InterMat Staff

Queensbury

For Minnesota, this year will be summed up as “one last shot”. It’ll be one last shot for sixth-year senior and two-time NCAA All-American Patrick McKee to prove that he can get the job done on the front side of the bracket at NCAAs. It’s one last shot for AA Michael Blockhus, who returned to the team after making his MMA debut this summer at Bellator 298. And potentially, one last shot for Olympic Gold Medalist Gable Steveson to claim Gopher wrestling history by becoming the first three-time NCAA Champion in program history. No matter what, the Gophers are looking to make this a year to remember. Hear from Head Coach Brandon Eggum. Top Returners Patrick McKee For the multiple-time AA, the narrative has been that he’s the bandit of the backside of the bracket. In 2021-22 he collected six straight wins to finish fifth at the National Championships. The year before, he had the same six-match win streak on the consolation side to claim third place. No one can refute the fact that McKee is a gamer and he’s never out of the match. However, he doesn’t get off to the best start when the lights are the brightest. But make no mistake about it, he is certainly a tone-setter at the front of the lineup. Michael Blockhus In April, he said he was moving on from wrestling and heading into the Bellator cage. But then after a successful debut, he had a change of heart and decided that he still had something left to give the Gophers. Like McKee, Blockhus will be coming back for his sixth and final year. A season ago, he finished in eighth place at 149 pounds, but this year he’s moving up to 157 where he will look to finish on the podium once again. Andrew Sparks After making an appearance at the NCAA tournament a season ago at 165, Sparks returns to the lineup at 174. He sits at #17 coming into the year and while we’ve seen some very good wrestling from Sparks during his career, he certainly has a lot to impress upon this year. Isaiah Salazar Salazar came so close to finishing on the podium last season as he saw things come to an end in the bloodround after falling to Clarion’s Will Feldkamp, 8-4. Salazar and Sparks have the potential to form a formidable 1-2 punch in the back half of the lineup that can use some firepower. Salazar will be the lone returner in this part of the lineup coming back at the same weight. Note: It hasn’t been announced that Gable Steveson will in fact be back in the lineup at heavyweight, but this is where he would go. [insert the paragraph of accolades and superlatives for how great he is here]. Key Departures Coach Eggum’s squad lost a few NCAA qualifiers from last year, but the biggest hit is the loss of 133-pound fifth-place finisher Aaron Nagao, who transferred to Penn State. In addition, they lost NCAA qualifiers Jake Bergeland and Bailey O’Reilly. Bergeland unfortunately had to medically forfeit out of the championships last year. Newcomers Vance VomBaur The redshirt sophomore will be coming into the lineup at 141 this year. He saw some mat time last year with an appearance at the Southern Scuffle where he notched three wins. He also claimed a 5-4 win over No. 9-ranked 2x AA Clay Carlson last year as well. Wrestlers to watch Tyler Wells The true freshman is coming in as one of the six guys part of the Gophers’ recruiting class. With Jake Gliva coming back, I don’t expect to see Wells a lot this season. But I’m betting he will be using all of his allotted starting spots that he can make and still maintain his redshirt. During my conversation with Coach Eggum, he mentioned how important it is for him and his staff to keep the in-state talent in Minnesota and Wells is part of that contingent this season as he’s one of the four wrestlers staying in their home state to join the Minnesota roster this year. Wells finished his high school career as a four-time state champ and a 162-1 record. He also won a U15 Freestyle World title in 2019. Garrett Joles Last season he put the team first and bumped up to fill a void at heavyweight where he received an at-large bid to NCAAs. This year he will be at 197. And with the experience from last season where he took on the big boys and claimed wins over four ranked opponents, he will be looking to make a big splash in a star-studded weight class. Top out-of-conference event For this one, I’m taking a guess. On December 29-30, they will be wrestling in the Soldier Salute Collegiate Wrestling Tournament where, and again, I’m guessing, they will face opponents UNC and UNI at some point over that 2-day span. Both schools have wrestlers that would make for good matchups with the Gophers.

Tuesday was the first day that medals were awarded at the 2023 U23 World Championships and the US men’s freestyle team cleaned up. All five of the Americans who started their tournaments yesterday were in medal contention at the outset of day two. When the smoke cleared, the US went 3-for-3 in gold medal matches and added a bronze to the medal haul. The first American to take the mat during the medal session was Keegan O’Toole at 74 kg. O’Toole’s opponent was 2017 Cadet World medalist Imam Ganishov (AIN - Russia). The two-time champion from Missouri controlled the pace of the entire match and never let Ganishov get to his offense. Early in the bout, O’Toole got in on the Russian’s legs and needed an extended period of time to get the finish. Along the way, he avoided giving up exposure points via crotch lift. Shortly afterward, O’Toole used a low single to secure his second takedown for a 4-0 lead. Late in the period, O’Toole had the Russian in a quad pod at the edge of the mat. Ganishov refused to concede the position and eventually got a point for an O’Toole step-out. Initially, the sequence was ruled a step out in O’Toole’s favor; however, it was overturned after a review. Despite a 4-1 lead in the second period, O’Toole continued to be the aggressor. After narrowly missing a takedown after a low attack, O’Toole stayed on the offensive and scored his third and final takedown. That was all he’d need, as he won 6-1. For the Tiger star, it’s his second career world title after winning one at the U20 level in 2021. Next up for team US was Aaron Brooks at 86 kg. Brooks’s opponent was 2022 U23 world champion Tatsuya Shirai of Japan. Despite his impressive resume, Shirai proved to be no match for the Penn State superstar. Brooks got a takedown just after the one-minute mark, but really blew the match open in later in the opening stanza. He stunned Shirai with an ankle pick and picked up four points for the feet-to-back exposure. Still in the first period, Brooks went back to the ankle pick and finished for two points. Seconds later he’d transition to an ankle lace and turned Shirai to send the bout into match termination territory. Like O’Toole, Brooks is now a two-time world champion. His first title came in 2017 at the Cadet age group. Completely the championship trifecta was Wyatt Hendrickson at 125 kgs. Hendrickson squared off with Cadet and Junior world bronze medalist Adil Misirci (Turkey), an opponent that had only surrendered one point in his three prior matches. That would change quickly as Hendrickson attacked off the whistle and stunned his Turkish counterpart with a takedown. Hendrickson continued the onslaught for the better part of the opening period. Late in the first, Misirci got in on a single leg and Hendrickson rubber-knee’d out of trouble. The Air Force All-American would take an extended amount of time returning to the center and was obviously hampered by some sort of a knee injury. While in pain, Hendrickson continued to wrestle and attack. He finished the first period with a step-out point to lead 7-0. After extending his lead with a takedown and exposure, Hendrickson and Misirci got into a scramble where both wrestlers were exposed. That was enough to give Hendrickson the 13-3 win on technical superiority. Despite walking back to the corner very gingerly, Hendrickson still managed to take a lap with the American flag and celebrate his world title. Also competing for a medal at 92 kg was Jacob Cardenas. The Cornell 197 lber grabbed his second consecutive U23 world bronze medal with a 4-3 victory over Pruthviraj Patil (India). The men’s freestyle team still has the opportunity to add more hardware to their collection as four wrestlers who started their tournaments on Tuesday are still in medal contention. Isaac Trumble at 97 kg leads the way, as he made the finals and has locked up at least a silver medal. Trumble demolished the competition with 11-0 techs in both the quarterfinals and semis. His 13-4 win in the Round of 16 over Japan’s Hibiki Ito represented his “closest” bout of the tournament. Standing between him and a gold medal is Moldova’s Radu Lefter. Lefter was Moldova’s representative at the 2023 Senior World Championships. He picked up a win in his first match before losing to Kyle Snyder, 12-1. Lefter was a U23 World silver medalist back in 2021. Cooper Flynn (57 kg) and Brock Hardy (65 kg) are both in repechage and need to win a bout tomorrow morning to secure a place in a bronze medal bout. That’s where Penn graduate Doug Zapf (70 kg) is after falling in the semifinals. Tomorrow will mark the final day of competition in men’s freestyle, but also the first day of women’s freestyle. American results 57 kg Qualification: Cooper Flynn over Vasyl Ilnytskyi (Poland) 4-1 Round of 16: Manvel Khndzrtsyan (Armenia) over Cooper Flynn 11-0 61 kg Repechage: Mezhlum Mezhlumyan (Armenia) over Julian Chlebove 11-0 65 kg Qualification: Brock Hardy over Sammy Alvarez (Puerto Rico) 12-7 Round of 16: Brock Hardy over Artem Kryvenko (Ukraine) 11-0 Quarterfinals: Ziraddin Bayramov (Azerbaijan) over Brock Hardy 14-11 70 kg Qualification: Doug Zapf over Benedikt Huber (Austria) 12-1 Round of 16: Doug Zapf over Ion Marcu (Moldova) 7-0 Quarterfinals: Doug Zapf over Orozobek Toktomambetov (Kyrgyzstan) 3-3 Semifinals: Inalbek Sheriev (AIN - Russia) over Doug Zapf 9-2 74 kg Gold Medal Match: Keegan O’Toole over Imam Ganishov (Russia) 6-1 79 kg Round of 16: Masaki Sato (Japan) over Dustin Plott 2-2 86 kg Gold Medal Match: Aaron Brooks over Tatsuya Shirai (Japan) 10-0 92 kg Repechage: Jacob Cardenas over Satoshi Miura (Japan) 6-0 Bronze Medal Match: Jacob Cardenas over Pruthviraj Patil (India) 4-3 97 kg Round of 16: Isaac Trumble over Hibiki Ito (Japan) 13-4 Quarterfinals: Isaac Trumble over Oktay Ciftci (Turkey) 11-0 Semifinals: Isaac Trumble over Sergey Sargsyan (Armenia) 11-0 125 kg Gold Medal Match: Wyatt Hendrickson over Adli Misirci (Turkey) 13-3

One of the idiosyncrasies of college athletics is that student-athletes only get four years of collegiate competition before either going to pursue their sport professionally or moving on to other ventures. Of course, COVID and extra eligibility have thrown that traditional four-year mark for a loop these past few years. As we move farther away from the extra eligibility and more towards normalcy, more college athletes will graduate and move on. This applies to wrestling like any other sport. Today, we’ll look back at some of the collegiate stars who have graduated and moved on after the 2023 tournament. As it applies to the upcoming season, we’ll look at the wrestlers slated to replace those greats. Replace may not be the best word, because, in a lot of these instances, it will be extremely difficult to replicate the production and leadership that these great wrestlers provided at their respective institutions. That being said, someone had to try! Below we’re going weight-by-weight and have singled out some of the notable seniors and have information on the wrestler (or wrestlers) that will replace them in the lineup: 125 Patrick Glory (Princeton) Replacement: Marc-Anthony McGowan - It’s not easy replacing the first national champion for your program in 70 years, so suffice it to say that Marc-Anthony McGowan has big shoes to fill. McGowan is very capable though, he was ranked #12 overall in the Class of 2023 and is expected to be a day-one starter for the Tigers. McGowan was a Cadet World Champion and a three-time Walsh Ironman finalist (two-time champion). ***Editors Note**** After publication, InterMat learned of an injury to McGowan which will prevent him from competing during the 2023-24 season. Look for true freshman Drew Heethuis, the #111 recruit in the Class of 2023, to man the 125 lb class this year for Princeton. Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) Replacement: Richie Figueroa - It sounds slightly disrespectful and presumptuous to think that there will be little to no drop off from a multiple-time All-American and national finalist leaving, but that’s more of an indictment on the talent of Richie Figueroa than a knock on Brandon Courtney. Figueroa went undefeated last year filling in for Courtney and won the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, downing the eventual NCAA runner-up, Matt Ramos (Purdue), in the process. In his 14 matches last season, Figueroa defeated nine past or future national qualifiers without a hiccup. Spencer Lee (Iowa) Replacement: Drake Ayala - This season will mark the first time since 2017-18 that Spencer Lee isn’t either in the Iowa lineup or a possibility to start for the Hawkeyes. Stepping in for Lee is Drake Ayala, a top recruit who wrestled for Iowa in 2021-22 while Lee was injured. Ayala showed plenty of promise that year with wins over All-American Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern) and Big Ten finalist Devin Schroder (Purdue); however, he was a first-round upset victim at nationals and went 1-2. Ayala was 13-1 competing unattached and redshirting last year, but has dealt with multiple injuries since the last time he was in the lineup. If healthy, he could be in for a possible high finish in Kansas City. 133 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) Replacement: Aaron Nagao - Throughout the 2023 postseason, one of Roman Bravo-Young’s toughest opponents was Minnesota’s Aaron Nagao. In his first season as the Gophers starter, Nagao made the Big Ten finals and opposed Bravo-Young in the national quarterfinals. Nagao would end up finishing fifth at 133 lbs. After the season, Nagao entered the transfer portal and picked Penn State as his next destination. While RBY is out of eligibility, he’ll still likely get to work with Nagao in the room. There’s bound to be some level of drop-off when you lose a two-time national champion; however, maybe not “that” much with Nagao continuing to grow. Michael McGee (Arizona State) Replacement: Julian Chlebove - The extra Covid years of eligibility kept ASU’s lightweight tandem intact, but forced former top recruit, Julian Chlebove, to watch from the sideline more often than competing. Chlebove’s patience has finally paid off and he looks to be the guy at 133 for the Sun Devils. As a possible precursor to the 2023-24 season, Chlebove is in Albania this week competing at the U23 World Championships after winning the Trials in June. Freestyle and folkstyle success don’t always go hand-in-hand, but Chlebove did notch some solid wins competing unattached in 2022-23. 149 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) Replacements: Cole Handlovic/Colton Yapoujian - Sometimes the replacement for a star wrestler isn’t cut and dry. That appears to be the case with Cornell and 149 lbs, as Mike Grey’s team prepares to groom a successor for four-time national champion Yianni Diakomihalis. With blue chip prospect Meyer Shapiro at 157 lbs, a pair of 157’s from last year have moved down in Cole Handlovic and Colton Yapoujian. Handlovic was the primary starter at 157 lbs and posted two wins over NCAA qualifiers before going 1-2 at the EIWA Championships. Yapoujian has shown plenty of promise during his career in Ithaca, he’s just had problems staying healthy. Should one or both be able to handle the weight cut, this could end up being another solid weight for an already strong Big Red squad. Max Murin (Iowa) Replacement: Victor Voinovich - Iowa middleweight stalwart Max Murin finally got over the bloodround hump and made it to the All-American podium in his last shot. Looking to replace Murin is someone who made the rare Oklahoma State-to-Iowa transfer, Victor Voinovich. A top recruit for the Cowboys, Voinovich redshirted and then went 17-13 in his only season wrestling with the orange singlet. Voinovich saved his best for last going 2-2 at the NCAA tournament, which helped him to a preseason ranking of #10 at 149 lbs. 157 Austin O’Connor (North Carolina) Replacement: Sonny Santiago/Danny Nini - It’s fitting that a pair of wrestlers look to be the replacements for a two-time national champion. Sonny Santiago was UNC’s primary starter during the 2021-22 season at 165 lbs and amassed a 9-12 record. Last year, he wrestled a more natural 157 lbs and went 9-1 unattached. Santiago is in the process of representing Team Puerto Rico at the U23 World Championships. He advanced to the 74 kg world semifinals before losing via fall to Keegan O’Toole. Santiago will wrestle for bronze tomorrow. Also in the mix is Danny Nini. Last year, Nini redshirted but did get to see action in duals at 149 lbs. Though he finished the year 6-7, Nini did notch a win over MAC champion Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan) at the Collegiate Duals. Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) Replacement: Max Brignola - Lehigh is generally deep at most weights and 157 is no exception. Max Brignola is the most experienced of the bunch having qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2022 as a true freshman. Last season, Brignola competed primarily at 149; however, he did fill in for Humphreys during a few duals at 157 lbs. Now, he’ll likely do so on a full-time basis. Brignola’s best win at 157 came against Arizona State and it was instrumental in the Mountain Hawks 20-16 win over the powerhouse from the West. Should Brignola stumble, Pat Santoro’s team can also turn to veterans Luca Frinzi, Nathan Haubert, Tyler Sung, and Zac Martin. 165 Quincy Monday (Princeton) Replacement: Holden Garcia - Once again, Princeton needs to replace a longtime star, this time it’s NCAA finalist Quincy Monday. Another member of their 12th-ranked recruiting class, Holden Garcia, may get the first opportunity to step in at 165 lbs. Garcia was a two-time Pennsylvania state finalist (one-time champion) and a two-time Junior freestyle All-American in Fargo. He was tabbed the #80 recruit in the Class of 2023. 174 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) Replacement: Elise Brown Ton - Between returning talent and the transfer portal, the bulk of Nebraska’s 2023-24 lineup seems pretty straightforward (and really good). The big question mark is who replaces NCAA runner-up Mikey Labriola. During the 2022-23 campaign, Elise Brown Ton got a lot of mat time and amassed a 19-2 record competing largely unattached. He did see action in a dual against Purdue and posted a 6-3 victory over Macartney Parkinson. Brown Ton’s best showing was at the Navy Classic where he was unbeaten and downed a pair of eventual national qualifiers (Sam Wolf - Air Force and Sal Perrine - Ohio). Should Brown Ton develop into an NCAA qualifier or more, it would provide a huge boost to a Nebraska team that should be in the NCAA trophy hunt. 184 Kaleb Romero (Ohio State) Replacement: Seth Shumate/Ryder Rogotzke - This week we’ll get a wrestle-off between Seth Shumate and Ryder Rogotzke to give us a hint about the Buckeyes starter for the 2023-24 season. Each were top 50 recruits in their respective classes, Shumate being a redshirt freshman and Rogotzke a true freshman. Shumate went 12-2 last year with a dual win against Northwestern starter Evan Bates. His best win of the year came against Rutgers’ All-American John Poznanski at the Cleveland State Open. Rogotzke was a two-time Super 32 champion and placed top-four in both styles at the Junior division in Fargo. Marcus Coleman (Iowa State) Replacement: Will Feldkamp - The Cyclones will trade one All-American for another as Marcus Coleman has departed, but Clarion graduate transfer Will Feldkamp will take his place. The pair actually met at the 2023 NCAA Tournament and Coleman prevailed via fall. Feldkamp was seeded 14th but made the podium and posted wins over the 9th, 11th, and 13 seeds. He closed out his NCAA Tournament by pinning North Carolina’s Gavin Kane for his seventh fall of the year. 197 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) Replacement: Mac Stout - Pittsburgh’s first national champion since 2008, local product Nino Bonaccorsi, will be replaced by another 197 lber who grew up in the shadows of campus, Mac Stout. The third Stout brother to wrestle DI, Mac could be the best of the bunch. While redshirting in 2022-23, Stout put together an 8-4 record that is misleading because of two losses via injury default. Stout was a champion at the Clarion Open and took fourth at the Midlands. Along the way, he defeated four past national qualifiers. Jacob Warner (Iowa) Replacement: Kolby Franklin/Zach Glazier/Other - Like the majority of the Iowa lineup right now, 197 lbs is unclear for the Hawkeyes. Kolby Franklin was a top-50 recruit for the Hawkeyes who redshirted last season and put together a respectable 15-6 record. One of those wins came against teammate Zach Glazier at the Soldier Salute. Glazier is entering his fifth year in the program and has seen action in four dual meets during his time in Iowa City. Both would likely hold their own as Iowa’s starter. The elephant in the room could be 2021 NCAA champion AJ Ferrari. Younger brother Anthony has moved to Iowa City with the intention of enrolling, while his other brother, Angelo, has committed to Iowa. While Ferrari’s high-profile sexual assault has been dropped, there is still some red tape needed to work through before he could wrestle at Iowa (or anywhere else). Should he come to Iowa (or anywhere else) he’ll be considered an instant title threat. Ethan Laird (Rider) Replacement: Asa Terrell/Azeem Bell - Rider’s NCAA semifinalist Ethan Laird has finished up and moved on to an RTC position with the University of Maryland. There will be a pair of big men for the Broncs attempting to replace him in Asa Terrell and Azeem Bell. Terrell went 2-10 last season and lost both duals in which he appeared. Bell was 5-6 but did not see any action in duals. He did get to compete in six duals in 2021-22, but managed only one win. The other option for Rider at this weight, Steyn De Lange, is slated to take an Olympic redshirt. Max Dean (Penn State) Replacement: Aaron Brooks - It’s hard to top replacing one NCAA champion with another. Actually a three-time champion in Aaron Brooks’ case. Brooks has had an eventful offseason as he won the US Open and appeared opposite former Nittany Lion great, David Taylor, in Final X. Earlier today, Brooks captured a title at the U23 World Champions. That gold medal also qualified Brooks for the 2024 Olympic Trials. It’ll be interesting to see how Brooks fares up at 197 lbs, particularly against a loaded contingent from the Big 12. 285 Mason Parris (Michigan) Replacement: Lucas Davison - You don’t “really” replace a Hodge Trophy winner, do you? It would be hard for anyone to replicate the kind of year that Mason Parris put together for the Wolverines in 2023. Parris went 33-0 with a bonus point percentage over 60% and 11 falls. The Michigan staff was able to get one of the best possible options to replace Parris as they’ve added two-time All-American Lucas Davison. Davison graduated from Northwestern and was part of a trio of former Wildcats who made their way to Ann Arbor in the offseason. Davison has finished fifth and sixth at the last two NCAA Tournaments while being seeded ninth at both. With the opportunity to work out with Parris and other partners at the Cliff Keen Wrestling Club, I’d expect those numbers to rise in 2023-24. Trent Hillger (Wisconsin) Replacement: Peter Christensen/Brooks Empey/Isaac Klarkowski Last week, Wisconsin head coach Chris Bono sat down with one of our Big Ten correspondents Ryan Holmes. Bono ran through the lineup but wasn’t able to give any definitive answers about who would start for the Badgers at heavyweight. Peter Christensen is a former top recruit from the Class of 2019 who has grown into the weight over time. Brooks Empey was also a notable recruit who had a winning record in 2022-23, but didn’t wrestle in any duals. Most intriguing is Isaac Klarkowski, a former DI football player from Rice. He’s knocked the rust off and is starting to look tough. Others on the Wisconsin roster are Gannon Rosenfeld and Jonah Schmidtke. With so many options and no clear-cut favorite, I’d expect this battle to go into the first couple months of the season.

Initially, this was going to be a ranking of the Big 12’s top wrestlers, but with so many returning All-Americans, it felt too easy. To add some intrigue and discussion, I decided to rank the weight classes by how strong they were. While some of the weight classes have multiple title contenders, others appear to be a little more open and harder to predict. With that, let’s see how the Big 12 is looking this season. #10) 157 lbs 2023 All-Americans: None Ranked Wrestlers: #12 Cael Swensen (SDSU), #13 Vinny Zerban (UNC), #17 Cody Chittum (ISU), #20 Jalin Harper (OKST), #22 Jared Hill (OU), #29 RJ Weston (UNI), #30 Caleb Dowling (WVU), #31 Cam Steed (MIZ) This weight class’ strength took a big hit with the transfer of All-American Jared Franek. The top returning wrestlers Swensen and Zerban both had impressive NCAA tournaments, as they made the bloodround after first-round losses. They’ll have a chance to prove it wasn’t just one good showing this season. Jared Hill is the only other returning qualifier after a solid Big 12 tournament last season. Harper, Weston, and Steed are the projected starters after their respective schools graduated ranked starters. All three have had solid wins in the past, but will have a chance to climb the rankings. Dowling actually earned a qualifying spot last season, but saw Alex Hornfeck get the start in the postseason. Cody Chittum comes in as one of the top recruits and will battle returning starter Jason Kraisser for a chance to be an impact true freshman. While the weight class doesn’t have any All-Americans returning, it does leave the opportunity for a number of wrestlers to break out this season. #9) 125 lbs 2023 All-Americans: None Ranked Wrestlers: #9 Stevo Poulin (UNC), #16 Jore Volk (WYO), #17 Noah Surtin (MIZ), #18 Kysen Terukina (ISU), #23 Troy Spratley (OKST), #24 Tucker Owens (AF), #27 Tanner Jordan (SDSU), #28 Eli Griffin (CBU), #31 Antonio Lorenzo (OU) In one of the most volatile weight classes last season, 125 lbs saw only one Big 12 All-American in Killian Cardinale, who has since graduated. There is a surplus of talent, however, with many wrestlers appearing to be podium contenders. Poulin and Surtin are the returning Big 12 finalists, while Jore Volk was the second seed coming into the tournament. Add in the return of Kysen Terukina, and no one would be shocked to see these four on the podium. Spratley, Owens, and Griffin add to the youth and strength of this weight class. Spratley redshirted last season but has the background and flashes to quickly climb the rankings. Owens had a win over Anthony Noto last season, and Griffin majored both Nico Provo and Jore Volk. If the two can build off strong freshman seasons, they could quickly enter the All-American discussion. Similarly, Jordan and Lorenzo are returning qualifiers that are tough matches for anyone in the rankings. 125 lbs appears to be wide open from top to bottom, the only question is which Big 12 wrestlers will rise to the top in March. #8) 133 lbs 2023 All-Americans: #2 Daton Fix (OKST) Ranked Wrestlers: #17 Garrett Grice (ISU), #18 Haiden Drury (UVU), #25 Zeke Seltzer (MIZ), #26 Jace Koelzer (OU) Since Daton Fix has come onto the scene for Oklahoma State, it’s been him at the top and then a bunch of tough wrestlers typically ranked in the teens. It looks similar this season, as all of the Big 12 placers last season have either graduated, transferred, or are changing weights. Fix joins David Carr as being the potential first 5x Big 12 champs. After Daton Fix, the only returning ranked wrestler who competed last season is Jace Koelzer. He spent five years at Northern Colorado before hitting the portal to join new head coach Roger Kish at OU. Koelzer qualified in 2022 at 125 lbs. A fellow transfer, Garrett Grice was originally at UVA. Grice and Seltzer both redshirted last season and showed enough flashes last season to be in the rankings. Drury may not be a name every fan remembers, but he was a 2022 qualifier for Utah Valley after starting in 2021 for Fresno State. Drury wrestled in six matches in 2023, before ending the year due to injury. If he’s healthy, he could certainly finish higher than 18th in the rankings. While Daton Fix seems penciled in to win his fifth Big 12 title, there is still plenty of intrigue as to who else will join him there and make a name for themselves this year. #7) 149 lbs 2023 All-Americans: #5 Brock Mauller (MIZ) Ranked Wrestlers: #12 Kellyn March (NDSU), #15 Casey Swiderski (ISU), #16 Willie McDougald (OU), #28 Jordan Williams (OKST) This is another weight that looks like it could have some chaos throughout the year. Mauller returns after making the Big 12 finals and finishing 7th at NCAA’s for his third All-American finish. Big 12 champ Paniro Johnson’s season is currently in question with the ongoing gambling investigation. That opens up a spot for Casey Swiderski to bump up after a true freshman season at 141 lbs. He struggled with health and consistency in the season but made a run at NCAA’s to make the bloodround. March was a breakout wrestler for NDSU last season, and he returns as a senior leader on a team in transition. A Southern Scuffle title showed that he can compete with the best of them and will be looking to build off last season. McDougald returns after a redshirt year and was a 2022 Big 12 finalist. He may need to battle blue chipper John Wiley, who took Paniro Johnson out last year while redshirting. Williams will be looking to make a splash after a 9-7 redshirt year that included a win over #13 Ethen Miller. This weight feels pretty open in the Big 12, but any of these names could make a run through the season and late in the year. Keep an eye out for some lineup battles as well, even with ranked wrestlers. #6) 174 lbs 2023 All-Americans: #6 Peyton Mocco (MIZ) Ranked Wrestlers: #8 Cade DeVos (SDSU), #13 Tate Picklo (OU), #21 Sam Wolf (AF), #26 Brady Conley (WVU), #29 MJ Gaitan (ISU), #31 Lance Runyon (UNI) With 2x Big 12 Champ Dustin Plott moving up to 184 lbs, there is an opportunity for multiple wrestlers to fill that space. Mocco has been a 4x conference finalist between the Big 12 and the MAC and has a chance to get his first title after finishing as an All-American last season. DeVos and Picklo may have something to say about that first after solid seasons last year.DeVos made the bloodround last year, and has wins over All-Americans in his career including Plott and Mocco. DeVos will be looking to be a 4x qualifier this season. Picklo had trouble finding his weight class last year, bouncing between 174 and 184. Once he settled into 174 though, he notched multiple ranked wins. Wolf had a breakout season last year, qualifying for the first time while injured. Conley and Gaitan both had solid redshirt seasons and will be stepping into their lineups with expectations higher than their current rankings. Runyon struggled with injuries last year and missed out on qualifying, but was a round of 16 finisher in 2022 and a 2x qualifier. It may sound like a broken record, but a number of these wrestlers could finish on the podium. Another name to look out for is Brayden Thompson. The #5 overall recruit, he’s expected to potentially be an immediate starter for Oklahoma State. #5) 141 lbs 2023 All-Americans: #9 Clay Carlson (SDSU) Ranked Wrestlers: #11 Mosha Schwartz (OU), #12 Cael Happel (UNI), #18 Zach Redding (ISU), #19 Josh Edmond (MIZ), #20 Sammy Alvarez (OKST), #25 Jordan Titus (WVU) With NCAA Champ Andrew Alirez officially taking an Olympic redshirt, this weight looks wide open. Clay Carlson had an inconsistent regular season, but turned it on late in the year to finish 5th for his second All-American finish. Schwartz struggled with injury in the postseason, but was one of the top 141lbers in the regular season. Similarly, Happel went from missing out on an At-Large bid in 2022 to a round of 16 finish in a strong 2023. All three are likely to be Big 12 title contenders and popular podium picks. Redding, Edmond, and Alvarez are both popular dark horse picks. Redding made the Big 12 finals at 133 last year and made the bloodround at NCAA’s in his second time qualifying. He had a win over #22 Cleveland Belton at 141 last year, showing that he is definitely able to compete at this weight. Edmond was a qualifier in 2022 while up at 149 lbs, but redshirted to come back to his more natural weight. He had an odd redshirt season with some losses, but made the Midlands finals to show his potential. Alvarez transferred mid-season from Rutgers, and if everything comes together for him, is absolutely a podium contender in his final year. Titus entered WVU’s lineup after a redshirt year that had me highlighting him as someone to watch. Not only did he qualify for NCAA’s, but he also had a big win over #1 (at the time) Cole Matthews. Even without Andrew Alirez, there is significant talent. The top wrestlers might spend the season trading wins/losses, but there are a number of them who could finish on the podium. #4) 184 lbs 2023 All-Americans: #1 Parker Keckeisen (UNI), #4 Dustin Plott (OKST), #5 Will Feldkamp (ISU) Ranked Wrestlers: #15 Bennett Berge (SDSU), #16 Colton Hawks (MIZ), #19 Giuseppe Hoose (OU), #25 Dennis Robin (WVU) This weight has the potential to get a title for the Big 12, with Parker Keckeisen looking to climb the top of the podium after finishing 3rd, 3rd, and 2nd. The UNI wrestler only has six losses in his career and has beaten nearly everyone not named Aaron Brooks. Plott moving up is an intriguing move, and could be related to making a run at 86kg. The 2x All-American is expected to be an immediate contender. Feldkamp finished a breakout season at Clarion with an All-American finish before hitting the portal to finish his career at ISU. If he can stay consistent, he has the skills to finish on the podium again. Berge and Hawks are two wrestlers that have big expectations this season. Berge was a top recruit and a 2x Junior World medalist. He redshirted last season with an 11-5 record but did have a win over Hawks. After winning the starting role, Hawks had a strong finish to the year by making the round of 16 at NCAA’s with a win over All-American Gavin Kane. If he can wrestle to his potential, Hawks is someone that could surprise many. Hoose and Robin are veteran wrestlers looking to make an impact for their schools this year. Hoose was at Buffalo, but after qualifying for the first time last season is expected to start for the Sooners in his senior year. Robin qualified for WVU in 2022 at 174, and had a solid redshirt season last year with a 24-9 record at 184. Similar to 133, there seems to be an obvious pick to win the Big 12 and make the NCAA podium. But with multiple returning All-Americans, there are multiple names that could surprise people throughout the season. #3) 285 lbs 2023 All-Americans: #2 Wyatt Hendrickson (AF), #5 Zach Elam (MIZ) Ranked Wrestlers: #7 Yonger Bastida (ISU), #12 Tyrell Gordon (UNI), #14 Josh Heindselman (OU), #18 Konner Doucet (OKST), #24 Michael Wolfgram (WVU) One of the Big 12’s more underrated weights, it’s led by one of the most exciting Division I wrestlers in Wyatt Hendrickson. After finishing 3rd last season, he’s one of the top title contenders in 2024. He had his best season last year with an 85% bonus rate that included 17 falls. Elam returns after making the podium for the first time as well after multiple bloodround finishes. He and Hendrickson had a barnburner match in the NCAA quarterfinals. Bastida is moving up to heavyweight after an injury-marred 2023. He was an All-American at 197 in 2022, and has the athleticism that could translate very well to heavyweight. He showed that last year with a 4-2 decision over Cornell’s #11 Lewis Fernandes at National Duals in a huge match for Iowa State. Gordon, Heindselman, Doucet, and Wolfgram appear to be in a group of wrestlers that can compete with top wrestlers but haven’t gotten a big win just yet. That could definitely change this season. Another true freshman could make an impact here, as #2 overall recruit Christian Carroll could force himself into the Oklahoma State lineup. If he is able to beat out Konner Doucet, then he is likely putting his name into the podium conversation immediately. #2) 197 lbs 2023 All-Americans: #3 Tanner Sloan (SDSU), #4 Rocky Elam (MIZ) Ranked Wrestlers: #2 Stephen Buchanan (OU), #13 Luke Surber (OKST), #17 Evan Bockman (UVU), #23 Wyatt Voelker (UNI), #26 Julien Broderson (ISU), #28 Austin Cooley (WVU) One of the Big 12’s best weights is only getting better with former Wyoming wrestler Stephen Buchanan returning. After placing 3rd in 2022 he redshirted with a transfer to OU last season. With wins over 2023’s Big 12 finalists Sloan and Elam, Buchanan is an immediate title contender this season. Luke Surber made the round of 16 last season, but a regular season win over Rocky Elam showed that he can compete with the best. With another season at 197lbs, he is a dark horse to make a big jump to the podium. Bockman, Broderson, and Cooley represent some veterans from their respective schools who will be looking to make a big impact. On the other end, Voelker is coming off a redshirt year that saw a 15-4 record and a U20 World Championships 5th place finish in Greco. With the amount of talent distribution here, the Big 12 is sure to make a serious national impact. Aaron Brooks moving up could be one of the most impactful weight changes in the NCAA this year, but the Big 12 looks like it could have several wrestlers looking to challenge him. #1) 165 lbs 2023 All-Americans: #1 Keegan O’Toole (MIZ), #2 David Carr (ISU), #6 Izzak Olejnik (OKST) Ranked Wrestlers: #9 Peyton Hall (WVU), #17 Gerrit Nijenhuis (OU), #20 Tanner Cook (SDSU), #28 Giano Petrucelli (AF), #32 Jack Thomsen (UNI) One of the top weight classes in the country is reflected in the Big 12, with the duo of O’Toole and Carr expected to be battling for the national title again. The weight class lost Mikey Caliendo to the Big Ten, but brought in returning All-American Izzak Olejnik. Add in a healthy 2022 All-American Peyton Hall and there is definite strength at the top. The weight class is rounded out by wrestlers Nijenhuis and Cook, two wrestlers who will be looking to make the jump this season after solid years. Petrucelli and Thomsen are new faces to the rankings this season, but will be looking to make an impact throughout the year as well. O’Toole and Carr are the jewels of this weight class nationally and in the conference in one of the best rivalries in years. If some of the other wrestlers can take jumps as well, this weight should be well represented by Big 12 wrestlers at NCAA’s.

Greeneville

Houston Westside

St. Plus X

Millard South

St. John Vianney

Sebastian Rivera may not be in the lineup anymore, but his presence in the room as he prepared for his World Championship finals run had a huge impact on the guys still competing for the Scarlet Knights. Along with the impact of Rivera’s work ethic, some experienced transfers, and the return of a few leaders, this team is ready to make a splash this season and impress upon their pre-season rankings as they currently sit at 13th (tournament) and 14th (dual). Listen to Head Coach Scott Goodale’s comments about the upcoming season. Top Returners Dean Peterson A season ago a hard-fought 3-1 blood round loss to Lock Haven’s Anthony Noto ended Peterson’s season. But a preseason of tough workouts has Coach Goodale calling him “the most impressive guy” so with that type of endorsement and his top-10 ranking (he’s currently ranked 6th at 125 pounds) coming into the season, expect some big things from him this year. Jackson Turley After an All-American year in 2021, Turley hasn’t been back on the podium since. But a consistent season could see Turley prove that his #28 pre-season standing isn’t who he truly is. Brian Soldano Soldano stepped into the lineup a year ago as a true freshman and notched 25 wins while qualifying for his first NCAA Championship tournament. Now a year later he’s ready to make an even bigger impact on the team along with a strong contingent in the back half of the lineup that will be hard to contest with. John Poznanski Poz was a major tone-setter for Rutgers during the 2021-22 season where he finished as an AA. Then, last year, he took a redshirt to get healthy after having to fight through some injuries during his sophomore season. But now he’s back and he’s bigger as he’s now moving up to a very competition-heavy 197-pound weight class. Key Departures Joe Heilmann (133) and Boone McDermott (HWT) both had big impacts on the team a season ago. Heilmann finished his final campaign with 25 wins and an appearance at the NCAA Championships for the Scarlet Knights after transferring to the New Jersey squad from UNC. McDermott was also an NCAA qualifier who saw his career in the block R singlet come to an end on day one in Tulsa, OK a season ago. Newcomers Mitch Moore, Jacob Butler and Yaraslau Slavikouski A trio of NCAA qualifying transfers have joined the squad in NJ this season. Moore and Butler made the move from Sooner Country in Oklahoma where they competed at 141 and 149. They will be doing the same in their new colors, however, they will be switching spots. Moore, who was at 149 last year and defeated now teammate Anthony White, who made a big jump to 165 this season, 3-0 at NCAAs, will now be down at 141. And Butler will make the jump to 149. At the top of the lineup, Slavikouski, who transferred from Harvard, will look to improve upon his round of 12 appearance from last season where he finished with a 30-6 record. Wrestlers to watch Dylan Shawver Shawver will be moving up to 133 this year after being at 125 as a freshman during the 20-21 season. But before he stepped back into the lineup for Rutgers he represented Puerto Rico in Freestyle at 61kg this week. Top out-of-conference dual vs #4 Virginia Tech on Nov. 17 Mark your calendars for this one. The week before Thanksgiving there will be no sharing or pleasantries as Rutgers hosts the fourth-ranked Hokies on Nov. 17. Jersey Mike’s Arena is sure to be rocking on Friday night. The biggest matches to watch during this dual include: 125: #6 Dean Peterson vs #4 Eddie Ventresca; 197: #12 John Poznanski vs #16 Andy Smith; Hwt: #6 Yaraslau Slavikouski vs #16 Hunter Catka.

Monday morning marked the start of the final World Championship event of the 2023 calendar year, the U23 World Championships from Tirana, Albania. Men’s freestyle was the first discipline to take place and the American contingent showed out with an excellent performance. All five of the wrestlers who took the mat on Monday are still in the medal hunt. Three have clinched at least a silver as they’ve made it to the championship finals. Two others are in repechage with a bronze medal still in sight. Missouri’s two-time NCAA champion Keegan O’Toole became the first American to make the finals after pinning North Carolina’s Sonny Santiago (Puerto Rico) in the semifinals. O’Toole was dominant for the entire day, winning two matches via tech and another with a 10-1 score, prior to the finals. He’ll be aiming for his second age-group world title tomorrow; back in 2021, O’Toole won a U20 world championship. Another American in the finals and looking for another age-group world title is Penn State’s three-time national champion, Aaron Brooks. Brooks was a Cadet World Champion in 2017 and a Junior silver medalist the following year. Like O’Toole, he had a relatively quiet path to the semifinals. There he’d meet Russia’s Arslan Bagaev, who recently competed at the Senior World Championships. Brooks got the scoring going by finishing a low attack while his opponent was on the shot clock. That led to a 3-0 lead he’d never relinquish. The shot clock would come into play in the second period as Brooks was on the clock. Again, he was the aggressor and completed a takedown just before the clock expired. He’d hold on to take the 5-4 victory. The final American to make the finals came at 125 kg when Air Force All-American Wyatt Hendrickson got his hand raised. Hendrickson now has his first career world medal. In 2021, he came up a match shy of a bronze medal in the U20 division. Like he’s been known to do in college, Hendrickson racked up points and earned a fall on the day. In his first match, Hendrickson pinned Abdullah Kurbanov of Russia. At the 2023 Senior World Championships, Kurbanov earned Russia a spot in the 2024 Olympic Games (provided Russia can participate) with his wrestle-off victory. The other two Americans that were in action today, Julian Chlebove (61 kg) and Jacob Cardenas (92 kg), both are alive for medals. Each earned a win before falling in the quarterfinals, yet got pulled back into repechage. The rest of the men’s freestyle team will be in action tomorrow morning and medal round matches for today’s participants will be held in the afternoon. American Results/Matchups 61 kg Round of 16 - Julian Chlebove over Antonio Margiotta (Philippines) 11-0 Quarterfinals - Bashir Magomedov (AIN - Russia) over Julian Chlebove 14-3 Repechage - Julian Chlebove vs. Mezhlum Mezhlumyan (Armenia) 74 kg Qualification: Keegan O’Toole over Vadym Kurylenko (Ukraine) 10-0 Round of 16: Keegan O’Toole over Krisztian Biro (Romania) 12-2 Quarterfinals: Keegan O’Toole over Hikaru Takata (Japan) 10-1 Semifinals: Keegan O’Toole over Sonny Santiago (Puerto Rico) Fall 3:32 Gold Medal Match: Keegan O’Toole vs. Imam Ganishov (AIN - Russia) 86 kg Qualification: Aaron Brooks over Ismail Kucuksolak (Turkey) 5-1 Round of 16: Aaron Brooks over Owen Martin (Canada) 10-0 Quarterfinals: Aaron Brooks over Ivan Ichizli (Moldova) 7-0 Semifinals: Aaron Brooks over Arslan Bagaev (AIN - Russia) 5-4 Gold Medal Match: Aaron Brooks vs. Tatsuya Shirai (Japan) 92 kg Round of 16: Jacob Cardenas over Alan Bagaev (AIN - Russia) 4-3 Quarterfinals: Muhammed Gimri (Turkey) over Jacob Cardenas 10-1 Repechage: Jacob Cardenas vs Satoshi Miura (Japan) 125 kg Round of 16: Wyatt Hendrickson over Abdulla Kurbanov (AIN - Russia) Fall 5:15 Quarterfinals: Wyatt Hendrickson over Nicolae Stratulat (Moldova) 14-1 Semifinals: Wyatt Hendrickson over Azamat Khosonov (Greece) 4-2 Gold Medal Match: Wyatt Hendrickson vs. Adil Misirci (Turkey)

No matter what sport you play, what hobby you enjoy, or what game you tinker at, there's always some work that has to be put in, to not only make it fulfilling but also to become the best you can be at it. Fantasy Wrestling is not like fantasy football. Well, it is, but there’s a lot more that goes into it. In a typical office fantasy football league, Jane from accounting (who said her favorite team is the Oilers because that’s who her brother liked when growing up in the late 70s) can't just walk in, auto-draft, and take home the league trophy. Fantasy Wrestling requires work. Right now, you can go to your favorite fantasy sports app and bring up the current medical condition of Austin Ekler and the likelihood of him playing on Sunday. Hell, even college football discloses basic information on player availability. And if you have been a fan of wrestling for more than two seconds, you know that coaches' heads would probably explode if they were held to the same standard. Wrestling coaches like to keep their plans secret (Remember, “[Suriano is] down in the room now wrestling.”) As you have seen before, potential match-ups are announced but the actual matches that occur (sometimes the anticipated matches of the dual) don't happen. I've even seen Twitter accounts post promotional material featuring specific wrestlers who don't end up competing! But that fantasy sports for you. The glory and the frustration, the pain of the woulda-shoulda-coulda, and that Sunday night dual miracle with the last match on the West Coast. Luckily, as I noted in the Fantasy 101 article last week, the guys at WrestleStat have created a fully interactive and fantasy football-like game experience to make each tournament, dual, and individual match that much more exciting. Snake draft and weekly competitions to help get through the next 20-os-so weeks until Nationals. So to help navigate you through the 2024 Fantasy College Wrestling season (#FCW24), here are some tips and tricks that have helped me to be competitive (and a winner) year in and year out since 2014 when I started doing season-long Fantasy Wrestling (back then it was all by “paper and pencil”, as they say). 1. Research Information is king and knowing what wrestlers are going to an unscheduled Open or who is getting the start this weekend with three dual meets on tap is extremely valuable. While we have a robust media presence for our sport, we still don't get the same type of access that major professional and college sports have. Podcasts, articles, and forums/message boards. Despite the sometimes toxic and biased nature of some boards, there are usually some flakes of gold through all that dirt. Podcasts and short interviews/press conferences have been a recent go-to as some coaches have been more transparent (shoutout Kevin Dresser), but they are not going to always be so easy to find. Sometimes the hour-long podcast has just that one snippet about the Storm Open participants from Ohio State. Matthew Berry does a “Draft Day Manifesto” every year and one sentence has always stuck with me no matter what fantasy sport I play (especially FCW): You can't always win your league in the first few rounds, but you can lose it. Something to think about. 2. Mock Draft, Mock Draft, Mock Draft Wrestlestat allows users to prepare for their draft by creating Mock Draft lobbies which can be set to just about any league size and filled with friends, fans, or simulated users if you want to get in a quickie. Random snake draft placement, so you can test your skills and put that research to work in different situations. Because you know, YOU KNOW, Jim is going to take Mitchell Mesenbrink RIGHT BEFORE IT IS YOUR TURN TO PICK. So instead of going in blind, know how to adapt and pivot and, as they say, practice makes perfect. 3. Redshirts Are Wrestlers Too… During the draft, and especially during the season, your high-ranked starters are not always going to wrestle week-in and week-out. You’re going to need some bench wrestlers to step up, especially in the first part of the season. For example: In the 2020 season, the top Fantasy Wrestler across all weights was redshirt 157 lber Jonathan Ross (Lock Haven) with a record of 52-8 and 135 Fantasy points. Seth Gross (Wisconsin) was 7th with 103 Fantasy points. Now, that's an extreme outlier, right? 60 matches in a season?! Did he have a death wish? But in 2022, Ethen Miller (MD) had more fantasy points than Nick Lee (PSU) and Joey Milano (NCST) had more than Myles Amine (MICH). This past season, Sheldon Seymour (LEH) had more fantasy points than Liam Cronin (NEB) and Pat Glory (PRIN). In fact, Spencer Lee (IOWA) had an Average Draft Position (ADP) of #3 in 2020, #1 in 2021, #1 in 2022, and #1 this past season (2023), but this is the first time he's finished within the Top-5. You aren’t going to win NCAAs with them, but they are the unsung heroes that you need in order to win your league. When your go-to starters are injured, ducking, or are questionable to compete, redshirts and backups can be that bridge to guide you to Fantasy College Wrestling success. 4. First Semester Freshmen The past couple of years have seen some pretty substantial rule changes, but one that impacted Fantasy Wrestling more than the others has been the True Freshman First Semester Attachment. In the past, true freshmen could be that surprise Michigan State Open placer or Daktronics Open champion to rack up some much-needed points. However, with now needing them to be attached if wrestling anytime in the first semester, coaches are more strategic in when they use their True Freshmen five competition dates. 5. Add/Drop Like It’s A Business We all have favorite teams and wrestlers, but sometimes you have to make tough decisions to look past your fan allegiances and drop a beloved guy. There’s no debate that Pat McKee (MINN) is a hammer and one of the top wrestlers at 125. But to close out the 2023 season, he faced #4 Matt Ramos (PUR- loss Dec), Unranked Maximo Renteria (ILL- win by Maj), #1 Spencer Lee (Iowa- loss Dec), and #6 Eric Barnett (WISC- loss Dec) for a total net of -5 Fpts. If you started someone like Braxton Brown in that same time frame, you would have net +7 instead. That doesn’t mean that everyone is droppable. Even though Vito Arujau (COR) may be on a “pitch count,” you know that when he wrestles, it’s going to be a win by bonus. You don’t have a lot of roster space, but guys like Arujau ought to be one of those 15-16 spots for the entire season. It can be difficult to drop a beloved wrestler, but sometimes it is necessary to make tough decisions and look past your fan allegiances. Use the Transfer Portal (Free Agency) to its fullest, but only if the favorable matchups are there. Which is a great transition to…. 6. Look For The Matchup, Don’t Force The Matchup All these tips have a foundation based on tip #1, Research. One great in-season resource is the #FCWpodcast and the @FantasyD1Wrestl Weekly Outlooks for waiver wire pickups and tournament entry info. The InterMat FCW Forum page is also pretty neat too (wink wink, nudge nudge) Things to consider are the number of matches in a given scoring week and the opposing competition. The instinctual reaction is that the greater the number of potential matches, the better. Yes and no. Yes, because it gives your wrestler more room for error. A wrestler with three matches in a week could lose one and still net a positive Fantasy point total. If your opposing team only has a total of 20 potential matches, and you have a potential 24 matches, the probability of winning may be in your favor. No, because it can also bite you if a wrestler loses and MFF’s out of a tournament or only wrestles in one or two of the matches in a team’s quad-meet. Or, sometimes taking the “sure thing” is the safer play. Sometimes starting 174 Carter Starocci (PSU) is a better play than Rider’s Quinn Kinner, even though Kinner has two matches against unranked opponents that same week. An example from 2020 for instance: No one can honestly say that 165 Alex Marinelli (IOWA) was not a title contender in 2020. He was an almost absolute start in every week, but there were exceptions. On January 18, 2020, Nebraska rolled into Carver-Hawkeye Arena for a Saturday Dual. Alex Marinelli vs. Isaiah White was slated to be one of the marquee matchups. I didn’t (really) have a doubt that Marinelli would come out victorious, but I did not include him on my Weekly Outlook as a good start. Why? Because there was too much risk. I didn’t expect Marinelli to get bonus against White, even though his 2020 bonus rate was 52%. **************************************** There’s more to it than those six tips, but at the end of the day, the buck stops with you. Like a day trader in the stock market, do your DD (Due Diligence) and set your lineup how you think it can perform to its optimal potential.

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 #26-30 #31-35 #36-40 #41-45 #46-50 25) Brock Hardy (Nebraska) Weight: 141 lbs Collegiate Achievements: 2023 NCAA 6th Place; 2023 Big Ten Runner-Up 2022 Top-50 Ranking: Not Ranked A top recruit from the high school Class of 2018, Brock Hardy took two years to go on a mission directly after high school, then got the free year in 2021 and redshirted in 2021-22. So technically, Hardy was a freshman last season and jumped into the Cornhusker lineup and became a stalwart. After losing two of his first three matches, Hardy went on an 18-match winning streak that included tournament titles at the Navy Classic and the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. In Vegas, Hardy was able to avenge one of his early-season losses to Ryan Jack (NC State). In his first collegiate postseason, Hardy made the Big Ten finals and nearly knocked off top-seeded Real Woods (Iowa) in the championship bout. That performance was good enough for the fourth seed in Tulsa where Hardy advanced all the way to the semifinals before falling to Woods again. After a consolation loss and an injury default, Hardy ended up in sixth place. 2023-24 Outlook: Hardy will enter the 2023-24 season ranked fourth at 141 lbs. He could be as high as second seeing as wrestlers two-through-four all have exchanged wins against each other. The weight has lost one title favorite as 2023 champion Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) is slated to take an Olympic redshirt. Even so, Hardy will need to go through his new nemesis, Woods, to accomplish his goals at the Big Ten and national level. 24) Bernie Truax (Penn State) Weight: 184 lbs Collegiate Achievements: 3x NCAA 4th Place Finisher, 2x Pac-12 Champion 2022 Top-50 Ranking: #42 Short of Kyle Dake, there may not be a better, recent example of a wrestler who has jumped multiple weight classes in his career and maintained a high level of success like Bernie Truax. Truax came to Cal Poly as a 149 lber and wrestled at every weight between 149-197 since then. Last year, Truax moved up to 197 lbs and started the year with seven straight victories. Truax had a bit of a limited schedule in 2022-23 but entered the 2023 NCAA Championships with a 13-1 record and holding the second seed. Although he had the best bracketing situation of his career, Truax failed to make the NCAA semifinals, something he did in each of the previous two tournaments. This time, Truax has to navigate through the consolations and he earned All-American honors after a win over past AA Michael Beard (Lehigh). A match later, he took out the returning national champion, Max Dean (Penn State). He’d settle in for fourth place after losing his final bout to Rocky Elam (Missouri). 2023-24 Outlook: In the offseason, Truax joined Penn State as a graduate transfer. With the Nittany Lions, he’ll be expected to move back down to 184 lbs. Truax admitted at the 2023 NCAA Tournament he was significantly under 197. He starts the year ranked second at 184 lbs; however, he does own a career win (and loss) against top-ranked Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa). The change of scenery should be beneficial for Truax, as he’ll be sandwiched between a pair of multiple-time national champions for the Nittany Lions. Between the team and Nittany Lion WC members, there’s no shortage of excellent practice partners for the California native. 23) Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State) Weight: 197 lbs Collegiate Achievements: 2023 NCAA Runner-Up, 3x Big 12 Runner-Up 2022 Top-50 Ranking: Not Ranked The 2023 national tournament saw Tanner Sloan become the second wrestler to make the NCAA finals for South Dakota State since the school moved to DI status. Every match that Sloan wrestled at the 2023 tournament took place against a returning or eventual All-American. His 8-1 first-round win over Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State) exercised some demons, as it was Hoffman, who upset Sloan in the first round of the 2022 tournament. He also got a measure of revenge in the semifinals by downing Missouri’s Rocky Elam, 7-2. Just two weeks earlier, Elam had outlasted Sloan 2-1 in tiebreakers during the Big 12 Championship match. For the year, Sloan finished 27-3 with a perfect dual record and a third-place finish at the 2022 CKLV Invitational. 2023-24 Outlook: The graduation of Sloan’s finals opponent, Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh), leaves 197 lbs up-for-grabs. Sloan is part of a strong Big 12 contingent that contains a trio of title contenders. Based on SDSU’s schedule, he’s supposed to see those other two contenders (Elam and Stephen Buchanan - Oklahoma) in dual competition, plus the Jackrabbits are making a return trip to Vegas. With that kind of a potential schedule, Sloan’s ranking/NCAA seeding could be in his own hands. Outside of the Big Ten, NCAA finalists Aaron Brooks (Penn State) and Trent Hidlay (NC State) are both moving up. Brooks has three NCAA titles and a great freestyle pedigree to his name; however, he has dropped a match in each of the last two years, so he is beatable and title number four isn’t a mere formality. With Sloan’s size and length, he could present a staunch challenge for Brooks should that match ever materialize. 22) Stephen Buchanan (Oklahoma) Weight: 197 lbs Collegiate Achievements: 2x NCAA All-American (3,8), 2022 Big 12 Champion 2022 Top-50 Ranking: #27 We haven’t seen Stephen Buchanan in awhile, but a year ago at this time, he was deemed to be the 27th wrestler in the nation. Buchanan transferred from Wyoming to Oklahoma last year and ended up redshirting the 2022-23 season. While at Wyoming, Buchanan never redshirted and immediately stepped into the Cowboy lineup and made the national tournament with a 26-13 record. In 2021, Buchanan had a breakout campaign and finished eighth in the nation. That proved to be a springboard for more as Buchanan elevated himself into national contender status during the 2021-22 season. He started the year with a title at the CKLV Invitational and only lost twice before the postseason. Buchanan would capture a Big 12 title with wins over notables like Tanner Sloan and Yonger Bastida (Iowa State), which gave him the second seed at nationals. In Detroit, Buchanan advanced to the semifinals before losing a close bout. He’d rebound with his second win of the tournament over Missouri’s Rocky Elam in the third-place match. 2023-24 Outlook: This marks the first year of Roger Kish’s tenure in Norman and what better way to start than with a potential title contender in Buchanan at 197 lbs. The revamped Sooner team looks solid in dual competition and with an anticipated high finish from Buchanan, the squad could be in for a nice placement at nationals. Buchanan starts the year ranked number two at that weight and is a serious favorite for the upcoming season. As mentioned above, the Big 12 is loaded with title contenders at this weight. Buchanan will have to contend with Sloan and Elam multiple times this year, before even getting to Kansas City. 21) Trent Hidlay (NC State) Weight: 197 lbs Collegiate Achievements: 3x NCAA All-American (4,5,2), 3x ACC Champion 2022 Top-50 Ranking: #20 Another year and another set of All-American honors for the leader of the Pack, Trent Hidlay. Hidlay started his 2022-23 campaign with 12 straight wins and had bonus points in eight of those contests. That winning streak included a tournament title at the CKLV Invitational. In the finals, Hidlay notched an 8-2 victory over rival Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa). Later that month, Keckeisen would get his revenge on Hidlay, handing him only loss of the year, pre-NCAA’s. After claiming his third consecutive ACC crown, Hidlay was awarded the #2 seed in Tulsa. Hidlay would advance to the semifinals before getting beaten by the eventual three-time champ, Aaron Brooks (Penn State). Over the last three years, Hidlay has only had seven total losses; however, five of them came from Brooks or Keckeisen. He would finish up in fourth place. In the three seasons with an actual NCAA Tournament, Hidlay had made it to the semis every time and has never finished lower than fifth. 2023-24 Outlook: Hidlay’s final go ‘round will take place at a new weight class. He’s moving up from the 184 lbs weight in which he spent his first five years in Raleigh. While not as tall as some of the top 197 lbers, Hidlay’s powerful frame should ensure a seamless transition to the weight. Hidlay starts the year ranked fifth at the weight, which is more out of respect to the high finishers returning at the weight, rather than a knock on Hidlay. Hidlay has always been known to have a great gas tank, but moving up might provide him even more energy, which is a scary proposition. We’ll probably have to wait about a month until the CKLV to see Hidlay tested at 197 lbs by top competition.

Minnesota head coach Brandon Eggum sits down with Ryan Holmes to preview the 2023-24 campaign. Coach Eggum goes through the lineup and the probable starters for the Gophers at each weight. He also gives some updates on Gable Steveson's status for the season. Coach Eggum also talks about Michael Blockhus' return and Pat McKee's leadership. With some new rule changes for this season, Coach Eggum provides insight into how the staff has dealt with these changes. For the full interview: Click Here

This weekend the Super 32 took place in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Super 32 has long been the most difficult high school folkstyle tournament in the country and serves as an unofficial kickoff for the upcoming high school season. Representatives from nearly every DI school in the nation were on hand to get a first-hand look at some of the top prospects in the nation. Some of those top recruits have already been spoken for and have committed to wrestle at the next level. Those wrestlers that made the top-eight at the Super 32 and have committed to wrestle collegiately are listed below, by their future school. Wrestlers without a class listed next to their name are from the Class of 2024. Air Force Karson Tompkins (Texas) - 190 lbs 4th Place American JJ Peace (South Carolina) - 113 lbs 6th Place Arizona State Kyler Larkin (Arizona) - 132 lbs 4th Place Harvey Ludington (New Jersey) - 190 lbs 6th Place: Class of 2025 Nicholas Sahakian (California) - 285 lbs champion: Class of 2025 Army West Point Joey Antonio (California) - 157 lbs runner-up: Class of 2025 Nik O’Neill (Pennsylvania) - 126 lbs 4th Place Bucknell Dillon Bechtold (Pennsylvania) - 215 lbs 5th Place California Baptist Paul Kelly (California) - 138 lbs 4th Place Columbia Dom Federici (Pennsylvania) - 175 lbs 3rd Place Cornell Jaxon Joy (Ohio) - 144 lbs 3rd Place Anthony Knox (New Jersey) - 120 lbs champion: Class of 2025 Alessio Perentin (New Jersey) - 165 lbs 5th Place; Class of 2025 Ayden Smith (Pennsylvania) - 113 lbs 5th Place Davidson Bryce Griffin (Illinois) - 157 lbs 7th Place Harvard Hudson Skove (New Jersey) - 285 lbs 8th Place Indiana Nicholas Pavlechko (Pennsylvania) - 285 lbs 4th Place Carson Thomas (Ohio) - 175 lbs 5th Place: Class of 2025 Iowa State Daniel Herrera (Iowa) - 285 lbs runner-up Adrian Meza (Arizona) - 132 lbs 6th Place Lehigh Calvin Lachman (Pennsylvania) - 285 lbs 6th Place Lock Haven Tucker Hogan (Pennsylvania) - 190 lbs 3rd Place Maryland Oscar Williams (Oklahoma) - 215 lbs 3rd Place Michigan Cam Catrabone (New York) - 144 lbs runner-up Michigan State Cory Thomas (Michigan) - 157 lbs 7th Place Minnesota Landon Robideau (Minnesota) - 138 lbs runner-up: Class of 2025 Missouri Jake Crapps (Georgia) - 126 lbs 8th Place Aeoden Sinclair (Wisconsin) - 190 lbs champion Navy Spencer Lanosga (Louisiana) - 285 lbs 3rd Place NC State Will Denny (Illinois) - 150 lbs 6th Place: Class of 2025 Gavin Linsman (Missouri) - 144 lbs 8th Place Latrell Schafer (Georgia) - 165 lbs 4th Place Ohio State Ethan Birden (Ohio) - 165 lbs 3rd Place Ben Davino (Illinois) - 132 lbs 3rd Place Oklahoma Alex Braun (Minnesota) - 138 lbs 3rd Place Oklahoma State JJ McComas (Oklahoma) - 126 lbs runner-up Penn Eren Sement (Pennsylvania) - 126 lbs 6th Place: Class of 2025 Luke Simcox (Pennsylvania) - 138 lbs 6th Place Penn State Dalton Perry (Pennsylvania) - 138 lbs 8th Place: Class of 2025 Princeton Xavier Giles (New York) - 165 lbs 6th Place Ethan Rivera (Florida) - 120 lbs 5th Place Rutgers Conner Harer (Pennsylvania) - 157 lbs 3rd Place Tahir Parkins (Pennsylvania) - 132 lbs 8th Place: Class of 2025 South Dakota State Logan Swensen (Minnesota) - 132 lbs 7th Place Stanford Cole Han-Lindemyer (Minnesota) - 174 lbs runner-up EJ Parco (California) - 150 lbs 7th Place Virginia Tech Ryan Burton (New Jersey) - 175 lbs champion: Class of 2025 Drew Gorman (Georgia) - 132 lbs 5th Place: Class of 2025 Matt Henrich (New Jersey) - 157 lbs 5th Place Kollin Rath (Pennsylvania) - 150 lbs champion: Class of 2025 Aaron Seidel (Pennsylvania) - 113 lbs champion: Class of 2025 West Virginia Rune Lawrence (Pennsylvania) - 190 lbs runner-up Wyoming Gunner Henry (Indiana) - 220 lbs 8th Place: Class of 2025 Anders Thompson (Montana) - 190 lbs 5th Place

Michigan State - Go Green! Go White! The Spartans have a huge variance as far as what they can be this season. On one hand, they have some strong veterans in their lineup, and a lot of leadership that they can lean on to develop their youth. On the other hand, they’ll have some weights with guys without much experience jumping into the lineup and expected to produce. In my mind, that’s a good thing and I trust the culture on the team to help these guys assimilate into full-time starters and contributors. They have adjusted their approach from a coaching standpoint to really focus on being ready to produce at the right times of the year, and I expect this team to be rounded into form come March. For more recent insight directly from Head Coach Roger Chandler, check out this interview I did with him from 9/25. TOP RETURNERS Chase Saldate had a breakout season last year. His regular season was particularly strong, earning him the fourth seed at the B1G tournament. He ended up dropping his first match at NCAAs, but battled all the way back to the bloodround before finishing up just shy of the podium when he was pinned by Bryce Andonian of Virginia Tech. Saldate tends to wrestle close matches, but when he gets his offense going he’s extremely tough to beat. His top game is as good as almost anyone in college wrestling, and he’s stingy defensively. If he can add a little bit more on his feet, he’ll get on that podium this time around. Caleb Fish needed an at-large bid to make the NCAA tournament last year, but made the most of it by making it to the quarterfinals of a loaded 165 pound weight class. He’s consistently gotten better with each season in the lineup and is referenced regularly as one of the guys who does everything you expect from an athlete. You can expect him to be where he needs to be as a student-athlete, is generally regarded as the toughest guy on the team (reference the interview above), and is going to be as prepared as anyone coming into the year. I expect him to be a consistent presence at 165. Don’t be surprised when he gets a couple “upset” wins in the conference. Layne Malczewski is entering his final year with the Spartans. He was my pick for breakout candidate at 184 last season, and I stand by it! He has battled injuries throughout his career, but he’s been brought up to me by other coaches, which is a good sign that they think about how they are going to approach matches with him. He has a lot of different attacks, is ready to use them all, and is really tall for the weight. In my conversation with him over the summer, he was adding size and is as healthy as he’s ever been. Let’s hope he can stay healthy and really see what he can do. Last Dance Layne! KEY DEPARTURES Rayvon Foley was in the Spartan lineup since his true freshman year. As a sophomore, he was an All-American and was consistently ranked in the top-ten and an All-American threat throughout his career. He didn’t finish his career as strongly as it started, but his contributions to the lineup and leadership will be missed. He reigns as Ann Arbor Pioneer High School’s most successful college wrestler. Peyton Omania, a Greco Senior World Team member in 2021, and another long-term contributor to the team. There is a solid contingent of Greco wrestlers on this team, and Omania’s presence and approach certainly contributed to that interest. He had shown flashes of greatness and was always a dangerous wrestler. Cam Caffey, a fan favorite over the years, held court for the upperweights for his entire career. Starting at 184, he was a B1G finalist in the 2020 season, which had the NCAA tournament canceled. After that year he bumped up to 197. He had huge wins at times, notably beating the eventual NCAA Champion in Max Dean during their dual with Penn State. His career ended at NCAAs last year when he tried to compete with a bad shoulder, an injury he suffered at B1Gs. He intends to continue to compete in freestyle and Greco, but he does leave a big gap at 197 that the Spartans will have to fill. NEWCOMERS Braden Stauffenberg, speaking of Greco, just represented the United States at the U20 Greco World Championships. He was 10-6 in his redshirt season, and will likely be representing the Spartans at 149 pounds this season. Anytime you can get youth and world-level experience into the lineup is a good thing, and I’m excited to see how he steps into this spot. WRESTLER TO WATCH Ceasar Garza stepped into the lineup last season right away. He won the MSU Open Freshman and Sophomore division last season, and became the starter a couple weeks into the season after their planned starter, DJ Shannon (transfer from Illinois), got hurt. He showed some growing pains early, but he also showed growth and improvement as the season went on. This last offseason he went 2-2 in his first major freestyle tournament, and a couple weeks later was an All-American at U23s. He’ll be someone to watch closely. Jordan Hamden another Grego World Team member for the Spartans, as he will represent the United States at U23 Greco Worlds next week. He’s been in the lineup for a while, and showed some flashes, but like I mentioned with Braden above, World Team members don’t happen by accident and I believe that experience and the confidence that comes with it will contribute to a successful season for Jordan. Tristan Lujan had a strong start to the season last year winning the Navy Open and was undefeated up until the finals of the Reno Tournament of Champions where he dropped a 5-2 match to Trevor Mastrogiovanni of Oklahoma State. As the season went on, Lujan lost some steam and had a tough B1G season. However, I believe in Lujan and feel like he’ll be more consistent this season and will end up wrestling in Kansas City at the end of the year. TOP OUT-OF-CONFERENCE DUAL Central Michigan University travels to East Lansing on Friday, February 23rd. This is an in-state rivalry where both teams show up ready to impose their dominance. This dual has implications year in and year out for recruits, NCAA seeding implications, and bragging rights. These duals have been close over the last couple of years with the Spartans coming out on top the last couple of seasons. Both squads have a lot of depth and should match up very well this year making for an exciting out-of-conference battle.

Not only does Northwestern head coach Matt Storniolo sit down with Ryan Holmes to preview the season, but new assistant coach BJ Futrell has also joined the discussion. Each gives their perspective on why a move to Evanston made sense for Futrell and the team. The Wildcat coaches talk about a Northwestern team that has plenty of new faces for 2023-24, along with some veterans in new roles. The two also give their opinion on how the new takedown rules may impact competition this season. For the full interview: Click Here

On preseason episode three of "Big 12 Breakdown," James Hackney looks at two tiers of teams in the conference; Sleeper Conference Picks and a wild card team. In "Sleepers," James looks at the Oklahoma and South Dakota State teams; both balanced squads that could make a run at the conference crown. He'll also look at West Virginia, a team that has a veteran prescence that could make some noise. Here's the full article outlining the different tiers. For episode three of "Big 12 Breakdown" click here

Cleveland

Glenwood

Duke fielded a young team last season and experienced a lot of growing pains along the way. Hopefully, that experience will help the squad this year, with most starters seeing at least their second year in the lineup. It is well documented the challenges that Coach Lanham faces with building the program at Duke. It is an academically challenging institution and he has no scholarships to offer, which makes the success they have had throughout his tenure that much more impressive. It appeared as though Jonah Niesenbaum could be the next Blue Devil to make it onto the podium with the gains he had made in the past two years; however, Niesenbaum has chosen to forgo his final year of eligibility to pursue an opportunity outside of collegiate wrestling. The Blue Devils will look to a new crop of talent in Durham looking to make their mark in the ACC. TOP RETURNER Jarred Papscy will step into the role of veteran leader for this young Blue Devil squad. He had some success in his first year at Duke at 141 after transferring from NC State, but will be looking to improve in his final season in Durham and will be moving up to 149 for the Blue Devils. KEY DEPARTURE Jonah Niesenbaum went from 3-21 his freshman year at Duke to finishing last season at 25-6, an ACC finalist and an NCAA qualifier. He was a reliable leader his final two years in Durham and would have been an All-American contender again this season if he utilized his final season of eligibility. NEWCOMER TO WATCH Sean O’Donnell is a true freshman out of Malvern Prep where he was a two-time Prep All-American. He could see some time at 141 with Papscy moving up to 149. WRESTLER TO WATCH Keep an eye on Gaetano Console at 165. He spent some time in the starting lineup last season and had a 4-3 record in duals. He was chosen as a team captain this season as a true sophomore, showing the trust that his teammates and coaches have in him. He is scrappy and I liked what I saw from him early in the season last year. With another year of maturity and time in the college room, I think we can see a jump in results from Console. TOP OUT-OF-CONFERENCE DUAL Duke has a pretty stellar schedule this season that is very dual-heavy. They open the season with Rutgers, Cal Poly, and Stanford on a West Coast swing. They also have West Virginia and in-state foes Appalachian State and Gardner-Webb before opening ACC competition. There are three duals that I’m looking forward to watching to gauge where this young team is at and where they are improving. They match up with Kent State in November, Davidson in December and Chattanooga in January. On paper all these teams are pretty evenly matched; it may give us a good view of the progress of this Duke squad to use these duals as key matches. POTENTIAL LINEUP 125: Ethan Grimminger 0-10; 0-4 ACC 133: Logan Agin 5-14; 0-4 ACC 141: Cam Morgan 0-1 Sean O’Donnell True Freshman 149: Jarred Papscy 8-13; 0-1 ACC 157: Logan Ferrero 3-11; 0-4 ACC 165: Gaetano Console 5-6; 0-1 ACC (174) 174: Conor Becker 5-12 184: Luke Chakonis 5-19; 0-5 ACC 197: Jack Wimmer 3-11 285: Connor Barket 1-5; 0-1 ACC

Northern Burlington

American University Projected Line-Up 125: Jack Maida (#29) or Shamil Kalmatov 133: Maximilian Leete or Raymond Lopez 141: Ethan Szerencsits 149: Antonio Segura or Devon Capato 157: Jack Nies or Ryan Zimmerman 165: Caleb Campos or Breon Phifer 174: Lucas White 184: Connor Bourne 197: Carsten Rawls or Liam Volk-Klos HWT: Will Jarrell or Isaac Righter Overview If this lineup looks familiar, that’s because it is pretty much the line-up they rolled out at EIWA’s last year. The Eagles had a historic turnaround season last year. In 2022, they finished with a 1-12 dual meet record while going winless against conference opponents in five matches. Last season’s record was 8-12 with an arguably tougher schedule than years prior. Their conference record was 3-5 a season ago as well. It’s not hard to see the improvement in just one year. Coach Borrelli and staff will continue to turn this program around. New Faces This is one of the few programs where the coaching staff remains unchanged. Consistency will take this team a long way, which can be used as a positive recruiting tactic. Knowing the coaches are there for the long haul makes most athletes sleep easier at night. We mentioned the lineup is identical to last year - but there is one major change. Jack Maida was the lone qualifier for American last year. This was at 133 lbs, however. This year, we’ll see him down at 125 lbs. With a new weight class, we may see a slow start until he adjusts properly - as is the case whenever a wrestler drops down a weight class. Key Dates 11/2 - Maryland (#22) comes into town for the season opener. It will be a good test to see where they stand 1/12 and 1/14 - A road trip to California to wrestle Cal Poly, CSU Bakersfield, Central Michigan, and Campbell (#28). American defeated the latter three teams a season ago – all by 1 point. Expect similar results 2/4 – Newly added program Morgan State comes to town. It’s always exciting to see a new program Find the entire schedule here Army West Point Projected Line-Up 125: Ethan Berginc (#25) 133: Ryan Franco 141: Julian Sanchez 149: Trae McDaniel (#30) 157: Nate Lukez (#23) 165: Dalton Harkins (#33) 174: Ben Pasiuk (#11) 184: Daniel Lawrence 197: Wolfgang Frable 285: Austin Kohlhofer Overview The Black Knights, also known as “America’s Team,” have five individually ranked wrestlers, led by three returning NCAA Qualifiers in Berginc, Lukez, and Pasiuk. Pasiuk has been to nationals three times already, with a top-16 finish as his best performance in 2021. With this projected lineup, we will see 8 returning starters for Army. Last year’s squad finished in sixth place at EIWAs thanks to eight placewinners. This team has the tools to improve on that finish and sneak its way into the top 5. New Faces One new face you will see is Steve Bleise on the coaching staff. He was a 3X NCAA Qualifier for Minnesota and Northern Illinois across three weight classes (141, 149, and 157). He joined the staff in August and has been excellent ever since. This team has a ton of young talent that will probably see some mat time. Coach Scott Green has been a force on the recruiting trail in between settling food debates on social media and foraging for mushrooms. All kidding aside, this program is here to stay. With assistant Jimmy Overhiser recently accepting a job at Tarleton State in Texas, there is a new opening on staff that Coach Ward will need to fill. Be on the lookout for a new addition to staff in a few weeks or so once applications are in and interviews are had. Key Dates 11/1 – Opening the season versus Campbell (#28) at Fort Liberty. A great early match-up to potentially jump into the top 30 with a win 11/19 – Black Knight Invite includes Big 10 teams like Penn State, Rutgers, and Michigan State; plus Northern Colorado and others 2/17 – They square off against rival Navy in Annapolis late in the season Find the entire schedule here Binghamton Projected Line-Up 125: Carson Wagner 133: Micah Roes 141: Nate Lucier 149: Michael Zarif 157: Carter Baer 165: Brevin Cassella (#22) 174: Will Ebert 184: Jacob Nolan (#13) 197: Dimitri Gamkrelidze 285: Cory Day (#25) Overview The Bearcats return all three EIWA place winners, who were all NCAA qualifiers last season. It’s no surprise these three guys are in the rankings with Cassella (#22), Nolan (#13), and Day (#25). This squad has a nice mix of upperclassmen along with young talent. Expect the upperclassmen to help lead this team and improve on their 11th-place finish a season ago at EIWAs, which they feel was an underachievement. New Faces Many new faces will be seen on the coaching staff. Recent graduate, Anthony Sobotker, was named to the staff and will give a helping hand to the lightweights. He was exciting to watch with some flashes of exciting upper body techniques. Lou DePrez was one of Binghamton’s best to ever represent the Bearcats on the mat. He’ll now be on staff as an assistant. He was added to the staff the second-semester last season after an injury ended his final year of eligibility. The athletes looked up to him as a competitor, and teammate. Expect the same, just in an elevated role. Coach Borshoff is currently in the process of hiring a new assistant coach. Expect more on this once the hire is officially made. This assistant will replace Fred Garcia – who has taken a role at Cleveland State. The line-up above only shows one new face. Cason Wagner at 125 lbs will be a true freshman. He’s a Northampton, PA grad who placed four times at the state championships. He’s a scrappy wrestler who will have success as he grows into the weight. Key Dates 11/17 – Taking on #6 NC State in a tough early season matchup. 12/1 – 12/2 – Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite is a tough in-season tournament. Success here lands you in the rankings 2/16 – Travel to #19 Northwestern for a dual Find the entire schedule here Brown University Projected Line-Up 125: Jared Brunner or Shane Hanson-Ashworth 133: Hunter Adrian 141: Ian Oswalt 149: Sam McMonagle 157: Blake Saito 165: Keegan Rothrock or Mason Spears 174: Harrison Trahan or Jonathan Conrad 184: James Araneo or Nick Olivieri 197: Lear Quinton or Araneo / Olivieri 285: Alex Semenenko Overview The Bears return one place finisher from a season ago, where Hunter Adrian was eighth at EIWAs. Coach Jordan Leen took over right before the season began last year, and we can only assume the team will improve in due time. People across the nation have the same feeling, as Leen was a homerun hire. A lot of the names in the lineup above were starters a season ago. With some new faces on staff, the sky is the limit for this team. New Faces Ty Walz was named as an assistant in August of 2023. He spent nearly a decade at Virginia Tech as an athlete and coach. He was a multiple-time All-American and won numerous medals at the world level. He’s a fantastic addition to the upper weights in Providence. Micky Phillippi was named to the staff as well. He spent his wrestling career at Pitt, where he was coached by Leen. Although he never made the podium, he had a very successful collegiate career barely missing the podium on four occasions. Phillippi will add coaching depth to the lower weights. Gage Curry is also making the move from Pitt to Brown, along with Leen and Phillippi. Curry was a 4X NCAA Qualifier between American and Pitt. He spent his career at 125 lbs, which will give the smaller guys in the room another great coach and mentor. Key Dates 11/5 – Opening up at the Clarion Open 11/19 – Black Knight Invite includes Big 10 teams like Penn State, Rutgers, and Michigan State; plus Northern Colorado and others 12/22 – The first annual Sheridan Invitational hosted by Lehigh. 1/1 – Southern Scuffle. Earning a place finisher here will be a great jumpstart into the second semester Find the entire schedule here Bucknell University Projected Line-Up 125 Ethan Lebin 133 Kurt Phipps (#21) 141 Dylan Chappell (#24) 149 Braden Bower 157 Nick Delp 165 Chase Barlow 174 Noah Mulvaney 184 Logan Deacetis (#24) 197 Nolan Springer HWT Dorian Crosby (#26) Overview The 2023 EIWA ninth-place finishers are looking to improve last year’s performance. The Bison will have a solid lineup with a mix of newcomers and experienced veterans. Four of the team’s five conference place finishers return to the team while all three NCAA qualifiers will be back again. Phipps will look to improve on his tough seventh-place finish from EIWAs a season ago. Dorian Crosby earned sixth place - good enough to earn a spot at NCAAs. The wrestler who surprised many people at conferences, Dylan Chappell, will look to be down at his natural weight this season. He took the conference by storm when he burst onto the scene with a runner-up finish at 149 lbs after beginning the season down at 133 lbs. He will replace multiple-time EIWA placewinner, Darren Miller, who graduated after an outstanding career at Bucknell. New Faces The Bison will have two new coaches this season. Longtime assistant, Kevin LeValley, has moved on to coaching on the club scene at PINnacle in Minnesota. Eric Morrill has gone onto California Baptist on the West Coast. Donny Ooton is a familiar face, as he was with the program in 2009 and 2010. He will step in as an assistant after spending time as an MMA fighter and coaching at both the club and scholastic levels in the state of Virginia. The Bucknell program is glad to have him back. Secondly, Thomas Flitz is coming to the conference after spending some time on staff at The University of Virginia. Before this, he was a three-time NCAA qualifier out of the SoCon powerhouse, Appalachian State. Wrestling at 174 lbs during his career, he will be a great addition to the upper middleweights. With the projected lineup, we may only see one new face - meaning they have not seen any collegiate action yet. Ethan Lebin is slated to be the starter at 125 lbs. After attending high school at Hempfield Area, he ended his PIAA career with two individual state medals while placing at Powerade twice. Having success in the WPIAL is a good indicator he will have success at the college level. Key Dates 11/10 – Traveling to take on Oklahoma State (#12) 11/16 – Minnesota (#16) will take on Bucknell in the Bison’s home opener 12/3 – Bucknell will travel to square off against Wisconsin (#25) Find the entire schedule here Columbia University (#30) Projected Line-Up 125: Nick Babin (#21) 133: Angelo Rini (#19) 141: Mason Clarke or Kai Owen 149: Richard Fedalen (#20) 157: David Berkovich or Jaden Le 165: Joshua Ogunsanya (#15) 174: Lennox Wolak (#15) 184: Aaron Ayzerov 197: Jack Wehmeyer 285: Billy McChesney or Nolan Neves Overview The Lions finished tied for fourth in the EIWA last season with a whopping eight placewinners, and six NCAA qualifiers. Babin, Rini, Ogunsanya, and Wolak will return. Kazimir was a former EIWA champ and is done competing due to graduation. Cesar Alvan will take an Olympic redshirt. This team will have many bright spots in their lineup. If the few young newcomers can prove that they can compete at a high level, this team will be challenging for a top-three finish at the conference come March. New Faces Columbia recently hired Jamie Franco as an assistant coach. Jamie competed for Hofstra until 2014, where he was a three-time NCAA qualifier. He was recently at his alma mater coaching for the past seven seasons as associate head coach. Expect an immediate impact from him on and off the mat. Mason Clarke or Kai Owen will be the next man up at the 141lbs weight class. Clarke is a senior who has sat behind Rini and 133lbs and Kazimir at 141lbs. These two weights have been some of the best for Columbia recently, so his experience in the room will be a factor in the line-up. Owen is a Wyoming Prep graduate, holding multiple All-American honors from his high school days. The sophomore is 10-6 in college thus far. Both wrestlers will have big shoes to fill in order to replace the former EIWA champ, Kazimir. Rich Fedalen is a sophomore expected to fill in at 149 lbs. Being a member of the U20 Greco team, he is as dangerous from the neutral position as they come. He was also a U20 Pan Am silver medalist, with a longer rap sheet of Greco success. He boasts an 11-4 record wrestling in opens thus far, which is enough to earn a preseason national ranking. Expect to see either Jaden Le or David Berkovich at 157 lbs. Berkovich has seen mat time in duals a few years back at 157 lbs, and wrestled in opens at 165 lbs. He’s a senior looking to fill this void as NCAA Qualifier Cesar Alvan takes an Olympic redshirt. Jaden Le is the other option. He has yet to see any dual meet action but carries a 15-9 record into the season. The California native had 732 takedowns in his high school career - which is an incredible number. Key Dates 11/17 – Michigan (#9) visits Columbia in an early season test 11/19 – Ohio State (#7) takes on Columbia two days after Michigan in a wild home-opening weekend 12/8 & 12/10 – The Lions travel to square off against Iowa (#8) and Northern Iowa (#20) in hostile environments Find the entire schedule here Cornell University (#2) Projected Line-Up 125: Brett Ungar (#10) or Greg Diakomihalis 133: Vito Arujau (#1) 141: Vince Cornella (#14) 149: Cole Handlovic or Colton Yapoujian 157: Meyer Shapiro 165: Julian Ramirez (#7) 174: Chris Foca (#2) 184: Jonathan Loew (#8) 197: Jacob Cardenas (#6) 285: Lewis Fernandes (#11) or Ashton Davis Overview The Big Red are poised to not only repeat as EIWA champions, but to repeat earning a trophy at NCAAs. They cleaned house at EIWAs with six champions, one runner-up, and a seventh-place finisher. They were down two expected starters at the time, making it even more impressive. Returning NCAA champion, Vito Arujau is slated to wrestle this season. It was speculated that he may use an Olympic redshirt to prepare for the 2024 Olympic Games. This was discussed at length more recently after he won a world title in September. Speaking of world champs, Meyer Shapiro will be a freshman phenom with incredibly high expectations after he won a gold medal at the U20 world championships this past summer. This team is loaded with talent and will be in the mix for a top-three finish at NCAAs, even after losing four-time champion Yianni Diakomihalis to graduation. The schedule Cornell put together this year will is a very tough one - but they love the challenge and proving they belong in the trophy hunt conversation. New Faces Meyer Shapiro was briefly mentioned above. He is one of the rare new faces in the lineup. Being a true freshman, and having no collegiate action, he does not have credentials to be ranked. This will change shortly once the season begins, as he will be an immediate title contender. If you follow wrestling, you’ve most likely already heard about Shapiro. Ashton Davis will most likely see some mat time at heavyweight. The true freshman will step in for Fernandes as needed. Fernandes has been battling injuries the past few seasons, so there may be speculation he could be on a “pitch count,” potentially. Davis was a three-time state champion in Tennessee, but a multiple-time Fargo All-American. He will be ready to step in when needed. Key Dates 1/5 – Taking on Ohio State (#7) on the road 1/7 – Virginia Tech (#4) visits Cornell to round out the first weekend of the new year 1/28 – Missouri (#3) visits Cornell in a top-3 battle 2/17 – Cornell travels to NC State (#6) in a late season match-up Find the entire schedule here Drexel University Projected Line-Up 125: Gabe Giampietro 133: Kyle Waterman (#27) 141: Jordan Soriano 149: Luke Nichter (#29) 157: Tyler Williams 165: Cody Walsh or Jasiah Queen (#34 on 2023 Big Board) 174: Mickey O’Malley (#16) 184: Justin Griffith 197: Ibrahim Ameer 285: Santino Morina Overview The Dragons are coming off of a 10th-place finish at EIWAs at the conclusion of last season. This is the first season, in what seems to be a decade, where we will not see Evan Barczak in the lineup. Nichter and O’Malley are the only wrestlers with NCAA Championship appearances. Waterman has been on the EIWA podium in the past, as has Williams at 157 lbs. Drexel’s young talent will look to shine this year. O’Malley has four NCAA Tournament appearances and finished in the top -12 last year. Will this be the year Coach Azevedo earns his first All-American as the head coach at Drexel? New Faces Expect Gabe Giampietro to man the 125 lbs class. He was .500 last year in his redshirt season. Being undersized, he took a few lumps. Expect a stronger wrestler to put up similar results to his high school success – where he was a four-time Delaware state champion and Beast of the East runner-up. Jasiah Queen will see some time in the line-up at 165 lbs. He will be a true freshman coming off a fantastic high school season, which included a runner-up finish at the New Jersey state championships and Beast of the East tournament. He was a top-35 overall recruit in last year’s MatScouts Senior Big Board. Another overall Big Board prospect will man the 184 lb weight class. The 73rd-ranked pound-for-pound recruit, Justin Griffith, was a three-time Delaware state champ and medalist at the Beast of the East. He was crowned champion of The Escape the Rock tournament. He will replace Brian Bonino, who finished in the top 12 last year as a graduate student. Lastly, Ibrahim Ameer came to the Dragons as a JUCO national runner-up last season. The former Cloud CC wrestler is expected to make an immediate impact after proving he can compete at the national level. The jump to the Division 1 level will come easier in comparison to last year’s high school wrestlers. Key Dates 11/19 – The Keystone Classic at the University of Pennsylvania 12/ 9 – Wisconsin (#25) comes to visit the Dragons for a dual 1/21 – Stanford will travel to Drexel for a dual. It includes somewhat of a homecoming for previous Princeton coach, Chris Ayres Find the entire schedule here Franklin & Marshall College Projected Line-Up 125: Mason Leiphart 133: Gio Diaz or Aidan O'Shea 141: Pat Phillips 149: Josh Hillard or Bryce Kresho 157: Luke Bender or Nick Alvarez 165: Dom Wheatley or Noah Bash 174: Noah Fox or RJ Moore 184: James Conway 197: John Crawford (#30) 285: Chase Thompson Overview The Diplomats return two place finishers from EIWA’s a season ago. Mason Leiphart earned eighth at 125lbs place while James Conway earned seventh at 184 lbs. F&M returns many starters with multiple years of experience while introducing some new blood into their lineup. Leiphart led the entire NCAA with tech falls last season, expect more of the same from him this season. Crawford began his career as low as 165 lbs and has filled into 197 lbs nicely. He is the lone ranked wrestler at the moment thanks to some quality wins last season. The Dips will be wrestling their historical 100th season this year. New Faces Pat Phillips is in a new weight class this season. He saw success at 133 lbs the past few years. Bulking up to 141 lbs may do him some good to avoid a hard cut. His abilities from the top position will make him a podium threat at EIWAs. Do not be shocked to find him in the national rankings this year, potentially earning a trip to NCAAs. Luke Bender comes from Delaware, where he earned two state titles. He was also an NHSCA Senior National champion. He will be in a battle for the 157 lbs spot. We will see him in the mix to be a starter in the middleweights. Dom Wheatly is a Nazareth, PA native. He is another freshman looking to earn the starting spot in the middleweights. The two-time state place finisher had an impressive high school career and will try to keep the momentum rolling at the 165-pound weight class. For the first time since 2016, F&M will have a heavyweight not named “Pelusi” rounding out the line-up. Both Antonio and Vincenzo graduated with multiple NCAA appearances between them. Chase Thompson will have some large shoes to fill - pun intended. The big man from Florida has placed at Fargo and is ready to step in. Key Dates 11/4 – Southeast Open will kick off their season. 12/29 – 12/30 – Midlands is arguably the toughest in-season tournament. The Dips could see some place-winners here 1/5 – The F&M Open attracts many talented wrestlers, including high school studs and red shirts. Find the entire schedule here

It’s Super 32 week and that only means one thing. It’s the first step of your impending divorce. Unless your spouse is also a wrestling fan. If so, nice pull. But some of us take heat after about 20 hours of wrestling in one weekend. I literally only took this job, so I could mask my wrestling watching as research. Nah babe, the round of 256 is crucial to next week’s mailbag column. I must watch this. I also answered some very important questions. And you must read them. There’s a test next week. What non-NCAA Championships/qualifying tournament are you looking forward to the most this year? What dual meet is a must-watch? Who’s your darkhorse to win an individual title this year? Vinny Termini I'm big on the Cliff Keen. The first month can be a little start and stop and once the CKLV rolls around you start to really see the meat and potatoes. All the duals are a must-watch. You can never miss one. I’m partial to ACC duals. I find all the team colors pleasant to my color-blind eyes. Shawn Kenney and Rock Harrison are a great duo, it’s just a vibe. You want a dark horse? I’ll give you Stevo Poulin. Because, why not? We know he’s talented. He made the blood round last year as a freshman. Is he ready to make the leap? Will he bring back the mohawk? Probably not. But he is a breakout candidate. New York has made it official and girls wrestling is going freestyle baby!! This now tips the scales in favor of New York over New Jersey. How will this decision trickle down to the rest of the country? Coach Matt Sganga Oh, you think you’re better than me? Maybe you are, I don’t know. It makes sense since the women wrestle freestyle in college. I can only imagine it helps the growth of women’s college wrestling since more wrestlers will now be acclimated to the style, thus, feeling more comfortable with competing at the next level. As we know, it’s a bit trickier to officiate a freestyle match than a folkstyle match. If New York proves that it can be done on such a large scale, I see no reason why it can’t catch on with other states. Is Penn State beatable in the NCAA tourney this year? Izman I doubt it. They’re carrying eight All-Americans as it is. Half of those guys have been in the finals. The other four have finished in the top five and are all finals contenders themselves now. March is a long way off but the numbers don’t lie. Iowa is clearly the closest contender and they will just have to try and beat them heads up. Or maybe Michigan has a better chance. Even though the Fightin’ Caels may run away with it, there are still plenty of good races to keep an eye on. Now that the TV schedule has been released, need your thoughts across the board on best matches, broadcasters, and Jagger Night. Nick Kosko, Voice of Rutgers Wrestling You mean other than Rutgers getting the shaft by not getting any National broadcasts at home? I get that it’s a tight schedule but the best you could do for America’s Team is an away dual against Penn State? On a Monday night? At the Bryce Jordan Center? All I’m saying is, the Scarlet Knights continue to pack the sandwich arena and deserve a chance to showcase that in front of a National audience. But that just means more time for Nick and Matt Howe to shine! Here in the Garden State, we’re all about hospitality. We don’t give you two random students who don’t know the difference between a dual and a game or a player and a wrestler. We would never insult you like that. We will give you the finger on the highway if you do something stupid. You take the good with the bad. Other than that, it’s what you'd expect from a schedule. I like seeing Cornell get some love when they face Ohio State on January 5th. Nebraska is a fun team and they have five dates, so I can dig on that. Who could Jagger foresee having an LA Knight-like run to megastardom during the college season? Rhino We’re not doing LA Knight this week, ok. I don’t even know who LA Knight is. But don’t sleep on Jude Swisher. That I do know. Well, I’m about to swish on out here and try to finish this abysmal binge of Suits that’s been going on for weeks. Nine Seasons! Deadwood got three! There’s no justice in this world.