InterMat Staff

65 kg semifinalist Emma Bruntil (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) 2022 US Open Senior Women's Freestyle Semifinal Results 50 kg Erin Golston (NYAC) over Arelys Valles (Grand View WC) 10-0 Nina Pham (Texas WC) over Caitlyn Walker (NYC RTC) 9-7 53 kg Felicity Taylor (McKendree Bearcat WC) fall Hailey French (Air Force RTC) 1:43 Alyssa Lampe (Sunkist Kids) over Estrella Dorado Marin (Army WCAP) 10-0 55 kg Jacarra Winchester (TMWC) over Lauren Mason (UVRTC) 10-0 Ronna Heaton (Sunkist Kids) over Marissa Gallegos (TMWC) 8-7 57 kg Adriana Dorado Marin (Army WCAP) over Amanda Martinez (TMWC) 8-5 Cameron Guerin (TMWC) over Alex Hedrick (TMWC) 2-1 59 kg Xochitl Mota-Pettis (Rise RTC) over Sophia Mirabella (Team Tornado WC) 10-5 Nanea Estrella (Spartan Combat) over Claire DiCugno (Colorado Mesa WC) 11-0 62 kg Kayla Miracle (Sunkist Kids) over Adaugo Nwachukwu (Swamp Monsters WC) 1-0 Jennifer Page (NLWC) over Nina Makem (Twin Cities RTC) 12-2 65 kg Emma Bruntil (TMWC) over Amanda Hendey (TMWC) 6-4 Mallory Velte (TMWC) over Emily Se (El Dorado Hills WC) 10-0 68 kg Katerina Lange (Twin Cities RTC) fall Dalia Garibay (Colorado Mesa WC) 2:40 Sienna Ramirez (Southern Oregon WC) fall Nahelia Magee (Army WCAP) 2:27 72 kg Skylar Grote (NYAC) over Aine Drury (CA) 10-0 Marlynne Deede (Twin Cities RTC) fall Marilyn Garcia (CA) 1:00 76 kg Precious Bell (TMWC) over Victoria Francis (HWC) 10-2 Dymond Guilford (TMWC) fall Yelena Makoyed (TMWC) 5:40

Rocky Jordan (left) and Dom Demas (right) (Jordan photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; Demas photo from Tony Rotundo) Prior to the 2021-22 season, Cal Poly added a past All-American which helped spark the Mustangs to a 22nd place finish at the NCAA Championships in March with the signing of Evan Wick. Now, Jon Sioredas' team has done it again with the announcement that 2019 NCAA fourth-place finisher, Dom Demas, will transfer to San Luis Obispo. Demas amassed a 78-18 record competing for Oklahoma. In addition to his two Big 12 titles and three top-ten seeds at the NCAA Championships, Demas has an excellent track record on the international scene. Demas made a pair of world teams at the Cadet level in Greco, then another as a Junior. In freestyle, he's made the U23 and Junior World Team. All of Demas' previous damage on the collegiate front was done at 141 lbs. This year, Demas made his debut at 149 lbs and put together a 3-2 record before entering the transfer portal. Assuming he doesn't go back down to 141, Cal Poly could have “good problems” at their middleweights as Demas and national qualifier Legend Lamer return at 149 lbs. Top 2021 recruit, Luka Wick, also was at 149 and went undefeated, while competing unattached. Rocky Jordan is headed to UT-Chattanooga! The Ohio native will be headed south to join Coach Kyle Ruschell and company, coming in as a redshirt senior, with the possibility of two years of eligibility remaining. Jordan is a two-time NCAA Qualifier (2020, 2021), has a career record of 49-24, and has earned multiple scholastic awards including Big Ten Distinguished Scholar (2020, 2021), Academic All-Big Ten (2020, 2021, 2022), OSU Scholar-Athlete (2019, 2020, 2021), and NWCA Scholar All-American (2020). Notable wins from the ‘21-22 season include beating UNC's All-American Clay Lautt and Rutgers All-American John Poznanski. Jordan is slated to start at 174 or 184. Jordan won't be the only notable transfer headed the Mocs way. Today, Oklahoma's Jake Boyd announced he will be transferring to Chattanooga. We're not exactly sure what to expect from Boyd as he has only appeared in 16 matches over the last three years, 15 of which came during the 2019-20 season. Boyd has switched between 197 and 285 lbs during his collegiate career, but intends on competing at 197 for the Mocs.

The top seed at 50 kg Erin Golston (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 2022 US Open Senior Women's Freestyle Quarterfinal Results 50 kg Erin Golston (NYAC) over Charlotte Fowler (River Valley WC) 13-2 Arelys Valles (Grand View WC) over Mariah Anderson (Air Force RTC) 7-0 Nina Pham (Texas WC) over Victoria Nunez (McKendree Bearcat WC) 10-0 Caitlyn Walker (New York RTC) over Sage Mortimer (TMWC) 6-1 53 kg Haley French (Air Force RTC) over Arena Villaescusa (Army WCAP) InjDef Felicity Taylor (McKendree Bearcat WC) fall Danielle Garcia (California) :55 Estrella Dorado Marin (Army WCAP) over Hannah Hall (Colorado) 3-0 Alyssa Lampe (Sunkist Kids) fall Angela De La Cruz (California) 1:11 55 kg Jacarra Winchester (TMWC) fall Victoria Smith (Grand View WC) 1:19 Lauren Mason (UVRTC) over Alisha Howk (Sunkist Kids) 5-4 Marissa Gallegos (Colorado Mesa WC) over Payton Stroud (McKendree Bearcat WC) 12-1 Ronna Heaton (Sunkist Kids) fall Cara Romeike (Bronco Women's WC) 2:33 57 kg Amanda Martinez (Cardinal WC) over Alisha Narvaez (McKendree Bearcat WC) 10-0 Adriana Dorado Marin (Army WCAP) over Ngao Shoua Whitethorn (Victory School of Wrestling) 7-6 Alex Hedrick (TMWC) over Jennifer Soto (Daniel Cormier WC) 11-0 Cameron Guerin (TMWC) fall Tynadii Rocha (USA Cobra) :40 59 kg Xochitl Mota-Pettis (Rise RTC) over Genesis Ramirez (All Navy) 10-0 Sophia Mirabella (Team Tornado WC) over Nonnie Justice (Missouri) 11-0 Claire DiCugno (Colorado Mesa WC) over Montana DeLawder (Haines Trained WC) 4-3 Nanea Estrella (Spartan Combat) over Esther Han (Bruin WC) 10-0 62 kg Kayla Miracle (Sunkist Kids) fall Sierra Brown Ton (Twin Cities RTC) 1:33 Adaugo Nwachukwu (Swamp Monsters WC) over Andrea Schlabach (Grand View) 10-0 Nina Makem (Twin Cities RTC) over Alex Liles (Army WCAP) 7-0 Jennifer Page (NLWC) over Emmily Patneaud (McKendree Bearcat WC) 10-0 65 kg Emma Bruntil (TMWC) over Maya Letona (New York City RTC) 10-0 Amanda Hendey (TMWC) over Rachel Watters (Iowa) 16-6 Emily Se (El Dorado Hills WC) fall Destiny Lyng (California) 4:48 Mallory Velte (TMWC) over CarrieAnn Randolph (Tennessee) 10-0 68 kg Katerina Lange (Twin Cities RTC) over Solin Piearcy (Menlo WC) 9-4 Dalia Garibay (Colorado Mesa WC) over Kairah Cantillo (Grand View WC) 11-0 Sienna Ramirez (Southern Oregon RTC) over Alexis Gomez (Grand View WC) 8-2 Nahiela Magee (Army WCAP) fall Anayka Besco (Kansas) 3:27 72 kg Skylar Grote (NYAC) bye Aine Drury (California) fall Michelle Montague (Florida) 2:52 Marliyn Garcia (California) over Aury Naylor (Georgia) 12-1 Marlynne Deede (Twin Cities RTC) fall Jessica Kemgne (BTS NYC) 1:33 76 kg Victoria Francis (TMWC) fall Ashley Lekas (Texas) 5:45 Precious Bell (TMWC) over Joye Levendusky (McKendree Bearcat WC) 6-3 Dymond Guilford (TMWC) over Tristan Kelly (Army WCAP) 10-0 Yelena Makoyed (Cardinal WC) fall Jordan Nelson (HWC) 4:28

Cal Baptist head coach Lennie Zalesky (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) RIVERSIDE - California Baptist University head wrestling coach Lennie Zalesky is retiring after 11 years at CBU and over 40 years dedicated to the sport. "I want to thank CBU for letting me serve as the head wrestling coach at this very special university the past 11 years," Zalesky said. "I thank our athletic administration and all the work and care they graciously put into the program. Thank you to CBU President Dr. Ronald L. Ellis for starting this program here in Southern California. It means a lot to not only the state of California, but also to the national collegiate wrestling community." In 11 seasons, Zalesky led CBU to a 71-70-1 overall record, a 17-7 mark in conference and four top-three national finishes. The Lancers also won a program-best 13 duals with Zalesky at the helm in the 2014-15 season. He was named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2016 and was also named NCAA Division II Coach of the Year in 2017. "We thank Lennie for his 11 years of dedication to CBU. He established a strong foundation for the program, and we appreciate the investment he made in the lives of so many student-athletes through the years," Dr. Ellis said. Zalesky has been inducted into three wrestling Hall of Fames. He was first inducted into the Alaska Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2010 and then the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame and California Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018. "We are very thankful for Lennie's leadership here at CBU," Director of Athletics Tyler Mariucci said. "He has helped so many young men succeed both on and off the mat. His contributions to our program and to the sport of wrestling have left an indelible impact." Zalesky has coached his wrestlers to a total of 35 All-American awards and seven individual national championships, including three at the NCAA level. As an NCAA Division I member, CBU has produced nine All-American finishes and one champion in three seasons at the National Collegiate Open. "I experienced some of my greatest moments and coached some of the most spectacular wrestlers of my 27 years of college coaching here. Many of them were of the highest quality individuals I have had the chance to work with, not only succeeding in wrestling, academics, and leadership on campus, but also some of the most humble and enjoyable men I have worked with," Zalesky said. Zalesky came to Riverside after nine years as the head coach at NCAA Division I UC Davis. He was a three-time NCAA All-American and a former assistant coach at powerhouse Iowa and has extensive coaching experience at both the prep and collegiate levels, as well as international experience as an athlete. Zalesky coached nine seasons at UC Davis before the program was dropped prior to the 2010-11 season. In those nine seasons, he coached numerous PAC-10 placers, four conference champions and had 27 student-athletes qualify for the NCAA Championships. Perhaps his best season came in 2007 when he was named PAC-10 Coach of the Year and coached the Aggies' first-ever NCAA Division I National Champion in any sport in Derek Moore (141 pounds), which helped UC Davis finish 22nd at the NCAA National Championships, its best showing ever. Prior to beginning his coaching career in 1986, Zalesky was a three-time All-American wrestler at Iowa. During his time there, he helped the Hawkeyes to four straight national championships, and he notched a record of 73-2-1 in his last two seasons. He was twice the national runner-up at 142 pounds and won three Big Ten titles. His first coaching job came at his alma mater where he served under the legendary Dan Gable from 1986-90. He then spent eight seasons as the head wrestling coach at Palmer High School in Palmer, Alaska. He also spent two seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Indiana and then was the dean of students and wrestling coach at Culver Military Academy in Culver, Ind., for two years prior to taking the UC Davis job in the summer of 2001. After his collegiate wrestling career concluded, Zalesky began competing internationally, winning a handful of tournaments from 1983-86. He won a silver medal in the 1983 Pan American Games, the 1984 World Cup, 1984 Tblisi Tournament in the former Soviet Union and the 1983 Canadian Cup. He also won the Henri Deglane Tournament in Nice, France in 1983 and the Cerro Pelado International Tournament in Cuba in 1986. Zalesky and his wife, Maria, have two children (Alie and Jake). Both earned degrees at CBU, with Alie and Jake graduating from the school's nursing and public relations programs. Current assistant coach Derek Moore will serve as the interim head coach. Moore was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the 2007 Division I Championships when he won the 141-pound national title. He was also named the 2020 National Collegiate Open Co-Coach of the Year. CBU is set to join the Big 12 Conference next season after it received a letter of intent from the conference regarding affiliate membership starting in 2022-23, contingent on a successful completion of its NCAA Division I four-year reclassification process. The Lancers will join the other Big 12 wrestling members in a regular season scheduling alliance and will compete for the league's postseason title and automatic qualification into the NCAA championships. "I believe great days lay ahead for the CBU wrestling program," Zalesky said. "I am confident those days will come in the near future when CBU will compete well in the Big 12."

Patrick Glory (left) and Vito Arujau in the NCAA semis The 2021-2022 season was a great season for the conference, overall. A season ago, the EIWA walked away with only two All-Americans. This year, they greatly exceeded that outcome with seven. Even more eye-opening, the EIWA lost seven (yes, seven) of their nine blood round matches. Doing some quick math, the EIWA had 51 NCAA qualifiers - which means 14% of them were All-Americans, while over 27% of qualifiers found themselves in the top-12. Before we dig too deep, let's look at the seven All-Americans below. 125lb - Patrick Glory, Princeton (2nd) 125lb - Vito Arujau, Cornell (3rd) 141lb - CJ Composto, Penn (8th) 149lb - Yianni Diakomihalis, Cornell (Champion) 157lb - Quincy Monday, Princeton (2nd) 184lb - Jonathan Loew, Cornell (8th) HWT - Jordan Wood, Lehigh (3rd) The seven wrestlers below lost their respective blood round match: 149lb - Anthony Artalona, Penn 157lb - Josh Humphreys, Lehigh 165lb - Julian Ramirez, Cornell 165lb - Phillip Conigliaro, Harvard 174lb - Mickey O'Malley, Drexel 197lb - Lou Deprez, Binghamton 285lb - Lewis Fernandes, Cornell I like to find the silver lining in these types of moments. The positive outlook on the names listed above is that only one will be done competing due to graduation. Wood has used up all eligibility. The rest of the names will be back next season. The EIWA will have a shot at ten All-Americans, without a doubt. And possibly more! The team race at EIWAs was a close one. Cornell walked away with the team title in their home gym. Penn shocked many people by finishing as runner's-up. Princeton and Lehigh came in third and fourth, respectively. Well, the team race in Detroit may not have been as tight, but we saw Cornell earn another top-ten finish, ending the weekend in 7th place - just 5 points shy of the top-5. Princeton finished in 16th, leaving Lehigh tied for 25th and Penn right behind them in 27th. In the next section, I will try to highlight some individual achievements that I found interesting. These are all made-up awards to highlight some various moments from the season. I attempted to mimic the one and only Jagger and produce some witty, creative awards (similar to his weekly mailbag). But he's the king of Wrestling Twitter for a reason, so my D-league attempt will have to suffice. Of course, these awards are peculiar. You will not see the typical "wrestler of the year" type of awards. March Madness Award - Marshall Keller (Princeton - 149lbs) Name the last time the 16th seed at EIWAs placed in the top four to earn an automatic qualifier to NCAAs. The run Marshall made in Ithaca was complete madness. He was definitely the Cinderella Story of the EIWA championships - taking this "The only thing that matters is March" thing way too seriously. He ended the season with a 15-16 record, while picking up one victory at the NCAA Championships. Outside of his wrestling ability, he is the type of kid you want on your team. Once eliminated in Detroit, he never left the warmup area. He was busy helping teammates, Pat Glory and Quincy Monday, prepare before every match on the way to silver medals. This type of selflessness is why the Christiansburg, VA native was named a captain of the Tiger squad. Expect to see him return next season, looking to improve on his stats from this past season. Quote of the Year - Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell - 149lbs) I'm sure we've all seen it. After Yianni's semi-final match at NCAA's, on live TV, ESPN's Quint Kessenich was interviewing Yianni. Yianni was not satisfied with his victory over last season's NCAA runner-up Sammy Sasso. Quint asked him (paraphrasing) "How do you improve your performance for next match?" Yianni simply said, "Have some nuts." Well, Yianni, I'm sure I speak for a lot of people when I say that it took some nuts to say that on live TV and walk away like it was no big deal. Sure, this may come off as cocky or arrogant to some. But, he is one of the most humble wrestlers out there. Sitting in his press conference after his title, there were a bunch of incredible quotes from the 3X NCAA Champ. The one that caught my attention was when he said (with a huge smile) "wrestling is a hobby and passion. It's an art. There is always something to learn." You can see him live this out when he wrestles. Everything is graceful, and effortless, yet effective. Poetry in motion is how I would describe his abilities on the mat. The "Anytime, Anywhere" Award - Army West Point There are teams in the country that claim they will wrestle any team, at any time, in any location. We all know this is mostly talk - for the most part. But a team like Army backs up their words with action! During one point in the season, this team was 0-6. Many would look at a record like that and think something like "Oh, wow. I thought Army was a better team." But, looking at these losses, one would think Coach Ward was a little crazy for creating a schedule like this. These losses include: Penn State (#1), Iowa State (#5), Iowa (#2), Rutgers (#15), Pitt (#24), and Cornell (#8). Yeah, these guys wrestled the best of the best. To make matters worse, all matches mentioned before were on the road. They ended the season with wins EIWA wins over a very solid Bucknell squad and previously ranked Lehigh. Coach Ward and company were very adamant about competing with the best teams the NCAA has to offer. Off the record, what is Coach Ward doing with all of those airline miles and hotel points that he racked up? Asking for a friend… The Let It (Fly Eagles) Fly Award - Luke Nichter & Mickey O'Malley (Drexel - 149lbs & 174lbs) This award is specifically for these two Drexel Dragons. These guys are fun to watch! Nichter is not afraid to go upper body and stick you on your back if you try to challenge him. Same thing with O'Malley - which is where he makes his living on the mat. O'Malley has honestly said in interviews that when he gets to an upper-body position with his opponent, he is "testing their gangster." If Mickey comes out with a hip-hop album, that will be the name of it. O'Malley lost in the round of 12 to Kemerer of Iowa. Nichter was injured most of the year, but in the few matches he wrestled, there were fireworks from start to finish. Both guys will be back next year for the Dragons. When these guys are wrestling, do not leave the arena. You will miss something exciting. Drexel is excited to have them back next season to let it fly. O'Malley will be competing in freestyle this off-season, where he has been very successful in the past. The Gritty Award - CJ Composto (Penn - 141lbs) Sticking to the Philadelphia sports theme, the Gritty award is given to the wrestler from a Philly school who just showed grit and battled all year. CJ started the year slow after coming off injury. He was not even the starter at the beginning of the year because of this. He really made a name for himself in December when he made the finals of the Matmen Open. Once in the rankings, he never looked back. At the conference tournament, he came in as the second-seeded wrestler, ultimately losing to the top-seeded wrestler of Columbia, Matt Kazimir, in the final. Entering NCAAs as the 12 seed, he squeaked out an overtime win over fifth seed Andrew Alirez of Northern Colorado. He was in a similar situation in the blood round against 2021 Olympic participant, Stevan Micic, of Michigan. In a wild match, he gutted out another OT victory to find himself on the podium. Everything CJ did from battling back from injury, earning his spot in the line-up, securing a spot in the rankings, and winning close matches in March, has earned him the award. A "gritty" win is not always pretty, but it gets the job done. The Philadelphia wrestling community is a gritty type of wrestling atmosphere, and he fits this mold to a tee. The "How Did He Do That" Award - Jordan Wood (Lehigh - 285lbs) One of the most entertaining bouts of the tournament, especially at the heavyweight division, occurred in Wood's semifinal bout against Cohlton Schultz of Arizona State. Wood was in on a leg and somehow manned up and lifted all of Schultz's 275lb body off the mat. The entire arena had to pinch themselves to make sure this was not a dream. He was not in an advantageous position whatsoever. Once up in the air, Wood slammed Schultz to the mat. Hanging on to a tight head pinch, Schultz used this momentum to roll the Mountain Hawk over, ending the match with a takedown of his own. I hate that Wood came away defeated in this match, but this was some incredible strength not many people are capable of doing from the position he was in at the time. Wood took home a bronze medal, earning his 100th win in the process. Expect to see him wrestle at the senior level, representing the Lehigh Valley Wrestling Club. To top it all off, he became the conference's first (and possibly only) 5-time EIWA Champion. He'll go down in the history books. The Social Media Team of the Year Award - Princeton Tigers Be sure to follow them on all platforms. If you do follow them, you will see great promo videos for events, highlights from previous matches, and some good family fun Taylor Ham vs pork roll debate. But they really went above and beyond in the postseason. If you saw this team at EIWAs, you'd think they were taping a multi-million-dollar Hollywood movie. With numerous cameras for video and photos, every second of their weekend was caught from every angle. The celebrations, the defeats, and everything in between. Sure, this type of exposure is not for everyone. But, the program really sets the standard for promoting their own brand and hyping up their guys. The coaching staff at Princeton knows how to create an experience with their team. The way the program is on the rise, it's pretty easy to see how effective it can be. If you have not yet, check out their social media accounts for their little video documentary series named "The Experience" which highlights their time in Detroit. The laid-back type of camaraderie this team has is very special, and it works. Amish Country Workhorse of the Year - Wil Gil (Franklin & Marshall - 141lbs) This award goes to Wil for putting his foot on the line each and every match this year when called upon. After missing the opening weekend, due to off-season shoulder surgery, he went on to have a phenomenal year, eventually earning his 100th win - not missing a match again (except for when the school shut down wrestling for a few weeks due to COVID). If you know anything about me, you'll know Wil is one of my darkhorses since the beginning. He came into conferences as the seventh seed, and went on a streak at the right time to earn third place and qualify for NCAAs. Even though he was winless in Detroit, it was a pleasure to watch him this season (and previous seasons). He was always wrestling with some sort of ailment because the team needed him. He was a true leader of this team. He will be missed at F&M. Bridge of the Year - Jack DelGarbino (Princeton - 285lbs) Labeling this as an upset may be an understatement for this one. DelGarbino strolled into Carver-Hawkeye Arena and stuck third-ranked Tony Cassioppi after being taken down and turned to his back only to roll through and stick the Hawkeye. DelGarbino's bridge (which sounds like a bridge one would cross to get into a New York borough) was a display of strength that many heavyweights have failed to show in the past over an opponent like Cassioppi. This match would most likely win "Upset of the Year" as Delgarbino finished the year with a losing record while Cassioppi ended his campaign up as an All-American in seventh place. The Bitten by the Injury Bug Award - Yara Slavikouski & The Lehigh Mountain Hawks Man, what a bummer for the Crimson and Yara. He went down for the year with a torn ACL in the finals of the Cliff Keen in December. This is a guy who never got to compete at NCAAs and show how talented he truly is. The bronze medalist at the Senior level for his home country of Belarus, finished second in the EIWAs in 2020 before the NCAA Championships were canceled. He missed the entire 2021 season, along with the rest of the Ivy League schools. Then, as I mentioned, this year tore his ACL and did not compete in the postseason. The biggest issue here is that he has now run out of eligibility in the Ivy League, so will need to transfer to another conference in order to finally get the opportunity to compete at NCAAs. Before his injury, he was a top-12 ranked wrestler and would have been in the conversation to be on that podium. It is a bummer for the Crimson program, which is looking for its first All-American since 2012. The Lehigh Mountain Hawks had a down year (by Lehigh's high standards). One NCAA All-American may be a goal for many schools, but not for Lehigh. The team started the second semester knocking off Cornell in a home match at Grace Hall on Lehigh's beautiful campus. They were looking very tough! Once late February rolled around, some of the team's highest-ranked wrestlers were sidelined with injury. Jaret Lane at 125lb was (in my opinion) a dark horse to All-American, being ranked in the 12-20 range. He was a late scratch and withdrew the week of EIWAs. Similarly, returning EIWA Champion, Malyke Hines, had to injury default both matches at conferences to earn a wild card to Detroit at 133lbs. It was evident he was still banged up, with a heavy tape job on his leg. I understand injuries are part of the sport, but the timing of these two injuries was brutal for the Mountain Hawks. They will have some large shoes to fill (literally and figuratively) at heavyweight, now that they lose Jordan Wood (the conference's first 5-time champion). They have a bunch of young studs waiting, and a great recruiting class incoming. The Hawks will be back next year. Rivalry of the Year - Pat Glory, Princeton vs. Vito Arujau, Cornell (125lbs) It's not very often we see a rubber match in the NCAA semifinals. This season, Glory won the series 2-1. When it comes to the overall lifetime series at the NCAA level, Glory leads 3-2. The first matchup this season was in a dual at Princeton in early February. This was a difficult one to gauge with many stoppages. No wrestler could really get in a groove. It ended 11-9 in favor of Glory. The second matchup occurred in the EIWA finals. Vito's blowout win 19-6 was something nobody saw coming, shocking a vast majority across the nation. He looked lights-out in this match. Many thought the outcome would repeat the following matchup between them. This set the rubber match for all the marbles in Detroit. Glory walked away with a 13-5 match. One scramble type of exchange was the difference for Glory in that one. What's next? Does Glory move up to 133lbs like some rumors are mentioning? If I had to bet, I think we see them both stay at 125lbs and continue to battle it out. Get your popcorn ready. Other Awards Worth Mentioning: Best Postseason Mustache - Coach Bryan Pearsall, Penn America's Team Award - Navy Wrestling with a 22-9 win over Army Screw Job of the Year - Lou DePrez of Binghamton - NCAA Quarterfinal Match

2022 NCAA 3rd place finisher Jordan Wood (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) While the wrestlers who finished in the top three at the NCAA Division I Championships automatically qualified for the upcoming 2022 World Team Trials, those slightly lower down the podium will need to earn a spot via The U.S. Open. Of the 80 All-Americans, 15 are entered in this week's event. The following look at those wrestlers and their history in the international style of the sport. 65 kg Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) Fifth at 141 pounds After winning the ACC tournament, Matthews entered the NCAA tournament at 141 pounds as the sixth seed. He went 4-2 in the bracket with wins over Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin), Matt Kazmir (Columbia), Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) and Real Woods (Stanford), and he finished fifth to become an All-American. In addition to his folkstyle success, Matthews has also had some impressive results in freestyle. In 2019, he finished fourth at U23 Nationals. The following year, he dropped down to the Junior level and made the finals at 61 kg before falling against Ridge Lovett. 70 kg Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) Third at 149 pounds Austin Gomez (Wisconsin) Fourth at 149 pounds Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) Fifth at 149 pounds Will Lewan (Michigan) Fifth at 157 pounds Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) Sixth at 157 pounds The 70 kg division is set to feature the most All-Americans from the 2022 college season. The highest placer among the group was Andonian. The Virginia Tech wrestler went 5-1 with his only loss coming against Ridge Lovett. He picked up a pair of victories over Austin Gomez including in the third-place match. Last summer was a breakout freestyle season for Andonian. He not only won Junior Nationals, but he also followed that up with a bronze medal at the Junior World Championships. His go-for-broke throwing style meshes well with the freestyle ruleset, and it may lead him to some surprising results at the Open. After a dominant performance at the Big Ten tournament, Gomez entered the NCAA tournament as one of the hottest wrestlers in the country. He was given the third seed and made the semifinals before falling against Andonian in a wild match. Gomez bounced back on the backside and finished fourth to be an All-American. Gomez has an extensive background from the age-group level. He represented the U.S. at the 2013 Cadet World Championships, and he won a spot on the 2018 Junior World team but dropped out due to injury. Gomez returned to freestyle in 2020 but dropped both of his matches at Senior Nationals. As a returning finalist, Sasso was expected to contend for the 149-pound title in 2022. He lost only one match during the regular season, against Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) at the CKLV, before the Big Ten tournament. Sasso ended up finishing fifth at the NCAA tournament and picked up wins over Beau Bartlett (Penn State), Kyle Parco (Arizona State) and John Millner (Appalachian State) along the way. Sasso won a UWW Junior National title in freestyle back in 2019. He came up short in his bid for the Junior World team that year against Brayton Lee (Minnesota) in the finals. Sasso got some invaluable freestyle experience at the 2020 RTC Cup where he scored victories over veterans Mitch McKee and Kevin Jack. After making the Round of 16 in his first trip to the NCAA tournament, Lewan bounced back this year with a fifth-place finish. He won four matches in the bracket with four of those victories coming in sudden victory. Lewan scored takedowns in the overtime period to best Teemer, Kaleb Young (Iowa) and Jarrett Jacques (Missouri). One could make the argument that Lewan has had better results in freestyle. He won a gold medal at the 2017 Cadet World Championships. In 2020, he moved up the 70 kg and won U23 Nationals with a victory over Young in the finals. Teemer was one of Lewan's sudden victory victims, but he still had a very strong NCAA tournament performance on the frontside and finished sixth. The Arizona State wrestler defeated Hunter Richard (Cornell), Jake Keating (Virginia) and Jared Franek (North Dakota State) to make the semifinals before dropping a major decision against eventual champion Ryan Deakin (Northwestern). Before they were rivals on the college mats, Teemer and Lewan were teammates on the 2017 Cadet World team. Teemer earned the spot at 63 kg and brought home a bronze medal. In 2021, he entered both Senior Nationals and U23 Nationals. He finished sixth on the Senior level and brought home the tournament title from the U23 bracket. 74 kg Cam Amine (Michigan) Fourth at 165 pounds After finishing seventh at the NCAA tournament in his first season in the lineup, Amine took a step forward this past season. He finished second at the Big Ten tournament and followed that up with a fourth-place finish at the national event. Amine upset Alex Marinelli, who had previously defeated him in the Big Ten finals, to make the semifinals. His only losses in the bracket were against veteran Evan Wick and eventual champion Keegan O'Toole (Missouri). While his cousin Myles has had a ton of freestyle success on the international level, he has only dipped his toe into the freestyle waters recently. Amine competed at the both Senior Nationals and U23 Nationals in 2020, but failed to place at either event. 79 kg Evan Wick (Cal Poly) Third at 165 pounds Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) Sixth at 174 pounds After a pair of top-four finishes at Wisconsin, Wick transferred to Cal Poly for one final season of college wrestling. It turned out to be his best campaign to date. He won the Pac 12 tournament and finished third at the NCAA tournament. Wick's only loss on the season came against returning champion Shane Griffith (Stanford) in the final seconds of the NCAA semis. In 2020, Wick finished fourth at Senior Nationals and won the U23 version of the event. The following year, he made the semifinals of the Olympic Trials before running into Kyle Dake and ended up finishing third. Wick also attempted to qualify for the 2021 World team. He went 2-2 in the challenge tournament with victories over Michael O'Malley and Devin Skatzka. Plott won the Big 12 tournament and entered the NCAA tournament as the sixth seed. His seed held up, and he ended up finishing sixth to become an All-American for the first time. Along the way, the Oklahoma State wrestler scored victories over Sal Perrine (Ohio), Mason Kauffman (Northern Illinois), Ethan Smith (Ohio State) and Clay Lautt (North Carolina). On the freestyle side, Plott is a three-time placer at Junior level national tournaments. In 2018, he made the finals of the Junior version of The Open, and in 2019 Plott finished third at the both Junior Nationals and the Junior World Team Trials. 86 kg Trent Hidlay (North Carolina State) Fifth at 184 pounds Marcus Coleman (Iowa State) Seventh at 184 pounds At his first NCAA tournament back in 2021, Hidlay made the finals. He returned this year and finished fifth to once again become an All-American. Both of his losses at the NCAA tournament were in overtime. He lost a 6-4 match in sudden victory against eventual champion Aaron Brooks (Penn State) in the semifinals, and he lost a consolation semifinal match against Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) in rideouts. With two more years of eligibility left, Hidlay is expected to be a title threat for the foreseeable future. In 2021, Hidlay had a strong year on the freestyle mats. He made the finals of Senior Nationals and followed that up with a third-place finish at the World Team Trials. Along the way, he scored victories over former NCAA champions Drew Foster and Myles Martin. After qualifying for the NCAA tournament four times, Coleman finally broke through this past season to become an All-American. He finished seventh thanks to key victories over Travis Stefanik (Princeton), Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) and Trey Munoz (Oregon State). The Iowa native has one year remaining and therefore could return to the Cyclones for another run at the podium. Per the USA Wrestling database, Coleman's last freestyle event was the 2018 Junior Open. He went 2-2 in the bracket with wins coming over Donald Negus and Oklahoma's Anthony Mantanona. 125 kg Jordan Wood (Lehigh) Third at Heavyweight Lucas Davison (Northwestern) Sixth at Heavyweight Christian Lance (Nebraska) Eighth at Heavyweight After previously losing to Iowa's Anthony Cassioppi three times in college, Wood finally got some revenge as he scored a sudden victory upset in the quarterfinals to become an All-American again. Wood would eventually lose a close match against Cohlton Schultz in the semifinals and battle back for third. The Lehigh product finished his final season with a 27-3 record and his highest placing at the NCAA tournament. Wood twice represented the U.S. at age-group World championships. He won a silver medal at the 2014 Cadet World Championships and returned to the World stage on the Junior level in 2016, but failed to medal. Last year, Wood finished second at the Last Chance Qualifier for the Olympic Trials and added a third-place finish at U23 Nationals. Davison went 4-3 at the NCAA tournament to finish sixth and become an All-American, but his most impressive accomplishment might have come in a losing effort. In the quarterfinals, he became the first wrestler all season to score a two-point score against reigning Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson (Minnesota). Davison also scored victories over Sam Schuyler (Iowa State), Matt Stencel (Central Michigan), Gary Traub (Oregon State) and Christian Lance (Nebraska). In 2021, Davison made the finals of U23 Nationals but ultimately came up short against Cassioppi in the best-of-three finals. He also entered Senior Nationals and finished seventh. After beginning his college career at Fort Hays State, Lance transferred to Nebraska and worked his way all the way up to All-American status. In his final season of eligibility, he went 19-11 on the season and finished eighth at the NCAA tournament. He needed a sudden-victory win over Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) in the bloodround to make it happen. Lance placed seventh at the 2020 edition of Senior Nationals. He returned to the tournament once again last year and worked his way up to a fifth-place finish. 130 kg (Greco) Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) Second at Heavyweight It looks like Schultz is the only All-American from the 2022 tournament to enter the Open in Greco. He had an incredible second year in the lineup for Arizona State. Schultz took an undefeated record all the way to the finals where he dropped a 6-2 match against Steveson. His path to the championship match was quite tough as he needed to best Mason Parris (Michigan) and Wood in back-to-back matches. Calling Schultz one of the best young American wrestlers in Greco would not be a stretch at all. He made the finals of the Olympic Team Trials after his first year of college wrestling, but ultimately dropped the final series to Adam Coon in straight matches. He returned for the 2021 World Team Trials where he ran through the field on his way to the finals. Schultz did drop the first match of the best-of-three final series against Jacob Mitchell, but he won the next two by a combined 14-0 score to secure the spot.

The two favorites at 60 kg Ildar Hafizov and Dalton Roberts (right) (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) The road to Belgrade, Serbia and the 2022 Senior World Championships begins this week as the US Open takes place in Las Vegas. While plenty of notable wrestlers have qualified for the World Team Trials or even Final X, there are still tons of quality competitors who need to punch their ticket to Coralville, Iowa for the WTT's. The top-seven finishers at each weight class will lock up a spot at the Trials. Here's a look at the ten brackets Senior Men's Greco-Roman with unseeded threats to watch and a finals prediction, based on current preseeds. 55 kg Preseeds 1. Max Nowry (Army WCAP) 2. Dalton Duffield (Army WCAP) 3. Jacob Cochran (Northern Michigan) 4. Camden Russell (MWC) Two-time Senior World team member Max Nowry is the man to beat here. Nowry has won the last three US Open's he's entered (2018, 2019, 2021) and has shown no signs of slowing down, despite being a key player on the Senior level for over a decade. Nowry's primary competition is expected to come from a wrestler that placed third at the 2021 World Team Trials, Dalton Duffield. Duffield was a 2019 Open runner-up and a 2018 U23 World team member. For third at the Trials, Duffield downed Jacob Cochran. The Northern Michigan student is a rising star at this weight. Last year, he was also third at the Open. Another promising prospect is Camden Russell, who placed twice in Fargo at the Junior level, including a title in 2019. Finals Projection: Max Nowry over Dalton Duffield 60 kg Preseeds 1. Dalton Roberts (Army WCAP) 2. Ildar Hafizov (Army WCAP) 3. Dylan Koontz (Titan Mercury WC) 4. Alex Thomsen (Nebraska WTC) It could be another chapter in the rivalry between Dalton Roberts and Ildar Hafizov. The two met in the WTT finals last year with Roberts coming out on top. Even more recently, the two clashed at the Bill Farrell, with the same result. This time the score was 6-5 for Roberts. Hafizov and Roberts have combined to make every World/Olympic team since 2017. Needless to say, we could see this match a couple more times this year with even greater stakes on the line. Two young studs hope to prevent the latest rematch between Roberts and Hafizov. Dylan Koontz is a 2021 Open runner-up and finished fourth later in the year at the WTT's. Nebraska's Alex Thomsen is hoping to replicate his surprise performance from the 2020 Open where he stunned the field and came away with the title. A year later he was third. Finals Projection: Dalton Roberts over Ildar Hafizov 63 kg Preseeds 1. Jesse Thielke (Army WCAP) 2. Corbin Nirschl (MWC) 3. Aidan Nutter (NYAC) 4. King Sandoval (Bandits WC) Look who's back! 2016 Olympian Jesse Thielke gets the top seed here. We're not exactly sure what to expect from Thielke as he hasn't competed often in the past three years. The 2012 Junior World bronze medalist also has a pair of Senior World Team appearances to his name and should be a threat to make another if near his peak. Thielke did compete earlier this month and finished as a runner-up to Sam Jones (via tech) at the Bill Farrell. The second seed belongs to Corbin Nirschl who was 1-2 at the Bill Farrell. Though he didn't place, Nirschl notched a win over Aidan Nutter, who went on to take fourth. Nirschl was fourth at the 2021 Open. Maryland's King Sandoval is the fourth seed. Sandoval was fourth at the Open last year at 60 kg. Finals Prediction: Jesse Thielke over Corbin Nirschl 67 kg Preseeds 1. Peyton Omania (Michigan RTC/NYAC) 2. Alex Sancho (Army WCAP) 3. Alston Nutter (Sunkist Kids) 4. Lenny Merkin (Princeton WC) 5. Jamel Johnson (Marines) 6. Robert Perez III (Sunkist Kids) 7. Jessy Williams (Spartan Combat RTC) 8. Morgan Flaharty (NYAC) The depth of this weight class makes it the first one where we could really have something unusual happen. Michigan State's Peyton Omania had an incredible run last year at the WTT's and found himself on the Senior World Team for the first time. Omania has been a staple on the age-group scene having made four different world teams and even grabbed a bronze as a Junior in 2019. Omania's WTT finals opponent was Alex Sancho, who had competed in the Olympic Games just a few months prior. That marked the first Senior World/Olympic team for Sancho. In his latest outing, Sancho crushed a talented field at the Bill Farrell. None of his three opponents made it out of the first period. Another past Junior World medalist in this weight class is Alston Nutter, who was also an Open finalist in 2021. Fourth seed Lenny Merkin was a 2019 U23 World Team member and has a pair of top-four finishes at the Open. He was third in the Bill Farrell bracket won by Sancho. A dangerous fifth seed is Jamel Johnson, who was a Final X participant in 2019. One of the young stars of this weight is Robert Perez III. Up at 72 kg, earlier this month, Perez III was third at the Bill Farrell and logged a win over veteran Michael Hooker. All the way down at the sixth seed is Jessy Williams, who has placed at the last five Open's, highlighted by a runner-up finish in 2018. Finals Prediction: Alex Sancho over Jamel Johnson 72 kg Preseeds 1. Benji Peak (Sunkist Kids) 2. Orlando Ponce (Minnesota Storm) 3. Michael Hooker (Army WCAP) 4. Joe Betterman (Betterman Elite) 5. Eddie Smith (Pickaxe WC) Looking to claim his second US Open title this week is Benji Peak who was a winner in 2020, as well. Peak was a runner-up to Pat Smith at the WTT's last fall and looks like he's nowhere near his peak. Second-seeded Orlando Ponce was a runner-up to Smith at the Bill Farrell. He stunned Michael Hooker in the opening round with a fall despite being down by five points. That loss dropped Hooker down to the third seed here. Hooker has placed third in two of his last three Open's. Veteran and two-time World Team member Joe Betterman is back and slots in as the fourth seed. He'll likely meet two-time Open placer Eddie Smith to decide who gets to meet Peak in the semis. Finals Prediction: Benji Peak over Michael Hooker 77 kg Preseeds 1. Kamal Bey (Army WCAP) 2. Britton Holmes (Army WCAP) 3. Payton Jacobson (Sunkist Kids) 4. Alec Ortiz (Minnesota Storm) 5. Fritz Schierl (Titan Mercury WC) 6. Riley Briggs (West Coast Greco RTC) One of the biggest American superstars on the Greco scene is back with Kamal Bey. The 2017 Junior World Champion and 2018 Senior World Team member should be the guy to beat here and, once he knocks the rust off, for the World Team spot. He'll look to claim his fourth Open/Senior National title. Britton Holmes is a 2021 U23 World Team member that was third at the Senior Trials last year. In 2021, he was fifth at the Open. A win over Alec Ortiz at the Bill Farrell, helped Holmes get the second seed. Peyton Jacobson also jumps ahead of Ortiz based on his performance at the Farrell. The fifth seed, Fritz Schierl, actually finished higher than Holmes at the WTT's. He was a finalist in 2021 compared to third for Holmes. He'll aim to place at his third straight Open. Finals Prediction: Kamal Bey over Britton Holmes 82 kg Preseeds 1. Spencer Woods (Army WCAP) 2. Tommy Brackett (Tennessee) 3. Tyler Cunningham (MWC) 4. Ryan Epps (Minnesota Storm) 5. Jordan Lara (505 WC) In 2019, one of the surprise stories of the Open was Spencer Woods' run to the finals. He proved it was no fluke by winning the tournament in 2021. He continued his ascend with a trip to the U23 World Championships and a finals berth at the Senior WTT's. At the Bill Farrell, Woods lost a close, one-point decision to two-time Olympian Ben Provisor. Woods' finals opponent at the 2021 Open was Tommy Brackett, who comes in as the second seed. Brackett made the U23 World Team last year, also (Woods was at 87 kg). The third and fourth seeds, Tyler Cunningham and Ryan Epps, respectively, finished in that exact order at the 2022 Bill Farrell. Epps was a WTT finalist last year up at 87 kg's. Finals Prediction: Spencer Woods over Tommy Brackett 87 kg Preseeds 1. Alan Vera (NYAC) 2. George Sikes (NYAC) 3. Christian DuLaney (Minnesota Storm) 4. Timothy Young (Illinois) 2021 World Team member Alan Vera is looking to get back on the winning track after a shocking loss by fall to Richard Carlson at the Bill Farrell. Vera can add his second Open title to his name with a win this week. The second seed is George Sikes, who has placed at the Open twice. His best showing came in 2021, when he finished third. Sikes was a 2018 U23 World Team member who came in fourth at the Senior WTT's last year. The third seed is Christian DuLaney, who recently was third at the Bill Farrell. DuLaney was fifth at the 2020 Open and will battle with Sikes for a spot in the finals. Fourth-seeded Timothy Young is also looking to place in Vegas for a second time. Finals Prediction: Alan Vera over George Sikes 97 kg Preseeds 1. Lucas Sheridan (Army WCAP) 2. Khymba Johnson (NYAC) 3. Chad Porter (Sunkist Kids) 4. Guy Patron (Dubuque WC) 5. Christian Rouleau (Minnesota Storm) Veteran Lucas Sheridan gets the top billing at 97 kg's and is looking for his first US Open title. Sheridan was second at the 2019 Open and later that year at Senior Nationals. His biggest obstacles for that first championship could come in the form of Khymba Johnson or Chad Porter. Johnson has become one of the key players at this weight earning fifth-place finishes twice at the Open and once at Senior Nationals. Third-seeded Chad Porter is had made U23 and Junior World Team in 2019 and 2018, respectively. To date, Porter's best finish at the Open was when he grabbed second place in 2020. The fourth and fifth seeds, Guy Patron and Christian Rouleau, competed at the Bill Farrell and Rouleau was second and Patron third. The two didn't meet. Finals Prediction: Lucas Sheridan over Chad Porter 130 kg Preseeds 1. Cohlton Schultz (Sunkist Kids WC) 2. West Cathcart (NYAC) 3. Courtney Freeman (Marines) 4. Keaton Fanning (Northern Michigan) 5. Kaleb Reeves (Eastern Iowa WC) 6. Tate Orndorff (Titan Mercury WC) The heavy favorite, literally and figuratively, is Arizona State's NCAA finalist Cohlton Schultz. The Sun Devil big man is coming off a year where he qualified for the World Championships at the Senior level for the first time. Schultz has made the world finals at both the Cadet and Junior divisions. We could be looking at a rematch of the 2020 Open finals between Schultz and West Cathcart. Cathcart has placed on two other occasions, taking fourth and fifth. Two of the other contenders at this weight, third-seeded Courtney Freeman and fifth-seeded Kaleb Reeves were in action at the 2020 Bill Farrell. Freeman was the runner-up, while Reeves was third. Apparently doing double-duty and competing in both freestyle and Greco-Roman is Ohio State All-American Tate Orndorff. While Orndorff has placed top-eight twice in both styles, his best results have come in Greco with a runner-up finish in 2019. Finals Prediction: Cohlton Schultz over West Cathcart

The top seed at 55 kg Jacarra Winchester (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The road to Belgrade, Serbia and the 2022 Senior World Championships begins this week as the US Open takes place in Las Vegas. While plenty of notable wrestlers have qualified for the World Team Trials or even Final X, there are still tons of quality competitors who need to punch their ticket to Coralville, Iowa for the WTT's. The top-seven finishers at each weight class will lock up a spot at the Trials. Here's a look at the ten brackets Senior Women's Freestyle with unseeded threats to watch and a finals prediction, based on current preseeds. 50 kg Preseeds 1. Erin Golston (Badger WC/NYAC) 2. Alleida Martinez (Titan Mercury WC) 3. Sage Mortimer (Tornado WC/Titan Mercury WC) 4. Nina Pham (Texas WC) Could we see back-to-back Open championships for Erin Golston? As the top seed, the odds are in her favor. Talk about a model of consistency; Golston has been in the top three in every US Open/Senior National event since 2015. It's difficult to foresee anyone stopping her this week. Next in line is Alleida Martinez, a two-time Cadet world medalist. This season, Martinez captured her second collegiate national title for Menlo and was relatively unchallenged, outsourcing her competition by a 48-2 margin. The third seed belongs to King University freshman Sage Mortimer. Mortimer was third in her initial collegiate campaign and a three-time champion during her high school career in Fargo. Martinez isn't the only two-time NAIA champion at this weight, fourth-seeded Nina Pham is, as well. Pham made the finals three times during her illustrious career. Unseeded Threat: Charlotte Fowler (River Valley WC) The three-time All-American Charlotte Fowler is certainly one that can make a dent in the top-four seeds. Fowler has international experience as she was a U23 world team member in 2018 at 53 kg. She has placed twice at this tournament, eighth in 2018 and seventh in 2020. Finals Prediction: Erin Golston over Alleida Martinez 53 kg Preseeds 1. Ronna Heaton (Badger WC/Sunkist Kids) 2. Areana Villaescusa (Army WCAP) 3. Alyssa Lampe (Beaver Dam RTC) 4. Estrella Dorado Marin (Army WCAP) Does the Badger WC sweep the first two women's weights? It looks like that could happen as Golston and Ronna Heaton are both seeded first at the lowest women's weight classes. Heaton has established herself as a consistent threat for World/Olympic teams over the past two years. She was a finalist at both the Olympic Trials and the World Team Trials in 2021. In 2020, Heaton made the Open finals, as well. Despite Heaton's emergence into the upper echelon at 53 kgs, this won't be a simple coronation for her. The other half of the bracket features second-seeded Areana Villaescusa, who battled back from severe injuries to make the Open finals in 2019, and later that year, Senior Nationals. In her 2019 finals appearance, Villaescusa defeated Dom Parrish in the semis, and battled the Simon Fraser alum multiple times throughout the year. Also on the bottom half of the bracket is veteran Alyssa Lampe. The two-time World bronze medalist has been on the scene at the Senior level for over a decade and is still going strong. Most of her best accolades were down at 48 kg, but she's still going strong. The other seeded wrestler is Villescusa's Army WCAP teammate Estrella Dorado Marin. Dorado Marin has had good results as a high schooler with a pair of All-American honors in Fargo at the Junior level and a fourth-place finish at the Cadet WTT's. Unseeded Threat: Tiare Ikei and Felicity Taylor Both Tiare Ikei and Felicity Taylor were listed as entries, but not in preseeds. If either or both were to compete, they would certainly be in the mix for a spot in the top four. Ikei was a bit of a surprise Open winner back in 2019 as a high schooler. Finals Prediction: Ronna Heaton over Alyssa Lampe 55 kg Preseeds 1. Jacarra Winchester (USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC) 2. Marissa Gallegos (Colorado Mesa) 3. Alisha Howk (Sunkist Kids) 4. Lauren Mason (Brunson UVRTC) We've certainly got a favorite here at 55 with Jacarra Winchester in the field. Winchester was a 2019 World Champion at this weight. Since it's a non-Olympic weight, Winchester had to drop down to 53 kg for the Olympics, a spot she won over Heaton. Last year, Jacarra moved back up to 55 kg, but fell to Jenna Burkert in the WTT finals. Winchester comes into the Open a few months removed from a Yasar Dogu title at this weight. Colorado Mesa star Marissa Gallegos assumes the second seed at 55 kg. She has finished in the top three of the NCWWC Championships in each of the last three years. Gallegos also was a sixth-place finisher at Senior Nationals in 2019 and competed at the 2020 Olympic Trials. Two-time age group world team member Alisha Howk will try to prevent Gallegos from a finals appearance opposite Winchester. Though it came against a small field, Howk recently won the 2022 Bill Farrell. Looking to pull a big upset in the top semi is Lauren Mason, a two-time third-place finisher for Simon Fraser. Mason has now been training with the RTC out of Utah Valley. Unseeded Threat: Peyton Stroud (McKendree Bearcat Wrestling Club) The two-time All-American Peyton Stroud has been an important part of a McKendree team that won their third consecutive NCWWC national championship in 2022. Last year, Stroud was a Junior World Team member, and took eighth place in Ufa. Finals Prediction: Jacarra Winchester over Alisha Howk 57 kg Preseeds 1. Amanda Martinez (Cardinal WC) 2. Cameron Guerin (Titan Mercury WC) 3. Alex Hedrick (Titan Mercury WC) 4. Adriana Dorado Marin (Army WCAP) 5. Ngao Shoua Whitethorn (Victory School of Wrestling) This is a weight class that could be a lot of fun, as it appears to be wide open. Top-seeded Amanda Martinez is a graduate assistant at North Central after earning All-American honors twice for the Cardinals, including a finals appearance in 2020. Two-time NCWWC national champion Cameron Guerin. Guerin has taken third at the Open on two occasions and is looking to get over the hump. She's also wrestled for a bronze medal in the first of her two trips to the Junior World Championships. Getting to the finals this year will be a task in and of itself with Alex Hedrick as the third seed. The Simon Fraser national champion, Hedrick, was a 2018 Open champion and wrestled Helen Maroulis for the world team spot later that year. The second of the two Dorado Marin sisters, Adriana, will be the fourth seed at 57 kg. Adriana was a Cadet national champion in Fargo and represented the US at the Cadet World Championships in 2019. It'll be interesting to see her development training with the WCAP. Unseeded Threat: Jennifer Soto (Daniel Cormier WC) High school senior Jennifer Soto could have an impact here. The three-time California state champion is a two-time Fargo Junior runner-up and a 2019 Cadet champion. She has some international experience competing at the Pan-American Championships at two different age groups. Finals Prediction: Alex Hedrick over Amanda Martinez 59 kg Preseeds 1. Xochitl Mota-Pettis (Rise RTC/USOPTC) 2. Brenda Reyna (Army WCAP) 3. Nanea Estrella (Spartan Combat RTC) 4. Claire DiCugno (Colorado Mesa) 5. Bridgette Duty (Army WCAP) Perhaps the most exciting woman to watch in this tournament is Xochitl Mota-Pettis at 59 kg. Mota-Pettis can rack up points in a hurry and usually wow's the crowd in doing so. In each of the last two Open's, Mota-Pettis has finished third and second, respectively. The last time Mota-Pettis took the mat she dominated the field at the Bill Farrell and didn't surrender a point in four matches, including a 10-0 tech of Heaton. 2021 NCWWC national champion Brenda Reyna gets the second seed. Reyna is a McKendree grad that now competes for the Army WCAP. She'll rely on her international experience, which includes a pair of Junior World berths. One of the members of the first Iowa Hawkeye women's program, Nanea Estrella, is the third seed. Estrella was an NAIA runner-up for Menlo last year and was a UWW Junior National champion in 2020. Continuing the team of young talent at 59 kg is Colorado Mesa freshman Claire DiCugno. DiCugno was sixth at nationals this season and competed on the Junior World team in 2021. Before meeting Mota-Pettis, DiCugno will have to get through another contender from the Army WCAP, Bridgette Duty. A two-time Open placer (8th in 2019 and 4th in 2020), Duty also became the first NAIA national champion for the University of the Cumberlands in 2021. Unseeded Threat: Montana DeLawder (Haines Trained WC) Right behind DiCugno on the podium at nationals was Montana DeLawder, who finished seventh as a freshman for King University. DeLawder came into the national tournament as the top seed and only finished with three losses. Before her junior year of high school, DeLawder won a Junior National title in Fargo at 112 lbs. Finals Prediction: Xochitl Mota-Pettis over Brenda Reyna 62 kg Preseeds 1. Kayla Miracle (Sunkist Kids) 2. Jennifer Page Rogers (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) 3. Alex Liles (Army WCAP) 4. Andrea Schlabach (Grand View WC) 5. Adaugo Nwachukwu (Swamp Monsters WC) 6. Nina Makem (Twin Cities RTC) 7. Emmily Patneaud (McKendree Bearcat WC) One of the deepest weights at this tournament (62 kg) is also headed up by one of the biggest stars of the event. US Olympian and 2021 World silver medalist, Kayla Miracle, has grabbed a hold of this weight class, as her own, since 2019, despite an imposing list of challengers. Miracle is seeking her third career US Open title. She was last in action at the Rudis SuperMatch card where she posted a one-sided victory over Emma Bruntil, 8-2. Next in line is Jennifer Page, who has emerged as a world team threat over the last couple of years. Page was third behind Miracle at the 2021 WTT's. She's also looking to capture her third career Open championship, after winning in 2020 and 2021 (at 65 kg). To get another crack at Miracle, Page will need to get by 2021 Open runner-up Alex Liles. An age-group phenom, Liles has three stop signs from Fargo and made a pair of Cadet World Teams, along with one at the Junior level. Iowa collegiate wrestlers Andrea Schlabach and Adaugo Nwachukwu will likely square off in the quarters to see who meets Miracle in the semis. The sixth and seventh seeds belong to Nina Makem and Emmily Patneaud, both of whom were top-five finishers in the 136 lb weight class at the NCWWC tournament in 2022. Unseeded Threat: Sierra Brown Ton (Twin Cities RTC) NCWWC runner-up Nina Makem isn't the only one from the Twin Cities RTC that can have an impact here. Sierra Brown Ton is a collegiate All-American and two-time Open placer. She was third at this weight in 2021. Finals Prediction: Kayla Miracle over Jennifer Page 65 kg Preseeds 1. Emma Bruntil (USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC) 2. Mallory Velte (Beaver Dam RTC/Titan Mercury WC) 3. Destiny Lyng (California) 4. Rachel Watters (Hawkeye WC/NYAC) 5. Amanda Hendey (Titan Mercury WC) The 65 kg weight class is not as large as some of the others, but it's loaded with talent. Top-seeded Emma Bruntil has already had a remarkable 2022 and we're not even halfway through it. She has grabbed titles at the Ivan Yarygin and the Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov, before taking bronze Yasar Dogu. Last year, Bruntil was a WTT's runner-up to Forrest Molinari. 2018 World bronze medalist Mallory Velte is the second seed. Velte has impressed this year, as well. She fell to Bruntil in the finals of the Kolov-Petrov and was a silver medalist at the Yasar Dogu. Last year, Velte was a WTT runner-up to longtime rival, Miracle, but this year she's moved up to 65 kg and experienced the same level of success. A pair of collegiate national champions from Oklahoma City, Destiny Lyng and Rachel Watters, comprised the fourth and fifth seeds. Watters has placed at the Open every year since 2015; however, she's seeking her first title. Recently, Watters was a runner-up at the Bill Farrell. Former King University national champion and 2016 Olympic Trials participant Amanda Hendey rounds out the five seeds. Unseeded Threat: Alexis Gomez (Grand View WC) Though just a junior at Grand View, Alexis Gomez has a long history of success at the Open. Gomez finished in the top eight in 2018 and 2019. She'll be a difficult out for any of the seeded wrestlers. Finals Prediction: Emma Bruntil over Mallory Velte 68 kg Preseeds 1. Solin Piearcy (Menlo WC) 2. Nahiela Magee (Army WCAP) 3. Sienna Ramirez (Southern Oregon RTC) 4. Kairah Cantillo (Grand View WC) This weight class is extremely small with only five wrestlers among the entries and four received seeds. Menlo national champion Solin Piearcy. Piearcy is looking to go back-to-back after winning the Open in 2021. Nahiela Magee has finished in the top five at the US Open and Senior Nationals, in three different weight classes, since 2017. She'll likely get her highest finish ever this week. The third seed belongs to Sienna Ramirez, the cornerstone of the Southern Oregon program. Ramirez became the school's first national champion in 2021 and was a five-time All-American. Finals Prediction: Solin Piearcy over Nahiela Magee 72 kg Preseeds 1. Amit Elor (NYC RTC/Titan Mercury WC) 2. Skylar Grote (Beaver Dam RTC/NYAC) 3. Marlynne Deede (Twin Cities RTC) 4. Aury Naylor (Georgia) We've got another small field at 72 kg. Leading the way is 2021 Cadet and Junior World Champion Amit Elor. The high school senior dominated the competiton at the Junior level and is now ready to showcase her talents against the Senior division. Elor's always been able to find success against older competitors, so I don't see why this would be any different. Coming in as the second seed is Skylar Grote, an Open runner-up in each of the last two years. Grote was also fourth at the WTT's last year. The third seed belongs to Marlynne Deede who was third in a loaded 155 lb NCWWC weight class this season. It was the third time in as many tries that Deede placed at the national tournament. Last year, Deede was fourth in the Open at 76 kg. The fourth seed here is Aury Naylor, who has placed in the top-six in Vegas on three occasions. Finals Prediction: Amit Elor over Skylar Grote 76 kg Preseeds 1. Victoria Francis (Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC) 2. Yelena Makoyed (Cardinal WC) 3. Dymond Guilford (USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC) 4. Precious Bell (Titan Mercury WC) 5. Joye Levendusky (McKendree Bearcat WC) 6. Tristan Kelly (Army WCAP) 7. Jordan Nelson (Hawkeye WC) All of the weights have seen entry numbers dwindle and at 76 kg that's definitely the case. However, in this instance, there are a lot of talented competitors in the mix. The top seed belongs to the most-seasoned wrestler of the bunch is two-time world team member Victoria Francis. In her most recent world-level competition, Francis wrestled for a bronze medal at 72 kg. Francis won the Open back in 2017 and has made the Open/Senior National finals three times since. Senior-level mainstays Dymond Guilford and Precious Bell get the third and fourth seeds, respectively. The former high school teammates have gone back and forth over the years and could meet in the finals, or perhaps somewhere in the consi's. There's also familiarity between the second and fifth seeds, Yelena Makoyed and Joye Levendusky. The pair met in the finals of the NCWWC Championships in each of the last two years with Makoyed getting her hand raised both times. 2018 double Fargo national champion, Tristan Kelly, also a Cadet World Teamer the same year, comes in as the sixth seed. Kelly was third in the NCWWC weight class featuring Makoyed and Levendusky in 2021, while at Colorado Mesa. She now is a part of the Army WCAP team. The seventh seed, Jordan Nelson, was third at the NAIA level this year for Life University. Her only loss at the tournament was a one-pointer to Guilford, who was competing for Cumberlands. A year earlier, Nelson was a national champion. Finals Prediction: Victoria Francis over Yelena Makoyed

The top seed at 79 kg Alex Dieringer (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The road to Belgrade, Serbia and the 2022 Senior World Championships begins this week as the US Open takes place in Las Vegas. While plenty of notable wrestlers have qualified for the World Team Trials or even Final X, there are still tons of quality competitors who need to punch their ticket to Coralville, Iowa for the WTT's. The top-seven finishers at each weight class will lock up a spot at the Trials. While that may seem like a big number, many of these brackets are loaded with either proven winners at the Senior level or promising prospects. Here's a look at the ten brackets Senior Men's Freestyle with unseeded threats to watch and a finals prediction, based on current preseeds. 57 kg Preseeds 1. Matt Ramos (Boilermaker RTC) 2. Jakob Camacho (Wolfpack Wrestling Club) 3. Joey Prata (Oklahoma RTC) Compared to most of the brackets here, this weight is light with proven Senior-level competitors, so anything is possible. The top seed goes to Matt Ramos of Purdue. The former Cadet world champion started at 133 for the Boilermakers and wound up in the NCAA bloodround. Word is he'll compete at 125 for Purdue in 2022-23, so this move is in-line with those whispers. The second seed is also still in college, but has a track record at the Senior-level. Jakob Camacho won the 2021 Open and was seventh in 2020. Camacho is a two-time ACC Champion and also was a Round of 12 finisher in 2021. Joey Prata's 2022 season also ended a match shy of All-American status. He'll get another shot next season for Oklahoma and has thrived with the excellent lightweight coaches at OU. Unseeded threat: Sam Latona (Southeast RTC) A huge 125 lber for Virginia Tech, rumors out of Blacksburg are that Sam Latona will move up to 133 lbs next season. Latona was listed in the entries at 57 kgs, so he may give it another go in freestyle with more lenient weigh-in rules. If Latona is indeed at 57 kgs, he'll make an impact in this field. He has multiple wins in freestyle and folk over Camacho and was sixth at the 2020 Open. Latona also has a history with former teammate, Prata. Finals Pick: Jakob Camacho over Matt Ramos 61 kg Preseeds 1. Tyler Graff Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 2. Nico Megaludis Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 3. Seth Gross Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club 4. Joshua Rodriguez Nittany Lion Wrestling Club 5. Daniel DeShazer Gopher Wrestling Club – RTC 6. Josh Kramer Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club 7. Brandon Wright Indiana 8. Gabriel Townsell California RTC The fun really starts at 61 kg as it has a top-tier of contenders that can really get after it, offensively. Tyler Graff finally broke through in 2019 and made his first world team. That was after taking fourth at the Open that year. While a win would put him in a better position for another world team run, he's proven it's not necessary. Returning from a long injury-related layoff is 2016 Penn State national champion Nico Megaludis. Megaludis turned in some of his best freestyle results prior to his injuries, finishing as an Open runner-up in 2019. Another one in this bracket with PSU/Nittany Lion WC ties is the fourth seed, Josh Rodriguez. Rodriguez comes in after a great showing at the 2022 Dan Kolov, where he took home a bronze medal. While he puts up points in bunches, Seth Gross is still looking for a finish better than fifth at the Open (which he did in 2017). Gross has world team experience at the Cadet and Junior levels, now he's seeking to make a Senior team. The back half of the seeds feature a pair of wrestlers that have finished as runner's-up at the Open in previous appearances, with Josh Kramer (2021) and Brandon Wright (2017). A potential Wright/Megaludis quarterfinal could be the best one at this weight. While Kramer was a 2021 runner-up, Daniel DeShazer was third and eighth seed, Gabe Townsell, is a past U23 world teamer. Unseeded threat: Sean Fausz (TMWC) Speaking of U23 teams, Sean Fausz took home a bronze medal from the 2018 World Championships. He was also fifth at the Open in 2021. He'll certainly present a difficult matchup for wherever he's drawn into the bracket. Finals Pick: Seth Gross over Nico Megaludis 65 kg Preseeds 1. Evan Henderson Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 2. Patricio Lugo Hawkeye Wrestling Club 3. Luke Pletcher Pittsburgh Wrestling Club 4. Ian Parker Iowa 5. Matt Kolodzik New Jersey RTC 6. Kendric Maple Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club 7. Dean Heil Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) Longtime contender Evan Henderson sits atop this weight class with young talent (for the Senior level, that is). Henderson presumably gets the nod over Luke Pletcher after defeating him for third place at the 2021 World Team Trials. Pletcher also took fourth at the 2021 Open, losing to Pat Lugo in the consolation finals. Henderson recently won a shootout over Seth Gross at the Rudis SuperMatch 1 card. He placed in every iteration of the Open during the last quad, highlighted by a runner-up finish in 2020. The fourth and fifth seeds could be on a collision course for the second time in the last month as Ian Parker downed Matt Kolodzik at the 2022 Bill Farrell. Parker prevailed after a 6-1 win and Kolodzik battled back for third. A dangerous veteran is back in the mix with Kendric Maple, the 2017 US Open champion at 61 kg. Maple has a potentially tough road to the finals with Pletcher and then possibly Lugo in the way. At his peak, Maple's plenty capable of coming away with a stop sign. The preseeds are anchored by Dean Heil, a two-time national champion at Oklahoma State, who currently trains at the Naval Academy. Heil is looking to break into the top eight here for the first time. Unseeded threat: Kanen Storr (TMWC) Don't worry about a rough final year at Michigan, which saw Kanen Storr come up shy of qualifying for the 2022 NCAA Championships. Storr has always shined more in freestyle. He has placed at both the 2019 and 2020 Open. Finals Pick: Evan Henderson over Kendric Maple 70 kg Preseeds 1. Alec Pantaleo Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 2. Jordan Oliver Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club 3. Tyler Berger California Regional Training Center (CA RTC) 4. Anthony Ashnault New York Athletic Club 5. Brock Mauller Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club 6. Will Lewan Cliff Keen Wrestling Club 7. Austin Gomez Wisconsin RTC 8. Sammy Sasso Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 9. Yahya Thomas, Wildcat Wrestling Club The recent retirement of James Green leaves this weight class wide open, as Green has represented the United States at the World Championships at 70 since the weight class's inception in 2015. However, after Green 70 kg is deep with talent. The top seed is Alec Pantaleo, a runner-up to Green at this tournament last year. Despite the loss, 2021 was a productive year for Pantaleo, who captured a title at the Matteo Pellicone and the Pan-American Championships. In March, Pantaleo defeated the second seed, Jordan Oliver, at the Rudis SuperMatch 1 card. Oliver was the 2020 Olympic Trials winner at 65 kg, though he didn't get to compete at the Games as the weight class never got qualified. At this point, 70 kg is probably a more ideal weight for Oliver. I'd expect to see a different version of Oliver at this tournament, as opposed to the SuperMatch. In a bit of a surprise, Tyler Berger edged Anthony Ashnault on criteria, to win the title at the Bill Farrell. That catapults Berger up to the third seed. Berger was also fourth at the WTT's last year at his weight. Ashnault comes in as the four. The remainder of the seeds are made up of current collegiate stars. Sixth-seeded, Will Lewan was a Cadet World Champion, while Brock Mauller, Austin Gomez and Yahya Thomas all have made age-group world teams. Early in the tournament, we may get yet another iteration of Thomas versus Ohio State NCAA runner-up Sammy Sasso. The two have tangled frequently in freestyle with Sasso coming out on top, generally by slim margins. Unseeded threat: Bryce Andonian (Southeast RTC) Last summer, Bryce Andonian proved he was capable of challenging the best in the world as he won a bronze medal at the Junior World Championships. His go-for-broke style was also on display at the 2022 NCAA Championships where he finished third at 149 lbs. Andonian had made three or four of the tournament's ten most exciting matches. He's just a fun to watch in freestyle. Finals Pick: Jordan Oliver over Alec Pantaleo 74 kg Preseeds 1. Jason Nolf Nittany Lion Wrestling Club 2. Tommy Gantt Wolfpack Wrestling Club 3. Josh Shields Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club 4. Joey Lavallee Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 5. Cam Amine Cliff Keen Wrestling Club For whatever reason, 74 kg has plenty of entries, but only five wrestlers who received preseeds. The favorite is three-time NCAA champion Jason Nolf. With this weight class not being contested at the 2021 WTT's, Nolf moved up to 79 kg and took fourth place. He's seeking his first Open title after placing third in 2019 and fourth in 2017. 2019 runner-up Tommy Gantt looks like Nolf's biggest hurdle on the way to a stop sign. Gantt was also third at Senior Nationals in 2019 and has established himself as one of the top-tier at this weight. Josh Shields nets the third seed on the strength of a Bill Farrell Championship win over Joey Lavallee, the fourth seed. Both placed at the 2021 tournament, with Lavallee making the finals, while Shields settled for fifth. NCAA fourth-place finisher and Big Ten runner-up Cam Amine gets the fifth seed. If past freestyle success for his family and the CKWC are any indication, Amine should do just fine here. Unseeded threat: Quentin Perez (California RTC) The former national qualifier from Campbell, Quentin Perez, is now training at the California RTC. Perez was recently third at the Bill Farrell, competing up at 79 kg. He has an impressive array of training partners around his weight with Berger, Stanford national champion Shane Griffith, and Stanford assistant Vincenzo Joseph. I'd expect Perez to continue trending up. Finals Pick: Jason Nolf over Tommy Gantt 79 kg Preseeds 1. Alex Dieringer Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 2. Isaiah Martinez Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 3. Chance Marsteller Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 4. Evan Wick Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 5. Taylor Lujan Panther Wrestling Club RTC 6. Mickey O'Malley Pennsylvania RTC 7. David McFadden Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 8. Vincenzo Joseph California RTC Perhaps the most loaded weight class in the Senior Men's freestyle competition is 79 kg. The top seed is Alex Dieringer who has made the finals twice in Vegas (1st in 2019 and 2nd in 2018). Dieringer has made it to the deciding series for the World Team twice in his career, losing in 2019 to Kyle Dake and last year to Jordan Burroughs. Speaking of Burroughs, one of the few Americans to ever defeat Jordan in freestyle is second-seeded Isaiah Martinez. IMar did so at Final X in 2019, before falling in three matches. Martinez has a pair of NCAA and US Open titles to his name. The third and fourth seeds, Chance Marsteller and Evan Wick, both finished third in the nation during their final season of collegiate competition. Wick has placed fourth twice at the Open and at the Olympic Trials. Marsteller was a finalist here in 2019 and actually took third in Greco last year. This bracket is so loaded that the 2021 champion, Taylor Lujan, comes in as the fifth seed. Lujan's breakout freestyle performance was in 2020 when he made the finals of the FloWrestling 195 lb eight-man bracket. The sixth and seventh seeds are quite familiar with each other as Mickey O'Malley is an active wrestler for Drexel and David McFadden is one of his coaches. At the 2021 Open, O'Malley finished fourth while McFadden was sixth. Two-time NCAA champion and three-time finalist Vincenzo Joseph rounds out the seeds at number eight. A quarterfinal match between him and Dieringer sounds remarkable on paper and in person. Unseeded threat: Devin Skatzka (Spartan Combat RTC) The highest returning placer from the 2021 tournament without a seed is Devin Skatzka. The former Minnesota All-American is now training out of Cornell and Spartan Combat, so it'll be interesting to see his growth. With such an imposing top-eight, it may be difficult for anyone unseeded to crack the top-eight, barring an unforeseen injury. Finals Pick: Alex Dieringer over Isaiah Martinez 86 kg Preseeds 1. Mark Hall, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 2. Trent Hidlay, Wolfpack Wrestling Club 3. Nick Reenan, Wolfpack Wrestling Club 4. Owen Webster, Gopher Wrestling Club – RTC 5. Andrew Morgan, Spartan Combat RTC Could we see a rematch of the 2021 US Open finals? If seeds hold, that could be the case with Mark Hall and Trent Hidlay as the one and two seeds, respectively. Hall is coming off a big win over Myles Martin on the SuperMatch card. Since 86 kg wasn't available for competition at the 2021 WTT's, Trent Hidlay moved up to 92 kg and managed to finish third, with a win over former NCAA champion Drew Foster in the consolation finals. Hidlay was also third at the 2020 Open and was a 2019 Junior world bronze medalist. Hall, of course, has two Junior world titles and one at the Cadet level. Before a Hall/Hidlay rematch, Trent may have to square off with NC State and WWC teammate Nick Reenan. Nick famously made Final X in 2018, opposite David Taylor, at this weight. Reenan has finished in the top-six three times here and made Cadet and Junior world team's in Greco. The final two seeded wrestlers at this weight, Owen Webster and Andrew Morgan, were placers at the Bill Farrell. Webster was a runner-up, while Morgan was fourth. The two clashed in the semis and it was Webster who came out on top, 8-2. Unseeded threat: Marcus Coleman (Iowa) We're going to go with Coleman here, but Nate Jackson was listed in the entries, but not shown as a preseed. If Jackson were to compete, it's difficult to imagine him not receiving a seed. Coleman was one of the most improved wrestlers in the nation this year, for Iowa State, and got on the NCAA podium for the first time. What can he do in freestyle? Finals Pick: Mark Hall over Trent Hidlay 92 kg Preseeds 1. Isaac Trumble Wolfpack Wrestling Club 2. Cam Caffey Michigan Wrestling Club 3. Michael Battista Cavalier Wrestling Club 4. Max Shaw Tar Heel Wrestling Club For whatever reason, 92 kg is another weight without any post-graduate Senior level stars. All four of the seeded wrestlers currently have collegiate eligibility. 2021 US Open fifth-place finisher (at 97 kg), Isaac Trumble, assumes the top seed. Trumble, an ACC runner-up, just competed at his first NCAA Tournament and went 1-2. Next up is Cam Caffey, a 2020 Big Ten runner-up, who has wrestled on the world stage before at the Junior World Championships (in Greco-Roman). Caffey also won gold medals in both styles at the Pan-American Junior Championships in 2018. Two more ACC wrestlers, Michael Battista and Max Shaw comprise the remaining seeded wrestlers. Both are one-time NCAA qualifiers. Battista was fourth at the 2021 Open at 86 kg. Unseeded Threat: Gerald Harris (Hurricane Wrestling Academy) The 2003 EWL Champion for Cleveland State and former UFC fighter, Gerald Harris, is a wild card here. About six months ago, Harris competed on a Stalemates card and acquitted himself well. He's currently a coach in Oklahoma. Finals Pick: Isaac Trumble over Cam Caffey 97 kg Preseeds 1. Mike Macchiavello Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 2. Jay Aiello Cavalier Wrestling Club 3. Joe Rau Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 4. Andy Smith Southeast RTC 5. Sam Mitchell Bulls Wrestling Club 6. TJ Dudley Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club Originally Mike Macchiavello appeared in the entries at 92 kg, but apparently will compete at this weight. Either way, Macchiavello would have been the top seed. The last time Macchiavello was in action, he won the Bill Farrell at 92 kg. The 2018 NCAA champion, Macchiavello, is seeking to improve upon his 2019 finish, when he was third at the Open. In order for Macchiavello to reign supreme, he'll need to get by either Jay Aiello or Joe Rau in the finals. Aiello started his senior season at Virginia with a bronze medal in U23 World Championships and finished in the NCAA Round of 12. The two-time World Team member for Greco-Roman, Rau, was a runner-up to Macchiavello at the Bill Farrell earlier this month. The fourth and fifth seeds, Andy Smith and Sam Mitchell, were both placers at the 2021 Open. Smith took third and Mitchell was sixth. Despite their freestyle accolades, Smith wasn't able to crack the Virginia Tech starting lineup this year and Mitchell was sub-.500 for Buffalo. The final seed is veteran TJ Dudley who has placed fourth or higher at every Open since 2018. He's one that should certainly outwrestle his seed. Unseeded Threat: 97 kg's looks to be the smallest bracket of the Senior Men's freestyle event. It's difficult to project any unseeded wrestler cracking the top-six. Finals Pick: Mike Macchiavello over Jay Aiello 125 kg Preseeds 1. Hayden Zillmer Gopher Wrestling Club – RTC 2. Dominique Bradley Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club 3. Ty Walz Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 4. Demetrius Thomas Pittsburgh Wrestling Club 5. Christian Lance Nebraska Wrestling Training Center 6. Jordan Wood Lehigh Valley Wrestling Club 7. Lucas Davison, Wildcat Wrestling Club 8. Wyatt Hendrickson Air Force Regional Training Center 9. Tate Orndorff Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 10. Derek White Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) We'll end with a really stout group of heavyweights. None have made the Senior world team before, but there's a ton of experience mixed in with some talented collegiate stars. A title at the Bill Farrell gives Hayden Zillmer (yes, that Hayden Zillmer) the top seed. In 2018, Zillmer competed at 92 kg against J'den Cox in Final X Bethlehem (not to mention at 84 lbs in Fargo in 2007). Zillmer has made the US Open finals in both styles and was a freestyle champion at Senior Nationals in 2019. That came at 97 kg and the same tournament Dom Bradley was victorious in the 125 kg bracket. Bradley had previously won the Open in 2013 and 2016. He's also one of four age-group world medalists in this group. Bradley was a Junior World Champion in 2009, while Jordan Wood and Lucas Davison both won silver medals. Wood's came at the Cadet level and Davison Juniors. U23 world bronze medalist Ty Walz is the fourth. The lower portion of the seeds contains a handful of wrestlers that competed at the collegiate level in 2021-22. Wood and Davison were both All-Americans in Detroit, as was Christian Lance. Tate Orndorff came up a match shy this year, but got on the podium in St. Louis. Eighth-seeded Wyatt Hendrickson was a Junior World Teamer in 2021 and wrestled in the bronze medal match. The final seed of the bunch belongs to Derek White at the #10 spot. White was fourth at the Bill Farrell and participated in the Rudis SuperMatch card. White was a fourth-place finisher at the 2019 Open. Unseeded Threat: Ethan Laird (Broncs Wrestling Club) Another active collegiate wrestler in this bracket is Rider's Ethan Laird. Laird redshirted the 2021-22 season and went 11-1 with a runner-up finish at the MatMen Open and titles at the Bearcat and Patriot Open's. Last year, in regular-season action, Laird notched a win over Jordan Wood. Finals Pick: Hayden Zillmer over Dom Bradley

The Svingala brothers (Trent left; Caleb right) photo courtesy of the Svingala family Wrestling is often referred to as a brotherhood, or an association with a society or group of people for a particular purpose. Oftentimes, one can only dream of wrestling alongside their actual brother: a true brotherhood. Fortunately, Trent and Caleb Svingala, both wrestlers at The University at Buffalo, have had their sights set on wrestling together at the Division I level since they stepped on the wrestling mats for the first time at just 7 and 5 years old, respectively. Trent stated, “I was just 7 years old when I started, but I didn't originally think it would be a long road like this, or with the intention that I would focus so heavily on wrestling. I started Ju-Jitsu six months earlier and did wrestling to help with my training. Over time, it became a fun thing to do, I was good at it, and I enjoyed winning.” He continued, “My earliest memory of Caleb and I wrestling together was working out in our garage, just him and I. From a young age, I remember working out together and getting better.” Caleb added, “I was first introduced to wrestling at 5 years old as a practice partner for Trent. I wasn't doing any actual moves until roughly 6 months to a year later. Essentially, I was a stand-in for him to practice his moves on.” As Trent and Caleb continued their training at a young age, wrestling became the glue that bonded them together. Their passion for the sport flourished, their skills drastically improved, and their competitiveness fueled their days. “Caleb and I didn't originally plan on wrestling together, but it was a mutual agreement past a certain point in our training. We had grown up fighting each other all the time, and we decided that it would be mutually beneficial for us to both continue. If one of us didn't, we knew that it would be hard, since we both had an aggressive nature from a young age that was unmatched,” said Trent. Caleb continued, “At first, because I was slightly younger than Trent, I thought wrestling was WWE. I didn't truly understand the difference. Once I understood the sport, realized the weight that it carried, and solidified my own skills, we knew that moving on in the sport together was going to be the best decision for us.” As the years passed, Trent and Caleb became standout wrestlers for Maple Hill High School in Castleton, New York. Trent was a three-year team captain for Maple Hill's wrestling team where he became a two-time New York State Champion and four-time state place finisher. Trent was a five-time Section Two All-Star, where his 250 career wins rank in the top five in New York State history. Caleb, following in his brother's footsteps, became a four-time New York State qualifier, finishing third in his senior season campaign. Additionally, he was a four-time Section Two Champion. It was evident that Trent and Caleb's original decision to pursue wrestling together proved to be mutually beneficial. Trent said, “Wrestling alongside Caleb in high school was great. There was a lot of winning in our household, which felt good. But there were also a lot of butting heads, because when two people want to win so bad, it can be hard. Obviously, there were instances where one of us was not going to get our way at a specific moment in time. Then, we would have to go home and deal with it past the wrestling mat. It was a lot more than just a wrestling room for Caleb and I. It was a constant competition. It helped fuel us and make us better than our competition because there was an internal and constant fight to be better than each other, and a constant fight to win in the wrestling room.” In addition, Caleb added, “The dynamic in high school lent itself to winning and trying to achieve our goals together. Trent and I were practice partners in high school and would push each other each day. When it came down to some of the toughest competition and tournaments, it was a great feeling to win sectional titles alongside your brother, both obtaining a winning bracket and medal.” When asked how Trent and Caleb have balanced friendly competition versus taking it too far growing up, Trent said, “There really isn't too much of a balance. Sometimes, it gets brought home because we know that we are both going to be in the wrestling room together again the next day. We're always working towards something. For example, if Caleb gets me today, I am definitely coming back and getting him tomorrow. That feeling lingers because we have to see each other at home. Honestly, it burns, but that burn allows us to want to win because we don't want to feel embarrassed at home by our brother. I believe that is a huge piece to the puzzle as to why we were so successful in high school.” Caleb then said, “In the practice room, we realize there is a time and place for the competition. Obviously, we are always thinking about competing, and trying to be better than each other, but there is also a time when we need to help each other and work on our skills so when competition does come, we have the right mindset and skills ready to use.” Upon graduating from Maple Hill High School, both Trent and Caleb were faced with the tough choice of making their college decision. The two brothers spoke about their recruiting process, and how their bond ultimately played a key role in their final decisions. “The recruiting process for me upheld one message: I am going with my brother, or I'm not coming. Whatever deal the college and I worked out had to be mutually beneficial for myself, as well as Caleb, or I wouldn't go. At the time, I was a highly recruited individual and had a lot of offers and various opportunities (Buffalo, Columbia, and Cornell), but I initially chose Columbia because I thought it was the best fit for me. All three schools offered the same package to my brother, but the offer at Columbia began to change, which didn't align with my goals. My dream was never to simply wrestle DI. It was always to wrestle DI with my brother, and I didn't feel comfortable being anywhere that I wasn't wrestling alongside Caleb. I wanted to be on the same team as Caleb, as we had always grown up on the same team, and that wasn't something that I wanted to change going into college. I wasn't going to change my trajectory because Caleb was a large part of every single success that I've ever had in wrestling. I owe a lot to him and all the hours that he spent helping me get better on and off the mat,” said Trent. Caleb responded, “I chose Buffalo because I loved the area, I loved my teammates, and I loved the coaching staff. I knew that Buffalo had a similar style to what I always had growing up – rough and in your face. If I wanted to progress as much as I could as a wrestler, then Buffalo was and is the right place for me.” Trent Svingala wrestling at Columbia (photo courtesy of the Svingala family) With Trent at Columbia and Caleb at Buffalo, a decision had to be made. Would they set aside their childhood dreams for their own success? Would they each leave their current school and find an alternative one that would accept both? Or would one brother transfer and join the other? Ultimately, it was Trent who decided to transfer from Columbia to join Caleb at Buffalo. “At the time I was deciding to transfer, Columbia wasn't really wrestling much, and their following season would be canceled because of COVID. For me, it didn't make sense to continue my education at a school where you weren't sure what was happening, along with the fact that my brother wouldn't be there to help me reach my goals. There were a lot of questions up in the air, and not a lot of concrete decisions happening in the Ivy League itself. Caleb already having been on Buffalo's team helped make my decision a little bit easier, because if he had not already been there, I couldn't see myself there either. I don't think my coaches at the time understood how much of an emphasis I placed on wrestling alongside my brother. In the end, it worked out, and I am a lot happier at Buffalo. I knew that it would be a great fit for me with Coach Stutzman, and he provided me a great opportunity to come to Buffalo and wrestle with Caleb. I like Buffalo's style a lot more, and I feel like we are going to be a much better team in the near future. Overall, I like winning the most, and if I'm going to be at a place where I'm winning alongside Caleb, that's what matters to me.” Luckily, Trent and Caleb were able to live out their childhood dream: a true wrestling brotherhood. But how were they successful in doing so? Trent says, “I think I led the way a little bit. I had to figure out a lot of things on my own, where I then helped Caleb jump into situations that I had already learned from, whether right or wrong. It helped provide him with a blueprint for cutting weight, a blueprint for practicing hard, and a blueprint for life. I believe that I've helped him along the way to gain a better understanding of wrestling, where he would always be a step ahead of those in his class. In a way, I was able to help him figure out things that you don't usually experience until you're older and little bit later in your journey. I've been able to pass that on to him, so he's inherited a lot of knowledge early on that helped him make tremendous jumps and strides; always working harder and more passionately than those around him because he was exposed to that type of work ethic much younger than most.” Caleb added, “I think we've achieved our childhood dream, not only by what Trent said, but by always living the life that you imagine. Always thinking about wrestling. Always thinking about what you have to do to beat certain people. Always being one step ahead of your competition. You have to think to yourself: What do I have to do that my competitors are not? How am I going to create an edge? As brothers, we've always incorporated wrestling into our everyday life. Even before bed, Trent and I think about what we have to do to be better the next day.” Tom Svingala, Trent and Caleb's father, said of the brothers, “My role in both of my sons' dreams to wrestle together at the Division I level was to help them find the right program that fit them. I helped by reaching out and developing relationships with coaches and helping them get exposure. Getting Trent and Caleb on the same team was a challenge because they entered college at different times. Even though a school may have promised to take them both, it didn't mean that they had to live up to that promise the following year, so it was a gamble that we had to and were willing to take. It ultimately took a transfer, but I'm just happy that in the end, both Trent and Caleb got to fulfill their dream together and we love the UB program.” He then went on to say, “Growing up watching both of my sons compete against each other while also allowing them to gain valuable experiences from each other was tough, but luckily it only happened a handful of times. Most times my older son (Trent) would go up in weight to avoid this from happening. It was, however, amazing to watch them compete for so many years in back-to-back weight classes. I was able to watch one match and then shortly after, the other was up. Those are all memories that I will never forget.” When asked whether Caleb viewed Trent as a role model or competition growing up, he said, “It's a little bit of both, but he's always been an inspiration and role model to me. Trent is a role model in the sense that he always did everything first: winning a sectional title, placing at states, and eventually going on to compete at the DI level first. He even won multiple state titles, which I never accomplished. I've always felt that I was following in his footsteps. He has definitely paved the way for me and felt as though he wasn't just my brother, but a leader, and someone who I wanted to be like.” After reflecting on the many years of hard work and dedication that it took to get to a Division I level of wrestling, Trent and Caleb discussed some of the advantages and disadvantages of wrestling alongside your brother. Trent said, “The only disadvantage that I can think of is worrying about what and how Caleb is doing directly before a match since we are so close in weight. When Caleb and I are at a tournament, we are usually wrestling at the same time. It's very nerve-racking knowing that he is also nervous and trying to mentally prepare for battle. I don't feel like I can always fully give the support that is needed when I also have to prepare for my own match. Beyond that, I think there are many more advantages than disadvantages. For example, you always have a workout partner at your disposal who is the same weight, has the same competitive edge, and knows exactly what he's doing. One of the most underrated difficulties of wrestling is finding a good practice partner at the Division I level, and I know that Caleb is always ready to go and is making the right decisions on and off the mat. I enjoy knowing that I have someone to help me improve and get better every single day, and you can't overlook that aspect of wrestling. Partners that are as great as he has been all these years don't come around too often.” Caleb then went on to say, “I agree with Trent that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. You always know that someone has your back outside of wrestling too. You often think about what your teammates are doing in their free time, and if they are activities that are benefiting them as wrestlers, competitors, and human beings. It's really nice to have someone to lean on and talk to during your free time who you know is making the right decisions.” The Svingala brothers after an MMA workout with Shane Burgos (Trent left; Caleb right) photo courtesy of the Svingala family Beyond the wrestling mat, the two brothers share a common interest in multiple activities. Trent said, “We both share and are big into the MMA scene. Caleb and I grew up doing boxing, Ju-Jitsu, watching UFC, and MMA training together. We've pretty much done everything within that realm. Caleb and I have always done those things together growing up and it's our biggest hobby outside of wrestling. Luckily for us, it translates to wrestling well, and is very similar. But it's enough away from wrestling that we can both have a good time enjoying it, separately but together.” Caleb then followed up with, “Sports, in general, have always been a way that Trent and I have bonded, above and beyond wrestling. We're always competing, and we're always watching competitions, whether it's the NFL, NBA, UFC, etc. Trent and I bond in any way that we can and compete in any way possible.” Trent and Caleb both have their sights set on greatness in the near future. Trent said, “I'm just going to say it; there are a lot of people out there that think they can do the MMA scene, but there is no one in college wrestling right now that is ahead of me in that game. I am looking forward to making that jump past my wrestling career, and I'm excited about what Caleb and I are going to do beyond this season, and in life. We've had a hard journey up until this point, but there is a lot more to come.” Caleb also said, “I want people to know that we are working our butts off with the rest of the team. Not only Trent and I, but the entire UB Wrestling team is going to surprise a lot of people in the coming years. I still have four years of eligibility, and it's something that wrestling fans can be on the lookout for.” According to Tom, Trent's greatest attribute is the diversity he has in his skill set. “He is also a world-class competitor in Judo, Brazilian Ju-Jitsu, Boxing, and Muay Thai. He takes and uses little things from those other sports and training that at times makes what he does differently than most in the Division I level,” he said. As for Caleb, his greatest attribute is his self-discipline. “He sets goals for himself, plans out what he needs to do in order to achieve that goal, and follows through with them. He also refuses to do things that might deter him from getting those goals. In this sport, that goes a long way” continued Tom. As previously stated, wrestling is often referred to as a brotherhood or a group of people working towards a common interest, goal, or overall purpose. Trent and Caleb Svingala have truly defined what it means to be a brother, friend, teammate, and role model.

The top seed at 63 kg Jesse Thielke at the 2016 Olympics (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 55 kg 1. Max Nowry (Army WCAP) 2. Dalton Duffield (Army WCAP) 3. Jacob Cochran (Northern Michigan) 4. Camden Russell (MWC) 60 kg 1. Dalton Roberts (Army WCAP) 2. Ildar Hafizov (Army WCAP) 3. Dylan Koontz (Titan Mercury WC) 4. Alex Thomsen (Nebraska WTC) 63 kg 1. Jesse Thielke (Army WCAP) 2. Corbin Nirschl (MWC) 3. Aidan Nutter (NYAC) 4. King Sandoval (Bandits WC) 67 kg 1. Peyton Omania (Michigan RTC/NYAC) 2. Alejandro Sancho (Army WCAP) 3. Alston Nutter (Sunkist Kids) 4. Lenny Merkin (Princeton WC) 5. Jamel Johnson (Marines) 6. Robert Perez III (Sunkist Kids) 7. Jessy Williams (Spartan Combat RTC) 8. Morgan Flaharty (NYAC) 72 kg 1. Benji Peak (Sunkist Kids) 2. Orlando Ponce (Minnesota Storm) 3. Michael Hooker (Army WCAP) 4. Joe Betterman (Betterman Elite) 5. Eddie Smith (Pickaxe WC) 77 kg 1. Kamal Bey (Army WCAP) 2. Britton Holmes (Army WCAP) 3. Payton Jacobson (Sunkist Kids) 4. Alec Ortiz (Minnesota Storm) 5. Fritz Schierl (Titan Mercury WC) 6. Riley Briggs (West Coast Greco RTC) 82 kg 1. Spencer Woods (Army WCAP) 2. Tommy Brackett (Tennessee) 3. Tyler Cunningham (MWC) 4. Ryan Epps (Minnesota Storm) 5. Jordan Lara (505 WC) 6. Jake Fisher (Curby Style WC) 87 kg 1. Alan Vera (NYAC) 2. George Sikes (NYAC) 3. Christian DuLaney (Minnesota Storm) 4. Timothy Young (Illinois) 97 kg 1. Lucas Sheridan (Army WCAP) 2. Khymba Johnson (NYAC) 3. Chad Porter (Sunkist Kids) 4. Guy Patron (Dubuque WC) 5. Christian Rouleau (Minnesota Storm) 130 kg 1. Cohlton Schultz (Sunkist Kids WC) 2. West Cathcart (NYAC) 3. Courtney Freeman (Marines) 4. Keaton Fanning (Northern Michigan) 5. Kaleb Reeves (Eastern Iowa WC) 6. David Tate Orndorff (Titan Mercury WC)

The top seed at 76 kg Victoria Francis (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 50 kg 1. Erin Golston (Badger WC/NYAC) 2. Alleida Martinez (Titan Mercury WC) 3. Sage Mortimer (Tornado WC/Titan Mercury WC) 4. Nina Pham (Texas WC) 53 kg 1. Ronna Heaton (Badger WC/Sunkist Kids) 2. Areana Vilaescusa (Army WCAP) 3. Alyssa Lampe (Beaver Dam RTC) 4. Estrella Dorado Marin (Army WCAP) 55 kg 1. Jacarra Winchester (USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC) 2. Marissa Gallegos (Colorado Mesa) 3. Alisha Howk (Sunkist Kids) 4. Lauren Mason (Brunson UVRTC) 57 kg 1. Amanda Martinez (Cardinal WC) 2. Cameron Guerin (Titan Mercury WC) 3. Alex Hedrick (Titan Mercury WC) 4. Adriana Dorado Marin (Army WCAP) 5. Ngao Shoua Whitethorn (Victory School of Wrestling) 59 kg 1. Xochitl Mota-Pettis (Rise RTC/USOPTC) 2. Brenda Reyna (Army WCAP) 3. Nanea Estrella (Spartan Combat RTC) 4. Claire DiCugno (Colorado Mesa) 5. Bridgette Duty (Army WCAP) 62 kg 1. Kayla Miracle (Sunkist Kids) 2. Jennifer Page Rogers (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) 3. Alex Liles (Army WCAP) 4. Andrea Schlabach (Grand View WC) 5. Adaugo Nwachukwu (Swamp Monsters WC) 6. Nina Makem (Twin Cities RTC) 7. Emmily Patneaud (McKendree Bearcat WC) 65 kg 1. Emma Bruntil (USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC) 2. Mallory Velte (Beaver Dam RTC/Titan Mercury WC) 3. Destiny Lyng (California) 4. Rachel Watters (Hawkeye WC/NYAC) 5. Amanda Hendey (Titan Mercury WC) 68 kg 1. Solin Piearcy (Menlo WC) 2. Nahiela Magee (Army WCAP) 3. Sienna Ramirez (Southern Oregon RTC) 4. Kairah Cantillo (Grand View WC) 72 kg 1. Amit Elor (NYC RTC/Titan Mercury WC) 2. Skylar Grote (Beaver Dam RTC/NYAC) 3. Marlynne Deede (Twin Cities RTC) 4. Aury Naylor (Georgia) 76 kg 1. Victoria Francis (Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC) 2. Yelena Makoyed (Cardinal WC) 3. Dymond Guilford (USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC) 4. Precious Bell (Titan Mercury WC) 5. Joye Levendusky (McKendree Bearcat WC) 6. Tristan Kelly (Army WCAP) 7. Jordan Nelson (Hawkeye WC)

The top seed at 61 kg Tyler Graff (photos courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 57 kg 1. Matthew Ramos, Boilermaker RTC 2. Jakob Camacho, Wolfpack Wrestling Club 3. Joey Prata, Oklahoma Regional Training Center 61 kg 1. Tyler Graff, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 2. Nico Megaludis, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 3. Seth Gross, Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club 4. Joshua Rodriguez , Nittany Lion Wrestling Club 5. Daniel DeShazer, Gopher Wrestling Club – RTC 6. Josh Kramer, Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club 7. Brandon Wright, Indiana 8. Gabriel Townsell, California Regional Training Center (CA RTC) 65 kg 1. Evan Henderson, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 2. Patricio Lugo, Hawkeye Wrestling Club 3. Luke Pletcher, Pittsburgh Wrestling Club 4. Ian Parker, Iowa 5. Matthew Kolodzik, New Jersey RTC 6. Kendric Maple, Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club 7. Dean Heil, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 70 kg 1. Alec Pantaleo, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 2. Jordan Oliver, Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club 3. Tyler Berger, California Regional Training Center (CA RTC) 4. Anthony Ashnault, New York Athletic Club 5. Harold 'Brock' Mauller, Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club 6. Will Lewan, Cliff Keen Wrestling Club 7. Austin Gomez, Wisconsin Regional Training Center 8. Sam Sasso, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 9. Yahya Thomas, Wildcat Wrestling Club 74 kg 1. Jason Nolf,, Nittany Lion Wrestling Club 2. Thomas Gantt, Wolfpack Wrestling Club 3. Joshua Shields, Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club 4. Joey Lavallee, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 5. Cameron Amine, Cliff Keen Wrestling Club 79 kg 1. Alex Dieringer, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 2. Isaiah Martinez, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 3. Chance Marsteller, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 4. Evan Wick, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 5. Taylor Lujan, Panther Wrestling Club RTC 6. Michael O'Malley, Pennsylvania RTC 7. David McFadden, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 8. Vincenzo Joseph, California Regional Training Center (CA RTC) 86 kg 1. Mark Hall, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 2. Trent Hidlay, Wolfpack Wrestling Club 3. Nick Reenan, Wolfpack Wrestling Club 4. Owen Webster, Gopher Wrestling Club – RTC 5. Andrew Morgan, Spartan Combat RTC 92 kg 1. Isaac Trumble, Wolfpack Wrestling Club 2. Cameron Caffey, Michigan Wrestling Club 3. Michael Battista, Cavalier Wrestling Club 4. Max Shaw, Tar Heel Wrestling Club 97 kg 1. Michael Macchiavello, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 2. Jonathan Aiello, Cavalier Wrestling Club 3. Josef Rau, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 4. Christopher Smith, Southeast Regional Training Center, Inc 5. Samuel Mitchell, Bulls Wrestling Club 6. Timothy Dudley, Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club 125 kg 1. Hayden Zillmer, Gopher Wrestling Club – RTC 2. Dominique Bradley, Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club 3. Ty Walz, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 4. Demetrius Thomas, Pittsburgh Wrestling Club 5. Christian Lance, Nebraska Wrestling Training Center 6. Jordan Wood, Lehigh Valley Wrestling Club 7. Lucas Davison, Wildcat Wrestling Club 8. Wyatt Hendrickson, Air Force Regional Training Center 9. David Tate Orndorff, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 10. Derek White, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC)

Sergio Lemley at the 2021 Fargo Junior freestyle finals (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Over the weekend, the top-ranked 126 lber in the nation, Sergio Lemley (Mt. Carmel, IL), gave a verbal commitment to the University of Michigan. Lemley joins an already stacked recruiting Class of 2023 for the Wolverines, as he becomes the fourth top-50 recruit to commit to Sean Bormet's squad. Lemley is a three-time state champion, with titles one and three coming in Illinois, and an Indiana state championship sandwiched in between. Over the last year, Lemley has had an excellent run at national-level events. He made the Fargo Junior freestyle national finals last July at 126 lbs, before grabbing fifth at the Super 32. Around the same time, Lemley claimed a title at the IndianaMat Hoosier Preseason Open. During the high school season, Lemley was third at the Walsh Ironman and won the Dvorak and the Chicago Catholic League championship. To win his 2022 state title, Lemley posted a decisive 10-5 victory over Vincent Robinson (Homewood-Flossmoor, IL). Robinson was responsible for Lemley's only loss of the 2021-22 season, when he defeated him in the Ironman semifinals. Currently, Lemley is the #37 overall wrestler in the Class of 2023, though I'd expect him to move up a bit in MatScouts forthcoming Big Board update. He, along with #14 Beau Mantanona (Palm Desert, CA), #28 Caden Horwath (Davison, MI), and #45 Dylan Gilcher (Detroit Central Catholic, MI), form an imposing recruiting class for Michigan. Lemley projects as a 141 lber for the Wolverines. Provided that holds up, it would fill a huge need for Michigan. They only currently have two 141's on the roster and one of them is senior Drew Mattin. Lemley's commitment provides an infusion of talent, while also addressing a possible hole for the team in the future. For all current recruiting information, check out InterMat's College Commitment Page .

Wyatt Henson at the 2022 Southern Scuffle (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) This afternoon, one of the top redshirt freshmen in the transfer portal, Wyatt Henson, made his transfer decision public via social media. Henson spent a year in Iowa City redshirting for the University of Iowa in 2021-22. In the fall of 2022 he'll enroll at Oklahoma and have four years of eligibility remaining for the Sooners. Henson amassed an 18-2 record competing unattached for Iowa in 2021-22. He won titles at the Luther, Lindenwood, and Cyclone Open, before entering Southern Scuffle against DI competitors. Henson took fifth at the Southern Scuffle and suffered his only two losses during his redshirt campaign to the eventual Big 12 finalists Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) and Allan Hart (Missouri). Now moving along to that conference, Henson may have multiple opportunities to overturn those results. Also at the Scuffle, Henson picked up wins over MAC champion Quinn Kinner (Rider) and 2021 national qualifier Angelo Martinoni (CSU Bakersfield). Getting a wrestler of Henson's caliber (#16 recruit in the Class of 2021) is huge for the Sooners as he'll fit in well with their current lineup. Jacob Butler was a returning national qualifier at 141 lbs, but did so with a 9-15 record. At this time, it's not totally clear whether Henson will be at 133 or 141. Henson entered the transfer portal quickly after 2022 All-American Real Woods announced he was transferring from Stanford to Iowa. Norman, Oklahoma is familiar to the Henson family, as Wyatt's father, Sammie, the world champion and Olympic silver medalist, had two coaching stints at the school. First in 1997-2000 and most recently, 2009-11.

Nick Suriano in 2016 (left) and in 2022 (photos courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Earlier this week, InterMat released our re-ranking of the high school Class of 2017 . Typically, five years after graduation is the perfect time to do such an exercise. Because of extra eligibility, due to the Covid year, many wrestlers from the Class of 2017 will still compete in 2022-23, rendering that feature somewhat futile. With that being said, it seemed necessary to revisit last year's feature where Josh Loew re-ranked the high school Class of 2016 . In doing so, we came up with a new #1 wrestler and also had two new faces crack the top five. Here is the new top-25 after collegiate achievements from 2021-22 have been factored into the Class of 2016. Their ranking from the 2021 featured has been bolded after their accomplishments. 1. Nick Suriano (Michigan via Rutgers, Penn State/Bergen Catholic, N.J.) - 2016 high school rank: 2nd - 3x NCAA finalist, 2019 and 2022 NCAA champion; 2x Big Ten champion, undefeated in 2022. 2021 Rank: 4th 2. Mark Hall (Penn State/Apple Valley, Minn.) - 2016 high school rank: 1st - 3x NCAA finalist, 2017 NCAA champion; was seeded 1st in the 2020 NCAA tournament 2021 Rank: 1st 3. Ryan Deakin (Northwestern/Legacy, Colo.) - 2016 high school rank: 95th - 3x NCAA All-American; 2022 undefeated NCAA champion, was seeded 1st in the 2020 NCAA tournament, 3x Big Ten Champion 2021 Rank: 9th 4. Max Dean (Penn State via Cornell/Lowell, Mich.) - 2016 high school rank: 63rd - 3x NCAA All-American, 2022 NCAA champion, 2022 Big Ten Champion, 2019 EIWA champion 2021 Rank: 11th 5. Hayden Hidlay (NC State/Mifflin County, Pa.) - 2016 high school rank: 13th - 4x NCAA All-American, 2018 runner-up; was seeded 2nd in the 2020 NCAA tournament, 4x ACC champion 2021 Rank: 2nd 6. Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers via Northwestern/Christian Brothers Academy, N.J.) - 2016 high school rank: 60th - 4x NCAA All-American; was seeded 1st in the 2020 NCAA tournament, 2x Big Ten champion 2021 Rank: 3rd 7. Evan Wick (Wisconsin/San Marino, Calif.) - 2016 high school rank: 39th - 3x NCAA All-American; was seeded 8th in the 2020 NCAA tournament; seeded 1st at the 2022 NCAA Championships 2021 Rank: 10th 8. Luke Pletcher (Ohio State/Greater Latrobe, Pa.) - 2016 high school rank: 8th - 2x NCAA All-American; was seeded first in the 2020 NCAA tournament; 2020 Big Ten Champion 2021 Rank: 5th 9. Alex Marinelli (Iowa/St. Paris Graham, Ohio) - 2016 high school rank: 3rd - 4x NCAA All-American; was seeded 1st in the 2020 NCAA tournament; Seeded 1st 3x's, 4x Big Ten Champion 2021 Rank: 6th 10. Jack Mueller (Virginia/Trinity Christian Academy, Texas) - 2016 high school rank: 25th - 2x NCAA All-American, 2019 runner-up; round of 12 in 2018; was seeded 4th in the 2020 NCAA tournament 2021 Rank: 7th 11. Jordan Wood (Lehigh/Boyertown, Pa.) - 2016 high school rank: 10th - 2x NCAA All-American, was seeded 9th in the 2020 NCAA tournament, 5x EIWA Champion 2021 Rank: 18th 12. Tariq Wilson (North Carolina State/Steubenville) - 2016 high school rank: 75th - 3x NCAA All-American; round of 12 in 2019; was seeded 15th in the 2020 NCAA tournament, 2x ACC Champion 2021 Rank: 13th 13. Chad Red (Nebraska/New Palestine, Ind.) - 2016 high school rank: 5th - 3x NCAA All-American; was seeded 6th in the 2020 NCAA tournament, 2019 Big Ten runner-up 2021 Rank: 8th 14. Isaiah White (Nebraska via Notre Dame College/Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) - 2016 high school rank: 4th - 2019 NCAA All-American, 2017 NCAA Division II champion ; was seeded 5th in the 2020 NCAA Division I tournament 2021 Rank: 12th 15. Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh/South Park, Pa.) - 2016 high school rank: 33rd - 2021 NCAA runner-up; was seeded 11th in the 2020 NCAA tournament, 3x ACC Champion, 2022 NCAA Round of 12 finisher 2021 Rank: 22nd 16. Kaleb Young (Iowa/Punxsatawney, Pa.) - 2016 high school rank: 26th - 2x NCAA All-American; was seeded 8th in the 2020 NCAA tournament 2021 Rank: 14th 17. Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State via Edinboro/Franklin Area, Pa.) - 2016 high school rank: 30th - 2x NCAA All-American; was seeded 14th in the 2020 NCAA tournament 2021 Rank: 15th 18. Mitch McKee (Minnesota/St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.) - 2016 high school rank: 20th - 2019 NCAA All-American; was seeded 10th in the 2020 NCAA tournament; 2x NCAA Round of 12 finisher 2021 Rank: 16th 19. Taylor Venz (Nebraska/Farmington, Minn.) - 2016 high school rank: weight class only - 2018 NCAA All-American; was seeded 7th in the 2020 NCAA tournament; 3x NCAA Round of 12 finisher 2021 Rank: 17th 20. Matt Stencel (Central Michigan/Oregon Clay, Ohio) - 2016 high school rank: 16th - 2019 NCAA All-American; was seeded 5th in the 2020 NCAA tournament; 5x MAC Champion 2021 Rank: 20th 21. Eric Schultz (Nebraska/Tinley Park, Ill.) - 2016 high school rank: 40th - 2022 NCAA All-American, seeded 3rd in the 2020 NCAA tournament; 3x Big Ten Runner-up, 3x NCAA top-3 seed 2021 Rank: 25th 22. Jarrett Degen (Iowa State via Virginia Tech/Belgrade, Mont.) - 2016 high school rank: 86th - 2019 NCAA All-American; was seeded 8th in the 2020 NCAA tournament; 2018 NCAA Round of 12 finisher 2021 Rank: 19th 23. Drew Hildebrandt (Central Michigan/Penn, Ind.) - 2016 high school rank: weight class only - 2021 NCAA All-American; was seeded 6th in the 2020 NCAA tournament 2021 Rank: 21st 24. Ben Darmstadt (Cornell/Elyria, Ohio) - 2016 high school rank: 28th - 2018 NCAA All-American; was seeded 4th in the 2020 NCAA tournament 2021 Rank: 23rd 25. Taylor Lamont (Utah Valley/Maple Mountain, Utah) - 2016 high school rank: 23rd - 2021 NCAA All-American; round of 12 in 2018; was seeded 17th in the 2020 NCAA tournament, 2021 Big 12 Runner-Up 2021 Rank: 24th For final review, the top 25 overall wrestlers in the Class of 2016 were as follows: 1. Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn./Penn State) 2. Nick Suriano (Bergen Catholic, N.J./Michigan, via Rutgers, Penn State) 3. Alex Marinelli (St. Paris Graham, Ohio/Iowa) 4. Isaiah White (Oak Park River Forest, Ill./Nebraska via Notre Dame College) 5. Chad Red (New Palestine, Ind./Nebraska) 6. Osawaru Odighizuwa (David Douglas, Ore./UCLA football) 7. Mason Manville (Wyoming Seminary, Pa./Penn State) 8. Luke Pletcher (Greater Latrobe, Pa./Ohio State) 9. Nick Reenan (Wyoming Seminary, Pa./NC State) 10. Jordan Wood (Boyertown, Pa./Lehigh) 11. Kamal Bey (Oak Park River Forest, Ill./USOTC for Greco-Roman) 12. Beau Breske (Hartford Area, Wis./Wisconsin via Nebraska) 13. Hayden Hidlay (Mifflin County, Pa./NC State) 14. Samuel Colbray (Hermiston, Ore./Iowa State) 15. Luke Karam (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa./Lehigh) 16. Matt Stencel (Oregon Clay, Ohio/Central Michigan) 17. Griffin Parriott (New Prague, Minn./Purdue) 18. Thomas Bullard (Archer, Ga./North Carolina State) 19. Chris Weiler (Wyoming Seminary, Pa./Wisconsin via Lehigh) 20. Mitch McKee (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn./Minnesota) 21. Blake Rypel (Indianapolis Cathedral, Ind./Southeastern University via Indiana) 22. Micky Phillippi (Derry, Pa./Pittsburgh via Virginia) 23. Taylor Lamont (Maple Mountain, Utah/Utah Valley) 24. Rudy Yates (Carl Sandburg, Ill./Northern Iowa) 25. Jack Mueller (Trinity Christian Academy, Texas/Virginia)

Missouri after the 2022 Big 12 Championships (photo courtesy of Mark Lundy; LutteLens.com) In March, we wrapped up another wrestling season. Here, I thought I'd take a look at some highs, and some lows, for every team in the Big 12 this past year. Air Force High Point-Wyatt Hendrickson wins Big 12 Low Point-Air Force does not get an All-American in 2022 Wyatt Hendrickson made history for Air Force wrestling this season becoming the first Big 12 Champion in program history and finishing the regular season and Big 12 tournament with an unblemished record. Conversely, all the hype and excitement surrounding Wyatt's performance to that point, had most Air Force fans looking for their first All-American since 2003, when Kevin Hoy finished as the NCAA runner-up. That didn't happen, and though Hendrickson's performance during the season and Big 12 tournament was incredible, the NCAA tournament left a bit of a bad taste. Utah Valley High Point-Second Best Attendance Ever vs. Oklahoma State Low Point-Losing Demetrius Romero to Injury Setting attendance marks is something all programs constantly strive to do. On December 20th, when Oklahoma State traveled to Utah Valley, the Wolverines had their second-best crowd ever on hand with 3,522, only behind a Penn State dual in 2012 where a return to Utah for Cael Sanderson topped this. Losing Demetrius Romero to injury was a dagger for Utah Valley this season. I personally had him picked to win the Big 12 in my preseason predictions. Just really tough to see a program miss out on a guy like him that could set historical marks for their team. West Virginia High Point-Hall finishes as All-American Low Point-6-8 Dual Season West Virginia had two great postseason performances. Killian Cardinale won the Big 12 tournament and Peyton Hall finished as an All-American for the Mountaineers. On the flipside, their dual season wasn't great. They went 6-8 on the year and 1-6 in the Big 12. They seem to have the guys that can win big things, the conference tournament, All-American honors, etc.… But they haven't developed the kind of depth that wins a lot of duals yet. Oklahoma High Point-The Big 12 tournament Low Point-Dom Demas Enters Portal I don't know what it is about Lou Rosselli's teams, but they always seem to wrestle their best in Tulsa at the Big 12 tournament. After bringing home a share of the conference tournament in 2021, they finished runner up to Missouri in 2022 and received automatic bids for nine of their wrestlers. The Sooners lost one of their top guys this season. After filling in briefly at 149, Dom Demas missed the rest of the year then entered the transfer portal in February. Tough for the Sooners to lose a two-time All-American and their “Most Outstanding Wrestler” from the 2020 season. Iowa State High Point-Dual Season Low Point-Postseason In a year where the Big 12 team race was as wide open as it's been in the last decade, Iowa State emerged as the favorite heading into the tournament after an undefeated conference dual season and a 15-1 overall record with their only loss coming to then #1 Iowa. With the lofty expectations created by their regular season, the postseason was a bit of a disappointment. They finished third in the Big 12 tournament behind Missouri and OU, both who they beat in duals during the season. Then the NCAA tournament was marred by an early loss for David Carr, who many had pegged as one of the heaviest favorites to repeat as a National Champion. South Dakota State High Point-Dual win over Missouri Low Point-Central Michigan loss In January, South Dakota State went to Missouri and knocked off the eventual Big 12 Champions 21-12 in one of the bigger dual wins in program history. The next day, with all that momentum, hype, etc… they dropped a dual to Central Michigan in Edwardsville. This wasn't that bad of a loss. Central Michigan is good, matched up well with SDSU, and picked up a few key upsets to win. But the fact that it comes off one of the bigger wins in program history, is a tough pill to swallow. North Dakota State High Point-Win over Wyoming 22-14 Low Point-32-3 dual loss to South Dakota State Wyoming and North Dakota State at Wyoming in January was one of the marquee duals for the conference at the time. A massive upset and pin for Owen Pentz over Stephen Buchanan was the catalyst that pushed NDSU over Wyoming to give them one of their biggest wins of the season. On the flipside, the Bison were taken behind the woodshed when they wrestled their rivals South Dakota State to close out the dual season. A 32-3 loss to your biggest rival never goes over well. Oklahoma State High Point-Everything before January 24th Low Point-January 24th and everything following If there's a clear event that defined Oklahoma State's wrestling season, it's AJ Ferrari's rollover accident on January 24th. Thankfully, Ferrari ultimately walked away fine when considering the severity of the accident, but that was a clear turning point in the season for Oklahoma State. They were 11-0 leading up to the accident and closed out the rest of the season with a 3-4 record including losses to Northern Iowa, Iowa State, Missouri, and Iowa, and one of the worst finishes in program history at the NCAA Tournament. Northern Iowa High Point-19-15 win over Oklahoma State Low Point-4 Loss dual streak to start the season. In many ways, Northern Iowa's season had the opposite pattern of Oklahoma State's. They faced a gauntlet of a dual stretch to start the season with Missouri, Virginia Tech, Cornell, and Penn State, then started to turn things around a bit before a historic win over then #3 Oklahoma State in Stillwater on January 29th. They picked up three more solid dual wins to close out the year, then qualified seven for the NCAA tournament and crowned one All-American. Missouri High Point-Big 12 Title Low Point-Four dual losses Missouri returned to the Big 12 with a bang by taking the conference title and crowning the 165-pound NCAA champion with Keegan O'Toole. Both could certainly be described as the high point of the season, but I went with the Big 12 because of the entire team effort in the process. The low point was a bit of a lackluster dual season that included four losses to teams they reasonably could have beaten in Virginia Tech, NC State, South Dakota State, and Iowa State. Wyoming High Point-Stephen Buchanan's Season Low Point-Loss of Brian Andrews Wyoming came into the season with a lot of hype. They finished fourth at the Big 12 tournament last season, scoring their most points ever at the tournament. They also returned four Big 12 finalists and were considered a potential dark horse to win the Big 12 at the beginning of the season. The loss of their heavyweight and last year's Big 12 runner-up Brian Andrews to injury started them off on a sour note that they never seemed to recover from, but the bright spot was Stephen Buchanan's Big 12 title and third place finish at the NCAA tournament. Northern Colorado High Point-Andrew Alirez's Big 12 Title Low Point-Alirez's bloodround finish With any wrestling program it's tough to make history, but Alirez did that for Northern Colorado by winning the program's first ever Big 12 title. He had a chance to make some more by becoming their first All-American since 2010, a few weeks later. He came just one match short of that, giving up a fall to Minnesota's Jakob Bergeland in the bloodround, after going up 2-0 early in the match. It's a tough way to end the season for Alirez, but he'll have a chance to make some more history for the Bears next season and moving forward.

Clay Guida at the Garlic City Rumble in Gilroy, California (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The MMA schedule keeps moving and as always there will be plenty of wrestlers in action. Bellator has shows on both Friday and Saturday, while the UFC will hold down their regular Saturday night time slot. The following is a look at some of the top wrestlers in action on those shows. Friday - Bellator 278 Danny Sabatello vs. Jornel Lugo Sabatello was a three-time NCAA qualifier for Purdue who finished his eligibility in 2016. As a senior, he went 20-18 and picked up key wins over Anthony Abidin (Nebraska), Tommy Thorn (Minnesota) and Zach Finesilver (Duke). Sabatello made his MMA debut in 2018. After a win in his Bellator debut last year, he holds an 11-1 record. His opponent signed with Bellator in 2019 after only two professional fights. Lugo's record currently stands at 8-0, and he last fought in February when he picked up a decision victory over Brian Moore. Dante Schiro vs. Scotty Hao Schiro will be looking for a bounce-back here after dropping a split decision against fellow wrestler Logan Storley in his Bellator debut last August. After a prep career at Madison's La Follette, Schiro spent his college days at Wisconsin Whitewater where he was part of the wrestling and soccer team. He has been fighting as a professional since 2018 and currently has an 8-3 record. Schiro will get a much more manageable opponent in his Bellator return fight. Hao has a 5-3, and he has dropped three of his last five fights. Makoa Cooper vs. Blake Perry Expect the Hawaii crowd to get behind Cooper in this one. He is the son of MMA veteran Ray Cooper, and the brother of PFL champion Ray Cooper III. Not only was Cooper a state champion wrestler in Hawaii, but he has been joined in that accomplishment by his father, three brothers and his sister. This will be his second professional fight after he won his debut last month over Ratavious Thrasher at Titan FC 74. For his Bellator debut, Cooper will face off against a fellow wrestler. Perry wrestled on the collegiate level for Baldwin Wallace. This will be his professional debut after he went 5-3 as an amateur. Perry lost three of his first five amateur fights including a loss against Makoa's brother Blake. However, he finished his amateur run on a four-fight winning streak. Bellator 278 takes place Friday night. Cooper, Perry and Schiro will all fight on the undercard, which airs live on Bellator's YouTube page at 8:00pm ET. Sabatello's fight will be part of the main card, which is scheduled to begin at 10:00pm ET on Showtime. Saturday - UFC Vegas 52 Clay Guida vs. Claudio Puelles For the 59th time in his MMA career, Guida will step into the cage to fight. The veteran started his career back in 2003, but prior to that, he spent his time on the wrestling mats. The former Harper College wrestler is coming off a win over Leonardo Santos last December. Guida also scored a victory over Billy Quarantillo in a grappling match two weeks after his last MMA win. On Saturday, he faces off against Puelles who is 11-2 overall and 4-1 in the UFC since joining the promotion in 2016. Montana De La Rosa vs. Maycee Barber On the high school level, De La Rosa was a strong competitor and placed as high as fifth at Cadet nationals. She was offered a scholarship by Oklahoma City, but she transferred back to her home in Texas shortly after enrolling. De La Rosa has been fighting in the UFC since competing on the 26th season of "The Ultimate Fighter" and has a 5-2 record with the promotion. In this bout, she will face off against Barber who holds a 9-2 record despite only being 23 years old. Alexandr Romanov vs. Chase Sherman Romanov represents Moldova on the international wrestling scene, and has been active recently. He competed at both the 2019 World Championships as well as the 2021 Olympic Qualification tournament. Romanov's best result was a bronze medal at the 2016 World University Championships. He is scheduled to fight Sherman who has a 15-9 record and has been in and out of the UFC since 2016. Lando Vannata vs. Charles Jourdain Vannata went 88-15 over his last two seasons of high school wrestling and finished fifth in the state of Florida as a senior. He then continued his wrestling career at UT Chattanooga, but he dropped out after a single semester. Less than two years later in 2012, Vannata made his professional MMA debut. He won his first seven fights before signing with the UFC in 2016. Vannata has gone 4-5-2 in the UFC and 12-5-2 overall. On Saturday, he faces off against Jourdain who is 12-4 and has been fighting in the UFC since 2019. The entire UFC Vegas 52 show will air live on ESPN+. All of the wrestlers will be part of the main card, which airs live at 9:00pm ET. Saturday - Bellator 279 Juan Archuleta vs. Raufeon Stots This Bellator bantamweight tournament bout is probably the biggest match between former wrestlers this weekend. Archuleta was a two-time California Community College champion for Sacramento City and then transferred to Purdue. As a junior at the Big Ten school, he finished fourth in the conference and qualified for the 2009 NCAA tournament. Archuleta made his MMA debut in 2013 and won 23 of his first 24 fights. In 2020, he defeated Patchy Mix to claim the Bellator bantamweight title but dropped it in his next fight against current champion Sergio Pettis. Stots started his collegiate wrestling career at Labette where he was a two-time NJCAA qualifier and one-time All-American. He then transferred to Nebraska-Kearney where he was a two-time NCAA Division II champion. After finishing his college career in 2013, Stots made his professional MMA debut in 2015. He has started his career with a 17-1 record with his only loss coming against UFC contender Merab Dvalishvili. Kai Kamaka III vs. Justin Gonzales Kamaka was a Hawaii state champion who continued his wrestling career at Midland University. He made his professional MMA debut in 2012 and signed with the UFC in 2020. Kamaka left the promotion in 2021 after going 1-2-1. He returned to Bellator last December and won a decision over John de Jesus. Now, he faces off against Gonzales who has experience facing former wrestlers. Last year, he defeated former Ohio wrestler Tywan Claxton and lost against Aaron Pico. Kamaka's fight will be part of the preliminary card, which airs live on Bellator's YouTube page at 8:00pm ET. The main card, which will feature Archuleta vs. Stotts, begins at 10:00pm ET on Showtime.

2021 NCAA All-American Michael Beard (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Welcome to another edition of the Jagger Bag. Hope you all had a good holiday weekend but now it's time to get back to some wrestling. We kick things off with the National Freestyle Duals this weekend followed by the big guns at the US Open next week. The last month has felt like an age and I'm excited to see mat action again. From Cadets to Seniors the country seems to be more loaded than ever and we should all just enjoy the amount of talent we get to see. Many questions will be answered in the next few weeks. And since that's also what I do, let's get to some. Who's a darkhorse college guy who can make Final X? Lee C. I'm very interested in seeing where Carson Kharchla stands with the big boys at 74kg. There may be a new crop of challengers for two-time World Champ Kyle Dake and Carson may very be the guy left standing when the smoke clears. If he's even competing. You never quite know until it's tournament time. Editor's note: Here are the current entries for the US Open in Senior Men's Freestyle. As of now, Kharchla has not entered, but he still has time. Where does Michael Beard end up now that he is in the portal? @Obrats Michael Beard may be the guy with the most potential to enter the portal this year. It's insane that he has three years left since his first match was against a sophomore Greg Bulsak in 2019. With an AA already on his resume, and four years of college experience with three to go, I don't think we will ever see this kind of situation play out again. Throw in the alleged bags of cash and Beard is in an excellent situation to maximize his worth. I'd like to see him uphold his original commitment and return to Northwestern, but it's really anyone's guess where he ends up. My guess is Michigan. Find me a more perfect storyline than a guy losing his spot only to transfer to a rival, that just happens to be the home state of the guy who beat him, just to challenge him on the big stage. Who is your celebrity crush? Who is your celebrity look alike? @AustinSommer Meemaw from Young Sheldon. Annie Potts all day baby! Also, people used to say I look like Tom Green but I don't see it. Is Vito a darkhorse? FinishedNumber Vitali Arujau is a threat to win any tournament he enters on American soil. One of these days he will breakthrough. What are your thoughts on Rutgers (the mecca of Italian wrestling)? @SethPetar Messina Olivieri Raimo Cetta Fongaro DeSantis Soldano Casale Esposito Colucci And those are just the guys who are Italian on their dads' side. I know some of the other guys have to have some Italian moms, too. It's Jersey, everyone's a little Italian. Can anyone tell me what happened to OSU's Echemendia this year? @buckeyenomo Much like your handle, he's a buckeye no mo. Currently in the transfer portal, I'd be mildly shocked if he gets picked up by another school. I'm also not so sure his current "sponsorship" falls under NIL guidelines.

Spencer Lee in high school (left) and at Iowa (photos courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) One of the longstanding traditions at InterMat is the re-ranking of high school recruiting classes five years after the wrestlers enrolled in college. Wrestlers are re-ranked based on the accomplishments racked up during their collegiate tenure. During normal circumstances, this would encompass almost all of the wrestlers in the Class of 2017. But we aren't in a typical stretch of wrestling seasons. Due to the extra year of eligibility after Covid, the bulk of the wrestlers below have at least another year of competition on the books. With another season's worth of accomplishments, there could be some shuffling on this list were it to be revisited a year from now. As far as recruiting classes go, it's hard to top 2017. There are three multiple-time NCAA champions already (and counting…), along with two other champions and four national finalists. Looking back at the original top-ten (from 2017), all ten wrestlers qualified for the NCAA tournament at least once and eight have earned All-American honors. Below are the wrestlers from the Class of 2017 re-ranked after five years in college. Below the top-25 and honorable mentions, you'll find the original rankings of this class, from 2017. 1. Spencer Lee (Iowa/Franklin Regional, PA) - 2017 high school rank: 2nd - 3x NCAA Champion, 2x Big Ten Champion, 2x Hodge Trophy winner 2. Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell/Hilton, NY) - 2017 high school rank: 3rd - 3x NCAA Champion, 3x EIWA Champion 3. Nick Lee (Penn State/Mater Dei, IN) - 2017 high school rank: 9th - 2x NCAA Champion, 5x All-American, 4x NCAA All-American, 2022 Big Ten Champion 4. Daton Fix (Oklahoma State/Sand Springs, OK) - 2017 high school rank: 1st - 3x NCAA Runner-Up, 3x Big 12 Champion, 2x NCAA #1 seed 5. Austin O'Connor (North Carolina/St. Rita, IL) - 2017 high school rank: 12th - 2021 NCAA Champion, 4x All-American, 3x NCAA All-American, 2x ACC Champion 6. Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech/Bound Brook, NJ) - 2017 high school rank: 19th - 2019 NCAA Champion, 2x NCAA Finalist, 2x NCAA All-American, 2x ACC Champion 7. Jacob Warner (Iowa/Washington, IL) - 2017 high school rank: 7th - 2022 NCAA Runner-Up, 4x All-American, 3x NCAA All-American, 3x Big Ten 3rd place 8. Vito Arujau (Cornell/Syosset, NY) - 2017 high school rank: 4th - 2x NCAA All-American, 2022 EIWA Champion, 2022 NCAA #2 seed 9. Austin DeSanto (Iowa via Drexel/Exeter, PA) - 2017 high school rank: 17th - 4x All-American, 3x NCAA All-American, 2x Big Ten Runner-Up 10. Brandon Courtney (Arizona State/Desert Edge, AZ) - 2017 high school rank: 76th - 3x All-American, 2x NCAA All-American, 2021 NCAA Runner-Up, 3x Pac-12 Champion 11. Mike Labriola (Nebraska/Bethlehem Catholic, PA) - 2017 high school rank: 5th - 4x All-American, 3x NCAA All-American 12. Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh/Bethel Park, PA) - 2017 high school rank: 30th - 2x All-American, 2021 NCAA Runner-Up, 2x ACC Champion 13. Michael McGee (Arizona State via Old Dominion/Plainfield East, IL) - 2017 high school rank: 99th - 2x NCAA All-American, 3x conference champion (1x Pac-12/2x MAC) 14. Jonathan Millner (Appalachian State/Ben Smith, NC) - 2017 high school rank: NR - 2x NCAA All-American, 3x SoCon Champion 15. Trent Hillger (Wisconsin/Lake Fenton, MI) - 2017 high school rank: 21st - 3x All-American, 2x NCAA All-American 16. Jake Woodley (Oklahoma/North Allegheny, PA) - 2017 high school rank: 18th - 2021 NCAA 6th, 2019 Big 12 3rd 17. Grant Willits (Oregon State/Pueblo County, CO) - 2017 high school rank: 61st - 2022 NCAA 4th Place, 2x Pac-12 Champion 18. Austin Gomez (Wisconsin via Iowa State/Glenbard North, IL) - 2017 high school rank: 11th - 2022 NCAA 4th Place, 2022 Big Ten Champion 19. Yahya Thomas (Northwestern/Mount Carmel, IL) - 2017 high school rank: NR - 2021 NCAA 3rd Place, 3x National Qualifier 20. Kaleb Romero (Ohio State/Mechanicsburg, OH) - 2017 high school rank: 16th - 2022 NCAA 6th Place, 3x National Qualifier 21. Hunter Willits (Oregon State/Pueblo County, CO) - 2017 high school rank: 29th - 2022 NCAA 7th Place, 4x Pac-12 Runner-Up 22. Patrick Brucki (Michigan via Princeton/Carl Sandburg, IL) - 2017 high school rank: 35th - 2019 NCAA 4th Place, 2019 EIWA Champion, 2022 Big Ten 3rd Place 23. Dom Demas (Oklahoma/Dublin Coffman, OH) - 2017 high school rank: 43rd - 2x All-American, 2019 NCAA 4th Place, 2x Big 12 Champion 24. Ethan Smith (Ohio State/Sparrows Point, MD) - 2017 high school rank: 33rd -2021 NCAA 5th Place, 2021 Big Ten Runner-Up 25. Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech/Christiansburg, VA) - 2017 high school rank: 50th - 2x All-American, 2021 NCAA 7th Place, 2020 ACC Champion ***Honorable Mentions*** (in alphabetical order) Noah Adams (West Virginia/Independence, WV) - 2017 high school rank; 27th - 3x NCAA Qualifier, #2 seed at 2020 NCAA's, 2020 All-American Brady Berge (Penn State/Kasson-Mantorville, MN) - 2017 high school rank: 6th - 3x NCAA Qualifier, 2021 NCAA Round of 12 finisher, 2022 Big Ten 3rd Place Jake Bergeland (Minnesota/Centennial, MN) - 2017 high school rank: NR - 2022 NCAA 7th Place, 2022 Big Ten 3rd Place Cameron Caffey (Michigan State/Carbondale, IL) - 2017 high school rank: NR - 2020 All-American, 4x National Qualifier, 2021 NCAA Round of 12 finisher, 2020 Big Ten Runner-Up Killian Cardinale (West Virginia via Old Dominion/Brentsville, VA) - 2017 high school rank: NR - 2021 NCAA 7th Place, 2022 Big 12 Champion, 2022 NCAA #5 seed Marcus Coleman (Iowa State/Ames, IA) - 2017 high school rank: 78th - 2022 NCAA 7th Place, 2022 Big 12 3rd Place Louie DePrez (Binghamton/Hilton, NY) - 2017 high school rank: 8th - 2021 NCAA 8th Place, 3x EIWA Champion Rayvon Foley (Michigan State/Pioneer, MI) - 2017 high school rank: NR - 2019 NCAA 7th Place, 2021 Big Ten 3rd Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State/Heritage Hall, OK) - 2017 high school rank: 15th - 2x NCAA qualifier, 2022 NCAA Round of 12 finisher, 2x Big 12 Champion Clay Lautt (North Carolina/St. James Academy, KS) - 2017 high school rank: NR - 2022 NCAA 8th Place, 2020 ACC Champion Max Murin (Iowa/Central Cambria, PA) - 2017 high school rank: 44th - 4x NCAA Qualifier, 3x NCAA Round of 12 finisher, 2022 Big Ten 3rd Place Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State/Marian Catholic, IL) - 2017 high school rank: 46th - 2020 NWCA 2nd Team All-American, 4x NCAA Qualifier, 2021 NCAA Round of 12 finisher, 4x Pac-12 Champion Zach Sherman (North Carolina/Blair Academy, NJ) - 2017 high school rank: 48th - 2021 NCAA 7th Place, 2020 ACC Champion Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois/Mexico, MO) - 2017 high school rank: NR - 2021 NCAA 6th Place, 3x MAC Champion High profile seniors with notable wrestling success outside of NCAA Division I: #45 Nick Boykin (Riverdale, TN) - Junior and U23 World Team member in Greco-Roman #56 Wyatt Wriedt (North Scott, IA/Nebraska/Loras) - 2021 NWCA DIII National Champion #82 Paxton Rosen (Edmond, OK/Campbell/Central Oklahoma) - 2x DII All-American For final review, the top 25 overall wrestlers in the Class of 2017 were as follows: 1. Daton Fix (Sand Springs, OK/Oklahoma State) 2. Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional, PA/Iowa) 3. Yianni Diakomihalis (Hilton, NY/Cornell) 4. Vito Arujau (Syosset, NY/Cornell) 5. Mikey Labriola (Bethlehem Catholic, PA/Nebraska) 6. Brady Berge (Kasson-Mantorville, MN/Penn State) 7. Jacob Warner (Washington, IL/Iowa) 8. Louie DePrez (Hilton, NY/Binghamton) 9. Nick Lee (Mater Dei, IN/Penn State) 10. Chase Singletary (Blair Academy, NJ/Ohio State) 11. Austin Gomez (Carol Stream, IL/Wisconsin via Iowa State) 12. Austin O'Connor (St. Rita, IL/North Carolina) 13. Cam Coy (Penn Trafford, PA/Virginia) 14. Quentin Hovis (Poway, CA/Navy) 15. Kaden Gfeller (Heritage Hall, OK/Oklahoma State) 16. Kaleb Romero (Mechanicsburg, OH/Ohio State) 17. Austin Desanto (Exeter, PA/Iowa via Drexel) 18. Jake Woodley (North Allegheny, PA/Oklahoma) 19. Mekhi Lewis (Bound Brook, NJ/Virginia Tech) 20. Jarod Verkleeren (Belle Vernon, PA/Virginia via Penn State) 21. Trent Hillger (Lake Fenton, MI/Wisconsin) 22. Tanner Litterell (Tuttle, OK/Oklahoma) 23. Zack Donathan (Mason, OH/Lincoln College) 24. John Borst (Sherando, VA/Virginia Tech) 25. Jake Allar (St. Michael/Albertville, MN/Minnesota)

Bloomsburg, Pa. -- Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Mansfield universities have received NCAA approval to proceed with their plan to retain a full complement of NCAA athletic programs on the campuses that currently host them. Each campus will maintain its full menu sports offerings and remain wholly independent of each other. All athletic programs will continue to use their respective location name, existing logos, colors, mascots, and traditions. "I extend our thanks to our NCAA colleagues and the Membership Committee for its consideration and approval of our plan to maintain the full complement of athletic teams at Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Mansfield," said Bashar W. Hanna, president of Bloomsburg University and interim president of Lock Haven and Mansfield universities. "Through our collaboration, we've ensured that our student-athletes have the opportunity to compete as they do today. Intercollegiate athletics hold a special place as part of the fabric of each of our campus communities and institutional brands. Together we can confidently move forward into the 2022-23 academic year and beyond - to cheer on the Huskies, Bald Eagles, and Mounties." "The NCAA's decision is another major decision toward building these powerhouse institutions and is great news for our universities, our system, Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, and above all, our student-athletes," said Dr. Daniel Greenstein, chancellor of Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education. "I congratulate President Bashar Hanna, students, faculty, staff, and trustees at Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Mansfield for this accomplishment. The excitement of intercollegiate athletics will continue for players and fans when the integrated university begins enrolling students in August." "Today is a great day for the Bloomsburg Huskies athletic department after the months-long integration discussions to announce that we are remaining intact as planned from the start," said Michael McFarland, director of athletics at Bloomsburg. "To our current student-athletes, future Huskies, coaches, and alumni, we are excited about retaining our brand while still offering a solid athletic program with expanded academic opportunities for recruits. It is a great day to be a Husky." Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Mansfield are charter members of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) and compete primarily at the NCAA Division II level. Bloomsburg sponsors 23 varsity athletic programs including an NCAA Division I men's wrestling program that competes in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). Lock Haven sponsors 21 varsity athletic programs including Division I men's wrestling and field hockey. The men's wrestling program is an affiliate member of the MAC and the field hockey team competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10). Mansfield sponsors 13 varsity athletic programs including sprint football, which is a member of the Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL). The integration of Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Mansfield universities is a bold investment in the communities and people of Pennsylvania with the mission to expand high-quality, affordable academic opportunities to support the needs of all learners. First proposed in September 2020, the integration plan received initial approval by the institutional accrediting agency, Middle States Commission on Higher Education in March 2022. The three institutions will officially unite as Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania on July 1, 2022, though each will retain their respective location name - Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Mansfield - maintaining existing logos, colors, mascots, and traditions. Existing foundations and alumni associations will remain separate and continue to support their respective campuses. Donors can continue to designate funds to support programs or a campus of their choosing.

New Edinboro Fighting Scot Luke Kemerer (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) It's always been a staple of the collegiate offseason, but with the advent of the transfer portal, keeping track of wrestlers who have found new homes can be difficult to do. Over the spring, summer, and most likely, into the fall, we'll keep a running list of who's going where on the transfer front. As team's finalize their Class of 2022's in the coming weeks, expect to see more updates. For now, here's what we've heard on the DI transfer front.

Nick Lee at the Olympic Trials (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Considering the style is not really contested on the senior level, an NCAA Division I title is probably the richest prize in all of folkstyle wrestling. While it is a huge accomplishment in its own right, finishing first at the NCAA tournament also qualifies a competitor for the subsequent World Team Trials. There are some solid arguments against the NCAA tournament being a qualifier. For example, it is an entirely different style. Many of the country's top young stars are competing extensively in freestyle already, so in many cases, NCAA champions have already qualified. However, the majority of wrestling fans seem to enjoy seeing the top college stars on the freestyle, and occasionally Greco, scene, so the qualification spot is not likely to disappear. In that spirit, let's take a look back at the performances of NCAA champions in the World/Olympic trials immediately following the last five college tournaments. 2021 Six of the 10 champions from the 2021 NCAA tournament chose to enter the Olympic Trials. At heavyweight, Gable Steveson defeated Tanner Hall and Greg Kerkvliet to make the finals. He then bested Nick Gwiazdowski in the best-of-three series to win a spot on the team. From there, Steveson went on an incredible run in Tokyo and captured Olympic gold. Nick Lee placed third at 65 kg with his only loss coming against eventual tournament champion Jordan Oliver. The then-junior picked up three-straight victories over fellow NCAA champions, Nahshon Garrett, Zain Retherford and Yianni Diakomihalis, on the backside to finish in third. David Carr, Aaron Brooks, Carter Starocci and AJ Ferrari all failed to place. Brooks did pick up a pair of impressive victories over veterans Nate Jackson and Sammy Brooks, but he was ultimately eliminated on the backside by Pat Downey. Spencer Lee, Roman Bravo-Young, Austin O'Connor and Shane Griffith were the four champions who chose not to participate in the Olympic Trials. 2019 Yianni Diakomihalis not only qualified for the World Team Trials in 2019 via the NCAA tournament, but he also then earned the opportunity to sit in Final X thanks to a gold medal performance at the U.S. Open. He ran through Retherford, Oliver and Frank Molinaro on the way to that tournament title and then followed that up with a victory over Bajrang Punia at Beat the Streets. Despite that momentum, Diakomihalis came up short against Retherford in the best-of-three series at Final X. After a controversial finish in the second match, a special wrestle-off was ordered for June. Retherford won, once again, and took the sport on the World team at 65 kg. Bo Nickal also won the U.S. Open in 2019 at 92 kg. Since J'den Cox was already sitting in the Final X finals, Nickal's victory only earned him a spot in the challenge tournament finals. The then-Penn State wrestler defeated fellow former NCAA champion Michael Macchiavello to advance to Final X. There Nickal ran into Cox and dropped a pair of matches. Zahid Valencia (79 kg), Jason Nolf (74 kg) and Anthony Ashnault (70 kg) all made the finals of the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament. However, all three ran into veteran competitors and their progress toward the World team was stopped there. Drew Foster also entered the Trials in 2019 and failed to place. Lee, Nick Suriano, Mekhi Lewis and Anthony Cassar did not compete in the Trials process in 2019 despite earning a spot via the NCAA tournament. 2018 Back in 2018 only three NCAA champions took part in the World Team Trials process. The highlight, of course, was Kyle Snyder at 97 kg. Prior to the start of his senior year at Ohio State, Snyder won his third World/Olympic title at the 2017 World Championships. This allowed him to sit in the finals of Final X with or without an NCAA title. He won his third-straight NCAA title and then beat rival Kyven Gadson in back-to-back matches to make yet another World team. Valencia walked off the college mats and promptly won the challenge tournament at 79 kg. He defeated former Maryland All-American Josh Asper and then won two-straight matches over former Hodge Trophy winner Alex Dieringer to make Final X. He then faced off against Kyle Dake in a three-match series to determine the World team representative. Dake won the series in two-straight matches, but Valencia did manage to keep it close in the second bout and lost by only one point. Seth Gross entered the 61 kg Challenge Tournament. He won his first match over Darrius Little. In true Gross fashion, it was a high-scoring shootout, and he walked away with a 12-11 victory. However, Gross dropped his next match against Garrett and was ultimately eliminated by Jon Morrison in the consolation bracket. 2017 The year was a particularly strong year for collegiate champions at the World Team Trials. While six of the NCAA champions entered the Trials, three eventually made the team and two brought home medals. Fresh off his second NCAA title, Snyder advanced straight to the finals thanks to his 2016 Olympic gold medal. There he faced off against Gadson, and he dominated the series. Not only did the Ohio State wrestler sweep the two-match series, but he also outscored Gadson 13-2. Snyder would go on to win another gold at the 2017 World Championships. In the finals, he handed Abdulrashid Sadualev one of only two losses in his 146-match senior career. Cox also found himself sitting in the Trials finals after securing a bronze medal at the previous Olympics. David Taylor worked his way through the bracket and set up one of the best Senior-level rivalries in the sport. Taylor won the first bout of the three-match series via a 9-3 score, but Cox was able to control the last two bouts with his defense and earned the spot on the team with 4-3 and 5-3 victories respectively. Cox would go on to win another bronze medal at the 2017 World tournament. Retherford was the third NCAA champion to make the 2017 World team. After winning his second of three college titles, he defeated Jaydin Eierman, Nick Dardanes and Bernard Futrell to make the finals. Waiting for him in the finals was 2016 Olympian Frank Molinaro. In the all-Penn State best-of-three series, Molinaro won the first match, but Retherford stormed back with a 6-0 shutout and a 7-4 victory in the rubber match. Darian Cruz and Dean Heil both entered the 2017 Trials but failed to place at the event. 2016 After winning a surprise gold medal at the 2015 World Championships, Snyder made a late return to college in 2016. He made his season debut on Jan. 17 and wrestled only three matches before the Big Ten tournament. Snyder went on to win his first NCAA title over Nick Gwiazdowski. He then became one of the seven NCAA champions to enter the 2016 Olympic Trials. Snyder advanced straight to the finals where he bested Jake Varner in a three-match series. Varner won the first match via criteria as the final score was 4-4. However, Snyder then won two-straight matches to make the team. He would go on to become the youngest Olympic gold medalist in American wrestling history. Cox won his second NCAA title in 2016 and the cut down to 86 kg for the Olympic Trials. He defeated Clayton Foster, Jake Herbert, and Keith Gavin to make the finals. There he faced off against Dake who had bulked up to avoid Jordan Burroughs at 74 kg. Cox set the tone in the first match with an 8-1 victory. Dake evened things with a 5-3 victory in the second match. Ultimately, Cox would reverse that result in the deciding match as he completed a 5-3 decision and qualified for his first Senior-level team. The Missouri wrestler would then go on to win the Olympic Qualification Tournament to qualify the weight for Brazil. Cox then brought home a bronze medal with victories over veterans Alireza Karimi of Iran and Refineries Salas of Cuba. Retherford and Dieringer both finished third at the Trials at 65 kg and 74 kg respectively. Heil, Garrett, and Nico Megaludis would also enter the event, but failed to place.

SIUE head coach Jeremy Spates (center) with Daryl Thomas (right) (photo courtesy of SIUE athletics) It may have flown under the radar as the hire was officially announced during the opening week of the 2021-22 collegiate wrestling season, but SIU Edwardsville bringing Edwardsville native Daryl Thomas home and to the Cougar coaching staff could prove to be a stroke of genius for head coach Jeremy Spates. Thomas and the members of the SIUE coaching staff have hit the recruiting trail hard and are getting some excellent verbal commitments. Thomas joined the SIUE staff after spending the previous two seasons at Campbell. Before that, Thomas assisted at Old Dominion, which is where he really developed a reputation for being a top-flight recruiter. Last week, SIU Edwardsville received its second verbal from a top-100 prospect from the Class of 2023. It was their third out of the top-150. For comparison's sake, the Cougars only signed three Big Board'ers from 2018 to 2021. The team may have taken some lumps on the mat in 2021-22, going 1-14 and not having any national qualifiers this season, but that hasn't mattered on the recruiting front, as the Cougar staff has been able to sell their program to talented high school juniors and seniors. The latest commit for SIUE is Braxton Strick (Ozark, MO), who is currently ranked #79 overall in the Class of 2023. Strick is a three-time Missouri Class 4 state placewinner. Each year, he has improved by a step on the state podium, topping out as a state champion in 2022. Last summer, Strick was eighth in Fargo's 16U Greco-Roman national tournament. Strick joins #86 Santino Robinson (Mascoutah, IL) and #137 Brock Woodcock (St. Clair, MO) as rising seniors that have already pledged to SIUE. Robinson is an Illinois state runner-up, while Woodcock is a two-time Missouri state champion that was recently third at NHSCA Junior Nationals. Just because SIUE has all the makings of an excellent Class of 2023, don't think that the Cougar staff will have to wait another year to reap the rewards of a remarkable recruiting class. Frankly, the 2022 class is going to be solid itself. Two of the top 250 seniors have inked with SIUE, #189 Daniel Guanajuato (Valiant Prep, AZ) and #234 Bradley Gillum (Dekalb, IL). Guanajuato was third at both UWW Cadets in freestyle, along with Fargo's Juniors. His Fargo placement came at 106 lbs, while he was 48 kg for UWW's. If Guanajuato can grow into a full-sized college 125, he'll be a steal for the SIUE staff. Gillium was a double AA in Fargo at the 16U level in 2019, including a title in Greco, and was seventh in Junior Greco last summer. Gillum was a two-time Illinois state runner-up and a champion at the open state tournament in 2021. Though not on the Senior Big Board, Marcel Lopez (New London, IA) joined the elite fraternity of four-time Iowa state champions (30) this February. Lopez competes at Iowa's smallest classification and may get overlooked nationally. In addition to the quality of the Cougars recruits, the staff is also marking their recruiting territory. Gillum and Robinson are top-flight in-state recruits. SIUE has made recruiting Missouri a priority as Strick and Woodcock hail from the neighboring state. Another '22 recruit, Andrew Doehring, is from Missouri. The Cougar staff has also secured commitments from Indiana and Ohio, two other midwest states that typically have plenty of DI talent. Along with the in-state and regional recruiting, SIUE has ventured to the west coast to get Guanajuato and Alec Peralta (Temecula Valley, CA). Daniel Guanajuato will join his older brother, Davian, who went 6-5 wrestling unattached as a true freshman in 2021-22. As the recruiting battles end and high-quality talent enrolls at SIU Edwardsville, another fight begins. That's the task of developing green true freshmen into productive DI wrestlers. But, I imagine that Spates' staff embraces that phase as getting the wrestlers on-campus can be the difficult part for many non-Power Five wrestling programs.

Kael Lauridsen at the 2021 UWW Cadet WTT's (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) The Nebraska staff got great news this morning as one of the top juniors, in-state, #36 Kael Lauridsen (Bennington, NE) announced his commitment to the Big Red over social media. Lauridsen is a three-time Nebraska state champion, winning at 106 lbs as a freshman and 113 in each of the past two seasons. The future Husker finished his junior year ranked #2 in the nation at 113 lbs. Lauridsen has plenty of credentials outside of his home state, as well. Before this high school season, he was seventh at the Super 32, while competing at 120 lbs. That was where he entered Fargo, as well. Lauridsen left the FargoDome with some hardware, winning a 16U Greco title and finishing fourth in freestyle. A couple months prior, he was a runner-up to Spencer Moore at the Cadet World Team Trials. Not only does Lauridsen have national-level accolades, but he also has made an impact outside of the United States. In 2018, Lauridsen was a Pan-American U15 champion in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. A year later, he was a bronze medalist at the U15 World School Combat Games. Last year, Lauridsen doubled up again at the Pan-American Championships, this time in the Cadet age group. Lauridsen is the third junior to verbal to Nebraska, joining #40 Alan Koehler (Prior Lake, MN) and #156 Griffin Ray (Hillsboro, MO). With a large frame, Lauridsen could even see action as high as 141 lbs once he matriculates to Lincoln. That should serve Nebraska well as the Huskers don't appear to have a clear-cut, young, long-term solution at that weight class in the pipeline. For more recruiting news, check out our college commitment page .