InterMat Staff

****Editor’s Note: The original version of this article ran in April of 2023 after Luke Lilledahl committed to Penn State. *** Earlier this week, the Nittany Lions received a verbal commitment from Wyoming Seminary’s Nathan Desmond, the #17 overall recruit in the Class of 2025. He joins #1 PJ Duke, #27 Dalton Perry, and #42 Asher Cunningham in PSU’s recruiting class for current juniors. With a monster signing class on the horizon for 2024 and another potentially loaded one for 2025, it seemed the appropriate time to talk Penn State recruiting. The 2024 class features six of the top 15 wrestlers in the land. #1 Lilledahl, #3 Joseph Sealey, #5 Connor Mirasola, #6 Zach Ryder, #13 Cole Mirasola, and #15 Mason Gibson. On paper, it looks like one of Cael Sanderson’s best yet. As you can see, those wrestlers have a lot of work ahead of them to take that title from the Class of 2014. We also have to throw the 2023 group in the mix. That group was ranked third overall in InterMat’s recruiting rankings and there’s a chance it could have an impact on the Nittany Lion lineup in 2023-24. With the injury to All-American Shayne Van Ness, it appears as if Tyler Kasak is the guy at 149 lbs. Also, the constant uncertainty around 125 lbs, may give way to Braeden Davis finishing the season as the starter. If and when that happens, we can start comparing 2023 to the rest of Penn State’s classes under Sanderson, as shown below. ***Below is what ran in April regarding past PSU recruiting classes*** On Monday afternoon, Luke Lilledahl the #2 overall recruit in the high school Class of 2024, gave a verbal commitment to Cael Sanderson’s Penn State Nittany Lions. With Lilledahl’s commitment, Penn State now has verbals from four of the top-seven juniors in the nation and six of the top-15. Should all follow through and sign with Penn State, it would become one of the most star-studded in recent years. Just how good? Well, we’ll have to wait for another four or five years down the line to say for sure, but it has the potential. Below are the recruiting classes for Penn State since Cael Sanderson has been at the helm (spring of 2009-present). They have been sorted in order of best collegiate results first. As you can see, the top class of the Cael-era was 2014 which boasts a pair of three-time national champions and looked pretty darn tough back in 2014 with half of the top-six signing with Penn State. 2014 #4 Jason Nolf (Kittantiny, PA), #5 Nick Nevills (Clovis, CA), #6 Bo Nickal (Allen, TX), #54 Shakur Rasheed (Longwood, NY), #93 Gary Dinsmore (Hunterdon Central, NJ), Anthony Cassar (Montgomery, NJ) All-Americans: 5 National Champions: 3 Multi-Time Champs: 2 Other: Hodge Winner (Nickal) 2009 #1 David Taylor (St. Paris, OH), #5 Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, PA), #7 Jake Kemerer (Hempfield, PA), James English (Central York, PA) All-Americans: 3 National Champions: 2 Multi-Time Champs: 2 Other: Hodge Winner (Taylor x2); Set foundation for Penn State’s dominance 2018 #2 Aaron Brooks (North Hagerstown, MD), #11 Michael Beard (Malvern Prep, PA), #12 Roman Bravo-Young (Sunnyside, AZ), #16 Gavin Teasdale (Jefferson-Morgan, PA), #20 Joe Lee (Evansville, IN), 22 Seth Nevills (Clovis, CA), #34 Brody Teske (Fort Dodge, IA), #82 Jack Davis (Wyoming Seminary, PA) All-Americans: 3 National Champions: 2 Multi-Time Champs: 2 Other: Most of class still active; Beard/Teske/Nevills currently with other programs 2013 #2 Zain Retherford (Benton, PA), #27 Matt McCutheon (Kiski Area, PA), #47 Garett Hammond (Chambersburg, PA), #70 Cody Law (Forest Hills, PA) All-Americans: 1 National Champions: 1 Multi-Time Champs: 1 Other: Hodge Winner (Retherford x2) 2019 #9 Carter Starocci (Cathedral Prep, PA) All-Americans: 1 National Champions: 1 Multi-Time Champs: 1 Other: Still active; Possibility for 5 national titles 2011 #1 Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, CA), #3 Nico Megaludis (Franklin Regional, PA), #105 Luke Frey (Montoursville, PA), #109 Jordan Conaway (New Oxford, PA), #112 Collin Campbell (Roxboro, NC) All-Americans: 3 National Champions: 1 Multi-Time Champs: 0 Other: 2017 #6 Brady Berge (Kasson Mantorville, MN), #9 Nick Lee (Evansville, IN), #20 Jarod Verkleeren (Hempfield, PA) All-Americans: 1 National Champions: 1 Multi-Time Champs: 1 Other: 2016 #1 Mark Hall (Apple Valley, MN), #2 Nick Suriano (Bergen Catholic, NJ), #5 Mason Manville (Wyoming Seminary, PA), #47 AJ Nevills (Clovis, CA) All-Americans: 2 National Champions: 2 Multi-Time Champs: 1 Other: Both of Suriano’s titles came with other programs 2015 #3 Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh Central Catholic, PA), #59 Kellan Stout (Mt. Lebanon, PA) All-Americans: 1 National Champions: 1 Multi-Time Champs: 1 Other: 2021 #2 Alex Facundo (Davison, MI), #5 Shayne Van Ness (Blair Academy, NJ), #55 Gary Steen (Reynolds, PA), #76 Luke Cochran (Perry, UT) All-Americans: 1 National Champions: 0 Multi-Time Champs: 0 Other: Class still active 2022 #7 Levi Haines (Biglerville, PA) All-Americans: 1 National Champions: 0 Multi-Time Champs: 0 Other: Class still active 2020 #7 Beau Bartlett (Wyoming Seminary, PA), #19 Robbie Howard (Bergen Catholic, NJ), #42 Austin Boone (Lowell, MI), #148 Matt Lee (Evansville, IN), #243 Aurelius Dunbar (Mercersburg Academy, PA) All-Americans: 1 National Champions: 0 Multi-Time Champs: 0 Other: Class still active 2010 #2 Andrew Alton (Central Mountain, PA), #8 Dylan Alton (Central Mountain, PA), #33 Sam Sherlock (West Mifflin, PA), #64 Dirk Cowburn (Coudersport, PA) All-Americans: 1 National Champions: 0 Multi-Time Champs: 0 Other: 2012 #3 Jimmy Gulibon (Derry Area, PA), #62 Wes Phipps (Grove City, PA) All-Americans: 1 National Champions: 0 Multi-Time Champs: 0 Other:

We're closing in on the end of the 2023 calendar year which means it's holiday tournament season. Two individual tournaments will be held over the next two days. Since it can be difficult to figure out where and when to watch these events, InterMat has put together a list of all of the live-streamed events occurring this week. These will is unique because the links are broken down by event session and mat. Below are the dates/times and how to watch each match (with links). All times are Eastern. Both events can be found on B1G+ Friday, December 29: Arizona State, Buffalo, Cal Poly, California Baptist, Central Michigan, Cleveland State, Franklin & Marshall, George Mason, Harvard, Illinois, Michigan State, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Ohio, Penn, Princeton, SIU Edwardsville, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin at Midlands, Hoffman Estates, IL, 10:30 AM Session I Mat 1: Mat 2: Mat 3: Mat 4: Full Coverage: Session II Mat 1: Mat 2: Mat 3: Mat 4: Full Coverage: Bellarmine, Columbia, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, VMI, Wyoming at Soldier Salute, Coralville, IA, 11:00 AM Session I Mat 1: Mat 2: Mat 3: Mat 4: Mat 5: Session II Mat 1: Mat 2: Mat 3: Mat 4: Mat 5: Saturday, December 30: Bellarmine, Columbia, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, VMI, Wyoming at Soldier Salute, Coralville, IA, 12:00 PM Session III Mat 1: Mat 2: Mat 3: Mat 4: Mat 5: Session IV Mat 1: Mat 2: Mat 3: Mat 4: Mat 5: Arizona State, Buffalo, Cal Poly, California Baptist, Central Michigan, Cleveland State, Franklin & Marshall, George Mason, Harvard, Illinois, Michigan State, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Ohio, Penn, Princeton, SIU Edwardsville, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin at Midlands, Hoffman Estates, IL, 12:00 PM Session III Mat 1: Mat 2: Mat 3: Mat 4: Full Coverage: Session IV Mat 1: Mat 2: Mat 3: Mat 4: Full Coverage:

I hope you all had and are having a wonderful holiday season. While the food, fun, and festivities are probably at the forefront of your mind, don't forget the other important “F” of the season... Fantasy, of course. But first, let's recap the Fantasy Wrestling standings from Weeks 7 & 8. In the Week 7 Standings, Kent State's Josh Boggan (285) pinned all three of his opponents to lead the week with 18 Fpts. In second, with 17 Fts from four matches, was Arizona State’s Nicco Ruiz (165) in Redshirt. Wyatt Hendrickson had three matches and, surprisingly actually, came in third with 16 Fpts meaning he did not pin everyone! How Crazy! Week 8’s Fantasy leader is no stranger to weekly outlooks this season, 197 Gabe Sollars (IND) finished at the Sheridan Open with five matches and 21 Fpts. Teammate Donnell Washington (174) finished third for the week with 18 Fpts in four matches. Corbyn Munson (CMU) finished in second for the week with 19 Fpts. Some shake-ups in the Overall Standings happened as a result of the wild Week 7 & 8 results, with Trent Hidlay (NCST) taking over as the points leader by two Fpts. Caleb Henson falls to second with 71 Fpts. Zach Elam (MIZZ) remains in the Top-3, but a bonus-filled week for Taye Ghadiali (CAMP) has him up three spots to #4 and only one Fpt behind Elam. Speaking of jumps in the standings, Jesse Mendez (OHST) made a huge leap from #16 to now #5 (a +14 Fpt gain), and Stephen Buchanan (OU) from #24 to now #11 (a +9 Fpt gain). On to Week 9: This is a much different Weekly Outlook than the past eight articles, mainly because there are only two events: The Ken Kraft Midlands Championships and the Soldier Salute Open. While some of the entrants are known, there are still some teams that have not released their entries and thus, will most likely see some updates through Thursday and Friday morning. In addition, Week 10 is an extremely quick turnaround with the Southern Scuffle kicking off Monday at 10 am along with duals on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. As usual, entries are still coming in for each of these tournaments, so keep the notifications on for @FantasyD1Wrestl as updates will be posted to the InterMat Forum Fantasy Wrestling Board. A reminder of some important rules: Wrestlers entered at a weight must compete at that weight or else their results will not be counted. Wrestlers in the “Floater” spots can compete at ANY weight and accumulate Fantasy points. A wrestler will LOCK on your roster at 12pm ET on the day of their first competition for the week (refer to the SHP’s Week Preview). Only results against D1 competition (starters, backups, and redshirts) will count towards Fantasy Points. Check your league settings to know how many add/drops are permitted per week. Wrestlers I Like This Week Wrestler (School)- competition for the week [Proj Score] *organized by most potential points to least, then by school alphabetically”: As of now with the information available, my best plays for Midlands will be marked with “*****” 125: Diego Sotelo (HARV)- Midlands Luke Stanich (LEH)- Midlands Tristan Lujan (MSU)- Midlands Vinny Kilkeary (OHST)- Midlands ***** Max Gallagher (PENN)- Midlands ***** Ryan Miller (PENN)- Midlands ***** Cooper Flynn (VT)- Midlands ***** Eric Barnett (WISC)- Midlands ***** Ethan Perryman (ISU)- Soldier Salute Spencer Moore (UNC)- Soldier Salute 133: Mason Leiphart (F&M)- Midlands Dylan Ragusin (MICH)- Midlands ***** Andre Gonzales (OHST)- Midlands Alex Almeyda (PENN)- Midlands ***** Michael Colaiocco (PENN)- Midlands ***** Richie Koehler (RID)- Midlands Dylan Shawver (RUT)- Midlands ***** Gable Porter (UVA)- Midlands Marlon Yarbrough (UVA)- Midlands Sam Latona (VT)- Midlands ***** 141: Dylan Layton (CSU)- Midlands Jordan Hamdan (MSU)- Midlands Brandon Cannon (OHST)- Midlands ***** CJ Composto (PENN)- Midlands ***** Joey Oliveri (RUT)- Midlands ***** Jack Gioffre (UVA)- Midlands Tom Crook (VT)- Midlands ***** Josh Koderhandt (NAVY)- Soldier Salute Lachlan McNeil (UNC)- Soldier Salute Clay Carlson (SDSU)- Soldier Salute 149: Douglas Terry (CSU)- Midlands Kannon Webster (ILL)- Midlands ***** Kelvin Griffin (LEH)- Midlands Dylan Gilcher (MICH)- Midlands Brock Herman (OHST)- Midlands Jackson Polo (PENN)- Midlands Andrew Troczynski (PENN)- Midlands Quinn Kinner (RID)- Midlands ***** Michael Gioffre (UVA)- Midlands ***** Joseph Zargo (WISC)- Midlands ***** Joel Mylin (MIZZ)- Soldier Salute Nick Vafiadis (NAVY)- Soldier Salute Daniel Kimball (SDSU)- Soldier Salute Alek Martin (SDSU)- Soldier Salute 157: Joe Roberts (ILL)- Midlands Zack Mattin (MICH)- Midlands Chase Saldate (MSU)- Midlands ***** Jude Swisher (PENN)- Midlands ***** Andrew Clark (RUT)- Midlands Dylan Cedeno (UVA)- Midlands Rafael Hipolito (VT)- Midlands ***** Paniro Johnson (ISU)- Soldier Salute Jason Kraisser (ISU)- Soldier Salute Cameron Steed (MIZZ)- Soldier Salute Cael Swensen (SDSU)- Soldier Salute 165: Joshua Kim (HARV)- Midlands Hunter Mays (LEH)- Midlands ***** Beau Mantanona (MICH)- Midlands Caleb Fish (MSU)- Midlands Lucas Revano (PENN)- Midlands ***** Colton Washleski (RID)- Midlands Dean Hamiti (WISC)- Midlands ***** Andrew Cerniglia (NAVY)- Soldier Salute 174: Adam Kemp (CP)- Midlands ***** Noah Fox (F&M)- Midlands Phillip Conigliaro (HARV)- Midlands ***** Edmond Ruth (ILL)- Midlands ***** Nick Incontrera (PENN)- Midlands ***** Justin McCoy (UVA)- Midlands ***** Tyler Eichens (UNC)- Soldier Salute 184: James Conway (F&M)- Midlands Layne Malczewski (MSU)- Midlands ***** Ryder Rogotzke (OHST)- Midlands ***** Maximus Hale (PENN)- Midlands Brain Soldano (RUT)- Midlands ***** Max Maylor (WISC)- Midlands Colton Hawks (MIZZ)- Soldier Salute Sean Harman (MIZZ)- Soldier Salute Gavin Kane (UNC)- Soldier Salute 197: Ben Smith (CSU)- Midlands Michael Beard (LEH)- Midlands ***** Martin Cosgrove (PENN)- Midlands Cole Urbas (PENN)- Midlands Andy Smith (VT)- Midlands Sonny Sasso (VT)- Midlands ***** Max Shaw (UNC)- Soldier Salute 285: Luke Luffman (ILL)- Midlands ***** Jacob Bullock (IND)- Midlands Josh Terrill (MSU)- Midlands Ryan Catka (UVA)- Midlands ***** Jimmy Mullen (VT)- Midlands ***** Cade Lautt (UNC)- Soldier Salute Luke Rassmussen (SDSU)- Soldier Salute Week 10: As stated before, we have another quick turnaround from Week 9 into Week 10 with the Southern Scuffle taking place early Monday of the new year (1/1/2024). So, along with the Southern Scuffle, here are some other Fantasy plays for Week 10 up to Thursday 1/4. 1/1 at the Southern Scuffle: Air Force, Army, Bloomsburg, Brown, Bucknell, Chattanooga, Clarion, CSU Bakersfield, Drexel, Duke, Indiana, Oklahoma, and VMI Teams locking Tuesday 1/2: Missouri and Virginia Tech Teams Locking Wednesday 1/3: Lindenwood and Purdue Teams Locking Thursday 1/4: Michigan and South Dakota State Be on the lookout for the remaining Week 10 updates on the InterMat Forum which will include a slate of weekend duals and the F&M Open. Wrestlers I like for Week 10 from 1/1 to 1/4: 125: Matt Ramos (PUR)- Vs Lindenwood [+5] Michael DeAugustino (MICH)- @ South Dakota State [+3] 133: Dustin Norris (PUR)- Vs Lindenwood [+3] 141: Sergio Lemley (MICH)- @ South Dakota State [+4] Greyson Clark (PUR)- Vs Lindenwood [+4] Josh Edmond (MIZZ)- Vs Virginia Tech [+3] 149: Caleb Henson (VT)- @ Missouri, @ Cornell [+8] Austin Gomez (MICH)- @ South Dakota State [+3] *if wrestles Marcus Pplanco (PUR)- Vs Lindenwood [+3] 157: Joey Blaze (PUR)- Vs Lindenwood [+5] Will Lewan (MICH)- @ South Dakota State [+3] 165: Stoney Buell (PUR)- Vs Lindenwood [+5] Cam Amine (MICH)- @ South Dakota State [+4] Keegan O’Toole (MIZZ)- Vs Virginia Tech [+4] 174: Mekhi Lewis (VT)- @ Missouri, @ Cornell [+6] Brody Baumann (PUR)- Vs Lindenwood [+4] 184: James Rowley (PUR)- Vs Lindenwood [+5] 197: Jacob Cardenas (COR)- Vs Virginia Tech [+5] Ben Vanadia (PUR)- Vs Lindenwood [+4] Tanner Sloan (SDSU)- Vs Michigan [+4] Rocky Elam (MIZZ)- Vs Virginia Tech [+3] 285: Lucas Davison (MICH)- @ South Dakota State [+4] Zach Elam (MIZZ)- Vs Virginia Tech [+3]

Wyoming Seminary

Yesterday, we posted the first half of the Big 12 Midseason Stock Report, alphabetically looking at Air Force through Northern Colorado. Today, we'll finish off this exercise with the remaining schools. Northern Iowa (Overall: 1-3; Conference: 0-0): Slight Stock Down Wrestler To Watch: #28 Trever Anderson - 125lbs Northern Iowa is a team that I expect to finish the year stronger, but the team is coming off tough set of recent duals. After a shocking upset loss to Columbia, the Panthers had losses to top teams NC State and Ohio State. Parker Keckeisen continues to be the team’s leader, going 10-0 with an 85% bonus rate and a CKLV title this year. There have been other bright spots, including a top-12 finish at CKLV and individual wrestlers getting impressive wins. Trever Anderson, Julian Farber, Ryder Downey, and Jared Simma have made a big impact this year. Downey beat Paddy Gallagher at CKLV, but lost the rematch in the dual. Cael Happel took an unexpected loss to Columbia’s Kai Owen, and injuries seem to have slowed down Wyatt Voelker and Tyrell Gordon which have led to their stock dropping. There are plenty of options for wrestlers to watch, as the aforementioned Anderson, Farber, and Simma all had impressive wins at Collegiate Duals. Farber scored a win over Nic Bouzakis, while Simma had back-to-back falls against Alex Faison and Tyler Stoltzfus. Anderson may have scored the biggest one, however, beating Jakob Camacho of NC State 4-2. A redshirt freshman, Anderson also pinned Columbia’s Nick Babin. Between the ever-consistent Keckeisen and individual wrestlers building momentum, the Panthers have the building blocks to get back to scoring wins as a team. Oklahoma (Overall: 4-2; Conference: 2-2): Slight Stock Down Wrestler To Watch: Conrad Hendriksen - 125lbs With new Coach Roger Kish, the Sooners are looking to have a stronger regular season than in years past. So far they’ve beaten good CMU, Little Rock, and WVU teams, and only dropped duals to Missouri and Oklahoma State. The team is also coming off a dominant Reno TOC team title. Stephen Buchanan has made his presence known with an 11-0 record and 86% bonus rate in his first year as a Sooner. Conrad Hendriksen, Jace Koelzer, and Cael Carlson have all been impact transfers as well. The slight stock down comes from Mosha Schwartz being injured against WVU with an unknown return and some inconsistency at 133, 149, 157, 174, and 184. Hendriksen was a three-time Texas state champ out of high school, who greyshirted at Chattanooga. He transferred to Oklahoma in the offseason, but wasn’t expected to start with Cal Poly transfer Antonio Lorenzo also coming in. Lorenzo hasn’t wrestled this season, and Hendriksen has impressed. He placed third at Reno and beat Jett Strickenberger in their dual. If the team can get Schwartz back and healthy, plus more consistent results through the middle of their lineup, they can continue to have strong Big 12 finishes and carry that into NCAA’s. Oklahoma State (Overall: 4-0; Conference: 2-0): Slight Stock Up Wrestler To Watch: #24 Teague Travis - 157lbs Another Big 12 team I had pegged as a trophy contender this year, the Cowboys will be looking to really prove it in the second semester. They had a chance to break out as a team at Cliff Keen, but injuries to Daton Fix, Luke Surber, and Konner Doucet were a big blow as the team finished ninth. Their young talent has had mixed results so far, but Jordan Williams and Brayden Thompson are starting to put together some wins. Tagen Jamison and Izzak Olejnik have both been high-impact transfers, with Olejnik looking like one of the hottest wrestlers of the year with his season Dustin Plott’s move to 184 looks to be a smart one, with a 12-1 record and absurd 87% bonus rate. The only clear hole the Cowboys clearly had coming into the year was 157lbs, where Jalin Harper and Daniel Manibog went back and forth for the starting spot. After a solid start at 149 lbs with a one point loss to Jordan Williams, Travis made the move up to 157. He immediately scored a ranked win over Lehigh’s Max Brignola and got two more one-sided wins against OU and Wyoming. The team’s schedule picks up in January, with duals against NC State, Pitt, WVU, Oregon State, Northern Iowa, and Iowa State all within three weeks. If the team can get their younger wrestlers to keep up with their studs, they could make a big jump next month. South Dakota State (Overall: 3-2; Conference: 0-0): Stock Down Wrestler To Watch: #14 Derrick Cardinal - 133lbs The Jackrabbits are a tough team to define right now. Their only Division I duals have come against top-12 Big Ten teams, and they did not have their full lineup for either. They finished 10th at CKLV, but again that was missing Clay Carlson, Tanner Cook, and Bennett Berge. Tanner Sloan took a surprising loss to Jaxon Smith, but dominated Silas Allred and Jacob Cardenas. Cael Swensen is 4-4, but his losses are to Peyton Robb, Bryce Andonian, and Michael Blockhus. Individual wrestlers like Tanner Jordan, Derrick Cardinal, and Cade DeVos have looked improved from last year. The team is a stock down for now, but it’s impossible to not see the potential if the team can get healthy. Derrick Cardinal is ranked higher than most on this list to watch, but he could be the most improved wrestler on the team. After an 11-15 year as a starter in 2023, he is 10-4 on the year with a 53% bonus rate. He’s scored wins over Julian Farber, Brendan Ferreti, Dom Zaccone, and Tyler Wells. If Clay Carlson can get healthy, the team has top-ten potential. The second half of the schedule should give the team opportunities to start putting things together, and I still remain high on the Jackrabbits to start scoring wins and climbing the rankings. Utah Valley (Overall: 1-0; Conference: 0-0): Stock Down Wrestler To Watch: #30 Jacob Armstrong - 184lbs After a solid year with three qualifiers last year, the Wolverines are looking to at least match that in head coach Greg Williams’ final year. Two-time qualifier Evan Bockman is leading the way but hasn’t competed since CKLV. Haiden Drury started the year at 133, but recently moved up and made the finals at Reno at 141 lbs. That could open up a spot at 133 for Kase Mauger to step in, a dangerous wrestler who pinned Stevo Poulin and Tanner Jordan last year. The team has had two previous qualifiers go back and forth at 149 between Ty Smith and Isaiah Delgado. Neither wrestler has been able to separate too much at this point, and is still looking for ranked wins. Senior Jacob Armstrong is who I have to watch after he won in Reno with a pin over OU’s Giuseppe Hoose. He didn’t wrestle at all last year, and right now looks like Utah Valley’s second-best shot at a qualifier. The team has competed in a staggering six tournaments already, including the Southeast Open, Keystone Classic, CKLV, and Reno. They have nearly a month before picking up dual competition again and will have chances to finalize their lineup and start building momentum before Big 12’s. West Virginia (Overall: 7-1; Conference: 2-1): Stock Up Wrestler To Watch: #19 Ty Watters - 149lbs I had West Virginia as a wildcard this season, as a team that could go a lot of ways after an injury-filled season last year. The team is on the higher end so far, their only loss coming to Oklahoma in a 21-19 battle. They quietly have seven wrestlers ranked, with Caleb Dowling and Austin Cooley on the bubble. Jett Strickenberger has made a big impact, transferring in after winning a NJCAA title. After qualifying as a redshirt freshman, Jordan Titus looks to have made a jump. He is currently undefeated at 11-0 with a 58% bonus rate. The team is having one of their best starts to the season in years, and the second half of the season picks up with conference duals. Another top twenty wrestler to watch, Ty Watters is a must-watch true freshman. The #32 recruit of 2023 already has eight falls on the year and only lost to Caleb Henson and Willie McDougald. Between Watters and Peyton Hall, the Mountaineers have multiple wrestlers who have the bonus ability that rack up team points. The team's ceiling will get tested against the Big 12’s top three second semester, but they could end up being surprise contenders. Wyoming (Overall: 3-3; Conference: 1-1): Stock Up Wrestler To Watch: Cooper Birdwell - 133lbs Joining North Dakota State as one of the younger teams in the Big 12, Wyoming’s lineup has featured four true freshmen, a redshirt freshman, and four sophomores. Jore Volk is the team’s highest-ranked wrestler and is coming off a big win over Richie Figueroa for a title in Reno. Cole Brooks and Joey Novak are both ranked true freshmen, with Novak making the podium at CKLV. The team has also had success with transfers Cooper Birdwell and Gabe Willochell, with another potential in Ethan Ducca if he returns to the lineup. The lineup is filled with wrestlers to watch with the youth through the lineup, but Birdwell is one that may be flying under the radar. He’s taken some losses you wouldn’t expect; Cody Phelps the #1 NJCAA wrestler at 133 and top high schooler Kyler Larkin. His other losses are almost all ranked wrestlers, Dom Zaccone, Ethan Oakley, Julian Farber, Daton Fix. The only unranked wrestlers he has lost to are Kade Moore and Hunter Leake, who were both also listed here. Almost all of those losses were close, and he beat OU’s Jace Koelzer in a 20-6 major decision recently. Birdwell looks like he fits the Wyoming mold, and like a lot of this young roster is someone I think will only continue to improve and gain momentum through the season.

We’re just about two full months into the 2023-24 season, which is the halfway point for a collegiate wrestling campaign. With that much time under our belts, it’s the appropriate time to make some judgments about this season, rather than using data from past years. What we’re doing today is comparing and ranking the ten 2023-24 weight classes against each other. How do you do such a thing? We have some numbers and then frankly, a lot of it is in the eye of the beholder and what you like as a fan. Do you prefer chaos and unpredictability, as opposed to a solid top-eight that looks destined to meet in the national quarterfinals? Would you rather see a potentially all-time great solidify himself as one or new blood in a talented freshman? Do you like seeing a returning champion dominate the field or be seriously tested by another great? Those are all questions you have to ask yourself as you make your own list or critique this one. So, a primer on how we’ve ranked the weights: Returning NCAA Champions, finalists, and All-Americans are all self-explanatory categories. The credentials are not limited to the 2023 NCAA Tournament, but throughout these wrestlers' careers. Impact freshmen refer to true or redshirt (grayshirt) freshmen who are currently ranked in the top-30. Occasionally, some freshmen come in and establish themselves as contenders immediately (think Ryan Crookham). Other times, freshmen take their time and maybe a couple of lumps before emerging as one of the best wrestlers in the country. (think Aaron Nagao, RBY, Mekhi Lewis). Had we done this last year at this time, NCAA finalist Levi Haines would be still unranked as Penn State was weighing whether to redshirt him or not. So, that’s why we’ve included freshmen in the top-30, because it may not be evident right away. We also have “new contenders.” Those are wrestlers who were not a part of this weight class at the NCAA tournament in 2023, possibly because of redshirt status, not starting, injuries, or weight class changes. Whatever the reason, they have injected new life into their respective brackets. For these, we've listed wrestlers currently ranked in the top-20. Now getting into the more intangible criteria. Some of the questions I’ve asked doing this exercise are: Does this weight class have depth? Depth of All-American contenders. Depth of possible qualifiers. Is there intrigue around this bracket? Does one wrestler appear to be above the rest of the field? Are two wrestlers on a collision course for the finals? If you aren’t a part of the top 1% of wrestling nerds (I say nerds with love and reverence), what is the first round of the NCAA Tournament at that weight class that is “must watch.” Some weights, it’s the semis. Others are the quarters or Round of 16. Hopefully, this makes some sort of sense and we’ll get on to the actual weights themselves. 10) 149 lbs Returning NCAA Champions: 0 Returning NCAA Finalists: 1( Ridge Lovett) Returning NCAA All-Americans: 6 (Lovett, Caleb Henson, Kyle Parco, Dylan D’Emilio, Austin Gomez, Jaden Abas) Impact Freshmen: #11 Nash Singleton (Oregon State), #19 Ty Watters (West Virginia), #20 Jordan Williams (Oklahoma State), #25 Finn Solomon (Pittsburgh) New Contenders: #7 Casey Swiderski (Iowa State), #9 Gomez, #16 Nate Pulliam (Missouri), #18 Drew Roberts (Minnesota) This weight really took a hit when returning NCAA third-place finisher Shayne Van Ness was lost for the year. It did get a recent boost as Austin Gomez announced his return for the University of Michigan. Without Gomez, this weight would have the lowest number of returning All-Americans. After you get outside of the top-ten there’s a lot of parity. There’s also a lot of new, unfamiliar faces throughout the rankings. This weight class should look much more stacked in the future as Gomez is the only wrestler out of eligibility after this season, amongst wrestlers in the top-ten. It’s also very sophomore-heavy, so we could see a large chunk of this weight in competition with each other for the next two-plus years. 9) 285 lbs Returning NCAA Champions: 0 Returning NCAA Finalists: 2 (Greg Kerkvliet, Cohlton Schultz) Returning NCAA All-Americans: 6 (Kerkvliet, Wyatt Hendrickson, Yonger Bastida, Lucas Davison, Schultz, Zach Elam) Impact Freshmen: #9 Dayton Pitzer (Pittsburgh), #18 Nick Feldman (Ohio State) New Contenders: Bastida, #19 Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) Over the past two or three years, heavyweight has been arguably the most loaded weight class with age-group world medalists wherever you look. Some of those wrestlers are gone, while the remaining ones are in their final years of eligibility. This is actually a pretty deep group of big men as you have plenty of wrestlers who could make a podium charge outside of the top-eight and go down into the 20’s in our national rankings. I think “how fun” this weight ends up being relies on the health of Wyatt Hendrickson. If he can return to his form from nationals or the U23 World Championships, he could challenge Greg Kerkvliet again. If not, it could be another one-sided match (like the All-Star Classic), should they meet again. Former 197 lber, Yonger Bastida has given this weight a shot of life with his offensive exploits, thus far. There’s always the possibility that two-time Hodge Trophy winner Gable Steveson decides to put his WWE career on hold and makes a return to the Resilite. Should he do so, it would definitely make this weight even more imposing, though possibly taking some drama out of the final results. 8. 133 lbs Returning NCAA Champions: 1 (Vito Arujau) Returning NCAA Finalists: 2 (Arujau, Daton Fix) Returning NCAA All-Americans: 6 (Arujau, Fix, Aaron Nagao, Sam Latona, Kai Orine, Chris Cannon) Impact Freshmen: #1 Ryan Crookham (Lehigh), #8 Nasir Bailey (Little Rock), #9 Evan Frost (Iowa State), #13 Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State), #17 Tyler Knox (Stanford), #23 Vince Santaniello (Pittsburgh), #25 Gabe Whisenhunt (Oregon State), #29 Tyler Wells (Minnesota) New Contenders: #14 Derrick Cardinal (South Dakota State), #15 Braxton Brown (Maryland), #18 Julian Farber (Northern Iowa), #19 Julian Chlebove (Arizona State), #20 Marlon Yarbrough (Virginia) Some may not like or agree with this because of the credentials of two of the top contenders, Vito Arujau and Daton Fix. Both are past Senior world finalists and have combined to wrestle in five NCAA title matches. Super freshman Ryan Crookham shocked Arujau in November and has thrown himself into the title discussion. That being said, after you top six or seven, there’s a lot of youth and inexperience at the NCAA level. The #10-20 range in the rankings has a handful of wrestlers who either didn’t qualify for the 2023 national tournament or who were not starters last season. Basically, the NCAA quarters-through-finals could be epic, but before that, may not be very suspenseful. This weight also contains more ranked freshmen than any other weight, so some new rivalries could develop and make this a fun weight to follow in 2025 and beyond. 7) 125 lbs Returning NCAA Champions: 0 Returning NCAA Finalists: 1 (Matt Ramos) Returning NCAA All-Americans: 6 (Anthony Noto, Ramos, Michael DeAugustino, Eric Barnett, Brandon Kaylor, Patrick McKee) Impact Freshmen: #21 Max Gallagher (Penn), #22 Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State), #23 Brendan McCrone (Ohio State), #28 Trever Anderson (Northern Iowa) New Contenders: #8 Richie Figueroa (Arizona State), #10 Cooper Flynn (Virginia Tech), #15 Jack Maida (American), #16 Brayden Palmer (Chattanooga), #17 Jakob Camacho (NC State) Oh, what a tangled web we weave at 125 lbs! InterMat has already had three different wrestlers assume the #1 spot in the national rankings. Other outlets have had more. Every week, it seems like there are another few stunning upsets at 125 lbs. In terms of pure unpredictability and competitiveness, this weight class should be incredible to follow throughout the remainder of the season. Would it be surprising if the NCAA semifinals featured a #8 vs #13 matchup on the top half of the bracket with a #6 vs #7 on the bottom? For all of the upsets, there are still six wrestlers that are unbeaten at this weight. Many of them have yet to be seriously challenged. That means they could rise even higher than their current rankings or cause more chaos when they lose. As is often the case at 125 lbs, this weight also has plenty of wrestlers that are fun to watch and put up points. Not only will it be unpredictable, but there will generally be lots of points put up in the process of these upsets. 125 lbs also gets credit for its depth, in terms of national qualifiers. As someone who does rankings weekly, you could probably go down to #40 at this weight and have past national qualifiers and wrestlers who “feel” like they should be ranked. That isn’t possible at most other weights. . 6) 184 lbs Returning NCAA Champions: 0 Returning NCAA Finalists: 1 (Parker Keckeisen) Returning NCAA All-Americans: 8 (Keckeisen, Bernie Truax, Dustin Plott, Trey Munoz, Chris Foca, Will Feldkamp, Gavin Hoffman, Gavin Kane) Impact Freshmen: #5 Dylan Fishback (NC State), #11 Clayton Whiting (Missouri), #23 Bennett Berge (South Dakota State) New Contenders: Truax, Plott, #7 Sam Wolf, Foca, #14 Jaden Bullock (Michigan), #17 James Conway (Franklin & Marshall), #18 Sam Fisher (Virginia Tech) This is quite the unusual weight class. With Aaron Brooks moving up to 197 lbs, it appeared to be relatively wide open at the beginning of the year. Since then, Parker Keckeisen has asserted himself as the clear-cut favorite with 13 straight wins to start the season and bonus points in all but two of those matches. That doesn’t count an All-Star win over three-time All-American Bernie Truax, possibly his toughest competition. After CKLV, a tournament won by Keckeisen, it’s hard to project the rest of the podium after the UNI star and Truax. That tournament saw previously unheralded wrestlers like Sam Wolf and Jaden Bullock bust the bracket and place top-six, while four previous All-Americans missed out on the podium. Initially, I didn’t think this weight class was particularly deep; however, with the emergence of some new faces like the two mentioned above, along with Dylan Fishback possibly being a high All-American threat, along with fellow redshirt freshman Clayton Whiting, this weight does have some depth to it. That’s evident with past All-Americans Gavin Hoffman and Gavin Kane inhabiting the #16 and #19 spots in the rankings, respectively. We’ll see if the current third and fourth-ranked wrestlers at this weight, Dustin Plott and Lenny Pinto, can maintain their consistency. If so, they may be able to threaten the top-two and make this more than a two-horse race. 5) 141 lbs Returning NCAA Champions: 0 Returning NCAA Finalists: 1 (Real Woods) Returning NCAA All-Americans: 8 (Woods, Beau Bartlett, Jesse Mendez, Lachlan McNeil, Brock Hardy, Clay Carlson, CJ Composto, Cole Matthews) Impact Freshmen: #8 Tagen Jamison (Oklahoma State), #20 Jack Gioffre (Virginia), #28 Gavin Drexler (North Dakota State), #30 Sergio Lemley (Michigan) New Contenders: Composto, #12 Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State), #13 Mitch Moore (Rutgers), #19 Josh Edmond (Missouri) Being the fifth-ranked weight class is perfect for 141 lbs. It’s generally what you’d expect from a bracket. It has one clear favorite (Woods), with another tier of competent and dangerous challengers (Bartlett, Mendez, McNeil, Carlson, and Ryan Jack) all of which have been battle-tested; and many have exchanged wins over each other. After those contenders, there’s a tier of proven wrestlers who are very capable of making the podium (Cael Happel, Kal Miller, CJ Composto, Mitch Moore, Jordan Titus). Then you throw in Anthony Echemendia, who has been very competitive with the returning All-Americans and a freshman like Tagen Jamison who placed highly at CKLV and amassed some good wins. That’s a good weight class. From a watchability standpoint, is there reason to believe that something totally unexpected will happen? I tend to think, that answer is, no. Will some overlooked wrestlers crash the podium? Will a bunch of freshmen continue to climb the rankings? If I had to guess, I’d say no. Whenever you’re filling out NCAA brackets, you want to avoid going “chalk” (only favorites winning) for every single weight. That being said, once conference meets roll around, I think this weight will be one where you can confidently pencil in the top guys advancing. 4) 174 lbs Returning NCAA Champions: 3 (Carter Starocci, Mekhi Lewis, Shane Griffith) Returning NCAA Finalists: 3 (Starocci, Lewis, Griffith) Returning NCAA All-Americans: 6 (Starocci, Lewis, Griffith, Peyton Mocco, Travis Wittlake, Carson Kharchla) Impact Freshmen: #19 Brody Conley (West Virginia), #21 Danny Wask (Navy), #22 Lorenzo Norman (Stanford), #23 MJ Gaitan (Iowa State), #29 Brayden Thompson (Oklahoma State) New Contenders: Griffith, #7 Justin McCoy (Virginia), #8 Travis Wittlake (Oregon State), #14 Adam Kemp (Cal Poly), #15 Patrick Kennedy (Iowa), #17 Tyler Brennan (Little Rock) This is the only weight class with three returning national champions, plus you have the added historical impact of Carter Starocci chasing his fourth NCAA title. Starocci is also the owner of a 55-match winning streak, the longest active mark at the DI level. At the All-Star Classic, Starocci dismantled one of his top threats, Mekhi Lewis. So, you have a history watch with Starocci and perhaps the top overall college wrestler for the 2023-24 campaign, but is there much intrigue otherwise around this weight? Can anyone push Starocci? Just two years ago, Lewis and Starocci went into tiebreakers in the NCAA Finals. Will Lewis be healthy enough to challenge the Nittany Lion great? At the CKLV Invitational, we saw one of the more unexpected upsets of the year - when true freshman Lorenzo Norman of Stanford knocked off former Cardinal national champion Shane Griffith early in the tournament. Will Griffith be able to channel his past self to push his way into the top-two? After the Starocci/Lewis level at this weight, there’s a significant drop-off. The current third and fourth-ranked wrestlers are veterans who have yet to make the NCAA podium. That’s not a knock on Edmond Ruth and Cade DeVos, the latter of which prevailed in Vegas. There are other drop-off’s too as you move down outside of the top-ten. This weight does have some freshmen that could eventually push their way into the top-ten. Norman and Navy’s Danny Wask have shown they beat almost anyone in this bracket; however, consistency remains an issue. Brody Conley has amassed an impressive record, but has yet to face any serious contenders. MJ Gaitan has become one of the more entertaining wrestlers to watch at the weight. In summation, this weight has serious starpower that others can’t match, but lack of threats for Starocci and depth concerns keep it out of the top-three. 3) 157 lbs Returning NCAA Champions: 0 Returning NCAA Finalists: 1 (Levi Haines) Returning NCAA All-Americans: 10 (Haines, Jared Franek, Peyton Robb, Jacori Teemer, Brock Mauller, Ed Scott, Bryce Andonian, Will Lewan, Michael Blockhus, Brayton Lee) Impact Freshmen: #13 Ryder Downey (Northern Iowa), #15 Meyer Shapiro (Cornell), #18 Joey Blaze (Purdue), #21 Cody Chittum (Iowa State), #28 DJ McGee (George Mason), #29 Jude Swisher (Penn) New Contenders: #5 Brock Mauller (Missouri), Blockhus 157 lbs proved to be one of the best weights to follow in Vegas as it featured plenty of top contenders, plus serious depth. Looking beyond Vegas, it’s the only weight class that currently features ten returning All-Americans; none of which have won national titles. Though he’s only ranked #3, Peyton Robb has probably been the most impressive wrestler at this weight. He was the top seed in Vegas and avoided the many potential roadblocks along the way in a loaded bracket. Top-ranked Levi Haines, Robb’s Big Ten finals opponent, has only seen action in five bouts thus far and hasn’t hit any of the top contenders. The second year of college is usually when wrestlers make their greatest jumps, so it’s possible that Haines may have separated himself from the rest of the weight. In addition to the 10 All-Americans, the freshmen in this weight have the potential to push it to even greater heights. Ryder Downey was a great development at CKLV and was off most people’s radars before that tournament. As Class of 2023 top recruit Meyer Shapiro gets more mat time and competition, he’ll likely challenge for a spot in the top ten. The same goes for Joey Blaze and Cody Chittum. Others like DJ McGee and Jude Swisher should challenge for the top spot in their respective conferences. I don’t care how the results from the second half of the season and conference tournaments, along with seedings, work out. However, they fall every single match from the Round of 16 on should be fire in Kansas City. 2) 165 lbs Returning NCAA Champions: 2 (Keegan O’Toole, David Carr) Returning NCAA Finalists: 2 (O’Toole, Carr) Returning NCAA All-Americans: 7 (O’Toole, Izzak Olejnik, Carr, Cam Amine, Dean Hamiti, Mikey Caliendo, Peyton Hall) Impact Freshmen: #14 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State), #23 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska), #26 Noah Mulvaney (Bucknell), #27 Hunter Garvin (Stanford) New Contenders: #9 Derek Gilcher (Indiana), #11 Garrett Thompson (Ohio), #20 Derek Fields (NC State) Last season, 165 lbs was probably the winner in this category. Returning national champions Keegan O’Toole and David Carr squared off three times, with Carr taking two; however, O’Toole got the win that mattered most. That bracket also included 2021 national champion Shane Griffith and returning runner-up Quincy Monday. Griffith and Monday are gone, which makes it a two-horse race, right? Not exactly. EIWA champion Julian Ramirez shocked Carr in the CKLV semifinals, handing the Cyclone national champion his first regular-season loss since the 2019 CKLV. Ramirez did not go on to win in Vegas because of the performance of Izzak Olejnik. Just about a week earlier, Olejnik defeated two-time All-American Dean Hamiti at the All-Star Classic. Now we can add Olejnik and Ramirez’s names to the list of potential title threats at 165 lbs. Neither is necessarily new to the weight, but they have made great strides since March. Then Olejnik was eighth and Ramirez missed the podium. This weight also has multiple-time All-Americans like Hamiti and Cam Amine, along with Mikey Caliendo, who is in his first year with the Iowa program. Each has wrestled the two national champions at this weight closely, but have yet to defeat them. Seeing Ramirez knock off Carr, makes you think that it could be possible for someone from this trio, as well. There is a group of impressive freshmen that could throw the rest of this weight for a loop, as well. Two-time U20 world finalist (one-time champ), Mitchell Mesenbrink certainly could be a factor here. Mesenbrink has been largely dominant in his nine matches this season. As of now, his highest-ranked win has come over #16 Brevin Cassella (Binghamton). He’ll likely rise quickly during the conference dual season. One wrestler that deserves special mention as well for his excellent first half is Ohio’s Garrett Thompson. Largely unknown, before the 2023-24 season, Thompson knocked off All-American Peyton Hall in his season debut and was fifth in Vegas. His big first half elevated him into the AA discussion. Overall, this weight has starpower, intrigue, good depth, and the potential for some freshmen to make noise. Really, everything you’d want in a weight class. 1) 197 lbs Returning NCAA Champions: 1 (Aaron Brooks) Returning NCAA Finalists: 3 (Brooks, Trent Hidlay, Tanner Sloan) Returning NCAA All-Americans: 9 (Brooks, Stephen Buchanan, Rocky Elam, Hidlay, Sloan, Jacob Cardenas, John Poznanski, Michael Beard, Louie DePrez) Impact Freshmen: #13 Stephen Little (Little Rock), #18 Mac Stout (Pittsburgh), #20 Wyatt Voelker (Northern Iowa), #22 Joey Novak (Wyoming), #24 Luke Geog (Ohio State), #27 Martin Cosgrove (Penn) New Contenders: Brooks, Buchanan, Hidlay, Poznanski, DePrez, #17 Garrett Joles (Minnesota), #19 Zach Glazier (Iowa) Along with 174 lbs, this is the only weight class that features three wrestlers who have previously wrestled in the NCAA finals. Like 174, there’s also a historical aspect to follow as Starocci’s teammate, Aaron Brooks, is also seeking his fourth national crown. Despite his accolades, Brooks has proven to be beatable in the best, or at least slightly. In each of his last two seasons, Brooks has suffered a single loss. Combined with the fact that he’s moving up in weight, that makes this bracket even more interesting to me. It should be noted that Brooks has pinned or teched his four official opponents this year and majored returning runner-up Tanner Sloan at the All-Star Classic, so size concerns may be overblown. During the first two months of the season, the most impressive 197 lber has been Brooks 2021 finals opponent Trent Hidlay, who has also made the move up in the offseason. Hidlay has racked up bonus points in 13 of 15 bouts this season and rose to the top in a loaded CKLV field. Both of the returning AA’s he’s faced this year have fallen via major decision. Could more size and horsepower be the difference in a potential rematch with Brooks? The amount of contenders at this weight makes it impossible to just pencil in a Brooks/Hidlay NCAA finals rematch. You have Stephen Buchanan, an NCAA semifinalist in 2022, who is fresh off a redshirt year and a change of scenery in Oklahoma. He and fellow Big 12-mate Rocky Elam aren’t as flashy as Brooks/Hidlay, but can get the job done. The top five is rounded out by CKLV finalist Jaxon Smith, who knocked off Sloan to make the championship match. The recent addition of Louie DePrez gives this weight class nine past All-Americans which is a staggering number, especially for the upperweights. He initially slots in a 14 in the rankings, but certainly has the potential to move up much higher. Along with 133 lbs, this is the most top-heavy EIWA weight class, with three of its wrestlers currently in the top ten (and that doesn’t include DePrez). How deep is this weight class with legit contenders? Well, the returning Big Ten champion, Silas Allred, is currently ranked 11th. Like other weights, this one has plenty of freshmen who should continue to climb the ranks as the season progresses. That number is probably higher than normal for a weight like 197 lbs. The most prominent of the group is Stephen Little, who already has a win over CKLV finalist Jaxon Smith this season. True freshman Joey Novak was a Vegas placer and wrestled competitively against the undefeated Elam. The large, muscular elephant in the room at 197 lbs is 2021 NCAA champion AJ Ferrari. Ferrari could be nearly a return for the University of Iowa. Should he be thrown into the mix, this will undoubtedly be the most interesting weight class of the ten, if it isn’t already.

With the first semester of competition flying by, we are starting to get a better idea of where these teams lie. Some have impressed early, while others are still looking to develop and finish the season stronger. January tends to be a heavy competition month and will give teams another opportunity to improve. I’ll be trying to identify how teams' stocks have changed since the start of the season, and highlighting a wrestler that is lower in the rankings or unranked that should have an impact for their team throughout the year. All of these are relative to expectations at the start of the year and based on team performance. Air Force (Overall: 2-2; Conference: 0-2): Slight Stock Up Wrestler To Watch: Joe Fernau - 149lbs Led by #2 Wyatt Hendrickson, Air Force’s stock has taken a small bump since the start of the season. Tucker Owens has taken a hit, falling out of the rankings during a recent losing streak. A 2023 qualifier, he’ll have multiple ranked matches coming up, and I think he finds a way back to the NCAA tournament. Giano Petrucelli looks to have made a jump in his senior year, with impressive wins over Antrell Taylor and Noah Mulvaney helping him climb the rankings. The biggest factor to their stock up however is at 184, where Sam Wolf bumped up and is on a tear with multiple top-ten wins this season. Joe Fernau is my wrestler to watch after winning the Bob Smith Open, including a win over true freshman KJ Evans for Oklahoma. The sophomore hasn’t had success in his last two matches against top 20 opponents, but could be someone that can make things interesting against lower-ranked wrestlers. As it stands I think Air Force gets four qualifiers, with wrestlers like Fernau or Noah Blake as bubble wrestlers at the moment. California Baptist (Overall: 3-4; Conference: 0-1): Holding Steady Wrestler To Watch: Hunter Leake - 133lbs The nice thing with stock reports is that it’s relative to the team and the expectations at the start of the year. California Baptist is a good example of that, as the team is still building and developing. Eli Griffin at 125 has taken some losses after starting the year as my pick for Big 12 Breakout wrestler. Not the most consistent wrestler the past two seasons, Griffin did get wins over Nico Provo and Jore Volk in January of last year, so hopefully he gets more on track in the second semester. There were a handful of wrestlers that were interesting to watch for the Lancers, but I took Hunter Leake on an eight-match winning streak. The only wrestler to win a match at Big 12’s last year, Leake is currently looking like their best chance at a qualifier with Eli Griffin. He beat two-time qualifier Dom Lajoie of Stanford and has an early season win over Cooper Birdwell, who I am high on. The team is only in their second year of full Division I competition, and will be looking to get at least one of these two to Kansas City this year. Iowa State (Overall: 6-1; Conference: 0-0): Big Stock Up Wrestler To Watch: #3 Yonger Bastida - 285lbs I was high on the Cyclones to start the season, but they’ve exceeded expectations and could continue to climb. After the CyHawk dual loss, there were questions as to the team's ceiling and how they would respond. They responded by sending a message, winning CKLV and going 3-0 at Collegiate Duals. The CKLV title was especially impressive, as the team won despite Kysen Terukina, Cody Chittum, and David Carr underperforming. Evan Frost has been a breakout wrestler, while the team has turned their middleweights into a murderer’s row from 141-165. The goal for wrestlers to watch was to try and highlight someone who may be flying under the radar, but it’s hard to find one with the Cyclone’s current lineup. MJ Gaitan has a fun high-flying style, while Echemendia has been on a dominant tear. However, it’s hard to overlook Yonger Bastida at heavyweight. Undefeated, with a 67% bonus rate, Bastida has five techs on the year. One of the biggest beneficiaries of the three-point takedown, he has an absurd 52-1 takedown ratio. The team now looks to have multiple title contenders, and are looking to win their first Big 12 championship since 2009. Missouri (Overall: 5-0; Conference: 3-0): Holding Steady Wrestler To Watch: Kade Moore - 133lbs The two-time Big 12 champs came into the season highly ranked, and have hovered around the top six spots all season. They haven’t had any full-strength top-ten opponents yet this season, but are averaging a 35-7 dual score. A lineup already with five All-Americans, Noah Surtin looks to have taken a jump this season and is all the way at #2 in a volatile 125. The team has had multiple ranked wins at 149, with the weight going from a question mark to another strength this season. Brock Mauller moving to 157 this season was a surprise, but Mauller is undefeated with a career-high 78% bonus rate. In the team’s 50 individual dual matches, they’ve won 41 with 29 bonus point wins. For wrestler to watch, it was hard to pick just one. The team has nine starters with bonus rates over 40%, and six over 65%. The only weight without a ranked wrestler though, Kade Moore is looking to change that. Blue-chip redshirt freshman Zeke Seltzer started the year here, and will be looking to get back into the lineup. Moore isn’t making that easy, however, as he is 3-0 in duals and back-to-back major decisions. He has an exciting style (see his 360 double against Cooper Birdwell) and is starting to separate more in matches. The Tigers are looking to win their 13th consecutive conference title (9 MAC, 3 Big 12), and their first team trophy since 2015. North Dakota State (Overall: 1-6; Conference: 0-1): Slight Stock Up Wrestler To Watch: #25 Gaven Sax - 174lbs To start the year it looked like the Bison would be in a big rebuild with new head coach Obe Blanc. The dual results haven’t shown it quite yet, but the team is coming off a Big 10 win over Purdue. Senior Kellyn March was injured early in the year which hasn’t helped the team, but redshirt freshman Maxwell Petersen has stepped up and gone 2-3 in duals. All of his losses have been within a takedown against ranked opponents. The lineup is filled with young wrestlers, with five redshirt freshmen and one true freshman. Gaven Sax is a veteran on the team and finally into the rankings with wins over Andrew Sparks and Austin Murphy. He also had a close one-point loss to ACC champ Justin McCoy. Last year he made the jump from 149 to 174 and finished with a .500 record, but this year looks much more comfortable at the weight and clearly improving with Assistant Coach Hayden Hidlay. If Kellyn March can get back to last year’s performance and Sax continues to improve, the young team can bounce back quicker than people expected. Northern Colorado (Overall: 7-1; Conference: 0-1): Stock Down Wrestler To Watch: #27 Dominick Serrano - 133lbs The Bears are off to a strong start to the season with their seven dual wins, but five of them have come against non-Division I teams. The team has heavy hitters with Big 12 champ Stevo Poulin and bloodround wrestler Vinny Zerban. Poulin just took an upset loss to Jett Strickenberger of WVU. There appear to be multiple weights that the team is still trying to find their established starter, but could get some answers at the upcoming Southern Scuffle. In the second semester, the team could also get more wrestlers in the lineup with transfers Adam Busiello and Travis Mastrogiovanni. The stock down comes between their light schedule, Poulin’s loss, and questionable lineup; although they have the pieces to change that going forward. The #12 wrestler in the class of 2020, Dominick Serrano struggled with a 5-13 record at Nebraska in 2022. He transferred to UNC in 2023, and is off to a strong start with a 10-1 record and 71% bonus rate. He doesn’t have any ranked wins this season, but did beat Minnesota’s redshirting freshman Tyler Wells. If he can keep the points up as the season gets tougher, he could be another qualifier and potentially a high-impact wrestler at a wide-open weight weight class.

Brooke Point

Below is a recap of last week’s EIWA action, with individual news and highlights worth noting. Key Takeaways Navy shuts out American to remain undefeated Binghamton wrestlers claim 5 titles between the Sheridan Tournament and Wilkes Open Lehigh claims 3 champs at Sheridan Tournament Hofstra goes undefeated 3-0 on the weekend American American faced off against EIWA foe Navy at home. Although American did not win any matches, they almost pulled out three wins – two of them would have been potential upsets. We did not see #15 Jack Maida compete in the match. Leete lost in overtime to #22 Ferretti at 133 lbs while Bourne lost to #27 Key at 184 lbs. #16 Navy 38 – American 0 125 - Dayton DelViscio (Navy) dec. Shamil Kalmatov (AU), 11-10 (Navy 3-0) 133 - #22 Brendan Ferretti (Navy) dec. Maximilian Leete (AU), 4-1 SV (Navy 6-0) 141 - #19 Josh Koderhandt (Navy) major dec. Raymond Lopez (AU), 14-5 (Navy 10-0) 149 - Luke Lucerne (Navy) dec. Ryan Zimmerman (AU), 13-7 (Navy 13-0) 157 - Jonathan Lay (Navy) dec. Jack Nies (AU), 7-3 (Navy 16-0) 165 - #20 Andrew Cerniglia (Navy) tech. fall Breon Phifer (AU), 16-0 (4:17) (Navy 21-0) 174 - #19 Danny Wask (Navy) major dec. Lucas White (AU), 9-0 (Navy 25-0) 184 - #27 David Key (Navy) dec. Connor Bourne (AU), 2-0 (Navy 28-0) 197 - Jacob Lucas (Navy) major dec. Liam Volk-Klos (AU), 16-4 (Navy 32-0) 285 - #14 Grady Griess (Navy) pinned Emmanuel Ulrich (AU), 2:35 (Navy 38-0) The Eagles will be on the road after the New Year with a dual at Michigan State. There will be some wrestlers at the F&M Open as well. Army The Black Knights were in Pennsylvania this weekend – represented at two events. The Sheridan Tournament was hosted by Lehigh and Army had five place winners of the seven competing. Leading the way were Ben Pasiuk (174 lbs) and Gunner Filipowicz (165 lbs). They were both competing to get matches at their new weight classes after dropping down from the beginning of the season. At 285 lbs, Austin Kohlhofer was 3rd place. Dakota Morris and Wolfgang Frable were both 4th place at 165 lbs and 197 lbs, respectively. At the Wilkes Open, they had 11 placewinners. Andrew Christie led the team with a runner-up finish at 165 lbs. In 3rd were Conor Collins (133 lbs), Joe Couch (125 lbs), and Shane Percelay (141 lbs). Wrestling unattached for Army was Tanner Craig at 165lbs. We dominated the day winning four pins and one tech fall. The next event for Army is after the New Year at the F&M Open. Binghamton Binghamton was also at the Sheridan and Wilkes Open. They had a few champs in both events. At Wilkes, Carson Wagner (125 lbs), Micah Roes (133 lbs) and Michael Zarif (149 lbs) were all champs. Zarif had a notable win over 2022 NCAA Qualifier, Farber from Lock Haven. Ivan Garcia (141 lbs) and William Ebert (174 lbs) were runners-up. They claimed two champs at the Sheridan. Jacob Nolan (#20 @ 184 lbs). He had a win over #32 Rogotzke of Indiana. #14 Lou DePrez (197 lbs) has returned for another semester, and cruised to a title with three of four wins coming via bonus. At 141 lbs, Nate Lucier walked away with 4th. The Bearcats will be in action at the F&M Open the first week of January. Brown The Bears were in Bethlehem for the Sheridan Tournament. Hunter Adrian was the lone placer He ended the day in 3rd place at 133lbs. Interestingly, this was only the 3rd event for Brown this season thus far. They will have some wrestlers in the lineup this upcoming semester who were not on the roster the first half of the year. Once this squad gets mat time, be prepared to see much improvement. Bucknell The Bison were off from competition for the holiday break. Bucknell will be on the mats for the Southern Scuffle on New Year’s Day. Columbia Columbia will be back in Iowa during the holidays when they compete at the Soldier Salute. Cornell (#8) Cornell had a single competitor at the Sheridan Tournament. Nick Wade placed 4th at 149 lbs. He outplaced Josh Saunders, wrestling unattached. The Big Red will be in action with competitive duals at #12 Ohio State and hosting #8 Virginia Tech the first weekend back after the new year. Drexel The Dragons were enjoying the break. Drexel will return to action on New Year’s Day at the Southern Scuffle. Franklin & Marshall The Diplomats had a handful of competitors at the Sheridan Tournament. Jackson Parker (125 lbs) placed 4th, as did Drew Currier at 133 lbs. F&M had several starters taking this event off, as they will be at the Midlands next week. Harvard Harvard was also off this weekend. The Crimson will be off until the holiday break when they compete at the Midlands. Hofstra Hofstra ended the first semester on a high note, earning 3 wins over Morgan State, Bloomsburg, and Edinboro. We saw Dylan Ryder up at 133 lbs where he secured three wins – two by bonus points. He will eventually be back down to 125 lbs. Jurius Clark was 3-0 on the week at 157 lbs. Ross McFarland was dominant in his 3-0 week. Hofstra saw Will Conlon go 3-0 at 184 lbs. #21 Keaton Kluever had two falls and a major decision. He remains the only ranked wrestler for Hofstra at the moment. Hofstra 37, Morgan State 3 125 - Dylan Acevedo (HOF) over Julian Dawson (MSU): 16-6 MD 133 - Dylan Ryder (HOF) over Kevin Lopez (MSU): 15-0 TF 141 - Alex Turley (HOF) over Tommy Fiero (MSU): 11-3 Dec 149 - Noah Tapia (HOF) over Aaron Turner (MSU): 11-1 MD 157 - Jurius Clark (HOF) over Josh Greenwood (MSU): 14-1 MD 165 - Jake Marsh (MSU) over Joe McGinty (HOF): 7-3 Dec 174 - Ross McFarland (HOF) over Kyle Grey (MSU): 6-0 Dec 184 - Will Conlon (HOF) over Kingsley Menifee (MSU): 6-4 Dec 197 - Nikolas Miller (HOF) over Nathanic Kendricks (MSU): 13-2 MD 285 - #21 Keaton Kluever (HOF) over Tyler Stewart (MSU): Fall 165 (ex): Greyson Harris (HOF) over Shaymus MacIntosh (MSU): Fall Hofstra 27, Bloomsburg 14 125 - Bronson Garber (BLOOM) over Dylan Acevedo (HOF): 4-1 Dec 133: Dylan Ryder (HOF) over Major Lewis (BLOOM): Fall 141: Alex Turley (HOF) over Michael Cassidy (BLOOM): 2-1 Dec 149: Cade Balestrini (BLOOM) over Noah Tapia (HOF): 5-2 (ot) Dec 157: Jurius Clark (HOF) over William Morrow (BLOOM): 5-1 Dec 165: Caden Dobbins (BLOOM) over Joe McGinty (HOF): 15-0 TF 174: Ross McFarland (HOF) over Josh Bonomo (BLOOM): Fall 184: Will Conlon (HOF) over Tanner Culver (BLOOM): 6-2 Dec 197: David Tuttle (BLOOM) over Nikolas Miller (HOF): 11-8 Dec 285: Keaton Kluever (HOF) over Tyler McCatharn (BLOOM): Fall Hofstra 27, Edinboro 9 125: Caleb Edwards (EU) dec. Dylan Acevedo (HU), 7-1 (3-0) 133: Dylan Ryder (HU) dec. Jacob Brenneman (EU), 9-3 (3-3) 141: Anthony Ferraro (EU) dec. Alex Turley (HU), 8-1 (6-3) 149: Noah Tapia (HU) dec. Colin Roberts (EU), 6-2 (6-6) 157: Jurius Clark (HU) major dec. Steffan Lynch (EU), 10-1 (6-10) 165: Jake Slotnick (HU) major dec. Max Kirby (EU), 17-7 (6-14) 174: Ross McFarland (HU) wbf. Joey Arnold (EU), 0:57 (6-20) 184: Will Conlon (HU) dec. Brody Evans (EU), 7-2 (6-23) 197: Jack Kilner (EU) dec. Nikolas Miller (HU), 4-1 (sv-1), (9-23) 285: #21 Keaton Kluever major dec. Jack Lodato (EU), 15-4 (9-27) Lehigh #28 The Mountain Hawks hosted the Sheridan Tournament. They had a plethora of placewinners. Sheldon Seymour (125 lbs), #26 Max Brignola (157 lbs), and #10 Nathan Taylor (285 lbs) were crowned winners. JT Davis was in 2nd place at 197 lbs, as was Malyke Hines at 141 lbs. #11 Hines lost to #15 Moore of Rutgers in the final. At 149 lbs, Lehigh had Drew Munch finish runner-up, Kelvin Griffin 4th, as Owen Reinsel was forced to medically forfeit out. The three of them are still in the mix to be named the starter. At 184 lbs, Jack Wilt was 3rd. The Mountain Hawks have a logjam at 141 and 149 lbs. There is a ton of talent in these two weights, but only two will be the guy come March. Lehigh will be in action with a dual vs Binghamton and Cornell the second weekend in January. Long Island The Sharks added another win to their season total. This win was a dominant one over Edinboro. The team won nine of ten bouts, two of them by bonus points. They now have four wins this season in their six dual meets. Last year’s win total was three wins. The Sharks are a team showing exponential improvement. LIU 29 - Edinboro 3 125: Robbie Sagaris (LIU) won by decision over Caleb Edwards (Edinboro), 4-0. LIU leads 3-0. 133: Jacob Brenneman (Edinboro) won by decision over Christopher Betancourt (LIU), 8-6. Teams Tied 3-3. 141: Devin Mathews (LIU) won by decision over Anthony Ferraro (Edinboro), 6-1. LIU leads 6-3. 149: Drew Witham (LIU) won by major decision over Colin Roberts (Edinboro), 11-2. Lead leads 10-3. 157: Rhise Royster (LIU) won by decision over Luke Kemerer (Edinboro), 4-1. LIU leads 13-3. 165: James Johnston (LIU) won by decision over Max Kirby (Edinboro), 8-2. LIU leads 16-3. 174: Blake Bahna (LIU) won by decision over Joey Arnold (Edinboro), 7-6. LIU leads 19-3. 184: Anthony D’Alesio (LIU) won by decision over Brody Evans (Edinboro), 4-1 in OT. LIU leads 22-3. 197: John Dusza (LIU) won by major decision over Nick Lodato (Edinboro), 14-2. LIU leads 26-3. 285: Aeden Begue (LIU) won by decision over Jack Kilner (Edinboro), 6-0. LIU wins 29-3. LIU will be back to competing at the F&M Open. Navy #15 The Midshipmen remained undefeated on the year with a shutout win over American in an EIWA matchup. They used four bonus point victories to end the first half of the season. #16 Navy 38 – American 0 125 - Dayton DelViscio (Navy) dec. Shamil Kalmatov (AU), 11-10 (Navy 3-0) 133 - #22 Brendan Ferretti (Navy) dec. Maximilian Leete (AU), 4-1 SV (Navy 6-0) 141 - #19 Josh Koderhandt (Navy) major dec. Raymond Lopez (AU), 14-5 (Navy 10-0) 149 - Luke Lucerne (Navy) dec. Ryan Zimmerman (AU), 13-7 (Navy 13-0) 157 - Jonathan Lay (Navy) dec. Jack Nies (AU), 7-3 (Navy 16-0) 165 - #20 Andrew Cerniglia (Navy) tech. fall Breon Phifer (AU), 16-0 (4:17) (Navy 21-0) 174 - #19 Danny Wask (Navy) major dec. Lucas White (AU), 9-0 (Navy 25-0) 184 - #27 David Key (Navy) dec. Connor Bourne (AU), 2-0 (Navy 28-0) 197 - Jacob Lucas (Navy) major dec. Liam Volk-Klos (AU), 16-4 (Navy 32-0) 285 - #14 Grady Griess (Navy) pinned Emmanuel Ulrich (AU), 2:35 (Navy 38-0) Navy is the last remaining undefeated team in the conference. They have wins over ranked teams in Pitt and Illinois. The remaining ranked teams on the schedule are #13 South Dakota State, #30 Wisconsin, #28 Lehigh, and #27 North Carolina. Plus, a slate of EIWA matches – it is very well possible Navy will end the season with an undefeated dual record. Penn #20 The Quakers will head into the break with plenty of rest. They will pick back up at The Midlands just before the new year. Princeton The Tigers were another team not competing this past weekend. Next on the agenda for Princeton is The Midlands between Christmas and New Year’s. Sacred Heart Sacred Heart’s home opener occurred just before the break. They hosted Edinboro, but fell 27-14. At 165lbs, Scott Jarosz won by major. Jake Ice was a winner by major decision at 125lbs. Andrew Fallon earned a forfeit for the final win. Edinboro 27 – Sacred Heart 14 141 – Anthony Ferraro (EU) def. Chris Naegele (SHU) by Decision, 6-3 149 – Colin Roberts (EU) def. Mike McGhee (SHU) by Major Decision, 11-2 157 – Luke Kemerer (EU) def. Brandon Teresa (SHU) by Decision, 6-1 165 – Scott Jarosz (SHU) def. Max Kirby (EU) by Major Decision, 11-1 174 – Joey Arnold (EU) def. Owen Ayotte (SHU) by Major Decision, 15-2 184 – Brody Evans (EU) def. Logan Michael (SHU) by Tech Fall, 20-3 197 – Jack Kilner (EU) def. Jake Trovato (SHU) by Tech Fall, 19-3 285 – Nick Lodato (EU) def. Marc Berisha (SHU) by Decision, 4-1 125 – Jake Ice (SHU) def. Eamonn Jimenez (EU) by Major Decision, 10-2 133 – Andrew Fallon (SHU) won by forfeit (EU) The Pioneers will return to competition with a tri-meet against Queens University of Charlotte and VMI.

NCAA DI Rankings have been updated today; however, there was very little movement since the last update. Because of Collegiate Duals, the previous week's rankings were posted on Wednesday. Since then, there were a few duals along with the Sheridan Invite and the Wilkes Open. The Sheridan Invite provided some movement at 141 lbs as Mitch Moore maintained his perfect record and defeated Malyke Hines. Central Michigan's Corbyn Munson won the 149 lb bracket and Graham Rooks lost to a pair of Lehigh wrestlers. Also at the Sheridan, Ben Pasiuk moved back down to 174 lbs. Pasiuk was an EIWA finalist at the weight in 2023. The next rankings update will come on January 3rd, as the second day of the Southern Scuffle is on Tuesday the 2nd. For this week's rankings, Click Here

In January of 2023, Lou Deprez was injured in a match at the Southern Scuffle. Little did he know this injury was serious enough to end his final season of NCAA eligibility, and ultimately, his wrestling career. Because of his importance to the program, Head Coach Kyle Borshoff named Lou to the coaching staff immediately. He was very much a valued teammate on and off the mat. It was Borshoff’s intention to keep Lou around the program as much as possible, no matter the capacity. Fast forward almost a year later, Lou Deprez will return to the roster as a wrestler thanks to a medical redshirt. He brings one of the best resumes to ever step foot inside the Binghamton program. He is already a four-time NCAA qualifier and three-time EIWA champion while amassing an impressive 131 wins at the collegiate level. More importantly, he is the first two-time All-American in school history. He was selected as an NWCA All-American in the canceled 2020 tournament and finished 8th in 2021. In his last full season, he made the quarterfinals in 2022, failing to repeat as an All-American losing in the round of 12 – or infamously named the “Blood Round.” Deprez will compete at the 197 lbs weight class. Assuming he has not lost too much of a step, the Binghamton squad will now have a line-up containing four ranked wrestlers in addition to Brevin Cassella (165 lbs), Jacob Nolan (184 lbs), and Cory Day (285lbs). The opportunity will be a great chance for Deprez to earn another All-American honor while vastly filling a hole in the line-up in a major way. As a warm-up for the collegiate season, Lou decided to compete at the U.S. Senior Nationals freestyle event in Fort Worth, TX. He wrestled at 97 kgs – which equates to 213 lbs. He lost in the quarterfinals to the eventual champion, Kollin Moore, formally of Ohio State. He came back to earn eighth place in the star-studded bracket. In the final match, he injury defaulted. Yesterday, DePrez made his return to the collegiate scene yesterday at Lehigh’s Sheridan Invitational. There was very little rust as DePrez won the 197 lb bracket with four straight wins. He posted bonus points in his first three matches, then downed JT Davis (Lehigh) in the finals - 9-3. In our last rankings update, DePrez made his 2023-24 debut at #14.

Mill Valley

Valiant Prep

Arizona State travels to Reno TOC Arizona State sent five wrestlers to the Reno TOC and returned with near-perfect results, going 17-6 in their matches. Richard Figueroa was stunned 6-4 by Wyoming’s Jore Volk. However, he did post four victories, including Oregon State’s Caleb Coyle. Mykey Ramos went 5-1 at 149 pounds, losing to Oklahoma’s Willie McDougald 8-6. Ramos had three bonus-point victories including a first-period pin. Nicco Ruiz stood out at 165 pounds. Ruiz went 5-0 with wins over Oklahoma’s Cael Carson, Mannix Morgan, and Oregon State’s Isaiah Anderson. CSU Bakersfield falls in dual and TOC Cal State Bakersfield dropped its dual against Oregon State 48-0. The Roadrunners forfeited 149 pounds and lost four other matches by pins. However, three wrestlers battled the Beavers to the final whistle. Richard Castro-Sandoval lost to Brandon Kaylor 10-4 at 125 pounds. Guillermo Escobedo battled Matthew Olguin to an 11-4 loss at 165 pounds and heavyweight Jake Andrews lost 7-5 to Charles Hastriter. The Roadrunners followed up at the Reno TOC with two wrestlers finishing with a winning record. Ray Ray Harris went 3-2 at 125 pounds. He earned wins against unattached Gabe Gray, Clackamas CC Kai Villesanor, and Utah Valley’s Jacob Carson. Eric Mittlestead went 3-2 at heavyweight. His victories came against Abdulah Razzak, Ethan Salazar, and Shane Mattson. Little Rock Little Rock continues to be the most impressive team in the Pac-12 this season. The Trojans ran their winning streak to four with dominant wins against Chattanooga and Queens. The Trojans defeated Chattanooga 30-11. Jeremiah Reno, Triston Wills, and Stephen Little won by tech fall while Josiah Hill ended the dual with a pin. Brennan Van Hoecke, Matt Bianchi, and Tyler Brennan won close decisions. On the other hand, Little Rock had its first dual where every match had bonus points. Joshua Sarpy, Chase Tebbets, Joseph Bianchi, Brennan, and Hill won by pins. Reno, Van Hoecke, Kyle Dutton, Wills, and Little won by tech fall. On Monday, Little Rock traveled to Nashville for the Collegiate Duals. Though the Trojans went 0-3, they took #17 Pittsburgh to criteria in a 22-21 loss. Nasir Bailey had a pair of ranked wins, including a quick tech fall over then #8 Evan Frost of Iowa State. Wills has two wins as well, one of which was a pin against then #14th ranked Reece Heller of Pittsburgh. Updated rankings from InterMat have found Little Rock amongst the top-30 in tournament rankings for the first time in program history. Oregon State dominates CSUB dual Oregon State began the week with a 48-0 victory against Cal State Bakersfield. The Beavers won all but three matches by bonus points. Cleveland Belton, Isaiah Crosby, and Trey Munox highlighted the dual with first-period pins. Kekana Fouret won by a second-period pin and Travis Wittlake won by a 19-3 tech fall in the second period. After their dual, the Beavers went to Reno TOC and sent a handful of their starters and several wrestlers deeper on the depth chart. The Beavers had mixed results from their wrestlers. Caleb Coyle went 5-1, losing his one-ranked match to ASU’s Richard Figueroa. Isaiah Crosby went 4-1 at 157 pounds, losing to Oklahoma’s Jared Hill 2-1. He won some close battles including a 10-8 victory over Alex Ramirez and 4-2 against Oklahoma’s John Wiley. Justin Rademacher went 4-1 and Mason Christiansen went 4-2 at 197 pounds. Stanford loses VT dual; Undefeated at Campbell Stanford wrestled against Virginia Tech last week and fell 29-7. Daniel Cardenas defeated Bryce Andonian in a top-ten matchup 15-7 at 157 pounds. Jason Miranda won 3-0 at 141 pounds against Mac Church. Unfortunately, the Cardinal wrestling squad found themselves on the wrong side in the other top matchups. Nico Provo was stunned at 125 pounds, losing 5-2 to Cooper Flynn. In addition, Sam Latona defeated Tyler Knox 12-3, and Mekhi Lewis defeated Lorenzo Norman 8-0 and Sonny Sasso defeated Nick Stemmet 8-4. Tuesday was much better for the Cardinal as they swept the Campbell quad with wins over the hosts, North Dakota State, and Purdue. Though they were without four typical starters, Chris Ayres’ team managed to pull out three wins. As expected, Cardenas and Stemmet went 3-0 on the day.

Good morning, folks. We are nearly two months into the college season and 125 is exactly the mess I said it would be. But that’s a problem for the Ranker’s Guild and not me. Plenty of questions from some heavy hitters in the wrestling industry today and time is of the essence so let’s jump right into it so you can get ready for Festivus tomorrow and air some grievances. Thoughts on the Ivy League going their own way as of 2024-25? Seton Hall Pirate It’s certainly interesting, but I hope it doesn’t have a negative impact on the EIWA with losing some marquee teams. I’ve always liked the idea of this wrestling-only conference that’s still going strong for well over 100 years. Perhaps we can fill the gaps with whatever is left of the PAC-12 and just absorb them into it. With the invention of the airplane by the Wright Brothers, the world has become a much smaller place. I’m sure the boys at Hofstra wouldn’t mind leaving Long Island for a California getaway in late January. I also hope it can open the doors for a Yale or a Seton Hall to bring back a wrestling program and join any of these conferences. Wishful thinking, I know. The best thing to do is break off some teams from the MAC and even it out a bit. Will InterMat hire another person to cover the new Ivy League tournament or just add it to Austin Sommer’s workload while increasing his pay? Kevin McGuigan Only if he uses the name Dallas WInter and ties a sweater around his neck. If you’re going to be the Ivy League guy then BE the Ivy League guy. Drive a BMW. Play croquet every Sunday. Join a yacht club. Live the gimmick. What criteria should be used in the best ranking systems? Here are ideas for things to be considered: Hair Great hang Shoe size How many pull-ups they can do Can they dunk? Are their school’s singlets and warmups cool? Favorite movie Kevin Claunch You just made Sonny Sasso number one and he’s still in redshirt. I would also very much like to know how many wrestlers can actually dunk. I bet Trent Hidlay tries every single day and just doesn’t accept that he’s a wide-bodied defensive specialist built to pull down rebounds in the paint. For the love of god, what do we have to do to make duals matter all year? I think Goody and I have the best ideas. Why don't others see it? Nick Kosko Is your idea to put pork roll and Taylor Ham on the line for every dual? But seriously, I don’t have the answer. Richard Immel may have the answer with the ranking series angle he proposed last night on X (formerly known as Twitter) but I doubt it will ever get past the discussion stage. If this is about the lack of headline matches in duals, or what some people call ducking, I’m afraid you’re not going to change that with any type of new system or team championship. I try to stay away from the ducking term, because I’m just an average fan and I’m not privy to what’s going on behind the scenes. I get that guys are banged up and it is the coaches’ job to protect their guys at all costs. Mike Grey is not concerned that you paid ten bucks and didn't get to see a matchup between two star freshmen. Should he care? Maybe. Will he take heat from fans? Certainly. Will his job status be in jeopardy over it? Not a chance. It’s just the nature of the beast now and I don’t see the NCAA drastically changing the system so David Carr can get his win back. What is Jagger hoping to wake up Christmas morning to find under his tree? Dan Seifring I was going to say Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto in a Mets jersey, but before I could even spell-check his name the Dodgers (yes, those Dodgers) went and signed him along with every other player I coveted. That team is reaching Penn State levels of “This guy, too? Come on!” If only they knew how to win titles like Cael and the crew. Favorite Coquito flavor. Aaron Bartlett Coconut? Are there any other flavors? What are your thoughts on wrestlers counting byes as wins? Mike C. Is that really a thing? That can’t be true. You don’t even get your hand raised! I don’t even know what else to say except I’m going back to my high school hall of records and adding two more wins to my total. I realize we live in a world of fake overfiltered selfies, but I draw the line at fake wins. Get lost with that nonsense. On that note, I’m out of things to say. I wish you all a wonderful Friday as we head into the holiday weekend and then the end of the year. I started watching college wrestling seriously in 2017 and never imagined I’d be writing to you about coquito and pork rolls at the end of 2023. America truly is the land of opportunity.

Monday and Tuesday of this week featured one of the best new traditions in the wrestling world, the Collegiate Duals. Arranged by Journeymen Wrestling, the Collegiate Duals have taken place in a Southern city without collegiate wrestling for each of the last three years. Frank Popolizio and crew have been able to nab the top teams in the nation and put them together in dual competitions. Looking at the current NCAA dual rankings via InterMat, eight of the current top-ten teams in the country have participated in at least one of the three Collegiate Dual events. This year’s event took place in Nashville, Tennessee at the Montgomery Bell Academy. For those that have attended all three Collegiate Duals events, the facilities at this school were the best year. But back to the actual wrestling. Here are some general thoughts about the action on the mat (and a little off the mat) from the 2023 Collegiate Duals. The Big Red Elephant in the Room In what has been an all-too-familiar situation, the wrestling community was in an uproar after the first day of the Collegiate Duals. The final round of the three-dual competition on Monday saw then-#3 Cornell face then-#7 Iowa State. It was a rematch of the 2022 Collegiate Duals, which ended up being one of the best duals of the season. Although it was expected to be a star-studded affair, the 2023 version was memorable for all of the wrong reasons. The Cyclones prevailed 26-15 spurred by big wins from Anthony Echemendia (141 lbs) and Yonger Bastida (285 lbs), but the talk of the dual centered around who wasn’t in the lineup for Cornell. Four of the Big Red’s regular starters were not in the starting ten after competing in the previous two duals. #5 Brett Ungar (125), #2 Vito Arujau (133), #15 Meyer Shapiro (157), and #3 Julian Ramirez (165). Cornell actually won the 125 lb contest; however, they lost the other three and gave up bonus points in two of those. So why the controversy? In each of the four matches that Cornell eschewed, they featured a higher-ranked wrestler who was slated to meet a lower-ranked wrestler from Iowa State. At the same time, the only ranked-versus-ranked matches that took place featured a lower-ranked wrestler from Cornell taking on a higher-ranked wrestler from Iowa State. Basically, those were matches where Cornell had nothing to lose. Later that evening, an email from Cornell head coach Mike Grey made its way to social media: The email says everything you’d expect it to say, and frankly, you can’t argue with anything that Coach Grey wrote. I take that back, maybe you could reason that since Iowa State was the highest-ranked opponent and everyone knew when the duals would take place, wrestlers could have been rested in rounds one or two, if that’s what was needed. In Cornell’s defense, I’m sure their wrestlers were banged up. We’re just about two months into the season; most, if not all, wrestlers have some sort of ailment that could keep them from competing. The way that our sport is currently constructed, all that matters is March and the individual tournament. As stated in the email, Coach Grey is doing what he and his staff feel is in the best interest of their wrestlers. Personally, I’ll give Coach Grey the benefit of the doubt. I’m sure his wrestlers are dinged up and maybe something in their first two matches aggravated those particular issues. That being said, the optics are horrible. It appears really fishy when all of one team's higher-ranked wrestlers don’t compete against other high-quality wrestlers. At the same time, that same team sends out wrestlers who could unseat someone above them in the rankings. Maybe it’s just all a coincidence and terrible luck. We’ll probably never know for sure. And for the wrestling community. We’ve been burned time and time again, anticipating we’ll see a great match and then getting the rug pulled out from under our feet. Again and again, for years and years. This is not necessarily a “Cornell issue” but a larger problem in our sport. Cornell happened to be the team wrestling on Monday night, with no other action going on and the eyes of the wrestling community focused on a pay-per-view event on a subscription-based website. It’s easy to see why the hypothetical torches and pitchforks were pulled out on Twitter (X) and the message boards. Especially, when we’ve been Charlie Brown with the football pulled away by Lucy hundreds of previous times. And before I move on, I’m going to stand up for the general wrestling fanbase. Whenever this happens, people associated with the program in question come out in defense of their school and its coaches. That happened this time; which is understandable. I’ll speak for the vast majority of wrestling fans when I say that nobody wants wrestlers to get injured. Nobody wants them to wrestle injured. This isn’t gladiator combat and we don’t expect wrestlers to fight to the death. There are plenty of factors that could prevent a college-aged wrestler from competing in a match. Fans don’t know everything. At the same time, the college wrestling fan base isn’t that, that big. There are a lot of fans who wrestled in college. They understand the types of mental and physical roadblocks that could hinder a wrestler's performance. This isn’t NFL football where a large chunk of the fanbase didn’t even play in high school. Wrestling fans are knowledgeable. They also understand rankings, seeding, and NCAA qualification and how not-wrestling a particular match might help in all of those areas. And another comment I typically hear is that college athletes aren’t doing this for your enjoyment and entertainment. That’s true. I salute them for putting their bodies on the line in a sport like wrestling. At the same time, you don’t want to bite the hand that feeds you. At some point, after being burned time and time again, fans will just not care. They won’t tune in to the matches or spend time and money traveling in person. We don’t have that large of a fanbase to alienate people by playing mental games with the opposition or protecting NCAA seeds. For anyone offended by the social media uproar from wrestling fans when they’ve accused your team of “ducking,” I’d recommend stepping back from the situation. You’re probably too close to it. Think about how you’d feel if your biggest rival “ducked” a handful of matches against a top-ten team. You’d probably roll your eyes, shake your head, and think it’s “typical” of those guys. Is Navy a Top-Ten Dual Team? Duals lead themselves to some unusual results. That’s what makes them fun and we should have some sort of a DI National Dual tournament or decide the team championship via dual. But, I’ll leave that soapbox alone for now. In Tuesday’s nightcap, Ohio State edged NC State 21-20 on the strength of pins from their first three wrestlers. Not only did the Buckeyes pin NC State’s 125-141 lbers, but all of those Wolfpack wrestlers held top-five rankings at the time of the match. I have no idea whether something like that has ever been done before, and frankly, I have no idea where to search for such information. So, bear with me as I play the transitive game. NC State lost to Ohio State who lost to Pittsburgh who lost to Navy. Navy’s a top-ten team right? Maybe not, yet, as the transitive property doesn’t necessarily work for wrestling rankings. But it can be fun! Had Little Rock held on to beat Pittsburgh, we really could have had some fun with it. Now a comparison I’m willing to make is that Iowa State, and Iowa, are better than we may have thought preseason. Judging by what Iowa State has done at CKLV and in dual competition, the Hawkeye are similar to what we’ve come to expect from a Tom Brands-led team. More 125 lbs Chaos! In maybe the least surprising news of the week, 125 lbs continued to be a mess at the Collegiate Duals. In the ten bouts that featured a ranked 125 lber, half of them ended with the lower-ranked (or unranked) wrestler winning. Jakob Camacho entered Nashville as the top-ranked wrestler at the weight. He left with three losses courtesy of Anthony Noto, Brendan McCrone, and Trever Anderson. After yesterday’s rankings update, Noto has been elevated to the top spot. Looking ahead to the next week-plus, the field for the Midlands could be pretty loaded with 125 lbs and the Soldier Salute is smaller, yet has some high-quality lightweights. The parity should continue in the near future and there’s a chance that no one really establishes themselves as “the guy to beat” at the weight. Little Rock is Tough! Earlier this season, I was casually chatting with a DI head coach. His squad had recently wrestled Little Rock. His take on Little Rock was “They’re underrated. Those guys compete really hard. Neil’s (Erisman) done a really good job.” With that in the back of my mind, Little Rock was one of the teams I was most excited to see compete at the Duals. Partly because I’d already seen six of the eight squads wrestle in person this season, but also because of their young, relatively untested talent. How would they handle a gauntlet that includes Cornell, Iowa State, and Pittsburgh in back-to-back-to-back duals? That’s three of the top-17 teams in the nation. Very ambitious for even the best team in the nation, not to mention one that’s currently unranked a features a bevy of freshmen/sophomores. It sounds like an overused cliche, but the final score of Little Rock’s duals didn’t really do justice to how they actually competed. The bouts were more competitive than the final score indicated. After losses to the Big Red (32-8) and Cyclones (31-9), Pittsburgh needed criteria to edge the Trojans 22-21. That dual was highlighted by Brennan Van Hoecke’s victory over 2022 All-American Cole Matthews at 141 lbs and Triston Wills pinning a top-15 opponent in Reece Heller at 184 lbs. Perhaps the most talked about performance from Little Rock came from their 133 lber, true freshman, Nasir Bailey. Bailey started the day by giving returning national champion Vito Arujau a tough fight in his 4-0 loss to the world champion. There were also some post-match fireworks between the two, which I always enjoyed, provided no one crossed the line (and they didn’t). In match two, Bailey needed less than two minutes to rack up a tech fall on CKLV finals Evan Frost. He’d finish the day with a back-and-forth win over Vince Santaniello, giving him two wins over ranked opponents on the day. With the two quality wins and a weird, inexperienced field outside of the title contenders at 133 lbs, Bailey has crept into the top eight at 133 lbs. That has helped Little Rock earn a spot in InterMat Tournament Rankings for the first time in program history. The potential of this team and the way that they compete leads me to believe that there will be plenty of “firsts in program history” in the near future for Erisman’s team.

Springdale

Edmond North

North Kingstown

Mountain View

Manhattan (Pratt CC)

Blair Academy

Akron-Westfield

Bald Eagle Area

Philipsburg-Osceola