InterMat Staff

****This originally ran in mid-November 2022**** We're just a few hours removed from one of the most shocking college wrestling upsets in recent memory. Wisconsin's Austin Gomez put together a 9-3 victory over three-time NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell. Gomez took Diakomihalis to his back in the second period for four points and later added two additional takedowns. The win itself was pretty difficult to fathom; however, the manner in which he achieved it is just remarkable. Diakomihalis' 75-match winning streak was shattered as were possibly Hodge Trophy aspirations. Within a few minutes after Gomez's victory, some on social media were asking how this ranks in comparison to other collegiate wrestling upsets. That's a great question, as we went back to find some of the most shocking upsets of the last 20 years. For clarification's sake, generally only returning NCAA champions were considered. As you peruse the list, you'll see that there were a few wrestlers that were never NCAA champions among this group, but if you go back in your DeLorean you'll find they were significant favorites. Also, clearly injured wrestlers were not considered. Some that come to mind but did not make the cut include: Kyle Snyder/Nick Gwiazdowski (2016 NCAA's) - A decent amount of people favored Snyder in the match. Bubba Jenkins/David Taylor (2011 NCAA's) - While a shocking match, Bubba was capable of anything and could beat anyone on his best day. Tyler Caldwell/Andrew Howe (2011 NCAA's) - Earlier in the year, Jordan Burroughs beat Howe pretty good at the Midlands. That kind of took away an aura of invincibility from Howe, though the Caldwell loss was eye-opening. Fred Santaite/Troy Nickerson (2010 NCAA's) - Huge upset of a returning champion; however, Nickerson was not close to prime condition. Cole Konrad/Steve Mocco (2006 National Duals) - Konrad unofficially beat Mocco at the All-Star Classic earlier in the year in an ugly bout. This was amazing and was via fall which gave Minnesota the team title. Sean Stender/Jon Trenge (2005 NCAA's) - Trenge actually had a loss earlier in the year to Hofstra's Chris Sketkowicz, along with two via disqualification. The result was definitely one I didn't see coming. Now, onto our most shocking results! 2022 NCAA Round of 16 - Hunter Willits (Oregon State) over David Carr (Iowa State) We don't need to look very far back to find this shocking result. David Carr was the top seed at 157 lbs and riding a 55-match winning streak that dated back to December 2019. The dangerous Carr could never get his offense on track and was stymied by Willits 2-1 in tiebreakers. Though the two did not meet again, Carr finished third while Willits was seventh. 2019 NCAA final - Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) over Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) One of the best total “runs” in recent memory at the NCAA tournament belongs to Mekhi Lewis, who captured his national title as the eighth seed at 165 lbs. To finish his dream tournament, Lewis used a cradle to put the two-time national champion on his back and blow open what was a close match. Lewis’ national title made him the first wrestler in Virginia Tech history to accomplish the feat. 2019 NCAA semi - Max Dean (Cornell) over Myles Martin (Ohio State) The night before Lewis’ win, Max Dean had the PNC Paints Arena in awe after he ruined Myles Martin’s perfect record and earned a spot in the finals. Dean was able to flip the script on Martin for a 5-4 victory. Earlier in the year, Martin had majored Dean at the CKLV Invitational and was victorious, 13-6, in the final dual of the season. 2018 NCAA quarters - Kyle Conel (Kent State) over Kollin Moore (Ohio State) Here’s another upset that wasn’t over an NCAA champion; however it was as shocking as any on this list. Kollin Moore was two weeks removed from his second Big Ten title and a heavy favorite to win at 197 lbs. No one told Kyle Conel. The Kent State star tossed Moore and the wrestling world on its collective head as he pinned Moore and moved into the semifinals. Surprisingly, Conel posted a second win over Moore in the NCAA third-place contest. 2017 NCAA finals - Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) over Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) Up at 165 lbs for the first time, Isaiah Martinez was halfway to the hallowed four national titles after winning as a freshman and sophomore. Undefeated and fresh off his third Big Ten crown, Martinez was paired with redshirt freshman Vincenzo Joseph in the national finals. At the time, Joseph wasn’t necessarily viewed as even the conference’s top freshman at the weight. That distinction went to Michigan’s Logan Massa (Big Ten finalist). Joseph, an 8-5 loser to Martinez at the conference meet, was dangerous from all of the setups that made Martinez great. What resulted was a pin that almost shook the foundation in St. Louis. 2016 NCAA finals - Myles Martin (Ohio State) over Bo Nickal (Penn State) This was the rare NCAA final between two freshmen; however, Bo Nickal was a redshirt freshman that was the top seed after a Big Ten title. Myles Martin was a true freshman that had lost three times to Nickal, including once via fall at the Big Ten Tournament. In this meeting, Martin has all the answers for the dangerous Nickal’s offense and won an 11-9 shootout. 2015/16 Dual - Jason Nolf (Penn State) over Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) In 2014-15, Isaiah Martinez became the first freshman since Cael Sanderson to go undefeated and win an NCAA title. Martinez’s unbeaten run stopped during his sophomore year after he met the redshirt freshman Jason Nolf. Nolf’s pace and gas tank were evident as he wore down Martinez and pinned the returning champion to hand him his first official collegiate loss. 2015/16 Dual - Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State) over Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) Talk about one we didn’t see coming! Cody Brewer demolished the NCAA field in 2015 as the 13th seed, which was a combination of head-scratching seeding and a lack of regular season matches. Early in the following season, true freshman Kaid Brock was thrown into the Cowboy lineup to face Brewer during a Bedlam clash. Brock turned the college wrestling world on its head with a :42 fall over Brewer. Just a few weeks later, Brock would injure his knee and missed the remainder of the season. 2013/14 Dual - Zain Retherford (Penn State) over Logan Stieber (Ohio State) Logan Stieber was halfway through his quest for four NCAA titles and fresh off an undefeated sophomore season that earned bonus points in 23 of 27 wins. True freshman Zain Retherford made sure Stieber would not go unbeaten in his junior year, as he won on the strength of a second-period rideout and a takedown in sudden victory. Stieber bounced back to beat Retherford at the Big Ten’s and in the NCAA semifinals and is responsible for half of his four career losses. 2013/14 Scuffle - Gabe Dean (Cornell) over Ed Ruth (Penn State) After losing in the NCAA semifinals as a freshman, Ed Ruth reeled off an 84-match winning streak that saw him capture a pair of NCAA titles and generally dominate everyone within his path. That was abruptly ended by freshman Gabe Dean in the Southern Scuffle finals. The two were on the same half of the bracket as the #’s 2 and 3 at nationals and Ruth got revenge with a 5-2 victory in the semis. He would defeat Jimmy Sheptock (Maryland) for his third title. 2011/12 CKLV - Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) over Kellen Russell (Michigan) 2011 saw Kellen Russell claim a national title and go undefeated in the process. Russell was as good as anyone at prevailing in close matches or in overtime (14-0 in overtime). One time where he was tripped up was in Vegas, as a senior, against freshman Hunter Stieber. Russell had to beat Stieber in the NCAA semifinals for a shot at his second title. 2010 NCAA Semi - Andrew Long (Iowa State) over Angel Escobedo (Indiana) Escobedo was a 2008 champion who looked to be on a collision course with 2009 champion Troy Nickerson (Cornell). Nickerson was injured in the early going and was not a factor in the title hunt. Escobedo was shocked by a late flurry from freshman Andrew Long, which made for an all-freshman final, opposite Matt McDonough (Iowa). 2009 NCAA finals - Darrion Caldwell (NC State) over Brent Metcalf (Iowa) The returning Hodge Trophy-winning Brent Metcalf looked to be on his way to a second Hodge and an undefeated season, with only Darrion Caldwell in his way. From the opening whistle, Caldwell threw the kitchen sink at Metcalf and stunned him with a wide variety of offense. Earlier in the same season, Metcalf had teched Caldwell at the All-Star Classic. 2007/08 Dual - Chris Brown (Old Dominion) over Mark Perry (Iowa) InterMat recapped this stunning, likely forgotten upset here . 2007 NCAA finals - Paul Donahoe (Nebraska) over Sam Hazewinkel (Oklahoma) All the stars seemed to align perfectly for Sam Hazewinkel, who had previously lost three times in the NCAA semifinals. Hazewinkel handily disposed of freshman Jayson Ness (Minnesota) in the semifinals and earned his first berth in the championship bout opposite conference foe Paul Donahoe. Less than two weeks earlier, Hazewinkel had majored Donahoe. Donahoe was able to shut down Hazwinkel and won in sudden victory. 2007 NCAA semi - Gregor Gillespie (Edinboro) over Dustin Schlatter (Minnesota) A 2006 NCAA champion as a true freshman, Dustin Schlatter amassed a 65-match winning streak and looked beatable by only rival Brent Metcalf. Metcalf was ineligible to compete in the 2006-07 season. Schlatter’s streak was snapped by Edinboro’s Gregor Gillespie on the strength of an early takedown. Watch Here 2005 NCAA semi - Mark Perry (Iowa) over Troy Letters (Lehigh) Letters won an NCAA title as a sophomore and rolled through the 2004-05 season without a loss. He even picked up two wins over the eventual champion, Johny Hendricks (Oklahoma State). But they would not meet in the national finals because, Letters was shut out and ridden out by Mark Perry. 2004 NCAA semi - Cliff Moore (Iowa) over Scott Moore (Virginia) Scott Moore was the top seed and put up some of the most absurd stats you could imagine in college wrestling. Despite his semifinal loss (via major decision), Moore finished the year 51-1 with 34 pins. Even without an NCAA finals appearance, Scott was a Hodge Trophy finalist. Watch Here 2003 NCAA 1st Round - Ralph Everett (Hofstra) over Greg Jones (West Virginia) Jones was a returning national champion, he won as a freshman in 2002, but lost in the opening round to Ralph Everett to dash any hopes of becoming a four-timer. Jones was eliminated in the consi’s by future UFC star Rashad Evans (Michigan State) and did not AA.

The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved new groundbreaking rules for the 2023-24 wrestling season. Cal Poly’s coach Jon Sioredas discussed his thoughts on how his Mustangs will adapt to the new rules this upcoming season. “I think it’s good because we need a change,” Sioredas said. “I can see where a three-point takedown is a game-changer. In the first period, two takedowns to one is not a tie but you are up by two, which is how it should be.” On the other hand, Sioredas is questioning if some wrestlers may hit the brakes if they get an early lead and stall for the rest of the match. Even though there are two sides to the new rule, Sioredas has an early game plan for Cal Poly. “We are going to put an emphasis on scoring early and try to separate ourselves,” Sioredas said. Sioredas is in favor of the three-point nearfall too. Previously, wrestlers were able to cling onto their opponents on top and not have to do much after. Sioredas likes the new rule because “there is a hidden gem where the top man has to work for a turn.” Cal Poly recently finished their summer wrestling camp and training for freestyle the circuit. However, the Mustangs will be practicing situational wrestling soon with the new rules. “This is something that will allow us to dig into it and allow the wrestlers to learn,” Sioredas said. “The thing we will miss the most is yelling ‘Two!’ but we are at wrestling camp and the campers yelling three sounds just as good.” As for the new weigh-in and video replay rules, Sioredas believes the panel has fixed some head-scratchers. Sioredas is in favor of the medical forfeit rules as well. “If our guy is a little bit banged up and there won’t be any repercussions, we will do it like every other team,” Sioredas said. “It’s been happening so much that the risk was so high that the reward was very little. Most coaches were erring on the side of caution and healing them up.” Lastly, Sioredas is excited to see some wrestlers try to rock facial hair as good as his beard. “They might be rocking the beard but not as much gray as I do,” Sioredas said. “I tell my guys when I took this job I didn’t have gray in my beard but look at me now.”

Roger Kish was announced as Oklahoma’s new head coach on May 2nd and shortly thereafter spoke with InterMat. In that interview, Kish stated his desire to hit the ground running on the recruiting trail, particularly with in-state talent. That has been evident over the past few days as the Oklahoma staff has secured verbal commitments from a pair of top-100 wrestlers from the Class of 2024, along with a past NCAA qualifier. Starting with the veteran, the Sooners will get a boost with the addition of Cael Carlson, a 2022 national qualifier for the University of Minnesota. Carlson went 18-17 that season and finished seventh in the Big Ten at 165 lbs. Last season, Carlson went 10-7 and saw action in five conference duals. During the 2022-23 season, Carlson scored wins over a pair of national qualifiers in Danny Braunagel (Illinois) and Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma State). The Sooners already have a returning national qualifier (Gerrit Nijenhuis) at 165 lbs; however, he does have a redshirt available. Carlson does appear to have two years of eligibility remaining. Upping Oklahoma’s in-state recruiting was a huge priority, so a verbal commitment from Bixby, Oklahoma’s Clay Giddens is a welcome sight for Sooner fans. Giddens is a three-time Oklahoma state finalist and a two-time champion in the 6A classification. On the national stage, Giddens has placed at the Walsh Ironman in each of the last two years (7th/8th). In 2021, Giddens finished seventh in Fargo in 16U freestyle and sixth at UWW Cadets. Giddens is currently ranked 56th overall in the Class of 2024 and 14th in the nation at 152 lbs. He projects in the 149/157 lb range for the Sooners. Oklahoma’s second top-100 verbal came from #83 Owen Eck of Andale, Kansas. Eck is a three-time Kansas 4A state champion with his most recent title coming at 144 lbs. While Eck hasn’t made the podium at some of the major national tournaments, he does own multiple, lopsided wins over 2022 Fargo Junior freestyle All-American Tucker Cell, also of Kansas. Eck also projects in the 149/157 lb range for Oklahoma. The pair of recruits join Iowa’s Koufax Christensen as members of the Sooners Class of 2024. Oklahoma appeared to have a loaded recruiting class in 2023; however, most of the top-ranked wrestlers asked to be released from their NLI's once the head coaching search lingered. Without a huge Class of 2023, going in hard on the Class of 2024 was a necessity and the new Oklahoma staff has done that already.

Southeast Polk

Two weeks ago, we started a new feature investigating some of the toughest NCAA brackets of all time. That article focused on the 2019 133 lb weight class one of the best of the last decade. Now, we’re going back ten years to look at a really strong one from 2009, the 157 lb weight class. The 2009 157 lb weight class featured the first national title from budding superstar Jordan Burroughs, along with one of the best of his era not to win a title, two more returning champions, and one future champ that didn’t make the podium. In addition to the success on the wrestling mat, fans of MMA will notice a couple of names from this bracket that have gone on to win belts in the cage. So, without any further ado, here’s the 157 lb weight class from 2009, one of the strongest of all time. The Champion: #1 Jordan Burroughs (Nebraska) As always, when we’re talking about college Jordan Burroughs, a reminder that he was still a few years away from World Champion/GOAT status in 2009. The previous year saw Burroughs break out big-time in the toughest weight class of all time. Burroughs AA’ed for the first time and took third in an absolutely stacked bracket. For the 2008-09 season, Burroughs moved up to 157 lbs and immediately announced his presence with a win over returning national champion Jordan Leen in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational finals. Burroughs would go undefeated in 2008-09 with a 35-0 record in claiming his first national title. In St. Louis, at the NCAA Tournament, Burroughs posted bonus point wins in the first four rounds of the tournament. That stretch was highlighted by a 13-4 major decision over 2007 national champion Gregor Gillespie in the semis. For his title, Burroughs downed the returning NCAA runner-up, Mike Poeta, who came into the contest unbeaten. Burrough went through the entire 2008-09 season surrendering only one takedown. The Runner-Up: #2 Mike Poeta (Illinois) One of the best wrestlers over the last two decades without an NCAA title, Mike Poeta made the NCAA finals in each of his last two years at Illinois and placed top-three on three occasions. Poeta got to the NCAA finals after downing rival Jordan Leen in the semis. Leen defeated Poeta in the 2008 finals. Before the NCAA Tournament, Poeta captured his second Big Ten title in as many years. His senior season got off to a late start, due to an injury, so Poeta only had 13 wins entering NCAA’s. At the time, Poeta was only the tenth Illini wrestler to earn All-American honors three times. In the spring of 2021, Poeta was named the head coach at his alma mater. 3rd Place: #3 Jordan Leen (Cornell) Leen was the returning national champion at this weight after an unexpected run in 2008 as the eighth seed. In that tournament, Leen knocked off the top-two seeds, downing Gregor Gillespie in the quarterfinals and Poeta in the finals. At the time, Cornell was still gaining steam and Leen became the third different wrestler to win a title under Rob Koll. Leen’s 118 career wins put him at sixth place on Cornell’s all-time list, at the time. That total has since been surpassed a few times and he’s been bumped down to 14th place. Despite losing to Poeta in 2009, Leen battled back for third place and scored another win over Gillespie in the consolation finals. His tournament also included wins over All-Americans Michael Chandler and Matt Moley. Leen finished his career as a three-time All-American and four-time national qualifier. In 2022, Leen was named the head coach of Brown University after spending time on the Pittsburgh, Virginia and Duke coaching staffs. 4th Place: #4 Gregor Gillespie (Edinboro) In 2007, Gregor Gillespie shocked the wrestling world and stopped Dustin Schlatter’s 65-match winning streak in the NCAA semifinals. A match later, Gillespie finished the job and downed Josh Churella to claim the national title at 149 lbs. Gillespie moved up to 157 lbs for the 2007-08 season and earned the top seed at nationals, though he was upset by Leen in the quarters and fell to fifth place. This year, Gillespie was stopped by Matt Moley in the EWL finals, which prevented him from capturing his fourth conference title. That assured Gillespie would receive the fourth seed and put him on the same side as the unbeaten Burroughs. Looking at Gillespie’s path to the 2009 semifinals, he edged eventual national finalist Jason Welch in the Round of 16, before shutting out future champion JP O’Connor in the quarters. Gillespie finished his career as a four-time All-American, only the second Fighting Scot wrestler to accomplish the feat, and he did so without ever redshirting. 5th Place: #6 Michael Chandler (Missouri) Before achieving MMA fame as a three-time lightweight champion for Bellator and moving into the UFC, Michael Chandler was a stalwart for Mizzou. Chandler was a four-time national qualifier for the Tigers, but finally breakthrough and made the podium in 2009. Previously, he was a Round of 12 finisher in 2006 and 2008. Chandler also made the Big 12 finals for a second time in 2009. This time he fell to Burroughs; however, he was the only wrestler to score a takedown on the future legend. Chandler posted some impressive wins in this tournament, blanking the 2010 national runner-up Chase Pami in the Round of 16 and outlasting Jon Bonilla-Bowman in the Round of 12. After securing All-American honors, Chandler majored Tyler Safratowich. 6th Place: #7 Matt Moley (Bloomsburg) The most recent Bloomsburg wrestler to earn All-American honors? That’s right, it’s Matt Moley, who did so in 2008 (8th) and 2009. As mentioned above, Moley came into this tournament red-hot after upsetting Gillespie in the EWL finals for the first of his two conference crowns. Moley would win a second in 2010, but came up a match shy of the NCAA podium. After suffering a loss in the Round of 16 at the 2009 tournament, Moley went on a consolation run that saw him major Jedd Moore, and get through SoCon champ Joey Knox, before edging Cyler Sanderson in a battle of returning All-Americans in the bloodround. He clinched a spot in the top six after an 8-3 win over Pami. 7th Place: #11 Chase Pami (Cal Poly) The Pac-10 (yes, that’s correct) champion Chase Pami got the #11 seed and had a difficult first-round match against a young Jesse Dong. Pami prevailed in tiebreakers, but was sent to the consi’s in the next round versus Chandler. Pami grinded out a pair of wins, which put him into the bloodround opposite JP O’Connor. Pami won 2-1 to secure All-American honors for the first time. The two would meet a year later, in the NCAA finals, and O’Connor would turn the tables. Pami finished his tournament with a third sudden victory/tiebreaker win over Tyler Safratowich in the seventh-place match. 8th Place: US Tyler Safratowich (Minnesota) The only unseeded All-American (at this time the NCAA only seeded to #12) was Minnesota’s Tyler Safratowich. Safratowich placed third in the Big Ten in 2009, his senior season. It marked the second time in his career that he finished third and qualified for nationals. Safratowich started his tournament off by upsetting #10 Scott Winston, a true freshman for Rutgers. In his second match, he downed returning All-American Matt Moley, the seventh seed. After losing to Poeta in the quarters, Safratowich downed Adam Hall to clinch a place amongst the top eight. Despite starting the tournament without a seed, Safratowich downed the #7, #8, and #10 seeds during his path to the podium. The Bloodround: Jon Bonilla-Bowman (Hofstra), #8 Adam Hall (Boise State), #9 Cyler Sanderson (Iowa State), #5 JP O’Connor (Harvard) One of the more enjoyable wrestlers to watch in this era was Jon Bonilla-Bowman who could score on anyone and tended to give up points himself. Nowhere was this more evident than the 2009 tournament. He fell in the first round to unseeded Joey Knox, 15-12, then proceeded to score 18, 11, and 12 points in his next three matches. Two of those wins were against #12 Neil Erisman and true freshman Jason Welch. He would get held in check by Chandler, 6-5, in the Round of 12. For the second consecutive year, Adam Hall’s season ended in the NCAA Round of 12. He was a member of the vaunted 149 lb bracket the year before and missed out on All-American status as a redshirt freshman. Hall would go on to finish third and fifth during his next two seasons, winning Pac-10 titles each time. Cyler Sanderson was fourth in a loaded Big 12 weight class that featured Burroughs, Chandler, and Erisman ahead of him. He pulled a slight upset over Hall in the Round of 16, but understandably losing to Burroughs in the quarters. After the collegiate season, Cyler’s older brother, Cael, took the head coaching position at Penn State. Cyler would follow Cael to State College and won the Big Ten in 2010 before getting sixth at NCAA’s to All-American for the second time. This Round of 12 loss prevented JP O’Connor from becoming a four-time All-American. He’d rebound nicely by avenging that loss to Pami in the 2010 NCAA finals. His national title made him only the third Harvard wrestler to ever achieve the feat and he remains the Crimson’s most recent champion. Other Notables: US Jason Welch (Northwestern), US Jedd Moore (Virginia), US Justin Gaethje (Northern Colorado) NCAA Finals: Jordan Burroughs (Nebraska) over Mike Poeta (Illinois) 5-1 Third Place: Jordan Leen (Cornell) over Gregor Gillespie (Edinboro) 4-0 Fifth Place: Michael Chandler (Missouri) over Matt Moley (Bloomsburg) 2-1 Seventh Place: Chase Pami (Cal Poly) over Tyler Safratowich (Minnesota) 4-2SV NCAA Semifinals Jordan Burroughs (Nebraska) over Gregor Gillespie (Edinboro) 13-4 Mike Poeta (Illinois) over Jordan Leen (Cornell) 6-4 NCAA Quarterfinals Jordan Burroughs (Nebraska) over Cyler Sanderson (Iowa State) 14-6 Gregor Gillespie (Edinboro) over JP O’Connor (Harvard) 1-0 Jordan Leen (Cornell) over Michael Chandler (Missouri) 4-2 Mike Poeta (Illinois) over Tyler Safratowich (Minnesota) 10-5 NCAA Bloodround Michael Chandler (Missouri) over Jon Bonilla-Bowman (Hofstra) 6-5 Tyler Safratowich (Minnesota) over Adam Hall (Boise State) 6-4 Matt Moley (Bloomsburg) over Cyler Sanderson (Iowa State) 5-2 Chase Pami (Cal Poly) over JP Connor (Harvard) 2-1 The Top 12 Seeds 1. Burroughs 2. Poeta 3. Leen 4. Gillespie 5. O’Connor 6. Chandler 7. Moley 8. Hall 9. Sanderson 10. Scott Winston (Rutgers) 11. Pami 12. Neil Erisman (Oklahoma State) Conference Champions ACC: Kody Hamrah (NC State) Big 12: Burroughs Big Ten: Poeta CAA: Bonilla-Bowman East Regional: Shaun Smith (Liberty) EIWA: Leen EWL: Moley Pac-10: Pami SoCon: Joey Knox (Chattanooga) West Regional: Gaethje Fun Facts - This bracket contained two wrestlers that already won NCAA titles coming into the tournament (Gillespie, Leen). - Over the course of their careers, four wrestlers in this bracket claimed national championships. (Burroughs, Leen, Gillespie, O’Connor). - Six wrestlers in this bracket made NCAA finals during their careers. (Pami and Welch are the others). - 14 wrestlers in this group got on the NCAA podium at least once in their respective careers. (The eight AA’s, Hall, Sanderson, O’Connor, Welch, Gaethje, Jedd Moore) - The 14 All-Americans combined to earn All-American honors 31 times. - Five wrestlers in this bracket were seeded #1 at the NCAA Tournament at one point or another (Burroughs, Gillespie, Welch, Hall, O’Connor). - Two wrestlers in this bracket went on to win major MMA world titles (Chandler, Gaethje) - This bracket featured a rematch of the 2008 NCAA finals (Leen/Poeta) and a preview of the 2010 NCAA finals (O’Connor/Pami) - This bracket has three members who are current DI head coaches (Poeta/Illinois, Leen/Brown, Erisman/Little Rock). - Burroughs is the only wrestler from this bracket to make a World or Olympic team. - There were two wrestlers in this bracket who were considered the #1 recruits in the respective recruiting classes. Jason Welch/2008 and Mike Poeta/2004. - The first round had a pair of true freshmen that both AA’ed in 2013 square off. Welch and Jedd Moore. - It has no bearing on anything, but Cyler Sanderson and Bryan Deutsch (Northern Illinois) met in the first round. They’d wrestle again in the first round of the 2010 tournament. - This proved to be an extremely balanced weight class in terms of talent from different conferences. The seven placewinners came from six different conferences. Comparisons: Here’s where we compare the 2009 157 lb weight class to the 2019 133 lb weight class that we looked at earlier this month. Returning NCAA Champions: 2009 (2); 2019 (0) Total NCAA Champions: 2009 (4), 2019 (2) Total NCAA Finalists: 2009 (6), 2019 (5) Total NCAA All-Americans: 2009 (14), 2019 (14) Total Times these Wrestlers AA’ed: 2009 (31), 2019 (31) Number Wrestlers Seeded #1 at NCAA’s: 2009 (5), 2019 (4) Number of World Medalists: 2009 (1), 2019 (2) Number of Hodge Trophy winners: 2009 (1), 2019 (0) Conclusion: Comparing this weight class to the 2019 133 lb weight class is almost a dead heat. What separates the two is that Leen/Gillespie came into the tournament as national champions. The top four from 2009 are probably better than the top four in 2019; however, 2019 probably has more depth. Plus, you have Burroughs in 2009 which carries a Hodge Trophy and all of his international success.

Today, the Nebraska Wrestling Training Center and James Green, dropped some big news on the wrestling community. Green, who had served as USA Wrestling’s National Freestyle Development Coach since April of 2022, will be returning to Nebraska presumably to train for the 2024 Olympic Games. Green made six world teams at 70 kg and won a pair of world medals during his career (2015/bronze and 2017/silver). During the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Trials, Green cut down to 65 kg and couldn’t manage to have the same sort of success as he found at 70 kg. One may guess that he’ll move up to 74 kg for the 2024 run. This could be interesting if former Nebraska training partner Jordan Burroughs cuts back down to 74, as well. During his career at Nebraska, Green earned All-American honors for the Cornhuskers (7, 7, 3, 3). He was a two-time Big Ten finalists (one-time champion) and earned the #1 seed at the 2014 NCAA Championships at 157 lbs.

Two-time national champion Roman Bravo-Young exhausted his college eligibility this past season. He completed his senior season with a second-place finish at 133 pounds after winning the previous two NCAA tournaments. The plan, for now, is to continue his wrestling career on the freestyle circuit, but the former Penn State wrestler has always had a bit of a toe in the MMA water. This week, he is set to wade a little deeper into that pond. The Event Bravo-Young is scheduled to face off against former UFC flyweight title challenger Alex Perez in a grappling match. The bout, which is set at featherweight (145 pounds), will be part of UFC Fight Pass Invitational 4 and will air live on the promotion’s streaming service on Thursday at 9:00pm ET. For those that do not follow combat sports outside of wrestling, grappling is basically an MMA fight without any striking (punching, kicking, etc). The Fight Pass Invitational uses EBI rules, which consist of a 10-minute submission-only match with the potential for overtime. Unlike some grappling events, a winner can’t be determined via points. More on this later. The Opponent Alex Perez at the 2023 CCCCAA finals; Photo courtesy of John Sachs; Tech-Fall.com Like many MMA fighters, Perez comes from a wrestling background. He wrestled in high school for Lemoore where he was a three-time West Yosemite League champion and a two-time divisional champion. As a senior in 2010, he was ranked as high as 12th in California. Perez continued to wrestle on the collegiate level for West Hills College, which is a member of the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA). In 2013, he defeated Brady Howell (Lassen College), Brian Ha (Skyline College) and Greg Barrera (Cerritos College) to make the finals at 133 pounds. In the championship bout, he dropped an 8-6 decision against Nathan Pike then of Mount San Antonio College and settled for second place. Following that season, Pike would transfer to NYU where he would become a three-time Division III All-American. In 2017, he became the first NCAA champion in NYU’s extensive history, and he is currently an assistant coach on staff. Perez did not wait until his wrestling career was over to start fighting professionally. By the time he finished second at the CCCAA tournament in 2013, he already held a 9-2 professional MMA record. In 2017, Perez received his big break as he was invited to compete on the first season of Dana White’s Contenders Series. He defeated Kevin Gray via anaconda choke submission and earned a contract with the UFC. A little over three years later, Perez earned a shot at the flyweight title. He faced off against then-champion Deiveson Figueiredo in the main event of UFC 255, but ultimately lost via submission in the first round. Since that loss, he has fought only once. Last July, he was submitted once again versus Alexandre Pantoja who will fight for the flyweight title next weekend. Perez was set to return to the cage last March against fellow contender Manel Kape. However, the bout was canceled at the last minute due to a health issue. Perez later announced on his Instagram that he experienced a seizure backstage while warming up. During his MMA career, Perez has won seven fights via submission and has been forced to submit five times, including his last two fights. In the UFC, he has averaged 1.29 submission attempts per 15 minutes, which ranks 24th among ranked UFC fighters The Match While this bout has been marketed in some places as Bravo-Young's submission grappling debut, he did have a high-profile match against UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling. On Dec. 20, 2020, the two had a freestyle match followed by a grappling match on a show hosted by the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. Bravo-Young came back to win the freestyle match by a 6-4 score after giving up a first-period four on a lateral drop. The grappling match was a different story entirely. About 35 seconds into the bout, Sterling was able to secure half guard position on the bottom. He then transitioned from there into a deep single leg. Bravo-Young defended with a shin whizzer, but Sterling was able to throw in his far leg and eventually achieve what folks call back mount in grappling. This is one of the most dominant positions in the sport, and it was not long until the UFC champion snaked his arm under the chin and finished with a rear-naked choke. That bout was nearly three years ago, and it is entirely possible that Bravo-Young has made strides in his grappling game. While Perez has proven himself to be a strong offensive submission threat in MMA, he has not shown the type of positional dominance that Sterling has in the UFC. Bravo-Young will have the wrestling advantage in this contest, and it should allow him to work from the top position and dictate where the contest takes place. While Sterling competes in MMA at 135 pounds, he appeared to have a visible size advantage over Bravo-Young who wrestled for Penn State at 133 pounds. This bout against Perez will take place at 145 pounds, but Perez has always fought in the UFC at flyweight (125 pounds). Unlike his previous grappling match, Bravo-Young should not be working against a larger opponent. Under certain rules, Bravo-Young would be a considerable the favorite in this contest. While some grappling events give points for takedowns and establishing positions, this bout will take place under submission-only rules. If neither fighter is able to win via submission during the 10-minute regulation period, the bout will head to “overtime.” The overtime under these rules is similar to rideouts in college wrestling. Each wrestler gets an opportunity from a dominant position (either “spider web” or back mount). After each competitor gets an offensive opportunity, the following logic is used to determine a victor or declare another round of overtime. If Fighter 1 submits Fighter 2, and Fighter 2 does not submit Fighter 1, then Fighter 1 wins If Fighter 2 escapes, and goes on to submit Fighter 1, then Fighter 2 wins If both fighters escape, the fighter who escapes fastest wins If neither fighter escapes or submits, then it goes to another round of overtime As previously stated, under a different set of rules Bravo-Young would likely be a large favorite in this bout. However, if the wrestler is unable to secure a submission in regulation, Perez should have the edge in this overtime situation. He will have more experience in these grappling positions and more experience with submissions. Regardless of the result, Bravo-Young deserves credit for taking on a former UFC title challenger in only his second grappling match. At the very least, it gives MMA fans reason to be excited for his expected and eventual transition to the fight game.

It’s the “off-season” right now which means there’s nothing but space and opportunity for theories, speculations, and rumors. So why not do a little indulging with the Cowboys in Stillwater, OK. At last year’s NCAA Championships, the hosting Oklahoma State Cowboys didn’t exactly defend their home turf. In fact, they had the worst performance in the school’s history at the tournament scoring just 28.5 points that left them tied for 18th place. Those 28.5 points were the lowest they scored since 1953 when they scored just 11 points – for context, Penn State won that year with only 21 points. It was also the Cowboys first time since 2018 that they didn’t have a finalist as Daton Fix, their perennial finalist, ended up fourth. But all that is now history and it’s time to look to the future. And what the future holds is…questions. Optimistic questions, but questions nonetheless. The first one that comes to mind is will Fix be making a return for one final crack at winning the title? During his interview at Final X where he claimed a spot on the National Team with a dominant 9-0 win over Austin DeSanto, we asked him what his future plans were and if he would be taking 1 last ride in orange and black. “We’ll see. Obviously, I want to win an NCAA title too,” Fix said. “It slipped right through my hands 4 times. That leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Since I’ve been granted another year of eligibility, that's a big opportunity for me to attempt to go win something that I’ve dreamt of my whole life. So, we’ll see what the future holds.” Obviously, Fix left every option on the table as to whether he is coming back, but later on in the interview straight-shooter Zeb Miller rehashed the question to which he replied with a “Yeah, probably. We’ll see.” But Zeb had a follow-up asking “What weight? Maybe 33, maybe 41”. “I have no idea. Could be 25, who knows. Could be 49,” Fix said with a smirk on his face. Considering that it’s an Olympic year it could be possible that Fix makes his descent to 125 to prepare for the move to 57kg where he said he will return to with his eyes set on Paris. We’ll get to how this could cause a bit of an issue with the lineup later. Check out Fix’s full interview here. Ok, that was the obvious question. The others all circle around their incoming class. Recently, the Cowboys topped the InterMat Recruiting Rankings with a pretty monstrous class led by #2-ranked heavyweight Christian Carroll, who just claimed his spot on the U20 World Team. Carroll could have an instant impact at 285 for John Smith’s crew. Now you can’t talk about heavyweight without talking about the 125. Oklahoma State hasn’t had an All-American at this weight since Nick Piccininni graduated. Enter transfer Troy Spratley. After spending his redshirt year at Minnesota, where he had a 10-4 record, he could possibly be the answer to the question of what’s happening for the Cowboys in this weight class where last year’s starter Trevor Mastrogiovanni missed the last few months of competition and Reece Witcraft filled the spot. Most recently, Spratley was a runner-up at U20 at 57kg losing two straight matches to Luke Lilledahl. Getting back to that point about Fix dropping to 125 to prep for the Olympic Trials, this could be where things get hairy. But, I honestly don’t see it happening. Spratley wasn’t the only gift from the transfer portal. Tagen Jamison also made his way to Stillwater after spending last season with the Gophers. And making the jump from NJCAA is 2-time All-American Mirzo Khayitov. The biggest transfer impact next to Spratley is Izzak Olejnik. Last season while at Northern Illinois he was the 12-seed at NCAAs and ended up with an 8th place finish to make his way onto the podium at 165. Olejnik can jump right in to replace Wyatt Sheets and give the Cowboys some good strength in the middle to go along with fellow AA Dustin Plott at 174. Along with highly touted high school recruit Carroll, #5-ranked Brayden Thompson, a 2022 U20 World teamer, and #8-ranked Cael Hughes, who also made the finals at U20s but came up short, are very promising additions as well for Cowboys. Both guys can add some very good depth to the lineup at 133 and 184. Upperweights #48 AJ Heeg and #68 Jersey Robb will also be tough additions as well at 197. The only true unknown is who will be replacing NCAA qualifier Victor Voinovich who left OK State for Iowa? It’s looking like Jordan Williams will be the one to do it. Williams took a redshirt year a season ago competing at a few open tournaments at 149. Overall, John Smith’s squad could be getting a much-needed new look with the additions of these transfers and recruits making last year’s 18th-place finish more of a historical point and less of a foreshadowing moment.

Two weeks ago marked the release of our recruiting class rankings and last week we followed those up with five schools that earned honorable mentions. So, we’re all finished with the Class of 2023 recruiting? Not quite. Starting Wednesday, we’ve drilled down a bit and looked further into each conference for more recruiting information. With some of the traditional superpowers consistently atop national recruiting rankings, this will be a way for more schools to get recognized for their recruiting efforts. Before getting to the Pac-12, here are links to the conferences already covered: ACC EIWA MAC Pac-12 on the 2023 Big Board Arizona State: #23 Nicco Ruiz (St. John Bosco, CA) Cal Poly: #45 Daschle Lamer (Crescent Valley, OR) Little Rock: #21 Nasir Bailey (Rich Township, IL) Oregon State: #56 Justin Rademacher (West Linn, OR), #62 TJ McDonnell (Fountain Valley, CA), #84 Aden Attao (Boise, ID), #103 Vaun Halstead (Thurston, OR), #123 Sergio Montoya (Clovis, CA), #142 DJ Gillette (Crescent Valley, OR), #185 Dagen Condomitti (Northampton, PA) Stanford: #36 Lorenzo Norman (Blair Academy, NJ), #37 Tyler Knox (St. John’s, MA), #39 Zach Hanson (Lakeville North, MN), #67 Tye Montiero (Bakersfield, CA), #90 Jacob Joyce (Ponaganset, RI), #134 Abe Wojcikiewicz (Bethalto, IL), #197 Thor Michaelson (Bremerton, WA) This year the Pac-12 ended up with 17 wrestlers on the Big Board. That was a sharp decline from 2022 when they had 27. Much of that could be attributed to the fact that Arizona State, Cal Poly, and Little Rock all had small recruiting classes, by design. Last year, those three schools alone accounted for 15 Big Boarder’s (13 in the top 200). Top Transfers Arizona State: Chance McLane (Oklahoma State) Cal Poly: Chance Lamer (via Michigan), Michael Goldfeder (via North Carolina) CSU Bakersfield: Guillermo Escobedo (via Wyoming) Little Rock: Michael Gasper (via Clackamas CC), Cole Minnick (via Buffalo) Oregon State: Victor Jacinto (via Clackamas CC), Boone McDermott (via Rutgers), Brett Mower (via Iowa Western), Steele Starren (via Clackamas CC) Stanford: Dom Lajoie (via Cornell) Almost the entire conference found at least one solution from the transfer portal. Chance Lamer, Boone McDermott, and Dom LaJoie are all proven commodities, having qualified for the NCAA Championships at least once a piece. Oregon State might have picked up three 2023-24 starters in their haul. A lot has been made about transfers into the Big Ten, so it’s good to see some of the Pac-12 schools improve themselves through the portal, too. Under-the-Radar Signees Arizona State: Kaleb Larkin (Valiant Prep, AZ) Cal Poly: Tyler Hodges (Clovis, CA) CSU Bakersfield: Ray Ray Harris (Buchanan, CA) Oregon State: McKinley Robbins (Greene County, IA) Stanford: Lain Yapoujian (Byers, CO) Pac-12 Recruiting Rankings 1. Stanford (8th nationally) See InterMat’s Recruiting Rankings article for more information 2. Oregon State (15th nationally) See InterMat’s Recruiting Rankings article for more information 3. Cal Poly Recruits: Devin Alexander (Buchanan, CA), Ryan Badgett (Rancho Bernardo, CA), Gavin Fernandez (De La Salle, CA), Tyler Hodges (Clovis, CA), Blake Hinrichsen (Washington, IL), Daschle Lamer (Crescent Valley, OR), Zach Limon (Clovis, CA) Transfers: Michael Goldfeder (North Carolina), Chance Lamer (Michigan) By signing Daschle Lamer, it gave Jon Sioredas’ team a top-50 signee in each of the last three seasons. That’s huge for a school that isn’t always among the recruiting superpowers, but continues to improve and produce. Not only did the Mustangs add Daschle, but also his older brother, Chance, who was deemed the #8 overall recruit in 2021. Last season, Chance made the NCAA Round of 12 as a redshirt freshman for Michigan. He’ll give Cal Poly an immediate podium threat. The rest of the recruiting class contains four wrestlers that placed at the California state tournament in 2023. 4. Arizona State Recruits: Phil Chobot (South Kitsap, WA), Aidan Hernandez (Francis Howell Central, MO), Luke Izaak (Shadow Mountain, AZ), Daniel Miranda (Mountain View, AZ), Nicco Ruiz (St. John Bosco, CA), Trent Wikel (Desert Mountain, AZ) Transfer: Chance McLane (Oklahoma State) As mentioned above, Arizona State didn’t have a huge recruiting class, but still managed to add a blue-chip recruit in two-time Super 32 finalist Nicco Ruiz. The remainder of their class features three state champions from in-state, along with champs from Missouri and Washington. Though he doesn’t technically count for this class, don’t forget about Kaleb Larkin, who comes in after taking a grayshirt last year. Larkin had a great showing at the U20 WTT’s with two wins over 2023 Pac-12 freshman of the Year Daniel Cardenas and another over Jackson Arrington, both NCAA Round of 12 finishers in 2023. This was a good job of adding depth to the upperweights. Last season that proved to be an issue for the Sun Devils. 5. Little Rock Recruit: Nasir Bailey (Rich Township, IL) Transfers: Michael Gasper (via Clackamas CC), Cole Minnick (via Buffalo) It’s actually a really good sign that Little Rock has a tiny recruiting class for 2023. Still a young program, the Trojans needed some enormous classes early on to set a foundation for the program. Those wrestlers have stuck around and are developing enough that Neil Erisman doesn’t feel the need to continue with significant additions. Now, Little Rock did get a huge signee in Nasir Bailey. Bailey has been ranked number one in his weight class at times and has Fargo Junior freestyle and Ironman titles to his name. Transfer Michael Gasper will help out at the end of the Trojan lineup, as he was an NJCAA third and fifth-place finisher for Clackamas. 6. CSU Bakersfield Recruits: Steve Caday (Calvary Chapel, CA). Mikey Folch (Calvary Chapel, CA), Ray Ray Harris (Buchanan, CA), Wanderlei Whittington (Monache, CA) Transfer: Guillermo Escobedo (Wyoming) CSU Bakersfield is the school of this bunch that really has to be extremely resourceful and creative when it comes to recruiting. They typically fill their roster with in-state talent, which is the case with the Class of 2023. Ray Ray Harris is a huge get for the Roadrunners. He has won Cadet/Junior national titles in Greco-Roman and twice placed top-five in California. The addition of Steve Caday, Mikey Folch, and Wanderlei Whittington should really bolster the middleweights. Transfer Guillermo Escobedo comes back to his home state and could slot in right away at 184 lbs. He amassed 25 wins in his past two years at Wyoming. Past National Recruiting Rankings (2021/2022) Arizona State: 2022 (10th), 2021 (2nd) Cal Poly: 2022 (HM) Little Rock: 2022 (19th), 2021 (HM) Oregon State: 2022 (22nd) Stanford: 2022 (5th)

It’s almost July and we currently have no head coaching openings at the DI level. Barring an unforeseen situation leading to a vacancy, there will be no further head coaching changes during the 2023 offseason. With the leaders of each program set, it seemed to be a good time to look back to see when every current DI head coach was hired. Since head coaching changes are the topic, two years ago, InterMat did a five-part feature on the 2006 offseason, which led to around 20% of the schools in the nation changing head coach. Scroll down to the bottom and find out how many remain at those schools. 2023 North Dakota State - Obe Blanc Oklahoma - Roger Kish 2022 Brown - Jordan Leen Davidson - Nate Carr Jr. California Baptist - Derek Moore Morgan State - Kenny Monday 2021 American - Jason Borrelli Bellarmine - Ned Shuck Cornell - Mike Grey CSU Bakersfield - Luke Smith Illinois - Mike Poeta Lindenwood - Dallas Smith Presbyterian - Zach Sheaffer Stanford - Rob Koll 2020 Campbell - Scotti Sentes Navy - Cary Kolat Oregon State - Chris Pendleton The Citadel - Ryan LeBlanc 2019 Maryland - Alex Clemsen 2018 Chattanooga - Kyle Ruschell Cleveland State - Josh Moore Edinboro - Matt Hill Indiana - Angel Escobedo Little Rock - Neil Erisman Michigan - Sean Bormet Queens - Rob Tate South Dakota State - Damion Hahn VMI - Jim Gibson West Virginia - Tim Flynn Wisconsin - Chris Bono 2017 Binghamton - Kyle Borshoff George Mason - Frank Beasley Iowa State - Kevin Dresser Penn - Roger Reina Pittsburgh - Keith Gavin Rider - John Hangey Sacred Heart - John Clark Virginia Tech - Tony Robie 2016 Bloomsburg - Marcus Gordon Cal Poly - Jon Sioredas Columbia - Zach Tanelli Minnesota - Brandon Eggum Northwestern - Matt Storniolo 2015 Michigan State - Roger Chandler North Carolina - Coleman Scott 2014 Air Force - Sam Barber Arizona State - Zeke Jones Army West Point - Kevin Ward Clarion - Keith Ferraro Hofstra - Dennis Papadatos Long Island - Joe Patrovich Northern Colorado - Troy Nickerson Purdue - Tony Ersland 2013 Buffalo - John Stutzman Lock Haven - Scott Moore SIU Edwardsville - Jeremy Spates 2012 Duke - Glen Lanham NC State - Pat Popolizio 2011 Drexel - Matt Azevedo Northern Illinois - Ryan Ludwig 2010 Franklin & Marshall - Mike Rogers Gardner-Webb - Daniel Elliott Northern Iowa - Doug Schwab 2009 Appalachian State - JohnMark Bentley Penn State - Cael Sanderson 2008 Lehigh - Pat Santoro Wyoming - Mark Branch 2007 Rutgers - Scott Goodale 2006 Iowa - Tom Brands Ohio State - Tom Ryan Princeton - Chris Ayres Utah Valley - Greg Williams Virginia - Steve Garland 2005 Bucknell - Dan Wirnsberger 2003 Kent State - Jim Andrassy 2000 Nebraska - Mark Manning 1998 Missouri - Brian Smith Ohio - Joel Greenlee 1995 Harvard - Jay Weiss 1991 Central Michigan - Tom Borrelli Oklahoma State - John Smith

Ohio State at the 2008 NCAA Championships (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) ****This Series Originally was Posted in the Summer of 2021**** After the 2006 offseason, the landscape of college wrestling would never be the same again. That statement sounds like hyperbole, but it's true. During the spring and summer of 2006, 15 head coaching positions at the DI level were opened and were filled. At the time, that accounted for almost 20% of the DI schools in the nation. And they weren't just any vacancies; they were at some of the most prestigious wrestling schools in the country. In fact, the head coaches that have accounted for EVERY NCAA team title since 2008 changed jobs during that offseason. Some programs regained their status as national powers. Others started their ascend towards new heights, while some faded towards obscurity. After 15 years, it's time for the most comprehensive look at the biggest game of musical chairs that college wrestling has ever seen. Each of the schools below hired a new head coach in 2006. Air Force, Binghamton, Chattanooga, Clarion, Eastern Michigan, Hofstra, Iowa, Iowa State, Ohio State, Oregon State, Princeton, UNC-Greensboro, Utah Valley, Virginia, Virginia Tech Since this is such a lengthy list, one article will not suffice. The tale of the coaching carousel in 2006 is one of nuance and a tricky game of dominoes. One opening led to another or multiple openings in some cases. Part One will investigate the first domino that fell: Ohio State. Part Two will feature the most controversial aspect of the offseason: Iowa and Virginia Tech. Part Three will look at the other traditional power involved: Iowa State. Part Four will highlight the two coaches everyone overlooked: Pat Popolizio/Binghamton and Chris Ayres/Princeton. Part Five will highlight the remaining six schools. On March 21, 2006, Ohio State head coach, Russ Hellickson, sent the wrestling world into a state of chaos. That day, just three days after the 2005-06 concluded, marked the end of an era and the beginning of a new time for collegiate wrestling. The repercussions from the decision were not only felt at Ohio State, but from every corner of the country. That was the day that Hellickson stepped down from his post as Ohio State's head coach. Russ Hellickson spent 20 years at the helm of the Buckeyes wrestling program. During his tenure, Hellickson amassed a dual record of 272-170-6 and mentored five national champions, who combined to win seven titles. Hellickson was twice named Big Ten Coach of the Year (1991 and 2002) and once received NWCA National Coach of the Year honors (2002). The two-time Olympian and 1976 silver medalist, Hellickson, was also inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1989. Despite all of Hellickson's accolades and the respect he garnered from the wrestling community, there was an underlying feeling that Ohio State was capable of more on the mat. Ohio has long been regarded as one of the top wrestling states in the nation and Ohio State was its flagship school. During Hellickson's final four campaigns as the Buckeyes head man, the state produced 20 separate All-Americans. Only three wrestled for the Buckeyes. Blake Kaplan and JD Bergman did so in 2004, while Tommy Rowlands AA'ed in both 2003 and 2004. Some of the state's biggest recruits also began to slip out from Ohio's grasp. During that span, Ohio natives appeared in seven NCAA finals. Rowlands was the only one that did so in a Buckeye singlet. The top recruit in the Class of 2005, Dustin Schlatter, left to join his brother, CP, at Minnesota. Four-time state champion Ryan Lang headed to Northwestern. Other big-name prospects during that era that ventured out of state include Dustin Fox (Northwestern), Mike Pucillo (Hofstra), and Steve Luke (Michigan). Of late, the brutal Big Ten Conference had begun to take its toll on the Buckeyes. During Hellickson's final two seasons, the team combined to go 1-15 in conference dual action. During both seasons, Ohio State finished in the cellar at the conference meet (back when only 11 teams were in the league). In the recent past, Ohio State had superstars like Rowlands and Bergman, whose NCAA performances helped bolster the teams showing at the national tournament. Surprisingly, the Buckeyes finished with a team trophy at the 2004 tournament when they tied Lehigh for third with 77.5 points. At that tournament, Rowlands claimed his second national championship, while Bergman rebounded from an opening-round upset to reel off seven straight wins to grab third. Additionally, unseeded Kaplan finished fifth at 184, and Jeff Ratliff got on the podium at 149 despite an 11th seed. This same team was eighth a few weeks earlier at the Big Ten Championships. Now Hellickson did not leave the cupboard bare by any means. Bergman still had two years of eligibility remaining, Reece Humphrey and J Jaggers just finished their redshirt freshman seasons, and returning All-American heavyweight Kirk Nail was a sophomore. Hellickson and his staff also inked Ohio's most prominent wrestler in the Class of 2006, four-time state champion Lance Palmer of St. Ed's. True freshman Lance Palmer at the 2007 NCAA Championships (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The uneven performance on the mat, along with the young firepower in the stable, combined with a rabid fanbase, and one of the most fertile recruiting grounds in-state, led many to call Ohio State a "sleeping giant." In sports, that label can be a blessing or it could be a curse. Sometimes that giant keeps sleeping. You just have to find the right coach to wake it up. As it turns out, finding a new coach and finding the right coach, wouldn't be that difficult of a chore, as there was no shortage of interest in the position. Almost 600 miles away, in Hempstead, New York, sat Tom Ryan. At only 25 years old, in 1995, Ryan took over a Hofstra wrestling program that had only 2.5 scholarships and no paid assistant coaches. Just over a decade later, Ryan had established Hofstra as one of the "little engines that could" in college wrestling. The team was fresh off an NCAA showing in 2006 that included three All-American finishes from its eight wrestlers. Of the eight, only All-American Jon Masa was a senior, so the Pride was poised for a big year in 2006-07. A potential marriage between Ryan and Ohio State was not the first opportunity that presented itself to the native New Yorker. A year earlier, after Roger Reina retired, the University of Pennsylvania contacted Ryan to gauge his interest in leaving. Even so, Ryan never seriously considered the Penn job and leaving Hofstra was, "never a serious discussion between my wife and I." But Ohio State was appealing. In addition to the on-the-mat factors, Ryan's wife Lynette was from Bloomington, Indiana and Ohio is much closer to home than Long Island. Even though a move to Columbus made sense to Ryan, he knew the odds that he would be selected were slim. Ohio State had their eyes on a pair of the hottest young coaching candidates in some time, Virginia Tech head coach Tom Brands and Iowa State's assistant head coach Cael Sanderson. Both were more of a household name in the wrestling community, as they were Olympic gold medalists, Brands in 1996 and Sanderson just two years earlier, in 2004. Despite current or past alliances, the wrestling community is a small place. Being a college teammate of Brands' at the University of Iowa, Ryan was friendly with many of the fellow Hawkeyes in the coaching ranks. All of them were aware that Ohio State was very interested in Brands. Ryan humbly states that he was viewed as, "the guy that, if things don't go well, might be a good guy for the job." Word traveled back to Iowa, as just over a week later, on March 29th, the Hawkeyes athletic department announced that head coach Jim Zalesky would be replaced. The same Jim Zalesky that won three national titles from 1998-00. If that wasn't enough, on the same day, Iowa State announced that legendary head coach Bobby Douglas stepped down to assume a role in the athletic department to ensure Cael Sanderson would be the school's next head coach. Perhaps both Iowa schools had visions of Dan Gable dancing in their head. Gable, an Iowa State alum, created a dynasty across the state while leading the hated Hawkeyes. He racked up 15 team titles and 21 Big Ten championships between 1976 and 1997. Iowa didn't want to lose Brands to Big Ten sleeping giant, Ohio State, and Iowa State didn't want Cael to go to Columbus or perhaps even Iowa. Remember, the wrestling world is a small place; those close to the Iowa State program had their pulse on the fact that the Iowa job would likely open soon. Less than a week later, on April 5th, news outlets began to report what most in the wrestling community suspected, Tom Brands was returning to Iowa. The saga surrounding that transition is a story that we'll examine thoroughly in part two. So with the two most sought-after candidates off the market and coaching at their alma maters, who would the Buckeye turn to? Athletic Director Gene Smith whittled a long list of candidates down to Ryan, Illinois assistant coach Jim Heffernan, Central Michigan head coach Tom Borrelli, and recent graduate Tommy Rowlands. Despite the school's initial overtures at Brands and Sanderson, Ryan was unphased. "I'm used to being not highly sought after. My life has been about taking risks and chances. Walked on at Iowa, they didn't call, I wanted them to call, they never called, Ohio State wanted a few guys before me...I didn't care. That was smart. That was great leadership to go after Brands and Sanderson". As Ryan stepped foot on campus to meet with Smith, he was struck by the "feeling of excellence" that resonated with Ohio State. "Listening to them and the commitment they were making to the sport and the impact we could have was real." On the drive from Columbus to Long Island, Ryan knew that if he was offered the Ohio State job, he would take it. About a month later, on May 2nd, the call came and Ryan was formally announced as Ohio State's next head coach. One factor that Ryan believes tilted the search committee in his favor was his openness about the recent tragedy in his life. Just over two years prior, Tom and Lynette lost their five-year-old son, Teague, to a sudden heart attack. As one would expect, his family was "in a pretty dark place." However, over the following two years, his spiritual side grew and he learned to rely on a force bigger than himself. "There were a couple people on the committee that could really resonate; they could relate to my story in the interview and who I was," said Ryan. "I think quite frankly the reality is in hiring, we want people that have been through things." After the ink dried on his contract, Ryan knew he needed to assemble a high-quality staff. Knowing he needed some Ohio flavor along with him, Ryan turned to Joe Heskett, a three-time NCAA finalist and 2002 NCAA champion for Iowa State. Heskett was a three-time Ohio champion while wrestling for powerhouse Walsh Jesuit. In what could have been an awkward turn of events, Ryan looked to Rowlands, who was also a finalist for the head coaching position. Ryan says of Rowlands at the time, "He may have been better than all of us, but may have been a little young." In fact, the two-time national champion had his sights set on the 2008 Olympic Team and was ready to move to the Olympic Training Center since the Buckeye job didn't come through as planned. Ryan learned that Rowlands was open to staying in Columbus provided his training situation was addressed. During his tenure at Hofstra, Ryan focused on what was best for his collegiate wrestlers, rather than the international styles. He didn't have the time or staff to be able to divert his attention towards action outside of the collegiate ranks. So, Ryan's next call was to Terry Brands! Yes, that Terry Brands! Ryan was set to add Brands to his staff to work directly with Rowlands and help build up a freestyle program. The new Ohio State coach thought that Brands would come aboard; however, he continued working as USA Wrestling's National Freestyle Team Resident Coach. Then Ryan turned to Lou Rosselli, which aligned with Rowlands' international goals. While Rowlands came up just short of making the 2008 team, Rosselli has proven to be of the country's best freestyle minds. After nailing down a top-notch staff, Ryan had the added bonus of one of his top recruits from Hofstra following him to Ohio. 2005 NHSCA Senior National champion Mike Pucillo came in and helped form an incredible nucleus for the early portion of Ryan's tenure at Ohio State. The Aftermath Ohio State Tom Ryan with an injured J Jaggers after his 2008 NCAA finals win (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Ohio State showed immediately that they would be a national player under Ryan. During the 2007 season, the Buckeyes finished tenth in the nation with four underclassmen garnering All-American honors (Jaggers, Palmer, Pucillo, Bergman). A year later, Ohio State surprisingly finished second in the country. In 2008-09, the Buckeyes were in position to steal the national title away from Brands' Hawkeyes. Brent Metcalf was shocked in the finals and Iowa finished without a national champion. The Buckeyes had three finalists (Humphrey, Jaggers, and Pucillo) and ended up four and a half points behind the Hawkeyes. Jaggers was victorious. If the others had won, or one of them managed to win with bonus points, it would have been enough to give Tom Ryan a national title. Ryan would have to wait until the 2015 season to win a team title, which was the first in Ohio State's wrestling history. His teams have also finished as a runner-up at the NCAA Tournament on five occasions and they have finished outside the top ten just once (2011). In addition, Ohio State has won three Big Ten crowns and earned runner-up honors once. The Buckeyes have also produced some of the top individuals of the last 15 years. Logan Stieber etched his name into collegiate lore as becoming just the fourth wrestler to win four NCAA titles and the first Big Ten wrestler to do so. Stieber also was a world champion in 2016. While still a student-athlete at Ohio State, Kyle Snyder captured two world titles and an Olympic gold medal. He also became the first wrestler to win three DI titles at heavyweight since Carlton Haselrig did so between 1987-89. Ohio State has also become a consistent force on the recruiting trail. Since Ryan's arrival, the Buckeyes have signed the number one overall recruit on five occasions (Paddy Gallagher/'21, Daniel Kerkvliet/'19, Snyder/'14, Bo Jordan/'13, Stieber/'10. Ryan has also watched as two of his original assistant coaches have gone on to earn DI head coaching jobs of their own. Heskett at Army West Point and Rosselli at Oklahoma. Hofstra Dennis Papadatos (left) with Jamie Franco at the 2021 EIWA Championships (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) The strong nucleus that Ryan left at Hofstra for Tom Shifflet produced a seventh-place finish at nationals during the 2006-07 season. Four Pride wrestlers earned All-American honors after three (James Strouse/157, Mike Patrovich/165, and Chris Weidman/197) made the semifinals. Had Pucillo, who finished sixth at the tournament for Ohio State, stayed at Hofstra, it's possible the team could have won an NCAA trophy. The team did have a representative at 184 lbs, Joe Rovelli; however, he went 1-2 after receiving the eighth seed. That year Hofstra also was sixth at the NWCA/National Duals. After five years of leading the Hofstra program, Shifflet stepped down following the 2011 season. While the Pride continued to be a power in the CAA, winning titles in four of those seasons, they did not have the type of success that Ryan enjoyed after the 2007 national tournament. The school crowned a pair of All-Americans in 2008 and again in Shifflet's final season. Once Shifflet stepped down, alumnus Rob Anspach transitioned into the head coaching role. Anspach wrestled under Ryan and was on staff under both Ryan and Shifflet. A pair of wrestlers earned All-American honors during Anspach's initial campaign, but those were the only AA's during his tenure. That first team also went 12-3 in dual action. Despite the hot start, the Pride went 34-52 under Anspach's watch. He would step down in the summer of 2016. Hofstra's next coaching search also yielded an alum that wrestled under Ryan, Dennis Papadatos. In year two under Papadatos, Hofstra saw 285 lber Michael Hughes take sixth place at nationals. This year, Hofstra produced their best season since the Shifflet era, as seven wrestlers earned berths at the NCAA Championships. 157 lber, Holden Heller, became the school's first EIWA champion since 2014 and only the second since the team switched to the conference that same year. All but one of those qualifiers are expected to return for the 2021-22 season. Ryan said of his time with Hofstra, "Without the wrestlers and the donors and the fans, I don't get this opportunity. I was on the shoulders of a lot of people that lifted over there. But, as much as we did, I was mad we didn't do better". UNC-Greensboro Approximately two weeks after the Ryan to Ohio State deal was finalized, Hofstra hired Shifflet, who was previously at UNC-Greensboro. He was fresh off a season where the Spartans went 11-6 in dual action and finished second in the SoCon. Four UNCG wrestlers competed at nationals in Oklahoma City, including two that advanced to the NCAA Round of 12 (Kevin Artis/141 and Tyler Shovlin/285). Shifflet spent four years as the head coach at UNCG. Two months after Shifflet's departure, UNCG elevated assistant coach Jason Loukides to fill the head coaching void. Like Shifflet, Loukides was an Edinboro alum. During Loukides first two seasons, three Spartan wrestlers qualified for nationals each year. Four did so during years three and four. Unfortunately, right before the NCAA Championships in 2011, the school announced it would be dropping its wrestling program. The following was taken from the school's release on the subject: One major objective of UNCG's Strategic Plan is to elevate the profile of the athletic department. In order to accomplish this in the most efficient manner, limited resources must be invested wisely. The elimination of the wrestling program will result in a cost savings of approximately $308,000 annually. UNC Greensboro does not field a football team, so looking at their basketball program's performance since 2011, they have 185-135 with two NCAA Tournament appearances since eliminating wrestling. It did take until the 2016-17 season for the team to mount a winning record. Loukides has gone on to assume the head coaching position for the Marine Corps wrestling program. Earlier this year, one of his proteges, John Stefanowicz, earned a spot on the 2021 Olympic Team. He'll be the first Marine to wrestle at the Games since 1992.

Last week marked the release of our recruiting class rankings and yesterday we followed those up with five schools that earned honorable mentions. So, we’re all finished with the Class of 2023 recruiting? Not quite. Starting Wednesday, we’ve drilled down a bit and looked further into each conference for more recruiting information. With some of the traditional superpowers consistently atop national recruiting rankings, this will be a way for more schools to get recognized for their recruiting efforts. ACC on the 2023 Big Board NC State: #24 Koy Buesgens (New Prague, MN), #50 Vincent Robinson (Homewood-Flossmoor, IL) North Carolina: #108 Sabino Portella (Red Bank Catholic, NJ), #131 Omaury Alvarez (Baylor School, TN), #186 Derek Guanajuato (Valiant Prep, AZ) Pittsburgh: #18 Anthony Santaniello (Brick Memorial, NJ), #105 Grant Mackay (Laurel, PA), #140 Dylan Evans (Chartiers Valley, PA), #183 Tyler Chappell (Seneca Valley, PA) Virginia: #57 Dylan Newsome (Bishop Hartley, OH), #122 Gable Porter (Underwood, IA) Virginia Tech: #13 Jim Mullen (St. Joseph’s Regional, NJ), #42 Sonny Sasso (Nazareth, PA), #47 Rafael Hipolito (Independence, VA), #49 Mac Church (Waynesburg, PA), #85 Hunter Mason (Greeneville, TN), #157 Logan Frazier (Crown Point, IN) The ACC almost had half as many Big Boarder’s this year (17) as it did in 2022 (30). That shouldn’t be cause for concern as NC State, Pittsburgh, and Virginia had much smaller classes this year, compared to the past. There are only so many “huge” recruiting classes a school can sign in a row. Top Transfers Pittsburgh: Finn Solomon (NC State) Virginia: Ryan Catka (Navy), Sammie Hayes (Illinois) Again, there wasn’t a whole lot on the transfer front in the conference this year. Finn Solomon stays in the ACC, but moves back north to Pittsburgh. He’ll challenge for the starting spot at 149 and could be a national qualifier in 2024. The same can be said for Ryan Catka, who has a lot of experience at Navy. We’re not as sure about what to expect from Hayes, who only saw action in one bout last year, but he was a solid recruit. ACC fans will remember his older brother, Louie, an All-American for the Cavaliers in 2021. Under-the-Radar Signees Duke: Aiden Wallace (Bergen Catholic, NJ) NC State: Tyler Tracy (Cardinal Gibbons, NC) North Carolina: Cullan Kane (Cambridge, GA) Pittsburgh: Daniel Gurorvich (Camarillo, CA) Virginia: Steven Burrell Jr (Greens Farms, CT) Virginia Tech: Jack Bastarrika (Mt. Olive, NJ) These wrestlers were not listed on the Class of 2023 Big Board, but still look capable of making a big impact at their respective schools. ACC Recruiting Rankings 1. Virginia Tech See InterMat’s Recruiting Rankings article for more information 2. NC State See InterMat’s Recruiting Rankings article for more information 3. Pittsburgh See InterMat’s Recruiting Rankings article for more information 4. Virginia Recruits: Steven Burrell Jr. (Greens Farms Academy, CT), Michael Murphy (Westfield, NJ), Dylan Newsome (Bishop Hartley, OH), Gable Porter (Underwood, IA), Luke Roberts (Loudoun County, VA) Transfers: Ryan Catka (Navy), Sammie Hayes (Illinois) Last season saw the University of Virginia ink a huge class that was ranked ninth in the nation. With such a huge class like that, you generally have a smaller one the following year. The Cavaliers also get a boost with transfers at the bookends. Both Sammie Hayes and Ryan Catka will help solidify the beginning and the end of the Hoo lineup. The late addition of former Oklahoma commit Dylan Newsome gives the Cavaliers a pair of Big Boarder’s. Keep an eye out for Steven Burrell Jr, whose stock shot through the roof after taking a post-grad year that saw him win National Preps and make the finals of the U20 World Team Trials in freestyle. This class, combined with the 2022 group, should have Virginia back in contention for an ACC title. 5. North Carolina Recruits: Omaury Alvarez (Baylor School, TN), Derek Guanajuato (Valiant Prep, AZ), Cullan Kane (Cambridge, GA), Collin Nugent (Phillips Exeter, MA), Nolan O’Boyle (Norfolk Academy, VA), Sabino Portella (Red Bank Catholic, NJ), Marco Tocci (Warwick, PA) Under Coleman Scott’s leadership and with the direction of Tony Ramos, North Carolina has typically been in the national recruiting rankings. They just missed the cut this season, but still ended up with three of the top-200 wrestlers. Years of good recruiting have left the Tar Heels without any major holes to fill. Most of their 2023-24 lineup should be filled by wrestlers that are still young, but were highly-touted recruits. UNC has had difficulties at 125 in the past, so adding Derek Guanajuato and Marco Tocci at 125 is very helpful. Guanajuato was a Junior Greco finalist and a UWW U17 All-American in freestyle. One of the Tarheels Big Boarder’s, Omaury Alvarez, was a double Junior All-American in Fargo last summer and then went on to place at the Ironman. Top recruit, Sabino Portella was a three-time NJ state medalist and a Fargo Junior freestyle AA. 6. Duke Recruits: Raymond Adams (Calhoun, NY), Kwasi Bonsu (Baldwin, NY), Peter Chacon (Montour, PA), Logan Fite (Central Academy, NC), Henry Forte (Delbarton, NJ), David Hussey (Middletown South, NJ), Sean O’Donnell (Malvern Prep, PA), Logan Richey (Quaker Valley, PA), Aiden Wallace (Bergen Catholic, NJ) Due to financial constraints set by the athletic department, it’s difficult for Duke to compete with the rest of the ACC in recruiting. Even so, the Blue Devils get better with a pair of state placers from New Jersey (Hussey and Wallace), New York (Adams and Bonsu), a Pennsylvania placer (Richey) and a National Prep All-American (O’Donnell). It wouldn’t be a surprise to see two or three of these incoming freshmen consistently work their way into the Blue Devil starting lineup in 2023-24. Past National Recruiting Rankings NC State: 2022 (3rd), 2021 (5th) North Carolina: 2022 (16th), 2021 (21st) Pittsburgh: 2022 (15th) Virginia: 2022 (9th) Virginia Tech: 2022 (7th), 2021 (22nd)

Austin Sommer checks in on Bucknell head coach Dan Wirnsberger. The two talk about Bucknell's recruiting Class of 2023, one that was ranked 19th in the nation by InterMat. One of the recruits in this group is Coach Wirnsberger's son, Cade. Austin and Wirnsberger talk about the recruiting process with his son, finding the right school, and coaching him in the near-future. The two also discuss the 2023 season of EIWA finalist Dylan Chappell. Chappell had problems cracking the Bison lineup at 133 and 141 lbs, but his confidence and belief in himself and the program never wavered. Chappell moved up to 149 lbs and made the conference finals. Coach Wirnsberger also gives some updates on some important summer events on the Bison calendar, along with some schedule and coaching staff teasers. Check out InterMat's Rokfin page for the interview (No-Paywall).

Without question, the biggest topic of the collegiate offseason has been the transfer portal. We’ve seen unprecedented movement with a handful of All-Americans entering the portal and finding new homes. Since the portal is only a few years old and the advent of NIL is less than two years old, we don’t have much of a track record to judge the current status of college wrestling. Basically, we don’t know what the “new normal” is supposed to look like. All of that being said, we’re trying to look at the success or lack of success that some of the most prominent wrestlers have had after going in the portal. Prior to the 2022-23 season, InterMat published an article ranking the top-15 wrestlers to go through the portal that offseason. Now we’re looking back at those 15 wrestlers to see how they fared at their new home. For some, that change of scenery proved to be a great choice, while others didn’t. Here are the wrestlers, as ranked in the fall of 2022, and their results in the season that followed. 1. Real Woods (Iowa) Record: 20-1. NCAA Runner-Up; Big Ten champion. #1 seed at NCAA’s. 2. Michael Beard (Lehigh) Record: 23-5. NCAA Round of 12 Finisher; EIWA Runner-Up. #5 seed at NCAA’s 3. Dom Demas (Cal Poly) Record: 14-9. 2-2 at NCAA’s. Injury Replacement at NCAA’s. #33 seed. 4. Wyatt Henson (Oklahoma) Record: 19-14. 1-2 at NCAA’s. Big 12 3rd place. #24 seed at NCAA’s. 5. Anthony Montalvo (Arizona State) Record: 6-8. 1-2 at Pac-12 Championships 6. Taylor LaMont (Wisconsin) Record: 11-16. 0-2 at NCAA’s. Big Ten 9th Place. #27 seed at NCAA’s. 7. Matt Finesilver (Michigan) Record: 27-8; NCAA Round of 12 Finisher, Big Ten 3rd Place; #8 seed at NCAA’s 8. Rocky Jordan (Chattanooga) Record: 20-4; 1-2 at NCAA’s, SoCon Champion; #10 seed at NCAA’s 9. Tate Samuelson (Lehigh) Record: 23-9; 2-2 at NCAA’s, EIWA Champion, #17 seed at NCAA’s 10. Brody Teske (Iowa) Record: 10-6; 1-2 at NCAA’s, Big Ten 7th Place; #23 seed at NCAA’s 11. Gerrit Nijenhuis (Oklahoma) Record: 16-9; 0-2 at NCAA’s, Big 12 7th Place; #21 seed at NCAA’s 12. Dazjon Casto (Pittsburgh) Record: 6-9; 0-2 at ACC’s 13. Edmond Ruth (Illinois) Record: 30-8; NCAA Round of 12 Finisher, Big Ten 6th Place; #9 seed at NCAA’s 14. Stevo Poulin (Northern Colorado) Record: 31-7; NCAA Round of 12 Finisher; Big 12 Champion; #6 seed at NCAA’s 15. Mosha Schwartz (Oklahoma) Record: 22-6; 1-2 at NCAA’s, Big 12 6th Place; #9 seed at NCAA

Last week marked the release of our recruiting class rankings and yesterday we followed those up with five schools that earned honorable mentions. So, we’re all finished with the Class of 2023 recruiting? Not quite. Starting Wednesday, we’ve drilled down a bit and looked further into each conference for more recruiting information. With some of the traditional superpowers consistently atop national recruiting rankings, this will be a way for more schools to get recognized for their recruiting efforts. EIWA on the 2023 Big Board American: #130 Emmanuel Ulrich (Mifflinburg, PA), #158 Gage Owen (South Carroll, MD) Army West Point: #43 Cooper Haase (Osceola, FL), #119 Andrew Christie (Bishop McDevitt, PA), #120 Sam Sorenson (Homer, NY), #162 Joel Brown (Landon, MD), #164 Tommy Link (Malvern Prep, PA), #181 Conor Collins (Southern Regional, NJ), #184 Taythan Silva (Aurora Christian, IL), #190 Brady Colbert (Paul VI, VA) Brown: #106 Ethan Mojena (Lake Highland Prep, FL) Bucknell: #65 Myles Takats (Perrysburg, OH), #78 Aiden Davis (Dundee, MI), #109 Noah Mulvaney (Arrowhead, WI), #160 Ethan Lebin (Hempfield, PA), #172 Cade Wirnsberger (Meadowbrook Christian, PA) Columbia: #138 Adam Haselius (Jackson Northwest, MI) Cornell: #1 Meyer Shapiro (Woodbine, MD), #28 Simon Ruiz (Delbarton, NJ), #63 Mikey Dellagatta (St. Joe’s Regional, NJ), #70 Marcello Milani (St. Mary’s, MI), #89 Tyler Ferrera (Chenango Forks, NY), #128 Matt Furman (Canon-McMillian, PA) Harvard: #101 Jameson Garcia (Marmion Academy, IL), #102 Max Agresti (Salesianum, DE), #146 Jaden Pepe (Wyoming Area, PA), #194 Coleman Nogle (Mt. St. Joseph, MD) Lehigh: #75 Luke Stanich (Roxbury, NJ), #76 Jared Schoppe (Delsea, NJ), #116 Logan Wadle (North Hunterdon, NJ), #124 Richie Grungo (St. Augustine, NJ), #161 Matt Repos (Central Dauphin, PA) Navy: #87 Payton Thomas (Moore, OK), #152 Dylan Elmore (St. Thomas Aquinas, KS), #166 Nick Treaster (Newton, KS) Penn: #40 Max Gallagher (Bayport-Blue Point, NY), #96 Cross Wasilewski (Delbarton, NJ), #174 Spencer Barnhart (Malvern Prep, PA), #196 Reed Fullmer (Malvern Prep, PA) Princeton: #12 Marc-Anthony McGowan (Blair Academy, NJ), #72 Eligh Rivera (Lake Highland Prep, FL), #80 Holden Garcia (Notre Dame-Green Pond, PA), #83 Tyler Vasquez (Delbarton, NJ), #111 Drew Heethuis (Detroit Central Catholic, MI), #137 Zander Silva (Christian Brothers, NJ) Surprisingly enough, there are fewer Big Boarder’s headed to the EIWA in 2023 compared to 2022 (45 to 58). One of the reasons for this could be the number of strong, consecutive recruiting classes from Columbia, Navy, and Penn from 2021-22. None of these schools had the sheer numbers that they’ve had in recent years, though they did have quality over quantity. Top Transfers Drexel: Ibrahim Ameer (via Cloud CC) Hofstra: Keaton Kluever (via Minnesota) Lehigh: Hunter Mays (via Rider) Long Island: Brayden Roberts (West Virginia) With a large chunk of the EIWA consisting of Ivy League schools or service academies, transfers into the conference can be much less frequent than in other conferences. Drexel, Hofstra, and Long Island all should get boosts from their new additions, while Lehigh has the depth to redshirt Hunter Mays, if necessary. Under-the-Radar Signees Army West Point: Tristen Hitchcock (Warrensburg/Lake George, NY) Binghamton: Trent Sibble (Bolivar-Richburg, NY), Carson Wagner (Northampton, PA) Columbia: Rawson Iwanicki (St. John’s Prep, MA) Cornell: Aiden Compton (Notre Dame-Green Pond, PA) Franklin & Marshall: Dominic Wheatley (Nazareth, PA) Hofstra: Will Conlon (Spain Park, AL), Frankie Volpe (Hauppauge, NY) Navy: Tyler Sagi (Old Bridge, NJ) EIWA Recruiting Rankings 1. Cornell (#4 nationally) See InterMat’s recruiting rankings article for more information. 2. Princeton (#12 nationally) See InterMat’s recruiting rankings article for more information. 3. Army West Point (#17 nationally) See InterMat’s recruiting rankings article for more information. 4. Bucknell (#19 nationally) See InterMat’s recruiting rankings article for more information. 5. Penn (#20 nationally) See InterMat’s recruiting rankings article for more information. 6. Lehigh (#21 nationally) See InterMat’s recruiting rankings article for more information. 7. Drexel (#25 nationally) See InterMat’s recruiting rankings article for more information. 8. Harvard Recruits: Isaiah Adams (Avon, CT), Max Agresti (Salesianum, DE), Jameson Garcia (Marmion Academy, IL), Kyler Kurtz (El Reno, OK), Logan Marrisal (Saratoga Springs, NY), Solo Mthethwa (Orange, VA), Jaden Pepe (Wyoming Area, PA), Coleman Nogle (Mt. St. Joseph, MD), Matthew Walsh (Bedford, MA) As you can see from the rankings above, the Ivy League has dominated the EIWA in recruiting in recent years. A class like this for Harvard was necessary to keep pace with the Cornell’s and Princeton’s of the league. With four Big Boarder’s Harvard will get a quick infusion of talent into its lineup immediately. With another class or two like this, Harvard should be able to threaten their rivals. 9. Navy Recruits: Payton Thomas (Moore, OK), Dylan Elmore (St. Thomas Aquinas, KS), Kade Kluce (Dundee, MI), Tyler Sagi (Old Bridge, NJ), Nick Treaster (Newton, KS) It’s not the size of typical Navy recruiting classes, but the Class of 2023 has plenty of talent evidenced by three of the top-200 recruits. Despite holding national rankings, it seems as if Navy’s new additions give off an overlooked vibe. I’m sure the Midshipmen’s coaching staff doesn’t mind this and is eager to get this talented group in the room. 10. American Recruits: Coen Bailey (Bald Eagle, PA), Caleb Beaty (Corinth-Holders, NC), Cael McIntyre (Bethlehem Catholic, PA), Kaden Milheim (Warrior Run, PA), Gage Owen (South Carroll, MD), Emmanuel Ulrich (Mifflinburg, PA) Since head coach Jason Borrelli was hired in the spring of 2021, this is the first recruiting class that he and his staff were able to contact early and it has paid off. Traditionally, American hasn’t been a place where many Big Boarder’s land, but this class includes two. The Eagles staff used their proximity to Pennsylvania and were able to come away with four state medalists, which is a strong haul. They were also able to reach into neighboring Maryland and grab a Big Boarder to keep some talent at home. 11. Hofstra Recruits: Ryan Arbeit (Wantagh, NY), Danny Church (Fort LeBoeuf, PA), Will Conlon (Spain Park, AL), Cam Ice (Minnechaug, MA), Gavin Proffitt (McIntosh, GA), Jacob Slotnick (St. Augustine, NJ), Noah Tapia (Moline, IL), Frankie Volpe (Hauppauge, NY), Matt Waddell (Pepperrell, GA), Dylan Zenion (Wyoming Seminary, PA) Transfer: Keaton Kluever (Minnesota), Joe Russo (Nassau CC) Hofstra was able to take advantage of some recently earned roster spots with a large 2023 class. The Pride staff cast a wide net and got talent from all over. Danny Church, Will Conlon, Jacob Slotnick, Noah Tapia, Frankie Volpe, and Matt Waddell all have national-level credentials under their belt. Additionally, transfer Keaton Kluever should be an excellent addition at heavyweight. I’m not sure if this qualifies as “2023 recruiting,” but Hofstra will also have the services of former 125 lb starter Dylan Ryder. Ryder went 43-22 in three years with the Pride, but had been off the mat for two seasons. 12. Binghamton Recruits: Marco Albanese (Emmaus, PA), Andrew Bailey (Chittenango, NY), Jordan Brown (Monroe-Woodbury, NY), Ryan Hartung (New Milford, NJ), James McDonnell (Haverford School, PA), Tyler Reed (Cornwell Central, NY), Trent Sibble (Bolivar-Richburg, NY), Caleb Sweet (South Seneca, NY), Carson Wagner (Northampton, PA) It’s kind of hard to believe that none of Binghamton’s 2023 recruits were on the Big Board, but even so, head coach Kyle Borshoff should be very pleased about signing this group. It follows what has become a blueprint for Binghamton’s recruiting, some of New York’s top kids with NJ/PA sprinkled in. This class has four New York state champions and another finalist. Lightweight Carson Wagner was a Pennsylvania AAA runner-up. Past National Recruiting Rankings Army West Point: 2022 (23rd), 2021 (24th) Columbia: 2022 (HM), 2021 (25th) Cornell: 2021 (3rd) Lehigh: 2022 (17th) Navy: 2022 (21st), 2021 (18th) Penn: 2022 (18th), 2021 (23rd) Princeton: 2022 (20th)

Last week marked the release of our recruiting class rankings and yesterday we followed those up with five schools that earned honorable mentions. So, we’re all finished with the Class of 2023 recruiting? Not quite. Starting today, we’re going to drill down a bit and look further into each conference for more recruiting information. With some of the traditional superpowers consistently atop national recruiting rankings, this will be a way for more schools to get recognized for their recruiting efforts. MAC on the 2023 Big Board Buffalo: #170 Luke Poore (Caravel Academy, DE) Central Michigan: #200 Luke Cochran (Jefferson, GA) Clarion: #153 Scott Johnson (Muncy, PA), #176 David McClelland (DeSales Columbus, OH) George Mason: #143 Zac Jacaruso (Delaware Valley, PA) Kent State: #182 Kyle Snider (Cuyahoga Valley CA, OH) Lock Haven: #117 Patrick Jackson (Spring Mills, WV) Northern Illinois: #91 Collin Arch (Palmyra, MO), #141 Brett Smith (Troy, MO) Rider: #101 Brock Zurawski (Lower Cape May, NJ), #192 Brody Conlin (Washington, NJ) SIU Edwardsville: #144 Santino Robinson (Mascoutah, IL), #167 Braxton Strick (Ozark, MO), #169 Brock Woodcock (St. Clair, MO) Things are looking up for the MAC, as a whole. In 2022, the entire conference only signed seven of the top-250 recruits. In 2023, its schools doubled that number with 14. That with the 2023 Big Board only having 200 wrestlers, as well. Top Transfers: Kyle Davis (Rider; via George Mason) Wyatt Henson (Lock Haven; via Oklahoma) Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (Clarion; via Oklahoma) Enrique Munguia (Rider; via Kent State) Nate Wemstrom (SIU Edwardsville; via Nebraska) Brandon Wittenberg (George Mason; via Virginia Tech) I don’t think it’s a reach to imagine any/all of these transfers making the national tournament in 2024. That would be a huge boost to the conference, combined with returning talent and incoming/redshirt freshmen. Under-the-Radar Signee’s Edinboro: Jacob Brenneman (Northern, MD), Hunter Johnson (Mifflin County, PA) George Mason: Colin Pederson (First Colonial, VA) Kent State: Dominic Paterra (Indian Creek, OH) Lock Haven: Conner Heckman (Midd-West, PA), Logan Sallot (McDowell, PA) Ohio: Dominic Hoffarth (Louisville, OH) Rider: Giovanni Alejandro (St. Joseph Metuchen, NJ) SIU Edwardsville: Deion Johnson (Homewood-Flossmoor, IL), Nick Nosler (Unity, IL), Hayden Whidden (Lake Gibson, FL) MAC Recruiting Rankings 1. SIU Edwardsville (Honorable Mention Nationally) See the honorable mention article for more information on the Cougars ranking. 2. Northern Illinois Recruits: Collin Arch (Palmyra, MO), Gavynn Carpenter (Hallsville, MO), Sean Carroll (St. Thomas Aquinas, KS), Danny Curran (Dekalb, IL), Tyler Martinez (Yorkville Christian, IL), Luca Riley (Belton, MO), Brayden Shelton (Centralia, MO), Trevor Silzer (Tinley Park, IL), Brett Smith (Buchanan, MO) Transfer: Tommy Curran (NC State) The Husky staff hit Missouri hard with a pair of top-200 recruits from the Show Me State. On top of that, NIU also inked another pair of Missouri state champions. Northern Illinois continues to identify (and develop) overlooked talent. 3. Rider Recruits: Lucas Ainbinder (Middletown North, NJ), Giovanni Alejandro (St. Joseph Metuchen, NJ), Eric Broadie (Bergen Catholic, NJ), Brady Conlin (St. Augustine, NJ), Kevin McBride (St. John Vianney, NJ), Kaden Naame (St. Augustine, NJ), Branden Palcko (Paul VI, NJ), Luke Tracey (Long Branch, NJ), Brock Zurawski (Lower Cape May, NJ) Transfers: Kyle Davis (George Mason), Mason Lynch (Kent State), Enrique Munguia (Kent State) As one would expect, a very New Jersey-heavy class with a pair of state finalists and proven competitors. Two of the Broncs transfers (Kyle Davis and Enrique Munguia) have significant experience as starters and should challenge for a spot at nationals in 2024. 4. Clarion Recruits: Ryan Avalos (Perrysburg, OH), Adrian Gacek (Parkland, PA), Dustin Gue (Skyline, VA), Conner Heckman (Midd-West, PA), Connor Jacobs (Armstrong, PA), Scott Johnson (Muncy, PA), David McClelland (DeSales, OH), Deegan Ross (Lackawanna Trail, PA), Seth Ross (Lackawanna Trail, PA) Transfers: Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (Oklahoma), Tye Varndall (Edinboro) Clarion’s staff has really seemed to hit their stride with identifying the types of high schooler’s that will thrive in their program. Their 2023 class is highlighted by a pair of Pennsylvania third-place finishers. Also, Clarion has recruited Ohio hard and picked up two talented lightweights. They also brought Alejandro Herrera-Rondon home, just two years ago he was deemed a top-ten recruit nationally. 5. Lock Haven Recruits: Brett Barbush (Manheim Central, PA), Chase Burke (Benton, PA), Patrick Jackson (Spring Mills, WV), Kelly Kakos (Perkiomen Valley, PA), Lucas Kapusta (Franklin Regional, PA) Austin Pollard (Brooke Point, VA), Logan Sallot (McDowell, PA), Robbie Schneider (Lackawanna Trail, PA), Joey Sentipal (Burgettstown, PA) Transfers: Wyatt Henson (Oklahoma) Lock Haven has the blueprint for finding tough, overlooked, oftentimes small-school recruits who have what it takes to thrive at the next level. This class is no different. Their group is primarily from Pennsylvania and features at least five state medalists. Interestingly enough, their highest-ranked recruit is West Virginia champion Patrick Jackson. 6. George Mason Recruits: Charlie Bunting (Nazareth, PA), Gunner Chambers (Rockmart, GA), JT Chance (Western Reserve, OH), Ruben Karapetyan (St. John’s, DC), Cameron McKay (Deep Run, VA), Remus Montalvo (Brooke Point, VA), Collin Pederson (First Colonial, VA), Cale Roggie (St. Christopher’s, VA) Transfers: Brandon Wittenberg (Virginia Tech) Had he been able to wrestle in the postseason, George Mason signee Zac Jacaruso may have been the highest-ranked recruit in the conference. As it was, Jacaruso checked in at #143 after making the PA AAA state finals in his sophomore and junior seasons (winning as a junior). The Patriots also have three National Prep placers on the way. Virginia Tech transfer Brandon Wittenberg and another in the works, both have the potential to compete in Kansas City for Frank Beasley’s team. 7. Central Michigan Recruits: Mason Alessio (Joliet Catholic, IL), Kellan Aure (Menomonie, WI), Kaden Chinavare (Dunee, MI), Luke Cochran (Jefferson, GA), Brayden Gautreau (Gaylor), Cole Hopkins (Evart, MI), Wyatt Skebba (Hrorton, Brock Smith (Riverdale, IL), Grant Stahl (Mt. Pleasant) The CMU staff hit Michigan and its neighbors hard and the result was a strong class that will probably look even better once they get in the Central Michigan room. Four Michigan champions and another finalist lead the way. They also inked an Illinois champ and two from Wisconsin. 8. Kent State Recruits: Hunter Andel (Garfield, OH), Cael Andrews (Batavia, IL), Adan Benevidez (Bloomfield, NM), Corey Boerio (Greater Latrobe), Jackson Collins (Berea Midpark, OH), Hunter Gundry (Cardinal Gibbons, NC), Elijah Llewellyn (Indian Creek, OH), Holden Martin (Westmoore, OK), Harris Mitchell (Vestavia Hills, AL), Dom Paterra (Indian Creek, OH) Nate Roth (Greater Latrobe, PA), Brenten Simmermen (Morrow Little Miami, OH), CJ Spencer (Indian Creek, OH), Gunner Havens (Teays Valley, OH), Kyle Snider (Cuyahoga Valley, CA), Trent Thomas (Bedford, PA), Waylon Wehner (St. Mary’s, PA) In-state recruit Kyle Snider was the headliner for Kent State. Snider proved his mettle with a pair of top-eight finishes at the Walsh Ironman. After Snider, the Golden Flash staff cast a wide net searching for recruits in the Class of 2023. They ended up with signees from Alabama, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Oklahoma, in addition to mainstays like Pennsylvania and Illinois.

State College

Emma Bruntil just earned her spot on the U.S. World Team at Final X. I had the chance to talk to her about her best-of-three series against Forrest Molinari, her preparation to compete in Serbia this September, and a 6-month update on her New Year’s Resolution. It has been a few weeks since Final X, but let's take it back and talk to us about your mindset going into Final X, specifically facing Forrest Molinari again? Going into Final X, I'd say I’d pretty much decided after the Open, I knew immediately I was gonna bump up [to 68kg], because the alternative for me really was if I didn't make the world team, I was gonna get surgery and heal up for like the Olympic year. So I was like pretty much, you know, if that’s the alternative, of course, I'm gonna give it a shot. So after World Team Trials, knowing that I was gonna face Forrest again, and I had a good feeling going into World Team Trials that, it wasn't going to be my last turn, and that I would be going to Final X. But you never know with wrestling, and I try not to be super outcome focused. So once it was for sure that me and Forest were gonna wrestle again, I really did feel like we did a very thorough job of preparing for her with my coaches, and, what you see is what you get, right? She's really strong and gonna try and push out. She's gonna wrestle hard every match. Really what she does is just wear people out so, you have to be very ready on defense the whole six minutes. Before Final X, I think we were three and one, so she obviously had the upper hand, but two of those wins were a couple years ago and one was my first actual World Trials that I wrestled. So I felt like in those, I was still developing. It wasn't really my time yet, obviously, she's ended up winning the spot. Last year, after a few tournaments, I was going through a really hard time with my injury and had some really long-lasting implications from that whole experience, so I really had to do a lot of internal work and a lot of things needed to be fixed towards the end of that season. So, in the time since we wrestled last, I have done a lot of work physically and mentally. I am not putting that chapter completely behind me, because things like that are always gonna come up, but I’ve been making sure I'm improving from those experiences. And I really felt this time when I wrestled her that I really had done just a ton of internal work since then. And you also saw a different outcome this time, by winning the series against Molinari. In your first match, you won 6-2, and then dropped the 2nd, which ended up leading to the only matchup of the night with a third match needed to determine the winner. So how were you feeling heading into that final match? Yeah, so last year with Mal [Mallory Velte] we went to three matches too. That time though she had won the first, I had this last-second comeback inside trip to like send it to three. And that experience, it was kind of chaotic because I was getting my eye cauterized in the back and had to get my lip cauterized a couple times. So, normally between matches two and three, you have maybe 20 minutes. So that time I remember just feeling like it was really hectic. So this time around when it did go to three, I actually felt really calm. I knew that like with her [Molinari], it seemed like she really hadn’t been able to get to her leg attacks and what she did score off of was more of my mistake in that quad pod situation trying to break her down. So really what we talked about was like, ‘Hey, same thing in match three, just a little cleaner,’ and I went into it with a pretty blank mind and was just ready for whatever possibility and whatever direction the match was gonna take me. And I really felt like I did that. I think part of it was just I was so exhausted, but another part was just letting your mind go. Obviously, at that point, there's always a lot on the line, but for me, if I ever really think about that too much, it just kind of gets in the way of being as present as I need to be. So honestly, I felt super calm. I could tell everyone around me was a little worried that I wasn’t worried, but I wasn't out of the series. I felt like because [the loss] was more off of my mistakes that I had made, there was a lot of room to improve in that third match. So I felt pretty good about it. Emma after her victory over Forrest Molinari in their third match at Final X; courtesy of Tony Rotundo After winning your series, you were in a somewhat unique position, being one of the only competitors, along with Macey Kilty, to beat an opponent that was a former team member and medalist. What was it like earning that spot over someone like that and becoming the new team member for this cycle? You know, her [Macey Kilty] against Mal [Mallory Velte] and me against Forrest, just shows how tough our domestic season is. There are tons of people who do really, really well internationally, but then when it comes to the domestic season, they don't make the team. One of the biggest examples is Vicky and Whitney [Victoria Anthony and Whitney Conder]. Of course Vicky’s made teams and won medals. Vicky's an amazing athlete. But she would always do amazing overseas but then sometimes she had lost to Whitney domestically and didn't make a couple teams because of it. So I think you have to know that domestic season's always gonna be a little different than international season just because you’re normally way more familiar with your opponents. We're always wrestling at camps, we're around each other a lot. So there's that kind of familiarity aspect. And especially with Forrest, in a sense, she knows my game plan a bit. I know her game plan a bit. So it's kind of like who can make the best adjustments at that point. I'd say it feels good obviously knowing how tough and deep our women's team is becoming. To make the team, it's not a fluke. For me, I had to go through three tournaments to get there, right? The Open to qualify for Trials, and then Trials to qualify for Final X, and then you have to beat a medalist at Final X. So it's not like you just win one tournament and then ‘here's the spot.’ You really have to go through a whole domestic season. And I felt like the thing I was proud of is, my performance from the open I wasn't really happy with. Then throughout the season, I felt like I got better, things went well at Trials, and then I felt like my best performance was at Final X. So just that progression is what's really important to me and what I hope to take through to Worlds. I know you have tweeted about people being worried about “First Timers” and emphasizing the importance of sending our best wrestlers to compete on the world team. Have you seen that feedback or discourse online or heard anything like that directly after Final X? I guess not on the women's side as much, and I think people thought when I was making that tweet that I was referring to myself and my situation. The ‘former champs’ thing was more to the Zane Richards and Gilman situation because, obviously, Gilman is a former world champion. I think it does apply somewhat to the women's situation because, if you looked under the Twitter thread, there were a ton of people that kind of had some things to say. And you know, the thing I think is interesting is that people want a fair Trials, but then when we do have this fair trials process and people again have to go through several tournaments to make this team, it's interesting to me that some people are still like, ‘it'd still be better to send like the seasoned veteran.’ When if that were the case, then why wrestle the matches? Why have this Trials process if you're just gonna be disappointed with the outcome of that process? And even if someone goes to worlds and doesn't medal at that weight, like the Whitney and Vicky situation again, just because Whitney didn't medal those years when she beat Vicky doesn't mean Vicky should have gotten a spot. It's part of the differentiating between the domestic and international seasons, even though they're different, you have to be good at both. You can't only be good at one or only be good at the other because if you're only good at the domestic season, you're just gonna make teams. If you're only good at the international season, you're only gonna do well overseas. So I think part of that equation is the domestic season, and if you don't make it through the gauntlet, it's my belief that you are not the best rep that year at that weight. And had I lost to Forrest and Forrest had gone and not medaled at Worlds, it's not like I would've thought it should've been me. I would've felt the same if she beat me at Final X. So that's how I viewed things like that. I think part of what people see and think about when these competitions for World and Olympic Team spots is just how much existing talent we have from former team members, as well as so much up-and-coming talent. How do you feel like the level of talent is growing for women’s wrestlers domestically as they come out of high school and/or start competing on the international scene? I think we're only gonna get better and better. I think it's a really good sign, you know, how you do at an age group world championships, how the depth in your team is gonna be in the next couple years. And women's wrestling won Cadet Worlds, they've done really good at Junior Worlds, U23 Worlds. We're always in the trophy hunt, which means that the younger generation is gonna be ready to step up when it's time. Obviously this Final X we saw more of the veterans reclaim their spots, but I think some weights have three, four people that could go potentially win a medal. Like at 76kg, the top five could probably go on to win a world medal. So I think like our depth, while it may not be where Japan's is yet, like when you're their rep, you're the favorite for winning a world title. But I think we're getting to that point where the top couple of girls can realistically go win a medal at the World Championships. And if you looked at World Team Trials or Final X from several years ago, I don't think that would be the case. Bringing it back to what you said about our team’s talent of wrestling domestically, some of that certainly comes from college experience, which can look different in Women’s wrestling than it does for the men. Can you speak to your experience being a former college wrestler and going on to compete after your last season at McKendree? Yeah, I think people are definitely not necessarily taking the traditional path, especially because for us, there's not as much incentive to wrestle in college as there is for the men. Especially now with NIL, there's like a big money incentive and it's also like exposure, right? If you win NCAA titles, like you're getting on ESPN, you're getting tons of followers, tons of exposure, you're getting all these opportunities. Where for us, when I won College Nationals one year, it was in a high school gym. The next, it was in front of, zero crowd whatsoever and also in a high school gym. So the incentive, I'd say, for the women isn't necessarily there yet. Winning college national titles isn’t going to get you much, and it's more of like a stepping stone for getting the experience so that you can get on that international stage. So really what I viewed as my goal in college wasn't to necessarily go win these national titles. It was more about, when I made the move, I just needed more experience. I need more matches. I wasn't at a point in my career when I was 18 where I could wrestle several times a year and expect good results. Whereas like Amit [Elor], she's there right now where she can step on the mat three times a year and compete because she's had so much experience. I just wasn't there yet when I was 18. So I made the decision to go to college to get that experience, and then I ended up having to leave part way through my junior year. Not because I wanted to, but out of necessity. It was either leave or get a second neck surgery or lose 75% of the strength in my right arm for the rest of my life. So at the time, given those options, it wasn’t worth it to me. And so I made the choice to leave even though, realistically, I would've stayed in college the next couple of years if I could have. But it turned out to be a really great thing for me. I found my coach Izzy. Coming back to the training center really allowed me to, given that I've had a lot of surgeries, a lot of injuries that's not really like a secret with me. And so coming back to the training center has really allowed me to individualize my training so that I can still get the most out of it without going through the wear and tear of a college season or college-level practices where you don't have a ton of flexibility there with what you can and can't do. So I'd say like for me, it worked out perfectly when I moved back and it's exactly what I needed. And the first year out of college people were amazed at how much I was competing and it was kind of a lot, but I still felt like I needed that experience on the senior level. Like I had gotten that experience in college and now I wanted to become more seasoned on the senior level. So I literally went to every trip, every opportunity I could that year after I left McKendree, because I just didn't feel like I was at the point where I had the experience I wanted. And now I'm not saying I have all the experience in the world, obviously, it's my first trip to Senior Worlds, but I feel like I'm at a point where I could go to any international tournament and feel very confident about it. And now I don't compete quite as much as I did last year because of injuries and scheduling, but I also feel like I have had more experience, so that was my atypical college path. Emma at the 2022 Rudis Super Match; courtesy of Tony Rotundo If there was another wrestler in a similar position as you where they felt for one reason or another that competing in college was no longer the right path for them, what advice would you offer them? Yeah, I'd say that you obviously have to know where you're at. At that point in my career, I was already sponsored by Titan Mercury, so that was important because I had funding to get to these trips. I had people backing me. I had already lived at the Olympic Training Center during my senior year of high school and the year following. So I had really good connections and was able to have the resources and stuff to move back. So I think you have to evaluate what you have at the time and evaluate if leaving is gonna be a realistic possibility for you. But I also think that no matter what your resources or your connections are, you can always choose to transfer if a situation isn't right for you. I think it's important to know and to really be honest with yourself once you know it's not the right environment for you and you've tried and communicated to fix it, I think that sometimes you just have to cut your losses and be like, ‘this isn't right for me anymore.’ And that's what I had to do. And it was really hard. I mean, I had a dog and an apartment and friends that I really liked. And I really liked everything about the school other than the certain aspects of what was causing me to leave. So it was really, really hard. But I think at the end of the day, had I stayed, it might have made me retire early. I don't really know what would've happened, but if I had to hazard a guess, it wouldn't have been good. So I'd say if there was a girl that was struggling with injuries or worried about missing out and things like that, I would say honestly evaluate your environment: if it’s working for you? if it's positive? Are you in a place that's really negative or toxic? And then if you do feel like you need to leave, try really reaching out to your support system and leaning on the people around you and have them help you make the right choice for you, whether that's like leaving college or just going to another program. I think that some wrestlers could really utilize that advice hopefully, and it’s good to hear that your path has led you to where you are wanting to be, so I want to move back to your World Team spot again. Overall, how are you feeling about competing on the world team in Serbia this September? I feel really good. We have the ranking tournament next month that I'll be going to, so I’m getting ready for that. And I normally look at it as one thing at a time. So right now, I'm focused on the ranking tournament and how I want to do there, and then I'll take whatever results and feedback I get from there and make my plan. You know, obviously, I have a wider plan for how things are gonna go schedule-wise before Worlds. But after the ranking tournament, I'll evaluate how it went with my coaches and then decide what we specifically need going into Serbia. But I'm really excited. It's definitely different this time around. Last year I was super bummed out, I lost at World Team Trials and it was kind of crazy. Before that tournament last year, I had really bad staph. I spent the weekend before three days in the hospital and it was really tough to even get to Trials. So then to come up short was really tough. I was just pretty bummed out, so it's a big change this year, being able to get ready to compete and having these opportunities in front of me. How has training for World’s and the ranking tournament gone so far and how has it differed from your training up to this point? I used to definitely bounce around a lot more than I do now. I have some stuff that keeps me more tied to the Springs now. I was in my interview after the match, and I was pretty open about the fact and most people that see me at tournaments see the weird contacts I'm wearing or that I'm always in sunglasses which makes it pretty obvious. But I have really bad migraine issues. I've had debilitating migraines, sometimes over 20 days out of the month, every month since December. So having to manage that and seeing my neurological optometrist several times a week has been kind of a lot to be able to like to remain healthy enough to stay in good enough condition to be able to get to all these tournaments. And it's still been kind of this learning experience of how to handle it. I've handled a lot of injuries before, but this one's a little different because it's all neurological. Yeah. So it was its own kind of challenge. I'd say because of that, I don't really travel as much as I used to because all my resources and things for that are here. But I'm definitely gonna go to the ranking tournament, and maybe go train with Jen Page. She's one of my good friends. But besides that, I plan on being here. We have a Senior National camp next week and they're bringing in France and Epp Mäe [Estonia] and then we have another camp at the end of the summer too. So I'm sure we will be really busy. Looking a little more ahead, I know you moved to 68kg to make the team and had a lot of success both at the Trials and of course, at Final X. Thinking ahead to next year for the Olympics when there are fewer weight classes, 68kg is one of the options. Have you started thinking about sticking around at 68kg vs dropping down to 62kg? I'd say both options are still on the table. Obviously, the plan is to win worlds and get to sit out for the best of three. And then it's up to me to go qualify the weight at the Pan Am games in November. So I'll definitely be curious to see how things go until then, and once I see how it goes then I can weigh my options. It certainly is a possibility, but I'm not a full-size 68 right now by any means. Normally I am like 66 and a half kilos, so basically the difference between me wrestling 68 and wrestling 65 is the last day I just don't pull off the kilo and a half and I just go eat dinner. It's been pretty much the case where I’m on the smaller end of 68 probably, but I feel pretty fine with that. I think I can negate it a lot with my technique, and there's plenty of time to fill out if I wanna do that down the line. I'd say both are still on the table, but I'd probably be more toward 68 since that's where I'm at right now. Finally, I have to bring up another one of your tweets. On December 24, 2022, you tweeted “This year my New Year's Resolution is to not destroy my face at every tournament.” How do you feel like you’re doing so far? It's definitely going better than last year! Last year was really rough because I messed it up at Yarygin pretty bad and then was still wrestling overseas with that open wound on my face. I came back and it was infected like 20 ringworms. I actually have this compilation reel I made at the end of the year of all the different times it kind of got jacked up last year. This year, it's only gotten kind of messed up in Croatia. I split my eye open. And then obviously Final X was probably the most it's gotten beat up this year, which I kind of anticipated happening with wrestling Forrest. It always gets a little messed up. I'd say the resolution is on its way, but definitely not a hundred percent perfect at it at this point. The face is still taking some hits for sure. Bruntil will compete in a Ranking Series event overseen by United World Wrestling in order to determine her seeding for the World Tournament in Belgrade, Serbia from September 16-24.

Last week, InterMat released its 2023 Recruiting Class Rankings. Competition for a spot in the top-25 was very tough, evidenced by a tie for the #25 slot. Additionally, other recruiting classes will be extremely helpful to their respective coaching staff, that might not receive a place in the top-26. That’s why we’re here today. Here are five programs (in alphabetical order) that were named honorable mentions for their recruiting classes. California Baptist Recruits: #145 Max Acciardi (Westwood, NJ - 285 lbs), #157 Mitch Neiner (Port Orchard, WA - 133 lbs), #192 Carter Schubert (Wyoming Seminary, PA - 165 lbs), Tyler Brown (Mission Hills, CA - 157 lbs), Mason Espinoza (Buchanan, CA - 165 lbs), Erik McCown (Palm Desert, CA - 165 lbs), Mahkyi Smith (Lone Peak, UT - 197/285 lbs), Colton Silva (Oakdale, CA - 149 lbs), Kaiser Simpson (Cushing, OK - 141/149 lbs), Keanu Trelles (Buchanan, CA - 197 lbs) Transfers: Darren Green (Wyoming), Dayne Morton (Nebraska), Drayden Morton (Gopher WC), Justin Phillips (Virginia), Eli Sheeran (Buffalo) California Baptist starts its second year of postseason eligibility in 2023-24 and Derek Moore’s team should be in good position to improve upon their 3-12 record and push through their first DI national qualifiers. This freshman class, along with transfers, should aid in that effort. Transfers Darren Green, Dayne Morton, Justin Phillips, and Eli Sheeran all have significant starting experience and will provide stability for the Lancers. Moore and his staff searched far and wide for the Class of 2023 as they nabbed two Big Boarder’s from the East Coast along with another from Washington. California power Buchanan was represented with the tandem of Mason Espinoza and Keanu Trelles. It’s always a good idea to make inroads with a nationally relevant program in your home state. The top prospect in this class is Max Acciardi, who was a Fargo Junior freestyle All-American and an NHSCA Junior National champion. Acciardi has finished in the top-three of the single-class New Jersey state tournament three times, each time at 285 lbs. Indiana Recruits: #59 Sam Goin (Crown Point, IN - 157 lbs), #151 Bryce Lowery (Roncalli, IN - 165 lbs), #165 Cheaney Schoeff (Avon, IN - 149 lbs), Anthony Bahl (Crown Point, IN - 149 lbs), Joey Buttler (Whiteland, IN - 133/141 lbs), Aiden Torres (Chester, IN - 149 lbs) Transfer: Roman Rogotzke (South Dakota State) The Hoosiers have quietly been making the right moves to help them rise up the Big Ten under Angel Escobedo. This class is yet another example. The Indiana staff obviously prioritized keeping in-state talent at home and ended up with three Big Boarder’s from within their borders. Sam Goin is coming off an excellent senior season where he claimed his second state title and took fourth at the Super 32, then fifth at the Walsh Ironman. Along with Goin, Bryce Lowery, Joey Buttler, and Aiden Torres, all were 2023 champions in Indiana’s single-class state tournament. Transfer Roman Rogotzke will help at the upperweights. He amassed a 21-8 record for South Dakota State in 2022-23, as a redshirt freshman, primarily competing unattached. In 2022-23, Indiana posted their first winning record since the 2016-17 campaign. With help from this recruiting class, they could continue to improve their standing in the conference and nationally. Maybe not immediately, but in the years to come. Northwestern Recruits: #58 Sam Cartella (Western Reserve, OH - 149 lbs), #97 Jake Bostelman (Ponderosa, CO - 157 lbs), #191 Dedrick Navarro (Nampa, ID - 125 lbs), Luis Bazan (Bolingbrook, IL - 133/141 lbs), Kolby McClain (Liberty, MO - 149/157 lbs), Dirk Morley (Regis Jesuit, CO - 285 lbs), Massey Odiotti (Loyola Academy, IL - 125 lbs) Transfer: Patrick Adams (Buffalo) Graduation and graduate transfers hit Northwestern hard this offseason, so an infusion of talent was a necessity for Wildcat head coach Matt Storniolo. This group may not necessarily replace the three All-Americans from day one, but they’ll be very useful in the future. This class got a late boost as Sam Cartella flipped from Army West Point to Northwestern in May. During his final year of high school, Cartella made the Ironman and National Prep finals, along with a seventh-place showing at the Super 32. The second top-100 recruit is Colorado state champion Jake Bostelman. The Wildcats have some excellent recent history with a middleweight from Colorado, so that’s interesting. The unexpected departures of All-Americans at 125, 133, and 285 have left Northwestern with some potential holes for the 2023-24 season. Freshmen Dedrick Navarro, Massey Odiotti, or transfer Patrick Adams could be thrust into the lineup immediately because of this. The same can be said for NHSCA Senior National fourth-place finisher Dirk Morley. These additions certainly addressed some pressing needs for Northwestern, which is a big part of recruiting. Under Storniolo, Northwestern has done an excellent job of developing talented, blue-chip or not, and producing despite heavy odds. They’ll need to continue that trend going forward; however, this recruiting class is a nice start. SIU Edwardsville Recruits: #144 Santino Robinson (Mascoutah, IL - 141 lbs), #167 Braxton Strick (Ozark, MO - 149/157 lbs), #169 Brock Woodcock (St. Clair, MO - 157/165 lbs), Gavin Alexander (Hillsboro, MO - 125/133 lbs), Toby Billerman (Perry Meridian, IN - 125 lbs), Aaron Cramer (Grayslake Central, IL - 184/197 lbs), Deion Johnson (Homewood-Flossmoor, IL - 125 lbs), Dom Lopez (New London, IA - 157/165 lbs), Danny Martinez (SW Miami, FL - 133/141 lbs), Nick Nosler (Unity, IL - 197/285 lbs), Hayden Whidden (Lake Gibson, FL - 141/149 lbs) Transfer: Nathan Wemstrom (Nebraska) In MatScouts’ recruiting rankings, Willie Saylor proposed that this could be SIU Edwardsville’s best class ever. It’s hard to argue with that notion. Head coach Jeremy Spates and recruiting ace Daryl Thomas did an excellent job signing three Big Boarder’s along with a handful of others who can be productive wrestlers for the Cougars. The class largely consists of talent from Illinois and Missouri, but also has some neighboring states and Florida sprinkled in. Top recruit, Santino Robinson, along with Nick Nosler were Illinois state champions in 2023. Aaron Cramer and Deion Johnson were both Illinois runner’s-up this season. Johnson was a Fargo Junior freestyle finalist last summer. He and Toby Billerman could be long-term answers at the hard-to-fill 125 lb weight class. The other two Big Boarder’s, Braxton Strick and Brock Woodcock, both have national credentials to their names. Woodcock was a Missouri state champion as a senior, while Strick was third. SIU Edwardsville competes in a MAC conference that could be wide open next year. Two returning qualifiers, along with this group, could make for a formidable squad for MAC opponents. South Dakota State Recruits: #77 Tommy Dineen (Hancock, MN - 285 lbs), #81 Colin Dupill (Greeneville, TN - 149 lbs), Avery Allen (Bozeman, MT - 149 lbs), Riggin Bogger (South Summit, UT - 165 lbs), Marcus Espinoza-Owens (Viewmont, UT - 174 lbs), Moses Espinoza-Owens (Viewmont, UT - 165 lbs), Parker Janssen (St. Michael-Albertville, MN - 141 lbs), Brady Roark (Seneca, MO - 133 lbs), Jared Thiry (Don Bosco, IA - 174/184 lbs) South Dakota State has established themselves as a recruiting power with a #12 ranking in 2021 and another honorable mention last year. This group includes a pair of top-100 recruits and three others who were on the Big Board at one point during their high school careers (Avery Allen, Marcus Espinoza-Owens, and Moses Espinoza-Owens). SDSU’s recruits shined in their respective postseasons, as all but Parker Janssen and Jared Thiry were state champions in 2023. In addition to winning three Minnesota A state titles, Tommy Dineen was also an NHSCA Junior National champion in 2022. The other top-100 recruit, Colin Dupill, placed twice at both the Walsh Ironman and the Beast of the East. Under Damion Hahn, SDSU has proven to be a program that recruits, develops, and retains talent. With that in mind, there isn’t an obvious hole in the Jackrabbits 2023-24 lineup, which means this group should have the opportunity to redshirt, provided there are no major injuries or these recruits knock off an incumbent starter. It’s always good gaining more talent, when you don’t necessarily “have” to have it immediately.

The 2023 offseason coaching carousel got off to a slow start, but has picked up steam in recent weeks. Movement begats movement and as new jobs are accepted, typically new positions open up. We’ll certainly have more updates as the summer progresses and fades into fall and the college preseason. Obe Blanc (North Dakota State Head Coach) - North Dakota State Associate Head Coach Marcus Coleman (Davidson Assistant Coach) - Iowa State athlete Hayden Hidlay (North Dakota State Assistant Coach) - NC State Student-Athlete Development Coordinator Roger Kish (Oklahoma Head Coach) - North Dakota State Head Coach Austin Marsden (Oklahoma Assistant Coach) - North Dakota State Assistant Coach Austin O’Connor (Illinois) - North Carolina Assistant Coach Ian Parker (Virginia) - Army West Point Assistant Coach Charles Small (Long Island: Assistant Coach) - Purdue Graduate Assistant Devin Schroder (Wyoming: Assistant Coach) - Cleveland State Assistant Coach Cam Sykora (Oklahoma Volunteer Assistant) - North Dakota State Volunteer Assistant

Could Gable Steveson be headed back to the collegiate wrestling scene? The Olympic gold medalist told FloWrestling that he intends on using his final year of collegiate eligibility to wrestle. Steveson will still need to consult with the WWE regarding his schedule before his return is set. After winning the Olympic gold medal in 2021, Steveson returned to the college wrestling world to capture his second national title at 285 lbs for the University of Minnesota. In the process, Steveson won his second consecutive Hodge Trophy. Steveson is a three-time NCAA All-American with two national championships and a third-place finish as a true freshman in 2019. That third-place finish came after his most recent collegiate loss, giving Steveson a 52-match winning streak. For his career, Steveson is 85-2. Steveson has already made one comeback in 2023. He returned to compete in freestyle at the US Open and cruised through the bracket to win a title and earn a spot in Final X. In Newark last weekend, Steveson disposed of collegiate foe Mason Parris in two straight bouts to earn a slot on the 2023 Senior World Team at 125 kg. There will certainly be more to this story in the coming weeks and months as Steveson sorts out the details with the WWE.

Somewhere amid a fun 2018-19 season fans and media members started talking about the potential of the 133 lb weight class to be one of the best they’d ever seen. In my opinion, that debate starts and ends with the 2008 149 lb bracket, so it seemed kind of farfetched. Besides, for us to get a clearer picture of these types of comparisons, some time is needed. Wrestlers in the 2019 bracket needed to finish their collegiate careers, which all but one wrestler has done. Finally, sometimes time and perspective are needed, rather than getting caught up in the moment. Below you’ll find everything you need to know about the 2019 133 lb bracket. The All-Americans, a brief reminder of their credentials and relevant supporting information. Along with that, the wrestlers that just missed the podium in the Round of 12 and other notables in the bracket. We also have results from important rounds at the 2019 tournament, seeds, and conference champions. We’ll wrap it up with some facts about the participants in this weight and a conclusion. The Champion: #3 Nick Suriano (Rutgers) In one of the most unique careers in recent wrestling history, Nick Suriano claimed the 2019 NCAA title at one of the toughest weight classes of all-time, then proceeded to not wrestle collegiately for the next two seasons. When he resurfaced at Michigan, it was down a weight (125 lbs), where he went unbeaten winning the 2022 NCAA title. In 2018-19, Suriano suffered three regular-season losses. He had the opportunity to avenge two of them, downing Stevan Micic in the semifinals and Daton Fix in the controversial NCAA title match. Suriano finished his 2018-19 season with bonus points in almost two-thirds of his bouts and became the first NCAA champion in Rutgers wrestling history. A few matches later, teammate Anthony Ashnault joined him to accomplish the feat. The Runner-Up: #1 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) This is the only wrestler from the weight class that still has a year of NCAA eligibility. Regardless of Daton Fix’s 2023-24 performance, we know how good he is. Winning an NCAA title would just make this bracket look even tougher. Fix has already gotten onto the NCAA podium four times, with three trips to the national finals and a fourth-place finish in 2023. He’ll carry a 103-6 career record into his final year in Stillwater. In addition to his collegiate exploits, Fix has already made two Senior World Team appearances and captured a silver medal in 2021 in Norway. 3rd Place: #2 Stevan Micic (Michigan) In the four years since the 2019 tournament, we’ve seen NCAA seeding evolve a bit for the better. Stevan Micic won a match at the Big Ten Championships and forfeited down to sixth place, but got the second seed due to a head-to-head win over Suriano. At this time, Micic already was a two-time All-American, losing in the 2018 NCAA finals in a shootout against Seth Gross. This was the second time that Micic earned the #2 seed at nationals. He did so in 2018 after capturing a Big Ten crown. Like Fix, Micic has already made an impact on the freestyle scene. Competing for Serbia, Micic earned a bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships at 57 kg. He also qualified for the 2020(1) Olympics and has a pair of bronze medals from the European Championships. 4th Place: #5 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) One of the big “what if’s” from this weight class. Luke Pletcher was the 2020 Big Ten champion and was given the #1 seed at the ill-fated 2020 NCAA Championships. Would Pletcher have been able to defeat Nick Lee again or a young Real Woods to claim an elusive national championship. We’ll never know. Pletcher was named a first-team All-American in his senior season. That marked the third All-American honor of his career. He was fourth at both this tournament and the 2018 championships. After this year, he moved up to 141 lbs for the 2019-20 season and was more explosive and high-scoring than ever before. 5th Place: #7 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) This was the first year at Iowa for Austin DeSanto. In 2018, he made the NCAA bloodround for Drexel as a true freshman. DeSanto jumped levels coming to Iowa City and finished fourth at the Big Ten Championships to garner the seventh seed. The mercurial star announced his presence at Iowa with a title at the Midlands followed by wins over past NCAA finalists Ethan Lizak and Suriano in back-to-back duals. DeSanto would finish his career at Iowa with three trips to the podium (two thirds and this fifth place), along with Big Ten finals appearances in each of his final two seasons. Along with Lizak and Suriano, DeSanto boasts wins over NCAA finalists such as Micic, Roman Bravo-Young, Seth Gross, and Ridge Lovett. 6th Place: #8 John Erneste (Missouri) One of only two seniors from this group of All-Americans was John Erneste. Erneste was a typical wrestler that we’ve seen under head coach Brian Smith. He wasn’t touted as a “can’t miss” recruit, but got better every year in the Tiger wrestling room and finished his career in the middle of this meatgrinder of a weight class. Just to make the podium, Erneste won a back-and-forth match against the returning NCAA third-place finisher at this weight, Tariq Wilson. A match later, he’d defeat Roman Bravo-Young to clinch a top-six finish. Erneste was 90-26 for his career and claimed three MAC titles, qualified for nationals three times and made the bloodround in 2018. 7th Place: #6 Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) The other senior in this bunch was Ethan Lizak who moved up to 133 lbs for his final year with the Gophers. Lizak had already made the NCAA podium twice, losing in the 2017 NCAA finals to Darian Cruz and taking fourth a year later. During each of his All-American seasons, Lizak finished in the top three at the Big Ten championships; highlighted by a runner-up showing in 2018. In a weight class full of current/future freestyle stars and dynamic wrestlers from their feet, Lizak was a bit of a curveball, as he was excellent from the top position; hence the nickname “Backpack.” 8th Place: #10 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) The only freshman (true) from this awards stand was Roman Bravo-Young. We should have known that making it into the top eight with this kind of competition as a true freshman would foreshadow just how good RBY would become. During the 2019-20 season, Bravo-Young flipped the script on DeSanto and never lost to him again. He made the Big Ten finals for the first time and was set to have the fifth seed at the 2020 national tournament. After the pandemic, Bravo-Young emerged as a top guy at 133 lbs and put together a pair of undefeated seasons, beating Daton Fix in the 2021 and 2022 NCAA finals. He finished his collegiate career as a runner-up to Vito Arujau in 2023. The Bloodround: #4 Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh), #11 Tariq Wilson (NC State), #13 Austin Gomez (Iowa State), #31 Mason Pengilly (Stanford) Leading off our bloodround competitors is Micky Phillippi in his redshirt freshman year. When it was all said and done, Phillippi may go down as one of the best DI wrestlers ever to not make the podium. He was a four-time bloodround finisher, but did receive first-team All-American honors in 2020. Phillippi has a “who’s who” list of prominent All-Americans he defeated in his career, but he defeated these studs alone in 2018-19 (Lizak, Pletcher, Fix, Tariq Wilson, Korbin Myers, Austin Gomez). Wilson burst on the scene at the 2018 national tournament and finished third with some incredible matches along the way. After this season, Wilson would move up to 141 and then 149 for the 2021-22 campaign. He matched the 2018 third-place finish with another in 2021, then got on the podium for a third time in 2022 (7th). Oh yeah, Austin Gomez started his career at Iowa State and at 133 lbs. Gomez picked up a win over DeSanto this year in their heated dual meet. His career really took off after sitting out a year and transferring to Wisconsin, where he won a Big Ten title and finished fourth in the country in 2022. The end of the 2022-23 season was marred by injury; however, Gomez did put a stop to Yianni Diakomihalis’ 75-match winning streak. No offense to Mason Pengilly, but his name kind of stands out as unusual compared to the rest of the wrestlers in the bloodround and on the podium. Pengilly was a third-place finisher at the Pac-12 tournament and only had a 12-5 record entering his second NCAA tournament. After losing to Micic in the opening round, he grabbed wins over #18 Gary Wayne Harding (North Carolina) and #16 Matt Schmitt (West Virginia). To make the bloodround, he edged #24 DJ Fehlman (Lock Haven), 2-1. Other Notables: #9 Chas Tucker (Cornell), #12 Montorie Bridges (Wyoming), #14 Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech), #21 Cam Sykora (North Dakota State), #22 Noah Gonser (Campbell), #30 Dylan Duncan (Illinois), #32 Devan Turner (Oregon State) NCAA Finals: Nick Suriano (Rutgers) over Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) 4-2SV Third Place: Stevan Micic (Michigan) over Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) 6-1 Fifth Place: Austin DeSanto (Iowa) over John Erneste (Missouri) 11-6 Seventh Place: Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) over Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) 8-5 NCAA Semifinals Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) over Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) 4-2 Nick Suriano (Rutgers) over Stevan Micic (Michigan) 4-1 NCAA Quarterfinals Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) over John Erneste (Missouri) 11-3 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) over Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) 4-1 Nick Suriano (Rutgers) over Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) Fall 4:24 Stevan Micic (Michigan) over Austin DeSanto (Iowa) 3-2 NCAA Bloodround Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) dec Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) 4-3 John Erneste (Missouri) over Tariq Wilson (NC State) 9-7SV Austin DeSanto (Iowa) over Austin Gomez (Iowa State) 16-5 Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) over Mason Pengilly (Stanford) 14-2 Top-16 Seeds 1) Fix 2) Micic 3) Suriano 4) Phillippi 5) Pletcher 6) Lizak 7) DeSanto Erneste 9) Chas Tucker 10) Bravo-Young 11) Wilson 12) Montorie Bridges 13) Gomez 14) Korbin Myers 15) Ben Thornton 16) Matt Schmitt Conference Champions ACC: Phillippi Big 12: Fix Big Ten: Suriano EIWA: Tucker EWL: DJ Fehlman MAC: Erneste Pac-12: Sean Nickell SoCon: Codi Russell Fun Facts: - There are two NCAA champions in this bracket (Suriano, Bravo-Young). Both were two-time champs and combined for three undefeated seasons. - Five wrestlers from this bracket appeared in an NCAA final at least once in their careers. (Suriano, Fix, Micic, Lizak, Bravo-Young). This group combined for 11 finals appearances. - 14 wrestlers in this bracket got on the NCAA podium at least once in their careers (The eight AA’s, Wilson, Gomez, Montorie Bridges, Myers, Dylan Duncan, Devan Turner). - The 14 All-Americans combined to get on the podium 31 times. - The cancelled 2020 tournament. Chas Tucker and Phillippi were named first-team All-Americans in 2020. Cam Sykora and Noah Gonser are two others that never got on the podium but were named second-team AA’s that year, too. - Four wrestlers from this bracket earned the #1 seed at the NCAA tournament at one point or another during their careers. (Suriano, Fix, Pletcher, Bravo-Young). - The top-six wrestlers from the 2019 Big Ten Championships all made the NCAA podium that season (Suriano, Pletcher, Lizak, DeSanto, Bravo-Young, Micic). - This was the rare NCAA bracket where all top-eight seeds advanced to the quarterfinals. There was only one minor upset in the quarters as #5 Pletcher downed #4 Phillippi. - The only upset from the bloodround saw #10 Bravo-Young defeat #4 Phillippi. - The Round of 16 featured four matches between wrestlers that would go on to become All-Americans at some point in their careers. #5 Pletcher/#12 Bridges, #3 Suriano/#14 Myers, #6 Lizak/#11 Wilson, #7 DeSanto/#10 Bravo-Young. - Two wrestlers in the bracket have already won Senior-level world medals (Fix, Micic). As of now, they are the only two that have competed at the World Championships, though others in this group are still active. - The NCAA finalists were both ranked #2 overall in their respective high school graduating classes. Suriano (2016) and Fix (2017). Conclusion: This is an excellent weight class. Definitely one of the best of the last decade. It still pales in comparison to the fabled 2008 class (we should probably have a refresher on that one in the near future). The lack of NCAA titles, Hodge Trophy’s, and Senior level success separate that class from this one (though many are still active on the Senior level). There’s even an argument to be made that it’s not the best 133 lb bracket from the last 20 years. We may get into a couple of those. Ultimately, this was a remarkable Big Ten weight class; that may be where this bracket is best remembered. Six of the eight AA’s came from the B1G.

The 2023 recruiting class rankings were as unique as any I’ve ever done. With the transfer portal as prevalent and commonplace as it is, it made more of an impact this year compared to any. You’ll see that many of the top recruiting classes for this year also received a big boost from the portal. Overall, this was a two-horse race for the #1 spot, both of which could have made a compelling case to receive top billing. After that, there were plenty of deserving recruiting classes; probably six or seven others that deserved recognition amongst the top-25. Recruiting rankings mark the end of the respective class and put a bow on the hard work of coaching staffs around the nation. The question you ask is, how are these rankings tabulated? First, we have used the big board rankings courtesy of our sister-site MatScouts. Willie Saylor has taken the arduous task of projecting the top-200 wrestlers in the Class of 2023, making calculating these rankings slightly easier. Some of the factors that are taken into account when putting these rankings together include: - Numbers: Where were the signees ranked? How many top-ten, top-50, top-100, top-250, etc., does a school have? - Fit: After years of following these programs and their coaching staffs, does a particular recruit fit the "type" of kid that has success at their respective team. Or maybe a style of wrestling. - Filling a need: In years past, I have weighed this very heavily. Signing two highly ranked 184 lb prospects doesn't appear to fit a need when you have a stud junior returning at the same weight. However, after coming off a "free year" in 2021, that throws a loop into everything. At this time, we don't know whether everyone will actually use that extra year of eligibility. Compared to years past, this category doesn't factor in, as much, unless it's very evident that a team has a glaring logjam at a particular weight or weight range. - Impact on a program: This is subjective, but tends to favor teams that aren't consistent NCAA trophy contenders. If Iowa or Penn State sign the #80 overall recruit and he turns out to AA twice, taking seventh and eighth for them, it has a particular impact. But if Air Force or Drexel sign the same prospect and he has the same career, it will have a much more significant impact on those two programs. Both Air Force and Drexel may have benefitted from this criteria in 2023. So, with that out of the way, enjoy InterMat's 2023 Team Recruiting Rankings. 25 - tie) Drexel Recruits: #34 Jasiah Queen (St. John Vianney, NJ - 165/174 lbs), #72 Justin Griffith (Sanford, DE - 184 lbs), Billy Brosko (Haverford School, PA - 285 lbs), Trey Friedman (Lenape, NJ - 125 lbs), George Rhodes (Absegami, NJ - 197 lbs), Justin Soriano (Clarke, NY - 174 lbs) Transfers: Ibrahim Ameer (Cloud CC), Shane Whitney (Camden CC) Immediate Impact: The Dragons appear to have a vacancy at the 197 lb weight class. Luckily, 2023 NJCAA national runner-up Ibrahim Ameer should be able to fill in immediately. The St. Louis native does have two years of eligibility remaining plus a redshirt season. During the 2022-23 season, Ameer wrestled a 1-0 match against two-time DII national champion Dalton Abney. Recruiting Strategy: Head coach Matt Azevedo and the Drexel staff did well at retaining local talent. The bulk of the recruiting class hails from about an hour away from Drexel’s Philadelphia campus and that includes wrestlers from three different states (DE/NJ/PA). There’s enough talent within a couple hundred-mile radius from campus that the Dragon staff doesn’t have to venture far for DI-caliber wrestlers, if they choose. Overall: Drexel’s ranking largely stems from the recruiting ranking of Jasiah Queen and Justin Griffith. Queen was a two-time New Jersey state qualifier and state finalist as a senior, while Griffith captured three Delaware state titles. The late-blooming Queen capped his high school career with a title at NHSCA Senior Nationals. A year prior, Griffith made the finals at NHSCA Juniors. Depending on their weights, both could end up in the Dragon lineup in year one. The other recruit with big-time credentials is heavyweight Billy Brosko. The two-time National Prep finalist and three-time placewinner also earned All-American honors at NHSCA Juniors. Past Classes: 2022: NR 2021: NR 25 - tie) Wisconsin Recruits: #31 Zan Fugitt (Nixa, MO - 133 lbs), #82 Lucas Condon (Poway, CA - 174 lbs), #115 Dylan Russo (Olentangy Liberty, OH - 285 lbs), #126 Julian George (Christian Brothers, NJ - 141/149 lbs), Simon Kruse (St. Clair/Mankato Loyola, MN - 125 lbs), Royce Nilo (Milton, WI - 149 lbs) Transfers: Isaac Klarkowski (Rice - football), Shane Liegel (Loras), Max Maylor (Michigan), Luke Mechler (Oklahoma State) Immediate Impact: Graduate transfer Max Maylor has come back home to spend his final year of eligibility competing for the Badgers. He, Shane Liegel, and Luke Mechler are transfers that appear to be ready to step into the Wisconsin lineup next year. Maylor’s 2022-23 season was the best of his career and he nearly made the NCAA Tournament. Even so, Maylor scored wins over 2022 All-American Jackson Turley, 2022 national qualifier Dom Solis, and eventual qualifier Alex Cramer. With another year under his belt and a fresh set of training partners, Maylor could be making the trip to Kansas City. Recruiting Strategy: This will probably become (or already has) a staple for collegiate coaches going forward. Chris Bono and staff had some money left over late in the game and were able to land a pair of late transfers (Maylor and Mechler), along with Zan Fugitt and Dylan Russo, who flipped in late May after the coaching transition at Oklahoma. Overall: The late signings of Fugitt and Russo pushed the Badgers into the top-25. Fugitt is a three-time Super 32 placewinner who was third in UWW U20 Greco-Roman last month. He’s been good at the international styles, notably Greco, making the 2022 U17 World Team. The other former Sooner commit, Russo, was a Super 32 runner-up last fall and a fifth-place finisher in Fargo Junior freestyle a few months earlier. The second top-100 recruit, Lucas Condon, won a California state title in 2023 and placed into both styles at the Junior level in Fargo. The Badger staff continue to dip into New Jersey for talent with two-time top-three finisher Julian George. He could help in the effort to replace All-American and Big Ten champion Austin Gomez at 149 lbs. Keep an eye on the one transfer we haven’t mentioned in Isaac Klarkowski. The Wisconsin state placewinner is coming back home after placing football at Rice. We’d expect him to be physically capable, based on his football background, yet will have to work out the rust. Past Classes: 2022: #14 2021: #14 24) Pittsburgh Recruits: #18 Anthony Santaniello (Brick Memorial, NJ - 133 lbs), #105 Grant Mackay (Laurel, PA - 174 lbs), #140 Dylan Evans (Chartiers Valley, PA - 157/165 lbs), #183 Tyler Chappell (Seneca Valley, PA - 125 lbs), Daniel Gurovich (Camarillo, CA - 197 lbs) Transfer: Finn Solomon (NC State) Immediate Impact: The Pittsburgh staff hasn’t had to think about the 133 lb weight class lately as Micky Phillippi has been a mainstay at the weight since 2018-19. With Phillippi gone, late signee Anthony Santaniello could end up being the guy right away for Keith Gavin’s team. Aside from Santaniello, the Panthers don’t have a clear-cut starter at the weight. Recruiting Strategy: The Western Pennsylvania (WPIAL) area is the most talent-rich in the nation and for years (decades?) the Panthers were not able to fully benefit from their location. That’s changed under Gavin and continues this year with state champions Grant Mackay and Dylan Evans, along with Tyler Chappel. After solidifying their local recruiting base, the Panther staff can then go to other power states (California and New Jersey) and pluck recruits as they see fit. Overall: Like Wisconsin, a late addition formerly signed with Oklahoma propels the Panthers into the top-25. Santaniello was a four-time New Jersey state finalist and two-time champion which is remarkable in the single-class, power state. Not only were Mackay and Evans PA champs, but they also both placed at UWW U17 freestyle and the Super 32. Due to a couple of years of strong recruiting, both could redshirt in 2023-24. State placewinners Chappel and Daniel Gurovich will both provide depth at weights that could be considered a strength for Pitt in the upcoming season. Pittsburgh has lost some huge pieces over the last two years and will need to get production from their back-to-back ranked recruiting classes to replenish and keep up with the traditional ACC powers. Past Classes: 2022: #15 2021: NR 23) Air Force Recruits: #104 Jackson Dewald (Westwood, IA - 197 lbs), #107 Josh Palacio (North Bergen, NJ - 174 lbs), #127 Bryan Burburija (Countryside, FL - 184 lbs), #154 Soren Herzog (Simley, MN - 197/285 lbs), #188 Josh Cordio (Wyoming Seminary, PA/MA - 184 lbs), #198 Myles Johnson (Springboro, OH - 197 lbs), Mike Avelar (Sunnyside, AZ - 157/165 lbs), EJ Beloncik (Heritage Hall, OK - 157 lbs), Jake Doone (Nazareth, PA - 149 lbs), Ethan Freund (Kelso, WA - 149 lbs), Andrew Harmon (Bethlehem Catholic, PA - 165 lbs), Owen Heiser (Evansville, WI - 174/184 lbs), Jacob Jones (Rancho Bernardo, CA - 125 lbs), Nate King (Pine Creek, CO - 285 lbs), Trason Oehme (Brandon Valley, SD - 141 lbs), Colby Ryan (Gellis, AZ - 149/157 lbs), Jason Shaffer (Troy Christian, OH - 125 lbs) Immediate Impact: A large roster and the option of a prep school make it so that Air Force doesn’t necessarily “need” to get a boost from the 2023 Class already. Recruiting Strategy: Air Force has a massive recruiting class coming in, so there are plenty of different strategies you could say the Falcon staff employed. After casting a large net, there’s no real geographical link between their recruits. What stands out is the weights of the wrestlers from this class. Again, they hit every weight class, but if you look at the highest-ranked recruits, they all project at 174 or higher. Head Coach Sam Barber and his staff really placed an emphasis on getting talented big men. They have an incredibly talented heavyweight in Wyatt Hendrickson and with only a year of eligibility remaining, this would be the proper time to find his successor. Since the service academies are forced to get their recruiting classes secured earlier than most other schools, I’m interested to see a boost on the recruiting trail after Hendrickson’s exploits. Producing their first All-American in 20 years should raise the athletic profile of the Air Force program. Overall: There isn’t enough time and space to hit on all of the wrestlers from this recruiting class, but the key number is six, which is the number of top-200 recruits Coach Barber’s team has heading to Colorado Springs. This class has a pair of Super 32 placers (Bryan Burburija and Myles Johnson), an Ironman placer (Andrew Harmon), and three Fargo All-Americans. (Burburija, Soren Herzog, and Trason Oehme). The team’s highest-ranked recruit, Jackson Dewald, is a three-time Iowa 1A finalist and 2023 champion. There aren’t enough spots in the lineup for all of these recruits to make a significant impact on the mat; however, should a handful do so, it would certainly justify a ranking like this for Air Force and make their 2022-23 season a regular occurrence rather than an outlier. Past Classes: 2022: NR 2021: NR 22) North Dakota State Recruits: #99 Luke Barker (Dodge City, KS - 174 lbs), #132 Markell Rivera-Cain (Ironwood, AZ - 197 lbs), #139 Boeden Greenley (Lisbon, ND - 157/165 lbs), #156 Zane Licht (Lodi, WI - 165 lbs), #178 Adam Cherne (Wayzata, MN - 184 lbs), #187 Amantee Mills (Stone Mountain, GA - 133 lbs), Jesse Aarness (Billings West, MT - 149 lbs) Transfer: Devon Dawson (Pratt CC) Immediate Impact: With former head coach Roger Kish taking the Oklahoma head coaching post, it could open up a couple of holes in the NDSU lineup for the 2023-24 season. We’ve already seen last year’s starter at heavyweight, Juan Mora, indicate that he’ll follow Kish to Norman. That paves the way for two-time NJCAA All-American Devon Dawson to step in right away at 285 lbs. Dawson was third last year after making the national finals in 2022. Recruiting Strategy: Recruiting at home, along with neighboring Minnesota and Wisconsin has been a must for North Dakota State. That has been consistent with the 2023 class They’ve also done well at hitting some of the states that are underserved by DI wrestling (Kansas and Montana). Since Obe Blanc has taken the reins as head coach, I expect those points to continue. Going forward, it’ll be interesting to monitor if Hayden Hidlay (NC State via PA) can open any new recruiting doors. Overall: Blanc has to get credit for this recruiting class not falling apart after Kish left. It makes sense because Blanc was instrumental in the recruiting process. Amantee Mills, the lowest ranked of the six new Bison ranked in MatScouts top-200, finished his high school career as an NHSCA Senior National Champion. Top recruit, Luke Barker, won NHSCA’s as a junior. Home state product Boeden Greenley was a Fargo Junior freestyle AA last year and Zane Licht was fourth in UWW U17 freestyle last year. The transition from Kish to Blanc shouldn’t be as drastic as if there was a completely new face in Fargo. Having a deep class like this, should ensure that there’s plenty of talent in the room for Blanc to work with as he sets the foundation for his own program. Past Classes: 2022: NR 2021: #15 21) Lehigh Recruits: #75 Luke Stanich (Roxbury, NJ - 133 lbs), #76 Jared Schoppe (Delsea, NJ - 184 lbs), #116 Logan Wadle (North Hunterdon, NJ - 125 lbs), #124 Richie Grungo (St. Augustine, NJ - 141/149 lbs), #161 Matt Repos (Central Dauphin, PA - 157 lbs), Zeke Dubler (Glendale, PA - 165 lbs), Griffin Gonzalez (Lebanon, PA - 157 lbs), Justin Onello (Bergen Catholic, NJ - 174 lbs), Ethan Smith (Paramus Catholic, NJ - 125 lbs) Transfer: Hunter Mays (Rider) Immediate Impact: Barring injuries or some unforeseen circumstances, I don’t see Pat Santoro’s team “having” to rely on anyone from this class in year one. Of course, Lehigh has dealt with some of those situations the past few years, so I’m sure someone will see significant mat time in 2023-24. Recruiting Strategy: Despite being located in the heart of Pennsylvania’s fabled District XI, Lehigh is also extremely close to New Jersey. This year’s class is very heavy on New Jersey talent. Counting Rider transfer Hunter Mays, this class features four New Jersey state champions (Luke Stanich, Logan Wadle, Richie Grungo and Mays), along with a runner-up in Jared Schoppe. This has to be considered a win, especially when EIWA rivals Penn and Princeton have recruited New Jersey extremely well, of late. Overall: This is a really solid group. There’s not necessarily anyone who stands out as a bona fide superstar at the next level; at the same time, there are plenty of guys that can be productive collegiate wrestlers. I like the upside trajectory of some of the headliners in this class. Stanich and Grungo both made significant strides late in their high school careers. Last summer, Stanich put together a surprising Fargo Junior finals run in a loaded weight class. The Pennsylvania contingent is led by state finalist Matt Repos and features two-time state placers Zeke Dubler and Griffin Gonzalez. Pat Santoro’s teams typically have success with unheralded or underranked recruits, so it wouldn’t be shocking if someone outside of the top 200 goes on to win plenty of matches in the brown and white. Past Classes: 2022: #17 2021: NR 20) Penn Recruits: #40 Max Gallagher (Bayport-Blue Point, NY - 125/133 lbs), #96 Cross Wasilewski (Delbarton, NJ - 149/157 lbs), #174 Spencer Barnhart (Malvern Prep, PA - 141 lbs), #196 Reed Fullmer (Malvern Prep, PA - 157 lbs) Immediate Impact: Years of really solid recruiting have Penn in a position where they don’t need to rely on any Class of 2023 recruits right away. Now, they may end up being the best wrestler in the room and win a spot in the lineup based on merit. The highest-ranked of the bunch is Max Gallagher who should start his career at 125 lbs. A top-five finisher at the Ironman, Super 32, Fargo Junior freestyle, and NHSCA Junior’s, Gallagher could push incumbent Ryan Miller for the starting role. Recruiting Strategy: The Quakers have compiled back-to-back top-20 classes and three ranked in a row, so they have a good blueprint for how this recruiting game works. Being an Ivy League institution, Penn has to consider plenty of other factors outside of the wrestling room. The Penn staff has identified a group of high school programs that prepare student-athletes for the rigors of an Ivy League education, along with high-level wrestlers and tend to hit those programs frequently. Malvern Prep has a pair of recruits in the 2023 class and fits this bill, as does Delbarton. They’ve done this in the past with multiple wrestlers from Blair Academy and St. Ed’s. Overall: Past recruiting classes have been huge in numbers. This one, not so much. That’s not a bad thing as Penn can unveil a lineup that features six returning national qualifiers. Getting a pair of top-100 recruits and two others listed in the top 200 is a good haul for a team that’s smaller than those of the past. In Gallagher, the Quakers are getting a recruit that’s really vaulted up the rankings during his final season. The Malvern Prep pair, Spencer Barnhart and Reed Fullmer, were both National Prep runners-up as seniors. Fullmer had the misfortune of competing against one of the top pound-for-pound wrestlers in the nation. In regular season action, both have a top-four finish at the Ironman under their belts, while Cross Wasilewski was a Beast of the East runner-up and was third in New Jersey in each of his last two years. Past Classes: 2022: #18 2021: #23 19) Bucknell Recruits: #65 Myles Takats (Perrysburg, OH - 174 lbs), #78 Aiden Davis (Dundee, MI - 149 lbs), #109 Noah Mulvaney (Arrowhead, WI - 197 lbs), #160 Ethan Lebin (Hempfield, PA - 141 lbs), Owen Bell (Hereford, MD - 125/133 lbs), Kade Davidheiser (The Hill School, PA - 133 lbs), Dylan McCullough - River Hill, MD - 174 lbs), Hunter Sloan (The Hill School, PA - 141/149 lbs), Cade Wirnsberger (Meadowbrook Christian, PA - 149 lbs) Immediate Impact: Though not Ivy League, Bucknell is a program that doesn’t use redshirts, so you can count on wrestlers from this class seeing significant mat time in 2023-24. A few are likely to end up in the postseason lineup. The most obvious is the Bison’s highest-ranked recruit Myles Takats. The Ohio State champion and Ironman third-place finisher rose significantly over the course of his senior year and could be ready to win the 174 lb slot. Bucknell lost a pair of seniors at that weight, so should be up-for-grabs. Recruiting Strategy: The Bison staff turned to an old friend and colleague David Hoffman, head coach at Pennsylvania’s The Hill School for a pair of quality recruits. Both of his pupils, Kade Davidheiser and Hunter Sloan are 2023 National Prep placewinners. Aside from that, I like how Bucknell’s top-three recruits, all of whom are from out-of-state, come from high schools that are traditional powers. They’ll come to Lewisburg already having high-quality coaching and should only need some fine-tuning before competing against the EIWA. Overall: There’s a lot to like about Bucknell inking a pair of top-100 recruits and four of the top 160. Takats, Aiden Davis, and Noah Mulvaney were all state champions in 2023, Mulvaney may end up as the best of the bunch. He had an excellent showing at UWW U20 Nationals, taking sixth place at 79 kg. Aside from the Pennsylvania prep recruits, they also have fourth-place finisher Ethan Lebin and state runner-up Cade Wirnsberger in the fold. Yes, that’s a familiar last name for Bison fans and he finished his high school career with a Senior National title. Once March rolls around, it wouldn’t be that surprising to see three of four of these recruits in the Bison lineup and not because of necessity, but because they are talented. This class could be a sign of positive things to come in the future, as well. We can’t look ahead too far, but the Class of 2024 is shaking out to be very good, as well. Past Classes: 2022: NR 2021: NR 18) NC State Recruits: #24 Koy Buesgens (New Prague, MN - 149 lbs), #50 Vince Robinson (Marian Catholic, IL - 133 lbs), Jackson Baglio (Central Cabarrus, NC - 133 lbs), Josh Boykin (Lake Highland Prep, FL - 165/174 lbs), Matt Karagias (Stuart Cramer, NC - 157/165 lbs), Tyler Tracy (Cardinal Gibbons, NC - 149 lbs) Immediate Impact: A stacked lineup returning means that head coach Pat Popolizio doesn’t have to rush anyone from the Class of 2023 into the mix next fall. That being said, should they choose to let Jackson Arrington, a Round of 12 finisher as a true freshman, take a redshirt, Koy Buesgens should be able to manage just fine. Buesgens was a top-three finisher at the Super 32 in each of the last two seasons and capped off his high school career with a perfect senior season and a third state title. Recruiting Strategy: NC State has had some massive classes in recent years. This one is much smaller and without quite as many ranked recruits. At some point, you have to have a small class or two to make things work financially. Overall: Despite having a smaller recruiting class, the Wolfpack did sign a pair of top-25 recruits in Buesgens and Vince Robinson. A two-time Ironman placer and 2021 champion, Robinson has some great national-level credentials. Before his junior year in high school, Robinson was top-five in Fargo Junior freestyle and at the Super 32. Even with a history of highly-ranked recruits, NC State has had success with some of the more unheralded in-state signees. Mike Macchiavello, Malik McDonald, Tyrie Houghton, and Alex Faison certainly fit that bill. Could Jackson Baglio, Matt Karagias, or Tyler Tracy add their name to the list? As seniors, Matt Karagias and Tyler Tracy were state champions, while Jackson Baglio was a finalist. Past Classes: 2022: #3 2021: #5 17) Army West Point Recruits: #43 Cooper Haase (Osceola, FL - 157 lbs), #119 Andrew Christie (Bishop McDevitt, PA - 174 lbs), #120 Sam Sorenson (Homer, NY - 285 lbs), #162 Joel Brown (Landon, MD - 141 lbs), #164 Tommy Link (Malvern Prep, PA - 133 lbs), #181 Conor Collins (Southern Regional, NJ - 141 lbs), #184 Taythan Silva (Aurora Christian, IL - 165 lbs), #190 Brady Colbert (Paul VI, VA - 285 lbs), David Barrett (Northfield Mt. Hermon, MA - 184 lbs), Jake Gilfoil (Bishop McDevitt, PA - 184/197 lbs), Tristen Hitchcock (Warrensburg/Lake George, NY - 285 lbs), Chris Murphy (Green Farms, CT - 285 lbs), Reid Schroeder (Southridge, IN - 197 lbs), Luke Sirianni (Abington Heights, PA - 125 lbs), Caleb Uhorchuk (Signal Mountain, TN - 133 lbs) Immediate Impact: Once again, a huge roster, a prep school and plenty of returners make it uncertain whether or not anyone from this class will make a huge impact in 2023-24. Army West Point lost their 184 lb starter to graduation, so maybe a David Barrett or Jake Gilfoil works their way into the lineup (provided they go directly to West Point). Recruiting Strategy: Between associate head coach Scott Green’s history coaching at the National Prep level and the structure and high-quality education that private schools provide, it’s no surprise that Army leans heavily on recruiting those student-athletes. Barrett, Joel Brown, Tommy Link, and Chris Murphy were all National Prep third-place finishers in 2023. Brady Colbert was fifth. Overall: Head Coach Kevin Ward’s team continues to stack large, talented recruiting classes on top of each other. The Black Knights have been a part of InterMat’s recruiting rankings in each of the last three seasons. This year’s crop featured eight top-200 recruits. The highest ranked of the bunch is Cooper Haase, a four-time Florida state champion that was NHSCA Junior’s last season before finishing fourth at the Super 32. Past Classes: 2022: #23 2021: #24 16) Wyoming Recruits: #55 Joey Novak (New Prague, MN - 197 lbs), #71 Sloan Swan (Buchanan, CA - 174 lbs), #95 Riley Davis (Amarillo, TX - 184 lbs), #135 Brayden Sonnentag (Cadott, WI - 133/141 lbs), #150 Cole Brooks (Collinsville, OK - 149/157 lbs), Lane Catlin (Thunder Basin, WY - 285 lbs), Hudson Davis (Newberg, OR - 197 lbs), Winston McBride (Valor, CO - 285 lbs), Austin Richens (Uintah, UT - 197/285 lbs), Paolo Salminen (Skyview, MT - 174 lbs) Transfers: Cooper Birdwell (Oklahoma State), Ethan Ducca (Edinboro), Stockton O’Brien (Utah Valley), David Saenz (Mt. San Antonio CC), Gabe Willochell (Edinboro) Immediate Impact: The Cowboys have a large group of transfers coming in so you can bet that a few of them will work their way into the lineup in the earlygoing. 2022 national qualifiers Gabe Willochell could be the most likely of the crew. During his national qualifying season, Willochell scored wins over the eventual EIWA champion Matt Kazimir, redshirting freshman Lachlan McNeil, Iowa State’s Zach Redding, and Central Michigan standout Dresden Simon. Willochell is one of two transfers that took the unusual path from northwest Pennsylvania to Laramie this offseason (Ethan Ducca, also). Recruiting Strategy: Wyoming has really taken advantage of an “in” with Minnesota as that’s where top-recruit Joey Novak calls home. Last year, the Cowboys plucked U20 world champion Jore Volk and Quayin Short from the “Land of 10,000 Lakes.” With Wyoming lacking a giant in-state recruiting base to take advantage of, head coach Mark Branch and staff have had to develop pipelines to other states. Minnesota being one, California, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and Colorado are others that they’ve used often and again in 2023. Overall: Wyoming seemed to come out of nowhere and signed the #13 class last year. Instead of it being an aberration, that class may have been the first of many. The Minnesota state champion, Novak, was fifth at the Super 32 before his senior season. Perhaps a recruit that’s already outwrestling his ranking is #150 Cole Brooks. At UWW U20’s, Brooks finished fourth with an 8-2 record. Brooks defeated a pair of 2023 EIWA finalists, including the champion Vince Cornella, a U20 world team member in 2022 and the first wrestler to defeat Brooks in the tournament. Interestingly enough, a pair of Wyoming’s unranked signees, Lane Catlin (7th) and Austin Richens (3rd) shined with All-American performances at Senior Nationals. The Cowboys are coming off an uncharacteristically rough season where they finished 1-10 in dual competition. The 2023 class will provide some immediate help, in the form of transfers and perhaps Novak and/or Brooks, but also long-term promise with three top-100 recruits and five in the top-200. Past Classes: 2022: #13 2021: NR 15) Oregon State Recruits: #56 Justin Rademacher (West Linn, OR - 184 lbs), #62 TJ McDonnell (Fountain Valley, CA - 184 lbs), #84 Aden Attao (Borah, ID - 285 lbs), #103 Vaun Halstead (Thurston, OR - 197 lbs), #123 Sergio Montoya (Clovis, CA - 174/184 lbs), #142 DJ Gillette (Crescent Valley, OR - 141 lbs), #185 Dagen Condomitti (Northampton, PA - 157 lbs), McKinley Robbins (Greene County, IA - 141 lbs), Cade White (Meridian, ID - 165 lbs) Transfer: Victor Jacinto (Clackamas CC), Boone McDermott (Rutgers), Brett Mower (Iowa Western CC), Steele Starren (Clackamas CC) Immediate Impact: Though they generally will be a veteran-laden bunch in 2023-24, Oregon State will likely have a few opportunities for new faces to contribute immediately. 174 and 197 lbs are both losing NCAA qualifiers, while 149 was a weight the Beavers didn’t qualify for NCAA’s last year. Clackamas transfer Victor Jacinto could be someone who brings stability to the 149 lb weight class for Chris Pendleton’s team. Jacinto was an NJCAA third-place finisher in 2022. Late addition, Boone McDermott should step in right away at heavyweight and will build off his 2023 appearance at the NCAA Tournament. Recruiting Strategy: Since Pendleton took over in March of 2020, the recruiting strategy has appeared to be in-state kids, California, and surrounding states without DI programs. That trend has continued in 2023 with a handful of homegrown talent, a dash of California, and a couple of prospects from Idaho. Just for good measure, the Beaver staff ventured out to some traditional powers (Iowa and Pennsylvania) for a couple of signings. With so many potential recruits out there, it’s great to establish an area or region as your own and OSU has taken those steps. With a 174 and 197 departing and a heavyweight coming into his final year of eligibility, it’s obvious the Beaver staff felt the need to target the upperweights. They’ll get at least five new faces at 174 or higher. Overall: The wrestler in this group with the longest list of credentials is heavyweight Aden Attao. A double Fargo Junior champion and a U20 World bronze medalist in Greco, Attao is the highest-ranked “wrestling only” 285 lber in the Class of 2023. Justin Rademacher, Vaun Halstead, DJ Gillett, and Cade White all finished their high school careers on top of the podium in Oregon. TJ McDonnell was a California state champion and a placewinner at NHSCA Juniors, Fargo Juniors, and the Super 32. Oregon State is ranked in its current spot because of the sheer numbers of the class. They don’t appear to have a sure-fire superstar of the group, but a handful of solid contributors. Since Pendleton and the new staff arrived in Corvallis, Oregon State has established itself as a key player in the recruiting game. There’s no reason to expect any difference going forward. Past Classes: 2022: #22 2021: NR 14) Minnesota Recruits: #15 Max McEnelly (Waconia, MN - 184 lbs), #20 Gavin Nelson (Simley, MN - 197 lbs), #143 Ethan Riddle (Germantown, WI - 174 lbs), Rhett Koenig (Prairie du Chien, WI - 141 lbs), Kyler Wong (Wayzata, MN - 157/165 lbs) Immediate Impact: There isn’t necessarily a clear path for anyone in the Class of 2023 to start immediately; however, Gavin Nelson could force his way into the lineup at 197 lbs. Nelson is a huge prospect at a tough-to-fill weight. In April’s UWW Junior Open, Nelson finished fourth in a weight class that was largely comprised of collegiate talent. In 2021, Nelson won UWW U17’s and was a match shy of medaling at world’s. Few 197 lb prospects can jump in and compete in the Big Ten right away, but Nelson could be one of those select few. Recruiting Strategy: For decades, Minnesota has been regarded as heavyweight U. This recruiting class didn’t necessarily address 285 lbs, but Brandon Eggum and staff did retool the upperweights. In Nelson, Ethan Riddle (174) and Max McEnelly (184), the Gophers have the foundation for a stacked group of big men, along with a heavyweight prospect in the Class of 2024. This class is also typical for Minnesota as it largely consists of wrestlers from in-state as well as Wisconsin, another usual spot for the staff to hit. Overall: This class is an excellent example of “quality over quantity.” A pair of top-20 prospects typically provides more impact than five recruits ranked between #100-150. The highest-ranked of the bunch is McEnelly who was a finalist at the U20 Open at 86 kg. Like Nelson, McEnelly also made a U17 World Team (2022), however, he was able to come away with a bronze medal. Ethen Riddle also placed at the U20 Open, grabbing eighth-place at 79 kg. He and Rhett Koenig were also Wisconsin state champions in 2023. In-state product Kyler Wong was a three-time Minnesota state medalist that didn’t compete in the postseason as a season due to injury. Past Classes: 2022: HM 2021: #7 13) Purdue Recruits: #17 Joey Blaze (Perrysburg, OH - 157/165 lbs), #29 Greyson Clark (Kaukauna, WI - 141 lbs), #118 Orlando Cruz (Crown Point, IN - 184 lbs), #177 Ashton Jackson (Laporte, IN - 125 lbs), Dominic Burgett (Hamilton Southeastern, IN - 285 lbs), Cooper Rider (Liberty, MO - 125/133 lbs), Delaney Ruhlman (Bloomington South, IN - 174 lbs), Cole Solomey (Kankakee Valley, IN - 141 lbs) Transfers: Joey Milano (NC State), Marcos Polanco (Minnesota), James Rowley (Wisconsin) Immediate Impact: This class should be very impactful in year one for head coach Tony Ersland. For most of Ersland’s tenure, Purdue has been stronger as a dual team than in tournaments. That flipped in 2022-23. Getting three plug-and-play transfers should help the Boilermakers trend toward strength in both duals and tournaments. Marcos Polanco is a past national qualifier and should hold down 149 lbs for Purdue. James Rowley and Joey Milano were both top-100 recruits (in the upper third) that can slot in at 174 and 184 lbs, respectively. Rowley was a U17 World silver medalist in freestyle who redshirted in 2022-23 for Wisconsin. Milano amassed a 30-10 record for NC State redshirting and sitting behind Trent Hidlay. We haven’t even gotten to the possibility of top recruit Joey Blaze getting the call in year one. Purdue likely will have a need at 157 lbs and the Super 32 champion and three-time Ohio State champion wrapped up his high school career at 160 lbs. Recruiting Strategy: Purdue really went in heavy on the portal this offseason. That typically hasn’t been a normal method of operation for the Boilermakers; however, this is how collegiate athletics is trending. From the high school recruits standpoint, Purdue has followed a usual blueprint for obtaining talent. They’ve locked in some of the better in-state recruits and cherry-picked some high-profile signees from Big Ten country (Ohio/Wisconsin). Overall: This class should be very impactful for Purdue. The transfers will help the Boilermakers compete immediately. Milano and Rowley have three and four years of eligibility remaining, respectively, so they’re not a short-term fix either. Not only have the signings of Blaze and Greyson Clark provided talent for the Class of 2023, but they also seem to have opened the door for high-caliber wrestlers in the Class of 2024 to commit. Clark is a four-time Wisconsin state champion who placed at the Super 32 twice and three times in Fargo. He originally committed to Wisconsin, but flipped to Purdue. Two of the in-state recruits, Orlando Cruz and Ashton Jackson, were state champions in Indiana’s one-class tournament. Cruz was also an Ironman fifth-place finisher, while Jackson claimed Indiana titles as a sophomore and Junior. Past Classes: 2022: NR 2021: #20 12) Princeton Recruits: #12 Marc-Anthony McGowan (Blair Academy, NJ - 125/133 lbs), #72 Eligh Rivera (Lake Highland Prep, FL - 141 lbs), #80 Holden Garcia (Notre Dame-Green Pond, PA - 174/184 lbs), #83 Tyler Vasquez (Delbarton, NJ - 141 lbs), #111 Drew Heethuis (Detroit Central Catholic, MI - 133 lbs), #137 Zander Silva (Christian Brothers, NJ - 157 lbs), Joe Davi (Delbarton, NJ - 141/149 lbs), Anthony Moscatello (Mt. Olive, NJ - 285 lbs), Cody Tavoso (Hinsdale Central, IL - 141 lbs) Immediate Impact: The last time we saw Princeton in action, 125 lber Patrick Glory captured the school’s first national title in 71 years. Glory ended his career at Princeton as a two-time finalist, one-time champion and leaves a huge void at 125 lbs. Hopefully, top-recruit Marc-Anthony McGowan can step in and start a remarkable career of his own. McGowan, a 2019 Cadet World Champion, won three National Prep titles for prep power Blair Academy and was a three-time finalist at the Ironman (two titles). Though Glory’s shadow will loom large, McGowan is as good of a prospect as possible to step in and compete immediately for the Tigers. Recruiting Strategy: Princeton has done well with recruiting Pennsylvania’s District XI and in New Jersey. That proved to be the case again in 2023 with McGowan, two Delbarton kids, Christian Brothers and Mt. Olive from New Jersey and Holden Garcia from that section of PA. Despite having a huge national footprint, two of the best wrestlers during Chris Ayres’ time in Princeton have been from Blair Academy (Matt Kolodzik) and Delbarton (Glory). You also have to like getting a blue-chip recruit at 125 lbs to take over for Glory immediately. Overall: In addition to McGowan, Lake Highland Prep’s Eligh Rivera was also a National Prep champion in 2023. Rivera started his senior year off with a fifth-place showing at the Ironman marking the second time he’s placed at that event. Two-time Pennsylvania state finalist, Garcia, had top-four finishes at the Ironman and Beast during his senior year. Two middle weight additions, Tyler Vasquez and Zander Silva, made the New Jersey state finals in 2023, with Vazquez capturing his second title. The Princeton staff was able to get into Michigan and pried away three-time state champion Drew Heethuis from perennial power Detroit Central Catholic. With the loss of Glory and fellow NCAA finalist Quincy Monday, Princeton needed a big recruiting class in 2023. This one should deliver and help keep the Tigers in the hunt for the crown in an increasingly tough Ivy League (and EIWA). Past Classes: 2022: #20 2021: NR 11) Illinois Recruits: #10 Kannon Webster (Washington, IL - 149 lbs), #30 Braeden Scoles (Kewaskum, WI - 174 lbs), #60 Will Baysingar (Prospect, IL - 141 lbs), #113 Chris Moore (McHenry, IL - 165 lbs), #179 Logan Swaw (Lockport, IL - 165/174 lbs), #180 Brandon Morvari (Simley, MN - 125 lbs), Hudson Goebel (Findlay, OH - 133 lbs), Peter Marinopoulos (Marist, IL - 197 lbs) Transfer: Charlie Heydorn (Ohio), Tony Madrigal (Oklahoma) Immediate Impact: 149 lbs has been a thorn in Illinois’ side for a long time. The Illini have only had three national qualifiers at the weight since 2013 and have gone without an All-American at 149 since 2001, when Adam Tirapelle won a national title. Kannon Webster looks like the long-term solution at the weight, but is he right away? Judging by his performance at UWW U20’s, maybe. Webster teched his way to the quarters, then downed All-American Jesse Mendez to make the finals. He solidified himself as a top-ten recruit by placing top-three in Fargo on six occasions, including Junior titles in both styles, along with two Ironman finals appearances (won as a senior). The late addition of Tony Madrigal gives Illinois some flexibility and options in the 133/141 range. Recruiting Strategy: When Mike Poeta assumed the reins as head coach of the Illini, most thought he would be successful if he kept the best Illinois kids at home. His first major recruiting win was getting an early verbal from Webster. Poeta proceeded to get some of the best from the Land of Lincoln by signing Will Baysingar, Chris Moore, and Logan Swaw, all top-200 recruits. That’s a great start. Something unusual for Illinois was getting top-flight recruits from both Minnesota and Wisconsin, which they did with #180 Brandon Morvari and #30 Braeden Scoles, respectively. If Poeta’s staff can take care of business at home, then cherry-pick top talent from those Big Ten rivals, you’ll continue to see the Illini in these rankings. Overall: It’s the first recruiting class ranking for Poeta as a head coach. Their in-state contingent combined to make five Illinois state finals and came away with two titles (Webster, Chris Moore). After Webster, Scoles was the highest-ranked of this class. He earned a top-30 billing after a pair of consolation finals appearances in Fargo’s Junior freestyle division. In 2021, Scoles was fourth in UWW U17 freestyle. Morvari also has a pair of All-American finishes in Junior freestyle, though his came at 106 and 113 lbs. We’ll have to see if Poeta and crew can continue to build a proverbial fence around Illinois and keep some of the top prospects at home. Should he do that, this could be a class that helps Illinois rise up the always-competitve Big Ten (and national) standings. Past Classes: 2022: NR 2021: NR 10) Iowa State Recruits: #27 Tate Naaktgeboren (Linn-Marr, IA - 184 lbs), #88 McCrae Hagarty (Waverly-Shell Rock, IA - 197 lbs), Cody Chittum (Tennessee - 157 lbs), Blake Giomio (Cedar Rapids Prairie, IA - 125/133 lbs), Thomas Freking (Jackson County Central, MN - 141 lbs), Colby Runner (Severance, CO - 174/184 lbs), Logan Stotts (Waukee NW, IA - 165 lbs) Transfers: Will Feldkamp (Clarion), Garrett Grice (Virginia) Immediate Impact: Talk about immediate impact, this class has a lot of it! The latest addition was 2023 All-American Will Feldkamp. The NCAA seventh-place finisher at 184 lbs will be able to contribute at either that weight or 197 lbs. The Cyclones two-time All-American at 184 lbs, Marcus Coleman, has exhausted his eligibility, while 197 lb AA Yonger Bastida looks to move to heavyweight. Iowa State also had the recent signing of Cody Chittum. Before reclassifying and moving to Iowa City, Chittum was once considered the top prospect in the Class of 2023. Technically, he doesn’t have the ranking, but we’re still considering his immense talent. Last summer, Chittum captured a stop sign in Fargo by winning the Junior freestyle national championship at 152 lbs. He moved up a weight for Greco and was third. Iowa State returns starter Jason Kraisser at 157 lbs; however, Chittum may force his way into the lineup. The third big transfer for the Cyclones is redshirt freshman Garrett Grice formerly of Virginia. Grice had a sparkling 13-2 redshirt campaign highlighted by a fall over eventual qualifier Brendan Ferretti of Navy. Though there’s plenty of talent in the 133/141 range for Iowa State, Grice will be in the mix. Recruiting Strategy: Iowa State tends to recruit more on a national basis than strictly in-state, but the bulk of the incoming freshmen are from Iowa. As mentioned above, the Cyclones look to have some potential holes at 184 and 197 lbs. Feldkamp is only a one-year plug, so they did need more help at both weights. The staff foresaw this and signed Tate Naaktgeboren and McCrae Hagarty to fill both weights. Overall: The Cyclones had the #2 overall recruiting class last year. They’ll need another strong crop in 2023 to finally break into the top-ten at nationals and rise to NCAA trophy-level. Both Naaktgeboren and Hagarty are two-time Iowa state champions that ended their high school careers on a semi-sour note (not on the top of the podium). Naaktgeboren was a Super 32 finalist and recently seventh at UWW U20’s. Hagarty finished third in both styles in Fargo at the 16U level and matched that placement at UWW U17’s last year. The rest of the recruiting class features two-time Iowa state finalist Blake Gioimo, Iowa fifth-place finisher Logan Stotts, Minnesota champion Thomas Freking, and two-time Colorado champion Colby Runner. Past Classes: 2022: #2 2021: #16 9) Virginia Tech Recruits: #13 Jim Mullen (St. Joseph’s, NJ - 285 lbs), #42 Sonny Sasso (Nazareth, PA - 197 lbs), #47 Rafael Hipolito (Independence, VA - 165/174 lbs), #49 Mac Church (Waynesburg, PA - 149 lbs), #85 Hunter Mason (Greeneville, TN - 141/149 lbs), #157 Logan Frazier (Crown Point, IN - 133 lbs), Chris Bacchioni (Bergen Catholic, NJ - 149/157 lbs), Jack Bastarrika (Mt. Olive, NJ - 133 lbs), Donovan Chavis (St. Peters, NJ - 133/141 lbs) Immediate Impact: Last year, the Hokie received an incredible boost from their freshmen class. Two wrestlers from the Class of 2022 started immediately and one earned All-American honors. This, combined with only one starter leaving, has Virginia Tech in a position to redshirt their entire freshman class, if they choose. If Mac Church or Hunter Mason is ready at 141 lbs, they may go and let Tom Crook redshirt. Recruiting Strategy: If you would have had a stud from Ohio mixed in, this would have been the exact formula for a typical Virginia Tech recruiting class. Tony Robie’s team tends to get the top-100 recruits from in-state, along with high-quality kids from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, and “the South.” Crook and Caleb Henson fit the bill last year, coming from Florida and Georgia, respectively, this time they sign Hunter Mason of Tennessee. Overall: Virginia Tech really made strides to solidify their upperweights with their top-two recruits. Like Iowa, the Hokies have a heavyweight prospect that is also supposed to play football, so it’s difficult to gauge Jim Mullen’s potential impact. Mullen was a three-time New Jersey state champion and the main factor that prevented him from winning four was having to choose between the state tournament and U17 worlds in 2021. Mullen likely made the correct choice as he claimed a silver medal in freestyle and was fifth in Greco. The other big man coming to Blacksburg is two-time Pennsylvania state champion Sonny Sasso. The younger brother of the Ohio State superstar, Sammy, Sonny was a 16U national finalist in freestyle during the summer of 2021. Virginia Tech also has a pair of high-quality middleweights joining the fold in Church and Mason. Church was a three-time Ironman finalist and four-time Super 32 champion, in addition to winning a pair of titles in PA. Mason was a Junior freestyle AA (7th) in Fargo and placed top-three at the Super 32 on three occasions. Aside from Mullen, the recruit in this group with the highest ceiling could be Rafael Hipolito. Initially a judo player, HIpolito picked up the sport late, yet won NHSCA Nationals as a Junior and Senior. Last summer, he was fourth in Fargo in Junior freestyle. Virginia Tech will lose some highly decorated seniors following the 2023-24 season; however, this class and great recruiting efforts of the recent past will make it so that the Hokies continue to be a top-ten team and even can challenge for another team trophy. Past Classes: 2022: #7 2021: #22 Stanford Recruits: #36 Lorenzo Norman (Blair Academy, NJ - 174/184 lbs), #37 Tyler Knox (St. John’s Prep, MA - 133 lbs), #39 Zach Hanson (Lakeville, MN - 157 lbs), #67 Tye Monteiro (Bakersfield, CA - 197 lbs), #90 Jacob Joyce (Ponaganset, RI - 125 lbs), #134 Abe Wojcikiewicz (Bethalto, IL - 174/184 lbs), #197 Thor Michaelson (Bremerton, WA - 184 lbs), Jackson Mankowski (LaFollette, WI - 285 lbs) Transfer: Dom Lajoie (Cornell) Immediate Impact: With three-time national qualifier Tyler Eischens in the transfer portal, it looks as if one of the true freshmen could be thrust into the Cardinal lineup in 2023-24. That could be either Lorenzo Norman or Abe Wojcikiewicz. Norman was a two-time National Prep champion for Blair Academy and a two-time finalist at the Ironman. Wojcikiewicz won an Illinois state title after finishing third the previous season. Before his senior season, Wojcikiewicz was sixth at the Super 32. With the new redshirt rules, both may see time in the Cardinal lineup during the earlygoing. Recruiting Strategy: The Cardinal staff really went after the 174-197 lb range with this class. There are four wrestlers in this group that are ranked among the top-200 seniors and fit in that range. In addition to Norman and Wojcikiewicz, Stanford also brings in Tye Monteiro and Thor Michaelson. With a true sophomore at 157 and a redshirt freshman at 165, the back half of the Cardinal lineup looks promising for the next few seasons. Overall: The Cardinal have an impressive group of non-upperweights in the fold, as well. The top lightweight in this group is Tyler Knox, a Beast of the East champion, and a winner at NHSCA Junior and Senior Nationals. Knox is likely a 133 lber, while New England champ Jacob Joyce could help out at 125 lbs. Joyce was a Super 32 placer before his senior season. The first wrestler from this class to commit was Zach Hanson, a 16U double national champion in Fargo and a placer in both styles at the Junior level. Hanson finished with Minnesota state titles in each of his final two seasons. In two full years of recruiting classes under Rob Koll, Stanford has landed in the top-ten both times. Their Class of 2024 might be the deepest, too. Koll and the Cardinal staff’s efforts on the recruiting trail could turn Stanford into a consistent national power sooner rather than later. Past Classes: 2022: #5 2021: NR 7) Nebraska Recruits: #41 Ethan Stiles (Conant, IL - 165 lbs), #44 Camden McDanel (Teays Valley, OH - 197 lbs), #52 Weston Dalton (Pueblo East, CO - 157 lbs), #66 Alan Koehler (Prior Lake, MN - 125/133 lbs), #79 Kael Lauridsen (Bennington, NE - 133 lbs), #94 Christopher Minto (Mariner, FL - 165 lbs), #114 Matthew Moore (Mesa Ridge, CO - 285 lbs), Drew Cooper (Skutt Catholic, NE - 133/141 lbs), Ethan DeLeon (Bishop Heelan, IA - 174 lbs), Tanner Frothinger (Eagle, ID - 141 lbs), Dom Thebeau (Belleville East, IL - 197 lbs) Transfer: Caleb Smith (Appalachian State) Immediate Impact: 2023 All-American Liam Cronin is out of eligibility so it appeared the Cornhuskers would have a hole at 125 lbs. Rather than turn to a true freshman, Nebraska picked up Appalachian State transfer Caleb Smith. Smith is a two-time national qualifier and earned the fifth seed in Tulsa after capturing his first SoCon title. In Vegas, at the CKLV Invitational, Smith actually majored Cronin last December. Nebraska goes from having a problematic weight to it being a strength with Smith’s addition. Recruiting Strategy: Nebraska (as a high school state) doesn’t typically churn out many top recruits, so it’s important for the Cornhuskers to sign those types of recruits when they come along. Last year, they did that with Antrell Taylor and in 2023 it happened again with Kael Lauridsen. The Nebraska staff also looked to some familiar states for signees. They got a top-50 recruit from Illinois (Ethan Stiles), two Big Boarder’s from Colorado (Weston Dalton and Matthew Moore) and another stud from Minnesota (Alan Koehler). Overall: Nebraska signed a huge class with seven Big Boarder’s six of whom were ranked in the top-100. The class contains a lot of really solid prospects, but no “sure-thing’s” which is evident by the fact that Stiles is the highest-ranked recruit at #41. Stiles leads the way after an Ironman title and a fifth-place showing last summer in Fargo’s Junior freestyle tournament. The other top-50 recruit in the class is 2023 U20 freestyle World Team member Camden McDanel. A year ago, McDanel was a runner-up at the U17 Trials. The rest of this group features a pair of top-five Junior freestyle All-Americans in Alan Koehler and Kael Lauridsen, two top-four finishers from the Ironman (Dalton and Moore), Frothinger was also a double AA at the Cadet WTT’s in 2021. All-in-all, Nebraska is getting a lot of help in the middleweights, which is somewhere where depth is always needed. When it’s all said and done, getting two top prospects at the two biggest weights (McDanel and Moore) could end up being where this class makes its mark. We’ll have to see how eligibility works out at 197 as Big Ten champion Silas Allred still has three years remaining. Past Classes: 2022: #8 2021: #13 6) Iowa Recruits: #6 Ben Kueter (City High, IA - 285 lbs), #19 Gabe Arnold (City High, IA - 174 lbs), #26 Ryder Block (Waverly-Shell Rock, IA - 149 lbs), #64 Kale Peterson (West Fork, IA - 133/141 lbs), Isaiah Fenton (Notre Dame - Burlington, IA - 157 lbs), Koye Grebel (Valley City, IA - 141 lbs) Transfers: Joey Cruz (Oklahoma), Victor Voinovich (Oklahoma State) Immediate Impact: We’d expect to see Oklahoma State transfer Victor Voinovich in the lineup right away for the Hawkeyes. Voinovich, the #15 recruit in the Class of 2021, had a solid, but not spectacular redshirt freshman year in Stillwater. He turned it up at the NCAA Tournament and picked up a pair of wins before bowing out. Voinovich comes in right at the right time as Iowa is looking to replace All-American Max Murin at 149 lbs. Recruiting Strategy: With the incoming freshman, the Iowa staff did well to address weights that could become open after the 2023-24 season. Ben Kueter and Gabe Arnold both project at weights with All-Americans heading into their final year of eligibility. The same goes for Kale Peterson at 133 or 141. This would ideally be how you recruit every year, but it usually doesn’t work out as easily in practice as it does on paper. Overall: Iowa’s top recruit, Kueter, is perhaps the most unique athlete in this Class. He was an all-everything football player and is expected to be an immediate contributor to the Hawkeyes football team. He also was all-state in baseball and track, in addition to winning a U20 world title before his senior year of high school. Because of his football potential, it’s hard to project his impact on the mat. Were he a wrestling-only prospect, Kueter could have been the #1 recruit in this entire class and it likely would have nudged Iowa up a few spots in these rankings. After Kueter, this class is still impressive. After committing to Iowa, Arnold moved to Iowa City from Wyoming Seminary and proceeded to defeat Iowa State signee Tate Naaktgeboren multiple times, including in the 3A state finals. Arnold then went to the U20 Open and claimed a title in a loaded weight class. Speaking of the Open, Kale Peterson significantly raised his stock with a finals appearance at 61 kg. Peterson’s signature win at that event was fall over Nasir Bailey in the semis. The Hawkeyes will also get the services of star middleweight Ryder Block. After a Junior freestyle national title, Block was selected to wrestle in the Who’s #1 dual. In addition to Voinovich, Iowa will also add Joey Cruz as a transfer from Oklahoma. Just a year ago, Cruz was ranked #51 in the Class of 2022. He has four years of eligibility remaining and should contribute at 125 lbs. Past Classes: 2022: #11 2021: #4 5) Ohio State Recruits: #3 Rocco Welsh (Waynesburg, PA - 174 lbs), #22 Ryder Rogotzke (Stillwater, MN - 184/197 lbs), #33 Vincent Kilkeary (Greater Latrobe, PA - 125/133 lbs), #35 Brandon Cannon (Ponderosa, CO - 157 lbs), #53 Brock Herman (Brecksville, OH - 141/149 lbs) Immediate Impact: Ohio State head coach Tom Ryan has never been shy about starting true freshmen and this class could be no different. Based on lineup decisions and the effectiveness of untested upperclassmen, we could see Rocco Welsh and/or Vincent Kilkeary in the Buckeye lineup immediately. Andre Gonzales was thrust into the Ohio State lineup due to a late-season injury at 125 lbs. Should he or some of the other incumbents stumble, the three-time Pennsylvania state champion, Kilkeary, could be called upon. All-American Ethan Smith has moved on as well, so Welsh could see action right away at 174 lbs. Welsh was a four-time Pennsylvania finalist and two-time champion. If the Buckeyes don’t bump at one (or more) of the middleweights, 174 could belong to Welsh. Recruiting Strategy: Ohio State is typically one of the schools that opt to shoot for the top blue-chip recruits rather than have classes with seven or eight wrestlers on the back end of the Big Board. That has proven to be the case again in 2023, with the two Pennsylvania champions and two-time Super 32 winner Ryder Rogotzke. This strategy can lead to minimal depth at some weights and a few uncharacteristic dual losses, but has plenty of big tournament potential. Overall: This group, along with the #1 ranked class in 2022, should help propel the Buckeyes back into consistent national team title contention. The Ohio State staff didn’t have to go very far to see this class in action as three of its wrestlers finished in the top three at the Walsh Ironman last December. Welsh won the tournament, while Brandon Cannon was a finalist and Brock Herman was third. Cannon is perhaps the best story from the 2023 class. He was a top wrestler in this class as a freshman, but had a tumor found on his back, then fought back to become the #35 overall wrestler in the Class of 2023. Past Classes: 2022: #1 2021: #9 4) Cornell Recruits: #1 Meyer Shapiro (Woodbine, MD - 149/157 lbs), #28 Simon Ruiz (Delbarton, NJ - 174 lbs), #63 Mikey Dellagatta (St. Joe’s, NJ - 184/197 lbs), #70 Marcello Milani (St. Mary’s, MI - 125 lbs), #89 Tyler Ferrara (Chenango Forks, NY - 141 lbs), #128 Matt Furman (Canon-McMillan, PA - 174/184 lbs), Eric Carlson (Manahasset, NY - 184/197 lbs), Zahir McLean-Felix (Green Farms, CT - 174/184 lbs), Ernie Perry (Airline, LA - 133 lbs) Immediate Impact: You have to get credit for getting the top wrestler in this class and that’s what Cornell has with #1 Meyer Shapiro. Shapiro is already a U17 world champion (2021) and is looking to add more hardware to his collection at this year’s U20 World Championships. To make the 2023 team, Shapiro outscored Nebraska’s redshirt freshman 19-0 across two matches. With the graduation of Cornell legend Yianni Diakomihalis, the Big Red has a huge hole at 149 lbs. It’s not fair to Shapiro to say he’ll pick up exactly where Diakomihalis left off, but he should be really good, right away. The Big Red captured an NCAA team trophy last year and returns most of their key players, aside from Diakomihalis. That means they don’t need to “rely” on this class to contribute right away. Recruiting Strategy: While Cornell’s recruiting reach goes nationwide, they tend to hit the east coast extremely hard. That’s not surprising with two coaches hailing from New Jersey and the other two from New York. Looking at the 2023 recruits, there are a pair of top-75 recruits from Jersey and #89 Tyler Ferrara from New York. Overall: Four or five years from now, Shapiro’s impact will definitely steer how we judge this Cornell class. That’s not entirely fair as Cornell has some other high-quality recruits coming in. New Jersey state champions Simon Ruiz and Mikey Dellagatta should stabilize the Big Red upper weights, which should be manned by seniors in 2023-24 at the three largest weights. Contributing at the lower weights are Super 32 fourth-place finisher Marcello Milani and Beast of the East champion Tyler Ferrara. After missing out on the recruiting rankings in 2022, Cornell is back in the mix with a #4 ranked class this year. The Big Red hasn’t missed a beat during their coaching transition on the mat or on the recruiting trail. Past Classes: 2022: NR 2021: #3 3) Penn State Recruits: #4 Josh Barr (Davison, MI - 174/184 lbs), #9 Tyler Kasak (Bethlehem Catholic, PA - 149 lbs), #46 Braeden Davis (Dundee, MI - 125/133 lbs), #93 Cael Nasdeo (Williamsport, PA - 125/133 lbs), #175 Brandan Wentzel (Montoursville, PA - 125/133 lbs), AJ Fricchione (Bergen Catholic, NY - 285 lbs), Kyison Garcia (Mountain Ridge, UT - 133 lbs) Transfers: Kurt McHenry (Michigan), Mitchell Mesenbrink (California Baptist), Aaron Nagao (Minnesota), Bernie Truax (Cal Poly) Immediate Impact: The rich get richer as Penn State, with six returning All-Americans, will add another pair of All-Americans to their 2023-23 lineup with Aaron Nagao and Bernie Truax. There were some questions as to who would replace two-time NCAA champion Roman Bravo-Young; however, his Big Ten finals opponent and NCAA fifth-place finisher Nagao is in State College. Nagao’s transfer is huge because he comes with three years of eligibility. Truax has already placed fourth at NCAA’s on three occasions. He should go wherever Aaron Brooks doesn’t go (184/197). Penn State also gets four years of eligibility from 2022 U20 World silver medalist Mitchell Mesenbrink. Mesenbrink will be on the world team again this year at 74 kg. It’s unclear how/where he fits into the lineup in 2023-24 (157/165), but suffice to say, it will be difficult keeping him out of the starting ten. Kurt McHenry also comes over from Michigan and provides insurance in case Robbie Howard is unable to wrestle or gets injured again. McHenry began the 2022-23 season as the Wolverines starter at 125. Recruiting Strategy: Two years after inking a top prospect from Michigan, the Penn State staff returned to the Mitten and picked up a pair of top-50 recruits in Josh Barr and Braeden Davis. As much as anyone else in the game today, Penn State’s staff does a great job at identifying the personalities of the wrestlers that will fit in well with their existing team. The thinking is that Penn State should get every in-state stud, which isn’t possible. They did sign two of them with this class in Tyler Kasak and Cael Nasdeo. Overall: After a small class in 2022, Penn State is now back in the mix with one of the best recruiting classes in the country. The Nittany Lions have two of the top-ten wrestlers in the nation with Josh Barr and Tyler Kasak. Barr is a two-time Junior national champion and was a finalist at the U20 WTT’s Challenge Tournament. Kasak is a 2022 U17 World silver medalist and was a champ at the Ironman and Beast as a high school junior. Earlier, we mentioned Penn State’s Howard’s injuries which have been a part of Penn State’s history of trouble at 125 lbs. The staff has done their part to address this with a handful of new faces in that area. Davis, Cael Nasdeo, and Brandan Wentzel all project in the 125/133 range. Davis is a Cadet and Junior national champion in Fargo and a two-time top-three finisher at the Super 32. Nasdeo is one recruit that jumped levels as a senior and finished his year with a AAA state title. Wentzel was in the top-three all four years in high school at the AA level. This class isn’t necessarily a game-changer (like the 2024 class could be), but it will have enough high-end talent and potential, eventual title contenders, but they also filled some pressing needs. They also add some big names via the portal that have multiple years of eligibility remaining. Past Classes: 2022: NR 2021: #1 2) Michigan Recruits: #7 Beau Mantanona (Palm Desert, CA - 157/165 lbs), #11 Sergio Lemley (Mt. Carmel, IL - 133/141 lbs), #14 Joel Adams (Millard South, NE - 149 lbs), #16 Dylan Gilcher (Detroit CC, MI - 157 lbs), #38 Caden Horwath (Davison, MI - 133 lbs), #51 Hayden Walters (Crescent Valley, OR - 197 lbs), Amann Gulacha (Hillfield Strathallen, Ontario - 165 lbs), Connor Owens (Powers Catholic, MI - 165 lbs), Zack Ramsey (SLAM Academy, NV - 157 lbs) Key Transfers: Chris Cannon (Northwestern), Lucas Davison (Northwestern), Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern), Shane Griffith (Stanford) Immediate Impact: I feel confident in saying that no other school will receive the immediate impact from their recruiting class like Michigan is getting from theirs, which is primarily based on their portal additions. The Wolverines will add a stunning four past All-Americans to their lineup. What could have been a down year, suddenly puts Michigan back into NCAA trophy contention. We’ll have to see how things shake out at 133/141 and 165/174, as Chris Cannon and Shane Griffith have competed at weights where Michigan has very strong returners (Dylan Ragusin and Cam Amine, respectively). One assumes that the former national champion, Griffith, would move up to 174 lbs. In Michael DeAugustino and Lucas Davison, Michigan gets bookends that have placed in the top-five at nationals. Recruiting Strategy: Sean Bormet’s staff continues to hit the in-state powers (Detroit Central Catholic and Davison), while casting a huge net for some of the nation’s top prospects, otherwise. The Wolverine staff also inked Beau Mantanona, the latest in a long line of wrestling brothers, with another whose a top prospect in the Class of 2024. Overall: Focusing just on the incoming freshmen, Michigan signed four top-20 prospects and six of the top-51. The aforementioned Mantanona was a Super 32 champion and a Fargo Junior freestyle finalist. He also was a member of the 2021 U17 World team in freestyle. Speaking of “recruiting strategy” this class focused heavily on the middleweights (149-165), and their three top recruits targeted at those weights. U17 Greco-Roman world champion Joel Adams has shown he could be in the mix for the 2024 Olympic Team in Greco and may have his focus there, before joining the Wolverines. Adams can also do the freestyle, as he was a U17 WTT finalist and won both styles in the 16U age group in Fargo. The in-state guys, Gilcher and Horwath, both have Super 32 champion belts to their name and Horwath was a Fargo Junior freestyle finalist. Sergio Lemley was a Super 32 champ along with two top-three's at the Ironman. Oregon’s Hayden Walters was....wait for it.... also a Super 32 champ and placed top-four in Junior freestyle twice. While the attention is immediately driven towards the four All-Americans that Bormet’s staff added, they also did a great job at solidifying their middleweights and getting the foundation for a trophy-winning team after the transfers are gone. Past Classes: 2022: NR 2021: NR 1) Oklahoma State Recruits: #2 Christian Carroll (Elkhart, IN - 285 lbs), #5 Brayden Thompson (Lockport, IL - 184 lbs), #8 Cael Hughes (Stillwater, OK - 133 lbs), #48 AJ Heeg (Stillwater, OK - 184/197 lbs), #68 Jersey Robb (Bixby, OK - 197 lbs), Jayce Caviness (Bixby, OK - 133 lbs), Sam Smith (Stillwater, OK - 141 lbs), Jaxen Wright (Morris, OK - 165 lbs) Key Transfers: Tagen Jamison (Minnesota), Mirzo Khayitov (Ellsworth CC), Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois), Troy Spratley (Minnesota) Immediate Impact: One of the reasons why Oklahoma State gets the nod over Michigan is because of the age of their transfers. They added Troy Spratley (#15 in Class of 2022) and Tagen Jamison (#41 in Class of 2021) from Minnesota, both with four years remaining. Spratley should jump in and fill the 125 lb slot which was unexpectedly an issue midseason for John Smith’s team. The Cowboys also add experience in the middleweights with Mirzo Khayitov and Izzak Olejnik. Khaytiov was a two-time NJCAA All-American, while Olejnik found the podium for Northern Illinois in the rugged 165 lb weight class. With mainstay Wyatt Sheets departing, 165 could have been an issue without the addition of this pair. Recruiting Strategy: Since Stillwater high school has become a national power, Oklahoma State has had the luxury of keeping some great talent at home, while venturing out for nationally ranked recruits, as needed. That was evident here with Brayden Thompson, Cael Hughes, AJ Heeg, and Sam Smith all spending some time at Stillwater. Overall: It’s hard to compete with a team that signs three of the top-eight recruits in the country. Earlier this month, Christian Carroll locked up his second berth on a U20 world team. This time it’s in freestyle after making the 2022 Greco team. Carroll needed less than a minute and a half (combined) to dispatch of Aden Attao twice in the Trials finals. He’s a two-time Super 32 champion and won Fargo’s Junior freestyle bracket before his junior year of high school. Carroll could go right away and be very competitive for OSU if they choose to go that way. The same could be said for Brayden Thompson, a U20 World Team member in 2022 and a Trials finalist in 2023. Thompson was an Ironman champion this year and make the Fargo Junior finals in 2021. He’s got elite defensive skills and would fare well immediately, if needed. Cael Hughes became Stillwater High School’s first four-time state champion since Cowboy star and assistant coach Chris Perry accomplished the feat in 2006-09. Hughes was recently a finalist at the U20 WTT’s and was an Ironman champion. AJ Heeg and Jersey Robb are both multiple-time Oklahoma state champions that will be factors in the upperweights. With the talent from the top-three recruits, plus the potential from transfers, and others in this group developing, this could be the class that helps Oklahoma State rise back into the national title picture on a regular basis. Past Classes: 2022: #6 2021: #6

Linn-Mar

My oldest son started wrestling this year. He had practiced before, but this was the first season he actually wrestled competitive matches. I had coached several kids before I had coached him, in several different age groups and settings. Nothing prepared me for this though. I wasn’t ready. I may never be ready. But it’s happening nonetheless. I have even coached him in other sports, baseball, football, etc… But this is different. This is more intense and I can think back on several instances where I think that as a coach, I failed. I don’t like that feeling. That helpless feeling where you know that you could have done better, and impacted the results, but you didn’t do it. The worst part, is that more likely than that, is that I have no impact at all and that I’m going through these scenarios in my head like I could have made any difference, but the reality is that whether it was me in the corner or nobody at all, the results would be the same. I don’t know which it is, but I know that it’s stressful and challenging, and hard, and it hurts my heart and soul, and I love it. But I know that this level of emotional turmoil isn’t sustainable. It can’t be. So I needed help. When I need help, whether personally or professionally, I find it’s best to be humble and go to an expert for advice and guidance. In this instance, I figured who would be better than one of the great wrestling families, the Churellas. Mark Churella Sr was a 3x NCAA Champion for the Wolverines, and his sons, Mark Jr, Ryan and Josh, all wrestled for them as well. Great idea Kevin! Disguise this Father's Day piece as a way for you to learn how to manage this portion of your life. I’m sure Mark Sr, and Josh, will have some excellent advice on how to get over the stress. I’m sure they will have all sorts of comforting pieces of advice on how to manage both sides of this emotional coin flip. Spoiler alert, what I learned from this exercise is that there isn’t a secret to handling the stress. Weirdly enough, the knowledge that one of the legends of the sport and a hero of mine growing up, didn’t have the secret recipe to not be stressed while coaching your kids, was somewhat comforting. That’s not to say that he didn’t have excellent advice, and strategies, and perspectives to have, but knowing that he was possibly as nervous as I am during his son's matches, was helpful also. But this is simplifying what was a great conversation with both father and son on their perspectives on coaching and being coached. In this piece, I will share parts of the conversations I had with Josh Churella, Assistant Coach at the University of Michigan, and his father Mark Churella Sr. We cover getting into the sport to begin with, coaching philosophies, motivation, handling losses, and each of them share some sentiments about the other. I’m paid to write for InterMat, but even an expert wordsmith like myself is struggling to put into words how honored I was to have this opportunity and to connect with Mark and Josh. I hope you enjoy the following walk-through of our conversation. Happy Father's Day to all! I wanted to start this off with both Mark Sr and Josh having the chance to provide thoughts and reflections on their experience getting into the sport. Josh began by sharing how he and his family really started out by playing a variety of team sports. From Josh and the other Churella boys' perspective, they didn’t know much about Mark Sr’s success in the sport and the impact that he had had on Michigan Wrestling. They knew they loved Michigan, and were aware that their Dad had wrestled, but until Mark Jr. had gotten into 7th grade, none of the Churella kids had wrestled. Josh on getting involved in the sport “My dad was grinding in the workforce, and we didn’t really know how good of a wrestler he was, or any of his accolades. He was just a quiet, humble, hard-working guy when we were growing up, so we just got involved in anything we could. My oldest brother started in seventh grade, and he is five years older than me. Ryan was two years older than me, and he obviously gained some interest, and I wanted to follow along with them.” Mark Sr. (left) and longtime Michigan head coach Joe McFarland at the 2007 CKLV Invitational; Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo Mark on being a wrestling father; “It was probably one of the best experiences of my life and one of the more difficult ones at the same time. Wrestling is a sport that takes a lot out of everybody that participates in it, and a lot out of the people that support the participants. In our family, there was a lot of wrestling that went on from Mark Jr, to Ryan, to Josh, and to the extent that I was involved in their process, yeah I was involved, but our journey as a family was unique to our family. Maybe similar to others in certain aspects as they matriculated through the process.” For a long time, I had attributed my poor performance early in the sport to having started so late, in the seventh grade. I remember at some point in High School learning that the Churella’s had started essentially at the same time, which was a great way for me to eliminate any excuses. This is a sport built on commitment and work, not necessarily about longevity and experience. This idea was further enforced by both father and son. Josh commented on their first exposure to the sport other than beginning to train in 7th grade. “Our only real exposure was my dad and Steve Frasier had a wrestling camp in Northern Michigan, up in Traverse City. It was a huge camp, 200-500 kids a week, and a couple week camp, and that was the only real time we were around wrestling. It was a week of our lives growing up, I think back to when I was between 7-8, and that lasted about 3-4 years. My dad got too busy working and then Steve took it over and started the Bad Boy Camp. So we were around the sport, and we knew my dad coached and wrestled a little bit. I remember my dad had some old UNLV headgears in our basement, and we would put them on and mess around, but we were just being competitive brothers. We didn’t really know what we were doing. Everyone else was instructing and we were just kind of on the peripheral watching.” Mark’s recollection is just about identical. “My boys had been exposed to wrestling for forever. From the time they were very young. They were just not encouraged by me to participate in it. I had a rule that they would not wrestle competitively or be a part of any program until they got to middle school. The middle school program in our area was a six-week program, so they had an opportunity to wrestle, and if they liked it, we would talk about what the next steps were going to be. So the time that they started was different from the time that they actually knew about wrestling.” I don’t know what I expected, or that these would be wildly different stories, but they were just about the same. “I did a wrestling camp for several years, and Steve Fraser and I did a camp in Northern Michigan for several years. My sons were around that, the camp was in Northern Michigan because we have a home in Northern Michigan. They would come and not really participate, and they would see me during the day, but they spent most of their time at the lake. Until that time, when they really started expressing an interest on their own, they were encouraged by my wife Leslie and I, to just participate in every sport other than wrestling. They weren’t really big enough, but they all tried playing football, baseball, basketball, and lacrosse, they played soccer. Josh was part of the Olympic development program for Soccer here in Michigan. But we encouraged them to do other things, understanding that if they were going to wrestle and be serious about it, that there is no entitlement. It doesn’t matter how good their dad did, it’s all about them at that point. I wanted them to experience many other things that weren’t wrestling before they would ever decide to get into it. They weren’t getting any direction or encouragement from me.” So now we’ve gotten to the point that the Churella boys are competing and how it got to that point. I have some inside information on this, growing up in the area and being in the same High School class as Josh. I was able to ask them each about the level of involvement that Mark Sr. was able to have in his boy's training, practice plans, and warming up, from high school through Senior-level competition. Josh recalls “he wasn’t too involved in middle school. We would maybe work some stuff at home, but after middle school that changed. I was originally all about soccer, but when we went to the NCAA tournament for the first time, I think it was 1998 in Cleveland, the moment I saw NCAAs live, it lit a different kind of fire. I thought ‘I’m going to be on that center mat’. From that point forward, we were all in. In my brother Ryan’s ninth grade year, he told us ‘If you’re serious about this, I will give you the roadmap on how to be really successful. It’s your choice if you want to do it.’ He told us ‘everyday before school I would get up and run three miles every day. This many pull-ups, pushups, this many reps’, and from that point forward, we had that approach pretty much all year. What he told us, we did.” Mark Sr. and Josh embrace at the 2008 NCAA Championships/photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com This is the part that I was always most interested in. The entire genesis of this article. How did Mark Churella Sr approach coaching his kids? I need direction and help in this area the most, and hearing Mark’s approach was great. I asked Mark about his thought process as far as how involved he wanted to be with the program, and around how much influence he wanted to have on their development. Mark’s answer; “I had very grown-up and adult conversations with the boys, all of them. I asked them ‘How good do you want to be? Do you really want to be good to great, or are you looking just to participate? Because if you’re looking to participate, I’m cool with that, I’ll help you be a participant, but if you’re looking to train and you really want to win championships, I know that path and it is a difficult path. If you’re willing to walk down that, and willing to put the time in and commit, then I’m 100% to show you what that’s all about.’ That was the read that I got, and I was fortunate with the varsity program. Tom Fritz and Brad Huss were just outstanding when it came to me saying that I’d like to help out. Tom Fritz handed me the whistle and said I can run practice. I didn’t want to do that, but I stepped in and was part of the coaching staff from the time that Mark was a Junior, and coached at the high school through the entire process with the boys. The first time I was really back in the Michigan wrestling room was Mark Jr’s freshman year, and stayed between the high school and college program through when Josh finished wrestling internationally. I know that’s difficult for some parents, and coaching sons and daughters, but our relationship was 100% positive. I explained to them that the choice was theirs, but that they have to actually choose to do it. There is a relationship in our family as a loving father and son, but there is also the coach relationship that I had with them that just told them the truth. Obviously, the truth according to me, was my version of the truth, but if I saw them and they were not performing, or hesitant, or looked like they were lacking self-confidence, it was my job to interject and make sure that they were getting what they needed from a training aspect, psychological and emotional aspect, and being able to detach from what’s being a coach and being a dad.” Josh on his father's involvement at the high school level, “My dad started to get more involved with the high school program, and my dad, especially in-season, would have everybody who was bought in (who was pretty much everybody) there before school running three miles on the track. We would get there around five in the morning, run, shower, and the school would start at 7:20.” This was encouraging to me, because this is basically what I was doing. Good call Kevin. Back to Josh talking about his father’s involvement. “We moved in our seventh-grade year to a new house, and my brother Mark Jr was getting involved in wrestling, he had a two-year hiatus since he had fractured vertebrae in his back from soccer, so he didn’t wrestle his freshman and sophomore year. He was behind the eight ball, but once he got back involved, we had the spark and we got a wrestling mat in our basement and we would have different sessions, where we would be driving it, but he would be putting us through his system. Doing different setups on the feet, I remember drilling the same moves over and over again. My dad's rule of thumb is ‘you hit a move 10,000 times, you master that move’. So I remember hitting sweep singles, high crotches, and one or two finishes from each leg attack. Then he would go over his top series, his leg riding series, progressing to bottom. But we were the ones driving it. We never heard ‘Did you do this many, did you do this, did you do that’ I never heard that once from him. We wanted to do it, and he was assisting us through it. More than the technical piece, and the roadmap, he was really good at motivating. He was really good at getting guys to buy in and run through a wall for him. Buy-in is more about compassion, and you care about the guy enough to where you’ll do anything. I think that if my dad had stayed as a college coach, he could have been a legendary coach, to be honest with you.” Imagine my excitement when I had the chance in my interview with Mark to bring this up. I asked Mark about his approach and ability to motivate and gain buy-in from his children and anyone else he coached. “Motivation is different for different people. My perspective was always about being truthful and upfront about what it takes to win and the steps necessary to do that. Being brutally honest and attempting to instill a lot of self-confidence. I grew up in an era where there wasn’t a sports psychologist, just a lot of tough love. I was fortunate that I had a coach that was not just a tough-love guy. His name was Dick Cook and he was an NCAA Champion at Michigan State, was a great high school coach for me, and was super positive and able to teach very solid technique. The combination of those two things really encourages you. When you are deficient in something, and you get beat in a match, and he tells you that you need to be able to perform this technique and you’ll have to drill it a lot. That’s when I learned that you have to do it 10,000 times. It’s not an exaggeration. It’s the truth, and it’s a math problem. If you do it 50-100 times a day, 5 days a week, then you get to that number pretty quickly. I learned that repetition through a lot of hard work does pay off. I try to translate that to young athletes.” Maybe Malcolm Gladwell came up with the 10,000-hour rule from Mark Churella Sr. Mr. Churella is owed royalties. At this point in the interview, I’m motivated, but there’s more. “God-given talent is a really important thing, but it’s not the most important thing. I used to tell our kids, when you walk into a college wrestling room, you are now part of the 1%. 1% of the 10’s of thousands of kids who wrestled a match in middle school or high school. As the 1%, you don’t even get into the game without that toolbox called talent. You open the box, and there it is. It’s the heart, what’s in your head, and how hard you’re willing to work. Those are the variables that, as a coach and a motivator, you need to be able to find those things. Each one of those kids is a little different, and as a coach, you find ways to capitalize on those things that help each one of those kids. Great programs try to find kids with similar desires and attitudes and personalities and get them together. You bring a lot of great kids together, great things happen.” I thought it was a safe assumption for the father and son(s) dynamic in such a demanding sport to erupt in some frustrations or disagreements as far as the training and development went. Doesn't seem that was the case with this crew. There was so much buy-in from the kids that they were just going to trust it and move forward with the next steps. From Josh’s perspective; “Yeah, not really I can’t think of many issues where there was much conflict. If anything, if you took a loss really hard, we are all emotional, but there was no throwing your headgear or tantrums. I wasn’t great at that early on, so there were some moments like that where I had to learn how to keep my composure better. He was really honest. The rule was ‘You have five minutes to feel sorry for yourself, and then you have to snap out of it’, and that always stuck with me. I even tell our guys that you have five minutes to get yourself together and then we have to get the next best thing. There’s no time to mope or feel bad. I know you’re hurting, and we’ll make adjustments, but it’s time to get it together.” I was happy to bring the ‘five minutes’ approach up to Mark. “Yeah, that’s kind of a mantra for me for life. You get to compete in business for the equivalent of an NCAA Championship every day. You don’t get to compete every day to compete for an NCAA Championship in college. It’s not an infinite number, it’s not a finite number. In being mindful of the fact that there are going to be hard matches, easy matches, difficult matches, and heartbreaking ones, you only have a short period of time to dwell on things, and then you have to move on. Same thing with losses, if you spend a lot of time feeling sorry for yourself, that’s a problem. It’s human nature to take time to feel bad after a bad thing happens, but you have to figure out what that time frame is where you have to end it and get past it.” In both my interviews with Josh and Mark, Alec Pantaleo’s tournament at the US Open to come back and take third came up, and the composure that it took. These two guys are like talking to the same guy. It’s remarkable. Ryan Churella at the 2008 Olympic Trials; Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com Here is when we get advice from Mark on how to be parents of high-level athletes, and how to support their goals, separate from the coaching piece. “The first thing you need is to be realistic regarding what your child’s aspirations are. Are they their aspirations, or your aspirations, and make sure you delineate between the two and be brutally honest with yourself. Is this something that you want really bad for them, and you better check to make sure that they want it as bad as you want it. Evaluate how that works between your son or daughter and yourself. The next step is supporting them, which can be done in a number of different ways. It can be being super encouraging, or it can be being brutally honest if they aren’t putting the work in or performing. If you happen to be someone who understands the sport, you should share that with them in the most sincere and kind way. I see some parents that are super supportive, and some who are trying to understand how it works, but just don’t. The experience of being out there and understanding what it’s like being a competitor, helps you understand what the athlete is going through. I am a person who likes to be isolated on my own, especially when they are wrestling, so I understood that my focus on their match wasn’t really helping them. If I got nervous when they wrestled, then that shouldn’t bleed over to them. The difference is as a parent who wrestled, and watching your son wrestle. When you wrestle and the whistle blows, you don’t feel anything other than you’re just ready to attack. When you’re a parent and the whistle blows, that sense of nausea doesn’t leave (YES! THAT’S THE FEELING! OH MY GOD MARK CHURELLA FEELS THE SAME WAY I DO) the entire time. You may yell things, and hopefully encourage things, but you really don’t have any impact on what’s going on in that match at that point (I SAID THAT EARLIER. IT’S THE WORST FEELING). I have been in the highest highs in wrestling, and the lowest lows, so I have great respect for what officials have to do out on the mat. They have decisions to make, and now they have the benefit of video review, but we’ve had some situations in our family that did not go well with some calls at the pinnacle of what you’re trying to achieve. You just have to accept it. I think it’s important that you hold yourself in your actions and comments so that you’re understanding that. In summary, it’s just a wrestling match, however at the time it’s going on, it’s the single most important thing going on in the universe. So there’s a period of time when you can lose perspective, and you lose that perspective because you’re invested, your son or daughter is invested, they’ve put in all this time and energy and then something doesn’t go right, or you don’t view the call the same way as the official is, there’s a lot of bad things that can be said and a lot of bad behaviors that can happen. It’s incumbent on the parents to make sure that they understand that they’re the ones that need to set the example and remain under control. It’s not easy if the camera is on you, and multiple things are going downhill, and you’re just thinking ‘How in the heck can it happen’. In the same fashion, you need to have humility in your success.” Earlier in my conversation with Mark, I spoke with him about some of my personal difficulties with managing tough losses that my son had, and how to work through those issues. When I brought that up, I had no idea that we would naturally come across the Ryan Churella NCAA finals match. If you’re unfamiliar, it’s the most egregiously poorly officiated match I can think of. I did get to share my distaste for the match, and my inability to watch it to this day. “You’ve always got to be better than one bad call”, is how Mark replied. He also reiterated his appreciation for the officials and their craft. “The officials are human beings, people who put in a lot of time to hone their craft. No matter what people think, they do a lot to try to do the best they possibly can and to get it right, but sometimes, as all humans, we get it wrong. When that happens it’s a sad thing.” This part was amazing, here Mark recalls a comment Ryan made after his NCAA finals loss. “My son Ryan had the best perspective, he was being interviewed after the match. He was asked what his thoughts were after the match, but his comment was ‘If this is the worst thing that happens in my life, then what a great life I’m gonna have’. To this day I’m just incredibly proud of how he handled it.” I want to be like Ryan Churella when I grow up. I asked him about to what degree can you separate the emotional component of coaching your kids from the competitive and objective portion of being there for your kid. “I think objectivity is a pretty hard thing. Objective self-evaluation is hard to have, so to be able to put into perspective as a parent, everything that’s out there in the moment. I think perspective comes over time. It’s like how things look when you’re on the ground rather than being in the air. It’s difficult to do that, but if you’re in the sport, and you look at other people who have participated or families who have been in it. Look at the ones who have finished the journey, and if that’s what you’re hoping to be, then try to emulate that.” Well good! That’s exactly what this piece is. I did it! I’ve solved the problem of how to coach my kids.