InterMat Staff

Top seeded 125 lber Nick Suriano of Michigan (photos courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) 2022 Big Ten Championships Preview 88 total allocations/76 total allocations While six other conferences will be in action this weekend, none can match the overall star power and depth of the Big Ten. Eight of the top-20 tournament teams in the country reside in the Big Ten and will do battle in Lincoln, Nebraska. Seven of the ten number-one ranked wrestlers compete in the Big Ten. 88 automatic berths to the 2022 NCAA Championships in Detroit, Michigan, will be on the line, easily the most of any conference in the country. Two-time defending conference champions Iowa will attempt to three-peat. Even with two-time Hodge Trophy winner, Spencer Lee, Iowa still has a decent chance to win the conference. With a smaller field than nationals, it's more likely that a balanced team can edge a more star-studded lineup like Penn State. Speaking of the Nittany Lions, the top-ranked squad boasts three #1 seeded wrestlers and should be in a dogfight with the Hawkeyes for first place. Third-ranked Michigan has an outside shot at winning it all; however, all the cards would have to fall in their favor. Homestanding Nebraska, also has a strong, veteran team capable of cracking the top-three. Below is our weight-by-weight preview of the action, along with predictions for top-eight finishers at all ten weights, and a team race projection. Wrestlers bolded are ones that we have pegged to receive the automatic qualifying bids available in their respective weight class. When: March 5th/6th, 2022 Where: Lincoln, Nebraska How to Watch: Big Ten Network/B1G+ 125 lbs 10 allocations I'm sure none of us thought that the 125 lb bracket would look like this back in September. No Spencer Lee for Iowa, Nick Suriano as the one seed for Michigan and Drew Hildebrandt for Penn State, but here we are! Suriano joined the team in the second half of the year and has won all eight of his contests while wearing the Maize and Blue. He's responsible for Hildebrandt's only loss in a Penn State singlet. It's easy to figure that those two past All-Americans should get the top seeds at this weight; the rest of the weight class, that's a different story. This bracket will feature four past NCAA All-Americans with Suriano and Hildebrandt. Joining them are the third seed Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) and eighth-seed Patrick McKee (Minnesota). Also of note, Devin Schroder (Purdue) is a two-time Big Ten finalist. He and Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern) were named NWCA first-team All-Americans after the 2020 season. 8 of the top-13 wrestlers in the nation at 125 lbs hail from the Big Ten. This weight class could have plenty of upsets if you're just looking at seeds. #6 Drake Ayala (Iowa) is one of the top true freshmen in the nation and is dangerous on the bottom half of the bracket, if healthy. #7 DeAugustino has defeated many of the key players here at one time or another in his career. #8 McKee finished third in the nation last season after entering NCAA's as the #15 seed. Projected Quarterfinals #1 Nick Suriano (Michigan) vs. #8 Patrick McKee (Minnesota) #5 Devin Schroder (Purdue) vs. #4 Malik Heinselman (Ohio State) #3 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) vs. #6 Drake Ayala (Iowa) #7 Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern) vs. #2 Drew Hildebrandt (Penn State) Projected Semifinals #1 Nick Suriano (Michigan) vs. #5 Devin Schroder (Purdue) #6 Drake Ayala (Iowa) vs. #2 Drew Hildebrandt (Penn State) Predictions 1st) Nick Suriano (Michigan) 2nd) Drew Hildebrandt (Penn State) 3rd) Devin Schroder (Purdue) 4th) Drake Ayala (Iowa) 5th) Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) 6th) Malik Heinselman (Ohio State) 7th) Patrick McKee (Minnesota) 8th) Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern) Final AQ's: Justin Cardani (Illinois) and Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) 133 lbs 10 allocations 133 lbs in the Big Ten is always fun and this year is no different. 2021 NCAA Champion Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) is undefeated and is looking ready to claim a second national title, along with his second Big Ten crown. Standing in his way is the only active wrestler at this weight class with a career win over him in Austin DeSanto (Iowa). The Hawkeye All-American had two wins over Bravo-Young in the 2018-19 season, but hasn't beaten him since. This year's dual appearance marked the fourth consecutive win for RBY; however, it was by a slim 3-2 margin. This bracket will feature five past NCAA All-Americans. Rayvon Foley (Michigan State), Lucas Byrd (Illinois) and Chris Cannon (Northwestern) join Bravo-Young and DeSanto. Bravo-Young has appeared in two Big Ten finals, winning one, while DeSanto's runner-up finish last year was his first. 8 of the top-15 wrestlers in the nation at 133 lbs hail from the Big Ten. #6 seed Brock Hudkins (Indiana) is responsible for one of Foley's two losses on the year. He just hasn't been able to compete often. The 8/9 matchup between Joey Olivieri (Rutgers) and Matt Ramos (Purdue), features a pair of wrestlers that could make a run through the consolations and outperform their seeds. #13 King Sandoval (Maryland) has 13 pins on the year and his Greco background makes for some highlight-reel throws. His opponents should be ready at all times. Projected Quarterfinals #1 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) vs. #9 Matt Ramos (Purdue) #5 Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) vs. #4 Rayvon Foley (Michigan State) #3 Lucas Byrd (Illinois) vs. #6 Brock Hudkins (Indiana) #7 Chris Cannon (Northwestern) vs. #2 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) Projected Semifinals #1 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) vs. #4 Rayvon Foley (Michigan State) #3 Lucas Byrd (Illinois) vs. #2 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) Predictions 1st) Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) 2nd) Austin DeSanto (Iowa) 3rd) Lucas Byrd (Illinois) 4th) Chris Cannon (Northwestern) 5th) Rayvon Foley (Michigan State) 6th) Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) 7th) Joey Oliveri (Rutgers) 8th) Matt Ramos (Purdue) Final AQ's: Jake Gliva (Minnesota), Brock Hudkins (Indiana) 141 lbs 7 allocations From the moment that automatic qualifiers were released, I knew that 141 in the Big Ten was going to present problems for the rest of the country and gobble up some of the precious at-large berths (five). If other conference's 141 lb brackets feature an upset or two, it's very likely we could have some high-quality wrestlers at this weight staying home. This is a weight class that features 10 of the top 33 wrestlers in the nation, but only seven AQ's are guaranteed. The battle for a title should be a great one here. We have the possibility of a Big Ten and NCAA finals rematch with the top-two seeds, #1 Nick Lee (Penn State) and #2 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa). Last year, Eierman was victorious before Lee turned the tables at nationals. The Nittany Lion great is undefeated, while Eierman's only loss of the year came to Lee. Oh and lurking at the #3 spot is undefeated, two-time Big Ten champion Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers). There have been some whispers surrounding his health, but hopefully, we'll get to see the best possible version of Rivera. If so, there could be some classic matches along the way. This bracket will feature six past NCAA All-Americans. Along with Lee and Eierman are, Rivera, Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska), Dylan Duncan (Illinois) and Stevan Micic (Michigan). Five of the six All-Americans (all but Duncan) have stood on the NCAA podium at least three times. Lee, Eierman, and Micic have all appeared in an NCAA final. Eierman, Micic, and Rivera (2x) have all won Big Ten titles. Lee (x2) and Red Jr. have made Big Ten the Big Ten finals. 8 of the top-18 wrestlers in the nation at 141 lbs hail from the Big Ten. It's scary to imagine a tournament where Micic comes in as the sixth seed. Last year, Duncan finished fifth in the nation; however, he's the ninth seed here and looking for an AQ, after only appearing in five regular-season bouts. He'll face Joe Zargo (Wisconsin) in the opening round, one of the wrestlers who have defeated him this year. The 11th seed at this weight, Parker Filius (Purdue), is a two-time national qualifier and was the 18th seed at nationals in 2021. Projected Quarterfinals #1 Nick Lee (Penn State) vs. #9 Dylan Duncan (Illinois) #5 Jake Bergeland (Minnesota) vs. #4 Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska) #3 Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) vs. #6 Stevan Micic (Michigan) #7 Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio State) vs. #2 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) Projected Semifinals #1 Nick Lee (Penn State) vs. #4 Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska) #3 Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) vs. #2 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) Predictions 1st) Nick Lee (Penn State) 2nd) Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) 3rd) Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) 4th) Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska) 5th) Stevan Micic (Michigan) 6th) Jake Bergeland (Minnesota) 7th) Joe Zargo (Wisconsin) 8th) Dylan Duncan (Illinois) 149 lbs 7 allocations Fun fact, 149 lbs is the only weight this year in the Big Ten without a wrestler from either Iowa or Penn State amongst the top-three seeds. But, without immediate team race implications in play, there's plenty of fun to be had in this bracket. The top-three seeds, while all unique, have parts to their game that make them some of the most fun to watch for fans. A possible 2021 Big Ten finals rematch is in play with returning champion Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) as the top seed and Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) the third seed. Last year, it was a bit of a surprise as Lovett made the finals as the seventh seed. With a 17-2 record this year, he isn't sneaking up on anyone! This bracket will feature two past NCAA All-Americans in Sasso and Yahya Thomas (Northwestern). Additionally, Max Murin (Iowa) was named an NWCA First-Team All-American in 2020, while Kanen Storr (Michigan) made the second team. Sasso and Lovett are the only two past Big Ten finalists at this weight. 7 of the top-17 wrestlers in the nation at 149 lbs hail from the Big Ten. In 2021, we saw Thomas storm through St. Louis and claim third place at nationals despite needing an at-large berth to qualify and being saddled with the #25 seed. This weekend, Thomas is the fifth seed and needs to avenge a close loss to Murin to make the semis. Waiting there is expected to Sasso, who generally has difficulty with Thomas. Another lower seed, who could potentially make a run? How about Mike Van Brill (Rutgers)? He hasn't hit many of the main players at 149 lbs, but boasts a 17-2 record. Projected Quarterfinals #1 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) vs. #8 Christian Kanzler (Illinois) #5 Yahya Thomas (Northwestern) vs. #4 Max Murin (Iowa) #3 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) vs. #6 Mike Van Brill (Rutgers) #7 Beau Bartlett (Penn State) vs. #2 Austin Gomez (Wisconsin) Projected Semifinals #1 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) vs. #5 Yahya Thomas (Northwestern) #3 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) vs. #2 Austin Gomez (Wisconsin) Predictions 1st) Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) 2nd) Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) 3rd) Austin Gomez (Wisconsin) 4th) Yahya Thomas (Northwestern) 5th) Max Murin (Iowa) 6th) Beau Bartlett (Penn State) 7th) Mike Van Brill (Rutgers) 8th) Christian Kanzler (Illinois) 157 lbs 7 allocations This weight class took a hit a few weeks ago when then-#4 Brayton Lee (Minnesota) was lost for the year. Lee was perhaps the biggest challenger for Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) and he had the inside track to a second seed. Deakin is seeking to win his third Big Ten championship, which would put him into rarified air for Northwestern wrestling. He'd be only the third Wildcat wrestler to achieve the feat and the first since Jake Herbert graduated in 2009. On the bottom half of the bracket is a familiar face, second-seeded Kaleb Young (Iowa), the wrestler he defeated in the 2021 finals. In order to make the finals, Deakin could face Kendall Coleman (Purdue), his 2020 finals opponent. This bracket will feature two past NCAA All-Americans in Deakin and Young. Will Lewan (Michigan) and Coleman were both honored as All-Americans by the NWCA in 2020. Coleman was a first-teamer and Lewan made the second-team. We've already outlined the past Big Ten finalists at this weight. Deakin is a two-time champion, while Coleman and Young both have made a final. 7 of the top-16 wrestlers in the nation at 157 lbs hail from the Big Ten. The biggest x-factor at this weight is Brady Berge (Penn State) in the tenth seed. Berge made a midseason return to competing and initially started at 165 lbs, before descending down to 157. If he's anywhere near top-form, Berge could make the finals. However, that may be too much to expect with Garrett Model (Wisconsin) right away and Kaleb Young (Iowa) in the quarters. Last season, Berge majored Model and edged Young at NCAA's. He also defeated the third seed Will Lewan (Michigan), in 2021. Projected Quarterfinals #1 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) vs. #9 Bryce Hepner (Ohio State) #5 Peyton Robb (Nebraska) vs. #4 Kendall Coleman (Purdue) #3 Will Lewan (Michigan) vs. #6 Chase Saldate (Michigan State) #10 Brady Berge (Penn State) vs. #2 Kaleb Young (Iowa) Projected Semifinals #1 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) vs. #5 Peyton Robb (Nebraska) #3 Will Lewan (Michigan) vs. #2 Kaleb Young (Iowa) Predictions 1st) Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) 2nd) Will Lewan (Michigan) 3rd) Kaleb Young (Iowa) 4th) Peyton Robb (Nebraska) 5th) Kendall Coleman (Purdue) 6th) Chase Saldate (Michigan State) 7th) Brady Berge (Penn State) 8th) Garrett Model (Wisconsin) 165 lbs 7 allocations This weight class has the potential to be lots of fun. An established veteran (Alex Marinelli - Iowa) is looking to claim another Big Ten title against a couple young bucks (Dean Hamiti - Wisconsin and Carson Kharchla - Ohio State). Marinelli split with the two, holding off Hamiti after suffering an upset to Kharchla. The Hawkeye is currently riding a nine-match winning streak at the Big Ten Championships. Hamiti's only loss on the year is to Marinelli, while he has racked up seven falls as a true freshman. Kharchla and Hamiti haven't met, but the Buckeye was third at the CKLV Invitational early in the season. This bracket will feature two past NCAA All-Americans with Marinelli and Cameron Amine (Michigan). Marinelli is the only past Big Ten finalist at this weight. He's won the tournament the past three years. 4 of the top-10 wrestlers in the nation at 165 lbs hail from the Big Ten. There are plenty of wrestlers at this weight that could emerge as darkhorses and upset candidates. One, in particular, is #8 Bubba Wilson (Nebraska). Wilson has wins over the #4 seed (Amine) and the #7 seed (Hayden Lohrey - Purdue). Projected Quarterfinals #1 Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) vs. #8 Bubba Wilson (Nebraska) #5 Caleb Fish (Michigan State) vs. #4 Cameron Amine (Michigan) #3 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) vs. #6 Danny Braunagel (Illinois) #10 Creighton Edsell (Penn State) vs. #2 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) Projected Semifinals #1 Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) vs. #4 Cameron Amine (Michigan) #3 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) vs. #2 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) Predictions 1st) Alex Marinelli (Iowa) 2nd) Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) 3rd) Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) 4th) Cameron Amine (Michigan) 5th) Danny Braunagel (Illinois) 6th) Caleb Fish (Michigan State) 7th) Hayden Lohrey (Purdue) 8th) Creighton Edsell (Penn State) 174 lbs 8 allocations We'll likely get to see another chapter in the Carter Starocci (Penn State)/Michael Kemerer (Iowa) rivalry in Nebraska. The two split last year, with the Hawkeye winning at Big Ten's and Starocci prevailing at nationals. Starocci won by the narrowest of margins during their heated dual at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Now it's time for round four, except it's happening in the semifinals! That is unreal! On the last Sunday of the regular season, Kemerer fell to Mikey Labriola (Nebraska), which ended up being his second conference loss of the year. Both Labriola and second-seeded Logan Massa (Michigan) only have one. Both semifinals here will be must-watch! Of course, our returning national finalists are both All-Americans; there are five total at this weight with Massa, Labriola and the fifth-seed Ethan Smith (Ohio State). Of this decorated group, only Kemerer is a past Big Ten champion. He's already appeared in three finals. Massa and Smith are also past finalists. 5 of the top-7 wrestlers in the nation at 174 lbs hail from the Big Ten. Way down at the 11th seed is an NCAA Round of 12 finisher from a year ago, in Andrew McNally (Wisconsin). Last year, McNally competed for Kent State; however, he's since moved on as a grad transfer. He enters the postseason with a record of 8-8 and only has wins over two wrestlers in this field. Even with his struggles, you wouldn't want to see a wrestler of McNally's caliber in the consolations with a trip to nationals hanging in the balance. Projected Quarterfinals #1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) vs. #8 Troy Fisher (Northwestern) #5 Ethan Smith (Ohio State) vs. #4 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) #3 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) vs. #6 Bailee O'Reilly (Minnesota) #7 Gerrit Nijenhuis (Purdue) vs. #2 Logan Massa (Michigan) Projected Semifinals #1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) vs. #4 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) #3 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) vs. #2 Logan Massa (Michigan) Predictions 1st) Carter Starocci (Penn State) 2nd) Logan Massa (Michigan) 3rd) Michael Kemerer (Iowa) 4th) Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) 5th) Ethan Smith (Ohio State) 6th) Bailee O'Reilly (Minnesota) 7th) Gerrit Nijenhuis (Purdue) 8th) Troy Fisher (Northwestern) 184 lbs 12 allocations It's remarkable just seeing the number "12" next to conference allocations. What's even scarier is that the fifth seed, Abe Assad (Iowa), didn't earn one of them. It's probably easy for most to fill out their brackets with the top seeds, Aaron Brooks (Penn State) and Myles Amine (Michigan), advancing, but after that…it's anyone's guess. Most of the other members of this weight class have beaten each other at one point or another. Focusing on the top-two seeds, a rematch would pit the two highest-ranked wrestlers in the nation against one another in a battle of returning Big Ten champions. Brooks is the returning conference champ, while Amine won his crown up at 197 lbs, but has moved down for his final go 'round in college. This bracket will feature four NCAA All-Americans. Brooks and Amine, along with Taylor Venz (Nebraska) and John Poznanski (Rutgers). Additionally, Abe Assad was named a second-time All-American by the NWCA in 2020. Kaleb Romero (Ohio State) was named a first-teamer at 174 lbs. The top-ten seeds have combined to appear in five Big Ten finals, with Brooks winning two and Amine one. The only other one with prior Big Ten finals experience is Venz, who fell to Brooks in last year's final. 9 of the top-20 wrestlers in the nation at 184 lbs hail from the Big Ten. Projected Quarterfinals #1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) vs. #8 Kyle Cochran (Maryland) #5 Abe Assad (Iowa) vs. #4 Taylor Venz (Nebraska) #3 Kaleb Romero (Ohio State) vs. #6 Layne Malczewski (Michigan State) #7 John Poznanski (Rutgers) vs. #2 Myles Amine (Michigan) Projected Semifinals #1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) vs. #5 Abe Assad (Iowa) #6 Layne Malczewski (Michigan State) vs. #2 Myles Amine (Michigan) Predictions 1st) Aaron Brooks (Penn State) 2nd) Myles Amine (Michigan) 3rd) John Poznanski (Rutgers) 4th) Layne Malczewski (Michigan State) 5th) Abe Assad (Iowa) 6th) Kyle Cochran (Maryland) 7th) Kaleb Romero (Ohio State) 8th) Taylor Venz (Nebraska) Final AQ's: DJ Washington (Indiana), Zac Braunagel (Illinois), Chris Weiler (Wisconsin), Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) 197 lbs 11 allocations All year 197 lbs has been hard to figure out. It makes sense that it appears to be the most wide-open weight in the conference. If ever there were to be a darkhorse champion, it would be at this weight class. Even the top-two seeds, Eric Schultz (Nebraska) and Max Dean (Penn State), wrestle a ton of close matches and often seem vulnerable to an upset. That seems unreal to think about two wrestlers ranked in the top-three nationally, but it's a strange weight class. Even though it was reality turbulent, the Big Ten wrestlers in the bracket took care of business and snapped up 11 automatic qualifying slots. That is extremely important here since there could be some unforeseen results. There are three past NCAA All-Americans competing at this weight with Dean, Jacob Warner (Iowa), and Patrick Brucki (Princeton). Also, Cameron Caffey (Michigan State) and Schultz were named NWCA first-team All-Americans in 2020. This weight class features a pair of past Big Ten runner's-up in Schultz (2x) and Caffey. Brucki and Dean are both transfers that captured EIWA titles for their former schools. 8 of the top-20 wrestlers in the nation at 197 lbs hail from the Big Ten. With 11 bids available, it's hard to really call anyone here an underdog. The 11th seed, Jaron Smith (Maryland), has proven he can take out one of the big dogs, with his upset victory over Brucki. There's a realistic scenario where these two could meet in the consolations again. Smith also should present a tough matchup for his first-round opponent, #6 Thomas Penola (Purdue). Projected Quarterfinals #1 Eric Schultz (Nebraska) vs. #9 Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State) #5 Patrick Brucki (Michigan) vs. #4 Jacob Warner (Iowa) #3 Cameron Caffey (Michigan State) vs. #6 Thomas Penola (Purdue) #7 Greg Bulsak (Rutgers) vs. #2 Max Dean (Penn State) Projected Semifinals #1 Eric Schultz (Nebraska) vs. #4 Jacob Warner (Iowa) #3 Cameron Caffey (Michigan State) vs. #2 Max Dean (Penn State) Predictions 1st) Cameron Caffey (Michigan State) 2nd) Jacob Warner (Iowa) 3rd) Eric Schultz (Nebraska) 4th) Max Dean (Penn State) 5th) Thomas Penola (Purdue) 6th) Patrick Brucki (Michigan) 7th) Greg Bulsak (Rutgers) 8th) Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State) Final AQ's: Braxton Amos (Wisconsin), Jaron Smith (Maryland), Andrew Davison (Northwestern) 285 lbs 9 allocations Sadly for the rest of the 13 competitors at this weight, the champion pick was much easier than any other weight in this bracket. It hasn't been quite that easy for 2020 Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson (Minnesota) this year; it just looked that way. Steveson has been able to rack up bonus points in all of his appearances this season. And he's done so by cherry-picking the best possible opponents on the Gopher's schedule. Four of his ten wins have come against returning All-Americans and nine of his ten opponents are currently ranked in the top-33. Before chasing his second national title, Gable will attempt to win his third Big Ten title. Pay close attention to the potential semifinal bout between Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) and Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State). This bout could have huge team race implications, as well as a significant impact on NCAA seeding. Six returning All-Americans will duke it out in this excellent weight class. Steveson, along with Cassioppi, Kerkvliet, Mason Parris, Trent Hillger (Wisconsin), and Tate Orndorff (Ohio State). We have an opportunity to see a rematch of the 2021 Big Ten and NCAA finals in the semis, between Steveson and Parris. Oh yeah, they also met in the 2020 conference finals. 8 of the top-13 wrestlers in the nation at 285 lbs hail from the Big Ten. Watch for the ever-so-slight upset in the 8/9 spot with #8 Orndorff and #9 Luke Luffman (Illinois). The two did not meet this year, but split bouts last season. Luffman won an early dual, while Orndorff evened the score in sudden victory at Big Ten's. In 2021, Luffman also picked up a win over this year's #6 seed, Christian Lance (Nebraska). Projected Quarterfinals #1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) vs. #8 Tate Orndorff (Ohio State) #5 Lucas Davison (Northwestern) vs. #4 Mason Parris (Michigan) #3 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) vs. #6 Christian Lance (Nebraska) #7 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin) vs. #2 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) Projected Semifinals #1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) vs. #4 Mason Parris (Michigan) #3 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) vs. #2 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) Predictions 1st) Gable Steveson (Minnesota) 2nd) Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) 3rd) Mason Parris (Michigan) 4th) Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) 5th) Lucas Davison (Northwestern) 6th) Christian Lance (Nebraska) 7th) Trent Hillger (Wisconsin) 8th) Tate Orndorff (Ohio State) Final AQ's: Luke Luffman (Illinois) Team Race 1st) Penn State 2nd) Iowa 3rd) Michigan 4th) Nebraska 5th) Ohio State 6th) Northwestern 7th) Michigan State 8th) Wisconsin

Top seeded 157 lber Josh Humphreys (photos courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) 125 - 4 Allocations Outlook: The 4 allocations went to Glory (#2), Arujau (#3), Miller (#23) and Lane (#26). Manchio started the year off hot, but took some losses at the end of the year to take him out of the allocation criteria. Manchio did beat Lane in a dual this season, so expect that matchup to possibly be a great 4/5 seed quarterfinal. When you add returning NCAA qualifiers like Allen from Navy, and Mininno from Drexel, plus Seidman of Bucknell into the mix - the fight for the third and fourth place will be fun to watch. American's Leete earned the eighth seed in this weight. Expect to see him battle it out as well. Prediction: This will be tough, but I'll venture to say Glory over Vito in the finals. Dark Horse Watch: I already mentioned my dark horse above - Jacob Allen of Navy. A returning NCAA Qualifier at 133lb a year ago - you can potentially not even consider him for this category. He is in a lot of tight matches - win or lose. I would not be shocked to see him pull and upset or two. 133- 2 Allocations Outlook: The 2 allocations went to Colaiocco (#14) and Koderhandt (#22). With two other ranked wrestlers at this class, this weight only receiving two is a tough break for the conference. Hines of Lehigh (#17) did not meet the match requirement, so he will need to steal one from Colaiocco of Penn or Koderhandt of Navy. I would expect a Hines/Koderhandt semifinal matchup. Hines won the dual first time around, but his recent injury may be of concern this time around. More wrestlers who will be in the mix are Sobotker of Binghamton (who has been a pinning machine this year), Phipps of Bucknell (who has a win over Colaiocco), LaJoie of Cornell (returning NCAA qualifier at 125 in 2020), and Rini of Columbia (7th place at EIWAs in 2020). This conference has had seven nationally ranked wrestlers at one time or another at this weight. It will be a shame; so many of them will need a wild card to qualify. Prediction: I think Koderhandt makes a finals appearance due to Hines's injury that has had him sidelined for weeks. Colaiocco is my champion pick. He's been red-hot lately. Dark Horse Watch: A name I have not mentioned yet is Jaxon Maroney of Drexel. He has a win over LaJoie this season already. Being injured most of the season, we have not seen a ton from him. These two reasons make him a dark horse, in my opinion. 141 - 4 Allocations Outlook: The four allocations were earned by Composto (#14), Anderson (#19), Kazimir (#27), and Miller (#28). This seems about right in my mind. McGonagle of Lehigh was in the rankings a bunch this season also but has been injured for some time. We will see him in the mix to steal one of those four automatic bids. Other contenders to battle it out for an automatic bid would include Deck of Army, Danny Coles of Princeton, Wilson of Cornell and Jaffe of Harvard. Prediction: Composto has been impressive this year. I expect him to win over Kazimir. I think we will see Kazimir turn it on at conferences. Dark Horse Watch: From the beginning of the year, I've stuck with my guy from F&M. Wil Gil should find himself in the mix. He's a funky, unorthodox wrestler who can make others struggle. He has already been an alternate to the NCAA Tournament. 149 - 4 Allocations Outlook: The four allocations were earned by Diakomihalis (#1), Artalona (#24), Brignola (#26), and Fongaro of Columbia. There were a few ranked wrestlers here who missed the match minimum to earn allocation status, like Ogunsanya (#20) of Army and Nichter (#28) of Drexel. Ogunsanya may be the second-best wrestler in the weight class - but looks like he will have a match with Yianni in the semi's, as PJ will be the fourth seed. We have not seen him in quite some time. Hopefully, he is back to 100% and ready to go. If he is, he will steal one of the four allocations. Nichter is dangerous as anyone in this bracket. He likes to go out and let it fly - putting up points in the process. Keep an eye on him. Other names to watch are Keller of Princeton, Lombard of Binghamton, and DePron of Bucknell. Prediction: This will be a race for 2nd place. I do not see Yianni losing to anyone here. We may see him score bonus in all of his matches. The runner-up at this weight will most likely be the winner of the Artalona/Brignola semifinal. I will pick Artalona to meet Yianni in the finals. Dark Horse Watch: My dark horse pick at this weight is Stricker of Harvard. He's been quiet this year, with no big wins, but has had a bunch of close losses. He is one who can pull out an upset and bust the bracket. 157 - 5 Allocations Outlook: The five allocations were by Humphreys (#6), Monday (#8), Zapf (#19), Cerniglia (#23), and Hartman (#25). Richard of Cornell is ranked 26th, but did not have the winning percentage to earn the allocation. Doing the math at this weight class, we have six ranked wrestlers fighting for five spots. This does not include two of last season's NCAA Qualifiers in Kropman of Drexel and Palumbo of Sacred Heart. This is a talented weight class that will have a few NCAA-tournament-worthy wrestlers not making the trip this year. Prediction: I think we will have a Humphreys and Monday rematch from the EIWA Championships in 2019. I believe Humphreys will repeat as champ. Do not be surprised if these guys wrestle again in Detroit on day two or three. Dark Horse Watch: At the beginning of the season, I loved Doug Zapf as a dark horse. He's done his job during the year, and I no longer consider him a dark horse. For the conference tournament, look out for Nick Delp of Bucknell. He has a win over Wyatt Sheets (returning AA from Oklahoma State, ranked #20) and Kropman of Drexel in early February. During the second half of this semester, he has been improving every week. He has losses to both Cerniglia and Hartman, but will most likely need to avenge one of those to get an automatic bid. 165 - 7 Allocations Outlook: This is the deepest weight in the conference. The seven wrestlers earning allocations were Hartman (#10), Ramirez (#12), Conigliaro (#13), Ogunsanya (#18), Revano (#24), Meyer (#25), and Barczak (#26). Harkins of Army is ranked #29 and just missed the allocation. This weight also includes returning NCAA Qualifier Stamm of Hofstra, among other highly talented wrestlers. Hartman is a returning 2X All-American. Ramirez beat the defending national champion at the beginning of the year. Some of the unseeded wrestlers will be a tough first-round matchup for anyone listed above. These names include Cassella of Binghamton, Bergey of Princeton, and Park from Navy. Expect an upset or two in the first round. Then the quarterfinals will be incredibly exciting. Prediction: This weight will have huge seeding implications. This is the hardest prediction to make. With Ramirez getting the top seed, we will likely see Conigliaro and Hartman go to battle in the semis. Flip a coin to see who wins that one. I think it's THAT close. I think Conigliaro gets it done in a very close match. Again, we can flip a coin for the finals bout. If I have to take someone, Ramirez is my pick. I would not bet on this weight class - it's too close to call! Dark Horse Watch: Keep an eye for Meyer of Lehigh. He has already beaten Wentzel (returning NCAA runner-up) and Valencia (returning AA) this season. He has the track record he can compete with some of the best. His style is perfect for March, with many low-scoring matches where he controls the pace. An unranked guy I like is Cassella of Binghamton; he has a major over Ogunsanya of Columbia and numerous close losses to Ramirez, Barczak, and others. 174 - 4 Allocations Outlook: The four wrestlers to earn allocations are O'Malley (#9), Foca (#14), Incontrera (#22), and Pasiuk (#23). There are a few other quality wrestlers who can steal a spot here. Within this list includes Logan of Lehigh, Fine of Columbia, Kim of Harvard, Nolan of Binghamton, Crebs of Navy, and Dugan of Princeton. I would even include Ferro of LIU in this list. The secondary list of contenders seems to have all beaten one another somewhere down the line this season - which will make for an exciting bracket. Foca has been injured with a concussion the entire month. We will see how much the time missed will affect him. Prediction: Based on this year's results, O'Malley should be the favorite to win this one. I would love to see him and Foca go at it in the finals with an all-New Jersey final. O'Malley has wrestled Foca numerous times growing up, and never lost to him. Could this outcome change? I am going to go with O'Malley on this one. I think it will be a close match. Dark Horse Watch: I'm torn between a few here, but I think Logan has the best chance to upset someone and earn an automatic bid. He's already beaten Foca this year. With a 10-11 record, almost all of his losses are very respectable in terms of quality of opponent and score. Plus, every year, Lehigh has a bracket buster at EIWA's. I think this will be Logan's time. 184 - 3 Allocations Outlook: The three wrestlers to earn an allocation at this weight are Loew (#13), Stefanik (#24), and Small (#31). Two ranked opponents did not qualify for the allocations - Antrassian (#29) of Penn and Key (#30) of Navy. This weight will be a battle-tested bracket, with the potential to have at least two ranked wrestlers missing an automatic bid. Similar to 133lbs, this weight has a lot of talent with so few automatic qualifiers. Other wrestlers to watch include Laughlin of Army, Burkhart of Lehigh, Bonino of Columbia and McLaughlin of Drexel (who was an NCAA qualifier last season). I have a feeling that this weight may steal a wild card or two after conferences. Prediction: I will assume we see a Loew vs. Stefanik final. Stefanik had a close bout with Loew in February this season, but I do not see him closing the gap again. Loew will win another low-scoring match. Dark Horse Watch: Very rarely is a returning NCAA Qualifier a dark horse, but the way things shook out here only earning three automatic allocations, Bryan McLaughlin in the dark horse at this weight. Coming down from 197lbs, he has a one-point loss to Small and a three-point loss to Antrassian this season. Early in November, he was on the brink of upsetting Max Lyon (#28) of Purdue. McLaughlin is a fun guy to watch wrestle, always in some sort of scramble position. Do not be surprised to see him get enough wins to find a way to Detroit. 197 - 5 Allocations Outlook: The five allocations were earned by Deprez (#14), Cardenas (#18), Stout (#19), Koser (#25) and Brown (#26). This is a fun weight. I feel any of these guys can win the bracket. But, when you throw in guys like Urbas of Penn, Rogers of Hofstra, and Crowley of LIU, the quarterfinals will be very competitive. 197 is not super top-heavy, but the depth is there for sure. Deprez is a returning All-American down at 184lb last season, so expect him to be the top seed. The winner of the Koser/Brown quarter will give Deprez a good match in the semis. Last meeting, Deprez beat Koser in overtime. Rogers and Urbas have been in and out of the rankings all season, while Crowley has been very consistent with his results. Expect some fireworks here. Prediction: Interestingly, we have not seen Deprez since January, due to injury. Cardenas and Stout are both making EIWA debuts and should be in the mix to make a finals appearance. My prediction will be Deprez over Cardenas in a tight match to win another EIWA title. Dark Horse Watch: My dark horse for this weight is Cole Urbas of Penn. He can make a run at this weight due to his skills on the mat. He is like a leech in the top position and uses his lengthy frame to his advantage. This style of wrestling late in the year can cause havoc on some of the 197lb wrestlers. If he finds himself in a low-scoring match, he can ride opponents out (or even turn) for the win. 285 - 4 Allocations Outlook: The four allocations were earned by Wood (#7), Fernandes (#16), Knighton-Ward (#18), and Goldin (#28). With Doyle (#20) of Binghamton missing the total win percentage by one win, he's in the mix to steal an automatic bid. I would expect a wild card to be awarded to one of the five listed above if the weekend plays out as seeded. Some other names to keep an eye out for are Cover of Princeton and Catka of Navy. Wood seems to have separated himself from the rest of the crowd, even though his closest victory was 3-2 over Doyle during the start of the second semester. Potentially, we could see this rematch in the semifinals. This weight is very deep, even after Harvard's Slavikouski is out for the year with a knee injury. He was ranked 12th at the time. This may be the smallest heavyweight class we've seen in a while - in terms of overall weight. But this goes with a trend we've been seeing nationwide as of late, where many heavyweights are smaller and quicker, compared to the past. Prediction: I think Wood will win this weight for his unprecedented FIFTH conference title. His opponent would most likely be Fernandes. I think he is just a little more fine-tuned on the mat compared to the rest of his half of the bracket, which will help him in the long run. I think Wood wins by a score of 5-2, maybe 5-3. Dark Horse Watch: I've seen Catka of Navy this year. He is a smaller heavyweight who seems to struggle with opponents pushing close to that 285lb limit. With the size of the weight this year, he is a perfect dark horse candidate. He seems to have gradually gotten better as the year went on. I expect him to be ready this weekend and limit mistakes that may have cost him earlier in the season. The true freshman has a great opportunity in front of him. Team Race: Outlook: This will be a tight one. I've mentioned it before, but the EIWA is getting insanely deep in comparison to previous years. This team race will be a perfect example of that. With Penn making its way towards the top of the conference, we may see a four-way team race between Cornell (#9), Lehigh (#25), Princeton, and Penn. Cornell earned the Ivy League title this season, but this was in dual meet format. Do they have the firepower to win the tournament? Maybe the better question is, does anyone else have the depth to keep up with Cornell? Lehigh looks to be the annual threat, but they have been injured as of late. We may see Princeton and Penn go on a run and challenge Cornell. Prediction: I think Cornell pulls out the team title. They would need a few guys to underperform in order to not win, in my opinion. I'm very high on Penn and think they will compete to a runner-up finish. This leaves Lehigh and Princeton to battle for 3rd. Lehigh's injuries have me slightly worried - maybe I'm thinking too much… Regardless, this will be fun! 1) Cornell 2) Penn 3) Lehigh 4) Princeton Dark Horse Watch: Basically, a race for 5th place would include Columbia, Binghamton, Drexel, Army, and Navy. If I had to pick just one team that has the best chance to obtain the fifth spot, my money would be on Binghamton. I just have a feeling we will see Sobotker pin some dudes as usual; Anderson could win his weight class. Deprez is the favorite to win 197lb, while Doyle has not been a stranger to earning bonus points. They have a few wrestlers who may not be dark horses, but could certainly wrestle above their seed, like Lombard, Cassella, Nolan, and Day. This team has been very good this year. In my opinion, any of these teams could find themselves in the 5th place battle. This will be just as exciting to watch as the team race for first. NOTE: All rankings shown are InterMat national rankings

Super Regional V champion Darrell Mason of Minnesota State(photos courtesy of MSU athletics) Super Regional Saturday A lot happened on Saturday and maybe you missed some #D2Wrestle results. Not to worry, here is a quick rundown for all of you fans out there. Who is in, the ranked wrestlers who missed out, and who I think is the favorite to win the tournament right now. The worst part is the waiting for brackets, but until then, enjoy the first of a few expected articles leading up to the national tournament preview. 125 Who's In Jacob Dunlop (Gannon) Tyshawn White (Shippensburg) Matt Siszka (Pitt-Johnstown) Nick Daggett (UNC Pembroke) Evan Carrigan (Newberry) Kevin Radcliff (Limestone) Cole Laya (West Liberty) Manuel Leija (Davenport) Branden Mendoza (Tiffin) Paxton Rosen (Central Oklahoma) Christian Mejia (McKendree) Isaac Jacquez (Lindenwood) Paxton Creese (St. Cloud State) Joe Arroyo (UW Parkside) Jaxson Rohman (Augustana) Josh Portillo (Nebraska Kearney) Cody Fatzinger (Western Colorado) Dawson Collins (Colorado Mesa) Who's Out Matt Wilde (Kutztown) Melvin Rubio (Queens) Jackson Stauffacher (SMSU) Isaiah DeLaCerda (Adams State) Biggest Story It would make sense to pick the injury to All-American candidate Isaiah DeLaCerda (Adams State) that essentially eliminated him in the first match of the Super Regional, but I am going with a feel-good story instead. Manuel Leija, a freshman from Eastern High School in Lansing, Michigan, became the first NCAA Division II national qualifier in program history when he advanced to Super Regional III finals. With a record of just 4-8 last season, he grew by leaps under new head coach Bebeto Yewah. Yewah was a two-time NCAA Division III national champion for Wisconsin-La Crosse and his work with Leija is evident. His 2020 record of 12-5 shows just how much he has improved and his finish should not have been as surprising given his 3-1 record at the Midwest Classic. A great story for a program that has been struggling to find its feet in what should be a target-rich environment. A national qualifier in his first season at the helm will pay dividends on the recruiting trail. Best Tournament If you are looking for a wrestler riding a wave of momentum, look no further than Jacob Dunlop (Gannon). With wins over two wrestlers who had already exceeded the 20 win plateau this season on his way to the finals, he was matched against Tyshawn White of Shippensburg. Dunlop avenged his loss to White in the Super Regional I finals 6-2. It was his second win on the day over a higher-ranked wrestler who he previously lost to. He defeated Matt Wilde (Kutztown) in the semifinals. Dunlop is now a four-time national qualifier and the #SuperSenior is after his second All-American finish. I would not be betting against the Knight to finish on the podium after the run he is on. My Pick To Win It All (as of today) I am sure that I will receive some angry Tweets and possibly strongly-worded emails for this pick, but I am going to go with the wrestler who won it all last season. Cole Laya (West Liberty) has only lost to his nemesis Nick Daggett (UNC Pembroke) this year and owns a win over Paxton Creese. I am riding with head coach Danny Irwin and his Hilltopper. 133 Who's In Collin Wickramaratna (Kutztown) Eric Bartos (Mercyhurst) Devin Flannery (Millersville) Majid Corbit (Limestone) Elijah Lusk (Lander) Timothy Luker (Newberry) Corey Gamet (Lake Erie) Bryce Allison (Tiffin) Vincent Scollo (Davis & Elkins) Tanner Cole (Central Oklahoma) Tanner Hitchcock (Lindenwood) Breyden Bailey (Indianapolis) Jack Huffman (Augustana) Reece Barnhardt (Mary) Garrett Vos (St. Cloud State) Wesley Dawkins (Nebraska Kearney) Jon Andreatta (Adams State) Collin Metzgar (Colorado Mesa) Who's Out Brandon Borlinghaus (Drury) Kaden Anderlik (Upper Iowa) Patrick Allis (Western Colorado) Biggest Story I hate the MFF and I especially hate it in a Super Regional finals match. The rivalry between Jon Andreatta (Adams State) and Wesley Dawkins (Nebraska Kearney) is the stuff of legends. Two seasons ago, Dawkins pinned Andreatta in the Super Regional finals in :31. Last season, in the dual matchup, Andreatta was victorious 5-3. We were poised to see the rubber match on Saturday, until we didn't. I, for one, am disappointed and I am expecting the seeding committee to treat it the same as a loss. Maybe Andreatta was banged up from the tournament and was protecting an injury, but even if that is the case, it should still reflect as a loss. Hopefully, we see them seeded second and third in St Louis and get the match we missed. Best Tournament Jack Huffman (Augustana) rolled through the Super Regional V tournament with four straight wins. He picked up two ranked wins, including one over #6 Reece Barnhardt (Mary). Huffman also avenged his only loss on the season, defeating Kaden Anderlik (Upper Iowa) 6-2. In his four wins, he only allowed four escape points. He will have a very good argument for a top-four or five seed in St Louis. Overall, I feel like Augustana had one of the best team performances at any Super Regional and head coach Jason Reitmeier made a very good case to be the Super Regional coach of the year. My Pick To Win It All (as of today) Right now, I am not willing to bet against Tanner Cole (Central Oklahoma). We already know he is one of the best lightweight rooms in the country, but I'm also pretty sure he is one of the best lightweights. His win over Tanner Hitchcock (Lindenwood) shows he can switch negative results from his past. He also has a win over Andreatta this season and Collin Metzgar (Colorado Mesa). Until the brackets come out, the Broncho Junior is my pick to win it all. 141 Who's In Caleb Morris (Pitt-Johnstown) Joel Cawoski (Seton Hill) Alexis Soriano (Mercyhurst) Zeth Brower (Lander) Christian Small (King) John Carayiannis (Belmont Abbey) Branson Proudlock (Findlay) Tyler Warner (West Liberty) Matthew Zuckerman (Tiffin) Colby Smith (Lindenwood) Peter Kuster (Drury) Brody Norman (McKendree) Joey Bianchini (St. Cloud State) Keaton Schorr (Augustana) Tate Murty (Upper Iowa) Nick James (Nebraska Kearney) Ethan Leake (Chadron State) Grayston DiBlasi (Colorado Mines) Who's Out Sean Johnson (American International) Luke Wymer (Ashland) Joshua Fuentes-Norikoyo (San Francisco State) Dean Noble (Western Colorado) Angel Flores (Adams State) Biggest Story Did you know that Chadron State has a Northern Colorado transfer as their starter at 141lbs this season? If you didn't before, you do now. Ethan Leake was 0-3 as a backup for Troy Nickerson's Bears in 2021 and started his #D2Wrestle season off just 5-4. In the Super Regional VI tournament, the Eagle defeated #13 Dean Noble (Western Colorado) and #7 Joshua Fuentes-Norikoyo (San Francisco State). He can make an argument for the best tournament, but since he fell in the finals to Nick James (Nebraska Kearney) by fall, I cannot give him that nod. Still, going from a winless Covid season to making the national tournament is dang impressive to me. Best Tournament Branson Proudlock (Findlay) entered the Super Regional III tournament as the third-ranked wrestler in the country, so his winning the tournament should have seemed a foregone conclusion. Not so fast, at his weight was two-time returning national champion and three-time All-American Tyler Warner (West Liberty). Winners win and that is who and what Warner has been throughout his career. To win a finals match against Warner after having his first two matches cut incredibly short by injury defaults was even more impressive. He essentially never had a chance to warm up for his finals battle. My Pick To Win It All (as of today) I am not sure who can beat Joey Bianchini (St. Cloud State) at this weight, with the returning national champion Isiah Royal (Newberry) moving up to 149. Bianchini has steamrolled through his season, including a Super Regional V crown where he scored bonus points in each match. The sophomore has only lost two matches over the last three seasons as the starter for the Huskies; neither of those wrestlers is at this weight in 2022. 149 Who's In Jacob Ealy (Pitt-Johnstown) Josh Laubach (Alderson Broaddus) Dom Means (Gannon) Isiah Royal (Newberry) Demetrie Teddlie (King) Jake Piccirrilli (UNC Pembroke) Craig Cook (Davis & Elkins) Jordan Watters (West Liberty) Carson Speelman (Ashland) Brik Filippo (Central Oklahoma) Logan Bailey (Indianapolis) Darick Lapaglia (Central Missouri) Nick Novak (St. Cloud State) Hunter Burnett (Augustana) Wyatt Turnquist (Northern State) Noah Hermosillo (Adams State) Sam Turner (Nebraska Kearney) Jason Hanenberg (Western Colorado) Who's Out Eric Faught (Upper Iowa) Kyle Rathman (MSU Mankato) Biggest Story This is easy; the biggest story at this weight class all year to me has been the return of Darick Lapaglia (Central Missouri). It has been eight years since the sophomore was an All-American as a freshman for Maryville University. Eight years is forever for a college athlete. To put it into perspective, Michael Kemerer (Iowa) has been a Hawkeye since the 2015-2016 season. Lapaglia was a highly ranked recruit out of the state of Missouri and now he is part of a Central Missouri program that just had one of their most successful seasons in the last decade. I do not know if he will finish as an All-Amerian again this season, but how do you bet against a young man like this? Best Tournament True freshman Nick Novak (St. Cloud State) took over the starting job for the Huskies just over three weeks ago. Heading into the Super Regional V tournament, he was just 3-2 as the starter with losses to Wyatt Turnquist (Northern State) and Hunter Burnett (Augustana). On his way to winning the tournament, he defeated #14 Eric Faught 8-0 and then Wyatt Turnquist 7-1 and in the finals he took down Hunter Burnett 4-1. Three ranked wins over athletes ahead of him and two of those revenge wins? How do you beat that type of tournament? My Pick To Win It All (as of today) Isiah Royal (Newberry) is a five-time national qualifier, a two-time finalist, and a returning national champion. Do you really need me to give you more reasons than those? 157 Who's In JoJo Gonzalez (American International) Nick Young (Gannon) Nate Smith (Pitt-Johnstown) Dallas Boone (King) Jake Nicolosi (Mount Union) Patrick Wunderlich (Coker) Chance Esmont (Ashland) Noah Tarr (Davis & Elkins) Tyler Swiderski (Lake Erie) John Ridle (Central Missouri) Ty Lucas (Central Oklahoma) Dawson Combest (Indianapolis) Anthony Herrera (St. Cloud State) Tyler Wagener (Augustana) Braydon Huber (Mary) Ryan Wheeler (Colorado Mesa) Josiah Rider (Adams State) Mason Boutain (San Francisco State) Who's Out James Wimer (Findlay) Jace Fisher (Newman) James Burks (Northern State) Chase Luensman (Upper Iowa) Biggest Story I really hate to make this about a wrestler not making the NCAA tournament, but when that wrestler is the defending national champion, it is hard to ignore. James Wimer (Findlay) was a perfect 12-0 during his 2021 championship run. Going into the Super Regional tournament, he was a perfect 13-0 against Division II foes in 2022. To say his loss to Chance Esmont (Ashland) was surprising is an understatement. His second loss of the tournament that eliminated him from a postseason berth to Tyler Swiderski (Lake Erie) was, to my mind, unthinkable. You hate to see a young man end his career like this, but he leaves Findlay as a national champion and two-time All-American. Best Tournament John Ridle (Central Missouri) followed up an 11-2 sophomore season with another sophomore season that saw him become the first Mule to win a Regional title since 2015. His second win over #3 Tyler Lucas (Central Oklahoma) brought home the 157 championship and sent him to the national tournament with teammate Darick Lapaglia. He enters the national tournament with an 11-match win streak. My Pick To Win It All (as of today) With James Wimer not making the tournament and Josiah Rider (Adams State) losing to Ryan Wheeler (Colorado Mesa), all Tyler Lucas needed to do to earn the top seed in St. Louis was to win his Super Regional. Instead, Anthony Herrera (St. Cloud State) and JoJo Gonzalez (American International) will be the highest-ranked athletes entering the national tournament, having won their Super Regionals. That should earn them the top seeds in my mind. Give me Baltazar Gonzalez right now. When his offense is firing, he is one of the most explosive wrestlers at any weight. Right now, it appears that the engine is running hot. 165 Who's In Dillon Keane (Pitt-Johnstown) Brandon Conner (Millersville) Evan Fisler (Gannon) John Dean (Belmont Abbey) Rashaan Vereen (UNC Pembroke) Talon Seitz (Newberry) Drew Weichers (Ashland) James Penfold (Lake Erie) Bryan LaVearn (Tiffin) Jack Eiteljorge (Indianapolis) Nate Trepanier (Lindenwood) Corey Peterson (McKendree) Shane Gantz (UW Parkside) Miles Fitzgerald (Augustana) Leo Mushinksy (Mary) Matt Malcom (Nebraska Kearney) Hunter Mullin (Western Colorado) Ruben Garcia (Colorado Pueblo) Who's Out Gage Bernall (Lander) Corey Christie (Coker) Kameron Frame (Newman) Will Kuster (Drury) Hunter Jump (Central Oklahoma) Devin Donovan (St Cloud State) Biggest Story Six of my top-16 wrestlers will not be making the trip to St Louis. In what may be the biggest benefit to Nebraska Kearney, neither St. Cloud State nor Central Oklahoma will have a point scorer at this weight. The Lopers will have five-time national qualifier, three-time All-American and 2019 national champion Matt Malcom. This is a huge point swing and could be a difference-maker at the national tournament. Best Tournament Brandon Conner (Millersville) entered the Super Regional I tournament 1-3 against Division II competition. The sophomore has a below .500 career record against his fellow DII athletes, but he is now an NCAA national qualifier. His win over Evan Fisler (Gannon) is by far and away his best career win and exactly what he needed to punch his ticket. Millersville missed out on competing in 2021, but they will send multiple athletes to St Louis this season. My Pick To Win It All (as of today, tomorrow, and next week) Matt Malcom. 174 Who's In Joe Petrella (Gannon) Dillon Walker (Mercyhurst) Brock Biddle (Pitt-Johnstown) Caleb Spears (Newberry) Connor Weeks (Belmont Abbey) Stephon Haliburton (Queens) Ty McGeary (West Liberty) Dan Beemer (Ashland) Hunter DeLong (Glenville State) Andrew Sams (Indianapolis) Josh Jones (McKendree) Alex Kauffman (Central Oklahoma) Cade Mueller (Augustana) Trevor Turiff (MSU Mankato) Job Ayala (UW Wisconsin) Austin Eldredge (Nebraska Kearney) Allan Michel (New Mexico Highlands) Seth Latham (Colorado Mesa) Who's Out Anthony Yacovetti (Millersville) Ethan Baney (Kutztown) Dom Murphy (St Cloud State) Max Bruss (Mary) Biggest Story Allan Michel (New Mexico Highland) was not even an afterthought as I looked through the Super Regional VI preview I was working on. He was just 5-7 against Division II headed into the postseason, but none of that mattered once he stepped on the mat Saturday. Three straight wins earned him a trip to nationals and evened his season record in Division II to 8-8. He will have a shot at finishing about .500 with a good national tournament. New Mexico Highlands took a couple of months into the season to update their roster, but I bet they update Michel's with this result sooner rather than later. Best Tournament Ty McGeary (West Liberty) won the Super Regional III crown after Andrew Sams (Ashland) was forced to withdraw from the finals with an injury in the second period of their match. Depending on the health of Sams, how the seeding committee weighs the victory, and what they decide to do with Cade Mueller and Trevor Turiff, McGeary may have earned himself the second-seed at the national tournament. My Pick To Win It All (as of today) Give me the Viking Cade Mueller (Augustana) to win it all. He has six wins against ranked wrestlers this season and that is good enough for me. This could change when the brackets come out, but for now I am going with the wrestler from east river. 184 Who's In Matt Weinberg (Kutztown) Anthony Giampietro (Millersville) Cam Page (Gannon) JaQuez Bostic (Limestone) Noah Curreri (Queens) Jovaun Johnston (UNC Pembroke) Connor Craig (West Liberty) Cole House (Glenville State) Logan Hall (Notre Dame) Heath Gray (Central Oklahoma) Dan Filipek (McKendree) Joey Williams (Maryville) Caden Steffen (SMSU) Reece Worachek (UW Parkside) Treyton Cacek (Northern State) Billy Higgins (Nebraska Kearney) Martin Verhaeghe (Fort Hays State) Anderson Salisbury (Colorado Mines) Who's Out Luke McGonigal (Mercyhurst) Aidan Pasiuk (Ashland) William Pitzner (St Cloud State) Kolby Kost (Augustana) Biggest Story Davenport University earned their first national qualifier in program history at 125lbs; Glenville State earned their first at 184. Cole Houser's win in the semifinals propelled him into the finals and into the history books. His tournament may have ended with a loss to Connor Craig (West Liberty), but he is headed to St Louis. Dylan Cottrell has done big things at Glenville State in a very short time and in the program's second season in Division II, will send two wrestlers to the national tournament. Best Tournament Freshman Matt Weinberg (Kutztown) has jumped right into the lineup after a solid career for Archbishop Ryan High School in Philadelphia. The Bears have a strong lineup and could duplicate their top-10 finish from 2019, the last time they were able to compete at the national tournament. Weinberg has won six straight matches now and, for the season, owns a 50% bonus rate. Good luck meat. My Pick To Win It All (as of today) Connor Craig (West Liberty) and Heath Gray (Central Oklahoma) are each one-time national champions. One of them will end this season as a two-timer. I am going to pick Connor Craig this go-around. 197 Who's In Brian Kennerly (Kutztown) Joel Leise (Gannon) Gino Sita (Alderson Broaddus) Darius Parker (Lander) Bryce Walker (UNC Pembroke) Austin Watkins (Queens) Nicholas Mason (Tiffin) Walker Uhl (Ashland) Logan Kemp (West Liberty) Dalton Abney (Central Oklahoma) Derek Blubaugh (Indianapolis) Chase Stegall (Maryville) Noah Ryan (St. Cloud State) Cole Huss (Northern State) Matt Kaylor (Mary) Hayden Prince (Nebraska Kearney) Donald Negus (Colorado Mesa) Tereus Henry (Fort Hays State) Who's Out Chris Droege (Lake Erie) Jordan Williams (Glenville State) Rodsean Graham (UW Parkside) Hunter Tobiasson (Adams State) Biggest Story They are putting something in the water at Kutztown University and the Bears big men are drinking lots of it. Brian Kennerly joined Matt Weinberg and Andrew Dunn as Super Regional I champions. The University of Virginia transfer defeated three-time national qualifier Joel Leise (Gannon) by major decision in the finals and has to be taken seriously as a high All-American threat. Best Tournament Nicholas "Curly" Mason (Tiffin) had his 2020 and 2021 seasons end badly. The cancellation and then a disappointing 0-2 tournament means the 2019 national champion has not won a match at the national tournament in three years. Fourteen straight times he has walked out on a Super Regional mat and had his hand raised. That is good enough for four-straight Super Regional III titles. An MFF by Walker Uhl (Ashland) gave him his fourth and final title. Now can he follow that up with another podium finish? My Pick To Win It All (as of today) Dalton Abney (Central Oklahoma) should win the national title. He would have been the victor last season if Ryan Vasbinder had decided to leave McKendree earlier and make the jump to Division I. Vasbinder is gone. Abney is about as close of a thing to a lock there is this season. Hwt Who's In Andrew Dunn (Kutztown) Jacob Robb (Mercyhurst) Freddie Nixon (Gannon) Zach Shaffer (UNC Pembroke) Juan Holmes (Limestone) Cam Coffman (Lander) Francesco Borsellino (West Liberty) David Henson (Tiffin) La'Ron Parks (Notre Dame) Shawn Streck (Central Oklahoma) Cale Gray (Indianapolis) Ian Kuehl (McKendree) Darrell Mason (MSU Mankato) Kam Teacher (St. Cloud State) Steven Hajas (Augustana) Lee Herrington (Nebraska Kearney) AJ Cooper (Fort Hays State) Weston Hunt (Colorado Mines) Who's Out Gavin Nye (Colorado Pueblo) Mason Watt (Chadron State) Tanielo Feliciano-Takafua (Simon Fraser) Biggest Story The biggest story is that the biggest threats to win a team title all managed to qualify their heavyweights. Nebraska Kearney and Central Oklahoma each had their heavyweights win a title, while St. Cloud State saw their returning national champion fall in the Super Regional V finals. Last season the tournament came down to the last match; if it happens again in 2022, all three contenders have a shot to bring home the team trophy. Best Tournament It is hard to think that anyone could have had a better tournament than Darrell Mason (MSU Mankato). The Maverick's big man navigated a tough regular-season schedule with a perfect record and then won four more matches on Saturday to be crowned the best big man in Super Regional V. The feat is all the more impressive because his finals victory was over four-time national qualifier, three-time All-American, and returning national champion Kam Teacher (St Cloud State). It came down to an escape point in tiebreaker one, but however it happened, Mason handed Teacher his first loss in Division II since the 2019 national tournament. Bravo big man. My Pick To Win It All (as of today) There are some very good big men at the tournament, but I will not bet against the 2019 national champion who has never lost in Division II, Andrew Dunn. "Dunnyboi" will have a heck of a path to walk, but I expect him to be up to the task.

Top seeded 184 lber Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa (photos courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) 2022 Big 12 Championships Preview 58 total allocations/45 total allocations Saturday and Sunday will see the Big 12 Championships take place from a neutral site in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 12 teams will do battle for a total of 58 automatic bids to the 2022 NCAA Championships across the ten weight classes. That number is a sharp increase from last year's total of 45. That speaks to the growth in the conference's affiliate members, as well as the traditional powers excelling. One new-ish affiliate is Missouri, who left the league in all sports before the 2012-13 season for the SEC. Since they are the only school in the conference, Missouri had previously been a part of the MAC, for wrestling purposes. Now, they've returned to the Big 12 and brought a team that will contend for the title. In fact, Missouri wrestlers earned automatic qualifying bids at nine of the ten weight classes. One of the Big 12's mainstays, Oklahoma State, will be in the mix for yet another title; however, they have been dealing with some injuries during the home stretch. Iowa State popped up and had a dual record that only included one loss. Can they fare well in tourneys? While not quite ready to challenge for a title in a tournament format, Northern Iowa and South Dakota State had productive dual seasons and have the horses to make an impact. Below is our weight-by-weight preview of the action, along with predictions for top-eight finishers at all ten weights, and a team race projection. Wrestlers bolded are ones that we have pegged to receive the automatic qualifying bids available in their respective weight class. When: March 5th/6th, 2022 Where: Tulsa, Oklahoma How to Watch: ESPN+ , ESPN2 (Finals) 125 lbs 6 allocations Hats off to whoever seeded 125 lbs in the Big 12! I"m not saying it's right or wrong, perfect or not, just that it was done. The conference is loaded with talented wrestlers and they've made seeding virtually impossible based on beating up on each other. The conference's two returning All-Americans assumed the top-two seed with #8 Killian Cardinale (West Virginia) as the top seed and #16 Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley) as the second seed. The two met in Utah Valley's last dual of the year and Cardinale prevailed, 3-2. LaMont was limited this year with only eight matches. The only notable conference opponent he defeated was #17 Noah Surtin (Missouri), who checks in as the fifth seed. Cardinale also posted an impressive 12-4 major decision over the 2021 Big 12 champion, #15 Brody Teske (Northern Iowa), who gets the third seed. Teske at the third seed is a little bit curious since he had a head-to-head loss versus the fourth seed, #12 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Oklahoma State), earlier this season. Of course, Mastrogiovanni has his own losses, too. He fell to #21 Kysen Terukina (Iowa State) and split bouts with #31 Joey Prata (Oklahoma). Terukina will be the sixth seed and Prata the seventh. Both Terukina and Prata are dangerous at such low seeds. Terukina has wins this year over the two highest-ranked 125's in the Big 12 (Cardinale and Mastrogiovanni), while Prata has split with his Bedlam rival and defeated Terukina. From the ranks of the unseeded, the biggest threat could be Tanner Jordan (South Dakota State). He has 20 wins on the year, two of which came against past NCAA qualifiers (Bryce West - Northern Illinois and Liam Cronin - Nebraska). There are any number of ways this weight could play out, but I'd be shocked to see all four top-seeds in the semis. Predictions 1st) Killian Cardinale (West Virginia) 2nd) Brody Teske (Northern Iowa) 3rd) Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley) 4th) Noah Surtin (Missouri) 5th) Kysen Terukina (Iowa State) 6th) Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Oklahoma State) 7th) Joey Prata (Oklahoma) 8th) Jace Koelzer (Northern Colorado) 133 lbs 6 allocations 133 lbs can be a difficult one to make sense of in the Big 12, but there is one constant at the top in #2 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State). Fix has not lost to a conference opponent and is undefeated for a second consecutive regular season, while chasing a third Big 12 crown. Against Big 12 competition, Fix has notched bonus points in six of nine contests this year. Behind Fix, #16 Kyle Biscoglia (Northern Iowa) has emerged as the two-seed. Biscoglia only Big 12 loss this season came to Fix, with a respectable 5-1 score. A loss to Fix is the only blemish on Biscoglia's ledger during the past 11 matches, a span that dates back to late December. 'Though he joined the team late, #25 Gabe Tagg (South Dakota State), hit the ground running and became an excellent find for the Jackrabbit coaching staff. Tagg won 12 of his 15 matches in an SDSU singlet and enters the tournament on a six-match winning streak. Perhaps his best win came over 2021 Big 12 runner-up #28 Tony Madrigal (Oklahoma) in early February. Tagg gets the three-seed while his neighbor to the north, #26 Kellyn March (North Dakota State), is fourth. Last season, March started off strong, but faded as the year went on. This time around, he was consistent for the entire regular season. #27 Ramazan Attasauov (Iowa State) will handle the fifth seed. He has losses to three of the four wrestlers above him, but has fared well against the remainder of the weight. Like the previous weight class, the x-factors could be the sixth and seventh seeds. #13 Haiden Drury (Utah Valley) is seeded sixth, while #28 Tony Madrigal (Oklahoma) is seventh. Drury does not have any 2021-22 matches against anyone in this field, but is 14-3 overall. He was third at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and a champion at the Roadrunner Open. Madrigal is in the seventh spot. He started the year with a title at the Michigan State Open, defeating two All-Americans (Rayvon Foley - Michigan State and Lucas Byrd - Illinois) and downing another top-10 opponent (Dylan Ragusin - Michigan). But, after that point, he went 4-7 the rest of the season. Madrigal's a two-time national qualifier and made the B12 finals last year with a 3-7 record pre-tournament, so he knows about peaking at the right time. The eighth seed, Job Greenwood, is also dangerous. He's responsible for an early-season win over #4 Michael McGee (Arizona State), but is 15-10 overall. From the unseeded, true freshman Garett Lautzenheiser (West Virginia), had a rough year, going 6-11, but owns a win over third-seeded Tagg. Predictions 1st) Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) 2nd) Kyle Biscoglia (Northern Iowa) 3rd) Haiden Drury (Utah Valley) 4th) Gabe Tagg (South Dakota State) 5th) Kellyn March (North Dakota State) 6th) Ramazan Attasauov (Iowa State) 7th) Job Greenwood (Wyoming) 8th) Tony Madrigal (Oklahoma) 141 lbs 7 allocations We should have a lot of fun with 141 lbs since there are four of the top 11 wrestlers in the nation entered in this bracket. Leading off is senior #4 Ian Parker. Ian is a two-time Big 12 finalist and one-time champion (2019). As a result, he has received a top-seven seed in each of the last two NCAA Tournaments. This season, Parker started at 149 lbs and dropped a match in the Iowa dual; but since moving down to 141, he hasn't been beaten. Parker gets the top-seed based on his 9-0 record at the weight, despite not having defeated any of the wrestlers 2-4 this season. All-American #7 Clay Carlson (South Dakota State) checks in as the two-seed. He's had a remarkable season, winning the CKLV Invitational and finishing fourth at the Southern Scuffle. In Vegas and in dual competition, Carlson owns wins over the third seed, #9 Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado). Now, of Carlson's three losses this season, two came to #11 Allan Hart (Missouri), the fourth seed. Alirez finally has had a season where he was relatively healthy and has shown the promise of being named one of the top recruits in the Class of 2019. He was a CKLV finalist and a third-place finisher at the Scuffle this year. Two of his most notable wins from the year came against Hart and three-time NCAA All-American, Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska). Hart is looking to get over the hump and stand on the NCAA podium for the first time after coming up a match shy in 2021. He was named the sixth seed last season after finishing third in the MAC. Oklahoma State's true freshman #20 Carter Young receives the fifth seed. Though he took some losses late in the year to high-level competition, he could be the type of freshman that hits his stride at the right time of the season. On the final weekend of the regular season, Young downed #28 Darren Miller (Bucknell) and majored Bedlam rival Jacob Butler (Oklahoma). #24 Cael Happel (Northern Iowa) is the seventh seeds, as a result of a 10-6 loss to Young. Happel's best win of the year came when he downed Hart 9-7. The seeds are rounded out with Darren Green (Wyoming) at seven and #30 Dylan Droegemueller (North Dakota State) at eight. These two didn't meet in 2021-22; however, Droegemueller defeated Green's teammate Chase Zollman, a 2021 national qualifier. Green likely gets the nod because his record against the field (4-2) is much cleaner than Droegemueller's (2-6). An unseeded wrestler to watch out for is Cody Phippen (Air Force). Phippen started the year strong, but fell off and went winless in the conference against tournament entrants. Predictions 1st) Clay Carlson (South Dakota State) 2nd) Ian Parker (Iowa State) 3rd) Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) 4th) Carter Young (Oklahoma State) 5th) Cael Happel (Northern Iowa) 6th) Allan Hart (Missouri) 7th) Dylan Droegemueller (North Dakota State) 8th) Cody Phippen (Air Force) 149 lbs 4 allocations Four allocations is the smallest number in the conference this year, so competition will be that much more intense at 149, 165, and 184. With little margin for error, a slip-up could be costly. The top seed here is #13 Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State), who rolls in at 14-2. Gfeller has been in-and-out of the Cowboy lineup since winning the Big 12 in 2019, but wasted little time firmly establishing himself as the starter this season. The top-seed here should have been pretty evident as Gfeller has head-to-head wins against all of the wrestlers seeded 2nd-6th. The second seed belongs to perhaps the most unlikely wrestler in this weight class #19 Willie McDougald (Oklahoma). The freshman from New York took over after an injury to Mitch Moore in Vegas and after Dom Demas fell out of favor, coming up from 141. In McDougald's first dual meet, he downed #22 Josh Edmond (Missouri) in tiebreakers. A week later, he took out All-American #21 Jarrett Degen (Iowa State) in sudden victory. When it was all said and done, McDougald finished with a top-20 ranking and a 16-4 record. A nail-biting win over Edmond on the final week of the regular season, was enough to ensure the third seed for Degen. The veteran, Degen, held off a challenge from teammate Ian Parker, before running up a 16-3 record and looking close to AA form. Edmond established himself as one of the most exciting wrestlers in the country to watch. There are typically fireworks or near-fireworks whenever he hits the mat. Edmond got in such a shootout in the finals of the Southern Scuffle, when he fell to #14 Josh Finesilver (Duke), 11-10. The backhalf of the seeded wrestlers features Colin Realbuto (Northern Iowa), Jaron Jensen (Wyoming), Chris Sandoval (Northern Colorado), and Gaven Sax (North Dakota State), in that order. Realbuto earned a spot in the national rankings after establishing himself as the starter for the Panthers, but dropped with a 2-4 skid to end the season. Remember, though, that stretch saw him face the top-three seeds at this weight along with a top-five out-of-conference opponent. If any of the top-four are vulnerable, he's most likely to pounce. Predictions 1st) Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State) 2nd) Jarrett Degen (Iowa State) 3rd) Willie McDougald (Oklahoma) 4th) Josh Edmond (Missouri) 5th) Colin Realbuto (Northern Iowa) 6th) Jaron Jensen (Wyoming) 7th) Chris Sandoval (Northern Colorado) 8th) Gaven Sax (North Dakota State) 157 lbs 6 allocations Along with Daton Fix at 133, #1 David Carr (Iowa State) has to be one of the heaviest favorites of this entire tournament. Carr is on a 50-match winning streak and seeks his third Big 12 title in as many tries. Getting that title would make him the first Cyclone with three conference championships since Kyven Gadson (2013-15). The 2021 national champion finished the regular season 17-0 and has a bonus point rate over 70% for the first time in his career. With Carr returning, there's a good chance we could have our first (under this circumstance) rematch of the 2021 Big 12 finals with #5 Jared Franek (North Dakota State). A 7-3 loss to Carr is one of Franek's only two losses of the year. In last year's final, Carr prevailed, 8-2. Franek captured a title at the Southern Scuffle with a win over #16 Chase Saldate (Michigan State). In the semis, he defeated #21 Jarrett Jacques (Missouri), who is the fourth seed at this weight. Franek has the potential to become the Bison's first NCAA All-American since 2015. The other returning All-American at this weight is #20 Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma State), who was eighth a year ago. We'll have to wait and see what type of condition Sheets is in once the tournament starts. During the last weekend of the year, Sheets appeared to be banged up in a loss to Bucknell and didn't compete against Oklahoma. We've seen that Sheets is able to fight through pain and still compete at a high level. Jacques has a 15-10 record on the year, but that can be misleading. He has lost seven bouts to top-ten ranked opposition. Right behind him is #22 Jacob Wright (Wyoming), an NCAA Round of 12 finisher from 2021. Wright was also third in Vegas at the CKLV in his first appearance of the 2021-22 campaign. In Vegas, Wright picked up a win over #14 Justin Thomas (Oklahoma), who is the sixth seed. Derek Holschlag (Northern Iowa) and Jax Garoutte (Utah Valley) will assume the seventh and eighth seeds, respectively. Holschlag emerged as UNI's starter at the Collegiate Duals and has gone 7-4 since. Garoutte has been streaky, winning his first five bouts, before enduring a seven-match losing skid. He snapped out of his by downing Alex Hornfeck (West Virginia) during UVU's final dual. Predictions 1st) David Carr (Iowa State) 2nd) Jared Franek (North Dakota State) 3rd) Jarrett Jacques (Missouri) 4th) Justin Thomas (Oklahoma) 5th) Jacob Wright (Wyoming) 6th) Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma State) 7th) Derek Holschlag (Northern Iowa) 8th) Nathan Moore (Northern Colorado) 165 lbs 4 allocations Once again, automatic qualifying slots will be at a premium at this weight. We're going out on a limb to project that #2 Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) takes one of those spots. O'Toole is unbeaten (17-0) with bonus points in 82% of his bouts and six falls. Even at such a loaded weight nationally, O'Toole is in great position to All-American for a second time and be a primary contender for a title. Like O'Toole, #7 Peyton Hall (West Virginia) competed last season as a true freshman and is now among the top contenders at this weight. Hall won his first 16 matches of the 2021-22, a streak that was halted by O'Toole in the Southern Scuffle finals. His only other loss this season came to 2021 Big 12 champion #17 Luke Weber (North Dakota State). At the Scuffle, Hall had majored Weber. Seeded third here is #16 Austin Yant (Northern Iowa). Yant was the 33rd seed at the 2021 NCAA Tournament, but has taken a huge step forward this year. He has wins over Weber and #11 Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State) on his record. The fourth seed at this weight is Wittlake. He's the second All-American at this weight. An injury in a loss to #10 Zach Hartman (Bucknell) prevented Wittlake from competing in the last dual of the year and earning an AQ bid for the conference. Like his teammate, Sheets, we'll have to see whether sitting out the Oklahoma dual was merely precautionary or a concern for this tournament. In such a weird weight class, we have the 2021 champion, Weber, down as the fifth seed. Weber was fifth at the Southern Scuffle, the second time he reached that placement at the tournament. In addition to his victory via fall over Hall, Weber has a total of eight pins on the year. The wrestler directly below Weber in the seedings, #33 Tanner Cook (South Dakota State), was actually responsible for Weber's final loss of the year. Cook is actually more dangerous, having notched 14 falls on the year. Strangely enough, #32 Joe Grello (Oklahoma) is the eighth seed. Despite not having a winning record, Grello owns two wins this year over Cook. He's relegated to the eighth seed because of a loss to Isaac Judge (Iowa State). A dangerous unseeded wrestler in this bracket is Wyoming's Cole Moody. Moody was a Big 12 finalist in 2021, who hasn't been able to compete regularly this season. He's currently 10-3, but hasn't had any wins over the key figures at this weight in 2021-22. Predictions 1st) Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) 2nd) Peyton Hall (West Virginia) 3rd) Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State) 4th) Luke Weber (North Dakota State) 5th) Austin Yant (Northern Iowa) 6th) Tanner Cook (South Dakota State) 7th) Cole Moody (Wyoming) 8th) Joe Grello (Oklahoma) 174 lbs 8 allocations The weight class with the most allocations in the conference is 174 lbs and there's some potential for even more bids. There's plenty of different arguments that could be made for the top spot, but #12 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) gets the nod. Plott won his first nine bouts of the year before getting upset by #19 Lance Runyon (Northern Iowa), by fall. This weekend, the two could meet in the semifinals, as Runyon is set to take the fourth seed. Runyon missed the first two and a half months of the year, only to come back and knock off Plott in his second match. A day later, he fell to #17 Anthony Mantanona (Oklahoma), who gets the three seed. Mantanona also has a pair of losses to Plott. Nestled in the middle of those three, at the second seed, is #10 Cade DeVos (South Dakota State). DeVos also has a loss to Mantanona, but probably possesses the most impressive body of work of anyone at the weight. He was fourth at the CKLV Invitational, before winning the Southern Scuffle. After losing in Vegas, DeVos proceeded to notch 13-straight wins. Amazingly enough, a pair of top-15 wrestlers are set to take the fifth and sixth seeds. #15 Hayden Hastings (Wyoming) is fifth and #11 Peyton Mocco (Missouri) is sixth. In another strange wrinkle, one of Mocco's teammates, Sean Harman (Missouri), has a win over Hastings. On a positive note, Hastings won the Reno Tournament of Champions and was seventh at the CKLV Invitational. Mocco was a finalist at the Scuffle, losing 3-2 in the finals to DeVos. The final two seeds belong to #25 Joel Devine (Iowa State) and #26 Austin Brenner (North Dakota State). Down the stretch, the depth of this weight got to Devine as he lost four of his final five bouts. Earlier in the year, he downed Mantanona, #21 Gerrit Nijenhuis (Purdue), and Brenner. Brenner was fourth at the Southern Scuffle and defeated #16 Matt Finesilver (Duke), among others, in Chattanooga. All four of the unseeded wrestlers are capable of getting hot and stealing one of the eight AQ's. Amazingly, 2021 Big 12 runner-up Jackson Hemauer (Northern Colorado) is one of them. Another, Sam Wolf (Air Force), is currently in the national rankings at #32. Kekana Fouret (Utah Valley) was briefly in the national rankings and Dennis Robin (West Virginia) holds a victory via fall over Devine. Predictions 1st) Cade DeVos (South Dakota State) 2nd) Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) 3rd) Peyton Mocco (Missouri) 4th) Hayden Hastings (Wyoming) 5th) Lance Runyon (Northern Iowa) 6th) Anthony Mantanona (Oklahoma) 7th) Joel Devine (Iowa State) 8th) Sam Wolf (Air Force) 184 lbs 4 allocations The final weight with four allocations is 184 lbs, a weight that has been provided over by #4 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) for the last two seasons. Of Keckeisen's 40 collegiate matches, only 2021 NCAA champion Aaron Brooks (Penn State) has been able to defeat him. On both occasions, it was by a margin of one and two points. The returning NCAA third-place finisher, Keckeisen, has opened up more offensively in 2021-22. He tallied bonus points in seven of his ten bouts against Big 12 competition. The second seed belongs to #7 Marcus Coleman (Iowa State), who has been a remarkable development for the Cyclones. After years of moving between three different weights, Coleman has found a home at 184 and thrived with a 14-3 record. Two of those losses came at the hands of Keckeisen. Coleman has picked up two wins over past All-Americans with #12 Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) and #19 Taylor Venz (Nebraska). Geer will be the fourth seed and #15 Tate Samuelson (Wyoming) is the third seed. A win in sudden victory last December helped Samuelson get the nod over Geer. Geer is looking to get back in the win column after falling to #33 Keegan Moore (Oklahoma) on the final day of the regular season. Samuelson was fourth at the CKLV Invitational and a runner-up at the Reno TOC this season. He was a conference finalist in 2021. There will be three ranked wrestlers seeded 5-7 looking to break into the top-four a walk away with a trip to Detroit. They are #21 Jeremiah Kent (Missouri), #32 Cade King (South Dakota State), and Moore. Kent was a MAC runner-up and the #9 seed at nationals last year. King has excelled in the second half of the year, winning nine of his final ten bouts. The former national qualifier for Oklahoma State, Moore, has grabbed ahold of the Sooners starting spot late in the year, which was punctuated by his win over Geer. The final seed here belongs to North Dakota State's true freshman DJ Parker. The young Bison has 20 wins on the year, the best of which came over King. The top unseeded wrestler at this weight appears to be Jacob Armstrong (Utah Valley). Armstrong was eighth at the CKLV Invitational with wins over three 2021 national qualifiers. He was hurt by UVU's long second-half layoff, but could make noise here. Predictions 1st) Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) 2nd) Jeremiah Kent (Missouri) 3rd) Marcus Coleman (Iowa State) 4th) Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) 5th) Tate Samuelson (Wyoming) 6th) Cade King (South Dakota State) 7th) Jacob Armstrong (Utah Valley) 8th) Keegan Moore (Oklahoma) 197 lbs 7 allocations The loss of 2021 NCAA champion AJ Ferrrari (Oklahoma State) to injury opened up this weight class in the Big 12 and nationally. Ferrari's Big 12 finals opponent #2 Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming), could be the biggest beneficiary. Buchanan, a 2021 All-American, has four wins over opponents in the top-11 nationally this season. He isn't invincible, though, as a loss by fall to #21 Owen Pentz (North Dakota State), represents his most recent loss. Perhaps the hottest wrestler at this weight is the second-seed, #6 Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State). After a 1-2 showing at the CKLV weight class won by Buchanan, Sloan has proceeded to take fourth at the Scuffle, then won his last 12 dual appearances. Sloan was a 2020 Big 12 runner-up, as a freshman. One of two remaining All-Americans at this weight, after Buchanan, is #17 Jake Woodley (Oklahoma), the third seed. Woodley won the Michigan State Open and was fourth at the CKLV this year. Last year, we saw not to underestimate Woodley regardless of his seed. He advanced to the NCAA semifinals as the 26th seed. The other AA is the fifth seed, #8 Rocky Elam (Missouri). Elam went through the regular season last year, as a redshirt freshman, unscatched but has found more difficulties this year. He has three Big 12 losses on the year, to Buchanan, Woodley, and #7 Yonger Bastida (Iowa State). Bastida comes in as the fourth seed and is on a hot streak, as well. His sudden victory win over Elam locked up a dual win over the Tigers in Iowa State's final dual. Bastida continues to get acclimated to folkstyle wrestling, which is a scary proposition. A year ago, he went 4-4 without a win over a DI wrestler. The dangerous Pentz is seeded sixth. He became a household name at the 2021 NCAA Championships when he knocked off #2 Eric Schultz (Nebraska) in the opening round. Pentz has proven to be one of the deadliest pinners at the weight. He has 11 on the year, including one over Buchanan. Although he wasn't a victim of a pin, #24 Alan Clothier (Northern Colorado) has a recent loss from Pentz, 10-3 in mid-February. Clothier is looking to qualify for nationals for the fourth time and a third time at Northern Colorado. Behind him is #22 Evan Bockman (Utah Valley), who has split matches with the Bear 197 lber this year. Clothier won their season-opening dual, while Bockman prevailed at the CKLV Invitational. Bockman came away from Vegas in eighth-place. Oklahoma State's Gavin Stika is an unseeded wrestler to watch at 197. Stika has filled in admirably for Ferrari while competing in a veteran-laded weight. He posted a win in his dual debut against Northern Iowa and will continue to grow in the OSU room. Predictions 1st) Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming) 2nd) Jake Woodley (Oklahoma) 3rd) Rocky Elam (Missouri) 4th) Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) 5th) Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State) 6th) Owen Pentz (North Dakota State) 7th) Alan Clothier (Northern Colorado) 8th) Gavin Stika (Oklahoma State) 285 lbs 6 allocations The top of 285 lbs is pretty easy to figure out, while the rest of the weight gets pretty crazy. That one seed belongs to undefeated #6 Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force). Last season, Hendrickson finished third in the Big 12 and went on to finish nationals in the bloodround. He then proceeded to make the Junior World team in freestyle lost in the bronze medal match. Should he capture a Big 12 title, he'd be the first Air Force wrestler to win a conference championship, since the move to the Big 12. Hendrickson has proven to be one of the most dangerous wrestlers at 285 lbs. His bonus point % is 85, which is ridiculous no matter the weight, but even more remarkable at heavyweight. That total is boosted by pins in 14 of his 20 wins. #19 Zach Elam (Missouri) gets the second seed, partially because he only has one loss versus the rest of this field. Though he's fallen to #22 AJ Nevills (South Dakota State), Elam has wins over #21 Sam Schuyler (Iowa State), #24 Brandon Metz (North Dakota State), #30 Luke Surber (Oklahoma State), #32 Josh Heindselman (Oklahoma). Right behind him is Schuyler, who only has losses to the top two seeds. Schuyler qualified for nationals last season for Buffalo, but moved to Ames as a grad transfer. Nevills, #23 Michael Wolfgram (West Virginia), and Metz fall into line as the 4-6 seeds, in that order. A win by Nevills over Metz in the final dual of the year, helped make this seeding a bit easier, as he had lost to the Bison big man earlier in the year, but had beaten Wolfgram. The Oklahoma heavyweights, Surber and Heindselman round out the top-eight seeds. Both exchanged wins in the Bedlam duals, with the Cowboy, Surber, getting the most recent win. Surber has a win over Nevills, which shows he could shake things up along the way. Unseeded is #33 Jacob Seely (Northern Colorado), who made the NCAA tournament three times for the Bears at 197 lbs. It appeared as if he would not use his final year of eligibility, but he decided otherwise and returned for the Scuffle. Seely finished the year unbeaten in dual competition and could be getting his footing back at that right time. As of Wednesday morning, it's undecided whether Northern Iowa will go with Tyrell Gordon or Carter Isley. Predictions 1st) Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force) 2nd) Zach Elam (Missouri) 3rd) AJ Nevills (South Dakota State) 4th) Michael Wolfgram (West Virginia) 5th) Sam Schuyler (Iowa State) 6th) Brandon Metz (North Dakota State) 7th) Luke Surber (Oklahoma State) 8th) Josh Heindselman (Oklahoma) Team Race Projections 1st) Missouri 2nd) Oklahoma State 3rd) Iowa State 4th) Northern Iowa 5th) South Dakota State 6th) Wyoming 7th) Oklahoma 8th) North Dakota State

Top seeded 165 lber Julian Ramirez of Cornell (photos courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) The pre-seeds for the 2022 EIWA Championships at Cornell University are shown below. 125 pounds 1 Patrick Glory Princeton 2 Vitali Arujau Cornell 3 Ryan Miller Penn 4 Jaret Lane Lehigh 5 Joe Manchio Columbia 6 Brandon Seidman Bucknell 7 Jacob Allen Navy 8 Maximilian Leete American 133 pounds 1 Josh Koderhandt Navy 2 Michael Colaiocco Penn 3 Malyke Hines Lehigh 4 Dom LaJoie Cornell 5 Kurt Phipps Bucknell 6 Angelo Rini Columbia 7 Jack Maida American 8 Jaxon Maroney Drexel 141 pounds 1 Matt Kazimir Columbia 2 CJ Composto Penn 3 Ryan Anderson Binghamton 4 Darren Miller Bucknell 5 Connor McGonagle Lehigh 6 Thomas Deck Army West Point 7 Wil Gil F&M 8 Danny Coles Princeton 149 pounds 1 Yianni Diakomihalis Cornell 2 Anthony Artalona Penn 3 Max Brigola Lehigh 4 PJ Ogunsanya Army West Point 5 Danny Fongaro Columbia 6 Luke Nichter Drexel 7 Lukus Stricker Harvard 8 Nick Lombard Binghamton 157 pounds 1 Josh Humphreys Lehigh 2 Quincy Monday Princeton 3 Doug Zapf Penn 4 Andrew Cerniglia Navy 5 Markus Hartman Army West Point 6 Hunter Richard Cornell 7 Nick Delp Bucknell 8 Parker Kropman Drexel 165 pounds 1 Julian Ramirez Cornell 2 Zach Hartman Bucknell 3 Philip Conigliaro Harvard 4 Josh Ogunsanya Columbia 5 Brian Meyer Lehigh 6 Lucas Revano Penn 7 Evan Barczak Drexel 8 Brevin Cassella Binghamton 174 pounds 1 Michael O'Malley Drexel 2 Chris Foca Cornell 3 Nick Incontrera Penn 4 Nick Fine Columbia 5 Jake Logan Lehigh 6 Ben Pasiuk Army West Point 7 Josh Kim Harvard 8 Jacob Nolan Binghamton 184 pounds 1 Jonathan Loew Cornell 2 Travis Stefanik Princeton 3 Charles Small Hofstra 4 David Key Navy 5 Neil Antrassian Penn 6 Brad Laughlin Army West Point 7 AJ Burkhart Lehigh 8 Brian Bonino Columbia 197 pounds 1 Lou DePrez Binghamton 2 Jacob Cardenas Cornell 3 Luke Stout Princeton 4 Jake Koser Navy 5 JT Brown Army West Point 6 Trey Rogers Hofstra 7 Nunzio Crowley Long Island University 8 Cole Urbas Penn 285 pounds 1 Jordan Wood Lehigh 2 Lewis Fernandes Cornell 3 Zachary Knighton-Ward Hofstra 4 Ben Goldin Penn 5 Joe Doyle Binghamton 6 Ryan Catka Navy 7 Kade Carlson Army West Point 8 Matt Cover Princeton The coaches will meet Friday afternoon at Cornell to review the pre-seeds. The seeds will remain preliminary until locked in at weigh-ins on Saturday morning.

Sam Latona (left) and Jakob Camacho in the 2021 ACC finals (photos courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) The brackets for the ACC Championships were just released here and we have some solid wrestling lined up for Charlottesville on Sunday. We also have a couple weights where there will be a lot of discussion--some of it louder and more boisterous than others-about the seeding. I'll run through the brackets here and give you my immediate thoughts. Here is the seeding criteria used: Head-to-Head (vs. Field) - 25 pts Common Opponents Record - 20 points Conference Record - 20 points Coaches' Rankings - 15 points Quality Matches - 15 points Conference Allocation - 5 points 125: No big surprises here, Sam Latona grabs the one seed and Jakob Camacho gets the two. We were treated to a great and scrappy match between them last week in Raleigh and there is a good chance we'll see it again Sunday night. We round out the top four with Gage Curry and Patrick McCormick. 133: This one shook out pretty well in spite of it being a weight where they all beat up on each other. While there is room for discussion of how 2-4 shakes out, I think they work out in the end. Myers was undefeated in-conference (15-1 overall) and grabs the one seed. Heilmann 2 seed: wins over Phillippi, Orine, Doolittle. Losses to Phillippi 3 seed: wins over Orine and Doolittle. Losses to Heilmann and Myers. Orine 4 seed: wins over Courtney and Doolittle. Losses to Heilmann, Phillippi, Myers. An interesting first-round match to watch here will be Courtney from UVA and Orine. This was a tight match at the dual that got blown up late by Orine. Courtney has looked solid and I would expect a good match here. 141: There is clear separation at the top of this weight class with Cole Matthews at the 1 seed. He was undefeated in-conference and gave Kizhan Clarke his only loss of the year. Clarke gets the 2 seed with a 14-1 record overall. Ryan Jack is the three and Collin Gerardi is the four; he will see a dangerous Dylan Cedeno in the opening round. 149: At one of the deeper weights in the conference, we have five ranked wrestlers, including two in the top-10 and two in the top-20. Tariq Wilson gets the one seed with an unblemished record and a controlling win over Andonian in the dual. Andonian sits at the two seed and comes in with a 7-2 record (his other loss is to Sammy Sasso). Josh Finesilver and Zach Sherman are the three and four seeds; Sherman will draw Jarod Verkleeren in the opening round for a nice matchup. 157: Pretty cut and dry at 157; Austin O'Connor is the one seed; he is undefeated in-conference and only has one loss on the year to Peyton Robb. Jake Keating is the two seed, his only conference loss at the weight was to AOC. He bumped to 165 to wrestle Jake Wentzel against Pittsburgh. Ed Scott is the three seed with a loss to Keating, while Cleary is the fourth seed with losses to AOC and Scott. I am very interested to see which version of Connor Brady we see. We saw a different type of wrestling from him in the conference season, opposed to early in the year; hopefully, he returns to form in time to make this bracket even tougher. 165: Another pretty clear weight here and the bracket shapes up nicely. Wentzel is the one seed and is undefeated in-conference. Thomas Bullard is the two seed with his only loss in tiebreakers to Wentzel. Justin McCoy is the three seed. He also only has one loss to Bullard but was injured and did not wrestle in the Pittsburgh dual. Clayton Ulrey rounds out the four seed and will face Isaias Estrada from UNC in the opening round; Estrada was a late redshirt pull by the Tar Heels and could be dangerous. 174: And. Here. We. Go. There will be a lot of discussion about this weight throughout the country. We have three top-10 wrestlers in the ACC with #5 Hayden Hilday, #6 Mekhi Lewis and #8 Clay Lautt. The final weekend threw this weight into chaos, with Hidlay beating Lewis in overtime after getting pinned by Lautt on Friday night. There was no good way to seed this, but I am disappointed that we won't see Lewis/Hidlay as a final. Hidlay: 12-1 (4-1 in ACC) only loss is to Lautt. Wins: Thomas Flitz, Austin Murphy, Peyton Mocco, Nelson Brands, Matt Finesilver, Mekhi Lewis. Wrestlestat-4. Coaches' Rank 4 Lewis: 17-1 (4-1 in ACC) only loss to Hidlay. Wins: Ethan Smith, Peyton Mocco, Chris Foca, Matt Finesilver, Clay Lautt. Wrestlestat-1. Coaches' Rank 6 Lautt: 14-4 (4-1 in ACC) losses to Lewis, Thomas Flitz, Mikey Labriola, Rocky Jordan-at 184. Wins: Austin Murphy, Andrew McNally, Hidlay. Wrestlestat-8. Coaches' Rank 8 This could have shaken out a few ways, but I am surprised that it came out this way. They all beat each other in-conference, so that's basically a wash. The criteria comes down to common opponents and quality matches. I expected Hidlay at 1, Lewis at 2 and Lautt at 3 based on how it has worked out in the past. Feel free to let me know what you think of the seeds and how you think they should have staked up! 184: Here is another weight that has some top-tier talent, but shook out pretty cleanly in terms of bracketing. Trent Hidlay grabs the one seed being undefeated on the year. Gavin Kane has really come on this year and gets the two-seed with a win over Bolen. Hunter Bolen is the three seed with a decision loss to Hidlay and a Sudden Victory loss to Kane. Michael Battista is the four seed and will see Gregg Harvey in the opening round. 197: Isaac Trumble is coming into the tournament on a 7 match winning streak and hasn't lost since December. He grabs the one seed with an undefeated run in-conference. Nino Bonaccorsi is the two seed with his only loss in the ACC to Trumble. Jay Aiello is the three seed with a decision loss to Bonaccorsi and a sudden victory loss to Trumble in a great match in Raleigh. Max Shaw rounds out the top four and will face the always dangerous, endless gas tank of Dakota Howard to open the tournament. 285: This one ended up working out well despite the wrestlers having a lot of mixed head-to-head results. This one could have shaped up differently, but I think the separations work out well. Nathan Traxler got the one seed, while his beautiful head of hair got the 1a seed. He is 4-1 in conference with his only loss to Quinn Miller--he wrestled Owen Trephan against NC State, not Tyrie Houghton. Houghton gets the two seed, even though he is undefeated in the conference. Houghton did not face Traxler head-to-head and Traxler has a better overall record and quality wins. Jake Slinger is the three seed and Quinn Miller is the four seed; Miller draws Jonah Neisenbaum in the opening round while Slinger gets Brandon Whitman. Both have upset potential.

Top seeded 174 lber Clay Lautt (photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) The ACC has released brackets for its 2022 conference tournament today. The tournament will take place on Sunday, March 6th, from Charlottesville, Virginia. A preview of the event will be forthcoming from InterMat.

Northern Illinois All-American Brit Wilson (photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) 2022 MAC Championships Preview 22 total allocations/35 total allocations The DI postseason gets kicked off on Friday as the MAC Championships start day one of their two-day competition. 13 schools will be fighting for 22 total allocations to the 2022 NCAA Championships. That number represents a significant drop from 2021, as Missouri qualified through the conference last year and every season since 2013. With a Tiger-less tournament, will it be Tom Borrelli and his Central Michigan squad who ascends back to the top of the MAC? His team has the starpower with a pair of top-12 ranked seniors and a host of gritty veterans. Others who could threaten yet another CMU title include Lock Haven. Scott Moore's team has a handful of young, talented wrestlers with gaudy records. Clarion has quietly improved each year under Keith Ferraro and could be ready to strike. Northern Illinois may not have the depth of other teams, but certainly has some big tournament firepower. Below is our weight-by-weight preview of the action, along with predictions for top-six finishers at all ten weights, and a team race projection. Wrestlers bolded are ones that we have pegged to receive the automatic qualifying bids available in their respective weight class. When: March 4th/5th, 2022 Where: Athens, Ohio How to Watch: ESPN+ 125 lbs 1 allocation 125 lbs is an odd weight class in the MAC. You have one dominant figure, who has asserted himself head and shoulders above the competition in #20 Anthony Noto (Lock Haven). After Noto, there are five or six others who are NCAA qualifier "worthy" and have spent time in the national rankings. In a typical year, two of three would have either snapped up qualifying bids or received at-large berths. With the competition nationwide, it's anyone's guess. You don't want to leave it in the selection committee's hands, that's for certain! Noto suffered a loss on the opening weekend of the year and has proceeded to reel off 23 victories in a row. That span includes tournament wins at the Shorty Hitchcock and Mat-Town Opens. In MAC duals, Noto has bonus points in four of his conference wins. Outside of Noto, there are two wrestlers in this bracket with past NCAA experience, Bryce West (Northern Illinois) and Jake Ferri (Kent State). West was fifth in the conference last year at 133 lbs, while Ferri was third at this weight. The 22-8 Ferri probably has the best resume this year, outside of Noto. He's defeated West and a pair of young studs at this weight, Joey Fischer (Clarion) and Tristan Daugherty (Buffalo). Fischer and Daugherty met in dual action and it was the Bull who got the edge, in tiebreakers. The Clarion freshman started his year with a win over Lock Haven national qualifier, Luke Werner, in tournament competition. Daugherty is looking to right the ship after dropping his last four duals of the year. Another strong candidate for the second seed is Brock Bergelin (Central Michigan). Bergelin spent a few weeks in the rankings, but dropped out after two non-conference losses to end the year. Provided he has a good showing, and there are minimal upsets nationwide, he'll be the running for an at-large berth. A couple of Ohio wrestlers comprise the next group of competitors. Logan Heil (Cleveland State) and Oscar Sanchez (Ohio), have both had their moments. Sanchez narrowly took the dual between these two and possesses a 17-8 record. Finally, we have Tyler Klinsky (Rider), who, despite an 11-10 record, is responsible for Bergelin's only conference loss. Predictions: 1st) Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) 2nd) Brock Bergelin (Central Michigan) 3rd) Jake Ferri (Kent State) 4th) Joey Fischer (Clarion) 5th) Oscar Sanchez (Ohio) 6th) Tristan Daugherty (Buffalo) 133 lbs 1 allocation Like at 125 lbs, there's only a single, precious allocation out there for grabs. While Noto was the odds-on favorite at 125, there's no such favorite at 133. #31 Richie Koehler (Rider) was the only wrestler in the conference able to secure an automatic qualifying bid for the conference. In late January, Koehler suffered a sudden victory loss to Cam Soda (Edinboro). It was his first and only conference loss of the year. Koehler was a conference runner-up and national qualifier last season. The most decorated wrestler in this bracket is #33 Derek Spann (Buffalo). He's qualified for NCAA's twice, once after making the MAC finals in 2019 and the next after finishing fourth in 2020. Spann started the year with losses in four of his first eight bouts, but seems to be wrestling his best at the right time. He comes into the postseason on an eight-match winning streak. Koehler and Spann did not meet in the regular season. The other returning qualifier at this weight is Bloomsburg's Cole Rhone. Last year, Rhone punched his ticket to St. Louis with a fourth-place conference finish. He's 10-5 this season. Aside from Koehler, Rhone's other conference loss came at the hands of George Mason's Michael Rapuano. Rapuano is a true freshman that has jumped into the Patriots starting lineup and responded with a winning record. The Connecticut native also has a win over Soda. After Koehler/Spann, I wouldn't want to seed this weight. There are plenty of quality wrestlers all of which have traded wins with each other. Gio DiSabato (Ohio), Gable Strickland (Lock Haven), and Brendon Fenton (Kent State) all currently have winning records. Jacob Manley (Cleveland State) is 8-10, but has wins over Strickland and DiSabato. But a loss to Fenton…and so on. Predictions: 1st) Derek Spann (Buffalo) 2nd) Richie Koehler (Rider) 3rd) Gio DiSabato (Ohio) 4th) Cole Rhone (Bloomsburg) 5th) Gable Strickland (Lock Haven) 6th) Brendon Fenton (Kent State) 141 lbs 3 allocations This is where things start to get fun! A weight class with multiple bids, but just like the previous weight (at the next one), it's hard to make sense of all of the results. But, first things first, the favorite is #12 Dresden Simon (Central Michigan), who is aiming to become a three-time MAC champion. Simon was the ninth seed at this weight class in 2021 and ended up advancing to the NCAA bloodround before his elimination. This year, Simon has won 17 of 20 bouts and boasts wins over three-time All-American Stevan Micic (Michigan) and Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational champ Clay Carlson (South Dakota State). Even with such a strong campaign, Simon still had a conference blemish, as he was pinned by #26 Gabe Willochell (Edinboro). Willochell comes into the postseason hot, as he's won five straight matches; two via fall. Despite Willochell's ranking and quality wins, he did not earn an automatic bid for the conference. The remaining two were grabbed by Seth Koleno (Clarion) and Kyran Hagan (Ohio). During his final dual, Willochell defeated Koleno, 12-8. Koleno has a solid 19-6 record and a head-to-head win over Hagan. Hagan and Willochell split matches and the Bobcat has only lost once since early December. Another ranked wrestler in the mix that didn't lock up a qualifying bid is #25 Quinn Kinner (Rider). The Ohio State transfer, Kinner, has only lost in the conference to Simon and has pinned Willochell and decisioned Koleno. He's managed to keep high-powered #1 Nick Lee (Penn State) and #3 Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) to three and four-point decisions during their 2021-22 meetings. Also in the mix is 2021 MAC fourth-place finisher and national qualifier Saul Ervin (SIU Edwardsville). Two of Ervin's best wins on the year include a decision over Frankie Tal-Shahar (Northwestern) and a major over Koleno. One of Ervin's conference losses came to George Mason's true freshman Kaden Cassidy. Cassidy started his collegiate career with six straight wins and has knocked off #14 CJ Composto (Penn) at the Keystone Classic. Others in this bracket with winning records heading into the postseason are Ben Freeman (Buffalo) and Josh Mason (Bloomsburg) Predictions: 1st) Dresden Simon (Central Michigan) 2nd) Quinn Kinner (Rider) 3rd) Gabe Willochell (Edinboro) 4th) Saul Ervin (SIU Edwardsville) 5th) Seth Koleno (Clarion) 6th) Kaden Cassidy (George Mason) 149 lbs 5 allocations Now we've got a weight class with a bunch of allocations available, yet even more qualified entrants fighting for them. #23 Alex Madrigal (George Mason) is the highest-ranked of the group, plus he has a clean slate, in terms of conference record and, more importantly, losses. None of his three losses came via MAC opponents. Madrigal is looking to make his third NCAA tournament and his first at GMU, after doing so previously for Old Dominion. Trying to sort out this weight class after Madrigal can get messy. The other three in the rankings are #27 Brent Moore (Clarion), #32 Marcus Robinson (Cleveland State) and #33 Corbyn Munson (Central Michigan). Moore has made a remarkable comeback after leaving Virginia Tech due to injuries and it was perceived his career was over. The 2018 ACC champion, Moore, is 21-5 with four wins over his final five duals. That lone loss? It came to Robinson, 10-3. A 2021 conference runner-up, Robinson is 16-3, with only one loss since the calendar turned over to 2022. But, that loss came to Ohio's Alec Hagan (Ohio). Hagan, however, had a late-season defeat via Munson. Now, Munson was in the rankings for the majority of the year, but dropped out after February losses to Kody Komara (Kent State) and John Arceri (Buffalo). Komara overcame a 2-7 skid during the dual season to finish with three consecutive wins. Before that, he lost to Hagan, Robinson, and Arceri. The Buffalo grappler got better towards the end of the season, but did have a loss to Anthony Cheloni (Northern Illinois), thrown in between some quality wins. In addition to his Arceri win, Cheloni is also responsible for defeating #19 Willie McDougald (Oklahoma) early in the season. This is the type of weight that could be wrestled ten times and the results would greatly differ ten times. Predictions: 1st) Alex Madrigal (George Mason) 2nd) Brent Moore (Clarion) 3rd) Corbyn Munson (Central Michigan) 4th) John Arceri (Buffalo) 5th) Marcus Robinson (Cleveland State) 6th) Alec Hagan (Ohio) 157 lbs 2 allocations The 2021 MAC Championships were the site of Johnny Lovett's breakout tournament, as he came in with a 4-2 record, then took third place and went on to notch a pair of wins at nationals. Lovett finished his regular season with a win over then-#9 Will Lewan (Michigan) in a non-conference battle. While Lovett dropped a bout to a MAC opponent (not expected to enter the tournament) in an open tournament, he went unscathed in conference duals. After Lovett, there are plenty of capable wrestlers seeking to claim that second bid (or perhaps his). They include #29 Jordan Slivka (Ohio), #32 Ben Barton (Lock Haven), and #33 Alex Carida (Bloomsburg). Both Barton and Carida have past NCAA experience. As does Michael Petite (Buffalo). Barton is a winner of his last six bouts and didn't lose to a conference opponent. His most relevant win here is a one-point decision over Carida in mid-January. That Barton-loss is the most recent of the year for Cardia, who holds an eight-match winning streak. Petite closed the regular season with an upset of Slivka, less than a week after taking Lovett to sudden victory. As is the case with multiple Buffalo wrestlers, he could be hitting his stride at the right time of year. This weight also should get challenges from Anthony Gibson (Northern Illinois) and Avery Bassett (George Mason). Gibson has had his moments where he looks the part of an NCAA qualifier. During the 2019-20 campaign, he notched a win over All-American Grant Leeth (Missouri), down at 141 lbs. Bassett is another competitor with an impressive, current winning streak. He comes into the postseason as a winner of his last seven contests. Predictions: 1st) Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan) 2nd) Ben Barton (Lock Haven) 3rd) Jordan Slivka (Ohio) 4th) Michael Petite (Buffalo) 5th) Alex Carida (Bloomsburg) 6th) Avery Bassett (George Mason) 165 lbs 3 allocations Quietly, #15 Izzak Olejnik has put together quite the year for Northern Illinois. He's got a 20-4 record and his "worst" loss is to 2021 NCAA runner-up #14 Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh). Against MAC opponents, Olejnik hasn't faced anyone who has been able to stay within four points of him. Will this be the year that he finally brings home a MAC title after finishing second in each of the last two years? In 2021, Olejnik assumed the #18 seed in St. Louis and left with a pair of wins. #28 Ashton Eyler (Lock Haven) is the only other MAC wrestler in the current rankings. He's gotten his hand raised the last 17 times he's stepped on a mat. In the middle of that streak was a 5-3 win over returning national qualifier #32 Joe Grello (Oklahoma) at the Virginia Duals. The last opponent to defeat Eyler was also his only conference loss of the year, to Noah Grover (Buffalo). Grover was only 1-2 in February, with losses to Olejnik and Tracy Hubbard (Central Michigan). The third automatic qualifying spot for the conference was captured by Cleveland State's Riley Smucker. At 16-3, Smucker easily put together his best year in a Viking singlet. He logged wins over conference contenders Grover and Hubbard. In late January, though, Smucker was tripped up by Kent State's Brady Chrisman in sudden victory. Predictions: 1st) Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois) 2nd) Ashton Eyler (Lock Haven) 3rd) Riley Smucker (Cleveland State) 4th) Tracy Hubbard (Central Michigan) 5th) Noah Grover (Buffalo) 6th) Brady Chrisman (Kent State) 174 lbs 2 allocations The frontrunner for MAC Freshman of the Year has to be Ohio's #20 Sal Perrine at 174 lbs. Perrine won 15 of his first 16 collegiate bouts, with his only loss coming to returning All-American Ethan Smith (Ohio State). That hot streak included a tournament title at the freshman/sophomore division of the Michigan State Open, along with the Navy Classic. After a one-point loss to #29 Mason Kauffman (Northern Illinois) in mid-January, Perrine proceeded to win his next six matches (and counting?). Kauffman has had a rather interesting year. He suffered four losses before the end of November, but came back to make the finals of the MatMen Open. Later in the season, he fought through a three-match losing skid. Interestingly enough, none of Kauffman's nine losses have come against MAC competition. Next in line, with conference losses coming to Perrine and Kauffman, is Bret Fedewa (Central Michigan). The Chippewa veteran strung together more wins this year (20) than all four previous seasons combined (19). Fedewa's biggest win of the season came over #10 Cade DeVos (South Dakota State) and helped CMU to a 21-17 upset of the Jackrabbits. It's likely that we'll see some combination of John Worthing (Clarion), Logan Messer (George Mason), Jay Nivison (Buffalo), and Tyler Stoltzfus (Lock Haven) fighting it out for top-six spots on the podium. Messer is yet another true freshman that has posted an impressive record (22-7) during his first year in Fairfax. Worthing has nearly gone perfect in 2022, with Kevin Gschwendtner (SIU Edwardsville) responsible for his only loss since January. Nivison started the year at 165, but has really thrived since moving up. Stoltzfus could get into the qualifying mix if he can reverse close decisions losses he's had to Worthing and Nivison. Predictions: 1st) Sal Perrine (Ohio) 2nd) Mason Kauffman (Northern Illinois) 3rd) Bret Fedewa (Central Michigan) 4th) Logan Messer (George Mason) 5th) John Worthing (Clarion) 6th) Jay Nivison (Buffalo) 184 lbs 2 allocations There's no question who the favorite is at 184 lbs, as #18 Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois) is looking to capture his third consecutive MAC title at this weight. The 2021 NCAA sixth-place finisher, Wilson, started the year with 16 straight wins, a streak that spanned the Michigan State Open and the Cougar Clash. In conference action, Wilson was never seriously threatened. The only bout against a MAC opponent where he failed to register bonus points, was a 5-0 win over Peter Acciardi (Buffalo). So who's in the driver's seat for that precious second allocation? The trio of Colin McCracken (Kent State), DeAndre Nassar (Cleveland State), and Ethan Ducca (Edinboro) are all the clubhouse leaders. McCracken and Nassar were both national qualifiers in 2021. Nassar was third at this weight class, while McCracken received an at-large berth at 197 lbs. Though his 13-8 record isn't spectacular, McCracken won his final seven matches and his only MAC loss was to Wilson. McCracken also owns a 3-1 head-to-head win over Nassar at the Cleveland State Open. That loss was one of only four on the year for Nassar. Ducca is responsible for earning the second automatic qualifying bid at this weight after a 14-4 campaign. Even so, he does have three conference losses. One of which is to McCracken, while the others are to Colin Fegley (Lock Haven) and Kyle Davis (George Mason). The next tier at this weight is Davis, Fegley, Acciardi, Ben Cushman (Central Michigan), Zayne Lehman (Ohio), and Max Wohlbaugh (Clarion). Each is capable of a big win, as proven by their 2021-22 results; they just need to string together two or three this weekend. Predictions: 1st) Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois) 2nd) Colin McCracken (Kent State) 3rd) Ethan Ducca (Edinboro) 4th) DeAndre Nassar (Cleveland State) 5th) Colin Fegley (Lock Haven) 6th) Kyle Davis (George Mason) 197 lbs 1 allocation There's only one allocation available at 197 lbs, so you know action will be fierce trying to get that lone spot. The conference has a pair of wrestlers currently in the 197 lb rankings with #30 Will Feldkamp (Clarion) and #33 Ben Smith (Cleveland State). Each has had a strong year, losing only seven matches combined; however, they did not meet each other. Feldkamp dropped his final dual of the year, a non-conference loss to Navy, which snapped a 12-match winning streak. During that heater, Feldkamp pinned more than half (seven) of his victims. Smith was a first-time national qualifier in 2021 after making the MAC finals. While in St. Louis, Smith logged a 12-4 major decision over Oregon State's JJ Dixon. He's also in the midst of a good run, having lost only twice since mid-November. Kind of a darkhorse, behind the big two, is Aaron Bolo. Despite a record that's seems unsightly, at 11-7, Bolo has not lost to any MAC opponents this year. His defeats have generally all come against highly ranked out-of-conference foes. In past years, he has defeated by Feldkamp and Smith. Aside from Smith, the only wrestler in this group with past NCAA experience is Matt Correnti (Rider). That was way back in 2017 as Correnti was a true freshman at Rutgers. This year he's been limited to three wins in nine total bouts. Cody Mulligan (Edinboro), Jon List (George Mason), Parker McClellan (Lock Haven), Sam Mitchell (Buffalo), and Carson Brewer (Ohio) could all fight for the 4-8 spots on the podium. Each seems to have a win or two against someone else in this group, yet also a loss (or two). Predictions: 1st) Aaron Bolo (Central Michigan) 2nd) Will Feldkamp (Clarion) 3rd) Ben Smith (Cleveland State) 4th) Cody Mulligan (Edinboro) 5th) Parker McClellan (Lock Haven) 6th) Jon List (George Mason) 285 lbs 2 allocations We've got the opportunity to witness history at 285 lbs as #8 Matt Stencel (Central Michigan) attempts to become the first-ever (and probably last) five-time MAC champion. Should he do so, Stencel would be on track to receiving a top-nine seed at NCAA's for the fourth consecutive year. Stencel's looking to channel his 2019 form, when he finished seventh in the nation. With a record of 15-4, all of the Chippewa big man's losses have come to wrestlers currently ranked in the top seven nationally. You'd have to go back to the 2017-18 season, Stencel's redshirt freshman year, to find the last time he lost to a MAC opponent (Stephen Suglio - Kent State). Looking to change that is #27 Isaac Reid (Lock Haven), who has had an excellent year for the Bald Eagles. He is also unbeaten against conference foes and hasn't lost since early January to #6 Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force). To get title number five, Stencel will certainly have to earn it. The gap between the top two and the rest of the league is rather large. Colton McKiernan (SIU Edwardsville) was a national qualifier in 2019 and is the only other returning NQ in the field. In addition to Stencel, McKiernan has also lost to Terrese Aaron (Northern Illinois). The next stud at this weight is probably Rider's true freshman David Szuba. Szuba has defeated Aaron and is 15-10 overall. His losses have come to Stencel, Reid, and Tyler Bagoly (Clarion). As we go around in circles, Bagoly has lost to McKiernan and Shane Noonan (Bloomsburg). Jacob Cover (Kent State), Jordan Greer (Ohio), and Toby Cahill (Buffalo), all have quality wins that lead you to believe they could make an impact here. Predictions: 1st) Matt Stencel (Central Michigan) 2nd) Isaac Reid (Lock Haven) 3rd) Tyler Bagoly (Clarion) 4th) David Szuba (Rider) 5th) Colton McKiernan (SIU Edwardsville) 6th) Jordan Greer (Ohio) Team Race Projections 1st) Central Michigan 2nd) Lock Haven 3rd) Clarion 4th) Northern Illinois 5th) Ohio 6th) Buffalo

2021 NCAA Champion David Carr (photo/Mark Lundy; LutteLens.com) 125 lbs 1. Killian Cardinale (WVU) 2. Taylor LaMont (UVU) 3. Brody Teske (UNI) 4. Trevor Mastrogiovanni (OSU) 5. Noah Surtin (Mizz) 6. Kysen Terukina (ISU) 7. Joey Prata (OU) 8. Jace Koelzer (UNC) 133 lbs 1. Daton Fix (OSU) 2. Kyle Biscoglia (UNI) 3. Gabe Tagg (SDSU) 4. Kellyn March (NDSU) 5. Ramazan Attasauov (ISU) 6. Haiden Drury (UVU) 7. Tony Madrigal (OU) 8. Job Greenwood (Wyo) 141 lbs 1. Ian Parker (ISU) 2. Clay Carlson (SDSU) 3. Andrew Alirez (UNC) 4. Allan Hart (Mizz) 5. Carter Young (OSU) 6. Cael Happel (UNI) 7. Darren Green (Wyo) 8. Dylan Droegemueller (NDSU) 149 lbs 1. Kaden Gfeller (OSU) 2. Willie McDougald (OU) 3. Jarrett Degen (ISU) 4. Joshua Edmond (Mizz) 5. Colin Realbuto (UNI) 6. Jaron Jensen (Wyo) 7. Chris Sandoval (UNC) 8. Gaven Sax (NDSU) 157 lbs 1. David Carr (ISU) 2. Jared Franek (NDSU) 3. Wyatt Sheets (OSU) 4. Jarrett Jacques (Mizz) 5. Jacob Wright (Wyo) 6. Justin Thomas (OU) 7. Derek Holschlag (UNI) 8. Jax Garoutte (UVU) 165 lbs 1. Keegan O'Toole (Mizz) 2. Peyton Hall (WVU) 3. Austin Yant (UNI) 4. Travis Wittlake (OSU) 5. Luke Weber (NDSU) 6. Tanner Cook (SDSU) 7. Isaac Judge (ISU) 8. Joe Grello (OU) 174 lbs 1. Dustin Plott (OSU) 2. Cade DeVos (SDSU) 3. Anthony Mantanona (OU) 4. Lance Runyon (UNI) 5. Hayden Hastings (Wyo) 6. Peyton Mocco (Mizz) 7. Joel Devine (ISU) 8. Austin Brenner (NDSU) 184 lbs 1. Parker Keckeisen (UNI) 2. Marcus Coleman (ISU) 3. Tate Samuelson (Wyo) 4. Dakota Geer (OSU) 5. Cade King (SDSU) 6. Jeremiah Kent (Mizz) 7. Keegan Moore (OU) 8. DJ Parker (NDSU) 197 lbs 1. Stephen Buchanan (Wyo) 2. Tanner Sloan (SDSU) 3. Jake Woodley (OU) 4. Yonger Bastida (ISU) 5. Rocky Elam (Mizz) 6. Owen Pentz (NDSU) 7. Alan Clothier (UNC) 8. Evan Bockman (UVU) 285 lbs 1. Wyatt Hendrickson (AFA) 2. Zach Elam (Mizz) 3. Sam Schuyler (ISU) 4. AJ Nevills (SDSU) 5. Michael Wolfgram (WVU) 6. Brandon Metz (NDSU) 7. Luke Surber (OSU) 8. Josh Heindselman (OU)

2021 NCAA Champion Aaron Brooks (photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) ROSEMONT, Ill. - The Big Ten Conference announced the preliminary seeds for the 2022 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, which are set for March 5-6 at Nebraska. Six schools boast at least one top-seeded wrestler, with Penn State leading the way with four No. 1 seeds. The pre-seeds, as voted on by the conference's coaches, rank 14 starters in all 10 weight classes. The Nittany Lions boast four top-seeded wrestlers, with 133-pounder Roman Bravo-Young, 141-pounder Nick Lee, 174-pounder Carter Starocci and 184-pounder Aaron Brooks. Michigan's Nick Suriano (125), Minnesota's Gable Steveson (285), Nebraska's Eric Schultz (197), Northwestern's Ryan Deakin (157), along with Ohio State's Sammy Sasso (149) and Carson Kharchla (165) round out the group of top-ranked grapplers. This year's field contains a combined 18 Big Ten individual championships (12 wrestlers) and six NCAA individual championships (six wrestlers). For more information on the 2022 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, visit the Big Ten Championships Central page HERE. The complete list of Big Ten Championships pre-seeds can be found below. 125 lbs. 1. Nick Suriano (MICH) 2. Drew Hildebrandt (PSU) 3. Eric Barnett (WIS) 4. Malik Heinselman (OSU) 5. Devin Schroder (PUR) 6. Drake Ayala (IOWA) 7. Michael DeAugustino (NU) 8. Patrick McKee (MINN) 9. Dylan Shawver (RU) 10. Justin Cardani (ILL) 11. Tristan Lujan (MSU) 12. Jacob Moran (IND) 13. Jeremiah Reno (NEB) 14. Zach Spence (MD) 133 lbs. 1. Roman Bravo-Young (PSU) 2. Austin DeSanto (IOWA) 3. Lucas Byrd (ILL) 4. RayVon Foley (MSU) 5. Dylan Ragusin (MICH) 6. Brock Hudkins (IND) 7. Chris Cannon (NU) 8. Joe Olivieri (RU) 9. Matt Ramos (PUR) 10. Dominick Serrano (NEB) 11. Kyle Burwick (WIS) 12. Jake Gliva (MINN) 13. King Sandoval (MD) 14. Dylan Koontz (OSU) 141 lbs. 1. Nick Lee (PSU) 2. Jaydin Eierman (IOWA) 3. Sebastian Rivera (RU) 4. Chad Red (NEB) 5. Jakob Bergeland (MINN) 6. Stevan Micic (MICH) 7. Dylan D'Emilio (OSU) 8. Joseph Zargo (WIS) 9. Dylan Duncan (ILL) 10. Frankie Tel Shahar (NU) 11. Parker Filius (PUR) 12. Matt Santos (MSU) 13. Cayden Rooks (IND) 14. Danny Bertoni (MD) 149 lbs. 1. Sammy Sasso (OSU) 2. Austin Gomez (WIS) 3. Ridge Lovett (NEB) 4. Max Murin (IOWA) 5. Yahya Thomas (NU) 6. Mike Van Brill (RU) 7. Beau Bartlett (PSU) 8. Christian Kanzler (ILL) 9. Graham Rooks (IND) 10. Michael Bockhus (MINN) 11. Kanen Storr (MICH) 12. Michael North (MD) 13. Peyton Omania (MSU) 14. Alec White (PUR) 157 lbs. 1. Ryan Deakin (NU) 2. Kaleb Young (IOWA) 3. Will Lewan (MICH) 4. Kendall Coleman (PUR) 5. Peyton Robb (NEB) 6. Chase Saldate (MSU) 7. Garrett Model (WIS) 8. Robert Kanniard (RU) 9. Bryce Hepner (OSU) 10. Brady Berge (PSU) 11. Derek Gilcher (IND) 12. Joe Roberts (ILL) 13. Lucas Cordio (MD) 14. Sebas Swiggum (MINN) 165 lbs. 1. Carson Kharchla (OSU) 2. Alex Marinelli (IOWA) 3. Dean Hamiti (WIS) 4. Cameron Amine (MICH) 5. Caleb Fish (MSU) 6. Dan Braunagel (ILL) 7. Hayden Lohrey (PUR) 8. Clayton Wilson (NEB) 9. Cael Carlson (MINN) 10. Creighton Edsell (PSU) 11. David Ferrante (NU) 12. Andrew Clark (RU) 13. Kasper McIntosh (IND) 14. Gaven Bell (MD) 174 lbs. 1. Carter Starocci (PSU) 2. Logan Massa (MICH) 3. Mikey Labriola (NEB) 4, Michael Kemerer (IOWA) 5. Ethan Smith (OSU) 6. Bailee O'Reilly (MINN) 7. Gerrit Nijenhuis (PUR) 8. Troy Fisher (NU) 9. Dominic Solic (MD) 10. DJ Shannon (ILL) 11. Andrew McNally (WIS) 12. Nick South (IND) 13. Connor O'Neill (RUT) 14. Nate Jimenez (MSU) 184 lbs. 1. Aaron Brooks (PSU) 2. Myles Amine (MICH) 3. Kaleb Romero (OSU) 4. Taylor Venz (NEB) 5. Abe Assad (IOWA) 6. Layne Malczewski (MSU) 7. John Pozanski (RU) 8. Kyle Cochran (MD) 9. DJ Washington (IND) 10. Isaiah Salazar (MINN) 11. Christopher Weiler (WIS) 12. Zach Braunagel (ILL) 13. Max Lyon (PUR) 14. Jack Jessen (NU) 197 lbs. 1. Eric Schultz (NEB) 2. Max Dean (PSU) 3. Cameron Caffey (MSU) 4. Jacob Warner (IOWA) 5. Patrick Bucki (MICH) 6. Thomas Penola (PUR) 7. Greg Bulsak (RU) 8. Braxton Amos (WIS) 9. Gavin Hoffman (OSU) 10. Andrew Davison (NU) 11. Jaron Smith (MD) 12. Michial Foy (MINN) 13. Nick Willham (IND) 14. Matt Wroblewski (ILL) 285 lbs. 1. Gable Steveson (MINN) 2. Tony Cassioppi (IOWA) 3. Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) 4. Mason Parris (MICH) 5. Lucas Davison (NU) 6. Christian Lance (NEB) 7. Trent Hillger (WIS) 8. Tate Orndorff (OSU) 9. Luke Luffman (ILL) 10. Jacob Bullock (IND) 11. Michael Woulfe (PUR) 12. Boone McDermott (RU) 13. Brad Wilton (MSU) 14. Zach Schrader (MD)

Cal Poly All-American Bernie Truax (photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 2022 Pac-12 Conference Preview 23 total allocations/19 allocations in 2021 We'll start off our series of conference previews by heading out west to check out the Pac-12. This is a conference on the rise, as Arizona State is coming off an NCAA trophy-winning performance and in decent position for a second. Oregon State is riding the wave in year two of Chris Pendleton's tenure and boasts an extremely balanced lineup. Stanford was saved in the offseason last year and is under the direction of Rob Koll, which is an excellent sign. Cal Poly is starting to see the fruits of years of solid recruiting and is poised for their best NCAA finish in years (decades). Luke Smith and CSU Bakersfield incrementally improves with in-room development. Finally, the newest addition, Little Rock, continues its hard work on the recruiting trail and will be a force in the coming years. All of this is to say, it's a good time to be a fan of Pac-12 wrestling. Just a year ago, the conference netted 19 automatic allocations, while it improved by four this season. I'd expect that number to increase next year as the league continues to improve and sixth-year seniors around the country exhaust their eligibility. Below is our weight-by-weight preview of the action, along with predictions for top-four finishers at all ten weights, and a team race projection. Wrestlers bolded are ones that we have pegged to receive the automatic qualifying bids available in their respective weight class. When: March 6th, 2022 Where: Tempe, Arizona How to Watch: Pac-12 Network 125 lbs (3 allocations) Could Pac-12 title number three be on the horizon for #4 Brandon Courtney? Over the past year-plus, Courtney has gone 34-2, with those two losses coming to Spencer Lee and Patrick Glory. That means that Courtney has not been beaten by a Pac-12 opponent since 2019. Even so, the field is catching up, to an extent. Oregon State's #14 Brandon Kaylor pulled within a point of Courtney during this year's dual, after losing by six points in 2019-20. Kaylor's had a breakthrough campaign highlighted by a third-place finish at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Just behind the top two is Cal Poly's #28 Antonio Lorenzo. In the abbreviated 2021 campaign, Lorenzo went 4-5 and 2-2 at this tournament. This year he was third at the MatMen Open, losing only to the eventual champion in sudden victory. The group that's seeking to break into the top-three and steal an allocation from their ranked brethren include Jayden Carson (Little Rock), Suhas Chundi (Stanford), and Eddie Flores (CSU Bakersfield). All three currently sport records under .500. Shundi has lost to both Carson and Flores, and will likely assume the sixth seed, while the other two have not met this season. Though Carson comes in having lost six of his last seven, he pulled within a point of Lorenzo and hung tough with past national qualifiers Joey Prata (Oklahoma) and Bryce West (Northern Illinois). Predictions: 1st) Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) 2nd) Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State) 3rd) Antonio Lorenzo (Cal Poly) 4th) Jayden Carson (Little Rock) 133 lbs (3 allocations) For a second time in two weights, Arizona State has a wrestler that is currently ranked #4 in the nation with Michael McGee. McGee comes in on an 11-match winning streak and has built off of his sixth-place finish in St. Louis last year. In less than a month's time, McGee picked up wins over three top-ten opponents (#5 Korbin Myers - Virginia Tech, #8 Dylan Ragusin - Michigan, and #10 Micky Phillippi - Pittsburgh), two of which included bonus points. While McGee stood on the NCAA podium last year, he did not claim the Pac-12 title; that distinction went to Devan Turner (Oregon State), who now is a two-time conference champ. This final go-'round for Turner has been his most consistent year, to date. He won the Reno Tournament of Champions and was fourth in Vegas. Turner's lone conference setback was via major decision to McGee. The opponent that knocked McGee off in the Pac-12 semifinals in 2021 was CSU Bakersfield's Chance Rich. At the NCAA Championships, Rich got hot and made it to the bloodround before falling to Virginia's Louie Hayes. Rich has missed large chunks of the 2021-22 season, but comes in after winning three bouts at the UVU Open. This year, Rich will likely have to go through Turner in the semis rather than McGee. He's looking to snap a personal 0-5 streak against the Beaver 133 lber. The fourth returning national qualifier at this weight is Stanford's Jackson DiSario, who has qualified for the Big Dance in each of the last two years at 125 lbs. DiSario was shutout by Turner in the semis of the Reno Tournament of Champions this year, but bounced back for third place. Between that bout and dual meets, he was a combined 0-4 against the top-three at this weight. The final two entrants in this bracket are Abe Hinrichsen (Cal Poly) and Jaylen Carson (Little Rock). Carlson went winless in the league, while Hinrichsen's lone win was an 8-1 victory at Carson's expense. Predictions: 1st) Michael McGee (Arizona State) 2nd) Devan Turner (Oregon State) 3rd) Chance Rich (CSU Bakersfield) 4th) Jackson DiSario (Stanford) 141 lbs (2 allocations) Who doesn't want to see another round in the #13 Grant Willits/#8Real Woods rivalry? Actually, there are four other teams who wouldn't mind spoiling the next chapter, but I digress. Last weekend, Willits and Woods met for the fifth time in the last three seasons. Woods took both 2019-20 meetings, while the two split last year. Woods got the last laugh by dropping the two-time Pac-12 champion in the opening round of the NCAA Championships, despite being the lower seed. In their meeting on Sunday, Willits was victorious via fall, one that was probably the correct call, but quicker than normal. The loss was Woods' first of the year. A pair of ranked wrestlers are among those that hope to prevent round six of Willits/Woods. They are #32 Lawrence Saenz (Cal Poly) and #33 Angelo Martinoni (CSU Bakersfield). Both are past national qualifiers; Saenz in 2020 for Fresno State and Martinoni did so last season. The two have not met this season. In their dual it was Saenz who pulled off an 11-2 major decision over Louie Ramos. Two of Martinoni's best accomplishments this year include an eighth-place showing in Vegas and a win via fall over SoCon favorite Shannon Hanna (Campbell). Conner Ward (Little Rock) and Mykey Ramos (Arizona State) are likely to fill out the rest of the bracket. Though Ward has a 4-16 record, he did log a 5-2 win over Ramos in dual competition. On Thursday, after automatic qualifiers were released, we outlined the problems that the Big Ten will present in the at-large process. Whoever missed out on the top-two at this weight cannot rely on getting an at-large bit, as they will be scarce. Predictions: 1st) Real Woods (Stanford) 2nd) Grant Willits (Oregon State) 3rd) Lawrence Saenz (Cal Poly) 4th) Angelo Martinoni (CSU Bakersfield) 149 lbs (3 allocations) 149 lbs is one of the better weights in the conference and one of only two weights that includes multiple returning All-Americans. Kyle Parco (Arizona State) and Jaden Abas (Stanford) are those returning AA's. Abas is a returning Pac-12 champion, while Parco was third in the Big 12 for Fresno State, before taking sixth at nationals. Even though Parco was sixth and Abas was seventh, the two did not meet at NCAA's. They did this year and it was all-Parco in an 11-3 major decision. This year, Abas was fifth at the CKLV Invitational and a champion at the Menlo Open. Right behind the top two is 2021 Pac-12 runner-up Legend Lamer (Cal Poly). Last year at the NCAA Championships, Lamer was the ninth seed. Lamer was actually eliminated in the consolation round of 16 by Parco. The two also met this year and it was 6-3 in favor of the Sun Devil. The other returning national qualifier at this weight is Cory Crooks of Oregon State. Crooks made the 2021 tournament for Arizona State, but has since moved on as a graduate transfer. He put together a solid 12-8 campaign, but did not earn an AQ for the conference. The weight class will be rounded out by Josh Brown (CSU Bakersfield) and Joey Bianchi (Little Rock). Brown saw action in a staggering 38 matches this year, winning 23. He was within two points against Parco but surrendered double digits to Abas and Lamer. Bianchi comes in after winning his final two regular-season bouts. That brought his season record up to 14-11. Predictions: 1st) Kyle Parco (Arizona State) 2nd) Jaden Abas (Stanford) 3rd) Legend Lamer (Cal Poly) 4th) Joey Bianchi (Little Rock) 157 lbs (2 allocations) The clear-cut favorite at 157 lbs is #3 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State), who has never lost to a Pac-12 opponent and is seeking his third straight conference crown at this weight. An NCAA fourth-place finisher in 2021, Teemer hasn't lost this year and is one of the key contenders for a national title at 157 lbs. Even though Teemer is unbeaten in the Pac-12, that doesn't mean he hasn't had close calls. This year, against #15 Hunter Willits (Oregon State), Teemer was taken to tiebreakers before prevailing 2-1. Willits is a three-time national qualifier that won a pair of matches in St. Louis last year and is capable of a podium run. There's a distinction between the top-two at 157 lbs and the rest of the field, as Willits majored the likely three-seed Charlie Darracott (Stanford). The Cardinal has navigated through the rest of the conference field without a loss. That group includes Brawley Lamer (Cal Poly), Brock Rogers (CSU Bakersfield), and Austin Keal (Little Rock). A win over Lamer is the only victory in the last seven outings for Rogers. Keal has gotten the call recently for the Trojans, but the lone conference opponent he's faced is Teemer, who prevailed via major decision. Predictions: 1st) Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) 2nd) Hunter Willits (Oregon State) 3rd) Charlie Darracott (Stanford) 4th) Brock Rogers (CSU Bakersfield) 165 lbs (3 allocations) Here it is! The main event of a weight class for the Pac-12! Three returning All-Americans, one of which is the undefeated #1 ranked wrestler in the nation, while another is the 2021 national champion. We've already seen two installments of #1 Evan Wick (Cal Poly) versus #3 Shane Griffith (Stanford). Wick has controlled the series thus far with a 6-2 win the CKLV finals and a 6-1 victory in the final dual of the year for the Mustangs. He is now 16-0 on the year and has tallied bonus points in over 60% of his matches. Griffith has lost three bouts this season, one of which did not come to Wick, and made the CKLV finals after a hard-fought win over #4 Carson Kharchla (Ohio State). His dual season started with a win over returning AA Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State) and he also survived a 7-6 shootout against #8 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State). Valencia is the third returning All-American at this weight and is a four-time Pac-12 champion. He defeated Griffith in the finals last year, 7-1. It will take a Herculean effort or something totally unforeseen for anyone other than the big three to gobble up the qualifying bids here. Trying to do such a task is Augustine Garcia (CSU Bakersfield), Matthew Olguin (Oregon State), and Tyler Brennan (Little Rock). Olguin has a win over Brennan and over one of Garcia's teammates and managed to keep Griffith to a decision in his loss. Garcia and Brennan both have season records that hover around .500. Predictions: 1st) Evan Wick (Cal Poly) 2nd) Shane Griffith (Stanford) 3rd) Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) 4th) Matt Olguin (Oregon State) 174 lbs (2 allocations) We come back down to earth a bit after the insanity of the 165 lb class, with a solid group at 174. One of the conference's breakout stars this year was #13 Adam Kemp (Cal Poly), who has never previously qualified for nationals, but was ranked in the top ten after making the Vegas semi's and falling to sixth place. Kemp competed sparingly after Vegas and fell to Sam Wolf from Air Force in his most recent outing. If he's vulnerable, any of the trio of #27 Aaron Olmos (Oregon State), #31 Albert Urias (CSU Bakersfield), and #33 Tyler Eischens (Stanford) could knock him off. None faced Kemp in dual competition this year. Olmos was perfect in Pac-12 duals and comes in as a winner of seven of his last eight duals. A loss to Olmos over the last weekend of the regular season accounts for Urias' only blemish over the last month of the year. During that stretch, he picked up a win over Eischens and Wolf. Eischens was a national qualifier in 2020 at 157 lbs. With his current ranking of #33, he'll be on the bubble for qualifying again, if he doesn't make the top-two. One of Little Rock's best wrestlers is at this weight and a threat to take a spot. Triston Wills has been in the rankings, at times, this year and holds a 12-11 record. Wills holds wins this year over two past national qualifiers. Arizona State will go with either Zeke Coleman or Ryan Rochford. Neither has tasted victory at 174 lbs since the calendar turned over to 2022. Predictions: 1st) Aaron Olmos (Oregon State) 2nd) Albert Urias (CSU Bakersfield) 3rd) Adam Kemp (Cal Poly) 4th) Triston Wills (Little Rock) 184 lbs (2 allocations) This weight may fly under-the-radar, a bit, but there is a possible top-ten matchup on the horizon between, #5 Bernie Truax (Cal Poly) and #10 Trey Munoz. A 2021 NCAA All-American and surprise semifinalist, Truax, has moved up a weight class and hasn't missed a beat. The only loss he's suffered on the year, really wasn't an official loss, since it came to Penn Volunteer Assistant Mark Hall at the MatMen Open. At that event, Truax defeated Munoz for the first time, 3-1. In early February, he did it again with a 4-1 decision. Like Truax, Munoz was at 174 lbs last year, as well. Competing for Arizona State, Munoz met the Mustang AA in dual competition and at Pac-12's. In both instances, Truax prevailed, with the postseason meeting resulting in a major decision. Can he keep the streak alive this weekend? Surprisingly, Truax and Munoz are the only two wrestlers in the league with a winning record at 184 lbs. It would be a big shock for anyone other than those two to grab the allocations, but that's why they wrestle the matches and stranger things have happened. Cliches aside, CSU Bakersfield's Jacob Hansen may have the best shot at breaking through the top-two. He is 12-12 on the year and has a pair of conference wins on his resume. Hansen's 10-2 major decision over Nick Addison (Stanford) almost helped the Roadrunners pull off a slight upset against the Cardinal. Addison's lone conference win came over Arizona State's expected entrant, Josh Nummer (Arizona State). Nummer took his lumps wrestling an extremely difficult schedule for the Sun Devils, but did edge Little Rock's Tanner Mendoza, 4-3. Predictions: 1st) Bernie Truax (Cal Poly) 2nd) Trey Munoz (Oregon State) 3rd) Jacob Hansen (CSU Bakersfield) 4th) Josh Nummer (Arizona State) 197 lbs (1 allocation) The only weight in the league with a lone NCAA allocation is 197 lbs. That, of course, was earned by #10 Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State), who checks in with a 12-3 record. Norfleet is seeking to become a four-time Pac-12 champion and earn a top-ten seed for a third consecutive season. Larger than that, he's looking to get on the NCAA podium for a first time, but first things first. The only conference loss Norfleet has suffered in his collegiate career came during his true freshman season, by disqualification. This year he's cruised to a perfect record in the Pac-12 with bonus points in three of his five contests. Though no one else in the conference is ranked in the top-33, there are three wrestlers in the bracket with past NCAA experience, Josh Loomer (CSU Bakersfield), Ryan Reyes (Oregon State), and Nick Stemmet (Stanford). Stemmet probably gets the two-seed in this crowded group after Norfleet. He has wins over Loomer and Reyes, but fell to Reyes in an "Extra Countable Match." However, seeding works out; one should get the two and the other the three. Stemmet has had a successful second year in Palo Alto, taking fifth at the Reno TOC and winning 20 total matches. Reyes was third at the Reno TOC and finished the regular season, winning five of his final six bouts, the lone loss coming to Stemmet. The rest of the weight class is separated by a razor-thin margin as Reyes topped Loomer by a 3-2 score. That was the same score of the conference dual between Loomer and Cal Poly's Trent Tracy. Loomer was a conference champion in 2020 at 184 lbs. Tracy has kept it close with both Loomer and Reyes, down the stretch. He could flip one or both of those results this weekend. Little Rock should counter with Brooks Sacharczyk, who is 5-20 on the year. The redshirt freshman is looking to snap out of a funk that's seen him go without a win since early December. Predictions: 1st) Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State) 2nd) Nick Stemmet (Stanford) 3rd) Ryan Reyes (Oregon State) 4th) Josh Loomer (CSU Bakersfield) 285 lbs (2 allocations) Our final weight class looks to pit a pair of streaking big men against each other. #2 Cohlton Schultz hasn't lost in the 2021-22 campaign and is 33-2 for Arizona State with a fourth-place finish at NCAA's last year. Schultz has been able to do double-duty, competing for the Sun Devils, along with international travel as the top Greco heavyweight on the ladder. Schultz's most recent wins were two of his best of the year. In the final two weeks of the regular season, he downed Lehigh AA #7 Jordan Wood in tiebreakers and #19 Zach Elam (Missouri) 8-1. To get his second consecutive Pac-12 title, Schultz will need to go through #9 Gary Traub (Oregon State), a graduate transfer from Ohio State. Traub started the year with losses in four of his first five bouts, but has rebounded to win 18-straight. Looking deeper into it, all four L's came at the hands of past All-Americans, so none are classified as "bad." Traub's breakout tournament for Oregon State came at the CKLV Invitational, where he came out of nowhere to win the whole thing. In the process, Traub downed four past national qualifiers and three top-15 opponents. It'll be difficult for anyone else in the bracket to break into the finals, but CSU Bakersfield's Jacob Sieder looks like the third seed. Sieder has wins over Cal Poly Samuel Aguilar and Stanford's Peter Ming. Aguilar also has a head-to-head win against Ming. Little Rock's Josiah Hill is one of the Trojans best wrestlers and has to be accounted for. He went into tiebreakers against Traub and pinned Ming. Predictions: 1st) Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) 2nd) Gary Traub (Oregon State) 3rd) Jacob Sieder (CSU Bakersfield) 4th) Josiah Hill (Little Rock) Team Race Prediction 1st) Arizona State 2nd) Oregon State 3rd) Stanford 4th) Cal Poly

2021 Big Ten Championships (photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) CHICAGO, Ill. - Featuring five of the top 10 teams in the country, including No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Iowa and No. 3 Michigan, the Big Ten Network is the destination for college wrestling fans this weekend with wall-to-wall coverage of the 2022 Big Ten Wrestling Championships. From 11 a.m. ET to 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 5, BTN will once again carry the opening session on television with whip-around coverage and quad box views highlighting the most compelling matchups. On B1G+, individual mat cameras, as well as the quad box, will also be available to provide a comprehensive look at session one. For session two on Saturday night, coverage of the wrestleback matches begins at 6:30 p.m. ET and will be streamed exclusively on B1G+. Television coverage resumes for Saturday night's semifinals from 8:30 p.m. ET through 10:30 p.m. ET, while B1G+ will continue with individual mat coverage for the semifinals and wrestleback matches. On Sunday, March 6, competition begins at noon ET on B1G+ with individual mat cameras for the consolation semifinals. At 4:30 p.m. ET, television coverage resumes as Big Ten champions are crowned while streaming coverage of the third and fifth-place bouts will be available on B1G+. Big Ten Network veterans Shane Sparks, Jim Gibbons and Tim Johnson will anchor the weekend broadcasts. Two-time NCAA champion, 2011 Dan Hodge Trophy Winner and Nebraska alum Jordan Burroughs will also join the crew as a guest analyst. On Saturday and Sunday, the B1G Wrestling Instagram page and Big Ten Network YouTube wrestling page will be updated with highlights, full matches and custom content. For details and subscription information regarding B1G+ coverage, please visit bigtenplus.com. In preparation for the Big Ten Wrestling Championships, a special edition of Wrestling in 60, highlighting a selection of top matches from the regular season, will air tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET. On Monday, March 7, the final episode of Wrestling in 60 will at 6:30 p.m. ET and feature the best action from the 2022 Big Ten Wrestling Championships. Big Ten Wrestling Championships Schedule (all times eastern) Saturday March 5 Session 1: 11 a.m. (BTN/B1G+) Session 2: 6:30 p.m. Wrestlebacks (B1G+) Session 2: 8:30 p.m. Semifinals (BTN) Session 2: 8:30 p.m. Semifinals/Wrestlebacks (B1G+) Sunday March 6 Session 3: Noon Consolation Semifinals (B1G+) Session 4: 4:30 p.m. Championships (BTN) Session 4: 4:30 p.m. 1st, 3rd, 5th place (B1G+) About Big Ten Network A joint venture between the Big Ten Conference and Fox Networks, Big Ten Network is the first internationally distributed network dedicated to covering one of the premier collegiate conferences in the country. With more than 1,700 events across all platforms, the 24/7 network is the ultimate destination for Big Ten fans and alumni across the country, allowing them to see their favorite teams, regardless of where they live. The Fox Sports App is the digital extension of the Big Ten Network, delivering live games and on-demand programming to Big Ten Network customers via the web, smartphones, and tablets. Network events include football, men's and women's basketball games, dozens of Big Ten Olympic sports and championship events, studio shows and classic games. Original programming highlights activities and accomplishments of some of the nation's finest universities, including the Emmy-nominated The Journey. The network is carried by all the major video distributors across the United State and Canada, such as DIRECTV, DISH, Verizon FiOS, AT&T U-Verse, Charter Spectrum, Xfinity, Altice USA, Cox Contour TV, Mediacom, RCN, WOW!, and approximately 300 additional video providers across North America. Big Ten Network is also available through the majority of streaming providers, including DIRECTV Stream, fuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, Vidgo and YouTube TV. For additional information, please visit www.btn.com.

California's 132 lb state champion Jack Gioffre (photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) This weekend the high school state tournament scene was in full force as some of the traditional powers like California and New York held their much-anticipated season-ending tournaments. As these tournaments conclude, it begs the question, “how did my favorite team's recruits fare?” In some smaller states, it's almost a given that your college-bound studs are collecting another state title, while in the power states, with the deepest talent pools, such achievements are not guaranteed. Either way, we've combed through results from all of the state tournaments that have taken place thus far to find out how everyone's recruits have finished. We will update this article each week as more results become official. If you do not see a recruit that should be added, please fill out our commitment form. Air Force Evan Binder (Whitfield) - Missouri Class 3 State Champion (132) Drake Buchanan (Center Grove) - Indiana State Champion (182) Peyton Hahn (Boonville) - Missouri Class 2 State Champion (285) Appalachian State Hunter Adams (Gainesville) - Georgia 3A State Champion (182) Levi Andrews (Avery County) - North Carolina 1A State Champion (285) Kaden Keiser (Winner Area) - South Dakota Class B State Champion (145) Ethan Shell (Avery County) - North Carolina 1A State Champion (138) Arizona State Tyler Antoniak (Millard South) - Nebraska Class A State Champion (152) Corey Camden (College Park) - Texas 6A State Qualifier (138) Diego Chavez (Santa Cruz Valley) - Arizona D4 State Champion (175) Michael Kilic (Woodward Academy) - Georgia 5A State Champion (160) Damion Schunke (Brandon Valley) - South Dakota Class A State Champion (195) Caleb Vanbuskirk (Palm Desert) - California State Qualifier (220) Army West Point Evan Anderson (Western Reserve) - National Prep fourth-place (220) Oscar Aranda (St. John Bosco) - California State third-place (160) Joel Brown (Landon) - National Prep third-place (132) - Class of 2023 Sam Cartella (Western Reserve) - National Prep Runner-Up (138) - Class of 2023 Gage Cook (Granger) - Washington 1B/2B State Champion (285) Nick Corday (Baylor School) - Tennessee DII State Champion (113) Gunner Filipowicz (Woodward Academy) - Georgia 5A State Champion (170) Tommy Link (Malvern Prep) - National Prep third-place (113) Jaime Rivera (Sunnyside) - Arizona D1 State Champion (150) Ben Rogers (Wantagh) - New York DI State Runner-Up (152) Augustana Max Ramberg (Baldwin-Woodville) - Wisconsin D2 State Champion (195) Averett Braeden Fluke (Great Bridge) - Virginia 4A State third-place (220) Binghamton Carter Baer (Gouverneur) - New York DII State Champion (160) Will Ebert (Fairfield) - Connecticut Class LL State Champion (170) Fin Nadeau (Flathead) - Montana AA State Champion (145) Bucknell Johnny Lopez (Poway) - California State third-place (138) Murphy Menke (Ponderosa) - Colorado 5A State Champion (160) Cal Baptist MJ Gaitan (Temecula Valley) - California State Champion (160) Kainoa Medina (Vacaville) - California State sixth-place (106) Mitchell Mesenbrink (Arrowhead) - Wisconsin D1 State Champion (152) Cal Poly Ty Chandler (Clovis North) - California State Qualifier (120) Cade Creighton (Palo Alto) - California State fifth-place (182) Koda Holeman (Clovis) - California State fifth-place (113) Dominic Mendez (Righetti) - California State Runner-Up (113) Luke Meyer (Capistrano Valley) - California State Qualifier (285) Zeth Romney (Chaminade) - California State Runner-Up (126) Cash Stewart (Poynette) - Wisconsin D3 State Runner-Up (160) Michael Torres (Oakdale) - California State Qualifier (126) Luke Villaluz (Corona Del Mar) - California State Qualifier (138) Wesley Wilson (Morro Bay) - California State Qualifier (182) Campbell Dom Baker (New Kent) - Virginia 3A State Champion (170) Devon Bell (Laney) - North Carolina 4A State Champion (182) Jack Hawbaker (Great Bridge) - Virginia 4A State Runner-Up (152) Hagen Heistand (Underwood) - Iowa 1A State Champion (145) Central Michigan Grayson Sonntag (Tonganoxie) - Kansas 4A State Runner-Up (138) Central Oklahoma Jaxon Randall (Edmond North) - Oklahoma 6A State Champion (170) Chadron State Jackson Tonkovich (Batavia) - Illinois 3A State Qualifier (182) Chattanooga Cole Cochran (Woodland Cartersville) - Georgia 5A State Champion (160) Jeremy Paradice (Colquitt County) - Georgia 7A State Champion (160) Cole Thomas (Ryle) - Kentucky State Champion (132) Clarion Chase Cordia (Osage) - Missouri Class 2 State Champion (182) Cleveland State Dylan Layton (Indian Land) - South Carolina 4A State Champion (145) Keith Ransom (Mexico) - Missouri Class 2 State Runner-Up (145) Columbia Richard Fedalen (McDonogh) - National Prep Runner-Up (152) Evan Frost (Dowling Catholic) - Iowa 3A State Champion (132) Jacob Frost (Dowling Catholic) - Iowa 3A State Runner-Up (138) Kai Owen (Wyoming Seminary) - National Prep third-place (138) Jack Wehmeyer (Malvern Prep) - National Prep Runner-Up (182) Yianni Vines (Thompson) - Alabama 7A State Champion (126) Cornell Foster Cardinale (Liberty) - Virginia 4A State Runner-Up (126) Ashton Davis (Cleveland) - Tennessee AA State Champion (285) Aiden Hanning (Northfield Mt. Hermon) - National Prep Champion (195) CSU Bakersfield Paul Sharp (Clovis North) - California State Champion (220) Davidson Devin Diaco (Trinity-Pawling) - National Prep Qualifier (126) Jarek Stewart-Karolweics (Brevard) - North Carolina 2A State Runner-Up (285) Drexel Gabe Giampietro (Smyrna) - Delaware State Champion (120) Jordan Soriano (Clarke) - New York DII State Champion (138) Gardner-Webb Josh McCuthen (Valdosta) - Georgia 6A State Champion (195) George Mason Alex Frowert (Atlee) - Virginia 4A State Champion (152) Donovan Sprouse (Patriot) - Virginia 6A State Runner-Up (220) Hofstra Alex Turley (Webster Groves) - Missouri Class 3 third-place (126) Illinois Brian Beers (Barrington) - Illinois 3A State fifth-place (126) Kole Brower (Moline) - Illinois 3A State Champion (138) Kannon Webster (Washington) - Illinois 2A State Champion (132) Indiana Cole Rhemrev (Stevenson) - Illinois 3A State fifth-place (138) Gabe Sollars (Mater Dei) - Indiana State Champion (195) Indianapolis Nathan Smith (Southport) - Indiana State third-place (106) Iowa Ryder Block (Waverly-Shell Rock) - Iowa 3A State Champion (138) - Class of 2023 Easton Fleshman (West Lyon) - Iowa 2A State Champion (285) Bradley Hill (Bettendorf) - Iowa 3A State Runner-Up (195) Joel Jesuroga (Southeast Polk) - Iowa 3A State sixth-place (145) Nate Jesuroga (Southeast Polk) - Iowa 3A State Champion (126) - Class of 2023 Ben Kueter (City High) - Iowa 3A State Champion (220) - Class of 2023 Carson Martinson (Southeast Polk) - Iowa 3A State Runner-Up (160) Carter Martinson (Southeast Polk) - Iowa 3A State Runner-Up (152) Drake Rhodes (Billings West) - Montana AA State Champion (160) Jace Rhodes (Mason City) - Iowa 3A State Runner-Up (132) Aiden Riggins (Waverly-Shell Rock) - Iowa 3A State Champion (160) Iowa State Carter Fousek (Crestwood) - Iowa 2A State Champion (138) Tate Naaktgeboren (Linn-Mar) - Iowa 3A State Champion (170) - Class of 2023 Christian Stanek (Xavier) - Iowa 3A State third-place (160) Fernando Villaescusa (Gilbert) - Iowa 2A State Runner-Up (182) Kent State Eli Ashcroft (Kearney) - Missouri Class 3 State Champion (145) Keith Barr (Hickman) - Missouri Class 4 State sixth-place (138) Billy Meiszner (Providence Catholic) - Illinois 3A State fourth-place (132) Lander Samuel Gerard (Robinson) - Virginia 6A State Champion (152) Jackson Harms (Hillcrest) - South Carolina 5A State Champion (170) Brayton Killiri (Summerville) - South Carolina 5A State Runner-Up (138) Lehigh Kimo Leia (Selma) - California State fourth-place (138) - Class of 2023 Caden Rogers (Malvern Prep) - National Prep Runner-Up (220) Lindenwood Aidan Boline (Washburn Rural) - Kansas 6A State Champion (160) Little Rock Kodiak Cannedy (Greeneville) - Tennessee A State Champion (170) Chance Davis (Perry) - Oklahoma 3A State Champion (160) Kyle Dutton (Liberty) - Missouri Class 4 State Champion (145) Cael Keck (Park Hill) - Missouri Class 4 Runner-Up (132) Stephen Little (Union County) - Kentucky State Champion (190) Keith Miley (Whitfield) - Missouri Class 2 State Champion (285) Maryland Kal Miller (Park Hill) - Missouri Class 4 Runner-Up (145) McKendree Logan Rathjen (Liberty) - Missouri Class 4 Runner-Up (152) Michigan Cam Catrabone (Williamsville North) - New York DI State sixth-place (145) - Class of 2024 Codei Khawaja (Floyd Central) - Indiana State Qualifier (170) Josh Knudten (Libertyville) - Illinois 3A State Champion (182) Beau Mantanona (Palm Desert) - California State Runner-Up (138) Rylan Rogers (Coeur d'Alene) - Idaho 5A State Champion (195) Michigan State Ceasar Garza (Oakdale) - California State Champion (170) Missouri Ryan Boersma (Mt. Carmel) - Illinois 3A State Champion (285) J Conway (Floyd Central) - Indiana State Champion (160) David Cross (Francis Howell Central) - Missouri Class 4 Runner-Up (138) Easton Hilton (Liberty) - Missouri Class 4 third-place (138) Carter McCallister (Rock Bridge) - Missouri Class 4 State Champion (138) - Class of 2023 Kaden Moore (Allen) - Texas 6A State Champion (138) Peyton Moore (Nixa) - Missouri Class 4 third-place (126) Zeke Seltzer (Cathedral) - Indiana State Champion (132) Owen Uhls (Fulton) - Missouri Class 2 State Champion (138) Clayton Whiting (Oconto Falls) - Wisconsin D2 State Champion (182) Mount Olive Lucas Cotto (Laney) - North Carolina 4A State Qualifier (113) Navy Jonathan Ley (Lake Highland Prep) - National Prep Runner-Up (170) Nick Vafiadis (New Kent) - Virginia 3A State Champion (160) Danny Wask (Blair Academy) - National Prep Champion (170) NC State Jackson Baglio (Central Cabarrus) - North Carolina 3A State Champion (120) - Class of 2023 Danny Curran (Dekalb) - Illinois 3A State fifth-place (132) Tommy Curran (Dekalb) - Illinois 3A State Champion (145) Chase Horne (West Laurens) - Georgia 4A State Champion (285) Jeremiah Price (Surry Central) - North Carolina 2A State Champion (152) - Class of 2023 Vincent Robinson (Homewood) - Illinois 3A State Runner-Up (126) - Class of 2023 Cheaney Schoeff (Avon) - Indiana State third-place (132) - Class of 2023 Matthew Singleton (Woodward Academy) - Georgia 5A State Champion (182) Nebraska Harley Andrews (Tuttle) - Oklahoma 4A State Champion (285) Antrell Taylor (Millard South) - Nebraska Class A State Champion (170) Nebraska-Kearney Joey Airola (Boulder) - Colorado 5A State sixth-place (132) Jacob Awiszus (Gering) - Nebraska Class B State Champion (182) Cael Erickson (Cedar Grove-Belgium) - Wisconsin D3 State Runner-Up (145) Newberry Aidan Lambert (Kellam) - Virginia 6A State fifth-place (160) North Carolina Nasir Bailey (Rich Township) - Illinois 3A State Champion (132) Cole Hunt (Cass) - Georgia 5A State Champion (120) Max Martin (Great Bridge) - Virginia 4A State sixth-place (120) Danny Nini (Lake Highland Prep) - National Prep third-place (152) Jayden Scott (Rush-Henrietta) - New York DI State Champion (145) Cade Tenold (Don Bosco) - Iowa 1A State Champion (170) Carson Tenold (Don Bosco) - Iowa 1A State Champion (195) North Dakota State Fernando Barreto (Walnut) - California State Qualifier (132) Gavin Drexler (Stratford) - Wisconsin D3 State Champion (138) Boeden Greenley (Lisbon) - North Dakota Class B State Champion (160) Northern Colorado Andrew Blackburn-Forst (Lockport) - Illinois 3A State Champion (220) Bryce Garcia (Pueblo County) - Colorado 4A State Champion (170) Brady Hankin (Woodland Park) - Colorado 3A State Runner-Up (138) Kobi Johnson (Loveland) - Colorado 4A State Champion (120) Derek Matthews (Declo) - Idaho 2A State Champion (182) Quentin Saunders (Goddard) - Kansas 5A State Champion (182) Northern Illinois Tom Bennett (Brother Rice) - Illinois 2A State Champion (170) Damien Lopez (Dekalb) - Illinois 3A State third-place (152) Eli Rocha (Platte County) - Missouri Class 3 State Champion (138) Northern Iowa Trever Anderson (Ankeny) - Iowa 3A State Runner-Up (120) Chet Buss (North Butler-Clarksville) - Iowa 1A State Champion (285) Garrett Funk (Don Bosco) - Iowa 1A State Runner-Up (132) Cory Land (Moody) - Alabama 5A/6A State Champion (138) Wyatt Voelker (West Delaware) - Iowa 2A State Champion (195) Northwestern Sammie Hayes (Carl Sandburg) - Illinois 3A State sixth-place (120) Joseph Martin (Buchanan) - California State Champion (182) Kai Neumark (Deerfield) - Illinois 2A State Runner-Up (138) Ohio Charlie Heydorn (Lake Forest) - Illinois 2A State fourth-place (182) Ohio State Nic Bouzakis (Wyoming Seminary) - National Prep Champion (132) Nick Feldman (Malvern Prep) - National Prep Champion (285) Jesse Mendez (Crown Point) - Indiana State Champion (138) Oklahoma Joey Cruz (Clovis North) - California State Champion (113) KJ Evans (Heritage Hall) - Oklahoma 4A State Champion (152) - Class of 2023 Christian Forbes (Broken Arrow) - Oklahoma 6A State Runner-Up (106) Zan Fugitt (Nixa) - Missouri Class 4 State Champion (120) - Class of 2023 AJ Heeg (Edmond Memorial) - Oklahoma 6A State Champion (182) - Class of 2023 Kaden Smith (Bridge Creek) - Oklahoma 4A State third-place (132) John Wiley (Mustang) - Oklahoma 6A State third-place (160) Oklahoma State Zach Blankenship (Bixby) - Oklahoma 6A State Champion (132) Cael Hughes (Stillwater) - Oklahoma 6A State Champion (126) - Class of 2023 Jersey Robb (Bixby) - Oklahoma 6A State Champion (195) - Class of 2023 Cutter Sheets (Stilwell) - Oklahoma 4A State Runner-Up (145) Jordan Williams (Owasso) - Oklahoma 6A State Runner-Up (160) Oregon State Isaiah Anderson (Chiawana) - Washington 4A State Champion (195) Damion Elliot (Del Oro) - California State sixth-place (132) CJ Hamblin (Mountain View) - Washington 3A State Champion (170) Austin Scott (Mountain View) - Arizona D2 State Champion (157) Nash Singleton (Roseburg) - Oregon 6A State Champion (132) Noah Tolentino (Poway) - California State third-place (145) Gabe Whisenhunt (Crescent Valley) - Oregon 5A State Champion (126) Cade White (Meridian) - Idaho 5A State Runner-Up (145) Penn Christian Carroll (New Prairie) - Indiana State Champion (220) - Class of 2023 Andrew Connolly (Malvern Prep) - National Prep third-place (195) Jackson Polo (Cold Spring Harbor) - New York DII State Champion (145) Brady Pruett (Archbishop Spaulding) - National Prep fifth-place (126) Presbyterian Ty Chittum (Great Bridge) - Virginia 4A State Champion (160) Ryan Luna (St. Francis) - California State Qualifier (132) Princeton Rocco Camillaci (Hilton) - New York DI State Champion (152) Drew Lang (West) - Utah 6A State Champion (144) Christopher Martino (Bishop Kelly) - Idaho 4A State Champion (132) Kole Mulhauser (Central Square) - New York DI State Champion (189) Purdue Brody Baumann (Mater Dei) - Indiana State Champion (170) Rider Angelo Esposito (Northgate) - California State Qualifier (170) Roanoke Zane Cox (Benedictine) - National Prep fourth-place (160) Rutgers Luke Gayer (Calvary Chapel) - California State Runner-Up (160) SIU Edwardsville Andrew Doehring (Lafayette) - Missouri Class 4 fourth-place (138) Bradley Gillum (Dekalb) - Illinois 3A State Runner-Up (182) Marcel Lopez (New London) - Iowa 1A State Champion (126) Alec Peralta (Temecula Valley) - California State seventh-place (145) Brock Woodcock (St. Clair) - Missouri Class 2 State Champion (145) - Class of 2023 South Dakota State Luke Rasmussen (Brookings) - South Dakota Class A State Champion (220) St. Cloud State Ethan Birch (Vacaville) - California State Qualifier (145) Archer Heelan (Kearney) - Nebraska Class A State fifth-place (120) Donnie Hidden (Washington) - Illinois 2A State Runner-Up (195) Nick Renteria (IC Catholic) - Illinois 1A State Champion (120) Jaydon Walls (Platte County) - Missouri Class 3 State Champion (195) Stanford Brook Byers (Sprague) - Oregon 6A State Champion (182) Daniel Cardenas (Pomona) - Colorado 5A State Champion (152) Jack Darrah (Wyoming Seminary) - National Prep third-place (220) Hunter Garvin (Iowa City West) - Iowa 3A State Champion (152) Lain Yapoujian (Byers) - Colorado 2A State Champion (138) - Class of 2023 The Citadel Aiden Curry (Central Academy) - North Carolina 3A State Champion (160) Caelan Riley (Libertyville) - Illinois 3A State third-place (120) Dillon Roman (Monarch) - Colorado 5A State Runner-Up (138) Thomas Snipes (Hillcrest) - South Carolina 5A State Champion (145) Hayden Watson (Center Grove) - Indiana State Champion (145) Virginia Robert Avila Jr. (Iowa City West) - Iowa 3A State Runner-Up (145) Griffin Gammel (Waukee Northwest) - Iowa 3A State Champion (182) Jack Gioffre (Buchanan) - California State Champion (132) Michael Gioffre (Buchanan) - California State Champion (138) Garrett Grice (Bellevue East) - Nebraska Class A State Champion (138) Nick Hamilton (Papillion-La Vista) - Nebraska Class A State Champion (160) RJ May (Maggie Walker) - Virginia 3A State Champion (182) Kyle Montaperto (Central Academy) - North Carolina 3A State Champion (126) Keyveon Roller (Lakeway Christian) - Tennessee DII State Champion (132) Cooper Rudolph (Robinson) - Virginia 6A State Champion (285) Nick Sanko (Pittsford) - New York DI State Runner-Up (160) Virginia Tech Logan Frazier (Crown Point) - Indiana State Champion (126) - Class of 2023 Caleb Henson (Woodland-Cartersville) - Georgia 5A State Champion (152) Hunter Mason (Greeneville) - Tennessee A State Champion (145) - Class of 2023 TJ Stewart (Blair Academy) - National Prep Champion (220) VMI Dyson Dunham (Benedictine) - National Prep fifth-place (132) Wisconsin Brock Bobzien (Poway) - California State third-place (132) Greyson Clark (Kaukauna) - Wisconsin D1 State Champion (138) - Class of 2023 Nicolar Rivera (Stoughton) - Wisconsin D1 State Champion (126) James Rowley (Crescent Valley) - Oregon 5A State Champion (182) Wyoming Garrison Dendy (Baylor School) - Tennessee DII State Champion (138) David Harper (Baylor School) - Tennessee DII State Champion (195) Kevin Zimmer (Carl Sandburg) - Illinois 3A State Runner-Up (285)

125 lb regional champ Josh Portillo of Nebraska-Kearney (photo/UNK athletics) Team Scores 1) Nebraska-Kearney 175.5 2) Western Colorado 102.5 3) Colorado Mesa 93.5 4) Colorado School of Mines 84.5 5) Adams State 83 6) Fort Hays State 66 7) Chadron State 48 8) Simon Fraser 39.5 9) CSU Pueblo 34.5 9) San Francisco State 34.5 11) New Mexico Highlands 27.5 Championship Finals 125 lbs - Josh Portillo (Nebraska-Kearney) fall Cody Fatzinger (Western Colorado) 6:05 133 lbs - Wesley Dawkins (Nebraska-Kearney) MedFFT Jonathan Andreatta (Adams State) 141 lbs - Nick James (Nebraska-Kearney) fall Ethan Leake (Chadron State) 3:56 149 lbs - Noah Hermosillo (Adams State) dec Sam Turner (Nebraska-Kearney) 3-2 157 lbs - Ryan Wheeler (Colorado Mesa) InjDef Josiah Rider (Adams State) 165 lbs - Matt Malcom (Nebraska-Kearney) maj Hunter Mullin (Western Colorado) 13-3 174 lbs - Austin Eldredge (Nebraska-Kearney) tech Allen Michel (New Mexico Highlands) 19-3 184 lbs - Billy Higgins (Nebraska-Kearney) dec Martin Verhaeghe (Fort Hays State) 5-2 197 lbs - Hayden Prince (Nebraska-Kearney) dec Donald Negus (Colorado Mesa) 6-2 285 lbs - Lee Herrington (Nebraska-Kearney) dec AJ Cooper (Fort Hays State) 4-2 NCAA Qualifiers by Team Adams State Jonathan Andreatta (133 - 2nd) Noah Hermosillo (149 - 1st) Josiah Rider (157 - 2nd) Chadron State Ethan Leake (141 - 2nd) Colorado Mesa Dawson Collins (125 - 3rd) Collin Metzgar (133 - 3rd) Ryan Wheeler (157 - 1st) Seth Latham (174 - 3rd) Donald Negus (197 - 2nd) Colorado School of Mines Grayston DiBlasi (141 - 3rd) Anderson Salisbury (184 - 3rd) Weston Hunt (285 - 3rd) CSU Pueblo Ruben Garcia (165 - 3rd) Fort Hays State Martin Verhaeghe (184 - 2nd) Tereus Henry (197 - 3rd) AJ Cooper (285 - 2nd) Nebraska-Kearney Josh Portillo (125 - 1st) Wesley Dawkins (133 - 1st) Nick James (141 - 1st) Sam Turner (149 - 2nd) Matt Malcom (165 - 1st) Austin Eldredge (174 - 1st) Billy Higgins (184 - 1st) Hayden Prince (197 - 1st) Lee Herrington (285 - 1st) New Mexico Highlands Allen Michel (174 - 2nd) San Francisco State Mason Boutain (157 - 3rd) Western Colorado Cody Fatzinger (125 - 2nd) Jason Hanenberg (149 - 3rd) Hunter Mullin (165 - 2nd)

197 lb regional champion Noah Ryan of St. Cloud State (photo/SCSU athletics) Team Scores 1) St. Cloud State 136.5 2) Augustana 129.5 3) UW-Parkside 82.5 4) Northern State 73.5 5) Mary 72.5 6) Minnesota State 71.5 7) Upper Iowa 44 8) SW Minnesota State 41.5 9) Minot State 29.5 10) MSU Moorhead 24.5 Championship Finals 125 lbs - Paxton Creese (St. Cloud State) dec Joe Arroyo (UW-Parkside) 5-3 133 lbs - Jack Huffman (Augustana) dec Reece Barnhardt (Mary) 3-1 141 lbs - Joey Bianchini (St. Cloud State) maj Keaten Schorr (Augustana) 9-0 149 lbs - Nick Novak (St. Cloud State) dec Hunter Burnett (Augustana) 4-1 157 lbs - Anthony Herrera (St. Cloud State) dec Tyler Wagener (Augustana) 5-2 165 lbs - Shane Gantz (UW-Parkside) maj Miles Fitzgerald (Augustana) 10-2 174 lbs - Cade Mueller (Augustana) dec Trevor Turriff (Minnesota State) 3-1SV 184 lbs - Caden Steffen (SW Minnesota State) dec Reece Woracheck (UW-Parkside) 3-1 197 lbs - Noah Ryan (St. Cloud State) dec Cole Huss (Northern State) 3-2 285 lbs - Darrell Mason (Minnesota State) dec Kam Teacher (St. Cloud State) 2-1TB NCAA Qualifiers by Team Augustana Jaxson Rohman (125 - 3rd) Jack Huffman (133 - 1st) Keaten Schorr (141 - 2nd) Hunter Burnett (149 - 2nd) Tyler Wagener (157 - 2nd) Miles Fitzgerald (165 - 2nd) Cade Mueller (174 - 1st) Steven Hajas (285 - 3rd) Mary Reece Barnhardt (133 - 2nd) Braydon Huber (157 - 3rd) Leo Mushinsky (165 - 3rd) Matt Kaylor (197 - 3rd) Minnesota State Trevor Turriff (174 - 2nd) Darrell Mason (285 - 1st) Northern State Wyatt Turnquist (149 - 3rd) Treyton Cacek (184 - 3rd) Cole Huss (197 - 2nd) St. Cloud State Paxton Creese (125 - 1st) Garrett Vos (133 - 3rd) Joey Bianchini (141 - 1st) Nick Novak (149 - 1st) Anthony Herrera (157 - 1st) Noah Ryan (197 - 1st) Kam Teacher (285 - 2nd) SW Minnesota State Caden Steffen (184 - 1st) Upper Iowa Tate Murty (141 - 3rd) UW-Parkside Joe Arroyo (125 - 2nd) Shane Gantz (165 - 1st) Job Ayala (174 - 3rd) Reece Woracheck (184 - 1st)

285 lb regional champ Shawn Streck of Central Oklahoma (photo/UCO athletics) Team Scores 1) Central Oklahoma 153 2) Indianapolis 129.5 3) McKendree 114.5 4) Central Missouri 75.5 5) Lindenwood 73 6) Maryville 64.5 7) Newman 45.5 8) Drury 37 9) Ouachita Baptist 36 10) Kentucky Wesleyan 9.5 11) William Jewell 4 Championship Finals 125 lbs - Paxton Rosen (Central Oklahoma) dec Christian Mejia (McKendree) 4-3 133 lbs - Tanner Cole (Central Oklahoma) dec Tanner Hitchcock (Lindenwood) 3-1 141 lbs - Colby Smith (Lindenwood) dec Peter Kuster (Drury) 6-1 149 lbs - Brik Filippo (Central Oklahoma) dec Logan Bailey (Indianapolis) 5-4 157 lbs - John Ridle (Central Missouri) dec Ty Lucas (Central Oklahoma) 2-0 165 lbs - Jack Eiteljorge (Indianapolis) dec Nate Trepanier (Lindenwood) 6-3 174 lbs - Andrew Sams (Indianapolis) dec Josh Jones (McKendree) 2-1TB 184 lbs - Heath Gray (Central Oklahoma) dec Dan Filipek (McKendree) 2-1 197 lbs - Dalton Abney (Central Oklahoma) dec Derek Blubaugh (Indianapolis) 6-0 285 lbs - Shawn Streck (Central Oklahoma) maj Cale Gray (Indianapolis) 14-4 NCAA Qualifiers by Team Central Missouri Darick Lapaglia (149 - 3rd) John Ridle (157 - 1st) Central Oklahoma Paxton Rosen (125 - 1st) Tanner Cole (133 - 1st) Brik Filippo (149 - 1st) Ty Lucas (157 - 2nd) Alex Kauffman (174 - 3rd) Heath Gray (184 - 1st) Dalton Abney (197 - 1st) Shawn Streck (285 - 1st) Drury Peter Kuster (141 - 3rd) Indianapolis Breyden Bailey (133 - 3rd) Logan Bailey (149 - 2nd) Dawson Combest (157 - 3rd) Jack Eiteljorge (165 - 1st) Andrew Sams (174 - 1st) Derek Blubaugh (197 - 2nd) Cale Gray (285 - 3rd) Lindenwood Isaac Jacquez (125 - 3rd) Tanner Hitchcock (133 - 2nd) Colby Smith (141 - 1st) Nate Trepanier (165 - 2nd) Maryville Joey Williams (184 - 3rd) Chase Stegall (197 - 3rd) McKendree Christian Mejia (125 - 2nd) Brody Norman (141 - 3rd) Cory Peterson (165 - 3rd) Josh Jones (174 - 2nd) Dan Filipek (184 - 2nd) Ian Kuehl (285 - 3rd)

184 lb regional champion Connor Craig (photo/West Liberty athletics) Team Scores 1) West Liberty 142 2) Ashland 111.5 3) Lake Erie 104 4) Findlay 88 4) Tiffin 88 6) Davis & Elkins 75.5 7) Glenville State 69.5 8) Notre Dame 54 9) Davenport 26.5 10) Wheeling 10 11) Bluefield State 5.5 Championship Finals 125 lbs - Cole Laya (West Liberty) dec Manuel Leija (Davenport) 2-0 133 lbs - Corey Gamet (Lake Erie) dec Bryce Allison (Tiffin) 3-1 141 lbs - Branson Proudlock (Findlay) dec Tyler Warner (West Liberty) 3-2 149 lbs - Craig Cook (Davis & Elkins) dec Jordan Watters (West Liberty) 6-4 157 lbs - Chance Esmont (Ashland) dec Noah Tarr (Davis & Elkins) 7-6 165 lbs - Drew Wiechers (Ashland) MedFFT James Penfold (Lake Erie) 174 lbs - Ty McGeary (West Liberty) InjDef Daniel Beemer (Ashland) 184 lbs - Connor Craig (West Liberty) dec Cole Houser (Glenville State) 6-0 197 lbs - Nick Mason (Tiffin) MedFFT Walker Uhl (Ashland) 285 lbs - Francesco Borsellino (West Liberty) fall David Henson (Tiffin) 1:41 NCAA Qualifiers by Team Ashland Carson Speelman (149 - 3rd) Chance Esmont (157 - 1st) Drew Wiechers (165 - 1st) Daniel Beemer (174 - 2nd) Walker Uhl (197 - 2nd) Davenport Manuel Leija (125 - 2nd) Davis & Elkins Vincent Scollo (133 - 3rd) Craig Cook (149 - 1st) Noah Tarr (157 lbs - 2nd) Findlay Branson Proudlock (141 - 1st) Glenville State Hunter DeLong (174 - 3rd) Cole Houser (184 - 2nd) Lake Erie Corey Gamet (133 - 1st) Tyler Swiderski (157 - 3rd) James Penfold (165 - 2nd) Notre Dame Logan Hall (184 - 3rd) La'Ron Parks (285 - 3rd) Tiffin Branden Mendoza (125 - 3rd) Bryce Allison (133 - 2nd) Matthew Zuckerman (141 - 3rd) Nick Mason (197 - 1st) David Henson (285 - 2nd) West Liberty Cole Laya (125 - 1st) Tyler Warner (141 - 2nd) Jordan Watters (149 - 2nd) Chase Morgan (165 - 3rd) Ty McGeary (174 - 1st) Connor Craig (184 - 1st) Logan Kemp (197 - 3rd) Francesco Borsellino (285 - 1st)

149 lb regional champion Isiah Royal of Limestone (photo/Limestone athletics) Team Scores 1) Newberry 130.5 2) UNC Pembroke 104.5 3) Lander 101.5 4) Belmont Abbey 100.5 5) Limestone 67.5 6) King 63.5 7) Coker 49.5 8) Queens 40.5 9) Mount Olive 39 10) Emmanuel 37.5 Championship Finals 125 lbs - Nick Daggett (UNC Pembroke) InjDef Evan Carrigan (Newberry) 133 lbs - Majid Corbett (Limestone) dec Elijah Lusk (Lander) 4-1 141 lbs - Zeth Brower (Lander) dec Christian Small (King) 6-0 149 lbs - Isiah Royal (Newberry) dec Demetri Teddlie (King) 9-2 157 lbs - Dallas Boone (King) InjDef Jake Nicolosi (Mount Olive) 165 lbs - John Dean (Belmont Abbey) dec Rahsaan Vereen (UNC Pembroke) 3-2 174 lbs - Caleb Spears (Newberry) dec Connor Weeks (Belmont Abbey) 9-6 184 lbs - JaQuez Bostic (Limestone) dec Noah Curreri (Queens) 7-4 197 lbs - Darius Parker (Lander) dec Bryce Walker (UNC Pembroke) 4-3 285 lbs - Zach Shaffer (UNC Pembroke) MedFFT Juan Holmes (Limestone) NCAA Qualifiers by team Belmont Abbey John Carayiannis (141 - 3rd) John Dean (165 - 1st) Connor Weeks (174 - 2nd) Coker Patrick Wunderlich (157 - 3rd) King Christian Small (141 - 2nd) Demetri Teddlie (149 - 2nd) Dallas Boone (157 - 1st) Lander Elijah Lusk (133 - 2nd) Zeth Brower (141 - 1st) Darius Parker (197 - 1st) Cameron Coffman (285 - 3rd) Limestone Kevin Radcliff (125 - 3rd) Majid Corbett (133 - 1st) JaQuez Bostic (184 - 1st) Juan Holmes (285 - 2nd) Mount Olive Jake Nicolosi (157 - 2nd) Newberry Evan Carrigan (125 - 2nd) Timothy Luker (133 - 3rd) Isiah Royal (149 - 1st) Talon Seitz (165 - 3rd) Caleb Spears (174 - 1st) Queens Stephon Halliburton (174 - 3rd) Noah Curreri (184 - 2nd) Austin Watkins (197 - 3rd) UNC Pembroke Nick Daggett (125 - 1st) Jake Piccirilli (149 - 3rd) Rahsaan Vereen (165 - 2nd) Jovaun Johson (184 - 3rd) Bryce Walker (197 - 2nd) Zach Shaffer (285 - 1st)

149 lb Super Regional champion Jacob Ealy (photo/UPJ athletics) Team Scores 1) Pitt-Johnstown 147 2) Gannon 129.5 3) Kutztown 110.5 4) Mercyhurst 99.5 5) Millersville 82 6) Seton Hill 62.5 7) Alderson Broaddus 49.5 8) American International 48.5 9) Shippensburg 32 10) East Stroudsburg 25 11) Fairmont State 3 Championship Finals 125 lbs - Jacob Dunlap (Gannon) dec Tyshawn White (Shippensburg) 6-2 133 lbs - Collin Wickramaratna (Kutztown) dec Eric Bartos (Mercyhurst) 8-5 141 lbs - Caleb Morris (Pitt-Johnstown) tech Joel Cawoski (Seton Hill) 18-1 149 lbs - Jacob Ealy (Pitt-Johnstown) fall Josh Laubach (Alderson Broaddus) 2:58 157 lbs - JoJo Gonzalez (American International) dec Nick Young (Gannon) 8-4 165 lbs - Dillon Keane (Pitt-Johnstown) maj Brandon Connor (Millersville) 8-0 174 lbs - Joseph Petrella (Gannon) dec Dillon Walker (Mercyhurst) 3-1SV 184 lbs - Matt Weinberg (Kutztown) dec Anthony Giamppietro (Millersville) 7-2 197 lbs - Brian Kennerly (Kutztown) maj Joel Leise (Gannon) 15-6 285 lbs - Andrew Dunn (Kutztown) dec Jacob Robb (Mercyhurst) 3-1SV NCAA Qualifiers by Team Alderson Broaddus Josh Laubach (149 - 2nd) Gino Sita (197 - 3rd) American International JoJo Gonzalez (157 - 1st) Gannon Jacob Dunlap (125 - 1st) Dom Means (149 - 3rd) Nick Young (157 - 2nd) Evan Fisler (165 - 3rd) Joseph Petrella (174 - 1st) Cam Page (184 - 3rd) Joel Leise (197 - 2nd) Freddie Nixon (285 - 3rd) Kutztown Collin Wickramaratna (133 - 1st) Matt Weinberg (184 - 1st) Brian Kennerly (197 - 1st) Andrew Dunn (285 - 1st) Mercyhurst Eric Bartos (133 - 2nd) Alexis Soriano (141 - 3rd) Dillon Walker (174 - 2nd) Jacob Robb (285 - 2nd) Millersville Devin Flannery (133 - 3nd) Brandon Connor (165 - 2nd) Anthony Giampietro (184 - 2nd) Pitt-Johnstown Matt Siszka (125 - 3rd) Caleb Morris (141- 1st) Jacob Ealy (149 - 1st) Nathan Smith (157 - 3rd) Dillon Keane (165 - 1st) Brock Biddle (174 - 3rd) Seton Hill Joel Cawoski (141 - 2nd) Shippensburg Tyshawn White (125 - 2nd)

141 lb regional champion Kyle Slendorn of Stevens Institute (photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Team Scores 1) Stevens Institute 160.5 2) Alvernia 151 3) Averett 127 4) Washington and Lee 103.5 5) York 97 6) Wilkes 95 7) Roanoke 70.5 8) Ferrum 69 9) Messiah 62.5 10) Lycoming 59 Championship Finals 125 lbs - Sam Braswell (Averett) dec Austin Fashouer (Wilkes) 3-2 133 lbs - Dalton Rohrbaugh (York) dec Josh Wilson (Greensboro) 3-2 141 lbs - Kyle Slendorn (Stevens Institute) fall Josiah Gehr (Messiah) 5:33 149 lbs - Brett Kaliner (Stevens Institute) fall Hunter Campbell (Averett) 2:20 157 lbs - Ryan Luth (Washington and Lee) dec Nick Barnhart (Messiah) 9-7 165 lbs - Matt Lackman (Alvernia) dec Alex Turley (Averett) 3-2 174 lbs - Stefan Major (Stevens Institute) Yousseff Ait Boulahri (Delaware Valley) 184 lbs - Mahlic Sallah (Roanoke) dec Colton Babcock (Wilkes) 7-4 197 lbs - Camden Farrow (York) dec Mauro Pellot-Vasquez (Alvernia) 9-7 285 lbs - John Fulmer (Lycoming) dec Nico Ramirez (Southern Virginia) 5-0 NCAA Qualifiers by team Alvernia Matt Lackman (165 - 1st) Isaac Kassis (184 - 4th) Mauro Pellot-Vasquez (197 - 2nd) Parker Rodenhaber (285 - 3rd) Averett Sam Braswell (125 -1st) Brandon Woody (141 - 3rd) Hunter Campbell (149 - 2nd) Alex Turley (165 - 2nd) Delaware Valley Yousseff Ait Boulahri (174 - 2nd) Gettysburg Luke Kowalski (133 - 3rd) Greensboro Josh Wilson (133 - 2nd) Hai Siu (149 - 3rd) King's Kade Kravits (174 - 3rd) Lycoming Gable Crebs (197 - 3rd) John Fulmer (285 - 1st) Messiah Josiah Gehr (141 - 2nd) Nick Barnhart (157 - 2nd) Roanoke Mahlic Sallah (184 - 1st) Stevens Institute Kyle Slendorn (141 -1st) Brett Kaliner (149 - 1st) Stefan Major (174 - 1st) Southern Virginia Nico Ramirez (285 - 2nd) Washington and Jefferson Jaden Datz (165 - 3rd) Washington and Lee Riley Parker (125 - 3rd) Ryan Luth (157 - 1st) Wilkes Austin Fashouer (125 - 2nd) Colton Babcock (184 - 2nd) York Dalton Rohrbaugh (133 -1st) Eric Hutchinson (157 - 3rd) Camden Farrow (197 - 1st)

Tervel Dlagnev (photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Tervel Dlagnev of Team USA will receive his bronze medal from the Olympic Games London 2012 at 120 kg. in men's freestyle wrestling in an Olympic Medal Reallocation Ceremony in Lincoln, Neb., on Sunday, March 6. The ceremony will be held at Pinnacle Bank Arena, just prior to the final session of the 2022 Big Ten Conference Wrestling Championships, with the University of Nebraska playing host to the event for the first time since joining the conference in 2012. Session IV, which features the first-, third- and fifth-place matches, is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. CT, while the Dlagnev medal ceremony will start shortly after 3:00 p.m. CT Additional information regarding the 2022 Big Ten Wrestling Championships can be found at //bigten.org/wrestle. This Olympic Medal Reallocation Ceremony, approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and conducted under its specifications, will be presented by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), the National Olympic Committee for the United States. Also partnering in the Olympic Medal Reallocation Ceremony for Tervel Dlagnev are USA Wrestling, the Big Ten Conference and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. "We are very excited that Tervel Dlagnev will be listed in the history books as an Olympic medalist, a recognition long overdue. It helps restore our faith in the system of keeping wrestling clean. We are grateful for the tireless efforts of the IOC, USOPC and UWW to bring justice in situations where doping rules are violated. We are also pleased that Tervel can share this amazing experience with his family and friends. Special thanks to the Big Ten and the University of Nebraska for providing a perfect platform to honor one of our nation's great athletes," said Rich Bender, USA Wrestling Executive Director. Dlagnev is a resident of Lincoln and works as an assistant wrestling coach for the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, which is the host institution for the Big Ten Wrestling Championships. The 2012 Olympic bronze medal and pin will be presented to Dlagnev by a representative of the IOC and the USOPC during the ceremony. Members of the Dlagnev family will also be in attendance. As part of the #OlympiansMadeHere program, the Big Ten Conference will also recognize Olympic wrestling medalists who are either current Big Ten student-athletes or currently serve as a coach for a Big Ten wrestling program. #OlympiansMadeHere celebrates the strong connection between NCAA athletics and the U.S. Olympic Movement. The Big Ten is respected as the strongest Div. I college wrestling conference and has produced numerous Olympic and world championship medalists in wrestling. Dlagnev was a member of both the 2012 and 2016 U.S. Olympic Teams. In addition to his bronze medal from the 2012 Olympic Games, which he is receiving in Lincoln, Dlagnev placed fifth at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. Dlagnev is also a two-time world bronze medalist, a two-time NCAA Div. II champion and four-time All-American for the University of Nebraska-Kearney. Dlagnev attended high school in Arlington, Texas.

Ohio State's national qualifier Mark Martin in a 2014-15 dual meet (photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) A few high-profile wrestlers were scheduled for fights this weekend, but those fights fell through. However, that by no means, indicates a lack of former wrestlers in action. On Friday and Saturday, there will be several fights that will likely be of interest to wrestling fans. The following previews those fights and lets fans know where to watch. Bellator 275 Austin Vanderford vs. Gegard Mousasi In the main event of a rare afternoon card from Bellator, Vanderford will challenge Mousasi for the promotion's middleweight title. During his college days at Southern Oregon University, Vanderford was a two-time NAIA All-American and won a national title at 184 pounds as a senior in 2012. He made his professional MMA debut in 2017 and won his first five fights, including a bout on Dana White's Contender Series, before signing with Bellator in 2019. Vanderford has won five-straight contests in the promotion to earn a shot. Mousasi won the vacant middleweight title over former welterweight champion Douglas Lima in 2020 after previously dropping the belt against Rafael Lovato. He successfully defended the title against another NAIA champion, John Salter, last August. The main card of Bellator 275 will air live on Showtime on Friday starting at 4pm ET. Legacy Fighting Alliance 125 LFA 125 was set to be packed with former wrestlers as Taylor Cahill, Jimmy Lawson and Gavin Teasdale were all originally scheduled to compete on the card. However, all three of their bouts were canceled. Alex Moher vs. Anthony Pilot The card retains some wrestling flavor as Moher has represented Canada on the international scene. He finished seventh at the 2018 Pan American Championships after losing to Thomas Gilman. Moher's best international result was a fifth-place finish at the 2019 Grand Prix of Spain, at a weight that was ultimately won by Josh Rodriguez. The Canadian is currently competing as an amatuer and holds a 2-1 record. Pilot made his amateur debut last July and fell via third-round stoppage. The bout is expected to be part of the preliminary card, which is scheduled to air live starting at 7pm ET on Friday on LFA's Facebook page. PFL Challenger Series 2 Mark Martin vs. Dilano Taylor Martin was a three-time NCAA qualifier for Ohio State at 174 pounds. As a senior, he moved up to 197 and came up short of the tournament. In 2015, he was a part of the Buckeyes team national championship. Martin turned professional in MMA back in 2018. He lost his second fight via split decision, but has since built a 7-1 record. Taylor also holds a 7-1 record and is coming off a split-decision victory over Marcus Edwards at Titan FC 73. The four-fight PFL Challenger Series 2 show, which is designed to sign prospects for upcoming PFL tournaments, airs live on Friday at 9pm ET on both Fubo TV and PFL's YouTube page. UFC Vegas 49 Bobby Green vs. Islam Makhachev Despite being unranked in the UFC's own rankings, Green will step into the main event slot against Makhachev. The California native has a very striking heavy style, but he was a two-time state placer for A.B. Miller High School in Fontana. Green will likely need to rely on that wrestling as Makhachev is a protege of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and one of the better takedown artists in the lightweight division. Terrance McKinney vs. Fares Ziam McKinney was a two-time state champion in Washington at the high school level. He started his college career at North Idaho before eventually transferring to Chadron State. In 2016, he finished second at the RMAC conference tournament. McKinney made his UFC debut last June and scored a seven-second knockout over Matt Frevola. The competition will likely get tougher this weekend as he meets Fares Ziam, who is 12-3 as a professional and coming off back-to-back wins in the UFC. McKinney's bout will be part of the preliminary card scheduled for Saturday at 4pm ET, while Green will be on the main card that kicks off at 7pm ET. Both parts of the show will air live on ESPN+. Fury FC 58 Mo Miller vs. Evers Anderson Miller was a three-time NCAA Division II qualifier for Notre Dame (Ohio). He finished fourth in 2013 as a sophomore and third in 2015, as a senior, to become a two-time All-American. Miller made his professional MMA debut in 2019 and won his first four fights before earning a shot on Dana White's Contender Series. Despite winning on the show over Brandon Lewis, he was not awarded a contract. Miller returned to action last November, but suffered his first MMA defeat as he fell via submission against Jose Johnson. Anderson is 4-2 and coming off a loss against John Pham last October. Miller's fight will be part of the Fury FC 58 main card, which airs live on Saturday at 5:30pm ET on UFC Fight Pass.

Michigan State's #5 ranked 197 lber Cam Caffey (photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) As we head to the postseason, I'll be scouting wrestlers for the first annual (and probably last annual) All-Jagger Team. What's the criteria? Beats the heck out of me. You'll create the criteria with what you do on the mat. Storm through a conference tournament and shock everyone? That certainly helps. Fight your way through the backside after an early defeat to grab a medal? It's one of my favorite things about any tournament. Follow me on Twitter? You're practically on the board of directors. Anyway, All-Jagger team, it's a thing. Show me what you got. Now to the All-Jagoff mailbag since the Jaggettes wisely do not ask for my advice very often. Why do you think wrestlers just wrestle fewer matches nowadays? When do you think pitch counting started becoming a thing? @theGOATfollower I believe I discussed this in a very early edition of the mailbag. This is a unique season with the extra year. Toss in the short season last year and it seems the days of a Zain Retherford or an Anthony Collica competing thirty to forty times a season are a distant memory. Sadly, like most sports, this will soon become the norm. Running backs don't carry the ball 35 times a game anymore. Pitchers rarely go past the sixth inning these days. We've been at this modern sports thing for a good long time now. Every sport evolves and that evolution usually coincides with keeping athletes healthier. If skipping a few opens and a few duals that don't matter to stay healthy for March, then that's the direction we are headed. Can you try and predict the top 8 at 197? @WorstYoungest You know I can. With the news of AJ Ferrari missing the rest of the season, it opened up the widest weight class we've seen in years with a ton of talented dudes primed to take the mantle of light heavyweight king. I could tell you right now Isaac Trumble has a chance to win it and you would agree with me. He's ranked at fifteen! The whole thing will be bat-dropping crazy, to say the least, so here's my random top-eight, which will surely be nowhere near how it ends up. 8. Greg Bulsak-Rutgers gets a transfer turned AA to cap off an excellent final season 7. Louie DePrez-Quietly having another fine season, the Bearcat gets Billy Baldwin giddy by improving on his eighth-place finish at 184 6. Jacob Cardenas-Honestly, he could win the whole thing, but I'll temper expectations in his first year at the big dance 5. Isaac Trumble-There's that man again 4. Stephen Buchanan-Cowboy Up 3. Eric Shultz-Reverses a loss to Buchanan to take bronze 2. Max Dean-Finds himself in a familiar spot, albeit at a different weight, but comes up just short for a rare PSU finals loss 1. Cameron Caffey-Brings it home in the state of Michigan for the loudest moment of the night HM. Yonger Bastida-Comes up just short in the blood round Should AJ Ferrari cash in the Money in the Bank and secure his 2nd title? @Rhino184 Seconds after Cam's hand is raised, the techno music hits. That's AJ Ferrari's music! He's gonna cash in the briefcase right now! Caffey is stunned! AJ rips off his tank top and tosses it into the crowd. "Let's do this," he says with a big flex. "Shake hands," the ref says. And there's the whistle. Match over. Caffey (MSU) injury default Ferrari (OSU) 0:01. The crowd does collective John C. Reilly GIF face. What's the worst stall call you've ever seen? @Oldestgreatest From, youngest and worst to oldest and greatest, with the question that's on everyone's minds. Jason Bryant says it's Hendricks versus Abdurakhmanov. You can google it. It's worth a google. Or maybe you can't. Slides, camouflage cargo shorts, an authentic team 1/4 zip, with a visor…acceptable apparel for Detroit, or is this conference level attire? @MarkHidlay The patriarch of the Hidlay family is ready for an exciting few weeks as his two sons make a run for natties and he wants to look good. Naturally, he asks the innovator of style, who laid it all on the line to bring Daisy Dukes for men and bandanas back in style, for the rest of you cool cats. I say it's a fine fit for the conference tournament as you should get some nice Spring weather in Charlottesville. For the National Tournament in Detroit, you may want to dress a little warmer with a nice red sweater and a white-collared dress shirt underneath. Parents get plenty of screen time from ESPN, so don't be afraid to look your best. Honorary Jersey Guy Scott Green says, "slides are acceptable with any outfit, so don't waste time looking for shoes." Top 3 mob movies? Shane Thomas I won't say these are the top three, but they are three favorites of mine. 1. Goodfellas-Ok this one really is the best mob movie of all time. No need to even explain any further. 2. Donnie Brasco-Seriously, I love this movie. Pacino shows true brilliance while displaying classic New York toughness that cloaks a broken man who never achieved the success and respect he wanted from the life of a wiseguy. Fuggetaboutit. 3. Eastern Promises-Switching things up to the Russian side of mafia life for this one. I'm not even sure what's going on in this one. Something about a baby. What I do know is there's a whole lot of Viggo Mortensen being cool. I mean a WHOLE lot. Why does everything hurt and when can I expect Ok State to get #35? @leecothran Man, 2022 got Cowboy fans more blue than a Penn State singlet. The truth is, this team is not far off from being back near the top. The goal is to build around Daton's senior year in likely 2025 after yet another Olympic redshirt. Toss in both Ferrari brothers, both Mastro brothers, Carter Young, sprinkle in a Voinovich, a dash of Plott, and some good recruits the next few years, and it's starting to look pretty good. Admit it, visions of 2025 have you feeling a little less pain right now. What teams will lose team points at NCAA? @PelikanHead All the Ivy teams. You ever play croquet with them? Bunch of hotheads.

Hofstra 184 lber Charles Small (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Below is a recap of last week's EIWA action, with individual news and highlights worth noting. Notable News Navy beats Army in classic rivalry match Delp of Bucknell and Meyer of Lehigh win EIWA Co-Wrestlers of the Week. Meyer of Lehigh knocks off #7 Valencia of Arizona State, who is a returning AA . American The Eagles hosted the Penn Quakers, ultimately dropping their dual. Jack Maida earned the Eagles' first win of the night at 133lb. At heavyweight, Isaac Righter earned a major decision. During extra matches, both Ben Root and Tim Fitzpatrick each had a win in extra countable matches Boxscore: #19 Penn 39 – American 7 125: #24 Ryan Miller (Penn) dec. Max Leete (AU), 5-0 (Penn 3-0) 133: Jack Maida (AU) dec. Blair Orr (Penn), 5-2 (Tied 3-3) 141: #15 CJ Composto (Penn) major dec. Ethan Szerencsits (AU), 20-7 (Penn 7-3) 149: #22 Anthony Artalona (Penn) pinned Patrick Ryan (AU), 1:05 (Penn 13-3) 157: #21 Doug Zapf (Penn) major dec. Jack Nies (AU), 17-6 (Penn 17-3) 165: #22 Lucas Revano (Penn) tech. fall Breon Phifer (AU), 19-3 (Penn 22-3) 174: #20 Nick Incontrera major dec. Tim Fitzpatrick (AU), 14-4 (Penn 26-3) 184: Neil Antrassian (Penn) major dec. Carsten Rawls (AU), 10-2 (Penn 30-3) 197: Cole Urbas (Penn) pinned Mervin Mancia (AU), 2:27 (Penn 36-3) 285: Isaac Righter (AU) major dec. Nate Hoagland (Penn), 8-0 (Penn 36-7) American had two wins in the dual over a very tough Penn squad. This American University team is not at the level to compete against a team of Penn's caliber. You need to respect the fight, though. This team will come to battle until the end. With only three seniors being honored on Senior Night, this team has some young talent. Once the new coaching staff gets a few years of recruiting under their belt, this team will be in the competitive middle to upper tier of the EIWA. Army The Black Knights were on the road to wrestle longtime rival, Navy. At 141lb, Corey Shie earned a victory over Hunt. Matthew Williams has done an excellent job filling in for Ogunsanya. He had another win at 149 lbs. The third win came from Ben Pasiuk (#23 – 174) via decision Boxscore: Navy 22 – Army 9 141: Corey Shie dec Tyler Hunt (NAVY), 7-3 149: Matthew Williams dec Jonathan Miranda (NAVY), 10-3 157: #25 Andrew Cerniglia (NAVY) dec #23 Marcus Hartman, 10-4 165: Val Park (NAVY) dec #27 Dalton Harkins, 3-0 174: #23 Ben Pasiuk dec Shane Sosinsky (NAVY), 9-2 184: #32 David Key (NAVY) dec Brad Laughlin, 6-4 197: #26 Jacob Koser (NAVY) dec #25 J.T. Brown, 2-1 285: Ryan Catka (NAVY) dec Brandon Phillips, 3-2 125: Jacob Allen (NAVY) dec Ryan Chauvin, 5-1 133: #24 Josh Koderhandt (NAVY) major Dominic Carone, 13-2 The Army Black Knights definitely want this one back. This was not a great performance, after beating both Bucknell and Lehigh in the past two weeks. It seemed like every close match went Navy's way. The score looks somewhat lopsided; however, many of the matches were within three points or less. The dual may have been closer than what the score indicated. Regardless, they will go back to the drawing board and come ready for conferences. Binghamton The Bearcats traveled to Cambridge, MA, to take on the Harvard Crimson. Harvard took the dual in a tight two-point battle. At 133lb, Anthony Sobotker secured the first win for the team with a major decision. Ryan Anderson (#19 – 141) had a 5-1 decision over high school teammate Herrmann At 165lb, Brevin Cassella earned another decision for BU. In the upper weights, Sam Deprez was the victor at 197lb wrestling for his brother. In addition, Joe Doyle (#20 – 285) needed a pin to tie the dual, but only came away with a major. Boxscore: Harvard 19, Binghamton 17 125: Beau Bayless (H) def. Nick Curley (B), Dec. 9-8 (Harvard 3-0) 133: Anthony Sobotker (B) def. Cole Bayless (H), MD 11-1 (Binghamton 4-3) 141: No. 19 Ryan Anderson (B) def. Kenny Herrmann (H), Dec. 5-1 (Binghamton 7-3) 149: Lukus Stricker (H) def. Michael Zarif (B), Fall 4:20 (Harvard 9-7) 157: Trevor Tarsi (H) def. Tyler Martin (B), MD 14-6 (Harvard 13-7) 165: Brevin Cassella (B) def. Cael Berg (H), Dec. 6-0 (Harvard 13-10) 174: Joshua Kim (H) def. Jacob Nolan (B), Dec. 10-5 (Harvard 16-10) 184: Luke Rada (H) def. Cory Day (B), Dec. 4-1 (Harvard 19-10) 197: Sam Deprez (B) def. Will Hoeft (H), Dec. 3-2 (Harvard 19-13) 285: No. 20 Joe Doyle (B) def. Jeffrey Crooks (H), MD 12-1 (Harvard 19-17) This was a surprising loss for Binghamton. With matches split 5-5, the lone pin by Harvard was the difference. Sobtoker and Doyle (whom you can typically rely on for a pin) fell short and each recorded a major decision. With a successful dual meet season, dropping their last two duals of the season may not be great for the team's confidence overall. This coaching staff is well aware of how to get this team to peak. We will see a full lineup of Bearcats ready to give it their all at conferences. Brown The Bears hosted two EIWA teams in Harvard and Sacred Heart. They went 1-1 on the weekend. At 141lb, Timothy Levine was 2-0 on the weekend. James Araneo (184) had a pair of wins as well, one by fall. Ay 197lb, Cade Wilson wrestled in front of the home crowd for the last time, earning decisions in both matches Boxscore: Harvard 22, Brown 12 125: Beau Bayless (Harvard) over Reese Fry (Brown) (Dec 5-0) 133: Nicky Cabanillas (Brown) over Dillon Murphy (Harvard) (Dec 11-5) 141: Timothy Levine (Brown) over Kenny Herrmann (Harvard) (Dec 7-2) 149: Lukus Stricker (Harvard) over Ricky Cabanillas (Brown) (Dec 3-1) 157: Trevor Tarsi (Harvard) over Jack Bokina (Brown) (Dec 10-4) 165: Philip Conigliaro (Harvard) over Keegan Rothrock (Brown) (MD 16-5) 174: Josh Kim (Harvard) over Drew Clearie (Brown) (Dec 11-7) 184: James Araneo (Brown) over Luke Rada (Harvard) (Dec 11-5) 197: Cade Wilson (Brown) over Will Hoeft (Harvard) (Dec 9-3) 285: Jeffrey Crooks (Harvard) over Lear Quinton (Brown) (Fall 4:06) Boxscore: Brown 35 – Sacred Heart 11 125: Reese Fry (Brown) over Vincent Milazzo (Sacred Heart) (Fall 2:39) 133: Anthony Petrillo (Sacred Heart) over Nicky Cabanillas (Brown) (Dec 3-2) 141: Timothy Levine (Brown) over John Lafferty (Sacred Heart) (TF 20-2 6:59) 149: Ricky Cabanillas (Brown) over Rafael Lievano (Sacred Heart) (Dec 8-2) 157: Nicholas Palumbo (Sacred Heart) over Jack Bokina (Brown) (MD 13-4) 165: Ryan Bolletino (Sacred Heart) over Keegan Rothrock (Brown) (MD 13-5) 174: Drew Clearie (Brown) over Shaun Williams (Sacred Heart) (Fall 2:44) 184: James Araneo (Brown) over Robert Hetherman (Sacred Heart) (Fall 4:08) 197: Cade Wilson (Brown) over Joe Accousti (Sacred Heart) (Dec 7-3) 285: Lear Quinton (Brown) over Nicholas Copley (Sacred Heart) (Fall 1:54) The Bears had a dominant win over Sacred Heart, while winning four matches against a skilled Harvard team. I like where this team is right before conferences. We have seen them injured over the last few weeks. Now that they are healthy, it looks like they will be ready for EIWAs. Coach Beckerman has done this plenty of times, and I have complete faith in him to have his guys peak. Bucknell The Bison were on the road, competing at yet another tough place to wrestle. Last week was Grace Hall at Lehigh. This week they had the pleasure to compete at Oklahoma State. One of two wins came from Nick Delp at 157lb when he defeated returning All-American, Sheets (#18). The second win came from Zach Hartman (#18 – 165). He also beat returning AA, Wittlake (#8). Boxscore: Bucknell 6 – #12 Oklahoma State 32 133: #2 Daton Fix (OSU) tech fall over Kurt Phipps (BU) 21-6 (7:00) 141: #21 Carter Young (OSU) dec. over #26 Darren Miller (BU) 8-3 149: #13 Kaden Gfeller (OSU) dec. over Kolby DePron (BU) 9-3 157: Nick Delp (BU) dec. over #18 Wyatt Sheets (OSU) 7-5 165: #18 Zach Hartman (BU) dec. over #8 Travis Wittlake (OSU) 5-0 174: #12 Dustin Plott (OSU) fall over Sam Barnes (BU) 1:44 184: #8 Dakota Geer (OSU) maj. Dec. over Logan Deacetis (BU) 21-8 197: Gavin Stika (OSU) dec. over Mason McCready (BU) 3-2 285: #31 Luke Surber (OSU) tech fall over Luke Niemeyer (BU) 20-4 (4:50) 125: #7 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (OSU) dec. over Brandon Seidman (BU) 2-0 This was obviously a tough outing for the Bison. I'm sure the staff would have liked to see a better result, but it's hard to compete against a team like Oklahoma State, in their own territory. Many people do not agree with the term "good loss," but Seidman had a 2-0 defeat to Mastrogiovanni (#7). With their previous performances, they look ready to be competitive at EIWAs. If Delp keeps winning like he has, he will elevate this team into the top five. This team should be excited for this opportunity. Columbia The Lions were on the road and battled hard, coming away defeated in both matches to quality BIG TEN opponents, Maryland and Rutgers. Highest ranked Lion, Joshua Ogunsanya (#19 – 165), was 2-0 on the weekend, with two majors. At 149lb, Danny Fongaro had an undefeated weekend as well, with two majors. AT 174lb, Nick Fine was the third wrestler to win both matches. Boxscore: Maryland 22 - Columbia 15 125: No. 31 Joe Manchio (COL) def. Zach Spence (MARY) maj. 14-4 133: King Sandoval (MARY) def. No. 23 Angelo Rini (COL) fall (0:31) 141: Danny Bertoni (MARY) def. No. 20 Matt Kazimir (COL) dec. 7-1 149: Danny Fongaro (COL) def. Michael North (MARY) maj. 16-5 157: Lucas Cordio (MARY) def. Andrew Garr (COL) dec. 10-8 165: No. 19 Joshua Ogunsanya (COL) def. Gaven Bell (MARY) maj. 13-3 174: Nick Fine (COL) def. Dom Solis (MARY) dec. 8-6 184: No. 10 Kyle Cochran (MARY) def. Brian Bonino (COL) maj. 12-4 197: No. 29 Jaron Smith (MARY) def. Sam Wustefeld (COL) dec. 9-5 285: Zach Schrader (MARY) def. Danny Conley (COL) dec. 6-0 Boxscore: NO. 14 Rutgers 21 - Columbia 17 125: No. 27 Dylan Shawver (RU) def. No. 31 Joe Manchio (COL) dec. 7-1 133: No. 16 Joseph Olivieri (RU) def. No. 23 Angelo Rini (COL) fall (2:38) 141: No. 20 Matt Kazimir (COL) def. Andrew Gapas (RU) dec. 7-4 149: Danny Fongaro (COL) def. Asa Garcia (RU) maj. 10-0 157: Andrew Garr (COL) def. Al DeSantis (RU) dec. 8-2 165: No. 19 Joshua Ogunsanya (COL) def. Andrew Clark (RU) maj. 13-4 174: Nick Fine (COL) def. Connor O'Neill (RU) dec. 2-1 184: No. 11 John Poznanski (RU) def. Brian Bonino (COL) SV-1 3-1 197: No. 11 Greg Bulsak (RU) def. Sam Wustefeld (COL) fall (2:43) 285: Boone McDermott (RU) def. Danny Conley (COL) dec. 5-1 The Lions were in both of these matches. One match that goes the other way in either of them, they pull out the win. Ever since the Lions' loss to Pitt earlier this month, they have been wrestling really well. This team is starting to click, while firing on all cylinders. This weekend, their strong first three weights had a record of 2-4. If these guys perform at conferences like they are capable of, look out for this team to surprise some people. Cornell (#7) Cornell traveled to compete against #8 Wisconsin. Vito Arujau (#3 – 125) was tough as nails majoring returning AA, Barnett (#6). Top-ranked Yianni Diakomihalis (149lb) came away with a six-point win over #6 Gomez. Both Hunter Richard (#24 – 157) and Jonathan Loew (#13 – 184) earned decisions over ranked opponents. It took until overtime, but Jacob Cardenas (#18 – 197) won via decision. Boxscore: #8 Wisconsin 19, #11 Cornell 16 133: Kyle Burwick (Wisconsin) won by decision over #32 Dom LaJoie (Cornell), 6-4 141: #32 Joe Zargo (Wisconsin) won by major decision over JJ Wilson (Cornell), 21-9 149: #1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) won by decision over #6 Austin Gomez (Wisconsin), 12-6 157: #24 Hunter Richard (Cornell) won by decision over #29 Garrett Model (Wisconsin), 10-6 165: #6 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) won by fall over #9 Julian Ramirez (Cornell), 3:16 174: #30 Andrew McNally (Wisconsin) won by decision over Andrew Berreyesa (Cornell), 7-2 184: #13 Jonathan Loew (Cornell) won by decision over #27 Chris Weiler (Wisconsin), 9-4 197: #18 Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) won by decision over #20 Braxton Amos (Wisconsin), 3-1 (sv1) 285: #11 Trent Hilger (Wisconsin) won by decision over #16 Lewis Fernandes (Cornell), 6-2 125: #3 Vito Arujau (Cornell) won by major decision over #6 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin), 13-3 The Big Red won five matches, but lost the battle of bonus points. Even without their ranked starter at 174, Chris Foca, this was a very winnable dual. This was an overall great performance by Cornell while wrestling in a tough environment at Wisconsin. This team is still probably the favorite at EIWA's, but it may be a close battle as usual. If they were to move forward without Foca, we would have an awesome team race in Ithaca. Drexel The Dragons won their final dual of the year against old-time CAA rival Rider University. At 149lb, we saw Luke Nichter (#28) make his return from injury and win by decision. Parker Kropman (157), Evan Barczak (#26 - 165) and Bryan McLaughlin (#184) all won by a decision. Mickey O'Malley (#9 – 174) pinned his opponent again to help extend Drexel's lead At 125lb, Antonio Mininno had the clutch pin to put the match out of reach. Boxscore: Drexel 23 – Rider 17 149: Luke Nichter def. Bryan Miraglia, 9-4 Dec, Drexel leads 2-0 157: Parker Kropman def. Cole McComas, 5-2 Dec, Drexel leads 5-0 165: Evan Barczak def. Mike Wilson, 8-3 Dec, Drexel leads 8-0 174: Mickey O'Malley def. Corey Connolly, Fall 4:57, Drexel leads 14-0 184: Bryan McLaughlin def. Shane Reitsma, 10-5 Dec, Drexel leads 17-0 197: Matt Correnti def. Santino Morina, 8-2 Dec, Drexel leads 17-3 285: David Szuba def. Eli Anthony, Fall 1:07, Drexel leads 17-9 125: Antonio Mininno def. Tyler Klinsky, Fall 6:54, Drexel leads 23-9 133: Richie Koehler def. Jaxon Maroney, 3-1 Dec, Drexel leads 23-12 141: Quinn Kinner def. Jared Donahue, 15-0 Tech Fall, Drexel win 23-17 The Dragons had a nice overall performance. It's always a positive to win your last dual of the season. With a healthy Nichter, this team just seems to be better all-around. He brings a fun energy to the team that raises everyone else's level of performance. The Dragons have some talent, with a handful of guys either ranked, or right on the cusp. They can make some noise at conferences if they bring their 'A game." Franklin & Marshall The Diplomats took their first EIWA loss to Hofstra this weekend. Freshman Pat Phillips got the Dips on the board with a major decision at 133 lbs. At 141 lbs, Wil Gil won by decision. The final win came at 174lb, where John Crawford won by decision. Boxscore: Hofstra 22, Franklin & Marshall 11 184: #33 Charles Small (HOF) dec. James Conway (F&M); 4-2 (3-0) 197: #32 Trey Rogers (HOF) maj. Mike Waszen (F&M); 15-4 (7-0) 285: #18 Zachary Knighton-Ward (HOF) dec. Cenzo Pelusi (F&M); 4-2 (10-0) 125: Jacob Moon (HOF) dec. Gio Diaz (F&M); 5-4 (13-0) 133: Pat Phillips (F&M) maj. Matt Templeton (HOF); 8-0 (13-4) 141: Wil Gil (F&M) dec. Justin Hoyle (HOF); 4-2 (13-7) 149: Michael Leandrou (HOF) dec. Cristiaan Dailey (F&M); 5-3 (16-7) 157: Joseph McGinty (HOF) dec. Chase McCollum (F&M); 7-5 (19-7) 165: Ricky Stamm (HOF) dec. Noah Fox (F&M); 7-1 (22-7) 174: John Crawford (F&M) maj. Ericson Velaquez (HOF); 11-1 (22-11) The Diplomats were in this one. They lost two matches in the last minute of the dual, which ended up being the deciding factor. Hofstra is a tough team, and F&M was in this match even if the score may not show it. For the most part, this team fights hard. For a D3-sized school with zero scholarships, the coaching staff is doing very well for what they have to work with. I like the direction of this team with young talent scattered up and down the lineup. Harvard The Crimson were undefeated this weekend, with wins over Brown and Binghamton. Beau Bayless (125lb) had a nice weekend with two wins. At 149lb, Lukus Stricker has two wins; one came via fall. Trevor Tarsi (157lb) has been impressive lately. He also won both of his bouts this week. At 174lb, Josh Kim earned two decision wins. Boxscore: Harvard 22, Brown 12 125: Beau Bayless (Harvard) over Reese Fry (Brown) (Dec 5-0) 133: Nicky Cabanillas (Brown) over Dillon Murphy (Harvard) (Dec 11-5) 141: Timothy Levine (Brown) over Kenny Herrmann (Harvard) (Dec 7-2) 149: Lukus Stricker (Harvard) over Ricky Cabanillas (Brown) (Dec 3-1) 157: Trevor Tarsi (Harvard) over Jack Bokina (Brown) (Dec 10-4) 165: Philip Conigliaro (Harvard) over Keegan Rothrock (Brown) (MD 16-5) 174: Josh Kim (Harvard) over Drew Clearie (Brown) (Dec 11-7) 184: James Araneo (Brown) over Luke Rada (Harvard) (Dec 11-5) 197: Cade Wilson (Brown) over Will Hoeft (Harvard) (Dec 9-3) 285: Jeffrey Crooks (Harvard) over Lear Quinton (Brown) (Fall 4:06) Boxscore: Harvard 19, Binghamton 17 125: Beau Bayless (H) def. Nick Curley (B), Dec. 9-8 (Harvard 3-0) 133: Anthony Sobotker (B) def. Cole Bayless (H), MD 11-1 (Binghamton 4-3) 141: No. 19 Ryan Anderson (B) def. Kenny Herrmann (H), Dec. 5-1 (Binghamton 7-3) 149: Lukus Stricker (H) def. Michael Zarif (B), Fall 4:20 (Harvard 9-7) 157: Trevor Tarsi (H) def. Tyler Martin (B), MD 14-6 (Harvard 13-7) 165: Brevin Cassella (B) def. Cael Berg (H), Dec. 6-0 (Harvard 13-10) 174: Joshua Kim (H) def. Jacob Nolan (B), Dec. 10-5 (Harvard 16-10) 184: Luke Rada (H) def. Cory Day (B), Dec. 4-1 (Harvard 19-10) 197: Sam Deprez (B) def. Will Hoeft (H), Dec. 3-2 (Harvard 19-13) 285: No. 20 Joe Doyle (B) def. Jeffrey Crooks (H), MD 12-1 (Harvard 19-17) Two strong performances out of Harvard this weekend. The win over Binghamton, I would consider an upset. More impressively, the Crimson were without Conigliaro that match and still gutted out a win. This team is coming into shape at this time and looks to be ready to shock some people at EIWAs. If this team can manage to have a wrestler or two pull an upset and/or go on a run, it will make things very interesting for them in the team race. Hofstra The Pride finished out their dual meet season with a win over Franklin & Marshall. Hofstra's "Big 3" of Charles Small (#33 – 184), Trey Rogers (#32 – 197), and Zachary Knighton-Ward (#18 – 285) all were victorious. Only Rogers came away with a bonus-point win. At 125lb, Jacob Moon had a tight victory. As did Michael Leandrou (149lb) and Joseph McGinty (157lb) to help seal the deal for the Pride. Ricky Stamm (165lb) was the final winner for Hofstra on the day. Boxscore: Hofstra 22, Franklin & Marshall 11 184: #33 Charles Small (HOF) dec. James Conway (F&M); 4-2 (3-0) 197: #32 Trey Rogers (HOF) maj. Mike Waszen (F&M); 15-4 (7-0) 285: #18 Zachary Knighton-Ward (HOF) dec. Cenzo Pelusi (F&M); 4-2 (10-0) 125: Jacob Moon (HOF) dec. Gio Diaz (F&M); 5-4 (13-0) 133: Pat Phillips (F&M) maj. Matt Templeton (HOF); 8-0 (13-4) 141: Wil Gil (F&M) dec. Justin Hoyle (HOF); 4-2 (13-7) 149: Michael Leandrou (HOF) dec. Cristiaan Dailey (F&M); 5-3 (16-7) 157: Joseph McGinty (HOF) dec. Chase McCollum (F&M); 7-5 (19-7) 165: Ricky Stamm (HOF) dec. Noah Fox (F&M); 7-1 (22-7) 174: John Crawford (F&M) maj. Ericson Velaquez (HOF); 11-1 (22-11) Hofstra is in a good spot right now. Their starting 174lb wrestler (McFarland) will be back from injury in time for conferences, which only improves their team. We expect their three upper weights to succeed and place high enough to qualify for NCAAs. They will need another wrestler to step up and outperform their seed in order for this team to make a run for the top 5. Stamm would be a guy to keep an eye out for at 165lb. That bracket is absolutely loaded with talent! Lehigh (#20) The Mountain Hawks traveled west to compete against #13 Arizona State. At 141lb, we saw Dan Moran come away with a win. Brian Meyer (#25 – 165) had the biggest win of the night when he beat Valencia (#7), who was an All-American last season. At 174, Jake Logan had a tech fall while AJ Burkhart (184) came away with a pin. Boxscore: No. 13 Arizona State 21, Lehigh 17 125: Brandon Courtney (ASU) major dec. Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) 10-2 133: Michael McGee (ASU) major dec. Satoshi Abe (Lehigh) 12-4 141: Dan Moran (Lehigh) dec. Mykey Ramos (ASU) 8-2 149: Kyle Parco (ASU) dec. Max Brignola (Lehigh) 5-2 157: Jacori Teemer (ASU) dec. Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) 8-5 165: Brian Meyer (Lehigh) dec. Anthony Valencia (ASU) 6-1 174: Jake Logan (Lehigh) tech fall Ryan Rochford (ASU) 20-5, 7:00 184: AJ Burkhart (Lehigh) Fall Josh Nummer (ASU) 4:50 197: Kordell Norfleet (ASU) major dec. JT Davis (Lehigh) 12-4 285: Cohlton Schultz (ASU) dec. Jordan Wood (Lehigh) 4-2, tb Lehigh came to battle a very skilled Arizona State team. With this team missing a handful of starters and losing two tough toss-up matches, the remainder of the squad did step up. With a huge upset from Meyer, then back-to-back bonus-point wins by Logan and Burkhart, they came within striking range to win. They ultimately fell short, but not without a fight. Brignola hung in with a returning All-American. I'm excited to see how he performs at conferences. I sound like a broken record, but Lehigh will be ready for EIWAs, and they will perform very well. This team is at its best when it matters. Long Island The Sharks won their first dual of the season over Sacred Heart. At 197lb, Nunzio Crowley continued his winning ways to earn a major decision. Robbie Sagaris (125lb) and Drew Witham (149) each earned a major decision as well. At heavyweight, Tim Nagosky won by decision. At 141lb, Devin Matthews earned a technical fall while Ryan Ferro (174) won by fall. Boxscore: LIU 25 – Sacred Heart 15 184: Joe Accousti (SHU) def. James Langan (LIU), 5-1 dec. 197: Nunzio Crowley (LIU) def. Mark Blokh (SHU), 16-3 maj. Dec. 285: Tim Nagosky (LIU) def. Nicholas Copley (SHU), 9-3 dec. 125: Robbie Sagaris (LIU) def. Jacob Venezia (SHU), 10-0 maj. dec. 133: Anthony Petrillo (SHU) def. Kaelan Francois (LIU), 7-2 dec. 141: Devin Matthews (LIU) def. Chris Naegele (SHU) 16-0 Tech. Fall 2:58 149: Drew Witham (LIU) def. Rafael Lievano (SHU), 10-0 maj. dec 157: Nicholas Palumbo (SHU) def. Rhise Royster (LIU), 6-3 dec. 165: Ryan Bollentino (SHU) def. Blake Bahna (LIU), Fall 2:55 174: Ryan Ferro (LIU) def. Alex Marciniak (SHU) Fall 1:39 What a great way to end the season for the Sharks. This is the definition of ending on a high note. The team effort was outstanding overall. This will be a good confidence boost heading into EIWAs. Crowley and Ferro seem to have the best results on this team, so expect them to make some noise and potentially play the role of bracket buster. I would love to see another teammate of theirs also take on this role, and really impress the fans. Navy The Midshipmen hosted rival Army, and took seven of ten bouts. Both Andrew Cerniglia (#25 – 157) and Jacob Koser (#26 – 197) defeated their ranked opponent. At 165lb, Val Park beat a ranked opponent in Harkins (#27) to earn a nice win. David Key (#32 – 184) and Ryan Catka (285) each walked away with decision. Lightweights Jacob Allen (125) and Josh Koderhandt (#24 – 133) each had a win to round out the meet. Boxscore: Navy 22 – Army 9 141: Corey Shie dec Tyler Hunt (NAVY), 7-3 149: Matthew Williams dec Jonathan Miranda (NAVY), 10-3 157: #25 Andrew Cerniglia (NAVY) dec #23 Marcus Hartman, 10-4 165: Val Park (NAVY) dec #27 Dalton Harkins, 3-0 174: #23 Ben Pasiuk dec Shane Sosinsky (NAVY), 9-2 184: #32 David Key (NAVY) dec Brad Laughlin, 6-4 197: #26 Jacob Koser (NAVY) dec #25 J.T. Brown, 2-1 285: Ryan Catka (NAVY) dec Brandon Phillips, 3-2 125: Jacob Allen (NAVY) dec Ryan Chauvin, 5-1 133: #24 Josh Koderhandt (NAVY) major Dominic Carone, 13-2 Navy will be tough at conferences. We just saw Army beat a tough Lehigh team a week or so ago. Navy is in the conversation to finish in the top five at EIWAs. Coach Kolat and company have done a fantastic job in a short amount of time. With two senior starters set to graduate, the future of this team is looking awfully bright in Annapolis. Penn The Quakers were on the road to visit American. They left D.C. with a dominant win. At 125lb, 24th ranked Ryan Miller had a decision over a tough Max Leete. The Quakers scored a handful of major decisions from CJ Composto (#15 – 141), Doug Zapf (#21 – 157), Nick Incontrera (#20 – 174) and Neil Antrassian (184). Anthony Artalona (#22 – 149) and Cole Urbas (197) each earned a fall. At 165lb, Lucas Revano (#22) had a technical fall to close out his dual meet season. Boxscore: #19 Penn 39 – American 7 125: #24 Ryan Miller (Penn) dec. Max Leete (AU), 5-0 (Penn 3-0) 133: Jack Maida (AU) dec. Blair Orr (Penn), 5-2 (Tied 3-3) 141: #15 CJ Composto (Penn) major dec. Ethan Szerencsits (AU), 20-7 (Penn 7-3) 149: #22 Anthony Artalona (Penn) pinned Patrick Ryan (AU), 1:05 (Penn 13-3) 157: #21 Doug Zapf (Penn) major dec. Jack Nies (AU), 17-6 (Penn 17-3) 165: #22 Lucas Revano (Penn) tech. fall Breon Phifer (AU), 19-3 (Penn 22-3) 174: #20 Nick Incontrera major dec. Tim Fitzpatrick (AU), 14-4 (Penn 26-3) 184: Neil Antrassian (Penn) major dec. Carsten Rawls (AU), 10-2 (Penn 30-3) 197: Cole Urbas (Penn) pinned Mervin Mancia (AU), 2:27 (Penn 36-3) 285: Isaac Righter (AU) major dec. Nate Hoagland (Penn), 8-0 (Penn 36-7) The Quakers are coming for that EIWA title next weekend. They have the team to do it. With a healthy lineup, they will be included in the tightest team race we have seen in a while – along with Cornell, Princeton, and Lehigh. If you are an EIWA fan, you must be excited for this team race. With the Ivy League teams missing last season, they need to make up for lost time. Penn is no exception. Remember, this team was this year's Ivy League regular-season runner-up, behind Cornell. If you don't think Penn has some motivation to take the EIWA Conference Title in front of the Cornell faithful, in Ithaca, you are sadly mistaken. Princeton The Tigers wrestled against their in-state rival Rutgers. Known as the BIG IVY rival, Rutgers won the bout this season. At 165lb, Blaine Bergey started off the dual with a win. Patrick Glory (#2 – 125) had a major over Shawver (#29). Finally, at 157lb, Quincy Monday (#7) won via injury default. Boxscore: #15 Rutgers 24 – #24 Princeton 13 165: Blaine Bergey (P) wins by decision over Andrew Clark, 8-5 (Princeton leads 3-0) 174: Connor O'Neill wins by decision over Nate Dugan (P), 3-2 (Tied 3-3) 184: #8 John Poznanski wins by major decision over Mikey Squires (P), 15-6 (Rutgers leads 7-3) 197: #11 Greg Bulsak wins by decision over #20 Luke Stout (P), 9-3 (Rutgers leads 10-3) HWT: Boone McDermott wins by decision over Matt Cover (P), 6-4 SV1 (Rutgers leads 13-3) 125: #2 Patrick Glory (P) wins by major decision over #29 Dylan Shawver, 13-3 (Rutgers leads 13-7) 133: #17 Joseph Olivieri wins by decision over Nick Kayal (P), 8-4 (Rutgers leads 16-7) 141: #3 Sebastian Rivera wins by technical fall over Danny Coles (P), 20-3 (Rutgers leads 21-7) 149: #15 Michael VanBrill wins by decision over Marshall Keller (P), 8-7 (Rutgers leads 24-7) 157: #7 Quincy Monday (P) wins by injury default over Robert Kanniard, 0:49 (Rutgers leads 24-13) This may not have been the result the Tigers wanted, but they did not wrestle badly. They may have been a little outmatched, but some dual results were very close and could have gone their way. This Princeton team is looking for their time to be on top of the conference. They are right in the mix to take home the title. The excitement around this team is infectious, and it will make the title hunt that much more fun. Sacred Heart The Pioneers were on the road for two duals, ultimately dropping both matches. At 133lb, Anthony Petrillo came away with a 2-0 record on the weekend. Nicholas Palumbo (157lb) had a decision and major decision. At 165lb, Ryan Bollentino had a weekend with a pin and major. Boxscore: LIU 25 – Sacred Heart 15 184: Joe Accousti (SHU) def. James Langan (LIU), 5-1 dec. 197: Nunzio Crowley (LIU) def. Mark Blokh (SHU), 16-3 maj. Dec. 285: Tim Nagosky (LIU) def. Nicholas Copley (SHU), 9-3 dec. 125: Robbie Sagaris (LIU) def. Jacob Venezia (SHU), 10-0 maj. Dec. 133: Anthony Petrillo (SHU) def. Kaelan Francois (LIU), 7-2 dec. 141: Devin Matthews (LIU) def. Chris Naegele (SHU) 16-0 Tech. Fall 2:58 149: Drew Witham (LIU) def. Rafael Lievano (SHU), 10-0 maj. Dec 157: Nicholas Palumbo (SHU) def. Rhise Royster (LIU), 6-3 dec. 165: Ryan Bollentino (SHU) def. Blake Bahna (LIU), Fall 2:55 174: Ryan Ferro (LIU) def. Alex Marciniak (SHU) Fall 1:39 Boxscore: Brown 35 – Sacred Heart 11 125: Reese Fry (Brown) over Vincent Milazzo (Sacred Heart) (Fall 2:39) 133: Anthony Petrillo (Sacred Heart) over Nicky Cabanillas (Brown) (Dec 3-2) 141: Timothy Levine (Brown) over John Lafferty (Sacred Heart) (TF 20-2 6:59) 149: Ricky Cabanillas (Brown) over Rafael Lievano (Sacred Heart) (Dec 8-2) 157: Nicholas Palumbo (Sacred Heart) over Jack Bokina (Brown) (MD 13-4) 165: Ryan Bolletino (Sacred Heart) over Keegan Rothrock (Brown) (MD 13-5) 174: Drew Clearie (Brown) over Shaun Williams (Sacred Heart) (Fall 2:44) 184: James Araneo (Brown) over Robert Hetherman (Sacred Heart) (Fall 4:08) 197: Cade Wilson (Brown) over Joe Accousti (Sacred Heart) (Dec 7-3) 285: Lear Quinton (Brown) over Nicholas Copley (Sacred Heart) (Fall 1:54) The Pioneers had a tough outing this weekend. We will expect them to improve on this performance at conferences. Sacred Heart has two returning national qualifiers to help lead the team at conferences. Palumbo at 157lb is back in the lineup from injury, looking like he's back, ready to make a return trip to NCAAs. This team has a lot of depth and are looking to have a guy (or two) go on a run at conferences next weekend. This coaching staff will have them ready to go.

3x NCAA All-American Stevan Micic (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Earlier this afternoon, the NCAA released it's qualifier allocation for the DI national championships which will be held in Detroit, Michigan, March 17th-19th. Those figures let us know how many wrestlers per weight class will punch their tickets to nationals at the conclusion of their respective conference tournaments. After perusing the allocations and comparing them to InterMat's national rankings, there were some possible irregularities to watch out for as we watch the results of the conference tournaments. Since some notable wrestlers, ones that have the chance to win their conference or have a deep run, didn't earn bids, there will be some dominoes that fall. Here's what we've found from the allocations. Chaos at 141 lbs Perhaps the weight class that will get shook up the most as the result of the allocations is 141 lbs. The Big Ten is front and center amongst the potential problems. The seven wrestlers that earned qualifying bids for the conference were: #1 Nick Lee (Penn State), #2 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa), #3 Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers), #17 Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio State), #18 Jake Bergeland (Minnesota), #22 Joe Zargo (Wisconsin) and #31 Parker Filius (Purdue). Now there are some gigantic omissions amongst the Big Ten wrestlers that didn't qualify a spot. In fact, they have combined to AA seven times at the NCAA Championships. #10 Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska), #15 Stevan Micic (Michigan), and #16 Dylan Duncan (Illinois). You'd assume that under normal circumstances, all three would finish in the top-seven. If that happens, the conference would have three wrestlers who earned spots, seeking at-large bids. Other names in the Big Ten, to throw in the mix, are Frankie Tal-Shahar (Northwestern) and Cayden Rooks (Indiana). Tal-Shahar is a freshman that has wrestled progressively better at the end of the year and could shock someone in Lincoln. Rooks is looking to snap a five-match losing streak, but was a qualifier in 2021. Another possible monkey wrench in the conference is the health of Rivera. If he's limited and doesn't grab an automatic qualifying spot, it'll be another highly-qualified wrestler seeking a precious at-large berth. Across the country, there are only five such bids available. Other unusual takeaways from 141 lbs involve the MAC and Pac-12. There are three automatic qualifying slots available for the MAC, with #12 Dresden Simon (Central Michigan), Seth Koleno (Clarion), and Kyran Hagan (Ohio), picking up the bids. Koleno and Hagan are not ranked in InterMat's top-33, while Quinn Kinner (Rider) and Gabe Willochell (Edinboro) are. The Pac-12 gained a pair of spots from #8 Real Woods (Stanford) and #13 Grant Willits (Oregon State). Two conference members, #32 Lawrence Saenz (Cal Poly) and #33 Angelo Martinoni (CSU Bakersfield), are ranked and may be seeking a precious bid. More than most other weight classes in recent memory, 141 lbs will likely have some high-quality wrestlers left out in the cold. Possible problems at 165 lbs The Big Ten should be responsible for the issues at 141, but it could be the Big 12 that's an issue at 165 lbs. The conference is allocated four spots in Detroit. The Big 12 wrestlers that earned those spots were: #2 Keegan O'Toole (Missouri), #7 Peyton Hall (West Virginia), #16 Austin Yant (Northern Iowa), #17 Luke Weber (North Dakota State). Notably absent from that list is returning All-American #11 Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State). In addition, there are four other conference members that are currently among the top-33. #21 Cole Moody (Wyoming), #31 Isaac Judge (Iowa State), #32 Joe Grello (Oklahoma), #33 Tanner Cook (South Dakota State). That means a handful of quality wrestlers from the Big 12 will be in the at-large pool. Other conferences could chip in with some headaches, too. The Big Ten, the MAC, and the SoCon all have unranked wrestlers that earned automatic slots (Cael Carlson - Minnesota, Riley Smucker - Cleveland State, and Rodrick Mosley - Gardner-Webb). Could the B1G qualifier all 14 at 184? I'm sure at first glance, seeing that the Big Ten will earn 12 automatic qualifying spots at 184 lbs, you may have done a double-take. That couldn't be right, could it? Well, 13 of the top-28 wrestlers at the weight class reside in the Big Ten! The only one of the bunch that didn't earn an allocation was #20 Abe Assad (Iowa). It's probably a safe bet that Assad places top-12 and pushes someone else into the at-large pool. With Assad and the other 12, semi-safely headed to nationals, the only other wrestler in the conference on the outside is Northwestern's Jack Jessen. Though he's currently 1-8 on the year, Jessen took #28 Max Lyon (Purdue) to sudden victory Saturday afternoon. He's certainly capable of beating someone in the league and making it into the top-12. With one at-large berth almost certainly going to the Big Ten, that leaves only three others for the remaining six conferences. One that probably will have multiple wrestlers seeking those limited spots is the Big 12. The Big 12 has three ranked wrestlers that didn't earn spots in #15 Tate Samuelson (Wyoming), #32 Cade King (South Dakota State), and #33 Keegan Moore (Oklahoma).