InterMat Staff

Oklahoma State vs Iowa Preview: Another Wild Installment of History Set for Sunday Oklahoma State and Iowa are two of the most storied programs in the country. From their Olympic and World Champion head coaches to their amazing history of winning under the biggest and brightest lights, these teams have cemented themselves into the fabric of our sport's history and record books. Now, they are set to face off for the 57th time. Currently, the Cowboys lead the all-time series with a 29-25-2 record against the Hawkeyes. This will also be the first time that Coach Brands and the Hawks make the trip to Stillwater, OK since 2019 when the teams had an epic battle that nearly blew the roof off Gallagher-Iba Arena. On that night, Nick Piccininni pinned Spencer Lee in a cradle on the edge of the mat sending the crowd into a frenzy. Daton Fix went full Cowboy and put the toughest ride on Austin DeSanto at 133 in the following match and Chandler Rogers bumped up to 174 and slapped an assassin on Mitch Bowman to ignite an OK State shutout in the final four matches of the dual to give them the 27-12 win in front of a sold-out crowd. Since then, it’s been all Hawks. They dominated the following year in Carver-Hawkeye as Lee got his revenge over Piccininni to start the 34-6 beating they sent Oklahoma State home with. Iowa went on to claim 23-9 and 28-7 wins in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Get a look at the history between the two teams since 2000 This year, we are slated for another historical battle. OK State already announced that this meeting will be in front of another sold-out crowd with ranked vs. ranked matchups happening in nine of the 10 weight classes. Potential Matchups 125: No. 4 Drake Ayala vs. No. 12 Troy Spratley 133: No. 20 Cullan Schriever OR Brody Teske vs. No. 3 Daton Fix 141: No. 2 Real Woods vs. No. 8 Tagen Jamison 149: No. 8 Caleb Rathjen OR Victor Voinovich vs. No. 18 Jordan Williams OR Sammy Alvarez 157: No. 5 Jared Franek vs. No. 10 Teague Travis 165: No. 7 Michael Caliendo vs. No. 3 Izzak Olejnik 174: No. 7 Patrick Kennedy vs. No. 21 Brayden Thompson 184: Aiden Riggins OR Gabe Arnold vs. No. 2 Dustin Plott 197: No. 11 Zach Glazier vs. No. 16 Luke Surber 285: No. 29 Bradley Hill OR Ben Kueter vs. No. 11 Konner Doucet 125: No. 4 Drake Ayala vs. No. 12 Troy Spratley We started this article by talking about history. But to start this dual, things will get kicked off by a pair of guys still looking to make their own both for themselves as well as the programs they represent. This will be their first meeting between them and Ayala is certainly the favorite here. The NCAA qualifier will be returning to the lineup after missing last week’s dual meet against Wisconsin. This season, he’s been one of the many top-ranked casualties to fall after claiming the No. 1 ranking, but despite that has proved to be a true contender that could be at the top of the podium in Kansas City, MO. Across the mat, is Spratley, who is coming in on a six-match winning streak. Like Ayala, he’s had a hard-fought season. If he can pull off the upset it would be the momentum the Cowboys need, but I see Ayala winning this one by decision. Prediction: Ayala by dec. over Spratley (Iowa, 3-0) 133: No. 20 Cullan Schriever OR Brody Teske vs. No. 3 Daton Fix The entire dual is going to be close. Bonus points are going to be a necessity to come out on top and this is where the Cowboys have the clear edge to get them. Fix is going to need bonus here no matter if Teske or Schriever are on the mat. My guess is that Schriever will be the one to get the nod. And I’m calling for at least one inside trip attempt from Fix in hopes of going feet-to-back to bust things open. He beat Teske by major decision last year and recorded three wins over DeSanto in past years as well. I’m expecting more of the same from the four-time All-American. P.S. Fix has never lost a match to an Iowa wrestler in his career. Prediction: Fix by major decision over Schriever (OK State, 4-3) 141: No. 2 Real Woods vs. No. 8 Tagen Jamison Woods got back to his winning ways last week by pinning Wisconsin’s Felix Lettini after taking back-to-back losses for the first time in the regular season since 2022. He will be facing Jamison who has shown a lot of potential this season to prove he’s deserving of his top 10 ranking. Coming in, Jamison is on a four-match winning streak with a sudden victory win over Anthony Echemendia as part of that mix. Woods also has an OT win over Echemendia as well. The Cowboy freshman also has a win over Sergio Lemley, who made the biggest splash of the season when he nearly pinned Woods before getting the 14-2 major decision win. However, Woods looks like he’s back to normal. This will be a great test for each guy. Prediction: Woods by dec over Jamison (Iowa, 7-4) 149: No. 8 Caleb Rathjen OR Victor Voinovich vs. No. 18 Jordan Williams OR Sammy Alvarez There are a few layers to things here at 149. First, Victor Voinovich will be returning to Stillwater, OK since transferring to Iowa after last season. Second, both teams have had more than one guy in the lineup here throughout the year. We’ve seen both Voinovich as well as Caleb Rathjen, who has really stepped up to take over the spot as of late. For the Cowboys, it’s been both Jordan Williams and Sammy Alvarez. Williams, like Rathjen, has shown to be a bit more promising recently. And lastly, we bring back the history theme we started with. Despite the return of Voinovich and the veteran presence of Alvarez, I couldn’t see either of them getting to spin here. This will be a rematch of the 2021 Fargo finals where Williams used a turn in the final seconds to get the win on criteria. In spite of all that, Rathjen has been having the better year as he’s climbed to the top 10 while it seems that Williams took a while to get settled in. I’m giving the edge to Rathjen here. Prediction: Rathjen by dec. over Williams (Iowa, 10-4) 157: No. 5 Jared Franek vs. No. 10 Teague Travis Like we saw at 141, we have another top-10 matchup between a vet and a youngster. Jared Franek transferred to Iowa this season with his NDSU teammate (who we will see next) and has been a strong sense of consistency for the Hawks. Teague Travis started his season at 149 where he went 6-1 before moving up to 157 and it has proved to be a good decision. Of note, the one loss that he took at 149 was to his teammate, Williams. But so far this season he’s claimed notable wins over No. 11 Brock Mauller (Missouri), who was moved down from 10th after the loss and No. 12 Ed Scott (NC State), who was ranked 5th at the time. So, it’s been a pretty solid year for the redshirt sophomore. But it’s going to be a tall task for him up against Franek whose resume includes an AA finish amongst his four appearances at the NCAA Championships. Expect Franek to stay consistent like he has been this season with great positioning, stingy defense, and sharp attacks. Prediction: Franek by dec. over Travis (Iowa, 13-4) 165: No. 7 Michael Caliendo vs. No. 3 Izzak Olejnik The parity between these guys is going to make for a great bout…again. But before we talk history, let’s look at their similarities. Both are All-Americans, both transferred from other schools (Caliendo from NDSU; Olejnik from NIU) after last season and have since made big splashes in their new colors. This season Olejnik has had a year that has seen him move into the top-5 while Caliendo, on the other hand, has taken some losses that have pushed him out of the top-5. However, despite the rankings, Caliendo is still the favorite in my opinion, based on history, but I’m still taking Olejnik. These guys met in the 7th place match last season at NCAAs where Caliendo won, 6-2. But this season things have been different. Caliendo is coming off back-to-back losses to Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin), whom Olejnik defeated to kick off the year, and Mitchell Messenbrink (PSU). I expect to see Olejnik have a similar approach to this match with Caliendo that he had against Hamiti. The last time they met, Caliendo was able to score off Olejnik’s attacks so I think a calmer and more tactical approach will come on Sunday. Prediction: Olejnik by dec. over Caliendo (Iowa, 13-7) 174: No. 7 Patrick Kennedy vs. No. 21 Brayden Thompson It took a little bit for him to get his lungs and legs right, but Kennedy has had a pretty good season. He also had to get acclimated to his new weight class since moving up to 174 after starting the season at 165 where he took a loss to his teammate, Caliendo. Kennedy truly has the edge here over Thompson and I expect Kennedy to push for bonus here which will be needed to extend their lead on the back half where Ok State will be looking to make up ground. Prediction: Kennedy by major over Thompson (Iowa, 17-7) 184: Aiden Riggins OR Gabe Arnold vs. No. 2 Dustin Plott Gabe Arnold has one more date left, and it could be with Dustin Plott. We all wanted to see him against Carter Starocci (PSU), but this matchup would definitely be second to that one so let’s hope it happens. It would be Arnold’s biggest test of the season. He’s coming off a win last week against Shane Liegel (Wisconsin), so I think there’s a chance we see him again here. Plott is having his best season by far this year with losses only to Parker Keckeisen (UNI) and Lenny Pinto (Nebraska) at CKLV, which he then avenged in the same tournament. He’s solid in all positions and he pressures his opponents very well to keep them on their heels. If Iowa wants to keep him from getting bonus, they’ll go with Arnold over Riggins. Prediction: Plott by dec. over Arnold (Iowa, 17-10) 197: No. 11 Zach Glazier vs. No. 16 Luke Surber This a toss-up. And it’s a toss-up that Oklahoma State is going to absolutely need to get the dual meet victory. This season, both guys have wins over the same crop of opponents, the only difference is that Glazier has a bigger margin of victory in his wins. We’ve seen Glazier be very good this year for the Hawks and has the edge here. Surber has shared this spot with a few others this season but has been solid when he’s in the lineup. This match will be the decider and Glazier has looked too tough not to lean his way. Prediction: Glazier by dec. over Surber (Iowa, 20-10) 285: No. 29 Bradley Hill OR Ben Kueter vs. No. 11 Konner Doucet So far this season we haven’t seen Ben Kueter and Gabe Arnold in the lineup at the same time. I think that ends this weekend. Kueter is the heavyweight of the future for Iowa and allowing him to get a feel for some of the top guys in the country goes a long way. We saw him take on Greg Kerkvliet when PSU already had the dual won and I think we see him here again in the same situation. And again, it won’t matter much. Konner Doucet is the favorite no matter who they put out there, but in my opinion, just like at 184, Kueter is the better bet to not give up bonus. Prediction: Doucet by dec. over Kueter Final score: Iowa, 20-13 Final Thought: On paper, Oklahoma State is the favorite based on their resume and body of work. However, when you look at the matchups things swing in Iowa’s favor, again, on paper. But that’s why it’s best that things are settled (Shane Sparks voice) on the Resilite because anything can happen. No one (outside of the Cowboys’ wrestling room) expected Nick Piccininni to pin Spencer Lee in 2019, but it happened, and it was another absolutely thrilling moment in the wild history between these two teams that involved them wrestling in front of 42,287 fans in Kinnick Stadium. So, while I’ve got a 20-13 win for the Hawkeyes, which haven’t won in Stillwater, OK since 2014, it doesn’t account for something wild. My upset alerts come at 141 and 149 for Oklahoma State. And Teague Travis will make it interesting at 157. Outside of that, I see Iowa winning in the end.

Ryan Holmes is joined by ACC correspondent Robbie Wendell and EIWA correspondent Austin Sommer to discuss all of the latest happenings in the collegiate wrestling world. They recap the top-ten dual between Cornell and NC State, along with the rest of the ACC. Austin talks Army/Navy from the EIWA. Also discussed are Minnesota's winning streak, Penn State/Nebraska and some of the week's upcoming duals.

We're at the final week for dual competition in the collegiate wrestling season but still have a semi-busy schedule of DI duals this week. A total of 33 duals will be contested. 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 week. Below are the dates/times and how to watch each match (with links). All times listed are Eastern. Thursday, February 22: Presbyterian at The Citadel 3:00 PM ESPN+ Cleveland State at Kent State 7:00 PM Boxcast Rider at Pittsburgh 7:00 PM ESPN+ Friday, February 23: Rider at Cleveland State 2:00 PM FloWrestling Queens at Davidson 5:00 PM FloWrestling Central Michigan at Michigan State 6:30 PM B1G+ Harvard at Brown 7:00 PM ESPN+ Presbyterian at Davidson 7:00 PM Chattanooga at Indiana 7:00 PM B1G+ Drexel at Maryland 7:00 PM B1G+ Virginia Tech at NC State 7:00 PM ACC Network Duke at North Carolina 7:00 PM ACC Network Extra Morgan State at Penn 7:00 PM ESPN+ Virginia at Pittsburgh 7:00 PM ACC Network Extra Bucknell at Princeton 7:00 PM ESPN+ SIU Edwardsville at Northern Illinois 8:00 PM ESPN+ Missouri at Northern Iowa 8:00 PM FloWrestling Saturday, February 24: California Baptist at Utah Valley 1:00 PM GoUVU YouTube Franklin & Marshall, Maryland at F&M Scramble 2:00 PM Centennial Digital Network Sacred Heart at Brown 3:00 PM ESPN+ Hofstra at Drexel 4:00 PM FloWrestling Campbell at VMI 5:00 PM Buffalo at Ohio 7:00 PM ESPN+ Lehigh at Arizona State 9:00 PM Pac-12 Arizona Sunday, February 25: Davidson at Wildcat Open 10:00 AM George Mason, Indiana at Patriot Last Chance Open 10:00 AM Queens, Utah Valley at National Collegiate Open, Smyrna, DE 10:00 AM American at Columbia 12:00 PM ESPN+ Chattanooga at Bellarmine 1:00 PM ESPN+ Binghamton at Cornell 1:00 PM ESPN+ Little Rock at Lindenwood 1:00 PM ESPN+ Gardner-Webb at Appalachian State 2:00 PM AppState YouTube Michigan at Central Michigan 2:00 PM ESPN+ Wisconsin at Northern Iowa 2:00 PM FloWrestling Edinboro at Penn State 2:00 PM B1G+ Nebraska at Arizona State 3:00 PM Pac-12 Insider Missouri at Iowa State 3:00 PM ESPN+ Iowa at Oklahoma State 3:00 PM FS1 North Dakota State at South Dakota State 3:00 PM FloWrestling American at Army West Point 5:00 PM Army West Point Athletics YouTube

“And now, the end is here… And so I face that final curtain (unless it's a carryover league)... … Regrets (on Add/Drops), I’ve had a few… But then again, too few to mention (because i read the FCW Weekly Outlook Articles)..,” - Frank Sinatra, singing about Fantasy Wrestling in 1969 So we come to the final week of the regular season, which means the last hurrah for those in WrestleStat leagues. Hopefully you have followed along and you find yourself in the championship. Unfortunately for me, in one league I am fighting for third because my 197 lber (Rocky Elam) was pinned and lost by two points. But that’s Fantasy Wrestling. Hopefully you carryover your league into Conferences and (at least) Nationals to keep the fun going. But if not, I know WrestleStat has great postseason Tourney Pool contests and, from what I understand, a new NCAA Fantasy Draft game. Stay tuned. On to Week 17. Points are at a premium and we are basically in the last week of Conference play. There are three Tourney’s to be aware of that could possibly single-handedly win you the week: The F&M Scramble, Patriots Last Chance Open, and the Wildcat Open. All with plenty of D1 competition. As usual, entries are still coming in for each of these tournaments, so keep the notifications on for @FantasyD1Wrestl as updates will be posted to the InterMat Forum Fantasy Wrestling Board. A reminder of some important rules: Wrestlers entered at a weight must compete at that weight or else their results will not be counted. Wrestlers in the “Floater” spots can compete at ANY weight and accumulate Fantasy points. A wrestler will LOCK on your roster at 12pm ET on the day of their first competition for the week (refer to the SHP’s Week Preview). Only results against D1 competition (starters, backups, and redshirts) will count towards Fantasy Points. Check your league settings to know how many add/drops are permitted per week. Wrestlers I Like This Week Wrestler (School)- competition for the week [Proj Score] *organized by most potential points to least, then by school alphabetically”: 125: Max Gallagher (PENN)- Vs Morgan State, F&M Scramble, Patriots Last Chance Open Brayden Palmer (CHAT)- @ Indiana, @ Bellarmine [+7] Jeremiah Reno (LR)- @ Lindenwood [+5] Braeden Davis (PSU)- Vs Edinboro [+5] Eli Griffin (CBU) @ Utah Valley [+4] Anthony Molton (CAMP)- @ VMI [+4] Brett Ungar (COR)- Vs Binghamton [+4] Diego Sotelo (HARV)- @ Brown [+4] Michael DeAugustino (MICH)- @ Central Michigan [+4] Blake West (NIU)- Vs SIU-Edwardsville [+3] Drew Heethuis (PRIN)- Vs Bucknell [+4] Tanner Jordan (SDSU)- Vs North Dakota State [+4] Spencer Moore (UNC)- Vs Duke [+3] Eric Barnett (WISC)- @ Northern Iowa [+3] 133: Gable Strickland (LHU)- Patriots Last Chance Open Julian Farber (UNI)- Vs Missouri, Vs Wisconsin [+8] Blake Boarman (CHAT)- @ Indiana, @ Bellarmine [+7] Nasir Bailey (LR)- @ Lindenwood [+5] Dylan Ragusin (MICH)- @ Central Michigan [+5] Aaron Nagao (PSU)- Vs Edinboro [+5] Michael Colaiocco (PENN)- Vs Morgan State Ethan Oakley (APP)- Vs Gardner-Webb [+4] Domenic Zaccone (CAMP)- @ VMI [+4] Vito Arujau (COR)- Vs Binghamton [+4] Evan Frost (ISU)- Vs Missouri [+4] Derrick Cardinal (SDSU)- Vs North Dakota State [+4] Kurt Phipps (BUCK)- @ Princeton [+3] Ryan Crookham (LEH)- @ Arizona State [+3] Braxton Brown (MARY)- Vs Drexel [+3] Jace Palmer (UNC)- Vs Duke [+3] 141: Cael Happel (UNI)- Vs Missouri, Vs Wisconsin [+7] Cole Matthews (PITT)- Vs Rider, Vs Virginia [+7] Beau Bartlett (PSU)- Vs Edinboro [+5] CJ Composto (PENN)- Vs Morgan State [+4] Jack Crook (HARV)- @ Brown [+4] Logan Brown (ARMY)- Vs American [+3] Dylan Chappell (BUCK)- @ Princeton [+3] Anthony Echemendia (ISU)- Vs Missouri [+3] Kal Miller (MARY)- Vs Drexel [+3] Sergio Lemley (MICH)- @ Central Michigan [+3] Clay Carlson (SDSU)- Vs North Dakota State [+3] Haiden Drury (UVU)- Vs California Baptist [+3] 149: Jude Swisher (PENN)- Vs Morgan State , F&M Scramble, Patriots Last Chance Open Lucas Kapusta (LHU)- Patriots Last Chance Open Kyle Dutton (LR)- @ Lindenwood [+5] Tyler Kasak (PSU)- Vs Edinboro [+5] Matthew Williams (ARMY)- Vs American [+4] Austin Gomez (MICH)- @ Central Michigan [+4] Jayden Scott (UNC)- Vs Duke [+4] Cody Bond (APP)- Vs Gardner-Webb [+3] Ethan Fernandez (COR)- Vs Binghamton [+3] Casey Swiderski (ISU)- Vs Missouri [+3] Ethen Miller (MARY)- Vs Drexel [+3] Eligh Rivera (PRIN)- Vs Bucknell [+3] Joseph Zargo (WISC)- @ Northern Iowa [+3] 157: Nathan Lukez (ARMY)- Vs American , F&M Scramble Brayton Lee (IND)- Vs Chattanooga , Patriots Last Chance Open Issac Wilcox (OHST)- F&M Scramble , Patriots Last Chance Open Tanner Peake (DAV)- Vs Queens, Vs Presbyterian [+11] Tommy Askey (APP)- Vs Gardner-Webb [+5] Meyer Shapiro (COR)- Vs Binghamton [+5] Matt Bianchi (LR)- @ Lindenwood [+5] Levi Haines (PSU)- Vs Edinboro [+5] Chris Earnest (CAMP)- @ VMI [+4] Sonny Santiago (UNC)- Vs Duke [+4] Lucas Revano (PENN)- Vs Morgan State [+4] Cael Swensen (SDSU)- Vs North Dakota State [+4] Michael North (MARY)- Vs Drexel [+3] Peyten Kellar (OHIO) Vs Buffalo [+3] 165: Bryce Hepner (OHST)- F&M Scramble Bryce Sanderlin (DAV)- Vs Queens, Vs Presbyterian [+8] Cody Walsh (DREX)- @ Maryland, Vs Hofstra [+8] Holden Heller (PITT)- Vs Rider, Vs Virginia [+6] Will Miller (APP)- Vs Gardner-Webb [+5 Joseph Bianchi (LR)- @ Lindenwood [+5] Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU)- Vs Edinboro [+5] Gunner Filipowicz (ARMY)- Vs American [+4] Dominic Baker (CAMP)- @ VMI [+4] Tyler Lillard (IND)- Vs Chattanooga [+4] Cam Amine (MICH)- @ Central Michigan [+4] Caleb Fish (MSU)- Vs Central Michigan [+4] Dean Hamiti (WISC)- @ Northern Iowa [+4] Noah Mulvaney (BUCK)- @ Princeton [+3] Julian Ramirez (COR)- Vs Binghamton [+3] Joshua Kim (HARV)- @ Brown [+3] Antrell Taylor (NEB)- @ Arizona State [+3] Garrett Thompson (OHIO) Vs Buffalo [+3] 174: Tyler Eischens (UNC)- Vs Duke , F&M Scramble Noah Fox (F&M)- F&M Scramble Tyler Brennan (LR)- @ Lindenwood [+5] Carter Starocci (PSU)- Vs Edinboro [+5] Lucas Uliano (APP)- Vs Gardner-Webb [+4] Ben Pasiuk (ARMY)- Vs American [+4] Myles Takats (BUCK)- @ Princeton [+4] Lennox Wolak (COL)- Vs American [+4] Philip Conigliaro (HARV)- @ Brown [+4] Shane Griffith (MICH)- @ Central Michigan [+4] Nick Incontrera (PENN)- Vs Morgan State [+4] Austin Murphy (CAMP)- @ VMI [+3] DJ Washington (IND)- Vs Chattanooga [+3] Bubba Wilson (NEB)- @ Arizona State [+3] Cade DeVos (SDSU)- Vs North Dakota State [+3] Mekhi Lewis (VT)- @ NC State [+3] 184: Gavin Kane (UNC)- Vs Duke, F&M Scramble, Wildcat Open Caleb Hopkins (CAMP)- @ VMI , Patriots Last Open James Conway (F&M)- F&M Scramble Parker Keckeisen (UNI)- Vs Missouri, Vs Wisconsin [+8] Reece Heller (PITT)- Vs Rider, Vs Virginia [+7] Roman Rogotzke (IND)- Vs Chattanooga [+5] Triston Wills (LR)- @ Lindenwood [+5] Aaron Ayzerov (COL)- Vs American [+4] Leonardo Tarantino (HARV)- @ Brown [+4] Jaden Bullock (MICH)- @ Central Michigan [+4] Layne Malczewski (MSU)- Vs Central Michigan [+4] Lenny Pinto (NEB)- @ Arizona State [+4] Bernie Truax (PSU)- Vs Edinboro [+4] Nate Dugan (PRIN)- Vs Bucknell [+4] Bennett Berge (SDSU)- Vs North Dakota State [+4] Chris Foca (COR)- Vs Binghamton [+3] Dylan Fishback (NCST)- Vs Virginia Tech [+3] Zayne Lehman (OHIO) Vs Buffalo [+3]] Maximus Hale (PENN)- Vs Morgan State [+3] 197: Martin Cosgrove (PENN)- F&M Scramble Mac Stout (PITT)- Vs Rider, Vs Virginia [+7] Levi Hopkins (CAMP)- @ VMI [+5] Michael Beard (LEH)- @ Arizona State [+5] Stephen Little (LR)- @ Lindenwood [+5] Jaxon Smith (MARY)- Vs Drexel [+5] Aaron Brooks (PSU)- Vs Edinboro [+5] Tanner Sloan (SDSU)- Vs North Dakota State [+5] Jack Wehmeyer (COL)- Vs American [+4] Gabe Sollars (IND)- Vs Chattanooga [+4] Silas Allred (NEB)- @ Arizona State [+4] Max Shaw (UNC)- Vs Duke [+4] Trent Hidlay (NCST)- Vs Virginia Tech [+4] Cole Urbas (PENN)- Vs Morgan State [+4] Evan Bockman (UVU)- Vs California Baptist [+4] Kael Wisler (MSU)- Vs Central Michigan [+3] Luke Stout (PRIN)- Vs Bucknell [+3] 285: Hogan Swenski (OHST)- F&M Scramble Josiah Hill (LR)- @ Lindenwood [+5] Greg Kerkvliet (PSU)- Vs Edinboro [+5] Jacob Sartorio (APP)- Vs Gardner-Webb [+4] Taye Ghadiali (CAMP)- @ VMI [+4] Younger Bastida (ISU)- Vs Missouri [+4] Seth Nevills (MARY)- Vs Drexel [+4] Lucas Davison (MICH)- @ Central Michigan [+4] Nathan Taylor (LEH)- @ Arizona State [+4] Wolfgang Frable (ARMY)- Vs American [+3] Josh Terrill (MSU)- Vs Central Michigan [+3] John Stout (PENN)- Vs Morgan State [+3] Chase Trussell (UVU)- Vs California Baptist [+3]

Santa Cruz Valley Union

Dumas

Laney

Laney

Reedsburg

Cox Mill

Sergeant Bluff

Notre Dame-Burlington

Riverdale Ridge

Mead

Pueblo County

West Forsyth

South Winneshiek

Mora

Pella

Hi besties, long time, no see. The season is ending almost as quickly as it began - with less than 10 duals left on the calendar, we’re less than 20 days away from the conference tournament (but who’s counting?) This past weekend kicked off on Thursday, App State served up back-to-back SoCon Shutouts, with road victories over Presbyterian (54-0) and Davidson (44-0). The Citadel continued with their success on Friday, advancing to a 5-2 record after a 19-14 win over Gardner-Webb. The dual kicked off at 197, where The Citadel scored the first six points for the dual via decisions at 197 and heavyweight. The Runnin’ Bulldogs’ Drew West (125) answered with a major decision victory over Malik Hardy - followed by two victories via decision by Tyson Lane (133) and Todd Carter (141). Arguably one of my favorite pastimes is watching matches go into sudden-victory - and the 149-pound bout did not disappoint. Jeff Boyd and Zach Price battled it out - with Boyd cinching the 5-2 victory. Two more decisions were up on the board from The Citadel’s Hayden Watson (157) and Brodie Porter (174). Lest we forget Ben Haubert’s 13-1 major decision win over Andrew Wilson at 165. Jha’Quan Anderson brought a finale of fireworks with a 12-1 major decision victory over Adam Ortega. The Citadel will be back in action one last time against Presbyterian College on Thursday, February 22. Davidson, bouncing back from a tough loss against App State, took to the road against VMI and surged through with a 24-19 victory. The dual was tied 19-19 after eight bouts, with notable pins from Wyatt Ferguson (184, Davidson), Dyson Dunham (133, VMI), and Ryan Vigil (149, VMI) - the Wildcats then pulled away at 157, after Tanner Peake’s major decision victory, and Bryce Sanderlin (165) closing out the dual with a technical fall. Campbell continues with their unscathed conference record after they defeated Chattanooga 33-6 on Saturday. The Mocs scored six points at 125 and 141, with #29 Brayden Palmer and Isaiah Powe bringing home the wins of the day. There were some close matches, notably at 133 - #24 Domenic Zaccone (CU) earned the SoCon Wrestler of the Week for his 5-2 win over #25 Blake Boarman (UTC). On Sunday Campbell traveled to Presbyterian, where they shut out the Blue Hose 55-0. Gardner-Webb hosted VMI and celebrated senior day on Sunday - picking up their second conference win, 28-10. The dual started off at 197, where Josh McCutchen (GWU) set the tone for the match with a 5-1 decision over Josh Evans (VMI). Heavyweight Tyler Mousaw (VMI) answered with 6 team points - pinning Peyton McComas (GWU). The Runnin’ Bulldogs dominated from 125 through 165 and 184, but at 174 VMI’s Braxton Lewis defeated Sam Mora by 10-1 major decision. VMI will wrestle again this upcoming weekend - hosting Campbell in Lexington. And surprise, surprise, guess who found herself in Boone last weekend. After a long weekend at North Carolina’s State Tournament (it’s States not State by the way), the family decided to take a trip up the mountain for the double-header in Varsity Gym. The Mountaineers wrestled Bellarmine first, winning 38-6 - giving up six points via injury default at heavyweight. #9 Cornell was the main event of the afternoon - the Mountaineers fought hard but lost to the Big Red 36-6. #27 Ethan Oakley (133) and #22 Will Miller (165) were the two wins for the Mountaineers. We’ll have a few more dual meets to watch before we wrap up the regular season - then it’ll be time for the Matness to begin! xoxo

We are going into the final week of Big Ten dual meets, and I honestly can’t believe that we made it here so quickly. The incredible competition from this season, specifically in the B1G, has had us glued to every move again this season and last week certainly was another great installment. Dean Hamiti Completes Undefeated Conference Season It hasn’t been the easiest year for Hamiti. He took some losses earlier this year and even bumped up to 174 for a few matches to give himself a break from making 165. But one thing that never broke was his conference winning streak. And on Sunday he punctuated his dual meet season with a gritty 14-11 win over Michael Caliendo. He was then named the Co-Wrestler of the Week. The Pat McKee vs Eric Barnett Series This is a rivalry that deserves so much more credit. At the beginning of the new year, I wrote about how epic this series has been and how good this dual would be as well and it didn’t disappoint whatsoever. This was the 10th time that McKee and Barnett faced off and just like the others, it was fire. McKee notched his sixth win over Barnett and now leads the series 6-4, he was also named Co-Wrestler of the Week with Dean Hamiti. Of his six wins, five have been by bonus with four of them being by fall and the other by major. This might be one of the best rivalries that gets no love. Nebraska vs Penn State Was Awesome Something apparent about Nebraska this season is that they show up to compete and they compete very hard each time out. We’ve seen teams be very good at home and then not so good on the road, but the Cornhuskers haven’t really been one of those teams. Despite the loss in State College, PA, you have to give credit to the Manning/Snyder squad. At the halfway point of the dual, Penn State trailed for the first time this season. It wasn’t until after Carter Starocci’s tech fall at 174 over Bubba Wilson that the Nittany Lions had the lead. Lenny Pinto brought the Huskers back to within a point, but the best closing duo in the country – Aaron Brooks and Greg Kerkvliet – shut the door. But you have to give props to Nebraska, hopefully, they can continue their momentum into the postseason. Another Gabe Arnold Sighting Against Wisconsin I love that freshmen can maintain their redshirt and can compete on up to five dates. It’s definitely good for their development and for fans to see some of the upcoming talents on big stages. Last weekend, for the fourth time this season, we saw Arnold on the mat up at 184 again. After making his debut at 174, he’s made his biggest impact by bumping up for the Hawkeyes. So, here’s the question when it comes to Arnold: Does he remain in redshirt or not? He would definitely be a step up at 184 for Iowa as they get set to face a very tough Oklahoma State this weekend. If Arnold meets Dustin Plott it would be his toughest test this season. A Race for Second Let’s be honest. PSU is so far ahead of the pack that the rest of the conference is fighting for second. So far this season we have seen a tremendous amount of parity between the other top teams. As we fast forward to the B1G Conference Championships we look at the standings and see that after Penn State’s flawless 8-0 record we have Ohio State at 7-1, then Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota all sitting at 6-2. Michigan is just outside of the top five with a 5-3 record. In this tier of teams, the Gophers finished by winning six straight duals with their only losses coming against Nebraska and Iowa to kick off the dual meet season. Of note, we saw Iowa beat Nebraska, Nebraska beat Michigan and Michigan beat Iowa. And despite tOSU being in second in the conference, the only top-five team they have faced is Penn State. So it will be interesting to see how things go when Iowa and Nebraska get into the mix next week.

Sunday marked the final day of Big Ten competition for the 2023-24 season. While there’s still another week left in the regular season, we can still speculate on the all-important Big Ten seeding. Below we’ve posted our educated guesses on the preseeds, along with an explanation or identification of some potential seeding messes. Each picture with the seed has the Big Ten wins and losses for each wrestler. 125 Nationally, this weight has been a mess! It’s been quite chaotic in the B1G, as well. The easy part is Matt Ramos up top - after that it gets wild. Drake Ayala gets the #2 because of wins over three of the top four contenders for the second spot. After having that framework in place, the seeds sorta fall in line after that. Some of the results that make this weight difficult are Michael DeAugustino over Ayala and Dean Peterson over Patrick McKee. McKee’s wins over two others possibly in line for the #3 give him the edge. 133 Iowa’s decision between Cullan Schriever and Brody Teske could shake up some seeds at this weight. Should Teske go, Tony Madrigal only has one loss against wrestlers in this field. There’s a case to be made that Madrigal could be over Van Dee based on his head-to-head win and conference record. We have Schriever in and he has the win over Madrigal. The Van Dee win puts Madrigal over Braxton Brown here, though maybe a coaches ranking coach boosts Brown past Madrigal in the actual seeds. 141 Though Real Woods is above Jesse Mendez in the national rankings, I’d be shocked if Woods gets seeded over Mendez. Both have a loss to Beau Bartlett; however, Woods has the loss to Sergio Lemley. Six and seven between Danny Pucino and Mitch Moore ultimately came down to Jordan Hamdan. Pucino beat him and Moore fell to him. Hamden is also in a group of guys between 9-11 that have all exchanged wins with each other. Hamdan gets the edge here because of his number of conference wins. 149 There may be some discussion about numbers two and three with Austin Gomez and Caleb Rathjen. Both have similar conference records. I believe national rankings and quality of conference wins (and if past accomplishments are factored in) will give Gomez the edge. Another debate could be at 7 and 8 with Joe Zargo and Graham Rooks. Rooks has the history on his side and a better national ranking; however, Zargo has a better conference record and maybe a slightly better “best win” comparing Drew Roberts to Michael Cetta. 157 Right off the bat, the big question is what do you do with Brayton Lee? Lee has been used extremely sparingly this season with only five matches heading into the final week of the season. But, he does have wins over Will Lewan and Joey Blaze? Is that small sample size enough to push him past Jared Franek, who has three conference losses? One of those losses came to Lewan, so we’re putting Lee in the third slot. Another question is what to do with Chase Saldate? Saldate only has one B1G loss and it isn’t a bad one (Haines), but no wins over anyone in contention for a top-eight seed. Does that give him position over Blaze/Robb/Lewan? 165 Perhaps the area I spent the most brain cells on was the 6-8 range at 165 lbs. You have Bryce Hepner, a good national ranking and a winning B1G record. His losses are to the probable top-two seeds, which are fine; however, he lacks signature wins. Behind him is Cam Amine. He has no 2023-24 wins over anyone in the field. He’s lost to the wrestlers we’ve slotted in at four and five. Then there’s Stoney Buell. Buell has traded wins with Antrell Taylor, one of the wrestlers who’s beaten Amine. Buell also has a win over another guy in that 5-9 range (Tyler Lillard). It will be fascinating to see how the seeding committee views Amine. He’s a three-time All-American and past conference finalist. If healthy, he could be a finalist. Now, should the seeds hammer Amine and put him in the eighth slot….he could have top-seeded Dean Hamiti in the quarters. The same Hamiti he’s 3-0 career against. If you’re just looking at resumes from 2023-24 blind, without any human input, Amine is probably the eighth. Maybe national ranking, human input, and past credentials boost Amine all the way to six. 174 I think the top five is relatively straightforward here. There may be some discussion about six and seven with Max Maylor and Jackson Turley. Turley has the better conference record, but Maylor is above him in the rankings. Another interesting seed to watch is Donnell Washington. He only has two conference wins and a loss to DJ Shannon. And Shannon’s win over Washington is his only conference victory. 184 After the top two, things get messy at 184 lbs. I imagine most people would expect Bernie Truax to get the third seed and there’s the possibility that he does. His loss via pin to Ryder Rogotzke muddies the waters in a big way. Everyone in that three-through-nine range has at least one loss that complicates matters. A better conference record, more quality wins, and a better ranking could ultimately push Truax past Rogotzke. 197 Numbers two through four are the ones to watch at 197 lbs. Both Jaxon Smith and Zach Glazier have one conference loss, both are to Aaron Brooks. Glazier has more conference wins and two (three) that are of higher quality than any of Smith’s (Silas Allred and Garrett Joles x2). That leads me to think Glazier gets the edge over Smith. The defending conference champ, Allred, trails Smith in conference winning percentage and national ranking, so he slots in at number four. Luke Geog and Joles is another one that could go either way. Joles may have an ever-so-slight edge in quality wins, but Geog has a better conference record. 285 The first three at 285 lbs are pretty straightforward. After that, it gets really tricky. Luke Luffman has no conference matches and hasn’t wrestled since the Midlands. He’s been hurt and there’s a chance that he may not wrestle in the postseason. If he does, where does he go? The group of Seth Nevills, Yaraslau Slavikouski, and Nick Willham have exchanged wins with each other. Slavikouski traditionally has the higher ranking, but not many quality wins or a great conference record. Two other ranked wrestlers at this weight, Bradley Hill and Bennett Tabor, have not met and generally have similar resumes for seeding purposes. Hill gets the nod here due to his conference record.

Below is a recap of last week’s EIWA action, with individual news and highlights worth noting. Key Takeaways Army defeats Navy 18-17 in the Star Match Drexel’s Matt Azevedo earns 100th career win as Head Coach Binghamton’s win over Northwestern is first over Big Ten team since 2017 Franklin & Marshall snaps Drexel’s 16-match streak in this series American The Eagles had senior day hosting Queens and Lindenwood. They were dominant in both wins, even without Jack Maida at 125 lbs. They won seven of ten over Queens and eight of ten over Lindenwood. Ryan Zimmerman was 2-0 on the day with a major at 165 lbs. Liam Volk-Klos was 2-0 with two bonus point wins. #33 Will Jarrell was 2-0 with bonus point wins as well. A majority of the lineup won all matches and secured victories via forfeits. American 34 Queens 14 125: Daniel Graham (QU) wins by forfeit (Queens 6-0) 133: Maximilian Leete (AU) tech. fall Griffen Gonzalez (QU), 21-3 (4:37) (Queens 6-5) 141: Cael McIntyre (AU) major dec. Connor Goodman (QU), 11-3 (AU 9-6) 149: Jack Nies (AU) pinned Suhaib Hatamleh (QU), 2:10 (AU 15-6) 157: Ethan Szerencsits (AU) wins by forfeit (AU 21-6) 165: Ryan Zimmerman (AU) dec. Sebastian Shered (QU), 5-4 (AU 24-6) 174: Greg Merriman (QU) tech. fall Mervin Mancia (AU), 16-0 (5:37) (AU 24-11) 184: D'Andree Hunt (QU) dec. Connor Bourne (AU), 4-1 (AU 24-14) 197: Liam Volk-Klos (AU) major dec. Riley Kuhn (QU), 11-2 (AU 28-14) 285: #33 Will Jarrell (AU) pinned Mikey Lytle (QU), 2:09 (AU 34-14) American 44 Lindenwood 9 125: Austin Kegley (LU) wins by forfeit (Lindenwood 6-0) 133: Raymond Lopez (AU) pinned Caiden Pelc (LU), 4:06 (Tied 6-6) 141: Cael McIntyre (AU) wins by forfeit (AU 12-6) 149: Ethan Szerencsits (AU) pinned Cruz Lara (LU), 3:59 (AU 18-6) 157: Jack Nies (AU) wins by forfeit (AU 24-6) 165: Ryan Zimmerman (AU) major dec. Kaleb Valdez-Lemos (LU), 12-3 (AU 28-6) 174: Kaden Charboneau (LU) dec. Breon Phifer (AU), 4-3 (AU 28-9) 184: Connor Bourne (AU) major dec. Luke Shaver (LU), 14-4 (AU 32-9) 197: Liam Volk-Klos (AU) pinned Ryan Golnick (LU), 1:23 (AU 39-9) 285: #33 Will Jarrell (AU) def. David Hernandez (LU), 2:45 (AU 44-9) American’s final dual will be Sunday at Columbia. Army The Black Knights won over their main rival, Navy. Bonus points proved to be the difference, as they split bouts 5-5. Nate Lukez began the dual with a major decision. At 165 lbs, freshman #23 Gunner Filipowicz had a signature win over #16 Cerniglia. This turned out to be the difference in the dual. At 174 lbs, #15 Pasiuk won over #27 Wask in a battle of ranked wrestlers. Ethan Berginc had a tech fall at 125 lbs. The final win came at 133 lbs, where #31 Braden Basile won over #33 Ferretti in a toss-up bout. Army is now 5-1 in the conference, and 3-0 at home. Army 18 Navy 17 157: Nate Lukez (Army) 11-1 over Jonathan Ley (Navy), M. Decision (4-0 Army) 165: Gunner Filipowicz (Army) 5-4 over Andrew Cerniglia (Navy), Decision (7-0 Army) 174: Ben Pasiuk (Army) 7-3 over Danny Wask (Navy), Decision (10-0 Army) 184: David Key (Navy) 4-1 over Dillon Sheehy (Army), Decision (10-3 Army) 197: Cael Crebs (Navy) 7-1 over Wolfgang Frable (Army), Decision (10-6 Army) 285: Grady Griess (Navy) 7-2 over Lucas Stoddard (Army), Sudden Victory Decision (10-9 Army) 125: Ethan Berginc (Army) 18-3 over Dayton DelViscio (Navy), Tech. Fall (15-9 Army) 133: Braden Basile (Army) 5-4 over Brendan Ferretti (Navy), Decision (18-9 Army) 141: Josh Koderhandt (Navy) 13-3 over Logan Brown (Army), M. Decision (18-13 Army) 149: Kaemen Smith (Navy) 17-8 over Matthew Williams (Army), M. Decision (18-17 Army) The Army Black Knights will have one final dual this weekend hosting American on Sunday. Binghamton The Bearcats had a “B1G” win over Big Ten opponent, Northwestern. Starting the bout off was Dimitri Gamkrelidze earning a decision over previous NCAA qualifier, Ferrante. The upperweights took care of business, as usual. DePrez won via major. Cory Day did the same thing at heavyweight. At 133 lbs, Micah Roes earned another major for the Bearcats. Following that up was Nate Lucier at 141 lbs earning a decision. With the match on the line, #17 Brevin Cassella sealed the match with a win over #21 Mayfield. Binghamton has won five duals in a row now. Binghamton 21 Northwestern 15 174: Dimitri Gamkrelidze (BU) def. David Ferrante (Northwestern) DEC 9-4, BU 3 Northwestern 0 184: Troy Fisher (Northwestern) def. No. 14/11 Jacob Nolan (BU) DEC 7-3, Northwestern 3 BU 3 197: No. 9/10 Lou DePrez (BU) def. Evan Bates (Northwestern) MD 11-1, BU 7 Northwestern 3 285: No. 15/18 Cory Day (BU) def. Jack Jessen (Northwestern) MD 9-0, BU 11 Northwestern 3 125: Massey Odiotti (Northwestern) def. Carson Wagner (BU) DEC 11-5, BU 11 Northwestern 6 133: No. NR/32 Micah Roes (BU) def. Patrick Adams (Northwestern) MD 9-0, BU 15 Northwestern 6 141: Nate Lucier (BU) def. Kolby McClain (Northwestern) DEC 9-2, BU 18 Northwestern 6 149: Aiden Vandenbush (Northwestern) def. Michael Zarif (BU) MD 11-0, BU 18 Northwestern 10 157: No. 22/21 Trevor Chumbley (Northwestern) def. Carter Baer (BU) TF 19-3 6:19, BU 18 Northwestern 15 165: No. 19/17 Brevin Cassella (BU) def. No. 15/21 Maxx Mayfield (Northwestern) DEC 5-0, BU 21, Northwestern 15 Binghamton will have one more dual this weekend against Cornell on the road. Brown The Bears had away matches at Columbia and Bucknell. They dropped both duals. Hunter Adrian had a decision at 133 lbs over Columbia. Ian Oswalt suffered a close loss to a ranked Owen in that match. Blake Saito was 2-0 on the weekend at 157 lbs. Jonathan Conrad had a win over Bucknell. At 125 lbs, Michael Joyce earned a victory over Bucknell also. Columbia 33 Brown 6 125: Nick Babin (Col.) def. Michael Joyce (Brown) Dec. 13-6 133: Hunter Adrian (Brown) def. Sulayman Bah (Col.) Dec. 9-3 141: Kai Owen (Col.) def. Ian Oswalt (Brown), Dec. 8-6 149: Richard Fedalen (Col.) def. Sam McMonagle (Brown), Dec. 9-5 157: Blake Saito (Brown) def. Dominic Rossetti (Col.) Dec. 2-0 165: Kyle Mosher (Col.) def. Keegan Rothrock (Brown) Fall 3:24 174: Lennox Wolak (Col.) def. Jonathan Conrad (Brown) Fall 2:26 184: Aaron Ayzeroy (Col.) def. Colby Isabelle (Brown), TF, 19-2 197: Jack Wehmeyer (Col.) def. Lear Quinton (Brown), MD 18-8 285: Vincent Mueller (Col.) def. Alex Hamrick (Brown) Dec. 7-2 Bucknell 30 Brown 12 125: Michael Joyce (BR) maj. dec. over Kade Davidheiser (BUC), 8-0 (BR 4-0) 133: No. 14 Kurt Phipps (BUC) dec. over Hunter Adrian (BR), 6-1 (BR 4-3) 141: Dylan Chappell (BUC) dec. over Ian Oswalt (BR), 7-2 (BUC 6-3) 149: Braden Bower (BUC) maj. dec. over Sam McMonagle (BR), 9-0 (BUC 10-4) 157: Blake Saito (BR) maj dec. over Riley Bower (BUC), 8-0 (BUC 10-8) 165: No. 18 Noah Mulvaney (BUC) dec. over Keegan Rothrock (BR), 9-5 (BUC 13-8) 174: Jonathan Conrad (BR) maj. dec. over Matt Kidwell (BUC) 11-1 (BUC 13-12) 184: Mikey Bartush (BUC) fall over Colby Isabelle (BR), 2:27 (BUC 19-12) 197: Logan Deacetis (BUC) tech fall over Lear Quinton (BR), 17-2 (7:00) (BUC 24-12) 285: No. 28 Dorian Crosby (BUC) fall over Alex Semenenko (BR), 4:51 (BUC 30-12) The Bears have two final duals this weekend, hosting Harvard and Sacred Heart. Bucknell The Bison had a home win over Brown. Kurt Phipps and Dylan Chappell each had decisions. Braden Bower earned a major decision at 149 lbs. Noah Mulvaney wrestled to a decision at 165 lbs. Logan Deacetis won via tech fall at 197 lbs. At 184l bs, Mikey Bartush won by fall, and did #28 Dorian Crosby at heavyweight. Bucknell 30 Brown 12 125: Michael Joyce (BR) maj. dec. over Kade Davidheiser (BUC), 8-0 (BR 4-0) 133: No. 14 Kurt Phipps (BUC) dec. over Hunter Adrian (BR), 6-1 (BR 4-3) 141: Dylan Chappell (BUC) dec. over Ian Oswalt (BR), 7-2 (BUC 6-3) 149: Braden Bower (BUC) maj. dec. over Sam McMonagle (BR), 9-0 (BUC 10-4) 157: Blake Saito (BR) maj dec. over Riley Bower (BUC), 8-0 (BUC 10-8) 165: No. 18 Noah Mulvaney (BUC) dec. over Keegan Rothrock (BR), 9-5 (BUC 13-8) 174: Jonathan Conrad (BR) maj. dec. over Matt Kidwell (BUC) 11-1 (BUC 13-12) 184: Mikey Bartush (BUC) fall over Colby Isabelle (BR), 2:27 (BUC 19-12) 197: Logan Deacetis (BUC) tech fall over Lear Quinton (BR), 17-2 (7:00) (BUC 24-12) 285: No. 28 Dorian Crosby (BUC) fall over Alex Semenenko (BR), 4:51 (BUC 30-12) The Bison will have one final dual at Princeton this weekend. Columbia The Lions had two Ivy League duals. They had an impressive 29-14 win over Harvard and took eight of ten bouts in a 33-6 win over Brown. Against Harvard, Kyle Mosher had a quality win over Kim, an NCAA qualifier last season. Nick Babin was 2-0 on the weekend at 125 lbs. At 184 lbs, Aaron Ayzerov won twice with two tech falls. Jack Wehmeyer and Vincent Mueller each were 2-0 on the weekend at 197 lbs and heavyweight, respectively. Columbia has now won three matches in a row. Columbia 29 Harvard 14 125: Nick Babin (COL) def. Isaiah Adams (HAR) |Fall, 2:19 133: Coleman Nogle (HAR) Sulayman Bah (COL) | TF, 16-1 141: Michale Jaffe (HAR) def. Lorenzo Frezza (COL) vs. | Dec., 8-1 149: Jack Crook (HAR) def. Rawson Iwanicki (COL) |MD, 15-6 157: Jaden Le (COL) def. Jimmy Harrington (HAR) | Dec., 2-1 165: Kyle Mosher (COL) def. #28 Joshua Kim (HAR) | Fall, 2:38 174: #5 Phil Congiliaro (HAR) def. #16 Lennox Wolak (COL) |Dec., 7-2 184: #26 Aaron Ayzerov (COL) def. Luke Rada (HAR) | TF, 17-2 197: #27 Jack Wehmeyer (COL) def. Alex Whitworth (HAR) | Dec., 4-0 HWT: Vincent Mueller (COL) def. Jeffrey Crooks (HAR) | Fall, 3:49 Columbia 33 Brown 6 125: Nick Babin (Col.) def. Michael Joyce (Brown) Dec. 13-6 133: Hunter Adrian (Brown) def. Sulayman Bah (Col.) Dec. 9-3 141: Kai Owen (Col.) def. Ian Oswalt (Brown), Dec. 8-6 149: Richard Fedalen (Col.) def. Sam McMonagle (Brown), Dec. 9-5 157: Blake Saito (Brown) def. Dominic Rossetti (Col.) Dec. 2-0 165: Kyle Mosher (Col.) def. Keegan Rothrock (Brown) Fall 3:24 174: Lennox Wolak (Col.) def. Jonathan Conrad (Brown) Fall 2:26 184: Aaron Ayzeroy (Col.) def. Colby Isabelle (Brown), TF, 19-2 197: Jack Wehmeyer (Col.) def. Lear Quinton (Brown), MD 18-8 285: Vincent Mueller (Col.) def. Alex Hamrick (Brown) Dec. 7-2 The Lions will host American looking for a fourth straight win. Cornell (#8) The Big Red dropped a dual to #7 NC State on Friday 24-9. Meyer Shapiro’s win over All-American #14 Scott is another signature win for his resume. He also had a tech fall over a ranked Askey of App State. Benny Baker earned himself a ranked win over NC State’s Faison (#31), then followed it up with a win against App State. Josh Saunders saw mat time at 141 lbs, and almost knocked off #4 Jack of NC State before he had a win on Sunday over Appalachian State. Cornell’s match over App State was a nice bounce-back win. NC State 24 Cornell 9 125: No. 23 Jakob Camacho def. No. 15 Brett Ungar 5-1 by decision (NC State 3, Cornell 0) 133: No. 5 Kai Orine def. Ethan Qureshi 15-0 by technical fall (NC State 8, Cornell 0) 141: No. 4 Ryan Jack def. Josh Saunders 7-4 by decision (NC State 11, Cornell 0) 149: No. 4 Jackson Arrington def. No. 20 Ethan Fernandez 12-2 by major decision (NC State 15, Cornell 0) 157: No. 7 Meyer Shapiro def. No. 14 Ed Scott 7-2 by decision (NC State 15, Cornell 3) 165: No. 3 Julian Ramirez def. AJ Kovacs 9-4 by decision (NC State 15, Cornell 6) 174: Benny Baker def. No. 31 Alex Faison 8-4 by decision (NC State 15, Cornell 9) 184: No. 8 Dylan Fishback def. No. 6 Chris Foca 6-4 by decision (NC State 18, Cornell 9) 197: No. 2 Trent Hidlay def. No. 7 Jacob Cardenas 8-2 by decision (NC State 21, Cornell 9) 285: No. 12 Owen Trephan def. No. 16 Lewis Fernandes 1-0 by decision (NC State 24, Cornell 9) Cornell 36 Appalachian State 6 125: No. 15 Brett Ungar def. Chad Bellis 15-0 by technical fall in 4:52 (Cornell 5, App. State 0) 133: No. 27 Ethan Oakley def. Ethan Qureshi 10-4 by decision (Cornell 5, App. State 3) 141: Josh Saunders def. Ike Byers 5-3 by decision (Cornell 8, App. State 3) 149: No. 20 Ethan Fernandez def. Jeremiah Price 11-5 by decision (Cornell 11, App. State 3) 157: No. 7 Meyer Shapiro def. No. 19 Tommy Askey 20-4 by technical fall in 5:53 (Cornell 16, App. State 3) 165: No. 25 Will Miller def. Brody Oleksak 11-5 by decision (Cornell 16, App. State 6) 174: Benny Baker def. Luke Uliano 13-7 by decision (Cornll 19, App. State 6) 184: No. 6 Chris Foca def. Thomas Brooker by fall in 1:07 (Cornell 25, App State 6) 197: No. 7 Jacob Cardenas def. Carson Floyd 15-0 by technical fall in 2:30 (Cornell 30, App State 6) 285: Ashton Davis won by forfeit (Cornell 36, App. State 6) Drexel The Dragons hosted both LIU and Franklin & Marshall this weekend. They were 1-1 on the weekend, snapping a five-match winning streak. Against LIU, they lost one bout the entire night in dominant fashion. Against F&M, they won five matches, but lost out on the battle for bonus points. Gabe Giampietro saw action at 125 lbs, winning my major. Dom Finadora and Tyler Williams each had close wins. Cody Walsh and Santino Marina each earned decisions as well. Drexel 34 LIU 4 165: #30 Cody Walsh def. Donovan Smith (LIU), Dec. 11-5; Drexel 3-0 174: Jack Janda def. James Johnston (LIU), MD 9-0; Drexel 7-0 184: Anthony D'Alesio (LIU) def. Ethan Wilson, MD 17-6; Drexel 7-4 197: Ibrahim Ameer def. John Dusza (LIU), Dec. 12-8; Drexel 10-4 285: Santino Morina def. Aeden Begue (LIU), Dec. 4-1; Drexel 13-4 125: Desmond Pleasant def. Robbie Sagaris (LIU), Fall 3:47; Drexel 19-4 133: John Hildebrandt def. Kaelen Francois (LIU), MD 13-2; Drexel 23-4 141: Jordan Soriano def. Bo DiJulius (LIU), TF 23-6 (6:31); Drexel 28-4 149: Dom Findora def. Drew Witham (LIU), Dec. 11-6; Drexel 31-4 157: Tyler Williams def. Rhise Royster (LIU), Dec. 7-1; Drexel 34-4 Franklin & Marshall 22 Drexel 16 125: Gabe Giampietro def. Eric Howe (F&M), MD 10-1; Drexel 4-0 133: #28 Mason Leiphart (F&M) def. Jaxon Maroney, Dec. 8-1; Drexel 4-3 141: Pat Phillips (F&M) def. Jordan Soriano, Fall 2:24; F&M 9-4 149: Dom Findora def. Bryce Kresho (F&M), Dec. 4-1; F&M 9-7 157: Tyler Williams def. Dominic Wheatley (F&M), SV 4-1; Drexel 10-9 165: #33 Cody Walsh def. Josh Palmucci (F&M), Dec. 5-1; Drexel 13-9 174: Noah Fox (F&M) def. Jack Janda, SV 4-1; Drexel 13-12 184: #19 James Conway (F&M) def. Justin Griffith, MD 12-2; F&M 16-13 197: #29 John Crawford (F&M) def. Ibrahim Ameer, Fall 6:56; F&M 22-13 285: Santino Morina def. Harrison Shapiro (F&M), 2-0; F&M 22-16 The Dragons will wrestle at Maryland this weekend, then host Hofstra in their final dual meets. Franklin & Marshall The Diplomats competed against local rival Millersville (D2) for the Rupp Cupp. They dominated this dual winning eight matches. On Saturday, they traveled to Drexel for an EIWA dual and came away with a win thanks to bonus points. Pat Phillips and John Crawford each earned falls against Drexel. James Conway walked away with a major while Mason Leiphart and Noah Fox each had decisions. This is a great win for the team, and people are taking notice of the direction of the program. It was the first time since 1988 that F&M beat the Dragons, snapping a 16-match losing streak against Drexel. Franklin & Marshall 38 Millersville 7 125: Bryce Beatty (Millersville) maj. Eric Howe (F&M); 13-5 (MU 4-0) 133: #30 Mason Leiphart (F&M) TF Dominic Flatt (Millersville); 1:13 (15-0) (F&M 5-3) 141: Pat Phillips (F&M) TF Aidan Micheli (Millersville); 3:00 (17-1) (F&M 10-4) 149: Josh Hillard (F&M) dec. #8 Craig Cook (Millersville); 11-4 (F&M 13-4) 157: Dominic Wheatley (F&M) maj. Eli Tuckey (Millersville); 12-0 (F&M 17-4) 165: Jonathan Parrilla (Millersville) dec. Josh Palmucci (F&M); 5-4 (17-7) 174: Noah Fox (F&M) TF #6 Brandon Connor (Millersville); 5:57 (17-1) (F&M 22-7) 184: #20 James Conway (F&M) TF #8 Anthony Giampietro (Millersville); 5:17 (27-7) (F&M 27-7) 197: #31 John Crawford (F&M) WBF Bruce Vaughan (Millersville); 4:46 (F&M 33-7) 285: Harrison Shapiro (F&M) TF Avery Kuhns (Millersville); 5:21 (15-0) Franklin & Marshall 22 Drexel 16 125: Gabe Giampietro def. Eric Howe (F&M), MD 10-1; Drexel 4-0 133: #28 Mason Leiphart (F&M) def. Jaxon Maroney, Dec. 8-1; Drexel 4-3 141: Pat Phillips (F&M) def. Jordan Soriano, Fall 2:24; F&M 9-4 149: Dom Findora def. Bryce Kresho (F&M), Dec. 4-1; F&M 9-7 157: Tyler Williams def. Dominic Wheatley (F&M), SV 4-1; Drexel 10-9 165: #33 Cody Walsh def. Josh Palmucci (F&M), Dec. 5-1; Drexel 13-9 174: Noah Fox (F&M) def. Jack Janda, SV 4-1; Drexel 13-12 184: #19 James Conway (F&M) def. Justin Griffith, MD 12-2; F&M 16-13 197: #29 John Crawford (F&M) def. Ibrahim Ameer, Fall 6:56; F&M 22-13 285: Santino Morina def. Harrison Shapiro (F&M), 2-0; F&M 22-16 The Diplomats are done with duals this year. They will host the F&M scramble on Saturday. Harvard The Crimson were on the road this weekend at Columbia. They lost the dual but earned four wins in the process. Coleman Nogle had a tech fall at 133 lbs. Michael Jaffe followed it up with a win via decision. At 149 lbs, Jack Crook continued the run with a major decision. In the premiere matchup of the day, #5 Phil Conigliaro earned a win over #16 Wolak. Harvard’s 125 lbs starter Diego Sotelo did not wrestle. Columbia 29 Harvard 14 125: Nick Babin (COL) def. Isaiah Adams (HAR) |Fall, 2:19 133: Coleman Nogle (HAR) Sulayman Bah (COL) | TF, 16-1 141: Michale Jaffe (HAR) def. Lorenzo Frezza (COL) vs. | Dec., 8-1 149: Jack Crook (HAR) def. Rawson Iwanicki (COL) |MD, 15-6 157: Jaden Le (COL) def. Jimmy Harrington (HAR) | Dec., 2-1 165: Kyle Mosher (COL) def. #28 Joshua Kim (HAR) | Fall, 2:38 174: #5 Phil Congiliaro (HAR) def. #16 Lennox Wolak (COL) |Dec., 7-2 184: #26 Aaron Ayzerov (COL) def. Luke Rada (HAR) | TF, 17-2 197: #27 Jack Wehmeyer (COL) def. Alex Whitworth (HAR) | Dec., 4-0 HWT: Vincent Mueller (COL) def. Jeffrey Crooks (HAR) | Fall, 3:49 Harvard has one dual this week at Brown. This will conclude the dual meet season for them. Hofstra The Pride had a West Coast trip to battle CSU Bakersfield and California Baptist. They split matches. At 133 lbs, Dylan Ryder was 2-0 on the weekend earning one tech fall. Nikolas Miller had a pin and a major on the weekend. The other wrestler to go 2-0 was Ross McFarland at 174 lbs. He had one tech fall and one decision. Keaton Kluever was 1-0 on the weekend before an injury kept him out of the second match. It was good to see Turley, Tapia, and Clark all earn one win in the middle of the lineup. Hofstra 29 CSU Bakersfield 9 125: Richard Castro-Sandoval (CSU Bakersfield) dec. Dylan Acevedo-Switzer (Hofstra), 6-1, (0-3) 133: Dylan Ryder (Hofstra) tech fall Santino Sanchez (CSU Bakersfield), 16-0 (4:26), (5-3) 141: Alex Turley (Hofstra) major dec. Hayden Zinkin (CSU Bakersfield), 8-0, (9-3) 149: Noah Tapia (Hofstra) dec. Brock Rogers (CSU Bakersfield), 6-2, (12-3) 157: Jurius Clark (Hofstra) dec. Devyn Flores-Che (CSU Bakersfield), 8-3, (15-3) 165: Guillermo Escobedo (CSU Bakersfield) dec. Jake Slotnick (Hofstra), 10-4, (15-6) 174: Ross McFarland (Hofstra) tech fall Chris Neal (CSU Bakersfield), 18-2 (6:15), (20-6) 184: Braden Smelser (CSU Bakersfield) dec. Joe McGinty (Hofstra), 4-1, (20-9) 197: Nikolas Miller (Hofstra) wbf. Ryan Arrington (CSU Bakersfield), 2:57, (26-9) 285: #21 Keaton Kluever (Hofstra) dec. Jake Andrews (CSU Bakersfield), 4-2, (29-9) California Baptist 29 Hofstra 10 125: #28 Eli Griffin (California Baptist) tech fall Dylan Acevedo-Switzer (Hofstra), 18-2 (6:39), (5-0) 133: Dylan Ryder (Hofstra) dec. Hunter Leake (California Baptist), 4-0, (5-3) 141: Darren Green (California Baptist) dec. Alex Turley (Hofstra), 8-2, (8-3) 149: Dayne Morton (California Baptist) dec. Noah Tapia (Hofstra), 4-2, (11-3) 157: Drayden Morton (California Baptist) dec. Jurius Clark (Hofstra), 7-1 (14-3) 165: Mateo De La Pena (California Baptist) dec. Eric Shindel (Hofstra), 12-6 (17-3) 174: Ross McFarland (Hofstra) dec. Justin Phillips (California Baptist), 7-1 (17-6) 184: Nathan Haas (California Baptist) wbf. Joe McGinty (Hofstra), 5:46 (23-6) 197: Nikolas Miller (Hofstra) major dec. Eli Sheeren (California Baptist), 14-5, (23-10) 285: Chris Island (California Baptist) wins by forfeit Hofstra’s final dual meet of the season will be at Drexel on Saturday. Lehigh #15 The Mountain Hawks won in dominant fashion over Princeton without Stanich and Crookham in the lineup. Owen Reinsel had a win over #24 Rivera via decision. At 165 lbs, Luca Frinzi earned a win on senior night of a tough Bergey. Hines, Brignola, Beard, and Taylor all won comfortably. At 174 lbs, Connor Herceg had a decision victory as well. Lehigh ended the year undefeated in the conference with a 7-0 record. They will carry a seven match win streak into next week’s final dual. #15 Lehigh 31 Princeton 6 125: Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) won by forfeit 133: Nick Kayal (Princeton) dec. Ethan Smith (Lehigh) 7-3 141: Malyke Hines (Lehigh) major dec. Tyler Vazquez (Princeton) 18-5 149: Owen Reinsel (Lehigh) dec. Eligh Rivera (Princeton) 11-9 157: Max Brignola (Lehigh) dec. Rocco Camillaci (Princeton) 11-4 165: Luca Frinzi (Lehigh) dec. Blaine Bergey (Princeton) 1-0 174: Connor Herceg (Lehigh) dec. Mikey Squires (Princeton) 9-4 184: Nate Dugan (Princeton) dec. Jack Wilt (Lehigh) 4-2 197: Michael Beard (Lehigh) tech fall Anthony Moscatello (Princeton) 19-4, 3:33 285: Nathan Taylor (Lehigh) major dec. Matt Cover (Princeton) 15-4 The Mountain Hawks will travel to Arizona State for the final dual of the season. Long Island The Sharks competed at Drexel during their Spirit Night, which is a tough environment to compete in. The lone winner was Anthony D’Alesio earning a major decision. They also competed against Sacred Heart on Tuesday. This was the second time squaring off against them this season. They won nine of ten bouts. Last time they faced off, the score was 28-10. LIU is widening the gap. Drexel 34 LIU 4 165: #30 Cody Walsh def. Donovan Smith (LIU), Dec. 11-5; Drexel 3-0 174: Jack Janda def. James Johnston (LIU), MD 9-0; Drexel 7-0 184: Anthony D'Alesio (LIU) def. Ethan Wilson, MD 17-6; Drexel 7-4 197: Ibrahim Ameer def. John Dusza (LIU), Dec. 12-8; Drexel 10-4 285: Santino Morina def. Aeden Begue (LIU), Dec. 4-1; Drexel 13-4 125: Desmond Pleasant def. Robbie Sagaris (LIU), Fall 3:47; Drexel 19-4 133: John Hildebrandt def. Kaelen Francois (LIU), MD 13-2; Drexel 23-4 141: Jordan Soriano def. Bo DiJulius (LIU), TF 23-6 (6:31); Drexel 28-4 149: Dom Findora def. Drew Witham (LIU), Dec. 11-6; Drexel 31-4 157: Tyler Williams def. Rhise Royster (LIU), Dec. 7-1; Drexel 34-4 LIU 41 Sacred Heart 3 125: Robbie Sagaris (LIU) wins by forfeit 133: Andrew Fallon (SHU) wins by major decision 18-5 over Kaelen Francois (LIU) 141: Devin Matthews (LIU) wins by decision 5-2 over Vinny Milazzo (SHU) 149: Drew Witham (LIU) wins by decision 2-1 over Mike McGhee (SHU)* 157: Rhise Royster (LIU) wins by technical fall 19-3 over Connor MacDonald (SHU) 165: James Johnston (LIU) wins by fall over Calvin Pineda (SHU) 174: Corey Connolly (LIU) wins by fall over Owen Ayotte (SHU) 184: Anthony D’Alesio (LIU) wins by decision 10-4 over Hunter Perez (SHU) 197: John Dusza (LIU) wins by fall over Jake Trovato (SHU) 285: Aeden Begue (LIU) wins by SV-1 8-5 over Marc Berisha (SHU) LIU is done with dual meets this season. They will be back on the mat for EIWAs in March. Navy #30 Navy’s final bout of the season was the Star Match against Army. It came down to the wire, but they fell 18-17. David Key and Cael Crebs had the first wins of the dual for Navy at 184 lbs and 197 lbs, respectively. At heavyweight, Grady Griess had an overtime win over #27 Stoddard. Ending the dual with wins were Josh Koderhandt at 141 lbs and Kaemen Smith at 149 lbs. Smith almost had the fall, which would have given Navy the win. Army 18 Navy 17 157: Nate Lukez (Army) 11-1 over Jonathan Ley (Navy), M. Decision (4-0 Army) 165: Gunner Filipowicz (Army) 5-4 over Andrew Cerniglia (Navy), Decision (7-0 Army) 174: Ben Pasiuk (Army) 7-3 over Danny Wask (Navy), Decision (10-0 Army) 184: David Key (Navy) 4-1 over Dillon Sheehy (Army), Decision (10-3 Army) 197: Cael Crebs (Navy) 7-1 over Wolfgang Frable (Army), Decision (10-6 Army) 285: Grady Griess (Navy) 7-2 over Lucas Stoddard (Army), Sudden Victory Decision (10-9 Army) 125: Ethan Berginc (Army) 18-3 over Dayton DelViscio (Navy), Tech. Fall (15-9 Army) 133: Braden Basile (Army) 5-4 over Brendan Ferretti (Navy), Decision (18-9 Army) 141: Josh Koderhandt (Navy) 13-3 over Logan Brown (Army), M. Decision (18-13 Army) 149: Kaemen Smith (Navy) 17-8 over Matthew Williams (Army), M. Decision (18-17 Army) This was Navy’s final competition until EIWAs in March. They finished the season 8-6 overall, and 2-3 in the EIWA. They were ranked inside the top 20 at one point before cooling off in the second half of the year. Expect them to bounce back for conferences early next month. Penn #18 The Quakers had an Ivy League battle with Princeton. Ryan Miller saw action at 133 lbs, earning a major decision. Jude Swisher had a ranked win over #24 Rivera by major decision. Martin Cosgrove was in at 197 lbs, earning a tech fall. Both CJ Composto and Kaya Sement won via decision. #23 Lucas Revano won by major at 157 lbs while #6 Incontrera won by tech fall. #18 Penn 34 Princeton 8 125: Max Gallagher (PENN) def. (PRIN), FOR – Penn leads 6-0 133: Ryan Miller (PENN) def. Nicholas Kayal (PRIN), 18-8 MD – Penn leads 10-0 141: #17 CJ Composto (PENN) def. Tyler Vazquez (PRIN), 9-3 DEC – Penn leads 13-0 149: #33 Jude Swisher (PENN) def. #24 Eligh Rivera (PRIN), 14-1 MD – Penn leads 17-0 157: #23 Lucas Revano (PENN) def. Rocco Camillaci (PRIN), 11-3 MD – Penn leads 21-0 165: Kaya Sement (PENN) def. Blaine Bergey (PRIN), 2-0 DEC – Penn leads 24-0 174: #6 Nick Incontrera (PENN) def. Luca Pontone (PRIN), 19-4 TF – Penn leads 29-0 184: Nate Dugan (PRIN) def. #17 Maximus Hale (PENN), 4-1 DEC, SV – Penn leads 29-3 197: Martin Cosgrove (PENN) def. Anthony Moscatello (PRIN), 17-2 TF – Penn leads 34-3 285: Matthew Cover (PRIN) def. John Stout (PENN), 16-1 TF – Penn wins 34-8 The Quakers will take on Morgan State at home on Friday in the final dual of their season. Princeton The Tigers hosted a tough 18th-ranked Penn squad. They came away with two wins while resting a few starters. Nate Dugan had the marquee win at 184 lbs over #17 Hale in sudden victory. At 285 lbs, #31 Matt Cover won by tech fall in the final bout. Princeton was forced to forfeit at 125 lbs and #12 Stout was not wrestling. #18 Penn 34 Princeton 8 125: Max Gallagher (PENN) def. (PRIN), FOR – Penn leads 6-0 133: Ryan Miller (PENN) def. Nicholas Kayal (PRIN), 18-8 MD – Penn leads 10-0 141: #17 CJ Composto (PENN) def. Tyler Vazquez (PRIN), 9-3 DEC – Penn leads 13-0 149: #33 Jude Swisher (PENN) def. #24 Eligh Rivera (PRIN), 14-1 MD – Penn leads 17-0 157: #23 Lucas Revano (PENN) def. Rocco Camillaci (PRIN), 11-3 MD – Penn leads 21-0 165: Kaya Sement (PENN) def. Blaine Bergey (PRIN), 2-0 DEC – Penn leads 24-0 174: #6 Nick Incontrera (PENN) def. Luca Pontone (PRIN), 19-4 TF – Penn leads 29-0 184: Nate Dugan (PRIN) def. #17 Maximus Hale (PENN), 4-1 DEC, SV – Penn leads 29-3 197: Martin Cosgrove (PENN) def. Anthony Moscatello (PRIN), 17-2 TF – Penn leads 34-3 285: Matthew Cover (PRIN) def. John Stout (PENN), 16-1 TF – Penn wins 34-8 The Tigers’ final dual will be Friday against Bucknell. Sacred Heart Sacred Heart hosted the Sharks of LIU on Tuesday night. This was the second meeting between them this season. The lone victor was Andrew Fallon at 133lbs. He has now won six of his seven bouts in the second semester. Half of his wins have been by bonus points. LIU 41 Sacred Heart 3 125: Robbie Sagaris (LIU) wins by forfeit 133: Andrew Fallon (SHU) wins by major decision 18-5 over Kaelen Francois (LIU) 141: Devin Matthews (LIU) wins by decision 5-2 over Vinny Milazzo (SHU) 149: Drew Witham (LIU) wins by decision 2-1 over Mike McGhee (SHU)* 157: Rhise Royster (LIU) wins by technical fall 19-3 over Connor MacDonald (SHU) 165: James Johnston (LIU) wins by fall over Calvin Pineda (SHU) 174: Corey Connolly (LIU) wins by fall over Owen Ayotte (SHU) 184: Anthony D’Alesio (LIU) wins by decision 10-4 over Hunter Perez (SHU) 197: John Dusza (LIU) wins by fall over Jake Trovato (SHU) 285: Aeden Begue (LIU) wins by SV-1 8-5 over Marc Berisha (SHU) The Pioneers have one final dual with Brown this weekend to end the dual meet season.

This Week in Women’s Wrestling (February 13 - February 19) With just a few duals this past week as teams prepare for regional conference tournaments to qualify for Nationals, here are a few things to look out for as the regular season comes to a close. 1. The first year for 6 NCWWC regional tournaments This season, there will be six regional tournaments rather than the five that have been hosted previously to determine who qualifies for nationals among NCAA wrestling programs. The NWCA announced this expansion as a result of the growing number of teams competing and the growth of women’s wrestling overall. Each of these tournaments will take place over the weekend starting with some on Friday, February 23 through Sunday, February 25. Region 1 will be hosted by #10 Lock Haven University. Other schools in Region 1 ranked within the NWCA Team Tournament rankings include: #T-7 Sacred Heart #9 New Jersey City #T-18 East Stroudsburg #21 Elmira Region 2, hosted by #23 Emmanuel College will also include ranked teams: #3 King #T-15 Presbyterian #T-24 Greensboro Region 3 at #T-24 Gannon University will see showings from: #T-18 Tiffin #T-24 Adrian Region 4 will be hosted at #1 North Central College and features many other ranked schools: #T-7 Aurora #T-13 Augsburg #T-15 Northern Michigan #T-15 UW Stevens Point Region 5 at Simpson College will feature ranked schools: #2 Iowa #4 McKendree #11 William Jewell #T-13 Wartburg #T-18 Lindenwood And finally, the new Region 6 will be hosted by Texas Women’s University with ranked teams: #5 Colorado Mesa #6 Simon Fraser Of course, many ranked wrestlers currently compete for unranked tournament teams and this additional regional opportunity means even more top wrestlers at the top of podiums this weekend. To qualify for the NCWWC, wrestlers must place in the top 4 in their weight class at the regional tournament. Teams can send up to 15 qualifiers to nationals, with no more than 2 per weight class. This means, that for some teams that have several wrestlers in the top 4 across multiple weights, some qualifiers may not be selected to compete at the NCWWC. This could impact schools like Iowa, North Central, and King who have multiple ranked wrestlers, and in some cases multiple former All-Americans at each weight. 2. Matches to look for at NCWA regionals At Region 1, look out for a red-hot #10 Stella Steigler of Lock Haven to give some trouble to a few of the ranked wrestlers for Sacred Heart at 170 lbs. Steigler is listed on the Lock Haven roster at 155 lbs, but after taking a break in action after the Princeton Open, she returned at 170 lbs. There she recently won the top spot at the Pennsylvania Women’s Collegiate State Championships to work her way into the most recent rankings. Both #6 Love Daley and #7 Cara Broadus of Sacred Heart could give anyone trouble, but I am curious to see if 170 lbs is the difference maker for Steigler and she can continue to compete at a high level and qualify for her first NCWWC tournament. At Region 4, #4 Nina Makem of Augsburg could get a rematch against #3 London Houston of North Central at 155 lbs. In November, Makem dropped the 4-4 match on criteria to Houston at the Pointer Women’s Open. #7 Noelle Gaffney of Northern Michigan could be a contender here too. However, Makem got a 6-0 decision win over Gaffney at the same Pointer Women’s Open. This is also a weight where North Central could double down with top placers as #6 Tiera Jimerson could make some waves here too. I am fairly certain two of these wrestlers will make up the finals at this weight, but I am curious to see who they will be when the tournament shakes out. Another Region 4 situation to keep an eye on is at 191 lbs. While North Central holds the top 2 ranked spots with Brittyn Corbishley and Traeh Haynes respectively, #4 Sandy Guerrero of New Jersey City and #5 Sydney Manos of Aurora should not be overlooked. Manos kept it close against Haynes at the North Central Open before dropping the match 7-4. Guerrero has big wins over Manos, #7 Madeline Hodges of Sacred Heart, and is 16-1 this season with 5 pins and 7 tech falls. Guerrero was a 2x All-American in her 2021 and 2022 seasons, but missed the tournament last season due to injury. She will be looking to qualify at the top to put her in a good position to finish in the top eight again at the NCWWC. At Region 5, look for firework matches at most weights given that both Iowa and McKendree should be sending former All-Americans and new wrestlers with real All-American potential at almost every weight. There is also still a question mark about former NCWC/NAIA Champ Emma Bruntil and where she will weigh in to compete at regionals. A highlight would be to see a finals rematch between #1 Shelby Moore of McKendree vs #3 Felicity Taylor of Iowa at 123 lbs. However, this raises the question of where Taylor will actually compete at in this tournament. After competing for most of the season at 123 lbs, she bumped up for the Grand View open a few weeks ago. Either of these wrestlers will show out no matter who they compete against, but I’d love to see this rematch and see if Moore could flip the result, or if Taylor continues to end up on top. Finally, at Region 6, prepare for some impressive performances from Simon Fraser and Colorado Mesa, especially at 136 lbs, where we could see the 3rd matchup between #2 Jade Trolland of Simon Fraser and #4 Holly Beaudoin of Colorado Mesa this season. In both December and February, Trolland emerged victorious, but only by close decisions. Beaudoin will certainly be looking for redemption and adjusting her strategy to get the win here, especially with qualification on the line. 3. NAIA Conferences The 2nd sanctioned NAIA Women’s Wrestling Tournament takes place in early March, and wrestlers will be competing this weekend for their spot. Bids for the national tournament are more similar here than for the NCWWC as conferences unlock automatic bids per weight class based on the number of ranked wrestlers at each weight class and then having a select number of at-large bids as well, selected by a committee. It does differ in that each team can have a maximum of 12 wrestlers qualify, and unlike NCWWCs, all wrestlers can score team points at nationals, the team just does not earn bonus points when teammates wrestle one another. The teams are divided into 5 conference tournaments to compete in. The Cascade Collegiate Conference will host: #1 Menlo #4 Southern Oregon #5 Providence #12 Vanguard Eastern Oregon Evergreen Simpson Westcliff Last season, Southern Oregon landed the top spot with Menlo in second and Providence in third. The Heart of America Athletic Conference will include wrestlers from: #3 Grand View #7 William Penn #T-14 Baker #T-14 Missouri Valley Central Methodist Dickinson State Waldorf Last year, Grand View claimed first place by a 43-point margin over Iowa Wesleyan, which closed after last season. The next highest-scoring team was Central Methodist, with William Penn finishing last. With WP absorbing several talented wrestlers from Iowa Wesleyan, look for them to greatly improve on their seventh place finish from last year. The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference will include: #T-14 Hastings #17 St. Mary #18 Doane #20 Ottawa Avila Dakota Wesleyan Friends Jamestown Midland University Morningside York Hastings had a historic win last year, followed by Midland. The Mid-South Conference will host: #2 Life #8 Cumberlands #11 Campbellsville #13 Indiana Tech Brewton-Parker Lourdes Montreat Rochester Siena Heights St. Andrews Bonus points, and multiple ranked wrestlers played a big role in Life’s first place finish last season, with a 34-point lead on third place finishers Cumberlands, despite both teams having 4 individual champions. Campbellsville finished in second and crowned one champion. Finally, the Sooner Athletic Conference/American Midwest Conference includes: #6 Texas Wesleyan #9 Oklahoma City #10 Missouri Baptist Central Christian Health Sciences & Pharmacy Jarvis Christian Wayland Baptist William Woods Last season, the top three teams kept it super close, with Texas Wesleyan finishing with a 5-point lead on Missouri Baptist, and Oklahoma City finishing just two points shy of them. This season could present a similar nail-biter, with a fairly even distribution of ranked talent on these teams. 4. Matches to look out for at NAIA Conferences At the NAIA Championship tournament last year, Erin Hikiji of Providence dropped the finals match 2-1 to teammate Ira Navarro, who graduated after last season. This year, I think #1 Hikiji will make the finals again, and will have some tough competition if she gets there. She could see #3 Kayla Mckinley-Johnson of Menlo, who finished fifth after losing in the Round of 16 at NAIAs and 4th at conferences. Mckinley-Johnson has certainly jumped levels this season, and a match between the two of them could be fireworks. The Heart of America Conference is a chance for #1 Mia Palumbo and #1 Adaugo Nwachukwu to reclaim their titles, this time in the Statesman singlet. At 136 lbs, #2 Andrea Schlabach of Grand View will have a chance to redeem herself after her loss in the finals at 130 lbs to Skye Realin of CMU. She has seen her fair share of ranked competition, and as a multiple-time qualifier and former All-American, she could easily make it to the finals where she would likely face Nwachukwu. The two did not wrestle in their dual as Nwachukwu bumped up to 155 lbs, but the two have wrestled a few times in international competition, with Nwachukwu claiming victory. I am curious to see if Schlabach has figured out a formula to get the win here, or if Nwachukwu will continue to show that she is at another level. At the Mid-South Conference championships, I will be looking to see if the unstoppable half of Life’s lineup holds up against tough conference competition, starting with #2 Sarah Savidge at 130 lbs, through three tough McBryde sisters at 136 lbs-155 lbs, and finishing strong with #5 Margaret Graham and #5 Madeline Welch at 170 and 191 lbs, respectively. The match I have highlighted the most however is a rematch at 143 between #1 Jamilah McBryde and #2 Emma Walker of Campbellsville. Walker pinned her way to the finals where she completed her perfect run with a pin over McBryde in just under 2 minutes. However, at the dual earlier this month, Jamilah secured a 13-3 tech fall over Walker. This is sure to be a fast-paced and action-packed match between these two athletes. Results this week in major NCAA, NCWA, and NAIA competitions February 13: #14 (NAIA) Missouri Valley (27) over Central Methodist University (20) February 16: #2 (NAIA) Life (32) over #11 (NAIA) Campbellsville (17) Regionals and Nationals If you are near any of these locations, consider spending your weekend at one of these tournaments, cheering on these athletes and catching some of the awesome action, especially in the final rounds. NCWWC Regionals: Region I: Lock Haven University, Lock Haven, PA | Saturday, Feb. 24 Region II: Emmanuel College, Boston, MA | Friday, Feb. 23 Region III: Gannon University, Erie, PA | Saturday, Feb. 24 Region IV: North Central College, Naperville, IL | Sunday, Feb. 25 Region V: Simpson College, Indianola, IA | Friday, Feb. 23 Region VI: Texas Woman's University, Denton, TX | Sunday, Feb. 25 NAIA Conferences: Cascade Collegiate Conference: Atherton, CA | Feb. 25 Heart of America Athletic Conference, Oskaloosa, IA | Feb. 24 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference, Crete, NE | Feb. 24 Mid-South Conference: Bowling Green, KY | Feb. 23 Sooner/American Midwest Conference, McPherson, KS | Feb. 24

It’s a big week for Iowa State as the Cyclones are ready to wrap up their regular season with a mega dual against Big 12 foe #9. Kevin Dresser’s team has started the week with positive news on the recruiting trail with a verbal commitment from the #10 overall recruit in the Class of 2025, Christian Castillo (Valiant Prep, Arizona). Castillo is a 2022 U17 World silver medalist in freestyle. Not only that, but he also represented the United States in Greco-Roman at the same tournament that same weekend in Rome. Also in 2022, Castillo captured Pan-American gold medals in both styles at the 48 kg weight class. On the domestic front, Castillo has placed three times at the Super 32, winning the 106 lb weight class in 2022 and finishing fourth last fall at 120 lbs. He was also sixth in 2021. A few months before that, Castillo made the 16U national freestyle finals in Fargo. Because Valiant Prep is not allowed to compete in the Arizona postseason, Castillo doesn’t have any state champion-type credentials to his name. Castillo has missed significant time during the 2023-24 season so he doesn’t currently appear in MatScouts national rankings. In the post-Super 32 rankings, Castillo came in sixth in the 120 lb weight class. At the next level, Castillo projects at the always-coveted 125 lb weight class. Castillo is the second wrestler from the Class of 2025 to commit to the Cyclones. He’ll join fellow Arizona native Carlos Stanton (Sunnyside, AZ), who is currently ranked #133 amongst all juniors. For all of your up-to-date recruiting information, check InterMat’s College Commitment Page.