InterMat Staff

Mukwonago

Canton

Shikellamy

The U20 World Team Trials have come and gone but there’s plenty to discuss and dissect in the months leading up to the actual U20 World Championships (early September). After looking at the results from the U20 freestyle finals and the team that they produced, there were plenty of fun facts and trends that emerged. Here are those along with a few others that have to do with the performance of the U20 men’s freestyle team at the World Championships. With Jesse Mendez’s NCAA finals win over Beau Bartlett it marks the fifth time that former U20/Junior World teammates have met in the national championship match dating back to the 2007 team (2019 - Aaron Brooks/Trent Hidlay; 2016/17 Mark Hall/Zahid Valencia; 2014 Kyle Snyder/Adam Coon; 2009 Jordan Oliver/Jason Chamberlain; 2007 David Taylor/Bubba Jenkins). Last year’s U20 WTT’s saw four wrestlers who lost in the finals go on to earn NCAA All-American honors in 2024. Tyler Kasak (65 kg), Antrell Taylor (70 kg), Hunter Garvin (74 kg), and Stephen Little (92 kg). The 2023 team had two wrestlers who went on to make the 2024 NCAA finals - Jesse Mendez (1st/141) and Mitchell Mesenbrink (2nd/165). There were none in 2022 and one in 2021 - Keegan O’Toole (1st/165). Gabe Arnold is the only wrestler to lose in the 2023 and 2024 U20 World Team finals. This year’s Trials only had one series go the full three matches. 74 kg with Ladarion Lockett and Beau Mantanona. Last year, there were two and four in 2022. Justin Rademacher is the first Oregon native to make the U20 men’s freestyle team since Tyrell Fortune did so in 2009. Wisconsin has the longest active streak with at least one U20 world team member in men’s freestyle. They’ve had at least one native on the team in each of the last four years. The previous three have made the world finals. Mitchell Mesenbrink Gold/23, Silver/22; Keegan O’Toole Gold/21. Half of the 2024 team has links to Penn State. Josh Barr (86 kg) redshirted the 2023-24 season, while Luke Lilledahl (57 kg), Zack Ryder (79 kg), and Connor Mirasola (92 kg) are incoming freshmen. PJ Duke (70 kg) is a commit from the Class of 2025. Ladarion Lockett is the first Oklahoma native to make the U20 world team since Daton Fix’s third appearance in 2018. The last four times a wrestler from Oklahoma was on the team they came away with a medal. Fix (18/Bronze, 17/Gold, 16/Bronze) and Chris Perry (2010/Bronze). Three members of the 2023 U17 World team have made the 2024 U20 team. Marcus Blaze, Lockett, and Ryder. Six of the ten team members have won a world medal at either the U17 or U20 team. Those six wrestlers have combined to win nine world medals. Of the first-time U20 team members, Blaze, Bo Bassett, and Lockett were all U17 world champions. Ben Kueter is the first Iowa native wrestling for the Hawkeyes to make the U20 men’s freestyle steam since Thomas Gilman captured bronze in 2014. Kueter also has a chance at becoming our first U20 men’s freestyler to win two gold medals since Mark Hall did so in 2016 and 2017. Despite having some very talented heavyweights, the US has gone without a medal at the last three World Championships at 125 kg. Mason Parris’ gold medal in 2019 is the most recent. Since then, Wyatt Hendrickson, Nick Feldman, and Christian Carroll have come away empty-handed. Kueter’s world title came at 97 kg. Conversely, America has been excellent at 74 kg. We’ve won the gold medal in six of the last seven tournaments. Mesenbrink/23, O’Toole/21, David Carr/19, Mekhi Lewis/18, Hall 16/17. The only year during that span without a champion was in 2022 with Alex Facundo, who took 16th. There are two returning wrestlers with U20 experience (Lilledahl and Kueter). A third lost in the best-of-three finals as Rademacher defeated 2023 U20 World bronze medalist Camden McDanel. Each of the last four U20 men’s freestyle teams have produced at least two world champions. Over the last 15 tournaments, the American men’s U20 freestyle team is 19-16 in gold medal matches. During that same span, they are 25-14 in bronze medal matches. That’s good for a 44-30 record in medal matches.

Two days after winning the U20 World Team Trials at 125 kg in freestyle, Ben Kueter took to social media to outline his plans for the future. Iowa’s two-sport specialist will put aside football for the next ten months to focus on winning “a world title, an NCAA title, and a NCAA team title.” There were some questions about Kueter’s plans as the U20 World Championships take place in early September during the same weekend of the Iowa-Iowa State football game. In his statement, Kueter reiterates that “this is not the end of my football career.” Kueter was named the sixth overall recruit in the Class of 2023. He spent the first half of the 2023-24 wrestling season on the gridiron for the Hawkeyes. Once the football season was over and Kueter worked his way into wrestling shape, he saw action in four duals for Iowa. Kueter went 3-1 with the lone loss coming to eventual NCAA champion Greg Kerkvliet of Penn State (9-1). His most significant win was a 5-1 victory over Konner Doucet in the Hawkeyes win over Oklahoma State. With a full offseason in the Hawkeye wrestling room plus a normal preseason, the prospects for Kueter during the 2024-25 are extremely intriguing. This will be Kueter’s second U20 World Championship event. In 2022, he captured a gold medal at 97 kg with a pin in the world finals. 2024 will mark his first international event at 125 kg. Here’s Kueter's interview after winning the U20 Trials on Saturday.

Sunday saw the second day of the U23 National Championships take place in Geneva, Ohio. This tournament is slightly different from the U20 tournament - which is a true World Team Trials event. At some weights in U23, wrestlers who made the national team at the 2024 US Olympic Team Trials have first dibs on a berth on the U23 team. The winners of this event will have the opportunity to compete internationally at the 2024 U23 Pan-American Championships, June 21-22nd, in Colombia. The U20 brackets were small because wrestlers needed to qualify for the tournament; however, that wasn’t the case at the U23 tournament, so there were some huge brackets. With more competitors comes more opportunities for upsets and previously unheralded stars to shine. That’s what we’re focusing on today - wrestlers whose hypothetical stocks rose after their showing at the U23 national tournament, primarily focusing on freestyle. Max Gallagher (Penn) 2023 NCAA qualifier Max Gallagher was the champion at 57 kg and did so by sweeping Army West Point’s Charlie Farmer 8-4 and 6-3 in two straight bouts. Gallagher’s most impressive win came in the semifinals when he defeated Stevo Poulin (Northern Colorado) in the semifinals. Poulin was a runner-up at last year’s U23 competition and was a 2023 Big 12 champion and a two-time NCAA Round of 12 finisher. Last year, Gallagher was fifth in the EIWA and 0-2 at nationals. His performance in Ohio indicates he might be ready for a breakout season in 2024-25. Greg Diakomihalis (Cornell) One of the best non-starters in the country at 125 lbs last season was Greg Diakomihalis. Despite wins over Diego Sotelo (Harvard) and Kysen Terukina (Iowa State), Diakomihalis was stuck behind teammate Brett Ungar. It appears as if Ungar might move up to 133, clearing a path for Diakomihalis. Diakomihalis had a strong weekend of his own at 57 kg when he took third in the challenge tournament bracket. His only loss of the tournament came to Poulin, in the quarterfinals, and he’d avenge that loss in the third-place bout. Because he lost in the semifinals, Diakomihalis had to win seven matches to get third! Kurtis Phipps (Bucknell) You don’t have to win the tournament to get a “stock-up” mention, as evidenced by Diakomihalis and a few others on this list. Kurtis Phipps fell in the finals to Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State) but got to the championship match after an incredible run that included consecutive wins over Kase Mauger (Utah Valley), Drake Ayala (Iowa), Ryan Miller (Penn), and Aaron Nagao (Penn State). In the win over NCAA runner-up, Ayala, Phipps was up 10-2 and withstood a late rally from the Hawkeye. Against Aaron Nagao, Phipps exposed Nagao during a scramble and appeared to get the fall call (though Arena has it listed as an injury default - Nagao was injured during the sequence). Phipps is someone who has gotten better and better each year with Bucknell. He was a qualifier for the first time in 2023 and made the Round of 12 last season. We’ll see if that upward trajectory continues in 2024-25. Joshua Saunders (Cornell) A blue-chip recruit in the Class of 2020 (#8 overall), Joshua Saunders, was expected to be the next big thing for Cornell wrestling. At that time, he had competed in the Cadet and Junior World Championships in 2018. As of 2024, injuries and a stacked lineup have prevented Saunders from fully seizing a consistent spot in Cornell’s lineup. A 65 kg title at U23’s might be a sign that Saunders is ready to show the potential that made him one of the top recruits in a loaded Class of 2020. Saunders got to the finals in dominant fashion, shutting out four of his first five opponents. The lone foe that was able to score on him was 2024 All-American Ryan Jack (NC State). Saunders scored six first-period points to hold off the Wolfpack star, 6-5. A round later, he needed just over a minute to dispose of former NCAA Round of 12 finisher Zach Redding (Iowa State). Saunders would carry that momentum into the finals where he teched Wyatt Henson (Lock Haven) in the first matchup and won a one-point decision in the series-clinching bout. Paniro Johnson (Iowa State) It’s been a good couple of weeks for Paniro Johnson as he recently found out he’d be able to compete during the 2024-25 - minus a two-date suspension. Johnson was not able to wrestle last season as he was singled out during the Iowa/Iowa State gambling probe. He also learned that he could use a redshirt for the 2023-24 campaign. Johnson celebrated by running through the gauntlet at 70 kg. Just to make the finals, Johnson had to knock off a pair of past All-Americans Daniel Cardenas (Stanford) and Ed Scott (NC State) - along with national qualifier Caleb Rathjen (Iowa). In the finals, Johnson took a pair of close bouts from John Wiley (Oklahoma), 2-2 and 6-2. During his freshman year, Wiley had defeated Johnson 6-4 in a dual. Hunter Garvin (Stanford) Usually, “stock-up” means a wrestler who was slightly unheralded doing something that improves their standing. Typically, you don’t look at a returning All-American in that light. But, very few All-Americans, if any, could do what Garvin did over the weekend. He started with a Greco-Roman title at 77 kg. His closest match pre-finals in Greco was a 7-2 victory. For the stop sign he took out Brendon Abdon (Little Rock) in two straight matches. But that wasn’t enough. Not only did Garvin enter the freestyle tournament, but he won that too! In freestyle, Garvin had very little trouble en route to the finals. In the semifinals, he defeated Derek Gilcher (Indiana) via 14-4 tech. In the best-of-three series, Garvin held off a late rally from 2023 NCAA Round of 12 finisher, Cael Swensen (South Dakota State), to take the first match, 10-9. Swensen never got a chance for a comeback in the second match, a 14-1 tech. All told, Garvin wrestled in and won 13 matches in two styles without a single setback. That’s something you see in the middle and high school levels, but not at U20 or U23. Derek Gilcher (Indiana) Even at fifth place, things are looking good for Derek Gilcher. An NCAA qualifier in 2023, Gilcher was injured in late December last season and was lost for the year. He was back and looking good at the 74 kg weight class with quality wins over DJ McGee (George Mason) and Big 12 champion Ryder Downey (Northern Iowa). Gilcher’s only losses came to Garvin and Jack Thomsen (Northern Iowa), an opponent he defeated earlier in the tournament. Hopefully, this is a positive sign for Gilcher and Indiana as they look ahead to 2024-25. John Gunderson (Northern Iowa) Northern Iowa has been a tough place to crack the lineup at 184 lbs since Parker Keckeisen has manned that weight for the past four years. That left John Gunderson to wrestle at 197 and even heavyweight as needed for UNI. Well, back at his ideal weight, Gunderson shocked the field at 86 kg. In the quarterfinals, Gunderson teched former U20 Open champion Sam Fisher (Virginia Tech) and then in the closing seconds of the semifinals, exposed Dylan Fishback (NC State) to lead 8-8 on criteria. Fishback’s corner challenged the ruling and lost, making the final score, 9-8. Gunderson claimed the title by teching Penn State’s Lucas Cochran in the first match of their series. He’d win after Cochran was unable to compete in the second bout. Cochran came into the finals red-hot himself after wins over Lenny Pinto (Nebraska), DJ Washington (Indiana), and Reece Heller (Pittsburgh). We’d be remiss not to mention Gunderson’s UNI teammate Wyatt Voelker, as well. Voelker almost doubled up like Hunter Garvin. He captured the Greco-Roman title at 97 kg and made the freestyle finals at 92 kg. In the quarterfinals, Voelker notched a one-point win over Big Ten runner-up Zach Glazier (Iowa). The only opponent able to stop him in either style was two-time NCAA All-American and three-time U23 national champion Jacob Cardenas. Christian Carroll (Oklahoma State) Part of the “stock-up” or win for Christian Carroll was just making 92 kg. Carroll won the Last Chance Qualifier at 97 kg and stated his intention to go 197 lbs for Oklahoma State in the 2024-25 season. With the recent transfer of two-time All-American Wyatt Hendrickson at 285 lbs, it appears as if Carroll would need to drop to 197 to find a spot in the lineup. 92 kg is just over 203 lbs, so he has some more work to do to get to 197, but he’s on his way. As someone who stood next to Carroll at the Last Chance Qualifier, it didn’t look like he had the extra weight to lose to get to 197 lbs. As for action, Carroll picked up a win over two-time All-American Trey Munoz (Oregon State) in the quarterfinals and downed multi-time national qualifier Levi Hopkins (Campbell) in the consolation semi’s, but cruising to third place. His only loss during the U23 tournament was via a point to Voelker. Massoma Endene (Wartburg/Wisconsin) Last season, Wisconsin head coach Chris Bono was able to fill a potential hole with the transfer of a DIII stud in Shane Liegel. Liegel handled the rigors of DI wrestling, made the national tournament and picked up a win in Kansas City. This year he’s done it again with two-time DIII champion Massoma Endene. Endene took the title at 97 kg - a run that was highlighted by a 7-1 victory over last year’s U23 champion Nick Stemmet (Stanford). In the final series, Endene led 2024 NCAA Round of 12 finisher Andy Smith (Virginia Tech) before it was stopped due to injury. With wins like that, there shouldn’t be any questions as to whether Endene can compete at the DI level. Lucas Stoddard (Army West Point) Looking at the wrestlers on his half of the bracket, it’s not a surprise that Lucas Stoddard made it to the best-of-three-finals. He beat opponents you’d expect him to - despite his #30 seed. However, once Stoddard got to the finals, he pulled a massive upset. At the same time, it was so dominant that it didn’t look like an upset. With the U23 national title hanging in the balance, Stoddard faced an opponent who had defeated him twice in the 2023-24 season by the combined score of 34-6. That was Nathan Taylor (Lehigh) the eventual EIWA champion and the fifth seed at the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Stoddard turned the tables and teched Taylor twice and neither of the matches needed a second period.

After this weekend’s action in Geneva, Ohio our three U20 World Teams are set for action in the U20 World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain in early September. For now, we’re focusing on the U20 men’s freestyle team as it was finalized on Saturday and is mighty imposing. If you’d like to hear from each of these wrestlers, our interviews with them are posted here. As a reminder, the group we’re referencing is: 57 kg: Luke Lilledahl, 61 kg: Marcus Blaze, 65 kg: Bo Bassett, 70 kg: PJ Duke, 74 kg: Ladarion Lockett, 79 kg: Zack Ryder, 86 kg: Josh Barr, 92 kg: Connor Mirasola, 97 kg: Justin Rademacher, 125 kg: Ben Kueter Imposing might not even be the perfect adjective to describe the squad. How about “best ever"? Or at least in recent memory? There has been more and more competition as of late for spots on the U20 (formerly Junior) World Team, combined with the fact that wrestlers are more and more advanced at a younger age. With those two factors together, it makes for an absurd combination of talent. Below we’ve looked at U20/Junior World Team’s for the last 15 tournaments (there was none in 2020) to see which ones stood out the most and what is the proper barometer for this year’s team. We don’t have to go very far back to remember one of the greats, the 2023 team. That group returned with medals in eight of ten weights and two were of the gold variety. The 2021 squad had fewer overall medals (five) but featured three world champions. That was also the number of champions in 2017, but with seven total medalists and in an era where only eight weights were contested. The 2017 team might be the gold standard, for now, as we’ve watched their wrestlers exhaust their collegiate eligibility, while most of the 2023 team still has plenty of time left in college. The 2017 group is responsible for seven NCAA titles, 13 NCAA finals appearances, and has three wrestlers with Senior-level World/Olympic medals already. Those are some big shoes to fill for the 2024 team, but they are quite capable, even if young for this event. Seven of the ten wrestlers in this year’s crew have yet to start their collegiate wrestling careers. Only one (Justin Rademacher) has wrestled at the NCAA Tournament. Josh Barr and Ben Kueter redshirted during the 2023-24 campaign. Despite their youth, the 2024 team is experienced on an international stage. Kueter and Luke Lilledahl are the two with a previous U20 world team under their belts. Both have made a U20 final, with Kueter winning and Lilledahl finishing as a runner-up. Additionally, there are three U17 world champions in the bunch. Marcus Blaze, Bo Bassett, and Ladarion Lockett. Also, Zack Ryder has two U17 world bronze medals. From a recruiting standpoint, this is a “who’s who” of top recruits from a four-year span. Of the nine, only Rademacher was not a top-six overall recruit in their respective graduating classes. Lilledahl and PJ Duke are both #1’s. Bassett could grab that honor for the 2026 Class. The elephant in the room, from a collegiate perspective, is that this group is extremely Penn State-heavy. Barr is a current team member. Lilledahl, Ryder, and Mirasola have signed with the Nittany Lions and are a part of their star-studded 2024 Class. Duke, from 2025, has committed. For fans of other contenders, and parity in general, it’s a scary proposition thinking of these future studs finding their way into Cael Sanderson’s lineup. However, that’s a different discussion for a different day. Take a gander at the previous 15 U20/Junior World Teams and let us know which one you feel is the toughest. 2023 Team 57 kg - Luke Lilledahl (MO) - Silver 61 kg - Nic Bouzakis (FL) - Bronze 65 kg - Jesse Mendez (IN) - Silver 70 kg - Meyer Shapiro (MD) - Gold 74 kg - Mitchell Mesenbrink (WI) - Gold 79 kg - Matthew Singleton (GA) - Bronze 86 kg - Bennett Berge (MN) - Bronze 92 kg - Jack Darrah (MO) - 12th Place 97 kg - Camden McDanel (OH) - Bronze 125 kg - Christian Carroll (IN) - 10th Place 8 Medals; 2 World Champions 2022 Team 57 kg - Jore Volk (MN) - Gold 61 kg - Nic Bouzakis (FL) - 7th Place 65 kg - Vince Cornella (CO) - 5th Place 70 kg - Mitchell Mesenbrink (WI) - Silver 74 kg - Alex Facundo (MI) - 16th Place 79 kg - Brayden Thompson (IL) - 9th Place 86 kg - Bennett Berge (MN) - Silver 92 kg - Jaxon Smith (GA) - 5th Place 97 kg - Ben Kueter (IA) - Gold 125 kg - Nick Feldman (PA) - 5th Place 4 Medals; 2 World Champions 2021 Team 57 kg - Richie Figueroa (CA) - 12th Place 61 kg - Jesse Mendez (IN) - 8th Place 65 kg - Beau Bartlett (AZ) - Bronze 70 kg - Bryce Andonian (OH) - Bronze 74 kg - Keegan O’Toole (WI) - Gold 79 kg - DJ Washington (IN) - 11th Place 86 kg - Colton Hawks (MO) - 7th Place 92 kg - Rocky Elam (MO) - Gold 97 kg - Braxton Amos (WV) - Gold 125 kg - Wyatt Hendrickson (KS) - 5th Place 5 Medals; 3 World Champions 2019 Team 57 kg - Vito Arujau (NY) - Silver 61 kg - Gabe Tagg (OH) - Bronze 65 kg - Yahya Thomas (IL) - 12th Place 70 kg - Brayton Lee (IN) - 15th Place 74 kg - David Carr (OH) - Gold 79 kg - Aaron Brooks (MD) - 17th Place 86 kg - Trent Hidlay (PA) - Bronze 92 kg - Lucas Davison (IN) - Silver 97 kg - Tanner Sloan (IA) - 15th Place 125 kg - Mason Parris (IN) - Gold 6 Medals; 2 World Champions 2018 Team 57 kg - Daton Fix (OK) - Bronze 61 kg - Joshua Saunders (MO) - 8th Place 65 kg - Dom Demas (OH) - 9th Place 70 kg - Brady Berge (MN) - Bronze 74 kg - Mekhi Lewis (NJ) - Gold 79 kg - Aaron Brooks (MD) - Silver 86 kg - Louie DePrez (NY) - 9th Place 92 kg - Jacob Warner (IL) - 15th Place 97 kg - Zach Elam (MO) - Silver 125 kg - Gable Steveson (MN) - 8th Place 5 Medals; 1 World Champion 2017 Team 50 kg - Malik Heinselman (CO) - 8th Place 55 kg - Daton Fix (OK) - Gold 60 kg - Mitchell McKee (MN) - Silver 66 kg - Ryan Deakin (CO) - Silver 74 kg - Mark Hall (MN) - Gold 84 kg - Zahid Valencia (CA) - Silver 96 kg - Kollin Moore (OH) - Bronze 120 kg - Gable Steveson (MN) - Gold 7 Medals; 3 World Champions 2016 Team 50 kg - Spencer Lee (PA) - Gold 55 kg - Daton Fix (OK) - Bronze 60 kg - Seth Gross (MN) - 8th Place 66 kg - Alec Pantaleo (MI) - 10th Place 74 kg - Mark Hall (MN) - Gold 84 kg - Zahid Valencia (CA) - 7th Place 96 kg - Kollin Moore (OH) - 12th Place 120 kg - Jordan Wood (PA) - 11th Place 3 Medals; 2 World Champions 2015 Team 50 kg - Spencer Lee (PA) - Gold 55 kg - Stevan Micic (IN) - Bronze 60 kg - 66 kg - Aaron Pico (CA) - Bronze 74 kg - Mark Hall (MN) - 9th Place 84 kg - Zahid Valencia (CA) - 10th Place 96 kg - Anthony Cassar (NJ) - 8th Place 120 kg - Nathan Butler (KS) - Bronze 4 Medals; 1 World Champion 2014 Team 50 kg - Jabari Moody (IL) - 5th Place 55 kg - Thomas Gilman (IA) - Bronze 60 kg - Joey McKenna (NJ) - Silver 66 kg - Aaron Pico (CA) - Silver 74 kg - Anthony Valencia (CA) - 9th Place 84 kg - Gabe Dean (MI) - Bronze 96 kg - Kyle Snyder (MD) - Bronze 120 kg - Adam Coon (MI) - Bronze 6 Medals; 0 World Champions 2013 Team 50 kg - Ethan Lizak (PA) - 13th Place 55 kg - Thomas Gilman (IA) - 8th Place 60 kg - Mark Grey (NJ) - 5th Place 66 kg - Jason Tsirtsis (IN) - 7th Place 74 kg - Alex Dieringer (WI) - Silver 84 kg - Sam Brooks (IL) - 8th Place 96 kg - Kyle Snyder (MD) - Gold 120 kg - Austin Marsden (IL) - 16th Place 2 Medals; 1 World Champion 2012 Team 50 kg - Adrian Cordova (CO) - 19th Place 55 kg - Joey Dance (VA) - 11th Place 60 kg - Earl Hall (FL) - 17th Place 66 kg - Destin McCauley (MN) - 17th Place 74 kg - Alex Dieringer (WI) - 12th Place 84 kg - Pat Downey (MD) - Silver 96 kg - Tanner Hall (ID) - 9th Place 120 kg - Austin Marsden (IL) - 11th Place 1 Medal; 0 World Champions 2011 Team 50 kg - Nick Roberts (PA) - 20th Place 55 kg - Mark Grey (NJ) - 5th Place 60 kg - Logan Stieber (OH) - Silver 66 kg - Josh Kindig (PA) - 5th Place 74 kg - Taylor Massa (MI) - 18th Place 84 kg - Lee Munster (IL) - 16th Place 96 kg - Tanner Hall (ID) - 20th Place 120 kg - Dan Miller (MD) - 7th Place 1 Medal; 0 World Champions 2010 Team 50 kg - Nick Roberts (PA) - 5th Place 55 kg - Ryak Finch (AZ) - 27th Place 60 kg - Matt McDonough (IA) - 19th Place 66 kg - Jason Chamberlain (UT) - 5th Place 74 kg - Conrad Polz (IL) - 15th Place 84 kg - Chris Perry (OK) - Bronze 96 kg - Tyler Lehmann (ND) - 14th Place 120 kg - Jeremy Johnson (OH) - 5th Place 1 Medal; 0 World Champions 2009 Team 50 kg - Carson Kuhn (UT) - 20th Place 55 kg - Tony Ramos (IL) - 5th Place 60 kg - Jordan Oliver (PA) - Bronze 66 kg - Jason Chamberlain (UT) - 29th Place 74 kg - Andrew Howe (IN) - Bronze 84 kg - Chris Perry (OK) - 5th Place 96 kg - Tyrell Fortune (OR) - 7th Place 120 kg - Dom Bradley (MO) - Gold 3 Medals; 1 World Champion 2008 Team 50 kg - Mark Rappo (PA) - 13th Place 55 kg - Zach Sanders (MN) - 8th Place 60 kg - Tyler Graff (CO) - 13th Place 66 kg - Jordan Burroughs (NJ) - 10th Place 74 kg - Quentin Wright (PA) - Bronze 84 kg - Mike Letts (PA) - Bronze 96 kg - Clayton Foster (ID) - Bronze 120 kg - Clayton Jack (CA) - 5th Place 3 Medals; 0 World Champions

U23 Freestyle National Championships Championship Best-of-Three Finals 57 kg - Max Gallagher (Penn) over Charlie Farmer (Army West Point) 8-4, 6-3 61 kg - Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State) over Kurtis Phipps (Bucknell) 9-4, 10-5 65 kg - Joshua Saunders (Cornell) over Wyatt Henson (Lock Haven) 11-0, 3-2 70 kg - Paniro Johnson (Iowa State) over John Wiley (Oklahoma) 6-2, 2-2 74 kg - Hunter Garvin (Stanfod) over Cael Swensen (South Dakota State) 10-9, 14-1 79 kg - Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) over Julian Ramirez (Cornell) 10-0, 10-0 86 kg - John Gunderson (Northern Iowa) over Lucas Cochran (Penn State) 10-0, Injury Default 92 kg - Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) over Wyatt Voelker (Northern Iowa) 9-1, 8-0 97 kg - Massoma Endene (Warburg/Wisconsin) over Andy Smith (Virginia Tech) Injury Default 125 kg - Lucas Stoddard (Army West Point) dec Nathan Taylor (Lehigh) 10-0, 11-0 Third Place Bouts 57 kg - Greg Diakomihalis (Cornell) over Stevo Poulin (Northern Colorado) 3-3 61 kg - Drake Ayala (Iowa) over Dominick Serrano (Northern Colorado) 12-2 65 kg - Cael Happel (Northern Iowa) over Haiden Drury (Utah Valley) 7-0 70 kg - Daniel Cardenas (Stanford) over Ed Scott (NC State) 10-6 74 kg - Ryder Downey (Northern Iowa) over Jack Thomsen (Northern Iowa) FFt 79 kg - Clayton Whiting (Minnesota) over Will Miller (Appalachian State) 15-9 86 kg - Reece Heller (Pittsburgh) over Dylan Fishback (NC State) 10-6 92 kg - Christian Carroll (Oklahoma State) over Seth Shumate (Ohio State) 16-6 97 kg - Nick Stemmet (Stanford) over Kalob Runyon (Northern Iowa) 7-4 125 kg - Crew Howard (Nebraska-Kearney) over Kail Wynia (South Dakota State) 9-7 Fifth Place Bouts 57 kg - Trever Anderson (Northern Iowa) fall Alan Koehler (Nebraska) 1:36 61 kg - Stockton O’Brien (Wyoming) FFT Aaron Nagao (Penn State) 65 kg - Ryan Jack (NC State) fall Julian Tagg (South Dakota State) fall 4:11 70 kg - Caleb Rathjen (Iowa) over Chance Lamer (Cal Poly) 5-4 74 kg - Derek Gilcher (Indiana) over Matt Bianchi (Little Rock) 12-2 79 kg - Nick South (Indiana) over Tyler Lillard (Indiana) FFT 86 kg - Max Hale (Penn) over Brayden Thompson (Oklahoma State) 10-0 92 kg - Zach Glazier (Iowa) over Levi Hopkins (Campbell) 10-1 97 kg - Adam Ortega (The Citadel) dec Adam Ahrendsen (Northern Iowa) Fall 4:42 125 kg - Jacob Bullock (Indiana) over Jake Boley (Nebraska-Kearney) 12-4 Seventh Place Bouts 57 kg - Joey Cruz (Iowa) over Shane Corrigan (UW-Parkside) 10-0 61 kg - Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) over Tyler Ferrara (Cornell) 6-0 65 kg - Zach Redding (Iowa State) FFT Jacob Frost (Iowa State) 70 kg - Jaivon Jones (Little Rock) over Jackson Arrington (NC State) 7-4 74 kg - Drew Dickson (George Mason) over Grant O’Dell (Bellarmine) FFT 79 kg - Joey Bianchi (Little Rock) over Waylon Cressell 13-2 86 kg - DJ Washington (Indiana) over Lenny Pinto (Nebraska) Fall 2:18 92 kg - Trey Munoz (Oregon State) over Matt Zuber (Northern Illinois) 13-2 97 kg - Austin Kohlhofer (Army West Point) over Dakoda Rodgers (Pitt-Johnstown) 9-1 125 kg - Ashton Davis (Cornell) over Logan Shephard (Bucknell) 11-2

Below are yesterday's winners in U20 Greco-Roman at the World Team Trials from Geneva, Ohio. 57 kg: Luke Lilledahl 61 kg: Marcus Blaze 65 kg: Bo Bassett 70 kg: PJ Duke 74 kg: Ladarion Lockett 79 kg: Zack Ryder 86 kg: Josh Barr 92 kg: Connor Mirasola 97 kg: Justin Rademacher 125 kg: Ben Kueter

U20 World Team Trials Championship Finals 57 kg - Luke Lilledahl over Jax Forrest 9-4, 7-7 61 kg - Marcus Blaze over Ben Davino 5-2, 6-3 65 kg - Bo Bassett over Aden Valencia 3-2, 4-0 70 kg - PJ Duke over Kannon Webster 5-2, 9-2 74 kg - Ladarion Lockett over Beau Mantanona 12-3, 3-6, 13-3 79 kg - Zack Ryder over Gabe Arnold 5-4, 4-2 86 kg - Josh Barr over Aeoden Sinclair 2-2, 3-5, 10-0 92 kg - Connor Mirasola over Ryder Rogotzke 6-0, 10-0 97 kg - Justin Rademacher over Camden McDanel 4-3, 11-1 125 kgs - Ben Kueter over Jimmy Mullen 5-4, 5-3 Third Place Bouts 57 kg - Seth Mendoza over Isaiah Cortez 5-4 61 kg - Sergio Vega over Kyler Larkin 5-4 65 kg - Sergio Lemley over Pierson Manville 6-2 70 kg - Brock Mantanona over Landon Robideau 3-3 74 kg - Joseph Sealey over Kody Routledge 10-0 79 kg - Simon Ruiz over Noah Mulvaney 12-2 86 kg - James Rowley over Tate Naaktgeboren 2-1 92 kg - Kael Wisler over Nick Nosler 5-1 97 kg - Cole Mirasola over Thomas Dineen 10-0 125 kgs - Aden Attao over Koy Hopke 2-1

Below are yesterday's winners in U20 Greco-Roman at the World Team Trials from Geneva, Ohio. 55 kg: Isaiah Cortez 60 kg: Cory Land 63 kg: Otto Black 67 kg: Joel Adams 72 kg: Patrick Brackett 77 kg: Aydin Rix-McElhinney 82 kg: Arian Khoravy 87 kg: Ryder Rogotzke 97 kg: Soren Herzog 130 kg: Aden Attao

Day one is in the books from U20 and U23 Nationals in Geneva, Ohio. Friday was all Greco-Roman, all the time with the finals in both age groups. The wrestlers who won the U20 tournament have locked up a spot on the world team. In U23, wrestlers who qualify age-wise for the team and made the national team at the Olympic Trials have first dibs on the world team. U20 Greco-Roman World Team Trials Final Results Best-of-three finals 55 kg - Isaiah Cortez over Davis Motyka 9-0, Fall :51 60 kg - Cory Land over Elijah Cortez 10-2, 8-0 63 kg - Otto Black over Amryn Nutter 9-0, Fall 1:25 67 kg - Joel Adams over Colton Parduhn 3-1, 7-1 72 kg - Patrick Brackett over Brett Back 5-2, 10-7 77 kg - Aydin Rix McElhinney over Bradley Gillum 8-0, Fall 2:35 82 kg - Arian Khosravy over Nicholas Fox 10-1, 8-0 87 kg - Ryder Rogotzke over Nick Nosler Fall 1:00, 9-0 97 kg - Soren Herzog over Soren Pirhoun 8-5, Injury Default 130 kg - Aden Attao over Hayden Simpson 9-0, 10-0 U23 Greco-Roman World Team Trials Final Results Best-of-three finals 55 kg - Billy Sullivan over Davian Guanajuato 10-1, 13-0 60 kg - Jakason Burks over Josh Kyle 8-0, 8-0 63 kg - Jonathan Gurule over Phillip Moomey 3-4, 5-1, 6-0 67 kg - Robert Perez III over Hunter Lewis 9-0, 4-0 72 kg - Justus Scott over Noah Wachsmuth 0-9, 7-2, Injury Default 77 kg - Hunter Garvin over Brendon Abdon Fall 5:40, 8-4 82 kg - Beka Melelashvili over Adrian Artsisheuskiy Injury Defualt 87 kg - Tyson Beauperthuy over MacAron Kukowski 7-0, 8-0 97 kg - Wyatt Voelker over Michael Altomer 7-5, 8-0 130 kg - Keith Miley over Bruce Wagers 17-6, Fall 1:28

Friday afternoon, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported that 2020 Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson will sign with the Buffalo Bills. Steveson was recently released from the WWE, as he was trying to break into the pro wrestling world shortly after winning his second NCAA title in 2022. After the WWE deal fell through, Steveson posted on social media as he took visits with the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins. The Bills make sense as they are led by head coach Sean McDermott who was a two-time National Prep champion Sean McDermott (LaSalle College Prep, PA) in 1992 and 1993. Steveson is billed at 6’1” 275 lbs and will attempt to play on the defensive line. This will be the first time that Steveson has played organized football. In addition to an Olympic gold medal, Steveson won a pair of national titles for the University of Minnesota and was awarded the Hodge Trophy after each of those seasons. All in all, Steveson went 83-2 in collegiate competition, losing only twice in the postseason during his true freshmen year. Last spring, Steveson briefly came back to the wrestling world with a dominating tournament title at the US Open and two wins over Mason Parris at Final X. Shortly before the World Championships, he stepped down from the world team due to conflicts with the WWE. Steveson’s signing conjures up memories of great heavyweights like Carleton Haselrig and Stephen Neal, neither of which played college football, but won multiple DI titles and had lengthy NFL careers.

Pomona

Bakersfield

Not only is the coaching carousel moving at a rapid pace with excellent positions available, there are also plenty of very experienced coaches who are looking for a new home. Those high-quality coaches should make for more movement as they assume some of the open positions below or take an opening that doesn’t appear to be vacant to the public eye. This last week wasn’t quite as busy as others on the coaching front, but still there were some teams that made strong additions. At InterMat, we wrote about the hirings of Timmy McCall, Nate Jackson, and Gavin Hoffman. One recent hire that may have snuck under the radar and isn’t “technically” a collegiate hire is Navy’s Wrestling Club bringing in Peyton Walsh to lead their program. Walsh was a longtime standout on the Greco-Roman scene and was an Olympic Trials runner-up in 2020(1) at 77 kg. He also was a Pan-American champion that same year and made the US Open finals in 2018. Before hitting the Senior Greco circuit, Walsh wrestled at the Naval Academy and made the NCAA tournament on three occasions - the last time (2015) after winning an EIWA title. As far as openings go, we learned this week that Drexel is looking to fill multiple vacancies. There could be news soon regarding hires at Army West Point, Binghamton, George Mason, Stanford and perhaps more movement with the EIWA from additional schools. Speaking of recent hires, this morning we posted an interview with Campbell’s new assistant coach TJ Dudley. Offseason Coaching Movement Binghamton: Louie DePrez - Assistant Coach (Binghamton athlete) Brown: Micky Phillippi - Assistant Coach (Brown Director of Ops) Buffalo: Donnie Vinson - Head Coach (Cornell Associate Head Coach) Buffalo: Hunter Richard - Assistant Coach (Appalachian State Assistant Coach) Campbell: TJ Dudley - Assistant Coach (Brown Assistant Coach) Central Michigan: Ben Bennett (Central Michigan Associate Head Coach) Cornell: Scottie Boykin (Air Force Assistant Coach) Edinboro: AJ Schopp - Head Assistant Coach (Purdue Assistant Coach) Lock Haven: Gavin Hoffman - Volunteer Assistant (Ohio State athlete) Navy: Barry Davis - Assistant Coach NC State: Zack Esposito - Associate Head Coach (USOPTC) Oklahoma State: David Taylor - Head Coach (NLWC Athlete) Oklahoma State: Thomas Gilman - Assistant Coach (NLWC Athlete) Oklahoma State: Jimmy Kennedy - Associate Head Coach (Penn State Assistant Coach) Penn: Matt Valenti - Associate Head Coach (Penn athletic administration) Penn State: Nick Lee - Assistant Coach (NLWC athlete) Pittsburgh: Lou Rosselli - Assistant Coach Princeton: Anthony Ashnault - Assistant Coach (NYC RTC athlete) Princeton: Cody Brewer - Head Assistant Coach (Virginia Tech Assistant Coach) Princeton: Nate Jackson (NJ RTC athlete) Utah Valley: Adam Hall - Head Coach (NC State Associate Head Coach) Utah Valley: Andrew Hochstrasser - Unannounced Role (Utah Club Coach) Utah Valley: Timmy McCall - Assistant Coach Virginia Tech: Zach Tanelli - Associate Head Coach (Columbia Head Coach) Non-Coaching Roles Oklahoma: Mark Hall - Director of Operations (Penn Assistant Coach) Oklahoma State: Bryan Pearsall - Recruiting Coordinator (Penn Associate Head Coach) RTC’s and Wrestling Clubs Navy WC: Peyton Walsh Tar Heel WC: Vincenzo Joseph (SKWC Athlete) Current Openings Air Force: Assistant Coach Appalachian State: Assistant Coach (x2) Army West Point: Assistant Coach Binghamton: Assistant Coach Buffalo: Assistant Coach Campbell: Assistant Coach Central Michigan: Assistant Coach Columbia: Head Coach Cornell: Volunteer Assistant Davidson: Assistant Coach Drexel: Assistant Coach (x2) George Mason: Assistant Coach Hofstra: Head Coach Penn: Assistant Coach (x2) Purdue: Assistant Coach Stanford: Assistant Coach Utah Valley: Assistant Coach Wisconsin: Assistant Coach

New Campbell assistant coach, TJ Dudley, joins us to talk about his new role with the Camel program. Dudley explains how his relationship with head coach Scotti Sentes has developed over the past two years, getting to work with some talented upperweights, his attitude towards training, and coaching role models. Looking at his career, we discuss how he grew to be a Big Ten recruit coming out of South Carolina, some changes he needed to make in-career to become a title contender, his final NCAA tournament, and hanging it up on the Senior level (or did he?). His Campbell wrestlers better watch out because he gets competitive at handball, ping pong, and overlooked sports. For the full interview:

Over the next three days, the U20 and U23 National Championships will take place in Geneva, Ohio. Today, we’re focusing specifically on the U20 freestyle tournament as winners of the U20 events will earn a spot on the U20 World Team in Pontevedra, Spain in early September. The U20 is always fun to follow because it usually incorporates a mix of high school superstars, collegiate wrestlers, and incoming college freshmen. As you’ll see this tournament will feature plenty of clashes between those three groups. Below are seven storylines to keep in mind as you follow the U20 tournament over the weekend. 1) Mega Prospects at 57 kg in freestyle With the quality and number of participants in the 57 kg weight class, it feels like we’ll look back at this bracket in five to seven years and marvel at the accomplishments of its participants. First and foremost, is the top recruit in the Class of 2024 Luke Lilledahl. The three-time age-group world finalist won the Open and sits in the finals waiting for a challenger to emerge. His opponent could be any number of wrestlers. Vinny Kilkeary was a highly sought-after recruit who signed with Ohio State and redshirted the 2023-24 season. He was a runner-up to Lilledahl at the Open. Finishing behind Kilkeary in Vegas were Anthony Knox (3rd) and Seth Mendoza (4th). In MatScouts updated Class of 2025 rankings, Knox comes in at fourth and Mendoza at sixth overall. Knox fought and lost 3-1 to Kilkeary, which is a result that could easily be flipped in the opposite direction. Perhaps the biggest threat to Lilledahl comes from Jax Forrest. Lilledahl has taken close wins over Forrest in each of the last two Ironmans; however, Forrest is also a U17 world finalist. He also placed higher than Lilledahl at the Olympic Trials, though they both had similar results. If that isn’t enough, we also have Christian Castillo a 2022 U17 world silver medalist down at 48 kg, and Iowa commit Leo DeLuca a Junior and 16U national champion in freestyle in Fargo. DeLuca is also a top recruit in the Class of 2025 (#7). 2) Does Nasir Bailey Stay Hot? Oklahoma State redshirt Cael Hughes gets to sit in the finals at 61 kg and has the advantage, but you can’t count out true freshman All-American Nasir Bailey. Bailey didn’t attend the Open, but has qualified and a Bailey/Hughes could be a matchup we haven’t seen in a while. The Little Rock star has plenty of chops in the freestyle game as he won a Fargo Junior freestyle weight class in 2021 that included Emilio Ysaguirre and Nic Bouzakis. Could the momentum from a historic freshman year at Little Rock be enough to steer the advantage away from Hughes? 3) Bassett vs Valencia III The 65 kg bracket is very small but it could produce the third and fourth (and perhaps fifth) rounds of Bo Bassett and Aden Valencia in just a few months. The two tangled in the quarterfinals of the Last Chance Qualifier and Valencia led 2-1 after a period; however, Bassett turned it on to win 7-4. They met later that month at the US Open and Bassett prevailed 5-2 in the finals. Most opponents are not able to sustain the onslaught of offense and pace that Bassett provides. Valencia has proven he can keep it close with Bassett. Maybe he can make an adjustment or two and turn the tide and make this a full-blown rivalry in Ohio. 4) How Does Class of 2025 #1 PJ Duke Handle Older Competition? Earlier this week, the Class of 2025 Big Board was updated and PJ Duke remained atop the rising senior class. A long body of work is responsible for his ranking, but a dominant showing at the US Open didn’t hurt. Duke either teched or pinned six of his seven opponents with the most notable being Kannon Webster in the semifinals. Webster had an impressive redshirt season for Illinois and was ranked in the top ten nationally for a portion of the 2023-24. Webster also won a pair of Junior National freestyle titles in Fargo and was a finalist for another. In short, he’s well-versed in freestyle. And he was teched by Duke, 12-1. In addition to Webster, the 70 kg bracket will also contain a handful of threats that are older than Duke. A top-ten recruit from 2024, Brock Mantanona, and a pair of 2024 NCAA All-Americans, Antrell Taylor and Tyler Kasak. Mantanona was a U17 world bronze medalist last year and a two-time 16U freestyle finalist in Fargo (one-time champ). Taylor was a finalist at this event in 2023, losing to the eventual world champion, Meyer Shapiro, in the best-of-three finals. Kasak was a 2022 U17 world silver medalist and turned heads in Kansas City with his consolation barrage to a third-place finish for Penn State. With those contenders (and more) the challenge bracket should have some incredible matchups even before throwing Duke into the mix. 5) Cadet World Champs Clashing at 74 kg? What about a pair of U17 world champions clashing in the best-of-three finals at 74 kg. That’s what could be on the docket with Ladarion Lockett and Joseph Sealey potentially renewing acquaintances. The two met in the US Open finals and it was all Lockett, to the tune of 8-2. Sealey wasn’t able to muster any two-point scores throughout the contest. This could be a fun matchup for the future, as well. Sealey is headed to Penn State in the fall and Lockett has pledged to stay home and wrestle for Oklahoma State. Shortly after the David Taylor hire, Lockett restated his commitment to the Cowboy program. With OSU potentially getting back into consistent national contender status, could this be a matchup we see in a big-time dual meet or the NCAA finals with team race implications? 6) College Stars versus Ryder The 79 kg bracket at the Open featured quite a few serious contenders from the college ranks, but it was high school senior Zack Ryder who took the title. For the most part, he did so in a convincing fashion. To win again, Ryder will still need to fend off the challenge from a host of capable competitors. During the Open, Ryder’s closest match was a one-point win over fellow Penn State recruit Will Henckel. Before that bout, Ryder survived a match against the unorthodox Stanford freshman Lorenzo Norman. Both are expected to be in the field. So is Ryder’s Open finals opponent Noah Mulvaney. The Bucknell freshman has proven to be even better in freestyle than folk. Their final matchup proved to be one-sided, but Mulvaney is very capable. Perhaps the biggest hurdle standing in the way of a U20 world team appearance for Ryder comes in the form of Iowa freshman Gabe Arnold. Arnold cruised through the opening rounds of this tournament in 2023 to meet his old high school club teammate Matt Singleton in the best-of-three finals. Arnold took the second match, but ultimately lost in the deciding match by a point. Singleton went on to claim a U20 world bronze medal, while Arnold crushed en route to a gold medal at U20 Pan-Am’s. An Arnold/Ryder matchup could be one of the best of the entire tournament. The two met in 2022 at the U17 Trials and Ryder got the win. 7) Ben Kueter in the Mix! It’s incredible to think that Ben Kueter won a U20 world title in 2022 and is still young enough to wrestle in this division in 2024. That’s what happens when you win gold before your senior year of high school, which is a remarkable feat at 125 kgs. Kueter famously stayed in-state and went to Iowa to play football and wrestle. We didn’t get to see much of him on the mat in 2023-24 as he started late due to football and ended up redshirting. In his final appearance of the season, Kueter posted a solid 5-1 win over Oklahoma State’s Konner Doucet. Doucet ended up winning two matches at nationals. Despite Kueter’s history and talent, there are some talented big men who could give him some trouble. We’ll start with Virginia Tech’s Jimmy Mullen who won the Open and sits in the finals. Mullen was a U17 world silver medalist in 2021. Another wrestler in the field with hardware is 2022 U17 world champion Koy Hopke, a Minnesota signee. Aden Attao is also a U17 world medalist, but his best results have come in Greco-Roman. One rising senior to watch is Nick Sahakian. The Michigan recruit was leading Mullen in the Open finals when he was pinned. He edged Attao by a point to make the Open finals.

With the conclusion of the NCAA wrestling tournament and the calendar changing over to April, you’d think that it means it’s the offseason for college wrestling and all focus should turn to the Olympic styles, right? Maybe in the past, but in a new era of collegiate athletics, once the final whistle has blown on a particular postseason, it means it’s time to turn your attention to the transfer portal. Love it or hate it, it’s the reality. Student-athletes have the ability to transfer much more freely than past generations. Couple that with the extra year of eligibility doled out by the NCAA in the aftermath of the COVID years and you have a wild combination. There was lots of movement last “offseason” and I don’t foresee that changing this year. Since the portal has closed for the summer and the All-Americans who were previously in have announced their transfer destinations (or lack thereof - Alirez/Slavikouski) it seems like news on the transfer front has slowed. That isn’t necessarily the case. Plenty of wrestlers have continued to announce where they’ll spend the 2024-25 season, they just are not DI All-Americans…maybe yet. Some of the more interesting names that have been added to the transfer list since our last update include Gerrit Nijenhuis, Bretli Reyna, Aziz Fayzullaev, and AJ Heeg. Nijenhuis was a huge recruit for Purdue and qualified for nationals twice before moving on to Oklahoma. He did so at Oklahoma in 2023 but entered the portal after this season. That leads him to CSU Bakersfield who didn’t have a qualifier in 2024. Nijenhuis could provide a big boost to Luke Smith’s program. Bretli Reyna was a top-50 recruit for Iowa who only saw action sparingly since his arrival in the fall of 2020. He’s coming closer to his Florida home with a transfer to Chattanooga. There’s potential for Reyna to make a big impact with the Mocs in the SoCon. Aziz Fayzullaev was a two-time NJCAA national champion for Northwest College in each of the last two seasons. It appears as if he has a redshirt available and that might be the best route to take in 2024-25. ASU has recently been very stout at the lower and middle weights, but has not had that same level of success at 165-197 since Anthony and Zahid Valencia have moved on. Northern Colorado has been active in the portal over the last few years and stays that way by bringing in AJ Heeg from Oklahoma State. Just a year ago, Heeg was a top-50 recruit. Heeg turned in a fine redshirt season - going 12-1 though most of his bouts were against non-DI competition. With the Bears returning talent and the addition of Heeg and Clay Ulrey - there’s a chance Northern Colorado could be in for a big year. Arizona State: Max Acciardi (197) - California Baptist Arizona State: Aziz Fayzullaev (184) - Northwest College Brown: Jacob Joyce (125) - Stanford Cal Poly: Joel Jesuroga (149) - Iowa Cal Poly: Korbin Shepherd (133/141) - Missouri Chattanooga: Bretli Reyna (149) - Iowa Chattanooga: Connor Strong (184) - Penn CSU Bakersfield: Gerrit Nijenhuis (174) - Oklahoma Drexel: Malachi Bordovsky (141) - Iowa Western Edinboro: Colton Camacho (125/133) - Pittsburgh Edinboro: Ryan Michaels (149) - Pittsburgh Edinboro: Cheaney Schoeff (133) - Indiana Franklin & Marshall: Michael Duggan (157) - Bloomsburg Illinois: Ramazan Attasauov (125/133) - Iowa State Illinois: Jason Kraisser (157) - Iowa State Illinois: Danny Nini (157) - North Carolina Indiana: Logan Frazier (133) - Virginia Tech Indiana: Angelo Rini (133) - Columbia Iowa: Kyle Parco (149) - Arizona State Iowa State: Evan Bockman (197) - Utah Valley Lehigh: Rylan Rogers (174/184) - Michigan Little Rock: Branson Britten (184) - Northern Colorado Little Rock: Brock DelSignore (184) - NC State Little Rock: Jaivon Jones (149) - Northern Illinois Lock Haven: James Lledo (184) - Pittsburgh Lock Haven: Nick Stampoulos (157) - Buffalo Michigan: Jacob Cardenas (197) - Cornell Michigan: Chase Saldate (157) - Michigan State Michigan State: Jay Nivison (174) - Buffalo Michigan State: Cody Phelps (133) - Western Wyoming Minnesota: Tommy Askey (157) - Appalachian State Minnesota: Cooper Flynn (125) - Virginia Tech Minnesota: Clayton Whiting (174/184) - Missouri Morgan State: Xavier Doolin (285) - Northern Colorado Morgan State: Darrien Roberts (184) - Oklahoma North Carolina: Ryan Boersma (285) - Missouri North Carolina: Nolan Neves (285) - Columbia North Carolina: Ethan Oakley (133) - Appalachian State North Carolina: Josh Ogunsanya (174) - North Carolina North Dakota State: Michael Baker (197) - Columbia North Dakota State: Andrew Blackburn-Forst (285) - Northern Colorado North Dakota State: Kyle Burwick (133) - Nebraska North Dakota State: Peyton Moore (133) - Missouri North Dakota State: Devin Wasley (184) - Minnesota North Dakota State: Bradley Whitright (197) - North Idaho Northern Colorado: AJ Heeg (174/184) - Oklahoma State Northern Colorado: Clayton Ulrey (157/165) - Virginia Tech Northern Illinois: Markel Baker (125/133) - George Mason Northern Illinois: Devon Dawson (285) - North Dakota State) Northern Illinois: Spencer Mooberry (197) - North Dakota State Ohio: TJ England (133) - Clarion Oklahoma: Fernando Barreto (133) - North Dakota State Oklahoma: Cleveland Belton (141) - Oregon State Oklahoma: Gaven Sax (174) - North Dakota State Oklahoma: Carter Schubert (165) - California Baptist Oklahoma State: Cam Amine (165) - Michigan Oklahoma State: Caleb Fish (165) - Michigan State Oklahoma State: Dean Hamiti (165/174) - Wisconsin Oklahoma State: Wyatt Hendrickson (285) - Air Force Oregon State: Sean Harman (174) - Missouri Pittsburgh: Nick Babin (125) - Columbia Pittsburgh: Mateo de la Pena (165) - California Baptist Pittsburgh: Chase Kranitz (184) - Buffalo Pittsburgh: Evan Tallmadge (125) - Navy Rider: Sammy Alvarez (149) - Oklahoma State Rutgers: Dagen Condomitti (157) - Oregon State SIU Edwardsville: Ben Lunn (141) - Minnesota SIU Edwardsville: Luke Odom (157) - Illinois SIU Edwardsville: Griffin Ray (165) - Nebraska Utah Valley: Tanner Frothinger (141) - Nebraska Virginia Tech: Connor McGonagle (133) - Lehigh Virginia Tech: Lennox Wolak (174) - Columbia West Virginia: Tommy Maddox (133) - Buffalo Wisconsin: Massoma Endene (197) - Wartburg Wisconsin: Wyatt Skebba (125) - Central Michigan Wyoming: Jared Hill (157) - Oklahoma Wyoming: Sam Mitchell (197) - Buffalo

The Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Coalition (WCWC), a group of national wrestling organizations which oversee NCAA women’s college wrestling, has announced the sites and dates for the eight Regional competitions which will serve as qualifiers for the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships (NCWWC), set for Xtreme Arena in Coralville, Iowa, March 7-8, 2025. During its meeting on May 23, the NCWWC Executive Committee reviewed bids from 21 NCAA institutions seeking to host a regional. The Executive Committee extended invitations to an institution in each of the eight NCWWC Regions, and all accepted their appointment. The venue, host institution and competition date for the 2025 NCWWC Regionals are: Region I – Buffalo State University Arena, Buffalo State University, Buffalo, New York, Saturday, February 22 Region II – Koehler Fieldhouse, East Stroudsburg University, East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, Sunday, February 23 Region III – Shaw Athletic Center, Emmanuel University, Franklin Springs, Georgia, Saturday, February 22 Region IV – Heminger Center, Tiffin University, Tiffin, Ohio, Saturday, February 22 Region V – Merillat Sport and Fitness Center, Adrian College, Adrian, Michigan, Saturday, February 22 Region VI – Hyland Arena, Lindenwood University, St. Charles, Missouri, Sunday, February 23 Region VII – Cowles Fieldhouse, Simpson College, Indianola, Iowa, Saturday, February 22 Region VIII – Kitty Magee Arena, Texas Woman’s University, Denton, Texas, Saturday, February 22 In April, the NCWWC Executive Committee approved increasing the number of regions from six in 2023-24 to eight for the 2024-25 NCAA women’s wrestling season. With four athletes per weight class qualifying through each of the Regionals, the field for 2025 NCWWC in Coralville will expand to 320 athletes, up from 240 this past season. NCAA women’s wrestling programs and the Regional assignments https://nwcaonline.com/sports/2023/5/9/NCAA_Womens-Teams.aspx Women’s Wrestling is an NCAA Emerging Sport for Women at all three NCAA Divisions. When NCAA women’s wrestling met required standards in terms of number of programs, roster size and competition schedules of its institutions, along with other considerations, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics (CWA) recommended in February 2024 that Divisions I, II and III sponsor legislation to add a national collegiate women's wrestling championship. If so approved, women’s wrestling would become the 91st NCAA Championship sport, with its projected first NCAA championship occurring in winter 2026. About the Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Coalition (WCWC) The Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Coalition is a group of national wrestling organizations which developed the proposal for NCAA Emerging Sport Status for women’s wrestling and currently oversees women’s college wrestling until the sport becomes an official NCAA Championship sport. WCWC organizations include (alphabetically): D1 Women’s Wrestling, National Wrestling Coaches Association, National Wrestling Hall of Fame, USA Wrestling, Wrestle Like A Girl and the Wrestlers In Business Network. For more information, visit: https://thewcwc.com/ About the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships (NCWWC) Organized by the Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Coalition, the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships is the annual national championships for NCAA women’s wrestling programs. Created in 2020, the NCWWC has been held in Adrian, Mich. (2020, 2022), Tiffin, Ohio (2021) and Cedar Rapids, Iowa (2023, 2024). The 2025 NCWWC is set for Xtreme Arena in Coralville, Iowa, March 7-8, 2025. Wrestle Like A Girl has been empowered by the WCWC to manage the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships, working closely with the NCWWC Championship Committee. For more information, visit https://www.ncwwc.com/

Staley

Camden County

All photos (excluding Craig) courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com MatScouts recently released the final Senior Big Board for the high school Class of 2024 and lightweight sensation Luke Lilledahl led the way as the top recruit. As Willie Saylor said on his recap show, these wrestlers will now carry those rankings with them throughout their collegiate careers. Whether Lilledahl is a four-time national champion or doesn’t ever qualify for NCAA’s he’ll be known as the top recruit from this crop of wrestlers. How will Lilledahl fare at Penn State? I think most observers familiar with his game and Cael Sanderson’s staff’s reputation for hitting on blue-chipper’s agree that he’ll have a great career in State College. One way to predict the future is to look at the past. How have #1 overall recruits fared in college? Surprisingly well. Especially as there are more national tournaments to compare wrestlers against each other and more video to study. With that being said, we’ve looked at 20 years of #1 overall wrestlers to see how they did at the next level and beyond. 20 is our number (one because it's a nice round number, plus 2004-05 is around the time when these types of lists were starting to get regularly made). As you’ll find out, if history is an indicator, he’ll turn out just fine….probably better than fine. Before reviewing each of the 20 wrestlers, here are some facts about #1 overall recruits. - Every #1 between 2014 and 2020 won at least one national title. - 15 of the 20 made at least one NCAA final - 11 of the 20 have won national championships (Three non-champions are still active, AJ Ferrari and Gable Steveson potentially are active too). - 6 of the 20 have won multiple titles. - 6 of the 20 won NCAA titles as freshmen - 4 of the 20 have won the Hodge Trophy - 3 of the 20 have won Olympic Gold Medals - 5 of the 20 have won Senior World medals - Only 3 of the 20 did not achieve All-American status at least once (Gallagher - still active) - Ohio State signed 6 of the 20 #1’s. - Counting Ferrari, four of the 20 transferred away from the school they originally signed with - 6 of the 20 went to college in their home state 2023: Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) Pre-Collegiate Credentials: 2023 U20 World Champion, 2021 U17 World Champion, 2023 National Prep Champion Year one (of competition): Shapiro entered college with the label of being Cornell’s next great freshman picking up where Kyle Dake and Yianni Diakomihalis left off, winning a national title less than a year removed from high school. Despite such lofty expectations, Shapiro managed to have an excellent freshman campaign that included an EIWA title and a third-place finish at NCAA’s. Shapiro avenged a quarterfinal loss to Daniel Cardenas (Stanford) in the third-place bout. His 29-3 record came in a weight class that was extremely deep and filled with returning All-American and talented youngsters, alike. Collegiate Career: TBD 2022: Nick Feldman (Ohio State) Pre-Collegiate Credentials: 2022 Junior World Team member, Ironman/Beast of the East/Powerade winner as a senior, 3x National Prep champion Year one (of competition): Because an injury sidelined Feldman for his entire redshirt season, we weren't sure what to make of Feldman coming into the 2023-24 season. Feldman jumped into the Buckeye lineup and did what was expected of him, which was to score points in bunches at the heavyweight class. In Ohio State’s dual with Michigan, Feldman showed that merely “getting on the podium” in year one wasn’t going to be an issue, it was more of a matter of “how high.” In that match, he used a late takedown to knock off returning multi-time All-American Lucas Davison. At the Big Ten Championships, he posted a more decisive win over his foe from Michigan. Unfortunately, at nationals, Davison was on the bottom half of the bracket and advanced to the NCAA finals. Feldman lost to the eventual champion, Greg Kerkvliet, and third-place finisher Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force) and settled for fifth. Two wrestlers that finished above Feldman on the NCAA podium are gone, so expect him to start the year ranked top-three in the nation and close the gap between the two wrestlers that defeated him at NCAA’s. Collegiate Career. TBD 2021: Paddy Gallagher (Ohio State) Pre-Collegiate Credentials: 2019 Fargo Junior National Champion, 2019 Walsh Ironman Champion, 2x Ohio State champion Year one (of competition): After a promising 16-2 redshirt campaign, Gallagher found a spot in the Ohio State lineup at 157 lbs. He had a decent year; however, not one that you may expect from a wrestler who carries the #1 overall ranking. A 0-3 showing at the 2023 Big Ten Championships led Gallagher to rely on an at-large berth for his first NCAA Tournament and he was saddled with the #28 seed. To his credit, Gallagher picked up a pair of wins over higher-seeded opponents before bowing out at 2-2. Gallagher’s final record as a redshirt freshman was 12-11. Collegiate Career: Gallagher’s sophomore year was much more consistent than his first year in the lineup and he appeared to be on the way to establishing himself as an All-American threat at the loaded 157 lb weight class; however, he suffered a season-ending injury in early-January. He finished the year with a 16-5 record. A healthy Gallagher could be an x-factor needed to boost the Buckeyes into team trophy contention in 2024-25. 2020: AJ Ferrari (Oklahoma State) Pre-Collegiate Credentials: 2018 Cadet World bronze medalist, 2x Ironman Champion, 2017 Fargo Cadet Freestyle Champion Year one (of competition): The 2021 season was an unusual one as it took place with the aftereffects of COVID still impacting the sport. Since student-athletes active in that season were given a “free year” of eligibility there was no harm in throwing out a true freshman like AJ Ferrari. Maybe the free year wouldn’t have made a difference because Ferrari ended up winning the whole thing at 197 lbs on the strength of his physicality and stout defense. Ferrari suffered only one loss in his 21 matches on the year. His NCAA title came after back-to-back-to-back wins over Jacob Warner, Myles Amine, and Nino Bonaccorsi. Each would go on to make an NCAA final. Ferrari’s title made him only the third true freshman in the illustrious history of Oklahoma State wrestling to win a national title and the first since Pat Smith in 1990. Collegiate Career: In Ferrari’s second year, he appeared to be headed to a second straight national title; however, that was derailed by a severe automobile accident in late January. Following the 2021-22 season, Ferrari was dismissed from the Oklahoma State team and had legal issues that followed. In late 2023, Ferrari followed his younger brother, Anthony, to Iowa City in an attempt to enroll at the University of Iowa. He competed at the Soldier Salute and was disqualified in the championship finals and then did the infamous “split and double birds.” Ferrari was not granted admission to Iowa and his status as a collegiate wrestler is questionable, at best. 2019: Greg Kerkvliet (Ohio State) Pre-Collegiate Credentials: 2018 Cadet World silver medalist, 2017 Cadet World champion, 4x Minnesota state champion Year one (of competition): Kerkvliet actually signed with Ohio State but didn’t make it through a full year with the Buckeyes. He left for Penn State shortly after Kyle Snyder signed with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. Kerkvliet officially got started with Penn State during the abridged 2021 season. He finished the year fourth in the Big Ten and seventh in the nation, which is very solid for freshmen heavyweights. However, he was dealing with an injury and only saw action in one event prior to the postseason. There are plenty of people who claim their favorite wrestlers were injured, but in this instance, after seeing him compete in the ensuing years, it probably did hamper him. Collegiate Career: Kerkvliet still has another year of eligibility and recently announced that he intends to use it. Despite competing in a weight class that featured the eventual Hodge Trophy winner on three occasions, Kerkvliet has still managed to put together some incredible numbers. He has improved his Big Ten and NCAA placement in each of his four seasons, capped off by titles in both in 2024. Kerkvliet will head into his final year in State College with a 71-10 record and a 20-match winning streak. 2018: Gable Steveson (Minnesota) Pre-Collegiate Credentials: 2x Cadet World Champion, 2017 Junior World Champion, 2015 Fargo Cadet Freestyle Champion, 4x Minnesota state champion Year one (of competition): Not only was Steveson deemed the top recruit in the Class of 2018, but some argued he may be the top wrestling recruit EVER! A good compromise would be saying the best since Steve Mocco (2001). Steveson took the collegiate wrestling world by storm with his blend of technique and physicality. He won his first 30 matches in a Gopher singlet, a streak that stretched into the Big Ten finals. There he’d lose to Anthony Cassar, the same opponent that would edge him in the NCAA semifinals. Steveson would rebound and took third and those remain his only collegiate losses. Collegiate Career: A few months after winning his first NCAA title, Steveson went on to capture an Olympic Gold Medal at the 2020(1) Games in Tokyo. He would capture the Hodge Trophy in both the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Over those two years, he amassed bonus points in 30 of 35 matches, a staggering number for a heavyweight. After the loss to Cassar in the NCAA semifinals, he’s reeled off 52 straight wins. In a recent interview, Steveson has hinted at returning to the college wrestling world to use a final year of eligibility. Following the 2021-22 season, he had turned his attention to a career with the WWE. 2017: Spencer Lee (Iowa) Pre-Collegiate Credentials: 2x Junior World Champion, 2014 Cadet World Champion, 3x Ironman Champion, 2x Super 32 Champion, 3x Pennsylvania state champion Year one (of competition): A knee injury suffered late in his senior year of high school put some doubts as to whether or not Lee would be able to wrestle in year one for the Hawkeyes or perhaps, he’d just redshirt. After a semifinal appearance at the Midlands, Lee was pulled out of redshirt and inserted into the Hawkeye lineup. From there, he’d win his first 11 matches in the Iowa singlet before losing to 2015 champion Nate Tomasello (Ohio State) in the Big Ten finals. Lee would get his revenge with a fall over Tomasello in the NCAA semis before downing longtime rival, Nick Suriano (Rutgers), for national title number one. Collegiate Career: Lee had an unusual collegiate career that could be deemed as injury-plagued, while at the same time, he collected three national titles and was favored to win in 2020 when the national tournament was canceled. He would receive a share of the Hodge Trophy in 2020 and 2021, both seasons where Lee finished undefeated. Other notable collegiate achievements include three Big Ten titles, three Big Ten Wrestler of the Year awards, and a 98-6 career record. 40 of those bouts ended in the first period and he held a 58-match winning streak that spanned from 2019 to the 2023 NCAA semifinals. Lee has re-emerged on the freestyle scene and won the 2024 Olympic Trials. He was also a dominating force at the World OG Qualifier and locked up a spot for the United States (and himself) at 57 kg for the 2024 Olympic Games. 2016: Mark Hall (Penn State) Pre-Collegiate Credentials: 2016 Junior World Champion, 2014 Cadet World Champion, 2012 Super 32 Champion, 6x Minnesota state champion Year one (of competition): The Penn State brass was undecided on whether to let Mark Hall compete or redshirt for the first half of the season. A title at the Southern Scuffle (unattached) with wins over a pair of returning All-Americans helped make that decision. Though he lost his official debut in Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Hall still managed to have an excellent season that resulted in a Big Ten finals appearance and an NCAA title. In the national finals, Hall defeated Bo Jordan (Ohio State), the opponent who beat him for a Big Ten crown. Collegiate Career: Although that 2017 national title was the only of Hall’s career, he still lived up to the immense hype with three Big Ten championships and three losses for the remainder of his career. During each of his last two seasons, Hall was seeded #1 at the national tournament. He is another victim of the canceled 2020 tournament - that occurred during his senior season. Hall finished his career with a 115-6 record and three NCAA finals appearances - including the 2017 win. 2015: Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) Pre-Collegiate Credentials: 2015 Junior World Team member, 4x Ironman Champion, 2014 Super 32 Champion Year one (of competition): Valencia’s redshirt freshman year was remarkable as he captured titles at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and Midlands, which propelled him to the top seed at his first NCAA Tournament. In their first collegiate meeting, Valencia suffered a controversial loss to Mark Hall in the NCAA semifinals, with the deciding point coming via a headgear pull. Valencia bounced back to take third and finished the year with a nearly perfect 35-1 record. Collegiate Career: Valencia got a measure of revenge in 2018 and 2019 as he would beat Hall in the NCAA finals in both seasons. The 2017-18 campaign saw him finish with a perfect 31-0 record. Valencia was on the brink of winning a third national championship; however, he was subjected to a late-season suspension right before the Covid pandemic. At the time, he was 18-0. Valencia’s final collegiate record came to 115-3 with four Pac-12 titles and three All-American finishes. In 2023, Valencia made his first Senior World Team at 92 kg and came away with a World bronze medal. While at ASU, Valencia earned a Junior World silver medal in 2017 and made another team the previous season. 2014: Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) Pre-Collegiate Credentials: 2013 Junior World Champion, 2014 Junior World Bronze Medalist, 2x Ironman Champion, 3x Beast of the East Champion, 3x National Prep Champion Year one (of competition): Snyder competed right away for Ohio State at 197 lbs and was an integral part of the school’s only national team title. During the regular season, Snyder dropped a pair of bouts and then was beaten in the Big Ten finals by fellow #1 recruit Morgan McIntosh (Penn State). That resulted in a #4 seed at his first national tournament. To make the national finals, Snyder defeated his high school rival, J’den Cox, who had won the weight class the previous year. On the big stage, Snyder was stunned and pinned by Iowa State senior Kyven Gadson. During his first year at Ohio State, Snyder made the Senior World team and claimed a world championship at 97 kg. Collegiate Career: Snyder intended on redshirting in 2015-16, but was pulled out after New Year’s and wrestled an abbreviated season up at 285 lbs that saw him defeat two-time returning champion Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State) in an instant classic. Snyder would split the rest of his career between Senior-level freestyle and collegiate folkstyle and suffered only one more loss. In 2018, he capped his career with a third consecutive national title at 285 lbs. In doing so, he became the first wrestler since Carlton Haselrig (1987-89) to win three DI titles at heavyweight. Snyder’s final collegiate record was 75-5. While mixing styles in college, Snyder managed to win an Olympic gold medal (2016) and a second world title (97 kg) and clinched a team title for the United States with his remarkable win over the legendary Abdulrashid Sadulaev. 2013: Bo Jordan (Ohio State) Pre-Collegiate Credentials: Two-time Ironman Champion, Four-time Ohio state champion Year one (of competition): After a perfect redshirt season, Bo Jordan stepped into the Buckeye lineup and went unbeaten until losing to his cousin, Isaac, in the Big Ten finals. Since he took a redshirt, Jordan was synced up with Sndyer and another important freshman on the Buckeyes national championship-winning 2015 team. That loss gave Jordan the fifth seed and he was on the top side of his first NCAA bracket. He would lose to the returning champion, Alex Dieringer, but ended up taking third. Collegiate Career: Once again, Jordan took third as a sophomore and all three of his losses came via his cousin. He would break through and make the finals as a junior; however, Mark Hall overturned their Big Ten result. Jordan dealt with injuries throughout his final year of competition, but still managed to take fifth in the nation. All told, Jordan made three Big Ten finals (winning one) and was top-three at the NCAA Championships on three occasions. He would finish with an 87-14 career record. 2012: Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) Pre-Collegiate Credentials: 2011 Fargo Junior Freestyle Champion, 2010 Super 32 Runner-Up, 4x Indiana state champion Year one (of competition): After a strong redshirt season, Jason Tsirtsis continued to roll while officially in the Northwestern lineup and didn’t lose a bout until the 2011 Midlands, where he took fifth place. At his first Big Ten tournament, Tsirtsis avenged one of his regular-season losses and grabbed the title. Despite being the fifth seed, Tsirtsis became the first Northwestern freshman to win a national title. He did so in what would become his trademark style, a low-scoring, marathon affair. Three of his five NCAA wins were gained in extra time and his largest margin of victory was 4-1. Collegiate Career: After climbing to the top of the mountain as a freshman, Tsirtsis was unable to recreate that magic during his final three years. He did go 36-2 as a sophomore and was third at nationals. Tsirtsis ended up transferring to Arizona State for his final year of eligibility after he missed the podium in 2016. He would cap his career with another podium finish and was seventh. Tsirtsis finished with a 102-22 career record, three conference titles (2 B1G, 1 Pac-12), and three All-American finishes. 2011: Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) Pre-Collegiate Credentials: 2011 Fargo Junior National Champion, 3x California state champion Year one (of competition): Morgan McIntosh stepped into the Penn State lineup without redshirting and did battle at 197 lbs in the Big Ten. McIntosh finished fifth in the Big Ten and was 1-2 at his first national tournament. One of his best regular season wins came in Penn State’s dual against Iowa, where he topped returning All-American Grant Gambrall in sudden victory. Collegiate Career: After redshirting the 2012-13 season, McIntosh returned to the lineup as a title contender and earned All-American honors in each of his final three seasons. Every year during that span, McIntosh earned a top-three seed at nationals. He was second in the Big Ten as a sophomore and then won it in his last two seasons. McIntosh finished his career with an NCAA finals appearance in 2016 and a sparkling 114-19 record, along with three NCAA team titles as a starter. 2010: Logan Stieber (Ohio State) Pre-Collegiate Credentials: FILA Junior freestyle champion, World Team Trials 4th Place, 4x National Champion in Fargo, 4x Ohio state champion Year one (of competition): Stieber had the opposite first-year experience from many wrestlers on this list. Initially, Ohio State planned to wrestle Stieber; however, he was injured in Vegas at the Cliff Keen and was able to use the 2010-11 season as a redshirt. In 2011-12, Stieber went 33-2 and took out the returning national champion, Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State), to win his first national title. Collegiate Career: Stieber had one of the most storied careers in college wrestling history becoming the the fourth wrestler to win four national titles and the first B1G wrestler to do so. He also claimed four Big Ten and CKLV championships. After leading Ohio State to a 2015 national title, Stieber was named the Hodge Trophy winner. He finished both his sophomore and senior seasons undefeated. 2009: David Taylor (Penn State) Pre-Collegiate Credentials: 4x Ironman champion, 5x National Champion in Fargo, 4x Ohio state champion Year one (of competition): After a redshirt, David Taylor took the college wrestling world by storm with a bonus-point-filled season that saw him go undefeated up until the NCAA finals. There he was shocked and pinned by former teammate Bubba Jenkins, who had transferred to Arizona State. Taylor would go on to win every major National Freshman of the Year Award. That year also saw Penn State win their first team title under Cael Sanderson. Collegiate Career: As a sophomore, Taylor moved up from 157 lbs to 165 and was even more dominant. He was able to notch 15 falls in his 32 wins - to go along with 9 tech falls. Taylor captured his first national title with a tech in the NCAA finals. For his troubles, he was awarded the first of two Hodge Trophy’s. Taylor went on to become a four-time national finalist and two-time champion and finished with a career record of 134-3. At the time, he was only the third wrestler to win the Hodge Trophy on multiple occasions. Penn State went on to win team titles in each of the four years in which Taylor started. 2008: Jason Welch (Northwestern) Pre-Collegiate Credentials: 3x California state champion, 2006 Ironman Champion Year one (of competition): Northwestern was coming off a top-15 finish in 2008 and had a pair of All-Americans returning so it made sense for Jason Welch to go right away. Welch had a solid 26-10 record and made it to the Big Ten finals where he lost to fellow #1 overall recruit, Mike Poeta. At nationals, Welch went 2-2 with a win over the wrestler who was ranked directly behind him #2 Scott Winston - someone who had beaten him earlier in the season. Collegiate Career: After his freshman year, Welch took a redshirt and came back to turn in three straight All-American performances. He made two more Big Ten finals - winning as a senior. During that senior campaign, Welch advanced to the NCAA finals and lost a close, possibly controversial match to Derek St. John (Iowa). Welch finished his career with a 116-22 career record and was, at the time, Northwestern’s sixth three-time All-American. 2007: Cody Gardner (Virginia Tech) Pre-Collegiate Credentials: Fargo Junior Freestyle Champion, 3x Beast of the East Champion, 2006 Ironman Champion, 4x Virginia state champion Right after taking over at Virginia Tech, Kevin Dresser got his prized pupil from Christiansburg High School to stay home and wrestle for the Hokies. Cody Gardner’s career never really got off the ground at Virginia Tech and he transferred to Ohio State where he went 14-11. After one year, Gardner left Ohio State and resurfaced at DIII Delaware Valley. Gardner passed away in December of 2016. 2006: David Craig (Lehigh) Pre-Collegiate Credentials: 2006 NHSCA Senior National Champion, Beast of the East Champion, Ironman Champion, 3x Fargo National Champion, 4x Florida state champion Year one (of competition): Craig was Lehigh’s starter at 184 lbs from day one and compiled a 27-6 record as a true freshman. He was fourth in a deep EIWA weight class and advanced to the NCAA Round of 12 before falling to Edinboro’s Alex Clemsen. Collegiate Career: Craig would never advance to the Round of 12 again. He was unable to finish his sophomore season due to academic issues, but came back and won the EIWA in 2009. In both of his final two seasons with Lehigh, Craig earned a top-12 seed at nationals. Craig finished up with an 87-28 career record. In the middle of his senior season, there was a controversial article on InterMat in which Craig described his feelings for the sport of wrestling. 2005: Dustin Schlatter (Minnesota) Pre-Collegiate Credentials: 2005 NHSCA Senior National Champion, 6x Fargo National Champion, 4x Ohio state champion Year one (of competition): The high school recruiting class of 2005 remains one of the best of this “recruiting rankings” era and the wrestler that was deemed the best of the bunch was Dustin Schlatter. His high school battles with Brent Metcalf instantly found their way into wrestling lore. Schlatter wrestled right away for Minnesota and showed he would live up to the hype with a win over returning national champion Zack Esposito at the National Duals. Schlatter put on a show in a dominating 2006 Big Ten finals win over Troy Tirapelle (Illinois). At nationals, he downed #3 Ty Eustice (Iowa) to claim his national title. Collegiate Career: Schlatter only lost once, early in his true freshman season, and carried a 65-match winning streak into the 2007 NCAA semifinals. There he was stunned by Gregor Gillespie, the wrestler ranked third at 145 lbs in high school, behind Schlatter/Metcalf. He would come back to get third. During his final two years with Minnesota, Schlatter battled injuries, finishing seventh in 2008 before defaulting out of the 2010 tournament. Schlatter did sit out in 2009 and redshirted while making the Senior World Team. 2004: Mike Poeta (Illinois) Pre-Collegiate Credentials: 5x Fargo National Champion, 2004 NHSCA National Champion, 2x Illinois state champion Year one (of competition): The 2004-05 Illinois team was a special one, as they went on to capture their first Big Ten Championship since the 1952 season. The Illini staff must have sensed this possibility as they needed their best wrestlers in the lineup and had true freshman Mike Poeta wrestle 165, because of the presence of returning national finalist Alex Tirapelle at his ideal weight (157 lbs). Despite being undersized, Poeta finished third in the Big Ten and came up a match shy of the NCAA podium. Collegiate Career: For the next three years, Poeta would compete at 157 lbs. He’d finish in the top three at the NCAA Tournament on all three occasions with two NCAA finals appearances. In both of his final two seasons, Poeta was awarded the #2 seed at nationals. As a junior, he was an upset victim at the hands of Jordan Leen - his senior year he fell to Jordan Burroughs. Poeta’s career mark at Illinois was 105-14 which is good enough for third all-time on the Fighting Illini list of winning percentage. Poeta is considered one of the best wrestlers of his era without an NCAA title. He recently wrapped up his third year as the head coach at his alma mater.

Olympic and World bronze medalist Myles Amine sits down with Kevin Claunch to discuss a variety of topics. First up is his new venture, the Hot Seat podcast. Who doesn't want wrestling talk from a sauna? Amine also discusses the prospect of having a handful of Cliff Keen Wrestling Club teammates training for the upcoming Olympics alongside him and how this second Olympic experience may be different than the first. A five-time All-American for the University of Michigan, you know we couldn't let him go without some Wolverine talk. Amine talks about the past season, the program's reputation for accepting transfers, and the character of the wrestlers on the team. That and much more....