InterMat Staff

Hayden Walters at the 2021 Walsh Ironman (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) We've got an early leader in the race for the top billing with the recruiting rankings for the Class of 2023. Michigan already has an impressive haul, yet continued to add to its group with a verbal commitment from #42 Hayden Walters (Crescent Valley, OR). Walters is a three-time Oregon state champion and one of three Crescent Valley wrestlers who can win their fourth in 2023. His most recent title came at 195 lbs. Walters has been an instrumental part of a high school team that has won an Oregon 5A state championship in each year of his career. Outside of Oregon, Walters has an impressive resume. During the 2021-22 season, Walters was third at the Walsh Ironman and a runner-up at the Doc Buchanan. In preseason action, Walters has finished fifth at the Ironman in each of the last two years. Last summer, in Fargo, Walters finished third at the Junior Freestyle tournament. Hayden advanced to the national semifinals before suffering a 4-1 loss to the eventual champion, TJ Stewart. Walters rebounded to defeat Clayton Whiting (Wisconsin) in his next contest. Whiting made headlines last year by downing Iowa national qualifier, Abe Assad, in open tournament competition. Walters will join former high school teammate Chance Lamer in Ann Arbor. The #8 overall recruit in the Class of 2021, Lamer amassed a 17-2 record competing unattached this year. For more on Lamer's redshirt season. With Walters on board, Michigan now has five top-50 recruits in the fold, including four of the top 25. They are #10 Beau Mantanona (CA), #14 Dylan Gilcher (MI), #23 Caden Horwath (MI), and #24 Sergio Lemley (IL/IN). Walters projects as a 197 lber at the next level. That could be useful provided 2022 blue-chipper Rylan Rogers (ID) stays down at 184 lbs. As of now, the Wolverines starter at 197 lbs in 2022-23 is sixth-year wrestler JT Correll, with Bobby Striggow (two years of eligibility) and Brendin Yatooma (three years of eligibility) in the mix. For all of the recruiting commitments, check out our commitment page.

Chance Lamer at the Michigan State Open (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) With our eyes starting to look down the road to the 2022-23 collegiate season, it's almost time to put some new faces in the rankings and probable lineups. Before doing so, we first must look back at how some of the elite recruits from the Class of 2021 performed while competing unattached. These top recruits will be asked to fill in for their respective teams, many of which are seeking NCAA team trophies in the 2022-23 season. Based on the early returns, will these young stars be able to make a seamless transition to the everyday grind of starting on a prominent DI team? Below is the evidence we have learned thus far. Remember, #4 Drake Ayala (Iowa), #6 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin), and #11 Carter Young (Oklahoma State) are not included in this exercise because they either started all year for their respective schools or were pulled from redshirt. #1 Paddy Gallagher (Ohio State) Record: 17-2 The Ohio State staff resisted the urge to pull Paddy Gallagher's redshirt even though they did not have a national qualifier at 157 lbs. Gallagher got his lone tournament win of the year when he got the title at the Ohio Intercollegiate, which was the first he entered. Gallagher's first loss came to Buffalo's national qualifier, Michael Petite, in sudden victory at the Cleveland State Open. While certainly not a terrible loss, it may have been a sign that Gallagher could've taken some lumps in the Big Ten. His second defeat (may not even count as official, but it's a redshirt season) came against Penn State prospect Levi Haines, who was a top recruit from the Class of 2022. Gallagher was generally dominant against the majority of his competition; however, he did not register any wins over past or future national qualifiers. #2 Alex Facundo (Penn State) Record: 12-3 With some uncertainty surrounding the 165 lb weight class in the preseason, there was some thought that Alex Facundo may get the nod in year one. Those dissipated a bit after a loss in week one to John Martin Best (Maryland) at the Clarion Open. In his next outing, at the Southern Scuffle, Facundo went 2-2. His two setbacks came against eventual national qualifiers Thomas Bullard (NC State) and Caleb Fish (Michigan State). He did post a victory over Evan Barczak (Drexel), who has qualified for nationals twice. Facundo finished the year with four bonus-point wins to take the Mat-Town Open. #3 Richie Figueroa (Arizona State) Record: 3-0 Former Cadet World medalist Richie Figueroa was only in action in one event for Arizona State during his redshirt season. On the last weekend of the regular season, Figueroa traveled to enter Iowa State's fabled Last Chance Open. There he pinned two opponents Caleb Fuessley (Iowa State) and Davian Guanajuato (SIU Edwardsville), both in the first period. The limited sample size doesn't indicate exactly how “college-ready” Figueroa is, but the Sun Devils could have a good problem on their hands as two-time NCAA All-American Brandon Courtney is expected to return at 125. #5 Shayne Van Ness (Penn State) Record: 2-0 We didn't learn much about Shayne Van Ness after his redshirt season. He entered the season-opening Clarion Open and bonuses a pair of opponents before medically forfeiting out of the tournament. It would be his only tournament of the year. Based on Penn State's track record with elite recruits, you'd expect Van Ness to be ready to roll in 2022-23, but there is no hard evidence from his initial year in State College. #7 Lenny Pinto (Nebraska) Record: 0-0 Lenny Pinto redshirted but did not compete for the Huskers last season. #8 Chance Lamer (Michigan) Record: 17-2 One of the more active wrestlers on this list was Michigan's Chance Lamer, who won 17 of his 19 contests battling unattached. During his first weekend of competition, Lamer was awarded two medical forfeiting, but also picked up a solid 10-4 win over veteran Lawrence Saenz (Cal Poly). That came at 141 lbs, but the next time we saw Lamer he was at 149 lbs for the Cleveland State Open. Although he suffered a loss to Corbyn Munson (Central Michigan), Lamer pinned NCAA qualifiers Graham Rooks (Indiana) and John Arceri (Buffalo), along with splitting matches with MAC Runner-up Marcus Robinson (Cleveland State). Lamer went undefeated down the stretch, winning the Purple Raider Open and the Edinboro Open, though he didn't face any notable names at either. Even so, Lamer got bonus points in seven of those ten bouts. #9 Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (Oklahoma) Record: 11-2 Alejandro Herrera-Rondon is an interesting prospect. He is one of the best from the top position of anyone from the Class of 2021 and showed early on in his redshirt campaign. Herrera-Rondon outscored his competition 20-1 to take home a title at 157 lbs in the Freshman/Sophomore division at the Michigan State Open. In his other events, Herrera-Rondon saw largely non-DI competition, which he generally blew past. His two losses came to teammate Jared Hill and Oklahoma State's Luke Mechler, to the tune of 6-1. With longtime stalwart Justin Thomas moving on, either Hill or Herrera-Rondon will be the heir apparent at 157 lbs. #10 Dean Peterson (Rutgers) Record: 2-1 In-state product Dean Peterson only saw action in one tournament during the 2021-22 season for Rutgers. At the Mat-Town Open, Peterson downed Lukas Richie (Penn) 8-3 and edged former blue-chip recruit Julian Chlebove (Arizona State) in sudden victory. Peterson's lone setback came against Bucknell's Dylan Chappell to the tune of 4-0. Though Chappell did not start for the Bison, he did rack up an impressive 24-8 record competing unattached. Peterson competed at 133 at the Mat Town; however, he could be in the mix to start at 125 lbs next season. #12 Joel Vandevere (Northwestern) Record: 0-0 Joel Vandevere redshirted but did not compete for the Wildcats last season. #13 Cael Valencia (Arizona State) Record: 12-4 The two-time NCAA trophy-winning Sun Devils of Arizona State had some difficulty with the 174 lb weight class this year. There was some thought that Cael Valencia may have been pulled from redshirt, especially after some promising early returns. Valencia was victorious at the first two tournaments he entered, the Mountaineer Invitational and the Cowboy Open. At the Cowboy Open, Valencia upset four-time national qualifier, Hayden Hastings (Wyoming), who ended the year in the NCAA Round of 12. Hastings got revenge a few weeks later with a pin at the Reno Tournament of Champions, one of two losses by fall for Valencia at the event. He finished the year at the Last Chance Open and went 0-2 against a pair of quality non-starters from Iowa State and Minnesota. The restraint from the ASU staff, keeping Valencia in redshirt, proved to be a sound decision for 2021-22. With more time in the room and experience under his belt, Cael should be a big factor for Arizona State next year and in the future. #14 Alek Martin (South Dakota State) Record: 21-7 There was no shortage of mat time in year one for Alek Martin at South Dakota State. In his first appearance for the Jackrabbits, Martin went 2-2 with losses to a pair of Minnesota wrestlers, Drew Roberts and Sebas Swiggum. One of the positive notes for Martin's season was that at the end of the year, in early February, Martin reversed the result against Swiggum with an 8-0 major decision. That type of result proves that Martin was trending in the correct direction, despite taking a few lumps along the way. Martin's best win came at SDSU's Daktronics Open, when he took down returning national qualifier Tristan Lara (Northern Iowa) in sudden victory. #15 Victor Voinovich (Oklahoma State) Record: 16-1 Victor Voinovich started his redshirt season by winning his first 14 matches. The bulk of those wins came against non-DI competition in regional open tournaments. Even so, Voinovich did see some top DII competitors and was forced to win some tight matches. Voinovich's most notable performance was taking third place at the Southern Scuffle. He advanced to the semifinals after a 5-3 win over past NCAA Round of 12 finisher Zach Price (South Dakota State). In the semis, Voinovich was blanked by Josh Finesilver (Duke) for the only blemish on his ledger. Along the way, Voinovich also logged a victory over Chris Sandoval (Northern Colorado), another former national qualifier. Voinovich should fill in fine for Kaden Gfeller next year at 149 lbs. #16 Wyatt Henson (Iowa) Record: 18-2 We broke down Wyatt Henson's redshirt season when discussing his transfer to Oklahoma. #17 Jagger Condomitti (Nebraska) Record: 8-2 Early in the year, Jagger Condomitti saw action at the Grand View Open at 165 lbs. There he faced a cavalcade of 165's for Iowa State. Condomitti downed Logan Schumacher, but fell to Grant Stotts and Isaac Judge. Later in the year, Condomitti dropped to 157 and ran the table at the Hastings Open, with two falls, a tech, and an 8-2 decision. With national qualifiers (and 3 All-Americans) returning from 149-174, the Nebraska lineup may be tough to crack in 2022-23. #18 Caden McCrary (North Carolina) Record: 10-4 In each of the first two weeks of the regular season, Caden McCrary saw action unattached for UNC. McCrary opened the year by winning five of six bouts at the Southeast Open, losing only to fellow redshirting freshman Kyren Butler (Virginia). A week later, McCrary suffered a pair of losses to Zach Harrington (Newberry) and teammate Wil Guida. The Guida loss came in tiebreakers and would prove to be a thorn in the side for McCrary, who lost to him again, in February, at the Newberry Open. The second Guida loss was also in extra time. With NCAA runner-up Kizhan Clarke out of the equation, Guida, McCrary, and Lachlan McNeil will all fight for the starting role at 141 lbs in 2022-23. #19 Tate Picklo (Oklahoma) Record: 1-0 As the record may indicate, there isn't much to learn from Tate Picklo's redshirt season. He entered the Rocky Mountain Open in mid-February and posted a 21-9 major decision over Mahonri Rushton (Utah Valley), before medically forfeiting out. #20 Cooper Flynn (Virginia Tech) Record: 15-3 It was an all-around solid redshirt season for Cooper Flynn, who had teammate, Eddie Ventresca, responsible for two of his three losses on the year. Flynn's other defeat was from Tristan Daugherty (Buffalo), who looked like a possible national qualifier, at times, for the Bulls. Flynn logged wins over three-time NCAA qualifier Korbin Meink (Campbell) and North Carolina's starter, Spencer Moore, at the Wolfpack Open. Though he didn't place at the Scuffle, Flynn did defeat fellow redshirting freshman, Braxton Brown (Maryland), who had an impressive year of his own. Flynn finished the season with a title at the F&M Open, highlighted by a win over past national qualifier Jacob Allen (Navy).

Final X Rutgers in 2019 (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) USA Wrestling has finalized the bout order and event structure for both Final X Stillwater, presented by Tezos, on Friday, June 3, as well as Final X New York. presented by Tezos, on Wednesday, June 8. Final X will have two sessions. The first match of all 15 of the best-of-three championship series in each event will be held during the first session. The second (and third match if necessary) for all 15 weight classes will be conducted in the second session. The weight class order will be the same for both sessions. The winner of each Final X Championship Series will represent the Team USA at the Senior World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, Sept. 10-18. Based upon Senior World Team Selection criteria, 14 athletes who were 2021 Senior World medalists have accepted their automatic berth in Final X. Seven of these athletes will be competing in Stillwater and seven will be competing in New York. Final X Stillwater, presented by Tezos, is set for Friday, June 3 at Gallagher-Iba Arena on the campus of Oklahoma State University. It will be held alongside the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Honors Weekend, which is happening at the Hall of Fame facility next door, June 3-4. Session times for Final X Stillwater are 2:00 p.m. Central Time and 7:00 p.m. Central Time. Tickets for Final X Stillwater, presented by Tezos The weight classes for Final X Stillwater (by style) are: Men's freestyle: 57 kg, 61 kg, 70 kg, 92 kg, 97 kg Women's freestyle: 55 kg, 59 kg, 65 kg, 68 kg, 76 kg Greco-Roman: 55 kg, 63 kg, 72 kg, 82 kg, 130 kg Final X Stillwater Bout Order (with declared athletes where applicable) Bout 1 - 63 kg GR Bout 2 -76 kg WFS Bout 3 - 130 kg GR Bout 4 - 70 kg MFS Bout 5- 72 kg GR Bout 6 - 59 kg WFS Bout 7 - 82 kg GR Bout 8 - 57 kg MFS - Thomas Gilman Bout 9 - 55 kg GR - Bout 10 - 61 kg MFS - Daton Fix Bout 11 - 55 kg WFS - Jenna Burkert Bout 12 - 92 kg MFS - J'den Cox Bout 13 - 65 kg WFS - Forrest Molinari Bout 14 - 97 kg MFS - Kyle Snyder Bout 15 - 68 kg WFS - Tamyra Mensah Stock Final X New York. presented by Tezos, is set for Wednesday, June 8 at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. This will serve as the 12th Beat the Streets Annual Benefit. These unique and electrifying annual events help Beat the Streets New York raise millions of dollars to support local youth wrestling programs which empower young people in New York City. Session times for Final X New York are 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time and 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time. There are a variety of ticket options available for Final X New York, beginning at $65 so you don't miss the first in-person Benefit since 2019. Purchase your wrestling-only event tickets on Ticketmaster. For information on Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages (wrestling event and exclusive after party access) that also provide the best wrestling-event seats, visit give.btsny.org/benefit or email Fund Development Manager Kerry Doyle at kdoyle@btsny.org." The weight classes for Final X New York (by style) are: Men's freestyle: 65 kg, 74 kg, 79 kg, 86 kg, 125 kg Women's freestyle: 50 kg, 53 kg, 57 kg, 62 kg, 72 kg Greco-Roman: 60 kg, 67 kg, 77 kg, 87 kg, 97 kg Final X New York Bout Order (with declared athletes where applicable) Bout 1 - 77 kg GR Bout 2 - 72 kg WFS Bout 3 - 65 kg MFS Bout 4 - 87 kg GR Bout 5 - 125 kg MFS Bout 6 - 67 kg GR Bout 7 - 53 kg W Bout 8 - 60 kg GR Bout 9 - 62 kg WFS - Kayla Miracle Bout 10 - 97 kg GR - G'Angelo Hancock Bout 11 - 50 kg WFS - Sarah Hildebrandt Bout 12 - 74 kg MFS - Kyle Dake Bout 13 - 57 kg WFS - Helen Maroulis Bout 14 - 79kg MFS - Jordan Burroughs Bout 15 - 86kg MFS - David Taylor

Sarah Hildebrandt at the 2022 Pan-American Championships (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The 2022 Pan American Championships finished up last weekend, and Team USA dominated as expected. Out of a possible 30 gold medals across all three styles, the team brought home 17 and added another three silver and four bronze medals. Host nation Mexico had a surprisingly strong result with one gold medal and 14 overall medals. They finished second in the Greco Roman team score ahead of Cuba and behind only Team USA. Due to their overall dominant performance, Team USA also dominated many of the statistical categories. The following looks at the performance of the team and some of the standout performances across all three styles. Point Differential Sarah Hildebrandt might be the best offensive wrestler in the United States at this point. She regularly racks up the points against international competition. In many cases, one takedown is more than enough for her to implement her par-terre offense and finish bouts. Hildebrandt had three matches at the Pan American Championships. She won all three by 10-0 technical superiority on the way to the tournament title at 50 kg. Her longest bout came in the quarterfinals where Puerto Rico's Shammilka Miranda Diaz lasted 1:19. Thanks to her quick finishes, Hildebrandt averaged 8.91 points per minute, which was the highest of the tournament across all three styles. She allowed zero points and therefore, obviously, had a +8.91 differential. That was also tops across all divisions. At 61 kg in men's freestyle, Daton Fix was nearly as dominant. He wrestled three matches in a four-man round-robin bracket and won his first two by superiority and finished his third by fall while holding a 10-0 lead. He finished with a 7.78 points per minute rate and a +7.78 differential. The highest point differential from a wrestler outside of Team USA belonged to Kevin Mejia. The Greco specialist won gold at 97 kg. He has previously defeated American G'Angelo Hancock, who was not in the bracket for this event. Mejia dispatched all three of his opponents by 8-0 superiority. Even with the lower point threshold for superiority in Greco, Mejia showed that the style can have a strong statistical performance as he finished with a +6.99 differential. Top Five Point Differential Individual Performances Sarah Hildebrandt (USA/WFS) +8.91 Daton Fix (USA/MFS) +7.78 Jordan Burroughs (USA/MFS) +7.11 Kevin Mejia (HON/GR) +6.99 Skylar Grote (USA/WFS) +6.09 Point Differential by Team With four of the top five point differential performances coming from Team USA, it should not be a surprise to see that the same squad had the highest collectively point differential. Team USA finished the event with a +1.91 differential across all three styles. Men's freestyle was by far the most dominant as they finished with a +3.79 differential, but all three styles finished with a positive differential. Cuba, who did not bring many of their best competitors and dealt with some off-the-mat issues, had the second highest point differential at +0.65. Men's freestyle was also their best style in terms of this metric as they finished with a +1.06 differential. Top Five Point Differential Team Performances USA +1.91 Cuba +0.65 Venezuela +0.27 Canada +0.10 Dominican Republic +0.02 Points per Minute Obviously Hildebrandt and Fix were the leaders in terms of this metric as discussed previously. However, it is also important to highlight the performance of veteran Jordan Burroughs. Over the weekend, he picked up his eighth gold medal at the Pan American Games/Championships. He has adjusted nicely to the move up to 79 kg. Burroughs won all four of his matches inside the first period. Three of those victories came via superiority, and he pinned Victor Acosta of Puerto Rico less than two minutes in the match while holding an 8-0 lead. Burroughs' 7.29 points per minute rate was the third highest of the event behind only Hildebrandt and Fix. Top Five Points per Minute Performance Sarah Hildebrandt 8.91 Daton Fix 7.78 Jordan Burroughs 7.29 Kevin Mejia 6.99 Luis Miguel Perez Souza 6.25 Points Allowed per Minute At the recent U.S. Open, Jason Nolf was the only competitor in men's freestyle to make it through the tournament without giving up a single point. This past weekend, Five Americans and one other competitor accomplished the same feat. As previously mentioned in the point differential section, Fix, Hildebrandt and Mejia made it through their brackets without allowing a single point. Joining them in the zero-points allowed club are Sam Jones, who won gold at 63 kg in Greco, Skylar Grote, the winner at 72 kg in women's freestyle, and Forrest Molinari, the champion at 65 kg in women's freestyle. Of course, Jones was at a bit of an advantage since he was in a two-person weight class and only needed to best Jose Rodriguez Hernandez, and he scored a 10-0 victory. Average Points per Match by Weight Cuba's Yaynelis Sanz Verdecia won the women's freestyle 57 kg division with a 5-1 victory over Nittany Lion Wrestling Club representative Jane Valencia (Mexico) in the finals. That six-point match was the lowest scoring bout of the bracket, which featured some wild results. The average match point total for a match in the division was 14.08 points, which was the highest across any weight in all three styles. Outside of the finals match, none of the matches ended with fewer than 10 points on the scoreboard. On the men's freestyle side, the highest scoring weight division at 86 kg. The average match point total for the weight was 12.50 points. In the semifinals, eventual champion Zahid Valencia scored a 14-4 superiority victory over Andrew Vera Jackson (Bolivia), while Lazaro Hernandez Luis (Cuba) escaped with a 10-10 criteria victory over Ethan Ramos (Puerto Rico). In Greco the highest scoring weight was 60 kg. The average match total was 11.17, and eventual champion Randon Miranda was a great contributor to this. He scored 11, 7, 8 and 12 points respectively on his way to the title. His 20-point match against Samuel Gurria Vigueras (Mexico) in the finals was tied for the highest scoring Greco match of the tournament. Highest Scoring Match While Miranda took part in the highest scoring match in Greco, the highest scoring match of the tournament actually came in women's freestyle in the 59 kg division. American Xochitl Mota Pettis put herself on the map with a second-place performance at Senior Nationals and since then has continued to shine as a top prospect in women's freestyle. She was probably hoping for a better result this past weekend as she dropped both of her matches. However, Mota Pettis was true to herself and took part in the highest scoring match of the tournament. She dropped a 19-8 match against Amyelli Jessel Rodhas of Mexico in the first round of the round-robin tournament. In the match, Mota Pettis got out to an early lead and held a 6-0 edge less than a minute into the match. Rojas took over with a pair of four-point throws and went to the break with a 9-8 lead. The second period belonged to the Mexican competitor as she scored all 10 points and finished the superiority victory with 28 seconds left in the bout. Match Results by Weight There did not seem to be a relationship between size and finishing rate at the Pan American Championships. Style also did not seem to play a significant factor. Both 67 kg Greco and 68 kg women's freestyle had the highest percentage of matches to go the full distance (67%). However, the different types of finish seemed to be entirely dependent on the individual competitors.

Nate Jackson at the 2021 US Open (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Before we can fully concentrate on the World Team Trials next weekend in Coralville, Iowa, we need to finalize the field. That occurs Friday and Saturday as the Last Chance Qualifier takes place in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The highest placewinner, who hasn't already qualified for the Trials, will earn a spot in the WTT's. With the top-seven Senior placers at the US Open locking up spots, along with various other qualifying criteria, you may assume that all of the stars have already secured a place in Coralville. That isn't the case. Some very notable competitors are still looking to officially book their travel to Iowa. Here are some of the biggest names: 61 kg Shelton Mack (New York City RTC) As of now, the 2021 US Open champion at 61 kg, Shelton Mack, is on the outside looking in at the World Team Trials. Mack fell in the Round of 16 at the 2022 Open, when Indiana's Henry Porter rallied for four points in the last minute of their bout to take a 10-9 victory. He was eliminated two matches later with a 7-5 loss to former Arizona State wrestler Josh Kramer. Barring another upset, Mack should be able to qualify this weekend. 65 kg Joshua Saunders (Spartan Combat RTC) There's a large group that hasn't qualified at 65 kg and Joshua Saunders has the longest international resume of those on the list. He has appeared at both the Cadet and Junior World Championships both in 2018. Now at Cornell, Saunders is looking to crack the starting lineup for the first time, consistently in 2022-23. Before that, he has some work to attend to. Saunders was tripped up in his first bout at the Open this year by Tristan Moran, 12-9. After winning three bouts, Saunders was downed by Iowa State's Ian Parker in the Round of 12. Parker went on to secure third place. With a field consisting of names like Brock Zacherl and Sammy Alvarez, qualifying won't be a given for Saunders. 79 kg Isaiah Martinez (Beaver Dam RTC) Without a doubt, the most surprising name on this list is Isaiah Martinez. The two-time Final X participant was left without a guaranteed berth in Final X after settling for eighth place after medically forfeiting post a Round of 12 win at the US Open. Martinez was sent the the consi's after a stunning fall from David McFadden in the quarterfinals. Martinez led the bout 6-3 at the time of the fall. Provided he qualifies for WTT's, Martinez will make for some lights-out early bouts, as he'll likely take a knock in the seeding process. If healthy, Martinez should get the bid here. Devin Skatzka (Spartan Combat RTC) Looking to spoil Martinez's shot at the WTT's is former Minnesota All-American Devin Skatzka. Skatzka was third at the Open last year, but did not wrestle in Vegas in April. Right above Skatzka in the 2021 Open, was Martinez; however, he did outplace the 2022 winner, McFadden. In a normal circumstance, Skatzka would likely be one of the favorites at a tournament like this, but this is obviously not a normal circumstance. 86 kg Nate Jackson (NYAC) After Martinez, the biggest name in this group is Nate Jackson. During the 2020-21 years, Jackson really emerged as a top-level threat domestically. He was the most active American male freestyler during that time period. Last year, Jackson was an Open champion at 92 kg. The previous year he was a runner-up down at this weight. Jackson was also fifth at 86 kg in 2019. Jackson did not compete at the 2022 Open, so hopefully, he's healthy and ready to make his run. If so, he should certainly emerge as the guy this weekend and make a dent in the WTT bracket. Andrew Morgan (Spartan Combat RTC) The fourth seed at the 2022 Open was Andrew Morgan, the former standout at Campbell. Morgan missed out on the top-eight in Vegas after going 1-2. He started with a win, then dropped back-to-back matches to Caden Steffan and Nick Reenan. In the Steffan bout, Morgan held a lead in the second period, while he hung close to Reenan. Should he make an adjustment or two, Morgan could easily flip either result. He'll have his work cut out for him though, having to go through Jackson to earn the WTT spot. 125 kg Derek White (Cliff Keen WC) The 2019 NCAA runner-up at 285 lbs, Derek White, sits outside the field for the WTT's based on two razor-thin losses at the Open. The tenth seed, White, slipped by Gary Traub 2-1, before a 3-1 loss to 2022 NCAA All-American Lucas Davison, a former Junior World silver medalist. White got back on the winning track with victories over Ryan Vasbinder and Lewis Fernandes, before falling to another 2022 AA, Christian Lance. A two-point score from Lance, with under ten seconds left in the bout, proved to be the difference-maker, as the Husker star won on criteria, 4-4. White has placed fourth at the 2019 Open and has wins over others already in the field. He has a good shot at getting his hand raised in the finals this weekend. Women's Freestyle 62 kg Alex Liles (Army WCAP) Most of the notable women have already secured a spot in Coralville already, but the biggest name that stands out is three-time age-group world team member Alex Liles. An eighth-place finisher at the Open, Liles missed out on the Trials berth after a 7-2 loss to Cierra Foster. Other setbacks from Vegas include losses to Nina Makem and Emmily Patneaud. Last year, Liles was an Open runner-up and she has a pair of top-seven finishes on her resume. Additionally, she was third at the WTT's in 2019. Liles has to be considered the favorite at 62 kg this weekend. Greco-Roman 67 kg Jessy Williams (Spartan Combat RTC) Even though he entered the US Open as the fifth seed, Jessy Williams was left out in the cold after going 1-2 at the competition itself. After a 9-0 loss in the quarters to Lenny Merkin, Williams was shocked by Jakob Murillo 6-3 in his first consolation bout. Murillo did all of his damage late in the first period and it was able to hold up for the final three-plus minutes. That performance was definitely a one-off showing for Williams, who had previously finished in the top seven at the last five US Open's, highlighted by a runner-up finish in 2018. He'll be the man to beat at 67 kg this weekend.

Princeton Associate Head Coaches Joe Dubuque (front) and Sean Gray (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) On Thursday, Brown University announced that head coach Todd Beckerman was stepping down. Beckerman had spent nine seasons at Brown and oversaw the school's fourth All-American in school history among his 12 national qualifiers. With the new head coaching vacancy, it's time to look forward and project some possible coaching candidates. As always, with these types of exercises, we're looking for candidates who actually make sense for the actual job opening. Certain coaches, while great, may not fit in with an Ivy League school like Brown. So, here are eight great fits for the Brown head coaching job, listed alphabetically. Brad Dillon (Lehigh) Lehigh Associate Head Coach Brad Dillon (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Why He Makes Sense: Dillon has been Pat Santoro's right-hand man for the last 17 years. 13 at Lehigh and the previous four at Maryland. While not at an Ivy level, recruiting at Lehigh requires a coach to seek out high-quality student-athletes. The experience at Maryland was basically a rebuild, something that will have to take place at Brown. When Santoro/Dillon left Maryland, the program was on top of a rapidly-improving ACC. Dillon has been in the mix for head coaching jobs in the past and this may be the perfect opportunity for him. Joe Dubuque (Princeton) Why He Makes Sense: Cornell proved, almost 20 years ago, that you can win consistently at a high level in the Ivy League. Princeton head coach Chris Ayres saw this and put together one of the most remarkable turnarounds in college athletics, taking Princeton from the bottom of the DI ranks to an Ivy and EIWA title in 2020. Now the program regularly churns out high All-Americans and can recruit with the best in the nation. That means it's time for some of Ayres' pupils to get some shine of their own. Dubuque has the most credentials, on the mat, of anyone on this list, with a pair of NCAA titles while at Indiana. He also has coached at Hofstra and his alma mater before moving back to his home state and Princeton. Having varying levels of coaching experience comes in handy when it comes to interview time. Dubuque competed and coached in the Big Ten, likely had to be more resourceful while at Hofstra, now has had the opportunity to work around the lofty academic requirements at Princeton. Individually, Dubuque has worked closely with 2022 NCAA runner-up, Pat Glory, one of the Tigers biggest recruits and best performers. Sean Gray (Princeton) Why He Makes Sense: Like Dubuque, Sean Gray is a part of the Ayres coaching tree at Princeton and, at some point, his assistants will start getting opportunities to lead their own programs. Gray is the longest-tenured member of the Tiger assistants, having worked with the team for the past 11 years. Prior to being hired at Princeton, Gray was in the New England area as an associate head coach, under the legendary Carl Adams, at Boston University. At the time, Gray was responsible for the more "hands-on" aspects of the Terriers team. With only 50 miles separating Boston and Providence, Gray should have some existing relationships and connections in the New England area with high schools, clubs, and potential donors. Adam Hall (NC State) NC State Associate Head Coach Adam Hall (right) (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Why He Makes Sense: People talk about Dan Gable and John Smith's coaching trees; both of which are very impressive in their own rights. NC State head coach Pat Popolizio has one that continues to grow every year. When we spoke with Popolizio last year, he insinuated that "It's not if, but when," Adam Hall gets the chance to lead a program of his own. Hall is the most tenured assistant and instrumental in a program that has notched top-five recruiting classes for each of the last three years. The 2023 class is shaping up to be excellent and could make it four straight. Like Dubuque, Hall has a resume with a couple of interesting stops. He hails from Idaho and competed at Boise State, earning a pair of All-America honors along the way. His first coaching job came at Columbia, where he spent four years around an Ivy League program. Since the Ivies operate a little differently than the rest of the country, it's good having someone with previous experience on that front. Hall also has had plenty of experience traveling overseas with Wolfpack Wrestling Club, if Brown has aspirations to make more of an impact on the freestyle circuit. Jordan Leen (Pittsburgh) Pittsburgh Assistant Coach Jordan Leen (right) (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Why He Makes Sense: We started off with some Princeton flair, now we'll move on to some candidates that have Cornell ties. Jordan Leen was a three-time All-American and 2008 national champion for the school in Ithaca. Leen just finished his fifth year on staff at Pittsburgh, a team that has continued to improve under his and head coach Keith Gavin's direction. While Leen doesn't have direct experience coaching at an Ivy League school, he did spend five years at Virginia and one at Duke, both institutions that have very high academic standards. At Duke, he had to function in a program that doesn't give out wrestling scholarships. During his time at Virginia, and now at Pittsburgh, Leen has earned a reputation as an excellent recruiter. With Cornell, Penn, Princeton, and Columbia now mainstays in the recruiting rankings, getting comparable talent to Providence is imperative. Troy Nickerson (Northern Colorado) Northern Colorado head coach Troy Nickerson (left) (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Why He Makes Sense: Nickerson is the lone head coach on our list. He has been at the helm for Northern Colorado since 2014. During that time, Nickerson brought credibility to a program that was often overlooked on the DI scene. The Bears have now moved into the Big 12 and have produced 27 national qualifiers under Nickerson's watch. This past season, Northern Colorado saw their first Big 12 champion crowned, as Andrew Alirez won the title at 141 lbs. Alirez was one of the top recruits in the Class of 2019, a group ranked in the top ten by every service in the country. Nickerson is a Cornell grad and a four-time All-American (2009 national champion) for then-head coach Rob Koll. He was the first mega-recruit to sign with the Big Red. After graduating, Nickerson stayed on to coach the Finger Lakes Wrestling Club for a year. In addition, before coming to Greeley, Nickerson spent two years on staff at Iowa State under Kevin Jackson. Should Nickerson be interested in leaving Northern Colorado, he could be an interesting candidate for Brown. Bryan Pearsall (Penn) Penn Associate Head Coach Bryan Pearsall (Photo/Tony DiMarco) Why He Makes Sense: So, why Bryan Pearsall makes sense here, also may be why he doesn't, if that's as clear as mud. Pearsall has been alongside Penn head coach Roger Reina, as they have built the Quakers into a program that looks ready to threaten Cornell and Princeton for Ivy and EIWA supremacy. Penn just crowned their first All-American in Reina's second tenure and the fruits of their labor are starting to be realized on the mat. His efforts on the recruiting trail and behind the scenes deserve to be rewarded. However, there's a line of thinking that Pearsall could be next-in-line, once the Penn Hall of Famer, Reina, decides to step aside. There's a good chance that Pearsall remains in Philadelphia; however, I'd expect a call from Brown, nonetheless. The Bears athletic director, Grace Calhoun, is only in her 13th month on the job. Prior to Brown, Calhoun spent seven years as the Director of Athletics and Recreation at Penn. Oftentimes in athletics (and life, in general), people hire individuals they're familiar with. I assume Calhoun has taken notice of the work that Pearsall, Reina, and the rest of the Penn Wrestling staff have put in while she led the department. Donnie Vinson (Cornell) Cornell Associate Head Coach Donnie Vinson (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Why He Makes Sense: Vinson has a couple of ties to individuals and programs we already have mentioned here. Like Hall, Donnie Vinson has learned under Pat Popolizio. First, as a wrestler at Binghamton and later as a coach at NC State. After starting his coaching career at Binghamton, Vinson spent time on the Cornell staff as a volunteer assistant under Rob Koll. Once Mike Grey assumed the reins of the Big Red program, Vinson returned as the associate head coach. It's telling that Vinson was given such a lofty title in such a high-profile program like Cornell. Could a head coaching gig be next?

Dazjon Casto at the 2022 NCAA Championships (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The transfer tracker continues to grow. Since our last update, we have Wyoming with a couple of NJCAA transfers from in-state Western Wyoming, along with The Citadel picking up and losing a graduate transfer. Arizona State has made an already stacked lineup look even more imposing. One of the schools on ASU's heels, Virginia Tech, added an NCAA qualifier. Also, an All-American 197 lber moved on from the defending champion Penn State Nittany Lions. Finally, Purdue got an under-the-radar solid pickup to fill in at the upper-middleweights. Don't blink, you might miss the next one. But if you do, we'll surely have another DI Transfer Tracker update soon.

U20 National Champion Adriana Dorado-Marin (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) U23 Nationals 50 kg Championship - Nyla Valencia (Bulldog WC) over Nina Pham (Texas WC) 19-8, 10-0 Third Place - Emily Shilson over Danielle Garcia Fall 2:08 Fifth Place - Alex Szkotnicki over Dianna Holmes 13-4 Seventh Place - Jasmine Howard over Kaelani Shufeldt 5-0 53 kg Championship - Felicity Taylor (TMWC) over Samara Chavez (Team Tornado WC) Fall 1:07, 10-0 Third Place - Chloe Ayers over Avery Ashley 8-8 Fifth Place - Angela Lorusso over Itzel Medina-Valdez Fall 5:37 Seventh Place - Angela De La Cruz over Katherine Heath 16-14 55 kg Championship - Alisha Howk (Sunkist Kids) over Alana Vivas (Menlo WC) 6-2, 7-0 Third Place - Torieonna Buchanan over Trinity Howard 18-8 Fifth Place - Nia Perez over Julian Yates 11-8 Seventh Place - Annathena Pontillo over Ariana Jones 12-2 57 kg Championship - Nichole Moore (Kansas) over Sara Sterner (Morro Bay Wrestling) 12-2, 10-0 Third Place - Melanie Mendoza over Charlotte Kouyoumtjian Fall 4:04 Fifth Place - Ashley Whetzel over Jerzie Estrada Fall 1:01 Seventh Place - Elvie Villa over Josie Davis 12-2 59 kg Championship - Brenda Reyna (Army WCAP) over Niya Gaines (Cardinal WC) 12-2, 11-0 Third Place - Lexie Basham over Lana Perez Fall 1:33 Fifth Place - Montana Delawder over Alexandra Baudhuin Fall 3:48 Seventh Place - Hailey Corona over Marissa Riojas 10-0 62 kg Championship - Macey Kilty (Sunkist Kids) over Zoe Nowicki (Bulldog WC) Fall, Injury Default Third Place - Alex Liles over Madyson Gray 12-5 Fifth Place - Louisa Schwab over Ellyana Kuzma 10-0 Seventh Place - Sierra Brown Ton over Emmily Patneaud Medical Forfeit 65 kg Championship - Ashlynn Ortega (Team Tornado WC) over Emma Walker (Tennessee) Fall, 2-0, 3-1 Third Place - Maya Letona over Viktorya Torres 10-0 Fifth Place - Salome Walker over Grace Stem Fall 1:02 Seventh Place - Hailey Chapman over Jamilah McBryde 11-0 68 kg Championship - Ana Luciano (Team Tornado WC) over Lydia Krauss (Simmons Academy of Wrestling) Fall, 10-0 Third Place - Kaylynn Albrecht over Dalia Garibay 15-4 Fifth Place - Aspen Barber over Sarina Bertram InjDef Seventh Place - Tiyahna Askew over Leah Brown Fall 1:30 72 kg Championship - Amit Elor (TMWC) over Marlynne Deede (Twin Cities RTC) Fall, Fall Third Place - Kenya-Lee Sloan over Latifah McBryde Fall 2:32 Fifth Place - Malea Palahniuk over Alicia Pieper 10 Seventh Place - Leila Martin over Jessica Kemgne 10-7 76 kg Championship - Yelena Makoyed (TMWC) over Ashley Lekas (Texas Pride WC) Fall, Fall Third Place - Joye Levendusky over Tristan Kelly InjDef Fifth Place - Brooklyn Hays over Bailey Dennis Fall 1:50 Seventh Place - Tabitha Breitrick over Nikita Dhaliwal Fall 4:08 U20 Nationals 50 kg Championship - Audrey Jimenez (Sunkist Kids) over Sage Mortimer (TMWC) 11-0, 7-2 Third Place - Nyla Valencia over Samara Chavez 10-0 Fifth Place - Brianna Gonzalez over Julianne Moccia 15-4 Seventh Place - Sydney Petzinger over Alex Szkotnicki 12-2 53 kg Championship - Katie Gomez (California) over Estrella Dorado-Marin (Army WCAP) 12-1, 10-0 Third Place - Hannah Hall/Juliana Diaz; No contest Fifth Place - Kendra Ryan over Alexis Montes Injury Default Seventh Place - Fernanda Lopez over Belle Foard 8-4 55 kg Championship - Adriana Dorado Martin (Army WCAP) over Amani Jones (Cardinal WC) 15-2, 10-5 Third Place - Melanie Mendoza over Haley Vann 8-4 Fifth Place - Torieonna Buchanan over Carissa Qureshi Fall :30 Seventh Place - Khaleah Kirk over Angelina Doral 10-0 57 kg Championship - Sophia Macaluso (New York) over Claire DiCugno (Colorado Mesa WC) 8-3, 9-2 Third Place - Carolina Moreno over Jennifer Soto 10-2 Fifth Place - Sarah Savidge over Joanna Vanderwood 9-4 Seventh Place - Ngao Shoua Whitethorn over Anna Krejsa Fall 4:04 59 kg Championship - Savannah Cosme (Sunkist Kids) over Nanea Estrella (Hawaii) Fall, 7-1 Third Place - Ella Schmit over Mia Macaluso Fall :54 Fifth Place - Jaclyn Dehney over Piper Cadden 7-2 Seventh Place - Lana Perez over Anya Knappenberger InjDef 62 kg Championship - Adaugo Nwachukwu (Swamp Monsters WC) over Skylar Hattendorf (New Hampshire) 11-16, 11-1, 10-0 Third Place - Janida Garcia over Skye Realin 10-5 Fifth Place - Yele Adcock over Paige Wehremeister 10-7 Seventh Place - Emmily Patneaud over Addison Messerly MedFFT 65 kg Championship - Reese Larramendy over Elleni Johnson 10-0, 10-0 Third Place - Maddie Kubicki over Maya Letona Fall 1:06 Fifth Place - Chloe Ogden over Isabella Mir 12-2 Seventh Place - Emma Walker over Isabella Amaro 13-0 68 kg Championship - Destiny Rodriguez (All Phase WC) over Tiera Jimerson (Cardinal WC) 9-3, 3-9, 15-11 Third Place - Clarissa Agostini over Aubrey Yauger Fall 5:03 Fifth Place - Sarina Bertram over Celina Cooke 10-0 Seventh Place - Lydia Krauss over Kaylee Anderson 1:16 72 kg Championship - Amit Elor (TMWC) over Latifah McBryde (Bulls WC) 12-2, 11-0 Third Place - Haley Ward over Alicia Pieper Fall :54 Fifth Place - Shannon Workinger over Kayley Rada Fall :44 Seventh Place - Jessica Kemgne over Autumn Perez 1:06 76 kg Championship - Tristan Kelly (Army WCAP) over Rose Cassioppi (Hononegah WC) Third Place - Brooklyn Hays over Alivia White 12-9 Fifth Place - Emma Carter over Lily El-Masri Fall 4:27 Seventh Place - Grace Doering over Fiona McConnell 5-4 U17 Nationals 40 kg Championship - Megan Valdez (California) over Annalise Maralit (Misfit Girls) 14-12, 10-0 43 kg Championship - Erica Pastoriza (Wyoming Seminary WC) over Katey Valdez (Betterman Elite) 6-4, 4-3 46 kg Championship - Gabriella Gomez (Illinois) over Valarie Solorio (Florida) 8-3, 4-1 49 kg Championship - Audrey Jimenez (Sunkist Kids) over Ava Ward (Sunkist Kids) 6-0, 4-0 53 kg Championship - Elena Ivaldi (MatTime) over Persaeus Gomez (Pomona Elite) 5-2, Fall 57 kg Championship - Shelby Moore (Takedown Express WC) over Skylar Little Soldier (Hastings WC) 11-0, 5-0 61 kg Championship - Valerie Hamilton (Illinois) over Marissa Rumsey (Team Pennsylvania) Fall, Fall 65 kg Championship - Lizzie Shunn (Champions WC) over Sydney Perry (Illinois) 7-2, 10-0 69 kg Championship - Jasmine Robinson (Best Trained) over Mishell Rebisch (Michigan Revolution WC) 8-3 Fall 73 kg Championship - Amarisa Manuel (Michigan Revolution WC) over Piper Fowler (Higher Calling WC) 11-1, Fall

Pan-American champions Forrest Molinari (left), Thomas Gilman (center), and Sam Jones (Photos/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Over the weekend, many of our top Senior-level competitors headed to Acapulco, Mexico. Not for a vacation, but to compete at the 2022 Pan American Championships. Overall, Team USA cleaned up with 24 medals in 30 weight classes. The men's freestyle team lost one contested match, and overall, the Americans left with more than half of the gold medal (17) awarded. Here are the final results for each of the American competitors that represented us at the event. Men's Freestyle 57 kg Gold Medal - Thomas Gilman (USA) over Darian Cruz (Puerto Rico) 11-0 61 kg Gold Medal - Daton Fix (USA) over Joey Silva (Puerto Rico) 11-0. Silva was silver medalist in round robin. This wasn't a gold medal match. 65 kg Gold Medal - Joey McKenna (USA) over Sebastian Rivera (Puerto Rico) 10-0 70 kg No Medal - Injury Default by Zain Retherford (USA) 74 kg Gold Medal - Kyle Dake (USA) over Franklin Gomez (Puerto Rico) 10-1 79 kg Gold Medal - Jordan Burroughs (USA) over Samuel Barmish (Canada) 12-1. Barmish was silver medalist in round robin. This wasn't a gold medal match. 86 kg Gold Medal - Zahid Valencia (USA) over Lazaro Hernandez (Cuba) 4-1 92 kg Gold Medal - J'den Cox (USA) over Jeremy Poirier (Canada) 11-0. Poirier was silver medalist in round robin. This wasn't a gold medal match. 97 kg Gold Medal - Kyle Snyder (USA) over Arturo Silot Torres (Cuba) 12-1 125 kg Gold Medal - Amar Dhesi (Canada) over Nick Gwiazdowski (USA) 5-3 Women's Freestyle 50 kg Gold Medal - Sarah Hildebrandt (USA) over Madison Parks (Canada) 10-0 53 kg Gold Medal - Dom Parrish (USA) over Luisa Valverde Melendres (Ecuador) Fall 55 kg Gold Medal - Karla Godinez Gonzalez (Canada) over Jacarra Winchester (USA) 8-5 57 kg Bronze Medal - Giullia Rodrigues Penalber de Oliveira (Brazil) over Cameron Guerin (USA) 7-7 59 kg Bronze Medal - Ameyalli Jessel Rojas (Mexico) over Xochitl Mota-Pettis (USA) 19-8 62 kg Gold Medal - Ana Godinez Gonzalez (Canada) over Kayla Miracle (USA) Default 65 kg Gold Medal - Forrest Molinari (USA) over Miki Rowbottom (Canada) Fall 72 kg Gold Medal - Skylar Grote (USA) over Brenda Aguiar Dos Santos (Brazil) 10-0. Aguiar Dos Santos was silver medalist in round robin. This wasn't a gold medal match. 76 kg Gold Medal - Dymond Guilford (USA) over Genesis Reasco Valdez (Ecuador) 1-1 Men's Greco-Roman 55 kg Gold Medal - Brady Koontz (USA) over Axel Salas Esquivel (Mexico) 9-1 Salas Esquivel was silver medalist in round robin. This wasn't a gold medal match. 60 kg Gold Medal - Randon Miranda (USA) over Samuel Gurria Vigueras (Mexico) 12-8 63 kg Gold Medal - Sam Jones (USA) over Jose Rodriguez Hernandez (Mexico) 10-0 67 kg No Medal - Hayden Tuma went 1-1 72 kg Gold Medal - Patrick Smith (USA) over Edsson Olmos Gutierrez (Mexico) 4-2. Olmos Gutierrez was silver medalist in round robin. This wasn't a gold medal match. 77 kg Bronze Medal - RaVaughn Perkins (USA) over Emmanuel Benitez Castro (Mexico) 3-2 82 kg Bronze Medal - Tyler Cunningham (USA) over Nestor Taffur (Colombia) Cautions 87 kg No Medal - Richard Carlson went 0-1 97 kg Bronze Medal - Nicholas Boykin (USA) over Eduardo Gajardo Meneses (Chile) Injury Default 130 kg No Medal - Tanner Farmer went 0-2

#1 ranked at 92 kg Magomed Kurbanov (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 57 KG March Aslan Minkailov won the North Caucasian Federal District tournament over Nasir Shikhuev. Bronze medalists were Ibragim Khasiev and Shamil Suleymanov. Artyom Gobaev won Junior Russian Nationals over Lev Pavlov. Bair Bayanduev and Imran Khunkerov finished bronze at Junior Russian Nationals. Artyom Gobaev also won the North Ossetian wrestling championships over Khasan Kusov with Tamik Gobozov and David Abacharaev (RUS) finishing with bronze. 2020 Russian Nationals bronze medalist #3 Akhmed Idrisov teched Artyom Gobaev 11-0 in the Dagestan vs. North Ossetia match. April Artyom Gobaev won the championships of North Ossetia over Khasan Khusov with Tamik Gobozov and David Abacharaev taking bronze. Osman Sultanov won Russian U-23 nationals over Osman Tekeev with Murad Aliev and Asker Khezhev taking bronze. Kharyskhal Grigorev won the RFSO tournament over Petr Kopylov with Alexei Kopylov and Dulustan Fedotov taking bronze. Alexey Danilov won the Siberian Federal District tournament over Kuder Mongush with Amyr Khomushku and Alexander Kochevoi taking bronze. No changes at 57 KG. 61 KG March #1 Abasgadzhi Magomedov teched Alexander Sabanov 11-0 in the Dagestan vs. North Ossetia dual meet. #7 Bashir Magomedov won Junior Russian Nationals over Magomed Baitukaev with Ramazan Bagavudinov and Magomedamin Bekbulatov taking bronze. Alexander Sabanov won the North Caucasian Federal District tournament over Tamerlan Karaev with Alik Dzaurov and Gadzhimagomed Gadzhiev taking bronze. April Rustam Dolaev won the U-23 Russian championships over Lev Polomov with Ramaz Shamilov and Soslan Bagov finishing with bronze. Vadim Bikoev took gold at the championships of North Ossetia against Taimuraz Dzgoev with Alik Dzaurov taking bronze. Kezhik Seden was the champion of the Siberian Federal District over 2018 57 KG Russian Nationals runner-up Donduk-Ool Khuresh Ool. Gennady Shtygashev and Amri Chamzyn took bronze at the Siberian Federal District. Uigulaan Ivanov won gold at the RFSO tournament over Magomed Sebedinov with Vitaly Espek and Alexander Avelov taking bronze. No changes in the rankings. 65KG March Magomedemi Eltemirov (RUS) won Junior Russian Nationals over Umar Umarov (RUS) with Magomed Labazanov (RUS) and Magomed Tazhudinov (RUS) taking bronze. #5 Ibragim Ibragimov (RUS) beat Dzhambol Kizinov (RUS) in the Dagestan vs. North Ossetia dual meet. April 2021 Russian Nationals bronze medalist #8 Abdulmazhid Kudiev won the U-23 Russian championships over Alexander Sabanov with Abdurakhman Dalgatov and Muratbi Badtiev taking bronze. Alexander Ivanov won the RFSO tournament over Aykhan Antonov with Magomedkhabib Akhmadulaev and Dyuluskhan Totonov finishing in bronze. 2021 61 KG Russian Nationals bronze medalist Cherman Tavitov took gold at the championships of North Ossetia over Elbrus Valiev with bronze medalists being Dzhambulat Kizinov and Inal Karsanov. Kezhik Mongush won the Siberian Federal District tournament over Robert Manasyan with Gasrat Tinaev and Ezir Tyulyush taking bronze. 2021 61 KG Russian Nationals bronze medalist Cherman Tavitov makes his debut in the rankings after winning the championship of North Ossetia. 70KG March Dzhokhar Dzhabaev won the North Caucasian Federal District tournament over Akhmed Kasumov with Said-Ibragim Elbderdov and Mairbek Saidov taking bronze. 2021 Junior World bronze medalist Stanislav Svinoboev won his second Junior national title with a victory over Zaurbek Bugulov. Akhmed Zhiletezhev and Farhad Atakhanov took bronze at Junior Russian Nationals. #4 Kurban Shiraev pinned Mohammed Kardanov in the Dagestan vs. North Ossetia duel meet. April 2021 65 KG U-23 world runner-up Ibragim Abdurakhmanov won the U-23 Russian Nationals over Magomed Gazimagomedov with Abdulmuslim Abdulmuslimov taking bronze. Kezhik Chymba was the Siberian Federal District champion over 2021 Yarygin bronze medalist Chaiaan Mongush with bronze medalists being Rostislav Korolev and Sergey Yakimov. Georgy Sekinaev won the championships of North Ossetia over Batyrbek Tskhovrebov with Arsen Tegetaev and Ruslan Gasiev finishing with bronze. Aisen Potapov won the RFSO tournament over Konstantin Kaprynov with Nurgustaan Ivanov and Walter Vladimirov taking bronze. #10 (65) Ibragim Abdurakhmanov takes the #10 spot in the rankings after winning U-23 nationals. 74KG March Two-time Russian Nationals champion #4 Magomed Kurbanaliev has been removed from the rankings due to injury. 2020 Russian Nationals champion Razambek Zhamalov made his return to competition after a year-long layoff to recover from a shoulder and knee injury. Zhamalov slots back in at #2 after injury defaulting out of the North Caucasian Federal District finals to #10 Mohamad Nasirkhaev. Bronze medalists at the North Caucasian Federal District tournament were Magomedrasul Asluev and Khalid Elberdiev (RUS). Kamil Abdulvagabov won Junior Russian Nationals over Anton Suchkov with Ibragim Kadiev and Albik Petrosyan taking bronze. Magomed Abdulkadyrov beat Alan Kudzoev 6-6 in the Dagestan vs. North Ossetia dual meet. April #1 Zaurbek Sidakov won the marquee matchup of the championship of North Ossetia against Yarygin champion #3 Cherman Valiev. Bronze medalists at the championships of North Ossetia were Alan Kudzoev and Robert Dzukaev. Dinislam Bolurov won the U-23 Russian nationals over 2021 Umakhanov tournament champion #7 Mohamed Nasirkhaev to debut in the rankings at #9. Bronze medalists at U-23 Russian Nationals were Muhammad Beshtoev and Gadzhimurad Gasanov. Konstan Vlasov won the RFSO over Grigory Shumilov with bronze medalists being Nikolay Svitsev and Andrian Lensky. Konstantin Topshinoev won the Siberian Federal District over 2018 70 KG Russian Nationals runner-up Arpak Sat. Anton Suchkov and 2018 65 KG Junior world champion Sayin Kazyryk took bronze at the Siberian Federal District. 79KG March #1 Radik Valiev and #3 Gadzhi Nabiev both moved up to 86 KG where Valiev won the North Ossetia wrestling championships and Nabiev won the North Caucasian Federal District tournament. Valiev and Nabiev have been removed from the rankings. Akhmad Shakhbanov won the North Caucasian Federal District tournament by injury default over #7 Amanulla Gadzhimagomedov. Bronze medalists were Yusup-Khadzhi Aidaev and Begkhan Misrikhanov. #8 Magomed Magomaev teched Alik Badtiev in the Dagestan vs. North Ossetia dual meet. Arseny Dzhioev won Junior Russian Nationals over Magomedgadzhi Daitbekov with Kadir Saipudinov and Arsen Balayan taking bronze. April Two-time Russian Nationals bronze medalist Nikita Suchkov won the Siberian Federal District tournament over Ertine Mortuy-Ool with bronze medalists being Denis Korolev and Semen Tereschenko. Timur Nikolaev won the RFSO tournament over Jamal Akhmadudinov with bronze medalists being Dulustan Kalachev and Ilya Ponomarev. Akhmad Shakhbanov won the U-23 Russian Nationals over Akhmed Manilov with Magomet Kardanov and Ramazan Aliev taking bronze. David Betanov won the championships of North Ossetia over Alan Gutsaev with Alik Badtiev and Zhavid Zaseev taking bronze. Akhmad Shakhbanov and Nikita Suchkov fill in at #9 and #10 after the departure of #1 Radik Valiev and #3 Gadzhi Nabiev. Shakhbanov won the North Caucasian Federal District Tournament in March and U-23 Russian Nationals in April while Suchkov is a two-time Russian Nationals bronze medalist coming off a title at the Siberian Federal District Tournament. 86KG March Gadzhi Nabiev won the North Caucasian Federal District tournament over Slavik Naniev. Bronze medalists were Magomed Murtazaliev and Magomedmurad Dadaev. Mustafagadzhi Malachdibirov won Junior Russian nationals over Timur Kotaev. Bronze medalists were Magomed Nurov and Vitaly Tuskaev. April 2021 79 KG world bronze medalist Radik Valiev won the championships over North Ossetia over Slavik Naniev with bronze medalists being Aslan Khapsaev and Azamat Khadzaragov. Mustafagadzhi Malachdibirov won the U-23 Russian Nationals over Stanislav Gochichaev with bronze medalists being Liuan Khakov and Yasin Gozgeshev. Azret Ulimbashev won the Siberian Federal District tournament over #5 (79) Dmitri Kuprin with Timur Kotaev and Alexei Bazdyrev taking bronze. Muslim Shamsudinov won the RFSO tournament over Aisen Kopyrin with Leonid Danilov and Alexei Efimov taking bronze. No changes to the rankings. 92KG March #2 Vladislav Valiev won the North Caucasian Federal District tournament over Muslim Magomedov. Bronze medalists were Adam Anzorov and #10 Khabib Gadzhiev. #5 Alan Bagaev beat Ashkaab Sadulaev in the Dagestan vs. North Ossetia match. Magomed Sharipov won Junior Russian Nationals over Alan Pliev. Bronze medalists at Junior Russian Nationals were Ivan Kirillov and Igor Belskikh. April Lambert Kharonov won the RFSO tournament over Bogdai Ovchinnikov with Artyom Sivtsev and Sergey Nikolaev taking bronze. Abdulla Badyrgov won the Siberian Federal District tournament over Roman Khvostov with Alexander Dorzhu taking bronze. Berd Kusov won the championships of North Ossetia over Alan Kappoev with Arsen Edzoev and Aslan Gabuev taking bronze. Ashkab Saadulaev won U-23 Russian Nationals over Alikhan Kotsoev with Alik Shebzukhov and Saikhan Imeev taking bronze. 97KG March Abdulla Kurbanov beat Akhmed Tazhudinov to win the Russian Junior Nationals. Bronze medalists were Erik Dzhioev and Irbek Tavgazov. Kurbanov debuts in the senior rankings at #9 for winning Junior Nationals over 2020 Senior Russian Nationals bronze medalists Erik Dzhioev. Artem Tskharebov (RUS) won the North Caucasian Federal District tournament over Akhmed Tazhudinov. Zhorik Dzhioev and Tamik Dzhikaev finished bronze at the North Caucasian Federal District tournament. Shamil Imam Gadzhialiyev lost to #4 Sergey Kozyrev at the Dagestan vs. North Ossetia duel meet. April Georgi Gogaev won the North Ossetian championships over Arsamag Zaseev. Bronze medalists were Arsen Alborov and Tamerlan Kotsoev. 2021 Tokyo Olympian #3 (125) Sergey Kozyrev made the move back down to 97 KG where he won the U-23 Russian Nationals over Islam Kilchukov with Arip Abdulkhalikov and Marat Tokhtaulov. Kozyrev debuts in the 97 KG rankings at #4. 2019 Russian Nationals bronze medalist Georgi Gogaev won the championships of North Ossetia over Arsamag Zaseev with Arsen Alborov and Tamerlan Kotsoev taking bronze. Konstantin Pshenichnikov won the Siberian Federal District tournament over Nikita Akulinchev with Bady-Maady Samden and 2019 Russian Nationals runner-up Igor Ovsyannikov taking bronze. 125KG 2021 Russian Nationals runner-up #4 Atsamaz Tebloev won the championships of North Ossetia over Soslan Khinchagov with Andrey Bestaev and David Dzugaev taking bronze. Tebloev doubled up on titles in the month of April with another gold at the U-23 Russian Nationals over Tamerlan Kumyshev. Bronze medalists at the U-23 Russian Nationals were Said Gairbekov and Gamzat Alizhudinov. Andrey Aronov won the RFSO tournament over Evgeny Alekseev with Danila Grishin and Artyom Platov taking bronze. Ostap Pasenok won the Siberian Federal District tournament over Pavel Krivstov with Erik Dzhioev and Vladimir Kalashnikov taking bronze. Pound for Pound 2020 74 KG Russian Nationals champion Razambek Zhamalov is back in the pound-for-pound rankings at #5. Zhamalov has wins over #6 Cherman Valiev, #7 Timur Bizhoev, #8 Magomedrasul Gazimagomedov, and #16 David Baev. #15 Magomed Kurbanaliev has been removed due to injury.

2022 US Open Nico Megaludis (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 57 KG 2021 Olympic silver medalist Ravi Kumar (IND) was successful in winning his third straight continental title, with an impressive 12-2 technical superiority victory over Rakhat Kalzhan (KAZ) in the Asian championships finals. Kumar, ranked 7th at 61 kilograms in last month's rankings, returns to 57 KG at #3 behind 2021 world champion, #2 Thomas Gilman (USA), and 2021 Olympic champion #1 Zavur Uguev (RUS). Kalzhan made a serious impact in his Senior Asian championships debut, beating #8 (61) Gulomyon Abdullaev (UZB) and #13 Almaz Smanbekov (KGZ) to make the finals. A minor upset took place in the bronze medal match, as Yasar Dogu champion Smanbekov defeated 2021 Ziolkowski champion #8 (61) Gulomyon Abdullaev (UZB) 13-7. Japan's Rikuto Arai took the second bronze medal of the competition, winning a tight 9-8 match against 2017 Asian championships runner-up Zanabazar Zandanbud (MGL). Other than the return of Kumar into the top three, other changes to the rankings from the Asian championships includes; Kalzhan's top ten debut at #7, Smanbekov moving up five spots to #8 and Abdullaev returning to the rankings at #9. #3 Reza Atri (IRI) falls in the rankings to #10 due to my overvaluing of his wins over #18 Bekhbayar Erdenebat (MGL), #11 Alireza Sarlak (IRI) and #20 (61) Suleyman Atli (TUR), that do not hold up to the performances of Kalzhan, Smanbekov or Abdullaev. 2018 51 KG Cadet world champion Matthew Ramos (USA) won the U.S. Open over Anthony Molton (USA). Artyom Gobaev (RUS) won the championships of North Ossetia over Khasan Khusov (RUS) with Tamik Gobozov (RUS) and David Abacharaev (RUS) taking bronze. Osman Sultanov (RUS) won Russian U-23 nationals over Osman Tekeev (RUS) with Murad Aliev (RUS) and Asker Khezhev (RUS) taking bronze. Kharyskhal Grigorev (RUS) won the RFSO tournament over Petr Kopylov (RUS) with Alexei Kopylov (RUS) and Dulustan Fedotov (RUS) taking bronze. Alexey Danilov (RUS) won the Siberian Federal District tournament over Kuder Mongush (RUS) with Amyr Khomushku (RUS) and Alexander Kochevoi (RUS) taking bronze. 61KG After well-documented struggles with his weight cut during the qualifying process for the 57 KG 2021 Olympic Games that culminated in losing his wrestle-off to 2017 world champion #14 (57) Yuki Takahashi (JPN), 2016 57 KG Olympic silver medalist Rei Higuchi (JPN) made his return back up to 61 KG with his first Asian championships title over Darioush Tanzevan (IRI). Bronze medalists at the Asian championships were #17 Ulukbek Zholdoshbekov (KGZ) and Akbar Kurbanov (KAZ). Higuchi returns to the rankings at #4 while Zholdoshbekov moves up five spots to #12 after taking bronze and beating 2021 Asian champion #10 Jahongirmirza Turobov (UZB) in the quarterfinals. #19 Nico Megaludis (USA) makes his debut in the top ten at #8 after beating 2019 57 KG Pan-Am champion #9 Josh Rodriguez (USA) to win the U.S. Open. Rustam Dolaev (RUS) won the U-23 Russian championships over Lev Polomov (RUS) with Ramaz Shamilov (RUS) and Soslan Bagov (RUS) finishing with bronze. Vadim Bikoev (RUS) took gold at the championships of North Ossetia against Taimuraz Dzgoev (RUS) with Alik Dzaurov (RUS) taking bronze. Kezhik Seden (RUS) was the champion of the Siberian Federal District over 2018 57 KG Russian Nationals runner-up Donduk-Ool Khuresh Ool (RUS). Gennady Shtygashev (RUS) and Amri Chamzyn (RUS) took bronze at the Siberian Federal District. Uigulaan Ivanov (RUS) won gold at the RFSO tournament over Magomed Sebedinov (RUS) with Vitaly Espek (RUS) and Alexander Avelov (RUS) taking bronze. 65KG 2021 61 KG Junior world champion Rahman Amouzadkhalili (IRI) made his 65 KG debut in a big way, taking out three-time Asian champion and returning Olympic bronze medalist #5 Bajrang Punia (IND) to take gold at the Asian championships. Amouzadkhalili makes his 65 KG rankings debut at #7 while Punia falls three spots to #8. Taking bronze at the Asian championships were 2019 61 KG Junior world champion Kaiki Yamaguchi (JPN) and Abbos Rakhmonov (UZB). Kendric Maple (USA) won the U.S. Open over Matthew Kolodzik (USA). 2021 Russian Nationals bronze medalist #15 Abdulmazhid Kudiev (RUS) won the U-23 Russian championships over Alexander Sabanov (RUS) with Abdurakhman Dalgatov (RUS) and Muratbi Badtiev (RUS) taking bronze. Alexander Ivanov (RUS) won the RFSO tournament over Aykhan Antonov (RUS) with Magomedkhabib Akhmadulaev (RUS) and Dyuluskhan Totonov (RUS) finishing in bronze. 2021 61 KG Russian Nationals bronze medalist Cherman Tavitov (RUS) took gold at the championships of North Ossetia over Elbrus Valiev (RUS) with bronze medalists being Dzhambulat Kizinov (RUS) and Inal Karsanov (RUS). Kezhik Mongush (RUS) won the Siberian Federal District tournament over Robert Manasyan (RUS) with Gasrat Tinaev (RUS) and Ezir Tyulyush (RUS) taking bronze. #17 Umidjon Jalolov (UZB) won the Junior Journeyman classic over Cody Chittum (USA). 70KG 2017 world silver medalist #3 James Green (USA) retired from competition to take the helm as a developmental coach for team USA. Green has been removed from the rankings and the #3 spot is now held down by 2021 world bronze medalist Evgheni Zherbaev (RUS). The group of Zherbaev, #7 Israil Kasumov (RUS), #4 Viktor Rassadin (RUS), and #8 Kurban Shiraev (RUS) all got moved into the top five after #5 Ernazar Akmataliev (KGZ) lost in the finals of the Asian championships to Taishi Narikuni (JPN). Narikuni debuts at #9 for beating Akmataliev. Bronze medalists at the Asian championships were Syrbaz Talgat (KAZ) and Naveen Naveen (IND). #13 Alec Pantaleo (USA) won the U.S. Open over 2021 65 KG Olympic Trials champion Jordan Oliver (USA). 2021 65 KG U-23 world runner-up Ibragim Abdurakhmanov (RUS) won the U-23 Russian Nationals over Magomed Gazimagomedov (RUS) with Abdulmuslim Abdulmuslimov (RUS) taking bronze. Kezhik Chymba (RUS) was the Siberian Federal District champion over 2021 Yarygin bronze medalist Chaiaan Mongush (RUS) with bronze medalists being Rostislav Korolev (RUS) and Sergey Yakimov (RUS). Georgy Sekinaev (RUS) won the championships of North Ossetia over Batyrbek Tskhovrebov (RUS) with Arsen Tegetaev (RUS) and Ruslan Gasiev (RUS) finishing with bronze. Aisen Potapov (RUS) won the RFSO tournament over Konstantin Kaprynov (RUS) with Nurgustaan Ivanov (RUS) and Walter Vladimirov (RUS) taking bronze. 74KG #1 Zaurbek Sidakov (RUS) won the marquee matchup of the championship of North Ossetia against Yarygin champion #6 Cherman Valiev (RUS). Bronze medalists at the championships of North Ossetia were Alan Kudzoev (RUS) and Robert Dzukaev (RUS). #7 Jason Nolf (USA) won the U.S. Open over Joshua Shields (USA). 2019 70 KG world bronze medalist Younes Emami (IRI) enters the rankings at #14 for beating two-time Asian champion Nurkhoza Kaipanov (KAZ) to win his first Senior Asian championships title. Bronze medalists at the Asian championships were Islambek Orozbekov (KGZ) and Daichi Takatani (JPN). Kaipanov slots in at #15 behind Emami. U-23 European champion #20 Dzhabrail Gadzhiev (AZE) moves up four spots to #16 and Turan Bayramov (AZE) makes his 74 KG debut at #17. The reason for this is to just continually add guys (Magomedrasul Asluev, Soslanbek Budaev, Dinislam Bolurov) who beat 2021 Umakhanov tournament champ Mohamed Nasirkhaev (RUS) into the middle of the rankings and just put them over each other back and forth is stupid when you have guys with outright better resumes like Emami, Kaipanov, Gadzhiev and Bayramov. Dinislam Bolurov (RUS) won the U-23 Russian nationals over 2021 Umakhanov tournament champion Mohamed Nasirkhaev (RUS) to debut in the rankings at #20. Bronze medalists at the U-23 Russian Nationals were Muhammad Beshtoev (RUS) and Gadzhimurad Gasanov (RUS). Konstan Vlasov (RUS) won the RFSO over Grigory Shumilov (RUS) with bronze medalists being Nikolay Svitsev (RUS) and Andrian Lensky (RUS). Konstantin Topshinoev (RUS) won the Siberian Federal District over 2018 70 KG Russian Nationals runner-up Arpak Sat (RUS). Anton Suchkov (RUS) and 2018 65 KG Junior world champion Sayin Kazyryk (RUS) took bronze at the Siberian Federal District. 79KG The U.S. Open saw a major domestic and international shakeup as 2x NCAA champion Vincenzo Joseph (USA) upset #5 Alex Dieringer (USA) to make the finals. In the finals, Joseph would fall in a barnburner of a match against David McFadden (USA). From the aftermath of the U.S. Open, David McFadden (USA) and Vincenzo Joseph (USA) make their top ten debut at #5 and #6 respectively while Dieringer falls two spots to #7. #11 Ali Savadkouhi (IRI) won the Asian championships over 2020 Asian championships runner-up Baliyan Gourav (IND). Bronze medalists at the Asian championships were Yudai Takahashi (JPN) and Arsalan Budazhapov (KGZ). Baliyan Gourav (IND) makes his debut in the rankings at #20 after winning a rematch of the 2020 Asian championships finals against #18 Arsalan Budazhapov (KGZ) in the semifinals of the Asian championships. Two-time Russian Nationals bronze medalist Nikita Suchkov (RUS) won the Siberian Federal District tournament over Ertine Mortuy-Ool (RUS) with bronze medalists being Denis Korolev (RUS) and Semen Tereschenko (RUS). Timur Nikolaev (RUS) won the RFSO tournament over Jamal Akhmadudinov (RUS) with bronze medalists being Dulustan Kalachev (RUS) and Ilya Ponomarev (RUS). Akhmad Shakhbanov (RUS) won the U-23 Russian Nationals over Akhmed Manilov (RUS) with Magomet Kardanov (RUS) and Ramazan Aliev taking bronze. David Betanov (RUS) won the championships of North Ossetia (RUS) over Alan Gutsaev (RUS) with Alik Badtiev (RUS) and Zhavid Zaseev (RUS) taking bronze. Yarygin champion and 2021 world bronze medalist Radik Valiev (RUS) moved up to 86 KG where he won the championships of North Ossetia title over Slavik Naniev (RUS) and has been removed from the rankings. 86KG #9 Azamat Dauletbekov (KAZ) won the Asian championships over Indian superstar Deepak Punia (IND). Bronze medalists at the Asian championships were Mohsen Alanjagh (IRI) and Bobur Islamov (UZB). Two-time Junior world champion Mark Hall (USA) won the U.S. Open over Marcus Coleman (USA). 2021 79 KG world bronze medalist Radik Valiev (RUS) won the championships over North Ossetia over Slavik Naniev (RUS) with bronze medalists being Aslan Khapsaev (RUS) and Azamat Khadzaragov (RUS). Mustafagadzhi Malachdibirov (RUS) won the U-23 Russian Nationals over Stanislav Gochichaev (RUS) with bronze medalists being Liuan Khakov (RUS) and Yasin Gozgeshev (RUS). Azret Ulimbashev (RUS) won the Siberian Federal District tournament over #16 (79) Dmitri Kuprin (RUS) with Timur Kotaev (RUS) and Alexei Bazdyrev (RUS) taking bronze. Muslim Shamsudinov (RUS) won the RFSO tournament over Aisen Kopyrin (RUS) with Leonid Danilov (RUS) and Alexei Efimov (RUS) taking bronze. No changes to the rankings. 92KG Amirhossein Firouzpourbandpei (IRI) won the Asian championships over Orgilokh Dagvadorj (MGL). Bronze medalists at the Asian championships were Viky Viky (IND) and Adilet Davlumbaev (KAZ). Cam Caffey (USA) won the U.S. Open over Isaac Trumble (USA). Lambert Kharonov (RUS) won the RFSO tournament over Bogdai Ovchinnikov (RUS) with Artyom Sivtsev (RUS) and Sergey Nikolaev (RUS) taking bronze. Abdulla Badyrgov (RUS) won the Siberian Federal District tournament over Roman Khvostov (RUS) with Alexander Dorzhu (RUS) taking bronze. Berd Kusov (RUS) won the championships of North Ossetia over Alan Kappoev (RUS) with Arsen Edzoev (RUS) and Aslan Gabuev (RUS) taking bronze. Ashkab Saadulaev (RUS) won U-23 Russian Nationals over Alikhan Kotsoev (RUS) with Alik Shebzukhov (RUS) and Saikhan Imeev (RUS) taking bronze. 97KG Michael Macchiavello (USA) won the U.S. Open over Joe Rau (USA). #4 Mohammad Mohammadian (IRI) won the Asian championships 11-0 over Batsul Ulzaisaikhan (MGL). Bronze medalists at the Asian championships were Satywart Kadian (IND) and Mamed Ibragimov (KAZ). European Championships bronze medalist Zbigniew Baranowski (POL) has been added to the rankings at #11 because I thought both Baranowski and Odikadze placed. The actual medal order for Euros in March was 1. Magomedkhan Magomedov (AZE) 2. Vladislav Baitsaev (HUN) 3. Zbigniew Baranowski (POL) and 3. Batyrbek Tsakulov (SVK). 2021 Tokyo Olympian #7 (125) Sergey Kozyrev (RUS) made the move back down to 97 KG where he won the U-23 Russian Nationals over Islam Kilchukov (RUS) with Arip Abdulkhalikov (RUS) and Marat Tokhtaulov (RUS). Kozyrev debuts in the 97 KG rankings at #15. 2019 Russian Nationals bronze medalist Georgi Gogaev (RUS) won the championships of North Ossetia over Arsamag Zaseev (RUS) with Arsen Alborov (RUS) and Tamerlan Kotsoev (RUS) taking bronze. Konstantin Pshenichnikov (RUS) won the Siberian Federal District tournament over Nikita Akulinchev (RUS) with Bady-Maady Samden (RUS) and 2019 Russian Nationals runner-up Igor Ovsyannikov (RUS) taking bronze. Pshenichnikov enters the rankings at #20 after #19 Erik Dzhioev moved up to heavyweight. 125KG The only major change this month was 2021 Tokyo Olympian #7 Sergey Kozyrev (RUS) moving down to 97 KG. Everyone from #8 below gets a move up and European bronze medalist Robert Baran (POL) is back in the rankings at #20. #13 Yadollah Mohebbi (IRI) won the Asian championships over Alisher Yergali (KAZ). Bronze medalists at the Asian championships were Batmagnai Enkhtuvshin (MGL) and Yeihyun Jung (KOR). 2021 Russian Nationals runner-up #10 Atsamaz Tebloev (RUS) won the championships of North Ossetia over Soslan Khinchagov (RUS) with Andrey Bestaev (RUS) and David Dzugaev (RUS) taking bronze. Tebloev doubled up on titles in the month of April with another gold at the U-23 Russian Nationals over Tamerlan Kumyshev (RUS). Bronze medalists at the U-23 Russian Nationals were Said Gairbekov (RUS) and Gamzat Alizhudinov (RUS). Andrey Aronov (RUS) won the RFSO tournament over Evgeny Alekseev (RUS) with Danila Grishin (RUS) and Artyom Platov (RUS) taking bronze. Ostap Pasenok (RUS) won the Siberian Federal District tournament over Pavel Krivstov (RUS) with Erik Dzhioev (RUS) and Vladimir Kalashnikov (RUS) taking bronze. Pound for Pound #23 Bajrang Punia (IND) is out of the rankings after losing in the 65 KG Asian championships finals to #7 (65) Rahman Amouzadkhalili (IRI). With Bajrang being removed from the ranking, 2021 92 KG world champion #1 (92) takes the #25 spot.

Macey Kilty at the 2020 Olympic Trials (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The U20 Division did not disappoint on day one of USA Wrestling's Women's Nationals in Fort Worth, Texas on Friday. The finals and medal matches are set at all 10 weights and will kick off this morning. We can then turn our sights on the U23 division, set to kick off at 2:30 this afternoon. Plenty of our U20 place finishers intend to test themselves against the upper-level college juggernauts - many of them are scheduled to wrestle in the U20 medal matches this morning - and a number of the same faces will likely end up at, or near, the top of the podium. Let's take a weight-by-weight look at the top competitors in the U23 division. 50kg High School stars Nyla Valencia and Alex Szkotnicki will wrestle for 3rd and 7th, respectively, in the U20 division on Saturday morning before testing their luck in the U23 division at 50 kilos. The top college stars include 2021 U23 World Champion Emily Shilson, a 3x NCWWC champion for Augsburg, Nina Pham, a 2x NAIA Champ for Wayland Baptist, and Sage Mortimer, a freshman All-American for King University this season who will wrestle in the U20 finals on Saturday morning. Favorites: Shilson and Pham Dark Horse: Nyla Valencia 53kg Estrella Dorado Marin of WCAP will wrestle in the U20 finals before trying her luck with the U23s. She will have plenty of college talent standing in her way of making back-to-back finals. Felicity Taylor of McKendree is a 3x NCWWC finalist and won the title in 2021. She was also the champion at the US Open last weekend in an unseeded run to the title that included a tech fall over Alyssa Lampe in the finals. Kaitlyn Pizzo, a multiple-time All-American for perennial NAIA power Campbellsville, is also entered at this weight. Favorite: Taylor Dark Horse: Estrella Dorado Marin 55kg 55 kilos offers plenty of high-level talent vying for the title. Adriana Dorado Marin won the US Open at 57kg last weekend and will wrestle in the U20 finals on Saturday morning. Marissa Gallegos of Titan Mercury Wrestling Club was 3rd at the Senior World Team Trials last fall and 4th at last weekend's US Open. The 3x NCWWC All-American for Colorado Mesa is always one of the most dangerous competitors in any bracket she enters. Alisha Howk of Sunkist Kids was 5th at the Open and King's Melanie Mendoza is a 2x NCWWC All-American. Favorites: Dorado Marin and Gallegos Dark Horse: Howk 57kg Alex Hedrick, a 2x NCWWC Champion for Simon Fraser, enters the event as the clear favorite at this weight wrestling for Titan Mercury. She won this event at 55kg in 2021 and represented Team USA at the U23 World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. She was 3rd at the US Open last weekend. High School star Sofia Macaluso is ranked #1 in the country at 122 pounds and will wrestle in the U20 final on Saturday morning before trying her hand against the older competition in the U23 division. Nichole Moore and Anya Knappenberger are college All-Americans entered at the weight as well. Favorite: Hedrick Dark Horse: Macaluso 59kg An arguable favorite at 59 looks to be Nanea Estrella. The 2022 NAIA runner-up and University of Iowa transfer won the Open last weekend and will wrestle in the U20 finals on Saturday morning. But Lexie Basham of Texas Wesleyan beat her in that NAIA final just a couple months ago and looks to play spoiler in her home state this weekend. Claire DiCugno will also wrestle in the U20 finals on Saturday morning and was an NCWWC All-American for Colorado Mesa this season who plans to make a run in the U23 division. Niya Gaines of North Central is entered here and defeated DiCugno in the NCWWC semis, and WCAP's Brenda Reyna was an NCWWC Champion for McKendree in 2021. Favorites: Basham and Estrella Dark Horse: Brenda Reyna 62kg Macey Kilty made an impressive run to the Olympic Trials finals in 2021 before a tragic injury in the final match of the best 2 of 3 finals against Kayla Miracle. She enters the 62kg bracket in the U23 division as a heavy favorite. Zoe Nowicki of Adrian College was the NCWWC Champion this year, winning her second of two collegiate national titles. Alex Liles was 8th at the US Open and is always dangerous in any bracket she enters. Favorites: Kilty Dark Horse: Nowicki 65kg World Silver medalist Skylar Hattendorf will wrestle in the U20 finals at 62 on Saturday morning before competing in the U23 division at 65. Maya Letona, third at the US Open, will wrestle for third in the U20 division at 65 and then try her hand against the U23s. The college veteran here is King's Ashlynn Ortega who won an NCWWC title this past season after winning a U23 World Team spot in 2021. Dalia Garibay is a 2x All-American for Colorado Mesa and was 4th at the US Open last weekend at 68kg. Elleni Johnson and Kendall Bostelman are top-ranked High Schoolers who will test their luck in the U23 division here. Favorite: Ortega Dark Horse: Dalia Garibay 68kg Tiyanna Askew of Missouri Baptist was 2nd at this event last year and has been a college All-American in the NAIA. Kaylynn Albrecht was the NAIA runner-up for Baker this year and Ana Luciano is a multiple-time All-American for King in the NCWWC. Favorites: Askew and Luciano Dark Horse: Albrecht 72kg Amit Elor will wrestle in the U20 finals on Saturday morning before competing in the U23 division. She entered this tournament as the heavy favorite in both divisions after winning World Championships in both in 2021. Marylynne Deede is a 2x NCWWC All-American for Augsburg and was 2nd at the US Open last weekend. Kenya Sloan was the NAIA Champion for Campbellsville and Malea Palahniuk is a 2x NCWWC All-American for North Central. Keep an eye on Latifah McBryde who will wrestle in the U20 finals on Saturday morning. She made deep runs at this event in the U17 and U20 divisions last year as well. Favorite: Elor Dark Horse: Latifah McBryde 76kg 2x NCWWC Champion Yelena Makoyed of North Central was 3rd at the US Open last weekend and enters as the favorite here in the U23 division. She is a 3x college All-American and was second in this bracket to Kylie Welker in 2021, taking a match in the best of three series. Joye Levendusky of McKendree is a multiple-time college All-American, as well, who has finished as the NCWWC runner-up to Makoyed each of the last two seasons. Tristan Kelly was 3rd at the NCWWC tournament in 2021 and 5th at the US Open last weekend. The High School star to keep an eye on here is Brooklyn Hays who will wrestle for 3rd in the U20 division on Saturday morning. Ashley Lekas is a notable contender here who has pushed Makoyed in their matches in the past. Lekas was 8th at the US Open last weekend. Favorite: Makoyed Dark Horse: Ashley Lekas

Justin Gaethje (left) at the 2010 NCAA Championships (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The MMA slate of wrestlers this weekend includes some veterans who are winding down their careers, some legitimate title challengers and some up-and-coming prospects. As always the sport of wrestling is well represented in its caged sister sport. Bellator 280 The second largest promotion in the U.S. will be the first major promotion to host a show in France after the sport was legalized there. Bellator 280 takes place Friday afternoon in Paris Ryan Bader vs. Cheick Kongo While Bader lost the promotion's light heavyweight title back in 2020, he successfully defended the heavyweight title earlier this year. He will put that belt on the line against Kongo, who is a 45-fight veteran. During his college days, Bader wrestled for Arizona State where he was a three-time Pac-10 champion and a two-time All-American. After finishing his college eligibility in 2006, he turned professional in MMA the following year. His record stands at 29-7 and he is a two-time Bellator champion. Yoel Romero vs. Alex Polizzi Romero is one of the highest decorated international wrestlers to ever compete in MMA. He is a six-time World/Olympic medalist with his Olympic medal coming when he took silver in 2000. The Cuban defected to Germany in 2007and fought mostly on small MMA shows until making his U.S. debut for Strikeforce in 2011. He then signed with the UFC in 2013. During his tenure with the UFC, he fought for the middleweight title three times, but came up short in each fight. Polizzi was a three-time NCAA qualifier for Northwestern. After exhausting his eligibility in 2015, he turned to MMA and ultimately made his professional debut in 2018. Polizzi signed with Bellator in 2020 after building a 6-0 record. In his first fight for the promotion, he defeated former middleweight champion, Rafael Carvalho. He is currently riding a three-fight winning streak and is taking this bout on short notice. Polizzi just fought on March 12 when he scored a three-round submission over Jose Augusto Azevedo. Both of these fights will be part of the Bellator 280 main card, which airs live on Showtime at 4:00pm ET on Friday afternoon. Titan FC 76 Richie Lewis vs. Kelvin Bowen Lewis started his college wrestling career at Iowa Central where he was a two-time NJCAA All-American. The New Jersey native then transferred to Rutgers where he was a two-time NCAA qualifier and won a gold medal in the 70-kg division at the 2017 U23 World Championships. As a senior in 2018, Lewis made the round of 12. He began his MMA career in 2021 and has won both of his fights over Banny Vega and Ernesto Rodriguez. Lewis will face off against Bowen who has been fighting professionally since 2019 and has a 1-0-1 record. The Titan FC 76 card will air live on UFC Fight Pass at 8:00pm ET on Friday. UFC 274 The UFC returns to pay per view with a lightweight title fight in the main event. A former Northern Colorado All-American will get a shot against current champion Charles Oliveira. Justin Gaethje vs. Charles Oliveira As a junior at Northern Colorado in 2010, Justin Gaethje finished seventh at 157 pounds at the NCAA tournament to become an All-American. In the process, he also became the first All-American for the Bears since 1970. After building an undefeated 16-0 professional MMA record, Gaethje signed with the UFC 2017. After losing two of his first three fights with the promotion, it looked like Gaethje might end up being better known for his entertaining fights than his accomplishments. However, he has now won five of his last six and earned a second crack at the lightweight title. Oliveira will not be an easy challenge for Gaethje. He won the title over Dustin Poirier in 2021 and has since defended it against former Missouri wrestler Michael Chandler. He holds a 32-8 MMA record and has a UFC record of 15 wins by submission in the Octagon. Carla Esparza vs. Rose Namajunas Esparza was an All-American for Menlo. After graduating in 2009, she made her professional MMA debut in 2010. In 2014, she won the 20th season of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show to become the inaugural UFC strawweight champion. Her opponent in the finals was Namajunas. Since then Namajunas has won the title and cemented herself as the top 115-pound fighter. Esparza earned a title shot after winning five-straight fights, but she will be the underdog here despite the history. Michael Chandler vs. Tony Ferguson Chandler signed with the UFC in 2021 after an extensive career in Bellator that saw him hold the lightweight title on multiple occasions. While putting on exciting fights, he has gone only 1-2 in his three trips into the Octagon. A win here should help him turn around his momentum. Chandler was a two-time Big 12 champion and a three-time NCAA qualifier for Missouri during his collegiate days. Ferguson was a Michigan state champion in high school who went on to compete at Grand Valley. For the NCWA squad, he was a two-time All-American and won a national title at 165 pounds in 2006. Ferguson joined the UFC in 2011 after winning the 13th season of “The Ultimate Fighter.” At one point he went on a 12-fight winning streak and held an interim version of the UFC lightweight title. However, he is now riding a three-fight losing streak and coming off a decision loss against Beneil Dariush. All three of these fights will be part of the UFC 274 main card, which airs live on pay per view via ESPN+ at 10:00pm ET.

59 kg US Open Champion Nanea Estrella (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) What a weekend we saw out in Las Vegas last weekend at the US Open. There was little time to process the results before turning our sights on the event that will determine age-level world teams on the women's side. Let's take a weight-by-weight look at the U20 National Championships going on this weekend in Fort Worth, Texas. The U20 division offers a great mix of the best high school and underclassmen college talent from across the country, and this year seems prepared to entertain. 50kg This weight is an interesting one because it contains two college weight classes with the 101s and the 109s from both NCAA and NAIA schools, with a smorgasbord of High School talent. Top high schoolers include California's Nyla Valencia, an Iowa commit, and Kaelani Shufeldt along with Arizona's Audrey Jimenez and Nevada's Jenavi Alejandro. The Gonzalez twins, Brianna and Emily - both headed to Iowa, should also be in the conversation, along with Maryland's Alex Szkotnicki. The top college contenders include North Central's Sydney Petzinger, who was 2nd at the NCWWC Championships this year at 109, and a pair of King University stars in Samara Chavez and Sage Mortimer, both who finished 3rd at the NCWWCs at 109 and 116, respectively. Favorites: Mortimer and Petzinger Dark Horse: Brianna Gonzalez 53kg 53 kilos offers two top-tier high school stars in Elena Ivaldi and Katie Gomez, both of California. Both competed at 53kg last year. Gomez was 4th in the U20 division last year and Ivaldi was 5th in the U17 bracket. Jasmine Godinez and Camille Fournier were both 5th for Texas Wesleyan at the NAIA Championships this year, at 109 and 116 respectively. Kendra Ryan was 6th for North Central at 116 at NCWWCs. Keep an eye on Chloe Ayres of the New Jersey Regional Training Center as well - she doesn't compete collegiately attending Princeton University, but earned several big wins in High School. Favorites: Fournier and Gomez Dark Horse: Kendra Ryan 55kg There's not much in the way of ranked High School wrestlers at 55 kilos, but WCAP's Adrian Dorado Marin opened plenty of eyes last weekend by winning the US Open at 57 and drops to 55 this weekend to try and make a U20 world team. She had huge Senior level wins over Amanda Martinez and Cameron Guerin in taking the stop sign. Cristelle Rodriguez was a Cadet World Silver Medalist in 2019 and Amani Jones, who was 5th at NCWWCs for North Central at 123 this season, was the runner-up here last year. North Central's Mateah Roehl and King's Melanie Mendoza are both 2x NCWWC All-Americans in this bracket as well. Favorites: Dorado Marin and Jones Dark Horse: Cristelle Rodriguez 57kg Ranked high school wrestlers are much more prevalent at 57 kilos. New Yorks' Sofia Macaluso currently sits at #1 nationally at 122 pounds, while California's Jennifer Soto is ranked #2 at 127. Alexis Janiak of Illinois was 2nd at the weight last year and returns for a shot at the title. Claire DiCugno of Colorado Mesa University defeated Janiak in that 2021 final and went on to have a great freshman season in Grand Junction, finishing 6th at the NCWWCs. Adrienna Turner was an NAIA All-American for Grand View University and Ngao Shoua Whitethorn of Minnesota didn't wrestle in college this season, but was the Junior National Champ in Fargo last summer. Favorites: DiCugno and Macaluso Dark Horse: Jennifer Soto 59kg Savannah Cosme won this event last year in the U17 division at 57kg and looks to repeat this year as a U20 at 59. The High School senior will head to Arizona State next season. She joins a wealth of college stars in search of the world team spot. Nanea Estrella of Menlo was second at NAIAs and won the US Open in impressive fashion just last weekend. Montana DeLawder of King had a rough go at the NCWWCs finishing in 7th, but she had a fantastic season before that as she went into the event as the #1 seed. East Stroudsburg's Mia Macaluso was 4th in that same NCWWC bracket, and was the champion of the U20 59kg bracket last year. Janida Garcia of California and Ella Schmit of Iowa enter the event both ranked #6 in the country at 138 and 122 respectively. Favorites: Estrella and Macaluso Dark Horse: Montana DeLawder 62kg Five high school competitors entered the event at 62 kilos ranked in the top 5 nationally in Skylar Hattendorf, Marissa Jimenez, Madyson Gray, Savannah Gomez and Paige Wehrmeister. Any one of them has the potential to make a deep run in this bracket. Four college All-Americans join them in Sara Sulejmani of North Central, Emmily Patneaud and Skye Realin of McKendree and NAIA National Champion Adaugo Nwachukwu of Iowa Wesleyan. Nwachukwu and Patneaud were 3rd and 5th last weekend at the US Open. Favorites: Nwachukwu and Patneaud Dark Horse: Hattendorf 65kg Emma Walker certainly has the most experienced amongst the top competitors at 65 kilos as she was 2nd at the NAIA Championships at 143 this season. Numbers 1-4 and 6 in the High School rankings will look to challenge her in Iowa commit Reese Larramendy, Lock Haven commit Grace Stem, North Central commit Kendall Bostelman, Missouri's Maddie Kubicki and Iowa commit Isabella Mir - wow. Chloe Ogden is also an interesting entry here. She spent most of her High School career nationally ranked before heading off to UNC where she is currently a freshman - she was 4th here last year. Favorites: Walker and Larramendy Dark Horse: Kendall Bostelman 68kg This weight looks to be a battle of young stars all in search of their first world team appearance. Oregon's Destiny Rodriguez, a Junior Fargo national champ last summer, enters the tournament as the #2 ranked High School wrestler at 152 pounds. Lydia Krauss of Michigan is ranked 8th at the same weight. Two college All-Americans look to stand in their way. Sacred Heart's Maddie Sandquist was 3rd at NCWWCs at 143 and North Central's Tiera Jimerson was 5th at 155. Favorites: Rodriguez and Sandquist Dark Horse: Jimerson 72kg We don't need to look very far for the heavy favorite at 72kg. Amit Elor enters the event after winning Junior World Gold in 2021. She entered the US Open last weekend but pulled out, with an illness. We are excited to see her enter again here and eager to see her on the mat this weekend in Fort Worth. Her largest challenger will likely be Missouri's Haley Ward or Washington's Shannon Workinger. Skylar Chakouian of Elmira was an NCWWC All-American at 155 this season. Favorite: Elor Dark Horse: Chakouian 76kg Tristan Kelly is likely the most experienced wrestler in the field at 76. She was 3rd at the NCWWCs in 2021, before discontinuing her college career to go full-time with WCAP. She was 5th at last weekend's US Open. The top-ranked High School wrestlers in the field include Washington's Alivia White and Utah's Brooklyn Hays. Illinois' Rose Cassioppi is also an intriguing name here. Journey Land was an NCWWC All-American for Limestone at 191 this season. Favorites: Kelly and White Dark Horse: Rose Cassioppi

David McFadden (left) and Vincenzo Joseph in the 2022 US Open finals (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Lost in the commotion of the US Open was the news of a new pro league on the horizon. A true professional league has always kind of been the Holy Grail of the wrestling world. Meet the new league. Same as the old league. The American Wrestling League is back and under new management. History shows that it won't work, but Uncle Jagger is here to tell you why it can work. I think the biggest problem was that wrestlers retired at an earlier age thus leaving a shallow pool to choose from. That's not exactly true anymore with men and women consistently competing into their thirties. Let's face it, the endgame for competing past college is to make a world/Olympic team. The percentage of wrestlers that make that world team is microscopic. Now, a different circuit gives the wrestlers another venue to pursue while still doing what they love. You didn't make a world team? Sorry to hear that. You had a good season in the AWL while enjoying the camaraderie of a team again and got paid for it? Sounds pretty cool. The next reason is that it's 2022. This isn't the age of once a week newsletters and trading videotapes. We're used to watching everything at home now and freestyle wrestling appeals to fans all over the world. My paisan Seth Petarra watches Kyrgyzstan Cadets just as a hobby. I'm sure there's a Kyrgyzstan Seth out there who's willing to watch the AWL. Zach and Tyler from Stalemates run a successful league with good marketing and a desire to give the fans what they want. The talent is available. The streaming options are available. Hopefully, the money is available. Will the fans show up? We shall see. Speaking of fans, you guys sent a few questions and I answered. Who were you most impressed with at the US Open? @PelikanHead Dan Verr in the Greco-Roman Masters division D at 58 kilograms. The guy is so good that nobody even entered the tournament at his weight. National champ without even breaking a sweat. Stud. Vincenzo Joseph and David McFadden were pretty good, too. I wouldn't mind seeing them mix it up a few more times. What's the average setup time for your TV's? @Michwrestlinref Mostly depends on the situation and how I pre-plan it, but I can get you four screens up and running in five minutes or less. I admit I flew too close to the sun last time and started feeling the radiation and it got weird. I may tone down the screens in the future. I may also quit smoking and stop being a curmudgeon, but there's no guarantee on any of these things. No questions. Just appreciation for his repping of #PhillyWrestling to kick off #WrestlingShirtADayinMay. @WrestlingPhilly You know I love my Philly wrestling! I hope you're all enjoying the brainchild of Jim Dutrow and judging by the tweets you definitely are! It's fun to see all the cool shirts folks have collected over the years and I've seen a few that I want for myself. Even Hoboken Mike on Survivor brought a Wesleyan Wrestling sweatshirt to the island knowing the show would be for the month of May. I say we take it a step further and go singlet a day in January and really get this cooking. If you could dox the identity of any anonymous wrestling Twitter account, who would it be? @theGOATfollower Karen at Flo is certainly someone whose identity people have speculated about. The thing with anonymous accounts is it's likely just someone you don't know. This isn't the Marvel Cinematic Universe where everyone is connected in some way. It's just random fans making random accounts to talk about the sport or have some fun while maintaining privacy. Isn't that right, Andy? How do you handle your Twitter fame? Does it affect your day-to-day lifestyle? @gutbench69 Shockingly not a problem in everyday life. Put me in Iowa and you'll see the press on the runway like I'm "Weird Al" Yankovic. Which NCAA wrestler would be best off signing an NIL with Marlboro? @jkos11 Well, we already missed the boat with Chad "Marlboro" Red, so I think that ship has sailed. Probably not a good idea anyway. Do you....never mind don't want to upset you. @MaceikoW As a matter of fact, I do. That's it for this week, my friends! First X is in the books and things are looking spicy for Middle X, before all the returning champs inevitably win at Final X. And so it goes...

Todd Beckerman (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Todd Beckerman announced he is stepping away as the Marvin Wilenzik '56 Head Coaching Chair for Brown Wrestling and transitioning to a new role. "I want to thank Coach Beckerman for his time leading our wrestling program," Chancellor Samuel M. Mencoff '78 Vice President for Athletics and Recreation M. Grace Calhoun '92, Ph.D. said. "We appreciate his dedication to Brown Wrestling and look forward to seeing him in a new role. He established a strong foundation for the program, and we appreciate his commitment to so many student-athletes through the years. The success on and off the mat was evident. We will immediately begin a national search to identify our next wrestling coach." "I want to thank Grace Calhoun for this wonderful opportunity to pursue this next chapter in my career," said Beckerman. "I'm honored and forever grateful for the opportunity to have coached at this prestigious institution for the last nine years, and am proud of what we accomplished together, building a strong, and fully endowed program that is positioned for future success under a new head coach. Most importantly, I'm excited to be able to spend more time with my wife and daughters in ways I couldn't before." In his nine seasons at Brown, Beckerman featured several EIWA placers and 12 NCAA qualifiers, including Ophir Bernstein '15, the program's first All-American in 16 years (2014-15) and fourth ever.

65 kg U17 World Team member Tyler Kasak (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) On Sunday afternoon, in Las Vegas, our U17 (Cadet) men's freestyle team was assembled. The group consists of ten wrestlers from eight states, nine of which will compete at the World Championships for the first time. The lone returner is Luke Lilledahl, who brought home a silver medal last year. The 2022 team features two wrestlers who knocked off returning medalists from the previous year's squad, so they should have an impact of their own. This group has big shoes to fill as the 2021 team finished second at World's, ahead of Russia and behind India by just four points. We'll have the U17 Greco-Roman team for you tomorrow and the women's team is being determined this weekend. Below are the members of the 2022 freestyle team along with their past accomplishments and their wins from Las Vegas. 2022 U17 Freestyle Team 45 kg - Domenic Munaretto (Illinois) 5x Tulsa National Champion Path to the World Team: Revin Dickman (Indiana) 12-2 Carter Pearson (Iowa) 4-0 Slater Hicks (California) 3-0 Haakon Peterson (Wisconsin) 4-0, 3-0 48 kg - Christian Castillo (Arizona) 2021 Super 32 sixth place 2021 16U Freestyle national runner-up Path to the World Team: Cole Faircloth (Nevada) 10-0 Ezekiel Witt (Kansas) Fall 1:07 Dru Ayala (Iowa) 11-0 Seth Mendoza (Illinois) 4-4, 5-2 51 kg - Luke Lilledahl (Missouri) 2021 Walsh Ironman runner-up 2021 Super 32 Champion 2021 Cadet World silver medalist (freestyle) 2021 UWW Cadet WTT Champion (freestyle) 2021 UWW Cadet WTT third place (Greco-Roman) 2022 National Prep third place 2021 Missouri Class 4 state champion Path to the World Team: Julian Antonio Salazar-Marquez (Colorado) 10-0 Elijah Cortez (California) 7-2 Isaiah Schaefer (Indiana) 10-0 Nathan Carrillo (California) 12-2 Bo Bassett (Pennsylvania) 6-1, 10-0 55 kg - Jax Forrest (North Carolina) 2021 Super 32 third place 2021 16U freestyle national fourth-place 2021 16U Greco-Roman national sixth-place Path to the World Team: Sergio Vega (Arizona) 10-0 Collin McDowell (Wisconsin) 10-0 William Anderson (Alabama) 12-1 Ben Davino (Illinois) 10-6 Kale Peterson (Iowa) 10-0 Nate Jesuroga (Iowa) 2-12, 11-10, 4-4 60 kg - Kyler Larkin (Arizona) 2021 16U freestyle national champion Path to the World Team: Emanuel Cater (Washington) 10-0 Alex Mentzer (South Dakota) 5-5 Omar Ayoub (Ohio) 11-1 Zan Fugitt (Missouri) 10-0 Tanner Frothinger (Idaho) 17-11 Dalton Perry (Pennsylvania) 10-0, 9-2 65 kg - Tyler Kasak (Pennsylvania) 2021 Beast of the East Champion 2021 Walsh Ironman Champion 2x Super 32 Placer (5th, 7th) 2021 16U Freestyle national runner-up 3x Pennsylvania AAA state medalist (3rd, 1st, 5th) Path to the World Team: Royce Uhring (Colorado) Fall 1:14 Ronald Theilacker (Florida) 10-0 Collin Guffey (California) 10-0 Ivan Acosta (Washington) 11-0 Brock Herman (Ohio) Fall 3:23 Zach Hanson (Minnesota) 4-4 Joel Adams (Nebraska) 3-4, 7-0, 6-4 71 kg - Joseph Sealey (North Carolina) 2021 Beast of the East Champion 2021 Super 32 Runner-Up 2021 UWW Cadet WTT sixth place (freestyle) 2022 National Prep Champion Path to the World Team: Leister Bowling (Colorado) 10-0 Austin Simmons (Oregon) 10-0 Tyren Schaefer (Colorado) 10-0 Erik McCown (California) 10-0 Latrell Schafer (Georgia) 10-0 Zane Licht (Wisconsin) 14-4 KJ Evans (Oklahoma) 9-2, 15-7 80 kg - Zack Ryder (New York) 2021 Walsh Ironman third place 2021 Super 32 fifth place 2021 16U Freestyle national champion 2x New York DI state champion Path to the World Team: Bradlee Shaw (California) 10-0 Dalton Loyden (Arizona) Fall 2:51 Mike Avelar (Arizona) 10-0 Gabe Arnold (Georgia) 3-2 Aeoden Sinclair (Wisconsin) 5-3 Connor Mirasola (Wisconsin) 8-0, Fall 1:07 92 kg - Max McEnelly (Minnesota) 2021 16U Freestyle national champion 3x Minnesota state champion Path to the World Team: Kade West (New York) 10-0 Melvin Whitehead (Nevada) 10-0 Austin Johnson (Pennsylvania) 12-0 Sawyer Bartelt (Florida) 6-5 Camden McDanel (Ohio) 12-12, 5-3, 15-14 110 kg - Koy Hopke (Wisconsin) 2021 16U Freestyle national champion 2021 16U Greco-Roman national champion 2021 UWW Cadet WTT third place (freestyle) 2021 UWW Cadet WTT third place (Greco-Roman) 2x Wisconsin D2 state champion Path to the World Team: Brooks McFarland (Nebraska) 10-0 Dominic Burgett (South Dakota) 10-0 Connor Aney (Wisconsin) 10-0 Parker Ferrell (Virginia) Fall :50 Carter Neves (Ohio) 14-4, 20-9

Campbell head coach Scotti Sentes and associate head coach Wynn Michalak (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Summer wrestling camps are one of the best resources to use when looking to improve your skillset and improve upon your most recent season. There are also a lot of other benefits to attending summer wrestling camps; I am going to focus on attending the camps that are held and put on by college wrestling programs. Growing up, there was not a summer that I did not attend at least one camp in the summer, from elementary school, attending the kids-level technique camps all the way to attending prospect camps in high school, while trying to get my name out in front of college coaches to be recruited. These camps help fund a lot of your smaller programs, but after speaking with college coaches here in North Carolina about their opinions on camps and the importance of them, I am starting to gather that as much of a fundraising opportunity these camps are, it is also a great way for coaches to see an athlete firsthand in a setting that they can control. The common question that I asked coaches when beginning this article was, "What do you think is the best thing your program gets out of running camps?". Daniel Elliott, Head Coach of Gardner Webb University, places a focus on providing a small environment with more personal instruction. Similar to the experience of competing at Gardner Webb, they want to use their camp as a way to build relationships. When I asked Elliott the question above, he responded "For me, it's as much about relationships as anything else. Getting to know kids and them getting to know us. For us, it's more of providing an opportunity for kids to get better at an efficient price." Wynn Michalak of Campbell University responded, "For a college coach, camps are a way to give back, a way to connect with the community, and a way to see wrestlers train, interact and really get an eye on some possible prospects they may not have seen yet." Coaches constantly tell me stories of how kids showed up at their camp over the summer, kids that were never on their radar and by the end of the camp, those exact kids were instantly towards the top of their list. A lot of those stories also end with the kids talking about receiving scholarship offers to those colleges and finding success at the college level. To get an athlete's perspective we spoke with Caleb Smith NCAA Qualifier at 125 for Appalachian State in 2022, we asked him what was the biggest part of his recruiting process and in him choosing Appalachian State, "I started going to the App camp in eighth grade and that is when I started to really want to go App. I saw the culture of the program, how the coaches coached and how the guys on the team interacted with each other and I could just tell it was a family. I wanted to be a part of that." With Covid-19, wrestling camps took a hit over the past few years, but we are finally back and operating! Camps are popping up left and right from every major program and even your smaller local ones. Opportunities like Prospect Camps, Team Camps, Technique Camps, Intensive Camps and more! Camps are a great way to not only receive top-notch instruction from high-level coaches, but also receive instruction from current college wrestlers. On top of the instructional value of camps, there is the aspect of the competition that comes with them! A lot of camps have tournament-like events that take place, especially your team camps that normally conclude at the end with a dual-style tournament. Attending camps like this allows you to compete with high-level competition without it being at a national event or without it really having any large repercussions. Go compete and have fun without worrying about the pressure of winning a title, just get better! Use the technique taught and test it out before breaking it out in real competition. Now let's talk about the mindset when entering a camp! It is easy to get absolutely overwhelmed at college camps, big-name coaches, big-name wrestlers you may have seen on ESPN wrestling at nationals, and the amount of technique being thrown at you. Whatever it is, there are plenty of reasons that college camps can overwhelm you. So how do you combat that? You go into the camp with a plan or a goal, and you control what you can control within the camp! Have a plan of things you want to get better at or certain things that you hope to get better at, there are normally opportunities to request areas to learn at some point in the camp! Be selfish and be honest and look back at your season and think of positions that you can get better at. Next is to have a filter. Not everyone can hit a blast double like Jordan Burroughs, but you better believe that if JB himself is at a camp showing blast doubles, you better be there watching! The point of that example is, to watch and listen to every piece of technique shown and attempt it while at camp, but if it's not working for you when it's time to wrestle live, learn to keep it in the toolbox, per se, but maybe just further in the back drawer! The most common advice given to someone heading to a wrestling camp or clinic is to be a total sponge. Soak up every bit of knowledge from coaches and clinicians that you can! I totally agree, but one thing that I think is commonly left out is they need to have that filter. Be willing to try anything that is shown, in other words, be EXTREMELY coachable at camps, because as we have learned from the coaches we have spoken with, they are always watching! A piece of advice given a lot is to bring a notepad to every camp you go to, and after each session write in your own words what you learned from the technique taught that day and give step-by-step instructions on how to do each technique. The goal is to get better with these camps and use every opportunity to get better to reach the goals you have set for yourself. Use these camps as a tool to be recruited and see how campuses function, how a staff leads and the culture of the programs. Most of all have some fun and get back on the mat!

70 kg US Open champion Alec Pantaleo (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Last week and into the weekend, the US Open invaded Las Vegas. Because of Covid and its aftermath, it was the first time that the event, in its normal glory, alongside a handful of other age-group tournaments returned to Sin City. After a few days to digest all that went down in Vegas, we have five big takeaways from the Senior-level events. Note: Maybe the best story of all was Kendric Maple's return to the mat and subsequent title at 65 kg. We'll have an interview with him on the Earl-Y Verbal Show tomorrow morning! 1) Is Alec Pantaleo in the driver's seat? In the days and weeks leading up to the Open, we speculated on who could be the successor to James Green at 70 kg. Green has made every world team since the formation of the weight class in 2015. With Green out of the picture, there are plenty of capable contenders to the domestic throne at 70 kg. Alec Pantaleo, Jordan Oliver, Zain Retherford, and Ryan Deakin comprise the top-tier of favorites. Pantaleo's win now gives him the top seed at the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament. Even so, to make the finals, Pantaleo would likely have to go through one of the other three, along with maybe Bryce Andonian, Anthony Ashnault, or Sammy Sasso in the quarterfinals. Pantaleo has been trending up over the last year-plus. He's a select wrestler with multiple wins over Oliver, a longtime mainstay at 65/70kg and the Olympic Trials winner. Between a loaded coaching staff and a bevy of talented training partners at the Cliff Keen Wrestling Club, Pantaleo has an excellent training situation that is conducive to continued growth at the Senior level. Looking at Pantaleo's 2021, he may very well have unseated Green if not for an injury suffered at the World Team Trials. Pantaleo jumped out to a 4-0 lead on Deakin in the semifinals, before injuring a rib. He initially tried to wrestle through the injury, but ended up having to default out of the tournament. Earlier in the year, Pantaleo won titles at both the Pan-American Championships and the Matteo Pellicone. Pantaleo on the world team would definitely represent a medal threat. 2) Nico Megaludis? Not only did we have a Nico Megaludis sighting, but he won the whole thing! The same Nico Megaludis that has been out of commission for the better part of three years due to a pair of knee injuries. The same Nico Megaludis that has a high-powered day job as a financial analyst. This shouldn't have happened. It's not supposed to happen. But that's the beauty of our sport. As he said in our post-match interview, "He doesn't "have" to wrestle, he does it because he loves it." For full disclosure, there were some weights at this tournament deeper than others. I'll let you look at the results to determine which was which. The 61 kg bracket that Megaludis won was not one of them. The 2016 NCAA champion teched wiley Brandon Wright in the quarters, before picking apart Seth Gross in the semis, then held off Josh Rodriguez, 3-1 for the title. Others of note in this weight were, 2019 World Teamer Tyler Graff, Daniel DeShazer, and Shelton Mack. To put things in perspective, Megaludis' finals win came over Rodriguez, ranked #9 in the world in our April International Rankings. Nico was 19th in those same rankings, but will certainly move up in the forthcoming set. If Megaludis can replicate his feat at the World Team Trials, he could be in for a date with Daton Fix in Final X. Having a positive result, like an Open title, combined with more mat time to knock off the rust, and a body without three years of wear and tear (excluding his surgeries), could put Megaludis in line to extend his margin of victories over similar opponents a few weeks from now. The US Open and World Team Trials always seem to bring out fun stories like Megaludis. I'm sure he's ready to prove he's more than just a nice human interest piece with his performance at the WTT's and perhaps Final X. 3) Chaos at 79 kg! The potential finals at 79 kg's looked to be maybe the most intriguing contest of the Senior Men's freestyle portion of the week, pre-tournament. A clash between Alex Dieringer and Isaiah Martinez looked to be a headline-worthy. The two combined to win five national titles and made the final wrestle-off of the World Team Trials or Final X on four occasions. Once again, that's why they don't wrestle the matches on paper. Had Vegas bookmakers set odds on that type of thing, you could have made a pretty penny betting that neither would even make the semis; which ended up being the case. Both luminaries at this weight were shocked in the quarterfinals, Dieringer with a late throw from Vincenzo Joseph and Martinez, who was pinned by David McFadden. Those two would stay hot and proceed to the finals. On the big stage, McFadden and Joseph turned in a match for the ages. It was a back-and-forth affair filled with big moves, fun exchanges, a late score, and some close calls. I think anyone that watched the McFadden/Joseph final, excluding other 79 kg competitors and coaches, would love to see another chapter in their rivalry at the World Team Trials. Meanwhile, Martinez will have to head to Atlantic City to earn a WTT bid through the Last Chance Qualifier. Provided he does qualify, he and Dieringer still figure to be central figures in this weight at the Trials. Now, it's just not a two-horse race, as some may have figured. 4) Guilford atop a wide-open 76 kg Earlier today, six-time world champion Adeline Gray officially confirmed what the rest of the wrestling world already knew. Since she is pregnant with twins, Gray will not be able to accept her berth in Final X and will not be eligible to compete at the World Championships this year. That may not be groundbreaking news, but merely a formality. So without one of the most talented women ever to step on a wrestling mat holding down the 76 kg weight class, who will Team USA turn to? After Gray, the rest of the weight is pretty wide open. US Open champion Dymond Guilford defeated her close friend and former Open champ, Precious Bell, to gain the top seed in Coralville. She leads a relatively young field, compared to the legendary Gray. Even with an Open title and the top seed, there will be plenty of able challengers for Guilford. Junior World Champion Kylie Welker, the Olympic Trials runner-up, figures to be in the mix and one of the favorites. Though she finished fourth in Vegas, two-time world team member Victoria Francis is always a tough out. The opponent that defeated Francis for third, Yelena Makoyed, defeated Guilford for third place at the 2021 WTT's (This year Guilford reversed that result with a fall in the semis). There are plenty of other college-aged or recently graduated women at this weight that could make an impact. 5) Forfeits galore in the Greco finals We saw earlier this year, at the Big Ten Championships, that forfeits in the finals of a major tournament make for an ugly product. I get it, the US Open, while prestigious in its own right, is not the end game for these Senior-level athletes. They all want to be at their best (and healthiest) for the Trials/Final X and possibly the World Championships. Having three in a ten-match final, as was the case on the Greco-Roman side, makes for an anticlimactic, weird final for the fans. I know, these wrestlers aren't necessarily competing for fan's enjoyment, but the more fans, the more eyeballs, the more exposure. Hopefully, this is just a "one-time" thing and we are treated to some great Greco action at the Trials.

New Lehigh Mountain Hawk Michael Beard (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Today, 2021 NCAA All-American Michael Beard announced the destination of his transfer. Beard, a Pennsylvania native, is leaving Penn State and will stay in the Commonwealth and wrestle for Lehigh. A top-15 recruit in the Class of 2018, Beard took a grayshirt year before enrolling and redshirting for Penn State in 2019-20. During the abridged 2021 season, Beard went 10-6, placing sixth in the Big Ten and seventh at the NCAA Championships. In the 2021 campaign, Beard notched wins over notables like Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming), Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State), Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State) and Thomas Penola (Purdue). With Max Dean transferring into State College, prior to the 2021-22 season, Beard only saw action in one dual meet this past season. Beard finished the year with an 8-2 record and was a runner-up at the Southern Scuffle. Dean went on to win an NCAA title and returns in 2022-23. Three-time Big Ten runner-up, Eric Schultz (Nebraska), was responsible for Beard's only regulation loss of the year. The other came via injury default in the first period of the Scuffle finals. Along the way, Beard downed two eventual NCAA qualifiers, Cam Caffey (Michigan State) and JT Brown (Army West Point). For the immediate future, Beard fits in perfectly with the Lehigh lineup. The Mountain Hawks boasted a talented team that was besieged by injuries in 2021-22. Their starter at 197 was freshman JT Davis, who went 13-17. Also in the pipeline is Caden Rogers (Malvern Prep, PA), the #68 overall senior in the Class of 2022. Rogers projects at 197 lbs, as well. Beard could have as many as three years of eligibility remaining as he was a redshirt freshman during the 2021 Covid year. Beard will make a deep EIWA 197 lb class even tougher. The returning champion, Louie DePrez (Binghamton), was an All-American in 2021, while Luke Stout (Princeton), Jacob Cardenas (Cornell), and Jake Koser (Navy) were top-20 seeds at nationals. Penn's Cole Urbas is another qualifier that returns. The 2022-23 Mountain Hawks could feature a lineup with Beard alongside three past EIWA champions: Jaret Lane (125), Malyke Hines (133), and Josh Humphreys (157). NCAA All-American Jordan Wood was the only one of the seven 2022 national qualifiers that is not expected to return.

74 kg US Open champion Jason Nolf (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Last weekend's US Open had plenty of drama and intrigue in the men's freestyle division. Perhaps the strongest performance came from Jason Nolf. The three-time NCAA champion won the 74-kg bracket, and had some of the best numbers of the weekend. The following is a look at the top statistical performers in men's freestyle from the U.S. Open. Point Differential It will certainly still be a tough challenge to qualify for the World team at 74 kg, but Nolf made about as strong of a statement as possible at the U.S. Open. The former Penn State wrestler averaged 5.16 points per minute, allowed absolutely zero points and therefore finished with a +5.16 point differential. That measure was, far and away, the highest across the entire senior-level men's freestyle bracket. Nolf did not even enter the second period until his finals match against Joshua Shields. This is thanks in large part to his turning ability on the ground. After finishing college in 2016, he has clearly made strides in par terre. Of the 48 match points he scored, 26 came in the par-terre position. Nolf was also diverse with his grounded offense. Of those 26 points, he added 12 via gut wrench, 10 with the leg lace and four with a bar and half combination. With another five victories at the Open, Nolf has gone 9-1 in 2022 with his only loss coming against U23 World champion Chermen Valiev in the finals of the Yarygin tournament. Kyle Dake will be sitting in Final X thanks to his gold medal from the 2021 World Championships. At this point, it looks like Nolf might be the favorite to meet him there, and the rematch might be a lot closer than their match at last year's Olympic Trials. Another standout in terms of point differential was fellow former Penn State wrestler Mark Hall. He finished with a +3.24 differential, which was the third-highest across all weight classes. He allowed only two points (0.19 per minute) on his way to the title at 86 kg. Hall averaged 3.43 points per minute and achieved match termination in all four of his bouts. It was a vintage performance for Hall who has occasionally struggled to get to his offense since making the move up to 86 kg. Jesse Mendez, the number-one recruit in the class of 2022, entered the senior-level Open at 61 kg despite having U20 eligibility. He lost a front side match against Daniel DeShazer in the Round of 16, but wrestled all the way back to finish third. Mendez scored 3.57 points per minute, while allowing only 0.57 and therefore had a +3.00 differential, which was the fifth-highest of the tournament. Top Five Points Differential Performances 1. Jason Nolf +5.16 2. Matthew Kolodzik +3.70 3. Mark Hall +3.24 4. Brock Mauller +3.21 5. Jesse Mendez +3.00 Points per Minute As is occasionally the case, the highest-scoring wrestler in the tournament was not actually a champion. Former Princeton wrestler Matthew Kolodzik averaged 5.36 points per minute across his five matches at 65 kg, which slightly edged Nolf's 5.16 rate. Of Course, Kolodzik's rate is somewhat bolstered by his quick loss via fall in the finals against Kendric Maple. Despite that blemish, Kolodzik had a strong performance at the Open. He scored at least 11 points in all four of his matches leading up to the finals. In the semifinals, Kolodzik defeated the number-one seed Evan Henderson by a 16-6 score. The 16 points scored were tied for the sixth-most points scored by a wrestler in any match. Current Princeton wrestler Nathan Dugan had a boom or bust tournament at 86 kg. He went 3-2 in the tournament with all five of his matches ending via match termination. His 4.33 points per minute rate was impressive, but his two losses came by a combined 21-0 score. Former Oklahoma state high school runner-up and Northern Michigan OTS trainee Alec McDoulett had a similar tournament down at 70 kg. He went 2-2 in the bracket with his wins over Seonghun Chung and Leo Rodriguez coming via 10-0 superiority, while his losses against Riley Gurr and Luke Wick went 14-3 and 10-1 respectively. Top Five Points per Minute Performances 1. Matthew Kolodzik 5.36 2. Jason Nolf 5.16 3. Nathan Dugan 4.53 4. Alec McDoulett 4.26 5. Brandon Wright 3.96 Points Against per Minute Nolf was the only wrestler in men's freestyle to not surrender a single point, so obviously, he would be the leader in terms of points allowed per minute. The second-best performer in terms of this metric was Kendric Maple. The former Oklahoma national champion allowed only two points on his path to the tournament title at 65 kg. Both of those points came in his semifinal match against Pat Lugo. Another competitor with a strong defensive performance was Ty Walz. The Virginia Tech veteran moved back up to heavyweight and finished third. His lone loss of the tournament came against Dominique Bradley. This was also the only match where Walz allowed any points. Defense was an essential element of Walz's success on the weekend. Three of his wins came by VPO, and there were only 20 matches that ended via that result throughout the entire tournament. Rounding out the top five in terms of points per minute was Michael Macchiavello. The 2019 NCAA champion allowed only three total points on his path to the title at 97 kg. Timothy Dudley scored two points in the semifinals Top Five Points Allowed per Minute Performances 1. Jason Nolf 0.00 2. Kendric Maple 0.14 3. Mark Hall 0.19 4. Ty Walz 0.20 5. Michael Macchiavello 0.24 Highest Scoring Matches The highest-scoring match of the tournament came in the Round of 32 in the 74-kg division. George Mason's Loranzo Rajaonarivelo had a bye in the opening round, while current Oregon State competitor and former NJCAA champion Isaiah Crosby scored an 11-0 match termination victory over Victor Montes to advance. Rajaonarivelo started the scoring with an exposure off a crotch lift. Crosby then got back into the match with a four-point turn as his opponent tried to hold in the quad pod position. Rajaonarivelo then appeared to take over with six-straight points, and he went to the break leading 10-7. In the second, Crosby got off to a hot start with his own six-point run. He scored a pair of takedowns and a leg lace to go ahead. However, Rajaonarivelo immediately scored a reversal and went to his own leg lace to retake the lead by a 20-13 score. After an injury timeout, Rajaonarivelo added another takedown and gut wrench to seal the 24-13 victory. Highest Scoring Matches 1. Loranzo Rajaonarivelo VSU1 over Isaiah Crosby (24-13) 2. Steven Kroesen VSU1 over Matthew Minton (22-12) 3. Nick Incontrera VPO1 over Quentin Perez (16-15) 4. Jacen Petersen VPO1 over Hayden Hastings (15-14) 5. Evan Wick VPO1 over Isaiah White (16-12) 5. Keller Rock VFA over Hunter Mullin (15-13) 5. Alec Pantaleo VPO1 over Luka Wick (18-10) 5. Mitchel Hrnyak VPO1 over Jordan Monroe (16-12)

Six-time World/Olympic Champion John Smith Two-time Olympic champion John Smith is finalist for U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame; Fans can vote daily through May 16 1988 and 1992 Olympic freestyle wrestling gold medalist John Smith has been named as one of 15 finalists for the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame. Smith is one of just three wrestlers from the United States to win two Olympic gold medals, joined by George Mehnert (1904, 1908) and Bruce Baumgartner (1984, 1992). In spite of the fact that wrestling is the No. 3 medal producing sport for Team USA at the Summer Olympics, only two wrestlers are currently in the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame: Dan Gable and Bruce Baumgartner. ONLY FIVE OF THE 15 OLYMPIAN FINALISTS WILL BE INDUCTED. USA Wrestling is asking the wrestling community to rally behind John Smith and actively participate in the fan vote for the Hall of Fame, which runs from today through May 16. Vote here for John Smith for the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame YOU ARE ALLOWED TO VOTE ONCE PER DAY. Vote Now and Vote Often. In addition to his two Olympic gold medals, Smith won four World titles, stringing them all in a row. He is the only U.S. wrestler to win six World and Olympic gold medals in successive year. His amazing streak went 1987 World gold, 1988 Olympic gold, 1989 World gold, 1990 World gold, 1991 World gold, 1992 Olympic gold. In addition to his great achievements as an athlete, John Smith has also coached the U.S. Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Team in 2000 and 2012. John Smith has won these honors. Let's add U.S. Olympic U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame to them: Smith was the first wrestler to ever claim the James E. Sullivan Award as America's outstanding amateur athlete when he won the award in 1990. Smith was the first American ever chosen as the Master of Technique and Wrestler of the Year by the International Wrestling Federation (now UWW) when he received the honor in 1990. Smith was recognized as one of the 100 Greatest Olympians of All Time at the 1996 Atlanta Games. Smith won the Sportsman of the Year honors from the U.S. Olympic Committee in 1990. In 1992, Smith was presented with the Amateur Athletic Foundation's World Trophy, becoming the first North American wrestler to earn the honor. A 2003 inductee into the UWW International Wrestling Hall of Fame A 1997 distinguished member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame A 1997 inductee into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, That same year, Smith was inducted into the OSU Athletic Hall of Honor. And many others. HELP GET SUPERSTAR WRESTLER JOHN SMITH IN THE U.S. OLYMPIC & PARALYMPIC HALL OF FAME!!!! Vote here for John Smith for the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame

Dakota Geer at the Bout at the Ballpark (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) CLARION, Pa. – Clarion University head wrestling coach Keith Ferraro announced today that Dakota Geer, a three-time All-American with ties to western Pennsylvania, will join the Golden Eagle program as a volunteer assistant coach. He recently finished his own collegiate wrestling career earlier this year, having spent the last four seasons at Oklahoma State. "Coach Geer brings a history of success on the mat and comes from a program that expects greatness," Ferraro said. "This addition will be a huge benefit to our upper weights in the practice room, and I am excited to see his impact on the team. I would also like to thank Friends of Clarion Wrestling (FOCW) and our passionate group of alumni and fans. Without them, it would not be possible to bring coaches like this to Clarion." Geer finished his career with a record of 123-38, including 31 major decisions, 25 technical falls and 11 wins by fall. Twenty of those tech falls came as a member of Oklahoma State's program from 2018-22, placing him sixth all-time in program history in that category. His best national finish came in 2021, when he went 21-5 on the season and led the Cowboys in bonus point victories with seven tech falls and seven major decisions. Geer rattled four consecutive wins in the 184-pound wrestlebacks – including a pair of wins over top-10 opponents – to clinch fifth place in the bracket. Geer placed seventh at the 2019 Division I Championships, beating third-seeded Zach Zavatsky of Virginia Tech in the seventh-place bout, and earned NWCA All-American honors in 2020 after that year's tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. His collegiate career began at former Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) rival Edinboro in 2016-17, where Geer was named the EWL Freshman of the Year, and also to the 2017 Amateur Wrestling News All-Rookie Team and TheOpenMat.com's All-Freshman team. He was the EWL champion at 184, clinching his first trip to the NCAA Championships. Geer was a three-time PIAA placewinner for head coach Kevin Hesson at Franklin Area, where he finished his career with a 145-13 record, one state title and two third-place finishes. He became Franklin's second PIAA champion as a junior, and won FloWrestling's "Who's No. 1?" Tournament that same year.

Aden Reeves in the US Open semis (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 57 kg Aden Reeves finished his first year at Grand View on the bench as two of the best flyweights in the NAIA were ahead of him: National Champ Esco Walker and 5x AA Justin Portillo. Aden Reeves will immediately contend for a title next season, but for now, he's got his first Senior World Team Trials to prepare for! He qualified when he beat multiple-time DI qualifier, Joey Prata of Oklahoma, in the quarterfinals. Noah Cortez placed 8th and competes for Grays Harbor, an NCWA college. 61 kg We had to check out the history books for our non-D1 flair at 61. Both Brandon Wright of Grand View and Daniel Deshazer of UNK have been notorious on the Senior circuit after winning titles in NAIA and DII. B-Wright was the only one capable of scoring more than 2 points on eventual champ Nico Megaludis (6 points to be exact). Meanwhile, Dap's hitlist on his way to fourth place included Sean Fausz, Jesse Mendez, Sam Latona, and Cullan Schriever. 65 kg I don't have a lot of info on Timothy Nevarez, who collected two wins in a DEEP bracket littered with D1 talent. It appears that he competes domestically for a club in California. The other top 15 of 16 guys were all DI products. 70 kg Dayne Morton of Northern State has been on the Senior circuit for a while despite also competing for DII Northern State. His Folkstyle escapades have not typically been as kind to him, but he collected the best win of his career to qualify for the World Team Trials when he beat Brock Mauller 3-3 for 7th place. Mauller has placed twice in the Division I tournament and is a U23 world team member from Mizzou. Also, John Diener of Morningside hit a SWEET headlock on Ed Scott of NC State. He followed it with another nice throw for a quick pin. 74 kg Keller Rock, an NAIA blood-rounder from Embry-Riddle, had 2 pins on his run to the quarters. He would, unfortunately, finish in the round of 12 once again. Brandon Murray from Loras was a DIII AA in 2019 and was many people's pick to win nationals in 2020 when it got canceled. Here, he collected two dominant wins, but was halted by Tommy Gantt and Cam Amine. He was darn close to beating Gantt, 6-4. 79 kg Grand View's National Champion Casey Randles was one match away from placing. Isaiah Martinez ended his run on the backside, 5-3. Casey had 3 dominant victories. 86 kg Caden Steffen was the highest placer not from or associated with a D1 program. The 2x DII AA did better at the US Open than he did his own national tournament (6th in DII, 4th at the Open)! He had two big wins over SoCon-associated grapplers Andrew Morgan and Caleb Hopkins. He competed for Southwest Minnesota State. 92 kg Rodsean Graham is another DII athlete who faired better at the Open than in his national tournament. Actually, Graham did not qualify for his national tournament out of the loaded Super Region V. He took eighth place this weekend. He competed at Wisconsin-Parkside. 97 kg Duncan Lee was robbed of a national tournament his senior year after he won his region for DIII Central College in Pella, Iowa. He still got AA status, technically. But I bet he is happier to have a stop sign now. He's been coaching at his alma mater since 2020. Let's hope he straps up for the upcoming World Team Trials. He qualified by taking seventh this weekend. 125 kg Two placers here have ties outside of DI and inside of DI. Demetrius Thomas won an NAIA title in 2017 for Williams Baptist before transferring to Pittsburgh and winning ACCs in 2020. The same year Thomas won his NAIA title, Christian Lance started his career out at Fort Hays State, winning 44 matches and qualifying for nationals in 2017 as a freshman. He took some time off and after a long path, he finally earned AA status this year for Nebraska. Thomas and Lance, placing fourth and sixth, respectively at the Open, are still universally claimed by the divisions whence they came.

61 kg champion Nic Bouzakis (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Somewhat lost amidst all of the action taking place on the Senior level from Las Vegas was the U20 tournament. The freestyle portion featured many collegiate stars, some up-and-comers, and high schoolers. Here are some fun facts about the tournament and the wrestlers that made the top-eight. Note: Recruits, be it signed or unsigned, have been credited to their respective school's total in each category below. # of All-Americans by School 7: NC State 5: Nebraska 4: Ohio State, Penn State 3: Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota State, Virginia Tech 2: Arizona State, Bucknell, Iowa, Lehigh, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, South Dakota State, Stanford 1: American, Army West Point, Cal Baptist, Cal Poly, Colorado Mesa, Columbia, Cornell, Dakota Wesleyan, Dubuque, George Mason, Iowa State, Little Rock, Maryland, Missouri, Navy, North Carolina, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, Oklahoma, Penn, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Rutgers, Utah Valley, Virginia, UW Eau-Claire, Wisconsin, Wyoming Non DI Schools with an All-American: Colorado Mesa (Braden Baumgartner - 6th at 97 kg), Dakota Wesleyan (Colten Hink - 7th at 97 kg), Dubuque (Zeb Gnida - 6th at 74 kg), UW-Eau Claire (Jared Stricker - 5th at 79 kg). Ohio State was the only school with multiple finalists (3). Therefore, they were also the only school with two champions. Neither of the champions credited to Ohio State have entered college yet. Penn State had four All-Americans, however, they came in only two weights (57/74kg). Bucknell had two All-Americans, both of which were at 61 kg. NC State's seven All-Americans came in six different weight classes. Half of the ten champions are still currently in high school (Troy Spratley/57, Nic Bouzakis/61, Mitchell Mesenbrink/70, Ben Kueter/97, Nick Feldman/125). Mitchell Mesenbrink and Jaxon Smith are the only two champions to have teched their way through the tournament. Ironman Alert! Robbie Howard lost in the opening round at 57 kg to the eventual champion, Troy Spratley, then proceeded to win eight straight bouts to claim third. He was the only wrestler to lose in the first round and take the tough road back through the consi's. Minnesota and Virginia Tech were the only two schools with three or more AA's that saw all of their placewinners victorious in their final bouts. National Champions by conference were as follows Big Ten: 6, ACC: 2, EIWA: 1, Big 12: 1 31 of the 80 All-American are still currently in high school. Below you'll find wrestlers sorted by their year of high school graduation, their home state and their future college, if applicable. Class of 2022 (25) Ryan Boersma (IL - Missouri), Nic Bouzakis (FL/PA - Ohio State), Martin Cosgrove (NJ - Penn), Jack Darrah (MO - Stanford), Nick Feldman (PA - Ohio State), Kolby Franklin (PA - Iowa), Hunter Garvin (IA - Stanford), Nathan Glass (NV - Cal Poly), Garrett Grice (NE - Virginia), Levi Haines (PA - Penn State), Chase Horne (GA - NC State), Tagen Jamison (TX - Minnesota), Kaleb Larkin (AZ - Arizona State), Mitchell Mesenbrink (WI - Cal Baptist), Noah Pettigrew (GA - North Carolina), Caden Rogers (PA - Lehigh), Matthew Singleton (GA - NC State), Brian Soldano (NJ - Rutgers), Troy Spratley (NY/TX - Minnesota), Wyatt Voelker (IA - Northern Iowa), Jore Volk (MN - Wyoming), Danny Wask (NJ - Navy), Nathan Wemstrom (IL - Nebraska), Jordan Williams (OK - Oklahoma State), Emilio Ysaguirre (AZ - Arizona State) Class of 2023 (5) Aden Attao (ID), Dylan Gilcher (MI - Michigan), Ben Kueter (IA - Iowa), Nicco Ruiz (CA), Rocco Welsh (PA - Ohio State) Class of 2024 (1) Grigor Cholayan (CA) Final U20 freestyle placewinners 57 kg 1st - Troy Spratley (Minnesota) 2nd - Andre Gonzales (Ohio State) 3rd - Robbie Howard (Penn State) 4th - Max Leete (American) 5th - Cooper Flynn (Virginia Tech) 6th - Jore Volk (Wyoming) 7th - Gary Steen (Penn State) 8th - Yusief Lillie (Utah Valley) 61 kg 1st - Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State) 2nd - Dylan Chappell (Bucknell) 3rd - Garrett Grice (Virginia) 4th - Emilio Ysaguirre (Arizona State) 5th - Grigor Cholayan 6th - Richard Treanor (Army West Point) 7th - Kurtis Phipps (Bucknell) 8th - Carter Bailey (Lehigh) 65 kg 1st - Vince Cornella (Cornell) 2nd - Kaleb Larkin (Arizona State) 3rd - Tagen Jamison (Minnesota) 4th - Dylan Gilcher (Michigan) 5th - Ryan Jack (NC State) 6th - Joe Zargo (Wisconsin) 7th - Teague Travis (Oklahoma State) 8th - Joel Vandevere (Northwestern) 70 kg 1st - Mitchell Mesenbrink (Cal Baptist) 2nd - Paniro Johnson (Iowa State) 3rd - Jordan Williams (Oklahoma State) 4th - Hunter Garvin (Stanford) 5th - Cael Swenson (South Dakota State) 6th - Chance Lamer (Michigan) 7th - Ramon Ramos 8th - AJ Kovacs (NC State) 74 kg 1st - Alex Facundo (Penn State) 2nd - Vince Zerban (Northern Colorado) 3rd - Mikey Caliendo (North Dakota State) 4th - Levi Haines (Penn State) 5th - Jack Thomsen (South Dakota State) 6th - Zeb Gnida (Dubuque) 7th - Nicco Ruiz 8th - Derek Fields (NC State) 79 kg 1st - Luca Augustine (Pittsburgh) 2nd - Danny Wask (Navy) 3rd - Rocco Welsh (Ohio State) 4th - Elise Brown Ton (Nebraska) 5th - Jared Stricker (UW Eau Claire) 6th - Aaron Ayzerov (Columbia) 7th - Matthew Singleton (NC State) 8th - Logan Messer (George Mason) 86 kg 1st - Sam Fisher (Virginia Tech) 2nd - Brock DelSignore (NC State) 3rd - Brian Soldano (Rutgers) 4th - Tate Picklo (Oklahoma) 5th - DJ Parker (North Dakota State) 6th - Nathan Haas (Nebraska) 7th - Wyatt Voelker (Northern Iowa) 8th - Joey Milano (NC State) 92 kg 1st - Jaxon Smith (Maryland) 2nd - Silas Allred (Nebraska) 3rd - Kolby Franklin (Iowa) 4th - Caden Rogers (Lehigh) 5th - Martin Cosgrove (Penn) 6th - Evan Bates (Northwestern) 7th - Gabe Nagel (Minnesota) 8th - Jack Darrah (Stanford) 97 kg 1st - Ben Kueter (Iowa) 2nd - Noah Pettigrew (North Carolina) 3rd - Dzhabrail Khurshidov (Michigan) 4th - Nathan Glass (Cal Poly) 5th - Nathan Wemstrom (Nebraska) 6th - Braden Baumgartner (Colorado Mesa) 7th - Colten Hink (Dakota Wesleyan) 8th - Zak Taylor (Nebraska) 125 kg 1st - Nick Feldman (Ohio State) 2nd - Ryan Boersma (Missouri) 3rd - Hunter Catka (Virginia Tech) 4th - Juan Mora (North Dakota State) 5th - Hayden Copass (Purdue) 6th - Chase Horne (NC State) 7th - Josiah Hill (Little Rock) 8th - Aden Attao