InterMat Staff

Welcome back all and I hope you all had a lovely holiday weekend even though the football was terrible. This will be a light mailbag since I’m not feeling too hot and only have a few questions that aren’t even wrestling-related. I’m not even sure how to work in a name so Earl can use a picture for the header. I’ll remedy that right now and so I can’t wait to see Peyton Robb back on the mat at the Calvin Klein Las Vegas in a few hours. I’ve yet to catch a Nebraska meet this year and I’m thrilled that the current All-Jagger 157 guy has recovered from all he’s been through. On that note, time to read the mail. Can you do audio responses to your questions this week? IndianaMat You mean like a podcast? Just answer all the questions on the air? I suppose I could and I can certainly elaborate more on the topics at hand since I’m not exactly a master of the written word. But what would the Jagoffs do on the bowl in the morning? Read about the real world? It’s way too depressing. As a person who has been in a long-term relationship, do you have any dating advice for Seton Hall Pirate? Willie “The Brain” Saylor Not really. Make them laugh. That’s all I can really offer. Women want a man that can make them laugh. So while you’re in Vegas, think of some funny one-liners for him to say and get Pirate his booty. Also, ladies don't like a guy who tries to correct them constantly and Pirate can be a little much with that. I just noticed today that our local sandwich guy has added “Taylor Ham” next to “Taylor Pork Roll” on the list of menu items. Not sure how to react to this. Any help would be much appreciated since I know there is no such thing as Taylor Ham. Kevin McGuigan Welcome to the revolution. You Philly guys should know a thing or two about that. We live in a world of extreme tolerance now and you just have to accept the fact that folks from North Jersey may travel to Philadelphia and we don’t want to feel ostracized by your strange lingo. Why am I even arguing this? The Taylor Ham/Pork Roll debate is a Jersey thing and not a Pennsylvania thing. This local sandwich guy deserves a statue if you ask me. Best "unorthodox" cig lighting technique? -Plumber torch-looks great, but burns up the cig. Gas stove? Ok. Electric stove? Looks pretty desperate. -are zippos still cool? -are matches too hipster? Burger King of Kings Finally, someone is asking the right questions. There’s a lot going on here so I’ll try to cover it all without getting too long-winded. Let’s start with the torch. Unless you’re Scud in Blade 2 you shouldn’t even bother. It’s dangerous and stupid. Plus, Scud turned on Blade before getting blown up so no need to emulate that guy. Certainly, the gas stove is a tried and true method but it reeks of desperation and can also be dangerous. I’ve never used an electric stove, but I reckon it’s similar to the classic car lighter. You kids know them now as power adapters. Are matches too hipster? I suppose that can be true if you’re doing a neo-50’s greaser vibe or something. Now Zippos, that’s where it’s at. Probably the greatest invention in American history.

Lake Highland Prep

Omaha Skutt

University

South Brunswick

Deep Creek

In the sense of setting your fantasy lineup, Week 4 was a snoozefest. But we did have some action which caused a shift in the current #FCW24 Overall Fantasy Standings. Week 3: The Fantasy Wrestler of Week 3 was 157 Vince Zerban (UNCO) who scored 28 Fpts in six matches, beating out Princeton’s 125 Drew Heethuis (26 Fpts). Two other big name 157 lbers, Peyton Robb (NEB) and Bryce Andonian (VT) tied for third with 25 Fpts and a PPM of 5.00. 165 Peyton Hall wrestled six matches in Week 3, but because two were non D1 competition, only four of them counted towards his score of 23 Fpts (PPM of 5.80, the highest out of any week 3 wrestler with three or more matches). Dominick Serrano of Northern Colorado wrestled seven matches in Week 3 with two duals and competing in the Black Knight Invite. He went 7-1, accumulating 23 Fpts. Week 4: Thanks in large part to the Mat-Town Open 1 (hosted by Lock Haven), Cornell ran away in the Week 4 leaderboard taking five of the Top-10 spots. 157 Gage McClenahan was the Week 4 leader with 18 Fpts in 5 matches, followed by Big Red teammate 174 Benny Baker with 17 Fpts. Joshua Saunders (12 Fpts) finished 5th and Greg Diakomihalis (11 Fpts) at 6th. Surprisingly, Chris Foca, a newcomer to the 184 weight class had 10 Fpts for 10th place in the Week 3 leaderboard. 149 Ty Linsenbigler (LHU) finished with 14 Fpts, one better than 4th place Carter Baer of Binghamton in the 157 weight class. Overall Leaderboard: With help from the Keystone Classic, several Virginia Tech wrestlers made a jump up the leaderboard. In particular, 149 Caleb Henson (VT) currently sits atop the standings with 54 Fpts. In second place, 11 Fpts behind, is 165 Peyton Hall (WVU). Previous Overall leader, Trent Hidlay (NCST), was busing winning freestyle matches and slipped to 4th place with a current total of 37 Fpts. Sneaking in at #3 is Army’s Thomas Deck (149 weight class) with 39 Fpts. To see the FULL Week 3, Week 4, and OVERALL #FCW24 Leaderboards, click HERE. On to Week 5: Every year at this time, I pour a glass of Jack Daniels and listen to Dean’Martin’s “Vegas Medley”: "I Love Vegas, every moment, It's my favorite atmosphere… I love Vegas, why do I, do I love Vegas? Because my money's here" I’m not going to talk at you for seven minutes about why the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite, the unquestioned best in-season tournament for several years running, is going to be absolutely bonkers. Just look at the pre-seeds and possible Rd16 matchups if seeds hold (you can see that HERE) Since we didn't have out Week 5 #FCWpodcast episode, here’s our picks for champs: Tony: Matt Ramos, Daton Fix, Brock Hardy, Caleb Henson, Peyton Robb, David Carr, Shane Griffith, Parker Keckeisen, Trent Hidlay, Yonger Bastida Todd: Brett Ungar, Daton Fix, Jesse Mendez, Ridge Lovett, Meyer Shapiro, David Carr, Shane Griffith, Parker Keckeisen, Trent Hidlay, Lucas Davison Most of the eyes and attention will be on the Pacific Time Zone, but Week 5 has several other tournaments to keep track of and tri/quad meets that can really boost your fantasy lineup. The Cougar Clash has several starters entered at each weight, as well as the Patriots Open down in Virginia or Storm Open in Ohio. Other tournaments like the Drury Open, Jim Koch Open, and Duane Open have some sparse D1 entrants, but remember that non-D1 matches do not count towards your team’s weekly Fpt total. 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. 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 Wrestlers I Like This Week Wrestler (School)- competition for the week [Proj Score] *organized by most potential points to least, then by school alphabetically”: 125: Ethan Berginc (ARMY)- Cougar Clash Blake West (NIU)- Cougar Clash Tyler Klinsky (RDI)- Patriots Open Tristan Lujan (MSU)- @ Franklin & Marshall, Vs Bloomsburg, Vs Presbyterian [+13] Jack Maida (AMER)- Vs Davidson [+6] Drew West (GWU)- Vs Kent State, Vs Buffalo [+6] Dean Peterson (RUT)- @ Edinboro [+5] Eric Barnett (WISC)- Vs Bucknell [+5] Noah Surtin (MIZZ)_ Vs Oklahoma [+3] 133: Zeke Seltzer (MIZZ)- Vs Oklahoma, Cougar Clash Dominick Serrano (UNCO)- Cougar Clash Braxton Brown (MARY)- Patriots Open Mason Leiphart (F&M)- Vs Bloomsburg, Michigan State, Vs VMI [+11] Nasir Bailey (LR)- @ Drexel, Vs Clarion [+7] Max Leete (AMER)- Vs Davidson [+6] Dylan Shawver (RUT)- @ Edinboro [+4] Kurt Phipps (BUCK)- @ Wisconsin [+3] Cayden Rooks (IND)- @ Princeton [+3] 141: Nathan Higley (GMU)- @ Davidson, Vs Cleveland State, Patriots Open Josh Edmond (MIZZ)- Vs Oklahoma, Cougar Clash Benjamin Alanis (UNCO)- Cougar Clash Michael Schiffhauer (BELL)- @ Lindenwood, @ Queens [+7] Todd Carter (GWU)- Vs Kent State, Vs Buffalo [+6] Real Woods (IOWA)- @ Penn [+4] Mitch Moore (RUT)- @ Edinboro [+4] * listed as -OR- in preview, risky play Cole Matthews (PITT)- Vs Illinois [+3] Danny Fongaro (IND)- @ Princeton [+3] 149: Thomas Deck (ARMY)- Cougar Clash Drew Roberts (MINN)- Cougar Clash Caleb Tyus (SIUE)- Cougar Clash Zac Cowan (BELL)- @ Lindenwood, @ Queens [+7] Kaden Cassify (GMU)- @ Davidson, Vs Cleveland State [+7] Noah Castillo (CHAT)- Vs Kent State, Vs Buffalo (@GWU) [+6] Zach Price (GWU)- Vs Kent State, Vs Buffalo [+6] Shayne Van Ness (PSU)- Vs Lehigh [+5] Finn Solomon (PITT)- Vs Illinois [+4] Graham Rooks (IND)- @ Princeton [+3] 157: Cam Steed (MIZZ)- Cougar Clash Vince Zerban (UNCO)- Cougar Clash Chase Saldate (MSU)- @ Franklin & Marshall, Vs Bloomsburg, Vs Presbyterian [+15] DJ McGee (GMU)- @ Davidson, Vs Cleveland State [+7] Brock Mauller (MIZZ)- Vs Oklahoma [+4] Levi Haines (PSU)- Vs Lehigh [+4] Al DeSantis (RUT)- @ Edinboro [+4] Nick Delp (BUCK)- @ Wisconsin [+3] Jared Franek (IOWA)- @ Penn [+3] 165: Evan Maag (GMU)- @ Davidson, Vs Cleveland State, Patriots Open Dalton Harkins (ARMY)- Cougar Clash Blaine Brenner (MINN)- Cougar Clash Tanner Cook (SDSU)- Patriots Open Caleb Fish (MSU)- @ Franklin & Marshall, Vs Bloomsburg, Vs Presbyterian [+15] Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU)- Vs Lehigh [+5] Keegan O’Toole (MIZZ)- Vs Oklahoma [+4] Holden Heller (PITT)- Vs Illinois [+4] Michael Caliendo (IOWA)- @ Penn [+4] Anthony White (RUT)- @ Edinboro [+4] Dean Hamiti (WISC)- Vs Bucknell [+4] Derek Gilcher (IND)- @ Princeton [+3] Nick Hamilton (UVA)- @ North Dakota State [+3] Peyton Hall (WVU)- Vs Oklahoma [+3] 174: Andrew Sparks (MINN)- Cougar Clash Carter Starocci (PSU)- Vs Lehigh [+5] Jay Nivison (BUFF)- @ Gardner-Webb, Vs Chattanooga, Vs Kent State [+4] Jackson Turley (RUT)- @ Edinboro [+4] * Listed as -OR- in preview, risky play Justin McCoy (UVA)- @ North Dakota State [+4] Myles Takats (BUCK)- @ Wisconsin [+3] Edmond Ruth (ILL) @ Pittsburgh [+3] Donnell Washington (IND)- @ Princeton [+3] 184: Max McEnelly (MINN)- Cougar Clash Isaiah Salazar (MINN)- Cougar Clash Sean Harman (MIZZ)- Cougar Clash Colton Hawks (MIZZ)- Cougar Clash Bennett Berge (SDSU)- Patriots Open Layne Malczewski (MSU)- @ Franklin & Marshall, Vs Bloomsburg, Vs Presbyterian [+11] *if wrestles, last match was a loss by INJ Malachi Duvall (GMU)- Vs Cleveland State, Vs Davidson [+6] James Conway (F&M)- Vs Bloomsburg, Michigan State, Vs VMI [+4] Clayton Whiting (MIZZ)- Vs Oklahoma [+4] Bernie Truax (PSU)- Vs Lehigh [+4] Brian Soldano (RUT)- @ Edinboro [+4] Hudson Stewart (UVA)- @ North Dakota State [+4] Connor Bourne (AMER)- Vs Davidson [+3] Reece Heller (PITT)- Vs Illinois [+3] Dennis Robin (WVU)- Vs Oklahoma [+3] 197: Rocky Elam (MIZZ)- Cougar Clash *Questionable if wrestles the OU Dual Sonny Sasso (VT)- Patriots Open Stephen Buchanan (OU)- @ Missouri, @ West Virginia [+8] Stephen Little (LR)- @ Drexel, Vs Clarion [+8] Ben Smith (CSU)- Vs George Mason (@DAV) [+4] Mac Stout (PITT)- Vs Illinois [+4] Luke Stout (PRIN)- Vs Indiana [+4] John Poznanski (RUT)- @ Edinboro [+4] Aaron Brooks (PSU)- Vs Lehigh [+3] 285: Chad Nix (GMU)- @ Davidson, Vs Cleveland State, Patriots Open Zach Elam (MIZZ)- Vs Oklahoma, Cougar Clash Bennett Tabor (MINN)- Cougar Clash Chase Horne (NCST)- Patriots Open Josh Terrill (MSU)- @ Franklin & Marshall, Vs Bloomsburg, Vs Presbyterian [+9] William Jarrell (AMER)- Vs Davidson [+4] Dorian Crosby (BUCK)- @ Wisconsin [+4] Yaraslau Slavikouski (RUT)- @ Edinboro [+4] Greg Kerkvliet (PSU)- Vs Lehigh [+3] Ryan Catka (UVA)- @ North Dakota State [+3]

We're back on track with more of a normal wrestling schedule a week after the Thanksgiving holiday. A total of 33 duals will be contested along with some great tournaments. Since it can be difficult to figure out where and when to watch all of these events, InterMat has put together a list of all of the live-streamed events occurring this week. Below are the dates/times and how to watch each match (with links). All times are Eastern. Thursday, November 30: Bellarmine at Lindenwood 7:00 PM ESPN+ Friday, December 1: Air Force, Appalachian State, Arizona State, Binghamton, Cal Poly, Campbell, Columbia, Cornell, CSU Bakersfield, Harvard, Hofstra, Iowa State, LIU, Maryland, Michigan, Morgan State, Navy, NC State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Northern Iowa, Northwestern, Ohio, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Purdue, Rider, Sacred Heart, South Dakota State, Stanford, The Citadel, Utah Valley, Virginia Tech, Wyoming at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, Las Vegas, NV 12:00 PM FloWrestling Rutgers at Edinboro 7:00 PM FloWrestling Iowa at Penn 7:00 PM ESPN+ Oklahoma at Missouri 8:00 PM FloWrestling Saturday, December 2: Lindenwood at Drury Open, hosted by Drury 10:00 AM Buffalo vs. Kent State at Gardner-Webb 10:00 AM Northern Iowa at Jim Koch Open, hosted by Wisconsin-Parkside 10:00 AM FloWrestling Army West Point, Lindenwood, Little Rock, Minnesota, Missouri, Northern Colorado, Northern Illinois, SIU Edwardsville at Cougar Clash, hosted by SIU Edwardsville 11:00 AM ESPN+ Buffalo vs. Chattanooga at Gardner-Webb 12:00 PM Kent State at Gardner-Webb 12:00 PM ESPN+ Davidson at George Mason 12:00 PM ESPN+ Air Force, Appalachian State, Arizona State, Binghamton, Cal Poly, Campbell, Columbia, Cornell, CSU Bakersfield, Harvard, Hofstra, Iowa State, LIU, Maryland, Michigan, Morgan State, Navy, NC State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Northern Iowa, Northwestern, Ohio, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Purdue, Rider, Sacred Heart, South Dakota State, Stanford, The Citadel, Utah Valley, Virginia Tech, Wyoming at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, Las Vegas, NV, 1:00 PM FloWrestling Cleveland State at George Mason 1:30 PM ESPN+ Buffalo at Gardner-Webb 2:00 PM ESPN+ Chattanooga vs. Kent State at Gardner-Webb 2:00 PM Davidson at American 6:00 PM ESPN+ Virginia at North Dakota State 8:00 PM NDSU All-Access Sunday, December 3: Bloomsburg vs. VMI at Franklin & Marshall 10:00 AM Michigan State at Franklin & Marshall 10:00 AM Centennial Conference Digital Network Davidson, George Mason, Lock Haven Penn at ARMS Software Patriot Open hosted by George Mason, 10:00 AM FloWrestling Clarion vs. West Liberty at Drexel 11:00 AM Little Rock at Drexel 11:00 AM FloWrestling Bloomsburg vs. Presbyterian at Franklin & Marshall 11:30 AM VMI at Franklin & Marshall 11:30 AM Centennial Conference Digital Network Clarion vs. Little Rock at Drexel 12:30 PM West Liberty at Drexel 12:30 PM FloWrestling Bloomsburg vs. Michigan State at Franklin & Marshall 1:00 PM Presbyterian at Franklin & Marshall 1:00 PM Centennial Conference Digital Network Indiana at Princeton 1:00 PM ESPN+ Bellarmine at Queens 1:00 PM Queens Athletics All-Access Clarion at Drexel 2:00 PM FloWrestling Lehigh at Penn State 2:00 PM Big Ten Network Oklahoma at West Virginia 2:00 PM ESPN+ Bucknell at Wisconsin 2:00 PM B1G+ Bloomsburg at Franklin & Marshall 2:30 PM Centennial Conference Digital Network Michigan State vs. Presbyterian at Franklin & Marshall 2:30 PM St. Andrews at Queens 3:00 PM Queens Athletics All-Access Illinois at Pittsburgh 6:00 PM ACC Network Extra

The Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas is regularly one of the top tournaments of the year, and that is certainly true this season. The field includes 35 teams and some of the top wrestlers in the country. Not all teams are sending everyone, but there will still be plenty of high-level and interesting contests. The following is a look at the top potential match at each weight. 125: No. 2 Matt Ramos (Purdue) vs. No. 5 Michael DeAugustino (Michigan) The top of the 125-pound rankings has been a bit of an adventure so far this season. Ramos started the year ranked number one after finishing second at the last NCAA tournament. Since then he has lost to high schooler Marcus Blaze and No. 1 Jakob Camacho (NC State). At the same time, he also bested then-top-ranked No. 3 Anthony Noto (Lock Haven). There was potential for a rematch between Ramos and Camacho in this tournament, but the NC State wrestler was not included in the pre-seeds. In that case, the most interesting potential match for Ramos becomes DeAugustino. The transfer from Northwestern was a four-time NCAA qualifier for the Wildcats and finished fourth at the 2022 NCAA tournament. He has wrestled only once since transferring to Michigan and picked up an 8-1 decision over No. 24 Nick Babin (Columbia). 133: No. 1 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 4 Kai Orine (NC State) The next chapter in the rivalry between Fix and returning champion No. 2 Vito Arujau (Cornell) will need to wait. After an incredibly impressive summer wrestling freestyle, Arujau has only competed in the Journeymen Classic, where he lost a surprising decision against No. 5 Ryan Crookham (Lehigh). At this time, he is not entered. Fix is back for one final year of college wrestling after finishing second three times and fourth once, he is looking to finally end up on the top of the podium. In his only match this season, he scored a fall over No. 21 Kurt Phipps (Bucknell). Orine represents a tough early-season test for Fix. The two wrestled at the 2022 NCAA tournament, and the Oklahoma State wrestler scored a 7-4 decision. 141: No. 3 Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina) vs. No. 4 Brock Hardy (Minnesota) As a redshirt freshman last season, McNeil finished fourth at 141 pounds to become an All-American. The Tar Heel has also competed extensively internationally in freestyle for Canada and collected a silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. McNeil has won all six of his matches to start his sophomore campaign, and all six of those victories have come with bonus points. After a tough start to last season, Hardy settled down and turned himself into a contender at this weight. He ended up finishing sixth at the NCAA tournament in his first trip to the event. These two wrestled in that tournament where McNeil scored a 5-2 decision victory. 149: No. 1 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) vs. No. 4 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) Lovett was a finalist at this weight in the 2022 NCAA tournament. After a redshirt year last season, he has returned to form this year. He is undefeated through six matches and won the title at the Navy Classic. Lovett’s run to start the year includes an 11-1 major decision over No. 11 Kellyn March (North Dakota State) and a 48-second fall over No. 31 Dylan Chappell (Bucknell). Henson started basically the whole way as a true freshman last season. He finished fifth at this weight to become an All-American. His quest to return to the podium has gotten off to an undefeated 12-0 start. Already this season, Henson has won both the Southeast Open and the Keystone Classic. His biggest victory so far was a 10-5 decision over No. 5 Dylan D’Emilio earlier this month. 157: No. 3 Peyton Robb (Nebraska) vs. No. 5 Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) Entering his senior season, Robb already has quite the resume. He is a four-time NCAA qualifier and a two-time All-American. Last season, he finished sixth at the NCAA tournament and will be looking to improve on that this year. Robb has won all seven of his matches to date. At the Navy Classic, he claimed the tournament title with six victories and five coming with bonus points. Andonian wrestled somewhat sparingly to start last season, and he finished the year with only 16 matches. Despite the lack of competition, he still finished seventh at the NCAA tournament to earn All-American status for the second straight season. Andonian has already wrestled seven matches to start this season, and he has won them all. In his season debut, he scored a 7-4 decision over No. 16 Paddy Gallagher (Ohio State) and recently won the Keystone Classic. 165: No. 2 David Carr (Iowa State) vs. No. 3 Cam Amine (Michigan) Carr appeared to be the clear favorite at 165 pounds last year as he dominated the field and scored a pair of victories over No. 1 Keegan O’Toole (Missouri) prior to the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately for him, in the final match of the year, the Missouri wrestler pulled off the upset and claimed the title. He has returned to his dominant way to start the year. In his four victories this season, he has already picked up wins over No. 5 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) and No. 6 Michael Caliendo (Iowa). At the end of the last three seasons, Amine has found himself on the All-American podium. Last season, he matched his previous year with a fourth-place finish. Amine has wrestled only twice so far this season, but he has won both of those matches via bonus. In his season debut, he scored an 18-6 major decision over Andrew Garr (Columbia) and followed that up with a third-period technical fall over Cole McComas (Rider). 174: No. 3 Shane Griffith (Michigan) vs. No. 5 Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) Griffith made the move to Michigan this past offseason after four seasons at Stanford. At this previous stop, he made the All-American podium three times and won the title at 165 pounds in 2021. So far at his new school and his new weight, Griffith has won both of his matches over Garrett Bilgrav (Columbia) and Michael Wilson (Rider). A potential match against Kharchla is interesting for a variety of reasons. The Ohio State wrestler has consistently dealt with injuries during his college career, and he pulled out of the Clarion Open earlier this month. However, since then, he has gotten back on track with wins in his last four bouts. Griffith and Kharchla wrestled in the 2021 edition of this tournament, and Griffth escaped with a 5-4 decision. Expect another close decision if this one happens again. 184: No. 1 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) vs. No. 4 Chris Foca (Cornell) After two third-place finishes and a runner-up performance at the NCAA tournament, Keckeisen enters this year as the favorite at 184 pounds. So far, he has looked the part. He has won all four of his matches including a 17-3 major decision over Iowa State freshman Tate Naakgeboren. However, his most impressive win this year came at the All-Star Classic where he bested No. 2 Bernie Truax (Penn State) in the exhibition match. Foca has moved up to 184 pounds this year after finishing third one weight down last year. It should be an interesting first-time match if he ends up facing Keckeisen. This season, Foca went 3-0 at the Mat Town Open and scored a 40-second fall over Sacred Heart’s Logan Michael. 197: No. 5 Trent Hidlay (NC State) vs. No. 3 Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State) Last week, Hidlay took a little break from the college season to enter the Bill Farrell. He entered the freestyle event at 86 kg hoping to secure a spot in the upcoming Olympic Trials. Hidlay not only won the event, but in the finals, he picked up a 2-1 victory over former Hodge Trophy winner Alex Dieringer. This tournament will mark his return to folkstyle. In his last season of college wrestling, he has started 7-0 with all bonus-point victories. He is looking to make one final run at an NCAA title after finishing fourth last season. If Hidlay hopes to keep his winning streak alive, he will likely need to get past Sloan. The South Dakota State wrestler made the finals at this weight last season before coming up short against Pittsburgh’s Nino Bonaccorsi. So far this year, he has won both of his official matches. Sloan did drop an exhibition match against three-time NCAA champion No. 1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State), who has moved up to 197 pounds this year, at the NWCA All-Star Classic. 285: No. 2 Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force) vs. No. 7 Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) Hendrickson had a bit of a coming-out party last season. After two seasons of qualifying for the NCAA tournament, he broke out with a third-place finish at the NCAA tournament. His only losses throughout the season were to eventual champion Mason Parris and No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State). Over the summer, Hendrickson took it to another level with a gold medal performance at the U23 World Championships. In his only action so far this year, Hendrickson dropped a match against Kerkvliet at the All-Star Classic. There was speculation that he would sit out this event due to injury, but he has registered for the tournament. There might be higher-ranked heavyweights in this tournament, but it is hard to ignore the intrigue around Bastida. This will be the fourth season of folkstyle wrestling for the freestyle convert, and it will be his first at heavyweight. So far the results have been outstanding as he has won all four of his matches with bonus points. He started the year with three-straight technical falls and then majored Iowa’s Bradley Hill last weekend. This will be his first real shot at high-level heavyweight opposition.

Friday marks the start of one of the tentpole events of the collegiate regular season, the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Typically, the CKLV has an argument for being the toughest in-season tournament in the country. This year there’s no argument. Seven of the top-ten tournament teams in the country will attend. Going further, the field includes 14 of the top-20 teams. From an individual standpoint, five weights have a wrestler that ranked either number one or number two at their respective weights. It’s no exaggeration when someone says that this is like a mini-National Tournament. Last year’s tournament featured six wrestlers who went on to wrestle in the NCAA finals. With an even stronger field expected, that number could rise in 2023. Here’s a weight-by-weight look at the CKLV. In each weight, we’ve noted the ranked wrestlers that are expected to compete, along with analysis, new faces to watch, potential spoilers, and picks for the semifinals and finals. Since this tournament (and the preview) is so large, we’ll break it into two parts. Part one focused on 125-157. 165 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #2 David Carr (Iowa State), #3 Cam Amine (Michigan), #6 Izzak Olejnik (Oklahoma State), #7 Julian Ramirez (Cornell), #8 Matthew Olguin (Oregon State), #10 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska), #17 Maxx Mayfield (Northwestern), #19 Garrett Thompson (Ohio), #20 Connor Brady (Virginia Tech), #21 Brevin Cassella (Binghamton), #25 Giano Petrucelli (Air Force), #29 Hunter Garvin (Stanford), #30 Stoney Buell (Purdue), #33 Jack Thomsen (Northern Iowa) The first/last/only regular season loss of David Carr’s career came back in December of 2019 at the CKLV semifinals (to Ryan Deakin). A CKLV title is about the only collegiate accomplishment missing from Carr’s lengthy resume. Though he’s only wrestled four matches so far this season, Carr already has two wins over 2023 All-Americans. His most recent one came in a dominating 16-4 major decision over Michael Caliendo at the Cy-Hawk Dual. Carr’s primary competition will come from three-time All-American Cam Amine. Though he and Carr were on the 2023 NCAA podium at this weight, the two have yet to meet. Amine has a chunk of his 2022-23 season disrupted due to injury; however, he’s looked very good during his limited action this season. Interestingly enough, the other All-American at this weight, Izzak Olejnik, did not meet Carr or Amine last year. He did meet Amine at the 2022 national tournament and Amine prevailed, 4-2. That result may not mean much to Olejnik, one of the stars of the All-Star Classic. He reversed a 2023 NCAA result against two-time AA Dean Hamiti in State College. The move to Stillwater may already have paid dividends. This weight also has a pair of veterans who are potential high-finishers here and in Kansas City despite not having made the NCAA, yet. Julian Ramirez is a two-time Bloodround finisher for Cornell. He earned the fourth seed at the 2023 national tournament after winning his first EIWA title. Ramirez was the CKLV champion last year. Coming in third in that bracket was Matthew Olguin. After Vegas, Olguin went on to capture a Pac-12 title by upsetting past national champion Shane Griffith. That led to an eighth seed at nationals; however, Olguin went 1-2. New face(s): The beauty of college wrestling is sometimes we have freshmen that everyone expects to be good and other times some come out of nowhere. Antrell Taylor is someone most pundits assumed would be very good for Nebraska, provided he found a spot in their crowded lineup. Ohio’s Garrett Thompson is one that most didn’t see coming. While not a freshman, Thompson is a new face on the national scene and announced his presence with a win over All-American Peyton Hall (West Virginia) on the way to a Southeast Open title the first week of the season. He would finish as a runner-up to Taylor at the Navy Classic. Taylor unseated incumbent, Bubba Wilson, to take Nebraska’s starting spot at 165 lbs and has been very impressive thus far. Potential Spoiler: We’re not necessarily sure how 165 lbs will shake out for Ohio State. Isaac Wilcox has gotten the bulk of the work thus far, but Bryce Hepner is very solid and in the rankings. Wilcox certainly could have a national ranking himself. His win over NCAA qualifier Connor Brady was instrumental in the Buckeyes early season win over Virginia Tech. He probably won’t get a great seed, but is definitely a tough matchup waiting to happen. Semifinal Projection: David Carr (Iowa State) vs Julian Ramirez (Cornell); Cam Amine (Michigan) vs. Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) Finals Pick: David Carr (Iowa State) over Cam Amine (Michigan) 174 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #3 Shane Griffith (Michigan), #5 Carson Kharchla (Ohio State), #7 Cade DeVos (South Dakota State), #12 Travis Wittlake (Oregon State), #13 Adam Kemp (Cal Poly), #21 MJ Gaitan (Iowa State), #22 Austin Murphy (Campbell), #23 Alex Faison (NC State), #24 Lennox Wolak (Columbia), #28 Lance Runyon (Northern Iowa), #30 Danny Wask (Navy), #33 Brody Baumann (Purdue) The top two wrestlers at this weight, we’ve seen before, but not 100% the same situation. Shane Griffith and Carson Kharchla clashed in the 2021 CKLV semifinals for their only career meeting. While Griffith prevailed, it was only the 11th match in an Ohio State singlet for Kharchla. A close loss to the returning national champion indicated he may be a contender immediately. That proved to be the case and Kharchla finished seventh and Griffith returned to the national finals. Since then, both wrestlers have moved up in weight and Griffith has moved on as a graduate transfer from Stanford to Michigan. The move likely serves both well as Griffith is tall and long, while Kharchla is a ball of muscle. This could be the first of three or four meetings between these two, who are now Big Ten rivals. The only returning All-American outside of Griffith/Kharchla in this bracket is Travis Wittlake, who has also changed schools in the offseason from one OSU to another. Wittlake might finally be at an optimal weight class after bouncing from 165 to 184 during the previous two seasons. After the All-Americans, three others have gotten onto the CKLV podium in the past; Cade DeVos, Adam Kemp, and Alex Faison. DeVos was fourth at each of the last two tournaments and comes in as the third seed this time. He also was a match shy of All-American status last season. Kemp used the 2021 tournament as a breakout, of sorts. That year he went on to make the Pac-12 finals and went 1-2 at nationals. He’s looking to return to the big show in 2024. Faison’s eighth-place showing last year helped solidify a starting role in the NC State lineup. He’d take advantage of his opportunity by making the ACC finals and his first trip to nationals. There are some other veterans who have a strong chance at the podium in Austin Murphy, Lennox Wolak, and Lance Runyon. The only blemish on Murphy’s record this year is a one-point loss to Wittlake at the Southeast Open. Wolak was a third-place finisher at the 2023 EIWA Championships and was 1-2 at his first NCAA Tournament. Runyon has been a NCAA podium contender, but battled injuries over the last two years. New face(s)/Potential Spoilers: We’re combining these as I think they can apply here. In Sunday’s Cy-Hawk meet, we saw how MJ Gaitan is a goer and can wrestle an entire seven minutes. That could benefit him in the later rounds if he makes a deep run. Danny Wask has been a tough out for some highly-ranked foes, but then he got on the winning track by cruising through the Navy Classic. Brody Baumann has been solid in the early going for Purdue and has generally beaten the guys you’d expect him to beat. Finally, Oklahoma State’s true freshman Brayden Thompson will come in unseeded. Thompson has a great pre-collegiate pedigree; however, he defaulted out of his Cowboy debut. Semifinal Projection: Shane Griffith (Michigan) vs. Travis Wittlake (Oregon State), Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) vs. Cade DeVos (South Dakota State) Finals Pick: Shane Griffith (Michigan) over Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) 184 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #1 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa), #3 Trey Munoz (Oregon State), #4 Chris Foca (Cornell), #5 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State), #7 Lenny Pinto (Nebraska), #8 Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State), #9 Will Feldkamp (Iowa State), #10 Gavin Kane (North Carolina), #13 Troy Fisher (Northwestern), #14 David Key (Navy), #18 Sam Fisher (Virginia Tech), #20 Dylan Fishback (NC State), #21 Jacob Nolan (Binghamton), #24 Caleb Hopkins (Campbell), #27 Sam Wolf (Air Force), #30 Tony Negron (Arizona State), #31 Zayne Lehman (Ohio), #33 Jacob Armstrong (Utah Valley) After 157 lbs, this is my favorite weight in Vegas with six of the top-eight and eight of the top-ten wrestlers in the country. Top-ranked Parker Keckeisen is seeking to improve upon his runner-up finish from last year. Keckeisen was in action last week at the All-Star Classic and managed to come from behind to defeat #2 Bernie Truax in his new home gym. Not counting Keckeisen, the remainder of the weight class has six returning All-Americans. Each of the remaining wrestlers inside of the top ten, excluding Lenny Pinto, has gotten on the NCAA podium at least once. If seeds were to hold up, the quarterfinals could feature All-Americans clashing in three of the four bouts. This bracket got even tougher a few weeks ago as it was announced that 2023 NCAA third-place finisher at 174 lbs, Chris Foca, had planned to move up. Foca has been third at this tournament in each of the last two years. Also placing at 174 lbs in 2022 was Troy Fisher who took fifth. It’s not a stretch to say that the rankings at 184 lbs could be completely different at the conclusion of this tournament. Where this weight separates itself from others is the depth in addition to the top contenders. More than half of the ranked wrestlers at 184 lbs are scheduled to compete. New face(s): There isn’t necessarily room for a freshman to come in and knock off established veterans here. Some weights are more conducive to that than others. At the same time, I’m eager to see how Dylan Fishback fares against this type of competition. So far, he’s passed every test for the Wolfpack. During his last two appearances, Fishback has defeated Jacob Nolan and Ben Pasiuk, both of whom were EIWA finalists and national qualifiers last year. Potential Spoiler: Pay attention to the 10th seed David Key. A two-time national qualifier, Key isn’t someone who necessarily is under the radar, but he’s already notched some impressive wins, via fall this year. In Navy’s first two duals, he prevailed via fall over Dylan Connell (Illinois) and Reece Heller (Pittsburgh). Semifinal Projection: Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) vs. Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State); Trey Munoz (Oregon State) vs. Chris Foca (Cornell) Finals Pick: Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) over Chris Foca (Cornell) 197 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #3 Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State), #5 Trent Hidlay (NC State), #6 Jacob Cardenas (Cornell), #8 Luke Surber (Oklahoma State), #9 Jaxon Smith (Maryland), #12 Silas Allred (Nebraska), #13 Nick Stemmet (Stanford), #14 Luke Geog (Ohio State), #16 Andy Smith (Virginia Tech), #18 Max Shaw (North Carolina), #20 Evan Bockman (Utah Valley), #21 Evan Bates (Northwestern), #23 Wyatt Voelker (Northern Iowa), #24 Julien Broderson (Iowa State), #25 Levi Hopkins (Campbell), #27 Carson Floyd (Appalachian State), #28 Bobby Striggow (Michigan), #29 Jack Wehmeyer (Columbia) Every once in a while, there’s a CKLV bracket that explodes, seeds go out the window, and nothing goes as expected. That was the case last year when the top half of the bracket featured the fifth and ninth seeds wrestling in the semifinals. The two and six were on the bottom half. When it was all said and done, NC State’s Isaac Trumble took the title. Looking at this year’s crop, could another Wolfpack wrestler win it all? Trent Hidlay comes in as the second seed. He’s moved up to 197 lbs for the first time after spending the remainder of his career at 184. Hidlay’s had plenty of luck in Vegas, winning the tournament in 2022 and finishing second as a freshman. The top seed in last year’s tournament, Tanner Sloan, is also the top seed in 2023. He was upset in the quarterfinals by ninth-seeded Andy Smith. It’s hard to believe but, barring a withdrawal, Smith is set to start the tournament as the ninth seed again. After losing to Smith, Sloan proceeded to go on a 20-match winning streak; taking third place and extending into the Big 12 finals. He’d also make the NCAA Championship match. The only other returning All-American in the bracket is Jacob Cardenas. Cardenas is seeking to place at CKLV for the first time. In 2021, he went 1-2 and last season he did not enter. There are also a pair of wrestlers that fell a match shy of All-American status last year that will be contenders with Jaxon Smith and Silas Allred. As a redshirt freshman, Smith defeated 2022 NCAA champion Max Dean on his way to third place in the Big Ten. Unfortunately, Dean returned the favor in the bloodround. Allred was a Big Ten champion last year but fell to the eventual champion, Nino Bonaccorsi, in the quarterfinals and the returning runner-up, Jacob Warner, in the bloodround. In his last outing, Allred was upset by Luke Stout (Princeton) at the Navy Classic. Coincidentally, Smith’s last match was a win over Stout’s younger brother, Mac. New face(s): We mentioned earlier that Tanner Sloan and Andy Smith could meet again the the quarterfinals. That’s provided Smith gets by Ohio State’s Luke Geog. The two battled earlier in the year and Geog got the 11-7 victory. Aside from that bout, Geog has won his other three matches via tech. Another redshirt freshman to watch is Wyatt Voelker. Since UNI has not wrestled a dual yet, we’ve only seen Voelker once, at the Daktronics Open. Voelker came away with the title and bonus points in three of his fourth matches. Potential Spoiler: A national qualifier in 2021, Max Shaw struggled in 2022 and needed an at-large berth to make the NCAA tournament in 2023 - where he was seeded 32th. Shaw ended up with a pair of consolation wins before his elimination. He’s looked closer to his 2021 form this year and comes in with a spotless record. It wouldn’t be surprising if he made noise as the tenth seed. Semifinal Projection: Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State) vs. Jaxon Smith (Maryland); Trent Hidlay (NC State) vs. Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) Finals Pick: Trent Hidlay (NC State) over Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State) 285 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #1 Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force), #3 Lucas Davison (Michigan), #7 Yonger Bastida (Iowa State), #9 Tyrell Gordon (Northern Iowa), #10 Grady Griess (Navy), #13 Owen Trephan (NC State), #15 Taye Ghadiali (Campbell), #16 Konner Doucet (Oklahoma State), #17 Nick Feldman (Ohio State). #18 Hunter Catka (Virginia Tech), #19 Seth Nevills (Maryland), #20 Keaton Kluever (Hofstra), #21 Lewis Fernandes (Cornell), #22 Boone McDermott (Oregon State), #23 Cory Day (Binghamton), #24 Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly), #27 Hayden Copass (Purdue), #30 David Szuba (Rider), #33 Jonathan Chesser (The Citadel) Last year’s tournament ended with a Michigan heavyweight getting his hand raised in the finals - this year it’s possible as well. Hodge Trophy winner Mason Parris has moved on, but the Wolverines were able to add Lucas Davison from the transfer portal. In fact, it was Davison who Parris defeated while the former was at Northwestern. It was the second time that Davison has placed at this event; he was fifth in 2021. Aside from Davison, the only other All-Americans in this field are Wyatt Hendrickson and Yonger Bastida. Bastida got on the podium in 2021 at 197 lbs, but has moved up this year. Though he hasn’t wrestled the most difficult schedule, as of yet, Bastida has been an offensive juggernaut racking up 81 points in four matches. Hendrickson recently competed in the All-Star Classic and was soundly defeated by Greg Kerkvliet. I was unsure whether or not a knee injury from U23 Worlds was lingering and would prevent him from entering here. Hendrickson took four at CKLV last year. After the two All-Americans there are 2023 conference champions. Grady Griess (EIWA), Owen Trephan (ACC), and Taye Ghadiali (SoCon) won the respective leagues last season. Griess lost his first bout of the season to Illinois’ Luke Luffman, but is now on a seven-match winning streak. Trephan was seventh here in 2022; but had a rough go of things at the Journeymen Classic a few weeks ago, losing two matches. Ghadiali is 7-0 and pinned two NCAA qualifiers on his way to a Southeast Open title. The third seed is Tyrell Gordon who finished fifth at last year’s CKLV, but has yet to take the mat in 2023-24. He was also third in a deep Big 12 weight class that had eight automatic qualifiers for Tulsa. New face(s): One of the most anticipated freshmen to watch this season is Nick Feldman, the top recruit in the Class of 2022, who was injured and missed most of the 2022-23 campaign. Feldman is a perfect 9-0 with bonus points in seven of those contests. His best win to date has come over Virginia Tech’s national qualifier Hunter Catka. We’ll find out quickly where Feldman belongs in the pecking order of heavyweights, as he could have Konner Doucet in the Round of 16 and Wyatt Hendrickson in the quarterfinals. Potential Spoiler: With such a large group of seeded wrestlers, anyone could be a spoiler. Seth Nevills, Keaton Kluever, and Lewis Fernandes are all double digit seeds that are capable of knocking off higher ranked opponents. Semifinal Projection: Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force) vs. Tyrell Gordon (Northern Iowa); Lucas Davison (Michigan) vs. Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) Finals Pick: Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force) over Yonger Bastida (Iowa State)

Ashley Ridge

Holt

We are a month into the season and we’ve had so much incredible action already. Let’s take a look at the top 5 takeaways from the month of November as we get ready to turn the page to the second month of the season. Ohio State Starts Season Strong The Buckeyes have had a great start to the 2023-24 season. With four dual meets under their belt, they’ve come out on top in each and have only lost four dual meet matches going 36-4. After getting their first win on the road to kick off the season against Virginia Tech, who was favored in the matchup, they won the next three without relinquishing a match beating Edinboro 53-0, Columbia 49-0, and Hofstra 51-0. They also brought home 4 titles from the season-opening Clarion Open resulting in a Big Ten Wrestler of the Week honor for Freshman Rocco Welsh. In the midst of all the winning, Coach Tom Ryan went over the 200-win mark for his career. Now they will look to carry that momentum into the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational this weekend. Penn State Flexes to Open Season The Nittany Lions haven’t had a dual meet just yet, but they’ve been showing out. Specifically, as they played host for the All-Star Classic, they put on a show winning four of the five matches where they were represented in the classic with the biggest performance coming in the finale as Greg Kerkvliet beat Wyatt Hendrickson by 18-2 technical fall in their rematch of the 2023 NCAA Championship semifinals. Not to be outdone, the pair of three-time NCAA Champs – Carter Starocci (174) and Aaron Brooks (197) – each claimed major decision wins. Starocci shutout #2 Mekhi Lewis with an emphatic 11-0 result and Brooks followed two bouts later with an 11-2 major over #3 Tanner Sloan. Shayne Van Ness got the Nittany Lions rolling with an action-packed 5-1 win over #3 Kyle Parco at 149. Before the Classic they claimed a number of titles at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic and the Army Black Knight Invite. Certainly, all of this is expected by the reigning and defending champs, and with their dual meet season about to get started this weekend when they host Lehigh, we will get our first glimpse of their full lineup with their newest additions. Maryland Takes Hard-Fought Loss to Pitt The Terrapins hosted Pittsburgh in College Park Maryland last week where they dropped a close dual to the 18th-ranked Panthers. Despite getting “upset” wins at 133 and 141 from Braxton Brown and Kal Miller, respectively, they weren’t able to keep it together with most of the upper weights. Coach Clemsen said, “Felt like we let one slip away. To win big matches you have to secure bonus point opportunities and not give them up on the other side. Credit to Pitt, they did a better job there”. The dual came down to the wire, and in a battle of ranked heavyweights, Pitt got the 4-3 win to seal the dual. Duals provide the best drama. Win or lose, this was an awesome one to watch. Maryland will be splitting their team up this weekend, as several head to the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, while others will head to the George Mason Open. Coach Clemsen had this to say about the upcoming weekend: “All but 2 or 3 healthy bodies are competing this weekend. Really excited for that. To get better you have to test yourself and see where you are and then get back in the lab and work. We will keep doing that until someone comes up with a better way.” Purdue Has Seen Some Highs and Lows Already Matt Ramos pulled a Lloyd Christmas and totally redeemed himself with an NWCA All-Star Classic win over top-ranked Anthony Noto of Lock Haven. Noto is a proven commodity at the weight, and though this was an exhibition, it’s still a nice win for a guy whose season hasn’t started the way he probably envisioned. Other impressive moments from the Boilermakers have been Joey Blaze, who has looked solid, and is now ranked in the top 15 at 157 as a true freshman. As a whole, this team looks to be coming together. They are 3-1 on the season, with wins over Army and Northern Illinois, and their lone loss being to the Wolfpack of NC State. These guys have shown growth and it’s still early in the season. Their young contingent of wrestlers will be traveling to Las Vegas this weekend looking to see where they stack up against the nation's best. Iowa’s New Look Lineup Living Up to Hawkeye Standard Brands and Co. did it again. For the 19th consecutive year, they won the CyHawk dual and this time in dramatic fashion on the road in front of a sold-out crowd in Ames, IA. There are a lot of things that have been said about a number of things like the officiating, reaction time, riding time, and time on the clock, that could have had an impact on the results of the dual. But what is lost in the shuffle, and should get more recognition, is that they had the confidence and wherewithal to bump Gabe Arnold up to 184 for the dual. They had the insight to know that they needed six wins to get this done, and the pieces to make those decisions to get it done. Arnold has been everything we expected, and then some. The only questions I have regarding Arnold at this point are: why does he wear his knee pad backward? Should I be doing that? Should we all be doing that? These are questions we need answers to. Up next they travel to Philadelphia where they take on the Quakers of Penn on Friday at 6pm EST on ESPN+. Bonus Points: To get ready for CKLV, check out the conversation with our conference correspondents Ryan Holmes, Austin Sommer, Kevin Claunch, and Robbie Wendell as they chat about the potential field and who they are excited to see.

Friday marks the start of one of the tentpole events of the collegiate regular season, the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Typically, the CKLV has an argument for being the toughest in-season tournament in the country. This year there’s no argument. Seven of the top-ten tournament teams in the country will attend. Going further, the field includes 14 of the top-20 teams. From an individual standpoint, five weights have a wrestler that ranked either number one or number two at their respective weights. It’s no exaggeration when someone says that this is like a mini-National Tournament. Last year’s tournament featured six wrestlers who went on to wrestle in the NCAA finals. With an even stronger field expected, that number could rise in 2023. Here’s a weight-by-weight look at the CKLV. In each weight, we’ve noted the ranked wrestlers that are expected to compete, along with analysis, new faces to watch, potential spoilers, and picks for the semifinals and finals. Since this tournament (and the preview) is so large, we’ll break it into two parts. Part one will focus on 125-157 and part two hits the upperweights. Part two will be released later today. 125 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #2 Matt Ramos (Purdue), #5 Michael DeAugustino (Michigan), #8 Brett Ungar (Cornell), #9 Caleb Smith (Nebraska), #11 Jore Volk (Wyoming), #14 Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State), #16 Tanner Jordan (South Dakota State), #18 Kysen Terukina (Iowa State) #20 Nico Provo (Stanford), #21 Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State), #22 Tucker Owens (Air Force), #23 Brendan McCrone (Ohio State), #24 Nick Babin (Columbia), #25 Diego Sotelo (Harvard), #27 Spencer Moore (North Carolina), #31 Dominic Mendez (Cal Poly), #32 Eli Griffin (California Baptist) Right off the bat, we’ve got an extremely deep field at 125 lbs. Half of the placewinners from the 2022 tournament are back, led by Matt Ramos, the runner-up a year ago. Ramos is fresh off a huge win at the All-Star Classic and is looking to establish momentum. The remaining 2022 placers that are expected to compete are Brandon Kaylor (4th), Tanner Jordan (6th), and Brett Ungar (7th). This weight class has already established itself as unpredictable and loaded with talent. For those reasons, it’s easy to see the brackets exploding as lower-seeded wrestlers pull what appears to be an upset, on paper. The only placewinner from pre-2022 is Michael DeAugustino who used this tournament to announce his presence when he took third as a redshirt freshman in 2019 for Northwestern. Now at Michigan, DeAugustino will look to throw his name into the national title discussion with a win in Vegas. However this weight class unfolds, the quarterfinal matchups should be unreal. Wrestlers like Kaylor, Jordan, and Kysen Terukina could end up holding the six-through-eight seeds. New face(s): Oklahoma State comes to Vegas for the first time in recent memory and they have a redshirt freshman, Troy Spratley, who could shake things up. Spratley is five-for-five this year in logging tech falls, though he’s yet to face a ranked opponent. Potential spoiler: Spencer Moore has been very impressive during the first month of the season. Moore hit the mat in 2021-22 as an undersized, young true freshman and generally held his own. After a redshirt season, Moore is doing more than holding his own. He already owns a win over All-American and Vegas placer Brandon Kaylor. This deep field will present him with the opportunity to have more wins of that caliber and fly up the rankings. Semifinal Projection: Matt Ramos (Purdue) vs. Jore Volk (Wyoming); Michael DeAugustino (Michigan) vs. Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State) Finals Pick: Matt Ramos (Purdue) over Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern) 133 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #1 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State), #4 Kai Orine (NC State), #8 Evan Frost (Iowa State), #10 Julian Chlebove (Arizona State), #11 Angelo Rini (Columbia), #12 Brendan Ferretti (Navy), #14 Dom Zaccone (Campbell), #15 Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State), #23 Haiden Drury (Utah Valley), #26 Caden McCrary (North Carolina), #26 Gabe Whisenhunt (Oregon State), #27 Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska), #29 Richie Koehler (Rider), #31 Ethan Oakley (Appalachian State) Unfortunately, we won’t get to see a Vito Arujau/Daton Fix rematch as Vito is not expected to enter. That’s ok, because there’s still some intrigue around this weight. This is a weight that largely has young and/or unproven wrestlers (at the collegiate level) after your top contenders. That should allow us to get a better grasp on who is truly a podium threat at 133 lbs. Someone at this weight who has proven himself time and time again is four-time All-American Daton Fix. Fix has won just about everything this is to win at the collegiate level; however, since OSU hasn’t been to Vegas, this could be a first for him. Fix has only seen action in one dual this year and prevailed with a fall over national qualifier Kurt Phipps of Bucknell. The other returning All-American at this weight is Kai Orine. Orine went 2-2 at this tournament in 2022, but bounced back to pull a couple of upsets and win the ACC title. He later would make the NCAA podium for the first time finishing eighth. The biggest jumper in this week’s rankings is Evan Frost, who moved up to number eight after a huge third period against Iowa veteran Brody Teske. That win now puts a bulls-eye on Frost’s back as one of the guys to beat this week and going forward. We’ll see how he responds. New face(s): There are quite a few of them here. We’ve already mentioned Frost. Perhaps the highest-profile freshman in this weight is U20 world bronze medalist Nic Bouzakis. During his first competition, Bouzakis suffered a loss to Columbia’s Angelo Rini. I’m sure, however the brackets break, he wouldn’t mind another crack at the Lion senior. Lingering near the bottom of the rankings are Gabe Whisenhunt and Jacob Van Dee. Both are redshirt freshmen who have shown some promise in the early going. Van Dee was a runner-up at the Navy Classic and Whisenhunt downed Caden McCrary (also in the field) and won the Southeast Open during the first week of the season. Potential Spoiler: Utah Valley’s Haiden Drury will be lurking in that eight-to-ten range as a seed. There’s a potential Round of 16 match between him and Bouzakis if everyone stays in the bracket. Drury was a 2022 national qualifier and looks back to that form after a finals appearance at the Keystone Classic. Semifinal Projection: Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) vs. Julian Chlebove (Arizona State), Kai Orine (NC State) vs. Evan Frost (Iowa State) Finals Pick: Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) over Kai Orine (NC State) 141 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #3 Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina), #4 Brock Hardy (Nebraska), #5 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State), #7 Ryan Jack (NC State), #9 Cael Happel (Northern Iowa), #12 Kal Miller (Maryland), #14 Vince Cornella (Cornell), #18 Josh Koderhandt (Navy), #19 Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State), #21 Cleveland Belton (Oregon State), #24 Tagen Jamison (Oklahoma State), #29 Jason Miranda (Stanford), #32 Sergio Lemley (Michigan), #33 McKenzie Bell (Rider) What a weight class we have at 141 lbs. The top-four finishers from the 2022 are all back and have entered. That iteration of the tournament saw Brock Hardy prevail over Cael Happel, while Ryan Jack defeated Josh Koderhandt for third place. Hardy went on to make the Big Ten finals before finishing sixth at his first NCAA tournament. In the consolations, he suffered a loss to Lachlan McNeil, who has started the year ranked ahead of him and is expected to receive the top seed. McNeil recently scored a controlling victory over Koderhandt at the All-Star Classic. Even though McNeil is a high NCAA placewinner (4th), he has yet to defeat Ryan Jack, a conference foe that he might see in the semifinals. Though Jack defeated Hardy early in the 2022-23 season, Hardy did get revenge in Vegas. Another name to add to the list of title contenders is Jesse Mendez. Mendez is up at 141 lbs after finishing sixth in the nation as a true freshman. He’s 6-0 this season with a title at the Clarion Open and nothing but bonus points on his resume. One of the stories of last year’s 141 lb bracket was Cael Happel making the finals after starting with the 11th seed. Happel’s only action of the year thus far took place at the Daktronics Open, where he captured a title with three bonus point-filled matches. New face(s): Once again, we have a redshirt freshman from Oklahoma State who is capable of shaking things up at 141 lbs. This one is Tagen Jamison. In his last outing, Jamison captured a title at the Lindenwood Open after defeating teammate Sammy Alvarez, a past national qualifier for Rutgers. From the ranks of the true freshmen comes Sergio Lemley. So far, Lemley is 5-1 this young season. Before the Thanksgiving break, he notched a tech fall victory against past national qualifier McKenzie Bell. Potential Spoiler: On Sunday we saw Anthony Echemendia push top-ranked Real Woods to the brink in the Cyclone's loss to Iowa. Now, Echemendia will head to Vegas with a seed somewhere between seven and ten. Provided the weight cut goes well, he could likely outwrestle whatever his seed ends up being. Semifinal Projection: Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina) vs. Ryan Jack (NC State); Brock Hardy (Nebraska) vs. Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) Finals Pick: Brock Hardy (Nebraska) over Ryan Jack (NC State) 149 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #1 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska), #3 Kyle Parco (Arizona State), #4 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech), #5 Dylan D’Emilio (Ohio State), #6 Jackson Arrington (NC State), #7 Chance Lamer (Cal Poly), #9 Jaden Abas (Stanford), #11 Ethen Miller (Maryland), #12 Quinn Kinner (Rider), #13 Casey Swiderski (Iowa State), #14 Jordan Williams (Oklahoma State), #25 Cody Bond (Appalachian State), #32 Gabe Willochell (Wyoming) This is another excellent weight with six of the top-seven wrestlers in the nation expected to do battle. Ridge Lovett was a 2022 NCAA finalist who redshirted last year. He has twice finished third in Vegas and is looking to get over that semifinal hump. In his last appearance at the CKLV, Lovett gave Yianni Diakomihalis all he could handle in that aforementioned round. Chasing Lovett are four All-Americans in Kyle Parco, Caleb Henson, Dylan D’Emilio, and Jaden Abas along with talented sophomores Jackson Arrington, Chance Lamer, and Ethen Miller. Last year, Parco was a runner-up with Arrington taking fifth and Lamer seventh. D’Emilio also got on the medal stand; he was eighth at 141 lbs. Maybe more so than most weights in this tournament, 149’s rankings next will really be turned on their head by the results here. Nine of the top ten seeds enter this tournament unbeaten, so something has to give! Only D’Emilio comes in with a loss and he was beaten by Henson in a dual meet the second week of the season. 149 is also one of only four weights in this tournament where the potential top-three seeds all come from different conferences. That can be fun as we may end up seeing some potential matches that won’t take place in dual meets or at a conference tournament. New face(s): This may be a recurring theme and it wasn’t planned this way, but look out for yet another Oklahoma State redshirt freshman. Here it’s Jordan Williams. Williams bonused his way through the Lindenwood Open with his most significant win coming over teammate and two-time national qualifier Carter Young. Potential Spoiler: Look out for the veteran from Rider Quinn Kinner. In his first bout of the season, Kinner turned in a one-sided upset of 2023 Round of 12 finisher Graham Rooks of Indiana. That same weekend he defeated another national qualifier in SIU Edwardsville’s Caleb Tyus. With the top-ten being so heavily represented, Kinner may receive a seed that is lower than you might expect. Even if that’s the case, I don’t see it negatively impacting him. Semifinal Projection: Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) vs. Quinn Kinner (Rider); Kyle Parco (Arizona State) vs. Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) Finals Pick: Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) over Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) 157 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #3 Peyton Robb (Nebraska), #4 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State), #5 Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech), #6 Will Lewan (Michigan), #8 Ed Scott (NC State), #9 Daniel Cardenas (Stanford), #10 Trevor Chumbley (Northwestern), #13 Cael Swensen (South Dakota State), #15 Joey Blaze (Purdue), #16 Paddy Gallagher (Ohio State), #18 Cody Chittum (Iowa State), #19 Peyten Kellar (Ohio), #20 Tommy Askey (Appalachian State), #21 Meyer Shapiro (Cornell), #29 Chris Earnest (Campbell), #31 Legend Lamer (Cal Poly), #32 RJ Weston (Northern Iowa) This is by far my favorite weight of the tournament. In addition to five returning All-Americans, there is a trio of talented freshmen that could shake the bracket up. The returning champion, Peyton Robb, is back and assumes the top seed. By looking at Robb’s results this season, you’d have no idea that he suffered a severe leg infection at the 2023 NCAA Championships that nearly cost him the limb. Robb is 7-0 with a tournament title at the Navy Classic and has bonus points in six of those bouts. One of the indelible images from the 2022 national tournament was Robb and Jacori Teemer lying next to each other, completely spent, at the conclusion of their consolation semifinal bout. If seeds were to hold, we could have another meeting between the two in the finals. In Teemer’s only bout of the season, he had to default out after suffering an apparent head injury. Since he’s entered and other ASU studs are not, it’s safe to say it’s not as serious as it could’ve been. But it’s always something to monitor in this tournament. Now, this weight is way too deep to be projecting a Robb/Teemer final just yet. The ACC contingent has a pair of All-Americans in Bryce Andonian and Ed Scott. Both are dangerous and throw the kitchen sink at you for seven straight minutes. Andonian leads the career series between the two; however, Scott was victorious in the most recent bout (2023 NCAA’s). Will Lewan represents the other returning All-American in the bracket. Not only has Lewan gotten on the NCAA podium in each of the last two years, but he’s also placed fourth at the two most recent CKLV tournaments. This bracket is full of different stylistic matchups as Lewan is the opposite of Andonian/Scott and is very deliberate with his attacks. In addition to the All-Americans, there are two returning NCAA bloodround finishers in the mix with Daniel Cardenas and Cael Swensen. Cardenas was the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and an InterMat All-Freshman team member after winning his conference and going 24-3 overall. He was prevented from earning All-American honors by Scott in sudden victory in the Round of 12. Swensen was fifth in the Big 12 last season before putting together a very strong NCAA tournament. He lost to Lewan in the Round of 12. Swensen is looking to get back on the winning track after an overtime loss to Michael Blockhus (Minnesota) on Sunday. We’ve done all this talking and still haven’t gotten around to Big Ten studs like Trevor Chumbley and Paddy Gallagher. Both are ranked in the top-16 nationally. New face(s): Oh, we’ve got some good ones to talk about with freshmen Joey Blaze, Cody Chittum, and Meyer Shapiro. Blaze is currently ranked the highest as he already has a win over a returning All-American (Ed Scott). Before his win over Scott, at WrangleMania, Blaze also knocked off returning qualifier Nate Lukez of Army. Chittum was seen by a national audience getting oh-so-close to upsetting #2 Jared Franek in Sunday’s Cy-Hawk Dual. Franek tends to wrestle close matches so, we’ll see how he fares against other top contenders at this weight - which he’ll undoubtedly face in Vegas. Maybe the most anticipated Vegas debut is Shapiro the U17 and U20 world champion who was tabbed the number one overall recruit in the Class of 2023. Shapiro has been utterly dominant thus far, but he hasn’t had the opportunity to face any of the top wrestlers at this weight….yet. Looking at preseeds, a trip to the finals from Shapiro would require him to potentially beat Andonian (Round of 16), Cardenas (Quarterfinals), and Teemer (Semifinals). Tournaments like this are important to really get a feel for a freshman’s standing in the rankings. It’s one thing to get a good win in a dual, but beating this type of competition in back-to-back-to-back matches, potentially on the same day, is a different animal. Potential Spoiler: We’ve mentioned most of the top contenders and this weight is so top-heavy it’s hard to imagine too many others playing spoiler, but we should probably mention Peyten Kellar. Kellar is 6-0 with falls in three of his five matches while winning the Southeast Open. Semifinal Projection: Peyton Robb (Nebraska) vs. Ed Scott (NC State); Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) vs. Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) Finals Pick: Peyton Robb (Nebraska) over Meyer Shapiro (Cornell)

This week is headlined by Cliff Keen Las Vegas with one of the best regular-season tournament fields we've seen in a while. The storylines there are innumerable and we hit on some of them below while sprinkling in some other not-so-obvious hot spots as well. Here's what I'm zoning in on for Week 4. 5. What Will Lehigh Do With McGonagle? Lehigh has a good problem on their hands. They have two of the undisputedly best 133lbers in the country. And I could say this every week until it gets resolved, but will we learn anything in their dual with Penn State this weekend? Who will start at 133? Can Malyke Hines move up to 149 creating a space for Crookham or McGonagle at 141? 4. SIU-Edwardsville Put Together a Heck of A Field While everyone is sure to be glued to CKLV, SIUE’s Cougar Clash is a must-follow, too. I have three things to really zero in on here: Can Missouri’s lightweights contribute - namely Noah Surtin, Zeke Seltzer, and Josh Edmond. Little Rock’s Promising Freshmen - Nasir Bailey, Kyle Dutton, and Stephen Little Minnesota Veterans: Pat McKee, Michael Blockhus, Andrew Sparks and Isaiah Salazar 3. The Mess That is 125 Nationally (At CKLV) 125 nationally has been a glorious mess with no definitively staking the claim as top dog and too many conflicting results to make sense of. The field at CKLV only has three former All-Americans - Matt Ramos, Michael DeAugustino, and Brandon Kaylor. But the weight is loaded with up-and-comers and guys that have been knocking on the door. Will the top seeds hold serve or will the revolving door at 125 continue? 2. How Good Can ISU Be This Year? Iowa State is coming off a heartbreaking loss to rival Iowa. But while they may have lost that battle, there are plenty of reasons to walk away optimistic. Evan Frost (133) and Casey Swiderski (149) beat proven veterans Brody Teske and Victor Voinovich. Anthony Echemendia (141) and Cody Chittum (157) took All Americans to the brink. The Cyclones are flirting with a Top 10 NCAA tournament projection and any uptick in performance from these four guys could push them into podium contender status. 1. CKLV Team Race Nebraska has only entered the last five CKLV tournaments. It was interesting timing as that is exactly when CKLV became the best regular-season tournament in the country, surpassing Midlands and Southern Scuffle. And they won it the last three years - and this tournament is objectively the toughest of those five. And while this field is the greatest in tournament history, it might be to Nebraska’s benefit. But how can that be? Because the deeper a tournament is, the more valuable the upper echelon is. And Nebraska has the most sure things with #4-Hardy, #1-Ridge, and #3-PRobb will all be top 2 seeds. The depth of the tournament actually helps Nebraska this year. And they lead the field with seven Top 6 seeds. Cornell, who is missing Vito Arajau for this tournament, has five in the Top 7 plus Meyer Shapiro who is regarded as the best incoming freshman in the country. Iowa State is another threat. They don’t have a lot of high seeds but they have six in the Top 8 and three new faces - Anthony Echemendia, Casey Swiderski, and Cody Chittum who are more than capable of reaching the podium both here and at NCAA’s.

City High

Hanover Park

Below is a recap of last week’s EIWA action, with individual news and highlights worth noting. Key Takeaways American defeats George Mason in the “Turkey Tussle” dual Carter Baer of Binghamton wins the Mat Town Open Cornell dominates by winning 6 weights at the Mat Town Open American The Eagles squared off against George Mason on Tuesday before Thanksgiving in the ‘Turkey Tussle.” American won six of ten bouts, and Maida had the only bonus point victory for American. American 21 George Mason 15 141 - Cael McIntyre (AU) dec. Dom Hargrove (Mason), 4-2 (AU 3-0) 149 - Kaden Cassidy (Mason) tech. fall Gage Owen (AU), 15-0, 1:38 (Mason 5-3) 157 - DJ McGee (Mason) dec. Jack Nies (AU), 7-6 (Mason 8-3) 165 - Evan Maag (Mason) major dec. Kaden Milheim (AU), 12-2 (Mason 12-3) 174 - Lucas White (AU) dec. Paul Pierce (Mason), 4-0 (Mason 12-6) 184 - Connor Bourne (AU) dec. Sean Coughlin (Mason), 5-2 (Mason 12-9) 197 - Carsten Rawls (AU) dec. Ruben Karapetyan (Mason), 4-1 SV (Tied 12-12) 285 - #31 Chad Nix (Mason) dec. Will Jarrell (AU), 9-7 (Mason 15-12) 125 - #14 Jack Maida (AU) pinned JB Dragovich (Mason), 3:33 (AU 18-15) 133 - Maximilian Leete (AU) dec. Shawn Nonaka (Mason), 4-2 (AU 21-15) Next up for American is a dual on Saturday against Davidson. Army The Black Knights were off for the holiday week. They will return after Thanksgiving and compete at the Cougar Clash at SIUE. Binghamton The Bearcats had a few wrestlers compete at the Mat Town Open in Lock Haven. Carter Baer took home gold at 157 lbs. Carson Wagner had a nice win over Kurt McHenry of PSU. He went on to place second. Dimitri Gamkrelidze took silver at the 174 lb bracket, as Will Ebert was fourth, in a bracket loaded with Cornell wrestlers. At 133lbs, Ryan Hartung was fourth. There was an interesting match-up for third place at 141 lbs. Nate Lucier defeated his teammate Ivan Garcia 7-3. It looks as if this may have been a wrestle-off for the starting spot. Charlie Tibbits earned third place in the heavyweight bracket. Overall, it was a successful day for BU. They will compete at the Cliff Keen Invite in Las Vegas this weekend. Brown The Bears of Brown University will be off for a few weeks. They do not compete until right before the Christmas Holiday. Bucknell The Bison were off for the break. They have a dual at #29 Wisconsin on Sunday. Columbia The Lions will travel to Sin City for the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite. Cornell The Big Red had much success at the Mat Town Open. Greg Diakomihalis won the 125 lbs bracket via three bonus point victories. Josh Saunders won his bracket at 149 lbs with wins over teammates Nate Wade and Ethan Fernandez. Chris Foca cruised to a gold medal at 184 lbs, as did Lewis Fernandes at 285 lbs. Ethan Qureshi, at 133lbs, was second in the bracket. At 157 lbs, Benny Rodgers was a runner-up and Gage McClenehan was third. Cornell had nine wrestlers in the 174 lbs bracket, Benny Baker walked away the highest placer with a third-place finish. At 197 lbs, Jacob Cardenas and Eric Carlson tied for first after a no-contest in the finals. Cornell will be at the Las Vegas Invite this weekend. Drexel The Dragons took the week off for the holiday. See them in action for the Dragon Duals on Sunday, December 3rd. Franklin & Marshall The Dips will be off for Thanksgiving. They have four duals at home on Sunday against Michigan State, VMI, Presbyterian, and Bloomsburg. Harvard The Crimson, like most teams, will be on break during the Thanksgiving holiday. Catch them in action in Las Vegas. Hofstra The Pride will also be at the Las Vegas Invite after a week off for the holiday. Lehigh The Mountain Hawks enjoyed a break over the holiday before they face #1 Penn State on Sunday on the road. Long Island The Sharks took off for the holiday break and will compete at the tough Cliff Keen Invite. Navy Navy will also be at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite. It’s the toughest tournament of the regular season. Penn The Quakers will host #3 Iowa on Friday for a dual. They will send some wrestlers to the Patriot Open on Sunday, hosted by George Mason. Princeton The Tigers took off for Thanksgiving. They host Indiana at home to a dual on Sunday. Sacred Heart The Pioneers will be at the Cliff Keen Invite this weekend.

It's one of the best weeks of the collegiate wrestling season. Espeically the regular season. It's Vegas week! Four of our conference correspondents, Kevin Claunch (Big Ten), Ryan Holmes (Big Ten), Austin Sommer (EIWA), and Robbie Wendell (ACC) have joined forces to preview the tournament. The four talk about the respective conference teams at the tournament, favorites and much more. For the full discussion: Click Here

Poway

Mill Creek

This week's NCAA DI rankings have been updated and posted. With the Thanksgiving holiday, there were only a handful of duals or events that impacted rankings. One of which was the All-Star Classic. Last season, InterMat did not factor those results into rankings. We've made the decision to count those matches going forward. With that in mind, you'll see some shuffling at 125 lbs, with a new number one. 125 also have plenty of other changes and will likely to have them as it's one of the deepest weights in the country. For the full rankings, Click Here

With the Thanksgiving Holiday and so many tournaments last weekend, the All-Star Classic served as the main event in women’s collegiate wrestling this week. Here are some notes on each of the 4 matches. 1. #2 Samara Chavez of King pins #3 Sydney Petzinger of North Central In a match that was supposed to be an NCWWC Finals rematch between Samara Chavez and North Central’s Jaslynn Gallegos, teammate Sydney Petzinger stepped up for the bout after Gallegos suffered an injury. Chavez came close to winning at 116 lbs in last year’s college championships when she had an early 8-1 lead, however, Gallegos’ counter secured a pin. While the matchup would have been awesome to see, Petzinger is no slouch. She is a 2x All-American for North Central at 109 lbs and finished 3rd at the U20 World Team Trials last year. This match had some great action in the first period, with Chavez finding success with a huge hip toss from a headlock to get a 4-0 lead. However, Petzinger answered quickly with a takedown response to another Chavez headlock she fought off. Chavez then goes blast double for two more points, but Petzinger secures one more takedown at the end of the period to make it 6-4 going into the second. In the second, Petzinger tries to get to her offense early, but Chavez is ready with another headlock and this time takes Petzinger to her back for the pin. While these two probably will not see each other again, Chavez was hungry for a win over her North Central opponent, and if she continues to wrestle with the same patience and smarts she showed in this matchup, she could easily find herself in the 2024 finals to avenge her loss last year. 2. #2 (NCAA) Alexis Janiak of Aurora gets the tech fall over #1 (NAIA) Sarah Savidge of Life Both of these wrestlers may have had a chip on their shoulders after each finished as the runner-up at their respective championships at the end of last season. They also have a pretty decent amount of history wrestling one another, all in high-scoring or big-move matches. Janiak has the two most recent wins from last year’s U20 World Team Trials with an 11-0 tech and a pin. While Janiak has a variety of well-honed technical skills, Savidge is a gritty, tough wrestler, who has seen a lot of success, especially last season. However, in this match, Janiak made quick work of her opponent. After a beautiful single-leg takedown, she was able to secure a lace and take Savidge over to score two more. After assessing her space on the mat, Janiak worked through three more quick turns with the same leg lace for a 10-0 tech at the 31-second mark. Fans would have certainly loved to see more competition between these two, but Janiak’s precise execution of her moves closed the book on this one early. 3. #1 (NAIA) Adaugo Nwachukwu of William Penn gets the decision over #1 (NCAA) Yele Aycock of North Central Fans had this rematch circled but not because of a close result in their last match. In fact, Nwachukwu got a quick 10-0 tech over Aycock at the 2022 Women’s Nationals. Instead, the anticipation was for Nwachukwu’s competitive and dominant style up against Aycock’s steadily increasing skill level against tough opponents. Aycock actually went 0-2 at the 2022 NCWWC Championship and then put a stamp on her 2023 season finishing in second this past March. Aycock’s improvement was on full display as the two battled it out for the entirety of the 2 periods. Nwachukwu claimed the first four points in the period with two strong attacks, one double leg and then another from an underhook. With under a minute left, Aycock tries for another shot and muscles over Nwachukwu for a takedown. Sending the match into the second period 4-2. Nwachukwu hits a big takedown off the whistle and then uses a gut wrench to get two more. At this point, the match is 8-2 with Nwachukwu pulling away. However, Aycock scrambles on the edge to hip over and score a 4-point feet-to-back move. William Penn challenges the call and loses making the score 8-7. The two scramble for the next minute or so and are reset. With 30 seconds left, both wrestlers take shots with Nwachukwu finding success. A last-second step-out point for Nwachukwu seals the deal with an 11-7 victory. This was absolutely the highlight match of the event. You can see so much improvement on the part of Aycock, but it did not detract from just how dominant and powerful Nwachukwu is. Her style has been a problem for other wrestlers on the senior level as she has worked to make a world team. Aycock has dominated in tournaments and duals so far this season and will certainly continue to do so. I would not be surprised if each of these wrestlers maintained their #1 rankings at their respective college associations. 4. #1 (NCAA) Marlynne Deede of Iowa gets the decision over #1 (NAIA) Latifa McBryde of Life In the final women’s match of the evening, Deede and McBryde met for the first time since 2021 when they faced off at the Junior World Team Trials. Deede won by decision back then, but that did not give fans much to go on in predicting the outcome of this match. Deede transferred to Iowa in the offseason for her final year of collegiate competition. She is a 4x All American including a 2023 NCWWC title last year. McBryde was very close to an NAIA title last year as well but lost after a last-second 4-point throw in her finals match. This match was intense and physical from the whistle. Lots of hand fighting and big throw attempts from each wrestler before a scramble where McBryde gets exposure but Deede gets a throw from a crotch lock to make it 2-2. McBryde picks up a step-out point at the end of the period to go up 3-2. After some hand fighting and movement across the mat to start the second, Deede gets a big toss to take McBryde to her back giving a 4-point bump to Deede. Now up 6-3, Deede capitalizes on a shot from McBryde for the go behind putting her up 8-3 with no time left for McBryde to respond. Deede was a threat to begin with during her career at Augsburg. I have no doubt that training with the Hawkeyes and the competitive roster they have in the room will only make her a tougher wrestler to beat. While 155 is a competitive weight class, I think she’ll have no problem getting to the finals of NCWWCs in March. As for McBryde, another close match that just got away from her certainly only adds fuel to the fire as she continues to train for the championship spot at NAIA’s that eluded her last year. McBryde also finished second at this year’s Menlo Open, but has not had much other competition since last year’s finals. I think there is plenty of space for her to continue to be competitive against ranked opponents as she has previously and make it to the finals to work on some redemption come March. Results this week in major NCAA, NCWA, and NAIA competitions All-Star Classic VIEW RESULTS North Central 42 vs Augustana 4 Upcoming Events November 30 - Grand View vs Central Methodist December 1 - Patriot Duals (Day 1) December 1 - Battle of the Rockies December 2 - Patriot Duals (Day 2) December 2 - Grays Harbor Open December 2 - Doane Open December 2 - Vanguard Duals

Berks Catholic