InterMat Staff

The University of Iowa ended the week with not one, but two, verbal commitments from All-American transfers from North Dakota State, Jared Franek and Mike Caliendo. Each announced their decision via social media today. The pair went into the transfer portal after Roger Kish left North Dakota State for the Oklahoma position. In 2023, both made the NCAA podium with Franek taking fourth at 157 lbs, while Caliendo was seventh at 165 lbs. Franek was a three-time Big 12 finalist for the Bison, winning his first title in 2023. In each of the previous two seasons, Franek ended his season in the NCAA Round of 12. Caliendo was third in a loaded Big 12 weight class that featured the eventual national finalists. He finished his freshman season with a 29-5 record, was named the Big 12’s Freshman of the Year by InterMat and was the 165 lb representative on InterMat’s All-Freshman team. How each fits into the Iowa lineup remains to be seen. The incumbent at 157 lbs, Cobe Siebrecht, has two years of eligibility remaining, as does 165 lber Patrick Kennedy. Both made the NCAA tournament in their first full years as starters for Tom Brands’ team. The Hawkeyes also have All-American Nelson Brands at 174 and Abe Assad at 184, both with a year of eligibility remaining. Iowa now has four transfers for the 2023-24 season with Franek and Caliendo joining Joey Cruz and Victor Voinovich. Franek will have one year of eligibility remaining, while Caliendo has three. 2023 165 lb NCAA 7th Place finisher Michael Caliendo; Photo courtesy of Sam Janicki

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. And, here’s Part one of our rankings, focusing on team’s ranked #13-25. 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 8. 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

While the MMA world never takes a break the InterMat Guide to the MMA Weekend did take a bit of hiatus since it is usually more important for a wrestling website to cover, you know, wrestling. However, there are too many names recognizable to wrestling fans in action this weekend, so without wasting any more of your time and putting any more miles on my damaged keyboard, let’s get to the fights. If I missed any other names in action this weekend, make sure to poke fun at me in the comments. Friday: Bellator 297 Yoel Romero vs. Vadim Nemkov This past April Romero turned 46 years old. He is an Olympic silver medalist, world champion and six-time world medalist in wrestling. After that wrestling career, he turned to MMA where he has gone 15-6 and somehow found himself in title contention again. In the main event of Bellator 297, he faces off against the light heavyweight champion with the chance to add another accomplishment to his resume. Corey Anderson vs. Phil Davis Anderson was a Division III All-American at Wisconsin-Whitewater. At one time, he had arguably the best nickname in sports history. When he first came on the scene in MMA, he called himself “Beastin 25/8,” which makes less sense the more you think about it, but he ultimately abandoned the name. He takes on Davis, who was a national champion for Penn State. Davis previously held the belt in Bellator, but he has been unable to climb back to the top of the mountain since losing the title to fellow wrestler Ryan Bader in 2017. The winner of this battle between wrestlers likely puts themselves into contention for a shot at the winner of the main event. Kyle Crutchmer vs. Bobby Nash Crutchmer was a two-time All-American for Oklahoma State who finished his eligibility in 2017. He turned to MMA the following year and has gone 9-2 as a professional. He needs a win here after dropping his previous fight against Jaleel Willis. “Nashty” Nash went 0-3 in the UFC in 2017 but has since won four fights in a row. Nash was a DI wrestler himself, winning a Michigan state title before heading to Lindsey Wilson, then Michigan State. Archie Colgan vs. Emmanuel Sanchez Colgan was a two-time NCAA qualifier for Wyoming and finished his career with over 100 victories. He has gone 7-0 in MMA since turning professional in 2021. Colgan takes a big step up in competition here against Sanchez. He is a veteran of 28 fights and has previously fought for the Bellator featherweight title, but he is currently riding a four-fight losing streak. Alex Polizzi vs. Karl Moore Polizzi was a three-time NCAA qualifier for Northwestern. After exhausting his eligibility in 2015, he turned to MMA and ultimately made his professional debut in 2018. Polizzi’s record currently stands at 10-2, and this will be his first fight back since losing against Yoel Romero last year. Moore is 11-2 and 3-0 in Bellator since joining the promotion in 2019. Jordan Newman vs. Matthew Perry Like Corey Anderson, Newman wrestled for Division III powerhouse Wisconsin-Whitewater. There he was a two-time champion and a D3Wrestle.com wrestler of the year. Newman signed with Bellator in 2019 and holds a 5-0 record as a professional. Perry earned a legion of fans thanks to his time on the hit sitcom “Friends” where he played the gregarious Chandler Bing. However, he recently has fallen on hard times. Just kidding, this Perry is 5-3 and making his Bellator debut. Mike Hamel vs. Shamil Nikaev Hamel spent time at Wyoming before transferring to Grand Canyon and becoming a Division II All-American. He currently holds a 10-5 record. He dropped his first two bouts with Bellator before bouncing back with three-straight wins. Nikav recently won his Bellator debut, which pushed his professional record to 10-0. Cody Law vs. Edwin Chavez Law was a three-time Division II champion for Pitt-Johnstown. He signed with Bellator and made his professional debut with the company in 2020. Law won his first six fights with the company and appeared to be a blossoming prospect. He now has work to do to get back to that status after dropping back-to-back decisions. Chavez is also riding a two-fight losing streak and will be making his Bellator debut. The main card of Bellator 297, which will feature Romero, Anderson and Davis, airs live on Showtime at 9:00pm ET. The undercard with the rest of the wrestlers begins at 6:00pm ET and will air live on YouTube. Friday: Combat FC 4 Bekzod Abdurakhmonov vs. Derik de Freitas Abdurakhmonov wrestled collegiately for Clarion where he became an All-American. He then continued his wrestling career on the international circuit representing Uzbekistan. Along the way, he has claimed a pair of bronze medals at the world championships and claimed another bronze at the 2020 Olympics. Abdurakhmonov made his MMA debut in 2013 and won his first six fights before taking a break the following year. He returned and fought once in 2017, and has been absent from the MMA cages since. De Freitas is 2-5 and is riding a three-fight losing streak. The bout will be part of the main card of Combat FC 4, which airs live on UFC Fight Pass at 8:00pm ET. Friday: Cage Fury Fighting Championships 120 CJ LaFragola vs. Aaron Walker During his time at Brown, LaFragola was a three-time NCAA qualifier. He left school in 2019 and turned to MMA in 2021. This fight will be his professional debut, but he previously won five amateur fights. Walker made his professional debut last November and scored a decision victory. Hunter Starner vs. Thomas Picciano Like LaFragola, Starner finished his collegiate wrestling career in 2019. He was a multiple-year starter for VMI who went 11-11 as a senior. He made his professional MMA debut last October and has won both of his fights to date. Picciano holds a 3-1 record and is coming off a submission victory. Both of these bouts will be part of the CFFC 120 undercard, which is scheduled to air live on – deep breath – OnlyFans (yes, that OnlyFans) at 7:00pm ET. Saturday: Paradigm Combat Sports 3 Juan Adams vs. Shelton Graves Adams will be the second former VMI wrestler to fight in an MMA cage this weekend. The Keydet won 44 matches over his final two years of wrestling and exhausted his eligibility in 2015. Adams made his way to the UFC in 2018. After winning his debut, he was released following three-straight losses. He has been fighting to get back since. Graves is 9-6 and coming off a loss under the Professional Fighters League banner. Anthony Cassar vs. Juan Torres Cassar dealt with injuries for most of his collegiate wrestling career, but in his one full season as a starter at Penn State, he knocked off Gable Steveson and won an NCAA title in 2019. Last December, he made his MMA debut and won via arm-triangle in under four minutes. Torres has recently been fighting mostly in the boxing ring, but the 36-year-old holds an 8-15 record in professional MMA. Geno Morelli vs. Dominic Wiltz Morelli started his collegiate wrestling career at Pittsburgh before transferring to Penn State. As a junior in 2016, he qualified for the NCAA tournament and finished with a 21-12 record. He has competed extensively in grappling and went 3-0 in amateur MMA. This will be his professional debut. Wiltz turned professional in MMA in 2019 and holds only a 0-2 record. Streaming details for the PCS 3 show are not currently available. If the news breaks, I will make sure editor extraordinaire, Earl, updates this article or at least retweets me on Twitter. Saturday: UFC Vegas 75 Pat Sabatini vs. Lucas Almeida The UFC show this weekend is relatively light on former wrestlers. However, there will still be representation as Sabatini spent time in college on the Rider team. He holds a 17-4 record in MMA. He signed with the UFC in 2021 and won his first four bouts with the promotion. In his last fight, he lost for the first time in the UFC against Damon Jackson. Almeida is 14-1 with his only loss coming against Daniel Zellhuber on the Contenders Series. The Sabatini fight will be on the main card of UFC Vegas 75, which airs at 9:00pm ET on ESPN.

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

It’s been two weeks since InterMat has updated the Transfer Tracker and there has still been plenty of action in the transfer portal. Though the window for entry in the portal has temporarily closed, there are still lots of talented wrestlers in the portal or who have recently made decisions on where to transfer. Here is the updated list of wrestlers who have transferred into DI institutions for the 2023-24 season. There are some notables (Cody Chittum) who loosely may be called transfers, they were not enrolled at their previous institution, merely training under a wrestling club or RTC. That is a reason why he is not listed for Iowa State. Arizona State Chance McLane (Oklahoma State) Bloomsburg Harrison Levans (West Virginia) Kordell Waiter (Lackawanna CC) Buffalo Caleb Brooks (Northern Illinois) Eric Tigue (Niagara CC) California Baptist Darren Green (Wyoming) Dayne Morton (Nebraska) Justin Phillips (Virginia) Eli Sheeran (Buffalo) Cal Poly Michael Goldfeder (North Carolina) Chance Lamer (Michigan) Clarion Tye Varndall (Edinboro) Drexel Ibrahim Ameer (Cloud CC) Shane Whitney (Camden CC) Franklin & Marshall Eric Howe (George Mason) George Mason Brandon Wittenberg (Virginia Tech) Hofstra Joe Russo (Nassau CC) Illinois Charlie Heydorn (Ohio) Tony Madrigal (Oklahoma) Indiana Roman Rogotzke (South Dakota State) Iowa Joey Cruz (Oklahoma) Victor Voinovich (Oklahoma State) Iowa State Will Feldkamp (Clarion) Garrett Grice (Virginia) Lehigh Hunter Mays (Rider) Little Rock Michael Gasper (Clackamas CC) Cole Minnick (Buffalo) Lock Haven Wyatt Henson (Oklahoma) Long Island Christopher Betancourt (Mt. San Antonio CC) Bo DiJulius (Edinboro) Brayden Roberts (West Virginia) Maryland Seth Nevills (Penn State) Michigan Chris Cannon (Northwestern) Lucas Davison (Northwestern) Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern) Shane Griffith (Stanford) Morgan State Khalid Brinkley (Presbyterian) Nebraska Caleb Smith (Appalachian State) North Dakota State Devon Dawson (Pratt CC) Northern Colorado Adam Busiello (Nassau CC) Northern Illinois Tommy Curran (NC State) Northern Iowa Jack Thomsen (South Dakota State) Northwestern Patrick Adams (Buffalo) Oklahoma Giuseppe Hoose (Buffalo) Jace Koelzer (Northern Colorado) Mannix Morgan (North Dakota State) Juan Mora (North Dakota State) DJ Parker (North Dakota State) Oklahoma State Tagen Jamison (Minnesota) Mirzo Khayitov (Ellsworth CC) Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois) Troy Spratley (Minnesota) Oregon State Victor Jacinto (Clackamas CC) Boone McDermott (Rutgers) Brett Mower (Iowa Western) Steele Starren (Clackamas CC) Penn State Kurt McHenry (Michigan) Mitchell Mesenbrink (California Baptist) Aaron Nagao (Minnesota) Bernie Truax (Cal Poly) Pittsburgh Finn Solomon (NC State) Purdue Joey Milano (NC State) Marcos Polanco (Minnesota) James Rowley (Wisconsin) Rider Kyle Davis (George Mason) Mason Lynch (Kent State) Enrique Munguia (Kent State) Rutgers Jacob Butler (Oklahoma) Mitch Moore (Oklahoma) Yaraslau Slavikouski (Harvard) Stanford Dom LaJoie (Cornell) The Citadel Jeffrey Boyd (West Virginia) Virginia Ryan Catka (Navy) Sammie Hayes (Northwestern) West Virginia Jett Strickenberger (NW Kansas Tech) Wisconsin Isaac Klarkowski (Rice - Football) Shane Liegel (Loras) Max Maylor (Michigan) Luke Mechler (Oklahoma State) Wyoming Cooper Birdwell (Oklahoma State) Ethan Ducca (Edinboro) Stockton O’Brien (Utah Valley) David Saenz (Mt. San Antonio CC) Gabe Willochell (Edinboro)

The next time the Franklin & Marshall Diplomats take the mat, they will be competing in their 100th collegiate wrestling season. Although impressive, they are still maybe the 4th or 5th oldest program in the conference. This milestone season is not only special due to the triple-digit mark, but this is also the first season the team will be able to offer athletic scholarships to prospective student-athletes. After a recent NCAA legislation was passed that allows smaller (Division III) sized schools to allow athletic scholarships if competing at the D1 level, F&M will be able to join in on the fun. For some background, Division III schools cannot legally offer scholarships, per NCAA regulations. This is why the legislation is a big deal for a handful of schools that participate in higher divisions than what the school is designated in other sports. Franklin & Marshall College, located in the heart of Lancaster, PA only contains roughly 2,200 undergrad students – yet they wrestle at the Division 1 level against large schools that contain a small city’s population of student-athletes. For example, Arizona State’s undergrad enrollment is over 60,000, Penn State has around 40,000, etc. Sure, these are the extremes – but the point remains – not all Division I teams are equal. To further that last point of “not all Division I teams are equal,” this is especially true in terms of athletic scholarship allotment. This topic can get confusing to the average fan. Some fans assume all teams have equal funding – causing an equal playing field. This is far from the truth. For wrestling, the maximum athletic scholarship one team can distribute amongst athletes is 9.9 full scholarships. I am not sure if it’s truly known how many teams have this maximum allotment. But, I know for a fact that a majority of teams are not fully funded with the 9.9. Many may have 5 scholarships to give and others may have closer to 9.9. It really depends on the athletic departments of each school. Just know, the range is from 0 athletic scholarships to 9.9. It’s also worth noting that Ivy League teams cannot offer athletic scholarships in any sport – but they do offer other types of aid to help offset the costs. That is another story for another time. Now that the basic groundwork has been laid – back to the F&M team. Some may read “Franklin & Marshall can now receive scholarships” and interpret that as ‘Franklin & Marshall is now fully funded by the athletic department.” In the words of ESPN’s Lee Corso – “Not so fast my friend!” The reality is that the college, thanks to the NCAA, is now permitted to offer scholarships after 99 seasons. I talked to Assistant Coach Steve Borja to break it down a little further. “This first season we will be given a small set amount in scholarship money from the college. We will gradually increase the scholarship amount yearly for four years. Once we hit the four-year mark, the college will re-evaluate the situation and make more (financial) decisions from there.” Let’s break this down using hypothetical, round numbers to make the math easy to understand. The annual total cost to attend Franklin & Marshall is in the ballpark of $85,000 a year. (Yes, that is not a typo.) If the university’s “small set amount” was, say, 10% of a full scholarship (again – just an example) - the coaches would be allowed to offer up to $8,500 in athletic aid for the first season. Of course, this can be divided up amongst multiple wrestlers, or the entire allotment can be offered to one wrestler. The following season that 10% of the $85K would double to $17,000. This amount, again, can go to the same individual, or be divided up. To compare this to the full 9.9 allotment to other schools, using F&M’s costs to attend, the staff would have nearly $842,000 per year to spread across the team every season. Simply take the $85K cost, multiply it by 9.9 full scholarships, and this is how you get $842,000. You can easily see the difference in what a .1 (1/10th) vs 9.9 athletic aid looks like in terms of dollars. Will this small scholarship effort attract a bunch of blue-chip recruits? Absolutely not. The coaching staff is well aware of this. Head Coach, Mike Rogers, stated “Not every family is looking for a full ride. This small amount may help bring F&M into their budget. It sounds cliché, but every little bit helps.” Coach Rogers had a bigger-picture outlook as well. “If we can find a way to get one or two wrestlers to nationals, it will help our team get noticed more.” Along the same lines, Coach Borja, parroted that statement “Some years, we are missing one key guy in the line-up. (Athletic) Scholarship aid can help us land that one guy to plug in a hole. Then, maybe this guy makes the NCAA tournament, and wins a few matches. Either way, it will help get exposure to our school.” Adding my two cents – I couldn’t agree more. Obviously, it’s hard to get noticed at NCAAs when no one is there to compete. As if not allowing scholarships put The Diplomats at a disadvantage already, they do not get much help from the admissions side of the college – as is the case with many smaller, Division 3 schools. Firstly, the academic criteria to get accepted into school is unchanged for athletes and non-athletes. Meaning, athletes do not get “special accommodations” simply for being an athlete. We all know big-time sports schools accept student-athletes into school who may not exactly meet all the criteria, but are accepted anyway due to their athletic ability. Franklin & Marshall does not have the flexibility to the athletic teams. This lowers the recruiting pool for the staff, as the student-athletes they recruit must be able to get into school strictly based on academics alone. On the flip side, there is something special about knowing that all students were accepted with the same standards – athlete or not. Another disadvantage to the F&M staff is the college’s financial aid offerings. All financial aid at the school is need-based. Essentially, this means the school bases your financial aid based on economic status at home only. This is atypical for schools, as many offer financial aid based on merit as well. Merit-based need is aid based on academic achievements – the better grades in high school, the more financial aid one can receive. As one can imagine, this may deter some students from even looking into a school like F&M if there are other viable options on the table that offer the same degree for a fraction of the cost. As you may recall, in 2014, Franklin & Marshall made some national headlines when David Lehman pledged $5 Million to the program to endow it. This covered operating costs, coach salaries, and much more. It allowed the sport to operate as needed without needing assistance from the college. It keeps wrestling “off the college books” is how I describe it – maybe too harshly... The overall differences in each NCAA division greatly vary from one division to the next when discussing athletics. This is true for the funding aspects, scholarship offerings, size of the department, etc. To have a Division III school competing with “the big schools” in Division 1 is impressive. When they do it completely endowed, it shows the determination and fight of the staff. They motivate themselves to work a little harder, which relays down to the wrestlers. With the college’s decision to finance athletic aid to student-athletes, this is a giant step for the program. Coach Rogers emphasized “The support from the school is a great sign for the future. They could have easily said ‘no’ and had us continue like we have been with no athletic aid.” He praised the college’s new Athletic Director, Lauren Packer Webster was previously at Edinboro, so she is an expert when it comes to small schools competing at the highest level. Edinboro is a school that is considered DII in all sports, but wrestling is DI. Her familiarity with how to navigate a small school to compete at the highest level is a huge plus for the Diplomats, and the EIWA, alike. Fortunately, I was able to meet her at EIWAs in 2022. She attended conferences rooting for her Diplomats. Weeks later, she went to NCAAs to watch F&M’s lone wrestler compete. Even though Wil Gil was 0-2 at the NCAAs that year, it was incredibly important to have the Athletic Director in attendance to see what the coaching staff and team strive for every year. To cap off a brief conversation about Webster, Coach Borja just said “She’s been awesome for us.” Because of their size, fundraising is still at the top of the priority list for the coaching staff, and program, as a whole. This is in addition to the usual job of recruiting, watching film, running practice, etc. There is a bit of larger “CEO-role” as a coach in these circumstances, which is more prevalent across the country – both small and larger schools. The program’s goal is to endow a full scholarship, in hopes the school will be willing to match every scholarship they endow. This is a lofty goal set by the coaching staff. Even Coach Borja agrees it may be lofty. He said “This will be our next fundraising push. Now that scholarships are available to our athletes through the school, we believe the alumni will be more willing to help build that funding. It’s new and exciting for everyone” Coach Rogers has similar thoughts when he said, “My hope is that this will give the alumni the desire to get behind a common goal. Dave Lehman’s $5 Million endowment was huge for us to help cover coaches’ salaries, travel and operating costs, gear and much more. Now, we can focus on further fundraising to endow scholarships to help bring in top-level student-athletes that we may not have had a chance to bring in before.” This is not meant to be a pity-party for Franklin & Marshall, by any means. This was the agreement when I approached them about this article. It may come off as “making excuses” or “looking for pity.” But, I can assure you this is not the intention. The intention is to bring to light the reality of wrestling and, possibly, enlighten some of the fans who may not know about the disadvantages smaller schools have. Maybe, it will create more fans in the process. “We sometimes consider ourselves as a David vs. Goliath type of program. People love to root for that – the underdog,” Coach Rogers profoundly stated. He’s right – a school like this is such a huge disadvantage competing with the likes of fully-funded, large programs with gigantic alumni reach and support. Plus, with the rise of NIL deals replacing scholarships to pay for school, small schools are set back to a larger burden in this regard. As the saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” This will be a slow and methodical plan over the next half-decade, or longer. As highlighted before, it is not cheap to run a wrestling program – especially one that is fully funded. The school is taking on a vital role in elevating the program to potentially bring it to the next level. They should be applauded for assisting in this next step. Who knows, maybe a scholarship to Franklin & Marshall changes a wrestler’s life forever. Maybe one wrestler can change the program forever. We don’t know until we try to take that first step. We’ve made the first step – and I am hoping that each step from here on out is a step in the right direction!

Is he the "most interesting man in wrestling?" Former Ohio State wrestler Johnni DiJulius is in the midst of a busy summer full of wrestling camps and other adventures. Johnni tells Dysen Gould about making the wrestling camp experience memorable for young kids, his #NoTomorrow motto and how that came about, base jumping, mindset, and various other experiences around the world. For the full interview, check out InterMat's Rokfin page (free)

After Saturday the Senior World team is intact and we’ll have 11 wrestlers making their Senior World debuts in Belgrade, Serbia in September. Here’s a little bit more about these first-timers and their path to the world team. Zane Richards (57 kg Men’s Freestyle) The veteran made his first world team SIX years after his final collegiate bout for the University of Illinois. Prior to his 2023 US Open championship, Richards best finish at the Open came in 2019 when he was third. He earned his slot on the world team the hard way, downing one of the domestic favorites, Nick Suriano, in the Open finals, 3-3 on the strength of a late takedown. Then he took out 2021 world champion Thomas Gilman in two straight bouts. In both bouts, Richards used a score around the :30 mark to win each bout against Gilman. Richards was a four-time NCAA qualifier and two-time All-American for Illinois. In 2016, he made the Big Ten finals for the only time. Vito Arujau (61 kg Men’s Freestyle) NCAA champion Vito Arujau continued his tear through 2023 with a berth on the world team. Arujau made college wrestling fans take notice with one-sided wins over Daton Fix and Roman Bravo-Young in Tulsa at NCAA’s. He continued to roll with a quick tech fall over Austin DeSanto in the US Open finals, earning a spot in Final X. Arujau wound up taking on fellow Cornell national champion Nahshon Garrett in Newark. A four-point takedown late in the first period of the opening match paced Arujau against Garrett. In the second match, the two engaged in the highest-scoring match at any of the previous Final X’s (13-10) Though Arujau got on the board first, Garrett led 8-4 after one period. Arujau poured it on in the second and got his hand raised. While this is Arujau’s first Senior team, he does have plenty of international experience with world silver medals at the Cadet and Junior level, along with an appearance on the 2022 U23 team, as well. Nick Lee (65 kg Men’s Freestyle) It seemed like Nick Lee’s chances for the 2023 World Team were done after the US Open semifinals when he appeared to lose to fellow Nittany Lion Wrestling Club teammate Beau Bartlett. Their 10-10 match actually belonged to Lee although Bartlett got his hand raised. From there, Lee had a second-period comeback against Joey McKenna, which gave him a US Open title and allowed him to face returning world silver medalist Yianni Diakomihalis. Lee and Diakomihalis were no strangers as the pair met in the Olympic Trials and the two-time champ from Penn State was the winner. That continued to be the case on Saturday as Lee swept the series with a pair of highly entertaining, action-packed wins (7-6, 8-8). The United States has had a decent track record with first-timer world teamer’s having success since the rest of the world doesn’t have a “book” on them yet. I could see this being the case with Lee and he beat a world medalist in Diakomihalis, so that says something. Chance Marsteller (79 kg Men’s Freestyle) It was a comeback story for the ages as Chance Marsteller knocked off seven-time World/Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs in three matches Saturday night. One of the best high schooler’s ever to come out of wrestling-rich Pennsylvania, Marsteller initially went to Oklahoma State before transferring to Lock Haven and AA’ing twice. Along the way, Marsteller suffered from various addictions. Since getting sober, Marsteller has led a thriving kids club and has become the wrestler that most envisioned while he was 15 or 16. Last year, we got a taste of Marsteller’s potential with a win over Burroughs, though he ultimately fell in their three-match series. This time, Marsteller could have won the opening bout, but was called for a controversial singlet pull late in the third period. After winning the second match, there was another questionable sequence in the latter stages of the deciding bout. Burroughs doubled Marsteller out of bounds for an apparent four points; however, upon review, it was deemed to be four in Marsteller’s favor. He’d go on to win, 8-3. Some may question Marsteller's medal capabilities, compared to Burroughs; however, Burroughs is the returning world champion at the weight. Marsteller has some good international wins under his belt, so he should be a serious medal threat. Zahid Valencia (92 kg Men’s Freestyle) It seemed like it was “wait till next year” for Zahid Valencia after losing in the US Open finals to Aaron Brooks. After his loss, Valencia moved up from 86 kg to wrestle in the World Team Trials at 92 kg, which he won convincingly defeating Tanner Sloan and Kollin Moore in the process. I was concerned about how the undersized Valencia would do against the horsepower of US Open champion Mike Macchiavello, someone who’s put together solid results up at 97 kg. That didn’t prove to be a problem as Valencia scored in the first :30 of both bouts and ran up seven-point first-period leads in both instances. The two-time NCAA champion from Arizona State has performed well overseas this year (at 86 kg), taking bronze at the Ranking Series event in Croatia and silver at the event in Egypt. Jennifer Page (59 kg Women’s Freestyle) It was a similar story for Jennifer Page who fell in the US Open finals to Adaugo Nwachukwo, but then dropped down to 59 kg for the World Team Trials. Though she had a tough bracket at the WTT’s, featuring two past Final X participants and a world team member (Maya Nelson), Page didn’t have a match closer than seven points. Page was perhaps even more impressive at Final X as she turned in a pair of 11-0 tech’s against Open champion Michaela Beck. This shouldn’t be that surprising considering Page took a match off Kayla Miracle last year in their special post-Final X wrestle-off. Granted, Miracle was trying to get back from an injury; however, there aren’t many women in the world who have beaten Miracle under any circumstances these past few years. Page was fifth at Junior World’s in 2012 and went on to wrestle collegiately at Oklahoma City. She’s moved on to the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club and taken her game to another level, even battling through multiple knee injuries. If the weight isn’t a problem, I could see Page being a problem for the rest of the world. Macey Kilty (65 kg Women’s Freestyle) We finally got to see a healthy Macey Kilty throughout a Trials process and she responded with two-straight wins over returning World bronze medalist Mallory Velte. Kilty defeated Emma Bruntil in the US Open finals, which led to Bruntil moving up for a run at Final X (and ultimately, winning a spot). In match one against Velte, Kilty pulled ahead with a late takedown, then pinned Velte with ten seconds remaining in the contest. In the second match, the two were again embroiled in a tight one and Kilty secured a takedown, then transitioned to a lace to extend her lead. She’d win 6-5. Kilty has a staggering five age-group world medals to her name. She was a Cadet world champion in 2018 and has made the world finals on four occasions. With a pair of wins over Velte and her experience, it’s safe to say Kilty will be a factor at the world level this year. Emma Bruntil (68 kg Women’s Freestyle) Like Valencia and Rogers, Emma Bruntil fell in the US Open finals and immediately made her mind up to give it another shot, at a different weight class, in the WTT’s. Bruntil moved up and crushed past Final X participant Alex Glaude for the right to compete in Newark. That put Bruntil in Final X opposite 2021 World bronze medalist Forrest Molinari. As anyone who follows women’s wrestling may have expected, this was the most physical of any of the women’s series’ and it was the only one that went the full three matches. Bruntil has been a part of the last two U23 World Team’s so she won’t be phased by international competition. She’s also moved to the USOPTC after leaving McKendree. Barring an upset at 57 kg, she’ll be the only first-timer on the women’s side competing in an Olympic weight, so qualifying the weight is of the utmost importance. Brady Koontz (55 kg Greco-Roman) The third time's the charm for Brady Koontz, who has lost in two previous appearances at Final X. That didn’t mean his Saturday wasn’t stress-filled. Wrestling in the very first official Final X matchup of the event, Koontz was teched by Dalton Duffield and found himself with his back against the wall. Koontz never wavered and grinded out a pair of wins (4-1, 7-4) to earn his first shot on the world stage at the Senior level. Koontz is no stranger to the international scene, as he’s made world team’s at the U23, Junior and Cadet levels. In addition, he captured Pan-American gold last year. Xavier Johnson (63 kg Greco-Roman) X gonna give it to ya! My award for favorite walk-out song of the day went to Xavier Johnson, who used DMX’s play on his first name to get hyped up for his second Final X appearance. It worked as he put together two tech falls over US Open champion Hayden Tuma to make the world team. Johnson got to the US Open semifinals before forfeiting out due to an injury, before his match with top-seeded Sammy Jones. The two would end up hitting in the finals of the WTT’s and Johnson prevailed 7-4 over the two-time world team member. This is his first world team experience at any age group. Zac Braunagel (87 kg Greco-Roman) The only current Big Ten wrestler on the 2023 World Team? That’s right, it’s Zac Braunagel! It was the 2023 US Open where we got a hint that Braunagel may be ready to make an impact right away. That’s where he pinned 2022 Final X participant Timothy Young for third place. At the WTT’s, Braunagel teched Young to make the finals. He’s advanced to Newark after taking out Richard Carlson. At Final X, Braunagel was crushed by Vera, 11-0. In their second match, Vera led by six in the first period, but Braunagel clawed his way back in. Vera was repeatedly cautioned, to the point where he was cautioned out of the second match. An injury contributed to Vera’s second-period fade and led him to forfeit out of the third bout, conceding the spot to Braunagel. Coming from a strong youth Greco scene and training with one of the best coaches in the country (Bryan Medlin), it’s not a huge surprise that Braunagel has developed so quickly in Greco. He was a Junior world teamer in 2021 and won a Junior national title in Fargo.

Final X has concluded for 2023 (save for Helen Maroulis/Xochitl Mota-Pettis) and will likely not return until 2025, after the Olympic year. With this edition in the books, it marks four iterations of Final X (2018, 2019, 2022, and 2023). That seems to be enough to start and tabulate some records from the action. With that in mind, we’ve created the Final X record book. All of the normal records you’d associate with wrestlers and a reoccurring event within the sport. Keep in mind that the very first edition of Final X did not include Greco-Roman wrestlers, as of now, most of the records have a heavy influence of freestyle wrestlers. So, enjoy and keep these numbers in mind as Final X rolls around in 2025! Most Series Wins 4 - Kyle Dake 4 - Sarah Hildebrandt 4 - Kyle Snyder 4 - Jacarra Winchester ***These four also have the most individual matches won with 8. Highest Winning Percentage (Minimum 6 matches wrestled) 1.000 - Kyle Dake 1.000 - Adeline Gray 1.000 - Sarah Hildebrandt 1.000 - Tamyra Mensah-Stock 1.000 - Kyle Snyder 1.000 - David Taylor Most Individual Matches Wrestled 11 - Jordan Burroughs 11 - Forrest Molinari 10 - Kayla Miracle 10 - Mallory Velte 9 - Thomas Gilman 9 - Pat Smith Most Losses (Individual Matches) 6 - Mallory Velte 5 - Daton Fix 5 - Brady Koontz 5 - Forrest Molinari Most Falls 3 - Adeline Gray 1 - Multiple Most Techs 5 - Tamyra Mensah-Stock 4 - Amit Elor 4 - Helen Maroulis 3 - Kamal Bey 3 - Sarah Hildebrandt 3 - Kyle Snyder 3 - David Taylor 3 - Jacarra Winchester Quickest Fall 1:00 - Alan Vera/Timothy Young: (2022) 1:04 - Adeline Gray/Korinahe Bullock (2018) 1:54 - Dom Parrish/Katie Gomez (2023) 1:57 - Whitney Conder/Victoria Anthony (2019) Largest Margin of Victory 12 points - Nahshon Garrett/Joe Colon: 12-0 (Match 3 - 2018) 12 points - Thomas Gilman/Vito Arujau: 14-2 (Match 2 - 2022) 12 points - Helen Maroulis/Alex Hedrick: 12-0 (Match 2 - 2018) Largest Cumulative Series Deficit in a Victory -6 points - Erin Clodgo: vs Rachel Watters: 4-2, 0-8, 4-4 (2018) -4 points - Spencer Woods: vs Ryan Epps: 3-3, 0-9, 5-0 (2023) -4 points - Hayden Zillmer: vs Nick Gwiazdowski: 0-5, 4-3, 5-5 (2022) -1 point - Brady Koontz: vs Dalton Duffield: 0-8, 4-1, 7-3 (2023) *** Zac Braunagel had a negative -9 margin but won his final bout by forfeit (2023) ***Ildar Hafizov won match one via fall, lost 9-0, and won 2-1 in match three (2023) Highest Scoring Individual Match 23 points - Vito Arujau/Nahshon Garrett: 13-10 (Match 2 - 2023) 20 points - Yianni Diakomihalis/Evan Henderson: 11-9 (Match 1 - 2022) 19 points - Alex Sancho/Alston Nutter: 10-9 (Match 1 - 2022) 18 points - Yianni Diakomihalis/Evan Henderson: 14-4 (Match 2 - 2022) 18 points - Ildar Hafizov/Dalton Roberts: 11-7 (Match 1 - 2022) Highest Scoring Two-Match Series 38 points - Yianni Diakomihalis/Evan Henderson: 11-9, 14-4 (2022) 34 points - Vito Arujau/Nahshon Garrett: 6-5, 13-10 (2023) 30 points - Thomas Gilman/Vito Arujau: 12-2, 14-2 (2022) Highest Scoring Three-Match Series 39 points - Nahshon Garrett/Joe Colon: 5-7, 10-5, 12-0 (2018) 37 points - Kayla Miracle/Jennifer Page: 2-13, 12-2, 5-3 (2022) 33 points - Seth Gross/Daton Fix: 5-5, 5-4, 9-5 (2022) 31 points - Whitney Conder/Victoria Anthony: 10-4, 2-4, 11-0 (2018) Lowest Scoring Two-Match Series (No Falls/FFT) 4 points - Max Nowry/Brady Koontz: 1-1, 1-1 (2022) 5 points - James Green/Jason Chamberlain: 2-0, 2-1 (2018) Lowest Scoring Three-Match Series (No Falls/FFT) 12 points - Jordan Burroughs/Chance Marsteller: 4-0, 2-2, 5-0 (2022) 14 points - J’den Cox/Nate Jackson: 4-2, 2-3, 3-0 (2022) 19 points - Emma Bruntil/Forrest Molinari: 6-3, 2-3, 3-2 (2023) Fewest Amount of Points Surrendered (Minimum 6 matches wrestled) 0 points - Sarah Hildebrandt (8 matches) 3 points - Tamyra Mensah-Stock (6 matches) 5 points - Kyle Snyder (6 matches) 8 points - David Taylor (6 matches) 9 points - J’den Cox (7 matches) 10 points - Kyle Dake (8 matches) Number of Weight Classes Wrestled 3 - Jenna Burkert (59 kg/2018, 57 kg/2019, 55 kg/2022) 3 - Zahid Valencia (79 kg/2018, 86 kg/2022, 92 kg/2023) Most Series’ Against an Opponent 2 - Jordan Burroughs/Isaiah Martinez (2018-19) 2 - Whitney Conder/Victoria Anthony (2018-2019) 2 - Kyle Dake/Jason Nolf (2022-23) 2 - Daton Fix/Thomas Gilman (2018-19) 2 - Ildar Hafizov/Dalton Roberts (2022-23) 2 - Helen Maroulis/Alex Hedrick (2018, 2022) 2 - Chance Marsteller/Jordan Burroughs (2022-23) 2 - Kayla Miracle/Mallory Velte (2018-19) 2 - Cohlton Schultz/Adam Coon (2019, 2023) 2 - Kyle Snyder/Kyven Gadson (2018-19) Year with Most Three-Match Series’ 10 - 2022 7 - 2023 5 - 2019 Three-Match Series Wins 2 - Jordan Burroughs (2019, 2022) 2 - Ildar Hafizov (2022-23) 2 - Pat Smith (2019, 2023) 2 - Mallory Velte (2018, 2022) Lost the First Match and Won the Series 2 - Pat Smith (2019, 2023) 1 - Multiple Most Matches Won Without a Series Victory 2 - Joe Colon (1-2; 2018, 1-2; 2019) 2 - Dalton Roberts (1-2; 2022, 1-2; 2023)

We have a Senior World Team set! Or at least 29 of 30 team members after Final X in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday. Final X provided us with some exciting matches, controversial moments, historic performances and much more. After evaluating the world team for each of the three styles and looking over the results, we’ve found some fun facts, trends, and random “other stuff.” So, let’s get down to it! Men’s freestyle had seven wrestlers with a bye through to Final X, based on winning a world medal. Three of those were beaten. In the remaining three weights, the US Open champion did not prevail, only at 92 kg. Women’s freestyle had four winners that had to go through World Team Trials. Greco-Roman had five World Team Trials winners go on to take the world team spot. Men’s Freestyle Zane Richards is the first Illinois alum to make a freestyle world team since Jimmy Kennedy in 2014. It was a good showing for the Illini, who also had Zac Braunagel make the Greco team. Penn State has three alums on the men’s freestyle team with: Nick Lee, Zain Retherford, and David Taylor. The last time three current/former members of the same school were on the men’s team was in 2007 with Mike Zadick, Doug Schwab, and Joe Williams. (You could include the 2008 Olympic Team with Zadick, Schwab, and Steve Mocco). Zahid Valencia is the first Arizona State alum to make the men’s freestyle team since Danny Felix in 2009. Lock Haven alum Chance Marsteller is the first wrestler with LHU roots to make the team since Obe Blanc in 2010. Coincidentally, Marsteller transferred to Lock Haven from Oklahoma State; while Blanc went from Lock Haven to Oklahoma State. This is the first world team without any alums from Nebraska schools on it since 2008. Jordan Burroughs made every world team from 2011-22, along with James Green (2015-16, 2017-19, 2021). Before Burroughs, Nebraska-Omaha’s Les Sigman made the team in 2010 and Nebraska-Kearney’s Tervel Dlagnev made the 2009 team. The men’s freestyle team has five first-time World/Olympic team members (Richards, Vito Arujau, Nick Lee, Chance Marsteller, Valencia). The last time we had that many was in 2010 (Blanc, Brent Metcalf, Travis Paulson, JD Bergman, Sigman). Richards is the first Illinois native on a freestyle world team since Tony Ramos in 2015. Illinois-native Dan Dennis was also on the 2016 Olympic team. Lee is the first Indiana native to make the men’s freestyle team since Reece Humphrey in 2015. Since Cael Sanderson arrived at Penn State, Nick Lee is now the fifth Nittany Lion alum to make a World/Olympic Team (Lee, Retherford, David Taylor, Ed Ruth, Frank Molinaro). With Arujau making the team, every men’s freestyle World/Olympic team since 2019 has had at least one wrestler with collegiate eligibility remaining. Arujau’s 13-10 win over Nahshon Garrett is the highest-scoring single match in Final X history. It broke a record set by Arujau’s teammate Yianni Diakomihalis and one of Garrett’s LVWC coaches, Evan Henderson, last year (11-9). With Retherford and Marsteller on the team, it marks the first time since 1990 that PA has had two wrestlers on the world team. They were Nate Carr and Rob Koll. (There were two on the 2012 Olympic Team with Coleman Scott and Jake Herbert). The most experienced member of this team is Kyle Snyder who’s making his ninth World/Olympic appearance. He has made every World/Olympic team since 2015. At 61 kg, Arujau made his first world team. That makes a different representative at 61 kg for every world tournament since 2017. 17/Logan Stieber, 18/Joe Colon, 19/Tyler Graff, 21/Daton Fix, 22/Seth Gross. The HS Class of 2017 continues to impress. With Arujau and Lee making the world team debuts, it will make four wrestlers from that class that have already made world teams (Fix/Yianni Diakomihalis). Chance Marsteller, Brady Koontz, Pat Smith, and Zac Braunagel all lost their first match, but came back to win their series. Women’s Freestyle Jennifer Page is the first wrestler from Oklahoma City to make the world team since Becka Leathers in 2017. Sarah Hildebrandt kept her impressive scoreless Final X streak alive. She’s the only wrestler to participate in every iteration of the event and has held her opponent's score in all eight matches. She won by a combined score of 56-0. With her series-clinching fall, Adeline Gray got her third career Final X fall. She’s the only wrestler with more than one in her career. Two of the women’s freestyle world teamers changed weights after a loss at the US Open finals. Page from 62 kg to 59. Emma Bruntil from 65 kg to 68. Page at 59 kg is the fifth different woman to appear for the United States at the last five world championships. (22/Abby Nette, 21/Maya Nelson, 19/Alli Ragan, 18/Jenna Burkert). Bruntil is the first wrestler that wrestled at McKendree to make a Senior world team. As usual, California is well-represented on the women’s world team. There will be five women from California on the 2023 squad with Dom Parrish/53, Jacarra Winchester/55, Page/59, Amit Elor/72. The 2023 team will have at least three first-time world team members with Page, Kilty, and Bruntil. Two of the first-timers downed past world medalists to earn their place on the squad. Kilty defeated Mallory Velte and Bruntil knocked off Forrest Molinari. The two wrestlers surrounding Kayla Miracle in the lineup; Page (59 kg) and Kilty (65 kg), both have lost to Miracle in a Final X or Olympic Trials final. Adeline Gray is the senior member of the team having made her 12th World/Olympic squad. Greco-Roman Brady Koontz and Spencer Woods both won three-match series’ though they were cumulatively outscored by their respective opponents. Dalton Duffield had an 8-0 tech of Koontz in match one and ultimately outscored him, 12-11. Ryan Epps teched Woods in match two 9-0 and had a cumulative lead of 12-8. Koontz started his Final X “career” with five consecutive losses (2x 2019/2x 2022) before rallying to beat Duffield in matches two and three. Pat Smith is now 3-for-3, wrestling three-match series’ in each of his three Final X appearances. This was the second one he won. Smith downed Kamal Bey in 2019 and lost to Benji Peak last year. Joe Rau made the world team at a third different weight. 80 kg in 2014, 87 kg in 2019, and 97 in 2023. Xavier Johnson is the first wrestler from the Carolinas (South) to make a world/Olympic team in any style since Dremiel Byers (North) did so at 120 kg in Greco in 2012. Speaking of heavyweights, after Cohlton Schultz made his third consecutive team, it extended a streak that’s seen only four wrestlers make a World/Olympic team at Greco’s highest weight dating back to 2005. Byers made the team from 05-2012. Robby Smith took over from 2013-17, and Adam Coon in 2018-19 (who also won the 2020 Trials). Ildar Hafizov and Smith are the veteran members of this team with four world/Olympic team appearances each. (Hafizov has more wrestling for Uzbekistan).

Stanford had a tough season, ending with a 6-7 dual season record, second at Pac-12 Championships and 26th at NCAAs. “Last year was the first losing season in my 33 years as coaching,” Coach Rob Koll said. “We had 17 or 18 kids in the room.” The Cardinal program has looked to find its rhythm after almost losing its program a few years ago. Although Stanford had its first losing season since the 2012-13 season, they showed some promise in the postseason. The main reason why Stanford has struggled is the lack of recruits and depth. “If you look at it, every other team has four years of recruits and we have three,” Koll said. “It’s massive because 25% of your team is not there and you can’t replace it in one year.” Since Koll has had less time to recruit, he struggled in certain weight classes. “Nobody was allowed to get hurt last year and we couldn’t rest guys because we didn’t have backups,” Koll said. “It was not ideal.” Stanford took one final loss this offseason when Shane Griffith transferred to Michigan. However, Koll is elated that Griffith is moving forward with his career and Koll looks to give his underclassmen the opportunity to grow. “We lost Shane but it wouldn’t have benefitted him to be here another year and getting another master’s in another program,” Koll said. “On the other side, it’s time to move on and develop the guys coming in. Our goal is to compete with trophies. With Shane, we maybe finish 10th or 11th instead of 20s.” Stanford will now focus on some of their top underclassmen to take over the program. 157-pound Daniel Cardenas won the Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year. Cardenas, a true freshman, was a Pac-12 champion, undefeated in duals, and reached the Round of 12 at NCAAs. Nico Provo showed flashes last season, starting off 13-2 before falling to 20-11 and going 0-2 in the 125-pound class at NCAAs. Hunter Garvin backed up Shane Griffith at 165 pounds. He finished 10-7 as a freshman and is fresh off a runner-up finish at U20s. Jack Darrah went 12-8 as a backup at 184 pounds. He represents the U20 U.S. freestyle squad at 92kg. With these young stars and a handful of recruits landing on campus, Koll hopes Stanford can return to prominence in two years. “It will take another year until we can get into the top 10 and above and succeed at dual meets,” Koll said. “There will be a few holes but for the first time we have flexibility and depth.” Koll wants to build Stanford the old-fashioned way with recruiting and developing compared to the transfer portal and NIL deals. “I don’t need to dip into the portal because we won’t lose guys,” Koll said. “I’m building a team, not buying a team like the Penn State, Iowa, and Michigan models.” Koll’s lone transfer is his former Cornell wrestler Dom LaJoie. LaJoie will be joining the lightweights after finishing 9-5 last season at Cornell. Instead of using the transfer portal, Koll will rely on his resources at Stanford. Besides amazing weather and campus, Koll will promote his RTC program, scholarships, and stipends that Stanford provides to the athletes. Once the resources are set and the recruits begin to take over the Stanford program, Stanford looks to aim for the top of the NCAA. “Next year is hard because we will have nine freshmen or sophomores on the team,” Koll said. “I’m not so concerned about next year. The following year we will contend for trophies and the top four. I’ve been there before and know what it requires.” Koll finished as runner-up at NCAAs twice at Cornell and eight top-five finishes too. The Stanford coaching staff, from left: Grant Leeth, Ryan Deakin, Koll, and Enock Francois

Interviews are being uploaded.....they will be added here as they are finalized. Men's Freestyle 57 kg - Zane Richards 61 kg - Vito Arujau 65 kg - Nick Lee 70 kg - Zain Retherford 74 kg - Kyle Dake 79 kg - Chance Marsteller 86 kg - David Taylor 92 kg - Zahid Valencia 97 kg - Kyle Snyder 125 kg - Gable Steveson Women's Freestyle 50 kg - Sarah Hildebrandt 53 kg - Dom Parrish 55 kg - Jacarra Winchester 59 kg - Jennifer Page 62 kg - Kayla Miracle 65 kg - Macey Kilty 68 kg - Emma Bruntil 72 kg - Amit Elor 76 kg - Adeline Gray Greco-Roman 55 kg - Brady Koontz 60 kg - Ildar Hafizov 63 kg - Xavier Johnson 67 kg - Alex Sancho 72 kg - Pat Smith 77 kg - Kamal Bey 82 kg - Spencer Woods 87 kg - Zac Braunagel 97 kg - Joe Rau 130 kg - Cohlton Schultz True-Third Place Winners 61 kg MFS - Daton Fix 70 kg MFS - Sammy Sasso 79 kg MFS - Alex Dieringer 92 kg MFS - Kollin Moore 63 kg MGR - Sammy Jones 82 kg MGR - Ben Provisor

Final X is finally here! This is your place for updated results throughout the day. More results will be added as they occur: Final X Round One Men's Freestyle 57 kg - Zane Richards (Illinois RTC/Titan Mercury WC) over Thomas Gilman (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) 5-4 61 kg - Vito Arujau (Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC) over Nahshon Garrett (Titan Mercury WC/Lehigh Valley WC) 6-5 65 kg - Nick Lee (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) over Yianni Diakomihalis (Spartan Combat WC/Titan Mercury WC) 7-6 70 kg - Zain Retherford (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC over Tyler Berger (Pennsylvania RTC/Sunkist Kids) 11-2 74 kg - Kyle Dake (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) over Jason Nolf (Nittany Lion WC/ Titan Mercury WC) 6-0 79 kg - Jordan Burroughs (Pennsylvania RTC/Sunkist Kids) over Chance Marsteller (NJRTC/NYCRTC/TMWC) 3-3 86 kg - David Taylor (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) over Aaron Brooks (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) 6-0 92 kg - Zahid Valencia (Sunkist Kids) over Mike Macchiavello (Wolfpack WC/TMWC) 8-0 97 kg - Kyle Snyder (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) over J'den Cox (Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC) FFT 125 kg - Gable Steveson (Gopher WC) over Mason Parris (CKWC/Titan Mercury WC) 5-2 Women’s Freestyle 50 kg - Sarah Hildebrandt (NYAC) over Audrey Jimenez (Sunkist Kids) 8-0 53 kg - Dom Parrish (Sunkist Kids) over Katie Gomez (Sunkist Kids) Fall 1:54 55 kg - Jacarra Winchester (Titan Mercury WC) over Alisha Howk (Sunkist Kids) 10-0 59 kg - Jennifer Page (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) over Michaela Beck 11-0 62 kg - Kayla Miracle (Sunkist Kids) over Adaugo Nwachukwu (Titan Mercury WC) 6-1 65 kg - Macey Kilty (Sunkist Kids) over Mallory Velte (Beaver Dam RTC/Titan Mercury WC) Fall 5:50 68 kg - Emma Bruntil (USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC) over Forrest Molinari (Sunkist Kids) 6-3 72 kg - Amit Elor (NYC RTC/Titan Mercury WC) over Joye Levendusky (Southern Oregon RTC) 10-0 76 kg - Adeline Gray (NYAC/Beaver Dam RTC) over Kennedy Blades (Sunkist Kids) 7-5 Greco-Roman 55 kg - Dalton Duffield (Army WCAP) over Brady Koontz (Dubuque RTC/Titan Mercury WC) 8-0 60 kg - Ildar Hafizov (Army WCAP) over Dalton Roberts (Army WCAP) Fall 4:01 63 kg - Xavier Johnson (Army WCAP) over Hayden Tuma (Suples WC) 10-1 67kg - Alex Sancho (Army WCAP) over Robert Perez III (Sunkist Kids) 3-2 72 kg - Justus Scott (Army WCAP) over Patrick Smith (Minnesota Storm) 3-3 77 kg - Kamal Bey (Army WCAP) over Aliaksandr Kikiniou (NYAC) 9-0 82 kg - Spencer Woods (Army WCAP) over Ryan Epps (Army WCAP) 3-3 87 kg - Alan Vera (NYAC) over Zac Braunagel (Illinois RTC/Illinois WC) 10-0 97 kg - Joe Rau (Wildcat WC/Titan Mercury WC) over Christian Dulaney (Minnesota Storm) 3-2 130 kg - Cohlton Schultz (Sunkist Kids) over Adam Coon (CKWC) 3-0 Round Two Men's Freestyle 57 kg - Zane Richards (Illinois RTC/Titan Mercury WC) over Thomas Gilman (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) 8-6 61 kg - Vito Arujau (Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC) over Nahshon Garrett (Titan Mercury WC/Lehigh Valley WC) 13-10 65 kg - Nick Lee (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) over Yianni Diakomihalis (Spartan Combat WC/Titan Mercury WC) 8-8 70 kg - Zain Retherford (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC over Tyler Berger (Pennsylvania RTC/Sunkist Kids) 4-3 74 kg - Kyle Dake (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) over Jason Nolf (Nittany Lion WC/ Titan Mercury WC) 3-0 79 kg - Chance Marsteller (NJRTC/NYCRTC/TMWC) over Jordan Burroughs (Pennsylvania RTC/Sunkist Kids) 5-4 86 kg - David Taylor (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) over Aaron Brooks (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) 5-4 92 kg - Zahid Valencia (Sunkist Kids) over Mike Macchiavello (Wolfpack WC/TMWC) 9-2 97 kg - Kyle Snyder (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) over J'den Cox (Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC) FFT 125 kg - Gable Steveson (Gopher WC) over Mason Parris (CKWC/Titan Mercury WC) 5-0 Women’s Freestyle 50 kg - Sarah Hildebrandt (NYAC) over Audrey Jimenez (Sunkist Kids) 11-0 53 kg - Dom Parrish (Sunkist Kids) over Katie Gomez (Sunkist Kids) 5-0 55 kg - Jacarra Winchester (Titan Mercury WC) over Alisha Howk (Sunkist Kids) 11-0 59 kg - Jennifer Page (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) over Michaela Beck 11-0 62 kg - Kayla Miracle (Sunkist Kids) over Adaugo Nwachukwu (Titan Mercury WC) 10-3 65 kg - Macey Kilty (Sunkist Kids) over Mallory Velte (Beaver Dam RTC/Titan Mercury WC) 6-5 68 kg - Forrest Molinari (Sunkist Kids) over Emma Bruntil (USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC) 3-2 72 kg - Amit Elor (NYC RTC/Titan Mercury WC) over Joye Levendusky (Southern Oregon RTC) 10-0 76 kg - Adeline Gray (NYAC/Beaver Dam RTC) over Kennedy Blades (Sunkist Kids) Fall 4:38 Greco-Roman 55 kg - Brady Koontz (Dubuque RTC/Titan Mercury WC) over Dalton Duffield (Army WCAP) 4-1 60 kg - Dalton Roberts (Army WCAP) over Ildar Hafizov (Army WCAP) 9-0 63 kg - Xavier Johnson (Army WCAP) over Hayden Tuma (Suples WC) 10-0 67kg - Alex Sancho (Army WCAP) over Robert Perez III (Sunkist Kids) 5-1 72 kg - Patrick Smith (Minnesota Storm) over Justus Scott (Army WCAP) 5-4 77 kg - Kamal Bey (Army WCAP) over Aliaksandr Kikiniou (NYAC) 5-1 82 kg - Ryan Epps (Army WCAP) over Spencer Woods (Army WCAP) 9-0 87 kg - Zac Braunagel (Illinois RTC/Illinois WC) over Alan Vera (NYAC) 6-5 97 kg - Joe Rau (Wildcat WC/Titan Mercury WC) over Christian Dulaney (Minnesota Storm) 8-0 130 kg - Cohlton Schultz (Sunkist Kids) over Adam Coon (CKWC) 5-1 Round Three Men's Freestyle 79 kg - Chance Marsteller (NJRTC/NYCRTC/TMWC) over Jordan Burroughs (Pennsylvania RTC/Sunkist Kids) 8-3 Women’s Freestyle 68 kg - Emma Bruntil (USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC) over Forrest Molinari (Sunkist Kids) 3-2 Greco-Roman 55 kg - Brady Koontz (Dubuque RTC/Titan Mercury WC) over Dalton Duffield (Army WCAP) 7-3 60 kg - Ildar Hafizov (Army WCAP) over Dalton Roberts (Army WCAP) 2-1 72 kg - Patrick Smith (Minnesota Storm) over Justus Scott (Army WCAP) 7-5 82 kg - Spencer Woods (Army WCAP) over Ryan Epps (Army WCAP) 5-0 87 kg - Zac Braunagel (Illinois RTC/Illinois WC) over Alan Vera (NYAC) FFT True Third Place Matches Men's Freestyle 61 kg - Daton Fix (Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC) over Austin DeSanto (Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC) 9-0 65 kg - Joey McKenna (Pennsylvania RTC/Titan Mercury WC) over Matt Kolodzik (New York AC/NJRTC) 10-0 70 kg - Sammy Sasso (Ohio RTC/Titan Mercury WC) over Alec Pantaleo (Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury) 10-0 74 kg - Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) over Vincenzo Joseph (Sunkist Kids) FFT 79 kg - Alex Dieringer (Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC) over David McFadden (Virginia) 2-2 92 kg - Kollin Moore (Ohio RTC/Titan Mercury WC) over Nate Jackson (NJRTC) 11-8 Women’s Freestyle 50 kg - Erin Golston (NYAC) FFT Alyssa Lampe (Sunkist Kids) 53 kg - Samara Chavez (Team Tornado WC) fall Felicity Taylor (Iowa) 4:09 57 kg - Amanda Martinez (North Central/Titan Mercury WC) over Alex Hedrick (USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC) 5-3 59 kg - Maya Nelson (Sunkist Kids) over Brenda Reyna (Washington) 10-0 72 kg - Brooklyn Hayes (Utah Valley RTC) over Rose Cassioppi (NYAC) 9-8 76 kg - Kylie Welker (Wisconsin) over Dymond Guilford (USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC) 8-5 Greco-Roman 60 kg - Randon Miranda (Rise RTC) over Dylan Koontz (Dubuque RTC/Titan Mercury WC) 7-0 63 kg - Sammy Jones (Sunkist Kids) over Dylan Gregerson (Utah Valley RTC) 12-2 72 kg - Noah Wachsmuth (NYAC) over Michael Hooker (Army WCAP) 16-8 77 kg - RaVaughn Perkins (Colorado) over Payton Jacobson (Sunkist Kids) 3-1 82 kg - Ben Provisor (NYAC) over Barrett Stanghill (Minnesota Storm) 3-1 130 kg - Donny Longendyke (Minnesota Storm) over Brandon Metz (North Dakota) 6-4

Greens Farms Academy

Columbus Catholic

Osceola

Osceola

It’s almost here! We’re only a few days away from the best domestic event of the year during the freestyle and Greco-Roman season, Final X. For the first time since it was established in 2018, will all three styles be held at the same location on one day. Saturday’s winners will go on to Belgrade, Serbia in September to represent the United States at the 2023 World Championships. We’ll finish up our previews by looking at the Senior Men’s Greco-Roman matchups. The 2022 team was held without a medal and we could be looking at a transition of power as four world team representatives from 2022 are not competing in Final X this year. At least two weights will have a first-time world rep and two others had a recent U20 rep (2021/2022) win the Open. Before we get ahead of ourselves and look at Belgrade, we have a preview of the action in the ten weight classes, with information about each wrestler and their previous head-to-head matchups, if any. 55 kg - Brady Koontz vs. Dalton Duffield Max Nowry had made the last three world teams at 55 kg; however, he did not participate in the qualifying process, so we’ll have a new representative at the weight. A familiar face to viewers of Final X is Brady Koontz, who lost to Nowry in each of the last two editions of the event. Last year’s loss came via the thinnest of margins, as he lost both bouts, 1-1. Koontz seemed to separate himself from the rest of the 55 kg bracket at the US Open, when he captured three straight wins via a 9-0 score. That final US Open opponent for Koontz was Dalton Duffield. He was quite impressive, himself, getting to the finals with a pair of techs. That carried over to the World Team Trials where Duffield posted 10-0 techs against Jacob Cochran and Camden Russell. These two have represented the United States at the Pan-American Championships in each of the last two years. Both came home with gold, Koontz in 2022 and Duffield in May. Duffield was also fifth at the Zagreb Open earlier this year. Aside from the Open finals, this pair has tangled a handful of times over the past four years. Each has gone Koontz’s way and he’s tended to extend the margin of victory as time has progressed. Pick: Brady Koontz 60 kg - Dalton Roberts vs. Ildar Hafizov The only 2022 Final X rematch comes at 60 kg between Army WCAP teammates and training partners Dalton Roberts and Ildar Hafizov. It would be difficult to find a pair of wrestlers so evenly matches in this set of ten bouts. Since Roberts moved up to the Senior level, they’ve met 11 times, with seven bouts going the way of Roberts. These two also have fought to the third match in a three-match series three times, including last year’s Final X NYC meeting. I’d be surprised if Saturday wasn’t the fourth instance of this happening. Roberts got the first Final X bid based on his 7-6 win over Hafizov in the US Open finals. That match was an uncharacteristically one-sided affair; however, Hafizov tossed Roberts to his back late in the bout and almost garnered the fall. Both wrestlers are on another level from the rest of the weight class domestically. Roberts tech’ed all of his non-Hafizov opponents at the Open, while Hafizov’s closest pre-finals match was a 7-1 victory. After winning the Open, Roberts was selected to compete at the Pan-American Championships, which he won for the first time. Both he and Hafizov have combined to make the Senior World team on five occasions. Hafizov was our 2020(1) representative at the Olympic Games and also made the 2008 Olympics and three world teams wrestling for Uzbekistan. Pick: Dalton Roberts 63 kg - Hayden Tuma vs. Xavier Johnson This is the second and final weight where we are guaranteed to have a first-time world team member. After competing for most of his Senior level career at 66/67 kg, Hayden Tuma dropped down to 63 kg and won his first US Open title. To win his title, Tuma had to go through a pair of past Final X participants in the semis (Leslie Fuenffinger) and Sammy Jones (finals). Tuma is a two-time Bill Farrell Champion and a two-time Junior and Cadet World Team member. Xavier Johnson made Final X despite coming into the World Team Trials as the third seed in a four-man bracket. It’ll be his second appearance in Final X after losing to Ryan Mango in 2019. At the 2023 WTT’s, Johnson downed Dylan Gregerson and Sammy Jones to clinch a spot in Newark. He and Jones were slated to meet in the US Open semis; however, he did not wrestle due to an injury. Johnson hasn’t competed overseas in a few years, but he did capture a gold medal at Pan-Am’s in 2021, his most recent international tournament. You have to go back to 2019 to find a meeting between these two. On that occasion, at the Armed Forces Championships, Tuma scored an 8-0 tech over Johnson. Pick: Hayden Tuma 67 kg - Robert Perez III vs. Alex Sancho In our next two matches, we’ll see a young phenom against a past world team member and in both instances, it was the young wrestler who comes in as the US Open champion. The 67 kg bracket was in flux after the quarterfinals when top-seeded Alex Sancho was pinned by high school senior Joel Adams. A match later, Robert Perez III downed Adams, 6-3. Perez III would lock up a spot in Final X after he disposed of 2016 Olympian Jesse Thielke via tech, 8-0. Perez III went on to wrestle in the Pan-American Championships and had to settle for 12th place. He does have plenty of international experience, wrestling at U20 World’s last year and U17’s in 2019. 2020(1) Olympian and 2022 World Team member Sancho solidified his place in Final X with two wins at the WTT’s before receiving a forfeit from Thielke in the finals. Earlier this year, Sancho entered the Zagreb Open and was 11th. He traveled east last year and earned his trip to Belgrade after two wins over Alston Nutter in Final X NYC. These two have not met before, so there isn’t much to go off of. Can Perez knock off two past Olympians in less than two months? Pick: Alex Sancho 72 kg - Justus Scott vs. Patrick Smith Another matchup with a young upstart against a grizzled veteran takes place at 72 kg with Justus Scott and Patrick Smith. The two squared off in the US Open finals and it was Scott who shocked Smith with a 6-4 win. That meant that Scott took out the top-three seeds at the Open after coming in as the sixth seed. After edging Nolan Wachsmuth in the quarters, Smith downed 2022 Final X participant (77 kg) Britton Holmes 4-1. Scott, a 2022 U20 World Team member, proceeded to wrestle in the Pan-American Championships and came away with a gold medal. Smith has made three of world teams and is a two-time Final X participant, winning one (2019) and losing another (2022). In both instances, his series went the full three matches. There’s a good shot that history could repeat itself. During Smith’s only international trip this year, he was 13th at the Zagreb Open. After the Open loss, he rebounded at the World Team Trials shutting out Michael Hooker and Wachsmuth to book the rematch with Scott. The Open finals match is the only prior meeting between these two. I could see the crafty veteran, Smith, coming up with a way to win the first match, but it ultimately going three. Pick: Justus Scott 77 kg - Kamal Bey vs. Aliaksandr Kikiniou 2022 marked the return of 2017 Junior World Champion, Kamal Bey, however, the return did not turn out as planned at the world level. Bey finished 31st at Belgrade in his first World Championship event since 2018. If the 2023 US Open is any indication, Bey might be creeping closer to the wrestler that won worlds in 2017. He teched all four of his opponents and outscored the field 38-1. A week later, Bey went and grabbed his first Pan-American gold medal. The opponent that Bey blitzed in the US Open finals was Aliaksandr Kikiniou whose performance was a stunning revelation. Kikiniou was a 2009 world bronze medalist for Belarus and wrestled for the bronze at the 2012 Olympics. He put on a display himself to get to the finals. Kikiniou needed less than two minutes to down Payton Jacobson in the semifinals. Despite Kikiniou’s dominance in his pre-finals matches and his history/pedigree, Bey rolled to a 9-0 tech in only :33 seconds. The Open win, combined with Pan-Am, gold can only help Bey’s confidence, which is a scary proposition. Kikiniou will have to go back to the drawing board and pull out every trick in the book if he hopes to slow down Bey. Pick: Kamal Bey 82 kg - Spencer Woods vs. Ryan Epps Last year, Spencer Woods got the late call and competed at the World Championships for the first time as a replacement for Ben Provisor. At Final X Stillwater, Woods fell 8-0 and 5-3 to Provisor. At the 2023 Open, Woods turned the tables on Provisor and captured the title with a 4-3 victory. Woods went on to strike gold in his first appearance at the Pan-American Championships. I’m sure many expected a Provisor/Woods rematch, but Ryan Epps had other plans. Epps was seeded sixth in a six-man World Team Trials weight class, but came out on top. He edged Tommy Bracket, then teched Andrew Berreyesa before meeting Provisor in the finals. Epps scored twice in the second period to upset the Olympian, 2-1. These two have not met in 2023, but clashed twice in 2022. In both instances, it was Woods who got his hand raised 8-1 at the Bill Farrell, then 8-0 a few weeks later at the Open. Pick: Spencer Woods 87 kg - Alan Vera vs. Zac Bruanagel Alan Vera has quickly established himself as a mainstay on the Greco world team with appearances on the squad in each of the last two teams. Vera teched his way through the 2023 US Open, his third win in Vegas in as many tries. The only wrestler that scored on Vera was U20/U23 national champion Mikey Altomer. In the semifinals, Vera teched his Final X opponent Zac Braunagel, 9-0. He finished his tournament by rolling through 2020(1) Olympian John Stefanowicz. After the Open, Vera went to the Pan-American Championships and came away with a bronze medal, his first medal at the event while representing the United States. Earlier in the year, he was 28th at the Zagreb Open. Braunagel, the collegiate star at Illinois, ended up third at the Open after teching Vera’s 2022 Final X opponent Timothy Young. The two would meet right away, in Brauangel’s next bout, at the World Team Trials. Once again, Braungel won via tech. For the berth in Final X, Braunagel shut out the Minnesota Storm’s Richard Carlson, 6-0. That win came a match after Carlson upset Stefanowicz. This year’s US Open win for Vera is the only past meeting between these two. Though still a collegiate wrestler, Braunagel has an excellent Greco background and a great coach (Bryan Medlin), so he could make things more interesting in this meeting. Pick: Alan Vera 97 kg - Joe Rau vs. Christian DuLaney Could we see Joe Rau make a world team at a third different weight? Rau has been up and down throughout the upperweights throughout his entire career. He’s made world teams at 80 and 87 kg, but is now up at 97. Rau spent 2015-17 competing in the old 98 kg weight class. After an incredible showing at the US Open, Rau is only two matches away from doing so. In four bouts, he put up three techs and a fall. A few weeks later, Rau went to the Pan-American Championships and won his third career gold medal at the event. Christian DuLaney comes to Newark on the strength of his title at the WTT’s. DuLaney defeated Brandon Marshall and Cade Lautt (8-0) to make Final X. He was sixth at the Open after losing 7-5 in the semis to Nicholas Boykin and defaulting out of the tournament. DuLaney gained some valuable international experience earlier this year with a 12th-place finish at Thor Masters. Despite the weight changes for both wrestlers, they do have a prior meeting. Back in 2020 at Senior Nationals, Rau teched DuLaney, 10-0 Pick: Joe Rau 130 kg - Cohlton Schultz vs. Adam Coon We’ll finish things off with one of the more interesting series’ of the evening, from a Greco standpoint. Adam Coon was “the guy” at 130 kg, capturing a world silver medal in 2018, making back-to-back world teams and winning the Olympic Team Trials. After the Trials and the weight qualification attempts, Coon turned his sights on making it in the NFL and spent time with the Tennessee Titans and Atlanta Falcons. Earlier this year, Coon announced his intentions to return to wrestling and to try and regain his spot atop the ladder at 130 kg. Coon’s first event in his return was the 2023 US Open. He seemed to cruise on his way to the finals, taking out 2022 Final X participant Tanner Farmer, 5-1 in the semis. That set up a finals match with young star Cohlton Schultz. Schultz stunned the big man from Michigan with an 11-0 tech, highlighted with a match-ending four-point throw. With Coon out of the picture, Schultz has made back-to-back world team appearances. He’s still searching for an elusive Senior World medal after winning three at the age-group level. With his US Open dominance, Schultz looks as good as ever posting a fall and three techs on his way to a title. Coon made Final X on the strength of two techs at the WTT’s, including one of veteran Donny Longendyke in the finals. Not only did these two meet in the Open finals, but they also clashed at Final X 2019 and the Olympic Trials finals. Along with the 2021 Matteo Pellicone. In all of those previous instances, Coon prevailed. With more mat time under his belt, could Coon be ready to assert himself, or has Schultz improved too much in the interim? Pick: Cohlton Schultz

Final X is finally here and I’m finally doing consecutive mailbags for the first time in an eternity. What do you want from me? It’s a slow period. But not this week! The powers that be put the pinnacle event of senior wrestling in the greatest state in the Union and I need to pull my weight. So while you’re driving to Jersey today, take a gander at this week’s mailbag. Feel free to read it out loud to anyone else in the car. What are your thoughts on the NCAA rule changes? What do you like and what don’t you like? Dan Seifring, WrestleStat and Tik Tok influencer I don’t really have an opinion until I see it all in action. Certainly, the three-point takedown is an entire shock to the system. Takedowns are the standard in folkstyle scoring and they’re worth two points. Always have been. It’s like randomly making a touchdown 11 points. Or a three-pointer into a six-pointer. You’re changing the entire dynamics of the sport. In the long run, it may be the right move but it’s simply going to take heat for a while from a fanbase that was raised on the shouts of “two!” from the crowd. Now don’t me wrong, eventually, there will be a match where someone storms back from a large deficit because of the change and I’m sure it will be exciting for all of us. But mostly I think it leads to more major decisions. For now, I’ll go in with an open mind but that doesn’t mean I won’t end up hating it. Baseball managers in college and pros wear the team’s uniform while coaching their teams in games. Should college and national team coaches wear their team’s singlet while coaching in their corners? Mike Abromitis People always make fun of the manager for wearing the uniform, but I love it. It makes the whole spectacle of arguing with the umpire even funnier when you’re throwing a tantrum and acting beyond the modicum of any sane human being while wearing tight baseball pants. Would it have the same comedic effect in wrestling? Probably even more so. And that’s why it’s probably not a good idea. What’s your favorite beer? Luke Kemerer I don’t always drink beer...but I used to. When I did I usually tapped the Rockies for the Silver Bullet. In a summer barbecue-type atmosphere, I usually go for Corona with a lime for that whole beach vibe. I kind of want a beer now, the Mets just blew another game? Make it a case. Who are your Men’s Freestyle picks? Earl in VA The problem with having such a great team is that it doesn’t leave much room for surprise in the qualifying portion. How do you pick against any of the seven returning medalists? I could see Zane Richards making things interesting, but Gilman is in his prime right now. Arujau has been the best wrestler in the entire country for the year of 2023, but Garrett looked as good as ever at trials. I’ll still take Vito two-nil to make his first Senior Team. He’s just too damn good right now. Yianni-Lee will be the best series of the event. I’ll take the four-timer in three very exciting matches. It’s straight chalk for the next four matches, but I do think 74 and 79 could possibly go to three matches. The Dake-Nolf dynamic is just fascinating and it’s fun to see how much Nolf closes the gap each year. Not to mention the whole being teammates thing. Chance has proven he can win, but I’ll pick someone other than Burroughs to make a world team the year after Burroughs retires. Aaron Brooks may be the future of 86 kilograms, but Saturday is a little too near future. 92 kg is obviously the biggest toss-up on the slate, but I’ll take Mike Macchiavello in three. I just don’t know if Zahid can keep going up in weight like this. He once wrestled at 103! The Burroughs rule also applies to Kyle Snyder, but he hasn’t been challenged for his world spot like this in some time. Snyder and Cox close the night with a third match that will bring the house down. Also, give me Gable as a sneaky pick to make the team. The brother of NXT Superstar Damon Kemp has shown a talent for the mat and could have a bright future if he sticks around. Well, the Canadian smoke seems to have cleared, could be some Jagger smoke lingering, but that won’t hurt you too much. Enjoy the Garden State and all its charms but get out of here as soon as possible. It’s plenty crowded already.

Farmington

Parkersburg South

Frazier

Starpoint