InterMat Staff

How about that Fargo? I watched every single match while sucking down wings, so it was like I was there. You won’t read that in Jason Bryant’s Fargo Almanac. But you can read a hot mailbag to go with the hot weather currently melting the country. Who under Coach Taylor will take the biggest leap for the Cowboys in year one? The Low Single It seems like an impossible question to answer because we simply don’t know much about David Taylor the coach. Though the meteoric rise of his club in Pennsylvania is a good barometer that he knows what he’s doing. I’m actually most interested in the two big transfers. Cam Amine and Dean Hamiti are two of the most veteran of veterans with a handful of podium appearances between them but never really seemed like a finals threat. With both having a year left to go all out, do they find that next level in new surroundings and a fresh start? Being right at the weights of DT’s wheelhouse certainly has to help. This also begs the question of whether Thomas Gilman turns Troy Spratley into a monster as his first protege. NCAA Football ‘25 came out this week. If there was a college wrestling game, who would you want to be the cover athlete? Along with that, what team would you pick in dynasty mode? And what weight would you wrestle on the road to glory? The Kid Smoke Drip Costanza If the game were coming out this year then you have to put Carter Starocci on the cover. There’s no other choice in my opinion. Then I’m creating myself and going to Army West Point. Remember in Punch-Out when Little Mac is training by running along the river while Doc rides the bike? We will have that montage but it’s me running behind Scott Green on the way to Wegmans. Then I go full Dake and win four different weight classes for America’s Team. Why would someone block someone (until the end of September) from your Intermat forum with no warning or notice of why it happened? I was told to take it to the zoo, which I did. Doesn’t make sense when it’s going to cost you a yearly premium subscription. Just wondering. Jim H (Cinnabon?) Is it my forum? I barely even go on there. I’m sorry this happened to you but I don’t believe you need a subscription to use the forum. Just like this mailbag. Which is a good thing since I doubt I’m moving the needle on subscriptions. Either way, I’ll make sure to wake you up when September ends. Fargo gives out "stop signs". What other signs need to be given out? Burger King of Kings Yield signs so they can learn what it looks like and what it means. I don’t know how many times I’m driving and some dude just blasts into the road without a care in the world while I have to slam on the breaks. Not to mention the constant running of red lights lately. It’s just anarchy out there. How many of the moves in the Fargo highlight clips shared on Twitter would work on you? I know that none of them would work on me. Oldest and Greatest All of them? I’m basically a statue now. I wouldn't even know what hit me before I'm getting gut-wrenched all over the place. But you talk a good game - I think you should enter the Farrell this year and see what happens. Why would you have a lefty throw your pitches in the home run derby? Even if he was throwing dots (he wasn’t) it is a huge disadvantage. Baby Duff I’ll admit I didn’t watch the derby or game the next day, so I have no idea who you are referring to here. What’s your problem with lefties? I’m a lefty. You saying you can’t hit my curveball? How do you think Scott Legacy is doing at Vermont State Castleton and building that program? It’s less than 10 years old and already a D3 contender. Real Lance Scott Legacy formerly of Mount Anthony Union? He certainly has them pointed in the right direction. Gavin Bradley returns and looks to improve on last year’s seventh-place finish. You’ve got James Rodriguez coming back at 142 looking to make the podium for the third time after just missing it last year. The guy already has 122 wins and could hit the 160 mark this year. You just don’t see those kinds of numbers anymore. Sampson Wilkins comes back as a threat to win the whole thing while rocking the coolest name in all of wrestling. And we can’t forget about former Bergen Catholic star Nate Camiscoli out there at 157 for a little Jersey grit. I have a feeling Coach will end up leaving quite the “legacy” when he’s done.

In their first year of competition, the Iowa women’s wrestling team captured an NCWWC national title and crowned individual champions in six of the ten collegiate weight classes. As hard as it may be to believe, the Hawkeye team got even stronger this evening. 2023 World silver medalist and five-time age-group world medalist, Macey Kilty, used her social media to announce that she will compete collegiately and finish her education at the University of Iowa. In April, Kilty advanced to the finals of the Olympic Team Trials for the second consecutive time. In both instances, she was beaten by two-time Senior world medalist Kayla Miracle. At the 2020(1) Trials, the pair split matches before Kilty was seriously injured in the third and deciding match and couldn’t continue. The 2024 edition saw Miracle prevail in two straight matches. 2023 saw Kilty make her first Senior World team - which she did at 65 kg. Kilty used two techs, a nine-point win, and a fall to make the finals. She’s also had multiple appearances at the U23, Junior, and Cadet World Championships. In 2018, Kilty won a Cadet World gold medal in Zagreb, Croatia. That same year she made the Junior World finals. Earlier this year, Kilty dominated en route to a Pan-American gold medal. She did not surrender a single point while teching both of her opponents. Kilty had previously spent plenty of time training at the University of North Carolina’s Tar Heel Wrestling Club, but hasn’t actually competed at the collegiate level. She’ll have one year of eligibility to use for the Hawkeyes. Kilty has competed at a variety of different weight classes over the years but has wrestled 62 kg (136 lbs) at the 2024 Olympic Trials.

The NBA Draft took place on June 26th and 27th, and while I recognize that this is a wrestling website, and wrestling article, the NBA Draft has relevance to this piece. A couple of years ago, I wrote a piece for Bloodround.com on what would happen if there were a wrestling draft similar to regular sports professional drafts. For that piece, I used the NBA draft order to select wrestlers for fictional professional wrestling teams. It was fun, and I think I had some good picks, as well as some that ended up way off. Take a look here if you’d like: Either way, I recently revisited that piece and thought I should update it for Intermat. So that’s what this is. It’s especially relevant with this being an Olympic year. How is it relevant? Please refer to the below bullet points to find out; We are only drafting NCAA D1 wrestlers. This gives us a large enough pool of wrestlers to create some debate, as well as throws the idea out there that someone younger, and therefore with more years of eligibility. This also eliminates people who have already graduated. Obviously, Vito Arujau, Austin Gomez, Aaron Brooks, and Daton Fix are all super good and would be drafted. In this world, they already have been. They are not draft-eligible. My reason is that it’s more fun to look at the youth and projections than whether or not Aaron Brooks should go first. Probably yes, so let’s pretend guys like Brooks, David Carr, Trent Hidlay, and such are going to stay with the programs that they’ve already announced they’ll continue to compete for. This does however mean that wrestlers such as Carter Starocci or Greg Kerkvliet, who have already announced they’ll be returning for one more season, are draft-eligible. I’m also using the “one and done” rule that the NBA implements. As a result, there will not be anyone drafted who is an incoming Freshman for the 2024/2025 season. Similarly, I will not be drafting anyone who took a redshirt season last year as a freshman. As a result, studs like Gabe Arnold will not be eligible for this draft, however, a Meyer Shapiro will be. For this first installment, I’m only covering the draft lottery. For those of you who don’t speak “NBA Draft”, that means the first 14 draft picks. I intend to finish the first round at some point, but initially, we are starting with these top 14 picks. The draft order will be the same as the most recent NBA draft. This is truly subjective and predictive based on my own internal bias. These teams would be for Men’s Freestyle only. My apologies to Greco, as well as Women’s wrestling. Those drafts may take place in another article in the future, but for this piece that is where the focus remains. Nation of origin is not of concern here. They would not need to simply represent the United States here, so any country of origin works. It’s all based on talent and upside. Weight class is important to consider. World Championships are great, but projected Olympic weights for 2028 in Los Angeles are valued more than non-Olympic weight classes. Lastly, please consider more team points are better than less team points, so someone more likely to get pins, tech's, and majors inherently becomes more valuable than someone who won't. Youth and upside are considered in this drafting process. Let’s begin! 1. Atlanta Hawks - Jesse Mendez - In the summer of 2023, Jesse took second in the world at the U20 World Championships. Fresh off of that, he won an NCAA title, followed by taking fourth at 65kgs in the 2024 US Olympic Trials. He had a win over James Green and lost a close match to the current 65kg Olympian, and last year's 70 kg World Champion, Zain Retherford. All arrows point to Jesse Mendez continuing this complete streak of dominance and growth. He’s shown every bit of talent and grit that it takes to be at the highest level in freestyle and folkstyle, and on all accounts, loves competing and being challenged. I’ve seen everything I need to feel like he’s going to be around and challenging for Olympic spots for years to come. He might not have as many of the age group world titles as some of the guys here, but I’m completely sold on what this guy will be moving forward. Is it a reach to take Mendez first overall? Some might think so, but I am absolutely not one of those guys. I’m all in on what he can be on the international scene and look forward to seeing him continue to progress. 2. Washington Wizards - Greg Kerkvliet - It’s hard to find Heavyweights with the unique blend of size and athleticism that Greg has. Independent of their physical traits, Greg also seems to have the intangibles that it takes to continue to develop his skills and hone his craft. It must be hard to be as dominant as he was this last season and still find ways to challenge yourself and push yourself as much as it takes. The eternal battle with great heavyweights is finding training partners to push you, but I trust he has the mental makeup to know what it takes and he has domestic challengers that he knows he needs to get through. Goals like that make for great motivation. 3. Houston Rockets - Andrew Alirez - Fresh off his Olympic redshirt season, the 2023 NCAA Champ at 141 wrestled well at the trials, ultimately falling to Nick Lee in the semifinals. Rumors are that he could be up at 149 for the upcoming NCAA season, but I still feel good about him at 65kgs for 2028. He’s shown that he can manage his weight very well, and even if he needed to bump up to 74kgs, I trust that he has the frame to do so. All of this is fun, but more importantly, his wrestling is dangerous. He has a large toolbox of moves he can throw at you, and as evidenced in the NCAA finals, is willing to go upper body and go for big moves when need be. Alirez has the pedigree and results to back up this spot. 4. San Antonio Spurs - Mitch Mesenbrink - 2022 U20 70kg World Silver Medalist. U20 World Champion at 74kg in 2023. Took second at NCAAs to David Carr (another U20 World Champion), and has shown to be every bit of the talent that we thought he was. Mitch has a pace that is unlike anything I’ve seen in a while at the NCAA level, and that frantic and constantly attacking pace translates well to Freestyle. We saw that same pace and action get under the skin of the great Jordan Burroughs, and I trust that it will equally frustrate the Senior-level competition across the world. Mitch’s ceiling is something scary to think about, and San Antonio got a great pickup in the young and talented Messenbrink. 5. Detroit Pistons - Keegan O’Toole - U20 74kg World Champion in 2021, and U23 World Champion at 74kgs in 2023. 2x NCAA Champion, 2x 3rd place at NCAAs, and the man has one more year left. He only fell this far in the draft because I’m a little worried about where he’ll land weight class-wise in 2028. Rumors have been that O’Toole will bump to 174 for his final college season, and typically as one gets older, it becomes harder to drop the weight and have the optimal levels of performance. Especially at such a deep and competitive weight like 74kgs. At the same time, 84kgs is super deep and dangerous as well. Regardless, the talent of KOT is an absolute steal at the 5th pick, and we are thrilled to pick him at 5. KOT seems to genuinely love to compete and be pushed (as evidenced in any interview he’s given regarding the battles with David Carr). Regardless of weight class concerns, KOT will be a force to be reckoned with as we move towards 2028. 6. Charlotte Hornets - Meyer Shapiro - An absolute stud freshman season at NCAAs. Stepped in as a true freshman only losing 3 matches all season, and going 6-1 at NCAAs to end up placing 3rd. Of course, this is a freestyle-focused draft, so it should be important to reference Meyer’s two age group world championships as well (gold at U17s in 2021 and gold at U20s at 70kg in 2023). He competed at 157 pounds as a freshman in college, and should easily fill into 74kgs by 2028. Additionally, he’s competing and training at Cornell, where he’ll have excellent freestyle-focused training partners to continue to challenge himself and grow. Only in drafts with other multiple-time world champs do guys like this fall this far. 7. Portland Trail Blazers - Rocky Elam - Elam seemed to battle some injuries last season, but the four-time All-American has shown that he has all it takes. He was a 2021 U20 World Champion in Freestyle and has been as consistent a presence for the Missouri Tigers as you’d like to have. Even battling through a slower season than we’ve been used to with Rocky, he was still able to place sixth in a loaded 197 weight class. Kyle Snyder has been the man at 97 kgs for just about the last decade, and he’ll only be 32 in 2028, but by that time there could be a string of guys who could challenge that spot, and I believe Rocky is one of those guys. 8. San Antonio Spurs - Nick Feldman - There are a lot of Heavyweights in this draft. I just think that it’s really hard to find guys like this. Sure, you could make the argument that the prevalence of HWY in this draft means that it’s actually easy to find them, but I disagree. After the guys listed in the draft, it kind of falls off a bit from an upside and long-term potential piece. Feldman is special. Last year, the freshman had shown that he could beat just about anyone in the country. He pushed Kerkvliet harder than just about anyone else in the country and had beaten Lucas Davison several times, which didn't come easy. Pair that with the fact that he was a U20 World Champion in 2022, and also that he probably can’t legally drink alcohol. There is just so much potential with him that he can’t possibly fall further than 8. The Spurs draft is looking pretty strong with Mesenbrink and Feldman. 9. Memphis Grizzlies - Bennett Berge - It might be a little strange to have Bennett Berge ahead of Parker Keckeisen on this list, but let me explain. If we are looking ahead at prospects for the 2028 Olympics, then I can justify it. As a redshirt freshman, Berge placed fourth at NCAAs. Additionally, he had shown throughout the season continued growth and development, as you would hope from a strong young prospect. Outside of NCAA competition, Berge has placed second and third in the world at U20s in 2022 and 2023, so he has shown legitimate freestyle competency, which he will certainly build on. Four years from now, as he finishes what will be a strong college season, he should be poised to make a strong run at the Olympics, even presumably with a guy like Aaron Brooks still at that spot. 10. Utah Jazz - Isaac Trumble - Another challenger to the reign of Kyle Snyder’s terror, Isaac Trumble has shown that he is as versatile and dangerous as it gets. He made the Olympic Trials finals, getting shut out by Snyder in both matches, but nonetheless. That was a deep pool of wrestlers he had to get through just to make the finals. He is comfortable with upper-body throws, has a nice series of leg attacks, and can turn from the top position. Oh, and he is a U23 World Champion at 97 kgs as well from 2023. That seems relevant for this exercise. I’m excited to see what he will bring to the Wolfpack of NC State this next season, presumably stepping in where Trent Hidlay left off. 11. Chicago Bulls - Jacob Cardenas - Bronze medal at U23 World Championships, 2x All-American (8th and 4th), and is now training at the CKWC in Ann Arbor with some notable training partners. Nothing against the Cornell group at all. I just think that it’s good to have some diversity in coaching and partners to help jump levels, and I expect that out of Jacob’s final season spent in Ann Arbor. He’s shown that he is dangerous in both freestyle and folkstyle, and could be a real threat in 2028. As previously referenced, 97 kgs seems to be in good hands, and will likely still be the case in 2028, but there will be young guys like Jacob trying to get that spot. 12. Oklahoma City Thunder - Parker Keckeisen - The only reason Kekeisen went this low is because I haven’t seen him wrestle much freestyle. I am, however, very confident that he wrestles very well. He had a 90% bonus rate last NCAA season on his way to an NCAA title. He was a super freak. He went like a hot knife through butter through the NCAA tournament. Parker is an absolute monster, and I trust that with a little work, he can “figure out” freestyle wrestling. He’s placed 3rd, 3rd, 2nd, and 1st at NCAAs, and will be returning for one final season, presumably targeting the elusive Dan Hodge trophy. His pace and physicality are both traits that will lend themselves to freestyle wrestling very well, and I’m excited to see what he’s able to do with a legitimate pushout rule. 13. Sacramento Kings - Lachlan McNeil - McNeill has shown in his first couple of NCAA seasons that he is a legit contender. Outside of that though, he’s wrestled freestyle in several Senior-level tournaments throughout the years. Albeit for Canada, so for the Olympics purposes of this draft the argument kind of falls apart, but the spirit of this exercise is to shine a light on some of the young college-level freestyle prospects, and I would be remiss to leave McNeil out of this exercise. The two-time All-American for the Tar Heels has shown that he is a real threat on the international scene, and he still has several more years of college eligibility to build into a finished wrestler and freestyle product. 14. Portland Trailblazers - Wyatt Hendrickson - The military experiment that is Wyatt Hendrickson is just too good to leave off here. We remain in this prolonged golden age of heavyweight, which has really been a delight to see. We have these 250+ pound freak athletes all over the place now it seems. Guys who like to attack legs, maintain a high pace, and can scramble like middleweights. All sorts of credit to Air Force and what they were able to do with Wyatt, but it would be a little weird to think that he wasn’t going to jump levels after the transfer to Oklahoma State. If he elects to continue wrestling through the Olympics in 2028, then he has as much size, talent, and drive as it takes to make a run to represent his country on that stage.

The men’s freestyle portion of the 2024 16U and Junior National Championships from Fargo, North Dakota is in the books. You can check out Jason Bryant’s Fargo Guide to track the long history of success in the FargoDome and how it correlates to winning at the collegiate and Senior levels. So that means you shouldn’t be surprised to see the wrestlers who found the podium yesterday to be the same ones challenging for the top eight at the NCAA Championships. And with the way that high school wrestlers have trained and are getting better than in past generations - we won’t wait very long for them to contend. Below are the wrestlers who earned All-American honors and have committed to wrestle at the next level. They are listed by their future home, along with their placement and weight. If there is no “Class of” listed then that particular wrestler is from the Class of 2024. Air Force Rylan Kuhn (Missouri) - 5th Place at 285 lbs - Class of 2025 Arizona State Harvey Ludington (New Jersey) - Champion at 190 lbs - Class of 2025 Pierson Manville (Pennsylvania) - 4th Place at 144 lbs Aidan Ysaguirre (Arizona) - 8th Place at 190 lbs - Class of 2025 California Baptist Paul Kelly (California) - Runner-Up at 150 lbs Cornell Gabriel Bouyssou (Rhode Island) - 7th Place at 144 lbs Rocco Dellagatta (New Jersey) - Champion at 285 lbs - Class of 2025 Elijah Diakomihalis (New York) - 6th Place at 190 lbs - Class of 2025 Cash Henderson (Utah) - 4th Place at 285 lbs Alessio Perentin (New Jersey) - Champion at 165 lbs - Class of 2025 Sergio Vega (Arizona) - Champion at 138 lbs - Class of 2025 Indiana Gavin Jendreas (Indiana) - 4th Place at 126 lbs - Class of 2025 Carson Thomas (Ohio) - 3rd Place at 190 lbs - Class of 2025 Iowa Dru Ayala (Iowa) - 7th Place at 120 lbs Iowa State Christian Castillo (Arizona) - 3rd Place at 126 lbs - Class of 2025 Daniel Herrera (Iowa) - Runner-Up at 285 lbs Little Rock Gunner Holland (Florida) - 7th Place at 165 lbs Michigan Gauge Botero (Pennsylvania) - Champion at 120 lbs - Class of 2025 Minnesota Blake Beissel (Minnesota) - 3rd Place at 120 lbs Charlie Millard (Wisconsin) - 3rd Place at 165 lbs Missouri Seth Mendoza (Illinois) - Runner-Up at 132 lbs - Class of 2025 Jace Roller (Oklahoma) - 6th Place at 144 lbs Navy Gage Yackee (Ohio) - 4th Place at 190 lbs NC State Daniel Zepeda (California) - Champion at 144 lbs - Class of 2025 Nebraska Cade Ziola (Nebraska) - Runner-Up at 190 lbs - Class of 2025 New York University Xavier Diaz (Pennsylvania) - Runner-Up at 100 lbs North Carolina Matthew Botello (Massachusetts) - 4th Place at 132 lbs - Class of 2025 Mikey Calcagno (Illinois) - 6th Place at 215 lbs Israel Ibarra (Arizona) - 5th Place at 165 lbs - Class of 2025 North Dakota State Dante Hutchings (Colorado) - 8th Place at 165 lbs Northern Illinois Ian Smith (Wisconsin) - 7th Place at 215 lbs Northern Iowa Carter Freeman (Iowa) - 6th Place at 138 lbs Jace Hedeman (Iowa) - 8th Place at 126 lbs - Class of 2025 Northwestern August Hibler (New Jersey) - 4th Place at 150 lbs Ohio State Vince Bouzakis (Pennsylvania) - 6th Place at 157 lbs Maddox Shaw (Pennsylvania) - 3rd Place at 150 lbs Oklahoma Alex Braun (Minnesota) - 3rd Place at 138 lbs Koufax Christensen (Iowa) - Runner-Up at 126 lbs Clay Giddens (Oklahoma) - 4th Place at 165 lbs Anthony Harris (New Jersey) - Runner-Up at 215 lbs - Class of 2025 Jake Hockaday (Indiana) - 3rd Place at 132 lbs - Class of 2025 Hunter Hollingsworth (Oklahoma) - 4th Place at 138 lbs Austin Johnson (Pennsylvania) - 3rd Place at 215 lbs - Class of 2025 Ricky Thomas (Oklahoma) - 7th Place at 285 lbs Anders Thompson (Montana) - 5th Place at 190 lbs Oklahoma State Ishmael Guerrero (Oklahoma) - 4th Place at 157 lbs - Class of 2025 Landon Robideau (Minnesota) - Champion at 150 lbs - Class of 2025 Kody Routledge (Oklahoma) - 3rd Place at 157 lbs - Class of 2025 Penn Isaias Jimenez (Arizona) - Runner-Up at 157 lbs Davis Motyka (Pennsylvania) - 4th Place at 120 lbs Penn State Nathan Desmond (Pennsylvania) - 5th Place at 126 lbs - Class of 2025 Will Henckel (Connecticut) - Runner-Up at 175 lbs - Class of 2025 Princeton Matthew Martino (Idaho) - 7th Place at 150 lbs - Class of 2025 Rutgers Billy Townson (California) - 7th Place at 126 lbs - Class of 2025 South Dakota State Keenan Sheridan (South Dakota) - 6th Place at 175 lbs Logan Swensen (Minnesota) - 7th Place at 132 lbs Stanford Angelo Posada (California) - Champion at 215 lbs Edwin Sierra (California) - 6th Place at 126 lbs - Class of 2025 Upper Iowa Caleb Olson (Iowa) - 8th Place at 157 lbs Utah Valley Smokey McClure (Washington) - Runner-Up at 144 lbs Virginia Tech Ryan Burton (New Jersey) - Champion at 175 lbs - Class of 2025 Parker Ferrell (Virginia) - 3rd Place at 285 lbs Drew Gorman (Georgia) - Runner-Up at 138 lbs - Class of 2025 Aaron Seidel (Pennsylvania) - Champion at 126 lbs - Class of 2025 Claudio Torres (Florida) - 7th Place at 157 lbs - Class of 2025 Ben Weader (Virginia) - 5th Place at 157 lbs - Class of 2025 Wisconsin Caleb Dennee (Wisconsin) - 4th Place at 175 lbs - Class of 2025 Matthew Jens (Illinois) - 8th Place at 175 lbs Wyoming Tyson Charmoli (Minnesota) - 3rd Place at 144 lbs

16U Men’s Freestyle Final Results Team Race 1. Pennsylvania 2. Illinois 3. Iowa 4. New Jersey 5. Indiana 6. California 7. Ohio 8. Missouri 9. Wisconsin 10. Maryland 88 lbs Championship: Ariah Mills (Georgia) over Hudson Chittum (Tennessee) 5-2 3rd Place: Kooper Deputy (Pennsylvania) over Wyatt Dannegger (Missouri) 8-3 5th Place: Thales Silva (California) over Lucas Forman (Nevada) 14-4 7th Place: Michael McNamara (Illinois) over Onofre Gonzales (Colorado) 4-3 94 lbs Championship: Keegan Bassett (Pennsylvania) over Tyler Verceles (Maryland) 4-2 3rd Place: Thiago Silva (California) over Traevon Ducking (Indiana) 3-2 5th Place: Cody Clarke (Georgia) over Niko Odiotti (Illinois) 10-0 7th Place: Cruz Gannon (Iowa) over Vince Von Bernewitz (Virginia) 5-0 100 lbs Championship: Justin Farnsworth (Pennsylvania) over Corey Brown (Maryland) 4-2 3rd Place: Turner Ross (Minnesota) over Chase Karenbauer (Pennsylvania) 4-0 5th Place: Loc Webber (Ohio) over William Soto (New York) MedFFT 7th Place: Sean Kenny (New Jersey) over Jojo Burke (New Jersey) 5-4 106 lbs Championship: Hayden Schwab (Iowa) over PJ Terranova (New Jersey) 2-1 3rd Place: Case Bell (Indiana) over Mateo Gallegos (Pennsylvania) 4-0 5th Place: Analu Woode (Hawaii) over Layne Martin (Michigan) 16-6 7th Place: Cruzer Dominguez (Nebraska) over Kaleb Pratt (Illinois) 5-1 113 lbs Championship: Shamus Regan (Pennsylvania) over Paul Ruiz (California) 5-0 3rd Place: Alexander Pierce (Iowa) over Killian Coluccio (New Jersey) 4-3 5th Place: Jensen Boyd (Indiana) over Shea Richter (South Dakota) 6-4 7th Place: Jovanni Tovar (Florida) over Austin Bickerton (Ohio) 7-0 120 lbs Championship: Will Detar (Pennsylvania) over Liston Seibert (Ohio) 11-8 3rd Place: Gabriel Ballard (Pennsylvania) over Rocco Cassioppi (Illinois) Fall 3:29 5th Place: Van Smith (Oklahoma) over Paul Kenny (New Jersey) Disq 7th Place: Czar Quintanilla (Washington) over Kavin Muyleart (Pennsylvania) 8-3 126 lbs Championship: Stephen Myers (West Virginia) over Bruno Cassioppi (Illinois) 12-6 3rd Place: Mason Carlson (Utah) over Gage Lohr (South Dakota) 15-5 5th Place: Brenden Jordan Agcaoili (Nevada) over Dale Corbin (Wisconsin) FFT 7th Place: Matthew Orbeta (California) over Maximus Hay (Wisconsin) FFT 132 lbs Championship: Clinton Shepherd (Indiana) over Ashton Besmer (California) 12-3 3rd Place: Gavin Mangano (New York) over Jovani Solis (Florida) 4-4 5th Place: Dawson Youngblut (Iowa) over Grayson Fuchs (Michigan) 4-2 7th Place: Austin Collins (Colorado) over Max Gonzalez (Wisconsin) FFT 138 lbs Championship: Justis Jesuroga (Iowa) over Hunter Stevens (Wisconsin) 4-3 3rd Place: Austin Ellis (Utah) over Brooklyn Pickett (Maryland) Fall 1:22 5th Place: Miller Sipes (Missouri) over Carlos Valdiviezo (California) 5-2 7th Place: Nate Keller (New Jersey) over Wyatt Fry (Pennsylvania) 4-2 144 lbs Championship: Noah Bull (Utah) over Dominic Wilson (Texas) 16-2 3rd Place: Camryn Howard (New York) over Colini Rutlin (Missouri) 11-0 5th Place: James Whitbred (Pennsylvania) over Travis Cardenas (Arizona) FFT 7th Place: Hudson Hohman (Pennsylvania) over Ladd Holman (Utah) 6-4 150 lbs Championship: Jayden James (New Jersey) over Maximus Dhabolt (Iowa) 10-0 3rd Place: Chance Ruble (Missouri) over Eli Esguerra (Ohio) 10-8 5th Place: Cooper Rowe (Minnesota) over Thomas Gibbs (Indiana) 5-4 7th Place: Jake Hughes (Ohio) over Carter Fielden (Indiana) 11-1 157 lbs Championship: Lucas Boe (Indiana) over Gabriel Logan (New Jersey) 8-0 3rd Place: Brody Sendele (Illinois) over Zack Aqulia (Ohio) 8-1 5th Place: Ismael Bereket (Illinois) over Tyree Graham (Florida) 10-0 7th Place: Brennan Warwick (Ohio) over Kawayran Vazquez (Florida) 8-5 165 lbs Championship: Aaron Stewart (Illinois) over JayDen Williams (Michigan) 10-0 3rd Place: Salah Tsarni (Maryland) over Liam Crook (Wisconsin) 6-2 5th Place: Mario Hutcherson (Pennsylvania) over Riley Johnson (Nebraska) 10-0 7th Place: Blake Hostetter (Pennsylvania) over Don Beaufait (Michigan) 10-4 175 lbs Championship: Brayden Koester (Iowa) over Cody Savage (Vermont) 7-7 3rd Place: Nicholas Singer (Pennsylvania) over Carter Temple (Missouri) 13-2 5th Place: Xavier Smith (Indiana) over Isai Fernandez (California) FFT 7th Place: Kyle Scott (Pennsylvania) over Sam Howard (Indiana) 12-1 190 lbs Championship: Elijah Brown (Pennsylvania) over Maximus Konopka (Connecticut) 8-2 3rd Place: Tanner Hodgins (New Jersey) over Eli Knight (West Virginia) 11-3 5th Place: David Calkins (California) over Daniel Moylan (California) 7-2 7th Place: Deacon Moran (Missouri) over Peter Mocco (Florida) 11-0 215 lbs Championship: Alex Taylor (Ohio) over Ryder Smith (Tennessee) 11-7 3rd Place: Josh Hoffer (Illinois) over Joseph Favia (New Jersey) 1-1 5th Place: Cael Leisgang (Wisconsin) over Noah Larios (California) Fall 3:50 7th Place: Noah Mathis (Kansas) over Zach Caldwell (New York) 10-0 285 lbs Championship: Jonathan Rulo (Illinois) over Makhi Rodgers (Wisconsin) Fall 2:39 3rd Place: Mateo Vinciguerra (New Jersey) over Preston Wagner (Nebraska) 13-0 5th Place: Kyler Kuhn (Missouri) over Lucas Feuerbach (Iowa) Fall 3:50 7th Place: JT Kelso (Iowa) over Chandler Moore (Ohio) 9-0

Junior Men’s Freestyle Final Results Team Race 1. Pennsylvania 2. New Jersey 3. California 4. Minnesota 5. Illinois 6. Arizona 7. Oklahoma 8. Ohio 9. Iowa 10. Indiana 100 lbs Championship: Michael Rundell (Illinois) over Xavier Diaz (Pennsylvania) 8-5 3rd Place: Ethan Powell (Ohio) over Kacen Jones (Utah) 10-0 5th Place: Jason Foutz (Pennsylvania) over Brock Goebel (Nebraska) 16-5 7th Place: Kaiden Belinsky (Iowa) over Chase Dubuque (New Jersey) 15-4 106 lbs Championship: Christopher Swann (Georgia) over Antonio Quiroz (Nevada) 8-7 3rd Place: Jarrett Smith (Michigan) over Carter Chunko (Pennsylvania) 6-2 5th Place: Cason Craft (Oklahoma) over Brady Byrd (Indiana) 11-10 7th Place: Charles Esposito (New Jersey) over Daniel Alire (Arizona) 10-0 113 lbs Championship: Dunia Sibomana (New York) over Ayden Dodd (Ohio) 8-2 3rd Place: Abdi Unle (Nebraska) over Revin Dickman (Indiana) 8-6 5th Place: Nicolas Enzminger (North Dakota) over Brayden Teunissen (Illinois) 10-0 7th Place: Caleb Noble (Illinois) over Oumar Tounkara (New York) 13-3 120 lbs Championship: Gauge Botero (Pennsylvania) over Brock Rothermel (Pennsylvania) 11-2 3rd Place: Blake Beissel (Minnesota) over Davis Motyka (Pennsylvania) 7-6 5th Place: Nicolas Garcia (Illinois) over Dom Deputy (Pennsylvania) 4-4 7th Place: Dru Ayala (Iowa) over Antonio Mills (Georgia) 13-11 126 lbs Championship: Aaron Seidel (Pennsylvania) over Koufax Christensen (Iowa) 10-0 3rd Place: Christian Castillo (Arizona) over Gavin Jendreas (Indiana) 10-0 5th Place: Nathan Desmond (Pennsylvania) over Edwin Sierra (California) 5-3 7th Place: Billy Townson (California) over Jace Hedeman (Iowa) 6-0 132 lbs Championship: Jax Forrest (Pennsylvania) over Seth Mendoza (Illinois) 10-0 3rd Place: Jake Hockaday (Indiana) over Matthew Botello (Massachusetts) 8-4 5th Place: Tyler Dekraker (Pennsylvania) over Moses Mendoza (California) 9-8 7th Place: Logan Swensen (Minnesota) over Manuel Saldate (Nevada) 12-3 138 lbs Championship: Sergio Vega (Arizona) over Drew Gorman (Georgia) 10-2 3rd Place: Alex Braun (Minnesota) over Hunter Hollingsworth (Oklahoma) 6-4 5th Place: Sam Herring (Pennsylvania) over Carter Freeman (Iowa) 10-0 7th Place: Kellen Wolbert (Wisconsin) MedFFT Blue Stiffler (Georgia) 144 lbs Championship: Daniel Zepeda (California) over Smokey McClure (Washington) 13-4 3rd Place: Tyson Charmoli (Minnesota) over Pierson Manville (Pennsylvania) 3-2 5th Place: Zeno Moore (Florida) over Jace Roller (Oklahoma) 14-7 7th Place: Gabriel Bouyssou (Rhode Island) over Gus Cardinal (Arizona) 12-0 150 lbs Championship: Landon Robideau (Minnesota) over Paul Kelly (California) 10-0 3rd Place: Maddox Shaw (Pennsylvania) over August Hibler (New Jersey) 6-4 5th Place: Blake Crosby (Michigan) over Daishun Powe (Alabama) 13-2 7th Place: Matthew Martino (Idaho) over Brandon Dean (Colorado) Fall 2:16 157 lbs Championship: Melvin Miller (Pennsylvania) over Isaias Jimenez (Arizona) 8-7 3rd Place: Kody Routledge (Oklahoma) over Ishmael Guerrero (Oklahoma) 11-5 5th Place: Ben Weader (Virginia) FFT Vince Bouzakis (Pennsylvania) 7th Place: Claudio Torres (Florida) over Caleb Olson (Iowa) 10-0 165 lbs Championship: Alessio Perentin (New Jersey) over Elliott Humphries (Massachusetts) 10-0 3rd Place: Charlie Millard (Wisconsin) over Clay Giddens (Oklahoma) 5-3 5th Place: Israel Ibarra (Arizona) over Travis Grace (California) Fall 2:54 7th Place: Gunner Holland (Florida) over Dante Hutchings (Colorado) 13-8 175 lbs Championship: Ryan Burton (New Jersey) over Will Henckel (Connecticut) 4-2 3rd Place: Adam Waters (Pennsylvania) over Caleb Dennee (Wisconsin) 12-1 5th Place: Waylon Cressell (Indiana) over Keenan Sheridan (South Dakota) 10-0 7th Place: Mason Ontiveros (California) over Matthew Jens (Illinois) 11-1 190 lbs Championship: Harvey Ludington (New Jersey) over Cade Ziola (Nebraska) 10-0 3rd Place: Carson Thomas (Ohio) over Gage Yackee (Ohio) 5-5 5th Place: Anders Thompson (Montana) over Elijah Diakomihalis (New York) 15-2 7th Place: Peter Snyder (Maryland) over Aidan Ysaguirre (Arizona) 2-1 215 lbs Championship: Angelo Posada (California) over Anthony Harris (New Jersey) 5-2 3rd Place: Austin Johnson (Pennsylvania) over Melvin Whitehead (Nevada) 10-0 5th Place: Evan McGuire (Minnesota) over Mikey Calcagno (Illinois) 11-6 7th Place: Ian Smith (Wisconsin) over Antonio Palmer (Nebraska) MedFFt 285 lbs Championship: Rocco Dellagatta (New Jersey) over Daniel Herrera (California) 8-7 3rd Place: Parker Ferrell (Virginia) over Cash Henderson (Utah) 15-4 5th Place: Rylan Kuhn (Missouri) over Dean Bechtold (Pennsylvania) 6-5 7th Place: Ricky Thomas (Oklahoma) over Jackson Barnhart (Illinois) 6-0

This offseason Chase Saldate moved on from Michigan State University and transferred to in-state rival Michigan. Saldate is grateful for his time in East Lansing and the friends he made along the way, but is also extremely excited and reinvigorated for his final year of collegiate competition. We said "college" competition, because now that Saldate is in the Michigan room, he's had the urge to wrestle freestyle. During his talk with Kevin Claunch, Saldate drops a nugget about an upcoming competition representing Mexico. For the full interview:

Fargo 16U Men’s Freestyle Semifinal Results 88 lbs: Hudson Chittum (Tennessee) over Lucas Forman (Nevada) 11-2 88 lbs: Ariah Mills (Georgia) over Kooper Deputy (Pennsylvania) 11-0 94 lbs: Keegan Bassett (Pennsylvania) over Thiago Silva (California) 6-0 94 lbs: Tyler Verceles (Maryland) over Cody Clarke (Georgia) 11-2 100 lbs: Corey Brown (Maryland) over Chase Karenbauer (Pennsylvania) 2-2 100 lbs: Justin Farnsworth (Pennsylvania) over Turner Ross (Minnesota) 3-2 106 lbs: PJ Terranova (New Jersey) over Case Bell (Indiana) 4-3 106 lbs: Hayden Schwab (Iowa) over Layne Martin (Michigan) 9-4 113 lbs: Shamus Regan (Pennsylvania) over Shea Richter (South Dakota) 5-0 113 lbs: Paul Ruiz (California) over Alexander Pierce (Iowa) 2-2 120 lbs: Liston Seibert (Ohio) over Van Smith (Oklahoma) 10-0 120 lbs: Will Detar (Pennsylvania) over Paul Kenny (New Jersey) FFT 126 lbs: Bruno Cassioppi (Illinois) over Brenden Jorden Agcaoili (Nevada) 8-4 126 lbs: Stephen Myers (West Virginia) over Dale Corbin (Wisconsin) InjDef 132 lbs: Clinton Shepherd (Indiana) over Gavin Mangano (New York) 6-2 132 lbs: Ashton Besmer (California) over Jovani Solis (Florida) Fall 3:03 138 lbs: Hunter Stevens (Wisconsin) over Austin Ellis (Utah) 6-0 138 lbs: Justis Jesuroga (Iowa) over Carlos Valdiviezo (California) 2-0 144 lbs: Dominic Wilson (Texas) over Travis Cardenas (Arizona) 10-0 144 lbs: Noah Bull (Utah) over Camryn Howard (New York) 8-1 150 lbs: Maximus Dhabolt (Iowa) over Thomas Gibbs (Indiana) 19-12 150 lbs: Jayden James (New Jersey) over Eli Esguerra (Ohio) 13-3 157 lbs: Gabriel Logan (New Jersey) over Brody Sendele (Illinois) 10-0 157 lbs: Lucas Boe (Indiana) over Tyree Graham (Florida) 6-0 165 lbs: Aaron Stewart (Illinois) over Riley Johnson (Nebraska) 11-0 165 lbs: JayDen Williams (Michigan) over Salah Tsarni (Maryland) Fall 2:26 175 lbs: Cody Savage (Vermont) over Isai Fernandez (California) FFT 175 lbs: Brayden Koester (Iowa) over Xavier Smith (Indiana) 6-4 190 lbs: Elijah Brown (Pennsylvania) over David Calkins (California) 12-9 190 lbs: Maximus Konopka (Connecticut) over Tanner Hodgins (New Jersey) 11-0 215 lbs: Alex Taylor (Ohio) over Joseph Favia (Illinois) 10-0 215 lbs: Ryder Smith (Tennessee) over Cael Leisgang (Wisconsin) 11-0 285 lbs: Makhi Rodgers (Wisconsin) over Preston Wagner (Nebraska) 6-4 285 lbs: Jonathan Rulo (Illinois) over Mateo Vinciguerra (New Jersey) Fall :50

Fargo Junior Men’s Freestyle Semifinal Results 100 lbs: Michael Rundell (Illinois) over Brock Goebel (Nebraska) 11-0 100 lbs: Xavier Diaz (Pennsylvania) over Ethan Powell (Ohio) 7-0 106 lbs: Christopher Swann (Georgia) over Brady Byrd (Indiana) 7-3 106 lbs: Antonio Quiroz (Nevada) over Cason Craft (Oklahoma) Fall 3:54 113 lbs: Ayden Dodd (Ohio) over Brayden Teunissen (Illinois) 14-3 113 lbs: Dunia Sibomana (New York) over Revin Dickman (Indiana) 8-1 120 lbs: Gauge Botero (Pennsylvania) over Davis Motyka (Pennsylvania) 6-0 120 lbs: Brock Rothermal (Pennsylvania) over Blake Beissel (Minnesota) 6-4 126 lbs: Koufax Christensen (Iowa) over Edwin Sierra (California) 4-3 126 lbs: Aaron Seidel (Pennsylvania) over Nathan Desmond (Pennsylvania) 7-2 132 lbs: Jax Forrest (Pennsylvania) over Matthew Botello (Massachusetts) 12-1 132 lbs: Seth Mendoza (Illinois) over Jake Hockaday (Indiana) Fall 4:58 138 lbs: Sergio Vega (Arizona) over Hunter Hollingsworth (Oklahoma) 6-0 138 lbs: Drew Gorman (Georgia) over Carter Freeman (Iowa) Fall 1:23 144 lbs: Daniel Zepeda (California) over Pierson Manville (Pennsylvania) 3-1 144 lbs: Smokey McClure (Washington) over Jace Roller (Oklahoma) 9-2 150 lbs: Landon Robideau (Minnesota) over Maddox Shaw (Pennsylvania) 5-4 150 lbs: Paul Kelly (California) over Daishun Powe (Alabama) 8-4 157 lbs: Isaias Jimenez (Arizona) over Vince Bouzakis (Pennsylvania) FFT 157 lbs: Melvin Miller (Pennsylvania) over Kody Routledge (Oklahoma) 5-3 165 lbs: Elliott Humphries (Massachusetts) over Travis Grace (California) 11-3 165 lbs: Alessio Perentin (New Jersey) over Clay Giddens (Oklahoma) 11-1 175 lbs: Ryan Burton (New Jersey) over Adam Waters (Pennsylvania) 8-2 175 lbs: Will Henckel (Connecticut) over Keenan Sheridan (South Dakota) 10-0 190 lbs: Harvey Ludington (New Jersey) over Anders Thompson (Montana) 10-0 190 lbs: Cade Ziola (Nebraska) over Carson Thomas (Ohio) 7-6 215 lbs: Angelo Posada (California) over Mikey Calcagno (Illinois) 12-9 215 lbs: Anthony Harris (New Jersey) over Evan McGuire (Minnesota) 10-0 285 lbs: Daniel Herrera (Iowa) over Parker Ferrell (Virginia) 6-1 285 lbs: Rocco Dellagatta (New Jersey) over Dean Bechtold (Pennsylvania) 14-3

The top prospect in the high school Class of 2026, Bo Bassett, has vowed to keep fans abreast of his recruiting with daily Wednesday updates. Well, today is Wednesday and true to his word, Bassett has posted an updated graphic which has eliminated a handful of schools from consideration. Earlier this year, Bassett posted a graphic that contained the logos of approximately 80 schools, most of the DI variety, but some DII’s as well, to signify that he’s totally open in the recruiting process. After a few weeks of removing schools from the list, he’s down to 45. The following schools were removed from this week’s graphic: Cal Poly, Columbia, Indiana, Maryland, Millersville, The Citadel, and West Virginia The following schools remain on Bassett’s graphic and therefore in contention for his services: Air Force, American, Arizona State, Army West Point, Brown, Bucknell, California Baptist, Campbell, Clarion, Cornell, Edinboro, Harvard, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Lehigh, Little Rock, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Missouri, Navy, NC State, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Penn, Penn State, Pitt-Johnstown, Pittsburgh, Princeton, Purdue, Rutgers, South Dakota State, Stanford, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, Wyoming. The following schools were removed from last week’s graphic: CSU Bakersfield, George Mason, Hofstra, Northwestern, Rider, UW Parkside, West Liberty The following schools were removed from the 7/3 graphic: Appalachian State, Central Michigan, Cleveland State, Drexel, Kent State, Ohio, and St. Cloud State The following schools were removed from the 6/26 graphic: Binghamton, Bloomsburg, Duke, Gardner-Webb, Northern Illinois, Sacred Heart, SIU Edwardsville As you would expect, most traditional DI power programs are still in the hunt for the two-time Super 32 and Ironman champion. Bassett recently competed at the U20 Pan-American Championships and dominated for a gold medal. In three matches, Bassett posted two falls and a tech. Bassett will also be in action later this year at the U20 World Championships - September 2nd-8th in Pontevedra, Spain. In 2021, Bassett captured gold medals in both freestyle and Greco-Roman at the U17 Pan-American Championships. That same year, at the U17 World Championships, Bassett claimed a gold medal in freestyle and was 12th in Greco. He’ll compete this year just in freestyle.

2024 Fargo Junior Men’s Freestyle Quarterfinal Results 100 lbs - Michael Rundell (Illinois) over Trace Rial (Iowa) 10-0 100 lbs - Brock Goebel (Nebraska) over Kristian DeClercq (Illinois) 10-0 100 lbs - Ethan Powell (Ohio) over Damian Trujillo (New Mexico) 12-2 100 lbs - Xavier Diaz (Pennsylvania) over Kacen Jones (Utah) Fall 1:20 Semifinals: Michael Rundell (Illinois) vs. Brock Goebel (Nebraska) Semifinals: Ethan Powell (Ohio) vs. Xavier Diaz (Pennsylvania) 106 lbs - Christopher Swann (Georgia) over Carter Chunko (Pennsylvania) 16-6 106 lbs - Brady Byrd (Indiana) over Daniel Alire (Arizona) 10-0 106 lbs - Cason Craft (Oklahoma) over Charles Esposito (New Jersey) 10-0 106 lbs - Antonio Quiroz (Nevada) over Jackson Soney (Illinois) 14-3 Semifinals: Christopher Swann (Georgia) vs. Brady Byrd (Indiana) Semifinals: Cason Craft (Oklahoma) vs. Antonio Quiroz (Nevada) 113 lbs - Brayden Teunissen (Illinois) over Alex Rozas (Louisiana) 4-3 113 lbs - Ayden Dodd (Ohio) over Roman Luttrell (New Mexico) Fall 4:07 113 lbs - Revin Dickman (Indiana) over Abdi Unle (Nebraska) Fall 5:59 113 lbs - Dunia Sibomana (New York) over Caleb Noble (Illinois) 12-2 Semifinals: Brayden Teunissen (Illinois) vs. Ayden Dodd (Ohio) Semifinals: Revin Dickman (Indiana) vs. Dunia Sibomana (New York) 120 lbs - Davis Motyka (Pennsylvania) over Jake Knight (Iowa) 15-13 120 lbs - Gauge Botero (Pennsylvania) over Musa Tamaradze (Massachusetts) 13-12 120 lbs - Blake Beissel (Minnesota) over Gage Singleton (Oregon) 18-8 120 lbs - Brock Rothermel (Pennsylvania) over Dru Ayala (Iowa) 15-5 Semifinals: Davis Motyka (Pennsylvania) vs.Gauge Botero (Pennsylvania) Semifinals: Blake Beissel (Minnesota) vs. Brock Rothermel (Pennsylvania) 126 lbs - Koufax Christensen (Iowa) over Christian Castillo (Arizona) 7-4 126 lbs - Edwin Sierra (California) over Billy Townson (California) 4-3 126 lbs - Nathan Desmond (Pennsylvania) over Joseph Curry (Ohio) 10-0 126 lbs - Aaron Seidel (Pennsylvania) over Gavin Jendreas (Indiana) 13-2 Semifinals: Koufax Christensen (Iowa) vs. Edwin Sierra (California) Semifinals: Nathan Desmond (Pennsylvania) vs. Aaron Seidel (Pennsylvania) 132 lbs - Jax Forrest (Pennsylvania) over Logan Swensen (Minnesota) 10-0 132 lbs - Matthew Botello (Massachusetts) over Moses Mendoza (California) 13-2 132 lbs - Jake Hockaday (Indiana) over Adrian Meza (Arizona) Fall 5:41 132 lbs - Seth Mendoza (Illinois) over Tyler Dekraker (Pennsylvania) Fall 3:34 Semifinals: Jax Forrest (Pennsylvania) vs. Matthew Botello (Massachusetts) Semifinals: Jake Hockaday (Indiana) vs. Seth Mendoza (Illinois) 138 lbs - Sergio Vega (Arizona) over Alex Braun (Minnesota) 12-2 138 lbs - Hunter Hollingsworth (Oklahoma) over Blue Stiffler (Georgia) 10-0 138 lbs - Drew Gorman (Georgia) over Sam Herring (Pennsylvania) 12-2 138 lbs - Carter Freeman (Iowa) over Kellen Wolbert (Wisconsin) 12-9 Semifinals: Sergio Vega (Arizona) vs. Hunter Hollingsworth (Oklahoma) Semifinals: Drew Gorman (Georgia) vs. Carter Freeman (Iowa) 144 lbs - Pierson Manville (Pennsylvania) over Tyson Charmoli (Minnesota) 4-0 144 lbs - Daniel Zepeda (California) over Jesse Grajeda (California) 14-4 144 lbs - Smokey McClure (Washington) over Kyrel Leavell (Indiana) 13-5 144 lbs - Jace Roller (Oklahoma) over Logan Paradice (Georgia) Fall 1:58 Semifinals: Pierson Manville (Pennsylvania) vs. Daniel Zepeda (California) Semifinals: Smokey McClure (Washington) vs. Jace Roller (Oklahoma) 150 lbs - Landon Robideau (Minnesota) over Garrett Reece (Maryland) 10-0 150 lbs - Maddox Shaw (Pennsylvania) over Dominic Serio (Illinois) 13-3 150 lbs - Paul Kelly (California) over Hunter Sturgill (Tennessee) 6-0 150 lbs - Daishun Powe (Alabama) over Jason Kwaak (New York) Injury Default Semifinals: Landon Robideau (Minnesota) vs. Maddox Shaw (Pennsylvania) Semifinals: Paul Kelly (California) vs.Daishun Powe (Alabama) 157 lbs - Vince Bouzakis (Pennsylvania) over Joey Canova (New Jersey) 5-0 157 lbs - Isaias Jimenez (Arizona) over Kael Voinovich (Iowa) 6-4 157 lbs - Melvin Miller (Pennsylvania) over Caleb Olson (Iowa) 10-0 157 lbs - Kody Routledge (Oklahoma) over Ayson Rice (South Dakota) 10-0 Semifinals: Vince Bouzakis (Pennsylvania) vs. Isaias Jimenez (Arizona) Semifinals: Melvin Miller (Pennsylvania) vs. Kody Routledge (Oklahoma) 165 lbs - Travis Grace (California) over Max Norman (Tennessee) 12-10 165 lbs - Elliott Humphries (Massachusetts) over Luke Sipes (Pennsylvania) 9-1 165 lbs - Alessio Perentin (New Jersey) over Gunner Holland (Florida) 13-0 165 lbs - Clayton Giddens (Oklahoma) over Dominic Bambinelli (Georgia) 10-0 Semifinals: Travis Grace (California) vs. Elliott Humphries (Massachusetts) Semifinals: Alessio Perentin (New Jersey) vs. Clayton Giddens (Oklahoma) 175 lbs - Adam Waters (Pennsylvania) over Caden Wilson (Washington) 12-0 175 lbs - Ryan Burton (New Jersey) over Caleb Dennee (Wisconsin) Fall :40 175 lbs - Keenan Sheridan (South Dakota) over Anthony Rinehart (Indiana) Fall 3:24 175 lbs - Will Henckel (Connecticut) over Waylon Cressell (Indiana) 11-0 Semifinals: Adam Waters (Pennsylvania) vs. Ryan Burton (New Jersey) Semifinals: Keenan Sheridan (South Dakota) vs. Will Henckel (Connecticut) 190 lbs - Anders Thompson (Montana) over Robert Kucharczk (Florida) 11-6 190 lbs - Harvey Ludington (New Jersey) over John Murphy (Minnesota) 10-0 190 lbs - Cade Ziola (Nebraska) over Gunner Henry (Indiana) 9-0 190 lbs - Carson Thomas (Ohio) over Gage Yackee (Ohio) 4-3 Semifinals: Anders Thompson (Montana) vs. Harvey Ludington (New Jersey) Semifinals: Cade Ziola (Nebraska) vs. Carson Thomas (Ohio) 215 lbs - Michael Calcagno (Illinois) over Melvin Whitehead (Nevada) Fall 1:41 215 lbs - Angelo Posada (California) over Antonio Palmer (Nebraska) 14-3 215 lbs - Evan McGuire (Minnesota) over Austin Johnson (Pennsylvania) 12-1 215 lbs - Anthony Harris (New Jersey) over Cason Howle (South Carolina) 12-4 Semifinals: Michael Calcagno (Illinois) vs. Angelo Posada (California) Semifinals: Evan McGuire (Minnesota) vs. Anthony Harris (New Jersey) 285 lbs - Daniel Herrera (Iowa) over John Pardo (Pennsylvania) 10-0 285 lbs - Parker Ferrell (Virginia) over Shilo Jones (Idaho) 8-3 285 lbs - Rocco Dellagatta (New Jersey) over Rylan Kuhn (Missouri) 8-4 285 lbs - Dean Bechtold (Pennsylvania) over Jackson Barnhart (Illinois) Fall 2:09 Semifinals: Daniel Herrera (Iowa) vs. Parker Ferrell (Virginia) Semifinals: Rocco Dellagatta (New Jersey) vs. Dean Bechtold (Pennsylvania)

2024 Fargo 16U Men’s Freestyle Quarterfinal Results 88 lbs - Hudson Chittum (Tennessee) over Onofre Gonzales (Colorado) 15-4 88 lbs - Lucas Forman (Nevada) over Thales Silva (California) 4-4 88 lbs - Kooper Deputy (Pennsylvania) over Cameron Schofield (Indiana) 10-0 88 lbs - Ariah Mills (Georgia) over Wyatt Dannegger (Missouri) 10-0 Semifinals: Hudson Chittum (Tennessee) vs. Lucas Forman (Nevada) Semifinals: Kooper Deputy (Pennsylvania) vs. Ariah Mills (Georgia) 94 lbs - Keegan Bassett (Pennsylvania) over Vince Von Bernewitz (Virginia) 14-3 94 lbs - Thiago Silva (California) over Traevon Ducking (Indiana) 6-5 94 lbs - Tyler Verceles (Maryland) over Niko Odiotti (Illinois) 7-0 94 lbs - Cody Clarke (Georgia) over Colton Wyller (Illinois) 12-1 Semifinals: Keegan Bassett (Pennsylvania) vs. Thiago Silva (California) Semifinals: Tyler Verceles (Maryland) vs. Cody Clarke (Georgia) 100 lbs - Chase Karenbauer (Pennsylvania) over Braedyn Tammarine (Ohio) 11-0 100 lbs - Corey Brown (Maryland) over Jojo Burke (New Jersey) 10-6 100 lbs - Turner Ross (Minnesota) over Sean Kenny (New Jersey) 9-0 100 lbs - Justin Farnsworth (Pennsylvania) over Loc Webber (Ohio) 7-5 Semifinals: Chase Karenbauer (Pennsylvania) vs. Corey Brown (Maryland) Semifinals: Turner Ross (Minnesota) vs. Justin Farnsworth (Pennsylvania) 106 lbs - Case Bell (Indiana) over Mateo Gallegos (Pennsylvania) 6-2 106 lbs - PJ Terranova (New Jersey) over Liam Collins (Minnesota) 6-3 106 lbs - Hayden Schwab (Iowa) over Zahn Beal (Wisconsin) 11-0 106 lbs - Layne Martin (Michigan) over Analu Woode (Hawaii) 10-0 Semifinals: Case Bell (Indiana) vs. PJ Terranova (New Jersey) Semifinals: Hayden Schwab (Iowa) vs. Layne Martin (Michigan) 113 lbs - Shamus Regan (Pennsylvania) over Jensen Boyd (Indiana) 4-0 113 lbs - Shea Richter (South Dakota) over Austin Bickerton (Ohio) 8-2 113 lbs - Paul Ruiz (California) over Eli Herring (Pennsylvania) 8-2 113 lbs - Alexander Pierce (Florida) over Zaiyahn Ornelas (Nebraska) Fall 1:35 Semifinals: Shamus Regan (Pennsylvania) vs. Shea Richter (South Dakota) Semifinals: Paul Ruiz (California) vs. Alexander Pierce (Florida) 120 lbs - Van Smith (Oklahoma) over Austin Carfley (Pennsylvania) 10-10 120 lbs - Liston Seibert (Ohio) over Weston Borgers (Ohio) 12-2 120 lbs - Will Detar (Pennsylvania) over Rocco Cassioppi (Illinois) 9-2 120 lbs - Paul Kenny (New Jersey) over Kavin Muyleart (Pennsylvania) 12-6 Semifinals: Van Smith (Oklahoma) vs. Liston Seibert (Ohio) Semifinals: Will Detar (Pennsylvania) vs. Paul Kenny (New Jersey) 126 lbs - Bruno Cassioppi (Illinois) over Finnegan O’Brien (New York) 6-1 126 lbs - Brenden Jorden Agcaoili (New York) over Thomas Banas (Illinois) 12-2 126 lbs - Stephen Myers (West Virginia) over Gage Lohr (South Dakota) Fall 3:13 126 lbs - Dale Corbin (Wisconsin) over Maximus Hay (Wisconsin) 5-4 Semifinals: Bruno Cassioppi (Illinois) vs. Brenden Jorden Agcaoili (New York) Semifinals: Stephen Myers (West Virginia) vs. Dale Corbin (Wisconsin) 132 lbs - Clinton Shepherd (Indiana) over Dawson Youngblut (Iowa) 9-2 132 lbs - Gavin Mangano (New York) over Jet Brown (Missouri) 6-0 132 lbs - Jovani Solis (Florida) over Christopher Arreola (California) 9-2 132 lbs - Ashton Besmer (California) over Gavin Rangel (Oregon) 9-2 Semifinals: Clinton Shepherd (Indiana) vs. Gavin Mangano (New York) Semifinals: Jovani Solis (Florida) vs. Ashton Besmer (California) 138 lbs - Austin Ellis (Utah) over Isaac Conner (Oregon) 6-0 138 lbs - Hunter Stevens (Wisconsin) over Wyatt Fry (Pennsylvania) 11-0 138 lbs - Carlos Valdiviezo (California) over Isaiah Gallegos (Colorado) 8-3 138 lbs - Justis Jesuroga (Iowa) over Miller Sipes (Missouri) 5-2 Semifinals: Austin Ellis (Utah) vs. Hunter Stevens (Wisconsin) Semifinals: Carlos Valdiviezo (California) vs. Justis Jesuroga (Iowa) 144 lbs - Travis Cardenas (Arizona) over Brendan Nardin (Illinois) 10-0 144 lbs - Dominic Wilson (Texas) over James Whitbred (Pennsylvania) 5-0 144 lbs - Camryn Howard (New York) over Raymond Fitzgerald (Pennsylvania) 5-0 144 lbs - Noah Bull (Utah) over Colin Rutlin (Missouri) 14-3 Semifinals: Travis Cardenas (Arizona) vs. Dominic Wilson (Texas) Semifinals: Camryn Howard (New York) vs. Noah Bull (Utah) 150 lbs - Maximus Dhabolt (Iowa) over Cooper Rowe (Minnesota) 10-7 150 lbs - Thomas Gibbs (Indiana) over Titus Norman (Tennessee) 10-0 150 lbs - Eli Esguerra (Ohio) over Thomas Schechterly (Pennsylvania) 10-0 150 lbs - Jayden James (New Jersey) over Jake Hughes (Ohio) 10-0 Semifinals: Maximus Dhabolt (Iowa) vs. Thomas Gibbs (Indiana) Semifinals: Eli Esguerra (Ohio) vs. Jayden James (New Jersey) 157 lbs - Brody Sendele (Illinois) over Brennan Warwick (Ohio) 12-7 157 lbs - Gabriel Logan (New Jersey) over Jaxon Miller (Iowa) 8-8 157 lbs - Tyree Graham (Florida) over JD Minder-Broeckaert (Wisconsin) Fall :58 157 lbs - Lucas Boe (Indiana) over Kawayran Vazquez (Florida) 6-3 Semifinals: Brody Sendele (Illinois) vs. Gabriel Logan (New Jersey) Semifinals: Tyree Graham (Florida) vs. Lucas Boe (Indiana) 165 lbs - Aaron Stewart (Illinois) over CJ Pensiero (Pennsylvania) 10-0 165 lbs - Riley Johnson (Nebraska) over Mario Hutcherson (Pennsylvania) 6-5 165 lbs - Salah Tsarni (Maryland) over Liam Crook (Wisconsin) 12-2 165 lbs - JayDen Williams (Michigan) over Brody Kelly (Illinois) 12-6 Semifinals: Aaron Stewart (Illinois) vs. Riley Johnson (Nebraska) Semifinals: Salah Tsarni (Maryland) vs. JayDen Williams (Michigan) 175 lbs - Isai Fernandez (California) over Nicholas Singer (Pennsylvania) 19-16 175 lbs - Cody Savage (Vermont) over Lyndon Thies (Illinois) 10-0 175 lbs - Xavier Smith (Indiana) over Isaac Barrientos (Illinois) 10-0 175 lbs - Brayden Koester (Iowa) over Carter Brown (Missouri) 6-2 Semifinals: Isai Fernandez (California) vs. Cody Savage (Vermont) Semifinals: Xavier Smith (Indiana) vs. Brayden Koester (Iowa) 190 lbs - David Calkins (California) over Brady Brown (Pennsylvania) 2-1 190 lbs - Elijah Brown (Pennsylvania) over Carson Langford (Oregon) 10-0 190 lbs - Maximus Konopka (Connecticut) over Owen Burling (Wisconsin) Fall 2:50 190 lbs - Tanner Hodgins (New Jersey) over Eli Knight (West Virginia) 13-10 Semifinals: David Calkins (California) vs. Elijah Brown (Pennsylvania) Semifinals: Maximus Konopka (Connecticut) vs.Tanner Hodgins (New Jersey) 215 lbs - Alex Taylor (Ohio) over Josh Hoffer (Illinois) 5-4 215 lbs - Joseph Favia (Illinois) over Noah Mathis (Kansas) 6-2 215 lbs - Cael Leisgang (Wisconsin) over Noah Larios (California) 8-1 215 lbs - Ryder Smith (Tennessee) over Caleb Tyler (Pennsylvania) 12-2 Semifinals: Alex Taylor (Ohio) vs. Joseph Favia (Illinois) Semifinals: Cael Leisgang (Wisconsin) vs. Ryder Smith (Tennessee) 285 lbs - Makhi Rodgers (Wisconsin) over Lucas Feuerbach (Iowa) 285 lbs - Preston Wagner (Nebraska) over JT Kelso (Iowa) 7-2 285 lbs - Mateo Vinciguerra (New Jersey) over Connor Williams (Illinois) 7-2 285 lbs - Jonathan Rulo (Illinois) over Hayden Smith (Indiana) Fall 3:27 Semifinals: Makhi Rodgers (Wisconsin) vs. Preston Wagner (Nebraska) Semifinals: Mateo Vinciguerra (New Jersey) vs. Jonathan Rulo (Illinois)

On July 1st, Hofstra announced that Jamie Franco would be the program's new head coach. Now, Franco is a name that needs no introduction to Hofstra fans as he was a CAA champion and three-time national qualifier for the Pride. He also spent seven years on Hofstra's coaching staff before moving to Columbia for the 2023-24 campaign. Franco talks to Austin Sommer about his love for his alma mater and how that passion never dimmed no matter where he was coaching. The two discuss his year at Columbia and how he grew under Zach Tanelli - one of his old collegiate coaches. Franco also talks about the upcoming season and how excited he is for a wrestling homecoming event to get the alumni and wrestling community in Long Island excited about the program. For the full interview

Junior men’s freestyle in Fargo tends to be considered the crown jewel of the entire tournament. That portion of the event started this morning with some massive brackets. Some of them started from the Round of 256 and worked their way down to the Round of 32 before stopping for the day. That means right off the bat we’ll get the Round of 32. In most tournaments, that doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll have excellent matches. But in Fargo, there are some incredible ones on tap. Add to that, seeing via the PIN ratings is rather unpredictable, so there are plenty of excellent wrestlers who are coming in unseeded. We could have listed 50 or 75 matches to watch in the morning in the Round of 32, but we had to cut it off somewhere. With that being said, here are 17 games to watch in the Junior freestyle Round of 32. 120 lbs - Nathan Rioux (Indiana) vs. Nicholas Garcia (Illinois) Willie mentioned in his seed breakdown that it was absurd that Nicholas Garcia was given the #32 seed. Now he’ll get top-seeded Nathan Rioux in the Round of 32. He looks like the bad draw to me. Rioux is a two-time Indiana runner-up and a five-time Fargo All-American. 120 lbs - Davis Motyka (Pennsylvania) vs. Isaiah Harrison (Colorado) It seems pretty early for a battle between a pair of top-100 recruits from their respective classes, but I’m here for it. Motyka has placed three times in Fargo, while Harrison was a 16U finalist last year. 126 lbs - Lukas Littleton Mascaro (Pennsylvania) vs. Sebastian DeGennaro (Oklahoma) DeGennaro was the ninth seed but got a tough opening-round match versus Iowa recruit Keyan Hernandez. He made it through and now has a top-50 recruit from the Class of 2026 in Littleton Mascaro. 126 lbs - Teddy Flores (Illinois) vs. Devon Miller (Oklahoma) Devon Miller is a returning 16U Greco-Roman national champion. He’s yet to place in Fargo in freestyle. Getting by Michigan signee Teddy Flores would push him another step closer towards the podium. 132 lbs - Devon Harrison (Missouri) vs. Manuel Saldate (Nevada) Here’s a matchup between a former 16U placer (Harrison) and someone who seemingly goes and places everywhere (Saldate). The Nevada native has placed twice in freestyle at the 16U level and now moves up for another challenge. 132 lbs - Adrian DeJesus (New Jersey) vs. Adrian Meza (Arizona) Yo, Adrian! This is probably Rocky’s favorite matchup in the Round of 32 (and mine). Meza is a graduated senior who finished ranked #68 in the Class of 2024 and was sixth last year. He is also a former 16U champion. DeJesus is a two-time New Jersey state champion who comes into Fargo ranked #2 at his weight. While DeJesus may be the better prospect, Meza may have a better background in freestyle. 138 lbs - Hunter Hollingsworth (Oklahoma) vs. Tahir Parkins (Pennsylvania) It’s another graduated senior against an excellent prospect from the Class of 2025. Hollingsworth is part of a massive #3 overall recruiting class of 2024 for Oklahoma. Parkins is a returning Junior freestyle All-American. 138 lbs - Eren Sement (Pennsylvania) vs. Carter Freeman (Iowa) Despite winning three Iowa state titles, Carter Freeman doesn’t have any Fargo-related accolades next to his name. To get a step closer to knocking that off the resume, he’ll have to go through three-time Pennsylvania state third-place finisher, Eren Sement. 138 lbs - EJ Solis (Florida) vs. Dalton Perry (Pennsylvania) Now we’re back to wrestlers from the same class clashing in this duel between top-100 wrestlers from the Class of 2025. Both Solis and Perry are U16 freestyle All-Americans, while Perry also got on the podium last year at the Junior level. 144 lbs - Donny Almeyda (New Jersey) vs. Jesse Grajeda (California) This is a fun matchup as you have rising sophomore Jesse Grajeda getting tested by a gritty two-time New Jersey state fourth-place finisher. Grajeda medaled last year in the 16U division and was a California runner-up as a freshman. He’s currently ranked in the top-ten among wrestlers in the Class of 2027. 150 lbs - Bas Diaz (Iowa) vs. Hunter Sturgill (Tennessee) On paper, this appears to be a very tightly contested bout between two recruits who are ranked semi-close to each other and seeded near each other, too (Diaz #14/Sturgill #19). Sturgill has had national-level success in Greco, but hasn’t medaled here in freestyle. 150 lbs - Beau Hickman (Oklahoma) vs. Jason Kwaak (New York) Inexplicably, 2023 16U freestyle All-American Jason Kwaak wasn’t seeded, so he’ll take on #10 Beau Hickman in the Round of 32. Hickman, like Kwaak, finished sixth at the 16U level; however, his placement came back in 2022. Both are on the Class of 2025 Big Board and looking to crack the top-100. 157 lbs - Jacob Herm (Wisconsin) vs. Landyn Sommer (Oklahoma) While we’re a long way away from thinking about team points, this is a matchup that features two states that have stacked lineups and could be in the hunt for a title. Herm’s best work has come in Greco, while Sommer was an Ironman champion last December. Sommer comes into the contest unseeded and Herm is the number five. 157 lbs - Melvin Miller (Pennsylvania) vs. Brogan Tucker (Ohio) U17 World team member Melvin Miller was recently tabbed as the #1 overall recruit in the Class of 2027. He’s also a 16U freestyle champion from 2023. He’ll get his stiffest test to date in this tournament, but taking on rising senior Brogan Tucker. Tucker was a placewinner at both the Super 32 and Ironman and is ranked #55 overall in the Class of 2025. 165 lbs - Christopher Crawford (New York) vs. Maximus Norman (Tennessee) Maximus Norman was excellent in Fargo last year, placing top-three in both styles at the 16U level. He’ll get a solid test in the Round of 32 with graduate senior Christopher Crawford, a 16U fourth-place finisher from 2022. 175 lbs - Ryan Burton (New Jersey) vs. Bryce Burkett (Minnesota) After the battle for the name Adrian, this is the next match I’m looking forward to the most. Ryan Burton heads into his senior year as the top-ranked wrestler in the nation. A New Jersey state title and championships at the Super 32 and Beast of the East have helped him earn that ranking. A sixth-place finish in Junior freestyle last year doesn’t hurt either. He’s expected to get tested early by Bryce Burkett, a double 16U finalist in 2022. Burkett has also placed in both styles at the U17 Trials. 215 lbs - Jake Conroy (Pennsylvania) vs. Austin Johnson (Pennsylvania) We’ll finish with some PA-on-PA crime at 215 lbs when big men Jake Conroy and Austin Johnson clash. Johnson is a three-time AA finalist and one-time champ. Conroy was fourth at the AAA level last year. Johnson placed in both styles at the 16U level in 2022. Conroy counters with four Fargo placings in four attempts, led by a 16U freestyle runner-up finish last year.

And just like that, the women’s portion of the 16U/Junior National Championships, otherwise known as Fargo, has concluded. Each year, the women’s tournament gets better and deeper in talent. That talent now has more opportunities at the next level than ever before. Here are the Junior women who made the Fargo podium in 2024 and their respective collegiate choices. Aurora 3rd Place: Celeste Detoles (Utah) - 135 lbs Chadron State 8th Place: Desza Munson (Colorado) - 145 lbs Colorado Mesa 6th Place: Gretchen Donally (Montana) - 155 lbs 4th Place: Lorianna Piestewa (New Mexico) - 115 lbs 6th Place: Alejandra Valdiviezo (California) - 125 lbs Elmira 4th Place: Ragan Retell (New York) - 125 lbs Fort Hays State 5th Place: Isabella Renfro (Missouri) - 190 lbs Frostburg State 5th Place: Lorelei Hartman (Maryland) - 235 lbs Gannon Champion: Isabella Phillips (Washington) - 190 lbs Grand Valley State Champion: Aspen Blanko (Minnesota) - 120 lbs Champion: Sabrina Nauss (Michigan) - 235 lbs Indiana Tech Runner-Up: Rose Kaplan (Indiana) - 125 lbs Iowa Champion: Karlee Brooks (Arizona) - 125 lbs Runner-Up: Valarie Solorio (Pennsylvania) - 100 lbs Lehigh 3rd Place: Genevieve An (Georgia) - 190 lbs 8th Place: Morgan Edwards (Pennsylvania) - 140 lbs Life Runner-Up: Ugochi Anunobi (Maryland) - 155 lbs Lindenwood Runner-Up: Cassidy Benwell (Missouri) - 115 lbs 4th Place: Kayla Edwards (California) - 135 lbs Lock Haven 6th Place: Alyssa Favara (Pennsylvania) - 190 lbs McKendree Champion: Haylie Jaffe (Pennsylvania) - 140 lbs Champion: Duda Rodrigues (California) - 155 lbs Menlo 4th Place: Janie Houser (California) - 130 lbs North Central 8th Place: Brianne Graves (Ohio) - 100 lbs 4th Place: Sydney Perry (Illinois) - 145 lbs Northern Michigan 6th Place: Sophia Bassino (Wisconsin) - 170 lbs Oklahoma City Runner-Up: Ella Murphey (Tennessee) - 190 lbs Presbyterian 4th Place: Maria Aiono (Nevada) - 190 lbs Runner-Up: Chloe Dearwester (Ohio) - 110 lbs 5th Place: Annalise Maralit (South Carolina) - 95 lbs Simpson 7th Place: Paige Gershmel (Montana) - 135 lbs 4th Place: Annelise Obermark (Missouri) - 140 lbs Southern Oregon 7th Place: Kathryn Hingano (California) - 190 lbs Snow Runner-Up: Kinlee Brandley (Utah) - 95 lbs Southern Virginia 7th Place: Avari Johnson (Kansas) - 145 lbs

Fargo aka 16U and Junior Nationals is upon us. The largest wrestling tournament in the world is set to kick off on Saturday with the women’s freestyle portion of the tournament. Last year’s version of Fargo included over 7,000 participants! To get ready for Fargo, we’re looking at the tournament from a collegiate perspective. A recruiting perspective. Over the next few days, we’ll go conference-by-conference to look at recruits from each school who have signed up for the tournament. Our last conference to preview is the Big 12. The Big 12 has grown by one school over the offseason as Arizona State has moved for all sports. The addition of a team that has placed in the top-seven at NCAA's in each of the last four years makes a strong conference just that much more difficult to navigate. Including ASU, six Big 12 teams finished in the top-15 at NCAA's in 2024. Looking ahead to the future, the Big 12 had three teams in the top-ten of InterMat's 2024 Recruiting Class Rankings. Four others made the top-25 and two others were listed as honorable mentions. The future is very bright in the Big 12 Editor's Note: As of the writing of this article, Team Oklahoma had not released their entries for the tournament. No recruits from Oklahoma are listed in this preview. It was purposely held to the end, in case they were made available. As of Monday morning, entries have been listed on FloArena, so you can see any Oklahoma recruits who have registered to compete. Recruits have been grouped by team. They are listed alphabetically alongside the weight listed in USA Wrestling’s registration, the state they represent, and their graduating class. The # next to a wrestler’s name denotes their MatScouts Big Board ranking in their respective class. We’ve sorted through six or seven thousand entries to bring you these previews, so there could be a recruit or two that slipped through the cracks. If that’s the case, please let me know. Earl@matscouts.com Additionally, no preview or historical analysis for anything Fargo-related could be done without some assistance from Jason Bryant’s massive Fargo Guide. There’s still time to get yours! Air Force 165 lbs: Cy Fowler (Tennessee) - Class of 2025 285 lbs: #63 Rylan Kuhn (Missouri) - Class of 2025 138 lbs: Chancellor Matthews (Colorado) - Class of 2025 Air Force’s 2025 Class will be on display with two of the three wrestlers here who have made the Fargo podium in the past. Rylan Kuhn was a 16U All-American in both styles in 2022 - taking fifth in freestyle and appearing on the raised stage in the Greco finals. Chancellor Matthews was a 16U freestyle All-American last year taking eighth place at 132 lbs. Cy Fowler hasn’t been a Fargo All-American just yet, but he has finished top-five at the NHSCA grade-level tournament in 2023 and 2024. Arizona State 285 lbs: Nick Hutchins (Arizona) - Class of 2024 190 lbs: #11 Harvey Ludington (New Jersey) - Class of 2025 144 lbs: #31 Pierson Manville (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2024 New Big 12 members, Arizona State, have a pair of high-caliber recruits from the Class of 2024 and 2025. Pierson Manville is the incoming freshman and he has an absurd Fargo resume. Manville has been third in both styles, at the Junior division, in 2022 and 2024. In 2021, Manville made the 16U finals in both styles and came away with a title in Greco. Also in the international styles, Manville has placed fourth times at the UWW U17 Trials. Two-time New Jersey state champion and three-time finalist Harvey Ludington was fifth in 16U Greco-Roman in 2021. Ludington is also a champion at the Beast of the East and NHSCA Sophomore Nationals. Heavyweight prospect, Nick Hutchins, is an Arizona state third-place finisher and was second at Arizona’s Fargo qualifier. California Baptist 190 lbs: Adonis Bonar (Nebraska) - Class of 2025 138 lbs: Richie Clementi (California) - Class of 2025 150 lbs: #46 Paul Kelly (California) - Class of 2024 175 lbs: #178 Anthony Rinehart (Indiana) - Class of 2025 California Baptist’s top recruit from the Class of 2024, Paul Kelly, will be on display (once again) in Fargo. Kelly has had plenty of success in the FargoDome with four career All-American honors. Kelly was fourth in both styles last year at the Junior division. Prior to that, Kelly had finished sixth in Junior and U16 Greco. Another freestyle accolade for Kelly is an eighth-place finish at the UWW U17 Trials in 2021. Greco specialist Adonis Bonar will move up from the 16U to the Junior division in 2024. Bonar was a national champion last year in Greco-Roman and seventh in freestyle. Earlier this year, Bonar fell in the finals of the UWW U17 Trials. The other ranked wrestler from this group is Anthony Rinehart a two-time Indiana state placewinner who made it to the top six at the Ironman. Iowa State 126 lbs: #43 Christian Castillo (Arizona) - Class of 2025 285 lbs: #35 Daniel Herrera (Iowa) - Class of 2024 After a three-year hiatus, Christian Castillo is returning to Fargo to take care of some unfinished business. In 2021, Castillo was a 16U national runner-up in freestyle. He hasn’t been to the tournament in each of the last two years because he won a spot on the U17 World Team. In 2022, Castillo earned a U17 World silver medal and was eighth in the Greco-Roman tournament. Last year, Castillo made the U17 world team in freestyle and didn’t medal. Graduated senior, Daniel Herrera, is seeking his first Fargo medal before moving on to college. Herrera won a pair of California state titles before moving to the Ames area for his senior year and claiming an Iowa title in the process. Currently, Herrera’s best national-level credential is a second-place finish at the 2023 Super 32. Missouri 165 lbs: #64 Dom Bambinelli (Georgia) - Class of 2025 120 lbs: Hank Benter (Missouri) - Class of 2025 157 lbs: #96 Danny Heiser (Wisconsin) - Class of 2025 126 lbs: Draven Johns (Idaho) - Class of 2025 126 lbs: #6 Seth Mendoza (Illinois) - Class of 2025 175 lbs: #79 Jake Stoffel (Wisconsin) - Class of 2024 In a previous preview, we mentioned that Cornell could be a leading candidate in the 2025 recruiting class rankings. Well, Missouri will be in the mix, as well, and have a good chunk of their Class of 2025 in Fargo. The only graduating senior is Jake Stoffel who was a Fargo All-American in 2022 taking eighth place in 16U freestyle. A year later, Stoffel was sixth at the UWW U17 Trials. Aside from Stoffel, three other future Tigers have found the podium in Fargo, at one point or another in their careers. One of the top recruits in the Class of 2025, Seth Mendoza was U16 freestyle champion and has never finished lower than third in freestyle in three tries. Danny Heiser was also a U16 freestyle finalist in 2023. Earlier this year, Heiser was fifth at the UWW U17 Trials in freestyle. The final member of the group with past Fargo credentials is Georgia’s Dom Bambinelli. In 2021, Bambinelli AA’ed in both styles at the 16U level. Last year, he was eighth in Junior Greco-Roman. North Dakota State 132 lbs: Jack Castagneto (Idaho) - Class of 2024 190 lbs: Tayshaun Glover (North Carolina) - Class of 2024 165 lbs: Luke Hoag (Minnesota) - Class of 2025 165 lbs: Dante Hutchings (Colorado) - Class of 2024 285 lbs: #167 Shilo Jones (Idaho) - Class of 2024 190 lbs: #140 Andrew McMonagle (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2024 120 lbs: Kody Tanimoto (Texas) - Class of 2024 113 lbs: #86 Ezekiel Witt (Kansas) - Class of 2024 Second-year head coach Obe Blanc had a great first-full recruiting class in a group that earned honorable mention accolades in InterMat’s 2024 recruiting rankings. There is a large contingent of incoming freshmen who are heading to their new home to compete for All-American honors. This group has a staggering four wrestlers who have AA’ed multiple times in Fargo over the years. Ezekiel Witt was top-five at the Junior age group last year in both styles. He was also third in 16U Greco in 2021. Witt has also placed three times at the U17 Trials. Heavyweight Shilo Jones has AA’ed three times in the Junior division. He was second in Greco and sixth in freestyle last year. In 2022, he was sixth in Greco. The other two returning AA’s are Kody Tanimoto and the Class of 2025’s Luke Hoag. Tanimoto’s best work has come in Greco-Roman. He was a Junior finalist last year and fifth in 16U Greco in 2022. He’s also earned All-American honors twice at the UWW U17 Trials. Hoag got on the podium last year in both styles while in 16U. Another recruit who didn’t make the rankings, but who could surprise in Fargo is Tayshaun Glover of North Carolina. Glover was fourth at NHSCA Senior Nationals. Northern Iowa 138 lbs: #135 Carter Freeman (Iowa) - Class of 2024 126 lbs: Jace Hedeman (Iowa) - Class of 2025 157 lbs: #41 Kyler Knaack (Iowa) - Class of 2025 150 lbs: #31 Logan Paradice (Georgia) - Class of 2025 285 lbs: Grant Stromberg (Wisconsin) - Class of 2024 We’ve got a good mix between the Class of 2024 and 2025 in the FargoDome for Doug Schwab’s team. From the incoming freshmen, Carter Freeman is a three-time Iowa state champion, who has also won the same number of state freestyle titles at the Junior division. Grant Stromberg is a two-time state placewinner in Wisconsin who was third in the state in freestyle. The Class of 2025 are the ones with the winning experience from Fargo. Kyler Knaack was a double champion last year at the 16U level. This year, he advanced to the finals of the U17 Trials. Logan Paradice has placed three times in Fargo. Last year, Paradice was sixth in Junior freestyle. In 2022, at the 16U level, Paradice got on the podium in both styles. Oklahoma 138 lbs: #19 Alex Braun (Minnesota) - Class of 2024 174 lbs: #99 Bryce Burkett (Minnesota) - Class of 2025 126 lbs: #225 Koufax Christensen (Iowa) - Class of 2024 126 lbs: #62 Sebastian DeGennaro (Florida) - Class of 2025 157 lbs: #185 Owen Eck (Kansas) - Class of 2024 215 lbs: #49 Anthony Harris (New Jersey) - Class of 2025 285 lbs: Jacob Henry (Texas) - Class of 2024 132 lbs: #39 Jake Hockaday (Indiana) - Class of 2025 215 lbs: #56 Austin Johnson (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2025 157 lbs: Jake Moon (Texas) - Class of 2024 190 lbs: #55 Anders Thompson (Montana) - Class of 2024 Oklahoma has a massive group headed to Fargo and that’s without considering any in-state recruits - which they have plenty of. The Sooners entire Class of 2025 (thus far) is scheduled to compete, while the majority of their fourth-ranked Class of 2024 is ready to toe the line, as well. Four of Oklahoma’s recruits have already earned All-American honors from Fargo, led by Alex Braun who was a double AA last year at the Junior level and doubled in 2022 at 16U. Also in 2022, Bryce Burkett was a double finalist in 16U. He claimed the stop sign in Greco and was a runner-up in freestyle. The other two returning AA’s in the bunch are Jake Hockaday and Austin Johnson. Hockaday made his mark last year by taking fourth in Junior freestyle. Johnson was top-four in both styles in 16U in 2022. Another item to keep in mind is Anthony Harris’ return. Harris missed the high school postseason due to injury. Should he return to his previous form, his stock could continue to rise. Oklahoma State 144 lbs: #188 Kolter Burton (Idaho) - Class of 2024 132 lbs: Devon Harrison (Missouri) - Class of 2025 150 lbs: #20 Landon Robideau (Minnesota) - Class of 2025 Like their Bedlam rivals, we don’t have any Oklahoma natives listed here for the Cowboys, but I’d imagine a few end up competing. Landon Robideau made some news last week as he announced he was flipping college commitments from Minnesota to Oklahoma State. With Robideau, the Cowboys are getting a prospect who has made the 16U freestyle finals and was third in Junior freestyle in 2023. Robideau has also placed in the UWW U17 Trials twice. He’ll be a contender at a loaded 150 lb weight class. Incoming freshman, Kolter Burton, is no stranger to the awards podium in the FargoDome, either. He’s placed five times already in his Fargo career - one which is highlighted by a Junior title in Greco-Roman in 2021 and a Junior freestyle runner-up finish in 2022. South Dakota State 175 lbs: Burk Blasius (South Dakota) - Class of 2024 150 lbs: #85 Bas Diaz (Iowa) - Class of 2025 120 lbs: #111 Carson Dupill (Tennessee) - Class of 2025 285 lbs: #59 Micah Hach (South Dakota) - Class of 2025 157 lbs: #191 Jacob Herm (Wisconsin) - Class of 2025 126 lbs: #172 Liam Neitzel (Wisconsin) - Class of 2024 132 lbs: Cale Seaton (Iowa) - Class of 2024 175 lbs: Keenan Sheridan (South Dakota) - Class of 2024 132 lbs: #72 Logan Swensen (Minnesota) - Class of 2024 South Dakota State has an impressive recruiting Class of 2025 that features five members of the Big Board. All five are slated to compete in Fargo, along with a handful of incoming freshmen. The highest-ranked member of the Class of 2025 is big man Micah Hach, who was a 16U All-American in both styles last year. Additionally, Hach was an NHSCA Junior National champion. Jacob Herm and Liam Neitzel are other rising seniors that have past Fargo credentials. Herm has specialized in Greco-Roman. He found the podium both years in 16U and was a U17 Trials finalist this year. Neitzel has AA’ed in both styles in the 16U age group. Amongst the incoming freshmen, Logan Swensen is the one with the best accomplishments in the international styles. He was fifth in 16U Greco in 2021. That same year, he finished sixth in both styles at UWW U17’s. Utah Valley 144 lbs: Smokey McClure (Washington) - Class of 2024 175 lbs: #175 Hudson Rogers (Idaho) - Class of 2024 As he gets ready for his first season as a head coach, Adam Hall will be able to watch a pair of his incoming freshmen take the mat in Fargo. Hudson Rogers was a double 16U All-American in 2022. It marked the third time that he had gotten on the Fargo podium. Smokey McClure also has AA’ed in both styles with an eighth-place showing in U16 freestyle in 2021 and that same finish the following year in Junior Greco. West Virginia 132 lbs: #119 Casen Roark (Tennessee) - Class of 2025 132 lbs: Luke Satriano (New York) - Class of 2025 West Virginia got on the rankings map this year as they inked the #17 class in the land. Tim Flynn’s staff has built off of that success and got off to a good start with the Class of 2025 - a group that already features the Big Boarders. One of those ranked prospects is Tennessee’s three-time state champion Casen Roark. This spring, Roark made the NHSCA Junior National finals. Roark has also won state freestyle titles after every high school season, two at the 16U level and the most recent as a Junior. The other future Mountaineer in the field, Luke Satriano, is also a multiple-time state champion. Satriano won his second New York DII state title in 2024. Satriano’s best national level finish was went he took fourth place at NHSCA Sophomore’s. Wyoming 138 lbs: John Alden (Nebraska) - Class of 2024 126 lbs: Tucker Bowen (Idaho) - Class of 2024 144 lbs: #82 Tyson Charmoli (Minnesota) - Class of 2024 120 lbs: #81 Isaiah Harrison (Colorado) - Class of 2025 190 lbs: #180 Gunner Henry (Indiana) - Class of 2025 The Cowboys have been really strong on the recruiting trail for quite some time now and the Classes of 2024 and 2025 are only more evidence of that fact. A pair of top-100 recruits for Wyoming will be on the mats in Fargo in Isaiah Harrison and Tyson Charmoli. Last year, it was Harrison who used Fargo as his coming out party and success in the FargoDome has led to plenty of wins outside of it. Harrison was overlooked on a national level, but came into the 2023 tournament and made the 16U freestyle finals at 113 lbs. Charmoli has been more of a known commodity. He was a 16U freestyle finalist in 2022 and then was seventh in Junior freestyle last year. Charmoli has also placed top six at the UWW U17 Trials in freestyle on two occasions. The other ranked recruit of the bunch is Indiana state finalist Gunner Henry. Henry was a Super 32 placewinner and an NHSCA Sophomore National champion in 2023. Incoming freshman John Alden is a Nebraska freestyle state champion; while Tucker Bowen has been a two-time Idaho Junior freestyle runner-up.

16U Women’s Final Results Team Finish 1. California 2. Missouri 3. Pennsylvania 4. Indiana 5. Illinois 6. Oklahoma 7. Arizona 8. Utah 9. Michigan 10. Washington 95 lbs 1st Place: Samantha Bertini (Massachusetts) over Kinlee Brandley (Utah) Fall :41 3rd Place: Mya Hairston (Missouri) over Alexa Rodriguez Lopez (Texas) 15-4 5th Place: Annalise Maralit (South Carolina) over Mia Vazquez (Illinois) MedFFT 7th Place: Kaylie Zeller (Hawaii) over Navjot Waraich (California) Fall 2:39 100 lbs 1st Place: Katey Valdez (Colorado) over Valarie Solorio (Pennsylvania) InjDef 3rd Place: Kristina Kent (Utah) over Kendall Moe (Indiana) 10-0 5th Place: Makennah Craft (Ohio) over Zoey Haney (Missouri) Fall 2:27 7th Place: Mia Navarro (California) over Brianne Graves (Ohio) Fall 4:10 105 lbs 1st Place: Heather Crull (Indiana) over Aroma Marrufo (Missouri) 11-0 3rd Place: Jennifer Favela (California) over Addie Morse (Oklahoma) 9-6 5th Place: Joely Slyter (Idaho) over Ashley Naranjo (Washington) 12-2 7th Place: Jazmine Turner (California) over Lily Runez (Massachusetts) 10-0 110 lbs 1st Place: Taylor Whiting (Wisconsin) over Chloe Dearwester (Ohio) 11-0 3rd Place: Abbi Cooper (California) over Libby Roberts (Washington) 10-0 5th Place: Caley Graber (Minnesota) over Mariah Dillard (Texas) 12-2 7th Place: Joy Cantu (Indiana) over Teegan Sibble (New York) Fall 1:17 115 lbs 1st Place: Zao Estrada (South Carolina) over Cassidy Benwell (Missouri) 10-0 3rd Place: Harlee Hiller (Illinois) over Lorianna Piestewa (New Mexico) 1:11 5th Place: Leiannah Landreth (Kansas) over Marjorie McDaniel (Washington) Fall 1:18 7th Place: Angelina Vargas (Missouri) over Akeelah Moore (Vermont) 10-0 120 lbs 1st Place: Aspen Blanko (Minnesota) over Savannah Witt (Pennsylvania) Fall 1:48 3rd Place: Calli Gilchrist (Connecticut) over Shayna Ward (California) 1:24 5th Place: Milana Borrelli (Florida) over Noelani Lutz (Nevada) 11-0 7th Place: Angelina Cassioppi (Illinois) over Raegan Briggs (Ohio) Fall 5:21 125 lbs 1st Place: Karlee Brooks (Arizona) over Rose Kaplan (Indiana) 10-0 3rd Place: Kaidance Gerg (Idaho) over Ragan Retell (New York) 19-8 5th Place: Sierra Chiesa (Pennsylvania) over Alejandra Valdiviezo (California) 5-3 7th Place: Kailey Benson (Missouri) over Emily Murphy (Pennsylvania) 10-0 130 lbs 1st Place: Samantha Sachs (California) over Lynn Horn (Oklahoma) 3-1 3rd Place: Carley Ceshker (Wisconsin) over Janie Houser (California) Fall 2:24 5th Place: Emma Chacon (Arizona) over Christian Borgmann (Florida) 7-4 7th Place: Anna Vogt (Texas) over Jordyn Anderson (Virginia) Fall 4:13 135 lbs 1st Place: Isis France (Arizona) over Isabella Cebak (Michigan) 3:26 3rd Place: Celeste Detoles (Utah) over Kayla Edwards (California) 8-5 5th Place: Margaret Buurma (Michigan) over Kaylan Hitchcock (Kansas) 14-7 7th Place: Paige Gershmel (Montana) over Jacinda Espinosa (Missouri) 4-4 140 lbs 1st Place: Haylie Jaffe (Pennsylvania) over Aleksandra Bastaic (Indiana) 10-0 3rd Place: Amelia Fawcett (Alaska) over Annelise Obermark (Missouri) 11-1 5th Place: Lexi Ritchie (Illinois) over Louise Juitt (Missouri) Fall 1:19 7th Place: Morgan Lucio (Arizona) over Morgan Edwards (Pennsylvania) 15-6 145 lbs 1st Place: Valerie Hamilton (Illinois) over Sarah Henckel (Connecticut) 3-0 3rd Place: Olivia Davis (California) over Sydney Perry (Illinois) Fall 1:59 5th Place: Audrey Rogotzke (Minnesota) over Selina Moore (New York) Fall 2:25 7th Place: Avari Johnson (Kansas) over Desza Munson (Colorado) Fall 1:12 155 lbs 1st Place: Duda Rodrigues (California) over Ugochi Anunobi (Maryland) Fall 3:54 3rd Place: Mya Bethel (Florida) over Adriana Palumbo (New York) Fall 4:23 5th Place: Sage Rosario (Kansas) over Gretchen Donally (Montana) 7-0 7th Place: Jahlia Miguel (Hawaii) over Maggie Ortmann (Missouri) 11-0 170 lbs 1st Place: Kali Hayden (Oklahoma) over Kaylie Hall (West Virginia) 12-0 3rd Place: Jael Miller (Pennsylvania) over Billie Bonwell (Nevada) Fall 1:31 5th Place: Alexandria Alli (Ohio) over Sophia Bassino (Wisconsin) 10-0 7th Place: Kiley Dillow (Kansas) over Brynn Shepardson (New York) Fall 1:50 190 lbs 1st Place: Isabella Phillips (Washington) over Ella Murphey (Tennessee) 9-0 3rd Place: Genevieve An (Georgia) over Maria Aiono (Nevada) 8-4 5th Place: Isabella Renfro (Missouri) over Alyssa Favara (Pennsylvania) 6-6 7th Place: Kathryn Hingano (California) over Josephine Larson (Illinois) Fall :26 235 lbs 1st Place: Sabrina Nauss (Michigan) over Tirza Twoteeth (Montana) 16-5 3rd Place: Kinslee Collier (Oklahoma) over Angel Hill (California) 3-0 5th Place: Lorelei Hartman (California) over Keilikki Nau Rarick (Utah) 6-3 7th Place: Chloe Hoselton (Illinois) over Kinea Moore (Florida) Fall 2:04

16U Women’s Final Results Team Finish 1. Pennsylvania 2. New Jersey 3. California 4. Michigan 5. Wisconsin 6. Ohio 7. Colorado 8. Tennessee 9. Illinois 10. Minnesota 88 lbs 1st Place: Lily Enos (Illinois) over Brynn Engel (Wisconsin) 8-3 3rd Place: Katelyn Rowles (Indiana) over Kayla Pastika (Minnesota) 8-2 5th Place: Kylee Tran (Oklahoma) over Fern Jewett (Massachusetts) 6-4 7th Place: Cadence Grulla (Georgia) over Anabelle Wessel (New York) 7-1 94 lbs 1st Place: Justice Gutierrez (Colorado) over Natalie Radecki (Delaware) 1-1 3rd Place: Libertie Nigh (Ohio) over Khyla Lipumano (Arizona) 6-4 5th Place: Makayla Smith (Pennsylvania) over Siera Becker (Iowa) 10-0 7th Place: Alliya Walker (Virginia) over Kate Hollinger (Pennsylvania) 12-0 100 lbs 1st Place: Jaclyn Bouzakis (Pennsylvania) over Madison Nieuwenhuis (Michigan) 6-0 3rd Place: Angelica Serratos (California) over Ryleigh Sturgill (Tennessee) 8-4 5th Place: Violet Diaz (Iowa) over Alicia Kenfack (North Dakota) 9-2 7th Place: Killian Evans (Missouri) over Dilynn Albrecht (Wisconsin) Fall 2:12 106 lbs 1st Place: Julia Horger (Pennsylvania) over Marlee Solomon (California) 9-6 3rd Place: Sarissa Tucker (Virginia) over Abigail Gonzalez (Florida) 7-1 5th Place: Marie Sharp (New Jersey) over Bianca Eide (Minnesota) Fall 3:27 7th Place: Chloe Skiles (Illinois) over Camryn Gresham (Ohio) MedFFT 112 lbs 1st Place: Charlie Wylie (New Jersey) over Kayla Batres (Connecticut) 8-0 3rd Place: Nakayla Dawson (Michigan) over Lilly Quintanilla (Wyoming) Fall :54 5th Place: Isabel Kaplan (Indiana) over Nevada Daniels (Texas) 7-0 7th Place: Samiyah Rahming (Pennsylvania) over Daylee Watson (Pennsylvania) 10-0 118 lbs 1st Place: Haley Gonzales (New York) over Cheyenne Frank (Michigan) 9-3 3rd Place: Alexis Lazar (Michigan) over Mackenzie Carder (Ohio) 5-0 5th Place: Carolyn Geckler (Ohio) over Emjay Neumann (Wisconsin) 6-2 7th Place: Aubree Gutierrez (California) over Sara McLaughlin (Massachusetts) 13-12 124 lbs 1st Place: Mekala James (California) over Victoria Carbonaro (New Jersey) 7-4 3rd Place: Emma Bacon (Pennsylvania) over Danica Torres (Arizona) 11-1 5th Place: Kailin Sebert (Texas) over Ariella Dobin (Illinois) Fall :55 7th Place: Olivia Bezdicek (Idaho) over Franky Groom-Frey (Wisconsin) Fall 2:51 130 lbs 1st Place: Taina McGowan (New Jersey) over Caroline Hilton (Tennessee) 3-2 3rd Place: Lilliana Banks (Wisconsin) over Kalynn Lyons (Nebraska) 12-2 5th Place: Sophia Slaughter (Virginia) over Riley Hanrahan (Wisconsin) MedFFT 7th Place: Lauren Zaragoza (California) over Naima Ghaffer (Indiana) 8-3 136 lbs 1st Place: Taina Fernandez (Maryland) over Corynne McNulty (Massachusetts) 11-0 3rd Place: Timberly Martinez (Colorado) over Maddie Marsh (Indiana) 14-1 5th Place: Isabella Miller (Iowa) over Meadow Mahlmeister (Montana) 11-2 7th Place: Nia Hagler (Utah) over Paisley Denault (Michigan) Fall 1:31 142 lbs 1st Place: Violette Lasure (Pennsylvania) over Greta Garbuzovas (Georgia) 11-5 3rd Place: Dulcy Martinez (California) over Harlow Skenadore (Wisconsin) 10-0 5th Place: Roxy Sheen (Idaho) over Victoria Alvarado (New York) Fall 2:54 7th Place: Kayden Sipp (Nebraska) over Kelice Luker (Oklahoma) Fall 1:40 148 lbs 1st Place: Kaili Manuel (Michigan) over Ella Poalillo (New Jersey) 14-3 3rd Place: Cassandra Gonzales (Minnesota) over Olivia Georges (New Jersey) 4-4 5th Place: Veronica Madrid (Kansas) over Ryen Hickey (Colorado) Fall :35 7th Place: Breanne Gibbs (Missouri) over Mackenna Webster (Michigan) 1:02 155 lbs 1st Place: Janiya Johnson (Tennessee) over Jayci Shelton (Missouri) 8-4 3rd Place: Sarah Pulk (Minnesota) over Laila Hustoles (Oklahoma) 6-6 5th Place: Eva Garcia (California) over Audrey Levendusky (Tennessee) Fall 1:25 7th Place: Rhaigyn Trenary (Indiana) over Symone Jewell (California) Fall :39 170 lbs 1st Place: Millie Azlin (Oklahoma) over Matilda Hruby (Colorado) 11-9 3rd Place: Elizabeth Madison (Ohio) over Miley Walz (Iowa) 10-0 5th Place: Addeline Graser (Nebraska) over Emily Carvalho (California) MedFFT 7th Place: Makayla Vasser (Nebraska) over Carli Vargas (Missouri) 11-0 190 lbs 1st Place: Brooke Huffman (Wisconsin) over Tevia Nau Rarick (Utah) Fall 3:06 3rd Place: Esmeralda Tellez (Pennsylvania) over Blake Baker (Texas) 3-1 5th Place: Mia Cienega (Washington) over Olivia Ruacho (California) Fall :58 7th Place: Latoya Sylvestre (Florida) over Macy Barber (Nebraska) Fall :49 235 lbs 1st Place: Brenda Banks (Pennsylvania) over Deionna Borders (Ohio) Fall 1:56 3rd Place: Phoenix Molina (Illinois) over Jayden Moehle (Missouri) 8-2 5th Place: Mackenna Atkinson (Pennsylvania) over Peyton Mullin (New York) 12-0 7th Place: Aarianna Bloyd (Illinois) over Shelby Wells (Texas) 4-1

Fargo aka 16U and Junior Nationals is upon us. The largest wrestling tournament in the world is set to kick off on Saturday with the women’s freestyle portion of the tournament. Last year’s version of Fargo included over 7,000 participants! To get ready for Fargo, we’re looking at the tournament from a collegiate perspective. A recruiting perspective. Over the next few days, we’ll go conference-by-conference to look at recruits from each school who have signed up for the tournament. Next up is the SoCon. The SoCon was represented in InterMat's Class of 2024 recruiting rankings by Campbell who came in at #22. Interestingly enough, none of the wrestlers from Campbell's massive Class of 2024 has registered for Fargo. The SoCon is a conference that continues to improve recruiting-wise as a handful of programs have hired new coaches within the last five years. That new blood has proved to be helpful on the recruiting trail. Recruits have been grouped by team. They are listed alphabetically alongside the weight listed in USA Wrestling’s registration, the state they represent, and their graduating class. The # next to a wrestler’s name denotes their MatScouts Big Board ranking in their respective class. We’ve sorted through six or seven thousand entries to bring you these previews, so there could be a recruit or two that slipped through the cracks. If that’s the case, please let me know. Earl@matscouts.com Additionally, no preview or historical analysis for anything Fargo-related could be done without some assistance from Jason Bryant’s massive Fargo Guide. There’s still time to get yours! Appalachian State 132 lbs: #215 Jarvis Little (Tennessee) - Class of 2024 157 lbs: Ayson Rice (South Dakota) - Class of 2024 Before heading to Boone, a pair of incoming freshmen will compete in Fargo to put the finishing touches on their high school resumes. Ayson Rice has stood out in Greco and was third in 16U Greco-Roman in 2021. Earlier that year, Rice made the finals of the UWW U17 Trials in Greco. A year later, Rice placed for a second time at UWW’s. Jarvis Little is a three-time Tennessee state champion who has made the podium at the NHSCA grade-level tournament in each of the last three years. He finished with an appearance in the Senior National finals. Bellarmine 285 lbs: Tyler Schott (Indiana) - Class of 2024 157 lbs: Kyle Wojcicki(Kentucky) - Class of 2024 Both of Bellarmine’s recruits are attempting to make a name for themselves on a national stage for the first time. Tyler Schott was an Indiana state qualifier in 2024, but he made the state finals in both of the international styles, winning at freestyle. Kyle Wojcicki was a Kentucky state fifth-place finisher during the 2023-24 high school season. He then was a runner-up in both freestyle and Greco-Roman - at the state level. Campbell 138 lbs: #193 Maximus Brady (Florida) - Class of 2025 138 lbs: #93 EJ Solis (Florida) - Class of 2025 A pair of nationally ranked wrestlers from the Class of 2025 carry the flag for Campbell. EJ Solis got onto the Fargo podium twice in 2022 and hopes to get back. That year, Solis was fifth in 16U freestyle and third in 16U Greco-Roman. Last spring, Solis was an NHSCA Sophomore national champion. NHSCA’s is where Maximus Brady has excelled and made his mark on the national scene. He was seventh at the sophomore tournament and third as a junior. Brady will be aiming for his fourth Florida state title in 2025. Chattanooga 126 lbs: Easton Cooper (Wisconsin) - Class of 2024 190 lbs: #202 Landon Jones (Georgia) - Class of 2024 157 lbs: Brayden Leach (Tennessee) - Class of 2025 215 lbs: Kyle Oliveira (Alabama) - Class of 2024 Some of the most notable members of the Chattanooga Class of 2024 will be in the FargoDome along with a recent commit from the Class of 2025. Landon Jones, the only one to appear on the 2024 Big Board, hasn’t placed at Fargo but was fourth at the Super 32. Easton Cooper was a Fargo All-American last year taking eighth place in 16U Greco-Roman at 120 lbs. Cooper was a two-time Wisconsin state medalist and finished as a runner-up his senior season. Kyle Oliveira was an Alabama state champion who finished his high school career in folkstyle with a seventh-place showing at NHSCA Senior Nationals. At the recent Junior Duals, Oliveira wrestled in both styles, but was undefeated in Greco. The only member of the Class of 2025 is Tennessee state champion Brayden Leach. Leach was seventh at NHSCA Junior Nationals. He wrestled in both styles at the Junior Duals and ended up unbeaten in freestyle. Davidson 150 lbs: #226 Anderson Heap (Florida) - Class of 2024 144 lbs: Blake Reihner (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2024 Davidson had a staggering three Big Boarders during their recruiting Class of 2024, one of which was Florida’s Anderson Heap. Heap has never placed in Fargo but was sixth at NHSCA Sophomore’s and is a two-time Powerade placer. During the high school season, Heap clinched his third Florida state championship. Joining Heap in the Class of 2024 is Blake Reihner a two-time Pennsylvania state medalist (5,7). Reihner was also fourth at the NHSCA Sophomore National tournament. The Citadel 144 lbs: #131 Kyrel Leavell (Indiana) - Class of 2024 The Citadel signed one of their top recruits in some time by getting Kyrel Leavell who finished the year ranked in the top-150 on the Big Board. Leavell was a four-time state placewinner in Indiana’s one-class championship. He captured a pair of state titles and never finished lower than third in the state. Leavell’s best showing at a national event was when he was fifth at NHSCA Sophomore Nationals. VMI 120 lbs: Waylon Rogers (Virginia) - Class of 2024 120 lbs: Cody Tanner (Colorado) - Class of 2024 In-state prospect, Waylon Rogers, comes to Fargo as a four-time Virginia state placewinner - winning as a junior and never finishing lower than fourth place. Rogers did get on the NHSCA Senior Nationals podium by taking fifth place. Cody Tanner is a Colorado state fourth-place finisher. He did capture a state title in freestyle in 2024 after falling in the finals last year.

Fargo aka 16U and Junior Nationals is upon us. The largest wrestling tournament in the world is set to kick off on Saturday with the women’s freestyle portion of the tournament. Last year’s version of Fargo included over 7,000 participants! To get ready for Fargo, we’re looking at the tournament from a collegiate perspective. A recruiting perspective. Over the next few days, we’ll go conference-by-conference to look at recruits from each school who have signed up for the tournament. Next up is the EIWA. 2024-25 will have a new-look conference. The Ivy League schools, previously in the EIWA, branched out on their own and will qualify through the Ivy League tournament. Even without those seven schools, the EIWA is still large with 11 schools. The conference had one team (#25 Bucknell) make InterMat's 2024 Recruiting rankings and another (Lehigh) listed amongst the honorable mentions. Lehigh led the current EIWA's schools with a 15th place finish at the 2024 NCAA Championships. Recruits have been grouped by team. They are listed alphabetically alongside the weight listed in USA Wrestling’s registration, the state they represent, and their graduating class. The # next to a wrestler’s name denotes their MatScouts Big Board ranking in their respective class. We’ve sorted through six or seven thousand entries to bring you these previews, so there could be a recruit or two that slipped through the cracks. If that’s the case, please let me know. Earl@matscouts.com Additionally, no preview or historical analysis for anything Fargo-related could be done without some assistance from Jason Bryant’s massive Fargo Guide. There’s still time to get yours! American 126 lbs: #160 Colin Martin (Virginia) - Class of 2025 Virginia native Colin Martin is looking to add to his impressive resume with another Fargo accolade. Martin was eighth in 16U Greco-Roman in 2021. He has a boatload of good national-level credentials outside of Fargo with three placements at the NHSCA grade-level tournaments and a top-six finish at the Ironman among others. Army West Point 175 lbs: Nash Banko (Wisconsin) - Class of 2025 138 lbs: Easton Broxterman (Kansas) - Class of 2025 132 lbs: Conner Doherty (Georgia) - Class of 2025 120 lbs: Johnny Green (Ohio) - Class of 2025 120 lbs: #68 Cadell Lee (Virginia) - Class of 2025 138 lbs: #112 Jayce Paridon (Florida) - Class of 2025 165 lbs: #91 Benjamin Smith (Maryland) - Class of 2025 Army West Point already has a huge Class of 2025 in place and a handful are headed to Fargo. Four future members of America’s Team already have appeared on the Fargo podium at one point or another during their high school careers. They are Nash Banko, Johnny Green, Cadell Lee, and Benjamin Smith. Lee was a 16U freestyle finalist in 2021 and seventh at Junior freestyle last year. He’s also earned All-American honors at UWW’s U17 Trials with another seventh-place finish in freestyle. Banko was seventh in 16U freestyle last year. Johnny Green lost to future teammate, Lee, in the Junior freestyle seventh-place match in 2023. Smith has had his best finishes in Greco-Roman. He’s been third at both the 16U and Junior levels and was sixth in UWW U17’s. The other Big Boarder in this group is Florida’s Jayce Paridon. During the recent school year, Paridon was an NHSCA Junior National finalist and was fifth at the Powerade. Binghamton 138 lbs: Brogan Fielding (Ohio) - Class of 2024 138 lbs: Talan Hubbard (New York) - Class of 2024 Both of Binghamton’s representatives in Fargo are coming in via the SPIRE Institute in Ohio. Talan Hubbard was a New York DII state champion in 2022 before moving to Ohio. Brogan Fielding is an Ohio Junior freestyle champ. During the collegiate season, Fielding entered the John Carroll Open and came away with the championship. Bucknell 215 lbs: #50 Dillon Bechtold (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2024 285 lbs: Will Greenberg (Ohio) - Class of 2025 157 lbs: Shane McFillin (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2025 A huge piece of Bucknell’s #25 ranked recruiting class of 2024 was #50 Dillon Bechtold, a two-time Pennsylvania state finalist and one-time champion. Last summer, Bechtold was seventh at the Junior level in both styles. A few months later, he was fifth at the Super 32. Will Greenberg and Shane McFillin represent for the Class of 2025. Greenberg was an Ohio DII state runner-up in 2024. This spring, Greenberg was a finalist at USA Wrestling’s Central Regional. McFillin was fourth in Pennsylvania’s AAA state tournament and had that same placement at the NHSCA Sophomore National tournament in 2023. Hofstra 132 lbs: Gauge Shipp (Illinois) - Class of 2024 Illinois state runner-up Gauge Shipp competed this spring at USA Wrestling’s Northern Plains Regional and ended up in third place. Shipp recently wrestled at Junior Duals in both styles. He had a better showing in freestyle - going 3-1. Navy 144 lbs: Evan Boblits (Maryland) - Class of 2025 120 lbs: Nikos Filipos (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2025 150 lbs: Tyler Hood (Virginia) - Class of 2025 150 lbs: Cole Householder (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2025 190 lbs: Gage Yackee (Ohio) - Class of 2024 Navy has a solid group that are all generally on the cusp of a national ranking. None have placed before in Fargo, but most have some sort of national credentials to their respective names. Gage Yackee, the only graduated senior of the bunch, was an NHSCA Sophomore and Junior National finalist. Tyler Hood has also placed at NHSCA’s twice and took fourth at National Preps. Nikos Filipos was an All-American at NHSCA Sophomores and fourth at the Beast of the East. Cole Householder is a two-time Pennsylvania state medalist (5,7) at the AA level. Evan Boblits is a two-time National Prep All-American (4,5).

Fargo aka 16U and Junior Nationals is upon us. The largest wrestling tournament in the world is set to kick off on Saturday with the women’s freestyle portion of the tournament. Last year’s version of Fargo included over 7,000 participants! To get ready for Fargo, we’re looking at the tournament from a collegiate perspective. A recruiting perspective. Over the next few days, we’ll go conference-by-conference to look at recruits from each school who have signed up for the tournament. Next up is the MAC. The MAC had one of its teams in the top-20 of InterMat's 2024 Recruiting Rankings (Lock Haven #20). During the collegiate season, we saw Central Michigan unseat Lock Haven in winning at the MAC Championships. At nationals, three different schools produced an All-American. Two additional schools had AA's in 2023. That's a welcome improvement over 2022 when the conference had zero. With more talent coming into the conference there should be more AA's in the pipeline. Recruits have been grouped by team. They are listed alphabetically alongside the weight listed in USA Wrestling’s registration, the state they represent, and their graduating class. The # next to a wrestler’s name denotes their MatScouts Big Board ranking in their respective class. We’ve sorted through six or seven thousand entries to bring you these previews, so there could be a recruit or two that slipped through the cracks. If that’s the case, please let me know. Earl@matscouts.com Additionally, no preview or historical analysis for anything Fargo-related could be done without some assistance from Jason Bryant’s massive Fargo Guide. There’s still time to get yours! Clarion 132 lbs: Travis Clawson (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2024 126 lbs: Easton Mull (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2025 Clarion will be represented by a pair of state placewinners. Incoming freshman Travis Clawson was a two-time AAA state qualifier and and was seventh as a senior. Easton Mull has qualified for the AA state tournament three times and was fourth in 2024. Also during his junior season, Mull was eighth at the Powerade. George Mason 132 lbs: Geoff Whelan (Virginia) - Class of 2024 In-state recruit, Geoff Whelan, was a four-time Virginia state placewinner. He made the 5A state finals in 2022 and never finished lower than fourth place. After his final state tournament, Whelan was seventh at NHSCA Senior Nationals. Whelan has also captured state titles in each of the last two years in Junior Greco. Last year, he was a runner-up in freestyle and this year he was third. Lock Haven 144 lbs: Griffin Walizer (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2024 Local product Griffin Walizer was a member of Lock Haven’s #20 ranked recruiting class. Walizer was a three-time Pennsylvania AAA state medalist (6,5,8) for nearby Central Mountain High School. He earned a spot in Fargo with a title at a Pennsylvania qualifier in Greco-Roman and was third in freestyle. Northern Illinois 215 lbs: Dominic Heim (Minnesota) - Class of 2024 215 lbs: #211 Ian Smith (Wisconsin) - Class of 2024 Northern Illinois has a pair of talented big men on the way to Dekalb, but before then, a pair of 215 lbers will compete in Fargo. Ian Smith has already made the Fargo medal stand twice, both times in Greco and once in each age group. Last year, he was third in Junior Greco. This year, Smith won a state title in Greco and was a runner-up in freestyle. Dominic Heim was a four-time Minnesota state medalist who finished third at the AAA state tournament in each of his last two years. Heim comes into Fargo on the strength of a Minnesota Junior state title in freestyle. Ohio 285 lbs: Wyatt Schmitt (Illinois) - Class of 2024 165 lbs: Charles Spinning (Oregon) - Class of 2024 Heavyweight prospect Wyatt Schmitt was a 16U Greco-Roman finalist in 2022. Back in Illinois, Schmitt was a Greco state champion (for the second time) and a runner-up in freestyle. In high school, Schmitt was a one-time Illinois 3A state placewinner - taking fourth in 2023. Charles Spinning is a two-time Oregon state champion and three-time finalist. Last summer, he was a state champion in freestyle and a runner-up in Greco-Roman. Rider 175 lbs: Jacob Zearfoss (New Jersey) - Class of 2024 In-state product Jacob Zearfoss is a two-time New Jersey state placewinner (4,6) and three-time state qualifier. Zearfoss has placed at the NHSCA grade-level tournament in each of the last two years (6,7). SIU Edwardsville 215 lbs: Jake Fernandez (Missouri) - Class of 2024 Last-signee Jake Fernandez captured a pair of Missouri state titles and is a two-time Missouri Junior freestyle state finalist (winning in 2024). Fernandez was a member of Missouri’s Junior Duals team and went 3-2 in that event.

Fargo aka 16U and Junior Nationals is upon us. The largest wrestling tournament in the world is set to kick off on Saturday with the women’s freestyle portion of the tournament. Last year’s version of Fargo included over 7,000 participants! To get ready for Fargo, we’re looking at the tournament from a collegiate perspective. A recruiting perspective. Over the next few days, we’ll go conference-by-conference to look at recruits from each school who have signed up for the tournament. Next up is the Ivy League. For the first time, in 2025, the Ivy League will qualify for national directly through an Ivy League tournament rather than the EIWA. While Cornell has generally led the way for the Ivies within the last 20 years, we have seen the other schools rise up during that time period and confirm that you can get a great education, while competing for a spot on the NCAA podium along with individual titles. In 2024, Cornell was the only Ivy school to be tabbed in InterMat's recruiting rankings; however, Penn was also noted in the honorable mentions and others had quality classes that will benefit them. Recruits have been grouped by team. They are listed alphabetically alongside the weight listed in USA Wrestling’s registration, the state they represent, and their graduating class. The # next to a wrestler’s name denotes their MatScouts Big Board ranking in their respective class. We’ve sorted through six or seven thousand entries to bring you these previews, so there could be a recruit or two that slipped through the cracks. If that’s the case, please let me know. Earl@matscouts.com Additionally, no preview or historical analysis for anything Fargo-related could be done without some assistance from Jason Bryant’s massive Fargo Guide. There’s still time to get yours! Brown 132 lbs: #188 Nico Fanella (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2025 165 lbs: #90 Devon Magro (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2025 215 lbs: Riley McPherson (Ohio) - Class of 2025 165 lbs: #156 Maximus Norman (Tennessee) - Class of 2025 Since Jordan Leen was named head coach at Brown, just over two years ago, recruiting has really taken off. The Bear staff already has a large recruiting class assembled for 2025 and four of them will be in action in Fargo. While the entire class has some sort of national-level credential, only Maximus Norman has AA’ed in Fargo before. Norman is coming off a 2023 performance that saw him make the 16U freestyle finals and take third Greco-Roman. The previous year he was seventh in 16U freestyle. Devon Magro was a Pennsylvania Junior freestyle state champion this year, which is no small feat. He was third in the AA division during the high school season. Fanella was also third in AA and has placed top-six at the NHSCA grade-level tournament in each of his first three years of high school. Riley McPherson was third at a loaded Ohio DI state weight class in 2024, but then moved up to 215 and won a Junior freestyle state title. Columbia 175 lbs: Oliver Howard (Alabama) - Class of 2024 Columbia’s incoming freshman, Oliver Howard, is the only future Lion (for now) slated to compete in Fargo. Howard hasn’t placed in Fargo before but has won three Alabama state freestyle titles at the Junior level. Howard also got onto the NHSCA podium twice - most recently taking fourth at Senior Nationals. Cornell 132 lbs: Danny Aranda (Florida) - Class of 2024 144 lbs: #129 Gabriel Bouyssou (Rhode Island) - Class of 2024 215 lbs: Jake Conroy (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2025 132 lbs: #18 Adrian DeJesus (New Jersey) - Class of 2025 285 lbs: #53 Rocco Dellagatta (New Jersey) - Class of 2025 190 lbs: #50 Elijah Diakomihalis (New York) - Class of 2025 285 lbs: #70 Cash Henderson (Utah) - Class of 2025 165 lbs: #21 Alessio Perentin (New Jersey) - Class of 2025 138 lbs: #17 Sergio Vega (Arizona) - Class of 2025 It appears as if Cornell could have the inside track on the top spot in the 2025 recruiting rankings. A staggering seven Cornell recruits come into 2024’s tournament with at least one Fargo All-American honor to their name. Not only have these recruits become All-Americans, but they’ve finished high on the podium. Gabriel Bouyssou leads the way with five prior All-American honors. Bouyssou’s best finish was with a stop sign in 16U Greco-Roman in 2022. He was fifth in Junior Greco last year. In addition, Bouyssou has placed three times at the U17 Trials. Despite not currently sporting a national ranking, Jake Conroy has four prior Fargo placements. Conroy has placed in both styles at the 16U age group in each of the last two years - highlighted by a finals appearance last year in freestyle. Elijah Diakomihalis and Cash Henderson both have won 16U freestyle titles, while Alessio Perentin was a finalist. Additionally, Rocco Dellagatta and Sergio Vega both finished fourth in the Junior freestyle tournament last year. Don’t be surprised if Cornell’s recruits turn in one of the best performances of any school in the country next week. Penn 144 lbs: Donny Almeyda (New Jersey) - Class of 2025 175 lbs: #187 Brian Heard (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2025 157 lbs: Isaias Jimenez (Arizona) - Class of 2024 175 lbs: Xander Kuokkanen (Wisconsin) - Class of 2024 120 lbs: #60 Davis Motyka (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2024 285 lbs: John Pardo (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2024 138 lbs: #94 Eren Sement (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2025 157 lbs: #72 Max Stein (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2025 Without a doubt, lightweight prospect Davis Motyka has the best Fargo track record of any Penn prospect in Fargo. Motyka was a double Junior All-American last year and was fifth in 16U Greco-Roman in 2021. Additionally, Motyka has placed top-six in both styles at the UWW U17 Trials - including a 2022 berth on the Greco world team. Of Penn’s large group, Isaias Jimenez is the only other recruit who has gotten onto a Fargo podium. Jimenez was seventh in 16U freestyle in 2021. The remainder of Penn’s class largely consists of Pennsylvania state placewinners so you can bet they’ll be able to make waves at their respective weights. Princeton 175 lbs: #160 Xavier Giles (Connecticut) - Class of 2024 157 lbs: #143 Gavin Hawk (New Jersey) - Class of 2025 190 lbs: #141 Vincenzo Lavalle (New Jersey) - Class of 2025 150 lbs: Matthew Martino (Idaho) - Class of 2025 190 lbs: #194 Conor McCloskey (Georgia) - Class of 2025 144 lbs: Blaise Mele (New Jersey) - Class of 2025 A pair of past 16U finalists lead the way for a Princeton group that largely consists of recruits from the Class of 2025. Vincenzo Lavalle made the 16U freestyle finals in 2022 and followed that up with a seventh-place showing at the UWW U17 Trials. Matthew Martino is the other recruit with finals experience. He was in the 16U Greco title match in 2021 down at 106 lbs. In 2023, Martino made the finals of the U17 Trials, also in Greco. Though not in Fargo, Xavier Giles and Conor McCloskey both have national-level credentials to their names. Giles was sixth at the Super 32 and NHSCA Juniors. McCloskey has placed top four at the NHSCA grade-level tournament in each of his first three years of high school. Gavin Hawk is looking to break through and medal for the first time in Fargo; however, he is a New Jersey state freestyle champion in the Junior age group.

Fargo aka 16U and Junior Nationals is upon us. The largest wrestling tournament in the world is set to kick off on Saturday with the women’s freestyle portion of the tournament. Last year’s version of Fargo included over 7,000 participants! To get ready for Fargo, we’re looking at the tournament from a collegiate perspective. A recruiting perspective. Over the next few days, we’ll go conference-by-conference to look at recruits from each school who have signed up for the tournament. Next up is the Big Ten. This conference is responsible for winning every NCAA title since 2007 and only seems to get better. You have to go back to 2010 to find the last time that the conference didn't have two of the top-three teams at the NCAA Tournament. On the recruiting trail, the Big Ten has been excellent, as well. In three of the last four years, a Big Ten team has signed the #1 overall class in the country. In 2024, four of its teams were noted in the top-ten for InterMat's Recruiting Rankings and nine schools were amongst the top-25. Recruits have been grouped by team. They are listed alphabetically alongside the weight listed in USA Wrestling’s registration, the state they represent, and their graduating class. The # next to a wrestler’s name denotes their MatScouts Big Board ranking in their respective class. We’ve sorted through six or seven thousand entries to bring you these previews, so there could be a recruit or two that slipped through the cracks. If that’s the case, please let me know. Earl@matscouts.com Additionally, no preview or historical analysis for anything Fargo-related could be done without some assistance from Jason Bryant’s massive Fargo Guide. There’s still time to get yours! Illinois 285 lbs: Marko Ivanisevic (Illinois) - Class of 2024 Even though Marko Ivanisevic doesn’t have any official Fargo credentials next to his name, he’s well-versed and accomplished in the international styles. Last spring, Ivanisevic was seventh in both styles at the UWW U17 Trials. This year, Ivanisevic was a state champion in freestyle and a runner-up in Greco-Roman. Indiana 132 lbs: #79 Jackson Blum (Michigan) - Class of 2025 165 lbs: #148 Christopher Crawford (New York) - Class of 2024 126 lbs: Gavin Jendreas (Indiana) - Class of 2025 132 lbs: #191 Lucas Peters (Wisconsin) - Class of 2024 150 lbs: #126 Hunter Sturgill (Tennessee) - Class of 2025 190 lbs: #44 Carson Thomas (Ohio) - Class of 2025 Indiana’s recruiting results have been on a steep uptick over the past couple of years. The Hoosiers were listed as an honorable mention in 2023 and ranked #14 in 2024. Two incoming freshmen are headed to Fargo - one of which has past All-American honors to his name, Christopher Crawford. Crawford was a 16U freestyle fourth-place finisher in 2022. The Class of 2025 has a strong history in Fargo with three of its commits having earned All-American honors in the past. Hunter Sturgill’s best work has come on the Greco side with a 16U finals appearance in 2022. Carson Thomas was fourth in 16U freestyle last year and was third in UWW U17 freestyle a few months ago. The most decorated of the bunch is Jackson Blum, a two-time 16U freestyle All-American (6,7). Last year, Blum also earned All-American honors in UWW U17 freestyle. Iowa 120 lbs: Dru Ayala (Iowa) - Class of 2024 126 lbs: #189 Keyan Hernandez (Montana) - Class of 2024 190 lbs: Brody Sampson (Iowa) - Class of 2024 157 lbs: #66 Kael Voinovich (Iowa) - Class of 2024 Iowa’s 13th ranked Class of 2024 is well-represented with four of its members set to hit the mat in Fargo. The only one of the bunch that medaled in the FargoDome is Dru Ayala, who has done it three times - all in freestyle. Ayala has gotten onto the podium in each of the last two years at the Junior age group (3,6) and was seventh at U16 in 2021. Last year, we saw a couple of Iowa-bound post-grads excel in Fargo with finals appearances from Ryder Block and Kale Peterson, could it happen again in 2024? Maryland 165 lbs: Seth Digby (Illinois) - Class of 2025 150 lbs: Garrett Reece (Colorado) - Class of 2025 Though he doesn’t currently hold a national ranking, Garrett Reece has an excellent track record in Fargo. He already has four All-American finishes under his belt and is likely to add more. Reece got onto the Fargo podium in Greco-Roman in both years he wrestled in the 16U division. Last year, he was sixth up at Junior’s. Reece also has a fifth-place finish from 2022 in 16U freestyle. Also in 2023, Reece fell in the UWW U17 Trials’ finals in Greco. Recent commit Seth Digby was an Illinois state freestyle runner-up in 2024. Michigan 126 lbs: #66 Gauge Botero (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2025 126 lbs: #113 Teddy Flores (Illinois) - Class of 2024 Both of Michigan’s representatives will be competing in the 126 lb weight class. Gauge Botero is looking to add to his already-impressive Fargo resume with potentially a fifth All-American plaque. Botero placed third in both styles in 2022 in the 16U tournament. Last year, he moved up to Junior’s and was seventh in freestyle. Incoming freshman, Teddy Flores, has placed in the top three on two occasions at the Junior level in Illinois Greco-Roman. Michigan State 144 lbs: #119 Brodie Dominique (Ohio) - Class of 2024 132 lbs: Drew Hensen (Michigan) - Class of 2024 150 lbs: Sean Larkin (Illinois) - Class of 2024 138 lbs: Connor Younts (Michigan) - Class of 2024 The only one of the future Spartans that has already placed in Fargo is Brodie Dominique who was third in 16U freestyle in 2022. Interestingly enough, that came at 152 lbs and Dominique is now at 144. Minnesota 120 lbs: #246 Blake Beissel (Minnesota) - Class of 2024 175 lbs: #243 Silas Dailey (Wisconsin) - Class of 2024 150 lbs: #132 Wyatt Duchateau (Wisconsin) - Class of 2024 285 lbs: #9 Koy Hopke (Wisconsin) - Class of 2024 138 lbs: #134 Dawson Johnson (Wisconsin) - Class of 2024 165 lbs: #29 Charlie Millard (Wisconsin) - Class of 2024 You’ve gotta love Minnesota and its large contingent of graduated seniors headed to Fargo. It harkens back to the “old days” when graduated studs competing in Fargo was the norm rather than a rare occurrence. Those wrestlers were either looking for another shot at placing or to add to their already impressive legacies. The latter applies to Koy Hopke, a 2022 U17 world champion in freestyle, who already has three stop signs to his name. Hopke will be aiming for a second consecutive Junior national title in freestyle. In 2021, Hopke swept both styles at the 16U division. He has not entered Greco this year. Three others in Minnesota’s #6 ranked recruiting class have gotten onto the Fargo podium in the past: Blake Beissel, Silas Dailey, and Charlie Millard. Of that trio, only Millard has gotten onto the podium on more than one occasion. He has been fourth and seventh during the last two years in Junior freestyle. The majority of this class is from Wisconsin a state that has brought a loaded lineup into Fargo. Hopke, Millard, and company will attempt to lead Team Wisconsin to their first-ever title in Junior freestyle. Nebraska 165 lbs: Colin McAlister (Kansas) - Class of 2024 190 lbs: #35 Cade Ziola (Nebraska) - Class of 2025 Cade Ziola is the Nebraska recruit who has a history at Fargo. He was fifth in 16U freestyle in 2022. A Walsh Ironman champion, Ziola will be one of the favorites to take home a stop sign in Junior freestyle at 190 lbs. Incoming freshman Colin McAlister was a Southern Plains Regional freestyle runner-up in June and a fourth-place finisher in Greco. Northwestern 138 lbs: #32 Billy Dekraker (Virginia) - Class of 2025 150 lbs: #80 August Hibler (New Jersey) - Class of 2024 Northwestern has a couple of dark horses that could make some noise in the FargoDome. Of the two, August Hibler is the one who has broken into the top-eight in Fargo previously. Way back in 2021, he was fifth in 16U freestyle. Billy Dekraker is one of the wrestlers from the Class of 2025 who has risen up the ranks the most within the last year. A National Prep title helped Dekraker rise almost 50 slots on the Class of 2025 Big Board. Though he hasn’t placed in Fargo before, Dekraker should be a factor at 138 lbs. Ohio State 157 lbs: #8 Vince Bouzakis (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2025 150 lbs: #15 Maddox Shaw (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2025 Ohio State tends to have recruiting classes that are small in numbers, but large in talent. That’s the case with their two current Class of 2025 verbals, Vince Bouzakis and Maddox Shaw. Bouzakis is looking to claim Junior freestyle titles in back-to-back years. He’s placed in the freestyle tournament in each year he’s attended Fargo getting sixth and second at the 16U level, before winning the 152 lb Junior bracket last summer. Also in 2023, Bouzakis was top-three in both styles at the U17 Trials. Maddox Shaw is a second top-15 prospect who has verballed to the Buckeyes. The Super 32 champion has gotten onto the medal stand in Fargo twice at the 16U level. He was fifth in 2021 and third in 2022. Penn State 126 lbs: #26 Nathan Desmond (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2025 175 lbs: #9 Will Henckel (Connecticut) - Class of 2025 138 lbs: #61 Dalton Perry (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2025 We saw a show of force from Penn State at the U20/U23 Trials. With fewer future Nittany Lions in the field, it’s doubtful that we’ll see something so dominant; however, there are some excellent prospects for Penn State ready to compete in the FargoDome. In fact, all three of these wrestlers have already earned All-American honors in Junior freestyle. Will Henckel has a U16 national title to his name in freestyle and he was fourth in 2022 and a finalist last year. Dalton Perry was fifth last year and a finalist at the UWW U17 Trials in 2022. Nathan Desmond has finished fourth and third in Junior freestyle over the last two summers. He also is a past UWW U17 finalist. Ok, maybe we could see another show of force from future Nittany Lions. Purdue 215 lbs: #154 Noah Weaver (Indiana) - Class of 2025 Purdue will be represented by Indiana state champion Noah Weaver. Weaver wrestled at 215 lbs at Junior Duals and went 7-1 in freestyle. He was also a Junior freestyle state champion in 2023. Rutgers 175 lbs: #30 Jordan Chapman (New Jersey) - Class of 2025 138 lbs: #36 Tahir Parkins (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2025 Rutgers’ fourth-ranked Class of 2024 is getting ready for the collegiate campaign so we’ll get a look at their next crop of recruits with Jordan Chapman and Tahir Parkins. Chapman has taken fourth in each of the last two summers in freestyle - in 2022 at 16U level and last year as a Junior. He also has placed fifth at the U17 Trials in freestyle. Parkins was seventh last year in Junior freestyle. Wisconsin 144 lbs: Elliott Biba (Wisconsin) - Class of 2024 175 lbs: #83 Caleb Dennee (Wisconsin) - Class of 2025 175 lbs: Matthew Jens (Illinois) - Class of 2024 175 lbs: David Malin (Wisconsin) - Class of 2024 132 lbs: Pete Tomazevic (Wisconsin) - Class of 2025 The Wisconsin crew should really make an impact at the 175 lb weight class. Top-100 recruit, Caleb Dennee, was third in 16U freestyle last year and is fresh off an appearance in the UWW U17 Trials finals in the spring. Also at this weight are David Malin and Matthew Jens. Malin was a 16U Greco All-American (8th) in 2021. Jens is a USAW Central Regional champion in Greco and third in freestyle. At the recent National Duals, Jens went 4-2 in freestyle and a perfect 6-0 in Greco. Elliott Biba and Peter Tomazevic are both Wisconsin state finalists who are capable of making a deep run.

PARIS, (July 12) — For the first time ever, the Olympic Games will be seeding the top eight wrestlers in each weight class. Wrestlers who competed in the 2023 World Championships, 2024 Continental Championships, 2024 Zagreb Open Ranking Series and the 2024 Hungarian Ranking Series event have accumulated points towards their seeds at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Apart from the seeded eight wrestlers, the remaining eight wrestlers, who round out the 16-person bracket, will be randomly drawn into the bracket the day before each style begins in Paris. Freestyle 57kg No. 1 Stevan MICIC (SRB) No. 2 Rei HIGUCHI (JPN ) No. 3 Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) No. 4 Meirambek KARTBAY (KAZ) No. 5 Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB) No. 6 Aman AMAN (IND) No. 7 Wanhao ZOU (CHN) No. 8 Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) 65kg No. 1 Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) No. 2 Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) No. 3 Ismail MUSUKAEV (HUN) No. 4 Sebastian RIVERA (PUR) No. 5 Shamil MAMEDOV (AIN) No. 6 Haji ALIYEV (AZE) No. 7 Islam DUDAEV (ALB) No. 8 Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) 74kg No. 1 Kyle DAKE (USA) No. 2 Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) No. 3 Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) No. 4 Daichi TAKATANI (JPN) No. 5 Feng LU (CHN) No. 6 Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) No. 7 Bacar NDUM (GBS) No. 8 Yones EMAMICHOGHAEI (IRI) 86kg No. 1 Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) No. 2 Hassan YAZDANICHARATI (IRI) No. 3 Myles AMINE (SMR) No. 4 Javrail SHAPIEV (UZB) No. 5 Magomed RAMAZANOV (BUL) No. 6 Bat BYAMBASUREN (MGL) No. 7 Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE) No. 8 Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN) 97kg No. 1 Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE) No. 2 Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) No. 3 Kyle SNYDER (USA) No. 4 Ibrahim CIFTCI (TUR) No. 5 Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) No. 6 Erik THIELE (GER) No. 7 Alisher YERGALI (KAZ) No. 8 Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL) 125kg No. 1 Amir ZARE (IRI) No. 2 Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) No. 3 Mason PARRIS (USA) No. 4 Taha AKGUL (TUR) No. 5 Daniel LIGETI (HUN) No. 6 Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE) No. 7 Robert BARAN (POL) No. 8 Zhiwei DENG (CHN) Women’s Wrestling 50kg No. 1 Yui SUSAKI (JPN) No. 2 Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL) No. 3 Ziqi FENG (CHN) No. 4 Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) No. 5 Alisson CARDOZO REY (COL) No. 6 Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) No. 7 Mariya STADNIK (AZE) No. 8 Oksana LIVACH (UKR) 53kg No. 1 Lucia YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU) No. 2 Emma MALMGREN (SWE) No. 3 Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) No. 4 ANTIM (IND) No. 5 Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE)| No. 6 Christianah OGUNSANYA (NGR) No. 7 Qianyu PANG (CHN) No. 8 Andreea ANA (ROU) 57kg No. 1 Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) No. 2 Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) No. 3 Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR) No. 4 Anhelina LYSAK (POL) No. 5 Helen MAROULIS (USA) No. 6 Kexin HONG (CHN) No. 7 Luisa VALVERDE (ECU) No. 8 Hannah TAYLOR (CAN) 62kg No. 1 Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) No. 2 Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) No. 3 Grace BULLEN (NOR) No. 4 Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) No. 5 Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) No. 6 Luisa NIEMESCH (GER) No. 7 Ana GODINEZ (CAN) No. 8 Kayla MIRACLE (USA) 68kg No. 1 Buse CAVUSOGLU TOSUN (TUR) No. 2 Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL) No. 3 Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) No. 4 Irina RINGACI (MDA) No. 5 Tetiana SOVA RIZHKO (UKR) No. 6 Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) No. 7 Soleymi CARABALLO HERNANDEZ (VEN) No. 8 Feng ZHOU (CHN) 76kg No. 1 Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) No. 2 Yuka KAGAMI (JPN) No. 3 Tatiana RENTERIA (COL) No. 4 Catalina AXENTE (ROU) No. 5 Milaimys MARIN (CUB) No. 6 Hannah RUEBEN (NGR) No. 7 Justina DI STASIO (CAN) No. 8 Bernadett NAGY (HUN) Greco-Roman 60kg No. 1 Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) No. 2 Liguo CAO (CHN) No. 3 Victor CIOBANU (MDA) No. 4 Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) No. 5 Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) No. 6 Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB) No. 7 Raiber RODRIGUEZ (VEN) No. 8 Razvan ARNAUT (ROU) 67kg No. 1 Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) No. 2 Luis ORTA (CUB) No. 3 Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) No. 4 Mate NEMES (SRB) No. 5 Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ) No. 6 Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA) No. 7 Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) No. 8 Valentin PETIC (MDA) 77kg No. 1 Nao KUSAKA (JPN) No. 2 Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) No. 3 Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) No. 4 Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) No. 5 Yosvanys PENA FLORES (CUB) No. 6 Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ) No. 7 Zoltan LEVAI (HUN) No. 8 Aram VARDANYAN (UZB) 87kg No. 1 Ali CENGIZ (TUR) No. 2 David LOSONCZI (HUN) No. 3 Semen NOVIKOV (BUL) No. 4 Zhan BELENIUK (UKR) No. 5 Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ) No. 6 Bachir SID AZARA (ALG) No. 7 Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) No. 8 Carlos MUNOZ (COL) 97kg No. 1 Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) No. 2 Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (AIN) No. 3 Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) No. 4 Gabriel ROSILLO (CUB) No. 5 Artur OMAROV (CZE) No. 6 Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) No. 7 Mindaugas VENCKAITIS (LTU) No. 8 Kevin MEJIA (HON) 130kg No. 1 Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) No. 2 Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY) No. 3 Lingzhe MENG (CHN) No. 4 Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU) No. 5 Heiki NABI (EST) No. 6 Yasmani ACOSTA (CHI) No. 7 Seungchan LEE (KOR) No. 8 Adam COON (USA)

We're less than a month out from the start of the 2024 Olympic Games. It seemed like the right time for Pennsylvania District XI natives Ryan Holmes and Darian Cruz to get together and talk about Cruz's preparation for the Games. Cruz discusses going to high school, college, and training for the Olympics all in his hometown with Lehigh and the LVWC. The two also discuss Cruz's decision to wrestle international and represent Puerto Rico and the backlash that arose after he defeated Zane Richards to earn a spot in the Olympics. Cruz also gets into his long relationship with current Lehigh star Ryan Crookham and talks about how some of the on-mat adversity he's faced over the years has shaped him. For the full interview: