InterMat Staff

In the 1998 hit “Closing Time” by Semisonic, the band sings that “every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” That song came to me as I was following the World Team Trials this weekend, particularly from the men’s freestyle avenue of the tournament. In 2018, UWW expanded its weight class offerings from eight to ten and modified some of the actual weights. Those changes allowed the US men’s freestyle team to get a few more wrestlers that were blocked by returning team members into the mix. What resulted has been a great era of wrestling - one of the best in our storied history. This golden era has had some consistent central figures. Kyle Snyder has been a part of every world/Olympic team since 2015. Kyle Dake has made all seven world/Olympic teams since 2018. Jordan Burroughs has made five world teams in that time period. David Taylor made six world/Olympic teams during that span. James Green made four. J’den Cox made four, as did Thomas Gilman. Now, in the spring of 2025, we could be looking at a world team that has none of those central figures! Snyder’s status is up in the air after his recent arrest. Green did not make the finals of the WTT’s. Dake is up a weight class and will have to avenge a US Open loss against Zahid Valencia (with two wins) to make the 2025 squad. Cox, Gilman, and Taylor are all in the coaches chairs. Burroughs did not participate in any of the qualifying events, but has not announced his retirement. The first year of a new Olympic cycle is traditionally filled with retirements and weight changes, so it’s not unusual to see this type of transition. However, the amount of change that we could see is out of the ordinary. With Dake’s move up to 86 kg, we’ll have a representative at 74 kg not named Burroughs or Dake for the first time since 2010! Regardless of Final X results, we are guaranteed to see a first-time world team member in half of the ten weight classes. Should an upset(s) occur, that number could only increase. Surprisingly enough, the 2023 men’s world team had six first-timers, so this transition did not happen overnight (Richards, Arujau, Lee, Marsteller, Valencia, Parris). Before 2023, the last time we had five or more first-time world team members was in 2009 and 2010 which ended up being two rough years for USA Wrestling; however, the bounce back started shortly after. My opinion is that this changing of the guard is more of a quick transition from one generation to the next than a rebuilding effort. Looking at the potential 2025 team, we could have five past world medalists on the team (Lee, Arujau, Diakomihalis, Dake/Valencia, Snyder) in addition to a few team members who appear to be ready to compete for medals right away (Mesenbrink/Carr, Hendrickson). In the coming years, we might see this time of turnover on a regular basis. The kids keep getting better at younger ages. In men’s freestyle, Final X will feature two wrestlers who have yet to start their collegiate careers (Jax Forrest/PJ Duke). Others like Marcus Blaze and Bo Bassett posted strong wins at the Trials and have already proven they can compete domestically at the Senior level. With such regular infusions of talent, it might mean that there are fewer and fewer ironmen like Burroughs/Dake/Snyder. Should that be the norm, it would be another reason to show this current/past crop of wrestlers appreciation. In about a month, we’ll find out who exactly are the representatives for the 2025 World Championships after the action goes down at Final X; however, it won’t be “Closing Time” for Team USA merely a new beginning for a new generation of success.

Buchanan

Yesterday, Willie Saylor of InterMat and MatScouts announced that Army head Kevin Ward has stepped down from his post at West Point. Today, Oklahoma State announced that Ward will be an assistant coach on the Cowboy staff. Ward was a two-time national qualifier for the Cowboys in 2005-06 and was a Big 12 champion at 157 lbs in 2005. Ward just recently wrapped up his 11th year at the helm for Army. It was a strong year for the Black Knights as they went 8-3 in dual competition and finished the regular season ranked #24 in the nation in InterMat’s Dual Rankings. Seven Army wrestlers qualified for the NCAA tournament - a feat they last accomplished in 2021. A year earlier, one of Ward’s pupils, Ben Pasiuk got on the NCAA podium with an eighth-place finish at 174 lbs. That was Ward’s first DI NCAA All-American and the program’s first since 2008. Ward’s dual record at Army finished at a 59-53 mark. An important facet of every Army head coach’s job is their record versus the Naval Academy. The Black Knights 2014-15 win over Navy, in Ward’s first year, gave the team their first win over their rivals in 17 years. He also had a four-year winning streak over Navy, a feat that had never previously been accomplished by an Army coach. In 2025, Army downed Navy 22-10 to run his record against the Midshipmen to 7-4. During his 11 years leading the Army program, 57 wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Tournament. In the previous 11 years, only 33 had made it to the Big Dance. Ward’s staff has also been excellent on the recruiting trail. Army earned national rankings in three of the last four seasons and it’s very likely they’ll earn accolades in 2025 and 2026. The Black Knights were 24th in the nation in 2021, 23rd in 2022, and 17th in 2023. There was a vacancy on the Cowboy coaching staff after the departure of Thomas Gilman just over a month ago. We’ll track the progress by the Army athletic department as they seek to replace Ward. Associate head coach Scott Green has been named the interim head coach during the search.

Union

Legacy Christian Academy

Bergen Catholic

As the school year winds down to a close, the end of year awards and accolades start getting passed out for a season well-done. For us at Fantasy D1 Wrestling, the data has been processed, the charts have been reviewed, and the evaluations are complete. The breakdown of the Top Fantasy Wrestlers of the 2025 season is here to help you start your 2025 season research. Just like in the past few years, some names are going to be expected, while a lot more may not be. That's the beauty of Fantasy Wrestling, where any wrestler can be the star of the weekend and win the dual for you. To compile these lists, we used standard WrestleStat Fantasy College Wrestling Data & Scoring. Just a reminder of how points were tallied in WrestleStat leagues: 1) The scoring used was standard team scoring across all competitions (+3 for a win by decision, -4 for a loss by major, etc) 2) Scoring only counted against D1 competition 3) Wins via forfeits (FFT) would count as +6 towards a wrestler's point total 4) Wins or losses by medical forfeit (MFF) did not count as + or - towards a wrestler's point total 5) Points were only accumulated during the regular season 125 Top 20 Notes: In back-to-back years, Matt Ramos retains the title of Top Fantasy Wrestler of 125 with the best PPM of the 2025 lot. In fact, in the past three seasons, Ramos finished in Fantasy as the #1, #1, and #2 wrestler at 125, respectively. More on Ramos in another article. With the most matches of any 125-pounder in the Top 20, Penn’s Max Gallagher was able to use his 32 matches wrestled to overcome his seven losses (-22 Fpts). Eventual National Champion Vincent Robinson, who beat Gallagher by major, comes in at 3rd for the year. Tying Robinson in points at 71 was Brendan McCrone, but with a worse PPM slots in at #4. Another tie, in points, came in at the 8/9th place between Luke Lilledahl and Sheldon Seymour with 63 Fpts. Seymour had three more matches than Lightning Luke, but Lilledahl won the eighth spot with a 3.5 PPM compared to Seymour’s 3. All American, and possibly wrestling’s first Youtube star, Stevo Poulin beats out Campbell’s Cooper Shore on PPM as well. Shore took over starting duties in January and February only for Anthony Molton (who finished at #25 with 36 Fpts) to come back for the postseason. National finalist Troy Spratley follows up his 2024 season as the #13 Fantasy Wrestler at 125 with being… the #13 Fantasy Wrestler at 125 for the 2025 season. Wrestling three fewer matches though, he bested his 2024 self by four Fpts. With the least amount of matches wrestled in the 125 Top-20, Marc-Anthony McGowan finished the regular season with 15 matches for 51 Fpts. That was enough to finish 17th over eventual AA Caleb Smith and National Qualifier Spencer Moore. Rounding out the Top 20 was the only other non-starter, and new transfer to West Virginia, Louie Gill. All eight of the 125 All-Americans made the Top 20. Who Missed The Cut: Richie Figueroa (ASU) was the first man out of the Top 20, missing the rank by two Fpts with his 16 regular season matches. He finished with 43 Fpts, tied with Indiana’s Blaine Frazier. Despite missing a large chunk of the second semester, Anthony Molton (CAMP) finished with 36 Fpts and was #25. Had he wrestled the full regular season, he probably would have been at least #11, trading places with teammate Cooper Shore. As for another wrestler with only a handful of regular season matches, Greg Diakomihalis (COR) only wrestled 10 matches (all in November) but still amassed 34 Fpts to be the #28 Fantasy Wrestler at 125. Other notables include Cooper Flynn (MINN) with 31 Fpts at #31, Beric Jordan (OU) with 28 Fpts at #35, Trever Anderson (UNI) with 24 Fpts at #39, and Jett Strickenberger (WVU) with 19 Fpts at #47.

The results of the World Team Trials have confirmed the lineup for the Final X which is set to take place about a month from now from Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center. We’ll have plenty of time to preview the actual matchups themselves, but for now, this is the lineup for Final X. Men’s Freestyle 57 kg - Spencer Lee vs. Luke Lilledahl 61 kg - Vito Arujau vs. Jax Forrest 65 kg - Joey McKenna vs. Real Woods 70 kg - Yianni Diakomihalis vs. PJ Duke 74 kg - Mitchell Mesenbrink vs. David Carr 79 kg - Evan Wick vs. Levi Haines 86 kg - Zahid Valencia vs. Kyle Dake 92 kg - Trent Hidlay vs. Josh Barr 97 kg - Kyle Snyder vs. Hayden Zillmer 125 kg - Wyatt Hendrickson vs. Trent Hillger Women’s Freestyle 50 kg - Audrey Jimenez vs. Erin Golston 53 kg - Brianna Gonzalez vs. Felicity Taylor 55 kg - Cristelle Rodriguez vs. Everest Leydecker 57 kg - Helen Maroulis vs. Amanda Martinez 59 kg - Abby Nette vs. Jacarra Winchester 62 kg - Kayla Miracle vs. Adaugo Nwachukwu 65 kg - Macey Kilty vs. Aine Drury 68 kg - Kennedy Blades vs. Brooklyn Hays 72 kg - Alex Glaude vs. Amit Elor 76 kg - Kylie Welker vs. Dymond Guilford

World Team Trials Finals Results Men’s Freestyle 65 kg - Real Woods over Brock Hardy 10-6 70 kg - PJ Duke over Bryce Andonian 4-1 74 kg - David Carr over Jarrett Jacques 2-0 79 kg - Levi Haines over Dean Hamiti 10-2 86 kg - Kyle Dake over Carter Starocci 3-3 92 kg - Josh Barr over Aeoden Sinclair 7-3 97 kg - Hayden Zillmer over Jay Aiello 5-3 125 kg - Trent Hillger over Demetrius Thomas 10-4 Women’s Freestyle 50 kg - Erin Golston over Kendra Ryan 4-2 53 kg - Felicity Taylor over Sage Mortimer 13-1 55 kg - Everest Leydecker over Ronna Gross 11-0 59 kg - Jacarra Winchester over Alexis Janiak 7-3 62 kg - Adaugo Nwachukwu over SaVannah Cosme Fall 1:19 68 kg - Brooklyn Hays over Solin Piearcy 4-0 72 kg - Amit Elor over Skylar Grote 2-1 76 kg - Dymond Guilford over Yelena Makoyed 5-3

Carrollton

Men’s Freestyle 65 kg - Real Woods over Jesse Mendez 11-9 65 kg - Brock Hardy over Bo Bassett 12-7 70 kg - Bryce Andonian over Caleb Henson 3-2 70 kg - PJ Duke over Ridge Lovett 3-2 74 kg - David Carr over Terrell Barraclough 6-3 74 kg - Jarrett Jacques over Quincy Monday 6-2 79 kg - Levi Haines over Carson Kharchla 10-5 79 kg - Dean Hamiti over Simon Ruiz 5-3 86 kg - Kyle Dake over Parker Keckeisen 11-1 86 kg - Carter Starocci over Chance Marsteller 4-2 92 kg - Josh Barr over Dustin Plott 10-4 92 kg - Aeoden Sinclair over Michael Macchiavello 4-3 97 kg - Hayden Zillmer over Eric Schultz 2-1 97 kg - Jay Aiello over Justin Rademacher 11-4 125 kg - Demetrius Thomas over Christian Lance 6-4 125 kg - Trent Hillger over Jordan Wood 13-2 Women’s Freestyle 50 kg - Erin Colston over Heather Crull 10-0 50 kg - Kendra Ryan over Emily Shilson 10-1 53 kg - Felicity Taylor over Sydney Petzinger 10-0 53 kg - Sage Mortimer over Katie Gomez 12-1 55 kg - Everest Leydecker over Julia Vidallon 10-0 55 kg - Ronna Gross over Areana Villaescusa 12-2 59 kg - Jacarra Winchester over Xochitl Mota-Pettis 10-0 59 kg - Alexis Janiak over Michaela Beck 2-1 62 kg - Adaugo Nwachukwu over Alara Boyd 10-0 62 kg - SaVannah Cosme over Ana Luciano 7-6 68 kg - Solin Piearcy over Destiny Lyng 3-3 68 kg - Brooklyn Hays over Latifah McBryde 4-2 72 kg - Amit Elor over Elleni Johnson 10-0 72 kg - Skylar Grote over Joye Levendusky Fall 2:10 76 kg - Yelena Makoyed over Tristan Kelly 7-0 76 kg - Dymond Guilford over Marlynne Deede Fall 2:35

Clovis North

The semifinals have been set at the 2025 World Team Trials in Louisville, Kentucky. The actual semifinals themselves will take place this afternoon at 4pm eastern, with the finals being held tomorrow. Men’s Freestyle 65 kg Jesse Mendez vs. Real Woods Bo Bassett vs. Brock Hardy 70 kg Caleb Henson vs. Bryce Andonian Ridge Lovett vs. PJ Duke 74 kg David Carr vs. Terrell Barraclough Jarrett Jacques vs. Quincy Monday 79 kg Levi Haines vs. Carson Kharchla Simon Ruiz vs. Dean Hamiti Jr. 86 kg Kyle Dake vs. Parker Keckeisen Carter Starocci vs. Chance Marsteller 92 kg Josh Barr vs. Dustin Plott Michael Macchiavello vs. Aeoden Sinclair 97 kg Hayden Zillmer vs. Eric Schultz Justin Rademacher vs. Jay Aiello 125 kgs Demetrius Thomas vs. Christian Lance Jordan Wood vs. Trent Hillger Women’s Freestyle 50 kg Erin Golston vs. Heather Crull Emily Shilson vs. Kendra Ryan 53 kg Felicity Taylor vs Sydney Petzinger Sage Mortimer vs. Katie Gomez 55 kg Everest Leydecker vs. Julia Vidallon Ronna Gross vs. Areana Villaescusa 59 kg Jacarra Winchester vs. Xochitl Mota-Pettis Alexis Janiak vs. Michaela Beck 62 kg Adaugo Nwachukwu vs. Alara Boyd Ana Luciano vs. SaVannah Cosme 68 kg Solin Piearcy vs. Destiny Lyng Latifah McBryde vs. Brooklyn Hays 72 kg Amit Ellor vs. Elleni Johnson Joye Levendusky vs. Skylar Grote 76 kg Yelena Makoyed vs. Tristan Kelly Marlynne Deede vs. Dymond Guilford

Grand County

Holmdel

Air Academy

Poway

Buford

Hudsonville

Notre Dame

Charlotte Latin

Goodrich

St. Joseph Metuchen

West Genesee