InterMat Staff

Before we get going here I just want to send my regards to the great John Smith who retired yesterday after 33 seasons at the helm of Oklahoma State. I’ll leave the more sentimental stuff to the professionals, but it truly is the end of an era. It was a weird Thursday as OJ Simpson died yesterday. Both had a wild 1994 as Coach Smith won his first title as head coach and OJ had that whole thing with the car chase. Perhaps it’s best we just move on to the questions. Is this JB’s last stand? Or will he rise up and cash in his money in the bank briefcase and go to France? Brandon from NJ Certainly, you have to think that this is the last hurrah for Jordan Burroughs, but I’m not so sure that’s true. I reckon he’s factoring in a few different outcomes towards his decision to leave his shoes on the mat. Let’s say he makes the team and gets on that plane to France. If flies back with gold then he’s probably shoeless. That’s obviously the ideal way to go out. Even a loss in Paris likely seals the deal on the magnificent career of one Jordan Burroughs. But what if he doesn’t make the team? Does it all end a week from now in Pennsylvania? Why can’t he try for another title at 79kg later in the year? No, I don't believe Jordan will be trying to make the Olympic team in 2028. Even for JB, that’s a tall task for a 40-year-old man. You can’t tell me he’s not still a top-two contender for that spot. It all plays out the same way whether you make the team, win a title, or lose at trials. I predict that one way or another this isn’t the last weekend that we see Jordan Burroughs on the mat. What do you predict will be the three biggest "WOAH!" moments at this year's trials? Thicccolas I’ll break this down into three different categories of “Whoa” based on excitement and surprise. 80’s heartthrob Keanu Reeves classic “Whoa” A subtle whoa that lets the viewer know he’s taken aback by what he just saw. It doesn’t blow him away because he’s too cool for that. But he is stunned. This will be my reaction if Pat Downey shows up and beats a few guys. 90’s heartthrob Joey Lawrence “Woah!” You can’t believe what you’re seeing. Just overloading your brain. Confused, even. You won’t believe this is really happening. Basically any moment of wrestling during the first few rounds. The sheer level of talent in these brackets is too much for one to handle over the course of two days. You could do a weight a weekend for the next couple of months and I’d be fine with it. Hip-hop heartthrobs The Beastie Boys “Sabotage Whoa” The biggest whoa you can get. The kind you scream loudly for an eternity because your brain just broke. Like seeing one of the high school kids come out on top at 57kg. I know these kids are beyond their years in talent but Nick Suriano is here. Daton Fix is in the bracket. Thomas Gilman and all his accolades. Spencer friggin’ Lee! Some dude named Vito doesn’t even have to show up until the semifinals. Get through all these guys and I’ll simply bend the knee. Who were you most impressed by at the Last Chance Open and are you ready for #WrestlingShirtADayinMay? Jim Dutrow Well, the easy answer is Jax Forrest winning the damn thing. But hats off to David McFadden for fighting back like he did. The Virginia Tech product via New Jersey got hit with the Jagger Curse by breaking his ankle a mere few weeks after I met him. Proving once again you should never meet your heroes. Especially when that hero is a chain-smoking middle-aged man who’s only there because he inexplicably named a night after himself like a fool. But seriously, go listen to his interview after the tournament. It’s worth a watch. May you say? Brother, my birthday is in May and they really seem to be coming up a lot faster than they used to. So even though I get closer to death with every shirt, I’m still fired up about it. Should we rebrand the last chance qualifier as the money in the bank tournament? Rhino Oh, no doubt. But there’s a caveat to this. If you win the MITB Open, you can’t enter trials. You have a three-month window to cash in your briefcase on the winner and take the spot. You see Kyle Dake resting in a field backside directly facing the sun? Drag Angel Rivera with you and try to roll him up for a fall. Is that David Taylor lying on the beach and way too enthralled in a fantasy football magazine? Lock in a leg lace and go for it. But you have to choose to take your chances with that or the classic way of winning the tournament. It can’t be both. If you do not qualify for the Olympic team mailbag, will you abscond to Team Italy? Burger King of Kings Man, the last thing I need to do in August is Olympic-level mailbagging. That’s vacation time. Who are the top five wrestling follows on Rokfin? The original Mark Hall who wrestled at Buffalo I don’t really have an answer for you. My advice is to support Coach Scott Green. A Jagger Guy of the highest order. And probably the best man for the job at your alma mater. And likely the best man at many a wedding.

Thursday afternoon American legend John Smith shook up the wrestling world as he announced his retirement from his position as head coach at Oklahoma State University. After a legendary career as a competitor that included six world and Olympic titles, to go along with a pair of NCAA titles, Smith had spent the last 33 years as the Cowboys head coach and forged an incredible career on the bench at his alma mater. Smith oversaw a Cowboy program that won five national titles, 33 individual national championships, and crowned 153 All-Americans. His final dual record in Stillwater was 490-73-6, which is good enough for third all-time amongst DI head coaches. Smith’s Cowboys also dominated in conference competition with 23 team titles and 132 conference champs. Additionally, two OSU wrestlers won the coveted Hodge Trophy and two of his wrestlers (Jamill Kelly and Coleman Scott) claimed Olympic medals. Smith’s final Cowboy team finished the 2023-24 campaign with a 14-1 record and was 10th in the nation with 56 team points - 3 Oklahoma State wrestlers made the NCAA podium, led by Daton Fix, who earned All-American honors for a fifth time. Smith is a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, the first wrestler to earn the James E. Sullivan Award (1990) for the nation’s top amateur athlete, and one of the 100 Greatest Olympians of All-Time - among many other awards and honors. With Smith stepping down, Coleman Scott has been named Oklahoma State’s interim head coach.

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. Yesterday, we started with the first three men’s freestyle weights. Two of them are not currently qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games, so there’s more work to be done for the winners at 57 and 65 kg. Today's we've moved on the the final there weights (86,97,125 kg) 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. 86 kg qualifiers 2023 World Champion at Olympic weight: David Taylor 2023 World Medalist at non-Olympic weight: Zahid Valencia (92 kg) 2023 World Team member at non-Olympic weight: Chance Marsteller (79 kg) 2019 World Team member: Patrick Downey 2023 Bill Farrell champion: Trent Hidlay Senior National champion: Alex Dieringer Senior National runner-up: Mark Hall Senior National third place: Max Dean Senior National fourth place: Connor Mirasola Senior National fifth place: Evan Wick 2023 U23 World Champion: Aaron Brooks Last Chance Qualifier champion: David McFadden This is an extremely Penn State-laden weight class led by one of the school’s legend’s David Taylor. Taylor has ruled this weight domestically (and generally internationally) since 2018. The only year during that span in which he didn’t make the Olympic or World team was in 2019, when he suffered a knee injury before the Final X. During his run atop the 86 kg weight class, Taylor has claimed three world titles, an Olympic gold medal and a world silver in 2021. His latest world title allows him to wait for a challenger to emerge in the best-of-three finals. Taylor isn’t the only world medalist in this weight, Zahid Valencia will also be there and gets a bye to the semifinals after his bronze medal at 92 kg last year. Taylor and Valencia squared off in the 2022 version of Final X and Taylor was victorious 4-2 and 10-0. Many fans expected a rematch in 2023; however, Valencia was stunned by Aaron Brooks in the US Open finals. Brooks got the Final X berth and Valencia was forced to bump up and win the World Team Trials before downing Mike Macchiavello two straight matches at Final X. There’s a chance that we’ll see another version of Brooks and Valencia, as Brooks is likely to receive the number two seed after his US Open win, a Final X appearance, and a U23 world title in 2023. Brooks, fresh off his fourth NCAA title, could be the biggest hurdle between Taylor and a second Olympic Team berth. While Taylor won the first match of their Final X series, 6-0, the second one was 5-4. The only other wrestler to make a world team during Taylor’s run was Patrick Downey in 2019. When properly motivated and trained, Downey has shown he’s a force to be reckoned with domestically and internationally. At the 2019 World Championships, Downey picked up two wins before his elimination. He could be a wild card wherever he’s inserted into the bracket. Moving up from 79 kg is Chance Marsteller. Marsteller had the memorable upset over Jordan Burroughs in three matches at Final X in 2023, to make his first Senior World team. In 2024, Marsteller has captured a bronze medal at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series tournament (at 86 kg) and then won the Pan-American Championships. One of the best current men’s freestyle wrestlers to never have made a World or Olympic Team is former Hodge Trophy winner Alex Dieringer. In 2019, Dieringer appeared to be one of the top two or three wrestlers in the world (behind Kyle Dake) at 79 kg. He lost a pair of razor-thin matches to Dake for the rights to the world team spot. Since then, Dieringer has battled injuries and moved up to 86 kg, where he earned a berth after cruising through Senior Nationals. Earlier this year, Dieringer captured an international title at the Dan Kolov. Brooks NCAA finals opponent this March (and in March of 2021), Trent Hidlay, has plenty of international accolades to his name. Hidlay qualified by winning the Bill Farrell and he claimed a U20 bronze medal in 2019. To win the Farrell, Hidlay edged Dieringer by a point. Aside from Taylor and Brooks, the rest of the current/former/future Penn State contingent at 86 kg includes Mark Hall, Max Dean, and Connor Mirasola. Hall was third at the Bill Farrell, but it was his runner-up finish to Dieringer at Senior Nationals that allowed him to compete on campus at his alma mater. Earlier this year, Hall was a silver medalist at the Henri DeGlane. At both events, Hall posted wins over Nittany Lion signee Connor Mirasola. The high school senior was a semifinalist at the Bill Farrell and finished fourth at Senior Nationals. Mirasola is a two-time Junior freestyle in Fargo and a two-time UWW U17 Trials runner-up. Beating Mirasola for third place at Senior Nationals was Max Dean. Earlier this year, Dean traveled to the Zagreb Open Ranking Series event and went 1-2. We mentioned Mark Hall and some of his Penn State brethren - one of his new, Pennsylvania RTC teammates David McFadden, made the field via the Last Chance Qualifier. McFadden was injured at Senior Nationals and was able to quickly rehab to participate in the Last Chance event. In 2023, McFadden was third at the US Open (at 79 kg) and won the Poland Open. Finally, we have Evan Wick who was fifth at Senior Nationals. Wick was a bronze medalist at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series event. Looking into his results - Wick’s only loss came to a three-time world medalist from Iran and it came via criteria. Prediction: David Taylor over Aaron Brooks 97 kg qualifiers 2023 World medalist at Olympic weight: Kyle Snyder 2022 World Team member: J’den Cox 2023 Bill Farrell champion: Michael Macchiavello Senior National champion: Kollin Moore Senior National runner-up: Nate Jackson Senior National third place: Jay Aiello Senior National fourth place: Eric Schultz Senior National fifth place: Tony Cassioppi 2023 U23 World Champion: Isaac Trumble Last Chance Qualifier champion: Christian Carroll Will we finally get another chapter in the Kyle Snyder/J’den Cox rivalry? The two battled in Fargo during their high school years and Snyder took their only collegiate meeting. Cox famously was late in 2020(1) and did not officially weigh in during the last Olympic Trials. The two were slated to clash at Final X in 2023; however, a very late injury forced Cox to forfeit the series. Snyder has made every World/Olympic Team since 2015 and is looking to make his third Olympic squad. In each year, Snyder has brought home some sort of hardware. Nine medals overall with an Olympic title, and three world gold medals. Will his other world team teammates have gotten more attention, Snyder is in the midst of one of the best careers EVER for USA Wrestling. All of this before turning 29. Even with the odd circumstances surrounding his potential matches with Snyder, Cox has had an excellent career, himself. He earned a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics (at 86 kg) and has two World titles (at 92 kg) and five world medals. Cox has been out of action for almost a year, but when he was last on the mat, he had three techs and a nine-point win on the way to a US Open title. The opponent that prevented Cox from teching his way through the 2023 Open was NC State star Isaac Trumble. Trumble went on to put on an impressive showing of his own at the U23 World Championship where none of his four matches went the distance. Early in 2024, Trumble went to the Zagreb Open and came away with a bronze medal. NC State alum Michael Macchaivello should have an impact here. Macchiavello did not place at the Zagreb Open, but did strike gold at the Henri DeGlane. In the finals, he defeated fellow Trials participant Nate Jackson. Macchiavello, a 2023 Final X participant at 92 kg, earned his spot in the Trials with a title at the Bill Farrell. Snyder’s Ohio State teammate, Kollin Moore, was his opponent in the 2020(1) Trials and could very well do so again in 2024. Moore was banged up during the 2023 Open and was not able to book a second straight Final X series against Snyder. To earn his place here, Moore won Senior Nationals by teching Jackson. Jackson nearly knocked off Cox in the 92 kg series at Final X in 2022. He took Cox to a winner-take-all third match in their best-of-three series. In addition to a runner-up finish at Senior Nationals in late 2023, Jackson captured a 2024 Pan-American title with two falls and two techs. In his last Olympic Trials appearance, Jackson competed down at 86 kg. The rest of the contingent that qualified through Senior Nationals includes Jay Aiello, Eric Schultz, and Tony Cassioppi. At the end of 2023, Aiello was third at the Bill Farrell and then replicated that placement at Seniors, He finished his tournament with a 9-4 win over Schultz. Last month, Aiello was a silver medalist at the Yasar Dogu - losing only to the reigning world champion. Schultz was edged by a point in his Senior National semifinal match against Jackson, then settled for fourth place. He was also fourth in the Zagreb Open Ranking Series event. The final piece to this puzzle is Oklahoma State freshman Christian Carroll. Last summer, Carroll made the U20 world team competing at 125 kg. In making the world team, Carroll teched five out of his six WTT opponents. At the Last Chance Qualifier, Carroll defeated fellow U20 teammate Camden McDanel via an 11-0 tech after edging Iowa national finalist Jacob Warner by a point in the semis. Prediction: Kyle Snyder over J’den Cox 125 kg 2023 World medalist at Olympic weight: Mason Parris 2022 World Team member: Hayden Zillmer 2021 World Team member: Nick Gwiazdowski 2023 Bill Farrell runner-up: Christian Lance 2023 U23 World champion: Wyatt Hendrickson Senior National champion: Dom Bradley Senior National third-place: Gary Traub Senior National fourth-place: Demetrius Thomas Senior National fifth-place: Trent Hillger 2024 NCAA DI Champion: Greg Kerkvliet Last Chance Qualifier champion: Jaron Smith Last year, we thought the return of Gable Steveson was upon us; however, he withdrew from the world team on short notice and his Final X opponent Mason Parris took over. Parris took the ball and ran with it, all the way to a World bronze medal, qualifying the United States for the 2024 Olympic Games. Since then, Parris has been fairly active winning gold medals at the Pan-Am Games and the Pan-American Championships; along with a bronze at the Zagreb Open. For the bronze medal in Zagreb, Parris defeated European bronze medalist and recent Olympic qualifier Giorgi Meshvildishvili (Azerbaijan). We could see a recreation of the top of the 2023 NCAA DI weight class at 285 lbs as the two wrestlers that finished by Parris are both in the field - Greg Kerkvliet and Wyatt Hendrickson. Kerkvliet, a two-time Cadet World finalist, actually defeated Parris on criteria at the 2020(1) Olympic Trials. Hendrickson earned in spot in the Trials after winning the 2023 U23 World Championships. He then parlayed that success into a second consecutive NCAA third-place finish for Air Force. Even with some talented younger faces, you can’t write off the older guard at heavyweight. Nick Gwiazdowski and Hayden Zillmer are both past world team members, while Dom Bradley has been at the top of the domestic ladder for the last decade. Gwiazdowski has won a pair of world bronze medals, but hasn’t been able to make a team since 2021. Zillmer prevented Gwiz from making the 2022 World Team as he pulled the slight upset in three matches at Madison Garden in Final X. Lately, Bradley won Senior Nationals, by grinding out a pair of wins in the semis and final. Bradley posted identical 2-1 wins in both of his final Senior National matches against Trent Hillger and Christian Lance. Though he placed in the top-two at Senior’s, Lance has already secured his place in State College with a second-place finish at the Bill Farrell. He fell in the finals to Gwiazdowski who had already qualified. After his narrow loss to Bradley, Hillger finished fifth which was good enough to earn him a spot in the Trials. Hillger fell to Zillmer in the gold medal match at the Henri DeGlane in January. Above Hillger at Senior Nationals were Gary Traub, in third, and Demetrius Thomas. Traub got by Hillger on criteria and defeated Thomas 8-5. The final wrestler to make the field was the surprising Jaron Smith at the Last Chance Qualifier. Smith, a national qualifier from Maryland, competed in the event because it was local to him; however, he tallied wins over Jordan Wood and Jacob Bullock to punch his ticket to the Trials. Prediction: Mason Parris over Nick Gwiazdowski

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 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: 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 Virginia Tech: Lennox Wolak (174) - Columbia Wednesday saw a pair of prominent national qualifiers announce their transfer destinations and other quality wrestlers enter the portal. First, we had Evan Bockman, a three-time national qualifier for Utah Valley choosing to stay in the Big 12 and finish his career at Iowa State. The move makes sense as Bockman fits a weight of need for the Cyclones. 197 lbs was the only weight in which Iowa State did not qualify for nationals this year. In each of his last two appearances at NCAA’s, Bockman went 1-2. This year, he scored a slight upset in the opening round with a 2-2 win in riding time tiebreakers over #13 Levi Hopkins. Bockman has managed to post a 19-9 record in both 2022-23 and 2023-24. This will be his second transfer as Bockman started his career at California Baptist. It appears as if he’s received a waiver for a seventh year of eligibility; as he did not compete at all during the 2019-20 campaign due to injury. Minnesota also got stronger via the portal on Wednesday. The Gophers lost All-American Michael Blockhus to graduation at 157 lbs, but have a very strong replacement in former Appalachian State wrestler Tommy Askey. Askey has twice qualified for nationals after winning the SoCon championship. This year, Askey shocked the field in a loaded 157 lb weight class by advancing to the Round of 12. Along the way, Askey recorded wins over #14 Cody Chittum (Iowa State; via major decision) and #11 Brayton Lee (Indiana). He was stopped from getting on the NCAA podium after a 9-4 loss to #8 Peyton Robb (Nebraska). Askey finished the year with a sparkling 25-7 record. Looking deeper into his results, all seven losses came to wrestlers who ended up on the NCAA podium or had in the past. During his career at Appalachian State, Askey amassed a 61-25 record. Since Askey did not compete attached in the 2021-22 season, he appears to have two years of eligibility remaining for the Gophers. On the other end of the portal, a top-50 recruit from the Class of 2023 entered on Wednesday as Ethan Stiles of Nebraska had his name entered. Stiles went 15-3 while redshirting at 157 lbs for the Cornhuskers in 2023-24. He saw action in three duals and went 1-2 in that setting, though the two losses came to NCAA runner-up Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) and national qualifier Trevor Chumbley (Northwestern). Just a year ago, Stiles was named the #43 overall prospect on the strength of an Ironman title and a fifth-place Junior freestyle finish in Fargo. Another NCAA qualifier was added to the portal in Oklahoma’s Jared Hill. Hill has qualified for nationals in each of the last two seasons after placing sixth at 157 lbs in the Big 12. Hill was 34-26 during his two years of official competition for the Sooners. Portal Ryan Boersma (285) - Missouri Connor Brady (165) - Virginia Tech Colton Camacho (125/133) - Pittsburgh Caleb Coyle (133) - Oregon State Dorian Crosby (285) - Bucknell Charlie Darracott (165) - Stanford Brock DelSignore (184) - NC State 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 Connor McGonagle (133) - Lehigh Sam Mitchell (197) - Buffalo Peyton Moore (133) - Missouri Kyle Mosher (165) - Columbia Danny Nini (157) - North Carolina Ethan Oakley (133) - Appalachian State 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

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. Today we’re starting with the first three men’s freestyle weights. Two of them are not currently qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games, so there’s more work to be done for the winners at 57 and 65 kg. 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. 57 kg Qualifiers 2023 World Champion at Non-Olympic Weight: Vito Arujau (bye to the semifinals) 2023 World Team member: Zane Richards 2020(1) Olympic Team Member: Thomas Gilman 2019 World Team member: Daton Fix 2023 Bill Farrell champion: Spencer Lee Senior Nationals Runner-Up: Nico Megaludis Senior Nationals third place: Liam Cronin Senior Nationals fourth place: Daniel DeShazer Senior Nationals fifth place: Luke Lilledahl Pan-American champion (61kg): Nick Suriano 2023 U17 World champion (55kg): Marcus Blaze Last Chance Qualifier champion: Jax Forrest Right off the bat, we have an interesting weight class with no true favorite. It’s a good mix of youth and experience, proven results versus potential. The returning world team member is Zane Richards, who shocked the wrestling world with a win over Nick Suriano at the 2023 US Open followed by a pair of wins over world champion Thomas Gilman at Final X. It was a great feel-good story as Richards has been grinding away on the Senior circuit since his collegiate career ended in 2017. Unfortunately, Richards’ results while being “the man” at 57 kg have been uneven and he wasn’t able to qualify the weight at the 2023 World Championships or at the Pan-American Qualifier. Therefore, the celebration for the winner in this bracket will be muted as they will need to head to Istanbul for the World OG Qualifier in early-May. Because of his status on the 2023 world team, Richards will assume the top seed at this weight. After Richards is a pair of world champions and three total Senior world medalists. Vito Arujau won the 2023 61 kg world championship in stunning fashion and gets a bye to the semifinals, because his win came at a non-Olympic weight. Arujau dealt with a nagging injury throughout the collegiate season, while wrestling for Cornell, but seemed to have it all figured out at NCAA’s. There he claimed his second national title with a finals win over Daton Fix. Fix, a two-time world team member and 2021 silver medalist, will be a key threat at this weight too. He’ll be back down to 57 kg for the first time since the last Olympic Trials, when he lost to Arujau in the semifinals. The most decorated wrestler of the bunch (on the Senior level) is five-time World/Olympic Team member, Thomas Gilman. Gilman defeated Arujau in two straight matches in the most recent Olympic Trials to make the team at 57 kg. He would go on to win a bronze medal. Gilman now has hardware from four of his five World/Olympic appearances, highlighted by a world title in 2021. Because of Arujau getting a bye to the semifinals and Richards getting the number one seed, there’s a good chance we see Arujau/Gilman/Fix on the bottom half of the bracket, which is bonkers. If the bottom half of the bracket has stars with “proven results” the top half could have the guys with the most potential - domestically and internationally. Speaking of stars, they have yet to align and give us another Spencer Lee versus Nick Suriano match in years; however, State College could be the setting for the next matchup. We’ve been able to see Lee compete relatively regularly now on the freestyle circuit with titles at the Bill Farrell and Senior Nationals in November and December, respectively, plus a dominating showing at the Pan-American Championships earlier this year. Suriano remains an enigma, but one that has the potential to win the entire tournament, should he be in top form. He earned a spot in the Trials by crushing the field at the Pan-American Championships, competing at 61 kg. It appeared as if we were going to get a Suriano/Lee match at the 2023 US Open semifinals; however, Lee medically forfeited out of the tournament. Suriano would get shocked by Richards in the finals. This bracket contains three high school phenoms in Luke Lilledahl, Marcus Blaze, and Jax Forrest. Despite their age, each has proven they can compete (and defeat) older competitors. Last weekend, Forrest earned his spot by teching 2015 NCAA champion Nathan Tomasello in the finals of the Last Chance Qualifier. All three of these youngsters are no strangers to international competition and have won world medals at the age group level. Lilledahl and Blaze are U17 world champions, while Forrest was a silver medalist. Internationally and domestically, 57 kg has been the weight where age matters the least (and even might be a slight advantage to younger wrestlers), so don’t be surprised if one or more of these high schoolers puts together a deep run. Senior National placers Nico Megaludis, Liam Cronin, and Daniel DeShazer make up the remainder of this weight. Megaludis has been back down to 57 kg after spending the bulk of the last few years up at 61 kg. His best result during that period was a 2022 US Open title. Back at 57, Megaludis lost to Lee, in relatively close matches, at the Bill Farrell and Senior Nationals. At Seniors, Megaludis posted a 7-0 quarterfinal win over Cronin. Cronin finished up his collegiate career in 2023 with a fifth-place showing at the NCAA Championships for Nebraska. Since then, he’s competed at Senior Nationals and Yasar Dogu in Turkey. To claim third place at Senior’s, Cronin shutout DeShazer, 5-0. Like Megaludis, DeShazer has typically competed at 61 kg, but dropped for the Olympic year. One of DeShazer’s best wins at the new weight came over Puerto Rico’s Olympian, Darian Cruz, (10-0) at the Henri DeGlane. He also logged a win over Lilledahl at Senior Nationals. Prediction: Thomas Gilman over Spencer Lee 65 kg Qualifiers 2023 World Champion at Non-Olympic Weight: Zain Retherford (bye to the semifinals) 2023 World Team member: Nick Lee 2022 World Team member: Yianni Diakomihalis 2023 Bill Farrell champion: Kaleb Larkin Senior Nationals champion: Andrew Alirez Senior Nationals runner-up: Beau Bartlett Senior Nationals third-place: Joey McKenna Senior Nationals fifth-place: Austin DeSanto Last Chance Qualifier champion: Matt Koldozik 2022 World Team member (non-Olympic weight): Seth Gross 2021 World Team member (non-Olympic weight): James Green 2018 Trials Champion: Nahshon Garrett 2024 Pan-American champion (70 kg): Alec Pantaleo 2024 NCAA champion (141 lbs): Jesse Mendez Like 57 kg, we have a bye to the semifinals for a world medalist at a non-Olympic weight in this bracket. That honor goes to Zain Retherford after his world title at 70 kg. It marked back-to-back years for Retherford with a world medal after missing out on a medal in his first two attempts. Those first two came at 65 kg in 2017 and 2019. Like a handful of others in this weight, Retherford is probably ideally suited for 70 kg more than 65 kg, but that’s not an option. In the last Olympic Trials, Retherford fell to Joey McKenna in the semifinals, then suffered a loss in the consolations to fellow Penn State star Nick Lee. Lee was the world team member in 2023 and will get the top seed in this bracket. He was able to pick up three wins at the 2023 World Championships, but that wasn’t enough to qualify the weight for the Olympics and he suffered a loss to Austin Gomez (Mexico) in the Pan-American Qualifiers, so the winner of this bracket will also need to head to Istanbul to qualify the weight. Before the Pan-American Qualifier, Lee grabbed the gold at the Pan-American Championships. Another favorite in this weight will be a frequent opponent of both of these former Penn State stars, Yianni Diakomihalis. Diakomihalis has a pair of world team appearances on his resume and claimed a silver medal from the 2022 tournament. Yianni wasn’t able to make a third consecutive world team at this weight after losing a pair of razor-thin matches to Lee at Final X in 2023. At the most recent Olympic Trials, Diakomihalis fell to Jordan Oliver on criteria in the semifinals, then to Lee for third place. The other past world medalist in this group is James Green, a bronze medal winner in 2015 and a silver medalist in 2017. Green retired and moved into coaching a few years ago; however, after surgery, he reportedly feels as good as ever and is back. All of Green’s damage internationally has been done at 70 kg. He’s tried to move up and down from that weight to uneven results. If, and it’s a big if, the weight isn’t an issue, Green can be a new contender at this weight. In a similar vein, Alec Pantaleo is seeking to make his first World/Olympic team. Pantaleo is one of the best in the world at 70 kg, but hasn’t been able to put things together at a World Team Trials-type event. In some domestic tournaments, you may have a lesser match or two to work through off the scale, but at the Olympic Trials, however the brackets break, he’ll have a difficult match in the first round. 57 kg had a trio of high schoolers in the mix. This bracket doesn’t have any, but rather, some active collegiate wrestlers that can legitimately make an impact. Andrew Alirez, Jesse Mendez, Beau Bartlett, and Kaleb Larkin all have collegiate eligibility remaining and have had very good results on the Senior level. Alirez took the 2023-24 collegiate season off with an Olympic redshirt and it’s proven to be a good decision. In the Poland Open, in July of 2023, Alirez won the gold medal and defeated three-time world champion Haji Aliyev in the process. He claimed the title at Senior Nationals after going through Austin DeSanto, Pantaleo, and Bartlett. Mendez gets in based on his NCAA title, which came at the expense of Bartlett. He has plenty of high-level freestyle experience, though, taking a silver medal at the 2023 U20 World Championships and two other age-group world appearances. Bartlett captured a bronze medal at U20’s in 2021. He nearly knocked off Lee in the 2023 US Open semifinals (and appeared to before a scoring error was revealed) before taking fourth place. At Senior Nationals, Bartlett showed his cool demeanor in tight matches and edged McKenna and Matt Kolodzik by criteria in back-to-back matches. Larkin has yet to wrestle an official college match but is here based on his title at the Bill Farrell. It was quite the bracket, yet Larkin posted wins over Pat Lugo, Mendez, and Kolodzik. Last month, Larkin went to Turkey’s Yasar Dogu and picked up two victories before his elimination. A returning Olympic Trials finalist at this weight is Joey McKenna. McKenna is another competitor who posted some incredible results but has yet to make a Senior World Team. Earlier this year, he captured a bronze medal at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series event. He clinched a medal with a win over returning world silver medalist Sebastian Rivera (Puerto Rico). At the 2020(1) Trials, McKenna teched Green and defeated Retherford before losing the best-of-three series to Oliver. Four other veterans could shake things up with Seth Gross, Nahshon Garrett, Austin DeSanto, and Matt Kolodzik. The first three are probably best suited for 61 kg, but shouldn’t be overlooked. Gross was a 2022 World Team member at 61 kg and came up a match shy of earning a world medal. Garrett won in the inaugural edition of Final X, but was injured and couldn’t compete. Last year, Garrett narrowly lost a pair of wild bouts to Arujau in Final X (6-5, 13-10) - then saw Arujau claim a world title. At the tail end of 2023, DeSanto was a bronze medalist at the Bill Farrell and fifth at Senior Nationals. Between the two tournaments, he posted wins over notables like Michael McGee, Aden Valencia, Pat Lugo, and Ian Parker. Kolodzik is the final piece of the puzzle in this 65 kg bracket. He earned his spot after stopping the run of high school star Bo Bassett in the Last Chance finals. Kolodzik is more naturally suited for 65 kg than a lot of the wrestlers in the bracket and seems to be wrestling as good as ever, so he could be a dark horse in this bracket. Prediction: Yianni Diakomihalis over Nick Lee 74 kg Qualifiers Senior World medalist at Olympic weight: Kyle Dake (sits out until best-of-three finals) 2019 World Team member: Jordan Burroughs 2023 Bill Farrell champion: Jason Nolf Senior National champion: Quincy Monday Senior National runner-up: Alex Marinelli Senior National third place: Alex Facundo Senior National fourth place: Jarrett Jacques Senior National fifth place: Tyler Berger Last Chance Qualifier champion: Vincenzo Joseph 2024 NCAA DI champion: Levi Haines 2024 NCAA DI champion: David Carr 2024 NCAA DI champion: Carter Starocci 2023 U23 World Champion: Keegan O’Toole 2023 U20 World Champion: Meyer Shapiro 2023 U20 World Champion: Mitchell Mesenbrink 2023 U17 World Champion: Ladarion Lockett This is the big one! Perhaps the most anticipated bracket of the entire Olympic Trials. In the last edition of the Olympic Trials, Kyle Dake finally unseated Jordan Burroughs from his throne at 74 kg and was not in much danger, in doing so. Most assumed that was the end of the line for Burroughs; however, he moved up to 79 kg and added a pair of world titles to his illustrious resume. Dake went on to take bronze at the Olympics and claimed two world championships and a silver medal from the 2023 World Championships. That 2023 world medal allows Dake to have the advantage and let the rest of this loaded bracket sort itself out until he has an opponent in the best-of-three finals. With father-time being undefeated, we could be witnessing the final Trials appearance for both Dake and Burroughs. I’m sure the rest of the bracket isn’t focused on the historical aspect surrounding the competition - they’re looking to turn the page in State College and focus on the future. And the future is extremely bright at this weight class. There are six 2024 NCAA finalists who are expected to compete in this bracket and each could make an impact. Since Dake is sitting in the finals and there are no other wrestlers in the bracket with a Senior World Team appearance to their name, I’d guess Burroughs gets the top seed, even though he didn’t make the 2023 world team. This is the type of weight class where seeding might just go out the window. There are no easy sides of the bracket or soft matches. Dake’s opponent in the last two editions of Final X, Jason Nolf, also figures to be seeded prominently. Earlier this year, Nolf crushed the field at the Zagreb Open and downed a pair of Olympians along the way. He earned his place in the Trials with a win at the Bill Farrell. Though Nolf won comfortably in the finals, he was pushed by Quincy Monday in a one-point quarterfinal match. Monday has been impressive since finishing his career at Princeton in 2023. He was third at the Farrell and won Senior Nationals with a tech over Alex Marinelli. Monday’s 6-0 win in the semifinals represented his “closest” match of the tournament. He obviously has the bloodlines for success at the Senior level. Marinelli, Alex Facundo, Jarrett Jacques, and Tyler Berger represented the remaining qualifiers from Senior Nationals. Berger made Final X last year, at 70 kg, and dropped a one-point match to Zain Retherford in the second match of their best-of-three series. That appearance took place after his remarkable showing in winning the 2023 US Open. A two-time U17 world bronze medalist, Facundo, took off the 2023-24 campaign to focus on freestyle rather than compete at Penn State. After an injury-filled career at Iowa, Marinelli has done well for himself on the Senior level. In addition to his runner-up finish at Senior Nationals, he was a finalist at the Bill Farrell and fourth at the 2023 US Open. The same can be said for Jacques, who was fourth at Senior Nationals, and the Bill Farrell. The last of the veterans is Penn State’s two-time national champion Vincenzo Joseph. Joseph got into the Trials via the Last Chance Qualifier. While known as a “big-move guy,” Joseph was more tactical during his final few matches in Fairfax. He’s also made the finals of the past two US Open’s. This bracket provides a glimpse of the future with a handful of talented collegiate competitors. 2024 NCAA champions Levi Haines, David Carr, and Carter Starocci, along with Keegan O’Toole, Mitchell Mesenbrink, and Meyer Shapiro are expected to compete. Starocci recently won his fourth NCAA title, while Carr and O’Toole both have two. Haines went undefeated to claim his first. With the exception of Haines, the other five have won an age-group world medal at some point in their careers. Carr, O’Toole, Mesenbrink, and Shapiro all have U20 world championships. Speaking of age-group world medals, the weight class is rounded out by 2023 U17 world champion Ladarion Lockett. The Oklahoma State commit is currently ranked as the #2 overall recruit in the high school Class of 2025. Also, with the fallout from Jordan Burroughs and Bo Nickal’s back-and-forth - there appears to be some underlying feeling between the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club (who has often clashed on the mat with Burroughs) and the legend. There are plenty of current and former members of the NLWC who could come across Burroughs at some point in the tournament. That’s just an added level of intrigue for perhaps the best bracket in the entire Trials. Prediction: Kyle Dake over Jordan Burroughs

Tuesday, April 9th, marked the 10th anniversary of Arizona State University hiring Zeke Jones. At the time, Arizona State was a program that was only a few years removed (2008) from an attempt to cut the program by the athletic department. The Arizona State name was strong; however, they had recently experienced some up-and-down results. The Sun Devils finished sixth in the country in 2011; behind a pair of national champions, but that was the only time they finished higher than 20th in the nation between 2007-14. Change was on the horizon as the ASU administration looked to a familiar face in alum, Zeke Jones. While hiring an alum is not typically a surprise, this move was a bit unexpected as Jones had spent the previous seven years leading the men’s freestyle team for USA Wrestling. It was Jones’ first college head coaching job, though he has plenty of experience on the collegiate bench. In addition to a stint at ASU, Jones also served as an assistant at Bloomsburg, West Virginia, and Penn. Right away, Jones showed that a new era of Sun Devil wrestling was dawning by signing the top recruiting class in the nation, during his first full recruiting cycle. Not only did he sign highly-touted recruits, but they developed into wrestlers that laid the groundwork for ASU being thought of as a perennial NCAA team trophy contender. That class included the Valencia brothers, Josh Shields, and Josh Maruca. With that foundation in place, ASU has continued to recruit well and produce on the mat. Now top-ten finishes at nationals have been commonplace for the Sun Devils, as have multiple-time All-Americans. Just how regular have those items become? That and more below as we have some facts to highlight a decade of success for Zeke Jones at his alma mater. Jones has produced 64 national qualifiers during his tenure at ASU. Three times they have sent eight wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament (including 2024) ASU wrestlers have won 43 individual Pac-12 titles under Jones 2 wrestlers have combined to win three NCAA Titles (Zahid Valencia x2; Richie Figueroa x1) 13 wrestlers have combined to earn NCAA All-American honors 27 times (in only 9 national tournaments) 7 of those wrestlers have earned NCAA All-American honors on more than one occasion Figueroa is the seventh wrestler to be named Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year under Jones. Jones has been named Pac-12 Coach of the Year on three occasions. Since 2014, his staff has signed six top-ten overall recruits. They Inked the top overall recruiting class in 2015, headlined by #1 Zahid Valencia and #2 Anthony Valencia. The Sun Devils did not place in the top-20 at nationals in each of his first two seasons. They haven’t missed it since then. Placed in the top-ten at nationals five times. Won a pair of NCAA team trophies (4th in 2021 and 4th in 2022). In both of those seasons the Sun Devils had five All-Americans The team high in NCAA points under Jones is 74 in 2021. Haven’t finished lower than seventh at each of the last four NCAA Tournaments. During this recent four-year run of top seven finishes, Arizona State wrestlers have combined to go 92-58 at the NCAA Tournament. In the decade before Jones’ hire ASU had placed in the top-20 at the NCAA Tournament on four occasions and inside the top-ten twice. In November of 2019, ASU stopped Penn State’s 60-dual winning streak with a 19-18 upset. The previous season, Penn State beat the Sun Devils, 41-3. Arizona State has won six Pac-12 team titles under Jones’ direction. The first Pac-12 title for Jones at ASU came in 2017. It snapped a decade-plus drought without a conference title that started after their 2006 win. In dual competition, ASU is 91-45 since Jones’ arrival.

In addition to the USA Wrestling Last Chance Qualifier for the 2024 Olympic Trials this past weekend, the 2024 European Olympic Games Qualifier also took place in Baku, Azerbaijan. Two wrestlers at each weight, in all three disciplines, punched their tickets to the Olympic Games in Paris, later this summer. While two wrestlers/countries qualified for the Olympics, it also threw a handful of other wrestlers/countries into the mix as needing Olympic berths. They will now need to head to Istanbul, Turkey for the World Olympic Games Qualifier in early May in the last chance available to earn a slot in the Olympics. There are five weights (across the three styles) where the United States has not qualified for the Olympics - after missing out on the 2023 World Championships and the Pan-American Qualifier. So, the question is, “What does the path to Olympic qualification look like for our American representatives?” In addition to the European’s needing quotas, there will be others from Asia, the Pan-American qualifier, and the African/Oceania qualifier in the mix, as well. In order to earn a quota at the OG Last Chance Qualifier, wrestlers will need to place in the top three in their weight class. The Asian continental qualifier takes place during the same weekend as our Olympic Trials, so we don’t have a perfect read on the situation just yet. Today, we’re focusing on the competitors in men’s freestyle. Tomorrow, we’ll look at the three weights America needs to qualify in Greco-Roman. There won’t be a women’s freestyle article because all six of their weights have been qualified! 57 kg These wrestlers at 57 kg are from Europe and have yet to qualify their country for the 2024 Olympic Games. Of course, their governing body could choose someone else to represent them at the Last Chance Qualifier. Suleyman Atli (Turkey) - 2x World Medalist; 2x Olympian, 2x European Champion, 0-1 @ 2023 Worlds; 1-1 @ European Qualifier - In 2019, Atli defeated Stevan Micic in the World quarters; Would go on to take silver - In 2018, Atli defeated Thomas Gilman in the bronze medal match at the World Championships - Six-time European medalist with two gold medals. The most recent was in 2021. Roberti Dingashvili (Georgia) - 2024 European bronze medalist, 0-1 @ European Qualifier Vladimir Egorov (North Macedonia) - 2022 European Champion, 1-1 @ 2023 Worlds; 2-1 @ European Qualifier - Defeated Aliabbas Rzazade (Azerbaijan) in 2022 European gold medal match; Rzazade defeated Egorov at 2024 European Olympic Qualifier - Two-time European medalist; 2022 gold and 2019 bronze - Defeated Dingashvili at 2023 World Championships and 2024 European Olympic Qualifier Horst Lehr (Germany) - 2021 World Bronze Medalist, 0-1 @ European Qualifier - Lost 15-5 to Thomas Gilman in 2021 World semifinals - Two-time European bronze medalist; Most recent was 2023 - Defeated Georgi Vangelov in the 2020 European Bronze Medal match - 2022 European U23 gold medalist Georgi Vangelov (Bulgaria) - 2020(1) Olympic fifth place, 2022 World fifth place; 2023 European bronze medalist; 0-1 @ 2023 World’s; 1-1 @ European Qualifier - 2023 European Championships; Lost to Suleyman Atli (5-4), Defeated Roberti Dingashvili (10-0) in bronze medal match - 2-2 at 2023 World Championships (at 61 kg) Summary: There aren’t any real world beaters from Europe at this weight. Suleyman Atli has the longest track record and the most impressive credentials; however, he is on the verge of turning 30 in July. In a weight class dominated by the speed, flexibility, and explosiveness of youth, that’s quite old. The same can be said for Georgi Vangelov, who had already turned 30. But both have wrestled in the Olympic Games and on the biggest stages, so neither will be intimidated by the high stakes of the OG Qualifier. Either, or both, could end up finding their way to Paris, though it may not be at the expense of an American opponent. Vladimir Egorov is close to the other two in age, but has had a European gold medal within the last two years. He also missed out on Olympic qualification by the narrowest of margins. Egorov lost in the European Qualifier semifinals by a point to an opponent he defeated for European gold in 2022. We’ll deal with the Asians needing quotas once their qualifier occurs and, at this point in the game, the Asian competitors look to be more in number and quality than their European counterparts. So, while these wrestlers may not pose a huge threat to whoever emerges from our Trials, combined with four or five Asian wrestlers, it could be a tough mountain to climb. 65 kg These wrestlers at 65 kg are from Europe and have yet to qualify their country for the 2024 Olympic Games. Of course, their governing body could choose someone else to represent them at the Last Chance Qualifier. Erik Arushanian (Ukraine) - 2022 U23 World Bronze Medalist; 1-1 @ 2023 Worlds - Two-time European bronze medalist - Win (7-1) over Kizhan Clarke at 2024 European Qualifier - Defeated Maxim Sacultan (7-2) at 2024 European Championships - 2023 World Championships; Defeated Lachlan McNeil (11-0), Lost to Otoguro (10-0) - Defeated Saculaton and Clarke at 2023 European Championships - 2019 Junior World Champion in a weight class that contained Brayton Lee Islam Dudaev (Albania) - 2024 European Champion; 0-1 @ 2023 Worlds; 2-2 @ European Qualifier - Defeated Gadzhimurad Rashidov in 2024 European gold medal match - Competed at 61 kg in 2022 World Championships (1-2) - Bronze medal at 2023 Polyak Imre & Varga Janos; Lost to Nick Lee (6-4) in semifinals - Silver medalist at 2023 Dan Kolov; Defeated Joey McKenna (10-3) in semifinals Mikyay Naim (Bulgaria) - 2023 European Silver Medalist; 0-1 @ 2023 Worlds; 1-1 @ European Qualifier Maxim Sacultan (Moldova) - 2023 World 5th Place; 2021 European Bronze Medalist, 4-3 @ 2023 Worlds; 1-1 @ European Qualifier - Defeated Colin Realbuto (7-3) at 2023 World Championships - Lost to Sebastian Rivera (15-4) at 2023 World Championship quarterfinals Niurgun Skriabin (Belarus) - 0-1 @ 2023 Worlds; 1-1 at European Qualifier - 2020 European silver medalist; Quarterfinal win over Iszmail Muszukajev (12-1) Summary: The biggest name on this list is Russian transfer Islam Dudaev, now competing for Albania. Dudaev was a victim of bracketing at both the 2023 World Championships and the European Qualifier. At World’s, Dudaev was paired with 2020(1) Olympic champion Takuto Otoguro (Japan) in the Round of 64 and fell 5-2. Otoguro ended up losing to the eventual gold medalist Iszmail Musukaev (Hungary) in the Round of 16 - eliminating Dudaev. Last weekend, Dudaev was defeated by three-time world champion Haji Aliyev (Azerbaijan) in the bout where the quota was decided, 6-3. It would be surprising if Dudaev wasn’t able to earn one of the three available quotas in Istanbul. Truthfully, the rest of the weight class isn’t particularly loaded from a European standpoint. There are some experienced competitors, but no one else that would be favored over whoever emerges from the Olympic Trials. Again, Asia may present more of a threat on that front, but we’ll discuss that later. But, there is little room for error when you assume that Dudaev will be in the mix for a berth to Paris.

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 Lock Haven: Nick Stampoulos (157) - Buffalo Michigan: Jacob Cardenas (197) - Cornell Michigan: Chase Saldate (157) - Michigan State North Carolina: Josh Ogunsanya (174) - Columbia 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 Virginia Tech: Lennox Wolak (174) - Columbia Over the weekend, we saw Ogunsanya, Fish, and Harman commit. Like his Columbia teammate, Wolak, Ogunsanya entered the portal in the fall because the Ivy League prevented him from using his final year of eligibility at Columbia. He’ll keep the same shade of blue in his wardrobe and move to North Carolina. Ogunsanya’s commitment graphic showed him wrestling at 174 lbs. That is a need for the Tar Heels after losing national qualifier Tyler Eischens - who was a graduate transfer himself. Ogunsanya was a two-time national qualifier for Columbia after finishing second and third in the EIWA. He only saw action at the Clarion Open this year, before getting injured. The most notable name of the bunch is Caleb Fish, who will be moving from Michigan State to Oklahoma State. The Cowboys already brought in a star 165 lber in Dean Hamiti - Fish has also competed at that same weight. Expect Hamiti to either move up to 174 lbs and Brayden Thompson to redshirt or Hamiti to redshirt. Fish also has a redshirt available, so he could take one and let Hamiti go 165, also. Fish was a three-time national qualifier for the Spartans, advancing to the Round of 12 in 2022 (as the #29 seed). He came in as the #21 seed this year and earned a pair of wins before his elimination. Finally, Sean Harman goes back to his home state and will wrestle for Chris Pendleton’s Oregon State Beavers. His previous school, Missouri, has had a logjam of talent between 174-184 for the last few years, leading to few dual opportunities for Harman. During the 2021-22 season, while competing at 174 lbs, Harman defeated Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) and Hayden Hastings (Wyoming). We’ve also seen the first domino fall in the coaching transition at Buffalo. National qualifier Nick Stampoulos will stay in the MAC and wrestle for Lock Haven. The Bulls other 2024 qualifier, Sam Mitchell, and a host of other teammates have entered the portal and are looking for new homes. In addition, some of their top recruits have re-opened the recruiting process. Portal Tommy Askey (157) - Appalachian State Connor Brady (165) - Virginia Tech Colton Camacho (125/133) - Pittsburgh Caleb Coyle (133) - Oregon State Dorian Crosby (285) - Bucknell Massoma Endene (197) - Wartburg Logan Frazier (133) - Virginia Tech Max Hale (184) - Penn Nathan Higley (149) - George Mason Jacob Joyce (125) - Stanford Jason Kraisser (157) - Iowa State Carson Martinson (165) - Iowa Carter Martinson (157) - Iowa Connor McGonagle (133) - Lehigh Sam Mitchell (197) - Buffalo Peyton Moore (133) - Missouri Ethan Oakley (133) - Appalachian State Bretli Reyna (149) - Iowa Chris Rivera (141) - Campbell Justin Rivera (149) - Campbell Rylan Rogers (184) - Michigan Yaraslau Slavikouski (285) - Rutgers

College Park

Clovis West

Mount Carmel

Shikellamy

Over the weekend, the European Olympic Games Qualifier took place from Baku, Azerbaijan. With the depth that Europe has in all three styles, paying attention to European results is essential in the lead up to the Olympic Games or even the Olympic Trials. Since the United States still needs to qualify two men’s freestyle weights and three Greco-Roman weights, there are likely some talented European wrestlers who will present problems for our American representatives. With the results from the European qualifier, combined with results from the 2023 World Championships and the Pan-American and African and Oceania Qualifier, we almost have the entire Olympic entry list. The final continent to hold their qualifier is Asia, which will take place at the same time as our Olympic Trials. The final three spots (per weight class) will be decided at the World OG Qualifier (aka Last Chance Qualifier) May 9th-12th. If a country needs to qualify a weight class for the Olympics, they’ll have to enter and finish in the top-three spots at the World OG Qualifier. Remember, these Olympic quotas earned at the World Championships or continental qualifiers are for the country, not necessarily the individual. Some countries will give the Olympic spot to the individual that qualified the weight; however, that’s up to each country. Below is an updated list of countries who have qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games at each weight, across all three styles. Men’s Freestyle 57 kg 2023 World Championships: Albania, Armenia, Japan, Russia*, Serbia Pan-American Qualifier: Mexico, Puerto Rico African and Oceania Qualifier: Egypt, Guinea-Bissau European Qualifier: Azerbaijan, Belarus* 65 kg 2023 World Championships: Armenia, Hungary, Iran, Puerto Rico, Russia* Pan-American Qualifier: Cuba, Mexico African and Oceania Qualifier: Australia, Samoa European Qualifier: Azerbaijan, Georgia 74 kg 2023 World Championships: Greece, Japan, Russia*, Serbia, United States Pan-American Qualifier: Cuba, Venezuela African and Oceania Qualifier: Egypt, Guinea-Bissau European Qualifier: Azerbaijan, Belarus* 86 kg 2023 World Championships: Iran, Kazakhstan, San Marino, United States, Uzbekistan Pan-American Qualifier: Canada, Puerto Rico African and Oceania Qualifier: Algeria, Australia European Qualifier: Azerbaijan, Russia* 97 kg 2023 World Championships: Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Georgia, Turkey, United States Pan-American Qualifier: Cuba, Dominican Republic African and Oceania Qualifier: Egypt, South Africa European Qualifier: Belarus*, Russia* 125 kg 2023 World Championships: Georgia, Iran, Russia*, Turkey, United States Pan-American Qualifier: Canada, Puerto Rico African and Oceania Qualifier: Egypt, Nigeria European Qualifier: Azerbaijan, Belarus* Women's Freestyle 50 kg 2023 World Championships: China, Japan, Mongolia, Turkey, United States Pan-American Qualifier: Colombia, Cuba African and Oceania Qualifier: Algeria, Egypt European Qualifier: Russia*, Ukraine 53 kg 2023 World Championships: Belarus*, Ecuador, India, Japan, Sweden Pan-American Qualifier: United States, Venezuela African and Oceania Qualifier: Guam, Nigeria European Qualifier: Romania, Russia* 57 kg 2023 World Championships: Japan, Moldova, Nigeria, Poland, United States Pan-American Qualifier: Canada, Ecuador African and Oceania Qualifier: Algeria, Guam European Qualifier: Belarus*, Germany 62 kg 2023 World Championships: Germany, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Norway, Ukraine Pan-American Qualifier: Canada, United States African and Oceania Qualifier: Nigeria, Tunisia European Qualifier: Bulgaria, Russia* 68 kg 2023 World Championships: France, Japan, Moldova, Mongolia, Turkey Pan-American Qualifier: United States, Venezuela African and Oceania Qualifier: New Zealand, Nigeria European Qualifier: Poland, Russia* 76 kg 2023 World Championships: Colombia, Cuba, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, United States Pan-American Qualifier: Canada, Ecuador African and Oceania Qualifier: Nigeria, Tunisia European Qualifier: Hungary, Turkey Greco-Roman 60 kg 2023 World Championships: China, Iran, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan Pan-American Qualifier: Cuba, Venezuela African and Oceania Qualifier: Algeria, Egypt European Qualifier: Moldova, Turkey 67 kg 2023 World Championships: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cuba, Iran, Serbia Pan-American Qualifier: Chile, Ecuador African and Oceania Qualifier: Algeria, Tunisia European Qualifier: France, Ukraine 77 kg 2023 World Championships: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan Pan-American Qualifier: Colombia, Cuba African and Oceania Qualifier: Algeria, Egypt European Qualifier: Finland, Turkey 87 kg 2023 World Championships: Bulgaria, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Ukraine Pan-American Qualifier: Colombia, United States African and Oceania Qualifier: Algeria, Egypt European Qualifier: Russia*, Serbia 97 kg 2023 World Championships: Armenia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Iran, Lithuania Pan-American Qualifier: Honduras, United States African and Oceania Qualifier: Algeria, Egypt European Qualifier: Georgia, Lithuania 130 kg 2023 World Championships: China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Turkey Pan-American Qualifier: Chile, United States African and Oceania Qualifier: Morocco, Tunisia European Qualifier: Germany, Russia* *Wrestlers who have competed for Belarus or Russia have had to compete under the name Independent Neutral Athletes (AIN) rather than their respective country. Since they have been permitted to compete at the European OG Qualifier, we assume their representatives will be able to compete in Paris. Or it could be on a case-by-case basis. Two-time Olympic gold medalist Abdulrashid Sadulaev was not permitted to compete at the European tournament.

Wall Township

Biglerville

Toppenish

Oak Glen

While the eyes of the international wrestling community were focused on Fairfax, Virginia for the Olympic Team Trials Last Chance Qualifier, about 200 miles southeast, in Virginia Beach was one of the bigger high school events of the spring - NHSCA Nationals. Before the proliferation of national tournaments every weekend or two, NHSCA Senior Nationals and Fargo were held as the gold standards of high school wrestling. With more opportunities to compete against quality competition, NHSCA’s and Fargo have taken their share of hits - in terms of the top, top recruits entering their events. With that being said, there were still plenty of future collegiate wrestlers on the mat in Virginia Beach. Below are wrestlers who have committed to wrestle at the next level and finished on the podium at NHSCA Junior and Senior Nationals - sorted by school. For more recruiting information, check InterMat’s College Commitment page. If there’s a commitment that was overlooked, please contact me earl@matscouts.com or fill out the commitment sheet. Adams State Noah Torres (AZ): Senior National 7th Place (138 lbs) Air Force Rylan Kuhn (MO): Junior National Runner-Up (285 lbs) American Caleb Close (PA): Junior National Champion (182 lbs) Leo Maestas (CA): Junior National Champion: (126 lbs) Colin Martin (VA): Junior National 4th Place (126 lbs) Appalachian State Jarvis Little (TN): Senior National Runner-Up (132 lbs) Arizona State Joseph Manfredi (NY): Senior National 5th Place (152 lbs) Army West Point Charles Weidman (CT): Junior National Runner-Up (220 lbs) Augustana Jaret Peterson (NE): Senior National 4th Place (195 lbs) Bellarmine Noah Hall (VA): Senior National 8th Place (170 lbs) Binghamton Brogan Fielding (OH): Senior National 4th Place (138 lbs) Brown Nico Fanella (PA): Junior National Runner-Up (120 lbs) Buffalo Stephan Monchery (NY): Senior National Champion (285 lbs) Coy Raines (NY): Senior National 3rd Place (195 lbs) Braidon Woodward (NY): Senior National 5th/6th (170 lbs) Campbell Max Brady (FL): Junior National 3rd Place (132 lbs) Kendrick Hodge (FL): Senior National Champion (160 lbs) Mikey Trujillo (PA): Senior National 3rd Place (138 lbs) Kaleb Wright (NJ): Senior National 8th Place (195 lbs) Chattanooga Ethan Uhorchuk (TN): Junior National 3rd Place (126 lbs) Coast Guard Nick Sanders (VA): Senior National 4th Place (126 lbs) Columbia Spencer Fine (RI): Senior National 5th Place (182 lbs) Oliver Howard (AL): Senior National 4th Place (170 lbs) Cornell Danny Aranda (FL): Senior National 3rd Place (132 lbs) Gabriel Bouyssou (RI): Senior National Champion (145 lbs) Sergio Vega (AZ): Junior National Champion (138 lbs) Delaware Valley Christian Ford (PA): Senior National 4th Place (132 lbs) Iowa Keyan Hernandez (MT): Senior National Champion (126 lbs) Iowa State Carlos Stanton (AZ): Senior National 6th Place (145 lbs) Johnson & Wales Peyton Ellis (RI): Senior National Runner-Up (126 lbs) Lander Isaac Sheeran (TX): Senior National 5th Place (195 lbs) Life Jett McCauley (FL): Senior National 8th Place (182 lbs) Konlin Weaver (GA): Senior National Champion (152 lbs) Little Rock Tyson Roach (LA): Senior National 3rd Place (120 lbs) Lock Haven Ousmane Duncanson (NY): Senior National 5th/6th (170 lbs) Griffin Walizer (PA): Senior National 8th Place (138 lbs) Connor Wetzel (PA); Junior National Champion (170 lbs) McKendree Marcos Torrez (WA): Senior National Runner-Up (138 lbs) Minnesota Dawson Johnson (WI): Senior National Champion (138 lbs) Montevallo Willie Cox (AL): Senior National 6th Place (285 lbs) Navy Coltyn Reedy (OH): Junior National 4th Place (152 lbs) North Dakota State Tayshaun Glover (NC): Senior National 4th Place (182 lbs) Northern Iowa Logan Paradice (GA): Junior National Runner-Up (145 lbs) Penn Omer Barak (FL): Senior National Runner-Up (170 lbs) Penn State PJ Duke (NY): Junior National Champion (152 lbs) Pittsburgh Evan Petrovich (PA): Junior National 5th Place (145 lbs) Princeton Conor McCloskey (GA): Junior National 3rd Place (182 lbs) Rider Jacob Zearfoss (NJ): Senior National 7th Place (170 lbs) Roanoke Samuel Aponte (NC): Senior National 4th Place (113 lbs) Virginia Macon Ayres (VA): Junior National 3rd Place (160 lbs) Brenan Morgan (PA): Senior National Champion (220 lbs) Virginia Tech Claudio Torres (FL): Junior National Champion (160 lbs) VMI Logan Chambers (VA): Senior National 6th Place (160 lbs) West Liberty Logan Davis (WV): Senior National Champion (120 lbs) West Virginia Anthony Clem (NY): Senior National 4th Place (126 lbs) Joseph Clem (NY): Senior National 8th Place (132 lbs) Williams Fisher Stites (CT): Senior National 8th Place (160 lbs) Wisconsin Tyson Waughtel (IL): Junior National 6th Place (120 lbs) York Vincent Paolucci (MD): Senior National 7th Place (126 lbs)

Interviews with all six men's freestyle champions from the 2024 Last Chance Qualifier for the Olympic Team Trials 57 kg: Jax Forrest 65 kg: Matt Kolodzik 74 kg: Vincenzo Joseph 86 kg: David McFadden 97 kg: Christian Carroll 125 kg: Jaron Smith

The buzz surrounding the men’s freestyle portion of the Last Chance Qualifier focused on the young kids. High school teammates Jax Forrest (57 kg) and Bo Bassett (65 kg) made the finals of the tournament and saw a match away from a berth in the 2024 Olympic Trials. The six finals matches were arranged so that the two high school phenoms would close out the event in back-to-back bouts. One of the two ended up punching his ticket to State College, Pennsylvania in less than two weeks - Forrest at 57 kg. In a clash of styles and body type, Forrest and veteran Nathan Tomasello, a 2015 NCAA champion, squared off for the lightweight berth in the final bout of the afternoon. Less than :30 seconds into the bout, Forrest struck in a major way with a four-point fireman’s carry. Still within the first period, Forrest added to his lead with a takedown off of a throw-by. Later in the period, Tomasello got to a leg attack, but was stopped in a scramble by Forrest. During the flurry, Forrest grabbed a crotch lock and tossed it for four points, which ended the match. Forrest will join a loaded 57 kg weight class that features past world medalists like Thomas Gilman, Vito Arujau, Daton Fix, and many more. Just before Forrest took the mat, Bassett was teched by an experienced opponent of his own, Matt Kolodzik. The Princeton All-American quickly got on the board with a throw-by for a takedown and quickly transitioned into a gut wrench - taking a commanding 4-0 lead. Quickly after the ensuing restart, Kolodzik hit a double leg to Bassett’s back for four points. Kolodzik kept ahold of Bassett’s legs and used a leg lace to end the match in only :46 seconds. Kolodzik will join the fray at a wide-open 65 kg bracket in State College. Speaking of State College, one of Penn State’s favorite sons will come back home as Vincenzo Joseph won the 74 kg weight class. The often high-flying Joseph turned in a workman-like performance in a 2-0 win over Yahya Thomas. Joseph took the lead in the first period after a shot-clock violation from Thomas. In the second stanza, Joseph was on the shot clock, himself, but was able to get a push out on Thomas just before the clock expired. That’s all the offense he’d need. We’ll see if Joseph can bring the Bryce Jordan Center crowd to its feet one more time! In one of the most emotional moments of the finals, David McFadden prevailed in a 12-2 tech over former Penn State national runner-up Morgan McIntosh at 86 kg. McFadden had extended hugs for coaches Brandon Slay and Richard Perry after getting his hand raised. In his post-match interview, McFadden explained how he broke his ankle at Senior Nationals in December and questioned whether he’d be healthy enough to compete at this event. With all of the talk surrounding the high school sensations, it might be easy to overlook a college freshman winning the 97 kg bracket. That’s what Oklahoma State’s Christian Carroll did and in dominating fashion. Carroll posted an 11-0 tech fall over former Junior World teammate Camden McDanel to claim his berth in the Trials. It was his third tech in four bouts on Sunday. His only match that went the distance came against 2022 NCAA runner-up Jacob Warner. The final session was opened up by an entertaining bout between Jaron Smith and Jacob Bullock at 125 kg. Smith weathered the storm and came back from an early deficit to secure the winning takedown during the waning seconds of a 6-5 victory. Smith stated in his post-match interview that he was looking to “have fun and compete and it was less than an hour away.” Championship Finals 57 kg - Jax Forrest over Nathan Tomasello 10-0 65 kg - Matt Kolodzik over Bo Bassett 10-0 74 kg - Vincenzo Joseph over Yahya Thomas 2-0 86 kg - David McFadden over Morgan McIntosh 12-2 97 kg - Christian Carroll over Camden McDanel 11-0 125 kg - Jaron Smith over Jacob Bullock 6-5

Men’s Freestyle Semifinal Results 57 kg Nathan Tomasello over Brandon Courtney 10-0 Jax Forrest over Josh Rodriguez 13-4 65 kg Bo Bassett over Anthony Ashnault 12-2 Matt Kolodzik over Henry Porter 11-0 74 kg Vincenzo Joseph over Terrell Barraclough 5-0 Yahya Thomas over Doug Zapf 2-1 86 kg David McFadden over Aeoden Sinclair 10-0 Morgan McIntosh over John Gunderson 7-2 97 kg Christian Carroll over Jacob Warner 8-7 Camden McDanel over Cole Mirasola 7-0 125 kg Jaron Smith over Jordan Wood Fall 4:35 Jacob Bullock over Dan Erekson InjDef

Day one of the USA Wrestling Last Chance Olympic Team Trials Qualifier has concluded. Greco-Roman and women’s freestyle were on the schedule for Saturday. 12 wrestlers punched their tickets to the Olympic Team Trials in State College, Pennsylvania, now in less than two weeks. While these brackets were loaded, only the winners qualified for the Trials. Greco Roman Results 60 kg Phillip Moomey (TMWC/Spartan Combat WC) over Paxton Creese (Minnesota Storm) 7-6 67 kg Duncan Nelson (Illinois) over Joel Adams (The Best Wrestler) 3-1 77 kg Tyler Eischens (Tar Heel WC) over Noah Wachsmuth (New York AC) 6-0 87 kg Fritz Schierl (Minnesota Storm) over Andrew Berreyesa (New York AC) 9-0 97 kg Brandon Marshall (Big Game WC) over Timothy Eubanks (Northern Michigan) Fall 1:40 130 kg Jacob Mitchell over Kaleb Reeves (Big Game WC) 11-2 Women’s Freestyle 50 kg Nyla Valencia (TMWC/IWWC) over Charlotte Fowler (Boilermaker RTC) Fall 5:27 53 kg Brianna Gonzalez (TMWC/IWWC) over Elena Ivaldi (California) 10-0 57 kg Bridgette Duty (Army WCAP) over Montana DeLawder (Team Tornado WC) 4-0 62 kg Lauren Louive (New York AC) over Skylar Hattendorf (New York AC) 10-0 68 kg Chloe Odgen (Florida) over Marisa Angelos (Northern Michigan) 8-2 76 kg Madison Sandquist (Rise RTC) over Cara Broadus (KT Kidz WC) 6-1

Our post-NCAA coverage has seen award winners announced for each of the seven conferences. One of the last items from our 2023-24 coverage is the InterMat All-Freshman team. The future is bright as our first team combined for nine All-American honors and contains representation from four of the seven conferences. Below are the wrestlers selected for the first team with a notation for second-team selections. 125 lbs - Luke Stanich (Lehigh) As a true freshman, Luke Stanich was initially pegged to redshirt and wrestle at 133 lbs. That changed when he was able to make 125 lbs and showed he could be a contender in year one. Stanich entered the Midlands Championships with a 5-1 record and came away with a title and a win over an All-American and three other eventual qualifiers. Stanich was unbeaten against EIWA foes which resulted in a conference title and a second seed at his first NCAA Tournament. Though he suffered an upset in the second round, Stanich reeled off three consecutive wins to clinch All-American status. His bloodround win was a 4-0 shutout over 2023 NCAA runner-up Matt Ramos (Purdue). Stanich would finish his tournament avenging his earlier upset, by downing Caleb Smith (Nebraska) for fifth place. Second Team: Braeden Davis (Penn State) 133 lbs - Ryan Crookham (Lehigh) It only took two weeks for the wrestling world to get turned on its collective heads. That’s when redshirt freshman Ryan Crookham upset returning national champion Vito Arujau (Cornell) at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic. A few weeks after that stunning win, Crookham took out returning Big Ten runner-up and All-American Aaron Nagao (Penn State) - showing that he was no one-hit-wonder. Crookham replicated his win over Arujau in the EIWA finals and headed to Kansas City undefeated and seeded second. He would coast until the semifinals where he ran into Arujau for the third time. In this instance, Arujau looked more like his typical self and handed Crookham, what would be his only loss of the season. The Lehigh freshman bounced back and grabbed third place after wins over fellow freshman stars Nasir Bailey and Evan Frost. Second Team: Nasir Bailey (Little Rock) 141 lbs - Sergio Lemley (Michigan) Interestingly enough, 141 lbs is the only weight class where a freshman did not find their way to the NCAA podium. You could make a case for either Sergio Lemley or Tagen Jamsion, who defeated Lemley early in the season. Lemley got better as the year progressed and finished a bit stronger. In only his third dual, Lemley knocked off two-time All-American Clay Carlson (South Dakota State), which showed he was ready to compete at a high level as a true freshman. About a month later, he pulled a stunning upset by majoring returning NCAA runner-up Real Woods (Iowa). At the Big Ten Championships, Lemley finished fourth in a weight class that featured wrestlers who would go on to finish in the top four spots in Kansas City. At his first NCAA Tournament, Lemley earned a win and went on to face Brock Hardy (Nebraska) in the Round of 16. The two split matches previously; however, Hardy got the rubber match and went on to take third, Because of upsets throughout the bracket, Lemley had a difficult matchup in the consolations and was subsequently eliminated. Second Team: Tagen Jamison (Oklahoma State) 149 lbs - Tyler Kasak (Penn State) Initially, Penn State went into the 2023-24 season with All-American Shayne Van Ness as their probable starter. When Van Ness went down with an injury, the 141 lb true freshman Tyler Kasak stepped in and didn’t really miss a beat. After finishing third in the Big Ten, Kasak was given the seventh seed at nationals. Right off the bat, Kasak was stunned by 2021 All-American Jaden Abas (Stanford) in his NCAA debut. The early loss didn’t seem to phase Kasak, who battled all the way back and won seven straight consolation matches to take third place. Along the way, he racked up bonus points, with a fall and four major decisions. In the bloodround, with a spot on the podium hanging in the balance, Kasak edged #3 Jackson Arrington (NC State), 5-4. In the consolation semis, Kasak majored the top seed, Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) the Big Ten champion. Second Team: Ty Watters (West Virginia) 157 lbs - Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) As one might expect, Meyer Shapiro, the top recruit in the high school Class of 2023, had sky-high expectations for his first year on the collegiate scene. Despite wrestling in one of the deepest weight classes, Shapiro quickly established himself as one of the key contenders at the weight. Though he didn’t place at the CKLV Invitational, Shapiro did post an impressive major decision victory over Virginia Tech’s multi-time All-American Bryce Andonian. The two losses Shapiro suffered in Vegas accounted for almost all of his losses (3). Shapiro had a second half of the season that saw him earn wins over three returning All-Americans, an EIWA championship, and a third seed at the national tournament. After two dominating wins, Shapiro was beaten in the quarterfinals by Stanford’s Daniel Cardenas. Cardenas also defeated him in Vegas. Shapiro didn’t get down, he won three consecutive bouts by bonus points to book a rematch with Cardenas in the third-place bout. Shapiro got the best of him this time, by a 10-4 score, to finish third in the country. Second Team: Ryder Downey (Northern Iowa) 165 lbs - Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) One of only two freshmen to capture Big Ten titles in 2024, Mitchell Mesenbrink stole the show with a 13-11 comeback win over two-time All-American Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin). The match lived up to the pre-match hype and was immediately deemed an instant classic. An undefeated record and a Big Ten title was enough to give Mesenbrink the number two seed at his first NCAA Tournament. Mesenbrink continued his point-scoring barrage at NCAA’s. After two bonus-point wins, he had to contend with multi-time All-American Cam Amine (Michigan). Mesenbrink’s major decision over Amine earlier in the season was a key win that showed he would be a contender in year one. While he didn’t get another major, Mesenbrink controlled the pace in a 6-1 victory. For a berth in the NCAA finals, Mesenbrink gave up an early takedown to Michael Caliendo (Iowa), then turned up the heat in a 17-9 major decision. It was the second time he notched bonus points on Caliendo in three matches this season. An NCAA finals berth made Mesenbrink one of only two freshmen to make the 2024 finals. In a highly anticipated bout, Mesenbrink met David Carr (Iowa State) who was seeking his second national title. After trailing by four points at the end of two periods, Mesenbrink continued pushing and closed the final deficit to 9-8. Second Team: Hunter Garvin (Stanford) 174 lbs - Rocco Welsh (Ohio State) At 174 lbs, we have another true freshman who was assumed to be redshirting in the 2023-24 campaign. With All-American Carson Kharchla in the starting lineup, Rocco Welsh started the year competing in open tournaments; however, he moved into the starting lineup for good after the New Year. Even though he was a true freshman, it was evident that Welsh could physically handle the rigors of the Big Ten schedule. Though he dealt with a few conference losses, Welsh was able to neutralize the offensive attack of some of the best wrestlers in the nation. When NCAA brackets were released, there was plenty of talk about a lopsided bracket and who would emerge from the bottom half. It ended up being the true freshman Welsh. The third time was the charm for Welsh against Big Ten champion Edmond Ruth (Illinois). Ruth had defeated Welsh by extremely close margins earlier in the season, but Welsh prevailed when it counted. Welsh would go on to lose 2-0 to Carter Starocci (Penn State) in the NCAA finals for Starocci’s fourth national title. Second Team: MJ Gaitan (Iowa State) 184 lbs - Bennett Berge (South Dakota State) Even though he missed the first month of the season, Bennett Berge quickly established himself as a difference-maker in the South Dakota State lineup. In just his second dual, Berge posted a major decision over recent CKLV placewinner Jadon Bullock who was instrumental in the Jackrabbits win over Michigan. That started a nine-match winning streak that was finally halted by the eventual national runner-up Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State). Berge ended up fourth in a Big 12 weight class that featured both of the eventual national finalists. He’s another freshman that was beaten in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, but battled back with an incredible run through the consolations. In his first match on the backside, Berge majored #8 Sam Wolf (Air Force), an opponent that defeated him at the Big 12 Championships. To lock up his spot on the podium, Berge got by the fifth seed Lenny Pinto (Nebraska), 13-8. In the consolation semis, Berge edged the Big Ten champion, Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota). He would finish his first national tournament in fourth place. Second Team: TJ Stewart (Virginia Tech) 197 lbs - Stephen Little (Little Rock) A 13-4 redshirt season for Stephen Little gave a few hints that the Kentucky native could be on the brink of a great freshman year in 2023-24. In his second event of the season, Little posted a 7-3 win over returning Round of 12 finisher Jaxon Smith (Maryland). During the regular season, Little only lost a pair of matches and he entered the NCAA Tournament on a 14-match winning streak. In Kansas City, Little thrived in pressure situations, scoring two of his biggest wins in extra time. In his first consolation bout, Little knocked off Big Ten runner-up Zach Glazier (Iowa) in sudden victory. Two matches later, he knocked off All-American Louie DePrez (Binghamton) in overtime. Little finished his tournament with a win over the EIWA champion and #4 Michael Beard (Lehigh) in the seventh-place bout. Prior to the 2024 national tournament, Little Rock only had one national qualifier. With Little’s win and Nasir Bailey’s finish, the Trojans left with a pair of freshman All-Americans. Second Team: Joey Novak (Wyoming) 285 lbs - Nick Feldman (Ohio State) The top recruit in the Class of 2022, Nick Feldman, was injured during his redshirt campaign and didn’t compete at all so expectations were tempered a bit for him in his first year as the Buckeyes starter. Feldman was solid in the early going but really seemed to get better as the year progressed. In Ohio State’s surprising upset of Michigan, Feldman’s win over two-time All-American Lucas Davison slammed the door shut. Feldman proved that was no fluke with another win over Davison in the Big Ten semifinals. Despite making the Big Ten finals, Feldman was given the ninth seed at nationals. Feldman put up a pair of bonus point wins before a narrow 1-0 loss to the eventual champion, #1 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State), in the quarters. After securing All-American honors, Feldman closed his freshman year with an 11-4 win over perennial contender Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State). Second Team: Dayton Pitzer (Pittsburgh)

Two weeks from now is one of the crown jewels of American wrestling, the Olympic Team Trials. Before getting to the Trials, we have to finalize the field. That will be done this weekend as USA Wrestling is holding the Last Chance Qualifier event on Saturday and Sunday in Fairfax, Virginia. 18 winners, spread across the three styles, will earn berths in the Trials. There is a strict qualifying criteria for the Olympic Team Trials so there are plenty of very talented wrestlers that have not locked up their place in the brackets in State College. One women’s freestyle bracket has four 2020(1) Trials qualifiers fighting amongst themselves (and others) for one berth at the Trials. A men’s freestyle weight has two NCAA champions, neither of which are seeded, vying for one of the coveted spots at the Trials. Simply put, there’s a lot at stake this weekend. Here are some of the storylines to follow as you watch on Saturday and Sunday. The Kids Since this is an open event you get all kinds of entries. Post-grads, collegiate stars, and small college sensations are aplenty. Perhaps the most intriguing “type” of entry is that of the high school superstars. Most of the men’s freestyle weight classes have multiple high school phenoms that will test their respective hands against older competition. With each year and each generation, the kids seemingly get better and more suited towards competing against their elders. So top high school juniors and seniors facing postgrads isn’t necessarily a mismatch or a novelty. The kids are ready to win. Look no further than the 2023-24 collegiate season where high school junior Marcus Blaze defeated the returning NCAA runner-up, Matt Ramos, during the first weekend of the year. Current high school sophomore, Jax Forrest, handed the eventual NCAA fifth-place finisher at 125 lbs, Luke Stanich, a loss at the Mat-Town Open. Forrest defeated three national qualifiers this season in open tournaments. We’ve already seen Stanford’s incoming freshman, Aden Valencia, have success at the Senior level. Valencia has already placed at the US Open and Senior Nationals within the last year. Valencia is actually seeded number one at 65 kg. We’ll talk more about that weight class in a few; however, Valencia isn’t the only top high schooler in the bracket. Arizona State signee Pierson Manville and sophomore star Bo Bassett are among the entries, as well. Having the top-flight high school wrestlers competing against Senior level competition will give us an idea of what to expect from them once they enroll at their respective colleges. Below are some of the notable high schoolers who have registered for the men’s freestyle tournament - along with their overall ranking in their class. 57 kg: Jax Forrest (#2 in 2026), Mason Gibson (#15 in 2024), Anthony Knox (#4 in 2025), Nathan Desmond (#17 in 2025) 65 kg: Pierson Manville (#19 in 2024), Bo Bassett (#3 in 2026), Aden Valencia (#11 in 2024) 74 kg: Joseph Sealey (#3 in 2024), Charlie Millard, (#23 in 2024), Grigor Cholakyan (#36 in 2024), Will Henckel (#5 in 2025) 86 kg: Aeoden Sinclair (#8 in 2024) 97 kg: Cole Mirasola (#13 in 2024) 65 kg Men’s freestyle is absurd! As mentioned above, the 65 kg men’s freestyle bracket has a high schooler (Valencia) as the number one seed, but don’t get it confused. The bracket is stacked…and deep. The other three seeds are #2 Matt Kolodzik, #3 Jaydin Eierman, and #4 Ian Parker. Unseeded wrestlers include national champions Anthony Ashnault, Dean Heil, and three-time All-American Michael McGee. Current collegiate wrestlers include Jordan Williams, Carter Young, Wyatt Henson, and Josh Koderhandt. Remember, only the champion advances to the Olympic Team Trials, so there will be some excellent competitors that will be sitting at home in two weeks. 50 kg Women’s Bracket Along the same lines at 65 kg in men’s freestyle, the women’s 50 kg bracket has a ton of talent. Look no further than the 2020(1) Olympic Trials as three of the women that appeared in that bracket are competing for that one slot this year. They are Nina Pham, Aleeah Gould, and Charlotte Fowler. North Central’s Jaslynn Gallegos wrestled in the last Olympic Trials, as well, up at 53 kg. That doesn’t even include the Iowa contingent of Sterling Dias and Nyla Valencia. Dias is a two-time U17 world medalist, while Valencia has competed at U23 World’s, herself. Pham will assume the top seed, while another tough competitor, Natalie Reyna-Rodriguez, takes the second seed. Reyna-Rodriguez was a four-time collegiate All-American who finished up on Southern Oregon’s 2023 NAIA national title-winning team. Valencia and Dias will get the third and fourth seeds, respectively. Penn State past, present, and future at 74 kg Up and down the brackets there’s plenty of Penn State flavor. With four national champions in 2024 and a boatload of past medals from Nittany Lion Wrestling Club members, there are plenty of wrestlers with Penn State ties who have already qualified for the Trials. A few more are looking to do so at 74 kgs. That bracket should give you a glimpse of yesterday, today, and tomorrow for the Nittany Lions. Two-time national champion Vincenzo Joseph has entered. He’s proven that when locked in and focused (and even when he isn’t), Joseph is among the top wrestlers on the domestic ladder. He has the top seed at 74 kg and should be considered a solid favorite. Right behind Joseph, at the second seed, is Nittany Lion-signee Joseph Sealey. Sealey was a U17 world champion in 2022 at 71 kg. Last fall, Sealey was a winner at Who’s #1 over fellow Penn State recruit, Will Henckel. Henckel is also in the field at this weight. The fourth seed at 74 kg is current Nittany Lion Terrell Barraclough. Barraclough has never been Penn State’s starter during the postseason but could have an impact at the national tournament if given the chance. This season, Barraclough was 12-2 split between 165 and 174, with his only losses coming to teammate Mitchell Mesenbrink and Michigan’s Shane Griffith. He notched wins over former All-American Jackson Turley and 2023 Round of 12’er Caleb Fish.