InterMat Staff

Buford

Quakertown

Arlington

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 #36-40 #41-45 #46-50 35) Beau Bartlett (Penn State) photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com Weight: 141 lbs Collegiate Achievements: 2023 NCAA 3rd Place, 2023 Big Ten 3rd Place 2022 Top-50 Ranking: Not Ranked What a difference wrestling at a comfortable weight class makes! Beau Bartlett had to compete at 149 lbs in each of his first two seasons in State College due to the presence of two-time NCAA champion Nick Lee at 141 lbs. Bartlett still managed to qualify for nationals in 2022 and even won a match at the Big Show. After that tournament, Lee was finished and Barlett was able to move to his more natural weight. The Arizona native responded by winning his first 14 matches of the 2022-23 season which catapulted him up the national rankings. When the smoke cleared, Bartlett finished with an impressive 27-3 record, losing only to both national finalists and a Big Ten runner-up. Seeded sixth at nationals, Bartlett advanced to the semifinals on the strength of a 3-1 win in tiebreakers over third-seeded Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh), at one point, the top-ranked wrestler in the nation. After a loss to the eventual champ, Bartlett bounced back with two wins to finish in third place. 2023-24 Outlook: Bartlett starts the 2023-24 season ranked third in the country; however, he will move up to second once returning champion Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) is removed due to taking an Olympic redshirt. Only Iowa’s Real Woods stands between Bartlett and the top spot at 141 lbs. The two clashed in their school’s highly-anticipated dual meet and Woods was victorious, 4-1. We’ll see if the confidence gained in his 2022-23 season combined with another year in the Penn State room brings his offense to the forefront. Bartlett was in plenty of close matches last season. Sometimes that can be playing with fire, though he did not lose to a lower-ranked opponent all of last year. 34) Trey Munoz (Oregon State) photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com Weight: 184 lbs Collegiate Achievements: 2023 NCAA 6th Place, 2x Pac-12 Champion 2022 Top-50 Ranking: Not Ranked The 2021-22 season represented a breakout for Trey Munoz and the 2022-23 season saw him climb to the level of national title contender. One of Munoz’s season highlights was an 8-4 win over returning All-American Marcus Coleman (Iowa State) at the Collegiate Duals. Coleman was the same opponent who had unceremoniously ended his 2021-22 season in the NCAA bloodround, via major decision. The two would meet again in the 2023 NCAA quarterfinals and Munoz prevailed again, this time in sudden victory, clinching All-American status for the first time. Munoz ended up injuring himself in the semifinals and wasn’t able to wrestle in the consi’s, settling for sixth place. 2023-24 Outlook: With three-time national champion, Aaron Brooks (Penn State), expected to move up to 197 lbs, 184 is ripe for the picking. Munoz starts the year ranked third at the weight. He’s scheduled to meet the wrestlers directly above and below him in dual action. A staggering seven out of the top ten wrestlers at 184 are slated to attend the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Unfortunately, I’m sure some will not compete; however, we should still get a glimpse of where Munoz fits into the hierarchy of this weight. Should he improve at the rate we saw between the 2022 and 2023 national tournament, Munoz could be the last man standing in Kansas City. 33) Kyle Parco (Arizona State) photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com Weight: 149 lbs Collegiate Achievements: 3x NCAA All-American (4th, 8th, 6th), 2x Pac-12 Champion 2022 Top-50 Ranking: Not Ranked Surprisingly enough, this is the first top-50 appearance for the three-time All-American Parco. It seems to fit as Parco tends to get overlooked on an ASU team loaded full of stars. Parco was a finalist at both the CKLV Invitational and the Midlands, one of only two wrestlers to accomplish this feat in 2022. In his next match after the Midlands, Parco suffered a loss to eventual four-time national champion Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell). That proved to be his last loss before the NCAA Tournament. Parco strolled into Tulsa sporting an 11-match winning streak, one that started with a win over tough freshman Paniro Johnson (Iowa State). At nationals, Parco grabbed wins over past All-Americans Austin Gomez (Wisconsin) and Brock Mauller (Missouri) in order to make the semifinals. 2023-24 Outlook: With Diakomihalis gone, there is no clear-cut favorite at 149 lbs this year. The top-ranked wrestler is Shayne Van Ness (Penn State), a sophomore who defeated Parco 7-2 in the NCAA third-place match last season. It doesn’t appear as if Parco can see Van Ness prior to the 2024 tournament; however, he could get multiple shots at the top-ranked wrestler Ridge Lovett (Nebraska). Both schools are slated to attend CKLV and also dual each other on the final weekend of the regular season. If you’re making tiers for a weight class, Parco likely goes from solid All-American threat to national title contender for the 2023-24 season. 32) Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com Weight: 285 lbs Collegiate Achievements: 3x NCAA All-American (7th, 2nd, 4th), 3x Pac-12 Champion 2022 Top-50 Ranking: #15 The top-ranked wrestler in the land during the 2022-23 preseason, Cohlton Schultz had his toughest collegiate season to date, yet still ended up with only four losses on the year and a seventh-place finish in Tulsa. That was different from his previous two seasons when he entered the NCAA Tournament unbeaten. Schultz balanced collegiate folkstyle competition with international travels to compete in Greco-Roman, as he has been the American representative at 130 kg in each of the last three Senior World Championship events. A high note for Schultz during the 2022-23 campaign was his ability to end matches early. Schultz tallied ten falls, a number that equaled the amount he earned during the previous two seasons. 2023-24 Outlook: In each of his three years competing for Arizona State, Cohlton Schultz has had to contend with the eventual Hodge Trophy winner. Provided there isn’t a return for Gable Steveson, that streak could end in 2024. In a weight class with plenty of talent, but no Gable, Schultz could very well prevail on Saturday night in Kansas City. Though Schultz’s seventh-place finish in 2023 looked out of the ordinary, both NCAA losses were by a 3-1 score in sudden victory. In those types of matches, a slight error could be the deciding factor. At the same time, there aren’t drastic changes needed for Schultz to reverse those results and put himself into the title discussion at 285 lbs. Arizona State’s full schedule was just released last night and Schultz has plenty of intriguing regular season matches. Like years past, Schultz may miss some of those due to the international wrestling scene, particularly with an Olympic year looming. 31) Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) Weight: 165 lbs Collegiate Achievements: 2x NCAA All-American (6th, 6th), 2023 Big Ten Champion 2022 Top-50 Ranking: #33 Both of Dean Hamiti’s collegiate seasons have ended with him in sixth place at the NCAA Championships. In 2022, Hamiti was the only true freshman to earn All-American honors. Hamiti started his collegiate career with 17 straight wins. Last year, he didn’t get off to such a hot start but did wrestle a pair of past national finalists before the end of December. While the Big Ten dual schedule has been known to break many-a-competitor, Hamiti got stronger and only lost one conference dual. Once the postseason hit, Hamiti was in top form in Ann Arbor as he majored returning All-American Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) and then edged Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) for a Big Ten title. That led to a number three seed in Tulsa for Hamiti. After a quarterfinal upset, Hamiti posted a major decision in the bloodround to secure All-American honors. Both times he’s made the podium, Hamiti has left no doubt and won via bonus. 2023-24 Outlook: Hamiti starts the 2023-24 season ranked fourth in the nation in what promises to be one of the toughest brackets in the nation…again. The two past champions hold down the top two spots (Keegan O’Toole and David Carr), while Cam Amine is number three. Amine was responsible for two of Hamiti’s losses during the 2023-24 season, including his quarterfinal upset. Hamiti will be one of the title contenders again in 2024; however, he’ll need to get by some wrestlers that he’s yet to defeat. Carr and Amine are responsible for four of his ten collegiate losses (he also lost to O’Toole at the 2022 All-Star Classic).

Watertown-Mayer

The Hoos are looking to improve after a difficult season last year. The team will look much different with a massive turnover from graduation. The extra year of eligibility for much of their starting lineup last year allowed the Cavaliers to redshirt their entire highly-ranked recruiting Class of 2022. We will see those redshirts step in to start at many of the weights this season, and personally, I think they are going to make a lot of noise this year. Due to some changes late in the scheduling process, the Hoos will have a lighter dual schedule this year. They will get solid competition at the Midlands and the Virginia Duals before opening conference duals. I think they are under the radar right now with such a young lineup, but there is a lot of talent and a lot of motivation coming out of that room, and I expect to see a scrappy UVA squad every time they hit the mat. TOP RETURNERS Justin McCoy will be back for his final year of eligibility and is looking to build on his ACC championship run last season. He has been a consistent leader on and off the mat for the Hoos and will play a crucial role as a veteran on a very young team. McCoy is a three-time ACC finalist and was able to break through last season to win his first title. He is also a four-time NCAA qualifier, making the bloodround in 2022 and falling in the round of 16 last year. There will be a big change for Juddy this season though, as he moves up to 174 for his final run. Dylan Cedeno will also be changing weight classes this season, and from the size he’s put on, he’s enjoying that opportunity. Cedeno is moving up from 141 to 157 and I have been very impressed with what I’ve seen from him at the new weight. I think it will be a good change for him physically and mentally as the weight cut has been a challenge for him. He is a one-time NCAA qualifier and will be fighting to earn his way to Kansas City. KEY DEPARTURES Thanks to extra eligibility from the COVID year, UVA had an abnormally large graduating class last year and several multi-year starters completed their time on Grounds. Patrick McCormick was a three-year starter and two-time NCAA qualifier. Brian Courtney is the first (and likely only) wrestler to ever be included on this list twice! Courtney was a two-time NCAA qualifier and made the bloodround during his senior year in 2022. He decided to return to Charlottesville to use his final year of eligibility last season. This was an incredible undertaking by Courtney and the UVA coaching staff to make this work; Courtney balanced a full load of grad classes, while still working full-time as a teacher and worked his “sick days”--with the support of his administration--to compete during 2nd semester. Unfortunately, after a strong return, Courtney tore his pec in the dual against American and cut short his return to the mat. Jarod Verkleeren made the most of his time in Charlottesville after transferring from Penn State. He was a two-year starter for the Hoos and made the NCAA tournament last year after a third-place finish at the ACC Championships. Verkleeren was also the inaugural Intermat ACC #BaldHero Award winner and will forever be etched in the annals of history. Denton Spencer spent a lot of time in the starting lineup and was one of the more explosive wrestlers to come through Charlottesville racking up 32 pins in his five years at UVA. Jake Keating was an ACC Runner-Up and two-time NCAA qualifier who quietly put together an impressive resume. Vic Marcelli was a one-time NCAA qualifier Neil Antrassian only had one year in Charlottesville but made a mark in that season. He was a Midlands third-place finisher and qualified for his first NCAA tournament while navigating the deepest weight in the conference. Michael Battista showed incredible growth in his time at UVA. He went from a sub .500 record his first year as a starter to ending his career with a 41-21 record and two trips to the NCAA tournament over his final two years. NEWCOMERS Ryan Catka comes to Charlottesville via the Naval Academy and will challenge for the starting spot at heavyweight. He is the brother of Virginia Tech heavyweight Hunter Catka. Sammy Hayes joins the Hoos after a season in Illinois. He adds some depth and talent at the lower weights and will be someone to watch at 125 or 133. His brother Louie was an All-American for UVA in 2021 at 133. WRESTLER(S) TO WATCH With all the new faces in the UVA lineup, it’s tough to pick one to watch, so let’s go with a group. Keep an eye on the redshirt freshmen who will be stepping into the lineup this year. The Hoos put together a top-10 recruiting class nationally in 2022 and that crew has been chomping at the bit to get into the fray. Kyle Montaperto won the Southeast Open and had a strong open season, but was 0-3 in dual action; I expect a year of maturity will pay off big for Kyle and he can be a dangerous offensive threat to open the lineup. The Gioffre brothers have all the tools to make a major impact nationally. Jack was 4-2 in an injury-shortened redshirt season and picked up a dual win over Northwestern. Michael ended his redshirt year at 12-5, picking up a 5th place finish at the Southern Scuffle, which included a win over All-American Jaden Abas and was 3-1 in dual action. Both were California state champs and are very technically sound in all positions. One more to watch is Nick Hamilton. He is one of the Iowa/Nebraska recruits that have made their way to the East Coast with the help of the Paulson Brothers’ recruiting. Hamilton was a three-time state champ; twice in Iowa, once in Nebraska; and had a phenomenal redshirt season. He went 13-2, winning the Southeast Open and the App State Open; and 3-2 at Midlands and 4-0 in dual action. Hamilton is positionally sound and can put up points in bunches; he is very poised and mature and that will play a big role in his success this year. REDSHIRT REPORT Kyle Montaperto 7-6 Jack Gioffre 4-2 Michael Gioffre 12-5; 5th Place Southern Scuffle Nick Sanko 8-3 Nick Hamilton 13-2 TOP OUT-OF-CONFERENCE DUAL The Hoos will make a trip out west to Fargo to face North Dakota State in early December. I think this will be a solid matchup of teams that have a lot of young talent and could be a back-and-forth dual. They will also face George Mason and Gardner-Webb on the campus of St. Christopher’s in Richmond in January. They faced GMU at this event last year and I’m glad to see it continue to grow. POTENTIAL LINEUP 125: Kyle Montaperto 7-6 (RS) Sammy Hayes 1-0 (RS Illinois) 133: Marlon Yarbrough 7-10 1-3 ACC Gable Porter True Freshman 141: #23 Jack Gioffre 4-2 (RS) 149: #18 Michael Gioffre 12-5 (RS) 157: Dylan Cedeno 10-9 (141) 1-2 ACC - NCAA Qualifier Nick Sanko 8-3 (RS) 165: #25 Nick Hamilton 13-2 (RS) 174: #9 Justin McCoy 21-6 4-1 ACC - ACC Champion - 3x ACC Finalist - 4x NCAA Qualifier 184: #29 Haydn Danals 14-5 Hudson Stewart 10-9 0-1 ACC 197: Colden Dorfman 7-5 285: Gabe Christensen 4-6 Ryan Catka 9-5 (Navy)

Altoona

Welcome all on this chilly Friday morning to another edition of the mailbag. Teams are practicing and wrestleoffs are already being announced so the season is creeping up quickly. Today is my brother’s birthday and tomorrow is my other brother’s birthday. And while I know that neither is reading this, I still hope you both have a great day. In a few weeks, my other, other brother has a birthday. I have a lot of brothers. We’re like the Finejaggers over here. And we’re all getting old. But here’s to the three of you and many more birthdays for you all. Just remember, I’ll always be the tallest and best-looking. Now let’s get into this mailbag. Which are your favorite UFC Fight Pass wrestling events to be covered this season and why? Kevin Claunch I’m not sure I have any at the moment. The truth is that I didn’t get too excited over this whole endeavor because to me it’s just another service I have to subscribe to. For the sake of the sport, I suppose it’s a positive. MMA has a large fan base and with the success of recent wrestlers in the eight-sided circle, it makes sense to capitalize on that by trying to lure in some of that fan base. Streaming services need content. Wrestling has more than enough content to give and this does give a few teams who otherwise never get center stage a chance in the spotlight. And that's a good thing. If Carter Starocci goes like he is projected as a 5-time NCAA champ, where do you rank him all time? Jkos11 Probably the 1B to Cael’s 1A as the best-case scenario. In my mind, you can’t topple the guy who never lost for four straight years unless you do the same thing. But for argument’s sake, let’s break this down a little. For Sanderson it’s easy. 159 wins in a row. Carter is on pace for about 110 matches total with an extra year. Advantage: Cael. Both guys took a redshirt so there’s no true freshman factor here. Now if Starocci won the 2021 title as a true freshman with a couple of losses and then ran off four straight, without a loss, I might think differently about this. And what of that shortened season? Did Starocci have an advantage by not having to deal with the grind of the full season? Would it have mattered? Seeing that he’s won two more since, I’ll say it didn’t matter. He was the best guy that year regardless. The bottom line is, the potential five-time NCAA D1 championship quest is a special thing that will likely be the rarest feat ever accomplished if it happens. Factor in the guys he has beaten and would have to beat to get there, it puts him in the conversation as the best ever. I just don’t think I can put him over Cael. What venues should the NCAA announce the NCAA championships for the next cycle and why is one of them Boardwalk Hall. Aaron Bartlett Ha, that would be something. I’ve never actually been to Boardwalk Hall so I’m not sure if it is the best venue. Do they have suites? A couple of our more fancy fans enjoy the suites so they can look down on their minions for three days like Commodus in Gladiator. Lord knows that Atlantic City has plenty of hotels and a large surrounding fanbase so it’s not the worst idea. I just want to sit between the Brands brothers while they aggressively shout “Hit me” at the Blackjack table and slap each other senseless out of instinct. Short sample size, but does Jags like the expanded MLB playoff format with the first-round byes? Rhino It’s fine. Houston has no problem with it. Atlanta might have a problem with it. They certainly don’t have a problem with winning over 100 games to earn the bye. They just have a problem with winning three more after they earn it. But there is something to be said about sitting around for days while your opponent wins a series and gets to party and gain more confidence. I liken it to a guy losing early then storming through the backside and knocking off higher-ranked guys on the way to a good finish. Alright, maybe it’s not the same but you get my point. Am I fooling anybody with this combover? Salty Walkon Unless it’s 1984 and you’re a science teacher, just shave those scalp scraps and accept it. Will you be attending the UPenn v Rutgers match on January 6th in the Palestra? Asking for a friend. Kevin McGuigan Is that friend Matt Valenti? Thoughts and prayers to my fellow Mets fan for what he has to go through right now. I’m sure winning two NCAA titles was tough, but it’s not as tough as dealing with all this Phillies stuff.

Spotsylvania

King George

The All-330 projections are back for the 2023-24 preseason. The All-330 is a series of educated guesses on who will be the 330 wrestlers who make the trip to Kansas City, Missouri to compete at the 2024 NCAA Championships. So, how are these different than the national rankings, which go down to #33? There's a little bit of guesswork, projection, and opinion that goes into these, which is generally frowned upon with rankings. In some cases, we think a particular wrestler is poised for a big year (or not-so-big). Another factor for these is conference allocations. Right now we can just speculate allocations for each conference and weight, but you can get an idea of how many each league will get based on rankings. For instance, in a Big Ten weight class with 9 of the top-16 wrestlers in the country (157), you can also assume that the conference probably steals an at-large berth as a lower-ranked wrestler probably only needs one win to lock up a national qualifying bid. Wrestlers are listed by conference, in alphabetical order, based on school name, so they are not conference rankings. The good news is that if someone is not listed or in the "just missed" category, they have the entire regular season action to go, along with a conference tournament. There's still plenty of time left to change a narrative or impress the masses. 125 lbs This weight is sort of straightforward in some respects. The only significant difference between the All-330 and the rankings is true freshman Vinny Kilkeary for Ohio State. It isn’t set in stone that he’s starting, but of an intuition. 125 is the deepest weight class in the nation in terms of potential national qualifiers. In addition to the “Just Missed” list, there are maybe ten others that received serious consideration. This weight typically has young wrestlers who emerge early in their careers, so keep an eye out for Mendez, Moore, Jett Strickenberger, Sheldon Seymour, and Kyle Montaperto. One true freshman we aren’t waiting around on is Marc-Anthony McGowan, who looks to fill the shoes of 2023 NCAA champion Patrick Glory at Princeton. 133 lbs This weight was the best for the SoCon in 2022-23 and it should be again this season. It’s the only weight where we’ve projected three national qualifiers for the conference. With the bottom third of this weight being less stable than others, you may even see more from the SoCon. A theme in the next three weights is the options for Lehigh. We’re going with super freshman Ryan Crookham at 133, which bumps the two incumbents up, but we shall see! Also, be aware of a possible weight shift (in the opposite direction) for Indiana at 133. 141 lbs We’re banking on the ACC freshmen jumping in and making its 141 lb bracket even tougher than last season. Jack Gioffre had solid results while redshirting and Mac Church is a true freshman. He and fellow true freshman Hunter Mason are in the mix for the Hokies, while returner Tom Crook is still an option. However it shakes out, probably a good idea to pencil a Tech wrestler in at 141. We’re banking on a change of scenery and a less stringent schedule helping Jordan Decatur to get to the NCAA tournament for the first time at Kent State. Should our leap of faith with the ACC and Kent State not work out, there’s a pair of Big Ten wrestlers who could step in and qualify. 149 lbs This was the best weight in the MAC last year and most of those national qualifiers are back, giving them five qualifiers, which would be the best weight in the league. Additionally, there are three others from the MAC in the “Just Missed” category, so there’s plenty of talent there. Looking at the EIWA, Penn is expected to make a few changes from our rankings, which would bump Jude Swisher to 149 lbs. Little Rock is very high on their young talent and we have tabbed Kyle Dutton as one of those redshirt freshmen that could have a breakout campaign. 157 lbs The rankings do not include true freshmen until they actually take the mat so top recruit Meyer Shapiro wasn’t listed. He’s here at 157 lbs and we expect a huge year from him. Also in the EIWA, Lucas Revano is expected to drop down from 165 lbs. This happens to be the only weight class in the Big Ten where we’ve projected the league to send 11 wrestlers. That’s a lot, but at the same time, nine of them are ranked in the top-16, so that doesn’t seem like a far-fetched total. 165 lbs There isn’t a whole lot that stands out as unusual at this weight. NC State’s Derek Fields didn’t make the cut for preseason rankings, but NC State has a track record of coaching guys up, so it could happen here. The “Just Missed” list has three EIWA wrestlers, two of whom have qualified for nationals in the past, so there could be some shakes up on the East Coast. 174 lbs A handful of new faces bumped older, more established wrestlers out at 174 lbs. We’ve included true freshmen Brayden Thompson and Gabe Arnold. Both were highly-ranked wrestlers from the Class of 2023 who are capable of an immediate impact. From a redshirt freshman standpoint, the Big 12’s MJ Gaitan and Brody Conley are both ranked and showed promise last season. A veteran who wasn’t in the rankings, Travis Wittlake, did not announce his transfer to Oregon State at the time they were published. 184 lbs 184, like 125 lbs, is a weight with an inordinate amount of possible qualifiers considered. There are some legit names that didn’t even make the cut for “Just Missed.” Part of that is because of the faith we have in a trio of redshirt freshmen. James Rowley and Caden Rogers were not a part of the preseason rankings, but have a good pedigree, and should make an impact for their respective teams. Two-time U20 world medalist Bennett Berge, as well. 197 lbs This weight is pretty in-line with the rankings. One small addition was in the EIWA with Jack Wehmeyer. He changed weight mid-year and nearly made the tournament last season as a freshman. Of course, there could be a large elephant in the Iowa wrestling room at 197 lbs. Could 2021 NCAA champion AJ Ferrari join his brother, Anthony, and eventually, Angelo, in Iowa City? 285 lbs There’s definitely some good stuff at heavyweight. Nothing is set in stone regarding Iowa’s two-sport star Ben Kueter. If he does see the mat in 2023-24, even in a limited role, he’s a talented enough athlete and wrestler to qualify for nationals. Of course, we’re always wondering whether or not Gable Steveson will come back to the Gophers. For now, we have Garrett Joles in his place. One of their former teammates, Keaton Kluever, is tabbed to qualify though he wasn’t in the preseason rankings. Sticking with the Big Ten, Indiana has a pair of capable wrestlers at heavyweight. They could let Jacob Bullock redshirt while Nick Willham gets the call. This has the potential to be a good weight class for the MAC. Right now, we have two wrestlers included, but three others in the “Just Missed” category.

Recently, Rachel Gallardo had the opportunity to visit Arizona State University. She got to tour the campus and wrestling facilities and was able to speak to some of the Sun Devils team members. Below are the interviews from Rachel's trip to Tempe: 141 lber: Jesse Vasquez 141 lber: Emilio Ysaguirre 157 lber: Jacori Teemer Campus Tour

Northern Lebanon

Kiski Area

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 #41-45 #46-50 40) Michael Caliendo (Iowa) photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com Weight: 165 lbs Collegiate Achievements: 2023 NCAA 7th Place, 2023 Big 12 Third Place 2022 Top-50 Ranking: Not Ranked A 14-2 redshirt campaign hinted at the type of impact that Michael Caliendo may have had during the 2022-23 season, but even so, he probably exceeded most expectations. Caliendo started the year with eight straight wins, a span that included three victories over past national qualifiers. Just over a week after losing to Shane Griffith in the Southern Scuffle finals, Caliendo turned the tables and knocked off the 2021 national champion in dual action. The Griffith win propelled Caliendo to a ten-match winning streak which led to the Big 12 semifinals. He would end up third in a bracket that included a pair of past national champions. At his first NCAA Tournament, Caliendo rebounded from a second-round loss to reel off three straight wins, which locked up All-American status. He finished the tournament with a win over Northern Illinois’ Izzak Olejnik in the seventh-place bout. 2023-24 Outlook: After an offseason full of changes within the North Dakota State program, Caliendo and fellow All-American Jared Franek transferred to Iowa. The Hawkeyes unexpectedly needed relief at those two weights and Caliendo should more than adequately fill in (plus he has three years of eligibility). Now in the Big Ten, Caliendo will get high-caliber opponents on the regular and may not fly under the radar like he may have at times last season. He has a familiar face in Franek but also has the option of selecting from a handful of high-quality training partners. That could mean even more jumps for Caliendo in year two as a starter. Caliendo starts the year ranked fifth at 165 lbs, but some growth could mean more of a stern challenge for the two former conference opponents atop the weight. 39) Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina) photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com Weight: 141 lbs Collegiate Achievements: 2023 NCAA 4th Place, 2023 ACC Third Place 2022 Top-50 Ranking: Not Ranked After a greyshirt and a redshirt year, Lachlan McNeil was finally ready to hit the mat for UNC. McNeil had a slow start with a pair of losses in his first open tournament, but was extremely consistent for the remainder of the regular season. From November 20th until the beginning of February, McNeil won 15 of 16 matches, a span that included 12 straight wins. After taking third in a deep ACC weight class, McNeil was given the 10th seed at his first NCAA tournament. McNeil ended up outwrestling that seed by a wide margin after he finished in fourth place. The young Tar Heel made the quarterfinals after pulling a slight upset over EIWA champion Vince Cornella (Cornell) in the Round of 16; though it was his second win over Cornella. McNeil’s final two wins came over Big Ten All-American’s and the final one was at the expense of B1G runner-up Brock Hardy (Nebraska). 2023-24 Outlook: With 2023 NCAA champion Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) slated to take an Olympic redshirt, this weight class is pretty wide open. Alirez edged McNeil by two points in the NCAA quarterfinals. Once again, McNeil will have to contend with a loaded ACC bracket. Only two of his seven pre-NCAA losses came to opponents outside the conference. With the confidence gained by his NCAA run and more collegiate experience, will McNeil be able to flip some of those results? If so, he might be able to enjoy a less stringent NCAA path after receiving a higher seed. 38) Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com Weight: 133 lbs Collegiate Achievements: 2x NCAA All-American (6,7), 2021 ACC Champion 2022 Top-50 Ranking: Not Ranked The 2022-23 season marked the first appearance for Sam Latona at 133 lbs. He went from being one of the largest 125 lbers to being a huge 133 very quickly. Latona took some time to adjust on the mat, dropping a match in week one and then taking sixth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. In his first January dual, Latona scored his biggest win of the year, knocking off Vito Arujau (Cornell), 3-2. After March, that win looked even more impressive as Arujau dominated his way through nationals. The two met again in Tulsa and Latona provided Arujau with his closest match. Also at the Big Show, Latona avenged losses to a pair of conference foes. He downed Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) in the bloodround before defeating Kai Orine (NC State) in the seventh-place bout. 2023-24 Outlook: Latona starts the year ranked fourth at a top-heavy 133 lb weight class. Arujau and perennial title contender Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) occupy the top two spots. Latona may have the opportunity to see one or both at the CKLV Invitational, plus Virginia Tech is slated to dual Cornell. Suffice it to say, he’ll have ample opportunity to compete for a top ranking at the weight. With a full year under his belt at 133 lbs, I’d guess Latona has similar results from 2022-23, aside from the early-season lumps. 37) Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com Weight: 149 lbs Collegiate Achievements: 2023 NCAA 5th Place, 2023 ACC Champion 2022 Top-50 Ranking: Not Ranked One of only three true freshmen to earn All-American honors in 2023, Caleb Henson made his mark at a weight class that was filled with veterans. In his first collegiate dual, Henson was not phased and upset past national finalist Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) in sudden victory. Henson only lost three times during the regular season; however, he managed to reverse two of those outcomes at nationals in Tulsa. Seeded fourth, Henson was a second-round upset victim, yet he rebounded to win his next four bouts to claim a spot on the podium. Along the way, he downed Doug Zapf (Penn) and Brock Mauller (Missouri), both veterans who defeated him in the regular season. To reserve a spot in the top eight, Henson had to defeat 2021 NCAA third-place finisher Yahya Thomas (Northwestern). 2023-24 Outlook: So we’ve established that even a loss or two won’t rattle Henson. Coming off an All-American showing and ranked fourth in the nation, we’ll see how Henson responds to being a favorite rather than a freshman with nothing to lose. 149 lbs is perhaps the most wide-open weight class this year following collegiate legend Yianni Diakomihalis wrapping up his career in 2023. That bodes well for Henson as many coaches have said that the biggest strides a collegiate wrestler takes is between years one and two. 36) Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) Weight: 157 lbs Collegiate Achievements: 2x All-American (4th, 6th), 3x Pac-12 Champion 2022 Top-50 Ranking: #40 Around this time last year, we expected two-time All-American Jacori Teemer to be one of the title contenders at a 157 lb weight class that was without both finalists from 2022. That never materialized as Teemer suffered a season-ending injury before he ever wrestled an official match. Teemer heading into this year hungry and sporting a 52-11 career mark that includes All-American finishes each time he’s wrestled in a national tournament. In his most recent NCAA tournament, Teemer defeated Jared Franek (North Dakota State/Iowa) to make the semifinals. 2023-24 Outlook: You have to go back a few years now but Teemer has wins over several of the top contenders at this weight. Without two-time champion Austin O’Connor (North Carolina) around, it seems rather wide-open. If Teemer is back to his pre-injury form, there’s no reason why he couldn’t win this weight. Despite some notable losses, with Teemer back and contending, he could be a huge reason why Arizona State is back in the NCAA trophy discussion.

On preseason episode two of "Big 12 Breakdown," James Hackney looks at his second tier of teams in the conference; Individual Title Contenders. He'll focus on teams with superstars that could end up challenging for national titles: Air Force, Northern Colorado, and Northern Iowa. Here's the full article outlining the different tiers. For the full episode Click Here For part one Click Here

Woodward Academy

Nazareth

Central Cabarrus

Fountain Valley

Belmont Hill

St. Francis DeSales

Drew Gorman photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com Earlier this summer, on his show “The First World” InterMat’s and MatScouts aficionado Willie Saylor mentioned how recruiting commitments from the Class of 2025 seemed to be slower than normal. That was the case at the time, but within the last couple of weeks, commitments from current high school juniors have really picked up. It makes sense many have taken multiple official visits by this point or maybe just the one that resonated with them. The recent run on verbals from the Class of 2025 started Friday evening as New Jersey state champion Alessio Perentin (Delbarton, NJ) committed to Cornell. Over the weekend another prominent domino fell as #51 Drew Gorman (Buford, GA) committed to Virginia Tech. Gorman is a three-time Fargo All-American, taking third in 2022 in Junior freestyle, and an NHSCA Sophomore national champion earlier this year. Gorman likely projects as a 141 lber for the Hokies. Virginia Tech has a pair of true freshmen that could vie for the starting role in 2023-24 (Mac Church/Hunter Mason), though they could shift weights following this year. Gorman isn’t the only wrestler in the Class of 2025 who has recently committed to the Hokies. New Jersey state third-place finisher, Ryan Burton (St. Joseph’s Regional, NJ) got the recent run started after a huge recruiting weekend for the Hokies two weeks ago. Yesterday, Missouri got into the act as they kept one of the top juniors in the state at home. Peyton Westpfahl (Liberty, MO) is a three-time Fargo All-American himself, as he was seventh in Junior freestyle this summer. He was fifth and seventh in the 16U division in the two previous years. In his first two years of high school, Westpfahl was a state finalist and a fifth-place finisher. This summer, Westpfahl competed at 182 lbs in Fargo, so he’s projected at 184/197 lbs for the Tigers. Missouri has some young talent at 184, but could use help at 197 as three-time All-American Rocky Elam will be out of eligibility after the 2024-25 season. Perentin wasn’t the only junior upperweight from New Jersey to commit to the Big Red over the last few days either. He’ll be joined by Rocco Dellagatta (St. Joseph’s Regional, NJ) who was a fourth-place finisher at 175 lbs last season. Dellagatta had a huge weight jump in the offseason, but it didn’t hamper his production. He was third at 110 kg in UWW Cadet freestyle and fourth in Junior freestyle in Fargo (285 lbs). Pittsburgh also got into the act with a pair of notable commitments. Two-time New Jersey state placewinner, Carson Walsh (Pope John XXIII, NJ) is currently ranked #94 in the Class of 2025. He finished third at the Beast of the East last year and is a Fargo 16U All-American in freestyle. Walsh will be joined in the Class of 2025 by local product, Bode Marlow (Thomas Jefferson, PA). Marlow did not place at the Pennsylvania AAA tournament last year, but he did take eighth place in UWW Cadet freestyle competing at 71 kg. At one point this summer, Marlow was on MatScouts Big Board. Walsh projects at 141 lbs, while Marlow could be up at 165. Not traditionally known as a recruiting power, Brown University received its fourth verbal commitment from the Class of 2025. The latest addition to Brown’s recruiting class was Braedon Welsh (Fort Cherry, PA). Welsh was a fourth-place finisher in Pennsylvania’s AA class at 172 lbs during the 2023-24 season. To date, Welsh’s best national-level credential is a fifth-place finish at NHSCA Freshman Nationals in 2022. Head coach Jordan Leen and his staff have put together a 2025 class that features two Big Boarder’s and a third wrestler that was on a previous Big Board. The rest of the Ivy League has been put on notice! For all of the recruiting information on InterMat, check out our College Commitment page.

Wilton

Miamisburg