InterMat Staff

Below is a recap of last week’s EIWA action, with individual news and highlights worth noting. Key Takeaways Lehigh’s Stanich and Beard win Midlands titles Penn wins Midlands team title for first time in school history Conigliaro’s 2nd place finish at Midlands is best ever by a Harvard wrestler Pasiuk of Army, Phipps and Mulvaney of Bucknell win Southern Scuffle American The Eagles were off over the holiday break. This week’s agenda includes a dual with Michigan State. There will be some wrestlers at the F&M Open as well. Army West Point The Black Knights had a handful of participants in the Southern Scuffle. The top performer was #11 Ben Pasiuk at 174 lbs, earning a title. He beat #22 Norman of Stanford and won in the final by medical forfeit from #10 Washington of Indiana. At 165 lbs, Gunner Filipowicz was runner-up to #26 Mulvaney of Bucknell. He had a major decision win over #17 Carlson of Oklahoma before that. Ethan Berginc was 3rd and Charlie Farmer was 7th at 125lbs. Berginc won this head-to-head match-up 2-1. Nate Lukez was 4th at 157 lbs. Braden Basile (#33 @ 133 lbs) was sixth with losses to #27 Serrano of Northern Colorado and #17 Knox of Stanford. At 149lbs, Thomas Deck was 7th. In 3rd at 285 lbs was Lucas Stoddard, while Thomas Godbee was 8th at 197 lbs. Army will be in Lancaster, PA for the F&M Open this week. Binghamton The Bearcats did not compete over the holidays. They will return at the F&M Open this week as well. Brown The Bears competed at the Southern Scuffle to bring in the new year. They had a lone placewinner in Ian Oswalt at 141 lbs. He earned his 8th place finish when he lost in the first round, only to win four in a row to be on the podium. At 133 lbs, Hunter Adrian was a quarterfinalist. Unfortunately, he lost his next two bouts and failed to place. Much of the team’s lineup is still up in the air, as they had a very light first semester which contained zero dual meets. We will know more about this team as the season progresses. The Bears will be off this weekend. After that, they have a full slate of dual meets well into February. Bucknell The Bison were one of the teams at the Southern Scuffle. They walked away with two champions. Kurt Phipps (#24 @ 133 lbs) had a win over #27 Serrano of Northern Colorado in the finals. #26 Noah Mulvaney managed to win his 165 lbs bracket without facing a ranked opponent as all ranked wrestlers in his bracket lost before getting a chance to face him. At 285 lbs, #33 Dorian Crosby, wrestled in the finals where he dropped the match to #15 Heindselman of Oklahoma. Mikey Bartush was 4th at 184 lbs and Logan Deacetis was 6th at 197 lbs. Bucknell’s performance was good enough for a 6th place finish overall. Overall, it was a pretty good showing for Bucknell. The Bison will take a weekend off before dual meet action in two weeks. Columbia The Lions were at the Soldier Salute in Iowa. They finished as the highest non-Big Ten team, earning third overall behind Iowa and Minnesota. #24 Lennox Wolak was the highest finisher for the squad when he was runner-up at 174 lbs. Nick Babin was 4th at 125 lbs and #29 Aaron Ayzerov was 4th at 184 lbs. At 197 lbs, #28 Jack Wehmeyer was in 5th place. Angelo Rini lost his wrestleback match due to a medical forfeit. Columbia has been banged up with injuries and this continued over the holidays. Expect to see various lineups moving forward as the injuries heal and plenty of wrestlers see action. This week’s agenda includes a matchup with #23 West Virginia in Atlantic City. #8 Cornell Cornell was not in action between Christmas and New Year’s. They will face #6 Ohio State away on Friday and host #9 Virginia Tech on Sunday. This is a huge weekend of duals for the Big Red. Drexel The Dragons only had a few participants at the Southern Scuffle. They returned home with one placewinner at 125 lbs. Deon Pleasant took 8th place. He split matches with Farmer of Army, who finished in 7th. Jack Janda was 2-2 on the day at 174 lbs while Cody Walsh was 3-2 during the event. The Dragons will be back closer to full strength at the F&M Open this weekend. Franklin & Marshall The Diplomats had five wrestlers compete at the Midlands. Overall, they were in 12th place out of 30 teams. Noah Fox (174 lbs), Pat Phillips (141 lbs), and John Crawford (#32 @ 197 lbs) all finished in the round of 12, just failing to place. Mason Leiphart placed 6th at 133 lbs, with all three losses on the weekend coming from ranked opponents. At 184 lbs, #17 James Conway finished in 6th. It was a great performance by a quality contingent at this event. The Diplomats will host their Open this week. Expect a few starters to miss this one, as they recover from a tough Midlands. Harvard Harvard saw action at the Midlands over the break. #13 Phil Conigliaro returned to the lineup, earning 2nd in the 174 lbs bracket. He had wins over #7 McCoy of Virginia and #14 Kemp of Cal Poly. Conigliaro’s performance was the best ever by a Harvard wrestler. Finishing 5th at 125 lbs was Diego Sotelo – he came into the weekend with a ranking of #25. He had a win over #21 Gallagher of Penn in the consi’s. At 157 lbs, Jimmy Harrington earned 8th with a win over #23 Clark of Rutgers. Joe Cangro, Josh Kim, and Coleman Nogle each wrestled well, notching multiple wins. Next for Harvard is the F&M Open on Friday. Hofstra The Pride will return to competition this week at the F&M Open. #28 Lehigh The Mountain Hawks sent a handful of strong competitors to the Midlands. Luke Stanich was champion after defeating a two-time All-American #9 Barnett of Wisconsin. He then defeated #10 Flynn of Virginia Tech and #25 Sotelo of Harvard on the weekend. Stanich, who competed unattached, still has the potential to redshirt this season. It will be interesting to see how the remainder of the season checks out. At 197 lbs, #9 Michael Beard was the champion using all bonus point wins, dominating his competition. This included a fall over #25 Smith of Virginia Tech and a major over #10 Stout of Princeton. Also at 197 lbs, JT Davis earned a fourth-place finish in the bracket behind Beard. Lehigh also had Kelvin Griffin competing at 149 lbs where he won a few matches. Lehigh’s unattached wrestlers included Mays at 165 lbs and Repos at 149 lbs – each winning a couple of matches on the weekend. The Mountain Hawks of Lehigh will be off this weekend. Expect a large turnout of Hawks for the F&M Open while the starters heal up, and the staff figures out what the line-up will look like moving forward. Long Island LIU will be back to competing at the F&M Open. Expect most of the team to compete. #15 Navy The last remaining undefeated team in the conference was home for the holidays. They will be in action at the F&M Open this week. #20 Penn The Quakers were team champions at the Midlands for the first time in school history. At 141lbs, #11 CJ Composto was the runner-up in the bracket. Max Hale (#28 @ 184lbs) had a big weekend with wins over #33 Fisher of Northwestern and #17 Conway of F&M to earn a silver medal. #11 Michael Colaiocco was 4th in the 133 lbs bracket. He had a win over #5 Latona of Virginia Tech, a multiple-time All-American. Lucas Revano may have had the most impressive day of everyone, wrestling to a 7-2 record – enough for 3rd place at 157lbs. After a loss to #23 Clark of Rutgers, he had wins over guys like #16 Saldate of Michigan State, #33 Washleski of Rider, and #28 McGee of George Mason. #12 Nick Incontrera was a third-place finisher with a lone loss to #3 Ruth of Illinois. At 197lbs, Cole Urbas emerged with a 3rd place victory. He had a tech fall over #29 Bates of Northwestern and a win over #25 Smith of Virginia Tech. At 285lbs, John Stout was 8th. His big win was over #26 Wolfgram of West Virginia. The Quakers return to action this weekend. You will see some wrestlers at the F&M Open on Friday. Expect the starters to be in action in a home dual with #14 Rutgers on Saturday. Princeton The Tigers competed at the Midlands. #10 Luke Stout was the highest placer with a runner-up finish at 197 lbs. In the same bracket, Aidan Conner was in 7th place. At 184lbs, #22 Nate Dugan was 6th after a quality win over #12 Malczewski of Michigan State. The talk of the Princeton faithful, however, was not wearing a Princeton uniform. Ty Whalen is in an active gray-shirt season where he is not enrolled in school. He competed unattached and won the 149 lbs bracket. He took out multiple-time All-American #3 Parco of Arizona State and #19 Watters of West Virginia. Rocco Camillaci was 4-2 on the weekend, with two losses to ranked foes by a total of two points. He is right there with many quality wrestlers. The Tigers will be at the F&M Open this week in return to competition. Sacred Heart The Pioneers competed before Christmas and are off until next week’s duals with Queens and VMI.

The Big 12 returned to action in a big way, with teams having success at the Midlands and Southern Scuffle. West Virginia continues to look like one of the most improved teams in the country with a program record Midlands performance. Missouri kicked off 2024 dual action with a superb back-and-forth with Virginia Tech. Oklahoma, Northern Colorado, and North Dakota State finished in the top ten at the Southern Scuffle. Then a handful of teams sent some wrestlers to the Soldier Salute, thankfully coming away without too many controversial headlines. January starts to heat up for a number of teams, including some exciting duals later this week. Air Force (Overall: 2-2; Conference: 0-2): No Competition. Next Up: Air Force has the F&M Open in Lancaster, PA on January 5th to start the new year. California Baptist (Overall: 3-4; Conference: 0-1): Midlands Brackets The Lancers sent nine wrestlers to the Midlands tournament and came back with one finalist in Eli Griffin. Griffin was on a tear with two falls, a major, and a tech before dropping a nailbiter overtime match in the finals. Included is a win over NIU’s Blake West, who had beaten him in the dual earlier this season. After a slow start, Griffin looks like he could be back to form in 2024. Hunter Leake was close to making a run, going 4-2 and only dropping losses to Dylan Ragusin and Julian Chlebove. Nathan Haas was another point scorer for the team after losing in the first round, reeling off four consecutive wins before losing in the bloodround. Despite not having a heavyweight, the team finished a solid 15th. Next Up: California Baptist competes against Iowa State on January 7th. Iowa State (Overall: 6-1; Conference: 0-0): No Competition. Next Up: The Cyclones compete against Arizona State on January 5th and California Baptist on January 7th. Missouri (Overall: 6-0; Conference: 3-0): Dual Results (ILL) | Dual Results (VT) While the Illinois dual was before the break, it saw a lot of great action in a very cool venue. The Tigers beat Illinois in the Stifel Theatre 29-6 on UFC Fight Pass, the first sporting event in the historic venue. Coming out of the break saw Missouri beat a tough Virginia Tech team 22-17 in an electric dual. Despite missing All-American Peyton Mocco, the team split matches 5-5, but scored bonus points in four of their wins. There were upsets against the team at 125, 141, and 157 as Cooper Flynn, Tom Crook, and Bryce Andonian won tight matches. Kade Moore got the upset of the night, however, pinning two-time All-American Sam Latona in the second period. Out of the break, the team started to pull away, getting bonus points from Keegan O’Toole, Clayton Whiting, and Rocky Elam. J Conway bumped up two weights to take on Mekhi Lewis, but lost by tech. Zach Elam closed out the dual over Hunter Catka, to give the Tigers their first win over Virginia Tech since 2018. Next Up: The team hits the road for a long trip to wrestle Stanford on January 10th. North Dakota State (Overall: 1-6; Conference: 0-1): Southern Scuffle Brackets North Dakota State didn’t get any champs, but put three wrestlers on the podium to finish ninth at the Southern Scuffle. Gavin Sax was third at 174, capping his day with a pin over Tate Picklo to avenge a loss in the dual this year. Aidan Brenot was seventh at 184 and Max Petersen was eighth. Next Up: The team had a dual against Oregon State canceled, so the team doesn’t compete again until January 20th against California Baptist. Northern Colorado (Overall: 7-1; Conference: 0-1): Southern Scuffle Brackets The Bears had a solid performance at the Scuffle, getting seven on the podium and two champs. Stevo Poulin beat Nico Provo 6-5 while Vinny Zerban upset Daniel Cardenas with an 8-5 decision; it was both wrestler's first Scuffle title. Dom Serrano dropped a 2-0 decision in the finals, but notched his biggest win of the season over Nasir Bailey 5-3 in the semis. Xavier Vasquez was 5th at 197, Noah Pettigrew 7th, and Travis Mastrogiovanni was 7th at 174. Baylor Fernandes pinned top seed Cael Carlson, but was disqualified against Tyler Lillard for clearly attempting to injure his opponent. He succeeded as Lillard not only had to medically forfeit, but had to be carried off the mat in clear pain. Fans may remember Fernandes also being disqualified last year for injuring Tanner Cook. A sour note on a very good performance from Northern Colorado. Next Up: The Bears compete on the road against Cal Poly and California Baptist on January 12th and 13th. Northern Iowa (Overall: 1-3; Conference: 0-0): Soldier Salute Brackets Northern Iowa sent mostly non-starters to the Soldier Salute and finished 6th with five placers. RJ Weston was the highest placer, finishing 5th at 165. Izzy Moreno was right behind him at 6th. Joining him in 6th place was Nick Fox at 174 while Adam Ahrendsen (197) and Garret Rinken (125) were both 7th. Next Up: The Panthers dual Wyoming and Nebraska in Lincoln on January 6th. Oklahoma State (Overall: 4-0; Conference: 2-0): No Competition. Next Up: OK State takes on NC State on the road on January 5th. Oklahoma (Overall: 4-2; Conference: 2-2): Southern Scuffle Brackets Despite missing two starters, the Sooners still managed a runner-up finish at the Scuffle. Led by Stephen Buchanan bonusing his way to a title, Josh Heindselman also won at 285. Jared Hill flipped a major decision loss to Alejandro Herrera-Rondon from earlier this year and beat teammate John Wiley, who finished 6th. While this was a lineup battle to start the year, Hill looks to have separated this season. Tate Picklo was pinned in the third-place match by Gavin Sax, an opponent he majored in November. Cael Carlson was upset twice, being majored by Gunner Filipowicz and pinned by Baylor Fernandes. Conrad Hendricksen and Giuseppe Hoose finished 5th, while fellow starter Jace Koelzer was seventh. If Mosha Schwartz has to miss more time, Carter Schmidt had a solid tournament, finishing fifth and outplacing teammate Kaden Smith at 141. Next Up: The Sooners compete in the Virginia Duals, wrestling Navy on January 12th followed by Wisconsin and Virginia on the 13th. South Dakota State (Overall: 3-2; Conference: 0-0): Soldier Salute Brackets The Jackrabbits sent a handful of wrestlers to the Soldier Salute and put seven wrestlers on the podium to finish fourth as a team. Alek Martin finished third, only losing to Anthony Ferrari, and notched a win over Victor Voinovich. Swensen was second, beating Paniro Johnson in the semis and dropping a one-takedown match to Jared Franek. Luke Rasmussen was also a finalist, dropping a decision to Bennett Tabor in the finals. Clay Carlson made his return this season, going 2-2 with losses to Vance Vombaur and Zeke Seltzer. Other Jackrabbits to make the podium were true freshman Brady Roark (5th - 125), Daniel Kimball (5th - 149), and Bowen McConville (6th - 285). Next Up: The Jackrabbits take on their third Big 10 wrestling team of the season with a dual against Michigan. Utah Valley (Overall: 1-0; Conference: 0-0): No Competition. Next Up: The Wolverines wrestle Iowa State for their first Big 12 dual on January 12th followed by Northern Iowa on January 13th. West Virginia (Overall: 7-1; Conference: 2-1): Midlands Brackets West Virginia continues to impress with their best finish at Midlands, finishing third overall. Jordan Titus was the team's second champ in program history, staying undefeated and continuing his impressive season. He took out Tom Crook in the semis followed by a dominating 18-3 tech over CJ Composto in the finals. Ty Watters and Peyton Hall both finished as runner-ups at 149 and 165. Watters scored wins over Kannon Webster and Corbyn Munson and already has ten falls this season. Peyton Hall made the finals with a wild first-period pin over Caleb Fish, a match that saw both wrestlers give up nearfall early. Hall now has seven pins and eight techs on the year. After his big win over Stevo Poulin, Strickenberger looked like a podium contender. Surprisingly he struggled here however, going 0-2 with losses to Tyler Klinsky of Rider and Ethan Spacht of Division III North Central. Dennis Robin, Austin Cooley, and Michael Wolfgram also failed to place with each wrestler taking upset losses. Brody Conley had a solid tournament finishing 5th while going 5-2. The Mountaineers continue to look like one of the most improved teams on the year. Next Up: West Virginia wrestles Columbia on the road on January 7th. Wyoming (Overall: 3-2; Conference: 1-1): Soldier Salute Brackets Wyoming sent a squad to the Soldier Salute and finished in 7th place with four wrestlers on the podium. Jore Volk was a runner-up, dropping a one-takedown match to Drake Ayala in the finals. Joey Novak finished third, with wins over Garrett Joles and Jack Wehmeyer. Rounding out the placers was Stockton O’Brien at 6th at 141, and Cooper Birdwell 8th at 133 after medically forfeiting. Next Up: Wyoming wrestles against Nebraska and Northern Iowa in Lincoln on January 6th.

We've made it into the New Year which means the Midlands, Soldier Salute, and Southern Scuffle are now in the rearview mirror. As you would expect after three tournaments of that caliber, plus a dual between Missouri and Virginia Tech, plenty changed rankings-wise. It sounds like a broken record, but 125 had plenty of shuffling. As of now, we're under the impression that Midlands champion Luke Stanich is still planning on redshirting, so he has not been added. A lot of time was devoted to 133 and 149 lbs, particularly that 8-15 range. Both weights have plenty of new faces within that range. Even the wrestlers that high in the rankings have a few "not-great" losses and, in some cases, have beaten each other. As of now, we have not added true freshmen Braeden Davis (Penn State - 125) and Gabe Arnold (Iowa - 174). Both could be featured prominently at their respective weights and would have some impact on the team race. Like Stanich, once we have more information about their potential redshirt status, they could be added.

2024 Southern Scuffle Final Results Team Scores 1. Stanford 153.5 2. Oklahoma 136 3. Indiana 134 4. Army West Point 133 5. Northern Colorado 110.5 Championship Finals 125 - Stevo Poulin (Northern Colorado) dec Nico Provo (Stanford) 6-4 133 - Kurt Phipps (Bucknell) dec Dominick Serrano (Northern Colorado) 2-0 141 - Danny Fongaro (Indiana) dec Jason Miranda (Stanford) 6-4 149 - Graham Rooks (Indiana) dec Cody Bond (Appalachian State) 4-1SV 157 - Vince Zerban (Northern Colorado) dec Daniel Cardenas (Stanford) 8-5SV 165 - Noah Mulvaney (Bucknell) dec Gunner Filipowicz (Army West Point) 11-5 174 - Ben Pasiuk (Army West Point) MedFFT DJ Washington (Indiana) 184 - Jha’Quan Anderson (Gardner-Webb) dec Cam Pine (Clarion) 4-2 197 - Stephen Buchanan (Oklahoma) tech Kyle Haas (Oklahoma State) 16-1 285 - Josh Heindselman (Oklahoma) dec Dorian Crosby (Bucknell) 7-3 Third Place Bouts 125 - Ethan Berginc (Army West Point) dec Chad Bellis (Appalachian State) 5-3 133 - Nasir Bailey (Little Rock) maj Blake Boarman (Chattanooga) 13-4 141 - Isaiah Powe (Chattanooga) dec Riley Edwards (Appalachian State) 13-8 149 - Jacob Abas (Stanford) dec Noah Castillo (Chattanooga) 4-1 157 - Jared Hill (Oklahoma) dec Nate Lukez (Army West Point) 8-5SV 165 - Joey Bianchi (Little Rock) MedFFT Tyler Lillard (Indiana) 174 - Gavin Sax (North Dakota State) fall Tate Picklo (Oklahoma) 4:46 184 - Roman Rogotzke (Indiana) fall Mikey Bartush (Bucknell) 3:17 197 - Nick Stemmet (Stanford) maj Gabe Sollars (Indiana) 12-2 285 - Lucas Stoddard (Army West Point) fall Peter Ming (Stanford) :54 Fifth Place Bouts 125 - Conrad Hendrikson (Oklahoma) dec Blaine Frazier (Indiana) 7-1 133 - Tyler Knox (Stanford) dec Braden Basile (Army West Point) 10-6 141 - Carter Schmidt (Oklahoma) fall Todd Carter (Gardner-Webb) 3:42 149 - Zach Price (Gardner-Webb) dec Jeremiah Price (Appalachian State) 4-2 157 - Zach Hanson (Stanford) dec John Wiley (Oklahoma) 5-4 165 - Hunter Garvin (Stanford) MedFFT Baylor Fernandes (Northern Colorado) 174 - Lucas Uliano (Appalachian State) Disq Lorenzo Norman (Stanford) 184 - Giuseppe Hoose (Oklahoma) maj Jack Darrah (Stanford) 11-2 197 - Xavier Vasquez (Northern Colorado) dec Logan Deacetis (Bucknell) 2-0 285 - Juan Mora (Oklahoma) dec Jacob Sartorio (Appalachian State) 4-1SV Seventh Place Bouts 125 - Charlie Farmer (Army West Point) dec Desmond Pleasant (Drexel) 8-3 133 - Jace Koelzer (Oklahoma) MedFFT Gabe Vidlak (Oklahoma) 141 - Jacob Silka (The Citadel) maj Ian Oswalt (Brown) 11-3 149 - Thomas Deck (Army West Point) fall Max Petersen (North Dakota State) 2:15 157 - Austin Paradice (Chattanooga) fall Gavin Cagle (Virginia) 1:16 165 - Cael Carlson (Oklahoma) tech Drake Acklin (Appalachian State) 16-1 174 - Travis Mastrogiovanni (Northern Colorado) dec Gerrit Nijenhuis (Oklahoma) 4-3 184 - Aiden Brenot (North Dakota State) MedFFT Abe Wojcikiewicz (Stanford) 197 - Noah Pettigrew (Northern Colorado) dec Thomas Godbee (Army West Point) 9-4 285 - Josiah Hill (Little Rock) tech Connor Barket (Duke) 17-2

all photos courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com Welcome to 2024! The New Year has already started with almost two full days of the Southern Scuffle and action will continue tonight as ninth-ranked Virginia Tech travels to number three Missouri for an incredible non-conference dual. As we move into the second half of the collegiate season, everything starts to come into focus more. Results from previous seasons mean less and the 2023-24 season really takes form. With that in mind, we still have a lot to learn about this wrestling season. There are plenty of questions I’m hoping will get answered during the final two months of the regular season. With it being 2024, 24 seemed like the appropriate number of questions to ask. Since we’ve been thorough in answering the questions, this feature will need two parts. The second part will be ready later in the week. 1. How does 125 lbs shake out for Penn State? The lightest weight class has been an issue for Penn State since the graduation of Nico Megaludis after winning a national title in 2016. I’m sure non-Penn State fans are not shedding a tear for the program that’s won ten national championships since 2011, but the 125 lb representative is a major talking point for college wrestling’s superpower. One of the top recruits from the Class of 2020, Robbie Howard made the 2021 tournament as a true freshman, then missed two full years due to injury. He’s returned this season and went 3-4 in two tournaments. Howard has not gotten the call in any of PSU’s duals. Against Lehigh, Cael Sanderson turned to Gary Steen, a sophomore who’s 6-3 on the year. Steen does have a loss to Howard this year at the Black Knight Invite. Also in the mix is Michigan transfer Kurt McHenry; though McHenry went 1-1 at the Mat Town Open and medically forfeited out of the tournament after a loss to Binghamton true freshman Carson Wagner. Perhaps the best option is true freshman Braeden Davis. He got the call in the Hofstra dual and responded with a major decision to run his season record to 8-0. In winning the Black Knight Invite, Davis downed a pair of ranked wrestlers in #31 Ethan Berginc (Army West Point) and #32 Tristan Lujan (Michigan State). The question is whether or not Sanderson wants to pull Davis from redshirt in a year where the Nittany Lions should probably win the NCAA title by a comfortable margin. That gap shrunk in December as the program announced second-ranked Shayne Van Ness would miss the remainder of the season because of injury. With Iowa potentially getting stronger, the allure of Davis may be too much to pass up. 2. Will we see Ferrari(s)? To pull back the curtain a bit, these questions were written out before the Soldier Salute. Because of the hi-jinks caused by AJ, and to a lesser extent Anthony, it may have impacted their potential standing with the University of Iowa. What we know is that both AJ and Anthony are not enrolled at Iowa, yet. It appears that both have intended to do so and AJ released pictures from an official visit earlier last week. The spring semester at the University of Iowa starts on January 16th. In order to get started with classes, both would have to have already been involved in some phase of the enrollment process. I’m assuming there should be an answer soon on whether both are accepted. I’m operating under the assumption that Tom Brands is moving forward with attempting to add both to the roster and the Salute finals didn’t impact that decision. The biggest potential hurdle could come from the athletic department and the administration within. Will AJ’s history at Oklahoma State and perhaps the scene at the Salute be a bring too far for them? Ultimately, if I had to choose, I’d say both are available to wrestle for Brands this season. Since AJ was disqualified from the Salute for flagrant misconduct, that may push back a debut. Typically, an athlete disqualified for that reason would have to sit out the next event, but I’m not sure of the interpretation of that rule since AJ is not on a roster. 3. How does Missouri’s lineup work itself out? After Penn State, Missouri is one of the three teams that could make an argument for that number two spot in the dual rankings. Even so, there are a couple of spots in the Mizzou lineup that need to be determined in the second half of the season. Mainly, 133 and 149 lbs. Before the season, most assumed top 2022 recruit, Zeke Seltzer would slide into the starting lineup at 133 lbs as a redshirt freshman. Seltzer went 0-2 in dual competition and recently competed at 141 lbs for the Soldier Salute. It was another redshirt freshman, Kade Moore, who has recently gotten the call for Brian Smith at 133 lbs. Moore is now 7-2 with both losses coming to #29 Tyler Wells (Minnesota). He’s a perfect 3-0 in dual competition and tallied bonus points in two of those wins. With Seltzer competing at 141 lbs, I’d assume we’ll continue to see Moore at 133 lbs until further notice. Both Nate Pulliam and Logan Gioffre have seen time in the Tiger lineup and both have had their moments. Gioffre had a win over 2022 Big 12 runner-up Willie McDougald in Missouri’s win over Oklahoma. Pulliam has a pair of ranked wins; the most impressive came over CKLV placer Gabe Willochell during Missouri’s 40-6 romp over Wyoming. With Pulliam having to end his Soldier Salute tournament early due to an injury default, I’d expect Gioffre to get the next crack at solidifying the starting role. 4. When will Michigan get to full strength? During the offseason, Michigan reloaded with a transfer portal haul that included four past All-Americans Michael DeAugustino (125), Chris Cannon (133), Shane Griffith (174), and Lucas Davison (285). They’ll receive another shot-in-the-arm from 2022 Big Ten champion and All-American Austin Gomez, who is expected to join the team in the second half. After some unfortunate early-season injuries, Michigan has been and could be without some of those important cogs. Cannon only saw action in part of one bout, a Columbia dual, and was injured and has been on the shelf since November 17th. DeAugustino made the CKLV semifinals and suffered an apparent leg injury against Cornell’s Brett Ungar. DeAugustino attempted to continue but had to default out of that match and the tournament. Since Michigan hasn’t had any duals scheduled in December, he hasn’t missed any duals. The Wolverines also have been without redshirt freshman Rylan Rogers, the projected starter at 184 lbs, for each of their first two duals and the CKLV Invite. Rogers did return for the Cleveland State Open on December 9th and won three of four bouts. The emergence of Jaden Bullock with a sixth-place finish has allowed the Michigan staff to be cautious with Rogers. We’ll see if Rogers can regain his spot in the lineup. Michigan is back in action on Thursday evening against #13 South Dakota State which is a very strong out-of-conference test. We’ll see if Michigan is closer to full strength for the Jackrabbits. If DeAugustino goes, he’ll have a tough challenge in #19 Tanner Jordan, whom he defeated 6-3 in Vegas. 5. Does a 125 lb favorite emerge? In short, no! I think the volatility that we saw during the first two months of the season will continue for the rest of the year. As far as the favorites go, I’d still look toward the wrestlers who have “been there and done that” in the past. Specifically, #1 Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) and #5 Matt Ramos (Purdue). Those two wrestlers have both wrestled at an extremely high level for the last year and a half. Others at this weight have gone up and down during that time. One guy I’d single out as someone who has been very consistent thus far is Caleb Smith. In his final year of eligibility, but first year at Nebraska, after wrestling at Appalachian State, Smith has won 13 of 14 matches and was third in Vegas. There he posted wins over Ramos and All-American Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State). This weekend, Smith will have matches against ranked opponents #7 Jore Volk (Wyoming) and #28 Trever Anderson (Northern Iowa) before getting into the Big Ten schedule. The Volk match is particularly important as he’s responsible for Smith’s only loss of the year. Other matches to watch of note this week include #2 Noah Surtin (Missouri) vs. #10 Cooper Flynn (Virginia Tech) and #3 Dean Peterson (Rutgers) vs. #21 Max Gallagher (Penn). Both Surtin and Peterson are undefeated, but haven’t wrestled any top contenders. Both opponents would represent the toughest test of the year. Should Surtin/Peterson continue winning, they could elevate themselves to favorite status. 6. Who wrestles 141 for the Hokies? Currently, Virginia Tech has nine of ten starters in the rankings with the “lowest” being Andy Smith at 197 lbs. The only weight class without a ranked Hokie is 141 lbs. In a perfect world, Tony Robie’s squad would redshirt Tom Crook and hope that one of their top-100 recruits, Mac Church or Hunter Mason, emerges as “the guy” at 141. Crook was in their shoes last year as a true freshman and earned the #15 seed at the 2023 NCAA Tournament. It appeared as if Crook was gearing up for a move to 149 lbs in 2024-25 since he wrestled in two tournaments in November at 149. At the Midlands, Crook was back down at 141 lbs and ended up in the semifinals before he fell, 9-6, to the eventual champion, undefeated Jordan Titus of West Virginia. Crook rebounded to finish third. His teammates Church and Mason both missed out on the podium and both were eliminated by Michigan State’s Jordan Hamdan. Crook had an 8-2 victory over Hamdan in the consolation semifinals. Circling back to the freshmen, Mason had three wins to Church’s two; however, Church’s win over 2023 Shannon Hanna (Campbell) was the most impressive victory between the two. With matches against Mizzou and Cornell this week for Virginia Tech and both expected to be close, we’ll probably get some sort of an answer, at least as far as Crook is concerned. 7. Can Echemendia take the next step? It seems as if Anthony Echemendia’s return to college wrestling with Iowa State slipped under the radar, a bit. He was in Iowa State’s wrestle-off at 149 lbs, but many fans assumed that spot belonged to Casey Swiderski. Echemendia won that wrestle-off and initially competed at 149 lbs, before dropping to 141. In his second match at the weight, Echemendia nearly knocked off top-ranked Real Woods in the Cy-Hawk dual. At the CKLV Echemendia finished seventh in a loaded weight. Since then, he’s registered a pair of major decisions over 2023 EIWA champion Vince Cornella (Cornell). In Vegas, he pinned returning qualifier Cleveland Belton (Oregon State) and at the Collegiate Duals, he majored 2022 All-American Cole Matthews. Echemendia’s only losses have come to top-ten opponents and he’s never looked overmatched. With a freestyle-only background, Echemendia has looked solid on the mat, as well. At his current rate of improvement, it’s not far-fetched to think that Echemendia could reverse some of his previous losses and put himself into high All-American status. 8. How good can South Dakota State be? Currently, the South Dakota State Jackrabbits sit in 13th place in both InterMat’s individual and dual rankings. SDSU’s 3-2 record is certainly not indicative of their actual talent as those two defeats came at the hands of #4 Nebraska and #12 Minnesota. Both duals were within six team points and South Dakota State was without at least two key starters in the Minnesota dual. They’ll continue to get tested this week as #10 Michigan comes to visit. As mentioned above, Michigan may not be entirely healthy themselves. SDSU has shown signs of getting back to full health with Clay Carlson returning at the Soldier Salute and Bennett Berge debuting against Nebraska. Both took losses that you wouldn’t necessarily expect; however, that could be some rust. In addition to the Michigan dual, South Dakota State has matches against undefeated Navy, both Oklahoma schools, and third-ranked Missouri on the schedule. They’ll be tested multiple times and have an opportunity to prove themselves in dual competition. As a tournament team, SDSU is very intriguing. Their big gun is 197 lber Tanner Sloan, a 2023 NCAA runner-up. Replicating a finals performance will be difficult as the weight class is loaded. Sloan already took a loss in the CKLV semifinals to Maryland’s Jaxon Smith. The Big 12 has title contenders like Stephen Buchanan (Oklahoma) and Rocky Elam (Missouri) in the mix. Sloan has exchanged wins with both. Another returning All-American for SDSU is Carlson. It’s too early to judge whether or not he’ll be able to get back on the podium for a third time. He and Sloan led the Jackrabbits to a 14th-place finish in Tulsa last March. A positive for Damion Hahn’s team is that they are far from a two-man show. A title at the CKLV helped elevate Cade DeVos into fourth place in the rankings at 174 lbs. He has a mammoth matchup with the Wolverines and former national champion Shane Griffith, who slots in right behind him in the rankings. DeVos came up a match shy of placing in 2023, this time around the question may be “how high” rather than “if” he cracks the top eight. The Jackrabbits lightweights have the potential to make an impact at nationals, too. It’s been well-documented that 125 lbs is really a crapshoot nationally. Is there a good reason why #19 Tanner Jordan couldn’t find a way onto the podium? So far, this season Jordan has wins over two-time All-American Patrick McKee (Minnesota) and upstart freshmen Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State) and Trever Anderson (Northern Iowa). Perhaps the most improved wrestler on the SDSU team is their 133 lber Derrick Cardinal. Cardinal was sixth in Vegas and has already surpassed his win total (13 to 11) from his entire freshman year. Again, 133 lbs is rather manageable after the top tier of contenders. Someone like the #14th ranked Cardinal making the All-American round wouldn’t be a huge shock. Just because a wrestler made the podium in the past, doesn’t guarantee they’ll do so in the future, so you can’t just pencil in Sloan/Carlson as high All-Americans, if they can find their way back and DeVos continues to impress, plus with some help from the lightweights, surpassing 2023’s 14th place finish at nationals is certainly doable. 9. Does Gable return? One of the storylines of the offseason and preseason was whether or not Gable Steveson would return and use his final year of eligibility. And, if so, would it be at Minnesota? The two-time Hodge Trophy winner and Olympic gold medalist turned his sights to the WWE after winning his second national championship in 2022. Steveson returned for the 2023 US Open and lapped the field. He solidified a spot on the world team after defeating Mason Parris at Final X, but withdrew from the team prior to World’s. Parris went on to capture bronze in his place. All the while, there were plenty of whispers about how Steveson may not be progressing as well as hoped with the WWE. Almost on cue, Steveson started to appear on TV semi-frequently. Even so, talks about a return to his roots on the wrestling mat have persisted. People close to Gable say he wants a shot at a second Olympic gold medal and what better way to train than with a collegiate program, sort of in conjunction with the WWE. So will we see Gable again in the collegiate ranks? The talk around Gable has subsided in the past few months. During the preseason, it almost felt like an inevitability that he’d return. And for Minnesota, despite taking a visit to Iowa. The final decision likely rests in the laps of the decision-makers with the WWE. Like the Ferrari situation, you’d imagine that we’ll find out more soon as the spring semester at the University of Minnesota is rapidly approaching. 10. Did we overestimate Cornell? Earlier this season, we had Cornell ranked as the number two overall team in both tournaments and duals. As the clock turns to the New Year, the Big Red sits at ninth in tournaments and eighth in duals. So, we dropped the ball, right? Not necessarily (but maybe). Cornell’s only dual loss came in that now-infamous Collegiate Duals match against Iowa State, where four starters were held out of the competition. Had the 133, 157, and 165 lbers wrestled, they might have beaten ISU and things look much differently. Dual rankings also can’t be done thinking about “what may have happened” had someone wrestled. Despite the dual loss to Iowa State, Cornell can change the perception this week with two massive duals against #6 Ohio State and #9 Virginia Tech. At this time, we’re unsure of the status of those wrestlers for Cornell. Should they sweep this trying gauntlet, Cornell likely climbs back toward the top five or six. Now tournament rankings are strictly determined by individual rankings. Once the rankings are set, there’s no further human element. One factor that stung Cornell in the rankings (and on the mat/locker room) was the loss of past All-American Jonathan Loew to injury. His career is said to be over, now. Initially, it looked like the Big Red would have a past AA at 184 lbs and a returning third-place finisher (Chris Foca) at 174 lbs. In Loew’s absence, Foca has moved up to 184 and Benny Baker has gotten the nod at 174. As of yet, Baker hasn’t been able to crack the national rankings and Foca has a few hiccups in Vegas acclimating to the new weight. That accounts for around 9-10 team points. Vito Arujau had his surprising loss to freshman Ryan Crookham and now sits in second place. I’d imagine many fans probably expect the world champion to eventually find his way and get back to the top of the podium. Should he do so, that would be an additional four team points (we don’t account for bonus points in rankings; so maybe more). A wild card would be Meyer Shapiro at 157 lbs. The top recruit in the Class of 2023 came into Ithaca with plenty of hype and high expectations. My thought process was that he’d be around the top 5-8 range after Vegas. Shapiro won that highly anticipated bout with two-time All-American Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) via major decision, but lost to a pair of lower-ranked wrestlers, so he currently sits at #15. With Cornell slated to face Ohio State and Virginia Tech, Shapiro could have another bout with Andonian and #12 Paddy Gallagher this week. Later in the season, he has duals scheduled against #5 Brock Mauller (Missouri) and #6 Ed Scott (NC State). It’s not a stretch to think he could climb into that 5-8 range before the NCAA tournament. Should he do so, that’s at least four-plus points we haven’t taken into consideration. Adding those potential points from Arujau/Shapiro and expecting Foca to settle in and improve on his eighth-place ranking, suddenly makes Cornell look much better than their current ninth-place ranking in tournaments. 11. Is this the year Rutgers is top-15 in duals and tournaments? Rutgers is a team that, in the past, has been excellent in tournaments (2019 - NCAA 9th), while not being great in duals (2019 - 12-6) and vice versa. In 2022 they were 16-5 in duals, but 20th at nationals. This could be the year where the Scarlet Knights finish the year top-15 in both. In InterMat’s latest rankings update, Rutgers has a wrestler in the top-33 at eight of the ten weights, meaning they are extremely balanced and can hang with anyone in the nation in dual competition. That has proven to be the case so far with a 5-1 record. The only blemish was a 19-12 loss to Virginia Tech and they have generally throttled all other opponents. Rutgers seems ready to make an impact at the NCAA tournament with three wrestlers ranked in the top eight of their respective weight classes. That doesn’t include Midlands finalist Dylan Shawver (133 lbs), undefeated Mitch Moore (141 lbs), and past All-American Jackson Turley (174). They also have a wild card in Brian Soldano (184 lbs) who can pin or be pinned by almost anyone in the country. Scott Goodale’s team is one that I’ll be following closely in the second half of the season as they have a handful of guys that look like contenders, yet haven’t been severely tested thus far. Dean Peterson (125), Mitch Moore (141), John Poznanski (197), and Yara Slavikouski (285) all are unbeaten. Should they excel under the rigorous Big Ten schedule, they all could rise higher than their current national rankings. Rutgers will get a solid test this weekend in an equally balanced dual team in Penn. Last season, the Scarlet Knights defeated the Quakes in an exciting 19-12 dual at the “Garden State Grapple.” The front half of the Big Ten schedule shouldn’t necessarily feature any stumbling blocks for Rutgers, as a team; though there are some intriguing matchups (Peterson/Matt Ramos - January 14th). It’s the second half of the conference schedule where it really heats up team-wise. Rutgers’ last five B1G duals include dates with #10 Michigan, #12 Minnesota, #6 Ohio State, #1 Penn State, and #21 Maryland. 12. Can Navy go undefeated? If you missed watching Navy matches over the first two months of the season, it was your loss! The Midshipmen had a knack for engaging in fun duals and had close wins over Illinois and Pittsburgh among their six dual wins, against no losses. As we move into the back half of the wrestling season, will Navy be able to remain undefeated? Navy has nine matches remaining on their schedule and a handful of interesting duals. There’s the possibility that Cary Kolat’s team suffers two or three losses, but at the same time, there’s a chance they could win out too. Looking at InterMat’s Dual rankings, #13 South Dakota State would present the stiffest challenge at the Virginia Duals. That weekend they are slated to meet #18 Oklahoma and #30 Wisconsin. In their first outing after the Duals, Navy has #28 Lehigh. Don’t be deceived by Lehigh’s dual record (0-3), they’re tough. The Mountain Hawks always are solid in dual competition and match up well against Navy. Going down Navy’s schedule, they’ll also have duals with #27 North Carolina and MAC power Lock Haven. As always, they’ll wrap up with the Star Match against rival Army West Point. That’s one of those matches where you can throw the records and rankings out the window. With the amount of ranked opponents left on Navy’s schedule, it seems hard to believe that they can navigate through the entire docket without a slip-up; however, just asking the question proves how far the team has come under Kolat.

The calendar has flipped to 2024 and we are going to open the new year with a great dual between the #9 Hokies and the #3 Missouri Tigers. There are some solid matches up and down the lineup here and the Hokies will need to get a couple upsets in order to pull off the dual win in Columbia. 125: #10 Cooper Flynn v #2 Noah Surtin Flynn returned by knocking off #4 Nico Provo and just placed 4th at the Midlands, while Surtin is unbeaten. This should be a great matchup to kick off the dual. 133: #5 Sam Latona v Kade Moore Latona will be looking to add bonus points over an unranked Moore; he is coming off a 5th place finish at the Midlands. 141: Tom Crook v #20 Josh Edmond Tom Crook is out of redshirt and will make his dual debut in Columbia. He competed unattached at the Midlands and had a phenomenal tournament, finishing in 3rd. The Hokies will look to Tampa Tom for an upset here. 149: #2 Caleb Henson v Logan Gioffre Henson will face the first of two Gioffre’s he will wrestle this season--brothers Jack and Michael are at UVA. Henson has looked incredible all year and will be looking to help the team with bonus points. 157: #8 Bryce Andonian v #5 Brock Mauller On paper, this is the marquee matchup up the dual--more on that soon--with five All-American finishes between Andonian and Mauller. Andonian was upset in the Stanford dual and will be looking to get back on track against a very tough Mauller. This match will be a clash of styles and could be a lot of fun. 165: #24 Connor Brady v #1 Keegan O’Toole OR James Conway Connor Brady will return to dual action after picking up an upset win against Stanford in his last match out. The Tigers have listed two potential options at 165--reigning NCAA champ Keegan O’Toole and James Conway. I would wager that we will see Brady and Conway at 165. Which brings us to… 174: #2 Mekhi Lewis v TBD Peyton Mocco is still dinged up for the Tigers, and I expect them to bump O’Toole for a match of NCAA champs against Lewis. For the sake of it being a fun matchup to watch, I really hope this happens. O’Toole bumped up to 174 in their last dual to face Edmond Ruth so this isn’t unprecedented, and depending on how the lightweight matches go, it may have a huge impact on the outcome of the dual. 184: Cody Howard v #11 Clayton Whiting This is a big swing match, in my opinion. Whiting has looked solid this season, but the relentless pace of Cody Howard is something to behold. He is coming off a fifth-place finish at the Midlands in his return to action after being off the first semester. Howard looked incredible in Illinois and I’m looking forward to seeing him in another dual. 197: #25 Andy Smith v #3 Rocky Elam This match is lopsided by rankings, but I think this will be a close match. Andy Smith has shown he can hang with anyone in the country and he is tough to score on. This could be a tougher match than expected for the smaller Elam brother. Smith looked great in his return to action at the Midlands, placing 5th. 285: #20 Hunter Catka v #6 Zach Elam This dual ends with another big matchup for Hunter Catka. When he is on and wrestles aggressively, he is able to put up a lot of points. He is going to need to be at the top of his game against a very good Zach Elam. The way these two teams match up, the dual could very much come down to the final match.

Big Tournaments for Womens Wrestling After a week off for most teams during the holidays, things picked up this week with two big tournaments. Several teams and unattached wrestlers headed to Iowa for the Soldier Salute, while others traveled to Illinois for the Midlands Championships. While both tournaments were a little less stacked than previous seasons, there were still some great matches and important moments to recap, so I will highlight some key takeaways with full brackets linked for anyone looking for complete results. Midlands High School Champs at 101, 109 and 130 We have seen some high school upsets on the men’s side at tournaments throughout this season, and the high school girls showed they were ready to do the same. In an incredible run at 101 lbs, Madison Nieuwenhuis a sophomore from Plainwell, Michigan had an impressive run after her first-round bye with a tech fall and pin before meeting 2023 NCWWC Champion and current #4 Madison Avila of North Central in the finals. In their match, Nieuwenhuis looked strong and energized. She was consistently the aggressor taking shots, and Avila actually got a passivity warning in the first. In the second, Nieuwenhuis was able to capitalize on the only takedown of the match and run a half to get the pin. At 109 lbs, high school freshman Kayla Batres out of Milford, Connecticut earned a 1st place finish after getting the win over former NCWWC champ and current #10 Pauline Granados of McKendree in the semis and then taking out returning All-American and #4 Kaelani Shufeldt of Lock Haven in the finals. Batres' wins were all held to decisions by the tough slate of college opponents, but she still showed dominance from such a young competitor. Finally, at 130 lbs, another high school freshman Taina Fernandez of Bowie, Maryland made her way to the top of the podium with dominant wins of her own. In the quarterfinals, she faced former NAIA All-American Nichole Moore of McKendree. Moore is also a 2023 U23 World Team Member. Then, in the premier upset of the tournament, Fernandez got the 12-1 tech over #2 Lexi Janiak of Aurora who is also a returning All-American and 2023 NCWWC finalist. In her finals match, Fernandez finished her run with a 10-0 tech in the finals over returning All-American #6 Salome Walker of North Central. Potential NCWWC national previews At 101 lbs at Midlands, we got to see the match that was almost the finals match at the 2023 NCWWCs. Last year, Lizette Rodriguez lost a decision by criteria in the semis that kept her out of a finals matchup against the eventual champion Madison Avila of North Central. At Midlands, these two met up in the semis and Avila got a 3-2 decision win. This is not the first time we have seen these two match up, in fact, they wrestled at the Region IV tournament last year where Rodriguez actually claimed the first-place spot with a 5-4 decision over the Cardinal. These two seem to have each other figured out, so it will be exciting to see which wrestler continues to have success this year if they meet up again at regionals or nationals. After wrestling this past April at U23 Nationals Viktorya Torres of McKendree and Kendall Bostelman of North Central met on the consolation side of the bracket and Torres had a dominant tech fall. She repeated that result here at Midlands in the semis winning 11-0. Both made it to the quarterfinals last year and lost, however, Torres competed last year at 136 lbs. Bostelman could very well see Torres again in March, so finding a way to hold off her offense and have more successful shots of her own will be pivotal in attempting to reverse these recent results now that Torres has bumped up into her weight class. 155 lbs had a very intriguing final with sophomore #6 Noelle Gaffney of Northern Michigan losing 3-2 to #7 Tiera Jimerson of North Central. Gaffney actually beat Jimerson last month in the finals of the Adrian Invite by decision. Last year, Gaffney qualified for NCWWCs as a freshman but was bounced pretty early in the tournament. Jimerson is a 2x All American finishing in 5th in 2022 and 7th in 2023. These two seem to be a stylistic challenge for one another with both favoring heavy hand-fighting followed by quick, explosive shots. I would love to see these two match up again and see if either can create a more dominant game plan over the other. While some brackets were a little small, there were still some awesome results from different collegiate programs and individual wrestlers who competed unattached. You can check out the full brackets here. Soldier Salute #1 Life vs #1 Iowa Makes for Exciting Matchups Life University holds the top team spot in NAIA with wrestlers in the top 10 at every weight. Iowa, in their first year competing, holds the top spot for NCAA schools with top 10 wrestlers at each weight as well. While these two teams will compete at separate national championships, there are always sparks when their athletes do get matched up. That was certainly the case here where quite a few of the highlight matches of the tournament came between the Eagles and the Hawkeyes. At 130 lbs, we saw #10 (NCAA) Emily Frost take on #2 (NAIA) Sarah Savidge. While Frost has had some strong matches in her freshman campaign, Savidge is a returning national finalist and U20 Pam-Am Team Member and just seemed to be too much in this match. Savidge scored 8 of her 10 points in the first period, starting with a 4-point move and then 2 subsequent single-leg takedowns. Frost had some strong defense and was able to hold off some of Savidge’s attacks until the two go reset, but she has a little bit of growing yet to do to be competing more competitively with the top of the weight class in either division. At 136 lbs, we saw the first of 3 finals between Iowa wrestlers and the 3 McBryde sisters of Life. Lilly Luft of Iowa took on #9 (NAIA) Zaynah McBryde, the youngest of the 3 sisters. Luft is also a part of the talented freshman class at Iowa, and although she does not have many signature wins yet this season, I look for her to develop well in the Iowa room considering the additional talent they have at 136 lbs. McBryde qualified for the tournament last year, and made it to the top 12, but also lacks the signature wins and All-American status her sisters have earned in their time so far. Both of these wrestlers have exactly the pedigree and potential to climb the rankings and become dominant at the weight, especially in future seasons. In this match, the two seemed fairly even, with McBryde taking a majority of the shots, but Luft showing strong defense. In the end, McBryde’s calculated and frequent attacks gave her the edge with a 5-2 decision. The finals match at 143 lbs was the match of the day. If you have not already watched it, please do so here. #1 (NCAA) Reese Larramendy took on #1 (NAIA) Jamilah McBryde. Both wrestlers seemed to immediately recognize patterns and weaknesses in their opponents and capitalize on them. McBryde was able to hit multiple duckunders and slide-bys when Larramendy had her elbows high in their ties. On the flip side, Larramendy was able to execute some single-leg and high crotch shots when McBryde took big steps forward on her lead leg. Each wrestler had double-digit points headed into the second period. With just under a minute left, Larramendy went for a throw on the edge when she felt McBryde get strong underhooks. That move put her in danger and gave McBryde a four-point move to go up 20-18. Not even 10 seconds later, Larramendy hit a duckunder of her own to tie the score 20-20. From the takedown, McBryde had to work to not give up any additional points from a turn. With 20 seconds left on the clock, the two squared up again. Larramendy initiated a takedown that landed the two in a scramble with McBryde trying to get her hips back to the outside and Larramendy able to catch an ankle from her knees. McBryde had a strong whizzer, however, and was able to use that momentum to throw Larramendy to her back. McBryde was able to get in position to hold her opponent for the pin. This match was high-flying, high-scoring, and just a roller coaster for the two athletes. In the background of the video footage, you can see photographers and videographers on the edge of the mat, switch their focus from the men’s finals happening simultaneously to capture the action in this women’s finals match. Obviously, these are two of the most talented athletes at the weight, so to watch them compete at that level for a combined 40 points before the final pin, was so impressive. I hope there is an opportunity for them to compete again, and other wrestlers could learn a lot about these formidable opponents by watching how they competed against one another. In the last Iowa vs Life finals match of the day, Bella Mir took on #2 (NAIA) Latifah McBryde at 155 lbs. Mir was certainly headed into this match looking to get an Iowa win over Life for her team, but also looking for a little bit of redemption as well. These two actually met up at last year’s Soldier Salute, where Mir was wrestling unattached. In that match, McBryde got the pin in just over 4 minutes in the match. However, in this match, Mir was ready and secured a pin of her own in just over a minute. Mir had been on a roll during the tournament with 4 total pins and a tech fall to make up 5 of her 6 wins. This is certainly a result that could flip back in McBryde’s favor if the two met up again, but more so serves as a testament to the growth in just a year that Mir has shown. Right now, Iowa has #1 (NCAA) Marilynne Deede at 155 lbs, but Mir represents the depth of the Hawkeyes at a few weight classes. Mir was presented the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament and continues to prove why she is one to keep an eye on. Results this week in major NCAA, NCWA, and NAIA competitions Midlands VIEW BRACKETS Soldier Salute VIEW BRACKETS Upcoming Events January 5&6: NWCA National Duals January 5: NUWAY Combat Women’s Open

We're now in 2024 which means it's the second half of the wrestling season. We're in the process of moving from a split tournament/dual schedule into only duals. A total of 24 duals will be contested along with some tournaments. 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 are Eastern. Tuesday, January 2: Appalachian State, Bloomsburg, Brown, Bucknell, Chattanooga, Clarion, CSU Bakersfield, Davidson, Drexel, Duke, Gardner-Webb, Indiana, Little Rock, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Oklahoma, Stanford, The Citadel at Southern Scuffle hosted by Chattanooga 11:00 AM FloWrestling Virginia Tech at Missouri 8:00 PM FloWrestling Wednesday, January 3: Lindenwood at Purdue 1:00 PM B1G+ Thursday, January 4: Michigan vs. South Dakota State at Sioux Falls, SD 8:00 PM MidCo Sports Plus Friday, January 5: Air Force, American, Army West Point, Binghamton, Campbell, Drexel, Franklin & Marshall, Harvard, Hofstra, Kent State, LIU, Lock Haven, Maryland, Navy, Penn, Pittsburgh, Presbyterian, Princeton, Sacred Heart at Lehman Open, hosted by Franklin & Marshall 9:00 AM FloWrestling Bellarmine at NWCA National Duals, hosted by Northern Iowa 11:00 AM FloWrestling SIU Edwardsville at Edinboro 6:00 PM FloWrestling American at Michigan State 6:30 PM B1G+ Oklahoma State at NC State 7:00 PM ESPNU Northern Illinois at Rider 7:00 PM ESPN+ Arizona State vs. Iowa State at Chandler, AZ 8:00 PM Pac-12 Plus Cornell at Ohio State 8:00 PM Big Ten Network Penn State at Oregon State 8:00 PM Pac-12 Live Saturday, January 6: Bellarmine at NWCA National Duals, hosted by Northern Iowa 10:00 AM FloWrestling Northern Iowa vs. Wyoming at Nebraska 1:00 PM Gardner-Webb vs. Virginia at Richmond, VA 1:30 PM Wyoming at Nebraska 3:00 PM B1G+ George Mason vs. Virginia at Richmond, VA 3:00 PM Ohio at Michigan State 5:00 PM B1G+ Northern Iowa at Nebraska 5:00 PM B1G+ Rutgers at Penn 7:00 PM ESPN+ Sunday, January 7: Edinboro, Morgan State at Bobby Kauffman Open, hosted by Edinboro 9:00 AM NC State at Hofstra 11:30 AM SIU Edwardsville at Buffalo 1:00 PM ESPN+ Rider at Rutgers 2:00 PM B1G+ Columbia vs. West Virginia at Atlantic City, NJ 2:30 PM UFC FightPass Virginia Tech at Cornell 3:00 PM ESPN+ Arizona State at CSU Bakersfield 5:00 PM California Baptist vs. Iowa State at Walnut, CA 5:00 PM FloWrestling

2024 Southern Scuffle Quarterfinal Results 125 lbs Nico Provo (Stanford) tech Desmond Pleasant (Drexel) 17-1 Conrad Hendrikson (Oklahoma) dec Blaine Frazier (Indiana) 9-3 Chad Bellis (Appalachian State) InjDef Brayden Palmer (Chattanooga) Stevo Poulin (Northern Colorado) dec Michael Spangler (Indiana) 10-5 133 lbs Nasir Bailey (Little Rock) maj Hunter Adrian (Brown) 14-1 Dominick Serrano (Northern Colorado) dec Braden Basile (Army West Point) 5-4 Kurtis Phipps (Bucknell) maj Jace Koezler (Oklahoma) 9-0 Blake Boarman (Chattanooga) dec Tyler Knox (Stanford) 11-4 141 lbs Danny Fongaro (Indiana) dec Isaac Byers (Appalachian State) 3-0 Isaiah Powe (Chattanooga) tech Thomas Termini (The Citadel) 15-0 Riley Edwards (Appalachian State) dec Kaden Smith (Oklahoma) 4-2 Jason Miranda (Stanford) maj Todd Carter (Gardner-Webb) 12-4 149 lbs Jaden Abas (Stanford) maj Tyler McKnight (Gardner-Webb) 12-0 Cody Bond (Appalachian State) dec Benji Alanis (Northern Colorado) 3-0 Graham Rooks (Indiana) fall Jeremiah Price (Appalachian State) 2:40 Noah Castillo (Chattanooga) dec Thomas Deck (Army West Point) 8-5 157 lbs Daniel Cardenas (Stanford) fall John Wiley (Oklahoma) 4:39 Nathan Lukez (Army West Point) maj Logan Ferrero (Duke) 12-4 Jared Hill (Oklahoma) dec Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (Clarion) 4-2 Vince Zerban (Northern Colorado) maj Zach Hanson (Stanford) 11-3 165 lbs Gunner Filipowicz (Army West Point) maj Cael Carlson (Oklahoma) 16-3 Joey Bianchi (Little Rock) dec Baylor Fernandes (Northern Colorado) 7-2 Tyler Lillard (Indiana) tech Hunter Garvin (Stanford) 21-5 Noah Mulvaney (Bucknell) maj Kamdyn Munro (Chattanooga) 19-6 174 lbs DJ Washington (Indiana) fall John Worthing (Clarion) 2:27 Tate Picklo (Oklahoma) dec Gaven Sax (North Dakota State) 8-4 Lorenzo Norman (Stanford) maj Gerrit Nijenhuis (Oklahoma) 16-7 Ben Pasiuk (Army West Point) dec Lucas Uliano (Appalachian State) 8-7 184 lbs Giuseppe Hoose (Oklahoma) dec Branson Britten (Northern Colorado) 4-2 Jha’Quan Anderson (Gardner-Webb) dec Jack Darrah (Stanford) 2-2RTTB Cam Pine (Clarion) dec Mikey Bartush (Bucknell) 5-1 Roman Rogotzke (Indiana) maj Dalton Battle (Appalachian State) 10-2 197 lbs Stephan Buchanan (Oklahoma) fall Xavier Vasquez (Northern Colorado) 6:13 Gabe Sollars (Indiana) dec Lathan Duda (North Dakota State) 8-3 Kyle Haas (Oklahoma State) maj Logan Deacetis (Bucknell) 8-0 Nick Stemmet (Stanford) tech Thomas Godbee (Army West Point) 19-4 285 lbs Josh Heindselman (Oklahoma) tech Jacob Sartorio (Appalachian State) 18-3 Lucas Stoddard (Army West Point) dec Xavier Doolin (Northern Colorado) 8-6 Dorian Crosby (Bucknell) dec Juan Mora (Oklahoma) 7-2 Peter Ming (Stanford) dec Josiah Hill (Little Rock) 8-7

The last few days of 2023 saw one of the best high school tournaments of the season take place as the Powerade Tournament was contested in Western Pennsylvania. Nestled in one of the hotbeds of high school wrestling in the country, the Powerade attracts one of the best fields all year for an in-season tournament. Plenty of tough local teams attend to compete against the best in the state and from around the nation. 2023 was no exception with some excellent high schoolers in action. The high school stars of today will soon become mainstays on the collegiate and Senior level. As we typically do with high-profile high school tournaments, we’ve singled out the wrestlers who have committed to compete at the next level and tracked their progress at the Powerade. These wrestlers have been grouped together by their future schools. Air Force Logan Fowler - Cleveland, Tennessee: 4th Place (160 lbs) Carter Nogle - Mt. St. Joseph, Maryland: 8th Place (139 lbs) American Hunter Hohman - Grove City, Pennsylvania: 6th Place (172 lbs) Colin Martin - Staunton River, Virginia: 7th Place (127 lbs) - Class of 2025 Arizona State Pierson Manville - State College, Pennsylvania: Champion (145 lbs) Army West Point Nick Jones - West Allegheny, Pennsylvania: 2-2 (152 lbs) Gage LaPlante - St. Francis, New York: 2-2 (172 lbs) Nick O’Neill - Malvern Prep, Pennsylvania: Champion (133 lbs) Brown Eli Carr - Hempfield, Pennsylvania: 2-2 (145 lbs) Devon Magro - Bishop McCort, Pennsylvania: 5th Place (160 lbs) - Class of 2025 Khimarri Manns - St. Edward, Ohio: 4-2 (127 lbs) - Class of 2025 Braedon Welch - Fort Cherry, Pennsylvania: 3-2 (172 lbs) - Class of 2025 Bucknell Ty Kapusta - Franklin Regional, Pennsylvania: 5th Place (121 lbs) Chris Nucifora - Bergen Catholic, New Jersey: 4-2 (121 lbs) Campbell Michael Trujillo - Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania: 1-2 (139 lbs) Columbia Jake Dailey - Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania: Runner-Up (189 lbs) Dom Federici - Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania: 4th Place (172 lbs) Connor Smith - Seneca Valley, Pennsylvania: 2-2 (121 lbs) - Class of 2025 Cornell Lou Cerchio - Delbarton, New Jersey: 3rd Place (172 lbs) Rocco Dellagatta - St. Joseph’s Regional, New Jersey: Runner-Up (285 lbs) - Class of 2025 Jaxon Joy - Wadsworth, Ohio: Runner-Up (152 lbs) Alessio Perentin - Delbarton, New Jersey: Runner-Up (160 lbs) - Class of 2025 Ayden Smith - Notre Dame-Green Pond, Pennsylvania: Runner-Up (114 lbs) Davidson Anderson Heap - Kissimmee Osceola, Florida: 4th Place (145 lbs) Blake Reihner - Trinity, Pennsylvania: 3-2 (139 lbs) Duke Noah Kochman - Bergan Catholic, New Jersey: 4-2 (139 lbs) Edinboro Vitali Daniels - Bentworth, Pennsylvania: 3-2 (189 lbs) Chris Vargo - Bentworth, Pennsylvania: 3-2 (127 lbs) Franklin & Marshall Brody Kline - Berks Catholic, Pennsylvania: 8th Place (215 lbs) Illinois Ryan Bennett - St. Edward, Ohio: 7th Place (145 lbs) Indiana Nick Pavlechko - State College, Pennsylvania: Champion (285 lbs) Lehigh Vaughn Spencer - Pine-Richland, Pennsylvania: 7th Place (172 lbs) - Class of 2025 Little Rock Gunner Holland - Kissimmee Osceola, Florida: 3-2 (172 lbs) Lock Haven Griffin Walizer - Central Mountain, Pennsylvania: 2-2 (145 lbs) Michigan Jude Correa - Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania: Champion (215 lbs) - Class of 2025 Navy Andrew Binni: Canon-McMillan, Pennsylvania: 4th Place (127 lbs) NC State Louie Gill - Reynolds, Pennsylvania: 3rd Place (121 lbs) North Carolina Aidan Schlett - St. Joseph’s Regional, New Jersey: 3rd Place (215 lbs) Luke Simcox - Central Mountain, Pennsylvania: Runner-Up (139 lbs) Ohio Ky Szewczyk - Waynesburg, Pennsylvania: 1-2 (121 lbs) Oklahoma Sebastian DeGennaro - Jensen Beach, Florida: 8th Place (127 lbs) - Class of 2025 Penn Donny Almeyda - St. Joseph’s Regional, New Jersey: 5-2 (139 lbs) - Class of 2025 Omer Barak - Lake Highland Prep, Florida: 8th Place (172 lbs) Davis Motyka - Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania: 4th Place (114 lbs) Eren Sement - Council Rock North, Pennsylvania: Runner-Up (127 lbs) - Class of 2025 Wyatt Stout - Southern Regional, New Jersey: 2-2 (145 lbs) - Class of 2025 Penn State Asher Cunningham - State College, Pennsylvania: Champion (160 lbs) - Class of 2025 Nathan Desmond - Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania: Champion (121 lbs) - Class of 2025 Pittsburgh Kade Brown - St. Edward, Ohio: 5th Place (139 lbs) Bode Marlow - Thomas Jefferson, Pennsylvania: 2-2 (160 lbs) - Class of 2025 Matthew Marlow - Northport, New York: 2-2 (127 lbs) Princeton Ethan Rivera - Lake Highland Prep, Florida: 4th Place (121 lbs) Luke Sipes - Altoona, Pennsylvania: 3-2 (160 lbs) - Class of 2025 Rutgers Ryan Ford - Bergen Catholic, New Jersey: 3rd Place (160 lbs) Alex Nini - Christian Brothers, New Jersey: 3rd Place (145 lbs) Stanford Jack Consiglio - Malvern Prep, Pennsylvania: Runner-Up (145 lbs) Virginia Macon Ayers - Staunton River, Virginia: 3-2 (160 lbs) - Class of 2025 Adam Butler: St. Edward, Ohio: 2-2 (133 lbs) - Class of 2025 Nathan Rickards: Malvern Prep, Pennsylvania: 7th Place (152 lbs) Virginia Tech Ryan Burton: St. Joseph’s Regional, New Jersey: Runner-Up (172 lbs) - Class of 2025 Frank DiBella: St. Joseph’s Regional, New Jersey: 6th Place (160 lbs) Matt Henrich: Southern Regional, New Jersey: 4th Place (152 lbs) Noah Nininger: Staunton River, Virginia: 6th Place (139 lbs) - Class of 2025 Gage Wright: Parkersburg South, West Virginia: Champion (172 lbs) West Liberty Caiden Harbert: West Allegheny, Pennsylvania: 3-2 (114 lbs) Chase Schepis: West Allegheny, Pennsylvania: 2-2 (145 lbs) West Virginia Gunner Andrick: Point Pleasant, West Virginia: 7th Place (133 lbs) Mason Kernan: Bethel Park, Pennsylvania: 7th Place (139 lbs) Joe Simon: Waynesburg, Pennsylvania: 3-2 (133 lbs)

Bethel Park

Before we ring in the new year, let’s take a moment to rehash some of the key happenings that went down on Friday and Saturday at the Midlands and the Soldier Salute. Both tournaments featured some star power, combined with some unforeseen upsets, and plenty of action. Even some memorable, cringeworthy moments. Which brings us to: AJ Ferrari at the Soldier Salute As tends to be the case whenever he enters a tournament, AJ Ferrari stole the show at the Soldier Salute, and not necessarily for good reasons. Ferrari and younger brother, Anthony, moved to Iowa a few months ago to train, with the intention of enrolling in school at the University of Iowa. Their younger brother Angelo is a top recruit in the Class of 2024 who recently inked with the Hawkeyes. AJ’s tumultuous run at Oklahoma State ended in July of 2022 after winning a national title the previous year. He was unable to compete in the 2022 postseason after suffering severe injuries from a dangerous auto accident. Concerns regarding a sexual assault case that surfaced shortly after he was off the team at Oklahoma State prevented him from joining a collegiate roster last season. Those charges were eventually dropped in October of this year. After the charges were dropped it was expected that Ferrari would join the Hawkeye wrestling team. At that point, there was some uncertainty as to how the 197 lb weight class would shake out for Tom Brands' team. Since then, veteran Zach Glazier has emerged as a solid option at the weight class. Glazier won his first nine bouts of the year and was instrumental in Iowa holding off Iowa State during the Cy-Hawk dual. The Salute bracket worked out so that Glazier was in the finals against the wrestler that most assumed would end up taking his position, in Ferrari. The bulk of the match was largely uneventful, as Glazier couldn’t get through Ferrari’s tough defense; however, a stall call near the end of the third period tied the match at two. In sudden victory, Ferrari prevailed by getting a takedown in the waning seconds of the extra period. That’s where all the action started. Ferrari pushed Glazier down as he was getting up. Glazier didn’t take kindly to the action and grabbed Ferrari’s leg. The two exchanged shoves, which wasn't too out of the ordinary for a heated bout; however, then Ferrari threw a closed-fisted punch. Once both sides calmed down (slightly), the main official raised Glazier’s hand as Ferrari was hit with a flagrant misconduct call, disqualifying him from the match. After the decision and while Glazier received his award and posed for a picture with the military member on hand, Ferrari gave the booing crowd a one-fingered salute while doing the splits. It was something that would have been hard to believe had there not been photos and video evidence. Also relevant is in the 149 lb finals, Caleb Rathjen got a win over Anthony Ferrari. Plenty of Iowa fans have gone back and forth over who started it, but both gave some shoves and Rathjen did a “Ferrari-like” pose in Anthony’s face. Some defenders of the situation will point to how there’s plenty of physicality, hurt, and hard feelings behind closed doors in collegiate wrestling rooms. That’s true, but I think the Rathjen/Anthony Ferrari interaction may be representative of a bigger issue. Is that how the rest of the Iowa team feels about the Ferrari clan? Again, before someone corrects me, not everyone on college wrestling teams is best friends. There’s intense competition for starting spots and that can lend itself to rivalries and some level of division. Like everything associated with the Ferrari’s this is unlike most normal situations. It’s not far-fetched to think that the Rathjen action was representative of some one the team’s feelings toward the family. And not just the wrestlers competing against them for starting spots. I know plenty of Oklahoma State wrestlers were relieved when Ferrari was dismissed from the team. That generally doesn’t happen when a star athlete leaves a program. Coaches/athletes/fans tend to overlook faults for someone who can be a key contributor. Should he continue and enroll at Iowa, how he and Anthony impact the culture of the program is a storyline that bears following. As I’m writing this, AJ posted an apology for his actions on his Instagram account. That leads me to believe that his actions will not prevent him from joining the Iowa squad. I am anxious to see if the athletic department and administrators support such a move. One aspect of the story that was obscured by Ferrari’s post-match antics is his actual performance. I assume most people thought that Ferrari would immediately become an NCAA title threat at 197 lbs. He’s been away from high-level DI rooms for almost two years, without any competition. I’m sure rust is to be expected, but is it something that can be solved in the next two-plus months? Taking in a troubled wrestler who could be an NCAA champion is one thing, but taking that risk for someone who may not be able to compete at that same level is another. This is a story that is far from over and will likely have plenty of twists and turns over the course of the next few weeks and months. The 2023 CKLV is an aberration I spent a good chunk of time talking with friends over the last week about the “state of wrestling tournaments.” The holiday season used to be a key part of the season for wrestling fans. Midlands followed by the Southern Scuffle. One great tournament after another. Over the last 15 years, there were arguments about which of the three tournaments was the toughest. All three probably could have taken the title at one point or another. Now, the Midlands and Scuffle are way behind the CKLV. In fact, we also have another holiday tournament in the mix, the Soldier Salute, which was held on the same dates as the Midlands. The depth of the 2023 CKLV, combined with the lesser star power at the Midlands/Salute, made for a huge gap between the tournaments. If I had to bet, I’d say get used to it, provided our sport and NCAA qualification process stays the same. There are coaches who would rather not have their wrestlers come back from a very short Christmas break and cut weight for a tournament on the 29th. That tournament usually requires five or six matches for a spot on the podium. We also have conference dual season looming for most leagues. Those coaches would rather have their full complement of wrestlers available, if possible. As are many things in our sport. It makes sense on a micro level. I understand why a coach or a program decides to act this way. They’re looking for the best interests of their wrestlers and program. But when 10, 12, and 20 coaches all come to this conclusion it hurts the sport and the fans. It’s a shame that we have one marquee event in the collegiate wrestling season. That’s why I’ve been harping on the need for a dual tournament. This isn’t supposed to be a shot at anyone who competed at the Midlands and Salute or those who intend on wrestling at the Scuffle. At the same time, these are tournaments that once were considered stronger than the NCAA Tournament (the Midlands with post-grads) and featured matches like Dake/Taylor or were coming-out parties for Ed Ruth and Gabe Dean (Scuffle). Coming full circle to the 2023 CKLV, I think that it’s as tough as it’s going to get. My feelings are that the tournament was a bit “too tough.” I’d imagine some coaches will abstain from coming in 2024 because it was so loaded. Of course, I’d love to be wrong. Drake Ayala throws his hat in the ring Every sort of wrap-up or takeaway article I’ve done since the second week of the 2023-24 season has included some sort of tidbit referring to the 125 lb weight class. This one will be no different. One lightweight we haven’t mentioned too frequently yet is Iowa’s Drake Ayala. Ayala did his part in creating some chaos at the weight class when he lost to Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State) and a week later took out Kysen Terukina (Iowa State) at the Cy-Hawk dual. Aside from that week’s worth of action, Ayala has generally been outside of the ongoing fracas at 125 lbs. Since then, he’s earned wins over Ivy League opponents, Max Gallagher (Penn) and Nick Babin (Columbia), both are ranked wrestlers, but not necessarily considered contenders at this time. At the Salute, Ayala posted his two best wins of the season and showed that he should probably be talked about in the mix at 125 lbs. In the semifinals, Ayala downed two-time All-American Patrick McKee of neighboring Minnesota. That was the same McKee that held a 4-0 advantage against Ayala in past meetings. All four of those wins came during Ayala’s true freshman campaign. This time, Ayala flipped the script and got the victory, propelling himself into the finals. The championship match provided another significant barometer for those trying to measure just how good Ayala is this year. Volk was coming off a title at the Reno Tournament of Champions, a fifth-place finish at the CKLV, and was sporting a top-ten ranking (#7). Ayala grabbed a first-period takedown and never looked back in his 4-2 victory over the Wyoming grappler. The final minute of the last stanza saw the two engaged in an excellent scramble, where Ayala came close to being in trouble for neutral danger multiple times; however, he always avoided trouble and fended off the takedown attempt. About 20 days from now, we’ll have a better idea of where Ayala fits into the national (and Big Ten) conversation. His next three bouts are against #4 Caleb Smith (January 12th), McKee (January 15th), and #5 Matt Ramos (January 19th). Lehigh’s bright future Go back in time about 20 years ago and you’ll be smack dab in the middle of a Lehigh wrestling renaissance. Lehigh had finished fourth at the 2003 NCAA and tied for third in 2004. One of the leaders of that Lehigh team was Troy Letters who made the NCAA finals as a freshman in 2003. After the Midlands and seeing what has occurred during the first two months of the season, could we be on the precipice of another Lehigh resurgence? Getting third or fourth in the nation is probably a tough ask for the next year or two, but the point is, there’s plenty of young talent at the disposal for head coach Pat Santoro. The most obvious example is top-ranked Ryan Crookham, a true freshman who ascended to the number one ranking nationally after wins over returning national champion Vito Arujau and Big Ten finalist Aaron Nagao. Regardless of his 2024 finish, Crookham should be a national title favorite for the rest of his career. Joining Crookham as a promising young lightweight for Lehigh is true freshman Luke Stanich. The two-time New Jersey state finalist (one-time champ) had a good start to the year with a title at the Princeton Open and a 1-1 record in duals. That still wasn’t enough for him to be considered a favorite in a Midlands weight class that was pretty tough. Stanich ended up capturing the 125 lb title with wins over Diego Sotelo (Harvard), All-American Eric Barnett (Wisconsin), and #10 Cooper Flynn (Virginia Tech) prior to the finals. For the championship, Stanich outlasted a tough Eli Griffin (California Baptist) 8-7 in tiebreakers. We’ll have to see how the Lehigh staff responds to this outing from Stanich. The Mountain Hawks currently have Sheldon Seymour as the starter and he’s been solid with a 9-2 record. The volatility of the 125 lb weight class kind of makes it difficult to project the future for Stanich or anyone else, for that matter. Maybe he’s an All-American this year, maybe he goes 1-2 at nationals. Looking at an even bigger picture for Lehigh, their entire lineup is made up of wrestlers that have at least one more year of eligibility after the 2023-24 season. Another year with the lightweight tandem, plus All-American Michael Beard and notables like Malyke Hines, Nathan Taylor, Connor McGonagle, and Max Brignola makes for an imposing lineup. 133 lb madness 125 has received the most publicity for being extremely unpredictable during the first two months of the season. The weight has shown no hints of slowing down or becoming normal. Another relatively unusual weight is 133 lbs. Sure there are your mainstays like Arujau and Daton Fix, along with a newcomer in Crookham. As you move down past the top-eight there are a lot of names you’re not familiar with seeing that prominent in national rankings. After the Midlands/Salute (and likely the Scuffle) those rankings will have gotten shaken up again. The Midlands bracket was won by Michigan’s Dylan Ragusin, who is expected to remain in redshirt for the duration of the 2023-24 season. Ragusin winning that weight seems reasonable; however, after him, it was rather unpredictable. #26 Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) made the finals, while #31 Zeth Romney (Cal Poly) was third after a major decision over #11 Michael Colaiocco (Penn). Not only did Romney capture a bonus-point win over Colaiocco, but he also downed two-time All-American #5 Sam Latona (Virginia Tech). In sixth place was Franklin & Marshall’s Mason Leiphart, who only lost to the Romney/Colaiocco/Latona triumvirate. The Soldier Salute saw #10 Brody Teske came out on top; which wasn’t totally unexpected. His finals opponent was #32 Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska) who was seeded fourth. The third seed, #12 Angelo Rini (Columbia) fell in his opening match to Iowa true freshman Kale Peterson.

Midlands Men’s Final Results Team Scores 1) Penn 127.5 2) Wisconsin 104.5 3) West Virginia 100.5 4) Michigan State 84.5 5) Illinois 82 125 lbs Championship - Luke Stanich (Lehigh) dec Eli Griffin (California Baptist) 8-7TB Third Place - Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) dec Cooper Flynn (Virginia Tech) 1-0 Fifth Place - Diego Sotelo (Harvard) dec Blake West (Northern Illinois) 11-8 Seventh Place - Vinny Kilkeary (Ohio State) dec Tristan Lujan (Michigan State) 4-1SV 133 lbs Championship - Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) dec Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) 4-1 Third Place - Zeth Romney (Cal Poly) maj Michael Colaiocco (Penn) 16-3 Fifth Place - Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) dec Mason Leiphart (Franklin & Marshall) 6-2 Seventh Place - Julian Chlebove (Arizona State) MedFFT Marlon Yarbrough (Virginia) 141 lbs Championship - Jordan Titus (West Virginia) tech CJ Composto (Penn) 18-3 Third Place - Tom Crook (Virginia Tech) dec Danny Pucino (Illinois) 8-4 Fifth Place - Jordan Hamdan (Michigan State) MedFFT Jimmy Nugent (Central Michigan) Seventh Place - Brandon Cannon (Ohio State) dec Dylan Layton (Cleveland State) 9-3 149 lbs Championship - Ty Whalen (Princeton - Unattached) dec Ty Watters (West Virginia) 5-1 Third Place - Kannon Webster (Illinois) dec Corbyn Munson (Central Michigan) 6-2 Fifth Place - Cross Wasilewski (Penn RTC) dec Kaleb Burgess (Buffalo) 13-6 Seventh Place - Caleb Tyus (SIU Edwardsville) dec Sam Cartella (Northwestern) 4-1 157 lbs Championship - Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) dec Trevor Chumbley (Northwestern) 11-6 Third Place - Lucas Revano (Penn) dec DJ McGee (George Mason) 4-2 Fifth Place - Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan) dec Colton Washleski (Rider) 10-7 Seventh Place - Chase Saldate (Michigan State) fall Jimmy Harrington (Harvard) 1:07 165 lbs Championship - Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) maj Peyton Hall (West Virginia) 11-0 Third Place - Beau Mantanona (Michigan) dec Maxx Mayfield (Northwestern) 4-1SV Fifth Place - Caleb Fish (Michigan State) dec Chris Moore (Illinois) 1-0 Seventh Place - Luke Gayer (Rutgers) dec Tate Geiser (Cleveland State) 12-6 174 lbs Championship - Edmond Ruth (Illinois) maj Phil Conigliaro (Harvard) 13-4 Third Place - Nick Incontrera (Penn) dec Max Maylor (Wisconsin) 5-1 Fifth Place - Brody Conley (West Virginia) MedFFT Justin McCoy (Virginia) Seventh Place - Alex Cramer (Central Michigan) MedFFT Adam Kemp (Cal Poly) 184 lbs Championship - Shane Liegel (Wisconsin) dec Max Hale (Penn) 9-6SV Third Place - Neil Antrassian (Penn RTC) MedFFT Cody Howard (Virginia Tech) Fifth Place - James Conway (Franklin & Marshall) MedFFT Nate Dugan (Princeton) Seventh Place - Troy Fisher (Northwestern) dec Hayden Filipovich (Purdue) 7-3 197 lbs Championship - Michael Beard (Lehigh) tech Luke Stout (Princeton) 15-0 Third Place - Cole Urbas (Penn) dec JT Davis (Lehigh) 1-0 Fifth Place - Andy Smith (Virginia Tech) MedFFT Cam Caffey (Unattached) Seventh Place - Aidan Conner (Princeton) dec Kael Wisler (Michigan State) 8-1 285 lbs Championship - Isaac Trumble (NC State) dec Luke Luffman (Illinois) 2-1 Third Place - Jim Mullen (Virginia Tech) dec Jacob Bullock (Indiana) 9-6 Fifth Place - Daulton Mayer (Thomas More) MedFFT Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly) Seventh Place - Josh Terrill (Michigan State) fall John Stout (Penn) :28 Midlands Women’s Final Results Team Scores 1) North Central 148 2) McKendree 95.5 3) Aurora 64.5 4) Presbyterian 63 5) Wyoming Seminary 59.5 101 lbs Championship - Madison Nieuwenhuis (Unattached) over Madison Avila (North Central) Fall 5:20 Third Place - Lizette Rodriguez (Mckendree) over Genesis Ramirez (Aurora) 9-0 Fifth Place - Lisa Pastoriza (Wyoming Seminary) over Emma Heslin (Lock Haven) 7-0 109 lbs Championship - Kayla Batres (Unattached) over Kaelani Shufeldt (Lock Haven) 4-2 Third Place - Rianne Murphy (Wyoming Seminary) over Taylor Whiting (Team Nazar) 10-0 Fifth Place - Natalie Majer (Unattached) over Alexis Winecke (UW Stevens Point) 14-4 116 lbs Championship - Sydney Petzinger (North Central) over Clare Booe (Wyoming Seminary) Fall 1:13 Third Place - Janessa George (North Central) over Julia Vidallon (McKendree) Fall 1:48 Fifth Place - Salyna Shotwell (McKendree) over Chloe Ayres (Princeton) 1:46 123 lbs Championship - Amani Jones (North Central) over Carissa Qureshi (Unattached) 2:04 Third Place - Shelby Moore (McKendree) over Alyssa Mahan (Presbyterian) 10-0 Fifth Place - Emma Bacon (Wyoming Seminary) over Zhivanna Magdaleno (Northern Michigan) 10-0 130 lbs Championship - Taina Fernandez (Unattached) over Salome Walker (North Central) 10-0 Third Place - Alexis Janiak (Aurora) over Nichole Moore (McKendree) 10-0 Fifth Place - Haley Vann (North Central) over Cassia Zammit (Presbyterian) MedFFT 136 lbs Championship - Marisol Nugent (Sunkist Kids) over Taylor Graveman (North Central) 2:29 Third Place - Alondra Morales (North Central) over Niya Gaines (North Central) 7-0 Fifth Place - Sydney Park (North Central) over Amor Tuttle (UW Stevens Point) 7-6 143 lbs Championship - Viktorya Torres (McKendree) over Alexis Gomez (Gomez RTC) 7-4 Third Place - Alissa Caltagirone (Northern Michigan) over Kendall Bostelman (North Central) Fall 4:40 Fifth Place - Maddie Kubicki (Presbyterian) over Lillian Frietas (Unattached) MedFFT 155 lbs Championship - Tiera Jimerson (North Central) over Noelle Gaffney (Northern Michigan) 3-2 Third Place - Maddie Hayden (Unattached) over Sarina Bertram (North Central) 8-3 Fifth Place - Antonia Phillips (Aurora) over Caroline Gilstrap (McKendree) 11-0 170 lbs Championship - Yelena Makoyed (North Central) over Henlee Haynes (Presbyterian) 10-0 Third Place - Jade Herzer (UW Stevens Point) over Fiona McConnell (North Central) 12-0 Fifth Place - Tabitha Breitrick (UW Stevens Point) over Ruby Joseph (Northern Michigan) 8-5 191 lbs Championship - Traeh Haynes (North Central) over Caroline Ward (North Central) 10-2 Third Place - Sydney Manos (Aurora) over Brooke Huffman (Team Nazar) 14-11 Fifth Place - Logan Ryan (Albion) over Ella Beam (Presbyterian) MedFFT

Midlands Championship bouts 125 lbs - Eli Griffin (California Baptist) vs. Luke Stanich (Lehigh) 133 lbs - Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) vs. Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) 141 lbs - CJ Composto (Penn) vs. Jordan Titus (West Virginia) 149 lbs - Ty Whalen (Princeton - Unattached) vs. Ty Watters (West Virginia) 157 lbs - Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) vs. Trevor Chumbley (Northwestern) 165 lbs - Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) vs. Peyton Hall (West Virginia) 174 lbs - Edmond Ruth (Illinois) vs. Phil Conigliaro (Havard) 184 lbs - Shane Liegel (Wisconsin) vs. Max Hale (Penn) 197 lbs - Michael Beard (Lehigh) vs. Luke Stout (Princeton) 285 lbs - Luke Luffman (Illinois) vs. Isaac Trumble (NC State) 125 lb semifinals - Eli Griffin (California Baptist) dec Blake West (Northern Illinois) 10-7 125 lb semifinals - Luke Stanich (Lehigh) dec Cooper Flynn (Virginia Tech) 5-3 133 lb semifinals - Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) dec Zeth Romney (Cal Poly) 8-5 133 lb semifinals - Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) maj Michael Colaiocco (Penn) 15-3 141 lb semifinals - CJ Composto (Penn) MedFFT Jimmy Nugent (Central Michigan) 141 lb semifinals - Jordan Titus (West Virginia) dec Tom Crook (Virginia Tech) 9-6 149 lb semifinals - Ty Whalen (Princeton - Unattached) maj Kaleb Burgess (Buffalo) 12-1 149 lb semifinals - Ty Watters (West Virginia) fall Corbyn Munson (Central Michigan) 6:44 157 lb semifinals - Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) dec Colton Washleski (Rider) 17-13 157 lb semifinals - Trevor Chumbley (Northwestern) dec Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan) 2-1TB 165 lb semifinals - Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) maj Maxx Mayfield (Northwestern) 10-0 165 lb semifinals - Peyton Hall (West Virginia) fall Caleb Fish (Michigan State) 2:59 174 lb semifinals - Edmond Ruth (Illinois) dec Nick Incontrera (Penn) 2-1 174 lb semifinals - Phil Conigliaro (Harvard) InjDef Justin McCoy (Virginia) 184 lb semifinals - Shane Liegel (Wisconsin) dec Nate Dugan (Princeton) 2-0 184 lb semifinals - Max Hale (Penn) dec James Conway (Franklin & Marshall) 4-2 197 lb semifinals - Michael Beard (Lehigh) fall Andy Smith (Virginia Tech) 4:53 197 lb semifinals - Luke Stout (Princeton) dec Cam Caffey (Unattached) 4-0 285 lb semifinals - Luke Luffman (Illinois) dec Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly) 8-1 285 lb semifinals - Isaac Trumble (NC State) fall Jacob Bullock (Indiana) 3:32

125 lbs - Jore Volk (Wyoming) vs. Drake Ayala (Iowa) 133 lbs - Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska) vs. Brody Teske (Iowa) 141 lbs - Real Woods (Iowa) vs. Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina) 149 lbs - Anthony Ferrari (Unattached) vs. Caleb Rathjen (Iowa) 157 lbs - Jared Franek (Iowa) vs. Cael Swensen (South Dakota State) 165 lbs - Michael Caliendo (Iowa) vs. Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) 174 lbs - Gabe Arnold (Iowa) vs. Lenox Wolak (Columbia) 184 lbs - Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) vs. Max McEnelly (Minnesota) 197 lbs - AJ Ferrari (Unattached) vs. Zach Glazier (Iowa) 285 lbs - Bennett Tabor (Minnesota) vs. Luke Rasmussen (South Dakota State) 125 lb semifinals - Jore Volk (Wyoming) dec Brandon Morvari (Minnesota) 2-0 125 lb semifinals - Drake Ayala (Iowa) dec Patrick McKee (Minnesota) 5-4 133 lb semifinals - Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska) dec Cullan Schriever (Iowa) 5-1 133 lb semifinals - Brody Teske (Iowa) tech Kale Peterson (Iowa) 15-0 141 lb semifinals - Real Woods (Iowa) dec Josh Koderhandt (Navy) 9-4 141 lb semifinals - Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina) dec Vance Vombaur (Minnesota) 7-4 149 lb semifinals - Anthony Ferrari (Unattached) dec Alek Martin (South Dakota State) 5-2 149 lb semifinals - Caleb Rathjen (Iowa) dec Victor Voinovich (Iowa) 9-4 157 lb semifinals - Jared Franek (Iowa) maj Jason Kraisser (Iowa State) 13-3 157 lb semifinals - Cael Swensen (South Dakota State) dec Paniro Johnson (Iowa State) 4-1 165 lb semifinals - Michael Caliendo (Iowa) tech Blaine Brenner (Minnesota) 19-4 165 lb semifinals - Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) maj Izzy Moreno (Northern Iowa) 10-0 174 lb semifinals - Gabe Arnold (Iowa) dec Elise Brown Ton (Nebraska) 4-2 174 lb semifinals - Lenox Wolak (Columbia) maj Tyler Eischens (North Carolina) 13-5 184 lb semifinals - Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) tech Zyan Hall (Navy) 15-0 184 lb semifinals - Max McEnelly (Minnesota) dec John Gunderson (Unattached) 11-9 197 lb semifinals - AJ Ferrari (Unattached) dec Joey Novak (Wyoming) 7-2 197 lb semifinals - Zach Glazier (Iowa) dec Garrett Joles (Minnesota) 5-4 285 lb semifinals - Bennett Tabor (Minnesota) maj Bowen McConville (South Dakota State) 11-3 285 lb semifinals - Luke Rasmussen (South Dakota State) dec Seth Nitzel (Missouri) 17-13

Blair Academy

****Editor’s Note: The original version of this article ran in April of 2023 after Luke Lilledahl committed to Penn State. *** Earlier this week, the Nittany Lions received a verbal commitment from Wyoming Seminary’s Nathan Desmond, the #17 overall recruit in the Class of 2025. He joins #1 PJ Duke, #27 Dalton Perry, and #42 Asher Cunningham in PSU’s recruiting class for current juniors. With a monster signing class on the horizon for 2024 and another potentially loaded one for 2025, it seemed the appropriate time to talk Penn State recruiting. The 2024 class features six of the top 15 wrestlers in the land. #1 Lilledahl, #3 Joseph Sealey, #5 Connor Mirasola, #6 Zach Ryder, #13 Cole Mirasola, and #15 Mason Gibson. On paper, it looks like one of Cael Sanderson’s best yet. As you can see, those wrestlers have a lot of work ahead of them to take that title from the Class of 2014. We also have to throw the 2023 group in the mix. That group was ranked third overall in InterMat’s recruiting rankings and there’s a chance it could have an impact on the Nittany Lion lineup in 2023-24. With the injury to All-American Shayne Van Ness, it appears as if Tyler Kasak is the guy at 149 lbs. Also, the constant uncertainty around 125 lbs, may give way to Braeden Davis finishing the season as the starter. If and when that happens, we can start comparing 2023 to the rest of Penn State’s classes under Sanderson, as shown below. ***Below is what ran in April regarding past PSU recruiting classes*** On Monday afternoon, Luke Lilledahl the #2 overall recruit in the high school Class of 2024, gave a verbal commitment to Cael Sanderson’s Penn State Nittany Lions. With Lilledahl’s commitment, Penn State now has verbals from four of the top-seven juniors in the nation and six of the top-15. Should all follow through and sign with Penn State, it would become one of the most star-studded in recent years. Just how good? Well, we’ll have to wait for another four or five years down the line to say for sure, but it has the potential. Below are the recruiting classes for Penn State since Cael Sanderson has been at the helm (spring of 2009-present). They have been sorted in order of best collegiate results first. As you can see, the top class of the Cael-era was 2014 which boasts a pair of three-time national champions and looked pretty darn tough back in 2014 with half of the top-six signing with Penn State. 2014 #4 Jason Nolf (Kittantiny, PA), #5 Nick Nevills (Clovis, CA), #6 Bo Nickal (Allen, TX), #54 Shakur Rasheed (Longwood, NY), #93 Gary Dinsmore (Hunterdon Central, NJ), Anthony Cassar (Montgomery, NJ) All-Americans: 5 National Champions: 3 Multi-Time Champs: 2 Other: Hodge Winner (Nickal) 2009 #1 David Taylor (St. Paris, OH), #5 Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, PA), #7 Jake Kemerer (Hempfield, PA), James English (Central York, PA) All-Americans: 3 National Champions: 2 Multi-Time Champs: 2 Other: Hodge Winner (Taylor x2); Set foundation for Penn State’s dominance 2018 #2 Aaron Brooks (North Hagerstown, MD), #11 Michael Beard (Malvern Prep, PA), #12 Roman Bravo-Young (Sunnyside, AZ), #16 Gavin Teasdale (Jefferson-Morgan, PA), #20 Joe Lee (Evansville, IN), 22 Seth Nevills (Clovis, CA), #34 Brody Teske (Fort Dodge, IA), #82 Jack Davis (Wyoming Seminary, PA) All-Americans: 3 National Champions: 2 Multi-Time Champs: 2 Other: Most of class still active; Beard/Teske/Nevills currently with other programs 2013 #2 Zain Retherford (Benton, PA), #27 Matt McCutheon (Kiski Area, PA), #47 Garett Hammond (Chambersburg, PA), #70 Cody Law (Forest Hills, PA) All-Americans: 1 National Champions: 1 Multi-Time Champs: 1 Other: Hodge Winner (Retherford x2) 2019 #9 Carter Starocci (Cathedral Prep, PA) All-Americans: 1 National Champions: 1 Multi-Time Champs: 1 Other: Still active; Possibility for 5 national titles 2011 #1 Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, CA), #3 Nico Megaludis (Franklin Regional, PA), #105 Luke Frey (Montoursville, PA), #109 Jordan Conaway (New Oxford, PA), #112 Collin Campbell (Roxboro, NC) All-Americans: 3 National Champions: 1 Multi-Time Champs: 0 Other: 2017 #6 Brady Berge (Kasson Mantorville, MN), #9 Nick Lee (Evansville, IN), #20 Jarod Verkleeren (Hempfield, PA) All-Americans: 1 National Champions: 1 Multi-Time Champs: 1 Other: 2016 #1 Mark Hall (Apple Valley, MN), #2 Nick Suriano (Bergen Catholic, NJ), #5 Mason Manville (Wyoming Seminary, PA), #47 AJ Nevills (Clovis, CA) All-Americans: 2 National Champions: 2 Multi-Time Champs: 1 Other: Both of Suriano’s titles came with other programs 2015 #3 Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh Central Catholic, PA), #59 Kellan Stout (Mt. Lebanon, PA) All-Americans: 1 National Champions: 1 Multi-Time Champs: 1 Other: 2021 #2 Alex Facundo (Davison, MI), #5 Shayne Van Ness (Blair Academy, NJ), #55 Gary Steen (Reynolds, PA), #76 Luke Cochran (Perry, UT) All-Americans: 1 National Champions: 0 Multi-Time Champs: 0 Other: Class still active 2022 #7 Levi Haines (Biglerville, PA) All-Americans: 1 National Champions: 0 Multi-Time Champs: 0 Other: Class still active 2020 #7 Beau Bartlett (Wyoming Seminary, PA), #19 Robbie Howard (Bergen Catholic, NJ), #42 Austin Boone (Lowell, MI), #148 Matt Lee (Evansville, IN), #243 Aurelius Dunbar (Mercersburg Academy, PA) All-Americans: 1 National Champions: 0 Multi-Time Champs: 0 Other: Class still active 2010 #2 Andrew Alton (Central Mountain, PA), #8 Dylan Alton (Central Mountain, PA), #33 Sam Sherlock (West Mifflin, PA), #64 Dirk Cowburn (Coudersport, PA) All-Americans: 1 National Champions: 0 Multi-Time Champs: 0 Other: 2012 #3 Jimmy Gulibon (Derry Area, PA), #62 Wes Phipps (Grove City, PA) All-Americans: 1 National Champions: 0 Multi-Time Champs: 0 Other:

We're closing in on the end of the 2023 calendar year which means it's holiday tournament season. Two individual tournaments will be held over the next two days. Since it can be difficult to figure out where and when to watch these events, InterMat has put together a list of all of the live-streamed events occurring this week. These will is unique because the links are broken down by event session and mat. Below are the dates/times and how to watch each match (with links). All times are Eastern. Both events can be found on B1G+ Friday, December 29: Arizona State, Buffalo, Cal Poly, California Baptist, Central Michigan, Cleveland State, Franklin & Marshall, George Mason, Harvard, Illinois, Michigan State, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Ohio, Penn, Princeton, SIU Edwardsville, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin at Midlands, Hoffman Estates, IL, 10:30 AM Session I Mat 1: Mat 2: Mat 3: Mat 4: Full Coverage: Session II Mat 1: Mat 2: Mat 3: Mat 4: Full Coverage: Bellarmine, Columbia, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, VMI, Wyoming at Soldier Salute, Coralville, IA, 11:00 AM Session I Mat 1: Mat 2: Mat 3: Mat 4: Mat 5: Session II Mat 1: Mat 2: Mat 3: Mat 4: Mat 5: Saturday, December 30: Bellarmine, Columbia, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, VMI, Wyoming at Soldier Salute, Coralville, IA, 12:00 PM Session III Mat 1: Mat 2: Mat 3: Mat 4: Mat 5: Session IV Mat 1: Mat 2: Mat 3: Mat 4: Mat 5: Arizona State, Buffalo, Cal Poly, California Baptist, Central Michigan, Cleveland State, Franklin & Marshall, George Mason, Harvard, Illinois, Michigan State, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Ohio, Penn, Princeton, SIU Edwardsville, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin at Midlands, Hoffman Estates, IL, 12:00 PM Session III Mat 1: Mat 2: Mat 3: Mat 4: Full Coverage: Session IV Mat 1: Mat 2: Mat 3: Mat 4: Full Coverage:

I hope you all had and are having a wonderful holiday season. While the food, fun, and festivities are probably at the forefront of your mind, don't forget the other important “F” of the season... Fantasy, of course. But first, let's recap the Fantasy Wrestling standings from Weeks 7 & 8. In the Week 7 Standings, Kent State's Josh Boggan (285) pinned all three of his opponents to lead the week with 18 Fpts. In second, with 17 Fts from four matches, was Arizona State’s Nicco Ruiz (165) in Redshirt. Wyatt Hendrickson had three matches and, surprisingly actually, came in third with 16 Fpts meaning he did not pin everyone! How Crazy! Week 8’s Fantasy leader is no stranger to weekly outlooks this season, 197 Gabe Sollars (IND) finished at the Sheridan Open with five matches and 21 Fpts. Teammate Donnell Washington (174) finished third for the week with 18 Fpts in four matches. Corbyn Munson (CMU) finished in second for the week with 19 Fpts. Some shake-ups in the Overall Standings happened as a result of the wild Week 7 & 8 results, with Trent Hidlay (NCST) taking over as the points leader by two Fpts. Caleb Henson falls to second with 71 Fpts. Zach Elam (MIZZ) remains in the Top-3, but a bonus-filled week for Taye Ghadiali (CAMP) has him up three spots to #4 and only one Fpt behind Elam. Speaking of jumps in the standings, Jesse Mendez (OHST) made a huge leap from #16 to now #5 (a +14 Fpt gain), and Stephen Buchanan (OU) from #24 to now #11 (a +9 Fpt gain). On to Week 9: This is a much different Weekly Outlook than the past eight articles, mainly because there are only two events: The Ken Kraft Midlands Championships and the Soldier Salute Open. While some of the entrants are known, there are still some teams that have not released their entries and thus, will most likely see some updates through Thursday and Friday morning. In addition, Week 10 is an extremely quick turnaround with the Southern Scuffle kicking off Monday at 10 am along with duals on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. 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”: As of now with the information available, my best plays for Midlands will be marked with “*****” 125: Diego Sotelo (HARV)- Midlands Luke Stanich (LEH)- Midlands Tristan Lujan (MSU)- Midlands Vinny Kilkeary (OHST)- Midlands ***** Max Gallagher (PENN)- Midlands ***** Ryan Miller (PENN)- Midlands ***** Cooper Flynn (VT)- Midlands ***** Eric Barnett (WISC)- Midlands ***** Ethan Perryman (ISU)- Soldier Salute Spencer Moore (UNC)- Soldier Salute 133: Mason Leiphart (F&M)- Midlands Dylan Ragusin (MICH)- Midlands ***** Andre Gonzales (OHST)- Midlands Alex Almeyda (PENN)- Midlands ***** Michael Colaiocco (PENN)- Midlands ***** Richie Koehler (RID)- Midlands Dylan Shawver (RUT)- Midlands ***** Gable Porter (UVA)- Midlands Marlon Yarbrough (UVA)- Midlands Sam Latona (VT)- Midlands ***** 141: Dylan Layton (CSU)- Midlands Jordan Hamdan (MSU)- Midlands Brandon Cannon (OHST)- Midlands ***** CJ Composto (PENN)- Midlands ***** Joey Oliveri (RUT)- Midlands ***** Jack Gioffre (UVA)- Midlands Tom Crook (VT)- Midlands ***** Josh Koderhandt (NAVY)- Soldier Salute Lachlan McNeil (UNC)- Soldier Salute Clay Carlson (SDSU)- Soldier Salute 149: Douglas Terry (CSU)- Midlands Kannon Webster (ILL)- Midlands ***** Kelvin Griffin (LEH)- Midlands Dylan Gilcher (MICH)- Midlands Brock Herman (OHST)- Midlands Jackson Polo (PENN)- Midlands Andrew Troczynski (PENN)- Midlands Quinn Kinner (RID)- Midlands ***** Michael Gioffre (UVA)- Midlands ***** Joseph Zargo (WISC)- Midlands ***** Joel Mylin (MIZZ)- Soldier Salute Nick Vafiadis (NAVY)- Soldier Salute Daniel Kimball (SDSU)- Soldier Salute Alek Martin (SDSU)- Soldier Salute 157: Joe Roberts (ILL)- Midlands Zack Mattin (MICH)- Midlands Chase Saldate (MSU)- Midlands ***** Jude Swisher (PENN)- Midlands ***** Andrew Clark (RUT)- Midlands Dylan Cedeno (UVA)- Midlands Rafael Hipolito (VT)- Midlands ***** Paniro Johnson (ISU)- Soldier Salute Jason Kraisser (ISU)- Soldier Salute Cameron Steed (MIZZ)- Soldier Salute Cael Swensen (SDSU)- Soldier Salute 165: Joshua Kim (HARV)- Midlands Hunter Mays (LEH)- Midlands ***** Beau Mantanona (MICH)- Midlands Caleb Fish (MSU)- Midlands Lucas Revano (PENN)- Midlands ***** Colton Washleski (RID)- Midlands Dean Hamiti (WISC)- Midlands ***** Andrew Cerniglia (NAVY)- Soldier Salute 174: Adam Kemp (CP)- Midlands ***** Noah Fox (F&M)- Midlands Phillip Conigliaro (HARV)- Midlands ***** Edmond Ruth (ILL)- Midlands ***** Nick Incontrera (PENN)- Midlands ***** Justin McCoy (UVA)- Midlands ***** Tyler Eichens (UNC)- Soldier Salute 184: James Conway (F&M)- Midlands Layne Malczewski (MSU)- Midlands ***** Ryder Rogotzke (OHST)- Midlands ***** Maximus Hale (PENN)- Midlands Brain Soldano (RUT)- Midlands ***** Max Maylor (WISC)- Midlands Colton Hawks (MIZZ)- Soldier Salute Sean Harman (MIZZ)- Soldier Salute Gavin Kane (UNC)- Soldier Salute 197: Ben Smith (CSU)- Midlands Michael Beard (LEH)- Midlands ***** Martin Cosgrove (PENN)- Midlands Cole Urbas (PENN)- Midlands Andy Smith (VT)- Midlands Sonny Sasso (VT)- Midlands ***** Max Shaw (UNC)- Soldier Salute 285: Luke Luffman (ILL)- Midlands ***** Jacob Bullock (IND)- Midlands Josh Terrill (MSU)- Midlands Ryan Catka (UVA)- Midlands ***** Jimmy Mullen (VT)- Midlands ***** Cade Lautt (UNC)- Soldier Salute Luke Rassmussen (SDSU)- Soldier Salute Week 10: As stated before, we have another quick turnaround from Week 9 into Week 10 with the Southern Scuffle taking place early Monday of the new year (1/1/2024). So, along with the Southern Scuffle, here are some other Fantasy plays for Week 10 up to Thursday 1/4. 1/1 at the Southern Scuffle: Air Force, Army, Bloomsburg, Brown, Bucknell, Chattanooga, Clarion, CSU Bakersfield, Drexel, Duke, Indiana, Oklahoma, and VMI Teams locking Tuesday 1/2: Missouri and Virginia Tech Teams Locking Wednesday 1/3: Lindenwood and Purdue Teams Locking Thursday 1/4: Michigan and South Dakota State Be on the lookout for the remaining Week 10 updates on the InterMat Forum which will include a slate of weekend duals and the F&M Open. Wrestlers I like for Week 10 from 1/1 to 1/4: 125: Matt Ramos (PUR)- Vs Lindenwood [+5] Michael DeAugustino (MICH)- @ South Dakota State [+3] 133: Dustin Norris (PUR)- Vs Lindenwood [+3] 141: Sergio Lemley (MICH)- @ South Dakota State [+4] Greyson Clark (PUR)- Vs Lindenwood [+4] Josh Edmond (MIZZ)- Vs Virginia Tech [+3] 149: Caleb Henson (VT)- @ Missouri, @ Cornell [+8] Austin Gomez (MICH)- @ South Dakota State [+3] *if wrestles Marcus Pplanco (PUR)- Vs Lindenwood [+3] 157: Joey Blaze (PUR)- Vs Lindenwood [+5] Will Lewan (MICH)- @ South Dakota State [+3] 165: Stoney Buell (PUR)- Vs Lindenwood [+5] Cam Amine (MICH)- @ South Dakota State [+4] Keegan O’Toole (MIZZ)- Vs Virginia Tech [+4] 174: Mekhi Lewis (VT)- @ Missouri, @ Cornell [+6] Brody Baumann (PUR)- Vs Lindenwood [+4] 184: James Rowley (PUR)- Vs Lindenwood [+5] 197: Jacob Cardenas (COR)- Vs Virginia Tech [+5] Ben Vanadia (PUR)- Vs Lindenwood [+4] Tanner Sloan (SDSU)- Vs Michigan [+4] Rocky Elam (MIZZ)- Vs Virginia Tech [+3] 285: Lucas Davison (MICH)- @ South Dakota State [+4] Zach Elam (MIZZ)- Vs Virginia Tech [+3]

Wyoming Seminary

Yesterday, we posted the first half of the Big 12 Midseason Stock Report, alphabetically looking at Air Force through Northern Colorado. Today, we'll finish off this exercise with the remaining schools. Northern Iowa (Overall: 1-3; Conference: 0-0): Slight Stock Down Wrestler To Watch: #28 Trever Anderson - 125lbs Northern Iowa is a team that I expect to finish the year stronger, but the team is coming off tough set of recent duals. After a shocking upset loss to Columbia, the Panthers had losses to top teams NC State and Ohio State. Parker Keckeisen continues to be the team’s leader, going 10-0 with an 85% bonus rate and a CKLV title this year. There have been other bright spots, including a top-12 finish at CKLV and individual wrestlers getting impressive wins. Trever Anderson, Julian Farber, Ryder Downey, and Jared Simma have made a big impact this year. Downey beat Paddy Gallagher at CKLV, but lost the rematch in the dual. Cael Happel took an unexpected loss to Columbia’s Kai Owen, and injuries seem to have slowed down Wyatt Voelker and Tyrell Gordon which have led to their stock dropping. There are plenty of options for wrestlers to watch, as the aforementioned Anderson, Farber, and Simma all had impressive wins at Collegiate Duals. Farber scored a win over Nic Bouzakis, while Simma had back-to-back falls against Alex Faison and Tyler Stoltzfus. Anderson may have scored the biggest one, however, beating Jakob Camacho of NC State 4-2. A redshirt freshman, Anderson also pinned Columbia’s Nick Babin. Between the ever-consistent Keckeisen and individual wrestlers building momentum, the Panthers have the building blocks to get back to scoring wins as a team. Oklahoma (Overall: 4-2; Conference: 2-2): Slight Stock Down Wrestler To Watch: Conrad Hendriksen - 125lbs With new Coach Roger Kish, the Sooners are looking to have a stronger regular season than in years past. So far they’ve beaten good CMU, Little Rock, and WVU teams, and only dropped duals to Missouri and Oklahoma State. The team is also coming off a dominant Reno TOC team title. Stephen Buchanan has made his presence known with an 11-0 record and 86% bonus rate in his first year as a Sooner. Conrad Hendriksen, Jace Koelzer, and Cael Carlson have all been impact transfers as well. The slight stock down comes from Mosha Schwartz being injured against WVU with an unknown return and some inconsistency at 133, 149, 157, 174, and 184. Hendriksen was a three-time Texas state champ out of high school, who greyshirted at Chattanooga. He transferred to Oklahoma in the offseason, but wasn’t expected to start with Cal Poly transfer Antonio Lorenzo also coming in. Lorenzo hasn’t wrestled this season, and Hendriksen has impressed. He placed third at Reno and beat Jett Strickenberger in their dual. If the team can get Schwartz back and healthy, plus more consistent results through the middle of their lineup, they can continue to have strong Big 12 finishes and carry that into NCAA’s. Oklahoma State (Overall: 4-0; Conference: 2-0): Slight Stock Up Wrestler To Watch: #24 Teague Travis - 157lbs Another Big 12 team I had pegged as a trophy contender this year, the Cowboys will be looking to really prove it in the second semester. They had a chance to break out as a team at Cliff Keen, but injuries to Daton Fix, Luke Surber, and Konner Doucet were a big blow as the team finished ninth. Their young talent has had mixed results so far, but Jordan Williams and Brayden Thompson are starting to put together some wins. Tagen Jamison and Izzak Olejnik have both been high-impact transfers, with Olejnik looking like one of the hottest wrestlers of the year with his season Dustin Plott’s move to 184 looks to be a smart one, with a 12-1 record and absurd 87% bonus rate. The only clear hole the Cowboys clearly had coming into the year was 157lbs, where Jalin Harper and Daniel Manibog went back and forth for the starting spot. After a solid start at 149 lbs with a one point loss to Jordan Williams, Travis made the move up to 157. He immediately scored a ranked win over Lehigh’s Max Brignola and got two more one-sided wins against OU and Wyoming. The team’s schedule picks up in January, with duals against NC State, Pitt, WVU, Oregon State, Northern Iowa, and Iowa State all within three weeks. If the team can get their younger wrestlers to keep up with their studs, they could make a big jump next month. South Dakota State (Overall: 3-2; Conference: 0-0): Stock Down Wrestler To Watch: #14 Derrick Cardinal - 133lbs The Jackrabbits are a tough team to define right now. Their only Division I duals have come against top-12 Big Ten teams, and they did not have their full lineup for either. They finished 10th at CKLV, but again that was missing Clay Carlson, Tanner Cook, and Bennett Berge. Tanner Sloan took a surprising loss to Jaxon Smith, but dominated Silas Allred and Jacob Cardenas. Cael Swensen is 4-4, but his losses are to Peyton Robb, Bryce Andonian, and Michael Blockhus. Individual wrestlers like Tanner Jordan, Derrick Cardinal, and Cade DeVos have looked improved from last year. The team is a stock down for now, but it’s impossible to not see the potential if the team can get healthy. Derrick Cardinal is ranked higher than most on this list to watch, but he could be the most improved wrestler on the team. After an 11-15 year as a starter in 2023, he is 10-4 on the year with a 53% bonus rate. He’s scored wins over Julian Farber, Brendan Ferreti, Dom Zaccone, and Tyler Wells. If Clay Carlson can get healthy, the team has top-ten potential. The second half of the schedule should give the team opportunities to start putting things together, and I still remain high on the Jackrabbits to start scoring wins and climbing the rankings. Utah Valley (Overall: 1-0; Conference: 0-0): Stock Down Wrestler To Watch: #30 Jacob Armstrong - 184lbs After a solid year with three qualifiers last year, the Wolverines are looking to at least match that in head coach Greg Williams’ final year. Two-time qualifier Evan Bockman is leading the way but hasn’t competed since CKLV. Haiden Drury started the year at 133, but recently moved up and made the finals at Reno at 141 lbs. That could open up a spot at 133 for Kase Mauger to step in, a dangerous wrestler who pinned Stevo Poulin and Tanner Jordan last year. The team has had two previous qualifiers go back and forth at 149 between Ty Smith and Isaiah Delgado. Neither wrestler has been able to separate too much at this point, and is still looking for ranked wins. Senior Jacob Armstrong is who I have to watch after he won in Reno with a pin over OU’s Giuseppe Hoose. He didn’t wrestle at all last year, and right now looks like Utah Valley’s second-best shot at a qualifier. The team has competed in a staggering six tournaments already, including the Southeast Open, Keystone Classic, CKLV, and Reno. They have nearly a month before picking up dual competition again and will have chances to finalize their lineup and start building momentum before Big 12’s. West Virginia (Overall: 7-1; Conference: 2-1): Stock Up Wrestler To Watch: #19 Ty Watters - 149lbs I had West Virginia as a wildcard this season, as a team that could go a lot of ways after an injury-filled season last year. The team is on the higher end so far, their only loss coming to Oklahoma in a 21-19 battle. They quietly have seven wrestlers ranked, with Caleb Dowling and Austin Cooley on the bubble. Jett Strickenberger has made a big impact, transferring in after winning a NJCAA title. After qualifying as a redshirt freshman, Jordan Titus looks to have made a jump. He is currently undefeated at 11-0 with a 58% bonus rate. The team is having one of their best starts to the season in years, and the second half of the season picks up with conference duals. Another top twenty wrestler to watch, Ty Watters is a must-watch true freshman. The #32 recruit of 2023 already has eight falls on the year and only lost to Caleb Henson and Willie McDougald. Between Watters and Peyton Hall, the Mountaineers have multiple wrestlers who have the bonus ability that rack up team points. The team's ceiling will get tested against the Big 12’s top three second semester, but they could end up being surprise contenders. Wyoming (Overall: 3-3; Conference: 1-1): Stock Up Wrestler To Watch: Cooper Birdwell - 133lbs Joining North Dakota State as one of the younger teams in the Big 12, Wyoming’s lineup has featured four true freshmen, a redshirt freshman, and four sophomores. Jore Volk is the team’s highest-ranked wrestler and is coming off a big win over Richie Figueroa for a title in Reno. Cole Brooks and Joey Novak are both ranked true freshmen, with Novak making the podium at CKLV. The team has also had success with transfers Cooper Birdwell and Gabe Willochell, with another potential in Ethan Ducca if he returns to the lineup. The lineup is filled with wrestlers to watch with the youth through the lineup, but Birdwell is one that may be flying under the radar. He’s taken some losses you wouldn’t expect; Cody Phelps the #1 NJCAA wrestler at 133 and top high schooler Kyler Larkin. His other losses are almost all ranked wrestlers, Dom Zaccone, Ethan Oakley, Julian Farber, Daton Fix. The only unranked wrestlers he has lost to are Kade Moore and Hunter Leake, who were both also listed here. Almost all of those losses were close, and he beat OU’s Jace Koelzer in a 20-6 major decision recently. Birdwell looks like he fits the Wyoming mold, and like a lot of this young roster is someone I think will only continue to improve and gain momentum through the season.

We’re just about two full months into the 2023-24 season, which is the halfway point for a collegiate wrestling campaign. With that much time under our belts, it’s the appropriate time to make some judgments about this season, rather than using data from past years. What we’re doing today is comparing and ranking the ten 2023-24 weight classes against each other. How do you do such a thing? We have some numbers and then frankly, a lot of it is in the eye of the beholder and what you like as a fan. Do you prefer chaos and unpredictability, as opposed to a solid top-eight that looks destined to meet in the national quarterfinals? Would you rather see a potentially all-time great solidify himself as one or new blood in a talented freshman? Do you like seeing a returning champion dominate the field or be seriously tested by another great? Those are all questions you have to ask yourself as you make your own list or critique this one. So, a primer on how we’ve ranked the weights: Returning NCAA Champions, finalists, and All-Americans are all self-explanatory categories. The credentials are not limited to the 2023 NCAA Tournament, but throughout these wrestlers' careers. Impact freshmen refer to true or redshirt (grayshirt) freshmen who are currently ranked in the top-30. Occasionally, some freshmen come in and establish themselves as contenders immediately (think Ryan Crookham). Other times, freshmen take their time and maybe a couple of lumps before emerging as one of the best wrestlers in the country. (think Aaron Nagao, RBY, Mekhi Lewis). Had we done this last year at this time, NCAA finalist Levi Haines would be still unranked as Penn State was weighing whether to redshirt him or not. So, that’s why we’ve included freshmen in the top-30, because it may not be evident right away. We also have “new contenders.” Those are wrestlers who were not a part of this weight class at the NCAA tournament in 2023, possibly because of redshirt status, not starting, injuries, or weight class changes. Whatever the reason, they have injected new life into their respective brackets. For these, we've listed wrestlers currently ranked in the top-20. Now getting into the more intangible criteria. Some of the questions I’ve asked doing this exercise are: Does this weight class have depth? Depth of All-American contenders. Depth of possible qualifiers. Is there intrigue around this bracket? Does one wrestler appear to be above the rest of the field? Are two wrestlers on a collision course for the finals? If you aren’t a part of the top 1% of wrestling nerds (I say nerds with love and reverence), what is the first round of the NCAA Tournament at that weight class that is “must watch.” Some weights, it’s the semis. Others are the quarters or Round of 16. Hopefully, this makes some sort of sense and we’ll get on to the actual weights themselves. 10) 149 lbs Returning NCAA Champions: 0 Returning NCAA Finalists: 1( Ridge Lovett) Returning NCAA All-Americans: 6 (Lovett, Caleb Henson, Kyle Parco, Dylan D’Emilio, Austin Gomez, Jaden Abas) Impact Freshmen: #11 Nash Singleton (Oregon State), #19 Ty Watters (West Virginia), #20 Jordan Williams (Oklahoma State), #25 Finn Solomon (Pittsburgh) New Contenders: #7 Casey Swiderski (Iowa State), #9 Gomez, #16 Nate Pulliam (Missouri), #18 Drew Roberts (Minnesota) This weight really took a hit when returning NCAA third-place finisher Shayne Van Ness was lost for the year. It did get a recent boost as Austin Gomez announced his return for the University of Michigan. Without Gomez, this weight would have the lowest number of returning All-Americans. After you get outside of the top-ten there’s a lot of parity. There’s also a lot of new, unfamiliar faces throughout the rankings. This weight class should look much more stacked in the future as Gomez is the only wrestler out of eligibility after this season, amongst wrestlers in the top-ten. It’s also very sophomore-heavy, so we could see a large chunk of this weight in competition with each other for the next two-plus years. 9) 285 lbs Returning NCAA Champions: 0 Returning NCAA Finalists: 2 (Greg Kerkvliet, Cohlton Schultz) Returning NCAA All-Americans: 6 (Kerkvliet, Wyatt Hendrickson, Yonger Bastida, Lucas Davison, Schultz, Zach Elam) Impact Freshmen: #9 Dayton Pitzer (Pittsburgh), #18 Nick Feldman (Ohio State) New Contenders: Bastida, #19 Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) Over the past two or three years, heavyweight has been arguably the most loaded weight class with age-group world medalists wherever you look. Some of those wrestlers are gone, while the remaining ones are in their final years of eligibility. This is actually a pretty deep group of big men as you have plenty of wrestlers who could make a podium charge outside of the top-eight and go down into the 20’s in our national rankings. I think “how fun” this weight ends up being relies on the health of Wyatt Hendrickson. If he can return to his form from nationals or the U23 World Championships, he could challenge Greg Kerkvliet again. If not, it could be another one-sided match (like the All-Star Classic), should they meet again. Former 197 lber, Yonger Bastida has given this weight a shot of life with his offensive exploits, thus far. There’s always the possibility that two-time Hodge Trophy winner Gable Steveson decides to put his WWE career on hold and makes a return to the Resilite. Should he do so, it would definitely make this weight even more imposing, though possibly taking some drama out of the final results. 8. 133 lbs Returning NCAA Champions: 1 (Vito Arujau) Returning NCAA Finalists: 2 (Arujau, Daton Fix) Returning NCAA All-Americans: 6 (Arujau, Fix, Aaron Nagao, Sam Latona, Kai Orine, Chris Cannon) Impact Freshmen: #1 Ryan Crookham (Lehigh), #8 Nasir Bailey (Little Rock), #9 Evan Frost (Iowa State), #13 Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State), #17 Tyler Knox (Stanford), #23 Vince Santaniello (Pittsburgh), #25 Gabe Whisenhunt (Oregon State), #29 Tyler Wells (Minnesota) New Contenders: #14 Derrick Cardinal (South Dakota State), #15 Braxton Brown (Maryland), #18 Julian Farber (Northern Iowa), #19 Julian Chlebove (Arizona State), #20 Marlon Yarbrough (Virginia) Some may not like or agree with this because of the credentials of two of the top contenders, Vito Arujau and Daton Fix. Both are past Senior world finalists and have combined to wrestle in five NCAA title matches. Super freshman Ryan Crookham shocked Arujau in November and has thrown himself into the title discussion. That being said, after you top six or seven, there’s a lot of youth and inexperience at the NCAA level. The #10-20 range in the rankings has a handful of wrestlers who either didn’t qualify for the 2023 national tournament or who were not starters last season. Basically, the NCAA quarters-through-finals could be epic, but before that, may not be very suspenseful. This weight also contains more ranked freshmen than any other weight, so some new rivalries could develop and make this a fun weight to follow in 2025 and beyond. 7) 125 lbs Returning NCAA Champions: 0 Returning NCAA Finalists: 1 (Matt Ramos) Returning NCAA All-Americans: 6 (Anthony Noto, Ramos, Michael DeAugustino, Eric Barnett, Brandon Kaylor, Patrick McKee) Impact Freshmen: #21 Max Gallagher (Penn), #22 Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State), #23 Brendan McCrone (Ohio State), #28 Trever Anderson (Northern Iowa) New Contenders: #8 Richie Figueroa (Arizona State), #10 Cooper Flynn (Virginia Tech), #15 Jack Maida (American), #16 Brayden Palmer (Chattanooga), #17 Jakob Camacho (NC State) Oh, what a tangled web we weave at 125 lbs! InterMat has already had three different wrestlers assume the #1 spot in the national rankings. Other outlets have had more. Every week, it seems like there are another few stunning upsets at 125 lbs. In terms of pure unpredictability and competitiveness, this weight class should be incredible to follow throughout the remainder of the season. Would it be surprising if the NCAA semifinals featured a #8 vs #13 matchup on the top half of the bracket with a #6 vs #7 on the bottom? For all of the upsets, there are still six wrestlers that are unbeaten at this weight. Many of them have yet to be seriously challenged. That means they could rise even higher than their current rankings or cause more chaos when they lose. As is often the case at 125 lbs, this weight also has plenty of wrestlers that are fun to watch and put up points. Not only will it be unpredictable, but there will generally be lots of points put up in the process of these upsets. 125 lbs also gets credit for its depth, in terms of national qualifiers. As someone who does rankings weekly, you could probably go down to #40 at this weight and have past national qualifiers and wrestlers who “feel” like they should be ranked. That isn’t possible at most other weights. . 6) 184 lbs Returning NCAA Champions: 0 Returning NCAA Finalists: 1 (Parker Keckeisen) Returning NCAA All-Americans: 8 (Keckeisen, Bernie Truax, Dustin Plott, Trey Munoz, Chris Foca, Will Feldkamp, Gavin Hoffman, Gavin Kane) Impact Freshmen: #5 Dylan Fishback (NC State), #11 Clayton Whiting (Missouri), #23 Bennett Berge (South Dakota State) New Contenders: Truax, Plott, #7 Sam Wolf, Foca, #14 Jaden Bullock (Michigan), #17 James Conway (Franklin & Marshall), #18 Sam Fisher (Virginia Tech) This is quite the unusual weight class. With Aaron Brooks moving up to 197 lbs, it appeared to be relatively wide open at the beginning of the year. Since then, Parker Keckeisen has asserted himself as the clear-cut favorite with 13 straight wins to start the season and bonus points in all but two of those matches. That doesn’t count an All-Star win over three-time All-American Bernie Truax, possibly his toughest competition. After CKLV, a tournament won by Keckeisen, it’s hard to project the rest of the podium after the UNI star and Truax. That tournament saw previously unheralded wrestlers like Sam Wolf and Jaden Bullock bust the bracket and place top-six, while four previous All-Americans missed out on the podium. Initially, I didn’t think this weight class was particularly deep; however, with the emergence of some new faces like the two mentioned above, along with Dylan Fishback possibly being a high All-American threat, along with fellow redshirt freshman Clayton Whiting, this weight does have some depth to it. That’s evident with past All-Americans Gavin Hoffman and Gavin Kane inhabiting the #16 and #19 spots in the rankings, respectively. We’ll see if the current third and fourth-ranked wrestlers at this weight, Dustin Plott and Lenny Pinto, can maintain their consistency. If so, they may be able to threaten the top-two and make this more than a two-horse race. 5) 141 lbs Returning NCAA Champions: 0 Returning NCAA Finalists: 1 (Real Woods) Returning NCAA All-Americans: 8 (Woods, Beau Bartlett, Jesse Mendez, Lachlan McNeil, Brock Hardy, Clay Carlson, CJ Composto, Cole Matthews) Impact Freshmen: #8 Tagen Jamison (Oklahoma State), #20 Jack Gioffre (Virginia), #28 Gavin Drexler (North Dakota State), #30 Sergio Lemley (Michigan) New Contenders: Composto, #12 Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State), #13 Mitch Moore (Rutgers), #19 Josh Edmond (Missouri) Being the fifth-ranked weight class is perfect for 141 lbs. It’s generally what you’d expect from a bracket. It has one clear favorite (Woods), with another tier of competent and dangerous challengers (Bartlett, Mendez, McNeil, Carlson, and Ryan Jack) all of which have been battle-tested; and many have exchanged wins over each other. After those contenders, there’s a tier of proven wrestlers who are very capable of making the podium (Cael Happel, Kal Miller, CJ Composto, Mitch Moore, Jordan Titus). Then you throw in Anthony Echemendia, who has been very competitive with the returning All-Americans and a freshman like Tagen Jamison who placed highly at CKLV and amassed some good wins. That’s a good weight class. From a watchability standpoint, is there reason to believe that something totally unexpected will happen? I tend to think, that answer is, no. Will some overlooked wrestlers crash the podium? Will a bunch of freshmen continue to climb the rankings? If I had to guess, I’d say no. Whenever you’re filling out NCAA brackets, you want to avoid going “chalk” (only favorites winning) for every single weight. That being said, once conference meets roll around, I think this weight will be one where you can confidently pencil in the top guys advancing. 4) 174 lbs Returning NCAA Champions: 3 (Carter Starocci, Mekhi Lewis, Shane Griffith) Returning NCAA Finalists: 3 (Starocci, Lewis, Griffith) Returning NCAA All-Americans: 6 (Starocci, Lewis, Griffith, Peyton Mocco, Travis Wittlake, Carson Kharchla) Impact Freshmen: #19 Brody Conley (West Virginia), #21 Danny Wask (Navy), #22 Lorenzo Norman (Stanford), #23 MJ Gaitan (Iowa State), #29 Brayden Thompson (Oklahoma State) New Contenders: Griffith, #7 Justin McCoy (Virginia), #8 Travis Wittlake (Oregon State), #14 Adam Kemp (Cal Poly), #15 Patrick Kennedy (Iowa), #17 Tyler Brennan (Little Rock) This is the only weight class with three returning national champions, plus you have the added historical impact of Carter Starocci chasing his fourth NCAA title. Starocci is also the owner of a 55-match winning streak, the longest active mark at the DI level. At the All-Star Classic, Starocci dismantled one of his top threats, Mekhi Lewis. So, you have a history watch with Starocci and perhaps the top overall college wrestler for the 2023-24 campaign, but is there much intrigue otherwise around this weight? Can anyone push Starocci? Just two years ago, Lewis and Starocci went into tiebreakers in the NCAA Finals. Will Lewis be healthy enough to challenge the Nittany Lion great? At the CKLV Invitational, we saw one of the more unexpected upsets of the year - when true freshman Lorenzo Norman of Stanford knocked off former Cardinal national champion Shane Griffith early in the tournament. Will Griffith be able to channel his past self to push his way into the top-two? After the Starocci/Lewis level at this weight, there’s a significant drop-off. The current third and fourth-ranked wrestlers are veterans who have yet to make the NCAA podium. That’s not a knock on Edmond Ruth and Cade DeVos, the latter of which prevailed in Vegas. There are other drop-off’s too as you move down outside of the top-ten. This weight does have some freshmen that could eventually push their way into the top-ten. Norman and Navy’s Danny Wask have shown they beat almost anyone in this bracket; however, consistency remains an issue. Brody Conley has amassed an impressive record, but has yet to face any serious contenders. MJ Gaitan has become one of the more entertaining wrestlers to watch at the weight. In summation, this weight has serious starpower that others can’t match, but lack of threats for Starocci and depth concerns keep it out of the top-three. 3) 157 lbs Returning NCAA Champions: 0 Returning NCAA Finalists: 1 (Levi Haines) Returning NCAA All-Americans: 10 (Haines, Jared Franek, Peyton Robb, Jacori Teemer, Brock Mauller, Ed Scott, Bryce Andonian, Will Lewan, Michael Blockhus, Brayton Lee) Impact Freshmen: #13 Ryder Downey (Northern Iowa), #15 Meyer Shapiro (Cornell), #18 Joey Blaze (Purdue), #21 Cody Chittum (Iowa State), #28 DJ McGee (George Mason), #29 Jude Swisher (Penn) New Contenders: #5 Brock Mauller (Missouri), Blockhus 157 lbs proved to be one of the best weights to follow in Vegas as it featured plenty of top contenders, plus serious depth. Looking beyond Vegas, it’s the only weight class that currently features ten returning All-Americans; none of which have won national titles. Though he’s only ranked #3, Peyton Robb has probably been the most impressive wrestler at this weight. He was the top seed in Vegas and avoided the many potential roadblocks along the way in a loaded bracket. Top-ranked Levi Haines, Robb’s Big Ten finals opponent, has only seen action in five bouts thus far and hasn’t hit any of the top contenders. The second year of college is usually when wrestlers make their greatest jumps, so it’s possible that Haines may have separated himself from the rest of the weight. In addition to the 10 All-Americans, the freshmen in this weight have the potential to push it to even greater heights. Ryder Downey was a great development at CKLV and was off most people’s radars before that tournament. As Class of 2023 top recruit Meyer Shapiro gets more mat time and competition, he’ll likely challenge for a spot in the top ten. The same goes for Joey Blaze and Cody Chittum. Others like DJ McGee and Jude Swisher should challenge for the top spot in their respective conferences. I don’t care how the results from the second half of the season and conference tournaments, along with seedings, work out. However, they fall every single match from the Round of 16 on should be fire in Kansas City. 2) 165 lbs Returning NCAA Champions: 2 (Keegan O’Toole, David Carr) Returning NCAA Finalists: 2 (O’Toole, Carr) Returning NCAA All-Americans: 7 (O’Toole, Izzak Olejnik, Carr, Cam Amine, Dean Hamiti, Mikey Caliendo, Peyton Hall) Impact Freshmen: #14 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State), #23 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska), #26 Noah Mulvaney (Bucknell), #27 Hunter Garvin (Stanford) New Contenders: #9 Derek Gilcher (Indiana), #11 Garrett Thompson (Ohio), #20 Derek Fields (NC State) Last season, 165 lbs was probably the winner in this category. Returning national champions Keegan O’Toole and David Carr squared off three times, with Carr taking two; however, O’Toole got the win that mattered most. That bracket also included 2021 national champion Shane Griffith and returning runner-up Quincy Monday. Griffith and Monday are gone, which makes it a two-horse race, right? Not exactly. EIWA champion Julian Ramirez shocked Carr in the CKLV semifinals, handing the Cyclone national champion his first regular-season loss since the 2019 CKLV. Ramirez did not go on to win in Vegas because of the performance of Izzak Olejnik. Just about a week earlier, Olejnik defeated two-time All-American Dean Hamiti at the All-Star Classic. Now we can add Olejnik and Ramirez’s names to the list of potential title threats at 165 lbs. Neither is necessarily new to the weight, but they have made great strides since March. Then Olejnik was eighth and Ramirez missed the podium. This weight also has multiple-time All-Americans like Hamiti and Cam Amine, along with Mikey Caliendo, who is in his first year with the Iowa program. Each has wrestled the two national champions at this weight closely, but have yet to defeat them. Seeing Ramirez knock off Carr, makes you think that it could be possible for someone from this trio, as well. There is a group of impressive freshmen that could throw the rest of this weight for a loop, as well. Two-time U20 world finalist (one-time champ), Mitchell Mesenbrink certainly could be a factor here. Mesenbrink has been largely dominant in his nine matches this season. As of now, his highest-ranked win has come over #16 Brevin Cassella (Binghamton). He’ll likely rise quickly during the conference dual season. One wrestler that deserves special mention as well for his excellent first half is Ohio’s Garrett Thompson. Largely unknown, before the 2023-24 season, Thompson knocked off All-American Peyton Hall in his season debut and was fifth in Vegas. His big first half elevated him into the AA discussion. Overall, this weight has starpower, intrigue, good depth, and the potential for some freshmen to make noise. Really, everything you’d want in a weight class. 1) 197 lbs Returning NCAA Champions: 1 (Aaron Brooks) Returning NCAA Finalists: 3 (Brooks, Trent Hidlay, Tanner Sloan) Returning NCAA All-Americans: 9 (Brooks, Stephen Buchanan, Rocky Elam, Hidlay, Sloan, Jacob Cardenas, John Poznanski, Michael Beard, Louie DePrez) Impact Freshmen: #13 Stephen Little (Little Rock), #18 Mac Stout (Pittsburgh), #20 Wyatt Voelker (Northern Iowa), #22 Joey Novak (Wyoming), #24 Luke Geog (Ohio State), #27 Martin Cosgrove (Penn) New Contenders: Brooks, Buchanan, Hidlay, Poznanski, DePrez, #17 Garrett Joles (Minnesota), #19 Zach Glazier (Iowa) Along with 174 lbs, this is the only weight class that features three wrestlers who have previously wrestled in the NCAA finals. Like 174, there’s also a historical aspect to follow as Starocci’s teammate, Aaron Brooks, is also seeking his fourth national crown. Despite his accolades, Brooks has proven to be beatable in the best, or at least slightly. In each of his last two seasons, Brooks has suffered a single loss. Combined with the fact that he’s moving up in weight, that makes this bracket even more interesting to me. It should be noted that Brooks has pinned or teched his four official opponents this year and majored returning runner-up Tanner Sloan at the All-Star Classic, so size concerns may be overblown. During the first two months of the season, the most impressive 197 lber has been Brooks 2021 finals opponent Trent Hidlay, who has also made the move up in the offseason. Hidlay has racked up bonus points in 13 of 15 bouts this season and rose to the top in a loaded CKLV field. Both of the returning AA’s he’s faced this year have fallen via major decision. Could more size and horsepower be the difference in a potential rematch with Brooks? The amount of contenders at this weight makes it impossible to just pencil in a Brooks/Hidlay NCAA finals rematch. You have Stephen Buchanan, an NCAA semifinalist in 2022, who is fresh off a redshirt year and a change of scenery in Oklahoma. He and fellow Big 12-mate Rocky Elam aren’t as flashy as Brooks/Hidlay, but can get the job done. The top five is rounded out by CKLV finalist Jaxon Smith, who knocked off Sloan to make the championship match. The recent addition of Louie DePrez gives this weight class nine past All-Americans which is a staggering number, especially for the upperweights. He initially slots in a 14 in the rankings, but certainly has the potential to move up much higher. Along with 133 lbs, this is the most top-heavy EIWA weight class, with three of its wrestlers currently in the top ten (and that doesn’t include DePrez). How deep is this weight class with legit contenders? Well, the returning Big Ten champion, Silas Allred, is currently ranked 11th. Like other weights, this one has plenty of freshmen who should continue to climb the ranks as the season progresses. That number is probably higher than normal for a weight like 197 lbs. The most prominent of the group is Stephen Little, who already has a win over CKLV finalist Jaxon Smith this season. True freshman Joey Novak was a Vegas placer and wrestled competitively against the undefeated Elam. The large, muscular elephant in the room at 197 lbs is 2021 NCAA champion AJ Ferrari. Ferrari could be nearly a return for the University of Iowa. Should he be thrown into the mix, this will undoubtedly be the most interesting weight class of the ten, if it isn’t already.

With the first semester of competition flying by, we are starting to get a better idea of where these teams lie. Some have impressed early, while others are still looking to develop and finish the season stronger. January tends to be a heavy competition month and will give teams another opportunity to improve. I’ll be trying to identify how teams' stocks have changed since the start of the season, and highlighting a wrestler that is lower in the rankings or unranked that should have an impact for their team throughout the year. All of these are relative to expectations at the start of the year and based on team performance. Air Force (Overall: 2-2; Conference: 0-2): Slight Stock Up Wrestler To Watch: Joe Fernau - 149lbs Led by #2 Wyatt Hendrickson, Air Force’s stock has taken a small bump since the start of the season. Tucker Owens has taken a hit, falling out of the rankings during a recent losing streak. A 2023 qualifier, he’ll have multiple ranked matches coming up, and I think he finds a way back to the NCAA tournament. Giano Petrucelli looks to have made a jump in his senior year, with impressive wins over Antrell Taylor and Noah Mulvaney helping him climb the rankings. The biggest factor to their stock up however is at 184, where Sam Wolf bumped up and is on a tear with multiple top-ten wins this season. Joe Fernau is my wrestler to watch after winning the Bob Smith Open, including a win over true freshman KJ Evans for Oklahoma. The sophomore hasn’t had success in his last two matches against top 20 opponents, but could be someone that can make things interesting against lower-ranked wrestlers. As it stands I think Air Force gets four qualifiers, with wrestlers like Fernau or Noah Blake as bubble wrestlers at the moment. California Baptist (Overall: 3-4; Conference: 0-1): Holding Steady Wrestler To Watch: Hunter Leake - 133lbs The nice thing with stock reports is that it’s relative to the team and the expectations at the start of the year. California Baptist is a good example of that, as the team is still building and developing. Eli Griffin at 125 has taken some losses after starting the year as my pick for Big 12 Breakout wrestler. Not the most consistent wrestler the past two seasons, Griffin did get wins over Nico Provo and Jore Volk in January of last year, so hopefully he gets more on track in the second semester. There were a handful of wrestlers that were interesting to watch for the Lancers, but I took Hunter Leake on an eight-match winning streak. The only wrestler to win a match at Big 12’s last year, Leake is currently looking like their best chance at a qualifier with Eli Griffin. He beat two-time qualifier Dom Lajoie of Stanford and has an early season win over Cooper Birdwell, who I am high on. The team is only in their second year of full Division I competition, and will be looking to get at least one of these two to Kansas City this year. Iowa State (Overall: 6-1; Conference: 0-0): Big Stock Up Wrestler To Watch: #3 Yonger Bastida - 285lbs I was high on the Cyclones to start the season, but they’ve exceeded expectations and could continue to climb. After the CyHawk dual loss, there were questions as to the team's ceiling and how they would respond. They responded by sending a message, winning CKLV and going 3-0 at Collegiate Duals. The CKLV title was especially impressive, as the team won despite Kysen Terukina, Cody Chittum, and David Carr underperforming. Evan Frost has been a breakout wrestler, while the team has turned their middleweights into a murderer’s row from 141-165. The goal for wrestlers to watch was to try and highlight someone who may be flying under the radar, but it’s hard to find one with the Cyclone’s current lineup. MJ Gaitan has a fun high-flying style, while Echemendia has been on a dominant tear. However, it’s hard to overlook Yonger Bastida at heavyweight. Undefeated, with a 67% bonus rate, Bastida has five techs on the year. One of the biggest beneficiaries of the three-point takedown, he has an absurd 52-1 takedown ratio. The team now looks to have multiple title contenders, and are looking to win their first Big 12 championship since 2009. Missouri (Overall: 5-0; Conference: 3-0): Holding Steady Wrestler To Watch: Kade Moore - 133lbs The two-time Big 12 champs came into the season highly ranked, and have hovered around the top six spots all season. They haven’t had any full-strength top-ten opponents yet this season, but are averaging a 35-7 dual score. A lineup already with five All-Americans, Noah Surtin looks to have taken a jump this season and is all the way at #2 in a volatile 125. The team has had multiple ranked wins at 149, with the weight going from a question mark to another strength this season. Brock Mauller moving to 157 this season was a surprise, but Mauller is undefeated with a career-high 78% bonus rate. In the team’s 50 individual dual matches, they’ve won 41 with 29 bonus point wins. For wrestler to watch, it was hard to pick just one. The team has nine starters with bonus rates over 40%, and six over 65%. The only weight without a ranked wrestler though, Kade Moore is looking to change that. Blue-chip redshirt freshman Zeke Seltzer started the year here, and will be looking to get back into the lineup. Moore isn’t making that easy, however, as he is 3-0 in duals and back-to-back major decisions. He has an exciting style (see his 360 double against Cooper Birdwell) and is starting to separate more in matches. The Tigers are looking to win their 13th consecutive conference title (9 MAC, 3 Big 12), and their first team trophy since 2015. North Dakota State (Overall: 1-6; Conference: 0-1): Slight Stock Up Wrestler To Watch: #25 Gaven Sax - 174lbs To start the year it looked like the Bison would be in a big rebuild with new head coach Obe Blanc. The dual results haven’t shown it quite yet, but the team is coming off a Big 10 win over Purdue. Senior Kellyn March was injured early in the year which hasn’t helped the team, but redshirt freshman Maxwell Petersen has stepped up and gone 2-3 in duals. All of his losses have been within a takedown against ranked opponents. The lineup is filled with young wrestlers, with five redshirt freshmen and one true freshman. Gaven Sax is a veteran on the team and finally into the rankings with wins over Andrew Sparks and Austin Murphy. He also had a close one-point loss to ACC champ Justin McCoy. Last year he made the jump from 149 to 174 and finished with a .500 record, but this year looks much more comfortable at the weight and clearly improving with Assistant Coach Hayden Hidlay. If Kellyn March can get back to last year’s performance and Sax continues to improve, the young team can bounce back quicker than people expected. Northern Colorado (Overall: 7-1; Conference: 0-1): Stock Down Wrestler To Watch: #27 Dominick Serrano - 133lbs The Bears are off to a strong start to the season with their seven dual wins, but five of them have come against non-Division I teams. The team has heavy hitters with Big 12 champ Stevo Poulin and bloodround wrestler Vinny Zerban. Poulin just took an upset loss to Jett Strickenberger of WVU. There appear to be multiple weights that the team is still trying to find their established starter, but could get some answers at the upcoming Southern Scuffle. In the second semester, the team could also get more wrestlers in the lineup with transfers Adam Busiello and Travis Mastrogiovanni. The stock down comes between their light schedule, Poulin’s loss, and questionable lineup; although they have the pieces to change that going forward. The #12 wrestler in the class of 2020, Dominick Serrano struggled with a 5-13 record at Nebraska in 2022. He transferred to UNC in 2023, and is off to a strong start with a 10-1 record and 71% bonus rate. He doesn’t have any ranked wins this season, but did beat Minnesota’s redshirting freshman Tyler Wells. If he can keep the points up as the season gets tougher, he could be another qualifier and potentially a high-impact wrestler at a wide-open weight weight class.

Brooke Point

Below is a recap of last week’s EIWA action, with individual news and highlights worth noting. Key Takeaways Navy shuts out American to remain undefeated Binghamton wrestlers claim 5 titles between the Sheridan Tournament and Wilkes Open Lehigh claims 3 champs at Sheridan Tournament Hofstra goes undefeated 3-0 on the weekend American American faced off against EIWA foe Navy at home. Although American did not win any matches, they almost pulled out three wins – two of them would have been potential upsets. We did not see #15 Jack Maida compete in the match. Leete lost in overtime to #22 Ferretti at 133 lbs while Bourne lost to #27 Key at 184 lbs. #16 Navy 38 – American 0 125 - Dayton DelViscio (Navy) dec. Shamil Kalmatov (AU), 11-10 (Navy 3-0) 133 - #22 Brendan Ferretti (Navy) dec. Maximilian Leete (AU), 4-1 SV (Navy 6-0) 141 - #19 Josh Koderhandt (Navy) major dec. Raymond Lopez (AU), 14-5 (Navy 10-0) 149 - Luke Lucerne (Navy) dec. Ryan Zimmerman (AU), 13-7 (Navy 13-0) 157 - Jonathan Lay (Navy) dec. Jack Nies (AU), 7-3 (Navy 16-0) 165 - #20 Andrew Cerniglia (Navy) tech. fall Breon Phifer (AU), 16-0 (4:17) (Navy 21-0) 174 - #19 Danny Wask (Navy) major dec. Lucas White (AU), 9-0 (Navy 25-0) 184 - #27 David Key (Navy) dec. Connor Bourne (AU), 2-0 (Navy 28-0) 197 - Jacob Lucas (Navy) major dec. Liam Volk-Klos (AU), 16-4 (Navy 32-0) 285 - #14 Grady Griess (Navy) pinned Emmanuel Ulrich (AU), 2:35 (Navy 38-0) The Eagles will be on the road after the New Year with a dual at Michigan State. There will be some wrestlers at the F&M Open as well. Army The Black Knights were in Pennsylvania this weekend – represented at two events. The Sheridan Tournament was hosted by Lehigh and Army had five place winners of the seven competing. Leading the way were Ben Pasiuk (174 lbs) and Gunner Filipowicz (165 lbs). They were both competing to get matches at their new weight classes after dropping down from the beginning of the season. At 285 lbs, Austin Kohlhofer was 3rd place. Dakota Morris and Wolfgang Frable were both 4th place at 165 lbs and 197 lbs, respectively. At the Wilkes Open, they had 11 placewinners. Andrew Christie led the team with a runner-up finish at 165 lbs. In 3rd were Conor Collins (133 lbs), Joe Couch (125 lbs), and Shane Percelay (141 lbs). Wrestling unattached for Army was Tanner Craig at 165lbs. We dominated the day winning four pins and one tech fall. The next event for Army is after the New Year at the F&M Open. Binghamton Binghamton was also at the Sheridan and Wilkes Open. They had a few champs in both events. At Wilkes, Carson Wagner (125 lbs), Micah Roes (133 lbs) and Michael Zarif (149 lbs) were all champs. Zarif had a notable win over 2022 NCAA Qualifier, Farber from Lock Haven. Ivan Garcia (141 lbs) and William Ebert (174 lbs) were runners-up. They claimed two champs at the Sheridan. Jacob Nolan (#20 @ 184 lbs). He had a win over #32 Rogotzke of Indiana. #14 Lou DePrez (197 lbs) has returned for another semester, and cruised to a title with three of four wins coming via bonus. At 141 lbs, Nate Lucier walked away with 4th. The Bearcats will be in action at the F&M Open the first week of January. Brown The Bears were in Bethlehem for the Sheridan Tournament. Hunter Adrian was the lone placer He ended the day in 3rd place at 133lbs. Interestingly, this was only the 3rd event for Brown this season thus far. They will have some wrestlers in the lineup this upcoming semester who were not on the roster the first half of the year. Once this squad gets mat time, be prepared to see much improvement. Bucknell The Bison were off from competition for the holiday break. Bucknell will be on the mats for the Southern Scuffle on New Year’s Day. Columbia Columbia will be back in Iowa during the holidays when they compete at the Soldier Salute. Cornell (#8) Cornell had a single competitor at the Sheridan Tournament. Nick Wade placed 4th at 149 lbs. He outplaced Josh Saunders, wrestling unattached. The Big Red will be in action with competitive duals at #12 Ohio State and hosting #8 Virginia Tech the first weekend back after the new year. Drexel The Dragons were enjoying the break. Drexel will return to action on New Year’s Day at the Southern Scuffle. Franklin & Marshall The Diplomats had a handful of competitors at the Sheridan Tournament. Jackson Parker (125 lbs) placed 4th, as did Drew Currier at 133 lbs. F&M had several starters taking this event off, as they will be at the Midlands next week. Harvard Harvard was also off this weekend. The Crimson will be off until the holiday break when they compete at the Midlands. Hofstra Hofstra ended the first semester on a high note, earning 3 wins over Morgan State, Bloomsburg, and Edinboro. We saw Dylan Ryder up at 133 lbs where he secured three wins – two by bonus points. He will eventually be back down to 125 lbs. Jurius Clark was 3-0 on the week at 157 lbs. Ross McFarland was dominant in his 3-0 week. Hofstra saw Will Conlon go 3-0 at 184 lbs. #21 Keaton Kluever had two falls and a major decision. He remains the only ranked wrestler for Hofstra at the moment. Hofstra 37, Morgan State 3 125 - Dylan Acevedo (HOF) over Julian Dawson (MSU): 16-6 MD 133 - Dylan Ryder (HOF) over Kevin Lopez (MSU): 15-0 TF 141 - Alex Turley (HOF) over Tommy Fiero (MSU): 11-3 Dec 149 - Noah Tapia (HOF) over Aaron Turner (MSU): 11-1 MD 157 - Jurius Clark (HOF) over Josh Greenwood (MSU): 14-1 MD 165 - Jake Marsh (MSU) over Joe McGinty (HOF): 7-3 Dec 174 - Ross McFarland (HOF) over Kyle Grey (MSU): 6-0 Dec 184 - Will Conlon (HOF) over Kingsley Menifee (MSU): 6-4 Dec 197 - Nikolas Miller (HOF) over Nathanic Kendricks (MSU): 13-2 MD 285 - #21 Keaton Kluever (HOF) over Tyler Stewart (MSU): Fall 165 (ex): Greyson Harris (HOF) over Shaymus MacIntosh (MSU): Fall Hofstra 27, Bloomsburg 14 125 - Bronson Garber (BLOOM) over Dylan Acevedo (HOF): 4-1 Dec 133: Dylan Ryder (HOF) over Major Lewis (BLOOM): Fall 141: Alex Turley (HOF) over Michael Cassidy (BLOOM): 2-1 Dec 149: Cade Balestrini (BLOOM) over Noah Tapia (HOF): 5-2 (ot) Dec 157: Jurius Clark (HOF) over William Morrow (BLOOM): 5-1 Dec 165: Caden Dobbins (BLOOM) over Joe McGinty (HOF): 15-0 TF 174: Ross McFarland (HOF) over Josh Bonomo (BLOOM): Fall 184: Will Conlon (HOF) over Tanner Culver (BLOOM): 6-2 Dec 197: David Tuttle (BLOOM) over Nikolas Miller (HOF): 11-8 Dec 285: Keaton Kluever (HOF) over Tyler McCatharn (BLOOM): Fall Hofstra 27, Edinboro 9 125: Caleb Edwards (EU) dec. Dylan Acevedo (HU), 7-1 (3-0) 133: Dylan Ryder (HU) dec. Jacob Brenneman (EU), 9-3 (3-3) 141: Anthony Ferraro (EU) dec. Alex Turley (HU), 8-1 (6-3) 149: Noah Tapia (HU) dec. Colin Roberts (EU), 6-2 (6-6) 157: Jurius Clark (HU) major dec. Steffan Lynch (EU), 10-1 (6-10) 165: Jake Slotnick (HU) major dec. Max Kirby (EU), 17-7 (6-14) 174: Ross McFarland (HU) wbf. Joey Arnold (EU), 0:57 (6-20) 184: Will Conlon (HU) dec. Brody Evans (EU), 7-2 (6-23) 197: Jack Kilner (EU) dec. Nikolas Miller (HU), 4-1 (sv-1), (9-23) 285: #21 Keaton Kluever major dec. Jack Lodato (EU), 15-4 (9-27) Lehigh #28 The Mountain Hawks hosted the Sheridan Tournament. They had a plethora of placewinners. Sheldon Seymour (125 lbs), #26 Max Brignola (157 lbs), and #10 Nathan Taylor (285 lbs) were crowned winners. JT Davis was in 2nd place at 197 lbs, as was Malyke Hines at 141 lbs. #11 Hines lost to #15 Moore of Rutgers in the final. At 149 lbs, Lehigh had Drew Munch finish runner-up, Kelvin Griffin 4th, as Owen Reinsel was forced to medically forfeit out. The three of them are still in the mix to be named the starter. At 184 lbs, Jack Wilt was 3rd. The Mountain Hawks have a logjam at 141 and 149 lbs. There is a ton of talent in these two weights, but only two will be the guy come March. Lehigh will be in action with a dual vs Binghamton and Cornell the second weekend in January. Long Island The Sharks added another win to their season total. This win was a dominant one over Edinboro. The team won nine of ten bouts, two of them by bonus points. They now have four wins this season in their six dual meets. Last year’s win total was three wins. The Sharks are a team showing exponential improvement. LIU 29 - Edinboro 3 125: Robbie Sagaris (LIU) won by decision over Caleb Edwards (Edinboro), 4-0. LIU leads 3-0. 133: Jacob Brenneman (Edinboro) won by decision over Christopher Betancourt (LIU), 8-6. Teams Tied 3-3. 141: Devin Mathews (LIU) won by decision over Anthony Ferraro (Edinboro), 6-1. LIU leads 6-3. 149: Drew Witham (LIU) won by major decision over Colin Roberts (Edinboro), 11-2. Lead leads 10-3. 157: Rhise Royster (LIU) won by decision over Luke Kemerer (Edinboro), 4-1. LIU leads 13-3. 165: James Johnston (LIU) won by decision over Max Kirby (Edinboro), 8-2. LIU leads 16-3. 174: Blake Bahna (LIU) won by decision over Joey Arnold (Edinboro), 7-6. LIU leads 19-3. 184: Anthony D’Alesio (LIU) won by decision over Brody Evans (Edinboro), 4-1 in OT. LIU leads 22-3. 197: John Dusza (LIU) won by major decision over Nick Lodato (Edinboro), 14-2. LIU leads 26-3. 285: Aeden Begue (LIU) won by decision over Jack Kilner (Edinboro), 6-0. LIU wins 29-3. LIU will be back to competing at the F&M Open. Navy #15 The Midshipmen remained undefeated on the year with a shutout win over American in an EIWA matchup. They used four bonus point victories to end the first half of the season. #16 Navy 38 – American 0 125 - Dayton DelViscio (Navy) dec. Shamil Kalmatov (AU), 11-10 (Navy 3-0) 133 - #22 Brendan Ferretti (Navy) dec. Maximilian Leete (AU), 4-1 SV (Navy 6-0) 141 - #19 Josh Koderhandt (Navy) major dec. Raymond Lopez (AU), 14-5 (Navy 10-0) 149 - Luke Lucerne (Navy) dec. Ryan Zimmerman (AU), 13-7 (Navy 13-0) 157 - Jonathan Lay (Navy) dec. Jack Nies (AU), 7-3 (Navy 16-0) 165 - #20 Andrew Cerniglia (Navy) tech. fall Breon Phifer (AU), 16-0 (4:17) (Navy 21-0) 174 - #19 Danny Wask (Navy) major dec. Lucas White (AU), 9-0 (Navy 25-0) 184 - #27 David Key (Navy) dec. Connor Bourne (AU), 2-0 (Navy 28-0) 197 - Jacob Lucas (Navy) major dec. Liam Volk-Klos (AU), 16-4 (Navy 32-0) 285 - #14 Grady Griess (Navy) pinned Emmanuel Ulrich (AU), 2:35 (Navy 38-0) Navy is the last remaining undefeated team in the conference. They have wins over ranked teams in Pitt and Illinois. The remaining ranked teams on the schedule are #13 South Dakota State, #30 Wisconsin, #28 Lehigh, and #27 North Carolina. Plus, a slate of EIWA matches – it is very well possible Navy will end the season with an undefeated dual record. Penn #20 The Quakers will head into the break with plenty of rest. They will pick back up at The Midlands just before the new year. Princeton The Tigers were another team not competing this past weekend. Next on the agenda for Princeton is The Midlands between Christmas and New Year’s. Sacred Heart Sacred Heart’s home opener occurred just before the break. They hosted Edinboro, but fell 27-14. At 165lbs, Scott Jarosz won by major. Jake Ice was a winner by major decision at 125lbs. Andrew Fallon earned a forfeit for the final win. Edinboro 27 – Sacred Heart 14 141 – Anthony Ferraro (EU) def. Chris Naegele (SHU) by Decision, 6-3 149 – Colin Roberts (EU) def. Mike McGhee (SHU) by Major Decision, 11-2 157 – Luke Kemerer (EU) def. Brandon Teresa (SHU) by Decision, 6-1 165 – Scott Jarosz (SHU) def. Max Kirby (EU) by Major Decision, 11-1 174 – Joey Arnold (EU) def. Owen Ayotte (SHU) by Major Decision, 15-2 184 – Brody Evans (EU) def. Logan Michael (SHU) by Tech Fall, 20-3 197 – Jack Kilner (EU) def. Jake Trovato (SHU) by Tech Fall, 19-3 285 – Nick Lodato (EU) def. Marc Berisha (SHU) by Decision, 4-1 125 – Jake Ice (SHU) def. Eamonn Jimenez (EU) by Major Decision, 10-2 133 – Andrew Fallon (SHU) won by forfeit (EU) The Pioneers will return to competition with a tri-meet against Queens University of Charlotte and VMI.