InterMat Staff

Lake Highland Prep

The Wolfpack added their fifth straight ACC Championship and a share of the ACC dual title last season and are looking to add to the trophy collection with a very dangerous lineup. It is a big compliment to Coach Popolizio and crew regarding their recruiting that they never seem to have any “holes” in their lineup. They mix experienced starters with talented newcomers and seem to consistently have a balanced team that is dangerous in both duals and tournaments. There will be some new faces in the lineup this year between redshirts and weight shifts but I don’t expect any dropoff from the Pack. They enter the season with nine ranked wrestlers, with six of those ranked in the top 10. TOP RETURNERS Jakob Camacho: Two-time ACC champ is returning from a redshirt year. Kai Orine: Orine was one of the top stories of the postseason last year. He punched through to the ACC finals by knocking off Sam Latona, then put the fans in Reynolds on their feet with a pin of Micky Phillipi in sudden victory to win his first ACC title. He continued that momentum into Tulsa on his way to an eighth-place finish and his first All-American honors. The coaches have always spoken very highly of Kai, it was great to see his breakthrough onto the national scene. Ryan Jack: Jack had a solid regular season, going 19-2 with his only losses to Cole Matthews and Brock Hardy; who he also beat earlier in the year. He made a second-straight ACC final, falling to Matthews 2-1. He went 1-2 at the NCAA tournament. Jackson Arrington: Arrington had a fantastic freshman season and immediately established himself as an All-American contender. Arrington went 23-9 on the season with 8 of those losses to All-Americans--Jon Millner (x2), Kyle Parco, Yahya Thomas, Caleb Henson (x2), Brock Mauller and Yianni Diakomihalis. He was 4-1 in ACC duals, only losing to Henson and made the ACC finals, again falling to Henson. He made a solid run in Tulsa but fell in the bloodround to Brock Mauller. It is going to be amazing to watch Arrington and Henson battle again to be at the top of the ACC--with both of them being true freshmen last year, there is a good chance we will see several years of this. Ed Scott: Coming off an impressive 2021-22 season, Scott broke through last season to become an All-American. He went 24-9 on the year, with 8 of those losses to All-Americans--Austin O’Connor, Bryce Andonian (x2), Will Lewan, Josh Humphreys (x2), and Peyton Robb (x2). Scott fell in the semifinals at the ACC tournament to Bryce Andonian, in a weight that contained NCAA Champion Austin O’Connor. Scott had a wild run in Tulsa, going 6-2 on his way to a 5th place finish. Scott will again have to contend with Bryce Andonian to get back to the top of the ACC, it has been a fun, back-and-forth rivalry to watch over the last two years. I'm looking forward to another year of it. Trent Hidlay: The three-time All-American will be bumping up a weight for his final run at the top of the podium. Hidlay is a three-time ACC Champion and four-time finalist and has placed 2nd, 4th, and 5th at the NCAA tournament. He is widely known to be one of the top wrestlers in the country at 184…now he is out to leave his mark at 197. Over the past three years, Hidlay has a record of 55-7, with five of those losses coming at the NCAA tournament to three different wrestlers. Kaleb Romero, and Parker Keckeisen both knocked Hidlay off at NCAAs, but he also holds wins over them in the regular and postseason. Aaron Brooks, however, has three wins over Hidlay that have not been avenged; in the finals in 2021 and the semifinals in 2022 and 2023. The good news is, Brooks is also moving up to 197 this season so Hidlay still has the opportunity to beat Brooks to get his NCAA title and what a storybook ending that would be for a phenomenal career. Owen Trephan: Trephan had a great year last year (despite cutting off his luxurious hair…) and captured the ACC title. He was 23-5 on the year and 4-0 in the ACC en route to beating Jonah Niesenbaum to win his first ACC championship. He went 2-2 at the NCAA tournament, with both losses to All-Americans. Trephan will enter as the likely favorite for the ACC title but will have some new challengers seeking the throne. KEY DEPARTURES The Wolfpack only had three seniors last year; Hunter Lewis, Alex Faison and Tyrie Houghton; however, Faison will be back in the lineup this season as a starter at 174. The biggest changes to the lineup this season will be related to redshirts and weight shifts. With Trent Hidlay moving up to 197, Isaac Trumble will utilize his redshirt year. Matty Singleton will likely also redshirt this year as he ended up as the starter for the back half of the season during his freshman year. Derek Fields and Alex Faison will be the likely starters at 165 and 174, respectively. NEWCOMERS Dylan Fishback Fishback was a top-10 pound-for-pound recruit coming out of high school and has an incredibly high ceiling. He went 15-6 as a redshirt, including a seventh-place finish at Midlands and a 1-0 record in ACC duals. The coaching staff has been very high on Fishback both with his ability on the mat and his leadership off the mat. Fishback also captured the U23 World Team spot and will compete in Finland at the end of October. A full year of training in the NCST room and a lot of time working with Trent Hidlay is going to make Fishback an immediate contender to be on the podium in Kansas City. WRESTLER TO WATCH Jakob Camacho Camacho returns to the lineup after taking a redshirt last year to rehab from a knee injury and surgery. He is a three-time ACC Finalist and two-time ACC Champion in 2020 and 2022; he is a three-time NCAA qualifier. He was an ACC Champion in 2020 and was positioned well for the NCAA tournament before it was canceled. In 2021, he dropped a tight match to Sam Latona (VT) in TB1 in the ACC finals, but made a run in the NCAA tournament before falling in the bloodround. In 2022, Camacho got revenge on Latona, winning 3-1 to take his second ACC title; he went 2-2 in Detroit, making the round of 16. Taking a year to get healthy seems to have been great for Camacho. I’ve spoken with him and when watching him in the room, he seems refreshed and refocused on making the podium in Kansas City. He won’t have to go through Latona to win an ACC title this year, but will have new challengers, including All-American Eddie Ventresca, looking to knock him off. REDSHIRT REPORT Troy Hohman (125) 10-5 Jacob Cox (133) 10-2 Aaron Faison (157) 7-5 Dylan Fishback (184) 15-6 1-0 ACC Duals Chase Horne (285) 17-5 TOP OUT-OF-CONFERENCE DUAL The Wolfpack will head back to Italy for a second dual against Oklahoma State, this time in Sicily. Coach Popolizio squared off with his former coach John W. Smith in the first iteration of this dual in 2018, a tight 19-16 win for the Cowboys in the first NCAA dual held outside of North America. While there will be some fantastic individual matchups, this dual favors the Wolfpack on paper. The out-of-conference dual I am most excited about is a late-season matchup when Cornell will visit Reynolds Coliseum. This will be a top-10 team battle with ranked matches up and down the lineup. Look at some of these matchups and tell me you’re not excited!?! 133: #5 Kai Orine v #1 Vito Arujau 141: #10 Ryan Jack v #14 Vince Cornella 157: #5 Ed Scott v Meyer Shapiro 184: #28 Dylan Fishback v #8 Jonathan Loew 197: #5 Trent Hidlay v #6 Jacob Cardenas 285: #8 Owen Trephan v #11 Lewis Fernandes This has the potential to be a very tight, back-and-forth dual in what will be a very rowdy Reynolds. Count me in. POTENTIAL LINEUP NC State #9 Tournament #6 Dual 125: #12 Jakob Camacho (RS) 2x ACC Champion - 3x ACC Finalist - 3x NCAA Qualifier (R12) Jarrett Trombley 15-8 4-0 ACC - ACC Champion - 2x NCAA Qualifier 133: #5 Kai Orine 18-8 4-1 ACC - ACC Champion - All-American (8th) - 2x NCAA Qualifier 141: #10 Ryan Jack 21-5 4-1 ACC - 2x ACC Finalist - 2x NCAA Qualifier 149: #8 Jackson Arrington 23-9 4-1 ACC - ACC Finalist - NCAA Qualifier (R12) 157: #5 Ed Scott 24-9 3-2 ACC - ACC Champion (2022) - 2x ACC Finalist- All-American (5th) 2x NCAA Qualifier (R12, 5th) 165: Derek Fields 10-8 0-1 ACC 174: #22 Alex Faison 16-9 4-1 ACC - ACC Finalist - NCAA Qualifier 184: #28 Dylan Fishback 15-6 (RS) 1-0 ACC 197: #5 Trent Hidlay 24-3 4-0 ACC - 3x ACC Champion - 4x NCAA Qualifier - 3x All-American (2, 5, 4) - NWCA All-American 2020 285: #8 Owen Trephan 23-5 4-0 ACC - ACC Champion - NCAA Qualifier (R16)

Ryan Money’s path to college at the University of Maryland is anything but ordinary. He is applying his unique experiences as an undergrad athlete and the National Guard as a Private First-Class (PFC) to the classrooms at Maryland. Money was originally looking for an ROTC program. They have the same application process for tuition assistance. When he originally applied, he was denied. So, National Guard it was. There are two options the National Guard gave Money. They have a state tuition waiver which pays one-fourth of the tuition of a part-time student. The other part is through a website called Army Ignite Ed. which pays for another one-fourth of tuition. A native of Gambrills, MD., about thirty minutes from campus, Money came to Maryland on a GI Bill. The GI Bill came first, followed by a visit to College Park to meet wrestling coach Alex Clemsen. By the end of the trip, Money had settled on Maryland. The University of Maryland is a state school, so Money could use his waivers along with other benefits. “It was the best option for me to come here,” said Money. “The team atmosphere is amazing. We’re a family. When I came in, I was instantly accepted. Everyone works together. We are all getting beat up together in a way, so it brings us closer together.” Before his wrestling career got started at Maryland, Money starred at the Severn School, 2022 MIAA (Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association) Champion, a 2022 State Runner-Up, and was also a soccer player. He is currently in the Letter and Sciences program and looking to switch to Computer Sciences. Now in his true freshman year at Maryland, Money said the lessons learned while wrestling carry over to the classroom. “So, I started wrestling pretty much as soon as I was born. My dad (Mike) was a wrestler. I wrestled until third grade and quit. I picked it back up in seventh grade. Wrestling has taught me discipline. That’s the biggest thing.” Being a Division One athlete and being a part of the National Guard helps balance out the hard work. “We (Maryland Wrestling) talk about it here (Maryland) a lot. Working out day in and day out, repeating the process, is not something everyone is able to do every day.” Money plans to take both schedules and communicate with both sides meaning when competition comes up, he can make up his National Guard duties during the week. The military only pays for four years of schooling, so if Money was looking to expand his eligibility, that’s a coaching conversation. Money still has a few years left of school, so his plans after graduation are up in the air. “My contract is six years long. I haven’t decided if I want to do something with the military or get a different job in my major.” The University of Maryland is located in College Park, MD. “Getting food is the best part about living not just in College Park, but even in my hometown. There are so many good food places. That is what I spend some of my time doing.” “Serving our country is maybe the most honorable thing you can do. Ryan is a great kid, not surprised that he is called to that. However, the balance of life, service, school, and sport that Ryan is currently juggling is really impressive when you take a moment and really look at everything he is doing. So thankful for his and all those who sacrifice, answering that call to keep our country free. I sleep well at night knowing young men and women like Ryan exist throughout all the branches of our military today,” stated Head Coach Alex Clemsen. The Terps wrestling squad is led by head coach Alex Clemsen, assistant coaches Nick Brascetta, Devin Mellon, and Elijah Oliver. Money will compete at 165 pounds for the 2023-2024 season.

SPIRE Academy

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. 50) Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) photo courtesy of Amirrez Aliasgari/UWW Weight: 157 lbs Collegiate Achievements: None 2022 Top 50 Ranking: Not Ranked We haven’t had a true freshman make the top 50 in either of the previous two years of this feature, so this may look unusual to some people. The current landscape of wrestling is that true freshmen are more equipped to come in and compete for high spots on the NCAA podium in year one than ever before. In 2023, three true freshmen found the podium, led by Levi Haines (Penn State) at 157 lbs. Coincidentally, Meyer Shapiro is also expected to compete at that weight during the 2023-24 season. Over the summer, Shapiro captured his second age-group world title after outscoring his competition 46-10 across five matches. To make the team, Shapiro shut out Nebraska’s redshirt freshman Antrell Taylor in two back-to-back matches. 2023-24 Outlook: There was some discussion about where Shapiro would slot into the Cornell lineup, 149 or 157. It now appears that 157 is the answer and it makes sense after competing at 70 kg (154 lbs) during the summer. It may seem presumptuous to anoint Shapiro one of the top-50 wrestlers for this season; however, he was the top-ranked wrestler in the Class of 2023 and he’s already spent significant time in the Cornell room. Remember, Cornell knows a thing or two about getting great production from a true freshman (ie. Diakomihalis, Yianni and Dake, Kyle). 157 happens to be a bit of an open weight class after the departure of two-time champion Austin O’Connor. 49) Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com Weight: 125 lbs Collegiate Achievements: 2023 NCAA All-American (4th), 2x MAC Champion 2022 Top 50 Ranking: Not Ranked During his two years at Lock Haven, Anthony Noto has amassed a 65-7 record and claimed a pair of MAC titles to go along with his fourth-place finish at the 2023 NCAA Championships. Noto entered Tulsa on an 18-match winning streak, one he’d extend until 20, before losing to three-time national champion Spencer Lee (Iowa). Noto was able to scare the Iowa star along the way. He’d lock up a spot on the NCAA podium with a 3-1 victory over Rutgers' Dean Peterson. After his bloodround win, Noto also downed returning AA Killian Cardinale (West Virginia) and third-seeded Liam Cronin (Nebraska) to wrestle in the third-place bout. 2023-24 Outlook: Noto enters the 2023-24 campaign ranked second in the land at 125 lbs. With no returning national champion at the weight, Noto has as good of a shot as anyone at bringing home a title in March. The only wrestler ranked ahead of him, 2023 NCAA Runner-up Matt Ramos (Purdue), has not squared off with Noto during collegiate competition; however, a match between the two could be high-scoring. Right off the bat, Noto could meet the wrestler ranked directly below him in #3 Richie Figueroa (Arizona State). Figueroa’s teammate, Brandon Courtney, downed Noto in the NCAA third-place bout in Tulsa and Figueroa was undefeated during his 2022-23 season. Coming out of the MAC, I’d expect Noto to enter the postseason with another sparkling record and put himself in position to contend for a national title. 48) Ed Scott (NC State) photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com Weight: 157 lbs Collegiate Achievements: 2023 NCAA 5th Place, 2022 ACC Champion 2022 Top 50 Ranking: Not Ranked Ed Scott has quickly become one of the most exciting wrestlers to watch in the country. He’s always capable of ending the match from virtually any position. During the 2022-23 season, Scott logged eight falls, with the most high-profile coming over conference rival Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) in the NCAA consolation quarterfinals. Scott would go on to finish fifth for his first All-American honor. A match prior, he downed Pac-12 champion Daniel Cardenas (Stanford) in sudden victory to clinch a spot in the top eight. During the regular season, Scott finished third at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and garnered wins over four eventual NCAA qualifiers along the way. 2023-24 Outlook: Last year, Scott was in a rough ACC weight class that featured two other All-Americans. One of those, Austin O’Connor, is gone which opens up the bracket ACC-wise and nationally. He’ll still have to contend with longtime rival, Andonian, and the fans are the big winners whenever those two clash. Scott starts the year ranked right above Andonian (#5) and is capable of downing anyone he comes across. One of the most interesting bouts on Scott’s potential schedule this year takes place during the second to last weekend of the regular season as NC State takes on Cornell. The Big Red boast top-freshman #50 Meyer Shapiro. By that time, we should have a better gauge of just how good Shapiro is. Scott, we know, has progressively gotten better each year in Raleigh. With another year under his belt, he could be a title threat. 47) Will Lewan (Michigan) photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com Weight: 157 lbs Collegiate Achievements: 2x NCAA All-American (5th, 8th), 2022 Big Ten Runner-Up, 2023 Big Ten 3rd 2022 Top 50 Ranking: 2022 (#32) One of the more consistent figures in the Michigan lineup, Will Lewan made the NCAA podium for a second time in 2023 and finished in the top-three at the Big Ten Championships once again. In 2021-22, Lewan made the Big Ten finals and would advance to the NCAA semifinals as the eighth seed. At his most recent national tournament, Lewan was seeded in a similar spot (9th) and knocked off the ninth seed, Ed Scott, in the Round of 16. He secured his second consecutive All-American berth by downing Cael Swenson (South Dakota State) 7-4 in the bloodround. 2023-24 Outlook: Lewan enters the 2023-24 season ranked seventh at 157 lbs; however, he does own career wins over three wrestlers currently above him. The Michigan man is known for his defensive prowess and his comfort in close matches. Over the past two years, Lewan has gone 11-4 in matches that extended into sudden victory or tiebreakers. Since he wrestles so many close bouts, there’s a chance that Lewan could pull a few timely upsets or fall victim himself. He’s fully capable of stringing a few of those upsets together and coming out on top in Kansas City. Lewan’s already proven on two occasions that he can outwrestle his seed at nationals. 46) Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) Weight: 184 lbs Collegiate Achievements: 2x NCAA 6th Place, 2x Big 12 Champion 2022 Top 50 Ranking: #37 2022-23 was another fine campaign for Oklahoma State’s Dustin Plott. Like the previous season, Plott finished the year in sixth place at nationals. He started the year off with nine straight wins, a streak that included a title at the Southern Scuffle. During the regular season, Plott lost four total matches; however, he was able to avenge two of those in the postseason. One came in the Big 12 finals as he dropped Peyton Mocco to capture his second straight Big 12 championship. Plott also downed Mocco in the finals of the 2023 Southern Scuffle. 2023-24 Outlook: After spending the first three years of his career at 174 lbs, Plott is slated to move up to 184 lbs for the upcoming season. That means that Plott could have dual meetings with two of the three wrestlers (#1 Parker Keckeisen - Northern Iowa and #3 Trey Munoz - Oregon State) currently ranked above him. With Keckeisen in the Big 12, he could have multiple matches with the favorite before getting to the NCAA Tournament. Plott has had long stretches of his career impacted by injuries (which he’s wrestled through), so the move up to 184 lbs could be better on his body and make for a more dynamic offensive output, which may be scary for the rest of the Big 12.

Woodbury

Green Farms Academy

Fresh off of his article detailing the different tiers of the Big 12 Conference, James Hackney is back with a new, regular show he'll release through the 2023-24 season called the "Big 12 Breakdown." In the preseason edition, James will go into more detail about each team, their returning stars, new faces (athletes or coaches) and any other important miscellaneous information regarding those particular teams. In part one of his preseason previews, James looks at California Baptist, Utah Valley, Wyoming, and North Dakota State. Here's the full video (no paywall) from James and be on the lookout for part two!

Malvern

Del Oro

St. Joseph's Regional

Rumson Fair Haven

A coach doesn’t stop coaching, does he? Even far removed from the wrestling room and nowhere near wrestlers, Zach Tanelli couldn’t help himself. I saw this firsthand during my recent visit to Columbia University within minutes of stepping foot on campus. Tanelli met me just before 10AM, so the entire campus was filled with students heading to or from classes. We headed over to an outdoor elevator to make our way down to the Dodge Fitness Center, home of the Andrew F. Barth Wrestling Room. Since real estate in Upper Manhattan is extremely valuable many athletic offices and on-campus facilities are underground. An outdoor elevator that the majority of students walk by without a second thought and reminds me of the old TV show (or movie) Get Smart, is our mode of transportation. Tanelli would later tell me that the underground tunnels currently used by the school and athletic department were important during the Manhattan Project. Tanelli and I got into the elevator along with two student-athletes, presumably from the women’s swim or dive team. One of them was slumped against the elevator wall and sighed, “Man, I don’t wanna go to practice.” Tanelli couldn’t help himself. In a sharp voice that shows hints of his New Jersey roots, Tanelli says, “You can’t say that. You’ve gotta love practice. One day you’ll be working an office job and think how you’d give anything just to have another practice.” The girl reluctantly responded, “Yeah, I know.” Her teammate jumped in and added, “We’ll be fine when we get to the pool and hit the water.” Even though those were not his student-athletes, Tanelli had to jump in and try to work some of his coaching psychology; honed as an assistant coach at Hofstra and Purdue, before getting hired to lead the Columbia program in July of 2016. A recurring theme during my visit, one that the swimmers saw firsthand, is that Tanelli is an open book. He reiterated that multiple times during the day. That characteristic is key to the culture of this Columbia team. Without prompting, the first four wrestlers I interviewed after their morning RTC workout, mentioned the excellent culture on this 2023-24 team. Veterans mentioned how it has drastically improved throughout their tenure. Later in the day, I tell Tanelli this and while appreciative, he refuses to take the bulk of the credit for overseeing this growth. He’s quick to credit the wrestlers on the team and how they maintain and foster this team chemistry. The culture and chemistry starts during the recruiting process with Columbia. Tanelli’s “open book” policy has him and his staff very up-front about expectations during the recruiting phase. The current wrestlers, the ones that host and interact most with potential recruits are also very frank with Tanelli about how a potential recruit may fit in with the current team. With Columbia being an Ivy League school, Tanelli says, “Most people expect us to have a certain type of Ivy League student-athlete. We appeal less to the bow-tie crowd and more to the blue-collar crowd. Our team is full of really gritty kids that happen to be among the smartest in the entire world.” The Lion wrestling squad may have some of the smartest kids in the world, but at the end of the day, they’re like most other wrestling teams in the country. After I walk into the wrestling room and Tanelli gives a quick pre-practice talk, they engage in a warm-up that consists of handball. As you would expect, it can get heated, in a friendly, yet intense manner. During the handful of mini-games, it becomes evident that one of the veterans, 2023 NCAA qualifier Lennox Wolak, and Tanelli have one of those friendly rivalries. There’s constant chatter between the two whenever their teams square off. Later, during the workout when talking wrestling technique, Tanelli claims, “You do this and you’ll be stuck in fourth place…..like Lennox’s team.” Post-workout, I mentioned to Tanelli how Wolak came up after I was done with my interviews to ask me about my background and talk about his future. He quickly won me over with his outgoing personality, but also his genuine nature. Tanelli agreed and said how the two intensely compete at any activity they can find. While they could team up and win, they both get a weird satisfaction at beating (or losing to) the other. Jaime Franco leading the team through a workout The workout itself was one that newly hired assistant coach Jaime Franco led, focusing on top/bottom work. Franco and Tanelli go back to Hofstra together. Tanelli says that Franco, while competing for the Pride, had a maturity that led to everyone calling him “Coach” long before he was officially one. Since it’s an RTC workout, the Columbia Women’s Club also practices. Emma Randall puts her young women through the paces. Normally, they tend to do similar workouts; however, since it was a top/bottom day, there wasn’t much use for them to participate in riding drills when wrestling freestyle. Seeing the women’s club wrestling alongside the college team was a nice sight. Many programs talk about helping grow the sport on the women’s side, but this one shares mat space with them. As the workout winds down, the team focuses on :30 second live go’s on the mat. Once the bottom man escapes, he’s done for the day. As can be the case, one freshman struggles with the task. So much so that Tanelli is going through his post-workout talk as the young man is still fighting to get out from the bottom and redoing his : 30-second go’s. Eventually, he gets it and joins the team. Related to that situation with the freshman, Tanelli addresses a few of his teammates. “When he was struggling on the bottom. After the drill was over, you guys were whispering in his ear. I love you guys and you’re good for doing it, but stop! You can’t do that in a match, I can’t do that in a match. He’s gonna have to figure it out on his own. We want to fail here, so we don’t fail out in a match. We have a great culture and there’s a time to pick up your teammate and a time to not do it.” The moment was kind of harsh for a group of good teammates who were trying to pick up a struggling brother. But, after thinking about it, wrestling is a harsh sport. Many, many freshmen struggle the most from the bottom. The “warm-fuzzy” approach is probably best after practice or before another workout, not on the mat itself. Zach Tanelli addressing the team post-practice As Tanelli finishes with his lesson regarding the freshman, RTC athlete Anthony Ashnault asks if he can chime in. Ashnault tells the team about his true freshman year at Rutgers. Despite developing the reputation as one of the better mat wrestlers of his era, Ashnault says it was “December before he was getting out on bottom.” He claimed to have cried and pouted after practices wondering if he’d ever be able to consistently get out. With a 2019 NCAA title under his belt, semi-local ties, and a collegiate career recent enough that these team members likely followed, Ashnault has the street cred to get through to the squad. I didn’t realize it initially, but I got to see Tanelli’s “open book” attitude along with his team’s culture on display for my own eyes. Many teams and coaches may preach these traits, but don’t always apply them. As I prepped for the visit, one question I was looking to answer was “Where is the team’s mindset after a strong 2022-23 season?” Columbia sent a program-high six wrestlers to the 2023 NCAA Tournament, had eight EIWA placewinners, and established a new program-high for points at the EIWA Tournament. They also have a preseason national ranking for the first time. Tanelli and a handful of team members are quick to acknowledge last year’s accomplishments, but also have higher goals this year and in the future. Columbia is located in the Upper Manhattan neighborhood of Morningside Heights. The main campus spans over six city blocks; however, once on campus, you almost forget you’re in New York City. As we’re walking away from the famous Low Memorial Library, Tanelli, who knows I’m a baseball fan, points out an area that used to be the baseball field. He points to some building in the distance and says how “Lou Gehrig used to hit dingers off those.” The Iron Horse played for two years at Columbia before going on to a Hall of Fame career with the Yankees. The famous "Tom's" Earlier in the morning, as I was circling the area looking for a parking garage, I hit a red light. It turned out to be perfect timing as “Tom’s Restaurant” was facing me. I snapped a picture because it looked familiar, I felt like I knew it from somewhere. Later on, I’d confirm that it was the diner used for exterior shots while filming “Seinfeld.” The string of unexpected, welcome coincidences continued after lunch and walking around campus with Tanelli. As we got back to his office to record our interview, US Women’s Freestyle National Team Head Coach Terry Steiner stopped by. He wasn’t in town for business, as he was assisting his daughter who recently moved into the city. With some free time, he figured he’d quickly drop in. When you’re in New York City, I guess those types of situations are commonplace. “Hey, that's where a Yankee legend used to play, look a restaurant from an iconic TV show, and one of the most important figures in USA Wrestling.” It's all just another day following the nation’s oldest collegiate wrestling program, one that could be on its way to becoming a new power in the Ivy League and beyond. Below are our interviews from the visit: Head Coach Zach Tanelli 125 lber Nick Babin 133 lber Angelo Rini 149 lber Richard Fedalen 165 lber Joshua Ogunsanya 174 lber Lennox Wolak

Earlier this afternoon, the Big Ten announced its conference dual schedule for the 2023-24 season. The Big Ten is typically the last conference to release schedules as they typically have to work around many of the same venues for basketball and because of broadcast plans. The B1G Wrestling Twitter (X?) account did a good job with a handy graphic that can serve as a master schedule. After a glance or two at the master schedule and perusing some of the Big Ten schedules that have been posted here are seven immediate reactions. Shane Griffith versus Carter Starocci - January 19th in Ann Arbor The Big Ten added a past national champion as Shane Griffith joined the Michigan team as a graduate transfer. Griffith is expected to move up from his customary 165 lb weight class to compete at 174 for the Wolverines. A new face at a new weight makes for some interesting potential matchups. First and foremost is against three-time national champion Carter Starocci of Penn State. The two are slated to battle in the second week of the conference schedule on a Friday night. It’s possible that two could scrap at the conference tournament and nationals too. Another key bout for Griffith in his new conference would be a week later against All-American Carson Kharchla (Ohio State). The two wrestled at the 2021 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and Griffith prevailed, 5-4. #1 Penn State @ #8 Iowa - February 9th It feels weird typing an eight next two Iowa’s name and after a few weeks of the actual season, I’d expect new starters to emerge and that ranking to improve. Anyhow, the Penn State/Iowa dual had been the most anticipated of the college season for quite some time. While Iowa (or anyone else for that matter) may have trouble seriously threatening Penn State, this still will be a fun dual. Without anyone else emerging, we’ll have highly-ranked bouts at 141/149/157/165 and possibly more. This dual would be more than a month after the football season ends, so could we see U20 World Champion Ben Kueter (Iowa) take on top-ranked Greg Kerkvliet at 285 lbs? Big Ten Championships at Maryland I don’t know if it was a big secret or not, but Maryland will host the 2024 Big Ten Championships on March 9th and 10th. It hasn’t been widely talked about so, there it is for everyone to see. This will be the first time that the Terps Xfinity Center has played host to the tournament as Maryland was added to the conference before the 2014-15 season. On a personal level, I love that the tournament is headed to Maryland. On a good day with minimal DC traffic, the campus is about an hour away from me. Talk about a home-field advantage. Maryland will be a great host for the tournament. The College Park campus is about 12 miles away from the Washington DC line, so there’s plenty to do for fans and families before and after sessions. The venue itself is about 20 years old (but doesn’t look that old) and has a seating capacity that is more similar to an NCAA venue (17k) than a conference tournament. With close proximity to Pennsylvania and New Jersey, along with DC as a tourist attraction, oh yeah, and the deepest conference tournament field in the nation, I’d expect most of those 17,000 seats to be occupied. Purdue - Toughest Friday/Sunday road trip 1/19 @ Iowa, 1/21 @ Nebraska The award for the toughest Friday/Sunday road trip goes to Purdue, who travels to #8 Iowa on a Friday night and #5 Nebraska two days later. They’re the only team that has two duals of that caliber away on the same weekend. It will be fun to see 125 lb national runner-up, Matt Ramos, in Carver-Hawkeye Arena about ten months after he shocked the wrestling world by upsetting three-time national champion Spencer Lee. Monday Night…..Wrestling? Two duals are set for Mondays. Minnesota @ Iowa 1/15, Rutgers @ Penn State 2/12 Sure, why not! I know a lot of wrestling fans who are happy to see duals on days other than Friday-Sunday. Even with multiple devices/TV’s and whatever else you use to consume wrestling, Friday nights can get crowded with a bunch of good action. This year the Big Ten has a pair of high-quality duals on Monday with Minnesota/Iowa and Rutgers/Penn State. Nothing says “Monday Night Wrestling” like a potential Brian Soldano/Bernie Truax clash that is sure to light up the scoreboard. Virginia Duals delays Wisconsin’s conference schedule Unfortunately, Big Ten scheduling has hurt the Virginia Duals and, in recent years, B1G schools have tended to avoid the event as it’s the first week of conference dual season. Maryland is a team that was at the VA Duals in each of the last two years. This season, Wisconsin is going. Therefore, the Badgers conference schedule doesn’t get underway until a week later (1/21) when they host Ohio State. So, while you may look at the master schedule and assume Chris Bono’s team has a week off before hitting the meat of their schedule, they will likely wrestle four duals that weekend. Michigan gets to run the gauntlet With 14 teams and an unbalanced schedule, there’s usually a team or two that gets a Big Ten conference dual schedule that is more lopsided than the rest of its competitors. This year it’s Michigan. This year, Michigan is the only school that hits #1 Penn State, #5 Nebraska, #7 Ohio State, and #8 Iowa in dual action. Those are also the top-five Big Ten teams in InterMat’s preseason dual rankings (Michigan checks in at #9). What’s the saying about iron sharpening iron? I’m sure you won’t hear excuses from Sean Bormet as he’ll relish the opportunity to compete against some of the nation’s top teams.

LaSalle

West Hancock

Finally! We’ve made it to Part 2 of the B1G Scouting Report! I trust you’ve been counting the minutes until this dropped, and probably re-read Part 1 a couple of times by now. Regardless of what coping skills you practiced, you’ve made it. The wait is over. In this installment, I will be covering the remaining 21 wrestlers from the B1G who were either All-Americans last season, or wrestled in the Bloodround. If you somehow missed the first part, you can check that out here. If you did read part 1, feel free to skip to the wrestlers, or refresh your memory on the categories and scoring below. Just as before, let’s keep in mind that this is supposed to be a fun exercise. It’s largely subjective. It’s me making up categories and then assigning points to these wrestlers based on my own thoughts and feelings. I’ll try to justify the scores to some extent in each breakdown of the wrestler, but this is for fun, and in no way shape or form do I have any lack of respect for any of these wrestlers, so please take this as simply a fun exercise. As I did in the first part, I’ll shout out Shea Serrano whose Action Hero Scouting Report was the whole reason I thought to do this exercise. Just like Shea did, I am assigning points to each of my categories based on how heavily or lightly they should be weighed (again, subjectively how I feel they should be weighed). The total points would be 100 (an impossible score to achieve), which will be broken up into six main categories. Reminder, weight classes don’t really matter. So hypothetically someone from a much lower weight who placed 8th could score higher than someone who placed second at a much higher weight. Another refresher, the categories are: Offensive Diversity - Since this is my list, I’m going to focus less on effective offense, and more on a diversity of attacks. You always hear about your “go-to” takedown, and that’s valuable, but I like when wrestlers can attack both sides of the body and score in a variety of ways. I also like when they can initiate their own offense and not simply counter-wrestle. I’m going to reward primarily counter wrestlers in a later category, so it’ll likely balance itself out, but for the sake of this category, a large toolbox of attacks will go a long way. Total points available here - 20 Showmanship - I turned 38 in September, which might sound old to some of you. Maybe it sounds young to others. Regardless, I feel like I’m far from being “Old Man Claunch'', so I like to see some charisma in my wrestlers. Work the crowd in home duals. Tell the away crowds to quiet down when you get a big win. Do some of the fun stuff that you only have so many opportunities in life to do. Spike your headgear! Admittedly, this doesn’t have as big a real effect on the wrestling, but it’s still fun. Total points available here - 5 Defensive/Scrambling versatility - Counter wrestlers are rewarded here. Along with those roly-poly dudes who just seem to be able to weasel their way out of those situations where they look dead to rights, and then somehow get a 3-point takedown from it (I know, it’s the first time I’ve written it and it seems weird). Being able to scramble is one thing, counter wrestling a second thing, but the wrestlers that hand fight like prime Tyson will also get rewarded here. If they can’t get past your head and hands, then they can’t score, so that’s rewarded here as well. Total points available here - 20 Wishnificance - This is directly pulled from Shea. He made up this word. He’s great. He describes it as “You know how sometimes when you’re watching a movie a thing happens inside of your chest where all of a sudden you kind of want to be someone from that movie? That’s what this is”. So essentially, when you’re watching someone wrestle, and you think “I should try that”, or you have to rewind a sequence to see what that person did, or you actually try to change your stance or approach based on what they are doing. That’s what this category is. How much does their style make you (or in this case, pretty much me), make you want to wrestle like them? Total points available here - 20 Upset alert - I heard an analogy about quarterbacks the other day. It was essentially, are you more worried about that quarterback if he is on your team, or playing against you. That’s kind of what this is. If your favorite team is wrestling this guy, and your wrestler on your team should win, how nervous does this guy make you? Some guys just have a way of getting up for big matches and pulling something off. Some guys you already know will absolutely not beat your guy. That doesn’t mean they’re bad wrestlers. Remember we’re scouting top 12 finishers, but some guys make you more nervous is all. That’s what this score is. Total points available here - 15 Top Game - You should be able to get out from the bottom. That’s not a category because these are adults who are trained to take chances and attack because getting out shouldn’t be that bad, and you can go try again. However, some guys on top are nightmares. It’s like in The Dark Knight Rises when Bruce Wayne has to climb out of the pit, and he falls over and over and it looks like the most awful soul-crushing thing. That’s what it must be like being underneath some of these dudes. For that matter, some of us might rather climb out of that pit than be underneath Patrick McKee. Total points available here - 20 Okay, that’s how this is set up and the scoring is clear. With each athlete, I’ll provide the score, and a brief breakdown of how I see them, including some justifying points. When possible, I’ll try to add some good stories or anecdotes, concluding the breakdown. This is going to be a marathon, but I am confident that you’ll have fun. Which sounds like not what happens in a marathon. Regardless, let’s begin. Dean Peterson picture courtesy of Tony Rotundo;WrestlersAreWarriors.com; all others from Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com Dean Peterson - Rutgers, 125, Bloodround Offensive Diversity - 16, Showmanship - 3, Defensive/Scrambling Versatility - 17, Wishnificance - 18, Upset Alert - 15, Top Game - 15 Total Score - 84 Breakdown: This dude just keeps on keeping on. I was admittedly not as dialed in on Rutgers much of last season. I was focusing on the teams that I was responsible for covering, and as such I caught some Rutgers matches along the way. What I kept noticing was that Dean Peterson kept avenging losses as the season continued. He lost by major decision in the dual to Braxton Brown of Maryland, then went ahead and beat him in both the B1Gs and NCAAs. He lost to Jack Medley of Michigan in the first round of B1Gs, then beat him in the same tournament to take 7th. Then he knocks off Patrick McKee of Minnesota (multiple-time AA at this point), to get into the Bloodround and have his shot at the podium. He lost that match to Noto of Lock Haven, but all Mean Dean Peterson seems to do is get better and build off of his losses. I respect the hell out of that, and as a result, I have his Wishnificance fairly high. His upset alert is as high as it gets, because I don’t have any reason to think he won’t compete with these top guys at this point. Won’t be much longer until he is the guy fending off upsets. Lucas Byrd - Illinois, 133, Bloodround Offensive Diversity - 18, Showmanship - 4, Defensive/Scrambling Versatility - 18, Wishnificance - 18, Upset Alert - 11 Top Game - 17 Total Score - 86 Breakdown: Lucas Byrd has been a fan favorite since I can remember. He’s gritty, scrappy, he’s got those big glasses, he’s as consistent and dangerous as they come. His season ended very similarly to the way it started. With a close loss to Jesse Mendez of Ohio State. Mendez is super tough, but Byrd cruised to the quarterfinals before dropping a one-point loss to Daton Fix. Losing two close matches at NCAAs to two dudes who won silver medals at the world championships is respectable (Fix won world silver at the Senior level in 2021, and Mendez just recently at U20s took a world silver a couple of weeks back). Byrd should come back for his final season as one of the top-ranked guys at 133, and should be considered a legit title threat. Anything can happen, and he’s proven to be in that mix with the best in the world. Brock Hardy - Nebraska, 141, 7th Offensive Diversity - 19, Showmanship - 3, Defensive/Scrambling Versatility - 18, Wishnificance - 14, Upset Alert - 13, Top Game - 18. Total Score - 85 Breakdown: Talk about a breakout season! I remember hearing rumors before last season starting about Ridge Lovett possibly dropping down to 141 for the year, but ultimately choosing to redshirt. I figured either way he gets away from Yianni, but redshirting is cool also. Turns out the Cornhuskers were just fine at 141 without him. It was clear that Hardy was a national title contender before the New Year. He began the season by winning the Navy Classic and Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and then had a string of awesome wins through the B1G schedule. His main losses all year came to top opponents up until he got hurt in the semis at NCAAs. He was an All-American, but that weirdly pales in comparison to what he proved he was capable of. You’ve gotta believe that he’s going to come back with a chip on his shoulder this season, and ready to prove that he is a title contender from day one. Dylan D’Emilio - Ohio State, 141, 8th Offensive Diversity - 16, Showmanship - 4, Defensive/Scrambling Versatility - 17, Wishnificance - 15, Upset Alert - 13, Top Game - 14. Total Score - 79 Breakdown: It’s wild to look back at some of these brackets for this. The first round of the B1G Tournament this past season was D’Emilio against Parker Filius of Purdue. Filius got the win there, as well as in the match for 7th and 8th place at the NCAA Tournament. The B1G is great. Anyway, D’Emilio is actually a favorite of mine. I gave him the top Wishnificance score as a result. He’s just a gnarly dude to watch wrestle. I love the hard hand fighting he displays, and then he’ll explode through a takedown just as his opponent gets a breath from the pace D’Emilio establishes early and often. He is also very consistent. He consistently beats who he should, and also consistently loses to the guys who are just a step above. He’s always gotten better though, year after year, and I trust this season as he jumps up to 149, he’ll continue that ascension and I’m excited to see what he’ll be able to do at the upper weight. Sammy Sasso - Ohio State, 149, 2nd Offensive Diversity - 19, Showmanship - 5, Defensive/Scrambling Versatility - 18, Wishnificance - 18, Upset Alert - 13, Top Game - 19. Total Score - 92 Breakdown: I’m fully aware of the unfortunate incident that occurred that is causing Sammy Sasso to miss this season, and leave his wrestling future more of a question than a certainty. All that aside, Sammy Sasso has done too much for me to move past what he’s done and leave him out of this report. This guy has been a monster since the moment he showed up in Columbus and I’m giving him the scouting report that he has earned. Wrestlers demand respect across rivalry lines, unless you’re a psycho. I’m not a psycho, so I respect anyone who earns it on the mat. Sasso has been in two NCAA finals in three attempts (he made four NCAA tournaments, and was the 3 seed in 2020, but it was canceled due to COVID). He cradles people from top, on his feet, and probably on bottom (I’ve never seen him do this, but if anyone could, it’s probably him). He owns the crowd for home duals, has always been a leader, and is capable of beating anyone in the country at any point. I’ll genuinely miss watching him this season. He was supposed to bump to 157, where many of the Ohio State fans I know felt he should be anyway, so it sucks we won’t get to see that happen. Nothing but positive vibes and hoping for a full recovery for one of my favorite Buckeye athletes that I’ve ever seen compete. Graham Rooks - Indiana, 149, Bloodround Offensive Diversity - 13, Showmanship - 3, Defensive/Scrambling Versatility - 15, Wishnificance - 11, Upset Alert - 15, Top Game - 15. Total Score - 72 Breakdown: This score isn’t really where I think Graham Rooks is, but I’ve watched him a long time, so there’s probably some prejudice baked into this score from previous seasons. Not his fault, this is my fault. Graham Rooks has been a staple in the Hoosier lineup for the last several years. I feel like we are beginning to see the Escobedo effect with some of the progression of their athletes since he took over the head coaching position a couple of years back. Rooks really broke out last season with a 10-3 dual record, and a run to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament last year. That run included upsets in the opening round over Kellyn March of North Dakota State University, and of the number 4 seed Caleb Henson of Virginia Tech. Rooks is entering his final season at Indiana, along with his twin brother (141) Cayden, I’m sure are looking to leave their mark in the Hoosier record books, and I’m excited to watch the crafty veteran chase that dream. He’ll begin this season ranked 7th at 149 by Intermat, your go-to resource for trustworthy and accurate rankings. Levi Haines - PSU, 157, 2nd Offensive Diversity - 18, Showmanship - 3, Defensive/Scrambling Versatility - 18, Wishnificance - 20, Upset Alert - 13, Top Game - 18 Total Score - 90 Breakdown: Levi Haines is a beast of a teenager. Let’s remember that he’s a teenager. His age is in the teens. He is not currently ranked in the teens by Intermat. He’s ranked #1, which seems reasonable for the returning NCAA finalist and B1G Champion. Remember when Cael almost didn’t pull the redshirt from him last year? Must be nice. Remember when Levi won the Edinboro Open and Franklin & Marshall Open in what would have been his Senior year of High School? Must be nice. Either way, PSU now gets to return one of the deepest lineups we’ve had in recent history, even for Penn State. Levi Haines is good in every position and looks enormous for 157. Similarly to Will Lewan, the Wishnificance is so high because I would like to feel like what it must feel like to be in complete control against anyone. Once again, must be nice. Jared Franek - Iowa (NDSU), 157, 4th Offensive DIversity - 16, Showmanship - 2, Defensive/Scrambling Versatility - 19, Wishnificance - 14, Upset Alert - 12, Top Game - 15. Total Score - 78 Breakdown: Admittedly this score is lower than I would’ve thought for a guy who placed 4th in the country in a super deep weight and is transferring to a theoretically deeper room where he should make some improvements. That being said, this score is more of an indication that you can be elite at one thing and ride that a long way. Not that I’m saying Jared Franek is not good. He’s outstanding. More specifically though, he’s a bruiser. He is as physical as it gets and it looks absolutely miserable to wrestle him. He controls almost every tie-up, and is so wildly physical. He can do just about anything, but he dictates the match, pace, and positioning to where he can keep the match in the exact format that he wants. Franek being taught how to maximize this style by Brands and should be a scary prospect for anyone going up against the Hawkeyes. Get ready to catch these hands. Also, he’s not super animated, so not much in the showmanship category, but wrestling in Carver-Hawkeye seems to bring that out of even the most reserved wrestlers, so that’s subject to change. Peyton Robb - Nebraska, 157, 6th Offensive Diversity - 18, Showmanship - 3, Defensive/Scrambling Versatility - 16, Wishnificance - 16, Upset Alert - 15, Top Game - 16. Total Score - 84 Breakdown: First of all, I’m super happy that Peyton has recovered from the skin condition from NCAAs and appears ready to compete this season. If Instagram is telling me the truth, which I generally assume it is, then he appears to be training with Coach James Green. Training with James Green seems like a great way to get better. Peyton held the number 1 ranking for most of last season, and ultimately if you held last year's NCAA tournament 10 times, I feel like sixth would be the worst he would place. He’s super capable of winning it all this year. As a result, nobody watching their 157 pounder wrestle Robb should feel comfortable. The Cornhusker has been fun to watch over the years, as he continues to make huge progress each year he’s been in the lineup. I’m not sure how this season will end up for Robb, because weirdly I feel like 157 is deeper than it was last year, but he’ll be on the podium barring health concerns. I hope it’s at the top. Seems like how it should end for him. Dean Hamiti - Wisconsin, 165, 5th Offensive Diversity - 19, Showmanship - 4, Defensive/Scrambling Versatility - 17, Wishnificance - 17, Upset Alert - 13, Top Game - 17. Total Score - 87 Breakdown: Do you like ankle picks and cradles and 7 minutes of offense and scrambles? Then you’ll like Dean Hamiti. Of course, you already know this, because if you’re reading this beast of an article, then chances are that you’ve watched him. I can’t think of a wrestler who wrestles most like their mascot other than Hamiti. The Badger has been an All-American in every chance he’s had, which is saying a lot considering how deep 165 has been the last several years. I had the privilege to speak with Dean a couple of weeks back about being a leader and how he can take the next step as an individual and around where he can have an impact on his team. One common denominator was around doing the right things on and off of the mat. To make these incremental jumps from All-American to NCAA Champion, you need to put in the time in every aspect of your life. I trust he is doing what he needs to on that end, and I’m excited to see what this season has in store for Mr. Hamiti. Michael Caliendo - Iowa (formerly NDSU), 165, 6th Offensive Diversity - 18, Showmanship - 3, Defensive/Scrambling Versatility - 16, Wishnificance - 16, Upset Alert - 14, Top Game - 16. Total Score - 83 Breakdown: NDSU had a great season in 2022-2023, and should be very happy about what they accomplished. They have excellent coaches remaining and have assembled a great staff and will continue the momentum that they built up over the years. One of the interesting things about this world though is that success can lead to movement. This is not a judgment, coaches and athletes have moved from several programs around after success, and Michael gets to be one of them. He and Franek (Jared, mentioned earlier) have transferred to the Hawkeyes to continue their careers. Caliendo is a relentless attacking wrestler, and has proven that he can make adjustments quickly. After losing to Shane Griffith in the Southern Scuffle finals last year, he had a rematch with him ten days later and got the upset win. In fact, Caliendo only had one dual loss all year, and it was to Keegan O’Toole, who most people lost to in duals. Caliendo will be a great addition to the B1G and the Hawkeye lineup for the foreseeable future. Caliendo is only a Sophomore, whereas Franek is more of a one-season rental. His development will be fun to watch. Caleb Fish - Michigan State, 165, Bloodround Offensive Diversity - 16, Showmanship - 4, Defensive/Scrambling Versatility - 15, Wishnificance - 14, Upset Alert - 15, Top Game - 15. Total Score - 79 Breakdown: Nobody should feel at all confident matching up with this Spartan. Fish is athletic and strong and capable of beating some of the best in the country. After a tough B1G tournament, Caleb needed an at-large bid to make the NCAA tournament. There are a couple of dudes who wish that his bid had gone to someone else. Namely Julian Ramirez of Cornell and Holden Heller of Pittsburgh, who he beat on the way to the Quarterfinals. Fish dropped that match to Quincy Monday, as well as his Bloodround match to Michael Caliendo (pretty sure it’s not Frank’s brother), but still an excellent tournament. 165 is a weird weight this year. Quincy Monday graduated, Griffith and Kharchla are bumping up a weight, but mostly everyone else returns. Still, Caleb Fish holds great position and if he’s slept on, he’ll be a nightmare. Shane Griffith - Michigan (formerly Stanford), 165, 5th Offensive Diversity - 18, Showmanship - 3, Defensive/Scrambling Versatility - 20, Wishnificance - 20, Upset Alert - 15, Top Game - 18. Total Score - 94 Breakdown: Makes sense that an NCAA Champion would score so well. Even so, I was surprised at some of the scores I instinctively had for him. Of course, Wishnigicance is so high. He has a degree and NCAA title from Stanford, saved their program (yes, he was the lynchpin in saving that program), and now he gets to cut less weight and wrestle for (and obtain a degree from) the University of Michigan. That’s something that anyone in their right mind would want to do. Upset Alert has to be maxed out as well. He’s beaten everyone in the country before, and I have to think that getting into this room, and potentially being a little healthier than he’s been the last couple of years, would be an improvement. Pair that with the fact that he can be the guy doing the upsetting rather than always being the targeted guy to be upset, then you get a high score. But thinking through some of his offensive attacks, how he shuts his opponents down, and can get creative when he needs to, he just kept scoring well in every category. Is there going to be a more fun match than Griffith vs. Starocci to look forward to this season? Maybe, but this will be the one I’m looking forward to the most. Carson Kharchla, Ohio State, 165, Bloodround Offensive Diversity - 17, Showmanship - 2, Defensive/Scrambling Versatility - 16, Wishnificance - 15, Upset Alert - 13, Top Game - 16. Total Score - 79 Breakdown: From the moment Kharchla (the K is silent) burst into the lineup, he’s been a monster. The barrel-chested blonde bruiser was not screwing around when he beat Alex Marinelli in his freshman season, and was undefeated in duals that season as well, while finishing seventh. Last season he just didn’t seem to have the same edge. I know he was dealing with some injury concerns, and he’s moving up weights this season to 174, so I can only assume the weight cut might have been an issue, but it wasn’t the same. What you get with Kharchla though, is fundamental and physical wrestling. He’s not afraid to stick his face into the fight. Win or lose, his opponents don’t want to do whatever that was anytime soon. Carson has a big frame, so I trust he’ll be able to perform better last season at the higher weight. 174 is wildly deep in the B1G, and across the country, but regardless he’s the kind of wrestler that could largely benefit from coming up a weight class. Similar to when Ethan Smith of the Buckeyes moved to 174 a couple of years ago. Edmond Ruth - Illinois, 174, Bloodround Offensive Diversity - 15, Showmanship - 2, Defensive/Scrambling Versatility - 20, Wishnificance - 14, Upset Alert - 12, Top Game - 18. Total Score - 81 Breakdown: Edmond is as skilled as it gets defensively. He’s more than capable offensively, and I’ve seen him go upper body, and work towards your more traditional shots, but he is so confident in his ability to do all of the tough stuff. The tough stuff includes accumulating riding time, mat returns, and all of the defensive nuances that he so eloquently deploys. If my life depended on taking Edmond Ruth down, I’d begin getting my affairs in order. Anyway, Ruth didn’t make the podium last year, and sometimes when you wrestle so conservatively you can lose some of those close matches that you’re so used to winning, but I think that if Edmond can put together some more confident attacks, and pair that with his defense, he will be close to being as special as his brother was. Aaron Brooks - PSU, 184, 1st Offensive Diversity - 18, Showmanship - 4, Defensive/Scrambling Versatility - 19, Wishnificance - 17, Upset Alert - 13, Top Game - 19. Total Score - 90 Breakdown: It’s wild to look back now at some of the NCAA Finals matches that Brooks has wrestled. He’s so far beaten Trent Hidlay (multiple-time ACC Champion and All-American, and general badass. Great hair also.), Myles Amine (Olympic Bronze medalist, World Bronze medalist, multiple-time world team member and 5x All-American), and most recently Parker Keckeisen (3x B1G Champion, placed 3rd, 3rd, and 2nd at NCAAs, and currently ranked #1 at 184, not so great hair). That is one hell of a resume. Add in that Brooks had to beat Hidlay in the semifinals two other times just to make the finals. This gets lost in the weeds sometimes, but not by me. Not today folks. Aaron Brooks has managed to lose a match here and there during his career, but not when it matters most. I always appreciated his style and approach, but last season I was on the floor during the B1G finals between Brooks and Kaleb Romero, and let me tell you, the physicality doesn’t come through the TV the same way it does in real life. He looked like he was trying to break bricks over Romero’s head with the hand fighting, he just forgot to hold the bricks. It was nuts. Upset alert is low because he doesn’t often have the chance to upset anyone, even after bumping up a weight class to 197 this season. Other than that, he’s got high marks across the board. Silas Allred - Nebraska, 197, Bloodround Offensive Diversity - 17, Showmanship - 5, Defensive/Scrambling Versatility - 16, Wishnificance - 18, Upset Alert - 15, Top Game - 15. Total Score - 85 Breakdown: Silas was such a fun story last year wasn’t he? Jumps into the lineup after the excellent career and eligibility of Eric Schultz came to an end, and he hit the ground running. A theme of many of the Cornhuskers last season getting their first chance to compete in the lineup, was that they showed up ready to wrestle. If winning a B1G title is evidence enough of that, then please let me draw your attention to exhibit B (the B stands for B1G championship at 197 pounds by beating the defending NCAA champion, Max Dean). Allred and his mustache return for their Sophomore season and do so being ranked 7th in the preseason by Intermat. He certainly has the upside to outperform this, but he’ll have his work cut out for him to repeat this season as B1G Champion. Although I’m sure if you’re Silas, that’s the sort of doubt and bulletin board material that you’re looking for to keep grinding. Zac Braunagel - Illinois, 197, Bloodround Offensive Diversity - 15, Showmanship - 4, Defensive/Scrambling Versatility - 18, Wishnificance - 18, Upset Alert - 13, Top Game - 16. Total Score - 84 Breakdown: From the moment the Braunagel’s arrived at Illinois, they’ve been a low-key favorite of mine. You’ll notice from my breakdowns on wrestlers with similar styles (physical, mean, punishing, painful, etc…) I like this style. Zac bumped up to 197 last season from 184, and that seemed like the right move for him. He was able to use his strength as more of an asset and his athleticism was still excellent for that weight. He had his best season to date and was 1 point away from the semifinals, and two points away from the podium. 197 this season is missing the last two NCAA Champions (Max Dean 2022, Nino Bonaccorsi 2023) and yet seems to be just as deep, if not more so. Everyone on the podium this season is going to have to earn their spots, but Zac is certainly one of those guys that nobody is excited to face as they put their toe on the line. Greg Kerkvliet - PSU, HWY, 2nd Offensive Diversity - 18, Showmanship - 3, Defensive/Scrambling Versatility - 19, Wishnificance - 17, Upset Alert - 12, Top Game - 17. Total Score - 86 Breakdown: Greg Kerkvliet has been an NCAA Title contender essentially since slowly walking into the D1 wrestling scene. Even before then, he was beating Jordan Wood for World Team spots. He’s been the biggest and the baddest for as long as most of us can remember, except that he hasn’t actually won a title yet. That’s okay though, we’re still living in this golden age of NCAA Heavyweights, so there are a couple of generational talents who have fewer championships (or in some cases, none), then you’d guess. I expect him to get it done this year, and his preseason ranking says as much. Strong scores in just about all categories except upset alert, where it’s low just because I don’t know which situation he’ll be in where he’s going to be upsetting anyone. The remaining field of heavyweights is different from previous seasons in that nobody returns who has had a win over him previously. He’s decidedly the favorite and I’m sure intends to bring it all home this season. Lucas Davison - Michigan (Northwestern), HWY, 5th Offensive Diversity - 17, Showmanship - 4, Defensive/Scrambling Versatility - 17, Wishnificance - 20, Upset Alert - 13, Top Game - 16. Total Score - 87 Breakdown: I thought about moving this one from being right after Kerkvliet, but hear me out. Yes, in this subjective (reference the intro) nature of this scoring system, I can come up with a total score where Davison has more points than Kerkvliet, despite him having not beaten Kerkvliet yet. Here’s how! Where Davison scores more points is Wishnificance, to begin with. Both Greg and Lucas are taller and stronger than I am, which is awesome, but Lucas has a degree from Northwestern (technically he has two degrees from Northwestern, nbd) and Michigan soon to have one from Michigan as well. Now I couldn’t have gotten into Penn State either, but it’s not like Greg has a bad Wishnificance score. It’s just not two prestigious institutions, so there are the extra three points in my subjective point of view. Upset alert is simply higher because he’ll have more chances to get upset wins, being ranked lower than 1 and all. Not to say that Lucas Davison isn’t a tremendous wrestler in his own right. Despite battling through injuries at the end of last season, and through NCAAs, he managed to place 5th in the country, earning his second All-American status (he has an NWCA honorable mention AA status from 2020 as well at 197). He’s got great attacks, and a mean ankle pick, excellent athletic scrambles, and should put together a solid season for the Wolverines. That upset alert is high though, he could get it done if he puts it all together. Also, training with Adam Coon and Mason Parris is probably not making him any worse. Yaraslau Slavikouski - Rutgers (Harvard), HWY, Bloodround Offensive Diversity - 16, Showmanship - 2, Defensive/Scrambling Versatility - 18, Wishnificance - 19, Upset Alert - 14, Top Game - 15. Total Score - 84 Breakdown: I’ll be the first to admit that I was not super high on Slavikouski before last season. It’s my fault for not watching enough Harvard wrestling. There’s only so much time I have with covering the B1G, three kids, two jobs, podcasting, coaching, eating, sleeping, exercising, and breathing, and I wasn’t able to fit them in as much as I would have liked. I accept full responsibility for this, but it’s not my fault. Slavikouski was 30-8 at Harvard and the 10 seed when the NCAA tournament was canceled, then Ivy Leagues elected not to participate in the following season, then he was hurt the next season. I knew I wasn’t crazy! Despite my not having seen him compete as much as many of these others that I’ve been subjectively assigning points to, I won’t hesitate to do it here either. Jokes aside, I watched some of his matches from last season to catch up and have some credibility to this. He’s strong, athletic, smart, and clearly capable of beating some of the best in the country. His only losses at NCAAs last season were a 1-point loss to Trent Hilger (multiple time All American for Wisconsin), and a 2-point OT loss to Lucas Davison (referenced above). Plus, you’ve gotta love anyone ready to dive headfirst into the B1G wrestling schedule, specifically the Heavyweight schedule. The B1G had 11 Heavyweights represented at NCAAs last season, and they only lost Boone McDermott (transferred from Rutgers to Oregon State), Hillger and Mason Parris. Probably safe to assume the addition of Yaraslau and of Seth Nevills (Maryland transfer from PSU) will backfill two of those, and there’s probably more that we aren’t even considering yet as potential NCAA Qualifiers in the B1G. Get ready Yaraslau, the waters here are deep!

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