InterMat Staff

The top prospect in the high school Class of 2026, Bo Bassett, has vowed to keep fans abreast of his recruiting with daily Wednesday updates. Well, today is Wednesday and true to his word, Bassett has posted an updated graphic which has eliminated a handful of schools from consideration. Earlier this year, Bassett posted a graphic that contained the logos of approximately 80 schools, most of the DI variety, but some DII’s as well, to signify that he’s totally open in the recruiting process. The following schools were removed from this week’s graphic: Appalachian State, Central Michigan, Cleveland State, Drexel, Kent State, Ohio, and St. Cloud State The following schools remain on Bassett’s graphic and therefore in contention for his services: Air Force, American, Arizona State, Army West Point, Brown, Bucknell, California Baptist, Cal Poly, Campbell, Clarion, Columbia, Cornell, CSU Bakersfield, Edinboro, George Mason, Harvard, Hofstra, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Lehigh, Little Rock, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Millersville, Minnesota, Missouri, Navy, NC State, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Penn, Penn State, Pitt-Johnstown, Pittsburgh, Princeton, Purdue, Rider, Rutgers, South Dakota State, Stanford, The Citadel, Virginia, Virginia Tech, UW Parkside, West Virginia, West Liberty, Wisconsin, Wyoming. The following schools were removed from last week’s graphic: Binghamton, Bloomsburg, Duke, Gardner-Webb, Northern Illinois, Sacred Heart, SIU Edwardsville As you would expect, most traditional DI power programs are still in the hunt for the two-time Super 32 and Ironman champion. Bassett is currently training for the U20 Pan-American Championships and the U20 World Championships. The U20 Pan-American tournament takes place July 11th-13th in Lima, Peru and the U20 World Championships are September 2nd-8th in Pontevedra, Spain. In 2021, Bassett captured gold medals in both freestyle and Greco-Roman at the U17 Pan-American Championships. That same year, at the U17 World Championships, Bassett claimed a gold medal in freestyle and was 12th in Greco. He’ll compete this year just in freestyle.

The guys are back with another addition of the InterMat Wrestling podcast. In today's edition, they talk about the possibility of AJ Ferrari returning to college wrestling, the Christian Carroll transfer, Bo Bassett's recruitment and the new era of recruiting. Finally, they wrap-up by talking about some of the recent coaching hires. For the full show:

Somerset

Watertown

Rossville

Northview

Malvern Prep

Cleveland

One of the more overlooked stories of this collegiate offseason is the coaching situation at Bloomsburg University. On or around May 8th, head coach Marcus Gordon resigned from his post leading the Huskie wrestling program. That move may have slipped under the radar as the school never made an official announcement regarding the change. Those closest to the program were aware of the change and without any acknowledgment of the situation from the school, began to fear the worse. In today’s climate for big-time collegiate athletics, the Power Five (now four) DI conferences appear to be running away from the rest of the country in hopes of building the biggest collegiate football league possible. There will be hundreds of millions of dollars, even billions, in this venture for the lucky few - however, the have-nots are left to fight for scraps and a place at the table. With that in mind, colleges around the country are tightening their financial belts in the event that they’ll receive less money from TV and football revenue. Many schools have been in this mode since Covid. Those financial concerns have been front and center in Pennsylvania, primarily the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), a DII conference in the state. Bloomsburg, along with Clarion, Edinboro, and Lock Haven are members of the PSAC and are DII schools that compete at the DI level in wrestling. Mercyhurst left the conference in 2024 to join the Northeast Conference as they transition to full-time DI status for their athletic department. Dwindling enrollment numbers have even forced some of these schools to band together. Clarion and Edinboro are technically known as Penn West University Clarion or Edinboro, along with Penn West University California. So, with the combination of a lack of funds - for entire institutions (not just wrestling programs), a team that went 8-28 over the past two years, the cost to compete in DI wrestling nowadays (with NIL and more), plus a coach stepping down and not being publicly acknowledged by the school, fans of Bloomsburg wrestling and the sport, in general, feared the worst. The worst being the program would be cut and a “not terrible” alternative would be the Bloomsburg wrestling program dropping to DII status. East Stroudsburg and Millersville are two PSAC programs that previously wrestled at the DI level, but have moved down to DII within the last 15 years. I assume most wrestling fans would prefer to have as many DI programs as possible; however, you’d rather see a program drop to DII rather than being cut altogether. Those rumors of a change in direction regarding the Bloomsburg wrestling program and athletic department were not ignored by InterMat, as we’ve been doing some digging on the topic. What we’ve found is some rare good news on the subject. There were concerns from the athletic department on the status of the program, which led to an internal evaluation. The athletic department has made a decision to renew its commitment to wrestling by increasing coaching salaries in hopes of landing the best possible candidate. Just as important, the uncertainty surrounding the program has led alums and friends of the program to be reinvigorated, reenergized, and committed to more involvement going forward. Along the same lines, there have been some new and significant donors who have stepped up to help the program. The head coaching position has been advertised and the school will accept applications until July 11th. So, with increased support and an athletic department that is set on increasing the profile of its program, who will Bloomsburg hire? In part two, we’ll look at some candidates that have expressed interest or make sense for an opening like this.

More than three months have passed since the conclusion of the 2024 NCAA Championships. In simpler times, we’d be able to look at the results from the tournament and ascertain who is returning and which teams have the most points coming back. In this current era of college athletics, such an exercise is not so cut-and-dry. At least in late-March it isn’t. With the transfer portal now a way of life and movement from transfers is expected rather than a novelty, lineups can change significantly in the spring and early summer. Another unique quirk in this current era is the extra year of eligibility for wrestlers who were active during the 2020-21 season that was disrupted via Covid. In some cases, wrestlers have declined that extra year of eligibility. Most of the big point scorers have exercised the option to continue competition. With all of that in mind, most of the big-name transfers have announced their new destinations (or that they’ll remain with their current schools). So now it’s time to calculate returning team points - including transfer additions. And for the all-important ground rules. We’ve only counted wrestlers who competed at the 2024 NCAA Championships. For the most part, that gives us a clear picture of which teams will be strong in 2024-25. Of course, there are some outliers like Illinois and Northern Colorado, who have significant point-scorers who are left out. Oklahoma State is another unusual team for this exercise. They added a handful of transfers, a few of whom might be expected to move weights. We did not factor in three of their qualifiers that may not be in the starting lineup. 1. Penn State - 133 points 125 lbs - Braeden Davis (2 points) 133 lbs - Aaron Nagao (3 points) 141 lbs - Beau Bartlett (20 points) 149 lbs - Tyler Kasak (19 points) 157 lbs - Levi Haines (26 points) 165 lbs - Mitchell Mesenbrink (19.5 points) 174 lbs - Carter Starocci (20 points) 285 lbs - Greg Kerkvliet (23.5 points) 2. Ohio State - 60.5 points 125 lbs - Brendan McCrone (1.5 points) 133 lbs - Nic Bouzakis (1.5 points) 141 lbs - Jesse Mendez (23.5 points) 149 lbs - Dylan D’Emilio (2 points) 174 lbs - Rocco Welsh (16 points) 184 lbs - Ryder Rogotzke (3 points) 197 lbs - Luke Geog (0 points) 285 lbs - Nick Feldman (13 points) 3. Arizona State - 53.5 points 125 lbs - Richie Figueroa (22 points) 133 lbs - Julian Chlebove (1 point) 141 lbs - Jesse Vasquez (3.5 points) 157 lbs - Jacori Teemer (17 points) 174 lbs - Cael Valencia (1 point) 285 lbs - Cohlton Schultz (9 points) 4. Nebraska - 53 points 125 lbs - Caleb Smith (9 points) 133 lbs - Jacob Van Dee (1 point) 141 lbs - Brock Hardy (19 points) 149 lbs - Ridge Lovett (12 points) 165 lbs - Antrell Taylor (6.5 points) 184 lbs - Lenny Pinto (3.5 points) 197 lbs - Silas Allred (2 points) 285 lbs - Nash Hutmacher (0 points) 5. Iowa - 52.5 points 125 lbs - Drake Ayala (18.5 points) 149 lbs - Kyle Parco (11 points) 149 lbs - Caleb Rathjen (2.5 points) 165 lbs - Michael Caliendo (15 points) 174 lbs - Patrick Kennedy (3 points) 197 lbs - Zach Glazier (1.5 points) 285 lbs - Bradley Hill (1 point) 6. Oklahoma State - 51.5 points 125 lbs - Troy Spratley (2 points) 141 lbs - Tagen Jamison (0 points) 149 lbs - Jordan Williams (3 points) 157 lbs - Teague Travis (1.5 points) 165 lbs - Cam Amine (2 points) 165 lbs - Dean Hamiti (5 points) 184 lbs - Dustin Plott (20.5 points) 197 lbs - Luke Surber (0 points) 285 lbs - Wyatt Hendrickson (17.5 points) Also: 165 lbs - Caleb Fish (2 points) 174 lbs - Brayden Thompson (0 points) 285 lbs - Konner Doucet (1.5 points) 7. Virginia Tech - 50.5 points 133 lbs - Sam Latona (1 point) 141 lbs - Tom Crook (1.5 points) 149 lbs - Caleb Henson (22.5 points) 165 lbs - Connor Brady (0 points) 174 lbs - Lennox Wolak (10 points) 184 lbs - TJ Stewart (10 points) 197 lbs - Andy Smith (2 points) 285 lbs - Hunter Catka (3.5 points) 8. Iowa State - 43.5 points 125 lbs - Kysen Terukina (0.5 points) 133 lbs - Evan Frost (9 points) 141 lbs - Anthony Echemendia (13.5 points) 149 lbs - Casey Swiderski (7.5 points) 157 lbs - Cody Chittum (2 points) 174 lbs - MJ Gaitan (4.5 points) 197 lbs - Evan Bockman (1 point) 285 lbs - Yonger Bastida (5.5 points) 9. Northern Iowa - 39.5 points 133 lbs - Julian Farber (0 points) 141 lbs - Cael Happel (2.5 points) 157 lbs - Ryder Downey (4.5 points) 165 lbs - Jack Thomsen (2 points) 174 lbs - Jared Simma (2 points) 184 lbs - Parker Keckeisen (26 points) 197 lbs - Wyatt Voelker (2.5 points) 10. Lehigh - 36.5 points 125 lbs - Luke Stanich (12 points) 133 lbs - Ryan Crookham (13.5 points) 141 lbs - Malyke Hines (0 points) 149 lbs - Kelvin Griffin (0 points) 157 lbs - Max Brignola (0 points) 197 lbs - Michael Beard (9 points) 285 lbs - Nathan Taylor (2 points) 11. Missouri - 35 points 125 lbs - Noah Surtin (0 points) 133 lbs - Kade Moore (0 points) 141 lbs - Josh Edmond (3 points) 149 lbs - Logan Gioffre (0 points) 165 lbs - Keegan O’Toole (21 points) 184 lbs - Colton Hawks (2 points) 197 lbs - Rocky Elam (9 points) 12 (tie). South Dakota State - 34 points 125 lbs - Tanner Jordan (6 points) 133 lbs - Derrick Cardinal (0.5 points) 149 lbs - Alek Martin (0 points) 157 lbs - Cael Swensen (1.5 points) 174 lbs - Cade DeVos (11.5 points) 184 lbs - Bennett Berge (14.5 points) 12 (tie). Stanford - 34 points 125 lbs - Nico Provo (2.5 points) 149 lbs - Jaden Abas (2 points) 157 lbs - Daniel Cardenas (15.5 points) 165 lbs - Hunter Garvin (12.5 points) 197 lbs - Nick Stemmet (1.5 points) 14. West Virginia - 31.5 points 125 lbs - Jett Strickenberger (0 points) 141 lbs - Jordan Titus (0.5 points) 149 lbs - Ty Watters (20 points) 165 lbs - Peyton Hall (11 points) 174 lbs - Brody Conley (0 points) 15. Cornell - 31 points 125 lbs - Brett Ungar (1.5 points) 149 lbs - Ethan Fernandez (1 point) 157 lbs - Meyer Shapiro (21 points) 165 lbs - Julian Ramirez (2 points) 184 lbs - Chris Foca (5.5 points) 16. Michigan - 31 points 133 lbs - Dylan Ragusin (11 points) 141 lbs - Sergio Lemley (1 point) 157 lbs - Chase Saldate (0 points) 184 lbs - Jaden Bullock (3.5 points) 197 lbs - Jacob Cardenas (15.5 points) 17. NC State - 29 points 125 lbs - Jakob Camacho (3.5 points) 133 lbs - Kai Orine (6.5 points) 141 lbs - Ryan Jack (8.5 points) 149 lbs - Jackson Arrington (3 points) 157 lbs - Ed Scott (4.5 points) 165 lbs - Derek Fields (0 points) 184 lbs - Dylan Fishback (1.5 points) 285 lbs - Owen Trephan (1.5 points) 18. Oklahoma - 26.5 points 141 lbs - Cleveland Belton (2.5 points) 149 lbs - Willie McDougald (1 point) 174 lbs - Gaven Sax (4 points) 197 lbs - Stephen Buchanan (17 points) 285 lbs - Josh Heindselman (2 points) 19. Little Rock - 24 points 133 lbs - Nasir Bailey (12.5 points) 157 lbs - Matt Bianchi (0 points) 165 lbs - Joey Bianchi (2 points) 197 lbs - Stephen Little (9 points) 285 lbs - Josiah Hill (0.5 points) 20. Minnesota - 21.5 points 125 lbs - Cooper Flynn (1 point) 133 lbs - Tyler Wells (2.5 points) 141 lbs - Vance Vombaur (5.5 points) 149 lbs - Drew Roberts (0 points) 157 lbs - Tommy Askey (3 points) 165 lbs - Blaine Brenner (0 points) 174 lbs - Andrew Sparks (0.5 points) 184 lbs - Isaiah Salazar (9 points) 285 lbs - Bennett Tabor (0 points) 21. Rutgers - 19 points 125 lbs - Dean Peterson (0.5 points) 133 lbs - Dylan Shawver (7.5 points) 149 lbs - Michael Cetta (1.5 points) 174 lbs - Jackson Turley (1 point) 184 lbs - Brian Soldano (0 points) 197 lbs - John Poznanski (2 points) 285 lbs - Yaraslau Slavikouski (6.5 points) 22. Oregon State - 18 points 184 lbs - Trey Munoz (17.5 points) 197 lbs - Justin Rademacher (0.5 points) 23. Ohio - 16 points 157 lbs - Peyten Kellar (15 points) 165 lbs - Garrett Thompson (1 point) 285 lbs - Jordan Greer (0 points) 24. Lock Haven - 14 points 125 lbs - Anthony Noto (13.5 points) 133 lbs - Gable Strickland (0.5 points) 141 lbs - Wyatt Henson (0 points) 157 lbs - Nick Stampoulos (0 points) 25. North Carolina - 12.5 points 133 lbs - Ethan Oakley (1.5 points) 141 lbs - Lachlan McNeil (10.5 points) 157 lbs - Sonny Santiago (0 points) 184 lbs - Gavin Kane (0.5 points) 26. Wyoming - 11.5 points 125 lbs - Jore Volk (6 points) 149 lbs - Gabe Willochell (2.5 points) 157 lbs - Jared Hill (0 points) 197 lbs - Sam Mitchell (1.5 points) 197 lbs - Joey Novak (1.5 points) 27. Campbell - 10 points 133 lbs - Dom Zaccone (1 point) 165 lbs - Dom Baker (2.5 points) 197 lbs - Levi Hopkins (0 points) 285 lbs - Taye Ghadiali (6.5 points) 28. Pittsburgh - 9 points 149 lbs - Finn Solomon (0.5 points) 174 lbs - Luca Augustine (0.5 points) 184 lbs - Reece Heller (2.5 points) 197 lbs - Mac Stout (3.5 points) 285 lbs - Dayton Pitzer (2.5 points) 29. Maryland - 8.5 points 133 lbs - Braxton Brown (2 points) 141 lbs - Kal Miller (0 points) 149 lbs - Ethen Miller (2 points) 197 lbs - Jaxon Smith (0.5 points) 285 lbs - Seth Nevills (4 points) 30. Illinois - 7.5 points 141 lbs - Danny Pucino (0 points) 165 lbs - Chris Moore (0 points) 174 lbs - Edmond Ruth (7.5 points) 31 (tie). Bucknell - 5 points 133 lbs - Kurt Phipps (3 points) 141 lbs - Dylan Chappell (0.5 points) 165 lbs - Noah Mulvaney (1 point) 174 lbs - Myles Takats (0.5 points) 31 (tie). Central Michigan - 5 points 157 lbs - Johnny Lovett (1.5 points) 174 lbs - Alex Cramer (3.5 points) 33 (tie). Binghamton - 4.5 points 165 lbs - Brevin Cassella (1.5 points) 285 lbs - Cory Day (3 points) 33 (tie). Penn - 4.5 points 125 lbs - Max Gallager (0 points) 141 lbs - CJ Composto (2 points) 149 lbs - Jude Swisher (1.5 points) 174 lbs - Nick Incontrera (1.5 points) 184 lbs - Max Hale (0 points) 35 (tie). Cal Poly - 4 points 133 lbs - Zeth Romney (0 points) 149 lbs - Chance Lamer (2 points) 157 lbs - Legend Lamer (0.5 points) 174 lbs - Adam Kemp (1.5 points) 285 lbs - Trevor Tinker (0 points) 35 (tie). Virginia - 4 points 133 lbs - Marlon Yarbrough (2 points) 165 lbs - Nick Hamilton (2 points) 37 (tie). Army West Point - 3 points 125 lbs - Ethan Berginc (0 points) 133 lbs - Braden Basile (3 points) 165 lbs - Gunner Filipowicz (0 points) 285 lbs - Lucas Stoddard (0 points) 37 (tie). California Baptist - 3 points 125 lbs - Eli Griffin (3 points) 133 lbs - Hunter Leake (0 points) 37 (tie). George Mason - 3 points 157 lbs - DJ McGee (0.5 points) 165 lbs - Evan Maag (0 points) 184 lbs - Malachi DuVall (2.5 points) 37 (tie). Navy - 3 points 141 lbs - Josh Koderhandt (2 points) 174 lbs - Danny Wask (1 point) 37 (tie). Rider - 3 points 125 lbs - Tyler Klinsky (0 points) 157 lbs - Colton Washleski (1.5 points) 174 lbs - Michael Wilson (0 points) 285 lbs - David Szuba (1.5 points) 42 (tie). Columbia - 2.5 points 141 lbs - Kai Owen (0.5 points) 184 lbs - Aaron Ayzerov (2 points) 197 lbs - Jack Wehmeyer (0 points) 42 (tie). Indiana - 2.5 points 165 lbs - Tyler Lillard (2.5 points) 42 (tie). Northern Colorado - 2.5 points 125 lbs - Stevo Poulin (2 points) 133 lbs - Dominick Serrano (0 points) 157 lbs - Vince Zerban (0.5 points) 42 (tie). Northwestern - 2.5 points 157 lbs - Trevor Chumbley (0.5 points) 165 lbs - Maxx Mayfield (1 point) 197 lbs - Evan Bates (1 point) 42 (tie). Purdue - 2.5 points 125 lbs - Matt Ramos (2 points) 141 lbs - Greyson Clark (0.5 points) 157 lbs - Joey Blaze (0 points) 165 lbs - Stoney Buell (0 points) 174 lbs - Brody Baumann (0 points)

The first day of July marked a new beginning for Hofstra’s wrestling team as they announced their new head coach. Hofstra fans don’t need an introduction as it is a familiar face - Jamie Franco. Franco, a Hofstra alum, returns to the team after spending the 2023-24 season on the Columbia coaching staff. During his only year at Columbia, the Lions finished tied for fourth place in the EIWA and sent four wrestlers to the NCAA Championships. One of them, Lennox Wolak, earned All-American honors and was the first Columbia wrestler to do so in over a decade. Before moving to Columbia, Franco spent seven years on the Hofstra staff under the previous head coach, Dennis Papadatos. During those final two seasons, Franco held the title of associate head coach. Almost two months ago, to the date, Papadatos stepped down from his post to pursue a position within the Hofstra athletic department. As a student-athlete, Franco qualified for the NCAA Tournament on three occasions. As a junior, Franco won a CAA title and won a pair of matches at nationals. His senior season was the school’s first in the EIWA and Franco finished fifth in the nation’s largest conference. Franco won 75 matches in a Hofstra singlet and was a team captain. During his competitive career, Franco was a starter on three CAA championship-winning teams. Hofstra does not return any wrestlers with past NCAA experience; however, they bring back eight of the ten wrestlers who competed in the 2024 EIWA Championships.

The city of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania has been part of a traditional wrestling hotspot for generations. Nestled in the Lehigh Valley – which many consider to be home to the best wrestling in the country – Lehigh University sits a stone’s throw away from where the former Bethlehem Steel Corporation was located. The gritty, hard-working residents most likely stem from generations of steelworkers transferring this attitude onto the wrestling mat. Pennsylvania’s District 11 is known nationwide thanks to cities like Bethlehem, which have had various factories, cement plants, and other forms of blue-collar jobs since the Industrial Revolution. Lehigh’s pristine location creates a large sampling of top-notch talent in their own backyard. Lehigh has always excelled at keeping local talent home. They’ve seen success at all levels of wrestling. The goal in wrestling has always been to be the best in the world - ultimately, an Olympic Champion. The last Mountain Hawk to achieve this was Bobby Weaver – who won a gold medal at 48 kgs (105.5lbs) in 1984. Bobby Weaver was another local wrestler, graduating from Easton High School just up the road from Bethlehem. Weaver eventually began running a local club, where many of the best wrestlers went to train. Who wouldn’t want to learn from an Olympic gold medalist? Plus, how many young wrestlers have the opportunity? Current Lehigh Head Associate Head Coach, Brad Dillon was lucky enough to train under Bobby Weaver. This led to a fantastic high school career in District 11, and eventually earned him All-American honors twice while competing as a Lehigh Mountain Hawk. He stated “Bobby Weaver was probably the biggest influence of my career. I spent a lot of time with him in the wrestling room growing up. Fortunately, he’s trained a few guys I have coached here at Lehigh.” Dillon laughed as he said, “I remember a lot of the practices where he would kick my butt in live goes.” Many of the techniques and tricks learned from Weaver are still taught at Lehigh to this day. This Weaver connection helped local talent click with the coaches. More recently, in the past decade, two local products have really made an impact. Not by coincidence, they both trained at Weaver Elite growing up. First is Darian Cruz, a 2013 graduate of Bethlehem Catholic. He became Lehigh’s first true freshman All-American in over 30 years when he earned 7th place at 125 lbs in March of 2014. Like Weaver, he was a lightweight who didn’t fear being smaller than the competition. Cruz was outsized but gained major confidence after putting together an incredible first season. This size difference was obvious to anyone who watched him compete that year. Cruz smiled as he remembered weighing in at 118lbs before morning practices multiple times his true freshman year. “Some days, they (the coaches) wouldn’t let me practice. I would go to lunch with Doug Vollaro and Max Wessel, the heavyweights, and sit there for hours to try and get my weight up. I had a gallon of water in the other hand.” Coach Dillon told a similar story where he had to “train Darian to eat.” He had to engrain the concept into Darian that he needed to expand his stomach to get more calories into his system. With more calories, he’d be able to put on mass. He was also lifting more often than the rest of the team, usually five to six times per week. This helped somewhat. But he would never get to be a full-sized 125 lb wrestler that first season. More impressively, Cruz weighed in at 121 lbs the final day of NCAAs that year. It’s commonplace to see wrestlers in the back cutting weight once they finish for the night. It is not rare for a wrestler having to lose ten pounds or more to compete the following day. Not Darian. He had the luxury of relaxing and going to bed on a full stomach. Cruz made history when he became an NCAA Champion a few years later in 2017. He was Lehigh’s 28th individual NCAA Champion, which is the 6th most of any NCAA D1 team. Coincidentally, his opponent that year, Ethan Lizak of the University of Minnesota, attended Parkland High School. For those wondering, Parkland and Bethlehem Catholic (BECA) high schools are exactly 12.5 miles apart. Cruz and Lizak have been wrestling each other since elementary school. Plus, they trained together growing up every now and then. It was a great time to be a wrestling fan in the Lehigh Valley that day in March! Darian Cruz in the 2017 NCAA finals; Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo Darian’s dream of winning an NCAA title for the program he grew up watching became a reality. It also created the same dream for young wrestlers in the area, especially Ryan Crookham. Ryan was sitting in the Lehigh section during Darian’s championship run. He also watched Zeke Moisey (another former Weaver Elite member) make his Cinderella story run two years prior. Moisey was a high school teammate of Cruz. During his college years, Darian did many clinics and private lessons with local talent. One of the talented up-and-coming studs was no other than Crookham. Ryan and Darian created a bond very early on, and that bond continues to this day. Crookham was a product of Saucon Valley High School, in Hellertown PA. Hellertown is a small town that borders the larger city of Bethlehem. Attending a Lehigh dual inside “the snake pit” is a unique atmosphere in college wrestling. The excitement of a dual is captivating from a young age. This was true for Ryan, as he was a season ticket holder. He fell in love with the quality of wrestling. “I’ve always associated this venue with high-level wrestling, even the ‘Who’s Number 1’ event for the high school level” Ryan’s list of favorite memories in this venue is almost endless. His retention of them is encyclopedia-like. You can get the sense his wrestling IQ is, and always has been, advanced. There were other options for Ryan Crookham – but he was barely interested. Lehigh was where he wanted to be. Between the wrestling and academics, it was the perfect fit. Being so close to home was just a bonus. Ryan explained he is in an honor’s program that combines engineering and business. Coach Dillon laughed when he said “Ryan is much like a 40-year-old man. He has, like, a portfolio of his NIL deals. Life after wrestling is not a concern for Ryan.” His competitiveness and desire to be great in all aspects of life will pay dividends in the long run. Crookham concluded, “I made the decision early and haven’t regretted it since. It’s been even better than I imagined. I’m more than happy being at Lehigh.” We went on a bit of a tangent regarding NIL and the sport of wrestling during our chat. He was full of great insight! Both wrestlers were named All-Americans in their freshman season. Darian’s occurred while he was a true freshman. Ryan’s occurred after a redshirt season. Cruz was 28-9 that year, finishing 3rd in the EIWA and 7th at NCAAs. Darian’s was much quieter – not to any fault of his own. As we know, Crookham was blasted onto the scene in mid-November when he defeated returning NCAA and world champion, Vito Arujau of Cornell. Ryan took a loss later in March to Arujau – ending his NCAA tournament in 3rd place. It was his only loss of the season. In the end, Cruz ended his career as a three-time All-American. He is one of 19 in Lehigh’s history. Crookham is on path to become the school’s third-ever four-time All-American – he would be the first in over 40 years. For what it’s worth, his teammate, Luke Stanich, is also on this path. The Mountain Hawks have a special duo with these two freshmen. When looking at the two wrestlers, Darian and Ryan were nearly polar opposites. Coach Dillon discussed how Darian needed more “pushing and pulling when he was young” to understand what he needed to do in order to win. This vastly differed from Ryan’s “cerebral approach to everything.” Darian wanted to use his slickness all the time. He had to learn to do things the hard way when needed. Ryan came into college with the physicality and hand-fighting skills, so his approach varied. Darian was a mentor to Ryan – which may have helped Ryan mature at a quicker rate. Another aspect to keep in mind – Darian and Ryan’s freshman years were much different. Crookham was essentially the face of the program as a freshman. Darian’s time came later. At first glance, Darian’s career as a Mountain Hawk is already superior to Weaver’s. Weaver’s highest placement at NCAAs was 3rd in 1982. Darian’s 3X All-American status is better on paper, plus he holds an NCAA title to his name. Similarly, Ryan Crookham is on pace to overcome Weaver’s NCAA accolades. But, are Ryan’s goals in line with Darian and Bobby’s of becoming an Olympic Champion? Ryan’s freestyle results are minimal due to injuries in high school. “Anytime I am healthy in the future, I will be at the world team trials at 61kgs (134.5lbs). I love wrestling. I don’t specifically focus on one style… Competing at the 2028 Olympics would be the goal.” Unfortunately, he was still injured after NCAAs this season. It would have been great to see him compete against some of the best to see where he stands. He did not shoot down the possibility of coaching in the future, but it’s not currently on his radar. “Things may change in the future because I do like coaching. I’ve doing clinics this offseason at local schools, and it’s been fun,” he said with a smile. Before Cruz and Weaver, Gerry Leeman was a silver medalist at the 1948 Olympic Games. Leeman was the program’s head coach from 1952-1970, where he amassed 161 wins with a whopping .803 win percentage. Currently, Grace Hall is the building where Lehigh wrestles dual meets. The arena on the ground floor is called “Leeman-Turner Arena” after legendary coaches Gerry Leeman and Thad Turner. Leeman’s attributions go beyond his days of coaching and wrestling at Lehigh. Only time will tell how the legacy of Darian Cruz and Ryan Crookham will live on at Lehigh. Darian plans to get into coaching after competing. The ideal location for him would be his alma mater, similar to current coaches Brad Dillon and Zach Rey. Ryan Crookham’s assumption on Darian’s coaching ability parallels Coach Dillon's. Dillon stated Darian is very relatable to kids and has learned a lot from him over the years. Ryan mentioned how selfless Darian is as a person. “It was about a week or two before the Pan-Am qualifiers. I was coming back from injury and needed a workout partner. Darian volunteered without hesitation to let me get every rep in I needed for two to three days in a row. He was essentially a dummy partner for me as he was preparing to qualify for the Olympics.” Ryan promises to return the favor and give Darian all the reps he needs leading up to the Summer Games. On a personal note - I will never forget the night Darian won that NCAA title. I saw him that night with his Lehigh teammates hanging out after the final session concluded. He came over to chat. He didn’t need to. I congratulated him. After a minute of chit-chat, he said something I’ll never forget – “How cool is it that a normal guy like me won an NCAA title?” Maybe it’s the fact I’ve known Darian forever and watched him grow up. The thrill of being part of that special group of wrestlers was exciting to him. Next month, he will join an even smaller group of wrestlers who have been able to call themselves an “Olympian.” This was a reminder that his LVWC coach, Kerry McCoy mentioned to him shortly after qualifying. McCoy was an Olympian in 2000 and 2004. Cruz said, “It’s never ‘former.’ You are an Olympian forever.” Darian Cruz is set to compete at the 2024 Olympic Summer Games. He will represent Puerto Rico and is slated to compete on Thursday, August 8th. His weight class (like Bobby Weaver’s) is the smallest class at 57kgs (125.7lbs). Although he will be repping Puerto Rico, the wrestling fans from the United States will be rooting for Darian (except if he draws Spencer Lee). The Lehigh faithful and local wrestling community will be cheering on Darian no matter what. He’s been one of the most successful wrestlers hailing from District 11 in the past two decades, with an opportunity to become one of the best ever. Darian has been a local favorite since he was impressing crowds with his unbelievably advanced sweep singles at the age of six. When he puts on that singlet to represent the island nation of Puerto Rico, he isn’t doing it for himself. That’s what makes Darian so special. During our interview, it was made clear when he said “I’ve always been excited to represent something more than myself.” He explained there is no better feeling than seeing young athletes look up to him when he goes to train in Puerto Rico. “Every time I go there to train, I leave clothes and shoes and whatever for many of the kids. You never know how much it could mean to them.” There has been a wave of younger wrestlers competing for the island hailing from the USA, following in Darian’s footsteps. He would be Puerto Rico’s first Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling. “I could care less about trophies and medals. The biggest thing for me is to mean something to somebody else and inspire them to do great things.” Now, he’s a family man with a wife and two young children. Regardless of the outcome in August, he is already a hero to them and many more.

Transfer Portal Update There have been some additional commitments since my last article that will have big impacts on lineups for the coming season. Commitments Kendall Bostelman - from North Central to William Penn William Penn made a big splash last season with the arrival of Coaches Wilcke and Kadel from the now-closed Iowa Wesleyan along with many of their former teams top talent including Adaugo Nwachukwu and Mia Palumbo. The team went from 33rd place to 4th place at NAIA Nationals in one season. In addition to their strong recruiting class so far (keep an eye out for a lineup preview article), Kendall Bostelman will be another super charge for the Statesman program to keep them winning. Bostelman comes from last season’s NCWWC runner up North Central where she competed for two seasons. During her freshman season she became an All American, finishing sixth at the tournament after finishing third in her region. She has also earned a sixth place finish at the U23 World Team Trials in 2023. In her last season, she competed at 143 lbs and went 20-5, including 9 tech falls against her opponents. Bostelman’s offense can be lethal, so it will be exciting to see what momentum she adds to the already climbing William Penn squad. Kaelani Shufeldt - from Lock Haven to North Central While the Cardinals may have lost Bostelman from their lineup, they picked up an instant-impact competitor in Kaelani Shufeldt. Shufeldt was Lock Haven’s first two-time All American and first national finalist after coming up just short against Iowa’s Ava Bayless in the finals of NCWWCs. In the semifinals, Shufeldt pinned the No. 1 seed from North Central, Kendra Ryan. In fact, Shufeldt pinned every opponent in the tournament outside of Bayless. Shufeldt will head into her junior season with a career record of 50-8 with 18 pins last season. Back in December, Shufeldt placed fourth at 2023 Senior Nationals. Both Shufeldt and Ryan competed at 109 lbs last season, but Ryan is now listed at 116 on the North Central 2024-25 lineup. However, another consideration is North Central’s 3x All American Sydney Petzinger who also competes at 109 lbs. Regardless of how the regular lineup shapes up, the depth at these lower weights for this team is going to be hard to beat. In the portal There are still a few wrestlers who entered the portal that have not yet committed to a new school or announced they are staying at their current school that I would keep an eye on. Esther Han - Iowa (ranked in the top 5 last season at 136 lbs, MoVal Open Champ, ended season early due to injury) Payton Stroud - McKendree (3x All-American, 116 lbs) Claire Agostini - Adrian (Ranked in top-10 at 143 lbs last season) Two Collegiate Powerhouses Win Spots on U23 World Team At non-Olympic weight classes on the U23 Women’s World Team, there are circumstances that can create the possibility for a wrestle off for the spot(s) on the team. This year, challenges at the 65kg and 72kg weight classes were decided this week in wrestle offs in Colorado Springs. First was the challenge at 72kg where Kylie Welker of Iowa, defeated Aspen Barber in first two matches of the best-of-three competition. Welker was originally slated to wrestle Jasmine Robinson, who was unable to compete, pulling Barber into the spot after her third place finish at U23 Women’s Nationals earlier this year. With the win, Welker will take her fifth trip to a World Championship, this being her second in the U23 division. She already has a U20 gold medal as well as U17 and U23 bronze. Next was the competition for the spot at 65kg. There was first a one-match wrestle off between Adaugo Nwachukwu of William Penn and Claire DiCungo of King. Nwachukwu defeated her opponent 8-1 to move on to the best-of-three series against Aine Drury of King University, who was the 2024 U23 Nationals Champion. The two split the first two matches with Nwachukwu getting a 10-0 tech fall in the first and Drury taking a strategic 2-1 victory in the second. Drury had a 3-1 lead heading into the second period, however Nwachukwu was able to execute a low leg shot on the edge that led to a pin with just under two minutes left in the match. This will be Nwachukwu’s fourth World Championships. She received a bronze medal at U20 in 2022 and has also competed on the 2023 U23 and U20 world teams. The 2024 U23 World Championships will take place in late October of this year in Albania. Coaching Change at Southern Oregon Earlier this month, the athletic director at Southern Oregon announced that Head Coach Gabrielle Weyhrich is no longer employed at SOU as the head coach. While additional details of her departure have not been shared, the Athletic Director then announced this week that former Raider and 5x All American, Joye Levendusky will serve as interim head coach for the 2024-25 season. Levendusky served as an assistant coach in 2024. The statement did mention that at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, a full search for a new head coach will be conducted. Southern Oregon is coming off a 3rd place finish at the NAIA National Championships with 7 All-Americans including 2 National champs. New Conference to Sponsor Women’s Wrestling for 2024-25 Season It was announced on Monday that the American Rivers Conference will add Women’s Wrestling as the league’s 24th sponsored sport. The ARC will be the second NCAA D3 conference to sponsor women’s wrestling. Schools participating in this upcoming season will be Simpson College, University of Dubuque, Wartburg College, Buena Vista University, Central College, and Loras College. Wartburg finished with the highest team score of these schools at the 2024 NCWWC Nationals at 20th with two All-Americans. The first ARC wrestling championship will be held at Buena Vista University in Iowa in January of 2025.

Wahlert

With a few months before the high school preseason, the top recruits from the Class of 2025 continue to fly off the board. Before this week, only five of the top-60 recruits in the nation were uncommitted. That number dropped to four as North Carolina snapped one of those prospects up and added to an already impressive recruiting class. Even though fans and us in the media have started paying attention to the Classes of 2025 and 2026, some schools are still looking to solidify their incoming freshmen classes. Two of them recently picked up notable commitments. Those are all listed below in our latest recruiting update. #54 Matthew Botello (Wyoming Seminary via Massachusetts) to North Carolina One of the highest remaining uncommitted recruits from the Class of 2025 is off the board as #54 Matthew Botello has committed to North Carolina. It shouldn’t be a surprise that North Carolina was in the running for Botello as Tar Heel head coach Rob Koll was at Cornell while returning Matthew’s older brother, Mark. Matthew is the youngest of three brothers who have wrestled at the DI level - Nic, at Army West Point, is the other. Matthew is coming off a National Prep title at 132 lbs in which he defeated future teammate Nik O’Neill (Malvern Prep, PA) in the finals, 5-4. O’Neill was tabbed the #45 overall recruit in the Class of 2024 and has signed with UNC. On the national stage, Botello has plenty of accolades. During the 2023-24 regular season, he was a runner-up at the Powerade and fourth at the Walsh Ironman - his third time making the top eight at the toughest regular season tournament in the nation. Prior to his junior year, Botello was sixth at both UWW U17 freestyle and Fargo’s Junior freestyle championships. With Botello’s commitment, North Carolina now has a staggering eight commits from rising juniors on the Class of 2025 Big Board. This is on the heels of a massive Class of 2024 that was ranked eighth in the nation and finished with nine top-250 signees. Botello could grow into a 149 lber at the next level. Between the 2024 Class and existing talent, North Carolina doesn’t have many holes or at least a top prospect or two in the pipeline at most weights. That goes for 141/149; however, UNC is obviously looking to move up the ladder in the ACC and nationally, and is stacking as much talent as possible. View North Carolina’s Class of 2025 #114 Brock Kehler (Morgantown, West Virginia) to West Virginia West Virginia isn’t known as a state that consistently pumps out top talent every year, so when there’s a fringe top-100 recruit right in their backyard, it’s important for WVU to lock them up. That was the case with Brock Kehler who wrestles for University High School in Morgantown. Kehler went unbeaten during the 2023-24 season to help lead University to their first state team title since 1956. Individually, Kehler has won state titles in each of his first three years of high school. After each high school season, Kehler has participated in the NHSCA grade-level competition. He was a national runner-up in 2022, at 195 lbs, a champion in 2023 at 220, and fifth-place this year at heavyweight. WVU’s probable starter at 285 lbs, two-time national qualifier Michael Wolfgram, is headed into his final year of eligibility in 2024-25. The Mountaineer staff has done a great job at lining up potential successors to Wolfgram as Rune Lawrence, #25 overall in the Class of 2024, is headed to Morgantown in the fall. Lawrence might start his career at 197 and eventually move up to 285 - as he was a 215 lber as a high school senior. Kehler will be a heavyweight. With Kehler’s commitment, WVU now has four commitments from the Class of 2025 and three from wrestlers on the Big Board. The Mountaineers checked in with a #17 class in 2024 and could be headed toward back-to-back ranked recruiting classes. View West Virginia’s Class of 2025 NR Brody Sampson (Ballard, Iowa) to Iowa There are still a few programs that are putting the finishing touches on their incoming freshmen classes and Iowa happens to be one of those teams. The Hawkeyes got a commitment this week from four-time state placewinner Brody Sampson of Ballard High School. Sampson finished the 2023-24 season third in the state at the 2A level. A year ago, he was a state finalist. He was fifth as a sophomore and eighth in his freshman year. Sampson projects at 197 lbs which is extremely useful for the Hawkeyes. Currently, 2024 Big Ten runner-up, Zach Glazier, is the only 197 on the roster. Glazier is headed into his final year of eligibility for the Hawkeyes. Iowa does have verbals from the Miller twins of Ohio (Jarrel and Ty); however, they are in the Class of 2025 and that would leave a year gap between Glazier’s departure and their arrival as true freshmen (the two project at 184/197 lbs). View Iowa’s Class of 2024 NR Bryce Phillips (Saint Frances, Maryland) to Morgan State This morning Morgan State announced a solid in-state signing as they’ve inked Bryce Phillips of Saint Frances in Baltimore. Though he did not compete in the 2023-24 postseason, Phillips was a three-time National Prep All-American for Annapolis’ Mount Saint Joseph. In 2023, Phillips was fourth at 215 lbs. During the high school regular season, Phillips placed twice at the Beast of the East, taking fifth in 2021 and third in 2022. As Kenny Monday is building the Morgan State program from scratch, they need all the talent they can get. Having someone like Phillips, who was nationally ranked at a time, is huge for the Bears. He likely projects between 197 and 285 lbs for Morgan State. 285 lbs should feature one of Morgan State’s best wrestlers, Northern Colorado transfer Xavier Doolin. His presence should give Phillips a good training partner and potentially allow him to redshirt. View Morgan State’s Class of 2024

St. Frances

June 28 PFL 6 2024 (ESPN+) Logan Storley (Minnesota) vs. Luca Poclit Brennan Ward (Johnson & Wales) vs. Magomed Umalatov Bubba Jenkins (Penn State/Arizona State) vs. Gabriel Braga Tyler Diamond (NDSU) vs. Brett Johns June 29 247 FC Brawl in the Burgh 21.5 (Internet Pay Per View) Lucas Seibert (West Virginia) vs. Nathaniel Grubham Brandon Washburn (Edinboro) vs. Rushaud Jordan-Maines Tyler Dibert (Clarion) vs. Carlos Bolyard Cameron Jenkins (Ashland) vs. Malcolm Harris June 29 247 FC Brawl in the Burgh 22 (Internet Pay Per View) Brogan Endres (Mount Union) vs. Niko Petrides Taylor Cahill (Bloomsburg/Clarion/Buffalo vs. Marcus Williamson Tom Kizer (West Virginia) vs. Dalton Jones Noah Kiszka (Fairmont State) vs. Gabe Eurit June 29 Ohio Combat League 30 (Internet Pay Per View) Vernell Hawkins (Mount St. Joseph) vs. Jade Batross Cornell Beacham (Mount St. Joseph) vs. Ethan Shirk June 29 UFC 303 (ESPN+/ESPN Pay Per View) Rei Tsuruya (Japanese Cadet world team) vs. Carlos Hernandez July 13 UFC on ESPN 59 (ESPN) Cody Brundage (Newberry College) vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan Jasmine Jasudavicius (Canadian national placer) vs. Viviane Araujo Andre Petroski (Kutztown/North Carolina) vs. Josh Fremd July 20 UFC Fight Night (ESPN+) Cody Gibson (Menlo) vs. Brian Kelleher Thomas Petersen (Iowa Central/NDSU) vs. Mohammed Usman July 27 UFC 304 (ESPN+ Pay Per View) Curtis Blaydes (Northern Illinois/Harper College) vs. Tom Aspinall Muhammad Mokaev (English national champion) vs. Manel Kape August 3 UFC on ABC 7 (ABC/ESPN+) Tony Ferguson (Grand Valley State) vs. Michael Chiesa September 14 Bellator Champions Series 5 (MAX) Johnny Eblen (Missouri) vs. Fabian Edwards

University

Wyoming Seminary

Ballard

Yesterday, our sister site, MatScouts, released its latest set of high school rankings - the final before all of the madness starts in Fargo. This set of rankings includes results from 16U/Junior National Duals and any other events since NHSCA nationals. So, how did your favorite team’s recruits stack up? Since a large number of wrestlers from the Class of 2025 have already made their collegiate choices known, we’re able to look at these rankings from the lens of a college wrestling fan. 43 different schools already have at least one commitment from a wrestler mentioned in these national rankings. With that in mind, we’ve broken down the rankings by school. Initially, the objective was not to focus solely on the Class of 2025; however, there haven’t been any commitments (reported to InterMat, at least) from the Class of 2026 and beyond. Recruits have been sorted by their future school, then alphabetically - alongside their current high school, and their current ranking at their weight class. Air Force Rylan Kuhn: St. Pius X, Missouri - #10 at 285 lbs Bradley Patterson: Camden County, Georgia - #12 at 113 lbs American Caleb Close: Bald Eagle Area, Pennsylvania - #9 at 190 lbs Colin Martin: Staunton River, Virginia - #21 at 126 lbs Arizona State Harvey Ludington: Brick Memorial, New Jersey - #1 at 190 lbs Army West Point Joseph Antonio: St. John Bosco, California - #3 at 165 lbs Cadell Lee: Brooke Point, Virginia - #16 at 120 lbs Jayce Paridon: Lake Highland Prep, Florida - #15 at 138 lbs Ben Smith: NY Military, New York - #8 at 165 lbs Charles Weidman: Xavier, Connecticut - #12 at 215 lbs Brown Devon Magro: Bishop McCort, Pennsylvania - #9 at 165 lbs Preston Marchesseault: Ponaganset, Rhode Island - #20 at 190 lbs Max Norman: Kingsport, Tennessee - #25 at 165 lbs Bucknell Bryce Manera: Southern Regional, New Jersey - #19 at 138 lbs California Baptist Caio Aron: College Park, Texas - #22 at 126 lbs Adonis Bonar: Creighton Prep, Nebraska - #23 at 175 lbs Anthony Rinehart: Crown Point, Indiana - #24 at 175 lbs Campbell EJ Solis: South Dade, Florida - #9 at 138 lbs Central Michigan Gavin Craner: Whitehall, Michigan - #22 at 175 lbs Cornell Elijah Cortez: Gilroy, California - #9 at 132 lbs Isaiah Cortez: Gilroy, California - #4 at 126 lbs Adrian DeJesus: St. Joseph’s Regional, New Jersey - #2 at 132 lbs Rocco Dellagatta: St. John Vianney, New Jersey - #5 at 285 lbs Elijah Diakomihalis: Hilton, New York - #3 at 190 lbs Anthony Knox: St. John Vianney, New Jersey - #1 at 120 lbs Alessio Perentin: Delbarton, New Jersey - #2 at 165 lbs Sergio Vega: Sunnyside, Arizona - #1 at 138 lbs Indiana Jackson Blum: Lowell, Indiana - #10 at 132 lbs Matt Kowalski: Springboro, Ohio - #8 at 190 lbs Hunter Sturgill: Baylor School, Tennessee - #21 at 165 lbs Carson Thomas: LaSalle, Ohio - #5 at 190 lbs Iowa Leo DeLuca: Blair Academy, New Jersey - #2 at 120 lbs Jarrel Miller: St. Edward, Ohio - #6 at 190 lbs Tyrel Miller: St. Edward, Ohio - #10 at 175 lbs Iowa State Christian Castillo: Valiant Prep, Arizona - #5 at 120 lbs Jacob Helgeson: Johnston, Iowa - #18 at 175 lbs Carter Pearson: Southeast Polk, Missouri - #18 at 120 lbs Lehigh Anthony Evanitsky: Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania - #14 at 150 lbs Vaughn Spencer: Pine-Richland, Pennsylvania - #12 at 175 lbs Chase Van Hoven: Brooke Point, Virginia - #8 at 150 lbs Little Rock Billy Greenwood: Poudre, Colorado - #13 at 150 lbs Jackson Tucker: Hillsboro, Missouri - #17 at 138 lbs Lock Haven Connor Wetzel: Shikellamy, Pennsylvania - #19 at 175 lbs Maryland Brokton Borelli: Los Banos, California - #7 at 190 lbs Michigan Gauge Botero: Faith Christian Academy, Pennsylvania - #14 at 120 lbs Jude Correa: Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania - #1 at 215 lbs Cooper Hilton: Baylor School, Tennessee - #6 at 157 lbs Nicholas Sahakian: St. John Bosco, California - #1 at 285 lbs De’Alcapone Veazy: Ponderosa, Colorado - #4 at 190 lbs Minnesota Leo Contino: Buchanan, California - #7 at 157 lbs Landon Robideau: St. Michael-Albertville, Minnesota - #4 at 150 lbs Missouri Dom Bambinelli: Mill Creek, Georgia - #6 at 175 lbs David Gleason: Staley, Missouri - #10 at 144 lbs Danny Heiser: Evansville, Wisconsin - #15 at 150 lbs Seth Mendoza: Mt. Carmel, Illinois - #2 at 126 lbs Kollin Rath: Bethlehem Catholic, Pennsylvania - #3 at 150 lbs Sampson Stillwell: St. Michae, Missouri - #2 at 285 lbs Peyton Westpfahl: Liberty, Missouri - #5 at 175 lbs Navy Caedyn Ricciardi: St. Peter’s Prep, New Jersey - #3 at 138 lbs NC State Will Denny: Marist, Illinois - #9 at 157 lbs Brogan Tucker: Graham, Ohio - #6 at 150 lbs Daniel Zepeda: Gilroy, California - #2 at 138 lbs Nebraska Tyler Eise: Ponderosa, Colorado - #3 at 175 lbs Cade Ziola: Skutt Catholic, Nebraska - #2 at 190 lbs North Carolina Nathaniel Askew: Baylor School, Tennessee - #7 at 144 lbs Matt Botello: Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania - #5 at 132 lbs Israel Ibarra: Eloy, Arizona - #14 at 165 lbs Jacob Levy: Carrollton, Georgia - #7 at 285 lbs Devon Miller: Edmond North, Oklahoma - #25 at 120 lbs Beau Priest: Bakersfield, California - #11 at 157 lbs Luke Sipes: Altoona, Pennsylvania - #21 at 157 lbs Northern Iowa Kyler Knaack: Don Bosco, Iowa - #5 at 157 lbs Logan Paradice: Colquitt County, Georgia - #3 at 144 lbs Northwestern Billy Dekraker: Blair Academy, New Jersey - #3 at 132 lbs Ohio State Vince Bouzakis: Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania - #2 at 157 lbs Maddox Shaw: Thomas Jefferson, Pennsylvania - #2 at 150 lbs Oklahoma Bryce Burkett: Watertown, Minnesota - #14 at 175 lbs Sebastian DeGennaro: Jensen Beach, Florida - #7 at 126 lbs Anthony Harris: St. Peter’s Prep, New Jersey - #4 at 215 lbs Jake Hockaday: Brownsburg, Indiana - #4 at 132 lbs Austin Johnson: Muncy, Pennsylvania - #5 at 215 lbs Oklahoma State Kruz Goff: Blackwell, Oklahoma - #9 at 215 lbs Ishmael Guerrero: Bixby, Oklahoma - #6 at 165 lbs Beau Hickman: Tuttle, Oklahoma - #11 at 150 lbs Ladarion Lockett: Stillwater, Oklahoma - #1 at 165 lbs Kody Routledge: Edmond North, Oklahoma - #3 at 157 lbs Oregon State Koy Davidson: Fort Dodge, Iowa - #12 lbs at 144 lbs Jeff Lopez: Clovis West, California - #19 at 126 lbs Adrien Reyes: Clovis, California - #9 at 175 lbs Penn Eren Sement: Council Rock North, Pennsylvania - #14 at 132 lbs Max Stein: Faith Christian Academy, Pennsylvania - #12 at 150 lbs Penn State Asher Cunningham: State College, Pennsylvania - #4 at 165 lbs Nathan Desmond: Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania - #4 at 120 lbs PJ Duke: Minisink Valley, New York - #1 at 157 lbs Will Henckel: Blair Academy, New Jersey - #2 at 175 lbs Dalton Perry: Central Mountain, Pennsylvania - #10 at 138 lbs Pittsburgh Bode Marlow: Thomas Jefferson, Pennsylvania - #12 at 165 lbs Carson Walsh: Pope John XXIII, New Jersey - #12 at 132 lbs Princeton Gavin Hawk: Phillipsburg, New Jersey - #20 at 157 lbs Vincenzo Lavalle: Hanover Park, New Jersey - #15 at 190 lbs Purdue Brody Saccoccia: Steubenville, Ohio - #22 at 157 lbs Rutgers Jordan Chapman: Cranford, New Jersey - #7 at 175 lbs Tahir Parkins: Nazareth, Pennsylvania - #5 at 138 lbs South Dakota State Bas Diaz: Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa - #12 at 157 lbs Carson Dupill: Greeneville, Tennessee - #12 at 126 lbs Jacob Herm: Neenah, Wisconsin - #10 at 157 lbs Liam Neitzel: Hudson, Wisconsin - #20 at 126 lbs Stanford Adam Mattin: Delta, Ohio - #23 at 120 lbs Angelo Posada: Poway, California - #7 at 215 lbs Edwin Sierra: Poway, California - #20 at 120 lbs Virginia Macon Ayers: Staunton River, Virginia - #13 at 165 lbs Emmitt Sherlock: Gilman School, Maryland - #8 at 175 lbs Virginia Tech Ryan Burton: St. Joseph’s Regional, New Jersey - #1 at 175 lbs Collin Gaj: Quakertown, Pennsylvania - #4 at 157 lbs Drew Gorman: Buford, Georgia - #4 at 138 lbs Noah Nininger: Staunton River, Virginia - #9 at 150 lbs Aaron Seidel: Northern Lebanon, Pennsylvania - #3 at 126 lbs Claudio Torres: Lake Highland Prep, Florida - #5 at 165 lbs West Virginia Gunner Andrick: Point Pleasant, West Virginia - #16 at 138 lbs Casen Roark: Father Ryan, Tennessee - #15 at 132 lbs Wisconsin Caleb Dennee: Marshfield, Wisconsin - #11 at 175 lbs Wyoming Isaiah Harrison: Mountain View, Colorado - #4 at 113 lbs

News regarding wrestling at the service academies continues to roll in this week. Yesterday, Army West Point announced the hiring of Taylor LaMont as an assistant coach. This morning, InterMat posted an interview with Army associate head coach Scott Green. Not to be outdone by their chief rivals, on Tuesday, Navy added 2024 All-American Quinn Kinner to the Navy Wrestling Club. Today, Cary Kolat’s team announced that they've Ty Eustice to their staff as an assistant coach. Eustice comes to Annapolis after spending the previous three seasons as the head assistant coach at Davidson College. While at Davidson, Eustice and Nate Carr Jr. helped to elevate the profile of the tiny DI school and brought in higher caliber recruits than had been signed in recent memory. The 2024 class contains three top-250 recruits after having none in the previous two cycles. Before coming to Davidson, Eustice was an assistant at DII Minnesota State. While in Mankato, he was part of a program that finished in the top-ten twice at the NCAA Tournament. Eustice also spent two seasons as the head coach at Iowa Lakes CC and jumped into the coaching realm as an assistant at Iowa’s Cornell Cornell. Iowa is where Eustice spent his collegiate days - wrestling 149 lbs for the Hawkeyes. Eustice qualified for the NCAA tournament on four occasions and earned All-American honors as a junior (5th) and a senior (2nd). As a freshman, Eustice made the Big Ten finals. He would finish third in each of the next three seasons. Eustice is the second new member of Kolat’s coaching staff for the 2024-25 season. Earlier this offseason, the legendary Barry Davis returned and was hired to assist the Midshipmen. Navy returns three wrestlers with NCAA experience and is coming off a sixth-place finish in the EIWA. In dual competition, Navy went 8-6 and spent a few weeks in the national rankings after posting early-season wins over Illinois and Pittsburgh. Navy also was able to ink four top-200 recruits from the Class of 2024.

The top prospect in the high school Class of 2026, Bo Bassett, has vowed to keep fans abreast of his recruiting with daily Wednesday updates. Well, today is Wednesday and true to his word, Bassett has posted an updated graphic which has eliminated a handful of schools from consideration. Earlier this year, Bassett posted a graphic that contained the logos of approximately 80 schools, most of the DI variety, but some DII’s as well, to signify that he’s totally open in the recruiting process. The following schools were removed from this week’s graphic: Binghamton, Bloomsburg, Duke, Gardner-Webb, Northern Illinois, Sacred Heart, SIU Edwardsville. The following schools remain on Bassett’s graphic and therefore in contention for his services: Air Force, American, Appalachian State, Arizona State, Army West Point, Brown, Bucknell, California Baptist, Cal Poly, Central Michigan, Campbell, Clarion, Cleveland State, Columbia, Cornell, CSU Bakersfield, Drexel, Edinboro, George Mason, Harvard, Hofstra, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Kent State, Lehigh, Little Rock, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Millersville, Minnesota, Missouri, Navy, NC State, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, Northwestern, Ohio, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Penn, Penn State, Pitt-Johnstown, Pittsburgh, Princeton, Purdue, Rider, Rutgers, South Dakota State, Stanford, St. Cloud State, The Citadel, Virginia, Virginia Tech, UW Parkside, West Virginia, West Liberty, Wisconsin, Wyoming. As you would expect, most traditional DI power programs are still in the hunt for the two-time Super 32 and Ironman champion. Bassett is currently training for the U20 Pan-American Championships and the U20 World Championships. The U20 Pan-American tournament takes place July 11th-13th in Lima, Peru and the U20 World Championships are September 2nd-8th in Pontevedra, Spain. In 2021, Bassett captured gold medals in both freestyle and Greco-Roman at the U17 Pan-American Championships. That same year, at the U17 World Championships, Bassett claimed a gold medal in freestyle and was 12th in Greco. He’ll compete this year just in freestyle.

Austin Sommer sits down with Army West Point associate head coach Scott Green to discuss the addition of Taylor LaMont to the Black Knight coaching staff - along with the general dynamics of their unique leadership. Army has had some recent success on the freestyle front, so Green talks about Charlie Farmer, Lucas Stoddard and others. They also discuss Ben Pasiuk getting onto the NCAA podium and much more during their entertaining chat.

America’s Team added another member to its coaching staff today as Army West Point announced the hiring of Taylor LaMont as the team’s new assistant coach. LaMont qualified for the NCAA Championships on five occasions - four with Utah Valley and once as a graduate transfer for Wisconsin. In 2021, after finishing second in the Big 12, LaMont made the NCAA podium with a fifth-place finish at the 125 lb weight class. LaMont and fellow UVU All-American Demetrius Romero became the first Wolverine teammates to earn All-American honors in the same season. As a freshman, LaMont was third in the Big 12 and a match away from All-American status. In addition to his collegiate success, LaMont has been a fixture on the Greco-Roman circuit making multiple world teams at the Cadet, Junior, and U23 levels. In 2016, LaMont captured a Junior World bronze medal. On three other occasions, he wrestled in bronze medal matches. Recently, at the 2024 Olympic Team Trials, Lamont took fourth place in the 60 kg Greco-Roman bracket. LaMont will work with an Army West Point lineup that features four returning NCAA qualifiers. He’ll likely work closely with the lightweights - two of whom qualified for nationals in 2024 (Ethan Berginc - 125 and Braden Basile - 133). In the EIWA, Army finished third in 2024 with 95.5 points and seven placewinners.