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all photos courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com Welcome to 2024! The New Year has already started with almost two full days of the Southern Scuffle and action will continue tonight as ninth-ranked Virginia Tech travels to number three Missouri for an incredible non-conference dual. As we move into the second half of the collegiate season, everything starts to come into focus more. Results from previous seasons mean less and the 2023-24 season really takes form. With that in mind, we still have a lot to learn about this wrestling season. There are plenty of questions I’m hoping will get answered during the final two months of the regular season. With it being 2024, 24 seemed like the appropriate number of questions to ask. Since we’ve been thorough in answering the questions, this feature will need two parts. The second part will be ready later in the week. 1. How does 125 lbs shake out for Penn State? The lightest weight class has been an issue for Penn State since the graduation of Nico Megaludis after winning a national title in 2016. I’m sure non-Penn State fans are not shedding a tear for the program that’s won ten national championships since 2011, but the 125 lb representative is a major talking point for college wrestling’s superpower. One of the top recruits from the Class of 2020, Robbie Howard made the 2021 tournament as a true freshman, then missed two full years due to injury. He’s returned this season and went 3-4 in two tournaments. Howard has not gotten the call in any of PSU’s duals. Against Lehigh, Cael Sanderson turned to Gary Steen, a sophomore who’s 6-3 on the year. Steen does have a loss to Howard this year at the Black Knight Invite. Also in the mix is Michigan transfer Kurt McHenry; though McHenry went 1-1 at the Mat Town Open and medically forfeited out of the tournament after a loss to Binghamton true freshman Carson Wagner. Perhaps the best option is true freshman Braeden Davis. He got the call in the Hofstra dual and responded with a major decision to run his season record to 8-0. In winning the Black Knight Invite, Davis downed a pair of ranked wrestlers in #31 Ethan Berginc (Army West Point) and #32 Tristan Lujan (Michigan State). The question is whether or not Sanderson wants to pull Davis from redshirt in a year where the Nittany Lions should probably win the NCAA title by a comfortable margin. That gap shrunk in December as the program announced second-ranked Shayne Van Ness would miss the remainder of the season because of injury. With Iowa potentially getting stronger, the allure of Davis may be too much to pass up. 2. Will we see Ferrari(s)? To pull back the curtain a bit, these questions were written out before the Soldier Salute. Because of the hi-jinks caused by AJ, and to a lesser extent Anthony, it may have impacted their potential standing with the University of Iowa. What we know is that both AJ and Anthony are not enrolled at Iowa, yet. It appears that both have intended to do so and AJ released pictures from an official visit earlier last week. The spring semester at the University of Iowa starts on January 16th. In order to get started with classes, both would have to have already been involved in some phase of the enrollment process. I’m assuming there should be an answer soon on whether both are accepted. I’m operating under the assumption that Tom Brands is moving forward with attempting to add both to the roster and the Salute finals didn’t impact that decision. The biggest potential hurdle could come from the athletic department and the administration within. Will AJ’s history at Oklahoma State and perhaps the scene at the Salute be a bring too far for them? Ultimately, if I had to choose, I’d say both are available to wrestle for Brands this season. Since AJ was disqualified from the Salute for flagrant misconduct, that may push back a debut. Typically, an athlete disqualified for that reason would have to sit out the next event, but I’m not sure of the interpretation of that rule since AJ is not on a roster. 3. How does Missouri’s lineup work itself out? After Penn State, Missouri is one of the three teams that could make an argument for that number two spot in the dual rankings. Even so, there are a couple of spots in the Mizzou lineup that need to be determined in the second half of the season. Mainly, 133 and 149 lbs. Before the season, most assumed top 2022 recruit, Zeke Seltzer would slide into the starting lineup at 133 lbs as a redshirt freshman. Seltzer went 0-2 in dual competition and recently competed at 141 lbs for the Soldier Salute. It was another redshirt freshman, Kade Moore, who has recently gotten the call for Brian Smith at 133 lbs. Moore is now 7-2 with both losses coming to #29 Tyler Wells (Minnesota). He’s a perfect 3-0 in dual competition and tallied bonus points in two of those wins. With Seltzer competing at 141 lbs, I’d assume we’ll continue to see Moore at 133 lbs until further notice. Both Nate Pulliam and Logan Gioffre have seen time in the Tiger lineup and both have had their moments. Gioffre had a win over 2022 Big 12 runner-up Willie McDougald in Missouri’s win over Oklahoma. Pulliam has a pair of ranked wins; the most impressive came over CKLV placer Gabe Willochell during Missouri’s 40-6 romp over Wyoming. With Pulliam having to end his Soldier Salute tournament early due to an injury default, I’d expect Gioffre to get the next crack at solidifying the starting role. 4. When will Michigan get to full strength? During the offseason, Michigan reloaded with a transfer portal haul that included four past All-Americans Michael DeAugustino (125), Chris Cannon (133), Shane Griffith (174), and Lucas Davison (285). They’ll receive another shot-in-the-arm from 2022 Big Ten champion and All-American Austin Gomez, who is expected to join the team in the second half. After some unfortunate early-season injuries, Michigan has been and could be without some of those important cogs. Cannon only saw action in part of one bout, a Columbia dual, and was injured and has been on the shelf since November 17th. DeAugustino made the CKLV semifinals and suffered an apparent leg injury against Cornell’s Brett Ungar. DeAugustino attempted to continue but had to default out of that match and the tournament. Since Michigan hasn’t had any duals scheduled in December, he hasn’t missed any duals. The Wolverines also have been without redshirt freshman Rylan Rogers, the projected starter at 184 lbs, for each of their first two duals and the CKLV Invite. Rogers did return for the Cleveland State Open on December 9th and won three of four bouts. The emergence of Jaden Bullock with a sixth-place finish has allowed the Michigan staff to be cautious with Rogers. We’ll see if Rogers can regain his spot in the lineup. Michigan is back in action on Thursday evening against #13 South Dakota State which is a very strong out-of-conference test. We’ll see if Michigan is closer to full strength for the Jackrabbits. If DeAugustino goes, he’ll have a tough challenge in #19 Tanner Jordan, whom he defeated 6-3 in Vegas. 5. Does a 125 lb favorite emerge? In short, no! I think the volatility that we saw during the first two months of the season will continue for the rest of the year. As far as the favorites go, I’d still look toward the wrestlers who have “been there and done that” in the past. Specifically, #1 Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) and #5 Matt Ramos (Purdue). Those two wrestlers have both wrestled at an extremely high level for the last year and a half. Others at this weight have gone up and down during that time. One guy I’d single out as someone who has been very consistent thus far is Caleb Smith. In his final year of eligibility, but first year at Nebraska, after wrestling at Appalachian State, Smith has won 13 of 14 matches and was third in Vegas. There he posted wins over Ramos and All-American Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State). This weekend, Smith will have matches against ranked opponents #7 Jore Volk (Wyoming) and #28 Trever Anderson (Northern Iowa) before getting into the Big Ten schedule. The Volk match is particularly important as he’s responsible for Smith’s only loss of the year. Other matches to watch of note this week include #2 Noah Surtin (Missouri) vs. #10 Cooper Flynn (Virginia Tech) and #3 Dean Peterson (Rutgers) vs. #21 Max Gallagher (Penn). Both Surtin and Peterson are undefeated, but haven’t wrestled any top contenders. Both opponents would represent the toughest test of the year. Should Surtin/Peterson continue winning, they could elevate themselves to favorite status. 6. Who wrestles 141 for the Hokies? Currently, Virginia Tech has nine of ten starters in the rankings with the “lowest” being Andy Smith at 197 lbs. The only weight class without a ranked Hokie is 141 lbs. In a perfect world, Tony Robie’s squad would redshirt Tom Crook and hope that one of their top-100 recruits, Mac Church or Hunter Mason, emerges as “the guy” at 141. Crook was in their shoes last year as a true freshman and earned the #15 seed at the 2023 NCAA Tournament. It appeared as if Crook was gearing up for a move to 149 lbs in 2024-25 since he wrestled in two tournaments in November at 149. At the Midlands, Crook was back down at 141 lbs and ended up in the semifinals before he fell, 9-6, to the eventual champion, undefeated Jordan Titus of West Virginia. Crook rebounded to finish third. His teammates Church and Mason both missed out on the podium and both were eliminated by Michigan State’s Jordan Hamdan. Crook had an 8-2 victory over Hamdan in the consolation semifinals. Circling back to the freshmen, Mason had three wins to Church’s two; however, Church’s win over 2023 Shannon Hanna (Campbell) was the most impressive victory between the two. With matches against Mizzou and Cornell this week for Virginia Tech and both expected to be close, we’ll probably get some sort of an answer, at least as far as Crook is concerned. 7. Can Echemendia take the next step? It seems as if Anthony Echemendia’s return to college wrestling with Iowa State slipped under the radar, a bit. He was in Iowa State’s wrestle-off at 149 lbs, but many fans assumed that spot belonged to Casey Swiderski. Echemendia won that wrestle-off and initially competed at 149 lbs, before dropping to 141. In his second match at the weight, Echemendia nearly knocked off top-ranked Real Woods in the Cy-Hawk dual. At the CKLV Echemendia finished seventh in a loaded weight. Since then, he’s registered a pair of major decisions over 2023 EIWA champion Vince Cornella (Cornell). In Vegas, he pinned returning qualifier Cleveland Belton (Oregon State) and at the Collegiate Duals, he majored 2022 All-American Cole Matthews. Echemendia’s only losses have come to top-ten opponents and he’s never looked overmatched. With a freestyle-only background, Echemendia has looked solid on the mat, as well. At his current rate of improvement, it’s not far-fetched to think that Echemendia could reverse some of his previous losses and put himself into high All-American status. 8. How good can South Dakota State be? Currently, the South Dakota State Jackrabbits sit in 13th place in both InterMat’s individual and dual rankings. SDSU’s 3-2 record is certainly not indicative of their actual talent as those two defeats came at the hands of #4 Nebraska and #12 Minnesota. Both duals were within six team points and South Dakota State was without at least two key starters in the Minnesota dual. They’ll continue to get tested this week as #10 Michigan comes to visit. As mentioned above, Michigan may not be entirely healthy themselves. SDSU has shown signs of getting back to full health with Clay Carlson returning at the Soldier Salute and Bennett Berge debuting against Nebraska. Both took losses that you wouldn’t necessarily expect; however, that could be some rust. In addition to the Michigan dual, South Dakota State has matches against undefeated Navy, both Oklahoma schools, and third-ranked Missouri on the schedule. They’ll be tested multiple times and have an opportunity to prove themselves in dual competition. As a tournament team, SDSU is very intriguing. Their big gun is 197 lber Tanner Sloan, a 2023 NCAA runner-up. Replicating a finals performance will be difficult as the weight class is loaded. Sloan already took a loss in the CKLV semifinals to Maryland’s Jaxon Smith. The Big 12 has title contenders like Stephen Buchanan (Oklahoma) and Rocky Elam (Missouri) in the mix. Sloan has exchanged wins with both. Another returning All-American for SDSU is Carlson. It’s too early to judge whether or not he’ll be able to get back on the podium for a third time. He and Sloan led the Jackrabbits to a 14th-place finish in Tulsa last March. A positive for Damion Hahn’s team is that they are far from a two-man show. A title at the CKLV helped elevate Cade DeVos into fourth place in the rankings at 174 lbs. He has a mammoth matchup with the Wolverines and former national champion Shane Griffith, who slots in right behind him in the rankings. DeVos came up a match shy of placing in 2023, this time around the question may be “how high” rather than “if” he cracks the top eight. The Jackrabbits lightweights have the potential to make an impact at nationals, too. It’s been well-documented that 125 lbs is really a crapshoot nationally. Is there a good reason why #19 Tanner Jordan couldn’t find a way onto the podium? So far, this season Jordan has wins over two-time All-American Patrick McKee (Minnesota) and upstart freshmen Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State) and Trever Anderson (Northern Iowa). Perhaps the most improved wrestler on the SDSU team is their 133 lber Derrick Cardinal. Cardinal was sixth in Vegas and has already surpassed his win total (13 to 11) from his entire freshman year. Again, 133 lbs is rather manageable after the top tier of contenders. Someone like the #14th ranked Cardinal making the All-American round wouldn’t be a huge shock. Just because a wrestler made the podium in the past, doesn’t guarantee they’ll do so in the future, so you can’t just pencil in Sloan/Carlson as high All-Americans, if they can find their way back and DeVos continues to impress, plus with some help from the lightweights, surpassing 2023’s 14th place finish at nationals is certainly doable. 9. Does Gable return? One of the storylines of the offseason and preseason was whether or not Gable Steveson would return and use his final year of eligibility. And, if so, would it be at Minnesota? The two-time Hodge Trophy winner and Olympic gold medalist turned his sights to the WWE after winning his second national championship in 2022. Steveson returned for the 2023 US Open and lapped the field. He solidified a spot on the world team after defeating Mason Parris at Final X, but withdrew from the team prior to World’s. Parris went on to capture bronze in his place. All the while, there were plenty of whispers about how Steveson may not be progressing as well as hoped with the WWE. Almost on cue, Steveson started to appear on TV semi-frequently. Even so, talks about a return to his roots on the wrestling mat have persisted. People close to Gable say he wants a shot at a second Olympic gold medal and what better way to train than with a collegiate program, sort of in conjunction with the WWE. So will we see Gable again in the collegiate ranks? The talk around Gable has subsided in the past few months. During the preseason, it almost felt like an inevitability that he’d return. And for Minnesota, despite taking a visit to Iowa. The final decision likely rests in the laps of the decision-makers with the WWE. Like the Ferrari situation, you’d imagine that we’ll find out more soon as the spring semester at the University of Minnesota is rapidly approaching. 10. Did we overestimate Cornell? Earlier this season, we had Cornell ranked as the number two overall team in both tournaments and duals. As the clock turns to the New Year, the Big Red sits at ninth in tournaments and eighth in duals. So, we dropped the ball, right? Not necessarily (but maybe). Cornell’s only dual loss came in that now-infamous Collegiate Duals match against Iowa State, where four starters were held out of the competition. Had the 133, 157, and 165 lbers wrestled, they might have beaten ISU and things look much differently. Dual rankings also can’t be done thinking about “what may have happened” had someone wrestled. Despite the dual loss to Iowa State, Cornell can change the perception this week with two massive duals against #6 Ohio State and #9 Virginia Tech. At this time, we’re unsure of the status of those wrestlers for Cornell. Should they sweep this trying gauntlet, Cornell likely climbs back toward the top five or six. Now tournament rankings are strictly determined by individual rankings. Once the rankings are set, there’s no further human element. One factor that stung Cornell in the rankings (and on the mat/locker room) was the loss of past All-American Jonathan Loew to injury. His career is said to be over, now. Initially, it looked like the Big Red would have a past AA at 184 lbs and a returning third-place finisher (Chris Foca) at 174 lbs. In Loew’s absence, Foca has moved up to 184 and Benny Baker has gotten the nod at 174. As of yet, Baker hasn’t been able to crack the national rankings and Foca has a few hiccups in Vegas acclimating to the new weight. That accounts for around 9-10 team points. Vito Arujau had his surprising loss to freshman Ryan Crookham and now sits in second place. I’d imagine many fans probably expect the world champion to eventually find his way and get back to the top of the podium. Should he do so, that would be an additional four team points (we don’t account for bonus points in rankings; so maybe more). A wild card would be Meyer Shapiro at 157 lbs. The top recruit in the Class of 2023 came into Ithaca with plenty of hype and high expectations. My thought process was that he’d be around the top 5-8 range after Vegas. Shapiro won that highly anticipated bout with two-time All-American Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) via major decision, but lost to a pair of lower-ranked wrestlers, so he currently sits at #15. With Cornell slated to face Ohio State and Virginia Tech, Shapiro could have another bout with Andonian and #12 Paddy Gallagher this week. Later in the season, he has duals scheduled against #5 Brock Mauller (Missouri) and #6 Ed Scott (NC State). It’s not a stretch to think he could climb into that 5-8 range before the NCAA tournament. Should he do so, that’s at least four-plus points we haven’t taken into consideration. Adding those potential points from Arujau/Shapiro and expecting Foca to settle in and improve on his eighth-place ranking, suddenly makes Cornell look much better than their current ninth-place ranking in tournaments. 11. Is this the year Rutgers is top-15 in duals and tournaments? Rutgers is a team that, in the past, has been excellent in tournaments (2019 - NCAA 9th), while not being great in duals (2019 - 12-6) and vice versa. In 2022 they were 16-5 in duals, but 20th at nationals. This could be the year where the Scarlet Knights finish the year top-15 in both. In InterMat’s latest rankings update, Rutgers has a wrestler in the top-33 at eight of the ten weights, meaning they are extremely balanced and can hang with anyone in the nation in dual competition. That has proven to be the case so far with a 5-1 record. The only blemish was a 19-12 loss to Virginia Tech and they have generally throttled all other opponents. Rutgers seems ready to make an impact at the NCAA tournament with three wrestlers ranked in the top eight of their respective weight classes. That doesn’t include Midlands finalist Dylan Shawver (133 lbs), undefeated Mitch Moore (141 lbs), and past All-American Jackson Turley (174). They also have a wild card in Brian Soldano (184 lbs) who can pin or be pinned by almost anyone in the country. Scott Goodale’s team is one that I’ll be following closely in the second half of the season as they have a handful of guys that look like contenders, yet haven’t been severely tested thus far. Dean Peterson (125), Mitch Moore (141), John Poznanski (197), and Yara Slavikouski (285) all are unbeaten. Should they excel under the rigorous Big Ten schedule, they all could rise higher than their current national rankings. Rutgers will get a solid test this weekend in an equally balanced dual team in Penn. Last season, the Scarlet Knights defeated the Quakes in an exciting 19-12 dual at the “Garden State Grapple.” The front half of the Big Ten schedule shouldn’t necessarily feature any stumbling blocks for Rutgers, as a team; though there are some intriguing matchups (Peterson/Matt Ramos - January 14th). It’s the second half of the conference schedule where it really heats up team-wise. Rutgers’ last five B1G duals include dates with #10 Michigan, #12 Minnesota, #6 Ohio State, #1 Penn State, and #21 Maryland. 12. Can Navy go undefeated? If you missed watching Navy matches over the first two months of the season, it was your loss! The Midshipmen had a knack for engaging in fun duals and had close wins over Illinois and Pittsburgh among their six dual wins, against no losses. As we move into the back half of the wrestling season, will Navy be able to remain undefeated? Navy has nine matches remaining on their schedule and a handful of interesting duals. There’s the possibility that Cary Kolat’s team suffers two or three losses, but at the same time, there’s a chance they could win out too. Looking at InterMat’s Dual rankings, #13 South Dakota State would present the stiffest challenge at the Virginia Duals. That weekend they are slated to meet #18 Oklahoma and #30 Wisconsin. In their first outing after the Duals, Navy has #28 Lehigh. Don’t be deceived by Lehigh’s dual record (0-3), they’re tough. The Mountain Hawks always are solid in dual competition and match up well against Navy. Going down Navy’s schedule, they’ll also have duals with #27 North Carolina and MAC power Lock Haven. As always, they’ll wrap up with the Star Match against rival Army West Point. That’s one of those matches where you can throw the records and rankings out the window. With the amount of ranked opponents left on Navy’s schedule, it seems hard to believe that they can navigate through the entire docket without a slip-up; however, just asking the question proves how far the team has come under Kolat.

The calendar has flipped to 2024 and we are going to open the new year with a great dual between the #9 Hokies and the #3 Missouri Tigers. There are some solid matches up and down the lineup here and the Hokies will need to get a couple upsets in order to pull off the dual win in Columbia. 125: #10 Cooper Flynn v #2 Noah Surtin Flynn returned by knocking off #4 Nico Provo and just placed 4th at the Midlands, while Surtin is unbeaten. This should be a great matchup to kick off the dual. 133: #5 Sam Latona v Kade Moore Latona will be looking to add bonus points over an unranked Moore; he is coming off a 5th place finish at the Midlands. 141: Tom Crook v #20 Josh Edmond Tom Crook is out of redshirt and will make his dual debut in Columbia. He competed unattached at the Midlands and had a phenomenal tournament, finishing in 3rd. The Hokies will look to Tampa Tom for an upset here. 149: #2 Caleb Henson v Logan Gioffre Henson will face the first of two Gioffre’s he will wrestle this season--brothers Jack and Michael are at UVA. Henson has looked incredible all year and will be looking to help the team with bonus points. 157: #8 Bryce Andonian v #5 Brock Mauller On paper, this is the marquee matchup up the dual--more on that soon--with five All-American finishes between Andonian and Mauller. Andonian was upset in the Stanford dual and will be looking to get back on track against a very tough Mauller. This match will be a clash of styles and could be a lot of fun. 165: #24 Connor Brady v #1 Keegan O’Toole OR James Conway Connor Brady will return to dual action after picking up an upset win against Stanford in his last match out. The Tigers have listed two potential options at 165--reigning NCAA champ Keegan O’Toole and James Conway. I would wager that we will see Brady and Conway at 165. Which brings us to… 174: #2 Mekhi Lewis v TBD Peyton Mocco is still dinged up for the Tigers, and I expect them to bump O’Toole for a match of NCAA champs against Lewis. For the sake of it being a fun matchup to watch, I really hope this happens. O’Toole bumped up to 174 in their last dual to face Edmond Ruth so this isn’t unprecedented, and depending on how the lightweight matches go, it may have a huge impact on the outcome of the dual. 184: Cody Howard v #11 Clayton Whiting This is a big swing match, in my opinion. Whiting has looked solid this season, but the relentless pace of Cody Howard is something to behold. He is coming off a fifth-place finish at the Midlands in his return to action after being off the first semester. Howard looked incredible in Illinois and I’m looking forward to seeing him in another dual. 197: #25 Andy Smith v #3 Rocky Elam This match is lopsided by rankings, but I think this will be a close match. Andy Smith has shown he can hang with anyone in the country and he is tough to score on. This could be a tougher match than expected for the smaller Elam brother. Smith looked great in his return to action at the Midlands, placing 5th. 285: #20 Hunter Catka v #6 Zach Elam This dual ends with another big matchup for Hunter Catka. When he is on and wrestles aggressively, he is able to put up a lot of points. He is going to need to be at the top of his game against a very good Zach Elam. The way these two teams match up, the dual could very much come down to the final match.

Big Tournaments for Womens Wrestling After a week off for most teams during the holidays, things picked up this week with two big tournaments. Several teams and unattached wrestlers headed to Iowa for the Soldier Salute, while others traveled to Illinois for the Midlands Championships. While both tournaments were a little less stacked than previous seasons, there were still some great matches and important moments to recap, so I will highlight some key takeaways with full brackets linked for anyone looking for complete results. Midlands High School Champs at 101, 109 and 130 We have seen some high school upsets on the men’s side at tournaments throughout this season, and the high school girls showed they were ready to do the same. In an incredible run at 101 lbs, Madison Nieuwenhuis a sophomore from Plainwell, Michigan had an impressive run after her first-round bye with a tech fall and pin before meeting 2023 NCWWC Champion and current #4 Madison Avila of North Central in the finals. In their match, Nieuwenhuis looked strong and energized. She was consistently the aggressor taking shots, and Avila actually got a passivity warning in the first. In the second, Nieuwenhuis was able to capitalize on the only takedown of the match and run a half to get the pin. At 109 lbs, high school freshman Kayla Batres out of Milford, Connecticut earned a 1st place finish after getting the win over former NCWWC champ and current #10 Pauline Granados of McKendree in the semis and then taking out returning All-American and #4 Kaelani Shufeldt of Lock Haven in the finals. Batres' wins were all held to decisions by the tough slate of college opponents, but she still showed dominance from such a young competitor. Finally, at 130 lbs, another high school freshman Taina Fernandez of Bowie, Maryland made her way to the top of the podium with dominant wins of her own. In the quarterfinals, she faced former NAIA All-American Nichole Moore of McKendree. Moore is also a 2023 U23 World Team Member. Then, in the premier upset of the tournament, Fernandez got the 12-1 tech over #2 Lexi Janiak of Aurora who is also a returning All-American and 2023 NCWWC finalist. In her finals match, Fernandez finished her run with a 10-0 tech in the finals over returning All-American #6 Salome Walker of North Central. Potential NCWWC national previews At 101 lbs at Midlands, we got to see the match that was almost the finals match at the 2023 NCWWCs. Last year, Lizette Rodriguez lost a decision by criteria in the semis that kept her out of a finals matchup against the eventual champion Madison Avila of North Central. At Midlands, these two met up in the semis and Avila got a 3-2 decision win. This is not the first time we have seen these two match up, in fact, they wrestled at the Region IV tournament last year where Rodriguez actually claimed the first-place spot with a 5-4 decision over the Cardinal. These two seem to have each other figured out, so it will be exciting to see which wrestler continues to have success this year if they meet up again at regionals or nationals. After wrestling this past April at U23 Nationals Viktorya Torres of McKendree and Kendall Bostelman of North Central met on the consolation side of the bracket and Torres had a dominant tech fall. She repeated that result here at Midlands in the semis winning 11-0. Both made it to the quarterfinals last year and lost, however, Torres competed last year at 136 lbs. Bostelman could very well see Torres again in March, so finding a way to hold off her offense and have more successful shots of her own will be pivotal in attempting to reverse these recent results now that Torres has bumped up into her weight class. 155 lbs had a very intriguing final with sophomore #6 Noelle Gaffney of Northern Michigan losing 3-2 to #7 Tiera Jimerson of North Central. Gaffney actually beat Jimerson last month in the finals of the Adrian Invite by decision. Last year, Gaffney qualified for NCWWCs as a freshman but was bounced pretty early in the tournament. Jimerson is a 2x All American finishing in 5th in 2022 and 7th in 2023. These two seem to be a stylistic challenge for one another with both favoring heavy hand-fighting followed by quick, explosive shots. I would love to see these two match up again and see if either can create a more dominant game plan over the other. While some brackets were a little small, there were still some awesome results from different collegiate programs and individual wrestlers who competed unattached. You can check out the full brackets here. Soldier Salute #1 Life vs #1 Iowa Makes for Exciting Matchups Life University holds the top team spot in NAIA with wrestlers in the top 10 at every weight. Iowa, in their first year competing, holds the top spot for NCAA schools with top 10 wrestlers at each weight as well. While these two teams will compete at separate national championships, there are always sparks when their athletes do get matched up. That was certainly the case here where quite a few of the highlight matches of the tournament came between the Eagles and the Hawkeyes. At 130 lbs, we saw #10 (NCAA) Emily Frost take on #2 (NAIA) Sarah Savidge. While Frost has had some strong matches in her freshman campaign, Savidge is a returning national finalist and U20 Pam-Am Team Member and just seemed to be too much in this match. Savidge scored 8 of her 10 points in the first period, starting with a 4-point move and then 2 subsequent single-leg takedowns. Frost had some strong defense and was able to hold off some of Savidge’s attacks until the two go reset, but she has a little bit of growing yet to do to be competing more competitively with the top of the weight class in either division. At 136 lbs, we saw the first of 3 finals between Iowa wrestlers and the 3 McBryde sisters of Life. Lilly Luft of Iowa took on #9 (NAIA) Zaynah McBryde, the youngest of the 3 sisters. Luft is also a part of the talented freshman class at Iowa, and although she does not have many signature wins yet this season, I look for her to develop well in the Iowa room considering the additional talent they have at 136 lbs. McBryde qualified for the tournament last year, and made it to the top 12, but also lacks the signature wins and All-American status her sisters have earned in their time so far. Both of these wrestlers have exactly the pedigree and potential to climb the rankings and become dominant at the weight, especially in future seasons. In this match, the two seemed fairly even, with McBryde taking a majority of the shots, but Luft showing strong defense. In the end, McBryde’s calculated and frequent attacks gave her the edge with a 5-2 decision. The finals match at 143 lbs was the match of the day. If you have not already watched it, please do so here. #1 (NCAA) Reese Larramendy took on #1 (NAIA) Jamilah McBryde. Both wrestlers seemed to immediately recognize patterns and weaknesses in their opponents and capitalize on them. McBryde was able to hit multiple duckunders and slide-bys when Larramendy had her elbows high in their ties. On the flip side, Larramendy was able to execute some single-leg and high crotch shots when McBryde took big steps forward on her lead leg. Each wrestler had double-digit points headed into the second period. With just under a minute left, Larramendy went for a throw on the edge when she felt McBryde get strong underhooks. That move put her in danger and gave McBryde a four-point move to go up 20-18. Not even 10 seconds later, Larramendy hit a duckunder of her own to tie the score 20-20. From the takedown, McBryde had to work to not give up any additional points from a turn. With 20 seconds left on the clock, the two squared up again. Larramendy initiated a takedown that landed the two in a scramble with McBryde trying to get her hips back to the outside and Larramendy able to catch an ankle from her knees. McBryde had a strong whizzer, however, and was able to use that momentum to throw Larramendy to her back. McBryde was able to get in position to hold her opponent for the pin. This match was high-flying, high-scoring, and just a roller coaster for the two athletes. In the background of the video footage, you can see photographers and videographers on the edge of the mat, switch their focus from the men’s finals happening simultaneously to capture the action in this women’s finals match. Obviously, these are two of the most talented athletes at the weight, so to watch them compete at that level for a combined 40 points before the final pin, was so impressive. I hope there is an opportunity for them to compete again, and other wrestlers could learn a lot about these formidable opponents by watching how they competed against one another. In the last Iowa vs Life finals match of the day, Bella Mir took on #2 (NAIA) Latifah McBryde at 155 lbs. Mir was certainly headed into this match looking to get an Iowa win over Life for her team, but also looking for a little bit of redemption as well. These two actually met up at last year’s Soldier Salute, where Mir was wrestling unattached. In that match, McBryde got the pin in just over 4 minutes in the match. However, in this match, Mir was ready and secured a pin of her own in just over a minute. Mir had been on a roll during the tournament with 4 total pins and a tech fall to make up 5 of her 6 wins. This is certainly a result that could flip back in McBryde’s favor if the two met up again, but more so serves as a testament to the growth in just a year that Mir has shown. Right now, Iowa has #1 (NCAA) Marilynne Deede at 155 lbs, but Mir represents the depth of the Hawkeyes at a few weight classes. Mir was presented the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament and continues to prove why she is one to keep an eye on. Results this week in major NCAA, NCWA, and NAIA competitions Midlands VIEW BRACKETS Soldier Salute VIEW BRACKETS Upcoming Events January 5&6: NWCA National Duals January 5: NUWAY Combat Women’s Open

We're now in 2024 which means it's the second half of the wrestling season. We're in the process of moving from a split tournament/dual schedule into only duals. A total of 24 duals will be contested along with some tournaments. Since it can be difficult to figure out where and when to watch all of these events, InterMat has put together a list of all of the live-streamed events occurring this week. Below are the dates/times and how to watch each match (with links). All times are Eastern. Tuesday, January 2: Appalachian State, Bloomsburg, Brown, Bucknell, Chattanooga, Clarion, CSU Bakersfield, Davidson, Drexel, Duke, Gardner-Webb, Indiana, Little Rock, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Oklahoma, Stanford, The Citadel at Southern Scuffle hosted by Chattanooga 11:00 AM FloWrestling Virginia Tech at Missouri 8:00 PM FloWrestling Wednesday, January 3: Lindenwood at Purdue 1:00 PM B1G+ Thursday, January 4: Michigan vs. South Dakota State at Sioux Falls, SD 8:00 PM MidCo Sports Plus Friday, January 5: Air Force, American, Army West Point, Binghamton, Campbell, Drexel, Franklin & Marshall, Harvard, Hofstra, Kent State, LIU, Lock Haven, Maryland, Navy, Penn, Pittsburgh, Presbyterian, Princeton, Sacred Heart at Lehman Open, hosted by Franklin & Marshall 9:00 AM FloWrestling Bellarmine at NWCA National Duals, hosted by Northern Iowa 11:00 AM FloWrestling SIU Edwardsville at Edinboro 6:00 PM FloWrestling American at Michigan State 6:30 PM B1G+ Oklahoma State at NC State 7:00 PM ESPNU Northern Illinois at Rider 7:00 PM ESPN+ Arizona State vs. Iowa State at Chandler, AZ 8:00 PM Pac-12 Plus Cornell at Ohio State 8:00 PM Big Ten Network Penn State at Oregon State 8:00 PM Pac-12 Live Saturday, January 6: Bellarmine at NWCA National Duals, hosted by Northern Iowa 10:00 AM FloWrestling Northern Iowa vs. Wyoming at Nebraska 1:00 PM Gardner-Webb vs. Virginia at Richmond, VA 1:30 PM Wyoming at Nebraska 3:00 PM B1G+ George Mason vs. Virginia at Richmond, VA 3:00 PM Ohio at Michigan State 5:00 PM B1G+ Northern Iowa at Nebraska 5:00 PM B1G+ Rutgers at Penn 7:00 PM ESPN+ Sunday, January 7: Edinboro, Morgan State at Bobby Kauffman Open, hosted by Edinboro 9:00 AM NC State at Hofstra 11:30 AM SIU Edwardsville at Buffalo 1:00 PM ESPN+ Rider at Rutgers 2:00 PM B1G+ Columbia vs. West Virginia at Atlantic City, NJ 2:30 PM UFC FightPass Virginia Tech at Cornell 3:00 PM ESPN+ Arizona State at CSU Bakersfield 5:00 PM California Baptist vs. Iowa State at Walnut, CA 5:00 PM FloWrestling