InterMat Staff

New Lehigh Volunteer Assistant Evan Henderson (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The last couple days of this week were big from a coaching standpoint. Davidson announced Nate Carr Jr. as their next head coach and Columbia and Lehigh made significant hires with a pair of multiple-time All-Americans. With that being said, here's the latest coaching carousel update for the spring/summer of 2022.

New Davidson head coach Nate Carr Jr. (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) This afternoon, Davidson College announced that Nate Carr Jr. would be the school's next head wrestling coach. Carr Jr. comes to Davidson after spending six years as an assistant coach at Lock Haven. Since his arrival at Lock Haven prior to the 2016-17 season, Carr Jr. has overseen a team that has sent at least four wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament each year (excluding the 2021 season where the Bald Eagles only competed at MAC's). While at LHU, Carr Jr. has overseen three middleweight wrestlers who earned spots on the NCAA podium (Kyle Shoop, Ronnie Perry, Chance Marsteller). In the 2018 and 2019 NCAA Tournaments, Lock Haven finished in the top-20. The 2018 tournament saw Perry steal the show and make the national finals despite starting as the 15th seed. Perry was the first NCAA finalist for Lock Haven since 1997. Before coming to Lock Haven, Carr Jr. was on staff at the University of Maryland and Virginia. He also spent time as an athlete and coach at Cornell's Finger Lakes Wrestling Club. Carr Jr. is an Iowa State graduate and a member of the Cyclones wrestling squad. He also captured an NJCAA national title while at Iowa Central. Carr Jr. inherits a Davidson team that finished 5-10 in dual action and finished sixth at the SoCon Championships in 2021-22. Three of the Wildcats five wins came against SoCon opponents. Davidson is seeking to send a wrestler to the national tournament for the first time since Scott Patrick did so in 2015. The Davidson position came open in late-May as Andy Lausier stepped down after five years at the helm for the Wildcats. Nate Carr Jr. is the son of the Hall of Famer Nate Carr and older brother of 2021 NCAA Champion, David.

2x NCAA All-American Stephen Buchanan (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) In 1960, Wyoming crowned their first and only individual NCAA Champion when Dick Ballinger won the 167-pound National Title helping lead the Cowboys to their highest NCAA team finish in program history. There's one guy heading into his senior season for the Pokes that looks like he could have a shot to become the second to accomplish the feat. Stephen Buchanan has been a monster for Wyoming for the past three years. Competing as a true freshman in 2019-20, Buchanan went 26-13 and qualified for the NCAA tournament, before it was canceled due to Covid. He improved on that finish in subsequent seasons going 17-6 as a sophomore and becoming an All-American with an eighth-place finish in 2021. Buchanan jumped one more level in 2022 going 28-3 and finishing third at the NCAA tournament with his only losses coming to defending NCAA Champion AJ Ferrari, Owen Pentz where he was caught and pinned in the North Dakota State dual, and Jacob Warner who beat Buchanan in the NCAA semifinals. AJ Ferrari will not return to Oklahoma State next season. He may still return to wrestling but that remains to be seen. Jacob Warner has a year of eligibility left due to the COVID eligibility rule, and last year's NCAA champion Max Dean returns to Penn State to defend his NCAA title from last season. And Cael Sanderson's guys tend to stay on top once they've reached that crescendo. Though the two guys that finished above Buchanan last year are back, the door is still open for him to win an NCAA title. His match with Warner was close and it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility for him to overtake the pair next season. These marked and consistent improvements year by year are the most promising thing for Wyoming fans as they follow Buchanan as he pursues this feat. In his first season, Buchanan had a 67% winning percentage. The next season that moved to 74%. And last year it jumped all the way to 90%. Yes, guys graduate and move on and that allows younger guys to jump levels and take over weight classes. But there's a clear pattern of improvement each season by Buchanan. Whatever mix of work he puts in combined with the training and planning that the Wyoming staff have for him each year is working. He consistently gets better. And that steady improvement could have him making history this upcoming season. If he finishes as an All-American again he'll become just the fourth three-time All-American in program history alongside Ballinger, Reese Andy, and Bryce Meredith. If he so chooses, due to the COVID eligibility year, he can come back another season with another shot at an NCAA title. And with that, Buchanan could also potentially become the program's second 4-time All-American matching Joe LeBlanc who accomplished the mark from 2009-2012. Regardless, Buchanan will likely finish out his career as one of the All-Time greats in Wyoming wrestling history.

2019 NCAA champion Drew Foster (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Welcome to a new, regular feature for InterMat! Every day, for the next few months, we'll look into the recent history of a DI wrestling program with our "Ten Years of…" feature. Even if you're a die-hard supporter of a particular school, there will be good information you may have forgotten. For others, it's a quick way to learn about a program you may not be familiar with. We're going in alphabetical order for this one, so next up is...Northern Iowa! NCAA Qualifiers (60) 2022 #15 Brody Teske (125 lbs); #14 Kyle Biscoglia (133 lbs); #20 Colin Realbuto (149 lbs); #33 Derek Holschlag (157 lbs); #15 Austin Yant (165 lbs); #18 Lance Runyon (174 lbs); #4 Parker Keckeisen (184 lbs); #33 Tyrell Gordon (285 lbs) 2021 #5 Brody Teske (125 lbs); #23 Triston Lara (149 lbs); #33 Austin Yant (165 lbs); #29 Lance Runyon (174 lbs); #4 Parker Keckeisen (184 lbs); #15 Carter Isley (285 lbs) 2020 #17 Jay Schwarm (125 lbs); #25 Jack Skudlarczyk (133 lbs); #13 Michael Blockhus (141 lbs); #13 Max Thomsen (149 lbs); #5 Bryce Steiert (174 lbs); #1 Taylor Lujan (184 lbs); #14 Carter Isley (285 lbs) 2019 #21 Jay Schwarm (125 lbs); #4 Josh Alber (141 lbs); #15 Max Thomsen (149 lbs); #11 Bryce Steiert (165 lbs); #8 Taylor Lujan (174 lbs); #6 Drew Foster (184 lbs) 2018 #16 Jay Schwarm (125 lbs); #9 Josh Alber (141 lbs); #9 Max Thomsen (149 lbs); #7 Taylor Lujan (174 lbs); #8 Drew Foster (184 lbs); Jacob Holschlag (197 lbs) 2017 Dylan Peters (125 lbs); #12 Josh Alber (133 lbs); #7 Max Thomsen (149 lbs); #11 Bryce Steiert (165 lbs); #13 Taylor Lujan (174 lbs); #12 Drew Foster (184 lbs); Jacob Holschlag (197 lbs) 2016 #9 Dylan Peters (125 lbs); #15 Josh Alber (133 lbs); Bryce Steiert (157 lbs); Cooper Moore (165 lbs); #14 Blaize Cabell (285 lbs) 2015 #9 Dylan Peters (125 lbs); #13 Cooper Moore (165 lbs); Basil Minto (197 lbs); #7 Blaize Cabell (285 lbs) 2014 #5 Dylan Peters (125 lbs); #1 Joe Colon (133 lbs); #11 Joey Lazor (141 lbs); #10 Cooper Moore (165 lbs); Cody Caldwell (174 lbs); #15 Ryan Loder (184 lbs); Blaize Cabell (285 lbs) 2013 #9 Levi Wolfensperger (133 lbs); Joey Lazor (141 lbs); David Bonin (157 lbs); #6 Ryan Loder (184 lbs) NCAA Champions Drew Foster (184 - 2019) NCAA All-Americans 2022: Parker Keckeisen (184 - 3rd) 2021: Parker Keckeisen (184 - 3rd) 2019: Bryce Steiert (165 - 8th); Drew Foster (184 - 1st) 2018: Jacob Holschlag (197 - 5th) 2017: Max Thomsen (149 - 5th); Drew Foster (184 - 7th) 2016: Dylan Peters (125 - 6th) 2014: Dylan Peters (125 - 6th); Joe Colon (133 - 3rd); Joey Lazor (141 - 6th) 2013: David Bonin (157 - 4th); Ryan Loder (184 - 7th) NWCA All-Americans Michael Blockhus (141 - Honorable Mention) Max Thomsen (149 - Honorable Mention) Bryce Steiert (174 - First Team) Taylor Lujan (184 - First Team) Carter Isley (285 - Honorable Mention) Round of 12 Finishers Brody Teske (2021 - 125) Max Thomsen (2018, 2019 - 149) Taylor Lujan (2018, 2019 - 174) Bryce Steiert (2017 - 165) Cooper Moore (2015 - 165) Blaize Cabell (2015 - 285) Ryan Loder (2014 - 184) Levi Wolfensperger (2013 - 133) Joey Lazor (2013 - 141) Conference Champions Big 12 2022: Parker Keckeisen (184) 2021: Brody Teske (125); Parker Keckeisen (184) 2020: Bryce Steiert (174); Taylor Lujan (184) 2019: Drew Foster (184) 2018: Taylor Lujan (174); Drew Foster (184) MAC 2017: Taylor Lujan (174) 2016: Blaize Cabell (285) 2015: Cooper Moore (165) 2014: Dylan Peters (125); Joe Colon (133); Joey Lazor (141); Cooper Moore (165) 2013: Joey Lazor (141); David Bonin (157) Dual Record 2021-22: 7-7 2021: 4-4 2019-20: 8-4 2018-19: 7-5 2017-18: 6-5 2016-17: 11-3 2015-16: 4-10 2014-15: 8-8 2013-14: 13-0 2012-13: 9-5 Conference Tournament Placement Big 12 2021-22: 5th 2021: 5th 2019-20: 3rd 2018-19: 3rd 2017-18: 2nd MAC 2016-17: 2nd 2015-16: 5th 2014-15: 6th 2013-14: 2nd 2012-13: 3rd NCAA Tournament Team Placement 2021-22: 20th-tie (28.5 points) 2021: 19th (24.5 points) 2019-20: No Tournament 2018-19: 13th-tie (40.5 points) 2017-18: 24th-tie (20 points) 2016-17: 18th (25.5 points) 2015-16: 25th-tie (17.5 points) 2014-15: 34th (9 points) 2013-14: 15th (40 points) 2012-13: 15th-tie (34 points) Head Coaching History Doug Schwab (2010 - present) Best Lineup (Comprised of wrestlers from 2013-22) 125 - Dylan Peters: 4x NCAA Qualifier (#5 and #9 x2 seeds), 2x NCAA All-American (6th x2), 2014 MAC Champion, 4x MAC finalist 133 - Joe Colon: 2x NCAA Qualifier (#1 and #5 seeds), 2014 NCAA All-American (3rd), 2x Conference Champion 141 - Joey Lazor: 2x NCAA Qualifier (#11 seed), 2014 NCAA All-American (6th), 2x MAC Champion 149 - Max Thomsen: 4x NCAA Qualifier (#7, #9, #13 and #15 seeds), 2017 NCAA All-American (5th), 2x Conference Finalist 157 - David Bonin: 3x NCAA Qualifier, 2013 NCAA All-American (4th), 2013 MAC Champion 165 - Bryce Steiert: 4x NCAA Qualifier (#5 and #11 x2 seeds), 2019 NCAA All-American (8th), 2020 Big 12 Champion 174 - Taylor Lujan: 4x NCAA Qualifier (#1, #7, #8, and #13 seeds), 2020 NWCA First-Team All-American, 3x Conference Champion 184 - Drew Foster: 3x NCAA Qualifier (#6, #8, and #12 seeds), 2019 NCAA Champion, 2x NCAA All-American (1st, 7th), 2x Big 12 Champion 197 - Jacob Holschlag: 2x NCAA Qualifier, 2018 NCAA All-American (5th) 285 - Blaize Cabell: 3x NCAA Qualifier (#7 and #14 seeds), 2015 NCAA Round of 12 Finisher, 2016 MAC Champion Recruiting Number of Big Boarder's Per Year 2022: #29 Cory Land (AL); #70 Wyatt Voelker (IA); #119 Chet Buss (IA) 2021: #91 RJ Weston (GA); #124 Jared Simma (KS); #139 Carson Babcock (IA); #159 Adam Ahrendsen (IA); #193 Conner Thorpe (WI) 2020: #30 Cael Happel (IA); #65 Nevan Snodgrass (OH); #144 Ethan Basile (FL); #146 Dajun Johnson (WI) 2019: #19 Parker Keckeisen (WI); #72 Lance Runyon (IA); #81 Kyle Gollhofer (GA) 2018: #55 Drew Bennett (IA); #59 Michael Blockhus (IA); #86 Kyle Biscoglia (IA); #92 John McConkey (IA) 2017: #91 Keaton Geerts (IA) 2016: #22 Rudy Yates (IL); #45 Carter Isley (IA) 2015: #15 Max Thomsen (IA); #27 Bryce Steiert (IA); #29 Taylor Lujan (GA); #102 Jacob Holschlag (IA); #115 Paden Moore (MN); #123 Jake Schwarm (IA); #127 Isaiah Patton (IA) 2014: #38 Josh Alber (IL); #93 Adarios Jones (IL) For past teams: Air Force American Appalachian State Arizona State Army West Point Binghamton Bloomsburg Brown Bucknell Buffalo Cal Poly Campbell Central Michigan Chattanooga Clarion Cleveland State Columbia Cornell CSU Bakersfield Davidson Drexel Duke Edinboro Franklin & Marshall Gardner-Webb George Mason Harvard Hofstra Illinois Indiana Iowa Iowa State Kent State Lehigh Lock Haven Maryland Michigan Michigan State Minnesota Missouri Navy NC State Nebraska North Carolina North Dakota State Northern Colorado Northern Illinois

Old Dominion 2x All-American Chris Mecate (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The summer of international wrestling is kicking into high gear. While that is going on the MMA world continues to turn. This weekend several former collegiate stars are heading into action, and on Tuesday one of the biggest stars in recent memory takes a significant step forward in his MMA career. Friday: PFL 7 2022 Playoffs Josh Silveira vs. Omari Akhmedov After entering the PFL light heavyweight tournament as a late replacement, Silveira has now made his way into the final four. The former Arizona State wrestler will face off against the UFC veteran Akhmedov with a spot in the finals on the line. Silveira signed with the PFL earlier this year and has won his first two fights via stoppage. A win here would set him up for a bout against the winner of Rob Wilkinson and Delan Monte with a million dollars on the line. During his time at Arizona State, Silveira won the 197-pound Pac 12 title and qualified for the NCAA tournament in 2016. Marthin Hamlet vs. Cory Hendricks Hamlet was regular on the Greco-Roman circuit for Norway from 2011 to 2016. He won multiple Nordic Championships at 98 kg, but his best finish was a bronze medal at the 2014 European Championships. Hamlet finished fifth at the Olympic Qualification Tournament for the 2016 Olympics and then decided to focus on MMA. He has gone 3-3 with PFL since joining the promotion last year and is coming off a loss against Silveira. This will be a non-tournament bout against Hendricks. Hendricks has a 2-1 record with PFL and scored a third-round submission over Hamlet last year. Silveira's fight will be part of the main card which airs live on ESPN at 7:00pm ET. Hamlet will compete on the preliminary card, which begins at 6:00pm ET on ESPN+. Friday: LFA 138 Chris Mecate vs. Motaz Askar Mecate wrestled for the now-defunct program at Old Dominion. He was a three-time NCAA qualifier and a two-time All-American. His best finish came in 2016, where he finished fifth at 141 pounds. During his senior season, he picked up wins over the likes of Kevin Jack, Seth Gross and Joey Ward. The former ODU wrestler made his professional MMA debut in 2020. He now holds a 4-1 record, and he will be returning to LFA for the first time since losing in his second pro fight. Mecate will face off against Askar who holds a 3-0 record but has fought only once since 2020. The two fighters will kick off the main card of LFA 138, which is set to air on UFC Fight Pass at 9:00pm ET. Saturday: UFC Vegas 59 Terrance McKinney vs. Erick Gonzalez McKinney was a two-time Washington state champion on the high school level. For college, he split his time between North Idaho and Chadron State. While at Chadron he finished second at the 2016 RMAC conference tournament. He currently holds a 12-4 record as a professional. This will be his first fight back after losing for the first time in the UFC. He should be a heavy favorite against Erick Gonzalez who lost against veteran Jim Miller in his UFC debut last October. This bout will be part of the preliminary card, which is scheduled to start at 7:00pm ET on ESPN. Tuesday: Dana White's Contender Series 6.3 Bo Nickal vs. Zachary Borrego After only one professional fight, Nickal appears to be on the brink of signing with the UFC. He will face off against Borrego, and if he performs well could receive a contract offer from the promotion's president. Nickal won a pair of amateur fights in 2021 before turning professional last June. In his professional debut against John Noland, the former Penn State wrestler scored a 33-second knockout. Borrego is 3-0 as a professional with all of his bouts coming this year under the Fury FC banner. In his last fight, he scored a decision victory over Tommie Britton who fell to 4-9 with the defeat. During his collegiate days at Penn State, Nickal was a four-time finalist and a three-time champion. He then lost to J'den Cox at Final X in 2019 and finished second at the 2020 Olympic Trials. Nickal brought home a gold medal from the 2019 U23 World Championships. The event will air live on UFC Fight Pass starting at 8:00pm ET.

Iowa State head coach Kevin Dresser (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Today, the Iowa State Cyclones released their 2022-23 schedule and what a schedule it is! As of now, it features duals against one-third of the top-30 dual teams in the land. That figure will only increase as we don't know who ISU will take on at the Collegiate Duals. The Duals could likely feature two or three more teams of that ilk. In addition to the dual slate, Iowa State will also travel to compete at the Southern Scuffle over New Year's. Iowa State is coming off its finest regular season under the leadership of head coach Kevin Dresser. The Cyclones went 15-1 in dual action with their only loss coming to then-number two Iowa. Iowa State then took third at the Big 12 Championships and put three wrestlers onto the NCAA podium. All three are back in 2022-23 and looking to improve upon that showing. Here's what to look for in Iowa State's 2022-23 lineup. Duals versus 10 teams in InterMat's summer dual rankings :(#2 Iowa, #3 Missouri, #6 Oklahoma State, #8 Arizona State, #10 Wisconsin, #14 Northern Iowa, #18 Pittsburgh, #20 Oklahoma, #23 Illinois, #29 Campbell) Three Big Ten Teams: Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin Two Pac-12 Teams: Arizona State, Little Rock One ACC Team: Pittsburgh One SoCon Team: Campbell Both of the other DI teams from Iowa: Iowa, Northern Iowa Teams that finished in the top 30 at the 2022 NCAA Championships: #3 Iowa, #4 Arizona State, #9 Missouri, #14 Oklahoma State, #14 Wisconsin, #20 Northern Iowa, #23 Wyoming, #24 Pittsburgh, #25 Illinois, #29 Oklahoma Home Slate: Arizona State, Cal Baptist, Illinois, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Wyoming Away: Iowa, Missouri, Northern Iowa, Pittsburgh, Utah Valley, West Virginia Neutral Site: Campbell, Grand View, Little Rock, Wisconsin and Collegiate Duals November 5th - Battle in the River City (Little Rock, #29 Campbell, #10 Wisconsin) @ Jacksonville, Florida The Cyclones have an imposing schedule and they don't ease into it as they travel to Florida to take on three non-conference opponents, two of which are ranked. One of the best bouts from the Campbell dual is at the opening weight as Kysen Terukina faces US Open finalist Anthony Molton. There's a chance true freshman Casey Swiderski is in the Cyclone lineup at 141 lbs. If so, he'd get welcomed into DI wrestling by #19 Shannon Hanna. The only other bout where ISU may not be favored against the Camel is at heavyweight as #18 Sam Schuyler faces #13 Taye Ghadiali. The headline dual pits Cyclone alum Chris Bono's Wisconsin team against the Cyclones. This has the makings of a colossal bout at 165 lbs between 2021 NCAA champion David Carr and 2022 Freshman of the Year Dean Hamiti. This is likely Carr's first folkstyle test at the new weight. Wisconsin also has returning AA's at 125 (Eric Barnett), 149 (former Cyclone Austin Gomez), and 285 (Trent Hillger). The 197 lb match has a rematch from Detroit, as Yonger Bastida is set to face Braxton Amos. Bastida prevailed last year, 3-2. November 12th - Cal Baptist Cal Baptist will head into Ames under the direction of first-year head coach Derek Moore. The Lancers are transitioning into DI status and are in the process of building a roster to compete in a conference like the Big 12. November 20th - Grand View @ Humboldt, Iowa This is a fun match with NAIA power Grand View meeting at a neutral site. Humboldt, Iowa is the home of Cyclones head coach Kevin Dresser. Iowa State wrestled Purdue in Humboldt last season. Expect a great environment, as Grand View is certain to have a lineup packed full of Iowa natives. November 26th - Harold Nichols Cyclone Open With a huge dual on the horizon, I wouldn't expect to see many of the Cyclones starters in action at their home, open tournament. This could be a chance to get a glimpse of their second-ranked recruiting class competing unattached. The Cyclone Open may also be the spot to sort out any lingering lineup battles. December 4th - #2 Iowa @ Iowa City, Iowa This is a big one every year, but this time even more so, after the fireworks that ensued during the handshake line after last season's dual. Iowa State's three returning All-Americans will face stiff tests from Iowa with Carr/Patrick Kennedy, Marcus Coleman/Abe Assad, and Bastida/Jacob Warner. The only rematch of the three is at 197 lbs, where Bastida defeated the eventual NCAA runner-up, Warner, 4-2. Iowa continued its dominance of in-state rival Iowa State with a 29-11 team score. The Cyclones rebounded and didn't lose another dual in the 2021-22 season. December 19/20th - Collegiate Duals @ New Orleans, Louisiana As of now, we don't have a full list of teams for the College Duals. It is fun to see the New Orleans location. Last year's event featured pool, dual competition that prevented conference teams or those on each other's schedules from meeting. With that in mind, you could expect ISU to see strong opposition from the ACC, Big Ten, or EIWA. January 1/2nd - Southern Scuffle @ Chattanooga, Tennessee The Southern Scuffle isn't the tournament it was about a decade ago, but it still has a strong field. Expect a mix of ACC and SoCon teams, along with some EIWA and a few Big Ten squads in the mix. January 7th - Wyoming Typically, Mark Branch's Wyoming teams are very tough outs in dual competition. Last year, ISU swarmed the Cowboys in a 32-6 win. Sometimes in college wrestling, dual scores can be deceiving if there are a bunch of close matches that go a certain way. Last year's meeting wasn't one of those, as the Cyclones posts two majors, two falls, and a seven-point decision. The 197 lb bout will be a must-watch between returning All-Americans Bastida and Stephen Buchanan. The pair met three times last season with Buchanan getting one win in sudden victory, another by a single point, and the third with a fall in the closing seconds. January 8th - #8 Arizona State Aside from Iowa, this is Iowa State's marquee out-of-conference matchup. The Sun Devils are coming off back-to-back fourth-place finishes at the NCAA Championships and boast a lineup with five All-Americans. Interestingly enough, none of the team's AA's should hit. The top match from this dual could come at 184 lbs as Coleman takes on Oklahoma State transfer Anthony Montalvo. January 14th - at Utah Valley In the middle of the heavy part of the dual schedule sits a trip to Utah Valley. The Wolverines could have 2021 All-American Demetrius Romero back from injury at 174 lbs. If healthy, he could be a darkhorse finals contender. Before that, he is likely to see #24 Joel Devine. The other possible matchup between returning national qualifiers could take place at 133 lbs with Utah Valley's #20 Haiden Drury taking on #19 Ramazan Attasauov. Though they were in the same weight class last year and Attasauov was third at the conference meet and Drury was fifth; the two have no history together. January 27th - #20 Oklahoma Though they are conference rivals, there won't be much familiarity with this Oklahoma team, as their 2022-23 lineup should look much different than last year's version. This Sooner squad could feature three transfers (Wyatt Henson - 133; Mosha Schwart - 141; Gerrit Nijenhuis - 165), all of which made for interesting matches with ISU. Setting the tone for this match are the 125's Terukina and Joey Prata. The Sooner took their last meeting by one point. On the opposite end of the lineup, Schuyler took two matches from Josh Heindselman, by identical 5-3 scores. January 29th - #6 Oklahoma State Once again, Terukina will be front and center at this dual. He'll have #11 Trevor Mastrogiovanni, who split matches with him a year ago. We've heard that OSU could have some weight shifting going on, so if Travis Wittlake indeed bumps up to 184, it'll set up a good match between past AA's with Coleman. That could slide top-recruit Kyle Haas to 197 against Bastida. By the time of this match, I'd expect freshmen #18 Victor Voinovich and #25 Paniro Johnson to both be higher than their current ranking. If so, this could be a preview of the conference semifinals. February 3rd - at West Virginia It sounds like a broken record, but Terukina is the guy to watch here. That's what happens when you're in a conference that sent eight wrestlers to nationals. 2022 Big 12 champion Killian Cardinale is WVU's stud at this weight. Even though Terukina had to rely on an at-large berth for his trip to Detroit, he did down Cardinale in dual action. The Mountaineers other star, 2022 All-American Peyton Hall, is at a strong weight for Iowa State. He'll face Carr. February 4th - at #18 Pittsburgh A day after facing Big 12 rival West Virginia, Iowa State will make the short drive north to take on non-conference opponent Pittsburgh. The Panthers boast the preseason #1 141 lber in Cole Matthews, who will be a handful for Swiderski, Zach Redding, or whoever is at the weight for the Cyclones. Fans should be in for a treat at 197 lbs, as two of the best offensive threats for the weight class will square off with Bastida and 2021 NCAA finalist Nino Bonaccorsi. With longtime starter Micky Phillippi at 133 and three strong transfers at the middle/upperweights, Pitt will be a tough out for Iowa State and most other teams. February 10th - at #14 Northern Iowa This contest between in-state foes ended up being one of the more exciting duals of the 2021-22 season. In a dual that featured four lead changes, Iowa State prevailed 16-15. We'll have to see what UNI does at 125, as Brody Teske is in the portal and possibly going up to 133. Carr's move to 165 sets up a date with #13 Austin Yant, a Big 12 third-place finisher a year ago. Also another edition of Coleman versus Parker Keckiesen, a battle between two returning AA's. Keckeisen went 2-0 against his Iowa State counterpart last year. February 12th - #23 Illinois With the Big Ten schedule presumably in the rearview, Illinois travels to Iowa State for a clash with the Cyclones. The Fighting Illini's best grappler is their 133 lber, Lucas Byrd, now a two-time All-American. 184 lbs will present an interesting rematch. Though the Illinis' Zac Bruanagel did not place at nationals, he did pin Yonger Bastida along the way. At 174 lber, Illinois has a new promising face in Edmond Ruth, a 2021 champion at the MatMen Open. He starts the year ranked #16 at the weight, a few slots ahead of Devine. February 16th - @ #3 Missouri The Cyclones close out the dual season with a huge match against Mizzou. Iowa State had an undefeated Big 12 dual record last year, punctuated by a 17-16 win over the Tigers on the final weekend of the regular season. This dual could have one of the most anticipated matches from the entire regular season as Carr and Keegan O'Toole could meet in a bout between past national champions. At 197 lbs, Bastida prevailed in sudden victory during the dual and Big 12's, but Rocky Elam returned the favor at nationals. The Tiger also will have the service of two-time All-American Brock Mauller, who redshirted the 2021-22 campaign. Mauller could match up with Johnson at 149. With any luck, we'll be treated to rematches from the 2022 dual at 125, 133, 174, and 285, as both starters are expected back on both sides. February 19th - Last Chance Open @ Ames, Iowa Iowa State's famous (or infamous) Last Chance Open will give Cyclone or any other wrestlers a chance to meet minimum match requirements for NCAA automatic qualification. March 4/5th - Big 12 Championships @ Tulsa, Oklahoma After an excellent regular season, Iowa State settled for third place at the 2022 Big 12 Championships, behind Missouri and Oklahoma. While coach Dresser and crew will focus mainly on peaking for NCAA's, I'm sure they'd like a better showing at the conference meet this year. Once again, competition for that top spot will be intense as Missouri and Oklahoma State start the year ahead of the Cyclones in tournament rankings.

3x NCAA champion Jason Nolf (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) In the offseason, we've done a variety of looks back in time at past recruiting classes. Recently, InterMat dove in to decide which "class" of wrestlers performed best in college. Earlier, we did our usual re-ranking of recruiting classes, five years after the fact. Today, we're taking a different approach. We looked at each of the 14 current Big Ten teams and tried to determine their best recruiting classes in the ten-year cycle of graduated classes (2007-16). That means we didn't consider any classes from 2017 and on, since some or all of a respective school's recruits may still be competing. Below are each of the 14 Big Ten teams, listed alphabetically, along with their top class and notables from that group. Each school also has a "runner-up" listed, another great class that deserved to be mentioned. Illinois Class of 2008 Notables: #13 Jordan Blanton, #53 Conrad Polz, #105 BJ Futrell The skinny: There's nothing wrong with getting three multi-time All-Americans in the same recruiting class. Blanton, Polz, and Futrell combined to AA seven times, but it's realistic to think they could've done much more. Polz was besieged by injuries during his first few seasons and Futrell was a national title contender before missing his final year because of an injury. Blanton was a consistent force finishing top-five at B1G's every year and placing three times in a brutal weight. Others: #171 Pat Walker Runner-Up: The 2013 class wasn't huge, but did include Isaiah Martinez, who went on to have a legendary career in Champaign. He was the first undefeated freshman since Cael Sanderson and a four-time finalist. Indiana Class of 2009 Notables: #46 Ryan LeBlanc, NR Adam Chalfant The skinny: The highest ranked wrestler of this class, Ryan LeBlanc, went on to have a fine career that included three trips to nationals. In his final appearance, LeBlanc finished a match shy of All-American status. Though unranked at the time, this class featured Adam Chalfant, who made the 2014 Big Ten finals (their most recent conference finalist) and had the highest NCAA seed (3rd) dating back to 2010. Chalfant went on to take sixth at the 2014 national tournament. Others: #57 Max Ortega Runner-Up: The 2010 group is the most decorated Hoosier recruiting class in some time, featuring four top-100 recruits. #66 Taylor Walsh went on to make the NCAA finals for Indiana, but the rest of the class featured only one other eventual national qualifier (Joe Duca). Iowa Class of 2012 Notables: #16 Thomas Gilman, #20 Sam Brooks, #23 Cory Clark, #41 Alex Meyer The skinny: Four All-Americans is remarkable for a single recruiting class. Gilman likely would have been a four-time AA; had it not been for Cory Clark at his weight class in 2014. Those two combined to make four NCAA finals and Clark came away with a title as a senior. The only multiple-time Big Ten champion of the group was Brooks, who AA'ed his final two years. Meyer qualified for nationals in each of his last two years, taking eighth as a junior and making the Round of 12 as a senior. Others: #15 Nate Skonieczny, #198 Connor Ryan Runner-Up: You can make an argument for the 2009 class that featured national champions Derek St. John and Tony Ramos. The two combined for seven All-American honors and got to four NCAA finals. Maryland Class of 2009 Notable: #79 Jimmy Sheptock If we were to do this exercise again, five years from now, the Terps Class of 2021 would certainly be the leader. After redshirting most of the key players, it appears to be a group that could turn the Maryland program around. But looking back, we'll go with the 2009 class that mainly focuses on Jimmy Sheptock. Every time Sheptock was in the lineup for the postseason, he came away with an ACC title. Sheptock made the national podium on two occasions, highlighted by an NCAA runner-up finish as a senior, after he was given the #1 seed. Runner-Up: The previous class (2008) featured a two-time All-American, Josh Asper, along with Corey Peltier, who won the ACC as a junior. Michigan Class of 2013 Notables: #2 Adam Coon, #19 Domenic Abouander, #33 Brian Murphy, #114 George Fisher The skinny: The top-two ranked wrestlers in this class jumped into the Wolverine lineup right away and became contenders for their entire careers. Coon went on to finish in the top-three three times at nationals, including two national finals. While Abounader finally got on the podium as a senior, he was seeded ninth or better all four years in Ann Arbor. Murphy earned All-American honors during his junior season and battled through injuries as a senior. Fisher made the national tournament in 2015. Others: #99 Payne Hayden, #183 Cameron Kennedy Runner-Up: The 2007 class included two-time NCAA champion Kellen Russell but didn't have the depth like the 2013 class. Michigan State Class of 2009 Notables: #58 Mike McClure The skinny: The Spartans kept Senior National runner-up Mike McClure in-state and he really blossomed as a junior/senior. McClure was seeded eighth at nationals as a junior, but did not place. As a senior, in 2014, McClure took fifth at 285 lbs. Runner-Up: The 2007 class had a pair of recruits that were consistent performers for MSU in Anthony Jones and Ian Hinton. Minnesota Class of 2010 Notables: #15 Dylan Ness, #20 Nick Dardanes, #78 Scott Schiller, #81 Chris Dardanes The skinny: The Golden Gophers have been pretty consistent with a very productive guy or two in almost all ten recruiting classes. The 2010 class was an integral part of Minnesota teams that finished second in the Big Ten and NCAA on two occasions. These four combined to earn All-American honors ten times and two Big Ten titles (Ness and Chris Dardanes), along with five conference finals appearances. All but Nick Dardanes each got onto the podium at least three times; Ness was the only four-timer. Others: #57 Tyler Lehmann, #137 Seth Lange Runner-Up: The 2009 class is comparable with two-time national champion Tony Nelson leading the way. David Thorn, Kevin Steinhaus, and Danny Zilverberg were AA's at least one time. Nebraska Class of 2016 Notables: #6 Chad Red Jr, #30 Eric Schultz, #99 Taylor Venz The skinny: Because of the Covid year, these three had five years to pad their stats. Red Jr. had one of the most unusual careers, as he suffered his share of losses in the regular season, but shined at the NCAA Tournament, with three podium appearances. Schultz made the finals of the last three Big Ten tournaments, and was seeded in the top-three three times at nationals, before breaking into the All-American ranks in 2022. Venz was fourth in the country as a redshirt freshman and was a Round of 12 finisher three times after that. All three were named NWCA first-team All-Americans in 2020. Additionally, Luke Weber had a very good career, though the bulk of his success (Big 12 title) came for North Dakota State. Others: #9 Beau Breske, #126 Johnny Blankenship, #145 Luke Weber Runner-Up: The 2011 class featured four-time All-American James Green, along with perennial contender Jake Sueflohn (never an All-American), and Austin Wilson, who AA'ed as a senior. Donny Longendyke was also a DIII national champion for Augsburg. You could make a case for this group. Northwestern Class of 2016 Notables: #46 Sebastian Rivera, #95 Ryan Deakin The skinny: Seeing how both of their collegiate careers played out, it's a bit surprising to see each with a low (relatively speaking) ranking coming out of high school. Each Rivera and Deakin earned the #1 seed at the NCAA Tournament on two occasions. Rivera finished with a pair of Big Ten titles for Northwestern, while Deakin had three. Deakin was an undefeated national champion in 2022, his third time on the podium. Rivera had four. Both could have padded their stats had they been able to compete at nationals in 2022. Each were favorites in their respective weight classes. Even though Rivera finished at Rutgers, he did more than enough at Northwestern to impact their recruiting class. Others: #130 Shayne Oster Runner-Up: The 2010 class was ranked highly at the time due to four top-50 signees. While the entire class didn't pan out as expected, Mike McMullan was a national title contender for all four years. Pierce Harger was an under-the-radar recruit that gave the Wildcats two AA's from 2010. Ohio State Class of 2013 Notables: #1 Bo Jordan, #10 Nathan Tomasello The skinny: Of all of the Big Ten schools, this was probably the most difficult to determine. You could probably make an argument for two or three other classes. That's how well Tom Ryan and staff have recruited. Jordan and Tomasello both redshirted and were integral parts of the Buckeye's only national title-winning team in 2015. That year, Jordan was a conference runner-up and third at nationals. Tomasello won the first of his four B1G crowns and a national title. Both would get on the national podium four times and only once lower than third. Others: None Runner-Up: 2011, 2014, and 2015 all have their strong points. 2011 had three All-Americans, though the group lost steam as their careers progressed (generally). 2014 had Kyle Snyder and Micah Jordan. Myles Martin and Kollin Moore were the headliners from 2015. Arguing over which of the four recruiting classes turned out the best is the definition of "first-world problems." Penn State Class of 2014 Notables: #4 Jason Nolf, #5 Nick Nevills, #7 Bo Nickal, #43 Shakur Rasheed, NR Anthony Cassar The skinny: Three NCAA champions in a single recruiting class is simply absurd. The same can be said for five All-Americans. Nolf and Nickal both made four NCAA finals and won in each of their final three seasons. Nickal captured the Hodge Trophy, but Nolf is one of the best not to have won in the last decade. Rasheed and Cassar weren't four-year starters/qualifiers, but had a major impact, while in the lineup. Nevills was third in the Big Ten and a two-time All-American, until he was usurped by Cassar. Others: #90 Gary Dinmore Runner-Up: It's hard to believe that the Nittany Lions Class of 2019, featuring David Taylor and Ed Ruth isn't the winner here. You could say that that duo may have been more important setting the foundation to be able to sign a class like 2014. Purdue Class of 2016 Notables: #12 Griffin Parriott, #60 Christian Brunner, #104 Devin Schroder The skinny: This group was incredibly productive for Purdue head coach Tony Ersland and was the foundation for a squad that finished fifth at the Big Ten Championships in 2020. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see the NCAA Tournament that year, as a couple of these Boilermakers had a shot to make the national podium. Schroder was seeded fifth and Brunner sixth. Both also made the NCAA bloodround once in their careers. Parriott rounds out the trio with three trips to nationals under his belt. Altogether, these three qualified 10 times. Others: #28 Shawn Streck, #140 Kobe Woods Runner-Up: The 2009 class featured a pair of homegrown lightweights that proved to be mainstays in the Boilermaker lineup, Cashe Quiroga and Camden Eppert. Quiroga was a 2010 NCAA semifinalist and a sixth-place finisher. Rutgers Class of 2013 Notables: #8 Anthony Ashnault, #56 Tyson Dippery, #193 Nick Gravina The skinny: The big one here is Ashnault, who finished a legendary high school career in New Jersey and stayed home to become the face of the Scarlet Knights program. Ashnault didn't disappoint with a career that included four All-American honors and an undefeated, national-title-winning season as a senior, in 2019. Gravina ended up going to nationals four times and finishing a match away from the podium, in 2017, while Dippery qualified once. At the end of the day, it's all about Ashnault's impact on the program. Others: #107 Taylor Jackson, #185 Corey Stasenko Runner-Up: The 2008 class was important from an intangible perspective as it helped a young coach Scott Goodale set a foundation for future recruiting success. Don't overlook the Class of 2011, which was rather odd. It included a pair of wrestlers that later went on to AA at other schools (#54 Steven Rodrigues and #83 Earl Hall). Billy Smith was an anchor at the end of the Scarlet Knight lineup and Anthony Perrotti was a two-time AA that was the first for Goodale's tenure. Wisconsin Class of 2008 Notables: #6 Tyler Graff, #11 Andrew Howe, #48 Ben Jordan, #52 Cole Schmitt, #68 Travis Rutt The skinny: This class was ranked #1 by some publications at the time and it's held up well over the years as its recruits delivered on the mat. Howe jumped into the lineup right away and won the first of his three Big Ten titles and made the national finals. A year later, he'd win NCAA's. Graff was a key figure in some incredible 133 lb weight classes. Even so, he was never lower than fifth and made the NCAA finals as a senior. Add in All-Americans Ben Jordan and Travis Rutt and you have an extremely productive bunch. Schmitt was also productive and a multi-time qualifier. Others: #111 Trey Bertram, #126 Tom Kelliher Runner-Up: For the era observed, none of the Badger classes really stack up to 08. The 2012 class that featured #27 Isaac Jordan and #35 Ryan Taylor is the only other that featured more than one future All-American. The Class of 2011 had #62 Conor Medberry and #4 Jesse Thielke; however, Thielke's impact was more felt on the Greco side than in college.

2022 U17 Greco-Roman World Champion Joel Adams (photo courtesy of Kadir Caliskan; UWW) Team USA recently wrapped up an overwhelmingly successful trip to the Cadet (U17) World Championships. Across the three Olympic styles, the team brought back five gold medals and 14 overall medals. The following looks at some of the best statistical performances and where the team separated itself from the world. Across all three styles, Team USA outscored their opposition 562 to 326 in terms of match points. The biggest difference came in men's freestyle where the squad scored 332 points and allowed only 101 points. The women's freestyle team also edged their competition overall with a 142 to 134 advantage. The Greco team finished with fewer points across their combined matches as their opponents outscored them 91 to 86. While it is harder to jump on an opponent early in the two-minute periods of UWW's Cadet level, Team USA did do a fair share of their scoring in the first period. 298 of their 562 points came in the opening period, while opponents managed to score only 162 first-period points. Of the 562 points scored by Team USA, 358 of those points were scored via takedowns while 133 points came via exposures. Exposures in this case include all points with turns in par terre as well as neutral exposures such as head pinches and crotch lifts. The odd number is the result of Joel Adams' five-point throw in Greco, but there will be more on that later. Once again men's freestyle led the way with 214 points coming with takedowns and another 76 coming via exposures. The differences between folkstyle and the international styles of wrestling are often most evident in terms of mat wrestling. While there are some similarities between folkstyle ground wrestling and par terre, there is often a learning curve for those who come up wrestling folkstyle. Despite this, men's freestyle and women's freestyle did a solid job of defending against exposure points. The same can't be said for the Greco team. Nearly half of the points allowed by Team USA in the style were exposures, and they were the only team to allow more points on exposures than they scored. On the individual side, Koy Hopke scored the most match points on the team with 56. He won the title at 110kg in freestyle and averaged 12 points per match. However, Hopke was at a bit of an advantage over his teammates considering he competed in multiple styles. 48 of his points came on his march to the title in freestyle, but he also added eight points in Greco where he finished eighth. As far as competitors in only one style, Joe Sealey was the leading competitor for Team USA. He scored 55 points on his way to the title at 71kg. Sealey allowed only one point across his five matches. That one point was a step out early in the second period of his match against Alisher Zholdasbay (Kazakhstan). Sealey would go on to win the match by a 12-1 score. 36 of his 55 points came on takedowns, and he added another 14 points via exposures. On the Greco side, the clear standout performer was Adams. He not only brought home a gold medal at 65kg, but he also accomplished this without surrendering a single point. Adams outscored his opposition 36-0. Interestingly enough, he was able to put points on the board despite only being awarded top position via passivity in two of his matches. At the highest level, Greco matches often come down to par terre. However, Adams scored 18 of his points via takedowns, which was far and away the most of the U.S. Greco team. Cody Merrill finished second with 10 points off takedowns. When it comes to scoring in par terre, the top two performers on Team USA were Shelby Moore and Jax Forrest. Moore finished fifth at 57kg thanks in part to her work with the leg lace. She scored 16 points in par terre with 14 coming via the leg lace. She scored via the technique at least once in three of her five matches and racked up six points with the hold against both Alina Filipovych (Ukraine) and Michalina Ignaszak (Poland). Forrest was also able to score 16 points via exposures on his way to finishing second at 55kg. His long and lanky frame was clearly an asset from the top position as 10 of those 16 points came on gut wrenches. Forrest also added another four points with crotch lifts and two with a cradle.

2021 NCAA Champion AJ Ferrari (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Today, the Stillwater Police Department filed a charge of sexual battery against 2021 NCAA champion AJ Ferrari in Payne County District Court. A warrant was issued for Ferrari's arrest and bond has been set at $25,000. The charge comes almost a month to the day after an emergency protective order was granted to a Stillwater woman who reported the incident to the police department. Ferrari was an NCAA champion in 2021 as a true freshman for Oklahoma State University. He was undefeated in 2021-22 when a car accident sidelined him for the remainder of the year. Ferrari was not a part of the Cowboy wrestling team when the incident in question occurred in early-July. Ferrari's lawyer, Derek Chance released the following statement Wednesday. "The Ferrari family is disappointed by the State's decision to file this charge. We remain confident that through the legal process AJ Jr. will be exonerated, as he is innocent and the facts will no doubt prove it. " - Derek Chance - Attorney for AJ Ferrari

2021 NCAA All-American Brit Wilson (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Welcome to a new, regular feature for InterMat! Every day, for the next few months, we'll look into the recent history of a DI wrestling program with our "Ten Years of…" feature. Even if you're a die-hard supporter of a particular school, there will be good information you may have forgotten. For others, it's a quick way to learn about a program you may not be familiar with. We're going in alphabetical order for this one, so next up is...Northern Illinois! NCAA Qualifiers (29) 2022 #11 Izzak Olejnik (165 lbs); #22 Mason Kauffman (174 lbs); #12 Brit Wilson (184 lbs) 2021 #33 Bryce West (133 lbs); #26 Anthony Cheloni (149 lbs); #18 Izzak Olejnik (165 lbs); #22 Mason Kauffman (174 lbs); #7 Brit Wilson (184 lbs) 2020 #25 Izzak Olejnik (165 lbs); #19 Brit Wilson (184 lbs); #24 Gage Braun (197 lbs); #33 Max Ihry (285 lbs) 2019 #30 Bryce West (125 lbs); #13 Brit Wilson (174 lbs) 2018 Brock Hudkins (125 lbs); Bryce Gorman (184 lbs) 2017 Brock Hudkins (125 lbs); #14 Steve Bleise (149 lbs); Shaun'Que McMurtry (165 lbs); #15 Trace Engelkes (174 lbs); #11 Shawn Scott (197 lbs) 2016 Austin Eicher (133 lbs); #13 Steve Bleise (141 lbs); Andrew Morse (157 lbs); Shawn Scott (197 lbs) 2015 Shawn Scott (197 lbs) 2014 Nick Smith (133 lbs); Robert Jillard (149 lbs) 2013 Matt Mougin (174 lbs) NCAA Champions None NCAA All-Americans 2021: Brit Wilson (184 - 6th) NCAA Round of 12 Finishers Brock Hudkins (2017 - 125) Steve Bleise (2017 - 141) Shawn Scott (2016, 2017 - 197) Matt Mougin (2013 - 174) MAC Conference Champions 2022: Izzak Olejnik (165); Mason Kauffman (174); Brit Wilson (184) 2021: Brit Wilson (184) 2020: Brit Wilson (184) 2016: Austin Eicher (133) Dual Record 2021-22: 6-10 2021: 6-3 2019-20: 13-4 2018-19: 8-10 2017-18: 3-10 2016-17: 8-8 2015-16: 6-10 2014-15: 10-12 2013-14: 7-11 2012-13: 10-8 MAC Tournament Placement 2021-22: 3rd 2021: 4th 2019-20: 3rd 2018-19: 6th 2017-18: 8th 2016-17: 5th 2015-16: 6th 2014-15: 7th 2013-14: 8th 2012-13: 5th 2021-22: 6-10 NCAA Tournament Team Placement 2021-22: 38th-tie (4.5 points) 2021: 29th (13.5 points) 2019-20: No Tournament 2018-19: 56th (0.5 points) 2017-18: 48th-tie (2.5 points) 2016-17: 30th (11.5 points) 2015-16: 50th (3 points) 2014-15: 67th-tie (0 points) 2013-14: 53rd-tie (3 points) 2012-13: 41st-tie (4 points) Head Coaching History Ryan Ludwig (2011-present) Best Lineup (comprised of wrestlers from 2013-22) 125 - Brock Hudkins: 2x NCAA Qualifier, 2017 NCAA Round of 12 Finisher; 2018 MAC Runner-Up 133 - Austin Eicher: 2016 NCAA Qualifier, 2016 MAC Champion 141 - Steve Bleise: 2x NCAA Qualifier, 2017 NCAA Round of 12 Finisher 149 - Anthony Cheloni: 2021 NCAA Qualifier 157 - Andrew Morse: 2016 NCAA Qualifier 165 - Izzak Olejnik: 3x NCAA Qualifier, 2022 MAC Champion, 3x MAC finalist 174 - Mason Kauffman: 2x NCAA Qualifier, 2022 MAC Champion 184 - Brit Wilson: 4x NCAA Qualifier, 2021 NCAA All-American (6th), 3x MAC Champion 197 - Shawn Scott: 3x NCAA Qualifier, 2x NCAA Round of 12 Finisher 285 - Max Ihry: 2020 NCAA Qualifier Recruiting Number of Big Boarder's Per Year 2022: #216 Jacob Brya (MI) 2021: #63 Blake West (MN); #222 Hayden Pummel (OH); #296 Noah Mis (IL) 2020: #168 Jimmy Carmany (OH) 2017: #73 Breyden Bailey (IN); #96 Bryce West (IA) 2015: #136 Ryan Prescott (MI) 2014: #126 Chris Garcia (IL); #146 Alijah Jeffrey (IA) 2013: #180 Jordan Northrup (IL) For past teams: Air Force American Appalachian State Arizona State Army West Point Binghamton Bloomsburg Brown Bucknell Buffalo Cal Poly Campbell Central Michigan Chattanooga Clarion Cleveland State Columbia Cornell CSU Bakersfield Davidson Drexel Duke Edinboro Franklin & Marshall Gardner-Webb George Mason Harvard Hofstra Illinois Indiana Iowa Iowa State Kent State Lehigh Lock Haven Maryland Michigan Michigan State Minnesota Missouri Navy NC State Nebraska North Carolina North Dakota State Northern Colorado

VMI head coach Jim Gibson (right) and assistant coach Ryan Hunsberger (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Continuing our "schedule breakdown" series, VMI released their 2022-23 schedule on Tuesday, so we're diving into it today. VMI competes out of the Southern Conference and is led by head coach Jim Gibson. The Keydets are looking to push through their first national qualifiers since 2020, when Neal Richards won his second SoCon crown and was named an NWCA second-team All-American. Coach Gibson had this to say about VMI's schedule, "I think we have the right schedule to give our cadet-athletes every opportunity to make a name for themselves this season. We have a heavy focus on individual tournaments for the first half of the season, most notably the new Soldier Salute in Iowa. We are all excited for that event." In order to book a trip to Tulsa for the national tournament, VMI wrestlers will have to navigate through the schedule below: November 4th - Southern Virginia November 6th - Southeast Open @ Salem, Virginia November 13th - Journeyman Classic @ Bethlehem, Pennsylvania November 19th - Navy Classic @ Annapolis, Maryland December 4th - Duke, Franklin & Marshall December 10th - Fairmont State, Shenandoah December 28th/29th - Soldier Salute @ Iowa City, Iowa January 6th - Chattanooga January 14th - Clarion, Long Island @ Brooklyn, New York January 15th - Sacred Heart @ Fairfield, Connecticut January 20th - Appalachian State January 22nd - Presbyterian @ Clinton, South Carolina January 27th - Bellarmine @ Louisville, Kentucky January 29th - Campbell February 3rd - Gardner-Webb @ Boiling Springs, North Carolina February 4th - Davidson @ Davidson, North Carolina February 18th - The Citadel March 4th - SoCon Championships @ Boone, North Carolina Conference Slate: VMI gets the three top teams in the SoCon in their own gym as Chattanooga, Appalachian State, and Campbell each come into Cormack Hall for duals. In 2021-22, each of those three teams shut out the Keydets, so they'll have their hands full in front of the home crowd. The weekend dual schedule only features one weekend with back-to-back away meets, as they'll have Gardner-Webb and Davidson on a Friday/Saturday in early February. The other two conference away duals have a home meet on the same weekend. Out-of-Conference Duals: The Keydets kick their season off with a dual against neighboring DII school, Southern Virginia. VMI and Southern Virginia are only separated by about seven miles, so it's a good idea to get a local fanbase excited in this local rivalry. About a month later, another DIII school from in-state, Shenandoah, will come by with West Virginia DII Fairmont State. The week prior Duke and Franklin & Marshall will visit. It's uncertain exactly what either team will look like, but each should provide a competitive dual meet for VMI. As they move into the second semester, VMI will take a road trip to the northeast and dual Clarion, Long Island, and Sacred Heart. Clarion should have a scrappy team and Sacred Heart has huge numbers and improves yearly. Tournaments: Some of VMI's best out-of-conference competition could come from the Southeast Open. Host Virginia Tech typically has a large contingent in action. Excluding Pittsburgh, most of the ACC schools tend to have some sort of presence at the tournament. The Journeyman Classic is an individual, round-robin event hosted by Lehigh. There will be plenty of competition there, as well, which is important to boost RPI ratings. The first bracketed, fully attached tournament for VMI is the Navy Classic. The host Midshipmen tend to shine at their home tournament. From a previously released schedule, we can see that Nebraska will attend. This isn't a typical occurrence for the Huskers, but they'll raise the level of competition in Annapolis. The last regular season tournament on VMI's docket is the Soldier Salute from Iowa City. This is an event that the University of Iowa has put together, so any Hawkeyes involved makes it a significant date on the calendar. Other military institutions should be in attendance, as well. The postseason: Once VMI navigates through the regular season and February, they'll have to head south for the conference meet at Appalachian State. That should be a rowdy atmosphere, as the Mountaineers fans show out well for home events (along with other SoCon fans). With a good schedule, hopefully, VMI and the rest of the league can have individuals jump into the rankings and post solid RPI numbers, so the SoCon can improve upon the 15 automatic qualifiers from 2022.

Newly ranked 61kg star Joe Colon (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 57KG #2 Thomas Gilman (USA won the Zouhaier Sghaier tournament over Udit Udit (IND) with 2021 world runner-up Alireza Sarlak (IRI) taking bronze. Gilman drops one spot in the rankings to #3 after a round-robin loss to #16 Horst Lehr (GER), Udit Udit (IND) debuts in the rankings at #16 for beating #16 Horst Lehr (GER) in the semifinals, 2021 world runner-up Alireza Sarlak (IRI) returns to the rankings at #12. Kamyl Kerymov (UKR) won the Ziolkowski tournament over 2017 world bronze medalist Andrey Yatsenko (UKR) with Vito Arujau (USA) and Manvel Khndrtzyan (ARM) taking bronze. Andre Gonzales (USA) won the Junior Pan-Am championships over Enrique Herrera Huacre (PER) with Treye Trotman (CAN) and Hernan Almendra (ARG) taking bronze. Levan Metrevelli (ESP) won the Grand Prix of Spain over Darian Cruz (PUR) with Darthe Capellan (CAN) and Logan Sloan (CAN) taking bronze. Logan Sloan (CAN) won the Canada Cup over Freddie Aziz (CAN). Merey Bazarbaev (KAZ) won the Junior Asian Championships over Reza Momenijoujadeh (IRI) with Aman Aman (IND) and Vladislav Nikandrov (KGZ) taking bronze. Oscar Tigreros Urbanos (COL) won the Juegos Deportivos Bolivarianos over Enrique Herrera Huacre (PER) with Juan Ramirez Beltre (DOM) taking bronze. 61KG #11 Eduard Grigorev (POL) moved up to 65 KG where he won the Ziolkowski over Tsogbadrakh Tseveensuren (MGL) and is currently ranked 19th. 2018 world bronze medalist Joe Colon (USA) returns to the rankings at #16 for winning the Ziolkowski over Taras Markovich (UKR). 2018 U23 world bronze medalist Markovich is back in the rankings at #17 for finishing runner-up at the Ziolkowski to Colon and beating #18 Daniel DeShazer (USA), along with his 2021 wins over 3x World/Olympic medalist Nurislam Sanayev (KAZ) and #10 Fedor Baltuev (RUS). Austin DeSanto (USA) debuts in the international rankings at #19 for beating DeShazer for bronze at the Ziolkowski. #4 Seth Gross (USA) won the Zouhaier Sghaier tournament with Aman Aman (IND) finishing silver and Suleyman Atli (TUR) taking bronze. Viktor Lyzen (GER) won the Grand Prix of Spain over Angel Tinoco Torres (PER) with Agustin Sanchez Parra (ESP) taking bronze. Nic Bouzakis (USA) won the Junior Pan-Am Championships over William Betancourt (PUR) with Gavin Eldridge (CAN) taking bronze. Armin Habizadeh Saroukolaei (IRI) won the Junior Asian Championships over Kohit Kumar (KAZ) with Malis Aliyev (KAZ) and Arslan Rakhimov (UZB) taking bronze. 65KG Wilfredo Rodriguez (VEN) won the Juegos Deportivos Bolivarianos over Mauricio Sanchez Saltos (ECU) with Albaro Camacho (DOM) and Sixto Auccapina Pedragas (PER) taking bronze. Sujeet Sujeet (IND) won the Junior Asian Championships over Makoto Hosokawa (JPN) with Umidjon Jalolov (UZB) and Olzhas Olzhakhanov (KAZ) taking bronze. Sujeet Sujeet (IND) took gold at the Zouhaier Sghaier tournament with #11 Yianni Diakomihalis (USA) taking silver and Adlan Askarov (KAZ) taking bronze. Sujeet debuts in the rankings at #13 for his win over Diakomihalis and Diakomihalis drops three spots to #14, due to his loss to Sujeet, plus the superior resumes of #11 Islam Dudaev (ALB) and #12 Tulga Tumur Ochir (MGL) over the past year compared to his (Dudaev head-to-head win over Tumur Ochir, Tumur Ochir beating #16 Abbos Rakhmonov, Umidjon Jalolov, #9 (70) Vazgen Tevanyan compared to Diakomihalis's best wins over 2019 unranked Ismail Musukaev, unranked Joey McKenna and 2019 Bajrang who's now ranked at #17). Sebastian Rivera (PUR) won the Grand Prix of Spain over Nikolai Okhlopkov (ROU) with Krzystof Bienkowski (POL) and Lachlan McNeil (CAN) taking bronze. Robert Cornella (USA) won the Junior Pan-Am Championships over Erick Barroso Bautista (MEX) with Gregor McNeil (CAN) and Dom Martins Ferreira (BRA) taking bronze. 70KG Arman Andreasyan (ARM) won the Ziolkowski over Alec Pantaleo (USA) with #12 Zurab Iakobishvili (GEO) and Oleksii Boruta (UKR) taking bronze. Pantaleo is back in the rankings at #14 for beating #12 Iakobishvili, Andreasyan slots in at #13 for beating Pantaleo, Iakobishvili falls five spots to #17 for his losses to Servet Coskun and Pantaleo, Kota Takahashi (JPN) moves up seven spots to #12 from #19 because he has the best win (#7 Taishi Narikuni at the Meiji Cup this year compared to Azimov>Coskun>Iakobishvili) and doesn't have as many losses as Andreasyan (Iakobishvili at Euros) or Pantaleo (Kudzoev at Yarygin, Retherford and Sasso at World Team Trials). The final piece of the Pantaleo puzzle is the Russian trio of #18 Aznaur Tavaev (RUS), #19 Alan Kudzoev (RUS), and #20 Ruslan Bogatyrev (RUS), (for a refresher, Kudzoev beat Pantaleo at the Yarygin and then lost to #4 Anzor Zakuev and #5 Ruslan Zhendaev at the Yarygin, Kudzoev beat Bogatyrev who beat #4 Anzor Zakuev at the Poddubny in May, then lost to Tavaev next round at Russian Nationals) because they have better records than other guys who made it into the rankings off wins over Pantaleo and each other (Tyler Berger, Ryan Deakin, Sammy Sasso). #10 Zain Retherford (USA) won the Zouhaier Sghaier tournament over Syrbaz Talgat (KAZ) with Koussay Aljimi (TUN) and Karan (IND) taking bronze. Kevin Henkel (GER) won the Grand Prix of Spain over Shamil Ustaev (BEL) with Emmanuel Olapade (CAN) taking bronze. Hossein Mohammad Aghaei (IRI) won the Junior Asian Championships over Mulaym Yadav (IND) with Zafarbek Otakhanov (UZB) and Daiju Suzuki (JPN) taking bronze. Mitchell Mesenbrink (USA) won the Junior Pan-Am Championships over William Oyola (ARG) with Royglen Temple Batista (PAN) and Cesar Escamilla Menchaca (MEX) taking bronze. Guseyn Ruslanzada (CAN) won the Canada Cup over Younchai Seo (KOR) with Adam Thomson (CAN) taking bronze. 74KG Asian champion #14 Younes Emami (IRI) won the Zouhaier Saghaeir tournament over Sagar Jaglan (IND) and Cesar Bordeuax Rego Alvan (BRA) in round robin action. Jaglan took silver and Rego Alvan took bronze. Logan Sloan (CAN) won the Canada Cup over Freddie Aziz (CAN). Anthony Jose Montero Chirinos (VEN) won the Juegos Deportivos Bolivarianos over Andres Alexander Ramirez Mejias (COL) with Angel Eduardo Cortes Bonilla (PAN) taking bronze. Alex Facundo (USA) won the Junior Pan-Am Championships over Alexander Matias Cusinga Gomez (PER) with Amaan Ali Gulacha (CAN) and Lautaro Augustin Seghesso (ARG) taking bronze. 2019 Junior world champion David Carr won the Ziolkowski over Zelimkhan Toguzov (UKR). Bronze medalists were #18 Giorgi Sulava (GEO) and Hrayar Alikanyan (ARM). Carr rejoins the rankings at #18 for teching European bronze medalist Giorgi Sulava (GEO) on his way to the finals. 2017 Iranian Junior world bronze medalist Mohammad Mottaghinia (ESP) made his international debut for Spain by winning the Grand Prix of Spain over Zurab Kapraev (ROU) with #19 Mitch Finesilver (ISR) and Vasile Diacone (MDA). Mottaghinia joins the rankings at #19 for beating Kapraev in the finals after Kapraev had upset Finesilver 7-6 in the semifinals. 2021 70 KG Junior world champion Erfan Elahi (IRI) won the Junior Asian Championships over Jaideep Jaideep (IND) with Ryotaro Togiya (JPN) and Hassan Al Jammali (EGY) taking bronze. Elahi slots in at #20 for his Junior Asian championships title plus his win over #20 Dzhabrail Gadzhiev (AZE) in last year's Junior world finals. 79KG #15 Mohammad Nokhodilarimi (IRI) won the Zouhaier Sghaier tournament over Bolat Sakaev (KAZ) with #3 Chance Marsteller (USA) taking bronze. Because this tournament also included a round-robin format, there was a group of important head-to-head results. #16 Ali Savadkouhi (IRI) beat Nokhodilarimi 5-5 first round. Marsteller beats #16 Ali Savadkouhi (IRI) next round 9-6. The third and final round of round-robin action sees #3 Chance Marsteller fall to Nokhodilarimi 10-0. From the aftermath of the round-robin action, #15 Nokhodilarimi (2-1), Baliyan Gourav (1-1), Bolat Sakaev (2-0), #3 Chance Marsteller (2-1) made the semis. In the semis, Sakaev beats Marsteller 9-1 and then Nokhodilarimi techs Baliyan Gourav (IND) 10-0. The aftermath of the Zouhaier Sghaier tournament is that Nokhodilarimi moves up 12 spots to #3 for beating Marsteller and Sakaev. Sakaev debuts in the rankings at #6 for beating Marsteller (USA) in the semifinals, Marsteller drops four spots to #7 for his losses to Nokhodilarimi and Sakaev, and Savadkouhi moves up eight spots to #8 because of his win over Nokhodilarimi. Vasyl Mykhailov (UKR) won the Ziolkowski over Arman Avagyan (ARM) with #8 David McFadden (USA) and Yevshem Shvelidze (GEO) taking bronze. Mykhailov is back in the rankings at #12 for beating McFadden, while McFadden drops six spots to #14 for his loss to Mykhailov. Jasmit Phulka (CAN) won the Canada Cup over Gage Mettier (CAN) with Arjun Cheeme (CAN) taking bronze. Erik Reinbok (EST) won the Grand Prix of Spain over Aimar Andruse (EST) with Marcel Kaeppeler (GER) and Yakup Shikhdzhamalov (ROU) taking bronze. Yakup Shikhdzhamalov (ROU) won the Ion Corneanu tournament over Zhiger Zakirov (KAZ). Luca Augustine (USA) won the Junior Pan-Am Championships over Guilherme Barros De Arrunda Porto (BRA) with Connor Church (CAN) taking bronze. Sobhan Yari (IRI) won the Junior Asian Championships over Subaru Takahara (JPN) with Yelnar Shildebay (KAZ) and Deepak Deepak (IND) taking bronze. 86KG 2018 world bronze medalist Taimuraz Friev Naskideava (ESP) won the Grand Prix of Spain over Ethan Ramos (PUR) with Adrian Grosul (ROU) and Cesary Sadowski (POL) taking bronze. Friev slots back in at #17 for his past wins over #9 Fatih Erdin (TUR) and #18 Abubakar Abakarov (AZE). Zushen Lin (CHN) won the Ziolkowski over Sebastian Jezierzanski (POL) with #19 Ivars Samusonoks (LAT) and Muhammad Aliiev (UKR) taking bronze. Lin debuts in the rankings at #20. Aref Ranjbari (IRI) won the Junior Asian Championships over Abtbilguun Naadambat (MGL) with Jointy Kumar (IND) and Mustafa Al Jamie (EGY) taking bronze. Samuel Fisher (USA) won the Junior Pan-Am Championships over Jhon Sanchez Solis (VEN) with Cesar Ubico Erstrada (GUA) and Jose Cano Lopez (MEX) taking bronze. 2016 Olympic fifth place finisher Pedro Ceballos Fuentes (VEN) won the Juegos Deportivos Bolivarianos over Eduardo Gajardo Meneses (CHI). #10 Azamat Dauletbekov (KAZ) won the Zouhaier Sghaier tournament with #16 Osman Gocen (TUR) taking silver and Sabri Mnasira (TUN) taking bronze. 92KG Abdimanap Baigenzheev (KAZ) won the Zouhaier Sghaier tournament with Viky Viky (IND) taking silver and Imed Kaddidi (TUN) taking bronze. Jay Aiello (USA) won the Ziolkowski over Radoslaw Marcinkiewicz (POL) with Patrick Dublinowski (POL) and Andriy Vlasov (UKR) taking bronze. Aiello debuts in the 92 KG rankings at #20 and made his second weight class rankings after being ranked in 2021 after taking bronze at the 97 KG U23 world championships. Andrew Johnson (CAN) won the Canada Cup with Tejvar Boal (CAN) finishing with silver and Aiden Stevenson (CAN) taking bronze. Radoslaw Marcinkiewicz (POL) won the Grand Prix of Spain over Johannes Mayer (GER) with Andrew Johnson (CAN) taking bronze. Jaxon Smith (USA) won the Junior Pan-Am Championships over Juan Iturizza Ruiz (MEX) with Karanpreet Gill (CAN) taking bronze. Mohammad Azimi (IRI) won the Junior Asian Championships over Nurdaulet Bekenov (KAZ) with Akash Akash (IND) and Ravshanbek Jumaboev (UZB) taking bronze. 97KG #5 Givi Matcharashvili (GEO) won the Ziolkowski over 2021 world bronze medalist #15 Magomed Zakariev (UKR). Bronze medalists at the Ziolkowski were #13 Elizbar Odikadze (GEO) and Eric Thiele (GER). Matcharashvili's win over 2018 world bronze medalist Odikadze was a huge domestic win for him and looks to have locked up his spot for the Georgian world team going into the senior world championships in September. Ben Kueter (USA) won the Junior Pan-Am Championships over Samuel Pereira (CAN) with Adrian Zapata Jacobo (MEX) taking bronze. 2021 U23 world champion Amirali Azarpira (IRI) won the Junior Asian Championships over Ashish Ashish (IND) with Zelimkhan Mussikhanov (KAZ) taking bronze. Richard Deschateles (CAN) won the Canada Cup by default, being the only entry in the bracket. European bronze medalist #14 Zbigniew Baranowski (POL) won the Grand Prix of Spain over Eric Thiele (GER) with Nishan Randhawa (CAN) and Radoslaw Baran (POL) taking bronze. #2 Kyle Snyder (USA) won the Zouhaier Sghaier tournament over Mamed Ibragimov (KAZ) with Deepak Deepak (IND) and Burak Sahin (TUR) taking bronze. Cristian Sarco Colmenarez (VEN) won the Juegos Deportivos Bolivarianos over Luis Miguel Perez Sosa (DOM) with Miller Mondragon Arboleda (COL) taking bronze. 125KG #3 Geno Petriashvili (GEO) won the Zouhaier Sghaier tournament over #20 Hayden Zillmer (USA) with Alisher Yergali (KAZ) beating #9 Yusup Batirmurzaev (KAZ) for bronze. Yergali beat #9 Yusup Batirmurzaev (KAZ) twice, once in pool action and for the bronze medal. Zhiwei Deng (CHN) returned to action after a year-long layoff to win the Ion Corniaunu over Batirmurzaev and then failed to place at the Ziolkowski after a loss to Derek White (USA). Robert Baran (POL) won the Ziolkowski over 2021 U23 world champion Tony Cassioppi (USA) with Yuri Idzinsky (UKR) and Kamil Kosciolek (POL) taking bronze. So what happens out of all of this is Zillmer (USA) moves up ten spots to #10 after finishing runner-up at the Zouhaier Sghaier and beating Yergali. Then Baran is back in the rankings at #11 for beating 2021 U23 world champion Cassioppi who slots in at #12 for his past win over #14 Saipudin Magomedov (RUS) at U23 world's and his win over Kosciolek, who got ranked by beating White, who debuted in the rankings at #17 for beating 2018 world runner-up Zhiwei Deng (CHN), who was ranked 6th back in June and returns at #18 while Batirmurzaev falls ten spots to #19 for his losses to Yergali and Deng while Daniel Ligeti (HUN) completes the rankings at #20 for beating White in pool action at the Ziolkowski. Baran won the Grand Prix of Spain over Kosciolek with Gennadij Cudinovic (GER) taking bronze. Aaron Johnson (JAM) won the Canada Cup over Roger Li (CAN). Nick Feldman (USA) won the Junior Pan-Am Championships over Roger Li (CAN) with Jhoan Ocoro Palomino (COL) taking bronze. Salar Habiehsani (IRI) won the Junior Asian Championships over Mahendra Gaikwad (IND) with Bekzhat Tazhi (KAZ) taking bronze. Pound for Pound Chance Marsteller (USA) has been dropped from the #24 spot in the pound-for-pound rankings due to losses to Nokhodilarimi and Sakaev at the Zouhaier Sghaeir tournament. 65 KG Russian Nationals bronze medalist #25 Aripgadzhi Abdulaev (RUS) moves up one spot to #24 and filling the final spots in the rankings is #3 (97) Mohamad Mohammadian (IRI).

2022 Big 12 champion Andrew Alirez (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Welcome to a new, regular feature for InterMat! Every day, for the next few months, we'll look into the recent history of a DI wrestling program with our "Ten Years of…" feature. Even if you're a die-hard supporter of a particular school, there will be good information you may have forgotten. For others, it's a quick way to learn about a program you may not be familiar with. We're going in alphabetical order for this one, so next up is...Northern Colorado! NCAA Qualifiers (27) 2022 #30 Jace Koelzer (125 lbs); #5 Andrew Alirez (141 lbs); #27 Alan Clothier (197 lbs) 2021 #15 Mosha Schwartz (133 lbs); Andrew Alirez (149 lbs); #13 Jackson Hemauer (174 lbs); #18 Alan Clothier (184 lbs) 2020 #15 Mosha Schwartz (133 lbs); #14 Andrew Alirez (149 lbs); #27 Alan Clothier (184 lbs); #25 Jacob Seely (197 lbs); #16 Dalton Robertson (285 lbs) 2019 #24 Rico Montoya (125 lbs); #32 Chris Sandoval (141 lbs); #30 Jacob Seely (197 lbs) 2018 Rico Montoya (133 lbs); Keilan Torres (165 lbs); Dylan Gabel (184 lbs); Jacob Seely (197 lbs) 2017 Rico Montoya (133 lbs); Timmy Box (141 lbs); Keilan Torres (165 lbs); Dylan Gabel (184 lbs) 2016 Trent Noon (197 lbs) 2015 Trey Andrews (125 lbs); Mitchell Polkowske (165 lbs); Trent Noon (197 lbs) NCAA Champions None NCAA All-Americans None NWCA All-Americans Mosha Schwartz (133 - Honorable Mention) Andrew Alirez (149 - Honorable Mention) Dalton Robertson (285 - Honorable Mention) NCAA Round of 12 Finishers Andrew Alirez (2022 - 141) Conference Champions Big 12 2022: Andrew Alirez (141 lbs) West Region/WWC 2015: Mitch Polkowske (165 lbs) Dual Record 2021-22: 6-6 2021: 4-2 2019-20: 3-8 2018-19: 4-10 2017-18: 3-10 2016-17: 2-10 2015-16: 4-7 2014-15: 5-6 2013-14: 4-10-1 2012-13: 1-10 Conference Tournament Placement 2021-22: 11th 2021: 7th 2019-20: 8th 2018-19: 12th 2017-18: 10th 2016-17: 8th 2015-16: 10th West Region/WWC 2014-15: 5th 2013-14: 6th NCAA Tournament Team Placement 2021-22: 44th-tie 2021: 48th-tie 2019-20: No Tournament 2018-19: 49th-tie 2017-18: 38th-tie 2016-17: 47th-tie 2015-16: 72nd 2014-15: 46th-tie 2013-14: No Qualifiers Head Coaching History Troy Nickerson (2014-Present) Ben Cherrington (2009-14) Best Lineup (comprised of wrestlers from 2013-22) 125 - Rico Montoya: 3x NCAA Qualifier 133 - Mosha Schwartz: 2x NCAA Qualifier (#15 seed x2), 2020 Big 12 runner-up, 2020 NWCA Honorable Mention All-American 141 - Timmy Box: 2017 NCAA Qualifier 149 - Andrew Alirez: 3x NCAA Qualifier (#5 and #14 seeds), 2022 Big 12 champion, 2022 NCAA Round of 12 finisher, 2020 NWCA Honorable Mention All-American 157 - Eleazar Deluca: 2016 Big 12 fourth place (17-6 record) 165 - Mitchell Polkowske: 2015 NCAA Qualifier, 2015 West Regional Champion 174 - Jackson Hemauer: 2021 NCAA Qualifier, 2021 Big 12 runner-up 184 - Dylan Gabel: 2x NCAA Qualifier, 2x Big 12 runner-up 197 - Alan Clothier: 3x NCAA Qualifier (#18 seed) 285 - Dalton Robertson: 2020 NCAA Qualifier (#16 seed), 2020 NWCA Honorable Mention All-American Recruiting Number of Big Boarder's Per Year 2022: #83 Derek Matthews (ID); #97 Quentin Saunders (KS); #135 Andrew Blackburn-Forst (IL); #141 Brady Hankin (CO) 2021: #25 Ben Alanis (AZ); #89 Xavier Doolin (MO); #107 Branson Britten (TX); #202 Rudy Lopez (CO); #236 Franklin Cruz (CO); #290 Kenny Sailas (CO) 2020: #166 Daemyen Middlebrooks (IL) 2019: #2 Andrew Alirez (CO); #45 Mosha Schwartz (CO); #51 Theorius Robison (CO) 2017: #93 Chris Sandoval (CO) 2016: #144 Robert Winters (VA) 2015: #82 Rico Montoya (NM); #94 Jacob Seely (CO); #138 Sean Cannon (NV) For past teams: Air Force American Appalachian State Arizona State Army West Point Binghamton Bloomsburg Brown Bucknell Buffalo Cal Poly Campbell Central Michigan Chattanooga Clarion Cleveland State Columbia Cornell CSU Bakersfield Davidson Drexel Duke Edinboro Franklin & Marshall Gardner-Webb George Mason Harvard Hofstra Illinois Indiana Iowa Iowa State Kent State Lehigh Lock Haven Maryland Michigan Michigan State Minnesota Missouri Navy NC State Nebraska North Carolina North Dakota State

Luke Lilledahl in the 2022 U17 World Champion gold medal match (photo courtesy of Martin Gabor/UWW) Last week and into the weekend, the U17 (Cadet) World Championships took place in Rome, Italy. It was a memorable tournament for the American contingent as there were notable achievements across all three styles and plenty of room for optimism across the board. As we do with many big events, InterMat has gone back through the three tournaments and found notable facts and trends that have occurred, based on the final results. Some you may have read about along the way and others you may hear for the first time. Greco-Roman Joel Adams' gold medal at 65 kg is the first for the United States since Cohlton Schultz (100 kg) in 2017. Adams was the only Greco wrestler to win without surrendering a single point in any of his matches. He outscored the competition 36-0. With Adams and Cody Merrill winning medals, it marked only the second title since 2013 that the American team has brought home multiple medals in the same year. Cade Olivas and Jon Jay Chavez both previously got bronze medals in 2013. Since the reinstatement of U17/Cadet Worlds (in 2011), the US has had only three finalists at this age group. With Adams' title and Cory Land's silver medal in 2021, it became the first time the American team has had a finalist in back-to-back World Championships. For the second consecutive year, a wrestler from Ukraine defeated an opponent from Uzbekistan in the 45 kg world finals. This time it was Yevhen Pokovba over Shakhzod Ruziokhunov. Ukraine is also the only nation to have a wrestler win a world title in each of the last three world championships. They had one in 2019 (Mykyta Alieksieiev), two in 2021 (Nikita Dementiev and Imed Khudzhadze), and one in 2022 (Pokovba). India's Suraj won gold at 55 kg. He is the first Indian wrestler since the reinstatement to win a Greco world championship. There were no repeat or previous champions at the Greco-Roman level. Lucas LoGrasso (60 kg) became the first world finalist for France in this era of the tournament. For the second consecutive year, Germany had a world runner-up. This year it was Darius Kiefer at 92 kg. Prior to 2021, the last time a German made a Cadet/U17 world final was in 2013, when Etienne Kinsinger won the 58 kg bracket. Omar Mourad (60 kg - bronze) was the first Egyptian wrestler to medal at this event since Mohamed El Sayed did so in 2015 (63 kg - silver). Women's Freestyle The United States finished with three medals (all silvers), which was their lowest total since 2017, when both Emily Shilson and Alara Boyd took silver. Erica Pastoriza joined a short list of multiple-time American Cadet/U17 world finalists. She joins Emily Shilson (2017-18), Ronna Heaton (2015-16), and Marina Doi (2011-12) in this exclusive group. Illinois produced a pair of 2022 world medalists in Gabriella Gomez and Valerie Hamilton. The last Illinois native to place at this event was…Haley Augello in 2011. Coming full circle, Augello was in Gomez' corner last week. Despite being an early adopter of girls high school wrestling and a traditional power, Washington had never put a woman on the Cadet/U17 world team until Shelby Moore did so this year. Moore finished fifth at 57 kg. Conversely, California has had three on the women's squad for the past three years. This time it was Megan Valdez (40 kg), Elena Ivaldi (53 kg), and Kaiulani Garcia (73 kg). India and Japan dominated the competition and accounted for eight of the ten gold medals. Japan also had four silver medalists. The women's tournament saw a pair of wrestlers capture their second world championships, Mariia Yefremova (Ukraine - 53 kg) and Priya (India - 73 kg). Since 2019, three Indian women have won multiple world titles: Priya, Komal (2019/2021), and Sonam (2017/2019). India has produced multiple gold medalists in each of the last three tournaments. The 2022 winners were: Muksan (40 kg), Rikita (43 kg), Savita (61 kg), Harshita (69 kg), and Priya. Japan's three champions was actually their lowest total since the return of the tournament in 2011. For the first time since the tournament resumed, in 2011, Hungary had finalists in back-to-back years. Gerda Terek (2nd at 57 kg) this year and Enikoe Elekes (1st at 65 kg) in 2021. Romania's Maria Pantiru fell in the 65 kg finals, 5-2. Her country is now 0-6 in the world finals since 2011. Her countrymate, Alexandra Voiculescu, lost in the 2021 finals at 40 kg. Lilyan Cohen earned a bronze medal at 53 kg for France. In doing so, she became the country's first medalist since the great Koumba Larroque won a world title in 2015. Reka Van Os was a bronze medalist at 65 kg representing the Netherlands. This was the first medal for the Dutch since this tournament was reintroduced in 2011. The same goes for Croatia's Veronika Vilk who claimed a bronze medal at 69 kg. Muskan (India - 40 kg), Ritika (India - 43 kg), Koko Matsuda (Japan - 46 kg) and Sowaka Uchida (Japan - 57 kg) all ran through their respective brackets without allowing a single point. Men's Freestyle The US men's team won their first world title in dominating fashion. Second place India was a distant 64 points behind. The 190 points amassed by the American squad set a new UWW record. Nine of the ten US wrestlers left with a medal and the team went 34-6 overall at the tournament. Of the six losses for the Americans, only Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan registered multiple wins against Team USA. The US was 1-2 against Azerbaijan and 3-2 versus Kazakhstan. The American team is now 15-5 in bronze medal matches since 2017. It was the second time since the reinstatement that Team USA has produced four champions. This time it was Domenic Munaretto (45 kg), Luke Lilledahl (51 kg), Joseph Sealey (71 kg), and Koy Hopke (110 kg). The only other group to hit that make was the 2017 team with Kurt McHenry, Will Lewan, Aaron Brooks, and Greg Kerkvliet. Lilledahl joined a select group of multiple-time world finalists for the American team, since the return of this tournament. Kerkvliet, McHenry, Yianni Diakomihalis, and Gable Steveson all made two world finals. Koy Hopke continued an incredible run for American heavyweights at the Cadet/U17 level. The US has had a finalist in seven of the last eight world championships. Jordan Wood started the run with a silver medal in 2014, Gable Steveson had back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2016, Kerkvliet won gold and silver in 2017 and 2018, while Jim Mullan was a silver medalist last year. Along those same line, the US has had the world champion at 45 kg in each of the last three World Championships. Munaretto, Bo Bassett (2021) and Marc-Anthony McGowan (2019). The USA has had at least one champion in every year since the tournament was brought back in 2011. Kazakhstan had a pair of world champions, Daryn Askerbek (55 kg) and Kamil Kurugliev (92 kg), for the first time since 2011. That duo was Vladimir Kudrin (46 kg) and Elkhan Assadov (76 kg). India had six world medalists for the second consecutive year. From 2011-19, they had 24 combined. Kyrgyzstan's Bilol Sharip Uulu (60 kg) became his country's first finalist since that magical 2011 date. Host Italy also had a silver medalist in Raul Caso (71 kg). Italy did not previously have a finalist since 2011, either. Usually more known for their Greco prowess, Hungary actually had a freestyle finalist in Musza Arsunkaev (92 kg). It's their first finalist in this era of the Cadet/U17 Championships. France also had a similar situation. 110 kg world silver medalist, Levan Lagvilava, was its first finalist. Ben Tarik (51 kg) won a bronze medal for Morocco. He is the first medalist for his country since the reintroduction of this tournament.

Josh Barr (right) and Rocco Welsh in the 170 lb Junior freestyle finals (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Michigan standout Josh Barr knew what he was in for with Pennsylvania's Rocco Welsh in one of the most highly anticipated junior freestyle finals in Fargo. But as Barr found out, scouting Welsh and wrestling him were totally different things that called for all of Barr's scoring prowess and poise to beat him in the 170-pound finals. The matchup between Barr, a Penn State commit, and Welsh, an Ohio State pledge, was the marquee match of the biggest high school freestyle tournament in the country. It was also a showdown with plenty of potential to put the clash of styles on center stage in even higher-leverage situations in the future. Barr took this one, 8-5, but had to plow through Welsh's strength and rally late for the winning points. Welsh first seized control by dictating the ties and using his power to keep the match in his wheelhouse until Barr chipped away and opened the floodgates late. Adjustments were critical, first by Welsh to get the looks he wanted and later by Barr as he found the right distance and got Welsh moving his feet. Along the way, Barr got the message loud and clear that he had to be ready to scrap. "He's very, very, very strong," Barr said. "Very, very strong. The first time he clubbed me, I've told a couple people, my whole body rung. I got a little tingly and was like, 'He's stronger than I thought,' but one of my main training partners is Remy Cotton and he wrestled 195 at Fargo. I wrestle with Logan Massa, too, and he is very, very strong, so I was ready for it, I think." Barr scored the first point of the match in the first period when Welsh was unable to score after he was put on the shot clock. Bell rung or not, Barr fired off the first quality shot, but got stuck under Welsh's heavy hips early in the first period. Barr also got stuffed on a good throw-by attempt when Welsh proved an immovable object. Just as he started the match with a quick single, Barr went after Welsh off the second-period whistle and liked the look he got. Even so, Welsh was able to stymie his momentum and power him backwards for two exposure points. Barr went from liking his look to trailing 2-1, but still took more positives than negatives away from the sequence. "It was like, 'Oh, crap, this guy's even good there when I'm starting to get up a little bit,'" Barr said. "I just had to stay the course and continue to attack because I know it's where I'm going to score. I couldn't let it really faze me the rest of the match. I had to keep shooting. "Ultimately, I kind of made adjustments to the next couple shots I got and made sure that didn't happen again." After that sequence, Welsh got the tie he wanted and managed to power Barr out of bounds for a step out and 3-1 lead. Welsh felt the momentum swing in his direction and was in his comfort zone when he got his hooks into Barr again, then dropped levels out of nowhere to blast through Welsh for another takedown and a 5-1 lead. With 2:22 left on the clock, Barr was working hard, angling for his offense and pushing the pace, but Welsh was doing the actual scoring. He made his opportunities count. "He waited for me to hang a little bit and popped and ran through me like he does a lot of people," Barr said. Barr returned to the center losing the battle, but still feeling more encouraged he could win the war. The pace, he felt, was wearing on Welsh so he committed to pressing, working his motion, changing levels and making Welsh keep working hard. Barr thought the work he was doing would soon pay off and that the tide was going to turn, and he was right. "After he doubled me out of bounds and got the two, I felt him breathing pretty heavy," Barr said. "It was one of those moments where it's just like, 'Keep on going.' I felt like I had him cracking a little bit, and I felt like, even though he did expose me on that shot, that was a really deep shot. "I felt like, if I just got there again and made a couple adjustments, I'm going to start scoring on those." Barr did start dictating the action off that restart and made those adjustments to get in deep and finish for his first takedown to close the gap to 5-3. Before he ultimately took him down, he brought Welsh to his knees once and drew a phantom sprawl with a series of hard fakes. With about 30 seconds remaining, Barr attacked and countered a Welsh re-attack to take the lead on criteria, 5-5. They landed near the edge with Welsh flat and his hips open enough that Barr could swing the leg over and power Welsh to his back. Barr got two exposure points and another for a step out, and he turned a 5-1 deficit into an 8-5 win. Mindset made a difference for Barr in those final moments, and so did his conditioning and confidence in what he was doing. He focused on scoring the next point until he had suddenly scored seven straight to win his second straight Fargo title. "I always tell myself, whenever there's a break in the match, 'Just keep on going,'" Barr said. "I try and just stay focused on what I need to do to score points. And that's all I'm really focused on, scoring the next point every single time. Whether it's a situation like this in freestyle or I'm up 14-0 on somebody in folkstyle, it's just scoring the next point, no matter what the situation is." Josh Barr after the Junior freestyle finals (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) After Barr finished off the win, he squatted at the center of the mat and flashed a couple of twos for the matside cameras. Then he stood up, shook Welsh's hand and expressed to him what many anticipate will be the case: these two will likely be seeing more of each other, whether in Big Ten duals, NCAAs or in battles to make United States world teams in the future. Barr went into Fargo ranked No. 4 in MatScouts' pound-for-pound national rankings, and Welsh was No. 13. They were also Nos. 1 and 2 in the 170-pound rankings, where they will likely stay until they move to the next level and try to climb the ladder to Big Ten glory together. Barr expects nothing less. "It's Rocco, and he's very talented, but I did tell him after the match, 'We'll do it again,'" Barr said. "We're going to be wrestling for a long time. I imagine that we're going to be wrestling to make world teams and Olympic teams. "I think that we're the top two guys in our class and in this weight class. We're going to be wrestling for a long time, NCAA titles, everything, so I'm ready for it."

2014 NCAA 3rd Place finisher Steven Monk (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Welcome to a new, regular feature for InterMat! Every day, for the next few months, we'll look into the recent history of a DI wrestling program with our "Ten Years of…" feature. Even if you're a die-hard supporter of a particular school, there will be good information you may have forgotten. For others, it's a quick way to learn about a program you may not be familiar with. We're going in alphabetical order for this one, so next up is...North Dakota State! NCAA Qualifiers (45) 2022 #21 Dylan Droegemueller (141 lbs); #6 Jared Franek (157 lbs); #16 Luke Weber (165 lbs); #22 Owen Pentz (197 lbs); #29 Brandon Metz (285 lbs) 2021 #8 Jared Franek (157 lbs); #9 Luke Weber (165 lbs); #31 Owen Pentz (197 lbs); #22 Brandon Metz (285 lbs) 2020 #11 Cam Sykora (133 lbs); #33 Dylan Droegemueller (141 lbs); #16 Jared Franek (157 lbs); #14 Andrew Fogarty (165 lbs); #31 Cordell Eaton (197 lbs); #20 Brandon Metz (285 lbs) 2019 #10 Brent Fleetwood (125 lbs); #21 Cam Sykora (133 lbs); #13 Andrew Fogarty (165 lbs); #24 Lorenzo de la Riva (174 lbs) 2018 Paul Bianchi (125 lbs); Cam Sykora (133 lbs); #11 Clay Ream (157 lbs); Andrew Fogarty (165 lbs) 2017 #9 Josh Rodriguez (125 lbs); Cam Sykora (133 lbs); #6 Clay Ream (157 lbs); Andrew Fogarty (165 lbs); Ben Tynan (285 lbs) 2016 #14 Josh Rodriguez (125 lbs); Clay Ream (149 lbs); #12 Hayden Zillmer (184 lbs) 2015 #14 Josh Rodriguez (125 lbs); Mitch Bengtson (141 lbs); Clay Ream (149 lbs); Kurtis Julson (174 lbs); #6 Hayden Zillmer (184 lbs); Evan Knutson (285 lbs) 2014 #4 Steven Monk (165 lbs); #13 Hayden Zillmer (174 lbs); Kurtis Julson (184 lbs); Evan Knutson (285 lbs) 2013 #9 Trent Sprenkle (125 lbs); #5 Steven Monk (165 lbs); Mac Stoll (184 lbs); Evan Knutson (285 lbs) NCAA Champions None NCAA All-Americans 2015: Kurtis Julson (174 - 8th), Hayden Zillmer (184 - 6th) 2014: Steven Monk (165 - 3rd) 2013: Trent Sprenkle (125 - 5th) NWCA All-Americans Cam Sykora (133 - Second Team) Jared Franek (157 - Honorable Mention) Andrew Fogarty (165 - Honorable Mention) NCAA Round of 12 Finishers Jared Franek (2021, 2022 - 157) Luke Weber (2021 - 165) Brent Fleetwood (2019 - 125) Josh Rodriguez (2016 - 125) Steven Monk (2013 - 165) Conference Champions Big 12 2021: Luke Weber (165 lbs) 2020: Cam Sykora (133 lbs) West Region/WWC 2015: Josh Rodriguez (125); Mitch Bengtson (141); Clay Ream (149); Kurtis Julson (174); Hayden Zillmer (184) 2014: Steven Monk (165); Hayden Zillmer (174); Evan Knutson (285) 2013: Trent Sprenkle (125); Steven Monk (165) Dual Record 2021-22: 10-4 2021: 7-3 2019-20: 10-4 2018-19: 10-6 2017-18: 7-10 2016-17: 14-5 2015-16: 4-6 2014-15: 9-4 2013-14: 11-7 2012-13: 10-8 Conference Tournament Placement Big 12 2021-22: 7th-tie 2021: 6th 2019-20: 5th 2018-19: 8th 2017-18: 5th 2016-17: 4th 2015-16: 7th West Region/WWC 2014-15: 1st 2013-14: 1st 2012-13: 1st NCAA Tournament Team Placement 2021-22: 34th 2021: 34th-tie 2019-20: No Tournament 2018-19: 39th 2017-18: 45th-tie 2016-17: 47th-tie 2015-16: 42th-tie 2014-15: 23rd 2013-14: 21st 2012-13: 30th Head Coaching History Roger Kish (2011-Present) Best Lineup (Comprised of wrestlers from 2013-22) 125 -Trent Sprenkle: 3x NCAA Qualifier (#9 seed); 2013 NCAA All-American (5th); 2x West Region Champion 133 - Cam Sykora: 4x NCAA Qualifier (#11 and #21 seed); 2020 Big 12 Champion, 2020 NWCA Second Team All-American 141 - Dylan Droegemueller: 2x NCAA Qualifier (#21 seed); 2x Big 12 4th Place 149 - Clay Ream: 4x NCAA Qualifier (#6 and #11 seed); 2x Big 12 Runner-Up 157 - Jared Franek: 3x NCAA Qualifier (#6 and #8 seed); 2x Big 12 Runner-Up; 2x NCAA Round of 12 Finisher 165 - Steven Monk: 3x NCAA Qualifier (#4, #5, and #12 seed); 2014 NCAA All-American (3rd); 3x West Region Champion 174 - Kurtis Julson: 2x NCAA Qualifier; 2015 NCAA All-American (8th); 2015 West Region Champion 184 - Hayden Zillmer: 3x NCAA Qualifier (#6, #12, and #13 seed); 2015 NCAA All-American (6th); 2x West Region Champion 197 - Owen Pentz: 2x NCAA Qualifier 285 - Evan Knutson: 3x NCAA Qualifier; 2014 West Region Champion Recruiting Number of Big Boarder's Per Year 2022: #92 Fernando Barreto (CA); #98 Max Petersen (MN); #126 Gavin Drexler (WI); #138 Damian Mendez (KS); #152 Landen Johnson (MN) 2021: #57 Carlos Negrete (CA); #68 Alex Ramirez (CA); #73 Mikey Caliendo (CA); #77 DJ Parker (IL); #86 Juan Mora (CA); #104 Dom Vacura (MN); #231 Spencer Mooberry (IA); #241 Cole Gripka (MO) 2020: #80 Kellyn March (ND); #118 Gaven Sax (MO); #159 Ryan Henningson (MN) 2018: #37 Jared Franek (ND) 2017: #53 Brandon Metz (ND) 2016: #78 Colton Clingenpeel (IA); #98 Paul Bianchi (WI) 2015: #89 Andrew Fogarty (MN) 2013: #60 Mitch Bengtson (MN); #70 Preston Lehmann (ND); #146 Clay Ream (MO); #166 Kyle Gliva (MN); #173 Tommy Peterson (MN); #181 Cole Sladek (MN) For past teams: Air Force American Appalachian State Arizona State Army West Point Binghamton Bloomsburg Brown Bucknell Buffalo Cal Poly Campbell Central Michigan Chattanooga Clarion Cleveland State Columbia Cornell CSU Bakersfield Davidson Drexel Duke Edinboro Franklin & Marshall Gardner-Webb George Mason Harvard Hofstra Illinois Indiana Iowa Iowa State Kent State Lehigh Lock Haven Maryland Michigan Michigan State Minnesota Missouri Navy NC State Nebraska North Carolina

Air Force's Big 12 champion Wyatt Hendrickson (photos courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) To steal the line from last year's FCW Top-20 Articles, everyone knows 125 Pat Glory, 133 Roman Bravo-Young, 174 Carter Starocci, 184 Aaron Brooks, and 285 Gable Steveson are bonus point monsters, and this season they totaled 283 Fpts. Top names and all NCAA Champions or Finalists (Nick Suriano did not make the Top-20). But here's five names that totaled 328 Fpts: 125 Caleb Smith (APP), 133 Joshua Koderhandt (NAVY), 174 Logan Messer (GMU), 184 Jonathan Loew (COR), and 285 Ben Goldin (PENN). This group only has one All-American (Loew finishing 8th). And as I say every year, that's the beauty and frustration of Fantasy Sports. Sometimes your top performers are not "household names." So, with that, let's take a look at this past season's Top-20 at each weight to help give you an early start to win each week this coming year. To compile these lists, we used standard WrestleStat Fantasy College Wrestling Data & Scoring. Just a reminder of how points were tallied in WrestleStat leagues: 1) The scoring used was Standard Team Scoring across all competitions (+3 for a win by decision, -4 for a loss by Major, etc) 2) Scoring only counted against D1 competition 3) Wins via Forfeits (FFT) would count as +6 towards a wrestler's point total 4) Wins or Losses by Medical Forfeit (MFF) did not count as + or - towards a wrestler's point total 5) Points were only accumulated during the regular season Notes: It shouldn't be a surprise that Wyatt Hendrickson sits as the #1 Fantasy Wrestler for 285 after the season. Hendrickson may have started a month late, but he finished as the Pin King in 2022 with 13 regular season falls against D1 competition. The pins alone would still make him the #2 overall Fantasy Wrestler this season. Just as everyone had predicted, Navy's Grady Greiss finished as the #2 Fantasy Wrestler at 285. Greiss went to six opens throughout the year, but won only the Mat Town Open II at the end of the season. Griess also started for Navy twice (going 1-1), and despite six losses on the season, he was able to get the most out of his other 21 matches to maximize his Fantasy potential. To quote Larry David, coming into this season some people did not “respect wood” and maybe didn't have high expectations for Jordan Wood. Well, naysayers, Wood powered his way to an 18-2 regular season, first announcing his mark on the season by taking out Matt Stencel (the perennial pinner) at the Journeyman Classic. His only two losses were each by one point (to Tony Cassioppi and in TB to Cohlton Schultz). Lehigh also had Redshirt Nathan Taylor make the Top-10. In 2021, Michael McAlevey was one of the top pinners which helped him take the #1 spot at Heavyweight. This past season, he had just about the same number of pins, but also had nine losses (127 Fpts) which anchored him down to #8 at 285. The highest amount of matches wrestled in the Top-20 goes to recent transfer AJ Nevills of South Dakota State. The least amount goes to your 2022 Champion Gable Steveson. Steveson wrestled only one more match than he did in the 2021 season but scored two less Fpts. That said, he finished just inside of the Top-20 with the #19 spot. Seven All-Americans made the Top-20 this season at 285. Who Missed The Cut: The only All-American to miss the Top-20 was Nebraska's Christian Lance who was the 12 seed at Nationals. With only four wins by major and ending the regular season with five losses in his last eight matches slotted him at #40 with 21 Fpts. Ethan Laird redshirted this past season for Rider, only wrestling in 12 matches and losing only one. He finished at #21 with 41 Fpts and edged out the true freshmen Ryan Catka (NAVY) on PPM differential (Laird bested Catka by 2.0 PPM more at 3.4 PPM) Owen Trephan was the highest NC State heavyweight in Fantasy last season at #24 with Tyrie Houghton at #31. From a Fantasy perspective, the NC State Heavyweight situation was the equivalent of a Football “Backfield By Committee,” and unless you have “the Committee” on your roster, it never works out well for Fantasy Team Managers. With only two losses on the season, Taye Ghadiali (CAMP) finished just outside the list to #25 and 37 Fpts. Other notables to miss the cut include: Quinn Miller (UVA) at #26 with 36 Fpts, Zach Elam (MIZZ) at #33 with 28 Fpts, Hunter Catka (VT) at #36 with 25 Fpts, Sam Schuyler (ISU) at #44 with 18 Fpts, Luke Surber (OKST) #48 with 16 Fpts, and Tate Orndorff (OHST) at #55 with 10 Fpts.

2021 NCAA champion Austin O'Connor (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Welcome to a new, regular feature for InterMat! Every day, for the next few months, we'll look into the recent history of a DI wrestling program with our "Ten Years of…" feature. Even if you're a die-hard supporter of a particular school, there will be good information you may have forgotten. For others, it's a quick way to learn about a program you may not be familiar with. We're going in alphabetical order for this one, so next up is...North Carolina! NCAA Qualifiers (63) 2022 #18 Joe Heilmann (133 lbs); #15 Kizhan Clarke (141); #32 Zach Sherman (149); #11 Austin O'Connor (157); #10 Clay Lautt (174 lbs); #14 Gavin Kane (184 lbs) 2021 #10 Zach Sherman (141 lbs); #2 Austin O'Connor (149 lbs); #29 Josh McClure (157 lbs); #22 Kennedy Monday (165 lbs); #16 Clay Lautt (174 lbs); #22 Devin Kane (184 lbs); #20 Max Shaw (197 lbs); #31 Andrew Gunning (285) 2020 #23 Jaime Hernandez (133 lbs); #11 Zach Sherman (141 lbs); #2 Austin O'Connor (149 lbs); #18 AC Headlee (157 lbs); #18 Kennedy Monday (165 lbs); #14 Clay Lautt (174 lbs); #30 Andrew Gunning (285 lbs) 2019 #18 Gary Wayne Harding (133 lbs); #21 AC Headlee (141 lbs); #6 Austin O'Connor (149 lbs); #24 Josh McClure (157 lbs); #33 Devin Kane (174 lbs); #15 Chip Ness (184 lbs); #29 Brandon Whitman (197 lbs); #21 Cory Daniel (285 lbs) 2018 Zach Sherman (133 lbs); AC Headlee (141 lbs); #4 Troy Heilmann (149 lbs); Kennedy Monday (157 lbs); #10 Ethan Ramos (174 lbs); Chip Ness (184 lbs); Daniel Chaid (197 lbs); Cory Daniel (285 lbs) 2017 #7 Joey Ward (141 lbs); Troy Heilmann (149 lbs); #8 Ethan Ramos (174 lbs); Daniel Chaid (197 lbs); Cory Daniel (285 lbs) 2016 #8 Joey Ward (141 lbs); #8 Evan Henderson (149 lbs); Robert Henderson (157 lbs); #11 John Staudenmayer (165 lbs); #4 Ethan Ramos (174 lbs); Alex Utley (184 lbs); Chip Ness (197 lbs) 2015 Troy Heilmann (133 lbs); #12 Joey Ward (141 lbs); Christian Barber (149 lbs); #15 Ethan Ramos (165 lbs); John Staudenmayer (174 lbs) 2014 Nathan Kraisser (125 lbs); #9 Evan Henderson (141 lbs); Christian Barber (149 lbs); John Staudenmayer (165 lbs) 2013 #7 Nathan Kraisser (125 lbs); Joey Ward (133 lbs); #5 Evan Henderson (141 lbs); John Staudenmayer (165 lbs); Alex Utley (184 lbs) NCAA Champions Austin O'Connor (149 - 2021) NCAA All-Americans 2022: Kizhan Clarke (141 - 2nd); Austin O'Connor (157 - 8th); Clay Lautt (174 - 8th) 2021: Zach Sherman (141 - 7th); Austin O'Connor (149 - 1st) 2019: Austin O'Connor (149 - 3rd); Chip Ness (184 - 6th) 2018: Troy Heilmann (149 - 4th); Chip Ness (184 - 7th) 2016: Joey Ward (141 - 7th) 2015: Ethan Ramos (165 - 6th) 2014: Evan Henderson (141 - 4th) 2013: Evan Henderson (141 - 6th) NWCA All-Americans Zach Sherman (141 - Second Team) Austin O'Connor (149 - First Team) Clay Lautt (174 - Honorable Mention) Round of 12 Finishers Clay Lautt (2021 - 174) Devin Kane (2019, 2021 - 174, 184) Kennedy Monday (2018 - 157) Daniel Chaid (2017 - 197) Nathan Kraisser (2013 - 125) John Staudenmayer (2013 - 165) ACC Champions 2021: Austin O'Connor (149) 2020: Zach Sherman (141); Austin O'Connor (149); Clay Lautt (174) 2018: Troy Heilmann (149); Ethan Ramos (174) 2016: Evan Henderson (149); Ethan Ramos (174) 2014: Nathan Kraisser (125) 2013: Evan Henderson (141) Dual Record 2021-22: 8-6 2021: 5-2 2019-20: 14-3 2018-19: 12-7 2017-18: 9-11 2016-17: 8-6 2015-16: 13-5 2014-15: 11-6 2013-14: 7-12 2012-13: 9-6 ACC Tournament Placement 2021-22: 4th 2021: 3rd 2019-20: 3rd 2018-19: 3rd 2017-18: 3rd 2016-17: 5th 2015-16: 3rd 2014-15: 5th 2013-14: 4th 2012-13: 4th NCAA Tournament Team Placement 2021-22: 18th (32 points) 2021: 16th (36 points) 2019-20: No Tournament 2018-19: 19th (28.5 points) 2017-18: 20th-tie (27 points) 2016-17: 41st-tie (4.5 points) 2015-16: 32-tie (10 points) 2014-15: 24th-tie (18 points) 2013-14: 25th-tie (15.5 points) 2012-13: 22nd (21.5 points) Head Coaching History Coleman Scott (2015-Present) CD Mock (2002-2015) Best Lineup (Comprised of wrestlers from 2013-22) 125 - Nathan Kraisser: 2x NCAA Qualifier (#7 seed), 2014 ACC Champion, 2017 NCAA All-American (8th) for Campbell 133 - Troy Heilmann: 3x NCAA Qualifier (#4 seed), 2018 NCAA All-American (4th), 2018 ACC Champion 141 - Kizhan Clarke: 2022 NCAA Qualifier (#15 seed), 2022 NCAA Runner-Up 149 - Evan Henderson: 4x NCAA Qualifier (#5, #8, and #9 seeds), 2x NCAA All-American (4th, 6th), 2x ACC Champion 157 - Austin O'Connor: 4x NCAA Qualifier (#2 x2, #6 and #11 seeds), 2021 NCAA Champion, 3x NCAA All-American (1st, 3rd, 8th), 2x ACC Champion 165 - Ethan Ramos: 4x NCAA Qualifier (#4, #8, #10 and #15 seeds), 2015 NCAA All-American (6th), 2x ACC Champion 174 - Clay Lautt: 3x NCAA Qualifier (#10, #14, and #16 seeds), 2022 NCAA All-American (8th), 2020 ACC Champion, 2020 NWCA Honorable Mention All-American 184 - Chip Ness: 3x NCAA Qualifier (#15 seed), 2x NCAA All-American (6th, 7th) 197 - Daniel Chaid: 2x NCAA Qualifier, 2017 ACC Runner-Up, 2017 NCAA Round of 12 finisher 285 - Cory Daniel: 3x NCAA Qualifier (#21 seed), 2x ACC Runner-Up Recruiting Number of Big Boarder's Per Year 2022: #41 Danny Nini (FL); #49 Jayden Scott (NY); #52 Cole Hunt (GA); #65 Noah Pettigrew (GA); #110 Nick Fea (NJ) 2021: #18 Caden McCrary (GA); #64 Spencer Moore (KY); #165 Isaias Estrada (CO); #232 Sincere Bailey (IL) 2020: #7 Lachlan McNeil (Can); #20 Julian Tagg (OH); #31 Cade Lautt (KS); #42 Gavin Kane (GA); #47 Sonny Santiago (CA) 2019: #37 Gabe Tagg (OH) 2018: #22 Brandon Whitman (MI); #38 Joey Melendez (IL); #46 Mason Phillips (WA); #61 Ryan Karoly (PA) 2017: #12 Austin O'Connor (IL); #48 Zach Sherman (FL); #100 Jaime Hernandez (IL) 2016: #64 Matt Rowland (IL); #147 Jake Gunning (PA) 2015: #25 AC Headlee (PA); #128 Matt Rundell (IL) 2014: #30 Chip Ness (GA); #57 Jack Clark (NJ) 2013: #63 Ethan Ramos (NJ); Troy Heilmann (NJ); #124 Josh Lehner (OH) For past teams: Air Force American Appalachian State Arizona State Army West Point Binghamton Bloomsburg Brown Bucknell Buffalo Cal Poly Campbell Central Michigan Chattanooga Clarion Cleveland State Columbia Cornell CSU Bakersfield Davidson Drexel Duke Edinboro Franklin & Marshall Gardner-Webb George Mason Harvard Hofstra Illinois Indiana Iowa Iowa State Kent State Lehigh Lock Haven Maryland Michigan Michigan State Minnesota Missouri Navy NC State Nebraska

71 kg U17 World Champion Joseph Sealey (photos courtesy of Martin Gabor/UWW) Competition from the U17 World Championships wrapped up on Sunday and for the first time since the revival of the event, in 2011, the United States won the team title in men's freestyle. Not only did team USA win, they dominated the field. If there were any doubts about that statement, the four wrestlers in action on Sunday reaffirmed them with their performance. All three of the American finalists (Domenic Munaretto, Luke Lilledahl, and Joseph Sealey) all captured gold medals, while Max McEnelly claimed a bronze medal. The four Americans on Sunday outscored their competition by a 35-1 margin. That was a microcosm of the men's freestyle team's entire tournament. The team went 34-6 and posted 190 team points, which was a new record for the event. Second place India finished with a distant 64 points. Of the ten wrestlers on the 2022 team, nine came away with medals and four were gold. That marked the second team that the US produced four world gold medalists, as the 2017 squad did the same thing (Kurt McHenry, Will Lewan, Aaron Brooks, Greg Kerkvliet). Below are the results from the final day of action in Rome. 45 kg Men's Freestyle Gold Medal Match - Domenic Munaretto (USA) over Bashir Verdiyev (Azerbaijan) 2-0 51 kg Men's Freestyle Gold Medal Match - Luke Lilledahl (USA) over Mohammad Asadi (Iran) 10-1 71 kg Men's Freestyle Gold Medal Match - Joseph Sealey (USA) over Raul Caso (Italy) 12-0 92 kg Men's Freestyle Bronze Medal Match - Max McEnelly (USA) over Sahil Jaglan (India) 11-0

110 kg U17 World Champion Koy Hopke (photos courtesy of Kadir Caliskan/UWW) It was more of the same for the men's freestyle team in session one of Saturday at the U17 World Championships from Rome, Italy. Three of the five wrestlers who started their tournaments this morning (Domenic Munaretto - 45 kg; Luke Lilledahl - 51 kg; and Joseph Sealey - 71 kg) all advanced to the gold medal match at their respective weights. This trio combined to win ten bouts on the day and only two of them went the full distance. In the medal matches, things were a bit more difficult for the Americans as they lost three of their four gold medal contests. The lone winner for the USA was big man Koy Hopke at 110 kg. Hopke survived an early onslaught from Levan Lagvilava (France), who immediately registered a pair of points on step out's. As had been the case in the semifinals, Lagvilava ran out of steam as the match progressed. Once the French heavyweight started to slow, Hopke took over. After a takedown and exposure from a deep armbar, Hopke looked poised to seal the deal with a fall. However, the official stopped the hold as Lagvilava grimaced and grabbed at the injured appendage. From that point, it was all Hopke and he cruised to an 11-6 win. Settling for the silver medal on the day were Christian Castillo (48 kg), Jax Forrest (55 kg), and Tyler Kasak (65 kg). The fifth member of the first day's worth of competitors, Zack Ryder, was the only one who didn't have a medal locked in at the start of the day. That changed as Ryder dominated Muhammadamin Abduloev (Tajikistan) physically in an 8-0 victory. Before Saturday's medal rounds began, the United States team already had clinched the team title, a feat they had never accomplished since the reinstatement of Cadet Worlds in 2011. The last two teams (2019 and 2021) brought home silver. The U17 World Championships will wrap up tomorrow as Munaretto, Lilledahl, and Sealey look to win gold medals, while Max McEnelly looks for bronze. 45 kg Men's Freestyle Qualification - Domenic Munaretto (USA) over Ningappa Genannavar (India) 10-0 Quarterfinals - Domenic Munaretto (USA) over Arman Harutyunyan (Armenia) 10-0 Semifinals - Domenic Munaretto (USA) over Amirmohammad Navazi (Iran) 8-2 Gold Medal Match - Domenic Munaretto (USA) vs. Bashir Verdiyev (Azerbaijan) 48 kg Men's Freestyle Gold Medal Match - Vasif Baghirov (Azerbaijan) over Christian Castillo (USA) 5-3 51 kg Men's Freestyle Round of 16 - Luke Lilledahl (USA) over Ben Tarik (Morocco) 12-1 Quarterfinals - Luke Lilledahl (USA) over Dimitar Biserkov (Bulgaria) 10-0 Semifinals - Luke Lilledahl (USA) over Nurdanat Aitanov (Kazakhstan) 4-1 Gold Medal Match - Luke Lilledahl (USA) vs. Mohammad Asadi (Iran) 55 kg Men's Freestyle Gold Medal Match - Daryn Askerbek (Kazakhstan) over Jax Forrest (USA) 11-10 60 kg Men's Freestyle Round of 16 - Kyler Larkin (USA) over Vladimir Azaryan (Armenia) 5-2 Quarterfinals - Taiga Ogino (Japan) over Kyler Larkin (USA) 2-1 ***Eliminated from medal contention*** 65 kg Men's Freestyle Gold Medal Match - Ilyas Isayev (Azerbaijan) over Tyler Kasak (USA) 5-3 71 kg Men's Freestyle Qualification - Joe Sealey (USA) over Bleonit Bytyci (Kosovo) 10-0 Round of 16 - Joe Sealey (USA) over Alisher Zholdasaby (Kazakhstan) 12-1 Quarterfinals - Joe Sealey (USA) over Aslan Ozturk (Turkey) 10-0 Semifinals - Joe Sealey (USA) over Razmik Yepremyan (Armenia) 11-0 Gold Medal Match - Joe Sealey (USA) vs. Raul Caso (Italy) 80 kg Men's Freestyle Bronze medal match - Zack Ryder (USA) over Muhammadamin Abduloev (Tajikistan) 8-0 92 kg Men's Freestyle Round of 16 - Max McEnelly (USA) over Sherzod Poyonov (Uzbekistan) 11-1 Quarterfinals - Max McEnelly (USA) over Andriyan Valkanov (Bulgaria) 11-0 Semifinals - Kamil Kurugliyev (Kazakhstan) over Max McEnelly (USA) 12-2 Bronze Medal Match - Max McEnelly (USA) vs. Ibrahim Benekli (Turkey)/Sahil Jaglan (India) - Winner 110 kg Men's Freestyle Gold Medal Match - Koy Hopke (USA) over Levan Lagvilava (France) 11-6

2021 All-American Louie DePrez (photos courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) To steal the line from last year's FCW Top-20 Articles, everyone knows 125 Pat Glory, 133 Roman Bravo-Young, 174 Carter Starocci, 184 Aaron Brooks, and 285 Gable Steveson are bonus point monsters, and this season they totaled 283 Fpts. Top names and all NCAA Champions or Finalists (Nick Suriano did not make the Top-20). But here's five names that totaled 328 Fpts: 125 Caleb Smith (APP), 133 Joshua Koderhandt (NAVY), 174 Logan Messer (GMU), 184 Jonathan Loew (COR), and 285 Ben Goldin (PENN). This group only has one All-American (Loew finishing 8th). And as I say every year, that's the beauty and frustration of Fantasy Sports. Sometimes your top performers are not "household names." So, with that, let's take a look at this past season's Top-20 at each weight to help give you an early start to win each week this coming year. To compile these lists, we used standard WrestleStat Fantasy College Wrestling Data & Scoring. Just a reminder of how points were tallied in WrestleStat leagues: 1) The scoring used was Standard Team Scoring across all competitions (+3 for a win by decision, -4 for a loss by Major, etc) 2) Scoring only counted against D1 competition 3) Wins via Forfeits (FFT) would count as +6 towards a wrestler's point total 4) Wins or Losses by Medical Forfeit (MFF) did not count as + or - towards a wrestler's point total 5) Points were only accumulated during the regular season Notes: The Binghamton Bearcat Lou DePrez makes his third consecutive Top-20 list in as many years, this time as the Top Cat. Despite three losses and moving up a weight, DePrez only had two majors of his nine bonus point wins which helped him claim the 1 spot. Close on DePrez's tail was Jaxon Smith and Cam Caffey, who both wrestled 29 regular season matches (the most wrestled by any in the Top-20), though technically Smith wrestled 28 and Caffey 27, as they had some non-D1 competition. Smith finished as the highest Redshirt in any Top-20, with the help of five pins and two majors in his last 11 matches of the season. Caffey had a similar streak, winning his last 10 matches, but of those matches, only two were won by bonus (two majors). Whenever a wrestler transfers into the Big Ten, their Fantasy Stock gets questioned. As was the case with Greg Bulsak moving from Clarion to Rutgers for his final season of eligibility. Bulsak proved the doubters (yes me, I had some hesitation) wrong. With almost a 60% bonus rate against D1 competition in the regular season, Bulsak actually had a fighter's chance of finishing 2nd at the weight. Two of his four losses were in sudden victory and, had he won those two matches, would have been right behind DePrez as a runner-up. Tied for the Best PPM in the 197 Top-20, Stephen Buchanan finds himself at #6 solely because of his loss by pin to #12 on the list (Owen Pentz). Had Buchanan only lost by decision? He'd be in the Top-4. National Champion Max Dean came out firing with six straight bonus wins to start the season. He would go on to only have one loss (by decision), and only three wins by decisions, but in a weight where 90% of the Top-20 wrestled over 20 matches, 16 by Dean just wasn't enough firepower. Four All-Americans made the 197 Top-20 this season. Who Missed The Cut: Missing the cut by 0.2 PPM, Yonger Bastida (ISU) finished at #21 with the same number of Fantasy Points as Rocky Elam, despite beating him in the last match of the regular season. What did him in? Probably that loss by pin against Silas Allred (NEB) at the Daktronics Open. Cleveland State's Ben Smith also finished with 44 Fpts and a PPM of 2.1 to be #22. National Finalist Jacob Warner (IOWA), may have wrestled four matches at the Luther Open, but from a Fantasy perspective, it's like he didn't even weigh in. He won three matches by bonus over non-D21 competition and then Medically Forfeited to teammate Zach Glaser in the Finals. That left Warner with 13 countable matches, which he only won by bonus twice (two majors) and lost by decision three times. Warner finished at #39 with 23 Fpts. One of the biggest surprises of the NCAA Tournament was Gavin Hoffman (OHST) taking home 6th place as a 21 seed. With seven losses in the regular season, it's no wonder how he didn't crack the Top-20. Especially when he only recorded two countable bonus wins of his 18 matches. Even though he was injured mid-season and only wrestled in 10 matches, AJ Ferrari (formerly of OKST), only had two wins by decision to finish at #23 with 43 Fpts. Eric Schultz (NEB) and Jay Aiello (UVA) finished out their senior seasons as #24 and #25 respectively (42 and 41 Fpts). And, tell me if you've heard this before in this article, the main reason they are not higher on this list is due to the low match count totals (15 for Schultz and 12 for Aiello). Other notables to miss the cut include: Nino Bonaccorsi (PITT) at #26 with 40 Fpts, Braxton Amos (WISC) at #27 with 39 Fpts, Kordell Norfleet (ASU) at #29 with 38 Fpts, and Michael Beard (formerly of PSU) at #35 with 26 Fpts.

Christian Castillo's last-second quarterfinal win (photo courtesy of UWW/Kadir Caliskan) On Friday morning, the men's freestyle team hit the mat for the first time at the U17 World Championships in Rome, Italy. Things couldn't have gone too much better as the American team won 13 of 14 matches and put four wrestlers into tomorrow's gold medal matches. Christian Castillo (48 kg), Jax Forrest (55 kg), Tyler Kasak (65 kg), and Koy Hopke (110 kg) all have only one match standing between them and a world championship. Hopke was the outlier and was generally dominant throughout his three bouts today. Only one went the entire four minutes and that was “just” a nine-point victory (11-2). Castillo, Forrest, and Kasak all were pushed and looked to be vulnerable, at one point or another; however, each persevered and clinched a spot in the finals. Castillo has one of the highlights of the tournament, when he found himself down to Arshia Haddadi (Iran) on criteria (after a questionable challenge was ruled in favor of the Iranian), with only four seconds remaining in the bout. Unphased, Castillo attempted a flying squirrel and actually got the two points needed for a victory. Forrest also had a last-second win, but his came in the semifinals rather than the quarters. Trailing by a point with :15 seconds left on a restart, Forrest was on the offensive. After a brief scramble, Vaibhav Patil (India) appeared to be very close to a takedown; however, Forrest wrestled through the position and locked up one of his own at the edge with :02 seconds remaining to win 8-7. A failed challenge made it 9-7. Kasak used a beautiful throw-by with under ten seconds left in the Round of 16 contest to take a 6-6 lead on criteria. His opponent, Akobir Rahimov (Uzbekistan), challenged the call, which ended up being upheld, leading to a 7-6 final score for the American. Two American women, Gabriella Gomez (46 kg) and Valerie Hamilton (61 kg), both wrestled for gold medals on Friday. Both were on the losing end of one-sided bouts against opponents from powerhouse nations. Gomez was bested 13-0 by Koko Matsuda (Japan) and Hamilton fell to Savita (India), 12-0. The final medal tally for the women's squad is three. Gomez and Hamilton, along with Erica Pastoriza (43 kg) all came away with silver medals. Tomorrow the final five men's freestyle wrestlers will start their tournament, while the first half will wrestle for medals. 48 kg Men's Freestyle Round of 16 - Christian Castillo (USA) over Ozgur Caglayan (Turkey) 10-0 Quarterfinals - Christian Castillo (USA) over Arshia Haddadi (Iran) 8-6 Semifinals - Christian Castillo (USA) over Rassoul Galbouraev (France) Fall Gold Medal Matchup - Christian Castillo (USA) vs. Vasif Baghirov (Azerbaijan) 55 kg Men's Freestyle Qualification - Jax Forrest (USA) over Takuto Osedo (Japan) 12-2 Round of 16 - Jax Forrest (USA) over Sandro Hungerbuehler (Switzerland) 10-0 Quarterfinals - Jax Forrest (USA) over Zalkarbek Tabaldiev (Kyrgyzstan) 10-6 Semifinals - Jax Forrest (USA) over Vaibhav Patil (India) 9-7 Gold Medal Matchup - Jax Forrest (USA) vs. Daryn Askerbek (Kazakhstan) 65 kg Men's Freestyle Round of 16 - Tyler Kasak (USA) over Akobir Rahimov (Uzbekistan) 7-6 Quarterfinals - Tyler Kasak (USA) over Bohdan Oliinyk (Ukraine) Fall Semifinals - Tyler Kasak (USA) over Ankit (India) Fall Gold Medal Matchup - Tyler Kasak (USA) vs. Ilyas Isayev (Azerbaijan) 80 kg Men's Freestyle Qualification - Reza Soleimanian (Iran) over Zack Ryder (USA) 10-0 Repechage Matchup - Zack Ryder vs. Slavi Stamenov (Bulgaria) 110 Men's Freestyle Round of 16 - Koy Hopke (USA) over Ramini Gulitashvili (Georgia) 14-3 Quarterfinals - Koy Hopke (USA) over Mateusz Pudlowski (Poland) 11-2 Semifinals - Koy Hopke (USA) over Khikmatullo Kurbonov (Uzbekistan) 12-2 Gold Medal Matchup - Koy Hopke (USA) vs. Levan Lagvilava (France) 46 kg Women's Freestyle Gold Medal Matchup - Koko Matsuda (Japan) over Gabriella Gomez (USA) 13-0 61 kg Women's Freestyle Gold Medal Matchup - Savita (India) over Valerie Hamilton (USA) 12-0

American University's Maximillian Leete (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) If you have ever seen American University's Maximillian Leete wrestle, you may notice his matches are a little unique. You may notice his style is very "in your face" while grabbing wrists and trying to maintain hand control the entire time while in the neutral position. Then suddenly the opponent breaks Max's grip, freeing his arms. They separate right in the middle of the mat, and the whistle blows. The ref re-positions them in the middle. They both slightly grasp each other's wrist/hand area before the whistle blows to restart them. This is one example of how the sport of wrestling has implemented a rule to allow athletes with certain disabilities (in this case, blindness) to compete, and succeed, in the sport. This reset in position is clearly stated in the handbook. According to the NCAA rule book, "…each wrestler shall have the fingers on one hand over and the fingers of the other hand under the opponent's fingers. Fingers shall not extend to the palms." Basically, the wrestlers must remain in constant contact with at least one hand without ever breaking apart once the whistle blows. To get some more clarification on the rule, I spoke with NCAA Division 1 referee, Scott Bricker. Fortunately, he has refereed Max in the past, among other EIWA matches. He explained that before the individual match, he flips his disc. Whichever color earns choice, that wrestler gets to choose if they want to start with their right hand on top, or right hand underneath their opponent's. The position was explained to me by Scott, "if your right hand is on top of your opponent's, your left hand will be on the bottom of theirs, and vice versa." To better visualize for me, I imagine the over-under position, but with hands (one is over, the other is under). Once contact is broken, the wrestlers restart. Every restart, the wrestlers must reverse positions with their opponent's hands, in the scenario described above. Because of Max's official diagnosis, his opponents must follow these sets of rules. Max stated his diagnosis is "Degenerative Myopia." Myopia, as some of you may know, is nearsightedness. Since his case is more severe than most, he is considered legally blind by today's standards. Degenerative, unfortunately, means that his case is getting worse as time passes. This condition is one you are born with and is also genetic on his mother's side. Max explained he has a cousin with the same condition, who is, interestingly, a D1 soccer prospect - as a goalie. Not kidding. The family's athletic abilities are impressive. Maximillian Leete was a three-sport varsity athlete in all four years of high school. He understands the humor when he told me he was the tennis captain his senior year. His exact words after telling me this were "which is kind of funny." He was also one of the state's best field goal kickers. He was so talented, in fact, he was looking to kick for the football team and wrestle in college. He had a few options to do so but chose to wrestle at American. American University does not have a varsity football team, so his kicking days may be over. It is great to see his sense of humor about it. When he described his vision to me, "what I see is mostly shapes and colors, and shadowy figures." As an example, it starts every morning when he wakes up. If his glasses are not right by his nightstand, it can be a real struggle to find them. This is just one of the few issues he deals with on a daily basis due to his vision. It's certainly one of those things we all take for granted. It was not until after his freshman year in high school that Maximillian even realized his diagnosis allowed him to "level the playing field" against his opponents, thanks to another EIWA assistant coach. Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov, the current assistant coach at Harvard University, helped Maximillian realize his full potential in the sport of wrestling. Leete's family is from the greater Boston area. Coach "Muz" runs a wrestling club, where Max has wrestled since he started at a young age. Coincidentally, Muzaffar is an American University alum, where he was a two-time EIWA champion, one-time NCAA All-American and represented Uzbekistan at the Senior level. After discussions with the family, they all came to an agreement that he should start utilizing this specialized rule set, mostly as a form of safety for Max. As a former wrestler at this level, I can undoubtedly see why this is a danger for both wrestlers. With the emphasis on head injuries within the last decade, this is a no-brainer. I'm sure I am in the majority when I say, safety is the top priority. As we discussed this topic for a few minutes, I finally summed up the audacity to ask (playing devil's advocate, of course) if he felt that forcing opponents to wrestle his style was an advantage to him. For the record, I gulped as I asked this hard-hitting question - not knowing how he'd handle it. He was a good sport and understood my point of view, while somewhat agreeing with me. "Some wrestlers, especially at the 125lb weight class, do not like to hand fight," he said. It's pretty evident that the lighter the weight class, the less hand fighting you see. He continued, "I've adapted to wrestle by feel. I am more comfortable in the upper body." You do not see many opponents who are able to sustain the constant pace and pressure Maximillian engulfs them in. American University's Maximillian Leete (photo courtesy of Jay Mutchnik) Unfortunately, Max did have to deal with negativity in high school every now and then. The accusations of him faking his disability (even with legal paperwork signed by doctors), and claiming this rule was "unfair" to the opponent would occur from unruly parents - not shocking right? He did not let it rattle him, as he kept wrestling unphased when it would happen. On a positive note, the outrageous claims have been pretty much non-existent at the college level. "Everyone is more understanding of the situation, and of the sport in general," he said. "From the whistle, it's all about the hand fight." I have to agree with him; it's still wrestling. After our conversation, I've concluded that, yes, this rule may be a slight advantage to him and his style - but, when compared to his opponent's ability to see, his advantage is far outweighed by the advantage of having full eyesight. When it comes to coaching Max, you also need to adapt your way of doing things. Max, for obvious reasons, cannot sit and watch coaches explain technique at practice. They must physically do the move on Max. "I just have to be honest with them when I need to throw on my glasses and physically feel the move in order to learn it." When it comes to coaching during a match, Max has special nonverbal cues he orchestrates with his leaders in the corner. Since he cannot see the scoreboard, his coaches need to have excellent communication with him. A wrist tap to the corner is him asking for the time left in the period. A head tap is asking for the score and time. Maximillian praised Coach Joey Dance, who was a 2x All-American at Virginia Tech as a 125lb wrestler. The way Coach Dance, and the rest of the staff, have adapted to helping Max meet his needs is what was most impressive to him. With only Coach Dance's fourth year of coaching in the books (his first at American), this is a unique circumstance to find yourself in as such a young coach at this level. Being able to adapt to something so unique, while still finding your feet in the coaching aspect is something worth noting. Coach Dance agreed that he has been "challenged to adapt" as well. It's a learning process for him as much as it is for Maximillian. Dance returned the praise, stating that Leete "always asks the right questions, and has put in countless hours on the mat to add to his technique." Coach Dance explained how the wrestler is constantly reaching out for individual work over the summer, which is evident by his fourth-place finish in freestyle at the U20 U.S. Championships during the early summer. The confidence within Max, himself, is growing according to Coach Joey Dance. Dance told me, "One of my favorite things about Max is that he always stays true to himself, no matter the situation." This year's team and individual goals for Maximillian Leete prove his confidence may be higher than it's ever been. "There's no more excuses this year. No more 'first-season with a new staff' excuses. No more 'all freshman line-up' excuses. We had our growing year. It's time to go." He believes the Eagles of American University can be a .500 team this year. After winning only one dual meet last season, there is room to improve. Individually, he sees himself as an EIWA finalist and finding himself on the podium at NCAAs. "These are the goals I laid out with my coaches. Now, it's time to get myself in the best physical and mental shape to do that. I'm so excited for pre-season to begin." When Maximillian is not on the mat, you can find him working towards his goal of becoming a registered yoga instructor. Personally, I'm a huge yoga fan for athletes - especially when it comes to wrestlers. The stretching helps with flexibility and, maybe the most underrated aspect, it helps with the mind helping visualize goals and assist with "shutting off outside noise" as he poetically describes. It is great for non-athletic goals too. He remembers his first hot yoga experience as "competitive against yourself" as he drew parallels to the sport of wrestling, he continued "…at the end of the day, that's all wrestling is." I concur. The training process in this sport is, largely, being better than you were yesterday. You need to have a competitive nature. Well put, by the astute young man! Leete's hard work translates to the classroom as well. He was one of five American University wrestlers named to the NWCA D1 Scholar All-American Team. Sidenote, the team's combined GPA last season was 3.419, good enough for 15th best in the nation. His leadership will be expected next season to help lead the team down the right path to success. He is a pre-justice and law major, with a minor in women, gender, and sexuality studies. During his recruiting process, his main focus was academics, while wrestling was secondary. He mentioned looking at other academically prestigious universities like Brown and The University of Virginia. When asked why he chose American, he said the internships, and overall job opportunities in the nation's capital are unmatched. There are very few, if any, better cities to study pre-law as a college undergrad. In the future, he plans to attend law school, furthering his education. "I'm very passionate about pursuing being a lawyer. There are always guest speakers in our classes that give honest opinions and reviews of the occupation from a day-to-day perspective." He mentioned former and current district attorneys, and public defenders, among others in similar careers, that have been speakers. For Max, his current focus is on family law or divorce law, connecting portions of his minor studies into his law career. "Anything with people and relationships and how we interact with each other," he explained was his passion. He would like to write, research, and publish papers on this exact topic. In a world where a majority of people (especially of college-age) interact via social media in short-form exchanges, it is refreshing to see someone like Maximillian interested in breaking that mold to understand it better. It takes one wrestler like Maximillian Leete to better your wrestling team. More importantly, it takes one person like Maximillian Leete to make the world a better place.

Arizona State head coach Zeke Jones (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Arizona State's head coach Zeke Jones has agreed to a five-year contract extension to keep him in Tempe through the 2026-2027 season. "Zeke has proven himself to be one of the best wrestling coaches in the country," Vice President for University Athletics Ray Anderson said. "The way he's managed to turn the Arizona State program around and return us to prominence is inspiring and exactly what we brought him on to do eight years ago.” Jones responded that the contract extension starts at the top of the ladder. “It always starts with the president and athletic director,” Jones said. “They care about the sport and want to see it be successful. Guys like Sun Devil Wrestling Executive Board, they are supportive, love the sport and willing to give time and resources to the program too.” Since Jones took over the program in 2014, he has become one of the winningest coaches in ASU history, leading the Sun Devils to back-to-back NCAA team trophies, four Pac-12 team titles, 25 All-America honors, and 32 individual conference titles. “We have done some monumental things, broke a lot of records and reset history,” Jones said. Jones decided to take the offer because Arizona State has always felt like home to him and his family. “It's where I started my journey after high school,” Jones said. “I have loved wrestling since I was a kid but made my biggest gains when I went off to college. It was life-forming. It was where I was able to grow as a man, husband, coach, and father. ASU created all that for me.” In addition, Jones decided to stay in the desert because he could not pass up on an opportunity that very few are handed. “There's no guarantee in life with anything,” Jones said. “The opportunity to lead the Sun Devils in the future is an opportunity that very few get to experience. It's a fantastic school with a great wrestling tradition and I'm excited about what we can do in the future.” ASU staff and wrestlers did celebrate the extension. However, they kept it calm and collected. “They were congratulatory, which was nice,” Jones said. “However, it was more of a formality because we love this partnership we are in. The commitment was on both sides from my family and I to the athletic department and the university side too. It's like a marriage that's good.” In the next few years, Jones hopes to help his wrestlers succeed on and off the mat, earning their degrees and winning at the highest levels. However, there is one goal Jones has still yet to check off his box. “We want more Master's degrees, more Pac-12 Championships, more NCAA champions.,” Jones said. “ Ultimately, we are still striving for the big one. We want to add to some of our success and get into some uncharted territory.” Although he is eager to hunt down an NCAA team title, he is grateful for the contract extension. Plus, he is thankful for the Sun Devil community which has been supporting him all the way. “Thanks to everybody who has supported our effort at Arizona State, to my family and I, we are excited,” Jones said. “We are not going to stop until we get on top.”

The 2022 NCAA Champions; 5 from Penn State (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Welcome to another edition of the summer mailbag! It's Friday morning and I'm dabbling in some U17 Worlds while writing this. The problem I've always had with some of these events is having to watch in the middle of the night. I just can't do it. But I do love some early morning competition. There's nothing quite like the sounds of whistles and squeaking shoes on the mat to jolt you awake. It's almost Pavlovian at this point since we all grew up going to some tournaments and camps that start at the crack of dawn. Sometimes I even cut a little weight when I wake up and then hit the scales before having a bagel and a juice box just to get that old-time feeling back. Alright, I'm rambling. Let's get to the mailbag as very important matters like Penn State champs and painting toenails are on the docket this morning. What school would you most like to see add wrestling and why that team? Wiems19 Notre Dame of course. Toss in a Clemson and now you have an ACC with eight teams. Both schools already have wrestling history and enough money to fund programs that can find immediate success. The ACC already has a TV deal with ESPN (and the ACC Network). With these additions, the conference can become the clear number two in the country. Next thing you know, the Worldwide Leader is regularly airing duals on one of their actual networks. Next thing you know, Friday Night Duals with Shawn Kenney and Rock Harrison is the hottest thing on ESPN2. That's how you grow the sport. If Gable does not come back, how likely is it that Penn State ends up with five champions? What are we going to do with Clay Sauertieg if this happens? Richard Mann I give it about a fifteen percent chance. The Fightin' Caels seem to make the extraordinary look easy these days, as they've already accomplished this feat twice in the last few years, but it's still a tall task. Even after all we've seen I can't just lock in RBY as “next topic.” Fix is just too good and you never know when he finally puts it together in the finals. I am starting to think Starocci is “next topic,” but his two finals wins were both in overtime and Mekhi Lewis isn't going anywhere. After a year of adjusting to 174 under his belt, anything is possible for the New Jersey Hokie. Think 2017 Sadulaev compared to 2018 and beyond Sadualev. Once he adjusted, it was all over for the rest of the world. Aaron Brooks might be the biggest lock of the bunch. I'll never pick against him. But he's not invincible and still has two monsters at his weight in Hoagie Hidlay and Parker Keckeisen. The road will not be easy. Max Dean also had to scratch and claw his way to the top of the podium last season and will have his share of landmines to deal with if he wants to get there again. He's no lock. Now we get to G.D. Kerkvliet. Is he good enough to win it all? Absolutely. A lock? Far from it. This is why I'm not keen on Gable Steveson coming back. It takes away all the fun of the weight. We know he can beat Mason Parris. We also know he has problems with Cassioppi of Iowa. On top of that, Parris tends to beat Cassioppi on the reg. I haven't even mentioned Cohlton Schultz yet and he made the finals last year. So can they do five champs again? Sure they can. It will be tough but one thing we do know is that when Cael's guys get to the finals, they usually perform quite well. As far as our dear friend Clay is concerned, he has to spend the rest of the year rooting for the Cowboys and Phillies. We can let him have this one. I often let my daughters paint my toenails (girl dad life). Sometimes they let me pick the colors. What color should I choose? Luke Wise I'm not sure asking a color-blind person this question is the best idea. Your best bet is probably something to match your eye color. Or maybe something light to bring out the summer vibes. A light blue or green might be your best bet. Maybe paint a couple of flowers on there. It's open-toe season and if we have to stare at your nasty feet for three months at least give us some art. I repeat my question from last week, plus if a picture is worth a thousand words, please give me your interpretation of this. Seth Petarra First off, I don't remember your question from last week and I don't think you do, either. For those without access to Twitter, this man sent me a picture of Danny DeVito wearing a derby, holding some kind of stringed instrument along and a lemon, while holding a limoncello in the other hand. It's quite the scene. All it makes me think about is when the Always Sunny in Philadelphia star made a drunken appearance on The View, because he was up all night knocking back limoncellos with George Clooney. How many people can say that “Yo T, remember when I showed up hammered on that talk show, because I got wasted with George Clooney the night before?” Saying I passed out on Willie's couch because I had too many Bud Heavies at the local Easton watering hole just doesn't have the same charm to it. Alright all you Jagoffs and Jaggettes, this guy needs to put the keyboard away and get to his day job. Enjoy Cadet/U17/U16 or whatever they are calling Worlds this weekend. There's nothing better than watching the future stars of the sport make their mark. I shall cheer for them. This Iranian on right now looks about 27 years old.