InterMat Staff

The wrestling season is just a couple days away and one of the marquee events during the first week of competition is Army West Point taking on Campbell on the Fort Liberty Army base in North Carolina. To get ready for that event, EIWA correspondent Austin Sommer has sat down with Black Knight head coach Kevin Ward. Coach Ward discusses how social media helped make the match happen and the recent back-and-forth on Twitter between the two schools. The two also discuss Army's early season schedule, wrestlers to watch in 2023-24, and some new changes to the coaching staff. They close by highlighting some of their favorite debates with the team's Associate Head Coach Scott Green. For the full interview: Click Here

Coach Matt Storniolo has brought in some new faces to help lead this year’s team. BJ Futrell and Justin Oliver have joined Storniolo on staff this year and are already making an impact on the squad in the short time they’ve been there. Futrell, who is an Illinois native made the move back home after spending time coaching at Penn and Oliver comes to the Wildcats after being at Northern Colorado, where he helped coach Andrew Alirez to an NCAA title. Not only will things look different in the corner, but the lineup has had some changes as well. Overall, there are some new faces in Evanston sporting purple that will be looking to make some noise. Hear from Coach Storniolo and Futrell as they talk about the upcoming season. Top Returners Although I spoke about some new faces coming in, there will be some experience returning to the lineup that have some big-time experience. Coming back at 141 will be Frankie Tal-Shahar, an NCAA qualifier from a season ago. Tal-Shahar went 2-2 in Tulsa last year and comes into the season ranked 15th. A trio of fellow returning qualifiers will be back at 157, 165, and 184, respectively. Trevor Chumbley and Max Mayfield will be the 1-2 punch coming back in the middle of the lineup. Like Talshahar, Chumbley was 2-2 at NCAAs last season while Mayfield had a rough ending going 0-2. Troy Fisher, who was down at 174 last year, has moved up to 184 this season. Fisher was also 2-2 in the championships last year but it was his close 1-point loss to multiple-time finalist and NCAA Champ Mekhi Lewis that had people on the edge of their seats. Key Departures A Wildcat migration took place in the off-season as Michael DeAugustino (125), Chris Cannon (133), and Lucas Davison (285), the team’s lone All-American last year, all made the move to Michigan. Additionally, Yahya Thomas finished his All-American career and is now training at the NJRTC. Newcomers With key departures at 125 and 133, we’re going to see some new faces step up. At 125, Dedrick Navarro will be a true freshman looking to step in right away along with Massey Odiotti. Coach Storniolo mentioned that watching them during practice “is like fireworks” so we’ll see which guy is ready to pop. Buffalo transfer Patrick Adams will be looking to take the spot at 133. Adams has limited experience in the few years he spent in the Bulls room so this will be his first year to get some significant mat time. Wrestlers to watch Jack Jessen is in his sixth year and he’s moving up from 184 to 197. He’s had plenty of experience including being an NCAA qualifier in 2021-22 as the #33-seed. Also, Evan Bates will be in the mix at 197 this year as well. Bates started the year at 197 then came down to 184 last season and will now go back up to 197 this year. He finished his season at 19-18 a season ago. Another guy bumping up this year is David Ferrante. He will be moving up to 174 after competing at 165 last year where his season was cut short due to injury. Lastly, Dirk Morley, who is the only heavyweight on the roster will have some pretty big shoes to fill after Davison’s departure. Top out-of-conference dual Just two non-conference duals appear on the schedule for the Wildcats this season. In December they head to Northern Illinois and in February they play host to Binghamton.

Let’s take a look at the top 10 finishers from the 2023 National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championship as a look forward to how the teams will fare in the 2024 season. Starting with the top 5: 1. North Central (198 team points) North Central left quite an impression last season by becoming the first D3 program to win a national collegiate women’s wrestling championship. More impressive, they scored 35 points above the second-place team King University, finishing with 3 champions and 15 All-Americans. This team has a lot going for them as they begin this season hungry for the title again. Maddie Avila at 101lbs claimed the championship title as a freshman last year and did so in dominant fashion. However, this is a stacked weight class, and second-place finisher Jenavi Alejandro from Tiffin was also a freshman. Avila will have some tough matchups again to reclaim the top spot. Amani Jones claimed a second-place spot at 123 lbs and will also be returning. She holds the school’s single-season wins record at 35, which is a testament to how battle-tested she is. After losing 7-2 in the finals last season, I am sure she is ready to come back and compete for the top spot again. Yele Aycock also returns after a somewhat controversial runner-up finish last season at 130 lbs. Her opponent, Ana Luciano, graduated after last season, making Aycok the highest-placing returner this season. Aycock is a big point scorer for the team with 12 matches won by tech and 9 by pin last season. Of course, Yelena Makoyed at 170 lbs had a huge impact on the team's success last season. She went 28-0 last season on her way to becoming a three-time National Champ and four-time All-American in last year’s championship. While she is listed on the team’s roster for this season, it is rumored she may miss part of the season for Olympic preparations. Finally, Traeh Haynes secured the runner-up spot at 191 lbs and will also be returning this season. With teammate Brittyn Corbishley finishing third at the same weight, the team looks solid at claiming more All-American spots at 191 this season. The team has at least 6 other All-Americans returning to compete again this year, so they have a lot of the tools needed to reclaim the championship again. Additionally, head coach Joe Norton made a strategic off-season hire, bringing on National Champ Alara Boyd from McKendree as a graduate assistant coach for the team. 2. King University (163 team points) King University had a similarly impressive showing at the tournament with 12 All-Americans and 5 wrestlers reaching the finals. However, Ana Luciano at 136 lbs was the only King wrestler to claim the title, and she has since graduated. Samara Chevez will be returning for her junior season King after coming in second at 116 lbs in last year’s tournament. However, she is now listed on their roster at 109 lbs. If she stays there, the Tornados have a real chance to claim multiple All-American spots at the weight, as Dianna Holmes returns for her junior year as well. Holmes came in 3rd last year at 109 lbs, however, with first-place finisher Emily Shilson possibly taking an Olympic redshirt and runner-up Sage Mortimer transferring to Grand Valley State University, which is not yet eligible to compete at Nationals, the top spot is open to a new champ this year. Chey Bowman is another junior for the team that could be a contender for the top spot, however, she is also listed at a new weight on this season’s roster. The runner-up at 170 lbs last year, Bowman is now listed at 155 lbs. While this does move her out of the same bracket as Iowa’s Kylie Welker for this season, the 155 lb weight class is no less stacked with talent. The top 3 finishers should be returning again this season, but if Bowman looks as competitive at this weight as she did at 170 lbs, she should be able to compete with anyone. Other All Americans returning for King include Jessica Corredor at 101 lbs, Montana DeLawder at 130 lbs, and Tiffani Baublitz at 155 lbs. Also, Melanie Mendoza at 123 lbs was a 2021-22 All-American finishing 6th, and although she did not AA in 2022-23, you certainly cannot count her out of podium contention this season. In a similar strategic hire to North Central, King University has brought on Ashlynn Ortega as an assistant coach. Ortega was a 5x All-American and 2022 National Champ for King and should bring some familiar leadership to the coaching staff. 3. McKendree University (147.5 team points) McKendree finished with 3 individual champions and 8 All-Americans. Emily Shilson at 109 lbs is still a question mark as McKendree has not released their roster as of this being posted and it is rumored she may take an Olympic redshirt. However, the Bearcats would not be hurting for talent at 109 lbs even if Shilson is not in this season's lineup with Pauline Granados who finished 8th coming back this season, plus two former All-Americans transferring to McKendree: Olivia Shore and Faith Cole. Cameron Guerin looked incredible in the tournament last season and earned her 3rd national title. She is going to be hard to beat as she goes for her fourth this year. In last year’s tournament, she only gave up 1 point. The Bearcats final champion from last season, Sydnee Kimber at 191, graduated from McKendree last year after winning her 4th national title. Given her Olympic aspirations, I do not believe she will be returning as a graduate student this season. However, McKendree’s recruiting this offseason has been noteworthy. Besides the two wrestlers I mentioned at 109 lbs, the Bearcats also brought in 6 additional former All-Americans across 3 different weights, and a 2023 All-American in Viktorya Torres at 136 lbs. I am curious to see who gets utilized in this lineup and how the increased depth at each weight will help increase team points at next year’s tournament. 4. Colorado Mesa University (108 points) Colorado Mesa tied their best-ever finish with 4th place at the tournament and crowned their first-ever national champ in Marissa Gallegos at 123 lbs. Gallegos finished her collegiate wrestling career in spring of 2023, but has since been hired as an assistant coach for the team, so they will be able to keep her expertise in the room. Dalia Garibay was the Mavericks next highest finisher, coming in 2nd at 155 lbs to Marlynne Deede for Augsburg, who has since transferred to Iowa. This was Garibay’s second time with a runner-up finish, so she has proven she has the continued ability to compete with any wrestler in her field. Deede will be back again this season for her 5th year, but Garibay has shown an ability to score against her attacks and keep it close. I think there’s a high chance we see a repeat finals match between these two and it will certainly be one to watch. Jennesis Martinez will be back to try for her 4th All-American finish after taking the 4th place spot last year at 101 lbs. Martinez looked solid throughout the tournament until meeting up with Lizette Bernado of McKendree. Martinez is certainly a leader on the team and shouldn’t have a problem making the podium again this season. All four remaining All-Americans from last year are returning to the lineup again for Colorado Mesa. The team has a somewhat unique advantage in bringing back so many of their talented wrestlers, not to mention having depth at a few of the weights as well, particularly Isabella Morales at 101 lbs. I think the Mavericks could have an even higher finish next year if 1 or 2 more of their athletes could be All-American given the higher turnover from graduating athletes or transfers that some of the other top teams are contending with. 5. Augsburg University (87.5 team points) Rounding out the top 5 last season was Augsburg University. While I will discuss returning All-Americans for the team, the real headline for the Auggies this season is new head coach Ali Sprenger. Sprenger is a two-time Olympian and five-time collegiate national champion. Sprenger certainly has several talented wrestlers left on the roster from last season, but the team was also hit hard by transfers, most notably 2023 champion Marlynne Deede going to Iowa. Additionally, the team’s other 2023 champion, Katie Lange, and All-American Brooklyn Hays are both not listed on the roster for the season. It does appear that both are competing internationally, however. All-American Gabrielle Torgerson finished her collegiate career last season. Whether Lange or Hays plan to return to the Auggies lineup for future seasons or not, their absence leaves some big shoes to fill this year for the team. Luckily, the team is retaining two-time All-American Nina Makem who finished 5th last year at 136 lbs. Makem was the runner-up in 2022 and seemed to just barely miss out on the win in the semifinals that would have secured her spot in the finals again in 2023. Entering her junior year, she will have some stiff competition with so many returning All-Americans at 136 lbs, but I think she can hold her own and secure some much-needed placement points for her team. With just 12 wrestlers listed on the roster, the Auggies may struggle this season to return to the top 5. However, there are plenty of veteran team members that remain, plus Coach Sprenger’s leadership at the helm, so I certainly would not count them out just yet.

Penn State has been ruling the wrestling world for quite some time now. Year after year they’ve put multiple guys in the finals and on the podium. Just last season half of the finalists had the crowd chanting “We Are”. And with the way their lineup looks again this season, it could be another race for second place behind the perennial powerhouse in Kansas City, MO at the T-Mobile Center. But with all the firepower that will be talked about, there’s one question that remains: Will this be the year the Nittany Lions get back on the podium at 125? The last time they had someone claim All-America status was in 2016 when Nico Megaludis won the title. Since then, the best performance came from Robert Howard in 2021 when he went 2-2 as a freshman. They’ve had a number of guys in the lineup here, but haven’t had the PSU-style consistency we’ve seen from guys in the other weight classes. Top Returners Four of the five finalists are back this year with recently crowned U23 World Champ Aaron Brooks and Carter Starocci, who just recently announced he was coming back for one more year, leading the way as they look to join the rare class of four-time champs. Brooks will be making the move up to 197 this season, leaving that spot open for an All-American transfer you’ll hear about later in this preview. Also coming back are Levi Haines and Greg Kerkvliet who were runners-up last season at 157-pounds and heavyweight, respectively. It’s possible that we see Haines move up to 165 this year with a newcomer in at 157. Key Departures Roman Bravo-Young, who manned the spot at 133 for Coach Sanderson since 2018-19 finished his career as a five-time AA, three-time finalist, and two-time Champ. Along with Bravo-Young, they will also be without four-time AA and 2022 197-pound NCAA Champion, Max Dean. Newcomers The transfer portal was very good to PSU this year as All-Americans Aaron Nagao (133) and Bernie Truax (184) joined. Nagao, who placed 5th at NCAAs a season ago while at Minnesota, gave his predecessor RBY a tough bout in the quarterfinals last year and will now look to man that spot. Truax, who was fourth at 197 for Cal Poly last year, will be making the move back down to 184 where he competed in 2022 and finished in 4th place. In addition to Nagao and Truax, additional transfer Kurt McHenry, who was previously at Michigan, has made the move to State College, PA as well. Lastly, is Mitchell Mesenbrink. The true freshman could be coming into the lineup at 157, should we see returning NCAA finalists Haines move up to 165. Mesenbrink had a great summer in which he claimed a U20 title at 74kg. Wrestlers to Watch A pair of guys that could easily be part of the top returners section of this preview are Beau Bartlett and Shayne Van Ness at 141 and 149, respectively. The reason I put them here is because I believe that they are the next in line to make the finals and possibly win titles. Both guys gave last year’s eventual champs, Andrew Alirez and Yianni Diakomihalis, a tough task in the semifinals before each claimed third and honestly, they are a ton of fun to watch, and I don’t just mean on IG where we’ve all been entertained by Bartlett. I saved Robert Howard for last because I badly want to see him back in the lineup, and more than anything, have a completely healthy season. As I mentioned above, Howard was the last guy at 125 for PSU to have the best performance at the NCAA tournament since Megaludis in ’16. Howard went 2-2 in ’21 and since then has been plagued with injuries. As I said, my hope is that he’s 100% healthy because he can do some big things. Top out-of-conference event Penn State is kicking off their season at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic where there’s a ton of non-conference competition slated to be in attendance. The teams they might hit include NC State, Cornell, Arizona State, Penn, or Lock Haven. Lehigh will also be there, but they will face the Mountain Hawks on Dec. 3rd. Even if the competition isn’t the toughest, it’ll give us our first look at the returning champs.

Ohio State - The Ohio State University has been as consistent a presence at the top of the NCAA rankings as they come. Since winning the NCAA Team Title in 2015, they have placed 3rd, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, Canceled, 9th, 13th, and last season they placed 4th. They’re cycling in talent, and they tend to develop and produce more than they don’t. This season they have a handful of athletes bumping up weight classes, so the lineup will look similar, but also a little different. They’ll also have a handful of quality guys fighting for their chance in the lineup. It’s a unique situation to have so much roster turnover, and yet not really be too concerned with their ability or potential. Additionally, there is the glaring and unfortunate loss of Sammy Sasso from their lineup. Perspective is key, so he’s not in the lineup, but he’s recovering and that’s what matters. Even where the weight class changes are taking place, the Buckeyes have plenty of studs to step into place. I expect this team to outperform their tournament preseason ranking of 12. An interesting note, this will read a little differently from other previews, since I’m finishing this one up moments after their Wrestle Offs on October 26th, so that’s why. Enjoy! TOP RETURNERS Jesse Mendez is a returning All-American from 133 last season, and fresh off of a World Silver Medal at U20s at 65 kgs. Initially, he registered for Senior trials at 61kgs, but his bumping up weights and down in age group makes me believe that this was the right move for him at the time. He looked solid in his wrestle-off and I expect him to fit in well at 141. Dylan D’Emilio is another one of the Buckeyes coming off of an All-American finish and bumping up a weight. He steps into the vacated spot by Sasso at 149 and should be able to get some similar production. He’s proven over the years that he will get better each season, and I don’t expect that development to stop now. Getting a full seven minutes of hard wrestling from Dylan is going to be tough for anyone to handle. Carson Kharchla wasn’t an All-American last season, but he was in the bloodround, and has a podium finish in the past. He didn’t really look like himself at the end of last season. Whether it was injury-related, weight class-related, or something entirely different, I can’t say. All I know is that he’s bumped up to 174 and I expect the results to be much better. Sometimes going up a weight is the ticket. Ethan Smith did it, Jon Reader did it, Vito Arujau and Nashon Garrett did it. Lots of times it’s better, and I expect this to be one of those times. KEY DEPARTURES Sammy Sasso will be missed this season. Not only from a production and team point standing, but from a leadership standing as well. He has been a black shirt (team leader - when someone is hitting a level of accountability that meets a standard, along with the performance element, then those contributors get this honor) with the program since he was a sophomore. We’ve already seen clips of him stopping into the room and talking to the team, so he’s being heard, but it likely won’t be the same as he’s been able to contribute as an active wrestler in the room and lineup. He qualified for an Olympic redshirt, and NCAA injury waiver, so assuming the best possible outcome, he can come back for one last run at that elusive NCAA Title. Malik Heinselman, another staple in the Buckeye lineup will be gone after finishing last season with an unfortunate injury just before B1Gs. Heinselman was a strong contributor and was consistently beating top competition and was positioned to battle for All-American honors before being hurt. Ohio State hasn’t had to worry about what they were going to do at 125 for a long time, but this year they’ll have a couple strong options for the weight. Kaleb Romero, a favorite wrestler of mine, finished off his career last season on the podium once again. He was so physical and punishing when he wrestled, and he looks like Dick Tracy. He was a guy who came in with a lot of high hopes and attention, and when it didn’t happen immediately some people kind of wrote him off. Not Kaleb though, he went back to work and developed himself into as dangerous a wrestler as it gets. It’s not easy to replace a 2x All-American, but just like 125, the Buckeyes will have some solid young options. Ethan Smith, was another 2x All-American leaving the Ohio State lineup. He and Kaleb were routinely in the hunt to be on the podium, and both bumped up weights to find the best version of themself. Ethan was named “Black Shirt” status (referenced above) on December 19th, 2019, so he’s been a leader in and outside of the wrestling room for most of his illustrious career. Thankfully for Ohio State, they’ll replace his production with a tried and true guy in Carson Kharchla. Hopefully, the move up in weight from 165 to 174 can also help Carson find his best self. At Heavyweight, Tate Orndorff had been a generally reliable option since transferring into the program for the 2020-2021 season. He was even an All-American in his first season wearing scarlet and gray. Tate provided the reliability that top-level teams need at heavyweight to compete for trophies and NCAA Championships. As good teams tend to do though, Ohio State has a game plan to not only replace this production, but likely produce more along the way. NEWCOMERS The Buckeyes are blessed to have three legitimate options at 125 to replace Heinselman. Peyton Fenton, Brendan McCrone, and Vincent Kilkeary have all shown that they have a legitimate chase of wearing the Scarlet and Gray. Kilkeary could redshirt this season, and judging by preliminary wrestle-off results (he dropped his first match to Fenton, 2-1), he would theoretically be third in that depth chart. McCrone ended up winning the wrestle-offs between the three, but that only means so much. Time will tell who they end up running with in March. Regardless, the Buckeyes are going to take advantage of the matches that they get to use for true freshmen. Ohio State plans to take their whole team to Clarion for their Open to collect some data points on their athletes. The freshmen will get chances to compete and take their spots. You can count on that. At 133 we had Nic Bouzakis, fresh off of a World Bronze medal at U20s, taking on Andre Gonzales now up at 133. Gonzales proved to be ready for the challenge as he went ahead and got a late takedown to make the match 7-6 in favor of Bouzakis. Can’t wait to see how this unfolds as the year goes on. We expected to see Bryce Hepner at 165, but it was announced during the broadcast that he had recently been injured and would not be competing during the wrestle-offs. We certainly wish him a speedy recovery. He had shown he was fully capable by beating both Carson Kharchla in the wrestle-offs last season, as well as beating Cam Amine early last season at the Cleveland State Open. He’s hard to takedown, good on top, and can really muddy up a match. Isaac Wilcox ended up winning the wrestle-off and has been a solid utility guy for the Buckeyes over the years. I expect Hepner to take this spot, but Wilcox has had B1G experience and can be a solid guy at the weight. At 184 we watched Seth Shumate take on Ryder Rogotzke. This was certainly a clash of styles, with Shumate being more controlled and technical while Rogotzke is more unconventional and unpredictable. It was a close match coming down to a takedown at the end. All of that could be for nothing though, since it was announced during the broadcast that Gavin Hoffman, All-American from 2021 at 197, is going to cut down to 184, since he feels it’s his best option to win an NCAA title. Time will tell on who gets the nod at 184, but the Buckeyes have the best kind of problem with having a series of guys at the weight who can perform well. Nick Feldman handled business in his wrestle-off. He will fit in nicely with the big, fast, and athletic heavyweights in the B1G and will be ready to compete with the best in the country right away. He looks like the redshirt season did him well. WRESTLER TO WATCH This isn’t a surprising piece, but all of the wrestlers bumping up weights, Mendez, D’Emilio, and Kharchla, are very interesting to me. Mendez with his World silver medal from U20s this summer proves that he’s ready for that weight. 65 kgs is 143 lbs, so he’ll adjust just fine. D’Amelio is a senior and his physicality and approach I would think would also transfer well. He’s shown such great development over the years that I’m sure he’ll slide in here just fine. Kharchla is undoubtedly a great talent. You don’t beat Alex Marinelli as a freshman by mistake. It looked last year at times that he was battling the weight. Maybe it was injury concerns also, but either way, I’m excited to see the version of him that can go hard for seven minutes. Those seven minutes with an energized Kharchla look like hell on earth. Paddy Gallagher was a huge recruit for the Buckeyes and got the chance to start last year as a redshirt freshman. Maybe not at the level of expectations that people hoped, but that’s not really fair. Freshmen shouldn’t be expected to come in and win NCAA titles just because it’s happened before. There are certainly exceptions to the rule, but those exceptions don’t always determine the development and progression of someone else. As long as he stays the course he can be a Kaleb Romero and follow that trajectory, if not better. He looked excellent in his wrestle-off, and left little doubt that he’s ready to hit the ground running this season. TOP OUT-OF-CONFERENCE DUAL Looking at the schedule, at first, I thought Cornell. They’re one of the top-ranked teams in the country, Bouzakis v Arujau, Kharchla v Foca, Feldman v Fernandes. Lots of great options here. However, I’ve been convinced that Virginia Tech is their top out-of-conference dual. This is their first dual of the season and has been an early season dual for the last several years. Last year, this dual was an 18-15 win for the Buckeyes, and eight of the ten matches were within two points. I’m not great at math, but these sorts of data points tell me that it was close. This year has several other wild matchups and exciting bonus point chances for each team to make this just as exciting as previous years.

Joliet West

Maine South

In the final edition of the Big 12 Breakdown podcast, James Hackney focuses on the favorites for the conference team title; Iowa State, Oklahoma State, and Missouri. For the full show: Click Here

What has become a preseason staple for us at InterMat, counting down the top 50 wrestlers for the upcoming season, is back for 2023-24. With a large chunk of sixth and seventh-year seniors gone, there is plenty of turnover from last year’s list to this one. That makes for a lot of fun and perhaps some spirited debates. Like last year, the third iteration of this feature will show five wrestlers at a time, counting down from #50 to #1. For each wrestler, we’ll have some basic information along with career highlights, and a brief analysis of their career (with an emphasis on last season), followed by an outlook for the upcoming season. Here are #16-20 #21-25 #26-30 #31-35 #36-40 #41-45 #46-50 15) Chris Foca (Cornell) Weight: 174 lbs Collegiate Accomplishments: 2023 NCAA 3rd Place, 2023 EIWA Champion 2022 Top-50 Ranking: Not Ranked During his first season competing for Cornell, Chris Foca showed flashes of becoming a title contender. He took the next step during the 2022-23 season and won 30 of 32 matches overall and had a third-place finish in Tulsa. After losing to Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, Foca won his next 20 contests. That streak included his first conference title and extended into the NCAA semifinals, where he fell to the eventual champion Carter Starocci (Penn State), 6-0. During two years of competition at Cornell, Foca has amassed a 54-10 record. His 2022-23 season saw his bonus point percentage increase to 50%, up from 32%. 2023-24 Outlook: A late-season injury in 2021-22 probably dampened our expectations for Foca during the last preseason. That won’t happen again. He comes into the year ranked second in the nation. Foca’s NCAA performance helped Cornell earn a trophy with a third-place finish in Tulsa. The Big Red should be in the trophy hunt again, so another high finish from Foca will be essential. This season, Foca is slated to meet three of the top-eight 174 lbers in dual competition. Some of them, along with two others, could be at the CKLV, too. There doesn’t appear to be a way that he and Starocci hit again pre-NCAA’s, but Foca should be plenty battle-tested by then. 14) Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) Weight: 174 lbs Collegiate Accomplishments: 3x NCAA All-American (4,2,1), 3x ACC Champion 2022 Top-50 Ranking: #10 Virginia Tech’s first-ever NCAA champion continued to add to his storied career in Blacksburg with another ACC title and a high finish at the 2023 NCAA Championships. For the second straight year, Lewis went through the regular season with a single loss on his record (both coming in sudden victory), which gave him a top-three seed at the NCAA Tournament in both years. Though limited due to injuries, Lewis finished fourth with both of his losses coming in tiebreakers. With 84 career wins (against only nine losses), the 100-win plateau is certainly within reach during Lewis’ final campaign. The Hokies tend to wrestle an ambitious schedule and that was evident in 2022-23, as Lewis earned wins over three of the seven eventual All-Americans at his weight, before the postseason started. It may look strange to see Lewis directly above the wrestler who defeated him in the NCAA third-place match, but he did defeat Foca earlier in the season, is 2-1 career against him, and has a longer resume. 2023-24 Outlook: Should Lewis earn All-American honors in 2024, he would become the first Virginia Tech wrestler to get on the NCAA podium four times (David McFadden’s final All-American honor came from the NWCA in the Covid-shortened 2020 season). Some may overlook Lewis now because of a fourth-place finish in 2023; however, a year earlier he pushed Carter Starocci to the brink in the 2022 NCAA finals. Lewis’s final season coincides with what could be Virginia Tech’s best team. The Hokies have half of their lineup ranked in the top six at their respective weights. Lewis has a very strong schedule in front of him for the 2023-24 season with prospective duals against four past All-Americans, plus the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and the Keystone Classic. 13) Levi Haines (Penn State) Weight: 157 lbs Collegiate Accomplishments: 2023 NCAA Runner-Up; 2023 Big Ten Champion 2022 Top-50 Ranking: Not Ranked Most of the first half of Levi Haines’ freshman season was filled with “will he or won’t he” questions surrounding his redshirt status. Because of redshirt rules for true freshmen enforced for the first time, Haines was able to give fans a taste of his talents when he pinned NCAA qualifier Corbyn Munson (Central Michigan) and handily defeated Jason Kraisser (Iowa State) at the Collegiate Duals. While still under redshirt, Haines took it a step further and upset returning All-American Will Lewan (Michigan) in dual action. After getting his shirt pulled, Haines finished the Big Ten dual season undefeated and was perfect overall in duals. At his first Big Ten tournament, Haines handed All-American Peyton Robb (Nebraska) his first loss of the year in the championship finals. Haines’ streak came to an end in the NCAA finals by two-time champ Austin O’Connor (North Carolina), so he finished his first season in State College as a national runner-up. 2023-24 Outlook: Haines starts the season ranked number one in the nation at 157 lbs. Since he didn’t redshirt last year and Penn State has plenty of talented options in the 157/165 lb range, there’s a chance that Haines ends up sitting. Without O’Connor in the picture, Haines is one of the favorites. That being said, there will be plenty of strong contenders challenging him. Four other 157 lb All-Americans return plus two AA’s moving up from 149 and another past All-American that was injured in 2022-23. Haines will get a look at one of them as he’s been selected to wrestle in the NWCA All-Star match against two-time All-American Jacori Teemer. Haines was good enough to make the NCAA finals as a true freshman, but it’ll be interesting to see just how much he improves during his first full offseason with Penn State. 12) Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) Weight: 149/157 Collegiate Accomplishments: 3x NCAA All-American (2,5,2), 2x Big Ten Champion 2022 Top-50 Ranking: #29 When we compiled this list Sammy Sasso was gearing up for his final season at Ohio State and expected to be a top contender at 157 lbs in search of an elusive national title. Things changed in mid-August when he was shot during a carjacking. It’s unclear if he’ll ever be able to wrestle again, but no one is counting out Sasso. During his career at Ohio State, Sasso compiled a 95-11 record with a pair of Big Ten titles and 22 falls. He made the Big Ten finals in each of his four years wrestling in the tournament. In addition to his on-mat accolades, Sasso was named a captain very early into his tenure in Columbus and was the heart and soul of a Buckeye team that earned an NCAA team trophy in 2023, finishing fourth. 11) Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force) Weight: 285 lbs Collegiate Accomplishments: 2023 NCAA 3rd Place, 2x Big 12 Champion 2022 Top-50 Ranking: Not Ranked 2023 saw Wyatt Hendrickson become the first Air Force wrestler in 20 years to earn All-American honors. Hendrickson didn’t “just” get on the podium, he was one of the most dominant wrestlers in the nation by any metric used. Somehow, Hendrickson managed to raise his bonus point percentage from 82% in 2021-22 to almost 85% last season. That total was bolstered by an incredible 17 falls. His last two were two of his most impressive coming against Lucas Davison (Northwestern/Michigan) and Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) in the NCAA consolation semifinals and third-place bout, respectively. During his three years of competition for the Air Force Academy, Hendrickson has racked up a 73-9 record with a pair of Big 12 titles. 2023-24 Outlook: Hendrickson starts the year ranked second in the nation at 285 lbs. He’s supposed to get a shot at the only wrestler ranked above him and one of only two opponents to defeat him when he takes on Greg Kerkvliet at the NWCA All-Star Classic in mid-November. Hopefully, Hendrickson is not limited. Earlier this week, he captured a U23 world championship, but appeared to injure his knee late in the first period. During his world title run, Hendrickson only had one of four matches that didn’t end prematurely (fall/tech). Keep an eye on Hendrickson during the early portion of the season to see if the knee is an issue. If he’s in top form he’ll be one of the key players in the 285 lb title hunt.

Jensen Beach

Today, the lineup for the 2023 NWCA All-Star Match was released. The event will take place on October 21st at Penn State’s Rec Hall at 7pm (EST). Men’s Matches 125 lbs: #1 Matt Ramos (Purdue) vs. #2 Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) 133 lbs: #4 Sam Latona (Virginia Tech). #8 Connor McGonagle (Lehigh) 141 lbs: #3 Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina) vs. #9 Clay Carlson (South Dakota State) 149 lbs: #2 Shayne Van Ness (Penn State) vs. #3 Kyle Parco (Arizona State) 157 lbs: #1 Levi Haines (Penn State) vs. #4 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) 165 lbs: #4 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) vs. #6 Izzak Olejnik (Oklahoma State) 174 lbs: #1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) vs. #3 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) 184 lbs: #1 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) vs. #2 Bernie Truax (Penn State) 197 lbs: #1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) vs. #2 Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State) 285 lbs: #1 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) vs. #2 Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force) Women’s Matches 116 lbs: #1 Jaslynn Gallegos (North Central) vs. #2 Samara Chavez (King) 130 lbs: #1 Sarah Savidge (Life) vs. #2 Alexis Janiak (Aurora) 136 lbs: #1 Adaugo Nwachukwu (William Penn) vs. #1 Yele Aycock (North Central) 160 lbs: #1 Marlynne Deede (Iowa) vs. #1 Latifah McBryde (Life)

On the final day of women’s competition at the 2023 U23 World Championships, Amit Elor was able to add to both her legacy and medal collection. Legacy is a strange word to use for a young woman who competed at the U20 World Championships earlier this year, but Elor continues to rewrite the history books for USA Wrestling. Elor’s finals victory today gave her titles at the U20, U23, and Senior World Championships for a second consecutive year. In 2022, Elor was the first American to win all three events in the same year, so she’s obviously the only one to achieve the feat twice. Elor now has eight world titles after counting the U17 and U20 gold medals she captured in 2021. Not only has Elor made history, but she has done so in an utterly dominant fashion. Today’s gold medal match was similar to her first two matches of the tournament. Within the first ten seconds of the bout, Elor got a takedown off of a snapdown and spin. She then proceeded to get an ankle lace and turned Jyoti Berwal (India) four times for a quick 10-0 victory at 72 kg. Like 22 seconds quick! Elor’s semifinal match was the only one that went the full six minutes and it was still a 5-0 shutout. In her three remaining matches, Elor was only on the mat for :57 seconds combined! In her four matches, Elor did not surrender a single point. In addition to Elor, teammates Xochitl Mota-Pettis (57 kg) and Macey Kilty (65 kg) both wrestled for bronze medals. Ultimately, each would come up one point shy of earning bronze. Mota-Pettis and Elvira Kamaloglu (Turkey) both exchanged points for a shot-clock violation, with the American getting her point in the first period. The decisive sequence occurred in the waning seconds of the bout as Mota-Pettis snapped Kamaloglu down and rolled her through for exposure. Both athletes were given exposure points; however, Kamaloglu’s occurred last, giving her criteria. The American corner challenged the ruling; however, the challenge was lost giving Kamaloglu an extra point for the 4-3 victory. Kilty also had an Indian opponent, Monika, who got on the scoreboard first as she shot a double leg at the edge and forced Kilty to step out of bounds. Later in the first, Kilty overextended herself going for a trip and stepped into a leg attack from Monika, who would lead 3-0 at the break. In the second period, Kilty was finally able to get some offense going as she nimbly stepped along the edge of the circle, avoiding a throw out of bounds from Monika, and jumped behind her opponent for a takedown. On the ensuing restart, Kilty hit a picture-esque swing single and, after a long fight, was able to convert for a takedown that pushed her ahead 4-3. With under :40 seconds remaining in the bout, Monika got to a single of her own. Kilty attempted to roll through and expose Monika; however, she was caught on her back. Those two points ended up deciding the bout, 5-4 in favor of Monika. The American women finished in fourth place with three medals. Friday also marked the first day of Greco-Roman competition. None of the American contingent made it to the finals. Tyler Eischens, at 82 kg, was the lone American to win multiple matches on the day. He notched a fall in his first bout and a 10-3 victory over Branko Kovacevic (Serbia) in the Round of 16. The only American from today’s competition who is alive in repechage is Robert Perez III at 67 kg. Perez III suffered a 2-0 loss to Turkey’s Mustafa Yildrim, who later went on to make the finals. Perez III will need to win two repechage bouts in order to wrestle for a bronze medal. His battle back starts with a bout against India’s Umesh.

Purdue - The Boilermakers were an insanely young team last season. Youth is a reason, not an excuse, and I’m a firm believer that there is a big difference between reasons and excuses. The expectations for this team are higher, as they should be. The team from last year is battle-tested and ready, and the expectations from fans and coaches are greater. One interesting thing about this team, is it might somehow be younger cumulatively than they were last season, but with greater expectations. The freshmen from last season now know what the grind is like, but they are still only in their second season in the lineup. As you’ll see, you might even get some true freshman and redshirt freshmen competing in the lineup this season as well. Regardless of eligibility status, these Purdue wrestlers are expected to produce at a greater level than they did last season. They have a strong leadership group of coaches and athletes and will grow into a real force by March. This is a team that has a strong and lasting foundation for continued success. TOP RETURNERS The Boilermakers have some solid bookends at 125 and Heavyweight. Matt Ramos starts it off for Purdue. Coming off of an NCAA finals appearance and being the highest returning All-American, he begins the season ranked #1 at 125. That’s the highest that you can be ranked, in case you were wondering. Matt Ramos should be one of the wrestlers who benefit greatly from the three-point takedown. He’s excellent on his feet and extremely dangerous from a variety of attacks. I’m excited to see an extra confident season from Matt Ramos, and what that means for his opponents. Hayden Copass is a returning NCAA Qualifier for the Boilermakers. He had a strong finish to the season at B1Gs, avenging some losses from earlier in the season to qualify for NCAAs. I am a firm believer that NCAA Tournament experience is hugely valuable to returning athletes. You come in with the expectation to return the next year, and I feel like most wrestlers meet that expectation with their commitment to training and continued growth. I’m excited to see what techniques Hayden has developed this summer to add to his humongous frame and athleticism. KEY DEPARTURES One of my favorite wrestlers of the last couple of years was Kendall Coleman. He was as explosive and exciting as you could have found in a wrestler. He had a great double leg and fakes that would get you out of your shoes. If you pressured in too much, he had a slide by that would leave you wondering where he went. He was a big contributor for the program over the last several seasons, and I sure will miss watching his matches. They are also losing Parker Filius who was a gritty veteran who, win or lose, would make sure his opponent wasn’t looking forward to the next time they wrestled. It was great watching him get on the podium last season, but this is a big gap to fill as well. Thankfully Purdue has a couple solid options to backfill these two studs. NEWCOMERS As mentioned above, the Boilermakers were very young last season. Even so, they have a couple strong newcomers coming in via transfer to bolster their lineup and increase the competition levels in the room. James Rowley, transferring in from Wisconsin, is a super talented kid and looks good at 184, which is where he is expected to compete this season. He was a big recruit coming out of Oregon and was second in the world at the Cadet World Championships in 2021. He was 8-8 in his redshirt campaign with the Badgers, but I expect him to have a big impact right away with Purdue. Marcos Polanco, transferring in from Minnesota, was an NCAA qualifier for them at 141 pounds in 2021. Marcos, looking to get a chance to compete full-time in a college lineup, has transferred to Purdue in hopes of doing just that. There’s a lot to be said about just having the opportunity to compete week in and week out, and the leaps that you can make as a wrestler with just that experience. I expect him to build confidence as the season goes on. Joey Blaze, one of the top recruits in the country, is making a strong case for going this year. My understanding is that they will give him a really hard look early, and see what he can do with his early season weigh-ins, but by all accounts he’s looking strong early on. Greyson Clark is getting evaluated as well as a true freshman. Another strong recruit, from this beastly recruiting class, could make a case to be a starter right away as well. Brody Baumann redshirted last season, but had a very strong redshirt season, winning the Purple Raider Open, Greyhound Open, and placing fifth at the Clarion Open. He had a record of 17-5 overall, and most recently placed top five at 79 kgs at U23. He is expected to be an impactful guy at 174 for Purdue off the jump. WRESTLER TO WATCH Dustin Norris was a favorite of mine from early last season. He is tall and lean for 133, but showed signs of development as the season went on. By B1Gs, he was closing the gap on many of his opponents, and had even pinned All-American Rayvon Foley. Norris has been looking strong in the room, and in my conversations with the coaches, they feel like he was really close to getting over the hump last season. He’s a guy to keep your eye on and don’t be surprised when he comes in with a fire lit under him. Stoney Buell was my breakout pick at 165 last season. He had some solid wins last year, including winning the Greyhound Open, but had struggled in B1G competition. The good news though, is I don’t give up, and neither does Stoney. Like Norris, he is going to come into this year with much more confidence and the knowledge that he’s seen this before. Purdue over the years, and with this staff, has consistently shown the ability to develop their talent. Especially talent with a pedigree like Stoney Buell. He’ll be ready this year and should turn some heads. Ben Vanadia competed for the Boilermakers at 184 last season, and like Buell, had some ups and downs. These three guys (Norris, Buell, and Vanadia) all jumped into the lineup early, and each of these weights was completely loaded in the B1G and generally throughout the country. In seasons with super seniors and super duper seniors like we’ve had the last couple of years, I’m not particularly worried about freshmen struggling a bit in their first seasons of competition. What you look for is indicators that they are getting to attacks, fighting through tough positions, and not giving up. I saw that from Vanadia as well. He will be bumping up to 197 this season, and from all accounts seems to be filling into the weight very well. He’s another young Purdue wrestler to keep your eyes on. TOP OUT-OF-CONFERENCE DUAL On November 11th, Purdue will wrestle both Army and North Carolina State. NC State is ranked higher than Army is currently, and conventional wisdom should tell you that makes them the top out-of-conference dual. I’m not arguing against that, but I’m simply combining the Journeymen/Wranglemania as their top dual(s). NC State is perennially a strong team, and Pat Popolizio always has his teams ready to go. Matt Ramos vs Jakob Camacho should be a great matchup at 125, and if Joey Blaze ends up starting at 157, then you could see him go up against Ed Scott for an awesome early-season challenge. Army is no walk in the park though. They have been doing an excellent job with developing talent and will have some solid matchups as well. They have Ethan Berginc at 125, and Ben Pasiuk at 174 who should provide some solid challenges to Purdue, as well as Nathan Lukez at 157. November 11th will prove to be a day to show the Boilermakers where they are to begin the season.

Last week we gave you answers to eight burning questions regarding the MAC for the 2023-24 preseason. It was relatively thorough, but at the same time, the MAC is a huge conference, so there is still more to talk about. Today, we have five more questions about the conference in the upcoming season. Get ready for some MAC-tion! 1) We’ve talked about a dark horse team. Who are some individual dark horses to watch? First and foremost, we have to mention Bloomsburg’s Josh Mason. In each of the last two years, Mason has come into the MAC tournament, on the top half of the bracket, and made his way to the finals. Last season, he was seeded fourth and took out Jaivon Jones (Northern Illinois) a match after Jones knocked off top-seeded McKenzie Bell (Rider). In 2022, it was Mason doing the upsetting as he downed top-seeded Dresden Simon (Central Michigan) and #5 Gabe Willochell (Edinboro) on his way to the finals. Both years he’s beaten a wrestler that defeated him earlier in the regular season. While Mason starts the year outside of the national rankings, he can and has beaten the best in the conference. He’s also shown he can shake off some earlier losses and focus when the stakes are the highest. For another one, let’s look towards Clarion’s John Worthing. It’s probably not fair to label him a dark horse as he already has established himself, to an extent, and has made the big show and picked up two wins along the way. Worthing is someone who established himself during a breakout season in 2022-23 and, more specifically, at the MAC Championships. Worthing knocked off third-seeded Sal Perrine (Ohio) and second-seeded Tyler Stoltzfus (Lock Haven) to clinch a spot at nationals and make the conference finals. Interestingly enough, Worthing had defeated Stoltzfus during the regular season, but had a few extra conference losses on the resume. With some attrition at 174 lbs due to graduation, Worthing started the preseason ranked #19 at the weight. While he might not be a dark horse to MAC followers, should he continue to improve he could turn some heads nationally and get closer to All-American status. 2) How many 149 lbers go to Kansas City? Let’s face it. There are some thin weights in the MAC. It’s really rough having wrestlers from 13 teams vie for one or two NCAA berths. One bad match at the conference meet could even doom someone who earned an allocation. The lack of qualifiers available at some weights can make fans feel good about seeing a weight like 149 lbs in the MAC. The conference was allocated five representatives at the weight before the MAC Championships. That makes it the highest total in the conference. Two other weights were allocated four slots. Because of upsets, when it was all said and done, six MAC wrestlers went to Tulsa at 149 lbs. The good news for followers of this conference is that four of those six return (Nathan Higley - George Mason; Quinn Kinner - Rider, Ryan Burgos - Edinboro, Caleb Tyus - SIU Edwardsville). In addition, Central Michigan’s 149 and 157 lbers have swapped places. Both were qualifiers in 2023 and are expected to contend for MAC titles in 2024, so it’s not a stretch to throw Corbyn Munson into the mix. In addition to those five, there are two others in the preseason rankings #31 Derek Raike (Ohio) and #32 Kyle Schickel (Clarion). If that isn’t enough, you have Nick Stonecheck (Lock Haven), who just missed out on qualifying last year. That’s eight right there and doesn’t account for anyone that emerges from the other conference schools. Now, let’s be realistic. With eight NCAA-level wrestlers in one weight class, they’ll likely exchange wins and generally beat each other up. It might be difficult for all of them to have good resumes at the end of the year. Ultimately, I think six is probably a safe number for this bracket again. 3) Along with question two, can any other weights approach 149’s allocations/qualifiers? As mentioned before, two other weights in the conference had four allocations in 2023; 157 and 174 lbs. In our preseason All-330 projections, we had both weights sending three wrestlers; however, in the “just missed” category both weights had two additional wrestlers from the MAC. Realistically, I don’t think any weight in the conference challenges 149, but those two weights have some good, safe bets for qualification amongst their three from the All-330, plus some strong secondary options. Some other weights that may push for four qualifiers? I’d look at the bottom with 125 and 133. I view both weights very differently. 125 has a ton of depth between the wrestlers ranked #20-#33 and from #34-40, if a list existed. The difference between #28 and #40 at 125 lbs (nationally) is very small and that #40 ranked wrestler is certainly capable of racking up quality wins. So what does that mean for the MAC? They have a handful of those guys between #28-40 with #33 Blake West (Northern Illinois), UR Markel Baker (George Mason), and UR Joey Fischer (Clarion). Based on the information we have now, it would be hard to fathom two of those four getting at-larges or allocations. The good news is that it’s a new season and a bunch of wins by those wrestlers (or others) could completely change a preexisting narrative. 133 is a weight that is very thin nationally after the #15-20 range. It would be much easier for a previously unheralded wrestler or two to make a mark and jump into the national ranking at 133. In the MAC, past qualifiers Gable Strickland (Lock Haven) and Richie Koehler (Rider) return, plus Virginia Tech transfer Brandon Wittenberg (George Mason) has made his weight into the preseason top-33. Again, with the composition of the weight class nationally, it isn’t far-fetched to think that another wrestler or two from the conference could make it four or five qualifiers. 4) You haven’t mentioned Rider much. Will they contend? I noticed that in part one! Rider seemed like a possible MAC Championship squad heading into the 2023 tournament, but didn’t have a great tournament. Only Quinn Kinner (149) and Ethan Laird (197) earned automatic qualifying bids. McKenzie Bell (141) was added as an at-large berth to bring their qualifiers to three. Laird went on to earn All-American honors, but has graduated and moved on, while Bell and Kinner return. Both could be considered favorites for conference titles. Other potential MAC championship threats for the Broncs include Richie Koehler (133) and David Szuba (285). Koehler and Jake Silverstein (157) are both past qualifiers that will make an impact again. A new face to keep an eye on is Will Betancourt at 125 lbs. Rider will likely redshirt 2023 starter Tyler Klinsky and give Betancourt a shot. Betancourt didn’t see the mat last season at Penn State, but went 15-6 in 2021-22 for Ohio State competing primarily unattached at 133 lbs. If the weight isn’t a factor, Betancourt surely could make an impact at 125. That means that 125-157 could be very solid for Rider in 2023-24. Should they get consistent production from 165-197, they might be a threat to Lock Haven/Central Michigan. Expected to see the mat for John Hangey’s team at those weights are Cole McComas (165), Michael Wilson (174), Isaac Dean/Brock Zurawski (184), and Asa Terrell/Azeem Bell (197). 5) Have I missed any notable weight changes? Surprisingly there aren’t “that” many when it comes to NCAA qualifying contender types. Earlier, we mentioned that CMU’s middleweight tandem Corbyn Munson and Johnny Lovett are flipping weights. Munson is going back down to 149, while Lovett moves to 157. Both have had some success at those weights in the past. This should give both a chance to contend for All-American honors at their respective weights. Each is the highest-ranked MAC wrestler at their weight nationally. One you may have missed was Justin Ruffin for SIU Edwardsville. First of all, we were under the assumption that an injury cut short Ruffin’s career last season, so it’s great that he’s back and ready to compete for the Cougars. Ruffin has qualified for three national tournaments at 157 lbs; however, he’s only gotten to wrestling in one (2019). The 2020 tournament was cancelled and in 2021 he was awarded an at-large berth but couldn’t compete due to injury. Now Ruffin is back and will start the season at 165 lbs. A move up in weight is probably a good idea for a wrestler who has dealt with severe injuries like Ruffin. InterMat does understand that there’s a possibility that Ruffin might move back down to 157 at some point. Another change to mention is one that has Clarion’s Cam Pine going from 165 to 184. Pine has won 46 matches over the past two seasons against only 16 losses. At times last season, Pine was very close to breaking into the national rankings. With more experience and a good partner like Worthing at his disposal, Pine might be able to take the next step at a higher weight.

Last night, the University of Maryland wrestling team took the mat for their Red and Black Intersquad event. After the action, Richard Mann spoke with various team members and head coach Alex Clemsen about the action. Head Coach Alex Clemsen 149 lber Ethen Miller 285 lber Seth Nevills

Carl Sandburg

The second and final group of US women hit the mat Thursday in search of hardware at the 2023 U23 World Championships in Tirana, Albania. The team’s most experienced and accomplished team members, Amit Elor and Macey Kilty, ultimately shined the brightest and are still alive in the tournament. In addition to the final five women starting their tournaments, two others who were in action yesterday wrapped up theirs in gold medal matches. Unfortunately, both Audrey Jimenez (50 kg) and Kennedy Blades (76 kg) would have to settle for silver. Jimenez was injured in the semifinals and was unable to compete in today’s final against Japan’s Umi Ito. Blades trailed by a slim 3-2 margin at the break, but was on the wrong end of a second-period surge from India’s Reetika Hooda. About a minute into the second period, Hooda used a counterattack to take a more comfortable 5-2 lead. Along the way, Hooda would add a pair of points via step out and another takedown from an errant Blades shot to win 9-2. From the crop of women whose tournament started today, only Amit Elor advanced to tomorrow’s gold medal match. Elor only needed a stunning :35 seconds to get through her first two matches, both of which ended via fall. In the semifinals, against Poland’s Wiktoria Choluj, Elor got on the board with a first-period takedown after stuffing a half-shot from Choluj. That was all the advantage that Elor needed; however, she added a step-out point later in the first period after shooting Choluj out of bounds. Late in the first, Elor snapped Choluj down and spun for a second takedown and a 5-0 lead. No points were scored in the second stanza resulting in an Elor victory. She is just one match away from winning three age-group titles in back-to-back years. So far, in 2023, Elor has won the U20 and Senior World Championships. Elor will meet India’s Jyoti Berwal in tomorrow’s gold medal match. The United States' other semifinalist, Kilty, notched falls in her first three matches, setting up a contest against 2021 World Champion Irina Ringaci (Moldova). Kilty got the scoring started as she dropped to a single leg after a throw-by attempt from Ringaci. The American deftly avoided a crotch lift attempt and was able to convert the takedown. Kilty nearly had a second takedown, but Ringaci was able to threaten with a crotch lift, then spun for a takedown of her own. Later in the first, Ringaci got to her offense; however, Kilty nearly sat the corner for her takedown. As Kilty readjusted, Ringaci did the same, switching to a double leg and a takedown. She’d lead 4-2 after one period. Early in the second period, Ringaci added to her lead with a step out, as she was pursuing a takedown. At around the 1:00 mark, Kilty got in on Ringaci’s legs and the pair got into an extended flurry. After many close calls, Kilty finally got a takedown with :29 remaining in the match. She quickly transitioned to a leg lace but wasn’t able to add any points from exposure. That left the American down by a point at 5-4. After a restart with :20 left in the contest, a visibly tired Ringaci dove in on Kilty’s legs and held the position for the final :15 seconds, which resulted in a win for the Moldovan star. Kilty will drop to a bronze medal match tomorrow and await the winner between Turkey’s Busra Efe and India’s Monika. Xochitl Mota-Pettis, at 57kg, will compete tomorrow in repechage, as well. Women’s Freestyle 50 kg Gold Medal Match - Umi Ito (Japan) over Audrey Jimenez (USA) Injury Default 53 kg Round of 16 - Beatrice Ferent (Romania) over Katie Gomez 2-1 57 kg Round of 16 - Sara Natami (Japan) over Xochitl Mota-Pettis Fall 5:05 62 kg Qualification: Agaugo Nwachukwu over Ameyalli Jessel Rojas (Mexico) 6-2 Round of 16 - Irina Kuznetzova (Kazakhstan) over Agaugo Nwachukwu 12-0 65 kg Qualification: Macey Kilty over Gilbery Garcia Franco (Venezuela) Fall 1:30 Round of 16: Macey Kilty over Kseniya Tsiarenia (Belarus) Fall 1:49 Quarterfinals: Macey Kilty over Amina Capezan (Romania) Fall 1:11 Semifinals: Irina Ringaci (Moldova) over Macey Kilty 5-4 72 kg Round of 16: Amit Elor over Zanieb Sghaier (Tunisia) Fall :17 Quarterfinals: Amit Elor over Viktoryia Radzkova (AIN - Belarus) Fall :18 Semifinals: Amit Elor over Wiktoria Choluj (Poland) 5-0 Gold Medal Match: Amit Elor vs. Jyoti Berwal (India) 76 kg Gold Medal Match: Reetika Hooda (India) over Kennedy Blades 9-2

Sheldon South

The college wrestling season is right around the corner, and there are potentially some top duals in the early portion of the season. Some coaches make a business decision to hold out top guys, and in many cases that works out for the best. However, fans can hope that they get the early contests that they are hoping to see. The following are the top six duals matches on the schedule for the month of November. 11/10/2023 No. 7 Ohio State at No. 4 Virginia Tech For three of the last four seasons, the Hokies and the Buckeyes have faced off in a marquee early-season dual. Virginia Tech got the victory 21-15 during the 2020 season, but Ohio State has won the last two seasons (17-13 two years ago and 18-15 last year). The Buckeyes have excelled on the recruiting trail and will bring an extremely talented lineup to Blacksburg. However, this might be one of the stronger Tech teams in recent memory. Currently, half of the starting lineup is ranked inside the top six in the InterMat rankings. The headline bout could come at 174 pounds where Virginia Tech’s former NCAA champion No. 3 Mekhi Lewis could face off against No. 7 Carson Kharchla. While injuries plagued Kharchla last season, he has proven he can go with anyone when healthy. 11/19/2023 No. 26 North Carolina at No. 18 Illinois This early season ACC-Big Ten clash could really come down the wire. There is certainly some star power in the field with No. 6 Lucas Byrd at 133 pounds for Illinois and No. 4 Lachlan McNeil at 141 pounds for North Carolina. However, the real intrigue with this dual is the potential for it to come down to the wire. The current WrestleStat prediction for the dual is 17-15, and it feels like it is the type of bout that will be that close. 11/19/2023 No. 11 Arizona State at No. 3 Missouri Next year, both of these teams will be members of the Big 12, at least for wrestling. This season, the dual will remain one of the top out-of-conference matches. While the overall match is likely to be a competitive contest, the highlight individual match will likely come at 149 pounds. No. 3 Kyle Parco, the likely starter for the Sun Devils, lost against No. 5 Brock Mauller back in 2021. However, last season Parco was able to pull out a pair of one-point victories over Mauller. This is a key bout that could certainly have seeding implications down the line. 11/19/2023 North Dakota State at No. 13 Oklahoma Roger Kish was the head coach for the North Dakota State Bison from 2012 to 2023. This past offseason, he moved to Oklahoma to attempt to revive the storied program. Interestingly enough, the two squads will meet in an early season match. The Bison were hit hard by the transfer portal this past season, but they should be able to keep it competitive against the Sooners. There are expected to be a lot of new faces in the Oklahoma lineup as well with No. 31 Antonio Lorenzo (125) coming over from Cal Poly, No. 26 Jace Koelzer joining from Northern Colorado, No. 19 Giuseppe Hoose (184) transferring from Buffalo and two-time All-American No. 2 Stephen Buchanan (197) finally making his Oklahoma debut after sitting out last year with an injury. 11/20/2023 No. 15 Pittsburgh at No. 22 Maryland Last year, Maryland found themselves in the InterMat dual rankings after a breakout victory over Pittsburgh. The upset was fueled by a pair of overtime wins from No. 27 Michael North and Dominic Solis, who bested Dazjon Casto and Luca Augustine, respectively. The Terps return the majority of their lineup from last season and added former Penn State heavyweight No. 17 Seth Nevills to replace veteran Jaron Smith. Pittsburgh will also need to replace Micky Phillippi and Nino Bonaccorsi who were staples of the lineup for years. Despite the losses, the Panthers will still bring a strong squad into College Park looking to get one back from last year. 11/26/2023 No. 8 Iowa at No. 10 Iowa State While the Cy-Hawk rivalry has been extremely one-sided recently, this year’s match is full of storylines. Iowa State coach Kevin Dresser is leading an impressive turnaround for the Cyclones, but he has yet to pick up a signature victory against Iowa. The Hawkeyes lost several key contributors from last year’s squad, but they reloaded in the transfer portal by adding Victor Voinovich, formerly of rival Oklahoma State, as well as both No. 2 Jared Franek (157) and No. 5 Michael Caliendo (165) from North Dakota State. Iowa State also visited the portal to secure the services of No. 17 Garrett Grice (133) from Virginia, No. 5 Will Feldkamp (184) from Clarion and No. 17 Cody Chittum from… uh… Iowa… awkward. Both athletic programs overall have dealt with issues surrounding the sports betting investigation, so it's entirely possible this dual looks differently than expected in November. However, this might be one of Iowa State’s better chances in recent memory, and it could be a very dramatic match.

Illinois - I’m excited to see what season three of Mike Poeta’s Fighting Illini looks like. I feel like season three for a head coach is where you can really start to see some of their recruiting efforts take form, as well as how their specific impact on their returning talent begins to develop. In addition to Poeta and company, they recently picked up 2x NCAA Champion Austin O’Connor, an Illinois prep product returning to his home state after a successful and dominant senior season with North Carolina. This squad has a handful of upperclassmen who were very close to some of their goals last year, including three bloodround finishers which we’ll discuss in a moment. Even where they didn’t have some qualifiers last year, I like the foundation of what they have and look forward to seeing how they develop. It doesn’t hurt either that they are building brand-new wrestling facilities as well. TOP RETURNERS When I think of Illinois wrestling, the first person who comes to mind is Lucas Byrd. The 2x All American enters his redshirt junior season ranked sixth in the country. Lucas Byrd has been exciting to watch since the moment he jumped on the scene and wrestles consistently in that he routinely beats who he is supposed to. Byrd had as impressive an NCAA run that you can have without being on the podium. He dropped a 3-2 quarterfinal match to Daton Fix, before dropping his Bloodround match to Jesse Mendez of Ohio State in tiebreakers. Mendez has since bumped to 141 and Byrd remains a dangerous and exciting podium threat. Edmond Ruth is entering his second full season for Illinois. He had a great first year with the squad, going 30-8 overall, and was one win away from being on the podium. He dropped his fifth place B1G championship match, as well as his NCAA bloodround match to Nelson Brands of Iowa. Ruth begins the season ranked 5th at a loaded 174, and if he’s able to add some more consistent attacks to his stingy defense, then he can beat almost anyone. Zac Braunagel had a great season for Illinois at 197. He also finished his season with a loss in the bloodround, but throughout the year had shown that he can hang with the best at the weight. He made the quarterfinals by beating Michael Beard, who was seeded 5th at the time, and dropped a close match to Ethan Laird of Rider (3-2), and then lost 6-4 to Jacob Cardenas of Cornell to end his season. The B1G has five 197 pounders between 7th and 12th in the rankings, and those guys are certainly going to trade regular season wins, but Braunagel is the one who looks the least fun to wrestle. KEY DEPARTURES Michael Carr stepped in for the Illini last season and helped them out with a 4-0 dual record, including a fall in the Maryland dual. He helped out where he could in his last year of eligibility, and ultimately ended his career by going 0-2 at the B1G tournament. That being said, 157 was a lot to ask of Carr. He had previously placed 2nd at the B1G tournament as a freshman at 141, and had been a strong competitor when healthy. Thankfully for Illinois, they will have most of their lineup back and ready to go. NEWCOMERS Replacing the aforementioned Michael Carr at 157 is expected to be Joe Roberts who transferred to Illinois from NC State. He was 11-16 in his first season with Illinois and 3-2 last year. I hope Roberts stays healthy and I expect him to have a good showing for the Fighting Illini. There is some additional depth behind Roberts at 157, so he’ll be pushed all year in the room to continue to improve and hold that spot. WRESTLER TO WATCH At 125 Illinois has Justin Cardani who is entering his senior season after not competing last year due to injury. He’s a 2x NCAA Qualifier, and should provide some senior leadership to the squad. He’s been someone who has shown that he can get some big wins. He has career wins over Eric Barnett, Michael DeAugustino, and Brock Hudkins, so he can beat some established guys. Additionally, he’s theoretically coming in healthy, so I’m excited to see how he develops. Danny Pucino had some super impressive results from last season. He struggled a bit at B1Gs and as a result, didn’t make it to NCAAs, but we shouldn’t forget what he was able to do in duals. He had pinned Parker Filius of Purdue in their dual, beat Frankie Tal-Shahar of Northwestern, beat Kal Miller of Maryland, and overall was 6-2 in their duals. He has shown he has the upside to compete with the best and I expect the disappointing end to last season will help fuel his fire to hit the ground running for the Fighting Illini. Never bet against Braunagels. For that reason, let’s highlight Danny Braunagel who is entering his last season with Illinois. He has been a 2x NCAA Qualifier to this point, and is expected to maintain his spot in the lineup at 165. For most of his career, he’s hovered in the rankings somewhere between 15 and 25, depending on recent results. He has yet to make it onto the podium, but final chances have a funny way of helping people to break through and finish strong. Dylan Connell is expected to remain the starter at 184 and build upon his 18-18 record from last season. He lost a close match to Brian Soldano of Rutgers at the B1G tournament before having to injury default against Lenny Pinto of Nebraska on the backside. He showed that he can be physical with these guys, and with 3 of the 4 B1G semi-finalists gone, I expect he’ll be able to assert himself as a strong young 184 to watch out for in the B1G. Heavyweight, Luke Luffman, is back for the Fighting Illini as well. He redshirted last season, but should come in refreshed and ready to reintroduce himself to the B1G field. He is already a 2x NCAA Qualifier, and he too will be trying to take that next step and All American. TOP OUT-OF-CONFERENCE DUAL Illinois begins the season off with a series of great out-of-conference duals. They start with SIUE followed by Navy two days later on 11/2 and 11/4 respectively. Next up is a tri-meet with Central Michigan and North Carolina on 11/19. Next, they travel to Pittsburgh for a dual with the Panthers on 12/3, which leads us to the real answer for Illinois. They travel to Missouri to take on Brian Smith and the Tigers. Missouri is currently the 3rd ranked dual team by Intermat, and they continue to produce some of the high-level talent. The best matchups in this dual will be at 174 with Edmond Ruth taking on Peyton Mocco, and at 197 with Zac Braunagel taking on Rocky Elam.

Papillion-LaVista

Forest Lake

Any drama surrounding the team race in the men’s freestyle portion of the 2023 U23 World Championships was put to rest by the American squad on days one and two. Three champions and a bronze medalist proved to be too much for any other country to compete against. That meant there was no additional pressure on the final group of wrestlers who took the mat on Wednesday. The Americans got a fourth gold medal from NC State’s Isaac Trumble at 97 kg. Trumble was incredibly dominant on his run to the finals and nothing changed in the gold medal match. Early in the match, his opponent Radu Lefter (Moldova), went for the knockout blow and tried a headlock. That proved to be a costly mistake as Trumble took advantage for the first takedown of the contest. Trumble continued to put pressure on the Moldovan with underhooks. He threw them by later in the first and tossed in a half-nelson to expose Lefter before getting a takedown for a 4-0 lead. A step out combined with a caution and a defensive takedown made the score 8-0 in Trumble’s favor at the break. The second period saw Lefter get on the scoreboard with a takedown. He looked close to another; however, Trumble showed off his defense and exposed Lefter with a belly wrap. Trumble would end the match and lock up a gold medal after he thwarted another Lefter attack and spun for a takedown and the 12-2 victory. In his four matches, Trumble posted technical falls in each of the last three. The only match that lasted the full six minutes was his first and that was not particularly close either; Trumble prevailed 13-4. The NC State star outscored his competition 47-6 across four matches. Earlier in the afternoon, a pair of Americans wrestled for bronze medals, with opposite results. Nebraska All-American Brock Hardy outlasted Goga Otinashvili (Georgia) in a wild 8-5 victory. Otinashvili got the scoring started with a four-point arm-throw, but Hardy never wavered and wore the Georgian down in the second period. The other American who wrestled in a bronze medal match was Penn graduate Doug Zapf at 70 kg. Zapf was never able to totally solve the problems presented by Azerbaijan’s Kanan Heybatov. Heybatov ran up a 6-0 lead before Zapf was able to get on the board, with less than 90 seconds remaining in the bout. Wednesday also marked the first day of competition in women’s freestyle. After one day of action, two American women advanced to the finals, while the remaining three that started today were eliminated. At 50 kg, Audrey Jimenez made her second world final of the year. Earlier this summer, Jimenez was a silver medalist at the U20 World Championships. Jimenez posted a pair of tech’s before getting pushed in the semifinals by Elnura Mammadova (Azerbaijan). Mammadova held a 4-1 lead with under a minute remaining in the contest before a Jimenez rally. After a takedown, Jimenez got a reversal and immediately transitioned to a gut wrench tying the score at four, though Mammadova held criteria. Jimenez took the lead after a step-out point and iced the match by defending a frantic Mammadova and ducking under for a takedown and the 7-4 win. Also in tomorrow’s gold medal match is Kennedy Blades at 76 kg. Blades has yet to surrender a point this tournament. In three matches, Blades has not wrestled three total minutes. Blades has locked up her third age-group world medal and her second of 2023 (bronze at U20’s). Women’s Freestyle 50 kg Round of 16 - Audrey Jimenez over Rubio Torres (Spain) 10-0 Quarterfinals - Audrey Jimenez over Neelam Sirohi (India) 12-2 Semifinals - Audrey Jimenez over Elnura Mammadova (Azerbaijan) 7-4 Gold Medal Match - Audrey Jimenez vs. Umi Ito (Japan) 55 kg Round of 16 - Alisha Howk over Immacolata Danise (Italy) Fall 4:44 Quarterfinals - Aryna Martynava (AIN - Belarus) over Alisha Howk 10-0 59 kg Round of 16 - Nichole Moore over Wiktoria Karwowska (Poland) 9-0 Quarterfinals - Michaela Rankin (Canada) over Nichole Moore 7-0 68 kg Round of 16 - Vusala Parfianovich (AIN - Russia) over Katerina Lange 7-1 76 kg Round of 16 - Kennedy Blades over Patrycja Slomska (Poland) 10-0 Quarterfinals - Kennedy Blades over Inkara Zhanatayeva (Kazakhstan) 10-0 Semifinals - Kennedy Blades over Kamile Gaucaite (Lithuania) 10-0 Gold Medal Match - Kennedy Blades vs. Reetika Hooda (India) Men’s Freestyle 57 kg Repechage - Niklas Stechele (Germany) over Cooper Flynn 3-2 65 kg Repechage - Brock Hardy over Pavel Graur (Moldova) 7-4 Bronze Medal Match - Brock Hardy over Goga Otinashvili (Georgia) 8-5 70 kg Bronze Medal Match - Kanan Heybatov (Azerbaijan) over Doug Zapf 9-2 97 kg Gold Medal Match - Isaac Trumble over Radu Lefter (Moldova) 12-2

What has become a preseason staple for us at InterMat, counting down the top 50 wrestlers for the upcoming season, is back for 2023-24. With a large chunk of sixth and seventh-year seniors gone, there is plenty of turnover from last year’s list to this one. That makes for a lot of fun and perhaps some spirited debates. Like last year, the third iteration of this feature will show five wrestlers at a time, counting down from #50 to #1. For each wrestler, we’ll have some basic information along with career highlights, and a brief analysis of their career (with an emphasis on last season), followed by an outlook for the upcoming season. Here are #21-25 #26-30 #31-35 #36-40 #41-45 #46-50 20) Cam Amine (Michigan) Weight: 165 lbs Collegiate Achievements: 3x NCAA All-American (4,4,7), 2022 Big Ten Runner-Up 2022 Top-50 Ranking: #23 It was quite the year for Cam Amine as he got onto the NCAA podium for the third time in as many tries. Amine’s season got off to a late start; his first event was the Cleveland State Open the second week of December. During the Big Ten portion of the dual season, Amine picked up wins over a pair of returning All-Americans in Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) and Carson Kharchla (Ohio State). A fourth-place finish at the Big Ten meet followed. That led to the 11th seed at nationals. In what has become a tradition for Amine, he drastically outperformed his seed. That’s been the case for him in each of his three NCAA Tournaments. In the most recent one, Amine downed both Big Ten finalists (Hamiti and Iowa’s Patrick Kennedy) on his way to a fourth-place finish. His final win over the tournament came over 2021 NCAA champion (and now-teammate) Shane Griffith of Stanford. 2023-24 Outlook: Amine starts the year ranked third at one of the most top-heavy weights in the nation. Both wrestlers ranked above him are past champions and met in the 2023 NCAA finals. As rankings go, Amine is the highest-ranked wrestler in the Big Ten, which means he’s in the driver’s seat for his first conference crown. The big goal is a national title and, to do so, Amine will likely have to beat two of the best wrestlers in the nation in back-to-back matches at nationals. Currently, Amine is 0-3 against returning champion Keegan O’Toole (Missouri) and hasn’t met David Carr (Iowa State) in their collegiate careers. That being said, Amine is someone who has gradually improved each year in Ann Arbor, so don’t rule it out. 19) Peyton Robb (Nebraska) Weight: 157 lbs Collegiate Achievements: 2x NCAA All-American (6,4), 2023 Big Ten Runner-Up 2022 Top-50 Ranking: #38 Peyton Robb spent a large portion of the 2022-22 season as the top-ranked wrestler at a very competitive and deep 157 lb weight class. Robb navigated the entire regular season without a loss and came into the Big Ten Championships with a 23-0 record. During that run, Robb captured titles at the Navy Classic and the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Just in the regular season alone, Robb tallied three wins over two eventual AA’s, one over a past All-American, and two more over eventual bloodround finishers. Robb suffered his first loss of the season in the Big Ten finals when true freshman sensation, Levi Haines (Penn State), took him down in sudden victory. Haines would do it again in the NCAA semifinals. That led to a sixth-place finisher for Robb, making him a two-time NCAA All-American. 2023-24 Outlook: Shortly after the 2023 NCAA Tournament, it was revealed that Robb was dealing with a leg injury that turned into a flesh-eating bacteria and nearly cost him his leg. Gruesome pictures of the leg also surfaced, which would lead you to question whether or not Robb would be able to wrestle. Based on video footage and the word coming out of the Husker wrestling room, Robb should be ready to go for the 2023-24 season. If he’s close to top form, he’ll be a key contender/favorite at the weight. For anyone without a rooting interest at 157 lbs, Robb will probably be a sentimental favorite. 18) Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) Weight: 149 lbs Collegiate Achievements: 2022 NCAA Runner-Up, 2021 Big Ten Runner-Up 2022 Top-50 Ranking: #30 Back-to-back Huskers in the ranking and in the lineup as Ridge Lovett and Peyton Robb will occupy the 149/157 lb slots for Nebraska. Lovett is back after redshirting the 2022-23 campaign. The last time we saw him in collegiate action, Lovett was in the national finals opposite Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell). Beating Lovett gave Diakomihalis the third of his four national titles. To get to the raised stage, Lovett the 10th seed, dominated #7 Josh Heil (Campbell) and pinned #2 Tariq Wilson (NC State) in the quarterfinals. In the semis, Lovett got by the dangerous Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech), 5-4. Earlier that year, Lovett gave Diakomihalis his closest scare of the season when they went to sudden victory at the CKLV Invitational. 2023-24 Outlook: With both finalists from 2023 not returning, 149 is wide open this season. Lovett starts the year ranked number one based on his body of work compared to the rest of the weight and his past finals appearance. Lovett and his Nebraska teammates are seeking to become the first Cornhusker wrestlers since Jordan Burroughs (2011) to win a national title. There are a couple of dates to circle on the Nebraska schedule in reference to Lovett. The CKLV Invitational could feature four other top-ten wrestlers (maybe more depending on development) and is always a tough test. Nebraska’s final two dual meets come against Arizona State and Penn State. Those schools feature the third (Shayne Van Ness) and fourth (Kyle Parco) place finishers from nationals and they slot in right behind Lovett. During his time in Lincoln, Lovett has earned the reputation of a “gamer” and someone who thrives in the spotlight. So, if he were to drop a match or two along the way, I wouldn’t be worried. He’s proven he can thrive regardless of seedings or matchups. 17) Matt Ramos (Purdue) Weight: 125 lbs Collegiate Achievements: 2023 NCAA Runner-Up, 2023 Big Ten 3rd Place 2022 Top-50 Ranking: Not Ranked After finishing in the NCAA bloodround in 2022 at 133 lbs, Matt Ramos decided to drop down to 125 lbs since Big Ten runner-up Devin Schroder was no longer in the equation for Purdue. That proved to be a wise decision and Ramos finished the year with one of the most memorable moments in recent years at the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The Boilermaker was in the midst of a back-and-forth semifinal bout with three-time national champion Spencer Lee (Iowa). Ramos was almost responsible for the roof coming off the BOK Center as he pinned Lee to make the national finals. In doing so, Ramos became Purdue’s first NCAA All-American since 2013, head coach Tony Ersland’s first placer, and the school’s first finalist since 2006. Don’t be fooled by the incredible semifinal match, Ramos had an all-around great year. He won the Southern Scuffle and Clarion Open and was a finalist at the CKLV Invitational. Overall, Ramos went 35-5 2023-24 Outlook: Ramos was probably one of the most difficult wrestlers to place on this list. He doesn’t have the long track record of collegiate success like others on the list, but they don’t have a Spencer Lee-type win. He also had more losses than most in this range, but also showed up to wrestle more often than almost anyone else. And looking at his NCAA Tournament, Ramos had to pull off some magic to get through the quarters and semis. You can either say he may not win those types of matches again or think “he’s just a winner.” A bit of both might be where the truth lies. Ramos holds the top ranking at 125 lbs headed into the season. He’ll be tested right away in week two as Purdue faces NC State and likely, Jakob Camacho, a past All-American threat. Purdue also travels to the CKLV again which is sure to provide top-flight competition. He now has his sights set on becoming Purdue’s first national champion in more than three decades. 16) Shane Griffith (Michigan) Weight: 174 lbs Collegiate Achievements: 3x NCAA All-American (5,2,1), 2020 Pac-12 Champion, 4x Pac-12 Finalist 2022 Top-50 Ranking: #11 In each of the three years that this feature has existed, Shane Griffith has been among the top-16 wrestlers in the country. Griffin does so after getting on the NCAA podium for a third time; though his fifth-place finish was the lowest of his excellent career. He started his 2022-23 season with 16 consecutive wins, a span that included tournament titles at the Meno Open, the App State Invite, and the Southern Scuffle. Griffith has always been a wrestler whose performance rises along with the importance of the competition. In each of the last three seasons, Griffith has lost in the Pac-12 finals and each time to a different opponent. Every time he has outwrestled his NCAA seed and the wrestler who defeated him. While Griffith’s fifth-place showing stands out as being unusual, both of his NCAA losses came via a 2-1 decision, so they could have easily been flipped. 2023-24 Outlook: In the offseason, Griffith and the Northwestern trio of All-Americans joined the Michigan program as graduate transfers. They should help the Wolverines remain in NCAA trophy contention. With Cam Amine already at 165 lbs, Griffith is expected to move up to 174. With his long frame, he should be able to put on the weight just fine and not have much of an adjustment period. He’ll trade one monster weight for another. Like 165, 174 features a pair of past champions, in addition to Griffith. Should everyone enter, the CKLV Invitational is expected to feature two of the three wrestlers ranked above Griffith.

Dysen Gould is back and today talks with Illinois' two-time All-American Lucas Byrd. The two talk about the recent Illinois training cycle, the Illini coaching staff and why Byrd chose to come to Champaign. He also discusses the grind of wrestling in the Big Ten. After some wrestling talk, Byrd is forthcoming about life with a DI athlete as his significant other and the elephant in the room....how Lucas resembles a famous movie wizard. For the full interview: Click Here