InterMat Staff

2021 NCAA Runner-Up Mason Parris (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com; Graphic/Anna-Lee Marie) Welcome to a new recurring feature from InterMat as we lead into the 2021-22 collegiate season. We are about 50 days away from the start of the new season, so what better way to ring in the new year than to use that time to count down the top-50 current collegiate wrestlers. Each day a new wrestler will be released. These rankings have been compiled by members of the InterMat staff and used a combination of collegiate achievements, with 2021 accomplishments carrying more weight than past years, along with win-loss records and notable wins. While we are counting down the top-50 wrestlers based primarily on collegiate accomplishments, it is impossible to totally ignore achievements in the international settings, so they did factor in slightly, too. Before getting to the next wrestler on the list, look at the wrestlers previously profiled: #50 - Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) #49 - Ben Darmstadt (Cornell) #48 - Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) #47 - Kaleb Young (Iowa) #46 - Rocky Elam (Missouri) #45 - Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska) #44 - Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) #43 - Brock Mauller (Missouri) #42 - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) #41 - John Poznanski (Rutgers) #40 - Brayton Lee (Minnesota) #39 - Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State) #38 - Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) #37 - Tariq Wilson (NC State) #36 - Jacob Warner (Iowa) #35 - Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) #34 - Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) #33 - Vito Arujau (Cornell) #32 - Patrick Glory (Princeton) #31 - Max Dean (Penn State) #30 - Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) #29 - Mike Labriola (Nebraska) #28 - Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) #27 - Austin DeSanto (Iowa) #26 - Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh) #25 - Evan Wick (Cal Poly) #24 - Alex Marinelli (Iowa) #23 - Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) #22 - Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) #21 - Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) #20 - Trent Hidlay (NC State) #19 - Stevan Micic (Michigan) #18 - Hayden Hidlay (NC State) #17 - Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) #16 - Michael Kemerer (Iowa) Next up is… #15 Mason Parris (Michigan) Weight: 285 lbs Year: Junior Career Record: 73-12 Hometown: Lawrenceburg, Indiana College Accomplishments: 2021 NCAA Runner-Up, 2x Big Ten Runner-Up, 2020 NWCA First-Team All-American 2021-22 Preseason Ranking: #2 at 285 lbs As a three-sport star (football and track) in high school, Mason Parris was one of the most intriguing prospects in the high school Class of 2018. Parris had offers from a few Big Ten schools for football, but chose to pursue a wrestling career. Since Parris rarely did any wrestling outside of the high school season, his potential upside was huge. Being such a raw prospect, the Michigan staff did not initially intend on wrestling Parris as a true freshman. In his first outing, Parris won the Michigan State Open and pinned Central Michigan's star Matt Stencel in only :14 seconds. A week later, Parris showed some areas of improvement in a 15-9 loss to Chase Singletary (Ohio State) at the Ohio Intercollegiate Open. The next time Parris was in action, at the Edinboro Open, he claimed a title and racked up bonus points in all six of his bouts. Still unattached, Parris then went to the Midlands and came away with fifth-place. There he suffered a loss to the massive Conan Jennings (Northwestern) and was pinned in :30 by Stencel. Along the way, Parris notched a solid win over redshirt freshman Trent Hillger (Wisconsin), who was in the midst of a nice rookie season, himself. The Midlands must have been the final straw for the Michigan staff as they unleashed Parris in the next dual against Oregon State. It wasn't easing him into the role either, since the Beavers big man was two-time All-American Amar Dhesi. Unphased, Parris struck early and often to shock the veteran 11-4. He would finish off January unbeaten in dual competition. Once February hit, Parris was faced with the prospect of taking on Anthony Cassar (Penn State), an undersized heavyweight that was almost as athletic as him. Cassar put it on the freshman with a 19-8 major decision. In his next outing, Parris' offense was stifled by Jennings again and he fell 7-5. He'd get back on track with a win over Maryland's All-American Youssif Hemida. At the Big Ten Championships, after another win over Hemida, Jennings proved to be a thorn in the side of Parris, beating the third seed 9-7. Parris would gain automatic qualification to the NCAA Championships after finishing seventh. Even with a seventh-place showing at the Big Ten Championships, Parris was still rewarded with the fifth seed at the 2019 National Tournament. Normally, a fifth-seed would be heavily favored in the opening round, but that wasn't the case as the young Wolverine was paired with Iowa All-American Sam Stoll. In one of the oddest matches of the tournament, Stoll was an 8-5 winner over Parris. After the Stoll loss, Parris came back with a vengeance and pinned two of his next three opponents to earn a place in the bloodround. In the Round of 12, Parris met a familiar foe in Stencel. Like their previous two matchups, this one ended in a first round fall; however, it went in favor of the Chippewa. Once the collegiate season came to an end, Parris turned his focus towards freestyle. After falling in the first match of a best-of-three Junior World Team series against Hillger, Parris rebounded to win the next two bouts to claim a spot on the World Team. At the 2019 Junior World Championships, Parris crushed the field. He was met with little resistance from the field as he rolled to the world finals. There he ended things with a first period fall over Iran's Amir Zare. This year, Zare brought home a bronze medal from the Olympic Games and won the 2021 World Championships. With his first full offseason dedicated to wrestling, it was assumed that Parris would return bigger and better in 2019-20. That was evident right from the get-go as Parris met up with Stencel three times within the first month of the season. The Wolverine was victorious in all three and outscored the 2019 All-American by the combined score of 17-3. A short time later, Parris would collect a title at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. He capped off his title run with a 6-3 win over returning All-American Tanner Hall (Arizona State). After the new year, Parris continued his dominance on the dual slate, by finishing the regular season unbeaten. One of the highlights was handing Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) his first collegiate loss via second period fall. That stretch saw Parris win all 11 duals and he notched bonus points in nine of those contests. At the 2020 Big Ten Championships, Parris shutout Hillger in the semifinals to set up one of the most highly-anticipated bouts of the tournament. He would clash with the returning NCAA third-place finisher, Gable Steveson (Minnesota), who was also perfect. Though the score may not indicate it, Steveson was never seriously threatened in an 8-6 win. The runner-up finish at the Big Ten Championships netted Parris the second seed at the 2020 NCAA Tournament. He and the other 329 national qualifiers were unable to compete as the tournament was canceled. Some notables on Parris' half of the bracket included #3 Cassioppi, #6 Hillger, #7 Demetrius Thomas (Pittsburgh), #10 Yaraslau Slavikouski (Harvard), and #11 Gannon Gremmel (Iowa State). Once again, Parris appeared to jump levels between his sophomore season and the 2021 campaign. During his six-match regular season dual schedule, Parris notched bonus points in all of his matches. His “closest” win was a 11-2 major decision over Christian Colucci (Rutgers) in his debut. The 2021 Big Ten Tournament saw a rematch with Steveson on the docket after Parris pinned Cassioppi in the semis. This time the Gopher great was really able to open things up and logged a 12-4 major decision. For the second consecutive year, a runner-up finish in the conference was good enough for Parris to garner the #2 seed. Parris continued his dominance of everyone not named Gable and earned bonus-point wins in all four of his bouts leading up to the NCAA finals. In the NCAA finals, it Parris' nemesis, Steveson, who continued his mastery over the Michigan star. The future Olympic champion notched an 8-4 win over Parris to win a national title. The runner-up finish marked the first NCAA All-American accolade for Parris, who was named an NWCA first-team All-American in 2020. Over his last two years of collegiate competition, Parris is 40-3, with all three defeats coming against Steveson. During that time he's been able to amass bonus points in 30 of those wins, a remarkable feat for a 285 lber. Strengths: Even as Parris has put on size and muscle during his time in Ann Arbor, he's been able to maintain the athleticism and explosiveness that he's been known for. Offensively, Parris is best known for his fireman's/dump series. It's one of those moves that the opposite expects, yet generally can't stop. Parris' quickness allows him to work from space more than most heavyweights, allowing him to hit doubles and low singles. Most know him for his offensive repertoire, but Parris is about as good of scrambler for a big man as you'll find. He also is more active than most 285 lbers from the top and tries to work armbars. 2021-22 Outlook: Parris is in a bit of an odd place. He appears to be in a class of his own. Steveson has comfortably defeated him in both of their 2021 bouts. For the most part, Parris can tally bonus points against anyone else at the weight. It would be a longshot if Parris were to unseat Steveson, but he might be the only collegiate wrestler capable of knocking off the Olympic gold medalist. 2021 NCAA Runner-Up Mason Parris (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

2021 NCAA Champion Daton Fix (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) InterMat has released its preseason All-Big12 first and second teams (and honorable mentions), along with preseason conference Wrestler of the Year, preseason Newcomer of the Year, and preseason team favorite. We've used the term "Newcomer" since there is the possibility of wrestlers that competed at the national tournament in 2021, being called "freshmen." 125 1st Team: Brody Teske-Northern Iowa 2nd Team: Taylor Lamont-Utah Valley Honorable Mention: Killian Cardinale-West Virginia This one falls exactly how it finished at the conference tournament with Teske in the #1 slot, Lamont at #2 and Cardinale at #3. Lamont and Cardinale both finished as All-Americans last season, whereas Teske did not, but most of that is due to the way the bracket broke, which matched up Teske with the eventual third-place finisher McKee from Minnesota on the consolation side. I still think Teske will be the guy this year in the Big 12 though Cardinale and Lamont definitely could give him a run. 133 1st Team: Daton Fix-Oklahoma State 2nd Team: Matthew Schmitt-Missouri Honorable Mention: Everyone else I'm being a little facetious here, but not really. Daton Fix is the clear #1 and I believe Matthew Schmitt, conference newcomer for Mizzou, will be the #2 guy this year. But the rest of this weight is completely wide open. OU's Tony Madrigal made a finals run last year but didn't even come in seeded. There are really 5-6 guys that you could make an argument for as the #3 in the conference at 133. 141 1st Team: Dom Demas-Oklahoma 2nd Team: Allan Hart-Missouri Honorable Mention: Clay Carlson-South Dakota State, Andrew Alirez-Northern Colorado Demas was the Big 12 Champion last year and should still be the favorite this season. Allan Hart will come in from Mizzou and could challenge Demas. Interestingly, neither finished as All-Americans last year. Clay Carlson, who was seeded below both Demas and Hart at the NCAA tournament, did. Andrew Alirez also makes the list as he's on the move down from 149. Alirez is still a bit of unknown with some of the injuries and the new weight class, but the pedigree is certainly there for him to compete with the other three. 149 1st Team: Brock Mauller-Missouri 2nd Team: Mitch Moore-Oklahoma Honorable Mention: Ian Parker-Iowa State Brock Mauller comes in as the #1 guy at 149, with last year's conference runner-up Mitch Moore in the #2 spot. The interesting thing here is Ian Parker at 149. We're hearing he's moving up from 141. Parker's obviously been great at 141, but I put him at a tier just below Moore and Mauller until we see what he can do at 149. 157 1st Team: David Carr-Iowa State 2nd Team: Jared Franek-North Dakota State Honorable Mention: Wyatt Sheets-Oklahoma State, Justin Thomas-Oklahoma, Jarrett Jaques-Missouri Carr as the defending NCAA champion, is the clear #1. Franek was the Big 12 runner-up and fell in a close match with Jacori Teemer on the consolation side at the NCAA tournament to end up just short of being an All-American. I give Franek a nod just above Sheets, Thomas, and Jaques, but I think a healthy Sheets could surprise a lot of people and be a top-four type guy in the country. He finished as an All-American last year with no knee; who knows what he'll do healthy? I haven't given more than two honorable mentions at any weight until now, but I really do believe that this is quietly a very strong and deep weight for the conference. All five of these guys could be All-Americans. 165 1st Team: Demetrius Romero-Utah Valley 2nd Team: Keegan O'Toole-Missouri Honorable Mention: Travis Wittlake-Oklahoma State, Luke Weber-North Dakota State A few years ago, in the Big 12, 165 was an afterthought. Travis Wittlake was pretty much the only wrestler at the weight that was viewed to be an All-American type. That's changed dramatically. Keegan O'Toole knocked off both Weber and Wittlake at the NCAA tournament in finishing third, while Weber took out Wittlake on his way to a Big 12 title last season. Wittlake and O'Toole both finished as All-Americans and with a better draw than he got last year, Weber certainly could as well this season. The big offseason move for this weight is Demetrius Romero coming down from 174. Romero was the Big 12 champ last season at 174 and gets the first-team nod here, with some reservations as we'll have to see how he handles the weight cut as the season goes. 174 1st Team: Hayden Hastings-Wyoming 2nd Team: Dustin Plott-Oklahoma State Honorable Mention-Peyton Mocco-Missouri, Jackson Hemauer-Northern Colorado. This one was a little tough to rank. Romero goes to 165 and opens this weight up dramatically. All four listed here were pretty even most of last season and with their NCAA finishes. I ultimately gave Hastings the #1 spot and the #2 nod to Plott as he was dealing and wrestling with a major shoulder injury for most of last season, that ultimately required surgery right after the season ended. Mocco and Hemauer could all certainly prove me wrong and potentially win the conference. This is one of the more wide-open weight classes in the Big 12 and could be taken by anyone. 184 1st Team: Parker Keckeisen-Northern Iowa 2nd Team: Dakota Geer-Oklahoma State Honorable Mention: Tate Samuelson Wyoming, Jeremiah Kent-Missouri Keckeisen is the clear #1 as the Big 12 Champ and highest NCAA finisher. Geer lost to Samuelson at the Big 12 tournament, but I gave Geer the nod here as he finished much higher at the NCAA tournament. Jeremiah Kent beat Samuelson at the NCAAs. 197 1st Team: AJ Ferrari-Oklahoma State 2nd Team: Rocky Elam-Missouri Honorable Mention: Jake Woodley-Oklahoma, Stephen Buchanan-Wyoming I said this most of last season, and I think with the addition of Elam from Mizzou, it's solidified even more. The Big 12 is the best conference in the country at 197 pounds. You've got the defending NCAA champion and four All-Americans from last year all returning at this weight. Elam and Woodley split at the NCAAs, but Elam won their placement match, so I put Elam above Woodley. 285 1st Team: Brian Andrews-Wyoming 2nd Team: Wyatt Hendrickson-Air Force Academy Honorable Mention: Austin Harris-Oklahoma State, Josh Heindselman-Oklahoma, Carter Isley-Northern Iowa, Zach Elam-Missouri. Most of the other weights were fairly straightforward. One guy beats another guy or finishes above them at the NCAAs and that's what you use for criteria in making these decisions. This weight was not like that at all. They all beat up on each other all season. Brian Andrews gets the #1 nod as the highest returning Big 12 tournament finisher and Wyatt Hendrickson gets the #2 slot after a third-place finish at the conference tournament and run to the bloodround at the NCAA tournament last season. Harris gets an honorable mention for his bloodround run last season (though I think there is some competition for his starting job in the room at OSU this season). Heindselman, Isley, and Elam are all right in that same mix where they could make the blood round and maybe even All-American next year. This will be a wild weight to follow in the Big 12 next year. Preseason Big 12 Wrestler of the Year: Daton Fix-Oklahoma State The easy answer to go with here probably would have been one of David Carr or AJ Ferrari as both won NCAA titles last year while Daton Fix finished as runner-up. But the Fix we saw win a Senior World silver medal a few weeks ago was a different guy. The optimism behind what we saw from him there, coupled with the fact that he was unable to compete for an entire season last year, has me leaning towards Fix winning it all. Add to it that, Ferrari has the gauntlet of a Big 12 schedule mentioned above with a multitude of All-Americans in his path. And David Carr will have another NCAA champion at his weight this season with Austin O'Connor. You can't go wrong picking any of these three guys, but I think when the smoke clears at the end of the season, the most likely undefeated NCAA Champion of these three is Fix. Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year: Victor Voinovich - Oklahoma State After the graduation of two-time All-American Boo Lewallen, there's some uncertainty about the 149 lb weight class for Oklahoma State. Which bodes well for a blue-chip true freshman like Victor Voinovich. Early whispers out of the OSU room reveal that Voinovich has been impressive. Voinovich was a top-three finisher on two occasions in Fargo. He was a Cadet finalist in 2017 and third in Junior freestyle in 2019. Victor also picked up wins in two different "Who's #1" dual meets. Voinovich finished his high school career as the #15 overall recruit in the Class of 2021. Preseason Team Favorite: Missouri That's right. The guy that got his start in wrestling media blogging about his alma mater Oklahoma State is picking Missouri here. Missouri is deep. They have everyone back and every wrestler on their roster qualified for the NCAA tournament last season. If their entire roster finishes in the top four at the Big 12, they will score a lot of points and be difficult to beat. Oklahoma State has the top-end firepower that Missouri doesn't with guys like Fix and Ferrari. But there's some uncertainty at 141 and 149 as OSU will have new starters there. This sets up for Oklahoma State to potentially be a higher finishing team at the NCAA tournament, while Mizzou has little more scoring potential on paper in the Big 12.

2021 NCAA All-American Zach Hartman (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Bucknell Bison “We have a strong cast of battle-tested veterans and talented newcomers that are poised to have a breakout year. We have a lot of talent and are returning seven EIWA placewinners, including All-American Zach Hartman. We bring back great experience in competitive environments and we will be challenged by our schedule. Our goal is to become one of the elite teams in our conference and in the country, and I believe we have what it takes to do that” - Head coach Dan Wirnsberger TOP RETURNERS We've got to mention senior Zach Hartman, who became the first Bison wrestler to make the NCAA podium since one of his assistant coaches, Kevin LeValley, did so in 2011. Not only did Hartman get on the podium, but he also advanced to the NCAA semifinals at one of the deepest weights in the nation. Before nationals, Hartman was the first Bucknell wrestler since Joe Stolfi (2014) to capture an EIWA championship. Zach has reached the EIWA finals in all three years of competition. He starts the year ranked ninth at the 165 lb weight class and will be one of the team's leaders again. The other returning national qualifier for Bucknell is Darren Miller, who finished third in the EIWA at 133 lbs. Miller will move up to 141 for his third year in Lewisburg. Through two years, his combined record is 30-19. The Bucknell lineup is set to feature senior Brandon Seidman in the leadoff role at 125 lbs. One of Bucknell's captain's in 2021, Seidman is a returning sixth-place finisher at the 2021 EIWA Championships and amassed a 6-4 record, overall. KEY DEPARTURES Bucknell lost a pair of their 2021 starters to graduation in the offseason, Matt Kolonia (149) and Frankie Guida (184). Kolonia finished fifth at the EIWA Championships last year, while Guida was eighth. Neither qualified for the NCAA Tournament, but they were mainstays in the Bison lineup. TOP NEWCOMERS The Bison staff is excited about a handful of incoming freshmen. One in particular, that may have the inside track to starting at 184 is Logan Deceatis, a two-time, undefeated Illinois state champion. Deceatis finished his high school career ranked #215 on MatScouts Big Board. The highest-ranked member of the freshman class was three-time Pennsylvania state runner-up Dylan Chappell, who came in at #156. Chappell will not be forced into action due to the strength at 133 lbs. Aidan Lewis (125) and Nolan Springer (174) are two more freshmen that could push for significant time in the Bucknell lineup. WRESTLER TO WATCH Earlier, we mentioned that Darren Miller was planning to move up to 141 lbs. Swapping with Miller will be Kurt Phipps, the 2021 starter at 141. The Bucknell staff expects a breakout year from Phipps at 133. Younger brother of Bucknell's two-time national qualifier, Drew, Kurt put together an 8-6 campaign as a true freshman and was seventh at the EIWA Championships. With another year of seasoning under his belt and at a more natural weight, Phipps could definitely improve upon his conference finish from a year ago. POTENTIAL LINEUP 125: Brandon Seidman (Sr) 133: Kurt Phipps (So) 141: Darren Miller (Jr) 149: Noah Levett (Sr) 157: Nick Delp (So) 165: Zach Hartman (Sr) 174: Vincent Andreano (Jr) 184: Logan Deceatis (Fr) 197: Mason McCready (Jr) 285: Dorian Crosby (So)

2021 NCAA All-American Lucas Byrd (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Illinois Fighting Illini There's a new man in charge of the Illinois wrestling program. Michael Poeta begins his first season as the head coach of the Fighting Illini this season after spending the last five as an assistant. That's the fun news. The bad news? "I have more grey hair and my belly's bigger," Poeta said and laughed. "I'm just really busy." But there's good news, too. Illinois brings back plenty of talent and experience for the '21-22 campaign. "I see a lot of consistency right now," Poeta continued. "That's what we struggled with in the past. We had a full lineup of guys who, at any point, could beat any guy standing across from them, but we didn't do it consistently enough. "I feel like our training has been at a really, really high level. Every practice has been productive. Our guys have gotten better, and we're chomping at the bit to compete." TOP RETURNERS Five Illinois wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Championships last season and are back again this year: Lucas Byrd (133), Dylan Duncan (141), Dan Braunagel (165), Zach Braunagel (184) and Luke Luffman (285). Byrd and Duncan both finished last year as All-Americans. They both took the same paths, too, losing in the second round then rattling off four straight wins in the wrestlebacks to finish on the podium. They both took fifth. Additionally, Justin Cardani (125) and Mikey Carr (149) return and have both previously qualified for the NCAA Championships - Cardani in 2020, Carr in both 2018 and 2019. KEY DEPARTURES Illinois experienced a little roster turnover, but all the starters from last year's postseason are back. NEWCOMERS A handful of wrestlers joined the program this season - a couple of transfers in Luke Rasmussen from North Dakota State and Anthony Federico from Fresno State, plus the 2021 recruiting class - but Poeta believes Joe Roberts will have the biggest impact. Roberts was an Illinois state champ who originally went to North Carolina State. He announced his plans to transfer back home last May, and Poeta expects him to be the guy right away at 157 pounds. "We got really lucky with him," Poeta said of Roberts. "He came into town and blew us away. Way better of a wrestler than I thought. His gas tank is unbelievable. "That was a hole for us last year. We were pretty solid all around, but that was one weight class we couldn't figure out. We're going to be pretty good there." WRESTLER TO WATCH Mikey Carr is the guy to watch for Illinois, which is saying something because there are plenty of talented wrestlers in this lineup. But Carr, a sixth-year junior, is one of the better wrestlers around the country that doesn't get a ton of love. He's twice reached day two of the NCAA Championships, and has wins over All-Americans like Yahya Thomas, Chad Red, Tommy Thorn, Sa'Derian Perry, Mitch McKee, and Nick Lee, a returning NCAA champ for Penn State, throughout his career. If he can stay healthy - and perform in March - he'll be an X-Factor for this Illinois team. "He's about as good of a wrestler as I've ever seen in my life, in practice, and we just need to see that when he's competing," Poeta said. "If he is able to finish on the podium this year, it will be the most satisfying feeling, as a coach, for me to that point." POTENTIAL LINEUP 125: Justin Cardani (So) 133: Lucas Byrd (Fr) 141: Dylan Duncan (Sr) 149: Mikey Carr (Sr) 157: Joe Roberts (Fr)/Johnny Mologousis (Jr) 165: Danny Braunagel (So) 174: DJ Shannon (So) 184: Zac Braunagel (So) 197: Matt Wroblewski (Jr) 285: Luke Luffman (So)

BALTIMORE, Md. (October 21, 2021) - Morgan State University today announced the return of competitive collegiate wrestling to its athletic programs, making Morgan the only Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the country to offer the sport of wrestling at the NCAA Division I Varsity level. Following a 24-year hiatus, the sport's revival comes as the result of the largest donation in history to Morgan's Athletic Department: a $2.7-million gift from HBCU Wrestling (HBCUW), a new initiative reestablishing wrestling programs on HBCU campuses, in partnership with billionaire philanthropist and former hedge fund manager Mike Novogratz. The University has also been working with Baltimore-based nonprofit Beat the Streets to make the return of wrestling at Maryland's largest HBCU a reality. The gift, which is among the largest received from a private donor to the University, will provide funding for men's wrestling at Morgan and will support up to nine full scholarships annually. In addition to the re-emergence of Wrestling, Morgan State Department of Athletics is continually assessing the University's sport portfolio to improve the access, equity, and opportunities for current for future Morgan Students. "The purpose behind this donation is to create access and equity which will serve to further diversify the sport of wrestling by providing opportunities for student-athletes that do not currently exist," said Edward Scott, Ph.D., vice president and director of Intercollegiate Athletics at Morgan. "We are extremely grateful to Mike Novogratz and HBCU Wrestling for this tremendous contribution to Morgan State University Athletics. This gift is the largest in Morgan athletics history and believed to be one of the largest donations to any HBCU athletics program from a private donor." The Morgan Bears have a rich and illustrious history in the sport of wrestling that began in the early 1950s. The Bears dominated competition throughout that decade and continued the trend in the '60s, capturing Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) titles in 1963, 1964 and 1965, among many other achievements. In 1975-76, the legendary coach James Phillips took over and led the Bears to unprecedented success over the next 20 years. Under Phillips, the Bears won 13 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) titles. He also earned MEAC Coach of the Year accolades 12 times and was instrumental in bringing the NCAA Eastern Wrestling Regional Championship to Morgan State University in 1984. Under his guidance, Morgan produced four national champions and had more than 75 wrestlers named All-American. Morgan's wrestling program was discontinued at the conclusion of the 1996-97 season, in part because of a lack of resources. "Morgan as an institution is predicated on expanding opportunities, promoting equity and creating access, and by way of this generous gift, we will be able to resurrect a program that opened the door for so many young men to bask in the promise and experience the magic of education," said David K. Wilson, Ed.D., president of Morgan. "Historically, Morgan has served as home to a nationally competitive, championship caliber wrestling program, producing numerous national champions in the sport. We embrace this opportunity of being the only HBCU nationwide offering a D1 varsity wrestling program, and we invite those seeking a competitive athletic experience in this sport, and a world-class education, to consider Morgan State University." There are nearly 400 men's wrestling programs in colleges in the D1, D2, D3, NAIA and NJCAA divisions. For a number of scholar-athletes, the allure of competing at a D1 wrestling college is a huge draw, as the students are presented with the opportunity to compete at the highest level. Scholastic wrestling is now practiced in 49 of the 50 states in the United States. "Wrestling teaches leadership. Fifteen of our 46 presidents wrestled as well as many important business, political, and community leaders." says Mike Novogratz CEO of Galaxy Investment Partners. "That is what HBCUW is about, it's about growing the sport of wrestling and our bench of future black leaders who will make our nation more justice and prosperous. I fully support the HBCU Wrestling Initiative and hope that many others will help push this endeavor forward." In addition to furthering the University's relationship with Beat the Streets, which works to develop Baltimore's youth through wrestling and STEM programs, Morgan will also engage the Coaches Association and the Black Wrestling Association as part of a broader effort to increase African-American participation in the sport. It is widely believed by those involved in the sport that wrestling builds character and teaches young people how to overcome obstacles, handle their emotions, respect authority and become good teammates. It also reinforces the knowledge that success has to be earned through hard work and determination. "In partnership with Morgan State, we are working to enrich the HBCU experience and look forward to having more underrepresented students get involved with the wrestling community," said Jahi Jones, Director of HBCUW. Over the last decade, there has been an influx of African-American students participating in wrestling globally. Approximately 20% of the All-American wrestlers in NCAA Division I, II and III and NAIA are African American or are of mixed race with an African-American parent. In 2021 alone, five of the 10 NCAA Division I wrestling champions were African-American, continuing a tradition of representation and excellence in the sport. About Morgan Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering more than 130 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.

2021 NCAA All-American Keegan O'Toole (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Missouri Tigers Missouri re-enters the Big 12 after a long hiatus in the MAC, where they won nine straight conference titles. They immediately enter as a contender for the conference crown with a shot to end Oklahoma State's dominant eight-year reign. This young, talented group should have eyes on a Big 12 crown and even a top-four finish at the NCAA tournament. TOP RETURNERS Rocky Elam (197) and Keegan O'Toole (165) both won Junior World titles this summer and finished last season as All-Americans. Brock Mauller is another returning All-American at 149. These three, along with a host of young NCAA tournament qualifiers, put together a pretty deep squad that many believe can compete for a trophy at the NCAA tournament next season. KEY DEPARTURES None. This was a really young team last season, and their entire roster is back. The only variable I would mention here is some could redshirt as they had a few wrestle as true freshmen during the free Covid year last season. NEWCOMERS Colton Hawks - As mentioned above, every one of their starters is back, so I don't really see much shifting in the lineup from last year. But Hawks made the Junior World Team this summer and had a pretty solid true freshman outing. If there's one guy you could see potentially shaking up the lineup at all this season, he's it. Not truly a newcomer as he was on the roster as a true freshman last season. WRESTLER TO WATCH Rocky Elam - Elam finished as an All-American and Junior World Champion last year, but here's the reason to watch Elam. The Big 12 is stout at 197. In conference duals and the conference tournament, Elam will see NCAA Champion AJ Ferrari and All-Americans Stephen Buchanan and Jake Woodley. He'll also run into Tanner Sloan, an AA-caliber wrestler and Yonger Bastida, who will have another year of folkstyle under his belt. In non-conference matches, he'll hit Kordell Norfleet and may run into even more firepower at a few open tournaments. The schedule for Elam this season will be a gauntlet each and every week. It will be fun to follow what he does with it. POTENTIAL LINEUP 125-Noah Surtin/Connor Brown As mentioned above, the entire roster is back for Mizzou. But this is the one weight where I don't think the starting spot is definitively decided. Surtin and Brown have both been NCAA tournament qualifiers and, on paper, are pretty even though Brown has dealt with some injury issues in his career. Surtin was the starter at the end of the season last year and went 1-2 at the NCAA tournament. 133-Matt Schmitt/Trey Crawford Schmitt was the starter at the end of last season and should be the guy again this year, but Crawford did get a few starts and could contend for the spot. Schmitt is a graduate transfer from WVU and a two-time NCAA qualifier, once for WVU and once for Mizzou. He'll be looking to break through and get his first All-American finish this season. 141-Allan Hart Hart is another 2-time NCAA qualifier that's right on that edge of breaking through to be an All-American. 149-Brock Mauller Brock is one of the top returning guys on the Missouri roster. He finished fifth at the NCAA tournament last season and with Boo Lewallen graduating and Austin O'Connor moving up to 157, he'll look to move up the NCAA tournament ladder a bit and even possibly contend for a title next season. 157-Jarrett Jacques Jacques is a 3-time NCAA qualifier and, like Hart and Schmitt, will be looking to breakthrough for the first time and become an All-American. Last season he was one match away. 165-Keegan O'Toole O'Toole is coming off a third-place finish at the NCAA tournament and a Junior World title this summer. He's a very legitimate NCAA title contender here. 174-Peyton Mocco Mocco is sort of forced up a weight here and more of a natural 165, even listed as such on the roster. I'd guess he did some bulking over the summer with the assumption he'll be returning here. He had an undefeated regular season last year and won a few matches at the NCAA tournament. 184-Jeremiah Kent/Colton Hawks Kent was an NCAA qualifier last season and should return as the starter looking to jump to All-American next year. Colton Hawks is another young star for Mizzou that made a Junior World Team this summer and could find a way to shake up the lineup. 197-Rocky Elam Elam's a superstar. All-American and Junior World Champion last year. Mentioned in the wrestlers to watch portion, he'll see some very stout competition this year. Could that help him make another jump and contend with AJ Ferrari for a conference or national title? 285-Zach Elam Elam's another NCAA qualifier, and here at HWT, one of the toughest weights in all of college wrestling for this season. The top 4-5 wrestlers at HWT are elite. Olympic champs, World champs, etc.… But Elam is part of the group on the edge right behind them that will all be battling for one of the All-American spots.

3x NCAA All-American Michael Kemerer (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com; Graphic/Anna-Lee Marie) Welcome to a new recurring feature from InterMat as we lead into the 2021-22 collegiate season. We are about 50 days away from the start of the new season, so what better way to ring in the new year than to use that time to count down the top-50 current collegiate wrestlers. Each day a new wrestler will be released. These rankings have been compiled by members of the InterMat staff and used a combination of collegiate achievements, with 2021 accomplishments carrying more weight than past years, along with win-loss records and notable wins. While we are counting down the top-50 wrestlers based primarily on collegiate accomplishments, it is impossible to totally ignore achievements in the international settings, so they did factor in slightly, too. Before getting to the next wrestler on the list, look at the wrestlers previously profiled: #50 - Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) #49 - Ben Darmstadt (Cornell) #48 - Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) #47 - Kaleb Young (Iowa) #46 - Rocky Elam (Missouri) #45 - Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska) #44 - Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) #43 - Brock Mauller (Missouri) #42 - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) #41 - John Poznanski (Rutgers) #40 - Brayton Lee (Minnesota) #39 - Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State) #38 - Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) #37 - Tariq Wilson (NC State) #36 - Jacob Warner (Iowa) #35 - Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) #34 - Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) #33 - Vito Arujau (Cornell) #32 - Patrick Glory (Princeton) #31 - Max Dean (Penn State) #30 - Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) #29 - Mike Labriola (Nebraska) #28 - Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) #27 - Austin DeSanto (Iowa) #26 - Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh) #25 - Evan Wick (Cal Poly) #24 - Alex Marinelli (Iowa) #23 - Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) #22 - Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) #21 - Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) #20 - Trent Hidlay (NC State) #19 - Stevan Micic (Michigan) #18 - Hayden Hidlay (NC State) #17 - Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) Next up is… #16 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) Weight:174 lbs Year: Senior Career Record: 86-8 Hometown: Murrysville, Pennsylvania College Accomplishments: 2021 NCAA Runner-Up, 2021 Big Ten Champ, 2021 NWCA First-Team All-American, 2018 NCAA 4th Place, 2017 NCAA 3rd Place 2021-22 Preseason Ranking: #2 at 174 lbs The one that started the movement from Pennsylvania to Iowa on the current Hawkeye roster is their 174 lber, Michael Kemerer. One of the top recruits in the Class of 2015, Kemerer opened the door for a handful of other Pennsylvania natives (including Spencer Lee) to follow suit. Kemerer came to Iowa City as a 149 lber and was allowed to redshirt in year one with the presence of Brandon Sorensen at the weight. He hit the ground running and turned in an excellent redshirt campaign, going 24-2 overall. Kemerer's only two losses on the year came to top-ten opponents (Lenny Richardson - Old Dominion and Jake Sueflohn - Nebraska) at the Midlands. He still was able to fight to a fifth-place finish. A year later, Kemerer made his Iowa debut, up a weight class at 157 lbs. He proved to be as good as advertised, taking a 10-0 record into the Midlands. In Evanston, Kemerer posted wins over Tyler Berger (Nebraska), Hayden Hidlay (NC State), and Jason Tsirtsis (Arizona State) on his way to a championship. In two of his next three duals, Kemerer registered wins over past All-Americans with his wins over Brian Murphy (Michigan) and Joe Smith (Oklahoma State). After the Smith win, Kemerer's winning streak came to a screeching halt against fellow PA native Jason Nolf (Penn State), 9-4. The Nolf loss proved to be Kemerer's only during the regular season. After another win over Murphy, Kemerer booked a rematch against Nolf in the Big Ten finals. Like their first meeting, it was all Nolf in an 8-1 win. Just a pair of losses to the returning NCAA runner-up was good enough for the second seed at Kemerer's first national tournament. The two looked to be on a collision course as Kemerer wrecked his first two opponents 14-3 and 22-6. The Hawkeye freshman's run on the championship half of the bracket was rudely interrupted by #7 Dylan Palacio (Cornell), who stunned Kemerer and pinned him with a Peterson in the quarterfinals. Refocused after the loss to Palacio, Kemerer majored three opponents to make the consolation finals opposite Joe Smith. The two needed extra time to sort a decision out; however, Kemerer took Smith down to his back for a 7-1 win in sudden victory, which gave him third place. Kemerer's sophomore season started out similarly to his freshman year. He entered the Midlands unbeaten and left with a perfect record intact and his second title at the event. There was no Nolf rematch in the Hawkeyes dual with Penn State as the Nittany Lion national champion suffered a knee injury and missed the meet. That meant Kemerer and his perfect 20-0 record would be the top-seed at the Big Ten Championships. A Big Ten title was not in the cards as Kemerer was stunned by Micah Jordan (Ohio State) in the semifinals and pinned in the third period. Nolf medically forfeited out in the semi, while Kemerer did not compete after the loss, so the pair famously shared the fifth-place step on the podium. With undefeated freshman Hayden Hidlay receiving the top-seed at the 2018 NCAA Championships, it meant that Kemerer and Nolf would be on the same side of the bracket. Kemerer was seeded third and Nolf sixth. The two advanced to meet in the quarterfinals and Kemerer closed the gap, but still fell, 6-2. Like the previous season, Kemerer needed to win in the bloodround, which he did against #2 Joey Lavalle (Missouri), to secure All-American honors. He followed that with victories against #4 Josh Shields (Arizona State) and #5 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan), for another appearance in the consolation finals. This time, Kemerer was forced to injury default out of his match with Tyler Berger. Before the 2018-19 season, word out of Iowa was that Kemerer put on significant weight and planned to wrestle up two weights at 174 lbs. Unfortunately, that never came to fruition, as Kemerer suffered a season-ending injury in the preseason. Because of the season-ending injury, Kemerer was given an additional year of eligibility from the NCAA. Kemerer returned for the 2019-20 season, but did not participate in all of Iowa's dates to help him be effective for the postseason. Even so, he ran through a challenging set of conference duals in January that saw him defeat Dylan Lydy (Purdue), Mike Labriola (Nebraska), Kaleb Romero (Ohio State), and Mark Hall (Penn State) in four consecutive bouts. His final dual in the 2019-20 season came against old rival Joe Smith, also up two weights, and it was all Kemerer in a 12-2 major decision. For the second straight Big Ten Championship event, Kemerer entered as the unbeaten, top seed. After two bonus-point wins, Kemerer would face Hall in a rematch of their highly-anticipated dual. This time it was Hall who would emerge victorious in an 8-5 shootout. There would be no rubber match between Kemerer and Hall as the 2020 NCAA Championships were canceled at the outset of the Covid pandemic. Kemerer was the second seed on a half of the bracket that featured #3 Jordan Kutler (Lehigh), #6 Romero, #7 Devin Skatzka (Minnesota), #10 Labriola, and #11 Neal Richards (VMI). Because of his seeding, Kemerer was named an NWCA First Team All-American. Kemerer and the Hawkeyes didn't have the opportunity to compete very often in 2021, but he was able to see action in four duals. In three of those contests, Kemerer was able to put up bonus-point wins. Once again, Kemerer went into the conference tournament as the top seed and favorite. This time he came away with that elusive Big Ten Championship after getting by Logan Massa (Michigan) in the semis and Carter Starocci (Penn State), 7-2 in the title match. Kemerer's unbeaten mark and a Big Ten title was good enough for the top seed at the 2021 NCAA Championships. He wrestled like his seed would indicate in the first three rounds, outscoring his competition 52-12, with two techs and a major. In the semifinals, Kemerer was “held” to a regular decision, but was never seriously threatened by Bernie Truax (Cal Poly), as he cruised, 8-1. All that was standing between Kemerer and a national title was Starocci. The Penn State freshman totally flipped the script in the NCAA finals and shut down the potent offense of Kemerer. Starocci then shocked Kemerer with a takedown in sudden victory to take the title, 3-1. With the extra year of eligibility in 2021, Kemerer was eligible to return for this season. He comes into the year seeking to cap his career with a national title and to help lead the Hawkeyes to back-to-back team championships. Strengths: Like many Hawkeyes, Kemerer is known for having a healthy gas tank. On his feet, he'll keep an opponent off balance with a series of feigns and half shots. Out of any current collegiate wrestler, Kemerer may be the best at building up and finishing after his head is buried on an offensive attack. Otherwise, he's solid with his High-C's to doubles. Defensively, he has heavy hips and is quick at finishing a go-behind. On the mat, Kemerer is actively looking to score from either a cradle, tilt, or bow. 2021-22 Outlook: Kemerer is on the shortlist of favorites at the 174 lb weight class. He has been an NCAA title contender since he stepped on a collegiate mat, so nothing should change now. It will be interesting to see how some of the new faces at the weight class (Hidlay and Mekhi Lewis - Virginia Tech) match up with Kemerer. 3x NCAA All-American Michael Kemerer (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

2021 NCAA All-American Eric Barnett (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Wisconsin Badgers This could be Wisconsin's breakout year. Chris Bono was hired as the Badgers' head coach ahead of the 2018-19 season, and all the work he and his staff have done has positioned Wisconsin to take the leap back into the top half of the Big Ten Conference. The last three years, the Badgers have been good, posting a 21-18 overall dual record and have notched two top-25 finishes at the NCAA Championships. Three wrestlers have combined to earn four All-American honors. But this could finally be the year they make the jump from good to very good. “It's been amazing, a night and day difference compared to what we've had the last couple of years,” Bono said. “I don't want to say we're going to surprise people, but we've got some good kids.” TOP RETURNERS Wisconsin's team is headlined by two returning All-Americans, in Eric Barnett (125) and Trent Hillger (285). Barnett won three consecutive wrestleback matches as the 16-seed to earn his first NCAA podium finish. Hillger reached the quarterfinals then won in the bloodround to become a two-time All-American. “If I can have 10 Barnetts and Hillgers on our team, I'll take them,” Bono said. “They're great kids, great people, they work hard, and they treat people right.” Additionally, Kyle Burwick (133) and Christopher Weiler (184), who both took fifth at the Big Ten Championships and qualified for the NCAA Championships, as well as Ethan Rotondo, who took second at the U.S. Senior men's freestyle national championships. Bono said he and Burwick will battle for the starting spot at 133. KEY DEPARTURES There are two key departures from last year's Wisconsin team. Jared Krattiger was a point-scorer for the Badgers at last year's Big Ten tournament. He scored one point at 174 pounds, but still. He transferred to Minnesota. The other: Evan Wick, who is now at Cal-Poly. Wick was two-time All-American for Wisconsin at 165 pounds, in 2018 and 2019. He wrestled through the '19-20 season, but then took an Olympic redshirt in 2021. He announced his transfer in June, and will finish his college career with the Mustangs. NEWCOMERS This is where things get exciting for Wisconsin. A bunch of new faces are expected to be in the Badgers' starting lineup this season. There are a couple of transfers, in Austin Gomez (149) and Andrew McNally (174), and a couple of freshmen, in Braxton Amos (197) and, potentially, Dean Hamiti (165). Gomez came from Iowa State, where he made a Junior world team, took third at the Big 12 Championships, and reached the bloodround at the 2019 NCAA Championships at 133 pounds. He's since grown into 149. McNally came from Kent State, where he's a three-time finalist at the MAC Championships, a 2021 MAC champion, a three-time NCAA qualifier, and he also reached the bloodround in 2021. He's expected to be the guy at 174. “Gomez and McNally have brought a different kind of energy for us,” Bono said. “These are two veterans from two different programs. They come to practice with a different kind of enthusiasm.” Amos, a true freshman (eligibility-wise, at least) became wrestling's darling this past spring and summer, and Bono expects him to go right away at 197. Hamiti is another true freshman, a three-time Illinois state champ who Bono said could maybe be in the mix to go at 165 pounds. He'll compete alongside Josh Otto. “He's been doing an unbelievable job,” Bono said of Hamiti, “so I don't know what we're going to do there … he's a bright spot out there, man. He's one of the hardest-working guys in the room.” WRESTLER TO WATCH Of course, we're going with Braxton Amos, the Olympic Trials finalist, Junior world champ, a Big Ten from the Big Ten selection, and the frontrunner to start for Wisconsin at 197. He will make an instant impact for the Badgers this season. “Braxton winning (a Junior world title), I think that's turned a lot of our kids' heads,” Bono said of Amos's overall impact. “It showed them that if you stick to the plan, if you buy in, if you believe, good things will happen.” POTENTIAL LINEUP 125: Eric Barnett (Jr) 133: Ethan Rotondo (Sr)/Kyle Burwick (So) 141: Joey Zargo (Fr)/ Dom Dentino (Jr) 149: Austin Gomez (Sr) 157: Garrett Model (Sr)/Drew Scharenbrock (Jr) 165: Josh Otto (So)/ Dean Hamiti (Fr) 174: Andrew McNally (Sr) 184: Chris Weiler (Sr) 197: Braxton Amos (Fr) 285: Trent Hillger (Sr)

2021 NCAA Champion Shane Griffith (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarrior.com) InterMat has released its preseason All-Pac-12 first and second teams, along with preseason conference Wrestler of the Year, preseason Newcomer of the Year, and preseason team favorite. We've used the term "Newcomer" since there is the possibility of wrestlers that competed at the national tournament in 2021, being called "freshmen." First-Team Preseason All-Pac-12 125 lbs - Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) 2021 NCAA Runner-Up, 2x Pac-12 Champ 133 lbs - Michael McGee (Arizona State) 2021 NCAA 6th Place, 2x MAC Champ (Old Dominion) 141 lbs - Real Woods (Stanford) 2021 NCAA Round of 12 Finisher, 2020 Pac-12 Champ 149 lbs - Jaden Abas (Stanford) 2021 NCAA 7th Place, 2021 Pac-12 Champ 157 lbs - Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) 2021 NCAA 4th Place, 2x Pac-12 Champ 165 lbs - Shane Griffith (Stanford) 2021 NCAA Champ, 2021 Pac-12 Champ 174 lbs - Trey Munoz (Oregon State) 2021 NCAA Qualifier, 2021 Pac-12 Runner-Up 184 lbs - Bernie Truax (Cal Poly) 2021 NCAA 4th, 2021 Pac-12 Champ 197 lbs - Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State) 2021 NCAA Round of 12, 3x Pac-12 Champ 285 lbs - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) 2021 NCAA 4th, 2021 Pac-12 Champ Second-Team Preseason All-Pac-12 125 lbs - Jackson DiSario (Stanford) 133 lbs - Devan Turner (Oregon State) 141 lbs - Grant Willits (Oregon State) 149 lbs - Kyle Parco (Arizona State) 157 lbs - Hunter Willits (Oregon State) 165 lbs - Evan Wick (Cal Poly) 174 lbs - Tyler Eischens (Stanford) 184 lbs - Tanner Harvey (Oregon State) 197 lbs - JJ Dixon (Oregon State) 285 lbs - Gary Traub (Oregon State) Preseason Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year: Shane Griffith (Stanford) In 2021, Shane Griffith helped “Save Stanford Wrestling.” What will he do for an encore in 2021-22? Griffith defied the odds and persevered through adverse circumstances, including his program facing possible elimination, some of the most stringent Covid measures in the nation, and an extremely limited competition schedule, among other things. Through all of this, Griffith managed to key his eyes on the prize, even suffering his first official collegiate loss to Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) in the Pac-12 finals. At the 2021 NCAA Championships, Griffith navigated through a difficult bracket that saw him take out the #1 Alex Marinelli (Iowa), #2 Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh), and #5 Zach Hartman (Bucknell) seeds, during his title run. In one of the tournament's more memorable moments, Griffith took out the undefeated Marinelli in sudden victory to secure All-American honors and a spot in the semifinals. Griffith's NCAA title is only the second in the history of Stanford wrestling. Through two years of competition, he is 40-1 with the Pac-12 setback to Valencia as the only blemish on his record. Griffith was named an NWCA first-team All-American in 2020 after he was the undefeated #3 seed at the national tournament that was canceled due to Covid. During that year, he racked up bonus points in more than 60% of his matches. Griffith starts the 2021-22 campaign as the top-ranked 165 lber in the nation. Preseason Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year: Cael Valencia (Arizona State) With the extra year of eligibility across the board in the conference and nationally, there are fewer freshmen/newcomers as projected starters than normal. That rings true in the Pac-12, as well. One freshman we could see emerge as the starter is Cael Valencia at 174 lbs. The Sun Devils are locked and loaded with superstars, ready for another NCAA trophy run. Right now, 174 lbs looks like an uncertainty. It may be difficult for head coach Zeke Jones to redshirt a blue-chip recruit like Valencia with another high finish in sight. Valencia is a two-time California state runner-up that has plenty of national credentials behind his name. He placed three times in Fargo. As a Cadet, Valencia was top-three in both styles, while competing at 145 lbs in 2018. A year later, he was fifth in Junior Greco and had a deep run in a loaded freestyle bracket. Before his junior year of high school, Valencia won the prestigious Super 32. Once Cael takes the mat for ASU, he'll be the third Valencia brother to wrestle for the Sun Devils. With Anthony as a super-senior, it would be fun to see the two, back-to-back in the ASU lineup. Preseason Pac-12 Team Favorite: Arizona State You can make an argument that the entire Pac-12 is on the upswing on some level. Even with each of the six programs showing some form of improvement, ASU is a distinct favorite, barring something unforeseen. Arizona State is loaded with five returning NCAA All-Americans and five wrestlers on the Pac-12 first team. The scary thing is that Arizona State could be better in 2021-22. In addition to their returning All-Americans, another one joined, as Kyle Parco transferred after Fresno State dropped their program. Also, 197 lber Kordell Norfleet was seeded third in St. Louis, but fell in the Round of 12. The Sun Devils could get tested in dual competition with an upstart Oregon State squad that returns six national qualifiers and added four transfers with past NCAA experience. As of now, OSU does not appear to have the big tournament firepower needed to hang with ASU at nationals, but a dual or even the conference meet could be very interesting.

2021 NCAA All-American Hunter Bolen (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Virginia Tech Hokies "I love the way this team has come together. They are taking all the steps to win a trophy this year" - Virginia Tech head coach Tony Robie Head Coach Tony Robie has had the Hokies rolling at a high level since taking the reins of the program. The team earned the ACC Dual Team Championship last season, with a thrilling, last-second win by Sam Latona. This edged the Hokies past NC State to capture the dual crown, and introduced the world to the phenomenon of Rock Harrison. A veteran squad returns to Blacksburg this year with nine wrestlers ranked in the Intermat Preseason Rankings. Virginia Tech will look to improve on its 16th place team finish at NCAAs and try to dethrone the Wolfpack from atop the ACC podium. Coach Robie is optimistic about his lineup. "I feel great about where we are coming out of the preseason. The team culture is great, the work ethic has been high across the team. Everyone is healthy and happy, enjoying some normalcy this year. This is the first year we've had in a few years where we don't have a lot of youth in the lineup--we started 5 freshmen last year at the ACC Tournament. Now that they all have experience and know what to expect, they are in a position to do even better this season". TOP RETURNERS The biggest question mark going into the 2021 NCAA tournament for the Hokies was the health of Mekhi Lewis; he had a gritty performance to go 2-0 at the tournament before defaulting out. "Mekhi rehabbed well; he's healthy and working hard and is excited to get going this season." A healthy Mekhi Lewis leads a strong contingent of returning starters in Blacksburg, including 2021 All-Americans Sam Latona, Korbin Myers and Hunter Bolen. Bryce Andonian also looks to continue the momentum of winning a bronze medal at the Junior World Championships this offseason. KEY DEPARTURES Former 125 starter Joey Prata transferred to Oklahoma. Past starters Stanley Smeltzer (197) and John Borst (285) graduated. NEWCOMERS Nathan Traxler transferred to Blacksburg from Stanford for his last year of eligibility. Traxler is a Pac-12 Champion, four-time NCAA qualifier and was named Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year last season. Traxler, and his glorious head of hair, will immediately challenge for heavyweight supremacy in the ACC. WRESTLER TO WATCH "We have a pretty established lineup, so I don't think we have anyone that is really under the radar. We've seen a lot of great work in the offseason that is going to pay off this season". There are two battles going on for starting spots that may not be fully determined until later in the season. Colin Gerardi and Sam Hilegas are challenging for the spot at 141, while Dakota Howard and Andy Smith fight for the 197 spot. Coach Robie said a couple people have really stood out to him lately; "I'm really excited to see where Conor Brady is at-he's put in a lot of work and is in a really good spot. I'm also looking forward to seeing Sam Latona get after it. His work ethic is at a different level than anyone I think I've ever been around". POTENTIAL LINEUP 125: #9 Sam Latona NCAA 6th, ACC Champ, ACC Freshman of the Year 133: #5 Korbin Myers NCAA 4th, ACC Champ, ACC MOW 141: #32 Sam Hillegas /Colin Gerardi 2020 NCAA Qualifier, 149: #8 Bryce Andonian 2x NCAA Qualifier 2x ACC Runner-up, Junior World Bronze 157: #31 Conor Brady NCAA Qualifier 165: Clayton Ulrey 174: #5 Mekhi Lewis 2019 NCAA Champ, ACC Champ, Jr. World Champ 184: #10 Hunter Bolen 2021 NCAA 7th, 2020 NWCA 1st Team AA, ACC Champ 197: #31 Andy Smith or Dakota Howard NCAA Qualifier, ACC 3rd place 285: #15 Nathan Traxler 4x NCAA Qualifier, Pac-12 Champion (Stanford)

2021 NCAA qualifier Cole Rhone (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Bloomsburg Huskies On paper, we could be starting seven true freshmen or redshirt freshmen. So we are starting a young team and having a few guys returning that have been to the national tournament; it will be interesting to see where our team is once we start scraping with other teams in the country - Bloomsburg head coach Marcus Gordon TOP RETURNERS The Huskies will be able to present a lineup that features a pair of returning national qualifiers. That hasn't been commonplace for Bloomsburg, of late. Last season, the Huskies had Alex Carida and Willy Girard, together for one dual meet. Before that, you had to go back to the 2013-14 season to find a Bloomsburg squad with multiple returning qualifiers. The two in this year's lineup are Cole Rhone (133) and Alex Carida (157). Rhone grabbed an automatic berth to the 2021 national tournament after taking fourth at the MAC Championships. In St. Louis, Rhone picked up a win over Bryce West (Northern Illinois). West was fifth at the MAC Tournament, though the two didn't meet. Carida was a national qualifier in 2020 when he finished sixth in the MAC at 157 lbs. At the 2020 MAC Championships, Carida defeated a pair of returning national qualifiers (Zac Carson - Ohio and Alex Klucker - Lock Haven) to ensure his status at the NCAA Tournament. KEY DEPARTURES 2019 EWL champion and NCAA qualifier Willy Girard has finished up his career at Bloomsburg. Girard went 23-13 during his banner campaign in 2018-19. He redshirted the following year and only saw action in one bout during the 2021 season. NEWCOMERS Rutgers transfer, Cody Harrison, should slot in nicely for the Huskies at 165 lbs. Harrison went 8-7 during his initial year with the Scarlet Knights, competing unattached. Last season, Harrison saw action in two "extra" matches and lost in both of those contests. WRESTLER TO WATCH Even though Carida was a national qualifier in 2019-20, he just missed out on a spot in the national rankings at 157 lbs. The Bloomsburg staff feels as if this can be a year for Carida to really breakout and establish himself as a national threat. In the shortened 2021 season, Carida notched a win over Buffalo's Michael Petite, who ended up fourth in the league and earned an automatic bid to St. Louis. POTENTIAL LINEUP 125: Shawn Orem (Sr) 133: Cole Rhone (So) 141: Josh Mason (Jr) 149: Cade Balestrini (Fr) 157: Alex Carida (Sr) 165: Cody Harrison (Jr) 174: Tanner Culver (So) 184: Bruno Stolfi (Jr) 197: David Tuttle (So) 285: Shane Noonan (So)

Hello Wrestling Fans, First of all, thanks for the great support we've received from you since Willie Saylor purchased InterMat on April 1st. Recently, we have had a lot of questions regarding purchasing or the renewal of InterMat Platinum subscriptions. I'm sorry an explanation like this hasn't been posted sooner. The back end of the website is no longer equipped to handle new subscriptions or to extend and renewal current ones. With that in mind, we have posted all of our content on InterMat to our new Rokfin page InterMat on Rokfin. Like the website, there is some content that is subscription-based and some that is free. We will continue to do this until all of your Platinum subscriptions expire. As we look to the future, I'm inviting you to please join us on the Rokfin site. It is $9.99/month or $99.90/year and you can cancel your subscription at any time. With all of the content we've posted so far in the collegiate preseason, and more in the pipeline, we'll make sure it is well worth your money and more. Thank you for your understanding and your support! If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at Earl@Intermatwrestle.com Earl Smith

2020 NCAA qualifier Phil Conigliaro (Photo/Harvard athletics) Harvard Crimson “I'm excited for this season for a number of reasons. Obviously, we have not competed in a while, but, more importantly, I feel we've made tremendous strides during a year filled with adversity. I'm not going to put a limit on this team because it's a special group looking to make big jumps. It's going to be a fun year.” – Head Coach Jay Weiss TOP RETURNERS The Crimson were forced to sit out last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the rest of the Ivy League, plus Franklin & Marshall. A few key wrestlers in their line-up will be the main anchors for the squad. - Philip Conigliaro (2020 EIWA 3rd, National Qualifier) - Yaraslau Slavikouski (2020 EIWA 2nd, National Qualifier) - AJ Jaffe - Josh Kim - Leo Tarantino KEY DEPARTURES One positive that came out of missing last season was that Harvard had no losses that would affect their line-up this year. Any wrestler(s) who wanted to return deferred a year of schooling. An extra year to heal up, mature, and develop is never a bad thing. NEWCOMERS Bethlehem Catholic product freshman Kenny Herrman is one of the newcomers to look out for. Herrman was a 4x PIAA AAA placer, winning the title his senior year. Ranked as high as third in the country. Herrman will make some noise if he gets the start at 141lb. Illinois state champion, and two-time runner-up, Diego Sotelo, will battle it out for a chance to be the starter at 125lb. Alex Whitworth is a new addition to the squad. From Georgia, he was a five-time state champion and two-time Prep All-American. During his senior year, he was ranked as high as thirteenth in the country at 160. Expect to see him at 174lb. Evan Gleason joins his former high school teammate Kenny Herrman from powerhouse Bethlehem Catholic. Gleason placed at states twice, individually, and has two team gold medals to add to his resume. Look for him in the 165lb weight class. Cael Berg out of Minnesota will be a fifth new guy to watch. With over 200 career high school wins, the two-time state team champion and two-time individual champion brings his credentials into the middle of the line-up, most likely 157lb. WRESTLER TO WATCH Philip Conigliaro, as mentioned, placed third in a talented 165lb weight class in March of 2020. His season was solid enough for a 17th seed at the canceled NCAA Championships. Since then, his improvement has only been able to be seen in freestyle results. Most recently, his third-place finish at the 2021 U.S. Open at 74kg was very eye-opening, considering he had to beat a few NCAA All-Americans to achieve it. Currently, the sophomore is ranked 12th in the country, so expect to see his name early and often in that tough 165lb weight class. Yaraslau (Yara) Slavikouski is the heavyweight for the Crimson. The Belarussian-born wrestler recently earned a bronze medal at the Belarussian National Championships. His only loss was to a former Olympic Bronze medalist, Ibragim Saidov. Similar to Conigliaro, Yara's most recent results are a good sign of his progression since we've last seen him. He was the tenth seed at the 2020 NCAA Championships before they were canceled after a loss in the EIWA Finals to Lehigh's Jordan Wood. Now, a sophomore, Yara is currently ranked 17th in the nation at heavyweight, which is arguably one of the more entertaining weight classes to watch. POTENTIAL LINEUP 125: Beau Bayless (Jr)/ Diego Sotelo (Fr) 133: Dillon Murphy (Jr) 141: Michael Jaffe (Jr)/Kenny Herrmann (Fr) 149: Trevor Tarsi (Jr)/Lukus Stricker (Sr) 157: AJ Jaffe (Sr) 165: Phil Conigliaro (So) 174: Josh Kim (So) 184: Leo Tarantino (So) 197: Peter Ferraro (Jr)/Nick Marcenelle (So) 285: Yaraslau Slavikouski (Jr)

2019 NCAA champion Mekhi Lewis (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com; Graphic/Anna-Lee Marie) Welcome to a new recurring feature from InterMat as we lead into the 2021-22 collegiate season. We are about 50 days away from the start of the new season, so what better way to ring in the new year than to use that time to count down the top-50 current collegiate wrestlers. Each day a new wrestler will be released. These rankings have been compiled by members of the InterMat staff and used a combination of collegiate achievements, with 2021 accomplishments carrying more weight than past years, along with win-loss records and notable wins. While we are counting down the top-50 wrestlers based primarily on collegiate accomplishments, it is impossible to totally ignore achievements in the international settings, so they did factor in slightly, too. Before getting to the next wrestler on the list, look at the wrestlers previously profiled: #50 - Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) #49 - Ben Darmstadt (Cornell) #48 - Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) #47 - Kaleb Young (Iowa) #46 - Rocky Elam (Missouri) #45 - Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska) #44 - Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) #43 - Brock Mauller (Missouri) #42 - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) #41 - John Poznanski (Rutgers) #40 - Brayton Lee (Minnesota) #39 - Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State) #38 - Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) #37 - Tariq Wilson (NC State) #36 - Jacob Warner (Iowa) #35 - Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) #34 - Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) #33 - Vito Arujau (Cornell) #32 - Patrick Glory (Princeton) #31 - Max Dean (Penn State) #30 - Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) #29 - Mike Labriola (Nebraska) #28 - Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) #27 - Austin DeSanto (Iowa) #26 - Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh) #25 - Evan Wick (Cal Poly) #24 - Alex Marinelli (Iowa) #23 - Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) #22 - Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) #21 - Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) #20 - Trent Hidlay (NC State) #19 - Stevan Micic (Michigan) #18 - Hayden Hidlay (NC State)) Next up is… #17 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) Weight: 174 lbs Year: Junior Career Record: 38-4 Hometown: Bound Brook, New Jersey College Accomplishments: 2019 NCAA Champion, 2019 ACC Champion 2021-22 Preseason Ranking: #5 at 174 lbs Even with a pair of New Jersey state titles in high school, Mekhi Lewis may have slipped under the radar for some nationally. That's probably due to his lack of freestyle experience...which we'll get to later. With one of the top wrestlers in program history, David McFadden, already in the fold at 165 lbs in 2017-18, Lewis was able to take a redshirt during his first year in Blacksburg. Lewis started his unattached assault of open competition with wins in his first three open tournaments. He pinned six opponents during a run that included titles at the Hokie Open, the Wolfpack Open, and the Storm Open. That set the stage for the most significant tournament of his redshirt campaign, the Southern Scuffle. Lewis earned wins over four national qualifiers and lost only two All-American Chance Marsteller (Lock Haven), twice. He would finish in fourth place. Those losses to Marsteller accounted for the only setbacks during his redshirt season. Lewis continued demolishing foes on the open circuit after the Scuffle with titles at the Appalachian Open and the Edinboro Open. During those final two tournaments, Lewis' most notable win was a 12-5 decision over Thomas Bullard (NC State), a returning national qualifier. Lewis would finish the year with a sparkling 28-2 record. After the collegiate season, Lewis decided to try his hand at freestyle, despite having an extremely limited history with the discipline. One would have never known as he downed Alex Marinelli (Iowa), Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State), and Jeremiah Moody (Iowa) to claim the 74 kg spot on the Junior World Team. At the 2018 Junior World Championships, Lewis breezed through the tournament and made the finals after two techs and a fall. In the finals, Lewis used some late-match magic to stave off an attack from Abubakar Abakarov (Azerbaijan), before turning it into his own scoring maneuver to seal a 5-1 victory and the gold medal. Lewis' first official appearance for Virginia Tech came at the school's season-opening Hokie Open, where he went 4-0. In his first dual meet, Lewis was upended by Missouri's veteran Connor Flynn, 8-6. A couple weeks later, Lewis and the Hokies traveled out west to the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. In Vegas, Mekhi picked up a pair of wins over veteran national qualifiers Branson Ashworth (Wyoming) and Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa), to earn a place in the finals. Opposite Lewis was Nebraska's Isaiah White. The more seasoned White was able to neutralize any offensive attacks from Lewis in a 2-0 win. Little did we realize that, the White loss would be the last of the year for Lewis. As his redshirt freshman year progressed, Lewis' offense opened up more and he went on a 12-dual winning streak post-Vegas. That streak saw him record bonus points in nine of those contests. At Lewis' first ACC Championship event, he coasted to one-sided decision wins against Zach Finesilver (Duke) and Bullard to win the conference title. Even with a 23-2 record, the Junior World Champion had to settle for an eighth seed at the NCAA Championships in Pittsburgh. Lewis opened up with a familiar opponent in the first round of the national tournament, as he pinned in-state rival Cam Coy (Virginia) late in the third period. Next up was a 4-1 win over #24 Cael McCormick (Army West Point), who had pulled an upset in his first bout. The win over McCormick set up a quarterfinal bout with undefeated, top-seeded Alex Marinelli (Iowa), the Big Ten champion. Lewis thwarted Marinelli's offensive attacks and kept the score to 1-1 late in the third period. After a Marinelli attack, Lewis was able to turn it into offensive of his own and scored a winning takedown. In the semifinals, Lewis had another challenge from #4 Evan Wick (Wisconsin). Again the Hokie freshman was able to gut out a close win to make the national finals. Lewis' opponent in the title match was an imposing figure in two-time national champion Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State). Once again, Lewis was able to nullify the offense of a potent foe; however, he blew the match open by reaching for a cradle which he locked up and nearly pinned Joseph. That proved to be the decisive hold, as Lewis went on to win 7-1. Lewis' national title made him the first Virginia Tech wrestler to accomplish the feat. He finished the year winning his final 19 bouts and tallied bonus points in 13 matches. His status as a Junior World Champion and 2019 national champion allowed Lewis to use an Olympic redshirt for the 2019-20 season. Once Lewis re-emerged in the Hokie lineup, during the 2021 season, he opened the year with eight consecutive wins. Three were against conference opponents that happened to be returning national qualifiers (Jake Keating - Virginia, Kennedy Monday - North Carolina, and Bullard). In Virginia Tech's final dual of the 2021 season, Lewis had to face his stiffest test of the regular season, the returning ACC champion at 165 lbs, Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh). Wentzel had a 3-0 lead on Lewis late in the match and was riding extremely tough. Obviously in pain, Lewis had to take a second injury-related time out and eventually defaulted. With just over two weeks between the Pitt dual and the ACC Championships, Lewis entered the conference tournament but defaulted out immediately. He still was awarded an at-large berth and given the fourth seed at the NCAA Championships. In St. Louis, Lewis did what he needed to do in the opening round and got by #29 Brian Meyer (Lehigh), 8-3. The second round saw Lewis take on #13 Tanner Skidgel (Navy). Lewis was in obvious pain throughout the bout, but somehow managed to wrestle for the entire seven minutes and pulled out a 3-2 win over Skidgel. On Friday morning, Lewis did not come out for his quarterfinal bout against #5 Zach Hartman (Bucknell), due to the existing injury. He medically forfeited out of the tournament and did not earn All-American status. Lewis is slated to return for the Hokie up at 174 lbs in 2021-22. Strengths: Lewis has excellent footwork and motion from neutral. He is virtually impossible to takedown, as his balance allows him to be comfortable even if his leg is elevated. Lewis also has remarkable timing on his reshots, which is where a large portion of his offense is based on. He's also dangerous from a short-offense situation. On the mat, he can get a ride out if needed, but generally won't turn most top competitors. 2021-22 Outlook: 174 lbs is an absolutely stacked weight class with the top-three finishers all returning this year. Add in Lewis and three-time NCAA All-American Hayden Hidlay and you have an incredible top-tier of contenders. Since Lewis is coming up from 165 and Hidlay from 157, they will slot in behind those top-three. Lewis has always looked like a huge 165 lber, so don't expect the weight to be an issue. If healthy, he's definitely a title threat. 2021 NCAA champion Mekhi Lewis (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

Indiana's NCAA Qualifier Donnell Washington (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana wrestling program enters Year Four under Angel Escobedo, and there are strong signs that the Hoosiers are trending in the right direction ahead of the '21-22 season. Four wrestlers were included in InterMat's preseason rankings: Brock Hudkins (125), Cayden Rooks (141), Graham Rooks (149) and Donnell Washington (174). Two of his wrestlers garnered some international experience, in Washington, a Junior world-teamer, and Santos Cantu, and silver-medalist at the Junior Pan-American Championships. What's in store for Year Four? Perhaps another step forward for Indiana. TOP RETURNERS There's Hudkins, the Rooks brothers, Washington, and Cantu (184), but also Big Ten Championship participants Jacob Moran (125), Luke Baughman (157), Nick South (165), Nick Willham (197), and Rudy Streck (285). Both Graham Rooks and Washington took sixth at the 2021 Big Ten tournament, scoring 17.5 of Indiana's 22 total points. Additionally, Hudkins was a two-time NCAA qualifier for Northern Illinois before transferring to Indiana, and even reached the bloodround in 2017. There's also Paul Konrath, a one-time Badger wrestler who joined Indiana originally at 133 but is now listed at 141. KEY DEPARTURES Kyle Luigs is the lone notable wrestler not back this season. Luigs was Indiana's 133-pounder for last year's Big Ten Championships. He knocked off Michigan's Jack Medley, 6-0, in the opening round before dropping three bouts in a row. Otherwise, all the Hoosiers are back again. NEWCOMERS Weird but true: Indiana has 17 true freshmen on the roster, in terms of eligibility, and 18 others spread across every other eligibility class. There are a lot of newcomers on the roster, but many will likely redshirt. But two that are expected to make an immediate impact are Kasper McIntosh and Garrett Hoffman. McIntosh spent his first three collegiate seasons at Minnesota before transferring back home. A graduate of Portage High School, McIntosh went 23-17 in two seasons for the Gophers and is expected to contend for the starting spot at 157 this year. Hoffman joins the program as a graduate student. He was an NCAA qualifier for Bucknell in 2017, and is 29-22 overall. He actually joined the program ahead of the 2021 season, but did not compete due to an injury. He will be Indiana's starter at 197. WRESTLER TO WATCH Donnell Washington, another Portage graduate, has become one of the many wrestlers to watch for the Hoosiers this season. After a strong redshirt season in '19-20, he took sixth at the Big Ten Championships and was the 9-seed at the NCAA Championships in 2021 at 174 pounds. He went 1-2, but both losses came to All-Americans. Washington followed that by winning the UWW Junior men's freestyle world team trials, outscoring his seven opponents 68-9 at 79-kg and earning a spot on the Junior world team. He also took fourth at the U23 national championships at the same weight. We'll see if that freestyle success translates to winter victories for Washington this season. POTENTIAL LINEUP 125: Brock Hudkins (Sr) 133: Jacob Moran (So)Alec Freeman (Fr) 141: Cayden Rooks (Jr)/ Paul Konrath (Sr) 149: Graham Rooks (Jr) 157: Kasper McIntosh (Jr)/Luke Baughman (Jr) 165: Nick South (Jr)/ Diego Lemley (Sr)/Sammy Cokeley (Sr) 174: Donnell Washington (Jr) 184: Santos Cantu (So) 197: Garrett Hoffman (Sr)/Nick Willham (Jr) 285: Brandon Streck (Sr)/Jacob Bullock (Jr)

Little Rock's 174 lber Triston Wills(Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Little Rock Trojans “We have grown-up physically, matured really well. Their bodies have changed, the way they train has changed. Taking a look up-and-down the lineup, we have just ‘grown-up.' We've gotten a lot tougher, a lot stronger -- our pace has picked up, our understanding of wrestling has picked up. … I feel really good about the direction we're going.” --Head Coach Neil Erisman Neil Erisman and the Little Rock program took the unexpected “COVID year” in stride, enduring the challenges that came with the 2021 season while finding a silver lining in the adversity. “It was a much better ‘redshirt' experience for them than if they had a ‘real' redshirt,” Erisman reflected. With the free year of eligibility doled out by the NCAA, the Trojan staff was able to enjoy the time developing their athletes while also giving them opportunities to compete against Division I competition, knowing that the bulk of them had upwards of three to four years of eligibility ahead of them. In retrospect, it was an important period of maturation and development for the Little Rock roster. “When we go out to compete, we're not ‘little boys' competing anymore. We're grown men now. … That was a lot of our battle last year. We didn't lose a lot of matches because we were bad at wrestling; we were losing matches because we need[ed] to get physically stronger. We needed that element of getting used to competing at this level.” For Coach Erisman, he is proud of the manner in which his youthful team embraced not only the adversity of collegiate wrestling at the highest level, but also of the strict COVID parameters placed upon them during the 2020-2021 season. The common experience has helped to foster a “unique core” for the Trojans, with athletes hailing from all over the country coming together and consistently raising the bar for themselves and the program. It is the kind of momentum that Coach Erisman and staff are seeking out of their roster; it is the kind of momentum the Trojans hope to capitalize on in the 2022 season. With momentum and maturation in mind, Erisman has built a hefty schedule for his athletes, with a total of fifteen dual meets and three tournaments during the regular season, starting with their home tournament, the Trojan Open. The big test for his Trojans will be the consistently well-attended Southern Scuffle, followed by a dual-slate that includes trips to the Carolinas (with duals against the Virginia Military Institute, Appalachian State, and the University of North Carolina) as well as the Dakotas (with duals against North Dakota State and South Dakota State). Other notable non-conference duals include an early-season trip to the University of Wisconsin and a late-season dual against the University of Oklahoma. “If our guys got a 75% win percentage on this schedule, we're sending a lot of guys to nationals. … We'll always wrestle a schedule like [this].” “We're serious about being successful: from the classroom, to the mat, to life.” TOP RETURNERS The Trojans enter the 2021-2022 season led by their highest conference placer from last season, Tristan Wills at 174lbs, 3rd in the Pac12 in 2021. Also returning, with about fifteen more pounds of size on his frame, is Tyler Brennan at 165lbs. KEY DEPARTURE Paul Bianchi, a 2020 Pac12 runner-up, 2021 NCAA qualifier, and the face of the inaugural seasons of the Little Rock program, graduates alongside a handful of the program's first crop. Bianchi set an early example for his fellow Trojans, an example for them to meet and exceed in the years following his tenure. WRESTLER TO WATCH A cohort of Trojans are set to form the core of the Little Rock lineup, with tacit approval from Coach Erisman. At the lightweights, Erisman is anticipating his wrestlers to emerge on the scene, with Joshua Sarpy and Jayden Carson, the latter of whom owns a win over 2019 NCAA Qualifier Dack Punke (Missouri), vying for the 125lbs starting position. At 133lbs, Jaylen Carson is expected to take the mat, with the task of filling the shoes Paul Bianchi left behind. At 149lbs, Joseph Bianchi, one of two remaining Bianchi brothers on the Trojan lineup, is the assumed starter. Bianchi wrestled 149lbs during the 2021 regular season, before competing at the conference tournament at 157lbs, failing to capture the leading role at 149. That said, Erisman is pleased with the development and progress of Joey Bianchi. “There's no other way to say it; I don't think he wants to be the worst Bianchi.” With youngest brother Matt Bianchi now on the team and preparing for his own collegiate career, Joey Bianchi is determined to make a name for himself in Little Rock history. California prep State Champion Josiah Hill is expected at 285lbs, after his 2021 season was cut short by injury. In that time, Hill has simultaneously healed and matured into his body. “He's starting to look like a grown man, and that's sorta scary for someone like him,” says Coach Erisman. The aforementioned Tyler Brennan (165) and Tristan Wills (174) are in a position to be a strong one-two punch for the Trojan lineup. Brennan, who was a 120lbs senior in high school, has grown noticeably while showing flashes of potential in his brief collegiate career, trading matches with since-graduated 2x NCAA qualifier and Pac-12 Champion Josh Maruca (Arizona State) as well as logging a FALL over eventual 2021 NCAA 8th-place All-American John Millner (Appalachian State) back in 2020. Wills, a transfer from Oklahoma State a couple seasons ago, has continued to progress at Little Rock after having logged seventeen matches during the 2021 COVID season, culminating in a 3rd-place Pac12 finish behind eventual All-American Bernie Truax (Cal Poly) and NCAA Qualifier Trey Munoz (then, Arizona State). With the competitive season Erisman and company have put together, Brennan, Wills, and their fellow Trojans will be truly battle-tested when they enter the postseason stretch. POTENTIAL LINEUP 125: Joshua Sarpy (RSFr) / Jayden Carson (So) 133: Jaylen Carson (Fr) 141: Conner Ward (So) 149: Joseph Bianchi (Fr) 157: Chase Tebbets (Jr) 165: Tyler Brennan (So) 174: Triston Wills (Fr) 184: Tanner Mendoza (Fr) 197: Brooks Sacharczyk (RSFr) 285: Josiah Hill (Fr)

2021 NCAA Champion Austin O'Connor (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarrior.com) InterMat has released its preseason All-ACC first and second teams, along with preseason conference Wrestler of the Year, preseason Newcomer of the Year, and preseason team favorite. We've used the term "Newcomer" since there is the possibility of wrestlers that competed at the national tournament in 2021, being called "freshmen." First-Team Preseason All-ACC 125 - Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) 2021 NCAA 6th, 2021 ACC Champ 133 - Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech) 2021 NCAA 4th, 2021 ACC Champ 141 - Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina) 2020 NCAA Qualifier 149 - Tariq Wilson (NC State) 2x NCAA All-American, 2021 ACC Champ 157 - Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) 2021 NCAA Champ, 2x ACC Champ 165 - Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh) 2021 NCAA Runner-Up, 2x ACC Champ 174 - Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) 2019 NCAA Champ, 2019 ACC Champ 184 - Trent Hidlay (NC State) 2019 NCAA Runner-Up, 2021 ACC Champ 197 - Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) 2021 NCAA Runner-Up, 2021 ACC Champ 285 - Nathan Traxler (Virginia Tech) 4x NCAA Qualifier, 2x NCAA Round of 12, 2019 Pac-12 Champ Second-Team Preseason All-ACC 125 - Jakob Camacho (NC State) 133 - Micky Phillipi (Pittsburgh) 141 - Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) 149 - Zach Sherman (North Carolina) 157 - Jake Keating (Virginia) 165 - Thomas Bullard (NC State) 174 - Hayden Hidlay (NC State) 184 - Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) 197 - Jay Aiello (Virginia) 285 - Deonte Wilson (NC State) Preseason ACC Wrestler of the Year: Austin O'Connor An NCAA title at 149 lbs during the 2021 season put Austin O'Connor into the record books at the University of North Carolina. O'Connor became the school's first national champion since TJ Jaworsky achieved the feat for the third and final time in 1995. He also is just the fourth Tar Heel wrestler to win a national title, joining Jaworsky, CD Mock, and Rob Koll. Of course, O'Connor is now the first champion (or finalist) to compete under current head coach Coleman Scott. O'Connor's perfect 13-0 season put him in select company with Jaworsky (1994-95) and Mock (1981-82) as the program's only undefeated national champions. To win his title, O'Connor needed to fend off an undefeated opponent, himself, as he defeated Big Ten champion and #2 seed, Sammy Sasso (Ohio State). Austin was named the number one seed after winning his second ACC title in two years. Both wins came at the expense of Virginia Tech's Bryce Andonian, a Junior World bronze medalist, in 2021. In the 2021 final, O'Connor fell behind the dangerous Hokie 6-0, yet kept his composure and chipped away for a 10-8 win. O'Connor's first win over Andonian in a conference final netted him the #2 seed at the 2020 NCAA Championships. Had that tournament been held, O'Connor would have been a significant threat as he possessed a 25-1 record. Through three years of official competition, O'Connor possesses a 72-7 record and has finished first and third in his two NCAA appearances. He was also named a first-team All-American in 2020 by the NWCA. O'Connor will move up to 157 lbs for the 2021-21 campaign. He starts the year ranked second in the nation, behind undefeated national champion, David Carr (Iowa State). Preseason ACC Newcomer of the Year: Ryan Jack (NC State) With most ACC schools featuring veteran-heavy lineups, there are few opportunities for freshmen to breakthrough. One of those few notable freshmen could come from Raleigh, North Carolina, in the Wolfpack's, Ryan Jack. Younger brother of new NC State volunteer assistant, Kevin, Ryan will not take the country by storm like his brother did in 2014-15. Jack was in action last year for NC State, seeing action in three dual meets during a 7-3 true freshman season. He picked up his first dual win by teching Drake Doolittle (Duke) 20-3. One of Jack's signature wins came in the second week of the year when he posted a 9-2 victory over the eventual SoCon champion Sean Carter (Appalachian State). Preseason Team Favorite: NC State With three All-Americans returning and fresh off a sixth-place finish at the 2021 NCAA Championships, the NC State Wolfpack will be a hard team to beat in 2021-22. Not only does head coach Pat Popolizio's team have All-American star power, but they also have five others with past NCAA experience on the roster. That type of experience will help NC State compete for an NCAA trophy in addition to conference supremacy. Inside the conference, NC State wrestlers accounted for half of the individual ACC champions in 2021. That type of performance helped distance the Wolfpack from rival Virginia Tech. But, if history is any indication, NC State will not walk away with another ACC crown without a substantial fight. The Hokies actually defeated NC State in one of the year's best duals and went unbeaten in the league. The two schools have gone back-and-forth in dual action, with all of their recent meetings coming down to a final bout. Looking beyond Virginia Tech, North Carolina and Pittsburgh have both started to hit their stride and could push the top-two in 2021-22. InterMat's preseason rankings have nine NC State wrestlers within the top-33 of their respective weight classes and four in the top-12.

Kent State's NCAA qualifier Jake Ferri (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Kent State Golden Flashes "We are very excited about the upcoming season. We have added some key transfers and recruits at weight classes that we struggled at last year, along with the return of 3 NCAA qualifiers. I think our entire team feels the MAC conference is wide open now that Missouri has left our conference and we are returning 9 out of 10 starters." - Head Coach James Andrassy TOP RETURNERS The Flashes have nine returning starters in their line-up this upcoming season; all of which have made a huge impact already on the Kent State wrestling program. 125: Jake Ferri - 2021 NCAA qualifier, MAC 3rd place finisher 133: Brandon Fenton - 2nd seed at MAC Championships, MAC placewinner, 12-3 record last year 149: Kody Komara 2021 NCAA qualifier, MAC 4th place finisher 184: Colin McCracken - 2021 NCAA Qualifier, started at 197 last season 197: Tyler Bates - started at 184 last season KEY DEPARTURES Kent State University will be losing one of their starters this upcoming season. 174 lber Andrew McNally has transferred to Wisconsin. McNally was a three-time national qualifier for the Golden Flashes. In 2021, McNally won a MAC title and was seeded sixth at the NCAA Tournament. He made it to the quarterfinals and was eliminated in the Round of 12. NEWCOMERS The Flashes wrestling team is excited to welcome five transfers, and one nationally-ranked recruit to their program this upcoming season. Louis Newell (141) - started for Pitt in 2019 at 125 placed 4th in the ACC. Mick Burnett (141) - will be transferring for the spring semester in 2022. Burnett was Pitt's 149 lb entry at the 2021 NCAA Championships. Though his record was only 1-5, Burnett was close to most of his competition. Enrique Munguia (157) - Top 5 Nationally Ranking in High school last year. Ranked #28 overall in the Class of 2021 by MatScouts. Named InterMat's MAC Preseason Freshman of the Year. Tyler Johnson (157) - transferred from George Mason. Najee Lockett (165) - transferred from Cornell. He was a top-200 recruit from the Class of 2020 that did not get to compete for the Big Red. Michael Ferree (165) - transferred from Campbell. Ferree has not seen action in duals for Campbell, but he did go 5-0 last season in "extra" matches. Overall, he's gone 25-14 during his time in Buies Creek. WRESTLER TO WATCH Typically, heavyweights may take longer than other weights to adjust to college. Kent State's staff has raved about the improvement of their big man Jacob Cover. Could it be his time to shine? Cover went 13-11 in 2018-19, while redshirting and 4-9 last year. That record is a bit deceptive since the MAC was deep with heavyweight talent and he was very competitive in most of his matches. POTENTIAL LINEUP 125: #22 Jake Ferri (Sr) 133: Brendon Fenton (Jr)/ Louis Newell (So) 141: Louis Newell (So)/Mick Burnett (So) --December Transfer 149: Kody Komara (Sr) 157: Enrigue Munguia (Fr) 165: Najee Lockett (Fr) 174: Micheal Ferree (Fr) 184: Colin McCrackern (Sr) 197: Tyler Bates (Jr) HWT: Jacob Cover (Jr)

G'Angelo Hancock (left) and Kayla Miracle (Hancock photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo;UWW; Miracle courtesy of Martin Gabor/UWW) While the men's freestyle team was the first portion of Team USA to finish at the 2021 World Championships, women's freestyle and Greco Roman also took to the mats earlier this month. Women's freestyle brought home seven medals in their 10 weight classes, and Greco got in on the action as G'Angelo Hancock brought home a bronze at 97kg. The following looks at some of the top statistical performers from the event in both of those styles and tries to identify any trends or patterns in the numbers. Point Differential G'Angelo Hancock not only brought home the only medal for Team USA on the Greco side, but he was also the only member of the team to finish with a positive point differential. He averaged 0.84 points per minute, while allowing 0.19 per minute, which left him with a +0.65 differential. Hancock's points per minute rate was actually second on the team behind Max Nowry (1.97). However, he allowed only four points throughout the tournament. Unfortunately for him, all four of those points came in his semifinal defeat against Alex Szoke (Hungary). On the women's freestyle side, Sarah Hildebrandt led the squad in point differential by relying on her offense. She finished with a +2.09 point differential thanks to a 2.53 points per minute rate, which also led the squad. She allowed only one point before running into Remina Yoshimoto (Japan) in the finals, where she ultimately dropped a 5-3 match. Adeline Gray finished with the second-highest point differential on the team with a +1.53 measure. She averaged 1.89 points per minute and allowed only 0.36 per minute. Hancock Neutral Offense In many ways, Greco these days has become a bit of a par terre battle. With the advent of forced par terre, most competitors get their opportunity to work from the top position, and they usually make the most of it. Interestingly enough, Hancock actually did a pretty sizable portion of his scoring from the standing position. He scored 18 points in the tournament, with six coming via takedowns, six from par terre turns, four from passive calls and two more on failed challenges. In fact, Hancock scored takedown points from the standing position in all three of his victories, but was unable to notch one against Szoke. Leg Laces 18 of Hildebrandt's 35 points came via the leg lace. Her nine leg laces were not only the most on the team, but also more than the rest of the squad combined. Kayla Miracle added four, Forrest Molinari finished with three and Helen Maroulis scored one during her run to the World title. This was Hildebrandt's second-straight tournament, where she led the team with points off the leg lace after putting up a whopping 26 at the Olympics. Takedowns The women's freestyle team of the U.S. collectively landed 49 takedowns throughout the tournament and allowed their opponents to collect only 22. Olympic gold medalist Tamyra Mensah-Stock finished with a team-high nine takedowns, and fellow gold medalist Helen Maroulis was right behind her with eight. Of the 198 points scored by Team USA in this style, 104 came via takedowns. USA Greco returns to the medal podium Hancock became only the fifth U.S. wrestler to bring home a medal on the Greco side since the team won the World title back in 2007. His bronze medal performance at 97kg linked him with some rare company. Andy Bisek is the most decorated of the five as he won back-to-back bronze medals at 75 kg in 2014 and 2015. He returned to the World stage for the 2016 Olympics but failed to medal. He is currently the head coach at the National Training Site at Northern Michigan University. Adam Wheeler won Olympic bronze at the 2008 Games at 96 kg. The following year, Dremiel Byers won silver at heavyweight to capture his third World medal. At the time, he was 35 years old and had previously captured gold in 2002 and bronze in 2007. The last U.S. wrestler to medal at a World/Olympic event was Adam Coon. The heavyweight walked off the collegiate mats in 2018 and picked up four straight falls to make the World final. He came up short against Russia's Sergey Semenov, but his performance was enough to capture silver. In the process, he became the first U.S. wrestler to bring home a medal in Greco since 2015. First Period Scoring The U.S. women's freestyle team consistently jumped on opponents throughout the tournament. As a team, they scored 112 points in the first periods of their matches and allowed only 39. In fact, the majority of points scored against the score came in the second period (50). Hildebrandt led the way with 25 first-period points, but Kayla Miracle (22) and Forrest Molinari (20) both finished with more than 20. Not only did Molinari finish with the third-most first-period points on the team, but she was also stingy defensively in the opening period. She allowed only two points in the first period of her matches throughout the tournament. Three other wrestlers, Mensah-Stock, Hildebrandt and Maya Nelson, each also only allowed three points in their first periods. Gray had the most second-period points on any competitor on the team. She scored 16 points, including a vital six points in her gold medal match at 76kg. Gray went to the break down 4-0, but she got back into the match with six second-period points via two takedowns and a gut wrench to take it 6-4.

Maryland's 184 lber Kyle Cochran (Photo/Sam Janicki;SJanickiPhoto.com) Maryland Terrapins Alex Clemsen became Maryland's head wrestling coach at a very interesting time. He took over a Terps team that went 2-12 in duals, 0-9 against conference foes, and finished 14th at the Big Ten Championships. That first year, '19-20, was another tough one: 2-17 in duals, and another last-place finish at the Big Ten tournament. Then came COVID-19, which made the 2021 season just as tough. Maryland went 0-8 and again finished last at the Big Ten Championships. But progress was on the way, as Clemsen and his staff put together the 8th-best recruiting class in the country, a haul that featured four top-100 recruits according to MatScouts' 2021 Big Board. That brings us to the '21-22 campaign, where Clemsen believes his team will take the first steps toward climbing out of the Big Ten's basement. “I like the mix of kids who have been in our system and those who have bought into the Clemsen and Company vision,” Clemsen said. “This is probably the most I've felt like we were a team since I've got here, which is cool considering how young we are.” TOP RETURNERS The Terps bring back seven guys who wrestled at the 2021 Big Ten Championships: Zach Spence (125), Jackson Cockrell (133), Danny Bertoni (141), Michael North (149), Kyle Cochran (184), Jaron Smith (197) and Garrett Kappes (285). There's also King Sandoval, who recently took third at the U.S. Senior Greco-Roman world team trials at 60 kilograms. Clemsen said he's expected to be the starter at 133 pounds this season. KEY DEPARTURES Three big names are no longer on Maryland's roster - Phil Spadafora, Jonathan Spadafora, Jahi Jones - that had some notable credentials. Jones and Phil Spadafora were both NCAA qualifiers in 2020, but didn't get a chance to compete because of COVID-19. Jonathan Spadafora contributed to Maryland's 2-point team total at the 2021 Big Ten Championships. NEWCOMERS Maryland's 2021 recruiting class featured tons of young talent, guys like Jaxon Smith, Ethen Miller, Adrien Cramer, Braxton Brown, and Gaven Bell, among others. Smith, Miller, Cramer and Brown are all expected to redshirt this season. Clemsen mentioned Bell is a guy who could be in the mix to start at 165 pounds, along with John Martin Best, another new face who was originally going to Air Force but is now with Maryland. He, too, is in the mix to start at 165. The other key newcomer for Maryland this season is Zach Schrader. The heavyweight registered 67 career victories for Cal-Baptist and spent last season in and out of the national rankings. He opted to transfer for his final season of eligibility and will give the Terps a strong option at the end of the lineup. “He's a kid that can compete at a really high level,” Clemsen said. “He's meshed really well with the guys this summer and this fall. He's learned really fast, and I'm excited to see him in action this season. That'll be fun for him, and really good for our team.” WRESTLER TO WATCH Clemsen said Dominic Solis is the guy to watch for Maryland this season. He went just 1-1 last year while dealing with injuries but is expected to be the guy at 174 this season for the Terps. He won 154 matches for nearby McDonogh and earned a slew of All-American honors throughout his prep career. “He's had a really good offseason, he has a really strong personality, and he's done a really good job in terms of leadership in our room in a lot of different ways,” Clemsen said. “When you live as clean as he does, and you work as hard as he does, and you're willing to sacrifice as much as he does, good things tend to happen.” POTENTIAL LINEUP 125: Zach Spence (So) 133: King Sandoval (Jr) 141: Danny Bertoni (Sr) 149: Michael North (Fr)/ Jack Pendergast (Fr) 157: Lucas Cordio (So) 165: John Martin Best (Fr)/ Gaven Bell (Fr) 174: Dominic Solis (Fr) 184: Kyle Cochran (Jr) 197: Jaron Smith (Sr) 285: Zach Schrader (Sr)

3x NCAA All-American Hayden Hidlay (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com; Graphic/Anna-Lee Marie) Welcome to a new recurring feature from InterMat as we lead into the 2021-22 collegiate season. We are about 50 days away from the start of the new season, so what better way to ring in the new year than to use that time to count down the top-50 current collegiate wrestlers. Each day a new wrestler will be released. These rankings have been compiled by members of the InterMat staff and used a combination of collegiate achievements, with 2021 accomplishments carrying more weight than past years, along with win-loss records and notable wins. While we are counting down the top-50 wrestlers based primarily on collegiate accomplishments, it is impossible to totally ignore achievements in the international settings, so they did factor in slightly, too. Before getting to the next wrestler on the list, look at the wrestlers previously profiled: #50 - Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) #49 - Ben Darmstadt (Cornell) #48 - Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) #47 - Kaleb Young (Iowa) #46 - Rocky Elam (Missouri) #45 - Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska) #44 - Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) #43 - Brock Mauller (Missouri) #42 - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) #41 - John Poznanski (Rutgers) #40 - Brayton Lee (Minnesota) #39 - Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State) #38 - Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) #37 - Tariq Wilson (NC State) #36 - Jacob Warner (Iowa) #35 - Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) #34 - Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) #33 - Vito Arujau (Cornell) #32 - Patrick Glory (Princeton) #31 - Max Dean (Penn State) #30 - Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) #29 - Mike Labriola (Nebraska) #28 - Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) #27 - Austin DeSanto (Iowa) #26 - Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh) #25 - Evan Wick (Cal Poly) #24 - Alex Marinelli (Iowa) #23 - Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) #22 - Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) #21 - Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) #20 - Trent Hidlay (NC State) #19 - Stevan Micic (Michigan) Next up is… #18 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) Weight: 174 lbs Year: Senior Career Record: 91-8 Hometown: Lewistown, Pennsylvania College Accomplishments: 2021 NCAA 5th, 2019 NCAA 4th, 2018 NCAA 2nd, 2020 NWCA First-Team All-American, 4x ACC Champion 2021-22 Preseason Ranking: #6 at 174 lbs One of the cornerstones of NC State's top-ranked recruiting Class of 2016, Hayden Hidlay won a Pennsylvania state title and made the Fargo finals in both styles at the Cadet and Junior level, before coming to Raleigh. He and his fellow sixth-year senior were critical components in establishing NC State as a consistent national power. Hidlay redshirted during his first year with the Wolfpack and proceeded to win his first two tournaments competing unattached. He carried an impressive 9-0 mark into the prestigious Midlands Championships. Now looking at the Midlands bracket, Hidlay's opening round win ages quite well. He scored a 20-3 tech fall over Pitt's true freshman Jake Wentzel. In his third match, Hidlay suffered his first loss of the year, a 9-6 decision to second-seeded Michael Kemerer (Iowa). He ended up blocked from placing after a 3-1 loss to Josh Shields (Arizona State) in the Round of 12. Even so, Hidlay ended up with four wins. For the remainder of Hidlay's redshirt season, he moved up to 165 lbs. Though Hidlay lost his third bout of the year at the Appalachian Open, he did earn wins over teammate Daniel Bullard and Matt Finesilver (Duke). Hidlay finished the year with a title at the National Collegiate Open. Even with a 22-3 record while redshirting, I'm not sure many people were ready for the kind of season that Hidlay would post during his first year officially competing for the Wolfpack. Hidlay was able to register bonus points in his first seven dual meets. That streak was halted with a dual win over returning NCAA fifth-place finisher, Tyler Berger (Nebraska), which was “only” by three points. Two days later, at the Reno Tournament of Champions, Hidlay captured an individual title and knocked off the returning NCAA runner-up, Joey Lavallee (Missouri), in sudden victory. Hidlay closed out the dual portion of his freshman year with back-to-back wins over returning All-Americans, Solomon Chishko (Virginia Tech) and Micah Jordan (Ohio State). At his first ACC Tournament, Hidlay edged two quality opponents, Mitch Finesilver (Duke) and Taleb Rahmani (Pittsburgh), by razor-thin margins to win a conference title. An ACC crown combined with an unblemished record was good enough to net a top seed for Hidlay. The freshman was able to tabulate bonus points in his opening round 13-5 major decision over Drexel's Garett Hammond. A match later, Hidlay had to overcome his ACC finals opponent, Rahmani, which he did by the score of 4-2. It was another familiar face in the quarterfinals, as Hidlay snuck by Berger, 3-2 to lock up All-American status. In the semifinals, Hidlay had to square off with Michigan's returning All-American Alec Pantaleo. It proved to be a bad style clash for Pantaleo and Hidlay won handily to become NC State's first freshman national finalist since 1980. Hidlay's 26-match winning streak came to an end in the finals against the defending national champion, Jason Nolf. Hayden was able to keep the high-scoring Nolf in check, but still fell, 6-2. After the collegiate season, Hidlay was victorious at the U23 World Team Trials and earned a spot on the team. Hidlay took a break from the start of his sophomore season to travel to Bucharest, Romania, for the U23 World Championships, where he'd end up in ninth place. In his first dual meet after U23 Worlds, Hidlay was upset by Old Dominion's Larry Early, 4-2. Two duals later, he was beaten by Berger, 5-2. A year after he had gone unbeaten before the NCAA Tournament, Hidlay suddenly had lost two of his first three duals. Hidlay was able to right the ship and did not suffer another regular-season loss for the remainder of the 2018-19 campaign. After the Berger loss, Hidlay won 13 consecutive duals and racked up bonus points in nine of those wins. During Hidlay's first ACC title run, he had to gut out a pair of victories. In year two, Hidlay scored a tech fall in the semis and stretched out his margin of victory over Rahmani to six points in the championship bout. This time, Hidlay was deemed fit to receive the fifth seed at the 2019 NCAA Championships. Hidlay rolled in his first two bouts at the national tournament, in his home state, with tech falls in both matches. In the quarters, he met Pantaleo again and got his hand raised after a winning takedown in sudden victory, 5-3. Like his freshman year, Jason Nolf would be responsible for Hidlay's loss on the championship side. This one had a bit of controversy. In the waning seconds of the first period, after a prolonged scramble, Hidlay appeared to have a takedown on the two-time defending champion. Had Hidlay been awarded two, he would have been up 2-0 after a period and forced a different match. The official ruling was no takedown and Nolf squeaked by 3-2. In the consolation semifinals, Hidlay cruised to an 8-2 win over the third seed, Ryan Deakin (Northwestern). That set up a third-place clash with Pantaleo. This time it was the Michigan man who was victorious, relegating Hidlay to fourth place. With Nolf and Pantaleo out of the picture in 2019-20, Hidlay started the year ranked number one in the nation. After some close calls in the early going, Hidlay suffered his only loss of the season in the finals of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. After shutting out then-undefeated freshman Kendall Coleman (Purdue) in the finals, Hidlay was downed by Deakin, 6-2. Also in individual tournament action, Hidlay blew through the Southern Scuffle with bonus points in all five of his contests. Hidlay emerged unbeaten in a field that included Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider), Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma State), and Jared Franek (North Dakota State). After the calendar turned to 2020, Hidlay competed the second undefeated dual season of his career. At the conference meet, Hidlay posted a pair of major decisions to win his third ACC crown. Unfortunately, the NCAA Championships were canceled due to the Covid pandemic. Hidlay was slated to receive the number two seed at the event. Some notables on his half of the bracket included #3 David Carr (Iowa State), #6 Coleman, #7 Josh Humphreys (Lehigh), #10 Will Lewan (Michigan), and #11 Sheets. Because of his seeding, Hidlay was named an NWCA first-team All-American. The 2021 regular season didn't provide any significant tests for the veteran Hidlay. He was held to a 6-3 match against Justin McCoy (Virginia) in dual competition, but later majored McCoy in the ACC final. At the 2021 NCAA Championships, Hidlay was given the #2 seed, though all four of the top wrestlers at the weight entered unbeaten. Hidlay started his NCAA Tournament on fire, winning his opening bout (Michael Petite - Buffalo) by a major decision before a tech (Cade DeVos - South Dakota State) and a fall in the quarterfinals (Jacob Wright - Wyoming). The semifinals provided the match that we were robbed of seeing in 2020, as Hidlay and Carr were the second and third seeds again. Carr got the best of Hidlay in a 6-4 win. After the loss to Carr, Hidlay dropped another bout, an 18-12 shootout to sophomore Jacori Teemer. That represented the highest point total that Hidlay allowed in his career. He would rebound to major the normally stingy Brayton Lee (Minnesota), 11-2 for fifth place. Hidlay is seeking to become the ACC's first five-time conference champion and is looking to become a four-time NCAA All-American; none of the previous three finishes were lower than fifth. He'll be in an unfamiliar position in 2021-22, as he's slated to jump up to 174 lbs. Strengths: Everyone that's seen the Hidlay brothers should be familiar with their underhook series. Hayden has been physically imposing for most of his competition at 157 lbs. That leads to him controlling the mat with the hooks. Oftentimes, Hidlay will work from a knee or in a three-point stance. Hidlay is a lefty, so his attacks are typically on his opponent's opposite side. He has great timing on his reattacks and uses a variety of different shots. On the mat, Hidlay is imposing and will try to work in armbars or use a crab ride. 2021-22 Outlook: Since he arrived on the scene, Hidlay has been an NCAA title contender. I'd expect the same at 174 lbs. Expect Hidlay to be more offensive and have more energy with minimal weight-cutting involved. 174 looks like an extremely deep weight class nationally and in the ACC. 2019 NCAA champion Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) is planning on going 174, too, so they should have some memorable matches. 3x NCAA All-American Hayden Hidlay (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

2x NCAA Qualifier Mickey O'Malley (Photo/Sam Janicki;SJanickiPhoto.com) Drexel Dragons “I think we can be ranked as a top-25 team this year. Individually, we have experience in our line-up. We have numerous returning national qualifiers (many of whom qualified more than once), who are ready to take the next step, and finish on the podium at NCAA's – Head Coach Matt Azevedo TOP RETURNERS The Dragons have six returning national qualifiers returning to their line-up from previous seasons. Half of them have been to the “Big Dance” on more than one occasion. Evan Barczak (2020-21) Parker Kropman (3X national qualifier) Bryan McLaughlin (2X national qualifier) Antonio Mininno (2019-20) Luke Nichter (2020-21) Mickey O'Malley (2X national qualifier) KEY DEPARTURES The lone key starter leaving the team is Julian Flores. Flores was a national qualifier last season at the 141 lb. weight class. He graduated this past spring and has moved onto life after collegiate wrestling. NEWCOMERS Coach Azevedo mentioned two new faces for the starting line-up. First, Jaxon Maroney is a potential starter at 133 lb. Jaxon had a strong eighth place finish at the Junior World Team Trials. He will battle it out with previous starter, Chase Shields. Secondly, Eli Anthony will most likely man the heavyweight spot. Being a freshman from Blair Academy, he is ready to compete right away even with some growing to do. Azevedo likes his hard work ethic and believes Eli will improve as the year progresses once he gets some matches under that big belt of his. WRESTLER TO WATCH The Dragon's brightest spot in the line-up is Mickey O'Malley at the 174lb weight class. Last year, he finished top 16 at the NCAA Tournament, two weeks after being an EIWA finalist. He placed at every freestyle event he competed in. He earned 4th at the Men's US Open, U-23 World team Trials Alternate, and placed top 8 at Senior World Team Trials. Pennsylvania RTC athlete, and new volunteer assistant at Drexel, David McFadden will help O'Malley continue to jump levels. True Sophomore, and returning national qualifier, Luke Nichter is another name Azevedo was excited to see compete this year. During last year's COVID-shortened season, Nichter made progressions as a true freshman. With a full season upcoming, expect to see more improvements from him. POTENTIAL LINEUP 125: Antonio Minnino (Sr)/ Kyle Waterman (So) 133: Jaxon Maroney (So)/Chase Shields (Jr) 141: Tyler Williams (Jr) 149: Luke Nichter (So) 157: Parker Kropman (Sr) 165: Evan Barczak (Sr) 174: Mickey O'Malley (Jr) 184: Bryan McLaughlin (Sr) 197: Sean O'Malley (Sr) 285: Eli Anthony (Fr)

WAVERLY, Iowa - Wartburg College is adding women's wrestling to its athletic roster, becoming the first American Rivers Conference school to offer women the opportunity to compete at the collegiate level in the growing sport. With the addition of this new team, Head Wrestling Coach Eric Keller will be promoted to director of wrestling, allowing him to oversee both programs while retaining his coaching duties with the men's team. The search for the head women's wrestling coach will begin immediately. Wartburg is the only NCAA Division III school in Iowa that now offers a women's wrestling program. "We are excited to add this new program and look forward to providing women the opportunity to join in the Wartburg wrestling tradition," said Ryan Callahan, interim athletic director. Competition will begin in the 2022-23 season. Wartburg is known for its dominance in men's wrestling, earning 14 national titles since 1996 and 12 national dual titles since 2003. The men's team, coached by Keller since 2010, has placed either first or second in the nation in 22 of the last 29 years. The Knights are 38-time conference champions, including 28 in the last 29 seasons, and held a winning streak over current conference opponents in dual competitions from 1993 to 2020. At least two Knights have been crowned national champions in 12 of the last 18 seasons. "This is an extremely exciting time for both women's wrestling and Wartburg College. Wartburg wrestling has always had an expectation of excellence, striving to be great in everything we do," Keller said. "I am fired up about this new chapter in history and for the opportunity to grow women's wrestling in the state of Iowa and across the nation." Women's wrestling was recognized as an emerging sport by the NCAA in 2020, and though Iowa is not one of the 32 states that have sanctioned high school girls wrestling, the state championship, hosted by the Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association, attracted more than 450 athletes in 2021, up from only 87 in 2019.

2019 NCAA All-American Matt Stencel (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) InterMat has released its preseason All-MAC first and second teams, along with preseason conference Wrestler of the Year, preseason Newcomer of the Year, and preseason team favorite. We've used the term “Newcomer” since there is the possibility of wrestlers that competed at the national tournament in 2021, being called “freshmen.” First Team Preseason All-MAC 125 - Jake Ferri (Kent State) 2021 National Qualifier; 2021 MAC 3rd 133 - Derek Spann (Buffalo) 2x National Qualifier, 2019 MAC 2nd 141 - Dresden Simon (Central Michigan) 2x MAC Champion, 2021 NCAA Round of 12 Finisher 149 - Brent Moore (Clarion) 2018 National Qualifier, 2018 ACC Champion 157 - Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan) 2021 National Qualifier, 2021 MAC 3rd 165 - Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois) 2x National Qualifier, 2x MAC 2nd 174 - Jacob Oliver (Edinboro) 3x National Qualifier, 2021 MAC 3rd 184 - Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois) 2021 NCAA 6th, 2x MAC Champion, 3x National Qualifier 197 - Ben Smith (Cleveland State) 2021 National Qualifier, 2021 MAC 2nd 285 - Matt Stencel (Central Michigan) 2019 NCAA 7th, 4x MAC Champion Second Team Preseason All-MAC 125 - Luke Werner (Lock Haven) 133 - Mario Guillen (Ohio) 141 - Quinn Kinner (Rider) 149 - Alec Hagan (Ohio) 157 - Ben Barton (Lock Haven) 165 - Riley Smucker (Cleveland State) 174 - Mason Kauffman (Northern Illinois) 184 - DeAndre Nassar (Cleveland State) 197 - Matt Correnti (Rider) 285 - Colton McKiernan (SIU Edwardsville) Preseason MAC Wrestler of the Year: Matt Stencel (Central Michigan) In 2021-22, Matt Stencel is aiming to become the first five-time MAC champion, as he's a heavy favorite at the conference's largest weight. Stencel has been a fixture at the back of the Chippewa's lineup for his entire career and has been one of the nation's best from day one. As a freshman, Stencel earned the #16 seed at his first NCAA tournament and since he's been rewarded with a top-ten seed in his subsequent appearances. As a sophomore, Stencel made the NCAA podium after pinning in-state rival Mason Parris (Michigan), in the NCAA Round of 12. The two clashed three times that year, with Stencel prevailing by fall in two of those contests. A year later, Stencel garnered NWCA first-team All-American honors after the 2020 NCAA Championships were canceled. He was seeded fifth at that tournament. At 30-4 on the year, Stencel was named the MAC Wrestler of the Year, the first CMU wrestler to receive the honor since 2012. Stencel stormed through the 2021 regular season and MAC Tournament with a 10-0 record heading into St. Louis. Unfortunately, he went 1-2 and missed out on placing. Heading into his final year of eligibility, Stencel holds a 100-27 career record, which gives him an outside shot at breaking Casey Cunningham's (1995-99) school mark of 132 wins. His 52 career falls have him ahead of three-time All-American Wynn Michalak for third on the school's all-time list. Kevin Vogel's 66 career pins are within striking distance for the big man from Oregon, Ohio. Stencel is currently ranked #12 in the nation at 285 lbs in InterMat's preseason rankings. Preseason MAC Newcomer of the Year: Enrique Munguia (Kent State) The Golden Flashes signed one of their best recruits in years as they kept one of Ohio's best at home with the addition of Enrique Munguia. Enrique was an Ohio DI state runner-up in 2020-21, losing only to the top-ranked recruit in the Class of 2021 in the state finals. He finished the year ranked in the top five nationally and was named the #28 overall recruit in the nation by MatScouts. Prior to his senior season, Munguia was third at the Super 32, while competing at 160 lbs. Due to precautions associated with the Covid pandemic, many national tournaments were not held in the 2020-21 school year. Before that season, Munguia still was able to place at the Beast of the East as a sophomore (7th) and junior (5th). Also as a junior, Munguia was fifth at the Walsh Ironman. Munguia enters the 2021-22 season penciled in as Kent State's starter at 157 lbs. Preseason Team Favorite: Central Michigan The big news in the conference during the offseason was that Missouri has moved back to the Big 12. The Tigers had captured every conference title during their stay in the MAC (2013-21), which made the label “preseason team favorite” a foregone conclusion most October's for the last decade. But, without Mizzou, the conference appears to be wide-open. Before Missouri's arrival, Central Michigan was a mainstay at the top of the MAC. Expect them to be so again. Like many teams with the extra year of eligibility, CMU is expected to field a veteran-heavy lineup. The Chips have five wrestlers with NCAA experience, though one is expected to redshirt. Five others, represented CMU at the 2021 conference tournament. Things may be close in conference dual competition, as Rider and Northern Illinois could threaten Central Michigan, but CMU should separate themselves in a larger tournament format. In addition to Stencel, who is expected to win his fifth MAC title and contend for All-American honors again, Central Michigan has a returning NCAA Round of 12 finisher in Dresden Simon, who sits at #12 in InterMat's preseason rankings. At 157 lbs, Johnny Lovett had a breakout campaign in 2021 and ended up winning a pair of matches at nationals, including one over #7 Jarrett Jacques (Missouri). In addition to Central Michigan's conference dual slate, they'll represent the MAC at the National Collegiate Duals in late-December, host SoCon power Campbell, and take on their in-state foes from the Big Ten (Michigan, Michigan State).

2x NCAA All-American Ryan Deakin (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) If you think back hard enough, you may remember that your timeline was blowing up with random wrestler names and the hashtag #MatScoutsDynasty just over a year ago. That was the inaugural draft of the MatScouts Dynasty Fantasy League. Since then, deals were made, duals were waged, and teams were sent to a grand National Tournament in March vying to be the Top Fantasy Wrestling Team in the Dynasty League. We now enter Season 2 of the #MatScoutsDynasty League, so let's catch you up to where all the teams stand. As a refresher, here is the basic point scoring rules: For wrestlers competing in dual meets, Standard Dual Team Scoring is used (win by Dec +3, loss by Dec -6, etc). Bonus Points are given when your wrestler beats a ranked wrestler OR if your wrestler loses to a ranked wrestler ex: if your wrestler beats Spencer Lee by Dec, your wrestler would get +3 for the Dec and another +6 for beating the #1 ranked wrestler. If your wrestler loses by Dec to Spencer Lee, your wrestler is penalized only for -1 pt. One starter per weight with two Flex classes. Two in-season competitions of Head-to-Head Duals and Cumulative Total Points. Each competition brought with it the prize of earning additional team points for the National Tournament. 1st place = +9 team points for Nationals, 2nd place = +8, etc (if you win 1st in the Duals and Total Points, you earn +18 team points for Nationals, etc) Cael Chips Team Manager: Tony DiMarco (@FantasyD1Wrestl) How It Started: Yours truly, Tony DiMarco, founder of Fantasy D1 Wrestling (For All Your Major Decisions) was the #4 overall pick. For Tony's full draft recap, see the full draft board HERE Hindsight Draft Review: First Round Pick (#4 Overall): With the 4th overall pick, Freshman 174 Carter Starocci (Penn State) was selected by Cael Chips. As a Redshirt Freshman, Starocci wrestled in four tournaments going a perfect 19-0 with a 63% bonus rate against. At the Southern Scuffle he scored 25 Fpts which alone would have made him the #35 Fantasy Wrestler at 174 in WrestleStat leagues. In all, he finished as the #8 Fantasy Wrestler at 174 and #63 in Fpts across all weights. This season, Starocci finished the regular season as the #17 Fantasy Wrestler at 174, but finished the year as one of only two potential 5-time National Champion winners. Great Picks: Being extremely thin at 165 as Evan Wick (Wisconsin) was selected in the 6th Round and was taking a year off, Andrew Sparks (MINN) was one of the highest remaining True Freshmen and was selected in the 21st round. He would go on to be the #14 Fantasy wrestler at 165 and put the wrestling world on notice about going into the 3rd period with him. Sparks could provide an anchor at 165 in Cael Chips' roster from the next couple years. Under The Radar Pick: It was debatable on what weight he would go, but Jeremiah Kent (Missouri) continued from his 2020 ways in being a Fantasy Wrestling go-to. He was selected by Cael Chips in the 23rd Round (#224 overall) and ended up being the #4 Fantasy wrestler at 184 in WrestleStat leagues. A Miss For This Season: Taken with the #24 overall pick (3rd Round) Cael Chips went with a young and talented 141 in Real Woods (STAN). Unfortunately, this season was a disaster from the beginning in that he did not even certify until days before the Pac-12 Conference Championships. He did wiggle his way into the NCAA Tournament, but there was zero production from him in the regular season. How The Season Played Out: After getting off to a three dual win streak, Cael Chips lost to The Ninnie's Propaganda in Week 4. They were able to bounce back and win the last four duals to take 1st in the Dual Standings. Thanks to a 100 point score in Week 6, Cael Chips was also able to secure the 1st place spot in the Total Points Standings. That was good for 18 additional team points to be added on to the final NCAA score. See the full Dual and Total Points Standings HERE Cael Chips, like Danny B Mobbin, played the Transfer Portal basically every week. Several of the add/drops were "use and lose" situations, while others became permanent and multi-week mainstays: - Drop 149 Adam Busiello (Penn State), adds 184/197 Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) - Drop 125 Pat McKee (Minnesota), adds 125 Codi Russell (Appalachian State) - Drop 157 Tyler Eischens (Stanford), adds 174 Devin Kane (North Carolina) ​ - Drop 141 Drew Munch (Lehigh), adds 184 Nelson Brands (Iowa) - Drop 157 Cole Handlovic (Cornell), adds 165 Ethan Smith (Ohio State) - Drop 174 Devin Kane (North Carolina), adds 157 Tyler Eischens (Stanford) - Drop 149 Josh Heil (Campbell), adds 133 Kellyn March (North Dakota State) - Drop 133 Kellyn March (North Dakota State), adds 133 Bryce West (Northern Illinois) - Drop 184 Nathan Haas (Nebraska), adds 157 Requir Van der Merwe (Stanford) - Drop 133 Bryce West (Northern Illinois), adds 174 Michael O'Malley (Drexel) - Drop 165 Ethan Smith (Ohio State), adds 141 Anthony Brito (Appalachian State) - Drop 174 Tyler Eischens (Stanford), adds 174 Donnell Washington (Indiana) - Drop 157 Requir van der Merwe (Stanford), adds 285 Seth Nevills (Penn State) - Drop 125 Codi Russell (Appalachian State), adds 165 Ethan Smith (Ohio State) - Drop 141 Anthony Brito (Appalachian State), adds 197 Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming) - Drop 285 Seth Nevills (PSU), adds 184 Chris Weiler (Wisconsin) - Drop 285 Nathan Traxler (Stanford), adds 125 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) ​ Cael Chips was also involved in a few trades during the season: - 1/15/2021: Traded 184 Nelson Brands (Iowa) to Team JHagger for 141 Tariq Wilson (NC State) - 3/8/2021: Traded 133 Michael McGee (Arizona State), 184 Chris Weiler (Wisconsin) and 2022 3rd Rd Pick to Team Upson for Austin DeSanto (Iowa) 2021 NCAA Tournament Team Cael Chips approached the 2021 NCAA Tournament with this End-of-Season Roster: And this is the lineup Tony entered for Nationals: Finishing with 164.5 total points, Cael Chips finished in First (that means CHAMPION) in the #MatScoutsDynasty League Standings for the inaugural season. Cael Chips Entering the 2022 Season Draft Two big retirements in Boo Lewallen (OKST) and Drew Hildebrandt (CMU) put Team Cael Chips a little behind the eight-ball, so to speak. Next year, seven wrestlers will be removed from the roster and four more (the current Juniors) in two years. Just like last year, this team is ready to compete TODAY, but after this season there will have to be some serious stocking of young talent to add depth (especially to the loser weights. Cael Chips is the #10 pick in the draft this season on October 18, 2021. Who should he target? Should he drop anyone before the draft? What weights need depth? Should he look to trade? who? Let us know!