InterMat Staff

Lockwood

Zephyrhills Christian

Council Rock South

Newfane

Philipsburg-Osceola

Tussey Mountain

Topsail

Pecatonica/Argyle

Branford

Grove City

Crandon

Best-of-Three World Team Trials Finals Results Men’s Freestyle 61 kg Vito Arujau over Marcus Blaze 2-1, 3-1 70 kg James Green over Alec Pantaleo 10-0, 2-1 79 kg Jordan Burroughs over Chance Marsteller 3-0, 6-3 92 kg David Taylor over Zahid Valencia 3-3, Fall 2:49 Women’s Freestyle 55 kg Areana Villaescusa over Amanda Martinez 4-3, 11-8 59 kg Jacarra Winchester over Michaela Beck 11-0, 11-0 65 kg Macey Kilty over Aine Drury 10-0, 12-1 72 kg Kylie Welker over Yelena Makoyed Fall 5:03, 5-2 Greco-Roman 55 kg Brady Koontz over Kenneth Crosby 9-0, 8-0 63 kg Ildar Hafizov over Max Black 11-0, 1-3, 9-0 72 kg Benji Peak over RaVaughn Perkins FFT 82 kg Aliaksandr Kikiniou over Jesse Porter 5-1, 3-1

Washington

Men’s Freestyle 61 kg Semifinals Marcus Blaze over Nahshon Garrett 5-0 Daton Fix over Austin DeSanto 6-0 Challenge Tournament Finals Marcus Blaze over Daton Fix 3-2 Finals Matchup Vito Aruaju vs. Marcus Blaze 70 kg Semifinals Alec Pantaleo over PJ Duke 7-0 James Green over Jordan Oliver 6-3 Finals Matchup Alec Pantaleo vs. James Green 79 kg Semifinals Chance Marsteller over Keegan O’Toole 6-0 Jordan Burroughs over Alex Dieringer 7-4 Finals Matchup Chance Marsteller vs. Jordan Burroughs 92 kg Semifinals David Taylor over Mike Macchiavello 10-0 Trent Hidlay over Jay Aiello 12-1 Challenge Tournament Finals David Taylor over Trent Hidlay 10-6 Finals Matchup Zahid Valencia over David Taylor Women’s Freestyle 55 kg Semifinals Amanda Martinez over Vayle Baker 11-0 Areana Villaescusa over Felicity Taylor 5-0 Finals Matchup Amanda Martinez vs. Areana Villaescusa 59 kg Semifinals Jacarra Winchester over Bridgette Duty 10-0 Michaela Beck over Zoe Nowicki 12-0 Finals Matchup Jacarra Winchester vs. Michaela Beck 65 kg Semifinals Jennifer Page over Claire DiCugno 10-0 Aine Drury over Skylar Hattendorf 11-0 Challenge Tournament Finals Aine Drury over Jennifer Page 4-0 Finals Matchup Macey Kilty vs. Aine Drury 72 kg Semifinals Yelena Makoyed over Gretchen Donally 10-0 Kylie Welker over Skylar Grote 12-1 Finals Matchup Yelena Makoyed vs. Kylie Welker Greco-Roman 55 kg Semifinals Brady Koontz over Peter Del Gallo 7-3 Kenneth Crosby over Billy Sullivan 6-4 Finals Matchup Brady Koontz vs. Kenneth Crosby 63 kg Semifinals Ildar Hafizov over Phillip Moomey 10-0 Max Black over Dylan Gregerson 5-3 Finals Matchup Ildar Hafizov vs. Max Black 72 kg Semifinals Benji Peak over Peyton Robb 11-1 RaVaughn Perkins over Hunter Lewis 3-3 Finals Matchup Benji Peak vs. RaVaughn Perkins 82 kg Semifinals Aliaksandr Kikiniou over Ryan Epps 10-3 Jesse Porter over Tyler Eischens 3-1 Finals Matchup Aliaksandr Kikiniou vs. Jesse Porter

Men’s Freestyle 61 kg Nahshon Garrett over Liam Cronin 9-0 Marcus Blaze over Seth Gross 7-5 Austin DeSanto over Jax Forrest 9-6 Daton Fix over Nasir Bailey 10-0 Semifinal Matchups Nahshon Garrett vs. Marcus Blaze Austin DeSanto vs. Daton Fix 70 kg Alec Pantaleo over Yahya Thomas 2-0 PJ Duke over Jarrett Jacques 8-3 Jordan Oliver over Bryce Andonian 8-6 James Green over Paniro Johnson 10-0 Semifinal Matchups Alec Pantaleo vs. PJ Duke Jordan Oliver vs. James Green 79 kg Chance Marsteller over Hunter Garvin 7-0 Keegan O’Toole over David Carr 9-4 Alex Dieringer over Evan Wick 7-1 Jordan Burroughs over Levi Haines 4-1 Semifinal Matchups Chance Marsteller vs. Keegan O’Toole Alex Dieringer vs. Jordan Burroughs 92 kg David Taylor over Marcus Coleman Fall 1:14 Michael Macchiavello over Eric Schultz 6-5 Jay Aiello over Aeoden Sinclair 13-5 Trent Hidlay over Max Hale 10-0 Semifinal Matchups David Taylor vs. Michael Macchiavello Jay Aiello vs. Trent Hidlay Women’s Freestyle 55 kg Amanda Martinez over Mateah Roehl 10-0 Vayle Baker over Alisha Howk 3-0 Felicity Taylor over Elena Ivaldi 6-4 Areana Villaescusa over Karissa Turnwall Fall 3:44 Semifinal Matchups Amanda Martinez vs. Vayle Baker Felicity Taylor vs. Areana Villaescusa 59 kg Jacarra Winchester over Alex Szkotnicki 10-0 Bridgette Duty over Xochitl Mota-Pettis 14-10 Zoe Nowicki over Abby Nette Fall 4:30 Michaela Beck over Yele Adcock 10-0 Semifinal Matchups Jacarra Winchester vs. Bridgette Duty Zoe Nowicki vs. Michaela Beck 65 kg Jennifer Page over Sienna Ramirez 9-1 Claire DiCugno over Savannah Cosme 7-2 Skylar Hattendorf over Ana Lucicano Fall 4:46 Aine Drury over Alara Boyd Fall 1:50 Semifinal Matchups Jennifer Page vs. Claire DiCugno Skylar Hattendorf vs. Aine Drury 72 kg Gretchen Donally over Celina Cooke 4-2 Semifinal Matchups Yelena Makoyed vs.Gretchen Donally Skylar Grote vs. Kylie Welker Men’s Greco-Roman 55 kg Brady Koontz over Fabian Gutierrez 9-0 Peter Del Gallo over Ezekiel Witt 10-0 Kenneth Crosby over Zach Silvis 5-1 Billy Sullivan over Kody Tanimoto 9-1 Semifinal Matchups Brady Koontz vs. Peter Del Gallo Kenneth Crosby vs. Billy Sullivan 63 kg Ildar Hafizov over Riley Lomenick 7-5 Phillip Moomey over Corbin Nirschl 9-0 Dylan Gregerson over Rhett Peak 5-0 Max Black over Aidan Nutter 9-0 Semifinal Matchups Ildar Hafizov vs. Phillip Moomey Dylan Gregerson vs. Max Black 72 kg Benji Peak over Clay Radenz 10-0 Peyton Robb over Gunnar Hamre 8-0 Hunter Lewis over Eddie Smith 11-2 RaVaughn Perkins over Jaxon Bearden 9-0 Semifinal Matchups Benji Peak vs. Peyton Robb Hunter Lewis vs. RaVaughn Perkins 82 kg Aliaksandr Kikiniou over Arvin Khosravy 3-2 Ryan Epps over Tyler Cunningham 11-1 Tyler Eischens over Beka Melelashvili 13-3 Jesse Porter over Riley Briggs 11-0 Semifinal Matchups Aliaksandr Kikiniou vs. Ryan Epps Tyler Eischens vs. Jesse Porter

Delbarton

Recruiting in the Class of 2026 got off to a huge start today as one of the top high school juniors made his college decision known via social media. Jayden James (Delbarton, NJ) announced today that he has committed to wrestle for Tony Robie at Virginia Tech. James is a two-time New Jersey state placewinner who was third as a freshman and a state runner-up earlier this year. Outside of New Jersey, James earned his second 16U freestyle national championship in Fargo this summer. He was also third in the UWW U17 World Team Trials in freestyle. During the 2023-24 school year, James claimed a title at the Beast of the East. Prior to his freshman year at Delbarton, James was fourth at the Super 32. James’ most recent Fargo title came at 150 lbs and he could project to wrestle around 174 lbs for the Hokies. James is the highest-ranked wrestler from the Class of 2026 to have made his college commitment - coming in at #11 overall in the class and he’s currently ranked third in the nation at 150 lbs in MatScouts most recent update. Getting a commitment of James’ caliber gets Virginia Tech started toward yet another respectable recruiting class. Robie’s team has inked a top-ten recruiting class in each of the last three years (2024/10th, 2023/9th, 2022/7th) and their early commitments from the current senior class should easily put them in the top-ten again. James took a visit to Virginia Tech two weeks ago. We mentioned him earlier this week in our campus visit recruiting feature, as he spent last weekend at the University of Michigan. For up-to-date recruiting information, check out InterMat’s college commitment page.

With 2024 being an Olympic Year, the Olympic Team Trials were held in late-April and six wrestlers in each style clinched a spot on the team and punched their tickets to the Games in Paris - if qualified. During the other three years in an Olympic cycle, the pinnacle event in the international wrestling calendar is the World Championships. The World Championships feature ten weights in each of the three styles. With there being four normal weights that were not contested at the Olympic Games, there were the World Championships for non-Olympic weights. Wrestlers who were not 2024 Olympians are allowed to move up or down (or stay at their normal weight) for a shot at a world title. Who goes to the World Championships at those weights? Well, at least from an American perspective, that will be determined over the weekend in Omaha, Nebraska. A talented field has entered and will compete for a spot on the team that headed to Tirana, Albania in late-October. The weight classes that will be contested this week and in Albania: Men’s freestyle: 61 kg, 70 kg, 79 kg, 92 kg Women’s freestyle: 55 kg, 59 kg, 65 kg, 72 kg Greco-Roman: 55 kg, 63 kg, 72 kg, 82 kg Here's what to look for in the Greco-Roman portion of the tournament: 55 kg Pre-seeds 1. Brady Koontz 2. Camden Russell 3. Billy Sullivan 4. Kenneth Crosby 5. Ezekiel Witt 6. Peter Del Gallo 7. Zachary Silvis 8. Kody Tanimoto 9. Tyler Klein 10. Fabian Gutierrez 2023 marked the first appearance for Brady Koontz at the Senior World Championships. He did so at this weight and will be the front-runner and top seed in Omaha. Koontz has now made world team’s at each age group possible having made the 2023 Senior team. At the Olympic Trials, Koontz had to move up to 60 kg where he would fall in the opening round to Phillip Moomey. The second seed is Camden Russell who was a member of the U23 World Team in 2022. Russell got the call earlier this year and represented the United States at the Pan-American Championships and came away with a silver medal. Last year, Russell was a finalist at the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament at this weight. The other member of this bracket who competed in the Olympic Trials at 60 kg is Billy Sullivan. Sullivan also fell to Moomey at the Trials - in the consolation bracket. Russell likely gets the second seed over Sullivan due to his head-to-head wins at the 2023 US Open and in the semifinals of the World Trials Trials that followed. Sullivan was a U20 World Team member in 2021 and a bronze medalist at the U23 Pan-American Championships earlier this year. Also in the mix is 2023 U20 World Team member Zach Silvis and his finals opponent Kenneth Crosby. Two North Dakota State freshmen, Ezekiel Witt, and Kody Tanimoto, both have strong credentials in Greco during their time in Fargo. 63 kg 1. Ildar Hafizov 2. Max Black 3. Dylan Gregerson 4. Phillip Moomey 5. Corbin Nirschl 6. Rhett Peak 7. Aidan Nutter 8. Riley Lomenick 9. Nicholas Leonetti 10. David Medina Perhaps the wrestler in the Greco field with the longest list of credentials is top-seeded Ildar Hafizov. Hafizov came up just short of making his second straight Olympic team at 60 kg; however, he has been a part of four world teams for the United States. In addition, Hafizov competed in three World Championships and an Olympic Games while representing Uzbekistan. At the Trials, Hafizov fell in three matches to teammate and longtime rival Dalton Roberts. One of the pair has made every World/Olympic team at 60 kg since 2018. Hafizov is one of the best pound-for-pound Greco athletes in the United States today. We’ll see if moving up three kilos impacts him this weekend. I’d suspect he still manages to produce the type of results we’ve been accustomed to seeing from him. Two-time U20 World Team member Max Black is expected to get the second seed. Earlier this year, Black was a bronze medalist at Denmark’s ThorMasters. Last month, Black went to Lithuania for the Druskininkai Cup. Black was also an entrant in the 60 kg weight class at the Olympic Trials. He advanced to the semifinals before losing to Roberts and ended up in third place. Black’s first win at the Olympic Trials came over Dylan Gregerson, who is expected to assume the third seed in Omaha. Gregerson went 1-2 at the Trials. He has international experience with a spot on the 2021 U23 World Team. Another member of the 60 kg Olympic Trials weight class was Phillip Moomey. Moomey had three wins at the Trials, but was stopped in the quarters by Hafizov. He has made two world teams at the U23 level and one as a Cadet. 72 kg 1. Benji Peak 2. RaVaughn Perkins 3. Hunter Lewis 4. Peyton Robb 5. Gunnar Hamre 6. Logan Savvy 7. Clay Radenz 8. Charlie Dill 9. Jaxon Bearden 10. Eddie Smith 11. Charles McKune In 2022, Benji Peak made the world team at this weight and he is looking to make it a second time in 2024. Peak had to move up to 77 kg for the Olympic Trials, where he was seeded second and advanced to the semifinals before losing a one-point match to Aliaksandr Kikiniou. In late 2023, it was Peak who defeated Kikiniou in the semifinals of Senior Nationals. Back in 2021, Peak was third at those Olympic Trials. Even with Peak being annually one of the contenders at this weight, it’s not a given he comes out on top. The second seed is 2018 World Team member RaVaughn Perkins, who will be competing in his hometown. Throughout his career, Perkins has claimed gold medals at two Pan-American Championships and was a bronze medalist in 2022. The next couple of seeds are held by some potential rising stars in Greco - ones that folkstyle fans might be more familiar with. Former NC State wrestler Hunter Lewis is the third seed. Lewis earned a gold medal this year at the U23 Pan-American Championships. He won the U23 national championship in 2023 and was a Cadet World Team member in 2018. This year, Lewis fell in two straight matches to Robert Perez III in the U23 Trials finals. Another familiar name is Nebraska All-American Peyton Robb. In 2021, Robb was a U23 World Team member in freestyle; however, his roots date back to Minnesota’s PINnacle Wrestling School, so you can be sure he has a solid background in Greco. 82 kg 1. Aliaksandr Kikiniou 2. Jesse Porter 3. Beka Melelashvili 4. Tyler Eischens 5. Ryan Epps 6. Tyler Cunningham 7. Riley Briggs 8. Patrick Curran 9. Aidan Squier 10. Aaron Dobbs 11. Alex Hamm 12. Quinlan Nelson 13. Jordan Lara 14. Luke Ciampa 15. Mason Parsons 16. Sam Beckett 17. Drew Allgeyer 18. Adan DeLeon Gonzalez This is obviously the largest weight in the Greco portion of the tournament and it also could be the most wide open. The top seed belongs to the veteran Aliaksandr Kikiniou who has lost to Kamal Bey in the 2024 Olympic Trials and in Final X 2023 - both at 77 kg. The ageless wonder made his first world team for Belarus all the way back in 2002 and earned world bronze in 2009. Kikiniou and the second seed, Jesse Porter, clashed in the quarterfinals of the Olympic Trials with Kikiniou winning 6-0. Porter was a champion at the 2020 Olympic Trials; however, he did not get a chance to compete in Tokyo because the weight was not qualified. Porter has a ton of international experience as he was on three U23 World Teams and made the 2021 Senior team at 77 kg. A potential threat to crack the top two at this weight comes in the form of Georgian-born Beka Melelashvilli. In his first event representing the United States, Melelashvili earned a silver medal at the U23 Pan-American Championships this year. He’ll compete at U23 World’s later this year. Two years ago, Melelashvili wrestled in a bronze medal match at the U23 World Championships. He has competed at the European Championships at multiple different age groups. Melelashvili could be a problem for the rest of this weight as they have likely not been able to compete against each other in live competitions before. The fourth seed belongs to former Stanford and North Carolina national qualifier Tyler Eischens. Last year, Eischens won a spot on the U23 World Team and finished seventh at his first international event. Eischens won the Last Chance Qualifier to earn a spot in the 2024 Olympic Trials. In State College, Eischens picked up a pair of wins, but lost on the championship side (at 77 kg) to Benji Peak. Also in the 77 kg Olympic Trials bracket was Ryan Epps. Epps clinched his spot on the Trials based on his 2023 berth in Final X (at this weight). Another possible contender could be Tyler Cunningham, a past Bill Farrell champion and a seventh-place finisher at the 2023 US Open.

Midd-West

Central Carroll

Today's entries for the 2024 World Team Trials confirmed what many had suspected for the last few weeks - 2020 Olympic gold medalist and first-year Oklahoma State head coach David Taylor would come out of his brief retirement to compete at 92 kg. Taylor fell in the finals of the 2024 Olympic Team Trials to fellow Penn State star Aaron Brooks and was named head coach of the Cowboys a few weeks later. Taylor has already put together one of the most complete careers in US wrestling history - excelling at every possible level. He was the #1 overall recruit in the high school Class of 2009 and then went on to win two NCAA titles and two Hodge Trophy's at Penn State. After college, he captured three world titles and a world silver medal, to go along with his Olympic gold. Taylor's arrival in Stillwater has injected a shot of energy into an Oklahoma State program that finished 10th in the nation in 2024 and missed out on the top ten in each of the two previous seasons. Since Taylor's taken over, the Cowboys have received commitments from four of the top-56 wrestlers in the Class of 2025. Three of them were previously committed to other schools. The 92 kg bracket could be quite imposing for Taylor. Since Zahid Valencia was a world medalist at the weight in 2023 - he'll be waiting in the best-of-three finals. Based on the pre-seeds (of which Taylor is now #1), he could have multi-time All-American Marcus Coleman in the challenge tournament quarterfinals, followed by either Mike Macchiavello or Eric Schultz in the semis. Then potentially Trent Hidlay, Jay Aiello, or Pat Downey in the challenge tournament finals, before a Sunday series against Valencia.

With 2024 being an Olympic Year, the Olympic Team Trials were held in late-April and six wrestlers in each style clinched a spot on the team and punched their tickets to the Games in Paris - if qualified. During the other three years in an Olympic cycle, the pinnacle event in the international wrestling calendar is the World Championships. The World Championships feature ten weights in each of the three styles. With there being four normal weights that were not contested at the Olympic Games, there were the World Championships for non-Olympic weights. Wrestlers who were not 2024 Olympians are allowed to move up or down (or stay at their normal weight) for a shot at a world title. Who goes to the World Championships at those weights? Well, at least from an American perspective, that will be determined over the weekend in Omaha, Nebraska. A talented field has entered and will compete for a spot on the team that headed to Tirana, Albania in late-October. The weight classes that will be contested this week and in Albania: Men’s freestyle: 61 kg, 70 kg, 79 kg, 92 kg Women’s freestyle: 55 kg, 59 kg, 65 kg, 72 kg Greco-Roman: 55 kg, 63 kg, 72 kg, 82 kg Here's what to look for in the women's freestyle portion of the tournament: 55 kg Bye to the Finals: Jacarra Winchester Seeds 1. Amanda Martinez 2. Areana Villaescusa 3. Felicity Taylor 4. Alisha Howk 5. Vayle Baker 6. Ella Jauregui 7. Montana Delawder 8. Josie Bartishofski 9. Lorianna Piestewa 10. Mataeh Roehl 11. Karissa Turnwall 12. Katherine Heath 13. Shea Reisel This weight class is primarily made up of women who competed at 53 kg at the Olympic Team Trials or in the Trials process. That being said, the wrestler with a bye to the best-of-three finals and the top seed - Jacarra Winchester and Amanda Martinez, both wrestled up at 57 kg for the Trials. Winchester’s silver medal at the 2023 World Championships at this weight gives her the bye to the finals. That marked the second career world medal for Winchester on her fifth World/Olympic team. She’ll be the favorite to make team number six on Sunday. The top contenders at this weight are all relatively experienced on the national and international scene. Martinez was a 2021 U23 World Team member and a Senior National champion in 2023. Earlier this year, Martinez was a bronze medalist at the Hungarian Ranking Series event and picked up a win over 2024 Olympian Mariana Dragutan (Moldova). Martinez also went 2-2 in April at the Trials. The second seed belongs to Areana Villaescusa, who has never made a world team at any age group, but always is in the mix and on the cusp of such a berth. Villaescusa had a very strong showing at the Olympic Trials, taking second in the challenge tournament to Haley Augello, and notched head-to-head wins over some of the key contenders in this field. On the way to the challenge tournament finals, she downed Vayle Baker and Alisha Howk, before pinning Felicity Taylor in the true second-place match. A rematch between Villaescusa and Taylor likely awaits in the semifinals. Taylor fell to Augello in the challenge tournament quarterfinals and won three straight matches to get a chance to compete in the true second-place match. In the consolations, she rolled through Baker and defeated Howk, 5-1. Taylor has a pair of U23 World Team berths on her resume and wrestled for a bronze medal in 2022. Howk was a teammate of Taylor on the 2022 U23 World Team and claimed a bronze medal at 55 kg. A year later, she qualified for the U23 team again. Howk has been a part of world teams at every age group except Senior. In 2023, Howk qualified for Final X, but lost in two straight bouts to Winchester. Baker qualified for the Olympic Trials on the strength of a 2023 Senior National title. She was the top seed in the Challenge Tournament, but dropped matches to Villaescusa and Taylor. Baker’s Senior National results include a win via fall over Villaescusa in the semi’s. 59 kg Seeds 1. Michaela Beck 2. Abby Nette 3. Xochitl Mota-Pettis 4. Bridgette Duty 5. Zoe Nowicki 6. YeLe Adcock 7. Ronna Gross 8. Ashley Whetzal The odds are that we’ll see a relatively new face emerge on the world scene as Abby Nette is the only wrestler from this bracket to have made a Senior world team in the past. Nette was at 57 kg for the Olympic Trials and ended up losing to Jacarra Winchester in the Challenge Tournament semifinals and then was beaten by Alex Hedrick in a true second-place match. Along the way, Nette scored a win over Cristelle Rodriguez, who recently won a U20 world championship at 55 kg. Nette made the 2022 World Team after defeating Lexie Basham in two straight matches at Final X Stillwater. The top seed in this bracket is Michaela Beck. Beck was a 2023 US Open winner and earned a spot in Final X, where fell to Jennifer Page, who went on to earn a world bronze medal. Beck has made world teams at both the U20 and U23 levels, but is still seeking her first medal. Earlier this year, Beck won three of her four matches at the Pan-American Championships. Another wrestler in the mix who has international experience, but is looking to make her first Senior team is Xochitl Mota-Pettis. Mota-Pettis was on the U23 team last year and came up a match shy of earning a bronze medal. She’s one of the more explosive and dangerous wrestlers at this weight and will be a matchup nightmare for anyone. In 2023 alone, Mota-Pettis captured titles at the Grand Prix of Spain, the US Open, and the U23 Trials. In the Olympic Trials consolation semifinals, Nette prevailed over Mota-Pettis via fall - which gives her the second seed. In that same Olympic Trials bracket was Bridgette Duty. Duty suffered a loss to Hedrick in the opening round and defaulted out of the tournament. The former NAIA national champion for the University of the Cumberlands, Duty earned her spot at the Trials by winning the Last Chance Qualifier. Another former collegiate national champion, Zoe Nowicki (Adrian), will assume the fifth seed. Nowicki was a 2022 U23 Trials finalist, who lost in two consecutive matches to Macey Kilty. Nowicki has typically competed around 62 kg, but has dropped down for this tournament. 65 kg Bye to the Finals: Macey Kilty Seeds 1. Jennifer Page 2. Aine Drury 3. Ana Luciano 4. SaVannah Cosme 5. Claire DiCugno 6. Skylar Hattendorf 7. Alara Boyd 8. Marilyn Garcia 9. Sienna Ramirez 10. Hanna Errthum 11. Gianna Anaya 12. Eve Herlyn This is an extremely deep weight class - easily the most talented field in the entire women’s competition. Not only do we have a pair of returning world medalists atop the weight, but the ninth seed (Sienna Ramirez) was a participant in Final X just two years ago. A 2023 world silver medal at this weight allows Macey Kilty to wait in the best-of-three finals for a challenger to emerge. Kilty’s Senior medal now gives her one at every age group and six total. The world medal also allowed Kilty to sit out until the Challenge Tournament semifinals at the Olympic Trials. There she won the tournament with a 9-8 barnburner over Jennifer Page. In the finals, Kilty was on the wrong end of a pair of close bouts against Kayla Miracle. Page also got a bye to the Trials semis since she was a returning Senior medalist at 65 kg. In 2023, Page lost in the finals of the US Open at 62 kg, then dropped down to 59 kg, won the World Team Trials, and cruised in two straight matches over Michaela Beck. Page’s 2023 world bronze medal came exactly a decade after earning a bronze at Junior World’s. The third seed belongs to Aine Drury who comes down after competing in the Olympic Trials at 68 kg. Drury went 1-2 in State College but did notch a win over Alara Boyd, who comes in as the seventh seed in this bracket. 2024 should provide Drury with plenty of international experience. After the Trials, she struck gold at the Pan-American U23 Championships. Later this year, she’ll take part in the U23 World Championships. The third seed is Ana Luciano who is a NCWWC national champion and a 2023 winner of the Bill Farrell International. Going further down the seeds, #6 Skylar Hattendorf and #7 Alara Boyd are both past U17(Cadet) World silver medalists. Boyd actually has a pair of medals in that age group. Both are looking to find their first sustained success at the Senior level. This is a bracket where we’ll get some excellent, highly competitive matches from the quarterfinals on. 72 kg Seeds 1. Yelena Makoyed 2. Kylie Welker 3. Skylar Grote 4. Cheyenne Bowman 5. Gretchen Donally 6. Celina Cooke While this weight class doesn’t have the depth of its predecessor, it has just as much star power, if not more, than any other bracket in this women’s tournament. She isn’t listed amongst the pre-seeds, but it looks like the legendary Adeline Gray will move down to 72 kg and enter. Gray is seeking to make her 11th Senior World Team - to go along with a pair of Olympic berths. In 2021, Gray became the first American to win six world championships and she has ten total World/Olympic medals. When we last saw Gray, she fell in the Olympic Trials to Kennedy Blades - the eventual Olympic silver medalist. In addition to Gray, there are some bright young stars at this weight, capable of winning world medals - if they make the team first. The top pre-seed belongs to Yelena Makoyed, a three-time national champion for North Central. Makoyed was a finalist to Blades at the Olympic Trials Challenge Tournament. To get to the finals, Makoyed had to defeat Kylie Welker, the same opponent who beat her in the finals of the 2024 NCWWC National Championships. Welker, a 2021 U20 world champion, already has one appearance on the Senior world team; however, she came away from that experience medal-less. After losing to Makoyed at the Trials, Welker wrestled back for third place and defeated past Senior World Team member Dymond Guilford in the process. The third seed is Skylar Grote who is looking for her first world team berth at any level. Grote advanced to Final X New York City, in 2022, before losing to Amit Elor. At the Trials, Grote won a pair of matches but was eliminated by Welker in the consolation semifinals. Two-time NCWWC national runner-up Cheyenne Bowman is the fifth seed. Bowman was a Cadet World Team member back in 2018.

Every year in college wrestling we are treated to some young superstars seemingly coming out of nowhere to jump onto the scene. Guys who will undoubtedly knock off top-ranked stalwarts, who have been in our lives for half a decade (or more sometimes). Oftentimes, they are top recruits who pan out, sometimes they are guys who have waited for their chance in the lineup. Regardless of their genesis, all they need is a chance to breakout, and once it happens, it’s off to the races. Last season the B1G was treated to some great young wrestlers. Whether it is Rocco Welsh making the NCAA finals, or Sergio Lemley getting some high-level wins on the scene, we saw some new faces make the most of their opportunities. If I’m certain of anything, it’s that this season will have some studs show up and show out. It’s my job here to give you a heads-up on who this might be. Here is my first list of some potential breakout candidates for the B1G season. Michigan - Beau Mantanona had several chances to get into the lineup last season and largely had a decent showing while Cam Amine was battling injury and illness. Beau was able to maintain his redshirt status, while still picking up a win over Tanner Cook of SDSU during his limited competition dates. He also showed he could compete in the B1G competition with a win over Northwestern’s Maxx Mayfield to place third at Midlands, where he also had a win over MSU’s Caleb Fish. Everything I’m hearing regarding his level of athleticism and ability to compete at a high level in practice is very impressive, and I expect him to introduce himself to B1G competition at large swiftly and aggressively. Michigan State - Remy Cotton was a big recruit coming into East Lansing. He redshirted last season and had a chance to get used to the pace of college wrestling and build on the raw skillset. MSU has a lot of young guys fighting for a chance to get into the lineup this season, but Remy Cotton is one who he expects to be in the lineup and is looking forward to introducing himself violently to the B1G field. I don’t know if Cotton will explode into the field, but I do expect him to roll into form by the B1G tournament, and to be developing as the year goes on. Maryland - Dario Lemus had a strong freshman season. He was also able to maintain his redshirt status, while also getting opportunities in B1G competitions and in tournaments. Lemus was 16-6 last season with six falls and three major decisions in the brief stint he had competing. From all accounts inside of Maryland, he puts in the time, energy, and effort to be an immediate contributor to the team. With Kal Miller bumping up a couple of weight classes, this opens up a perfect spot for Lemus to slide in and have an immediate impact on the deep 141 B1G competition. Ohio State - Paddy Gallagher got hurt last season, but he wrestled very well as a true freshman in a DEEP 157 weight class and had some decent wins last year as well. He competed admirably as a freshman, ultimately making the NCAA tournament, where he went 2-2. Last season he competed sporadically, but I expect the former top recruit in the country, competing in one of the more deep rooms, to show massive leaps from his last full competitive season. Before getting hurt last year, he had wins over eventual All-American Peyton Kellar of Ohio (5th at 157), as well as over Ryder Downey of UNI (lost in the Bloodround, and was a fifth seed at NCAAs). He has shown the ability to beat the best, and I trust that a season of recovery will help him hit the ground running this year. Iowa - Gabe Arnold was a secret weapon that Iowa threw out there for big duals, and he stepped up immediately. He showed up early in the season to knock off an All-American (shout out to Dexter, Michigan’s own Will Feldkamp) in the CyHawk dual. That was on the road and up a weight class!!! He’s a super freak, and like Rick James, is ready to unleash bangers all over the free world. In fact, his only loss on the season came to Dustin Plott who was an NCAA finalist at 184. To think that Gabe Arnold might have been the third-best 184 is crazy, and even crazier when you realize that 174 is his weight class. The depth in Iowa is great, and “iron sharpens iron”, which is good when you have depth. Gabe Arnold showed last season that he could step in and deliver when called upon, and I hope that he will be called upon over and over this season. Purdue - Purdue has a lot of guys who could breakout this season, but I don’t feel like it’s fair for me to be here and say “Joey Blaze is going to have a breakout year, and also Greyson Clark”. That seems too easy. While I don’t disagree that they will both jump levels, and be real threats on the national scene, I’m going with another young guy in the lineup last year. Brody Baumann wrestled 174 for the Boilermakers last season and ended with a 12-16 record. More important though was how he finished. He was the 10th seed entering the B1G tournament, and ended up placing eighth to earn an automatic qualification. He went 0-2 at NCAAs, but I still believe that the experience and confidence with qualifying can do great things for a young wrestler. I have confidence in the staff in West Lafayette to lean into that confidence and help build on the foundation from that freshman season for Brody. Look for him to be another one of the young Boilermakers to have an impact on this year. Illinois - Kannon Webster had an awesome freshman season. This is not shocking to anyone who watched an Illinois dual meet (at least early in the season). The Illini managed to keep his redshirt season safe and allowed Webster to get a taste of action, bringing him back into what should be a strong and deep lineup for Illinois this season. Want some stats? I have some. Webster went 20-1 in his redshirt season, and in his first B1G dual appearance had a win over returning AA, Dylan D’Emilio of the Buckeyes. Of his 20 wins, he also had 4 pins, 5 tech falls, and 4 major decisions. It’s nice to know that you had a true freshman that could account for bonus points in roughly two-thirds of his matches. That’s one of the many studs you’ll see in Blue and Orange this season.

Arrowhead

St. Joseph's Regional