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At the recent 2023 World Wrestling Championships, Team USA finished with four gold medals and 14 total medals, which was the most in the competition. The squad also brought home the team title in men’s freestyle. The following looks at the overall statistical performance of the squad and some of the top performers. As a whole, Team USA outscored their opposition 629 to 321 in individual match points. The biggest difference came in men’s freestyle where the team had a 295 to 119 edge. That 176-point advantage edged out the women’s freestyle team who more than doubled up on their opponents 262 to 104. It was a tough tournament for the Greco-Roman squad who were outscored 98 to 72 in the event. The largest single contributor to the men’s freestyle point total was Vito Arujau. On his way to the title at 61 kg, he scored 50 match points, which is 17% of the points scored by the team in that style. In women’s freestyle, 22-year-old Macey Kilty finished one match short of the title at 65 kg. However, she put up the most points for Team USA in the style. She scored 41 points in her first four matches before being shutout by Nonoka Ozaki in the finals. Kamal Bey went 2-2 in the 77-kg bracket in Greco-Roman. He dropped to the repechage after losing his second match and finished two wins away from a bronze medal. In those four matches, he scored 14 points. That was the most by any member of Team USA in Greco. Takedowns The distinction between a takedown and an exposure in the international styles is rarely relevant. At the end of the day, two points are the same as two points. However, for statistical tracking, it can be interesting to see how a wrestler racks up their points. In men’s freestyle, Team USA managed to score 164 of their 295 individual match points (56%) via takedowns. David Taylor was the largest contributor with 28 of his points coming via takedowns on his way to the championship at 86 kg. The women’s freestyle group scored the same proportion of points off of takedowns. As a team, they scored 146 of their 262 points from takedowns or 57%. Both Helen Maroulis, bronze medalist at 57 kg, and Amit Elor, gold medalist at 72 kg, scored 26 points off takedowns in the tournament. Perhaps more than ever, Greco has become a par terre sport. As a team, the American Greco squad scored only 18 points off takedowns and allowed only 22. Bey, Joe Rau, and Cohlton Schultz each scored four points from takedowns. Exposures In terms of exposures, men’s freestyle once again led the way with 86 points off of exposures. Arujau, the highest-scoring member of the team, scored 24 of those points. That total was far and away the most scored-off exposures for the team in that style. The next highest scorer via exposures was 74 kg runner-up Kyle Dake with 16. Points off exposures were an essential element of Grey’s run as well. She scored 28 points off exposures on her path to a bronze medal. Those 28 points were the most off exposures in women’s freestyle and for Team USA overall. Perhaps the best performance in Greco for Team USA belonged to Xavier Johnson. The veteran came up one match short of the bronze medal match. Along the way, he scored eight points on exposures, which was the most for the team in the style. Points Allowed Defense is always an essential part of wrestling, and in international tournaments, the best members of Team USA are usually quite stingy when it comes to allowing points. That was certainly the case for Elor. She allowed only four points in her four matches on the way to a gold medal. She allowed an exposure in a scramble against Kendra Dacher (France) in the semifinals before winning via a 12-2 score. In the finals, Enkh-Amaryn Davaanasan (Mongolia) was able to secure a takedown in the second period, but Elor closed out the win 8-2. No other champion for Team USA allowed fewer than the four points allowed by Elor. However, Taylor came close in men’s freestyle. The now four-time World/Olympic champion allowed only five points with three of those coming in the finals against rival Hassan Yazdani (Iran). Miscellaneous The new caution rule regarding fleeing the mat on the edge can introduce a level of randomness into matches. Officials seemingly do not call it consistently, and it can appear to run a one-point step out into a two-point move. However, there was little impact on Team USA in this tournament. The call was only made twice against Team USA, once each against Arujau and Zain Retherford. Opponents of Team USA were only called for it three times. Team USA was rather successful in the challenge department. The team scored 11 points off failed challenges while only allowing opponents three points. Perhaps coaches are more tactical in their application of challenges or winning matches resulting in more desperation from opponents. The squad was also extremely successful when it came to pushouts. The team, as a whole, scored 47 points on stepouts, while allowing only 17. While some fans are hesitant to embrace the idea of a step-out or push-out point in folkstyle, it seems likely that the background in folkstyle has helped the team do well in the international styles when it comes to step-outs.

Let’s take a look at the top 8 teams from last year’s inaugural NAIA Women’s Championship for an early prediction of how they might stack up for the 2023-24 season. Please note that not all teams have published lineups and what wrestlers are returning. 2023 Top Returning Teams based on NAIA Championship finishes 1. Southern Oregon (160 teams points) Southern Oregon ended with a first place finish at the inaugural NAIA Championship under first-year head coach Gabrielle Weyhrich to cap off a dominant season. While 2x champ Carolina Moreno and 4th place finisher Bella Amaro will be returning to the lineup next year, the Raiders graduated their five other All-Americans from last season. When asked in an interview how the team will fill this void, Weyhrich says, “I’m not worried at all. We focus on building everyone. When one senior leaves, the next person is ready to step into that position and do just as good as the person leaving.” In addition to Moreno and Amaro, junior Bailey Dennis is a 2022 All-American. At last year’s tournament, Dennis came in as the 12 seed and lost a close match in consolations after losing in the round of 16 to the 5 seed. Look for her to climb in the rankings throughout the season and reclaim a top 8 spot at the tournament again this year. Southern Oregon did pick up Grand View All-American Shenita Lawson in the off-season. Lawson placed 5th at 170 lbs at the tournament last year, and could help fill the gap in the lineup left by Joye Levendusky. 2. Life University (139.5 team points) Life University had an impressive finish but was still more than 20 points away from Southern Oregon’s final score. However, where SOU had 5 of their 7 All-Americans graduate, Life has at least 5 of their 8 All-Americans returning. Head Coach Ashley Flavin described the team as young last year, and they are bringing in a top-ranked class of recruits and transfers. There are quite a few factors on this roster that other top teams will have to contend with to keep Life from taking the top spot. Sarah Savidge only lost by 3 points to the reigning champ Lexie Basham in the finals of the NAIA tournament after a dominant run of pins and techs. She is also coming off a U20 Pan Am championship win this summer. As a sophomore, she has a lot of runway left in her college career. All three McBryde sisters are returning after qualifying for the tournament. Jamilah and Latifa McBryde finished as All-Americans. Also, look out for Devyn Gomez to make a real splash her senior year. She is a 2x All American and had a gritty path to an eighth place finish at last year’s tournament. She has gotten close to breaking through on some of her close matches and is clearly capable of a strong mental game to come back from a deficit. I could see her being the type of wrestler who has something to prove this year and ends with an even higher finish at the 2024 tournament. Finally, Asia Ray, 5x All-American and 2x National Champ, announced her transfer to Life from Wayland Baptist. She will wrestle unattached for the first part of the season, but will be eligible to compete as part of the team in time for the 2024 tournament. 3. Grand View University (123.5 team points) Grand View ended their 2023 season with a program record 3rd place finish, 16 points behind Life and just half a point ahead of Menlo. Alexis Gomez was the first Viking to make the finals at the tournament, however 2023 was her final collegiate season as she moved on to compete at the senior level. The team still has several returning All-Americans, however. Maya Davis came in 3rd at 123 as a freshman with 4 pins during the tournament. Catie Campbell, another freshman finished in 6th place at 123 as well. Both will be returning for their Sophomore years at Grand View. Campbell was ranked no. 2 at the tournament, while Davis was ranked no. 10. However, Davis pinned Campbell during the tournament to move to the 3rd place match. This speaks to the depth and level of talent this team has and ability to send a full lineup and then some to the tournament each year. Grand View’s third freshman All-American was Shenita Lawson, who transferred to Southern Oregon in the off season. The team will also be returning Andrea Schlabach at 130 lbs who placed 6th, Abby McIntyre at 170 lbs who placed 3rd, and Olivia Brown at 191 lbs who placed 5th. While the team did graduate a lot of talented wrestlers who had been with the program since its inception in 2019-20, they still have a lot of talent in the lineup and a consistent habit of being ranked in the top 3. 4. Menlo College (123 team points) Menlo just missed out on the 3rd place finish at the tournament with a half point difference between their final score and Grand View’s. However, the team is bringing back all 8 of their All-Americans from last year. Additionally, Coach Mike Ayala was officially hired as head coach this season after serving as the interim during the 2022-23 season. I think there could be a lot of cohesion and the ability to build on last year’s success given the factors at play. Alana Vivas made it to the finals for Menlo and took on the No. 1 seed at 123, Carolina Moreno from Southern Oregon. The match ended with Moreno winning 6-2, but Vivas kept it close and wrestled tough. She will certainly be a contender for the title this year as well as a 5th year wrestler. Haley Narahara will be another one to watch as she enters her sophomore year for the Oaks. Narahara finished in 4th at the tournament at 123 lbs, but is now listed on their roster at 116 lbs. Narahara also only lost her 3rd place match by 1 point, dropping it 13-14. The Oaks did not have an All American at 116 lbs this year, so Narahara could be a bright spot in their lineup given the talent they already have at the stacked 123 lb weight class. 5. University of Providence (102 team points) UP Wrestling falls 21 points behind Menlo to secure the 5th place finish. The team celebrated their first national champion as Ira Navarro claimed the title at 101 lbs. This win capped her 5th and final season at collegiate wrestling. However, her opponent who finished second was teammate Erin Hikiji who will be a sophomore this season. Given how dominant the two were in the tournament, Hikiji has a chance to continue the championship streak for the team. The team had a school record 6 All-Americans at the tournament and will be returning 4 of them. With record breaking performances this year and keeping a lot of talent on an otherwise young team, the Argos could find a way to break through to a top 4 finish in the coming season.