InterMat Staff

On April 17th, 2009, Penn State shook up the wrestling world by hiring Cael Sanderson to become their next head coach. Sanderson had just completed his third season at the helm at his alma mater, Iowa State - the school he attended while winning 159 straight collegiate matches and three Hodge Trophies. One has to wonder if such a move would have been kept under wraps with today’s constant barrage of social media and the possibility of cell phone cameras everywhere. The fact that the move was done without any leaks made it more shocking that it already had been at face value. Would Cael really leave his alma mater and a senior-laden team who had hopes of knocking off Iowa for the 2010 national title, just to try something new at Penn State? It turned out Sanderson knew exactly what he was doing as he went to the most high-profile school in the best wrestling state in the nation and quickly built a dynasty. In only his second year, Penn State captured the 2011 NCAA team title, which was the first for the school since 1953. Three more followed. As did plenty of individual and team wins and honors along the way. The numbers under Sanderson are staggering. To put things into perspective, we’ve illustrated some of the key accomplishments under Sanderson at Penn State - during his first 15 years. After that, we have Penn State’s numbers in some of those same categories in the 15 years (1995-2009) prior to his arrival in Penn State. And as a reminder, we also have outlined some of the “firsts” for Cael, many of which occurred in that initial 2009-10 season. First 15 Years Under Cael Record: 203-16-2 Big Ten Dual Record: 112-11-1 8 Big Ten Championships 53 Big Ten individual champion 11 NCAA team titles Highest NCAA team point total (172.5 points - NCAA record) / Lowest point total (49 points - 2010) 12 NCAA Team Trophy’s 130 NCAA Qualifiers - Had all ten qualify on three occasions; including 2024 91 All-Americans - Had eight on three occasions; including 2024 38 NCAA Champions - Had five on two occasions 22 undefeated NCAA champions 11 multi-time NCAA champions Two four-time NCAA Champions; First time teammates have accomplished the feat Four Hodge Trophy winners that combined for six honors 15 four-time All-Americans (including transfers) 6 Big Ten Freshman of the Year winners 3 #1 overall recruits signed out of high school (Mark Hall - 2016, Morgan McIntosh - 2011, David Taylor - 2009) Last 15 years Pre-Cael (1995-2009) Record: 165-117-1 Big Ten Dual Record: 55-57-1 0 Big Ten Championships; 2 runner-up finishes (1996, 1998) 11 Big Ten individual champions 4 NCAA Team Trophy’s 106 NCAA Qualifiers - Had all ten qualify on one occasion; 1997 39 All-Americans - Highest was 5 in 1998 6 NCAA Champions; Not more than 1 per year 3 undefeated NCAA champions 1 multi-time NCAA champion One Hodge Trophy winner 2 four-time All-Americans 3 Big Ten Freshman of the Year winners Firsts under Cael Sanderson First Dual: Loss at Lehigh (23-14) - November 13th, 2009 125 - Brad Pataky (Penn State) maj Connor McDonald (Lehigh) 14-4 133 - Matt Fisk (Lehigh) maj Tyler Saltsman (Penn State) 14-1 141 - Seth Ciasulli (Lehigh) fall Adam Lynch (Penn State) 2:42 149 - Frank Molinaro (Penn State) maj Brian Tanen (Lehigh) 12-3 157 - Cyler Sanderson (Penn State) dec Sean Bilodeau (Lehigh) 5-2 165 - Dan Vallimont (Penn State) dec Mike Galante (Lehigh) 5-2 174 - Robert Hamlin (Lehigh) maj David Erwin (Penn State) 17-8 184 - David Craig (Lehigh) dec Justin Ortega (Penn State) 3-1 197 - Joe Kennedy (Lehigh) dec Clay Steadman (Penn State) 4-2 285 - Zach Rey (Lehigh) dec Cameron Wade (Penn State) 5-2 First Dual Win: Bloomsburg (23-15) - November 15th, 2009 First Big Ten Win: Illinois (24-11) - January 22nd, 2010 First Iowa Dual: Loss (29-6) - January 29th, 2010 First Big Ten Tournament finish: 5th First NCAA Championship finish: 9th First Big Ten champion: Cyler Sanderson (157 lbs - 2010) First NCAA finalist: Dan Vallimont (165 lbs - 2010) First NCAA champion: Quentin Wright (184 lbs - 2011) First NCAA Team Championship: 2011 (107.5 points)

It’s almost here! The field has been set and the eyes of the American wrestling world are ready to collectively focus on State College, Pennsylvania, the setting of the 2024 US Olympic Team Trials. The Trials are always incredible and a must-see for fans; however, this one is a bit more special after the most recent Trials. Delayed by a year, because of COVID, the 2020(1) Trials were moved to Fort Worth, Texas, and did not have the type of crowd that is expected to pack the Bryce Jordan Center this time. Our previews have been broken down to half of a particular style at a time. Last week, we started with men's freestyle, then moved into women's freestyle. Now we're wrapping up with Greco-Roman. We'll start with the first three weight - coincidentally, none of the first three weights have been qualified for the Olympic Games, so the winner in each weight class will need to head to the Last Chance Qualifier in early-May. For each weight, we’ll mention the qualifiers, along with how they qualified, and notes about each of the participants, followed by a finals prediction. 60 kg qualifiers 2020 Olympic Team member: Ildar Hafizov 2023 World Team member at non-Olympic weight (55 kg) - Brady Koontz 2022 World Team member at non-Olympic weight (63 kg) - Sammy Jones 2024 Armed Forces champion (55 kg): Billy Sullivan 2024 Armed Forces champion: Dalton Duffield 2024 Armed Forces runner-up (63 kg): Sidney Flores 2021 World Team member: Dalton Roberts 2023 Bill Farrell runner-up: Randon Miranda Senior Nationals runner-up: Hayden Tuma Senior Nationals third place: Max Black Senior Nationals fourth place: Dylan Gregerson Senior Nationals fifth place: Taylor LaMont Last Chance Qualifier champion: Phillip Moomey Right off the bat, we have a gigantic weight class with a ton of depth. Four wrestlers in this bracket have made Senior World/Olympic teams - Ildar Hafizov, Brady Koontz, Sammy Jones, and Dalton Roberts. Hafizov won the 2020(1) Trials with a pair of techs and looks to be the favorite again. He’ll start as the top seed at this weight. Longtime Army WCAP teammate and opponent, Dalton Roberts, will hold the second seed. The two have met a staggering 14 times since the 2018 World Team Trials!! Roberts holds an 8-6 advantage. Roberts will anchor a bottom half of the bracket that is loaded. Hayden Tuma and Sammy Jones have made the cut down from 63 kg and assume the #3 and #6 seeds, respectively. Both Tuma and Jones have competed in and lost in the last two editions of Final X (at 63 kg). Also on the bottom half are Brady Koontz and Dalton Duffield. The pair met in Final X last year with Koontz getting the win after getting teched in the first bout. The top half of the bracket is led by Hafizov, but will also feature Max Black and Randon Miranda as the next two seeds (#4/#5). Both have plenty of international experience on the international level - Black has made a pair of U20 World Teams, while Miranda did the same and was also on the 2018 U23 team. Former DI All-American Taylor LaMont could represent a decent threat on the top half of the bracket as the eighth seed. LaMont had a ridiculous eight-year streak that saw him make an age-group world team, with the only interruption coming during the COVID year of 2020. Prediction: Ildar Hafizov over Dalton Roberts 67 kg qualifiers 2020 Olympic Team member: Alex Sancho 2021 World Team member: Peyton Omania 2019 World Team member: Ellis Coleman 2023 World Team member at non-Olympic weight (63 kg): Xavier Johnson 2023 World Team member at non-Olympic weight (72 kg): Pat Smith 2018 World Team member at non-Olympic weight (63 kg): Jesse Thielke 2023 Bill Farrell runner-up: Justus Scott Senior Nationals third place: Robert Perez III Senior Nationals fourth place: David Stepanian 2024 Armed Forces champion: Peter Ogunsanya 2024 Armed Forces runner-up (72 kg): Jamel Johnson Last Chance Qualifier champion: Duncan Nelson So, we said 60 kg was loaded and deep, maybe 67 kg is even better? 67 kg boasts 30% of the 2023 World Team amongst its competitors and six past Senior World Team/Olympic Team members in its field. Alex Sancho was an Olympian in 2021 and is one of three in the bracket, as he’s joined by Jesse Thielke and Ellis Coleman. Sancho has made three of the last four World/Olympic teams at this weight so he’s a slight favorite amongst a bracket filled with potential hurdles. What’s interesting about this bracket is that the younger wrestlers, the ones that have competed more recently, have received the favorable seeds. Peyton Omania (#2), Robert Perez III (#3), and David Stepanian (#4). That may be the correct way to seed the bracket; however, it makes for some dangerous low seeds. How about a first-round matchup between #8 Jesse Thielke and #9 Xavier Johnson? Then the winner faces Sancho? Or Pat Smith as the #5 seed and Coleman as the #7? Because of this, 67 kg could be a bracket with a bunch of high seeds in the semis and/or finals. On paper, it could look like a bunch of upsets, but in reality, it isn’t the case. It’s tough to forecast how someone like Coleman will do in this bracket. Obviously, if he’s at or near top form, he could take the entire thing. Smith is seeking to make his first Olympic Team after making four world teams at three different weights (71, 72, 77). This could be a fourth for him. Last time, during the Olympic Trials process, Smith went up to 77 kg. If the weight cut isn’t too terrible, he could be a very dangerous fifth seed. The younger generation of stars is led by 2023 US Open champions Perez III and Justus Scott (72 kg). Perez ended up losing a pair of close bouts to Sancho at Final X, while Scott fell to Smith in a brutal three-match series. This bracket will truly be a contrast in narratives, will it be a changing of the guard for this new era of competitors or one last hurrah for some fixtures on the Greco circuit? Prediction: Pat Smith over Robert Perez III 77 kg Qualifiers 2023 World Team member: Kamal Bey 2022 World Team member at non-Olympic weight (72kg): Benji Peak 2021 World Team member: Jesse Porter 2018 World Team member at non-Olympic weight (72kg): RaVaughn Perkins Senior National third place: Danny Braunagel Senior National fourth place: Aliaksandr Kikiniou Senior National fifth place (87 kg): Terrance Zaleski 2024 Armed Forces runner-up: Vincent Dolce Last Chance Qualifier champion: Tyler Eischens Even though he was a Junior World Champion in 2017 and seen as the future of US Greco-Roman, Kamal Bey is still seeking to make his first Olympic team in 2024. Bey missed the 2020(1) Trials after a USADA sanction for three missed tests. Bey returned to make the world team in both 2022 and 2023, but has yet to earn a world medal on the Senior level. He’ll hold the top seed and remains a favorite despite having a solid group of competitors behind him. The winner of the 2020(1) Trials was Jesse Porter, who was considered a longshot at the time. Porter proved it was no fluke by earning a spot on the 2021 World Team and had previously been a part of three U23 squads. He could be a dangerous #6 seed. Meeting Porter in the semifinals is Bey’s 2023 Final X opponent Aliaksandr Kikiniou. Kikiniou made an excellent run to the 2023 US Open finals by defeating past world team member RaVaughn Perkins in the quarterfinals, before running into Bey. Senior National results played a significant role in seeding as Benji Peak got the second seed after defeating Kikiniou in the semifinals. Prior to that Kikiniou teched Danny Braunagel. They’ll assume the #2, #3, and #5 seeds respectively. The fourth seed is Perkins who fell to Kikiniou in the semifinals of the 2024 World Team Trials. At Final X, Perkins defeated Payton Jacobson for true-third place and a slot on the national team. A fixture on the Greco scene for a decade, Perkins was a world team member back in 2018. Though he had to get in through the Last Chance Qualifier, Tyler Eischens has plenty of experience and could be a factor as the seventh seed. The former Stanford and North Carolina national qualifier had made a U23 and U20 world team. Prediction: Kamal Bey over Benji Peak

These are just some random tidbits, stats, and miscellaneous items from NCAAs. They are in no particular order. As a bonus, we will dive into the numbers of the Ivy League compared to the remainder of the EIWA. Ivy League vs EIWA It’s been mentioned already, but the EIWA qualified 62 participants. With an injury withdrawal the day before action began, the final count of participants was 61. This broke down to 28 Ivy League wrestlers (46%) and 33 for other EIWA schools (54%). If we look at the All-Americans for each – we see an almost even split. The Ivies had 4 AAs – which is 14% of the wrestlers competing for Ivy schools. The EIWA saw 5 AAs, good for 15% of their competitors. The math shows the split between Ivies and the EIWA was somewhat even across the board in terms of qualifiers and place finishers – although the number of Ivy schools is 6 – while the remainder of the EIWA has 11 schools. Diving a little deeper, we can see the Ivy’s four All-Americans came from two schools. Cornell had 3, while Columbia had 1. The EIWA’s 5 AAs were from 3 schools. Lehigh claimed three AAs, while Navy and Army each had one. Lehigh and Cornell each claimed 33% of the AAs in the conference. Cornell’s output was higher with one champion, and a 3rd and 4th place finish. Lehigh’s finishes were 3rd, 5th, and 8th. Below is a countdown (… or count-up?) of some random accomplishments, facts, and other occurrences associated with each number. We look at some historical data, and some potential future statistics to help align with the numbers. I know it’s a few weeks after NCAAs, but it’s a great reminder of the historical season the EIWA had. 1. James Conway wins Elite 90 Award for Men’s Wrestling James Conway of Franklin & Marshall may not have achieved his goal of becoming an All-American. The 184lber walked away with hardware anyway. He was the recipient of the Elite 90 Award at this year’s NCAA Tournament. This is an incredible achievement, as the wrestler with the highest GPA is awarded the honor. His 3.98 GPA is more impressive as he is a Biochemistry major, with a minor in Spanish. He finished the year with 30 wins – making his career number of wins 73. 2. All Americans seeded outside the top 16 Two of this year’s All-Americans may have been surprising when looking at the seeds they received before the event began. Army’s Ben Pasuik was the 18th seed – which was the 5th lowest seed to All-American in the entire tournament. David Key of Navy was the 25th-seeded wrestler in his bracket. Both wrestlers walked away with an 8th-place finish. Key’s seed was the second lowest to place. Minnesota’s Vombur was the 26th seed at 141 lbs. This is why this tournament is so great – anyone can earn it! On the flip side of this topic, there were nine wrestlers with top 5 seeds who failed to place. Unfortunately, the EIWA also had a three seed that missed the podium - Julian Ramirez of Cornell and two wrestlers seeded fifth that failed to place – Phil Conigliaro of Harvard and Nathan Taylor of Lehigh. 3. Head Coaches who coached All-Americans for the first time as head coaches at their program. There was quite some history achieved at this season’s NCAA tournament. Columbia, Army, and Navy each had All-Americans for the first time in a while. To recap - Lennox Wolak from Columbia University was the first AA since Steve Santos in 2013. Ben Pasiuk of Army was the first to represent Army on the podium since Matt Kyler in 2008. Navy’s David Key was the first Midshipman since Mathew Miller in 2016 to be named an All-American. Coincidentally, all three of these school’s head coaches had the privilege to coach their first All-American while at the helm. To give an idea of how long it took each coach to achieve this – Zach Tanelli took over at Columbia in 2016, Kevin Ward was named head coach at Army in 2014, and Cary Kolat took control of Navy in 2020. Congratulations to all three coaches! We all know this is the first of many All-Americans they will coach. 4. EIWA teams with 1 qualifier Hofstra, Brown, American, and LIU each had one NCAA qualifier this season. Hofstra’s Keaton Kluever made his NCAA championship debut for the Pride after transferring into the program this off-season. American's Max Leete was a first-time qualifier for the event as well at 133 lbs. Brown’s Michael Joyce was the first qualifier for the program since 2019. Interestingly, no current wrestlers on the roster were on the team the last time this happened. And, as we already know, LIU’s first qualifier at the D1 level was Anthony D’Alesio at 184lbs. D’Alesio was the only wrestler mentioned to earn a win at NCAAs. This makes him the first LIU Shark to win a DI match at nationals in history. It’s great to see more history being made! 5. “Bloodround” finishers return next year The EIWA had a total of six losses in the infamous round of 12, or Bloodround. This is the round in the consolation bracket where a win makes you an All-American, and a loss sends you home empty-handed. It is the quintessential “all or nothing” round in the NCAA wrestling tournament. The five returning wrestlers fitting this category are Kurt Phipps (Bucknell), Josh Koderhandt (Navy), Julian Ramirez (Cornell), Chris Foca (Cornell), and Nathan Taylor (Lehigh). They will return next season to earn a shot at making the podium. Lou DePrez of Binghamton ended his career with a loss in this round. He was a victim of this once before as well. He ends his career as a two-time All-American. Cornell’s Julian Ramirez has lost in this round three years in a row now – putting him in rare, but unfortunate company. Another interesting tidbit is that the EIWA had three former All-Americans who did not repeat as AAs this year. Foca and DePrez were two of them and the third one was CJ Composto of Penn. Composto will have two more seasons to return to the podium. 6. Vito Arujau becomes the 6th multiple-time NCAA Champion in Cornell history With the rich history of Cornell wrestling over many decades, Vito joins elite company. We all know Kyle Dake and Yianni Diakomihalis each won four NCAA titles. Vito joins Dave Auble, Gabe Dean, and Travis Lee as two-time NCAA Champions. Vito’s efforts helped contribute to a 3rd and 2nd place team finish for the Big Red during his two championship seasons. Of the 6 names listed, only Dake and Auble have competed at the Olympic games after college. Yianni and perhaps Vito, in the future, will look to join these two with that accomplishment. 7. Crookham and Stanich on pace to be 4X EIWA champs – 6th and 7th in Lehigh history With Luke Stanich and Ryan Crookham winning EIWA titles as freshmen, they are on pace to win four conference titles. They would become the 6th and 7th wrestlers in Lehigh history to achieve this. Mark Lieberman (’79), Mike Brown (’80), Colin Kilrain (82’), and Darryl Burley (’83) were the first to achieve this feat. Interestingly, they were all on the same team at one point. The latest wrestler to earn 4 EIWA titles was Jordan Wood when he won in 2021. Due to COVID, he earned another shot at a title in 2022 and became the only 5X EIWA champ in history – a record that may never be broken. For what it’s worth – there have been 14 total wrestlers to claim four EIWA titles. Stanich and Crookham can join an even smaller group of wrestlers who earned NCAA All-American status four times at Lehigh. Only Burley and Brown have done this as Mountain Hawks. Another historical statistic using the number 7 is that 7 current EIWA teams have claimed an EIWA team title in the conference’s history. These teams (and number of titles) are Lehigh (38), Cornell (28), Navy (13), Penn (4), Princeton (3), Army (1), and Harvard (1). 8. 4X national qualifiers This was already briefly discussed But a noteworthy achievement is worth mentioning again. The EIWA saw eight wrestlers who have qualified for NCAAs at least 4 times compete in Kansas City. Vito Arujau, Malyke Hines, Phil Conigliaro, Jacob Nolan, Ben Pasiuk, Cole Urbas, and Michael Colaiocco all qualified to compete at NCAAs for the fourth time. Lou DePrez was one of the handful of wrestlers in the country to compete at his 5th NCAA Championships. This season, only Vito and Pasiuk achieved All-American status from this group. DePrez has been an AA in the past but fell one win short this season. Malyke Hines is the lone wrestler on this list with another year of eligibility to also become a 5X qualifier. 9. All Americans from the EIWA The 9 All-Americans this season are more than in previous years. During the 2022 and 2023 seasons, the conference walked away with 7 All-Americans. Looking back over the past decade, the conference saw more AAs in 2019 and 2016 when there were 10 total. The most conference All-Americans since 2000 occurred in 2011 when the EIWA had 15. During that year, Cornell Head Coach, Mike Grey, was 6th at 133lbs. Also, current assistant at Lehigh, Zach Rey, won a title at Heavyweight for them. Crookham, Shapiro, Stanich, and Beard all return next year to the EIWA. Wolak and Cardenas are both out of eligibility in the Ivy League and will find homes elsewhere. Wolak has already committed to Virginia Tech while Cardenas is headed to Michigan. Congratulations to the 9 EIWA All-Americans below. Vito Arujau, Cornell – Champion @ 133lbs Ryan Crookham, Lehigh – 3rd @ 133lbs Meyer Shapiro, Cornell – 3rd @ 157lbs Jacob Cardenas, Cornell – 4th @ 197lbs Luke Stanich, Lehigh – 5th @ 125lbs Lennox Wolak, Columbia, 6th @ 174lbs Ben Pasuik, Army – 8th @ 174lbs David Key, Navy – 8th @ 184lbs Michael Beard, Lehigh – 8th @ 197lbs 10 NCAA Qualifiers for Cornell Cornell qualified all 10 wrestlers. As we know, Vince Cornella had to withdraw the night before due to injury. With nine competing, The Big Red walked away with a second-place trophy with only three All-Americans. It’s a rare feat to achieve with a handful of AAs, so Cornell’s bonus points pushed them into the top two. 19.5 of the team’s 72.5 points were from bonus. If the team would not have had any bonus victories, they would have earned just 11th place. Even one less pin would have dropped them into 3rd place. The team showed up this year and proved that sometimes quality is better than quantity. Next year’s line-up will need to replace Vito Arujau and Jacob Cardenas’s combined 39.5 points in order to match this year’s total. Meyer Shapiro’s 21 points is the highest total to return to the line-up next season. Off-Season Scuttlebutt Transfer portals, coaching changes, and all of the off-season chatter has already begun – and it’s only April! Let’s start with the divisive transfer portal. A vast majority of the transfers below are graduate students looking to complete their final year of eligibility. As a reminder, the Ivy League’s eligibility rules are different from the NCAAs. The extra COVID year all athletes received is why you are seeing many of these “transfers.” In reality, these guys have no more eligibility in the Ivy League. Plus, graduate students are not allowed to compete in athletics at an Ivy League institution. This is why many of these athletes are transferring to larger conferences. And, it is worth mentioning, that NIL had some part to play. Larger schools with more NIL funding can afford to pay athletes handsomely, which is unlike smaller schools in the EIWA. Jacob Cardenas may be the biggest name to leave the EIWA. The 2X All-American from Cornell will be attending Michigan next season. Michigan has been notorious for reloading via the portal. Cardenas will slide in nicely and help the Wolverines compete for a trophy next season. Wolak of Columbia was an All-American at 174lbs. The EIWA champion was an NCAA semi-finalist before finishing in 6th place. Next season, he will be at Virginia Tech in the ACC. The Hokies are a solid top-10 tram every season. Wolak will be replacing NCAA Champion, and multiple-time AA, Mekhi Lewis. Wolak will be a great addition to the lineup. Another Columbia standout will be on the move to the ACC. Josh Ogunsanya will take his talents to North Carolina to pursue his graduate degree. The 165-pound wrestler has placed at EIWAs multiple times. He’s been plagued by injuries, so he may be a little under the radar for some. He’s an uber-talented wrestler with lightning-quick speed. It will be fun to see him compete again once healthy for the Tar Heels. Connor McGonagle of Lehigh was in the portal. He has visited some Big12 and ACC schools. He ultimately chose Virginia Tech. He will find himself at 133lbs with multiple-time All-American Sam Latona. One of them will make the move up to 141lbs for the Hokies – which fills a potential hole in the line-up. Dorian Crosby of Bucknell was looking for another place to call home. The 2024 EIWA runner-up is heading to Gannon, a D2 school in Erie, PA. He was looking to return to his hometown of Erie to further his education and use his last year of eligibility. There is a list of quality wrestlers in the portal looking for a home. Max Hale of Penn is in the portal as well. He was an NCAA qualifier this season for the Quakers. He was ranked inside the top 20 and should be a great option at 184lbs for wherever he ends up. Columbia’s Kyle Mosher came onto the scene later in the season, as he replaced the injured Josh Ogunsanya at 165lbs. He is looking to use his final year of NCAA eligibility. There were some coaching changes as well. The big news out of the conference was the addition of Matt Valenti to the Penn coaching staff. Valenti was a two-time NCAA champion for the Quakers when he graduated in 2007. He had a few coaching stints at Columbia and Penn before ending his way back into an admin role at Penn in 2015. He has been in various roles since then. He will assume the head coaching role after the 2025-26 season. Roger Reina will retire at that time. Cody Brewer is another national champion taking a coaching position in the conference. He will join Princeton as the Head Assistant Coach. As a wrestler, he won an NCAA title for Oklahoma in 2015 at 133 lbs while claiming four All-American honors. He spent a few years on staff with Northwestern before playing a key role as an assistant with Virginia Tech. Expect him to make a big impact early. A familiar face was named to the coaching staff at Binghamton again. Lou DePrez took a coaching role at the beginning of last season. He left that after the first semester to wrestle one more semester due to a medical hardship granting him one more go-around. He wrestled to a top-12 finish, just missing the All-American podium. He remains the best wrestler in Binghamton history when looking at nearly every stat. Speaking of Binghamton, they do have a head assistant type of position open. This would be a great opportunity for a coach with some recruiting experience. Binghamton is one of the steadily improving programs in the conference. I am anxious to see who lands in this role. Princeton has some other positions to fill as well, in addition to Brewer. Be on the lookout for at least one announcement this week. But, in total, two positions will be filled this off-season. The likelihood of these hires contributing to the carousel is very high. BONUS TEASER: There will be a major coaching change announcement early this week. Once this is publicly announced, it will most likely begin a coaching carousel that will keep us entertained for much of the off-season. This is not related to any of the above changes/open positions. Keep your eyes peeled on social media and the forums this week - You will not want to miss it!

Bernards

Pocono Mountain West

Anaya Falcon photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com Just over a month after the conclusion of the Women’s Collegiate Wrestling season, many athletes showed out to claim a World Team spot at Nationals this past weekend. In addition to current collegiate athletes, many commits also competed and gave fans a glimpse at the talent they will be bringing to college lineups in seasons to come. For this overview, I will be focusing on U20 and U23 results. U20 Women’s Nationals In the finals at 50kg, future Life Running Eagle, Anaya Falcon, got two dominant wins over Iowa’s Nyla Valencia in their best-of-three series. Valencia was a runner-up at U20s last season wrestling unattached. Falcon is continually ranked in the top 25 pound-for-pound for her class and is a 3x California state champ. She will certainly be an exciting addition to Life’s roster. Iowa’s first champ of the day was Brianna Gonzalez at 53kg. Gonzalez was the runner-up at NCWWCs this season after losing the finals match to Felicity Taylor. Gonzalez secured her top spot here with several dominant wins including two tech falls over King commit Clare Booe. Booe will be an immediate impact athlete for the King team with two Fargo titles, a Super 32 championship finish, and a first-place finish at last season's East Stroudsburg Open as a high school senior. This season’s NAIA National Champ Cristelle Rodriguez of Doane put on another dominant performance at Nationals, winning her final series with two pins in under three minutes total. Lexi Janiak of Aurora claimed the top spot at 59 kg over 2023 Fargo Champion Aubre Krazer with an 11-0 first match, and a closer 8-4 decision win in their second bout. Janiak finished third at NCWWCs this past season and is a 2023 U20 Bronze Medalist. 62kg had one of the tightest matchups, with future Iowa Hawkeye Cadence Diduch dropping the first match to Skylar Hattendorf. However, match two was a shutout for Diduch. In the final bout, Diduch was able to hang on to a 2-1 lead to claim the top spot. Diduch is a three-time Fargo Champ and really showed some of the grittiness that the Hawkeyes team is already starting to be known for in this tournament. Sticking with Iowa’s team for the 65kg finals, we saw two Hawkeyes competing for the spot with Reese Larramendy coming out victorious over redshirt freshman Ella Schmit. The two actually both competed at U20s last season as well and while the two did not cross paths in that tournament, Schmit finished in second with Larramendy claiming the third place spot. The two wrestled one other time this past season at the Indiana Tech Warrior Open with Larramendy also getting the decision win in that matchup. Southern Oregon’s 2024 National Champ Caitlyn Davis showed out again here to claim 1st place at 68kg. Davis beat out McKendree’s Destiny Rodriguez in two matches. In the first, Davis was able to shut down everything from Rodriguez to get a 9-0 decision. In the second, Rodriguez kept it a bit closer, but it was still Davis with the 4-1 decision. Shannon Workinger of Menlo made an appearance in the finals at 72kg, improving on her fifth-place finish from last season. Unfortunately, she fell short in her matchup to Jasmine Robinson who was the champ in the U23 division as well. Finally, at 76kg Iowa fans have another exciting wrestler to cheer for as Naomi Simon, who committed to Iowa earlier this season, gets two tech fall victories to claim the top spot over Menlo’s Kalili Shrive. Simon is also a 2023 Fargo champ and will fit right into the Iowa roster given the huge 4-point move she hit on the edge of her second match here. U20 Women’s Final Results 50 kg: Anaya Falcon (Life Commit) over Nyla Valencia (Iowa) 14-6, 10-0 53 kg: Brianna Gonzalez (Iowa) over Clare Booe (King Commit) 6-7, 10-0, 12-2 55 kg: Cristelle Rodriguez (Doane) over Zao Estrada, Fall 1:25, Fall :55 57 kg: Carissa Qureshi (CA) over Everest Leydecker (AZ) 6-6, 14-1 59 kg: Alexis Janiak (Aurora) over Aubre Krazer (PA) 11-0, 8-4 62 kg: Cadence Diduch (Iowa Commit) over Skylar Hattendorf (NH) 0-10, 6-0, 2-1 65 kg: Reese Larramendy (Iowa) over Ella Schmit (Iowa) 12-1, 10-0 68 kg: Caitlyn Davis (Southern Oregon) over Destiny Rodriguez (McKendree) 9-0, 4-1 72 kg: Jasmine Robinson (TX) over Shannon Workinger (Menlo) Fall :54, 13-2 76 kg: Naomi Simon (Iowa Commit) over Kalila Shrive (Menlo) 14-3, 12-0 U23 Women’s Final Results At U23s, several current collegiate wrestlers made their way to the finals, including a few rematches from the collegiate season. Starting at 50kg, Iowa’s Sterling Dias finished in second place, dropping both matches to Heather Crull, a U17 Bronze Medalist, who also competed in the U23 division this weekend. Dias finished 2nd at NCWWCs this season and continues to show out in both domestic and international competitions for the Hawkeyes. At 53kg, North Central’s Jaslynn Gallegos gave up a late fall to Elena Ivaldi after being up 10-2 earlier in the match, and lost another early lead in the 10-6 decision loss in their second match. Gallegos finished in 5th at NCWWCs to help the Cardinals to a runner-up finish at NCWWCs for her senior season. 55kg was a rematch from this season’s NCWWC semifinals between Amani Jones of North Central and Montana Delawder of King. While Jones got a pin in that match earlier this season, Delawder kept it closer here. Jones still had the more dominant offense and won that matches 5-1 and 8-1 respectively. At 59kg, Central Methodist’s Skye Realin won the three-bout battle over Yele Aycock of North Central. Realin won a back-and-forth match 9-5 with Aycock claiming the second 5-3. In the third, Realin struck first, but Aycock rallied back with two pushouts of her own. At the very end of the period, the call on the mat was a takedown on the edge for Aycock, but Realin’s corner challenged for a push-out point instead and the call was reversed after review. Realin started her collegiate career at McKendree before transferring to Central Methodist, and was not a starter for the Eagles, but did compete at a few open tournaments. Aycock is a 2x All-American and 2x NCWWC finalist for the Cardinals. Adaugo Nwachukwu is considered the best pound-for-pound collegiate wrestler and she showed her dominance here in this tournament as well, giving up one point the entire weekend while scoring 65 to win the title at 62kg. As a champ for William Penn this past season, she also has the opportunity to compete in the Olympic Trials next weekend. In post-match interviews, Nwachukwu discussed using this opportunity to prepare even further for the trials, which is her ultimate goal. In another NCWWC semifinal rematch, Aine Drury of King met up with Alara Boyd of North Central. Similar to their prior match, Drury was able to get the two close decisions 6-1 and 5-3 respectively to win here. Boyd competed as a graduate student last season, and I am unsure about remaining eligibility or her desire to use it if she has it here. Boyd was also a 4x age-group World Team member prior to this season. Drury was in her junior season last year and should be back to try again for the top spot at NCWWCs after finishing in second this past season. 68kg was a battle of the Auggies with former Augsburg wrestler Brooklyn Hays taking on current Auggie and, the winningest wrestler in school history Nina Makem, who is coming off an All-American eighth-place finish. Makem took the first bout, winning a 3-2 decision. However, it seemed as though Hays figured things out by their next match, scoring a few times on her offense before getting a late pin. The 3rd match was all Hays as well, capping it off with another pin. A viral clip of the two shows Hays raising Makem’s hand after the match and the two hugging after what was a very exciting back and forth. Finally, at 76kg, McKendree’s Tristan Kelly, who finished third at NCWWCs for the Bearcats this season, made quick work of her finals opponent, Bo Giebe, with 2 pins in under 2 minutes. Giebe wrestles for Sienna Heights and was the school’s first NAIA All-American for women’s wrestling after her 5th-place finish last season. 50 kg: Heather Crull (IN) over Sterling Dias (Iowa) 10-3, 10-0 53 kg: Elena Ivaldi (CA) over Jaslynn Gallegos (North Central) Fall 5:18 10-6 55 kg: Amani Jones (North Central) over Montana DeLawder (King) 5-1, 8-1 57 kg: Sofia Macaluso (NY) over Carissa Qureshi (CA) Fall 5:31, Fall 4:36 59 kg: Skye Realin (Central Methodist) over Yele Aycock (North Central) 9-5, 3-5, 3-2 62 kg: Adaugo Nwachukwu (William Penn) over Marisol Nugent (MA) 8-1, 12-0 65 kg: Aine Drury (King) over Alara Boyd (North Central) 6-1, 5-3 68 kg: Brooklyn Hays (UT) over Nina Makem (Augsburg) 2-3, Fall 5:12, Fall 3:49 72 kg: Jasmine Robinson (TX) over London Houston (North Central) Injury Default 76 kg: Tristan Kelly (McKendree) over Bo Geibe (Siena Heights) Fall :34, Fall 1:00 Olympic Team Trials take place this coming weekend beginning April 19. Many collegiate wrestlers will be competing for those spots as well.

USA Wrestling released pre-seeds for the 2024 Olympic Team Trials which get underway on Friday, April 19th, from State College, Pennsylvania. Below are the brackets based on the pre-seeds. As always, these stand to change based on a variety of factors between now and Friday. Men's Freestyle 57 kg 65 kg 74 kg 86 kg 97 kg 125 kg Men's Greco-Roman 60 kg 67 kg 77 kg 87 kg 97 kg 130 kg Women's Freestyle 50 kg 53 kg 57 kg 62 kg 68 kg 76 kg

It’s almost here! The field has been set and the eyes of the American wrestling world are ready to collectively focus on State College, Pennsylvania, the setting of the 2024 US Olympic Team Trials. The Trials are always incredible and a must-see for fans; however, this one is a bit more special after the most recent Trials. Delayed by a year, because of COVID, the 2020(1) Trials were moved to Fort Worth, Texas, and did not have the type of crowd that is expected to pack the Bryce Jordan Center this time. Our previews have been broken down to half of a particular style at a time. Earlier in the week, we started with men's freestyle - now we're wrapping up women's freestyle. The good news is that all six weights have been qualified for women's freestyle - either at the 2023 World Championships or at the 2024 Pan-American Olympic Qualifier. In a rule unique only to women's freestyle, the wrestler who earned the allocation bid for the United States can sit out until the best-of-three finals. For each weight, we’ll mention the qualifiers, along with how they qualified, and notes about each of the participants, followed by a finals prediction. 62 kg Qualifiers 2024 Pan-American Olympic Games Qualifier Finalist: Kayla Miracle 2023 World Medalist in non-Olympic Weight: Jennifer Page (59 kg) 2023 World Medalist in non-Olympic Weight: Macey Kilty (65 kg) 2022 World Team member: Mallory Velte 2023 Bil Farrell runner-up: Katerina Lange Senior National Runner-Up: Ashlynn Ortega Senior Nationals Third Place: Aine Drury Senior Nationals Fourth Place: Maya Letona Senior Nationals Fifth Place: SaVannah Cosme 2024 NCWWC National champion: Reese Larramendy 2024 NCWWC National champion: Claire DiCugno 2024 NAIA National champion: Adaugo Nwachukwu Last Chance Qualifier champion: Lauren Louive Without a doubt, 62 kg is the deepest women’s freestyle weight in the Trials. Four of the entrants have won world medals at the Senior level. The field is led by mainstay Kayla Miracle. She has made the last five world/Olympic teams at this weight. After missing out on the medal stand at the 2020(1) Olympic Games, Miracle captured silver medals in the two World Championship events that followed the Games. In 2024, Miracle struck gold at the Pan-American Championships, then turned around and claimed a pair of wins at the Pan-Am Olympic Qualifier, which ensured the United States would be in the Olympics, at this weight. Miracle will have the advantage as she’ll wait in the best-of-three finals for a challenger to emerge. The other three past Senior world medalists in this bracket are Jennifer Page, Macey Kilty, and Mallory Velte. Page had quite the 2023 after getting upset in the finals of the US Open at 62 kg, which prevented her from competing in Final X at that weight. She then moved down to 59 kg and won the World Trials which pushed her into Final X. Not only did Page make the Senior World team, but she also came away from Belgrade with a bronze medal. After a ton of success on the age-group level, Macey Kilty made her first Senior World Team in 2023. She would go all the way to the world finals before suffering a loss, which netted her a silver medal. Kilty has now made the world finals at every age group available for her. Earlier this year, Kilty lost in a three-match series to Miracle for the chance to compete in the Pan-American Olympic Qualifier. The two had also met in the 2020(1) Olympic Trials finals, when Kilty was injured in the decisive third bout. Velte has made three world teams and has come away with bronze medals in two of those appearances. The most recent coming in 2022 at 65 kg. Velte lost a pair of close bouts to Kilty at Final X last year. Though she had already locked up a spot in the Trials, Velte competed in, and won, both the Bill Farrell and Senior Nationals. One of the other top contenders at this weight is Miracle’s Final X opponent Nwachukwu. Nwachukwu had the opportunity to unseat Miracle after stunning Page in the US Open finals. Earlier this month, Nwachukwu was named the second annual Women’s Collegiate Wrestler of the Year by USA Wrestling. She earned the honor after going 21-0 with bonus points in all of her wins; while claiming an NAIA national title for William Penn. Another veteran at this weight is the Last Chance Qualifier champion Lauren Louive. Louive advanced to Final X in 2019, but is still looking to make her first World/Olympic team. She ran through the LCQ tournament without surrendering a point in any of her four bouts. The contingent of this weight class that qualified through Senior Nationals includes Ashlynn Ortega, Aine Drury, Maya Letona, and SaVannah Cosme. Ortega blanked Drury and Letona to make the Senior finals, where she fell to Jacarra Winchester. In 2023, Ortega finished fourth at the US Open, then went on to make the finals of the Grand Prix of Spain. Drury and Letona are no strangers. While Drury defeated Letona by a point in the Senior National third place bout, it was Letona who prevailed in the third place match at the 2023 US Open. Not only was Cosme fifth at Senior Nationals, but she also was a bronze medalist in 2023 at the U20 Pan-American Championships. U23 World Team member Katerina Lange got into the Trials via a finals appearance at the Bill Farrell. She was third at the 2023 US Open competing up at 68 kg. The remainder of the women in this bracket come from the NCWWC ranks. Claire DiCugno and Reese Larramendy were national champions in 2024 with DiCugno winning the 136 lb bracket and Larramendy winning at 143 lbs. Prediction: Macey Kilty over Kayla Miracle 68 kg qualifiers 2023 World Champion at non-Olympic weight (72 kg): Amit Elor 2021 World Team member: Forrest Molinari 2023 Bill Farrell runner-up: Alex Glaude Senior National third place: Alara Boyd Senior National fourth place: Solin Piearcy Senior National fifth place: Kaylynn Albrecht 2024 NAIA national champion: Caitlyn Davis Last Chance Qualifier champion: Chloe Ogden Three years ago at the 2020(1) Olympic Games, it was Tamyra Mensah-Stock who prevailed at this weight class and became the second American woman to win Olympic gold in freestyle wrestling. While Mensah-Stock has turned her attention to the WWE, the United States still has a highly-decorated favorite who is expected to prevail in the Trials and also come away with a second straight gold medal at this weight. That favorite is Amit Elor who has won U20, U23, and Senior World titles in each of the last two years. Previously, an American had not accomplished the feat; however, she’s done it twice. Elor comes into the trials on a winning streak that dates back to 2019 when she lost at the U17 World Championships and bounced back to take third. Not only has Elor won, but she’s done so in dominating fashion. Neither of her Final X opponents in 2022 and 2023 were able to manage a single point. During 2023’s title run, she outscored the competition 33-4, and at U23’s she pinned three of her four opponents in less than :30 seconds. Elor’s dominance domestically and internationally may be a reason why this is the smallest of the women’s freestyle brackets, in terms of entries. The opponent with the longest track record of success is Forrest Molinari. Molinari has made three world teams during her career and brought home a bronze medal in her most recent appearance (2021). In her only appearance of 2024, Molinari claimed a silver medal at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series event. There aren’t any other competitors in this bracket with Senior World Team experience; however, there is Alex Glaude who has made world teams at the Junior and U23 age groups. In 2018, Glaude captured a bronze medal at U23’s. A year later, Glaude made Final X but was defeated in two straight bouts by Mensah-Stock. Another entrant here was plenty of international experience is Alara Boyd. Boyd made two U20 World Teams in 2019 and 2021. Previously, she won a pair of world medals at the Cadet age group. Over the weekend, Boyd fell in the best-of-three finals in an attempt to also make the 2024 U23 team. Boyd earned her spot by finishing third at Senior Nationals. Right behind her were Solin Piearcy and Kaylynn Albrecht, taking fourth and fifth, respectively. In 2023, Piearcy was fourth at the US Open and a finalist at the Dan Kolov/Nikola Petrov Tournament and competed in the bronze medal match at the Zagreb Open. Albrecht went unbeaten at the Henri DeGlane this year and was third at the 2023 Bill Farrell. Rounding out the weight class are Cailtyn Davis and Chloe Ogden. Davis was a 2024 NAIA national champion for Southern Oregon and made the 2024 U20 World Team at this weight. Ogden comes in after winning the Last Chance Qualifier. We’ll have to monitor her status, as she also competed this weekend at the U23 division and injury defaulted out after a semifinal loss. Prediction: Amit Elor over Forrest Molinari 76 kg Qualifiers 2023 Senior World medalist at Olympic weight: Adeline Gray 2022 World Team member: Dymond Guilford 2021 World Team member: Kylie Welker 2023 U20 World Bronze Medalist: Kennedy Blades 2023 Bill Farrell champion: Yelena Makoyed 2023 World Military Championships gold medalist: Tristan Kelly Senior Nationals champion: Precious Wieser Senior National runner-up: Marlynne Deede Senior National third place: Skylar Grote Senior National fourth place: Brooklyn Hays Senior National fifth place: Rose Cassioppi Last Chance Qualifier Champion: Madison Sandquist Perhaps the most fascinating weight in the women’s freestyle tournament is 76 kg. You have the legendary Adeline Gray sitting in the best-of-three finals waiting for a challenger to emerge from a very deep field of contenders. Gray is seeking to make her third Olympic team and chase down the gold medal that’s eluded her in her previous two trips. Altogether, Gray has ten World/Olympic medals - which includes six world titles. In addition to her third Olympic team, she’s seeking to make her 13th World/Olympic team. Even with Gray’s credentials and her standing as one of the all-time greats of USA Wrestling, her making the team is not a lock. Last year, after giving birth to her twins, Gray returned for the US Open and was noticeably rusty (after only returning to training a few weeks earlier) in a one-sided loss to Kennedy Blades. Gray earned a rematch against Blades after winning the World Team Trials and dispatched Blades in two straight matches, though both were close. So far, in 2024, Gray has taken third at the Zagreb Open and was knocked off by an opponent from Ecuador at the Pan-American Championships - she’d rebound for bronze. The question is, “Can Adeline make another team and chase the gold or is the youth movement at this weight ready to prevail?” This weight has plenty of youthful challengers that could push or defeat Gray and make an impact at the Olympic Games. The aforementioned Blades has won medals at the U23 and U20 levels in each of the last few years. Blades made both teams last year and was second at U23’s and third at U20’s. In 2021, Blades was a U20 world champion. Blades’ U20 world title came at 72 kg and right behind her was Kylie Welker, who won gold at 76 kg. That same year she also took home bronze from U23’s. Both Blades and Welker were finalists at the most recent Olympic Trials. Welker fell to Blades, while Blades lost to Mensah-Stock. Another past world team member in this bracket is Dymond Guilford who made the 2022 team, while Gray was unavailable. In 2024, Guilford claimed a bronze medal at the Dan Kolov/Nikola Petrov and was unbeaten at the Henri DeGlane. She was also a 2022 U23 World silver medalist. One of Guilford’s frequent opponents, Yelena Makoyed, will be in the mix, as well. Guilford beat Makoyed to make the 2022 World Team in Final X; however, they’ve traded wins since - with Makoyed having the most recent win; at the 2024 Henri DeGlane. Makoyed has been a trailblazer for the North Central wrestling program and just finished her collegiate career with a loss in the national finals to Welker. She’ll finish as a three-time national champion and five-time finalist. Guilford’s former high school teammate and also regular opponent, Precious Wieser is in the field. Wieser got in with a Senior National title. In 2019, Bell opposed Gray in Final X and was a part of the U20 world team. Marlynne Deede, Skylar Grote, Brooklyn Hays, and Rose Cassioppi also qualified via Senior Nationals. Deede was a 2024 NCWWC national champion for Iowa and a teammate of Cassioppi. Grote made Final X at 72 kg in 2022. She, along with Guiford, earned bronze medals in a DeGlane weight class won by Makoyed. Over the weekend, Hays won the 68 kg spot at the U23 WTT’s. Last year, Hays defeated Cassioppi in a true-third place match at Final X. Also in the field are Tristan Kelly and Madison Sandquist. Kelly, a member of the Army’s WCAP, earned her spot with a gold medal at the World Military Championships. In 2022, Kelly was a U20 world bronze medalist. She’ll have an opportunity to add to her medal haul later this year as she won the U23 Trials at, 76 kg, over the weekend. Sandquist was a sixth-place finisher at the NCWWC’s but claimed a title at the Last Chance Qualifier event. Prediction: Kennedy Blades over Adeline Gray

With the conclusion of the NCAA wrestling tournament and the calendar changing over to April, you’d think that it means it’s the offseason for college wrestling and all focus should turn to the Olympic styles, right? Maybe in the past, but in a new era of collegiate athletics, once the final whistle has blown on a particular postseason, it means it’s time to turn your attention to the transfer portal. Love it or hate it, it’s the reality. Student-athletes have the ability to transfer much more freely than past generations. Couple that with the extra year of eligibility doled out by the NCAA in the aftermath of the COVID years and you have a wild combination. There was lots of movement last “offseason” and I don’t foresee that changing this year. In just a week and a half since the NCAA finals, there have already been some huge names that have gone into the portal. Some have already announced their new homes, while others are still being courted. The first list of wrestlers we’ve listed have already publicly committed to a new transfer destination. That new school is listed first, along with their projected weight, followed by their former school. Below them are notable wrestlers that have gone into the transfer portal. It is not a comprehensive list. Some (like Jacob Cardenas and Lennox Wolak) knew they were graduating and were unable to continue competing at their Ivy League schools and went into the portal before the season started. Others have just submitted their names. Expect many updates to this feature in the coming weeks and months. Illinois: Ramazan Attasauov (125/133) - Iowa State Iowa State: Evan Bockman (197) - Utah Valley Little Rock: Brock DelSignore (184) - NC State Lock Haven: Nick Stampoulos (157) - Buffalo Michigan: Jacob Cardenas (197) - Cornell Michigan: Chase Saldate (157) - Michigan State Minnesota: Tommy Askey (157) - Appalachian State North Carolina: Ethan Oakley (133) - Appalachian State North Carolina: Josh Ogunsanya (174) - North Carolina Oklahoma State: Caleb Fish (165) - Michigan State Oklahoma State: Dean Hamiti (165/174) - Wisconsin Oregon State: Sean Harman (174) - Missouri Rider: Sammy Alvarez (149) - Oklahoma State SIU Edwardsville: Luke Odom (157) - Illinois SIU Edwardsville: Griffin Ray (165) - Nebraska Virginia Tech: Connor McGonagle (133) - Lehigh Virginia Tech: Lennox Wolak (174) - Columbia The Virginia Tech Hokies received their second notable transfer of the offseason when they got a commitment from Connor McGonagle Monday morning. McGonagle, formerly of Lehigh, was a three-time national qualifier for the Mountain Hawks, making the tournament twice at 141 lbs and once at 133 lbs. McGonagle was ranked in the top ten and as high as the top five for most of the 2022-23 campaign, at 133 lbs. His most significant win of that season came against NC State’s Kai Orine, who eventually ended up on the national podium. Now, the two will be in the same conference for each’s final year of eligibility. An injury in the 2023 EIWA Championships forced McGonagle to default out of the tournament and rely on an at-large berth and he was impacted during the seeding process, as he received the #11. Shortly after the brackets were released, McGonagle had to withdraw from the tournament. McGonagle and Virginia Tech are no strangers as he wrestled future Hokie teammate Sam Latona in the 2023 NWCA All-Star match. McGonagle would go on to win 7-5 in tiebreakers. Even as the All-Star match was conducted, McGonagle was out of his spot at 133 lbs as freshman phenom Ryan Crookham defeated him head-to-head and then Vito Arujau at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic. McGonagle re-emerged later in the year and wrestled in the F&M Open at 141 lbs. 133 is where McGonagle would like to wrestle and it could be a good fit with the Hokies. The former 125 lber, Latona, already looked massive at 133 lbs and would go up for his final campaign in Blacksburg. That allows Tom Crook to redshirt as the Hokie staff initially intended in 2023-24. The Hokies are fresh off a seventh-place finish at the 2024 NCAA Championships and lost the services of multi-time All-Americans Bryce Andonian and Mekhi Lewis. With McGonagle and Lennox Wolak joining, those losses should be less painful and Virginia Tech may be capable of a similar (or better) NCAA showing in 2025. Portal Ryan Boersma (285) - Missouri Colton Camacho (125/133) - Pittsburgh Charlie Darracott (165) - Stanford Massoma Endene (197) - Wartburg Logan Frazier (133) - Virginia Tech Max Hale (184) - Penn Nathan Higley (149) - George Mason Jared Hill (157) - Oklahoma Jacob Joyce (125) - Stanford Jason Kraisser (157) - Iowa State Carson Martinson (165) - Iowa Carter Martinson (157) - Iowa Sam Mitchell (197) - Buffalo Peyton Moore (133) - Missouri Kyle Mosher (165) - Columbia Danny Nini (157) - North Carolina Bretli Reyna (149) - Iowa Chris Rivera (141) - Campbell Justin Rivera (149) - Campbell Rylan Rogers (184) - Michigan Korbin Shepherd (133) - Missouri Yaraslau Slavikouski (285) - Rutgers Ethan Stiles (157) - Nebraska Clayton Ulrey (157) - Virginia Tech

St. Joseph's Regional

Elizabeth Forward

Pottsville

St. Edward

Conwell-Egan

Bixby

Newport Harbor

Kennett

The Big 12 is well represented at this year’s Olympic Trials, with eight teams having at least one current or former wrestler qualified. There’s at least one in every freestyle weight and two weights in Greco. Oklahoma State and Missouri are tied for most athletes with four each, including current collegiate wrestlers. The Olympic Team Trials will be held at Penn State on April 19th-20th. Air Force: Wyatt Hendrickson (125kg), Sidney Flores (GR - 60kg), Vincent Dolce (GR - 77kg) The Falcons are represented in both styles with three graduate wrestlers. Flores and Dolce both graduated in 2022 and qualified for the trials with runner-up finishes at the 2024 Armed Forces tournament. Wyatt Hendrickson is arguably the best wrestler in Air Force’s history and will be looking to make the Olympic team after a dominant run to a U23 World title last summer. Iowa State: David Carr (74kg) After finishing his collegiate career with a second national title Carr will be looking to add to his already lengthy freestyle resume. He was on the 2022 U23 world team, was a 2022 Senior national team member, and won a Junior world title in 2019. Missouri: Keegan O’Toole (74kg), Jarrett Jacques (74kg), J’den Cox (97kg), Dom Bradley (125kg) Jarrett Jacques qualified for his first Olympic Trials with a fourth-place finish at Senior Nationals. Keegan O’Toole outscored his opponents 46-4 along the way to a 2023 U23 world title at 74kg to qualify for the Trials. He also won a 2021 Junior World title. J’den Cox has won multiple Olympic and World medals and is looking to make his first team since 2022 while representing the Cliff Keen WC. One of the most veteran wrestlers competing, Dom Bradley qualified for his fourth Olympic Trials by winning Senior Nationals for the third time in his career. North Dakota State: Hayden Zillmer (125kg) Currently competing for the Gopher WC RTC, Zillmer was a 2015 All-American for the Bison at 184lbs. This will be his third Olympic Trials and second in freestyle. He was third in Greco (2016) and third in freestyle (2021). Sandwiched between that was 2022 where he was the World team member and he lost in the quarterfinals. Northern Colorado: Andrew Alirez (65kg) Alirez took an Olympic redshirt after a dominant title for the Bears in 2023 and will be one of the strongest contenders at his weight. Alirez has a lengthy age-level freestyle resume, placing top three at the 2018 and 2019 Junior World Team Trials. He had multiple impressive wins during his Olympic redshirt, including Alec Pantaleo, Beau Bartlett, Austin DeSanto, and multiple-time world champion Haji Aliyev. Oklahoma State: Daton Fix (57kg), Ladarion Lockett (74kg), Alex Dieringer (86kg), Christian Carroll (97kg) Another Big 12 school well represented at the Trials, the Cowboys have past, present, and future wrestlers competing. Ladarion Lockett is one of the top recruits of 2025 and is qualified after winning U17 worlds at 71 kg. Initially, it was announced that he was going 65kg, but it sounds like he will be in a deep 74 kg weight class. Christian Carroll redshirted at heavyweight as a true freshman this year, but it sounds like he is making his way to 197 lbs and competed at 97 kg to qualify. He won the Last Chance Open to qualify, including an impressive tech fall in the finals and an 8-7 win over Jacob Warner in the semis. Two of the more credentialed recent OSU wrestling graduates, Daton Fix and Alex Dieringer are both looking to make their first Olympic team. Fix won a World silver at 2021 Senior Worlds at 61 kg, and will compete at 57 kg for the first time since 2021 where he lost in the semis of the Olympic Trials. He is qualified as a 2019 World Team member at 57kg. Dieringer won Senior Nationals and has come razor close to making teams before. He now competes for the Cliff Keen WC, but was the Cowboy’s last Hodge Trophy winner in 2016. South Dakota State: Seth Gross (65kg) Before finishing his career and starting his coaching career at Wisconsin, Gross was a two-time All-American and the Jackrabbit’s first Division I champ in 2018. He qualified as a 2022 World Team member at 61 kg and is forced to move up with the Olympic weights. Utah Valley: Taylor LaMont (GR - 60kg) Another former Big 12 wrestler who finished his career at Wisconsin, LaMont was a 2021 All-American and four-time qualifier for the Wolverines. He won a bronze medal at 2016 Junior Worlds and was on eight consecutive age-level World teams (three Cadet, three Junior, two U23). He qualified for the trials with a fourth-place finish at the Senior Nationals.

Over the weekend in Spokane, Washington, the 2024 edition of Women’s Nationals took place. Girls and Women aged 8 through 23 competed for the chance to call themselves national champions and All-Americans. The event also serves as a World Team Trials event for women at the U17, U20, and U23 levels. Below are results from the final, best-of-three wrestle off’s at each of those three age groups. U17 Women’s Final Results 40 kg: Francesca Gusfa (NJ) fall Lily Enos (IL) :29, 10-0 43 kg: Hailey Delgado (TX) over Lisa Pastoriza (AZ) 4-1, 10-0 46 kg: Morgan Turner (IL) over Jaclyn Bouzakis (PA) 10-0, 5-3 49 kg: Epenesa Elison (CA) over Julianna Ocampo (IN) 10-0, 10-0 53 kg: Isabella Marie Gonzales (CA) over Charlie Wylie (NJ) 1-5, 7-2, 3-0 57 kg: Everest Leydecker (AZ) over Emma Bacon (PA) 7-9, 10-1, 7-0 61 kg: Taina Fernandez (MD) over Jordyn Fouse (PA) 10-0, 12-2 65 kg: Bella Williams (OK) over Isis France (AZ) 10-6, 2-10, 9-2 69 kg: Kaili Manuel (MI) over Sarah Pulk (MN) 7-13, 9-2, Fall 3:59 73 kg: Piper Fowler (TN) over Alexandria Alli (OH) 5-4, 10-3 U20 Women’s Final Results 50 kg: Anaya Falcon (CA) over Nyla Valencia (CA) 14-6, 10-0 53 kg: Brianna Gonzalez (CA) over Clare Booe (FL) 6-7, 10-0, 12-2 55 kg: Cristelle Rodriguez (CA) over Zao Estrada (SC) Fall 1:25, Fall :55 57 kg: Carissa Qureshi (CA) over Everest Leydecker (AZ) 6-6, 14-1 59 kg: Alexis Janiak (IL) over Aubre Krazer (PA) 11-0, 8-4 62 kg: Cadence Diduch (IL) over Skylar Hattendorf (NH) 0-10, 6-0, 2-1 65 kg: Reese Larramendy (NV) over Ella Schmit (IA) 12-1, 10-0 68 kg: Caitlyn Davis (SC) over Destiny Rodriguez (OR) 9-0, 4-1 72 kg: Jasmine Robinson (TX) over Shannon Workinger (WA) Fall :54, 13-2 76 kg: Naomi Simon (IA) over Kalila Shrive (CA) 14-3, 12-0 U23 Women’s Final Results 50 kg: Heather Crull (IN) over Sterling Dias (NV) 10-3, 10-0 53 kg: Elena Ivaldi (CA) over Jaslynn Gallegos (CO) Fall 5:18 10-6 55 kg: Amani Jones (GA) over Montana DeLawder (PA) 5-1, 8-1 57 kg: Sofia Macaluso (NY) over Carissa Qureshi (CA) Fall 5:31, Fall 4:36 59 kg: Skye Realin (HI) over YeLe Aycock (NM) 9-5, 3-5, 3-2 62 kg: Adaugo Nwachukwu (CO) over Marisol Nugent (MA) 8-1, 12-0 65 kg: Aine Drury (CA) over Alara Boyd (IN) 6-1, 5-3 68 kg: Brooklyn Hays (UT) over Nina Makem (MN) 2-3, Fall 5:12, Fall 3:49 72 kg: Jasmine Robinson (TX) over London Houston (WA) Injury Default 76 kg: Tristan Kelly (CO) over Bo Geibe (MI) Fall :34, Fall 1:00

The 2024 Season is in the books, and the year end awards are starting to be handed out. As per usual, we took a look at the best Fantasy Wrestlers of the 2024 season. Just like in the past few years, some names are going to be expected, while a lot more may not be. That's the beauty of Fantasy Wrestling, where any wrestler can be the star of the weekend and win the dual for you. So, on to the Top-20 at each weight. Make sure to bookmark these articles because it’s a great resource to fall back to in a few months when your 2025 season draft research begins. To compile these lists, we used standard WrestleStat Fantasy College Wrestling Data & Scoring. Just a reminder of how points were tallied in WrestleStat leagues: 1) The scoring used was standard team scoring across all competitions (+3 for a win by decision, -4 for a loss by major, etc) 2) Scoring only counted against D1 competition 3) Wins via forfeits (FFT) would count as +6 towards a wrestler's point total 4) Wins or losses by medical forfeit (MFF) did not count as + or - towards a wrestler's point total 5) Points were only accumulated during the regular season 125 Top-20 Notes: The preseason and end of the regular season #1 ranked wrestler, Matt Ramos, finished atop the 125 fantasy rankings. Of his 25 countable matches for Fantasy, 11 were by bonus and despite the three countable losses (the loss to high schooler Marcus Blaze didn't count), they were only by decision, which softened the blow. . Campbell’s Anthony Molton finishes 2nd at 125 edging out Eric Barnett by two points, even though Barnett had five extra regular season matches. Molton actually started the season a little late, and with a 3-4 record through December. But once the calendar turned to 2024, Molton rattled off 15 straight wins (and no losses). In fact, 11 of those 15 victories were by pin, tech, or FFT. Statistically, it’s his best season of his career, though he did not make the NCAA Tournament. Barnett fell just two points shy of Molton and, while all matches matter for the end point total, it can be directly attributed to his loss by pin to Patrick McKee at the end of the regular season. A loss by decision, he’s your #2. Two Wests round out your 125 Top-5 (both with 29 matches wrestled), but Drew West got the better by 8 Fpts. Diego Sotelo put together a solid season, including a win over top ranked Anthony Noto. Noah Surtin fell two Fpts behind Sotelo, but edges out true freshman Luke Stanich on PPM. Speaking of Anthony Noto, the previous 2-time #1 Fantasy Wrestler of 125 (in 2022 and 2023), finds himself at #9 this season. How did he slip so far? It wasn’t because of his two losses (same as his 2023 season), and it wasn't for lack of bonus (with more than half of his matches in 2024 won by tech or pin), but rather the lack of quantity. This season, only 16 countable matches compared to 2023 where he wrestled 27 matches and even 2022 where he wrestled 22. Braeden Davis, the second and final true freshman in the 125 Top-20, rounds out at #10 thanks to a couple controversial wins. The only Iowa Hawkeye to make the Finals, and keep their streak alive, was #15 Drake Ayala. Stevo Poulin had the same Fpts as Ayala, but the better PPM landed him one spot better than Ayala. The two highest seeds to AA at 125, Caleb Smith (15 seed) and Tanner Jordan (23 seed), both make the back end of this Top-20 with almost the same number of Fpts. Only two non-starters make the list in Charlie Farmer, who actually basically tied his starting counterpart Ethan Berginc, and Ryan Miller who was the Penn starter for part of the season. Six of the eight All-Americans from 2024 made the Top-20. Who Missed The Cut: The 125 National Champion Richie Figueroa (ASU) missed a decent chunk of the season, which will always hurt a fantasy season, but when he did come back he hit a string of losses to make things worse. Figueroa finishes at #80 with 3 Fpts. The last AA not to crack the Top-20 was Jore Volk (WYO), who had almost as many bonus wins as he did losses in the regular season (seven bonus wins, six losses). He finished the regular season with 31 Fpts and the #38 standing. Greg Diakomihalis (COR) backed up Brett Ungar but finished at #21, only two Fpts behind Caleb Smith and only facing 13 countable opponents. Ungar wrestled 21 matches and comes in at #34 with 37 Fpts. NC State’s Jakob Camacho hit a rough patch right in the middle of the schedule, losing four straight for a combined -15 Fpts. Because of this, Camacho finished the 2024 season with 42 Fpts which was good for #23. Jeremiah Reno (LR) also had 42 Fpts but is one spot behind because of his 1.8 PPM compared to Camacho’s 2.5. The highest ranked redshirt was NC State’s Vincent Robinson with 40 Fpts (#25) while the second highest Redshirt, Vincent Kilkeary (OHST) ranks at #32 with 38 Fpts. Other notable wrestlers to not make the Top-20 include: Brayden Palmer (CHAT) at #26 with 40 Fpts, Eli Griffin (CBU) at @28 with 40 Fpts, Nico Provo (STAN) at #36 with 33 Fpts, Dean Peterson (RUT) at #40 with 28 Fpts, and Michael DeAugustino (MICH) at #46 with 20 Fpts.

It’s almost here! The field has been set and the eyes of the American wrestling world are ready to collectively focus on State College, Pennsylvania, the setting of the 2024 US Olympic Team Trials. The Trials are always incredible and a must-see for fans; however, this one is a bit more special after the most recent Trials. Delayed by a year, because of COVID, the 2020(1) Trials were moved to Fort Worth, Texas, and did not have the type of crowd that is expected to pack the Bryce Jordan Center this time. Our previews have been broken down to half of a particular style at a time. Earlier in the week, we started with men's freestyle - now we're on to women's freestyle. The good news is that all six weights have been qualified for women's freestyle - either at the 2023 World Championships or at the 2024 Pan-American Olympic Qualifier. In a rule unique only to women's freestyle, the wrestler who earned the allocation bid for the United States can sit out until the best-of-three finals. For each weight, we’ll mention the qualifiers, along with how they qualified, and notes about each of the participants, followed by a finals prediction. 50 kg qualifiers 2023 Senior World medalist at Olympic weight: Sarah Hildebrandt 2023 U20/U23 World silver medalist: Audrey Jimenez 2023 Bill Farrell Runner-Up: Erin Golston Senior National champion: Sage Mortimer Senior National runner-up: Samara Chavez Senior National third place: Kendra Ryan Senior National fourth place: Kaelani Shufeldt Senior National fifth place: Mia Palumbo Last Chance Qualifier champion: Nyla Valencia 2024 NCWWC national champion: Emilie Gonzalez 2024 NCWWC national champion: Ava Bayless While some of her teammates get more attention and acclaim, Sarah Hildebrandt is putting together one of the best careers of an American woman…ever. Hildebrandt is seeking to make her second consecutive Olympic team and her eighth world/Olympic squad. During that time, she’s come away with five medals - including a bronze medal at the 2020(1) Olympics. Domestically, it’s been a long time since Hildebrandt has been seriously tested. She’s the only wrestler who has appeared in every Final X event and has yet to surrender a single point (64-0 in six matches). At the Olympic Trials, she had 12-2 and 10-0 techs. Hildebrandt’s 2023 Final X opponent was high school phenom Audrey Jimenez. Jimenez made the 2023 US Open finals after teching Erin Golston and then stunned another veteran, Alyssa Lampe, in the championship match. She would go on to make world teams at both the U20 and U23 age groups and advanced to the finals in both tournaments. As of now, Jimenez appears to have separated herself from the rest of the field excluding Hildebrandt. The aforementioned veteran Golston is back and seeking to make her first Olympic team. She had a very busy 2023 which was highlighted by a final appearance at the Bill Farrell and a run to the semifinals at Senior Nationals. Golston also advanced to a bronze medal match in four international tournaments last year. The opponent that put a halt to Golston’s Senior National run was Sage Mortimer - who would go on to take the title. That reversed a result from the third-place bout at the 2023 US Open, when Golston teched Mortimer, 10-0. To win Senior Nationals, Mortimer had to take out her former King University teammate Samara Chavez in a 12-10 shootout. Chavez was a US Open finalist last year while competing at 53 kg. Aside from Hildebrandt and Golston, this bracket has a very young feel and there are plenty of current collegiate stars among the field. Iowa teammates Emilie Gonzalez and Ava Bayless both won national titles in 2024 and earned a spot in the bracket. Gonzalez at 101 lbs and Bayless at 109 lbs. Kaelani Shufeldt was the runner-up to Bayless and Kendra Ryan was fourth in the same weight class. They both locked up a place in State College by placing top-five at Senior Nationals. An NAIA national title for William Penn would have given Mia Palumbo a place in the Trials; however, she already earned her spot by taking fifth at Senior’s. The last woman to make the field is Last Chance Qualifier champion Nyla Valencia. Valencia was a 2022 U23 team member and fell to Jimenez in the U20 finals at Women’s Nationals last year. Prediction: Sarah Hildebrandt over Audrey Jimenez 53 kg qualifiers 2024 Pan-American Olympic Games Qualifier finalist: Dom Parrish 2023 World Medalist at Non-Olympic Weight (55 kg): Jacarra Winchester 2021 World Team member: Amy Mason 2023 Bill Farrell runner-up: Alisha Howk Senior Nationals champion: Vayle Baker Senior National runner-up: Katie Gomez Senior National third place: Haley Augello Senior National fourth place: Areana Villescusa Senior National fifth place: Sydney Petzinger Last Chance Qualifier champion: Brianna Gonzalez 2023 U20 World bronze medalist: Amani Jones 2024 NCWWC national champion: Felicity Taylor 2024 NAIA national champion: Juliana Diaz After making the finals of the Pan-American Olympic qualifier, Dom Parrish ensured that the US women would be competing in Paris at this weight. For her troubles, Parrish was given a bye to the best-of-three finals. A 2022 world champion, Parrish has made the last two world championship events at this weight and will be a favorite considering she can wait for a challenger to emerge from the rest of the bracket. Looking at Parrish’s slate in 2024, in addition to her wins at the Pan-American qualifier, she also wrestled in the bronze medal match at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series event. Even though Parrish has been a fixture at this weight for the last two seasons, owning a world title, and holding the bracketing advantage, her making the team is not a formality mainly due to the presence of two-time world medalist Jacarra Winchester. Winchester earned her second world medal last year when she made the 55 kg world finals. Like Parrish, Winchester is also a past world champion (2019 - 55kg). Though she already had a spot in the Trials, Winchester competed at Senior Nationals and won her bracket….at 62 kg. Winchester was the American representative at this weight class in 2021. Speaking of past Olympians. It seems like we always have one or two that come out of retirement in the lead-up to the Olympic year. This time around it’s Haley Augello. Our 48 kg representative at the 2016 Games, Augello had retired and focused on coaching in the Chicago area. Augello returned for the Bill Farrell and then competed at Senior Nationals. She finished third at Senior Nationals after losing on criteria in the semis to Katie Gomez. As Augello has more mat time, she could reverse that result in State College. Gomez was Parrish’s Final X opponent in 2023. She was pinned by the 2022 world champ in match one and fell 5-0 in match two. Gomez has that opportunity by winning the 2023 US Open. Also in 2023, Gomez was a member of the U20 world team and came up a match shy of winning a bronze medal. Beating Gomez in the Senior National finals was Vayle Baker. It was truly a high point of a 2023 that featured a few uneven performances. Baker has plenty of big-match experience as she was a part of two Cadet World teams in 2015 and 2017. This weight is deep weight veterans like Amy Mason, Alisha Howk, and Areana Villaescusa. Mason, formerly Fearnside was a Senior World team member in 2021 and has made teams at the U23 and Junior level. In her most recent appearance, Mason made the 2023 US Open semifinals where she lost an 18-17 barnburner to Samara Chavez. Howk was a participant in Final X last year, where she fell via tech in two straight matches to Winchester at 55 kg. She earned her berth in the Trials after making the Bill Farrell finals and losing to an international opponent. Howk was a U23 world bronze medalist in 2022 and has made teams at the Cadet and Junior levels. Villaescusa lost a one-point bout to Augello for third place at Senior Nationals. That placement helped her clinch a spot at the Trials. Also in 2023, Villaescusa was fourth at the Bill Farrell, third at the US Open, and fell to Winchester in the finals of the World Team Trials. Now onto the collegiate contenders from this bracket. North Central has a pair of entrants at this weight with Amani Jones and Sydney Petzinger. In 2023, Jones won an NCWWC national title and then went on to grab a silver medal at the U20 World Championships. Petzinger’s fifth-place finisher at Senior Nationals allowed her to compete at the Trials. She also appeared in the NWCA All-Star Match. Another set of collegiate teammates at this weight are Felicity Taylor and Brianna Gonzalez. Taylor, a 2024 NCWWC national champion, is a two-time U23 world team member and was Parrish’s Final X opponent in 2022. Gonzalez made the national finals for Iowa, then won the Last Chance Qualifier. Finally, we have Missouri Baptist’s Juliana Diaz who was a national champion in the NAIA ranks this season. Prediction: Jacarra Winchester over Dom Parrish 57 kg qualifiers 2023 Senior World medalist at Olympic Weight: Helen Maroulis 2022 World Team member (59 kg): Abby Nette 2023 U20 World bronze medalist: Alexis Janiak 2023 Bill Farrell runner-up: Xochitl Mota-Pettis Senior Nationals champion: Amanda Martinez Senior Nationals runner-up: Alex Hedrick Senior Nationals third place: Shelby Moore Senior Nationals fourth place: Cristelle Rodriguez Senior Nationals fifth place: Cameron Guerin 2024 NAIA national champion: Carolina Moreno Last Chance Qualifier champion: Bridgette Duty There’s plenty of history to be made by Helen Maroulis who has already established herself as one of the all-time greats in the annals of USA Wrestling. With a Trials win, Maroulis could become the first American woman to make three Olympic teams. Even more remarkable is that Maroulis could make her 13th World/Olympic team. Her bronze medal finish at the 2023 Olympic Games provided her with her ninth World/Olympic medal. The Trials are the scene of Maroulis’ last domestic loss, as she was pushed to three matches in her finals series with Jenna Burkert. In Maroulis’ only competition this calendar year she captured a gold medal at the Pan-American Championships. The only other entrant in this bracket who’s made a Senior World team is Abby Nette, who was on the 2022 team at 59 kg. In 2023, Nette finished fourth at the US Open then injury defaulted out of the semifinals of the World Team Trials. Late in the year, Nette went to Senior Nationals and defaulted out after a quarterfinal loss to Jacarra Winchester at 62 kg. There are a pair of women in this bracket who have met up with Maroulis in a Final X series with Xochitl Mota-Pettis and Alex Hedrick. Last year, Maroulis had to delay her series due to injury but managed to defeat Mota-Pettis once via tech and the second time with a fall. While Mota-Pettis didn’t make the 2023 Senior World Team, she did qualify for the U23 squad. She locked up her place in the Trials by making the Bill Farrell finals and losing to an international opponent. Not only did Hedrick meet Maroulis once in a Final X series, but she’s done it on two occasions. In 2023, Hedrick was quite busy with plenty of competitions. Most notable were a runner-up finish at Senior Nationals and the chance to wrestle for bronze at the Poland Open. Defeating Hedrick in the Senior National Finals and in the third-place bout at Final X in 2023 was Amanda Martinez. Martinez also lost a high-scoring affair to Mota-Pettis in the 2023 US Open semifinals; she would bounce back to finish third. The remaining qualifiers from Senior Nationals are Shelby Moore, Cristelle Rodriguez, and Cam Guerin. Moore fell in the 2023 US Open third-place bout to Martinez. She represented the United States at the U20 Pan-American Championships. Her collegiate teammate at McKendree, Cam Guerin, recently wrapped up an incredible collegiate career with her fourth NCWWC national title. She has plenty of international experience with a pair of berths on the U20 world team. So has Rodriguez, who was a 2019 Cadet World silver medalist and a part of last year’s U20 squad. Speaking of the U20 world team, Alexis Janiak was a bronze medalist last year at that event. Janiak fell to Guerin in the NCWWC semifinals and rebounded to take third place. It was her second top-three finish for Aurora University. Guerin isn’t the only woman in this weight who just finished her collegiate career with an impressive milestone. Carolina Moreno just captured her third NAIA national championship for Southern Oregon. She was fifth at the 2023 Open losing to Hedrick and Martinez. The last woman to lock up a berth in the Trials was the Army WCAP’s Bridgette Duty. Last year, Duty was third at the US Open, while competing at 62 kg. Later in the year, she was eighth at Senior Nationals, competing at this weight. Prediction: Helen Maroulis over Xochitl Mota-Pettis

Before the 2024 Olympic Team Trials brackets have been released, we’ve already received a massive shake-up at 57 kg in men's freestyle. Vito Arujau’s father, Vougar, took to Facebook this afternoon to say: “After good conversation We decided Vito just will train and prepare for 61kg world trials. 57 kg is big cut and after big injury is just not worth it!” Arujau won a world title at 61 kg last year which gave him a bye to the semifinals in the 57 kg Olympic Team Trials. In such a wide-open weight class, Arujau seemed to stand as good of a chance as anyone at winning the Trials. Arujau just wrapped up his final year at Cornell where he captured his second national title and earned All-American honors for a fourth time. Arujau dealt with a lingering injury throughout the 2023-24 campaign and the Cornell staff had to pick and choose when they utilized him. It wasn’t until the NCAA Tournament where Arujau resembled the wrestler that won the 2023 World Championships and was named Outstanding Wrestler at NCAA’s that same year.

April 12 PFL 2 2024 (ESPN/ESPN+) Alex Polizzi (Northwestern) vs. Impa Kasanganay Josh Silveira (Arizona State) vs. Sadibou Sy April 12 CFFC 131 (UFC Fight Pass) Greg Velasco (Rider) vs. Bailey Schoenfelder Mark Grey (Cornell) vs. Vilson Ndregjoni CJ LaFragola (Brown) vs. Kevin Pease April 12 XFC 50 (Triller TV) Tim Johnson (Minnesota State-Moorhead) vs. Darion Abbey Thomas Lane (Cal Poly) vs. Dylan O’Sullivan April 13 UFC 300 (ESPN Pay Per View) Justin Gaethje (Northern Colorado) vs. Max Holloway Aljamain Sterling (Cortland) vs. Calvin Kattar Bo Nickal (Penn State) vs. Cody Brundage (Newberry College) Cody Garbrandt (Newberry College) vs. Deiveson Figueiredo Jim Miller (Virginia Tech) vs. Bobby Green April 19 PFL 3 2024 (ESPN/ESPN+) Logan Storley (Minnesota) vs. Shamil Musaev Bubba Jenkins (Penn State/Arizona State) vs. Kai Kamaka III Brennan Ward (Johnson & Wales) vs. Don Madge Tyler Diamond (North Dakota State) vs. Otto Rodrigues Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) vs. TBA April 27 UFC Fight Night (ESPN+) Alex Perez (West Hills) vs. Matheus Nicolau May 11 UFC Fight Night (ESPN/ESPN+) Terrance McKinney (North Idaho College/Chadron State) vs. Esteban Ribovics May 17 Bellator Champions Series: Paris (MAX) Archie Colgan (Wyoming) vs. Thibault Gouti May 18 UFC Fight Night (ESPN+) Emily Ducote (Oklahoma City) vs. Vanessa Demoupoulos Tim Elliottt (Central Oklahoma) vs. Tatsuro Taira June 1 UFC 302 (ESPN Pay Per View) Alexander Romanov (World University bronze) vs. Jailton Almeida June 8 UFC Fight Night (ESPN+) Cody Stamann (Grand Valley State) vs. Taylor Lapilus Brad Katona (Dakota Collegiate) vs. Jesse Butler --

Another year is in the books for the ACC, and it was another strong season for the conference. There were some heartbreaking finishes at the NCAAs that kept the All-American total lower than expected, but there were some huge triumphs as well. Let’s take a look at our 3rd Annual ACC Postseason Awards. Redshirt of the Year: Isaac Trumble, NC State There were several good options for this award this year from across the conference. Vince Robinson from NC State, Rafael Hipolito Jimmy Mullen from Virginia Tech, and Gable Porter from UVA all had strong showings with some big wins throughout the season. Ultimately, Isaac Trumble’s dominant performance at Midlands and his undefeated record while moving up a weight class earns him the honors as the Redshirt of the Year. Coach of the Year: Tony Robie, Virginia Tech While the Hokies may not have won the ACC title, they continued their impressive performance streak at the NCAAs. Caleb Henson was crowned as an NCAA Champion and the Hokies added another year to their now 11-year streak of having three or more All-Americans. The Hokies had a 9-4 dual record with losses to top-10 dual teams in Ohio State, Cornell, Mizzou, and NC State. BONUS Machine: Trent Hidlay, NC State Hidlay made it his mission to put on a show for the fans this season, and he delivered. He ran up a 28-1 record on his way to an NCAA Finals appearance with an impressive 79% bonus rate. He earned four major decisions, 15 tech falls, and four wins by pinfall to make 23 of his 28 wins by BONUS. Freshman of the Year: TJ Stewart, Virginia Tech The second-half run of TJ Stewart is beyond impressive. He came to Blacksburg as a blue-chip recruit with a ton of potential, he had a good redshirt year while adjusting to going down a weight and balancing the rigors of college. When he confidently made the cut to 184 and got his chance to start he immediately showed what could be for the Hokies. Stewart talked about feeling more comfortable and confident at the weight as the year went on. After assuming the starting spot in the second semester he put together a 13-3 record and earned his first All-American honor, finishing in 7th in Kansas City. Stewart has a ton of potential and I think this is just the start for him. Best Facial Hair: Clayton Ulrey, Virginia Tech Between the hair and the impressive beard, Ulrey constantly has the look that he may have wandered into the Virginia Tech room fresh off the Appalachian Trail. I appreciate the dedication. Newcomer of the Year: Finn Solomon, Pittsburgh I had to stretch a bit for this one. While Solomon is a newcomer to the Pitt lineup, he transferred in-conference after an impressive redshirt year at NC State. Solomon was a solid addition in the middle of the lineup for the Panthers this year putting together an 18-12 record--10 of those losses were to top-12 ranked wrestlers--and qualifying for the NCAA tournament. Solomon will be a great, reliable anchor in the lineup moving forward. Singlet of the Year: Pitt Black The ACC continues to roll out some of the best singlets in the country and this year was no exception. The Panthers get the nod this year with my favorite of their singlets being the black singlet with the Script Pitt. North Carolina, Virginia Tech, and NC State all had solid new offerings this year as well; if only the UVA powers that be would allow them more flexibility in their designs… Most Improved: Marlon Yarbrough, Virginia Yarbrough went through some serious growing pains last season after assuming the starting spot late in the season and ended with a 5-10 overall record. His performance this year was a complete 180 from last year. Yarbrough earned the starting spot early and never looked back, putting together a 15-9 record, placing 3rd at the ACC tournament, and making his first trip to the NCAA championships. Yarbrough also bounced back from a midseason injury suffered at the Midlands--several of his losses were after the injury and prior to being back to 100%. His highlight win of the year was a major decision over Sam Latona at home in the Commonwealth Clash. I expect continued growth from Yarbrough and think he has big potential. The Nathan Traxler ACC Best Hair Award: Frankly, I was disappointed in the state of the hair quality in the ACC this year. Nathan Traxler and his luxurious locks started this award and it’s unfortunate that wrestlers aren’t clamoring to live up to that standard. Somehow this has to be Owen Trephan’s fault for cutting his hair midseason last year… This year’s honoree is Gaetano Console from Duke. He pulled off the short curly mop balanced with a solid beard. Honorable Mention to Krystian Kinsey of Virginia. The 2nd Annual #BaldHero Award in honor of Jarod Verkleeren is given to Trent Paulson, assistant coach at UVA. Wrestler of the Year: Caleb Henson, Virginia Tech After battling Ridge Lovett to take a 1-0 win in the NCAA semifinals, Henson made a quiet, but confident remark in the press conference. Speaking about the impact that winning an NCAA title could have, he corrected the questioner that it isn’t if he wins, it is “when he wins”. This confidence has been evident since Henson won his first (of 3 straight) Southeast Open titles as a high school senior. The Hokie staff knew they had something special in Henson and it was just a matter of time before the rest of the country saw that. He had a strong freshman season, going 27-5, winning his first ACC title, and placing 5th at NCAAs to earn his first All-American honors. Henson was on a different level this year. He navigated a very challenging schedule, facing multiple All-Americans throughout the regular season on his way to a 24-1 regular season record; his lone loss was in sudden victory to Ridge Lovett in the CKLV finals. His only other loss on the season was to Jackson Arrington in a controversial match in the ACC finals. This loss led to a more challenging path in the NCAA tournament for Henson, having what many thought would be the NCAA final matchup with Lovett in the semifinals. After that gritty win, he went on to have a dominant performance over Austin Gomez in the NCAA finals. Gomez got the first takedown, then it was all Henson for the rest of the match, taking a 15-7 major decision over the Wolverine. Henson brings the second-ever national title back to Blacksburg and sets himself up as the favorite moving into next season.