InterMat Staff

Friday Dual Results George Mason 37 Bloomsburg 3 125 - JB Dragovich (George Mason) dec Bronson Garber (Bloomsburg) 8-5 133 - Brandon Wittenberg (George Mason) tech Major Lewis (Bloomsburg) 20-3 141 - Nathan Higley (George Mason) FFT 149 - Kaden Cassidy (George Mason) maj Cade Balestrini (Bloomsburg) 13-2 157 - JT Chance (George Mason) dec William Morrow (Bloomsburg) 2-1 165 - Evan Maag (George Mason) dec Caden Dobbins (Bloomsburg) 13-9 174 - Paul Pierce (George Mason) tech Nolan Zeigler (Bloomsburg) 19-2 184 - Malachi Duvall (George Mason) tech Matt Benedetti (Bloomsburg) 18-0 197 - Ruben Karapetyan (George Mason) dec David Tuttle (Bloomsburg) 2-1TB 285 - Harrison Levans (Bloomsburg) dec Donovan Sprouse (George Mason) 7-3 Virginia 45 Duke 0 125 - Kyle Montaperto (Virginia) tech Logan Agin (Duke) 18-0 133 - Marlon Yarbrough (Virginia) tech Raymond Adams (Duke) 20-5 141 - Jack Gioffre (Virginia) fall Christian Colman (Duke) 2:48 149 - Michael Gioffre (Virginia) tech Sean O’Donnell (Duke) 23-5 157 - Nick Sanko (Virginia) maj Logan Ferraro (Duke) 11-1 165 - Nick Hamilton (Virginia) maj Gaetano Console (Duke) 14-5 174 - Justin McCoy (Virginia) tech David Hussey (Duke) 18-2 184 - Griffin Gammel (Virginia) dec Conor Becker (Duke) 4-2 197 - Krystian Kinsey (Virginia) tech Kwasi Bonsu (Duke) 18-2 285 - Ryan Catka (Virginia) dec Connor Barket (Duke) 12-8 Cleveland State 24 Ohio 19 125 - Ben Aranda (Cleveland State) fall Ryan Meek (Ohio) 1:49 133 - Nick Molchak (Cleveland State) dec Mason Brugh (Ohio) 5-2 141 - Dylan Layton (Cleveland State) tech Aidan Waszak (Ohio) 17-1 149 - Douglas Terry (Cleveland State) dec Dominic Hoffarth (Ohio) 4-2 157 - Peyten Kellar (Ohio) fall Shane Heil (Cleveland State) 2:57 165 - Garrett Thompson (Ohio) fall Tate Geiser (Cleveland State) :46 174 - Sal Perrine (Ohio) dec DeAndre Nassar (Cleveland State) 4-2 184 - Zayne Lehman (Ohio) maj Joey Lyons (Cleveland State) 8-0 197 - Ben Smith (Cleveland State) maj Austin Starr (Ohio) 10-1 285 - Daniel Bucknavich (Cleveland State) dec Jordan Greer (Ohio) 4-1 Rider 27 Lock Haven 11 125 - Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) dec Tyler Klinsky (Rider) 8-2 133 - Richie Koehler (Rider) dec Gable Strickland (Lock Haven) 4-1SV 141 - Wyatt Henson (Lock Haven) tech Will Bentacourt (Rider) 22-6 149 - Nick Stonecheck (Lock Haven) dec Quinn Kinner (Rider) 8-5SV 157 - Colton Washleski (Rider) dec Connor Eck (Lock Haven) 12-8 165 - Jake Silverstein (Rider) dec Eric Alderfer (Lock Haven) 9-5 174 - Michael Wilson (Rider) maj Tyler Stoltzfus (Lock Haven) 15-7 184 - Isaac Dean (Rider) dec Colin Fegley (Lock Haven) 7-1 197 - Azeem Bell (Rider) InjDef Brad Morrison (Lock Haven) 285 - David Szuba (Rider) tech Ethan Miller (Lock Haven) 17-2 Princeton 26 Columbia 7 125 - Drew Heethuis (Princeton) dec Nick Babin (Columbia) 1-0 133 - Sean Pierson (Princeton) dec Sulayman Bah (Columbia) 12-8 141 - Tyler Vasquez (Princeton) dec Kai Owen (Columbia) 10-9 149 - Eligh Rivera (Princeton) dec Richard Fedalen (Columbia) 8-3 157 - David Berkovich (Columbia) dec Rocco Camillaci (Princeton) 7-6 165 - Blaine Bergey (Princeton) maj Kyle Mosher (Columbia) 16-7 174 - Lenox Wolak (Columbia) maj Mike Squires (Princeton) 21-11 184 - Nate Dugan (Princeton) dec Aaron Ayzerov (Columbia) 8-5 197 - Luke Stout (Princeton) dec Jack Wehmeyer (Columbia) 8-1 285 - Aidan Conner (Princeton) maj Vincent Mueller (Columbia) 10-0 Iowa State 37 Oklahoma 4 125 - Kysen Terukina (Iowa State) dec Conrad Hendriksen (Oklahoma) 4-1SV 133 - Evan Frost (Iowa State) maj Jace Koelzer (Oklahoma) 12-2 141 - Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State) tech Kaden Smith (Oklahoma) 23-7 149 - Casey Swiderski (Iowa State) dec Willie McDougald (Oklahoma) 8-3 157 - Jason Kraisser (Iowa State) dec Jared Hill (Oklahoma) 2-0 165 - David Carr (Iowa State) tech Mannix Morgan (Oklahoma) 21-3 174 - MJ Gaitan (Iowa State) fall Tate Picklo (Oklahoma) 3:13 184 - Will Feldkamp (Iowa State) maj Guiseppe Hoose (Oklahoma) 14-6 197 - Stephen Buchanan (Oklahoma) maj Caleb Helgeson (Iowa State) 18-5 285 - Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) maj Josh Heindselman (Oklahoma) 14-4 Missouri 30 West Virginia 6 125 - Noah Surtin (Missouri) tech Jace Schafer (West Virginia) 17-2 133 - Kade Moore (Missouri) fall Davin Rhoads (West Virginia) 2:56 141 - Jordan Titus (West Virginia) dec Josh Edmond (Missouri) 3-2TB 149 - Ty Watters (West Virginia) dec Logan Gioffre (Missouri) 6-1 157 - Brock Mauller (Missouri) maj Alex Hornfeck (West Virginia) 16-4 165 - Keegan O’Toole (Missouri) dec Peyton Hall (West Virginia) 8-7 174 - Peyton Mocco (Missouri) dec Jack Blumer (West Virginia) 5-1 184 - Clayton Whiting (Missouri) dec Dennis Robin (West Virginia) 9-6 197 - Colton Hawks (Missouri) dec Austin Cooley (West Virginia) 2-1 285 - Zach Elam (Missouri) dec Michael Wolfgram (West Virginia) 7-0 NC State 31 Pittsburgh 6 125 - Jarrett Trombley (NC State) maj Colton Camacho (Pittsburgh) 14-4 133 - Kai Orine (NC State) maj Vince Santaniello (Pittsburgh) 10-1 141 - Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) dec Ryan Jack (NC State) 15-10 149 - Jackson Arrington (NC State) dec Finn Solomon (Pittsburgh) 4-2 157 - Ed Scott (NC State) maj Jared Keslar (Pittsburgh) 16-3 165 - Derek Fields (NC State) dec Holden Heller (Pittsburgh) 7-1 174 - Alex Faison (NC State) dec Luca Augustine (Pittsburgh) 7-5 184 - Reece Heller (Pittsburgh) dec Dylan Fishback (NC State) 4-3 197 - Trent Hidlay (NC State) tech Mac Stout (Pittsburgh) 20-4 285 - Owen Trephan (NC State) tech Geoff Magin (Pittsburgh) 20-4 Ohio State 20 Michigan 19 125 - Michael DeAugustino (Michigan) tech Brendan McCrone (Ohio State) 16-1 133 - Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) maj Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State) 15-6 141 - Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) FFT 149 - Austin Gomez (Michigan) maj Dylan D’Emilio (Ohio State) 17-6 157 - Will Lewan (Michigan) dec Isaac Wilcox (Ohio State) 5-2TB 165 - Bryce Hepner (Ohio State) dec Beau Mantanona (Michigan) 12-10 174 - Shane Griffith (Michigan) dec Rocco Welsh (Ohio State) 2-1 184 - Ryder Rogotzke (Ohio State) tech Jaden Bullock (Michigan) 21-0 197 - Luke Geog (Ohio State) dec Rylan Rogers (Michigan) 9-4 285 - Nick Feldman (Ohio State) dec Lucas Davison (Michigan) 4-3 Virginia Tech 33 North Carolina 3 125 - Cooper Flynn (Virginia Tech) dec Spencer Moore (North Carolina) 4-2 133 - Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) tech Jace Palmer (North Carolina) 19-3 141 - Tom Crook (Virginia Tech) dec Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina) 5-4 149 - Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) tech Wil Guida (North Carolina) 19-3 157 - Clayton Ulrey (Virginia Tech) dec Sonny Santiago (North Carolina) 4-1 165 - Connor Brady (Virginia Tech) dec Isaias Estrada (North Carolina) 4-2 174 - Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) maj Tyler Eischens (North Carolina) 11-3 184 - Gavin Kane (North Carolina) dec TJ Stewart (Virginia Tech) 11-8SV 197 - Andy Smith (Virginia Tech) dec Max Shaw (North Carolina) 4-2 285 - Hunter Catka (Virginia Tech) maj Cade Lautt (North Carolina) 14-5 Oklahoma State 22 Northern Iowa 12 125 - Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State) dec Trever Anderson (Northern Iowa) 3-2 133 - Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) maj Julian Farber (Northern Iowa) 18-4 141 - Cael Happel (Northern Iowa) dec Tagen Jamison (Oklahoma State) 4-2 149 - Jordan Williams (Oklahoma State) tech Adam Allard (Northern Iowa) 21-5 157 - Ryder Downey (Northern Iowa) dec Teague Travis (Oklahoma State) 4-1 165 - Izzak Olejnik (Oklahoma State) maj RJ Weston (Northern Iowa) 12-2 174 - Brayden Thompson (Oklahoma State) dec Jared Simma (Northern Iowa) 6-3 184 - Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) dec Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) 12-6 197 - Wyatt Voelker (Northern Iowa) dec Jersey Robb (Oklahoma State) 5-1 285 - Konner Doucet (Oklahoma State) dec Tyrell Gordon (Northern Iowa) 4-3TB South Dakota State 32 Air Force 9 125 - Tanner Jordan (South Dakota State) dec Tucker Owens (Air Force) 5-3 133 - Logan Graf (South Dakota State) dec Brenden Barnes (Air Force) 4-3 141 - Clay Carlson (South Dakota State) dec Garrett Kuchan (Air Force) 10-7 149 - Alek Martin (South Dakota State) maj Joe Fernau (Air Force) 9-1 157 - Cael Swensen (South Dakota State) tech Brooks Gable (Air Force) 17-2 165 - Giano Petrucelli (Air Force) dec Tanner Cook (South Dakota State) 5-0 174 - Cade DeVos (South Dakota State) maj Gage Musser (Air Force) 14-4 184 - Bennett Berge (South Dakota State) maj Sam Wolf (Air Force) 8-0 197 - Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State) fall Calvin Sund (Air Force) 2:12 285 - Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force) fall Luke Rasmussen (South Dakota State) 2:01 Michigan State 22 Wisconsin 15 125 - Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) dec Tristan Lujan (Michigan State) 4-2 133 - Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin) dec Andrew Hampton (Michigan State) 10-6 141 - Jordan Hamden (Michigan State) dec Felix Lettini (Wisconsin) 5-2 149 - Joe Zargo (Wisconsin) dec Braden Stauffenberg (Michigan State) 10-5 157 - Chase Saldate (Michigan State) fall Luke Mechler (Wisconsin) 5:40 165 - Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) dec Caleb Fish (Michigan State) 5-3 174 - Max Maylor (Wisconsin) dec DJ Shannon (Michigan State) 5-0 184 - Layne Malczewski (Michigan State) dec Shane Liegel (Wisconsin) 8-2 197 - Kael Wisler (Michigan State) maj Joshua Otto (Wisconsin) 9-1 285 - Josh Terrill (Michigan State) fall Gannon Rosenfeld (Wisconsin) 4:58 Iowa 36 Illinois 6 125 - Drake Ayala (Iowa) tech Justin Cardani (Illinois) 18-3 133 - Cullan Schriever (Iowa) maj Tony Madrigal (Illinois) 9-1 141 - Brody Teske (Iowa) dec Will Baysingar (Illinois) 5-0 149 - Kannon Webster (Illinois) dec Caleb Rathjen (Iowa) 4-1SV 157 - Jared Franek (Iowa) tech Joe Roberts (Illinois) 21-5 165 - Michael Caliendo (Iowa) tech Chris Moore (Illinois) 17-2 174 - Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) dec Edmond Ruth (Illinois) 5-1 184 - Dylan Connell (Illinois) dec Aiden Riggins (Iowa) 4-1SV 197 - Zach Glazier (Iowa) tech Joey Braunagel (Illinois) 18-3 285 - Bradley Hill (Iowa) fall Peter Marinopoulos (Illinois) 5:41 Nebraska 39 Northwestern 3 125 - Caleb Smith (Nebraska) maj Massey Odiotti (Northwestern) 11-3 133 - Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska) tech Patrick Adams (Northwestern) 17-2 141 - Blake Cushing (Nebraska) tech Kolby McClain (Northwestern) 23-7 149 - Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) fall Aiden Vandenbush (Northwestern) 4:42 157 - Trevor Chumbley (Northwestern) dec Ethan Stiles (Nebraska) 8-5 165 - Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) dec Maxx Mayfield (Northwestern) 4-1SV 174 - Bubba Wilson (Nebraska) dec David Ferrante (Northwestern) 7-3 184 - Lenny Pinto (Nebraska) dec Troy Fisher (Northwestern) 7-3 197 - Silas Allred (Nebraska) tech Evan Bates (Northwestern) 19-4 285 - Harley Andrews (Nebraska) tech Jack Jessen (Northwestern) 15-0 Wyoming 23 Northern Colorado 16 125 - Stevo Poulin (Northern Colorado) dec Jore Volk (Wyoming) 3-1 133 - Dominick Serrano (Northern Colorado) maj Garrett Ricks (Wyoming) 14-6 141 - Cole Brooks (Wyoming) maj Rudy Lopez (Northern Colorado) 11-2 149 - Gabe Willochell (Wyoming) maj Benji Alanis (Northern Colorado) 10-1 157 - Sloan Swan (Wyoming) dec Roman Cruz (Northern Colorado) 2-0 165 - Cooper Voorhees (Wyoming) dec Derek Matthews (Northern Colorado) 6-2 174 - Travis Mastrogiovanni (Northern Colorado) dec Quayin Short (Wyoming) 4-2 184 - Ethan Ducca (Wyoming) dec Damen Pape (Northern Colorado) 8-3 197 - Joey Novak (Wyoming) fall Xavier Vasquez (Northern Colorado) 4:52 285 - Andrew Blackburn-Forst (Northern Colorado) fall Bradley Moore (Wyoming) 1:17 Little Rock 20 Oregon State 17 125 - Jeremiah Reno (Little Rock) fall Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State) 4:26 133 - Nasir Bailey (Little Rock) maj Gabe Whisenhunt (Oregon State) 13-4 141 - Cleveland Belton (Oregon State) dec Cael Keck (Little Rock) 7-5 149 - Nash Singleton (Oregon State) dec Kyle Dutton (Little Rock) 11-8 157 - Isaiah Crosby (Oregon State) dec Matt Bianchi (Little Rock) 9-7 165 - Joey Bianchi (Little Rock) maj Kekana Fouret (Oregon State) 10-0 174 - Matthew Olguin (Oregon State) tech Brendon Abdon (Little Rock) 21-4 184 - Trey Munoz (Oregon State) dec Triston Wills (Little Rock) 11-8 197 - Stephen Little (Little Rock) dec Justin Rademacher (Oregon State) 10-3 285 - Josiah Hill (Little Rock) dec Boone McDermott (Oregon State) 4-1

Every week during the 2023-24 season, the InterMat staff will submit their picks for some of the most high-profile or competitive dual meets. As the season progresses, we'll keep track of records for bragging rights or as ammunition for when we mock each other. No, we'd never do that, it's all in good fun (right?). Records heading into this weekend: 33-13: Nick 32-14: Richard 31-15: Bob D. 30-16: Austin, Willie 29-17: Earl, Morgan, Robbie, Tony 28-18: Dysen, Jagger, Rachel 27-19: James, Kevin, Ryan Below are the picks for week 13:

ACC Week One It’s finally here! ACC Friday Night Duals kick off tonight, with Rock Harrison and Shawn Kenny heading to Pittsburgh to cover #8 NC State take on #22 Pittsburgh on ACC Network. The Hokies host the Tar Heels and the Hoos will travel to Durham to face the Blue Devils. #8 NC State at #22 Pittsburgh The Wolfpack kick off their defense of the ACC crown with a trip to Pittsburgh to face a very talented Panther squad. There are solid matches throughout this dual with several ranked versus ranked bouts. Both teams will be without a ranked starter in the lineup; #22 Jakob Camacho will be heading to the App State Open and #9 Dayton Pitzer will be out with an injury he suffered last week against Oklahoma State--they hope to have him back for the ACC Championships. There are several intriguing matches up and down this lineup tonight. Jarrett Trombley will get the start at 125 and is the reigning ACC Champion, he will face Colton Camacho who has picked up some big wins this season. Kai Orine will face a very scrappy Vinnie Santaniello at 133 followed by a rematch of last year’s ACC title bout with Ryan Jack and Cole Matthews. Jack has looked incredible this year while Matthews has had an up-and-down year; however, Matthews holds a 4-0 advantage over Jack and I expect him to be strapped up and ready to go. Jackson Arrington will face former teammate Finn Solomon at 149 before fellow Pennsylvania native Ed Scott squares off with Jared Keslar at 157. In the back half of the dual, we have an interesting matchup with Derek Fields and Holden Heller; Fields has been consistent this year and Heller, who has had a great year so far, is coming off an uncharacteristic loss. Alex Faison will have his hands full with a dangerous Luca Augustine who is starting to make his rise in the rankings. The next two matches are the marquee matches in the dual in my eyes and both pair talented young wrestlers against accomplished veterans. Dylan Fishback will square off with a gritty Reece Heller at 184, followed by Trent Hidlay facing Mac Stout; both of these have the potential for fireworks as all four of them will let it fly. The dual will finish up with Owen Trephan squaring off with Geoff Magin in his first match of the year filling in for an injured Dayton Pitzer. The Wolfpack are favored on paper but Pitt has shown they can hang with any team in the country and have a win over #7 Ohio State already this season. Should be a fun dual and a great way to kick off Friday Night Duals. 125: Jarrett Trombley vs #31 Colton Camacho 133: #5 Kai Orine v #20 Vinnie Sataniello 141: #4 Ryan Jack v #27 Cole Matthews 149: #3 Jackson Arrington v #29 Finn Solomon 157: #7 Ed Scott v Jared Keslar 165: #16 Derek Fields/AJ Kovacs v #11 Holden Heller 174: #32 Alex Faison v #15 Luca Augustine 184: #6 Dylan Fishback v #12 Reece Heller 197: #4 Trent Hidlay v #13 Mac Stout 285: #15 Owen Trephan v Geoff Magin North Carolina at #12 Virginia Tech The Tar Heels head north to Blacksburg to face the Hokies; while Virginia Tech is the favorite, there will be some fun matchups to keep an eye on. Spencer Moore has put together a great start to his season at 10-2 and will face Cooper Flynn, who is shaping up to be a great story. He is 8-2 since coming out of Olympic Redshirt at semester to take over for injured All-American Eddie Ventresca; Flynn has four ranked wins and two over top-3 opponents. Lachlan McNeil has looked phenomenal all year stacking up a 17-2 record with his only losses to #4 Ryan Jack and #1 Real Woods. He will face Tom Crook who came out of redshirt at semester; he is 13-3 on the year and 7-2 at 141. I’ve been impressed with Max Shaw this year and I’m very interested in the matchup at 197 with Andy Smith--they both have the ability to be dynamic scorers but often rely on their defense, so it will be interesting to watch it play off. 184 will also be a big one with Gavin Kane trying to get back on track after some early-season struggles and TJ Stewart getting the nod for the Hokies. 125: #29 Spencer Moore v #8 Cooper Flynn 133: Jace Palmer v #11 Sam Latona 141: #5 Lachlan McNeil v #17 Tom Crook 149: #33 Jayden Scott v #2 Caleb Henson 157: Sonny Santiago v Clayton Ulrey 165: Isaias Estrada v #24 Connor Brady 174: Tyler Eischens v #2 Mekhi Lewis 184: #23 Gavin Kane v TJ Stewart 197: #18 Max Shaw v #26 Andy Smith 285: Cade Lautt v #20 Hunter Catka Virginia at Duke The story of this dual is the return of a large chunk of the UVA lineup from injuries and illness. After talking with Coach Garland, it sounds like several starters will be cleared to go in Durham and will look to get back to form. I’m very interested to see how Marlon Yarbrough and Dylan Cedeno look as they were both wrestling great prior to injuries at Midlands. The match to watch for this dual will be at the top weight with Ryan Catka taking on Connor Barket. Catka has looked solid since taking over after Gabe Christensen went down with a season-ending injury. Barket has been the top wrestler for the Blue Devils with the highlight of his season thus far being an 8th place finish at the Southern Scuffle. 125: Kyle Montaperto v Logan Agin 133: Marlon Yarbrough v Raymond Adams 141: Jack Gioffre v Christian Coleman/Peter Chacon 149: Michael Gioffre/Erik Roggie v Jared Papscy 157: #28 Dylan Cedeno v Logan Ferrero 165: Nick Hamilton v Gaetano Console 174: #12 Justin McCoy v Jack Wimmer 184: Griffin Gammell v Conor Becker 197: Krystian Kinsey v Kwasi Bonsu 285: Ryan Catka v Connor Barket

5. Your Whacky Weekly 125 Watch 125 is so nutty that almost every bout among the top twenty-ish guys has a reverberating effect. A #18 beats a #3? Wouldn’t even be surprising at this point. It’s as if we have one giant tier of 20 capable guys. Here are the best-anticipated matchups at the weight this week. #8-Jore Volk, WYO vs. #17-Stevo Poulin, N. Colorado #14-Michael DeAugustino, MICH vs. #24-Brendan McCrone, tOSU #6-Cooper Flynn, VT vs. #29-Spencer Moore, UNC #13-Brett Ungar, Cornell vs. #21-Diego Sotelo, Harvard #11-Pat McKee, MINN vs. #16-Dean Peterson, RU #7-Noah Surtin, MIZZ vs. #13-Brett Ungar, Cornell #3-Eric Barnett, WISC vs. #12-Caleb Smith, NEB 4. Ohio State Hosts That Team Up North Ohio State is ranked 7th in our Dual Meet Rankings. Michigan is 13th. Both are a little below their preseason expectations. tOSU has been ravaged by injuries to Sammy Sasso, Carson Kharchla, and Gavin Hoffman (that’s three AA’s if you’re counting). Michigan still has the pieces but they haven’t been at full power often. And yet this dual is going to be awesome. For me, the most interesting match is at 174 with Shane Griffith, who was at Stanford, and Rocco Welsh, who was in high school, one year ago at this time. Griffith is a former National Champ and a perennial contender while Welsh was thrust into starting action by the loss of Kharchla. Already ranked #11, Welsh is 12-1 with his only loss coming to #3-Edmond Ruth (2-1). 3. Missouri vs. Cornell There are only two non-conference duals this weekend and this one is a doozy. Missouri has looked great in beating Virginia Tech and nearly blanking ASU. Ranked #3 in our Dual Rankings, they travel to #9-Cornell in what should be a thrilling matchup. Nearly every single bout is ranked-on-ranked. And despite the six-position differential in rankings, Cornell matches up with the Tigers quite nicely. Wrestlestat has it 17-15 for the Big Red. Let’s assume Vito Arajau is in and break it down: 125: #7-Noah Surtin, MIZZ, vs. #13-Brett Ungar, COR 133: #27-Kade Moore, MIZZ vs. #2-Vito Arajau, COR Note: Moore just pinned #11-Sam Latona (Virginia Tech). 141: #23-Josh Edmond, MIZZ vs. #13-Vince Cornella, COR 149: #25-Logan Gioffre, MIZZ vs. #28-Ethan Fernandez, COR 157: #5-Brock Mauller, MIZZ vs. #12-Meyer Shapiro, COR 165: #1-Keegan O’Toole, MIZZ vs. #2-Julian Ramirez, COR 174: #6-Peyton Mocco, MIZZ vs. Benny Baker, COR 184: #11-Clayton Whiting, MIZZ vs. #9-Chris Foca, COR 197: #3-Rocky Elam, MIZZ vs. #8-Jacob Cardenas, COR 285: #6-Zach Elam, MIZZ vs. #18-Lewis Fernandes, COR My Pick: 17-16 Tigers 2. Can Keckeisen Hold Serve? When it was revealed that both Aaron Brooks and Trent Hidlay were moving up, I thought, ‘Keckeisen at 84. Next topic. That feeling was only strengthened when Keckeisen beat Bernie Traux at the All-Star Classic and won CKLV with multiple Top 10 foes. But there’s a big difference between my pick in August or November and getting the job done. This weekend offers Keckeisen the latest test in his preeminence as he’s set to face #2-Dustin Plott. There are four other 184’s ranked in the Top 11 that all reside in the Big 12. So Parker’s work is cut out for him. But this individual bout is the biggest of the weekend and will go far in how the weight is perceived going into conference weekend. Speaking of Northern Iowa, my #1 storyline of the weekend is… 1. Big 12 Bonanza Most weekends during dual season, the Big Ten steals the headlines. And while there will be plenty of great action there, I think the most interesting group of the week is what is essentially a round-robin of duals with #4-OK State, #5-Iowa State, #18-Oklahoma, and #20-Northern Iowa. UNI wrestles OK State on Friday while Iowa State is at OU. 24 hours later, UNI goes to Norman and ISU skips on over to Stillwater. Here are some of the best individual bouts from those four duals: #6-Cael Happel, UNI vs. #9-Tagen Jamison, OKST #14-Ryder Downey, UNI vs. #18-Teague Travis, OKST Note: Downey recently beat #9-Peyton Robb; Travis knocked off #7-Ed Scott. #15-Tyrell Gordon, UNI vs. #9-Konnor Doucet, OKST #8-Anthony Echemendia, ISU vs. #22-Mosha Schwartz, OU #3-Yonger Bastida, ISU vs. #11-Josh Heindselman, OU #20-Troy Spratley, OKST vs. #25-Kysen Terukina, ISU #3-Daton Fix, OKST vs. #7-Evan Frost, ISU #9-Tagen Jamison, OKST vs. #8-Anthony Echemendia, ISU #17-Sammy Alvarez, OKST vs. #10-Casey Swiderski, ISU #18-Teague Travis, OKST vs. #13-Cody Chittum, ISU #4-Izaak Olejnik, OKST vs. #3-David Carr, ISU #2-Dustin Plott, OKST vs. #10-Will Feldkamp, ISU #9-Konnor Doucet, OKST vs. #3-Yonger Bastida, ISU #6-Cael Happel, UNI vs. #22-Mosha Schwartz, OU #23-Wyatt Voelker, UNI vs. #2-Stephen Buchanan, OU #15-Tyrell Gordon, UNI vs. #11-Josh Heindselman, OU

We're officially in the second half of the collegiate wrestling season and have a full schedule of DI duals this week. A total of 45 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. Friday, January 26: George Mason at Bloomsburg 7:00 PM PSAC Digital Network Ohio at Cleveland State 7:00 PM FloWrestling Virginia at Duke 7:00 PM ACC Network Extra Wisconsin at Michigan State 7:00 PM B1G+ Michigan at Ohio State 7:00 PM Big Ten Network NC State at PIttsburgh 7:00 PM ACC Network Columbia at Princeton 7:00 PM ESPN+ Lock Haven at Rider 7:00 PM ESPN+ North Carolina at Virginia Tech 7:00 PM ESPN+ Missouri at West Virginia 7:00 PM ESPN+ Wyoming at Northern Colorado 8:00 PM FloWrestling Nebraska at Northwestern 8:00 PM B1G+ Iowa State at Oklahoma 8:00 PM ESPN+ Northern Iowa at Oklahoma State 8:00 PM ESPN+ Air Force at South Dakota State 8:00 PM FloWrestling Iowa at Illinois 9:00 PM Big Ten Network Little Rock vs. Oregon State at Hillsboro, OR 9:00 PM Saturday, January 27: Appalachian State at Appalachian Open 9:00 AM Harvard at Cornell 12:00 PM ESPN+ LIU at Hofstra 1:00 PM Hofstra Pride YouTube Minnesota at Rutgers 1:00 PM B1G+ Brown at Cornell 2:00 PM ESPN+ Central Michigan at Northern Illinois 2:00 PM NIU All-Access Harvard at Binghamton 5:30 PM ESPN+ Army West Point at Bucknell 6:00 PM Bucknell Athletics YouTube Purdue at Indiana 7:00 PM B1G+ Iowa State at Oklahoma State 7:00 PM ESPN+ Franklin & Marshall at Sacred Heart 7:00 PM NEC Front Row Brown at Binghamton 7:30 PM ESPN+ Northern Iowa at Oklahoma 8:00 PM ESPN+ Sunday, January 28: Queens at Newberry Open 8:00 AM Lock Haven at Mat Town Open II, hosted by Lock Haven 9:30 AM Penn State at Maryland 12:00 PM Big Ten Network Virginia at American 1:00 PM ESPN+ Gardner-Webb at Bellarmine 1:00 PM ESPN+ Missouri at Cornell 1:00 PM ESPN+ Bucknell at Drexel 1:00 PM FloWrestling Clarion at Edinboro 1:00 PM FloWrestling Columbia at Penn 1:00 PM ESPN+ Air Force at North Dakota State 1:30 PM NDSU All-Access Davidson at Chattanooga 2:00 PM ESPN+ Bloomsburg at Rider 2:00 PM ESPN+ Central Michigan at SIU Edwardsville 2:00 PM ESPN+ VMI at The Citadel 2:00 PM ESPN+ Nebraska at Wisconsin 2:00 PM Big Ten Network West Virginia at Morgan State 3:00 PM Morgan State All-Access Navy at North Carolina 3:00 PM ESPN+ Iowa at Northwestern 3:00 PM B1G+ Little Rock at Stanford 6:00 PM Pac-12 Network

Welcome back, all. Sorry about missing last week but some things came up, so my crawl to 100 mailbags took a little pit stop. Some say I ducked but I assure you I was banged up and Earl needs to rest me for the stretch run. I only have so many words in me and it would be foolhardy to use them in the middle of January. But I managed to scrape some together this week like the grinder that I am and you can read them now. Such a strange thing that we live in a world of text now and nobody seems to actually speak to each other anymore. Yet we listen to podcasts and watch people play video games for some reason. Tell you what, growing up in my day when you had to watch your brother play a video game for however long and patiently wait your turn, you’d take umbrage with that whole industry like I do. But that’s neither here nor there. Let’s do some questions. Going weight by weight and seeing how many wrestlers each conference has in the top 10, how close would you say the B12 and others are to catching the B10? Is the gap closing? Jayson Hildreth Fine, I’ll crunch the numbers. Ok, numbers crunched. And I’m not exactly sure what to make of them. It seems the B12 has a pretty solid stronghold on the upper weights with four guys ranked in the top ten at 165, 184, and 285. Three at 197 and only two at 174 puts 17 out of 50 overall for the guys who wrestle after intermission. So just about one-third. That’s not bad. The lightweights only clock in with two at each weight, except 141, which has four. Since I have no other data to compare to, or don’t feel like searching for, it’s hard to tell if a gap has been closed. But it does seem like it. Missouri is as good as anybody in the non-PSU division, Iowa State has reemerged as a powerhouse, Oklahoma State is Oklahoma State, and UNI and South Dakota State are no one to be trifled with. It certainly feels like a more well-rounded conference right now than the Big Ten. I’ll admit that much. I also admit that a few Big Ten teams seem a bit down this year on account of injuries and transfers. Should be fun to see how things shake out in about two months. Who does wrestling Twitter hate the most: AJ Ferrari, Jimmy Cinnabon, or all the ducks? I'll hang up and quack now. Thicccholas Depends on the week. I actually don’t see much chatter on the X about Cinnabon, nor do I know if he’s out there somewhere. Jimmy certainly gets them riled up on the forum, though. If you know, you know. If you don’t, go check out the forum just a click away at the top of the page. But finish reading this first. I’m not doing Ferrari today. There’s just nothing more to discuss right now. We will go through the motions again next year. It’s definitely the ducking situation for lack of a better term. I try to give the benefit of the doubt when it happens but it seems to be getting tougher to justify. The good news is that the lack of marquee matchups during the regular season makes March just that much more exciting. Jags, my brilliant friend, it's been over 46 years since the last @RUWrestling vs Florida dual. When are those golf cart jockeys going to give us a chance to settle the score? Salty Walkon They’d have to get a team first. So…never? Shocking that I wasn’t alive when that happened since I’ve been alive for almost everything. But seriously, there’s no reason why the entire state of Florida can’t have a good three D1 teams at least. I bet they wouldn’t even have to travel. Every team would just want to go there instead. What is the significance of 712 to you? Are you actually representing western Iowa area code, 712? Best unorthodox bracket format for 125 this year? Best of 3 finals, round robin. Do we include feats of strength, Dance offs, or slam poetry readings to crown 125? Burger King of Kings No significance at all. But I dig that it’s an area code in Iowa. Many moons ago in the early days of the internet, I needed an email so I chose Jagger711. Jagger because I’d occasionally crush some Coors Lights and start doing Mick Jagger impressions. 711 was for our family’s race car number. Then for some reason, I needed another email and just went one number up. As the 21st century went on and we needed usernames for everything from online poker to Xbox, it just became my de facto name. That’s it. That’s the story. Truly exhilarating stuff. As far as 125 is concerned, there’s only one answer. Royal Rumble. 33 enter, one leaves with the belt. Speaking of which… How is anyone going to get Omos over the top rope?????? Rhino It’s Rumble weekend! Look, I know there's still some beef from the real wrestling crowd to the scripted stuff, but the Rumble is fun. It’s the only WWE event I even watch anymore. And we have a pool going! I dropped 30 Willie bucks for three lousy numbers where one will certainly be Omos. Then the announcers will act like he can win because he’s seven feet tall and I’ll get all excited before he inevitably gets eliminated by Rey Mysterio or a nostalgia entrant like The Sandman or something. I’ll still pop for it. 30 pops, baby! Go nuts for every guy no matter what! Don't want to talk about "hot seats", Some coaches are reaching retirement age. Gable retired at 50, Nichols at 68. Does John Smith (58), Brands (55), Manning (65?), Koll (58?), Dresser (61), Zeke (57), retire first? Burger King of Questions You would think Manning strictly by age but who knows. I just feel like it’s a new generation and these guys don’t feel as old as their age would indicate. I don’t feel as old as my age indicates. It’s just the times we live in. And do they want to retire anytime soon? Each one of them has put in a lifetime of work to get to where they are. It’s what they do. It’s how they’re programmed. Other than maybe John Smith, I can see all these guys doing it until they’re 70 and riding off into the sunset. Which is exactly what I’m going to do right now. Have a great weekend!

Dual meets, dual meets and more dual meets. As we go into another weekend of B1G Ten dual meets, we look back at last week’s matchups. We had some duals that lived up to some of our expectations, a few guys whose stock is going up and another that’s going down and Claunch delves into his experience on the call for Michigan’s dual last week. Stock up: Michael Blockhus; Stock down: Peyton Robb There might not be anyone having a better start of the new year than Michael Blockhus. He returned with one goal in mind and so far it looks like he’s on the right track. Last week he took out Jared Franek with a last minute takedown then followed it up with a dominating win over Peyton Robb four days later. Now he’s jumped to No. 6 in the rankings. Earlier this week, I got to catch up with Blockhus to talk about his big wins, returning to the Gophers’ lineup for his final year, and his fighting future. On the opposite side is Robb who didn’t just take a loss to Blockhus last week, but was pinned by Joey Blaze of Purdue. That notched Robb’s fourth straight loss. This weekend the Huskers head to Evanston, IL to face Northwestern where Robb will look to get back to his winning ways. A Curse at 125 Ends … We all know what kind of powerhouse Penn State has been for the last million years, but a spot in Coach Cael Sanderson’s lineup that hasn’t been at the championship level is at 125-pounds. As mentioned in the season preview, Nico Megaludis was the last guy in this weight class to sport a Nittany Lion singlet and make the podium. All of that could be over as freshman Braeden Davis has been a very bright, and so far undefeated, presence in their line up. It took a bit for him to stand above PSU’s other options here, but now he’s manning the spot in the line up and in the No. 4 spot in the rankings. He’s also the only guy in the weight class who hasn’t taken a loss yet this season. … And Another Curse at 125 Continues It seems like ages ago when we would occasionally get a No. 1 versus No. 2 battle in the regular season. It doesn’t always happen, but it certainly feels like it used to happen more often than it has of late. Last Friday night, we were lucky enough to see it with Purdue’s Matt Ramos, then ranked second in the country at 125, facing off against Iowa’s No. 1 ranked Drake Ayala in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Purdue, as a team, wasn’t expected to win the dual meet as a whole, but in what was clearly the biggest match of the night, the Boilermaker got a solid win and once again beat a top ranked Hawkeye in a big moment. Was it purposeful that they wore the silver and gold singlets that were worn on that fateful night last March? Probably right? Either way Iowa ran away with the majority of the other matches as expected. Shoutout to Joey Blaze wrestling tough against Jared Franek, and James Rowley getting the win at 184, but Iowa as a unit is still proving to be one of the toughest teams in the country. Iowa will be traveling to Illinois this weekend as they take on the Fighting Illini this Friday, and Northwestern this Sunday. Purdue, as referenced above, will be taking on the Hoosiers in Bloomington Saturday night. Terrapins v Hoosiers did not disappoint Two weeks ago we released our top B1G duals list for the season, and I’m sure some of you scoffed at my assertion that this dual was worthy of your time and energy. Well, those of you who trust my judgment were rewarded, and those who don’t still have time to watch what was a back and forth exciting affair from start to finish. Maryland won three of the first four matches, with their predictable and consistent studs from 133 through 149 providing a lot of that firepower. Brayton Lee jumped in for Indiana at 157, and looked like the Brayton Lee of old, racking up a ton of points on his way to a 15-4 major decision. Indiana took the lead with four straight wins headed into 197, where Jaxon Smith was able to get the overtime win to bring it to the last match. The Hoosiers at home stepped up and didn’t allow this dual to go to criteria for the second straight year. Nick Willham at Heavyweight got a gritty win with a late takedown to get away with a 4-2 victory and seal it for the Hoosiers. Next up Indiana will host Purdue this Saturday to see which team owns the state of Indiana, while Maryland hosts Penn State this Sunday. Calling a dual is super fun I figured it would be, but I greatly underestimated how much fun I was going to have calling the Michigan vs Rutgers dual last Sunday. Shoutout to Malik Amine for being the calming and veteran presence on the mic with me, and his professionalism as he prepared his notes ahead of time and walked me through what we were going to do to get going. The dual itself really made it easy though. From beginning to end, there were some close and exciting matches and ranked wrestlers up and down the lineup. Michigan got the better end of the lower weights, with wins at 125 through 141 to start the dual, in a series of ranked matches. The most exciting being the true freshman in Sergio Lemley, who needed three different match winning takedowns to get the win over the veteran Mitch Moore. The gritty Scarlet Knights got on the board with a win at 149, and eventually again at 197 as Poznanski took out redshirt freshman Rylan Rogers. Lucas Davison finished things off with a solid win over the transfer from Harvard, Yaraslau Slavikouski, in a top 10 matchup. Michigan wrestles Ohio State this Friday, as Rutgers hosts Minnesota this Saturday afternoon. Bonus Points Check out this week’s Conference Crossover Conversation as Holmes, Claunch, Wendell and Sommer discuss all of the latest happenings in the collegiate wrestling world. The foursome also hit on Minnesota/Nebraska, Penn State/Michigan, coaches rankings and much more.

I imagine you’ve seen a movie or TV show where the main character finds themselves in a precarious predicament and says “You’re probably wondering how I got here.” Or perhaps that’s made it across your screen in a meme format. Either way, that character usually narrates all of the events that led up to the mess they find themselves in. Well, for more than two months now, wrestling fans/coaches/media members have lamented about how crazy the 125 lb weight class has been this year. InterMat has gone through four different #1’s this year and has gone back to the original one (for now) in Matt Ramos. Other sites have had two and three other #1’s. #2’s have suffered a similar fate. Luke Stanich ascending to the second spot this week makes six different wrestlers who have held that ranking for some length of time. The craziness isn’t limited to the top of the weight class, they’ve happened up and down the entire weight class. I stopped being shocked at anything this weight had to offer a few weeks ago. That leads us to the question I’m seeking to answer today. “You’re probably wondering how we got here.” In my 16 years of covering collegiate wrestling, I’ve never seen a weight class like this. How did we get to the point where chaos and unpredictability are well, predictable? photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com Graduation Hopefully, we never have to endure a similar situation as was presented to the world and the wrestling community as we did in 2020 and 2021 during the COVID era. The NCAA mandated that athletes retaining eligibility during the 2020-21 school year would have a “free year” of eligibility. That was good for the student-athletes impacted by the Covid shutdown, but it’s created a backlog of athletes, which we are still feeling the impact. For the purposes of this article, we will use the terms “seniors” and “graduation” to indicate a wrestler's final year of eligibility and them exhausting said eligibility. We understand that some of those seniors may have already technically graduated. For proof of this backlog, look no further than the 125 lb weight class at the 2023 NCAA Championships. It featured five seniors who ended up on the NCAA podium. Five sounds like a lot, huh? For context, 125 lbs has never had five seniors earn All-American honors in the history of the weight class; which dates back to 1999. You’d have to go back to when the smallest weight class was 118 lbs in 1994 to find such a year. For context, two of the All-Americans that year, Sammie Henson and Kevin Roberts, have sons who are currently ranked wrestlers (Wyatt and Drew) in 2024. Basically, we haven’t seen a similar exodus of top-tier talent from 125 lbs in 30 years. And not just any seniors, wrestlers like Patrick Glory and Spencer Lee, who were penciled in at or near the top of the national rankings for their entire careers. Though he had a few ups and downs, Brandon Courtney was a constant at the top of the weight for much of the last three seasons. Liam Cronin really took the next step in his final year at Nebraska and was very consistent in 2022-23. Killian Cardinale was generally consistent too; however, he missed significant time throughout his final two years because of injuries. When you have a wrestler or two of the caliber of the graduated seniors from 2023, they’ll push the rest of the weight class down a notch or two and suddenly, a wrestler that’s ranked sixth in the nation getting upset doesn’t seem as severe as number two losing. photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com Recruiting If you look back at the last eight NCAA champions at 125 lbs, you’ll notice a slight trend. Excluding, Darian Cruz in 2017, all of the champions since 2015 at this weight class have been blue-chip recruits. Like the top of the top. Cruz wasn’t shabby either at #37 in the Class of 2013. The others: Patrick Glory #17 in 2018 Spencer Lee #2 in 2017 Nico Megaludis #3 in 2011 Nathan Tomasello #6 in 2013 Everyone loves a good underdog story and seeing an unheralded recruit develop into a super-stud in college. But the reality is that the vast majority of wrestlers competing for DI national titles were at the top of their respective graduating classes and were ready to compete in college from day one. Looking at the NCAA finals from 2023, 12 of the 20 finalists were ranked in the top ten of their recruiting classes. Four others were between 12-20. Two more came in between 21-30. Finally, there were two wrestlers who didn’t appear in the final MatScouts big board during their senior year of high school (Matt Ramos and Tanner Sloan at 197 lbs). So, how does that impact the current crop of 125 lber? Well, there just aren’t that many blue, blue-chip 125’s running around these days. The Class of 2023 only had one projected 125 lber amongst MatScouts top-30 seniors. That was Marc-Anthony McGowan who inked with Princeton. McGowan was injured in the preseason and has deferred enrollment until fall 2024. The Class of 2022 only had one projected 125 lber amongst MatScouts top-30 seniors. That was Troy Spratley, who originally signed and redshirted at Minnesota before transferring and assuming the starting role at Oklahoma State this season. Now getting really elite, the only wrestlers in the top-ten of their recruiting class and who have competed at 125 lbs in high school since the Lee/Vito Arujau year of 2017 are Richie Figueroa, Drake Ayala,, and Dean Peterson. Those three came in at three, four, and ten, respectively, in the Class of 2021. So, within the last four years, we haven’t had any freshmen Levi Haines’, Carter Starocci’s, Keegan O’Toole’s, or AJ Ferrari’s at 125 lbs. Those are all wrestlers who came in and immediately declared themselves national title threats, as freshmen. Of this bunch, only Starocci redshirted. Looking at the 125 lb All-American list since the Covid-restart in 2021, the only freshmen that have made the national podium during those three NCAA tournaments are Eddie Ventresca and Sam Latona; coincidentally, both from Virginia Tech. That’s the list. Most people assume that because of the size, freshmen are more likely to win earlier at 125 lbs. To really compete at nationals, individually and as a team, you have to have the horses. One problem with this weight is there isn’t a consistent number of thoroughbreds coming into college each year. For comparison’s sake, three times since the loaded Class of 2017, has the top overall recruit been a heavyweight (Nick Feldman/’22, Greg Kerkvliet/’19, Gable Steveson/’18). Other top-three recruits in that span include Cohlton Schultz/’19 and Mason Parris/’18. Is it a surprise that 285 lbs has been as good as ever in the past few years? It’s no secret that finding a four-year starter (and a star) at 125 lbs remains one of the hardest commodities on the market for collegiate coaches. Which brings us to: photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com Logjams Coaches know that finding a four-year starter at 125 lbs is a difficult proposition so they tend to take as many swings at the pinata as possible. We’ll address moving up to 133 lbs next, but that’s always a possibility, so you need a contingency plan. If a 157 lber suddenly can’t make the weight, you can bump up 149’s or even 141’s in a pinch. That’s not the case at 125. That problem leads to some logjams at 125. One of Penn State’s breakout stars this season has been true freshman Braeden Davis. With Davis in the starting lineup, the Nittany Lions now have Robbie Howard, Kurt McHenry, and Gary Steen on the bench. Would those three be All-Americans this year? Probably not; however, if they were at another school, they would likely represent upgrades from their current 125 lb situation. Cornell also has Greg Diakomihalis, Ohio State got to redshirt Vinny Kilkeary after Brendan McCrone’s emergence, and Virginia Tech has the Cooper Flynn/Ventresca tandem. The two went back-and-forth for the majority of the 2022-23 season when Ventresca was healthy. In addition to Jakob Camacho, NC State has 2023 ACC champion Jarrett Trombley and Troy Hohman, who has wins over two ranked 125’s. Though Luke Stanich has been a standout for Lehigh, Sheldon Seymour has gotten a lot of work and owns a 12-3 record. Looking back at the 2022-23 season, there were three wrestlers, currently ranked in the top-20, who sat behind All-Americans. Flynn with Ventresca, Richie Figueroa behind Brandon Courtney, and Spratley who was behind Patrick McKee at Minnesota. This isn’t the number one factor; however, were some of these wrestlers spread out amongst 125 lb-needy schools, it could lead to more stability at the weight. photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com Moving Up It’s no secret - expecting 19 to 23-year-old young men to make 125 lbs 16 different times (as Matt Ramos did) in a year is brutal. It’s more common at 125 than any other collegiate weight, that a wrestler will need to move up at some point in their collegiate careers. Looking at the current national rankings, there are nine ranked 133 lbers that started their collegiate careers wrestling at 125. They are: Vito Arujau (Cornell), Dylan Shawver (Rutgers), Michael Colaiocco (Penn), Sam Latona (Virginia Tech), Brody Teske (Iowa), Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska), Braxton Brown (Maryland), Dom Zaccone (Campbell), Mason Leiphart (F&M) The first four wrestlers are ranked in the top-11 at 133 lbs. Arujau and Latona have both placed in the top-six at 125 lbs; along with earning All-American honors at 133. Could wrestlers of their caliber, not to mention the five below them, held 125 (and done so in a healthy/productive manner) they would be top contenders at the weight, making the top-tier look much less volatile. Shawver could qualify for this category and the “logjam” mention as he moved up to 133 after losing a wrestle-off to Dean Peterson last season. Looking at InterMat’s current rankings, you’ll find a pair of true freshmen in the top-five at 125 lbs with #2 Luke Stanich and #4 Braeden Davis. That could mean more stability in the future, right? Not necessarily. There are already rumblings out of Bethlehem that Stanich could end up as a 141 lber at some point during his collegiate career. If you pay attention, you’ll notice Lehigh’s staff has been very deliberate about his usage at the weight. Like Stanich, some initially saw Davis as a 133 lber. That makes sense as his fourth Michigan State title was won at 138 lbs. Top high seniors of Davis’ caliber often bump up in weight for team purposes or for comfort, so that likely wasn’t his ideal weight class. Yet, at the same time, it’s hard to imagine him staying at 125 for another three seasons. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there were a pair of notable 133’s that moved down to 125 this season. Brayden Palmer (Chattanooga) and Jack Maida (American) both qualified for nationals at 133 last season. Both have had their moments at 125, but also some unusual losses. And some strategic times out of the lineup. If the weight cut goes well, both will be bigger and stronger than most opponents. If it doesn’t, they could be in trouble. Which obviously could lead to unpredictable results. photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com Styles Clash This is something that only really applies to a couple key members of this weight class; however, it can’t be totally overlooked. Who are the only two multiple-time All-Americans currently at 125 lbs? Correct, seniors Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) and Patrick McKee. Both are highly decorated and capable of ending up on the top step of the podium in mid-March. At the same time, neither will ever go undefeated. In theory and in practice (as both already have multiple losses this year). Both Barnett and McKee are the type of wrestlers that are fun for fans to watch. They both have the mindset of possibly surrendering a takedown if it puts them in position to earn back points. Against most opponents, they’ll have the talent and experience to prevail in precarious situations. Or come back from a deficit. However, there are a couple occasions where time runs out during a frantic comeback or they’ve dug themselves too big of a hole. As I said earlier, I wouldn’t be shocked if either of them won an NCAA title. But over the course of a season, each will go up and down in the rankings, a bit. That’s different from other weight classes where the most credentialed members rarely drop from the top-four and don’t generally lose to wrestlers from outside of that group. photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com Injuries Wrestling in college is brutal. That’s not new news for anyone reading this. It’s particularly bad at 125 lbs when you have a wrestler who’s likely cutting more weight than you probably should. Heavyweights know not to take errant shots for fear of a 260 lb man dropping down on their head and neck. 125’s typically attack more, leading them to getting overextended on shots and getting into gnarly scrambles where knees are twisted in directions they’re not intended to bend. We went through a stretch in the late 2000’s-early 2010’s where the NCAA title was won by an underclassman, however, they were too beaten down as seniors to go out on top. Angel Escobedo, Troy Nickerson, Matt McDonogh, Jesse Delgado all fit the bill. Spencer Lee’s entire career was marred by injuries, though it was difficult to tell because of his dominance. I don’t have the stats to back this up and most wrestlers and coaches don’t necessarily want to talk about injuries while they’re still active, but it “seems” like they have taken a toll on elite 125’s more than any other weight. We might have to wait until late-March or April, to find out more about the injury status of some of today’s 125 lbers. That being said, one promising 125 lber, still active, whose career has been derailed by injuries is Penn State’s Robbie Howard. Howard was a very highly touted recruit for the Nittany Lions who made the 2021 national tournament as a true freshman. During that abridged season, he logged wins over Dylan Ragusin, Dylan Shawver, Malik Heinselman, and Jack Medley. Had he not spent two years away from collegiate competition, he may have been someone near the top of the rankings today and Davis would be in the midst of a redshirt season. One other potential contender who’s dealt with his fair share of injuries has been Michael DeAugustino. In 2019-20, as a redshirt freshman, the previously unheralded DeAugustino finished third in the Big Ten, earning a ninth seed at the ill-fated 2020 national tournament. He’d receive first-team All-American honors from the NWCA. Since then, DeAugustino has spent significant time away from the mat and in the training room. Last year, he only saw action in nine matches before going to the Last Chance Open on the final weekend of the regular season. DeAugustino made the semifinals of the 2023 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational before suffering an apparent knee injury against Brett Ungar (Cornell). He just returned to the mat on January 12th. Another wrestler assumed to be a contender at 125 lbs this year has dealt with injuries. Richie Figueroa has been sidelined on two separate occasions this year. We’ll see if that has any long-term impact on the 2024 national tournament and his career. Summary Those are some of the reasons why we are where we are at 125 lbs today. Remember, it isn’t something that happened overnight or when the calendar turned to November and the 2023-24 season began. This has been in the works for a few years now. It was easy to overlook these past couple of years when you have Spencer Lee, Nick Suriano, and Patrick Glory atop the rankings. Because of the reasons stated above, I don’t foresee this changing for the remainder of the season. A good sign for the future is that six of the top-ten wrestlers at the weight are either freshmen or sophomores. As they get more experience, consistency may follow. Also, looking ahead to next season, the top recruit in the Class of 2024 Luke Lilledahl, is projected to compete at 125 lbs. Of course, he’s signed with Penn State, so maybe that leads to more logjam-type issues, though redshirts could be used. In 2025, Cornell commit Anthony Knox is currently ranked fourth in his class and could stay at 125. But until then, enjoy the rest of this action-packed movie that we call 125 lbs, it’s a roller coaster ride!

As we enter the final stretch of Duals before the Standings Tournament, we have three weeks to try and get into (or stay in) the Top-4 of your league. With Dual Season in full swing, bracketed tourneys are becoming fewer and Fewer but also grow in huge point swings (for and against you!). This week we have two major tournaments with lots of D1 competition in the Appalachian Open and The Mat Town Open II. 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: Jakob Camacho (NCST)- Appalachian Open Charlie Farmer (ARMY)- Mat Town Open II Luke Stanich (LEH)- Mat Town Open II Jett Strickenberger (WVU)- Mat Town Open II Drake Ayala (IOWA)- @ Illinois , @ Northwestern [+8] Ethan Berginc (ARMY)- @ Bucknell [+5] Braeden Davis (PSU)- @ Maryland [+5] Matt Ramos (PUR)- @ Indiana [+5] Brayden Palmer (CHAT)- Vs Davidson [+4] Jack Maida (AMER)- Vs Virginia [+3] Joseph Fischer (CLAR)- @ Edinboro [+3] Michael DeAugustino (MICH)- @ Ohio State [+3] Nico Provo (STAN)- Vs Little Rock [+3] Cooper Flynn (VT)- Vs North Carolina [+3] 133: Ethan Oakley (APP)- Appalachian Open Vito Arujau (COR)- Vs Brown, Vs Harvard, Vs Missouri [+12] Nasir Bailey (LR)- @ Oregon State , @ Stanford [+8] Daton Fix (OKST)- Vs UNI, Vs Iowa State [+7] Aaron Nagao (PSU)- @ Maryland [+4] Derrick Cardinal (SDSU)- Vs Air Force [+4] Blake Boarman (CHAT)- Vs Davidson [+3] Mason Leiphart (F&M)- Vs Sacred Heart [+3] Kai Orine (NCST)- @ Pittsburgh [+3] Dominick Serrano (UNCO)- Vs Wyoming [+3] Dylan Shawver (RUT)- Vs Minnesota [+3] Sam Latona (VT)- Vs North Carolina [+3] 141: Mac Church (VT)- Appalachian Open Hunter Mason (VT)- Appalachian Open Carter Bailey (LEH)- Mat Town Open II Joseph Olivieri (RUT)- Mat Town Open II Real Woods (IOWA)- @ Illinois , @ Northwestern [+9] Wyatt Henson (LHU)- Vs George Mason, @ Rider [+8] Brock Hardy (NEB)- @ Northwestern , @ Wisconsin [+8] Lachlan McNeil (UNC)- @ Virginia Tech , @ Navy [+6] Isaiah Powe (CHAT)- Vs Davidson [+5] Dylan Layton (CSU)- Vs Ohio [+4] Jesse Mendez (OHST)- Vs Michigan [+4] Cole Brooks (WYO)- @ Northern Colorado [+4] Pat Phillips (F&M)- Vs Sacred Heart [+3] Ryan Jack (NCST)- @ Pittsburgh [+3] Cleveland Belton (ORST)- Vs Little Rock [+3] Clay Carlson (SDSU)- Vs Air Force [+3] Beau Bartlett (PSU)- @ Maryland [+3] 149: Jeremiah Price (APP)- Appalachian Open Jayden Scott (UNC)- Appalachian Open Drew Munch (LEH)- Mat Town Open II Ty Watters (WVU)- Vs Missouri, @ Morgan State [+8] Colton Washleski (RID)- Vs Lock Haven, Vs Bloomsburg [+7] Ridge Lovett (WISC)- @ Michigan State , Vs Nebraska [+7] Corbyn Munson (CMU)- @ Northern Illinois, @ SIU-Edwardsville [+6] Eligh Rivera (PRIN)- Vs Columbia [+4] Caleb Henson (VT)- Vs North Carolina [+4] Gabe Willochell (WYO)- @ Northern Colorado [+4] Noah Castillo (CHAT)- Vs Davidson [+3] Noah Tapia (HOF)- Vs Long Island [+3] Jackson Arrington (NCST)- @ Pittsburgh [+3] Alek Martin (SDSU)- Vs Air Force [+3] Jaden Abas (STAN)- Vs Little Rock [+3] 157: Luke Nichter (DREX)- Mat Town Open II Jacob Butler (RUT)- Mat Town Open II Caleb Dowling (WVU)- Mat Town Open II Peyton Robb (NEB)- @ Northwestern , @ Wisconsin [+7] Johnny Lovett (CMU)- @ Northern Illinois, @ SIU-Edwardsville [+6] Jared Franek (IOWA)- @ Illinois , @ Northwestern [+6] Ed Scott (NCST)- @ Pittsburgh [+5] Cael Swensen (SDSU)- Vs Air Force [+5] Alejandro Herrera (CLAR)- @ Edinboro [+4] Peyten Kellar (OHIO)- @ Cleveland State [+4] Chase Saldate (MSU)- Vs Wisconsin [+4] Daniel Cardenas (STAN)- Vs Little Rock [+4] Will Lewan (MICH)- @ Ohio State [+3] Michael Blockhus (MINN)- @ Rutgers [+3] Levi Haines (PSU)- @ Maryland [+3] Lucas Revano (PENN)- Vs Columbia [+3] 165: Hunter Mays (LEH)- Mat Town Open II Michael Caliendo (IOWA)- @ Illinois , @ Northwestern [+7] Dean Hamiti (WISC)- @ Michigan State , Vs Nebraska [+7] Noah Mulvaney (BUCK)- Vs Army, @ Drexel [+6] Keegan O’Toole (MIZZ)- @ West Virginia, @ Cornell [+6] Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU)- @ Maryland [+5] Garrett Thompson (OHIO)- @ Cleveland State [+4] Andrew Cerniglia (NAVY)- @ North Carolina [+4] Kaya Sement (PENN)- Vs Columbia [+3] Holden Heller (PITT)- Vs NC State [+3] Connor Brady (VT)- Vs North Carolina [+3] 174: Sammy Starr (NAVY)- Mat Town Open II Justin McCoy (UVA)- @ Duke, @ American [+9] Phil Conigliaro (HARV)- @ Cornell, @ Binghamton [+7] Alex Cramer (CMU)- @ Northern Illinois, @ SIU-Edwardsville [+6] Peyton Mocco (MIZZ)- @ West Virginia, @ Cornell [+6] Carter Starocci (PSU)- @ Maryland [+5] Sergio Desiante (CHAT)- Vs Davidson [+4] John Worthing (CLAR)- @ Edinboro [+4] Donnell Washington (IND)- Vs Purdue [+4] Nick Incontrera (PENN)- Vs Columbia [+4] Cade DeVos (SDSU)- Vs Air Force [+4] Sal Perrine (OHIO)- @ Cleveland State [+3] Noah Fox (F&M)- Vs Sacred Heart [+3] Ross McFarland (HOF)- Vs Long Island [+3] Danny Wask (NAVY)- @ North Carolina [+3] Jackson Turley (RUT)- Vs Minnesota [+3] Mekhi Lewis (VT)- Vs North Carolina [+3] 184: Sam Fisher (VT)- Appalachian Open Chris Foca (COR)- Vs Harvard, Vs Brown, Vs Missouri [+12] Jacob Nolan (BING)- Vs Harvard, Vs Brown [+7] Lenny Pinto (NEB)- @ Northwestern , @ Wisconsin [+7] Parker Keckeisen (UNI)- @ Oklahoma State , @ Oklahoma [+7] Michael Bartush (BUCK)- Vs Army, @ Drexel [+6] Cameron Pine (CLAR)- @ Edinboro [+4] James Conway (F&M)- Vs Sacred Heart [+4] Anthony D’Elesio (LIU)- @ Hofstra [+4] Trey Munoz (ORST)- Vs Little Rock [+4] Bernie Truax (PSU)- @ Maryland [+4] Zayne Lehman (OHIO)- @ Cleveland State [+3] Gabe Sollars (IND)- Vs Purdue [+3] 197: Sonny Sasso (VT)- Appalachian Open Lou DePrez (BING)- Vs Harvard, Vs Brown [+9] Silas Allred (NEB)- @ Northwestern , @ Wisconsin [+8] Zach Glazier (IOWA)- @ Illinois , @ Northwestern [+6] Stephen Buchanan (OU)- Vs Iowa State , Vs UNI [+6] Tanner Sloan (SDSU)- Vs Air Force [+5] John Crawford (F&M)- Vs Sacred Heart [+4] Trent Hidlay (NCST)- @ Pittsburgh [+4] Joey Novak (WYO)- @ Northern Colorado [+4] Aaron Brooks (PSU)- @ Maryland [+3] Luke Stout (PRIN)- Vs Columbia [+3] John Poznanski (RUT)- Vs Minnesota [+3] 285: Jimmy Mullen (VT)- Appalachian Open Wyatt Hendrickson (AF)- @ South Dakota State , @ North Dakota State [+10] Cory Day (BING)- Vs Harvard, Vs Brown [+8] Zach Elam (MIZZ)- @ West Virginia, @ Cornell [+6] Ryan Catka (UVA)- @ Duke, @ American [+6] Keaton Kluever (HOF)- Vs Long Island [+4] Owen Trephan (NCST)- @ Pittsburgh [+4] Greg Kerkvliet (PSU)- @ Maryland [+4] Nick Wilham (IND)- Vs Purdue [+3] Xavier Doolin (UNCO)- Vs Wyoming [+3] Yaraslau Slavikouski (RUT)- Vs Minnesota [+3] Hunter Catka (VT)- Vs North Carolina [+3]

On Monday the NCAA published the first coaches’ ranking for the 2024 Division I Wrestling Championships. These rankings are one of the criteria used to determine at-large selections and tournament seeding. With the rankings having such a large impact on the season, we thought it would be an interesting exercise to compare the InterMat rankings with the hierarchy established by the 14-coach committee. Naturally, there are a few large caveats that heavily contribute to some of the differences in rankings. First, coaches can only consider a wrestler who has been designated as a starter for his team. Second, in order to be ranked, a wrestler must have at least eight matches against Division-I opposition and must have wrestled against a Division-I opponent in the last 30 days. Third, the coaches’ rankings were submitted on Jan. 19, while the InterMat rankings were updated this past Tuesday. These pesky rules account for a large degree of the divergence between the two sets of rankings, but they can’t explain it all. Let’s look at the wrestlers in each weight class with the biggest difference in rankings. 125: Nico Provo (Stanford) InterMat 19 - Coaches 10 After qualifying for the NCAA tournament as a true freshman last season, Provo got off to a strong start to his sophomore campaign. He won the Cliff Keen Invitational and finished second at the Southern Scuffle. Last Sunday, he hit a bit of a speed bump as he dropped an overtime match against Max Gallagher (Penn), but he managed to turn things around with a victory over Desmond Pleasant (Drexel) later that afternoon. Provo appears destined to find his way back to the NCAA tournament again this year, and the recent loss likely contributed to his lower InterMat ranking. 133: Nasir Bailey (Little Rock) InterMat 13 - Coaches 6 Bailey has been a revelation for the surprisingly solid Little Rock squad. The true freshman currently holds a 17-2 record on the season with his only losses coming against Dominick Serrano (Northern Colorado) and Vito Arujau (Cornell). Both Arujau and Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) are ineligible to be ranked due to a lack of matches. However, Bailey still jumped multiple ranked wrestlers including No. 8 Dylan Shawver (Rutgers), No. 10 Michael Colaiocco (Penn) and No. 11 Sam Latona (Virginia Tech). Bailey’s best win is likely over No. 7 Evan Frost (Iowa State) who the coaches have ranked fifth. Regardless of where he stands in the InterMat rankings, Bailey will certainly find himself with a quality seed if he keeps on winning. 141: Mitch Moore (Rutgers) InterMat 20 - Coaches 11 Now in his sixth year of collegiate wrestling, Moore has made solid use of the transfer portal. After starting his career at Virginia Tech, he transferred to Oklahoma and now he is in the starting lineup for Rutgers. He started his likely final season of college with a 10-match undefeated streak. However, he dropped a 5-1 decision against No. 30 Jordan Hamdan (Michigan State) on Friday and followed that up with a sudden victory defeat against No. 19 Sergio Lemley (Michigan) on Sunday. Those two losses caused him to fall from 11th to 20th in the InterMat rankings, which means the two sets of rankings were perfectly in sync before the weekend’s results. 149: Willie McDougald (Oklahoma) InterMat 32 - Coaches 15 McDougald made the 2022 NCAA tournament before redshirting last season. In his return to the lineup, he has been hovering around a qualification spot. After a tough start to the year that saw him lose three of his first four matches, he settled down and picked up some solid wins over No. 7 Ty Watters (West Virginia) and Oklahoma State’s Jordan Williams. The difference between McDougald’s InterMat ranking and the coaches’ ranking is actually the biggest across all 10 weight classes. On top of that, it can’t really be explained by recent results since McDougald has not wrestled since dropping a decision against No. 23 Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin) on Jan. 12. However, there are eight wrestlers ranked by InterMat that are currently ineligible for the coaches’ rank including No. 6 Austin Gomez (Michigan), No. 8 Kannon Webster (Illinois) and No. 10 Casey Swiderski (Iowa State). 157: Michael North (Maryland) InterMat 33 - Coaches 25 On Jan. 14, North picked up the biggest victory of his season. He was holding on to a one-point lead against Trevor Chumbley (Northwestern) in the third period when in a scramble he scored the fall. The ranked victory helped solidify the Maryland wrestler’s spot in the rankings, but unfortunately for him, he was not able to keep the momentum going. Last weekend, he dropped a pair of major decisions against No. 30 Isaac Wilcox (Ohio State) and No. 20 Brayton Lee (Indiana). North will likely remain in this range of the rankings as he moves through the Big Ten season, and he should be in a spot to earn qualification come tournament time. 165: Chris Moore (Illinois) InterMat 24 - Coaches 31 Moore has been thrust into a starting spot as a true freshman. So far he has competed in four dual meet matches and wrestled in the Midlands. His record currently stands at 7-5 after he was pinned by No. 21 Bryce Hepner (Ohio State) on Jan. 12. InterMat is clearly higher on Moore than the coaches as we have him ranked seven spots higher. The issue will likely resolve itself as he moves through the meat grinder that is the Big Ten schedule. It will certainly be a tough path to the NCAA tournament for the true freshman. 174: Rocco Welsh (Ohio State) InterMat 11 - Coaches 23 Welsh came to Ohio State as a highly regarded recruit, and he has not disappointed. Prior to last weekend, he held a 10-1 record with his only loss coming against Edmond Ruth (Illinois). Despite the impressive record, Welsh had not faced the toughest level of opposition. This past weekend, he scored a major decision over former NCAA qualifier Dominic Solis (Maryland) and a decision over No. 12 Max Maylor (Wisconsin). The win over Maylor, which was not taken into account by the coaches, likely accounts for the difference in rankings. 184: Aaron Ayzerov (Columbia) InterMat 30 - Coaches 21 The coaches appear to be much higher on Ayzerov. They currently have him ranked nine spots higher in the rankings. The third-year wrestler currently holds a 9-8 record and has picked up signature wins over No. 9 Chris Foca (Cornell) and No. 32 Seth Shumate (Ohio State). Ayzerov does have a fair share of losses, but the defeats have mostly come against ranked wrestlers. It's possible that the coaches are not penalizing him for losses against higher-ranked wrestlers. He will likely need to pick up several more quality wins to hold his spot in the rankings. 197: Levi Hopkins (Campbell) InterMat 20 - Coaches 16 Hopkins qualified for his first NCAA tournament last season and finished with a 25-10 record. He has returned this season, and so far, he has built an 18-6 record. Since the David Lehman Open, he has won four straight matches with three of those victories coming with bonus points. Last Sunday, he scored a first-period fall over Cameo Blankenship (Davidson) in a SoCon dual. Considering there are no other SoCon wrestlers currently ranked by InterMat, it might be difficult for Hopkins to pick up signature wins at this point in the season. His current status in the coaches’ rank will likely help him in terms of qualification and seeding. 285: Boone McDermott (Oregon State) InterMat 17 - Coaches 11 McDermott is now on his third school since starting his collegiate wrestling career in 2018. He started at Iowa Central before spending the last three seasons at Rutgers where he was an NCAA qualifier. So far for the Beavers, McDermott has gone 11-6, but the recent results have been somewhat rough. Since the Cliff Keen Invitational, he has lost all three of his matches. He fell via technical fall against No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) in early January. Last weekend, he was pinned by No. 23 Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly) on Friday before dropping a 2-1 decision in rideouts against No. 9 Konner Doucet (Oklahoma State) on Sunday. The last two losses were not taken into account by the coaches. That likely explains the majority of the six-spot differential.

Ladies and gents, we’re back and we’re rocking and rolling with the SoCon regular season schedule - the weekend began on Friday, with Bellarmine hosting Presbyterian College, besting the Blue Hose 40-9. The dual weighed heavily in the Knights’ favor, winning eight out of the ten bouts. Key moments in the match for Presbyterian were at 141 and 184 - Rey Ortiz (141, PC) secured 6 team points after pinning Shay Korhorn (BU), followed by 184 lber Caleb Roe (PC), clinching a 9-3 victory over Sam Schroeder (BU). Bellarmine had one pin, four technical falls, two major decisions, received a forfeit, and a partridge in a pear tree. Wait - that was last month… But back to the action - the Knights had a stellar showing, pushing forward with an undefeated 11-0 season. Chattanooga traveled to Durham to face off against the ACC’s Duke University, picking up the first of two wins of their weekend on the road. This was the Mocs’ first ACC victory since a 2016 victory over UVA, winning 8 out of 10 bouts. #23 Brayden Palmer (125), whose redshirt was pulled in December, kicked off the dual with a 9-0 decision over Logan Agin (Duke). The Mocs were set up to win the following six matches - and one last win at 197. It was a bonus-point bonanza - Boarman (133), Powe (141), and Desiante (174) served up technical falls; while #25 Noah Castillo (149), Heck (157), and Harper (197) followed suit with major decision victories. The action picked back up on Sunday - with four duals on the calendar. Chattanooga was yet again victorious over VMI, winning the dual 31-13. We saw an upset at 133 - sophomore Dyson Dunham (VMI) snagged a 7-4 decision over #28 Blake Boarman (UTC), scoring a takedown in the last minute of the third period. The tide turned back in the Mocs’ favor at 141, where Isaiah Powe (UTC) pinned Patrick Jordon (VMI), followed by another at 165 where Kamdyn Munro (UTC) pinned Caleb Chandler (VMI) in the first period. The Keydets had back-to-back victories at 174 and 184, with a final slim victory of 1-0 at heavyweight. The Fighting Camels were ready to rumble at Davidson, besting the Wildcats 31-9. The match started off at heavyweight, where #10 Taye Ghadiali set the tone with a second-period tech fall, #26 Anthony Molton (125) and #22 Domenic Zaccone (133) followed suit with tech falls as well. #19 Levi Hopkins delivered a first-period fall to finish off the evening. Notable Wildcat wins were welcomed at 149, 157, and 184. Tanner Peake (157), a member of Puerto Rico’s World Team, defeated Chris Earnest 6-1. A matchup to watch out for again this season? 165: #33 Dom Baker (CAM) bested Bryce Sanderlin (DC) in sudden-victory overtime. This will be a fun rematch to watch in March. Presbyterian hosted Queens University of Charlotte, downing the Royals 30-15. Recovering from their Friday night loss, the Blue Hose won seven out of ten bouts. Bonus points were scored via a tech fall at 141, falls at 149 and 174, and a major decision at 184. We haven’t seen Dom Chavez hit the mat for the past two duals. Chavez had a historic conference tournament last season, being the program’s first-ever finalist in the conference tournament. Hopefully, we can see that 125lb slot filled by their next competition against VMI. I traveled to Boone this past Sunday, where the temps were cold but Varsity Gym was hot hot hot! (If you know, you know.) App State hosted a doubleheader against The Citadel and Greensboro College, moving forward with two more dual victories under their belt. The Mountaineers took on the Bulldogs first, closing the dual with a 33-4 victory. The lone win for The Citadel came in at 141 - Jacob Silka scored an 11-2 major decision over Riley Edwards. “I felt good out there, rode him on top and scored in neutral…it was probably one of the better matches I had this year,” said Silka in some post-match remarks. His mindset for the remainder of the season is to “just keep wrestling hard, it’s [this win] is a good way to start things off, and I’ll just keep rolling on. It was really cool to see how we stack up against them [App State], our guys up against their ranked guys. Some really close matches we could’ve won, so it’s cool to see how much we’ve improved over the years - being a newer team with a bunch of new guys, we’re looking really good this year.” There were two nail-biting, barn-burner, back-to-back matchups at 149 and 157: #24 Cody Bond (APP) beat Jeff Boyd (CIT), going into overtime, settling the score at 2-1. After Bond’s victory via rideout, #20 Tommy Askey (APP) was able to score a takedown in sudden-victory over Hayden Watson (CIT). Leading up to the overtime period, Askey said “It wasn’t pretty, but got to go to overtime and got it done. I knew I had to keep attacking because I could tell he was fading.” High-pressure situations come easy to Askey. “Drilling every day helps a lot in the mat room, we get in these situations all the time where we’re down by 4, 5, 6, and have to score with short time left. Just practicing in these positions really helped me out.” The Mountaineers recorded bonus-point wins at 125, 165, 174, 184, and heavyweight. To close out the weekend, App State wrestled Division III’s own Greensboro College. With the lone loss at 141 lbs, #2-ranked Josh Wilson (GC) won via 4-1 decision over Ike Byers (APP). #25 Ethan Oakley (APP) was the only wrestler to compete in both duals, while the other 9 weights debuted fresh talent on the Mountaineer’s mat. Rankings Updates: 125 #23 Brayden Palmer - UTC #26 Anthony Molton - CAMP 133 #22 Dom Zaccone - CAMP #25 Ethan Oakley - APP 141 #34 Isaiah Powe - UTC 149 #30 Cody Bond - APP #31 Noah Castillo - UTC 157 #22 Tommy Askey - APP 165 #31 Will Miller - APP #32 Dom Baker - CAMP 174 #26 Austin Murphy - CAMP 184 #28 Jha-Quan Anderson - GWU 197 #20 Levi Hopkins - CAMP HWT #10 Taye Ghadiali - CAMP Dual #27 App State #29 Campbell

Ryan Holmes talks to Minnesota All-American Michael Blockhus. Initially, Blockhus intended on turning his attention to an MMA career; however, he returned to Minneapolis for a final season on the mat. Within the last week-plus, Blockhus defeated two top-three opponents and is a serious contender for the 157 lb national title. Blockhus talks about his MMA career, wrestling preparing you for MMA, his relationship with Gable Steveson, leadership, and more.

Stanford picks up two wins Stanford defeated Drexel 34-6 and Pennsylvania 20-16. Stanford won nine out of the 10 matches against Drexel. Daniel Cardenas and Nick Stemmet stood out with tech falls against their opponents. In the Penn dual, Jaden Abas defeated Andrew Troczynski 5-1, Cardenas majored Lucas Revano, in a battle of ranked wrestlers,14-3, Hunter Garvin defeated Kaya Sement 11-4, Stemmet majored Martin Crosgrove 12-4 and Peter Ming pinned John Stout. Little Rock extends win streak to 5 Little Rock has won five straight duals, including its best win in program history against Arizona State. Nasir Bailey defeated Julian Chlebove 7-2, Joseph Bianchi came back from an early deficit to beat Chance McLane 11-8, Tyler Brennan shutout Cael Valencia 6-0 and Stephen Little tech falled Jacob Meissner 25-10. It only took five years for the Trojans to break into the national rankings which is the quickest jump of its sort. Cal Poly splits Pac-12 duals The Mustangs lost a close battle to Oregon State, dropping 21-17. Cal Poly won four of the ten matches against the Beavers. Zeth Romney defeated Gabe Whisenhunt 7-2, Chance Lamer defeated Nash Singleton 13-3, Legend Lamer defeated Isaiah Crosby 10-1 and Trevor Tinker pinned Boone McDermott. Cal Poly destroyed CSU Bakersfield 43-3. Romney and the Lamer brothers won by first-period pins, and Blake Hinrichsen and Jarad Priest won by tech fall. Oregon State splits two duals Oregon State squeaked past Cal Poly 21-17. Brandon Kaylor defeated Dominic Mendez 11-4, Cleveland Belton majored Abraham Hinrichsen 16-7, Kekana Fouret blanked Michael Goldfeder 12-0, Matthew Olguin dropped Daschle Lamer 7-2, Trey Munoz majored Kendall LaRosa 12-4 and Justin Rademacher edged Jarad Priest 4-1. Afterward, the Beavers fell to Oklahoma State 27-9. Kaylor got a huge victory via pin over Troy Spratley and Belton pulled a 4-3 upset over top-ten ranked Tagen Jamison. Arizona State splits two duals Arizona State was stunned by Little Rock 18-16. Richard Figueroa and Cohlton Schultz returned to the lineup and dominated. Figueroa won 18-5 against Jeremiah Reno while Schultz defeated Josiah Hill 5-2. Cody Foote prevailed over Brennan Van Hoecke 5-4, Kyle Parco defeated Kyle Dutton 4-0 and Jacori Teemer beat Matt Bianchi 10-4. The Sun Devils returned to beat Pittsburgh 21-20. Figueroa, Parco, and Chance McLane won by decision against their foes. Teemer tech falled Jared Keslar and Schultz won by injury default against Dayton Pitzer. CSU Bakersfield drops to Cal Poly The Roadrunners struggled against Cal Poly, losing 43-3 in the Pac-12 matchup. Guillermo Escobedo was the only wrestler to capture a win, defeating Michael Goldfeder 2-1 at 165 lbs

Below is a recap of last week’s EIWA action, with individual news and highlights worth noting. Key Takeaways Penn’s Gallagher knocks off #12 Provo of Stanford at 125 lbs Binghamton’s win over Navy is the first win over a top-20 program in school history Bucknell’s Dylan Chappell returns to the line-up at 141 lbs Army (3-0), Bucknell (2-0), Harvard (1-0), Hofstra (1-0), and Lehigh (4-0) remain undefeated in conference duals American The Eagles had an EIWA matchup with the Bucknell Bison, dropping the dual 31-9. Shamil Kalmatov had a pin at 125 lbs. Jack Nies was the other victor at 149 lbs. Bucknell 31 American 9 125: Shamil Kalmatov (AU) pinned Grayson McLellan (Bucknell), 1:34 (AU 6-0) 133: #17 Kurt Phipps (Bucknell) dec. Maximilian Leete (AU), 5-3 (AU 6-3) 141: Dylan Chappell (Bucknell) dec. Cael McIntyre (AU), 5-2 (Tied 6-6) 149: Jack Nies (AU) dec. Aidan Davis (Bucknell), 8-3 (AU 9-6) 157: Kolby DePron (Bucknell) dec. Ryan Zimmerman (AU), 6-0 (Tied 9-9) 165: #19 Noah Mulvaney (Bucknell) pinned Breon Phifer (AU), 2:31 (Bucknell 15-9) 174: Myles Takats (Bucknell) major dec. Lucas White (AU), 13-4 (Bucknell 19-9) 184: Mikey Bartush (Bucknell) major dec. Brad Kata (AU), 14-2 (Bucknell 23-9) 197: Logan Deacetis (Bucknell) tech. fall Liam Volk-Klos (AU), 15-0 (2:34) (Bucknell 28-9) 285: #27 Dorian Crosby (Bucknell) dec. Will Jarrell (AU), 7-2 (Bucknell 31-9) The next date for American is a home dual against Virginia on Sunday. Army The Black Knights were on the road wrestling Binghamton. They did by earning victories in 7 of 10 bouts. Nate Lukez was the only wrestler to win via major decision. Army 22 Binghamton 11 125: No. 32/33 Ethan Berginc (Army) def. Carson Wagner (BU) DEC 8-2, Army 3 BU 0 133: No. 32/33 Braden Basile (Army) def. Micah Roes (BU) DEC 8-4, Army 6 BU 0 141: Logan Brown (Army) def. Ivan Garcia (BU) DEC 8-2, Army 9 BU 0 149: Matt Williams (Army) def. Caleb Sweet (BU) DEC 11-7, Army 12 BU 0 157: Nate Lukez (Army) def. Carter Baer (BU) MD 11-3, Army 16 BU 0 165: No. 20/21 Brevin Cassella (BU) def. No. NR/26 Gunner Filipowicz (Army) DEC 6-1, Army 16 BU 3 174: No. 13/14 Ben Pasiuk (Army) def. Dimitri Gamkrelidze (BU) DEC 6-5, Army 19 BU 3 184; No. 16/13 Jacob Nolan (BU) def. Dillon Sheehy (Army) DEC 3-2, Army 19 BU 6 197: No. 8/12 Lou DePrez (BU) def. Wolfgang Frable (Army) TF 18-2 6:05, Army 19 BU 11 285: No. 27/26 Lucas Stoddard (Army) def. Charlie Tibbitts (BU) DEC 5-0, Army 22 BU 11 This weekend’s matchup with Bucknell will be a nice road test for Army. Binghamton The Bearcats hosted both Army and Navy for duals on Sunday. They lost to Army, but defeated Navy. Jacob Nolan and Lou DePrez were both 2-0 on the day, while Cory Day was 1-0. Binghamton 18 Navy 17 125: Carson Wagner (BU) def. Dayton DelViscio (Navy) MD 13-5, BU 4 Navy 0 133: Micah Roes (BU) def. No. NR/29 Brendan Ferretti (Navy) DEC 5-1, BU 7 Navy 0 141: No. 12/20 Josh Koderhandt (Navy) def. Nate Lucier (BU) TF 20-5 7:00, BU 7 Navy 5 149: Kaemen Smith (Navy) def. Caleb Sweet (BU) DEC 5-2, Navy 8 BU 7 157: Jonathan Ley (Navy) def. Carter Baer (BU) DEC 6-2, Navy 11 BU 7 165: No. 25/20 Andrew Cerniglia (Navy) def. No. 20/21 Brevin Cassella (BU) DEC 5-3, Navy 14 BU 7 174: No. 25/25 Danny Wask (Navy) def. Dimitri Gamkrelidze (BU) DEC 4-1 TB1, Navy 17 BU 7 184: No. 16/13 Jacob Nolan (BU) def. David Key (Navy) DEC 8-3, Navy 17 BU 10 197: No. 8/12 Lou DePrez (BU) def. Daniel Williams (Navy) TF 20-4 5:47, Navy 17 BU 15 285: No. 19/21 Cory Day (BU) def. No. 17/18 Grady Griess (Navy) DEC 6-2, BU 18 Navy 17 Army 22 Binghamton 11 125: No. 32/33 Ethan Berginc (Army) def. Carson Wagner (BU) DEC 8-2, Army 3 BU 0 133: No. 32/33 Braden Basile (Army) def. Micah Roes (BU) DEC 8-4, Army 6 BU 0 141: Logan Brown (Army) def. Ivan Garcia (BU) DEC 8-2, Army 9 BU 0 149: Matt Williams (Army) def. Caleb Sweet (BU) DEC 11-7, Army 12 BU 0 157: Nate Lukez (Army) def. Carter Baer (BU) MD 11-3, Army 16 BU 0 165: No. 20/21 Brevin Cassella (BU) def. No. NR/26 Gunner Filipowicz (Army) DEC 6-1, Army 16 BU 3 174: No. 13/14 Ben Pasiuk (Army) def. Dimitri Gamkrelidze (BU) DEC 6-5, Army 19 BU 3 184; No. 16/13 Jacob Nolan (BU) def. Dillon Sheehy (Army) DEC 3-2, Army 19 BU 6 197: No. 8/12 Lou DePrez (BU) def. Wolfgang Frable (Army) TF 18-2 6:05, Army 19 BU 11 285: No. 27/26 Lucas Stoddard (Army) def. Charlie Tibbitts (BU) DEC 5-0, Army 22 BU 11 Binghamton will host two Ivy League teams this weekend; Harvard and Brown. Brown The Bears did not compete this weekend. They will travel to New York for duals at Cornell and Binghamton this Saturday. Bucknell The Bison hosted two duals this week. They won both in dominant fashion. Kurt Phipps was 2-0 on the weekend. Dylan Chappell returned to the lineup at 141 lbs, going 2-0. At 165 lbs, Noah Mulvaney had two wins by bonus points. Bucknell ran the table from 165 lbs to 285 lbs with a perfect 10-0 record. Nine of the ten wins were via bonus points. Bucknell is looking tough this season. Bucknell 41 Morgan State 9 125: Isaac Sheehan (MSU) dec. over Grayson McLellan (BUC), 7-6 (MSU 3-0) 133: No. 17 Kurt Phipps (BUC) tech fall over Shawn Ryncarz (MSU), 20-3 (5:00) (BUC 5-3) 141: Dylan Chappell (BUC) tech fall over Tommy Fierro (MSU), 22-7 (6:37) (BUC 10-3) 149: Riley Bower (BUC) maj. dec. over Aaron Turner (MSU), 12-4 (BUC 14-3) 157: Josh Greenwood (MSU) inj. default over Nick Delp (BUC) (BUC 14-9) 165: No. 19 Noah Mulvaney (BUC) maj. dec. over Jake Marsh (MSU), 15-5 (BUC 18-9) 174: Myles Takats (BUC) fall over Cortilius Vann (MSU), 3:42 (BUC 24-9) 184: Mikey Bartush (BUC) fall over Kyle Grey (MSU), 4:21 (BUC 30-9) 197: Logan Deacetis (BUC) fall over Nathanic Kendricks (MSU), 3:50 (BUC 36-9) 285: No. 27 Dorian Crosby (BUC) tech fall over Tyler Stewart (MSU), 17-0 (3:57) (BUC 41-9) Bucknell 31 – American 9 125: Shamil Kalmatov (AU) pinned Grayson McLellan (Bucknell), 1:34 (AU 6-0) 133: #17 Kurt Phipps (Bucknell) dec. Maximilian Leete (AU), 5-3 (AU 6-3) 141: Dylan Chappell (Bucknell) dec. Cael McIntyre (AU), 5-2 (Tied 6-6) 149: Jack Nies (AU) dec. Aidan Davis (Bucknell), 8-3 (AU 9-6) 157: Kolby DePron (Bucknell) dec. Ryan Zimmerman (AU), 6-0 (Tied 9-9) 165: #19 Noah Mulvaney (Bucknell) pinned Breon Phifer (AU), 2:31 (Bucknell 15-9) 174: Myles Takats (Bucknell) major dec. Lucas White (AU), 13-4 (Bucknell 19-9) 184: Mikey Bartush (Bucknell) major dec. Brad Kata (AU), 14-2 (Bucknell 23-9) 197: Logan Deacetis (Bucknell) tech. fall Liam Volk-Klos (AU), 15-0 (2:34) (Bucknell 28-9) 285: #27 Dorian Crosby (Bucknell) dec. Will Jarrell (AU), 7-2 (Bucknell 31-9) Bucknell will host Army on Saturday and travel to Drexel on Sunday. Columbia The Lions did not compete last weekend. They will have two duals, at Princeton and Penn, this weekend in some Ivy League action. #9 Cornell The Big Red did not compete this weekend either. They have a healthy load of home matches this weekend with Harvard and Brown on Saturday. They have a showdown with #3 Missouri on Sunday. Drexel The Dragons had a road win over Princeton on Friday. On Sunday, they fell to a tough #26 Stanford team. Jordan Soriano picked up the lone win with a fall over #28 Miranda of Stanford. He was the only Dragon to go 2-0 on the weekend. Drexel 20 Princeton 15 125: Drew Heethuis (Princeton) def. Desmond Pleasant, MD 10-2; Princeton 4-0 133: Sean Pierson (Princeton) def. John Hildebrandt, TF 19-3 6:37; Princeton 9-0 141: Jordan Soriano def. Tyler Vazquez (Princeton), Dec. 4-1; Princeton 9-3 149: Dom Findora def. Cody Tavoso (Princeton), TF 19-4 (7:00); Princeton 9-8 157: Rocco Camillaci (Princeton) def. Tyler Williams, Dec. 8-1; Princeton 12-8 165: Cody Walsh def. Blaine Bergey (Princeton), Dec. 5-0; Princeton 12-11 174: Jasiah Queen def. Michael Squires (Princeton), Dec. 7-2; Drexel 14-12 184: #21 Nate Dugan (Princeton) def. Justin Griffith, Dec. 8-2; Princeton 15-14 197: Ibrahim Ameer def. Aidan Conner (Princeton), Dec. 3-2; Drexel 17-15 285: Santino Morina def. Sebastian Garibaldi (Princeton), Dec 4-1; Drexel wins 20-15 Stanford 34 Drexel 6 125: #12 Nico Provo def. Desmond Pleasant, 8-6; Stanford 3-0 133: Dom LaJoie def. Jaxon Maroney, Dec. 9-3; Stanford 6-0 141: Jordan Soriano def. #28 Jason Miranda, Fall 1:45; Tied 6-6 149: #21 Jaden Abas def. Dom Findora, MD 16-5; Stanford 10-6 157: #11 Daniel Cardenas def. Tyler Williams, TF 21-5 (5:21); Stanford 15-6 165: #28 Hunter Garvin def. Cody Walsh, MD 14-3; Stanford 19-6 174: #21 Lorenzo Norman def. Jasiah Queen, MD 20-8; Stanford 23-6 184: Jack Darrah def. Justin Griffith, Dec. 2-1; Stanford 26-6 197: #17 Nick Stemmet def. Ibrahim Ameer, TF 17-2 (3:21); Stanford 31-6 285: Peter Ming def. Santino Morina, Dec. 4-1; Stanford 34-6 Drexel will play host to Bucknell this weekend for a Sunday matinee. Franklin & Marshall The Diplomats hosted Hofstra and took a loss after winning five of ten bouts. Mason Leiphart had the lone bonus point win for the Dips. Hofstra 21 Franklin & Marshall 16 141: Pat Phillips (F&M) dec. Alex Turley (Hofstra); 5-2 (F&M 3-0) 149: Noah Tapia (Hofstra) maj. Josh Hillard (F&M); 14-5 (Hofstra 4-3) 157: Jurius Clark (Hofstra) dec. Dominic Wheatley (F&M); 7-4 (Hofstra 7-3) 165: Jake Slotnick (Hofstra) dec. Josh Palmucci (F&M); 5-2 (Hofstra 10-3) 174: Noah Fox (F&M) dec. Ross McFarland (Hofstra); 5-4 (Hofstra 10-6) 184: #18 James Conway (F&M) dec. Will Conlon (Hofstra); 8-1 (Hofstra 10-9) 197: #31 John Crawford (F&M) dec. Nikolas Miller (Hofstra); 7-2 (F&M 12-10) 285: Keaton Kluever (Hofstra) TF Harrison Shapiro (F&M); 6:35 (16-1) (Hofstra 15-12) 125: Dylan Acevedo-Switzer (Hofstra) won by forfeit (Hofstra 21-12) 133: #28 Mason Leiphart (F&M) maj. Dylan Ryder (Hofstra); 13-0 (Hofstra 21-16) This weekend, F&M will travel to Sacred Heart for a dual. Harvard The Crimson were dominant in their win over Sacred Heart. They ended the dual with one decision, one major decision, and six technical falls. Harvard 43 Sacred Heart 3 125: Diego Sotelo (Harvard) won by forfeit. 133: Andrew Fallon (Sacred Heart) over Coleman Nogle (Harvard) (Dec 7-3) 141: Dante Frinzi (Harvard) over Vincent Milazzo (Sacred Heart) (MD 12-1) 149: Jack Crook (Harvard) over Michael McGhee (Sacred Heart) (TF 23-6 6:29) 157: Jimmy Harrington (Harvard) over Connor MacDonald (Sacred Heart) (TF 19-4 2:18) 165: Joshua Kim (Harvard) over Scotty Jarosz (Sacred Heart) (TF 18-2 5:37) 174: Philip Conigliaro (Harvard) over Owen Ayotte (Sacred Heart) (TF 18-2 4:47) 184: Peter Ferraro (Harvard) over Nicolas Eboli (Sacred Heart) (TF 17-2 2:25) 197: Alex Whitworth (Harvard) over Jake Trovato (Sacred Heart) (TF 15-0 3:00) 285: Nick Marcenelle (Harvard) over Marc Berisha (Sacred Heart) (Dec 7-6) Harvard will be on the road this weekend with duals at Cornell and Binghamton. Hofstra The Pride used bonus points in two matches, and a forfeit, to propel themselves over F&M. Noah Tapia won via major while Keaton Kluever won by technical fall. Hofstra had some participants in the New York State Collegiate Championships. Greyson Harris (165lbs), Frank Volpe (157lbs), and Danny Church (285lbs) each won their bracket in the freshman/sophomore divisions. The squad had five other place winners in the event. Hofstra 21 Franklin & Marshall 16 141: Pat Phillips (F&M) dec. Alex Turley (Hofstra); 5-2 (F&M 3-0) 149: Noah Tapia (Hofstra) maj. Josh Hillard (F&M); 14-5 (Hofstra 4-3) 157: Jurius Clark (Hofstra) dec. Dominic Wheatley (F&M); 7-4 (Hofstra 7-3) 165: Jake Slotnick (Hofstra) dec. Josh Palmucci (F&M); 5-2 (Hofstra 10-3) 174: Noah Fox (F&M) dec. Ross McFarland (Hofstra); 5-4 (Hofstra 10-6) 184: #18 James Conway (F&M) dec. Will Conlon (Hofstra); 8-1 (Hofstra 10-9) 197: #31 John Crawford (F&M) dec. Nikolas Miller (Hofstra); 7-2 (F&M 12-10) 285: Keaton Kluever (Hofstra) TF Harrison Shapiro (F&M); 6:35 (16-1) (Hofstra 15-12) 125: Dylan Acevedo-Switzer (Hofstra) won by forfeit (Hofstra 21-12) 133: #28 Mason Leiphart (F&M) maj. Dylan Ryder (Hofstra); 13-0 (Hofstra 21-16) Hofstra will play host to LIU on Saturday in hopes to earn another conference victory. #15 Lehigh The Mountain Hawks were undefeated on the weekend with two EIWA wins over #20 Penn and #21 Navy. This marks four straight dual wins for the team. Ryan Crookham, Michael Beard, and Nathan Taylor were all 2-0 on the weekend. Malyke Hines had an overtime win over Composto of Penn. Lehigh 24 Penn 14 125: Max Gallagher (Penn) dec. Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) 4-1, sv 133: Ryan Crookham (Lehigh) dec. Michael Colaiocco (Penn) 4-2 141: Malyke Hines (Lehigh) dec. CJ Composto (Penn) 4-1, sv 149: Owen Reinsel (Lehigh) major dec. Andy Troczynski (Penn) 12-2 157: Lucas Revano (Penn) dec. Max Brignola (Lehigh) 8-6* 165: Jake Logan (Lehigh) dec. Kaya Sement (Penn) 10-7 174: Nick Incontrera (Penn) Fall Connor Herceg (Lehigh) 2:36 184: Maximus Hale (Penn) dec. Jack Wilt (Lehigh) 4-0 197: Michael Beard (Lehigh) Fall Martin Cosgrove (Penn) 3:47 285: Nathan Taylor (Lehigh) tech fall John Stout (Penn) 19-4, 6:48 Lehigh 23 Navy 15 184: David Key (Navy) dec. Jack Wilt (Lehigh) 4-3 197: Michael Beard (Lehigh) tech fall Daniel Williams (Navy) 21-5, 4:05 285: Nathan Taylor (Lehigh) dec. Grady Greiss (Navy) 11-4 125: Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) Fall Dayton DelViscio (Navy) 1:00 133: Ryan Crookham (Lehigh) dec. Brendan Ferretti (Navy) 10-3 141: Josh Koderhandt (Navy) dec. Malyke Hines (Lehigh) 7-3 149: Kaemen Smith (Navy) dec. Owen Reinsel (Lehigh) 6-5 157: Max Brignola (Lehigh) Fall Jonathan Ley (Navy) 6:22 165: Andrew Cerniglia (Navy) dec. Jake Logan (Lehigh) 6-4 174: Danny Wask (Navy) dec. Connor Herceg (Lehigh) 2-0 Lehigh will be resting this weekend before continuing EIWA competition the following weekend. Long Island The Sharks competed at the Clarion quad, where they went 1-2 on the day as a team. Robbie Sagaris was 2-1 on the day with two bonus point wins. Drew Witham was also 2-1 as well with one major. Also going 2-1 on the day was John Dusza at 197lbs. LIU 25 Morgan State 9 125: Robbie Sagaris (LIU) over Julian Dawson (MSC) (TF 16-1 0:00) 133: Shawn Ryncarz (MSC) over Kaelan Francois (LIU) (Dec 11-10) 141: Devin Matthews (LIU) over Tommy Fierro (MSC) (Dec 7-2) 149: Drew Witham (LIU) over Aaron Turner (MSC) (MD 12-4) 157: Rhise Royster (LIU) over Joshua Greenwood (MSC) (Dec 12-6) 165: Jake Marsh (MSC) over James Johnston (LIU) (Fall 5:45) 174: Corey Connolly (LIU) over Cortilius Vann (MSC) (Dec 14-9) 184: Gavin Claro (LIU) over Kyle Grey (MSC) (MD 11-2) 197: John Dusza (LIU) over Nathanic Kendricks Jr (MSC) (Dec 2-1) 285: Double Disqualification Clarion 39 LIU 6 125: Joey Fischer (CLAR) over Robbie Sagaris (LIU) (Fall 7:00) 133: TJ England (CLAR) over Christopher Betancourt (LIU) (TF 18-2 4:12) 141: Ryan Sullivan (CLAR) over Devin Matthews (LIU) (Dec 5-4) 149: Drew Witham (LIU) over Kyle Schickel (CLAR) (Dec 2-1) 157: Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (CLAR) over Rhise Royster (LIU) (MD 9-0) 165: Eli Brinsky (CLAR) over James Johnston (LIU) (Fall 5:39) 174: John Worthing (CLAR) over Corey Connolly (LIU) (Fall 2:22) 184: Cameron Pine (CLAR) over Anthony D`Alesio (LIU) (Dec 8-5) 197: John Dusza (LIU) over Ethan Wiant (CLAR) (Dec 6-2) 285: Austin Chapman (CLAR) over (LIU) (For.) Kent State 26 LIU 7 125: Robert Sagaris (LIU) over Nico Calello (Kent State) (MD 12-1) 133: Pablo Castro (Kent State) over Kaelan Francois (LIU) (MD 10-0) 141: Billy Meiszner (Kent State) over Devin Matthews (LIU) (Dec 9-2) 149: Matthew Ryan (Kent State) over Drew Witham (LIU) (Dec 3-2) 157: Keegan Knapp (Kent State) over Rhise Royster (LIU) (SV-1 4-1) 165: Aaron Ferguson (Kent State) over James Johnston (LIU) (MD 8-0) 174: AJ Burkhart (Kent State) over Corey Connolly (LIU) (Dec 9-5) 184: Anthony D`Alesio (LIU) over Kyle Snider (Kent State) (Dec 11-4) 197: Blake Schaffer (Kent State) over John Dusza (LIU) (Dec 10-7) 285: Josh Boggan (Kent State) over Jared Tracey (LIU) (SV-1 6-3) LIU will be on a short road trip this weekend to square off with Hofstra. #21 Navy The Midshipmen dropped two tough ones this weekend to #15 Lehigh and Binghamton. Josh Koderhandt had a win over Lehigh’s Hines en route to a 2-0 weekend. At 149 lbs, Kaemen Smith was 2-0. Andrew Cerniglia, who has been wrestling well as of late, also went 2-0. Finally, Danny Wask was 2-0 in both duals. Lehigh 23 Navy 15 184: David Key (Navy) dec. Jack Wilt (Lehigh) 4-3 197: Michael Beard (Lehigh) tech fall Daniel Williams (Navy) 21-5, 4:05 285: Nathan Taylor (Lehigh) dec. Grady Greiss (Navy) 11-4 125: Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) Fall Dayton DelViscio (Navy) 1:00 133: Ryan Crookham (Lehigh) dec. Brendan Ferretti (Navy) 10-3 141: Josh Koderhandt (Navy) dec. Malyke Hines (Lehigh) 7-3 149: Kaemen Smith (Navy) dec. Owen Reinsel (Lehigh) 6-5 157: Max Brignola (Lehigh) Fall Jonathan Ley (Navy) 6:22 165: Andrew Cerniglia (Navy) dec. Jake Logan (Lehigh) 6-4 174: Danny Wask (Navy) dec. Connor Herceg (Lehigh) 2-0 Binghamton 18 Navy 17 125: Carson Wagner (BU) def. Dayton DelViscio (Navy) MD 13-5, BU 4 Navy 0 133: Micah Roes (BU) def. No. NR/29 Brendan Ferretti (Navy) DEC 5-1, BU 7 Navy 0 141: No. 12/20 Josh Koderhandt (Navy) def. Nate Lucier (BU) TF 20-5 7:00, BU 7 Navy 5 149: Kaemen Smith (Navy) def. Caleb Sweet (BU) DEC 5-2, Navy 8 BU 7 157: Jonathan Ley (Navy) def. Carter Baer (BU) DEC 6-2, Navy 11 BU 7 165: No. 25/20 Andrew Cerniglia (Navy) def. No. 20/21 Brevin Cassella (BU) DEC 5-3, Navy 14 BU 7 174: No. 25/25 Danny Wask (Navy) def. Dimitri Gamkrelidze (BU) DEC 4-1 TB1, Navy 17 BU 7 184: No. 16/13 Jacob Nolan (BU) def. David Key (Navy) DEC 8-3, Navy 17 BU 10 197: No. 8/12 Lou DePrez (BU) def. Daniel Williams (Navy) TF 20-4 5:47, Navy 17 BU 15 285: No. 19/21 Cory Day (BU) def. No. 17/18 Grady Griess (Navy) DEC 6-2, BU 18 Navy 17 Navy will be on the road again to wrestle a tough North Carolina team. #20 Penn The Quakers had two challenging duals this weekend, ultimately dropping both. Max Gallagher was 2-0 with a big upset over #12 Provo of Stanford. Nick Incontrera was 2-0 with a win over #21 Norman of Stanford. At 184 lbs, Max Hale was 2-0 as well. Lehigh (#15) 24 Penn 14 125: Max Gallagher (Penn) dec. Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) 4-1, sv 133: Ryan Crookham (Lehigh) dec. Michael Colaiocco (Penn) 4-2 141: Malyke Hines (Lehigh) dec. CJ Composto (Penn) 4-1, sv 149: Owen Reinsel (Lehigh) major dec. Andy Troczynski (Penn) 12-2 157: Lucas Revano (Penn) dec. Max Brignola (Lehigh) 8-6* 165: Jake Logan (Lehigh) dec. Kaya Sement (Penn) 10-7 174: Nick Incontrera (Penn) Fall Connor Herceg (Lehigh) 2:36 184: Maximus Hale (Penn) dec. Jack Wilt (Lehigh) 4-0 197: Michael Beard (Lehigh) Fall Martin Cosgrove (Penn) 3:47 285: Nathan Taylor (Lehigh) tech fall John Stout (Penn) 19-4, 6:48 Stanford (#26) 20 Penn 16 125: Max Gallagher (P) def. #25 Nico Provo (S), 11-8 DEC, SV – Penn leads 3-0 133: #10 Michael Colaiocco (P) def. Dom LaJoie (S), 14-4 MD - Penn leads 7-0 141: #13 CJ Composto (P) def. #28 Jason Miranda (S), 7-2 DEC – Penn leads 10-0 149: #21 Jaden Abas (S) def. Andy Troczynski (P), 5-1 DEC – Penn leads 10-3 157: #11 Daniel Cardenas (S) def. #24 Lucas Revano (P), 14-3 MD – Penn leads 10-7 165: #28 Hunter Garvin (S) def. Kaya Sement (P), 11-4 DEC – Tied 10-10 174: #7 Nick Incontrera def. #21 Lorenzo Norman (S), 4-0 DEC – Penn leads 13-10 184: #17 Maximus Hale (P) def. Jack Darrah (S), 8-2 DEC – Penn leads 16-10 197: #17 Nick Stemmet (S)def. Martin Cosgrove (P), 12-4 MD – Penn leads 16-14 285: Peter Ming (S) def. John Stout (P), 4-0 – Final 20-16 The Quakers will host Ivy League foe Columbia to a dual on Sunday. Princeton The Tigers had a home dual with Drexel. Princeton lost the dual with a few starters out. Drew Heethuis won by major decision while Sean Pierson won by tech fall to start off the dual. Rocco Camillaci and Nate Dugan each had a decision of their own. Drexel 20 Princeton 15 125: Drew Heethuis (Princeton) def. Desmond Pleasant, MD 10-2; Princeton 4-0 133: Sean Pierson (Princeton) def. John Hildebrandt, TF 19-3 6:37; Princeton 9-0 141: Jordan Soriano def. Tyler Vazquez (Princeton), Dec. 4-1; Princeton 9-3 149: Dom Findora def. Cody Tavoso (Princeton), TF 19-4 (7:00); Princeton 9-8 157: Rocco Camillaci (Princeton) def. Tyler Williams, Dec. 8-1; Princeton 12-8 165: Cody Walsh def. Blaine Bergey (Princeton), Dec. 5-0; Princeton 12-11 174: Jasiah Queen def. Michael Squires (Princeton), Dec. 7-2; Drexel 14-12 184: #21 Nate Dugan (Princeton) def. Justin Griffith, Dec. 8-2; Princeton 15-14 197: Ibrahim Ameer def. Aidan Conner (Princeton), Dec. 3-2; Drexel 17-15 285: Santino Morina def. Sebastian Garibaldi (Princeton), Dec 4-1; Drexel wins 20-15 The Tigers of Princeton will host Columbia Friday night in Ivy League action. Sacred Heart The Pioneers fell in a tough dual to a red-hot Harvard squad. Andrew Fallon was the lone winner with a nice win over Nogle of Harvard at 133lbs. He improves to 10-2 on the year and 3-0 in conference matchups. Harvard 43 - Sacred Heart 3 125: Diego Sotelo (Harvard) win by forfeit. 133: Andrew Fallon (Sacred Heart) over Coleman Nogle (Harvard) (Dec 7-3) 141: Dante Frinzi (Harvard) over Vincent Milazzo (Sacred Heart) (MD 12-1) 149: Jack Crook (Harvard) over Michael McGhee (Sacred Heart) (TF 23-6 6:29) 157: Jimmy Harrington (Harvard) over Connor MacDonald (Sacred Heart) (TF 19-4 2:18) 165: Joshua Kim (Harvard) over Scotty Jarosz (Sacred Heart) (TF 18-2 5:37) 174: Philip Conigliaro (Harvard) over Owen Ayotte (Sacred Heart) (TF 18-2 4:47) 184: Peter Ferraro (Harvard) over Nicolas Eboli (Sacred Heart) (TF 17-2 2:25) 197: Alex Whitworth (Harvard) over Jake Trovato (Sacred Heart) (TF 15-0 3:00) 285: Nick Marcenelle (Harvard) over Marc Berisha (Sacred Heart) (Dec 7-6) Next up for Sacred Heart is a home match against Franklin & Marshall.

Key Takeaways from the week Several teams are in the heart of their dual seasons and taking on ranked and conference opponents. While the weather took a toll on the number of events that actually happened, there was still some great wrestling this past week. Let’s take a look at some of those results, a few open tournament results, and a huge dual matchup between two #1 teams. Bearcats Shred the Competition at MoBap Open McKendree finished the day with 5 champions at the Missouri Baptist Open. A few notable wins were Julia Vidallon, who is listed on the roster as a 123lber, winning the tournament at 116lbs including a 7-4 decision win in the finals over #6 Caitlyn Thorne of Lindenwood. Vidallon had a tough draw at National Duals losing to both #2 Sydney Petzinger of North Central and #4 Melanie Mendoza of King. The win over Thorne is a big one, and seeing that 116 lbs is one of three weights where McKendree does not have a ranked wrestler, we could see Vidallon continuing to battle it out at the weight. #2 Cam Guerin showed her dominance winning her first three matches by fall in under a minute. Cayden Condit of Lindenwood held out a little longer in the finals match, but inevitably took the loss via fall to Guerin after 1:56 seconds. Guerin has been consistently dominant this season, with her toughest match being a close loss to then #3, now #1 Victoria Baez-Dilone of King. If the brackets line up correctly, these two could find themselves at the finals of the NCWWC in March, and I think after the close decision last time, I would take Guerin to get her revenge and win for the title. Nichole Moore at 123 lbs, #5 Alex Szkotnicki at 136 lbs, and #6 Viktorya Torres at 143 lbs were the other champs on the day for McKendree. The team had plans to compete in their own Bearcat Open, but that was unfortunately canceled due to weather. Their next dual will be Senior Night against Missouri Baptist before competing at regionals and then NCWWCs. It will be interesting to see how many Bearcats qualify for nationals and the much-anticipated return of Emma Bruntil. If I had to guess, I think that McKendree will outperform their fourth-place team ranking at Nationals. A Top-10 Conference Dual More Lopsided than Expected The #8 William Penn Statesmen hosted the #3 Grand View Vikings in a conference matchup this past week with potential for several ranked matchups. While the Vikings have more ranked wrestlers in their starting lineup, the Statesmen certainly have the talent to keep duals interesting. However, in this matchup, Grand View came out swinging winning the first 6 matches. Jalen Bets got the Vikings started with a tech fall followed by teammate Judy Sandoval getting a pin at 109 lbs. At 116 lbs, Mayagelie Colon got the upset win over #9 Catherine Steinkamp. Next, at 123 lbs, #9 Catharine Campbell got the tech fall over #18 Grecia Martinez 12-2. With Martinez putting up two points against her opponent, she finally got the Statesmen on the board. At 130 lbs, it looked like William Penn were going to finally get a win in this dual when #5 Joanna Vanderwood went up 8-0 early after a blast double into a leg lace with multiple turns. Action was stopped for injury time where it appeared Maya Davis of Grand View hurt her lower back before Vanderwood could complete another roll-through. After restarting with Vanderwood on top, she could not seem to get another turn, so the two were reset to neutral. From the tie, it appeared that Vanderwood attempted an arm spin, but landed on her back. From there, she is unable to react quickly enough to belly down and Davis catches her head and secures the pin for the Vikings. At 136 lbs, #3 Andrea Schlabach also gets a pin over Devin Patton. From there, the Statesmen began a streak of wins themselves, starting with the upset at 143 lbs with #14 Isabelle Hawley getting a 4-1 decision over #6 Madison Diaz. Next, up two weight classes from her usual 136 lbs spot, #1 Adaugo Nwachukwu teched #12 at 155 lbs Mahealani Ramirez in one of the premier matches of the night. Finally, Ashley Lekas who won U23 Nationals last season as part of the Augsburg team, returned to the mat for just her fourth match on the season and got the tech against #1 Abby McIntyre. Lekas has impressive wins in her career including a win against Joye Levendusky at the aforementioned USA Wrestling Nationals. This win over the #1 will certainly be an important part of her record as well. Barring future injuries like the one she’s dealt with this season, she should continue to shine against the toughest competition at the weight. With the dual already out of hand, the Vikings bookended the dual with a pin from #3 Olivia Brown at 191 lbs over Samantha Ruano. I had really looked forward to this dual as one that could shake out to be a 5-5 matchup with the dual coming down to a singular upset or bonus or criteria points. However, the Vikings had other plans and really solidified their top 3 ranking in this one. William Penn was also missing top-ranked Mia Palumbo here as well. We will see many of these matchups again at conferences, so there is certainly a chance for redemption for the Statesmen, but it could also provide another opportunity for Grand View to continue their dominant performances. #1 vs #1 Ends With Another Dominant Hawkeye Victory In a highly anticipated dual since its announcement, the #1 NAIA school, Life, took on the #1 NCAA school Iowa as part of a tri dual with Missouri Valley this past Sunday. After each team had dominant showings against Missouri Valley, it was time for the two to face off. We saw matchups between the teams at a few open tournaments this season, but both teams are extremely skilled dual teams with 19 of the 20 wrestlers ranked in the top 10 of their respective divisions. However, this matchup got out of hand quickly for Life. The first two matches were quick technical falls from #2 (NCAA) Sterling Dias and #2 (NCAA) Ava Bayless. Next, #3 Brianna Gonzalez got a pin in just over 2 minutes. #3 Felicity Taylor followed up quickly with a tech fall of her own. At 130 lbs, Life finally got one in the win column from #2 (NAIA) Sarah Savidge over Iowa’s #10 (NCAA) Emily Frost. I had 136 lbs circled after news earlier this month that both Nanea Estrella and Esther Han would not be continuing to compete this season, leaving the 136 lbs spot open to Lilly Luft. Luft struggled against some NCAA competition at National Duals in this spot, but got herself a win here over #9 (NAIA) Zaynah McBryde with a pin in the second minute of the match. As we continued into the McBryde section of Life’s lineup, I thought perhaps Life could string together a few more wins here. However, the rematch between #2 (NCAA) Reese Larramendy and #1 (NAIA) Jamilah McBryde was not as high-flying as their last matchup where the score was 22-20 before Larramendy got the win. Instead, Larramendy got the 12-4 decision. Similarly, while #2 (NAIA) Latifah McBryde kept it close with #1 (NCAA) Marlynne Deede, it wasn’t enough to get the win as Deede walked away with the 3-1 victory. From there, the Hawkeyes’ #1 (NCAA) Kylie Welker got a 23-second tech fall followed by a 2-0 decision at 191 lbs for the Hawkeyes as well from #3 Jaycee Foeller. This was a tough dual for Life, as even their top-ranked squad seemed a little outmatched in Carver-Hawkeye. In addition to Iowa just having a dominant squad, I do think they perform better warmed up with their wrestlers having a match or two already under their belt on the day. Regardless, feeling the pressure of this tough competition seems like a great opportunity to regroup back in the practice room for Life before conferences and nationals against NAIA competition. Coach Ashley Flavin had been hoping for this matchup from what she said to me in a preseason interview, as she is always looking to line up challenging competition for her team. If iron sharpens iron, then both of these teams should be set to slash through some competition for the rest of this season. Results this week in major NCAA, NCWA, and NAIA competitions William Penn (12) vs Grand View (33) MoBap Open VIEW BRACKETS Iowa Duals VIEW RESULTS Robert Horton Memorial Open VIEW BRACKETS Upcoming Events January 23: North Central vs University of Wisconsin-Stephens Point January 24: Central Methodist vs Baker January 25: Campbellsville vs Lourdes January 26: Indiana Tech Warrior Duals January 26: Menlo vs Vanguard January 27: Indiana Tech Warrior Open January 29: Grand View vs Missouri Valley

The crew is back and joined again by EIWA correspondent Austin Sommer to discuss all of the latest happenings in the collegiate wrestling world. Austin did commentary for Drexel's duals over the weekend and shares his thoughts on those duals, along with EIWA members Lehigh and Penn. The foursome then hits on Minnesota/Nebraska, Penn State/Michigan, coaches rankings and much more. For the full video: Click Here

This Friday marks the beginning of ACC conference duals with North Carolina facing Virginia Tech, Virginia traveling to Duke, and NC State heading north to Pittsburgh. Before we start ACC action let’s take a look back at the first half of the season and the highlights, and areas of focus, for each team moving forward. Duke: Dual Record: 4-8 The Blue Devils have had a very dual-heavy schedule and have traveled extensively already this season. They come into ACC competition at 4-8 and have faced five top-30 dual teams thus far. While their record isn’t stellar, they have performed well against similarly ranked teams with victories over Cleveland State, Kent State, and Davidson. They have shown improvement throughout the year after an 0-4 start. The Blue Devils have been led by Gaetano Console (165) and Connor Barket (285). Barket has stepped into 285 well and has looked better as the year has gone on. He placed eighth at the Southern Scuffle and has been consistent in duals for the Blue Devils. Duke has also had better results from Logan Agin at 125 and Logan Ferrero at 157 and both are off to stronger starts than last season and have both picked up big wins in duals. Duke isn’t in a position to be a threat for the ACC dual title, but I’m looking for them to continue to improve and have some guys positioned to make a push at the ACC Tournament. North Carolina: Dual Record: 7-5 The Tar Heels are in a transition year with Coach Rob Koll taking the helm early this fall, he retained Associate Head Coach Tony Ramos and rounded out his staff with Enock Francois and Ben Darmstadt. While they transition to the new staff, they have rolled out a very young lineup, having graduated over half of their starters from last season. There have been some growing pains, but there have also been some outstanding team performances already this year. The Tar Heels have not shied away from tough competition, facing five top-25 dual teams, going 1-4 in the process with a big win over Arizona State. They are still working to figure out their optimal lineup and have had multiple starters at different weights. They have been led by #5 Lachlan McNeil who is 17-2--his only losses to #4 Ryan Jack and #1 Real Woods--and 11 of his wins are bonus point wins. #29 Spencer Moore has also looked great coming back off a redshirt year, he enters ACC competition at 10-2. #18 Max Shaw has also had a solid season so far at 13-2; he has been much more offensive this year and it is paying off. The North Carolina staff will have some things to figure out before opening up in Blacksburg on Friday. The biggest focus for the team is to settle on a consistent lineup that is going to be the best combination to face ACC competition. On an individual basis, All-American #23 Gavin Kane has struggled recently and will need to regain his top form to compete in a weight with three top-20 ranked wrestlers at 184 in the conference. #8 NC State: Dual Record: 10-2 The Wolfpack enter ACC competition with one of the strongest lineups they have fielded. They opened the year running up nine straight dominant dual victories before dropping a tight dual to #7 Ohio State at the Collegiate Duals and a home dual to #4 Oklahoma State. They finished 4th in a deep CKLV field, bringing home titles from Kai Orine and Trent Hidlay, with Ryan Jack finishing as a runner-up and Ed Scott battling back for third. The Wolfpack comes into ACC duals with all 10 wrestlers ranked. #5 Kai Orine, #4 Ryan Jack, #3 Jackson Arrington, #7 Ed Scott, #6 Dylan Fishback and #4 Trent Hidlay have all earned top-10 rankings. Orine has looked solid at 133, rounding back into form after what seemed to be a slower start to the year; his losses are to #3 Daton Fix and #12 Nic Bouzakis. Ryan Jack has looked the best he ever has this season, he is more aggressive and is winning close matches that may have eluded him in previous years. Ed Scott had some early season road bumps but has looked incredible. Arrington has been phenomenal; he is 12-1 with a decision loss to Dylan D’Emilio at CKLV. I am very much looking forward to the renewed rivalry with #2 Caleb Henson. Trent Hidlay moved up to 197 for his final year of eligibility and looks healthy and happy at the new weight. The scary part is, he may be even better at 197 than he was at 184. He is 16-0 with 14 bonus point wins - one of the non-bonus was a seven-point decision. He still moves and attacks incredibly well at the higher weight and his underhook is as dangerous as ever. I love this weight for Trent and think he has great potential to get to the top step of the podium in March. There aren’t a lot of question marks for the Wolfpack, but there are a few things they will have to have solidified going into ACC duals. There is a real possibility that the dual title could swing based on the performance of Derek Fields at 165 and Alex Faison at 174. They are both talented and can go with anyone, but they will need to be on point in ACC duals for the Wolfpack to bring home another title. #25 Pittsburgh: Dual Record: 7-5 The Panthers put together an incredible non-conference schedule that is arguably one of the toughest in the country. They have wins over Maryland, #15 Lehigh, #27 Illinois, and #7 Ohio State. Their losses have come to #4 Oklahoma State, #5 Iowa State, #9 Cornell, #23 Arizona State, and #24 Navy. They have been able to maintain a very consistent starting lineup and have shown they can hang with anyone in the country. The Panthers have been buoyed by the strength of their upper weights. #14 Holden Heller (7-4), #15 Luca Augustine (10-2), #12 Reece Heller (12-4), #13 Mac Stout (14-3), and #12 Dayton Pitzer (8-4) have been key in their dual success. #29 Finn Solomon (149) came to Pitt as a transfer at 149 and has put together a solid season so far at 12-6. Pitt remains a dangerous dual team because of the consistency they have shown across the lineup. The biggest questions for the Panthers have been at 157, where they seem to have settled on Jared Keslar as the full-time starter, and at 141 where we have seen inconsistent performances from team captain and former All-American Cole Matthews. Matthews has shown moments of his full potential this year, including an upset of Jesse Mendez in the Ohio State dual, but has several unexpected losses. I trust that Cole will get back on track going into ACC competition where he will have some high-level competition to get back on the top of the podium. A new question mark came up in the Arizona State dual with Dayton Pitzer getting injured in the final match. His health and ability to wrestle could play a huge role in the shaping of the heavyweight field from the ACC. Virginia: Dual Record: 5-2 The story for the Hoos has been full of ups and downs this season. They entered the year with high expectations and a young, but dangerous, lineup. They have faced more adversity this year with injuries than most teams would in several years combined. At one point after a difficult Midlands, they had eight starters out of the lineup due to injuries and illness, but they continue to press on and have remained competitive despite many changes within their lineup. Their losses on the season are to Wisconsin and a one-point loss to a scrappy George Mason squad. They have had some stellar individual performances this season, and I’m hopeful that most of their starters are back to full strength coming into conference competition. They have been led by #14 Justin McCoy at 12-2. His losses are to #8 Phil Conigliaro by injury default in the Midlands semifinals and a sudden victory loss to #12 Max Maylor on a stalling point that was questionable, at best. #28 Dylan Cedeno has looked great with his move to 157; he is 10-2 on the year and I’m excited to see what he can do in the ACC when he is back to full strength. #33 Ryan Catka has been a great addition at the top of the lineup, holding an 8-2 record at 285. The Cavaliers have embraced the next-man-up mentality this season out of necessity. It speaks to the culture that Coach Garland has built that the wrestlers have stepped up to the challenge, some bumping weights and starting on short notice to help the team. The challenge for the Hoos entering conference duals is to put out the best, healthiest lineup possible to be competitive. At full strength, they can be a competitive team in the ACC and I’m hopeful they are able to show that over the next six weeks. #8 Virginia Tech: Dual Record: 4-3 The Hokies dual record isn’t a great depiction of the strength of this team with their three losses coming to #3 Mizzou, #7 Ohio State, and #9 Cornell. They also sent a bulk of their starters to the CKLV, Keystone Classic, and Midlands with some stellar individual results. Safe to say the Hokies are battle-tested coming into ACC competition. All 10 starters are ranked for the Hokies. They are led by #2 Caleb Henson (20-1), #2 Mekhi Lewis (7-0), #6 Cooper Flynn (8-2) and #8 Bryce Andonian (14-4) all in the top-10 with #11 Sam Latona (12-4) just outside. Henson has been a force of nature this year with 13 bonus point wins, including 3 falls, that have been critical to the team's success. He finished as runner-up at CKLV, falling in a tight bout to #1 Ridge Lovett after beating #3 Kyle Parco in the semis. Mekhi has been, well, Mekhi; consistent and impressive every time out and comes in with a 7-0 record. Andonian has looked incredible, other than a couple hiccups in matches he should have been more competitive. He injured his knee in a rematch with Meyer Shapiro and will be out for ACC duals, hoping for a postseason return. Cooper Flynn may be one of the more interesting stories this season. Initially, he was taking an Olympic Redshirt after making the U23 team and winning a Senior level international tournament. Returning All-American Eddie Ventresca was to hold down the spot again this season. A preseason injury to Ventresca turned out to be more significant than initially thought and though he made a go of it in the early season, it was clear that he was not in his best form. Flynn returned from redshirt in the second semester, knocking off CKLV champion Nico Provo in his first dual action and finishing fourth at Midlands in tournament action. He has since beaten then #2 Noah Surtin in dual action and is ranked in the top-10 for the Hokies in a very volatile 125 weight class. The question marks for the Hokies remain at the upper weights where they have established starters that have been pushed by a talented freshmen class. Dakota Howard has also returned for his final semester and is down to 184, he will be battling with Sam Fisher for the starting spot for the postseason. The Hokies will be in the thick of the fight for the ACC dual crown with NC State, and the final dual of the season could likely determine the team title.

It sounds like a broken record, but we have a new number one at 125 lbs...again. And again, it's Purdue's Matt Ramos. Ramos was previously ranked number two and defeated then-number one Drake Ayala in a dual Friday night. His notable wins this year are now Ayala, Dean Peterson, Tanner Jordan, Anthony Molton, Diego Sotelo, and the unofficial All-Star Classic major decision over Anthony Noto. The decision for #1 this week came down to Ramos or freshmen Luke Stanich and Braeden Davis. Stanich has notable wins over Eric Barnett, Cooper Flynn, Brett Ungar, and Sotelo. His only loss is to Troy Spratley, who was pinned over the weekend. Davis is unbeaten with wins over Michael DeAugustino and Brandon Kaylor. Each of the three have huge matches remaining on their respective schedules, so this could certainly change before the conference tournament season. 157 is another weight that has been difficult near the top. Levi Haines continues to win but the previous Michael Blockhus has recent wins over the #2 Jared Franek and the previous #3 Peyton Robb. There was some thought to making Blockhus #2; however, Franek has a slightly deeper catalog of high-quality wins from this season. For the full rankings: Click Here

Air Force (Overall: 2-4; Conference: 0-2): No Competition. Next Up: Air Force competes against SDSU and NDSU on the road on January 26th and 28th. California Baptist (Overall: 3-8; Conference: 0-5): Dual Results (NDSU) | Dual Results (SDSU) The Lancers took a road trip north to take on North Dakota State and South Dakota State over the weekend. They went 0-2, dropping 25-15 to NDSU and 39-3 against SDSu, but had some individuals get solid wins. Against NDSU, the team got off to a quick start with Eli Griffin getting a 20-second pin followed by Hunter Leake scoring a pin of his own. Nathan Haas scored a decision over Adam Cherne and Dayne Morton took Maxwell Petersen to OT, but dropped a 4-1 decision. Against SDSU, the team's lone win came at 165, where Drayden Morton beat two-time qualifier Tanner Cook 4-2. Eli Griffin dropped his match to Tanner Jordan 7-3 in a ranked matchup. Next Up: California Baptist has some time off before taking on Air Force on February 3rd. Iowa State (Overall: 9-1; Conference: 2-0): No Competition. Next Up: Iowa State duals Oklahoma on January 26th and Oklahoma State on January 27th. Missouri (Overall: 7-0; Conference: 3-0): No Competition. Next Up: Missouri hits the country roads to take on West Virginia on January 26th. North Dakota State (Overall: 3-6; Conference: 2-1): Dual Results (CBU) | Dual Results (UNCO) The Bison got their first Big 12 dual win of the season and quickly followed it up with a 2-0 performance on the weekend. They started with a 25-12 win over California Baptist, winning seven matches after giving up pins at 125 and 133. NDSU scored a pin of their own at 285 and nearly had one at 197 as well. They followed that win up with a 27-14 dual win over Northern Colorado. They won six matches there, getting bonus points from 141-165 plus a forfeit at heavyweight. Despite Kellyn March returning earlier this season, Maxwell Petersen started in both duals and went 2-0. Next Up: NDSU has five duals remaining and all are in the conference. They’ll start with Air Force at home on January 28th. Northern Colorado (Overall: 8-4; Conference: 1-3): Dual Results (SDSU) | Dual Results (NDSU) The Bears had a tough 0-2 weekend against the Dakota schools. They started with a 29-16 loss to SDSU, but Stevo Poulin and Dom Serrano got ranked wins over Tanner Jordan and Derrick Cardinal respectively. Derek Matthews also pinned two-time qualifier Tanner Cook in the first minute of their match. The team had their second conference loss with a 27-14 result against NDSU. Poulin and Serrano again led the way with wins early, but the team wasn’t able to overcome bonus point losses from 141-165. Travis Mastrogiovanni and Xavier Vasquez got wins, but had to forfeit at heavyweight. The team was also missing 157 starter Vinny Zerban who likely would have made things closer. Next Up: The Bears next dual Big 12 opponent Wyoming on January 26th. Northern Iowa (Overall: 3-4; Conference: 2-0): No Competition. Next Up: The Panthers have conference duals against Oklahoma State and Oklahoma on January 26th and 27th. Oklahoma (Overall: 5-3; Conference: 2-2): No Competition. Next Up: The Sooners dual Iowa State and Northern Iowa on January 26th and 27th at home. Oklahoma State (Overall: 8-0; Conference: 3-0): Dual Results The Cowboys stayed undefeated with a 27-9 win over Oregon State in a dual with seven matches that were within a takedown. Troy Spratley was hit with a Brandon Kaylor suck-back and was pinned in the second period. Fix scored a dominant tech fall over Gabe Whisenhunt, before Tagen Jamison was upset by Cleveland Belton and a lone takedown. Sammy Alvarez got another start and ranked win, taking out Nash Singleton in overtime. That started a run for the Cowboys, as they won the rest of the matches. Brayden Thompson took out a bumped-up Matthew Olguin in overtime, Dustin Plott showed some impressive defense to beat Trey Munoz, and Luke Surber and Konner Doucet both went to overtime to get wins themselves. It wasn’t the prettiest win, but the team showed a lot of guts to come out on the right side of so many close matches. Next Up: Oklahoma State duals Northern Iowa and Iowa State on January 26th and 27th. South Dakota State (Overall: 8-2; Conference: 2-0): Dual Results (CBU) | Dual Results (UNCO) The Jackrabbits swept their conference opponents at home this weekend, beating Northern Colorado 29-16 before a 39-3 win over California Baptist. Tanner Jordan lost a match to returning Big 12 champ Stevo Poulin but bounced back with a 7-3 win over red-hot Eli Griffin. Clay Carlson, Alek Martin, Cael Swensen, Cade DeVos, Bennett Berge, and Tanner Sloan all went undefeated on the weekend. DeVos, Berge, and Sloan all had bonus points as well, scoring five techs and a 46-second pin. Tanner Cook had a rough weekend, getting pinned in a minute against UNC before a 4-2 loss against CBU. Next Up: South Dakota State wrestles Air Force at home on January 26th. Utah Valley (Overall: 1-3; Conference: 0-3): Dual Results The Wolverines competed against Big 12 opponent Wyoming and dropped a 22-12 dual. They got wins from Haiden Drury, Mahorni Rushton, Evan Bockman, and Chase Trussell. Drury beat ranked true freshman Cole Brooks with an escape and riding time. Evan Bockman scored another ranked win over Joey Novak with an overtime takedown win, flipping their CKLV result. That is now Bockman’s third consecutive win over a ranked Big 12 wrestler. Next Up: Utah Valley has duals against North Dakota State and South Dakota State on February 2nd and 3rd. West Virginia (Overall: 8-2; Conference: 2-2): No Competition. Next Up: West Virginia hosts Missouri in a big conference dual January 26th before traveling to take on Morgan State on January 28th. Wyoming (Overall: 5-5; Conference: 3-3): Dual Results Wyoming beat Utah Valley 22-12 and improved to .500 for duals this season. Jore Volk, Garrett Ricks, and Sloan Swan all scored bonus points in their matches, while Gabe Willochell, Cooper Voorhees, and Quayin Short managed to get decision wins. Swan may have had one of the most impressive performances, coming from behind down 5-0 to winning 17-7. The team lost close matches at 141 and 197, with Joey Novak losing in sudden victory to Evan Bockman. Next Up: Wyoming remains on the road with a dual against Northern Colorado on January 26th.

Buchanan

Urbandale

Buford

Medina

Ponderosa

Caldwell