InterMat Staff

The Central Michigan Chippewas got their guy and they didn’t have to look far to find him! The successor to legendary, longtime head coach Tom Borrelli will be his right-hand man, associate head coach Ben Bennett. The CMU athletic department announced that Bennett will move up to assume head coaching duties on Tuesday morning. Bennett has been on the Central Michigan staff for the past 11 years and has overseen CMU winning a pair of MAC regular season titles, along with the 2024 MAC Championships. During that time, seven Central Michigan wrestlers have combined to win 14 conference titles and four wrestlers have earned a spot on the NCAA podium. Additionally, three others were named first or second-team All-Americans following the 2019-20 season, in which the NCAA Tournament was canceled. As a competitor, Bennett is one of the most decorated wrestlers in CMU history. He was a top-100 recruit who stayed in-state and became the program’s first, and only, four-time All-American (6,8,6,4). Bennett is one of only three CMU wrestlers to have won four MAC titles. As a junior, Bennett was seeded third in the country at nationals and he earned the second seed as a senior. Bennett’s 121 career wins rank seventh on the school’s all-time wins list. After his first season of competition, Bennett was named the MAC Freshman of the Year. In three of his four years, Bennett earned CMU’s Most Valuable Wrestler honors. In 2023, Bennett was named to the CMU Athletics Hall of Fame. Bennett will inherit a Central Michigan team that had three national qualifiers in 2024. At this time, it’s unclear who will return or not, only one of them (Corbyn Munson) has exhausted his eligibility. Should Johnny Lovett and Alex Cramer return, CMU could trot out a lineup that features nine of ten returning starters from their MAC-winning squad. Cramer was a conference champion, while Lovett advanced to the bloodround in a brutal 157 lb weight class. In dual competition, Central Michigan was 8-8 in 2023-24, but 6-1 against MAC opponents. Bennett will be the sixth head coach in Central Michigan wrestling history. With Bennett’s promotion, there are now four CMU graduates who are current DI head coaches. He joins Jason Borrelli (American), Luke Smith (CSU Bakersfield), and Scotti Sentes (Campbell).

Lowell

Blair Academy

The Olympic Trials are in the books and what a spectacle they were! There were upsets, all-time greats that suffered losses, new stars that came to the forefront on the Senior level, happy tears, sad tears, and much more. As is the case with big tournaments or events, we’ve picked out some of the interesting facts and trends that emerged from the 2024 Olympic Team Trials. Have fun! Mason Parris is the first Michigan graduate to represent the United States since Andy Hrovat did so in 2008. There has been at least one grad from Iowa and Penn State on each of the last three Olympic men’s freestyle teams. An Iowa grad has held down the 57 kg on the Olympic Team in each of the last three teams (Lee, Gilman, Dan Dennis/2016). Provided Lee qualifies the weight at the Last Chance Qualifier. Kyle Snyder has now made his 10th consecutive World/Olympic Team. It was also his third Olympic team. All before he turns 29. With Aaron Brooks making the squad, you have two wrestlers from Maryland on the men’s freestyle team - three counting the other styles, and Helen Maroulis. Kyle Dake and Kyle Snyder are the only holdovers from the 2020(1) men’s freestyle team. Maroulis made history by becoming the first American woman to make three Olympic teams. She also is a part of her 14th World/Olympic team. Half of the women’s freestyle team is returning from 2020(1). Sarah Hildebrandt, Maroulis, and Kayla Miracle. Despite California being one of the early adopters of women’s wrestling and typically a hotbed for women’s freestylers, this is the first time that there have been multiple California natives on the women’s freestyle Olympic team (Dom Parrish and Amit Elor). Indiana has two natives on the women’s freestyle team (Hildebrandt/Miracle), plus Mason Parris from the men’s freestyle squad. Kennedy Blades will become only the second Illinois native to wrestle at the Olympics in women’s freestyle. Haley Augello (2016) was the first. Five of the six women on the Olympic team have already won a world or Olympic medal. Blades, who has never previously made a Senior team, is the exception. The 2020(1) Trials featured two high school girls in the finals (Kylie Welker and Kennedy Blades). This year there was just one with Audrey Jimenez (50 kg). The Greco-Roman winners featured two sets of wrestlers from the same high school. Dalton Roberts (60 kg) and Adam Coon (130 kg) - Fowlerville, Michigan and Ellis Coleman (67 kg) and Kamal Bey (77 kg) - Oak Park River Forest, Illinois. The Olympic Trials finals produced seven rematches from Final X 2023. Kyle Dake/Jason Nolf (MFS; 74 kg), Aaron Brooks/David Taylor (MFS 86 kg), Sarah Hildebrandt/Audrey Jimenez (WFS 50 kg), Kennedy Blades/Adeline Gray (WFS 76 kg), Dalton Roberts/Ildar Hafizov (MGR 60 kg), Kamal Bey/Aliaksandr Kikiniou (MGR 77 kg), and Adam Coon/Cohlton Schultz (MGR 130 kg). Only Dake, Hildebrandt, and Bey won those rematches. The Trials finals at 65 kg (MFS), 57 kg (WFS), and 62 kg (WFS) featured matchups between 2023 World Team teammates. The only Trials finals matches between past World medalists took place on the women’s freestyle side with 57 kg (Maroulis/Winchester), 62 kg (Miracle/Kilty), and 68 kg (Elor/Molinari). Of course, Maroulis/Winchester are two past world champions. The only two falls of the Trials finals included a pair of past world champions. Thomas Gilman was pinned in the closing seconds of the deciding bout in his series with Spencer Lee. Jacarra Winchester got pinned by Maroulis in match one. At the last Trials, Gilman was involved in the only pin of the entire finals. He scored a fall over Vito Arujau in the first match of their series. The 2024 Olympic Trials featured three rematches from the 2020(1) Trials across all three styles. The only series’ (5 of them) that needed to go the full three matches occurred on the Greco-Roman side. Payton Jacobson is the only wrestler on the Greco team without any Senior World (or Olympic) experience. Adam Coon is the only Greco champion from 2020(1) to repeat in 2024. Since the 130 kg weight class has already been qualified for the 2024 Games, Coon will be making his Olympic debut. In 2020(1), the weight class had not been qualified and Coon wasn’t able to do so at the Last Chance Qualifier. Across the three styles, Ellis Coleman is the only winner of the Trials who competed at the 2012 Olympic Games. He also needs to qualify the weight to compete in the 2024 Games. Scoring in the Olympic Trials was hard to do. Kennedy Blades was the only wrestler to score more than 10 points in any bout. Nobody in men’s freestyle scored more than eight points in any finals matchup. The Trials finals featured five matchups between current teammates. 65 kg, 74 kg, and 86 kg in men’s freestyle all saw Nittany Lion Wrestling Club members tangle. 60 kg and 67 kg in Greco-Roman had Army WCAP teammates clashing. David Taylor’s series with Aaron Brooks marked the second consecutive Trials that Taylor faced an NLWC teammate. In 2020(1), he defeated Bo Nickal for a slot on the Olympic Team. Wrestlers with a bye to the best-of-three finals went a combined 8-5 - including 0-3 in Greco (Spencer Woods, Alan Vera, Cohlton Schultz). The combined age for the last two women in the Olympic lineup Elor (20) and Blades (21) is 41. That’s less than Greco-Roman finalist Aliaksandr Kikiniou (44).

Apple Valley

Bishop McCort

Southern Regional

Lodi

We’re starting off the week with some huge news on the coaching front. On Thursday, as many of us were traveling to the Olympic Trials, news trickled out that Zach Tanelli had stepped down from his position as the head coach of Columbia. Now, we’re talking Tanelli again as he has accepted a job as associate head coach at Virginia Tech. The Hokies had an opening on staff after Cody Brewer left for a position with Princeton. Tanelli just wrapped up his eighth season at the helm for the Lions. During his tenure at Columbia, the Lions posted a 39-62 dual record - which is a bit misleading as they went 3-12 during each of his first two seasons as was turning the program around. The 2022-23 season proved to be one of the best in school history as Tanelli’s team sent a record six wrestlers to Tulsa after scoring the most points in team history at the EIWA Championships. Their 95 points were good enough for fourth place. Columbia duplicated that finish at the 2024 EIWA Championships. In Kansas City, at the 2024 NCAA Championships, Tanelli’s 174 lber Lennox Wolak made the semifinals and ended up in sixth place. Wolak became the first wrestler to make the NCAA podium under Tanelli and the school’s first All-American since 2013. At EIWA’s, Wolak and 184 lber Aaron Ayzerov captured conference championships for Columbia. In doing so, they became the first teammates to win EIWA championships in the same year for Columbia since 1935. Wolak already announced that he will join Virginia Tech as a graduate transfer. On Friday, former Hokie assistant, Cody Brewer, announced he was moving on to Princeton as an assistant coach, opening up a spot on the Virginia Tech staff. The Hokies are coming off a season in which they finished seventh in the nation - amassing 64 points on the strength of four All-Americans, one of which being Caleb Henson - the national champion at 149 lbs and only the second in school history. Tanelli and Hokies Associate Head Coach, Jared Frayer, both spent time at Wisconsin about 15 years ago. They overlapped during Tanelli’s final year in Madison, which is when Frayer joined the Badger staff.

Malvern Prep

Phillipsburg

Red Bank Catholic

Poway

Thomas Jefferson

Hudson

New Kent

Broadway

Union

Rising Sun

Highland

Liberty

Men's Freestyle 57 kg champion: Spencer Lee 65 kg champion: Zain Retherford 74 kg champion: Kyle Dake 97 kg champion: Kyle Snyder 125 kg champion: Mason Parris Women's Freestyle 53 kg champion: Dom Parrish 57 kg champion Helen Maroulis 62 kg champion: Kayla Miracle 68 kg champion: Amit Elor 76 kg runner-up: Adeline Gray Men's Greco-Roman 60 kg Dalton Roberts 67 kg champion: Ellis Coleman 77 kg champion: Kamal Bey 87 kg champion: Peyton Jacobson

Donnie Vinson (left) photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com The University at Buffalo could not contain their excitement. A day ago their wrestling teams’ Twitter indicated that they would announce their new head coach on Monday. Well, they couldn’t wait for Monday, so the school announced they are hiring Cornell’s associate head coach, Donnie Vinson, as their next head coach. It will be Vinson’s first head coaching position. No stranger to the state, Vinson comes over after spending the last three seasons assisting the national power from the Ivy League. In each of the last two seasons, Cornell has come away from the NCAA Tournament with a team trophy (2nd in 2024 and 3rd in 2023). During his time at Cornell, Vinson worked with Yianni Diakomihalis - who put the finishing touches on a legendary career with his fourth NCAA title in 2023 and Vito Arujau, who just completed his stay in Cornell with a pair of national titles. In addition, Arujau was named the Outstanding Wrestler at the 2023 NCAA Tournament and went on to capture a Senior World Championship at 61 kg, a few months later. This was Vinson’s second stint on the Cornell coaching staff. He was a volunteer assistant from 2014-17, before leaving for NC State. While in Raleigh, Vinson was a part of a Wolfpack staff that oversaw an NCAA trophy-winning season in 2018 and an individual national champion in the same year. In addition to conference titles during each year of his tenure. Vinson started his coaching career at his alma mater, Binghamton, as a graduate assistant in 2013-14. As a student-athlete, Vinson set the school record for wins (132) and made the CAA finals in each of his four seasons - winning as a junior and senior. In 2012, Vinson finished third at the NCAA Championships. He came into the tournament seeded fourth, but was upset in the first round. From there he battled back the hard way and won seven straight bouts to take third. His placement remains the highest in the DI history of Binghamton wrestling. He’s also a New York native who was a two-time state runner-up and a top-100 recruit coming out of Whitney Point High School. Vinson takes over a Buffalo team that moved on from head coach John Stutzman after 11 years at the helm for the Bulls. As is typically the case during a transition like this, Buffalo has multiple wrestlers in the transfer portal and their two 2024 national qualifiers have already committed to different institutions. Nick Stampoulos (Lock Haven) and Sam Mitchell (Wyoming). In 2023-24, Buffalo went 10-12 in dual competition. They would go on to finish fifth in the MAC with 85.5 points. Buffalo fans should be pleased as the administration quickly moved to get a rising star in the coaching world - and one with in-state ties, as well.

Here are the final results from the 2024 Olympic Team Trials in State College, Pennsylvania. An asterisk indicates that the weight has not been qualified for the Olympic Games and that particular wrestler will need to finish in the top-three at the 2024 World OG Qualifier, May 9-12th, in Istanbul, Turkey. Men’s Freestyle *57 kg - Spencer Lee over Thomas Gilman 6-3, Fall 5:58 *65 kg - Zain Retherford over Nick Lee 2-1, 5-0 74 kg - Kyle Dake over Jason Nolf 4-1, 3-1 86 kg - Aaron Brooks over David Taylor 4-1, 3-1 97 kg - Kyle Snyder over Isaac Trumble 5-0, 4-0 125 kg - Mason Parris over Hayden Zillmer 7-0, 7-0 Women’s Freestyle 50 kg - Sarah Hildebrandt over Audrey Jimenez 10-0, 10-0 53 kg - Dom Parrish over Haley Augello 2-1, 5-3 57 kg - Helen Maroulis over Jacarra Winchester Fall 2:41, 6-0 65 kg - Kayla Miracle over Macey Kilty 8-5, 4-1 68 kg - Amit Elor over Forrest Molinari 6-0, 2-1 76 kg - Kennedy Blades over Adeline Gray 11-6, 8-3 Men’s Greco-Roman *60 kg - Dalton Roberts over Ildar Hafizov 2-0, 1-10, 3-2 *67 kg - Ellis Coleman over Alex Sancho 1-1, 2-0, 3-2 *77 kg - Kamal Bey over Aliaksandr Kikinou 9-1, 6-0 87 kg - Payton Jacobson over Spencer Woods 8-2, 2-5, 3-1 97 kg - Joe Rau over Alan Vera 1-7, 6-0, 8-0 130 kg - Adam Coon over Cohlton Schultz 1-3, 1-1, 6-1

Get ready for the final round of wrestling from the 2024 Olympic Team Trials The first bout of this session is at 53 kg in women's freestyle with Dom Parrish and Haley Augello. Parrish took the first match and starting this one off with a double leg for two. Augello tries a headlock at the buzzer, but no points - Parrish leads 3-0. A takedown for Parrish extends the lead late....she'll win 5-2 and earns a spot on the 2024 Olympic Team. Next up is 87 kg with Peyton Jacobson versus Spencer Woods. Jacobson took the first match. A passivity point for Jacobson results in the only scoring in the opening stanza. Four points for Spencer Woods after passivity and a chance in par terre with a reverse lock. We're going to three matches! 5-2 for Woods in the second. Now we're moving to 62 kg in women's freestyle. Kayla Miracle against Macey Kilty. Miracle took the first match in an exciting contest. With a 1-0 lead in the second, Miracle gets a pair of exposure points - while on the shot clock; to lead 3-0. Kilty adds a point for a reversal. Kilty was in on a takedown for the last :20 seconds of the match. Miracle tied her up and didn't surrender a takedown or exposure points to win, 3-1; however, Kilty's corner has thrown the challenge brick. The original call was confirmed, add a point for Miracle, she'll win 4-1 and is headed to her second consecutive Olympic Games! 125 kg men's freestyle is up next! Mason Parris and Hayden Zillmer. Parris took match one. It's a 1-0 lead for Parris after a period. Early in the second, Parris extends his lead to 3-0 with a big double leg. Parris spins out of a single leg attempt for a takedown of his own, it's now a 5-0 lead. Zillmer continues to attack, Parris thwarts that attack for another takedown, 7-0 is the lead. 7-0 is the final score for Mason Parris. Parris is going to Paris! And now it's 76 kg women's freestyle with Kennedy Blades against Adeline Gray. Blades took the first match. Blades takes an early lead after converting a single leg for a takedown, 2-0. That accounts for the only scoring in the first period - 2-0 Blades going into the second. Blades escapes a tie attempt from Gray to take a 6-2 lead. 1 minute remaining. While Gray was in on a shot, Blades bowls over her for another takedown, 8-2. Gray adds a point for a step-out, 8-3. That's how the match will end....Kennedy Blades is going to the Olympic Games! Match two at 97 kg in Greco-Roman with Joe Rau and Alan Vera. Vera took the first match in the series. Rau will lead at the break 3-0 after getting a passivity point and a takedown from an arm drag. Caution and two from a leg foul...Rau is now up, 6-0. Match number two goes to Joe Rau. Going back to men's freestyle - 97 kg between Kyle Snyder and Isaac Trumble. Snyder won the first bout. Snyder tries a leg attack and is stopped by proceeds to get a step-out to lead 1-0. It's a workman-like 4-0 victory for Snyder. He's headed to the Olympic Games for a third time! We're going to women's freestyle 50 kg bout between Sarah Hildebrandt and Audrey Jimenez. Hildebrandt won the first bout of the series. Low leg attack for Hildebrandt who gets on the board first with a takedown, 2-0. Add another takedown for Hildebrandt, 4-0; she leads 6-0 after the first period. Hildebrandt continues to attack and secures another. A single leg for Hildebrandt accounts for another takedown and a 10-0 tech. Hildebrandt is headed to the Olympics for a second time. It's time for the big boys in Greco. 130 kg - Cohlton Schultz and Adam Coon. Schultz took the first match. He'll get on the board first with a passivity point and that's the only scoring in the opening stanza. Now Coon gets a passivity point, but he can't capitalize from par terre. Coon holds a 1-1 lead on criteria. We're going to a third match! Let's go to a battle between Nittany Lion WC teammates at 74 kg in men's freestyle. Kyle Dake took the first match over Jason Nolf. The first period ends after a lengthy stoppage after Nolf was inadvertently poked in the eye. Dake leads 1-0. Dake gets another point from a shot clock violation. He leads 2-0. Dake gets another on a step-out, 3-0. A late step-out point for Nolf, but Dake will win it 3-1. He's off to his second Olympic Games. It's the second match between a pair of 2020(1) Olympians at 57 kg in women's freestyle. In match one Helen Maroulis pinned Jacarra Winchester. Maroulis gets on the board quickly with a low single for a takedown. That accounts for the only scoring in the first period. 6-0 is the final for Helen Maroulis. She's the first American to make the Olympic team on three occasions. It's time for a pair of world medalists at 68 kg in women's freestyle. Amit Elor vs Forrest Molinari. Elor won match one. A step-out for Elor accounts for the first point of the match. Another makes it 2-0 after a period. Molinari gets a step out point in the third, but it's not enough. Amit Elor wins 2-1. She's headed to Paris for her first Olympic Games. It's the final match of round two, a NLWC clash between David Taylor and Aaron Brooks. Brooks won the first match. Brooks is on the board first after a caution and one, perhaps hands to the face on Taylor(?). Brooks counters a Taylor shot for a takedown. He leads 3-0. That's how the first period ends, with Brooks in the lead. Taylor gets on the board with under a minute left for a shot clock violation. Brooks escapes a Taylor Takedown attempt for a restart. No more scoring. Aaron Brooks is the winner...3-1 in two straight matches. He'll be our Olympic Team representative at 86 kg! We're not done yet! We have five Greco weight classes with third matches required. Starting with 60 kg and Ildar Hafizov and Dalton Roberts. Roberts gets on the board first with a passivity point. Hafizov responds with a takedown of his own. He'll lead 2-1 after one. Roberts throws Hafizov by for a takedown and the lead, 3-2. Roberts takes the match 3-2 and will head to Istanbul to qualify the weight. Now up is 67 kg with Ellis Coleman and Alex Sancho. Sancho has a 2-0 lead after a caution for fleeing. After a passivity call, Coleman with a gut wrench for a 3-2 lead. Coleman hangs on for a 3-2 victory. Coleman will need to go to Istanbul to qualify the weight. An Olympic berth is only the line at 87 kg with Spencer Woods and Payton Jacobson. A passivity call and exposure from a gut wrench puts Jacobson up 3-0 after one period. Jacobson is called for passivity but Woods is unable to convert from par terre, 3-1 Jacobson. Spencer Jacobson holds on.....he wins 3-1 and is headed to Paris for the Olympic Games! The penultimate match of the evening. 97 kg with Alan Vera taking on Joe Rau. An arm drag for a takedown, into a gut wrench and Rau is up 4-0. He'll get two more after defending a Vera throw attempt. Once again, Rau stuffs a Vera attempt and counters for a takedown. That makes a tech, 8-0. Rau is an Olympian! The tournament will end with the 130 kg Greco matchup between Cohlton Schultz and Adam Coon. Step out Coon is up 1-0. Passivity called on Schultz; Coon gets to work in par terre. He gets a gut wrench to go up 4-0. Schultz cant convert on a passivity call, Coon gets to his feet and hustles for a takedown, 6-1 Coon's lead. That's how it'll end, 6-1 in favor of Adam Coon! Coon is Paris-bound!