Leaderboard

One of the ongoing themes of the 2023-24 DI season has been the chaos at 125 lbs. It is like nothing we’ve seen before. Plenty has been made about the different number of wrestlers who have held the top ranking at the weight during the year (Four from InterMat; other outlets had more). Maybe even more remarkable is the number of wrestlers who have held the number two ranking at the weight. During the 17 weeks of competition and one week of preseason, nine different wrestlers have been ranked number two. Four of them only held it for a single week. There was a five-week stretch during January and into February where a new wrestler had the number two ranking every week. Only once during that span did the wrestler lose the ranking because he actually moved up. At one point fans were semi-seriously asking if the number two ranking was cursed. Some asked me not to rank their guy second. Here is a week-by-week look at the wrestlers who have held the #2 ranking, why they earned it, and how they moved from it. Above each wrestlers name is the date (or consecutive dates) the rankings were published and featured them at number two. October 31st #2 Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) A fourth-place finish at the 2023 NCAA Championships allowed Anthony Noto to start the year ranked second at this weight class. Noto captured a second consecutive MAC title and went 33-4 overall. How his #2 ranking ended: This actually wasn’t due to any losses on his end. With Matt Ramos losing during the opening week of the season, Noto ascended into a number-one ranking. November 7th-14th #2 Richie Figueroa (Arizona State) A perfect 14-0 record in 2022-23, while sharing time with All-American Brandon Courtney, had Figueroa in the national rankings last season. He won the 2022 CKLV, beating Ramos in the finals, and notched wins over eight eventual national qualifiers. That was good enough for a top-three ranking in the preseason. With Ramos’ early loss, Figueroa moved up to number two. How his #2 ranking ended: After Noto was majored by Ramos at the NWCA All-Star Classic, some reshuffling was in order. It didn’t seem right to elevate Figueroa to the top spot, without having wrestled a match, so the new order was Jakob Camacho, Ramos, Noto, Figueroa. November 21st-28th #2 Matt Ramos (Purdue) The 2023 NCAA finalist lost his top billing early in the season with a loss to high schooler Marcus Blaze at the Clarion Open and Camacho at WrangleMania within the first two weeks. A major decision over then-number-one Noto helped Ramos climb back up the rankings. How his #2 ranking ended: Ramos held the second spot for two weeks, leading into the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. In Vegas, he finished seventh with losses to Caleb Smith and Nico Provo. Provo would win the event and rocketed up the rankings to fourth. December 5th-12th #2 Anthony Noto After the chaos in Vegas, Noto was left standing with a perfect 6-0 record (the All-Star match wasn’t official) and slid back into the second spot. He would remain there for the next two weeks. How his #2 ranking ended: Noto’s second time with the second-ranking ended as well as could be hoped for. He and top-ranked Jakob Camacho met at the Collegiate Duals and Noto walked away with a 4-2 victory. It was one of three losses on the day for Camacho who tumbled down to #17. December 20th-26th #2 Noah Surtin (Missouri) Noto took the number one ranking from Camacho at the Collegiate Duals, leaving a void at the second position. At that time, only Noah Surtin and Dean Peterson were undefeated and had wrestled a significant amount of matches- freshman Braeden Davis’ redshirt status was uncertain. Surtin was 8-0 and was a couple weeks removed from a win in sudden victory over CKLV fifth-place finisher Jore Volk (Wyoming). How his #2 ranking ended: A day after assuming the number two position, Surtin posted a 6-1 win over Illinois’ Justin Cardani. He wouldn’t wrestle again until after the New Year, when he was upset by Cooper Flynn (Virginia Tech), who had been recently pulled from an Olympic Redshirt. January 3rd #2 Dean Peterson (Rutgers) With Surtin’s loss and still not certain of Davis’ status, Peterson was the lone undefeated wrestler at the weight. To that point, his best win came over returning All-American Eddie Ventresca, who was shortly thereafter lost for the year due to injury. How his #2 ranking ended: Just a couple of days after he was named number two at 125 lbs, Dean Peterson was the victim of an upset. In-state non-conference foe, Tyler Klinsky of Rider, handed Peterson his first loss of the season, 9-6. January 9th-16th #2 Matt Ramos (Purdue) Following the CKLV Invitational Ramos reeled off five straight wins over the next couple of weeks (and hasn’t lost since). With Peterson’s loss and Ramos back on a winning streak (and the rest of the weight scuffling), Ramos moved back up to number two. He even put a stamp on his ranking by defeating the previous #2, Peterson, 4-1 in dual competition. How his #2 ranking ended: This time at number two ended as Ramos would have hoped. The Peterson win set the stage for a #1 vs #2 battle between Ramos and Iowa’s Drake Ayala. Ramos secured the only takedown in the bout during a 4-1 victory. That win propelled Ramos back into the top spot in the nation and prompted another search for number two. January 23rd #2 Luke Stanich (Lehigh) The 2023 Midlands Championships were a coming-out party for true freshman Luke Stanich. Stanich garnered wins over four ranked foes including two-time All-American Eric Barnett. Right before moving up to number two, Stanich earned a key win over 2023 NCAA Round of 12 finisher Brett Ungar (Cornell), as Lehigh defeated Cornell. That ran his record to 11-1. How his #2 ranking ended: After the Cornell win, Stanich went to the second incarnation of the Mat-Town Open and suffered a loss to high school phenom Jax Forrest, 8-1 in sudden victory. January 30th #2 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) After the Midlands loss to Stanich, Eric Barnett went on a hot streak that included five straight dual wins, three of which came via bonus points. The last of which came over Nebraska’s Caleb Smith, who has been in the midst of a very solid season himself. At the time, Barnett’s only other loss on the year was an early-season major decision to Iowa State’s Kysen Terukina, who happens to present matchup issues for Barnett. Terukina also beat Barnett early last season. How his #2 ranking ended: It was yet another #1 vs #2 matchup for Matt Ramos, less than a week after Barnett was named number two. The dangerous Barnett’s offense was nullified by Ramos and he fell, 4-1. Normally, a loss in a one versus two-scenario isn’t grounds for the second-ranked wrestler to lose his footing; however, we’ll explain more with our next wrestler. February 6th #2 Braeden Davis (Penn State) Penn State came into the 2023-24 with veterans Robbie Howard, Gary Steen, and Kurt McHenry all expected to vie for the starting role at 125 lbs. Neither Howard nor Steen was able to take the job and run with it so Davis got a couple of cracks and impressed with wins at the Journeymen Classic and Black Knight Invite. In early January he downed 2022 All-American Brandon Kaylor. Because of the five-date redshirt rule for true freshmen, it wasn’t a lock that Davis was going to be Penn State’s guy at 125 lbs, so we held off at inserting him until it was obvious. Davis also added another win over a past All-American when he beat Michigan’s Michael DeAugustino in his second Big Ten dual. How his #2 ranking ended: Like many on this list, just a few days after assuming the number two ranking, Davis was knocked off his perch. This time it was Drake Ayala who did the deed. February 13th-20th #2 Luke Stanich (Lehigh) With the last undefeated having suffered a loss (Davis), it was the other true freshman who got the chance at number two…again. Luke Stanich got back on the winning track after his Mat-Town upset, by teching Bucknell’s Kade Davidheiser. Stanich got the call after the Davis loss; in addition fourth ranked Eric Barnett was pinned by Patrick McKee. How his #2 ranking ended: The carousel has stopped spinning….for now. During the final weekend of the regular season, Stanich got the call in Lehigh’s non-conference dual against Arizona State and came up short against Figueroa, 5-3. He’ll head into the postseason ranked number three in the nation. February 27th #2 Drake Ayala (Iowa) Not only did second-ranked Luke Stanich lose over the weekend, but third-ranked Cooper Flynn did, as well. That allowed Drake Ayala to move back into the second spot after getting a quality win over Troy Spratley during the Hawkeyes win over Oklahoma State. Below are the number of weeks each wrestler has been ranked number two at 125 lbs during the 2023-24 season: Four Weeks Matt Ramos Three Weeks Anthony Noto Luke Stanich Two Weeks Richie Figueroa Noah Surtin One Week Drake Ayala Eric Barnett Braeden Davis Dean Peterson

Over the weekend, NAIA schools competed at their respective conference tournament to claim qualifying spots for the NAIA national tournament in March. Similar to NCAA Men’s Wrestling, there are a predetermined number of qualifiers at each weight in each conference allocated based on rankings. Remaining spots are filled with At-Large bids decided upon by a committee. Here are the results from each conference including team scores and athletes qualified for nationals. Each team score is followed by only their automatic qualifiers. Kansas Collegiate Conference #17 Hastings were champions at the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference scoring 175.5 points, and securing four qualifiers, led by two champs: Reagen Gallaway and Victoria Guinard. In second by just 1.5 points was #20 Ottawa with 174 points, as well as 3 automatic qualifiers and two champions of their own in Addison Saporito and Peyton Hand. #19 Doane rounded out the top three with 142.5 team points, 3 qualifiers, and a first place finish from Cristelle Rodriguez. Two additional champs were Alexsys Jacquez and Lessly Sandoval from St. Mary’s. The last three were all from different schools with Esther Walker of Midland, Gianna Moreno of Friends and Allyssa Johnson of Jamestown all helping their team claim spots at nationals. The Kansas Collegiate Conference accounts for 19 qualifying spots for Nationals. Here is a breakdown of qualifying wrestlers at each weight: 101 pounds (3 allocations) 1st Place - #5 Esther Walker (Midland University) 2nd Place -#16 Karina Vang (Doane) 3rd Place - #17 Zoe Omura (Midland University) 109 pounds (1 allocation) 1st Place - #2 Alexsys Jacquez (St. Mary) National At-Large - Rayana Sahagun (Jamestown) Conference Wild Card - #19 Aynsley Fink (Ottawa) 116 pounds (1 allocation) 1st Place - #19 Addison Saporito (Ottawa) National At-Large - #20 Markayla Lottie (Avila) 123 pounds (3 allocations) 1st Place - #1 Cristelle Rodriguez (Doane) 2nd Place - #4 Emily Paulino (Midland University) 3rd Place - #13 Larissa Kaz (Hastings) 130 pounds (1 allocation) 1st Place - Peyton Hand (Ottawa) Conference Wild Card - #12 Alisha Van Scoy (St. Mary) 136 pounds (1 allocation) 1st Place - #13 Gianna Moreno (Friends) Conference Wild Card - #17 Kaydince Turner (Hastings) Conference Wild Card - #19 Aileen Lester (Ottawa) Conference Wild Card - Bridgette Sotomayor (Doane) 143 pounds (2 allocations) 1st Place - #10 Reagen Gallaway (Hastings) 2nd Place - #20 Livia Swift (Ottawa) Conference Wild Card - # 14 Randie Scoon (Ottawa) 155 pounds (1 allocation) 1st Place - Allyssa Johnson (Jamestown) Conference Wild Card - #19 Aspen Barber (Doane) National At-Large - #17 Lisa Hoeflich (Hastings) 170 pounds (1 allocation) 1st Place - Victoria Guinard (Hastings) Conference Wild Card - #13 Aime Hernandez-Perez (York) National At-Large - #17 Siara Arrington (Ottawa) 191 pounds (5 allocations) 1st Place - #4 Lessly Sandoval (St. Mary) 2nd Place - #16 Kenisha Jacsaint (Doane) 3rd Place - #7 Marissa Patterson (Hastings) 4th Place - Melissa De La Torre (Morningside) 5th Place - #3 Agatha Andrews (Jamestown) National At-Large - #12 Shan Briggs (Avila) Final Team Scores Hastings, 175.5, 4 qualifiers Ottawa, 174.0, 3 qualifiers Doane, 142.5, 3 qualifiers St. Mary, 88.0, 2 qualifiers Friends, 86.5, 1 qualifiers Midland, 78.5, 3 qualifiers Jamestown, 73.5, 2 qualifiers Avila, 55.0 York, 38.0 Morningside, 21.5, 1 qualifier Dakota Wesleyan, 21.0 Heart of America Conference #3 Grand View claimed another Heart of America Conference title after scoring 185 team points and qualifying 11 wrestlers including two individual champs: Krista Warren and Abby McIntyre. Coming in second was #8 William Penn with 171.5 team points, 7 qualifiers and 4 individual champs. Champs for the Statesmen were Mia Palumbo, Joanna Vanderwood, Devin Patton and Adaugo Nwachukwu. Coming in a bit of a distant 3rd was #13 Missouri Valley with 1137.5 points, however the team still had 5 qualifiers including two champs in Sage Beltran and Elise Falcetti. Rounding out the first place finishers from other schools were Katherine Heath of Baker and Joanna Hendricks of Waldorf. The Heart of America Conference accounts for 29 of the national allocations. Here is a breakdown of qualifying wrestlers at each weight: 101 pounds (1 allocation) 1st Place Match - #18 Sage Beltran (Missouri Valley) Conference Wild Card - #14 Teya Garner (William Penn) 109 pounds (5 allocations) 1st Place Match - #1 Mia Palumbo (William Penn) 2nd Place - #9 Tristan Nitta (Grand View) 3rd Place - #10 Judy Sandoval (Grand View) 4th Place - #11 Hailey Holland (Missouri Valley) 5th Place - #12 Kylee Slyter (Baker) 116 pounds (2 allocations) 1st Place - #3 Katherine Heath (Baker) 2nd Place - #17 Catherine Steinkamp (William Penn) 123 pounds (3 allocations) 1st Place - #9 Joanna Vanderwood (William Penn) 2nd Place - #2 Maya Davis (Grand View) 3rd Place - #7 Catharine Campbell (Grand View) Conference Wild Card - #17 Allison Hynes (Central Methodist) 130 pounds (1 allocation) 1st Place - #7 Devin Patton (William Penn) National At-Large - #17 Madeline Santana (Missouri Valley) Conference Wild Card - #18 Nonnie Justice (Central Methodist) 136 pounds (4 allocations) 1st Place - #1 Adaugo Nwachukwu (William Penn) 2nd Place - #2 Andrea Schlabach (Grand View) 3rd Place - #14 Lilly Gough (Central Methodist) 4th Place - #16 Aniseta Acosta (Missouri Valley) National At-Large - Willow Barnes (Missouri Valley) Conference Wild Card - Marish Wahl (Dickinson State) 143 pounds (4 allocations) 1st Place - #6 Krista Warren (Grand View) 2nd Place - #12 Madison Diaz (Grand View) 3rd Place - #11 Isabelle Hawley (William Penn) 4th Place - #4 Serenity De La Garza (Missouri Valley) Conference Wild Card - #17 Maria Slaughter (Missouri Valley) Conference Wild Card - Naida Abdijanovic (William Penn) 155 pounds (2 allocations) 1st Place - Elise Falcetti (Missouri Valley) 2nd Place - Haidyn Snyder (Grand View) 170 pounds (2 allocations) 1st Place - #2 Abby McIntyre (Grand View) 2nd Place - #1 Ashley Lekas (William Penn) Conference Wild Card - #20 Jaclyn Daley (Baker) 191 pounds (5 allocations) 1st Place - #2 Joanna Hendricks (Waldorf) 2nd Place #8 Jannell Avila (Baker) 3rd Place - #13 Olivia Brown (Grand View) 4th Place - #10 Andjela Prijovic (Grand View) 5th Place - #11 Elisa Robinson (Baker) Final Team Scores Grand View, 185.0; 11 qualifiers William Penn, 171.5; 7 qualifiers Missouri Valley, 137.5; 5 qualifiers Baker, 101.0; 4 qualifiers Central Methodist, 80.0; 1 qualifier Waldorf, 75.0; 1 qualifier Dickinson, 40.0 William Woods, 30.5 Sooner Athletic Conference #6 Texas Wesleyan reclaimed their title as conference champs with 179.5 team points and 11 of the 30 available qualifying spots from the conference. They also had 3 individual champs in Jasmine Howard, Elizabeth Duvall and Mea Mohler. #10 Missouri Baptist scored 168.5 points and had 8 automatic qualifiers and 5 champs: Alyssa Quezaire, Juliana Diaz, Tiyahna Askew, Joessette Partney and Faith Macharia. In third was #7 Oklahoma City with 122.5 points and 7 qualifiers including individual champion Sophia Smith. The final individual champion was Samyra Thomas of Jarvis Christian.The Sooner Athletic Conference is allocated for 30 NAIA nationals qualifying spots. Here is a breakdown of qualifying wrestlers at each weight: 101 pounds (3 allocations) 1st Place - #6 Alyssa Quezaire (Missouri Baptist) 2nd Place - #7 Audalie Cruz (Wayland Baptist) 3rd Place - #9 Sofia Abramson (Oklahoma City) 109 pounds (2 allocations) 1st Place - #4 Jasmine Howard (Texas Wesleyan) 2nd Place - #17 Alyssa King (Missouri Baptist) Conference Wild Card - #6 Eliana Martinez (Oklahoma City) 116 pounds (3 allocations) 1st Place - #2 Juliana Diaz (Missouri Baptist) 2nd Place - #1 Avery Ashley (Oklahoma City) 3rd Place - #5 Camille Fournier (Texas Wesleyan) Conference Wild Card - #18 Jo’Neisha Kennedy (Wayland Baptist) 123 pounds (2 allocations) 1st Place - #3 Sophia Smith (Oklahoma City) 2nd Place - #16 Carolina Rios (Texas Wesleyan) 130 pounds (4 allocations) 1st Place - #5 Elizabeth Duvall (Texas Wesleyan) 2nd Place - #6 Janiah Jones (Missouri Baptist) 3rd Place - #15 Destiny Campbell (Oklahoma City) 4th Place - #15 Bryce White (Oklahoma City) Conference Wild Card - #19 Chloe Herrick (Missouri Baptist) 136 pounds (3 allocations) 1st Place - #8 Tiyahna Askew (Missouri Baptist) 2nd Place - #6 Mattison Parker (Texas Wesleyan) 3rd Place - Keilani Guillermo (Wayland Baptist) National At-Large - #12 Natalia Posada (Oklahoma City) Conference Wild Card - Jalynn Patino (Texas Wesleyan) 143 pounds (3 allocations) 1st Place - #4 Mea Mohler (Texas Wesleyan) 2nd Place - #13 Marissa Jimenez (Oklahoma City) 3rd Place - #15 Makayla Munoz (Oklahoma City) 155 pounds (5 allocations) 1st Place - #8 Josette Partney (Missouri Baptist) 2nd Place - #4 Taydem Khamjoi (Texas Wesleyan) 3rd Place - #15 Leilani Hernandez (Texas Wesleyan) 4th Place - #11 Presley McCandlish (Oklahoma City) 5th Place - #11 Anastasia Hardin (Missouri Baptist) 170 pounds (3 allocations) 1st Place - #11 Faith Macharia (Missouri Baptist) 2nd Place - #12 Kaley Rice (Texas Wesleyan) 3rd Place - #22 Aalyah Villarreal (Texas Wesleyan) Conference Wild Card - #15 Mahogoney Casel (Wayland Baptist) 191 pounds (2 allocations) 1st Place - #6 Samyra Thomas (Jarvis Christian) 2nd Place - #18 Tiffany Curry (Texas Wesleyan) Conference Wild Card - #15 Payton Sholander (Wayland Baptist) Conference Wild Card - #19 Ryann Rumsey (Oklahoma City) Conference Wild Card - Emma Shreiber (Missouri Baptist) Final Team Scores: Texas Wesleyan, 179.5, 11 qualifiers Missouri Baptist, 168.5, 8 qualifiers Oklahoma City, 122.5, 7 qualifiers Wayland Baptist, 92.0, 2 qualifiers Jarvis Christian, 22.0 Central Christian, 20.0 Mid-South Conference #2 Life kept their Mid-South Conference champions streak going with 187 team points, 11 qualifiers, and an impressive 5 individual champions: Anna Krejsa, Sarah Savidge, Zaynah McBryde, Jamilah McBryde and Latifah McBryde. #13 Indiana Tech finished in second with 134 team points, and 7 qualifiers and Tehani Soares as their only individual champ. #9 Cumberlands was third with 131 points, Other individual champions were Stefana Jelacic of Lourdes, Tehani Soares of Indiana Tech, Icart Galumette of Campbellsville, Chamira Cooper of Cumberlands and Maquoia Bernabe of Cumberlands, showing just how many schools in this conference have top talent on their rosters. The Mid-South Conference account for 39 NAIA National allocations. Here is a breakdown of qualifying wrestlers at each weight: 101 pounds (6 allocations) 1st Place - #2 Stefana Jelacic (Lourdes) 2nd Place - #8 Makayla Young (Indiana Tech) 3rd Place - #10 Devyn Gomez (Life) 4th Place - #14 Shanna Morris (Lourdes) 5th Place - #13 Riley Banyas (Campbellsville) 6th Place - #4 Elizabeth Dosado (Cumberlands) 109 pounds (4 allocations) 1st Place - #8 Tehani Soares (Indiana Tech) 2nd Place - #5 Diana Gonzalez (Life) 3rd Place - #13 Gracie Elliott (Cumberlands) 4th Place - Gabrielle Medeiros (Campbellsville) Conference Wild Card - #15 Valeria Ahumada (Siena Heights) 116 pounds (4 allocations) 1st Place - #7 Icart Galumette (Campbellsville) 2nd Place - #9 Ariana Martinez (Life) 3rd Place - Emma Jones (Indiana Tech) 4th Place - Stefany Perez (Siena Heights) 123 pounds (3 allocations) 1st Place - #5 Anna Krejsa (Life) 2nd Place - #11 Kaitlin Castro (Cumberlands) 3rd Place- Trinity Howard (Montreat) National At-Large - #12 Josie Davis (Campbellsville) Conference Wild Card - #18 Isabelle Silva (Indiana Tech) Conference Wild Card - Cameron Ortiz (Campbellsville) 130 pounds (4 allocations) 1st Place- #2 Sarah Savidge (Life) 2nd Place - #10 Ellyana Kuzma (Indiana Tech) 3rd Place - #11 Olivia Messerly (Campbellsville) 4th Place - #12 Riley Dalrymple (Life) 136 pounds (3 allocations) 1st Place - #3 Zaynah McBryde (Life) 2nd Place - #9 Gabriella Perez (Campbellsville) 3rd Place - #10 Angie Prado (Life) National At-Large - #18 Carley Anderson (Indiana Tech) Conference Wild Card - Addison Messerly (Campbellsville) 143 pounds (3 allocations) 1st Place - #1 Jamilah McBryde (Life) 2nd Place - #9 Micah Fisher (Cumberlands) 3rd Place - #19 Maia Crumb (Indiana Tech) Conference Wild Card - #2 Emma Walker (Campbellsville) 155 pounds (3 allocations) 1st Place - #2 Latifah McBryde (Life) 2nd Place - #16 Kendra Thompson (Campbellsville) 3rd Place - #20 Cydney Bassett (Indiana Tech) Conference Wild Card - #14 Ariana Pereira (Cumberlands) 170 pounds (6 allocations) 1st Place - #9 Chamira Cooper (Cumberlands) 2nd Place - #7 Bo Geibe (Siena Heights) 3rd Place - #6 Gabrielle Holloway (St. Andrews) 4th Place - #15 Saiheron Preciado-Meza (Cumberlands) 5th Place - #14 Grace Doering (Indiana Tech) 6th Place - Payton Curley (Lourdes) Conference Wild Card - #4 Maggie Graham (Life) 191 pounds (3 allocations) 1st Place - #9 Maquoia Bernabe (Cumberlands) 2nd Place - #5 Madeline Welch (Life) 3rd Place- #14 Naomi Duenas (Cumberlands) Final Team Scores: Life, 187.0; 11 qualifiers Indiana Tech, 134.0; 7 qualifiers Cumberlands, 131.0; 8 qualifiers Campbellsville, 127.5; 6 qualifiers Siena Heights; 62.0; 2 qualifiers Lourdes, 61.0; 3 qualifiers Brewton-Parker 33.0 St. Andrews, 31.5; 1 qualifier Rochester, 18.0 Montreat, 13.0; 1 qualifier Cascade Collegiate Conference #1 Menlo wins a close conference title at the Cascade Collegiate Conference with 176.5 points, 12 qualifiers and four champs: Ajazee Zaballos, Alana Vivas, Desiree Jones, and Tavia Heidelberg-Tillotson. Close behind was #4 Southern Oregon with 172.5 team points, 11 qualifiers, and individual champions Carolina Moreno, Caitlyn Davis, and Shenita Lawson. Finally, #5 University of Providence finished in 3rd with a team score of 144 points from their 10 qualifiers and 3 champs: Erin Hikiji, Paige Morals and Waipuilani Estrella-Beachamp. The Cascade Collegiate Conference represented the highest number of NAIA national allocations, with 43 awarded from this conference tournament. Here is a breakdown of qualifying wrestlers at each weight: 101 pounds (3 allocations) 1st Place - #1 Erin Hikiji (University of Providence) 2nd Place - #3 Kayla Mckinley-Johnson (Menlo College) 3rd Place - #11 Liana Ferreira (Southern Oregon University) Conference Wild Card - #19 Karly Scoot (Southern Oregon) Conference Wild Card - #20 Abbeygael Cabuag (Vanguard) 109 pounds (4 allocations) 1st Place - #7 Paige Morales (University of Providence) 2nd Place - #3 Emma Baertlein (Southern Oregon University) 3rd Place - Nizhoni Tallman (Evergreen State) 4th Place - #16 Liv Villanueva (Southern Oregon University) Conference Wild Card - #14 Angie Dill (Vanguard) 116 pounds (6 allocations) 1st Place - #6 Ajayzee Zaballos (Menlo College) 2nd Place - #12 Marissa Kurtz (Southern Oregon University) 3rd Place - Irma Retano (Eastern Oregon University) 4th Place - #11 Arieana Arias (University of Providence) 5th Place - #15 Isabelle Asuncion (University of Providence) 6th Place - #14 Kaylee Annis (Southern Oregon University) Conference Wild Card - #14 Kaylee Annis (Southern Oregon) 123 pounds (5 allocations) 1st Place - #6 Alana Vivas (Menlo College) 2nd Place - #9 Haley Narahara (Menlo College) 3rd Place - #8 Fernanda Lopez (Southern Oregon University) 4th Place - #19 Ellabelle Taylor (Evergreen State) 5th Place - #14 Alicia Frank (University of Providence) Conference Wild Card - #15 Loretta Lopez (Vanguard) Conference Wild Card - #20 Paige Chafin (Eastern Oregon) 130 pounds (6 allocations) 1st Place - #1 Carolina Moreno (Southern Oregon University) 2nd Place - #3 Louisa Schwab (Menlo College) 3rd Place - #4 Alyssa Randles (University of Providence) 4th Place - #8 Lillian Avalos (Vanguard) 5th Place - Erica Grant (Evergreen State) 6th Place - #9 Paige Respicio (University of Providence) National At-Large - #14 Anna Rodriguez (Eastern Oregon) 136 pounds (5 allocations) 1st Place - #4 Waipuilani Estrella-Beauchamp (University of Providence) 2nd Place - #7 River Todd (Vanguard) 3rd Place - #11 Desinee Lopez (Southern Oregon University) 4th Place - #5 Stephanie Chavez (Menlo College) 5th Place - Samantha Barragan (Menlo College) Conference Wild Card - #15 Piper Hall (Vanguard) 143 pounds (4 allocations) 1st Place - #7 Desiree Jones (Menlo College) 2nd Place - #7 Alexandra Lopez (Menlo College) 3rd Place - #3 Bella Amaro (Southern Oregon University) 4th Place - #16 Kailey Rees (University of Providence) 155 pounds (5 allocations) 1st Place - #1 Caitlyn Davis (Southern Oregon University) 2nd Place - #3 Shannon Workinger (Menlo College) 3rd Place - #6 Flor Parker Borrero (Evergreen State) 4th Place - #7 Liv Wieber (Eastern Oregon University) 5th Place - #5 Sadie Antoque (University of Providence) 170 pounds (4 allocations) 1st Place - #8 Shenita Lawson (Southern Oregon University) 2nd Place - #5 Lily El-Masri (Vanguard) 3rd Place - #3 Kalila Shrive (Menlo College) 4th Place - #19 Abena Adu (Vanguard) Conference Wild Card - #10 Katelyn Lewis (Providence) National At-Large - Kacey Lee-Pua (Providence) 191 pounds (1 allocation) 1st Place - #1 Tavia Heidelberg-Tillotson (Menlo College) National At-Large - #17 Trinity Tafoya (Eastern Oregon) Final Team Scores: Menlo, 176.5; 12 qualifiers Southern Oregon, 172.5; 11 qualifiers University of Providence, 144.0; 10 qualifiers Vanguard, 82.0; 4 qualifiers Eastern Oregon, 72.0; 2 qualifiers Evergreen State, 69.5; 4 qualifiers Simpson University, 10.5

We’ve reached the end of the regular season and the final week of duals did not disappoint. B1G Ten teams took the chance to go head-to-head with teams from other conferences to cap things off. Big Ten Goes 7-1 in Cross-Conference Competition To finish off the regular season, Big Ten teams competed against out-of-conference competition and went 7-1. Wisconsin was the lone team that came out on the losing end of their dual meet against UNI. Of note, Iowa took out Oklahoma State in Stillwater, OK for the first time since 2015, Penn State pitched a shutout at home against Edinboro, and Nebraska took care of things in Tempe. Lovett Takes First Loss Nebraska may have taken care of business against Arizona State, but the headliner was Kyle Parco handing top-ranked Ridge Lovett his first loss of the year. Parco scored the only takedown of the bout and added a stall point to get the 4-3 win. Lovett remains No. 1 despite the loss and should be the top-seed at the Big Ten tournament, but he won’t be going in with an unblemished record. Hawkeyes Get it Done on the Road Not to be too redundant with my points of emphasis on this win for Iowa, but damn that was impressive. Oklahoma State hosted Iowa in what was a sold-out crowd in Gallagher-Iba Arena, and a Nationally televised matchup, against their biggest rival. Only one of those teams showed up ready to battle though, and it wasn’t the home team. Iowa seemed to pull the trigger on their attacks much more fearlessly, and with much more consistency, and as the dual kept going it looked worse for the Cowboys. If you’re an Iowa fan, this was a much-needed return to normalcy for them after a couple of tough weeks. They looked great as the season began, and they looked far and away like the second-best team in the country, until all of a sudden they didn’t. After the Michigan dual, I remember hearing a lot of talk about their offense, questions about their approach, and questions about their future, but this seemed like a strong way to answer those questions and to be prepared entering the B1G Tournament. The Hawkeyes still have some questions at 133 and 149 as far as who we will see out there competing at B1Gs, but for them, this seems like more of a luxury than a concern. Ladies and gentlemen, let the conference tournaments begin!!! Matt Ramos Finishes Strong We’ve made jokes most of the year about the curse of being ranked number 1 at 125. Yet here we are at the end of the regular season, at the same place we began, with Matt Ramos of Purdue ranked number 1 at 125 pounds. Despite early season losses to Jakob Camacho of NC State, and two losses at CKLV to Nico Provo of Stanford and Caleb Smith of Nebraska, Ramos has been quietly undefeated since. That stretch includes ranked wins over Anthony Molton of Campbell, Dean Peterson of Rutgers, Drake Ayala of Iowa, Eric Barnett of Wisconsin, and Patrick McKee of Minnesota. Despite the loss to Caleb Smith at the end of 2023, I would think that Ramos would be able to slide into B1Gs with the number one seed and a chance to finish strong headed into NCAAs. Is Matt Ramos both the streak and the curse breaker? We’ll see as the year unfolds. The hierarchy of Michigan Wrestling is set for the year In what is always a big weekend for me, Central Michigan traveled to East Lansing to take on the Spartans Friday night, followed by hosting the Wolverines Sunday afternoon. In years past these have been close and exciting duals. This year, not as close and far from as exciting. Friday night in East Lansing was solid though. It started with wins for the Chippewas at 125 and 133 before Jordan Hamden got things going for MSU on his Senior Night. Corbyn Munson kept it rolling for CMU with a win at 149 before the premier match of the night at 157 between Johnny Lovett and Chase Saldate. Lovett got a reversal in the second, which included back points to go up 6-0 on Saldate. This is a lead that Lovett rarely gives up, and likely felt comfortable for him. Not today though, as Chase (pun heavily intended here) chased down Lovett for several takedowns en route to a 9-7 win. This was a nice victory for Saldate who proved that when he needed to get takedowns against one of the stingier defenders at the weight, can get it done. The Spartans rattled off several more wins in a row heading into Heavyweight, where Bryan Caves got the win for the Chippewas, but it was too little too late as MSU won the dual 18-13. Sunday afternoon in Mount Pleasant was a master class in offense for the Wolverines. Full transparency, CMU didn’t have their full lineup out to compete as they are preparing for conferences, but in that same spirit, neither did Michigan. Despite the roster adjustments, Michigan appeared to be the team more ready to attack and finish takedowns as they got tech falls in their first four matches headed back to 157. These next two matches for CMU were the closest they came to getting wins, but both ended up being OT wins for Will Lewan and Cam Amine. Both All Americans needed to dig deep, but ultimately they both succeeded in getting the points when they needed them most. Michigan finished off the dual with more decisive wins from 174 through Heavyweight, finishing off the shutout of the Chippewas. This is solid momentum though for Michigan heading into conferences, and both Michigan and Michigan State proved this season to be the two dominant teams from the great State of Michigan.