InterMat Staff

2021 NCAA champion Gable Steveson (Photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) In week three of our NCAA picks, a clubhouse leader emerged and separated himself from the rest of the field after a perfect 7-0 week. EIWA correspondent Austin Sommer has sole possession of first place by two games ahead of a triumvirate of Courtney, Rachel, and Willie. Looking at this week's picks, only one dual has a unanimous winner in Minnesota, who takes on South Dakota State. The week could swing on the Army West Point/Iowa State and North Carolina/Rutgers duals as each school has at least three staff members who picked them. Meanwhile, Robbie and Cody refused to follow the pack and went out on their own with one picks, which could end up fruitful for them or costly.

Dean Hamiti's collegiate debut against Buffalo (Photo courtesy of Tom Lynn; Wisconsin Athletics) One of the more intriguing teams in the Big Ten this year is the Wisconsin Badgers. While many teams like Iowa and Michigan are taking advantage of the extra year of eligibility, the Badgers have some young faces that could help boost the team into contention. Chris Bono's team returns four wrestlers from the 2021 NCAA Championships, including two All-Americans (Eric Barnett - 125 and Trent Hillger - 285). In addition, the Badgers were active in the transfer portal picking up transfers Austin Gomez (149) and Andrew McNally (174). Both Gomez and McNally have finished a match away from All-American status at one point in their career. Just a nucleus like this with established, credentialed veterans, should do well even in the Big Ten. Two true freshmen possess the ability to propel the Badgers above many of their counterparts in 165 lber Dean Hamiti and 197 lber Braxton Amos. While true freshmen can typically take their lumps in the league like the Big Ten, these two are your typical freshmen. Hamiti was ranked #6 overall in the Class of 2020 by MatScouts and Amos was #3 in the Class of 2020. Amos did not enroll during the 2020-21 school year, so he is still considered a true freshman. Both of these young men came into Madison with a boatload of accolades. The only reason why Hamiti wasn't a four-time Illinois state champion was because Covid canceled his state tournament in 2021. He was a winner at the Super 32 and in Fargo's Junior National freestyle tournament in 2019. Amos was also a three-time state champion, who likely didn't win a fourth only because he was injured as a freshman. Over the summer, Amos pulled the rare feat of winning a Junior World title in freestyle, then came back to capture bronze in Greco-Roman. Other rare exploits at the high school level include three Super 32 belts and five titles in Fargo. Hamiti and Amos were unleashed during the Badgers season-opening dual with Buffalo and have seen action in two dual meets this year. In his debut, Hamiti majored the Bulls Jay Nivison 18-5 and showed a vast array of takedowns in the process. Amos cobbled together a solid 8-2 win over veteran Sam Mitchell. He was able to exert himself physically upon an older opponent, which is a positive sign at a larger weight class like 197. In their second outing, Hamiti was able to gut out a win over Little Rock's Tyler Brennan, 4-3. For prospects like Hamiti and Amos, they were rarely pushed in high school, so it's good to see Hamiti pull out a close win on riding time so early in his collegiate career. Amos had less trouble as he crushed Brooks Sacharczyk 18-2. Now at the Garden State Grapple. Wisconsin will take on Hofstra and North Carolina in dual competition. Both potential opponents for Hamiti and Amos represent another step and another challenge as they progress in their freshman season. As of now, Hamiti and Amos, are ranked #26 and #16 at their respective weights. Those rankings are not indicative of their abilities and where we think they will finish at the end of the year. It is merely a result of their collegiate results in comparison to others. Once Saturday night rolls around, we should have a better idea of where each stands. Hamiti: The young 165 lber will start the evening with a challenge from unranked freshman Sonny Santiago of North Carolina. A former California state champion, Santiago has faced a solid schedule thus far and amassed a 5-3 record. He battled Nebraska's Bubba Wilson in a hard-fought one-point loss last week and has shown promise. In the nightcap, Hamiti will take on returning NCAA qualifier for Hofstra in Ricky Stamm. Though he's started slowly in 2021-22, Stamm is a quality measuring stick for a freshman. He was fifth at the 2021 EIWA Championships and picked up a win at his first NCAA Tournament. This year, Stamm is 3-2, with his best win coming over Lehigh's Connor Herceg, by fall. Amos: The first of two returning national qualifiers expected to toe the line opposite Amos is 2021 ACC third-place finisher #26 Max Shaw. Shaw is only 1-1 in limited action this year. He started the year losing via fall to NAIA opponent Zane Lanham (Life) and missed a few duals. Shaw returned last Sunday with a solid 3-2 win over Campbell's promising freshman Levi Hopkins. Second on the list for Amos is #29 Trey Rogers. The Minnesota-native, Rogers, was fifth in the EIWA last year and grabbed a win over Chattanooga's Logan Andrew at the NCAA Championships. The only action Rogers has seen thus far in 2021-22 came at the Clarion Open, where he went 4-1. While neither Amos nor Hamiti should be considered an underdog in any of their bouts Saturday night, it will provide a solid litmus test as to just how good these young stars are against proven competition.

2021 NCAA finals(Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) DI wrestling has a light slate duals and open tournaments as this is still Thanksgiving week. Only 11 duals and a few opens are on the docket for Saturday and Sunday. Since it can be difficult to figure out where and when to watch all of these events, InterMat has put together a list of all of the live-streamed events occurring this weekend. Below are the dates/times and how to watch each match. All times Eastern Saturday, November 27: Arizona State, Wyoming at Cowboy Open 11:00 AM FloWrestling Drexel at Little Rock, 1:00 PM Little Rock All-Access Army West Point at Iowa State, 2:00 PM ESPN+ Oregon State at Iowa, 3:00 PM BTN+ California Baptist at Iowa State, 4:00 PM ESPN+ Hofstra vs. Rutgers at Newark, NJ, 5:30 PM BTN+ North Carolina vs. Wisconsin at Newark, NJ, 5:30 PM BTN+ Hofstra vs. Wisconsin at Newark, NJ, 7:30 PM BTN+ North Carolina vs. Rutgers at Newark, NJ, 7:30 PM BTN+ Sunday, November 28: Lock Haven, Virginia at Mat Town Open I 9:30 AM Army West Point, California Baptist, Iowa State, Northern Iowa at Cyclone Open 10:00 AM South Dakota State at Minnesota, 2:00 PM BTN+ Drexel at Oklahoma State, 3:00 PM ESPN+ Buffalo at Binghamton, 4:30 PM ESPN+

(Photo Courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com; Graphic from Anna-Lee Marie) The Garden State Grapple event at the Prudential Center in Newark will feature multiple duals, including an ACC vs. Big Ten battle between ranked teams. No. 12 Rutgers is 6-0 on the season and will face off against No. 18 North Carolina in a dual that features 15 ranked wrestlers across the 10 weights. The following is a match-by-match preview of the dual. How to Watch: 7:30 on BTN+ (Link is good for Rutgers' two bouts. They will also wrestle Hofstra at 5:30pm) 125: No. 23 Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) vs. Spencer Moore (North Carolina) During the 2021 campaign, Shawver only had two matches in the regular season, but still ended up representing Rutgers at the Big Ten tournament. There he finished with a 2-3 record, but did score an impressive upset over No. 10 Patrick McKee (Minnesota) via a 6-5 score. The Ohio native has started all the way for Rutgers this season and holds an undefeated 5-0 record. In his first bout of the season, he scored a decision victory over No. 31 Logan Heil (Cleveland State). As a true freshman in an unusual season, Moore has already faced some much older opposition. He recently wrestled Nebraska's No. 22 Liam Cronin, who was a full seven years older than him. In his very recent high school career, Moore was a two-time Kentucky state champion and a member of the 2021 Cadet World team. Moore has been extremely active this season and currently holds a 6-5 record. However, half of his wins on the season have come against non-Division I opposition. Shawver did not have very many matches last year due to the shortened season, but the experience he did gain should help him here. Prediction: Shawver decision over Moore (3-0 Rutgers) 133: No, 12 Sammy Alvarez (Rutgers) vs. No. 10 Jaime Hernandez (North Carolina) Alvarez qualified for the NCAA tournament as a true freshman during the 2020 season. Last year, he had only three matches, but went 3-0 with impressive wins over Jordan Decatur (Ohio State) and former Minnesota wrestler Boo Dryden (Nebraska). Things got off to a rocky start this year as Alvarez was caught in a headlock and pinned by Anthony Sobotker (Binghamton). However, he has since turned things around and holds a 4-1 record on the year. Much like Alvarez, Hernandez also only wrestled three matches last year after qualifying in 2020. He has started this season with a 4-0 record that includes a two-point victory over Dylan Koontz (Ohio State) and a 10-4 decision over Alex Thomsen (Nebraska). Against Thomsen, Hernandez gave up the first takedown before getting back into the match and making a difference from the top position. If he falls behind here against Alvarez, he may not be able to recover. Alvarez normally excels in wide-open matches with a lot of scoring, and that is likely to be the case in this contest. Look for both wrestlers to have their moments, but Alvarez's persistent offense should be the difference-maker in what would be a slight rankings upset. Then Alvarez has shown throughout his career that he can be susceptible to big moves. Prediction: Alvarez decision over Hernández (6-0 Rutgers) 141: No. 4 Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) vs. No. 10 Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina) 2021 was another successful season for Rivera. He finished fourth at the NCAA tournament to become an All-American for the third time. While it was just his latest trip to the podium, it was his first for Rutgers after transferring from Northwestern. After a summer that saw him focus on freestyle as part of an attempt to make the Olympics for Puerto Rico, he has returned for one final run on the college mats. Rivera has started his final campaign with four victories, including a pair of technical falls. Clarke transferred to North Carolina from American, where he was an NCAA qualifier in 2020. He has already made a big impact on the new squad. Not only has he won all five of his matches, but he also picked up a sudden-victory upset over No. 11 Chad Red (Nebraska). He holds career victories over No. 18 (at 149) Kanen Storr (Michigan) and Jacob Butler (Oklahoma). In the upset over Red, Clarke was able to hang physically and defend some pretty deep takedown attempts. While that will likely serve him well against Rivera, the pace of attacks from Rivera will likely be the difference. Against both Red and Jordan Decatur (Ohio State), Clarke was able to slow things down and make it basically a one-score match. That will almost certainly be tough against Rivera, who will likely string multiple attacks together in order to score. Prediction: Rivera decision over Clarke (9-0 Rutgers) 149: No. 25 Mike Van Brill (Rutgers) vs. No. 16 Zach Sherman (North Carolina) Van Brill is a two-time NCAA qualifier who is still looking for his first win at the NCAA tournament after going 0-2 last year and the 2020 cancellation. So far this year, he has gone 5-0. Four of his five victories have been by five points or less, and his win over Nick Lombard (Binghamton) came in sudden victory via a 3-1 score. Sherman began his college career at 133 pounds before becoming an All-American at 141 last year. For this season, he moved up to 149, and the early season results have been somewhat concerning. Sherman currently holds a 2-3 record, with both of his victories coming against non-division 1 opposition. He has lost three-straight matches against No. 2 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State), No. 13 Ridge Lovette (Nebraska) and No. 15 Josh Heil (Campbell). It is too early in the season for this to be a must-win bout for Sherman, but considering his current run, he would almost certainly want to change his momentum. Both of these wrestlers find themselves in a lot of close matches, so this might not be an exception. Sherman should be the favorite here, but if his recent issues are weight-related, it could be a struggle. Prediction: Sherman decision over Van Brill (9-3 Rutgers) 157: Robert Kanniard (Rutgers) vs. No. 7 Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) After starting four duals last year, Kanniard has stepped into the consistent starting spot for the Scarlet Knights this year. Through five matches, he has gone 4-1, with his only defeat coming against Trevor Elfvin (Clarion). Despite winning an NCAA title last season, O'Connor, like Sherman, has bumped up a weight class. He started his 157-pound campaign with three-straight bonus-point victories, but then hit a snag when he dropped a 5-2 decision against No. 6 Peyton Robb (Nebraska). O'Connor bounced back nicely against Matthew Dallara (Campbell). He led by a 14-4 score going into the final period before Dallara was disqualified for stalling. O'Connor's style really depends on his ability to physically dominate his opponents, so in theory, wrestling against larger opposition might give him some trouble. Robb wrestled exceptionally well in the match against O'Connor, so it might be a mistake to try to extrapolate a lot from that bout. O'Connor should be able to handle Kanniard here, but the bout should be another solid barometer of the returning champion's prospects at the new weight. Prediction: O'Connor decision over Kanniard (9-6 Rutgers) 165: Andrew Clark (Rutgers) vs. Sonny Santiago (North Carolina) Clark started five of Rutgers' six duals so far this year and got some extra work at the Shorty Hitchcock Open. His record currently stands at 6-5, but three of those victories have been against wrestlers from lower divisions. Clark was a 2020 New Jersey state champion and wrestled only one match during his redshirt season in 2021. Santiago went 4-1 last year, competing primarily in extra matches. He has assumed a starting role this year and gone 5-3. Against Nebraska, he dropped a one-point match against Bubba Wilson, but he bounded back with a 6-3 win over Riley Augustine (Campbell). Santiago was a 2019 California state champion for powerhouse St. John Bosco. This should be an interesting bout between a pair of wrestlers with a lot of accomplishments at the high school level who are still making the adjustment to college. At this point, Clark has picked up the better wins and faced the tougher schedule. That makes him the favorite, but this could easily be a swing match. Prediction: Clark decision over Santiago (12-6 Rutgers) 174: No. 13 Jackson Turley (Rutgers) vs. No. 15 Clay Lautt (North Carolina) Turley had only four matches last season prior to the Big Ten tournament. However, he still managed to qualify and ultimately finish eighth at the NCAA tournament to become an All-American. Turley was a top-50 recruit and a National Prep champion on the high school level, but few expected him to be an All-American in his first year in the lineup. Despite the early career success, he has only wrestled one match this year and dropped a decision against John Worthing (Clarion). Lautt also had a strong showing at the last NCAA tournament. He picked up key wins over No. 16 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) and No. 11 Peyton Mocco (Missouri). Despite those strong performances, Lautt ultimately came up short in the blood round and finished 12th. He has started this year with a 2-2 record, with both of his losses coming against ranked wrestlers, No. 20 (at 184) Rocky Jordan (Ohio State) and No. 2 Michael Labriola (Nebraska). Given Turley's performance in his only match this year, it would be safe to assume that he is either injured or not in peak form. Do not be surprised if Rutgers sends out Connor O'Neill instead, as he has started five duals already this year. Either way, considering the current trends, Lautt should be able to pick up a victory here. Prediction: Lautt decision over Turley/O'Neill (12-9 Rutgers) 184: No. 5 John Poznanski (Rutgers) vs. No. 23 Gavin Kane (North Carolina) Much like Turley, Poznanski was a pleasant early surprise for Rutgers. He joined the squad after winning a 2020 New Jersey state championship and was 40-0 in his final high school campaign. Poznanski took it a step forward in his first season for Rutgers. At the NCAA tournament, he went 4-2 with wins over No. 7 Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) and No. 12 (at 197) Louie DePrez (Binghamton) and ultimately finished fourth to become an All-American. Despite starting the year at 174 pounds, Kane looks to be the answer for North Carolina at 184. At least, this was the case in their recent match against Campbell. He moved up for the first time this year and dispatched Caleb Hopkins via a 7-3 decision. During his high school career, Kane was a four-time Georgia state champion and a Super 32 runner-up. Kane will likely have a strong season up at this weight, but he will be up against it here. Poznanski adapted well to the college game almost immediately, and so far this year, the results have been just as strong. He is undefeated at 6-0 with three bonus-point victories. At the very least, he will make it very hard for Kane to get on the board. Prediction: Poznanski decision over Kane (15-9 Rutgers) 197: No. 14 Greg Bulsak (Rutgers) vs. No. 26 Max Shaw (North Carolina) Bulsak was a four-time NCAA qualifier for Clarion, who is now trying to make one final run at the podium for Rutgers. He has wrestled three matches on the year and picked up a pair of falls, including one against his former squad as he decked Will Feldkamp a few weeks ago. Last year as a redshirt freshman, Shaw picked up wins over Kaden Russell (Duke) and Andy Smith (Virginia Tech) at the ACC tournament to qualify for the 2021 NCAA tournament. Things got off to a rough start this year as he was the only Tar Heel to lose in their dual against NAIA champion Life. Not only did Shaw lose, but the loss came via fall. Shaw returned to action last Sunday and got back on track with a 3-2 decision over Campbell's Levi Hopkins. At this point, Bulsak has been around the block and seen it all. He should be able to impose his will physically in this match and control it throughout. Shaw has been able to keep it close against top wrestlers in the past, and that should be the case again here. However, Bulsak will likely be the one picking up the win. Prediction: Bulsak decision over Shaw (18-9 Rutgers) 285: No. 23 Boone McDermott (Rutgers) vs. Brandon Whitman (North Carolina) McDermott was an NJCAA champion at Iowa Central in 2020. He then transferred to Rutgers. Last year, he defeated Gary Traub (Oregon State) and Jamarcus Grant, then of Purdue, while backing up Christian Colucci. This year, McDermott has been impressive as he has won all four of his matches and pinned John Kelbly (Cleveland State) and Grayson Walthall (Chattanooga). Whitman was an unlikely NCAA qualifier as a true freshman in 2019. Last season, he moved up to heavyweight and went 2-3 in a reserve role. However, Whitman did pick up an impressive 3-1 victory over No. 32 Jacob Slinger (Pittsburgh). This year, he has gone 2-2, but he is still looking for his first win over a Division I opponent. Whitman is surprisingly agile for a heavyweight, and he was able to hang early against No. 13 Christian Lance (Nebraska). However, as the match went on, Lance was able to wear him down and take the major decision. Expected something similar here against McDermott, who has shown in limited action that he is ready for the grind of the Big Ten heavyweight division. North Carolina forfeited at heavyweight against Campbell, so it is possible there are issues with Whitman. Prediction: McDermott major decision over Whitman Dual Prediction: Rutgers over North Carolina (22-9)

Billie Sims' intro at Stalemates Street League 2 (Photo Courtesy of Mark Lundy; LutteLens.com) You may have seen Billie Sims lead off the Stalemates Street League card on October 29th, with a 7-1 win and heard it was her first actual wrestling match. While that part is true, it's only a small fraction of her time around the sport and it isn't even the final chapter for a 47-year-old mother of four. Billie's bout on the Stalemates card was 25 years in the making and even that number errs on the low side of things. Sims grew up in rural Stanardsville, Virginia, a town with a population of under 400 in the 2010 census. An active young girl, Billie participated in a variety of sports, even football. Like many wrestling sisters of her time, Billie was first exposed to the sport through her little brother Bobby and spent plenty of time as an unofficial wrestling partner. While Billie had an interest in wrestling, she was a standout in softball. She went on to play it at the division one level at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. While at Mason, Billie took up lacrosse, as well. The first lacrosse game she ever saw, was one where she started as a DI athlete. Billie (right) and her son Dyson wearing the same football number, 30 years apart (Photos Courtesy of Billie Sims At GMU is where Kevin McGuigan comes into the story. You may recognize Kevin today as the Director of Operations for the University of Pennsylvania, the Marketing Director for the Pennsylvania Regional Training Center and a fierce advocate for any and all things Philly Wrestling. At the time, McGuigan was the head assistant coach for the Mason wrestling team. For a few extra bucks, McGuigan also did PA announcing for the softball program. Between his announcing gig and normal fraternization between sports at the weight room and GMU's field house, McGuigan and Sims' paths crossed. Neither is exactly sure how the dialogue started, it's likely it was spurred by Billie talking about how she grew up around the sport because of her brother, but at some point near the end of Sims' time at George Mason, she and her softball teammates asked McGuigan if he could teach them how to wrestle. While this may not seem too unusual in 2021, remember this was the mid-1990's in Virginia. To this day, girls' high school wrestling is still not sanctioned in Virginia. A few years later, (1998), Hawaii would hold a girl's state tournament for the first time. The point is, that outside of a few states, there were very few opportunities for girls to compete in wrestling, especially against other girls. Interestingly enough, this wasn't McGuigan's first foray into this type of training with female athletes. In his last stop, at Upper Darby High School in Pennsylvania, some of the girls on the competitive cheerleading time got into a playful argument about "who works harder," them or the wrestling team. He welcomed the cheerleaders into the wrestling team's conditioning workouts (stadium stairs/buddy carries). After a while, McGuigan thought, "you're pretty athletic; you should wrestle." That was his first hint that women's wrestling could take off. The girls were invited into the practice room and McGuigan taught them some basics, the girls enjoyed it, but even in wrestling-crazy Pennsylvania, there weren't many competitive outlets for the girls and their interest waned. At George Mason, McGuigan enlisted some of the Patriots star wrestlers, Bryan Hazard (now one of the co-voices of the NCAA Championships) and Sean Carrigan (who went on to star on the Young and the Restless, as well as the film Ford v Ferrari) to work with Sims and her teammates. McGuigan asked if Hazard thought they could teach the girls how to wrestle and Hazard replied, "Yeah, absolutely.". The Patriots head coach at the time, Brian Schaffer, was supportive and said they'd have to do it after practice and see what the administration says. McGuigan went to the GMU administration, who ok'd an idea of a women's wrestling club and the group hit the mat. They did the same workouts the men's team did, with very little live wrestling. He and the Patriot wrestlers went through the basics (stance, motion, level change, penetration, lift, back arch). "They went hard," said McGuigan. "We're talking accomplished division one athletes that wanted to learn something new. I was impressed by it." The women's wrestling club lasted for less than a year as there were no tournaments for the young women to enter. McGuigan reached out to some of the smaller schools in the state and region, but none had a women's wrestling club. He still believes in the saying "If you build it, they will come," referring to girls and women who will show interest in the sport if opportunities are available to them. As the George Mason women's wrestling club faded away, McGuigan would leave the area a few years later to move back to the Philadelphia area and start a family. Sims did the same as she married Jason Dunham and had four children. Fast forward to the early 2020, as Billie's then-high school sophomore son, Dyson Dunham, had just finished third in Virginia's 6A state tournament. Dyson was ready to enter his mom into the "Bald and Fat Classic," a tournament that featured such age groups as 25-35, 36-45. He was just as excited about his wrestling-crazed mom about getting her on the mat for an official match. As with many things in 2020, Covid prevented the tournament from being conducted. Without that tournament, Billie figured her dreams of wrestling would go unanswered. More than a year later, Zach Bogle of "Stalemates" fame, announced his company was putting on a second "Street League" event after the first was such a hit with fans. He made it known on social media that he'd like to feature a match between two people that have never wrestled before and also wanted to incorporate a women's bout into the fold. When Bogle made such a statement, McGuigan tweeted, "he nominates Billie Sims." Billie's first thought after seeing McGuigan's tweet was, "Yeah, I'd love to wrestle." Once Sims found out they were looking for a woman around her size, she reached out to Bogle and the rest was history. Billie Sims and Becca Roper (left) (Photo Courtesy of Mark Lundy; LutteLens.com) Shortly after, Billie agreed to wrestle Rebecca Roper, an employee at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum and wife of Northern Iowa assistant coach Lee Roper. Sims had no hesitation about going from Virginia to Iowa for a single match. Once McGuigan heard Billie was wrestling, his first thought was, "I don't care who she's wrestling, Billie's gonna kick some butt," and that was before an opponent was announced publicly. In the lead-up to the match, Billie's husband, Jason, produced a series of videos showing her training regiment and the first included one of her favorite pastimes, barrel racing. She has been barrel racing "ever since she could walk' and has a long list of accolades in the field. Billie was an IBRA State Champion Open and Masters (40+) in 2020, beating out a field that included over 100-plus horses. This year she was an NBHA State Reserve Open Champion. One of the biggest positives from the entire Street League experience was the bonding experience between Billie and Dyson. Now a VMI signee, Dyson "not only supported me, but pushed me to do it. Anything you can do with your teenager, where they're interested in it, is cool...especially wrestling," Sims added. During Sims' training for her match, Dyson relished the opportunity to turn the tables on their usual wrestler-mom dynamic. The night before the match, the two were working out and Dyson performed a mat return, which made Billie hesitate. Less than 24 hours away from competing, she didn't want to get hurt and told him to, "Chill out." Dyson replied, "You think this is hard? Guess what, wrestling's hard! You're going to battle for just four minutes of your life. If you're not ready to battle, you're gonna regret it." While Billie may not have appreciated the tough love and hard wrestling at the time, she looks back and admits, "I needed it." The two both needed to train as Dyson competed at USAW's Preseason Nationals at the same time, a short distance away from the Stalemates event. He would go on to make the finals of the 132 lb weight class. While Billie watched one of Dyson's matches, she received a call from former George Mason All-American Johnny Curtis. Curtis' FCA Wrestling Club is one that hosted Billie during the lead-up to her match. Curtis told Billie, "It's ok to be nervous," to which she replied, "Is it ok if I'm not?" as she was totally at peace with herself and excited for the opportunity. Since Dyson was still wrestling at Preseason Nationals, Billie had to go over to the Stalemates venue by herself because her brother and longtime friend and club coach, Tyler Atwell, were still in Dyson's corner. Once the two arrived, they were looking for a good drill partner for her and stumbled upon someone who fit the bill. That, someone, was the #1 120 lber in the nation, Nate Jesuroga, who was fresh off a win at the Super 32 the previous week. Jesuroga didn't hesitate to warm up the 47-year-old mother, who had never officially stepped on the mat before. Billie's brother Bobby (right) and Tyler Atwell in her corner (Photo Courtesy of Mark Lundy; LutteLens.com) Sims and Roper's bout was the first bout of the night on the Street League 2 card. After she was introduced and was waiting for Becca to take the mat, Billie received some last-second words of wisdom from her son's coach, Atwell, and brother Bobby. "You're the underdog," said Atwell. "You're the bad guy. Everybody's gonna be cheering for her. Embrace it," Bobby added. That sat well with Sims, who thought, "That's right..this is cool, I'm the underdog, I'm the bad guy." As expected, the partisan Iowa crowd was behind Roper. The two of them spent the first period looking for an opening and Roper's length gave Billie some issues. "She was so long and kept in such good position, I couldn't see where I could shoot under her." In the second period, after she got on the scoreboard with an escape, Billie pushed the pace with an underhook, then used an arm drag to a snatch single. Not only was she able to convert the takedown, but Roper went straight to her back. Billie couldn't believe she scored from an arm drag. "It was something I had drilled, but not something I thought I'd go to. McGuigan interrupted and said it was muscle memory from 25 years ago. "It was one of my favorite setups and I know we worked on it," he chuckled. Billie Sims' in action at Stalemates Street League 2 (Photo Courtesy of Mark Lundy; LutteLens.com) Roper rode Sims for the entire third period, but it wasn't without some excitement. Billie had a brief scare as Roper sank in a half nelson and rolled her through her back, though no points were registered. A riding time point for Roper brought the final score to 7-1 in favor of Billie. After she got off the mat and was decompressing, her drill partner, Jesuroga, came up and said, "Hey, nice arm drag," which really tickled her. As we're reliving her Street League experience, Billie recalls her last practice before the competition. As she unlaced her shoes, she felt upset. Not only had she just finally broken-in her wrestling shoes, but she realized "this may be it." After the match, it would be all over. But as Billie likes to say, "God's funny." About a week after her match, Sims invited Chad Hoffman and Doug Fisher out for dinner and drinks to thank them for their support. Hoffman and Fisher are coaches at Fauquier High School and their Birds of Prey Wrestling Club was one of the handful of local clubs that embraced her with open arms while training for the match. At one point, during dinner, one of the two told Billie they "needed one more assistant coach and they were looking for someone smaller to roll with the guys," gauging her interest. At the time, Billie laughed it off as a joke, but over the ensuing weekend, she confided in her brother, who had already thought she should get into coaching. On Monday, she followed up with Hoffman and told him, "she was interested if he was serious." Hoffman responded with, "Woo-hoo, see you at 3:45." Since then, Billie has been in the Fauquier wrestling room working with a handful of young lightweights, new to the sport. Having someone her size has been perfect for them. She's already preparing for a dual meet between Fauquier and Benedictine College Prep, her son Dyson's school, which will take place on the campus of VMI. Initially, before Billie's involvement in Street League, I wanted to write this article about her and McGuigan's relationship through the short-lived George Mason Women's Wrestling Club; however, McGuigan was a bit hesitant due to his humble nature and the lack of traction that the venture gained. Billie, on the other hand, feels it is an essential part of her story and calls McGuigan a "seed planter. He planted the seeds for women's wrestling with the conversations he had with the administration and other people. You may not harvest or see the rewards, but you need the seeds planted before anything can grow. He was a visionary and he supported women's wrestling before it was a cool thing to do." So after getting on the mat, training then competing, how does the experience impact Billie's feelings about the sport? "I love it even more! I'd love to compete again, though I can't imagine another scenario." She hopes that this experience will help her push more young girls towards the sport, including her daughter, Bradie, who is seven years old and has expressed some interest in wrestling. Billie and Becca Roper embrace after their bout (Photo Courtesy of Mark Lundy; LutteLens.com) I remember the final seconds ticking off the clock in Billie's bout with Becca, seeing the pair embrace and the crowd showing their appreciation for the two. It felt like a special moment. Stalemates often focuses on the lighter side of our sport or off-the-mat drama; however, in this instance, Bogle and company helped set the stage for an authentic, emotional moment between two women who love wrestling and didn't have the opportunities to compete in their youth. For Billie, it was a moment more than 25 years in the making. "You couldn't find someone that would feel more thankful, grateful, or blessed. It was more than a wrestling match. It was a life-changer," said Billie.

All-American's Rocky Elam (left) and Trent Hidlay (Photo Courtesy of Mark Lundy; LutteLens.com) Yesterday, the pools and matchups were announced for the Journeymen Collegiate Duals, which are set to go down on December 20-21 on the campus of Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Florida. Six of the top ten dual teams and seven of the top 11 are slated to be in Florida for the festivities. Half of the 12 teams will be put into the “Blue Pool,” and the other half will be in a “Red Pool.” From there, teams have been put into groups of three, which will hit in round-robin action. The winners from the Blue Pool's two groups of three will meet, as will the second and third-place teams. The same goes for the Red Pool. Great lengths have been taken in drawing up these pools to ensure that conference teams and schools with each other on their schedule don't meet. While we have almost a month until the first whistle in Florida, we're excited about the event and wanted to look at some of the potential matchups on tap, since we have the pools. Below are the wrestlers currently ranked that could face off with one another based on the matchups released yesterday. We have not projected winners of matches yet, and placed group winners together, though they will account for some even better duals. December 20th Blue Pool 9AM - Mat 1: Cornell vs. Northern Iowa #5 Vito Arujau (Cornell) vs. #33 Kyle Biscoglia (Northern Iowa) #1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) vs. #31 Tristan Lara (Northern Iowa) #17 Julian Ramirez (Cornell) vs. #25 Austin Yant (Northern Iowa) #9 Chris Foca (Cornell) vs. #26 Lance Runyon (Northern Iowa) #18 Jonathan Loew (Cornell) vs. #4 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) #17 Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) vs. #18 Carter Isley (Northern Iowa) There are a lot of ranked matches in this one, though Cornell is favored in all but one. As both teams get more experience, more ranked bouts could develop. 9AM - Mat 2: Virginia Tech vs. Hofstra #24 Connor Brady (Virginia Tech) vs. #27 Greg Gaxiola (Hofstra) #9 Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) vs. #30 Charles Small (Hofstra) #14 Nathan Traxler (Virginia Tech) vs. #20 Zachary Knighton-Ward (Hofstra) Hofstra has a few guys just outside the top-33, so they may be able to work their way in before late December. Other than that, heavyweight should be very competitive. 11AM - Mat 1: Penn State vs. Northern Iowa #1 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) vs. #33 Kyle Biscoglia (Northern Iowa) #21 Beau Bartlett (Penn State) vs. #31 Tristan Lara (Northern Iowa) #32 Creighton Edsall (Penn State) vs. #25 Austin Yant (Northern Iowa) #1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) vs. #26 Lance Runyon (Northern Iowa) #1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) vs. #4 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) #4 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) vs. #18 Carter Isley (Northern Iowa) All eyes are focused on the 184 lb bout. #1 versus #4 in a rematch of the 2021 NCAA semifinals, won by Aaron Brooks, 6-4. The loss is Parker Keckeisen's only official defeat thus far. 11AM - Mat 2: Arizona State vs. Hofstra #3 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) vs. #27 Greg Gaxiola (Hofstra) #8 Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State) vs. #29 Trey Rogers (Hofstra) #3 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) vs. #20 Zachary Knighton-Ward (Hofstra) Unfortunately, Hofstra's ranked guys are slated to meet some of the best wrestlers in the nation at their respective weights, with two top-three's and an eighth. 1PM - Mat 1: Cornell vs. Penn State #5 Vito Arujau (Cornell) vs. #1 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) #1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) vs. #21 Beau Bartlett (Penn State) #17 Julian Ramirez (Cornell) vs. #32 Creighton Edsall (Penn State) #9 Chris Foca (Cornell) vs. #1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) #18 Jonathan Loew (Cornell) vs. #1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) #19 Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) vs. #4 Max Dean (Penn State) #17 Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) vs. #4 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) This is one of the duals to circle! Provided Vito Arujau stays at 133, that match will be perhaps the most entertaining of the entire event. Also, the return of Max Dean facing his old team. By then, Jacob Cardenas will probably have moved up in the rankings. 1PM - Mat 2: Virginia Tech vs. Arizona State #12 Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) vs. #3 Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) #4 Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech) vs. #7 Michael McGee (Arizona State) #33 Sam Hillegas (Virginia Tech) vs. #17 Jesse Vasquez (Arizona State) #8 Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) vs. #5 Kyle Parco (Arizona State) #24 Connor Brady (Virginia Tech) vs. #3 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) #14 Nathan Traxler (Virginia Tech) vs. #3 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) Absolute fire here! All-Americans clashing with one another at 125 and 133. A top-ten match at 149 lb with two highly entertaining wrestlers. This looks bound to come down to the final bout, especially since ASU has unranked wrestlers at weights that are the Hokies strengths (174-184). Red Pool 3PM - Mat 1: Lehigh vs. Central Michigan #14 Jaret Lane (Lehigh) vs. #32 Brock Bergelin (Central Michigan) #10 Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) vs. #20 Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan) #10 Jordan Wood (Lehigh) vs. #11 Matt Stencel (Central Michigan) Individually, some of these guys have met already this year at the Journeymen Collegiate Challenge. Humphreys and Lovett were slated to, but a medical forfeit was involved. Both teams are slightly underrated in dual competition, so expect a close one. 3PM - Mat 2: Binghamton vs. Missouri #28 Jacob Nolan (Binghamton) vs. #11 Peyton Mocco (Missouri) #12 Louie DePrez (Binghamton) vs. #5 Rocky Elam (Missouri) #30 Joe Doyle (Binghamton) vs. #12 Zach Elam (Missouri) All-Americans will be set to collide at 197 lbs as Louie DePrez is likely to get his most significant test at 197 lbs, since moving up. The Bearcats have a couple others on the cusp of a top-33 ranking. 5PM - Mat 1: Iowa vs. Central Michigan #1 Spencer Lee (Iowa) vs. #32 Brock Bergelin (Central Michigan) #2 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) vs. #8 Dresden Simon (Central Michigan) #8 Kaleb Young (Iowa) vs. #20 Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan) #7 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) vs. #11 Matt Stencel (Central Michigan) This group has excellent heavyweights, with all three (Cassioppi/Stencel/Wood) coming in with past All-American honors. Dresden Simon and Johnny Lovett are both capable of pulling upsets, so Iowa is clearly favored, but will get pushed in these matches. 5PM - Mat 2: Binghamton vs. NC State #28 Jacob Nolan (Binghamton) vs. #5 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) #12 Louie DePrez (Binghamton) vs. #17 Isaac Trumble (NC State) #30 Joe Doyle (Binghamton) vs. #27 Owen Trephan (NC State) It's the Pat Popolizio Bowl. The current NC State coach gets to face his former school. A loaded Wolfpack team appears to be too much for the Bearcats, but the final three weights could be fun. 7PM - Mat 1: Lehigh vs. Iowa #14 Jaret Lane (Lehigh) vs. #1 Spencer Lee (Iowa) #22 Malyke Hines (Lehigh) vs. #3 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) #10 Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) vs. #8 Kaleb Young (Iowa) #27 Brian Meyer (Lehigh) vs. #1 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) #10 Jordan Wood (Lehigh) vs. #7 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) 157 and 285 lbs could be crucial matches as we look down the road for potential NCAA seeding. The wrestlers at these weights could be very close to each other in the rankings once March rolls around. 7PM - Mat 2: Missouri vs. NC State #18 Noah Surtin (Missouri) vs. #5 Jakob Camacho (NC State) #27 Trey Crawford (Missouri) vs. #17 Kai Orine (NC State) #12 Allan Hart (Missouri) vs. #18 Ryan Jack (NC State) #20 Josh Edmond (Missouri) vs. #3 Tariq Wilson (NC State) #11 Jarrett Jacques (Missouri) vs. #28 Ed Scott (NC State) #3 Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) vs. #16 Thomas Bullard (NC State) #11 Peyton Mocco (Missouri) vs. #5 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) #10 Jeremiah Kent (Missouri) vs. #3 Trent Hidlay (NC State) #5 Rocky Elam (Missouri) vs. #17 Isaac Trumble (NC State) #12 Zach Elam (Missouri) vs. #27 Owen Trephan (NC State) Simply put, an amazing dual Each team has all ten of their starters currently ranked. Looking at those rankings, each team has the advantage in five matches. For this preliminary round of pool competition, this is head-and-shoulders the very best dual possible, top to bottom. Even more intriguing is the winner will likely face Iowa! December 21st 1PM - Mat 1 5th Place Match (Red Pool) 1PM - Mat 2 5th Place Match (Blue Pool) 3PM - Mat 1 3rd Place Match (Red Pool) 3PM - Mat 2 3rd Place Match (Blue Pool) 5PM - Championship Match (Red Pool) 5PM - Championship Match (Blue Pool)

2021 NCAA Runner-Up Jaydin Eierman (Photo Courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) No Podcast this week, so I know there will feel like a little piece of your weekly routine is missing. Lucky for you, those empty feelings are about to be filled/clogged with turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. While Thanksgiving is a wonderful time, filled with food, friends, family, fun, and football, one of the best times of the Thanksgiving holiday might be the day after. I'm talking about those leftovers. Now, this is a wrestling site, so like trying to make the steak dinner at the gentleman's club part of a "business expense," let's tie in NCAA wrestling…. Weight. The most gluttonous of all holidays falls right at the beginning of one of the only collegiate sports where it is necessary to maintain and cut weight. I may be one of the few people out there that does not want to move to a single semester sport (especially if it looks like it did last season), but I would be all in favor of somehow accommodating wrestlers around Thanksgiving. Maybe a 2.5 lb allowance? Maybe duals and tournaments for a week after are madison-weight. I'm spitballing, I'm making this up on the fly, I'm just wasting time. There, business talk completed. So, after the turkey's been hacked apart, the gravy spilled on the good linens, the cranberry sauce stain on Uncle Joe's only good shirt gets smudged beyond repair, the pie has ultimately been cut unevenly, everyone over the age of 53 is asleep on the couch, and almost all the belt buckles have been undone, the family will start to divvy up the leftovers between each other. This is where I swoop in and get as much of everything as I can. You don't get as heavy as I have gotten without knowing a thing or two about good food. So, in something a little different, I'm going to share a couple leftover recipes that are my "go-to" for the busiest sewer day in America. The first one is actually a creation by a local sub shop called Capriottis, founded in Wilmington, DE, back in 1976. Since then, they've expanded to 112 locations across the country. This sandwich is one of their most (if not THE most) famous: The Bobbie. The Bobbie: Take some leftover turkey, heat, and (preferably) shred it. Slices will do too, but we're trying to go for authenticity here. Put the shredded turkey in a hoagie roll, and top with heated stuffing. Finally, top with cranberry sauce and mayonnaise (pros will make a cran-mayo mix, but you do you). Voila! There you have it. A quick delicious sandwich to keep the party going into the weekend. There's also a variation of this made by Wawa called "the Gobbler" that is sliced turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy on a hoagie roll. As much as I love Wawa, I prefer the Bobbie. How about something a little more "involved." And by involved, I mean using a stove. Turkey Cakes: Dice up some cold turkey and stuffing, and place into a mixing bowl with one egg to bind (optional). While a large non-stick pan heats on medium with a drizzle of olive oil, mix the turkey, stuffing, and egg together in the bowl. Start to form individual "cakes" similar to crab cakes (about 1" thick, though that's up to you). When the pan is ready, place the turkey cakes starting at the 12 o'clock position and moving around clockwise (easier to keep track of the cooking). After a couple minutes, when a nice light crust has formed, flip 'em over and repeat. When all are heated through, serve with some cold cranberry sauce or warm gravy. So this Black Friday, instead of just nuking the Tupperware, get creative and try something new. Let me know what leftover creations you make too! There's always room in the recipe book. Oh (one last Tony Food Tip for your morning), when making coffee, throw in a pinch of salt into the coffee grinds. It will help get rid of the acidity and bitterness. On to Week 4. This is the start of a stretch where we will see lower than usual teams competing as we hit the holiday season. There's still a ton of important and exciting tournaments to come, like CKLV, Midlands, Scuffle, and Journeymen Collegiate Duals, but you might have to dig a little deeper into the Transfer Portal and adjust your roster to a more risky portfolio for the time being. Less than 1/3 of D1 programs have officially scheduled competitions this week, which leads into next week, where 64 teams have scheduled matches. Along with a handful of duals, three tournaments comprise Week 4, where there looks to already be a decent amount of D1 participants (which means potential points for your Fantasy Team). As usual, tournament entries continue to come in and we will be sure to update you as we get more information. Got a question? Got a Recommendation? Let me know. Hit us up: @FantasyD1wrestl. Wrestlers I Like This Week (the early locks) Wrestler (School)- competition for the week [Proj Score] 125: Brandon Courtney (Arizona State)- Cowboy Open Eric Barnett (Wisconsin)- Vs Hofstra, Vs North Carolina (@ RUT) [+7] Pat McKee (Minnesota)- Vs South Dakota State [+4] Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Oklahoma State)- Vs Drexel [+3] 133: Michael McGee (Arizona State)- Cowboy Open Job Greenwood (Wyoming)- Cowboy Open Sammy Alvarez (Rutgers)- Vs Hofstra, Vs North Carolina [+7] Daton Fix (Oklahoma State)- Vs Drexel [+5] Austin DeSanto (Iowa)- Vs Oregon State [+4] Derek Spann (Buffalo)- @ Binghamton [+3] 141: Jesse Vasquez (Arizona State)- Cowboy Open Joshua Saunders (Cornell)- Mat Town Open 1 Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers)- Vs Hofstra, Vs North Carolina [+8] Jaydin Eierman (Iowa)- Vs Oregon State [+4] 149: Kyle Parco (Arizona State)- Cowboy Open Jarod Verkleeren (Virginia)- Mat Town Open 1 PJ Ogunsanya (Army)- @ Iowa State [-3], Cyclone Open 157: Jacori Teemer (Arizona State)- Cowboy Open Jacob Wright (Wyoming)- Cowboy Open Adam Santoro (Cornell)- Mat Town Open 1 David Carr (Iowa State)- Vs Army, Vs Cal Baptist [+9] Austin O'Connor (North Carolina)- Vs Rutgers, Vs Wisconsin (@ RUT) [+8] Brayton Lee (Minnesota)- Vs South Dakota State [+4] Michael Petite (Buffalo)- @ Binghamton [+4] 165: Anthony Valencia (Arizona State)- Cowboy Open Justin McCoy (Virginia)- Mat Town Open 1 Dalton Harkins (Army)- @ Iowa State [+3], Cyclone Open Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin)- Vs Hofstra, Vs North Carolina (@ RUT) [+7] Alex Marinelli (Iowa)- Vs Oregon State [+4] Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State)- Vs Drexel [+3] 174: Cael Valencia (Arizona State)- Cowboy Open Andrew McNally (Wisconsin)- Vs Hofstra, Vs North Carolina (@ RUT) [+7] Michael Kemerer (Iowa)- Vs Oregon State [+4] Cade DeVos (South Dakota State)- @ Minnesota [+3] 184: Tate Samuelson (Wyoming)- Cowboy Open Andrew Berreyesa (Cornell)- Mat Town Open 1 Chris Weiler (Wisconsin)- Vs Hofstra, Vs North Carolina (@ RUT) [+8] John Poznanski (Rutgers)- Vs Hofstra, Vs North Carolina [+7] Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State)- Vs Drexel [+4] 197: Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State)- Cowboy Open Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming)- Cowboy Open Greg Bulask (Rutgers)- Vs Hofstra, Vs North Carolina [+7] Braxton Amos (Wisconsin)- Vs Hofstra, Vs North Carolina (@ RUT) [+6] Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State)- @ Minnesota [+5] *Will he wrestle?* AJ Ferrari (Oklahoma State)- Vs Drexel [+4] Lou DePrez (Binghamton)- Vs Buffalo [+4] Jacob Warner (Iowa)- Vs Oregon State [+3] 285: Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State)- Cowboy Open Brian Andrews (Wyoming)- Cowboy Open Quinn Miller (Virginia)- Mat Town Open 1 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin)- Vs Hofstra, Vs North Carolina (@ RUT) [+7] Gable Steveson (Minnesota)- Vs South Dakota State [+5] Luke Surber (Oklahoma State)- Vs Drexel [+4] Tony Cassioppi (Iowa)- Vs Oregon State [+4] Think I missed someone? Disagree with someone on the list or their projection? Want to know our thoughts on a matchup? Let me know! Win the week!

2021 NCAA Runner-Up Sammy Sasso (Photo Courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Each Monday, Big Ten correspondent Cody Goodwin recaps the biggest results from around the Big Ten Conference - except this week, we're doing it on Wednesday. Happy Thanksgiving. Nebraska - Kicked off Week 3 with an impressive 27-6 win over North Carolina on Wednesday, then followed with two (technically three) champs and two more finalists at the Daktronics Open. Shouts out to Mikey Labs and Christian Lance for winning Daktronics titles; to Ridge Lovett for his insane edge defense in a big win over All-American Zach Sherman; and, most notably, Peyton Robb, who was two seconds away from knocking off a pair of NCAA champs in the span of five days. He beat Austin O'Connor, decisively, on Wednesday, 5-2, and led Iowa State's David Carr, 5-3, in the final seconds of the Daktronics finals. Carr scored late to force sudden-victory and again to win it, but Robb's message landed loud and clear: He's back at 157 and ready to chew bubblegum and kick butt - and he's already all out of bubblegum. (Also, Silas Allred? Pretty, pretty good.) Ohio State - Beat a very good Virginia Tech squad on Friday night, 17-13, then crushed Notre Dame College, 51-0, on Wednesday. But let's talk about that Buckeyes-Hokies dual for a moment, because things happened. Malik Heinselman beat Sam Latona, 5-2. Mekhi Lewis followed his Southeast Open title run by taking out an always-tough Ethan Smith, 6-4. Sammy Sasso showed that he whips a lot of ass when people actually decide to wrestle him and yet he still got Andonian'd a couple of times but managed to beat Bryce, 11-7, in the match of the night. Yes, even better than Tate Orndorff's dual-sealing 3-2 win over Nathan Traxler at heavyweight. Things definitely happened, and they were awesome. Here's hoping more things happen in more duals this season. Penn State - Took down Army, 32-7, last Thursday. Roman Bravo-Young added to his career highlight reel in his 26-11 technical fall over Dominic Carone at 133. In the second period, Carone had RBY's leg in the air, and RBY did like a weird MMA somersault roll, but Carone held onto the leg and nearly turned it into a double, so, of course, RBY somersaulted AGAIN to clear Carone's grip, then sprinted around for a takedown with three seconds left. BUT WAIT. THERE'S MORE. In the third period, RBY tried to inside-trip out of a standing front-head position, but it didn't work, so Carone tried a re-shot, but then RBY stuffed him with head-and-hand defense and then literally bunny-hopped over him for a takedown that secured the technical fall. Wrestling RBY has to be an insanely maddening experience, because one, his defense is an underrated part of his game that we probably don't talk about enough, and two, there's a chance you could end up on the wrong end of a viral moment and you know the NCAA Wrestling and Big Ten Wrestling social media accounts are going to cycle those bad boys over and over and over again for the next decade, at least. That reminds me of my buddy Russ Coleman (shoutout Park Hill!), who once wrestled Joey Dance at the Super 32 one year, and Dance super-ducked him into the 14th dimension. FloWrestling airs that takedown every single October as a sort of hype clip to get people pumped for the Super 32 again. Russ has never lived that down. Dominic Carone will never live either of these sequences down. These are the rules. (Oh yeah, Penn State rolled otherwise, taking 8-of-10 weights and scoring bonus in five, including each of the last four from 174-285. Those guys continue to be the hot knife, and their opponents continue to be the butter.) Iowa - Thumped Princeton, 32-12, even with a lineup that didn't include a lot of the A-guys. Jesse Ybarra (125), Cobe Siebrecht (149), Nelson Brands (174), Myles Wilson (184) and Zach Glazier (197) all started, and everybody but Glazier ended up winning (Ybarra by forfeit; Siebrecht and Wilson by technical fall; Brands by major). The one big-time matchup of the evening went to Princeton (Quincy Monday over Kaleb Young, 9-5, at 157) and the most surprising result was not Pat Glory not making weight, but actually Jack Del Garbino rolling off his back and pinning Tony Cassioppi on the edge in the first period at heavyweight, stunning the sold-out-but-not-actually-sold-out Carver-Hawkeye Arena so much that some probably dropped their Carver Cones. Michigan - Won twice this weekend, 34-3 over Columbia on Friday, then 31-3 over Buffalo on Sunday. The Wolverines won the last nine against Columbia, and the first nine against Buffalo - so, technically, 18-straight wins, if you're into that kind of thing. Will Lewan made his season debut at 157 and won twice, 12-2 over Columbia's Kyle Mosher and 4-3 over Buffalo's Ty Caines. Pat Nolan and Cole Mattin split duties at 141 (both won). Dylan Ragusin (133), Jelani Embree (184) and Pat Brucki (197) all scored double-digit points in each of their two matches over the weekend. The Michigan football team might need some of that same firepower this weekend, as well as your prayers. Purdue - Hosted the Boilermaker Duals on Sunday and rolled to three victories, 42-0 over Brown, 28-15 over Duke, 28-10 over Northern Illinois. In total, Purdue won 24 of 30 matches. Five Purdue wrestlers went 3-0: Devin Schroder (125), Matt Ramos (133), Parker Filius (141), Kendall Coleman (157) and Thomas Penola (197). Penola also scored 19 takedowns across his three matches, is now 6-0 this season, and he's put up at least 20 points in three of those matches. The Boilermakers' shutout win over Brown was their first since 2014, and it was also their first time scoring 40 team points since 2012. Minnesota - Lost to a salty Oklahoma State squad, 23-10, on Saturday night. The Cowboys led 10-6 at the break, then won four in a row from 165-197 - the biggest results: Dustin Plott's 5-1 win over Jared Krattiger at 174, Dakota Geer's 3-1 overtime win over Isaiah Salazar at 184 - to pull away. Trevor Mastrogiovanni also picked up an upset win, 9-4 over Patrick McKee, at 125, and Oklahoma State received bonus points from both Daton Fix (133) and AJ Ferrari (197). Perhaps the best news for Minnesota was that Brayton Lee looked great in a 15-9 win over Wyatt Sheets in a battle of All-Americans at 157, and Gable Steveson made his season debut and promptly blew through Luke Surber 20-7 behind nine takedowns. Michigan State - Won the team title at Navy Classic with 129 team points, 3.5 ahead of second-place Ohio and seven ahead of the host school. RayVon Foley (125) and Peyton Omania (149) both took first and Layne Malczewski (184) and Cam Caffey (197) both took second. This was Omania's season debut, and he went 4-0 with two pins and a major. Foley outscored his three opponents 29-7. The Spartan football team could've used that kind of firepower this weekend. Maryland - Fell to a stout Pitt team, 26-7, on Monday night, and again, the trend of close losses continues. The Terps won just two matches - Dom Solis scored an 11-2 major at 174, and Kyle Cochran won 4-0 at 184 - but in the eight they lost, four were by two points or fewer and, even more, three of those were in sudden victory. It's still early, but if Maryland can flip a few of those from time to time, I gotta think that might help their overall confidence and morale. Illinois - Sent some dudes to the Lindenwood Open. Some of them won matches, some of them lost matches. Fun times were had by those who won, frustration (and perhaps *some* growth) was had by those who did not. Indiana - Also sent some dudes to Lindenwood. Times were also had. (We are still keeping track of Donnell Washington's Hodge Trophy bid, by the way. Don't think we forgot.) Rutgers - Sent six guys to the Navy Classic, and they did things. Also sent seven guys to the Shorty Hitchcock Memorial Open, and they did things, too. They didn't do the same things as Heinselman and Sasso and the gang in Columbus, but they did do things. Wisconsin and Northwestern did not compete this weekend.

2021 NCAA Qualifier Brian Meyer (Photo Courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Below is a recap of last week's EIWA action, with individual highlights worth noting. Standout Performances Julian Ramirez of Cornell finally makes his debut in a Big Red singlet and knocks off the returning National Champion. He's now ranked #17 in the nation Brian Meyer upsets Wentzel of Pitt – who was 2nd in the nation last year Jack DelGarbino of Princeton pins Cassioppi (#3) of Iowa to claim the Top Italian Heavyweight Crown. American The Eagles lost a tight match to George Mason 20-16 on Thursday. Then traveled to the Navy Classic to compete on Saturday. Isaac Righter (285), Jack Maida (133), and Fitzpatrick (165) all notched wins, while Max Leete (125) notched a pin in their respective matches against GMU. Andy Fallon (125) earned 5th place, while outplacing teammate Max Leete. Fallon had a win over Seidman of Bucknell, as Leete lost the round prior to Seidman. Patrick Ryan (149) also took home 5th place at 149lb while beating teammate Jack Nies in the process. At 165lb, Tim Fitzpatrick (165) lost via major to Hartman (#9) of Bucknell in the quarters. He battled back for 5th place. Colin Shannon (174) had a solid weekend, placing 5th. He beat Crebs of Navy in the quarterfinals. Josh Bauman (141) competed at the Shorty Hitchcock Open at Millersville University in PA. He battled in tough matches for a 4-2 record on the day. The American Eagles are a unique team with some seasoned vets, and a few young freshmen/first-year starters. Coach Borrelli is slowly watching this team develop. With Borrelli and his coaching staff just starting a few short months ago, they will need time to work with this team to be at their full potential. This team's schedule is tough, and the team will continue to take more losses than wins. This may be a long year for most of the wrestlers, but what's the saying – “Rome was not built in a day”? However, if anyone is ready to improve the direction of this program – it is Coach Borrelli. Army West Point The Black Knights traveled to Penn State (#3) for a dual on Thursday. The score was a little one-sided in favor of Penn State, but Army walked away with 2 wins, one by major decision. Corey Shie (#29) won by a 5-2 decision over Meredith at 141lb. At 157lb, Markus Hartman (#32) earned a major decision over Barraclough, for his first victory over the season, not by medical forfeit. The marquee match-up was at 149lbs, where PJ Ogunsanya (#22) lost to Bartlett (#21) in overtime. Another thing to note, JT Brown had a tough few-day span. He lost to both Penn State returning All-Americans at 197lb in Dean and Beard. Expect him to bounce back after losing two in a row. Army Head Coach, Kevin Ward, knew the Penn State match would be a challenge for his wrestlers. This was a good starting point to see where the team is at now, and where they need to go. Looking at their schedule, this is a common theme. They are on the road the entire first semester, concluding with The Midlands. He will keep challenging his guys, and I'm positive they will perform at a high level when it matters most because of it. Binghamton The Bearcats hosted Stanford in their first home dual of the year. Even though the team lost 25-13, there were some performances worth noting. Anthony Sobotker (133) lost a 1-0 decision to DiSario (#32). Brevin Cassella bumped up from his original weight to take on Eischens (#30) at 174lb. He dropped a close 8-6 decision. At 184lb, Jacob Nolan (#27 @ 174lb) also moved up a weight class to secure a major decision, using two turns from the top position. Lou DePrez (#12) had an 8-3 victory over Stemmet (#26) at the 197lb match-up. The Bearcats are a solid team up and down the lineup. DePrez is still the main guy in this lineup, but after seeing how Cassella and Nolan have been performing, they are starting to jump levels too. Plus, with other starters like Anderson and Doyle missing this dual, I am not too concerned with this result. The Bearcats will be in the battle for a top 5 finish at EIWA's. Brown The Bears traveled to West Lafayette, IN, to compete in the Boilermaker Duals. They had three duals in total, competing against Northern Illinois, Purdue (#20), and Bellarmine. Brown was defeated by Northern Illinois by a 33-9 score. At 125, Hunter Adrian won by decision, while Nicky Cabanillas won by forfeit at 133lb. Drew Clearie lost by decision to returning All-American Wilson (#8) at 184lb. Brown was shut out in their next bout with Purdue (#20). There were still some strong performances by Nicky Cabanillas (133), Justin Bierdumpfel (141), and Harrison Trahan (174), who all wrestled ranked opponents, but kept the score to a regular decision. At 165lb, Keegan Rothrock lost by decision to Soehnlen 5-3. In their last dual, the Bears defeated Bellarmine by a score of 42-0. Seven of the ten bouts wrestled, Brown won by bonus points. Both Drew Clearie (184) and Blake Saito (149) had quick first-period falls to end their weekends. The Brown Bears had two tough ones in Purdue and NIU. They finished strong with a shut-out win over Bellarmine. I'm still excited for this team. Even though the score was lopsided, the Bears fought hard in some of those matches with Purdue. Coach Beckerman definitely has some talent on this roster. I expect them to shape into form as the season progresses. Bucknell The Bison took a trip to the Navy Classic to compete with a few other EIWA teams. Returning All-American Zach Hartman barely broke a sweat with his 165lb title, accumulating three pins, two tech falls, and a major. At 141lb, Darren Miller (#25) came away with a second-place finish after medical forfeiting in the finals. His most notable win was a 5-3 decision over Newell of Kent State. Jaden Fisher (174) finished in second after a pin over Shannon of American in the semis. Brandon Seidman walked away with 6th place at 125lb. He had wins via decision over EIWA competition in Leete of American and DelViscio of Navy before eventually falling to Fallon of American. At 133lb, Kurt Phipps earned himself 4th place on the podium. He dropped an overtime loss to Koderhandt of Navy in the semis. Kolby DePron wrestled his way to a bronze medal finish at 149lb. He beat out Ryan of American in the consi semis and earned a win by medical forfeit to Hagan (#30) of Ohio. At the 184lb weight class, Logan Deacetis (184) went 4-2 on the day – good enough for 4th place. The Bison are a relatively quiet team with some potential firepower. Obviously, Zach Hartman is their go-to guy when it comes to getting points on the board. With guys like Phipps and Miller also earning spots in the rankings, this team may have top 5 potential at conferences if a few more guys step up and bust some brackets. Columbia The Lions hosted Michigan (#4) on Friday night. The Lions lost the match 34-3, but there are some worthy notes to discuss. The lone victory came from Aaron Ayzerov in the first dual of the night, which started at 174lb. The premier match of the night was at 125lb. Joe Manchio (#15) was defeated by Medley (#18) by 6-3 a decision. At heavyweight, Danny Conley fell just short, losing in overtime. The final match of the night was a close one as well, as Josh Ogunsanya (#31) lost to Amine (#13) by a 3-1 score at 165lb. The Lions had a tall order when Michigan came into town. Obviously, if a few of those close matches go the other way, this score would not look as one-sided. If Columbia can put forth that type of outcome against a team like Michigan, you need to feel good about where this team is heading. Coach Tanelli and company are doing great things in the Big Apple. Cornell The Big Red welcomed back former Head Coach Rob Koll and his Stanford team for the first competition of the year for Cornell. Vito Arujau (#5) was up at 133lb. He was ranked in the top 3 at the 125lb class. He earned himself a major over DiSario (#31). Yianni Diakomihalis (149) came back after missing two straight years of college wrestling and defeated returning All-American Abas (#8). He retains his #1 ranking. The talk of the wrestling world was Julian Ramirez (#17 - 165) defeating the returning National Champion, Shane Griffith (#1). At 174lb, Chris Foca (#9) won 6-4 over Eischens (#30). Another striking result was at 197lb, where Jacob Cardenas (#19) dominated Stemmet (#26), winning by tech fall. More importantly, is Cardenas the starter at 197 over All-American Ben Darmstadt? Unfortunately, Lewis Fernandes (#17) was injured during the match and could not continue. The Big Red answered many questions regarding the lineup. Also, they looked very impressive in the process. Both Vito and Yianni made the move up one weight class each. Will they stay there? We will see. Ramirez wrestled lights out against Griffith to pull off possibly the biggest upset of the week. It's been so long since this team wrestled; no one was totally sure how good they were. If this team can stay healthy, they look like early favorites to win the EIWA. Drexel The Dragons walked up the block to compete at Penn's 25th Annual Keystone Classic. At 125, Kyle Waterman earned 5th place while Antonio Mininno earned 8th place. At 133, Jaxon Maroney and Deon Pleasant both ended up on the podium in 6th and 8th, respectively. Luke Nichter was winning in the semifinals until an injury forced him to finish in 6th place at 149lb. After losing in the first round, Parker Kropman (#28 - 157) rallied with five wins in a row to earn bronze. Evan Barczak took 4th place in the 165lb bracket – which, in my opinion, was the toughest bracket in the entire tournament. He lost to cross-town rival Revano (#33) of Penn for 3rd place. At 184lb, Bryan McLaughlin dropped a semifinal match to Walton of Rider and ended up with a 6th place finish after medically forfeiting. The Dragons lone champion was at 174lbs, where Micky O'Malley (#12) had 2 falls and a decision victory. The Dragons had a subpar performance this weekend, if I'm being honest. And to top it all off, they had a few of their starters go down with injuries as well. When this team is healthy, they can compete with the best teams in the conference. Head Coach, Matt Azevedo, has a young talented supporting staff that is helping “bring the fire” to this lineup. Once healthy, this team will be battling for a top-five finish at EIWAs in March. Franklin & Marshall The Diplomats made the trip to the Keystone Classic. At 133, Pat Phillips had an impressive 5th place performance, losing close decisions to Russell (#26) and Carter, both of App State. Wil Gil (141) walked away with 4th place, after losing to Gonyer of App State twice. James Conway earned himself a 7th place finish at 184lb. He almost knocked off Antrassian of Penn, but then beat two Quakers – Hale and Hendricks both by a score of 6-1. Heavyweight Cenzo Pelusi was an overtime takedown away from the finals. He earned 4th place after defeating two Sacred Heart wrestlers, and a Drexel opponent. The Diplomats seem to have four or five solid guys that continue to place at the tournaments they attend. This is a good sign for a young, inexperienced team to have some success scattered throughout the lineup. Gil continues to wrestle well at 141. Keep an eye on Phillips at 133, Conway at 184 and Pelusi at heavyweight. Overall, I like the direction this team is heading. Harvard The Crimson competed at the Keystone Classic in Philadelphia on Sunday. Philip Conigliaro (#12) won the 165lb bracket in his first competition of the year. He beat Formato (#28) of Appalachian State and Revano (#33) of Penn. At 197lb, Nick Mercenelle wrestled to a 3rd place finish with a pin over Delbonis of Sacred Heart. Josh Kim (#30) also earned a bronze finish, with his lone loss coming to Incontrera (#22) of Penn at 174lb. Beau Bayless wrestled to a 3rd place finish at 125lb. He had a pin over Mininno of Drexel. Earning 4th place at 157lb was Trevor Tarsi. He upset returning National Qualifier Palumbo of Sacred Heart. He then lost a close 3-1 OT decision to Kropman (#32) of Drexel. Lukas Stricker (149) finished in 4th with a win over Dailey of F&M. Leo Tarantino lost a 1-point match to Antrassian of Penn, and wrestled back to 4th in the 184lb bracket. At 141lb, Michael Jaffe earned 7th place after a 3-2 record on the day. Harvard finished the day in 3rd place behind App State and Penn. This was without Yara Slavikouski, who is ranked 15th at heavyweight. Conigliaro and Yara are legit All-American threats, which could carry this team to a top 5 EIWA finish. With the emergence of Kim, Tarantino, and Mercenelle at 174, 184, and 197, the Crimson lineup can be sneaky good come March. Hofstra – no competition Lehigh (#21) The Mountain Hawks wrestled #22 Pittsburgh at home on Sunday. One of the biggest upsets of the weekend occurred at 165lbs, when Brian Meyer (#27) took out returning National Runner-Up Wentzel (#4). Malyke Hines (#22) upset Phillippi (#5) with a defensive pin called with under 5 seconds left at 133lb Jaret Lane (#14) won by decision over Camacho. At 157lb, Josh Humphreys (#10) won 2-0 over Cleary (#30) Jake Logan won by one point at 174. Manzona Bryant got the start at 149lb, and he won via major decision. Finally, Jordan Wood (#10) won by major over Slinger (#32) at heavyweight. This is the Mountain Hawk team we all know and love! They defeated a tough Pitt team, coming away with two upsets in the process. Meyer is really starting to make noise after winning Journeymen a week ago, and then upsetting the returning NCAA runner-up. It looks like we will have ongoing battles for the 141 and 149lb spots. No matter who steps on the mat, these guys will be ready to compete. Lehigh should be battling Cornell for the EIWA Conference title. Long Island The Sharks made the trip to the Shorty Hitchcock Open at Millersville Open in Pennsylvania. Ryan Ferro (174) walked away the champion in his bracket. He went 5-0 on the day, all of which he won by decision. Some EIWA competitors he beat are Sosinsky of Navy and Hanson of Spartan RTC. At 197, Nunzio Crowley earned a bronze medal after a 5-3 decision over Conner of Princeton. His lone loss came at the hands of Smith from the University of Maryland. Bryce Cockrell did not win a match. But he did have two impressive one-point losses to Treanor of Army and Spellman of Princeton. These are not bad losses. LIU had some positive performances at the open. Ferro walked away with a gold medal-winning all matches by decision. This was a good reversal from his 0-3 result last week, although all losses were to high-quality opponents. He may be a force to be reckoned with in the EIWA. Crowley, again, finds himself having one of the team's top outcomes. The Sharks, overall, have some work to do. We're excited to see how long it takes them to rise in the rankings of the conference. Navy The Midshipmen competed at their own Navy Classic, held on Saturday in Annapolis. At 133, Josh Koderhandt fell in the finals to returning All-American Foley (#11) from Michigan State. This came after an upset win over Phipps of Bucknell. Tyler Hunt (141) walked away as champion after a medical forfeit over Miller (#23) of Bucknell. In the 165lb bracket, Val Park¸ went 4-2 to split 5th and 6th place with Fitzpatrick of American. Both Midshipmen at 174lb, Cael Crebs and Shane Finney, shared 3rd and 4th place. The two split results against common opponents. This starting spot battle will continue into December. David Key (#26) earned first place with a win over Malczewski (#27) of Michigan State at 184lb. At 197, Jake Koser (#21) knocked off Caffey (#22) of Michigan State in the finals for gold. At heavyweight, Grady Greiss earned third place with 3 falls. His lone loss was to McAleavey of Citadel. Riley Smith won the heavyweight bracket with 3 decisions, including one over McAleavey. Coach Kolat is starting to see improvements from his team. The Midshipmen have enough ranked guys to potentially see a top-5 finish at EIWA's. I'm keeping an eye on Koderhandt at 133, Park at 165, and whichever heavyweight Navy decides to go with as possible bracket busters. In addition to heavyweight, 174 looks to have a nice battle spot between freshman Crebs and senior Finney. I'm excited to see this team's progress throughout the year. Penn The Quakers hosted the 25th Annual Keystone Classic in their home gymnasium. Ryan Miller (125) was the runner-up losing to Smith (#30) of Appalachian State. Kelly Dunnigan finished in 7th at 125 with nice wins over Sotelo of Harvard and Mininno of Drexel. Your 133lb champion was Michael Colaiocco (#13) with a win over Russell (#26) of App State. Carmen Ferrante (#30) earned a gold medal, beating Herrmann of Harvard, Gonyer of App State, and Cassidy of George Mason at 141lb. Teammate CJ Composto (141) lost a heart-breaking 8-7 semifinal bout to Cassidy of GMU before medically forfeiting all the way to 6th place. At 149lb, Kaya Sement took home 5th place while Grant Aronoff was your bronze medal place finisher. He beat Stricker of Harvard for 3rd, who beat Sement twice during the day. Doug Zapf (#21) won 3 matches in dominant fashion before medically forfeiting in the finals at 157lb. In the toughest bracket, Lucas Revano (#33) took home 3rd place, losing to Conigliaro (#12) of Harvard and beating Barczak of Drexel in his final bout. Nick Incontrera (#22) won his 174lb semi against Kim (#31) of Harvard but fell to O'Malley (#12) of Drexel. At 184lb, Neil Antrassian defeated Sacred Heart's Accousti in his semifinal. He finished as runner-up. Penn had another champion at 197lb, where Cole Urbas had a pin with two tech falls. Ben Goldin won the heavyweight bracket with ease, notching three pins and a major decision. The Quakers were dominant in their performance in front of their home crowd. They beat runners-up Appalachian State by over 40 points. I was very impressed with Ferrante moving up to 141lb and winning a bracket after three tight victories. As always, Zapf was impressive before his injury and remains my dark horse to surprise people at NCAAs. This team is talented, with an awesome coaching staff. They are ready to be in the top 3 of the EIWA right now. Princeton The Tigers took a trip to Iowa City to wrestle a dual against #1 Iowa. Quincy Monday (#5) was involved in the dual meet's marquee match-up at 157lb. He defeated multiple time All-American Young (#8). Freshman Luke Stout (#28) earned a 4-0 decision over Glazier. The upset of the year so far was at heavyweight, where Jack DelGarbino pinned Cassioppi (#7) for one of the craziest ways to end a match I've ever seen. The Tigers are still wrestling with a lineup that is not full strength yet. Glory has not been in the lineup after competing at the U-23 World Championships, plus many second-semester athletes who are not enrolled in school now. Some of those additions may have made the overall match score somewhat closer, but the Tigers are ecstatic to be able to compete again. Once some of their older athletes make their way back into the lineup in January, they will be on a tear and ready to compete for the EIWA title. Sacred Heart The Pioneers were one of many EIWA teams who competed at the Keystone Classic. Dante Delbonis (197) lost in the first round to come back and earn 4th place. He had a win over Labarbera of Penn. Returning NCAA Qualifier, Joe Accousti found himself on 184lb podium in 5th place with wins over Hendricks of Penn, and a loss to Penn's Antrassian. Nick Copley finished the day in 6th at heavyweight. He had wins over Dietrich of Drexel and Bensley of Penn. At 174lb, Nick Marciniak finished in 7th place. The Pioneers are a team that will come to compete whenever they have the chance. Palumbo and Accousti are typically the two guys winning matches, but appeared to have had off weekends. If Accousti and Palumbo can find their way back to the NCAA Tournament, while another Pioneer or two can make a run at Conferences, Sacred Heart may have a top 10 EIWA team. Let's watch them and see how much they can develop.

2021 NCAA All-American Jake Woodley (Photo Courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Friday 11/19 West Virginia DEF Davidson, 34-3 Utah Valley DEF California Baptist, 20-13 Missouri DEF Air Force, 39-3 South Dakota State DEF Augustana, 34-10 Arizona State DEF Oklahoma, 22-12 Utah Valley DEF CSU Bakersfield, 32-9 Saturday 11/20 Oklahoma State DEF Minnesota, 23-10 Sunday 11/21 Iowa State, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State at Daktronics Open, hosted by South Dakota State SOUTH DAKOTA STATE PLACINGS 125: Tanner Jordan, fourth 133: Derrick Cardinal, fifth 149: Zach Price, fourth; Alek Martin, fifth 157: Kenny O'Neil and Cael Swensen, tied for fifth 165: Tanner Cook, tied for fifth 184: Sam Kruger, fifth 197: Nick Casperson, second 285: Bowen McConville, fourth NORTHERN IOWA PLACINGS 125: Brody Teske, third 133: Kyle Biscoglia, third 141: Cael Happle, third; Gable Fox, fifth; Ethan Basile. sixth 157: Cayd Lara, third and Derek Holschlag, fourth 165: Evan Yant, second 174: Pat Shoenfelder, fifth 184: Parker Keckeisen, first 197: Adam Ahrendsen, fifth HWT: Tyrell Gordon, third IOWA STATE PLACINGS 125: Kysen Terukina, first 125: Corey Cabanban, second 133: Ramazan Attasauov, fourth 141: Zach Redding, first 149: Jarrett Degen, first 157: David Carr, first 165: Grant Stotts, third 165: Austin Kraisser, fourth 174: Joel Devine, second 184: Marcus Coleman, second 184: Cody Fisher, fifth 197: Yonger Bastida, third 285: Sam Schuyler, second California Baptist at Roadrunner Open, hosted by CSU Bakersfield 157: AJ Ray, 2nd NC State DEF West Virginia 34-6 Oklahoma DEF Northern Colorado, 30-7 #1 Takeaway: Jake Woodley has jumped levels. He's beaten Patrick Brucki, Cam Caffey, and now Kordell Norfleet. 197 in the Big 12 is better than 197 in the Big Ten, so he'll need every ounce of that energy as he starts to hit more of the conference schedule, but what a start for Woodley. Regardless of what happens between him and Ferrari during the season, he's looking like he could end up with a very high seed at the NCAA tournament. Match that stands out: Trevor Mastrogiovanni(Oklahoma State) over Patrick McKee(Minnesota) Big win for Mastrogiovanni. His offense was great, he was able to get away from McKee, who traditionally has been incredible from top, and really controlled the match from start to finish. Word out of Oklahoma State is that it was Trevor that trained with Daton Fix for most of the summer prepping him for the World Championships. It has shown through here. If he's really jumped a level and can be an All-American this season, that's huge for the Cowboys as a team at the Big 12 and NCAA tournament.

2021 NCAA All-American Cohlton Schultz (Photo Courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarrior.com) The CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners led the weekend off on a humbling note, conceding a 32-9 neutral-site dual-meet to Utah Valley in Riverside, California. The duo of victors for the Roadrunners was #20 Angelo Martinoni (winner by third-period fall over UR James Emmer at 141lbs) and UR Josh Brown (winner by 12-6 decision at 149lbs). Against the three ranked Wolverines (#7 Taylor Lamont, 125; #28 Haiden Drury, 133; and #8 Demetrius Romero, 165), the Roadrunners allowed two major decisions, with early-season stand-out UR Augustine Garcia holding the 2x BigXII Champion and All-American Romero to a 6-1 decision. Also on Friday, November 19th, was #7 Arizona State's home-opener against #14 Oklahoma, an exciting dual that featured sixteen ranked wrestlers and six ranked head-to-head match-ups. The Sun Devils defended home-territory well, coming away from the match with a 22-12 victory, winning seven of ten bouts, including five of six ranked match-ups against the Sooners. At 133lbs, #7 Michael McGee made a statement, putting a 12-3 major decision on #8 Tony Madrigal of Oklahoma. Also earning a major decision for the Sun Devils was #18 Jesse Vasquez at 141lbs, who topped UR Jacob Butler, 13-5. Earning decisions over ranked opponents were #4 Brandon Courtney (8-3 over #22 Joey Prata at 125lbs), #7 Kyle Parco (7-2 over #17 Mitch Moore at 149lbs), #4 Jacori Teemer (11-5 over #13 Justin Thomas at 157lbs), and #4 Cohlton Schultz (4-1 over #25 Josh Heindselman at 285lbs). Finally, #7 Anthony Valencia topped up-and-comer UR Troy Mantanona 8-6 at 165lbs, in a match where Valencia led three takedowns to one. Leaving the dual upset was Arizona State's 197lber, #7-ranked Kordell Norfleet. In a match where both wrestlers traded takedowns, Norfleet fell to #9 Jake Woodley, 5-3, marking the only ranked Sun Devil to lose Friday evening. In the afternoon of Saturday, November 20th, Cal Poly hosted a contingent of (D2) San Francisco State wrestlers in extra countable matches. Alongside teammates, Cal Poly starters and brothers, #15 Legend Lamer (149) and UR Brawley Lamer (157) took the mat, combining for a 1-1 day. Legend defeated SF State 141lber Josh Norikiyo, 15-0 technical fall, while Brawley fell to #14 (D2) Mason Boutain, 15-4 major decision. Across the country, Stanford started the first leg of their New York weekend with a Saturday evening dual-meet in Coach Rob Koll's former stomping grounds of Ithaca, facing the #11-ranked Cornell squad. It was a brutal homecoming, with Stanford leaving Ithaca with only two match-victories in the form of a 3-1 decision at lightweight from UR Logan Ashton over UR Greg Diakomihalis and an injury default win from UR Peter Ming over #15 Lewis Fernandes at heavyweight (in a match where Ming earned the opening takedown prior to the injury). Final score, 30-9 Cornell. Among the other contested matches, ranked Stanford wrestlers were a step behind their competitors, with #8 Jaden Abas (149) losing to #1 Yianni Diakomihalis (3-1) and #30 Tyler Eischens (174) losing to #9 Chris Foca (6-4), both by a two-point margin. #1 Shane Griffith was upset by UR Julian Ramirez, beaten 3-2 in a match that featured a hotly debated no-takedown call with Griffith on the short end of the deal. Finally, #32 Jackson DiSario was on the receiving end of a 14-3 major from #3 (at 125) Vito Arujau at 133lbs, while #26 Nick Stemmet was stunned by UR Jacob Cardenas via 18-3 technical fall at 197lbs. Sunday, the morning of the 21st, the Cardinal woke up with a fire in their belly and went to work. Taking seven of nine contested matches from Binghamton, the Cardinal earned their first dual-victory of the year, 25-13. #32 Jackson DiSario earned a 1-0 decision over UR Anthony Sobotker on the strength of back-to-back rideouts in the 2nd- and 3rd-periods. #8 Jaden Abas put a fall on UR Nick Lombard at 149lbs. At 174lbs, #30 Tyler Eischens also got back in the win column as well, topping UR Brevin Cassella, 8-6. In the only ranked match-up of the dual, #26 Nick Stemmets held Binghamton's #13 Lou DePrez to a decision, but fell 8-3. Back on the West Coast, California wrestlers -- as well as a strong contingent from Utah Valley -- from across the collegiate levels competed at the Roadrunner Open hosted by CSU Bakersfield. Cal Poly sent a sizable team of predominantly non-starters to the tournament, with Luka Wick (149) earning a Roadrunner Open title while wrestling unattached, earning a notable victory in the finals over UR Josh Brown of host CSU Bakersfield, 9-2. Another notable tournament victor was Trent Munoz (184), who wrestled for the Beaver Dam RTC (via Oregon State) in his first college competition of the season. The hosts earned a tournament title after pushing four in the finals. In addition to the aforementioned Josh Brown, UR Eddie Flores at 125lbs and #20 Angelo Martinoni at 141lbs both advanced to the finals but fell short of tournament gold by fall and 8-5 decision, respectively. At 174lbs, Albert Urias earned CSU Bakersfield an individual title with an 8-2 decision in the finals over John Morrison of Beaver Dam RTC.

Ohio University Jordan Slivka (Photo Courtesy of Ohio University athletics) Buffalo: On Sunday, the Bulls hosted the Big Ten's #4 Michigan University at Alumni Arena, where they dropped the match 31-3. Although the Bulls came up short, Toby Cahill (HWT), the lone wrestler to put points on the board, won by decision 2-0 over Bobby Striggow. The Bulls will wrestle at 1:00pm on Sunday, November 28th, at Binghamton. Central Michigan: The Chippewas traveled to the Journeyman Classic last Sunday, where they had two wrestlers capture the Pool A titles. Dresden Simon (141) and Johnny Lovett (157) both finished the round-robin tournament with a record of 3-0. Simon's wins included a 15-3 major-decision over Julian Sanchez of Army, a 12-7 victory over Grant Willits of Oregon State, and a 10-4 win over Josh Mason of Bloomsburg in the final. Lovett's wins encapsulated a 4-1 victory over Doug Zapf of Penn, a medical forfeit over Josh Humphreys of Lehigh, and a 4-2 victory over Hunter Willits in the final bout. The Chippewas had eight wrestlers who left the Journeyman Classic with a 2-1 record, including: Brock Bergelin (125), Sean Spidle (125), Drew Marten (141), Mason Breece (149), Corbyn Munson (149), Tracy Hubbard (165), Cade Dallwitz (197), and Matt Stencel (HWT). The Chippewas will wrestle Rider on Friday, December 3rd. (The starting time is TBD.) Clarion: The Golden Eagles traveled to the Journeyman Classic last Sunday, where they crowned three winners. Seth Koleno (141) defeated Kamol Begakov (4-2) in the final bout, Kolby Ko (157) captured a major decision against Nate Lukez of Army (14-5) in the final matchup, and Will Feldkamp (197) was victorious over Jaxon Smith of UMD (5-4) in his last bout. Brent Moore (149) placed 2nd after dropping a 3-1 loss to Anthony White of Rutgers in the finals. Clarion will wrestle Bloomsburg University on Wednesday, December 1st at 7:00pm. Edinboro: The Fighting Scots traveled to the Navy Classic on Saturday, where they had four place finishers. Gabe Willochell (141) captured 4th place, after falling short to Kyran Hagan of Ohio 13-2. Ethan Ducca (184) placed 3rd on the podium after coming out on top against Logan Deacetis of Bucknell 8-3. Cody Mulligan (197) placed 3rd after downing over Tyler Mousaw of VMI 7-2. Finally, Max Millin stood 5th place on the podium after defeating Jordan Earnest of Ohio 5-2. Edinboro will be back in action on Friday, December 3rd, at 5:00pm against Gannon University. George Mason: The Patriots captured eight spots on the podium at the Keystone Classic. Kaden Cassidy (141) fell short in the finals against Carmen Ferrante of Penn (5-3 SV), Alex Madrigal (149) placed 2nd after dropping a 6-0 decision to Jonathan Millner of Appalachian State, Lorenzo Rajaonarivelo (157) captured the title after a medical forfeit against Doug Zapf of Penn, Avery Bassett (157) took 7th place after teching Tommy Askey of Appalachian State. Drew Dickson (165) fell just short to Will Miller, which put him 7th on the podium, Logan Messer (174) placed 4th after dropping a 7-4 decision to Joshua Kim of Harvard, Austin Stith (197) stood 5th on the podium after defeating Josh Labarbera of Penn 5-3, and Ramses Montalvo (HWT) placed 8th after falling short to Liam Dietrich of Drexel 5-3. The Patriots will wrestle LIU on Saturday, December 4th, at 11:00am. Kent State: The Golden Flashes had a strong showing this weekend as they left the Navy Classic with six place winners. Jake Ferri (125) captured the 2nd place spot on the podium after falling to Luke Werner of Lock Haven 12-10. Brendon Fenton (133) placed 3rd after defeating Kurtis Phipps of Bucknell 4-3 in the consolation championship round. Louis Newell (141) stood at 6th place on the podium after medical forfeiting to Matt Santos of Michigan State. Kody Komara (149) captured 2nd place after falling short to Peyton Omania of Michigan State 9-8 in a nail-biter. Enrique Munguia (157) was victorious over Skyler Crespo of Michigan State 16-1 TF to capture 5th place. Mike Ferree (174) placed 6th on the podium after getting pinned by Colin Shannon of American University. The Golden Flashes will wrestle on Friday, December 3rd and Saturday, December 4th, at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Ohio University: The Bobcats finished in 2nd place at the Navy Classic after a tremendous showing of dominance. Ohio placed 10 wrestlers on the podium, two of which were champions. Jordan Slivka (157) captured the title after defeating Dazjon Casto of The Citadel 2-0 in the final bout. Sal Perrine (174) also stood on top of the podium after reigning victorious over Jaden Fisher of Bucknell 12-6 in the championship match. Oscar Sanchez (125) placed 3rd after defeating Julian Saldana of Michigan State 6-3. Gio DiSabato (133) captured 5th place after a huge win over Jake Rotunda from The Citadel, 5-3. Kyran Hagan (141) stood at 3rd place on the podium after his dominating major decision against Gabe Willochell of Edinboro 13-2. Alec Hagan (149) medical forfeited to Kolby DePron of Bucknell to take 4th place. Colt Yinger (165) medically forfeited to Caleb Fish of Michigan State to capture 4th place. Zayne Lehman (184) won by medical forfeit over Zach Brown of VMI to capture 5th place on the podium. Jordan Greer (197) won in a commanding fashion by defeating Brad Wilton of Michigan State by a major decision, 12-3, to take 5th place. Jordan Earnest (HWT) fell to Max Millin of Edinboro 5-2 to place 6th. The Bobcats will be back in action on Friday, December 3rd, where they will wrestle Clarion University at 7:00pm. Rider: The Broncs wrestled tough at the Keystone Classic, as they had eight place finishers, including a champion, which landed them in 4th place in the team race. George Walton (184) defeated Neil Antrassian of Penn by TF 17-2 in the final bout, claiming the title for the second-straight year. The seven remaining place finishers include: Tyler Klinsky (125) 3rd, Richie Koehler (133) 3rd, Bryan Miraglia (141) 8th, Jake Silverstein (157) 6th, Michael Wilson (165) 6th, Shane Reitsma (174) 8th, and David Szuba (HWT) 3rd. The Broncs will return to competition at 7:00pm on Friday, December 3rd, at Central Michigan. Northern Illinois: On Sunday, the Huskies split their matches at the Boilermaker Duals, going 2-2 in competition. The Huskies started out strong in the first round with a 33-9 win over Brown University. In the second round, Northern Illinois lost a hard-fought battle to Duke 25-17. In the succeeding round, the Huskies posted a dominating 33-5 win over Bellarmine. In their last dual, Northern Illinois fell short to the host team, Purdue 28-10. Two Huskies finished the day with 4-0 records, cleaning house amongst the competition. Brit Wilson (184) defeated Drew Clearie of Brown 9-3, Vincent Baker of Duke 17-6, Sam Schroeder of Bellarmine 18-3, and Max Lyon of Purdue 7-3. Izzak Olejnik (165) had wins over Keegan Rothrock of Brown by fall, Brandon LaRue of Duke by fall, Devin Hendricks of Bellarmine 7-0, and Emil Soehnlen of Purdue 8-0. The Huskies return to the mat on Saturday, December 4th, at the Cougar Clash hosted by SIUE.

2021 NCAA qualifier Cole Matthews (Photo Courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Pitt traveled across Pennsylvania on Sunday to meet the Mountain Hawks of Lehigh. Several matches were highly anticipated as ranked versus ranked matchups and we got to see the full lineup of Pitt starters with Nino Bonaccorsi making his debut, along with NCAA qualifiers Cole Matthews and Gregg Harvey. The Mountain Hawks made an undeniable statement that they should climb back into the dual rankings after an early-season loss to Campbell. Lehigh dominated at several weights and was able to win many of the tightly-contested matches to down the Panthers 26-9. The biggest story of the dual was two losses for the Panthers. At 165 #4 Jake Wentzel took his first loss in a 4-3 decision to #30 Brian Meyer; Meyer finished a nice single early in the match and was able to get a second takedown in a scramble off a shot by Wentzel in the 3rd for a one-point victory. At 133, #5 Micky Phillippi had a wild match with #24 Malyke Hines with back-and-forth lead changes throughout the match. Phillippi got the go-ahead takedown late in the match and was looking to ride Hines out for the win. Hines hit a roll looking for the reversal, Phillippi followed into a crab ride--in the scramble that followed, Hines was able to catch Phillippi's head and hold him flat for a defensive pin with :03 left on the clock. On the positive side for the Panthers, we saw the return of NCAA runner-up Nino Bonaccorsi and NCAA qualifiers Cole Matthews and Gregg Harvey--all of whom picked up wins for Pitt. At 141, #17 Matthews controlled the match and picked up a 7-4 decision over Dan Moran. #23 Gregg Harvey made his season debut in a 5-2 decision over AJ Burkhart at 184. Bonaccorsi, ranked #2 at 197, wrestled his first match of the year since returning from the U23 World Championship in Serbia. Nino dominated the match and was looking for a late takedown to stretch his lead to pick up the major decision, but he wasn't able to finish and won a 10-4 decision. In his post-match interview, Coach Gavin spoke bluntly. “Lehigh wrestled well. We did not. We have to be ready for every match. We weren't ready today. That's on me. It's a bit of a wake-up call that we need to work on some things in practice. We look forward to having the opportunity to compete again tomorrow”. The Panthers will look to reset and rebound quickly as they face the Maryland Terrapins in their home opener Monday night. There will be a lot to watch on Monday night, but mostly to see how Pitt responds after a down performance. At 133 #5 Micky Phillippi will face a scrappy King Sandoval and at 165 #4 Jake Wentzel will be looking for a big win over #33 John Martin Best. Other matches to watch for are at 184 and 197. Both Harvey and Bonaccorsi will be wrestling in their second match and have tough opponents, even if they are outside the rankings. #23 Harvey will face Kyle Cochran and #2 Bonaccorsi will meet Jaron Smith. The other match I am intrigued by is at heavyweight; Jake Slinger had looked great to start the season, but fell yesterday to NCAA All-American Jordan Wood. He'll face #32 Zach Schrader tonight, who has also had a hot start to the season. Pitt is heavily favored over the Terps, but need to make a statement with their performance after the showing in Bethlehem.

2021 Big Ten runner-up Ridge Lovett (Photo Courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) During the third week of college wrestling action, one of the most common themes was the amount of highly ranked competitors that were defeated on the week. That trend started with the North Carolina/Nebraska dual meet on Wednesday. During this competition, top-ten wrestlers went down in three straight matches. It continued on Friday as there was a stunning result from Iowa City that made me check my phone multiple times, to confirm I saw precisely what I saw. Once the smoke cleared Sunday evening, a pair of NCAA finalists from the same weight were both knocked off. Here are the wrestlers that entered the week in the top ten nationally, but lost to someone ranked lower during the last seven days. 125 #5 Patrick McKee (Minnesota) - Lost to #19 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Oklahoma State) 10-6 This upset looks more impressive on paper, seeing as Patrick McKee was the third-place finisher at the 2021 NCAA Championships, hence his top-five billing this year. But, looking at the big picture from 2021, McKee entered the tournament as the 15th seed, just six spots higher than Mastrogiovanni. At the 2021 Big Ten Championships, McKee suffered losses to Dylan Shawver (Rutgers), Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern), and Dylan Ragusin (Michigan). Mastrogiovanni was a true freshman that was thrust into the Cowboy lineup last season and scuffled, at times, going 15-6, overall. With a full offseason in the OSU room, it shouldn't come as a surprise if he jumps levels this year. Mastrogiovanni's win over McKee was the most complete college performance of his brief career. He was masterful at getting to McKee's legs and was able to finish, more often than not. #6 Brody Teske (Northern Iowa) - Lost to NR Corey Cabanban (Iowa State) 4-3 The 2021-22 debut for Brody Teske wasn't ideal as he fell to Iowa State's backup 125 lber Corey Cabanban in the Daktronics Open semifinals. Later in the tournament, he'd need to rally to get back Minnesota's Jager Eisch, 14-8. The win over Teske put Cabanban in the finals opposite teammate Kysen Terukina; coincidentally, both are natives of Hawaii. The 2021 NCAA qualifier Terukina prevailed 3-1 for his second open title in as many weeks. In both instances, he came out on top in a close bout with Cabanban. Those are the only two losses of the year for Cabanban, while Terukina is a perfect 8-0. 133 #5 Micky Phillipi (Pittsburgh) - Lost to #24 Malyke Hines (Lehigh) Fall 6:57 The Pittsburgh/Lehigh dual did not go as most would have anticipated. We'll talk about another bout from this dual later, as well. But first, we need to get Lehigh a pat on the back for their 26-9 romp over #19 Pittsburgh. The tone was set for the Mountain Hawks upset by their 133 lber, Malyke Hines, who shocked and pinned two-time ACC champion Micky Phillipi. The 2021 EIWA champion, Hines, led 4-2 early in the third period after a reversal on Phillipi. The Panther continued to attack and got a takedown of his own and was working from a crab ride late in the bout. Hines resourcefully reached for Phillipi's head and caught him on his back for a defensive fall with only three seconds remaining in the bout. It was a big win for Hines, who has suffered losses to both of Oregon State's 133 lbers in the first two weeks of the season. #8 Tony Madrigal (Oklahoma) - Lost #25 Mosha Schwartz (Northern Colorado) 3-2 On the opening weekend of the 2021-22 season, the mercurial Tony Madrigal reeled off wins over a pair of past All-Americans which helped springboard him into the top-ten. In the past, he's shown flashes of those types of wins, but not always the consistency. That ended up being the case as Madrigal suffered a loss on Sunday to #25 Mosha Schwartz. Despite the current disparity in the rankings, this shouldn't come as a huge surprise. In their previous two meetings, Schwartz came out victorious, both affairs came during the 2019-20 campaign. That year, Schwartz made the Big 12 finals and was seeded 15th, just ahead of Madrigal, who was fourth and seeded 16th. This loss could have a big impact on both wrestlers since it's a conference match and in 2021, eight Big 12 wrestlers made it to St. Louis. So far, in 2021-22, Schwartz is 5-0, though it's only his second win against DI competition. Madrigal also had another loss this week, Friday to #7 Michael McGee (Arizona State). We didn't mention that one since, it was to a higher-ranked opponent. 141 #5 Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska) - Lost to #13 Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina) 3-1 SV Our recap from the Nebraska/UNC dual meet details the situation surrounding this bout and two others. 149 #6 Zach Sherman (North Carolina) - Lost to #14 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) 4-3; Lost to #16 Josh Heil (Campbell) 2-1 North Carolina's Zach Sherman gets the unlucky award, as scheduling has done him no favors in the early going. His three DI opponents this season are Sammy Sasso and Ridge Lovett, both returning Big Ten finalists, along with Josh Heil, an opponent that defeated him during the 2019-20 season. While the win/loss record is unsightly at 2-3, each of Sherman's three defeats have come by a single point. Sherman will drop some in tomorrow's new national rankings; however, that shouldn't be indicative of his long-term prospects and he'll be an All-American threat again. Expect good jumps for Lovett and Heil, who are now a combined 9-0 on the year. Lovett, in particular, as he was the fifth seed at nationals last season, but finished 1-2 at nationals. 157 #2 Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) - Lost to #16 Peyton Robb (Nebraska) 5-2 We've already detailed the Peyton Robb upset of 2021 NCAA champion Austin O'Connor in our recap of the Huskers win over North Carolina. But, Robb almost pulled off the rare feat of beating #1 and #2 in the same week, as he pushed #1 David Carr (Iowa State) to the brink in the finals of the Daktronics Open. Robb held a 5-2 lead in the second period, but an escape and a late takedown from the defending champion, pushed the bout into sudden victory. Carr seeming had more gas in the tank and was ready with a winning takedown. #6 Kaleb Young (Iowa) - Lost to #7 Quincy Monday (Princeton) 9-5 This one counts as an upset just by the slimmest of margins. With all of the drama emanating from Carver-Hawkeye Arena, one of the overlooked aspects from Friday's dual was Quincy Monday's one-sided win over Kaleb Young. Monday jumped out to a lead with a first-period takedown and never looked back, adding two more and a reversal. This was the third career meeting between the two. Young was victorious in 2018-19 before Monday returned the favor in 2019-20. Some fans may not have remembered to count Monday as a legitimate title contender since his squad did not compete last season, but he is reminding the wrestling community quickly after a 5-0 start. 165 #1 Shane Griffith (Stanford) - Lost to NR Julian Ramirez (Cornell) 3-2 The first number one to go down was Shane Griffith on Saturday evening as he and new head coach Rob Koll returned to his old stomping grounds to take on Cornell. This match will be remembered for its ending as Griffith appeared to have a takedown on Julian Ramirez at the edge of the mat, in the waning seconds of the match. Don't let the controversy surrounding “was it or wasn't it a takedown” obscure the fact that Julian Ramirez is legit. Ramirez was a top-20 recruit from the Class of 2019 and hadn't got to compete, officially due to a grayshirt, followed by the Ivy League shutdown. While grayshirting, Ramirez finished 23-6, winning 14 of his last 15 bouts. Earlier this season, Ramirez went 4-1 at the Bearcat Open with a loss to Penn State's Matt Lee. A week later, he knocks off the returning national champion. The loss for Griffith is now the first of his career in dual competition. #4 Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh) - Lost to #30 Brian Meyer (Lehigh) 4-3 Surprisingly enough, Shane Griffith wasn't the only 2021 NCAA Finalist to get upset over the weekend. His finals opponent Jake Wentzel also suffered a similar fate. He was the second prominent upset victim of the dual meet between Pittsburgh and Lehigh. Meyer jumped out to an early lead with a takedown off of a low-leg attack. Once Wentzel knotted the match, Meyer countered a throw attempt for the eventual winning takedown. The win brings Meyer's season record to 5-1. He was beaten in the first bout of the year by Troy Nation (Campbell), but has seemingly righted the ship by winning five straight. 197 #7 Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State) - Lost to #9 Jake Woodley (Oklahoma) 5-3 This was another “upset” that falls into the category of “on paper only.” Jake Woodley is a returning NCAA semifinalist and sixth-place finisher, while Norfleet was a Round of 12 finisher. The two met last year in the first match of the year and the Sun Devils prevailed in tiebreakers. That win led to Norfleet being ranked above Woodley this season. This time it went the Sooners' way with a 5-3 victory. Woodley wrapped up his weekend by majoring #23 Alan Clothier (Northern Colorado). His record is now 7-0 on the year, with wins over Patrick Brucki (Michigan) and Cam Caffey (Michigan State). 285 #3 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) - Lost to NR Jack DelGarbino (Princeton) Fall 2:07 The biggest shocker on the weekend took place in Iowa as Princeton's Jack DelGarbino pinned U23 world champion and NCAA third-place finisher Tony Cassioppi. Cassioppi looked to be in charge and ready to secure a pin of his own; however, DelGarbino rolled through the pin attempt and quickly got the fall himself. The loss for Cassioppi is the seventh of his collegiate career and only the first to an opponent not named Steveson or Parris. DelGarbino, on the other hand, is now 3-2 on the year and 10-10 during his career at Princeton.

Western Wyoming at the 2021 NJCAA National Championships (Photo Courtesy of NJCAA.org) At times, a source of motivation is what makes or breaks a wrestling season. Starting the season with a false source of motivation or a drained amount of motivation can be detrimental come March. At Western Wyoming, the five-and-a-half-point deficit from winning the 2021 NJCAA National Title is a lingering and powerful source of motivation heading into this season. While it would be easy to make a case based on the final team scores alone that the Mustangs have something to prove, that might not be necessary heading into this season. “I'd look over and say oooh there's another one,” Head Coach Art Castillo refers to the ten All-Americans his lineup secured in the 2021 season. “ “Having ten All-Americans is unbelievable,” Castillo said. “I knew our job was far from over.” The NJCAA Wrestling season ran from January to April. What, at face value, was the shortest season Castillo has coached in for the duration of his time at Western Wyoming, ended up being the longest. Training began the last week of August, while nationals still took place in April. As with many teams, training in pods and the waves of contact tracing controlled the preparation for nationals. “You can only grind so long without the prize,” Castillo said. His athletes, however, trusted the process. They had faith in their coaching staff. Heading into this season, it is simple for the Mustangs. The talent in the room has been proven, but the job is still far from over. “Our leaders set the [precedent] from minute one when they step on campus here,” and that precedent is motivation enough for the Mustangs to know they have something to prove heading into this season. The Mustangs were in action over the weekend at the Younes Hospitality Open, hosted by DII power Nebraska-Kearney. Five Western Wyoming wrestlers placed in the top six at the event, including Cole Jensen (Amateur - 125; 2nd), Caleb Nathan (Amateur - 141; 5th), Christian Smoot (Amateur - 174; 3rd), Andrew Nicholson (Amateur - 184; 4th), Tyler Scheurn (Amateur - 197; 3rd). Their motivation, may include much more than the five and a half-point difference, but come March, the Mustangs and their team score have something to prove.

2021 133 lb Keystone Classic champion Michael Colaiocco (Photo Courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Keystone Classic Final Results 125 lbs Championship Finals - Caleb Smith (Appalachian State) dec Ryan Miller (Penn) 6-3 3rd Place - Beau Bayless (Harvard) fall Tyler Klinsky (Rider) 2:38 5th Place - Kyle Waterman (Drexel) MedFFT Blair Orr (Penn) 7th Place - Kelly Dunnigan (Penn) dec Antonio Mininno (Drexel) 13-11 133 lbs Championship Finals - Michael Colaiocco (Penn) dec Codi Russell (Appalachian State) 7-4 3rd Place - Richie Koehler (Rider) dec Sean Carter (Appalachian State) 11-7 5th Place - Pat Phillips (Franklin & Marshall) MedFFT Jaxon Maroney (Drexel) 7th Place - Lukas Richie (Penn) dec Deon Pleasant (Drexel) 9-6 141 lbs Championship Finals - Carmen Ferrante (Penn) dec Kaden Cassidy (George Mason) 5-3SV 3rd Place - Heath Gonyer (Appalachian State) dec Wil Gil (Franklin & Marshall) 6-3 5th Place - Anthony Brito (Appalachian State) MedFFT CJ Composto (Penn) 7th Place - Michael Jaffe (Harvard) dec Bryan Miraglia (Rider) 9-3 149 lbs Championship Finals - Jonathan Millner (Appalachian State) dec Alex Madrigal (George Mason) 6-0 3rd Place - Grant Aronoff (Penn) dec Lukas Stricker (Harvard) 13-7 5th Place - Kaya Sement (Penn) MedFFT Luke Nichter (Drexel) 7th Place - Shaun Williams (Sacred Heart) MedFFT Vince Mannella (Penn) 157 lbs Championship Finals - Lorenzo Rajaonarivelo (George Mason) MedFFT Doug Zapf (Penn) 3rd Place - Parker Kropman (Drexel) dec Trevor Tarsi (Harvard) 3-1SV 5th Place - Cody Bond (Appalachian State) MedFFT Jake Silverstein (Rider) 7th Place - Avery Bassett (George Mason) tech Tommy Askrey (Appalachian State) 15-0 165 lbs Championship Finals - Phil Conigliaro (Harvard) dec Will Formato (Appalachian State) 10-4 3rd Place - Lucas Revano (Penn) dec Evan Barczak (Drexel) 4-2 5th Place - Michael Kistler (Penn) fall Michael Wilson (Rider) 2:31 7th Place - Will Miller (Appalachian State) dec Drew Dickson (George Mason) 7-4 174 lbs Championship Finals - Michael O'Malley (Drexel) fall Nick Incontrera (Penn) 1:39 3rd Place - Joshua Kim (Harvard) dec Logan Messer (George Mason) 4-1 5th Place - Thomas Flitz (Appalachian State) dec Brett Mordacei (Appalachian State) 9-3 7th Place - Alex Marciniak (Sacred Heart) MedFFT Shane Reitsma (Rider) 184 lbs Championship Finals - George Walton (Rider) tech Neil Antrassian (Penn) 17-2 3rd Place - Barrett Blakely (Appalachian State) dec Leonardo Tarantino (Harvard) 3-1SV 5th Place - Joe Accousti (Sacred Heart) MedFFT Bryan McLaughlin (Drexel) 7th Place - James Conway (Franklin & Marshall) dec Jake Hendricks (Penn) 6-1 197 lbs Championship Finals - Cole Urbas (Penn) tech Mason Fiscella (Appalachian State) 16-1 3rd Place - Nick Marcenelle (Harvard) fall Dante DelBonis (Sacred Heart) :57 5th Place - Austin Stith (George Mason) dec Josh Labarbera (Penn) 5-3 7th Place - Logan Michael (Sacred Heart) MedFFT Matt Correnti (Rider) 285 lbs Championship Finals - Ben Goldin (Penn) maj Mike Burchell (Appalachian State) 12-2 3rd Place - David Szuba (Rider) dec Vincenzo Pelusi (Franklin & Marshall) 6-3 5th Place - Jacob Sartorio (Appalachian State) dec Nick Copley (Sacred Heart) 7-1 7th Place - Liam Dietrich (Drexel) dec Ramses Montalvo (George Mason) 5-3

2021 EIWA champion Malyke Hines (Photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Sunday's Dual Results NC State 34 West Virginia 6 125 - Jakob Camacho (NC State) maj Colton Drousias (West Virginia) 14-4 133 - Kai Orine (NC State) dec Garett Lautzenheiser (West Virginia) 4-1 141 - Ryan Jack (NC State) dec Caleb Rea (West Virginia) 8-7 149 - Tariq Wilson (NC State) maj Jeffrey Boyd (West Virginia) 13-4 157 - Ed Scott (NC State) maj Alex Hornfeck (West Virginia) 22-8 165 - Peyton Hall (West Virginia) dec Thomas Bullard (NC State) 6-3 174 - Hayden Hidlay (NC State) tech Dennis Robin (West Virginia) 19-3 184 - Trent Hidlay (NC State) fall Anthony Carman (West Virginia) :22 197 - Isaac Trumble (NC State) tech Jackson Moomau (West Virginia) 17-0 285 - Michael Wolfgram (West Virginia) dec Owen Trephan (NC State) 6-5 Stanford 25 Binghamton 13 125 - Logan Ashton (Stanford) dec Nick Curley (Binghamton) 10-4 133 - Jackson DiSario (Stanford) dec Anthony Sobotker (Binghamton) 1-0 141 - Jason Miranda (Stanford) dec Michael Zarif (Binghamton) 9-3 149 - Jaden Abas (Stanford) fall Nick Lombard (Binghamton) 5:34 157 - Charlie Darracott (Stanford) dec Logan Gumble (Binghamton) 6-3 165 - Dimitri Gamkreilidze (Binghamton) FFT 174 - Tyler Eischens (Stanford) dec Brevin Cassella (Binghamton) 8-6 184 - Jacob Nolan (Binghamton) maj Judah Duhm (Stanford) 9-0 197 - Louie DePrez (Binghamton) dec Nick Stemmet (Stanford) 8-3 285 - Seamus O'Malley (Stanford) maj Collin Burns (Binghamton) 9-0 Lehigh 26 Pittsburgh 9 125 - Jaret Lane (Lehigh) dec Colton Camacho (Pittsburgh) 4-1 133 - Malyke Hines (Lehigh) fall Micky Phillipi (Pittsburgh) 6:57 141 - Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) dec Dan Moran (Lehigh) 7-4 149 - Manzona Bryant (Lehigh) maj Luke Kemerer (Pittsburgh) 16-5 157 - Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) dec Elijah Cleary (Pittsburgh) 2-0 165 - Brian Meyer (Lehigh) dec Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh) 4-3 174 - Jake Logan (Lehigh) dec Hunter Kernan (Pittsburgh) 5-4 184 - Gregg Harvey (Pittsburgh) dec AJ Burkhart (Lehigh) 5-2 197 - Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) dec JT Davis (Lehigh) 10-4 285 - Jordan Wood (Lehigh) maj Jake Slinger (Pittsburgh) 13-3 Michigan 31 Buffalo 3 125 - Jack Medley (Michigan) dec Tristan Daugherty (Buffalo) 8-2 133 - Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) maj Derek Spann (Buffalo) 14-4 141 - Cole Mattin (Michigan) dec Ben Freeman (Buffalo) 3-1 149 - Kanen Storr (Michigan) dec John Arceri (Buffalo) 2-0 157 - Will Lewan (Michigan) dec Ty Raines (Buffalo) 4-3 165 - Cameron Amine (Michigan) dec Noah Grover (Buffalo) 3-2 174 - Max Maylor (Michigan) dec Giuseppe Hoose (Buffalo) 9-6 184 - Jelani Embree (Michigan) maj Jake Lanning (Buffalo) 17-5 197 - Patrick Brucki (Michigan) tech Sam Mitchell (Buffalo) 20-4 285 - Toby Cahill (Buffalo) dec Bobby Striggow (Michigan) 2-0 Northern Illinois 33 Brown 9 125 - Hunter Adrian (Brown) dec Bryce West (Northern Illinois) 7-3 133 - Nicky Cabanillas (Brown) FFT 141 - Javion Jones (Northern Illinois) fall Justin Bierdumpfel (Brown) 2:33 149 - Anthony Cheloni (Northern Illinois) dec Ricky Cabanillas (Brown) 3-0 157 - Anthony Gibson (Northern Illinois) fall Mason Spears (Brown) 4:07 165 - Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois) fall Keegan Rothrock (Brown) 6:18 174 - Mason Kauffman (Northern Illinois) dec Harrison Trahan (Brown) 7-4 184 - Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois) dec Drew Clearie (Brown) 9-3 197 - Tristin Guaman (Northern Illinois) dec Cade Wilson (Brown) 4-2 285 - Terrese Aaron (Northern Illinois) dec Lear Quinton (Brown) 5-2 Duke 35 Bellarmine 10 125 - Jack Parker (Bellarmine) maj Logan Agin (Duke) 17-7 133 - Drake Doolittle (Duke) dec Max Dansereau (Bellarmine) 9-2 141 - Logan Hoskins (Bellarmine) dec Patrick Rowland (Duke) 10-5 149 - Josh Finesilver (Duke) fall Chase Yost (Bellarmine) 2:48 157 - Wade Unger (Duke) fall Cole Nance (Bellarmine) 1:34 165 - Devan Hendricks (Bellarmine) dec Brandon LaRue (Duke) 7-1 174 - Matt Finesilver (Duke) fall Eric Beck (Bellarmine) 1:59 184 - Vincent Baker (Duke) maj Sam Schroeder (Bellarmine) 11-3 197 - Kaden Russell (Duke) fall Charlie Cadell (Bellarmine) 0:31 285 - Jonah Niesenbaum (Duke) maj Bryant Wilkinson (Bellarmine) 10-2 Purdue 42 Brown 0 125 - Devin Schroder (Purdue) tech Reece Fry (Brown) 20-2 133 - Matt Ramos (Purdue) dec Nicky Cabanillas (Brown) 9-6 141 - Parker Filius (Purdue) dec Justin Beirdumpfel (Brown) 6-0 149 - Trey Kruse (Purdue) maj Blake Saito (Brown) 10-2 157 - Kendall Coleman (Purdue) def. Mason Spears (Brown) 23-8 165 - Emil Soehnlen (Purdue) dec Keegan Rothrock (Brown) 5-3 174 - Gerrit Nijenhuis (Purdue) dec Harrison Trahan (Brown) 4-1 184 - Max Lyon (Purdue) fall James Araneo (Brown) 1:27 197 - Penola (Purdue) def. Cade Wilson (Brown) 22-8 285 - Michael Woulfe (Purdue) fall Lear Quinton (Brown) 3:35 Duke 25 Northern Illinois 17 125 - Bryce West (Northern Illinois) dec Logan Agin (Duke) 14-9 133 - Drake Doolittle (Duke) FFT 141 - Javion Jones (Northern Illinois) maj Patrick Rowland (Duke) 12-0 149 - Josh Finesilver (Duke) dec Anthony Cheloni (Northern Illinois) 13-12 157 - Wade Unger (Duke) maj Anthony Gibson (Northern Illinois) 14-5 165 - Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois) fall Brandon LaRue (Duke) 1:40 174 - Matt Finesilver (Duke) dec Mason Kauffman (Northern Illinois) 4-0 184 - Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois) maj Vincent Baker (Duke) 17-6 197 - Kaden Russell (Duke) fall Tristin Guaman (Northern Illinois) 2:24 285 - Jonah Niesenbaum (Duke) dec Terrese Aaron (Northern Illinois) 3-2 Purdue 28 Duke 15 125 - Devin Schroder (Purdue) def. Logan Agin (Duke) 18-0 133 - Matt Ramos (Purdue) dec Drake Doolittle (Duke) 8-3 141 - Parker Filius (Purdue) dec Patrick Rowland (Duke) 9-3 149 - Josh Finesilver (Duke) dec Trey Kruse (Purdue) 10-6 157 - Kendall Coleman (Purdue) maj Wade Unger (Duke) 15-6 165 - Emil Soehnlen (Purdue) fall Brandon LaRue (Duke) 2:25 174 - Matt Finesilver (Duke) fall Gerrit Nijenhuis (Purdue) 3:47 184 - Max Lyon (Purdue) maj Vincent Baker (Duke) 13-1 197 - Thomas Penola (Purdue) dec Kaden Russell (Duke) 5-2 285 - Jonah Niesenbaum (Duke) fall Michael Woulfe (Purdue) 4:54 Northern Illinois 33 Bellarmine 5 125 - Bryce West (Northern Illinois) fall Jack Parker (Bellarmine) 0:49 133 - Max Dansereau (Bellarmine) FFT 141 - Javion Jones (Northern Illinois) dec Logan Hoskins (Bellarmine) 8-1 149 - Anthony Cheloni (Northern Illinois) maj Chase Yost (Bellarmine) 9-0 157 - Anthony Gibson (Northern Illinois) dec Cole Nance (Bellarmine) 7-0 165 - Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois) dec Devan Hendricks (Bellarmine) 7-0 174 - Mason Kauffman (Northern Illinois) dec Eric Beck (Bellarmine) 10-4 184 - Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois) maj Sam Schroeder (Bellarmine) 18-3 197- Tristin Guaman (Northern Illinois) dec Charlie Cadell (Bellarmine) 6-0 285 - Terrese Aaron (Northern Illinois) dec Bryant Wilkinson (Bellarmine) 9-3 Purdue 28 Northern Illinois 10 125 - Devin Schroder (Purdue) maj Bryce West (Northern Illinois) 10-2 133 - Matt Ramos (Purdue) FFT 141 - Parker Filius (Purdue) dec Javion Jones (Northern Illinois) 8-3 149 - Anthony Cheloni (Northern Illinois) dec Trey Kruse (Purdue) 3-0 157 - Kendall Coleman (Purdue) maj Anthony Gibson (Northern Illinois) 14-5 165 - Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois) maj Emil Soehnlen (Purdue) 8-0 174 - Gerrit Nijenhuis (Purdue) dec Mason Kauffman (Northern Illinois) 3-1 184 - Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois) dec Max Lyon (Purdue) 7-3 197 - Thomas Penola (Purdue) def. Tristin Guaman (Northern Illinois) 20-5 285 - Michael Woulfe (Purdue) dec Terrese Aaron (Northern Illinois) 6-3 Brown 42 Bellarmine 0 125: Reese Fry (Brown) maj Jack Parker (Bellarmine) 12-3 133: Nicky Cabanillas (Brown) maj Max Dansereau (Bellarmine) 14-5 141: Justin Bierdumpfel (Brown) dec Logan Hoskins (Bellarmine) 8-5 149: Blake Saito (Brown) fall Chase Yost (Bellarmine) 0:40 157: Mason Spears (Brown) maj Cole Nance (Bellarmine) 10-1 165: Keegan Rothrock (Brown) dec Devan Hendricks (Bellarmine) 6-2 174: Harrison Trahan (Brown) fall Eric Beck (Bellarmine) 5:45 184: Drew Clearie (Brown) fall Sam Schroeder (Bellarmine) 0:47 197: Tony Pray (Brown) dec Bryant Wilkinson (Bellarmine) 7-2 285: Lear Quinton (Brown) dec Charlie Cadell (Bellarmine) 3-2 Oklahoma 30 Northern Colorado 7 125 - Joey Prata (Oklahoma) dec Jace Koelzer (Northern Colorado) 3-2 133 - Mosha Schwartz (Northern Colorado) dec Tony Madrigal (Oklahoma) 3-2 141 - Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) maj Zach Zeamer (Oklahoma) 15-5 149 - Mitch Moore (Oklahoma) dec Chris Sandoval (Northern Colorado) 7-3 SV 157 - Justin Thomas (Oklahoma) maj Cody Eaton (Northern Colorado) 10-2 165 - Troy Mantanona (Oklahoma) fall Nick Knutson (Northern Colorado) 1:39 174 - Anthony Mantanona (Oklahoma) maj Damen Pape (Northern Colorado) 14-3 184 - Darrien Roberts (Oklahoma) dec Xavier Vasquez (Northern Colorado) 7-1 197 - Jake Woodley (Oklahoma) maj Alan Clothier (Northern Colorado) 13-4 285 - Josh Heindselman (Oklahoma) dec Robert Winters (Northern Colorado) 3-1SV North Carolina 24 Campbell 12 125 - Anthony Molton (Campbell) dec Spencer Moore (North Carolina) 6-3 133 - Jaime Hernandez (North Carolina) dec Dom Zaccone (Campbell) 18-11 141 - Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina) dec Shannon Hanna (Campbell) 6-1 149 - Josh Heil (Campbell) dec Zach Sherman (North Carolina) 2-1TB 157 - Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) disq Matthew Dallara (Campbell) 165 - Sonny Santiago (North Carolina) dec Riley Augustine (Campbell) 6-3 174 - Clay Lautt (North Carolina) dec Austin Murphy (Campbell) 3-2 184 - Gavin Kane (North Carolina) dec Caleb Hopkins (Campbell) 7-3 197 - Max Shaw (North Carolina) dec Levi Hopkins (Campbell) 3-2 285 - Taye Ghadiali (Campbell) FFT

All-American Rayvon Foley (Photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Navy Classic Final Results 125 lbs Championship Finals: Luke Werner (Lock Haven) over Jake Ferri (Kent State) 12-10 Third Place: Oscar Sanchez (Ohio) dec Julian Saldana (Michigan State) 6-3 Fifth Place: Andrew Fallon (American) dec Brandon Seidman (Bucknell) 4-3 133 lbs Championship Finals: Rayvon Foley (Michigan State) dec Josh Koderhandt (Navy) 8-3 Third Place: Brandon Fenton (Kent State) dec Kurtis Phipps (Bucknell) 4-3 Fifth Place: Gio DiSabato (Ohio) dec Jake Rotunda (The Citadel) 5-3 141 lbs Championship Finals: Tyler Hunt (Navy) MedFFT Darren Miller (Bucknell) Third Place: Kyran Hagan (Ohio) maj Gabe Willochell (Edinboro) 13-2 Fifth Place: Matt Santos (Michigan State) MedFFT Louis Newell (Kent State) 149 lbs Championship Finals: Peyton Omania (Michigan State) dec Kody Komara (Kent State) 9-8 Third Place: Kolby DePron (Bucknell) MedFFT Alec Hagan (Ohio) Fifth Place: Patrick Ryan (American) dec Cade Balistrini (Bloomsburg) 8-1 157 lbs Championship Finals: Jordan Slivka (Ohio) dec Dazjon Casto (The Citadel) 2-0 Third Place: Chase Saldate (Michigan State) MedFFT Ben Barton (Lock Haven) Fifth Place: Enrique Munguia (Kent State) tech Skyler Crespo (Michigan State) 16-1 165 lbs Championship Finals: Zach Hartman (Bucknell) tech Selwyn Porter (The Citadel) 16-1 Third Place: Caleb Fish (Michigan State) MedFFT Colt Yinger (Ohio) Fifth Place: Tim Fitzpatrick (American)/Val Park (Navy) -- No Contest 174 lbs Championship Finals: Sal Perrine (Ohio) dec Jaden Fisher (Bucknell) 12-6 Third Place: Cael Crebs (Navy)/Shane Finney (Navy)--No Contest Fifth Place: Colin Shannon (American) fall Michael Ferree (Kent State) 5:20 184 lbs Championship Finals: David Key (Navy) dec Layne Malczewski (Michigan State) 10-4 Third Place: Ethan Ducca (Edinboro) dec Logan Deacetis (Bucknell) 8-3 Fifth Place: Zayne Lehman (Ohio) MedFFT Zach Brown (VMI) 197 lbs Championship Finals: Jake Koser (Navy) maj Cam Caffey (Michigan State) 8-0 Third Place: Cody Mulligan (Edinboro) dec Tyler Mousaw (VMI) 7-2 Fifth Place: Jordan Greer (Ohio) maj Brad Wilton (Michigan State) 12-3 285 lbs Championship Finals: Riley Smith (Navy) dec Michael McAleavey (The Citadel) 3-1 Third Place: Grady Griess (Navy) fall Shane Noonan (Bloomsburg) 2:48 Fifth Place: Max Millin (Edinboro) dec Jordan Earnest (Ohio) 5-2

2021 NCAA Qualifier Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Saturday's Dual Results Campbell 21 Virginia 15 125 - Korbin Meink (Campbell) dec Patrick McCormick (Virginia) 4-2 133 - Brian Courtney (Virginia) maj Domenic Zaccone (Campbell) 14-3 141 - Shannon Hanna (Campbell) dec Scott Kiyono (Virginia) 10-5 149 - Josh Heil (Campbell) dec Jarod Verkleeren (Virginia) 4-2 157 - Jon Errico (Virginia) dec Matthew Dallara (Campbell) 4-2 165 - Justin McCoy (Virginia) tech Riley Augustine (Campbell) 17-2 174 - Austin Murphy (Campbell) fall Krystian Kinsey (Virginia) 2:52 184 - Michael Battista (Virginia) dec Caleb Hopkins (Campbell) 6-5 197 - Chris Kober (Campbell) dec Ethan Weatherspoon (Virginia) 4-2SV 285 - Taye Ghadiali (Campbell) dec Quinn Miller (Virginia) 3-2 Virginia Tech 35 Gardner-Webb 6 125 - Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) fall Aedyn Concepcion (Gardner-Webb) 133 - Todd Carter (Gardner-Webb) dec Brandon Wittenburg (Virginia Tech) 8-6SV 141 - Collin Gerardi (Virginia Tech) dec Trevon Majette (Gardner-Webb) 1-0 149 - Kylan Montgomery (Virginia Tech) dec Brandon Bright (Gardner-Webb) 5-2 157 - Connor Brady (Virginia Tech) maj Tyler Brignola (Gardner-Webb) 12-4 165 - RJ Mosley (Gardner-Webb) dec Clayton Ulrey (Virginia Tech) 10-7 174 - Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) maj Evan Schenk (Gardner-Webb) 19-6 184 - Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) tech Jha'Quan Anderson (Gardner-Webb) 18-2 197 - Dakota Howard (Virginia Tech) dec Anthony Perrine (Gardner-Webb) 10-7 285 - Nathan Traxler (Virginia Tech) fall Peyton McComas (Gardner-Webb) Cal Poly vs San Francisco State (Not full dual - Just “Extra Countable Matches”) 133 - Stefano McKinney (San Francisco State) dec Joey Cape (Cal Poly) 4-1 141 - Josh Tolentino (San Francisco State) maj Jack Lenox (Cal Poly) 12-0 149 - Legend Lamer (Cal Poly) tech Joshua Fuentes Norikiyo (San Francisco State) 15-0 157 - Mason Boutain (San Francisco State) maj Brawley Lamer (Cal Poly) 15-4 157 - Marco Ruffinelli (San Francisco State) dec Daniel Vizcarra (Cal Poly) 8-4 165 - Nathan Tausch (Cal Poly) maj Clayton Murabito (San Francisco State) 14-3 174 - Max Anderson (Cal Poly) tech Tyee Ducharme (San Francisco State) 18-3 Cornell 30 Stanford 9 125 - Logan Ashton (Stanford) dec Greg Diakomihalis (Cornell) 3-1 133 - Vito Arujau (Cornell) maj Jackson DiSario (Stanford) 14-3 141 - Cole Handlovic (Stanford) dec Jason Miranda (Stanford) 4-0 149 - Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) dec Jaden Abas (Stanford) 3-1 157 - Colton Yapoujian (Cornell) dec Charlie Darracott (Stanford) 4-3 165 - Julian Ramirez (Cornell) dec Shane Griffith (Stanford) 3-2 174 - Chris Foca (Cornell) dec Tyler Eischens (Stanford) 6-4 184 - Jonathan Loew (Cornell) fall Colbey Harlan (Stanford) 1:37 197 - Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) tech Nick Stemmet (Stanford) 18-3 285 - Peter Ming (Stanford) InjDef Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) Oklahoma State 23 Minnesota 10 125 - Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Oklahoma State) dec Patrick McKee (Minnesota) 9-4 133 - Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) maj Jake Gliva (Minnesota) 18-7 141 - Jake Bergeland (Minnesota) dec Carter Young (Oklahoma State) 6-4 149 - Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State) dec Michael Blockhus (Minnesota) 9-4 157 - Brayton Lee (Minnesota) dec Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma State) 15-9 165 - Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State) dec Andrew Sparks (Minnesota) 8-3 174 - Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) dec Jared Krattiger (Minnesota) 5-1 184 - Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) dec Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) 3-1SV 197 - AJ Ferrari (Oklahoma State) maj Michial Foy (Minnesota) 12-4 285 - Gable Steveson (Minnesota) maj Luke Surber (Oklahoma State) 20-7

2021 NCAA All-Americans Brayton Lee (left) and Wyatt Sheets (Lee photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com/Sheets photo courtesy of OSU athletics) InterMat's Big Ten Spotlight Matchup: 157 lbs: #5 Brayton Lee (Minnesota) vs. #14 Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma State) How to Watch: November 20th, Big Ten Network (8pm EST) Tonight, on the Big Ten Network, a pair of traditional powers will renew acquaintances in non-conference action as the #2 Oklahoma State Cowboys will travel north to meet the #16 Minnesota Golden Gophers. These two teams accounted for every NCAA team title between 2001 and 2007. Ever since, both squads have routinely been in the hunt for NCAA team trophies. Because of the Big Ten-only schedule in 2021, these two collegiate wrestling blue-bloods did not cross paths in dual meet competition. Luckily that won't be a problem as the Cowboys will return to Maturi Pavilion Saturday night. A dual between Oklahoma State and Minnesota features two of the most marketable collegiate athletes (not just wrestlers) in NCAA champions, AJ Ferrari and Gable Steveson. While both are not expected to get seriously tested by their respective opponents, we've decided to focus on a bout that features a pair of returning All-Americans clashing at 157 lbs. #5 Brayton Lee of the hosting Gophers, and #14 Wyatt Sheets, a Cowboy veteran. Brayton Lee was a blue-chip recruit out of Indiana that has been as good as advertised for Minnesota. From day one, as a redshirt freshman, Lee as asserted himself as one of the top contenders nationally. A little more than a month into his freshman year, Lee won the prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational over a veteran-laden field. Lee went on to take fourth at his first Big Ten tournament in 2020 and earned the #7 seed at 149 lbs in the NCAA Tournament that didn't happen. A year later, Lee moved up to 157 lbs. He continued to display a level of physicality that few could absorb and battered his way to third at the 2021 Big Ten Championships and a sixth-place finish at nationals in St. Louis. In the early going this season, Lee has run out to a 4-0 record with a tournament title at North Dakota State's Bison Open. The Gopher star will have to contend with Wyatt Sheets, who finished eighth at Lee's NCAA weight class last season, though the two have never met. Sheets is the son of OSU legend Mike Sheets and has established himself as one of the team's tough guys. A knee injury appeared to end the younger Sheets' season in 2021; however, he pushed through and found his way onto the NCAA podium. Not only did Sheets have to contend with an injury, but he also wasn't even supposed to be wrestling in St. Louis. The Cowboy 157 lber did not initially qualify for the national tournament, but was given an at-large bid after another injured wrestler withdrew. Over the course of his career, Sheets has qualified for the NCAA Championships on two occasions and has amassed a 64-35 record. Sheets and Oklahoma State have only seen action in one dual meet thus far. He posted a 6-3 victory over Stanford's Charlie Darracott during his team's 29-7 romp over the Cardinal. The rest of the dual: 125: Minnesota's Patrick McKee had an incredible NCAA tournament in 2021, placing third despite entering as the 15th seed. He'll face a much-improved Trevor Mastrogiovani, who was fifth in the Big 12 and won a pair of bouts at nationals, while competing as a true freshman. 133: The Gophers have some options at 133, but look for head coach Brandon Eggum to turn to Jake Gliva, who is coming off a title at the Bison Open. He defeated an NCAA qualifier in the process, along with a talented freshman teammate. Opposing Gliva will be two-time NCAA runner-up Daton Fix. In the fall, Fix claimed a silver medal in freestyle at the World Championships. He is 49-3 for OSU. 141: Eggum and the Gopher staff could either send out Jake Bergeland, Marcos Polanco, or Brent Jones. Polanco was a 2021 NCAA qualifier, but he and Jones both fell to Bergeland at the Bison Open. With NCAA qualifier Dusty Hone registered for an open tournament, OSU head coach John Smith is expected to unleash true freshman Carter Young. Young was third at the World Team Trials in freestyle this fall. 149: One of the toss-up bouts this evening will come here as Michael Blockhus and Kaden Gfeller are both currently ranked within a few spots of each other, with Gfeller at 22 and Blockhus at 26. Oklahoma State's Gfeller is looking to rebound after a major decision loss in his debut, while Blockhus will look to build off of a 4-0 showing at the Bison Open. 165: This is a match that might be closer than the rankings may indicate. While #6 Travis Wittlake of Oklahoma State is the real deal, #21 was limited due to injuries last year in his true freshman season. Both wrestlers will seek to get back on the winning track after suffering a loss last weekend. 174: After posting a 13-22 record in two seasons with Wisconsin, #23 Jared Krattiger has transferred to Minnesota and started to roll. He is undefeated at 5-0 in a Gopher singlet and picked up a win over a ranked foe from North Dakota State in his last outing. Oklahoma State's #15 Dustin Plott battled through an injury-plagued 2021 freshman season and is expected to make a leap this year. 184: Oklahoma State boasts a two-time All-American here in #7 Dakota Geer. Despite his two All-American accolades, Geer is looking to get over the hump in the Big 12, as he's a three-time third-place finisher in the conference. Minnesota has a potentially under-the-radar freshman at 184 in #27 Isaiah Salazar. Salazar was 4-1 last season, in limited action, and has yet to lose in 2021-22. 197: The Cowboys superstar, true freshman All-American AJ Ferrari, is back and ready to steal the show at 197 lbs. Ferrari and his opponent from Stanford exchanged words on social media leading into last weeks dual; however, he backed it up with a 16-3 major decision. Looking to slow down Ferrari is Garrett Joles or Michial Foy. Joles has yet to appear this season and was 4-8 last year, while Foy is 4-1 so far. 285: Olympic and NCAA champion Gable Steveson is the anchor on the back of the Gopher lineup and will make his season debut on Saturday night. Steveson is riding a 34-match collegiate winning streak. He is undefeated during dual competition and logged bonus points more than 82% of his 2021 bout. Steveson will make it difficult for Cowboy freshman Luke Surber, who currently has the starting role after unseating veteran Austin Harris.

Ohio State's Malik Heinselman (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Friday's Dual Results Michigan 34 Columbia 3 125 - Jack Medley (Michigan) dec Joe Mancho (Colubmia) 6-3 133 - Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) tech Zack Whitmer (Columbia) 23-7 141 - Pat Nolan (Michigan) maj Gunnar Fuss (Columbia) 16-6 149 - Kanen Storr (Michigan) maj Danny Fongaro (Columbia) 15-6 157 - Will Lewan (Michigan) maj Kyle Mosher (Columbia) 12-2 165 - Cameron Amine (Michigan) dec Josh Ogunsanya (Columbia) 3-1 174 - Aaron Ayzerov (Columbia) dec Max Maylor (Michigan) 8-4 184 - Jelani Embree (Michigan) maj Brian Bonino (Columbia) 10-2 197 - Patrick Brucki (Michigan) maj Joe Franzese (Columbia) 13-5 285 - JT Correll (Michigan) dec Danny Conley (Columbia) 9-3SV West Virginia 34 Davidson 3 125 - Colton Drousias (West Virginia) FFT 133 - Kyle Gorant (Davidson) dec Garett Lautzenheiser (West Virginia) 11-2 141 - Caleb Rea (West Virginia) dec Gavin Damasco (Davidson) 6-2 149 - Jeffrey Boyd (West Virginia) maj Garrett Stewart (Davidson) 13-3 157 - Alex Hornfeck (West Virginia) dec Bryce Sanderlin (Davidson) 12-8 165 - Peyton Hall (West Virginia) fall Jaden Hardrick (Davidson) 6:21 174 - Dennis Robin (West Virginia) dec Steven Newell (Davidson) 10-8 184 - Anthony Carman (West Virginia) dec Gavin Henry (Davidson) 5-2 197 - Jackson Moomau (West Virginia) maj. Owen Vietmeier (Davidson) 14-4 285 - Michael Wolfgram (West Virginia) dec Mitchell Trigg (Davidson) 11-10 Iowa 32 Princeton 12 125 - Jesse Ybarra (Iowa) FFT 133 - Austin DeSanto (Iowa) tech Nick Masters (Princeton), 22-6 141 - Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) maj Jacob Mann (Princeton), 15-7 149 - Cobe Siebrecht (Iowa) tech Josh Breeding (Princeton), 16-1 157 - Quincy Monday (Princeton) dec Kaleb Young (Iowa), 9-5 165 - Alex Marinelli (Iowa) dec Grant Cuomo (Princeton), 12-5 174 - Nelson Brands (Iowa) maj Michael Squires (Princeton) 16-8 184 - Myles Wilson (Iowa) tech Forest Belli (Princeton), 23-8 197 - Luke Stout (Princeton) dec Zach Glazier (Iowa), 5-0 285 - Jack Del Garbino (Princeton) fall Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) 2:07 Missouri 39 Air Force 3 125 - Noah Surtin (Missouri) def. Quinn Melofchik, 6-0 133 - Jared Van Vleet (Air Force) dec Trey Crawford (Missouri) 6-4 141 - Allan Hart (Missouri) dec Cody Phippen (Air Force) 4-0 149 - Josh Edmond (Missouri) dec Dylan Martinez (Air Force) 7-4 157 - Jarrett Jacques (Missouri) fall Giano Petrucelli (Air Force) 1:57 165 - Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) tech Jack Ganos (Air Force) 19-3 174 - Peyton Mocco (Missouri) dec Noah Blake (Air Force) 5-3 184 - Jeremiah Kent (Missouri) fall Jake Thompson (Air Force) 3:37 197 - Rocky Elam (Missouri) tech Kayne Hutchison (Air Force) 19-1 285 - Zach Elam (Missouri) tech Cole Forrester (Air Force) 21-6 Ohio State 17 Virginia Tech 13 125 - Malik Heinselman (Ohio State) dec Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) 5-2 133 - Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech) dec Dylan Koontz (Ohio State) 10-2 141 - Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio State) dec Collin Gerardi (Virginia Tech) 4-0 149 - Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) dec Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) 11-7 157 - Connor Brady (Virginia Tech) dec Bryce Hepner (Ohio State) 3-2 165 - Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) dec Clayton Ulrey (Virginia Tech) 5-2 174 - Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) dec Ethan Smith (Ohio State) 6-4 184 - Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) dec Rocky Jordan (Ohio State) 7-1 197 - Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State) dec Dakota Howard (Virginia Tech) 3-2 285 - Tate Orndorff (Ohio State) dec Nathan Trexler (Virginia Tech) 3-2 Utah Valley 32, CSU Bakersfield 9 125 - Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley) maj Eddie Flores (CSU Bakersfield) 10-2 133 - Haiden Drury (Utah Valley) maj Aaron Ibarra (CSU Bakersfield) 11-0 141 - Angelo Martinoni (CSU Bakersfield) fall James Emmer (Utah Valley) 6:07 149 - Josh Brown (CSU Bakersfield) Dec Alex Emmer (Utah Valley) 12-6 157 - Jaxon Garoutte (Utah Valley) Dec Brock Rogers (CSU Bakersfield) 8-2 165 - Demetrius Romero (Utah Valley) Dec Augustine Garcia (CSU Bakersfield) 7-1 174 - Kekana Fouret (Utah Valley) Dec Albert Urias (CSU Bakersfield) 4-3 184 - Jacob Armstrong (Utah Valley) maj Jacob Hansen (CSU Bakersfield) 16-6 197 - Hunter Cruz (Utah Valley) InjDef Mateo Morales (CSU Bakersfield) 5:31 285 - Jayden Woodruff (Utah Valley) Tech Jake Andrews (CSU Bakersfield) 16-0 (2:58) Utah Valley 20, California Baptist 13 125 - Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley) Tech Devin Garcia (Cal Baptist) 16-1 (7:00) 133 - Haiden Drury (Utah Valley) Dec Hunter Leake (Cal Baptist) 2-1 141 - Christian Nunez (Cal Baptist) maj James Emmer (Utah Valley) 10-2 149 - Alex Emmer (UVU) Dec Chaz Hallmark (Cal Baptist) 7-0 157 - AJ Raya (Cal Baptist) Dec Jaxon Garoutte (Utah Valley) 8-3 165 - Josh Grant (Cal Baptist) Dec Brigg Hoopes (Utah Valley) 5-3 174 - Kekana Fouret (Utah Valley) Dec Louis Rojas (Cal Baptist) 9-3 184 - Jacob Armstrong (Utah Valley) Dec Caden Gerlach (Cal Baptist) 8-1 197 - Arick Lopez (Cal Baptist) Dec Hunter Cruz (Utah Valley) 2-1 (SV-1) 285: Jayden Woodruff (Utah Valley) Dec Chris Island (Cal Baptist) 5-2 South Dakota State 34 Augustana 10 125 - Tanner Jordan (South Dakota State) dec Jaxson Rohman (Augustana) 6-4 133 - Jack Huffman (Augustana) dec Trayton Anderson (South Dakota State) 10-4 141 - Clay Carlson (South Dakota State) fall Kage Lenger (Augustana) fall 3:44 149 - Zach Price (South Dakota State fall Keaten Schorr (Augustana) fall 5:40 157 - Kenny O'Neil (South Dakota State) dec Tyler Wagener (Augustana) 7-0 165 - Tanner Cook (South Dakota State fall Miles Fitzgerald (Augustana) 0:22 174 - Cade Mueller (Augustana) dec Marshall Hauck (South Dakota State) 5-0 184 - Kolby Kost (Augustana) maj Tate Battani (South Dakota State) 15-7 197 - Nick Casperson (South Dakota State maj Daniel Bishop (Augustana) 12-3 285 - A.J. Nevills (South Dakota State) fall Steven Hajas (Augustana) 6:17 Arizona State 22 Oklahoma 12 125 - Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) dec Joey Prata (Oklahoma) 8-3 133 - Michael McGee (Arizona State) maj Tony Madrigal (Oklahoma) 12-3 141 - Jesse Vasquez (Arizona State) maj Jacob Butler (Oklahoma) 13-5 149 - Kyle Parco (Arizona State) dec Mitch Moore (Oklahoma) 7-2 157 - Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) dec Justin Thomas (Oklahoma) 11-5 165 - Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) dec Joe Grello (Oklahoma) 8-6 174 - Anthony Mantanona (Oklahoma) maj Zane Coleman (Arizona State) 14-1 184 - Darrien Roberts (Oklahoma) fall Josh Nummer (Arizona State) 4:10 197 - Jake Woodley (Oklahoma) dec Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State) 5-3 285 - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) dec Josh Heindselman (Oklahoma) 4-1

SIU Edwardsville's Colton McKiernan (Photo/RiverBender.com) Saturday, November 20th, 2021 Lindenwood Open: Illinois, Missouri, and SIE Edwardsville (9:00am) Shorty Hitchcock Memorial Open: Clarion, Long Island, and Millersville (10:00am) Navy Classic: American, Bucknell, Cleveland State, Edinboro, Kent State, Lock Haven, Michigan State, Navy, Ohio, The Citadel, and VMI (10:00am) Sunday, November 21st, 2021 Keystone Classic: Appalachian State, Drexel, Franklin & Marshall, George Mason, Harvard, Penn, Rider, and Sacred Heart (9:00am) Northern Illinois vs. Brown @ Purdue (9:00am) Northern Illinois vs. Duke @ Purdue (11:00am) Buffalo vs. Michigan (1:00pm) Northern Illinois vs. Bellarmine @ Purdue (1:00pm) Northern Illinois vs. Purdue (3:00pm) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ #MACinsider Thoughts: After going a perfect 5-0 on my weekly predictions last weekend, I'm feeling confident that the MAC will crown at least four champions between Saturday and Sunday. Hopefully more! On Saturday, SIUE Edwardsville will be traveling to the Lindenwood Open, Clarion will be traveling to the Shorty Hitchcock Memorial Open, and Cleveland State, Edinboro, Kent State, Lock Haven, and Ohio will be traveling to the Navy Classic. On Sunday, George Mason and Rider will be traveling to the Keystone Classic. With these matchups in mind, it's clear that there will be interconference showdowns…get your popcorn ready! Or chicken fingers! Whichever you prefer. Although I won't be able to make the trip to Penn, you'll be seeing me at the Buffalo vs. Michigan match held at Alumni Arena on The University at Buffalo's North Campus at 1:00pm. Don't be late. Seriously, don't. Wrestlers to Watch: Sean Spidle (125) - Central Michigan CJ Manley (133) - Lock Haven Nathan Higley (141) - George Mason John Arceri (149) - University at Buffalo Colton McKiernan (HWT) - SIUE Edwardsville

2021 All-American Bernie Truax (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The conference enters Week 3 with even more ranked dual-meets, capped off by the Roadrunner Open. CSU Bakersfield takes on Utah Valley (at Cal Baptist) before the Wolverines travel to Bakersfield for the Roadrunner Open. #7 Arizona State brings in a loaded #14 Oklahoma Sooners team, with eighteen-ranked wrestlers between the two squads. On Saturday the 20th, Cal Poly hosts in-state, D2 San Francisco State while Stanford travels to #11 Cornell in a bit of a homecoming for Coach Rob Koll. On Sunday, Stanford finishes their East Coast travel plan with a dual-meet against Binghamton. Friday, November 19 CSU Bakersfield vs. Utah Valley (5pm) Potential Ranked Matches 125: UR Eddie Flores vs. #7 Taylor LaMont 133: #13 Chance Rich vs. #28 Haiden Drury 141: #20 Angelo Martinoni vs. UR Ty Smith 165: UR Augustine Garcia vs. #8 Demetrius Romero #7 Arizona State hosts #14 Oklahoma (4pm) Potential Ranked Matches 125: #4 Brandon Courtney vs. #22 Joey Prata 133: #7 Michael McGee vs. #8 Tony Madrigal 141: #18 Jesse Vasquez vs. #6 Dom Demas 149: #7 Kyle Parco vs. #17 Mitch Moore 157: #4 Jacori Teemer vs. #13 Justin Thomas 165: #7 Anthony Valencia vs. #28 Joe Grello 174: UR Cael Valencia vs. #25 Anthony Mantanona 184: UR Josh Nummer vs. #25 Darrien Roberts 197: #7 Kordell Norfleet vs. #9 Jake Woodley 285: #4 Cohlton Schultz vs. #25 Josh Heindselman Saturday, November 20 Cal Poly hosts San Francisco State (3pm) Potential Ranked Matches 141: #28 Lawrence Saenz vs. UR Josh Tolentino 149: #15 Legend Lamer vs. UR Basil Othman 165: #3 Evan Wick vs. UR Clayton Murabito 157: UR Brawley Lamer vs. #14 (D2) Mason Boutain #184: #6 Bernie Truax vs. UR Hamzah Alsaudi Stanford vs. #11 Cornell (3:30pm, Watch via ESPN+) Potential Ranked Matches 125: UR Logan Ashton vs. #3 Vito Arujau 133: #32 Jackson DiSario vs. UR Greg Diakomihalis 149: #8 Jaden Abas vs. #1 Yianni Diakomihalis 157: UR Charlie Darracott vs #25 Colton Yapoujian 174: #30 Tyler Eichens vs. #9 Chris Foca 184: UR Judah Duhm vs. #20 Jonathan Loew 197: #26 Nick Stemmet vs. #6 Ben Darmstadt 285: UR Peter Ming vs. #15 Lewis Fernandes Sunday, November 21 Stanford vs. Binghamton (8am) Potential Ranked Matches 133: #32 Jackson DiSario vs. UR Anthony Sobotker 149: #8 Jaden Abas vs. UR Nick Lombard 165: #165 Shane Griffith vs. UR Brevin Casella 174: #30 Tyler Eichens vs. UR Jacob Nolan 197: #26 Nick Stemmets vs. #13 Louis Deprez 285: UR Peter Ming vs. #30 Joe Doyle CSU Bakersfield hosts the Roadrunner Open (10am, Live on FloSports)

2020 NCAA qualifier Joey Prata (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) All times Eastern with local time in parentheses Friday 11/19 West Virginia at Davidson, 7:00 PM Northern State at South Dakota State, 7:00 PM (6:00 PM) CSU Bakersfield vs. Utah Valley at California Baptist, 8:00 PM (5:00 PM) Air Force at Missouri, 8:00 PM (7:00 PM) Augustana (S.D.) at South Dakota State, 8:30 PM (7:30 PM) Oklahoma at Arizona State, 9:00 PM (7:00 PM) Utah Valley at California Baptist, 9:30 PM (6:30 PM) Saturday 11/13 Missouri at Lindenwood Open, hosted by Lindenwood, 10:00 AM (9:00 AM) Oklahoma State at Minnesota, 8:00 PM (7:00 PM) Sunday 11/14 Northern Iowa, South Dakota State at Daktronics Open, hosted by South Dakota State, 10:00 AM (9:00 AM) *California Baptist, Utah Valley at Roadrunner Open, hosted by CSU Bakersfield, 1:00 PM (10:00 AM) West Virginia at NC State, 1:00 PM Oklahoma at Northern Colorado, 4:00 PM (2:00 PM) What I'm Most Excited For: Friday night! If you're a Big 12 wrestling fan, park yourself in front of a computer, TV, your phone, whatever and soak it all in. By the time you get home from work on Friday you'll have as many as seven duals going on at once. Best Dual: Oklahoma at Arizona State OU has had a great start to this season. They wrestled really well at the Michigan State Open then went on to dominate West Virginia on the road at West Virginia. Now comes Arizona State Up and down the line there are great matchups here. Newcomer Joey Prata takes on Arizona State's Brandon Courtney at 125, Anthony Madrigal and Michael McGee at 133, Mitch Moore and Kyle Parco at 149, Jake Woodley and Kordell Norfleet at 197 and much, much more. Arizona State will be favored, but wins in a few of the toss-ups could flip things to the Sooners side. This sets up to potentially be a really great dual.

(Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com/Graphic courtesy of Anna-Lee Marie) For the second time in three weeks, Ohio State is wrestling in our "Dual of the Week" against an ACC opponent. That dual didn't prove to be as suspenseful as one may expect and the Buckeyes cruised to a 23-12 win over North Carolina. That North Carolina win took place in the friendly confines of the Covelli Center, the state-of-the-art new home for the Buckeyes. This time, #8 Ohio State will hit the road and battle #10 Virginia Tech. This dual is intriguing for a variety of reasons, even beyond the obvious top-ten billing for both teams. Virginia Tech is typically a team that recruits Ohio well. Three of the Hokies ten probable starters hail from Ohio and some of their top wrestlers over the last decade call Ohio home (Ty Walz, Nick Brascetta, Zach Neibert, Jesse Dong). Also, the most recent meeting between the teams was memorable, to say the least. On November 17th, 2020, Virginia Tech stunned the Buckeyes 2015. At 149 lbs, Brent Moore pinned freshman Sammy Sasso, before Ethan Smith pulled a slight upset at 165, downing three-time AA David McFadden. With plenty of promotion from the Virginia Tech athletic department, two top-ten teams, a budding non-conference rivalry, and an 80's night theme, expect a raucous home crowd for Virginia Tech at Cassell Coliseum. Each team is expected to send out seven ranked wrestlers, with two of the bouts featuring top-nine ranked wrestlers. Here's what to expect from this week's Dual of the Week (with predictions, of course). 125: #12 Sam Latona vs #14 Malik Heinselman In a battle of very different wrestling styles and body types, All-American Sam Latona is favored in the match between ranked wrestlers. Heinselman has started hot at 5-0 and Latona had a hiccup at the Southeast Open to start the year 2-1. I think Latona initiates more attacks and is able to use his scrambling skills to offset any reattack advantages for Heinselman. Latona by decision. InterMat Pick: Latona by decision (3-0 Virginia Tech) 133: #4 Korbin Myers vs Dylan Koontz The Hokies send out their 2nd All-American to start the lineup in experienced senior Korbin Myers. Korbin made a huge jump last year and starts the year ranked #4 with a 4-0 record-all bonus-point victories. I think Myers controls the match from start to finish and is able to avoid the upper-body shenanigans from Koontz to pick up his fifth bonus-point win this year. InterMat Pick: Myers by major decision. (7-0 Virginia Tech) 141: Colin Gerardi vs. Dylan D'Emilio/Jordan Decatur 141 is a weight that has been in flux for both teams. It sounds like Collin Gerardi will get the nod for the Hokies while Jordan Decatur will go for the Buckeyes. This is a toss-up match that could play a massive role in the team battle. I expect a tight match with Decatur able to win the takedown battle. InterMat Pick: Decatur by decision. (7-3 Virginia Tech) 149: #9 Bryce Andonian vs. #2 Sammy Sasso Definitely one of the highlight matches for this dual--a top 10 battle of wrestlers who will let it fly. This one will be fun to watch. Sasso has started 3-0 against D1 competition this year, including a decision win over All-American Zach Sherman. Andonian has not taken the mat yet this season, but is hoping to continue the momentum from bringing home a bronze medal at the Junior World Championships this summer. Both are incredible scramblers and willing to take risks to get points. I think Sasso wins in a very close match. InterMat Pick: Sasso by decision (7-6 Virginia Tech) 157: #29 Connor Brady vs. Jashon Hubbard Hubbard showed he wasn't afraid to get after it when he faced returning National Champion Austin O'Connor in an opening week dual. Brady has started the year 3-1, taking a decision loss to #7 Quincy Monday. Brady is very technically sound and doesn't give up many points, even to someone with explosive takedown power like Hubbard has shown. I think Brady staves off Hubbards attacks and wins in a low-scoring affair. InterMat Pick: Brady by decision (10-6 Virginia Tech) 165: Clayton Ulrey vs. #10 Carson Kharchla Kharchla may be one of the most anticipated wrestlers to see across the country this year. He has a dynamic offense and is able to score frequently in every position. He has started this year 5-0 to follow up an undefeated redshirt season which included a win over All-American Bernie Truax. Ulrey has started this season 1-2 and is one of the more inexperienced guys in the Hokie lineup with only 10 matches under his belt since arriving in Blacksburg. Ulrey will look to minimize points from Kharchla to help the team. InterMat Pick: Kharchla by major decision (10-10 Tie) 174: #4 Mekhi Lewis vs. #6 Ethan Smith This is the second top-10 matchup of the dual of the evening. The home crowd at Cassell will be excited to see the return of the program's first-ever NCAA champion, Mekhi Lewis. An injury disrupted a promising 2021 campaign for Lewis, as he fought valiantly at the NCAA Tournament, but couldn't complete the tournament. Now up at 174 lbs, Lewis started the year with a title at the Southeast Open. While he didn't meet any ranked competitors, Lewis did dominate the competition. Also coming up from 165 lbs in 2021 is Ethan Smith. Smith made the NCAA semifinals before settling into fifth place. The defensively sound Smith has seemed to open up his offense at his new weight. He has not put up less than 13 points in any of his five 2021-21 matches. But, I see Lewis, also stout on defense, shutting down the Buckeye. InterMat Pick: Lewis by decision (13-10 Virginia Tech) 184: #9 Hunter Bolen vs. #21 Rocky Jordan After the Hokies retake the lead, they have another hammer ready in the bullpen. Local favorite, Hunter Bolen, was a first-time NCAA All-American in 2021. While Bolen is currently ranked ninth, he was the #2 seed at the 2020 NCAA Championships and three career wins over 2021 NCAA runner-up Trent Hidlay. Bolen's only appearance this year came at the Southeast Open, where he was 5-for-5 in racking up bonus points. Looking to slow him down is 2021 national qualifier Rocky Jordan. Jordan opened the year with a solid win over 2020 ACC champion Clay Lautt, but only went 1-1 at the Ohio Intercollegiate Open. He did not finish after losing via fall to Mercyhurst's Luke McGonigal. InterMat Pick: Bolen by decision (16-10 Virginia Tech) 197: Dakota Howard vs. #24 Gavin Hoffman While other matches in this dual may feature higher-ranked competitors, this may be one that steals the show. Dakota Howard is a Hokie fan favorite due to his incredible motor and relentless attacks. He earned a spot at the 2021 NCAA Tournament (competing at 174) after two come-from-behind sudden victory bouts at the ACC Championships. Opposing Howard will be Gavin Hoffman. This year, at 197 lbs, Hoffman has begun to show the skills that made him a top-ten recruit in Class of 2018. Hoffman has three bonus-point wins and a 9-2 decision over former DII national champion Nick Mason (Tiffin) on his ledger for 2021-22. This time the Buckeye continues to stay hot and puts Ohio State back in the match, heading into 285 lbs. InterMat Pick: #24 Hoffman by decision (16-13 Virginia Tech) 285: #14 Nathan Traxler vs #7 Tate Orndorff Orndorff is favored on paper in this matchup, but it could be one of the more entertaining bouts of the evening. Traxler is a former PAC-12 Champion who transferred to VT from Stanford and has looked phenomenal since arriving--he has started 4-0 with three pins. Orndorff is a more methodical, low-scoring, control the match-type heavyweight, who finished as an All-American last season. This should be the deciding match, depending on what weight the dual starts and assuming the dual plays out without too many upsets. I think Traxler is able to get his offense going against the larger Orndorff and gets the upset in his Cassell debut. Fun fact that has little bearing on this dual. Traxler is 3-0 against Tate's older brother, Tanner, when they were both 197 lbers from 2018-20. InterMat Pick: Traxler by decision (19-13 Virginia Tech)