Leaderboard

Preseason is one of my favorite times of the year. The discussion of who should be ranked where, what teams will surprise, and the difference of a few spots in the rankings are all topics that could be talked to death before a single competition. Pure rankings are tough to do (shout-out to Earl Smith), especially when you’re doing all the teams in a conference. So instead I decided to try and group them into tiers. Of course, every team is going to say that they want team and individual titles, but what are some other storylines that fans should be keeping an eye out for? Keep on Building (1) California Baptist In their first season fully competing at Division I California Baptist went 1-6 in conference dual competition. They notched a big upset win over Wyoming with a 22-10 victory on the road. One of their best wrestlers Eli Griffin was injured before Big 12’s and is currently ranked #28 at 125lbs. Head coach Derek Moore won Amateur Wrestling News Rookie Coach of the Year, and with three incoming big boarders, are showing the building blocks needed to compete in the Big 12. Finish Strong (1) Utah Valley It was announced this off-season that Utah Valley’s head coach Greg Williams is planning to retire at the end of the 2023-2024 season. He has led the Wolverines for 18 years and helped them transition to Division I. The team is consistently filled with tough wrestlers and has one of the more experienced teams this season. Nine projected starters are upperclassmen, including four seniors. Set up for a solid finish, the team has the potential to surprise some and set themselves up for the future. Fresh Faces (2) North Dakota State Wyoming North Dakota State was 5th in the Big 12 tournament last year, but had a tumultuous offseason. Head coach Roger Kish left, but Obe Blanc was bumped up from within and he brought on Hayden Hidlay, Scott Mattingly, and Ceron Francisco to strengthen his staff. The team was hit hard by the transfer portal, losing All-Americans Jared Franek and Michael Caliendo, along with starters Owen Pentz, DeAnthony Parker, and Juan Mora. They had six 2023 recruits on the Big Board that could make an early impact, and return experienced starters Kellyn March and Gaven Sax. Wyoming graduated starters Hayden Hastings, Cole Moody, Jacob Wright, Chase Zollman, Job Greenwood, and Terren Swartz. They did bring in Gabe Willochell, who qualified for Edinboro in 2022 and placed 3rd in the MAC at 141lbs. The Cowboys also return true freshman qualifier Jore Volk, who will be looking to contend for a Big 12 title. With the #18 ranked recruiting class there is potential for a lot of new, young starters. Wildcard (1) West Virginia West Virginia finished 12th at the Big 12 tournament last season, but that included Killian Cardinale not wrestling and Peyton Hall going 1-1 before injury defaulting. There are some roster changes with last year's starters Cardinale and Scott Joll leaving. The Mountaineers had injury issues last year and struggled to find consistent success, but did have a big win over Pittsburgh in a dual. If they can stay healthy, they have young talent in Jordan Titus, Caleb Dowling, and Brody Conley who can pair with veterans Sam Hillegas, Peyton Hall, and Michael Wolfgram to help the Mountaineers put together some tough duals. Individual Title Contenders (3) #24 Air Force #18 Northern Colorado #17 Northern Iowa Air Force is coming off their best finish in program history with 28.5 points at NCAA’s with five qualifiers. Leading the way is heavyweight Wyatt Hendrickson, the team's first All-American since 2003. The two-time Big 12 champ is a bonus machine, with an 85% rate and 17 falls. The team graduated two other qualifiers, but also returned Tucker Owens and Sam Wolf. Hendrickson has a chance to be Air Force’s second-ever national champ, and the team has a solid core behind him as well. Northern Colorado’s Andrew Alirez appears on his way to take an Olympic redshirt, but right now is the favorite to repeat his title from last year. He also has an impressive 71% bonus rate and looked dominant up to NCAA’s. Stevo Poulin, another Big 12 champ, returns looking to repeat and build off his breakout freshman year. Young wrestlers Xavier Doolin, Derek Matthews, and Vinny Zerban should round this team out to build off last year. Northern Iowa is consistently a top 25 team, and is the epitome of anywhere, anytime. That is shown by the team’s returning leader, Parker Keckeisen. The three-time All-American is the favorite at 184lbs and has previous wins over seven of the top ten. Colin Realbuto is likely to take an Olympic redshirt while competing for Italy, but the Panthers have experience with returning qualifiers Cael Happel, Lance Runyon, and Tyrell Gordon. Add in recent U20 World Greco member Wyatt Voelker coming off redshirt and the team has upset potential in duals. Sleeper Conference Picks (2) #14 Oklahoma #14 South Dakota State After a wild offseason, Oklahoma brought in Roger Kish as the new head coach. The team also brought in transfers Antonio Lorenzo, Jace Koelzer, Guiseppe Hoose, DeAnthony Parker, and Juan Mora. There’s also Stephen Buchanan, Willie McDougald, and John Wiley coming off redshirts. Not every wrestler has a clear lineup spot, but whoever comes out should be competing for a spot in the rankings. The team has a solid starter at every weight and typically performs well at the Big 12 tournament. If everything comes together, they could knock off some of the top teams. South Dakota State finished in sixth at last year’s conference tournament, but has the combination of big guns and young wrestlers with more experience. The team had its best NCAA finish since 2018 and is returning two All-Americans in Tanner Sloan and Clay Carlson. They have Bennett Berge and Luke Rasmussen coming off redshirt, plus returning starters Cael Swenson, Tanner Cook, and Cade DeVos. Similar to OU it will take certain pieces working out, but the Jackrabbits have the potential to make quite a bit of noise this season. TeamTrophy Contenders (3) #11 Iowa State #10 Oklahoma State #2 Missouri Iowa State finished just outside the top ten at NCAA’s and was three points behind Oklahoma State at Big 12’s last season. They did graduate All-American Marcus Coleman and bloodround finisher Sam Schuyler. However, Kysen Terukina should be back and healthy, Yonger Bastida is bumping up to heavyweight, plus they had Garrett Grice and All-American William Feldkamp come in through the transfer portal. Add that in with returning starters Zach Redding, Casey Swiderski, Julien Broderson, and David Carr and this is a dangerous lineup already. Then there is MJ Gaitan coming off redshirt along with a lineup battle between Cody Chittum and Jason Kraisser at 157lbs. There is some wait-and-see with Paniro Johnson and any consequences for gambling as well. As it stands the team has three returning All-Americans plus all ten starters are ranked. The Cyclones are set up for a big year in David Carr’s swan song season. Oklahoma State is coming off their worst finish in school history which was 18th at NCAA’s. However, they’ve been active in the transfer portal and are bringing in the top-ranked recruiting class this year. They are expected to return a core of Daton Fix, Dustin Plott, and Luke Surber. Fix and Plott are eligible for Olympic redshirts but it seems likely that they will wrestle. Troy Spratley, Sammy Alvarez, and Izzak Olejnik are looking to be three big-impact transfers for the Cowboys. OSU has some youth expected to enter the lineup this season as well. Spratley and Jordan Williams are coming off redshirt, then true freshman Brayden Thompson is looking to make the lineup at 174 with Dustin Plott moving up. There is a potential lineup battle at heavyweight as well, with returning qualifier Konner Doucet trying to hold off #2 overall recruit Christian Carroll. The only potential question is at 157, but the Cowboys have some depth and experience to put out a ranked wrestler. Oklahoma State is my “sleeper” pick for a trophy this season. As the returning Big 12 champs Missouri will be looking to extend their conference champ streak to 13. At the end of last season, they were returning the most NCAA points with five All-Americans, but that was before the PSU/Iowa/Michigan transfers. Brock Mauller, Keegan O’Toole, Peyton Mocco, Rocky Elam, and Zach Elam will all be looking to repeat podium finishes. O’Toole and Rocky Elam are both in the title discussion as well. Outside of the five All-Americans are returning starters Noah Surtin, Josh Edmond, and Colton Hawks. Surtin has made the bloodround before, and Colton Hawks took out eventual All-American Gavin Kane last season. There are some question marks at 133 and 157 from last year, but redshirt freshmen Zeke Seltzer and Cam Steed are looking to man those spots. With NCAA’s in Kansas City this year, Mizzou could be set up to break into the top three.

Greco-Roman was the last discipline to take the stage at the 2023 World Championships and, in turn, the first one that finished. Now that the final medals have been awarded, we have some sort of a picture as to how the 2024 Olympics will look. In addition to winning medals and titles, the wrestlers in Belgrade were also working towards Olympic qualification. At each Olympic weight, five wrestlers locked up Olympic quotas for their respective countries. Countries are the key word as they are tied to the country, not necessarily the wrestler. In most instances, the wrestler who secured the bid will also go to Paris; however, in highly competitive nations with deep talent pools (like the United States), that isn’t necessarily a given. For each weight class, we have a document with wrestlers who have already qualified and the other ways to qualify. Those tournaments are months away at this point. Below each chart are some of the notables that did not earn a quota this week, divided into continents, as that will be their next avenue to solidify Olympic participation. For now, we have only listed wrestlers/countries that participated in the 2023 World Championships. There may be other contenders that didn’t wrestle in Belgrade that will be a factor down the line. Wrestlers from Africa haven’t been listed as it doesn’t have the depth, across the board, that other continents feature. Next to each wrestler is a key accomplishment for them, along with their record at the 2023 World Championships. 60 kg Asia Aslomdzhon Azizov (Tajikistan) - 2022 Asian U23 Silver Medalist; 1-1 @ Worlds Manish Kundu (India) - 1-1 @ Worlds Olzhas Sultan (Kazakhstan) - 2022 U23 World Bronze Medalist; 1-1 @ Worlds Seunghak Kim (South Korea) - 2017 World Bronze Medalist; 1-1 @ Worlds Europe Pridon Abuladze (Georgia) - 2021 U23 World Bronze Medalist; 2-2 @ Worlds Anvar Allakhiarov (Russia) - 2021 U23 World Champion; 1-1 @ Worlds Victor Ciobanu (Moldova) - 2021 World Champion; 2-2 @ Worlds Gevorg Gharibyan (Armenia) - 2020 European Champion; 3-3 @ Worlds Kerem Kamal (Turkey) - 2022 U23 World Champion; 0-1 @ Worlds Christopher Kraemer (Germany) - 2-1 @ Worlds Helary Maegisalu (Estonia) - 2018 European Silver Medalist; 0-2 @ Worlds Hleb Makaranka (Belarus) - 2021 European 5th Place; 2-1 @ Worlds Nihat Mammadli (Azerbaijan) - 2x U20 Bronze Medalist; 2-1 @ Worlds Edmond Nazaryan (Bulgaria) - 2022 World Silver Medalist; 0-1 @ Worlds Viktor Petryk (Ukraine) - 2021 European Bronze Medalist; 0-1 @ Worlds Jacopo Sandron (Italy) - 2018 European Bronze Medalist; 2-1 @ Worlds Erik Torba (Hungary) - 2021 U23 World 5th Place; FFT @ Worlds Pan-American Kevin DeArmas Rodrigues (Cuba) - 2023 Pan-Am Bronze Medalist; 0-1 @ Worlds Ildar Hafizov (USA) - 2021 Pan-Am Silver Medalist; 0-1 @ Worlds Jeremy Peralta Gonzalez (Ecuador) - 2023 Pan-Am Silver Medalist; 0-1 @ Worlds Raiber Rodriguez (Venezuela) - 3x Pan-Am Bronze Medalist; 0-1 @ Worlds Dichter Toro Castaneda (Colombia) - 2x Pan-Am Champion; 0-1 @ Worlds 67 kg Asia Abror Atabaev (Uzbekistan) - 2023 Asian Champion; 0-1 @ Worlds Almat Kebispayev (Kazakhstan) - 5x World Medalist; 1-1 @ Worlds Minseong Kim (South Korea) - 0-1 @ Worlds Kyotaro Sogabe (Japan) - 2022 U23 World Bronze Medalist; 1-1 @ Worlds Europe Murat Firat (Turkey) - 2x World 5th Place; 1-1 @ Worlds Joni Khetsuriani (Georgia) - 2023 European Silver Medalist; 2-1 @ Worlds Aliaksandr Livonchyk (Belarus) - 2020 European 5th Place; 1-1 @ Worlds Mihai Mihut (Romania) - 2018 European Champion; 2-2 @ Worlds Parviz Nasibov (Ukraine) - 2020(1) Olympic Silver Medalist; 0-1 @ Worlds Valentin Petic (Moldova) - 2019 U23 World Bronze Medalist; 1-1 @ Worlds Kristupas Sleiva (Lithuania) - 2021 World Bronze Medalist; 0-1 @ Worlds Mamadassa Sylla (France) - 2018 World 5th Place; 2-1 @ Worlds Kriszstian Vancza (Hungary) - 2021 European U23 Champion; 2-1 Worlds Pan-American Julian Horta Acevedo (Colombia) - 1-1 @ Worlds Alex Sancho (USA) - 2-1 @ Worlds 77 kg Asia Mohammadali Geraei (Iran) - 3x World Bronze Medalist; 1-1 @ Worlds Daekun Park (South Korea) - 1-1 @ Worlds Demeu Zhadrayev (Kazakhstan) - 2017 World Silver Medalist; 4-3 @ Worlds Europe Yunas Basar (Turkey) - 2022 World Bronze Medalist; 0-1 @ Worlds Patryk Bednarz (Poland) - 2022 European U23 5th Place; 2-1 @ Worlds Johnny Bur (France) - 2018 European U23 Silver Medalist; 2-1 @ Worlds Alexandrin Gutu (Moldova) - 2022 U23 World Silver Medalist; 2-2 @ Worlds Zoltan Levai (Hungary) - 2022 World Silver Medalist: 1-1 @ Worlds Pavel Liakh (Belarus) - 2017 European Silver Medalist; 0-1 @ Worlds Iuri Lomadze (Georgia) - 2020 European Silver Medalist; 2-1 @ Worlds Aik Mnatsakanian (Bulgaria) - 2x World Bronze Medalist; 1-1 @ Worlds Viktor Nemes (Serbia) - 2022 World Champion; 2-1 @ Worlds Adlet Tiuliubaev (Russia) - 0-1 @ Worlds Pan-American Kamal Bey (USA) - 2023 Pan-Am Champ; 2-2 @ Worlds Joilson de Brito Ramos Junior (Brazil) - 0-1 @ Worlds Jair Cuero Munoz (Colombia) - 3x Pan-Am Silver Medalist; 0-1 @ Worlds Yosvanys Pena Flores (Cuba) - 3x Pan-Am Champ; 2-1 @ Worlds Wuileixis Rivas Espinoza (Venezuela) - 2014 Pan-Am Champ; 1-1 @ Worlds 87 kg Asia Naser Alizadeh (Iran) - 2022 World 5th Place; 2-1 @ Worlds Jalgasbay Berdimuratov (Uzbekistan) - 2x World Medalist; 2-2 @ Worlds Sanghyeok Park (South Korea) - 2-1 @ Worlds Haitao Qian (China) - 2019 World Bronze Medalist; 0-1 @ Worlds Azat Salidinov (Kyrgyzstan) - 2020 Asian Silver Medalist; 0-2 @ Worlds Masato Sumi (Japan) - 2018 Asian Silver Medalist; 1-1 @ Worlds Europe Islam Abbasov (Azerbaijan) - 2x U23 World Medalist; 4-2 @ Worlds Lasha Gobadze (Georgia) - 3x World Medalist; 2-1 @ Worlds Ivan Huklek (Croatia) - 2020(1) Olympic 5th Place; 0-1 @ Worlds Alex Kessidis (Sweden) - 2019 World Silver Medalist; 2-1 @ Worlds Arkadiusz Kulynycz (Poland) - 2021 World Bronze Medalist; 2-1 @ Worlds Kiryl Maskevich (Belarus) - 2021 World Silver Medalist; 2-2 @ Worlds Exauce Mukubu (Norway) - 2022 U23 World Bronze Medalist; 2-1 @ Worlds Gevorg Tadevosyan (Armenia) - 2022 U23 World Silver Medalist; 2-1 @ Worlds Hannes Wagner (Germany) - 2x European Bronze Medalist; 2-1 @ Worlds Pan-American Zac Braunagel (USA) - 1-1 @ Worlds Daniel Gregorich Hechavarria (Cuba) - 3x Pan-Am Champ; 0-1 @ Worlds Daniel Vicente Gomez (Mexico) - 2022 Pan-Am Champ; 0-1 @ Worlds 97 kg Asia Rustam Assakalov (Uzbekistan) - 2x World Medalist; 1-2 @ Worlds Beksultan Makhmudov (Kyrgyzstan) - 2021 Asian Bronze Medalist; 1-1 @ Worlds Yuta Nara (Japan) - 2023 Asian Bronze Medalist; 0-1 @ Worlds Olzhas Syrlybay (Kazakhstan) - 2023 Asian Bronze Medalist; 0-1 @ Worlds Europe Felix Baldauf (Norway) - 2022 European 5th Place; 1-1 @ Worlds Metehan Basar (Turkey) - 2x World Champion; 0-1 @ Worlds Mihail Kajaia (Serbia) - 2x World Bronze Medalist; 3-1 @ Worlds Nikoloz Kakhelashvili (Italy) - 2x World 5th Place; 1-1 @ Worlds Gerald Kurniczak (Poland) - 2021 World 5th Place; 1-1 @ Worlds Tomas Levai (Hungary) - 2022 World Bronze Medalist; 1-1 @ Worlds Georgi Melia (Georgia) - 2x U23 World Medalist; 0-1 @ Worlds Arif Niftullayev (Azerbaijan) - 2022 World Bronze Medalist; 0-1 @ Worlds Peter Oehler (Germany) - 2021 World 5th Place; 2-2 @ Worlds Markus Ragginger (Austria) - 2021 U23 World Bronze Medalist; 0-1 @ Worlds Artur Sargsian (Russia) - 2021 World Bronze Medalist; 0-1 @ Worlds Arvi Savolainen (Finland) - 2022 European Silver Medalist; 2-1 @ Worlds Aleksandar Stjepanetic (Sweden) - 2-1 @ Worlds Mindaugas Venckaitis (Lithuania) - 2023 World 5th Place; 3-2 @ Worlds Pan-American Kevin Mejia Castillo (Honduras) - 2x Pan-Am Champion; 0-1 @ Worlds Joe Rau (USA) - 1-2 @ Worlds 130 kg Asia Seungchan Lee (South Korea) - 1-1 @ Worlds Europe Alin Alexuc Ciurariu (Romania) - 2022 World Bronze Medalist; 1-1 at Worlds Romas Fridrikas (Lithuania) - 2x World 5th Place; 3-3 @ Worlds Iakobi Kajaia (Georgia) - 2020(1) Olympic Silver Medalist; 2-1 @ Worlds Beka Kandelaki (Azerbaijan) - 2022 European 5th Place, 0-1 @ Worlds Jello Krahmer (Germany) - 2020 European Bronze Medalist; 1-1 @ Worlds Elias Kuosmanen (Finland) - 2x European Bronze Medalist; 1-1 @ Worlds Oskar Marvik (Norway) - 2021 World Bronze Medalist; 1-1 @ Worlds Heiki Nabi (Estonia) - 2013 World Champion; 2-2 @ Worlds David Ovasapyan (Armenia) - 2021 U23 World Silver Medalist; 1-1 @ Worlds Mykhailo Vyshnyvetskyi (Ukraine) - 2023 European U23 Champion; 2-2 @ Worlds Pan-American Yasmani Acosta Fernandez (Chile) - 2020(1) Olympic 5th Place; 0-1 @ Worlds Cohlton Schultz (USA) - 3x Age Group World Medalist; 1-1 @ Worlds Eduard Soghomonyan (Brazil) - 2x Pan-Am Silver Medalist; 0-2 @ Worlds

Today, PJ Duke (Minisink Valley, NY), the top recruit in the high school Class of 2025 made his collegiate choice known via social media. Duke will head to State College, Pennsylvania to wrestle for Cael Sanderson’s Penn State Nittany Lions. Duke has earned the top spot after winning some of the top high school events in the country. He is a two-time Walsh Ironman finalist, winning in 2022, at 150 lbs. Duke has made the Super 32 finals on three occasions. He has championship belts from the North Carolina-based preseason major in each of the last two years (at 126 and 138 lbs). Also in 2022, Duke claimed a Fargo stop sign after winning the 138 lb weight class in 16U freestyle. At home, Duke has a pair of New York state titles to his name. He did not compete in the 2023 tournament (or other recent national events) because of injury. He’ll join Minisink Valley teammate and fellow blue-chip recruit, Zack Ryder, who is a part of the 2024 recruiting class who has committed to PSU. Duke is the third wrestler from the Class of 2025 to give a verbal to Sanderson’s team. He’ll join #27 Dalton Perry (PA) and #42 Asher Cunningham (PA) as PSU recruits who are currently high school juniors. With Duke’s verbal, it could give Penn State back-to-back recruiting classes featuring the #1 overall recruit in the nation. 2024’s #1, Luke Lilledahl, has given the Nittany Lions a verbal; however, he can’t sign until November. Despite all of their success individually and, as a team, the last time Penn State inked the number one overall recruit in their respective class was Mark Hall in 2016 (Greg Kerkvliet was 2019’s top recruit and initially signed with Ohio State). At the next level, Duke appeared to project at 165 lbs. With another year-plus until Duke can sign and almost two years before he makes it on campus, that could change. Looking at the Nittany Lions current roster and Class of 2024, 157-174 doesn’t appear to be a pressing need. That being said, if you can sign a wrestler of Duke’s caliber, you do it. Top recruits Mitchell Mesenbrink, Josh Barr, Joe Sealey, and Tyler Kasak could end up in that 157-174 range for Penn State and would be around when Duke arrives in Happy Valley.