InterMat Staff

Bakersfield

The University of Michigan got on the board for Class of 2026 recruiting yesterday evening as they received a verbal commitment from in-state product Blake Cosby (Dundee, MI). Crosby was in action over the weekend at the Super 32 and advanced to the finals of the 150 lbs weight class. Cosby came into the tournament tabbed as the #19 overall recruit in the Class of 2026. His performance in Greensboro helped him move up to fourth in the nation at 150 lbs. This summer at Fargo marked the breakout point nationally for Cosby. Prior to Junior Nationals, Cosby was not on the Class of 2026 Big Board. He changed that with a fifth-place finish in Junior freestyle. That was Cosby’s second career All-American honor in Fargo. In 2023, Cosby was eighth in 16U freestyle at 145 lbs. Within his home state’s boundaries, Cosby has been a two-time Michigan D3 state finalist and a one-time champion - winning in 2024 at 144 lbs. Cosby is the highest-ranked Michigan native in the Class of 2026, so it was important for the Wolverines to keep him home. Before committing to Michigan, Cosby also took a visit to Big Ten foe Purdue in late-September. In Ann Arbor, Cosby projects to wrestle at the 165 lb weight class. Michigan currently has redshirt freshman Beau Mantanona slated to start at the weight. With two more seasons before Cosby hits campus and a potential redshirt year, that’s plenty of time for Mantanona to potentially move up. For all of Michigan’s recruits from the Class of 2025 and 2026, Click Here.

Dundee

Faith Christian Academy

Southern Regional

Trinity

Omaha Bryan

Center Grove

Fairport

Rochester Mayo

West Creek

York Institute

“I am committed to continuing our winning tradition both academically and athletically. I look forward to the work ahead with a focus on providing a championship caliber experience for our student-athletes, coaches, staff and the entire Campbell family. The future is bright for Campbell Athletics.” Those are the words for Campbell University’s Director of Athletics Hannah Bazemore shortly after being named the school’s athletic director in November 2022. Those words rang hollow just a day after the school’s wrestling team learned that they would have a significant amount of funding cut from them. Starting in the 2025-26 school year, the wrestling program will only be given three scholarships which is a sharp decrease from the nine they had been working with. In what seems to be an unusual move, wrestlers who wish to keep their scholarships would not be allowed to compete. InterMat reached out to AD Bazemore for comment on this story and/or more information about this situation and has yet to receive a response as of Tuesday morning. Men’s and women’s soccer, golf, tennis, and volleyball are also said to be impacted. This change comes on the heels of the school’s move from the Big South Conference to the Coastal Athletic Association (formerly the Colonial Athletic Association). The move put Campbell in a conference that stretches from Charleston, South Carolina to Boston, Massachusetts. It was likely supposed to boost the school’s profile in football and basketball but generally has added more in travel expenses for everyone else - a common thread in conference realignment. Another “big-picture” change that’s in play here is the announcement that college athletics must share revenue with their athletes. Campbell has reportedly "opted in" to participate in revenue sharing in the future. Administrators can stomach sharing revenue with football and basketball teams, but everyone else, not so much. That plays a part in this decision. The main theme here is that the school and the athletic department have grossly mismanaged their budget and overspent and athletes who had nothing to do with their incompetence are left holding the bag. In today’s NIL world, holding the bag is actually a good thing - in this context, it isn’t. In my seventeen years of covering collegiate wrestling, I’ve seen too many colleges drop wrestling. I could look up the number, but it would be just another painful stomach punch during a rough couple of days. Usually, when a program is dropped or the funding is severely cut, you have to step back and look at the wrestling program as a whole. There tend to be multiple factors that contribute to the death. Lack of competitiveness on the mat, lack of attendance or fan interaction/interest, an out-of-touch coaching staff, and a team that doesn’t get the job done in the classroom or on campus are all hallmarks of a program that gets dropped by the administration. With Campbell, none of those factors apply. Though they just missed out on the InterMat preseason team rankings, Campbell finished the 2023-24 season ranked #22 in the nation in duals. Since 2021-22, the team has combined to go 41-7 and 21-2 in SoCon matches. Last season ended with heavyweight Taye Ghadiali becoming the second All-American in school history. In the 2022-23 season, Campbell notched wins over two Big Ten teams. A year prior, they downed an ACC opponent and pulled an upset over #16 Lehigh. Campbell’s staff also got in done on the recruiting trail inking the #24 overall recruiting class in the country with six of the top-250 prospects in the country. The Campbell coaching staff and support staff have done an excellent job in making the team relevant for reasons outside of wins and losses. Their social media presence is excellent and always on the cutting edge - typically, displaying more humor than most team accounts. Campbell has also developed a partnership with UFC FightPass who has streamed a handful of their duals. The Campbell/UFC FightPass partnership hasn’t been limited to “just showing” matches, but the team has worked in conjunction with opponents to provide unique atmospheres to promote these duals. In 2022-23, Campbell wrestled Michigan and North Carolina in the “Battle at Bragg.” The teams squared off in a hangar at Pope Army Airfield on the base formerly known as Fort Bragg (now Liberty). Last year, Campbell and Army West Point had a similar dual. A few weeks later, Campbell defeated Wyoming in the “Battle in the Barn” The dual took place in a specially renovated barn at an altitude of 8,000 feet on Deerwood Ranch in Wyoming. This season, they are set to take on #3 Nebraska on the school’s baseball field. The bottom line is Campbell’s wrestling program has repeatedly thought out of the box to make their matches more than just another wrestling match, they’re trying to create events and build or increase their fanbase. Campbell has also taken care of business in the classroom. Over the last four years, they have been mentioned each time in the NWCA’s Team Scholar Athlete Awards - with the highest ranking coming in 2022 when their team GPA was fifth in the country at 3.484. The 2021 team was 15th, 2023 was 14th and the team was 28th last year. Campbell and Campbell’s staff have checked all of the appropriate boxes when it comes to doing their part in running a successful program, so why does this happen? As with most things in college athletics, the answer lies in money. Unless your team is generating massive amounts of money or you’re one of the select few blue-blood wrestling programs, this could happen to you. The wrestling team has already had to reportedly raise over six figures per year to make their operating budget and that was with nine scholarships. The sad reality is that there’s an unofficial playbook for administrators in these seemingly dire financial situations. It’s either eliminating programs without warning or floating the idea that programs will be dropped or funding will be severely cut - leading to donors stepping up and saving the program and endowing it for the future, thus easing financial burdens off of them. Of course, if the donors do not get to a level that is acceptable to the school, they can just eliminate the team and it’s another line item off the balance sheet. We’re thankful that AD Bazemore did not use option one. It irritates me that we’ll have to work with the second option again (see Stanford), but I’d rather the wrestling community have the option to save a program than not. Going forward, this may be a more common occurrence. Now, I’m here talking about worst-case scenarios. I know Campbell head coach Scotti Sentes a little bit. With nine scholarships or three, he’s still going to put his all into making Campbell a viable program and doing right by his student-athletes. But make no mistake, he’ll have his work cut out for him. There will likely be a handful of current wrestlers in the transfer portal and some talented recruits decommit. As of now, InterMat has seen six verbals for Campbell from the Class of 2025. InterMat reached out for a comment from the parent of a current Campbell starter who replied, “I’m at a loss honestly. I have no idea what my child should do. I don’t know how he protects himself. He has trusted the process, trusted the people in charge, and planned his college career in line with what made the most sense for him to be the best version of himself both on the mat and classroom. I know life lessons can be really rough… just hoping this doesn’t actually pan out to be one.” You also have to feel for current Campbell stars Anthony Molton and Shannon Hanna. Both were team members on the Old Dominion team that was dropped after the 2019-20 season. After leaving Old Dominion, Molton transferred to Fresno State, who dropped their team after the 2021 season. A brief look at Molton's resume by the uninformed eye might lead one to think he’s an example of what’s wrong with college athletics with two transfers - three schools in three years. Technically, they’d be right, but for the opposite reason. Molton is an example of being collateral damage for the failures of college administrators, over and over again. After a couple of minutes on Campbell University’s homepage, I stumbled across the school’s mission statement. There’s the statement itself, but after there are 12 points the University says it will do to fulfill the mission. I’d implore AD Bazemore and anyone involved with the decision-making process to re-read points #3 and #7. #3: influences development of moral courage, social sensitivity, and ethical responsibility. #7 encourages students to think critically and creatively. Are you holding yourself to the same standards that you’re holding these young men and women to? Think creatively and show moral courage, social sensitivity, and ethical responsibility. Back to our quote from AD Bazemore: “I am committed to continuing our winning tradition both academically and athletically. I look forward to the work ahead with a focus on providing a championship caliber experience for our student-athletes, coaches, staff and the entire Campbell family. The future is bright for Campbell Athletics.” Make sure the future is indeed bright for Campbell athletics. Not just holding out hope that a magical football run or Final Four berth in basketball will save you. The wrestling team is one that has delivered the championship caliber experience for Campbell. Do your best to support them rather than gut the program. To donate and support Campbell wrestling please follow this link . Make sure wrestling scholarships are noted in your donation. Make your voice heard by the Campbell administration. While we are all emotional about this situation, please be respectful of AD Bazemore or any administrators to contact. Personal attacks only make the program look worse and likely decrease their desire to help.

Last week, we reported on Lehigh’s getting their first verbal from the Class of 2026 when #25 overall Cael Wiedemoyer (Faith Christian, PA) committed. Now, Lehigh has received a second and it’s from another elite prospect. The latest is #16 overall Keanu Dillard, who is currently ranked #1 in the nation at 120 lbs. Dillard is also from Lehigh’s backyard as he has won a pair of Pennsylvania AAA state titles for Bethlehem Catholic High School. Over the summer, Dillard represented the United States at U17 World Championships wrestling 55 kg in freestyle. Dillard ended up coming home from Jordan with a bronze medal. To make the world team, Dillard won the UWW U17 Trials for the first time. He was fifth at the tournament in 2023 and fifth in Greco-Roman in 2022. Other notable accomplishments for Dillard include a runner-up finish at 16U freestyle nationals in Fargo in 2022. A year ago, Dillard was sixth at the Super 32. The fit between Dillard and Lehigh appears to be a good one. The Mountain Hawks EIWA Champion and All-American at 125 lbs, Luke Stanich, is redshirting and moving up a weight (or two). Current projected starter Sheldon Seymour is headed into his junior year of competition. After Seymour, there doesn’t appear to be a clear-cut starter waiting in the wings. Just two years ago, Lehigh retained another top prospect from their home turf in Ryan Crookham. Crookham was as good as advertised in 2023-24 and will start the year ranked #1 in the nation at 133 lbs. Also, Lehigh’s last national champion (Darian Cruz) was a 125 lber from Bethlehem Catholic. Dillard took a visit to Lehigh on the weekend of September 28th and it was one of six schools he visited. Nebraska, Penn, Princeton, Stanford, and Virginia are the others. For Lehigh’s current verbal commitments from the Class of 2025 and 2026 - click here.

Bethlehem Catholic

Will Denny photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com Another edition of the Super 32 is in the books. As expected, the tournament did not disappoint. There was even a finals match that is already being discussed as one of the best high school matches ever. But, that’s a topic for a different day. Today, we’re looking at the placewinners from the boys high school division and where they are headed for college. Five different schools have commitments from four placewinners. Another four have commitments from three placers. As illustrated in the lead up to the tournament, the Super 32 can be a preview for success at the collegiate level. There no doubt that we’ll see many of the names below with deep runs at future NCAA Tournaments. Wrestlers have been sorted by the future school and listed with their home state. All wrestlers are from the Class of 2025 unless otherwise noted. Air Force Bradley Patterson (Georgia) - 3rd at 113 lbs American Colin Martin (Virginia) - 5th at 126 lbs Army West Point Jayce Paridon (Florida) - 5th at 138 lbs Brown Devon Magro (Pennsylvania) - 6th at 150 lbs Cal Poly Levi Bussey (California) - 4th at 190 lbs Cornell Adrian DeJesus (New Jersey) - 7th at 132 lbs Anthony Knox (New Jersey) - Champion at 126 lbs Joseph Toscano (California) - 4th at 144 lbs - Class of 2026 Sergio Vega (Arizona) - Champion at 138 lbs Indiana Carson Thomas (Ohio) - Champion at 190 lbs Iowa State Christian Castillo (Iowa) - Champion at 120 lbs Lehigh Chase Van Hoven (Virginia) - 4th at 150 lbs Maryland Brokton Borelli (California) - 5th at 190 lbs Michigan Gauge Botero (Pennsylvania) - 6th at 120 lbs Minnesota Leo Contino (California) - 8th at 157 lbs Missouri Dominic Bambinelli (Georgia) - Runner-Up at 165 lbs Seth Mendoza (Illinois) - Runner-Up at 132 lbs Kollin Rath (Pennsylvania) - Runner-Up at 157 lbs Navy Nikos Filipos (Pennsylvania) - 7th at 113 lbs NC State Will Denny (Illinois) - Champion at 157 lbs Dom Deputy (Pennsylvania) - 8th at 126 lbs - Class of 2026 Brogan Tucker (Ohio) - 4th Place at 157 lbs Daniel Zepeda (California) - Runner-Up at 144 lbs Nebraska Tyler Eise (California) - Champion at 175 lbs Nikade Zinkin (California) - 6th at 144 lbs Cade Ziola (Nebraska) - 3rd at 215 lbs North Carolina Nate Askew (North Carolina) - 8th at 144 lbs Jacob Levy (Georgia) - 4th at 285 lbs Mitchell Younger (Ohio) - 7th at 144 lbs Northern Iowa Logan Paradice (Georgia) - 3rd at 144 lbs Oklahoma Jake Hockaday (Indiana) - 3rd at 132 lbs Oklahoma State Beau Hickman (Oklahoma) - 8th at 150 lbs Ronnie Ramirez (California) - 6th at 126 lbs Landon Robideau (Minnesota) - Champion at 150 lbs Ethan Teague (Oklahoma) - 8th at 175 lbs Oregon State Nathan Carrillo (California) - 7th at 126 lbs - Class of 2026 Travis Grace (California) - 6th at 165 lbs - Class of 2026 Khale McDonnell (California) - 4th at 215 lbs Manny Saldate (Nevada) - 8th at 132 lbs Penn Brian Heard (Pennsylvania) - 7th at 175 lbs Eren Sement (Pennsylvania) - 8th at 138 lbs Penn State Asher Cunningham (Pennsylvania) - Champion at 165 lbs Nathan Desmond (Pennsylvania) - 4th at 126 lbs Dalton Perry (Pennsylvania) - Runner-Up at 138 lbs Pittsburgh Elijah Brown (Pennsylvania) - 7th at 190 lbs - Class of 2026 Princeton Vincenzo Lavalle (New Jersey) - Runner-Up at 190 lbs Purdue Noah Weaver (Indiana) - Runner-Up at 215 lbs Rutgers Jordan Chapman (New Jersey) - Runner-Up at 175 lbs Tahir Parkins (Pennsylvania) - 3rd at 138 lbs South Dakota State Jacob Herm (Wisconsin) - 5th at 157 lbs Stanford Dylan Pile (California) - 3rd at 175 lbs Angelo Posada (California) - Champion at 215 lbs Virginia Tech Collin Gaj (Pennsylvania) - 5th at 150 lbs Noah Nininger (Virginia) - 5th at 144 lbs Aaron Seidel (Pennsylvania) - Runner-Up at 126 lbs Claudio Torres (Florida) - 7th at 165 lbs Ben Weader (Virginia) - 6th at 157 lbs Wyoming Lane Foard (Virginia) - 6th at 190 lbs

Immaculate Conception

St. Michael-Albertville

Skyview

Northfield Mt. Herman

St. Mark's

Rosemount

Huntingtown

Buford

95 lb Championship: Hailey Delgado (Texas) over Isla Silva (Pennsylvania) 10-0 Third Place Match: Lilly Breeden (Missouri) over Justice Gutierrez (Colorado) 4-4 Fifth Place Match: Gail Sullivan (New York) over Alliya Walker (Virginia) 10-0 100 lbs Championship: Jaclyn Bouzakis (Pennsylvania) over Katey Valdez (Colorado) 8-6 Third Place Match: Libertie Nigh (Ohio) over Madison Nieuwenhuis (Michigan) 6-4 Fifth Place Match: Summer Mutschler (Maryland) over Alexandria Barskiy (New Jersey) 7-1 106 lbs Championship: Kayla Batres (Connecticut) over Camryn Gresham (Ohio) 8-2 Third Place Match: Joslyn Johnson (Florida) over Julia Horger (Pennsylvania) Fall 1:14 Fifth Place Match: Sarissa Tucker (Virginia) over Avy Perez (California) MedFFT 112 lbs Championship: Reagan Mathers (Arizona) over Abbie Cooper (California) 6-3 Third Place Match: Gigi Bragg (Minnesota) over Taylor Whiting (Michigan) 10-7 Fifth Place Match: Marie Sharp (New Jersey) over Julianna Hernandez (New York) Fall 3:09 118 lbs Championship: Epenesa Eilson (California) over Riley Rayome (Texas) 10-0 Third Place Match: Caley Graber (Minnesota) over Savannah Witt (Pennsylvania) Fall 1:32 Fifth Place Match: Leiannah Landreth (Kansas) over Angela Bianchi (Wisconsin) 9-2 124 lbs Championship: Everest Leydecker (Arizona) over Emma Bacon (Pennsylvania) 10-0 Third Place Match: Victoria Carbonaro (New Jersey) over Molly Allen (Iowa) Fall 1:17 Fifth Place Match: Sierra Chiesa (Pennsylvania) over Lexy Pabon (Maryland) 8-4 132 lbs Championship: Taina Fernandez (Maryland) over Corynne McNulty (Massachusetts) 10-0 Third Place Match: Alexis Lazar (Michigan) over Samantha Sachs (California) MedFFT Fifth Place Match: Taina McGowan (New Jersey) over Taylor Ellis Hishaw (Oklahoma) MedFFT 138 lbs Championship: Riley Hanrahan (Wisconsin) over Zoey Haines (Pennsylvania) 8-2 Third Place Match: Camilla Hathaway (Pennsylvania) over Madeline Haynes (Missouri) Fall 3:03 Fifth Place Match: Isis France (Pennsylvania) over Louise Juitt (Missouri) MedFFT 148 lbs Championship: Violette Lasure (Pennsylvania) over Belicia Manuel (Michigan) Fall 2:59 Third Place Match: Ella Poalillo (New Jersey) over Sarah Henckel (Connecticut) Fall 3:51 Fifth Place Match: Gray Joyce (Kansas) over Ryen Hickey (Colorado) 7-3 160 lbs Championship: Kaili Manuel (Michigan) over Alexandria Alli (Ohio) 8-3 Third Place Match: Matilda Hruby (Colorado) over Juliet Alt (Pennsylvania) Fall 3:25 Fifth Place Match: Remington LaFlamme (Texas) over Raegan Snider (Pennsylvania) 9-5 175 lbs Championship: Jael Miller (Pennsylvania) over Kaylie Hall (West Virginia) 13-8 Third Place Match: Leilani Lemus (California) over Makayla Vasser (Nebraska) 6-0 Fifth Place Match: Ylyana Sandoval (Pennsylvania) over KyLee Lindsley (Montana) 8-0 200 lbs Championship: Josephine Larson (Illinois) over Grace Leota (Florida) 5-2 Third Place Match: Tirza Twoteeth (Montana) over Caroline Biegel (New Jersey) Fall 1:36 Fifth Place Match: Kitana Leafaatoto (Nevada) over Kinslee Collier (Oklahoma)