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On the first day of 2024 without NFL football, it was only appropriate that we had a rare edition of “Monday Night Wrestling” on the Big Ten Network. Fresh off a dominant win over number three Iowa, top-ranked Penn State hosted #14 Rutgers for a dual inside their Bryce Jordan Center. The home of the 2024 Olympic Team Trials, the Bryce Jordan Center is typically used once a year for a marquee dual meet. Though the final result ended up quite lopsided (35-3) in favor of the defending champions, the dual started off with some fireworks through the first five bouts. In the first bout of the evening, Braeden Davis needed overtime to get past Dean Peterson. Extra time was needed in the second match, as well. Dylan Shawver shocked returning All-American Aaron Nagao with an early takedown, then proceeded to engage in one of the most entertaining bouts of the season. If you missed it, go back and watch. The bout featured plenty of great scrambles from both wrestlers. Shawver converted one in sudden victory for the winning takedown. At 141 lbs, Max Hermes bumped up for Rutgers to take on top-ranked Beau Bartlett. Hermes gave Bartlett all he could handle and the bout was knotted at one late into the contest. With under :20 seconds remaining, Bartlett secured the only takedown of the match and rode Hermes for a 4-1 victory. 149 lbs saw a pair of freshmen get after it. Tyler Kasak ultimately prevailed 7-5 over Michael Cetta, but the recent addition to the national rankings, stayed in the match and proved he’ll be a dangerous out for anyone in March. From 157 lbs on Penn State rolled, as expected. Some highlights from the back half of the dual included wins from backups over highly-ranked opposition. At 174 lbs, Terrell Barraclough bumped up and knocked off #13 Jackson Turley on the strength of a riding time point. The night was capped off by Lucas Cochran earning a pair of takedowns in an 8-3 victory over #8 Yaraslau Slavikouski. Penn State will be back in action Sunday against fourth-ranked Nebraska. Rutgers will close out their Big Ten slate hosting Maryland on Friday. Penn State 35 Rutgers 3 125 - Braeden Davis (Penn State) dec Dean Peterson (Rutgers) 4-1SV 133 - Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) dec Aaron Nagao (Penn State) 9-6SV 141 - Beau Bartlett (Penn State) dec Max Hermes (Rutgers) 4-1 149 - Tyler Kasak (Penn State) dec Michael Cetta (Rutgers) 7-5 157 - Levi Haines (Penn State) fall Dylan Weaver (Rutgers) 1:31 165 - Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) tech Tony White (Rutgers) 18-3 174 - Terrell Barraclough (Penn State) dec Jackson Turley (Rutgers) 4-3 184 - Bernie Truax (Penn State) dec Shane Cartagena-Walsh (Rutgers) 7-0 197 - Aaron Brooks (Penn State) fall Michael Toranzo (Rutgers) 1:46 285 - Lucas Cochran (Penn State) dec Yaraslau Slavikouski (Rutgers) 8-3

In our season preview for the MAC, the first question that we asked was “Can anyone threaten Lock Haven?” The Bald Eagles have won each of the last two MAC Championships and lost one conference dual per year, along the way. With an All-American and four other past national qualifiers returning, it seemed like Lock Haven would be in the driver’s seat for a third consecutive title. A conference tournament and dual success are two different animals, especially in a league as big as the MAC. Lock Haven has proven that three or four stars can carry them to a title and their balanced lineup will propel them through most MAC duals. That may not be the case in 2024. On Friday, Lock Haven dropped their third conference dual meet and their tenth overall. So, if it isn’t Lock Haven’s year, then who? In our preseason article, we mentioned perennial threat Central Michigan. The Chippewas have three veterans who will compete for MAC titles and have qualified for nationals in the past. CMU certainly remains a viable contender. Another team we mentioned was Clarion, especially in a dual format. While Clarion generally is tough in dual meets, they haven’t taken that next step to be a favorite or as we labeled CMU, a viable contender. How about Rider? The Broncs are unbeaten in conference duals, which is a plus; however, their overall profile isn’t great with out-of-conference losses to Drexel and Princeton. Here’s a team that you (and I) may have overlooked and probably shouldn’t have…..Northern Illinois. The Huskies moved to an impressive 12-2 mark with their 22-15 win over Lock Haven on Friday. Last weekend, they edged Buffalo, 18-16, and before that, they downed Central Michigan 22-10. The win over the Chippewas was only the second win for NIU over Central Michigan in the last 21 seasons. Friday’s win over Lock Haven pushed the Huskies to 12 wins a mark that the team has hit only nine times in program history. The most recent occurrence was during the 2019-20 season when they amassed 13. In mid-December, Northern Illinois downed in-state foe Northwestern, 18-17. That marked the first time since December of 2009 that the Huskies had beaten that Big Ten school. That same day, NIU head coach Ryan Ludwig earned his 100th career dual victory. All year we’ve bemoaned how unpredictable the 125 lb weight class has been nationally. That hasn’t been the case for NIU, who has the services of Blake West, who is now 23-5 on the year and unbeaten in MAC duals. During the CMU dual, West was able to reverse one of those five losses. West narrowly missed out on NCAA qualification last year. He compiled a 24-9 record and fell by a single point to Jake Ferri (Kent State) in a true second-place bout at the MAC Championships. Another familiar face that has stepped up in 2023-24 is Jaivon Jones at 149 lbs. Jones made an impact on the Lock Haven win as he pinned #33 Nick Stonecheck in the opening stanza. Against Cleveland State and Ohio, Jones earned wins over some of the best wrestlers from both squads. His record is now 11-4 on the year. Ludwig and staff have also been getting contributions from some wrestlers who may have previously been unknown commodities outside of Dekalb. Heavyweight Jacobi Jackson is currently in the rankings, while Matt Zuber at 184 lbs has spent time in the top-33, as well. 141 lber Jacob Brya is an impressive redshirt freshman that garners consideration, as well. Zuber was a 10-3 winner over Colin Fegley in the Lock Haven win. Jackson is 9-1 in dual competition and holds a ranked win over Rider’s David Szuba. One of the NIU wrestlers I was anticipating most coming into this year was 157 lber Munkhtulga Zuunbayan. In 2021, he had a great season debut at the Michigan State Open. Zuunbayan has shared starting duties this season, but has come on lately with solid wins against Cleveland State and a major decision in Friday’s win over Lock Haven. Northern Illinois has a week off before finishing the 2023-24 regular season against SIU Edwardsville. They have a good shot at matching 2019-20 total of 13 dual wins. The only blemishes on the record for Ludwig’s team this season are an early-season loss to Purdue and a one-point setback to Rider in early-January. A week later, they rebounded to defeat another team I felt like could contend in the MAC, Ohio. Unfortunately, at the DI level, our sport doesn’t provide many rewards for being good in dual competition. To really turn heads, the Huskies will have to shine in Kent, Ohio at the MAC Championships. Once again, a team with a few superstars will typically outshine a balanced attack. Northern Illinois has proven that they are a very solid dual lineup, they’ll just need their big guns to perform up to their capabilities, have an upset or two, and who knows what happens? However the rest of the season plays out, it has been a very strong campaign for Ludwig and his team and they do deserve recognition.

What a Super weekend it was on the mats. Particularly in the top ten. Friday provided us with a Big Ten doubleheader that featured a pair of top-ten matchups, including the always-fun Penn State/Iowa dual. Though the top ten had plenty of good duals, all of its teams held serve against lower-ranked competition. Even so, there was plenty to talk about and take away from the results of each individual dual. Please pause for a personal agenda. It’s a shame we don’t have some sort of a national dual tournament. Penn State proved that the ultimate winner of such a venture may not be in doubt; however, there’s lots of fun that could have been had along the way. There is such little separation between team’s two-through-ten on this list, that any of them clash could lead to unexpected results. Or down-to-the-wire excitement. Heck, expanding past the top ten, you have teams like Minnesota, South Dakota State, and Virginia Tech, that could give these teams a run for their money. Ok, enough of that. Let's get to the week in the top ten. 1. Penn State In the most anticipated dual of the college season, Penn State split the first four individual matches with Iowa, then proceeded to win the final six in a 29-6 win over #3 Iowa. In a #1 vs. #2 showdown at 141, Beau Bartlett kept his perfect record intact by downing 2023 NCAA finalist, Real Woods, 7-2. With the clock burning and nursing a one-point lead, Bartlett stayed on the offensive and grabbed a lake takedown to get some breathing room. Levi Haines had his most impressive performance of the year majoring #5 Jared Franek, 12-0. Mitchell Mesenbrink continued to pass every test presented to him and nearly majored #6 Michael Caliendo before surrendering a late score. Carter Starocci, Aaron Brooks, and Greg Kerkvliet all remained undefeated. Starocci and Kerkvliet were able to tally major decisions. The only Penn State wrestlers to lose on Friday night were both of their true freshmen starters. Next: Penn State will actually be on the mat tonight against #14 Rutgers. The matchup is the Nittany Lions yearly bout in the Bryce Jordan Center. Next Sunday, they’ll close their Big Ten dual season with a meeting against #4 Nebraska. That dual will have intriguing bouts up and down the docket. 2. Oklahoma State The Cowboys stayed perfect with a dominant performance over a dangerous 12th-ranked South Dakota State team on Saturday. Oklahoma State jumped out to a commanding 25-0 lead by taking the first six matches from the Jackrabbits. The stretch included a pair of pins from Jordan Williams (149) and Izzak Olejnik (165). Williams also picked up a win last week against Missouri, which bodes well for him securing the starting role in his battle with Sammy Alvarez. Other highlights from that streak from the Cowboys include Tagen Jameson’s 8-5 sudden victory decision over two-time All-American Clay Carlson at 141 lbs. Later in the dual, second-ranked Dustin Plott was pushed to sudden victory by SDSU’s impressive freshman Bennett Berge; however, he managed to prevail 9-6. Next: Sunday marks OSU’s final Big 12 dual as they play host to Oklahoma in the second Bedlam dual of the season. Back in early December, the Cowboys posted a 28-9 win over their in-state rivals, on the road. 3. Iowa For the second consecutive Friday, took a loss to a conference opponent. Last week it was at Michigan, this time it was in Carver-Hawkeye Arena against the top-ranked Nittany Lions of Penn State. #7 Drake Ayala started the dual in style with a 4-2 victory over previously unbeaten, Braeden Davis. An early takedown from the Hawkeye held up as the deciding factor. At 149 lbs, Caleb Rathjen came out on top in a back-and-forth, exciting win over #10 Tyler Kasak. Rathjen was the most aggressive and Iowa wrestler all night and it paid off in an 11-8 triumph in sudden victory. Though he took a loss at 197 lbs (his first official one of the season), Zach Glazier acquitted himself well and became the first opponent to hold three-time national champion Aaron Brooks, to a regular decision. A match later, at heavyweight, true freshman two-sport star Ben Kueter, had his first significant collegiate test with #1 Kerkvliet. Though he fell via major decision, Kueter showed promise for the future. Next: Sunday marks Iowa’s final Big Ten dual of the year as they travel to #23 Wisconsin. Tough tests loom for the Hawkeyes, especially at 125, 165, and 174 lbs. 4. Nebraska The precursor to Iowa/Penn State on the Big Ten Network was a top-ten clash between #4 Nebraska and #9 Michigan. On paper, this looked like a toss-up of a dual with plenty of intriguing individual matchups. The latter proved to be true; however, the former was not as Nebraska grabbed wins in the first six matches. Since they were all regular decisions, the Wolverines were mathematically “in” the dual, but with some mismatches in Nebraska’s favor at 184/197, a comeback seemed very unlikely. Nebraska logged upsets at 125 (Caleb Smith), 133 (Jacob Van Dee), and 165 (Antrell Taylor). The wins at 125 and 133 came over top-six ranked opponents, while Taylor’s came at the expense of three-time All-American Cam Amine. Van Dee was able to outlast #4 Dylan Ragusin and hand him his first loss of the season. This dual also featured a run between 141 and 157 that boasted three consecutive top-ten matchups. The Cornhuskers came out on top in all three. Brock Hardy held off impressive freshman Sergio Lemley in the evening’s most exciting match at 141. In the most anticipated bout of the dual, top-ranked Ridge Lovett imposed his will early and often over the dangerous Austin Gomez. Two years ago, Gomez won both matches between the pair. Finally, at 157 lbs, Peyton Robb emerged victorious in a tussle with defensive stalwart, Will Lewan. Next: Nebraska’s final Big Ten contest will see them travel to Penn State on Sunday. That dual will feature plenty of great matchups. One to watch is at 141 lbs with Hardy and top-ranked Beau Bartlett. Last season, Hardy defeated Bartlett 7-3 in the Big Ten semifinals; however, Bartlett went on to outplace him at nationals. 5. Iowa State Iowa State played host to in-state rival Northern Iowa on Super Sunday and broke out the hair dye beforehand. Whether it was a great look is another story, but as these things are normally intended to do, it was a sign of the team’s togetherness and unity. In a match that carried relevance for national rankings and in the dual itself, #9 Anthony Echemendia got back #6 Cael Happel in a very entertaining affair at 141 lbs. Happel got the best of Echemendia in Vegas; however, the Cyclone evened the score in a 9-6 victory. Echemendia was the only ISU wrestler to be held to a regular decision. His five teammates that got their hands raised, all did so while earning bonus points. Evan Frost (133), Casey Swiderski (149), David Carr (165), and Yonger Bastida (285) all rolled to tech falls. Redshirt freshman MJ Gaitan (174) had a major decision over #30 Jared Simma. Those all added up to a football-like 27-14 victory for Kevin Dresser’s team. Next: All that’s left for Iowa State is a dual with Missouri two Sundays from yesterday. Of course, one of the most anticipated individual matches of the year looms at 165 lbs with Carr and top-ranked Keegan O’Toole. Carr won last season and in the Big 12 finals, but fell in the NCAA finals. This dual is also likely to feature a clash between undefeated big men in Bastida and #5 Zach Elam. 6. Ohio State Despite dealing with a boatload of injuries this season, Ohio State continued to roll and brought their season mark up to 14-2 with a dominating 32-6 victory over Indiana on Sunday. The Buckeyes took eight of ten matchs from the Hoosier and six of those came via bonus points. Five of the six OSU wrestlers who accumulated bonus points are only freshmen. One of the two that didn’t include bonus points, saw Dylan D’Emilio edge one of IU’s top grapplers in #14 Graham Rooks. That win snapped a three-match losing streak for the Buckeye All-American. Next: Ohio State’s final regular season match will take place on Friday night as they travel to Michigan State. 7. NC State NC State continued to run roughshod over its ACC schedule in a 38-3 thumping of Virginia on Friday night at Reynolds Coliseum. In three conference duals, the Wolfpack have crushed the opposition to the tune of 102-15, combined. NC State’s only loss of the night came at 174 lbs as Alex Faison battled valiantly, but fell to returning ACC champion, Justin McCoy, 3-0. At 125 lbs, Jakob Camacho stepped back into the lineup and notched a 21-6 tech fall over Kyle Montaperto. That win could go a long way into solidifying his place as a starter at the weight. One match later, All-American Kai Orine cooled off a red-hot Marlon Yarbrough with a second-period fall. Altogether, six of nine NC State winners managed to push into bonus point territory. Next: NC State takes a quick break from ACC competition to host #8 Cornell on Friday night. That dual is jam-packed with interesting matchups, particularly at 133 lbs, 157, 165, 184, and 197. Two days later, the Wolfpack will make the short trip to Durham for a Duke team that seeking its first ACC win of the year. 8. Cornell Cornell finished off the Ivy League portion of their schedule over the weekend and remained perfect against those foes. After wins over Penn and Princeton, Mike Grey’s team locked up the 43rd Ivy League title and their 20th in the last 21 seasons. In their two duals over the weekend, Cornell won 17 of 20 matches, downing Princeton 35-3, and Penn 26-8. The Penn dual featured a matchup between the last two EIWA champions at the 133 lb weight class and Vito Arujau posted an 11-4 decision over Michael Colaiocco. One of Cornell’s unheralded starters, Ethan Fernandez, continued his recent run of strong results. After beating a ranked Eligh Rivera from Princeton (11-7), he outlasted a solid Jude Swisher (7-6), to win his sixth and seventh consecutive matches, respectively. Next: As mentioned above, Cornell will head south next weekend for a road trip that includes a pair of teams that won conference titles in 2023. NC State on Friday and Appalachian State on Sunday. 9. Michigan Last Friday, it was Michigan who stunned then-second ranked Iowa by taking the first five matches of the evening in a 24-11 rout of the Hawkeyes. This Friday, the tables were turned and Michigan was on the opposite side of an incredible start. Nebraska took the first six bouts against the Wolverines and Sean Bormet’s team wasn’t able to recover. Shane Griffith (174) and Lucas Davison (285) were the only Wolverines to notch wins on the night. Griffith a slim 1-0 win over Bubba Wilson and Davison handled Nebraska gridiron star Nash Hutmacher to the tune of 8-0. While the scoreboard made things look lopsided in favor of the Cornhuskers, it didn’t tell the full story. Five of the six losses were very tight bouts that could have gone either way. It’s not far-fetched to say Michigan could reverse all six of the results should they meet Nebraska sometime in the postseason. Even in a loss, true freshman Sergio Lemley was impressive against 2023 Big Ten finalist Brock Hardy. He continues to prove he will be an All-American threat in March. Next: Friday marks the end of the Big Ten dual season for Michigan as they travel to take on #26 Indiana. At 149 lbs, Austin Gomez will have an opportunity to avenge 2023 Big Ten loss to Graham Rooks. 10. Missouri Missouri had the week off. Next: The Tigers will be on the road next weekend as they head north to take on the Dakota schools. Friday at North Dakota State and Sunday at South Dakota State. The SDSU dual could feature a Big 12 finals and NCAA semifinals rematch between Rocky Elam and Tanner Sloan. Elam took the Big 12 bout, while Sloan struck in the NCAA semis. There’s also history at 174 lbs. Fourth-ranked CKLV champion Cade DeVos was eliminated in the 2023 NCAA bloodround by Mizzou’s Peyton Mocco. All-in-all, SDSU is very balanced and should have plenty of good matchups for the Tigers.

This Week in Women’s Wrestling (January 30 - February 5) Key Takeaways from the week As teams begin winding down their duals before regionals begin, there are some exciting matchups and a good look at how starters will look against top-rated opponents at Nationals. 1. The University of the Cumberlands keeps it close with Life In one of the more exciting ranked dual matchups left this season, the University of the Cumberlands walked away with a few match wins, but couldn’t keep up with the Running Eagles. The Patriots started with a big win from #5 Elizabeth Dosado getting the pin over #10 Devyn Gomez. Life’s #4 Diana Gonzalez took care of business at 109 lbs, after giving up the first pushout point to #11 Gracie Elliot, she turned up the offense and got the 10-3 decision. Next, in one of the closest ranked matchups of the night, the points were flying between #6 Presley Anderson for Cumberlands against #9 Ariana Martinez. Anderson scored an early four-point takedown, followed by two unanswered takedowns to go up 8-0 in the first. In the second, Martinez gets a similar set of moves herself to tie things up. With little time remaining, Anderson finds her move and secures the 10-8 win. Life takes the next two weights with big pins from #6 Anna Krejsa and #10 Riley Dalrymple. At 136 lbs, we saw #19 Angie Prado take on an unranked opponent and get the pin for the Running Eagles. The McBryde sisters then competed in their usual order, but all up a weight class for this dual. While #5 Zaynah McBryde was wrestling tough against #6 Micah Fisher and went up by eight points early, Fisher got a takedown of her own to make it 8-2 going into the second. Fisher then hit a big move that landed McBryde on her back as she worked for the pin to bring the team score for the Patriots just two points shy of the Running Eagles. However, as we have seen consistently this season, the latter half of the Life lineup is a tough matchup for even the most talented teams. #5 Jamilah McBryde got a pin against her opponent, #2 Latifah followed it up with a tech and #7 Madeline Welch closed out the dual with a 6-3 upset win over #6 MaQuoia Bernabe. Life has had dominant dual results this season, but a few upsets with certain team members at tournaments. However, I think that is a reflection of their rigorous schedule that often has them competing against schools in other divisions and therefore continually wrestling top-ranked opponents. As they begin regional and then national competition, I think fans will see how Coach Flavin’s approach to finding her team competitive matches throughout the season, will have them well prepared for similar matches they’ll see now at the end of the season. 2. Grand View Open hosts exciting ranked matchups The Grand View Open saw champs from a wide range of schools and RTCs. While not many schools brought their full lineup of ranked competitors, there were still some great matchups. One of the most impressive showings in my opinion was at 101 lbs where #8 (NAIA) Kayla McKinley-Johnson of Menlo took a first-place finish over several ranked opponents. She defeated #12 (NAIA) ranked Jalen Bets of Grand View with a 10-0 tech fall. McKinley-Johnson then had a semifinal matchup against #3 (NAIA) Esther Walker of Midland. McKinley-Johnson was already up 11-2 at the end of the first period. She punched her ticket to the finals with a big four-point takedown to get the 14-2 upset tech. Her finals matchup was no break from tough competition as she faced #4 (NAIA) Alyssa Quezaire of a highly competitive Missouri Baptist team. The match was close throughout the first as the pair exchanged strong moves back and forth, however, McKinley-Johnson really put a definitive stamp on her performance with a second-period pin to claim the top spot. Menlo had a great overall performance on the day, but McKinley-Johnson certainly outwrestled her rank in a dominant fashion, and should be looking to keep up that pace at regionals. Another Menlo performance to mention was from unranked Alexandra Lopez who wrestled back after a first-round loss and went on to beat four ranked wrestlers (#4, #11, #8, and #6) on the consolation side to come back all the way to third place. That is surely the type of performance the Oaks are looking to see out of their team come tournament season. That grittiness on the back side of brackets is what builds up the team points necessary to get a team trophy. From Baker University, #7 (NAIA) Katherine Heath's third-place finish, had an impressive third-place finish, especially considering Baker’s limited participation in open tournaments. Heath won four of her five matches at 116 lbs with two upsets against #6 Presley Anderson of the University of the Cumberlands and #4 Alejandra Corral of Menlo. In fact, her only loss on the day was against #3 (at 123 lbs; NCAA) Felicity Taylor. It is also interesting to note Taylor’s change of weight here. Taylor won her four championship titles at 116 lbs for McKendree, and competes at 53kg which is closer to 116 lbs than 123 lbs when she is doing any international competition. This could be a temporary change for this tournament just to get a feel for it, but I will be curious to see if it sticks headed into end-of-season tournaments. 3. Pan Am Qualifier Results Over the weekend, wrestlers competed for three spots to compete at the Pan Am Olympic Qualifier at the end of February. College wrestling fans had eyes on the competition at 68kg where two-time World champion Amit Elor was set to compete against 2023 World Team member Emma Bruntil. Bruntil battled injuries during her highly successful college career and had announced late last year that she’d be returning in the new year to finish out her college eligibility at McKendree. However, after weighing in to compete, Bruntil medically defaulted out of the tournament before competing. Elor went on to win the weight over World bronze medalist Mallory Velte and will compete at the Pan Am Qualifier. This does leave a question as to whether Bruntil will be able to return to college wrestling, as she had previously planned, and compete in the remaining season. Dom Parrish won the spot to the Qualifier at 53 kg and Kayla Miracle will compete for the U.S. at 62 kg. Pan Ams allows countries to send wrestlers to weights where they have not already qualified a wrestler for the Olympics. The semifinal winners from the Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier in each weight class qualify their nation to compete at the Olympic Games at that weight class. Each wrestler the U.S. qualified here has a good chance to dominate Pan Am competition and get one step closer to competing for the U.S. in the Olympic Games in Paris. Results this week in major NCAA, NCWA, and NAIA competitions January 31: #1 (NCAA) Iowa (39) vs University of Sioux Falls (7) January 31: #20 (NAIA) Central Methodist (33) vs William Woods (4) February 1: #4 (NCAA) McKendree (38) vs #10 (NAIA) Missouri Baptist (9) February 2: #3 (NAIA) Grand View (38) over Avila (9) February 3: Grand View Open VIEW BRACKETS Upcoming Events: February 6: #1 (NCAA) North Central vs #7 (NCAA) Aurora February 7: #12 (NAIA) University of the Cumberlands vs #7 (NAIA) Campbellsville February 9: #5 (NAIA) Southern Oregon vs #4 (NAIA) University of Providence February 10: Life Duals February 10: #12 (NAIA) University of the Cumberlands vs Montreat College February 10: #6 (NAIA) Texas Wesleyan vs Texas Woman's University