 at 125 pounds. He took a medical redshirt the next year at Michigan, then produced three-straight All-American finishes from 2017-19, and after two years of Olympic redshirts, he's back again for his final season with the Wolverines. Of Micic's 74 career wins, 51 have included bonus-points. What's more, he's 14-4 all-time in three trips to the NCAA Championships, and all four losses have come to guys who have won NCAA titles: Nick Suriano, Seth Gross, Nathan Tomasello and Cory Clark. Perhaps this is the year, at a new weight, that Micic goes out on top. POTENTIAL LINEUP 125: Jack Medley/Kurt McHenry 133: Dylan Ragusin/Drew Mattin 141: Stevan Micic/Cole Mattin/Chance Lamer 149: Kanen Storr 157: Will Lewan/Fidel Mayora 165: Cam Amine 174: Max Maylor/Jaden Bullock/Joe Walker 184: Myles Amine/Jelani Embree 197: Pat Brucki 285: Mason Parris

2x All-American Jordan Wood (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Lehigh Mountain Hawks Lehigh returns nine national qualifiers and three All Americans(Paetzell, Humphreys, Wood) and are looking to build upon four straight EIWA crowns. Lehigh seemed like one the teams that was hit hardest by Covid. I've heard the rumblings from their coaches referencing multiple 14-day quarantines for almost every starter last season and numerous shutdowns of the Caruso Complex. Despite this, Lehigh won EIWA's again and qualified all ten weights to St. Louis. Expect Lehigh to bring a large contingent to Nationals. Twice in the past four years, Lehigh has brought all ten starters to nationals. Only one other team in the country can make that claim. During those other two year, Lehigh had eight and nine. It looks like that may continue as Lehigh has a very young team with many roster battles and a lot of depth. It will be interesting to see how the coaching staff navigates this season with so many redshirts still available. Wood and Humphreys anchor this Lehigh team and could potentially be the only upperclassman in the entire lineup. Wood is the undisputed leader of this squad and will be looking to become the first 5X EIWA champ. Many forget he was in an overtime match in the 2019 NCAA semifinals against Derek White (Oklahoma State). Wood has reportedly put on an additional 20 pounds in the offseason and was also quite active this summer, qualifying for the Olympic Trials, making the semis of the Sr. World Team Trials, as well as a third-place finish at U23's. The buzz is that Humphreys has fully recovered after a year lost due to injury. He is a full go and the coaches have raved about how hungry and ready he is to be back in the fire. Lane and Hines return at 125 and 133 after both won EIWA titles and multiple matches at NCAA's. Sheldon Seymour made some noise by winning the intrasquad match over Lane at 125 in Grace Hall. Malyke Hines was the EIWA Freshman of the Year last season after his run at Nationals. Connor McGonigal is the incumbent at the 141 weight class and a national qualifier last season. Veteran Dan Moran is back from a season lost due to shoulder surgery. He is well respected by the team for his energy and work ethic and is a solid option for Mountain Hawks at 141. Jimmy Hoffman is quite seasoned, having made the NCAA's the past two seasons at 149, but Manzona Bryant is looking to make a name for himself as he knocked off Hoffman in the intrasquad. Returning All American Josh Humphreys looks to be a major contender nationally at 157, but Lehigh also has a National Qualifier in Luca Frinzi returning at 157. Frinzi, a Lehigh Valley native, may also see some time at 165. Speaking of 165, Brian Meyer returns after his trip to NCAA's last season. He has both Thayne Lawrence and Connor Herceg to contend with at the weight. Connor Herceg, a Nazareth product, performed well this summer, placing at U23's. Jake Logan returns at 174 after his first trip to the NCAA tournament last March. Logan had a great summer placing 2nd at the UWW Juniors, which earned him a trip to the Jr Pan American Championships, where he earned a Gold medal. Lawrence and Herceg are also quite capable options at 174. Lehigh's staff seems impressed with AJ Burkhart making the jump from 157 to 184. He has put on some good size after a summer spent in the weight room. They have also raved about the work ethic of NJ native Jack Wilt. Wilt is also in contention for the starting spot at 184 as a first-year freshman. JT Davis will likely be the guy at 197 for the Mountain Hawks. The multiple-time Delaware state champ had his first year on campus derailed by a knee injury. Now, JT is healthy and has grown into a full-size 197. Jordan Wood will again anchor Lehigh's lineup at 285 for the 5th year in a row. Jordan looks to improve on his 2019 fourth-place finish at NCAA's in his final year of eligibility. Returning NWCA All-American, Brandon Paetzell, has had shoulder surgery and will likely miss most, if not, all of this season. Gaige Garcia, the blue-chip transfer from the University of Michigan, is a two-sport athlete, who reportedly broke his foot during the start of his first season on the football field for the Mountain Hawks. If Garcia could get healthy, it could certainly bolster Lehigh's lineup. POTENTIAL LINEUP 125: Jaret Lane/ Sheldon Seymour/Carter Bailey 133: Malyke Hines 141: Connor McGonigal/ Dan Moran 149: Jimmy Hoffman/Manzona Bryant 157: Josh Humphreys-Jr (AA, 2x EIWA Champ) /Luca Frinzi RFr( NQ) 165: Brian Meyer/ Thayne Lawrence/Connor Herceg/Luca Frinzi 174: Jake Logan/Herceg/Lawrence 184: AJ Burkhart/Jack Wilt 197: JT Davis 285: Jordan Wood

3x national qualifier Logan Kemp (Photo/West Liberty athletics) #19 University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown vs #5 West Liberty University 6:30 PM (EST) Thursday November 4th Academic Sports & Recreation Complex, West Liberty, West Virginia Watch D2Wrestlestat Prediction What a heavyweight bout we have to start the #D2Wrestle season out east. A historic powerhouse in the University of Pitt-Johnstown, coached by the incomparable Pat Pecora, enters unknown territory in 2021-22. They are a team full of youngsters looking to prove themselves after seeing nearly all of their 2020-21 season pass them by during the pandemic. They will meet the 5th-ranked West Liberty Hilltoppers, coming off a historic season under Danny Irwin. In just his second year at the helm, West Liberty crowned two champions and finished fourth at the national tournament. These two programs have switched roles; West Liberty is now the hunted, while UPJ is the hungry hunter. They last met in December of 2019, with UPJ taking the dual 28-13 at home. The Mountain Cats will have four wrestlers from that lineup going for them Thursday night, with Matt Siszka featured as their lone #SuperSenior. He, Nate Smith (157), and Brock Biddle (174) all earned victories that night to propel their team forward. The Hilltoppers will only have two wrestlers back from that night, Chase Morgan (165) and Francesco Borsellino (Hwt). Morgan is one of six potential #SuperSeniors for coach Irwin although we may not see two-time defending national champion Tyler Warner in the lineup. UPJ has won seven meetings in a row against West Liberty, but 2021 could be a turning point. Pat Pecora has led the Mountain Cats for the last 44 seasons and is the dean of NCAA Division II wrestling. Danny Irwin has now directed two different teams to trophy finishes at the NCAA tournament. Could this be the changing of the guard? I will break down the matchups, show you how D2Wrestlestat thinks has the edge, and give you my predictions. Follow along. 125 Matt Siszka (Super Senior) vs. #1 Cole Laya (Jr) Wrestlestat Prediction: Cole Laya (West Liberty) winner by MD over Matt Siszka (UPJ) You may want to dismiss Matt Siszka because of whom he is wrestling; that would be a mistake. Cole Laya is the returning national champion and ranked number one at this weight class, but that would be a mistake. He is a big underdog here, but the savvy veteran will have "Old Man" strength on his side. Wrestlestat is almost certainly right, though; that is not going to be enough to slow down Cole Laya. The junior is on an absolute tear right now, having won 14 straight matches and earning bonus points 10 times during the win streak. The last wrestler to beat him in November was #2 Nick Daggett (UNCP) in 2019. Cole Laya will get the Hilltoppers started off fast and the savvy veteran Siszka will need to keep this to just a major decision Intermat Prediction: Cole Laya (West Liberty) winner by MD Team Score: West Liberty 4 Pitt-Johnstown 0 133 Mason Myers (R-Fr) vs. #1 Tyler Warner (Super Senior) or Isaac Short (Fr) Wrestlestat Prediction: Tyler Warner (West Liberty) winner by Dec over Mason Myers (UPJ) Wrestlestat is wrong with their prediction here, but only because I have a notion that it will be the 3X West Virginia state champion Isaac Short getting the start for the Hilltoppers over Tyler Warner. The Point Pleasant High School graduate could see action right away as a true freshman and it will come in a perfect spot. Mason Myers is a true freshman himself despite finishing the Super Regional I tournament 1-2 last season. The do-over allows him to reset his clock and put that rough start behind him. The York, PA native, is going to have his hands full with Short, who will be looking to make an impression quickly. Tyler Warner has missed duals in the past for injury and rest. I expect that we will be seeing Short in the lineup a few times as Irwin looks to keep his #SuperSenior fresh for the important matches in March. Intermat Prediction: Isaac Short (West Liberty) winner by Dec Team Score: West Liberty 7 Pitt-Johnstown 0 141 Caleb Morris (So) vs. Marcus Jean-Baptiste (Sr) Wrestlestat Prediction: Marcus Jean-Baptiste (West Liberty) winner by Dec over Caleb Morris (UPJ) Caleb Morris narrowly missed a trip to the NCAA tournament in 2021 despite handing Noah Kiszka (Fairmont State) his only loss of the season and falling to Austin Hertel (Gannon) in sudden victory. In 2019, as a freshman at West Virginia, Morris was an above .500 wrestler whose only loss to D2 competition was a 12-8 defeat by eventual national champion Jose Rodriguez (Notre Dame). He will take on Marcus Jean-Baptiste, who I will now be referring to as MJB from now on. The #SuperSenior from Orlando, Florida seems to have taken a liking to "Country Roads" and, after following Danny Irwin from Wheeling Jesuit to West Liberty, finished fourth in Super Regional III a season ago. This is his last go and if you look at his results from 2021, you can see the talent. He notched a big win over #12 Breyden Bailey (Indianapolis) as the regional tournament. But once again, I think Wrestlestat misses the mark and I am going against the computer. Intermat Prediction: Caleb Morris (UPJ) winner by DEC Team Score: West Liberty 7 Pitt-Johnstown 3 149 #7 Jacob Ealy (R-So) vs. Jordan Watters (So) Wrestlestat Prediction: Jacob Ealy (UPJ) winner by Dec over Jordan Watters (West Liberty) Jordan Watters only loss last season was to teammate MJB at the West Liberty Open, but with only four collegiate matches under his belt, it is tough to judge him. Jacob Ealy won the 2020 Super Regional I title and turned an at-large bid in 2021 into an 8th place finish. The returning All-American will start his second sophomore campaign off with Watters in a match where his experience will almost certainly pay dividends. Do not underestimate a wrestler who was essentially in a do-or-die situation at a major tournament a year ago and was able to overcome that adversity. UPJ could really use some bonus points to keep it close with West Liberty down the stretch, but Ealy has never been one to put up those extra points. He has a career percentage that is below 40%. Intermat Prediction: Jacob Ealy (UPJ) winner by Dec Team Score: West Liberty 7 Pitt-Johnstown 6 157 Nate Smith (R-So) vs. Christian Rivera (SuperSenior) Wrestlestat Prediction: Nate Smith (UPJ) winner by Dec over Christian Rivera (West Liberty) Christian Rivera followed a similar route to MJB, from Florida to Wheeling to West Liberty. He wrestled well last season, finishing with a winning record, but was unable to break through at the Super Regional tournament. He will face redshirt-sophomore Nate Smith, who fell just short of a trip to St Louis despite finishing second at the Super Regional. In 2020, he was wrestling as well as nearly anyone in the country when an injury ended his season in early February. That is two years in a row he has been denied the national championship trip, and I, for one, would be surprised to see it happen a third time. There may seem like a disparity in maturing between a graduate assistant, Rivera, and a redshirt sophomore, but that is not the case here. Nate Smith wins when he opens up and against a tough wrestler like Rivera; it may be a battle, but when you look at the coaches Smith has to wrestle within his room, it is not hard to see how he has seemingly improved each season. Intermat Prediction: Nate Smith (UPJ) winner by Dec Team Score: Pitt-Johnstown 9 West Liberty 7 165 Dillon Keane (R-Fr) vs. #12 Chase Morgan (Sr) Wrestlestat Prediction: Dillon Keane (UPJ) winner by Dec over Chase Morgan (West Liberty) This will be Dillon Keane's first chance to see extended time in the Mountain Cats lineup and the Pennsylvania state placer should make the most of it. He starts his season off with a tough draw though Chase Morgan is a returning national qualifier which begins the season ranked 12th. The #SuperSenior earned an at-large bid to the national tournament in 2021 after finishing sixth in 2020. I am sure the 0-2 finish in St Louis has left a sour taste in his mouth and this will be his chance to end the bit of a losing streak he is battling through. Side with the experience and the established talent here, folks. Wrestlestat's algorithm misses the mark again, but do not worry, I am here to straighten you out. Intermat Prediction: Chase Morgan (West Liberty) winner by Dec Team Score: West Liberty 10 Pitt-Johnstown 9 174 #6 Brock Biddle (R-Jr) vs. Ty McGeary (So) Wrestlestat Prediction: Brock Biddle (UPJ) winner by Dec over Ty McGeary (West Liberty) This battle may end up the best match of the night; 3X All-American Brock Biddle will put his #6 ranking on the line against a wrestler who was just barely kept out of the national tournament a year ago. On paper, this would look to be all Biddle, his three-year record as a starter stands at 51-12. Here is what I want people to think about, though, in 2020, after coming off a redshirt freshman All-American campaign, Biddle lost four of his first five matches. He broke out of that sophomore slump as the season progressed, but if he comes out slow, he is going to be in trouble. Ty McGeary, like his teammate Tyler Warner, spent time as a student-athlete at Pitt-Johnstown. Now he finds himself at West Liberty with a chance to strike a decisive blow in what could be the biggest match of this dual. In any other season, his third-place finish at the Super Regional would have earned him a trip to the national tournament, but thanks to shortsighted and idiotic decision-making by the NCAA, he was forced to rely on an at-large bid that never came. What better way to come out and announce his presence with authority Nuke LaLouche style than to knock off a returning All-American at home under the lights. Intermat Prediction: Brock Biddle (UPJ) winner by Dec Team Score: Pitt-Johnstown 12 West Liberty 10 184 Gage Arnold (Fr) vs. #2 Connor Craig (SuperSenior) Wrestlestat Prediction: Connor Craig (West Liberty) winner by TF over Gage Arnold (UPJ) It must be nice to know that when the going gets tough in a dual, you have a 3X All-American and former national champion you can fall back on. I honestly expect #SuperSenior Connor Craig to come out and end this match quickly. He will be taking on true freshman Gage Arnold, who I expect to be roughly welcomed to the world of D2 wrestling. Now, Gage Arnold was a class of 2017 as near as I can tell, which is confusing the heck out of me because I can only find the one Gage Arnold from Coudersport, and he was a PA state qualifier in 2016 and 2017. Either there is another Gage Arnold from that same town, or else we have ourselves a 22-year-old true freshman who has returned to the mat. Which would actually be pretty awesome. Either way, Connor Craig is going to do what he does, which is score bonus points, something he does better than 60% of the time. Intermat Prediction: Connor Craig (West Liberty) winner by Fall Team Score: West Liberty 16 Pitt-Johnstown 12 197 Dakoda Rodgers (So) vs. #8 Logan Kemp (SuperSenior) Wrestlestat Prediction: Logan Kemp (West Liberty) winner by MD over Dakoda Rodgers (UPJ) Logan Kemp is a three-time national qualifier for West Liberty and only a season-ending injury as a junior kept it from being four-time. Last year in St. Louis, he found himself with a brutal draw that saw him finish 0-2 with losses to two eventual All-Americans. Kemp was a runner-up at the Super Regional III championship a year ago, earning a 0:33 fall over All-American Chris Droege (Lake Erie) on his way to the finals. When healthy, Logan Kemp is an absolute beast and this early in the season, his body will be free of the aches and pains that build up over time. It will be up to Dakoda Rodgers to wrest momentum back in this dual because if he cannot, it may be all over for the Mountain Cats. Dakoda Rodgers battled to a third-place finish in Super Regional I last season, which should have taken him to the national tournament. Thanks a lot, Covid! Instead, he brings a 1-1 career record into the 2022 season and an opening bout with Kemp. Sorry, buddy. Intermat Prediction: Logan Kemp (West Liberty) winner by MD Team Score: West Liberty 20 Pitt-Johnstown 12 Hwt Ogden Atwood (So) or Isaiah Vance (Fr) vs. #7 Francesco Borsellino (So) Wrestlestat Prediction: Ogden Atwood (UPJ) winner by Dec over Francesco Borsellino (West Liberty) Quick, name the first national qualifier for Mount Olive University. Here is a hint, he is the starting heavyweight for Pitt-Johnstown this season. That is right, Gage Atwood. The starting job may be his only as long as he can stop three-time PA state placer, Isaiah Vance, from taking it. Regardless, one of them will be facing returning All-American Francesco Borsellino. It is crazy to think that he is just going to get even better; a year ago was the first time he focused on wrestling full-time and was not splitting attention with football. He parlayed that into an All-American finish and enters the season ranked seventh in one of the most loaded weight classes in the country. Wrestlestat needs to check their formulas; I am thinking they are using that Common Core math. If they were using that "new math" stuff from the 90s, they would realize that Borsellino should be favored here. Atwood is very tough, but he is more of a 2-1 heavyweight. Borsellino won eight of his 13 matches last season by pin. He is a high-reward wrestler firing quickly. Danny Irwin is one of the best big man coaches in the country and it will continue to pay big dividends for this lineup. Intermat Prediction: Francesco Borsellino winner by Fall Intermat Team Score Prediction: West Liberty 26 Pitt-Johnstown 12 Wrestlestat Team Score Prediction: West Liberty 19 Pitt-Johnstown 15

Jesse Mendez at 2021 UWW Junior's (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Today, the top recruit in the Class of 2022, Jesse Mendez (Crown Point, IN), announced his college decision on FloWrestling's FRL. Mendez will head east to wrestle for Tom Ryan's Ohio State University squad. Mendez is a three-time Indiana state champion who heads into his senior season with a 114-1 career record. Earlier this year, Mendez went to Ufa, Russia, to compete in the Junior World Championships. He would finish eighth in the 61 kg weight class. It was not Mendez's first trip to a world-level event, as he was a Cadet World Team member in 2019. To make the 2021 team, Mendez defeated current Oklahoma State freshman Carter Young in two straight bouts. He also scored wins over current collegiate wrestlers Julian Chlebove (Arizona State) and Dominick Serrano (Nebraska) to make the best-of-three finals opposite Young. Domestically, Mendez has been a part of the last three “Who's #1” events. In 2020, he downed Jordan Williams (Oklahoma) and Joel Vandervere (Illinois) to cement his status as the top wrestler in the nation at 138 lbs. This year he fell in a 7-6 shootout to Iowa State recruit Casey Swiderski (Michigan); however, his body of work keeps him in the top spot in the Class of 2022. Other national placements of note include fifth-place at the 2019 Super 32 and third at FloNationals in 2018. Ohio State now has commitments from the top-three wrestlers in the Class of 2022. Mendez will join #2 Nic Bouzakis (Wyoming Seminary, PA) and #3 Nick Feldman (Malvern Prep, PA). Mendez will be the second consecutive #1 overall to ink with the Buckeyes as Paddy Gallagher joined Ohio State in 2021.

53 kg U23 World team member Ronna Heaton (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 53 kg 53 kilos in Belgrade will be laden with unfamiliar faces; lots of women will be making their debut on the international and upper age level scene. Several well-established competitors stand out as favorites to take home the top honors, with the most credentialed of the lot being USA's Ronna Heaton, who also has some of the brightest accolades of the entire American World team. Heaton's international career features a 2015 Cadet world title and a Pan-Am gold from earlier this year, but her most impressive performances as of late have been domestic: she made the American Olympic Trials and World Team finals, where she proved that she was one of the top women domestically at the weight class. Heaton has a funky, unconventional style and is capable of pinning just about anyone in the world. The favorite beyond Heaton, however, will be Russia's U23 Euro Champ Ekaterina Verbina. Verbina dominated en route to Euro gold in Skopje earlier this year and has a strong history of past wins to make her one of the favorites to medal here. She'll also come here looking for some vengeance. In 2019, she let a Junior world title slip through her fingers after falling in the finals despite holding a criteria lead with 40 seconds left. Later that year, she again fell in a world medal match: this time for bronze at the U23 Worlds. Verbina has looked better than ever this year and will certainly be motivated to bring home the top prize. One of the Russian's biggest threats, however, will be Zeynep Yetgil of Turkey. Though Yetgil ended up forfeiting to Verbina at the U23 Euros this year, she does own the two most recent victories from their rivalry. Yetgil has repeatedly cemented herself as the cream of the age-level crop with a plethora of medals to her name; she's accumulated some strong competition experience this year at a wide variety of tournaments. Turkey has invested heavily in her and earning a ticket to the world finals would be very significant for her and her nation. While Ukraine has been incredibly strong over the past couple of years, 53 kilos has proven to be a deficit in their otherwise very talented lineup. They did not qualify the weight for the Olympic Games, nor bring home a medal from Oslo. In Belgrade, they'll be sending former 50kg competitor Mariia Vynnyk to try to improve upon their meager results. Vynnyk has a world medal down at lightweight, but hasn't been able to extend that success to her new weight class quite yet. A medal here could be very significant for her future representing Ukraine internationally at this weight class. As this weight is thinner, a couple other names that should be watched out for to pick up some wins include Szimonetta Szeker of Hungary, who owns a trio of Cadet medals in addition to a 5th place finish at the U23 Euros earlier this year. Moldova's Mariana Dragutan has bounced around from weight class to weight class this year- competing as low as 50 kg and as high as 55kg within a month- but has strong enough Cadet results to imply that she could eventually translate to a senior-level threat. The number of new names in this weight also implies that someone could have a breakout performance- Ankush of India and Khulan Batkhuyag of Mongolia both haven't competed internationally in several years, but had decent international results as Cadets. Overall, the race to gold should be expected to primarily include Ronna Heaton, Zeynep Yetgil and Ekaterina Verbina, all of whom have proven to be exceptional talents. Don't be surprised if a lesser-known woman comes out of the woodwork and impresses with an unanticipated performance; the nature of this weight class and the COVID year means some new names could prove to be real threats to take home medals in Belgrade. 57 kg 57 kilos is one of the deepest weight classes being contested in Belgrade. It's laden top to bottom with young talent and more than half of its entrants have an age-level world medal to their name (8 of 15!). A lot of women that have announced themselves as leaders on the age-level scene will look to elevate themselves as they transition fully to the senior level. The top woman at 57 kilos is Ukraine's superstar Alina Akobiia, who has been having a fantastic year. She secured a U23 Euro title and nearly made the Senior Euro finals (if not for being caught in a throw while she had an 8-0 lead). Akobiia also qualified for the Olympics, but unfortunately suffered an injury just prior to the Games and was not able to attend. She'll look to upgrade her 2019 Junior and U23 World silver medals to gold in Belgrade, and will be hard-pressed to find a challenge when doing so. Historically, however, there's been one woman in particular who has managed to get the best of Akobiia of a couple of occasions: Dagestan's Viktoriia Vaulina. Vaulina tech-falled Akobiia in 2018 at the Junior Euros before defeating her again a couple months later at the Junior Worlds. The rivalry heated up further in Skopje in May, when Akobiia managed to turn the tables and pin her in a dominant showing. Vaulina has a solid international resume, including a Junior World Bronze, a Yariguin title, and lots of continental success. She'll certainly be in contention to medal in Belgrade. While this bracket does not lack for world medalists, the only woman from this bracket to secure gold is Poland's Patrycja Gil. Gil is moving up from 55 kilos, where she upset Ekaterina Verbina to take the Junior title in 2019. She's somewhat newer to the international scene than many of the women in this weight class, but she's shown really strong growth and progress since first representing Poland in 2018. She even finished second in Skopje at the U23 Euros and was the only woman to last a full six minutes against Akobiia. This competition will be a good test for her against a full international age-level field at her new weight class. One of Canada's most promising young wrestlers, Hannah Taylor, will look to add to her 2019 U23 World bronze medal here in Belgrade. Taylor has been representing Canada internationally very consistently since 2015, and finally managed to crack the podium in 2019. Her upwards trajectory, plentiful Pan-Am accolades and proven ability to compete at this level will make her one of the prime picks to medal. Taylor is one of the brightest stars for the future of Canada's solid women's wrestling program and her final age-level tournament will likely display the good things ahead for the nation. A few other names to look out for include Aurora Russo of Italy, who came out of nowhere to take silver at the Junior World Championships this year. Russo is only 18, but has begun representing Italy on the senior level at 57 kilos and could prove to be one of their more successful women. Another 18-year old that's had a solid year is Othelie Hoeie of Norway, who secured her second continental medal in Skopje with a bronze. Despite her youth, she has the physical strength to compete with the older women and has the benefit of being able to work with her very-talented countryman, Grace Bullen, in her training. A couple other Cadet-level question marks are Altyn Shagayeva of Kazakhstan, who took silver at the Asian Championships and placed 5th at Worlds and Maral Batsooj of Mongolia, who won the Asian Championships. Neither woman has competed internationally since 2019, but the limited success they've had implies they could generate similarly positive results in Belgrade. The final athlete of note is the lesser-known of Kyrgyzstan's two WW entrants: Nazira Marsbek Kyzy. As Kyrgyzstan continues to advance through the international ranks- propelled primarily through their dynamic upperweight squad- the clear deficits in their lack of depth and talented lightweights must be amended to ensure continual success. Marsbek Kyzy does own a Cadet World bronze and a pair of Junior Asian medals in addition to a 5th-place finish at the 2019 Worlds, but she failed to qualify for the Olympics and doesn't have the same jaw-dropping results as her teammates. A solid performance would be a huge sign that Kyrgyzstan is truly establishing themselves as a women's wrestling powerhouse for an extended period of time. All in all, there's lots to look forward to at this weight class. Ukraine's Alina Akobiia should be expected to go relatively unchallenged en route to her first world title, a sign of the nation's amazing women's wrestling growth. Prime medal contenders will include Canada's Hannah Taylor, Russia's Viktoriia Vaulina and Poland's Patrycja Gil; however, there's lots of lesser-known athletes that will look to make a statement as they establish themselves on the international scene. 62 kg The 62-kilo competition in Belgrade will mark the anticipated World Championships debut of talented American Emma Bruntil, who has been fantastic domestically as of late. Bruntil has dominated the American college scene over the past couple of years, and extended those successes to the senior level in 2021 by placing fourth at the Olympic trials and second at the 65kg World Team Trials. She also had a stellar performance at an international tournament in Romania in September, where she tech-falled her three competitors to win the round-robin bracket. This will be a great gauge as to the depth of this weight class in America and Bruntil should be expected to contend for the title here. This bracket will be made especially interesting, however, with the team race implications it could withhold: the United States and Ukraine seem like the top two teams poised to potentially win top honors in Belgrade, and Ukraine will send a game challenger looking to beat Bruntil for the title: Tetiana Rizhko. Rizhko's international credentials are impressive, with a pair of age-level world bronze medals to her name. In the past year, she's also won the 2020 World Cup, the U23 Euros and earned a formidable silver medal at the Senior Euros. On paper, she's a clear favorite to win this bracket; a potential showdown between her and Emma is incredibly appealing. Canada's Ana Paula Godinez is one of the most exciting young stars entering the international scene. In addition to taking bronze at the 2019 Junior World Championships, she also finished second at the Poland Open ranking series in a very solid weight. Godinez started wrestling in high school- a fraction of the time that most of her competitors have been training- and has huge upside; she will look to be a big part of the future of Canadian wrestling. A few other women who have had age-level success this year includes Zhala Aliyeva of Azerbaijan, who picked up a bronze at the Junior Worlds down at 59kg. Breaking onto the podium was huge for her after she finished 5th at the Cadet Worlds twice; however, she likely won't be in contention for a medal here. Belarus' Tatsiana Paulava also impressed with a second-place finish at the U23 Euros, a result that was unexpected but backed by a solid performance. If she can match that level here and have a solid showing, she'll definitely raise her international stock. One final woman that should be regarded as a threat is Aurora Campagna, who came second at the 2019 European Championships and also has a Junior World bronze. With the right draw and a solid showing, she could be in the mix to bring home some hardware. Kazakhstan's Irina Kuznetsova is also solid and has a chance at placing high. This weight class features some fantastic up-and-coming athletes, including Bruntil, Rizhko, and Godinez. The importance of the team points secured in this weight class will make every match exciting to watch as the United States and Ukraine send two very tough teams forth in search of a title. 65 kg The 65-kilo weight class will feature one of the biggest senior-level stars of the competition across all styles: France's Koumba Larroque. Larroque has displayed fantastic growth over the past quad; the 22-year-old has world titles from all three age-levels- including a U23 gold from 2017- as well as a pair of senior World medals. However, since winning the Poland Open in June, where she defeated half of the Tokyo podium with wins over Kyrgyzstan's Zhumanazarova and Nigeria's Oborodudu, Larroque has been in a bit of a slump. Though she was leading 2012 Olympic Bronze medallist Battsetseg Soronzonold of Mongolia late in the first round at the Olympics, Larroque eventually lost by pin to, unfortunately, knock her out of the Olympic Games. She was heavily favored to emerge out of her half of the bracket and face Mensah-Stock in the finals. Then, in Oslo, she made the surprise decision to move down to 65 kilos; the weight descent was shocking as she had spent a good amount of time at 72 kilos on the age-level scene. At her new weight class, she was once again a huge favorite. While she secured a couple solid wins, her quarterfinal loss to Forrest Molinari was not on par with the golden hardware many expected her to bring home. In Serbia, Larroque will have a prime opportunity to shake herself out of this negative trend she's found herself caught in. With 2021 Junior and Senior World Champion Irina Ringaci absent from the field and a lack of big-name competitors, her path to a title should be relatively clear. Though 65 kilos is one of the biggest women's weight classes being contested, it lacks in-depth. Koumba will be a heavy, heavy favorite to win here. One of the other prime contenders for a medal will be Ukraine's Kateryna Zelenykh, who has made two European finals this year. Zelenykh had strong showings at both the Junior and U23 continental championships, falling in close matches only to Junior World Champs Irina Ringaci and Alina Kasabieva. She's bounced around a lot between weight classes lately, wrestling as low as 59kg and as high as 65kg in 2021, but she had arguably her best performance at this weight class in Skopje in May. In a wide-open weight class, her performance could be vital to the team race. A few other women who have excelled on the international scene this year that will also be in these weight classes includes Junior World bronze medalist Birgul Soltanova of Azerbaijan, U23 Euro bronze medalist Eyleen Sewina of Germany and Kamila Kulwicka of Poland, and Junior European bronze medalist Alina Maksimava of Belarus. Another woman that has proven to be strong on the continental level is Kazakhstan's Aina Temirtassova; she's placed fifth at three different world championships, so she'll be itching to reach the podium in Skopje. Ultimately, 65 kilos will be Larroque's weight class to win, even if she doesn't show up in her prime form. It'll be an important tournament for her to regain momentum after a couple subpar performances. The prime challenger behind her looks to be Zelenykh; however, the podium is wide open to whoever can rise to the occasion and prove themselves better than their opponents on that day. 72 kg Unfortunately, one of the most exciting young wrestlers set to compete in this tournament, Kennedy Blades, will not be making her appearance at 72 kilos in Belgrade this week. Blades was coming off an incredible year where she made the American Olympic Trials finals and won a Junior World title in dominant fashion, and was poised to repeat her earlier successes here in Serbia. However, an apparent injury sustained at the Senior World Team trials has caused her to miss this competition. Her replacement, Kayla Marano, is more than game; she owns a 2015 Cadet World Bronze and has been solid on the American college scene, though she won't be favored to take the title as Kennedy was. With Blades out of the competition, there's no clear favorite, but lots of solid women will still be competing. One of the bright spots on the Indian WW team is Divya Kakran, who is a two-time Asian Champion and placed 5th at the 2017 U23 Worlds. Her most notable international results, however, include two victories over Olympic medalists: she's beaten both 2012 Olympic Bronze Battsetseg Soronzonbold and 2020 Olympic Silver Blessing Oborodudu. Kakran has proved herself as a solid addition to the senior level scene and will be one of their prime medal threats. While the 72-kilo bracket at the U23 Euros was the smallest of all the weight classes, the competition between the top four women was razor-thin. Many of the matches were decided by just a few points and many seemed like they could go the other way should a few little things have gone differently. While the champion Wiktoria Choluj is not registered for this tournament, the silver and bronze medallists and fourth placer are all on the entry list. Silver medallist Marina Surovtseva lost only by criteria to Choluj and looked solid, though she is quite new to the international scene. She, like her teammate Evgeniia Zakharchenko, is looking to be the answer to the Russian heavyweight question as their top two women- who have both achieved fantastic success- reach the twilights of their careers. Bronze medalist Zimiankova of Belarus is also super talented; she has three age-level European titles to her name and has been in the hunt for a spot on the podium for quite some time. She wrestled in Oslo and will be a prime contender to reach the podium here. Ukraine's Anastasiya Alpyeyeva finished fourth at the U23 event, but also has a 2021 Junior Euro title and a 2019 Junior World Bronze medal to her name. The European entanglement of really talented women will provide us with more really close matchups as we look to see who makes the podium here. Although Kennedy Blades is missing from this weight class, two of the four Junior World medalists will be back here and looking for medals. Germany's Lilly Schneider, who made the finals opposite Blades, and Slovakia's Zsuzanna Molnar, who also owns a pair of age-level Euro medals and a bronze from the 2020 World Cup, will both be in Belgrade. While they are both solid prospects, they probably lack the experience and physical maturity to really compete with some of the older, more seasoned veterans in this weight class, though they should not be discounted. Finally, the only Olympian in this bracket, Zaineb Sghaier of Tunisia, will be back down at her most optimal weight after competing at 76 kilos in Tokyo. The 19-year old was a surprise qualifier for the Games and unfortunately had to face two hammers in Adeline Gray and Yasemin Adar. Sghaier has placed 5th at both the Cadet and Junior Worlds and has oodles of continental success; it'll be interesting to see how she fares here in Belgrade, though she won't be expected to place. Ultimately, though 72 kilos is lacking one of the most exciting young wrestlers, it'll still be really interesting to see how athletes like Marano and Kakran fit into the puzzle of the tightly-intertwined European group of competitors. It's hard to say who will end up on the podium, but the results here should provide some great insight into the future of this weight class and the athletes competing here.

2021 NCAA champion Roman Bravo-Young (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com; Graphic/Anna-Lee Marie) Welcome to a new recurring feature from InterMat as we lead into the 2021-22 collegiate season. We are about 50 days away from the start of the new season, so what better way to ring in the new year than to use that time to count down the top-50 current collegiate wrestlers. Each day a new wrestler will be released. These rankings have been compiled by members of the InterMat staff and used a combination of collegiate achievements, with 2021 accomplishments carrying more weight than past years, along with win-loss records and notable wins. While we are counting down the top-50 wrestlers based primarily on collegiate accomplishments, it is impossible to totally ignore achievements in the international settings, so they did factor in slightly, too. Before getting to the next wrestler on the list, look at the wrestlers previously profiled: #50 - Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) #49 - Ben Darmstadt (Cornell) #48 - Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) #47 - Kaleb Young (Iowa) #46 - Rocky Elam (Missouri) #45 - Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska) #44 - Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) #43 - Brock Mauller (Missouri) #42 - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) #41 - John Poznanski (Rutgers) #40 - Brayton Lee (Minnesota) #39 - Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State) #38 - Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) #37 - Tariq Wilson (NC State) #36 - Jacob Warner (Iowa) #35 - Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) #34 - Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) #33 - Vito Arujau (Cornell) #32 - Patrick Glory (Princeton) #31 - Max Dean (Penn State) #30 - Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) #29 - Mike Labriola (Nebraska) #28 - Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) #27 - Austin DeSanto (Iowa) #26 - Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh) #25 - Evan Wick (Cal Poly) #24 - Alex Marinelli (Iowa) #23 - Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) #22 - Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) #21 - Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) #20 - Trent Hidlay (NC State) #19 - Stevan Micic (Michigan) #18 - Hayden Hidlay (NC State) #17 - Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) #16 - Michael Kemerer (Iowa) #15 - Mason Parris (Michigan) #14 - Shane Griffith (Stanford) #13 - AJ Ferrari (Oklahoma State) #12 - Carter Starocci (Penn State) #11 - Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) #10 - Myles Amine (Michigan) #9 - Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) Next up is… #8 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) Weight: 133 lbs Year: Junior Career Record: 59-9 Hometown: Tucson, Arizona College Accomplishments: 2021 NCAA Champ, 2021 Big Ten Champ, 2020 NWCA All-American, 2019 NCAA 8th Place 2021-22 Preseason Ranking: #1 at 133 lbs An undefeated record in Arizona, with four state titles, and a Cadet freestyle national title in Fargo, helped make Roman Bravo-Young one of the most sought-after recruits in the high school Class of 2018. Bravo-Young chose to enroll at Penn State to help stabilize their 133 lb weight class. The Nittany Lions did not have an All-American in either of the previous two years, which has become an eternity in State College. With that in mind, Bravo-Young was thrust into the Penn State lineup immediately and proved to be an exceptional talent immediately. Bravo-Young won his first ten bouts in a Nittany Lion singlet, a span that went into the 2019 Southern Scuffle. There he was stunned and pinned by fellow freshman Austin Gomez (Iowa State). RBY responded with a third-place finish, then proceeded to win his first three Big Ten duals. That brief streak came to an end with a surprising loss to Purdue's Ben Thornton. Bravo-Young appeared to be injured in the bout and stumbled to a 7-3 defeat. Even so, in his next outing, Bravo-Young turned in his most significant win of the season, to date, taking out returning All-American Luke Pletcher (Ohio State), 2-1 in tiebreakers. A few weeks later, Pletcher would get his revenge in the semifinals of the Big Ten Championships, 8-5. The Nittany Lion freshman finished fifth after another loss, this time at the hands of Iowa's Austin DeSanto. The fifth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships gave RBY the 10th seed at his first NCAA Tournament. After an opening-round win over Mario Guillen (Ohio), Bravo-Young was again paired with DeSanto, the seventh seed. Again it was DeSanto who prevailed, this time by a 7-2 score. Just to earn a spot on the podium, RBY had to down #9 Chas Tucker (Cornell), #15 Thornton, and #4 Micky Phillipi (Pittsburgh). The Phillipi win came in the Round of 12 and was only the fourth loss of the year for the stingy Panther. Bravo-Young would settle for eighth place after losses to John Erneste (Missouri) and Ethan Lizak (Minnesota). Though he may not have been satisfied with eighth place, Bravo-Young was the only true freshman AA at 133 lbs, a weight class that was deemed by most experts as the toughest in the last decade. That weight class wasn't much different in 2019-20, but Bravo-Young improved with another offseason in the PSU wrestling room. He won his first 14 matches of the year and tallied bonus points in nine of those contests. Most notable was an injury default over DeSanto. Early in their heated dual, Bravo-Young locked up a cradle and appeared to be on the way to a pin. But, as DeSanto was turned to his back and was injured and ended up unable to continue. Less than a week after the DeSanto win, Bravo-Young suffered his only loss of the regular season, a one-point setback to 2018 NCAA champion Seth Gross (Wisconsin). At the Big Ten Championships, another bout with DeSanto was on the horizon. This one had less fireworks, but still ended in Bravo-Young's favor, 3-2. He would come up just short of a title, though, losing to Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern), who was fired up to wrestle in his home state. The finals loss to Rivera gave Bravo-Young a 19-2 record and put him in as the fifth seed at the 2020 NCAA Championships. Unfortunately, the tournament was canceled at the outset of the Covid pandemic. Notables on RBY's half of the bracket included #1 Rivera, #4 Phillipi, #8 Montorie Bridges (Wyoming), #9 Noah Gonser (Campbell). The abridged 2021 campaign saw RBY cruise through a regular season that did not feature any duals against the top contenders in the B1G. The 2021 Big Ten Championships were held on Penn State's campus, so RBY was able to compete in front of his home crowd (or a select group of family and friends). Bravo-Young made it to his second consecutive conference final after breezing by tough freshman Chris Cannon (Northwestern), 8-3. For his first conference crown, Bravo-Young notched another win over his Hawkeye rival, DeSanto. A 9-0 record and a Big Ten title netted Bravo-Young with the second seed at the 2021 NCAA Championships. RBY scored bonus points in each of his first two bouts, getting a tech fall, before a major decision. In the quarterfinals, he held off eventual All-American Louie Hayes (Virginia), 4-1. After securing All-American honors for a second time, Bravo-Young edged Hayes' in-state rival, Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech), by a 5-3 score. The Myers victory propelled the Nittany Lion star in the NCAA finals opposite the undefeated top-seeded Daton Fix (Oklahoma State). The two were knotted in a 2-2 match after seven minutes and needed extra time to decide a victory. In sudden victory, Bravo-Young stunned his Oklahoma State foe and secured a takedown to win and national title, 4-2. Strengths: Bravo-Young has great footwork, movement, and keeps his stance. His motion and pressure on his opponent's head often leads to snapdowns and relatively easy takedowns. Bravo-Young's movement and impeccable timing leads to excellent reshots. Perhaps his best shot is a double leg. While, Bravo-Young's offense is his calling card, his riding skills can be underrated. That skillset proved to be a difference-maker in his national final against Fix. He and the PSU staff also constructed and executed an excellent game plan against DeSanto. Bravo-Young may be the first wrestler to wrestle with his arm behind his back to nullify DeSanto's dump attempts. His ability to stick to the gameplan has led to three consecutive wins against the Hawkeye. Bravo-Young is also deadly with cradles and can score from tilts, while on top. 2021-22 Outlook: As an undefeated, returning NCAA champion, RBY will be a favorite to repeat this year. Of course, that path to a title runs through Fix, who has since won a world silver medal in the offseason. 2021 NCAA champion Roman Bravo-Young (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

Brown 149 lber Ricky Cabanillas (Photo/Brown athletics) Brown Bears “We have a young team by college experience standards, but they come into college very talented and heavily accomplished. There are 12 freshmen on the team this season, with many of them battling for the starting spot. We are really excited to showcase the team this season and looking forward to our first competition!” - Head Coach Todd Beckerman TOP RETURNERS With such a young roster, mixed with the Covid year, there are only a few Brown wrestlers with significant experience penciled into the starting lineup. Most notable are Ricky Cabanillas, AJ Pedro, and Jack Bokina. Cabanillas won 25 matches in 2019-20 and finished seventh at the EIWA Championships. Senior AJ Pedro has seen two years of action in the Bear lineup and has put together a 25-17 career record. As a sophomore, Pedro got to compete in the postseason for Brown and went 1-1 before having to pull out due to injury. Bokina has gone 31-32 over parts of two years in the Brown lineup. He went 1-2 at the EIWA Championships and was named the team's Most Improved Wrestler. KEY DEPARTURES The Bears have lost a pair of experienced team members in Hunter Kosco and Nino Bastianelli, both to graduation. Kosco represented the Bears at the EIWA Championships on two occasions, finishing eighth in 2019. His final career record in Providence was 25-27. Bastianelli went 18-13 at 197 lbs in 2019-20 and was Brown's EIWA entry. TOP NEWCOMERS The Bears Class of 2021 was a sneaky-good one that featured five of MatScouts' top-300 seniors. The one most likely to see time right away is Drew Clearie. Drew placed three times at Pennsylvania's AAA state tournament and was third on two occasions. In the most recent Beast of the East (2019), Clearie finished fourth at 182 lbs. He could establish himself as the starter right away at 184 lbs. Two of the Bears top recruits from 2020 will finally get a chance to push for a spot in the lineup with Hunter Adrian and Blake Saito. In high school, Adrian won the New England Championships three times. During the offseason, Adrian led the Brown entries at UWW Junior Nationals with an eighth-place finish in freestyle at 57 kg. One of his signature wins was 9-3 over Iowa's Jesse Ybarra. Adrian could be in the driver's seat for a spot in the lineup at 125. Saito was a three-time Ohio state placewinner, who didn't get the opportunity to compete at the state tournament as a senior. He also was a placer at the Walsh Ironman and NHSCA Junior Nationals, too. While Saito has Cabanillas in the way at 149 lbs, he should make the veteran work to keep his starting spot. WRESTLERS TO WATCH In addition to the possible new faces like Adrian, Saito, and Clearie, keep an eye on Justin Bierdumpfel at 141 lbs. Justin was a three-time New Jersey state placewinner and a Fargo finalist in Cadet freestyle. He was from the Class of 2020, as well, but didn't have the opportunity to compete last season. The coaching staff likes what they see from Bierdumpfel in the preseason. POTENTIAL LINEUP 125 - Hunter Adrian/Tim Levine 133 - Darby Diedrich/Shane Hanson-Ashworth/Nicky Cabanillas 141 - Justin Bierdumpfel/Sam McMonagle/Ian Oswalt 149 - Ricky Cabanillas/Blake Saito 157 - Jack Bokina 165 - Keegan Rothrock/AJ Corrado 174 - AJ Pedro 184 - Drew Clearie/James Areano 197 - Cade Wilson/Tony Pray HWT - Lear Quinton/Thomas Mukai

2x NCAA qualifier Alex Madrigal (Photo/GMU athletics) George Mason Patriots “We are very excited about the upcoming season. We have a young lineup with the opportunity to surprise some people. Two of our leaders and returning MAC place winners are planning on redshirting – Josh Jones and Paul Pierce. This opens the door for a youth movement in our lineup. We think that we will have a very solid lineup overall. We want to break into the top 25 at the NCAA Championships.” - Head Coach Frank Beasley TOP RETURNERS The Patriots are returning eight starters, led by the following wrestlers: Josh Jones (125) - 2x MAC placewinner (6th in 2021), is likely redshirting. (Note: Ben Monn is a freshman that went 3-3 last year.) Anthony Glasl (133) - freshman, started last year and is perhaps the most improved wrestler on the team Shawn Nonaka (141) - sophomore, started at the MACs last year Alex Madrigal (149) - senior, former NCAA Alternate and 2x NCAA Qualifier, he was out last year with injury AJ Poindexter (165) - freshman, is a likely redshirt as he grows into his new weight, started last season Paul Pierce (174) - MAC placewinner (6th), is likely redshirting Kyle Davis (184) - junior, got hurt before the MAC Championships last year and had surgery immediately following the season. He is looking to have a breakout year. Davis had an 18-7 record in 2019-20 at Sacred Heart. Austin Stith (197) - sophomore, is one of the Patriots top returners. He placed eighth in the MAC last season and has improved from last year. KEY DEPARTURE George Mason will be losing one of their prominent starters this upcoming season. Neil Schuster - 2x MAC place finisher (8th in 2021) who has since graduated TOP NEWCOMERS Coach Beasley is looking forward to welcoming eight freshmen/transfers, as well as Top 100 recruits to this year's program. 125: Josh Pence, true freshman, VA State Champion & 3rd 133: Michael Rapuano, No New England Tournament in 2021, 3rd the previous 2 years 141: Kaden Cassidy, former PA State champion (and 3rd 2x). He was a top 100 recruit, and the staff expects him to have a great season. 141: Nate Higley, PA 2nd,4th,6th place finishes 157: Avery Bassett, Top 100 recruit and was 3rd and 2nd in PA State 174: Logan Messer, Top 100 recruit and was an OH big school state champion/no state as a junior because of Covid/injured as a sophomore, and 5th as a freshman 184: Malachi DuVall, 2nd/3rd/7th in Pennsylvania State Championships 197: Jon List, 4th/covid year/8th in Ohio State Championships WRESTLERS TO WATCH The Patriots have one wrestler in particular looking to make an impact in the MAC conference this upcoming wrestling season. Kaden Cassidy - gray shirted in 20-21 season. Coach Beasley stated, “He has made some jumps. He can surprise a lot of people this year. He has good attacks and is good on the mat. Watch for him to have a good year.” POTENTIAL LINEUP 125: Benjamin Monn 133: Anthony Glasl 141: Kaden Cassidy 149: Alex Madrigal 157: Danny Segura 165: Avery Bassett 174: Logan Messer 184: Kyle Davis 197: Austin Stith HWT: Ram Montalvo

McKendree University transfer Kayla Marano (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) As the start of the Collegiate Women's Wrestling season is quickly approaching, we've dug through rosters to discover several key transfers that will likely play big roles for their new teams this season. Let's take a look at some names we will see in new singlets this year. Kayla Marano Old School: Emmanuel College (D-2) New School: McKendree University (D-2) Weight Class: 155 The rich get richer here as 3x All-American Kayla Marano joins the returning national champion Bearcat squad. Marano wrestled under her mother, the legendary Kristie Davis, at Emmanuel for three seasons before making the move to Illinois for her senior year, when Davis stepped down from her post at Emmanuel. Marano was last year's runner-up at the NCWW Championships to her new teammate Alara Boyd. Tavi Heidelberg-Tillotson Old School: King University (D-2) New School: Menlo College (NAIA) Weight Class: 191 Heidelberg-Tillotson made a splash early for the Tornado at King, earning a runner-up finish her freshman year at the NCWW Championships. She followed that up with a second runner-up finish as a sophomore in 2021. The native Californian makes a move back home with her transfer to Menlo College, the 2019 NAIA National Champions who have not yet had a chance to defend their title the past two seasons. Jessie Lee Old School: Tiffin University (D-2) New School: Life University (NAIA) Weight Class: 191 Jessie Lee was a 3x All-American at Tiffin University, but graduated and elected to pursue her doctorate of Chiropractic at Life, and will have two years of eligibility remaining thanks to an initial redshirt and the COVID waiver granted to NCAA athletes. Lee was 4th at last year's NCWW Championships, but now moves over to one of the NAIA's top squads at Life. Vayle-Rae Baker Old School: Augsburg University (D-3) New School: King University (D-2) Weight Class: 123 One of the nation's top recruits in the class of 2019, Vayle Baker had a solid freshman season at Augsburg in 2020, finishing 6th at the NCWW Championships. She competed in just one event for the Auggies last season and did not appear at the Regional. She moves over to King as part of their #1 ranked recruiting class for 2021 and joins an already deep room at 123, where King returns National Champion Cheyenne Sisenstein and 4th place finisher Makayla Welch. Alma Mendoza Old School: Colorado Mesa University (D-2) New School: Life University (NAIA) Weight Class: 143 Mendoza spent three years at Colorado Mesa, earning NCWW All-American honors for the Mavericks with a 6th place finish in 2020, but did not compete last season. She makes the move to Life to plug a gap for the Running Eagles, who did not enter a wrestler at 143 at last year's NAIA National Championships. Emily Se Old School: Emmanuel College (D-2) New School: Southern Oregon University (NAIA) Weight Class: 123 A highly touted recruit in the class of 2019, Emily Se was a 2x All-American for the Lions, finishing 3rd in 2020 and 4th in 2021. She makes the move west to join the Raiders as they make a push to climb the NAIA ranks after a 5th place team finish in 2021.

#1 ranked 79kg Jordan Burroughs (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 57 KG Olympic bronze medalist #3 Thomas Gilman (USA) looked in top form as he won his first world title with a 5-3 victory over Alireza Sarlak of Iran. Gilman's path to the finals saw him avenge two past losses to #6 Abubakar Mutaliev (RWF) by pin in his opening round match, tech fall Vladimir Egorov (MKD) 11-1 in the quarterfinals and broke a dangerous Horst Lehr (GER) 15-5 in the semifinals. 2020 European bronze medalist Horst Lehr (GER) was able to win Germany's first world medal since 1999 with an impressive 6-4 victory over #6 Abubakar Mutaliev of the Russian Wrestling Federation. In addition to his win over Mutaliev, Lehr was also able to take out European bronze medalist Afghan Khashalov 4-1 in the quarterfinals. In his first year representing Belarus, after having been a three-time Russian Nationals bronze medalist, #15 Aryan Tyutrin (BLR) put together an excellent run to win world bronze. Tyutrin began his world championships campaign with an 11-1 tech fall over Goga Dzigua (GEO) and followed it with an impressive 3-1 victory over two-time world bronze medalist #14 Bekhbayar Erdenebat (MGL). 2019 U23 world bronze medalist, Alireza Sarlak (IRI), would fall behind Tyutrin early after a big four-point Uchi Mata, but two takedowns in the final minute of the match carried him to a 7-5 victory over Tyutrin, sending the talented Belarusian to repechage after Sarlak's upset victory against #8 Suleyman Atli (TUR) in the semifinals. Confident after a 10-0 tech fall win over Guesseppe Rea (ECU), Tyutrin concluded his world championships with a tight 3-1 victory over #8 Suleyman Atli (TUR) for bronze. From the world championships, world champion, Gilman, rises one spot in the rankings to #2 over Olympic runner-up #2 Ravi Kumar (IND). World runner-up, Sarlak, enters the rankings at #6 for his victories over Atli and Tyutrin. World bronze medalist Tyutrin climbs up eight spots in the rankings to #7 after beating Atli and Khashalov. Lehr takes the #8 spot in the rankings after beating Mutaliev for world bronze. October was also a very busy month for the Russian Wrestling Federation outside of the world championships with the U-23 Russian Nationals and All-Army competition taking place. 2020 Russian Nationals runner-up #11 Azamat Tuskaev (RWF) avenged his loss from the Russian Nationals semifinals to European runner-up #13 Nachyn Mongush (RWF) at the All-Army competition by a 3-1 score. Ramazan Abdurakhmanov took home gold at the U-23 Russian Nationals after beating 2016 Cadet world champion Aleksey Kopylov (RWF) in the finals. Abdurakhmanov and Kopylov enter the rankings at #18 and #19 because of Kopylov's victory over Yarygin runner-up #16 Musa Mekhtikhanov (RWF). Bronze medalists at the U-23 Russian Nationals were Petr Kopylov by 10-0 tech fall over Magomed Gazigadanov and #20 Musa Mekhtikhanov by 11-4 decision over Akhmed Khuchiev. 61 KG Top-ranked Abasgadzhi Magomedov of the Russian Wrestling Federation was successful in winning his first world title over American offensive dynamo #4 Daton Fix (USA) in a 4-1 match. Magomedov outscored his competition 26-1 along with two pins and picked up significant wins over Fix, 2018 57 KG U-23 world champion Toshihiro Hasegawa (JPN) and 2018 world bronze medalist Tuvshintulga Tumenbileg (MGL). Fix outscored his competition 41-0 on his way through to the finals, notching big wins over 2019 European champion Arsen Harutyunyan (ARM) and 2019 U-23 world runner-up Ravinder Ravinder (IND). Coming up short against top-ranked Magomedov of the Russian Wrestling Federation in the finals, Fix still put together an incredibly impressive performance for his first Senior world medal. 2018 57 KG U-23 world champion Toshihiro Hasegawa (JPN) put together an absolutely excellent run for bronze at the world championships with wins over three ranked opponents in #7 Eduard Grigorev (POL), #9 Rahman Amouzadkhalili (IRI) and #13 Nico Megerle (GER). 2019 European champion Harutyunyan overcame a dominating 10-0 loss from world runner-up Fix in the semifinals to take world bronze with his own 10-0 tech fall of Ravinder to avenge a loss from the 2019 U-23 world championships. Ravinder, even after finishing in 5th place, still had a very appreciable world championships performance with wins over 2019 world champion #3 Beka Lomtadze (GEO) and Olympic 5th place finisher Georgi Vangelov (BUL). The aftermath of the world championships sees Magomedov stay atop the rankings while #4 Fix climbs up two spots to #2 after his world silver. World bronze medalist Hasegawa debuts in the rankings at #3 after beating #7 Eduard Grigorev (POL), #9 Rahman Amouzadkhalili (IRI), #13 Nico Megerle (GER) and 2018 world bronze medalist Tuvshintulga Tumenbileg (MGL). Harutyunyan is back in the rankings at #5 after tech falling Ravinder for world bronze. Ravinder returns to the rankings at #6 for upsetting Lomtadze to go along with career wins over Harutyunyan (ARM) and #18 (65) Dinislam Takhtarov (RWF). Salikh Muradov (RWF) is in the rankings at #11 due to beating #12 Taras Markovych (UKR) for bronze at the Ali Aliyev in June. This is a correction on my end as I mistakenly put Markovych over Muradov before and did not rank him. Reminder that Markovych tech falled three-time World/Olympic medalist #15 (57) Nurislam Sanayev (KAZ) at the Ali Aliyev. The U-23 Russian Nationals saw an age group upheaval after the title-winning performance of Artur Chebodaev (RWF). Chebodaev won gold in the finals over Akhmed Zubairov, after Zubairov had upset Junior world bronze medalist #14 Fedor Baltuev (RWF) earlier in the competition. Chebodaev picked up a big win in his own right on his way to the finals, beating 2019 57 KG Alans bronze medalist Alexander Shabanov (RWF). Bronze medalists at the U-23 Russian Nationals were #14 Fedor Baltuev by 12-0 tech fall over Said Khunkerov and Alexander Sabanov over Kezhik Mongush 11-0. The results of the U-23 Russian Nationals saw Artur Chebodaev and Akhmed Zubairov debut in the rankings at #18 and #19 while bronze medalist #14 Fedor Baltuev fell six spots to #20. 65KG #3 Zagir Shakhiev (RWF) overcame tight matches against Rohit Rohit (IND) and Tulga Tumur Ochir (MGL) to make the 65 KG world finals, where he was absolutely dominant in a 14-4 performance against Amirmohammad Yazdani Charati (IRI) for gold. Tumur Ochir put together a career-best tournament run to finish with world bronze. Tumur Ochir used a big 2-1 upset win over Olympian #6 Vazgen Tevanyan (ARM) in the quarterfinals and fell 4-4 in a razor-thin criteria upset loss to Shakhiev in the semifinals. In the bronze medal match, leading 6-4 with a charging Rohit Rohit (IND) looking on his way to taking the match lead, Tumur Ochir hit a perfect counter throw to secure the pin and world bronze. Alibek Osmonov (KGZ) won world bronze 4-1 over European runner-up Kryzsyztian Bienkowski (POL) in what was the frankly more underwhelming repechage bracket of Amirmohammad Yazdani Charati (IRI). #18 Yianni Diakomihalis (USA) made his much anticipated Senior world championships debut and after a dominant 10-0 victory over Colin Realbuto (ITA) in the qualification round, he was matched up with Tevanyan. Against the powerhouse Tevanyan, Diakomihalis was outmatched and fell 5-1 in the round of 16. There were some lower-level upsets that occurred, with Junsik Yun (KOR) beating 2020 European bronze medalist Ali Rahimzade (AZE) and Vasyl Shuptar (UKR) beating 2020 European runner-up Nyurgun Skryabin (BLR) in his qualification round. Shuptar would go on to beat Yun 3-2 in the round of 16 and later on fall to Alibek Osmonov (KGZ) in the quarterfinals. The U-23 Russian Nationals saw some serious action that heavily impacted the bottom half of the rankings. Walking away with gold was 2020 61 KG Russian Nationals bronze medalist Ibragim Abdurakhmanov (RWF) over 2018 Alans champion Muslim Saidulaev (RWF). Bronze medalists at the U-23 Russian Nationals Usman Shakhgiriev (RWF) 12-3 over Dinislam Takhtarov (RWF) and Ibragim Ibragimov (RWF) 5-0 over Dzhambulat Kizinov (RWF). Dinislam Takhtarov (RWF) was the catalyst for much of the change in the rankings as he used an opening-round win over Yarygin champion #15 Alik Khadartsev (RWF) to begin his path to the semifinals, where he fell to Muslim Saidulaev (RWF). 3x Russian Nationals medalist Nachyn Kuular (RWF) beat 2019 Sargsyan Cup runner-up Artur Badtiev (RWF) 1-1 on criteria in the All-Army competition. The results of the world championships saw Tumur Ochir return to the rankings at #6 for beating #6 Tevanyan along with having career wins over #1 (70) Magomedmurad Gadzhiev (POL) and Amirmohammad Yazdani Charati (IRI). The U-23 Russian Nationals saw an addition of four formerly unranked wrestlers in U-23 Russian nationals champion Abdurakhmanov at #15, runner-up Saidulaev at #16, bronze medalist Shakhgiriev at #17 and 5th place finisher Takhtarov (RWF) at #18. Yarygin champion Alik Khadartsev (RWF) and Yarygin runner-up Dasha Sharastepanov (RWF) both fall four spots in the rankings to #19 and #20. 3x Russian Nationals medalist Kuular, Diakomihalis, 2x Russian Nationals runner-up Ramazan Ferzaliev (RWF) and U.S. Olympic Trials and World Team Trials runner-up Joey McKenna (USA) have been removed from the rankings. 70KG 2019 world bronze medalist #6 Magomedmurad Gadzhiev (POL) was able to ascend to the top spots in the rankings after winning world gold in Oslo. Gadzhiev was able to avenge his 2017 65 KG world finals loss to #16 Zurab Iakobishvili (GEO) and beat 2019 65 KG U-23 world champion Turan Bayramov (AZE) before winning a close 2-1 victory over fellow 65 KG Tokyo Olympian #7 (65) Ernazar Akmataliev (KGZ) in the finals. World silver medalist #7 Akmataliev made an impressive run to the finals, putting together back-to-back ranked wins over Junior world champion #12 Erfan Elahi (IRI) in the quarterfinals and upsetting top-ranked Evgheni Zherbaev (RWF) in the semifinals. Even with Akmataliev's close loss to Gadzhiev in the finals, he should still hold his head high for the year that he's had and beating ranked elite competitors the likes of Zherbaev, Bayramov, Bekbulatov, Elahi, Yazdani Charati, and Arushanian. 2018 world bronze medalist #16 Zurab Iakobishvili (GEO) had been in something of a career slump from 2019-2020 but successfully capped off the quad with a world bronze medal over European runner-up Bayramov. #1 Evgheni Zherbaev (RWF), a Russian Nationals runner-up in March, rightfully earned his top spot in the rankings going into the world championships by beating European champion #2 Israil Kasumov (RWF) and 2019 world champion #4 David Baev (RWF) in the world team wrestle-offs. Zherbaev looked the part of a champion to be dominating Asian champion Syrbaz Talgat (KAZ) 10-1 in his round of 16 match and pinning Batmagnai Batchuluun (MGL) while up 9-0 in his quarterfinal. In the semifinals, a game Zherbaev would be caught early by a big four-point headlock from #7 (65) Ernazar Akmataliev (KGZ) that would snowball into a 9-5 loss. In his chance of redemption in the bronze medal match, Zherbaev was in control throughout in a 6-0 victory over 2020 Individual World Cup bronze medalist Arman Andreasyan (ARM). Age group phenom, Bayramov, was someone who turned a lot of heads with his performance in Oslo, even if it did end with a controversial fifth-place finish. Facing off against four past world finalists in a row, Bayramov began his tournament with a 3-2 win over 2018 world silver Adam Batirov (BRN) to make the quarterfinals against 2017 world runner-up #8 James Green (USA). Bayramov controlled the match throughout, using his 2-1 and limp leg defense to great success and leading 6-1 late when Green exploded through for a 4 point claw knee pick in the final closing seconds of the match. Walking away with his 6-5 victory over Green, Bayramov faced 2017 65 KG world silver Gadzhiev and was robbed of a chance in the world finals on a controversial no takedown call on the edge in what became a 4-2 loss. 2017 65 KG world champion #16 Zurab Iakobishvili (GEO) would be Bayramov's challenger for world bronze and what looked to be a world medal sealed late by a Bayramov exposure was controversially reversed to an Iakobishvili takedown and the talented Azerbaijani was sent home without hardware. From the results of the world championships, Gadzhiev, takes the #1 spot in the rankings for winning world gold. #7 Ernazar Akmataliev (KGZ) debuts in the 70 KG rankings at #2 after beating Zherbaev and Erfan Elahi to make the world finals. World bronze medalist Zherbaev falls two spots in the rankings to #3 in the rankings after losing to Akmataliev in the world semifinals. Iakobishvili moves up eight spots in the rankings to #8 for beating Bayramov for world bronze. Bayramov makes his return to the rankings at #9 for beating Green and 2018 world runner-up #19 Adam Batirov (BRN) to make the world semifinals. World 5th place finisher Arman Andreasyan (ARM) is back in the rankings at #14 for beating Junior world champion Elahi in repechage. #10 Rezuan Kazharov (RWF) was able to make a major statement in winning the U-23 Russian Nationals over Yuri Arakelyan (ARM). Kazharov picked up a huge win over Yarygin champion #3 Kurban Shiraev (RWF) in his opening round match to climb up five spots in the rankings to #5 while Shiraev dropped three spots to #6. Bronze medalists at the U-23 Russian Nationals were Inar Ketia 8-5 over Alan Cheldiev and 2018 65 KG Junior world champ Sayin Kazyryk 11-1 over 2019 Junior world bronze medalist Alan Kudzoev. #5 Cherman Valiev (RWF) was removed from the rankings as he went back up to 74 KG for the U-23 Russian Nationals where he won gold over Magomet Kardanov (RWF). Two-time 65 KG world bronze medalist Chakaev competed up at 70 KG for WOLNIK 6 against Gitinomagomed Gadzhiev (AZE). Chakaev was able to walk away the victor in a 6-3 match. Anzor Zakuev (RWF) also competed at WOLNIK 6, taking an impressive victory over 2018 European bronze medalist Murtuz Muslimov (AZE) in a back and forth match. 74KG Olympic bronze medalist #3 Kyle Dake (USA) was successful in winning his third world title by fending off a resurgent #14 Taimuraz Salkazanov (SVK) 7-3 in the finals. Dake's path to the finals saw him overcome old foes Fazli Eryilmaz (TUR) and Medved champion #12 Azamat Nurikov (BLR) along with a dominant victory over 2019 70 KG Junior world runner-up Vasile Diacon (MDA). Salkazanov proved that he was no flash in the pan after his European title-winning performance, beating the likes of Alipasha Umarpashaev (BUL), #6 Timur Bizhoev (RWF) and #8 Avtandil Kentchadze (GEO) to make the world finals. Bizhoev overcame a heartbreaking last-second 2-2 quarterfinal loss to world runner-up Salkazanov to rebound for world bronze with a wild 8-6 victory over 2018 world runner-up Kentchadze. Bizhoev's world medal makes it eight in a row for the Russian Wrestling Federation at 74 KG, with the last time they failed to medal at a World/Olympic championships being in 2013 when Kakhaber Khubezhty (RWF) failed to place after an opening-round loss to Narsingh Yadav (IND). Fazli Eryilmaz (TUR) used controlling handfighting to neutralize offense of Nurikov to win a world bronze medal with a 2-1 victory. Nurikov picked up one of the biggest wins of his career when he beat 2020 Russian Nationals runner-up #16 Khetag Tsabolov (SRB) 7-7 in the quarterfinals with a go behind in the closing seconds of the match. While Tsabolov has fallen in the rankings since 2020, it should not be forgotten that he has accounted for pound-for-pound number one Zaurbek Sidakov's only losses since 2018, where he beat him in the 2018 Yarygin finals and the 2020 Russian Nationals in the round of 16. From the aftermath of the world championships, Salkazanov climbs up ten spots in the rankings for his victories over Bizhoev and Kentchadze, coupled with his wins at the European championships this year over #5 Frank Chamizo (ITA) and #6 Razambek Zhamalov (RWF). Fazli Eryilmaz (TUR) is back in the rankings at #14 for beating Nurikov for world bronze. Dake holds down the #3 spot for his world title as his loss to #2 Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov (BLR) from Tokyo prevents him from climbing any higher. #5 (70) Cherman Valiev (RWF) made his return to 74 KG, where he won the U-23 European championships earlier this year. Competing at the U-23 Russian Nationals, Valiev was impressive in winning gold over Magomet Kardanov. While his finals win over Kardanov is nice, Valiev's important wins came earlier in the competition as he beat Yarygin champion #10 Aznaur Tavaev (RWF) and Umar Mutaliev (RWF) to return to the rankings at #11. Bronze medalists at the U-23 Russian Nationals were Umar Mutaliev 10-4 over #10 Aznaur Tavaev (RWF) and Magomet Yevloyev (RWF) by pin over Mokhamed Nasirkhaev (RWF). #7 Magomed Kurbanaliev (RWF) tech falled Sayin Kazyryk (RWF) 11-0 in the All-Army competition. 2014 Russian Nationals runner-up Yakup Shikhdzhamalov made his first return to competition at WOLNIK 6 since having not competed since December 2018 at the Alans. Shikhdzhamalov was dominant in his return, tech falling Ruslan Mashukov (RWF) 16-0. Shikhdzhamalov transferred to Romania this July and will be a contender for this quad at 74 KG. 79KG #1 Jordan Burroughs (USA) turned back father time once more as the wrestling legend further cemented his legacy by winning his 6th World/Olympic title over #20 Mohammad Nokhodilarimi (IRI). Burroughs looked excellent throughout his tournament run with wins over #3 Radik Valiev (RWF) and Ryuki Yoshida (JPN) to bolster his resume. #20 Mohammad Nokhodilarimi (IRI), a Junior world champion in August, put together a fantastic run to make his second world finals this year before finishing runner-up to top-ranked Burroughs. Nokhodilarimi picked up the biggest win of his career in the semifinals when he upset European bronze medalist #7 Nika Kentchadze (GEO) 6-5 to make the world finals. Nokhodilarimi's showing in Oslo makes him a contender to keep an eye on and a much-needed anchor for Iran at 74 and 79 after failing to place at both weights all quad. Kentchadze overcame a heated 6-5 semifinal upset loss to Nokhodilarimi to win world bronze over Arman Avagyan (GEO). Kentchadze and his brother Avtandil now both claim Senior and U-23 world medals, with Nika taking bronze here and Avtandil finishing silver at the 2018 74 KG world championships and both brothers winning U-23 world gold in 2018 at 79 and 74 KG. #3 Radik Valiev (RWF) was the clear second-best man to Burroughs in this bracket and a dominant 11-0 win over Ryuki Yoshida (JPN) for world bronze further prove the point. Expect to see Valiev in contention for world gold throughout this upcoming quad. Junior European runner-up Ashraf Ashirov (AZE) upset European champion #9 Akhsarbek Gulaev (SVK) 4-0 in the round of 16 before falling 4-4 on criteria to Yoshida. From the world championships, Jordan Burroughs maintains his top spot in the rankings while world runner-up Nokhodilarimi climbs fourteen spots in the rankings to #6 after beating #7 Nika Kentchadze (GEO) in the semifinals. World 5th place finisher Yoshida debuts in the rankings at #10 after beating Ashirov in the quarterfinals after Ashirov's upset win over Gulaev. #9 Magomed Magomaev (RWF) won U-23 Russian Nationals over Dmitry Kuprin. Kuprin did notch the biggest win of his career earlier in the tournament by upsetting 2019 Junior world champion Amkhad Tashukhadzhiev (RWF). Bronze medalists at the U-23 Russian Nationals were Tashukhadzhiev 5-4 over Yusup-Khadzhi Aydaev and Akhmed Manilov 6-2 over Rasul Asluev. In one of the marquee matchups of the WOLNIK 6, world bronze medalist Valiev took on 2019 world bronze medalist #4 Gadzhi Nabiev (RWF). Nabiev was dominant throughout the match and handed Valiev a 6-2 loss, scoring 3 takedowns against Valiev. Nabiev moves up one spot in the rankings to #3 while Valiev drops one spot to #4. 86KG #2 Hassan Yazdani Charati (IRI) claimed his fourth World/Olympic title and the top spot in the rankings by avenging his past three losses to Olympic champion #1 David Taylor (USA) 6-2 in the world finals. Yazdani Charati's dominance was felt throughout the tournament as he outscored the likes of Azamat Dauletbekov (KAZ), Ethan Ramos (PUR) and #3 Artur Naifonov (RWF) 30-4 on his way to the finals. Olympic champion #1 David Taylor (USA) relented his top spot in the rankings after a 6-2 loss in the world finals to #2 Hassan Yazdani Charati (IRI). Even with Taylor's unexpected loss in the finals, there should be no mistaking that the American standout was still not in his usual dominant form on the way to the finals with two pins and an 11-0 tech fall to his name in Oslo. Abubakar Abakarov (AZE), a 2019 79 KG U-23 world runner-up, has been one of the new crop of Azerbaijan's upperweight prospects for this quad to watch and he lived up to his hype, making the world semifinals by outscoring his competition 30-4. Getting the first takedown against Olympic champion #1 David Taylor (USA) to start their match, Abakarov's title hopes were quickly dashed as Taylor stormed back for a dominant pin, but Abakarov's first Senior world championships ended with triumph as he defeated 2017 world runner-up #14 Boris Makoev (SVK) 9-5 for bronze. #3 Artur Naifonov (RWF) has been the epitome of consistency for the Russian Wrestling Federation since 2019 and added his third World/Olympic medal to his collection with a world bronze in Oslo won over Azamat Dauletbekov (KAZ). Naifonov was successful in fending off fellow 2019 world bronze medalist Taimuraz Friev Naskideava (ESP) 5-2 in the quarterfinals after Friev Naskideava had upset Tokyo Olympian #12 Osman Gocen (TUR) in the qualification round. From the world championships, Yazdani Charati takes the number one spot in the rankings and reclaims his spot as the greatest after beating Taylor in the world finals. Taylor falls one spot in the rankings to #2 while Friev Naskideava returns to the rankings at #12 after beating #12 Gocen in his opening round match at the world championships. Bobuli Tsoloev (RWF) debuts in the rankings at #18 after winning the U-23 Russian Nationals over 92 KG Dagestani Freestyle Wrestling Championships gold medalist Zagid Karimov (RWF). Tsoloev's win that propelled him into the rankings was in the semifinals over U-23 European champion #17 Amanulla Rasulov (RWF). Bronze medalists at the U-23 Russian Nationals were Slavik Naniev 6-4 over Ashkaab Saadulaev and Junior world bronze medalist Islam Kartoev 5-2 over #19 Amanulla Rasulov. 2019 European champion #9 Vladislav Valiev (RWF) used a clutch exposure in the final 2 seconds of his match against Ali Aliyev champion #7 Javrail Shapiev (UZB) to win 5-4 at WOLNIK 6 and move up two spots in the rankings to #7. In a battle between U-23 Russian Nationals bronze medalists, #18 Amanulla Rasulov (RWF) came out on top of a lopsided 8-1 victory against Slavik Naniev (RWF) at WOLNIK 6. 92KG #2 Kamran Ghasempour (IRI) won the 92 KG world title in a clutch 8-4 performance over top-ranked Magomed Kurbanov of the Russian Wrestling Federation. Ghasempour proved himself the world champ before the finals as he beat reigning two-time world champion #13 J'den Cox (USA) 3-3 in the semifinals after Cox had been near untouchable at the world championships from 2018-2019. Cox capped off an up and down year with a world bronze medal earned with an 11-0 tech fall over Andrii Vlasov (UKR). While Cox is one of the most talented upperweight wrestlers, the U.S. has seen this generation, the inconsistency that has plagued him on the biggest stage that sees him come up short against the best and drop matches against competition he should easily surpass prevents him from climbing any higher in the rankings. U-23 European runner-up #14 Osman Nurmagomedov (AZE) climbed up six spots in the rankings to #8 after winning world bronze over #11 Amarhadzhi Magomedov (BLR). Nurmagomedov's climb up to the rankings was also assisted by his victory over 2020 86 KG Individual World Cup runner-up #9 Zbigniew Baranowski (POL) in the quarterfinals, after Baranowski had scored a dominant 8-1 upset over U-23 European champion #8 Erhan Yaylaci (TUR) in the round of 16. The aftermath of the world championships saw Ghasempour take the #1 spot in the rankings after beating Kurbanov, Cox, #14 Andrii Vlasov (UKR) and #15 Irakli Mtsituri (GEO). Nurmagomedov moves up six spots in the rankings to #8 for winning world bronze after wins over Magomedov and Baranowski. Andrii Vlasov (UKR) is back in the rankings at #14 for beating 2019 world bronze medalist Mtsituri in repechage. #5 Azamat Zakuev (RWF) won the U-23 Russian Nationals title over Konstantine Pshenichnikov. Bronze medalists at the U-23 Russian Nationals were Ivan Kirillov 11-0 over Yaroslav Savchenko and Tamerlan Kotsoev 4-3 over Artem Tskharebov. 97KG #1 Abdulrashid Sadulaev (RWF) further cemented his legacy with his seventh World/Olympic title in Oslo, earning it by way of a 6-0 decision over 3x World/Olympic champion #2 Kyle Snyder (USA). Sadulaev's path to title #7 saw him dominate the likes of Takashi Ishiguro (JPN), 2x European runner-up #18 Aleksandr Hushtyn (BLR) and 2018 U-23 world bronze medalist Mahamed Zakariiev (UKR) on his way to the finals. #2 Kyle Snyder (USA) secured his seventh World/Olympic medal by taking silver in Oslo to #1 Sadulaev. Sadulaev beat 2019 world bronze medalist Magomedgadzhi Nurov (MKD), Batsul Ulziisaikhan (MGL) and 2x U-23 world champion #11 Mojtaba Goleij (IRI). Goleij recovered from a razor-thin loss to 3x World/Olympic champion Snyder to take bronze at the world championships with a 10-0 victory over Ulziisaikhan. Goleij opened up the world championships with a 4-0 victory over 2018 world bronze medalist #6 Elizbar Odikadze (GEO) in the qualification round. Outgunned in the semifinals in what would end as an 11-0 tech fall loss to #1 Abdulrashid Sadulaev (RWF), Zakariiev rebounded to cap off his world championships performance with a bronze medal win over #18 Aleksandr Hushtyn (BLR). Zakariiev's best win of the world championships came in the quarterfinals when he upset European runner-up #10 Suleyman Karadeniz (TUR). Goleij moves up five spots in the rankings to #6 after beating Odikadze on his way to taking bronze at the world championships. Zakariiev enters the rankings at #11 for beating Karadeniz and Hushtyn to take bronze. Shamil-Imam Gadzhialiev (RWF) won gold at the U-23 Russian Nationals. Gadzhialiev upset Russian Nationals bronze medalist Khokh Khugaev (RWF) on his way to the finals, where he dominated Abdulla Kurbanov (RWF). Kurbanov, to his credit, had also upset 2020 Russian Nationals bronze medalist Aslanbek Gazzaev (RWF) on his way to the finals. Finishing with bronze medals at the U-23 Russian Nationals was Khokh Khugaev (RWF) 4-2 over Mikhail Zhmykhov (RWF) and Aslanbek Gazzaev (RWF) 2-2 over David Kabisov (RWF). In a rematch of this year's Russian Nationals finals, European champion #10 Alikhan Zhabrailov (RWF) was able to put up another win over Aslanbek Sotiev (RWF), this time with a 4-2 score at the WOLNIK 6 event. 2019 world bronze medalist Magomedgadzhi Nurov (MKD) put up an impressive 9-1 victory over Yarygin champion Magomedkhan Magomedov (RWF) at the WOLNIK 6 event. 125KG Olympic bronze medalist #3 Amir Zare (IRI) announced himself as the new king of heavyweight with a 9-2 thrashing of Olympic runner-up #2 Geno Petriashvili (GEO). Zare's path of dominance on his way to the finals was equally impressive, proving himself superior to the likes of #1 Taha Akgul (TUR), #8 Nick Gwiazdowski (USA) and #10 Dzianis Khramiankov (BLR). 3x World champion #2 Geno Petriashvili (GEO) recorded his second World/Olympic silver medal of the year with a runner-up finish in Oslo to #3 Amir Zare (GEO). Petriashvili defeated #9 Lkhagvagerel Munkhtur (MGL), Johannes Ludescher (AUT) and Asian champion Oleg Boltin (KAZ). Akgul took his won his second World/Olympic medal of the year with a bronze medal finish in Oslo over Gwiazdowski. While Akgul did lose a one-sided 4-0 match in the semifinals to Zare, he did show himself still to be one of the elites of the division with victories over #4 Zelimkhan Khizriev (RWF) and Gwiazdowski. Munkhtur (MGL) won Mongolia's second bronze medal of the world championships with a 5-3 victory over Asian champion Oleg Boltin (MGL). Munkhtur's world bronze medal-winning performance in Oslo is huge for a Mongolian team that looks to rebuild and contend this quad coming off two world bronze medals in Oslo. Russian Nationals bronze medalist Saypudin Magomedov won the U-23 Russian Nationals title over Junior world bronze medalist Andrey Bestaev. Finishing with bronze at the U-23 Russian Nationals was Ismail-Bek Nirov 3-0 over Said Gairbekov and 2018 Junior world champion Soslan Khinchagov 5-4 over Alen Khubulov. #12 Erik Dzhioev (RWF) beat #20 Kazbek Khubulov (RWF) 2-2 on criteria in the All-Army competition. Olympian #7 Sergey Kozyrev (RWF) was successful in his first return to competition since Tokyo at the WOLNIK 6 event. Competing against 2019 Russian Nationals runner-up Said Gamidov (RWF), Kozyrev came out the victor 5-2. Zare takes the top spot in the rankings after his victories over Akgul (TUR), Petriashvili (GEO), Gwiazdowski (USA) and Khramiankov (BLR) on his way to world gold. Akgul falls two spots in the rankings to #3 after his bronze medal performance in Oslo. Pound for Pound 74 KG world runner-up Taimuraz Salkazanov (SVK) is back in the rankings at #10 after beating #15 Timur Bizhoev (RWF) at the world championships. Salkazanov (SVK) has additional wins over #12 Frank Chamizo (ITA) and #13 Razambek Zhamalov (RWF) to justify his top ten spot in the rankings. #25 Amir Zare (IRI) skyrockets up the rankings to #11 after beating World/Olympic champions #10 Taha Akgul (TUR) and #11 Geno Petriashvili (GEO) on his way to 125 KG world gold in Oslo. 70 KG world champion Magomedmurad Gadzhiev (POL) makes his return to the pound-for-pound rankings at #19, while 70 KG world runner-up Ernazar Akmataliev (KGZ) debuts at #20 for his semifinal win in Oslo over #17 Evgheni Zherbaev (RWF).

50 kg U23 World team member Emily Shilson (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 50 kg The lightest weight class in Belgrade will feature two women returning from the Tokyo Olympic Games from earlier this year: Sarra Hamdi of Tunisia and Lucia Yepez Guzman of Ecuador. Both had solid performances: Hamdi, who already owns 9 African medals between the different age levels, won her first match against Seema of India before falling in the quarterfinals to seasoned veteran Stadnik. Junior-eligible Yepez, who has been advancing quickly through the age-level ranks, stunned 2019 World Bronze medallist Valentina Islamova Brik in the first round before falling to Susaki in the quarterfinals. Unfortunately, she tore a muscle in her leg during that match and could not continue through the repechage bracket. Yepez, in particular, will be a medal contender and will look to add to her 2017 Cadet World bronze medal. The favorite for this bracket, however, will likely be the well-credentialed Mariia Tiumerekova of Russia. The 22-year-old already owns four world medals, two silver and two bronze, and will look to cap off her collection with a title here. She's looked fantastic in all her outings this year, winning the U23 Euros convincingly and securing a bronze medal at the Poland Open. Tiumerekova has established herself as a top 3 athlete domestically in one of Russia's deepest weight classes and should be expected to excel here. Though the age level scene has been somewhat subdued largely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, several women that have accumulated solid results this year, will look to punctuate that with success here. Anastasiya Yanotova, who is only 19, had a huge performance for Belarus at the U23 European Championships, notching wins over 2020 World Cup finalist Lilia Malanchuk among other top competitors. She will look to get her first world medal after a strong Cadet international career. We'll also see 2021 Junior World Bronze medallist Munkhgerel Munkhbat of Mongolia here, who competed earlier this year at 55 kilos. She'll be making the substantial 11-pound drop down to 50 kilos; it'll be interesting to see how that impacts her performance and if she can replicate the success she found in Ufa here. Junior World Champion Emily Shilson will look to improve upon her results at what is now her second U23 World Championship. Shilson owns three world medals and is now adequately sized for the weight after competing at 43 kilos as a Cadet, which will likely have a hugely positive impact on her results. This tournament will be a big test to see how Emily will fare on the senior level as she transitions from the age levels onto the senior scene. Making her return after an international hiatus due to COVID-19 is Stefania Priceputu of Romania, who had been undergoing a bit of a rough patch prior to the pandemic. Though she decidedly underperformed during the 2019 season, she already has three age-level world medals and has the wins to cement herself among the top tier of upcoming 50kg women. She's spent much of 2021 thus far focused on beach wrestling, where she leads the women's lightweight division with four medals. If she can return to her previous form, she has a strong chance of adding to her 2018 U23 World bronze in Serbia. This bracket is no stranger to well-credentialed women and the above girls will be joined by 2017 Cadet World Champion Shahana Nazarova of Azerbaijan, 2020 World Cup Bronze Medallist Lisa Ersel of Germany, 2021 U23 European Bronze Medallist Aynur Erge of Turkey, and 2017 Cadet World Bronze Medallist Tetiana Profatilova of Ukraine, who has also accumulated some great results in beach wrestling this year. Watch as Olympians and age-level stars alike mix in this loaded bracket. Keep a special eye on talented Russian Mariia Tiumerekova, Ecuador's brightest young hope and returning Olympian Lucia Yepez, gritty Romanian Stefania Priceputu, age-level phenom Shilson, and girls like Yanotova and Munkhbat, who'll be searching for a breakout performance here. 55 kg With only 13 women currently entered, 55 kilos is one of the smaller brackets being contested in Oslo. Though it may lack in numbers, it certainly is not shy of quality competitors: the field is headlined by returning Tokyo 2020 Olympian at 53 kilos, Andreea Ana of Romania, who already owns two World Bronze medals from this age level. The 21-year old has come into her own as a senior-level fixture over the past couple of years, racking up accolades on the continental level in addition to her four total age-level world medals. She'll be the on-paper favorite in Belgrade with the most impressive resume of the lot. Dominating the U23 scene this year, however, has been Khrystyna Demko of Ukraine, who impressed with a dominant run to a U23 Euro title in Macedonia earlier this year. Demko also picked up medals at the senior Euros (a bronze) and the always-loaded Kiev tournament (a silver), and has appeared to have jumped levels since her Cadet/Junior days (where she was always middle of the pack). Demko is crafty and comfortable in scramble positions and has a solid par terre game that will make her one of the biggest title threats in the field. Taking silver in the U23 Euro bracket that Demko won is Russian Aleksandra Skirenko, who was a Cadet phenom at the now-nonexistent weight class of 38 kilos in 2013-2015. She's back on the international scene, now competing between 53 and 55 kilos, and has had some strong results domestically over the past couple of years. She won the Ivan Yariguin earlier this year at 53 kilos and dominated her way to the finals of the U23 European Championships. She'll be in the medal hunt at this World Championships, where Russia desperately needs some redeeming wins after poor performances at the Olympics and World Championships earlier this year. A couple solid women from the Asian contingent include 2021 Junior World Finalist Enkhzul Batbaatar, who won her medal at 50 kilos. She seems to have made a quizzical weight class switch with her teammate Munkhgerel Munkhbat, who medalled in Ufa at 55 kilos but will be competing down at 50 in Belgrade. Batbaatar has been an age-level staple over the past few years, even taking 4th at the Youth Olympic Games; it's interesting to see her up at this weight class and it'll be a great test for her to see if her age-level success can translate to the older age group. Anju of India is also an interesting addition to this bracket. While she owns a couple of Asian medals and has placed 5th at two World Championships, her most impressive accolade is indubitably a 2019 win over newly-minted Olympic Bronze medallist Bolortuya Bat-Ochir of Mongolia. While that win may be a little outdated considering the youth of both athletes, Anju should certainly be considered a medal threat here, especially in lieu of the age-level success of the Indian women from the other World Championships this year. Finally, two Pan-Am women with strong results over the past couple of years will look to crack the international scene in Belgrade. Alex Hedrick of the USA won the 2019 Pan-Am Championships and placed a respectable fourth at the American Olympic Team Trials. Joining her is Virginie Gascon of Canada, who impressed this year with a dominant performance en route to a Pan-Am silver medal (falling only to Jacarra Winchester). Both women competed at the 2019 Junior Worlds and will look to earn their first world medals in Belgrade. Overall, this bracket will provide the interesting potential matchup between Olympian Ana of Romania and talented Ukrainian Demko, who's had a great year this year; seeing which athletes make it to the other places on the podium will be extremely interesting and will indubitably be a great indicator as to the future of this weight class on the senior level. 59 kg 59 kilos is absolutely riddled with women who have just started to translate age-level success to the senior level, which should make it a super-fun bracket to be contested. The bracket is headlined by 2021 Olympian and returning U23 World Finalist, Anastasia Nichita of Moldova. Nichita has long dominated the age-level scene- owning five world medals- and has already proven to be competitive on the senior level. She's coming off an Olympic run where she picked up a surprise come-from-behind pin over one of 57 kg's biggest favorites Odunayo Adekuoroye of Nigeria, but is back up at her optimal weight here in Belgrade. She should be expected to dominate this bracket relatively unchallenged and continue Moldova's incredibly successful recent run in women's wrestling. Nichita's most esteemed accolade is her 2018 Junior World title, but she isn't the only Junior World Champion in the mix here: Anastasiia Sidelnikova, who had a very exciting run to a Junior gold in her home country earlier this year, will look to prove herself amongst a strong field here. Though she isn't quite in the mix on the senior level yet- having gone 1-2 at the Poland Open earlier this year- she has accumulated lots of positive competition experience this year and has a huge upside as she grows through the sport. Another woman who attended this year's Junior World Championships was Hungarian Anna Szel, who was an absolute phenom on the Cadet level for many years. Szel owns a plethora of international medals, including two Euro titles and a World finals appearance. She's long been competitive with many of the young women who are now putting up stellar senior-level results- even owning multiple wins over World Champion Irina Ringaci and having close matches with Indian superstar Sonam. However, she fell short at the Junior World Championships, taking a loss in the semifinals before getting pinned despite leading her Kazakh opponent 8-3 in the bronze medal match. She'll look for redemption here; Belgrade will be a good test for her to see if she can convert her age-level results into senior success. Despite the credentials of the three well-accoladed competitors above, the most exciting athlete in this weight class is almost inarguably Anhelina Lysak of Poland. Lysak only recently switched nationalities, having made her Polish debut at the Euros this year (where she took silver); prior to that, she earned a pair of age-level world medals and five Euro medals for Ukraine. Lysak's style is dynamic; she loves to go upper body and has the potential to hit absolutely filthy headlocks, a trait that means she can never be counted out of a match no matter the score. She even pinned multiple-time World Silver medallist Alli Ragan with an absolutely lethal throw at the 2019 Worlds. Lysak's tendency to have dramatic matches and capability to pull out a win no matter how bleak the score may be, makes her a must-watch at these World Championships. Belarus will be sending their very-solid Krystsina Sazykina, who recently won the Medved in a competitive Soviet field. She's had her share of age-level success and picked up a bronze medal at the U23 Euros earlier this year. She should be in contention for a medal, depending on her draw. A couple other names of note include Antonyna Kulahina of Ukraine, who had an amazing 2018 Cadet run where she dominated her way to World and European titles at 61 kilos. However, she's struggled to replicate that success at the Junior and Senior age levels. This World Championships should be a good opportunity to really gauge what level she's at and see if she can make a successful transition to the older age divisions. The United States' Michaela Beck should also be expected to have a strong performance; she dominated her way to her U23 World Team spot at the American trials and has seemed poised for a breakout performance. All in all, 59 kg should be a rollercoaster ride of a bracket: watch Anastasia Nichita aim to secure her second world title, but keep an eye out for firecracker Anhelina Lysak and solid athletes like Sazykina, Sidelnikova and Beck to try to stop her. 68 kg The 68-kilo bracket in Belgrade will be exciting as it is very much wide open. No past age-level world champions or women well-established on the senior level will be present in Belgrade, meaning that a variety of athletes will have the opportunity to secure a career-defining title in Serbia. The weight class is led by Ukraine's Oksana Chudyk, a Junior athlete who has achieved some fantastic successes this year. Chudyk won both the Junior and U23 Euros this year to add to her five total age-level continental titles; she also owns a pair of Cadet world medals. She's controlled most of her competitors this year- only giving up 6 points en route to her two Euro golds- and will enter this weight class as the on-paper favorite. Chudyk is a big part of the uprising of young Ukrainians as the nation continues to build its depth and excel in international competition. The two women Chudyk defeated in her Euro finals matches this year will both make an appearance in Belgrade. Sophia Schaefle of Germany earned her first international medal at the Junior Euros this year, looking solid and even defeating eventual Junior World Finalist Elizaveta Petliakova in the semifinals. U23 Euro finalist Vusala Parfianovich of Russia will be another interesting addition to the bracket. She's pretty inexperienced internationally, but she looked solid in Skopje and pushed Chudyk in the finals. This tournament will be a good gauge to see if she can compete on the senior level and important for Russia as they look to re-establish domestic depth at this weight. One of the most interesting additions to this bracket will be Simon Fraser University's Alyvia Fiske, who has garnered some really strong domestic results that she'll look to convert to international successes. In addition to this being Fiske's fourth world team, she also owns a US Open title and even competed in Final X (up at 72 kilos). Unfortunately, Fiske was unable to qualify for the American Olympic Trials at 68kg- a byproduct of being in the same bracket as phenoms Kennedy Blades and Kylie Welker. She'll look to avenge that performance in Belgrade and will be without a doubt in medal contention. Another woman with the potential to make some serious noise is Delgermaa Enkhsaikhan of Mongolia, who also competed at the Senior Worlds in Oslo. Enkhsaikhan's career most notably features a 2018 Junior Worlds finals appearance where she largely dominated her way to the finals- even securing a win over to-be Olympic Bronze medalist Iryna Koliadenko. Enkhsaikhan has a pretty solid international resume featuring a pair of Asian medals and a third-place finish at the Ivan Yariguin; she should be regarded as one of the prime medal contenders here in Serbia. Finally, a couple of the other strong continental medalists in the mix include Kendra Dacher of France, who owns a 2017 Junior Euro bronze, Tindra Sjoeberg of Sweden, a 2019 Junior Euro Champ, and Nesrin Bas of Turkey, who notched a bronze at the U23 Euros in addition to a third-place finish at the 2021 Junior Worlds. Bas notably also finished 5th at this year's senior Euros, where she pinned Azeri Olympian Elis Manolova. These women should be kept in mind as potential placewinners should the draw present them with a favorable path. All in all, this bracket is a huge opportunity for some unproven faces to make names for themselves. Keep an eye on top contenders Fiske and Chudyk, as well as Parfianovich and Enkhsaikhan, who will both vie for medals. 76 kg We are truly in the golden age of women's heavyweight wrestling. From the epic battles between legends of the sport at the Olympic Games to some tightly contested matches between the world's best in Oslo, 2021 has provided us with a plethora of 76-kilo storylines that will go down in history. The weight class looks similarly stacked in Belgrade and we should be treated to an enthralling display of high-level wrestling. Headlining this weight class is Kyrgyzstan's Aiperi Medet Kyzy, who's in the midst of a fantastic year. She placed fifth at the Olympic Games, where she was leading Adeline Gray late in the semifinals, before a failed challenge from her corner gave the American the winning point. Later, she earned her first senior World medal in Oslo. Medet Kyzy was the first Kyrgyzstani woman to earn an age-level world title with a Junior gold in 2017; she'll be the favorite to repeat that feat here at U23s. While Medet Kyzy has already established herself on the senior scene, the future of women's heavyweight will be represented well, as all of this year's Junior world medalists will make an appearance in Belgrade. Silver medallist Bipasha of India and bronze medalists Mulkinova of Kazakhstan and Dzibuk of Belarus will vie for medals, with Dzibuk being of particular interest due to her solid international resume. She will likely be the heir to Belarusian heavyweight great Vasilisa Marzaliuk and has already begun to accumulate solid international results. However, much of the attention will be on Kylie Welker, who absolutely destroyed her competition en route to Junior world gold in Ufa. Her fantastic year saw her reach the American Olympic Trials finals and crack three American world teams; however, her first-round loss in Oslo to the very-solid Buse Tosun will have her looking for a redeeming performance. Belgrade will be a huge test for her: she'll be facing women with senior-level prowess, and the fact that she is unquestionably small for the weight will certainly be a disadvantage compared to some of her older, more well-developed competitors. Despite this, Welker is without a doubt an unusual case and she should be expected to be able to compete with the best in Belgrade. 2021 U23 European Champion Evgeniia Zakharchenko will look to answer the Russian question at 76 kilos in Belgrade. Russian women have been quite dominant at this weight class over the past decade, with Natalia Vorobieva and Ekaterina Bukina each owning world and Olympic medals. However, as the women age- and performances decline, as evidenced at the Olympic Games- new athletes will look to fill their big shoes. Zakharchenko is definitely qualified to do so, with handfuls of world and European medals from the age-level championships, and she'll have a strong chance at earning a medal in a time where Russian women's wrestling desperately needs a morale boost. The Pan-Am contingent, while small at these World Championships, should not be overlooked in Serbia. Colombian Tatiana Renteria is pretty inexperienced internationally but does have one solid win to her name: a victory over American Dymond Guilford, who has established herself as one of the top heavyweight women domestically. Also in attendance is Ecuador's Genesis Reasco Valdez, who has the potential to cause absolute chaos. A prime example of this was at the World Olympic Games qualifier, where she notched a pair of enormous blast doubles on her way to an early 7-2 lead over soon-to-be Olympic medalist Yasemin Adar (before getting tech-falled). Reasco Valdez is more than capable of scoring points on the best women at this weight and should not be overlooked or regarded as the easy draw. A variety of other world medalists and well-credentialed women will also be in the bracket with the potential to shake things up as they look for medals. Aysegul Ozbege of Turkey finished runner-up at this year's U23 Euros, and also earned a World silver at this tournament in 2018. Hungarian Bernadett Nagy owns Junior and Cadet World bronzes, as well as Junior Euro title and a handful of solid results. Kamile Gaucaite has a Cadet World bronze and has proven to be one of Lithuania's top women's wrestlers. Ukraine's Alina Rudnytska Levytska will be moving up from 68 kilos, where she earned a 2018 Junior World bronze and a pair of age-level Euro medals, and will look to establish herself as a contender at her new weight class. 76 kilos will be one of the most fun women's weights contested in Belgrade. Storylines such as Aiperi Medet Kyzy's aim to add to Kyrgyzstan's fantastic successes this year, young star Kylie Welker continuing her age-level tirade and Zakharchenko's quest to become the next Russian heavyweight great will be immensely fun to watch unfold in Serbia, and many can't-miss matchups will certainly be contested in this weight class.

2x Super 32 champion Christian Carroll (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Tonight, just as Buffalo and Wisconsin were getting ready to compete on day one of the 2021-22 season, one of the top recruits in the Class of 2023 flipped his commitment. Christian Carroll (New Prairie, IN) announced on social media that he was committing to the admissions process at the University of Pennsylvania. Previously he had given a verbal to the University of Illinois. Over the past couple of years, Roger Reina's team has become a major player on the recruiting trail. The 2021 class was ranked 23rd in the nation and featured three top-100 prospects. The Class of 2022 already has five top-100 recruits with the highest being #23 Martin Cosgrove (Camden Catholic, NJ). Carroll, ranked #3 overall in the Class of 2023, is the first current junior to give the Quakers a verbal. Just over a week ago, Carroll won the Super 32 for a second consecutive year. This title came at 220 lbs, while his 2020 belt was down a weight at 195. Over the summer, Carroll crushed the field in Fargo and captured a stop sign at 220 lbs in Junior freestyle. He was then invited to Who's #1 where he lost a tight bout to top heavyweight Nick Feldman (Malvern Prep, PA). In an unusual circumstance, Carroll is still seeking his first Indiana state title. He missed the tournament his freshman year with an injury and last year he was deemed ineligible due to transfer rules.

2x NCAA All-American Trent Hillger (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Wisconsin 30 Buffalo 3 125 lbs - Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) over Tristan Daugherty (Buffalo) 4-2 133 lbs - Derek Spann (Buffalo) over Ethan Rotondo (Wisconsin) 8-4 141 lbs - Joe Zargo (Wisconsin) over Ben Freeman (Buffalo) 3-2 149 lbs - Austin Gomez (Wisconsin) over John Arceri (Buffalo) 9-4 157 lbs - Garrett Model (Wisconsin) over Michael Petite (Buffalo) 15-11 165 lbs - Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) over Jay Nivison (Buffalo) 18-5 174 lbs - Andrew McNally (Wisconsin) over Giuseppe Hoose (Buffalo) 10-2 184 lbs - Chris Weiler (Wisconsin) over Peter Acciardi (Buffalo) 10-2 197 lbs - Braxton Amos (Wisconsin) over Sam Mitchell (Buffalo) 8-2 285 lbs - Trent Hillger (Wisconsin) over Toby Cahill (Buffalo) 11-4 North Carolina 29 Life 6 125 lbs - Spencer Moore (North Carolina) over Brandon Orum (Life) 3-2 133 lbs - Jaime Hernandez (North Carolina) over Hunter Sparks (Life) 13-5 141 lbs - Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina) over Jacob Ruiz (Life) 6-3 149 lbs - Zach Sherman (North Carolina) over Yarhoski Aldiva (Life) 13-2 157 lbs - Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) over Jack Bass (Life) 12-4 165 lbs - Sonny Santiago (North Carolina) over Ashton Habeil (Life) 5-3 174 lbs - Gavin Kane (North Carolina) over Asher Eichert (Life) 8-3 184 lbs - Mark Chaid (North Carolina) over Myles Starke (Life) 2-0 197 lbs - Zane Lanham (Life) over Max Shaw (North Carolina) Fall 285 lbs - Brandon Whitman (North Carolina) over JJ Perez (Life) 8-0 North Carolina 48 Queens 0 125 lbs - Spencer Moore (North Carolina) over Melvin Rubio (Queens) 12-3 133 lbs - Joe Heilmann (North Carolina) over Lucas Comroe (Queens) Fall 141 lbs - Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina) over Nico D'Amico (Queens) 20-3 149 lbs - Zach Sherman (North Carolina) over Toure' Moore (Queens) 21-5 157 lbs - Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) over Jacob Balmas (Queens) Fall 165 lbs - Joey Mazzara (North Carolina) over Jay Skalecki (Queens) 16-5 174 lbs - Clay Lautt (North Carolina) over Stephon Halliburton (Queens) Fall 184 lbs - Mark Chaid (North Carolina) over Noah Curreri (Queens) 7-0 197 lbs - Hunter Queen (North Carolina) over Riley Kuhn (Queens) 7-0 285 lbs - Brandon Whitman (North Carolina) over Gabriel Anderson (Queens) Fall

2020 NWCA 1st Team All-American Kendall Coleman (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Purdue Boilermakers Purdue has quietly become a consistent darkhorse team in an always-deep Big Ten Conference. The Boilermakers have finished in the top six at the last two Big Ten Championships after finishing ninth or lower every year since 2011. Last season, Purdue took sixth behind five wrestlers who finished sixth or better at their respective weights. The trick now, entering the 2021-22 season, is to parlay that growth into national results. Because despite the continued progression, Purdue hasn't had a true NCAA All-American since Ivan Lopouchanski in 2013. This year's Purdue team has some strong pieces that are capable of ending that streak, and collectively, they're good enough to take the program to the next level. "We have a lot of experience back," Purdue coach Tony Ersland said. "We return several guys who qualified and won matches at the national tournament, and this is the most experience I've had return, from a lineup perspective. "This is a very motivated team, more than just for individual success, too. They love each other as a team, and that's got me excited about this group." TOP RETURNERS Most all of last year's major point-scorers are back again this season: Devin Schroder (125), Jacob Rundell (133), Parker Filius (141), Kendall Coleman (157), Gerrit Nijenhuis (165), Emil Soehnlen (174), Max Lyon (184), Thomas Penola (197) and Dorian Keys (285). That's 92.7% of Purdue's Big Ten tournament scoring total. Schroder, Rundell, Filius, Coleman, Nijenhuis, Lyon, and Penola all return after qualifying for the NCAA Championships. Everybody won at least one match. Lyon, Filius and Nijenhuis all went 2-2, and Schroder and Penola reached the bloodround. "To lose in the bloodround and be that close, it's not hard to be highly motivated about turning that result around," Ersland said. "I feel that way about a lot of guys." Everybody is coming back at the same weights they competed a year ago, but the one lineup shift worth noting here is that Soehnlen and Nijenhuis are swapping spots, so Soehnlen is now at 165 and Nijenhuis is up at 174. When we say that Purdue has some strong pieces that are capable of reaching the NCAA podium this season, we're serious. KEY DEPARTURES Purdue did lose a couple of key contributors, in Griffin Parriott and Travis Ford-Melton. Parriott was a three-year starter for Purdue, posting a 57-41 overall record at 149 and 157 pounds. He was a three-time NCAA qualifier. He started at 149 last year, and his absence opens up the opportunity for a handful of guys to vie for a starting spot, like Alec White, Ethan Smiley, Trey Kruse, and others. Ford-Melton is no longer listed on the roster. He spent three years at Purdue, all at 133 pounds. He went 14-14 during the 2019-20 season. TOP NEWCOMERS Purdue's 2021 recruiting class was considered a consensus top-25 recruiting class, according to both InterMat and MatScouts. It includes three top-100 prospects, in Michigan's Stoney Buell and two Ohio natives in Ben Vanadia and Dustin Norris. But perhaps the two big names to watch are the two late additions to Purdue's 2021 recruiting haul. The first: Matt Ramos, who isn't a 2021 recruit but joined Purdue this summer after two seasons at Minnesota. He redshirted in '19-20, then took an Olympic redshirt in '20-21, so he's got all four years of eligibility left and is the front-runner to start at 133. "I've loved him," Ersland said. "He's been great in our room. He brings a lot of good energy. He's a fun kid and has a passion for the sport." The second: Hayden Copass, one of the nation's top heavyweight prospects and the No. 56 overall recruit in the 2021 class. He originally signed with Wisconsin, but is now with Purdue and could be a key contributor sooner rather than later. Copass won't be eligible until the second semester, and he'll be in a three-way battle with Keys and Tristan Ruhlman to start at heavyweight. Ersland said it'll be a process to figure out Purdue's starting heavyweight. A handful of open tournaments, like the Midlands Championships in December, may help decide the starter the rest of the way. WRESTLERS TO WATCH Of all the exciting wrestlers that could make up Purdue's lineup this season - Schroder, Ramos, Nijenhuis, Lyon - we're rolling with Kendall Coleman here. Coleman is a two-time NCAA qualifier at 157 pounds. He was the 6-seed at the 2020 NCAA Championships before COVID-19 canceled them, then was the 9-seed at last year's national tournament before injuring his knee in his second-round match, forcing him to default. Coleman is back healthy again and ready to resume his ascent as one of the nation's most exciting 157-pounders. He's 41-12 over his last two seasons and was a Big Ten finalist in 2020. He surpassed 100 career takedowns in just 39 matches, and enters the '21-22 season ranked No. 9 by InterMat. "My expectations for Kendall are pretty high," Ersland said. "He's looked strong coming back from his injury. He came back stronger and fit and ready to go. He's had a good fall once he was released to go live. I'm really high on him." POTENTIAL LINEUP 125: Devin Schroder 133: Matthew Ramos/Jacob Rundell 141: Parker Filius 149: Alec White/Trey Kruse/Ethan Smiley 157: Kendall Coleman 165: Emil Soehnlen 174: Gerrit Nijenhuis 184: Max Lyon 197: Thomas Penola/Michael Woulfe 285: Dorian Keys/Hayden Copass

North Carolina will travel to Ohio State on November 7th (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Each week throughout the collegiate wrestling season, our conference correspondent staff will make their picks for some of the most exciting duals of the upcoming week. We will select duals that appear to be the most competitive, rather than always featuring the biggest names, as to elicit varying opinions. Also, we will keep tabs on the winners and losers and probably make fun of the people with the worst records. Here are the week one picks!

2x Iowa state champ Hunter Garvin (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Today, Stanford received their first big commitment under first-year head coach Rob Koll. #9 overall Hunter Garvin (Iowa City West, IA), announced via social media that he had given the Cardinal a verbal commitment. Garvin is currently ranked #3 in the nation at 145 lbs. Garvin is a two-time Iowa 3A state champion and three-time finalist. He was selected to compete at Who's #1 in the fall and came up just short against NC State recruit Jackson Arrington (Forest Hills, PA). In 2020, Garvin was third at the Super 32. He has also placed in Fargo twice, both times at 16U Greco-Roman. Also on the Greco front, Garvin was fourth at UWW Junior Nationals this year. With Garvin's commitment, Koll's team now has verbals from a pair of top-50 recruits; along with #46 Daniel Cardenas (Pomona, CO). #118 Jack Darrah (Wyoming Seminary, PA) is also in the fold of what's shaking out to be an excellent first recruiting class for Koll. Getting recruits of this caliber was essential for Koll, since there was almost no Class of 2021 to speak of after the program was set to be dropped. Garvin projects as a 149/157 lber for the Cardinal. While the team has young talent at 157, they are not proven on the collegiate level. For all of the current recruits, check out InterMat's college commitment page.

2021 ACC Champions: NC State (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Five Straight Weeks of ACC Friday Night Duals Beginning with No. 10 Virginia Tech at No. 5 NC State on January 21 ACC Wrestling Championship Finals Live on ACC Network on March 6 For the third straight year, ACC wrestling fans will enjoy a dedicated night of programming on ACC Network (ACCN), the 24/7 national platform dedicated to ACC sports, as Friday Night Duals begin on Friday, January 21. ACC Network Extra (ACCNX), ACCN's digital platform available on the ESPN App, will carry additional matches throughout the regular season. Five duals, including three ranked matchups, highlight the Friday Night Duals slate beginning with the anticipated date between Virginia Tech and NC State at Reynolds Coliseum on January 21 at 7 p.m. The Wolfpack enter the season ranked fifth while the Hokies are 10th. No. 14 North Carolina travels to Virginia the following week (January 28, 7 p.m.) and Duke visits Blacksburg to meet the Hokies on February 4 at 7 p.m. Back-to-back ranked duals round out ACCN's regular season coverage with No. 20 Pitt hosting the Wolfpack on February 11 (7 p.m.) and rivals No. 14 North Carolina and NC State clashing in Raleigh on February 18 (7 p.m.). Shawn Kenney and Rock Harrison, who have called multiple ACC Wrestling Championships and the past two seasons of Friday Night Duals will be back for the 2022 slate of duals. Weekly ACC Wrestling Guests on Packer and Durham Packer and Durham, ACCN's weekday morning show from 7-10 a.m., will again spotlight ACC wrestling with guests throughout the season. ACC Wrestling Championship Coverage ACC Network will carry the finals of the 2022 ACC Wrestling Championship live from John Paul Jones Arena at Virginia on Sunday, March 6, beginning at 7 p.m. Preliminary and consolation round matches will be available on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX), ACCN's digital platform available on the ESPN App. NC State has won the last three straight ACC wrestling crowns and four of the last six. Ranked Teams, Individuals The ACC has four teams ranked in the latest InterMat rankings, including two among the top 10 (No. 5 NC State and No. 10 Virginia Tech), along with No. 14 North Carolina and No. 20 Pitt. Individually, nine ACC wrestlers are nationally ranked in the top five of their respective weight classes by InterMat, including 2021 NCAA 149-pound Champion Austin O'Connor who enters the season ranked No. 2 in the 157-pound weight class. Additionally, NC State's Tariq Wilson (149) and Pitt's Nino Bonaccorsi (197) are also ranked No. 2 nationally, while NC State's Trent Hidlay (184) is ranked third. Pitt's Jake Wentzel (165) and Virginia Tech's Mekhi Lewis (174) are ranked fourth, and Virginia Tech's Korbin Myers (133), North Carolina's Zach Sherman (149) and NC State's Hayden Hidlay (174) are ranked fifth. Lewis won a 2019 individual NCAA title at the 165-point weight class. Overall, a total of 35 ACC wrestlers hold top-30 weight class rankings entering the 2021-22 season. Friday Night Duals on ACC Network Date Time (ET) Match Network Fri, Jan. 21 7 p.m. No. 10 Virginia Tech at No. 5 NC State ACCN Fri, Jan. 28 7 p.m. No. 14 North Carolina at Virginia ACCN Fri, Feb. 4 7 p.m. Duke at No. 10 Virginia Tech ACCN Fri, Feb. 11 7 p.m. No. 5 NC State at No. 20 Pitt ACCN Fri, Feb. 18 7 p.m. No. 14 North Carolina at No. 5 NC State ACCN About ACC Network Owned and operated by ESPN in partnership with the Atlantic Coast Conference, ACC Network (ACCN) and its digital platform ACCNX is a 24/7 national network dedicated to ACC sports that launched on August 22, 2019. ACCN televises more than 500 regular-season and tournament games from across the conference's 27 sponsored sports plus a complement of news and information shows and original programming. Together, ACCN and its digital platform, ACCNX, combine to feature more than 1,500 ACC events each year. ESPN has been televising ACC content since 1979 and has exclusive rights to every conference-controlled game across all sports and championships. Carriage agreements are in place with the following video providers: Cox, DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM, DISH Network, Frontier, fuboTV, Google Fiber, Hulu+ Live TV, Mediacom, Optimum, Sling TV, Spectrum TV, Suddenlink, Verizon Fios, YouTube TV, members of the NCTC, NRTC and Vivicast, among others. All ACCN games will also be available on the ESPN App to authenticated subscribers. Fans interested in learning more about ACCN can visit www.GetACCN.com.

2021 NCAA runner-up Brandon Courtney (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Arizona State Sun Devils “It [has] been a lot of elbow grease over the last several years. … I think we're now starting to stabilize this program where we can start to really, truly do some good things on the wrestling mat, classroom, and life.” --Head Coach Zeke Jones The reigning Pac-12 champions and NCAA fourth-place team, Arizona State, is set to make another run at the national championships this coming year. Coach Zeke Jones and company enter the year with seven wrestlers ranked in the Top 9 of their respective weights, including six NCAA qualifiers from 2021, among them five 2021 All-Americans and one Round of 12 finisher. The Sun Devils are the team to beat in the conference, ranked the preseason #3 tournament, #8 dual team by InterMat. With the entire conference feeling energized and reloaded after the truncated season in 2021, Arizona State will get the best from their in-conference competitors as they pursue the highest distinction at the national level. The staff has put together a diverse list of competitors for the 2021-2022 season, laying out a persistent schedule ahead for the wrestlers. The Sun Devils wrestle a brief open tournament schedule in November, with a mid-month dual-meet against UR/#12 Oklahoma sandwiched between the Mountaineer (Appalachian State) Open and Cowboy (Wyoming) Open, and end their first semester at the inaugural Collegiate Duals just before Christmas. They then run an eleven-dual strong second-semester schedule of non-conference duals bookending the brief-but-spicy Pac-12 dual-season, including #5/#5 Michigan in early January and #6/#2 Missouri mid-February. Considering the Pac-12 conference tournament is a one-day event, it appears the Sun Devils are banking their tournament wrestling for NCAAs. TOP RETURNERS The highest, preseason ranked Sun Devils enter the year at #4 in their respective weight classes. These three wrestlers are evenly distributed in the Arizona State line-up (125, lightweight; 157, middle-weight; 285, heavyweight), forming a balanced pitchfork with which Coach Jones and staff can combat a strong national field. Brandon Courtney is the returning NCAA Runner-up at 125lbs, falling to Spencer Lee at the conclusion of an outstanding, one-loss season for the 2x Pac-12 Champion. With the return of the Ivy League competitors, the necessity for Courtney to jump a level is imminent as he will be an instrumental piece to any team-trophy bid for Arizona State. At 157lbs, returning All-American and fellow 2x Pac-12 Champion Jacori Teemer is a proven factor at the weight, having won six(!) matches at NCAAs to finish 4th in 2021, leaving the NCAA mat in a 1-0 loss to preseason #3 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) for third place. Teemer is expected to be in a tight-race at a dynamic weight-class, with last year's 149lbs NCAA Champion, #2 Austin O'Connor (North Carolina), moving up to face defending NCAA Champion, #1 David Carr (Iowa State), a move that undoubtedly further complicates claims to the national crown. Cohlton Schultz made himself a known force at heavyweight, finishing 4th at a loaded 285lbs class in 2021 -- all while continuing to pursue a budding senior-level Greco career for himself, already a 2019 Junior World Silver. After NCAAs, Schultz made the 2021 Senior World Team and now returns to the collegiate mat with invaluable international experience in tow -- not to mention four more years of collegiate eligibility. Schultz is on a path to be a serious contender for the national title now and for the foreseeable future. KEY DEPARTURES From the 2021 NCAA squad, the Sun Devils have seen two wrestlers depart via transfer. National qualifier Cory Crooks (149) completed his undergraduate studies and is now a graduate student at Oregon State. Pac-12 runner-up and national qualifier Trey Munoz (174) transferred out after a strong freshman season, also landing at in-conference Oregon State. At 184lbs, Cade Belshay's graduation leaves 184lbs open for a new starter. TOP NEWCOMERS Cael Valencia, InterMat's Preseason Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year, draws our attention with his potential. The youngest Valencia, Cael follows his brothers in wrestling for the Sun Devils and was the #13 (MatScouts) recruit from the high school class of 2021. Twice a California State runner-up before losing his senior year to COVID, Valencia nonetheless brings his own reputation to Arizona State. With Stanford's #31 Tyler Eischens the only Pac-12 wrestler ranked in the preseason, 174lbs may be ripe for a new face to make their mark. It'll be up to Valencia to establish himself as a force this early into his collegiate career. Additionally, two transfers provide immediate quality in the Arizona State line-up, with Jonathan Fagen (184, Cornell) and returning All-American, #6 Kyle Parco (149, Fresno State) now training in Tempe. Fagen is projected to help shore up the 184lbs class, where the graduation of Cade Belshay has left a void in experience for the Sun Devils. Similarly, with the aforementioned Crooks graduating and transferring, Parco's transfer into the Arizona State room immediately fills the void at 149lbs with an All-American caliber wrestler. WRESTLERS TO WATCH To reiterate, the Sun Devils will field a line-up with potentially seven Top 9 wrestlers, of which three are ranked in the Top 4 of their weight class. Sun Devil faithful should relish any opportunity to get eyes on the Arizona State squad this season, if only for the intrigue. Of particular intrigue is the conclusion of the collegiate career of All-American, #7 Anthony Valencia (165). Will Valencia, the Sun Devil's most seasoned and senior member, be able to cap his career with an unprecedented fifth Pac-12 title and an elusive national championship? Will he be able to spur his young Sun Devil teammates to another team-trophy performance? Such questions of a team's senior and team are themselves strong indicators of what is yet to come, and Valencia and his fellow Sun Devils are sure to enter the year with lofty expectations. POTENTIAL LINEUP 125: #4 Brandon Courtney (RS-Jr), Pac-12 Champion (2020, 2021), NWCA All-American (2020), NCAA Runner-up (2021) 133: #9 Michael McGee (RS-Jr), MAC Champion (2018-2019), NCAA All-American (2021) 141: Jesse Vasquez (Fr) / Julian Chlebove (RS-Fr) 149: #6 Kyle Parco (RS-Fr), NCAA All-American (2021) 157: #4 Jacori Teemer (RS-So), Pac-12 Champion (2020, 2021), NWCA All-American (2020), NCAA All-American (2021) 165: #7 Anthony Valencia (RS-Sr), Pac-12 Champion (2017, 2018, 2020, 2021), NWCA All-American (2020), NCAA All-American (2021) 174: Cael Valencia (Fr) 184: Josh Nummer (RS-Fr) / Jonathan Fagen (So-Tr) 197: #8 Kordell Norfleet (RS-Jr), Pac-12 Champion (2018, 2020-2021), NCAA Round of 12 (2021), NWCA All-American (2020) 285: #4 Cohlton Schultz (RS-Fr), Pac-12 Champion (2021), NCAA All-American (2021)