2023-24's Top 50 Collegiate Wrestlers: #31-#35

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).

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