InterMat Staff

Today, WIN Magazine announced that Penn State 197 lber, Aaron Brooks, would be the recipient of the 2024 Dan Hodge Trophy. Brooks won the award over runner-up Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) and teammates, Carter Starocci, and Greg Kerkvliet. Brooks earns the honor after winning his fourth NCAA title and becoming only the seventh wrestler in DI history to win four. Starocci also joined the club two matches before Brooks in Kansas City. With Brooks receiving this Hodge, it marks the seventh time that Penn State wrestler has earned the honor. David Taylor (‘12/’14) and Zain Retherford (‘17/’18) did it twice, while Bo Nickal (‘19) and Kerry McCoy (‘97) are the others. During his final year with the Nittany Lions, Brooks amassed a 22-0 record that featured bonus points in 20 matches - good for a percentage of just over 90%. Brooks’ 6-1 NCAA finals victory over then-undefeated Trent Hidlay (NC State) and a dual victory over Zach Glazier (Iowa) were his only regular decisions over the year. When Brooks and Glazier met in the Big Ten finals, Brooks managed a 19-3 tech fall. Dominance is one of the main components of the Hodge Trophy vote and Brooks displayed plenty of that during his 2023-24 campaign. He notched six falls, 11 tech falls, and three major decisions among his 22 wins. In addition to his win over Hidlay, Brooks pinned the eventual third-place finisher (Stephen Buchanan - Oklahoma) and teched the sixth-place finisher (Rocky Elam - Missouri). Heading into the 2024 NCAA Tournament, nine of his 17 wins came over national qualifiers. Brooks also posted a pair of major decision victories over the returning Big Ten champion, Silas Allred (Nebraska). The 2023-24 season marked Brooks’ second undefeated season. He was also unbeaten in the shortened 2021 campaign that also saw him defeat Hidlay in the 184 lb national finals. For his career, Brooks finishes with an 89-3 record with four national titles, four Big Ten titles, and a 2021 NWCA First Team All-American designation. He also was a five-time Big Ten finalist. The first four years of Brooks’ career were spent at 184 lbs - he moved up to 197 for his final season.

This season we saw a ton of parity. Outside of the Happy Valley dominance, we saw Iowa defeat Nebraska, Nebraska defeat Michigan, and Michigan defeat Iowa. Not to mention how 125-pound wrestlers basically all defeated each other and couldn’t hang on to the top ranking. But with all that, no team shined brighter than Penn State which is why they swept our B1G awards. B1G Ten Wrestler of the Year: Aaron Brooks (PSU) What a dominant year for Brooks who capped off his career with a fourth title, an undefeated record and a near 91% bonus rate. In addition to a flawless season that included 11 technical falls, six pins, and three major decisions, Brooks also had a 96.74%-win percentage with just three losses in five years – two of which he avenged during that same season. But this season was by far his best as he increased his Bonus % by a little over 25%. His only wins that came by regular decision were against Iowa’s Zach Glazier during the dual meet - a win he then impressed up by recording a 19-3 tech fall over in the conference tournament and NC State’s Trent Hidlay in the NCAA finals. Brooks finished as a five-time B1G Ten Conference finalist where he won four titles and a runner-up finish, to go along with being the 2024 NCAA Championships Most Outstanding Wrestler, a multiple-time Hodge Trophy finalist, and an 89-3 record for his career. Honorable mention: Carter Starocci (PSU) Listen to Brooks speak after making NCAA wrestling history as a four-time NCAA Champ: Freshman of the Year: Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU) Mesenbrink came into the season with a ton of hype and expectation. Many of us couldn’t wait to see him compete at the NCAA level after transferring to PSU from California Baptist where he took a redshirt year, and he lived up to every bit of it. The 2023 74kg U20 Champion ran the 165-pound weight class in the conference where his crazy pace propelled him to a B1G Ten title and the NCAA finals where he took his first loss. In his first conference tournament, he recorded a technical fall, a second-period pin, and a wild 13-11 comeback win over Wisconsin’s Dean Hamiti in the finals. He followed that up with three bonus point wins and a pair of decisions on his way to the final where he came just a point short of being an undefeated redshirt freshman NCAA Champion. He completed the year with a 70% bonus rate and a 26-1 record as he finished second at the NCAA Championships in the 165-pound bracket. Honorable mention: Rocco Welsh (Ohio State) Listen to Mesenbrink’s comments after winning in the NCAA semifinals: Coach of the Year: Cael Sanderson (PSU) It’s all about having fun, scoring points and trying to get better. That’s what Coach Cael Sanderson says is the focus for him and his team. So far throughout his tenure at Penn State, that’s worked perfectly. And this year was particularly better than others as he and his team broke the points record at the NCAA tournament with 172.5 and crowned four champions with two of the four – Carter Starocci (174) and Aaron Brooks (197) – making NCAA history as they became the sixth and seventh wrestlers to win four titles. In addition to the tremendous finish to the season was a flawless dual meet record of 12-0 and a B1G Ten conference team title where they scored 170.5 points and won titles at five of the 10 weights. They also advanced all 10 guys to the NCAA tournament where they had eight four All-Americans to go along with the four champs. It really was a historical year for Coach Sanderson and his team. They proved once again why they are the perennial powerhouse and one of the most dominant teams in NCAA history. Honorable mention: Sean Bormet (Michigan) Listen to Sanderson’s comments after winning another NCAA title: Previous Award Winners Wrestler of the Year 2023: Mason Parris (Michigan) 2022: Gable Steveson (Minnesota) Freshman of the Year 2023: Levi Haines (Penn State) 2022: Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) Coach of the Year 2023: Cael Sanderson (Penn State) 2022: Sean Bormet (Michigan)

Milton

Osage

The fearsome foursome is back to recap the action from the 2024 NCAA Championships! They'll start with 125 lbs and work their way up to 149.

The 2023-24 season is in the record books, but before moving on, it’s time to salute the top performers in each conference. We've already hit on the Big 12 and MAC; so now we're onto the EIWA. EIWA Wrestler of the Year - Vito Arujau (Cornell) It certainly wasn’t the same path as the 2022-23 season for Vito Arujau, but when the smoke cleared, Arujau was standing on the top of the podium at 133 lbs, just like the previous season. Arujau blew through the competition last season, then carried that momentum into the US Open, Final X, and the World Championships - all freestyle events he won last spring/summer. When Arujau returned to the collegiate circuit, he was rudely greeted by Lehigh freshman Ryan Crookham at WrangleMania. After that loss, Arujau was out of competition for over a month. He returned for the Collegiate Duals and posted a solid 4-0 win over Little Rock freshman Nasir Bailey. In retrospect, that was a very legitimate victory as Bailey went on to place fourth in the nation. Throughout the remainder of the regular season, Arujau was still trying to get right from his lingering injury and was used as needed and carried a 10-1 record into the EIWA Championships. At EIWA’s, Arujau posted three wins to make the finals and didn’t appear to be all the way “back,” to his normal self. He’d drop another match to Crookham in the finals, 10-6. The losses to Crookham and lack of a regular season resume pushed Arujau down to the sixth seed in Kansas City. Quickly, we saw that the seed didn’t mean much to him and he was much closer to the Vito we’ve come to know (and perhaps fear). Arujau started his tournament with a major decision over his first two opponents, then notched another over the third seed and ACC champion Kai Orine (NC State), a returning All-American. That set the stage for round three in the Arujau/Crookham rivalry. Arujau showed he was in totally different shape than even two weeks earlier and majored Crookham to the tune of 13-3. Arujau won title number two in a matchup against Daton Fix that will likely be remembered for its many delays for reviews/challenges/bloodtime. Ultimately, those delays didn’t derail or deter Arujau as he prevailed 5-3. The final collegiate stats for Arujau are four All-American honors (4,3,1,1), two EIWA championships, a pair of NCAA titles and a 93-9 career record. Honorable Mention: Ryan Crookham (Lehigh) EIWA Freshman of the Year - Ryan Crookham (Lehigh) From reading Arujau’s portion of the awards, you probably know a little bit about Crookham already. The three-time Pennsylvania state champion chose to stay close to home and enrolled at Lehigh. Crookham had a solid 8-1 redshirt season with a pair of wins over national qualifiers; however, there was nothing to indicate that he’d jump in and immediately become a title threat at 133 lbs. In fact, there was some debate over who would be Lehigh’s starter at the weight. The Mountain Hawks also returned Connor McGonagle, who was injured in the 2023 postseason, but spent time ranked in the top-five nationally. Before meeting Arujau at WrangleMania, Crookham edged McGonagle in sudden victory. The Crookham had the win that turned the college wrestling world on its collective heads. A few weeks later, after downing returning All-American and Big Ten runner-up, Aaron Nagao (Penn State), Crookham assumed the number one ranking nationally. Late in the regular season, Crookham also posted a win over past EIWA champion Michael Colaiocco (Penn). Despite an undefeated record and a second win over Arujau at the EIWA Championship, Crookham was given the second seed at nationals, behind Fix. After losing to Arujau in the semifinals, Crookham rebounded to take third place. Along the way, he defeated Big 12 runner-up Evan Frost (Iowa State) and had his second victory over Bailey to claim third. With both NCAA finalists out of eligibility, Crookham likely starts the 2024-25 campaign number one in the nation at 133 lbs after his stellar 24-1 freshman season. Honorable Mention: Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) EIWA Coach of the Year - Kevin Ward (Army West Point) The Army West Point wrestling team finished the regular season with a 7-4 record and was ranked 25th in the nation in InterMat’s dual rankings. After starting the year 1-3, the Black Knights finished the season winning six of seven duals. Perhaps the most significant win during that final push came against rival Navy in the Midshipmen’s home gym. It was the first win for Army in the Star Match since 2020, but the sixth total under head coach Kevin Ward. Overall, Army has only defeated Navy 11 times in 68 attempts. At the EIWA Championships, Ward’s team finished third with 95.5 points behind six national qualifiers. The last time Army West Point finished third in the EIWA was in 2021, the year that did not involve any Ivy League schools. Of the six national qualifiers for Army, three were freshmen which is believed to be the most in school history. One of them, Braden Basile, notched a pair of wins over higher-seeded opponents, at 133 lbs. Like the EIWA Championships, Army was led by 174 lbs Ben Pasiuk in Kansas City. Pasiuk was an EIWA runner-up and got on the NCAA podium - finishing eighth. He needed to win a 9-8 shootout over a red-hot Jared Simma (Northern Iowa) in the bloodround. Pasiuk’s finish made him the first NCAA All-American during Ward’s tenure at West Point and the program’s first since Matt Kyler in 2008. While Pasiuk will graduate this year, the Black Knights will return four of their six national qualifiers for the 2024-25 season. Honorable Mention: Mike Grey (Cornell) Previous Award Winners EIWA Wrestler of the Year 2023: Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) 2022: Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) EIWA Freshman of the Year 2023: Vince Cornella (Cornell) 2022: CJ Composto (Penn) EIWA Coach of the Year 2023: Mike Grey (Cornell) 2022: Chris Ayres (Princeton)

T-Mobile Center Kansas City, Missouri I have had a few days to decompress, shake off the almost red-eye of a fight home, and the overall joyous fatigue that comes with attending the NCAA wrestling championships. I started attending NCAAs in 2016, in New York City (my credit card just shuddered from the memories). Each year, everyone always quickly reminisces about the past few days so starting this year, I decided to put my thoughts to paper. Unfortunately, my podcast co-host Todd Szewczyk was unable to get out of his work obligations and missed his first NCAAs in a very, very long time. So for this first Host City Review, I will be flying solo in my criticism. Everyone seems to have been singing the praises of the town that doesn't have a professional basketball or hockey team (just an arena in hopes of one day having one/both). And while I agree, it was a great host, there are some things I can nitpick. When it comes to my evaluation, I look at a few different criteria: 1. Hotels This is always the first criterion for me because it's the one that can disappear the quickest. In fact, as we saw a lot of in Tulsa 2023, might even be taken away a couple months out. But it’s not just about the quantity of hotels, but the options of hotels. Cheap “murder hotels” to the type Kevin McAllister accommodates in for Home Alone 2. 2. Air Fare/Travel to and from I fly out of the beautiful, and often worst-rated airport, Philadelphia (don't worry, I actually rarely have a terrible time in and out of PHL and I'm sure you won't either next year). But for me, is there a direct flight? If not, how many connections? Reasonable departure times? And most importantly, price. 3. Food and Drink Outside of the actual wrestling, this might be the most important. Yeah, we are all going to be in the arena from 10am to 3pm and again from 6pm to 9pm for three days straight. But it's what fuels us in the times in between that creates the atmosphere we all know and love. 4. Walkability If you meet me, you get it. I'm a fat guy in a little coat. 5. Wrestling Venue The wrestling is going to be great no matter what. But how were the aesthetics, layout, Wifi, and the view from my seat. So, on to the evaluation: Hotels: Within maybe 10 blocks of the T-Mobile Center there are about 14 hotels ranging from Holiday Inn's to the posh Kansas City Hotel or Loews Hotel. I stayed at the Crowne Plaza Downtown KC which was about four blocks from the arena. Great stumbling distance when you wake up from a hangover at 9:15am for Session 5. Before taxes and fees, I got my hotel for $188 on average per night for four days (Wednesday to Sunday). One drawback is the plumbing. Apparently, physics aren't the same in Kansas City as in the rest of the USA and when it goes down one drain it occasionally comes UP another. Other than that, the hotel did what it was supposed to do, have a comfy mattress and pillows. “B.” High marks on the price and location, hit because of the plumbing and overall , let's say, slight lack of cleanliness. Air Fare/Travel Obviously, this is very subjective because the Missouri Tigers didn't have to fly in and many teams bussed it. But, this is my article so you will listen to every word I have to say (joking). I may have seen at one time a direct flight or two, but the cost was well above the $500 to $600 mark round trip. I mean, I’m a guy who hates paying more than $20 for jeans, if that gives you an indication of my frugalness. After multiple searches a day, starting from November 1st, eventually I found round-trip airfare at about $300 on Southwest Airlines. The downsides? To and From both had connecting flights, which isn't that terrible in the grand scheme of it all… but my departure from PHL was 5:50 am, and my departure from Kansas City back home was 6:50pm. Now, I have a two-month-old so waking up in the early bits of the morning is something not uncommon to me. I could either do the sensible thing and nap on the couch, so as not to wake anyone, for a few hours before driving at 3am to PHL… or do the stupid thing that I ended up doing. If I didn't take the crazy departure time route, I saw round trip prices range from $200ish to $450 with the cheaper having crazy long layovers or late-night arrivals into Kansas City on Wednesday night from Frontier, Spirit, or United (without bag fees added in) or the more expensive being, well, shorter layovers but just expensive as hell. For this, I assumed the risk of the crazy departure times, so that's on me. I’ll give travel a “C,” Not a whole lot of options within the price a reasonable person would pay, and nothing direct from Philly. The prices didn't really fluctuate that much at all in the months leading up and honestly I got it as cheap as I did because one leg was $75. Food and Drink My motto every NCAAs, “Diet starts Monday” So if you weren't in Kansas City, or you were somehow blind and deaf, the LIVE! Center was across the street (a blocked-off and shutdown street, thank goodness) where they had multiple bars, eateries, and an open courtyard area with a stage playing hits such as Teenage Dirtbag and various AC/DC classics (even a keytar made an appearance!). The courtyard also had a metal roof with heaters so if the alcohol didn't keep you warm, the LIVE! Center would. Obviously, this comes with the downside of EVERYBODY heading there as the session ends. And there was one pizza place there open late (1am) serving pies… FOR $65 EACH! That's not a joke, ask Jeff Upson of PaPower fame. Bars were readily available in every concentric circle from the arena and food was available late as it usually is on the East Coast (kitchens closing around 10 or 11pm). Now, Kansas City is known for BBQ and I did indulge in some while in town. Once on my first day at the County Road Ice House which got their BBQ from Joe's and on my last day ate at Jack Stack BBQ a little south of Downtown. Very good, very full (restaurant capacity and my stomach wise). One spot I hit multiple times between sessions, mainly because they somehow had reservations available the hour before the session ended (so duh I made them), was the Streetcar Grill & Tavern. Quick story. I got a reservation for 6 at a high-top table for me, my buddy Kyle (who showed up later due to a work call), and some of the InterMat/Pa Power Media guys. Well, things ran longer for them than expected so I found myself sitting alone for 15 minutes at a large empty table while people were being turned away for 45-minute wait times. I noticed three older Oklahoma State apparel-wearing fans who had been walking up and down the row and, from my experience last year in Tulsa, assumed they would be friendly. I waved them over and told them my group was running late so if they wanted to sit and eat, they could and would help keep the death stares from the staff away. Turns out, one was Ellison Beasey who wrestled for OKST in the late 60s and one was Randy Faires. And, maybe most importantly, they bought me some beers! What cool dudes! Last bit on the food. Me and my buddy Kyle needed to try and reintegrate into some civility (aka use utensils to eat instead of hands) so between sessions 3 and 4, we walked about a mile to an Austrian restaurant called Grunauer. Really good, not crazy expensive, and they had some fancy nets that go over your lemons so when you squeeze them over your schnitzel the seeds don't fall on your food. Fancy A-F. There were many other options from fine dining to local sandwich shops with great reviews. My one gripe: Breakfast. The only real breakfast places downtown that I could find was a diner called the Silver Spoon Cafe (that CLOSED from 3/20 to 3/23… idiots), a bagel place, and… sigh, a Starbucks. I love diners and breakfast spots so I was very disappointed there wasn't a greater array of options. There was also a grocery market between my hotel and the arena that bridged the gap with coffee and pastries. Solid “A”, and I didn't even get to visit the numerous craft breweries and distilleries less than 5 blocks south of the arena. Definitely new options to try if it hosts again. Walkability If you made it this far, you can surmise that from my previous paragraphs that you could probably throw a stone and hit somewhere to eat or drink. Within one mile of the area, you had basically everything a wrestling fan there to eat, drink, and watch wrestling could need. But it's not all just “Bachelor” and “Bachelorettes” there. Spouses, children, and relatives not fond, able, or legal enough to partake in the drunken festivities also attend (I can't believe how many toddlers and NEWBORNS IN STROLLERS I saw!). If staying Downtown, a quick (and not too expensive) rideshare jaunt to Kauffman Stadium for a walking tour, or the World War I Museum, or the Negro League Baseball Museum or many other family-oriented activities the city has to offer. You can also take a rideshare to other great BBQ places too. Just sayin. “A-” mainly because even though there were many options close by, they would get absolutely swamped and it would be so loud that you lost your voice by the end of day 1 (and not from cheering on the wrestling, right Bogle?). Because of this, you might be forced to walk farther out but there was no lack of options, if you didn't mind putting a half mile of tread on the sidewalk. Wrestling Venue A little on the smaller side by a few hundred to thousand compared to the past venues. I sat in Section 102, corner section behind Mat 7 and next to the Michigan & Iowa State fans. For the Finals, I had an almost direct line down the red carpet. Had some great views too. Food and drink were to be expected in stadium pricing, however, a Miller Lite pounder cost $16. Four beers for a session cost $74. My one meal with Kyle at the Street Car? Fried Pickles, Brisket Nachos, four Yuenglings, and two burgers… $70.56 (albeit during happy hour, but still). Bottled water at the arena was $4, so that actually wasn't bad, comparatively. WiFi in the arena was not good, for me at least. Kyle is a T-Mobile guy so he worked magenta fast, but poor ol' Verizon Cellular-me had bad lag times. To be expected, I guess. But we live in the 21st century. C’mon. “B” and just because I'm nitpicking hard. The wrestling is always amazing, and the stadium is what the stadium is. Seats to hold butts pointed towards the center of the ground floor. The WiFi has been better at other venues, in my experience, and in this day and age when you're running multiple Fantasy Wrestling worksheets, it is kind of important. ***************** Overall, I really liked Kansas City as a host and would not mind it being there once a cycle instead of St. Louis. That said, I really do get excited every year to see and explore a new city with the food, culture, and overall experience, so I can’t sign off on having it there every year. Four thumbs up from me, KC.

Just two days after hitting the transfer portal, Chase Saldate has announced his transfer destination. He’ll stay in Michigan and change colors moving from Michigan State to the maize and blue of the Wolverines. Saldate, a four-time national qualifier at 157 lbs for the Spartans, will use his final year of eligibility wrestling for the University of Michigan. The 2022-23 season was Saldate’s best as he finished fifth in the Big Ten and advanced to the NCAA Round of 12 after earning the 11th seed. After four years at MSU, Saldate sports an 82-33 record. He recently went 25-8 at the 2024 NCAA Championships, losing a pair of 4-3 matches to Big Ten rivals. In the regular season, Saldate was seventh at the Midlands and a finalist at the Black Knight Invite. During the regular season, Saldate nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year when he pushed the eventual undefeated NCAA champion, Levi Haines, into tiebreakers. Coming out of high school, Saldate was ranked #14 overall in the Class of 2020 after making a pair of California state finals - winning his senior season. Before his senior year, Saldate won a belt at the Super 32 and during the regular season, he was a champion at the Reno Tournament of Champions and the Doc Buchanan. Michigan is losing two-time All-American Will Lewan at 157 lbs, so Saldate could step in and replace his former rival. There has also been some talk that Saldate would like to move up to 165 lbs. While Saldate only has a year of eligibility remaining, he does have a redshirt available, as well.

The 2023-24 season is in the record books, but before moving on, it’s time to salute the top performers in each conference. Yesterday, we started with the Big 12 conference; now, onto the MAC. MAC Wrestler of the Year: Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) This makes for the third consecutive year that Anthony Noto has been honored in our year-end awards. He was named the conference wrestler of the year in 2023, and in 2022, the freshman (newcomer) of the year. Noto came into the 2023-24 season ranked second in the preseason after a fourth-place finish in 2023. At two points during this year, Noto held the number one spot in the nation. A few weeks after competing in the All-Star Classic, Noto defeated the eventual ACC champion, Jakob Camacho (NC State), who was ranked #1 in the country, at the time. At the 2024 MAC Championships, Noto used a 13-5 major decision over Blake West to claim his third consecutive conference title. In doing so, Noto became the first Lock Haven wrestler to win three conference championships since 1997. Despite dominating the MAC, Noto was given the 12th seed in Kansas City. That set him up for a first-round match against All-American Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State), the only first-round meeting between two All-Americans in the tournament. Noto won that bout 5-3 and another over Diego Sotelo (Harvard) to make the quarterfinals. In the quarters, Noto used an overtime takedown to defeat returning NCAA runner-up, Matt Ramos (Purdue). Ramos was the opponent who defeated Noto in the All-Star Classic. After a close, one-point loss to the eventual national champion (Richie Figueroa - Arizona State) in the semifinals, Noto bounced back with wins over Big Ten opponents, Caleb Smith (Nebraska) then Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) to claim third place. With at least another year of eligibility remaining, Noto holds an 84-10 career record and will be considered one of the top title contenders at a turbulent 125 lb weight class. photo courtesy of George Mason athletics MAC Freshman of the Year: DJ McGee (George Mason) For the second year in a row, George Mason has the conference Freshman of the Year. This season’s honor goes to 157 lber DJ McGee, who finished with a 25-7 record. That was a bit unexpected after McGee went 7-3 during his redshirt season. McGee started the year with a nine-match winning streak - one that included a title at the Battle at the Citadel and a shocking upset over returning All-American Michael Blockhus of Minnesota. McGee proved his Blockhus win was no fluke as he finished fourth at the Midlands just over a month later. After the new year, McGee closed out the dual season with wins in five of his last six bouts. His only loss during that stretch came against eventual All-American Peyten Kellar (Ohio). McGee saw Kellar again in the MAC finals, but still fell 2-0. McGee ended up as the runner-up in the conference’s deepest weight class. In the MAC semis, McGee posted his second win of the season over eventual Round of 12 finisher Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan). In Kansas City, McGee went 1-2 in a brutal 157 lbs weight class. His lone win came at the expense of North Carolina’s Sonny Santiago by a 4-2 score. The two opponents who defeated McGee were seeded in the top-11. photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriiors.com MAC Coach of the Year: Tom Borrelli (Central Michigan) Just two days after winning his 15th MAC title, Tom Borrelli announced he would step down from his post as Central Michigan’s head coach after 33 years at the helm for the Chippewas. In his final campaign with CMU, Borrelli’s squad went 8-8 with a 6-1 record in the conference. Three Central Michigan wrestlers earned a trip to nationals in Kansas City, led by 174 lb MAC champion Alex Cramer. At his final national tournament, Borrelli saw Cramer go 2-2 and Lovett advanced to the bloodround before coming up a match shy of earning All-American status. Lovett suffered a first-round loss, but bounced back with wins over three opponents seeded higher than him to make the Round of 12. The 2023-24 dual season brought Borrelli’s career record to 368-179. He ended up coaching 45 All-Americans and 93 MAC champions. Borrelli had a national champion (Casey Cunningham - 1999) and three top-ten finishes at the NCAA Tournament. CMU’s fifth-place finish in 1998 represented the highwater mark for Borrelli and the Chippewas. As of now, three of his former wrestlers are current DI head coaches. Previous Award Winners MAC Wrestler of the Year 2023: Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) 2022: Matt Stencel (Central Michigan) MAC Freshman of the Year 2023: Nathan Higley (George Mason) 2022: Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) MAC Coach of the Year 2023: Keith Ferraro (Clarion) 2022: Scott Moore (Lock Haven)

Well, another college wrestling season is in the books. It always seems like it flies by and then you realize how far back November was and you remember how long it really is. We were probably in about week nine of the football season. Halloween candy was still strewn about. The World Series just ended. Ok, you get my point. We go to witness all the heartbreak and triumph. We started out with 17-year-old high school kids tearing up open tournaments and ended with teammates making history by both winning their fourth title. Personally, I thought it was an excellent season with a final tournament to match. So, let's talk about it! 15 years from now, you look back and think about the 2023-2024 season, what’s gonna stick out to you? Dysen Gould Well, the Brock Hardy incident certainly “sticks out” for me right now and years down the road. I can’t remember 15 minutes ago, so I seriously doubt I’ll remember Vance Vombaur placing from the #26 seed. Or Shane Griffith coming back from 5-0 in the quarters. I doubt I’ll remember Parker Keckeisen going bonus all the way through. Or the Chairgate incident between Mekhi Lewis and Ben Pasiuk. I probably won’t recall Mason Beckman making Daniel Cormier nearly quit on live television. Hopefully, I’ll forget Virginia Tech ruining the perfect Jagger Night record. But I will remember that spladle for the rest of my life. Who never technically won NCAA’s but is a national champion in the Jagger personal record book? Rhino That would be you, my friend. You’re a great man. I drunkenly called you on Christmas Eve last year and you loved it. But also, Peyton Robb for what he went through just to come back this year and get on the podium again. And Trent Hidlay for being not only a beast but everything you want in a wrestler and teammate. Austin Gomez for never giving up on his dreams and never holding back out there on the mat. Now he’s earned a trip to the Olympics this summer because of it. And Kevin Claunch for having the guts to wear a sun hat. All champions in my book. How much are we booing Fix at the Olympic Team Trials? Personally, I'm trying to sound like the ghost of 2nd places past every time he steps on the mat. Thicccolas Oh, come on now. I’m probably as guilty as anyone is when it comes to goofing on his longevity, but it’s all in fun. The man is an exceptional wrestler. Over a seven-year run, Daton has five conferences, five AA’s, four finals appearances, multiple Senior world teams, a Senior world finals appearance, and a Junior world title. In an era where guys compete less and less, Daton Fix just never stopped. Yeah, things seemed to take a weird turn last week in all his matches. But he might deserve some applause for everything he has accomplished in his career. Or boo him. I don’t care. You bought the ticket and this is America last I checked. Which outfit was your favorite? Rachel Gallardo I admit I’m partial to the red sweatpants that Earl busted out on Saturday night to honor the Tiger Woods Sunday red. Can the Jays get 90 wins this year? Eric Asselin You do have 28 games against the Yankees and Boston. I’m sure you can conjure up 62 more wins somewhere. Daniel Vogelbach is worth at least ten wins by himself. Will Danny Burgers be an All-Star this year? IndianaMat You just saw me say the guy will lead Toronto to 90 wins. I’m expecting MVP votes. Which school with a coaching opening is the best job? Luke Wise I feel it’s pretty even between CMU and Buffalo with the slight edge to CMU. I just hope both schools give their best effort in looking for the next guy. With so many great coaches in the land and so few D1 jobs, you have more than enough candidates. Hire the guy who is the best fit and not because he went undefeated in his career or something. That stuff never works. And now to close out the regular season mailbag we take it to the newcomer of the year and his never-ending run of questions. Once more, take us home, Burger King of Kings. Who's the coolest wrestling person you've interacted with on Twitter? Old School Wrestling Clips. His rizz level is Anakin Skywalker class. I’ve never seen anything like it. Do you save my unanswered questions, or do you need me to resubmit? It would behoove you to resubmit them. Who are you going to challenge in street league 2024? Not Jesse Mendez. Possibly Hijo de JL Vice. Idiot troll, I bet he says hi to my face. Favorite delay/challenge brick of the tournament? I loved all the delays in the 133 final. I don’t care who knows it. I‘m sure it was awful in the arena but it was perfect from the couch. First off, we were only the third match in so the crowd was properly buzzed to just be raucous. Add in all the online takes and opinions and the fact that this is a common occurrence in Fix matches and it was pure anarchy. Well, that’s going to do it for this week’s bag. Soon I’ll pick the third annual All-Jagger team that still has no actual criteria. Hey, it’s the highest honor we got.

Blackwell

Santa Cruz Valley Union

Junction City

News broke today out of Buffalo, New York today that John Stutzman will not return as the head coach at the University at Buffalo. Stutzman, a UB alum, had led Buffalo since the 2013-14 campaign. During his tenure as head coach, Stutzman went 89-109 in dual meets and sent 25 wrestlers to the NCAA Championships. Four of his wrestlers earned MAC Championships. This year Buffalo went 10-12 in duals and finished fifth in the conference. Two Bulls wrestlers, Nick Stampoulos and Sam Mitchell, qualified for nationals; Mitchell went 1-2 while Stampoulos went 0-2. Buffalo logged quality wins over Lock Haven, Ohio, and Clarion, but also suffered losses to Long Island, SIU Edwardsville, and Chattanooga. Stutzman’s best season in Buffalo came in 2018-19 when the Bulls finished second in the MAC, sending six wrestlers to nationals and crowning two conference champions. For his efforts, Stutzman was named the MAC Coach of the Year. That season, Buffalo notched 12 dual wins, a total they would match in the 2021-22 season, as well. Prior to taking the Buffalo job, Stuztman amassed a 97-56-1 record at Bloomsburg and coached three All-Americans. With an opening at Buffalo, there are now two head coaching vacancies in the MAC as Central Michigan is looking for a successor to Tom Borrelli.

NEWTON, Iowa — WIN Magazine has opened the voting for the 2024 WIN Magazine/Culture House Dan Hodge Trophy, presented by ASICS. The five finalists are the four undefeated NCAA Division I national champions — Levi Haines (157, Penn State), Parker Keckeisen (184, Northern Iowa), Aaron Brooks (197, Penn State) and Greg Kerkvliet (HWT, Penn State) — and Penn State’s Carter Starocci, who was 17-2 at 174 pounds with his only two losses being injury defaults at the Big Ten tournament. The Hodge Trophy Fan Vote starts today at www.WIN-magazine.com and goes until Friday, March 29 at 5 pm CST. The winner of the fan vote gets five first-place Hodge votes. The Hodge Trophy Voting Committee is made up of all past winners of the award, each getting one vote for each year they won the Hodge; several national wrestling media members; several retired college coaches from different regions and a representative of each national wrestling organization. The winner will be announced on Monday, April 1 at 12:00 pm CST. Long known as the “Heisman Trophy of wrestling” and given to the sport’s most dominant collegian, the criteria for the award includes a wrestler’s record, dominance/bonus-point percentage, quality of competition and sportsmanship. Haines, a sophomore, went 23-0 and scored bonus points in 65% of his matches. The senior Starocci, a four-time NCAA champ, also had a 65% bonus-point percentage. Keckeisen, a junior, finished with the most wins of the finalists, going 31-0 with a bonus-point percentage of 90%. Four-time champ Brooks, a senior, edged out Keckeisen for the highest bonus-point percentage of the group, at 91% in his 22-0 campaign. Kerkvliet is a senior who finished 20-0 and had a 70% bonus-point percentage. The award is named after Dan Hodge, the late three-time NCAA champion who wrestled at Oklahoma from 1955-1957. Hodge went 46-0 over his three-year career, pinning 36 of 46 opponents and was never taken down in college. He is still the only wrestler ever to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. WIN Magazine will officially present the award at the team’s spring wrestling banquet and again publicly at a football game this fall. For more information on the award, as well as a list of past winners and the announcement story from each year, go to www.WIN-magazine.com. Fans can vote here

The 2023-24 season is in the record books, but before moving on, it’s time to salute the top performers in each conference. We’ll start with the Big 12 conference. Big 12 Wrestler of the Year: Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) Only four wrestlers finished the 2023-24 campaign as undefeated national champions and three of them wore Penn State singlets. The other? Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen the winner of the 184 lb bracket. Keckeisen has been excellent for his entire career at Northern Iowa, but also turned it into another gear this season. At the NCAA Championships, Keckeisen was the only wrestler to notch bonus points in every one of his matches. In the NCAA finals, he majored Oklahoma State’s Dustin Plott, an opponent who earned bonus points in every one of his pre-finals matches. For the year, Keckeisen tallied bonus points in over 90% of his matches. That total has put him right in the middle of the Hodge Trophy race. Keckeisen’s NCAA finals win over Plott was his third of the year over the Oklahoma State star and his second that included bonus points. The first of those two major decisions came in the Big 12 finals, where Keckeisen captured his fourth consecutive Big 12 crown. During the regular season, Keckeisen was selected to compete in the NWCA All-Star match. There he edged new Penn State wrestler Bernie Truax in front of Truax’s home crowd and he had to mount a comeback to get the victory. Just over a week later, Keckeisen went out to Vegas for the CKLV Invitational. In Vegas, he dominated the field with bonus points in four of five matches to capture the title. Just to make the finals, Keckeisen needed to defeat two returning All-Americans. For his career, Keckeisen is now 104-5 with four All-American finishes. He was second in 2023 and third in each of his first two seasons. During the 2023 and 2024 NCAA Tournaments, Keckeisen was given the number one seed. Keckeisen has twice made the CKLV finals - winning in 2023. He’ll head into his final year of eligibility a winner of 31 straight and 51 of his last 52 matches. Honorable Mention: David Carr (Iowa State) Big 12 Freshman of the Year: Ty Watters (West Virginia) From day one of the 2023-24 season, true freshman Ty Watters was West Virginia’s starter at 149 lbs. Right away, Watters showed that he had plenty of potential, as he earned a win over returning national qualifier Tom Crook at the Southeast Open. Watters also displayed early in the season his propensity for pins. He secured falls in seven of his first eight duals - a streak that preceded the Midlands Championships. At the Midlands, Watters made the championship finals and helped lead the Mountaineers to a third-place finish, as a team. Down the homestretch, Watters won six of his final seven duals. In the postseason, Watters became only the fourth WVU wrestler to win a conference title since the move to the Big 12. He also was the first freshman conference champion since Brandon Rader in 2006. His performance at the Big 12 Championships provided him with the #5 seed in Kansas City. At his first NCAA Tournament, Watters avenged a regular season loss to Willie McDougald to make the quarterfinals opposite Virginia Tech’s Caleb Henson. Henson defeated Watters and went on to win the national title - he was responsible for two of his six losses on the year. After the Henson loss, Watters clinched All-American status with a second-period fall over past AA Jaden Abas (Stanford). In his next contest, Watters avenged yet another regular season loss by majoring Iowa State’s Casey Swiderski. To lock up a top-four finish, Watters also pinned four-time All-American Kyle Parco (Arizona State). Watters went on to finish fourth in the national which is the highest by a WVU wrestler since 2015. Honorable Mention: Bennett Berge (South Dakota State Big 12 Coach of the Year: Damion Hahn (South Dakota State) South Dakota State started the 2023-24 campaign with wins over three non-DI foes before suffering close losses to Big Ten opponents Minnesota and Nebraska. After that stretch, Damion Hahn’s team reeled off nine straight wins - a streak that included a win over Michigan, along with Navy and Oklahoma. After a pair of losses, the Jackrabbits ended the year by crushing rival North Dakota State, 34-6. At the Big 12 Championships, South Dakota State finished third with 122 points. It was the first time SDSU had scored over 100 points at the Big 12 meet and tied a program-best with their finish. The Jackrabbits also crowned a pair of champions, Cade DeVos (174) and Tanner Sloan (197). It was the first time since the 2018 tournament that SDSU had multiple champions. Hahn’s team also finished above a Missouri squad that had won the previous two Big 12 tournaments. In Kansas City, South Dakota State set a new program record with four DI All-Americans. DeVos and Sloan made the podium, along with Tanner Jordan and freshman Bennett Berge. That was good enough for a 13th-place finish, which was one spot short of another program high. Honorable Mention: Kevin Dresser (Iowa State) Previous Award Winners Big 12 Wrestler of the Year 2023: Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) 2022: Keegan O’Toole (Missouri) Big 12 Freshman of the Year 2023: Michael Caliendo (North Dakota State) 2022: Willie McDougald (Oklahoma) Big 12 Coach of the Year 2023: Sam Barber (Air Force) 2022: Brian Smith (Missouri)

Colquitt County

Southeast Polk

Franklin Regional

Connellsville

Massillon Perry

Riverside

Lake Highland Prep

Central Valley