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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 #11-16 #16-20 #21-25 #26-30 #31-35 #36-40 #41-45 #46-50 10) Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) Weight: 285 lbs College Achievements: 3x All-American (7,4,2) 2022 Top-50 Ranking: #19 Greg Kerkvliet turned his best collegiate season to date in 2022-23 when he finished as a runner-up at the Big Ten and NCAA Championships and maintained a 63% bonus point percentage. Kerkvliet’s only three losses throughout the year came to the same opponent, Hodge Trophy winner Mason Parris (Michigan). Five of Kerkvliet’s 19 wins came over wrestlers who would finish the year on the NCAA podium. One of the notable ones came over Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) to preserve the Nittany Lions win over Iowa. Another came in the NCAA semifinals against future U23 world champion Wyatt Hendrickson. The victory over Hendrickson snapped an 18-match winning streak for the star from Air Force. 2023-24 Outlook: For the first time in his career, Kerkvliet might not have the eventual Hodge Trophy winner in his weight class. That being said, the presence of Gable Steveson is still looming over the 285 lb bracket this season. For now, Kerkvliet is the favorite. He might get a chance to assert himself in an unofficial early-season scrap against Hendrickson. The two are slated to square off at the All-Star Classic; however, Hendrickson appeared to be banged up in his U23 final. Kerkvliet has steadily improved his NCAA finish in each year he’s competed, so can he take the next step and finish on top of the podium in Kansas City? 9) Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) Weight: 184 lbs College Achievements: 3x NCAA All-American (2,3,3), 3x Big 12 Champion 2022 Top-50 Ranking: #17 After back-to-back third-place finishes at the NCAA Championships, Parker Keckeisen brought through and made his first NCAA finals in 2023. Keckeisen came up just a bit short in the championship match against nemesis Aaron Brooks (Penn State). Brooks has been responsible for three of Keckeisen’s five career losses. His only one during the 2022-23 season came against another frequent opponent, Trent Hidlay, in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational finals. Keckeisen avenged that loss with a dramatic pin in the final dual at the Collegiate Duals. One match earlier, Keckeisen defeated Kaleb Romero, who ended up taking third at nationals. After winning his third consecutive Big 12 title, Keckeisen was awarded the top-seed in Tulsa. 2023-24 Outlook: With Brooks moving up to 197 lbs, Keckeisen starts the year ranked number one at 184 lbs. He’s aiming to become UNI’s second NCAA champion since 2019 at 184 lbs. One of Keckeisen’s early challenges will come at the All-Star Classic, when he takes on second-ranked Bernie Truax (Penn State), Brooks’ replacement. Truax is the only opponent not named Brooks or Hidlay to defeat Keckeisen officially in college. The two traded wins at the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Just over a week later, most of the key contenders could be in attendance at the CKLV Invitationals. Wrestlers ranked #3-#6 have teams that have signed up. 8. Real Woods (Iowa) Weight: 141 lbs College Achievements: 2x NCAA All-American (2,6), 3x Conference Champion (2x Pac-12, 1x Big Ten) 2022 Top-50 Ranking: #28 After spending four years at Stanford, Real Woods transferred to Iowa for the 2022-23 season and thrived in his new home. Woods missed the first month of the year, but won a gritty decision against Casey Swiderski in the much-anticipated Iowa/Iowa State dual for his Hawkeye debut. Woods went on to win his first 20 matches in an Iowa singlet before falling to Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) in the NCAA finals. Along the way, Woods grabbed his third conference championship and first in the Big Ten after edging Brock Hardy (Nebraska) 2-1. A Big Ten title and a perfect record were enough to warrant the top-seed at the 2023 NCAA Championships. It marked the third time that Woods had received a seed in the top-four at nationals. To lock up a spot in the national finals, Woods this time majored Hardy, 11-1. 2023-24 Outlook: With so much uncertainty surrounding the Iowa program this season, Woods is one constant. A few weeks ago, news surfaced that returning champion Andrew Alirez planned to take an Olympic redshirt for the 2023-24 campaign. That bumped Woods up to the top spot in the latest rankings. I’m sure he’d rather have another shot at Alirez, but for now, Woods is that man to beat at 141 lbs. This weight class does have a pair of wrestlers with past wins against Woods; however, those are a few years in the past at this point. The move to Iowa has brought out the best in Woods and he seems to be a different wrestler from those previous seasons (when he was really good too). 7) Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) Weight: 133 lbs College Achievements: 4x NCAA All-American (4,2,2,2), 4x Big 12 Champion 2022 Top-50 Ranking: #7 Heading into the 2022-23 season, I’m sure Daton Fix wanted to avoid ending his year with a loss in the NCAA finals; something that happened in each of the previous three seasons. That ended up happening, but not in the manner he anticipated. Fix wasn’t able to return to the NCAA championship match for the first time in his career, losing to Vito Arujau (Cornell), 11-3. He’d stumble again in the third-place bout against Arizona State’s Michael McGee. Fix entered the national tournament with an unbeaten record for the third consecutive year. Throughout his career, he’s never been seeded lower than second at nationals (first 2x, second 2x). Before nationals, Fix captured his fourth Big 12 title making him the 10th Oklahoma State wrestler to achieve the feat. 2023-24 Outlook: Daton Fix enters his final year at Oklahoma State with a 103-6 career record. Obviously, three of those losses have come in the national finals. He’ll obviously want to avoid the distinction of being one of the best wrestlers never to win a national title. Fix starts the year ranked second in the nation behind Arujau. While it’s conceivable that Arujau could beat him again, it’s hard to fathom it being via major decision again. There’s a shot that the two tangle at the CKLV, as OSU is making the rare trip out to Vegas. 6) Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) Weight: 141 lbs College Achievements: 2023 NCAA Champion, 2x Big 12 Champion 2022 Top-50 Ranking: Not Ranked 2023 was a banner year for Andrew Alirez and Northern Colorado. The hometown boy became the school’s first NCAA All-American under Troy Nickerson and the first at UNC since 2010. His national title was the first by a Northern Colorado wrestler since 1962. Alirez capped off a perfect 28-0 record with an exciting 6-4 victory over Real Woods in the national finals. Along the way, Alirez claimed a title at the Southern Scuffle and finished the year with a bonus point percentage of over 71%. That was almost double his mark from the previous season (37%). 2023-24 Outlook: Alirez’s outlook is much easier to forecast than the other wrestlers we’ve profiled. He’s slated to take an Olympic redshirt this season. Alirez has always been excellent in freestyle dating back to his breakout spring in 2018 when he made the finals of the Junior World Team Trials before his senior year of high school. This year, Alirez traveled to the Ziolkowski Memorial in Poland and, not only won, but destroyed three-time world champion Haji Aliyev (Azerbaijan) in the process.

EIWA Preview Part One: Click Here Harvard University Projected Lineup 125 Diego Sotelo (#26) 133 Coleman Nogle or Jameson Garcia 141 Michael Jaffe* or Jaden Pepe or Dante Frinzi 149 Jack Crook or Kenny Herrmann 157 Joe Cangro or Cael Berg or Jimmy Harrington 165 Joshua Kim (#26)* or Evan Gleason 174 Phil Conigliaro (#12)* or Luke Rada 184 Leo Tarantino* or Alex Whitworth 197 Max Agresti HWT Jeff Crooks Overview The Crimson return three NCAA qualifiers from a season ago. Phil Conigliaro has made multiple trips to the NCAA Championships, just falling short of All-American status each time. He was new to the 174 lbs weight class last year - so expect improvement this year with a full season under his belt after moving up from 165 lbs. Diego Sotelo and Joshua Kim are the other returning qualifiers. Coach Jay Weiss is entering his 30th season as head coach of the team - which is currently one of the longest tenures in NCAA wrestling. Expect to see some new faces sprinkled into this line-up as well. Note: expect to see upper classmen like Jaffe, Conigliaro, Kim, and Tarantino wrestle in the second semester only. The first semester lineup will vary because of this. New Faces At 133 lbs, we will see a new face in either Coleman Nogle or Jameson Garcia. Garcia is an Illinois native with multiple state medals. Nogle comes from Mt. St. Joe’s Prep in Maryland, where he had a standout high school career. His solid 194th overall ranking is very respectable, while Garcia’s ranking was 101st. With both wrestlers being true freshmen, expect this to be a season-long battle to claim the starting spot. 141l bs freshman, Jaden Pepe, may see some action. His career was sound enough for a 146th overall senior recruit, as he was a Pennsylvania state medalist on numerous occasions. Expect Jaffee to man this spot once he returns or the second half of the season. Max Agresti was the 102nd ranked pound-for-pound senior in the class of 2023 MatScouts rankings. He had a decorated high school career, topping it off with a Beast of the East title. Look for him to improve as the year goes on at the 197 lbs weight class. Key Dates 11/19 – Keystone Classic, hosted at the University of Penn 12/1 – 12/2 – Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas will be a good early season test with some of the top wrestlers in the nation 12/29 – 12/30 – The Midlands is back and is as competitive as ever. A medal here puts you in the driver’s seat for a high-ranking heading into the second semester Find the entire schedule here Hofstra University Projected Lineup 125 Dylan Ryder or Dylan Acevedo-Switzer 133 Chase Liardi or Joe Sparacio or Ryan Arbeit 141 Justin Hoyle or Alex Turley or Cameron Ice 149 Noah Tapia or Dylan Zenion 157 Jurius Clark or Joe McGinty or Frank Volpe or Eric Shindel or Mike Leandrou 165 Clark/McGinty/Volpe/Shindel/Leandrou or Joe Russo or Jake Slotnick or Greyson Harris or Matt Rogers 174 Ross McFarland or Matt Waddell 184 Will Conlon or Ericson Velasquez 197 Nik Miller or Gavin Proffitt HWT Keaton Kluever or Danny Church or Adrian Sans Overview The Pride have a laundry list of potential starters at multiple weights. Hofstra typically takes their time in solidifying a lineup, which is not all that rare this day in age. Giving multiple guys a chance on the mat will only help improve depth at each weight thanks to the experienced mat time they receive. Hoyle has seen the EIWA podium multiple times and looks ready to make the next step to the NCAA tournament. Expect great results from McFarland, coming off a great redshirt season last year. New Faces Former NCAA qualifier for the Pride, Charles Small, is now officially on staff as an assistant. His experience and ability to be a training partner will be beneficial to the upper weights. Codi Russell is new to staff this year as well. He was a competitor at Appalachian State, where he was a four-time NCAA qualifier. He will be a key piece in the room for the lightweights, replacing long-time assistant Jamie Franco. An old, new face in Dylan Ryder is back with the program after last competing with The Pride in 2021. He was an EIWA placer in 2020, where the bracket was absolutely loaded with talent. He’s back and ready to go while being a leader heading into his sixth-year of eligibility. Another name worth mentioning is at heavyweight. Keaton Kluever comes from Minnesota. Entering his sixth year as a college athlete, look to him to step up as a leader. He has a 43-33 record, including redshirt seasons. Being in the same room and weight class as the one and only Gable Steveson may pay dividends in the long run. There are a lot of new faces in the potential lineup. In the interest of time, it may make sense to touch on who Hofstra lost this season. Last season’s NCAA Qualifiers Jacob Ferreira (184 lbs) and Trey Rogers (197 lbs) are out of eligibility. Long time heavyweight, Zachary Knighton-Ward, was a multiple time NCAA qualifier as well - exhausting his eligibility last season too. Hofstra will have an interesting year, as the final lineup could see up to seven or eight fresh faces from a season ago. We may need to give this team some time to develop into its full potential. Key Dates 11/19 – Ohio State (#7) visits Hofstra, where tOSU’s Tom Ryan began his coaching career 12/1 – 12/2 – The Las Vegas Invite is one of the toughest tournaments during the NCAA season 12/10 – Hofstra will travel to Penn State (#1) for a dual 1/7 – NC State (#6) will take on Hofstra in another tough home dual Find the entire schedule here Lehigh University (#24) Projected Lineup 125 Sheldon Seymour 133 Connor McGonagle (#8) or Ryan Crookham or Luke Stanich 141 Malyke Hines (#13) or Kimo Leia or Kelvin Griffin or Carter Bailey or McGonagle/Crookham 149 Owen Reinsel or Drew Munch or Richie Grungo or Matt Repos or Hines/Leia/Griffin 157 Max Brignola (#26) or Luca Frinzi or Richie Grungo 165 Jake Logan or Connor Herceg or Luca Frinzi 174 Thayne Lawrence or Jake Logan or Jared Schoppe or Connor Herceg 184 Caden Rogers or JT Davis or Jared Schoppe 197 Michael Beard (#10) HWT Nathan Taylor (#19) Overview The Mountain Hawks have a lot of talent – and a lot of depth. They still have a logjam in the lower weights, mainly at 133 lbs. Two potential top-eight studs will both be vying for the weight class. McGonagle got the nod last season, as Crookham was competing as a redshirt. It will be interesting to see how this plays out this season. Could Either one bump to 141 lbs? Then, what would happen to Hines – will he bump up to 149 lbs? The Hawks have what is described as “a good problem” depth wise – but can they fit all of the top talent into a competitive dual meet lineup? At the moment, the team only has five ranked wrestlers. Expect that number to jump up quickly once competition starts. The Mountain Hawks had the #16 recruiting class in the NCAA in the 2022 season. It’s time for those big recruits to step into the lineup. At the moment, it does not appear they have the horsepower to overcome Cornell in the conference, but Lehigh has been a steady top-three contender annually. New Faces Owen Reinsel made an appearance in a single dual meet last season. We may see him more regularly this season at 149lbs. In addition to him at the weight we could see first-year guys like Grungo of New Jersey, or Repos of Central Dauphin, PA. They are both multiple time state medalists. The 165 lbs weight class will have a skinny Jake Logan after holding down the 174lbs class for a few years. He decided to make the cut this season. Expect him to take a few weeks to adjust, as usual with guys dropping a weight class. Herceg has seen action in duals, as has Frinzi. Frinzi was an NCAA Qualifier in the COVID-shortened 2021 season. Lawrence has not seen the starting line-up since he began his time at Lehigh. This may be the year we see him breakthrough into the lineup as a starter and shine like he did in high school. He was ranked inside the top-5 at the 160 lbs weight class his senior year of high school. Hopefully, some consistency in the lineup will assist him in finding his true potential. If Lawrence develops like he can, the top half of the lineup will be very solid. Mountain Hawk fans are excited for Caden Rogers at 184 lbs. Coming off a redshirt year due to an injury, expect him to help solidify the top of the lineup. He is tough, and scrappy. Plus, he can be dangerous from upper body positions. It may help that he has a great wrestling pedigree. His father was a two-time All-American as a competitor at Lock Haven and is the current head coach at Franklin & Marshall. Key Dates 12/3 – Traveling to take on Penn State (#1) 12/8 – On the road again, traveling to Oklahoma State (#12) for a dual 2/24 – They head to the western U.S. to dual at Arizona State (#11) Find the entire schedule here Long Island University Projected Lineup 125 Robby Sagaris 133 Kaelan Francois 141 Devin Matthews 149 Drew Witham 157 Rhise Royster 165 James Johnston 174 Blake Bahna 184 Joe Lopresti 197 John Dusza HWT Aeden Begue Overview The Sharks of LIU are the newest members of the EIWA. After re-instating the program in 2014, it returned as D2 school. They’ve made the jump to D1, and have been in the EIWA since the 2019-20 season. Last year’s results may not be flashy. But, if you followed this team throughout the season, it was evident to see the improvement they collectively went through from start to finish. They lost a lot of close matches at EIWAs, closing the gap on many of them from earlier in the season. This program will see more improvements this year with a very similar looking lineup from a year ago. Another year of experience is always a good thing. It won’t be too much longer until we start seeing an LIU Shark at NCAAs every year. New Faces With Blake Bahna bumping up one weight to 174 lbs, we will probably see James Johnston fill in at the 165 lbs void. He appeared in one outing last season and suffered an injury. He was a state runner-up in Michigan coming out of high school. Johnston will have a tough conference in terms of depth. We can expect a lot of NCAA qualifiers at this weight. This is a good thing for a wrestler like James. One upset or injury can propel him onto the podium, and likely an NCAA appearance. Key Dates 1/5 – Lancaster Open will give the Sharks wrestlers an opportunity for some wins 1/21 – They dual Morgan State, Clarion, and Kent State in quad dual setting. This should give them a chance to earn some dual wins. 2/9 – Traveling to VMI for a dual against the Keydets and Bellarmine for a chance for more dual wins Find the entire schedule here Naval Academy Projected Lineup 125 Evan Tallmadge 133 Brendan Ferretti (#22) or Garrett Totten 141 Josh Koderhandt (#28) 149 Nicholas Vafiadis or James Latona 157 Jonathan Ley or Tyler Sagi 165 Andrew Cerniglia (#27) or Geno Quodala 174 Danny Wask (#32) 184 David Key (#17) or Cael Crebs 197 Jake Lucas (#33) HWT Grady Griess (#13) Overview Cary Kolat’s Navy Midshipmen will be looking to improve upon their tied-for-fourth place team finish at the 2023 EIWAs. With only one of the six returning place finishers not coming back, the expectation for improvement is there. Navy is a fun team to watch, as they fight hard for the entire match. Cerniglia will try his luck up a weight class, after battling some injuries at 157 lbs during the first years of his career. Ferretti came on strong at EIWAs and built more confidence with his NCAA tournament appearance. Grady Griess is looking to repeat as EIWA champion, in hopes of being joined by another teammate or two in the process. Josh Koderhandt is always reliable to be standing high on that EIWA podium too. This year’s team will be an entertaining one to watch! New Faces Evan Tallmadge was a two-time NJ state champion in high school. He’s expected to fill in at 125 lbs this season. His high school career was obviously a successful one, but he’s also proven he can compete at the college level with wins over some elite NCAA wrestlers on the freestyle scene. Look for him to be in the mix in this loaded weight class across the conference. At 149 lbs, the new face in the expected lineup is Nick Vafiadis. He was at the Navy Prep school a season ago wrestling in opens at 157 lbs. He was 19-6 on the year including a bunch of wins over D1-rostered wrestlers. Expect good results from him. Expect one or two new faces at 157 lbs for Navy. Jonathan Ley was 13-2 last season at 165lbs, wrestling in opens for the Navy prep school. He was high school National Prep runner-up, and Beast of the East champion in 2021-22 season. His class ranking in 2022 was 86th. Tyler Sagi is a true freshman and was a New Jersey state fourth place finisher a season ago. He will have his first collegiate action this year. Danny Wask may be the most anticipated new starter in the lineup. The Blair Academy prep was a standout wrestler, obtaining numerous prestigious accomplishments. Coming out of high school, he was the 18th ranked pound-for-pound senior in high school. Wrestling unattached in the Midlands last season, he wrestled to a fourth-place finish upsetting some NCAA qualifiers on the way. Wask has a very high ceiling, and Navy fans should be excited to see him perform. If Navy continues to climb the ladder in the EIWA, do not be shocked if Wask is one of the main forces behind it. Key Dates 11/4 – An early road test at Illinois (#18) 11/18 – Navy Classic is an annually tough event for many schools 12/1 - 12/2 – The Las Vegas Invite is a grind of an early season tournament. 1/28 – Coach Kolat returns to North Carolina (#26) for a January dual Find the entire schedule here University of Pennsylvania (#19) Projected Lineup 125 Ryan Miller (#20) or Max Gallagher 133 Michael Colaiocco (#7) or Alex Almeyda 141 CJ Composto (#7) 149 Jude Swisher or Andy Troczynski 157 Lucas Revano (#30 @ 165lbs) or Swisher 165 Cole Spencer or Kaya Sement 174 Nick Incontrera (#14) 184 Maximus Hale 197 Cole Urbas (#22) or Martin Cosgrove HWT John Stout Overview The Penn Quakers have been a fascinating team to watch climb the EIWA ladder in such a short time. Everything from recruiting, scheduling, training, and analytics has been an important emphasis during the process. The culture and belief of the squad may be the most impressive aspect. The team’s second place finish at EIWAs in 2022, and third place finish in 2023 is only helping motivate them to be on top. This lineup projections have many veterans, mixed in with some young talent. CJ Composto is a returning All-American from two seasons ago - he missed last year with an injury. It’s time to finally see how the 20th ranked recruiting class from 2022 pans out, which included two top-100 recruits in Cosgrove (#26) and Troczynski (#62). New Faces We saw Coach BJ Futrell leave the Quakers for an opportunity at Northwestern. We’ll see PRTC athlete Tyler Berger replace him on the coaching staff. Tyler was a three-time All-American at Nebraska, including a runner-up finish in 2019. The middle weights are in good hands. We may see Max Gallagher get some reps at 125lbs. He was a New York state champion last year while also capturing medals at Fargo and Super32. He was ranked as high as 3rd in the nation as a senior in high school. Alex Almeyda will likely see some mat time at 133lbs. The St Joseph Regional standout was a four-time New Jersey place finisher, plus earned medals at numerous national folkstyle and freestyle events. He will be ready to fill in for seasoned veteran, Colaiocco, as needed. Jude Swisher will be in the middle of the lineup somewhere, either at 149lbs or 157lbs. The freshman was 20-7 last season wrestling unattached in opens. The Bellefonte, PA native is three-time state medalist. The discussion around him has been very positive. Another talented new face at 149lbs is Andy Troczynski. He was a two-time state champ in New Jersey. With no college wrestling results yet, the predictions of his success could be based on his high school career. Based on that, expect him to make some noise in this weight class. In another weight class change in the conference, we will see Lucas Revano down at 157lbs after spending three years at 165lbs. He is a multiple time place winner at EIWAs, and qualified for NCAAs once. If he can manage the weight cut, expect him to be in the mix at his new weight class. Replacing Revano at 165lbs, we may see Kaya Sement. He has collegiate results in opens, down at 149lbs. He’ll bring his 22-7 career record into the starting lineup after years of waiting in the wings behind studs like Doug Zapf and Anthony Artalona. Kaya, along with Spencer, will look to be regulars in the lineup now. Spencer has seen dual results in the past, so this is not too foreign for him. Looking to challenge returning NCAA Qualifier, Cole Urbas, at 197 lbs is Martin Cosgrove. Cosgrove was a two-time New Jersey state champ from Camden Catholic. During his unattached campaign last season, he showed great results. This weight class’s future is bright. John Stout will look to be the big guy in the line-up. He’s spent four years at 184 lbs, so expect a physically larger John Stout next time you see him on the mat. Key Dates 11/19 – Keystone Classic hosted by the PRTC, held at University of Penn 12/1 – Iowa (#8) comes to Philadelphia for a dual 12/29 – 12/30 – Midlands will be an exciting, tough test for the Quakers over the holiday season 1/6 – Rutgers (#14) will make a trip to dual Penn Find the entire schedule here Princeton University Projected Lineup 125 Drew Heethuis 133 Anthony Clark or Sean Pierson or Nick Kayal 141 Chris Martino or Tyler Vaquez 149 Drew Lang or Eligh Rivera 157 Rocco Camillaci or Blaine Bergey 165 Holden Garcia or Luca Pontone 174 Mikey Squires or Nate Stefanik 184 Nate Dugan (#32) 197 Luke Stout (#14) HWT Matt Cover or Sebastian Garibaldi Overview Princeton has some big shoes to fill after NCAA Champion, Patrick Glory, has graduated. In addition to Glory, another 2X All-American has also graduated in Quincy Monday. With long-time head coach, Chris Ayres, moving out west to Stanford - this almost seems like somewhat of a rebuild for Princeton on paper - as I’m sure new head coach, Joe Dubuque, and the Tiger faithful would disagree. This lineup will test the waters for Princeton’s last two recruiting classes, which have been in the top-25 over the past two seasons. Expect a lot of new faces, especially in the lower and middle weights. One key injury to note is former Cadet World Champion, Marc-Anthony McGowan at 125lbs. He was slated to be the probable starter but will miss the season due to injury. New Faces Quincy Monday finished his career as a two-time All-American as a Princeton Tiger. He will take on a new role as an assistant coach on the staff. He’s not exactly a new face, but his infectious smile can be seen in fashionable attire on match day, in lieu of a singlet. Drew Heethuis will be the proposed starter at 125lbs. The true freshman is a three-time Michigan state champion. This led him to be ranked 111th in the pound-for-pound rankings of this year’s class by MatScouts. As mentioned, he has huge shoes to fill. He has the credentials to become an All-American, at minimum, for The Tigers. A potential starter at 141lbs was also on the MatScouts Big Board rankings. Clocking in at number 83, Tyler Vazquez was a two-time New Jersey state champ and multiple-time Beast of the East placer - including a title in 2022. There are some high expectations for Vazquez, based on a superb high school career. Moving into the next weight class, we find another Big Board pound-for-pound recruit. Eligh Rivera finished the 2023 season as the 72nd overall recruit. The Lake Highland Prep standout was a multiple-time NHSCA finalist, and two-time National Prep Champion. He’s another highly-skilled freshman who is expected to make some noise in this line-up. The final potential new face in the line-up will be Holden Garcia. He was ranked 80th in the pound-for-pound rankings mentioned previously. The district 11 native was a three-time place finisher at the PA state championships – including a title in 2022. He’s expected to produce at a high level, along with the rest of this fantastic first year class. Key Dates 11/5 – The Princeton Open opens up the season for many teams of multiple divisions 12/3 – Indiana comes to town. Head Coach Dubuque won two NCAA titles there as a wrestler 12/8 – Rutgers (#14) will host Princeton in an all New Jersey battle 12/29 – 12/30 – The Midlands will be a tough test for this young line-up to prove themselves Find the entire schedule here Sacred Heart University Projected Lineup 125 Jake Ice or Mikey Manta 133 Andrew Fallon 141 Chris Naegele 149 Mike McGhee 157 Brandon Teresa 165 Scott Jarosz 174 Ryan Bolletino 184 Hunter Perez 197 Jake Trovato HWT Marc Berisha Overview The Pioneers of Sacred Heart are one of the smaller schools in the conference, in terms of student population. They, however, have the largest roster with over fifty student athletes. They will be extra motivated this year to reverse last season’s EIWA results. They finished with zero medalists at the conference championships, and Coach Clark knows they are poised for a better year. Only five of the eleven projected starters competed at the EIWA championships - which makes the line-up a little inexperienced. Also because of this, along with their large roster size, expect a few guys to self-motivate and find a way onto the EIWA podium - and ultimately - a trip to the NCAA Championships. New Faces Technically, all of the listed starters have had a collegiate match in some sort of official form. Some have only had a couple of career matches while others have had a couple dozen. With a handful of events in the first semester where they can enter multiple wrestlers, this line-up will be probably be changing before we get to the second semester. This is worth revisiting in a few months to see if anyone makes some noise and separates themselves from the pack. Key Dates 11/11 – Journeymen Classic with duals LIU and Bloomsburg for an early chance to get in the win column 1/5 – F&M Open is a tough open to begin the second semester 1/14 – Duals against Queens (D2) and VMI for more opportunities to win some matches Find the entire schedule here