InterMat Staff

Chantilly

As we assembled our preseason rankings, there were many wrestlers who didn’t compete at the 2025 NCAA Championships who needed to be considered. Some missed chunks of the 2024-25 season due to injury, others were on a planned redshirt. The latter category is what we’re looking at today. Veterans who planned to take the year off and redshirt are now back on the scene. Wrestlers coming off an injury is an idea for another article in the future (hint, hint). The group we’re focusing on today features a handful of All-Americans. Some wrestlers that will be considered title contenders in 2025-26. Some didn’t wrestle in open tournaments, others feasted on competition at those events. A few even made their mark internationally. So, just because we didn’t watch these wrestlers at Philly, don’t forget about them! Gable Strickland: Lock Haven (133) Gable’s back! Not the heavyweight, but the two-time national qualifier for Lock Haven. Strickland combined to win 64 matches during his sophomore and junior seasons and captured a pair of MAC titles along the way. He’s yet to have a deep run at the NCAA tournament. With a year away, maybe Strickland takes that step during his final year of eligibility. Last season, while redshirting, Strickland went 11-3 with a win at the Mat-Town Open. He didn’t have any marquee wins, but beat the wrestlers you’d expect him to beat. Forecast: Strickland starts the preseason ranked #20 in the nation. 133 lbs is a rather deep group, yet he could quickly move up a few slots. Luke Stanich: Lehigh (141) Did anyone’s proverbial stock rise with a redshirt year more than Luke Stanich? Stanich won the EIWA champion and finished fifth in the nation at 125 lbs as a freshman. He took the year off to put on size and grow into a 141 lber. From the first week of the season, it was evident that size wouldn’t be much of an issue for Stanich. He defeated Michigan’s Sergio Lemley and suffered his only loss of his redshirt year to the returning champion Jesse Mendez. Throughout the season, Stanich earned two wins over returning AA’s, CJ Composto (Penn) and Kai Orine (NC State). After the season, Stanich outlasted young phenom Bo Bassett for a spot on the U20 world team. In his first age group world championship event, Stanich grinded out close wins all tournament and eventually came away with a world title. Forecast: Stanich starts the preseason ranked third behind the two finalists - Mendez and Brock Hardy (Nebraska). We’ll see how Stanich responds to being viewed as a title contender and having a target on his back. Also, can he close the gap on Mendez? Tom Crook: Virginia Tech (141) With senior Sam Latona moving up to 141 lbs and using his final year of eligibility, it was the perfect time for Tom Crook to take a redshirt. During the previous season, the Virginia Tech staff tried to give Crook a redshirt, but none of the freshmen at 141 were able to grab hold of the starting reins. That led to Crook coming out of redshirt in January. Though he needed an at-large berth to qualify for the 2024 NCAA Tournament, Crook did end up winning two matches along the way. Forecast: 141 is a weight where there’s a quick drop-off after the top nine or ten wrestlers at the weight. Crooks starts at #20. It doesn’t take much imagination to think that Crook could establish himself as an outside podium contender and quickly move into that 10-15 range in the rankings. Joe Zargo: Wisconsin (149) Since teammate Braxton Amos took the year off due to injuries, it was also a good time to let Joe Zargo get a redshirt, himself. Now, with the pair back and the emergence of their lightweights, Wisconsin could be a very “tough out” in 2025-26. Zargo is a three-time NCAA qualifier who has gone 1-2 at the NCAA Tournament on two occasions. He has never finished higher than seventh at the Big Ten Championships, but that could change in 2026. We don’t have much new information to use, as Zargo did not compete in 2024-25. Forecast: Like 141 lbs, there’s a severe drop after the first tier of talent at 149 lbs. Zargo might have the best resume out of anyone in the 10-16 range. He’s another one who should get into the podium threat category. Daniel Cardenas: Stanford (157) After getting onto the NCAA podium with a fourth-place finish in 2024, Cardenas sat out the 2024-25 campaign. In his only appearance during the redshirt year, Cardenas won a title at the Soldier Salute. In the process, he earned a win over one NCAA qualifier (Jared Hill - Wyoming). Through his first two years at Palo Alto, Cardenas amassed a 51-11 record and earned a Pac-12 title. Forecast: Cardenas starts the preseason ranked #4 at 157 lbs. He did post a win over #3 Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) at the NCAA Championships; however, Shapiro evened the score later in the tournament. Cardenas is on the short list of wrestlers who could reasonably win a title this year at 157 lbs. He’ll also lead a Stanford team that could be tough as nails up and down the lineup. Max Brignola: Lehigh (165) If Lehigh teammate Luke Stanich improved his stock more than anyone else in this group, Max Brignola might be second. Unlike a lot of wrestlers on this list, Brignola competed early and often and notched a perfect 22-0 record, competing for the first time at 165 lbs. Brignola’s best wins came over Julian Ramirez (Cornell) and Brock Mantanona (Michigan), but altogether he ended up with five victories over national qualifiers. Brignola has previously qualified for the NCAA Tournament at 149 and 157 lbs. In both instances, he went 0-2. Forecast: The big redshirt season has Brignola ranked #11 in the preseason. We’ll see if he takes another leap forward this year. As it stands now, Brignola has to be considered a great developmental success for the Lehigh staff. Rocco Welsh: Penn State (184) Not only does Rocco Welsh re-emerge from a redshirt, but he also does it at a new spot. Welsh made the 2024 NCAA finals as a true freshman for Ohio State. Now, he’ll remain in the Big Ten but compete for Penn State. Welsh went 15-0 last season with wins at the Clarion, Cleveland State, and F&M Opens. During that redshirt season, Welsh was able to open up his offense more and earned bonus points at a nearly 87% clip. That’s a huge number to try and maintain during a regular season, but the move to Penn State will help in those efforts. Forecast: Welsh starts the year ranked #2 in the country at 184 lbs. This is a weight class that’s wide open with young talent, so there will be a lot of interesting challengers that emerge. There might be some question as to whether Welsh wins or maintains this spot in the lineup, as highly-touted Connor Mirasola is rumored to be eyeing 184 lbs. Aaron Ayzerov: Columbia (184) With a new head coach in place for the 2024-25 season (Donny Pritzlaff), two of Columbia’s top wrestlers took a grayshirt for the year. Ayzerov had a breakout year in 2024, winning an EIWA title and qualifying for his first NCAA Tournament. He ended up with the #13 seed and went 1-2 in Kansas City. Ayzerov only saw action in one event over his grayshirt season, so there isn’t much that can be gained by looking at the results. Forecast: There are only a handful of seniors in the top 15 at 184 lbs and Ayzerov is one of them #13. He started to show some consistency in 2023-24, if he continues to move in that direction, he’ll get into the top 10 relatively quickly. I’m anxious to see how he’s improved working with Pritzlaff and crew. Justin Rademacher: Oregon State (197) Justin Rademacher is another wrestler whose stock and Q rating shot up significantly since the last time he took the collegiate mats. As a true freshman, Rademacher was a Pac-12 runner-up and won a match during his NCAA Tournament debut. Rademacher’s only collegiate competition in 2024-25 saw him win the Reno Tournament of Champions and defeat mega-prospect Cody Merrill (Oklahoma State) in the process. In freestyle, Rademacher really shone. He won a gold medal at the Senior level at the Pan-American Championships and another gold at the U20 World Championships. Rademacher now has two U20 world medals (he won bronze in 2024). Forecast: Rademacher should be a contender at 197 lbs. He starts the preseason ranked #9, but that’s because of college results not potential. I’d expect him to quickly rise above that ranking. One thing to consider is that Rademacher’s world title came at 97 kg (213 lbs), so hopefully making this weight on a regular basis is not too difficult for him. Jack Wehmeyer: Columbia (197) The other Columbia upperweight wrestler who grayshirted in 2024-25 was Jack Wehmeyer. Similar to Ayzerov, Wehmeyer had a breakthrough season the last time he competed for the Lions. He was fourth at the EIWA Championships and wrestled in his first national tournament. Wehmeyer did not compete unattached during the 2024-25 campaign. Forecast: 197 is a weight that cleared out a lot of seniors from the 2025 tournament. That makes Wehmeyer the preseason #15 wrestler at the weight. Unlike Ayzerov, he has two years of eligibility remaining. That’s a significant upgrade from 2024, when he was seeded #28 at the national tournament.

Greens Farms Academy

Medina Buckeye

Father Ryan

Brandon Valley

Quaker Valley

Manheim Central

Hazelton

Columbus

Paola

We’re coming of a light weekend as the Elite 8 Duals were a week ago and many of the top wrestlers in the country were in Atlanta rather than taking recruiting visits. Business picked back up this past weekend as there were a lot of wrestlers on the move, looking for their future homes. One of the things that makes following recruiting fun is the cloak-and-dagger secrecy surrounding parts of the process. For every Bo Bassett who routinely keeps the public informed on recruiting decisions, there are plenty of others who don’t discuss it as much. Therefore, it can be difficult to follow which recruit is interested in which school and vice versa. I suppose it’s fun, but you’re left wanting more! In order to try and help our fanbase feel more knowledgeable about the process, we’ll have a weekly column that recaps the recruiting weekend. Who has visited where? Maybe some background information on the recruits or the process from the school. The weekend of August 23rd The weekend of August 30th The weekend of September 6 The Weekend of September 13 Last week’s article Air Force #56 JT Smith (Creighton Prep, NE) #110 Evan Perez (Windsor, CO) - Class of 2026 NR Samuel Comes (Lakeway Christian Academy, TN) - Class of 2026 NR Robert Kendall (Windsor, CO) - Class of 2026 The Air Force Academy already got one verbal commitment from this class. Samuel Comes gave a verbal commitment shortly after his visit. He was one of three uncommitted Class of 2026 recruits in the group. Big Boarder Evan Perez and Robert Kendall were the others. Perez is a two-time Colorado state champion and Kendall has one title under his belt. The junior class was represented by JT Smith, a double All-American at the UWW U17 Trials. Smith has already visited West Point in August. Perez saw Northern Colorado and Utah Valley in 2024. This is his first visit this fall. Kendall was at Northern Colorado last weekend and DII power Nebraska-Kearney last month. Arizona State #24 Caleb Noble (Warren, IL) #72 Nico DeSalvo (Southeast Polk, IA) The Sun Devils had a pair of high-quality lightweights in town with Caleb Noble and Nico DeSalvo. Noble was a Super 32 and Ironman champion in 2024 at 106 lbs. DeSalvo is a two-time Iowa state champion. Noble has already taken visits to NC State and Illinois. DeSalvo was at Illinois, as well. He initially committed to Minnesota, but recently reopened his recruitment and narrowed his choices down to the Illini, Arizona State, Oklahoma, and Iowa State. California Baptist #59 Kalob Ybarra (Pomona, CA) - Class of 2026 #119 Cason Craft (Coweta, OK) NR Sergio Gomez (St. John Bosco, CA) NR Judah Heeg (Lemont, IL) - Class of 2026 Yesterday, California Baptist got on the board with their first recruit from the Class of 2027 - Legend Ellis. His high school teammate, Cason Craft, was in town over the weekend. Craft is already a six-time Fargo All-American. Also coming in from the Class of 2027 was California state medalist Sergio Gomez. The Lancers also hosted one of the top available recruits in the Class of 2026, Kalob Ybarra. Ybarra is a two-time Doc B placer and a top-eight finisher in Greco in Fargo (at the Junior level) and at the UWW U17 Trials. Ybarra visited Wyoming earlier this month. Also from the current senior class is Illinois state champion Judah Heeg. Heeg took a visit to SIU Edwardsville two weeks ago. Cal Poly NR Tigran Greyan (St. John Bosco, CA) NR Zaydrien Hernandez (St. John Bosco, CA) NR Bailey Holman (Poway, CA) NR Matt Orbeta (Poway, CA) The Mustangs had two sets of high school teammates in for visits, so maybe they get a pair of two-for-one deals. We’ve mentioned Bailey Holman and Matt Orbeta a couple of times already in these updates. The Poway duo has traveled to Army West Point, Brown, and Air Force this fall. A couple of news are Tigran Greyan and Zaydrien Hernandez. Both finished sixth at the CIF state tournament as sophomores. Clarion NR Owen Dennis (Harrison, OH) NR Tanner Guenot (Bald Eagle Area, PA) NR Tanner Kane (Conestoga Valley, PA) NR Owen Maxwell (Fairfax, VA) NR Cash Waymire (Brentwood Academy, TN) - Class of 2026 NR Caden Yanarella (Conestoga Valley, PA) Clarion had another big group in this weekend and appeared to be mainly focused on the junior class. Tanner Guenot might be the most credentialed of the bunch. He’s already a two-time Pennsylvania state medalist. Conestoga Valley teammates Tanner Kane and Caden Yanarella are both PA qualifiers. Owen Dennis was an eighth-place finisher out of Ohio and, another Owen, Maxwell is a state qualifier in Virginia’s largest classification. The only senior of the bunch, Cash Waymire, won his first Tennessee state title in 2025. Columbia NR Ryan Gavrish (St. John Vianney, NJ) NR Carmine Sipper (Caldwell, NJ) - Class of 2026 As you might expect, the Columbia staff has gone back to Jersey to find some of their latest recruits. Carmine Sipper is a lightweight prospect who finished third in the state in 2025. Ryan Gavrish was seventh last year as a sophomore. We’ve already wrote about Gavrish taking trips to Lock Haven and Princeton. This is the first visit we’ve seen for Sipper. After this visit, Gavrish committed to Columbia. Cornell #14 Max Konopka (Simsbury, CT) #40 Justin Farnsworth (Malvern Prep, PA) #69 Killian Coluccio (Lacey Township, NJ) #88 Dom Morrison (Hatboro-Horsham, PA) Cornell is typically one of the best recruiting teams in the nation. The Big Red staff has yet to get on the board yet with the Class of 2027, but between this group and others that preceded it, they have lots of potential suitors. The two highest ranked wrestlers in this group, Max Konopka and Justin Farnsworth, are both UWW U17 All-Americans. Killian Coluccio and Dom Morrison are both lightweights who were state finalists in power states. Coluccio is a New Jersey runner-up and Morrison is a Pennsylvania AAA champion. Konopka has already taken visits to NC State and Oklahoma. Farnsworth has visited Bucknell and Rutgers. This is the first visit we have listed for Coluccio and Morrison. Iowa #3 Sonny Amato (Rumson-Fair Haven, NJ) #5 Israel Borge (Westlake, UT) #16 Jesse Grajeda (St. John Bosco, CA) #18 Shamus Regan (Wyoming Seminary, PA) #38 Dawson Youngblut (Don Bosco, IA) #42 Mac Crosson (Indianola, IA) #45 Maximus Dhabolt (Ankeny Centennial, IA) #108 Will Fullhart (Decorah, IA) NR Cale Vandermark (Ankeny Centennial, IA) - Class of 2026 This was the first big recruiting weekend of the fall season for Iowa. They had an incredible group in town. Seven of the top 50 juniors in the country. Iowa has done well recruiting in New Jersey and California in recent years. They have big time recruits from both states in this group. There’s also plenty of in-state flavor with Youngblut, Crosson, Dhabolt, Fullhart, and Vandermark from the senior class. Before coming to Iowa, Sonny Amato visited Iowa State and Oklahoma. Jesse Grajeda has already taken visits to NC State and Arizona State. Shamus Regan’s only other visit thus far is to Utah Valley. Dawson Youngblut has taken the Iowa DI tour - already visiting Iowa State and Northern Iowa, along with Cornell. Mac Crosson has been on the road hitting Oklahoma, South Dakota State, and Northern Iowa. Maximus Dhabolt has already seen Iowa State and Oklahoma. This is the first visit we have on file for Will Fullhart - an Iowa legacy. Cale Vandermark has visited the other two DI schools in state. Lehigh #2 Joe Bachmann (Faith Christian Academy, PA) #22 Gabe Ballard (Northampton, PA) #27 Nick Singer (Faith Christian Academy, PA) Lehigh got great news earlier today as AAA state finalist Gabe Ballard decided to stay home in the Lehigh Valley. Ballard visited Penn and Princeton before committing to Lehigh. The Lehigh staff also hosted Faith Christian Academy teammates Joe Bachmann and Nick Singer. You’d think Lehigh might have an inside track on Singer, as his older brother, Jason, is a senior who has already committed. Nick is a hot commodity as he’s already visited Ohio State and Virginia Tech. Bachmann is one of the most sought after wrestlers in this junior class and would be a great addition to an already stacked group of lightweights in Bethlehem. The two-time U17 world medalist has already taken a handful of visits. Cornell, Iowa State, Missouri, Rutgers, and Ohio State have already hosted Bachmann. Little Rock #84 Brandon Bickerton (Medina Highland, OH) #85 Austin Bickerton (Medina Highland, OH) NR Luke Ricketts (Union County, KY) - Class of 2026 Earlier this week, Little Rock got their first commitment from the Class of 2027 with a verbal from Ohio’s Zachary Aquila. Could Ohio’s Bickerton twins be next? Austin and Brandon Bickerton have both placed at Fargo and the UWW U17 Trials. This is the first visit we’ve been notified about for the Bickerton’s. One of the fastest risers after Fargo is Kentucky’s Luke Ricketts. Ricketts was not listed on the latest Senior Big Board, but made the Fargo Junior finals in both styles and won in freestyle. Could the Little Rock staff strike gold twice with an overlooked upperweight from Kentucky? Ricketts has also taken visits to NC State and Purdue. Lock Haven NR Logan Katz (Battlefield, VA) - Class of 2026 NR Jacob McVige (Honeoye Falls-Lima, NY) - Class of 2026 NR Rhett Washleski (Hunterdon Central, NJ) - Class of 2026 Lock Haven is looking to still add to their Class of 2026 evidenced by the three seniors in town over the weekend. Logan Katz is a two-time Virginia state runner-up. Jacob McVige is from the same high school that produced Bald Eagles two-time All-American Anthony Noto. Rhett Washleski was seventh at New Jersey’s state tournament in 2025. Minnesota #39 Gage Lohr (Watertown, SD) #75 Drake Vombaur (Severance, CO) NR Sutton Kenning (St. Cloud Tech, MN) - Class of 2026 We haven’t heard much from Minnesota yet, but they had a pair of top 100 juniors in town, along with an under-the-radar recruit from 2026. You have to like the Gophers chances with Drake Vombaur, the younger brother of two-time All-American, Vince. Gage Lohr might get overlooked because he’s from South Dakota; but he shouldn’t after finishing top four in 16U freestyle in Fargo for a second time. Sutton Kenning is a Minnesota state finalist, who battled with recent Gopher commit, John Murphy, in the state finals. Morgan State #29 Jay’Den Williams (Roseville, MI) - Class of 2026 Aside from Bo Bassett, Jay’Den Williams is the highest ranked uncommitted wrestler from the Class of 2026. Williams was at Morgan State over the week. It goes without saying that adding Williams would be a major win for Kenny Monday’s young program. Williams was a double Fargo Junior AA in 2025 with a sixth place finish in freestyle and a finals appearance in Greco. Earlier this fall, Williams visited Virginia Tech. Last year, he took a trip to Michigan. Navy NR Mick Moylan (Poway, CA) NR Amari Vann (Delsea, NJ) We’ve got a couple of juniors looking at the Naval Academy in Mick Moylan and Amari Vann. Moylan just broke into the national rankings after Fargo. He’s currently 12th in the nation at 215 lbs. In Fargo, Moylan finished eighth in Junior Greco. Amari Vann is a New Jersey state qualifier who won NHSCA Freshman Nationals in 2024. NC State #31 Lukas Zalota (Malvern Prep, PA) #41 Dale Corbin (Wyoming Seminary, PA) #80 Luke Knox (Perkiomen Valley, PA) #138 Anthony Ryan (Longwood, NY) NR James Capasso (Ballston Spa, NY) Like clockwork, NC State had another group of top prospects in Raleigh this week. They might lead the nation in the number of juniors (17 by our count) who have taken official visits thus far. They typically have excellent recruiting classes, so the strategy of casting a wide net works for them. Pennsylvania and New York are two strong points for NC State recruiting and they returned to those fertile grounds for this group. Lukas Zalota has been busy taking his share of visits. He’s already gone to: Army, Virginia Tech, Indiana, and Rutgers. Dale Corbin has also been to Virginia Tech, along with Wisconsin. This is the second visit we have on file for Knox. He’s also gone to Bucknell. The same for Anthony Ryan - he’s visited Army West Point. This is the first visit we’ve heard of a visit regarding James Capasso. North Dakota State #50 Gavin Landers (Denver, IA) #140 Drake Morrison (Malad, ID) NR Liam Collins (Prior Lake, MN) North Dakota State had a good group in over the weekend with two top 150 prospects. Gavin Landers is a two-time Iowa state champion and three-time Fargo All-American. Drake Morrison was a top-six finisher at the UWW U17 Trials in freestyle this year. Liam Collins was a Minnesota AAA champion as a freshman. In 2023, Collins was an All-American in both styles at UWW’s. This is the first visit we’ve seen for Morrison and Collins. Landers has already visited Nebraska and Northern Iowa. Northern Colorado NR Caeleb Hutchinson (Manhattan, KS) - Class of 2026 The new Northern Colorado staff continues to work on the Class of 2026. Over the weekend, they brought in two-time Kansas state champion Caeleb Hutchinson. Two weeks ago, Hutchinson took a visit to Northern Illinois. Northwestern #37 Mikey Batista (Blair Academy, NJ) #77 Cayden Rios (Allen, TX) #91 Colin Rutlin (Christian Brothers, MO) NR Blake Jacobson (Washington, WV) We haven’t had the opportunity to talk much about Northwestern thus far, so it’s good to see a talented group visiting Evanston. The highest ranked of their three top 100 recruits is Mikey Batista, who was third at the UWW U17 Trials this spring in freestyle. Cayden Rios has finished third at the NHSCA age group tournament in each of his first two years of high school. Colin Rutlin was a double 16U finalist this summer in Fargo - winning in freestyle. Blake Jacobson is West Virginia runner-up who is taking a post-grad year and was a match away from AA’ing in Fargo. Batista has already visited Columbia and Princeton. Rios took a trip to Virginia. Rutlin has been busy with trips to Little Rock, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Jacobson visited George Mason and Clarion last year and Virginia and Virginia Tech this fall. Ohio NR Blake Bartos (Medina Buckeye, OH) - Class of 2026 NR Gradey Harding (Galion, OH) - Class of 2026 NR Dayne Serio (West Aurora, IL) - Class of 2026 Ohio hosted a pair of in-state prospects and another from Illinois - all in this year’s senior class. Since the visit, Blake Bartos has committed to Wyoming. Gradey Harding is a two-time Ohio DII state runner-up and a three-time state medalist. Dayne Serio was sixth at Illinois’ 3A division in 2025 and is the younger brother of Bobcats current freshman, Dom Serio. Penn State #4 Landon Sidun (Norwin, PA) #13 Gavin Mangano (Shoreham-Wading River, NY) - Committed #118 James Whitbred (State College, PA) We haven’t heard much from the defending champions on the recruiting front, but they were already able to land one of their recruits from last weekend. New York state champion Gavin Mangano already gave Cael Sanderson’s staff a verbal commitment and is their first from the Class of 2027. Landon Sidun is an excellent lightweight prospect from Western PA. Sidun has finished top-four at the UWW U17 Trials on two occasions and was a 16U freestyle champion in Fargo in 2023. We’ve already seen Sidun visit his hometown team, the Pitt Panthers, along with Ohio State Making the short trip to campus was local prospect James Whitbred. Whitbred was sixth in PA’s AAA state tournament in 2025 and placed in both styles in Fargo at the 16U division in 2024. This is the first trip we’ve seen associated with Whitbred. Princeton #52 Luke Hayden (Hickman, MO) #65 Vince Anello (Blair Academy, NJ) #86 Will Soto (Newburgh Free Academy, NY) NR Chase Dubuque (Delran, NJ) - Class of 2026 Princeton continues to work hard on the Class of 2027 with three top 100 recruits in town. They also had a familiar face in senior Chase Dubuque. Dubuque is the son of Tigers head coach, Joe Dubuque, and is a 2024 Junior freestyle All-American. Luke Hayden is an NHSCA Sophomore National third place finisher who has already visited Missouri and Northern Iowa. Will Soto is a 16U freestyle finalist and has taken trips to Brown and Penn. Vince Anello was fifth in Junior freestyle in Fargo this summer and is a two-time top four finisher at the Beast of the East. This is the first visit we’ve seen from Anello. SIU Edwardsville #218 Maximus Hay (Brown Deer, WI) - Class of 2026 SIU Edwardsville has been hot on the recruiting trail with two verbal commitments within the last week. Maybe another from Maximus Hay is looming? Hay is a two-time UWW U17 freestyle All-American, placing seventh in each of the last two years. Before visiting SIUE, Hay has also toured Wisconsin and Appalachian State. Stanford #7 Mario Carini (Poway, CA) #30 Jimmy Mastny (Marian Central, IL) #35 Greyson Music (Bishop McDevitt, PA) #96 Wyatt Hanssen (Wasatch, UT) #117 Kai Vielma (Connellsville, PA) Speaking of teams on a hot streak from a recruiting standpoint! Two of the five wrestlers in Palo Alto over the weekend have already given verbals to Chris Ayres’ team. You can read more about Greyson Music and Kai Vielma here. Also in town for the weekend was Mario Carini, a California state champion and a 2024 Super 32 medalist. Carini has taken trips to Cornell and Virginia Tech already. Big man Jimmy Mastny was third at the Ironman, competing at 190 lbs, as a sophomore. He’s also placed three times in Fargo. Mastny has already visited NC State. Another upperweight prospect on campus this weekend was Wyatt Hanssen. Hanssen was an NHSCA Sophomore National champion this spring, after placing third at the freshman tournament in 2024. He’s already taken trips to Iowa State and Utah Valley. Virginia #245 Zaiyahn Ornelas (Creighton Prep, NE) - Class of 2026 NR Cole Caniglia (Creighton Prep, NE) NR Mario Delvecchio (Rumson-Fair Haven, NJ) NR Dom Powell (Upper Dublin, PA) NR Josh Requena (Camarillo, CA) - Class of 2026 Hopefully, UVA’s visitors got to witness one of the coolest field storming scenes you’ll ever see as the Cavalier football team knocked off Florida State. Virginia’s crew was a good mix of juniors and seniors. With the Paulson twins' roots in Council Bluffs and into Nebraska, it’s no surprise to see the Creighton Prep tandem of Ornelas and Caniglia in town. Ornelas took a trip to Northern Illinois a couple of weeks ago. Caniglia was at South Dakota State that same weekend. Virginia Tech #1 Melvin Miller (Bishop McCort, PA) #2 Bo Bassett (Bishop McCort, PA) - Class of 2026 #20 Brock Rothermel (Line Mountain, PA) Perhaps the most high profile visits of the weekend belonged to Virginia Tech. They hosted blue-chip brothers Bo Bassett and Melvin Miller, along with #20 Brock Rothermel. Reports out of Blacksburg are that Bassett and Miller were very impressed with the Hokies. Each dominated en route to a Junior freestyle title this summer in Fargo. Bassett initially committed to Iowa, but since re-opening his recruiting has gone out to Nebraska once on an official visit and another time on an unofficial visit. Miller also traveled to Nebraska. Rothermel has finished in the top three in Junior freestyle in Fargo in each of the last two years. He’s been busy with recruiting visits so far. Before Virginia Tech, he’s visited Bucknell, Maryland, and Pittsburgh. West Virginia #199 Brennan Warwick (Massillon Perry, OH) - Class of 2026 WVU hosted a member of the 2026 Big Board in Brennan Warwick of Ohio. Warwick was a 16U freestyle All-American in Fargo and sixth at NHSCA Junior’s. Warwick traveled to Indiana last year, along with Kent State, Little Rock, and Michigan State this fall.

RAF 02 just got a lot tougher after the latest match announcement. Two-time world medalist James Green will face four-time world medalist Tajmuraz Salkazanov of Slovakia in the welterweight division (165 lbs). At one point, Green was rumored to be on the first Real American Freestyle card, but that was incorrect and he’ll make his debut on October 25th. Green is a seven-time world team member. Each time came at 70 kg. For Olympic purposes, Green has tried to make the squad at 65 kg, but has been most effective up in weight. In his first world team appearance, Green earned a bronze medal at the 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas. Two years later, he made the world finals and earned a silver medal in Paris, France. Green’s most recent world team appearance came in 2024. This was after he retired because of health concerns. Salkazanov is a Russian who wrestles for Slovakia. His first world medal came in 2019 when he was a bronze medalist at 79 kg. In 2021 and 2022, Salkazanov made the world finals but was denied a gold medal by Kyle Dake. He is coming to RAF fresh off a bronze medal showing at the 2025 World Championships. In Zagreb, Salkazanov fell to the eventual champion, Kota Takahashi (Japan), 6-4 in the semifinals, before defeating Iran’s Yones Emami, 3-1, for a bronze medal. Earlier this year, Salkazanov fell to David Carr on criteria at the Hungarian Ranking Series event. Of the matches featuring an international opponent, Salkazanov is the most decorated thus far and should have a size advantage on Green, making it one of the most intriguing bouts released by RAF. RAF 02 will take place on October 25th at Penn State University’s Bryce Jordan Center. The matches released by RAF thus far include: Welterweight (165 lbs) - James Green vs. Tajmuraz Salkazanov Welterweight (165 lbs) - David Carr vs. Amr Reda Cruiserweight (190 lbs) - Kyle Dake (champ) vs. Boris Makoev Women’s Flyweight (120 lbs) - Helen Maroulis vs. Samantha Stewart Open - Keelon Jimison vs. Cayden Henschel Heavyweight (Unlimited) - Patrick Downey III vs. Jake Varner Bantamweight (135 lbs) - Nathan Tomasello (champ) vs. Roman Bravo-Young Heavyweight (Unlimited) - Mason Parris vs. Aleksandr Romanov

DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University wrestling team will begin competition in the Pac-12 Conference beginning with the 2026-27 school year. NIU will join Oregon State and fellow affiliate members Cal Poly, Cal State Bakersfield and Little Rock as members of Pac-12 Wrestling. "We are happy to have our NIU wrestling program joining the Pac-12 Conference," said NIU President Dr. Lisa Freeman. "This new home for wrestling will provide positive opportunities for our student-athletes to compete at a high level in a league that also values high academic standards." "We continue to find our place in this new landscape and are pleased to have our wrestling program join the Pac-12 Conference," said NIU Vice-President/Director of Athletics and Recreation Sean T. Fraizer. "It has been a thorough process to ensure that we found the right fit for our program and we believe we have found that with the Pac-12. I look forward to a bright future for Huskie wrestling." With today's announcement, the Pac-12 currently has five future members in the sport of wrestling for the 2026-27 season. As an NCAA sport with an automatic qualifier, the Pac-12 will need to add at least one more wrestling program to meet minimum requirements of six members for the sport in order to retain NCAA automatic qualification for its annual league champion. "We are thrilled to be joining such a competitive conference filled with prestigious wrestlers, coaches and administrators committed to the sport," said NIU head coach Ryan Ludwig. "This will provide outstanding opportunities for our student-athletes to accomplish their goals, while expanding the national footprint of the NIU Wrestling program." The NIU wrestling program posted a 7-3 dual match record a season ago and had a pair of NCAA Championship qualifiers, Blake West and Landen Johnson, extending its streak of sending at least one student-athlete to the NCAA Championships to 54 consecutive years. In 93 seasons of Huskie wrestling, NIU has won more than 600 dual matches. Current NIU head coach Ryan Ludwig is one of three coaches in program history to record more than 100 dual match wins. The Huskie wrestling team has compiled a 20-5 record in dual matches over the last two seasons, which includes a 12-1 mark at home. NIU claimed the MAC West Division dual title in 2023-24 after going 10-0 at home, the program's first undefeated dual match home season in 43 years.

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