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Two remaining weeks of Fantasy Regular Season competition. If you’re not doing a carry-over league, you might need to start dropping those highly ranked names for guys who are going to be guaranteed wrestling rather than seed-protecting. Through 13 weeks, we have two wrestlers who have separated themselves from the rest of the wrestling pack in 285 Taye Ghadiali (CAMP) and 141 Wyatt Henson (LHU). Both have 97 Fpts on the season and are #1 and #2 respectively based on their PPM. 149 Caleb Henson, who has been in the tops of the Overall Season rankings this year, comes in at #3 just one point above 197 Stephen Buchanan. See the current Top-25 Overall Season Fantasy Wrestler Standings HERE. For this week, there are three main tournaments to keep an eye on: Edinboro Open, Greyhound Open, and Missouri Valley Open. As usual, entries are still coming in for each of these tournaments, so keep the notifications on for @FantasyD1Wrestl as updates will be posted to the InterMat Forum Fantasy Wrestling Board. A reminder of some important rules: Wrestlers entered at a weight must compete at that weight or else their results will not be counted. Wrestlers in the “Floater” spots can compete at ANY weight and accumulate Fantasy points. A wrestler will LOCK on your roster at 12pm ET on the day of their first competition for the week (refer to the SHP’s Week Preview). Only results against D1 competition (starters, backups, and redshirts) will count towards Fantasy Points. Check your league settings to know how many add/drops are permitted per week. Wrestlers I Like This Week Wrestler (School)- competition for the week [Proj Score] *organized by most potential points to least, then by school alphabetically”: 125: Pat McKee (MINN)- Vs Maryland, Vs Northwestern [+10] Anthony Noto (LHU)- Vs Clarion, @ Navy [+8] Jack Maida (AMER)- Vs Drexel, Vs Morgan State [+7] Brayden Palmer (CHAT)- Vs The Citadel, @ Gardner-Webb [+7] Tyler Klinsky (RID)- @ Drexel, @ George Mason [+7] Jore Volk (WYO)- Vs South Dakota State, Vs North Dakota State [+7] Anthony Molton (CAMP)- Vs Appalachian State, Vs Gardner-Webb [+6] Caleb Smith (NEB)- Vs Illinois [+4] Blake West (NIU)- @ Buffalo [+4] Braeden Davis (PSU)- Vs Ohio State [+4] Kysen Terukina (ISU)- Vs West Virginia [+3] Colton Camacho (PITT)- @ Duke [+3] Nico Provo (STAN)- Vs CSU Bakersfield [+3] Cooper Flynn (VT)- @ Virginia [+3] 133: Michael Colaiocco (PENN)- @ Brown, @ Harvard [+8] Blake Boarman (CHAT)- Vs The Citadel, @ Gardner-Webb [+7] Daton Fix (OKST)- Vs Arizona State, @ Missouri [+6] Mason Leiphart (F&M)- Vs Long Island [+5] Vince Santaniello (PITT)- @ Duke [+5] Vito Arujau (COR)- Vs Columbia [+4] Evan Frost (ISU)- Vs West Virginia [+4] Ryan Crookham (LEH)- @ Army [+4] Julian Farber (UNI)- Vs West Virginia [+4] Dom LaJoie (STAN)- Vs CSU Bakersfield [+4] Hunter Leake (CBU)- @ Air Force [+3] Jacob Van Dee (NEB)- Vs Illinois [+3] Kai Orine (NCST)- Vs North Carolina [+3] Sam Latona (VT)- @ Virginia [+3] 141: Wyatt Henson (LHU)- Vs Clarion, @ Navy [+7] CJ Composto (PENN)- @ Brown, @ Harvard [+7} Tagen Jamison (OKST)- Vs Arizona State, @ Missouri [+6] Cole Matthews (PITT)- @ Duke [+5] Brock Hardy (NEB)- Vs Illinois [+4] Jason Miranda (STAN)- Vs CSU Bakersfield [+4] Vince Cornella (COR)- Vs Columbia [+3] Malyke Hines (LEH)- @ Army [+3] Tom Crook (VT)- @ Virginia [+3] 149: Kannon Webster (ILL)- Greyhound Open Cody Bond (APP)- @ Campbell, Vs VMI [+7] Noah Castillo (CHAT)- Vs The Citadel, @ Gardner-Webb [+7] Joseph Zargo (WISC)- Vs Northwestern, @ Purdue [+7] Nicholas Stonecheck (LHU)- Vs Clarion, @ Navy [+6] Dylan D’Emilio (OHST)- @ Penn State, @ Rutgers [+6] Ridge Lovett (NEB)- Vs Illinois [+5] Matthew Williams (ARMY)- Vs Lehigh [+4] Chance Lamer (CP)- @ Little Rock [+4] Finn Solomon (PITT)- @ Duke [+4] Jaden Abas (STAN)- Vs CSU Bakersfield [+4] Ethan Fernandez (COR)- Vs Columbia [+3] Jackson Arrington (NCST)- Vs North Carolina [+3] 157: Tommy Askey (APP)- @ Campbell, Vs VMI [+7] Jacori Teemer (ASU)- @ Oklahoma State, Vs Oregon State [+6] Michael Blockhus (MINN)- Vs Maryland, Vs Northwestern [+6] Lucas Revano (PENN)- @ Brown, @ Harvard [+6] Daniel Cardenas (STAN)- Vs CSU Bakersfield [+6] Ed Scott (NCST)- Vs North Carolina [+5] Meyer Shapiro (COR)- Vs Columbia [+4] Cody Chittum (ISU)- Vs West Virginia [+3] Peyton Robb (NEB)- Vs Illinois [+3] Levi Haines (PSU)- Vs Ohio State [+3] 165: Dean Hamiti (WISC)- Vs Northwestern, @ Purdue [+8] Caleb Fish (MSU)- @ Illinois, @ Indiana [+6] Julian Ramirez (COR)- Vs Columbia [+4] Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU)- Vs Ohio State [+4] Holden Heller (PITT)- @ Duke [+4] Hunter Garvin (STAN)- Vs CSU Bakersfield [+4] Giano Petrucelli (AF)- Vs California Baptist [+3] David Carr (ISU)- Vs West Virginia [+3] Keegan O’Toole (MIZZ)- Vs Oklahoma State [+3] Antrell Taylor (NEB)- Vs Illinois [+3] Derek Fields (NCST)- Vs North Carolina [+3] Joseph Bianchi (LR)- Vs Cal Poly [+3] 174: Sean Harman (MIZZ)- Missouri Valley Open (Flex) Max Maylor (WISC)- Vs Northwestern, @ Purdue [+7] Lennox Wolak (COL)- @ Cornell, Vs Bucknell [+6] Edmond Ruth (ILL)- Vs Michigan State, @Nebraska [+6] Carter Starocci (PSU)- Vs Ohio State [+4] Luca Augustine (PITT)- @ Duke [+4] Lorenzo Norman (STAN)- Vs CSU Bakersfield [+4] Ben Pasuik (ARMY)- Vs Lehigh [+3] John Worthing (CLAR)- @ Lock Haven [+3] Donnell Washington (IND)- @ Indiana [+3] Mekhi Lewis (VT)- @ Virginia [+3] 184: Caleb Hopkins (CAMP)- Vs Appalachian State, Vs Gardner-Webb [+7] Isaiah Salazar (MINN)- Vs Maryland, Vs Northwestern [+7] Dustin Plott (OKST)- Vs Arizona State, @ Missouri [+7] Chris Foca (COR)- Vs Columbia [+4] Parker Keckeisen (UNI)- Vs West Virginia [+4] Trey Munoz (ORST)- @ Arizona State [+4] Reece Heller (PITT)- @ Duke [+4] Jack Darrah (STAN)- Vs CSU Bakersfield [+4] Sam Wolf (AF)- Vs California Baptist [+3] Cameron Pine (CLAR)- @ Lock Haven [+3] James Conway (F&M)- Vs Long Island [+3] Will Feldkamp (ISU)- Vs West Virginia [+3] Tristan Wells (LR)- @ Cal Poly [+3] Lenny Pinto (NEB)- Vs Illinois [+3] Bernie Truax (PSU)- Vs Ohio State [+3] Dakota Howard (VT)- @ Virginia [+3] 197: Luke Stout (PRIN)- @ Harvard, @ Brown [+9] Levi Hopkins (CAMP)- Vs Appalachian State, Vs Gardner-Webb [+7] Michael Beard (LEH)- @ Army [+5] Stephen Little (LR)- @ Cal Poly [+5] Nick Stemmet (STAN)- Vs CSU Bakersfield [+5] Sam Mitchell (BUFF)- Vs Northern Illinois [+4] Jacob Cardenas (COR)- Vs Columbia [+4] Silas Allred (NEB)- Vs Illinois [+4] Trent Hidlay (NCST)- Vs North Carolina [+4] Aaron Brooks (PSU)- Vs Ohio State [+4] Mac Stout (PITT)- @ Duke [+4] Justin Rademacher (ORST)- @ Arizona State [+3] Andy Smith (VT)- @ Virginia [+3] 285: Keaton Kluever (HOF)- Edinboro Open Taye Ghadiali (CAMP)- Vs Appalachian State, Vs Gardner-Webb [+9] William Jarrell (AMER)- Vs Drexel, Vs Morgan State [+7] Wyatt Hendrickson (AF)- Vs California Baptist [+6] Lewis Fernandes (COR)- Vs Columbia [+4] Yonger Bastida (ISU)- Vs West Virginia [+4] Nathan Taylor (LEH)- @ Army [+4] Connor Barket (DUKE)- Vs Pittsburgh [+3] Owen Trephan (NCST)- Vs North Carolina [+3] Greg Kerkvliet (PSU)- Vs Ohio State [+3] Peter Ming (STAN)- Vs CSU Bakersfield [+3]

As we head into February, most teams are wrapping up conference competition and looking ahead to the postseason. A few select teams have that old “good problem” to have with multiple talented wrestlers at the same weight. For whatever reason, neither has jumped out in front of the other and grabbed a hold of the starting position. Below we’ve identified seven prominent teams with uncertain situations headed into February. Each situation is a little bit different. We’ll discuss the parties involved in each battle and when you can expect to get some more clarity regarding each decision. Penn State (149 lbs) Tyler Kasak/David Evans As of Sunday, this battle may be settled. Maybe. True freshman Tyler Kasak and program mainstay David Evans met at the Mat-Town Open and Kasak prevailed, 4-2. It was his second tight win over Evans this season. Just last year, with Levi Haines, we saw Cael Sanderson and the Penn State staff drag that decision down to the very last minute and we’re getting to that point with Kasak, who could still redshirt. This one comes down to what the coaching staff is looking for in 2023-24. It seems like a lock that the Nittany Lions will win the team title. With Kasak, Penn State could perhaps challenge the team scoring mark or Minnesota’s ten All-American mark from 2001. Kasak, ranked 12th at 149 lbs, is the only Penn State wrestler ranked outside of the top-ten in his respective weight class. Even so, the podium half of the podium is ripe for the taking at 149 lbs and Kasak has not lost to anyone outside of the Nittany Lion room. Starting Evans isn’t exactly punting on the weight class for 2023-24, either. Evans could be starting and winning for a lot of teams in the country at 141 or 149 lbs. He’s competed at both this season. In his opening event of the year, Evans downed 2022 All-American CJ Composto (Penn) in sudden victory. Of his three losses on the year, two have come to Kasak. The other was at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic to #15 (141) Malyke Hines (Lehigh). Since moving up to 149, Evans has picked up three dual wins; two against Big Ten foes. There’s an argument to be made that there’s probably not a huge dropoff between the two in 2023-24, in terms of NCAA point scoring. The Penn State brass also has to decide what’s the best for their star recruit, Kasak’s, future. If they keep him in redshirt, will he have four years of potential dominance like a Jason Nolf or Bo Nickal? That may not be the case wrestling him in the 2024 postseason - though it could, as we haven’t seen Kasak against top competitors yet. Iowa (133 lbs) Cullan Schriever/Brody Teske Brody Teske got the head start on Cullan Schriever after the latter had to miss a few dates at the beginning of the year, due to his involvement in Iowa’s gambling probe. Teske did fine, with a title at the Soldier Salute, but suffered a loss to Evan Frost (Iowa State) in the Cy-Hawk dual and a rather lopsided one to Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska) during his last dual appearance at 133 lbs. Since the Van Dee loss, Teske hasn’t seen the mat for the Hawkeye at 133 lbs. True freshman Kale Peterson got the call against Minnesota. Peterson has shown enough to think that he’ll be in this mix in 2024-25. But for now, he’s likely out of the equation and staying in redshirt. Cullan Schriever has been the guy for the last three duals for Iowa and has gotten his hand raised each time; with bonus points to boot. Schriever is now 8-1 on the season with his lone loss coming to Van Dee at the Soldier Salute. In addition to his three Big Ten dual wins, Schriever has beaten #19 Angelo Rini (Columbia) and former national qualifier Jake Gliva (Minnesota). Trying to read between the lines and analyze the situation, you have to think Schriever now has the upper hand. In addition to starting each of the last three duals at 133 lbs, Teske moved up to 141 lbs to spell Real Woods during last weekend’s two matches. Oklahoma State (149 lbs) Sammy Alvarez/Jordan Williams If you would have told me in November that a weight class would be uncertain in late-January for Oklahoma State, I would have guessed 157 lbs, or perhaps, 141. Teague Travis’ emergence at 157 has shored up that weight, while Tagen Jamison grabbed ahold of the 141 role early in the season. One reason that 141 seemed to be up in the air was the presence of Rutgers transfer Sammy Alvarez. During the 2019-20 campaign, Alvarez earned the tenth seed at 133 lbs at the ill-fated 2020 NCAA Tournament. Since then, Alvarez has been in-and-out of the Rutgers lineup, and lacked consistency, while trying to find the right weight class. Alvarez was not available during the first semester due to transfer rules and Jamison posted some strong results at the 141 lb weight class he was assumed to be wrestling. That wasn’t the case and Alvarez’s season got kicked off at the Reno Tournament of Champions, where he went 4-2 at 149 lbs. At the same time, Jordan Williams was a top-ten recruit in the Class of 2022 and started the year as “the guy” for Oklahoma State at 149 lbs. Williams had an impressive showing winning the Lindenwood Open, but then went 2-2 at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Williams went 2-2 in duals before giving way to Alvarez. On a road trip, Alvarez started with a major decision against Pittsburgh’s Finn Solomon, but lost to freshman Ty Watters (West Virginia). Last weekend, both saw action as the Cowboys hosted a pair of conference foes from Iowa. Williams earned a tech fall over Northern Iowa’s Adam Allard, while Alvarez fell to #10 Casey Swiderski (Iowa State). It’s difficult to read into these results. Does Alvarez have a leg up since he was given the more difficult opponent or does the edge go to Williams, who looked as good as he has all year? Either we’ll have some clarity or more confusion after the upcoming weekend. Arizona State and #4 Kyle Parco looms large on Friday night. Mizzou has #24 Logan Gioffre on Sunday. Again, we’ll be paying attention to who goes where (if the two split matches) and the results from each. Missouri figures to be a much closer match team-wise, but Arizona State has a top-flight 149. Missouri (141 lbs) Josh Edmond/Zeke Seltzer Coming into the year, it appeared as if Missouri’s lineup would feature redshirt freshman Zeke Seltzer at 133 lbs and Josh Edmond at 141. A top recruit from the high school Class of 2022, Seltzer got off to a slow start winning only two of his first seven matches. That span included an 0-2 showing at the Cougar Clash, giving up bonus points in both of his matches against non-starters. When Seltzer resurfaced, later in December, it was at 141 lbs at the Soldier Salute. Though Seltzer took some lumps, he did notch a win over two-time All-American Clay Carlson (South Dakota State). Since then, Seltzer got a dual start at 141 lbs and posted a win over a ranked opponent in #31 Jason Miranda (Stanford). Edmond had a really strong Midlands performance in 2022 while redshirting and started the year with an impressive preseason ranking (#17). He would take two losses within his first two matches, though neither could be classified as “bad” (Kal Miller/Maryland and Mosha Schwartz/Oklahoma). After losing a barnburner to Virginia Tech’s Tom Crook, Seltzer was given an opportunity. Sunday’s dual with Cornell saw Edmond get the start at 141 and Seltzer bumped up to 149. Both took defeats, though Seltzer’s might be more expected, up a weight, against a ranked opponent (Ethan Fernandez). Pay attention to Sunday’s dual against #3 Oklahoma State. Provided both Edmond and Seltzer are healthy, it should be telling who gets the start against eighth-ranked Tagen Jamison. This should be a tight dual and the Mizzou staff would prefer to have the optimal lineup, if available. Michigan (184 lbs) Jaden Bullock/Rylan Rogers This one may have already worked itself out, but we’ll talk about the Michigan Wolverines at 184 lbs, just in case. The #11 overall recruit in the Class of 2022, Rylan Rogers saw some action last season at 184 and 197 lbs, but was penciled in as the successor to Matt Finesilver for the 2023-24 campaign. An early-season injury to Rogers left the door open for Jaden Bullock who took full advantage of his opportunity. Bullock got the nod in Michigan’s first two duals of the year and responded with wins against Rider and Columbia. The Columbia win saw Bullock post a win over a ranked wrestler in Aaron Ayzerov. Even though Bullock got off to a strong start, not many saw his performance at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational coming. Bullock notched wins over All-American Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State) and super freshman Dylan Fishback on his way to a sixth-place finish at a loaded 184 lb weight class. Bullock got on the podium, while three past All-Americans did not. Since Vegas, Bullock has continued to get starts at 184 lbs. He’s gone 3-3 during that stretch, one that’s been highlighted by wins over NCAA qualifiers Layne Malczewski (Michigan State) and Brian Soldano (Ohio State). Unfortunately, in Friday’s dual with Ohio State, Bullock fell behind Ryder Rogotzke early and never recovered, losing via a 21-0 tech fall. While Bullock has provided stability at the 184 lb class, the Wolverines haven’t gotten the same production out of 197. Initially, veterans Bobby Striggow and Brendin Yatooma have been given the first chance to lock down the starting role at 197 lbs. During Michigan’s most recent two duals, Rogers has been the starter. In both instances, he’s lost to ranked opponents. Michigan has a huge dual with Iowa on the docket for Friday. Once again, we’ll see who gets the call for Sean Bormet’s team. This may be a moot point as Rogers might now be able to get down to 184 lbs if he’s bulked up for 197. NC State (125 lbs) Jakob Camacho/Jarrett Trombley Here’s a battle that is probably decided…but, maybe, just maybe it isn’t. Friday’s ACC opener saw 2023 conference champion Jarrett Trombley get the start for NC State, while Jakob Camacho went to Saturday’s Appalachian Open, presumably to boost his match count. Trombley did what he was supposed to Friday against Pittsburgh and majored the Panthers Camacho, Colton. Jakob was a perfect 3-0 at the Appalachian Open. There hasn’t been much drama or uncertainty as to who NC State would start at 125 lbs this year. Camacho rose to number one in the nation, at one point, but quickly dropped after a disastrous 0-3 showing at the Collegiate Duals. The Wolfpack staff still sent Camacho out for their next dual with Oklahoma State, where he was also beaten. I fully expect Camacho to get the start on Friday night against in-state rival North Carolina. Pay attention to the match and the result. He’ll face a capable opponent in #29 Spencer Moore. Two years ago, Camacho beat Moore in that same dual, 7-2. If Moore reverses that result and pulls the upset, does the NC State staff give Trombley another opportunity? NC State next wrestles Virginia before an out-of-conference dual with Cornell. Then on the final weekend of the year, they meet Virginia Tech in one of the most heated rivalries in the sport. The Virginia dual could be pivotal; either a spot for Camacho to keep the momentum going or perhaps for Trombley to make his push. Penn (Multiple Weights) The Midlands presented some good problems to have for Penn as their youngsters performed better than their incumbents at a handful of weights. Since then, the Quakers have had five duals and it appears they have sorted out those question marks in the lineup. Max Gallagher has taken the reigns at 125 lbs and defeated CKLV champion Nico Provo (Stanford) last weekend, before falling to Nick Babin (Columbia) this week. Lucas Revano and Jude Swisher have both seen time at 157 lbs, but Revano pulled ahead after a head-to-head win at Midlands and a third-place showing. He’s since won four of five duals. At 197 lbs, it was Martin Cosgrove who had a better Midlands, but veteran Cole Urbas has gotten the majority of the dual meet action since the calendar turned to January. Penn has the New England contingent of the Ivy League this weekend before a dual with Cornell on the following weekend. If any of their starters stumble before then, the Quakers are very deep and can assume the “next man up” mantra, if needed.

Air Force (Overall: 3-4; Conference: 1-3): Dual Results (SDSU) | Dual Results (NDSU) Taking on the Dakota schools at home Air Force took a 32-9 loss to SDSU but got their first conference win 21-13 over NDSU. After dropping 133-157 the Falcons won the rest of the matches, including major decisions from Giano Petrucelli and Sam Wolf. While they didn’t have that same success against the Jackrabbits they did get bonus points from Wyatt Hendrickson. Sam Wolf was majored by Bennett Berge, only his third loss of the season. While they didn’t win these matches, Air Force was within a takedown from 125-141 against ranked opponents. Next Up: Air Force hosts California Baptist on February 3rd. California Baptist (Overall: 3-8; Conference: 0-5): No Competition. Next Up: California Baptist hits the road for a dual against Air Force on February 3rd. Iowa State (Overall: 10-2; Conference: 3-1): Dual Results (OU) | Dual Results (OKST) Iowa State took a trip to the Oklahoma schools and came back with another win and their first conference loss this season. They got Casey Swiderski back in the lineup at 149, but lost Cody Chittum for the weekend with a concussion. Against OU, they dominated to a 37-4 win, winning nine matches and six bonus point victories. Casey Swiderski beat 2022 Big 12 finalist Willie McDougald 8-3. Jason Kraisser stepped in for Chittum and beat a ranked Jared Hill. MJ Gaitan made a statement with a second-period pin over Tate Picklo and Yonger Bastida continued to dominate from neutral with a 14-4 major over Josh Heindselman. The next day the Cyclones took on fellow top five OK State but lost 21-12. They dropped the first three matches as Terukina and Echemendia were unable to score and Evan Frost was unable to slow down Daton Fix. Jason Kraisser lost some scrambles to Teague Travis, while Will Feldkamp couldn't keep up with Plott’s pressure, narrowly avoiding being teched. Casey Swiderski got another strong win over Sammy Alvarez. David Carr handled Izzak Olejnik 8-1, while MJ Gaitan beat Brayden Thompson in overtime. Julien Broderson gave up a dual-changing major decision to true freshman Jersey Robb, giving a deficit that Yonger Bastida’s win over Doucet was unable to cover. Next Up: Iowa State duals West Virginia at home on February 2nd. Missouri (Overall: 8-1; Conference: 4-0): Dual Results (WVU) | Dual Results (CORN) The Tigers went on a long road trip east and came back with another conference win and their first loss of the season. They started with a 30-6 win over a tough West Virginia team that saw bonus points from Noah Surtin, Kade Moore, and Brock Mauller. Josh Edmond and Logan Gioffre lost competitive matches to Jordan Titus and Ty Watters in entertaining matches. Gioffre took injury time for a rib injury against Watters and proceeded to miss the Cornell dual, an injury to monitor with OK State coming up. Two days later, they traveled to top-ten Cornell and lost 20-16. They started hot as Noah Surtin hit a mixer to pin Brett Ungar, the same move and period he pinned him with at the 2022 Southern Scuffle. Kade Moore followed that up with a big move against returning champ Vito Arujau, putting him on his back for a takedown and nearfall. Vito ended up scoring two rapid-fire takedowns and getting riding time for a 10-9 win. The Tigers struggled from there, dropping the next three, including Mauller giving up bonus points for the first time in his career to Meyer Shapiro. O’Toole majored Julian Ramirez and Peyton Mocco won 8-2, but a major decision loss by Clayton Whiting and Rocky Elam being upset by Jacob Cardenas clinched the Tigers first loss. Zach Elam won a close against Lewis Fernandes 2-1. OK State is up next and could decide the unofficial dual champs and set the stage for the Big 12 tournament. Next Up: Missouri hosts OK State in a massive Big 12 conference dual on February 4th. North Dakota State (Overall: 3-7; Conference: 2-2): Dual Results The Bison fell to .500 on the year in conference duals with a 21-13 loss to Air Force. They won consecutive matches from 133-157, but were missing ranked starter Gaven Sax at 174. His backup Mason Gode lost a one-point decision. Devon Dawson, at heavyweight, gave Wyatt Hendrickson a tough 9-4 match, the closest match Hendrickson has had all year. Next Up: NDSU has road duals at Utah Valley on February 2nd and at Wyoming on February 4th. Northern Colorado (Overall): 8-5; Conference: 1-4): Dual Results The Bears dropped a conference dual against Wyoming 23-16, but not without getting some quality wins. The dual started with Stevo Poulin taking out Jore Volk 3-1, then Dom Serrano majored Garrett Ricks for a strong lead. The team dropped six of the next eight, but Travis Mastrogiovanni at 174 is starting to look like a potential factor for the team. While he doesn’t have ranked wins this season he is now 10-4 on the year and won three of his last four. Next Up: The Bears have their last home dual against Utah Valley on February 10th. Northern Iowa (Overall: 4-5; Conference: 3-1): Dual Results (OKST) | Dual Results (OU) The always-tough Panther team visited the state of Oklahoma and came back after going 1-1 against OK State and OU. They dropped the dual to top-five OK State 22-12 but got big wins at 141, 157, 184, and 197. Cael Happel and Ryder Downey won their matches with a lone takedown against ranked opponents. Parker Keckeisen vs Dustin Plott was the match of the night and Keckeisen took round one 12-6, including two nearfall that were waived off after review. Trever Anderson and Tyrell Gordon came close to upsets, but dropped one-point matches to ranked wrestlers. The team rebounded the next day with a dominant 30-12 win over the Sooners that saw them win six matches, all by bonus. Ryder Downey and Jared Simma scored a major decision and a fall against Jared Hill and Tate Picklo respectively. Anderson, RJ Weston, and Tyrell Gordon went 0-2 on the weekend. Anderson and Gordon again lost close matches, with Gordon going to overtime. Northern Iowa has now won the past seven duals against OU, going back to the 2018 season. Next Up: The Panthers compete against West Virginia at home on February 4th. Oklahoma State (Overall: 10-0; Conference: 5-0): Dual Results (UNI) | Dual Results (ISU) The Cowboys stayed undefeated and got another top-five win this weekend with dual victories over Northern Iowa and Iowa State on back-to-back days. Against Northern Iowa, they won six matches with bonus points from Daton Fix and Jordan Williams. Troy Spratley won another close match against Trever Anderson. Tagen Jamison and Teague Travis lost one takedown matches to higher-ranked opponents. Konner Doucet was 0-2 against Tyrell Gordon, but got a win in rideouts here. Plott lost the first match to Keckeisen, but both wrestlers are likely walking away with plenty of notes in a back-and-forth match that saw Keckeisen score a takedown late. The team continued their strong performance the next day with a 21-12 win over Iowa State. They won the first three, including a bonus from Daton Fix over Evan Frost and Tagen Jamison showing some great defense to beat Anthony Echemendia in sudden victory. Sammy Alvarez lost 8-2 to Casey Swiderski, and with Williams' strong performance against UNI is continuing to look like a relevant lineup battle. Izzak Olejnik and Konner Doucet couldn’t keep up with David Carr and Yonger Bastida but held their losses to decisions. Dustin Plott nearly teched Will Feldkamp and continues to look like a title contender. After coming into the season outside the top ten, the Cowboys are now looking like potentially the top Big 12 dual team. Next Up: Oklahoma State duals Arizona State at home on February 2nd before heading to Columbia, MO on February 4th. Oklahoma (Overall: 5-5; Conference: 2-4): Dual Results (ISU) | Dual Results (UNI) The Sooners went 0-2 against the state of Iowa, losing one-sided duals to Iowa State and Northern Iowa. Iowa State won the dual 37-4, with the lone win coming from Stephen Buchanan and a 19-5 major decision over Caleb Helgeson. Jared Hill and Conrad Hendriksen lost close matches, with Hendriksen going to OT against Kysen Terukina. Against UNI they dropped the dual 30-12, but won four matches. Hendriksen continues to put himself in the conversation at 125, beating Trever Anderson in a 7-6 match. Willie McDougald and Cael Carlson won one-point matches, while Josh Heindselman took out Tyrell Gordon in sudden victory. Jared Hill and Tate Picklo both dropped ranked matches by bonus points and the team was without Stephen Buchanan. Next Up: The Sooners host SDSU on February 9th. South Dakota State (Overall: 9-2; Conference: 3-0): Dual Results SDSU won eight matches against Air Force to take the dual 32-9. It started off with close wins from 125-141, but the Jackrabbits separated with bonus points from Alek Martin, Cael Swensen, Cade DeVos, Bennett Berge, and Tanner Sloan. This was actually Sloan’s first pin of the year, a surprising stat with his 79% bonus rate and seven techs. Berge has firmly established himself as a podium contender at 184, as he has won his last six and majored Sam Wolf 8-0. After a slow start in the first semester SDSU is making a statement in 2024. Next Up: South Dakota State wrestles Wyoming on February 1st followed by Utah Valley on February 3rd, both on the road. Utah Valley (Overall: 1-3; Conference: 0-3): No Competition. Next Up: Utah Valley has duals against North Dakota State and South Dakota State on February 2nd and 3rd. West Virginia (Overall: 9-3; Conference: 2-3): Dual Results (MIZ) | Dual Results (MSU) The Mountaineers went 1-1 on the weekend, dropping a 30-6 dual to Mizzou and getting a 40-3 win over Morgan State. Their conference dual against the Tigers was filled with wild matches early. After giving up bonus points at 125 and 133 they battled back. Jordan Titus beat Josh Edmond in rideouts in a must-watch low-scoring match with almost nonstop action. Ty Watters beat a game Logan Gioffre, separating after Gioffre took injury time with some solid scrambles. One of the best matches of the night came against WVU, as Peyton Hall dropped a barnburner 8-7 match against #1 Keegan O’Toole. Hall had a 6-1 lead after the first period, but couldn’t stop O’Toole late in what could be a Big 12 semifinal. The team rebounded well against Morgan State, winning nine matches with seven bonus point wins. Jace Schafer, Jordan Titus, Ty Watters, and Austin Cooley all scored tech falls. Peyton Hall was right there with a 23-10 major decision as well. Now at #17 in the NWCA polls, this is the highest they have been ranked since being #16 in 2005. Next Up: West Virginia heads to the state of Iowa to wrestle Iowa State on February 2nd and Northern Iowa on February 4th. Wyoming (Overall: 6-5; Conference: 4-3): Dual Results Wyoming used a come-from-behind performance to get their third win in a row against Northern Colorado. After Jore Volk lost 3-1 to Stevo Poulin and Garrett Ricks was majored by Dom Serrano, the Cowboys won six of the last eight to win 23-16. Ethan Ducca made his return from injury with a strong decision win. True freshmen Cole Brooks, Sloan Swan, and Joey Novak continue to impress with Brooks and Novak scoring bonus points. Last year Wyoming was 1-9 in the conference and 1-10 overall but have now gone over 0.500 overall and in the conference. Next Up: Wyoming Hosts South Dakota State on February 1st then North Dakota State on February 4th.

4 Takeaways in Women’s College Wrestling This Week 1. McKendree goes undefeated at Jewell Duals The #5 Bearcats headed to the Jewell Duals and walked away with 5 wins. McKendree defeated Simpson 37-17, William Jewell 47-12, Quincy 41-13, Missouri Baptist 31-21 and #15 Lindenwood 44-14. Most notable, however, was Cam Guerin’s return to the lineup. The former national champ pinned #10 Cayden Condit in the team’s dual against Lindenwood, followed by another pin against her Missouri Baptist opponent. McKendree has moved around a lot in the rankings recently, but the addition of a powerhouse like Guerin and the eventual return of Emma Bruntil back into the lineup could propel them back to the top of the rankings. 2. #3 Grand View wins back-and-forth dual with #16 Central Methodist In an exciting NAIA-ranked dual, Grand View traveled to Missouri to take on the Eagles. After a forfeit at 101 lbs, the teams exchanged quick pins. At 109 lbs, freshman Judy Sandoval of GV got a pin against Abigail Jastal. CMU responded quickly though with a pin from #19 Victoria Nunez over Julia Donnelly at 116 lbs. At 123 lbs #8 Catie Campbell got a strong decision over #13 Allison Hynes, 5-0 followed by another GV win at 130 lbs when Maya Davis got the fall over Nonnie Justice. Central Methodist answered the call at 136 lbs and 143 lbs with Emily Neumann and Skye Realin getting a decision and tech fall respectively. However, the Vikings bounced right back in their next two matches with Leilani Rodriquez getting a 10-8 decision at 155 and #1 Abby McIntyre getting a 14-second pin at 170 lbs. Even with CMU getting a pin from Shianne Whited at 191 lbs, the early forfeit and consistent wins, gave them the edge to secure the 27-18 dual win. 3. University of Providence Argos claim 6 titles at Battle of the Rockies tournament At the Battle of the Rockies tournament, seven teams sent athletes to compete including wrestlers from #6 University of Providence and #2 Menlo. The Argos ended the day with #1 Erin Hikiji claiming the title at 101 lbs with teammate #6 Isabelle Asuncion coming in second. At 109 lbs, #7 Paige Morales, a freshman, claimed the 1st place spot as well. Unranked freshman for the Argos, Ani Arias took first at 116 lbs, while teammate #14 Alicia Frank won out at 123 lbs. The #2 ranked wrestler at 136 lbs, Waipuilani Estrella-Beauchamp had one of the most impressive showings of the tournament, pinning her opponent in all three of her matches and wrestling for a total time of under 2 minutes across all three matches. Rounding out the champs for the Argos was #7 ranked senior Lexi Tupuola at 191 lbs. While there was a lot of great action during the weekend, including the Battle of the Rockies dual tournament the following day, one of the biggest takeaways was #7 Paige Morales’ performance. During both the open and the dual the following day, Morales who is ranked at 109 lbs, teched #2 Kalya Mckinley-Johnson of Menlo at 101lbs. Even though McKinley-Johnson was wrestling up a weight, it does show Morales’ ability to wrestle higher-ranked opponents dominantly. Next week, the team heads to the North Central open where some of the highest ranked 109 lbers from NAIA and NCAA will compete. Be sure to keep an eye on Morales and Estrella-Beauchamp to clean up against even higher-ranked competitors. 4. Life wins tough ranked matchups at Patriot Duals to remain undefeated The Running Eagles won 5 out of 5 duals at the Patriot Duals tournament including ranked wins over #10 Indiana Tech and #9 Campbellsville. In the dual against Indiana Tech, Life kept a healthy lead and got impressive ranked wins at 136 lbs with #10 Zaynah McBryde getting the tech fall over #17 Carley Anderson and #5 Madeline Welch with a 9-2 decision at 191 lbs against Grace Doering who is ranked at #18 at 170 lbs. Most notable for me, however, was freshman Margaret Graham at 170 lbs taking out #12 Catherine McNulty of Indiana Tech by tech fall. Graham’s talents would show up again in the dual against Campbellsville when she beat #15 Sierra Chavez by tech fall as well. This dual started a lot closer with Campbellsville getting early upset wins from Icart Galumette getting a tech over #4 Ariana Martinez and Josie Davis pinning #9 Anna Krejsa. Life pulled an upset of their own at 130 lbs when senior Olivia Mottley got the 10-3 decision over #19 Cameron Ortiz. A decision from Zaynah McBryde for Life was followed by a pin from Campbellsville’s 143 lber #2 Emma Walker. However, with a tech from #2 Latifah McBryde, the aforementioned upset win from Graham, and a pin from #5 Madeline Welch at 191 lbs, the Running Eagles put it away winning 27-17. Life, like many other teams, now have the Olympic Trials Qualifier as their next event. I am curious to see if some of these wrestlers can continue to get upsets against ranked talent. Results this week in major NCAA, NCWA, and NAIA competitions Grand View 27 vs Central Methodist 18 Patriot Duals VIEW RESULTS Battle of the Rockies Tournament VIEW BRACKETS Battle of the Rockies Duals VIEW RESULTS Grays Harbor Open VIEW BRACKETS Doane Open VIEW RESULTS Vanguard Duals VIEW RESULTS Upcoming Events December 6: #3 Grand View vs #19 Baker December 8: #7 Texas Wesleyan vs #12 Oklahoma City December 9: #4 Southern Oregon vs Linfield December 9: #16 Central Methodist vs #8 Missouri Baptist December 10: North Central College Invite

With the Thanksgiving Holiday and so many tournaments last weekend, the All-Star Classic served as the main event in women’s collegiate wrestling this week. Here are some notes on each of the 4 matches. 1. #2 Samara Chavez of King pins #3 Sydney Petzinger of North Central In a match that was supposed to be an NCWWC Finals rematch between Samara Chavez and North Central’s Jaslynn Gallegos, teammate Sydney Petzinger stepped up for the bout after Gallegos suffered an injury. Chavez came close to winning at 116 lbs in last year’s college championships when she had an early 8-1 lead, however, Gallegos’ counter secured a pin. While the matchup would have been awesome to see, Petzinger is no slouch. She is a 2x All-American for North Central at 109 lbs and finished 3rd at the U20 World Team Trials last year. This match had some great action in the first period, with Chavez finding success with a huge hip toss from a headlock to get a 4-0 lead. However, Petzinger answered quickly with a takedown response to another Chavez headlock she fought off. Chavez then goes blast double for two more points, but Petzinger secures one more takedown at the end of the period to make it 6-4 going into the second. In the second, Petzinger tries to get to her offense early, but Chavez is ready with another headlock and this time takes Petzinger to her back for the pin. While these two probably will not see each other again, Chavez was hungry for a win over her North Central opponent, and if she continues to wrestle with the same patience and smarts she showed in this matchup, she could easily find herself in the 2024 finals to avenge her loss last year. 2. #2 (NCAA) Alexis Janiak of Aurora gets the tech fall over #1 (NAIA) Sarah Savidge of Life Both of these wrestlers may have had a chip on their shoulders after each finished as the runner-up at their respective championships at the end of last season. They also have a pretty decent amount of history wrestling one another, all in high-scoring or big-move matches. Janiak has the two most recent wins from last year’s U20 World Team Trials with an 11-0 tech and a pin. While Janiak has a variety of well-honed technical skills, Savidge is a gritty, tough wrestler, who has seen a lot of success, especially last season. However, in this match, Janiak made quick work of her opponent. After a beautiful single-leg takedown, she was able to secure a lace and take Savidge over to score two more. After assessing her space on the mat, Janiak worked through three more quick turns with the same leg lace for a 10-0 tech at the 31-second mark. Fans would have certainly loved to see more competition between these two, but Janiak’s precise execution of her moves closed the book on this one early. 3. #1 (NAIA) Adaugo Nwachukwu of William Penn gets the decision over #1 (NCAA) Yele Aycock of North Central Fans had this rematch circled but not because of a close result in their last match. In fact, Nwachukwu got a quick 10-0 tech over Aycock at the 2022 Women’s Nationals. Instead, the anticipation was for Nwachukwu’s competitive and dominant style up against Aycock’s steadily increasing skill level against tough opponents. Aycock actually went 0-2 at the 2022 NCWWC Championship and then put a stamp on her 2023 season finishing in second this past March. Aycock’s improvement was on full display as the two battled it out for the entirety of the 2 periods. Nwachukwu claimed the first four points in the period with two strong attacks, one double leg and then another from an underhook. With under a minute left, Aycock tries for another shot and muscles over Nwachukwu for a takedown. Sending the match into the second period 4-2. Nwachukwu hits a big takedown off the whistle and then uses a gut wrench to get two more. At this point, the match is 8-2 with Nwachukwu pulling away. However, Aycock scrambles on the edge to hip over and score a 4-point feet-to-back move. William Penn challenges the call and loses making the score 8-7. The two scramble for the next minute or so and are reset. With 30 seconds left, both wrestlers take shots with Nwachukwu finding success. A last-second step-out point for Nwachukwu seals the deal with an 11-7 victory. This was absolutely the highlight match of the event. You can see so much improvement on the part of Aycock, but it did not detract from just how dominant and powerful Nwachukwu is. Her style has been a problem for other wrestlers on the senior level as she has worked to make a world team. Aycock has dominated in tournaments and duals so far this season and will certainly continue to do so. I would not be surprised if each of these wrestlers maintained their #1 rankings at their respective college associations. 4. #1 (NCAA) Marlynne Deede of Iowa gets the decision over #1 (NAIA) Latifa McBryde of Life In the final women’s match of the evening, Deede and McBryde met for the first time since 2021 when they faced off at the Junior World Team Trials. Deede won by decision back then, but that did not give fans much to go on in predicting the outcome of this match. Deede transferred to Iowa in the offseason for her final year of collegiate competition. She is a 4x All American including a 2023 NCWWC title last year. McBryde was very close to an NAIA title last year as well but lost after a last-second 4-point throw in her finals match. This match was intense and physical from the whistle. Lots of hand fighting and big throw attempts from each wrestler before a scramble where McBryde gets exposure but Deede gets a throw from a crotch lock to make it 2-2. McBryde picks up a step-out point at the end of the period to go up 3-2. After some hand fighting and movement across the mat to start the second, Deede gets a big toss to take McBryde to her back giving a 4-point bump to Deede. Now up 6-3, Deede capitalizes on a shot from McBryde for the go behind putting her up 8-3 with no time left for McBryde to respond. Deede was a threat to begin with during her career at Augsburg. I have no doubt that training with the Hawkeyes and the competitive roster they have in the room will only make her a tougher wrestler to beat. While 155 is a competitive weight class, I think she’ll have no problem getting to the finals of NCWWCs in March. As for McBryde, another close match that just got away from her certainly only adds fuel to the fire as she continues to train for the championship spot at NAIA’s that eluded her last year. McBryde also finished second at this year’s Menlo Open, but has not had much other competition since last year’s finals. I think there is plenty of space for her to continue to be competitive against ranked opponents as she has previously and make it to the finals to work on some redemption come March. Results this week in major NCAA, NCWA, and NAIA competitions All-Star Classic VIEW RESULTS North Central 42 vs Augustana 4 Upcoming Events November 30 - Grand View vs Central Methodist December 1 - Patriot Duals (Day 1) December 1 - Battle of the Rockies December 2 - Patriot Duals (Day 2) December 2 - Grays Harbor Open December 2 - Doane Open December 2 - Vanguard Duals

Morgan Kopitsky sat down with McKendree's Alexio Garcia on the cusp of his second year as head coach of the Bearcats' women's program. Coach Garcia talks about his expectations for the coming season individually and as a team. Coach Garcia explains how his experience coaching at various levels helps him in his current role with McKendree. The two also discuss recruiting, key dates on the Bearcats' schedule, and plenty more. Get to know more about McKendree's women's wrestling program and Coach Garcia! Interview with Coach Alexio Garcia.mp4

The final piece of the Senior World Team puzzle will be clear after Saturday as the special wrestle-off at 57 kg in women’s freestyle will take place. Due to an injury to Helen Maroulis, her Final X bout with Xochitl Mota-Pettis was postponed to August 12th in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This won’t be the first time that Maroulis has had to delay a Final X matchup, as she needed to do so in 2018 against Alex Hedrick. The actual result was dominant in Maroulis’ favor; however, at the ensuing World Championships, she was injured and failed to place for only the second time at a World/Olympic-level event since she broke onto the Senior level, for good, in 2011. For now, we’re operating under the assumption that Maroulis will be healthy this weekend. Maroulis, one of the legends of US women’s wrestling, is seeking to make her 13th World/Olympic team. In 2022, Maroulis captured a world silver medal in Belgrade, Serbia, also the host of the 2023 event. That medal gave her an eighth World/Olympic medal. After appearing to be close to the end of her career after the injuries and concussions in 2018, Maroulis has padded her stats with medals in three consecutive tournaments. That silver medal at the 2022 World Championships allowed Maroulis to sit out the world team qualification process until Final X. Mota-Pettis punched her ticket to Final X after a largely dominant performance at the US Open. She had three techs and a wild 12-10 victory over Amanda Martinez in the semifinals. In the finals, Mota-Pettis needed only :44 seconds to tech two-time Final X qualifier Hedrick. It marked a second consecutive appearance in the Open finals, as Mota-Pettis fell to Nanea Estrella in 2022. Just about a week after the 2023 Open, Mota-Pettis was the US representative at 59 kg at the Pan-American Championships. She blew through the field with a pair of 10-0 techs to claim the gold. Maroulis wrestled at 57 kg and lost in the quarterfinals. A Senior world team would be the second world team that Mota-Pettis has made within the last few months. She already locked up a spot on the U23 squad. At that tournament, Mota-Pettis had very little trouble and ended every bout early. This will be a fun, unique matchup. Neither has met each other in the past, so there’s no frame of reference as to how it will unfold. Mota-Pettis has bounced between 57 and 59 kg, but has primarily competed at 59. She has a wide-open style that is entertaining for fans. I’d imagine that even with an opponent like Maroulis, she’ll still try to throw the proverbial kitchen sink at her. Combined with the polished, well-rounded approach from Maroulis could make for some fireworks. Mota-Pettis is a very exciting prospect for the future, but until proven otherwise, you have to go with the experience and talent from the legendary Maroulis. Pick: Helen Maroulis in two matches.

Thursday marked the first day that medals were awarded in women’s freestyle at the U17 World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey and the American team left with three. That total matched the number that the 2022 squad accumulated across all ten weights. The 2022 team put three in the finals but did not win any gold medals. That wasn’t the case today as not one, but two, US women struck gold. Morgan Turner (43 kg) kicked off the festivities with a clutch performance to claim the first world title. Piper Fowler finished off the session with another gold medal at 73 kg. In the interim, Heather Crull was dominant in a bronze medal-winning effort. The US women’s freestyle team will finish with multiple world champions for only the third time (2018 and 2021) since the Cadet/U17 World Championship event was reinstated in 2011. Turner’s gold medal bout started out in methodical fashion. She got on the scoreboard against Mona Ezaka (Japan) via a shot clock violation, which accounted for the only scoring in the opening stanza. Ezaka would take the lead with a shot clock point of her own in the second. With Turner trailing, she picked up the pace, but was pushed out of bounds for Ezaka to extend her lead to 2-1. With only :11 seconds remaining and a fresh restart, Ezaka dove in on a leg attack. Turner stuffed the attempt and spun almost all the way around her Japanese opponent for a takedown while sinking in a half-nelson along the way. The clock expired as the official gave Turner two points, which was later white-paddled. Though she appeared defeated, Ezaka was initially ruled the victor. The US corner challenged the ruling which was overturned and Turner was given the two points and declared the winner, 3-2. With Turner’s triumph, it snapped a seven-match losing streak by U17 women against Japan in gold medal matches. Ronna Heaton, in 2015, was previously the most recent American to defeat Japan for gold. Right after Turner’s heart-stopping win, there was a less-dramatic medal-winning performance from Crull. Needing less than :30 to secure her first takedown, Crull added another and a pair of points from exposure to lead 6-0 over Lonisa Reka (Kosovo) within the first minute. After pushing the bout to technical superiority territory, Crull got the fall and clinched a bronze medal at 49 kg. Like Turner, Fowler’s gold medal match started off slowly as a shot clock violation from Lotta Englich (Germany) accounted for the first point of the bout. Fowler appeared to be in trouble later in the first as she was extended underneath the German after a shot attempt. The American managed to build up into a better position, locked up a double leg, and finished a takedown to lead 3-0 at the break. In the second period, Fowler found herself on the shot clock and forced Englich into a front headlock. Fowler locked up a cradle and exposed the German to lead 5-0. The cradle wasn’t particularly tight and allowed Englich to slip out and catch Fowler on her back. After a few tense seconds, Fowler was able to bridge and turn off of her back out of danger. Englich could not get any closer to scoring, which meant Fowler was a 5-2 victor and a world champion. There may be more medals on the horizon with the second half of the women’s team, who started their tournament Thursday morning. The American squad saw three women advance to the semifinals and all ended up with opponents from India. Unfortunately, all suffered the same fate. They were beaten by their Indian counterparts and will have to rebound and try again for a bronze medal tomorrow. At 40 kg, Jaclyn Bouzakis struck first as she secured a takedown against India’s Rachana. Frequently, Rachana would use her length advantage to tie up Bouzakis’ wrists in a front headlock position. In the first of these exchanges, Bouzakis came out on top. Late in the first, in that same predicament, Rachana managed to get exposure to take a 2-2 lead. After the break, Bouzakis got a takedown after a sequence that mirrored her first; however, Rachana wrestled through the position and got a reversal to inch within a point at 5-3. The pair got into the familiar front headlock position late in the contest and again it was Rachana who scored to take a 5-4 lead. With less than :10 remaining in the bout, Bouzakis was left to look for a reversal to go ahead on criteria. She was dangerously close at the final whistle, but ultimately came up short, 5-4. Bouzakis will wrestle for a bronze medal tomorrow against the winner of a repechage match between Ainaz Abdykadyrova (Kyrgyzstan) and Nurana Asadli (Belarus - Individual Neutral Athlete). At 61 kg, the defending U17 world champion, Savita, made her presence felt early and often. Haylie Jaffe attempted to get off to a fast start but was hit with a takedown down early in the first period. Savita never let up and led 6-0 at the halfway point. The Indian star continued her onslaught and the match was stopped via tech fall in the second period with a 10-0 score. Jaffe will have to wait for repechage to generate a bronze medal opponent as she’ll face either Beyza Nur Akkas (Turkey) or Sofya Zmazneva (Kazakhstan). After two dominating performances, Jasmine Robinson met the Asian U17 champion Srishti (India) at 69 kg. Srishti looked ready for Robinson’s blast double from space and even retaliated with her own, for four points, in the first period. The second period saw Robinson adjust her strategy and go upper-body, tossing Srishti in a lateral throw for four points, taking the lead. A similar throw at the edge did not warrant the full four points but extended Robinson’s advantage to 5-4 after a step out. Down by a point, Srishti turned up the pace and worked her way into a takedown to take a late 6-5 lead. Desperate, Robinson tried a headlock in the waning seconds, which did not connect and led to a final score by Srishti. The Indian will advance to the world finals after an 8-5 victory. Robinson will have to wait to see who emerges from repechage to challenge for a bronze medal. She’ll take on the winner of Viktorija Irkle (Latvia) and Elif Sevval Kurt (Turkey). Final Results 43 kg Gold Medal Match: Morgan Turner (USA) over Mona Ezaka (Japan) 3-2 Bronze Medal Match: Nilufar Nurmukhammadova (Uzbekistan) over Alina Mazharouskaya (Belarus - Individual Neutral Athlete) 10-0 Bronze Medal Match: Aleksandra Berezovskaia (Russia - Individual Neutral Athlete) over Maria Gkika (Greece) 5-1 49 kg Gold Medal Match: Rinka Ogawa (Japan) over Sviatlana Katenka (Belarus - Individual Neutral Athlete) 11-0 Bronze Medal Match: Heather Crull (USA) over Lonisa Reka (Kosovo) Fall 1:29 Bronze Medal Match: Tana Tiuliush (Russia - Individual Neutral Athlete) over Drishti (India) 4-4 57 kg Gold Medal Match: Sowaka Uchida (Japan) over Eylem Engin (Turkey) 10-0 Bronze Medal Match: Neha (India) over Yeo Jin Min (South Korea) 10-0 Bronze Medal Match: Viktoria Boynova (Bulgaria) over Aziza Keldibekova (Kyrgyzstan) 5-4 65 kg Gold Medal Match: Chisato Yoshida (Japan) over Duygu Gen (Turkey) 5-1 Bronze Medal Match: Mouda Hamdoun (Egypt) over Maryia Makarchanka (Belarus - Individual Neutral Athlete) Fall 3:48 Bronze Medal Match: Margarita Salnazarian (Russia - Individual Neutral Athlete) over Mukhayyo Rakhimjonova (Uzbekistan) Fall 3:43 73 kg Gold Medal Match: Piper Fowler (USA) over Lotta Englich (Germany) 5-2 Bronze Medal Match: Elmira Yasin (Turkey) over Asaloy Amangeldieva (Uzbekistan) 6-0 Bronze Medal Match: Aliaksandra Kazlova (Belarus - Individual Neutral Athlete) over Ako Uchiyama (Japan) 2-0 US Results 40 kg Quarterfinals: Rachana (India) over Jaclyn Bouzakis (USA) 5-4 43 kg Gold Medal Match: Morgan Turner (USA) over Mona Ezaka (Japan) 3-2 46 kg Qualification: Valeria Tsitova (Belarus - Individual Neutral Athlete) over Rianne Murphy (USA) Fall 1:06 49 kg Bronze Medal Match: Heather Crull (USA) over Lonisa Reka (Kosovo) Fall 1:29 53 kg Round of 16: Karlee Brooks (USA) over Elmira Saparbekova (Kazakhstan) 12-1 Quarterfinals: Sakura Onishi (Japan) over Karlee Brooks (USA) 6-0 61 kg Round of 16: Haylie Jaffe (USA) over Emilia Swierczewska (Poland) 11-0 Quarterfinals: Haylie Jaffe (USA) over Ekaterina Radysheva (Russia - Individual Neutral Athlete) 7-0 Semifinals: Savita (India) over Haylie Jaffe (USA) 10-0 69 kg Round of 16: Jasmine Robinson (USA) over Ai Sakai (Japan) 12-0 Quarterfinals: Jasmine Robinson (USA) over Nigina Rajabova (Uzbekistan) Fall 1:34 Semifinals: Srishti (India) over Jasmine Robinson (USA) 8-5 73 kg Gold Medal Match: Piper Fowler (USA) over Lotta Englich (Germany) 5-2

Life University Women's head coach Ashley Flavin sat down with Morgan to discuss all things surrounding the program. Coach Flavin talks about how the program has built and maintained a strong culture during the ten years of its existence. The two review the 2022-23 season, which was very productive, yet still bittersweet for Flavin and the team. Among the many other topics discussed are recruiting strategy, NIL, the future of women's college wrestling, and much more! For the full interview see InterMat's Rokfin page: (no paywall) Click Here

It has been a busy off-season of international wrestling for several of the nation’s best women’s college wrestlers. From Women’s Nationals, World Team Trials, US Open, Pan Am Games, and Final X, some of the faces you’ve been seeing on wrestling’s biggest stages will be returning soon to college lineups. While this is not a rankings list of wrestlers I think will find the most success in their upcoming 2023-24 season, they are all wrestlers who may be shaking up expectations of what they could accomplish based on their impressive showings at some of these events. In no particular order, here are 10 wrestlers to keep an eye on this domestic season. Adaugo Nwachukwu - William Penn Adaugo made a big splash in her first two years in college at Iowa Wesleyan, winning two consecutive NAIA Championships at 136 lbs in 2022 and 2023. She continued making headlines for her impressive road to Final X the past few months, beating Jennifer Page at the US Open at 62 kg to get there. While she did drop her Final X series to Kayla Miracle, she finished in True 3rd, securing a spot as a National Team Member. This year, she also finished first at the U20 World Team Trials and the U20 Pan Ams, both at 62kg. This is not the first year Nwachukwu has seen success at international wrestling. In 2022, she won bronze at U20 World’s and placed 3rd at the U.S. Open. It will be interesting to see if she is able to jump up again at U20s given her improvement year over year. Additionally, if her growth in international wrestling from her 2022 season to 2023 is any indication of how her college season this year will go, it will be hard to keep her from a 3rd consecutive NAIA Championship, this time in a William Penn singlet. Kylie Welker - Iowa Kylie Welker should be a regular in the lineup for the Hawkeyes in their first season wrestling as an attached team. Welker was the team’s first commit when she announced in early 2022 she’d be heading to Iowa. While the team wrestled unattached, Welker’s only college competition so far was at the Soldier Salute where she went 3-0 before an injury that ended the rest of her season. However, once recovered, Welker has had quite an offseason. She was the champ at U20 Pan Ams, and won in dominant fashion throughout the tournament with two techs and a fall. Additionally, she became a Senior National Team Member with wins over Dymond Guilford, Tristan Kelly, and Sydnee Kimber. She came in 3rd at World Team Trials and 5th at the U.S. Open. At the time of her college announcement, she was considered the No. 1 pound-for-pound recruit with an incredible showing in 2021 finishing 2nd at the US Olympic Trials, 3rd at U23 Worlds, and finishing as the Champ at U20 Worlds. She earned a spot as a 2021 Senior World Team member as well. While there is plenty of excitement surrounding this year’s team at Iowa and their first year competing, Welker in particular will be one to watch to see how her dynamic style and competitiveness shine against college opponents. Bella Mir - Iowa Bella Mir will also be representing the Hawkeyes this upcoming season after seeing success at a few tournaments this past year. She came in 3rd at the Bearcat Open and 2nd at the Soldier Salute, where her only loss came in the finals against Life University’s Latifah McBryde. McBryde was undefeated in college last year until the finals match at the NAIA Championship where she lost in the last five seconds of the match. Mir was a 4x Nevada State Champ coming out of high school and was able to maintain that high level of competitiveness in off-season wrestling this past summer. She finished 6th at the US Open at 68kg and was the champ at U20 Nationals. In her run at U20s, she beat Katie Lange, another wrestler on this list, so she has shown her capabilities competing against experienced high-level wrestlers at her weight. At the Grand Prix of Spain in July she went 4-0 to take the Gold, winning her last three matches by pin. Her finals match saw her make a big comeback, as she earned a pin while down 11-2. There is a lot of talent at 155 lbs, but Mir is no stranger to intense competition. Outside of wrestling she is 3-0 in her MMA career and is the daughter of former UFC Champion Frank Mir. She has already faced many opponents she could see again throughout the season, so it will be interesting to see if she continues to grow and separate against familiar wrestlers this year. Sage Mortimer - King University Sage Mortimer will be starting her Junior year at King University and will be looking to improve on her national tournament success from her first two years competing. In 2022, she finished 3rd at the National College Women’s Wrestling Championships at 109 lbs, and then improved to 2nd place in 2023. Mortimer saw success in 2022 when she was the champ at U20 Pan Ams. However, she had mixed results in domestic freestyle this year, coming in 4th at 50kg at the US Open, but unfortunately being disqualified from U23 Nationals in her first match against Emily Shilson for what the officials ruled as brutality in a controversial call. Without a full picture of how she could have done at U23s it is a little harder to predict how it may factor into her success this season, but she did improve her record to 30-3, with 24 bonus point wins in her past college season, so her momentum is headed towards an even more successful season. Additionally, Shilson may not be returning to college this year, which may open the path to success for Mortimer even more. Fans should pay close attention to her as she attempts to finally get to the top of the podium at the end of this season. Katie Lange - Augsburg Katie Lange returns as a junior for Augsburg as the reigning National Champ at 143 lbs. After an injury in the 2022 season after regionals, Lange was able to battle back, get healthy and take it all the way. She defeated Ashlynn Ortega, the returning champ in an exciting, down-to-the-wire match. Ortega will also return this season to wrestle for King University, and presumably will have a rematch with Lange on her agenda. However, Lange’s momentum hasn’t stopped in the offseason. She took 4th place at the 2023 World Team Trials, 3rd at this year’s US Open, 4th at U20 Nationals, and won U23 Nationals at 68kg. Lange will return to the 143lb weight class with a title to defend, but several more dominant wins under her belt during this off-season. Alexis Janiak - Aurora Alexis Janiak came into her freshman year at Aurora ready to make her mark, going 24-4 overall and finishing as the runner-up at the 2023 NCCWC at 130 lbs. She has also seen international success coming in second in 2021 at the Cadet Pan Ams while she was still in high school. In 2023, she won Bronze at the Grand Prix of Spain and was the Champion at U20 Nationals. Her win in the finals at U20 Nationals was an impressive showing where she swept Savidge, also on this list, in the best of three finals, stamping her victory with a pin in their second match. It feels like Janiak has potential to take this off-season momentum and make another run to the podium, with plenty of additional bonus-point wins on the way. Sarah Savidge - Life University Sarah Savidge is heading into her sophomore season at Life University after nearly going all the way at last year’s NAIA National Championships. She had won all other matches in the tournament by pin or tech, before dropping her final match 6-3 to Lexie Basham of Texas Wesleyan. Rolling into spring and summer international competition, Savidge brought home the Gold at U20 Pan Ams and Junior Pan Ams. She came in 5th at the US Open, and finished in 2nd at U20s, losing to Alexis Janiak. While Janiak and Savidge have potential to go back-and-forth on the international stage, Savidge seems to have the answer for a lot of her collegiate opponents. Look for her to take it all the way this season while continuing to make an impact on the 59kg division. Mia Palumbo - William Penn Mia Palumbo is another wrestler who, along with teammate Adaugo Nwachukwu, followed her coaches from Iowa Wesleyan to William Penn after the former announced it was closing. Prior to that announcement, Palumbo had made it to the finals of the NAIA championships two years in a row for 2022 and 2023. Unfortunately, both times she's come to face Peyton Prussin, 3x National Champion from Life University. On the international scene, Palumbo has had a strong showing this off-season. She came in first place at U20 Pan Ams and came in 4th at the U20 Nationals, losing in the 3rd place match to Sage Mortimer. With Prussin presumably done with her college wrestling career, Palumbo has a chance to become the new number one. Maddie Kubicki - Presbyterian Maddie Kubicki will be a true freshman this upcoming season at Presbyterian, but given her high school and international track record, she’ll be one to watch. In high school, Kubicki was a four-time Missouri State champ and the Missouri Female Athlete of the Year. While she did come in second at the 2021 U17 Nationals, most of her success has come this past spring and summer. In 2023, she placed 3rd at U23 Nationals, and 3rd at the Grand Prix of Spain. Kubicki really made her mark as the Champ at U20 Nationals, winning by all pins and tech falls before a decision win in the finals. While there can be some transition heading into college from high school, Kubicki’s freestyle success could be an indication of her readiness and ability to be a real threat to her weight class this season. Cristelle Rodriguez - Doane Cristelle Rodriguez capped off her freshman season at Doane with a 3rd place finish at the NAIA tournament in 2023. Rodriguez was the fourth seed at the tournament and did not give up a single point until her loss to eventual champ Lexie Basham in the semifinals. Rodriguez had a notable 2nd place finish at Cadet Worlds in 2019. In 2023, she went on to win U20 Nationals at 57kg. Rodriguez showed both dominant wins and the ability to string together the necessary points in close matches, and it seems she has a lot of different tools in her arsenal. Be looking for her to improve on her 3rd place NAIA finish this year along with a highly competitive regular season of matches as well. Honorable Mentions In addition to the wrestlers above, I wanted to mention three additional wrestlers with the potential to really change the landscape in upcoming college wrestling seasons depending on how they choose to continue their wrestling careers. Emily Shilson - McKendree Emily Shilson was an incredibly decorated wrestler coming out of high school. She was a six-time Minnesota State Girls wrestling champion and a three-time qualifier for Minnesota AAA boys state championships. Before college, she was a 2017 Cadet World Silver medalist and in 2018 she was a Cadet World Champion. She originally competed in college for Augsburg and was a 4x National Champ. After winning in 2022, she did not compete during the beginning of the 2022-23 season and announced in January of this year she would be transferring to McKendree. She then won her 5th National Title later in March, still going undefeated in her college career. In 2021, Shilson was the U23 World Champ as well as the Junior World Champ. In 2022 she finished 3rd at the U23 Trials. And this year, Shilson took first place at U23s over Sage Mortimer. Despite her impressive and lengthy collegiate career, Shilson still has one year left of eligibility. She said after her National Championship win that she wasn’t sure yet if she would return to wrestle another year in college. If she does, she will be looking to remain undefeated and claim a 6th National Championship to match her six high school state championships. Audrey Jimenez Audrey Jimenez has made headlines for her accomplishments so far despite only being 18 years old. Jimenez still has one more year to compete in high school and is not only a three-time State Champ, but also the #1 pound-for-pound recruit in her class. Jimenez’s notable international success began in 2021 when she walked away from U17 Worlds with a bronze medal. In 2022, she was both a U17 World Team member and a U20 World Silver Medalist. Just this past summer, Jimenez was the U20 World Team Trials Champion at 50kg and the US Open Champion at 50kg, securing her spot at Final X. While she did lose at Final X to Olympic and World Medalist Sarah Hildebrandt, she is clearly going to continue to be a factor at this weight class both domestically and internationally. She most recently placed third at the Grand Prix of Spain. Wrestling fans will surely continue to keep an eye on Jimenez to see if she chooses to compete at the collegiate level, or instead follow in the footsteps of other prominent wrestlers like the Blades sisters or Amit Elor and focus on a club team and international wrestling. Katie Gomez Katie Gomez and Audrey Jimenez have found themselves at the same international tournaments and earning spots on the same world teams throughout their careers. Gomez was the 2021 U17 World Champion at 53kg, and then the U20 World bronze medalist in 2022. This year, Gomez won the US Open at 53kg, also earning her a spot to compete at Final X. While Gomez did drop her matchup against World Champion Dominique Parrish, she went on to compete and win the Grand Prix of Spain, even beating Senior World Team Member Alisha Howk along the way. Gomez has discussed wanting to compete in college, but has not made any indication of where or when she may go. She is currently focused on club wrestling to prepare for international competitions.

It’s almost here! We’re only a few days away from the best domestic event of the year during the freestyle and Greco-Roman season, Final X. For the first time since it was established in 2018, will all three styles be held at the same location on one day. Saturday’s winners will go on to Belgrade, Serbia in September to represent the United States at the 2023 World Championships. We’ll move along in our three previews by looking at the Senior women’s freestyle matchups. The 2022 team was able to bring home seven medals, during an excellent showing at World’s. However the 2023 team shakes out, we should have the opportunity to match that number. This world team has the potential to be a very veteran-laded group. There’s only one weight class (59 kg) that features a matchup with two wrestlers that have never competed at Senior World’s. Before we get ahead of ourselves and look at Belgrade, we have a preview of the action in the ten weight classes, with information about each wrestler and their previous head-to-head matchups, if any. 50 kg - Sarah Hildebrandt vs. Audrey Jimenez What a contrast we have here at 50 kg with Sarah Hildebrandt, one of the staples of the women’s national team and Audrey Jimenez the young star. Hildebrandt made her first world team in 2016 and suffered a gruesome injury during the 2017 Trials, but since then, she’s been a part of every World/Olympic Team. During that stretch, Hildebrandt has medaled four of five times, highlighted by an Olympic bronze and two trips to the world finals. Her bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships afforded her the opportunity to wait in Final X. A year ago, Jimenez was competing in the World Championships at the U17 and U20 levels. Interestingly enough, she missed out on a medal at U17’s, but made the world finals at U20’s. Don’t expect the moment to be too big for Jimenez, as she faced a pair of seasoned vets in the semis and finals of the US Open and never blinked. Just to get a shot at the finals, she teched and nearly pinned national team member Erin Golston. In the finals, Jimenez appeared to be on the brink of getting teched (8-0), but stayed in the match and came all the way back to down Alyssa Lampe, Hildebrandt’s 2022 Final X opponent. This will be the first meeting between these two. It will be a nice mix between Hildebrandt’s experience, polish and poise, compared to Jimenez’s fearlessness and scrappy style. Pick: Sarah Hildebrandt 53 kg - Dom Parrish vs. Katie Gomez Like 50 kg, this is another weight where the young talent shined at the Open and Katie Gomez booked a spot opposite 2022 world champion Dom Parrish. In each of the last two years, Gomez has represented the United States at age group World Championships and came home with hardware. Gomez was a U17 world champion in 2021 and U20 bronze medalist a year later. She came into the US Open as the third seed and ended up winning the title going away. After a pair of tech falls, Gomez downed 2022 Final X participant Felicity Taylor. For the spot in Final X, Gomez downed another upstart, Samara Chavez, 12-2. After an early Chavez score, Gomez reeled off 12 consecutive points for the win. Parrish broke through and made her first world team last year after making Final X and falling to Jacarra Winchester in 2019. That wasn’t enough, though. Parrish came away with a gold medal from Belgrade at 53 kg. She was largely in control for the entire tournament outsourcing her competition by a 27-3 margin across four matches. 2023 hasn’t gone quite as smoothly for Parrish who was fifth at the Pan-American Championships, 11th at the Rankings Series event in Egypt and 22nd at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series tournament. Gomez was 15th in Zagreb though the two did not meet. Their clash on Saturday will be the first meeting between the pair. Pick: Dom Parrish 55 kg - Alisha Howk vs. Jacarra Winchester Jacarra Winchester was the world team representative at this weight in 2022, but she came up a match shy of earning a medal, so she needed to qualify for Final X through either the US Open or the World Team Trials. The 2019 world champion, Winchester, is seeking to make her fourth world team appearance. Winchester did not compete at the US Open which gave Alisha Howk an opening. Howk took advantage of the opportunity as she won the tournament despite starting as the third seed. In each of her final three bouts, Howk was put to the test and prevailed in tight matches. In all three contests, Howk got the win despite surrendering the first score. She earned the Open title with an 8-3 victory over the tournament’s top seed, Lauren Mason. With Howk earning the first berth in Final X, Winchester was forced to win the World Team Trials. In her first WTT bout, Winchester was pushed by Amanda Martinez and trailed 4-2 after a period. Winchester didn’t panic and ended the bout in the second period via fall. In the finals, Winchester blew through Areana Villaescusa, 11-0. Winchester’s only other competition in 2023 saw her win the Ibrahim Moustafa Ranking Series event. Howk was the American representative at the Pan-American Championships for the first time at the Senior level and took silver. She also was ninth at the Zagreb Open earlier this year. Winchester has been undefeated against Howk with three straight techs. Her most recent win (11-0) came at the 2022 World Team Trials Challenge Tournament. Pick: Jacarra Winchester 57 kg - Helen Maroulis vs. Xochitl Mota-Pettis This series has been delayed due to a medical issue on Helen Maroulis’ part. We’ll have more information once it has been rescheduled. 59 kg - Michaela Beck vs. Jennifer Page This weight was up for grabs at the US Open after 2022 world team rep Abby Nette failed to medal. Once again, it was the third seed who ended up winning the tournament. That was Michaela Beck, a past member of the U20 and U23 World Teams. Beck ensured there would be a changing of the guard by edging Nette, 4-4 in the semifinals. For the title, Beck used a third-period surge to push her past a second former world team member, Maya Nelson, to the tune of 5-3. One of the wrinkles of this year’s qualification format is that only certain weights would be contested at the World Team Trials. That allowed wrestlers who lost at the Open to move up or down in weight to challenge in a bracket that took place at the WTT’s. Jennifer Page was one of the wrestlers who took advantage of this format. She dropped a heartbreaker to Adaugo Nwachukwu in the Open finals, then dropped in weight to 59 kg. Page nearly made the 2022 World Team as she pushed Kayla Miracle to three matches in their delayed wrestle-off. To make it back to Final X, Page ran through an impressive list of opponents at the WTT’s, past Final X participants Lexie Basham and Alex Hedrick, along with Nelson. Beck and Page do not have an extensive history against each other, so you have to go back to Senior Nationals in late 2019 to find their most recent meeting. That time, Page got her hand raised after an 11-0 win. Pick: Jennifer Page 62 kg - Kayla Miracle vs. Adaugo Nwachukwu 2022 marked the second consecutive year with a world silver medal for Kayla Miracle at 62 kg. That medal allowed Miracle the opportunity to sit in Final X and wait for an opponent to emerge. Some may have expected Miracle’s 2022 Final X opponent, Jennifer Page, to come out from the Open; however, it was collegiate sensation Adaugo Nwachukwu who prevailed. Nwachukwu has won a pair of national titles for Iowa Western, before the school closed down and she followed the coaching staff to William Penn. For more on Nwachukwu, a nominee for USA Wrestling’s inaugural Women’s College Wrestler of the Year Award, check out Morgan Kopitsky’s feature article . Miracle has seen international competition in three different events in 2023. She was stunned at the Pan-American Championships and took the bronze, while settling for fifth at the Ibrahim Moustafa and another bronze at the Zagreb Open. Nwachukwu also has international experience, as she captured a bronze medal at the U20 World Championships in 2022. These two have met on one previous occasion and Miracle won via tech at the 2022 US Open. Pick: Kayla Miracle 65 kg - Mallory Velte vs. Macey Kilty After a four-year absence, Mallory Velte returned to the world team in 2022. Not only did she compete at the world level for the first time since 2018, but Velte also grabbed her second world bronze medal, a feat she also achieved in 2018. This year, Velte has been very solid with a Pan-American championship and a silver medal at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series event. During her career in Final X, Velte has engaged in two series’ that went the full three matches and won both (against Kayla Miracle and Forrest Molinari). She’ll be well-equipped for another battle like those. Velte will have to contend with Macey Kilty, a five-time age-group world medalist at three different levels. Kilty looks ready to make her mark at the Senior level. She was a match away from an Olympic berth in 2020(1) and in the finals of the 2022 World Team Trials and had to injury default in both instances. Kilty had an impressive showing at the US Open with three techs in four matches. In the finals, she grabbed a pair of takedowns to get by Emma Bruntil, 5-1. For the tournament, Kilty outscored her competition 36-1. Despite Velte’s Senior-level success, she’s 0-2 career against Kilty. Both wins for Kilty came during the 2021 calendar year, a tech at the Captain’s Cup and a 4-2 win at the Olympic Trials. Pick: Macey Kilty 68 kg - Forrest Molinari vs. Emma Bruntil Initially, we expected Tamyra Mensah-Stock to be sitting in Final X based off of her bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships. Mensah-Stock declined her invitation to Final X and later revealed she has signed with the WWE. With her not competing, the Open winner grabbed the first slot in Final X. As we saw at 59 kg, this was another weight where a competitor fell at the US Open, then changed weights and won at the World Team Trials. This time it was Emma Bruntil, who lost to Kilty at 65 kg, then jumped up to 68 kg. Bruntil crushed the field in Colorado Springs with three tech falls in three matches. The final one came over top-seeded Alex Glaude and Bruntil only needed 93 seconds to rack up 12 points on the past Final X participant. Bruntil is seeking to make her first Senior world team. She’s been a part of the last two U23 World Teams, but has not medaled. Forrest Molinari made three world teams in a row at 65 kg (from 2018-21) and broke through with a bronze medal in her last appearance. She was prevented from making the team last year after losing to Mallory Velte in three matches at Final X Stillwater. Molinari put herself two wins away from the 2023 team after a dominant US Open showing. In four matches in Vegas, Molinari tallied two falls and two techs. She also defeated Glaude to punch her ticket to Newark. The two had a tactical match for a period, but Molinari opened it up in the second and got the fall while leading 8-0. These two have quite the history against each other dating back to 2018. In their most high-profile meeting, Molinari downed Bruntil 4-3 and 9-0 in the 2021 World Team Trials. Bruntil does own a win over Molinari, which came at the 2022 Yarygin. Pick: Forrest Molinari 72 kg - Amit Elor vs. Joye Levendusky 2022 was quite the year for Amit Elor. Elor rewrote the American record books with world titles at three different age groups (Senior, U23, and U20). Elor became the youngest American (18) to win a Senior title and the first American to win all three age groups in the same year. She is only the second wrestler in the world to accomplish this feat. Not only did Elor win at a young age, but she’s also been utterly dominant. In her 11 world championship matches in 2022, Elor only had one that went the distance. In her only competition of 2023, Elor grabbed gold at the Pan-American Championships. Playing the underdog role will be Joye Levendusky. During her collegiate career, Levendusky was a three-time national finalist (2x NCWWC; 1x NAIA) for McKendree and Southern Oregon. Earlier this year, she also made the finals at the U23 Trials. Levendusky earned her place in Final X with an excellent showing at the Open. In the semifinals, she pinned one of the veterans at the weight, Nahiela Magee. Levendusky’s title-winning match saw her tech Rose Cassioppi. This will be the first meeting at the Senior level between these two women. Pick: Amit Elor 76 kg - Kennedy Blades vs. Adeline Gray We’re saving the best for last! Or at least I hope the matches are structured in a manner to highlight this huge series. We have one of the all-time greats of USA Wrestling against one of its future (and current superstars). Kennedy Blades and Adeline Gray met in a much-anticipated US Open final that was dominated by 12-2. Apparently, Gray had only been cleared to return to the mat a few weeks before the Open. She was getting back into training after giving birth to twins. Gray was back in action at the World Team Trials and looked closer to her normal self with a fall and two techs against a loaded field. In the semis, she defeated U20 world champion Kylie Welker, while her title-winning tech was at the expense of 2022 World Team member Dymond Guilford. Blades was a U20 World Champion in 2021, a few months after losing to Tamyra Mensah-Stock in the Olympic Trials finals. At the Open, Blades started with a pair of techs before pinning 2022 Final X participant Yelena Makoyed during a wild, high-scoring match. So far, Blades has appeared in two international tournaments this year, winning the Ibrahim Moustafa Ranking Series event and taking fifth at the Henri DeGlane. The tech fall at the US Open is the only prior meeting between these two. The question is how much better is Gray since the World Team Trials (and Open). Will it be enough to close the gap between the two? Pick: Kennedy Blades