InterMat Staff

Ryan Holmes and new North Dakota State assistant coach Hayden Hidlay Monday afternoon North Dakota State wrestling's program announced that they've hired five-time All-American Hayden Hidlay as a new assistant coach. Shortly thereafter, Hidlay sat down with our Big 12 correspondent, Ryan Holmes, to discuss why North Dakota State is the right place for him to start his collegiate coaching career. Other topics include, his relationship with new Bison head coach Obe Blanc, his competitive career, brother Trent, and Hayden's recent engagement. The interview can be found on InterMat's Rokfin Page.

NC State head coach Pat Popolizio (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) On Monday afternoon, news broke out of Fargo, North Dakota that newly promoted North Dakota State head wrestling coach, Obe Blanc, had hired Hayden Hidlay as his assistant coach. In 2022, Hidlay finished up a decorated career at NC State that saw him leave Raleigh as one of the all-time greats in NC State wrestling, becoming the first four-time (and five-time) All-American in school history and second in career win-loss percentage. Hidlay and Blanc's paths crossed at NC State as Blanc was an assistant coach early in Hidlay's career, before leaving for NDSU. The common ground for both was wrestling or coaching under Wolfpack head coach Pat Popolizio. When it comes to college coaching trees, no one is larger or more famous than Dan Gable's when he was the head coach at the University of Iowa. John Smith's is quite impressive himself as he is now responsible for coaching ten current DI head coaches, which is the most of any coach or school. What you may not realize is that Popolizio has an impressive list of DI coaches that have either coached alongside him or wrestled under him (or both). With Hidlay's hiring, that number grows by one. Before the 2021-22 season, InterMat traveled to Raleigh and spoke with Popolizio about this exact topic. When asked about the number of his pupils in the coaching ranks he responded, "To me, you never want to have a kid come here and resent the sport of wrestling. We want it to be a positive experience." Some head coaches may view assistants leaving as more work for them in the short-term and a difficult situation in replacing a valued member of their staff. Popolizio isn't one of them. "I feel confident about the guys on our staff. At some point, they'll get the call to be a head coach and they'll be ready because of the day-to-day tasks that are thrown at them. They're learning the ins and outs of everything I do as a head coach. I already know in our room right now, we have several guys who are going to be great college coaches." So who's next from the Pat Popolizio coaching tree? "Adam Hall, he's a rock star. His time's coming. He'll get the call to be a head coach." That call may have to wait until after the 2023-24 season based on the fact that no head coaching positions are currently open. Hall is very highly regarded in coaching circles and the general consensus around him getting a job is "when not if" he gets a job. In addition to Hall, current assistant coach Timmy McCall did not wrestle at NC State, but he has been a constant around the team for almost a decade (2015), first as a member of the Wolfpack Wrestling Club, then rising onto the full-time staff. Here is our full interview from 2021-22 with Coach Popolizio. The question regarding his coaching tree and the subsequent answer is around the 10:30-13:00 minute mark. Below is the list of current, then former, DI coaches that have wrestled or coached under Popolizio at one point. Army West Point Scott Green (Associate Head Coach) - Binghamton assistant coach Jeff Breese (Current Army West Point Director of Wrestling Development) - NC State assistant Cornell Nick Gwiazdowski (Assistant Coach) - NC State athlete Donnie Vinson (Assistant Coach) - Binghamton athlete/NC State assistant coach George Mason Frank Beasley (Head Coach) - NC State Associate Head Coach Hofstra Dennis Papadatos (Head Coach) - Binghamton Assistant Coach Kent State Malik McDonald (Assistant Coach) - NC State athlete NC State Kevin Jack (Volunteer Assistant) - NC State athlete North Carolina Jamill Kelly (Assistant Coach) - NC State Assistant Coach North Dakota State Obe Blanc (Head Coach) - NC State Assistant Coach Hayden Hidlay (Assistant Coach) - NC State athlete and Student-Athlete Development Coordinator Northern Colorado Justin Oliver (Volunteer Assistant) - NC State athlete Former DI Coaches Army West Point Joe DeAngelo (Associate Head Coach) - NC State athlete Cal Poly Sean Fausz (Assistant Coach) - NC State athlete George Mason Beau Donahue (Volunteer Assistant) - NC State athlete NC State Matt Kaylor (Volunteer Assistant) - Binghamton athlete Oregon State Mike Kosoy (Volunteer Assistant) - NC State athlete Penn Pete Renda (Assistant Coach) - NC State athlete

New North Dakota State assistant coach Hayden Hidlay (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Another one-way flight from Raleigh, NC to Fargo, ND has been booked as former North Carolina State standout Hayden Hidlay will be joining newly appointed head coach Obe Blanc. Hidlay, who was a five-time All-American at NC State, comes to NDSU after finishing last season as the Student-Athlete Development Coordinator for the Wolfpack. In addition to being the school’s first five-time AA, Hidlay was also a four-time ACC Champion and finished his career with a 110-11 record which ranks second all-time in school history for win-loss percentage. He now rejoins Blanc, who coached him during the 2017-19 seasons and will serve as the Assistant Coach. Read the full announcement from NDSU. Hidlay’s career stats 5x All-American (first in NC State history) 4x All-American (first in NC State history) 2nd all-time in school history for career win-loss percentage 110-11 record

Alex Clemsen (left) and Assistant Coach Devin Mellon (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) I've been a big fan of the Alex Clemsen hire as the Head Wrestling coach of the Maryland Terrapins since day one. I watched for years as the Missouri Tigers, where he was on the coaching staff, constantly produced All-Americans, national finalists, and tortured the rest of the Mid-American Conference. His passion from matside was evident and you saw how much his wrestlers trusted him. So when this hiring decision was first announced in April of 2019, I was immediately onboard. Throughout the years, and through several interviews and Coach Clemsen's generosity with his time and my requests for interviews or comments, I've been able to see exactly why he has been so successful. He is genuine, and as he referenced in our interview, sometimes honest to a fault. That level of honesty and abundance of integrity is certainly one of the things that allow him to develop such trust from his athletes and athletic department. Pair that with his competitive spirit, and you see why he's been able to establish the foundation for something that can grow into a special program. "I told Damon Evans (Maryland Director of Athletics) in our interview, four years to be competitive, six years to be good." Damon referenced how other candidates had said they could do it in a shorter amount of time, to which Alex replied "Well, they lied to you." This is the sort of person Alex Clemsen is. He'll be honest, sometimes to a fault, but for those ready to hear it they'll be better off because of it. The first question I had for Coach Clemsen was on if he had felt any feelings of validation, that he was on the right track, or any specific levels of validation since receiving the extension. That would have been how I felt after signing a five-year extension, but for Coach Clemsen it was different. "The first thing that comes to mind is my family. This gives us stability, we're rooted. I have a daughter who is going to be in eighth grade and this keeps us in College Park through her High School. My son is going to be a sixth grader, so at that point, he'll be a sophomore, so the path is fully in motion to be in College Park long-term. That's ultimately where my mind goes first. Secondly, you think about the kids you're recruiting, and the team you've built, and the kids who aren't here yet but who have committed. We're fulfilling the promise that we've made them, that we are going to be their guys, and they are going to be our guys. That feels very good." The next thing I wanted to cover with Coach Clemsen was just how this extension could impact their recruiting moving forward. To think that this is more likely to have a positive effect than a negative is fairly obvious, but consider that they had the eighth-ranked recruiting class in 2021 before having some of the recent successes that led to this extension. "One thing that sets us apart in the recruiting process is our genuineness. We are honest to a fault maybe sometimes, but how we present ourselves is really who we are, and what we say is what we mean, and when I tell families that I fully intend to be here, that it's the case." Alex Clemsen (left) with coaches Nick Brascetta (center) and Devin Mellon (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Now that's backed by the extension, or at least formally. As it turns out, that was a negotiation that was currently taking place, and an offer had already been extended. "I had a family ask me this spring while the negotiation was going on, the dad asked about our contract having 15 months left on it at that time. I laughed and said 'How did you know that', but if it were my son being recruited I would think about that also. Thankfully, all of our performance reviews had been good, and they had actually offered an extension last August. I felt our team was going to be better and I emphasized that our team was going to be better, and from a negotiation standpoint wanted to have some better results to reference." A couple things that stood out to me at the moment. First of all, I love that Alex Clemsen bet on himself, his coaches, and his team to perform before accepting any extension. Not to suggest that it wasn't fair or in good faith, but I think it's tough for anyone to have the confidence to turn down a livelihood for your family, and coaching staff's families, without any securities that say it's going to work out in the end. Sure you could say that, but the fact that Coach Clemsen did it is another thing entirely. "I needed to make sure that numbers worked, and the bonus structure and what that was going to look like, and what the assistant coaches are going to be compensated". I think it's safe to say that it worked in everyone's favor here. As I admitted at the forefront of this article, this piece is coming from a place of admiration and joy for Coach Clemsen and his family for getting this extension. It was a no-brainer to me, but sadly I do not speak for the masses. There are always some haters, and as they say, haters are going to hate. Thankfully, Coach Clemsen handles this sort of feedback in a greatly constructive manner. "I enjoy social media from a news perspective and from a storytelling perspective, and then also… I like to keep receipts. Most people have been very respectful and encouraging, but there have been a couple haters out there, but I actually like it. I've been like that since I've been young, and not in a sense that I'm going to clap back or say something back, but it feeds me. I think I've had a chip on my shoulder since I've been a little kid. It's a little self-imposed, but it's how I'm wired. I like when people say I can't, or I won't, or I shouldn't. So yeah, I screenshot them and I look at them from time to time and I keep some on my desk, or maybe I keep one in my locker. It just reminds you a little bit." Three things stood out to me about this. One, I've never related more to Coach Clemsen than when he mentioned that. I've always been motivated by the doubters and haters as well, and I hope that never stops. Two, of course he keeps receipts. Whether as an athlete, assistant coach, or head coach, it's clear that he has paid close attention to what's going on and uses it to fuel the fire and passion that he ultimately pours onto his athletes. Three, I asked him if any of his athletes are motivated in a similar way? "I think our kids keep receipts too. Ethen Miller and Jaxon Smith in particular are both wired like that. I wouldn't be surprised if more guys did. I know Ethen was left out of a preseason ranking, he printed out every ranking and put it on his locker, and said 'This is what they think of me'. I said, 'They must have forgotten you, probably need to show them, remind them a bit.' " Usually when guys wrestle for a U20 medal, they start seasons ranked pretty high, and for some reason, they didn't do that with Jaxon Smith. He noticed, and he reminded us a bit. Ultimately though for Coach Clemsen, relationships and trust is what it's all about. "I really love what I do and I like helping kids and having an impact. I like building relationships with people and I think about Tim Flynn and Lou Rosselli. You can go back further with Nick Purler. Those were the guys who were in my wedding, Troy Steiner was my best man, my high school assistant coach was the best man at my wedding. These are the guys that are my mentors. Guys I love and appreciate and I want to have that same impact on people." You see this with the best coaches across most sports, but 100% with wrestling. This sport is too difficult a sport to not implicitly trust the mentors, staff, and ultimately coaches helping you to prepare for what's coming next. Coach Clemsen certainly instills that level of trust in his athletes. Alex Clemsen (right) and Jaxon Smith after at the 2023 Big Ten Championships (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) When we talk about the contract extension though, being competitive is the main factor here. The team just needed time. When they got to College Park, there weren't many good high school seniors left to recruit, so they started recruiting high school Juniors. Fast forward to now, three of those Juniors they were recruiting were redshirt freshman wrestling in the NCAA tournament, along with one true freshman, and a graduate senior. They also return a guy next season who was in the tournament the year before, along with recently announced transfer Seth Nevills from Penn State. Now here I am complimenting what they've done in the short term, and the potential they show for the future, but Coach Clemsen isn't done yet. "Nobody thinks we're doing a great job less than I do. Do you think I'm happy with the success we have had or haven't had at this point? I'm not by any means happy or satisfied. I think we've had some good moments, and we've enjoyed those times, but I am not going to sit here and say that we've been successful to this point. That's not how I'm wired." The short answer to the question "Is Clemsen happy with what's going on with Maryland right now?" is yes, but the long answer is no. The "job" isn't done yet. "We're lightyears away from what I think we're capable of, and what I think our staff is capable of. That's why we are having the success that we are having, relative to what we inherited 4 years ago." For those that are unaware, this staff inherited zero returning points from the B1G tournament. That's the lowest point total you can have without getting negative points for some misconduct or something. It's not good. This year, they ended up 35th at NCAAs and were, at points during the season, ranked as high as 18th. It's important to have perspective relative to where they started, and what progress has been made to get this far. At this point, I start rambling in our interview about how honesty can also be viewed as accountability, and how people want to know what good looks like and what's expected of them, blah blah blah. What I didn't remember when bringing this up, is that it actually matches up with one of the four pillars that the program is based on. The first pillar is faith, the second pillar is sacrifice, the third of those pillars is the aforementioned accountability, and the fourth being perseverance. "You can have faith and you can sacrifice and make tough choices, but can you do it over and over and over, and can you do it when it gets hard? Can you do it when it's not convenient?" How fortuitous that I stumbled into this! "The thing that I always harp on with our guys is that the pillars can't just be talking points, they can't be selling points, and they can't just be words on a wall. They have to be who we are, what we embody, and ultimately who we become after we leave Maryland Wrestling. How we go out and live our lives, the husbands and fathers and community leaders that we become. If we are just focused on four or five years while we are at the University of Maryland, then I am drastically underachieving, then I am drastically failing you guys. This has to be about setting you up to be successful people, and using wrestling to teach that. I want to win as many damn wrestling matches as possible, but at the same time I want you to be as successful as possible, and ultimately I think those things go hand in hand." I hope that this piece has impacted your viewing habits for next season. Make sure you invest time and energy into watching Maryland compete as often as you can. There isn't much room left on the bandwagon, but there are a couple seats. We're four years in, and they've proven to be competitive, but two more years and they'll be good. After those six years, Coach Clemsen will have 3 remaining years on this newly signed extension. I expect this trajectory to continue, and for Coach Clemsen, along with his athletes and staff, to get more recognition. That being said, this is a message to the haters. Don't stop hating. It'll only make them stronger.

Wisconsin graduate transfer Max Maylor (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) It's been about two weeks since InterMat has updated the Transfer Tracker and there has 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) 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) George Mason Brandon Wittenberg (Virginia Tech) Hofstra Joe Russo (Nassau CC) Illinois Charlie Heydorn (Ohio) Indiana Roman Rogotzke (South Dakota State) Iowa Victor Voinovich (Oklahoma State) Iowa State Garrett Grice (Virginia) Lehigh Hunter Mays (Rider) Maryland Seth Nevills (Penn State) Michigan Chris Cannon (Northwestern) Lucas Davison (Northwestern) Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern) Shane Griffith (Stanford) Nebraska Caleb Smith (Appalachian State) Northern Illinois Tommy Curran (NC State) Northern Iowa Jack Thomsen (South Dakota State) Northwestern Patrick Adams (Buffalo) Oklahoma Jace Koelzer (Northern Colorado) Juan Mora (North Dakota State) Oklahoma State Mirzo Khayitov (Ellsworth CC) Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois) Troy Spratley (Minnesota) Penn State Mitchell Mesenbrink (California Baptist) Aaron Nagao (Minnesota) Bernie Truax (Cal Poly) 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) Yaraslau Slavikouski (Harvard) The Citadel Jeffrey Boyd (West Virginia) Wisconsin 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 College) Gabe Willochell (Edinboro)

Final X 2022 at Madison Square Garden's Hulu Theater (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Just about an hour ago, the 2023 World Team Trials Challenge Tournament concluded from Colorado Springs, Colorado. As expected, the unexpected was the norm, as men’s and women’s freestyle saw three wrestlers change weight classes after the Open and advance to Final X. Greco-Roman had a pair of wrestlers that have never made world team’s knock off a 2023 World Team member. On June 10th, we’ll find out what our Senior World Team looks like for the 2023 World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. For the first time since the inception of Final X, all three styles will be contested under one roof during the same day. This will take place at the Prudential Center in New Jersey. With the WTT’s in the books, here are the Final X matchups across all three styles for June 10th. Men’s Freestyle 57 kg - Thomas Gilman vs. Zane Richards 61 kg - Vito Arujau vs. Nahshon Garrett 65 kg - Yianni Diakomihalis vs. Nick Lee 70 kg - Zain Retherford vs. Tyler Berger 74 kg - Kyle Dake vs. Jason Nolf 79 kg - Jordan Burroughs vs. Chance Marsteller 86 kg - David Taylor vs. Aaron Brooks 92 kg - Mike Macchiavello vs. Zahid Valencia 97 kg - Kyle Snyder vs. J’den Cox 125 kg - Gable Steveson vs. Mason Parris Women’s Freestyle 50 kg - Sarah Hildebrandt vs. Audrey Jimenez 53 kg - Dom Parrish vs. Katie Gomez 55 kg - Alisha Howk vs. Jacarra Winchester 57 kg - Helen Maroulis vs. Xochitl Mota-Pettis 59 kg - Michaela Beck vs. Jennifer Page 62 kg - Kayla Miracle vs. Adaugo Nwachukwu 65 kg - Mallory Velte vs. Macey Kilty 68 kg - Forrest Molinari vs. Emma Bruntil 72 kg - Amit Elor vs. Joye Levendusky 76 kg - Kennedy Blades vs. Adeline Gray Men’s Greco-Roman 55 kg - Brady Koontz vs. Dalton Duffield 60 kg - Dalton Roberts vs. Ildar Hafizov 63 kg - Hayden Tuma vs. Xavier Johnson 67 kg - Robert Perez III vs. Alejandro Sancho 72 kg - Justus Scott vs. Patrick Smith 77 kg - Kamal Bey vs. Aliaksandr Kikiniou 82 kg - Spencer Woods vs. Ryan Epps 87 kg - Alan Vera vs. Zac Bruanagel 97 kg - Joe Rau vs. Christian DuLaney 130 kg - Cohlton Schultz vs. Adam Coon

Nahshon Garrett at the 2023 World Team Trials (photo courtesy of Mark Lundy; LutteLens.com) Men’s Freestyle Results 61 kg Quarterfinals Nahshon Garrett over Nathan Tomasello 10-0 Daton Fix over Joe Colon 3-0 Semifinals Nahshon Garrett over Austin DeSanto 10-0 Daton Fix over Seth Gross 8-2 Finals Nahshon Garrett over Daton Fix 12-4 92 kg Quarterfinals Kollin Moore over Sam Mitchell 10-0 Jay Aiello over Eric Schultz 6-4 Zahid Valencia over Morgan McIntosh 6-2 Tanner Sloan over Nate Jackson 9-9 Semifinals Kollin Moore over Jay Aiello 6-2 Zahid Valencia over Tanner Sloan 12-1 Finals Zahid Valencia over Kollin Moore 12-1 125 kg Quarterfinals Dom Bradley over Ty Walz 2-1 Wyatt Hendrickson over Demetrius Thomas 10-0 Mason Parris over Tony Cassioppi 10-0 Semifinals Nick Gwiazdowski over Dom Bradley 11-0 Mason Parris over Wyatt Hendrickson 12-1 Finals Mason Parris over Nick Gwiazdowski 6-2 Women’s Freestyle Results 55 kg Quarterfinals Amanda Martinez over Jaslynn Gallegos 12-2 Areana Villaescusa over Gabby Skidmore 7-6 Semifinals Jacarra Winchester over Amanda Martinez Fall 3:34 Areana Villaescusa over Lauren Mason 5-0 Finals Jacarra Winchester over Areana Villaescusa 11-0 59 kg Round of 16 SaVannah Cosme over Lauren Louive 3-3 Quarterfinals Maya Nelson over SaVannah Cosme 10-0 Abby Nette over Bridgette Duty 17-6 Alex Hedrick over Brenda Reyna 14-4 Jennifer Page over Lexie Basham 12-1 Semifinals Maya Nelson over Abby Nette InjDef Jennifer Page over Alex Hedrick 7-0 Finals Jennifer Page over Maya Nelson 11-4 68 kg Quarterfinals Alex Glaude over Kaylynn Albrecht 10-6 Solin Piearcy over Ana Luciano 4-0 Emma Bruntil over Chloe Ogden 10-0 Katerina Lange over Marilyn Garcia 7-2 Semifinals Alex Glaude over Solin Piearcy 6-2 Emma Bruntil over Katerina Lange 12-2 Finals Emma Bruntil over Alex Glaude 10-0 76 kg Round of 16 Skylar Grote over Nahiela Magee 12-1 Ashley Lekas over Brooklyn Hays 14-4 Quarterfinals Adeline Gray over Skylar Grote Fall 4:43 Kylie Welker over Tristan Kelly Fall :53 Dymond Guilford over Precious Bell 3-1 Yelena Makoyed over Ashley Lekas Fall :59 Semifinals Adeline Gray over Kylie Welker 14-3 Dymond Guilford over Yelena Makoyed 9-6 Final Adeline Gray over Dymond Guilford 12-1

Xavier Johnson throwing Sammy Jones at the 2023 World Team Trials (photo courtesy of Mark Lundy; LutteLens.com) 2023 World Team Trials Greco-Roman Final Results 55 kg - Dalton Duffield (Army WCAP) over Camden Russell (MWC Wrestling Academy) 10-0 60 kg - Ildar Hafizov (Army WCAP) over Randon Miranda (Rise RTC) 8-4 63 kg - Xavier Johnson (Army WCAP) over Sammy Jones (Greco-Roman National Team) 7-4 67 kg - Alejandro Sancho (Army WCAP) over Jesse Thielke (Army WCAP) FFT 72 kg - Patrick Smith (Minnesota Storm) over Nolan Wachsmuth (NYAC) 4-0 77 kg - Aliaksandr Kikiniou (California) over Payton Jacobson (Sunkist Kids) 10-0 82 kg - Ryan Epps (Army WCAP) over Ben Provisor (NYAC) 2-1 87 kg - Zac Bruanagel (Illinois RTC) over Richard Carlson (Minnesota Storm) 6-0 97 kg - Christian DuLaney (Minnesota Storm) over Cade Lautt (Tar Heel Wrestling Club) 8-0 130 kg - Adam Coon (Cliff Keen Wrestling Club) over Donny Longendyke (Minnesota Storm) 9-0 All ten winners will advance to Final X on June 10th to face the winners of the US Open.

Nick Gwiazdowski (right) and Dom Bradley at the 2023 US Open (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) This weekend we’ll find out the remaining pieces of the Final X puzzle, as just over half the field has already been established through either 2022 World Championship performance or wins at the 2023 US Open. Those will be determined in Colorado Springs at the 2023 World Team Trials. Ten Greco-Roman weight classes, along with three in men’s freestyle and four in women’s will be contested. Today, we’re focusing on the Men’s freestyle weights. Below is a preview of the action and along with finals picks for the three freestyle weight that will be contested. 61 kg Waiting in Final X: Vito Arujau At the Open we saw Vito Arujau build off the momentum he created at the 2023 NCAA Championships and largely wasn’t tested during his run through the deep bracket. Arujau’s closest match was a seven-point victory over fellow Cornell national champion Nahshon Garrett. In the finals, Arujau needed only :54 to tech Austin DeSanto. DeSanto will be the top seed in this tournament. He began competing in freestyle earlier this year, after graduating in 2022, and has become another threat at this weight and will be one for the foreseeable future. His path to the finals included a win over World bronze medalist Joe Colon and 2022 World Team rep Seth Gross. His seed places him on the opposite side of the bracket from Colon/Gross. He’ll have to contend with the fourth-seeded Garrett and fifth seed, Nathan Tomasello. The pair met in the third-place bout at the Open and Garrett won via tech, 10-0. The bottom half of the bracket is loaded with Gross getting the second seed and World silver medalist Daton Fix as the third seed. Gross did not finish at the Open after losing a one-point match to DeSanto in the semis. He gets the second seed based off of his head-to-head wins over Fix in last year’s epic Final X Stillwater series that went to three matches. Fix was a last-minute entry at the Open, but quickly pulled out because of an injury. Should he be healthy enough, Fix is a good pick here. He’d have to get past Colon in the opening round, just to book a rematch with Gross in the semis. Also on the bottom half of the bracket is high school junior Aden Valencia, the seventh seed. Valencia took seventh at the Open after victories over veterans like Shelton Mack, Josh Rodriguez, and Daniel DeShazer. Finals Pick: Daton Fix over Austin DeSanto 92 kg Waiting in Final X: Mike Macchiavello With J’den Cox moving up to 97 kg in preparation for an Olympic run, this weight will be represented by someone other than J’den for the first time since its inception. That led to Kollin Moore, a 2022 Final X participant at 97 kg, moving down and looking like one of the favorites. Moore was in the Open finals opposite Mike Macchiavello and looked to have control of the bout after a 2-0 lead at the midway point. That changed quickly as Macchiavello got a takedown and a leglace with about a minute remaining in the contest. He rolled the former Buckeye four times (maybe more) for the win. That leaves Moore needing to win the WTT’s to get back to Final X and a rematch with Macchiavello. He’ll be on the top half of the bracket with Sam Mitchell in the opening round and the winner of Eric Schultz and Jay Aiello likely looming in the semifinals. Moore needed less than two and a half minutes to tech Schultz at the Open and Schultz turned around to shut out Aiello in the consolation semifinals. He claimed fourth place and Aiello was fifth. One of the fun angles that this world team qualifying system presents is that wrestlers can bump or cut down to different weights if their normal weight is not being contested. That’s the case here with Zahid Valencia as the third seed. Valencia fell in the Open finals at 86 kg to Aaron Brooks. In a last-ditch effort to get back to Final X, he’s moved up to 92kg. He’ll get tested in the opening round by former Penn State national finalist Morgan McIntosh who has come back to the scene with a respectable sixth-place finish at the Open. Most of the wrestlers at this weight are tall and long, but McIntosh is rather compact, so it’ll be a different matchup for Valencia. The second seed on Valencia’s half of the bracket is Nate Jackson. With Cox moving up to 97 kg, Jackson had been many people’s pick to represent the US at 92 kg. Jackson took a match off Cox at Final X Stillwater and seems to get better every year. He lost a close match to Macchiavello in the Open semifinals, but bounced back for third with wins over McIntosh and Schultz. Also on the bottom bracket is South Dakota State’s national finalist Tanner Sloan. Sloan did not compete at the Open, but is a two-time age-group world team member. Last fall, Sloan came home from Pontevedra with a U23 silver medal at the 97 kg weight class. He’ll have Jackson in the opening round, but could be a darkhorse. Finals Pick: Kollin Moore over Zahid Valencia 125 kg Waiting in Final X: Gable Steveson The US Open marked the return of Gable Steveson to the world of freestyle wrestling and what a return it was! In his four matches, Steveson outscored the competition by a cool 44-1 mark. Steveson awaits this weekend’s winner in Final X. Looking to have another Final X/Olympic Trials series against Steveson is two-time world medalist Nick Gwiazdowski. Gwiazdowski made the Open finals opposite Steveson but was blanked 10-0. He remains the most recent American with a win in any style over Steveson (Final X: Rutgers/2019). This loaded field stops it from being a formality that we see another chapter in the Steveson/Gwiz rivalry. He’ll have fellow veterans Dom Bradley and Ty Walz on the top half of the bracket. Gwiazdowski got by Bradley in the Open finals, 8-0, in a wider margin than most probably would have expected. Bradley ended up fourth while Walz was seventh. The bottom half of the bracket has the younger contingent at this weight. 2023 Hodge Trophy winner Mason Parris comes in as the third seed. He tended to crush anyone not named Steveson at the Open and tech Air Force All-American Wyatt Hendrickson for third place. Hendrickson had some impressive wins of his own as he teched Demetrius Thomas and Bradley. Parris is seeded second and Hendrickson third. Thomas checks in as the sixth seed along with Iowa All-American Tony Cassioppi as the seven. Thomas was sixth at the Open, while Cassioppi is a two-time U23 World medalist, winning gold in 2021. Finals Pick: Nick Gwiazdowski over Mason Parris

Ava Bayless at the 2020 UWW Junior Nationals (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) board of directors voted to sanction girls wrestling on Wednesday afternoon, making Pennsylvania the 38th state to do so. This vote came after advocacy on the part of many individuals, schools and organizations to meet the PIAA bylaws threshold of 100 member schools forming girls teams to be considered for sanctioning. Wrestling is one of the fastest growing sports for girls in the country, and Pennsylvania is no different, with a 146% increase in girls competing in wrestling from the 2020-21 to the 2021-22 season, according to nonprofit organization SanctionPA. SanctionPA has been leading the charge alongside Pennsylvania athletes to get girls wrestling sanctioned, and this vote solidifies many years of work and advocacy, according to the chair of SanctionPA, Brooke Zumas. “The conversation around sanctioning has really been going on for decades, arguably,” Zumas said. Zumas explained that rather than try to fight to change the PIAA bylaw that set the 100-team standard, the group took on the mindset to cultivate the growing girls wrestling culture that was already happening in Pennsylvania. “We took a collaborative approach and communicated with schools, and provided education,” said Zumas. “And at times that was frustrating, but ultimately, by following that roadmap, by building school programs, what it also really did was create this really strong foundation that we now have. So in some way, it helped us to build what was needed to make this sport really sustainable and successful in the long term.” Efforts like this did not go unnoticed in the Pennsylvania wrestling community as Joe Jamison, Director of Wrestling for Ursinus College’s Men’s and Women’s wrestling teams, pointed out. “A lot of people would have said the 100 teams is not gonna happen anytime soon and threw up their hands, but that’s not what they did,” Jamison said. “As wrestlers, I’d like to think that’s what we all do. We put our nose to the grindstone and we get it done.” Coach Jamison has had the opportunity to see the level of wrestlers in the state of Pennsylvania firsthand and says he thinks the number of opportunities and depth of talent will only increase with this vote. “I think over the next three to four years, the talent is just going to continue to get deeper, qualifying for state will be more challenging. It’s just gonna become a hotbed. That’s just the culture of our state,” Jamison said. Zumas echoed this sentiment when talking about how much of an impact this vote could have on female athletes in Pennsylvania. “I think that the PIAA vote will first increase the number of teams sponsoring girls wrestling. Two, it will increase the number of girls wrestling across Pennsylvania. Three, it will make the sport more supported in the long term because it will provide a continuation from elementary school all the way through high school. There's gonna be incredible individual impacts on each student-athlete that participates,” Zumas said. Many current and former Pennsylvania high school athletes showed support for this vote on social media and how this vote will shape the wrestling experience for girls competing. Ava Bayless, a former Pennsylvania wrestler who is now on Iowa’s Women’s Wrestling Team, says this vote will mean a lot to the sport and the athletes who now have a more official path in competition. “Being recognized as a PIAA sport is huge,” Bayless said. “Being a PIAA state champion is now realistic, and it’s pretty amazing to think about how far we’ve grown in the past five years or so.” Bayless made the decision in high school to compete at Wyoming Seminary, a private boarding school with notable wrestling alumni. While Bayless says she had a great experience wrestling there, she expressed that it was not an easy decision, nor one everyone has access to. “Having the option to wrestle other girls in a state with sanctioned wrestling is amazing and needed, because going to another school is not in everybody’s abilities,” Bayless said. “Knowing that girls in my hometown are able to come out and compete against other girls and have tournaments, full schedules, and the support of the PIAA is really, really important.” Pennsylvania is always in the conversation about top states for wrestling talent, however, that conversation typically centers around the high school boys programs or college men's programs. Bayless says that this winning mentality in wrestling will only continue within girls wrestling programs. “The girls are just gonna rise to the occasion,” Bayless said. “Pennsylvania is on the national stage, we are putting girls on world teams and national teams, college teams. I think having an actual state championship, and the other goals this vote will accomplish is really gonna make our state stronger.” 2023-24 will be the first sanctioned season for girls wrestling in Pennsylvania. The first girls state championships are slated to run the same weekend in March as the boys tournament at the Giant Center in Hershey.

Ildar Hafizov at the 2023 US Open (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) This weekend we’ll find out the remaining pieces of the Final X puzzle, as just over half the field has already been established through either 2022 World Championship performance or wins at the 2023 US Open. Those will be determined in Colorado Springs at the 2023 World Team Trials. Ten Greco-Roman weight classes, along with three in men’s freestyle and four in women’s will be contested. Today, we’re focusing on the Men’s Greco-Roman weights. Below is a preview of the action and along with finals picks for all ten Greco weights. 55 kg Waiting in Final X: Brady Koontz We’ve got an extremely small weight class here in our smallest weight with only five entries. The top seed is Dalton Duffield, a runner-up at each of the last two US Open’s. Duffield had little trouble with any of his opposition pre-finals this year, winning both of his matches via technical superiority. He has generally fared well against most of the contenders at this weight, aside from Koontz. Checking in as the second seed is Camden Russell who ended up third at the Open. Russell and Jacob Cochran ended up splitting a pair of matches in Vegas, with Russell winning the second contest for third place. Cochran will take the fourth seed, while Billy Sullivan gets the third. Sullivan was a 2021 U20 World Team member and made the Open semi’s before falling to Duffield. The other wrestler entered and assuming the fifth seed will be Tirso Lara. Lara qualifies after taking seventh at the Open, but suffering a consolation loss to Sullivan. Pick: Dalton Duffield over Camden Russell 60 kg Waiting in Final X: Dalton Roberts Every World/Olympic team since 2018 has had either Dalton Roberts or Ildar Hafizov as the representative at 60 kg. That doesn’t seem like it will change in 2023, either. Roberts held on to edge Hafizov in the Open finals to claim a spot in Final X, while Hafizov has to go through the Trials. The pair appear to be on a level of their own compared to the rest of the weight class. Roberts made the Open finals, without surrendering a point and Hafizov gave up just one. Last year, in Final X NYC, the pair of Army WCAP teammates had a three-match struggle won by Hafizov. It’ll be one of the bigger surprises of the entire Greco-Roman tournament if Hafizov doesn’t book another trip to Final X. The wrestler most capable of spoiling another chapter in the Roberts/Hafizov saga is another WCAP teammate Leslie Fuenffinger. Fuenffinger was in Final X in 2019 against Hafizov and fell in 7-5 in match one, before a 9-0 loss in the second contest. At the 2023 Open, Fuenffinger was up at 63 kg and lost to the eventual champion, Hayden Tuma, in the semis, 1-1. Fuenffinger does have wins over Hafizov; however, you have to go back to the 2018 and 2019 US Open to find them. The third through fifth place finishers at the 2023 Open are all in this field with Max Black, Dylan Koontz, and Jonathan Gurule. They will also receive the third through fifth seeds. Finals Pick: Ildar Hafizov over Leslie Fuenffinger 63 kg Waiting in Final X: Hayden Tuma One of the more surprising results from the US Open finals was Hayden Tuma edging Sammy Jones in the 63 kg finals. As you would expect from someone who’s made the last two world teams, Jones is the top seed here and has a good chance at booking a rematch against Tuma in Newark. On his way to the Open finals, Jones had less than two full minutes of mat time with two techs and a semifinal win via forfeit. One opponent that could give Jones some trouble is the second seed, Dylan Gregerson. Gregerson was able to put up seven points on Tuma in the quarterfinals and ended up teching Fuenffinger for third place. Last November, Jones and Gregerson met at the Bill Farrell and Jones prevailed via tech 10-2, late in the second period. With a performance like he put on at the Open, Gregerson could be ready to threaten for these Senior World team spots. Although he defaulted out of the Open, Xavier Johnson will get the third seed over Savion Haywood and Corbin Nirschl. In 2019, Johnson made it to Final X at this weight class, though he fell a bit short against Ryan Mango. Haywood lost to Nirschl in the Round of 16 at the Open, however, Haywood finished higher at fifth, compared to seventh. Should everything remain the same, that won’t matter much as the two would meet right off the bat in the four versus five matchup. Finals Pick: Sammy Jones over Dylan Gregerson 67 kg Waiting in Final X: Robert Perez III We couldn’t label Tuma over Jones the biggest surprise of the Open as there was another one a match later as 21-year-old Robert Perez III took out 2016 Olympian Jesse Thielke. With a win at the WTT’s and in Final X, Thielke still has the opportunity to make his third career Senior World team. Making team number three will be anything but easy for Thielke, as there’s a talented group of contenders at this weight. 2023 World Team member Alejandro Sancho will be looking to get back into Final X after suffering a stunning loss via fall at the hands of high school sensation Joel Adams at the Open. Sancho did not continue after the loss and comes in as the second seed. The third through fifth place finishers from the Open, Chayse La Joie, David Stepanian, and Adams, will receive the third through fifth seeds. La Joie was pinned by Adams in the opening round of the Open and proceeded to win seven straight matches to claim third. In his final bout, La Joie beat Stepanian, a match after he downed Adams. That sets up a rematch in round one between Stepanian and Adams. The sixth seed at this weight class is Nicholas Leonetti who was seventh at the Open. Leonetti had a relatively competitive match with Perez III in the opening round. Finals Pick: Alejandro Sancho over Jesse Thielke 72 kg Waiting in Final X: Justus Scott Continuing the theme of US Open upsets, we had another youngster take out a grizzled veteran as Justus Scott took out three-time World team member Pat Smith. The veteran will be the top seed in Colorado Springs. Smith certainly won’t panic and should put himself in a position to see Scott again in Newark. The second seed will be Nolan Wachsmuth who is coming off a low-key excellent performance at the Open. Wachsmuth fell to Scott in the quarterfinals by a single point and rebounded to take third. After the Scott loss, Wachsmuth rolled with four consecutive tech’s. His last two wins came over Jack Ervien and Michael Hooker. Ervien gets the third seed based on his round one fall over Hooker at the Open. He also gave Smith a run for his money during a 9-7 loss in the semis. Hooker is a three-time Open third-place finisher that is usually in the mix at larger events. Finals Pick: Pat Smith over Jack Ervien 77 kg Waiting in Final X: Kamal Bey One of the fun subplots from the Open was 2009 World bronze medalist Aliaksandr Kikiniou’s run to the finals. Kikiniou had three quick wins and a 7-5 quarterfinal win over former World Team member RaVaughn Perkins. Unfortunately, in the finals, he ran into a buzzsaw in the form of Kamal Bey. Now that the 43-year-old Kikiniou has had the opportunity to get his hands on Bey, he may be able to formulate a different game plan if they meet in Final X. But, first, he has to get there. US Open third-place finisher Payton Jacobson will be the second seed. He registered solid wins over Burke Paddock and Jesse Porter in the Open consolations and those wins have come into play with the seeding. Paddock had a quarterfinal win over the 2021 World Team member Jesse Porter, which gives him the third seed. That could prove useful for Paddock as Porter is now on the top half of the bracket with Kikiniou and a first-round bout against Perkins. Perkins did not continue after the Open loss to Kikiniou. Though they have split matches in the past, Perkins won the most recent meeting with Porter at the 2022 Bill Farrell. Finals Pick: Aliaksandr Kikiniou over Payton Jacobson 82 kg Waiting in Final X: Spencer Woods Assuming all of the entrants show up, 82 kg is expected to be the largest Greco-Roman weight at the WTT’s. The group is led by two-time Olympian Ben Provisor. He’ll take the top seed after making the Open finals and falling to Spencer Woods. The two met in Final X Stillwater last year, let’s see if it happens again. Though the two have wrestled close matches in the past, it was the first time Woods was able to edge Provisor. Provisor has a top half of the bracket that includes Ryan Epps as the eighth seed and Tommy Brackett and Kendrick Sanders meeting in the four/five slots. The pair met at the Open, in the quarterfinals, and Sanders won. They were slated to meet for fifth place, but Sanders had defaulted out. Sanders is looking to return to Final X, as he fell to John Stefanowicz in 2019. The first-round match at the top of the bracket holds some intrigue as Epps lost a 3-1 match to Provisor in the semifinals of the 2022 Trials. The bottom half of the bracket features Andrew Berreyesa against Barrett Stanghill in the 2/7 matchup and Johanner Correa and Tyler Cunningham in the 3/6 match. Berreyesa lost a one-point bout to Provisor in the Open semis and turned around to beat Correa by a point for third. Correa’s best win from the Open was against Bill Farrell champion, Cunningham, in the Round of 16. Stanghill moves down to 82 kg after taking sixth at 87 kg’s in the Open. It’ll be the first time since 2018 that Stanghill has competed that low. Finals Pick: Ben Provisor over Andrew Berreyesa 87 kg Waiting in Final X: Alan Vera After a full eight-man bracket, we’re back to the smaller ones with only five seeded wrestlers at 87 kg. Alan Vera took a big step towards making his third consecutive world team with a decisive 9-0 win over Olympian John Stefanowicz in the Open finals. Stefanowicz comes in as the top seed. He made the Open finals by downing Vera’s 2022 Final X opponent Timothy Young, 6-2. Young will have to settle for the third seed as he fell via tech to Illinois’ 197 lber Zac Braunagel in the third-place match at the Open. Those two will renew acquaintances again right off the bat. The four/five match on the top half of the bracket will feature Jordan Lara and Richard Carlson. The pair was supposed to clash in the Open consi’s, but Carlson was injured, while Lara went on to take seventh. Finals Pick: John Stefanowicz over Zac Brauangel 97 kg Waiting in Final X: Joe Rau It’s an even smaller bracket at 97 kg with only four wrestlers registered. Nicholas Boykin will get the top seed. Boykin is seeking to make his first Senior World Team after making two at the U23 level and another as a Junior. He made the Open finals after some late-match heroics that involved a late four-point throw to overtake Christian DuLaney, 7-5. This could end up being one of the more competitive potential finals matches of the entire Greco portion of the tournament. The other two competitors at this weight are Brandon Marshall and UNC’s Cade Lautt. Marshall was fourth at the Open and posted a win over former U23 World Team member George Sikes in the consolation semis. Lautt has the ability to put up points and dominate. Of his four wins, three came via first-period tech’s and the other was via fall. Finals Pick: Nicholas Boykin over Christian DuLaney 130 kg Waiting in Final X: Cohlton Schultz There aren’t a lot of competitors entered at 130 kgs, but there are some high-quality veterans ready to battle for that spot opposite Cohlton Schultz in Final X. His opposition from the Open finals, Adam Coon, is the most likely to emerge from this bracket. The 2018 World silver medalist has spent the better part of the last two-plus years trying to catch on in the NFL and is still trying to get back into wrestling form. Because of this, Schultz had to be the favorite at the Open; however, I’m not sure anyone saw an 11-0 first-period tech in the cards. We’ll likely see a more improved Coon every time he takes the mat. Not to be overlooked is Schultz’s Final X Stillwater opponent from a year ago, Tanner Farmer. Farmer also is a former football player, for Nebraska, and has found a home on the Greco circuit. He had a respectable 5-1 showing against Coon in the Open finals. Also in the mix is veteran Donny Longendyke. He did not finish the Open after falling to Schultz in the semis. Within the last calendar year, Longendyke’s best showing came at the Bill Farrell when he took second place. The fourth and fifth seeds belong to Brandon Metz and Darryl Aiello. The pair met in the Open consi’s and it was the former North Dakota State star, Metz, who prevailed via first-period fall. He went on to take fifth and Aiello was seventh. Finals Pick: Adam Coon over Tanner Farmer

Adam Coon at the 2023 US Open (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Hey there, Jagamaniacs! Contrary to rampant rumors, I'm still here to give journalism a bad name for at least another week. This one's dedicated to my buddy Kenny Celenza, who scolded me last week at the Hall of Fame dinner for not doing anything last week. Speaking of the dinner, other than being able to reconnect with some old friends, someone made the statement that the 2012 team was better than our 1995 team. You know what we did? Challenged them right there where they stood. An epic battle ensued and in the end, we were right. We all spent a week in the hospital but a small price to pay for glory. The lesson here is that if someone disrespects you, always challenge them to a fight. Violence always wins. Ok, now to the mailbag where we break down the most important topics in the world of wrestling. Would you rather fight ten Willie-sized Adam Coons or one Adam Coon-sized Willie? Indiana Mat Give me one big Willie. I can always wear him down by running around, but ten little Adams might overwhelm me. Favorite movie? Love The Replacements because Shane Falco lived the boat life. Hijo de JL Vice I could try to be funny here and say my favorite movie is MacGruber, but it really might be my favorite movie. It's just so stupidly funny that I can't help but laugh. Perhaps the tv series was a bit of overkill but that's how things work these days. In the category of movies that don't have other uses for celery, I'd say anything from the Lord Of The Rings trilogy probably tops the list. I never really cared to pick a favorite film or song or band or anything like that because there's just so much to choose from, so I find it pointless. But the LOTR movies get it done. It's not even easy to pick one of the three because they're all on par with each other though The Two Towers really stands out. Lately, my skin has been dry and I've been constantly itchy. Do you have any advice to alleviate my dry skin? Baby Grajales Put on some damn lotion. Man, an offseason mailbag is tough sometimes. What sort of variations have you seen in your brand analytics since moving the Jaggerblasts from three times per day to sporadic and surprising? JP Pearson I've noticed the trend of everyone just kind of going on with their life like nothing ever happened. The truth is that the videos were really just a trial run and some practice for speaking on camera. I'm not saying I'm eager to jump into the podcast game or be on screen, but it is the way of the future and the opportunities have been there. I don't like being on camera, I hate my voice, and I have a face for radio as they say, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in it all. Will I ever do my own show? I doubt it. Would I jump on a show if they ask me? I'd at least think about it. In terms of style, would this shirt rank in the top eight of all shirts shared during Wrestling Shirt a Day in May? Kevin McGuigan Way up there in my book. It's got a good font and is not too flashy while being printed in the classic gray warmup color. I must have it. The blue Bakersfield shirt still leads the league but keep an eye on this up-and-comer from Philly, the Pennsylvania RTC. On a side note, I just want to thank everyone for sending their birthday wishes. When you get to a certain age you start wondering how many of these days you have left so you try to enjoy them even more and you've all helped make it more special. I'm truly blessed to have such great friends in all of you.

Sahm Abdulrazzaq (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) "It's bigger than wrestling" is a quote I've seen and heard a few times over the years (or at least some variation of it). The person I've seen use this is Army West Point Assistant Coach, Scott Green. Coach Green has a knack for helping us not forget that there is more to life than just the sport of wrestling. I'm sure this is a main recruiting pitch to his coveted student-athletes. As I've stated numerous times, it takes a special person to enroll at West Point. Between the high academic standards, the long, arduous application process, plus West Point having an acceptance rate of approximately 11%, the academy will only accept the cream of the crop. To be frank, the odds are not in your favor. Once into the academy, however, your future is very bright. No student loans to pay off, a guaranteed job after graduation, and, oh yeah, serving military time to The United States of America is an added bonus - for some. The story of how Sahm Abdulrazzaq ended up there is one of the most incredible stories I've heard. Sahm was born in November of 1999, in the country of Iraq. With a heinous dictator, named Saddam Hussein, in charge of the nation - life was not exactly easy for the family, as much of the country was in turmoil. Many citizens were not fans of the leader. As an example, Sahm's grandfather was a general in the Iraqi military, after graduating from military school. Once Saddam was ready to take control of the nation in 1979, Sahm's grandfather was one of a few military leaders who quit the military altogether - refusing to serve under Hussein. Sahm expanded on his grandfather, "He was a very educated, smart man who had the foresight to see what would come of this." Safe to say, his grandfather made the right choice. At the time, this was a huge risk. Anyone who publicly spoke out against the regime would be imprisoned - or worse - killed. Due to his former position in the military, and the respect he's gained over his life, he was able to avoid any punishment. So, how did Sahm and his family end up in Woodbridge Virginia - a town outside of Washington D.C.? This is where the story takes a dark, but incredible turn. The year was 2003, when the United States invaded the country of Iraq. According to Sahm, the first night of the invasion was when his life changed forever. The date was March 20, 2003. A missile struck Sahm's family home while they were sleeping inside. "Our house got blown up to pieces… My dad got hit in the chest and almost died that night." He continued explaining how half of his home collapsed. Thankfully, his family was in the half of the house that didn't crumble right away - giving his family time to escape the house. They found a way to get his father to the hospital to help him recover. Skipping some details, the war carried on over the years. Sahm's father turned out to be a huge asset to the U.S. military in Iraq. Mainly, his background as a veterinarian turned him into an ally. He was helping the U.S. veterinarians who were in Iraq. This led to opportunities to translate for the U.S. soldiers, helping bridge the gap between the civilians trying to survive in an active war zone and the American soldiers ordered to help protect them. As one can imagine, this is not exactly a safe environment to be helping "the enemy" - as many Iraqi officials would put it. Sahm's father was just a citizen trying to protect him and his family at all costs. This was no different than any citizen during this time. Somewhere between 2006 and 2007, the family started receiving death threats once word got out Sahm's dad was assisting the Americans. The letter stated "they" knew Sahm's father was working with the U.S. military. They needed to leave the country or face deadly consequences. This was literally a life-and-death scenario. So, they fled. Most of the family quietly snuck away to Syria - which was not at war at the time - and was even considered an escape from what seemed to be endless wars in the region. (This is not the case today, unfortunately). This was all while Sahm's dad stayed in Iraq. He needed to support the family, and figure out a way to escape this reality they found themselves in. There were some legal opportunities that arose to escape the region. One was to apply for various VISAs, and special asylum-seeking programs, among other ways. There are plenty of hoops to jump through, as one could imagine the vast number of people applying for the limited number of options to relocate anywhere away from Iraq. Note, the population of Iraq during this time was roughly 28 million - which is slightly less than current-day Texas. In Iraq, during this time, Internet cafes were one of the main ways for civilians to be able to, not only communicate with the outside world, but, more importantly, apply for special VISAs, programs, etc. His father was no exception. He used Internet cafes when he could to check emails and investigate the status of his applications and visas. After years of this, finally, he and his family were approved for a "Special Immigrant Visa." This visa program was available to any Iraqi or Afghani citizen who worked directly with the U.S. armed forces for more than a year. The toughest criterion was to obtain a favorable written recommendation from a General or Flag Officer in the chain of command in the U.S. armed forces. Only 50 of these visas are awarded, per year. Luckily, Sahm's father was one of the lucky recipients. This program allows your family to receive a United States visa but does not include government assistance of any kind once reaching America. Sahm's dad did not care. Anything was better than what they had to endure on a daily basis in Iraq and Syria. Sahm explained since his father began working with the military, he would be sent to conferences and events across the United States. He would bring home American memorabilia for the family with absolutely zero understanding of what they were. "I remember one time he brought us home a baseball jersey." He stated, "It was his goal to give 'this life' to his kids." These gifts were a symbol of a promise that he will provide a better life for them as soon as he can, potentially in America. That timeframe of "as soon as he can" was no joke. Once the special visa was an option, Sahm and his family had to pack up whatever they could and return to Iraq within 48 hours. Anything they could not bring with them was donated to neighbors. Once packed, they drove from Syria to Iraq with nothing but desert and gunfire in the distance. Once paperwork was in hand, they made the trip to Jordan (since there was no U.S. Embassy in Iraq at the time). Some would say the hard part, of receiving the visa, was over. However, Sahm's family did not have anywhere to go in the U.S., they had little money, and no assistance from the government to help get situated in their new home 11,000 miles away. The year was 2007, and the Abdulrazzaq family was finally out of the Middle East. Luckily, one of Sahm's father's American connections found a connection through a friend of a friend. He was an older Afghan citizen, now settled in America outside of Washington D.C, in Virginia. The only option they had was to live in the basement of this fortunate gentlemen's house for about a year - until they started to get back on their feet. The family of four shared a one-bedroom section of the basement with a tiny kitchenette and bathroom. "We are just coming to America. We don't have any credit scores - how do you trust that these people will make payments? We had no income at the time. It was all basically trust that we would pay" Sahm explained so eloquently of the Afghani man who was empathetic to their situation. Sahm Abdulrazzaq (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) He may have been too young at the time to understand how fortunate he was. He used the phrase "blessed" numerous times throughout our conversation. Looking back on this journey, he fully understands his life could be very different. Just to give a statistic to expand on this point, approximately 20,000 Iraqi civilians died during the span of the war. Sahm's father's dangerous alliance with the United States was a risky one. Any wrong move could have changed the family's life forever. For the sake of time, let's fast forward a few years. When did wrestling come into the picture? Sahm talked about how he was a troubled kid growing up in middle school. Goofing off in school and getting into a lot of fights - quite the opposite of what you'd expect from a student graduating from West Point in the upcoming weeks... "I was on the wrong track, to be honest with you," Sahm explained bluntly. He was a lost kid trying to find his path in this new homeland of his. It wasn't until one of his friends introduced him to wrestling after Sahm kept winning fights at school. Sahm was not sold at first. "Nah man, that's weird. Those guys wearing the tights and stuff." Sahm laughed as he remembered his initial opinion on the sport he's grown to love. He continued with a huge smile, "I wanted to impress girls. How can I do that? I need to get in the yearbook. That was one of my theories as a ninth grader." I couldn't help but laugh at his thought process - as I was once a teenager too. Teenage boys have some wild theories. After some more convincing, Sahm tried out for wrestling. He was Junior Varsity his freshman year. He quickly fell in love with the sport, despite losing to more experienced wrestlers. Something kept pulling him back. I believe the main attraction was the toughness of the sport. "Maybe it's my background, but I like doing hard things - but these workouts were HARD." Sahm continued, "And Coach Knepp really bonded with me. I remember him telling me to stick with it because he honestly saw my potential." Thankfully, Sahm believed in his coach. "I would really like to take time to appreciate my high school coaches somewhere in the article… Without them, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't be half the man I am today without them." This is a great time to shout out Sahm's two main high school coaches, Ty Knepp and Ryan Hunsberger. Both were former George Mason wrestlers, so they knew what Sahm needed to do in order to reach that next level. Having that guidance is a huge advantage. Currently, Hunsberger is part of the coaching staff at VMI. "After losses, I found myself always saying 'These kids are not better than me.'" Sahm said. As great coaches do, Coach Knepp started to use that as motivation to help push Sahm. He would often tell his student-athlete "You are better than this kid." If there is a silver lining to Sahm's troubled reputation of being a fighter, he had the acknowledgment to compare fighting to wrestling - which is a softened version of a fight in a weird way. He had toughness, and the hard work aspects. He just needed to improve his wrestling-based techniques. The drive to win was another deciding factor in Sahm's ability to excel at the sport. The right coach can make athletes love the sport. Sahm was, once again, "blessed." This time, it was to be able to learn from such an inspiring coach staff who deeply cared for his future both on and off the mat. Sahm's hard work continued in the offseason. Summer workouts, training, and competitions all had to be squeezed into his schedule while working to help support the family. "My dad was working three jobs at a time. My mom spoke broken English as a bank teller." Sahm explained, "I had to scrape money together to enter these tournaments. I would tag along with friends just to get there." His stories of how the family worked as one to help improve little by little are reminiscent of "The American Dream" ethos. Sahm laughed at the stories of him cutting weight or fasting (due to his Muslim faith), while working at Cici's Pizza. Jokingly, he stated, all the years of mental toughness paid off while working that job. "I was the pizza cutter. I sat in front of the oven and cut the pizza when it was done. The temptations were real" he laughed. He has a great sense of humor about life. "Once I found wrestling, my life had balance and order. I had a schedule. Wake up, go to school, wrestle, do homework, go to sleep, repeat." From my experience, sometimes this is all a kid needs to get on that so-called "right path." The structure keeps them focused, determined, and looking forward to the next day and improving upon the previous one. Unbeknownst to him, this daily routine that helped him succeed may have been a foreshadowing that he would find himself in some type of military role in the future, maybe sooner than he imagined. "My parents really care about academics. I could have been a five-time state champion (wrestler) - my parents did not care. All they cared about was school. That's our Middle Eastern culture." Sahm made a promise to his father that he'd graduate high school with a 4.0 GPA - but he "only" ended up with a 3.987 GPA. This fine balance of academics and athletics was a perfect fit for Army West Point and Coach Scott Green's "it's bigger than wrestling" motto. Interestingly, Coach Green started in 2021, two years after Sahm started. Maybe a little bit of destiny brought them together? Even more so, since Army West Point was not Sahm's initial decision. Sahm's desire to join the armed forces was more of a monetary decision than anything. "I understood I wasn't going to get a full athletic scholarship. It was me asking myself, "How can I afford to go to college?" Once again, Sahm's story could be much different. He assumed community college was the way he would be forced to go. Once the ROTC option was more prevalent to him, this was his way in. He was almost dead set on attending George Mason, not far from his hometown in Virginia. "I even had an ROTC scholarship. I had a full ride" Sahm mentioned, looking back on how he ended up here. Army West Point came back into the picture once Sahm was pressured by some people in his life. Sahm had a good laugh when he admitted he didn't understand exactly what West Point was at one point before applying. He then stated how he mistakenly only created an account for the application process and did not fully apply to West Point like he originally thought. It all made sense why he never received any feedback. After a few hiccups, he successfully applied and went through the vigorous interview process. "I got very lucky and very blessed because four hundred to five hundred apply and I was chosen with a small handful of students." Sahm humbly said, "If it wasn't for the right people at the right time, I would never…" His sentence tailed off there. The rest was history. Sahm Abdulrazzaq (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Sahm is set to graduate at the end of May. His little brother will be in attendance, as he is one year younger than Sahm - also enrolled at West Point. Sahm and his family have a fascinating story to tell, and I've only scratched the surface. From escaping the war-torn country of Iraq to living in a one-bedroom section of a basement - to becoming an outstanding scholar-athlete - to now graduating from West Point, all while his brother will follow in his footsteps next year. The story, in a peculiar way, comes full circle. Sahm's family home was destroyed the night the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003. His father assisted the United States soldiers - mainly as a translator. Because of this, the U.S. helped Sahm's family come to America. Fast forwarding, Sahm will begin to officially serve the country that potentially changed his life forever. It's the type of story that can be poetic and beautiful - or poetic and twisted? To further my own insight on this theory - I asked Sahm's opinion if this entire story has (for lack of a better word) an ironic ending? I can tell he'd thought of this before, as a little smile came across his face. It's hard to tell who the missile belonged to. It was not rare to have Iraqi missiles miss their American targets. Without knowing who was responsible, it was impossible to tell who was at fault for Sahm's house crumbling to the ground. In reality, his family had other priorities at the time - trying to find food, water and shelter. And simply staying alive was the main goal. I suppose, sometimes, the root of the issue is not the most pressing issue to solve when the situation is literally life or death. He does not fault anyone for what happened to him. "I've been asked that question before. And I don't like to think it's weird because I've been provided so many opportunities in the United States. I've been blessed with so many people helping me along the way. I believe Iraq is hopefully healing and getting into a better state. I'd love for Iraq to heal. I don't want any wars there." He's even had thoughts of visiting his Iraqi hometown. "Maybe once I achieve all my goals in America, I would definitely go back and visit" Sahm stated. It was evident how much gratitude Sahm had for others. He also realizes you need some luck to become who you are today. If his dad had zigged instead of zagged - the outcome of this story could be very different. If the generous Afghani man declined to let Sahm's family live in his basement, Sahm's family could have ended up elsewhere in America - and who knows what Sahm would have done. If Sahm never agreed to wrestle, or quit because he didn't make the varsity line-up, his opportunities may have been more limited when exploring colleges. All-in-all, as challenging as Sahm's life was - and, obviously, no one should have to endure what he did - maybe it was a blessing in disguise - as harsh as that sounds. Sahm overcame every obstacle thrown at him. Sometimes, life's hardships create opportunity. For a portion of the world's population, opportunity is not even in the realm of possibilities. I am honored to help Sahm tell his story. It is incredibly motivating. His one simple quote still sticks with me. He nonchalantly said, "Coming from where I was, I was not expected to be anywhere." Thanks to his opportunities, and the supporting cast he met along the way, his "anywhere" destination did not come to fruition solely because of wrestling. Remember, the quote "Life is more than wrestling"? This is 100% true in the case of Sahm. However, wrestling was the vehicle used to help get Sahm "anywhere." For more on the Abdulrazzaq family see the interview Sahm and Fahad released earlier this week at the West Point Center for Oral History Listen Here

Yelena Makoyed at the 2022 World Cup (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) This weekend we’ll find out the remaining pieces of the Final X puzzle, as just over half the field has already been established through either 2022 World Championship performance or wins at the 2023 US Open. Those will be determined in Colorado Springs at the 2023 World Team Trials. Ten Greco-Roman weight classes, along with three in men’s freestyle and four in women’s will be contested. Today, we’re focusing on the women’s freestyle weights. Below is a preview of the action and along with finals picks for the four women’s weights. 55 kg Waiting in Final X: Alisha Howk As one may expect, this weight class looks very similar to placings at the Open, with one huge addition. 2019 World Champion Jacarra Winchester will be in action, competing for the second spot in Final X. The three-time world team member and 2020 Olympian, Winchester, will assume the top seed. She had signed up for the Open, but didn’t end up wrestling. If she’s not close to 100% second-seeded Lauren Mason could be among those who pounce. Mason actually held an early lead on Howk during their Open finals. She’s also beaten Howk twice in the last two years. The third seed is Areana Villaescusa who fell to Mason in the Open semis. They could meet in the semi’s here, too. While Mason prevailed via fall, Villaescusa was leading with almost :30 remaining in the contest. Making the cut down from 57 kg is Amanda Martinez, who was third at the Open at that weight. Martinez was the only opponent that pushed the eventual champion Xochitl Mota-Pettis the full six minutes. She fell in a shootout, 12-10. Martinez has the fourth seed and presumably has to deal with Winchester in the semis. Also changing weight is 2023 NCWWC national champion Jaslynn Gallegos. She won her national title for North Central at 116 lbs. Rounding out this weight class is 2019 Pan-American Junior silver medalist Gabby Skidmore and Wyoming Seminary high schooler, Belle Foard. The pair met at the Open and Skidmore prevailed 10-0. She’d finish sixth and Foard was seventh. Finals Prediction: Jacarra Winchester over Areana Villaescusa 59 kg Waiting in Final X: Michaela Beck This weight is absolutely loaded with experienced, talented women. In fact, there are six past Final X participants among the seeded wrestlers. The top seed is 201 Junior World Champion and 2021 Senior World Team member Maya Nelson. In 2021, Nelson was a match away from winning a world medal at the Senior level. A few weeks ago, she was stunned by Michaela Beck in the Open finals. This weight also has a top contender that dropped down from a higher weight in Jennifer Page. Page qualified for Final X last year and even took a match from Kayla Miracle during their special wrestle-off. This year, she was shocked by collegiate phenom Adaugo Nwachukwu in the 62 kg Open finals. Page led 8-4 at the break before losing 10-8. The other prior Final X participants are listed along with their seeds: Abby Nette (4), Alex Hedrick (6), Lexie Basham (7), and Lauren Louive (9). Nette earned a spot on the 2022 World Team with two consecutive wins over Basham at Final X Stillwater. The two clashed at the Open, in the consolations, with Nette winning an 11-0 match which sent her into the third-place bout. Nette lost there to Brenda Reyna who will be the third seed. Hedrick was in Final X last year at 57 kg and appeared to be the frontrunner to return; however, she was beaten in the Open finals by Mota-Pettis. Reyna and Nette’s Army WCAP teammate Bridgette Duty is the fifth seed, while SaVannah Cosme is the lone remaining seed at eight. Finals Prediction: Jennifer Page over Maya Nelson 68 kg Waiting in Final X: Forrest Molinari With 2020 Olympic gold medalist Tamyra Mensah-Stock out of the equation due to signing with the WWE, this weight was unexpectedly sent up for grabs at the US Open. Seizing the opportunity was 2021 World bronze medalist Forrest Molinari. Molinari’s finals opponent, Alex Glaude, will be the top seed this weekend. Glaude made things difficult on Molinari for the first period; however, Molinari pulled away in the second. Glaude seemed to separate herself from the rest of the weight class as she did not have a match that made it past the five-minute mark pre-finals. The third-place finisher at the Open, Katerina Lange, was on the opposite side of the bracket from Glaude so the two didn’t cross paths in Vegas. Lange will have her hands full just trying to make the finals, as she’ll have to contend with Emma Bruntil in the semis. Bruntil is the three seed. She was an Open runner-up to Macey Kilty at 65 kg and was a finalist at the WTT’s in 2022. Pushing Lange for third place at the Open was Solin Piearcy. Lange’s one-point win gives her the second seed and Piearcy the fourth. That sets up a potential rematch with Glaude in the semis. Also switching weights for a shot at Final X are Ana Luciano, Marilyn Garcia, and Kaylynn Albrecht. Luciano was fifth at the Open at 65 kg, while Garcia and Albrecht placed at 72 kg. The new faces at this weight class should make for some new, interesting matches. Finals Prediction: Alex Glaude over Emma Bruntil 76 kg Waiting in Final X: Kennedy Blades The depth at 76 kg for the United States is an embarrassment of riches! There’s a case to be made that we have the TOP four or five women in the world wrestling for the US. We’ve known that Kennedy Blades is the future for a few years now, she showed in Vegas that the future is now and is only two matches away from her first Senior World team. Who will oppose her? All-time great Adeline Gray made her return to the mat at the Open. Just a few weeks before, Gray was cleared to resume practicing for the first time after the birth of her twins. With a couple more weeks of training under her belt before the Trials, I’d expect an even better version of Gray in Colorado Springs. To get a rematch with Blades, Gray will have to prevail from a field that includes 2022 Final X participants Dymond Guilford and Yelena Makoyed, U20 world champion Kylie Welker, previous Open winner Precious Bell, and 2022 72 kg Final X’er Skylar Grote. And more. The first round could pit Grote and Nahiela Magee against each other. Magee made the Open semi’s at 72 kg’s, but defaulted out after a loss. The prize for the winner is a matchup with Gray in the quarterfinals. Just to advance to the finals, the winner from that trio would have to beat some combination of Welker or Tristan Kelly. The bottom half of the bracket features yet another bout between high school teammates Guilford and Bell. Guilford is the third seed and Bell the sixth. To get to the finals, one of them has to go through the second seed, Makoyed. Though Guilford swept the Final X series between the two, Makoyed has picked up a few wins over her since. Throughout the life of their rivalry, these two have generally gone back and forth. Finals Pick: Yelena Makoyed over Adeline Gray

Iowa's NCAA finalist Real Woods at the 2023 NCAA semifinals (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The biggest topic of the college wrestling offseason has been transfer portal-related news. We've seen programs like Penn State and Michigan add multiple All-Americans to what were already strong lineups. There have been plenty of transfers to other schools as well. As of publishing, there are plenty of talented wrestlers still in the portal looking for a new home. Today, we're looking at the impact of transfers on the 2023 NCAA Championships. To do so, we've looked at the top-20 teams from Tulsa and how many points they gained from wrestlers that transferred at one point during their collegiate careers. Much has been made about Penn State's transfers and "the rich getting richer," however, Penn State still would have outdistanced itself from second-place Iowa without any prior transfers. Speaking of Iowa, the Hawkeyes received a huge boost from NCAA runner-up Real Woods, a Stanford transfer. Without Woods, Iowa is clawing for that fourth-place position. The other top-ten team that was positively impacted by transfers was Arizona State. The Sun Devils story is different as both of their notable transfers previously wrestled at schools that eliminated their wrestling programs. With so much talk about transfers, seven programs finished in the top-20 that received zero NCAA points from transfers. Two were Ivy League teams (Cornell/Princeton), another was a service Academy (Air Force), while the traditional schools that fit the bill were (Missouri, Virginia Tech, NC State, and Oklahoma State). Missouri and Oklahoma State both had transfers that qualified for nationals; however, they did not score any points. As the transfer process continues to evolve and NIL opportunities become more readily available, it will be interesting to track its impact on the 2023-24 team race and beyond. Below are the top-20 teams from the 2023 NCAA Championships, along with any transfers they had qualify for nationals and the point totals they amassed. We've also looked at how much that impacted their total score. 1) Penn State Max Dean (197) 6.5 points Greg Kerkvliet (285) 19 points 25.5 team points = 18.5 % of score (137.5 points) 2) Iowa Brody Teske (133) 0.5 points Real Woods (141) 19 points 19.5 team points = 23.6% of score (82.5 points) 3) Cornell No Transfers (76.5 points) 4) Ohio State Tate Ondorff (285) 1.5 points 1.5 team points = 2.1% of score (70.5 points) 5) Missouri Connor Brown (133) 0 points (64.5 points) 6) Michigan Matt Finesilver (184) 1.5 points 1.5 team points = 2.6% of score (58.5 points) 7) Arizona State Michael McGee (133) 14.5 points Kyle Parco (149) 13.5 points 28 team points = 51% of score (55 points) 8) Nebraska Liam Cronin (125) 12 points 12 team points = 22.2% (54 points) 9) Virginia Tech No Transfers (49 points) 10) NC State No Transfers (48 points) 11) Iowa State Jason Kraisser (157) 3 points Sam Schuyler (285) 2 points 5 team points = 10.6% of score (47 points) 12) North Carolina Jack Wagner (125) 1 point 1 team point = 2.3% of score (42 points) 13) Princeton No Transfers (37.5 points) 14) South Dakota State Tanner Cook (165) 2.5 points AJ Nevills (285) 1.5 points 4 team points = 10.8% of score (37 points) 15) Minnesota Michael Blockhus (149) 5.5 points Michial Foy (197) 0 points 5.5 team points = 18% of score (30.5 points) 16) Northern Iowa Colin Realbuto (149) 1 point 1 team point = 3.4% of score (29 points) 16) Wisconsin Taylor LaMont (133) 0 points Austin Gomez (149) 3.5 points 3.5 team points = 12% of score (29 points) 18) Air Force No Transfers (28.5 points) 18) Oklahoma State Carter Young (141) 0 points (28.5 points) 20) Lehigh Tate Samuelson (184) 3.5 points Michael Beard (197) 4 points 7.5 team points = 26.8% of score (28 points) 20) Purdue Matt Ramos (125) 18 points 18 points = 64.3% of score (28 points)

NC State's 3x NCAA All-American Trent Hidlay (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Last night, NC State's 3x NCAA All-American Trent Hidlay announced over his social media channels that he will use his sixth year of eligibility in 2023-24. Unlike previous years, Hidlay's final campaign will take place at 197 lbs. During his four years of competition for the Wolfpack, Hidlay has amassed a 78-11 record with three ACC titles and three top-five finishes at the NCAA Tournament. Additionally, he was awarded NWCA First-Team All-American honors in 2019-20. With Hidlay back and moving up a weight class, what does it mean for the rest of the country? What is the impact on the two weight classes affected by the move? 1) Still contending with Aaron Brooks In each of Hidlay's three trips to the NCAA Championships, Aaron Brooks has gotten his hand raised Saturday night on the big stage. A move to 197 lbs, gets you away from Brooks, right? Not quite. There has been plenty of chatter about Brooks moving up, as well. The Nittany Lions also will get grad transfer Bernie Truax, an All-American at 197 lbs in March, but one who weighed significantly lighter than the rest of the NCAA field. The early assumptions have been that Truax will wrestle 184, while Brooks moves to 197. Since the NCAA shutdown of 2020, Hidlay has only lost seven collegiate bouts. Three of those have come to Brooks. Each coming in the NCAA semis or finals. Now, fans/media usually drive the "bumping away from a stud" narrative. I'd imagine that being the competitor that Hidlay is, he's looking for another shot at Brooks, rather than finding an easier path to a title. For the full article, Subscribe to InterMat's Rokfin Page

Sam Jones (right) and Hayden Tuma at the 2023 US Open (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Senior Greco-Roman Tournament Seeding 55 kg 1. Dalton Duffield, Army WCAP 2. Camden Russell, MWC Wrestling Academy/New York AC 3. Billy Sullivan, Army WCAP 4. Jacob Cochran, Army WCAP 5. Tirso Lara, Top Gun WC 60 kg 1. Ildar Hafizov, Army WCAP 2. Leslie Fuenffinger, Army WCAP 3. Max Black, NMU-National Training Center 4. Dylan Koontz, Dubuque RTC/Titan Mercury WC 5. Jonathan Gurule, NMU-National Training Center 6. Randon Miranda, Rise RTC 7. Phillip Moomey, Spartan Combat RTC 63 kg 1. Sammy Jones, Sunkist Kids WC 2. Dylan Gregerson, Brunson UVRTC 3. Xavier Johnson, Army WCAP 4. Savion Haywood, Iguana WC 5. Corbin Nirschl, MWC Wrestling Academy/New York AC 67 kg 1. Jesse Thielke, Army WCAP 2. Alejandro Sancho, Army WCAP 3. Chayse La Joie, California RTC 4. David Stepanian, New York AC 5. Joel Adams, The Best Wrestler 6. Nicholas Leonetti, Suples WC 72 kg 1. Patrick Smith, Minnesota Storm 2. Noah Wachsmuth, New York AC 3. Jack Ervien, Viking WC 4. Michael Hooker, Army WCAP 77 kg 1. Aliaksandr Kikiniou, California 2. Payton Jacobson, Sunkist Kids WC 3. Burke Paddock, New York AC 4. Jesse Porter, New York AC 5. RaVaughn Perkins, New York AC 82 kg 1. Ben Provisor, New York AC 2. Andrew Berreyesa, New York AC 3. Johanner Correa, North Carolina 4. Tommy Brackett, New York AC 5. Kendrick Sanders, New York AC 6. Tyler Cunningham, New York AC 7. Barrett Stanghill, Minnesota Storm 8. Ryan Epps, Minnesota 87 kg 1. John Stefanowicz, Navy WC 2. Zachary Braunagel, Illinois RTC/Illini WC 3. Timothy Young, Army WCAP 4. Jordan Lara, Texas RTC 5. Richard Carlson, Minnesota Storm 97 kg 1. Nicholas Boykin, Sunkist Kids WC 2. Christian DuLaney, Minnesota Storm 3. Brandon Marshall, Big Game WC 4. Cade Lautt, Tar Heel WC 130 kg 1. Adam Coon, Cliff Keen WC/New York AC 2. Tanner Farmer, New York AC 3. Donny Longendyke, Minnesota Storm 4. Brandon Metz, North Dakota 5. Darryl Aiello, Dubuque RTC

Maya Nelson at the 2023 US Open (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Senior Women’s Freestyle Tournament Seeding 55 kg 1. Jacarra Winchester, Titan Mercury WC/USOPTC 2. Lauren Mason, Brunson UVRTC 3. Areana Villaescusa, Army WCAP 4. Amanda Martinez, Cardinal WC 5. Jaslynn Gallegos, Cardinal WC 6. Gabrielle Skidmore, Minnesota Gold WC 7. Virginia Foard, Wyoming Seminary WC 59 kg 1. Maya Nelson, Sunkist Kids 2. Jennifer Page, Titan Mercury WC/Nittany Lion WC 3. Brenda Reyna, Army WCAP 4. Abigail Nette, Army WCAP 5. Bridgette Duty, Army WCAP 6. Alex Hedrick, Titan Mercury WC/USOPTC 7. Lexie Basham. Titan Mercury WC/Spartan Mat Club 8. SaVannah Cosme, Sunkist Kids 9. Lauren Louive, New York AC 68 kg 1. Alexandria Glaude, Titan Mercury WC/Beaver Dam RTC 2. Katerina Lange, Minnesota Storm 3. Emma Bruntil, Titan Mercury WC/USOPTC 4. Solin Piearcy, Menlo WC 5. Ana Luciano, Team Tornado WC 6. Chloe Ogden, Florida/Tarheel WC 7. Marilyn Garcia, California 8. Kaylynn Albrecht, Wildcat Elite 76 kg 1. Adeline Gray, New York AC 2. Yelena Makoyed, Titan Mercury WC/Cardinal WC 3. Dymond Guilford, Titan Mercury WC/USOPTC 4. Kylie Welker, Titan Mercury WC/Iowa Women’s WC 5. Tristan Kelly, Army WCAP 6. Precious Bell, Titan Mercury WC 7. Ashley Lekas, Minnesota Gold WC 8. Skylar Grote, Titan Mercury WC/Beaver Dam RTC 9. Nahiela Magee, Army WCAP 10. Brooklyn Hays, Minnesota Gold WC

Jon Sioredas (left) and Evan Wick at the 2023 Pac-12 Championships (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Jon Sioredas is coming off his most impressive season yet at Cal Poly. The head coach of the Mustangs won the Pac-12 Coach of the Year award in his seventh year in San Luis Obispo. “I think it was really cool for me and our institution, especially being a mid-major program,” Sioredas said. The first reason Sioredas won the award was Cal Poly’s undefeated record in the Pac-12 dual season. “That was the first time we were wrestling to our potential,” Sioredas said. “We were wrestling fearlessly and just going out there and letting it fly with no expectations.” The Mustangs had some close matches, beating Arizona State 19-18, Stanford 18-15 and Oregon State 19-15. “We were focusing on three things,” Sioredas said. “We were gonna put our best guy out, wrestle the guy in front of us no matter who it is and wrestle hard for seven minutes and whatever happens, happens.” Since landing at Cal Poly seven years ago, Sioredas has helped make Cal Poly compete like it is a blue blood program. “It’s a very methodical process over these past seven years with the main focus being continuous improvement,” Sioredas said. “We've had a lot of the right pieces in the right place and hit some cool milestones over these last couple of years.” Although Cal Poly did not win the Pac-12 Championships or placed high at NCAAs, Sioredas was pleased with the potential of his squad. “We're literally one takedown away from finishing second at PAc-12s,” Sioredas said. “We were in the conversation and our guys were able to reverse a lot of matches.” Cal Poly is only graduating one senior and will build around a similar lineup from last year. However, the Mustangs lost its key piece, Bernie Truax, to the transfer portal. Despite losing the portal, Sioredas is not worried. Instead, he believes Cal Poly is doing very well in the portal. “A lot of times when these blue-chippers are coming outta high school, it's hard for us to get them out of the gate,” Sioredas said. “But, it’s a little different from what they anticipated for and they enter the transfer portal. They’re a little bit more mature and understand what's truly important and that's the people. They see value in our education, athletics and quality of life.” Even though Cal Poly’s recognition is rising, their ultimate goal has not changed. “What's our purpose?” Sioredas said. “Our purpose is to help create remarkable men for life after wrestling, that would never change.”

#1 recruit in the Class of 2023 Meyer Shapiro (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) With recruiting rankings on the horizon (next week), we thought about doing something different yet giving the readers some recruiting-related fun. Today, we're looking at the ten collegiate weights and how the Class of 2023 projects at these weights. For this exercise, we've used MatScouts Class of 2023 Big Board along with the projected weights listed for each recruit. If they are listed at two weights, they have been placed at the lightest weight. What we found were some weights that are absolutely loaded and a few that were…not. Some recruiting trends (hard to recruit certain weights) proved to be true, too. 125 There's a reason why coaches struggle to find "lifetime" 125 lbers. Even with this list, I'd expect maybe half of the 15 wrestlers to move up to 133 at some point. Moreso than most weights, 125 lbers find their way into the lineup in year one. I don't think that's necessarily accurate with this group. For the full article, Subscribe to InterMat's Rokfin Page

2022 Senior World Team member Seth Gross (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Next weekend the Senior World Team Trials take place from Colorado Springs, Colorado. The final pieces of the Final X puzzle will be in place as three wrestlers in men’s freestyle, four in women’s freestyle and ten in Greco-Roman will advance to Newark, New Jersey, only two wins away from making a Senior world team. As of Friday, May 12th, these are the wrestlers at each weight class that have qualified and registered for the Trials. Men’s Freestyle 61 kg Joe Colon Austin DeSanto Daton Fix Nahshon Garrett Seth Gross Nathan Tomasello Aden Valencia 92 kg Jay Aiello Nate Jackson Morgan McIntosh Sam Mitchell Kollin Moore Eric Schultz Tanner Sloan Zahid Valencia 125 kg Dom Bradley Tony Cassioppi Nick Gwiazdowski Wyatt Hendrickson Mason Parris Demetrius Thomas Ty Walz Women’s Freestyle 55 kg Belle Foard Jaslynn Gallegos Amani Jones Lauren Mason Gabrielle Skidmore Areana Villaescusa Jacarra Winchester 59 kg Lexie Basham SaVannah Cosme Bridgette Duty Alex Hedrick Lauren Louive Amanda Martinez Maya Nelson Abby Nette Jennifer Page Brenda Reyna 68 kg Kaylynn Albrecht Emma Bruntil Marilyn Garcia Alex Glaude Katerina Lange Nahiela Magee Isabella Mir Chloe Ogden Solin Piearcy 76 kg Precious Bell Adeline Gray Skylar Grote Dymond Guilford Brooklyn Hays Tristan Kelly Yelena Makoyed Kylie Welker Men’s Greco-Roman 55 kg Jacob Cochran Dalton Duffield Tirso Lara Camden Russell Billy Sullivan 60 kg Max Black Leslie Fuenffinger Jonathan Gurule Ildar Hafizov Dylan Koontz Randon Miranda Phillip Moomey 63 kg Dylan Gregerson Savion Haywood Xavier Johnson Sammy Jones Corbin Nirschl 67 kg Joel Adams Chayse LaJoie Nicholas Leonetti Alex Sancho David Stepanian Jesse Thielke 72 kg Jack Ervien Michael Hooker Pat Smith Nolan Wachsmuth 77 kg Payton Jacobson Aliaksandr Kikiniou Burke Paddock RaVaughn Perkins Jesse Porter 82 kg Andrew Berreyesa Tommy Brackett Johanner Correa Tyler Cunningham Ryan Epps Ben Provisor Kendrick Sanders Barrett Stanghill 87 kg Zac Braunagel Richard Carlson Jordan Lara John Stefanowicz Timothy Young 97 kg Nicholas Boykin Christian DuLaney Cade Lautt Brandon Marshall 130 kg Darryl Aiello Adam Coon Tanner Farmer Donny Longendyke Brandon Metz

New Oklahoma head coach Roger Kish (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) On Friday, Obe Blanc was elevated to head coach at North Dakota State which closed all of the current DI head coaching vacancies. This offseason has seen fewer coaching changes than in the past. Both of the openings during the 2023 offseason have come in the Big 12 as Lou Rosselli stepped down at Oklahoma and was subsequently replaced by Roger Kish, previously of North Dakota State. Kish's top assistant Blanc then moved up. Since we've had a pair of head coaching changes in the Big 12, it seemed like the proper time to examine all of the conference's head coaching changes since the year 2000. We've looked at all of the schools that are currently in the Big 12, even though most of their head coaching transitions did not occur while they were in the conference. Air Force Sam Barber (2014-15) Replaced Joel Sharratt (2006-14) Joel Sharratt (2006-07) Replaced Wayne Baughman (1989-2006) California Baptist Derek Moore (2022-23) Replaced Lennie Zalesky (2011-22) Lennie Zalesky (2011-12) Replaced John Petty (2008-11) John Petty (2008-09) - New Program Iowa State Kevin Dresser (2017-18) Replaced Kevin Jackson (2009-17) Kevin Jackson (2009-10) Replaced Cael Sanderson (2006-09) Cael Sanderson (2006-07) Replaced Bobby Douglas (1992-2006) Missouri Brian Smith (1998-99) Replaced Wes Roper (1986-1998) North Dakota State Obe Blanc (2023-24) Replaced Roger Kish (2011-23) Roger Kish (2011-12) Replaced Bucky Maughan (1964-2011) Northern Colorado Troy Nickerson (2014-15) Replaced Ben Cherrington (2009-14) Ben Cherrington (2009-10) Replaced Jack Maughan (1987-2009) Northern Iowa Doug Schwab (2010-11) Replaced Brad Penrith (2000-10) Brad Penrith (2000-01) Replaced Mark Manning (1997-2000) Oklahoma Roger Kish (2023-24) Replaced Lou Rosselli (2016-23) Lou Rosselli (2016-17) Replaced Mark Cody (2011-16) Mark Cody (2011-12) Replaced Jack Spates (1993-2011) Oklahoma State John Smith (1992-93) Co-Head Coach w/ Kenny Monday during 1991-92 season South Dakota State Damion Hahn (2018-19) Replaced Chris Bono (2012-18) Chris Bono (2012-13) Replaced Jason Liles (1993-2012) Utah Valley Greg Williams (2006-07) Replaced Cody Sanderson (2003-2006) Cody Sanderson (2003-04) - New Program West Virginia Tim Flynn (2018-19) Replaced Sammie Henson (2014-18) Sammie Henson (2014-15) Replaced Craig Turnbull (1978-2014) Wyoming Mark Branch (2008-09) Replaced Steven Suder (1989-2008)