InterMat Staff

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

Palm Harbor

La Crosse Aquinas

Plum

Davison

Blair Academy

On the day before Thanksgiving, the NC State coaching staff received a verbal commitment from California state champion Daniel Zepeda (Gilroy, CA). Zepeda is currently ranked ninth overall in the Class of 2025 by MatScouts. With Zepeda’s commitment fresh on the minds of wrestling fans, it seemed like an appropriate time to revisit NC State’s history of signing top-tier recruits under Pat Popolizio. During Popolizio’s time in Raleigh (2012 - present), the Wolfpack have been a frequent threat for the top spot in national recruiting rankings. While the 2023 class was ranked 18th, the previous two were noted in the top-five. Early in his tenure (2016), Popolizio and staff signed the top class in the nation. So, how does one receive such an honor for their recruiting class? It depends. For the most part, NC State hasn’t always signed top-ten recruits, but they have banked on the next tier of recruits. They’ve also been able to identify recruits that others have missed and turned them into national contenders (Mike Macchiavello, Kevin Jack, and Tariq Wilson). Another trademark of NC State’s recruiting classes has been large quantities of signees. Some power programs only get a couple of signees per year; however, they ranked very highly (Ohio State, typically). NC State has done a little of both. The title of this article uses the word “elite.” What exactly is an “elite” recruit? It’s hard to say and the number can vary from year to year. One crop of recruits could be much deeper than one of its predecessors. For the intents and purposes of this article, we’ll say that top-30 in your graduating class constitutes “elite.” Should Zepeda maintain (or improve) upon his current standing in the Class of 2025 and sign with the Pack, it would make him the 13th top-30 recruit to sign with the team since Popolizio’s arrival. Below are those 13 wrestlers, separated by their respective recruiting classes. The number next to their name is their overall ranking in the graduating class by MatScouts/InterMat. Class of 2023 #24 Koy Buesgens (New Prague, Minnesota) Class of 2022 #6 Dylan Fishback (Dublin Coffman, Ohio) Because of the existing talent on the Wolfpack roster in the upperweights, Fishback was able to redshirt in 2022-23 and amassed a solid 15-6 record. This year he’s been the guy at 184 lbs and has responded with a 6-0 start to his career. In his last two matches, Fishback has earned wins over returning national qualifiers. #13 Matthew Singleton (Woodward Academy, Georgia) As a true freshman, Singleton was inserted into the NC State lineup at 165 lbs relatively late in the game. With only three duals remaining in the conference dual season, Singleton went 2-1 with a win over Virginia Tech’s Connor Brady. He’d later finish fourth in the conference, which wasn’t high enough for an automatic berth to Tulsa. With only a small body of work at 165 lbs, Singleton wasn’t selected as an at-large. After the collegiate season, Singleton earned a spot on the U20 freestyle team and returned from the World Championships with a bronze medal. He’s now competed at U20 World's in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. #28 Jackson Arrington (Forest Hills, Pennsylvania) A starter at 149 lbs from day one, Jackson Arrington amassed a 23-9 record as a true freshman for NC State. In the postseason, Arrington was an ACC finalist and advanced to the NCAA bloodround before his elimination. As a sophomore, Arrington appears to have taken the next step and has benefited from the new rules change. In six bouts, he’s scored six tech falls. To keep with the synergy of the number six, that’s Arrington’s current national ranking. Class of 2021 #23 Joey Milano (Spring-Ford, PA) Milano had a promising redshirt year that saw him go 25-6 at 184 lbs. He was expected to be in the mix as a starter last season at 174 lbs. During the first three weeks of the year, he suffered three losses and gave way to Alex Faison. Milano transferred to Purdue in the offseason but is not currently listed on the Boilermakers roster. #30 Stevo Poulin (Shenandehowa, NY) 125 lbs is generally regarded as the hardest weight class to fill which makes sense because we’re discussing 19-23-year-old young men that are still growing, in some instances. That being said, NC State has had some good 125’s come through their doors lately. Current #3 Jakob Camacho and 2022 ACC champion Jarrett Trombley are both still on the Wolfpack roster. Stevo Poulin was in the mix for NC State, compiling a 6-0 record during his redshirt season. He later moved on to Northern Colorado, where he won the Big 12, earned the sixth seed at nationals in 2023, and advanced to the bloodround. Class of 2020 #17 Ryan Jack (Danbury, CT) Older brother Kevin Jack stormed onto the scene and took the nation by surprise as a true freshman All-American, on his way to earning All-American honors three times. Because of Kevin’s success, Ryan wasn’t quite as “under the radar” and has been a consistent cog in the NC State machine. In both of his years as a starter, the younger Jack has made the ACC finals. He’s still seeking his first NCAA podium finish, as he went 1-2 last year after earning the number five seed. #18 Ed Scott (Dubois, PA) Ed Scott got the call right away and was NC State’s starter at 149 lbs as a true freshman. He responded with a 6-6 season and was unable to qualify for nationals. Since that point, Scott has moved up to 157 lbs and thrived. During his two full seasons at the weight, Scott has combined to go 50-13 with a fifth-place finish in 2023 in Tulsa. Last year, Scott was in a meatgrinder of an ACC weight that featured two other All-Americans. While Scott is in his fourth year as a starter for the Wolfpack, he does have an option of an additional year of eligibility due to the Covid season in 2021. #29 Isaac Trumble (Millard South, NE) The big man from Nebraska saw some action during the Covid season but ultimately did not start in the postseason for NC State. A year later, he jumped into the Wolfpack lineup and made the first of two ACC finals appearances. In both seasons, Trumble was seeded top-15 at nationals; however, he is still seeking his first All-American award. Trumble has also had great success on the freestyle circuit. This spring, Trumble made the US Open finals at 97 kgs. A few months later, Trumble mowed down the field at the U23 World Championships. He posted tech falls in three of his four bouts and 11 points was his lowest-scoring output in any single match. The U23 world championship allows Trumble to sit out the 2023-24 campaign and use an Olympic redshirt. Class of 2018 #18 Trent Hidlay (Mifflin County, PA) Like the aforementioned Jack brothers, Hayden Hidlay set the stage for Trent Hidlay at NC State and raised expectations from fans. It’s safe to say that Trent has proven himself worthy of any pre-collegiate hype surrounding him. Trent has gotten onto the NCAA podium three times at 184 lbs and amassed a record of 78-11. In each of the last three years, Hidlay has claimed an ACC title and a top-three seed at NCAA’s. This year, Hidlay has moved up to 197 lbs and looks as good as ever. He’s earned bonus points in every bout thus far, with his closest match being a 12-3 major decision over All-American Michael Beard. Trent has also has plenty of freestyle accolades. He has Junior and U23 World medals and recently won the Bill Farrell, locking up a spot at the Olympic Trials. #23 Jakob Camacho (Danbury, CT) Jakob Camacho has been in the NC State lineup since his freshman year and has been an All-American threat the entire time. The two-time ACC champion earned second-team NWCA All-American honors in 2020, but is still looking to actually get on the NCAA podium. Camacho took a large step in that direction with an impressive 8-5 decision over returning NCAA finalist Matt Ramos (Purdue) earlier this year at WrangleMania. That’s not even the first win of that magnitude for Camacho. Back in the 2020 ACC finals, he defeated the returning runner-up, Jack Mueller (Virginia). Class of 2016 The 2016 Class was ranked number one in the nation and helped turn NC State into a consistent top-ten program and a team trophy threat on a consistent basis. In addition to the wrestlers featured below, three other wrestlers from this group earned All-American honors (two via the NCAA and one from the NWCA). #4 Nick Reenan (Wyoming Seminary, PA) A longtime member of the NC State squad, Nick Reenan is someone who battled through injuries during his time in Raleigh. Even so, Reenan was able to qualify for the national tournament on three occasions. In 2019, Reenan was seeded seventh at nationals, but went 1-2. That previous summer, Reenan won the World Team Trials and advanced to participate in the very first Final X event. #6 Hayden Hidlay (Mifflin County, PA) Hayden Hidlay will go down as one of the all-time greats in the history of NC State wrestling. As a redshirt freshman, Hidlay went undefeated in the regular season and earned the top seed at the 2018 national tournament. He’d advance all the way to the finals before suffering his first loss at the hands of three-time champion Jason Nolf (Penn State). When it was all said and done, Hidlay put together a 110-11 career record. That included four ACC titles and four trips to the top-eight at the NCAA Championships; never finishing lower than fifth.

Pine-Richland

North Allegheny

The Cy-Hawk dual is in the books and just like the past 18 times, the 2023 version fell in Iowa’s favor. Despite losing a handful of key contributors in the offseason, Iowa managed to put together an impressive lineup with the help of the transfer portal, the recruiting trail, and in-room progression. With the dual still fresh in our minds, here are some important reactions to the action that went down in Ames on Sunday afternoon. 1. Tom Brands - Strategist When fans think of Tom Brands as a coach, I’m sure that most will think of his motivational tactics or training methods. Those attributes might be accurate and some of his strong points, as a coach; however, something that doesn’t get mentioned often are his prematch and in-match strategic decisions. In his post-match interview, Gabe Arnold revealed that Brands asked him on Saturday if he’d be willing to wrestle at 184 lbs against Iowa State. We all know how that turned out as Arnold took out his second All-American in as many weeks (up a weight, to boot). With Arnold up at 184 lbs, that opened a slot at 174 lbs for Patrick Kennedy, who had yet to compete during the 2023-24 campaign. Kennedy may have come out before he was actually ready, but nonetheless, he got the job done and won a pivotal bout for the Hawkeyes. It takes a lot of guts and belief in your wrestlers, particularly a true freshman to make this type of a lineup swap. Typically, it isn’t done at the collegiate level. Had it backfired and MJ Gaitan completed his comeback against Kennedy and All-American Will Feldkamp prevailed against Arnold, I’m sure many people would have questioned Brands’ move. In the days leading up to the dual, our own Willie Saylor and others were wondering aloud whether Brands and Iowa State’s Kevin Dresser would do some of thing bumping to find optimal matchups. I wasn’t sure just because of the fact that we haven’t seen it much during Brands’ tenure in Iowa City. Now, the reason for that is partly because Iowa’s best/normal lineup is typically better than 98% of their opponents. In most cases, a lineup tweak either isn’t needed or might end up benefiting the other squad. A bit of luck plays into these situations, as well. A team has to have depth at a potential weak spot (or two) for the opponents to really pull this off. As Willie was speculating on possible lineup bumping scenarios, would it have been beneficial for Iowa State to insert true freshman Tate Naaktgeboren at 184 lbs and move Feldkamp to 197? Arnold and Naaktgeboren squared off in the Iowa 3A state finals last season (and a couple other times) and the result was always razor-thin but in Arnold’s favor. That still gives three points to the Hawkeyes, but would it have increased the Cyclone's chances at 197? Feldkamp against Zach Glazier? Feldkamp is tall and long and has made the national tournament at 197 lbs, so size would have favored Glazier, but just slightly. After watching the actual action, I’m not sure if that would have made a difference. But those are the questions the Iowa State bench is left to ponder after letting a big opportunity like this slide by. Lineup decisions, plus as Dresser discussed in his press conference, the decision to tell Gaitan to ride Kennedy for the final :14 instead of kicking him away for the winning takedown (while mixing up who had riding time), and potential brick usage at 141 lbs are factors that gave the coaching edge to Brands and the Iowa sideline on Sunday afternoon. 2. Freshmen Are Ready Some of the debate surrounding takedowns, the hand touch rule, lineups, and brick usage obscured the fact that we saw some excellent performances from freshmen on Sunday. Arnold being the obvious one, with a huge win over a returning All-American, up a weight. The Iowa braintrust has a decision to make (not immediately) about 174 lbs. Patrick Kennedy is a returning Big Ten finalist and someone who can contend for the podium at that weight once he’s fully healthy and in-shape to wrestle seven-plus minutes. Arnold has already shown that he could be a high-finisher at the weight, perhaps with more upside. To make things more complicated, it appears as if Brennan Swafford won’t be available for an extended period, if at all, for the remainder of the season. Do you proceed with a lineup that features Kennedy at 174 and an undersized, but extremely talented Arnold at 184? Do you keep Arnold in redshirt and proceed with Kennedy at 174? What about Arnold at 174 and Kennedy or someone else at 184? In the highest levels of DI wrestling (with redshirts available - not the Ivy League), you don’t typically see a true freshman wrestle up a weight, when he could be the better option at his optimal weight. Wrestling can be a selfish endeavor. Many times, the answer is to start the best option (Arnold?) and let everything else sort itself out. These are some interesting decisions that will face Iowa in the coming weeks. Aside from Arnold, there were still other impressive showings from freshmen. At 133 lbs, Evan Frost took out a past Big 12 champion (Brody Teske) with a third-period takedown and a tilt. In many people’s eyes, Frost wasn’t even penciled in as the Cyclones preseason starter, it was fellow redshirt freshman Garrett Grice, an offseason transfer from Virginia. Frost won the intrasquad bout between the two and hasn’t looked back. A win like his over Teske will buy him even more time in the lineup. At 157 lbs, the Cyclones Cody Chittum had one of the more difficult matchups of the dual with second-ranked Jared Franek, a returning NCAA fourth-place finisher. The battle-tested Chittum never looked out of place and nearly pulled off a stunner, spinning behind Franek hundredths of a second after the final horn sounded. While it’s a loss on the stat sheet, it could be a win in the long run. Nearly knocking off a wrestler of Franek’s caliber in only your third collegiate match should do wonders for Chittum’s confidence. While not technically a freshman, Anthony Echemendia is also a new face on the collegiate season and a welcome addition to the 141 lb weight class. Echemendia wrestled a smart match on his feet; holding position, drawing stall calls, and limiting Real Woods’ offense. He and the Cyclone staff wisely chose not to go underneath Woods. As Echemendia competes more, we’ll see just how much his mat-game has improved. If he can get out from solid, but not great riders, he could be a contender at the weight. 3. Another heavyweight contender? Speaking of new contenders, I think we have one at 285 lbs. Calling a guy ranked seventh at a weight class a contender isn’t a stretch, I realize that, but there are levels to it. Are they a true title contender? A sure bet to make the podium? A possible low-podium threat? Yonger Bastida moved up to 285 lbs in the offseason, so it’s hard to project just how someone fits in making that particular jump. The eyeball test says that Bastida shouldn’t be overmatched physically by the field. The days of heavyweights like Cole Konrad, bulky 6’6”-ish and 280 lbs monsters, are not currently “in.” Now, the top big men are in the 235-260 lb range. Many of them grew up wrestling a smaller weight and have grown into the weight class. They possess offensive abilities that few big men of yesteryear can fathom. Your top-three guys at the weight all fit the bill here. Greg Kerkvliet, Wyatt Hendrickson, and Lucas Davison. Does Bastida belong in that conversation? Obviously, a major decision over redshirt freshman Bradley Hill doesn’t necessarily mean you’re in the top-four nationally. Again, the eyeball test says that his offensive arsenal could present problems for a handful of wrestlers currently ranked above him. Now, through four matches, Bastida has posted 81 points in only four matches. Pumping the brakes ever so slightly on the Bastida bandwagon, he’s only beaten one ranked wrestler in those four contests; #25 Daniel Bucknavich (Cleveland State); however, it’s still quite a number. The next couple of weeks should give a better idea as to where exactly Bastida belongs in the pecking order at 285 lbs. At the Collegiate Duals, all three of his projected opponents are ranked. Two of them are in the top-21 with #11 Dayton Pitzer (Pittsburgh) and #21 Lewis Fernandes (Cornell). Pitzer is one of those wrestlers still growing into a heavyweight’s body, but is mega-talented. Fernandes and Bastida met at the 2022 Collegiate Duals, when Bastida bumped up from 197 lbs. As a 197 lber, he won 4-2. Does he widen the gap as a heavyweight? Right after the New Year, Iowa State is slated to meet Arizona State, which means a possible match with Greco world teamer #4 Cohlton Schultz. Schultz presents a different challenge from Kerkvliet, Hendrickson, and Davison. He’s more tactical and deliberate. Hand-fighting and positioning will be at a premium. Let’s revisit this discussion after January 5th. 4. 125 is bananas So far, the weight class that I’ve dedicated the most time to studying, from a rankings perspective, is 125 lbs. In less than a month, we’ve already had two different wrestlers hold the number one ranking (Matt Ramos - Purdue and Anthony Noto - Lock Haven). Of course, Ramos also defeated Noto by a major decision at the All-Star Classic. The wrestler who may even be considered the favorite, Richie Figueroa (Arizona State), has yet to take the mat this season. Going beyond the top couple of contenders, this weight is loaded with talent. As we saw on Sunday, #17 Drake Ayala (Iowa) took out #8 Kysen Terukina (Iowa State) in a 7-1 match. That score might even be deceiving in that Ayala left a takedown or two on the board. Over in the other dual that took place Sunday afternoon, two-time All-American Patrick McKee (Minnesota) fell to unbeaten Tanner Jordan (South Dakota State) in a wild bout. A week ago, Ayala fell to Oregon State’s Brandon Kaylor. Terukina had his way with two-time All-American Eric Barnett (Wisconsin). This was after Kaylor was shut down by North Carolina’s Spencer Moore on the opening day of the regular season. Going even further, 2023 All-American Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech) already has five losses. The #31st seed at 133 lbs for the 2023 NCAA Tournament, Jack Maida (American), has dropped down and beaten Ventresca and 2023 bloodround finisher Braxton Brown (Maryland); who has subsequently moved to 133. It’s enough to make your head spin. I imagine this weight class will get crazy in Las Vegas at the Cliff Keen Invitational. Half of the top-20 are scheduled to appear. More than any other weight, I could see a semifinal that includes the number one and the #12 seed meeting up top, while say, #7 and #11 meet on the bottom. I don’t see it sorting itself out either. There are too many good wrestlers that will likely beat up on each other and make the weight totally unpredictable.

It was a light week overall with Thanksgiving Break so I’m mixing up my typical wrap-up. Just two Big 12 duals occurred on Sunday, but both had some great action and huge results. The South Dakota State Jackrabbits kicked the day off, taking on Minnesota in an exciting matchup. Starting at 125, #22 Tanner Jordan took out #6 Pat McKee for the first time with a 9-4 decision. In a wild match that had two reversals for both wrestlers, Jordan broke it open late with a tilt for back points. The Jackrabbits continued the momentum, as Derrick Cardinal beat freshman standout Tyler Wells with a 5-3 decision. Wells teched Cardinal at the Bison Open earlier this month. Unfortunately, Minnesota came back with four wins of their own, including an overtime match between ranked opponents at 157lbs. #13 Michael Blockhus took out #11 Cael Swensen with a late surge to go to overtime and took the match there. Unranked Blaine Brenner took out #19 Tanner Cook in a bout that SDSU needed to win. Cade DeVos and Tanner Sloan got wins, but no Bennett Berge meant big team points for Minnesota at 184. There was still a chance with just heavyweight remaining, but SDSU had to get a bonus as criteria was against them. Luke Rasmussen made a late push, but dropped the final match 9-7 as SDSU lost a very fun 19-13 dual. Once Clay Carlson and Bennett Berge are consistently in the lineup, the Jackrabbits are only going to be more dangerous. Iowa-Iowa State was one of the most hyped duals of the season, and it lived up to it. Iowa took the dual 18-14 and six of the ten matches. Iowa State had some great moments early, but surprisingly struggled at the upper weights. #8 Kysen Terukina lost to #17 Drake Ayala, but #19 Evan Frost got Iowa State on the board with a shocking win over #8 Brody Teske. Frost not only scored the only takedown, but hit a tilt for back points to cap it. The two teams continued to split matches, as Iowa won 141 and 157 while Iowa State won 149 and 165. #19 Anthony Echemendia was razor close to taking out #1 Real Woods, with a controversial “no challenge” from Iowa State on a potential takedown. In overtime, Woods shot quickly and converted a takedown for the close win. #14 Casey Swiderski took out #9 Victor Voinovich, where Iowa State again won the takedown battle. Then at 157 #2 Jared Franek and true freshman #18 Cody Chittum went to the wire, with Iowa State again just barely running out of time on a takedown attempt. #2 David Carr demolished #5 Mikey Caliendo with a 16-4 major that included three takedowns. Weight bumps were discussed for both teams coming into the dual, and Iowa was the team to follow through. They bumped up #14 Patrick Kennedy, a 165lber last season, to take on #21 MJ Gaitan. Kennedy built an early 12-4 lead going into the third, but Gaitan scored three takedowns of his own. Down one with riding time, Gaitan stayed on top and ended up dropping a 14-13 match. Afterwards, Coach Dresser admitted that it was a coaching mistake, and they should have had him cut a gassed Kennedy to try and get one more takedown, although time was against him. With Kennedy at 174, true freshman Gabe Arnold bumped up to 184. Despite getting a top 12 win at 174 against Oregon State, Arnold got a top eight win while up a weight. He scored an early takedown on #6 Will Feldkamp and didn’t have to do much else. Feldkamp was looking for offense from overhooks and Arnold did a smart job wrestling positionally to not give anything up outside of escapes. At 197, Iowa State needed #24 Julien Broderson to take out #22 Zach Glazier to stay in the dual. Unfortunately for the Cyclones, Glazier scored the only takedowns of the match to clinch the dual. #7 Yonger Bastida scored a 17-6 major decision to end the dual on a less sour note for Iowa State. Overall the Big 12 teams went 0-2 against the Big 10. However, South Dakota State looked really solid and should be able to look even better once their lineup is healthy. Iowa State had a number of chances, but also seemed to have luck against them. Weird calls, late timing, and a lack of production at the upperweights really hurt a team that could still turn into a trophy contender in March. The upcoming week has much more competition, as many Big 12 teams are headed to the stacked Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. #21 Air Force, #16 Northern Iowa, #9 Oklahoma State, #11 Iowa State, #13 South Dakota State, Utah Valley, and Wyoming will all compete in Vegas. #3 Missouri takes on #12 Oklahoma in Columbia, MO. The Sooners then head to Morgantown for a dual against #26 West Virginia. North Dakota State stays at home to wrestle Virginia. Northern Colorado has the Cougar Clash tournament listed for December 2nd. California Baptist doesn’t compete this week. All-in-all two great duals that didn’t go the conference’s way, but a chance to really make a statement in a ridiculously stacked Cliff Keen. Add in some solid conference and non-conference duals, and December is looking to start the month strong.

All eyes in the wrestling world were trained solely on Ames, Iowa. No, really. That phrase can be overstated in many cases; however, with the Thanksgiving holiday only four days away, the wrestling calendar was sparse. #7 Iowa traveled to Ames to take on #8 Iowa State live on ESPN’s main channel in the only dual scheduled for Sunday's late-afternoon slot. The stage was set for Iowa State to snap a losing streak that dated back to 2004. A sellout crowd was on hand to watch a Cyclone team that featured four wrestlers ranked in the top-eight and appeared to be the deepest in head coach Kevin Dresser’s time in Ames. While Iowa led 9-6 at halftime, Iowa State knocked off a pair of top-ten wrestlers and was favored in the back half of the dual. The only problem for Iowa State was nobody told the Hawkeyes that it was supposed to be Iowa State’s day. Iowa briefly trailed after NCAA champion David Carr posted a 16-4 major decision for the Cyclones at 165 lbs. The Hawkeyes would win the next four bouts to lock up the dual and their stranglehold on this in-state rivalry. Hawkeye head coach Tom Brands developed a winning blueprint by doing some lineup shuffling for the day. Last time out, true freshman Gabe Arnold took out a former All-American from Oregon State; Travis Wittlake. Conventional wisdom may have sent Arnold out to face redshirt freshman MJ Gaitan, in a match that likely would favor the Hawkeyes. Instead, Brands bumped up Arnold to face a returning All-American at 184 lbs; Will Feldkamp, a Clarion transfer. Then he inserted Patrick Kennedy at 174 lbs. Kennedy, a 2023 Big Ten finalist at 165 lbs, was unavailable up to this point, so the Cy-Hawk dual was his first action of the season. Kennedy defeated Gaitan in a wild 14-13 affair. The Hawkeye went up by as many as nine points and appeared to be on his way to a tech fall. Perhaps with the dual being his first event of the year, Kennedy seemed to hit a wall and Gaitan stormed back. Gaitan dominated the final stanza with a trio of takedowns that saw him tied on the scoreboard with approximately :14 seconds remaining. The Iowa State corner was confused about which wrestler had the riding time advantage (Kennedy did) and advised Gaitan to keep his opponent down. While he was able to ride Kennedy out, the Hawkeye still won after the riding time point was added. In the 184 lb contest, Arnold looked unphased by the bright lights and a daunting opponent. He was able to get the decisive takedown in the first period after dodging Feldkamp’s tie-up attempt, changing his levels and getting in position for a picturesque lift and return. Feldkamp often returned to his overhook series, but was never able to get a legitimate takedown attempt on Arnold. The true freshman grabbed a 3-2 win which put his team up 15-10 with two matches remaining. As is often the case in duals, an unheralded star emerged. In a lineup with three returning All-Americans, it was first-year starter Zach Glazier, a veteran of the Hawkeye program, who ended up playing the hero role. Glazier notched a first-period takedown on a single leg attack, then added a second in the middle period after a flurry that saw both wrestlers in position to score. Aside from that exchange, Cyclone Julian Broderson was never in a position to threaten Glazier. Glazier held his ground for the third period and claimed victory in a 7-3 match that stretched his team to an insurmountable 18-10 lead. Iowa was in position to win after victories from Drake Ayala (125), Real Woods (141), and Jared Franek (157) in the first half of the dual. Ayala rebounded from a dual loss to Oregon State’s Brandon Kaylor last week by downing eighth-ranked Kysen Terukina, 7-2. Ayala was the aggressor throughout the bout and got his first takedown off of a single leg in the second period. Late in the third, Terukina tried to take the lead with a trip attempt. That was nullified by Ayala, who stopped the action and grabbed a leg of his own for an insurance takedown. Woods and Franek both held off frantic comeback attempts from Anthony Echemendia and Cody Chittum, respectively. After a late stalling call pushed his bout into sudden victory, Woods quickly prevailed with a takedown, 4-1. Franek and Chittum engaged in a flurry at the edge of the mat in the waning seconds of the bout. Chittum spun behind Franek but missed out on the winning takedown by a quarter of a second. Franek got by with a 4-2 margin. The loss overshadowed a pair of quality wins in the first half of the dual by a pair of young Cyclones. Redshirt freshman Evan Frost used a misdirection shot and a tight tilt to put eighth-ranked Brody Teske on his back in the third period. Frost won 8-1 in a match that was much closer than the scoreboard would indicate. Two matches later, Casey Swiderski took out a top-ten opponent at 149 lbs in ninth-ranked Victor Voinovich. A pair of first-period takedowns for Swiderski made the difference in a 6-3 victory for the true sophomore. Things were looking promising for the Cyclones after one of the marquee matchups at 165 lbs. ISU star David Carr showed why he is a national champion during his 16-4 major decision over All-American Michael Caliendo. Carr notched four takedowns throughout the match. Though the bout was decided after 197 lbs, heavyweight Yonger Bastida was still very impressive for Iowa State. The former All-American at 197, Bastida continues to be an offensive juggernaut. His 17 points were a “season-low” for the Cyclone. In four matches this season, Bastida has amassed 81 points. He notched five takedowns in a 17-6 major decision over redshirt freshman Bradley Hill. Iowa 18 Iowa State 14 125 - Drake Ayala (Iowa) dec Kysen Terukina (Iowa State) 7-2 133 - Evan Frost (Iowa State) dec Brody Teske (Iowa) 8-1 141 - Real Woods (Iowa) dec Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State) 4-1SV 149 - Casey Swiderski (Iowa State) dec Victor Voinovich (Iowa) 6-3 157 - Jared Franek (Iowa) dec Cody Chittum (Iowa State) 4-2 165 - David Carr (Iowa State) maj Michael Caliendo (Iowa) 16-4 174 - Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) dec MJ Gaitan (Iowa State) 14-13 184 - Gabe Arnold (Iowa) dec Will Feldkamp (Iowa State) 3-2 197 - Zach Glazier (Iowa) dec Julien Broderson (Iowa State) 7-3 285 - Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) maj Bradley Hill (Iowa) 17-6

Evansville

Sheridan

Clovis

Greater Latrobe

Every week during the 2023-24 season, the InterMat staff will submit their picks for some of the most high-profile or competitive dual meets. As the season progresses, we'll keep track of records for bragging rights or as ammunition for when we mock each other. No, we'd never do that, it's all in good fun (right?). Results through week three 12-5: Bob Dole 11-6: Earl, James, Austin, Nick, Tony, Dysen 10-7: Robbie, Rachel, Richard, Morgan 9-6: Willie, Ryan, Kevin, Jagger Below are the picks for week four. Both of the duals take place this afternoon!

Sunday afternoon, one of the most anticipated duals of the year takes place as Iowa will travel to Ames to take on Iowa State. Yesterday, we released our preview and predictions for the action that takes place. With Iowa slightly down and Iowa State looking very solid, this dual represents the Cyclones best chance to earn a victory in almost 20 years. The last time that Iowa State was able to defeat their in-state rival was December 5th, 2004, when they prevailed 19-16 in Iowa’s fabled Carver-Hawkeye Arena. It’s been a long time since December 5th, 2004. Just how long? Below, we have some fun facts about how different the collegiate wrestling landscape was the last time Iowa State defeated the Hawkeyes. - Head Coaches at the time were Bobby Douglas (Iowa State) and Jim Zalesky (Iowa) - Stars for Iowa State in the dual win include Grant Nakamura (125 lbs) who won by fall, Nate Gallick (141 lbs) who beat Alex Tsirtsis in tiebreakers, Trent Paulson (165) who won a shootout over Joe Johnston, Nick Passolano (174 lbs) who also won a wild one over Luke Lofthouse, and Trevor Smith (197 lbs) who won via major decision. - The December 2004 win for Iowa State is their only victory in Carver-Hawkeye Arena which was built in 1983. - A few weeks after the dual, Iowa finished in second place at the Midlands, Iowa State was third and Illinois took the title with 130.5 points. - A couple months after this dual, Iowa lost to Northwestern for the first time since 1968. That dual saw Adam Fellers get the start for Iowa at 197 lbs. - Iowa would go on to outplace Iowa State at the 2005 NCAA Championships. Iowa was seventh with 66 points (0 champs/4 All-Americans), while Iowa State was tenth with 57 points (0 champs/3 All-Americans). - Earlier in 2004, Oklahoma State won the second of their four straight national titles. They outdistanced second-place Iowa by 41.5 points. - Tom Brands was in his first year as head coach at Virginia Tech. Iowa and Virginia Tech met in a dual and the Hawkeyes won with a 38-0 shutout. It was one of only four losses on the year for Brands at Virginia Tech. - One of Brands’ assistant coaches at Virginia Tech was Doug Schwab. - Kevin Dresser just coached Christiansburg High School to its third consecutive Virginia AA state championship - Terry Brands was in the midst of his third and final season as Head Coach at Chattanooga. Later that season, he’d have two All-Americans Michael Keefe and Jon Sioredas (current Cal Poly head coach). - Iowa assistant coach Ryan Morningstar and Iowa State assistant coach Brent Metcalf just started their senior year of high school wrestling. - A few months before this dual, Iowa State assistant coach Cael Sanderson won an Olympic gold medal in Athens, Greece. Cael’s men’s freestyle Olympic teammates were Stephan Abas, Eric Guerrero, Jamill Kelly, Joe Williams, Daniel Cormier, and Kerry McCoy. - Speaking of Cael; Only he and Pat Smith had won four DI national titles at this time. Three others (Dake/2013, Stieber/2015, and Diakomihalis/2023) have followed. Diakomihalis was five at the time of Iowa State’s last victory. - Iowa State national runner-up Cody Sanderson was the head coach at Utah Valley, which was known as Utah Valley State. - At this time, Iowa State was in the midst of inking the top recruiting class for 2005. That included #4 Cyler Sanderson, #5 Mitch Mueller, #10 Jake Varner, #13 Nick Gallick, David Zabriskie, and Nick Fanthorpe. - The top recruit from the class that just hit campus was Illinois’ Mike Poeta, while Dustin Schlatter (OH/Minnesota) would hold that title for 2005. - Penn State had finished 12th at the 2004 tournament (46.5 points - 0 champs/2 AA’s) and did not crack the top 20 in 2005. - The most recent Hodge Trophy winner was Montana State-Northern’s Emmett Wilson. - The 2004 national tournament featured wrestlers from Boise State, Boston, Cal-State Fullerton, Duquesne, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Fresno State, Oregon, Slippery Rock, UC Davis, and UNC Greensboro. All these teams have since dropped wrestling. Fresno State has dropped wrestling twice during this span. Additionally, Millersville had four wrestlers at the 2004 tournament. They have since made the decision to compete at the DII level. - At this time American, Kent State, Missouri, South Dakota State, and UC Davis had not crowned a DI national champion. - The only current DI head coaches that have been with their current school since this time are: Jim Andrassy (Kent State), Tom Borrelli (Central Michigan), Joel Greenlee (Ohio), Mark Manning (Nebraska), Brian Smith (Missouri), John Smith (Oklahoma State), and Jay Weiss (Harvard). - Currently, there are seven DI wrestling conferences. For the 2004 NCAA Tournament, there were 11. Ones that no longer exist include the CAA, East Region, EWL, and the West Region.

Jay County

Clearfield

Paramus Catholic

Wyalusing

Dowling Catholic

West Allegheny