InterMat Staff

DII's top-ranked 133 lber Tanner Cole (photo courtesy of UCO athletics) I am sure all of you need some sort of #D2Wrestle corkboard motivation and I am here to provide it. Last time (2019), I did a "Contenders & Pretenders" piece. I got the chance to fly home with one of the pretenders who was able to tell just how wrong I was after they finished in the top-10. Shout out to that 2019 Newberry College team that almost missed their flight out of Cleveland. But looking back, I was pretty accurate overall. First off, let me be clear, being a "pretender" is not necessarily a slight against your program. Realistically, there are four teams who can really make a run at the 2022 NCAA Division II Men's Wrestling team national championship. To win the crown, it will take, at minimum, six All-Americans and multiple national finalists. Last season, St. Cloud State University had five finalists and were only able to finish ahead of the University of Nebraska Kearney by one and a half points. The battle for the top-10 is pretty wide-open, but if you want that team trophy, or to take home any of that hardware, it's going to take a full team effort. The contenders will be the teams I see chasing that trophy and if your team happens to fall into the pretender category, it's only because I see them missing the firepower needed to upset one of those programs in the standings. They could still be forces to be reckoned with and can enjoy their chance to play spoiler. The fanbases of teams will be expanded as Lopers' fans cheer for anyone wrestling St. Cloud or Central Oklahoma, while the Huskies will be rooting for anyone taking on Central Oklahoma or Kearney. Think Oklahoma State fans cheering for the Hawkeyes against Penn State kind of thing. To the teams who do not make my contender list, prove me wrong and I promise to eat crow. Here are the 11 teams I expect to perform the best and my analysis of their team trophy chances, in alphabetical order. Ashland University National Qualifiers: 5 Super Regional Champions: 2 The Eagles will send five athletes to St. Louis in Colt Sponsellor's second season at the helm. They may have put two athletes at the top of the podium in Super Regional III, but they may be hard-pressed to have a finalist at the national tournament. Their best chance at that will be Daniel Beemer (174), but his injury default leaves his status suspect in a brutal weight class. Depending on how the seeds go, anything less than 100% healthwise could make a finals run very unlikely. I know that Chance Esmont (157) went full beast mode in upsetting returning national champion James Wimer (Findlay) and rode that momentum to a championship. If he cannot capture that magic again, he will find himself in a bracket with 12 athletes who were ranked heading into the postseason. Missing multiple-time returning All-American Aidan Pasiuk (184) is probably going to cost them; they just seem to have guys that are in that low All-American (6-8)/Round of 12 areas. That will not be enough to fight for a team trophy and could make them a bubble top-10 team. But hey, I am setting them up with a chance to prove me wrong. Outlook: Pretender Augustana University Qualifiers: 8 Super Regional Champions: 2 The Vikings had one of the best Super Regionals by any team who did not win the title. Eight qualifiers were highlighted by two champions in Jack Huffman (133) and Cade Mueller (174). That is great and honestly, head coach Jason Reitmeier would have been my vote for Super Regional coach of the year. But at the national tournament, I am not sure they have the horsepower to score enough points to stay at the top for two days. Their team will be led by potential second seed, Cade Mueller at 174, who could be the first Augustana national finalist since 2019 in Cleveland. One finalist will not be enough. The lineup does have six potential All-Americans if the brackets play out and, if Mueller can win it all, they are going to have a big tournament. The most important wrestlers for them will be Jaxson Rohman (125) and Jack Huffman (133). If these two lightweights can spark the rest of the lineup, this team has a very high ceiling. They could also be the undoing of some of the other teams as they have shown that they are not intimidated in the least by tough competition. You do not go toe-to-toe with St. Cloud State and not find your confidence. I talked myself into it, Augustana University. Outlook: Contender Gannon University National Qualifiers: 8 Super Regional Champions: 2 Disclaimer: If Gannon had their returning national champion Alex Farenchak (165), they would immediately skyrocket to a contender. They, however, do not have their returning national champion Alex Farenchak. They do have eight athletes headed to the national tournament, as many as West Liberty, Central Oklahoma, and St Cloud State. I worry that the Knights could find themselves without a national finalist, which makes winning a team trophy a tall task. More than that, they are built similar to Ashland in that they seem to have low All-American/Round of 12 wrestlers. Dom Means (149) and Joel Leise (197) are going to have to shoulder the load to propel head coach Don Henry to a team title. Even if they can secure six All-American finishes, it will not be enough to finish in the top four. A wildcard for their team will be Cameron Page (184); a week ago, I did not think there was any way he qualified for the national tournament. Now headed to St Louis, he can cause all kinds of chaos at a weight where Kearney, Central Oklahoma, and West Liberty all have athletes looking for high finishes. Outlook: Pretender Newberry College National Qualifiers: 5 Super Regional Champions: 2 In 2019, I had the audacity to call the Wolves a bunch of pretenders and boy did I hear about it after their top-10 finish. I feel like a thank you was more in order after I provided them with such great motivation headed into the national tournament. In fact, I think it is only right I extend that same opportunity to new head coach Deral Brown. Listen, the Wolves brought the Super Regional crown back to Newberry and crowned two individual champions. That is great. They also have a likely finalist and a possible winner in Isiah Royal (149). The 2021 national champion at 141 pounds returned to the lineup in the second semester and has been perfect. He honestly has not been challenged and is my pick as the top seed at his weight. After him though, the Wolves have Caleb Spears (174) and Evan Carrigan (125). Two athletes who made the run to the Super Regional II finals will threaten All-American status. That is if Evan Carrigan is recovered from whatever injury kept him from the finals and Spears can duplicate the run that saw him defeat Billy Higgins (Kearney) and Josh Jones (McKendree). There are too many "ifs" for me to call the Wolves a contender this season. Outlook: Pretender St. Cloud State University National Qualifiers: 7 Super Regional Champions: 5 The St. Cloud State University Huskies have never had to rebuild under head coach Steve Costanzo. They just keep reloading the gun and firing at the Division II field. This season is no different, but they may find that there are teams in St. Louis who are going to be firing back. The Huskies are loaded for bear, though, with five athletes who find themselves seeded in the top four. They also have Garret Vos (133) and Nick Novak (149) as wrestlers who should be expected to be All-Americans. A best-case scenario sees them with finalists in Paxton Creese (125), Joey Bianchini (141), Anthony Herrera (157), Noah Ryan (197), and Kameron Teacher (Hwt). . Remember, they found a way to put five wrestlers into the finals a year ago and if they can do so again they could be on their way to extending their dominance. There is no team in the nation riding the same winning streak as the Huskies after Grand View University finished as the NAIA runner-up a season ago. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, but I am fairly certain that St. Cloud State has no desire to abdicate the throne. They will have to be usurped. Outlook: Contender West Liberty University National Qualifiers: 8 Super Regional Champions: 4 The meteoric rise of the West Liberty University Hilltoppers began after the conclusion of the 2019 season when Wheeling Jesuit University made one of the dumbest and most shortsighted athletic decisions in Division II wrestling history after the shuttering of Nebraska-Omaha's program. Their loss was West Liberty's gain as head coach Danny Irwin pulled up stakes and took nearly all of his best athletes with him. Now, three years later, the Hilltoppers are back again after finishing fourth in 2021. Led by returning national champion Cole Laya (125), two-time champion Tyler Warner (141), 2019 champion and 2021 finalist Connor Craig, and a heavyweight in Francesco Borsellino, who just keeps getting better, West Liberty can win it all. They are going to need some help, though; Tyler Warner has seemed human since moving up two 141 from 133, taking two losses in his limited action. They will need Ty McGeary (174) to finish high on the podium; he'll start as the fifth seed. Seeding at 174 is going to be key. At 197, four-time qualifier Logan Kemp will need to earn his first All-American finish for West Liberty to have a realistic shot at winning it all. He has been nothing but consistent when healthy for his program, but now in his final trip to the national tournament, they need him to be one of the nation's best. The real wildcard on this team is Francesco Borsellino; the big man has been on a tear this season, but St Louis will see him finally match up against the best Division II has to offer. He should not be overlooked, Irwin has a history of coaching very successful heavyweights. West Liberty is going to have a good tournament; how good could really depend on how much they believe that they are a… Outlook: Contender University of Central Oklahoma National Qualifiers: 8 Super Regional Champions: 6 What makes a national championship team in Division II? Add three parts national finalists, a dash of high-level All-Americans, a surprise run by an athlete who catches fire, and a coach who knows what he is doing. Guess what, sports fans, the University of Central Oklahoma has all of those things. The Broncs are one of the real contenders with a chance to end the run of St. Cloud State University. A team with very possible finalist/national champions at 133 (Tanner Cole), 149 (Brik Fililppo), 157 (Tyler Lucas), 184 (Heath Gray), and 197 (Dalton Abney). They also have high All-American chances at 125 (Paxton Rosen) and Shawn Streck (Hwt). If Alex Kaufman (174) plays the role of "spoiler" and finishes on the podium, they have the final ingredient in head coach Todd Steidley ready and waiting. This is a team that has spent time as the number one program this year and they backed it up at the Super Regional IV tournament. I was expecting them to get at least seven through and they managed eight. If they had managed to get Nate Keim (141) through, I would have listed them as the absolute favorites. Do not crown them just yet, but for sure they come is as… Outlook: Contender University of Indianapolis National Qualifiers: 7 Super Regional Champions: 2 The University of Indianapolis moved from Super Regional III to Super Regional IV in 2022, which is like moving from AAA to the majors. Super Regional IV may not produce the team champion, yet, but they consistently post the highest number of All-Americans. Iron sharpens iron and in Super Regional IV, there is a lot of that element. The Hounds kicked down the door and put eight wrestlers into the semifinals of the toughest Super Regional in the country. They kept their hot streak going and are sending seven wrestlers to the national tournament. This is the most national qualifiers for head coach Jason Warthan and the most for the program since 2014. They crowned champions at 165 in Jack Eiteljorge and 174 in Andrew Sams. They will also be sending the Bailey Bros (patent pending) after Breyden finished third at 133 and Logan was runner-up at 149. The Achilles heel of this team may end up being a lack of finalists. It is not unbelievable that Dawson Combest (157), Derek Blubaugh (197) or Andrew Sams make the finals, but it would take two or maybe even all of them to make Indianapolis real trophy threats. And they would need the Bailey Brothers and Eiteljorge to climb up the podium as well. There are just too many "ifs" in this lineup for them to be trophy contenders, but despite my outlook for them, I expect them to push as a top-five team. Outlook: Pretender University of Nebraska-Kearney National Qualifiers: 9 Super Regional Champions: 8 Let's start with the bad news for the Lopers, they will not have a point-scorer in the 157 weight class that in 2021 netted them an All-American finish. That is the end of the bad news. The good news is they are sending nine wrestlers to St. Louis, with eight of them bringing a Super Regional VI title along. That is twice as many champs as West Liberty, three more than St. Cloud State, and even two more than Central Oklahoma. Do not bet against head coach Dalton Jensen, he has been chasing that title for too long and he wants to bring it back to Kearney. I do want the writer for the Kearney wrestling team to start giving me credit for the term #SuperSenior, but we can talk about that later. I will give credit to a team that is entering the postseason on a heater worthy of a Caesars craps table. Wesley Dawkins (133) and Matt Malcom (165) are top-two seeds at their respective weights. Billy Higgins (184) could've been the number one, but checks in at three. This team may be better than the 2021 group that came up just one and a half points short. Realistically, they could have nine All-Americans and anything less than seven would be disappointing to me. If they are going to do it, though, this needs to be the year. They will be graduating a lot of firepower. Outlook: Contender University of North Carolina-Pembroke National Qualifiers: 6 Super Regional Champions: 2 In 2011, the first season with OT Johnson taking over, the Braves finished tied for eighth at the NCAA Division II Men's Wrestling Championship. It has been 11 years since UNC Pembroke has finished the tournament in the top-10. Could 2021 be the season? It will probably take 40 team points and with six national qualifiers, there is a chance. Nick Daggett (125) was a national finalist a year ago and if he can duplicate that run or even finish as an All-American once again, that could be the spark they need. He will need help from his teammates like Jake Piccirilli (149) and Zach Shaffer (Hwt). Jovaun Johnson (184) and Bryce Walker (197) each spent time in my rankings this season and have the potential to score points in St Louis. The person I think could be a real difference-maker for the Braves is Rashaan Vereen (165). He pushed Mitch Dean (Belmont Abbey) in the finals and at this weight, Dean is one of the best. If he joins Daggett on the podium, it could be the start of a big tournament for this program. A big tournament that unfortunately will not result in them challenging for a team trophy. Outlook: Pretender University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown National Qualifiers: 6 Super Regional Champions: 3 The dean of Division II wrestling Pat Pecora has done it again. His Mountaincats are once again Super Regional I champions and more than that, they are sending six wrestlers to the national tournament. After not wrestling in 2021 until the Super Regional tournament, his team took full advantage of the extended season and grew stronger. I am going to give you a sneak peek now, but Jacob Ealy (149) is my dark horse national champion at his weight. This team could put wrestlers on the podium at 141 (Caleb Morris) and 165 (Dillon Keane). Brock Biddle (174) is a multiple-time All-American himself and could be the key component of a UPJ run at a trophy. But much like Indianapolis and some of the other pretenders, I just worry they lack the firepower needed to compete with the real favorites. Sorry coach, I love our talks. Outlook: Pretender

3x NCAA All-American Chad Red Jr received an at-large berth to the 2022 NCAA Championships (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) These wrestlers will head to Detroit to compete at the 2022 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships, along with the ones who automatically qualified for the tournament over the weekend. 125 lbs Antonio Lorenzo (Cal Poly) Joe Manchio (Columbia) Caleb Smith (Appalachian State) Noah Surtin (Missouri) Kysen Terukina (Iowa State) 133 lbs Kyle Burwick (Wisconsin) Malyke Hines (Lehigh) Dom LaJoie (Cornell) Dom Zaccone (Campbell) 141 lbs Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina) Parker Filius (Purdue) Chad Red Jr (Nebraska) Dresden Simon (Central Michigan) Joe Zargo (Wisconsin) 149 lbs Jaden Abas (Stanford) Josh Edmond (Missouri) PJ Ogunsanya (Army West Point) Yahya Thomas (Northwestern) 157 lbs Michael Petite (Buffalo) Hunter Richard (Cornell) Chase Saldate (Michigan State) Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma State) Jordan Slivka (Ohio) 165 lbs Caleb Fish (Michigan State) Will Formato (Appalachian State) Brian Meyer (Lehigh) Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) 174 lbs Chris Foca (Cornell) Gerrit Nijenhuis (Purdue) Bailee O'Reilly (Minnesota) Sal Perrine (Ohio) 184 lbs Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) Max Lyon (Purdue) Tate Samuelson (Wyoming) DJ Washington (Indiana) 197 lbs JT Brown (Army West Point) Alan Clothier (Northern Colorado) Will Feldkamp (Clarion) Jaron Smith (Maryland) 285 lbs Matt Cover (Princeton) Tyrell Gordon (Northern Iowa) Zachary Knighton-Ward (Hofstra) Brandon Metz (North Dakota State) Michael Wolfgram (West Virginia)

2022 Big 12 champion Missouri Tigers (photo courtesy of Mark Lundy; LutteLens.com) After a long hiatus away from the Big 12 conference, Missouri has returned with a vengeance to take back their crown that they won the last time they were in the conference. The early rounds saw Oklahoma State with an edge as they piled up wins in their first-round bouts, along with a decent quarterfinal round that pushed six into the semifinals and included two head-to-head wins over Missouri. Then after the semifinals, where Oklahoma State pushed another four into the finals and won one first round consolation match, they still held the team point lead. But Missouri and Oklahoma went to work on the consolation side. Missouri won six first round consolation matches and four in the second round while Oklahoma State only won one first round match and didn't win any in the second round. Oklahoma quietly stormed back into the conversation as well, keeping all ten guys in the tournament and going 7-0 in both the first and second consolation rounds. This helped them surpass Oklahoma State and get within striking distance of Missouri heading into day two. To start the second day, Oklahoma needed a little help and had to wrestle nearly perfect on the consolation side to overtake Missouri. They wrestled solid, but so did Missouri and it ultimately just wasn't enough to get in contention. The Sooners grabbed one third place finish, a few fourths, a fifth, and sixth, which ultimately couldn't catch them up with Missouri, who got third place finishes from the Elam brothers and a few other medal match wins that locked in the team title for them going into the finals. The team race was already decided going into the finals, but there were still champions to be crowned. At 125 West Virginia got a champion as Killian Cardinale controlled Brody Teske to an 8-3 decision. Oklahoma State got a title at 133 Daton Fix won his third Big 12 championship with a 6-2 decision over Northern Iowa's Kyle Biscoglia. Andrew Alirez made history for Northern Colorado by winning the program's first-ever individual Big 12 title at 141. He beat Allan Hart 6-4. At 149, it was Bedlam as OSU's Kaden Gfeller and OU's Willie McDougald squared off. Gfeller managed to push a few stall calls on McDougald to get a 2-1 decision and his second Big 12 title. At 157 NCAA Champion David Carr dominated his way to another Big 12 title with an 8-2 win over North Dakota State's Jared Franek. At 165 Keegan O'Toole was tested a bit more than normal, but picked up a 13-7 decision over West Virginia's Peyton Hall. Dustin Plott used a late takedown and rideout to pick up his first Big 12 title and Parker Keckeisen had a dominant major decision win over Missouri's Jeremiah Kent. Stephen Buchanan won the toughest weight in the Big 12 with a 3-2 decision over South Dakota State's Tanner Sloan. Heavyweight got off to a wild start as Luke Surber took #1 seed Wyatt Hendrickson down early and put him on his back. Hendrickson recovered, escaped, took Surber down and put him on his back. It was all Hendrickson from there as he dominated his way to a major decision and the Air Force Academy's first Big 12 title. Final team scores 1) Missouri 131.5 2) Oklahoma 113 3) Iowa State 110 4) Oklahoma State 107.5 5) Northern Iowa 100 6) South Dakota State 66 7) North Dakota State 62 7) West Virginia 62 9) Wyoming 57.5 10) Air Force 45 11) Northern Colorado 35.5 12) Utah Valley 34 Championship Finals 125 - Killian Cardinale (West Virginia) dec Brody Teske (Northern Iowa) 8-3 133 - Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) dec Kyle Biscoglia (Northern Iowa) 6-2 141 - Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) dec Allan Hart (Missouri) 6-4 149 - Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State) dec Willie McDougald (Oklahoma) 2-1 157 - David Carr (Iowa State) dec Jared Franek (North Dakota State) 8-2 165 - Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) dec Peyton Hall (West Virginia) 13-7 174 - Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) dec Peyton Mocco (Missouri) 4-3 184 - Peyton Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) maj Jeremiah Kent (Missouri) 13-3 197 - Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming) dec Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State) 3-2 285 - Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force) maj Luke Surber (Oklahoma State) 16-6 Third Place Bouts 125 - Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Oklahoma State) dec Joey Prata (Oklahoma) 4-1 133 - Ramazan Attasauov (Iowa State) dec Sidney Flores (Air Force) 8-5 141 - Clay Carlson (South Dakota State) dec Dylan Droegemueller (North Dakota State) 7-5 149 - Colin Realbuto (Northern Iowa) dec Jarrett Degen (Iowa State) 8-6 157 - Jacob Wright (Wyoming) dec Justin Thomas (Oklahoma) 6-5TB 165 - Austin Yant (Northern Iowa) dec Luke Weber (North Dakota State) 6-5 174 - Anthony Mantanona (Oklahoma) dec Cade DeVos (South Dakota State) 6-3 184 - Marcus Coleman (Iowa State) maj Keegan Moore (Oklahoma) 19-6 197 - Rocky Elam (Missouri) dec Jake Woodley (Oklahoma) 6-1 285 - Zach Elam (Missouri) dec Sam Schuyler (Iowa State) 6-1 Fifth Place Bouts 125 - Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley) maj Jace Koelzer (Northern Colorado) 19-6 133 - Haiden Drury (Utah Valley) dec Tony Madrigal (Oklahoma) 2-1 141 - Ian Parker (Iowa State) dec Jacob Butler (Oklahoma) 8-7 149 - Josh Edmond (Missouri) maj Dylan Martinez (Air Force) 17-8 157 - Jarrett Jacques (Missouri) dec Derek Holschlag (Northern Iowa) 3-1SV 165 - Joe Grello (Oklahoma) dec Isaac Judge (Iowa State) 6-2 174 - Hayden Hastings (Wyoming) MedFFT Lance Runyon (Northern Iowa) 184 - Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) dec DJ Parker (North Dakota State) 13-10 197 - Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) MedFFT Owen Pentz (North Dakota State) 285 - AJ Nevills (South Dakota State) dec Josh Heindselman (Oklahoma) 5-4TB Seventh Place Bouts 125 - Noah Surtin (Missouri) dec Kysen Terukina (Iowa State) 5-3SV 133 - Connor Brown (Missouri) fall Gabe Tagg (South Dakota State) 5:53 141 - Carter Young (Oklahoma State) dec Ty Smith (Utah Valley) 7-4 149 - Gaven Sax (North Dakota State) dec Jeffrey Boyd (West Virginia) 12-5 157 - Alex Hornfeck (West Virginia) dec Kenny O'Neill (South Dakota State) 8-2 165 - Tanner Cook (South Dakota State) fall Nick Knutson (Northern Colorado) 2:25 174 - Joel Devine (Iowa State) dec Dennis Robin (West Virginia) 6-0 184 - Tate Samuelson (Wyoming) fall Anthony Carman (West Virginia) 1:40 197 - Evan Bockman (Utah Valley) dec Alan Clothier (Northern Colorado) 7-4 285 - Michael Wolfgram (West Virginia) dec Brandon Metz (North Dakota State) 3-1 Automatic Qualifiers by Team Air Force: (2) Sidney Flores (125); Wyatt Hendrickson (285) Iowa State: (8) Ramazan Attasaouv (133); Ian Parker (141); Jarrett Degen (149); David Carr (157); Joel Devine (174); Marcus Coleman (184); Yonger Bastida (197); Sam Schuyler (285) Missouri: (7) Allan Hart (141); Jarrett Jacques (157); Keegan O'Toole (165); Peyton Mocco (174); Jeremiah Kent (184); Rocky Elam (197); Zach Elam (285) North Dakota State: (4) Dylan Droegemueller (141); Jared Franek (157); Luke Weber (165); Owen Pentz (197) Northern Colorado: (2) Jace Koelzer (125); Andrew Alirez (141) Northern Iowa: (7) Brody Teske (125); Kyle Biscoglia (133); Colin Realbuto (149); Derek Holschlag (157); Austin Yant (165); Lance Runyon (174); Parker Keckeisen (184) Oklahoma: (9) Joey Prata (125); Tony Madrigal (133); Jacob Butler (141); Willie McDougald (149); Justin Thomas (157); Anthony Mantanona (174); Keegan Moore (184); Jake Woodley (197); Josh Heindselman (285) Oklahoma State: (6) Trevor Mastrogiovanni (125); Daton Fix (133); Carter Young (141); Kaden Gfeller (149); Dustin Plott (174); Luke Surber (285) South Dakota State: (4) Clay Carlson (141); Cade DeVos (174); Tanner Sloan (197); AJ Nevills (285) Utah Valley: (3) Taylor LaMont (125); Haiden Drury (133); Evan Bockman (197) West Virginia: (3) Killian Cardinale (125); Peyton Hall (165); Dennis Robin (174) Wyoming: (3) Jacob Wright (157); Hayden Hastings (174); Stephen Buchanan (197)

2022 EIWA champion Vito Arujau (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) 2022 EIWA Championships Team Scores 1) Cornell 153 2) Penn 143 3) Princeton 120.5 4) Lehigh 111 5) Columbia 84.5 6) Binghamton 79.5 7) Navy 63.5 8) Army West Point 57 9) Harvard 49 10) Drexel 47 11) Bucknell 39.5 12) Hofstra 36 13) Franklin & Marshall 29 14) Brown 26.5 15) American 25.5 16) Sacred Heart 5 17) Long Island 3 Championship Finals 125 - Vito Aruaju (Cornell) maj Patrick Glory (Princeton) 19-6 133 - Michael Colaiocco (Penn) dec Josh Koderhandt (Navy) 8-4 141 - Matt Kazimir (Columbia) dec CJ Composto (Penn) 6-4 149 - Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) maj Anthony Artalona (Penn) 11-2 157 - Quincy Monday (Princeton) dec Andrew Cerniglia (Navy) 9-4 165 - Phil Conigliaro (Harvard) dec Josh Ogunsanya (Columbia) 8-3 174 - Mickey O'Malley (Drexel) dec Nico Incontera (Penn) 1-1RTTB 184 - Jonathan Loew (Cornell) dec Travis Stefanik (Princeton) 12-5 197 - Louie DePrez (Binghamton) dec Luke Stout (Princeton) 10-4 285 - Jordan Wood (Lehigh) dec Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) 2-0 Third Place Bouts 125 - Ryan Miller (Penn) maj Joe Manchio (Columbia) 10-2 133 - Dom Lajoie (Cornell) dec Jack Maida (American) 4-0 141 - Wil Gil (Franklin & Marshall) dec Connor McGonagle (Lehigh) 10-5 149 - Max Brignola (Lehigh) dec Marshall Keller (Princeton) 5-3 157 - Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) maj Markus Hartman (Army West Point) 10-0 165 - Zach Hartman (Bucknell) maj Julian Ramirez (Cornell) 16-3 174 - Ben Pasiuk (Army West Point) dec Jacob Nolan (Binghamton) 3-1SV 184 - AJ Burkhart (Lehigh) dec Charles Small (Hofstra) 3-2 197 - Jake Koser (Navy) maj Cole Urbas (Penn) 9-0 285 - Joe Doyle (Binghamton) dec Ben Goldin (Penn) 4-0 Fifth Place Bouts 125 - Beau Bayless (Harvard) MedFFT Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) 133 - Richard Treanor (Army West Point) dec Nick Kayal (Princeton) 9-8 141 - Darren Miller (Bucknell) dec Ryan Anderson (Binghamton) 2-1TB 149 - Danny Fongaro (Columbia) MedFF PJ Ogunsanya (Army West Point) 157 - Doug Zapf (Penn) dec Hunter Richard (Cornell) 5-3 165 - Brevin Cassella (Binghamton) dec Lucas Revano (Penn) 3-2 174 - Jake Logan (Lehigh) MedFFT Chris Foca (Cornell) 184 - Neil Antrassian (Penn) dec Bryan McLaughlin (Drexel) 13-8 197 - Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) dec JT Davis (Lehigh) 4-1 285 - Matt Cover (Princeton) dec Zachary Knighton-Ward (Hofstra) 3-1 Seventh Place Bouts 125 - Brandon Seidman (Bucknell) dec Reese Fry (Brown) 9-4 133 - Jaxon Maroney (Drexel) dec Nicky Cabanillas (Brown) 7-5SV 141 - Danny Coles (Princeton) dec Justin Hoyle (Hofstra) 11-5 149 - Lukus Stricker (Harvard) dec Nick Lombard (Binghamton) 8-2 157 - Nick Delp (Bucknell) dec Trevor Tarsi (Harvard) 3-1 165 - Evan Barczak (Drexel) dec Val Park (Navy) 5-0 174 - Nick Fine (Columbia) fall Nate Dugan (Princeton) 6:24 184 - Brian Bonino (Columbia) dec Cory Day (Binghamton) 3-2 197 - JT Brown (Army West Point) dec Sam Wustefeld (Columbia) 4-1 285 - Cenzo Pelusi (Franklin & Marshall) dec Dan Conley (Columbia) 3-1SV Automatic Qualifiers by Team Army West Point: (2) Markus Hartman (157); Ben Pasiuk (174) Binghamton: (4) Brevin Cassella (165); Jacob Nolan (174); Louie DePrez (197); Joe Doyle (285) Bucknell: (1) Zach Hartman (165) Columbia: (2) Matt Kazimir (141); Josh Ogunsanya (165) Cornell: (6) Vito Arujau (125); Yianni Diakomihalis (149); Julian Ramirez (165); Jonathan Loew (184); Jacob Cardenas (197); Lewis Fernandes (285) Drexel: (2) Evan Barczak (165); Mickey O'Malley (174) Franklin & Marshall: (1) Wil Gil (141) Harvard: (1) Phil Conigliaro (165) Lehigh: (5) Connor McGonagle (141); Max Brignola (149); Josh Humphreys (157); AJ Burkhart (184); Jordan Wood (285) Navy: (3) Josh Koderhandt (133); Andrew Cerniglia (157), Jake Koser (197) Penn: (9) Ryan Miller (125); Michael Colaiocco (133); CJ Composto (141); Anthony Artalona (149); Doug Zapf (157); Lucas Revano (165); Nick Incontrera (174) Cole Urbas (197); Ben Goldin (285) Princeton: (5) Patrick Glory (125); Marshall Keller (149) Quincy Monday (157); Travis Stefanik (184); Luke Stout (197)

2022 Pac-12 champion Michael McGee (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 2022 Pac-12 Championships Team Scores 1) Arizona State 115 2) Oregon State 114.5 3) Stanford 97 4) Cal Poly 88.5 5) CSU Bakersfield 83 6) Little Rock 71 Championship Finals 125 - Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) dec Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State) 5-3 133 - Michael McGee (Arizona State) dec Chance Rich (CSU Bakersfield) 7-2 141 - Real Woods (Stanford) maj Grant Willits (Oregon State) 8-0 149 - Kyle Parco (Arizona State) dec Legend Lamer (Cal Poly) 11-5 157 - Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) dec Hunter Willits (Oregon State) 3-1SV 165 - Evan Wick (Cal Poly) dec Shane Griffith (Stanford) 8-7 174 - Tyler Eischens (Stanford) dec Adam Kemp (Cal Poly) 4-3 184 - Trey Munoz (Oregon State) fall Bernie Truax (Cal Poly) 1:14 197 - Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State) maj Ryan Reyes (Oregon State) 14-6 285 - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) dec Gary Traub (Oregon State) 2-1 Third Place Matches 125 - Logan Ashton (Stanford) dec Jayden Carson (Little Rock) 3-1 133 - Devan Turner (Oregon State) dec Jackson DiSario (Stanford) 6-1 141 - Mykey Ramos (Arizona State) dec Angelo Martinoni (CSU Bakersfield) 5-4 149 - Cory Crooks (Arizona State) fall Jaden Abas (Stanford) 6:23 157 - Charlie Darracott (Stanford) dec Brock Rogers (CSU Bakersfield) 6-2 165 - Matt Olguin (Oregon State) dec Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) 6-4SV 174 - Triston Wills (Little Rock) dec Albert Urias (CSU Bakersfield) 8-1 184 - Jacob Hansen (CSU Bakersfield) maj Josh Nummer (Arizona State) 13-4 197 - Josh Loomer (CSU Bakersfield) fall Nick Stemmet (Stanford) 2:12 285 - Jacob Sieder (CSU Bakersfield) maj Josiah Hill (Little Rock) 12-2 Fifth Place Matches 125 - Antonio Lorenzo (Cal Poly) dec Eddie Flores (CSU Bakersfield) 8-2 133 - Jaylen Carson (Little Rock) dec Abe Hinrichsen (Cal Poly) 7-1 141 - Lawrence Saenz (Cal Poly) InjDef Conner Ward (Little Rock) 149 - Joey Bianchi (Little Rock) MedFFT Josh Brown (CSU Bakersfield) 157 - Brawley Lamer (Cal Poly) dec Chase Tebbets (Little Rock) 7-2 165 - Tyler Brennan (Little Rock) fall Augustine Garcia (CSU Bakersfield) 2:29 174 - Aaron Olmos (Oregon State) dec Ryan Rochford (Arizona State) 13-7 184 - Tanner Mendoza (Little Rock) dec Nick Addison (Stanford) 5-4 197 - Trent Tracy (CSU Bakersfield) tech Brooks Sacharczyk (Little Rock) 16-0 285 - Peter Ming (Stanford) MedFFT Sam Aguilar (Cal Poly) Automatic Qualifiers by Team Arizona State: (6) Brandon Courtney (125); Michael McGee (133); Kyle Parco (149); Jacori Teemer (157), Kordell Norfleet (197), Cohlton Schultz (285) Cal Poly: (4) Legend Lamer (149), Evan Wick (165); Adam Kemp (174); Bernie Truax (184) CSU Bakersfield: (1) Chance Rich (133) Oregon State: (8) Brandon Kaylor (125); Devan Turner (133); Grant Willits (141); Cory Crooks (149); Hunter Willits (157); Matt Olguin (165); Trey Munoz (184); Gary Traub (285) Stanford: (4) Logan Ashton (125); Real Woods (141); Shane Griffith (165); Tyler Eischens (174)

2022 ACC champion Trent Hidlay (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) 2022 ACC Championships Team Scores 1) NC State 98.5 2) Virginia Tech 76 3) Pittsburgh 51 4) North Carolina 48 5) Virginia 39.5 6) Duke 11 Championship Finals 125 - Jakob Camacho (NC State) dec Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) 3-1 133 - Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech) dec Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) 4-2 141 - Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) dec Ryan Jack (NC State) 3-2 149 - Tariq Wilson (NC State) dec Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) 10-4 157 - Ed Scott (NC State) dec Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) 3-2 165 - Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh) dec Justin McCoy (Virginia) 7-0 174 - Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) dec Clay Lautt (North Carolina) 4-2 184 - Trent Hidlay (NC State) maj Gavin Kane (North Carolina) 11-0 197 - Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) dec Isaac Trumble (NC State) 5-2 285 - Nathan Traxler (Virginia Tech) dec Tyrie Houghton (NC State) 9-6 Third Place Bouts 125 - Patrick McCormick (Virginia) dec Spencer Moore (North Carolina) 2-1 133 - Kai Orine (NC State) dec Joe Heilmann (North Carolina) 5-3 141 - Dylan Cedeno (Virginia) dec Collin Gerardi (Virginia Tech) 7-5 149 - Zach Sherman (North Carolina) MedFFT Josh Finesilver (Duke) 157 - Jake Keating (Virginia) dec Connor Brady (Virginia Tech) 6-1 165 - Thomas Bullard (NC State) dec Clayton Ulrey (Virginia Tech) 1-0 174 - Hayden Hidlay (NC State) dec Matt Finesilver (Duke) 7-6 184 - Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) fall Gregg Harvey (Pittsburgh) 1:42 197 - Jay Aiello (Virginia) maj Max Shaw (North Carolina) 8-0 285 - Quinn Miller (Virginia) dec Brandon Whitman (North Carolina) 4-1 Fifth Place Bouts 133 - Brian Courtney (Virginia) tech Drake Doolittle (Duke) 15-0 157 - Elijah Cleary (Pittsburgh) dec Wade Ungar (Duke) 5-3 184 - Michael Battista (Virginia) dec Vincent Baker (Duke) 12-6 Automatic Qualifiers by Team Duke: (2) Josh Finesilver (149); Matt Finesilver (174) NC State: (10) Jakob Camacho (125); Kai Orine (133); Ryan Jack (141); Tariq Wilson (149); Ed Scott (157); Thomas Bullard (165); Hayden Hidlay (174); Trent Hidlay (184); Isaac Trumble (197); Tyrie Houghton (285) North Carolina: (5) Joe Heilmann (133); Zach Sherman (149); Austin O'Connor (157); Clay Lautt (174); Gavin Kane (184) Pittsburgh: (6) Micky Phillippi (133); Cole Matthews (141); Elijah Cleary (157); Jake Wentzel (165); Gregg Harvey (184); Nino Bonaccorsi (197) Virginia: (8) Patrick McCormick (125); Brian Courtney (133), Dylan Cedeno (141); Jake Keating (157); Justin McCoy (165); Michael Battista (184); Jay Aiello (197); Quinn Miller (285) Virginia Tech: (8) Sam Latona (125): Korbin Myers (133), Collin Gerardi (141); Bryce Andonian (149); Connor Brady (157); Mekhi Lewis (174); Hunter Bolen (184); Nathan Traxler (285)

2022 Big Ten champion Michigan Wolverines (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) 2022 Big Ten Championships Final Results Team Scores 1) Michigan 143 2) Penn State 141.5 3) Iowa 129.5 4) Ohio State 91.5 5) Northwestern 90.5 6) Minnesota 78.5 7) Nebraska 75.5 8) Wisconsin 68 9) Rutgers 41 10) Purdue 36.5 11) Illinois 34.5 12) Michigan State 33 13) Maryland 15.5 14) Indiana 4 Championship Finals 125 - Nick Suriano (Michigan) maj Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) 12-4 133 - Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) dec Austin DeSanto (Iowa) 3-1 141 - Nick Lee (Penn State) MedFFT Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) 149 - Austin Gomez (Wisconsin) dec Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) 8-5 157 - Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) dec Will Lewan (Michigan) 7-2 165 - Alex Marinelli (Iowa) dec Cameron Amine (Michigan) 2-1 174 - Carter Starocci (Penn State) dec Logan Massa (Michigan) 5-1 184 - Myles Amine (Michigan) dec Aaron Brooks (Penn State) 6-4SV 197 - Max Dean (Penn State) dec Eric Schultz (Nebraska) 4-2 285 - Gable Steveson (Minnesota) MedFFT Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) Third Place Bouts 125 - Patrick McKee (Minnesota) dec MIchael DeAugustino (Northwestern) 3-1 133 - Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) dec Lucas Byrd (Illinois) 3-1SV 141 - Jakob Bergeland (Minnesota) dec Stevan Micic (Michigan) 4-0 149 - Max Murin (Iowa) MedFFT Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) 157 - Brady Berge (Penn State) dec Kaleb Young (Iowa) 3-1SV 165 - Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) dec Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) 4-2SV 174 - Ethan Smith (Ohio State) MedFFT Troy Fisher (Northwestern) 184 - Zac Braunagel (Illinois) dec Kaleb Romero (Ohio State) 3-1SV 197 - Patrick Brucki (Michigan) dec Jacob Warner (Iowa) 3-1 285 - Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) dec Mason Parris (Michigan) 5-3 Fifth Place Bouts 125 - Malik Heinselman (Ohio State) MedFFT Devin Schroder (Purdue) 133 - Chris Cannon (Northwestern) MedFFT Rayvon Foley (Michigan State) 141 - Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio State) MedFFT Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) 149 - Michael Blockhus (Minnesota) MedFFT Mike Van Brill (Rutgers) 157 - Peyton Robb (Nebraska) maj Kendall Coleman (Purdue) 8-0 165 - David Ferrante (Northwestern) MedFFT Bubba Wilson (Nebraska) 174 - Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) MedFFT Michael Kemerer (Iowa) 184 - Taylor Venz (Nebraska) dec Kyle Cochran (Maryland) 6-3 197 - Thomas Penola (Purdue) dec Cameron Caffey (Michigan State) 3-2 285 - Lucas Davison (Northwestern) dec Luke Luffman (Illinois) 3-1 Seventh Place Bouts 125 - Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) MedFFT Drake Ayala (Iowa) 133 - Matt Ramos (Purdue) dec Jake Gliva (Minnesota) 3-2 141 - Frankie Tal-Shahar (Northwestern) dec Parker Filius (Purdue) 11-6 149 - Beau Bartlett (Penn State) dec Kanen Storr (Michigan) 3-1 157 - Garrett Model (Wisconsin) dec Chase Saldate (Michigan State) 7-0 165 - Cael Carlson (Minnesota) fall Caleb Fish (Michigan State) 2:41 174 - Dom Solis (Maryland) dec Connor O'Neill (Rutgers) 10-4 184 - Abe Assad (Iowa) MedFFT Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) 197 - Greg Bulsak (Rutgers) dec Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State) 6-1 285 - Christian Lance (Nebraska) dec Tate Orndorff (Ohio State) 3-2 Automatic Qualifiers by Team Illinois: (4) Justin Cardani (125); Lucas Byrd (133); Zac Braunagel (184); Luke Luffman (285) Indiana: (1) Brock Hudkins (133) Iowa: (10) Drake Ayala (125); Austin DeSanto (133); Jaydin Eierman (141); Max Murin (149); Kaleb Young (157); Alex Marinelli (165); Michael Kemerer (174); Abe Assad (184); Jacob Warner (197); Tony Cassioppi (285) Maryland: (2) Dom Solis (174); Kyle Cochran (184) Michigan: (9) Nick Suriano (125); Dylan Ragusin (133); Stevan Micic (141); Will Lewan (157); Cameron Amine (165); Logan Massa (174); Myles Amine (184); Patrick Brucki (197); Mason Parris (285) Michigan State: (3) Rayvon Foley (133); Layne Malczewski (184); Cameron Caffey (197) Minnesota: (8) Patrick McKee (125); Jake Gliva (133); Jakob Bergeland (141); Michael Blockhus (149); Cael Carlson (165); Isaiah Salazar (184); Michal Foy (197); Gable Steveson (285) Nebraska: (7) Ridge Lovett (149), Peyton Robb (157); Bubba Wilson (165); Mikey Labriola (174); Taylor Venz (184); Eric Schultz (197); Christian Lance (285) Northwestern: (9) Michael DeAugustino (125); Chris Cannon (133); Frankie Tal-Shahar (141), Ryan Deakin (157); David Ferrante (165); Troy Fisher (174); Jack Jessen (184); Andrew Davison (197); Lucas Davison (285) Ohio State: (8) Malik Heinselman (125); Dylan D'Emilio (141); Sammy Sasso (149); Carson Kharchla (165); Ethan Smith (174); Kaleb Romero (184); Gavin Hoffman (197); Tate Orndorff (285) Penn State: (9) Drew Hildebrandt (125); Roman Bravo-Young (133); Nick Lee (141); Beau Bartlett (149); Brady Berge (157); Carter Starocci (174); Aaron Brooks (184); Max Dean (197); Greg Kerkvliet (285) Purdue: (4) Devin Schroder (125); Matt Ramos (133); Kendall Coleman (157); Thomas Penola (197) Rutgers: (7) Dylan Shawver (125); Joey Olivieri (133), Sebastian Rivera (141); Mike Van Brill (149); Connor O'Neill (174); John Poznanski (184); Greg Bulsak (197) Wisconsin: (7) Eric Barnett (125); Austin Gomez (149); Garrett Model (157); Dean Hamiti (165); Chris Weiler (184); Braxton Amos (197); Trent Hillger (285)

2022 MAC Champion Caleb Hopkins (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) 2022 SoCon Championships Final Results Team Scores 1) Campbell 100.5 2) Appalachian State 95 3) Chattanooga 79 4) Gardner-Webb 51 5) The Citadel 38.5 6) Davidson 12.5 7) VMI 12 8) Presbyterian 6.5 Championship Finals 125 - Fabian Gutierrez (Chattanooga) dec Korbin Meink (Campbell) 3-1 133 - Codi Russell (Appalachian State) dec Brayden Palmer (Chattanooga) 7-4 141 - Shannon Hanna (Campbell) dec Heath Gonyer (Appalachian State) 10-4TB 149 - Jonathan Millner (Appalachian State) dec Josh Heil (Campbell) 5-4 157 - Dazjon Casto (The Citadel) dec Cody Bond (Appalachian State) 5-4 165 - Rodrick Mosley (Gardner-Webb) dec Drew Nicholson (Chattanooga) 4-3 174 - Thomas Flitz (Appalachian State) dec Austin Murphy (Campbell) 3-2TB 184 - Caleb Hopkins (Campbell) dec Jha'Quan Anderson (Gardner-Webb) 8-3 197 - Matthew Waddell (Chattanooga) dec Chris Kober (Campbell) 3-1 285 - Taye Ghadiali (Campbell) dec Michael McAleavey (The Citadel) 3-1SV Third Place Matches 125 - Caleb Smith (Appalachian State) dec Benny Gomez (Presbyterian) 8-1 133 - Dom Zaccone (Campbell) maj Todd Carter (Gardner-Webb) 11-3 141 - Franco Valdes (Chattanooga) fall Trevon Majette (Gardner-Webb) 4:51 149 - Noah Castillo (Chattanooga) dec Brandon Bright (Gardner-Webb) 4-1 157 - JoJo Aragona (Campbell) dec Taylor Parks (Gardner-Webb) 4-2 165 - Will Formato (Appalachian State) maj Troy Nation (Campbell) 11-1 174 - Ben Haubert (The Citadel) dec Carial Tarter (Chattanooga) 4-2 184 - Barrett Blakely (Appalachian State) dec Thomas Sell (Chattanooga) 6-4 197 - Anthony Perrine (Gardner-Webb) dec Tyler Mousaw (VMI) 5-1 285 - Michael Burchell (Appalachian State) maj Mitchell Trigg (Davidson) 16-6 True Second Place 133 - Brayden Palmer (Chattanooga) maj Dom Zaccone (Campbell) 17-6 165 - Drew Nicholson (Chattanooga) dec Will Formato (Appalachian State) 6-2 Automatic Qualifiers by Team Appalachian State (3) Codi Russell (133); Jonathan Millner (149); Thomas Flitz (174) Campbell (5) Korbin Meink (125); Shannon Hanna (141); Josh Heil (149); Caleb Hopkins (184); Taye Ghadiali (285) Chattanooga (4) Fabian Gutierrez (125); Brayden Palmer (133); Drew Nicholson (165); Matthew Waddell (197) Gardner-Webb (1) Rodrick Mosley (165) The Citadel (2) Dazjon Casto (157); Michael McAleavey (285)

Penn State 149 lber Beau Bartlett (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Win and you're in! Lose and pray for an at-large selection. In a separate piece, we'll outline all the former All Americans and top-ranked guys that are at the mercy of the selection committee (141 is particularly a mess). But here we're going to focus on what's on tap for Sunday morning. After Day I of wrestling at Big Ten's and Big 12's, there are tons of pivotal match ups and NCAA berths on the line, many of which are important for the country's top teams. Below are our favorite 'go-to' bouts in Lincoln and Tulsa, followed by a complete list. Big 12 141 - 7th Place Carter Young, Oklahoma State vs. Ty Smith, Utah Valley OK State has been devastated with injuries. They lost reigning NCAA Champ AJ Ferrari after a car accident and returning AA's Wyatt Sheets and Travis Wittlake failed to qualify on Saturday. They need Young, a true freshman, to keep another potential point earner in the lineup for Detroit. Oh yeah….the two met in the opening round and Smith won, 6-2. Big 12 149 - Consi Semi Jarrett Degen, Iowa State vs. Josh Edmond, Missouri Two traditional powers look to add a qualifier for Nationals. They are ranked #21 and #22 respectively, and Degen won the matchup 9-7 a month ago. Big 12 184 - Consi Semi Dakota Geer, Oklahoma St. vs. Keegan Moore, Oklahoma Whoa, Nellie! What a situation. Two guys, in their last go-round, from the Bedlam series, who used to be teammates. Moore utterly stunned Geer two weeks ago in the dual when he won handily, but Geer has been more productive (if inconsistent) over the course of their careers. Big Ten 149 - 7th Place Beau Bartlett, Penn State vs. Kanen Storr, Michigan Bartlett didn't qualify for NCAA's last year and is on the cusp again. He beat Michael Blockhus (who is in) but then lost to Austin Gomez and Mike Van Brill. Dealing with an injury almost all season, Storr was pinned by Van Brill in his opening round bout before beating Yahya Thomas. He then lost to Blockhus. It's an enormous match between the two teams currently leading the B1G team race. The Complete List of All Other "Win and You're In" Matches Big Ten 125: Drew Hildebrandt, PSU vs. Jacob Moran, Indiana Big Ten 125: Tristan Lujan, Michigan State vs. Justin Cardani, Illinois Big Ten 133: Brock Hudkins, Indiana vs. Kyle Burwick, Wisconsin Big Ten 133: Dom Serrano, Nebraska vs. Joey Olivieri, Rutgers Big Ten 141: Frankie Tal-Shahar, Northwestern vs. Parker Filius, Purdue Big Ten 149: Colin Realbuto, Northern Iowa vs. Dylan Martinez, Air Force Big Ten 157: Chase Saldate, Michigan State. vs. Garrett Model, Wisconsin Big Ten 165: Cael Carlson, Minnesota vs. Caleb Fish, Michigan State Big 12 165: Isaac Judge, Iowa State vs. Luke Weber, North Dakota State Big 12 165: Austin Yant, Northern Iowa vs. Joe Grello, Oklahoma Big 12 184: DJ Parker, North Dakota State vs. Marcus Coleman, Iowa State Big Ten 197: Braxton Amos, Wisconsin vs. Michial Foy, Minnesota Big Ten 197: Jaron Smith, Maryland vs. Andrew Davison, Northwestern Big 12 197: Evan Bockman, Utah Valley vs. Alan Clothier, Northern Colorado

2022 MAC Champion Anthony Noto (right) (photo courtesy of Lock Haven athletics) 2022 MAC Championships Final Results Team Scores 1) Lock Haven 123.5 2) Central Michigan 108 3) Northern Illinois 93 4) Buffalo 92.5 5) Clarion 79.5 6) Cleveland State 73.5 7) Kent State 71.5 8) Rider 68 9) Ohio 61.5 10) SIU Edwardsville 52 11) George Mason 47 12) Bloomsburg 42 13) Edinboro 30.5 Championship Finals 125 - Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) dec Joey Fischer (Clarion) 3-1SV 133 - Richie Koehler (Rider) dec Derek Spann (Buffalo) 4-1 141 - Quinn Kinner (Rider) dec Josh Mason (Bloomsburg) 4-1 149 - Kody Komara (Kent State) fall Marcus Robinson (Cleveland State) 4:02 157 - Ben Barton (Lock Haven) dec Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan) 2-1 165 - Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois) dec Ashton Eyler (Lock Haven) 7-5SV 174 - Mason Kauffman (Northern Illinois) dec Sal Perrine (Ohio) 7-5 184 - Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois) maj Colin McCracken (Kent State) 8-0 197 - Ben Smith (Cleveland State) fall Will Feldkamp (Clarion) 2:07 285 - Matt Stencel (Central Michigan) dec Isaac Reid (Lock Haven) 4-2 Third Place Matches 125 - Jake Ferri (Kent State) dec Brock Bergelin (Central Michigan) 7-5 133 - Gable Strickland (Lock Haven) dec Gio DiSabato (Ohio) 4-3 141 - Gabe Willochell (Edinboro) dec Jaivon Jones (Northern Illinois) 2-0 149 - Corbyn Munson (Central Michigan) dec John Arceri (Buffalo) 1-0 157 - Michael Petite (Buffalo) dec Jordan Slivka (Ohio) 4-3 165 - Riley Smucker (Cleveland State) dec Tracy Hubbard (Central Michigan) 2-1 174 - Jay Nivison (Buffalo) dec Logan Messer (George Mason) 4-3 184 - Kyle Davis (George Mason) dec DeAndre Nassar (Cleveland State) 3-1SV 197 - Aaron Bolo (Central Michigan) dec Ryan Yarnell (SIU Edwardsville) 9-3 285 - Tyler Bagoly (Clarion) dec Toby Cahill (Buffalo) 7-3 Fifth Place Matches 125 - Tristan Daugherty (Buffalo) dec Oscar Sanchez (Ohio) 4-3TB 133 - Cole Rhone (Bloomsburg) fall Aaron Schulist (SIU Edwardsville) :58 141 - Seth Koleno (Clarion) dec Saul Ervin (SIU Edwardsville) 5-2 149 - DaShawn Farber (Lock Haven) MedFFT Alex Madrigal (George Mason) 157 - Alex Carida (Bloomsburg) maj Anthony Gibson (Northern Illinois) 14-3 165 - Joe Casey (Rider) MedFFT Noah Grover (Buffalo) 174 - Bret Fedewa (Central Michigan) dec John Worthing (Clarion) 11-4 184 - Max Wohlbaugh (Clarion) dec Colin Fegley (Lock Haven) 3-2 197 - Tyler Bates (Kent State) dec Cody Mulligan (Edinboro) 3-2 285 - Colton McKiernan (SIU Edwardsville) dec David Szuba (Rider) 6-4 Seventh Place Matches 125 - Bryce West (Northern Illinois) dec Austin Macias (SIU Edwardsville) 8-5 133 - Jake Manley (Cleveland State) maj Vince Perez (Central Michigan) 12-3 141 - Louis Newell (Kent State) dec Kaden Cassidy (George Mason) 5-3 149 - Alec Hagan (Ohio) dec Caleb Tyus (SIU Edwardsville) 4-3 157 - Avery Bassett (George Mason) dec Cole McComas (Rider) 8-1 165 - Kolby Ho (Clarion) MedFFT Brady Chrisman (Kent State) 174 - Tyler Stoltzfus (Lock Haven) maj Anthony Rice (Cleveland State) 8-0 184 - Peter Acciardi (Buffalo) fall Sergio Villalobos (SIU Edwardsville) 7:56SV 197 - Parker McClellan (Lock Haven) FFT Carson Brewer (Ohio) 285 - Terrese Aaron (Northern Illinois) dec Max Millin (Edinboro) 3-1 True Second Place 174 - Jay Nivison (Buffalo) dec Sal Perrine (Ohio) 3-2 184 - Colin McCracken (Kent State) dec Kyle Davis (George Mason) 9-4 Automatic Qualifiers by Team Bloomsburg (1) Josh Mason (141) Buffalo (2) John Arceri (149); Jay Nivison (174) Central Michigan (3) Corbyn Munson (149); Johnny Lovett (157); Matt Stencel (285) Cleveland State (3) Marcus Robinson (149); Riley Smucker (165); Ben Smith (197) Edinboro (1) Gabe Willochell (133) Kent State (2) Kody Komara (149); Colin McCracken (184) Lock Haven (5) Anthony Noto (125); DaShawn Farber (149); Ben Barton (157); Ashton Eyler (165); Isaac Reid (285) Northern Illinois (3) Izzak Olejnik (165); Mason Kauffman (174); Brit Wilson (285) Rider (2) Richie Koehler (133); Quinn Kinner (141)

174 lb Big Ten Semifinals with Logan Massa and Mikey Labriola (photos courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Most pundits thought that the 2022 Big Ten Championships would be a two-horse race between top-ranked Penn State and #2 Iowa. Unfortunately, no one told #3 Michigan. After one day of action, the Wolverines lead the top-two teams in the nation and have five wrestlers in the finals. Michigan holds a 5.5 point lead over Penn State, who is just 2.5 points ahead of Iowa. Penn State also has five finalists, while Iowa has four. Michigan's finals run started with Nick Suriano in the opening bout of tonight's semifinals. Suriano pinned two-time conference finalist Devin Schroder (Purdue) to move into his second Big Ten final. He previously won the tournament in 2019, while at Rutgers, during his NCAA title-winning season. Suriano will take on the third seed, Eric Barnett (Wisconsin), who dispatched Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern), 3-0. Will Lewan, at 157 lbs, was Michigan's second finalist. He and Brady Berge (Penn State) engaged in a tactical affair with few committed attempts. It wasn't until sudden victory where Lewan was able to penetrate Berge's defense for the winning takedown, 3-1. Lewan's opponent will be Ryan Deakin (Northwestern), who is seeking his third Big Ten championship. The only weight where a number one seed failed to make the finals occurred at 165 lbs, when top-seeded Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) was clipped in sudden victory, 3-1, by Cam Amine (Michigan). A match later, the crowd at the Pinnacle Bank Arena was treated to perhaps the most entertaining bout of the day. Second-seeded Logan Massa (Michigan) and the third, Mikey Labriola (Nebraska), got into a shootout with plenty of offense, defense, scrambles, and everything in between. Massa was the last man standing in a 7-6 win. That sets the stage for a national #1 vs #2 match at 174 lbs, as Carter Starocci (Penn State) advanced to the finals after a medical forfeit by Michael Kemerer (Iowa). That is also the case at 184 lbs as #1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) is slated to take on #2 Myles Amine (Michigan). The two met earlier this season in a hotly contested bout, won by Brooks, 3-1. Brooks handled longtime rival, Taylor Venz (Nebraska), while Amine got by a game Kaleb Romero (Ohio State). The other national #1 vs. #2 bout on tap for Sunday comes at 141 lbs with Nick Lee (Penn State) and Jaydin Eierman (Iowa). The two met in last year's final and Eierman prevailed; however, Lee turned the tables in the NCAA finals. Eierman was the recipient of a medical forfeit from Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers), while Lee turned in a technical fall against Jacob Bergeland (Minnesota). Penn State also has finalists at 133, with Roman Bravo-Young and Max Dean at 197. Bravo-Young also has a rematch of his 2021 Big Ten final with Austin DeSanto (Iowa). The mercurial Hawkeye survived a physical, back-and-forth affair with Lucas Byrd (Illinois) to advance. Dean gets the hometown favorite, Eric Schultz (Nebraska). The Cornhusker faithful saw three of their wrestlers fall in the semis, before Schultz broke through with a 3-2 win over Patrick Brucki (Michigan). This evening was a rare occasion where the fans stayed around to watch the big men and they were treated to a good one between Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) and Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State). Kerkvliet appeared to be in control with a 4-2 lead in the waning seconds. The Hawkeye initiated a scramble and managed to secure a reversal just a second before Kerkvliet would have locked up riding time. That sent the bout into sudden victory where Cassioppi took advantage and won, 6-4. Cassioppi will have his hands full in the title bout with Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson (Minnesota). Steveson faced his 2021 Big Ten and NCAA finals opponent, Mason Parris (Michigan), in the semis. The Gopher star kept his bonus point streak intact with a 14-6 major decision. The only championship bout that does not include the top-three teams occurs at 149 lbs, as Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) squares off with Austin Gomez (Wisconsin). Sasso used a third-period takedown to get by Max Murin (Iowa), 3-1. That was the opposite of Gomez's result. He silenced the home crowd by tossing Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) to his back in the opening seconds and locked up a fall with only :20 seconds elapsed. Team Scores 1) Michigan 116 2) Penn State 111.5 3) Iowa 109 4) Ohio State 72 5) Northwestern 70.5 6) Nebraska 65 7) Wisconsin 58.5 8) Minnesota 55.5 9) Rutgers 37 10) Purdue 34.5 11) Michigan State 33 12) Illinois 26.5 13) Maryland 14.5 14) Indiana 4 125 Semi - Nick Suriano (Michigan) fall Devin Schroder (Purdue) 2:40 125 Semi - Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) dec Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern) 3-0 125 lb Big Ten Final - #1 Nick Suriano (Michigan) vs. #3 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) 133 Semi - Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) dec Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) 4-0 133 Semi - Austin DeSanto (Iowa) dec Lucas Byrd (Illinois) 4-3 133 lb Big Ten Final - #1 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) vs. #2 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) 141 Semi - Nick Lee (Penn State) tech Jake Bergeland (Minnesota) 16-1 141 Semi - Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) MedFFT Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern) 141 lbs Big Ten Final - #1 Nick Lee (Penn State) vs. #2 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) 149 Semi - Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) dec Max Murin (Iowa) 3-1 149 Semi - Austin Gomez (Wisconsin) fall Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) :20 149 lbs Big Ten Final - #1 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) vs. #2 Austin Gomez (Wisconsin) 157 Semi - Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) dec Peyton Robb (Nebraska) 5-3 157 Semi - Will Lewan (Michigan) dec Brady Berge (Penn State) 3-1SV 157 lbs Big Ten Final - #1 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) vs. #3 Will Lewan (Michigan) 165 Semi - Cameron Amine (Michigan) dec Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) 3-1 165 Semi - Alex Marinelli (Iowa) dec Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) 3-2 165 lbs Big Ten Final - #2 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) vs. #4 Cameron Amine (Michigan) 174 Semi - Carter Starocci (Penn State) MedFFT Michael Kemerer (Iowa) 174 Semi - Logan Massa (Michigan) dec Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) 6-5 174 lbs Big Ten Final - #1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) vs. #2 Logan Massa (Michigan) 184 Semi - Aaron Brooks (Penn State) dec Taylor Venz (Nebraska) 7-2 184 Semi - Myles Amine (Michigan) dec Kaleb Romero (Ohio State) 4-2 184 lbs Big Ten Final - #1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) vs. #2 Myles Amine (Michigan) 197 Semi - Max Dean (Penn State) dec Cam Caffey (Michigan State) 7-2 197 Semi - Eric Schultz (Nebraska) dec Patrick Brucki (Michigan) 3-2 197 lbs Big Ten Final - #1 Eric Schultz (Nebraska) vs. #2 Max Dean (Penn State) 285 semi - Gable Steveson (Minnesota) maj Mason Parris (Michigan) 14-6 285 semi - Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) dec Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) 6-4SV 285 lbs Big Ten Final - #1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) vs. #2 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa)

The 2022 EIWA Championships (photos courtesy of EIWA) 125: (3 AQ's) The weight class was thrown out of whack because the tournament started! 4th seed Lane of Lehigh was a late scratch. This forced Sheldon Seymour of Lehigh to step in Lane's place. Due to EIWA rules, he automatically was the last-seeded wrestler (even though he would have been the 4th or 5th seed – based on the formula). Glory ended up winning over Seymour in the round of 16 by an 8-2 decision. Diaz of F&M had a solid win over the 7th seed Leete of American. Manchio (4th seed) had a tight overtime win over Seidman (#5) of Bucknell. Seymour is still making a run on the back side, as he defeated returning NCAA qualifier at 133lb from Navy, and 7th seed, Allen. All seeds held in the winner's bracket. Semifinal matchups tomorrow morning: Glory (#1) - Princeton vs. Manchio (#4) - Columbia Arujau (#2) - Cornell vs. Miller (#3) - Penn 133: (2 AQ's) Lehigh's Malyke Hines (3rd seed) took an injury default in both matches. His injury has been lingering, and he'll be hoping for an at-large bid. Cabanillas of Brown moved onto the quarters as a 14th seed as a result. Maroney of Drexel came out on top of an entertaining barnburner with Sobotker of Binghamton in the first round. The big upset of the first round went to 11th seed Treanor of Army, knocking off Rini (#6) of Columbia by a 12-10 score. Koderhandt (#1) of Navy used a riding time point to secure to 2-0 win over Maroney (#8) of Drexel. LaJoie of Cornell came in as the 4th seed and earned a last period takedown and rideout for a 2-1 win over 5th seed Phipps of Bicknell. Treanor of Army is the highest seeded wrestler in the semis. Semifinal matchups tomorrow morning: Koderhandt (#1) - Navy vs. LaJoie (#4) - Cornell Colaiocco (#2) - Penn vs. Treanoer (#11) - Army 141: (4 AQ's) No surprises in the round of 16 at this weight. Again, all seeds held after the quarterfinals. Overall, the matches were competitive. We saw Kazimir (#1) of Columbia defeat Hunt (#9) from Navy 6-0. Miller (#4) of Bucknell squeaked out a 4-2 win over McGonagle (#5) of Lehigh. In the bottom half, 3rd seeded Anderson of Binghamton advanced with a 4-2 win over Deck of Army. Composto (#2) of Penn advanced with a three-point victory over Gil (#7) of Franklin & Marshall. Honestly, not much to report here as there were no upsets yet. The semifinalists each need one more win to secure an automatic bid to NCAAs. Semi-final matchups tomorrow morning: Kazimir (#1) - Columbia vs. Miller (#4) - Bucknell Composto (#2) - Penn vs. Anderson (#3) - Binghamton 149: (4 AQ's) Again, there were no surprises in the round of 16 at this weight. After the quarters, Diakomihalis has a tech fall and a major. Lehigh's Brignola (#3) overcame a 6-0 deficit to win 11-7 over 6th seed Nichter of Drexel. We will see the top 4 in the semifinals tomorrow. Just like the previous weight, all semi-finalists will need one more win to punch their ticket to Detroit. Semi-final matchups tomorrow morning: Diakomihalis (#1) – Cornell vs. (#4) Ogunsanya – Army Artalona (#2) – Penn vs. Brignola (#3) – Lehigh 157: (5 AQ's) The round of 16 went pretty much per seed. Tarsi of Harvard looked very impressive over Kropman of Drexel, winning 10-3. Top-seeded Humpheys of Lehigh dominated with a fall then a technical fall. Monday (#2) of Princeton did not struggle much either in his first two bouts. The closest quarterfinal matches were won by (#4) Cerniglia of Navy via 4-2 decision over Army's Hartman (#5). 3rd seed Zapf of Penn won by two-points over Richard (#6) of Cornell. In the wrestlebacks we saw two returning NCAA qualifiers square off. Hartman (#5) of Army defeated Palumbo (#10) of Sacred Heart to advance to tomorrow's round. This is a deep weight, with many talented wrestlers still alive. Semifinal matchups tomorrow morning: Humphreys (#1) - Lehigh vs. Cerniglia (#4) - Navy Monday (#2) - Princeton vs. Zapf (#3) - Penn 165: (7 AQ's) The deepest weight in the tournament did not disappoint. We had three tight matches in the round of 16. Cassella (8th seed) took down Harkins (9th) by a 3-2 score. Fifth seed Meyer of Lehigh won 5-3 over 12th seed Bergey of Princeton. Drexel's Barczak (7th seed) win in overtime against Navy's 10th seed Park. Then, the quarterfinal bouts were worth the price of admission. Ramirez (#1) of Cornell snuck by 8th seed Cassella 5-3. 4th seed Ogunsanya earned three takedowns to defeat Meyer (#5) of Lehigh. Conigliaro (#3) of Harvard won 7-4 over Revano (#6) of Penn. Bucknell's returning All-American Hartman (#2) defeated Barczak (#7) of Drexel. All semifinalists punched their ticket to NCAA's already. In the bloodround, we saw Park of Navy outplace his 10th seed to make tomorrow's top 8 action with a win over Meyer of Lehigh. Semifinal matchups tomorrow morning: Ramirez (#1) - Cornell vs. Ogunsanya (#4) - Columbia Hartman (#2) - Bucknell vs. Conigliaro (#3) - Harvard 174: (4 AQ's) There were some close R16 rounds. Logan (5th seed) of Lehigh beat 12th seed of LIU Ryan Ferro by a 5-3 score. Fine of Columbia (#4) snuck by Crawford of F&M by a 3-2 decision. Finally, Dugan of Princeton was the 10th seed, and took out 7th seeded Kim of Harvard. In the quarters, Logan (#5) beat Fine (#4) of Columbia in a marathon match by a 4-2 score. Penn's Incontrera (#3) had a big fall in overtime over Pasiuk (#6) of Army. Top-seed O'Malley of Drexel won each match by decision while 2nd seed Foca of Cornell came away victorious by major decision in each match. Semifinal matchups tomorrow morning: O'Malley (#1) - Drexel vs. Logan (#5) - Lehigh Foca (#2) - Cornell vs. Incontrera (#3) - Penn 184: (3 AQ's) We saw some good matches in the first round. Bonino won a close 2-1 decision over Day of Binghamton in a classic 8 vs 9 seeded battle, respectively. 4th seeded Key of Navy held off an upset by Araneo of Brown (13th seed). Army's Laughlin was seeded 6th, earning a tight 3-2 win over Deacetis of Bucknell. One the matches I was looking forward to between Lehigh's Burkhart (7th) and McLaughlin of Drexel (10th) turned into a literal bloody battle. Burkhart won 9-7 with a takedown late in the third period. In the quarters, Antrassian of Penn (#5) used a third period turn to defeat fourth-seed Key of Navy. Small (#3) of Hofstra won 2-1 over Laughlin (#6) of Army. In the first round of wrestle backs, we saw returning NCAA qualifier, McLaughlin of Drexel, defeat another returning qualifier in Accousti of Sacred Heart. The next round McLaughlin took on another returning qualifier in Key of Navy. The match was won by 10th seed McLaughlin of Drexel. Semi-final matchups tomorrow morning: Loew (#1) - Cornell vs. Antrassian (#5) - Penn Stefanik (#2) - Princeton vs. Small (#3) - Hofstra 197: (5 AQ's) In the round of 16, we saw Cole Urbas of Penn (8th seed) survive a last minute challenge by Lehigh to hang on and win 3-2 over 9th seeded Davis. McCready of Bucknell was the 10th seed, beating LIU's 7th seed Crowley. This weight class was another where the top 4 seeds made the semifinals. Koser (#4) of Navy beat his rival from Army, Brown (#5), by a 4-2 score in the quarters. Stout (#3) of Princeton and DePrez (#1) of Binghamton each won handily. Cardenas (#2) of Cornell had a first period fall in the quarters, after a tech in the round of 16. Semi-final matchups tomorrow morning: DePrez (#1) - Binghamton vs. Koser (#4) - Navy Cardenas (#2) - Cornell vs. Stout (#3) - Princeton 285: (4 AQ's) The biggest R16 upset came from American's Rigther. The 11th seed was in a tight match with Navy's 6th seeded Catka, until he earned the pin late in the match. Pelusi of F&M moved on as the 9th seed with a 3-2 win over Cover (#8) of Princeton. In the quarters, the only close match was won by 4th seed Goldin of Penn when he defeated Doyle (#5) of Binghamton, using a last period takedown and ride. Wood earned a fall then major en route to his fifth career semi-final appearance, looking to win his unprecedented FIFTH conference title. Semi-final matchups tomorrow morning: Wood (#1) - Lehigh vs. Goldin (#4) - Penn Fernandes (#2) - Cornell vs. Knighton-Ward (#3) - Hofstra Team Race: After day 1, the team race is tight. Penn will have all ten wrestlers on the podium. Cornell will only place nine wrestlers, but are currently in the lead thanks to bonus points. These two squads have looked incredible, and they ar separating themselves from the rest of the field. 1st place – Cornell (94.5 points with 8 in the semi-finals, 1 in the wrestlebacks) 2nd place – Penn (86.5 points with 8 in the semi-finals, 2 in the wrestlebacks) 3rd place – Princeton (69 points with 4 in the semi-finals, 5 in the wrestlebacks) 4th place – Lehigh (62.5 points with 4 in the semi-finals, 4 in the wrestlebacks) Day 2 action starts at 10AM with a round of semifinals and a consi round. Finals are at 3PM. All of the action is live on FloWrestling.

3x national champion Sydnee Kimber of McKendree (photos courtesy of McKendree athletics) Final results for the 2022 NCWWC Women's National Championships Final Team Scores 1) McKendree 188 2) King 166 3) Simon Fraser 145.5 4) North Central 128 5) Colorado Mesa 89 6) Augsburg 82 7) Tiffin 75.5 8) Adrian 42.5 9) Emmanuel 38.5 9) Gannon 38.5 101 lbs 1st - Olivia Shore (Tiffin) tech Angelina Gomez (Emmanuel) 11-0 3rd - Lizette Rodriguez (McKendree) over Jaclyn McNichols (King) 4-1 5th - Samantha Miller (Presbyterian) fall Maddie McKenzie (Simon Fraser) 7th - Brooke Thurber (Wisconsin-Stevens Point) over Katerina Pendergrass (Gannon) 8-7 109 lbs 1st - Emily Shilson (Augsburg) tech Sydney Petzinger (North Central) 11-0 3rd - Samara Chavez (King) over Natalie Reyna (McKendree) 11-6 5th - Danielle Garcia (King) fall Alexia Seal (Simon Fraser) 5:26 7th - Julianne Moccia (Gannon) fall Angelina Graff (North Central) 3:49 116 lbs 1st - Karla Godinez-Gonzalez (Simon Fraser) over Felicity Taylor (McKendree) 3-1 3rd - Sage Mortimer (King) fall Jaslynn Gallegos (Presbyterian) 2:41 5th - Gabriela Ramos Diaz (Limestone) tech Kendra Ryan (North Central) 12-2 7th - Mateah Roehl (North Central) tech Ainslie Lane (Presbyterian) 11-1 123 lbs 1st - Alex Hedrick (Simon Fraser) fall Cheyenne Sisenstein (King) 5:29 3rd - Marissa Gallegos (Colorado Mesa) fall Cayden Condit (Lindenwood) 1:25 5th - Amani Jones (North Central) over Melanie Mendoza (King) 7-6 7th - Asia Nguyen-Smith (North Central) over Gabby Skidmore (Augsburg) 10-6 130 lbs 1st - Cameron Guerin (McKendree) tech Niya Gaines (North Central) 10-0 3rd - Lauren Mason (Simon Fraser) tech Mia Macaluso (East Stroudsburg) 10-0 5th - Solana Mottola (Tiffin) over Claire DiCugno (Colorado Mesa) 4-2 7th - Montana Delawder (King) over Anya Knappenberger (Gannon) 13-4 136 lbs 1st - Zoe Nowicki (Adrian) over Nina Makem (Augsburg) 4-0 3rd - Ana Luciano (King) over Skye Realin (McKendree) 9-4 5th - Emmily Patneaud (McKendree) over Holly Beaudoin (Colorado Mesa) 8-4 7th - Sara Sulejmani (North Central) fall Lana Perez (Gannon) 4:26 143 lbs 1st - Ashlynn Ortega (King) over Alara Boyd (McKendree) 3-0 3rd - Madison Sandquist (Sacred Heart) fall Kaylee Lacy (Colorado Mesa) 5:19 5th - Avia Bibeau (East Stroudsburg) fall Riley Aamold (North Central) :23 7th - Kim Nunez (North Central) over Khadijah Sanusi (Sacred Heart) 3-1 155 lbs 1st - Alyiva Fiske (Simon Fraser) over Kayla Marano (McKendree) 3-2 3rd - Marlynne Deede (Augsburg) tech Nyla Burgess (Adrian) 10-0 5th - Tiera Jimerson (North Central) over Taylor Hites (Tiffin) 8-0 7th - Tiffany Baublitz (King) fall Skylah Chakouian (Elmira) 1;06 170 lbs 1st - Yelena Makoyed (North Central) tech Joye Levendusky (McKendree) 11-0 3rd - Emily Cue (Simon Fraser) over Grace Kristoff (McKendree) 4-1 5th - Cheyenne Bowman (King) over Jade Herzer (Wisconsin-Stevens Point) 3-0 7th - Tatum Heikkila (Colorado Mesa) over Jacklyn Smith (Sacred Heart) 9-3 191 lbs 1st - Sydnee Kimber (McKendree) fall Jaycee Foeller (McKendree) 1:18 3rd - Jayleen Sakona (Colorado Mesa) fall Nia Crosdale (King) 4-1 5th - Cristina Santoyo (Emmanuel) fall Katja Osteen (Simon Fraser) 3:59 7th - Sandra Guerrero (New Jersey City) fall Journey Land (Limestone) 1:07

(photos courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Session I Team Scores 1) Michigan 68.5 2) Penn State 67.5 3) Iowa 55 4) Nebraska 47.5 5) Wisconsin 36.5 6) Ohio State 33 7) Northwestern 27.5 8) Minnesota 21.5 9) Rutgers 18.5 10) Michigan State 17 11) Purdue 13 12) Illinois 12 13) Maryland 5.5 14) Indiana 4 Big Ten Quarterfinal Results 125 - Nick Suriano (Michigan) maj Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) 18-6 125 - Devin Schroder (Purdue) dec Malik Heinselman (Ohio State) 3-1 125 - Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) dec Drake Ayala (Iowa) 4-3 125 - Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern) dec Drew Hildebrandt (Penn State) 5-3 133 - Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) maj Matt Ramos (Purdue) 11-3 133 - Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) dec Rayvon Foley (Michigan State) 3-1 133 - Lucas Byrd (Illinois) maj Brock Hudkins (Indiana) 10-2 133 - Austin DeSanto (Iowa) dec Chris Cannon (Northwestern) 7-3 141 - Nick Lee (Penn State) tech Joe Zargo (Wisconsin) 16-0 141 - Jake Bergeland (Minnesota) dec Cayden Rooks (Indiana) 8-3 141 - Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) maj Parker Filius (Purdue) 15-5 141 - Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) dec Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio State) 10-3 149 - Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) dec Graham Rooks (Indiana) 6-3 149 - Max Murin (Iowa) dec Yahya Thomas (Northwestern) 6-5 149 - Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) dec Mike Van Brill (Rutgers) 2-0 149 - Austin Gomez (Wisconsin) maj Beau Bartlett (Penn State) 12-4 157 - Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) fall Bryce Hepner (Ohio State) 4:14 157 - Peyton Robb (Nebraska) dec Kendall Coleman (Purdue) 6-4SV 157 - Will Lewan (Michigan) dec Chase Saldate (Michigan State) 3-1 157 - Brady Berge (Penn State) dec Kaleb Young (Iowa) 5-3 165 - Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) dec Bubba Wilson (Nebraska) 7-2 165 - Cameron Amine (Michigan) dec Caleb Fish (Michigan State) 11-1 165 - Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) tech David Ferrante (Northwestern) 18-3 165 - Alex Marinelli (Iowa) dec Creighton Edsell (Penn State) 8-2 174 - Carter Starocci (Penn State) fall Dom Solis (Maryland) 2:18 174 - Michael Kemerer (Iowa) dec Ethan Smith (Ohio State) 5-4 174 - Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) injdef Bailee O'Reilly (Minnesota) 174 - Logan Massa (Michigan) dec Troy Fisher (Northwestern) 8-3 184 - Aaron Brooks (Penn State) fall Kyle Cochran (Maryland) 1:41 184 - Taylor Venz (Nebraska) dec Abe Assad (Iowa) 4-2 184 - Kaleb Romero (Ohio State) maj Chris Weiler (Wisconsin) 10-1 184 - Myles Amine (Michigan) dec Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) 9-3 197 - Eric Schultz (Nebraska) dec Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State) 3-1 197 - Patrick Brucki (Michigan) dec Jacob Warner (Iowa) 3-1 197 - Cameron Caffey (Michigan State) dec Thomas Penola (Purdue) 4-2 197 - Max Dean (Penn State) dec Greg Bulsak (Rutgers) 6-2 285 - Gable Steveson (Minnesota) tech Tate Orndorff (Ohio State) 20-5 285 - Mason Parris (Michigan) dec Lucas Davison (Northwestern) 7-2 285 - Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) dec Christian Lance (Nebraska) 7-1 285 - Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) dec Trent Hillger (Wisconsin) 9-3

Virginia Tech assistant coach Jared Frayer and Bryce Andonian (photos courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) The ACC has been improving as a conference year after year and there were high expectations coming into this season. The teams challenged themselves with tough out-of-conference schedules to prepare for the conference battles at the end of the year. We end the year with four of six teams in the top-25 and two teams in the top-10. There are several wrestlers that are in the thick of the national champion discussion and the conference is in a position to have the most All-Americans in ACC history this year. We are seeing a conference on the rise and it is only up from here. The tournament in Charlottesville this weekend will be top-notch from the first whistle and the team battle may come down to the end of the finals. We are in for a treat on Sunday. With that in mind, I wanted to give a little regular season wrap-up and some awards for what we've seen before the ACC Tournament. Duke entered the season with a young lineup anchored by the experience of the Finesilver brothers. The Blue Devils had not won a dual since beating Penn on January 6, 2019, but this year they showed an incredible turnaround ending the season 7-10 after a 6-4 start to the year. They had a dual-heavy schedule, designed to get experience for their young lineup. The team was led by the success of the Finesilver brothers; Josh finished the regular season at 24-5 and ranked 14th at 149, while Matt finished at 25-5 and ranked 16th at 174. Another highlight for this season was the breakthrough of Jonah Neisenbaum. After his first two years as a starter at 285, he had a combined record of 4-26; this season he quadrupled his win total to end the regular season at 16-9 with several big wins for the Blue Devils. There was a lot of growth on the team this year and they are positioned to continue their improvement in the years to come. North Carolina had one of the toughest schedules in the nation to open the season. Even though their record wasn't as stellar as the past few years, the experience gained through those duals has put them in a great position going into the postseason. The Tar Heel lineup is a solid mix of veteran experience and young starters with great potential. They end the regular season with four wrestlers in the top-10. Kizhan Clarke is ranked 6th at 141 and is 17-1 with his lone loss a 3-2 decision to #5 Cole Matthews of Pittsburgh; Clarke has had a phenomenal season and is one of the best transfer signings in the country. Austin O'Connor continues to impress up a weight class from his NCAA title last season; he ended the regular season ranked 4th at 157 with a 16-1 record-his lone loss was an early-season decision to #11 Peyton Robb of Nebraska. The two biggest "surprises" for the Tar Heels this year were Clay Lautt and Gavin Kane; both came into the year with high expectations and have surpassed many of them. Lautt is ranked 8th at 174 with a 14-4 record; he had a slower start to the season, but ended the year on a wild run that included a pin of #5 Hayden Hidlay. Gavin Kane holds the 11th spot with a 15-3 record; he started the year at 174 and since moving up, he is 11-1 at 184 with his only loss to #3 Trent Hidlay. The Tar Heels will be a very dangerous team in the postseason and have a lot of momentum coming into Charlottesville. North Carolina State wrapped up the ACC dual championship last week with a decisive win over Virginia Tech to finish undefeated in conference. The team finished the regular season ranked 4th nationally and nearly knocked off then #1 Iowa at the Collegiate Duals. The lineup is a great mashup of experienced starters and young talent that is already making noise. #3 Tariq Wilson and #3 Trent Hidlay both finished the season with unblemished records, while #5 Hayden Hidlay lost his undefeated streak in the final weekend of the season, getting pinned by #8 Clay Lautt. He capped off his weekend with a sudden victory win over #6 Mekhi Lewis. Second-year starter #7 Ed Scott blasted into 157 this year after a .500 season last year at 149. He comes into the tournament at 19-1 with his only loss an 11-10 decision to #24 Jake Keating, who got the winning takedown with about 10 seconds left in the match. #21 Kai Orine, #21 Ryan Jack and #15 Isaac Trumble have all had great seasons in their first full years in the starting lineup and have had key wins for the Wolfpack in duals throughout the year. This is an excellent lineup from top to bottom and they have the potential to be high on the team podium in Detroit. Pittsburgh entered the season with high hopes returning two NCAA finalists in Jake Wentzel and Nino Bonaccorsi. They finished the season above .500, including a big dual win over top-10 Arizona State. The Panthers continued to get consistent wins from #10 Micky Phillippi (13-5), #14 Jake Wentzel (14-5) and #9 Nino Bonaccorsi (13-3) to pace the team. They also got big wins from transfers #30 Gage Curry (14-8) and #18 Elijah Cleary (12-6). The biggest jump in production for the Panthers was from #5 Cole Matthews at 141. Matthews was 27-16 in his previous two seasons and is a two-time NCAA qualifier, but this year he broke through big time. He finished the season at 15-2; he had two close early-season losses and then went on an 11 match winning streak to end the season. He had two top-10 wins handing #15 Stevan Micic and #6 Kizhan Clarke, both their first loss of the year. They have a well-balanced and sneaky good team that can make a big postseason run. Virginia came into the year with a very experienced lineup and were ready to make the jump up the ACC ladder. Unfortunately, they dealt with a spate of injuries throughout the year and were hit hard by COVID restrictions that impacted the consistency of their lineup. Thankfully, they seem to have settled in with the majority of their starters back for the ACC season and postseason run and could still make a lot of noise at the ACC and NCAA tournaments. They were led by sixth-year #16 Jay Aiello, who won a Bronze medal at the U23 World Championships, before returning to NCAA action; he is 10-2 on the year. #22 Justin McCoy comes into the tournament at 15-1 with his lone loss a decision to #20 Thomas Bullard. #24 Jake Keating (13-4), #19 Brian Courtney (12-4) and #31 Quinn Miller (16-6) also had strong seasons for the Hoos and are positioned to make a deep run in the postseason. Virginia Tech had another stellar season with a tough schedule and ended in the top-10 again this year. The Hokies have a relatively young lineup eligibility-wise, with only two wrestlers in their final year of eligibility in Korbin Myers and Nathan Traxler. #3 Myers had another strong season finishing with undefeated in the ACC and a 16-1 record on the year-his only loss was to #4 Michael McGee. #14 Traxler was a huge transfer pickup for the Hokies and was an anchor at the top of the lineup. He finished with a 16-2 overall record and was 3-1 in conference with a loss to #31 Quinn Miller. #6 Mekhi Lewis moved up a weight to 174 and looked incredible all season; his lone loss was in sudden victory to #5 Hayden Hidlay. #18 Sam Latona and #14 Hunter Bolen also ended with strong seasons and in position for big postseason runs again this year. The Hokies and Wolfpack will likely be battling for the top spot on the podium on Sunday and it will be a great show for everyone watching. Now to some awards: Best Hair: The answer here is Nathan Traxler and I will not accept any discussion. Others considered: Micky Phillippi, Denton Spencer, Bryce Andonian, Clayton Ulrey, Clay Lautt. Best Singlet This is an area that the ACC has excelled with nationally. We have some of the best-outfitted teams and sharpest looking singlets in the country. I had a really hard time nailing this one down, so I left it with my top 3--I'll run a Twitter poll to get the final answer. First option: Virginia Tech Black singlet with Hokie stone VT and accents. I'm a sucker for the Hokie stone look, and if you've ever been on campus in Blacksburg, you know how prominent it is. Second option: Pittsburgh gray singlet with Panther logo. The Panthers do a great job incorporating Pittsburgh-centric elements into the gear. They have several options that incorporate the steel city theme and this one is my favorite. Third option: North Carolina singlet with white bottom and Carolina Blue upper body. UNC has a wide range of singlets as well and this one really pops to me. They used it in a lot of their promotional materials this year and it looks great in pictures and on the mat. UNC 141 lber Kizhan Clarke (photo courtesy of Blake Clifton) Newcomer of the Year: Kizhan Clarke is 17-1 on the year and his only loss is a 3-2 decision to Cole Matthews. We knew that Clarke was going to be a great addition to the UNC lineup, but expected him at 149 going into the season. He settled in at 141 early and was dominant all season. Important to note that he did all this while being a second-year law school student. Best MustacheThe mustache battle was settled in the Virginia-North Carolina dual at heavyweight. Quinn Miller beat Brandon Whitman in the dual by decision and in the mustache battle by major decision. Jared Frayer (photos courtesy of Ethan Aguigui) Best Dressed Coach: The coaches in the ACC are a well-dressed bunch. Glen Lanham is always rolling with a nice button-down for the business casual look. Steve Garland has a large sweater collection to choose from. Keith Gavin always looks sharp in Pitt gear. Pat Pop and crew have the suit tailors in Raleigh working overtime--especially with Adam Hall splitting seams in his tight pants… Coleman Scott and Tony Ramos make the most of the Jordan branding and always have fresh shoes. But the award this year is going to the Associate Head Coach for Virginia Tech. Anyone who saw the dapper look of Jared Frayer rocking the VT sweater and impressive mustache knows this award was well deserved. Most Improved: Ed Scott 21-1 this season. Scott was 6-6 as a true freshman starting at 149. He made a phenomenal run this year and had some highlight pins with his "Ed-lock." His lone loss was to Jake Keating in a very close match. photo courtesy of Blake Clifton Best Headgear: Most programs had team-specific headgear and utilized school logos and mascots. There were a few that stood out individually--Mekhi Lewis with the War Gobbler and Hunter Bolen with a personal tribute on his headgear. But as a team, North Carolina had a fleet of slick-looking headgear options. They utilized the argyle, team name and alternate logos incredibly well. Outstanding Wrestler: Trent Hidlay. Hoagie Boy is 15-0 on the year and has notable wins over Hunter Bolen, Gavin Kane, Abe Assad, Caleb Hopkins, Travis Stefanik and Michael Battista. He is clearly one of the emotional leaders of the Wolfpack and is a huge presence both on the mat and on the bench. Best Warmup: Pitt White Pullover. This is just a great clean look for the warmups and really pops with the Pitt blue. NC State also has some great options for warmups with the script Wolfpack. Best Pin: Bryce Andonian over Josh Finesilver in 21 seconds. Andonian is "can't miss" wrestling every time he is on the mat. In the dual against Duke, he turned a Finesilver shot into a bonkers ankle trap roll-through to a pin. It was so fast that ESPN didn't even show it! Bonus Machine:Trent Hidlay 87%--another crazy stat for Hidlay. He has four pins, three tech falls and six major decisions on the year. He is always a bonus point threat. Best Celebration:Dakota Howard celebrating with the crowd in Cassell. Howard has an undeniable energy about him that is infectious. After a big win against Duke, he celebrated with the Cassell crowd with a lot of screaming and flexing--it was excellent. The other option here is Tariq Wilson hitting the Griddy and dancing off the mat after his controlling win over Bryce Andonian. I liked it because it was simple, the crowd enjoyed it, and to me, it signaled the return of "Postseason Tariq." Super Senior: I wanted to highlight one of the sixth-year wrestlers that returned to leave their mark on their program this season. Jay Aiello was an in-state recruit for Coach Garland that has made the most of his time in Charlottesville. He is a five-year starter that went from 13-15 in his first year as a starter to being 47-10 in the past three seasons. Aiello is a four-time NCAA qualifier and an ACC Champion and a three-time ACC finalist. On top of his NCAA achievements, Aiello won a bronze medal at the U23 World Championships last fall before the start of the season. More importantly than his on the mat achievements, Jay is a phenomenal person and a great leader in the UVA program; he will leave big shoes to fill. I appreciate the opportunity to cover the ACC for Intermat; it has been a fun year. A special thanks to all of the teams and coaches for letting me in and allowing me to be part of your matches and practices this year. We are lucky to have the coaches that we do in the ACC; not only are they creating a great product with their programs on the mat, they are preparing these young men to be successful after graduation. Looking forward to a great day in Charlottesville on Sunday.

Air Force heavyweight Wyatt Hendrickson (photos courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) The Air Force Academy joined the Big 12 conference in 2015, when the Big 12 absorbed the Western Wrestling Conference schools as affiliates. Since then, the school has taken some lumps at the conference tournament. They've finished last or second to last in every single conference tournament. But sophomore heavyweight Wyatt Hendrickson seems on a mission this season to change the perception of their program. Hendrickson has already tied for the highest finish at the Big 12 tournament for the Falcons. He finished third last year matching a program best set by Alex Mossing in 2019. The program has only had two wrestlers finish in the top four of the Big 12 Tournament so far with Mossing and Hendrickson. This year he's 19-0 on the year and heads into the conference tournament as the #1 seed. Hendrickson has had thirteen falls this season and bonus point wins in all, but two matches, the entire year! This dominant season for Hendrickson came with two tournament wins at the Southern Scuffle and David Lehman Open and bonus point wins over the #3 and #6 seeds in the Big 12 Tournament bracket this weekend. Hendrickson has quietly elevated himself into being one of the top heavyweights in the country, but can he sustain it? This tournament is always an interesting one. If Hendrickson can maintain the momentum he's carried all season, he'll have a chance to have Air Force Wrestling on prime time Sunday Night ESPN and potentially give them their first ever conference tournament champion.

2021 NCAA champion Austin O'Connor (photos courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) 2022 ACC Championships Preview 39 total allocations/33 total allocations in 2021 If you've talked to me about wrestling long enough, you've probably heard me say how my favorite conference tournament is the ACC. While I'd prefer the entire conference supported wrestling, having a small, six-team tournament can be pretty wild. One upset can swing the whole balance of the team score and there's a ton of movement among the leaders from round to round. It also helps that the ACC is full of schools that have made investments into their programs within the last decade and are reaping the rewards on the mat. Half of the league is currently in the top-15 and four teams are in the top-25. While we've come to expect the unexpected at this tournament, there's a good chance that the team race comes down to NC State and Virginia Tech. As evidenced by their dual(s) this year, the fanbases and teams are very fond of each other. That makes for great theater as wrestlers from these schools are competing with a conference title on the line and locked in a tight team race. If you focus too much on NC State/Virginia Tech, you'll miss out on the rest of the conference as North Carolina and Pittsburgh are in the national rankings and combined to send three wrestlers to the NCAA finals last season. Virginia has a very balanced team that can make noise. Duke has some gaps, but is well-coached and has produced some excellent wrestlers. Below is our weight-by-weight preview of the action, along with predictions for top-four finishers at all ten weights, and a team race projection. Wrestlers bolded are ones that we have pegged to receive the automatic qualifying bids available in their respective weight class. When: March 6th, 2022 Where: Charlottesville, Virginia How to Watch: ACC Network Extra Mat 1 Mat 2 125 lbs 3 allocations Both 2021 ACC finalists are back and ready to write another chapter in their growing rivalry. As of now, it's technically not a rivalry since the results have favored Virginia Tech's returning All-American #18 Sam Latona. That isn't to say that his matchups with #19 Jakob Camacho (NC State) haven't been fun. Late year's dual meet ended up being one of the best matches of the year and elevated announcer Rock Harrison to cult hero status. In this year's dual, the two got heated and spilled off the mat in the closing seconds of the match. With the depth of the 125 lb weight class, a win by either could lead to an NCAA seed around ten, while a loss probably keeps them around 20. The inside track to the third allocation belongs to #30 Gage Curry (Pittsburgh), a graduate-transfer from American, who qualified for NCAA's four times, while in an Eagle singlet. In tournament action, Curry finished seventh at the MatMen Open in December. He was undefeated against ACC wrestlers, not-named Latona or Camacho. The other returning national qualifier at this weight is Patrick McCormick (Virginia). McCormick was third in the conference last year and currently sports an 11-10 record. Right on his and Curry's heels is true freshman Spencer Moore (North Carolina). While his ACC record is unsightly, at 1-4, Moore lost in sudden victory to both Curry and McCormick. Could he be a freshman that starts to figure things out and turns those close losses into wins. Coming in at the sixth seed is Duke's Logan Agin, who is 10-10, but 0-3 in the ACC, with bonus points in all three losses. Predictions 1st) Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) 2nd) Jakob Camacho (NC State) 3rd) Spencer Moore (North Carolina) 4th) Gage Curry (Pittsburgh) 133 lbs 5 allocations What a weight class for the ACC with five wrestlers ranked in the top-21 and all earned allocations for the conference. Returning All-American #5 Korbin Myers ran the table and finished unbeaten in ACC duals for a second straight season. He's only lost to fellow All-American #4 Michael McGee (Arizona State) this year and is riding an eight-match winning streak. Myers' 2021 ACC finals opponent Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) is back. Phillipi has a pair of ACC titles to his credit already; however, he is looking to figure out Myers. The Hokie has won both of their meetings, though the margin of their 2021-22 dual was 2-1. Because of a loss to #20 Joe Heilmann (North Carolina), Phillippi will start as the three seed. After the returning finalists is a three-man round-robin of quality competitors who have all beaten each other this year. Heilmann is the second seed and #21 Kai Orine (NC State) is the fourth seed, ahead of #19 Brian Courtney (Virginia). Courtney and Orine hit in round one, with the winner taking on Myers. Orine took the dual meeting, 10-5. Heilmann also has a win over Orine, but fell to Courtney in sudden victory. Duke's representative is Drake Doolittle, who is 4-19 on the year with bonus-point losses in three of his four ACC contests. He'll assume the sixth slot. Predictions 1st) Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech) 2nd) Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) 3rd) Joe Heilmann (North Carolina) 4th) Kai Orine (NC State) 5th) Brian Courtney (Virginia) 141 lbs 4 allocations One of the biggest breakout seasons in the country happened in the ACC as #5 Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) rapidly shot up the rankings. An ACC third-place finisher in 2021, Matthews has been on a tear after suffering a loss to #14 CJ Composto (Penn) at the MatMen Open. Matthews rebounded to finish third and 11 straight wins. Fans started to take notice in early-January as Matthews handed Micic a loss in a one-sided, 11-5 affair. Maybe the most crucial match of this streak was when he edged #6 Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina) 3-2 and handed the Tar Heel his first (and only) loss of the year. Clarke was a graduate transfer from American University that was an EIWA fourth-place finisher and the #15 seed at the 2020 National Tournament. His best win thus far is a decision in sudden victory over three-time NCAA All-American #10 Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska). #21 Ryan Jack (NC State) and #23 Collin Gerardi (Virginia Tech) are the other two at this weight that earned allocations for the conference. Jack hung tight with both Matthews and Clarke. His bout with Gerardi, in their schools much-anticipated dual, was considered a toss-up, but Jack generally controlled the entire contest and won 4-3. Gerardi's best win over the year was a 3-2 decision over #24 Cael Happel (Northern Iowa) in Virginia Tech's demolition of UNI. Virginia's Dylan Cedeno is the fifth seed and could be capable of breaking into the top four. He only saw action in eight bouts this year; however, Cedeno was able to hang tough against some good competition. The sixth seed belongs to Patrick Rowland (Duke), who is 5-19 and has lost by major decision in all of his ACC bouts. Predictions 1st) Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) 2nd) Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina) 3rd) Ryan Jack (NC State) 4th) Collin Gerardi (Virginia Tech) 149 lbs 4 allocations One of the most anticipated ACC matches of the year came in the NC State/Virginia Tech dual meet at 149 lbs when #3 Tariq Wilson (NC State) remained perfect against #8 Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech). Wilson never let Andonian get into favorable positions and generally cruised to a 9-3 win. The two-time NCAA third-place finisher is now 13-0 on the year and 27-1 over the past two seasons. The last time that Wilson lost to an ACC opponent? It was in the 2020 conference finals to #18 Zach Sherman (North Carolina). Well, those two could meet again in the semifinals, provided Sherman gets by a tough #31 Jarod Verkleeren (Virginia) in the semifinals. Sherman has wrestled an incredibly difficult schedule (7 of 8 losses came to top-ten opponents) this year, which is partly responsible for his 5-8 record. He'll need to place in the top-four or he'd be ineligible for an at-large berth due to his match total. Verkleeren is a graduate transfer from Penn State who is looking to snap a four-match losing streak. Prior to that skid, he had won 10 of his last 11. Andonian will be on the bottom half of the bracket as the two seed, alongside #14 Josh Finesilver (Duke), the three seed and sixth-seeded Dan Mancini (Pittsburgh). The last time Finesilver and Andonian met, the Hokie dispatched Finesilver in only :21 seconds. Finesilver has had plenty of success at bracketed tournaments this year with a runner-up finish at the Keystone Classic, along with titles at the Battle at The Citadel and the Southern Scuffle. Though Mancini struggled in ACC competition, he did finish the regular season with a winning record, at 13-12. Predictions 1st) Tariq Wilson (NC State) 2nd) Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) 3rd) Zach Sherman (North Carolina) 4th) Josh Finesilver (Duke) 157 lbs 5 allocations Sometimes we'll get upset about missing out on a marquee matchup during the dual season. That was the case when a bout between #4 Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) and #7 Ed Scott (NC State) didn't materialize. But now, the upside is anticipation has built towards this meeting and there's general uncertainty as to how this match would play out. O'Connor is stout defensively and is great with reshots and go-behinds. Scott will throw the kitchen sink at you. Something's got to give! The 2021 NCAA champion at 149 lbs, O'Connor, has had a successful move up to 157. He lost to #11 Peyton Robb (Nebraska) in mid-November, but has only won since. Scott had a breakout performance at the Collegiate Duals, defeating #21 Jarrett Jacques (Missouri) and pinning #9 Kaleb Young (Iowa), before downing #8 Quincy Monday (Princeton) a few weeks later. These two did meet last season at 149 lbs and O'Connor prevailed by major decision; however, Scott was a true freshman and has drastically improved. There's no doubt this will be much closer. Before an O'Connor/Scott matchup, the NC State star will have to get by second-seeded Jake Keating (Virginia). Keating handed Scott his first official loss of the year in an 11-10 shootout. He was an ACC finalist last year at 165 lbs. You also can't just pencil O'Connor in to the finals. He'll likely have to deal with #18 Elijah Cleary (Pittsburgh) in the semis. The Ohio State transfer has really shined for the Panthers this year. He captured a title at the MatMen Open and pushed O'Connor to the brink in a 2-1 loss. The rest of the bracket featured Wade Ungar (Duke) in the fifth slot and Connor Brady (Virginia Tech) as the sixth seed. Ungar's 11-15 record is a little deceiving as he was in a bunch of close matches and eventually broke through with his win over Brady. The Hokie is looking to snap out of a funk that's seen him go "0-for" in conference duals. Predictions 1st) Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) 2nd) Ed Scott (NC State) 3rd) Jake Keating (Virginia) 4th) Elijah Cleary (Pittsburgh) 5th) Connor Brady (Virginia Tech) 165 lbs 3 allocations You may not realize it, but Pittsburgh's #14 Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh) is quietly headed towards his third ACC Championship. But as we've seen, time and time again, nothing is given. Wentzel's well aware of this as he was an NCAA finalist last season, but has been challenged early and often and has a 14-5 record. While most of his losses have come against high-caliber opposition, that number seems high for a returning finalist. Another number Wentzel has is a zero in the loss column against ACC competition. The closest Wentzel came to losing in conference action was to #20 Thomas Bullard (NC State), who took the Panther star into sudden victory, before falling. Bullard being a thorn in Wentzel's side has been a reoccurring theme, as he was the only opponent to defeat the Panther prior to the NCAA finals. Bullard's defensive style is enough to give most opponents fits. Before another Wentzel/Bullard rematch, the NC State 165 lber will have to get by Virginia's #22 Justin McCoy. Earlier this season, McCoy lost to Bullard 4-1. It remains the only loss on the docket for McCoy this year. Could he avenge it and get his first shot at Wentzel? With only three automatic bids available Clayton Ulrey (Virginia Tech), Sonny Santiago (North Carolina), and Gabe Dinette (Duke), will look to crash the party. Dinette was winless against the ACC field, while Santiago's only victory was against Dinette. Now Santiago missed all of February as Isaias Estrada got the nod for the Tar Heels. Ulrey beat Dinette and Estrada, plus he has some quality wins outside of the conference. Predictions 1st) Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh) 2nd) Justin McCoy (Virginia) 3rd) Thomas Bullard (NC State) 4th) Clayton Ulrey (Virginia Tech) 174 lbs 4 allocations This is the weight class they're all talking about. Normally, it would be because there are a pair of past NCAA runner's-up in the bracket, along with two other high-caliber wrestlers, ranked in the top-16 nationally. But what everyone's discussing is precisely where "in the bracket," the top-three wrestlers fall. On Tuesday, the brackets revealed #9 Clay Lautt (North Carolina) as the one seed, #5 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) as the two seed and #6 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) the three seed. That means Hidlay and Lewis will clash in the semifinals, rather than the finals. The three have exchanged wins over each other, so any combination of the seeds were bound to upset a fanbase or two. Lautt's fall over Hidlay helps him get the one seed. The rationale is understandable, especially when you are focused on ACC results, but the optics are strange and most fans probably expected and anticipated a Hidlay/Lewis final. With all the talk about the bracket and one-three seeds, #16 Matt Finesilver (Duke) has been overlooked, a bit. The two-time national qualifier started the season with 17 consecutive victories, before an off performance at the Southern Scuffle. That "off" tournament still netted him a fifth-place finish. Finesilver currently has a 2-3 ACC record, which is understandable given the loaded weight class. He needs to be accounted for before looking ahead to a Lautt vs Hidlay/Lewis final. Justin Phillips (Virginia) and Hunter Kernan (Pittsburgh) round out the weight class. Neither picked up a win against conference competition; however, Kernan majored Phillips' teammate Victor Marcelli in an "Extra Countable Match." Predictions 1st) Hayden Hidlay (NC State) 2nd) Clay Lautt (North Carolina) 3rd) Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) 4th) Matt Finesilver (Duke) 184 lbs 5 allocations Here's another weight where five of the six competitors will punch their tickets to Detroit on Sunday. #3 Trent Hidlay (NC State) comes in with a perfect 15-0 record and is the returning champion. Hidlay amassed bonus points in all but two bouts this year. The most recent was a 2-1 win over long-time rival #14 Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech). The pair have met five times collegiately, including once in last year's ACC final. Bolen won the first three in their series, but Hidlay has reversed course and taken the two most recent meetings. The deciding factor in this year's dual was a point for the Wolfpack All-American for an illegal cutback on Bolen. Before we see round six of Hidlay/Bolen, the Hokie star will have to get through a promising freshman for the Tar Heels, #11 Gavin Kane. Kane stunned Bolen with a 3-1 win in sudden victory during their dual. He also racked up a boatload of points in major decisions over #25 Michael Battista (Virginia) and Gregg Harvey (Pittsburgh). Battista is someone who's shown flashes in the past, but seemingly put it all together this year for Virginia. He got his hand raised in 12 of his first 13 matches and finished the regular season with a 14-4 mark. One of his wins was of the 9-5 variety over the 2021 national qualifier, Harvey. Harvey is kind of a "hard-luck" 8-8. Actually, 8-7 since one loss came against Mark Hall at the MatMen Open. Six of those seven losses came against top-24 opponents. The final piece of this weight class is Duke's Vincent Baker. Baker comes in with a 10-17 record and is looking to snap a seven-match losing streak. Predictions 1st) Trent Hidlay (NC State) 2nd) Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) 3rd) Gavin Kane (North Carolina) 4th) Michael Battista (Virginia) 5th) Gregg Harvey (Pittsburgh) 197 lbs 3 allocations This looks like an opportunity for the ACC to potentially pick up an at-large berth or two as there are five conference wrestlers currently in the national rankings and only three allocations in play. The top seed is #15 Isaac Trumble (NC State), who is unbeaten against ACC foes and comes in with a seven-match winning streak. Trumble's smothering top game has manifested itself in shutouts in each of his last three outings. One of those came against #9 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh), the returning NCAA finalist at this weight. Bonaccorsi is more dangerous on his feet, so these matches with Trumble are always an interesting style-contrast. Even last year, when Trumble didn't get the postseason nod for NC State, he still defeated Bonaccorsi, 6-1. That proved to be Bonaccorsi's only loss prior to the NCAA finals. In order for Bonaccorsi to get another shot at Trumble, he'll need to get by #16 Jay Aiello (Virginia). The 2020 ACC champion, Aiello, has yet to slow down Bonaccorsi's offense. In all four of the Panther's wins over Aiello, Bonaccorsi has put up at least seven points. Aiello's had a solid year highlighted by a 6-1 win over All-American and 2021 NCAA semifinalist Jake Woodley (Oklahoma). #27 Max Shaw (North Carolina) and #31 Dakota Howard (Virginia Tech) are the two ranked wrestlers in the conference that weren't able to acquire conference allocations. Both finished third in the ACC last year and earned a trip to St. Louis. Howard was at 174 lbs, while Shaw was here. The two did not tangle in the regular season as Mark Chaid got the call for North Carolina in the dual. Since we can't assume that the ACC will get two bids here, the first-round matchup between Shaw/Howard is huge for a possible at-large. The loser would meet the loser of Bonaccorsi/Aiello and likely go 0-2, without placing. The sixth seed is Kaden Russell (Duke), who comes into the tournament with a .500 record. While he had some ugly conference losses, Russell managed to keep Trumble to a 2-1 decision. He's definitely someone who could shake the bracket up. Predictions 1st) Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) 2nd) Isaac Trumble (NC State) 3rd) Jay Aiello (Virginia) 4th) Dakota Howard (Virginia Tech) 285 lbs 3 allocations The final weight class is led by #14 Nathan Traxler (Virginia Tech), who came to the Hokies as a grad transfer from Stanford. Traxler has been as good as advertised with a 17-2 record and seven pins thus far. Traxler gets the top seed, but he does so without a flawless conference mark. One the last weekend of the regular season, #31 Quinn Miller (Virginia) knocked off Traxler 4-3. Two days later, he rebounded against NC State's Owen Trephan. It looks like Tyrie Houghton gets the call for NC State in a weight with two other highly capable competitors. Houghton won all three of his ACC duals and sports a 21-8 record. The rest of the field at 285lbs features four wrestlers that scored wins over each other with Miller, Jake Slinger (Pittsburgh), Jonah Niesenbaum (Duke), and Brandon Whitman (North Carolina) have traded wins with each other and are all capable of coming away with a third-place finish on Sunday night. Predictions 1st) Nathan Traxler (Virginia Tech) 2nd) Tyrie Houghton (NC State) 3rd) Quinn Miller (Virginia) 4th) Jake Slinger (Pittsburgh) Team Race 1st) NC State 2nd) Virginia Tech 3rd) North Carolina 4th) Pittsburgh

Austin DeSanto (left) and Roman Bravo-Young (photos courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) What will this weekend's Big Ten Championships really look like? Based solely on the pre-seeds, released earlier this week by the Big Ten Conference, we have an idea by simply doing some math. Here's the projected team points, based on the pre-seeds and corresponding advancement points (shoutout to the Wrestling Pirate for doing the quick math): 1. Iowa, 126.5 2. Penn State, 125 3. Michigan, 110.5 4. Nebraska, 89 5. Ohio State, 82 6. Wisconsin, 60 7. Northwestern, 53.5 8. Michigan State, 49 9. Minnesota, 42 10. Rutgers, 41 11. Purdue, 40 12. Illinois, 27 13. Indiana, 9.5 14. Maryland, 5 Of course, those scores are without the inevitable bonus points and chaos that normally shows up in these conference tournaments. Here's one example: at each of the last two Big Ten tournaments, a wrestler seeded second has gone 0-2 (Dan Braunagel in 2021, Kaleb Young in 2020). Here's another: last year, three wrestlers seeded sixth or lower made the finals - Purdue's Devin Schroder at 125 (7-seed), Nebraska's Ridge Lovett at 149 (7-seed) and Nebraska's Taylor Venz at 184 (6-seed). That's not counting Rutgers' Sebastian Rivera winning at 133 pounds in 2020 as the 5-seed, or Nebraska's Chad Red making the finals in 2019 as the 8-seed. He upset top-seeded Mikey Carr that year in the quarterfinals, and Carr stumbled to eighth. The point is, Pirate's math simply gives us a roadmap of what this weekend could look like. It's also a reference point from which to note when things go haywacky. The goals and paths to said goals are different for all 14 teams entering this weekend. Here, we look at each team's projected point total - starting with Iowa, ending with Maryland - and see where they're most likely to pick up additional points, and where they're most likely going to lose points. IOWA Projected pre-seed team points: 126.5 Where Iowa Can Score More: Look at 125 pounds, where young Drake Ayala has to like his potential path to the finals. He's the 6-seed, which means a first-round matchup against Michigan State's Tristan Lujan, then, if he wins, potentially Wisconsin's Eric Barnett in the quarterfinals and Penn State's Drew Hildebrandt in the semifinals. Otherwise, the Hawkeyes can pick up points by winning the swing matches. If all the seeds hold, check out these matchups: - 133 final: Austin DeSanto vs. Roman Bravo-Young - 141 final: Jaydin Eierman vs. Nick Lee - 157 final: Kaleb Young vs. Ryan Deakin - 165 final: Alex Marinelli vs. Carson Kharchla - 174 semifinal: Michael Kemerer vs. Carter Starocci - 184 quarterfinal: Abe Assad vs. Taylor Venz - 197 semifinal: Jacob Warner vs. Eric Schultz DeSanto, Eierman, Young, Kemerer, Assad and Warner have all won these matchups previously. Marinelli has only wrestled Kharchla once, but it's a matchup he can win if they meet again. Where Iowa Can Lose Points: There will be more intense matchups on the way to the ones listed above. Consider: - 133 semifinal: ADS vs. Lucas Byrd - 141 semifinal: Eierman vs. Sebastian Rivera - 149 quarterfinal: Max Murin vs. Yahya Thomas - 165 semifinal: Marinelli vs. Dean Hamiti - 197 quarterfinal: Warner vs. Pat Brucki - 285 semifinal: Tony Cassioppi vs. Greg Kerkvliet Those are all matchups that could potentially go the other way. ADS has never lost to Byrd, but the matches have been close and Byrd is fearless. Yahya is a returning All-American, and Murin will have to beat him after facing a dangerous Peyton Omania in the first round. Marinelli beat Hamiti, but Hamiti has proven to be a dangerous matchup for anybody. Brucki is also an All-American and if Kerkvliet doesn't go upper-body with Cassioppi, that could be a different match. PENN STATE Projected pre-seed team points: 125 Where Penn State Can Score More: Seven of Penn State's 10 starters are seeded third or better, so naturally, you look at the other three weights: 149, 157 and 165. Can Beau Bartlett make the semifinals by beating Michael Blockhus and Austin Gomez? Berge has beaten both Garrett Model and Young before. Can he do it again? Creighton Edsell at the 10-spot is tough, but what kind of magic can he pull off in the wrestlebacks? Additionally, can Max Dean hold serve and knock off Eric Schultz in the finals at 197? Can Kerkvliet top Cassioppi in a potential semifinal at 285? When you're at or near the top, like with Iowa, it's these smaller moves that'll help add to Penn State's total. Where Penn State Can Lose Points: Four Nittany Lion wrestlers are pre-seeded first. If any of them lose, that'll obviously cost team points. The big one to watch there is the potential semifinal between Starocci and Kemerer. But so could Hildebrandt if he falls in the semifinals at 125. So could Dean if he loses to Caffey in a potential semifinal, which is possible since Caffey beat Dean earlier this season. Kerkvliet is the three seed and could finish fourth. Any of these things are possible. MICHIGAN Projected pre-seed team points: 110.5 Where Michigan Can Score More: There are a few fun scenarios for Michigan to consider. Dylan Ragusin, the 5-seed at 133, could finish third. Stevan Micic, the 6-seed at 141, could regain his NCAA finalist form at his new weight and make the finals. Not much is expected of Kanen Storr, the 11-seed after an injury, so anything from him would be a bonus. What about Myles Amine beating Aaron Brooks? Or Logan Massa beating either Starocci or Kemerer? Or Brucki beating both Warner and Schultz to make the finals at 197? Parris is the 4-seed, so technically, he could take third and those are additional points. Where Michigan Can Lose Points: These are a few not-so-fun scenarios for Michigan. The potential Will Lewan-Chase Saldate quarterfinal at 157 has upset written all over it (Lewan is the 3-seed, Saldate the 6-seed). Same with the potential Cam Amine-Caleb Fish quarterfinal at 165. Massa has to beat Mikey Labriola again to reach the finals at 174. What if Romero beats Myles in the semifinals at 184? NEBRASKA Projected pre-seed team points: 89 Where Nebraska Can Score More: Nebraska's stellar Big Ten tournament performance a year ago was bolstered by Lovett and Venz both making the finals as the 7- and 6-seeds, respectively. Who could do that this year for the Huskers? Could Lovett get back to the finals? He's the 3-seed this year, and would have to potentially beat Gomez in the semifinals, but that'd be additional points. Robb could come out of the 5-spot and beat Kendall Coleman and Ryan Deakin. Labs could beat Massa. Lance is the 6-seed, so even fifth means extra points. Where Nebraska Can Lose Points: Schultz at 197 would have to beat Braxton Amos, either Brucki or Warner and then either Max Dean of Cam Caffey to win a Big Ten title. That's a pretty tall ask all in one weekend. But as the 1-seed, anything less than a title means the team loses out on the projected points. The Venz-Assad quarterfinal at 184 could also go Iowa's way. There's a world where both Labriola and Lovett finish fifth as 3-seeds (Labs losses to Massa and then Ethan Smith in the wrestlebacks; Lovett to Gomez then Yahya). Chad Red could also see Stevan Micic in the wrestlebacks, assuming all seeds hold. Not an easy task. OHIO STATE Projected pre-seed team points: 82 Where Ohio State Can Score More: We've talked about these swing matches already - Smith-Kemerer, Romero-Amine - but look closer. Tate Orndorff, an All-American, is the 8-seed. He can finish higher. Gavin Hoffman is the 9-seed. He could beat Amos first-round. Bryce Hepner is also a 9-seed. He could beat Robert Kanniard first-round. Little gains here and there will help the Buckeyes. Where Ohio State Can Lose Points: The potential quarterfinal at 125 between Malik Heinselman and Devin Schroder immediately jumps out, because Schroder is 4-0 all-time against Malik. But so does the potential 165 final between Kharchla and Marinelli. So does the potential 149 semifinal between Sammy Sasso and either Yahya or Murin (mostly because Murin nearly beat Sasso in the regular season). Dylan D'Emilio is the 7-seed at a stacked weight. The same reasons Hepner and Hoffman could win are conversely the same reasons they could also falter. WISCONSIN Projected pre-seed team points: 60 Where Wisconsin Can Score More: It's totally possible that Barnett, Gomez and Hamiti all make the finals and that Trent Hillger (7 at 285), Braxton Amos (8 at 197), Andrew McNally (11 at 174), Garrett Model (7 at 157) and Joey Zargo (8 at 141) all outperform their seeds. Where Wisconsin Can Lose Points: It's also totally possible that Barnett, Gomez and Hamiti all don't make the finals and that each of the previously listed guys wrestles below their seeds and it becomes a tough weekend for the Badgers. NORTHWESTERN Projected pre-seed team points: 53.5 Where Northwestern Can Score More: We aren't talking enough about the possibility that Michael DeAugustino and Chris Cannon could both stormed out of the 7-spots at 125 and 133 and finish in the top-four at their respective weights. That also jumps out. There are smaller gains, too, like Yahya Thomas, the 5-seed at 149, finishing in the top four, or Frankie Tal Shahar cracking the top eight as the 10-seed, or Jack Jessen winning a wrestleback match or two as the 14-seed, or Andrew Davison out-performing his 10-seed. But the MDA and CC draws are favorable and the possibility of them making runs would benefit Northwestern. Where Northwestern Can Lose Points: There's a world where Lucas Davison (5 at 285) finishes seventh or worse and Ryan Deakin loses before the finals at 157. It's a world Northwestern wasn't absolutely nothing to do with, but it's a world that exists. MICHIGAN STATE Projected pre-seed team points: 49 Where Michigan State Can Score More: Ready for this? Rayvon Foley takes third from the 4-spot at 133, Peyton Omania headlocks his way to the semifinals at 149, Chase Saldate and Caleb Fish both make the semifinals at 157 and 165, respectively, and Cam Caffey beats both Max Dean and Eric Schultz and wins 197. Not predictions, but all of those are entirely possible. Where Michigan State Can Lose Points: OK, ready for this? Caffey loses to Dean then Brucki and falls to the fifth-place match as the 3-seed, Layne Malczewski loses in the first-round to Chris Weiler, Fish and Saldate both go 2-2 and drop to the seventh-place matches, and Foley loses to Ragusin in the quarterfinals. Again, not predictions, but all of those are entirely possible. MINNESOTA Projected pre-seed team points: 42 Where Minnesota Can Score More: Patrick McKee, the returning third-place finisher at last year's NCAA Championships, is the 8-seed. It's hilarious to see it in writing and then to actually read it aloud, but welcome to the Big Ten Conference. McKee, Michael Blockhus, Cael Carlson and Michial Foy are all plenty capable of wrestling above their seeds. Even Sebas Swiggum can win a wrestleback match at 157. That's an extra half-point, at the very least. Where Minnesota Can Lose Points: Jakob Bergeland at the 5-seed, if that holds, would put him up against Chad Red in the quarterfinals, then potentially both Parker Filius and either Joey Zargo or Dylan Duncan in the wrestlebacks. This is a stacked weight class, so holding that fifth-place projection will not be easy. Bailee O'Reilly at the 6-seed at 174 could be a dangerous spot, too. Puts him up against Gerrit Nijenhuis in the wrestlebacks, if all the seeds hold. O'Reilly beat Nijenhuis in the regular season, but it's still a dangerous matchup. RUTGERS Projected pre-seed team points: 41 Where Rutgers Can Score More: If the seeds hold, Sebastian Rivera could see Jaydin Eierman in the semifinals at 141 (that also means Rivera beats Stevan Micic in the quarters). If Rivera-Eierman happens, the whole world will stop to watch. A win for Rivera, the 3-seed, is entirely possible, and means more points, of course. John Poznanski, a returning fourth-place finisher at last year's NCAA Championships, is the 7-seed at 184. That means, technically, he's supposed to go 2-2 and wrestle for, well, seventh. A third-place finish this weekend isn't an unreasonable thought. There's also a scenario where Mike Van Brill, the 6-seed at 149, makes a run through the wrestlebacks and finishes third or fourth. Also have a feeling Boone McDermott could be a landmine at 285. Where Rutgers Can Lose Points: There are three Rugers wrestlers in the 8-9 matchups. The losers of those matchups are, technically, projected to go 0-2. It would not be great for Rutgers if they went 0-3 in those matchups. PURDUE Projected pre-seed team points: 40 Where Purdue Can Score More: Devin Schroder is a two-time Big Ten finalist, yet is seeded fifth. Kendall Coleman has also previously been to the Big Ten finals, but is seeded fourth. Max Lyon went 2-2 at last year's NCAA Championships, but is seeded 13th. You see where we're going with this - those guys are all capable. Additionally, Matt Ramos, the 9-seed at 133, and Gerrit Nijenhuis, the 7-seed at 174, could both be landmines. Same with Parker Filius at 141. There's a path for him to reach the top six (but also a scenario where he goes 0-2, so stay tuned). Where Purdue Can Lose Points: If Schroder loses to Michigan's Nick Suriano in the semifinals, he could see any combination of Eric Barnett, Drake Ayala, Michael DeAugustino or Drew Hildebrandt in the wrestlebacks. Additionally, if he loses to Malik for the first time ever, he could see Pat McKee in the wrestlebacks. It's not unreasonable to think Kendall Coleman loses to Peyton Robb in the quarterfinals at 157 and maybe even falls to the seventh-place match, depending on who he sees in the wrestlebacks. That's a sneaky fun weight. ILLINOIS Projected pre-seed team points: 27 Where Illinois Can Score More: Technically speaking, Dylan Duncan at the 9-spot at 141 is Illinois playing with house money. If he beats Zargo in the first-round, he gets Nick Lee, which is tough, but even a loss there drops him to face either Tal Shahar or D'Emilio. Win there, boom, in the top eight. Points! If he loses to Zargo, he still likely gets either D'Emilio or Tal Shahar. Win there, boom, in the top eight. Points! Kanzler is in the same boat at 149. DJ Shannon has a first-round upset opportunity at 174. Could Zac Braunagel make a run through the wrestlebacks or even upset Abe Assad in the first-round at 184? What about Luke Luffman out-peforming his 9-seed at 285? There are some possibilities here. Where Illinois Can Lose Points: Let's say Lucas Byrd loses to Austin DeSanto in the semifinals. No big deal. But in the consolation semifinals, he could have either Ragusin or Foley. He's beaten Ragusin, but both guys will be tough matches. If he loses there, he drops to the fifth-place match as the 3-seed, which would be less-than-ideal. INDIANA Projected pre-seed team points: 9.5 Where Indiana Can Score More: Wouldn't be surprised to see Brock Hudkins, the 6-seed, wrestle his way into the third-place match at 133. If the seeds hold, he'd see Foley in the consolation semifinals, and he beat Foley already this year. Not sayin', but just sayin'. Graham Rooks, the 9-seed at 149, could beat Kanzler, the 8-seed. Kanzler won 4-3 in the regular-season. Same could be said for Donnell Washington, the 9-seed at 184, against Kyle Cochran, the 8-seed. Cochran only won 3-2 in the regular-season. Where Indiana Can Lose Points: Hudkins still has to beat Kyle Burwick in the first-round, and a potential loss to Chris Cannon in the wrestlebacks would send him to the seventh-place match. As the 6-seed, that would be less-than-ideal. MARYLAND Projected pre-seed team points: 5 Where Maryland Can Score More: What if King Sandoval throws a headlock and beats Lucas Byrd in the first-round at 133? Or Dom Solis beats Troy Fisher in the first-round at 174? Or Cochran puts his cape on and makes a run to the top-six as the 8-seed? Or Jaron Smith re-conjures some magic as the 11-seed and finishes fifth? What if? Where Maryland Can Lose Points: Pretty hard to lose 5 projected team points. Here's hoping they do not.

Top seeded 174 lber Austin Murphy (photos courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) 2022 SoCon Championships Preview 15 total allocations/13 total allocations in 2021 What if I told you the best team race of the weekend may not take place in the Big Ten or the Big 12? Since it isn't in the midwest, maybe at the University of Virginia with the ACC? Nope, correct right, but wrong tournament. Try the Southern Conference, otherwise known as the SoCon. In what has become one of the best rivalries in college wrestling, Appalachian State and Campbell will duke it out for conference supremacy. The Mountaineers got the best of the Camels this year in dual action, but Campbell has won the last three straight SoCon tournaments. With so much talk about Campbell and Appalachian State, we might be overlooking traditional power, Chattanooga. The Mocs have a team that will fare well in the tournament and likely crown multiple champions. If they can pull an upset or two, Chattanooga could be in the mix and not "just" play spoiler. Below is our weight-by-weight preview of the action, along with predictions for top-four finishers at all ten weights, and a team race projection. Wrestlers bolded are ones that we have pegged to receive the automatic qualifying bids available in their respective weight class. When: March 5th, 2022 Where: Boone, North Carolina How to Watch: ESPN+ 125 2 allocations Right off that bat, we've got an interesting weight class here and one that we need to monitor over the weekend. With three ranked wrestlers, two of whom have prior NCAA experience, and only two automatic qualifying spots, something has to give. A perfect mark in the SoCon and a #24 ranking nationally has Fabian Gutierrez (Chattanooga) as the top seed and in the driver's seat towards claiming a trip to Detroit. Gutierrez has a pair of wins over the second-seed #25 Caleb Smith (Appalachian State). One came in dual meet competition and the other where Gutierrez finished sixth (and Smith fifth due to a medical forfeit) at the Southern Scuffle. In his first year as a starter for the Mountaineers, Smith seized the job early with a title at the Keystone Classic. There he defeated Penn's #23 Ryan Miller, which was one of his best quality victories of the year. The most significant win for Smith came against #29 Korbin Meink (Campbell) in the final bout of Appalachian State's dual with the Camels. A takedown in sudden victory clinched the win for his team. A rematch with Meink in the semis is looming. Meink is a two-time SoCon champion looking to add a third title to his collection. While he fell in their 2021-22 dual meet, Meink's 2020 title came at Gutierrez's expense. There's a clear drop-off between the top-three and the rest of the field. Aeyden Concepcion (Gardner-Webb) gets the fourth seed and has a pair of conference wins under his belt. The same can be said for fifth-seeded Malik Hardy (The Citadel), though he is one of Concepcion's victims. Hopefully, nothing too crazy happens at the other qualifiers and an at-large berth is handed out here. Predictions 1st) Fabian Gutierrez (Chattanooga) 2nd) Korbin Meink (Campbell) 3rd) Caleb Smith (Appalachian State) 4th) Aedyn Concepcion (Gardner-Webb) 133 lbs 2 allocations Tennessee native #18 Brayden Palmer spent his first two years of college at Clarion, but has returned home to Chattanooga and flourished for the Mocs in 2021-22. Palmer sports a 22-6 record and turned heads by grabbing third place at the Southern Scuffle. At the Scuffle, Palmer downed three wrestlers with prior NCAA experience. Since then, he's gone 10-2 with wins over three ranked opponents. Now, Palmer doesn't have a perfect conference record, as he was defeated the second week of the year by Kyle Gorant (Davidson); however, that was before he gained much-needed confidence at the Scuffle. One of Palmers, opponents at the Scuffle and in dual action, was #30 Codi Russell (Appalachian State), a two-time SoCon champion (once at 125 and once at 133). During their last meeting, Russell managed to close the gap, a bit, losing by a mere point, after falling by five at the Scuffle. Next in line is Todd Carter (Gardner-Webb), who has beaten everyone in the league, not named Palmer or Russell. Carter is one of GWU's more improved wrestlers, as he was 6-13 as a true freshman last year and is currently 11-8. He comes into the postseason riding a four-match winning streak. An 8-3 win over Gorant gives Carter the third seed. Gorant has five conference wins in his favor this year, including one over Dom Zaccone (Campbell). That leaves Zaccone as the fifth seed and likely sets the stage for a rematch. Predictions 1st) Brayden Palmer (Chattanooga) 2nd) Codi Russell (Appalachian State) 3rd) Dom Zaccone (Campbell) 4th) Todd Carter (Gardner-Webb) 141 lbs 1 allocation With only one allocation available at 141 lbs, expect the action to be intense here as there are a couple of wrestlers that are worthy of a trip to nationals. Since there are limited (by their standards) bids available in the Big Ten at this weight, that might negatively impact the wrestlers here. The top seed is #29 Shannon Hanna (Campbell), who was perfect in SoCon action this year. Beyond that, his win over Danny Moran (Lehigh) was instrumental in Campbell's dual victory over the Mountain Hawks in week one. Hanna is looking to build upon his runner-up finish in the conference in 2021. He'll face a stiff challenge from Heath Gonyer (Appalachian State). The two met in the school's heated dual and Hanna prevailed in sudden victory. Gonyer has stepped into the starting role and flourished after an injury to 2021 conference champ Anthony Brito. His loss in extra time to Hanna was his only post-Scuffle. Also rolling into the postseason is Trevon Majette (Gardner-Webb), who is riding a six-match winning streak. Like Hanna, Majette is a former Old Dominion wrestler, though they were not teammates. Majette gets the three seed over Franco Valdes (Chattanooga), likely due to a better regular-season record, as the pair did not meet this season. Last year they met and Valdes prevailed via major decision. Typically, App State tends to have a surprise champion or two at this event, so I think Gonyer reversed the dual result in the final against Hanna. Predictions 1st) Heath Gonyer (Appalachian State) 2nd) Shannon Hanna (Campbell) 3rd) Franco Valdes (Chattanooga) 4th) Trevon Majette (Gardner-Webb) 149 lbs 2 allocations The headline weight class in the SoCon is 149 lbs which features a pair of top-ten wrestlers in #4 Jonathan Millner (Appalachian State) and #9 Josh Heil (Campbell). Millner is the highest-ranked SoCon wrestler at any weight and is the lone, returning NCAA All-American in the conference. In his first appearance of the year, Millner fell to a returning AA (Kyle Parco - Arizona State), but since has reeled off 14 consecutive wins. That streak spanned a title at the Keystone Classic and a 6-0 win over MAC favorite, #23 Alex Madrigal (George Mason). Millner is looking to continue his dominance over the conference, as he hasn't lost to a SoCon foe since the 2018-19 season. Heil is looking to get on the NCAA podium for the first time after qualifying four times and being named an NWCA First-Team All-American in 2020. His best performance this year came at the MatMen Open, capturing a title with a win over #5 Austin Gomez (Wisconsin). Heil will try to get in the win column over Millner as he's currently 0-2 against the Mountaineer. Behind the big two at 149 is freshman Noah Castillo (Chattanooga), who may be more talking about, in terms of receiving an at-large berth, if we were in a more "normal" year without sixth-year seniors. Castillo has acquitted himself well against Millner/Heil and has generally dominated the rest of the league. He comes in fresh off a win over Indiana's national qualifier Graham Rooks in the season finale. Another solid, under-the-radar season at this weight has been turned in by Gavin Damasco (Davidson). Damasco picked up a win in the Campbell dual (over Chris Rivera) and has only lost to Millner in SoCon action. He did prevail in a nail-biter over the #7 seed Ethan Willis (The Citadel), so there could be plenty of competition for that fourth spot, along with Brandon Bright (Gardner-Webb) and Reid Stewart (Presbyterian). Predictions 1st) Jonathan Millner (Appalachian State) 2nd) Josh Heil (Campbell) 3rd) Noah Castillo (Chattanooga) 4th) Gavin Damasco (Davidson) 157 lbs 1 allocation Even though there are a pair of SoCon wrestlers in the national rankings with #27 Dazjon Casto (The Citadel) and #28 Cody Bond (Appalachian State), only Casto locked up an allocation for the conference. Casto had a big out-of-conference win over #14 Justin Thomas (Oklahoma) at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and has a 16-6 record overall. Both he and Bond are unbeaten in SoCon competition this year, as they did not hit in dual action. At the Scuffle, Bond pinned Casto's teammate, Aidan Lenz. The 2021 SoCon champion, Bond, has been dominant against the rest of the league. None of his SoCon opponents held him to less than a major decision. A wild card here is JoJo Aragona (Campbell), less than three years removed from being considered one of the top-ten recruits in the country. Aragona transferred from Rutgers mid-year and only saw action in two duals, one a win over Bryce Sanderlin (Davidson) and the other a major decision loss to Bond. With more time in the Campbell room, Aragona may make Bond's life difficult in the semis. After Aragona is a pair of wrestlers with winning records in Lincoln Heck (Chattanooga) and Sanderlin. Heck was only limited to 14 matches this year, but posted a couple of good results, defeating Wade Unger (Duke) and Derek Gilcher (Indiana). Sanderlin has been very consistent for the Wildcats and owns a win over the Mocs previous starter Weston Wichman. Predictions 1st) Cody Bond (Appalachian State) 2nd) Dazjon Casto (The Citadel) 3rd) Lincoln Heck (Chattanooga) 4th) JoJo Aragona (Campbell) 165 lbs 2 allocations There's a bit of a problem at 165 lbs since there are four past NCAA qualifiers vying for two automatic bids. Drew Nicholson (Chattanooga) is the returning conference champion at this weight and is undefeated in conference competition. Nicholson did not earn an allocation for the conference and is outside of the national rankings based on a few out-of-conference losses, but his best win over the year came against #19 Will Formato (Appalachian State). Last year, Formato was unbeaten in the conference (with a win over Nicholson), but needed to get an at-large berth for nationals. This season, Formato is 19-5 with a pair of wins over Thomas Bullard (NC State). He'll want to get that win back. After the top two seeds are Rodrick Mosley (Gardner-Webb) and Selwyn Porter (The Citadel). Both have qualified for nationals in the past. Mosley has a pair of agonizingly close losses to both of the top two seeds this year, both in tiebreakers. Against Porter, he was able to get by with a win in sudden victory. Porter was a Navy Classic finalist this year and had bonus point wins versus the rest of the conference. If there's anyone that could break into the top-four, it could be sixth-seeded Troy Nation (Campbell). His record isn't flashy, at 6-4, but he's wrestled a strong schedule and owns a win over Lehigh's national qualifier Brian Meyer (Lehigh). Predictions 1st) Will Formato (Appalachian State) 2nd) Drew Nicholson (Chattanooga) 3rd) Rodrick Mosley (Gardner-Webb) 4th) Selwyn Porter (The Citadel) 174 lbs 1 allocation Here is another problematic weight class as #24 Austin Murphy (Campbell) and #28 Thomas Flitz (Appalachian State) are nationally ranked, but neither earned an allocation for the conference. There is just one automatic/champions bid available. Murphy is the defending SoCon champion at 174 lbs and defeated Flitz in the finals. Like this year, there was only one automatic spot available for the conference; however, Flitz was given an at-large berth. In their recent dual, Flitz turned the tables and pulled out a 2-1 win over Murphy, which allows for him to receive the top-seed here. Earlier this week, as ACC seeds were revealed, most revisited Flitz's dual victory over the tournament's top-seed #8 Clay Lautt (North Carolina). Next in line is Carial Tarter (Chattanooga), the third seed. Tarter has losses to the two top seeds, but a clean conference resume, otherwise. In fact, he hung close with Murphy, losing 3-1, and likely will have another shot in the semifinals. The fourth and fifth seeds belong to Evan Schenk (Gardner-Webb) and Jon Hoover (VMI), respectively. Hoover actually has a head-to-head win over Schenk, but the Running Bulldog has a slightly better overall body of work. Predictions 1st) Austin Murphy (Campbell) 2nd) Thomas Flitz (Appalachian State) 3rd) Carial Tarter (Chattanooga) 4th) Jon Hoover (VMI) 184 lbs 1 allocation The 184 lb SoCon champ from a year ago, #26 Caleb Hopkins (Campbell), is back and the favorite to repeat. In his first national tournament, Hopkins went 1-2 with a win over the Big Ten's Zac Braunagel (Illinois). He comes in with a perfect 5-0 record against SoCon opponents and was 14-4 overall. All four of those losses came to quality competition from the ACC. Now Hopkins did get pushed in the Camels dual with App State by Barrett Blakely, who will be the fourth seed here. That could make for an interesting semifinal and a match that could be extremely important in the team race. The second seed belongs to Thomas Sell (Chattanooga), who pulled out a win in sudden victory over Blakely and pinned 2021 NCAA qualifier Jha'Quan Anderson (Gardner-Webb). That was one of six falls on the year for Sell. Anderson did not see Murphy this year, but has a 5-3 win over Blakely. Another entrant that could do some damage here is Gavin Henry (Davidson). Henry did not meet Blakely, but did grab a win against his teammate Brett Mordecai. Predictions 1st) Caleb Hopkins (Campbell) 2nd) Thomas Sell (Chattanooga) 3rd) Jha'Quan Anderson (Gardner-Webb) 4th) Gavin Henry (Davidson) 197 lbs 1 allocation Once again, we have two past national qualifiers in a weight where only one NCAA allocation is up for grabs. The top seed belongs to two-time SoCon champion Chris Kober (Campbell). Kober split time with Levi Hopkins for the bulk of the year, but has emerged as the man for head coach Scotti Sentes' team. In fact, Kober defeated Hopkins 7-1 for seventh place at the MatMen Open. In the massive dual with Appalachian State, Kober was pushed to extra time by Wyatt Miller, before prevailing 3-1. Miller is the sixth seed, so it's unlikely the two meet again. Seeded second is two-time national qualifier Matthew Waddell (Chattanooga). Waddell spent the first four-plus years of his career at 184 lbs, before moving up in mid-January. That change ended up being productive as Waddell went 7-1 at the higher weight. He had struggled to a 7-9 record at 184. Waddell lost a close one to Hopkins, but was generally dominant against the rest of the league. In order to get a rematch with Hopkins, he'd have to go through the third seed Tyler Mousaw (VMI). While Waddell was able to pin Mousaw, it's the Mousaw who typically does the pinning. Since arriving at VMI, Mousaw has eight falls in his 23 wins. Kober also has Anthony Perrine (Gardner-Webb) and Finlay Holston (Davidson) on his side as the fourth and fifth seeds. Both have winning records and neither is an easy out. Predictions 1st) Matthew Waddell (Chattanooga) 2nd) Chris Kober (Campbell) 3rd) Tyler Mousaw (VMI) 4th) Anthony Perrine (Gardner-Webb) 285 lbs 2 allocations We finish with a pair of allocations available for the big men, although three may be an optimal number. A SoCon runner-up in 2021, #25 Taye Ghadiali (Campbell) has built off of that momentum and more this season. He only has a pair of losses, both to top-15 opponents, and a handful of quality wins. Ghadiali has wins over two of NC State's triumvirate of talented heavys, with Tyrie Houghton and 2021 ACC champ, Deonte Wilson. Ghadiali also has a decisive victory over the opponent that defeated him for the conference title in 2021, #29 Michael McAleavey (The Citadel). McAleavey had an excellent year, himself, placing top-eight at both the CKLV Invitational and the Scuffle. At the Scuffle, he split matches with the "other" NC State 285 lber, Owen Trephan. There are some quality heavyweight here after the two ranked wrestlers with third-seeded Michael Burchell (Appalachian State) and Mitchell Trigg (Davidson), the fourth seed. Burchell was 17-9 this year, but didn't get to match up with McAleavey. He did face Trigg and prevailed via fall. Trigg wrestled McAleavey to a one-point bout and shutout Campbell's Luke Davis, 6-0, in dual meet competition. Predictions 1st) Taye Ghadiali (Campbell) 2nd) Michael McAleavey (The Citadel) 3rd) Michael Burchell (Appalachian State) 4th) Mitchell Trigg (Davidson) Team Race 1) Campbell 2) Appalachian State 3) Chattanooga 4) Gardner-Webb 5) The Citadel

Top seeded 125 lber Nick Suriano of Michigan (photos courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) 2022 Big Ten Championships Preview 88 total allocations/76 total allocations While six other conferences will be in action this weekend, none can match the overall star power and depth of the Big Ten. Eight of the top-20 tournament teams in the country reside in the Big Ten and will do battle in Lincoln, Nebraska. Seven of the ten number-one ranked wrestlers compete in the Big Ten. 88 automatic berths to the 2022 NCAA Championships in Detroit, Michigan, will be on the line, easily the most of any conference in the country. Two-time defending conference champions Iowa will attempt to three-peat. Even with two-time Hodge Trophy winner, Spencer Lee, Iowa still has a decent chance to win the conference. With a smaller field than nationals, it's more likely that a balanced team can edge a more star-studded lineup like Penn State. Speaking of the Nittany Lions, the top-ranked squad boasts three #1 seeded wrestlers and should be in a dogfight with the Hawkeyes for first place. Third-ranked Michigan has an outside shot at winning it all; however, all the cards would have to fall in their favor. Homestanding Nebraska, also has a strong, veteran team capable of cracking the top-three. Below is our weight-by-weight preview of the action, along with predictions for top-eight finishers at all ten weights, and a team race projection. Wrestlers bolded are ones that we have pegged to receive the automatic qualifying bids available in their respective weight class. When: March 5th/6th, 2022 Where: Lincoln, Nebraska How to Watch: Big Ten Network/B1G+ 125 lbs 10 allocations I'm sure none of us thought that the 125 lb bracket would look like this back in September. No Spencer Lee for Iowa, Nick Suriano as the one seed for Michigan and Drew Hildebrandt for Penn State, but here we are! Suriano joined the team in the second half of the year and has won all eight of his contests while wearing the Maize and Blue. He's responsible for Hildebrandt's only loss in a Penn State singlet. It's easy to figure that those two past All-Americans should get the top seeds at this weight; the rest of the weight class, that's a different story. This bracket will feature four past NCAA All-Americans with Suriano and Hildebrandt. Joining them are the third seed Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) and eighth-seed Patrick McKee (Minnesota). Also of note, Devin Schroder (Purdue) is a two-time Big Ten finalist. He and Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern) were named NWCA first-team All-Americans after the 2020 season. 8 of the top-13 wrestlers in the nation at 125 lbs hail from the Big Ten. This weight class could have plenty of upsets if you're just looking at seeds. #6 Drake Ayala (Iowa) is one of the top true freshmen in the nation and is dangerous on the bottom half of the bracket, if healthy. #7 DeAugustino has defeated many of the key players here at one time or another in his career. #8 McKee finished third in the nation last season after entering NCAA's as the #15 seed. Projected Quarterfinals #1 Nick Suriano (Michigan) vs. #8 Patrick McKee (Minnesota) #5 Devin Schroder (Purdue) vs. #4 Malik Heinselman (Ohio State) #3 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) vs. #6 Drake Ayala (Iowa) #7 Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern) vs. #2 Drew Hildebrandt (Penn State) Projected Semifinals #1 Nick Suriano (Michigan) vs. #5 Devin Schroder (Purdue) #6 Drake Ayala (Iowa) vs. #2 Drew Hildebrandt (Penn State) Predictions 1st) Nick Suriano (Michigan) 2nd) Drew Hildebrandt (Penn State) 3rd) Devin Schroder (Purdue) 4th) Drake Ayala (Iowa) 5th) Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) 6th) Malik Heinselman (Ohio State) 7th) Patrick McKee (Minnesota) 8th) Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern) Final AQ's: Justin Cardani (Illinois) and Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) 133 lbs 10 allocations 133 lbs in the Big Ten is always fun and this year is no different. 2021 NCAA Champion Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) is undefeated and is looking ready to claim a second national title, along with his second Big Ten crown. Standing in his way is the only active wrestler at this weight class with a career win over him in Austin DeSanto (Iowa). The Hawkeye All-American had two wins over Bravo-Young in the 2018-19 season, but hasn't beaten him since. This year's dual appearance marked the fourth consecutive win for RBY; however, it was by a slim 3-2 margin. This bracket will feature five past NCAA All-Americans. Rayvon Foley (Michigan State), Lucas Byrd (Illinois) and Chris Cannon (Northwestern) join Bravo-Young and DeSanto. Bravo-Young has appeared in two Big Ten finals, winning one, while DeSanto's runner-up finish last year was his first. 8 of the top-15 wrestlers in the nation at 133 lbs hail from the Big Ten. #6 seed Brock Hudkins (Indiana) is responsible for one of Foley's two losses on the year. He just hasn't been able to compete often. The 8/9 matchup between Joey Olivieri (Rutgers) and Matt Ramos (Purdue), features a pair of wrestlers that could make a run through the consolations and outperform their seeds. #13 King Sandoval (Maryland) has 13 pins on the year and his Greco background makes for some highlight-reel throws. His opponents should be ready at all times. Projected Quarterfinals #1 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) vs. #9 Matt Ramos (Purdue) #5 Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) vs. #4 Rayvon Foley (Michigan State) #3 Lucas Byrd (Illinois) vs. #6 Brock Hudkins (Indiana) #7 Chris Cannon (Northwestern) vs. #2 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) Projected Semifinals #1 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) vs. #4 Rayvon Foley (Michigan State) #3 Lucas Byrd (Illinois) vs. #2 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) Predictions 1st) Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) 2nd) Austin DeSanto (Iowa) 3rd) Lucas Byrd (Illinois) 4th) Chris Cannon (Northwestern) 5th) Rayvon Foley (Michigan State) 6th) Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) 7th) Joey Oliveri (Rutgers) 8th) Matt Ramos (Purdue) Final AQ's: Jake Gliva (Minnesota), Brock Hudkins (Indiana) 141 lbs 7 allocations From the moment that automatic qualifiers were released, I knew that 141 in the Big Ten was going to present problems for the rest of the country and gobble up some of the precious at-large berths (five). If other conference's 141 lb brackets feature an upset or two, it's very likely we could have some high-quality wrestlers at this weight staying home. This is a weight class that features 10 of the top 33 wrestlers in the nation, but only seven AQ's are guaranteed. The battle for a title should be a great one here. We have the possibility of a Big Ten and NCAA finals rematch with the top-two seeds, #1 Nick Lee (Penn State) and #2 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa). Last year, Eierman was victorious before Lee turned the tables at nationals. The Nittany Lion great is undefeated, while Eierman's only loss of the year came to Lee. Oh and lurking at the #3 spot is undefeated, two-time Big Ten champion Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers). There have been some whispers surrounding his health, but hopefully, we'll get to see the best possible version of Rivera. If so, there could be some classic matches along the way. This bracket will feature six past NCAA All-Americans. Along with Lee and Eierman are, Rivera, Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska), Dylan Duncan (Illinois) and Stevan Micic (Michigan). Five of the six All-Americans (all but Duncan) have stood on the NCAA podium at least three times. Lee, Eierman, and Micic have all appeared in an NCAA final. Eierman, Micic, and Rivera (2x) have all won Big Ten titles. Lee (x2) and Red Jr. have made Big Ten the Big Ten finals. 8 of the top-18 wrestlers in the nation at 141 lbs hail from the Big Ten. It's scary to imagine a tournament where Micic comes in as the sixth seed. Last year, Duncan finished fifth in the nation; however, he's the ninth seed here and looking for an AQ, after only appearing in five regular-season bouts. He'll face Joe Zargo (Wisconsin) in the opening round, one of the wrestlers who have defeated him this year. The 11th seed at this weight, Parker Filius (Purdue), is a two-time national qualifier and was the 18th seed at nationals in 2021. Projected Quarterfinals #1 Nick Lee (Penn State) vs. #9 Dylan Duncan (Illinois) #5 Jake Bergeland (Minnesota) vs. #4 Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska) #3 Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) vs. #6 Stevan Micic (Michigan) #7 Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio State) vs. #2 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) Projected Semifinals #1 Nick Lee (Penn State) vs. #4 Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska) #3 Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) vs. #2 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) Predictions 1st) Nick Lee (Penn State) 2nd) Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) 3rd) Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) 4th) Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska) 5th) Stevan Micic (Michigan) 6th) Jake Bergeland (Minnesota) 7th) Joe Zargo (Wisconsin) 8th) Dylan Duncan (Illinois) 149 lbs 7 allocations Fun fact, 149 lbs is the only weight this year in the Big Ten without a wrestler from either Iowa or Penn State amongst the top-three seeds. But, without immediate team race implications in play, there's plenty of fun to be had in this bracket. The top-three seeds, while all unique, have parts to their game that make them some of the most fun to watch for fans. A possible 2021 Big Ten finals rematch is in play with returning champion Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) as the top seed and Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) the third seed. Last year, it was a bit of a surprise as Lovett made the finals as the seventh seed. With a 17-2 record this year, he isn't sneaking up on anyone! This bracket will feature two past NCAA All-Americans in Sasso and Yahya Thomas (Northwestern). Additionally, Max Murin (Iowa) was named an NWCA First-Team All-American in 2020, while Kanen Storr (Michigan) made the second team. Sasso and Lovett are the only two past Big Ten finalists at this weight. 7 of the top-17 wrestlers in the nation at 149 lbs hail from the Big Ten. In 2021, we saw Thomas storm through St. Louis and claim third place at nationals despite needing an at-large berth to qualify and being saddled with the #25 seed. This weekend, Thomas is the fifth seed and needs to avenge a close loss to Murin to make the semis. Waiting there is expected to Sasso, who generally has difficulty with Thomas. Another lower seed, who could potentially make a run? How about Mike Van Brill (Rutgers)? He hasn't hit many of the main players at 149 lbs, but boasts a 17-2 record. Projected Quarterfinals #1 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) vs. #8 Christian Kanzler (Illinois) #5 Yahya Thomas (Northwestern) vs. #4 Max Murin (Iowa) #3 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) vs. #6 Mike Van Brill (Rutgers) #7 Beau Bartlett (Penn State) vs. #2 Austin Gomez (Wisconsin) Projected Semifinals #1 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) vs. #5 Yahya Thomas (Northwestern) #3 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) vs. #2 Austin Gomez (Wisconsin) Predictions 1st) Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) 2nd) Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) 3rd) Austin Gomez (Wisconsin) 4th) Yahya Thomas (Northwestern) 5th) Max Murin (Iowa) 6th) Beau Bartlett (Penn State) 7th) Mike Van Brill (Rutgers) 8th) Christian Kanzler (Illinois) 157 lbs 7 allocations This weight class took a hit a few weeks ago when then-#4 Brayton Lee (Minnesota) was lost for the year. Lee was perhaps the biggest challenger for Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) and he had the inside track to a second seed. Deakin is seeking to win his third Big Ten championship, which would put him into rarified air for Northwestern wrestling. He'd be only the third Wildcat wrestler to achieve the feat and the first since Jake Herbert graduated in 2009. On the bottom half of the bracket is a familiar face, second-seeded Kaleb Young (Iowa), the wrestler he defeated in the 2021 finals. In order to make the finals, Deakin could face Kendall Coleman (Purdue), his 2020 finals opponent. This bracket will feature two past NCAA All-Americans in Deakin and Young. Will Lewan (Michigan) and Coleman were both honored as All-Americans by the NWCA in 2020. Coleman was a first-teamer and Lewan made the second-team. We've already outlined the past Big Ten finalists at this weight. Deakin is a two-time champion, while Coleman and Young both have made a final. 7 of the top-16 wrestlers in the nation at 157 lbs hail from the Big Ten. The biggest x-factor at this weight is Brady Berge (Penn State) in the tenth seed. Berge made a midseason return to competing and initially started at 165 lbs, before descending down to 157. If he's anywhere near top-form, Berge could make the finals. However, that may be too much to expect with Garrett Model (Wisconsin) right away and Kaleb Young (Iowa) in the quarters. Last season, Berge majored Model and edged Young at NCAA's. He also defeated the third seed Will Lewan (Michigan), in 2021. Projected Quarterfinals #1 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) vs. #9 Bryce Hepner (Ohio State) #5 Peyton Robb (Nebraska) vs. #4 Kendall Coleman (Purdue) #3 Will Lewan (Michigan) vs. #6 Chase Saldate (Michigan State) #10 Brady Berge (Penn State) vs. #2 Kaleb Young (Iowa) Projected Semifinals #1 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) vs. #5 Peyton Robb (Nebraska) #3 Will Lewan (Michigan) vs. #2 Kaleb Young (Iowa) Predictions 1st) Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) 2nd) Will Lewan (Michigan) 3rd) Kaleb Young (Iowa) 4th) Peyton Robb (Nebraska) 5th) Kendall Coleman (Purdue) 6th) Chase Saldate (Michigan State) 7th) Brady Berge (Penn State) 8th) Garrett Model (Wisconsin) 165 lbs 7 allocations This weight class has the potential to be lots of fun. An established veteran (Alex Marinelli - Iowa) is looking to claim another Big Ten title against a couple young bucks (Dean Hamiti - Wisconsin and Carson Kharchla - Ohio State). Marinelli split with the two, holding off Hamiti after suffering an upset to Kharchla. The Hawkeye is currently riding a nine-match winning streak at the Big Ten Championships. Hamiti's only loss on the year is to Marinelli, while he has racked up seven falls as a true freshman. Kharchla and Hamiti haven't met, but the Buckeye was third at the CKLV Invitational early in the season. This bracket will feature two past NCAA All-Americans with Marinelli and Cameron Amine (Michigan). Marinelli is the only past Big Ten finalist at this weight. He's won the tournament the past three years. 4 of the top-10 wrestlers in the nation at 165 lbs hail from the Big Ten. There are plenty of wrestlers at this weight that could emerge as darkhorses and upset candidates. One, in particular, is #8 Bubba Wilson (Nebraska). Wilson has wins over the #4 seed (Amine) and the #7 seed (Hayden Lohrey - Purdue). Projected Quarterfinals #1 Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) vs. #8 Bubba Wilson (Nebraska) #5 Caleb Fish (Michigan State) vs. #4 Cameron Amine (Michigan) #3 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) vs. #6 Danny Braunagel (Illinois) #10 Creighton Edsell (Penn State) vs. #2 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) Projected Semifinals #1 Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) vs. #4 Cameron Amine (Michigan) #3 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) vs. #2 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) Predictions 1st) Alex Marinelli (Iowa) 2nd) Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) 3rd) Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) 4th) Cameron Amine (Michigan) 5th) Danny Braunagel (Illinois) 6th) Caleb Fish (Michigan State) 7th) Hayden Lohrey (Purdue) 8th) Creighton Edsell (Penn State) 174 lbs 8 allocations We'll likely get to see another chapter in the Carter Starocci (Penn State)/Michael Kemerer (Iowa) rivalry in Nebraska. The two split last year, with the Hawkeye winning at Big Ten's and Starocci prevailing at nationals. Starocci won by the narrowest of margins during their heated dual at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Now it's time for round four, except it's happening in the semifinals! That is unreal! On the last Sunday of the regular season, Kemerer fell to Mikey Labriola (Nebraska), which ended up being his second conference loss of the year. Both Labriola and second-seeded Logan Massa (Michigan) only have one. Both semifinals here will be must-watch! Of course, our returning national finalists are both All-Americans; there are five total at this weight with Massa, Labriola and the fifth-seed Ethan Smith (Ohio State). Of this decorated group, only Kemerer is a past Big Ten champion. He's already appeared in three finals. Massa and Smith are also past finalists. 5 of the top-7 wrestlers in the nation at 174 lbs hail from the Big Ten. Way down at the 11th seed is an NCAA Round of 12 finisher from a year ago, in Andrew McNally (Wisconsin). Last year, McNally competed for Kent State; however, he's since moved on as a grad transfer. He enters the postseason with a record of 8-8 and only has wins over two wrestlers in this field. Even with his struggles, you wouldn't want to see a wrestler of McNally's caliber in the consolations with a trip to nationals hanging in the balance. Projected Quarterfinals #1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) vs. #8 Troy Fisher (Northwestern) #5 Ethan Smith (Ohio State) vs. #4 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) #3 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) vs. #6 Bailee O'Reilly (Minnesota) #7 Gerrit Nijenhuis (Purdue) vs. #2 Logan Massa (Michigan) Projected Semifinals #1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) vs. #4 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) #3 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) vs. #2 Logan Massa (Michigan) Predictions 1st) Carter Starocci (Penn State) 2nd) Logan Massa (Michigan) 3rd) Michael Kemerer (Iowa) 4th) Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) 5th) Ethan Smith (Ohio State) 6th) Bailee O'Reilly (Minnesota) 7th) Gerrit Nijenhuis (Purdue) 8th) Troy Fisher (Northwestern) 184 lbs 12 allocations It's remarkable just seeing the number "12" next to conference allocations. What's even scarier is that the fifth seed, Abe Assad (Iowa), didn't earn one of them. It's probably easy for most to fill out their brackets with the top seeds, Aaron Brooks (Penn State) and Myles Amine (Michigan), advancing, but after that…it's anyone's guess. Most of the other members of this weight class have beaten each other at one point or another. Focusing on the top-two seeds, a rematch would pit the two highest-ranked wrestlers in the nation against one another in a battle of returning Big Ten champions. Brooks is the returning conference champ, while Amine won his crown up at 197 lbs, but has moved down for his final go 'round in college. This bracket will feature four NCAA All-Americans. Brooks and Amine, along with Taylor Venz (Nebraska) and John Poznanski (Rutgers). Additionally, Abe Assad was named a second-time All-American by the NWCA in 2020. Kaleb Romero (Ohio State) was named a first-teamer at 174 lbs. The top-ten seeds have combined to appear in five Big Ten finals, with Brooks winning two and Amine one. The only other one with prior Big Ten finals experience is Venz, who fell to Brooks in last year's final. 9 of the top-20 wrestlers in the nation at 184 lbs hail from the Big Ten. Projected Quarterfinals #1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) vs. #8 Kyle Cochran (Maryland) #5 Abe Assad (Iowa) vs. #4 Taylor Venz (Nebraska) #3 Kaleb Romero (Ohio State) vs. #6 Layne Malczewski (Michigan State) #7 John Poznanski (Rutgers) vs. #2 Myles Amine (Michigan) Projected Semifinals #1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) vs. #5 Abe Assad (Iowa) #6 Layne Malczewski (Michigan State) vs. #2 Myles Amine (Michigan) Predictions 1st) Aaron Brooks (Penn State) 2nd) Myles Amine (Michigan) 3rd) John Poznanski (Rutgers) 4th) Layne Malczewski (Michigan State) 5th) Abe Assad (Iowa) 6th) Kyle Cochran (Maryland) 7th) Kaleb Romero (Ohio State) 8th) Taylor Venz (Nebraska) Final AQ's: DJ Washington (Indiana), Zac Braunagel (Illinois), Chris Weiler (Wisconsin), Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) 197 lbs 11 allocations All year 197 lbs has been hard to figure out. It makes sense that it appears to be the most wide-open weight in the conference. If ever there were to be a darkhorse champion, it would be at this weight class. Even the top-two seeds, Eric Schultz (Nebraska) and Max Dean (Penn State), wrestle a ton of close matches and often seem vulnerable to an upset. That seems unreal to think about two wrestlers ranked in the top-three nationally, but it's a strange weight class. Even though it was reality turbulent, the Big Ten wrestlers in the bracket took care of business and snapped up 11 automatic qualifying slots. That is extremely important here since there could be some unforeseen results. There are three past NCAA All-Americans competing at this weight with Dean, Jacob Warner (Iowa), and Patrick Brucki (Princeton). Also, Cameron Caffey (Michigan State) and Schultz were named NWCA first-team All-Americans in 2020. This weight class features a pair of past Big Ten runner's-up in Schultz (2x) and Caffey. Brucki and Dean are both transfers that captured EIWA titles for their former schools. 8 of the top-20 wrestlers in the nation at 197 lbs hail from the Big Ten. With 11 bids available, it's hard to really call anyone here an underdog. The 11th seed, Jaron Smith (Maryland), has proven he can take out one of the big dogs, with his upset victory over Brucki. There's a realistic scenario where these two could meet in the consolations again. Smith also should present a tough matchup for his first-round opponent, #6 Thomas Penola (Purdue). Projected Quarterfinals #1 Eric Schultz (Nebraska) vs. #9 Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State) #5 Patrick Brucki (Michigan) vs. #4 Jacob Warner (Iowa) #3 Cameron Caffey (Michigan State) vs. #6 Thomas Penola (Purdue) #7 Greg Bulsak (Rutgers) vs. #2 Max Dean (Penn State) Projected Semifinals #1 Eric Schultz (Nebraska) vs. #4 Jacob Warner (Iowa) #3 Cameron Caffey (Michigan State) vs. #2 Max Dean (Penn State) Predictions 1st) Cameron Caffey (Michigan State) 2nd) Jacob Warner (Iowa) 3rd) Eric Schultz (Nebraska) 4th) Max Dean (Penn State) 5th) Thomas Penola (Purdue) 6th) Patrick Brucki (Michigan) 7th) Greg Bulsak (Rutgers) 8th) Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State) Final AQ's: Braxton Amos (Wisconsin), Jaron Smith (Maryland), Andrew Davison (Northwestern) 285 lbs 9 allocations Sadly for the rest of the 13 competitors at this weight, the champion pick was much easier than any other weight in this bracket. It hasn't been quite that easy for 2020 Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson (Minnesota) this year; it just looked that way. Steveson has been able to rack up bonus points in all of his appearances this season. And he's done so by cherry-picking the best possible opponents on the Gopher's schedule. Four of his ten wins have come against returning All-Americans and nine of his ten opponents are currently ranked in the top-33. Before chasing his second national title, Gable will attempt to win his third Big Ten title. Pay close attention to the potential semifinal bout between Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) and Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State). This bout could have huge team race implications, as well as a significant impact on NCAA seeding. Six returning All-Americans will duke it out in this excellent weight class. Steveson, along with Cassioppi, Kerkvliet, Mason Parris, Trent Hillger (Wisconsin), and Tate Orndorff (Ohio State). We have an opportunity to see a rematch of the 2021 Big Ten and NCAA finals in the semis, between Steveson and Parris. Oh yeah, they also met in the 2020 conference finals. 8 of the top-13 wrestlers in the nation at 285 lbs hail from the Big Ten. Watch for the ever-so-slight upset in the 8/9 spot with #8 Orndorff and #9 Luke Luffman (Illinois). The two did not meet this year, but split bouts last season. Luffman won an early dual, while Orndorff evened the score in sudden victory at Big Ten's. In 2021, Luffman also picked up a win over this year's #6 seed, Christian Lance (Nebraska). Projected Quarterfinals #1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) vs. #8 Tate Orndorff (Ohio State) #5 Lucas Davison (Northwestern) vs. #4 Mason Parris (Michigan) #3 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) vs. #6 Christian Lance (Nebraska) #7 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin) vs. #2 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) Projected Semifinals #1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) vs. #4 Mason Parris (Michigan) #3 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) vs. #2 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) Predictions 1st) Gable Steveson (Minnesota) 2nd) Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) 3rd) Mason Parris (Michigan) 4th) Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) 5th) Lucas Davison (Northwestern) 6th) Christian Lance (Nebraska) 7th) Trent Hillger (Wisconsin) 8th) Tate Orndorff (Ohio State) Final AQ's: Luke Luffman (Illinois) Team Race 1st) Penn State 2nd) Iowa 3rd) Michigan 4th) Nebraska 5th) Ohio State 6th) Northwestern 7th) Michigan State 8th) Wisconsin

Top seeded 157 lber Josh Humphreys (photos courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) 125 - 4 Allocations Outlook: The 4 allocations went to Glory (#2), Arujau (#3), Miller (#23) and Lane (#26). Manchio started the year off hot, but took some losses at the end of the year to take him out of the allocation criteria. Manchio did beat Lane in a dual this season, so expect that matchup to possibly be a great 4/5 seed quarterfinal. When you add returning NCAA qualifiers like Allen from Navy, and Mininno from Drexel, plus Seidman of Bucknell into the mix - the fight for the third and fourth place will be fun to watch. American's Leete earned the eighth seed in this weight. Expect to see him battle it out as well. Prediction: This will be tough, but I'll venture to say Glory over Vito in the finals. Dark Horse Watch: I already mentioned my dark horse above - Jacob Allen of Navy. A returning NCAA Qualifier at 133lb a year ago - you can potentially not even consider him for this category. He is in a lot of tight matches - win or lose. I would not be shocked to see him pull and upset or two. 133- 2 Allocations Outlook: The 2 allocations went to Colaiocco (#14) and Koderhandt (#22). With two other ranked wrestlers at this class, this weight only receiving two is a tough break for the conference. Hines of Lehigh (#17) did not meet the match requirement, so he will need to steal one from Colaiocco of Penn or Koderhandt of Navy. I would expect a Hines/Koderhandt semifinal matchup. Hines won the dual first time around, but his recent injury may be of concern this time around. More wrestlers who will be in the mix are Sobotker of Binghamton (who has been a pinning machine this year), Phipps of Bucknell (who has a win over Colaiocco), LaJoie of Cornell (returning NCAA qualifier at 125 in 2020), and Rini of Columbia (7th place at EIWAs in 2020). This conference has had seven nationally ranked wrestlers at one time or another at this weight. It will be a shame; so many of them will need a wild card to qualify. Prediction: I think Koderhandt makes a finals appearance due to Hines's injury that has had him sidelined for weeks. Colaiocco is my champion pick. He's been red-hot lately. Dark Horse Watch: A name I have not mentioned yet is Jaxon Maroney of Drexel. He has a win over LaJoie this season already. Being injured most of the season, we have not seen a ton from him. These two reasons make him a dark horse, in my opinion. 141 - 4 Allocations Outlook: The four allocations were earned by Composto (#14), Anderson (#19), Kazimir (#27), and Miller (#28). This seems about right in my mind. McGonagle of Lehigh was in the rankings a bunch this season also but has been injured for some time. We will see him in the mix to steal one of those four automatic bids. Other contenders to battle it out for an automatic bid would include Deck of Army, Danny Coles of Princeton, Wilson of Cornell and Jaffe of Harvard. Prediction: Composto has been impressive this year. I expect him to win over Kazimir. I think we will see Kazimir turn it on at conferences. Dark Horse Watch: From the beginning of the year, I've stuck with my guy from F&M. Wil Gil should find himself in the mix. He's a funky, unorthodox wrestler who can make others struggle. He has already been an alternate to the NCAA Tournament. 149 - 4 Allocations Outlook: The four allocations were earned by Diakomihalis (#1), Artalona (#24), Brignola (#26), and Fongaro of Columbia. There were a few ranked wrestlers here who missed the match minimum to earn allocation status, like Ogunsanya (#20) of Army and Nichter (#28) of Drexel. Ogunsanya may be the second-best wrestler in the weight class - but looks like he will have a match with Yianni in the semi's, as PJ will be the fourth seed. We have not seen him in quite some time. Hopefully, he is back to 100% and ready to go. If he is, he will steal one of the four allocations. Nichter is dangerous as anyone in this bracket. He likes to go out and let it fly - putting up points in the process. Keep an eye on him. Other names to watch are Keller of Princeton, Lombard of Binghamton, and DePron of Bucknell. Prediction: This will be a race for 2nd place. I do not see Yianni losing to anyone here. We may see him score bonus in all of his matches. The runner-up at this weight will most likely be the winner of the Artalona/Brignola semifinal. I will pick Artalona to meet Yianni in the finals. Dark Horse Watch: My dark horse pick at this weight is Stricker of Harvard. He's been quiet this year, with no big wins, but has had a bunch of close losses. He is one who can pull out an upset and bust the bracket. 157 - 5 Allocations Outlook: The five allocations were by Humphreys (#6), Monday (#8), Zapf (#19), Cerniglia (#23), and Hartman (#25). Richard of Cornell is ranked 26th, but did not have the winning percentage to earn the allocation. Doing the math at this weight class, we have six ranked wrestlers fighting for five spots. This does not include two of last season's NCAA Qualifiers in Kropman of Drexel and Palumbo of Sacred Heart. This is a talented weight class that will have a few NCAA-tournament-worthy wrestlers not making the trip this year. Prediction: I think we will have a Humphreys and Monday rematch from the EIWA Championships in 2019. I believe Humphreys will repeat as champ. Do not be surprised if these guys wrestle again in Detroit on day two or three. Dark Horse Watch: At the beginning of the season, I loved Doug Zapf as a dark horse. He's done his job during the year, and I no longer consider him a dark horse. For the conference tournament, look out for Nick Delp of Bucknell. He has a win over Wyatt Sheets (returning AA from Oklahoma State, ranked #20) and Kropman of Drexel in early February. During the second half of this semester, he has been improving every week. He has losses to both Cerniglia and Hartman, but will most likely need to avenge one of those to get an automatic bid. 165 - 7 Allocations Outlook: This is the deepest weight in the conference. The seven wrestlers earning allocations were Hartman (#10), Ramirez (#12), Conigliaro (#13), Ogunsanya (#18), Revano (#24), Meyer (#25), and Barczak (#26). Harkins of Army is ranked #29 and just missed the allocation. This weight also includes returning NCAA Qualifier Stamm of Hofstra, among other highly talented wrestlers. Hartman is a returning 2X All-American. Ramirez beat the defending national champion at the beginning of the year. Some of the unseeded wrestlers will be a tough first-round matchup for anyone listed above. These names include Cassella of Binghamton, Bergey of Princeton, and Park from Navy. Expect an upset or two in the first round. Then the quarterfinals will be incredibly exciting. Prediction: This weight will have huge seeding implications. This is the hardest prediction to make. With Ramirez getting the top seed, we will likely see Conigliaro and Hartman go to battle in the semis. Flip a coin to see who wins that one. I think it's THAT close. I think Conigliaro gets it done in a very close match. Again, we can flip a coin for the finals bout. If I have to take someone, Ramirez is my pick. I would not bet on this weight class - it's too close to call! Dark Horse Watch: Keep an eye for Meyer of Lehigh. He has already beaten Wentzel (returning NCAA runner-up) and Valencia (returning AA) this season. He has the track record he can compete with some of the best. His style is perfect for March, with many low-scoring matches where he controls the pace. An unranked guy I like is Cassella of Binghamton; he has a major over Ogunsanya of Columbia and numerous close losses to Ramirez, Barczak, and others. 174 - 4 Allocations Outlook: The four wrestlers to earn allocations are O'Malley (#9), Foca (#14), Incontrera (#22), and Pasiuk (#23). There are a few other quality wrestlers who can steal a spot here. Within this list includes Logan of Lehigh, Fine of Columbia, Kim of Harvard, Nolan of Binghamton, Crebs of Navy, and Dugan of Princeton. I would even include Ferro of LIU in this list. The secondary list of contenders seems to have all beaten one another somewhere down the line this season - which will make for an exciting bracket. Foca has been injured with a concussion the entire month. We will see how much the time missed will affect him. Prediction: Based on this year's results, O'Malley should be the favorite to win this one. I would love to see him and Foca go at it in the finals with an all-New Jersey final. O'Malley has wrestled Foca numerous times growing up, and never lost to him. Could this outcome change? I am going to go with O'Malley on this one. I think it will be a close match. Dark Horse Watch: I'm torn between a few here, but I think Logan has the best chance to upset someone and earn an automatic bid. He's already beaten Foca this year. With a 10-11 record, almost all of his losses are very respectable in terms of quality of opponent and score. Plus, every year, Lehigh has a bracket buster at EIWA's. I think this will be Logan's time. 184 - 3 Allocations Outlook: The three wrestlers to earn an allocation at this weight are Loew (#13), Stefanik (#24), and Small (#31). Two ranked opponents did not qualify for the allocations - Antrassian (#29) of Penn and Key (#30) of Navy. This weight will be a battle-tested bracket, with the potential to have at least two ranked wrestlers missing an automatic bid. Similar to 133lbs, this weight has a lot of talent with so few automatic qualifiers. Other wrestlers to watch include Laughlin of Army, Burkhart of Lehigh, Bonino of Columbia and McLaughlin of Drexel (who was an NCAA qualifier last season). I have a feeling that this weight may steal a wild card or two after conferences. Prediction: I will assume we see a Loew vs. Stefanik final. Stefanik had a close bout with Loew in February this season, but I do not see him closing the gap again. Loew will win another low-scoring match. Dark Horse Watch: Very rarely is a returning NCAA Qualifier a dark horse, but the way things shook out here only earning three automatic allocations, Bryan McLaughlin in the dark horse at this weight. Coming down from 197lbs, he has a one-point loss to Small and a three-point loss to Antrassian this season. Early in November, he was on the brink of upsetting Max Lyon (#28) of Purdue. McLaughlin is a fun guy to watch wrestle, always in some sort of scramble position. Do not be surprised to see him get enough wins to find a way to Detroit. 197 - 5 Allocations Outlook: The five allocations were earned by Deprez (#14), Cardenas (#18), Stout (#19), Koser (#25) and Brown (#26). This is a fun weight. I feel any of these guys can win the bracket. But, when you throw in guys like Urbas of Penn, Rogers of Hofstra, and Crowley of LIU, the quarterfinals will be very competitive. 197 is not super top-heavy, but the depth is there for sure. Deprez is a returning All-American down at 184lb last season, so expect him to be the top seed. The winner of the Koser/Brown quarter will give Deprez a good match in the semis. Last meeting, Deprez beat Koser in overtime. Rogers and Urbas have been in and out of the rankings all season, while Crowley has been very consistent with his results. Expect some fireworks here. Prediction: Interestingly, we have not seen Deprez since January, due to injury. Cardenas and Stout are both making EIWA debuts and should be in the mix to make a finals appearance. My prediction will be Deprez over Cardenas in a tight match to win another EIWA title. Dark Horse Watch: My dark horse for this weight is Cole Urbas of Penn. He can make a run at this weight due to his skills on the mat. He is like a leech in the top position and uses his lengthy frame to his advantage. This style of wrestling late in the year can cause havoc on some of the 197lb wrestlers. If he finds himself in a low-scoring match, he can ride opponents out (or even turn) for the win. 285 - 4 Allocations Outlook: The four allocations were earned by Wood (#7), Fernandes (#16), Knighton-Ward (#18), and Goldin (#28). With Doyle (#20) of Binghamton missing the total win percentage by one win, he's in the mix to steal an automatic bid. I would expect a wild card to be awarded to one of the five listed above if the weekend plays out as seeded. Some other names to keep an eye out for are Cover of Princeton and Catka of Navy. Wood seems to have separated himself from the rest of the crowd, even though his closest victory was 3-2 over Doyle during the start of the second semester. Potentially, we could see this rematch in the semifinals. This weight is very deep, even after Harvard's Slavikouski is out for the year with a knee injury. He was ranked 12th at the time. This may be the smallest heavyweight class we've seen in a while - in terms of overall weight. But this goes with a trend we've been seeing nationwide as of late, where many heavyweights are smaller and quicker, compared to the past. Prediction: I think Wood will win this weight for his unprecedented FIFTH conference title. His opponent would most likely be Fernandes. I think he is just a little more fine-tuned on the mat compared to the rest of his half of the bracket, which will help him in the long run. I think Wood wins by a score of 5-2, maybe 5-3. Dark Horse Watch: I've seen Catka of Navy this year. He is a smaller heavyweight who seems to struggle with opponents pushing close to that 285lb limit. With the size of the weight this year, he is a perfect dark horse candidate. He seems to have gradually gotten better as the year went on. I expect him to be ready this weekend and limit mistakes that may have cost him earlier in the season. The true freshman has a great opportunity in front of him. Team Race: Outlook: This will be a tight one. I've mentioned it before, but the EIWA is getting insanely deep in comparison to previous years. This team race will be a perfect example of that. With Penn making its way towards the top of the conference, we may see a four-way team race between Cornell (#9), Lehigh (#25), Princeton, and Penn. Cornell earned the Ivy League title this season, but this was in dual meet format. Do they have the firepower to win the tournament? Maybe the better question is, does anyone else have the depth to keep up with Cornell? Lehigh looks to be the annual threat, but they have been injured as of late. We may see Princeton and Penn go on a run and challenge Cornell. Prediction: I think Cornell pulls out the team title. They would need a few guys to underperform in order to not win, in my opinion. I'm very high on Penn and think they will compete to a runner-up finish. This leaves Lehigh and Princeton to battle for 3rd. Lehigh's injuries have me slightly worried - maybe I'm thinking too much… Regardless, this will be fun! 1) Cornell 2) Penn 3) Lehigh 4) Princeton Dark Horse Watch: Basically, a race for 5th place would include Columbia, Binghamton, Drexel, Army, and Navy. If I had to pick just one team that has the best chance to obtain the fifth spot, my money would be on Binghamton. I just have a feeling we will see Sobotker pin some dudes as usual; Anderson could win his weight class. Deprez is the favorite to win 197lb, while Doyle has not been a stranger to earning bonus points. They have a few wrestlers who may not be dark horses, but could certainly wrestle above their seed, like Lombard, Cassella, Nolan, and Day. This team has been very good this year. In my opinion, any of these teams could find themselves in the 5th place battle. This will be just as exciting to watch as the team race for first. NOTE: All rankings shown are InterMat national rankings

Super Regional V champion Darrell Mason of Minnesota State(photos courtesy of MSU athletics) Super Regional Saturday A lot happened on Saturday and maybe you missed some #D2Wrestle results. Not to worry, here is a quick rundown for all of you fans out there. Who is in, the ranked wrestlers who missed out, and who I think is the favorite to win the tournament right now. The worst part is the waiting for brackets, but until then, enjoy the first of a few expected articles leading up to the national tournament preview. 125 Who's In Jacob Dunlop (Gannon) Tyshawn White (Shippensburg) Matt Siszka (Pitt-Johnstown) Nick Daggett (UNC Pembroke) Evan Carrigan (Newberry) Kevin Radcliff (Limestone) Cole Laya (West Liberty) Manuel Leija (Davenport) Branden Mendoza (Tiffin) Paxton Rosen (Central Oklahoma) Christian Mejia (McKendree) Isaac Jacquez (Lindenwood) Paxton Creese (St. Cloud State) Joe Arroyo (UW Parkside) Jaxson Rohman (Augustana) Josh Portillo (Nebraska Kearney) Cody Fatzinger (Western Colorado) Dawson Collins (Colorado Mesa) Who's Out Matt Wilde (Kutztown) Melvin Rubio (Queens) Jackson Stauffacher (SMSU) Isaiah DeLaCerda (Adams State) Biggest Story It would make sense to pick the injury to All-American candidate Isaiah DeLaCerda (Adams State) that essentially eliminated him in the first match of the Super Regional, but I am going with a feel-good story instead. Manuel Leija, a freshman from Eastern High School in Lansing, Michigan, became the first NCAA Division II national qualifier in program history when he advanced to Super Regional III finals. With a record of just 4-8 last season, he grew by leaps under new head coach Bebeto Yewah. Yewah was a two-time NCAA Division III national champion for Wisconsin-La Crosse and his work with Leija is evident. His 2020 record of 12-5 shows just how much he has improved and his finish should not have been as surprising given his 3-1 record at the Midwest Classic. A great story for a program that has been struggling to find its feet in what should be a target-rich environment. A national qualifier in his first season at the helm will pay dividends on the recruiting trail. Best Tournament If you are looking for a wrestler riding a wave of momentum, look no further than Jacob Dunlop (Gannon). With wins over two wrestlers who had already exceeded the 20 win plateau this season on his way to the finals, he was matched against Tyshawn White of Shippensburg. Dunlop avenged his loss to White in the Super Regional I finals 6-2. It was his second win on the day over a higher-ranked wrestler who he previously lost to. He defeated Matt Wilde (Kutztown) in the semifinals. Dunlop is now a four-time national qualifier and the #SuperSenior is after his second All-American finish. I would not be betting against the Knight to finish on the podium after the run he is on. My Pick To Win It All (as of today) I am sure that I will receive some angry Tweets and possibly strongly-worded emails for this pick, but I am going to go with the wrestler who won it all last season. Cole Laya (West Liberty) has only lost to his nemesis Nick Daggett (UNC Pembroke) this year and owns a win over Paxton Creese. I am riding with head coach Danny Irwin and his Hilltopper. 133 Who's In Collin Wickramaratna (Kutztown) Eric Bartos (Mercyhurst) Devin Flannery (Millersville) Majid Corbit (Limestone) Elijah Lusk (Lander) Timothy Luker (Newberry) Corey Gamet (Lake Erie) Bryce Allison (Tiffin) Vincent Scollo (Davis & Elkins) Tanner Cole (Central Oklahoma) Tanner Hitchcock (Lindenwood) Breyden Bailey (Indianapolis) Jack Huffman (Augustana) Reece Barnhardt (Mary) Garrett Vos (St. Cloud State) Wesley Dawkins (Nebraska Kearney) Jon Andreatta (Adams State) Collin Metzgar (Colorado Mesa) Who's Out Brandon Borlinghaus (Drury) Kaden Anderlik (Upper Iowa) Patrick Allis (Western Colorado) Biggest Story I hate the MFF and I especially hate it in a Super Regional finals match. The rivalry between Jon Andreatta (Adams State) and Wesley Dawkins (Nebraska Kearney) is the stuff of legends. Two seasons ago, Dawkins pinned Andreatta in the Super Regional finals in :31. Last season, in the dual matchup, Andreatta was victorious 5-3. We were poised to see the rubber match on Saturday, until we didn't. I, for one, am disappointed and I am expecting the seeding committee to treat it the same as a loss. Maybe Andreatta was banged up from the tournament and was protecting an injury, but even if that is the case, it should still reflect as a loss. Hopefully, we see them seeded second and third in St Louis and get the match we missed. Best Tournament Jack Huffman (Augustana) rolled through the Super Regional V tournament with four straight wins. He picked up two ranked wins, including one over #6 Reece Barnhardt (Mary). Huffman also avenged his only loss on the season, defeating Kaden Anderlik (Upper Iowa) 6-2. In his four wins, he only allowed four escape points. He will have a very good argument for a top-four or five seed in St Louis. Overall, I feel like Augustana had one of the best team performances at any Super Regional and head coach Jason Reitmeier made a very good case to be the Super Regional coach of the year. My Pick To Win It All (as of today) Right now, I am not willing to bet against Tanner Cole (Central Oklahoma). We already know he is one of the best lightweight rooms in the country, but I'm also pretty sure he is one of the best lightweights. His win over Tanner Hitchcock (Lindenwood) shows he can switch negative results from his past. He also has a win over Andreatta this season and Collin Metzgar (Colorado Mesa). Until the brackets come out, the Broncho Junior is my pick to win it all. 141 Who's In Caleb Morris (Pitt-Johnstown) Joel Cawoski (Seton Hill) Alexis Soriano (Mercyhurst) Zeth Brower (Lander) Christian Small (King) John Carayiannis (Belmont Abbey) Branson Proudlock (Findlay) Tyler Warner (West Liberty) Matthew Zuckerman (Tiffin) Colby Smith (Lindenwood) Peter Kuster (Drury) Brody Norman (McKendree) Joey Bianchini (St. Cloud State) Keaton Schorr (Augustana) Tate Murty (Upper Iowa) Nick James (Nebraska Kearney) Ethan Leake (Chadron State) Grayston DiBlasi (Colorado Mines) Who's Out Sean Johnson (American International) Luke Wymer (Ashland) Joshua Fuentes-Norikoyo (San Francisco State) Dean Noble (Western Colorado) Angel Flores (Adams State) Biggest Story Did you know that Chadron State has a Northern Colorado transfer as their starter at 141lbs this season? If you didn't before, you do now. Ethan Leake was 0-3 as a backup for Troy Nickerson's Bears in 2021 and started his #D2Wrestle season off just 5-4. In the Super Regional VI tournament, the Eagle defeated #13 Dean Noble (Western Colorado) and #7 Joshua Fuentes-Norikoyo (San Francisco State). He can make an argument for the best tournament, but since he fell in the finals to Nick James (Nebraska Kearney) by fall, I cannot give him that nod. Still, going from a winless Covid season to making the national tournament is dang impressive to me. Best Tournament Branson Proudlock (Findlay) entered the Super Regional III tournament as the third-ranked wrestler in the country, so his winning the tournament should have seemed a foregone conclusion. Not so fast, at his weight was two-time returning national champion and three-time All-American Tyler Warner (West Liberty). Winners win and that is who and what Warner has been throughout his career. To win a finals match against Warner after having his first two matches cut incredibly short by injury defaults was even more impressive. He essentially never had a chance to warm up for his finals battle. My Pick To Win It All (as of today) I am not sure who can beat Joey Bianchini (St. Cloud State) at this weight, with the returning national champion Isiah Royal (Newberry) moving up to 149. Bianchini has steamrolled through his season, including a Super Regional V crown where he scored bonus points in each match. The sophomore has only lost two matches over the last three seasons as the starter for the Huskies; neither of those wrestlers is at this weight in 2022. 149 Who's In Jacob Ealy (Pitt-Johnstown) Josh Laubach (Alderson Broaddus) Dom Means (Gannon) Isiah Royal (Newberry) Demetrie Teddlie (King) Jake Piccirrilli (UNC Pembroke) Craig Cook (Davis & Elkins) Jordan Watters (West Liberty) Carson Speelman (Ashland) Brik Filippo (Central Oklahoma) Logan Bailey (Indianapolis) Darick Lapaglia (Central Missouri) Nick Novak (St. Cloud State) Hunter Burnett (Augustana) Wyatt Turnquist (Northern State) Noah Hermosillo (Adams State) Sam Turner (Nebraska Kearney) Jason Hanenberg (Western Colorado) Who's Out Eric Faught (Upper Iowa) Kyle Rathman (MSU Mankato) Biggest Story This is easy; the biggest story at this weight class all year to me has been the return of Darick Lapaglia (Central Missouri). It has been eight years since the sophomore was an All-American as a freshman for Maryville University. Eight years is forever for a college athlete. To put it into perspective, Michael Kemerer (Iowa) has been a Hawkeye since the 2015-2016 season. Lapaglia was a highly ranked recruit out of the state of Missouri and now he is part of a Central Missouri program that just had one of their most successful seasons in the last decade. I do not know if he will finish as an All-Amerian again this season, but how do you bet against a young man like this? Best Tournament True freshman Nick Novak (St. Cloud State) took over the starting job for the Huskies just over three weeks ago. Heading into the Super Regional V tournament, he was just 3-2 as the starter with losses to Wyatt Turnquist (Northern State) and Hunter Burnett (Augustana). On his way to winning the tournament, he defeated #14 Eric Faught 8-0 and then Wyatt Turnquist 7-1 and in the finals he took down Hunter Burnett 4-1. Three ranked wins over athletes ahead of him and two of those revenge wins? How do you beat that type of tournament? My Pick To Win It All (as of today) Isiah Royal (Newberry) is a five-time national qualifier, a two-time finalist, and a returning national champion. Do you really need me to give you more reasons than those? 157 Who's In JoJo Gonzalez (American International) Nick Young (Gannon) Nate Smith (Pitt-Johnstown) Dallas Boone (King) Jake Nicolosi (Mount Union) Patrick Wunderlich (Coker) Chance Esmont (Ashland) Noah Tarr (Davis & Elkins) Tyler Swiderski (Lake Erie) John Ridle (Central Missouri) Ty Lucas (Central Oklahoma) Dawson Combest (Indianapolis) Anthony Herrera (St. Cloud State) Tyler Wagener (Augustana) Braydon Huber (Mary) Ryan Wheeler (Colorado Mesa) Josiah Rider (Adams State) Mason Boutain (San Francisco State) Who's Out James Wimer (Findlay) Jace Fisher (Newman) James Burks (Northern State) Chase Luensman (Upper Iowa) Biggest Story I really hate to make this about a wrestler not making the NCAA tournament, but when that wrestler is the defending national champion, it is hard to ignore. James Wimer (Findlay) was a perfect 12-0 during his 2021 championship run. Going into the Super Regional tournament, he was a perfect 13-0 against Division II foes in 2022. To say his loss to Chance Esmont (Ashland) was surprising is an understatement. His second loss of the tournament that eliminated him from a postseason berth to Tyler Swiderski (Lake Erie) was, to my mind, unthinkable. You hate to see a young man end his career like this, but he leaves Findlay as a national champion and two-time All-American. Best Tournament John Ridle (Central Missouri) followed up an 11-2 sophomore season with another sophomore season that saw him become the first Mule to win a Regional title since 2015. His second win over #3 Tyler Lucas (Central Oklahoma) brought home the 157 championship and sent him to the national tournament with teammate Darick Lapaglia. He enters the national tournament with an 11-match win streak. My Pick To Win It All (as of today) With James Wimer not making the tournament and Josiah Rider (Adams State) losing to Ryan Wheeler (Colorado Mesa), all Tyler Lucas needed to do to earn the top seed in St. Louis was to win his Super Regional. Instead, Anthony Herrera (St. Cloud State) and JoJo Gonzalez (American International) will be the highest-ranked athletes entering the national tournament, having won their Super Regionals. That should earn them the top seeds in my mind. Give me Baltazar Gonzalez right now. When his offense is firing, he is one of the most explosive wrestlers at any weight. Right now, it appears that the engine is running hot. 165 Who's In Dillon Keane (Pitt-Johnstown) Brandon Conner (Millersville) Evan Fisler (Gannon) John Dean (Belmont Abbey) Rashaan Vereen (UNC Pembroke) Talon Seitz (Newberry) Drew Weichers (Ashland) James Penfold (Lake Erie) Bryan LaVearn (Tiffin) Jack Eiteljorge (Indianapolis) Nate Trepanier (Lindenwood) Corey Peterson (McKendree) Shane Gantz (UW Parkside) Miles Fitzgerald (Augustana) Leo Mushinksy (Mary) Matt Malcom (Nebraska Kearney) Hunter Mullin (Western Colorado) Ruben Garcia (Colorado Pueblo) Who's Out Gage Bernall (Lander) Corey Christie (Coker) Kameron Frame (Newman) Will Kuster (Drury) Hunter Jump (Central Oklahoma) Devin Donovan (St Cloud State) Biggest Story Six of my top-16 wrestlers will not be making the trip to St Louis. In what may be the biggest benefit to Nebraska Kearney, neither St. Cloud State nor Central Oklahoma will have a point scorer at this weight. The Lopers will have five-time national qualifier, three-time All-American and 2019 national champion Matt Malcom. This is a huge point swing and could be a difference-maker at the national tournament. Best Tournament Brandon Conner (Millersville) entered the Super Regional I tournament 1-3 against Division II competition. The sophomore has a below .500 career record against his fellow DII athletes, but he is now an NCAA national qualifier. His win over Evan Fisler (Gannon) is by far and away his best career win and exactly what he needed to punch his ticket. Millersville missed out on competing in 2021, but they will send multiple athletes to St Louis this season. My Pick To Win It All (as of today, tomorrow, and next week) Matt Malcom. 174 Who's In Joe Petrella (Gannon) Dillon Walker (Mercyhurst) Brock Biddle (Pitt-Johnstown) Caleb Spears (Newberry) Connor Weeks (Belmont Abbey) Stephon Haliburton (Queens) Ty McGeary (West Liberty) Dan Beemer (Ashland) Hunter DeLong (Glenville State) Andrew Sams (Indianapolis) Josh Jones (McKendree) Alex Kauffman (Central Oklahoma) Cade Mueller (Augustana) Trevor Turiff (MSU Mankato) Job Ayala (UW Wisconsin) Austin Eldredge (Nebraska Kearney) Allan Michel (New Mexico Highlands) Seth Latham (Colorado Mesa) Who's Out Anthony Yacovetti (Millersville) Ethan Baney (Kutztown) Dom Murphy (St Cloud State) Max Bruss (Mary) Biggest Story Allan Michel (New Mexico Highland) was not even an afterthought as I looked through the Super Regional VI preview I was working on. He was just 5-7 against Division II headed into the postseason, but none of that mattered once he stepped on the mat Saturday. Three straight wins earned him a trip to nationals and evened his season record in Division II to 8-8. He will have a shot at finishing about .500 with a good national tournament. New Mexico Highlands took a couple of months into the season to update their roster, but I bet they update Michel's with this result sooner rather than later. Best Tournament Ty McGeary (West Liberty) won the Super Regional III crown after Andrew Sams (Ashland) was forced to withdraw from the finals with an injury in the second period of their match. Depending on the health of Sams, how the seeding committee weighs the victory, and what they decide to do with Cade Mueller and Trevor Turiff, McGeary may have earned himself the second-seed at the national tournament. My Pick To Win It All (as of today) Give me the Viking Cade Mueller (Augustana) to win it all. He has six wins against ranked wrestlers this season and that is good enough for me. This could change when the brackets come out, but for now I am going with the wrestler from east river. 184 Who's In Matt Weinberg (Kutztown) Anthony Giampietro (Millersville) Cam Page (Gannon) JaQuez Bostic (Limestone) Noah Curreri (Queens) Jovaun Johnston (UNC Pembroke) Connor Craig (West Liberty) Cole House (Glenville State) Logan Hall (Notre Dame) Heath Gray (Central Oklahoma) Dan Filipek (McKendree) Joey Williams (Maryville) Caden Steffen (SMSU) Reece Worachek (UW Parkside) Treyton Cacek (Northern State) Billy Higgins (Nebraska Kearney) Martin Verhaeghe (Fort Hays State) Anderson Salisbury (Colorado Mines) Who's Out Luke McGonigal (Mercyhurst) Aidan Pasiuk (Ashland) William Pitzner (St Cloud State) Kolby Kost (Augustana) Biggest Story Davenport University earned their first national qualifier in program history at 125lbs; Glenville State earned their first at 184. Cole Houser's win in the semifinals propelled him into the finals and into the history books. His tournament may have ended with a loss to Connor Craig (West Liberty), but he is headed to St Louis. Dylan Cottrell has done big things at Glenville State in a very short time and in the program's second season in Division II, will send two wrestlers to the national tournament. Best Tournament Freshman Matt Weinberg (Kutztown) has jumped right into the lineup after a solid career for Archbishop Ryan High School in Philadelphia. The Bears have a strong lineup and could duplicate their top-10 finish from 2019, the last time they were able to compete at the national tournament. Weinberg has won six straight matches now and, for the season, owns a 50% bonus rate. Good luck meat. My Pick To Win It All (as of today) Connor Craig (West Liberty) and Heath Gray (Central Oklahoma) are each one-time national champions. One of them will end this season as a two-timer. I am going to pick Connor Craig this go-around. 197 Who's In Brian Kennerly (Kutztown) Joel Leise (Gannon) Gino Sita (Alderson Broaddus) Darius Parker (Lander) Bryce Walker (UNC Pembroke) Austin Watkins (Queens) Nicholas Mason (Tiffin) Walker Uhl (Ashland) Logan Kemp (West Liberty) Dalton Abney (Central Oklahoma) Derek Blubaugh (Indianapolis) Chase Stegall (Maryville) Noah Ryan (St. Cloud State) Cole Huss (Northern State) Matt Kaylor (Mary) Hayden Prince (Nebraska Kearney) Donald Negus (Colorado Mesa) Tereus Henry (Fort Hays State) Who's Out Chris Droege (Lake Erie) Jordan Williams (Glenville State) Rodsean Graham (UW Parkside) Hunter Tobiasson (Adams State) Biggest Story They are putting something in the water at Kutztown University and the Bears big men are drinking lots of it. Brian Kennerly joined Matt Weinberg and Andrew Dunn as Super Regional I champions. The University of Virginia transfer defeated three-time national qualifier Joel Leise (Gannon) by major decision in the finals and has to be taken seriously as a high All-American threat. Best Tournament Nicholas "Curly" Mason (Tiffin) had his 2020 and 2021 seasons end badly. The cancellation and then a disappointing 0-2 tournament means the 2019 national champion has not won a match at the national tournament in three years. Fourteen straight times he has walked out on a Super Regional mat and had his hand raised. That is good enough for four-straight Super Regional III titles. An MFF by Walker Uhl (Ashland) gave him his fourth and final title. Now can he follow that up with another podium finish? My Pick To Win It All (as of today) Dalton Abney (Central Oklahoma) should win the national title. He would have been the victor last season if Ryan Vasbinder had decided to leave McKendree earlier and make the jump to Division I. Vasbinder is gone. Abney is about as close of a thing to a lock there is this season. Hwt Who's In Andrew Dunn (Kutztown) Jacob Robb (Mercyhurst) Freddie Nixon (Gannon) Zach Shaffer (UNC Pembroke) Juan Holmes (Limestone) Cam Coffman (Lander) Francesco Borsellino (West Liberty) David Henson (Tiffin) La'Ron Parks (Notre Dame) Shawn Streck (Central Oklahoma) Cale Gray (Indianapolis) Ian Kuehl (McKendree) Darrell Mason (MSU Mankato) Kam Teacher (St. Cloud State) Steven Hajas (Augustana) Lee Herrington (Nebraska Kearney) AJ Cooper (Fort Hays State) Weston Hunt (Colorado Mines) Who's Out Gavin Nye (Colorado Pueblo) Mason Watt (Chadron State) Tanielo Feliciano-Takafua (Simon Fraser) Biggest Story The biggest story is that the biggest threats to win a team title all managed to qualify their heavyweights. Nebraska Kearney and Central Oklahoma each had their heavyweights win a title, while St. Cloud State saw their returning national champion fall in the Super Regional V finals. Last season the tournament came down to the last match; if it happens again in 2022, all three contenders have a shot to bring home the team trophy. Best Tournament It is hard to think that anyone could have had a better tournament than Darrell Mason (MSU Mankato). The Maverick's big man navigated a tough regular-season schedule with a perfect record and then won four more matches on Saturday to be crowned the best big man in Super Regional V. The feat is all the more impressive because his finals victory was over four-time national qualifier, three-time All-American, and returning national champion Kam Teacher (St Cloud State). It came down to an escape point in tiebreaker one, but however it happened, Mason handed Teacher his first loss in Division II since the 2019 national tournament. Bravo big man. My Pick To Win It All (as of today) There are some very good big men at the tournament, but I will not bet against the 2019 national champion who has never lost in Division II, Andrew Dunn. "Dunnyboi" will have a heck of a path to walk, but I expect him to be up to the task.

Top seeded 184 lber Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa (photos courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) 2022 Big 12 Championships Preview 58 total allocations/45 total allocations Saturday and Sunday will see the Big 12 Championships take place from a neutral site in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 12 teams will do battle for a total of 58 automatic bids to the 2022 NCAA Championships across the ten weight classes. That number is a sharp increase from last year's total of 45. That speaks to the growth in the conference's affiliate members, as well as the traditional powers excelling. One new-ish affiliate is Missouri, who left the league in all sports before the 2012-13 season for the SEC. Since they are the only school in the conference, Missouri had previously been a part of the MAC, for wrestling purposes. Now, they've returned to the Big 12 and brought a team that will contend for the title. In fact, Missouri wrestlers earned automatic qualifying bids at nine of the ten weight classes. One of the Big 12's mainstays, Oklahoma State, will be in the mix for yet another title; however, they have been dealing with some injuries during the home stretch. Iowa State popped up and had a dual record that only included one loss. Can they fare well in tourneys? While not quite ready to challenge for a title in a tournament format, Northern Iowa and South Dakota State had productive dual seasons and have the horses to make an impact. Below is our weight-by-weight preview of the action, along with predictions for top-eight finishers at all ten weights, and a team race projection. Wrestlers bolded are ones that we have pegged to receive the automatic qualifying bids available in their respective weight class. When: March 5th/6th, 2022 Where: Tulsa, Oklahoma How to Watch: ESPN+ , ESPN2 (Finals) 125 lbs 6 allocations Hats off to whoever seeded 125 lbs in the Big 12! I"m not saying it's right or wrong, perfect or not, just that it was done. The conference is loaded with talented wrestlers and they've made seeding virtually impossible based on beating up on each other. The conference's two returning All-Americans assumed the top-two seed with #8 Killian Cardinale (West Virginia) as the top seed and #16 Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley) as the second seed. The two met in Utah Valley's last dual of the year and Cardinale prevailed, 3-2. LaMont was limited this year with only eight matches. The only notable conference opponent he defeated was #17 Noah Surtin (Missouri), who checks in as the fifth seed. Cardinale also posted an impressive 12-4 major decision over the 2021 Big 12 champion, #15 Brody Teske (Northern Iowa), who gets the third seed. Teske at the third seed is a little bit curious since he had a head-to-head loss versus the fourth seed, #12 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Oklahoma State), earlier this season. Of course, Mastrogiovanni has his own losses, too. He fell to #21 Kysen Terukina (Iowa State) and split bouts with #31 Joey Prata (Oklahoma). Terukina will be the sixth seed and Prata the seventh. Both Terukina and Prata are dangerous at such low seeds. Terukina has wins this year over the two highest-ranked 125's in the Big 12 (Cardinale and Mastrogiovanni), while Prata has split with his Bedlam rival and defeated Terukina. From the ranks of the unseeded, the biggest threat could be Tanner Jordan (South Dakota State). He has 20 wins on the year, two of which came against past NCAA qualifiers (Bryce West - Northern Illinois and Liam Cronin - Nebraska). There are any number of ways this weight could play out, but I'd be shocked to see all four top-seeds in the semis. Predictions 1st) Killian Cardinale (West Virginia) 2nd) Brody Teske (Northern Iowa) 3rd) Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley) 4th) Noah Surtin (Missouri) 5th) Kysen Terukina (Iowa State) 6th) Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Oklahoma State) 7th) Joey Prata (Oklahoma) 8th) Jace Koelzer (Northern Colorado) 133 lbs 6 allocations 133 lbs can be a difficult one to make sense of in the Big 12, but there is one constant at the top in #2 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State). Fix has not lost to a conference opponent and is undefeated for a second consecutive regular season, while chasing a third Big 12 crown. Against Big 12 competition, Fix has notched bonus points in six of nine contests this year. Behind Fix, #16 Kyle Biscoglia (Northern Iowa) has emerged as the two-seed. Biscoglia only Big 12 loss this season came to Fix, with a respectable 5-1 score. A loss to Fix is the only blemish on Biscoglia's ledger during the past 11 matches, a span that dates back to late December. 'Though he joined the team late, #25 Gabe Tagg (South Dakota State), hit the ground running and became an excellent find for the Jackrabbit coaching staff. Tagg won 12 of his 15 matches in an SDSU singlet and enters the tournament on a six-match winning streak. Perhaps his best win came over 2021 Big 12 runner-up #28 Tony Madrigal (Oklahoma) in early February. Tagg gets the three-seed while his neighbor to the north, #26 Kellyn March (North Dakota State), is fourth. Last season, March started off strong, but faded as the year went on. This time around, he was consistent for the entire regular season. #27 Ramazan Attasauov (Iowa State) will handle the fifth seed. He has losses to three of the four wrestlers above him, but has fared well against the remainder of the weight. Like the previous weight class, the x-factors could be the sixth and seventh seeds. #13 Haiden Drury (Utah Valley) is seeded sixth, while #28 Tony Madrigal (Oklahoma) is seventh. Drury does not have any 2021-22 matches against anyone in this field, but is 14-3 overall. He was third at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and a champion at the Roadrunner Open. Madrigal is in the seventh spot. He started the year with a title at the Michigan State Open, defeating two All-Americans (Rayvon Foley - Michigan State and Lucas Byrd - Illinois) and downing another top-10 opponent (Dylan Ragusin - Michigan). But, after that point, he went 4-7 the rest of the season. Madrigal's a two-time national qualifier and made the B12 finals last year with a 3-7 record pre-tournament, so he knows about peaking at the right time. The eighth seed, Job Greenwood, is also dangerous. He's responsible for an early-season win over #4 Michael McGee (Arizona State), but is 15-10 overall. From the unseeded, true freshman Garett Lautzenheiser (West Virginia), had a rough year, going 6-11, but owns a win over third-seeded Tagg. Predictions 1st) Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) 2nd) Kyle Biscoglia (Northern Iowa) 3rd) Haiden Drury (Utah Valley) 4th) Gabe Tagg (South Dakota State) 5th) Kellyn March (North Dakota State) 6th) Ramazan Attasauov (Iowa State) 7th) Job Greenwood (Wyoming) 8th) Tony Madrigal (Oklahoma) 141 lbs 7 allocations We should have a lot of fun with 141 lbs since there are four of the top 11 wrestlers in the nation entered in this bracket. Leading off is senior #4 Ian Parker. Ian is a two-time Big 12 finalist and one-time champion (2019). As a result, he has received a top-seven seed in each of the last two NCAA Tournaments. This season, Parker started at 149 lbs and dropped a match in the Iowa dual; but since moving down to 141, he hasn't been beaten. Parker gets the top-seed based on his 9-0 record at the weight, despite not having defeated any of the wrestlers 2-4 this season. All-American #7 Clay Carlson (South Dakota State) checks in as the two-seed. He's had a remarkable season, winning the CKLV Invitational and finishing fourth at the Southern Scuffle. In Vegas and in dual competition, Carlson owns wins over the third seed, #9 Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado). Now, of Carlson's three losses this season, two came to #11 Allan Hart (Missouri), the fourth seed. Alirez finally has had a season where he was relatively healthy and has shown the promise of being named one of the top recruits in the Class of 2019. He was a CKLV finalist and a third-place finisher at the Scuffle this year. Two of his most notable wins from the year came against Hart and three-time NCAA All-American, Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska). Hart is looking to get over the hump and stand on the NCAA podium for the first time after coming up a match shy in 2021. He was named the sixth seed last season after finishing third in the MAC. Oklahoma State's true freshman #20 Carter Young receives the fifth seed. Though he took some losses late in the year to high-level competition, he could be the type of freshman that hits his stride at the right time of the season. On the final weekend of the regular season, Young downed #28 Darren Miller (Bucknell) and majored Bedlam rival Jacob Butler (Oklahoma). #24 Cael Happel (Northern Iowa) is the seventh seeds, as a result of a 10-6 loss to Young. Happel's best win of the year came when he downed Hart 9-7. The seeds are rounded out with Darren Green (Wyoming) at seven and #30 Dylan Droegemueller (North Dakota State) at eight. These two didn't meet in 2021-22; however, Droegemueller defeated Green's teammate Chase Zollman, a 2021 national qualifier. Green likely gets the nod because his record against the field (4-2) is much cleaner than Droegemueller's (2-6). An unseeded wrestler to watch out for is Cody Phippen (Air Force). Phippen started the year strong, but fell off and went winless in the conference against tournament entrants. Predictions 1st) Clay Carlson (South Dakota State) 2nd) Ian Parker (Iowa State) 3rd) Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) 4th) Carter Young (Oklahoma State) 5th) Cael Happel (Northern Iowa) 6th) Allan Hart (Missouri) 7th) Dylan Droegemueller (North Dakota State) 8th) Cody Phippen (Air Force) 149 lbs 4 allocations Four allocations is the smallest number in the conference this year, so competition will be that much more intense at 149, 165, and 184. With little margin for error, a slip-up could be costly. The top seed here is #13 Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State), who rolls in at 14-2. Gfeller has been in-and-out of the Cowboy lineup since winning the Big 12 in 2019, but wasted little time firmly establishing himself as the starter this season. The top-seed here should have been pretty evident as Gfeller has head-to-head wins against all of the wrestlers seeded 2nd-6th. The second seed belongs to perhaps the most unlikely wrestler in this weight class #19 Willie McDougald (Oklahoma). The freshman from New York took over after an injury to Mitch Moore in Vegas and after Dom Demas fell out of favor, coming up from 141. In McDougald's first dual meet, he downed #22 Josh Edmond (Missouri) in tiebreakers. A week later, he took out All-American #21 Jarrett Degen (Iowa State) in sudden victory. When it was all said and done, McDougald finished with a top-20 ranking and a 16-4 record. A nail-biting win over Edmond on the final week of the regular season, was enough to ensure the third seed for Degen. The veteran, Degen, held off a challenge from teammate Ian Parker, before running up a 16-3 record and looking close to AA form. Edmond established himself as one of the most exciting wrestlers in the country to watch. There are typically fireworks or near-fireworks whenever he hits the mat. Edmond got in such a shootout in the finals of the Southern Scuffle, when he fell to #14 Josh Finesilver (Duke), 11-10. The backhalf of the seeded wrestlers features Colin Realbuto (Northern Iowa), Jaron Jensen (Wyoming), Chris Sandoval (Northern Colorado), and Gaven Sax (North Dakota State), in that order. Realbuto earned a spot in the national rankings after establishing himself as the starter for the Panthers, but dropped with a 2-4 skid to end the season. Remember, though, that stretch saw him face the top-three seeds at this weight along with a top-five out-of-conference opponent. If any of the top-four are vulnerable, he's most likely to pounce. Predictions 1st) Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State) 2nd) Jarrett Degen (Iowa State) 3rd) Willie McDougald (Oklahoma) 4th) Josh Edmond (Missouri) 5th) Colin Realbuto (Northern Iowa) 6th) Jaron Jensen (Wyoming) 7th) Chris Sandoval (Northern Colorado) 8th) Gaven Sax (North Dakota State) 157 lbs 6 allocations Along with Daton Fix at 133, #1 David Carr (Iowa State) has to be one of the heaviest favorites of this entire tournament. Carr is on a 50-match winning streak and seeks his third Big 12 title in as many tries. Getting that title would make him the first Cyclone with three conference championships since Kyven Gadson (2013-15). The 2021 national champion finished the regular season 17-0 and has a bonus point rate over 70% for the first time in his career. With Carr returning, there's a good chance we could have our first (under this circumstance) rematch of the 2021 Big 12 finals with #5 Jared Franek (North Dakota State). A 7-3 loss to Carr is one of Franek's only two losses of the year. In last year's final, Carr prevailed, 8-2. Franek captured a title at the Southern Scuffle with a win over #16 Chase Saldate (Michigan State). In the semis, he defeated #21 Jarrett Jacques (Missouri), who is the fourth seed at this weight. Franek has the potential to become the Bison's first NCAA All-American since 2015. The other returning All-American at this weight is #20 Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma State), who was eighth a year ago. We'll have to wait and see what type of condition Sheets is in once the tournament starts. During the last weekend of the year, Sheets appeared to be banged up in a loss to Bucknell and didn't compete against Oklahoma. We've seen that Sheets is able to fight through pain and still compete at a high level. Jacques has a 15-10 record on the year, but that can be misleading. He has lost seven bouts to top-ten ranked opposition. Right behind him is #22 Jacob Wright (Wyoming), an NCAA Round of 12 finisher from 2021. Wright was also third in Vegas at the CKLV in his first appearance of the 2021-22 campaign. In Vegas, Wright picked up a win over #14 Justin Thomas (Oklahoma), who is the sixth seed. Derek Holschlag (Northern Iowa) and Jax Garoutte (Utah Valley) will assume the seventh and eighth seeds, respectively. Holschlag emerged as UNI's starter at the Collegiate Duals and has gone 7-4 since. Garoutte has been streaky, winning his first five bouts, before enduring a seven-match losing skid. He snapped out of his by downing Alex Hornfeck (West Virginia) during UVU's final dual. Predictions 1st) David Carr (Iowa State) 2nd) Jared Franek (North Dakota State) 3rd) Jarrett Jacques (Missouri) 4th) Justin Thomas (Oklahoma) 5th) Jacob Wright (Wyoming) 6th) Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma State) 7th) Derek Holschlag (Northern Iowa) 8th) Nathan Moore (Northern Colorado) 165 lbs 4 allocations Once again, automatic qualifying slots will be at a premium at this weight. We're going out on a limb to project that #2 Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) takes one of those spots. O'Toole is unbeaten (17-0) with bonus points in 82% of his bouts and six falls. Even at such a loaded weight nationally, O'Toole is in great position to All-American for a second time and be a primary contender for a title. Like O'Toole, #7 Peyton Hall (West Virginia) competed last season as a true freshman and is now among the top contenders at this weight. Hall won his first 16 matches of the 2021-22, a streak that was halted by O'Toole in the Southern Scuffle finals. His only other loss this season came to 2021 Big 12 champion #17 Luke Weber (North Dakota State). At the Scuffle, Hall had majored Weber. Seeded third here is #16 Austin Yant (Northern Iowa). Yant was the 33rd seed at the 2021 NCAA Tournament, but has taken a huge step forward this year. He has wins over Weber and #11 Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State) on his record. The fourth seed at this weight is Wittlake. He's the second All-American at this weight. An injury in a loss to #10 Zach Hartman (Bucknell) prevented Wittlake from competing in the last dual of the year and earning an AQ bid for the conference. Like his teammate, Sheets, we'll have to see whether sitting out the Oklahoma dual was merely precautionary or a concern for this tournament. In such a weird weight class, we have the 2021 champion, Weber, down as the fifth seed. Weber was fifth at the Southern Scuffle, the second time he reached that placement at the tournament. In addition to his victory via fall over Hall, Weber has a total of eight pins on the year. The wrestler directly below Weber in the seedings, #33 Tanner Cook (South Dakota State), was actually responsible for Weber's final loss of the year. Cook is actually more dangerous, having notched 14 falls on the year. Strangely enough, #32 Joe Grello (Oklahoma) is the eighth seed. Despite not having a winning record, Grello owns two wins this year over Cook. He's relegated to the eighth seed because of a loss to Isaac Judge (Iowa State). A dangerous unseeded wrestler in this bracket is Wyoming's Cole Moody. Moody was a Big 12 finalist in 2021, who hasn't been able to compete regularly this season. He's currently 10-3, but hasn't had any wins over the key figures at this weight in 2021-22. Predictions 1st) Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) 2nd) Peyton Hall (West Virginia) 3rd) Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State) 4th) Luke Weber (North Dakota State) 5th) Austin Yant (Northern Iowa) 6th) Tanner Cook (South Dakota State) 7th) Cole Moody (Wyoming) 8th) Joe Grello (Oklahoma) 174 lbs 8 allocations The weight class with the most allocations in the conference is 174 lbs and there's some potential for even more bids. There's plenty of different arguments that could be made for the top spot, but #12 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) gets the nod. Plott won his first nine bouts of the year before getting upset by #19 Lance Runyon (Northern Iowa), by fall. This weekend, the two could meet in the semifinals, as Runyon is set to take the fourth seed. Runyon missed the first two and a half months of the year, only to come back and knock off Plott in his second match. A day later, he fell to #17 Anthony Mantanona (Oklahoma), who gets the three seed. Mantanona also has a pair of losses to Plott. Nestled in the middle of those three, at the second seed, is #10 Cade DeVos (South Dakota State). DeVos also has a loss to Mantanona, but probably possesses the most impressive body of work of anyone at the weight. He was fourth at the CKLV Invitational, before winning the Southern Scuffle. After losing in Vegas, DeVos proceeded to notch 13-straight wins. Amazingly enough, a pair of top-15 wrestlers are set to take the fifth and sixth seeds. #15 Hayden Hastings (Wyoming) is fifth and #11 Peyton Mocco (Missouri) is sixth. In another strange wrinkle, one of Mocco's teammates, Sean Harman (Missouri), has a win over Hastings. On a positive note, Hastings won the Reno Tournament of Champions and was seventh at the CKLV Invitational. Mocco was a finalist at the Scuffle, losing 3-2 in the finals to DeVos. The final two seeds belong to #25 Joel Devine (Iowa State) and #26 Austin Brenner (North Dakota State). Down the stretch, the depth of this weight got to Devine as he lost four of his final five bouts. Earlier in the year, he downed Mantanona, #21 Gerrit Nijenhuis (Purdue), and Brenner. Brenner was fourth at the Southern Scuffle and defeated #16 Matt Finesilver (Duke), among others, in Chattanooga. All four of the unseeded wrestlers are capable of getting hot and stealing one of the eight AQ's. Amazingly, 2021 Big 12 runner-up Jackson Hemauer (Northern Colorado) is one of them. Another, Sam Wolf (Air Force), is currently in the national rankings at #32. Kekana Fouret (Utah Valley) was briefly in the national rankings and Dennis Robin (West Virginia) holds a victory via fall over Devine. Predictions 1st) Cade DeVos (South Dakota State) 2nd) Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) 3rd) Peyton Mocco (Missouri) 4th) Hayden Hastings (Wyoming) 5th) Lance Runyon (Northern Iowa) 6th) Anthony Mantanona (Oklahoma) 7th) Joel Devine (Iowa State) 8th) Sam Wolf (Air Force) 184 lbs 4 allocations The final weight with four allocations is 184 lbs, a weight that has been provided over by #4 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) for the last two seasons. Of Keckeisen's 40 collegiate matches, only 2021 NCAA champion Aaron Brooks (Penn State) has been able to defeat him. On both occasions, it was by a margin of one and two points. The returning NCAA third-place finisher, Keckeisen, has opened up more offensively in 2021-22. He tallied bonus points in seven of his ten bouts against Big 12 competition. The second seed belongs to #7 Marcus Coleman (Iowa State), who has been a remarkable development for the Cyclones. After years of moving between three different weights, Coleman has found a home at 184 and thrived with a 14-3 record. Two of those losses came at the hands of Keckeisen. Coleman has picked up two wins over past All-Americans with #12 Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) and #19 Taylor Venz (Nebraska). Geer will be the fourth seed and #15 Tate Samuelson (Wyoming) is the third seed. A win in sudden victory last December helped Samuelson get the nod over Geer. Geer is looking to get back in the win column after falling to #33 Keegan Moore (Oklahoma) on the final day of the regular season. Samuelson was fourth at the CKLV Invitational and a runner-up at the Reno TOC this season. He was a conference finalist in 2021. There will be three ranked wrestlers seeded 5-7 looking to break into the top-four a walk away with a trip to Detroit. They are #21 Jeremiah Kent (Missouri), #32 Cade King (South Dakota State), and Moore. Kent was a MAC runner-up and the #9 seed at nationals last year. King has excelled in the second half of the year, winning nine of his final ten bouts. The former national qualifier for Oklahoma State, Moore, has grabbed ahold of the Sooners starting spot late in the year, which was punctuated by his win over Geer. The final seed here belongs to North Dakota State's true freshman DJ Parker. The young Bison has 20 wins on the year, the best of which came over King. The top unseeded wrestler at this weight appears to be Jacob Armstrong (Utah Valley). Armstrong was eighth at the CKLV Invitational with wins over three 2021 national qualifiers. He was hurt by UVU's long second-half layoff, but could make noise here. Predictions 1st) Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) 2nd) Jeremiah Kent (Missouri) 3rd) Marcus Coleman (Iowa State) 4th) Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) 5th) Tate Samuelson (Wyoming) 6th) Cade King (South Dakota State) 7th) Jacob Armstrong (Utah Valley) 8th) Keegan Moore (Oklahoma) 197 lbs 7 allocations The loss of 2021 NCAA champion AJ Ferrrari (Oklahoma State) to injury opened up this weight class in the Big 12 and nationally. Ferrari's Big 12 finals opponent #2 Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming), could be the biggest beneficiary. Buchanan, a 2021 All-American, has four wins over opponents in the top-11 nationally this season. He isn't invincible, though, as a loss by fall to #21 Owen Pentz (North Dakota State), represents his most recent loss. Perhaps the hottest wrestler at this weight is the second-seed, #6 Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State). After a 1-2 showing at the CKLV weight class won by Buchanan, Sloan has proceeded to take fourth at the Scuffle, then won his last 12 dual appearances. Sloan was a 2020 Big 12 runner-up, as a freshman. One of two remaining All-Americans at this weight, after Buchanan, is #17 Jake Woodley (Oklahoma), the third seed. Woodley won the Michigan State Open and was fourth at the CKLV this year. Last year, we saw not to underestimate Woodley regardless of his seed. He advanced to the NCAA semifinals as the 26th seed. The other AA is the fifth seed, #8 Rocky Elam (Missouri). Elam went through the regular season last year, as a redshirt freshman, unscatched but has found more difficulties this year. He has three Big 12 losses on the year, to Buchanan, Woodley, and #7 Yonger Bastida (Iowa State). Bastida comes in as the fourth seed and is on a hot streak, as well. His sudden victory win over Elam locked up a dual win over the Tigers in Iowa State's final dual. Bastida continues to get acclimated to folkstyle wrestling, which is a scary proposition. A year ago, he went 4-4 without a win over a DI wrestler. The dangerous Pentz is seeded sixth. He became a household name at the 2021 NCAA Championships when he knocked off #2 Eric Schultz (Nebraska) in the opening round. Pentz has proven to be one of the deadliest pinners at the weight. He has 11 on the year, including one over Buchanan. Although he wasn't a victim of a pin, #24 Alan Clothier (Northern Colorado) has a recent loss from Pentz, 10-3 in mid-February. Clothier is looking to qualify for nationals for the fourth time and a third time at Northern Colorado. Behind him is #22 Evan Bockman (Utah Valley), who has split matches with the Bear 197 lber this year. Clothier won their season-opening dual, while Bockman prevailed at the CKLV Invitational. Bockman came away from Vegas in eighth-place. Oklahoma State's Gavin Stika is an unseeded wrestler to watch at 197. Stika has filled in admirably for Ferrari while competing in a veteran-laded weight. He posted a win in his dual debut against Northern Iowa and will continue to grow in the OSU room. Predictions 1st) Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming) 2nd) Jake Woodley (Oklahoma) 3rd) Rocky Elam (Missouri) 4th) Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) 5th) Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State) 6th) Owen Pentz (North Dakota State) 7th) Alan Clothier (Northern Colorado) 8th) Gavin Stika (Oklahoma State) 285 lbs 6 allocations The top of 285 lbs is pretty easy to figure out, while the rest of the weight gets pretty crazy. That one seed belongs to undefeated #6 Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force). Last season, Hendrickson finished third in the Big 12 and went on to finish nationals in the bloodround. He then proceeded to make the Junior World team in freestyle lost in the bronze medal match. Should he capture a Big 12 title, he'd be the first Air Force wrestler to win a conference championship, since the move to the Big 12. Hendrickson has proven to be one of the most dangerous wrestlers at 285 lbs. His bonus point % is 85, which is ridiculous no matter the weight, but even more remarkable at heavyweight. That total is boosted by pins in 14 of his 20 wins. #19 Zach Elam (Missouri) gets the second seed, partially because he only has one loss versus the rest of this field. Though he's fallen to #22 AJ Nevills (South Dakota State), Elam has wins over #21 Sam Schuyler (Iowa State), #24 Brandon Metz (North Dakota State), #30 Luke Surber (Oklahoma State), #32 Josh Heindselman (Oklahoma). Right behind him is Schuyler, who only has losses to the top two seeds. Schuyler qualified for nationals last season for Buffalo, but moved to Ames as a grad transfer. Nevills, #23 Michael Wolfgram (West Virginia), and Metz fall into line as the 4-6 seeds, in that order. A win by Nevills over Metz in the final dual of the year, helped make this seeding a bit easier, as he had lost to the Bison big man earlier in the year, but had beaten Wolfgram. The Oklahoma heavyweights, Surber and Heindselman round out the top-eight seeds. Both exchanged wins in the Bedlam duals, with the Cowboy, Surber, getting the most recent win. Surber has a win over Nevills, which shows he could shake things up along the way. Unseeded is #33 Jacob Seely (Northern Colorado), who made the NCAA tournament three times for the Bears at 197 lbs. It appeared as if he would not use his final year of eligibility, but he decided otherwise and returned for the Scuffle. Seely finished the year unbeaten in dual competition and could be getting his footing back at that right time. As of Wednesday morning, it's undecided whether Northern Iowa will go with Tyrell Gordon or Carter Isley. Predictions 1st) Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force) 2nd) Zach Elam (Missouri) 3rd) AJ Nevills (South Dakota State) 4th) Michael Wolfgram (West Virginia) 5th) Sam Schuyler (Iowa State) 6th) Brandon Metz (North Dakota State) 7th) Luke Surber (Oklahoma State) 8th) Josh Heindselman (Oklahoma) Team Race Projections 1st) Missouri 2nd) Oklahoma State 3rd) Iowa State 4th) Northern Iowa 5th) South Dakota State 6th) Wyoming 7th) Oklahoma 8th) North Dakota State

Top seeded 165 lber Julian Ramirez of Cornell (photos courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) The pre-seeds for the 2022 EIWA Championships at Cornell University are shown below. 125 pounds 1 Patrick Glory Princeton 2 Vitali Arujau Cornell 3 Ryan Miller Penn 4 Jaret Lane Lehigh 5 Joe Manchio Columbia 6 Brandon Seidman Bucknell 7 Jacob Allen Navy 8 Maximilian Leete American 133 pounds 1 Josh Koderhandt Navy 2 Michael Colaiocco Penn 3 Malyke Hines Lehigh 4 Dom LaJoie Cornell 5 Kurt Phipps Bucknell 6 Angelo Rini Columbia 7 Jack Maida American 8 Jaxon Maroney Drexel 141 pounds 1 Matt Kazimir Columbia 2 CJ Composto Penn 3 Ryan Anderson Binghamton 4 Darren Miller Bucknell 5 Connor McGonagle Lehigh 6 Thomas Deck Army West Point 7 Wil Gil F&M 8 Danny Coles Princeton 149 pounds 1 Yianni Diakomihalis Cornell 2 Anthony Artalona Penn 3 Max Brigola Lehigh 4 PJ Ogunsanya Army West Point 5 Danny Fongaro Columbia 6 Luke Nichter Drexel 7 Lukus Stricker Harvard 8 Nick Lombard Binghamton 157 pounds 1 Josh Humphreys Lehigh 2 Quincy Monday Princeton 3 Doug Zapf Penn 4 Andrew Cerniglia Navy 5 Markus Hartman Army West Point 6 Hunter Richard Cornell 7 Nick Delp Bucknell 8 Parker Kropman Drexel 165 pounds 1 Julian Ramirez Cornell 2 Zach Hartman Bucknell 3 Philip Conigliaro Harvard 4 Josh Ogunsanya Columbia 5 Brian Meyer Lehigh 6 Lucas Revano Penn 7 Evan Barczak Drexel 8 Brevin Cassella Binghamton 174 pounds 1 Michael O'Malley Drexel 2 Chris Foca Cornell 3 Nick Incontrera Penn 4 Nick Fine Columbia 5 Jake Logan Lehigh 6 Ben Pasiuk Army West Point 7 Josh Kim Harvard 8 Jacob Nolan Binghamton 184 pounds 1 Jonathan Loew Cornell 2 Travis Stefanik Princeton 3 Charles Small Hofstra 4 David Key Navy 5 Neil Antrassian Penn 6 Brad Laughlin Army West Point 7 AJ Burkhart Lehigh 8 Brian Bonino Columbia 197 pounds 1 Lou DePrez Binghamton 2 Jacob Cardenas Cornell 3 Luke Stout Princeton 4 Jake Koser Navy 5 JT Brown Army West Point 6 Trey Rogers Hofstra 7 Nunzio Crowley Long Island University 8 Cole Urbas Penn 285 pounds 1 Jordan Wood Lehigh 2 Lewis Fernandes Cornell 3 Zachary Knighton-Ward Hofstra 4 Ben Goldin Penn 5 Joe Doyle Binghamton 6 Ryan Catka Navy 7 Kade Carlson Army West Point 8 Matt Cover Princeton The coaches will meet Friday afternoon at Cornell to review the pre-seeds. The seeds will remain preliminary until locked in at weigh-ins on Saturday morning.

Sam Latona (left) and Jakob Camacho in the 2021 ACC finals (photos courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) The brackets for the ACC Championships were just released here and we have some solid wrestling lined up for Charlottesville on Sunday. We also have a couple weights where there will be a lot of discussion--some of it louder and more boisterous than others-about the seeding. I'll run through the brackets here and give you my immediate thoughts. Here is the seeding criteria used: Head-to-Head (vs. Field) - 25 pts Common Opponents Record - 20 points Conference Record - 20 points Coaches' Rankings - 15 points Quality Matches - 15 points Conference Allocation - 5 points 125: No big surprises here, Sam Latona grabs the one seed and Jakob Camacho gets the two. We were treated to a great and scrappy match between them last week in Raleigh and there is a good chance we'll see it again Sunday night. We round out the top four with Gage Curry and Patrick McCormick. 133: This one shook out pretty well in spite of it being a weight where they all beat up on each other. While there is room for discussion of how 2-4 shakes out, I think they work out in the end. Myers was undefeated in-conference (15-1 overall) and grabs the one seed. Heilmann 2 seed: wins over Phillippi, Orine, Doolittle. Losses to Phillippi 3 seed: wins over Orine and Doolittle. Losses to Heilmann and Myers. Orine 4 seed: wins over Courtney and Doolittle. Losses to Heilmann, Phillippi, Myers. An interesting first-round match to watch here will be Courtney from UVA and Orine. This was a tight match at the dual that got blown up late by Orine. Courtney has looked solid and I would expect a good match here. 141: There is clear separation at the top of this weight class with Cole Matthews at the 1 seed. He was undefeated in-conference and gave Kizhan Clarke his only loss of the year. Clarke gets the 2 seed with a 14-1 record overall. Ryan Jack is the three and Collin Gerardi is the four; he will see a dangerous Dylan Cedeno in the opening round. 149: At one of the deeper weights in the conference, we have five ranked wrestlers, including two in the top-10 and two in the top-20. Tariq Wilson gets the one seed with an unblemished record and a controlling win over Andonian in the dual. Andonian sits at the two seed and comes in with a 7-2 record (his other loss is to Sammy Sasso). Josh Finesilver and Zach Sherman are the three and four seeds; Sherman will draw Jarod Verkleeren in the opening round for a nice matchup. 157: Pretty cut and dry at 157; Austin O'Connor is the one seed; he is undefeated in-conference and only has one loss on the year to Peyton Robb. Jake Keating is the two seed, his only conference loss at the weight was to AOC. He bumped to 165 to wrestle Jake Wentzel against Pittsburgh. Ed Scott is the three seed with a loss to Keating, while Cleary is the fourth seed with losses to AOC and Scott. I am very interested to see which version of Connor Brady we see. We saw a different type of wrestling from him in the conference season, opposed to early in the year; hopefully, he returns to form in time to make this bracket even tougher. 165: Another pretty clear weight here and the bracket shapes up nicely. Wentzel is the one seed and is undefeated in-conference. Thomas Bullard is the two seed with his only loss in tiebreakers to Wentzel. Justin McCoy is the three seed. He also only has one loss to Bullard but was injured and did not wrestle in the Pittsburgh dual. Clayton Ulrey rounds out the four seed and will face Isaias Estrada from UNC in the opening round; Estrada was a late redshirt pull by the Tar Heels and could be dangerous. 174: And. Here. We. Go. There will be a lot of discussion about this weight throughout the country. We have three top-10 wrestlers in the ACC with #5 Hayden Hilday, #6 Mekhi Lewis and #8 Clay Lautt. The final weekend threw this weight into chaos, with Hidlay beating Lewis in overtime after getting pinned by Lautt on Friday night. There was no good way to seed this, but I am disappointed that we won't see Lewis/Hidlay as a final. Hidlay: 12-1 (4-1 in ACC) only loss is to Lautt. Wins: Thomas Flitz, Austin Murphy, Peyton Mocco, Nelson Brands, Matt Finesilver, Mekhi Lewis. Wrestlestat-4. Coaches' Rank 4 Lewis: 17-1 (4-1 in ACC) only loss to Hidlay. Wins: Ethan Smith, Peyton Mocco, Chris Foca, Matt Finesilver, Clay Lautt. Wrestlestat-1. Coaches' Rank 6 Lautt: 14-4 (4-1 in ACC) losses to Lewis, Thomas Flitz, Mikey Labriola, Rocky Jordan-at 184. Wins: Austin Murphy, Andrew McNally, Hidlay. Wrestlestat-8. Coaches' Rank 8 This could have shaken out a few ways, but I am surprised that it came out this way. They all beat each other in-conference, so that's basically a wash. The criteria comes down to common opponents and quality matches. I expected Hidlay at 1, Lewis at 2 and Lautt at 3 based on how it has worked out in the past. Feel free to let me know what you think of the seeds and how you think they should have staked up! 184: Here is another weight that has some top-tier talent, but shook out pretty cleanly in terms of bracketing. Trent Hidlay grabs the one seed being undefeated on the year. Gavin Kane has really come on this year and gets the two-seed with a win over Bolen. Hunter Bolen is the three seed with a decision loss to Hidlay and a Sudden Victory loss to Kane. Michael Battista is the four seed and will see Gregg Harvey in the opening round. 197: Isaac Trumble is coming into the tournament on a 7 match winning streak and hasn't lost since December. He grabs the one seed with an undefeated run in-conference. Nino Bonaccorsi is the two seed with his only loss in the ACC to Trumble. Jay Aiello is the three seed with a decision loss to Bonaccorsi and a sudden victory loss to Trumble in a great match in Raleigh. Max Shaw rounds out the top four and will face the always dangerous, endless gas tank of Dakota Howard to open the tournament. 285: This one ended up working out well despite the wrestlers having a lot of mixed head-to-head results. This one could have shaped up differently, but I think the separations work out well. Nathan Traxler got the one seed, while his beautiful head of hair got the 1a seed. He is 4-1 in conference with his only loss to Quinn Miller--he wrestled Owen Trephan against NC State, not Tyrie Houghton. Houghton gets the two seed, even though he is undefeated in the conference. Houghton did not face Traxler head-to-head and Traxler has a better overall record and quality wins. Jake Slinger is the three seed and Quinn Miller is the four seed; Miller draws Jonah Neisenbaum in the opening round while Slinger gets Brandon Whitman. Both have upset potential.