InterMat Staff

Travis Wittlake the 2021 NCAA Championships (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) When the #FantasyCollegeWrestling season comes to an end, it's usual to feel like you need a break. I get it; even WE took a little time for some needed R&R (fear not, though, the FCW Podcast returns later this month!). The amount of work and game planning is exponentially higher than Fantasy Football or other sports. There is not much to do other than research in the off-season. But just like we say in training, it's what you do when others are not looking that separates you from the pack. We are left with a lot of raw data that needs to be filtered and sorted. The off-season is devoted to not only recording and organizing that data, but grouping, interpreting, and utilizing that data to forecast and strategize for the upcoming season. Sometimes the best way to prepare for the future is to look back on the past season and who is returning or names/data to remember come week 12 when you are struggling to find that 174 starter. Usually, you have names like Spencer Lee, Shane Griffith, Aaron Brooks, and Tony Cassioppi that you think of to bring you success. Together this season, they combined for 84 Fantasy Points (Fpts). Well, let me throw a couple other names at you: Codi Russell, Will Formato, Brit Wilson, and Michael McAleavey. This group totaled 185 Fpts this season. As I say every year, that's the beauty and frustration of Fantasy Sports. Sometimes your top performers are not "household names." Now, this year was definitely an "asterisk" type of year as there will be quite a few instances of skewing in one way or another (see the co-Hodge announcement). In past seasons, we have stressed that match count is not always a determining factor in actual or in Fantasy Wrestling success, but this year was different. Some teams were hit with COVID precautions or wrestlers actually got COVID making an imbalance of matches wrestled between wrestlers/teams larger than in years past and causing some big names to not make the Top 20 of their respective weights. To compile these lists, we used WrestleStat Fantasy College Wrestling data. Just a reminder of how points were tallied in WrestleStat Leagues: 1) The scoring used was Standard Team Scoring across all competitions (+3 for a win by decision, -4 for a loss by Major, etc) 2) Scoring only counted against D1 competition 3) Wins via Forfeits (FFT) would count as +6 towards a wrestler's point total 4) Wins or Losses by Medical Forfeit (MFF) did not count as + or - towards a wrestler's point total 5) Points were only accumulated during the regular season Here are the previous #FCW 2021 Season weight class Top-20 Lists: 125: Codi Russell (Appalachian State) 133: Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) 141: Clay Carlson (South Dakota State) 149: Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma State) 157: Jacob Wright (Wyoming) Notes: This is the first and only weight to be an all-starter card and tied for the most All-Americans in a Top 20 (seven). The 165 Top 20 can also boast that they have the most wrestlers with 40 or more Fantasy Points this season. Leading the 165 class this season was, for the third time, an Oklahoma State Cowboy: Travis Wittlake. Wittlake secured the #1 spot with a 0.5 Fpt difference in PPM away from App State Mountaineer Will Formato (despite both having the same number of techs and majors, 4 & 3 respectively). Keegan O'Toole finished #3 at 165, but had the most Fantasy Points out of any true freshman across all weights. Seven of his nine matches in the regular season were won by tech or pin. Originally, Ethan Smith was not supposed to be in the Ohio State lineup, but due to an unfortunate injury to star Freshman Carson Kharchla, Smith found himself starting for the Buckeyes. Despite this, and losing his first match of the season, he would go on to rattle off eight straight wins and finish fifth at Nationals. Smith finishes as the #10 Fantasy Wrestler at 165. Despite beating him via injury (+6 for the winner, -6 for the loser), Jake Wentzel finished one spot (and one point) behind Mekhi Lewis. To show how every match and every point matters, had Lewis lost that match by only Decision, he would have been the #10 Fantasy Wrestler at 165 this season. Last Season, Shane Griffith was the #1 Fantasy Wrestler at 165 and the number 2 Seed at 2020 Nationals. This year, even with limited match time for Stanford, Griffith came in at the #19 spot in Fpts but ended as a National Champion. Who Missed The Cut: The only All American to miss out on Top 20 was Cam Amine, who finished the season at #25 with 13 Fpts. He went 5-1 with only one bonus win (major). Kennedy Monday (#23 with 15 Fpts) had three losses this season which ate into his five victories, but if he had pulled out just one of those wins, he would have taken Griffith's #19 spot with 21 Fpts. The same could be said for Peyton Robb (#24 with 14 Fpts) if he had finished that match against Andrew Sparks to start the 2021 season. True freshman and number 10 overall 2020 recruit, Gerrit Nijenhaus finished with 12 Fpts which was good for 30th place, Maybe most surprising, Alex Marinelli finished at #42 with 6 Fpts. He only wrestled two matches and (against Andrew Sparks and Peyton Robb) and won both by Decision. Last season, he was the #7 Fantasy Wrestler at 165 and #54 overall across all weights. If he had the opportunity for at least six matches, chances are he probably would have broken the Top 20 threshold.

Zbigniew Baranowski of Poland (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) For the second part in the best to not make the Olympics article series, we're going to be looking at the 86 through 125 kilogram weight classes. Before reading Part One , here is part one, which details the 57 through 74 kg. 86 KG #5 (92) Zbigniew Baranowski (POL)- 2019 92 KG European runner-up, 2019 Ziolkowski runner-up, 2020 Individual World Cup runner-up Zbigniew Baranowski, an Olympian in 2016, was one of the stronger performers of the past quad along and was poised to be a legitimate world medal threat in 2019 after a stunning upset win over #4 Dauren Kurugliev (RUS) to make the Ziolkowski finals. Baranowski was stunned in the second round of the World Championships by Pat Downey (USA) 8-2 and eliminated from the competition when Downey was tech-falled in the Round of 16 by European Games bronze medalist Akhmed Dudarov (GER). Making the finals of Individual World Cup to end 2020, Baranowski finished runner-up to #4 Dauren Kurugliev of Russia after scoring wins of note over world medalists Taimuraz Friev Naskideava (ESP) and Osman Gocen (TUR). 2021 saw Baranowski's spot as Poland's rep put in jeopardy as #16 Sebastian Jezierzanski put together a strong campaign to start off the year, finishing as a runner-up at the Henri Deglane Grand Prix to #5 Magomed Ramazanov (RUS) and winning the International Ukrainian Tournament with wins over Akhmed Magamaev (BUL) and #17 Javrail Shapiev (UZB). But a 17th place finish at the European qualifier after a loss in the Round of 16 to #13 Sandro Aminashvili (GEO) meant Baranowski was back as the man to qualify Poland for Tokyo at the World qualifier. Baranowski was successful in making the semis where he faced Sosuke Takatani (JPN), the 74 KG world runner-up in 2014, and Takatani showed no signs of the size difference affecting him as he outclassed Baranowski in a 7-2 win. The next move for Baranowski will be an interesting one. In October, the Non-Olympic World championships could allow him to stay at his natural weight class of 92 KG, where he's top-five and allow for #16 Sebastian Jezierzanski (POL) to man the 86 KG spot, with both men being strong medal contenders in the fields. Abubakar Abakarov (AZE)- 2018 74 KG Junior world runner-up, 2019 79 KG Junior world bronze medalist, 2019 79 KG Junior world runner-up, 2021 Henri Deglane Grand Prix bronze medalist, 2021 World OG qualifier bronze Abubakar Abakarov first made his name known with a runner-up finish at the 2018 74 KG Junior World Championships. He lost in the finals to 2019 165 LB NCAA champion Mekhi Lewis (USA). But the following year, having jumped levels in skill and weight up at 79 KG, Abakarov was able to beat Aaron Brooks (USA) and #6 (79) Radik Valiev (RUS) on his way to a bronze medal and runner-up finish at the Junior and U-23 World Championships. Abakarov's move up to 86 KG in 2020 wasn't without some initial hiccups after an eighth-place finish at the European championships and seventh at the Individual World Cup with losses to #3 Artur Naifonov (RUS), Akhmed Magamaev (BUL), and Taimuraz Friev Naskideava (ESP). But Abakarov's ascension in 2021 has been one of the recent developments at 86 KG to keep an eye on. At the European qualifier, where he took fifth, beating 2013 world bronze medalist Istvan Vereb (HUN) and followed it up with a bronze medal finish at the World qualifier, where he beat European runner-up #13 Sandro Aminashvili (GEO), 2019 Intercontinental Cup champion Azamat Dauletbekov (KAZ), and Ville Heino (FIN). Abakarov looks to be a contender to keep an eye on as he continues to grow. #13 Sandro Aminashvili (GEO)- 2015 world bronze medalist, 2016 Olympian, 2018 European championships bronze medalist, 2020 Georgian Nationals champion After an underwhelming 2016-2020 quad, #13 Sandro Aminashvili came on strong at the end of 2020, winning Georgian Nationals over two-time World/Olympic medalist #19 Dato Marsagishvili (GEO). Despite an initial setback to start the year with an eighth-place finish at the European qualifier, after a 6-0 quarterfinal loss to #15 Boris Makoev (SVK), Aminashvili rebounded with a runner-up showing at the European Championships, where he finished runner-up to #3 Artur Naifonov (RUS) with wins over 4x World medalist #14 Ali Shabanov (BLR) and International Ukrainian Tournament champion #16 Sebastian Jezierzanski (POL). At the World qualifier, fresh off his runner-up finish at the European Championships, Aminashvili was upset in an absolute thrashing in the Round of 16 against Abubakar Abakarov of Azerbaijan. 97 KG Valerii Andriitsev (UKR)- 2012 Olympic silver medalist, 2014 world bronze medalist, 2016 Olympic 5th place finisher, 2019 Henri Deglane champion, 2019 Dan Kolov runner-up A 2007 Junior world champion and two-time World/Olympic medalist for Ukraine, Valerii Andriitsev (UKR) has put together a consistent, if under the radar resume. Wins over the likes of 2x world champion Reza Yazdani (IRI), #6 Elizbar Odikadze (GEO), 8x World/Olympic medalist Khetag Gozyumov (AZE), 2013 world bronze medalist Anzor Boltukaev (RUS) and 2019 Russian Nationals runner-up Igor Ovsyannikov (RUS) in his career have made Andriitsev one of the most solid performers over his 13-year career. In the past quad though, Andriitsev has started to slow down, not wrestling at world's from 2017-2018 and failing to place at any tournaments in 2018. 2019 saw him finish as the runner-up at the Dan Kolov and champion of the Henri Deglane Grand Prix over #6 Dzianis Khramiankov (BLR), but the World Championships saw him take 11th with losses to #13 Sharif Sharifov (AZE) and Minwon Seo (KOR). Andriitsev was passed up as the rep for the European qualifier with 2018 U-23 world bronze medalist, Magomed Zakariiev, who was eliminated in the first round by 2020 Individual World Cup bronze medalist Akhmed Bataev (BUL). As the representative at the World qualifier, Andriitsev was felled by returning Olympic bronze medalist #16 Albert Saritov (ROU) 3-2 in the semifinals. Akhmed Bataev (BUL)- 2x Intercontinental Cup champion ('15 & '16), 2015 Kadyrov Cup champion, 2018 Ali Aliev bronze medalist, 2020 Individual World Cup bronze medalist A strong Chechen under the radar contender for Russia from the latter half of the 2012-2016 quad with wins over the likes #4 (92) Aslanbek Alborov (AZE), #16 Albert Saritov (ROU), #16 (125) Batraz Gazzaev (RUS), and 2017 Russian Nationals bronze medalist Rasul Magomedov (RUS), Akhmed Bataev made big news when he transferred to Bulgaria in 2020. Bataev made his presence immediately felt, taking bronze at the Individual World Cup with a win over 2018 92 KG U-23 world champion Shamil Zubairov of Azerbaijan. Wrestling at the qualifiers, Bataev would fall at the European qualifier to #11 Aleksandr Hushtyn (BLR) and 2018 world bronze medalist Abraham Conyedo Ruano (ITA) to take 5th. Competing again at the world qualifier, Bataev would register another fifth-place finish, defaulting out after a semifinal loss to Abraham Conyedo Ruano (ITA). #15 Erik Thiele (GER)- 2016 Junior world runner-up, 2018 U-23 European championships bronze medalist, 2021 European OG qualifier bronze medalist, 2020 World OG qualifier bronze A 2016 Junior world runner-up, Erik Thiele had an unremarkable 2016-2020, with his best achievement being a bronze medal finish at the 2018 U-23 European championships where he lost to #4 (125) Dzianis Khramiankov (BLR); Thiele came on strong this year at the qualifiers. At the European qualifier, Thiele made the semis with wins over Timofei Xenidis (GRE) and Radoslaw Baran (POL) before falling to #5 Suleyman Karadeniz (TUR); In the bronze medal match, Thiele beat 2016 Olympic bronze medalist #16 Albert Saritov (ROU) 4-3. After a semifinal loss at the World qualifier, Thiele won bronze with an injury default win over 2020 Individual World Cup bronze medalist Akhmed Bataev (BUL). 125 KG #5 Aiaal Lazarev (KGZ)- 2016 Olympian, 2015 Asian champion, 2020 Individual World Cup bronze medalist, 2021 Asian championships runner-up Lazarev, a rare upperweight Yakut transfer, has carved out a strong career for himself, wrestling for Kyrgyzstan with five Asian championship medals. Lazarev, in his late 30's has had the best results of his career, taking bronze at the Individual World Cup in 2020 with wins over 2015 world runner-up Jamaladdin Magomedov (AZE) and 2019 Ziolkowski champion Amarveer Dhesi (CAN) and this year at the Asian Championships he upset Iranian national champion #2 Amin Taheri (IRI) in the semis. But even with Lazarev's strong showings, he still was unable to qualify for the Olympics, finishing bronze at the Asian qualifier after a 7-2 quarterfinal loss to Lkhagvagerel Munkhtur (MGL) and bronze at the World qualifier after a 2-2 qualification round loss to eventual runner-up Sumit Sumit (IND). It's tough to say what's next for Lazarev as, at 35, the years of competition he has left are few, but in the twilight of his career, he has proven to be a staunch veteran test for young talent, which is a very commendable thing in itself. #18 Robert Baran (POL)- 2016 European championships runner-up, 2018 European bronze medalist, 2020 European championships runner-up, 2020 Individual World Cup runner-up Robert Baran had the best year of his career in 2020, making the finals of the European and Individual World Cup, falling to #1 Taha Akgul (TUR) and #10 Shamil Sharipov (RUS). At the European championships and Individual World Cup, Baran was able to notch impressive wins over World/Olympic medalists Jamaladdin Magomedov (AZE), Levan Berianidze (ARM) and 2021 Asian championships runner-up #5 Aiaal Lazarev (KGZ). In a rematch of the 2020 Individual World Cup, #10 Shamil Sharipov (RUS) beat him 3-2 in the quarterfinals. Competing at the World qualifier, Baran took bronze after a 7-1 quarterfinal loss to #7 Sergey Kozyrev (RUS) with a win over 2016 Olympian Daniel Ligeti (HUN). Jamaladdin Magomedov (AZE)- 2011 world bronze medalist, 2015 European Games bronze medalist, 2015 world runner-up, 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games champion, 2018 Medved champion, 2019 European Games bronze medalist. A staple of the heavyweight scene for the past two quads, Jamaladdin Magomedov, has notched wins over the likes of two-time world bronze medalist Nick Gwiazdowski (USA), 2018 world runner-up Zhiwei Deng (CHN) and three-time world champion #2 Geno Petriashvili (GEO). Since 2019 Magomedov has been in somewhat of a slump, losing in the quarterfinals of the 2019 World Championships to Zhiwei Deng (CHN) and finishing 7th and at the 2020 Individual World Cup, Magomedov lost to #18 Robert Baran (POL) 4-0 in the quarterfinals and by fall to #5 Aiaal Lazarev (KGZ) for bronze. At the European qualifier, Magomedov was cautioned out in the semis down 15-6 to Gennadij Cudinovic (GER). Vakhit Galayev replaced Magomedov for the World qualifier and fell in the quarterfinal to 2016 Olympian Jose Daniel Diaz Robertii (VEN).

Jacob Wright at the 2021 NCAA Championships (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) When the #FantasyCollegeWrestling season comes to an end, it's usual to feel like you need a break. I get it; even WE took a little time for some needed R&R (fear not, though, the FCW Podcast returns later this month!). The amount of work and game planning is exponentially higher than Fantasy Football or other sports. There is not much to do other than research in the off-season. But just like we say in training, it's what you do when others are not looking that separates you from the pack. We are left with a lot of raw data that needs to be filtered and sorted. The off-season is devoted to not only recording and organizing that data, but grouping, interpreting, and utilizing that data to forecast and strategize for the upcoming season. Sometimes the best way to prepare for the future is to look back on the past season and who is returning or names/data to remember come week 12 when you are struggling to find that 174 starter. Usually, you have names like Spencer Lee, Shane Griffith, Aaron Brooks, and Tony Cassioppi that you think of to bring you success. Together this season, they combined for 84 Fantasy Points (Fpts). Well, let me throw a couple other names at you: Codi Russell, Will Formato, Brit Wilson, and Michael McAleavey. This group totaled 185 Fpts this season. As I say every year, that's the beauty and frustration of Fantasy Sports. Sometimes your top performers are not "household names." Now, this year was definitely an "asterisk" type of year as there will be quite a few instances of skewing in one way or another (see the co-Hodge announcement). In past seasons, we have stressed that match count is not always a determining factor in actual or in Fantasy Wrestling success, but this year was different. Some teams were hit with COVID precautions or wrestlers actually got COVID making an imbalance of matches wrestled between wrestlers/teams larger than in years past and causing some big names to not make the Top 20 of their respective weights. To compile these lists, we used WrestleStat Fantasy College Wrestling data. Just a reminder of how points were tallied in WrestleStat Leagues: 1) The scoring used was Standard Team Scoring across all competitions (+3 for a win by decision, -4 for a loss by Major, etc) 2) Scoring only counted against D1 competition 3) Wins via Forfeits (FFT) would count as +6 towards a wrestler's point total 4) Wins or Losses by Medical Forfeit (MFF) did not count as + or - towards a wrestler's point total 5) Points were only accumulated during the regular season Here are the previous #FCW 2021 Season weight class Top-20 Lists: 125: Codi Russell (Appalachian State) 133: Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) 141: Clay Carlson (South Dakota State) 149: Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma State) Notes: Seven wrestlers make their return from the 2020 Top-20 list. Tied for the most matches of any wrestler in the Top-20 at 157, Jacob Wright earned his #1 spot by finishing the regular season with a nine-match win streak. Right behind Jacob Wright as the #2 Fantasy Wrestler at 157, for the second year in a row, was Hayden Hidlay. Hayden finished with the second-best PPM in this Top-20 as well (just like last season too). But tied at 32 points with Hayden was Campbell's own Ben Barton, who lost his final match of the regular season (which, if he had won that, would have put him at 38 Fpts and the clear #2). Stop me if you have heard this before, but yet another Appalachian State Mountaineer makes a Top-20. Cody Bond netted one Fpt in four matches to start this season, and ended with 25 Fpts and the #8 spot. The highest-ranked National Champ (to this point) in these Top-20 lists is David Carr with 29 Fpts. The crazy thing is, he also wrestled five non-D1 matches, which (if they would have counted) would have been an additional 27 Fpts! 2021 Runner-up Jesse Dellavecchia falls a few spots from his 2020 Top-20 ranking (3) to #12 this season. Not entirely his fault; he only wrestled in four out of five possible duals but scored nothing less than a tech in each of those matches. Holden Heller started this shortened season by pinning the 2020 #6 Fantasy Wrestler and NCAA #12 seed, Markus Hartman. Using that momentum, he would go on to get two techs in his next four matches (finished 5-0 in the regular season) to help make him the #13 Fantasy Wrestler at 157 in 2021. Three non-starters make this list, with the highest being Clayton Ulrey whose only loss came to #3 on this list. Who Missed The Cut: Four 2021 All-Americans missed making significant regular-season impacts for their team managers this season. Ryan Deakin comes in at #31 with 12 Fpts and only three regular-season matches, while Jacori Teemer finished just slightly higher at #34, but also with 12 Fpts (Deakin had a higher PPM with four compared to Teemer with 2.4 and five matches wrestled). The other two All-Americans who finished the regular season outside the Top-20: Kaleb Young at #39 with 11 pts in three matches and Wyatt “Don't Call It A Comeback” Sheets at #53 with seven points in nine bouts. Other notables that are on the outside looking in were Cade DeVos (#22 with 18 Fpts), Brady Berge (#23 with 16 Fpts), Requir van de Merwe (#25 with 15 Fpts), and Will Lewan (#26 with 14 Fpts).

Andy Bisek at the 2016 Olympic Games (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) In 2007 the U.S. Greco Roman team surprisingly won the team title at the World Championships. Brad Vering won silver at 84 kg, while Justin Lester and Dremiel Byers brought home bronze medals at 66 kg and 120 kg, respectively. Despite that success, The U.S. has not come close to capturing another team title. At the upcoming Olympics, the country will only have four wrestlers in the six weight classes after coming up short at 77 kg and 130 kg at the World Qualification Tournament. The following takes a look back at the performance of the U.S. Greco team since winning the team title in 2007. Medalists Since 2007 there have been only four medalists for the U.S. on the Greco side. Andy Bisek is the most decorated of the four 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. Match Record by Year Bringing home World/Olympic medals is perhaps the ultimate goal of international competitors, but when facing off against the best on the planet, it can be exceedingly difficult. Wrestlers can have a positive performance, even coming up short of bronze. For example, Robby Smith made a strong run through the bracket in 2015 and came up just short of bronze against Bilyal Makhov. On top of that, Lindsey Durlacher's fifth-place performance was vital to the squad's title in 2007, as they only finished one point ahead of Russia. To generously gauge the team's performance, let's take a look at the individual match results over the years. The following looks at the winning percentage (number of wins divided by number of matches) for each World/Olympic team. For 2016, the measure includes bouts from both the Olympics and the non-Olympic Worlds. There have been only three years where the match-winning percentage was above 50%. The two best years correspond with Bisek's bronze medals in 2014 and 2015. Current head coach Matt Lindland was hired following the 2013 World Championships. After two relatively strong years from a winning percentage, the last four years have been well below 50%. Individual Match Record As one might expect, Bisek has the most individual wins at Worlds and the Olympics during this span. He had an 11-5 record during the stretch. Matching his win total was Spenser Mango who had an 11-13 record. Mango represented the U.S. at two Olympics and six World championships. He finished fifth in both 2013 and 2014 before leaving his shoes on the mat during the 2016 Olympic Trials. During that stretch, 12 wrestlers failed to win a single match on the highest level, while 13 wrestlers won only one bout. Among active competitors Coon has the most wins at the World Championships with four, which were all collected during his silver medal-winning campaign in 2018. Greco World/Olympic Team members who are still active in other sports Chas Betts represented the U.S. at both the 2009 World Championships and 2012 Olympics. At the 2012 Games, he defeated Keitani Graham of Micronesia before being eliminated by Cuba's Pablo Shorey. Following the Olympics, Betts signed with WWE and has been performing as Chad Gable ever since. After multiple years in developmental, he made his main roster debut in 2016. After winning a junior college title for Harper College in 2012, Chris Gonzalez moved to Northern Michigan to train for Greco. In 2016, he earned a spot on the non-Olympic team at 71 kg. Gonzalez won his first match against Filip Dubsky of the Czech Republic before coming up short against Romania's Ilie Cojocari. In 2018, Gonzalez made his MMA debut and the following year, he signed with Bellator. He has won his first five fights in the promotion, and in his last fight, defeated UFC veteran Roger Huerta. Two-time Olympic representative Ben Provisor came up short in his bid for a third trip to the Games. However, he is certainly not done wrestling. News broke recently that he signed with Grand View and has four years of collegiate eligibility remaining. The 30-year-old wrestler is expected to act as a sort of player/coach for the NAIA powerhouse. 2021 Olympic Team Three of the four wrestlers being sent to Tokyo have previously wrestled in a World Championships. Hafizov will be the only wrestler returning to the Olympics after representing Uzbekistan in 2008. Those three wrestlers have a combined 3-10 record at the level. Hafizov wrestled at 60 kg in the 2019 World Championships. He started things over with a victory over Etienne Kinsinger (Germany) before falling against Ukraine's Lenur Temirov. He dominated Ryan Mango in the finals of the Olympics Trials, winning both matches by a 15-0 combined score. Alejandro Sancho qualified 67 kg for the Olympics by finishing second at the Pan American Olympic Qualification Tournament. He then followed that up by winning the Trials this past April with a strong showing over veteran Ellis Coleman in the finals. This will be Sancho's first appearance at a senior-level World/Olympic event. John Stefanowicz defeated Joe Rau via a pair of one-point matches to earn the spot at 87 kg. He wrestled in the 2019 World Championships at 82 kg before moving up for the Olympic year. G'Angelo Hancock represents the country's best chance to medal in Tokyo. The 23-year-old wrestler is already a four-time medalist at the Pan American Championships/Games. He makes this trip to the Olympics after representing the U.S. at three-straight World Championships. Hancock has had strong results in recent international tournaments with a silver medal at the 2019 City of Sassari Tournament and a bronze at the 2020 Matteo Pellicone.

Austin DeSanto at the 2021 NCAA Championships (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Last week, Seattle Wide Receiver DK Metcalf ran in USA Track & Field's Golden Games 100 meter race and, despite coming in dead last, the American sports audience was all abuzz. He ran a 10.36, with the winner clocking in at 10.11. The NBC broadcast of the preliminary race clearly focused on DK, opening and closing the segment with him. Ato Boldon, a four-time Olympic medalist, was on the call and commented that 'you couldn't tell he didn't belong in this field' and that he was impressed. Indeed it was a good showing for a non-pro sprinter and someone that (6'4'', 235) large. Later in the week, I came across an article from an old colleague, Jojo Gretschel, in which she expresses mixed feelings about the ordeal, saying that she respected Metcalf's effort and courage but lamenting the fact that the video generated 1.7 million views, which blew out any other from the event. This affair reminds me of another debate that's been broiling online recently in the fight game. Boxing purists have scoffed at the sideshow events - many involving Jake Paul, some involving e-sports celebs with no fighting background whatsoever - pulling in big viewership. Why, they say, would people tune in to carnival acts featuring people with very little skill? Jake Paul is a lot of things, but he was also correct to retort, 'I made more money for the Ben Askren fight than most UFC fighters made in their career.' What's the point of this, Willie? What's the import to wrestling? The point is this: people like what they like. You've heard me over the years repeatedly say that I just don't get college wrestling being wildly more popular than the international styles, despite the latter being a demonstration of exponentially more skill. And I've heard the wrestling community roll their eyes at all the pub Austin DeSanto received before he ever became an All-American. People like what they like. And they like what they know. They know NFL stars. They like 'what's-he-gonna-do-next' Austin DeSanto probably more than multiple-time World Medalist Kyle Snyder. It's time for us hard heads to accept it. Sometimes I want to shout to the wrestling gods because no one is paying attention to a second-round match at the U.S. Open between two NCAA Champions. But that also doesn't mean we have to poo-poo when people tune in in droves to watch an insignificant exhibition between Burroughs and Askren. To your questions: Of the gents who made the Junior team, who do you anticipate making the US Team (top 3 spots) soonest, in order? - NHS67 Love the question. I assume you're talking MFS, but I just want to note that Braxton Amos did make the US SR National Team in GR. So let's start there. I think Amos and Ferrari (who didn't compete at JR's but was eligible) will be among the first to enter the Top-3-in-SR's conversation. I know that's a bold statement as Kyle Snyder and J'den Cox aren't going anywhere, but I don't think it's a stretch to believe they start approaching the level of guys like Kollin Moore and Mike Macch (yes, they both lost to those guys at the Trials). And remember, Ferrari made (and won) 92kg JR Nationals last November, beating Rocky Elam in the finals. There's been talk of Ferrari moving up, but 92 might be an excellent place for him. I'd add Rocky in that mix as well. In addition to being 2nd to Ferrari at JR Nationals, he won the spot on the JR World Team last month and took 5th at Senior Nationals at 86kg last October, where he teched Max Dean, CJ Brucki, and Brett Pfarr. He's damn good, and super-advanced in FS. Here are the others to choose from: Richie Figueroa (57), Jesse Mendez (61), Beau Bartlett (65), Bryce Andonian (70), Keegan O'Toole (74), Colton Hawks (86), and Wyatt Hendrickson (125). Figs (three world teams), Mendez (two world teams), and O'Toole are probably the most advanced in FS of that group. And though it sounds sorta crazy, I think Figs probably has the quickest path to Top 3. 57kg might very well clear out after this Olympics. I'm doubtful Mendez can hold 61kg for longer than, say, a year. And O'Toole is at a crazy deep weight. There are two things for sure, though. 1) It will be fun to follow; we've had about the same cast of characters at the SR level for quite some time and eventually, there will be a changing of the guard. 2) It's probably gonna be a while before any of them are Top 3 at SR's in FS. It's different levels and the RTC model is keeping guys in the game much longer. This Week's Throwback Tony Jameson Going for His 4th State Title Jameson didn't have a great college career, but he was one of Ohio's best ever. In his senior year, going for his fourth title, he had this crazy opening round match. He could have been pinned about half a dozen times. Highly entertaining bout. Could you ever see it being feasible for wrestling to be a two-semester/two-season sport, with folkstyle in the fall and freestyle in the spring similar to how track has an indoor/outdoor season? And would you be in support of that idea? - @VirtualNCAAs Support the idea? I pretty much introduced it. I've been ranting about it for years. And though I used to think that it would never happen (and I still think it's a longshot), there are signs that the powers-that-be are open to it. My premise is simple. The wrestling season is totally chaotic and frankly nonsensical. We have open tournaments in the first semester then spend the entire second semester with one-day weigh-in duals. Then culminate with multiple-day weigh-in conference tournaments before an NCAA Championship with the only 3-day weigh-in of the year. Having a split season 1) gives more structure to the season 2) would allow for more (potentially) participation of backups and redshirts and 3) would present better preparation for the NCAA tournament. Open the year with nothing but duals and have a dual meet National Championship in December. In the second semester, run opens, CKLV, Scuffle, and Midlands. Then conferences and NCAA's. Sounds simple enough, right? And makes you wonder why this hasn't just been 'the way' since wrestling's inception. The only thing preventing it is getting all the stakeholders - the coaches and the tournament directors - on the same page. Do you believe the presence and/or advantages of RTC $ tilts the competitive advantage too much?- @BFarnham No. The existence of RTC's is a convenient excuse. Are you suggesting that Penn State, Iowa, Michigan, etc., wouldn't be performing the way they are if there were no RTC's? Missouri has no RTC and has been nails. OK State's RTC (and the money funding it) has gone away almost entirely and yet they are a podium contender every year. Nebraska's RTC isn't the biggest by any stretch and yet they spend most of the decade with two guys on the World Team. Read the opening to the column this week. Kids like what they like. On the biggest day of the year in wrestling with the most viewership, everyone sees three or four Nittany Lions ball out. During big duals in the middle of the season, they see massive crowds at Carver. RTC's or not, they are going to attract a lot of attention. People need to stop blaming RTC's and just work harder and get better. The RTC's are an incredible development for US wrestling and its athletes. And, not coincidentally, since the advent of them, America is as good and as deep as we've ever been.

Keith Gavin (left) at the 2021 NCAA Championships (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) On Tuesday, InterMat released our 2021 Recruiting Class Rankings. Competition for a place in the top-25 was extremely stiff. Ten to 12 teams that missed the cut were in consideration for the list. Since there was such a thin margin between the squads that made the list and those that didn't, we thought we'd outline five additional classes that were notable and will help improve their particular schools in the future. Without even intending on it, this list features five teams from five different conferences. This is not a ranking, so they have been placed in alphabetical order. Air Force 2021 Recruits: #123 Tucker Owens - Mustang, OK (133); #170 Mason Ding - Carrollton Creekview, TX (285); #179 Jack Ganos - Arrowhead, WI (165); #205 Gavin Gross - Odessa, MO (165); #228 Aiden Warren - Perry Meridian, IN (197); #262 Andrew Wenzel - Dakota, IL (184); Brenden Barnes - Benedictine, VA (133); Brooks Gable - Dallastown, PA (149/157); Nick Gonzalez - Montini Catholic, IL (125/133); Josh Miller - Central Dauphin, PA (141); Gage Musser - Commodore Perry, PA (165/174) Air Force has steadily improved their recruiting game in each of the last four seasons. The 2021 Class followed that pattern and almost earned Sam Barber's team a place among the top-25. Six members of the top-300 have decided to enroll at the Air Force Academy. Like the other service academies, Air Force can recruit on a national scale, which they have done here, though it is heavy on Pennsylvania talent. Brooks Gable, Josh Miller, and Gage Musser were all state placewinners as seniors. The top-ranked recruit of the bunch is Tucker Owens, a four-time Oklahoma state finalist and two-time champion. Owens dropped a close match in the state finals this year to Cael Hughes, a fourth-place finisher at this year's Cadet World Team Trials. Two-time Texas state champion, Mason Ding, flew under the radar for the majority of his high school career, but that changed after he was third at the 2020 Super 32. Other top recruits include Wisconsin champ Jack Ganos and three-time Missouri winner, Gavin Gross. The Falcons sent Illinois native Jared Van Vleet to the national tournament in 2021, so they've gone back to Illinois and returned with state finalists Nick Gonzalez and Andrew Wenzel. While there isn't any one big superstar in the group, there's plenty of capable collegiate wrestlers in the mix. Brown 2021 Recruits: #112 AJ Corrado - Burrell, PA (165); #122 Sebastian Garibaldi - White Plains, NY (285); #162 Drew Clearie - Nazareth, PA (184); #203 James Araneo - Ward Melville, NY (184); #263 Tony Pray - Creighton Prep, NE (197); #271 Ian Oswalt - Burrell, PA (141); Sam McMonagle - West Chester Henderson, PA (149); Mason Spears - Franklin Regional, PA (149); Harrison Trahan - McDonogh, MD (174) Like Air Force, Brown's 2021 class has a strong Pennsylvania feel to it. And that's a good thing. Burrell, a perennial power in PA's AA classification, has a pair of grapplers on the way to Rhode Island. AJ Corrado, is a four-time state medalist, two-time finalist, and a champ as a senior. Teammate Ian Oswalt, also found the podium four times, never finishing lower than fifth, and appeared in state title matches as a junior and senior. Outside of Burrell, Drew Clearie was a three-time state placer, finishing third in each of the last two years. Clearie was also fourth at the 2019 Beast of the East. Sam McMonagle and Mason Spears are both PA placers, with McMonagle getting onto the podium twice. Outside of Pennsylvania, Sebastian Garibaldi and James Araneo have placed top-five in New York's larger division and excelled in off-season dual competition. Finally, Bears head coach Todd Beckerman went back to his roots and picked up a National Prep kid from Maryland, Harrison Trahan. Trahan was a National Prep runner-up in 2020 and a two-time placer at the event. With all of the attention given to the Columbia's and Penn's of the world for their recent recruiting success, don't overlook Brown. This group will certainly improve the overall talent in the Bears wrestling room and help them battle up the standings in the EIWA. Campbell 2021 Recruits: #72 Cole Rees - Wyoming Seminary,PA (184); #116 Colin Nation - Tampa Prep, FL (197); #145 Conor Maslanek - Pelham, NH (197); #171 Sebastián Melguizo - Miami SW, FL (133); #181 Brandon Hoselton - Prairie Central, IL (197); Jared Hopkins - Colony, AK (141); Nino Prisco - Fox Lane, NY (285) Year one of the Scotti Sentes era in Buies Creek (as the head coach, at least) was a success on the mat and the recruiting trail. Sentes' wisely brought in Daryl Thomas, formerly of Old Dominion, who has established himself as one of the top recruiters in the nation. Together, the Camel staff assembled a class that includes five of the top-200 high schoolers in the nation. The biggest name is Cole Rees. Cole placed in the top four three times at the National Prep Championships for perennial powerhouse Wyoming Seminary. Rees also has a title at NHSCA Freshman Nationals and a runner-up finish at the Powerade on his resume. He, along with Colin Nation, Conor Maslanek, and Brandon Hoselton, are a powerful quartet that will provide significant help to Campbell's upperweights. Maslanek broke out this fall by making the semifinals at the Super 32. The Camels staff was already on to the New Englander, though. Hoselton jumped into high school and won an Illinois title as a freshman at 195 lbs. He added another title and finals appearance, along the way. Nation is an extremely intriguing prospect, as he moved to Japan and has been involved in MMA training. Before leaving the states, Nation won a state title and was fourth at Freshman Nationals. Sebastian Melguizo had a great showing at the Grappler Fall Classic, winning the 125 lb title, but hasn't always been consistent at those types of events. With seven NCAA qualifiers returning, Campbell isn't in desperate need of help right away, but getting a class like this should get the train on the tracks going forward (and upward) in 2022-23 and beyond. Little Rock 2021 Recruits: #48 Matt Bianchi - Two Rivers, WI (149); #102 Cayden Auch - Neosho, MO (184); #163 Jayden Gomez - Gilroy, CA (141); #164 Cougar Andersen - Skiatook, OK (184); #204 Apollo Gothard - Lemont, IL (285); #288 Cade Manion - Deer Creek, OK (141); Jake Adams - Bentonville, AR (133); Chance Davis - Enid, OK (174); Mack Hubbel - Blue Valley Southwest, KS (285); Reid Nelson - Simley, MN (125) The second full recruiting class for Neil Erisman's team is excellent and you could have made a case that they belonged in the top-25. In fact, their highest-ranked recruit, #48 Matt Bianchi, was higher on the big board than anyone from the teams that came in at 23-25. Bianchi is the latest in a line of three brothers that have already enrolled at Little Rock. Older brother, Paul, was the Trojan's first national qualifier in 2021. Matt was a double Fargo All-American at the 16U level in 2019, taking fifth or higher in both styles. He became a four-time Wisconsin state champion this year. #102 Cayden Auch achieved the same feat in Missouri. Erisman, an Oklahoma State alum, used his pull within the state to grab a pair of big boarders (Cougar Andersen and Cade Manion) along with Chance Davis. The trio combined to win six Oklahoma state titles. Perhaps the steal of the group was getting two-time Illinois state finalist Apollo Gothard. Apollo also was fifth at the Super 32 last fall, as well. The demise of the Fresno State program left former Bulldog-commit Jayden Gomez without a home temporarily. Gomez, California placewinner and Junior freestyle All-American, will now enroll at Little Rock. While the high school scene is still growing in Arkansas, Erisman and his staff have done well signing talent at some of the nearby, deeper states (Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma). This class is another piece in a solid foundation that the Trojan staff has managed to assemble less than three years. Pittsburgh 2021 Recruits: #35 Luca Augustine - Waynesburg, PA (174); #75 Brock McMillen - Glendale, PA (141); #130 Ethan Finch - Sheffield, PA (197); #244 Cole Hivnor - Lake Catholic, OH (184); Emory Taylor - McCallie School, TN (149/157) While not a huge class, Pittsburgh's group has a few potential superstars and it serves a bigger purpose. For years, fans have speculated how the Panthers would be if top local talent chose to stay home. Keeping all of the studs from Western Pennsylvania is never realistic for any program, but head coach Keith Gavin and staff have been able to retain more talent from their own backyard and the results have shown on the mat. A pair of homegrown, local kids made the national finals for Pitt (Jake Wentzel and Nino Bonaccorsi) in 2021. Waynesburg's Luca Augustine had a breakout year in 2019-20 with top-five placing at the Ironman, Beast, and Powerade. He was even more consistent in 2020-21 as he won a Pennsylvania state title and defeated a past champion (Trey Kibe) to do so. A week earlier, Kibe downed Augustine in the Super Regional final. Also from that half of the state is Brock McMillen and Ethan Finch. McMillen is a four-time state finalist and three-time champion. He hasn't competed that frequently on the national scene, so he could be even higher than his current #75 ranking. Finch was largely unknown outside of Western Pennsylvania before taking fourth at the 2020 Super 32. He went on to make the AA state finals this season. Cole Hivnor has placed fourth on two occasions at the Ohio state meet and brings depth to the upperweights. Four-time Tennessee state champ Emory Taylor is from associate head coach Jordan Leen's backyard. With an improving set of high school talent on the horizon, Tennessee could be a go-to for Leen and the Panthers in the future. Though this group is outside of the top-25, it fills some needs (141/149/157) and will help keep Pitt in the mix for an ACC crown going forward.

Mason Beckman at the 2007 Walsh Ironman (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The list of high-profile recruits who failed to live up to their billing is miles long and chocked full of talent. Every year, athletes who have won numerous state, national, and sometimes world titles fall by the wayside and disappear from the public eye, never to be heard from again, save for the occasional social media post or forum thread. The debate that always looms over these situations centers around one simple question: what went wrong? Each recruit is different and so is their story, but the primary reasons why careers derail and talent goes untapped are usually a combination of unrealistic expectations, a lack of focus or love for wrestling, and the lack of a good support system. There's a lot to unpack with each of these three, and it makes sense to start with the one that most often affects recruits the earliest. Part 1: Unrealistic Expectations Right off the bat, many recruits are set up for failure because their environment has created an unrealistic set of expectations for their collegiate career and what defines success at the next level. To be blunt, a lot of this is created as a result of ignorance, whether it's ignorance of how big the jump is in terms of the workload from high school to college, how high of a level one has to reach to qualify for the NCAA Tournament (let alone stand on the podium or win the thing), or just the raw numbers of how small someone's chances are to wrestle on Saturday at NCAA's. Due to the fact that so many people - parents, coaches, friends, etc. - in a recruit's life often fail to understand how difficult the transition will be, they fail to prepare the recruit for it mentally, emotionally, and physically which sets them up for failure. Oftentimes, kids will arrive on campus with lofty expectations - starting right away, becoming a four-time All American, and winning an NCAA title - and they quickly get brought back to reality once they set foot in the wrestling room and go weeks, if not months, without scoring an offensive point against the best wrestlers in the room. If the recruit went into their first day understanding that it's a long road ahead and that they have a lot of ground to cover, those first few weeks and months will still be difficult, but they won't come as a massive surprise because their support system prepared them for the climb. However, when a recruit comes in thinking that the transition won't be all that difficult or that they are going to be the best guy in the room, those first few months are a massive punch to the gut and they can destroy someone's confidence for a season or two, if not the rest of their career. Unrealistic expectations spill over into competition as well, which can lead to athletes having their confidence dismantled when they lose a few bouts early in their college career and feel like they're failing instead of understanding that taking a few losses doesn't change anything. The long-term process remains the same and every goal is still there to be achieved, but having unrealistic expectations from the start amplifies the impact of the losses and that leads to cracks in the foundation of an athlete's mental makeup. Those cracks are incredibly hard to repair and often lead to an athlete's career struggling to take off, if it doesn't derail entirely. Part 2: Lack of Focus or Love for Wrestling It's been repeated time and time again, but the adage that "you have to love this sport to last" holds true at the collegiate level. Our sport is a cruel one - full of injuries, heartbreaking defeats, hungry nights, and soul-searchingly difficult workouts of all kinds. To truly thrive and make the most out of those college years, there has to be a deep love for the sport and the never-ending chase to master it. Sure, there are the outliers that can get by on talent and competitive nature alone, but the vast majority of successful college wrestlers have been molded and driven by a love of the sport and unwavering focus to never stop chasing a better version of themselves. Brutal workouts and a strict lifestyle are two of the calling cards of collegiate wrestling. Anyone who has lived that life will tell you just how real they are. Whether it's waking up well before sunrise to run hills, practices that last for hours and go beyond exhaustion, or any other of the seemingly countless workouts that a college wrestler endures, being pushed to breaking point becomes a daily reality. Without a love for the sport and the fuel that it provides, those workouts quickly seem pointless and it becomes easier and easier to give less than a full effort which, in turn, leads to a lack of progression. It's always in those small moments, like when the alarm goes off in the morning or when practice is over, but there's still more work to be done, that loving the sport and the chase shines through and pushes some to do more while others resign themselves to having done enough. Not only does possessing a love for wrestling provide consistent motivation, but it also provides a sense of focus that is difficult to mimic or duplicate otherwise. The college atmosphere is full of distractions ranging from partying, alcohol and drugs, to video games at all hours of the day and night, to the dating scene, and much more. For a young adult to navigate that environment and continually choose a more physically and emotionally taxing life, a great deal of focus is required. Without that focus, partying often becomes a problem and we all see the same end result that we've seen time and time again - an athlete with untapped potential and a program left wondering where they went wrong. Focus that is strong and consistent enough to last through all of those trials only comes from buying into a greater cause or purpose, in finding something that matters so much that nothing else can get in the way. That's where the love for wrestling comes into play and why it provides a certain type of focus - because it makes priorities clear. If chasing the dream and a mastery of the sport matters enough, distractions won't creep in and derail a career before it ever gets started. Last but certainly not least, a love for the sport provides a work ethic and willingness to travel to deep water that can't be found from any other source. It's commonplace in life to see someone find their passion and devote countless hours to honing that craft - wrestling is no different. When somebody loves what they do, they never work a day in their life (or so the saying goes) and the recruits who have that love for the sport will find that saying to be true. Sure, there will be dark days when they are broken by workouts or stress piles up, but the work ethic and focus will remain and that will drive them forward. Part 3: Lack of a Positive Support System Even when a recruit comes into a program with realistic expectations, a love for the sport, and unwavering focus, they will still face a great deal of difficulties and hardships that will require them to lean on those closest to them for emotional and mental support. Anybody who has had success in wrestling will admit that it takes a village to survive the journey - that holds especially true at the college level when kids are away from their families for the first time in their lives and they are thrust into a great deal of uncertainty all at once. When they have a strong, positive support system upon which they can lean, it provides a level of stability and confidence that they can make it through just about any trial and come out on the other side still standing. One of the things that often gets lost in discussions about why recruits do or don't pan out is the reality that all sorts of "real-life" events occur while kids are in college. Relationships come and go, family members and friends fall ill, school is more difficult than ever, etc., and the emotional toll of events like these can be extremely heavy. Without a proper support system and under the pressure of being a college athlete, a lot of kids will crack and find outlets other than wrestling into which they can invest their time. However, a strong support system will help keep them on track to remember their priorities. Think back to the first group that just about every NCAA Champion goes to see first after winning their title - family and close friends. It's the people who propped them up and got them through their darkest days, the people who provided belief when their minds filled with doubt, the people who never let them quit. Needless to say, these three reasons are not the only pits into which recruits and young college athletes can fall on their journey through wrestling, but they are the most common (at least in my experience). For all of the coaches, parents and friends of athletes with a real chance to chase the dream at the college level and beyond, remember to support them in every way possible. Push them, but remember to keep expectations realistic and focused on the process and chasing improvement instead of results. Remind them of their love for the sport and that they need to stay focused to truly find out just how good they can be. Last, and most important of all, support them and be there for them through the good times and the bad. Be willing to tell hard truths and listen to them when they need to vent. Always be there, because things can hit the fan at any point in time. Here's to hoping that the future holds more cases of realistic expectations, genuine love for wrestling, and positive support systems so we can all witness fewer instances of the elite recruits who vanish into thin air.

Sage Mortimer at Who's #1 (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Earlier this week, one of the top high school girls in the nation, Sage Mortimer (American Leadership Academy, UT), made her college decision. Mortimer has signed with traditional power King University. She joins an incredible recruiting class with the likes of Tiffani Baublitz, Cheyenne Bowman, Samara Chavez, and Montana Delawder, who are all among the top seniors in the country. Mortimer was a member of the Cadet World team in 2019 and captured a gold medal at the Pan-American Championships at the U15 division in 2016. Sage has amassed a collection of stop signs from Fargo as she won the 16U tournament on two occasions and made two Junior finals, winning one. In March, Mortimer was victorious at the Last Chance Qualifier which netted her a berth in the Olympic Trials. At the Trials, Mortimer was able to claim a win before her elimination.

Two-time NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) If you follow EIWA wrestling, you noticed something was missing last year. The league lacked the usual firepower that it produces year in and year out. The conference was founded in 1904, making it the oldest in the country. At 17 teams, it is the largest conference based on quantity, after having only four member schools at its inception. Because of the rich tradition of the conference, one would suggest it produces numerous All-Americans (AAs) every year. And that assumption would be correct, as there has been an average of 10 AAs from the conference between 2010-2019. With the cancellation of the 2020 tournament, 21 AAs were crowned from the EIWA. Since these were based on rankings, I will ignore this number, as it is certainly an outlier. Let me be clear about that last statement, I certainly do not discount the individual wrestlers who earned this status. It is an amazing achievement, and anyone who wrestled at any level probably knows how hard this is to do. Obviously, they did earn it based on the season's results. But I am sure nearly 100% of these guys would agree that it's "different" than actually standing on the podium after three days of battle. As the old saying goes, "That's why they wrestle!" This brings us to the 2021 season. The EIWA only had 2 wrestlers on the podium in St Louis. Zach Hartman wrestled in the semifinals, eventually losing to the champion (Shane Griffith of Stanford) and placing sixth. The other placer was Lou Deprez of Binghamton, who placed eighth after earning the third seed to begin the tournament. Why the huge drop in the number of All-Americans? The answer is simple, unfortunately. Seven schools were forced to sit out the entire 2020-2021 season. This includes the 6 Ivy League Universities, plus Franklin and Marshall College. If you are like me and not smart enough to apply to the Ivy League schools with wrestling, I got you covered. They are Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Penn, and Princeton. Below is a list of the wrestlers I'm most excited to see, who were unable to compete last season due to their respective schools cancelling the season. Honorable Mention - Wil Gil (141, Franklin & Marshall) Hey, what's a "Top 10 List" without an honorable mention - right? Although this may be considered somewhat of a homer-pick (due to the fact I have been a volunteer coach at this school the past few seasons), I am very excited to see Wil compete as a senior this year. In 2019 he was the NCAA's first alternate after placing fifth at EIWAs, and in 2020 missed out on a wild card to NCAA's. This guy has some of the craziest matches and can wrestle with almost anybody. He gives coaches heart attacks. He took out EIWA top seed Sal Profaci in overtime in the blood round at the conference championships in 2020. Wil put up 31 wins and had 10 losses in 2020. Another year of training with Coach Tyson Dippery, Wil Gil is ready to catch some attention this year. Plus, he will be fun to watch! #10 - Matt Kazimir (141, Columbia) Outperforming his seed after going 26-9 during the year (7-5 against EIWA competition) is a sign Matt was peaking at the right time at the end of the 2020 season. Matt was the 2020 EIWA runner-up at the Yianni-less 141 lb weight class. Before the cancellation of the Championships in Minneapolis, the National Qualifier was squared off to wrestle the fifth seed, Dom Demas of Oklahoma, in his opening round matchup. He was looking to add his name to the endless list of NCAA All-Americans from perennial Ohio powerhouse St Ed's High School. When you have the privilege of rolling with Senior Level athletes like volunteer coach, Shelton Mack, every day, you can only get better. Keep an eye out for Matt, along with those lightweights that Coach Tanelli is producing in the city that never sleeps. #9 - Michael Colaiocco (125, Penn) The Blair Academy graduate was ranked in the top 10 during the 2020 season. He even earned the 11th seed at the NCAA Tournament after a disappointing 1-2 performance at the EIWA Championships. Everyone saw how talented he was during the year. Going 24-7 as a freshman, while wrestling the type of schedule that Penn has is nothing to gloss over. There have been questions swirling about how long he can hold that weight. Over the summer, he wrestled at 63 kg. (138 .9 lbs.) at The Summit 2 Event, hosted by the Pennsylvania RTC. My only question is, how strict are these weigh-ins at the exhibition events? Assuming he did make that weight without much cutting, I would expect to see him at 125 for at least the next year. #8 - Philip Conigliaro (Harvard, 165) Philip was given the 17th seed at the 2020 NCAA Championships. After placing third at EIWAs two weeks prior, he was set up to wrestle EIWA foe Zach Hartman of Bucknell. Hartman was victorious in overtime in their conference semifinal matchup. I saw Phil wrestler in November of the 2019-2020 season and thought he was good. Then I saw him wrestle at EIWAs and thought he was excellent. Continuing that upward trajectory, he recently placed third at Senior Nationals at the 74 kg bracket (163.1 lbs) while knocking off guys like Branson Ashworth and Jacori Teemer. Conigliaro will climb the rankings next year. #7 - Quincy Monday (157, Princeton) Monday is one of the most exciting wrestlers in the conference and possibly even the country. His fast, powerful blast doubles and his ferocious headlocks keep the crowd's eyes glued to his matches. His style of wrestling reminds me of the famous Forrest Gump quote, "Watchin' him wrestle is like a box of chocolates, ya never know whatcha gonna get." Anyway, Quincy was the EIWA runner-up, earning him the fifth seed before the tournament was cancelled. During that year, he defeated the 2021 NCAA runner-up, Jesse Dellavecchia of Rider. Even from a young age, the son of an Olympic Gold medalist was destined for greatness. The sky's the limit for Quincy. #6 - Anthony Artalona (157, Penn) Artalona, who missed the last half of the 2020 season due to injury, moved up to the 157 lb. weight class after being at the 149 lb. class the year prior. That season, he was the EIWA champion. This earned him the 13th seed at the conference meet. He lost in the first round and battled back to ultimately lose in the infamous blood round. It's been two full postseasons since we've seen Anthony in the EIWA. Incoming Penn RTC Athlete Jordan Burroughs (ever hear of him?) will help bring Artalona to the next level before his career is done at Penn. This makes it all the more exciting to see him in November 2021 and beyond. #5 - Yaraslau Slavikouski (285, Harvard) Yara earned the 10th seed at the 2020 NCAA Championships. After the tournament's cancellation, he was awarded "EIWA Freshman of the Year" for his achievements during his rookie year, including second place at the EIWA Conference Tournament. More recently, Yara has been busy on the international scene, taking bronze at the Belarussian Senior Nationals this spring. His steady improvement is inevitable due to the continuous training under the experienced Harvard coaching staff. Assistant Coach Jimmy Sheptock was a two-time All-American wrestler at 184 lbs. for the University of Maryland. Eventually, he coached another two-time All-American, heavyweight Youssif Hemida. Slavikouski will be a top EIWA competitor at the 285 lb weight class for the next few years. #4 - Ben Darmstadt (Cornell, 197) You can't talk about exciting wrestling and not mention Ben Darmstadt. In the 2019-2020 season, he recorded the second most falls in the nation at the D1 level. His 14 pins came in a total combined time of just under 24 minutes. Even with my limited math skills, I can tell you he puts dudes away, and he does it quickly. Darmstadt had a bizarre start to the 2019-2020 season, as he cut all the way down to the 184 weight class to start the year. Rumor has it that he had a nice Thanksgiving meal or two, because when he came back, he was back up to 197. After breezing through the conference bracket, he earned a four seed at the NCAA Tournament. With his long, lengthy body style, it really is a shame the tournament was cancelled. He would have been a very formidable matchup for anyone in the bracket. If his layoff year was spent in the weight room, adding some bulk, he will be even scarier to wrestle. #3 - Vito Arujau (125, Cornell) The Long Island native has not been in a postseason as a Cornell wrestler since March of 2019, when he placed fourth at the NCAA Championships. Vito outperformed his eighth seed, only losing to top-seeded Sebastian Rivera twice. Using his Olympic redshirt year in 2020, Vito has slowly climbed his way near the top of the U.S. freestyle chain. Last month, he finished as the runner-up at the Olympic Team Trials at 57 kgs. This is no easy task for a kid who is still in college. With his long list of accolades (in both freestyle and folkstyle), plus endless quality workout partners in Ithaca, expect Vito to battle it out for the EIWA crown in the years to come with the next guy on the list. #2 - Patrick Glory (125, Princeton) Glory had a fantastic, undefeated sophomore year up until the non-existent NCAA Championships. He was awarded the Ivy League Wrestler of the Year to conclude the 2020 season. The most recent Princeton wrestler to win the award, won it before Pat was even born. He is that type of talent for the Princeton team. After winning all 24 matches on the year, while claiming a Midlands and EIWA title, he was a Dan Hodge Award Finalist. Glory finished sixth as a freshman in 2019 to claim All-American honors. He can easily be a top-three guy in the nation, but it is a tall order to try and take out Spencer Lee of Iowa. Princeton is itching to compete again, which is understandable. They have been on the rise for a few years now. One would say that their prime "Glory" Days are just beginning… #1 - Yianni Diakomihalis (141, Cornell) This is the obvious answer. Everyone is already putting him in the Hodge Trophy running - the season is still six months out. Yianni was a past finalist for the award after winning his second NCAA title in 2019. On top of that, we all know the story of his incredible run as a freshman, winning the 141 lb. title on a torn ACL. You'll never hear him brag about it, though, because "Excuses are for wusses" - right Spencer Lee? More impressively, Yianni currently holds a 47-match win streak at the NCAA level. Diakomihalis also won the 2019 Ivy League and EIWA Wrestler of the Year awards. And if that's not enough, he was voted Outstanding Wrestler at the EIWA Championships. He has an argument of being considered one of the best pound-for-pound wrestlers in the world already at a young age, thanks to his win over the number one ranked wrestler in the world during an exhibition freestyle match in the summer of 2019. Because of this, many thought he was the favorite to represent the USA at the Olympics this coming summer at 65 kgs. Unfortunately, that tournament did not go his way. Yianni is staying positive and focusing on the future. This is what makes him special. What else can you say about Yianni? He does a little bit of everything and is so versatile with his style of wrestling. He's like a Greek version of the Swiss army knife when it comes to his wrestling abilities. Raise your hand if you are excited about the upcoming season. With the COVID-shortened season and Olympic redshirts now in the past, the EIWA is poised to have a considerable uptick in All-Americans. Ironically, the newest member (Long Island University) has not been in the conference long enough to see it at full strength. With their recent transition from the Division II level and being in the heart of New York state's best wrestling, they have a great opportunity to climb up the EIWA ladder in years to come. Lastly, as I mentioned previously, Jordan Burroughs will be moving to the Philadelphia area and begin his training with the Pennsylvania RTC. You can only imagine the impact he will have on the Penn and Drexel programs, which are already on the rise. The improvement of these types of programs only makes the EIWA stronger in the future. It's a great time to be a fan of EIWA wrestling!

Two-time U23 World Champion Reineri Andreu Ortega (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The past quad has seen a slew of brand new contenders emerge and a changing of the guard. New pound-for-pound talents asserted themselves to the forefront of the deepest weight classes in wrestling in the form of Zaurbek Sidakov, Gadzhimurad Rashidov, and Zavur Uguev at 74, 65, and 57 kilograms. Battle-tested veterans Kyle Dake and J'den Cox dominated with the emergence of the 79 and 92-kilogram weight classes starting in 2018. Abdulrashid Sadulaev and Geno Petriashvili showed unparalleled dominance, winning three straight world titles at 97 and 125 KG. Young contenders ascended to world gold in David Baev, Vazgen Tevanyan, Abasgadzhi Magomedov, and Takuto Otoguro. The past four years have seen a great slew of athletes have spectacular performances. But after every quad, the Olympics decides who is the true cream of the crop. To qualify for the Olympics, an athlete must be a top-six placer in the Olympic weights at the 2019 world championships (57,65,74,86,97,125) or make the finals at one of the four qualifiers held (World, Asian, European, and African & Oceania). To even qualify for the Olympics is a monumental task and in this article, we're going to see who were the best athletes not to qualify. 57 KG #10 Reineri Andreu Ortega (CUB)- 2x U-23 world champion (2017 & 2019), 2018 Pan-Am champion, 2018 world 5th. Reineri Andreu Ortega became a breakout star for Cuba after winning a loaded field that included #2 Suleyman Atli (TUR), world bronze medalist Andrey Yatsenko (UKR) and Junior world champion Daton Fix (USA) at the 2017 U-23 world championships. But the next three years of results would be rather tumultuous for the talented Cuban, winning his sole Pan-Am title in 2018 along with a bronze medal at the prestigious Ali Aliyev tournament and another U-23 world title in 2019. Over the span of 2018 to 2020, Andreu Ortega notched incredibly impressive wins over the likes of #11 Yuki Takahashi (JPN), Giorgi Edisherashvili (AZE), #19 Thomas Gilman (USA), Ramiz Gamzatov (RUS), #18 Afghan Khasalov (AZE), #14 Gulomjon Abdullaev (UZB), and #12 (61) Adlan Askarov (KAZ). But during the same period of time, Andreu Ortega had poor showings at the '18 and '19 World Cups going 2-5 in total, was upset at the '18 U-23 world championships by Wanhao Zou (CHN) and failed to capture Pan-Am gold in 2019 with losses to Josh Rodriguez (USA) and Daton Fix (USA) at the Pan-Am championships and Pan-Am Games. He also failed to qualify Cuba at the 2020 Pan-Am qualifier after losing to #19 Thomas Gilman (USA). Andreu Ortega's performance at the world qualifier saw him notch a decisive win over 2014 world bronze medalist Vladislav Andreev (BLR) on his way to their semis, where he would have his fourth match against #11 Yuki Takahashi (JPN). Takahashi led the series 2-1 with wins at the 2018 World Cup and World Championships. Andreu Ortega's lone victory came at the 2019 World Cup. Takahashi would add another win over the talented Cuban by way of a 2-0 decision and dash Andreu Ortega's chances of competing in Tokyo. 2018 61 KG world champion Yowlys Bonne Rodriguez took 5th for Cuba at the 2016 Olympics. Andreu Ortega beat Bonne Rodriguez 8-4 in January 2020 in a dual meet between Germania Weingarten and ASV Nendingen in the German Club League. Neither talent will be featured in the 57 KG in Tokyo as Cuba looks for answers. Giorgi Edisherashvili (AZE)- 3x European champion (2013, 2017, 2018), 2018 world representative. Edisherashvili has had a strong, if inconsistent history over the last four years competing for Azerbaijan after transferring from Georgia in 2016. A pair of European titles from 2017 and 2018 coupled with a world championships appearance in 2018 saw Edisherashvili notch impressive wins over the likes of #1 Zavur Uguev (RUS), #10 Reineri Andreu Ortega (CUB), #18 Afghan Khasalov (AZE), and #19 Thomas Gilman (USA). After Henri Deglane Grand Prix runner-up Islam Bazarganov failed to qualify Azerbaijan at the European qualifier, Edisherashvili was selected as the representative for the world qualifier. Edisherashvili was able to get strong wins over Otari Gogava, Muhammad Bilal, and Muhammad Ikromov but was downed in the semis by two-time world medalist #13 Bekhbayar Erdenebat of Mongolia 6-2. Andrey Yatsenko (UKR)- 2017 world bronze medalist, 2020 Individual World Cup bronze medalist, 2019 U-23 European champion A young talent that turned heads when at only 18 years old he made the finals of the Senior European championships, Andrey Yatsenko is a true veteran at only 23 years old. At his first Olympic qualifier in 2016, Yatsenko finished in fourth place behind Ivan Guidea, Mirjalal Hasanzade, and Sandeep Tomar. Yatsenko's premier achievement is his bronze medal at the 2017 World Championships where, after an opening-round loss to world silver medalist #19 Thomas Gilman (USA), he rebounded in the repechage bracket with wins over #12 Reza Atri (IRI), #15 Nodirjon Safarov (UZB) and 2014 Asian Games champion Hak Jin Jong (PRK). Yatsenko's red hot start to his career cooled off significantly from 2018-2020 as he was runner-up at the Tbilisi GP in 2018 to #2 Suleyman Atli (TUR), but was not selected to compete at the Senior European or World Championships that year as Armen Arakelian was the rep. 2019 saw Yatsenko return to prominence for Ukraine as he won the U-23 European championships over Russia's Amirkhan Guvazhokov. Yatsenko's return to the Senior World Championships would see him lose to 2018 Asian Games runner-up Kumsong Kang (PRK) in the Round of 32, 12-6. Yatsenko won his second world medal over Stevan Micic (SRB) in the bronze medal match of the 2020 Individual World Cup. Competing at the European qualifier, Yatsenko was tech falled in the semifinals by 2019 61 KG European champion Arsen Harutyunyan (ARM). Taking bronze by injury default over 2019 Dan Kolov champion Beka Bujiashvili (GEO), Yatsenko was replaced by Taras Markovych for the World qualifier, who was tech falled 14-0 in the round of 16 by #13 Bekhbayar Erdenebat (MGL). 65 KG #10 Ilyas Bekbulatov (UZB)- 2015 Russian National champion, 4x Yarygin champion ('13,'15,'17,'18), 2017 European champion, 2020 70 KG Asian champion Ilyas Bekbulatov has a resume that boasts top finishes at elite tournaments and wins over world-class competition that rival that of World and Olympic champions. Four Yarygin titles, a 2015 Russian Nationals title, a 2017 European title, a 2020 70 KG Asian championship. Wins over #4 (74) Frank Chamizo (ITA), #7 (74) Khetik Tsabolov (SRB), #9 (74) Magomed Kurbanaliev (RUS), #5 Haji Aliyev (AZE), #11 David Baev (RUS), #13 Akhmed Chakaev (RUS), #14 Naachyn Kuular (RUS), 2016 Olympic champion Soslan Ramonov (RUS). But the one thing that has evaded Bekbulatov his entire career has been making a World or Olympic team. A loss at the 2015 European Games to Togrul Asgarov (AZE) made the Russian coaches replace him at world's with Soslan Ramonov. Injuries in 2016 and 2017, plus another right before the 2018 Russian Nationals sidelined him. Bekbulatov then failed to compete at the Ziolkowski against #13 Akhmed Chakaev (RUS) to qualify for the world team spot. Next was a shocking upset loss in 2019 at nationals to eventual bronze medalist Julian Gergenov (RUS). He then transferred to Uzbekistan and won an Asian championships title in 2020, but the Olympics are postponed for another year and Ilyas still had to qualify. A year has passed and Ilyas Bekbulatov makes the semifinals of the Asian qualifier opposite International Ukrainian Tournament runner-up Ernazar Akhmataliev of Kyrgyzstan. Leading 8-0 and about to seal the tech fall win and punch his ticket to Tokyo, a shot fake from Bekbulatov was countered with a powerful underhook whipover by Akhmataliev and Bekbulatov fighting through it gets in on an attack trying to regain momentum and leaves himself open and gets chin whipped. As Akhmataliev readjusted his position and Bekbulatov fought from the bottom, clinging onto his chance to make the Olympics, but the referee called the pin. An elated Akhmataliev rushes over to his coaches in pure ecstasy while Bekbulatov laid flat on his back on the mat in disbelief. Slated to compete at the World qualifier, Bekbulatov failed to make weight and for the sixth year in a row, as a heavy favorite to qualify and medal, he came up short on making a team. Vladimer Khinchegashvili (GEO)- 2012 55 KG Olympic runner-up, 2015 57 KG world champion, 2016 57 KG world champion, 3x European champion ('14,'16,'17), 2017 61 KG world bronze. Vladimer Khinchegashvili has been one of the icons of the lightweight classes since his Senior-level career began in 2010 at 18 years old. Khinchegashvili boasts back-to-back World/Olympic titles in 2015 and 2016, five World/Olympic medals from 2012-2017, three European titles in 2014, 2016, and 2017 and a pair of Junior world titles in 2010 and 2011. Elite wins over the likes #1 Gadzhimurad Rashidov (RUS), #2 (57) Suleyman Atli (TUR), #5 Haji Aliyev (AZE), #5 (61) Akhmednabi Gvarzatilov (AZE), #9 (57) Rei Higuchi (JPN), #13 Akhmed Chakaev (RUS), 3x European champion Cengizhan Erdogan (TUR) and 2016 world champion Logan Stieber (USA). Khinchegashvili is a true veteran at 30 years old and has been through three quads and faced the best talent across 57, 61, and 65 KG. Although he is in the twilight years of his exceptional career, Khinchegashvili is still a threat and came so close to making his third straight Olympics at the European qualifier. Facing off against 2020 Individual World Cup champion #2 Vazgen Tevanyan of Armenia, Khinchegashvili came back from an early deficit to tighten the score but fell 6-4 to Tevanyan. Khinchegashvili was replaced by Beka Lomtadze for the World qualifier because of a positive COVID-19 test and it will be interesting to see what lies next for the Georgian legend and if he prepares for another quad or calls it on a historic career. #16 Jordan Oliver (USA)- 2019 Dan Kolov runner-up, 2020 Matteo Pellicone runner-up, 2021 Olympic Trials champion The heir apparent to domestic kingpin Brent Metcalf from 2012-2016, #16 Jordan Oliver has always been an athlete wrestling fans have seen as someone with the potential to break through and be a serious World/Olympic medal contender. Even though he had never made a World/Olympic team, Oliver had the wins to prove he could compete with and beat the best in the world with victories over Brent Metcalf (USA), #17 Joey McKenna (USA), #18 Nick Lee (USA), #19 Zain Retherford (USA), #20 Yianni Diakomihalis (USA), 2016 65 KG Olympic runner-up Togrul Asgarov (AZE) and two-time world medalist Bekzod Abdurakhmanov (UZB). In winning the Olympic trials over #17 Joey McKenna (USA), #16 Jordan Oliver was finally able to make his Senior world team and get the chance to qualify the United States for the Olympic Games. Competing at the World qualifier, Oliver made the semis opposite two-time World medalist #15 Magomedmurad Gadzhiev (POL), a strategic and defensively stingy wrestler renowned for slowing down matches. Gadzhiev would take early control of the bout, holding the center of the mat and scoring two pushouts to take a 2-0 lead. Gadzhiev was able to stalemate Oliver's offense going into the second period and earn a passivity point to go up 3-0 on Oliver. With a minute left, Oliver pulled the trigger on his offense and cut the score to 3-2. But a late charge from Oliver was held off by a rock-solid Gadzhiev and Oliver lost 3-2. What the future holds for Jordan Oliver is yet to be seen, but wrestling better than ever, Oliver should be considered a strong contender to medal at the Non-Olympic world championships this year if he chooses to compete at them. 74 KG #3 Taimuraz Salkazanov (SVK)- 2018 70 KG U-23 world champion, 2019 79 KG world bronze medalist, 2020 Individual World Cup bronze medalist, 2021 European champion Since his first breakthrough win at the 2017 70 KG Miner's Cup tournament over #2 (70) Evgheni Zherbaev (RUS), #3 Taimuraz Salkazanov (SVK) has been a premier middleweight talent. But while he had the resume of a top 5 talent at 70 KG, with wins over #2 (70) Evgheni Zherbaev (RUS), 2019 70 KG world champ #11 (65) David Baev (RUS) and 2019 world bronze medalist Younes Emami (IRI), he didn't really have a huge namesake tournament or big win at 74 KG. After a disappointing finish earlier this year at the European qualifier where he was pinned in his second-round match by #17 Alipasha Umarpashaev (BUL), Salkazanov was slated to compete in a loaded field at the European championships against the likes of two-time world champion Frank Chamizo (ITA), 2020 Individual World Cup champion Razambek Zhamalov (RUS), 2018 world runner-up Avtandil Kentchadze (GEO) and 2020 Russian Nationals runner-up Khetag Tsabolov (SRB). Salkazanov showed he was the bad draw as the North Ossetian put together the best tournament of his life, beating Daniel Sartakov, #5 Frank Chamizo, #10 Avtandil Kentchadze (GEO), #2 Razambek Zhamalov (RUS) and Miroslav Kirov (BUL), to go from unranked to #3 in the world. Fresh off the momentum of his success at the European championships, Salkazanov was the hottest commodity in the world at 74 KG and a legitimate threat to win gold in Tokyo; all he had to do was qualify. But so did #18 Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov (BLR) and as fate (random draw) would have it, they would meet in the semifinals. Kadimagomedov had looked in fine form throughout the tournament, beating two-time World/Olympic medalist Soner Demirtas (TUR) 8-4 in the quarterfinals after Demirtas had upset #7 Khetag Tsabolov (SRB) 8-3 in the round of 16. Kadimagomedov had impressive wins in the past, as expected of someone with a 2017 70 KG Russian Nationals title to his name. Wins over the likes of #1 Zaurbek Sidakov (RUS), #7 Khetik Tsabolov (SRB), #10 Timur Bizhoev (RUS), #11 Magomedrasul Gazimagomedov (RUS) and #5 (86) Magomed Ramazanov (RUS). Kadimagomedov excels on the counter and thrives against athletes who try to wear out their opponents in ties. There was no better example of this than his absolute shellacking of then top-ranked #5 (86) Magomed Ramazanov (RUS) in the 2020 79 KG European championships. Kadimagomedov ducked Ramazanov twice, exposed him twice and iced the match off with a go behind to win 10-3. That match against Ramazanov was an omen of things to come in his match against Taimuraz Salkazanov. Salkazanov would hold a 1-0 lead going through most of the first period until, with a minute left, Kadimagomedov got in on a low single. Kadimagomedov was patient in coming out the back door and fighting against the athleticism of Salkazanov and finished to go up 2-1 to end the period. In the second period, Kadimagomedov began to time the pressure of Salkazanov's shallow underhooks he uses to control the positioning of his opponent. Kadimagomedov took one of Salkazanov's biggest weapons and used it against him, timing an overhook throwby to go up 4-1. Salkazanov down 4-1 with under 2 minutes to go against a defensively crafty opponent in Kadimagomedov rushed into a double leg and Kadimagomedov showcasing freakish athleticism adjusted from being sat on his butt, to controlling Salkazanov with a chest wrap on one leg, to taking Salkazanov through for four. Another overhook throwby chained into an underhook throwby by Kadimagomedov put him up 10-3 on Salkazanov. A final overhook throwby cemented the 12-3 win for Kadimagomedov as he dismantled Salkazanov to qualify for the Olympics. Salkazanov failing to qualify for the Olympics doesn't mean that his days as an elite medal contender are over. He's the man to beat come time for the Non-Olympic world championships in October, potentially against the likes of #5 Razambek Zhamalov (RUS). #7 Khetik Tsabolov (SRB) and #8 Jordan Burroughs (USA). #7 Khetik Tsabolov (SRB)- 2014 70 KG world champion, 2017 world runner-up, 2x Russian Nationals champion ('14 & '17), 3x Russian Nationals runner-up ('18,'19,'20). When news of Khetag Tsabolov's transfer to Serbia broke through earlier this year, the international wrestling community was put on alert. Tsabolov had just come off an exceptional run at Russian Nationals where he had upset returning two-time world champion #1 Zaurbek Sidakov (RUS) and avenged his 2019 National finals loss to #9 Magomed Kurbanaliev (RUS) to make his fifth Russian Nationals finals, falling 5-1 to #5 Razambek Zhamalov (RUS) for his third straight runner-up finish. It was clear that while Tsabolov was a clear World/Olympic title threat, he would not have the chance to win them being the consensus number two in Russia. Tsabolov's debut at the European championships donning the Serbian singlet would be against 2018 world runner-up Avtandil Kentchadze (GEO). Kentchadze's aggression and leg attacks won him an 8-1 lead over a flat-footed Tsabolov halfway through the second. Tsabolov retaliated with a head outside single and two laces to cut the score to 8-7 and look to secure the comeback. A late go behind off a duck attempt from Tsabolov secured Kentchadze the 10-7 win and Kentchadze's quarterfinal loss to #3 Taimuraz Salkazanov (SVK) eliminated Tsabolov from competition. Tsabolov's performance at the World qualifier started out strong with an 11-0 tech fall win over Nestor Taffur (COL). The Round of 16 saw Tsabolov matched up against two-time World/Olympic medalist Soner Demirtas (TUR), who he had teched in 2017 at the world championships. Tsabolov had a strong 3-0 lead at the end of the first, but wilted under the pressure of Demirtas in the second period to fall 8-3 and fail to qualify for the Olympics. Tsabolov's chances at a third world medal and a second gold aren't completely dashed. Tsabolov, along with #3 Taimuraz Salkazanov (SVK), #5 Razambek Zhamalov (RUS) and #8 Jordan Burroughs (USA), all will have the ability to get a second chance to take home hardware at the Non-Olympic world championships in October. Arsalan Budazhapov (KGZ)- 2020 79 KG Asian champion, 2x President Cup of Buryatia champion (2018 & 2019), 2x Kunaev champion (2016 & 2018), 3x Mongolia Open champion (2015, 2018 & 2019) The true definition of a hidden gem while competing for Russia, Arsalan Budazhapov consistently ranked as one of the toughest Russian domestic hammers that could challenge and take out the best his country had to offer. When he transferred to compete for Kyrgyzstan in 2020, Budazhapov was one of the guys I had my eyes on as a dark horse contender at the Worlds and Olympics. Domestically, Budazhapov boasted wins over the likes of #1 (70) Israil Kasumov (RUS), #2 (70) Evgheni Zherbaev (RUS), #7 Khetik Tsabolov (SRB) and #11 Magomedrasul Gazimagomedov (RUS). Internationally, Budazhapov's best wins are over the likes of multiple-time world medalists #14 (86) Ali Shabanov (BLR) and Mandakhnaran Ganzorig (MGL). Starting 2021 off at the International Ukrainian Tournament in February, Budazhapov failed to place due to losses to Soner Demirtas (TUR) and Arman Andreasyan (ARM). But the Budazhapov that would compete at the World qualifier would showcase what had made him one of Russia's best-kept secrets. Falling in his opening round match 5-1 to eventual champion #18 Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov (BLR), Budazhapov was pulled into repechage and faced off against Soner Demirtas (TUR), who had beaten him in February and was fresh off an upset win over #7 Khetik Tsabolov (SRB) Budazhapov looked in exceptional form throughout the bout, scoring a double leg late in the first period to take a 2-1 lead going into the second. Demirtas' pressure was successful for him early in the second period, converting off an underhook throwby to lead 3-2 with 2 minutes left in the match. A counter to an overeager Demirtas go-behind scored Budazhapov the 4-3 lead with less than a minute left. A double leg for a stepout put Budazhapov up 5-3 with 30 seconds left. With less than 10 seconds left in the match, Budazhapov iced his win with another double to move onto the bronze medal match against #3 Taimuraz Salkazanov (SVK) off a 7-3 decision. Against a controlling third-ranked Taimuraz Salkazanov (SVK), Budazhapov was able to get off consistent offense and fell 5-2 to the European champion to finish 5th. Budazhapov is still young enough to make another quad at only 27 years old and given more time to matriculate competing for a rising Kyrgyzstan team; I can see him rounding out to become a legitimate world medal threat in the upcoming years.

Boo Lewallen at the 2021 NCAA Championships (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) When the #FantasyCollegeWrestling season comes to an end, it's usual to feel like you need a break. I get it; even WE took a little time for some needed R&R (fear not, though, the FCW Podcast returns later this month!). The amount of work and game planning is exponentially higher than Fantasy Football or other sports. There is not much to do other than research in the off-season. But just like we say in training, it's what you do when others are not looking that separates you from the pack. We are left with a lot of raw data that needs to be filtered and sorted. The off-season is devoted to not only recording and organizing that data, but grouping, interpreting, and utilizing that data to forecast and strategize for the upcoming season. Sometimes the best way to prepare for the future is to look back on the past season and who is returning or names/data to remember come week 12 when you are struggling to find that 174 starter. Usually, you have names like Spencer Lee, Shane Griffith, Aaron Brooks, and Tony Cassioppi that you think of to bring you success. Together this season, they combined for 84 Fantasy Points (Fpts). Well, let me throw a couple other names at you: Codi Russell, Will Formato, Brit Wilson, and Michael McAleavey. This group totaled 185 Fpts this season. As I say every year, that's the beauty and frustration of Fantasy Sports. Sometimes your top performers are not "household names." Now, this year was definitely an "asterisk" type of year as there will be quite a few instances of skewing in one way or another (see the co-Hodge announcement). In past seasons, we have stressed that match count is not always a determining factor in actual or in Fantasy Wrestling success, but this year was different. Some teams were hit with COVID precautions or wrestlers actually got COVID making an imbalance of matches wrestled between wrestlers/teams larger than in years past and causing some big names to not make the Top 20 of their respective weights. To compile these lists, we used WrestleStat Fantasy College Wrestling data. Just a reminder of how points were tallied in WrestleStat Leagues: 1) The scoring used was Standard Team Scoring across all competitions (+3 for a win by decision, -4 for a loss by Major, etc) 2) Scoring only counted against D1 competition 3) Wins via Forfeits (FFT) would count as +6 towards a wrestler's point total 4) Wins or Losses by Medical Forfeit (MFF) did not count as + or - towards a wrestler's point total 5) Points were only accumulated during the regular season Here are the previous #FCW 2021 Season weight class Top-20 Lists: 125: Codi Russell (Appalachian State) 133: Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) 141: Clay Carlson (South Dakota State) Notes: Your 2021 national champion, Austin O'Connor, comes in as the #9 Fantasy Wrestler this season with five of his six regular-season matches won by bonus (three majors and two pins). Surprisingly, that is six spots lower than his 2020 Fantasy standing, where he was #3. On the flipside, Appalachian State's only All-American was again a fantasy superstar. In 2020, he was the #4 Fantasy Wrestler; this season, he slots in one notch better at #3. Boo Lewallen and Brock Mauller both wrestled 13 matches this season, tied for most among Top-20 wrestlers at 149, and were separated by only four points ending as #1 and #2, respectively. Mauller only had three bonus-point wins of his 13 victories (all three by major), so it's safe to say that there were points left on the table for Mauller to get the top spot. Of the four non-starters to make this list, Hunter Lewis put together a Spencer-Lee-esque run, pinning six of his seven opponents to be the #6 Fantasy Wrestler. In fact, he could have been much higher still as his lone loss was by major, meaning if he had somehow won that match, it would have been a 7 point swing putting him at 39 Fpts and #4. But then again, that's why they wrestle the matches. Regardless of whether Kyle Parco was at 141 or 149, he was a Top-10 Fantasy Wrestler at both weights. Even though he wrestled only one regular-season match at 149, he is part of this weight as this was his entry weight for the national tournament. Bryce Andonian sits at #10, just like he did in 2020. If he finishes the 2022 at the #10 spot again, I will officially nickname him "Mr. Consistent." Who Missed The Cut: Just barely missing the cut was last season's #8, Andrew Alirez. Due to injury, Alirez was only able to get in four matches, three of them being in the first eight days of the season and the last one being almost a month and a half later. Two of the eight All Americans fell short of breaking into the Top-20, Yahya Thomas (#33 with 14 Fpts) and Jaden Abas (#42 with 10 Fpts). Other notables to miss the Top-20 include Ridge Lovett (#22 with 19 Fpts), Josh Heil (#32 with 14 Fpts), Max Murin (#51 with 8 Fpts, in large part to his loss by pin to Sasso), Kanen Storr (#64 with 6 Fpts), and Josh Finesilver (#96 with 0 Fpts).

From left Alex Facundo, Drake Ayala, Paddy Gallagher, Richie Figueroa (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) The 2021 recruiting class rankings were as difficult as any I've ever done. No one team jumped out from the pack and solidified themselves as the no-brainer pick. Conversely, there were four or five programs that could make a legitimate claim for the top spot. To take a peek behind the curtain, these rankings were modified after the news broke regarding Max Dean's transfer to Penn State, Monday evening. Recruiting rankings mark the end of the respective class and put a bow on the hard work of coaching staffs around the nation. The question you ask is, how are these rankings tabulated? First, we have used the big board rankings courtesy of our sister-site Matscouts. Willie Saylor has taken the arduous task of projecting the top-300 wrestlers in the Class of 2021, making calculating these rankings slightly easier. Some of the factors that are taken into account when putting these rankings together include: - Numbers: Where were the signees ranked? How many top-ten, top-50, top-100, top-250, etc., does a school have? - Fit: After years of following these programs and their coaching staffs, does a particular recruit fit the "type" of kid that has success at their respective team. Or maybe a style of wrestling. - Filling a need: In years past, I have weighed this very heavily. Signing two highly ranked 184 lb prospects doesn't appear to fit a need when you have a stud junior returning at the same weight. However, after coming off a "free year" in 2021, that throws a loop into everything. Many coaches got commitments from the Class of 2021 before the "free year" was announced. There will be plenty of hard decisions for coaches in 2022-23 and beyond due to this "free year." Because of this, the "filling a need" criteria were not judged very harshly, except in a few instances. - Impact on a program: This is subjective, but tends to favor teams that aren't consistent NCAA trophy contenders. If Iowa or Penn State sign the #80 overall recruit and he turns out to AA twice, taking seventh and eighth for them, it has a particular impact. But if Maryland or North Dakota State sign the same prospect and he has the same career, it will have a much more significant impact on those two programs. Both Maryland and North Dakota State may have benefitted from this criteria in 2021. So, with that out of the way, enjoy InterMat's 2021 Team Recruiting Rankings. 1) Penn State 2021 Class: #2 Alex Facundo - Davison, MI (174/184); #5 Shayne Van Ness - Blair Academy, NJ (141/149); #55 Gary Steen - Reynolds, PA (125); #76 Lucas Cochran - Box Elder, UT (184); Jack Kelly - Rumson-Fair Haven, NJ (197) Transfer: Max Dean - Cornell (184/197) Getting two of the best five wrestlers in this class is almost enough to propel Cael Sanderson's team all the way to the number one spot. Two-time Cadet World bronze medalist, Alex Facundo, is arguably the top senior in the nation and should thrive in a room that includes Carter Starocci and Aaron Brooks, along with the staff and RTC members. While Facundo's projected weights aren't exactly a pressing need, the Nittany Lion staff will find a way to get Starocci/Brooks/Facundo into the lineup in some form or fashion. On the other hand, Shayne Van Ness fills a void at either 141 or 149, as NCAA champion Nick Lee only has a year of eligibility remaining. Gary Steen initially committed to Pittsburgh, but has since flipped to Penn State. The two-time state champion will chip in at a weight that has been difficult to fill for PSU. While Robbie Howard did well, as a true freshman, he may move up to 133 at some point. Both Lucas Cochran and Jack Kelly are relatively unheralded upperweights that could jump levels once in the Penn State room. Late addition, Max Dean helps nudge the Nittany Lions past Arizona State. It remains to be seen how Dean will fit into Penn State's lineup. It's hard to picture Dean unseating the undefeated national champion Brooks at 184. Freshman All-American Michael Beard is also in the picture at 197 lbs. Dean's older brother Gabe stated that 197 may be where Max goes. 2) Arizona State 2021 Class: #3 Richard Figueroa - Selma, CA (125); #13 Cael Valencia - St. John Bosco, CA (174/184); #60 Mykey Ramos - Gilbert, AZ (141/149); #88 Carter Dibert - Franklin Regional, PA (133); #146 Max Wilner - Fountain Valley, CA (174/184); Caleb O'Hara - East Anchorage, AK (125); Jaren Powell - Liberty Christian, TX (141/149) Transfer: Kyle Parco - Fresno State (141/149) Arizona State gets second place after signing two of the top 15 recruits in the nation and reeling in an All-American transfer. Richard Figueroa is the top lightweight in the class and could be the elusive career 125 lber. The cancelation of the 2021 CIF State Tournament denied Figueroa the opportunity to become a four-time state champion. Also from California is Cael Valencia, the younger brother of Sun Devil All-Americans, Anthony and Zahid. The younger Valencia has looked like perhaps the best wrestler in this class when he's at his best. He was a Super 32 champion before his junior year. Mykey Ramos was an important in-state pickup. Ramos made the 16U Fargo freestyle finals in 2019 and was sixth at the Super 32 last fall. The boost that really made things interesting for the top spot was the signing of Kyle Parco, the NCAA sixth-place finisher at 149 lbs in March. Parco will have four more years of eligibility and will bolster the middleweights for Zeke Jones. Carter Dibert and Max Wilner are both multiple-time placers from power states. 3) Cornell 2021 Class: #26 Brett Ungar - Notre Dame-Green Pond, PA (125); #46 Ryan Sokol - Simley, MN (157); #50 Vince Cornella - Monarch, CO (133), #61 Cooper Kropman - Penfield, NY (165); #82 Nico Provo - Green Farms Academy, CT (125); #147 Justin Mayes - Bellevue, OH (174/184); #167 Christian Hansen - Cold Spring Harbor, NY (174); #199 Luke Duthie - Wyoming Seminary, PA (197); #275 Evan Canoyer - Waverly, NE (184); #294 Ethan Fernandez - Westwood, NJ (141); Peyton Craft - Blair Academy, NJ (197) Our first two teams signed relatively modest classes, in terms of numbers, but no one in the country can compete with the sheer numbers that Cornell can boast with the Class of 2021. The Big Red is the only program with ten big boarder's coming in and that doesn't include a post-graduate that was highly ranked for most of his career. The headliner is Brett Ungar, whose stock has risen sharply as a senior. Ungar emerged victorious in a stacked Pennsylvania AA state bracket, then went on to upend Richard Figueroa at the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic. Aside from Ungar, Nico Provo and Vince Cornella will come into a Cornell room that's already full of talented lightweights. Ryan Sokol is a former Cadet World team member who has been highly regarded throughout the high school career. The top-50 recruit leads the large group of potential middleweight signees. Blair Academy's Peyton Craft is the biggest name among the upperweights. Craft was a postgrad and unable to compete at National Preps for Blair in 2021, but he has been top-three at the Beast of the East and Walsh Ironman. Ultimately, with Rob Koll's history of excellent recruiting and this giant class, there will be plenty of wrestlers that miss from this class. However, it's large enough and talented enough where there should be a handful that have highly productive DI competitors. 4) Iowa 2021 Class: #4 Drake Ayala - Fort Dodge, IA (125); #16 Wyatt Henson - Waynesburg, PA (141/149); #49 Caleb Rathjen - Ankeny, IA (149/157); Will Carano - Putnam Valley, NY (157); Cam Lucero - Pagosa Springs, CO (165); Sebastian Robles - Sunnyside, AZ (157) Transfer: Brennan Swafford - Graceland (174) While 90% of Iowa's NCAA Championship-winning lineup at the 2021 tournament consisted of out-of-state wrestlers, Tom Brands' team still was able to nab the biggest in-state get in a decade with Drake Ayala. Drake's skillset and makeup seem to be a perfect match for the Hawkeyes. The two-time Fargo freestyle champ stayed up a weight in the postseason to avenge his only loss of the year. In addition, Iowa also got four-time Iowa state finalist and top-50 recruit Caleb Rathjen. The other big catch for the Hawkeyes was the signing of two-time Pennsylvania champion Wyatt Henson. Throughout his high school career, Henson has been competitive in older age groups. Recently he was seventh at the US Open with a win over 2021 All-American Chris Cannon. With only a year of eligibility remaining for NCAA runner-up Michael Kemerer, Graceland transfer Brennan Swafford could end up being his replacement. Swafford was a two-time NAIA champion and is an intriguing prospect. 5) NC State 2021 Class: #23 Joey Milano - Spring-Ford, PA (184); #30 Stevo Poulin - Shenendehowa, NY (125); #32 Derek Fields - Brunswick, OH (165); #42 Jake Null - Dolgeville, NY (184); #99 Skylar Smith - Liberty Christian Academy, TX (141); #134 Brock DelSignore - South Glens Falls, NY (184); #291 Brant Whitaker - Father Tolton, MO (165); #297 James Joplin - NW Guilford, NC (125/133); Holden Cypher - Millbrook, NC (197/285) This large recruiting class appeared to be essential as the Wolfpack had five redshirt seniors starting in 2020-21. With the free year in 2021 and four of those starters set to return, this class probably will not be pressed into duty. Once again, Pat Popolizio's staff ventured into his home state and returned with three top-150 recruits. Most notably is Stevo Poulin, who could take over for 2020 ACC champion Jakob Camacho, whenever he moves up. Poulin has titles from the Beast, the Reno Tournament of Champions and the Super 32 to his name. Jake Null and Brock DelSignore are the other two New Yorkers and both can assist at the upperweights. The highest-ranked of the bunch, Joey Milano, was a big riser over the past year. Milano was fourth in Pennsylvania as a sophomore and junior, before finishing his career on top. #32 Derek Fields recently was fifth at UWW Junior's and defeated a handful of credible collegiate wrestlers along the way. He's always held a proclivity towards freestyle as he was a Cadet WTT's runner-up in 2019. 6) Oklahoma State 2021 Class: #14 Victor Voinovich - Brecksville, OH (149/157); #21 Travis Mastrogiovanni - Blair Academy, NJ (157); #37 Kyle Haas - Maize, KS (197/285); #142 Teague Travis - Stillwater, OK (141/149); #186 Cooper Birdwell - Fergus, MT (133); #210 Talmadge Carman - Herriman, UT (197); #214 Luke Mechler - Stoughton, WI (157/165); Cade Nicholas - Perry, OK (133); Blake Skidgel - Pawnee, OK (165) Last year's recruiting champions, Oklahoma State, come in at a very respectable sixth place this year. Two of their notable recruits, Travis Mastrogiovanni and Kyle Haas, did not compete at the high school level, which certainly could have hindered their overall rankings. Both have family connections in the program. Mastrogiovanni's older brother Trevor was a national qualifier, as a true freshman, in 2021. Haas is the younger brother of Cowboy recruiting coordinator, Tyler Caldwell. He was a winner in both styles at the 2019 Cadet World Team Trials. If Haas can put on some more size, he may be the long-term answer for OSU at 285 lbs. Caldwell's top-ranked signee from the Class of 2021 is Ohio's, Victor Voinovich. Victor was a Fargo finalist in freestyle as both a Cadet and Junior. Missouri native Teague Travis committed early to OSU and moved to Stillwater for his senior year. He captured three titles in Missouri before adding a fourth in Oklahoma. Strong recruiting over the past couple of years has Oklahoma State in a position where they are not in desperate need of fixes, anywhere in the lineup. The remainder of the class should be given time to develop and a few could emerge as starters. 7) Minnesota 2021 Class: #22 Bennett Tabor - Simley, MN (285); #47 Tagen Jamison - Plano West, TX (149); #65 Blaine Brenner - Stanley Boyd, WI (133); #67 Drew Roberts - Coeur d'Alene, ID (157); #92 Vance Vombaur - Windsor, CO (141); #117 Jager Eisch - Kaukauna, WI (141); #153 Gabe Nagel - Little Falls, MN (174); #229 Mason Gehloff - Waseca, MN (125) Transfer: Jared Krattiger - Wisconsin (174) One of the hallmarks of Minnesota recruiting has long been the ability to keep their best at home. That tradition continues as the top state's top senior, Bennett Tabor, inked with the home team. Tabor appears to be a suitable replacement for Gable Steveson, whenever that day comes. He was a Super 32 champion last fall and was fourth in 2019. While no one can duplicate the feats of the 2021 Hodge Trophy winner, Tabor has proven to be quite a pinner. Most of the recruiting efforts in the Class of 2021 have been directed at bolstering the Gopher's first three weights. Minnesota's starter at 133, Boo Dryden, will be a senior next year, so a long-term answer will be needed. Wisconsin champions Blaine Brenner and Jager Eisch could eventually take over. One of Minnesota's overlooked signees, Tagen Jamison, was fifth at UWW Junior's with a win over past Junior World Team member Joshua Saunders. Two-time Fargo placer Drew Roberts is the son of former Gopher assistant Kevin Roberts. He, along with Jamison, will add depth to the middleweights. Finally, though he did not qualify for the NCAA Championships, Wisconsin transfer Jared Krattiger does own a win over Minnesota's incumbent at 174 lbs, Jake Allar. 8) Maryland 2021 Class: #36 Jaxon Smith - Woodland Cartersville, GA (197); #43 Ethen Miller - Park Hill, MO (149); #53 Adrien Cramer - Grayslake Central, IL (184); #70 Braxton Brown - Allen, TX (125/133); #269 Gaven Bell - Cold Spring Harbor, NY (184); Sam O'Brian - Damascus, MD (285); Kevin Schork - St. Christopher's, VA (165); Nasir Wilkinson - Bullis School, MD (125); Clement Woods - Mt. St. Joseph, MD (141) The teams that own the 1-7 rankings are among the usual suspects in recruiting rankings. #8 Maryland has not been one of the annual recruiting superpowers. Third-year head coach Alex Clemsen will be well-served by this bunch as he looks to get his program more competitive against the national bluebloods. Top recruit, Jaxon Smith, is fresh off a fourth-place showing at UWW Juniors while competing at 86 kg. Smith was a three-time champion in Georgia and is a past fourth-place finisher at the Super 32. The Terps were the beneficiary as Ethen Miller flipped from his home state, Missouri, to Maryland. In 2019, Miller was a finalist at NHSCA Sophomores, Junior Freestyle, and the Ironman. Four-time Texas champion Braxton Brown could come in immediately and make an impact at 125. While Maryland isn't overflowing with talent at the high school level, Clemson's staff did a commendable job identifying and signing some of the best in-state products. 9) Ohio State 2021 Class: #1 Paddy Gallagher - St. Edward, OH (157); #40 Andre Gonzales - Poway, CA (125); #218 Bryer Hall - East Central, IN (165/174); #247 Chase Liardi - Massapequa, NY (125) Transfer: Will Betancourt - Lock Haven (133) It can be challenging to place the team that signs the top recruit in a particular class, especially when that team has a small group like Ohio State. The Buckeyes break into the top-ten primarily based on the back of Paddy Gallagher. Paddy is a big, physical 157 lber that should step into the OSU lineup in year one and be competitive with the brutal Big Ten schedule and nationally. Gallagher was Junior National freestyle champion in 2019, prior to his junior year. The Buckeyes also have a pair of lightweights set to take over for 125 lber Malik Heinselman in California state champ Andre Gonzales and New York finalist Chase Liardi. Provided Gallagher and Carson Kharchla stay at 157/165, there is no long-term solution at 174 on the roster. Late pickup, Bryer Hall, an Indiana state champion, could fill that void. Speaking of filling in, Lock Haven transfer Will Bentancourt could be asked to step in at 133 right away. The 2020 Pennsylvania state champion did not compete last season for Lock Haven. 10) Northwestern 2021 Class: #11 Carter Young - Stillwater, OK (133/141); #12 Joel Vandervere - Warren, IL (149); #200 Evan Bates - Chesterton, IN (285); Sammy Hayes - Carl Sandburg, IL (125) It's another extremely small, but talented class rounding out the top ten as Northwestern gets the nod mainly on the strength of the #11 and #12 overall recruits. Carter Young's stock rose significantly during his senior season, culminating in a runner-up finish at UWW Junior's. Young was a three-time Oklahoma champion who made the Cadet finals in Fargo in both styles back in 2017. Joel Vandervere ascended to the top spot in the national rankings after coming out on top in a brutal Super 32 weight class in 2019. He participated in a three-man bracket at Who's #1 last fall and fell in sudden victory. Retaining the Illinois-native Vandervere was huge for the Wildcats and head coach Matt Storniolo. Indiana state champ Evan Bates could develop into a fixture at 285 for Northwestern. Bates was a surprise 16U national finalist in 2019 and was ranked highly for the bulk for the last two years. 11) Oklahoma 2021 Class: #9 Alejandro Herrera Rondon - Seneca Valley, PA (157); #19 Tate Picklo - Mustang, OK (197); #118 Jared Hill - Broken Arrow, OK (149/157); #219 Ryder Wiese - Blanchard, OK (285); Cole Ferguson - Waukee, IA (141) Transfer: Joey Prata - Virginia Tech (125) A pair of top-20 recruits bolster the Sooners and their #11 overall ranking. Alejandro Herrera-Rondon is a three-time Pennsylvania state champ that earned a win over Oklahoma State recruit Victor Voinovich at the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic. Herrera-Rondon is already an elite wrestler from the top position and should help him find early success at the collegiate level. Tate Picklo entered the Oklahoma state tournament as the top-ranked 195 lber in the nation. He could not claim his third state crown due to a knee injury that forced him to default. With All-American Jake Woodley returning, Picklo will get sufficient time to heal and step in when needed. Two-time state runner-up Jared Hill will lend depth to the middleweights that are currently inhabited by upperclassmen. Speaking of veterans, the Sooners are set to land one from Virginia Tech in Joey Prata. Prata was a 2020 national qualifier squeezed out of the lineup after the emergence of freshman All-American Sam Latona. He won all five of his 2021 matches, including one over national qualifier Zurich Storm (Campbell). 12) South Dakota State 2021 Class: #14 Alek Martin - Graham, OH (149); #59 Derrick Cardinal - Forest Lake, MN (141); #71 Cael Swensen - Wayzata, MN (157); #97 Roman Rogotzke - Stillwater, MN (197); #224 Isaac Klinkhammer - Brandon Valley, SD (174); #265 Connor Gaynor - Mt. Carmel, IL (149); Sam Kruger - Winner, SD (174); Kalen Meyer - Rock Rapids, IA (184); Ethan Richner - Bellefonte, PA (165); Bailey Roybal - Waverly-Shell Rock, IA (125) Transfer: AJ Nevills - Fresno State (285) What a performance on the recruiting trail by the Jackrabbit coaching staff. The SDSU staff dipped back into the Graham program in Ohio to sign top-recruit Alek Martin. Before winning his second Ohio state title, Martin was victorious at the 2020 Super 32. He previously was third in 2019. As has been the case recently, SDSU has been successful recruiting in Minnesota. They nabbed three top-100 recruits from their neighbors to the east. The trio of Derrick Cardinal, Cael Swensen, and Roman Rogotzke combined to win eight state titles. Swensen and Rogotzke were both placers at the most recent Super 32. SDSU has also made a habit out of heading into Iowa to recruit. They continued this trend by signing 2020 state champion, Bailey Roybal. After all of the out-of-state signees, Damion Hahn's staff retained South Dakota's top senior in Isaac Klinkhammer. Isaac was a state champion as a freshman and a runner-up in each of the following three seasons. 13) Nebraska 2021 Class: #7 Lenny Pinto - Stroudsburg, PA (174/184); #17 Jagger Condomitti - Northampton, PA (157/165); #138 Adam Thebeau - Belleville East, IL (149); Quinton Chavez - Gering, NE (125); Josh Licking - Norfolk, NE (165); Scott Robertson - Millard South, NE (157) Nebraska's class is another that is heavily reliant on their blue-chip signees. The Cornhuskers only have three members of the big board, but they do have two of the top 17 seniors in the nation. Both happen to hail from Pennsylvania's fabled District XI, an area that produced Huskers associate head coach Bryan Snyder and current All-American Mikey Labriola. At some point, Lenny Pinto may be the successor to Labriola. Pinto was victorious over Blair Academy's Rylan Rogers at Who's #1, but also injured himself and could not compete as a senior. Last season, Pinto came out on top of a brutal 170 lb AAA weight class in Pennsylvania. Jagger Condomitti was a two-time state finalist and a champion as a senior. He also appeared in Who's #1 in 2020. The remaining big boarder is Adam Thebeau, who was fifth in Illinois in 2020. Thebeau and Scott Robertson could help contribute, down the road, in a crowded 149/157 for the Huskers. 14) Wisconsin 2021 Class: #6 Dean Hamiti - Joliet Catholic, IL (165); #52 Brooks Empey - Stoughton, WI (285); #56 Hayden Copass - Westville, IL (285); Cale Anderson - Viroqua, WI (157); Cole Carroll - Don Bosco Prep, NJ (149); Jack Severin - Kewaunee, WI (133/141) Transfer: Andrew McNally - Kent State (174) Not only does Wisconsin get one of the top wrestlers in this class, with Dean Hamiti, but he also fills a pressing need at 165. With Evan Wick in the transfer portal, Hamiti may be called on to start from day one for Chris Bono's crew. That works out well, as Hamiti is one of the most college-ready wrestlers in the entire class. He was on a different playing field from most of his competition at the Super 32. After Hamiti, the Badgers have a pair of top-75 heavyweights that are strong prospects. With 197 not being an option for either, you'll only get the impact from one of either Brooks Empey and Hayden Copass. Empey was a two-time Wisconsin champion, while Copass has shined in the international styles. He has a pair of 16U freestyle national titles on his resume, along with a runner-up finish in Greco. The signing of Hamiti and Copass is significant because both are from Illinois, a consistent producer of high-end talent. If Bono's team can continue to import blue-chippers from the state, they will continue to shine on the recruiting trail. The rest of the class was used to bolster the middleweights, which was needed. Wisconsin did not have a national qualifier between 141-174 last year. Graduate transfer, Andrew McNally, the sixth seed in 2021 and a Round of 12 finisher, will help at 174 for a year. 15) North Dakota State 2021 Class: #57 Carlos Negrete - Buchanan, CA (133); #68 Alex Ramirez - Rowland, CA (149); #73 Mike Caliendo - Batavia, IL (165/174); #77 DJ Parker - Moline, IL (174/184); #86 Juan Mora - Turlock, CA (197/285); #104 Dominik Vacura - Badger-GB-MR, MN (197/285); #231 Spencer Mooberry - Osage, IA (184); #241 Cole Gripka - Maysville, MO (285); Bryce Dagel - Eden Prairie, MN (157), Lathan Duda - Broken Bow, NE (197); Beau Klingensmith - Woodbury Central, IA (133); Kobe Lyons - York, NE (174); Mannix Morgan - Mounds View, MN (184); Clay Radenz - Century, ND (141) What a showing by Roger Kish and his staff! North Dakota State has rarely been mentioned as a top-15-type recruiting school, but they have put together a fantastic class that includes eight of the top 300 prospects in the nation. The only knock is that with Carlos Negrete being the highest-ranked at 57, they don't have a surefire superstar. That isn't to say that he or anyone else couldn't emerge to be one, once in Fargo. Negrete is a two-time California runner-up and Alex Ramirez was a champion in 2020. Neither could add to their collection since their state tournament was canceled in 2021. The Bison also inked a pair of fast-rising prospects from Illinois with Mike Caliendo and DJ Parker. Caliendo started to show flashes on the summer dual meet scene, before grabbing sixth at the Super 32. Parker was third in Illinois' largest classification as a junior, which was his first time earning a state medal. Another California native in the mix is Juan Mora, a state fifth-place finisher in 2020, who was a runner-up at the Grappler Fall Classic. In addition to securing one of the top in-state wrestlers, two-time champion Clay Radenz, the Bison staff also signed multiple prospects from Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska. All in all, this should be an incredibly useful class for North Dakota State. 16) Iowa State 2021 Class: #31 Nate Schon - Selinsgrove, PA (285); #46 Paniro Johnson - Cathedral Prep, PA (157); #51 Conor Knopick - Millard South, NE (125/133); #132 Gabe Greenlee - Ames, IA (285); #230 Jack Gaukel - Sergeant Bluff, IA (157/165); #267 Sam Hrabovsky - Fulton, MO (133/141); Ashton Barker - Iowa City West, IA (184); Caleb Helgeson - Johnston, IA (174); Damon Huston - Midland, IA (125); Bryce Shelton - Marian, IL (141) Under the direction of head coach Kevin Dresser, Iowa State has returned to its place as a major player in the recruiting game. The Cyclones were able to secure a pair of top-250 prospects from their home state, along with a few others that just missed. Pennsylvania has been a frequent stop for the ISU staff on the recruiting trail in years past, along with 2021, as they signed a pair of top-50 recruits from the Keystone State. Iowa State is expected to be without the services of All-American Gannon Gremmel in 2021-22, so getting three-time PA finalist and two-time champion Nate Schon and local product Gabe Greenlee was vital. Two-time third-place finisher, Paniro Johnson, comes from one of the state's top program's and was a victim of some deep weights in PA. I like the signing of Conor Knopick. The Cadet Greco-Roman World Team member is a part of a club and high school that continues to improve. The Omaha, Nebraska area could be a place for Dresser's staff to continue to mine in the future. 17) Rutgers 2021 Class: #24 Kyonte Hamilton - Georgetown Prep, MD (285); #54 Joey Olivieri - Hanover Park, NJ (141); #69 Anthony White - South Plainfield, NJ (149); #190 Dylan Weaver - Lyndhurst, NJ (157); #245 Michael Cetta - St. Joseph's Regional, NJ (149); #266 John O'Donnell - Toms River, NJ (285); Robert Damerjian - Moorestown, NJ (197) Transfer: Greg Bulsak - Clarion (197) This recruiting class has a very "Rutgers" feel to it. Scott Goodale's team has done well at keeping many of the Garden State's best at home, while adding a high-profile out-of-state kid or two, as needed. That import is Kyonte Hamilton, one of the top big men in the class. Hamilton was a winner at the Beast as a junior and the Super 32 this fall. He has the potential to develop into a title contender at 285. Unfortunately, the wrestling program will have to share him with the Scarlet Knight football team, so it's hard to forecast his actual impact and if he can grow on the mat as quickly as most typical, wrestling-only prospects may progress. Rutgers was able to keep one of the top seniors in-state with three-time champion Joey Olivieri. With Sebastian Rivera and Mike Van Brill heading into their senior seasons, he could jump in a 141/149 after a redshirt. Anthony White was the other state champ in the bunch. Goodale's staff also has a contingency plan at heavyweight in case they're unable to get Hamilton's full impact, as they have signed state runner-up, John O'Donnell, as well. Graduate transfer, Greg Bulsak, will come in and compete for a spot at 197 lbs. Bulsak, a three-time qualifier and 2020 MAC champ, has been seeded 14th and 10th at his most recent NCAA Tournaments. 18) Navy 2021 Class: #81 Cael Crebs - Montoursville, PA (197); #83 Jacob Lucas - Cumberland Valley, PA (285); #106 Josh Koderhandt - Bellevue, IL (125/133); #121 Vince Santaniello - Brick Memorial, NJ (125); #128 Ryan Catka - Sun Valley, PA (197/285); #154 Brendan Ferretti - Macomb, MI (133); #166 Zach Espalin - Chandler, AZ (125/133); #279 George Ruiz - Buchanan, CA (157/165); #280 Malachi Duvall - Penns Valley, PA (165); Payne Carr - Union County, KY (157) Cary Kolat's first full recruiting class with the Naval Academy is a sign of things to come for the EIWA and the rest of the nation. While Navy has been able to recruit on a national basis and will continue to do so, this group is heavy on wrestlers from Kolat's home state, Pennsylvania. Particularly at the upperweights, as they have three top-150 recruits coming in projected at 197 or 285. Cael Crebs and Jacob Lucas were both state champs in 2021, while Ryan Catka was third. On the other end of the lineup, the lightweights get help with Josh Koderhandt, Vince Santaniello, and Zach Espalin. Koderhandt was fifth at the Super 32 in October, Santaniello was a two-time Jersey finalist and one-time champ, while Espalin was a Fargo freestyle All-American at both age groups. With so much talent (nine top 300 recruits), there are a few that will hit big for the Midshipmen. 19) Northern Colorado 2021 Class: #25 Ben Alanis - Valiant Prep, AZ (141/149); #89 Xavier Doolin - Kansas City North, MO (197/285); #107 Branson Britten - Canyon Randall, TX (174/184); #202 Rudy Lopez - Erie, CO (141); #236 Franklin Cruz - Pomona, CO (197); #290 Kenny Sailas - Brighton, CO (125); Dyson Kunz - Central City, NE (133/141); Austin Long - Norman, OK (184/197); Moses Santiago - Volcano Vista, NM (125); Adam Schulz - Crowley County, CO (174/184) Northern Colorado really put themselves on the recruiting map in 2019 as they kept local product Andrew Alirez home and signed an impressive class that appeared prominently among all recruiting rankings. That class was largely dependent on in-state talent. While Colorado natives sprinkled among this group, Troy Nickerson's staff has branched out and signed plenty of notable recruits from outside its borders. Most notable is Ben Alanis. Even though Alanis was fifth in the Super 32 last year, he was probably overlooked by some. That wasn't the case after handling then-nationally number one, Shayne Van Ness at the Ultimate Club Duals, then following it up with a sixth-place showing at UWW Juniors. The Bears also have two other top-150 recruits coming in from out-of-state in Xavier Doolin and Branson Britten. Doolin was sixth at the Super 32 and Britten was a double placer at the 16U division, twice, in Fargo. The three big boarder's from Colorado are Rudy Lopez, Franklin Cruz, and Kenny Sailas. Cruz hails from a power program and was one of the most active wrestlers in the offseason. His frequent competitions made him susceptible to some losses, but in the end, he's battle-tested. Classes like this will put the rest of the country on notice that Northern Colorado was no "one-hit" wonder in 2019. 20) Purdue 2021 Class: #74 Stoney Buell - Dundee, MI (184); #90 Ben Vanadia - Brecksville, OH (197/285); #94 Dustin Norris - LaSalle, OH (125/133); Hayden Filipovich - Lutheran, IN (197); Tristan Ruhlman - Bloomington, IN (285) Purdue is a team that has quietly moved up the recruiting ladder of late. This group should serve head coach Tony Ersland and staff well as the Boilermakers signed three of the top-100 recruits. As has been the recipe for the Boilermakers, they have signed some high-profile talent from neighboring Big Ten states and added in some under-the-radar recruits from their home state. Stoney Buell was a four-time Michigan state champion and a 16U freestyle national champion in 2019. Dustin Norris made the Ohio state finals every time he could compete at the meet and came away with his second crown in 2021. Fellow Ohio-native Ben Vanadia wasn't able to wrestle at the state tournament this year, but was a runner-up as a sophomore and finished top-five at the Beast and Ironman last season. A pair of Indiana state champions will strengthen the upperweights in Hayden Filipovich and Tristan Ruhlman. Filipovich was the first state champion in his school's history, while Ruhlman made a successful jump from 170 to 220 for his title. 21) North Carolina 2021 Class: #18 Caden McCrary - Woodland Cartersville, GA (133/141); #64 Spencer Moore - Walton-Verona, KY (125); #165 Isaias Estrada - Jefferson, CO (157/165); #232 Sincere Bailey - Thornton Fractional North, IL (157) During the Coleman Scott-era, North Carolina has been a mainstay in recruiting rankings. While this class is not as sizable as Tar Heel wrestling classes of the recent past, it contains plenty of quality. Caden McCrary was a four-time Georgia state champ that won the Super 32 in the fall. Cadet World Team member Spencer Moore reclassified up from the Class of 2022, so he could be a redshirt candidate immediately. Ultimately, he could be a career 125 lber, which is a weight UNC has failed to consistently qualify for nationals of late. North Carolina hasn't ventured out west too frequently on the recruiting trail, so signing Estrada (along with Jace Palmer), could be a sign of things to come. On the other hand, Illinois has been very kind to UNC, with the help of associate head coach Tony Ramos. The Tar Heels were able to land Illinois champ, Sincere Bailey at a weight that looks to be a long-term need. 22) Virginia Tech 2021 Class: #20 Cooper Flynn - McDonogh, MD (125/133); #44 Trey Kibe - Mifflin County, PA (184); Ty Finn - Simsbury, CT (165); Jackson Spires - General Spires, PA (165/174) The Virginia Tech Hokies went with an extremely small class in 2021, but they did grab a pair of top-50 recruits in Cooper Flynn and Trey Kibe. Sam Latona surely won't stay at 125 lbs for his entire career, so having the Super 32 and National Prep champion Flynn in the fold is a smart decision. Recently, Flynn was fourth at UWW Juniors. Along the way, he defeated 2021 national qualifier Noah Surtin (Missouri) twice. Kibe was a Pennsylvania AAA state champion as a sophomore and a finalist in 2021. He was a part of some brutal in-state weight classes. Kibe joins a stable full of young Hokies ready to take over for Hunter Bolen. 23) Penn 2021 Class: #84 Nico Nardone - Delbarton, NJ (141); #85 Cole Spencer - Pine-Richland, PA (174/184); #96 Kyle Hauserman - Council Rock North, PA (149); #111 Kelly Dunnigan - Don Bosco Prep, NJ (141); #249 Hunter Gandy - Woodstown, NJ (149); Richard Delsanter - St. Edward, OH (141/149); Lance Urbas - State College, PA (174/184) Since the return of Roger Reina, Penn has lit up the recruiting trail and continues to build. This group, along with prior classes, should help the Quakers close the gap between themselves and Ivy powers Cornell and Princeton. The Quaker staff went heavy on the 141/149-types, getting four of the top-250 kids in the nation, each of whom projects in those areas. Four-time New Jersey medalist, Nico Nardone, has the longest list of national credentials of the group and comes from a power program. Cole Spencer was a two-sport star for Pine-Richland, who could thrive while just focusing on wrestling. Spencer led his team to a state title as a quarterback and was a three-time state medalist, all at 152 lbs or higher. Since Penn did not compete in 2021, it's more difficult to figure where everyone fits right away. Suffice to say, there is plenty of talent that will impact their program today and down the road. 24) Army West Point 2021 Class: #101 Raymond Lopez - Buchanan, CA (125); #110 Isaiah Vance - Hempfield, PA (285); #119 Eddie Hummel - Southern, NJ (149); #183 Shane Percelay - Pope John XXIII, NJ (149); #197 Richard Treanor - Hough, NC (133); #246 Ryan Franco - Clovis North, CA (141); #248 Trae McDaniel - Cleveland, TN (133); #259 Bailey Flanagan - Lake Highland Prep, FL (174/184); #273 Ethan Berginc - Hempfield, PA (133); Dom Falcone - Easton, PA (197); Charlie Farmer - Moline, IL (125); Thomas Godbee - Vidalia, GA (197); Eli Pack - Culver Academy, IN (197); Daniel Uhorchuk - Signal Mountain, TN (125/133) Similar to rival Navy, Army West Point has a huge recruiting class and has a potential fit at almost every weight. While Kevin Ward's team doesn't have any sure-fire blue-chippers, they have an incredible nine top-300 recruits. Since 2013, the Black Knights have only produced one national qualifier at 125 or 133 lbs. To remedy this, a whole slew of lightweights were brought in. Leading the charge is California runner-up Raymond Lopez. On the other end of the lineup is Isaiah Vance, who placed in the top-four three times at 285 lbs while competing in Pennsylvania's larger classification. 25) Columbia 2021 Class: #79 Jack McGill - Spring-Ford, PA (165); #87 Aaron Ayzerov - Paramus, NJ (174); #103 Nick Fine - Bishop Hendricken, RI (174); #161 Jalen Stephens - Meyersdale, PA (285); #213 Javen Jovero - Rancho Bernardo, CA (184); #250 Zack Witmer - St. Joseph's, PA (141), Kenny Duschek - Freedom Area, PA; Matt Romanelli - Downington East, PA (174) While we've praised Penn for moving up towards the top of the Ivy League, Columbia is right in the mix, as well. The Lions have been upped their recruiting efforts in the past few years and the results have shown, on the mat and with future classes. This group is heavy on Pennsylvania talent, which is typically a good sign. Jack McGill, Jalen Stephens, Zack Witmer, and Kenny Duschek, all have placed top-three in PA, at one point or another in high school. Two-time New Jersey finalist and state champion, Aaron Ayzerov, was fifth at the Super 32 and is battle-tested. A potentially under-the-radar pick was Nick Fine, a two-time Rhode Island champion that was a New England finalist as a junior. The last of the six big boarders is Javen Jovern, a two-time California medalist that was third in 2020.

Leya Deickman in action for Ferrum (Photo/Courtesy of Leya Deickman) Before I knew much about wrestling, I would spend most of the dual looking in the stands in awe of the spectator's reactions. By far, my favorite reactions always came from the wrestling moms - there was Mrs. Shirey who would hide on the side of the bleachers, only peeking at the score on the Jumbotron, but never at the actual match, or Mrs. Dessino, who never blinked while her son wrestled (this is a true skill, I've tried it). I can't forget Mrs. Roosa, who had no problem letting her son know she was in his corner and what he needed to do to win (she was always right). These women were somehow able to bear the emotions, the pressure and the pain that their sons felt each time they took to the mat. Until I met Leya Deickman, wrestling moms were the not-to-be-messed-with wrestling fans, completely dedicated to the sport and their athlete, but Leya gave new meaning to the term "wrestling mom." Leya Deickman, a Texas native, was introduced to the sport of wrestling her sophomore year by her very persistent high school conditioning coach, Marco Chavez. Despite never hearing of women's wrestling, Leya, a seasoned volleyball player, was determined to give the sport a shot (no pun intended). She worked hard both on and off the mat, eager to learn, but fell short at regionals, getting cradled in just 12 seconds of her first match. Despite her lack of success on the mat, her love for the sport was in full bloom and she knew she would come back next season even stronger. However, soon after her first wrestling season ended, Leya became pregnant. During that same time, she was informed her parents were being restationed across the country, to North Carolina. It seemed as though this new wrestler was going to hang up her wrestling shoes for good. After finishing her sophomore year of high school in Texas, the very pregnant Leya moved to North Carolina to be with her parents, "You know being pregnant takes such a toll on your body mentally and physically. Although it was an incredibly transformative experience, it was super scary being so young. I got weird stares and judgments. I wasn't liked among my peers for coming from a new school pregnant and having one of the highest GPAs, which stirred the class rankings. It was very lonely." Despite her new circumstances, Leya was determined to continue her hard work in the classroom and it paid off; she quickly earned one of the highest GPAs in her grade at Hoke County High. At 17 years old and after a very difficult labor, Leya was forced to have a C-section which kept her from returning to school for nine weeks! Determined not to fall behind, and with the support of her dedicated teachers, Leya maintained her GPA and surpassed those of her peers. As though that wasn't impressive enough, this new mother took full responsibility for her son Kendall Jr. While Leya's mother watched Kendall during the school hours, upon Leya's return from the classroom, Leya transformed from full-time student to full-time mother as soon as she stepped in the door. After taking just a few months off from sports, it was in the fall of her Senior year at Hoke High that Leya expressed an interest in wrestling again; but with no sanctioned girls team, her only option was to join the boy's team. Now balancing her responsibilities as a mother, her academics, volleyball, the Math team and National Honor Society, Leya once again added wrestling to her resume. "I had my fair share of matches making boys cry, but I wrestled at 160 for the most part, so biologically, I was at a disadvantage. Coach always tried to convince me to drop to 138, but that wasn't happening." Leya seemed to work with what she had, embracing every obstacle and even rising to seek new challenges, so it came as no surprise when Ferrum College recruited her with just two years of wrestling experience under her belt. Upon graduating high school third in her class in June of 2016, this wrestling mom was aiming for success once again both on and off the mat and she was not going to allow difficult circumstances to hold her back. Instead, she used her son and the responsibilities she held as a mother, to propel her forward. Leya can now admit looking back, she felt as though she had something to prove. She wanted to show the world that she could and she would achieve what she set out to do--and she did just that. Even as a smaller college, Ferrum offered family housing, and with the assistance of Kendall's father, Leya received the support she needed to establish herself in college in the classroom and the wrestling room while still being a loving and responsible parent to her beautiful son. For this overachiever, it wasn't enough; she added the role of President of Save the Next Girl and eventually became an RA. It seemed as though everyone rallied behind Leya and Kendall--girls on the wrestling team, students and even professors and coaches offered to help with Kendall, giving meaning to the cliche, "it takes a village to raise a child." Kendall at a Ferrum wrestling practice (Photo/Courtesy of Leya Deickman) Leya made every single moment count, "In between classes and during breaks, I would go to the library and do homework. That way, I could focus on being a student during the day, an athlete in the evening, and a mom at night." She gave every role 100% effort and continued to embrace every challenge with grace and gratitude. The coach who recruited Leya to join the women's wrestling team eventually left and the assistant coach of the men's team, Ryan Riggs, stepped in to fulfill the role, but it seemed as though practices were more demanding physically and mentally, which pushed the team to its brink. In true wrestlers fashion, these women didn't run from the challenge but used it to create a team, a family and this family went through it all together. In Leya's time at Ferrum, the coaching staff changed three times, but with each new coach, Leya learned more about herself and more about wrestling. It was the ability to adapt and persevere that led Leya to form such a strong positive mentality. Despite falling short in the blood rounds her senior year at Nationals, Leya became the program's first Academic All-American in 2018. Ferrum quickly took notice of this multi-talented student and mother; upon graduation, Leya was asked to take a position at the school and served as a graduate assistant for the women's wrestling team. It seems this wrestling mom just wasn't finished with the sport of wrestling. In fact, Covid and the pandemic left her team in a very odd predicament. The squad was unable to secure enough athletes to compete, so Leya was asked to step in and compete once again. Now balancing a full-time job, being a mother to a 5-year-old and earning a master's degree, Leya committed to one more season. She fared well during the regular season with a few significant victories, and when it came time for Nationals, she was ready to earn the closure she had been hoping for. With a first-round win by pin over Amara Devericks from Gannon, Leya was fired up. She faced the 2nd seed in her 2nd round match and lost 3-0, followed by two more close bouts that led to her final farewell to collegiate wrestling. Leya and Kendall after receiving her second Master's Degree (Photo/Courtesy of Leya Deickman) "There is a plan in everything that happens even if it doesn't make sense. Therefore just feel the fear, embrace it, and then keep going. There's always a purpose on the other side. I want anyone who has the slightest bit of doubt to see my story and instantly feel like they can do whatever they set out to be," Leya may not have accomplished her wrestling goals, but I'm sure I'm not alone in realizing just how much she overcame. She now holds two Master's degrees from Ferrum, has a six-year-old son who believes, "wrestling is for girls," and is planning on one day becoming a Dean of Students--which I no doubt, know she will accomplish. This wrestler was fearless in the pursuit of greatness, allowing nothing to come between her and the life she imagined for her small family. Leya, like most wrestlers, is an Overcomer who was just built differently.

Max Dean after the 2019 NCAA semifinals (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Perhaps the biggest name in the transfer portal is off the market! 2019 NCAA runner-up Max Dean will transfer to Penn State, as confirmed by his older brother Gabe on Chael Sonnen's “Beyond the Fight” podcast today. The move presents plenty of possibilities for the Nittany Lions in 2021-22. They return undefeated NCAA champion Aaron Brooks at 184 lbs and NCAA seventh-place finisher Michael Beard at 197. Brooks will be a sophomore, while Beard retains freshman eligibility. Gabe mentioned the possibility of Max moving up to 197 lbs. Either way, there could be an All-American out of the lineup for Penn State. Dean is a two-time All-American as he was eighth in the nation as a freshman in 2018. Max has made the EIWA finals in each of his first two years competing for Cornell. He finished as a runner-up as a freshman and won a title as a sophomore. In his two years of officially competing for the Big Red, Dean racked up a 57-12 record.

Clay Carlson after winning in the 2021 NCAA Round of 12 (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) When the #FantasyCollegeWrestling season comes to an end, it's usual to feel like you need a break. I get it; even WE took a little time for some needed R&R (fear not, though, the FCW Podcast returns later this month!). The amount of work and game planning is exponentially higher than Fantasy Football or other sports. There is not much to do other than research in the off-season. But just like we say in training, it's what you do when others are not looking that separates you from the pack. We are left with a lot of raw data that needs to be filtered and sorted. The off-season is devoted to not only recording and organizing that data, but grouping, interpreting, and utilizing that data to forecast and strategize for the upcoming season. Sometimes the best way to prepare for the future is to look back on the past season and who is returning or names/data to remember come week 12 when you are struggling to find that 174 starter. Usually, you have names like Spencer Lee, Shane Griffith, Aaron Brooks, and Tony Cassioppi that you think of to bring you success. Together this season, they combined for 84 Fantasy Points (Fpts). Well, let me throw a couple other names at you: Codi Russell, Will Formato, Brit Wilson, and Michael McAleavey. This group totaled 185 Fpts this season. As I say every year, that's the beauty and frustration of Fantasy Sports. Sometimes your top performers are not "household names." Now, this year was definitely an "asterisk" type of year as there will be quite a few instances of skewing in one way or another (see the co-Hodge announcement). In past seasons, we have stressed that match count is not always a determining factor in actual or in Fantasy Wrestling success, but this year was different. Some teams were hit with COVID precautions or wrestlers actually got COVID making an imbalance of matches wrestled between wrestlers/teams larger than in years past and causing some big names to not make the Top 20 of their respective weights. To compile these lists, we used WrestleStat Fantasy College Wrestling data. Just a reminder of how points were tallied in WrestleStat Leagues: 1) The scoring used was Standard Team Scoring across all competitions (+3 for a win by decision, -4 for a loss by Major, etc) 2) Scoring only counted against D1 competition 3) Wins via Forfeits (FFT) would count as +6 towards a wrestler's point total 4) Wins or Losses by Medical Forfeit (MFF) did not count as + or - towards a wrestler's point total 5) Points were only accumulated during the regular season Here are the previous #FCW 2021 Season weight class Top-20 Lists: 125: Codi Russell (Appalachian State) 133: Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) Notes: Only one All American makes the Top-10, Clay Carlson, who took eighth place at the 2021 National Tournament. He finishes as the #1 Fantasy Wrestler at 141 this season, despite four losses (-13 Fpts). Five other All Americans made the Top-20, with national runner-up (Jaydin Eierman) and champion (Nick Lee) coming in at #11 and #12, respectively. Allan Hart went from being the #25 Fantasy Wrestler at 133 in 2020 to tied for fourth in 2021. Though his bonus rate was down from 2020, he drastically improved his win percentage in 2021 (going from 69% in 2020 to 83% in 2021). Tying Hart in points and PPM this season, and making a second consecutive appearance in the 141 Top-20, is Cody Trybus. The latter jumped up from #20 in 2020. As deep and competitive as the ACC was this year at 141, the top Fantasy Wrestler was Brian Courtney mainly due to his bonus-filled start to the season (two techs and two pins). Opposite of that, Dom Demas used three straight bonus victories to help get the #7 spot (pin, tech, and major). Josh Edmond was the top non-starter out of the four that cracked the Top-20. Edmond wrestled the most D1 matches of the four non-starters, but had the lowest bonus rate of the bunch (20%). Ryan Burgos had an impressive 66.7% bonus rate (six of his nine matches) but three losses (one of which was by Tech) prevented him from being higher. Edinboro had two wrestlers at 141 make the Top-20, both True Freshmen. And speaking of True Freshmen, five made the Top-20 (compared to one at 125 and 133). Who Missed The Cut: Two All Americans who did not make the Top-20 this season were Sebastian Rivera (#30 this season) and Dylan Duncan (#44 this season). Had Rutgers been able to wrestle Maryland and Rivera were to have gotten at least a tech, he would have been the #19 Fantasy Wrestler this season (#18 if he won by pin). Had it not been for an injury midway through the season, Kaid Brock was on track to break into the Top-20. He finished with four matches on the season and 15 Fpts (#31, one spot above Sebestian Rivera). Ian Parker wrestled twelve matches this season, but unfortunately for Fantasy TMs, five of those matches were to on-D1 competition and thus did not count for Fantasy College Wrestling point totals. He finished with only one loss by Decision and 18 Fpts. Some other notables that didn't crack the Top-20 include Dylan Duncan (#45 with 8 Fpts), Zack Trampe (#48 with 7 Fpts), and True Freshman Sam Hillegas (#50 with 7 Fpts)

Two-time World Champion Zaur Uguev (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 57 KG #2 Nachyn Mongush was runner-up at the European championships to two-time world medalist #2 Suleyman Atli (TUR). #6 Akhmed Idrisov will represent Russia at the U-23 European championships. Ramazan Bagavudinov won Junior Russian Nationals over Said Kunkerov. Ranking Name Country Previous Ranking 1 Zavur Uguev RUS 1 2 Nachyn Mongush RUS 2 3 Azamat Tuskaev RUS 3 4 Abubakar Mutaliev RUS 4 5 Kuzhuget Belek-Ool RUS 5 6 Akhmed Idrisov RUS 6 7 Ramiz Gamzatov RUS 7 8 Muslim Sadulaev RUS 8 9 Khasanhussein Badrudinov RUS 9 10 Khuresh-Ool Donduk-Ool RUS 10 61 KG #1 Abasgadzhi Magomedov won the European championships in dominant fashion with a 12-2 tech fall victory in the finals over #3 Andriy Dzhelep (UKR). National runner-up #2 Muslim Mekhtikhanov will represent Russia at the U-23 European championships. #5 Fedor Baltuev was dominant throughout on his way to winning Junior Russian Nationals and beat Abdurakhman Rasulov by pin in the finals. Ranking Name Country Previous Ranking 1 Abasgadzhi Magomedov RUS 1 2 Muslim Mekhtikhanov RUS 2 3 Cherman Tavitov RUS 3 4 Nodar Arabidze RUS 4 5 Fedor Baltuev RUS 5 6 Zelimkhan Abakarov RUS 6 7 Dinislam Takhtarov RUS 7 8 Aldar Balzhinimaev RUS 8 9 Zhargal Damdinov RUS 9 10 Rustam Karakhanov RUS 10 65 KG #2 Zagir Shakhiev won the European championships in dominant fashion tech falling Kryzysztian Bienkowski (POL) in the finals. Russian Nationals bronze medalist #6 Abdulmazhid Kudiev will represent Russia at the U-23 European championships. Shamil Mamedov beat Ibragim Abutalimov 7-2 in the finals to win Junior Russian Nationals. The rankings got shifted because I had undervalued David Baev at the weight and so Abdulmazhid Kudiev moves up to #4 for beating two-time Russian Nationals medalist #5 Murshid Mutalimov, while Baev moves up two spots to #6. #4 Akhmed Chakaev and #5 Naachin Kuular both fall three slots to #7 and #8 since they don't have recent head-to-head wins to rival Baev. Ranking Name Country Previous Ranking 1 Gadzhimurad Rashidov RUS 1 2 Zagir Shakhiev RUS 2 3 Kurban Shiraev RUS 3 4 Abdulmazhid Kudiev RUS 6 5 Murshid Mutalimov RUS 7 6 David Baev RUS 8 7 Akhmed Chakaev RUS 4 8 Naachin Kuular RUS 5 9 Ramazan Ferzaliev RUS 9 10 Gadzhimurad Omarov RUS 10 70 KG #1 Israil Kasumov won his first European title over 2019 65 KG U-23 world champion #11 Turan Bayramov (AZE). #3 Cherman Valiev moved up to 74 KG, where he will represent Russia at the U-23 European championships. #5 Inalbek Sheriev will represent Russia at the U-23 European championships. With Valiev being removed from the rankings, Stanislav Svinoboev enters the rankings at #10 for winning Junior Russian Nationals over Abdulkerim Abdulaev. Ranking Name Country Previous Ranking 1 Israil Kasumov RUS 1 2 Evgheni Zherbaev RUS 2 3 Viktor Rassadin RUS 4 4 Aznaur Tavaev RUS 5 5 Inalbek Sheriev RUS 6 6 Ayatulla Barkakadiev RUS 7 7 Abdulla Akhmedov RUS 8 8 Anzor Zakuev RUS 9 9 Bulat Batoev RUS 10 10 Stanislav Svinoboev RUS UR 74 KG #2 Razambek Zhamalov finished in 5th at the European championships after losses to #3 Taimuraz Salkazanov (SVK) and #4 Frank Chamizo (ITA). #3 (70) Cherman Valiev has made the move up to 74 KG, where he will wrestle at the U-23 European championships and he debuts in the 74 KG rankings at #10. Winning Junior Russian Nationals at 74 KG was Idar Khatanov over 2019 Medved runner-up Soslanbek Budaev. Ranking Name Country Previous Ranking 1 Zaurbek Sidakov RUS 1 2 Razambek Zhamalov RUS 2 3 Magomed Kurbanaliev RUS 3 4 Timur Bizhoev RUS 4 5 Magomedrasul Gazimagomedov RUS 5 6 Nikita Suchkov RUS 6 7 Magomed Abdulkadyrov RUS 7 8 Kakhaber Khubezhty RUS 8 9 Magomed Dibirgadzhiev RUS 9 10 Cherman Valiev RUS 3(70) 79 KG #1 Malik Shavaev did not place at the European championships after a loss to #3 Nika Kentchadze (GEO) in the quarterfinals. 2019 Russian Nationals bronze medalist Khalid Yakhiev will represent Russia at the U-23 European championships. Alik Badtiev won Junior Russian Nationals over Mahmud Magomedov. Ranking Name Country Previous Ranking 1 Malik Shavaev RUS 1 2 Akhmed Usmanov RUS 2 3 Radik Valiev RUS 3 4 Gadzhimurad Alikhmaev RUS 4 5 Gadzhi Nabiev RUS 5 6 Khalil Aminov RUS 6 7 Atsamaz Sanakoev RUS 7 8 Evgheni Lapshov RUS 8 9 Ernak Kardanov RUS 9 10 Magomed Magomaev RUS 10 86 KG #1 Artur Naifonov won his third European championship with a win in the finals over 2015 world bronze medalist #13 Sandro Aminashvili (GEO). Amanulla Rasulov will represent Russia at the U-23 European championships. Islam Kartoev won Junior Russian Nationals over Arslan Bagaev. Ranking Name Country Previous Ranking 1 Artur Naifonov RUS 1 2 Dauren Kurugliev RUS 2 3 Magomed Ramazanov RUS 3 4 Vladislav Valiev RUS 4 5 Akhmed Gadzhimagomedov RUS 5 6 Magomedsharif Biyakaev RUS 6 7 Arsenali Musalaliev RUS 7 8 Khabib Gadzhiev RUS 8 9 Tazhidin Akaev RUS 9 10 Zaur Makiev RUS 10 92 KG #1 Magomed Kurbanov won the European championships over #10 Samuel Scherrer (SUI). Russian Nationals bronze medalist #20 Azamat Zakuev will represent Russia at the U-23 European championships. Ivan Kirillov won Junior Russian Nationals over Islam Kilchukov. Ranking Name Country Previous Ranking 1 Magomed Kurbanov RUS 1 2 Anzor Urishev RUS 2 3 Batyrbek Tsakulov RUS 3 4 Soslan Ktsoev RUS 4 5 Guram Chertkoev RUS 5 6 Azamat Zakuev RUS 6 7 Radik Nartikoev RUS 7 8 Alan Bagaev RUS 8 9 Zagir Karimov RUS 9 10 Magomed Baibekov RUS 10 97 KG #2 Alikhan Zhabrailov won the European championships with a 6-4 win over #5 Suleyman Karadeniz (TUR). Two-time national runner-up #3 Aslanbek Sotiev will represent Russia at the U-23 European championships. Soslan Dzhagaev won Junior Russian Nationals over Abdulla Kurbanov. Ranking Name Country Previous Ranking 1 Abdulrashid Sadulaev RUS 1 2 Alikhan Zhabrailov RUS 2 3 Aslanbek Sotiev RUS 3 4 Khokh Khugaev RUS 4 5 Igor Ovsyannikov RUS 5 6 Maxim Tolmachev RUS 6 7 Aslanbek Gazzaev RUS 7 8 Shamil Musaev RUS 8 9 Tazhudin Mukhtarov RUS 9 10 Znaur Kotsiev RUS 10 125 KG #1 Sergey Kozyrev took bronze at the European championships and qualified Russia for Olympics by taking first place at the world qualifier over Sumit Sumit (IND). National runner-up #5 Atsamaz Tebloev will represent Russia at the U-23 European championships. Andrey Bestaev won Junior Russian Nationals over Arsamag Zaseev. Ranking Name Country Previous Ranking 1 Sergey Kozyrev RUS 1 2 Shamil Sharipov RUS 2 3 Alan Khugaev RUS 3 4 Anzor Khizriev RUS 4 5 Atsamaz Tebloev RUS 5 6 Zelimkhan Khizriev RUS 6 7 Tamerlan Rasuev RUS 7 8 Kazbek Khubulov RUS 8 9 Batraz Gazzaev RUS 9 10 Baldan Tsyzhipov RUS 10 Pound for Pound #3 Razambek Zhamalov falls two spots in the rankings to #5 after taking fifth at the 74 KG European championships after losses to #3 Taimuraz Salkazanov (SVK) and #4 Frank Chamizo (ITA). #4 Gadzhimurad Rashidov and #5 Zavur Uguev take the #3 and #4 spot with Zhamalov's losses. The bottom end of the top 25 had a major shakeup and this was done for a couple of reasons. So Artur Naifonov, Dauren Kurugliev, and Magomed Ramazanov had taken up the #10, 11, and 12 spots, respectively, while competitors like two-time national champion Abasgadzhi Magomedov, Evgheni Zherbaev and Cherman Valiev were undervalued. Now I appreciate the power that Naifonov, Kurugliev and Ramazanov have shown, but they are competing in a weaker weight, at 86 KG, compared to the talent fielded by 65 and 61 KG. When I looked back at it, I realized having someone with the resume Abasgadzhi Magomedov at #19 was absurd based on his dominance. The same holds for #17 Evgheni Zherbaev, who has career wins over pound-for-pound talents #8 Magomedrasul Gazimagomedov, #9 Israil Kasumov, #12 Cherman Valiev and #15 David Baev. The second part of my reasoning for the change on the pound for pound is all about head-to-head matches and 65 KG. So initially, Zagir Shakhiev, Kurban Shiraev, Akhmed Chakaev, and Naachin Kuular were all ranked ahead of Evgheni Zherbaev, Cherman Valiev, Abasgadzhi Magomedov, Abdulmazhid Kudiev, Murshid Mutalimov, and David Baev in the 61-70 KG logjam. I was absolutely wrong to do that and here's the reasoning. Zherbaev just beat Valiev at Russian nationals and Valiev was the returning national champion who beat ‘19 world champion David Baev in the finals. Baev's 70 KG results in the past year have seen him beat #14 Kurban Shiraev twice (‘20 Russian Nationals, ‘21 Russian Pro League) and that has to be factored in. Now Murshid Mutalimov upsets Baev at nationals, at 65 KG, then loses to ‘20 U-23 national runner-up Abdulmazhid Kudiev who takes bronze. Tying it all together, it all goes back to Baev. The guy's resume is insane; he has wins over #5 Razambek Zhamalov, #6 Magomed Kurbanaliev, #9 Israil Kasumov, #11 Evgheni Zherbaev, and #17 Kurban Shiraev, so he has to be the reference point for all this, you can't just throw him in the trash. So with that, the rearranged top 3 goes Abasgadzhi Magomedov based on dominance at 61, then Zherbaev for his resume and H2H over Cherman Valiev and Baev, then Cherman Valiev for his wins over Baev. Then you go into the second tier of guys who tie into Baev in the form of Abdulmazhid Kudiev and Mutalimov. Kudiev took bronze at Russian Nationals beating Mutalimov and Ramazan Ferzaliev. Mutalimov upset Baev 8-2 at Russian Nationals. So the order then makes sense to go with Kudiev, Mutalimov, then Baev. Then the final piece of 61,70, 65 KG logjam is the guys at 65 KG who don't have matches against Baev or lost to Baev. So Zagir Shakhiev is the top guy in this group for being the 65 KG national runner-up and having beaten Soslan Ramonov and Kurban Shiraev. Now Shiraev is the one in this group who has lost twice to Baev (‘20 Russian Nationals & ‘21 Russian Pro League) beat two-time world medalist Akhmed Chakaev in the quarters after Chakaev defeated 2019 national runner-up Naachin Kuular in the round of 16. So the order then is Shakhiev, Shiraev, Chakaev, and Kuular. Tying it all together, we've got Abasgadzhi Magomedov, Zherbaev, and Valiev, taking the first group ranked at #10, 11, and 12. Then the second group of Kudiev, Mutalimov, and Baev at #13, 14, and 15. Then the third and final group of Zagir Shakhiev, Kurban Shiraev, Akhmed Chakaev, and Naachin Kuular are at #16, 17, 18, and 19. Then you put in the 86 KG trio of Artur Naifonov, Dauren Kurugliev, and Magomed Ramazanov at #20, 21, and 22. Having come out on the other end of the Russian pound-for-pound rabbit hole, the only other change is #25 Sergey Kozyrev and #24 Malik Shavaev traded places because of Shavaev failing to place at 79 KG Euros. Ranking Name Country Previous Ranking 1 Zaurbek Sidakov RUS 1 2 Abdulrashid Sadulaev RUS 2 3 Gadzhiurad Rashidov RUS 4 4 Zavur Uguev RUS 5 5 Razambek Zhamalov RUS 3 6 Magomed Kurbanaliev RUS 6 7 Timur Bizhoev RUS 7 8 Magomedrasul Gazimagomedov RUS 8 9 Israil Kasumov RUS 9 10 Abasgadzhi Magomedov RUS 19 11 Evgheni Zherbaev RUS 17 12 Cherman Valiev RUS 18 13 Abdulmazhid Kudiev RUS 20 14 Murshid Mutalimov RUS 21 15 David Baev RUS 22 16 Zagir Shakhiev RUS 13 17 Kurban Shiraev RUS 14 18 Akhmed Chakaev RUS 15 19 Naachin Kuular RUS 16 20 Artur Naifonov RUS 10 21 Dauren Kurugliev RUS 11 22 Magomed Ramazanov RUS 12 23 Alikhan Zhabrailov RUS 23 24 Sergey Kozyrev RUS 25 25 Malik Shavaev RUS 24

53 kg UWW U23 champion Ronna Heaton (Photo/John Sachs; Tech-Fall.com) Women's U23 National Championships Best-of-three Championship finals 50 kg - Emily Shilson over Alleida Martinez 12-2, Fall 3:19 53 kg - Ronna Heaton over Alisha Howk 5-3, 1-1 55 kg - Alex Hedrick over Sophia Mirabella 10-1, 8-0 57 kg - Cheyenne Sisenstein over Amanda Martinez 10-10, Fall 2:09, 7-5 59 kg - Michaela Beck over Brenda Reyna 5-0, 6-0 62 kg - Emma Bruntil over Ana Luciano 3-0, 2-1 65 kg - Ashlynn Ortega over Alara Boyd 4-3, 4-1 68 kg - Alyvia Fiske over Tiyahna Askew 10-0, 7-2 72 kg - Kennedy Blades over Kayla Marano 15-4, 14-3 76 kg - Kylie Welker over Yelena Makoyed 7-2, 4-2 Third Place Bouts 50 kg - Aleeah Gould over Nina Pham 10-1 53 kg - Felicity Taylor over Samara Chavez 8-3 55 kg - Melanie Mendoza over Nichole Moore 6-3 57 kg - Lauren Mason over Gabrielle Skidmore 8-4 59 kg - Nanea Estrella over Phoenix Dubose Fall 2:17 62 kg - London Houston over Kendall Bostelman 14-3 65 kg - Zoe Nowicki over Destiny Lyng 10-0 68 kg - Solin Pearcy over Jamilah McBryde 10-0 72 kg - Breanna Jennings over Yvette Garcia 12-2 76 kg - Dymond Guilford over Sydnee Kimber 10-0 Fifth Place Bouts 50 kg - Jaclyn McNichols over Stefana Jelacic 5-4 53 kg - Sage Mortimer over Taylin Long Fall 4:07 55 kg - Anja Tschohl over Ashley Morris 14-3 57 kg - Cameron Guerin over Vayle Baker InjDef 59 kg - Xochitl Mota-Pettis over Sofia Macaluso Fall 1:46 62 kg - Andrea Schlabach over Jordan Suarez Fall 5:36 65 kg - Felicity Bryant over Marisol Nugent MedFFT 68 kg - Katerina Lange over Samantha Snow Fall :16 72 kg - Jennifer Tongi over Tiyanna Leal Fall 1:04 76 kg - Emily Cue over Marlynne Deede Fall :52 Seventh Place Bouts 50 kg - Ava Bayless over Macie Stewart 14-4 53 kg - Autumn Gordon over Samantha Weeks 10-0 55 kg - Tara Othman over Anya Knappenberger MedFFT 57 kg - Montana DeLawder over Shaina Murray Fall 1:17 59 kg - Serena Cervantes over Alexandra Baudhuin Fall 4:46 62 kg - Anesia Ramirez over Rontaysia Payne Fall 1:23 65 kg - Kaylee Lacy over Maryellen Lafferty 13-0 68 kg - Zoe Gress over Adrianna Orozco 10-7 72 kg - Mhina Oseitutu over Morgan Mayginnes 10-0 76 kg - Joye Levendusky over Hunter Robinson 12-1

61 kg UWW Cadet champion Korina Blades (Photo/John Sachs; Tech-Fall.com) Women's Cadet Nationals Best-of-Three Championship Finals 40 kg - Erica Patroriza (AZ) over Gigi Bragg (MN) 2-1, 9-2 43 kg - Angie Dill (NY) over Emilie Gonzalez (CA) Fall 1:02, Fall 1:58 46 kg - Ava Ward (MO) over Rianne Murphy (IN) 8-0, Fall :40 49 kg - Audrey Jimenez (AZ) over Faith Cole (MO) 5-0, InjDef 53 kg - Katie Gomez (CA) over Jaclyn Dehney (NH) 10-0 57 kg - SaVannah Cosme (CO) over Alexis Janiak (IL) Fall 3:36, 8-2 61 kg - Korina Blades (IL) over Marissa Jimenez (ID) 12-0, 14-4 65 kg - Grace Stem (PA) over Maddie Kubicki (MO) 6-2, 4-3 69 kg - Amit Elor (CA) over Maggie Graham (TN) Fall :21, Fall :24 73 kg - Lillian Freitas (CA) over Rose Cassioppi (IL) 8-0, 7-0 Third Place Bouts 40 kg - McKayla Young (OH) over Kennedy Farrar (AZ) 10-0 43 kg - Olivia DeGeorgio (TX) over Sofia Abramson (NV) Fall 1:51 46 kg - Brianna Gonzalez (CA) over Alex Szkotnicki (MD) 8-6 49 kg - Paige Morales (CA) over Anaya Falcon (CA) 10-0 53 kg - Leah Gaitan (CA) over Carissa Qureshi (CA) 3-2 57 kg - Shelby Moore (WA) over Sarah Savidge (CO) 4-1 61 kg - Savannah Gomez (CA) over Hanna Errthum (WI) 5-0 65 kg - Reese Larramendy (NV) over Destiny Rodriguez (OR) 10-0 69 kg - Jasmine Robinson (TX) over Haley Ward (MO) 10-0 73 kg - Sabrina Nauss (MI) over Latifah McBryde (NY) Fall 3:24 Fifth Place Bouts 40 kg - Annalise Maralit (SC) over Jhaile DeGuzman (WA) Fall 2:30 43 kg - Gabriella Garcia (IL) over Emaline Hicks (MI) Fall 3:18 46 kg - Heather Crull (IN) over Eliana Martinez (TX) Fall 1:49 49 kg - Chloe Dearwester (OH) over Kiely Tabaldo (CA) Fall 1:15 53 kg - Elena Ivaldi (CA) over Ella Schmit (IA) 8-1 57 kg - Jennifer Soto (CA) over Josie Davis (OH) 10-0 61 kg - Janida Garcia (CA) over Taydem Khamjoi (CA) MedFFT 65 kg - Faith Bartoszek (WI) over Veronica Whitacre (NJ) MedFFT 69 kg - Nina Sandoval (AZ) over Briana Araujo-Batista (LA) Fall 1:45 73 kg - Ella Nichols (CT) over Abbie Miles (PA) 10-0 Seventh Place Bouts 40 kg - None 43 kg - Caley Kling (CO) over Kaitlyn Clawson (PA) Fall :23 46 kg - Klare Booe (FL) over Angelina Daoang (HI) MedFFT 49 kg - Trinity Malave (IN) over Eva Diaz (FL) Fall 3:20 53 kg - Juliana Diaz (FL) over Arieana Arias (CA) 8-4 57 kg - Alyssa Randles (ID) over Lauren Walton (KY) MedFFT 61 kg - Madyson Gray (KS) over Kryssceah Ravenelle (RI) 14-2 65 kg - Avangeline Turner (CA) over Marisa Roth (WI) 5-2 69 kg - Aspen Barber (CO) over Shannon Workinger (WA) MedFFT 73 kg - Kaitlyn Pegarella (PA) over Ella Pagel (MN) MedFFT

To celebrate Mother's Day, InterMat sat down with five prominent mothers in the wrestling community, Allyson Schwab, Kaille Grey, Lyndsey Beasley, Jaime Dubuque, and McKayla Engel. All five are married to DI coaches, as well. These women talk about how and when they met their husbands and some difficulties involved with being the wife of a DI coach. From new jobs, moving, criticism in person/on social media, time spent on the road, distance from family, these ladies hit plenty of angles that many fans forget about. They also share some fun stories about their husbands that you probably don't know (and their husbands probably don't want you to know).

Jesse Porter throws Marciano Ali for four points (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) On day three of the World Olympic Games Qualifier, it was the Greco-Roman wrestlers who took center stage. The United States sent two athletes to Sofia, Bulgaria, in search of a berth at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Jesse Porter (77 kg) and Adam Coon (130 kg). The qualify for the Olympics, both needed to make the finals at their respective weights. Porter had a difficult time just getting to compete in the event. His airline claimed Porter did not have the proper Covid documentation to make the flight. While Porter didn't arrive in an optimal time for a competition of this significance, he didn't show any signs of jetlag in his first bout. After his opponent, Marciano Ali (Puerto Rico), was hit for passivity, Porter hit a picturesque lift and throw to blow the match open, 5-0. He added another four-point throw to close the bout out, 9-0. Porter's opening round victory set the stage for a meeting in the Round of 16 with Fatih Cengiz (Turkey). A 2017 World bronze medalist and U23 World champion, Cengiz was tabbed as one of the key contenders pre-tournament. Late in the first period, down 1-0, Porter attempted a throw and was countered by his Turkish counterpart. That sequence also resulted in a caution for Porter, who would trail 5-0 at the break. The American tried for a late throw attempt but was thwarted by Cengiz, who went on to win 7-0. At 130 kg, Adam Coon was paired off with 2016 Olympian Murat Ramonov (Kyrgyzstan). Coon got on the board first with a point for a step-out. Ramonov then tried to go on the offensive with a headlock attempt. The 2018 World silver medalist, Coon, was able to stop the attack and put Ramonov on his back for the fall. That initial win propelled Coon into the quarterfinals, where he would face Mykola Kuchmii (Ukraine). The Ukrainian was third at the European Championships in 2020 and the Euro Games the previous year. Just under a minute into the bout, Kuchmii took a commanding 4-0 lead with an arm throw. He added another point before the break as Coon was hit for passivity. In the second stanza, Coon came out aggressive and pushed the pace against the Ukrainian. Points for a step out and a caution put the American back in the match at 6-3, but he could not pull any closer. Neither American was able to qualify for the Games, so the men's Greco-Roman team will only send four members to Tokyo. Ildar Hafizov, Alejandro Sancho, John Stefanowicz, and G'Angelo Hancock.

76 kg UWW Junior champion Kylie Welker (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Junior Women's Nationals Best of three finals 50 kg - Emily Shilson over Samara Chavez Fall 4:04, Fall 5:04 53 kg - Tiare Ikei over Jaslynn Gallegos 10-0, Fall 2:48 55 kg - Payton Stroud over Amani Jones 14-3, 10-6 57 kg - Jennifer Soto over Claire DiCugno 7-4, 0-11, 11-1 59 kg - Mia Macaluso over London Houston Fall 2:13, 4-14, Fall 5:41 62 kg - Korina Blades over Aliyah Yates 10-0, 12-1 65 kg - Alara Boyd over Katerina Lange Fall :28, 4-3, 11-1 68 kg - Amit Elor over Cheyenne Bowman Fall 1:30, 10-0 72 kg - Kennedy Blades over Lillian Frietas 76 kg - Kylie Welker over Yelena Makoyed Fall 1:17, 13-2 Third-Place Bouts 50 kg - Kendra Ryan over Ava Bayless Fall 5:08 53 kg - Sage Mortimer over Katie Gomez 13-12 55 kg - Nichole Moore over Ally Fitzgerald 10-4 57 kg - Asia Nguyen-Smith over Ngao Shoua Whitethorn 10-0 59 kg - Skye Realin over Phoenix Dubose Fall 2:37 62 kg - Marisol Nugent over Chloe Ogden Fall 4:08 65 kg - Destiny Rodriguez over Isabella Mir 10-0 68 kg - Viktorya Torres over Malea Palahniuk 4-1 72 kg - Marlynne Deede over Latifah McBryde 10-4 76 kg - Ashley Lekas over Chamira Cooper 10-0 Fifth-Place Bouts 50 kg - Stefana Jelacic over Abbygale Duke MedFFT 53 kg - Taylin Long over Mateh Roehl 12-1 55 kg - Josie Bartishofski over Anya Knappenberger 9-0 57 kg - Sofia Macaluso over Sophia Smith 9-0 59 kg - Nanea Estrella over Leidaly Rivera 16-6 62 kg - Kendall Bostleman over Jordan Suarez Fall 1:01 65 kg - Reese Larramendy over Esther Han 12-3 68 kg - Tiyahna Askew over Lydia Krauss Fall 3:24 72 kg - Jennifer Tongi over Alexandria Hernandez Fall 2:43 76 kg - Avery Ackerman over Katja Osteen MedFFT Seventh-Place Bouts 50 kg - Jenavi Alejandro over Trinity Malave Fall 1:37 53 kg - Sophia Mirabella over Caitlyn Thorne 12-4 55 kg - Carolina Moreno over Kierstyn Bockert 11-0 57 kg - Montana DeLawder over Cristelle Rodriguez MedFFT 59 kg - Athena Willden over Illyvana Martinez Fall 1:15 62 kg - Grace Stem over Abigail Varady 19-8 65 kg - Samantha Snow over Aubrey Yauger Fall 1:52 68 kg- Seda Tsarni over Elizabeth Mullendore 10-0 72 kg - Morgan Mayginnes over Ashley Reed 13-0 76 kg - Alivia White over Hunter Robinson Fall 1:29

Oklahoma State's two-time NCAA runner-up Daton Fix (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) When the #FantasyCollegeWrestling season comes to an end, it's usual to feel like you need a break. I get it; even WE took a little time for some needed R&R (fear not, though, the FCW Podcast returns later this month!). The amount of work and game planning is exponentially higher than Fantasy Football or other sports. There is not much to do other than research in the off-season. But just like we say in training, it's what you do when others are not looking that separates you from the pack. We are left with a lot of raw data that needs to be filtered and sorted. The off-season is devoted to not only recording and organizing that data, but grouping, interpreting, and utilizing that data to forecast and strategize for the upcoming season. Sometimes the best way to prepare for the future is to look back on the past season and who is returning or names/data to remember come week 12 when you are struggling to find that 174 starter. Usually, you have names like Spencer Lee, Shane Griffith, Aaron Brooks, and Tony Cassioppi that you think of to bring you success. Together this season, they combined for 84 Fantasy Points (Fpts). Well, let me throw a couple other names at you: Codi Russell, Will Formato, Brit Wilson, and Michael McAleavey. This group totaled 185 Fpts this season. As I say every year, that's the beauty and frustration of Fantasy Sports. Sometimes your top performers are not "household names." Now, this year was definitely an "asterisk" type of year as there will be quite a few instances of skewing in one way or another (see the co-Hodge announcement). In past seasons, we have stressed that match count is not always a determining factor in actual or in Fantasy Wrestling success, but this year was different. Some teams were hit with COVID precautions or wrestlers actually got COVID making an imbalance of matches wrestled between wrestlers/teams larger than in years past and causing some big names to not make the Top 20 of their respective weights. To compile these lists, we used WrestleStat Fantasy College Wrestling data. Just a reminder of how points were tallied in WrestleStat Leagues: 1) The scoring used was Standard Team Scoring across all competitions (+3 for a win by decision, -4 for a loss by Major, etc) 2) Scoring only counted against D1 competition 3) Wins via Forfeits (FFT) would count as +6 towards a wrestler's point total 4) Wins or Losses by Medical Forfeit (MFF) did not count as + or - towards a wrestler's point total 5) Points were only accumulated during the regular season Here are the previous #FCW 2021 Season weight class Top-20 Lists: 125: Codi Russell (Appalachian State) Notes: He may have only wrestled five matches.... in the last week of the season, but went on a Spencer Lee-esque tear winning four matches by pin and one tech. With double the matches, but two points behind, Brendon Fenton slots in as the #2 Fantasy Wrestler at 133 in 2021. Three wrestlers tied with 26 Fpts, but the best PPM of the three was Micky Phillippi who improved his 2020 ranking to be the #3 Fantasy Wrestler this season. Meanwhile Louie Hayes was powered by his outstanding showing at the Appalachian State Quad to get him to the #4 spot, while Zach Price finished the regular season going 8-1 and netting 22 of his 26 points. National Champion Roman Bravo-Young finished with six regular season matches wrestled and 24 Fpts, but it was Austin DeSanto who, while also having 24 Fpts this season, got the higher spot due to his 4.8 PPM thanks to his four techs and one major. Six non-starters break the Top-20, with the highest being Jake Gilva who came in at #11 powered by winning five of his eight matches by major. Oregon State's back-up Jason Shaner Jr rounds out as #20, beating starter Devan Turner (#71 this season). Little Rock's only Top-20 Wrestler this season is Paul Bianchi as the #13 Fantasy Wrestler with 21 Fpts, despite starting the season in a -8 hole. Also important to note, Bianchi was Little Rock's first National Qualifier. Who Missed The Cut: A couple Fantasy Wrestlers from last season's Top-20 did not break into the standing this year. They were Mosha Schwartz (last season #17, this year #45), Anthony Madrigal (#16 last season, #129 this season) and Jarrett Trombley who was #15 last season (#37 this season). Technically, Sammy Alvarez also slipped out of the Top-20 (was #9 last season), but only had three matches this regular season so hard to fault him on that result. Some other notables not able to crack the Top-20 this season include Bryce West (NIU), Sean Carter (APP), Mario Guillen (OHIO), Jack Medley (MICH), Devan Turner (ORST), and Zach Redding (ISU)

Hayden Hidlay in the 74 kg finals at Senior Nationals ACC wrestlers went hunting for stop signs in Coralville, Iowa, last weekend at the Senior and Junior level. Current wrestlers for NC State, UNC, UVA, and VT earned All-American honors, including three wrestlers bringing titles back to the east coast. Bryce Andonian earned top honors at 70kg Juniors, while Jakob Camacho and Hayden Hidlay picked up Senior US Open titles at 57kg and 74kg, respectively. NC State took a large contingent at both levels and brought a lot of hardware back to Raleigh. In the Senior US Open, Camacho took an 8-6 decision over Ethan Rotondo in a back and forth match to win the title at 57kg. Hidlay dominated his way to three tech falls to face off with Mizzou grad Joey Lavallee in the finals. Hidlay controlled the low-scoring defensive match to pick up the 2-1 win. The Wolfpack had another finalist at 86kg, where Trent Hidlay dropped a tight bout to former Penn State national champ Mark Hall 5-4. Rounding out the Senior field, Isaac Trumble finished 5th at 97kg while Nick Reenan doubled up with 6th place finishes in both freestyle and Greco. The Wolfpack RTC also had a championship from 2x NCAA champion Nick Gwiazdowski at 125kg. On the Junior side, the Wolfpack brought home three All-American honors. AJ Kovacs finished in 8th at 74kg, Isaac Trumble came in at 6th at 92kg and Ed Scott fell in the best-of-3 finals at 70kg to fellow ACC wrestler Andonian from Virginia Tech. Associate Head Coach Adam Hall was impressed by the effort shown in Junior's, "We urged our guys to use this tournament to focus on their growth through the shortened season we had. They got a lot of benefits both mentally and physically by ending this stretch with so many high-level matches". The Wolfpack had two wrestlers pull double duty: Nick Reenan placed 6th in both Greco and freestyle while Isaac Trumble placed 6th in Juniors and 5th in Seniors--qualifying for World Team Trials. "We wanted to challenge Isaac, but we left the choice up to him," said Hall, "he really answered the challenge and now is qualified for WTTs, so we are really happy with his effort." The Hokies/Southeast Regional Training Center sent six to Iowa and brought back six medals. Their performance was highlighted by a Junior title and a trip to Worlds for Bryce Andonian at 70kg. Current Hokie, Clayton Ulrey, also earned All-American honors with a fifth-place finish at 74kg. On the Senior side, SERTC had four athletes competing. They were highlighted by James Green earning the US Open title at 70kg. Hokie sophomore, Andy Smith, finished in 3rd at 97kg, former Hokie All-American Ty Walz finished 4th in his first event at 125kg, and Nashon Garrett ended the weekend in 6th at 61kg. Coach Frayer was pleased with the performance overall. "I was really happy with the way our guys competed out there, from the Senior level guys to our incoming freshman. All 6 we brought placed in the top 6 and incoming freshman Cooper Flynn had a great run to 4th at 57kg". Frayer also praised the effort from Bryce Andonian, "I'm really excited for Bryce making his first world team and a chance to compete for a world title in August!" UVA brought three All-Americans back to Charlottesville in Seniors. Jake Keating finished in 8th at 70kg, Justin McCoy took 7th at 74kg and Michael Battista finished in 4th at 86kg. Head Coach Steve Garland was proud of the progress shown by all of his wrestlers. "Keating will be moving down to 157 next year, so it was great prep for him to make weight. He did what he always does and competed really hard...his matches were insane, as usual; he leaves it all out there and is really fun to watch". Garland also said the weight adjustment was helpful for McCoy. "Justin is moving up to 165, so this tournament was a good test for him. He took 3rd at the UWW Juniors in the fall, so it's great to see the consistency". Garland was very impressed by the work at 86kg. "Battista was the story of the tournament for us. He is a great kid and beat some really tough dudes and competed against two returning NCAA champs. It was a great experience for him". North Carolina brought a young contingent to Juniors. Associate Head Coach Tony Ramos was impressed by what he saw. "It was great to be back on the mat and see some of our younger guys compete again. All of them got valuable mat time against some of the best in the world and the USA". The Tarheels brought one All-American finish back to Chapel Hill; Max Shaw finished in 4th at 92kg. Overall, it was a solid weekend for the ACC programs. Three ACC wrestlers bring home championships while another 13 earn All-American honors. Bryce Andonian will represent the USA at the Junior World Championships in August in Ufa, Russia, while Ed Scott will represent the USA at the Junior Pan-Am Championships. The top five placers in the US Open qualify for the World Team Trials to be held later this year.

Jordan Oliver at the Olympic Trials (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) An Ode to Coming up Just Short It must have been 1995 or 1996. I was in a Blockbuster Video (you youngins don't remember those; it was a store where you could rent movies) with my girlfriend when I bumped into Barry, an alumni of my high school that I had looked up to as a star baseball player. We chatted for a moment - he asked me about wrestling, of course, before a starry-eyed little kid emerged from behind his leg and looked at me. "This is the next great wrestler," Barry told me. That was my first meeting with Jordan Oliver, Barry's nephew, who must have been about seven years old at the time. But in my town - one that's produced Olympians and a long list of NCAA Champ and AA's, that was old enough for a second grader to be shy around me - an average high school wrestler. He was already hooked on the sport, and indeed, JO became our next great one. He soaked up everything. He truly loved the sport and had an insatiable appetite to learn technique. He won Fargo and committed to John Smith at Oklahoma State. In short, he was prepared for success. Over the course of his career - 4 NCAA placings, 3 finals, 2 titles, and on to the Senior circuit with finals appearances and titles at the Open and Trials - through a '1-year' suspension that really cost him two years, JO was always a contender and always in the mix. And yet, there were always questions. Was he focused enough? Did he cut the wrong way? Why is he wrestling this style? It was part of a question not just for JO but the microcosm of a larger, national frustration - that of not having world success at 65/66kgs in decades. Which makes this year's results so much harder to stomach. Jordan Oliver was, without a doubt, as disciplined and focused as ever. And yet, in Sofia, Bulgaria, he came up one point short of a lifelong dream. I'm sure Jordan has lived the wrestling life. Loved it and hated it. Gave everything he had to it. Philosophized and re-philosophized. And now, what? I talked with Jordan after the loss. He's hurting. And though there's no way for me to fully understand his pain, I told him that he made us all proud and that a whole nation was cheering for him. To be blunt, it's really tearing me up. And then it dawned on me that my emotions were exacerbated by the relationship. It cuts a little deeper when you've known someone for years. And so I can't help but think about how difficult it was for others legends that came up just short before him. Brent Metcalf - who ruled the weight for several years, but never made an Olympic team or medaled at Worlds. And then the trickle-down. To every wrestler that ever laced 'em up, gave everything they had, and came up just short. Wrestling is more than a sport. It's a lifestyle and a dream. To the victors go the spoils. But let's not revere any less the commitments our top guys have made when they come up just short. To your questions... Can you please go over all the coaching changes? - @jdmoneytrain The current DI positions open are Assistant spots at Lehigh, Penn, Army, and - posted yesterday - Appalachian State and Indiana. There are Volunteer Asst. slots available at South Dakota State and Little Rock. And a Strength and Conditioning vacancy at Clarion. There's also an outstanding vacancy for an S&C job at Iowa, but, the way I understand it, the Covid situation put the university under a hiring freeze. Other coaching changes: Tervel left Ohio State for the Nebraska RTC position. Just yesterday, Bo Jordan and Logan Stieber were named Assistants at tOSU. Of course, at Illinois, Jim Heffernan retired and Mike Poeta got the Head Coaching job. Poeta hasn't announced his staff, but one thing for sure is that he's interested in Jordan Oliver. At Rutgers, Anthony Ashnault was hired as an Assistant with John Leonardis moving to the Scarlet Knight WC. Jason Borrelli replaced Teague Moore at American University. As far as rumors, there's been chatter that Tom Borrelli is thinking of hanging it up at Central Michigan. And Gabe Dean looms as a high-profile free agent. Here is InterMat's Job Page Shot Clock. Too subjective. How do we change this? - @EricAsselin74 I respect your wrestling, IQ, Eric. But I respectfully disagree. Name me a match that was decided on a shot clock point in which you think the loser was incredibly active. The shot clock is a needed intrusion. During the three-period era, wrestling was oh-so-lame. Even now, with cumulative scoring, there is a serious lack of offense and risk. You don't wanna try to score? Fine. You get what you get. If you lose on a shot clock point (even if it was questionable), you frankly didn't do enough. The fact of the matter is that you have to insulate yourselves from bad calls and minutiae, which is what the shot clock situation is. Listen to This Podcast - J'den on The Trials Situation What are JOs chances of getting in via covid, injury, missed weight, etc. - @XGrain_Mark Slim and none. Frank Molinaro didn't qualify at Last Chance in 2016 but got in because someone popped for PED's. That's really not likely. And I'm not sure about the contingency plans for Tokyo regarding someone who tests for Covid, but with everything being so tight and regimented, I would guess they would just not replace that athlete. Crazier things have happened, I guess. But don't count on it. What are the anticipated Covid regulations for athletes in Tokyo? - Plasmodium I hit up our old pal, TR Foley, for help with this. Recently, Pfizer and BioNTech announced a major donation of vaccines to the IOC, which has been working with all national governing bodies. The plan is to vaccinate all athletes/coaches before they get to Tokyo. The full release is here

MINOT, N.D. - MSU Director of Athletics, Andy Carter announced today, "I am proud to represent Minot State University Athletics. It is with tremendous excitement and anticipation to announce MSU will be adding Women's Wrestling as an intercollegiate varsity sport within Beaver Athletics." We will lead the state's public higher education landscape with this addition as MSU will become the first among the 11 North Dakota University System campuses to have a Women's Wrestling team. The timing is also perfect as the North Dakota High School Activities Association just a few weeks ago announced that girls wrestling would be added as an officially sanctioned sport for the first time beginning with the 2021-22 academic year." Minot State University Department of Athletics has been working with external consultants during the past year in a comprehensive and rigorous review of the Athletic Department's overall Title IX compliance. The federal Title IX Act of 1972 impacts all aspects of higher education, but specifically within Athletics it requires that institutions provide equitable treatment of student-athletes in three specific areas: athletic participation opportunities, proportional availability of athletic scholarships for males, and females, and equal treatment of male and female student-athletes. MSU is committed to ensuring equitable treatment of student-athletes and within our athletic programs. Many directives and proactive decisions have already taken place to aid in equity development. Further, and more specifically within the overall area of Athletics participation and opportunity, it is incumbent upon MSU to demonstrate a history and continuing practice of program expansion for the underrepresented gender. President Steven Shirley stated, "Athletics has been an important part of the culture at Minot State University since our founding days over a century ago. Today's announcement with the addition of Women's Wrestling is yet another step along that journey at MSU, and I am excited for the new opportunities it will create in the years ahead for future female student-athletes on our campus." Women's Wrestling is recognized by the NCAA as an emerging sport for women. The designation is intended to help schools provide more athletics opportunities for women and more sport-sponsorship options for the institutions, and also help that sport achieve NCAA championship status. North Dakota will be the 30th state in the nation to have sanctioned high school girls wrestling - joining neighboring states, Montana and South Dakota. The addition of Women's Wrestling also fits well within the Department's existing athletic infrastructure used by Men's Wrestling. A national search for the inaugural Women's Wrestling head coach will commence immediately and plan to begin competing with an inaugural season in the 2022-23 year. What others are saying about Minot State University adding Women's Wrestling: Evan Forde, MSU Men's Wrestling Coach: "The rapid rise and advancement of women's and girls' wrestling in recent years have made a tremendous impact on our sport. The addition of a women's program here at Minot State University is very exciting. I am proud of our administration and University for their decision to make this addition. This program will support the continued growth of the wrestling culture on campus and in the community of Minot." Mike Moyer, Executive Director, National Wrestling Coaches Association, Wrestlers in Business Network: "We are forever grateful for the Minot State Administration's extraordinary leadership and pioneering efforts to add women's wrestling. Countless young aspiring women will now have the chance to pursue their academic and athletic dreams at Minot State University." Terry Steiner, USA Wrestling Women's National Team Coach: "As USA Wrestling's Women's Freestyle National Team Coach and a North Dakota native, I am very excited to see the opportunities for females in the sport expanding. Earlier in the year, the North Dakota State High School Activities Association added the sport of Girls Wrestling as a Sanctioned High School Sport and now Minot State University Adds Women's Wrestling as a varsity sport. These are great milestones not just for the young females in the state of North Dakota but for Women's Wrestling as a sport. What really excites me is that the people see the value of the sport on our younger generation. Education comes from many places, in the classroom, on the field of competition, and on the wrestling mats. Obviously, I believe that the sport of wrestling is a great teacher of life skills that will long outlast these athletes' competitive careers. This is a win-win-win situation for Minot State University, the State of North Dakota, and the women's wrestling community". About Minot State Minot State University is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and NCAA Division II offering 14 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletics programs. The NSIC is a premier NCAA DII, 16-member conference featuring teams in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Iowa. The Beavers are the only public NCAA Division II institution in the state of North Dakota.