InterMat Staff

The Big 12 continued to pick up in action with seven teams in duals and a handful of wrestlers at open tournaments. Oklahoma State made a dominant debut with wins over Oregon State and Utah Valley with a combined 75-12 team score. Northern Colorado made an early trip to Philadelphia and returned home with two dual wins. South Dakota State had a strong showing at Daktronics, while Arizona State saw a worrying injury to Richie Figueroa. Let’s take a look at some of the more notable results to come out of this weekend. Notable Results: 11/14: #20 West Virginia over Rider (31-9) | Full Results 133: #20 Jett Strickenberger Fall Michael Camparano (4:31) 174: Michael Wilson Dec. #24 Brody Conley (11-5) 184: Isaac Dean Dec. #21 Ian Bush (4-2) Strickenberger continues to look good at 133, getting his second bonus point win at the weight this year. Brody Conley is a young wrestler who I was high on after a solid year last season, but suffered an upset in his debut here. Wilson was a qualifier as well last season, so not a bad loss but a tough debut for Conley. Ian Bush has lost his last two dual matches after a hot start, to a currently unranked D2 wrestler in Kyle Homet and now Isaac Dean. Bush missed out on the starting spot against Dennis Robin last season and could be a lineup battle to look out for. 11/15: Northern Colorado over Drexel (29-16) | Full Results 11/16: Northern Colorado over Penn (22-13) | Full Results 125: #8 Stevo Poulin Dec. #17 Max Gallagher (7-2) 141: #1 Andrew Alirez Dec. #15 CJ Composto (8-2) 157: #16 Vinny Zerban Dec. #19 Jude Swisher (7-2) Northern Colorado had a strong weekend on the road with a 2-0 performance and a handful of ranked wins. Stevo Poulin, Dom Serrano, Andrew Alirez, Vinny Zerban, and Clayton Ulrey all went 2-0. An interesting note was at 149, where both Adam Busiello and Benji Alanis both competed but had one-sided losses. The Bears continue to show themselves to be a sneaky tough dual team with their ranked wrestlers. 11/15: #4 Oklahoma State over Utah Valley (38-6) | Full Results 125: #6 Troy Sprately Dec. Bridger Ricks (5-3) 165: #6 Terrell Barraclough Dec. #5 Cam Amine (TB-1 5-4) Two new head coaches squared off in Orem, UT in front of a record-setting crowd of over 5,000 fans. The Cowboys were dominant, winning eight matches with six techs or falls. Bridger Ricks is a newcomer after two All-American finishes at Western Wyoming and gave Spratley all he could handle. With another close overtime loss to Nebraska’s Caleb Smith, Ricks could be a deep sleeper at 125. Barraclough and Amine battled back and forth in a match with huge conference and national implications. Amine took a 3-1 lead with the only takedown in the third but Barraclough escaped just in time and took it OT with a riding time point. In rideouts, Barraclough took a smart locked hands call to finish with more riding time and get the win on criteria. Haiden Drury got a win for the Wolverines as well with a decision over local Idaho native Kolter Burton making his Cowboy dual debut. 11/17: #4 Oklahoma State over #25 Oregon State (37-6) | Full Results 125: #6 Troy Spratley Dec. #24 Maximo Renteria (SV-1 7-4) 157: #30 Ethan Stiles Dec. #8 Teague Travis (SV-1 7-4) 197: #19 Luke Surber Dec. #7 Trey Munoz (5-0) The Cowboys had a solid weekend headed west, going 2-0 in duals. They had some lineup changes for this one, with Cael Hughes at 133 and Tagen Jamison at 141. Jamison is certainly the starter at 141, but it seems like there could be a real starting battle between Witcraft and Hughes at 133. Spratley survived another close match, with a clutch takedown over Renteria to go 2-0. Teague Travis and Ethan Stiles had some wild scrambles, and it seemed like Travis had the momentum in overtime. However, Stiles scrambled through and came up with the takedown for the upset. Luke Surber was one of the biggest winners on the weekend, with a massive rankings upset over Munoz. Surber has a lengthy hit list and Munoz isn’t the first All-American he’s beaten, but it’s a great performance after an injury-filled 2024 season. 11/15: Virginia Tech over Missouri (23-10) | Full Results 125: #13 Eddie Ventresca Dec. Gage Walker (6-5) 141: #18 Sam Latona Dec. #13 Josh Edmond (4-2) 174: #1 Keegan O’Toole Maj. #4 Lennox Wolak (13-5) 184: #12 Colton Hawks Dec. #5 TJ Stewart (8-2) 197: #13 Andy Smith Dec. Aeoden Sinclair (12-9) Still missing Noah Surtin and Rocky Elam, the Tigers struggled to score team points in this dual on the road. True freshmen Gage Walker and Aeoden Sinclair came close against ranked opponents but weren’t able to finish late. Josh Edmond suffered an upset loss to an always dangerous Latona. Wolak kept it scoreless after one but O’Toole poured it on the last two periods and got a buzzer-beater escape point to keep his 100% bonus rate. Colton Hawks has gone round of 16 to bloodround finishes the past two seasons and made a statement that he’s a podium threat with a dominant decision win over TJ Stewart. Two takedowns and plenty of riding time gave him a statement win early in the year. 11/15: #9 Iowa State over Navy (29-9) | Full Results 141: #9 Joshua Koderhandt Dec. Zach Redding (3-2) With the recent news of Casey Swiderski missing this season due to injury, the Cyclones could have a battle at 141 this season. Redding has started in both duals so far and had tough losses. The main challenger could be with Jacob Frost, twin brother of All-American at 133 Evan Frost. Redding is more credentialed but don’t be surprised if the Frost brothers are a 1-2 punch at times this season. 11/15: #17 South Dakota State over Augustana (49-0) | Full Results Not too much to take from this one as the Jackrabbits dominated with a mix of starters. They had nine bonus point wins including an impressive six tech falls. 11/16: Grand View Open (#9 Northern Iowa, #13 Iowa State) | Brackets #9 Northern Iowa 125: #4 Gabe Gonzales (Grand View) Dec. #28 Trever Anderson (TB-1 3-2) 125: Jakason Burks (Central Missouri) Dec. #28 Trever Anderson (6-5) 174: #10 Braden Anderson (Grand View) Dec. #14 Jared Simma (10-6) While Parker Keckeisen was competing at the All-Star Classic, many of the other Panther wrestlers were making their debut here. They came away with titles at 133, (Cory Land), 141 (Cael Happel), 157 (Ryder Downey), 197 (Wyatt Voelker), and 285 (Lance Runyon). There were some unexpected results with ranked wrestlers in NAIA taking out starters Anderson and Simma. It may not change much long term, but some notable results early in the season. Look out for Lance Runyon at heavyweight, the two-time qualifier at 174lbs has made the move to heavyweight after struggling with injuries. Heavyweight was the only real question mark for the Panthers so if Runyon can get into the rankings he gives them a well-rounded lineup. #13 Iowa State 125: Adrian Meza Dec. #4 Gabe Gonzales (Grand View) (7-6) 141: #6 Cael Happel (UNI) Maj. Jacob Frost (18-6) 157: Alex Ramirez (Grand View) over #11 Paniro Johnson (Medical Forfeit) 165: #9 MJ Gaitan Maj. #27 Jack Thomsen (UNI) (19-5) 174: Aiden Riggens Dec. Tate Naaktgeboren (SV-1 4-1) The Cyclones had some intriguing results here at multiple weights. Adrian Meza is a true freshman and undefeated through six matches. At this tournament, he beat Gabe Gonzales of Grand View, who beat Iowa’s Joey Cruz and UNI’s Trever Anderson. Jacob Frost and Zach Redding look to be in a battle for the 141 spot, and Frost had a solid tournament here. He had to finish 4th due to matches in a single day rule, but only lost to top-eight ranked Cael Happel. MJ Gaitan made his 165 debut in impressive fashion with bonus in five of six matches with a near tech in the finals against a ranked opponent. In what seems to essentially be a wrestle-off in the finals, Aiden Riggens squeaked out a tight overtime win over redshirt freshman Tate Naaktgeboren. Riggens has started in both duals but a narrow win here likely doesn’t shut the door on this competition. 11/17: Daktronics Open (#8 South Dakota State, #15 Arizona State, #30 Oklahoma, North Dakota State, Air Force) | Brackets #8 South Dakota State 125: Brady Roark Dec. #30 Antonio Lorenzo (OU) (1-0) 157: Charlie Millard (MINN) Maj. #14 Cobe Siebrecht (13-4) 165: #31 Drake Rhodes Maj. #28 Tate Picklo (OU) (16-3) 197: Thomas Dineen Maj. #24 Bradley Hill (OU) (14-4) South Dakota State had one of the more impressive tournaments with a number of upsets. Brady Roark and Thomas Dineen are two redshirt freshmen who scored ranked wins and showed a potential preview of what to expect in the future. Cobe Siebrecht had a surprising loss, being majored by true freshman Millard. Drake Rhodes had a solid ranked win, with bonus points sticking out. The Jackrabbits also had undefeated starters in Derrick Cardinal, Bennett Berge, and Zach Glazier. #15 Arizona State 125: Brady Roark Inj. Def. #1 Richie Figueroa (2:19) While the Sun Devils had solid showings from Jesse Vasquez and Nicco Ruiz, the biggest story comes from the returning champ. In a match with Brady Roark, he gave up the first takedown and suffered a leg injury. He tried to wrestle through it but after another takedown how to injury default. Figueroa walked off the mat on his power, but this will be an injury to monitor. #30 Oklahoma 125: Kael Lauridsen (NEB) Dec. #30 Antonio Lorenzo (OU) (5-3) 285: #29 Juan Mora Dec. #25 Luke Rasmussen (SDSU) (10-3) 285: #29 Juan Mora Dec. #23 Bennett Tabor (MINN) (6-1) The Sooners had impressive young undefeated wrestlers in Beric Jordan, KJ Evans, and Landyn Sommer. Current starter Antonio Lorenzo had a tough debut, dropping two matches to some young backups. Juan Mora was a standout, getting two ranked wins early in the year. Willie McDougald had a close loss to Jesse Vasquez, but did beat ranked Gavin Drexler. DJ Parker had a 9-3 loss to Bennett Berge but majored his two other opponents in a solid debut. Bradley Hill had a tough tournament with upset losses to Thomas Dineen and Brian Burburjia. North Dakota State 149: #32 Gavin Drexler Dec. Maxwell Petersen (8-7) Nothing too crazy for NDSU in this one, but Gavin Drexler had his second win over teammate Petersen. The two first competed at the Southeast Open where it was a 15-3 major for Drexel, so Petersen could be closing the gap at a weight the Bison have some depth. Air Force 197: Brian Burburjia Dec. #24 Bradley Hill (OU) (5-0) A name I’ve been looking out for is Burburjia, who was solid at Air Force Prep last season. He went 1-2 here with losses to SDSU’s Zach Glazier and Thomas Dineen, but did avenge a loss to Bradley Hill. After a 4-1 loss in the dual over a week ago, Burburjia looked good in a 5-0 win here. Upcoming Competitions: Air Force: AT California Baptist (Nov. 22), Vanguard (Nov. 23) Arizona State: Embry-Riddle/Arizona Christian (Nov. 22), AT Oklahoma State (Nov. 24) California Baptist: Air Force (Nov. 22) Iowa State: AT Iowa (Nov. 23) Missouri: AT Illinois (Nov. 21), Northern Iowa (Nov. 26) Northern Colorado: Cougar Clash (Dec. 7) North Dakota State: Minnesota (Nov. 22) Northern Iowa: South Dakota State (Nov. 24), Missouri (Nov. 26) Oklahoma: Wyoming (Nov. 23) Oklahoma State: Wyoming (Nov. 22), Arizona State (Nov. 24) South Dakota State: AT Northern Iowa (Nov. 26) Utah Valley: Presbyterian/Duke/NC State (Nov. 23) West Virgina: AT App State (Nov. 22) Wyoming: AT Oklahoma State (Nov. 22), AT Oklahoma (Nov. 23)

Long Beach

Highlights Columbia defeats Cleveland State to give Donny Pritzlaff first win as Head Coach Penn’s Wasilewski and Pardo earn first career dual wins Nick Fine of Columbia upsets #15 Bullock of Michigan to earn Ivy Wrestler of the Week Duals Columbia 27 Cleveland State 15 125 - Ben Aranda (Cleveland State) dec Suleyman Bah (Columbia) 6-4 133 - Jacob Manley (Cleveland State) dec Zack Witmer (Columbia) 9-3 141 - Kai Owen (Columbia) fall Landen Duncan (Cleveland State) 2:30 149 - Richard Fedalen (Columbia) fall Connor Saylor (Cleveland State) 5:36 157 - Douglas Terry (Cleveland State) dec Rawson Iwanicki (Columbia) 4-2 165 - Cesar Alvan (Columbia) fall Tate Geiser (Cleveland State) 1:01 174 - Jack McGill (Columbia) tech Gavin Ricketts (Cleveland State) 18-3 184 - Nick Fine (Columbia) maj JR Reed (Cleveland State) 10-1 197 - Joey Lyons (Cleveland State) dec Ike Schmidt (Columbia) 6-1 285 - Daniel Bucknavich (Cleveland State) dec Vincent Mueller (Columbia) 3-0 Northern Colorado 22 Penn 13 125 - Stevo Poulin (Northern Colorado) dec Max Gallagher (Penn) 7-2 133 - Dominick Serrano (Northern Colorado) dec Alex Almeyda (Penn) 15-9 141 - Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) dec CJ Composto (Penn) 8-2 149 - Cross Wasilewski (Penn) tech Benji Alanis (Northern Colorado) 18-2 157 - Vince Zerban (Northern Colorado) dec Jude Swisher (Penn) 7-2 165 - Clayton Ulrey (Northern Colorado) maj Andrew Troczynski (Penn) 15-6 174 - Nick Incontrera (Penn) tech Ayden Rix-McElhinney (Northern Colorado) 15-0 184 - AJ Heeg (Northern Colorado) dec Nathan Taylor (Penn) 4-1SV 197 - Andrew Donahue (Northern Colorado) dec Josh Labarera (Penn) 4-1 285 - John Pardo (Penn) dec Remington Peterson (Northern Colorado) 11-7 #15 Michigan 28 Columbia 9 125 - Christian Tanefeu (Michigan) maj Suleyman Bah (Columbia) 18-9 133 - Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) maj Zack Witmer (Columbia) 16-8 141 - Sergio Lemley (Michigan) maj Kai Owen (Columbia) 12-4 149 - Richard Fedalen (Columbia) dec Zar Walker (Michigan) 6-1 157 - Dominic Rossetti (Columbia) dec Zack Mattin (Michigan) 8-3SV 165 - Brock Mantanona (Michigan) tech Cesar Alvan (Columbia) 18-3 174 - Joseph Walker (Michigan) dec Jack McGill (Columbia) 7-1 184 - Nick Fine (Columbia) dec Jaden Bullock (Michigan) 3-2SV 197 - Jacob Cardenas (Michigan) tech Ike Schmidt (Columbia) 18-0 285 - Dzhabrail Khurshidov (Michigan) dec Vincent Mueller (Columbia) 5-3 #7 NC State 34 Princeton 6 125 - Vincent Robinson (NC State) maj Ethan Rivera (Princeton) 9-0 133- Troy Hohman (NC State) dec Drew Heethuis (Princeton) 3-2 141 - Kai Orine (NC State) maj Jacob Mann (Princeton) 18-5 149 - Ty Whalen (Princeton) dec Koy Buesgens (NC State) 8-3 157 - Ed Scott (NC State) maj Zander Silva (Princeton) 14-4 165 - Derek Fields (NC State) tech Hudson Hightower (Princeton) 21-5 174 - Matthew Singleton (NC State) tech Xavier Giles (Princeton) 21-5 184 - Dylan Fishback (NC State) dec Mikey Squires (Princeton) 6-3 197 - Luke Stout (Princeton) dec Andrew Macchiavello (NC State) 4-1SV 285 - Isaac Trumble (NC State) fall Sebastian Garibaldi (Princeton) 2:04 Princeton 28 Long Island 14 125 - Ethan Rivera (Princeton) dec Robbie Sagaris (Long Island) 6-0 133 - Danny Jones (Princeton) tech Kaelen Francois (Long Island) 15-0 141 - Devin Matthews (Long Island) tech Joe Davi (Long Island) 16-1 149 - Ty Whalen (Princeton) dec Drew Witham (Long Island) 7-1 157 - Brayden Roberts (Long Island) fall Zander Silva (Princeton) 4:25 165 - James Johnston (Long Island) dec Cody Tavoso (Princeton) 4-1 174 - Xavier Giles (Princeton) maj Donovan Smith (Long Island) 11-3 184 - Mikey Squires (Princeton) dec Anthony D’Alesio (Long Island) 5-2 197 - Luke Stout (Princeton) InjDef Gavin Claro (Long Island) 285 - Sebastian Garibaldi (Princeton) maj Chris Powell (Long Island) 11-3

Mountain View

Woodrow Wilson

First Flight

Huntsville

Perkiomen Valley

Dumas

Point Pleasant

McEachern

Top 3 Takeaways and Highlights 1. All-Star Classic Highlights Top-Ranked Wrestlers from NAIA and NCAA The 2024 All-Star Classic got kicked off with five matchups between top-ranked athletes from NAIA and NCAA schools, and both conferences walked away with big wins. Starting at 110 lbs, #4 (NCAA) Kendra Ryan of North Central won a close decision against #1 (NAIA) Emma Baertlein of Southern Oregon. North Central then snagged another win when #1 (NCAA) Amani Jones pinned her opponent, #2 (NAIA) Maya Davis of Grand View, a 2x All-American. The 131-pound matchup was my most anticipated as #1 (NCAA) Victoria Baez Dilone of King took on #1 (NAIA) Carolina Moreno of Southern Oregon. Moreno is a 3x NAIA champion and looked tough in this match, but Baez Dilone hit a huge move to laces early and held on to that lead to win 6-2. I would love to see these two compete again because their styles created a few flurries that could have been big points either way. The evening finished off with back-to-back pins from the McBryde sisters of Life University against their opponents from King. First, #1 (NAIA) Jamilah McBryde got the quick pin of #2 Aine Drury in just 48 seconds. Her sister Latifah who is also #1 (NAIA) got the fall in just under 4 minutes against #1 (NCAA) Cheyenne Bowman. The McBryde sisters continue to show their dominance and gain notoriety for their impressive performances. 2. Grand Valley State University hosts inaugural home dual #4 Grand Valley State hosted their first dual at Fieldhouse Arena over the weekend against Northern Michigan. The team reported a crowd of over 580 people for the matchup, following a youth clinic they hosted earlier in the day to coincide with the dual. Northern Michigan unfortunately did not present a full lineup, so there were two forfeits in favor of Grand Valley State. Outside of those matches, the Lakers secured wins in seven, only losing at the 207 lbs match. Lakers starters #4 Aspen Blasko and Clarissa Agostini both had bonus point wins over some tough Northern Michigan wrestlers who have been in and out of the rankings this season, taking out Zhivanna Magdaleno and Sophia Bassino respectively. The lone win for the Wildcats came from Ozioma Ogu over Grand Valley’s Aaliyah Grandberry. Fans got to see some of the big names that made headlines with the announcement of their decision to attend Grand Valley including #2 Sage Mortimer and #2 Katie Lange. This team is making a big splash immediately and adding more and more wrestlers to the rankings. They went on to compete the next day in the Albion Open and had 4 wrestlers finish in first place. Their next competition will be at the Missouri Valley Open this weekend, where they will see some of the most stacked competition so far. In the meantime, take a second to watch the hype video they made for their inaugural dual. I love seeing programs highlighting their achievements in shareable media like this. 3. Lindenwood Finishes with 5 wins and 1 close loss at Lindenwood Duals The 8th ranked (NCAA) Lindenwood Lions hosted their annual Lindenwood Duals and walked away with wins over William Woods, Eureka, Simpson, Quincy, and #8 (NAIA) Missouri Valley. In their last dual of the day, they took on #5 McKendree and lost by 3 points. McKendree did not have a full lineup or all of their starters there for competition, but they are a team like many other top women’s programs, that has a lot of talent in their depth. The teams seemed to stack up in a way where each team’s top talent didn’t matchup head-to-head too often, but both schools had competitors putting on a show to score points for their teams. Like most other programs, Lindenwood and McKendree will be headed to the Missouri Valley open this weekend, and we are sure to see stars from both teams show out. Results this week in major NCAA, NCWA, and NAIA competitions (NCAA #3) North Central College vs Augustana (NCAA #4) McKendree 28 over (NAIA RV) Missouri Baptist 18 (NAIA #1) Grand View 36 over (NAIA #20) Central Methodist 9 (NAIA #1) Grand View 34 over (NAIA #16) Wayland Baptist 11 UWO Titan Duals VIEW RESULTS Lindenwood Duals VIEW RESULTS Albion Open VIEW RESULTS Blue Hose Challenge VIEW RESULTS Upcoming events for next week Please note that this is not a comprehensive list of all collegiate women’s competitions. Friday, November 22: Missouri Valley Open (Day 1) #10 (NAIA) Indiana Tech vs Rochester Christian Saturday, November 23: Missouri Valley Open (Day 2) #2 (NCAA) King vs #6 (NCAA) Presbyterian Warrior Duals Sunday, November 24: Presbyterian Tri-Dual Tuesday, November 26 #1 (NAIA) Grand View vs #8 (NAIA) Missouri Valley

NCAA DI Rankings have been updated and they can be found here The biggest rankings-related news of the week is something that impacts the biggest weight class. Last week, Gable Steveson announced that he will return to Minnesota to use his final year of collegiate eligibility. The two-time Hodge Trophy winner immediately slots in at the top spot at 285 lbs. That bumps undefeated 2024 national champion Greg Kerkvliet down to #2. He and Steveson have met twice in college and, in both instances, Steveson won a five-point decision. Because of the Big Ten scheduling, we won’t get to see the third chapter take place in the regular season, we’ll have to wait until Big Ten’s. Two wrestlers we discussed in the “five rankings questions” article were Vince Robinson and Sammy Sasso. Since Robinson got the start in all three of NC State’s duals over the last week (and was victorious in all three). He makes his rankings debut at 125 lbs. We’ve inserted Sammy Sasso in the rankings at 165 lbs. A much more detailed description of our choice for Sammy is in the “five questions” article. Long story short, we’re being very conservative with Sasso. Ohio State wrestles a great schedule. He’ll have plenty of opportunities to move up. Steveson’s return has pushed Minnesota into the top five from a team tournament standpoint. After that top-five, it is very chaotic. Last week, we saw NC State tumble after a tough couple of upsets at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic. They bounced back a bit into the top 20. Because of Nick Feldman’s loss at the All-Star Classic, Ohio State dropped this week. I wouldn’t anticipate that they are at #12 very long. Once again, #7 through #16 are only separated by 13.5 points - so an upset or two (positively or negatively) for a team’s top wrestlers could cause a team to move sharply like NC State did last week or Ohio State did this time. I said it last week and I’ll say it again, because of the close nature of all of the teams between #7 and #20, this portion of the rankings could be like a yo-yo and move up and down all year.

Pitman

Iowa City West

Bishop McCort

Peninsula Catholic

Rose Hill

Franklin

Lone Star

Bennington

Coatesville

Eagan

It seems like every week of the college wrestling season, we start some sort of recap article talking about the crazy upsets that the previous weekend provided. This is the rare Monday where that isn’t really the case. Sure, there were some. But not as many as the last two weeks. As has been the case for each Monday this season, we’ll pose and answer five questions that are related to the upcoming set of rankings. Since there are fewer questions related to updates, there are more that focus on the actual rankings process. 1) What are the rules regarding injury defaults again? A few weeks ago, I mentioned my “system” for the rankings boils down to making sense and fairness. With that in mind, making a blanket rule where injury defaults never count seems like you’re painting yourself into a corner. Each one should be viewed separately. Of course, we’re not watching every single injury default that occurs each week, but we do investigate the ones that have an impact on wrestlers in the rankings. The most famous example of this came in the 2020 dual between Iowa and Penn State. Roman Bravo-Young got out to a hot start against Austin DeSanto and cradled him twice to take a big lead. DeSanto grabbed at his knee and defaulted out of the match. At the time, DeSanto was directly above Bravo-Young in the rankings. So, after seeing what we saw, we’re supposed to disregard it all and leave DeSanto above Bravo-Young? Of course, anything could have happened in the rest of the match, but during those few minutes, Bravo-Young was clearly the winner. I point to a match at the beginning of last season as an example of the opposite situation. At WrangleMania, highly ranked Jacori Teemer took on Lock Haven’s Eric Alderfer. In 1:14 of a tied match, Teemer suffered a head injury and could not continue. We have no idea what would have happened and got no hint, either way. From a rankings standpoint, the match was thrown out. Yes, Aldefer got a win on his record and Teemer received a loss, but it doesn’t seem sensible or fair to move anyone based on that 1:14 of action. How that applies to this weekend is primarily with #9 Dean Peterson against redshirt freshman Vince Robinson. Robinson was leading 11-4 when the two hit heads during an exchange and Peterson had to be taken from the mat to undergo concussion protocol. Peterson wasn’t allowed to continue. In this instance, we’re rewarding Robinson for the win - more on him later. 2) What about the All-Star Classic? The All-Star Classic is something that I’ve gone back and forth about over the years. As recently as the 2022-23 season, we did not factor its results into the rankings. The main rationale behind this was that it’s an exhibition. The match does not count when the committee is determining NCAA seeding. The other end of this is that it can be confusing for fans and may not make sense if a #1 and #2 wrestled head-to-head and #2 won - then #1 still retains his ranking. The forthcoming edition of the college rankings will reflect results that occurred at the ASC in State College. Though we have a few months of action ahead, remember they don’t count towards NCAA seeding, so there may be something funky-looking in that aspect. 3) Is Vince Robinson “the guy” for NC State now? There’s still time for things to change, but we’ll go with Vince Robinson as far as being the wrestler that we consider from NC State for the rankings. Last week, I noted that NC State had three duals upcoming (Appalachian State, Princeton, and Rutgers). Robinson got the call in all three and won all three. He was very impressive at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic and should be featured prominently tomorrow. All of that being said, don’t count out Jakob Camacho in mid-November. 4) How to make sense of heavyweight? First of all, the weight will have a new look with Gable Steveson re-entering the fold. Steveson hasn’t lost on the collegiate mats since March of 2019 and has never lost to anyone currently in the field. So we have to factor him into the mix. What will complicate matters more are the results from this week. At the All-Star Classic, #9 Taye Ghadiali downed #3 Nick Feldman by the score of 8-3. At the Jersey Jostle, #7 Isaac Trumble got by #4 Yara Slavikouski, 2-0. This comes on the heels of Cohlton Schultz pinning Isaac Trumble, after Trumble defeated Taye Ghadiali, and Luke Luffman beat Schultz. Yikes, is your head spinning? In the middle of all of this chaos is Yonger Bastida who has yet to compete. If he’s close to healthy, I do believe he will take the mat versus Iowa on Saturday in the CyHawk dual. The good news is the top three make sense with Stevenson, Greg Kerkvliet, and Wyatt Hendrickson. After that, we’ll see! 5) Where do we put Sammy Sasso? Thursday night marked the return of Sammy Sasso to collegiate competition. Sasso had last taken the mat for the Buckeyes in the 2023 NCAA finals opposite Yianni Diakomihalis and then was shot in a carjacking incident in the lead-up to the 2023-24 preseason. Sasso spent over 40 days in the hospital and missed the entire 2023-24 while recovering. Just that Sasso got back on the mat on Thursday is a huge win. Much less the actual 12-6 victory he posted over Chattanooga’s Jackson Hurst. Sasso logged another win on Sunday, 13-9 over Edinboro’s Max Kirby. Now, what do we do with Sasso in the rankings? I noticed on the broadcast of the Chattanooga dual, they stated that FloWrestling had Sasso ranked #3 at 165 lbs. Based on track record and past results, I can understand why that makes sense. 3x NCAA All-American, 2x finalist and 2x Big Ten champion. Those are the credentials of a wrestler ranked #3 in the country. But is that where he belongs in relation to the rest of the 165 lb weight class? This isn’t a wrestler who was away from the mat for a year or two, but continued to train hard and compete sparingly (like AJ Ferrari or Gable Steveson). This is someone who spent more than a month in the hospital and has had to undergo grueling rehab just to be able to practice and do things most collegiate athletes take for granted. Basically, I still am not sure if the Sasso that is wrestling in 2024-25 is the Sasso we saw a few years ago. He won both of his matches, though neither is against an opponent that is under serious consideration for a ranking at this time. At this point in time, I think it’s probably silly not to rank Sasso - based on his accomplishments, but at the same time, I want to exercise a lot of caution. With the schedule that Ohio State wrestles, Sasso will certainly have the opportunity to prove himself against top competition and move up as he knocks the rust off. As of Monday morning, I don’t have an exact ranking for Sasso, but it will be pretty conservative in relation to his talent. The above may sound harsh, but it’s purely from a rankings perspective. Sasso has been one of my favorite athletes to cover (even before his carjacking incident) as he is very media-friendly and gives extremely thoughtful, unique answers to any question presented to him. Again, just getting back on the mat and winning DI matches is a remarkable feat. With Sasso’s competitive nature, he probably won’t acknowledge that and is aiming to pick up where he left off - almost spoiling Diakomihalis’ quest for four national titles.