2021 NCAA All-American Jacori Teemer (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com; Graphic/Anna-Lee Marie)Welcome to a new recurring feature from InterMat as we lead into the 2021-22 collegiate season. We are about 50 days away from the start of the new season, so what better way to ring in the new year than to use that time to count down the top-50 current collegiate wrestlers. Each day a new wrestler will be released.
These rankings have been compiled by members of the InterMat staff and used a combination of collegiate achievements, with 2021 accomplishments carrying more weight than past years, along with win-loss records and notable wins. While we are counting down the top-50 wrestlers based primarily on collegiate accomplishments, it is impossible to totally ignore achievements in the international settings, so they did factor in slightly, too.
Before getting to the next wrestler on the list, look at the wrestlers previously profiled:
#50 - Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State)
#49 - Ben Darmstadt (Cornell)
#48 - Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State)
#47 - Kaleb Young (Iowa)
#46 - Rocky Elam (Missouri)
#45 - Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska)
#44 - Brandon Courtney (Arizona State)
#43 - Brock Mauller (Missouri)
#42 - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State)
#41 - John Poznanski (Rutgers)
#40 - Brayton Lee (Minnesota)
#39 - Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State)
#38 - Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa)
#37 - Tariq Wilson (NC State)
#36 - Jacob Warner (Iowa)
Next is…
Jacori Teemer (Arizona State)
Weight: 157 lbs
Year: Sophomore
Career Record: 30-8
Hometown: Long Beach, New York
College Accomplishments: 2021 NCAA 4th Place, 2020 NWCA Second-Team All-American, 2x Pac-12 Champion
2021-22 Preseason Ranking: #4 at 157 lbs
The key signing from the Arizona State recruiting Class of 2018 was New York sensation Jacori Teemer, who was ranked the number-eight overall recruit in the land. Teemer received this distinction after making history in his home state by winning five state titles. At the time, only he and Troy Nickerson had accomplished the feat and Teemer was the first Long Island wrestler to win five. Before enrolling at ASU, Teemer also experienced success internationally. He was a Cadet World bronze medalist in 2017 while competing at 63 kg.
While redshirting in 2017-18, Teemer only hit two events, the Midlands and the National Collegiate Open. Despite the limited mat time, the super-freshman made his impact known. Teemer was down at 149 lbs for the Midlands and finished fifth in a loaded bracket. After a narrow, sudden victory loss to Matt Koldozik (Princeton) in the opening round, Teemer defeated national qualifiers Alfred Bannister (Maryland) and Khristian Olivas (Fresno State), along with fellow redshirts Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) and Brayton Lee (Minnesota). At the National Collegiate Open, Teemer moved up to 157 and pinned two of his four opponents en route to the title.
Teemer's Arizona State debut was spoiled by Virginia freshman Justin McCoy, an opponent whom he defeated at the NCO the previous year. A few weeks later, he notched his first official victory in Arizona State's shocking upset of top-ranked Penn State. There he beat Bo Pipher 9-4.
Next up was the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Teemer edged tough North Dakota State freshman Jared Franek before settling for eighth place. Losses came to Ryan Deakin (Northwestern), Justin Thomas (Oklahoma), and Peyton Robb (Nebraska).
ASU had a heavy dual schedule during the second half of the 2019-20 season and Teemer showed out well. He went 11-1 with the only loss coming to fellow redshirt freshman David Carr (Iowa State). Along the way, Teemer downed notables such as Jarrett Jacques (Missouri) and Josh Humphreys (Lehigh). Humphreys would go on to win the EIWA, while Jacques was a MAC runner-up.
At the Pac-12 Championships, Teemer maintained his superiority in respect to his conference mates and went unscathed to a conference title as a freshman. The win combined with his track record produced the ninth seed at the 2020 NCAA Championships.
The onset of the pandemic was responsible for canceling the 2020 NCAA Tournament. As the ninth seed, Teemer was slated to meet SoCon champion #24 Matt Zovistoski (Appalachian State) in the opening round. A win would have likely yielded a Round of 16 bout against Iowa's #8 Kaleb Young, who went 0-2 at the B1G meet. The other high seeds on his half of the bracket were #1 Deakin, #4 Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider) and #5 Quincy Monday (Princeton). Since Teemer was seeded ninth at the NCAA Tournament, he was named an NWCA 2nd Team All-American.
In the early going of the 2021 season, Teemer lost his only bout of the regular season to Justin Thomas, an opponent who defeated him in early 2019-20, too. Throughout the remainder of the regular season, Teemer cruised unscathed.
At one of the deepest weights of the Pac-12 Championships, Teemer captured his second conference crown with wins over national qualifier Hunter Willits (Oregon State) and previous qualifier Requir van der Merwe (Stanford). A 7-1 regular pre-NCAA's was good enough for the 11th seed.
In the opening round of his first NCAA Tournament, Teemer put up bonus points against Campbell's #22 Ben Barton. Next, he was unable to get by #6 Brayton Lee (Minnesota), 4-3.
From there, Teemer went on a tear in the consolations. He majored Andrew Cerniglia (Navy) and then edged fellow Cadet World medalist Will Lewan (Michigan) in sudden victory. That set up a Round of 12 bout against Franek. Again, Teemer prevailed in a close bout, 3-2.
Once Jacori clinched All-American status, his offense really broke out. In the consolation quarterfinals, Teemer majored Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma State), 13-4. A match later, Teemer locked up a spot in the third-place match opposite three-time NCAA All-American Hayden Hidlay (NC State). For the first time in Hidlay's collegiate career, he gave up more than six points in a loss. Not only did Teemer exceed six points against the stingy Hidlay, but he also tripled that number with an 18-12 shootout over the past national runner-up.
Teemer's 2021 season wrapped up with a 1-0 loss to the tournament's top seed Ryan Deakin. He finished in fourth place for his first All-American honor.
Strengths: Teemer is exceptionally slick on his feet. He has great slide-by/throw-by's and can change level to pick and ankle or finish a low attack. He also is an excellent scrambler and cradler. Jacori is also very active from the bottom position. Rather than settling for escapes, he'll try for reversal using his good hips and a Peterson that's as good as another in college wrestling.
2020-21 Outlook: The 157 lb weight class is loaded with contenders. 2021 149 lb NCAA champion Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) moves up to give the weight class a pair of returning champs with Carr. That doesn't include Ryan Deakin. Teemer closed the gap a bit the last time he met Deakin and lit up the scoreboard against Hidlay, so I wouldn't count him out against any of the top three.
2021 NCAA All-American Jacori Teemer (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com)
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