InterMat Staff

Holt

We are a month into the season and we’ve had so much incredible action already. Let’s take a look at the top 5 takeaways from the month of November as we get ready to turn the page to the second month of the season. Ohio State Starts Season Strong The Buckeyes have had a great start to the 2023-24 season. With four dual meets under their belt, they’ve come out on top in each and have only lost four dual meet matches going 36-4. After getting their first win on the road to kick off the season against Virginia Tech, who was favored in the matchup, they won the next three without relinquishing a match beating Edinboro 53-0, Columbia 49-0, and Hofstra 51-0. They also brought home 4 titles from the season-opening Clarion Open resulting in a Big Ten Wrestler of the Week honor for Freshman Rocco Welsh. In the midst of all the winning, Coach Tom Ryan went over the 200-win mark for his career. Now they will look to carry that momentum into the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational this weekend. Penn State Flexes to Open Season The Nittany Lions haven’t had a dual meet just yet, but they’ve been showing out. Specifically, as they played host for the All-Star Classic, they put on a show winning four of the five matches where they were represented in the classic with the biggest performance coming in the finale as Greg Kerkvliet beat Wyatt Hendrickson by 18-2 technical fall in their rematch of the 2023 NCAA Championship semifinals. Not to be outdone, the pair of three-time NCAA Champs – Carter Starocci (174) and Aaron Brooks (197) – each claimed major decision wins. Starocci shutout #2 Mekhi Lewis with an emphatic 11-0 result and Brooks followed two bouts later with an 11-2 major over #3 Tanner Sloan. Shayne Van Ness got the Nittany Lions rolling with an action-packed 5-1 win over #3 Kyle Parco at 149. Before the Classic they claimed a number of titles at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic and the Army Black Knight Invite. Certainly, all of this is expected by the reigning and defending champs, and with their dual meet season about to get started this weekend when they host Lehigh, we will get our first glimpse of their full lineup with their newest additions. Maryland Takes Hard-Fought Loss to Pitt The Terrapins hosted Pittsburgh in College Park Maryland last week where they dropped a close dual to the 18th-ranked Panthers. Despite getting “upset” wins at 133 and 141 from Braxton Brown and Kal Miller, respectively, they weren’t able to keep it together with most of the upper weights. Coach Clemsen said, “Felt like we let one slip away. To win big matches you have to secure bonus point opportunities and not give them up on the other side. Credit to Pitt, they did a better job there”. The dual came down to the wire, and in a battle of ranked heavyweights, Pitt got the 4-3 win to seal the dual. Duals provide the best drama. Win or lose, this was an awesome one to watch. Maryland will be splitting their team up this weekend, as several head to the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, while others will head to the George Mason Open. Coach Clemsen had this to say about the upcoming weekend: “All but 2 or 3 healthy bodies are competing this weekend. Really excited for that. To get better you have to test yourself and see where you are and then get back in the lab and work. We will keep doing that until someone comes up with a better way.” Purdue Has Seen Some Highs and Lows Already Matt Ramos pulled a Lloyd Christmas and totally redeemed himself with an NWCA All-Star Classic win over top-ranked Anthony Noto of Lock Haven. Noto is a proven commodity at the weight, and though this was an exhibition, it’s still a nice win for a guy whose season hasn’t started the way he probably envisioned. Other impressive moments from the Boilermakers have been Joey Blaze, who has looked solid, and is now ranked in the top 15 at 157 as a true freshman. As a whole, this team looks to be coming together. They are 3-1 on the season, with wins over Army and Northern Illinois, and their lone loss being to the Wolfpack of NC State. These guys have shown growth and it’s still early in the season. Their young contingent of wrestlers will be traveling to Las Vegas this weekend looking to see where they stack up against the nation's best. Iowa’s New Look Lineup Living Up to Hawkeye Standard Brands and Co. did it again. For the 19th consecutive year, they won the CyHawk dual and this time in dramatic fashion on the road in front of a sold-out crowd in Ames, IA. There are a lot of things that have been said about a number of things like the officiating, reaction time, riding time, and time on the clock, that could have had an impact on the results of the dual. But what is lost in the shuffle, and should get more recognition, is that they had the confidence and wherewithal to bump Gabe Arnold up to 184 for the dual. They had the insight to know that they needed six wins to get this done, and the pieces to make those decisions to get it done. Arnold has been everything we expected, and then some. The only questions I have regarding Arnold at this point are: why does he wear his knee pad backward? Should I be doing that? Should we all be doing that? These are questions we need answers to. Up next they travel to Philadelphia where they take on the Quakers of Penn on Friday at 6pm EST on ESPN+. Bonus Points: To get ready for CKLV, check out the conversation with our conference correspondents Ryan Holmes, Austin Sommer, Kevin Claunch, and Robbie Wendell as they chat about the potential field and who they are excited to see.

Friday marks the start of one of the tentpole events of the collegiate regular season, the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Typically, the CKLV has an argument for being the toughest in-season tournament in the country. This year there’s no argument. Seven of the top-ten tournament teams in the country will attend. Going further, the field includes 14 of the top-20 teams. From an individual standpoint, five weights have a wrestler that ranked either number one or number two at their respective weights. It’s no exaggeration when someone says that this is like a mini-National Tournament. Last year’s tournament featured six wrestlers who went on to wrestle in the NCAA finals. With an even stronger field expected, that number could rise in 2023. Here’s a weight-by-weight look at the CKLV. In each weight, we’ve noted the ranked wrestlers that are expected to compete, along with analysis, new faces to watch, potential spoilers, and picks for the semifinals and finals. Since this tournament (and the preview) is so large, we’ll break it into two parts. Part one will focus on 125-157 and part two hits the upperweights. Part two will be released later today. 125 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #2 Matt Ramos (Purdue), #5 Michael DeAugustino (Michigan), #8 Brett Ungar (Cornell), #9 Caleb Smith (Nebraska), #11 Jore Volk (Wyoming), #14 Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State), #16 Tanner Jordan (South Dakota State), #18 Kysen Terukina (Iowa State) #20 Nico Provo (Stanford), #21 Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State), #22 Tucker Owens (Air Force), #23 Brendan McCrone (Ohio State), #24 Nick Babin (Columbia), #25 Diego Sotelo (Harvard), #27 Spencer Moore (North Carolina), #31 Dominic Mendez (Cal Poly), #32 Eli Griffin (California Baptist) Right off the bat, we’ve got an extremely deep field at 125 lbs. Half of the placewinners from the 2022 tournament are back, led by Matt Ramos, the runner-up a year ago. Ramos is fresh off a huge win at the All-Star Classic and is looking to establish momentum. The remaining 2022 placers that are expected to compete are Brandon Kaylor (4th), Tanner Jordan (6th), and Brett Ungar (7th). This weight class has already established itself as unpredictable and loaded with talent. For those reasons, it’s easy to see the brackets exploding as lower-seeded wrestlers pull what appears to be an upset, on paper. The only placewinner from pre-2022 is Michael DeAugustino who used this tournament to announce his presence when he took third as a redshirt freshman in 2019 for Northwestern. Now at Michigan, DeAugustino will look to throw his name into the national title discussion with a win in Vegas. However this weight class unfolds, the quarterfinal matchups should be unreal. Wrestlers like Kaylor, Jordan, and Kysen Terukina could end up holding the six-through-eight seeds. New face(s): Oklahoma State comes to Vegas for the first time in recent memory and they have a redshirt freshman, Troy Spratley, who could shake things up. Spratley is five-for-five this year in logging tech falls, though he’s yet to face a ranked opponent. Potential spoiler: Spencer Moore has been very impressive during the first month of the season. Moore hit the mat in 2021-22 as an undersized, young true freshman and generally held his own. After a redshirt season, Moore is doing more than holding his own. He already owns a win over All-American and Vegas placer Brandon Kaylor. This deep field will present him with the opportunity to have more wins of that caliber and fly up the rankings. Semifinal Projection: Matt Ramos (Purdue) vs. Jore Volk (Wyoming); Michael DeAugustino (Michigan) vs. Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State) Finals Pick: Matt Ramos (Purdue) over Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern) 133 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #1 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State), #4 Kai Orine (NC State), #8 Evan Frost (Iowa State), #10 Julian Chlebove (Arizona State), #11 Angelo Rini (Columbia), #12 Brendan Ferretti (Navy), #14 Dom Zaccone (Campbell), #15 Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State), #23 Haiden Drury (Utah Valley), #26 Caden McCrary (North Carolina), #26 Gabe Whisenhunt (Oregon State), #27 Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska), #29 Richie Koehler (Rider), #31 Ethan Oakley (Appalachian State) Unfortunately, we won’t get to see a Vito Arujau/Daton Fix rematch as Vito is not expected to enter. That’s ok, because there’s still some intrigue around this weight. This is a weight that largely has young and/or unproven wrestlers (at the collegiate level) after your top contenders. That should allow us to get a better grasp on who is truly a podium threat at 133 lbs. Someone at this weight who has proven himself time and time again is four-time All-American Daton Fix. Fix has won just about everything this is to win at the collegiate level; however, since OSU hasn’t been to Vegas, this could be a first for him. Fix has only seen action in one dual this year and prevailed with a fall over national qualifier Kurt Phipps of Bucknell. The other returning All-American at this weight is Kai Orine. Orine went 2-2 at this tournament in 2022, but bounced back to pull a couple of upsets and win the ACC title. He later would make the NCAA podium for the first time finishing eighth. The biggest jumper in this week’s rankings is Evan Frost, who moved up to number eight after a huge third period against Iowa veteran Brody Teske. That win now puts a bulls-eye on Frost’s back as one of the guys to beat this week and going forward. We’ll see how he responds. New face(s): There are quite a few of them here. We’ve already mentioned Frost. Perhaps the highest-profile freshman in this weight is U20 world bronze medalist Nic Bouzakis. During his first competition, Bouzakis suffered a loss to Columbia’s Angelo Rini. I’m sure, however the brackets break, he wouldn’t mind another crack at the Lion senior. Lingering near the bottom of the rankings are Gabe Whisenhunt and Jacob Van Dee. Both are redshirt freshmen who have shown some promise in the early going. Van Dee was a runner-up at the Navy Classic and Whisenhunt downed Caden McCrary (also in the field) and won the Southeast Open during the first week of the season. Potential Spoiler: Utah Valley’s Haiden Drury will be lurking in that eight-to-ten range as a seed. There’s a potential Round of 16 match between him and Bouzakis if everyone stays in the bracket. Drury was a 2022 national qualifier and looks back to that form after a finals appearance at the Keystone Classic. Semifinal Projection: Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) vs. Julian Chlebove (Arizona State), Kai Orine (NC State) vs. Evan Frost (Iowa State) Finals Pick: Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) over Kai Orine (NC State) 141 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #3 Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina), #4 Brock Hardy (Nebraska), #5 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State), #7 Ryan Jack (NC State), #9 Cael Happel (Northern Iowa), #12 Kal Miller (Maryland), #14 Vince Cornella (Cornell), #18 Josh Koderhandt (Navy), #19 Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State), #21 Cleveland Belton (Oregon State), #24 Tagen Jamison (Oklahoma State), #29 Jason Miranda (Stanford), #32 Sergio Lemley (Michigan), #33 McKenzie Bell (Rider) What a weight class we have at 141 lbs. The top-four finishers from the 2022 are all back and have entered. That iteration of the tournament saw Brock Hardy prevail over Cael Happel, while Ryan Jack defeated Josh Koderhandt for third place. Hardy went on to make the Big Ten finals before finishing sixth at his first NCAA tournament. In the consolations, he suffered a loss to Lachlan McNeil, who has started the year ranked ahead of him and is expected to receive the top seed. McNeil recently scored a controlling victory over Koderhandt at the All-Star Classic. Even though McNeil is a high NCAA placewinner (4th), he has yet to defeat Ryan Jack, a conference foe that he might see in the semifinals. Though Jack defeated Hardy early in the 2022-23 season, Hardy did get revenge in Vegas. Another name to add to the list of title contenders is Jesse Mendez. Mendez is up at 141 lbs after finishing sixth in the nation as a true freshman. He’s 6-0 this season with a title at the Clarion Open and nothing but bonus points on his resume. One of the stories of last year’s 141 lb bracket was Cael Happel making the finals after starting with the 11th seed. Happel’s only action of the year thus far took place at the Daktronics Open, where he captured a title with three bonus point-filled matches. New face(s): Once again, we have a redshirt freshman from Oklahoma State who is capable of shaking things up at 141 lbs. This one is Tagen Jamison. In his last outing, Jamison captured a title at the Lindenwood Open after defeating teammate Sammy Alvarez, a past national qualifier for Rutgers. From the ranks of the true freshmen comes Sergio Lemley. So far, Lemley is 5-1 this young season. Before the Thanksgiving break, he notched a tech fall victory against past national qualifier McKenzie Bell. Potential Spoiler: On Sunday we saw Anthony Echemendia push top-ranked Real Woods to the brink in the Cyclone's loss to Iowa. Now, Echemendia will head to Vegas with a seed somewhere between seven and ten. Provided the weight cut goes well, he could likely outwrestle whatever his seed ends up being. Semifinal Projection: Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina) vs. Ryan Jack (NC State); Brock Hardy (Nebraska) vs. Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) Finals Pick: Brock Hardy (Nebraska) over Ryan Jack (NC State) 149 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #1 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska), #3 Kyle Parco (Arizona State), #4 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech), #5 Dylan D’Emilio (Ohio State), #6 Jackson Arrington (NC State), #7 Chance Lamer (Cal Poly), #9 Jaden Abas (Stanford), #11 Ethen Miller (Maryland), #12 Quinn Kinner (Rider), #13 Casey Swiderski (Iowa State), #14 Jordan Williams (Oklahoma State), #25 Cody Bond (Appalachian State), #32 Gabe Willochell (Wyoming) This is another excellent weight with six of the top-seven wrestlers in the nation expected to do battle. Ridge Lovett was a 2022 NCAA finalist who redshirted last year. He has twice finished third in Vegas and is looking to get over that semifinal hump. In his last appearance at the CKLV, Lovett gave Yianni Diakomihalis all he could handle in that aforementioned round. Chasing Lovett are four All-Americans in Kyle Parco, Caleb Henson, Dylan D’Emilio, and Jaden Abas along with talented sophomores Jackson Arrington, Chance Lamer, and Ethen Miller. Last year, Parco was a runner-up with Arrington taking fifth and Lamer seventh. D’Emilio also got on the medal stand; he was eighth at 141 lbs. Maybe more so than most weights in this tournament, 149’s rankings next will really be turned on their head by the results here. Nine of the top ten seeds enter this tournament unbeaten, so something has to give! Only D’Emilio comes in with a loss and he was beaten by Henson in a dual meet the second week of the season. 149 is also one of only four weights in this tournament where the potential top-three seeds all come from different conferences. That can be fun as we may end up seeing some potential matches that won’t take place in dual meets or at a conference tournament. New face(s): This may be a recurring theme and it wasn’t planned this way, but look out for yet another Oklahoma State redshirt freshman. Here it’s Jordan Williams. Williams bonused his way through the Lindenwood Open with his most significant win coming over teammate and two-time national qualifier Carter Young. Potential Spoiler: Look out for the veteran from Rider Quinn Kinner. In his first bout of the season, Kinner turned in a one-sided upset of 2023 Round of 12 finisher Graham Rooks of Indiana. That same weekend he defeated another national qualifier in SIU Edwardsville’s Caleb Tyus. With the top-ten being so heavily represented, Kinner may receive a seed that is lower than you might expect. Even if that’s the case, I don’t see it negatively impacting him. Semifinal Projection: Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) vs. Quinn Kinner (Rider); Kyle Parco (Arizona State) vs. Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) Finals Pick: Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) over Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) 157 lbs Ranked Wrestlers: #3 Peyton Robb (Nebraska), #4 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State), #5 Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech), #6 Will Lewan (Michigan), #8 Ed Scott (NC State), #9 Daniel Cardenas (Stanford), #10 Trevor Chumbley (Northwestern), #13 Cael Swensen (South Dakota State), #15 Joey Blaze (Purdue), #16 Paddy Gallagher (Ohio State), #18 Cody Chittum (Iowa State), #19 Peyten Kellar (Ohio), #20 Tommy Askey (Appalachian State), #21 Meyer Shapiro (Cornell), #29 Chris Earnest (Campbell), #31 Legend Lamer (Cal Poly), #32 RJ Weston (Northern Iowa) This is by far my favorite weight of the tournament. In addition to five returning All-Americans, there is a trio of talented freshmen that could shake the bracket up. The returning champion, Peyton Robb, is back and assumes the top seed. By looking at Robb’s results this season, you’d have no idea that he suffered a severe leg infection at the 2023 NCAA Championships that nearly cost him the limb. Robb is 7-0 with a tournament title at the Navy Classic and has bonus points in six of those bouts. One of the indelible images from the 2022 national tournament was Robb and Jacori Teemer lying next to each other, completely spent, at the conclusion of their consolation semifinal bout. If seeds were to hold, we could have another meeting between the two in the finals. In Teemer’s only bout of the season, he had to default out after suffering an apparent head injury. Since he’s entered and other ASU studs are not, it’s safe to say it’s not as serious as it could’ve been. But it’s always something to monitor in this tournament. Now, this weight is way too deep to be projecting a Robb/Teemer final just yet. The ACC contingent has a pair of All-Americans in Bryce Andonian and Ed Scott. Both are dangerous and throw the kitchen sink at you for seven straight minutes. Andonian leads the career series between the two; however, Scott was victorious in the most recent bout (2023 NCAA’s). Will Lewan represents the other returning All-American in the bracket. Not only has Lewan gotten on the NCAA podium in each of the last two years, but he’s also placed fourth at the two most recent CKLV tournaments. This bracket is full of different stylistic matchups as Lewan is the opposite of Andonian/Scott and is very deliberate with his attacks. In addition to the All-Americans, there are two returning NCAA bloodround finishers in the mix with Daniel Cardenas and Cael Swensen. Cardenas was the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and an InterMat All-Freshman team member after winning his conference and going 24-3 overall. He was prevented from earning All-American honors by Scott in sudden victory in the Round of 12. Swensen was fifth in the Big 12 last season before putting together a very strong NCAA tournament. He lost to Lewan in the Round of 12. Swensen is looking to get back on the winning track after an overtime loss to Michael Blockhus (Minnesota) on Sunday. We’ve done all this talking and still haven’t gotten around to Big Ten studs like Trevor Chumbley and Paddy Gallagher. Both are ranked in the top-16 nationally. New face(s): Oh, we’ve got some good ones to talk about with freshmen Joey Blaze, Cody Chittum, and Meyer Shapiro. Blaze is currently ranked the highest as he already has a win over a returning All-American (Ed Scott). Before his win over Scott, at WrangleMania, Blaze also knocked off returning qualifier Nate Lukez of Army. Chittum was seen by a national audience getting oh-so-close to upsetting #2 Jared Franek in Sunday’s Cy-Hawk Dual. Franek tends to wrestle close matches so, we’ll see how he fares against other top contenders at this weight - which he’ll undoubtedly face in Vegas. Maybe the most anticipated Vegas debut is Shapiro the U17 and U20 world champion who was tabbed the number one overall recruit in the Class of 2023. Shapiro has been utterly dominant thus far, but he hasn’t had the opportunity to face any of the top wrestlers at this weight….yet. Looking at preseeds, a trip to the finals from Shapiro would require him to potentially beat Andonian (Round of 16), Cardenas (Quarterfinals), and Teemer (Semifinals). Tournaments like this are important to really get a feel for a freshman’s standing in the rankings. It’s one thing to get a good win in a dual, but beating this type of competition in back-to-back-to-back matches, potentially on the same day, is a different animal. Potential Spoiler: We’ve mentioned most of the top contenders and this weight is so top-heavy it’s hard to imagine too many others playing spoiler, but we should probably mention Peyten Kellar. Kellar is 6-0 with falls in three of his five matches while winning the Southeast Open. Semifinal Projection: Peyton Robb (Nebraska) vs. Ed Scott (NC State); Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) vs. Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) Finals Pick: Peyton Robb (Nebraska) over Meyer Shapiro (Cornell)

This week is headlined by Cliff Keen Las Vegas with one of the best regular-season tournament fields we've seen in a while. The storylines there are innumerable and we hit on some of them below while sprinkling in some other not-so-obvious hot spots as well. Here's what I'm zoning in on for Week 4. 5. What Will Lehigh Do With McGonagle? Lehigh has a good problem on their hands. They have two of the undisputedly best 133lbers in the country. And I could say this every week until it gets resolved, but will we learn anything in their dual with Penn State this weekend? Who will start at 133? Can Malyke Hines move up to 149 creating a space for Crookham or McGonagle at 141? 4. SIU-Edwardsville Put Together a Heck of A Field While everyone is sure to be glued to CKLV, SIUE’s Cougar Clash is a must-follow, too. I have three things to really zero in on here: Can Missouri’s lightweights contribute - namely Noah Surtin, Zeke Seltzer, and Josh Edmond. Little Rock’s Promising Freshmen - Nasir Bailey, Kyle Dutton, and Stephen Little Minnesota Veterans: Pat McKee, Michael Blockhus, Andrew Sparks and Isaiah Salazar 3. The Mess That is 125 Nationally (At CKLV) 125 nationally has been a glorious mess with no definitively staking the claim as top dog and too many conflicting results to make sense of. The field at CKLV only has three former All-Americans - Matt Ramos, Michael DeAugustino, and Brandon Kaylor. But the weight is loaded with up-and-comers and guys that have been knocking on the door. Will the top seeds hold serve or will the revolving door at 125 continue? 2. How Good Can ISU Be This Year? Iowa State is coming off a heartbreaking loss to rival Iowa. But while they may have lost that battle, there are plenty of reasons to walk away optimistic. Evan Frost (133) and Casey Swiderski (149) beat proven veterans Brody Teske and Victor Voinovich. Anthony Echemendia (141) and Cody Chittum (157) took All Americans to the brink. The Cyclones are flirting with a Top 10 NCAA tournament projection and any uptick in performance from these four guys could push them into podium contender status. 1. CKLV Team Race Nebraska has only entered the last five CKLV tournaments. It was interesting timing as that is exactly when CKLV became the best regular-season tournament in the country, surpassing Midlands and Southern Scuffle. And they won it the last three years - and this tournament is objectively the toughest of those five. And while this field is the greatest in tournament history, it might be to Nebraska’s benefit. But how can that be? Because the deeper a tournament is, the more valuable the upper echelon is. And Nebraska has the most sure things with #4-Hardy, #1-Ridge, and #3-PRobb will all be top 2 seeds. The depth of the tournament actually helps Nebraska this year. And they lead the field with seven Top 6 seeds. Cornell, who is missing Vito Arajau for this tournament, has five in the Top 7 plus Meyer Shapiro who is regarded as the best incoming freshman in the country. Iowa State is another threat. They don’t have a lot of high seeds but they have six in the Top 8 and three new faces - Anthony Echemendia, Casey Swiderski, and Cody Chittum who are more than capable of reaching the podium both here and at NCAA’s.

City High

Hanover Park

Below is a recap of last week’s EIWA action, with individual news and highlights worth noting. Key Takeaways American defeats George Mason in the “Turkey Tussle” dual Carter Baer of Binghamton wins the Mat Town Open Cornell dominates by winning 6 weights at the Mat Town Open American The Eagles squared off against George Mason on Tuesday before Thanksgiving in the ‘Turkey Tussle.” American won six of ten bouts, and Maida had the only bonus point victory for American. American 21 George Mason 15 141 - Cael McIntyre (AU) dec. Dom Hargrove (Mason), 4-2 (AU 3-0) 149 - Kaden Cassidy (Mason) tech. fall Gage Owen (AU), 15-0, 1:38 (Mason 5-3) 157 - DJ McGee (Mason) dec. Jack Nies (AU), 7-6 (Mason 8-3) 165 - Evan Maag (Mason) major dec. Kaden Milheim (AU), 12-2 (Mason 12-3) 174 - Lucas White (AU) dec. Paul Pierce (Mason), 4-0 (Mason 12-6) 184 - Connor Bourne (AU) dec. Sean Coughlin (Mason), 5-2 (Mason 12-9) 197 - Carsten Rawls (AU) dec. Ruben Karapetyan (Mason), 4-1 SV (Tied 12-12) 285 - #31 Chad Nix (Mason) dec. Will Jarrell (AU), 9-7 (Mason 15-12) 125 - #14 Jack Maida (AU) pinned JB Dragovich (Mason), 3:33 (AU 18-15) 133 - Maximilian Leete (AU) dec. Shawn Nonaka (Mason), 4-2 (AU 21-15) Next up for American is a dual on Saturday against Davidson. Army The Black Knights were off for the holiday week. They will return after Thanksgiving and compete at the Cougar Clash at SIUE. Binghamton The Bearcats had a few wrestlers compete at the Mat Town Open in Lock Haven. Carter Baer took home gold at 157 lbs. Carson Wagner had a nice win over Kurt McHenry of PSU. He went on to place second. Dimitri Gamkrelidze took silver at the 174 lb bracket, as Will Ebert was fourth, in a bracket loaded with Cornell wrestlers. At 133lbs, Ryan Hartung was fourth. There was an interesting match-up for third place at 141 lbs. Nate Lucier defeated his teammate Ivan Garcia 7-3. It looks as if this may have been a wrestle-off for the starting spot. Charlie Tibbits earned third place in the heavyweight bracket. Overall, it was a successful day for BU. They will compete at the Cliff Keen Invite in Las Vegas this weekend. Brown The Bears of Brown University will be off for a few weeks. They do not compete until right before the Christmas Holiday. Bucknell The Bison were off for the break. They have a dual at #29 Wisconsin on Sunday. Columbia The Lions will travel to Sin City for the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite. Cornell The Big Red had much success at the Mat Town Open. Greg Diakomihalis won the 125 lbs bracket via three bonus point victories. Josh Saunders won his bracket at 149 lbs with wins over teammates Nate Wade and Ethan Fernandez. Chris Foca cruised to a gold medal at 184 lbs, as did Lewis Fernandes at 285 lbs. Ethan Qureshi, at 133lbs, was second in the bracket. At 157 lbs, Benny Rodgers was a runner-up and Gage McClenehan was third. Cornell had nine wrestlers in the 174 lbs bracket, Benny Baker walked away the highest placer with a third-place finish. At 197 lbs, Jacob Cardenas and Eric Carlson tied for first after a no-contest in the finals. Cornell will be at the Las Vegas Invite this weekend. Drexel The Dragons took the week off for the holiday. See them in action for the Dragon Duals on Sunday, December 3rd. Franklin & Marshall The Dips will be off for Thanksgiving. They have four duals at home on Sunday against Michigan State, VMI, Presbyterian, and Bloomsburg. Harvard The Crimson, like most teams, will be on break during the Thanksgiving holiday. Catch them in action in Las Vegas. Hofstra The Pride will also be at the Las Vegas Invite after a week off for the holiday. Lehigh The Mountain Hawks enjoyed a break over the holiday before they face #1 Penn State on Sunday on the road. Long Island The Sharks took off for the holiday break and will compete at the tough Cliff Keen Invite. Navy Navy will also be at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite. It’s the toughest tournament of the regular season. Penn The Quakers will host #3 Iowa on Friday for a dual. They will send some wrestlers to the Patriot Open on Sunday, hosted by George Mason. Princeton The Tigers took off for Thanksgiving. They host Indiana at home to a dual on Sunday. Sacred Heart The Pioneers will be at the Cliff Keen Invite this weekend.

It's one of the best weeks of the collegiate wrestling season. Espeically the regular season. It's Vegas week! Four of our conference correspondents, Kevin Claunch (Big Ten), Ryan Holmes (Big Ten), Austin Sommer (EIWA), and Robbie Wendell (ACC) have joined forces to preview the tournament. The four talk about the respective conference teams at the tournament, favorites and much more. For the full discussion: Click Here

Poway

Mill Creek

This week's NCAA DI rankings have been updated and posted. With the Thanksgiving holiday, there were only a handful of duals or events that impacted rankings. One of which was the All-Star Classic. Last season, InterMat did not factor those results into rankings. We've made the decision to count those matches going forward. With that in mind, you'll see some shuffling at 125 lbs, with a new number one. 125 also have plenty of other changes and will likely to have them as it's one of the deepest weights in the country. For the full rankings, Click Here

With the Thanksgiving Holiday and so many tournaments last weekend, the All-Star Classic served as the main event in women’s collegiate wrestling this week. Here are some notes on each of the 4 matches. 1. #2 Samara Chavez of King pins #3 Sydney Petzinger of North Central In a match that was supposed to be an NCWWC Finals rematch between Samara Chavez and North Central’s Jaslynn Gallegos, teammate Sydney Petzinger stepped up for the bout after Gallegos suffered an injury. Chavez came close to winning at 116 lbs in last year’s college championships when she had an early 8-1 lead, however, Gallegos’ counter secured a pin. While the matchup would have been awesome to see, Petzinger is no slouch. She is a 2x All-American for North Central at 109 lbs and finished 3rd at the U20 World Team Trials last year. This match had some great action in the first period, with Chavez finding success with a huge hip toss from a headlock to get a 4-0 lead. However, Petzinger answered quickly with a takedown response to another Chavez headlock she fought off. Chavez then goes blast double for two more points, but Petzinger secures one more takedown at the end of the period to make it 6-4 going into the second. In the second, Petzinger tries to get to her offense early, but Chavez is ready with another headlock and this time takes Petzinger to her back for the pin. While these two probably will not see each other again, Chavez was hungry for a win over her North Central opponent, and if she continues to wrestle with the same patience and smarts she showed in this matchup, she could easily find herself in the 2024 finals to avenge her loss last year. 2. #2 (NCAA) Alexis Janiak of Aurora gets the tech fall over #1 (NAIA) Sarah Savidge of Life Both of these wrestlers may have had a chip on their shoulders after each finished as the runner-up at their respective championships at the end of last season. They also have a pretty decent amount of history wrestling one another, all in high-scoring or big-move matches. Janiak has the two most recent wins from last year’s U20 World Team Trials with an 11-0 tech and a pin. While Janiak has a variety of well-honed technical skills, Savidge is a gritty, tough wrestler, who has seen a lot of success, especially last season. However, in this match, Janiak made quick work of her opponent. After a beautiful single-leg takedown, she was able to secure a lace and take Savidge over to score two more. After assessing her space on the mat, Janiak worked through three more quick turns with the same leg lace for a 10-0 tech at the 31-second mark. Fans would have certainly loved to see more competition between these two, but Janiak’s precise execution of her moves closed the book on this one early. 3. #1 (NAIA) Adaugo Nwachukwu of William Penn gets the decision over #1 (NCAA) Yele Aycock of North Central Fans had this rematch circled but not because of a close result in their last match. In fact, Nwachukwu got a quick 10-0 tech over Aycock at the 2022 Women’s Nationals. Instead, the anticipation was for Nwachukwu’s competitive and dominant style up against Aycock’s steadily increasing skill level against tough opponents. Aycock actually went 0-2 at the 2022 NCWWC Championship and then put a stamp on her 2023 season finishing in second this past March. Aycock’s improvement was on full display as the two battled it out for the entirety of the 2 periods. Nwachukwu claimed the first four points in the period with two strong attacks, one double leg and then another from an underhook. With under a minute left, Aycock tries for another shot and muscles over Nwachukwu for a takedown. Sending the match into the second period 4-2. Nwachukwu hits a big takedown off the whistle and then uses a gut wrench to get two more. At this point, the match is 8-2 with Nwachukwu pulling away. However, Aycock scrambles on the edge to hip over and score a 4-point feet-to-back move. William Penn challenges the call and loses making the score 8-7. The two scramble for the next minute or so and are reset. With 30 seconds left, both wrestlers take shots with Nwachukwu finding success. A last-second step-out point for Nwachukwu seals the deal with an 11-7 victory. This was absolutely the highlight match of the event. You can see so much improvement on the part of Aycock, but it did not detract from just how dominant and powerful Nwachukwu is. Her style has been a problem for other wrestlers on the senior level as she has worked to make a world team. Aycock has dominated in tournaments and duals so far this season and will certainly continue to do so. I would not be surprised if each of these wrestlers maintained their #1 rankings at their respective college associations. 4. #1 (NCAA) Marlynne Deede of Iowa gets the decision over #1 (NAIA) Latifa McBryde of Life In the final women’s match of the evening, Deede and McBryde met for the first time since 2021 when they faced off at the Junior World Team Trials. Deede won by decision back then, but that did not give fans much to go on in predicting the outcome of this match. Deede transferred to Iowa in the offseason for her final year of collegiate competition. She is a 4x All American including a 2023 NCWWC title last year. McBryde was very close to an NAIA title last year as well but lost after a last-second 4-point throw in her finals match. This match was intense and physical from the whistle. Lots of hand fighting and big throw attempts from each wrestler before a scramble where McBryde gets exposure but Deede gets a throw from a crotch lock to make it 2-2. McBryde picks up a step-out point at the end of the period to go up 3-2. After some hand fighting and movement across the mat to start the second, Deede gets a big toss to take McBryde to her back giving a 4-point bump to Deede. Now up 6-3, Deede capitalizes on a shot from McBryde for the go behind putting her up 8-3 with no time left for McBryde to respond. Deede was a threat to begin with during her career at Augsburg. I have no doubt that training with the Hawkeyes and the competitive roster they have in the room will only make her a tougher wrestler to beat. While 155 is a competitive weight class, I think she’ll have no problem getting to the finals of NCWWCs in March. As for McBryde, another close match that just got away from her certainly only adds fuel to the fire as she continues to train for the championship spot at NAIA’s that eluded her last year. McBryde also finished second at this year’s Menlo Open, but has not had much other competition since last year’s finals. I think there is plenty of space for her to continue to be competitive against ranked opponents as she has previously and make it to the finals to work on some redemption come March. Results this week in major NCAA, NCWA, and NAIA competitions All-Star Classic VIEW RESULTS North Central 42 vs Augustana 4 Upcoming Events November 30 - Grand View vs Central Methodist December 1 - Patriot Duals (Day 1) December 1 - Battle of the Rockies December 2 - Patriot Duals (Day 2) December 2 - Grays Harbor Open December 2 - Doane Open December 2 - Vanguard Duals

Berks Catholic

Palm Harbor

La Crosse Aquinas

Plum

Davison

Blair Academy

On the day before Thanksgiving, the NC State coaching staff received a verbal commitment from California state champion Daniel Zepeda (Gilroy, CA). Zepeda is currently ranked ninth overall in the Class of 2025 by MatScouts. With Zepeda’s commitment fresh on the minds of wrestling fans, it seemed like an appropriate time to revisit NC State’s history of signing top-tier recruits under Pat Popolizio. During Popolizio’s time in Raleigh (2012 - present), the Wolfpack have been a frequent threat for the top spot in national recruiting rankings. While the 2023 class was ranked 18th, the previous two were noted in the top-five. Early in his tenure (2016), Popolizio and staff signed the top class in the nation. So, how does one receive such an honor for their recruiting class? It depends. For the most part, NC State hasn’t always signed top-ten recruits, but they have banked on the next tier of recruits. They’ve also been able to identify recruits that others have missed and turned them into national contenders (Mike Macchiavello, Kevin Jack, and Tariq Wilson). Another trademark of NC State’s recruiting classes has been large quantities of signees. Some power programs only get a couple of signees per year; however, they ranked very highly (Ohio State, typically). NC State has done a little of both. The title of this article uses the word “elite.” What exactly is an “elite” recruit? It’s hard to say and the number can vary from year to year. One crop of recruits could be much deeper than one of its predecessors. For the intents and purposes of this article, we’ll say that top-30 in your graduating class constitutes “elite.” Should Zepeda maintain (or improve) upon his current standing in the Class of 2025 and sign with the Pack, it would make him the 13th top-30 recruit to sign with the team since Popolizio’s arrival. Below are those 13 wrestlers, separated by their respective recruiting classes. The number next to their name is their overall ranking in the graduating class by MatScouts/InterMat. Class of 2023 #24 Koy Buesgens (New Prague, Minnesota) Class of 2022 #6 Dylan Fishback (Dublin Coffman, Ohio) Because of the existing talent on the Wolfpack roster in the upperweights, Fishback was able to redshirt in 2022-23 and amassed a solid 15-6 record. This year he’s been the guy at 184 lbs and has responded with a 6-0 start to his career. In his last two matches, Fishback has earned wins over returning national qualifiers. #13 Matthew Singleton (Woodward Academy, Georgia) As a true freshman, Singleton was inserted into the NC State lineup at 165 lbs relatively late in the game. With only three duals remaining in the conference dual season, Singleton went 2-1 with a win over Virginia Tech’s Connor Brady. He’d later finish fourth in the conference, which wasn’t high enough for an automatic berth to Tulsa. With only a small body of work at 165 lbs, Singleton wasn’t selected as an at-large. After the collegiate season, Singleton earned a spot on the U20 freestyle team and returned from the World Championships with a bronze medal. He’s now competed at U20 World's in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. #28 Jackson Arrington (Forest Hills, Pennsylvania) A starter at 149 lbs from day one, Jackson Arrington amassed a 23-9 record as a true freshman for NC State. In the postseason, Arrington was an ACC finalist and advanced to the NCAA bloodround before his elimination. As a sophomore, Arrington appears to have taken the next step and has benefited from the new rules change. In six bouts, he’s scored six tech falls. To keep with the synergy of the number six, that’s Arrington’s current national ranking. Class of 2021 #23 Joey Milano (Spring-Ford, PA) Milano had a promising redshirt year that saw him go 25-6 at 184 lbs. He was expected to be in the mix as a starter last season at 174 lbs. During the first three weeks of the year, he suffered three losses and gave way to Alex Faison. Milano transferred to Purdue in the offseason but is not currently listed on the Boilermakers roster. #30 Stevo Poulin (Shenandehowa, NY) 125 lbs is generally regarded as the hardest weight class to fill which makes sense because we’re discussing 19-23-year-old young men that are still growing, in some instances. That being said, NC State has had some good 125’s come through their doors lately. Current #3 Jakob Camacho and 2022 ACC champion Jarrett Trombley are both still on the Wolfpack roster. Stevo Poulin was in the mix for NC State, compiling a 6-0 record during his redshirt season. He later moved on to Northern Colorado, where he won the Big 12, earned the sixth seed at nationals in 2023, and advanced to the bloodround. Class of 2020 #17 Ryan Jack (Danbury, CT) Older brother Kevin Jack stormed onto the scene and took the nation by surprise as a true freshman All-American, on his way to earning All-American honors three times. Because of Kevin’s success, Ryan wasn’t quite as “under the radar” and has been a consistent cog in the NC State machine. In both of his years as a starter, the younger Jack has made the ACC finals. He’s still seeking his first NCAA podium finish, as he went 1-2 last year after earning the number five seed. #18 Ed Scott (Dubois, PA) Ed Scott got the call right away and was NC State’s starter at 149 lbs as a true freshman. He responded with a 6-6 season and was unable to qualify for nationals. Since that point, Scott has moved up to 157 lbs and thrived. During his two full seasons at the weight, Scott has combined to go 50-13 with a fifth-place finish in 2023 in Tulsa. Last year, Scott was in a meatgrinder of an ACC weight that featured two other All-Americans. While Scott is in his fourth year as a starter for the Wolfpack, he does have an option of an additional year of eligibility due to the Covid season in 2021. #29 Isaac Trumble (Millard South, NE) The big man from Nebraska saw some action during the Covid season but ultimately did not start in the postseason for NC State. A year later, he jumped into the Wolfpack lineup and made the first of two ACC finals appearances. In both seasons, Trumble was seeded top-15 at nationals; however, he is still seeking his first All-American award. Trumble has also had great success on the freestyle circuit. This spring, Trumble made the US Open finals at 97 kgs. A few months later, Trumble mowed down the field at the U23 World Championships. He posted tech falls in three of his four bouts and 11 points was his lowest-scoring output in any single match. The U23 world championship allows Trumble to sit out the 2023-24 campaign and use an Olympic redshirt. Class of 2018 #18 Trent Hidlay (Mifflin County, PA) Like the aforementioned Jack brothers, Hayden Hidlay set the stage for Trent Hidlay at NC State and raised expectations from fans. It’s safe to say that Trent has proven himself worthy of any pre-collegiate hype surrounding him. Trent has gotten onto the NCAA podium three times at 184 lbs and amassed a record of 78-11. In each of the last three years, Hidlay has claimed an ACC title and a top-three seed at NCAA’s. This year, Hidlay has moved up to 197 lbs and looks as good as ever. He’s earned bonus points in every bout thus far, with his closest match being a 12-3 major decision over All-American Michael Beard. Trent has also has plenty of freestyle accolades. He has Junior and U23 World medals and recently won the Bill Farrell, locking up a spot at the Olympic Trials. #23 Jakob Camacho (Danbury, CT) Jakob Camacho has been in the NC State lineup since his freshman year and has been an All-American threat the entire time. The two-time ACC champion earned second-team NWCA All-American honors in 2020, but is still looking to actually get on the NCAA podium. Camacho took a large step in that direction with an impressive 8-5 decision over returning NCAA finalist Matt Ramos (Purdue) earlier this year at WrangleMania. That’s not even the first win of that magnitude for Camacho. Back in the 2020 ACC finals, he defeated the returning runner-up, Jack Mueller (Virginia). Class of 2016 The 2016 Class was ranked number one in the nation and helped turn NC State into a consistent top-ten program and a team trophy threat on a consistent basis. In addition to the wrestlers featured below, three other wrestlers from this group earned All-American honors (two via the NCAA and one from the NWCA). #4 Nick Reenan (Wyoming Seminary, PA) A longtime member of the NC State squad, Nick Reenan is someone who battled through injuries during his time in Raleigh. Even so, Reenan was able to qualify for the national tournament on three occasions. In 2019, Reenan was seeded seventh at nationals, but went 1-2. That previous summer, Reenan won the World Team Trials and advanced to participate in the very first Final X event. #6 Hayden Hidlay (Mifflin County, PA) Hayden Hidlay will go down as one of the all-time greats in the history of NC State wrestling. As a redshirt freshman, Hidlay went undefeated in the regular season and earned the top seed at the 2018 national tournament. He’d advance all the way to the finals before suffering his first loss at the hands of three-time champion Jason Nolf (Penn State). When it was all said and done, Hidlay put together a 110-11 career record. That included four ACC titles and four trips to the top-eight at the NCAA Championships; never finishing lower than fifth.

Pine-Richland

North Allegheny

The Cy-Hawk dual is in the books and just like the past 18 times, the 2023 version fell in Iowa’s favor. Despite losing a handful of key contributors in the offseason, Iowa managed to put together an impressive lineup with the help of the transfer portal, the recruiting trail, and in-room progression. With the dual still fresh in our minds, here are some important reactions to the action that went down in Ames on Sunday afternoon. 1. Tom Brands - Strategist When fans think of Tom Brands as a coach, I’m sure that most will think of his motivational tactics or training methods. Those attributes might be accurate and some of his strong points, as a coach; however, something that doesn’t get mentioned often are his prematch and in-match strategic decisions. In his post-match interview, Gabe Arnold revealed that Brands asked him on Saturday if he’d be willing to wrestle at 184 lbs against Iowa State. We all know how that turned out as Arnold took out his second All-American in as many weeks (up a weight, to boot). With Arnold up at 184 lbs, that opened a slot at 174 lbs for Patrick Kennedy, who had yet to compete during the 2023-24 campaign. Kennedy may have come out before he was actually ready, but nonetheless, he got the job done and won a pivotal bout for the Hawkeyes. It takes a lot of guts and belief in your wrestlers, particularly a true freshman to make this type of a lineup swap. Typically, it isn’t done at the collegiate level. Had it backfired and MJ Gaitan completed his comeback against Kennedy and All-American Will Feldkamp prevailed against Arnold, I’m sure many people would have questioned Brands’ move. In the days leading up to the dual, our own Willie Saylor and others were wondering aloud whether Brands and Iowa State’s Kevin Dresser would do some of thing bumping to find optimal matchups. I wasn’t sure just because of the fact that we haven’t seen it much during Brands’ tenure in Iowa City. Now, the reason for that is partly because Iowa’s best/normal lineup is typically better than 98% of their opponents. In most cases, a lineup tweak either isn’t needed or might end up benefiting the other squad. A bit of luck plays into these situations, as well. A team has to have depth at a potential weak spot (or two) for the opponents to really pull this off. As Willie was speculating on possible lineup bumping scenarios, would it have been beneficial for Iowa State to insert true freshman Tate Naaktgeboren at 184 lbs and move Feldkamp to 197? Arnold and Naaktgeboren squared off in the Iowa 3A state finals last season (and a couple other times) and the result was always razor-thin but in Arnold’s favor. That still gives three points to the Hawkeyes, but would it have increased the Cyclone's chances at 197? Feldkamp against Zach Glazier? Feldkamp is tall and long and has made the national tournament at 197 lbs, so size would have favored Glazier, but just slightly. After watching the actual action, I’m not sure if that would have made a difference. But those are the questions the Iowa State bench is left to ponder after letting a big opportunity like this slide by. Lineup decisions, plus as Dresser discussed in his press conference, the decision to tell Gaitan to ride Kennedy for the final :14 instead of kicking him away for the winning takedown (while mixing up who had riding time), and potential brick usage at 141 lbs are factors that gave the coaching edge to Brands and the Iowa sideline on Sunday afternoon. 2. Freshmen Are Ready Some of the debate surrounding takedowns, the hand touch rule, lineups, and brick usage obscured the fact that we saw some excellent performances from freshmen on Sunday. Arnold being the obvious one, with a huge win over a returning All-American, up a weight. The Iowa braintrust has a decision to make (not immediately) about 174 lbs. Patrick Kennedy is a returning Big Ten finalist and someone who can contend for the podium at that weight once he’s fully healthy and in-shape to wrestle seven-plus minutes. Arnold has already shown that he could be a high-finisher at the weight, perhaps with more upside. To make things more complicated, it appears as if Brennan Swafford won’t be available for an extended period, if at all, for the remainder of the season. Do you proceed with a lineup that features Kennedy at 174 and an undersized, but extremely talented Arnold at 184? Do you keep Arnold in redshirt and proceed with Kennedy at 174? What about Arnold at 174 and Kennedy or someone else at 184? In the highest levels of DI wrestling (with redshirts available - not the Ivy League), you don’t typically see a true freshman wrestle up a weight, when he could be the better option at his optimal weight. Wrestling can be a selfish endeavor. Many times, the answer is to start the best option (Arnold?) and let everything else sort itself out. These are some interesting decisions that will face Iowa in the coming weeks. Aside from Arnold, there were still other impressive showings from freshmen. At 133 lbs, Evan Frost took out a past Big 12 champion (Brody Teske) with a third-period takedown and a tilt. In many people’s eyes, Frost wasn’t even penciled in as the Cyclones preseason starter, it was fellow redshirt freshman Garrett Grice, an offseason transfer from Virginia. Frost won the intrasquad bout between the two and hasn’t looked back. A win like his over Teske will buy him even more time in the lineup. At 157 lbs, the Cyclones Cody Chittum had one of the more difficult matchups of the dual with second-ranked Jared Franek, a returning NCAA fourth-place finisher. The battle-tested Chittum never looked out of place and nearly pulled off a stunner, spinning behind Franek hundredths of a second after the final horn sounded. While it’s a loss on the stat sheet, it could be a win in the long run. Nearly knocking off a wrestler of Franek’s caliber in only your third collegiate match should do wonders for Chittum’s confidence. While not technically a freshman, Anthony Echemendia is also a new face on the collegiate season and a welcome addition to the 141 lb weight class. Echemendia wrestled a smart match on his feet; holding position, drawing stall calls, and limiting Real Woods’ offense. He and the Cyclone staff wisely chose not to go underneath Woods. As Echemendia competes more, we’ll see just how much his mat-game has improved. If he can get out from solid, but not great riders, he could be a contender at the weight. 3. Another heavyweight contender? Speaking of new contenders, I think we have one at 285 lbs. Calling a guy ranked seventh at a weight class a contender isn’t a stretch, I realize that, but there are levels to it. Are they a true title contender? A sure bet to make the podium? A possible low-podium threat? Yonger Bastida moved up to 285 lbs in the offseason, so it’s hard to project just how someone fits in making that particular jump. The eyeball test says that Bastida shouldn’t be overmatched physically by the field. The days of heavyweights like Cole Konrad, bulky 6’6”-ish and 280 lbs monsters, are not currently “in.” Now, the top big men are in the 235-260 lb range. Many of them grew up wrestling a smaller weight and have grown into the weight class. They possess offensive abilities that few big men of yesteryear can fathom. Your top-three guys at the weight all fit the bill here. Greg Kerkvliet, Wyatt Hendrickson, and Lucas Davison. Does Bastida belong in that conversation? Obviously, a major decision over redshirt freshman Bradley Hill doesn’t necessarily mean you’re in the top-four nationally. Again, the eyeball test says that his offensive arsenal could present problems for a handful of wrestlers currently ranked above him. Now, through four matches, Bastida has posted 81 points in only four matches. Pumping the brakes ever so slightly on the Bastida bandwagon, he’s only beaten one ranked wrestler in those four contests; #25 Daniel Bucknavich (Cleveland State); however, it’s still quite a number. The next couple of weeks should give a better idea as to where exactly Bastida belongs in the pecking order at 285 lbs. At the Collegiate Duals, all three of his projected opponents are ranked. Two of them are in the top-21 with #11 Dayton Pitzer (Pittsburgh) and #21 Lewis Fernandes (Cornell). Pitzer is one of those wrestlers still growing into a heavyweight’s body, but is mega-talented. Fernandes and Bastida met at the 2022 Collegiate Duals, when Bastida bumped up from 197 lbs. As a 197 lber, he won 4-2. Does he widen the gap as a heavyweight? Right after the New Year, Iowa State is slated to meet Arizona State, which means a possible match with Greco world teamer #4 Cohlton Schultz. Schultz presents a different challenge from Kerkvliet, Hendrickson, and Davison. He’s more tactical and deliberate. Hand-fighting and positioning will be at a premium. Let’s revisit this discussion after January 5th. 4. 125 is bananas So far, the weight class that I’ve dedicated the most time to studying, from a rankings perspective, is 125 lbs. In less than a month, we’ve already had two different wrestlers hold the number one ranking (Matt Ramos - Purdue and Anthony Noto - Lock Haven). Of course, Ramos also defeated Noto by a major decision at the All-Star Classic. The wrestler who may even be considered the favorite, Richie Figueroa (Arizona State), has yet to take the mat this season. Going beyond the top couple of contenders, this weight is loaded with talent. As we saw on Sunday, #17 Drake Ayala (Iowa) took out #8 Kysen Terukina (Iowa State) in a 7-1 match. That score might even be deceiving in that Ayala left a takedown or two on the board. Over in the other dual that took place Sunday afternoon, two-time All-American Patrick McKee (Minnesota) fell to unbeaten Tanner Jordan (South Dakota State) in a wild bout. A week ago, Ayala fell to Oregon State’s Brandon Kaylor. Terukina had his way with two-time All-American Eric Barnett (Wisconsin). This was after Kaylor was shut down by North Carolina’s Spencer Moore on the opening day of the regular season. Going even further, 2023 All-American Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech) already has five losses. The #31st seed at 133 lbs for the 2023 NCAA Tournament, Jack Maida (American), has dropped down and beaten Ventresca and 2023 bloodround finisher Braxton Brown (Maryland); who has subsequently moved to 133. It’s enough to make your head spin. I imagine this weight class will get crazy in Las Vegas at the Cliff Keen Invitational. Half of the top-20 are scheduled to appear. More than any other weight, I could see a semifinal that includes the number one and the #12 seed meeting up top, while say, #7 and #11 meet on the bottom. I don’t see it sorting itself out either. There are too many good wrestlers that will likely beat up on each other and make the weight totally unpredictable.

It was a light week overall with Thanksgiving Break so I’m mixing up my typical wrap-up. Just two Big 12 duals occurred on Sunday, but both had some great action and huge results. The South Dakota State Jackrabbits kicked the day off, taking on Minnesota in an exciting matchup. Starting at 125, #22 Tanner Jordan took out #6 Pat McKee for the first time with a 9-4 decision. In a wild match that had two reversals for both wrestlers, Jordan broke it open late with a tilt for back points. The Jackrabbits continued the momentum, as Derrick Cardinal beat freshman standout Tyler Wells with a 5-3 decision. Wells teched Cardinal at the Bison Open earlier this month. Unfortunately, Minnesota came back with four wins of their own, including an overtime match between ranked opponents at 157lbs. #13 Michael Blockhus took out #11 Cael Swensen with a late surge to go to overtime and took the match there. Unranked Blaine Brenner took out #19 Tanner Cook in a bout that SDSU needed to win. Cade DeVos and Tanner Sloan got wins, but no Bennett Berge meant big team points for Minnesota at 184. There was still a chance with just heavyweight remaining, but SDSU had to get a bonus as criteria was against them. Luke Rasmussen made a late push, but dropped the final match 9-7 as SDSU lost a very fun 19-13 dual. Once Clay Carlson and Bennett Berge are consistently in the lineup, the Jackrabbits are only going to be more dangerous. Iowa-Iowa State was one of the most hyped duals of the season, and it lived up to it. Iowa took the dual 18-14 and six of the ten matches. Iowa State had some great moments early, but surprisingly struggled at the upper weights. #8 Kysen Terukina lost to #17 Drake Ayala, but #19 Evan Frost got Iowa State on the board with a shocking win over #8 Brody Teske. Frost not only scored the only takedown, but hit a tilt for back points to cap it. The two teams continued to split matches, as Iowa won 141 and 157 while Iowa State won 149 and 165. #19 Anthony Echemendia was razor close to taking out #1 Real Woods, with a controversial “no challenge” from Iowa State on a potential takedown. In overtime, Woods shot quickly and converted a takedown for the close win. #14 Casey Swiderski took out #9 Victor Voinovich, where Iowa State again won the takedown battle. Then at 157 #2 Jared Franek and true freshman #18 Cody Chittum went to the wire, with Iowa State again just barely running out of time on a takedown attempt. #2 David Carr demolished #5 Mikey Caliendo with a 16-4 major that included three takedowns. Weight bumps were discussed for both teams coming into the dual, and Iowa was the team to follow through. They bumped up #14 Patrick Kennedy, a 165lber last season, to take on #21 MJ Gaitan. Kennedy built an early 12-4 lead going into the third, but Gaitan scored three takedowns of his own. Down one with riding time, Gaitan stayed on top and ended up dropping a 14-13 match. Afterwards, Coach Dresser admitted that it was a coaching mistake, and they should have had him cut a gassed Kennedy to try and get one more takedown, although time was against him. With Kennedy at 174, true freshman Gabe Arnold bumped up to 184. Despite getting a top 12 win at 174 against Oregon State, Arnold got a top eight win while up a weight. He scored an early takedown on #6 Will Feldkamp and didn’t have to do much else. Feldkamp was looking for offense from overhooks and Arnold did a smart job wrestling positionally to not give anything up outside of escapes. At 197, Iowa State needed #24 Julien Broderson to take out #22 Zach Glazier to stay in the dual. Unfortunately for the Cyclones, Glazier scored the only takedowns of the match to clinch the dual. #7 Yonger Bastida scored a 17-6 major decision to end the dual on a less sour note for Iowa State. Overall the Big 12 teams went 0-2 against the Big 10. However, South Dakota State looked really solid and should be able to look even better once their lineup is healthy. Iowa State had a number of chances, but also seemed to have luck against them. Weird calls, late timing, and a lack of production at the upperweights really hurt a team that could still turn into a trophy contender in March. The upcoming week has much more competition, as many Big 12 teams are headed to the stacked Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. #21 Air Force, #16 Northern Iowa, #9 Oklahoma State, #11 Iowa State, #13 South Dakota State, Utah Valley, and Wyoming will all compete in Vegas. #3 Missouri takes on #12 Oklahoma in Columbia, MO. The Sooners then head to Morgantown for a dual against #26 West Virginia. North Dakota State stays at home to wrestle Virginia. Northern Colorado has the Cougar Clash tournament listed for December 2nd. California Baptist doesn’t compete this week. All-in-all two great duals that didn’t go the conference’s way, but a chance to really make a statement in a ridiculously stacked Cliff Keen. Add in some solid conference and non-conference duals, and December is looking to start the month strong.

All eyes in the wrestling world were trained solely on Ames, Iowa. No, really. That phrase can be overstated in many cases; however, with the Thanksgiving holiday only four days away, the wrestling calendar was sparse. #7 Iowa traveled to Ames to take on #8 Iowa State live on ESPN’s main channel in the only dual scheduled for Sunday's late-afternoon slot. The stage was set for Iowa State to snap a losing streak that dated back to 2004. A sellout crowd was on hand to watch a Cyclone team that featured four wrestlers ranked in the top-eight and appeared to be the deepest in head coach Kevin Dresser’s time in Ames. While Iowa led 9-6 at halftime, Iowa State knocked off a pair of top-ten wrestlers and was favored in the back half of the dual. The only problem for Iowa State was nobody told the Hawkeyes that it was supposed to be Iowa State’s day. Iowa briefly trailed after NCAA champion David Carr posted a 16-4 major decision for the Cyclones at 165 lbs. The Hawkeyes would win the next four bouts to lock up the dual and their stranglehold on this in-state rivalry. Hawkeye head coach Tom Brands developed a winning blueprint by doing some lineup shuffling for the day. Last time out, true freshman Gabe Arnold took out a former All-American from Oregon State; Travis Wittlake. Conventional wisdom may have sent Arnold out to face redshirt freshman MJ Gaitan, in a match that likely would favor the Hawkeyes. Instead, Brands bumped up Arnold to face a returning All-American at 184 lbs; Will Feldkamp, a Clarion transfer. Then he inserted Patrick Kennedy at 174 lbs. Kennedy, a 2023 Big Ten finalist at 165 lbs, was unavailable up to this point, so the Cy-Hawk dual was his first action of the season. Kennedy defeated Gaitan in a wild 14-13 affair. The Hawkeye went up by as many as nine points and appeared to be on his way to a tech fall. Perhaps with the dual being his first event of the year, Kennedy seemed to hit a wall and Gaitan stormed back. Gaitan dominated the final stanza with a trio of takedowns that saw him tied on the scoreboard with approximately :14 seconds remaining. The Iowa State corner was confused about which wrestler had the riding time advantage (Kennedy did) and advised Gaitan to keep his opponent down. While he was able to ride Kennedy out, the Hawkeye still won after the riding time point was added. In the 184 lb contest, Arnold looked unphased by the bright lights and a daunting opponent. He was able to get the decisive takedown in the first period after dodging Feldkamp’s tie-up attempt, changing his levels and getting in position for a picturesque lift and return. Feldkamp often returned to his overhook series, but was never able to get a legitimate takedown attempt on Arnold. The true freshman grabbed a 3-2 win which put his team up 15-10 with two matches remaining. As is often the case in duals, an unheralded star emerged. In a lineup with three returning All-Americans, it was first-year starter Zach Glazier, a veteran of the Hawkeye program, who ended up playing the hero role. Glazier notched a first-period takedown on a single leg attack, then added a second in the middle period after a flurry that saw both wrestlers in position to score. Aside from that exchange, Cyclone Julian Broderson was never in a position to threaten Glazier. Glazier held his ground for the third period and claimed victory in a 7-3 match that stretched his team to an insurmountable 18-10 lead. Iowa was in position to win after victories from Drake Ayala (125), Real Woods (141), and Jared Franek (157) in the first half of the dual. Ayala rebounded from a dual loss to Oregon State’s Brandon Kaylor last week by downing eighth-ranked Kysen Terukina, 7-2. Ayala was the aggressor throughout the bout and got his first takedown off of a single leg in the second period. Late in the third, Terukina tried to take the lead with a trip attempt. That was nullified by Ayala, who stopped the action and grabbed a leg of his own for an insurance takedown. Woods and Franek both held off frantic comeback attempts from Anthony Echemendia and Cody Chittum, respectively. After a late stalling call pushed his bout into sudden victory, Woods quickly prevailed with a takedown, 4-1. Franek and Chittum engaged in a flurry at the edge of the mat in the waning seconds of the bout. Chittum spun behind Franek but missed out on the winning takedown by a quarter of a second. Franek got by with a 4-2 margin. The loss overshadowed a pair of quality wins in the first half of the dual by a pair of young Cyclones. Redshirt freshman Evan Frost used a misdirection shot and a tight tilt to put eighth-ranked Brody Teske on his back in the third period. Frost won 8-1 in a match that was much closer than the scoreboard would indicate. Two matches later, Casey Swiderski took out a top-ten opponent at 149 lbs in ninth-ranked Victor Voinovich. A pair of first-period takedowns for Swiderski made the difference in a 6-3 victory for the true sophomore. Things were looking promising for the Cyclones after one of the marquee matchups at 165 lbs. ISU star David Carr showed why he is a national champion during his 16-4 major decision over All-American Michael Caliendo. Carr notched four takedowns throughout the match. Though the bout was decided after 197 lbs, heavyweight Yonger Bastida was still very impressive for Iowa State. The former All-American at 197, Bastida continues to be an offensive juggernaut. His 17 points were a “season-low” for the Cyclone. In four matches this season, Bastida has amassed 81 points. He notched five takedowns in a 17-6 major decision over redshirt freshman Bradley Hill. Iowa 18 Iowa State 14 125 - Drake Ayala (Iowa) dec Kysen Terukina (Iowa State) 7-2 133 - Evan Frost (Iowa State) dec Brody Teske (Iowa) 8-1 141 - Real Woods (Iowa) dec Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State) 4-1SV 149 - Casey Swiderski (Iowa State) dec Victor Voinovich (Iowa) 6-3 157 - Jared Franek (Iowa) dec Cody Chittum (Iowa State) 4-2 165 - David Carr (Iowa State) maj Michael Caliendo (Iowa) 16-4 174 - Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) dec MJ Gaitan (Iowa State) 14-13 184 - Gabe Arnold (Iowa) dec Will Feldkamp (Iowa State) 3-2 197 - Zach Glazier (Iowa) dec Julien Broderson (Iowa State) 7-3 285 - Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) maj Bradley Hill (Iowa) 17-6