InterMat Staff

It’s moving day! That term is usually reserved for Saturdays on the golf course, as that’s when golfers can put themselves in position for a big finish on the third day of a four-day tournament. That term is applicable for Friday at the NCAA Tournament because that’s when the big points get doled out. Wins in the championship side on Thursday only were worth a point for team scoring purposes, plus and bonus points earned. The quarterfinals is where wins are worth six points - which is given out to a sixth place finish, which is guaranteed once one gets to the semis. With the potential of six team points on the line, there can be plenty of movement for teams during the first session. A team like Penn State, with a ten-point lead on the field, is expected to pull away. The rest of the top ten could move greatly during the quarterfinals. That’s normally the case, but with a seven-point difference between second and ninth place - movement should be only increased. Here are the team scores heading into Friday’s action. Below them are matches at each weight class that will greatly impact this team race. Most feature wrestlers on both sides that have teams in the hunt. Team Scores 1st) Penn State 34.5 2nd) Iowa 24.5 2nd) Iowa State 24.5 4th) Michigan 22 4th) NC State 22 6th) Nebraska 21 7th) Ohio State 20.5 8th) Cornell 18.5 9th) Virginia Tech 17.5 10th) Missouri 14 125 lbs #1 Braeden Davis (Penn State) vs. #8 Richie Figueroa (Arizona State) The same 10 teams that inhabited the top ten after the first session were the same that were there at the end of Thursday. A team slightly outside of the top ten (12) that has the potential to jump in is Arizona State. The Sun Devils don’t have the deepest squad, but they have a bunch of potential high-placers. Adding Figueroa to the mix with a semifinals appearance would be a bonus. #3 Drake Ayala (Iowa) vs. #6 Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State) This is a rematch from the final weekend of the regular season where Drake Ayala cradled Troy Spratley in sudden victory to start the momentum during an Iowa rout. Both of these teams will need momentum on Friday morning. 133 lbs #1 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) vs. #8 Evan Frost (Iowa State) Iowa State was expected to have a good showing and possibly get Kevin Dresser’s first top-ten finish in Ames; however, it may have seemed too optimistic to have the Cyclones tied for second after day one. I’m sure very few people have Frost over Fix on their brackets, but an upset here sets the tone for a big round from ISU and gives the team an expected boost. #3 Kai Orine (NC State) vs. #6 Vito Arujau (Cornell) One of the injury concerns in the lead-up to the tournament was the status of 2023 national champion Vito Arujau. In the EIWA finals, Arujau lost to freshman Ryan Crookham (Lehigh) for the second time this year. That being said, Arujau has looked as good as he has all year. The Big Red was expected to compete for a trophy and eighth place after day one is semi-surprising. NC State, on the other hand, has had a few recent national tournaments where they largely didn’t wrestle up to seed. A loss from Orine may conjure up some of those recent demons. 141 lbs #1 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) vs. #9 Brock Hardy (Nebraska) Brock Hardy had a great Round of 16 match with #8 Sergio Lemely (Michigan) and moved to 2-1 against the Wolverine freshman. That looked like the version of Hardy that made the 2023 Big Ten finals and the podium a few weeks later. Ohio State at seven might surprise some people - Mendez is their biggest potential point-scorer this year, they’ll need him to continue to advance on the championship side. #4 Ryan Jack (NC State) vs. #5 Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State) Just a massive match that we didn’t get to see at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Jack was a finalist and Echemendia was seventh; however, the pair did not meet. #3 Real Woods (Iowa) vs. #6 Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina) Speaking of guys returning to old form, put Real Woods in that category, as well. While the head-to-head match with North Carolina doesn’t have team race implications for both teams, Iowa needs a high finish from Woods to keep pace with the bevy of teams capable of passing them once the big points are awarded in the quarters. 149 lbs #1 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) vs. #8 Casey Swiderski (Iowa State) This will be Iowa State’s second matchup against a number-one seed, though this match seems a bit more manageable than Fix/Frost. Nebraska has a rough set of matches this round; they’ll need to hold serve in a matchup where they’re favored. #3 Jackson Arrington (NC State) vs. #6 Austin Gomez (Michigan) This is the first time we’ve mentioned Michigan this far. This matchup doesn’t favor the Wolverines, on paper, but no one would call it a true upset were Austin Gomez to grab the win. 157 lbs #4 Ed Scott (NC State) vs. #12 Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) Yet, another meeting between two of the most exciting wrestlers in the tournament. Such familiarity has led to Ed Scott avoiding any precarious predicaments that Bryce Andonian typically ends up in. Scott has taken both meetings this season. #2 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) vs. #10 Jared Franek (Iowa) This bout isn’t as lopsided as the seeds would lead you to believe. Both are returning All-Americans who met in this same round in 2022. Teemer was victorious 5-3, for whatever that’s worth. These two have been pushed to the brink already in this tournament and might be lucky to even remain in the title hunt. 165 lbs #3 Julian Ramirez (Cornell) vs. #6 Michael Caliendo (Iowa) Julian Ramirez has been one of the best wrestlers in this weight class for the last three years, but is still seeking his first All-American honor. A win over Michael Caliendo would get that out of the way for Ramirez. Cornell also could climb back into the trophy hunt. Caliendo represents Iowa's last quarterfinalist and their last opportunity this round to add substantial points. 174 lbs #1 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) vs. #9 Carter Starocci (Penn State) What more can we say about this one? This has been a match that everyone has circled since the brackets were released. After watching three-time champion Carter Starocci for two matches - he looks good, but not the Starocci that might have pushed for bonus points against anyone in this bracket. There’s definitely a chance for Mekhi Lewis to get revenge for a 2022 NCAA finals loss and an ugly beatdown at the 2023 NWCA All-Star Match. 184 lbs #3 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) vs. #6 Bernie Truax (Penn State) Plott will be the final Cowboy to take the mat in the quarters. By then we’ll have a good idea about whether Oklahoma State is square in the middle of the trophy hunt or pushing for a place in the top ten. And for Penn State? This is where they could widen the gap between themselves and the field, significantly. An upset win for Bernie Truax would only help more. #2 Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) vs. #7 TJ Stewart Jr. (Virginia Tech) Freshman TJ Stewart appears to be a wrestler who feeds off the energy of his teammates and the Hokie fans. If he takes the mat moments after his team captain pulls the biggest win of the tournament, I’d expect Stewart to do all he can to keep that momentum going and notch an important win of his own. 197 lbs #2 Trent Hidlay (NC State) vs. #10 Silas Allred (Nebraska) By this point, we’ll know how this round went for both teams. Both NC State and Nebraska have looked poised for high finishes in the recent past and haven’t always delivered. There’s the potential for one of these teams to get an emotional lift after a frustrating round or to put the stamp on a morning that put them in control of their destiny with respect to NCAA team trophies. 285 lbs #2 Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) vs. #10 Lucas Davison (Michigan) This is a rematch of the 2023 CKLV finals. A win by Yonger Bastida solidified himself as one of the key title contenders at this weight. In order to remain on track for potential clashes with Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force) and Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State), Bastida will need to beat Davison for a second team. Davison is fresh off an 8-0 shutout of Taye Ghadiali (Campbell) in a match that looks like an upset, by the numbers, but really wasn’t.

Day one at the 2024 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships, from the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, is in the books. Typically on Thursday upsets are the story and, there were definitely some of those; however, for the most part, the top seeds advanced to Friday’s quarterfinals. Instead of a number of Cinderella stories, we have plenty of Clashes of the Titans. All ten number one seeds advance and nine of the ten number two seeds are in the championship bracket. No three or four seeds suffered any losses either. The lone second seed to lose on Thursday was Lehigh’s true freshman 125 lber Luke Stanich. He was upended in sudden victory by the #15 seed Caleb Smith of Nebraska. As expected, 125 lbs is perhaps the most unpredictable bracket. While favorites like #1 Braeden Davis (Penn State), #3 Drake Ayala (Iowa), and #4 Matt Ramos (Purdue) are still in the hunt for a national title, there are three double-digit seeds in the quarters - #10 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin), #12 Anthony Noto (Lock Haven), and #15 Caleb Smith (Nebraska). Additionally, #8 Richie Figueroa (Arizona State) handed Big Ten runner-up #9 Patrick McKee (Minnesota) a sizable 16-5 major decision. The table has been set for perhaps the most anticipated quarterfinal of the tournament as both #1 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) and #9 Carter Starocci (Penn State) advanced at 174 lbs. Starocci suffered a knee injury in late February and did not wrestle in the Big Ten Championships (aside from two :01 defaults). In both of his matches today, Starocci gave up the first takedown but proceeded to win. In the Round of 16, Starocci scored five unanswered points to defeat #8 Adam Kemp (Cal Poly), 5-3. On the team front, Penn State slightly pulled away from the rest of the field, as expected. The Nittany Lions won all eight of their Round of 16 matches and have two wrestlers alive in the consolations. Penn State has amassed 34.5 points and holds a ten-point lead with the big point rounds looming on Friday. The real interest, from the team race standpoint, is the chase for second place. Rivals Iowa and Iowa State head into day two with 24.5 points. Only six points separate the Iowa schools from eighth-place Cornell. Iowa has four wrestlers on the championship side and five in the consolations. Iowa State has five in the quarterfinals and four in the consolation bracket. Team Scores 1st) Penn State 34.5 2nd) Iowa 24.5 2nd) Iowa State 24.5 4th) Michigan 22 4th) NC State 22 6th) Nebraska 21 7th) Ohio State 20.5 8th) Cornell 18.5 9th) Virginia Tech 16 10th) Missouri 14 Quarterfinal Matchups 125 lbs Braeden Davis (PSU) vs. Richie Figueroa (ASU) Anthony Noto (LHU) vs. Matt Ramos (Pur) Drake Ayala (Iowa) vs. Troy Spratley (OkSt) Eric Barnett (Wisc) vs. Caleb Smith (Neb) 133 lbs Daton Fix (OkSt) vs. Evan Frost (ISU) Dylan Ragusin (Mich) vs. Dylan Shawver (Rut) Kai Orine (NC St) vs. Vito Arujau (Corn) Nasir Bailey (LR) vs. Ryan Crookham (Leh) 141 lbs Jesse Mendez (tOSU) vs. Brock Hardy (Neb) Anthony Echemendia (ISU) vs. Ryan Jack (NC State) Real Woods (IA) vs. Lachlan McNeil (UNC) Vance Vombaur (Minn) vs. Beau Bartlett (PSU) 149 lbs Ridge Lovett (Neb) vs. Casey Swiderski (ISU) Ty Watters (WVU) vs. Caleb Henson (VT) Jackson Arrington (NC State) vs. Austin Gomez (Mich) Chance Lamer (CP) vs Kyle Parco (ASU) 157 lbs Levi Haines (PSU) vs. Peyton Robb (Neb) Bryce Andonian (VT) vs. Ed Scott (NC State) Meyer Shapiro (Corn) vs. Daniel Cardenas (Stan) Jared Franek (IA) vs. Jacori Teemer (ASU) 165 lbs Keegan O'Toole (Mizz) vs. Antrell Taylor (Neb) Dean Hamiti (Wisc) vs. David Carr (ISU) Julian Ramirez (Corn) vs. Michael Caliendo (IA) Cam Amine (Mich) vs. Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU) 174 lbs Mekhi Lewis (VT) vs. Carter Starocci (PSU) Jared Simma (UNI) vs. Shane Griffith (Mich) Edmond Ruth (Ill) vs. Rocco Welsh (tOSU) Lennox Wolak (Col) vs. Cade DeVos (SDSU) 184 lbs Parker Keckeisen (UNI) vs. David Key (Navy) Lenny Pinto (Neb) vs. Trey Munoz (OrSt) Dustin Plott (OkSt) vs. Bernie Truax (PSU) TJ Stewart (VT) vs. Isaiah Salazar (Minn) 197 lbs Aaron Brooks (PSU) vs Stephen Buchanan (OU) Rocky Elam (Mizz) vs. Michael Beard (Leh) Tanner Sloan (SDSU) vs. Louie DePrez (Bing) Silas Allred (Neb) vs. Trent Hidlay (NC State) 285 lbs Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) vs. Nick Feldman (tOSU) Nathan Taylor (Leh) vs. Cohlton Schultz (ASU) Wyatt Hendrickson (AFA) vs. Zach Elam (Mizz) Lucas Davison (Mich) vs. Yonger Bastida (ISU) Round of 16 Upsets 125 lbs #10 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) dec #7 Jakob Camacho (NC State) 8-2 #15 Caleb Smith (Nebraska) dec #2 Luke Stanich (Lehigh) 4-1SV 141 lbs #9 Brock Hardy (Nebraska) dec #8 Sergio Lemley (Michigan) 10-4 #26 Vance Vombaur (Minnesota) dec #23 Danny Fongaro (Indiana) 5-0 157 lbs #10 Jared Franek (Iowa) dec #7 Peyton Kellar (Ohio) 4-3 #12 Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) dec #5 Ryder Downey (Northern Iowa) 9-6 165 lbs #10 Cam Amine (Michigan) dec #7 Izzak Olejnik (Oklahoma State) 4-1SV 174 lbs #9 Carter Starocci (Penn State) dec #8 Adam Kemp (Cal Poly) 5-3 #25 David Key (Navy) dec #24 Shane Liegal (Wisconsin) 4-2 #28 Jared Simma (Northern Iowa) dec #21 Tyler Eischens (North Carolina) 6-5 197 lbs #12 Rocky Elam (Mizzou) dec #5 Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) 4-0 285 lbs #10 Lucas Davison (Michigan) maj #7 Taye Ghadiali (Campbell) 8-0

Interviews from the 2024 NCAA Round of 16 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) Caleb Smith (Nebraska) Nasir Bailey (Little Rock) Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) Peyton Robb (Nebraska) Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) Dom Baker (Campbell) Cam Amine (Michigan)

The first round of wrestling always answers a lot of questions that we have before the tournament. We finally saw Carter Starocci compete again for the first time since injuring his knee in his final dual of the year. In the same weight class we saw Shane Griffith, who is also dealing with some knee issues, back in action. And we saw a number of upsets and great matches that have us set for the second round of wrestling. For some it’s win or go home in the next session, but for others it’s a chance to punch their ticket to the quarterfinals. In the championship bracket we have 27 matches that you absolutely can’t miss. # - seed 125 This weight class has been on fire the entire year and the entire next round is going to be the same. From top to bottom we have matchups that are can’t-miss. But here’s a six-pack of bouts in this weight class that will be awesome. #1 Braeden Davis (PSU) vs #17 Brett Ungar (Cornell) #2 Luke Stanich (Lehigh) vs #15 Caleb Smith (Nebraska) #3 Drake Ayala (Iowa) vs #14 Nico Provo (Stanford) #6 Troy Spratley (OKST) vs #11 Cooper Flynn (Virginia Tech) #7 Jakob Camacho (NC State) vs #10 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) #8 Richie Figueroa (ASU) vs #9 Patrick McKee (Minnesota) 133 Unlike 125, we’ve had more consistency throughout 133 during the year so even though there are some good matches on deck. Besides seeing how Vito Arujau, who has been in and out of the lineup this year, looks as he takes on #22 Domenic Zaccone who was one of the four guys to get an upset win this morning, there’s three specifically that have my attention. #3 Kai Orine vs #14 Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska) #8 Evan Frost (ISU) vs #24 Julian Chlebove (ASU) #7 Nasir Bailey takes on #23 Marion Yarbrough 141 Here is where we get some matches that we saw during the year that had us on the edge of seats. Even though I’m not adding this match to the list below, I think that the bout between Mitch Moore and Beau Bartlett could be interesting because of how stingy the defense is for both of them. #3 Real Woods (Iowa) vs #14 Jesse Vasquez (ASU) #8 Sergio Lemley (Michigan) vs #9 Brock Hardy (Nebraska) #6 Lachlan McNeil (UNC) vs #11 Josh Koderhandt (Navy) 149 Things are going close to what was expected here outside of a few upsets which has given us 2 matches we need to see. #3 Jackson Arrington (NC State) vs #14 Dylan D’Emilio (Ohio State) #4 Caleb Henson (VT) vs #20 Jordan Williams (OKST) #10 Chance Lamer (Cal Poly) vs #26 Jaden Abas (Stanford) 157 This weight is spicy and it’s about a lot hotter with some familiar foes matching up this round. #4 Ed Scott (NC State) vs #13 Michael Blackhus (Minnesota) #5 Ryder Downey (UNI) vs #12 Bryce Andonian (VT) #8 Peyton Robb (Nebraska) vs #9 Will Lewan (Michigan) 165 The top guys looked pretty good in the first round and look like they should be in the driver’s seat for their next matches as well. But there’s one match that is enticing. #7 Izzak Olejnik (OKST) vs #10 Cam Amine (Michigan) 174 Ok, so hear me out with this one. After seeing how Starocci is maneuvering with his new knee brace I think his match with Adam Kemp is going to be must-watch. But it’s that reason alone that I think Kemp can push him. As we saw in Starocci’s first match, it’s not the easiest thing to work with. #4 Shane Griffith (Michigan) vs #13 Justin McCoy (UVA) #8 Adam Kemp (Cal Poly) vs #9 Carter Starocci (PSU) 184 The biggest wild card in this weight class all year continued his crazy ways with a fall this morning and will keep throwing the kitchen sink at his opponents, who in this case is #2 seed Isaiah Salazar, who narrowly escaped with a 2-1 win in this first round. #2 Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) vs #18 Ryder Rogotzke (Ohio State) 197 Both the matches here are in the top half of the bracket with the winner of one of them getting top-seeded Aaron Brooks tomorrow morning. But these two bouts have fireworks potential. #5 Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) vs #12 Rocky Elam (Mizzou) #8 Stephen Buchanan (OU) vs #9 Stephen Little (Little Rock) 285 We are spoiled with having big boys that bring it and put on show-stopping bouts. There are a few matchups here that fans shouldn’t be leaving the stadium before they see them. #5 Nathan Taylor (Lehigh) vs #12 Konner Doucet (OKST) #7 Taye Ghadiali (CAMP) vs #10 Lucas Davison (Michigan) #9 Nick Feldman (Ohio State) vs #25 Bradley Hill (Iowa)

The first session of the 2024 NCAA DI National Championships is in the books. As is usual the case early in the national tournament, there were plenty of unexpected moments and upsets. After a quick round of pig-tail matches, the upsets began. Harvard’s #28 Diego Sotelo had the honor of knocking off the first top-five wrestler in the tournament as he edged Big 12 champion, #5 Jore Volk of Wyoming. Volk wasn’t the only #5 to lose in session one. At 174 lbs, Harvard was on the wrong side of the result. #28 Jared Simma (Northern Iowa) knocked off #5 Phil Conigliaro. In the 125 lb weight class it was Harvard pulling the upset. Simma started with a tilt in the second period and didn’t look back in a 7-0 victory. The 141 lb bracket had it’s share of shenanigans as both #6 Cael Happel (Northern Iowa) and #10 Tagen Jamison (Oklahoma State) fell. Since they are next to each other in the brackets, they’ll square off in the consolations tonight. In the championship bracket, #23 Danny Fongaro (Indiana) and #27 Vance Vombaur (Minnesota) will meet with a berth in the quarterfinals on the line. Vombaur was seventh in the Big Ten, while Fongaro was ninth. Though they trailed for most of the first session, top-ranked Penn State did pour it on during the late and leads Nebraska by a point and a half. Even with a lead, Penn State wasn’t immune to the upset bug. Virginia’s Marlon Yarbrough scored early and often in a 13-5 major decision victory over #10 Aaron Nagao at 133 lbs. Penn State freshman Tyler Kasak was seeded seventh and had a tough draw with 2021 All-American Jaden Abas (Stanford). A second period takedown proved to be the difference for Abas in a 4-2 victory. Penn State went 8-2, while Nebraska was 8-1. Team Scores after Session One 1. Penn State 15.5 2. Nebraska 14 3. Michigan 13.5 4. Iowa State 13 5. Ohio State 12.5 6. Virginia Tech 11.5 7. Cornell 11 7. NC State 11 9. Iowa 10.5 10. Oklahoma State 10

The following are the upsets that occurred during the first round of the 2024 NCAA Championships. 125 lbs #17 Brett Ungar (Cornell) dec #16 Dean Peterson (Rutgers) 2-1TB #20 Stevo Poulin (Northern Colorado) dec #13 Noah Surtin (Mizzou) 3-1 #28 Diego Sotelo (Harvard) dec #5 Jore Volk (Wyoming) 5-3 #33 Tristan Lujan (Michigan State) dec #32 Michael Joyce (Brown) 8-4 133 lbs #21 Ethan Oakley (Appalachian State) dec #12 Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) 8-7 #22 Dom Zaccone (Campbell) dec #11 Zeth Romney (Cal Poly) 4-1 #23 Marlon Yarbrough (Virginia) maj #10 Aaron Nagao (Penn State) 13-5 #24 Julian Chlebove (Arizona State) dec #9 Dominick Serrano (Northern Iowa) 4-1 #33 Dyson Dunham (VMI) dec #32 Cayden Rooks (Indiana) 9-4 141 lbs #17 Isaiah Powe (Chattanooga) dec #16 Dylan Chappell (Bucknell) 9-4 #20 Tom Crook (Virginia Tech) dec #13 Jordan Titus (West Virginia) 4-1 #21 Josh Edmond (Missouri) dec #12 Wyatt Henson (Lock Haven) 4-1SV #23 Danny Fongaro (Indiana) dec #10 Tagen Jamison (Oklahoma State) 10-8 #26 Vance Vombaur (Minnesota) dec #7 Cael Happel (Northern Iowa) 8-5SV 149 lbs #17 Graham Rooks (Indiana) dec #16 Kelvin Griffin (Lehigh) 12-5 #18 Cody Bond (App State) dec #15 Corbyn Munson (Central Michigan) 11-4 #21 Willie McDougald (Oklahoma) dec #12 Ethen Miller (Maryland) 5-4 #20 Jordan Williams (Oklahoma State) dec #13 Caleb Rathjen (Iowa) 12-5 #22 Gabe Willochell (Wyoming) maj #11 Quinn Kinner (Rider) 8-0 #26 Jaden Abas (Stanford) dec #7 Tyler Kasak (Penn State) 4-2 #33 Michael Cetta (Rutgers) dec #32 Jeff Boyd (The Citadel) 8-5TB 157 lbs #19 Tommy Askey (App State) maj #14 Cody Chittum (Iowa State) 17-6 165 lbs #20 Hunter Garvin (Stanford) maj #13 Joey Bianchi (Little Rock) 11-0 #22 Noah Mulvaney (Bucknell) dec #11 Andrew Cerniglia (Navy) 10-9 #33 Jack Thomsen (Northern Iowa) maj #32 Jake Logan (Lehigh) 14-3 174 lbs #18 Ben Pasiuk (Army) dec #15 MJ Gaitan (Iowa State) 18-11 #19 Alex Cramer (Central Michigan) fall #14 Gaven Sax (North Dakota) 2:37 #21 Tyler Eischens (North Carolina) dec #12 Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) 9-7 #28 Jared Simma (Northern Iowa) dec #5 Philip Conigliaro (Harvard) 7-0 #33 Cael Valencia (Arizona State) dec #32 Brody Baumann (Purdue) 5-0 184 lbs #17 Will Feldkamp (Iowa State) fall #16 Nate Dugan (Princeton) 2:29 #18 Ryder Rogotzke (Ohio State) fall #15 Reece Heller (Pittsburgh) 2:28 #19 James Conway (F&M) dec #14 Chris Foca (Cornell) 5-4 #23 Layne Malczewski (Michigan State) dec #10 Dylan Fishback (NC State) 1-0 #24 Shane Leigel (Wisconsin) maj #9 Bennett Berge (South Dakota) 9-0 #25 David Key (Navy) dec #8 Sam Wolf (Air Force) 4-1 197 lbs #17 Joey Novak (Wyoming) dec #16 Luke Stout (Princeton) 9-6 #18 Nick Stemmet (Stanford) dec #15 Max Shaw (North Carolina) 6-4 #20 Evan Bockman (Utah Valley) dec #13 Levi Hopkins (Campbell) 3-2 TB-1 #22 Garrett Joles (Minnesota) dec #11 Jaxon Smith (Maryland) 6-5 #26 Andy Smith (Virginia Tech) dec #7 Zach Glazier (Iowa) 4-1SV #33 Evan Bates (Northwestern) dec #32 John Crawford (F&M) 285 lbs #17 Grady Griess (Navy) dec #16 Cory Day (Binghamton) 4-1SV #19 Dorian Crosby (Bucknell) dec #14 Boone McDermott (Oregon State) 6-5 #25 Bradley Hill (Iowa) dec #8 Owen Trephan (NC State) 4-2

Interviews during Session One at the 2024 NCAA Championships Gabe Willochell (Wyoming) Will Lewan (Michigan) Jaden Abas (Stanford) Jared Simma (Northern Iowa) James Conway (F&M) Brayton Lee (Indiana)

The NCAA DI Wrestling Championships are returning to Kansas City! It’s been awhile since Kansas City hosted the national tournament. 21 years to be exact. 21 years is a long time in the real world, but seemingly a century in the wrestling world. A lot has changed since 2003. Just how much? Well, here’s some fun notes from the 2003 tournament that would illustrate just how long ago it was. Oklahoma State started a run of four consecutive national titles outdistancing Minnesota by 38.5 points. Travis Lee won the 125 lb title for Cornell. He was the first national champion for Cornell since David Hirsch in 1994 and it helped propel Cornell into a consistent national power. The stud freshman of the year was Teyon Ware, the national champion at 141 lbs. He was one of two freshman national champions - Jake Rosholt was the other. Ware was the top seed at 141 and Rosholt was the #10 at 184. Ware and Zack Esposito were freshmen and the top-two seeds at 141 lbs. Braeden Davis and Luke Stanich are the first freshmen to be seeded #1/#2 at the same weight class since Ware/Espo. 2003 was just a year removed from Cael Sanderson becoming just the second DI wrestler to capture four national titles. A year later, he’d win a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Athens. Speaking of four titles, Greg Jones was on track to winning four titles after capturing one as a freshman in 2002. He went 2-2 at this tournament and it was the only time he missed out on the NCAA podium or didn’t win. Jones was one of four 2002 national champions that didn’t repeat in 2003. The others were Aaron Holker (141), Jared Lawrence (149), and Luke Becker (157). Josh Moore, Scott Moore, Jeremy Spates, John Clark, Chris Pendleton, Alex Clemsen, and Damion Hahn are current DI head coaches that competed in the tournament. In one of the most dramatic moments of the tournament, Damion Hahn locked up a takedown in the closing seconds of the 197 lb finals to defeat Jon Trenge. Steve Mocco won his first of his two NCAA titles as a sophomore wrestling for Iowa. Shockingly enough, Mocco redshirted the next year then transferred to Oklahoma State. Penn State placed sixth at the 2003 tournament. It was their first top-20 showing since 1999 when they took fourth. Arizona State’s Eric Larkin was the 149 lb champion and Hodge Trophy winner. His son, Kaleb, is a redshirting freshman on the ASU roster this year. The last time Lehigh had a freshman in the NCAA finals was in 2003 with Troy Letters at 165 lbs. Coincidentally, they have a pair of freshmen seeded second this year (Luke Stanich/Ryan Crookham). At this point in time, Missouri had never had an NCAA champion. The 2003 tournament was the most recent time that Northern Illinois had two All-Americans. Scott Owen took fifth at 157 and Ben Heizer was sixth at 184. Boise State, Boston, Cal-State Fullerton, Duquesne, Eastern Illinois, Fresno State, James Madison, Oregon, Portland State, Slippery Rock and UC Davis had wrestlers competing at this tournament…so, yeah. Along those same lines, this was before Fresno State dropped wrestling….the first time. At this time, Nebraska was in the Big 12, Missouri was officially in the Big 12, Maryland was in the ACC, and Rutgers was in the EIWA. Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia were in the EWL. In addition to the current conferences, wrestlers also qualified from the CAA, East Regional, EWL, and the West Regional. This was an era where wild cards were given out by conferences, rather than the NCAA, which led to unbalanced brackets. Below is the number of participants per weight class. 125 (34) 133 (36) 141 (32) 149 (32) 157 (36) 165 (32) 174 (33) 184 (34) 197 (34) 285 (29) Shawn Bunch, Rad Martinez, Frankie Edgar, Gray Maynard, Eric Larkin, Jerrod Sanders, Brian Cobb, Jacob Volkmann, Shane Roller,Tyron Woodley, Rashad Evans, Jake Rosholt, Gerald Harris, Mo Lawal, Stipe Miocic, Ryan Bader, Carmelo Marrero, and Kellan Fluckiger, Pat Cummins all participated in the 2003 NCAA Tournament and then went on to have success in the MMA world. Evans was responsible knocking Greg Jones out of the tournament. Nick Nemeth competed for Kent State at 165 lbs. He’s been known in the WWE as Dolph Ziggler.

It’s finally here. The first whistle in Kansas City will blow at noon ET on Thursday and we have some fire coming from the ACC. There will be a lot to keep an eye on, so I’ve got you covered with all the ACC matchups we could see on day one. I really like the way several of the brackets shape up for the conference and think they are in position to bring home more All-American honors than last year (12) and there are great paths for some to get to the big stage on Saturday night. There were two NCAA Champions from the ACC last year-Austin O’Connor and Nino Bonaccorsi; I think there is potential to match and potentially exceed that number if everything shakes out the right way. My *clearly biased* projections have the conference at 16 All-Americans with three in the finals on Saturday night - here’s hoping that comes true! Get your doctor’s notes ready for work, line up the screens and get a comfy chair, we’ve got three big days of wrestling ahead of us. 125 Jakob Camacho NC State 13-4 #7 Seed Opening match: Blake West (NIU) 27-6 Round two: Eric Barnett (WISC) 26-6 or Tanner Jordan (SDSU) 24-9 Cooper Flynn Virginia Tech 14-4 #11 Seed Opening match: Brayden Palmer (CHAT) 18-2 Round two: Troy Spratley (OKST) 21-6 or Max Gallagher (PENN) 20-8 133 Kai Orine NC State 15-2 #3 Seed Opening Match: Hunter Leake (CBU) 18-9 Round two: Julian Farber (UNI) 20-9 or Jacob Van Dee (NEB) 22-8 Sam Latona Virginia Tech 20-7 #12 Seed Opening Match: Ethan Oakley (APP) 26-7 Round two: Dylan Ragusin (MICH) 24-2 or Michael Colaiocco (PENN) 15-10 Marlon Yarbrough Virginia 15-7 #23 Seed Opening Match: Aaron Nagao (PSU) 14-5 Round two: Nasir Bailey (LR) 23-2 or Kade Moore (MIZZ) 11-5 141 Ryan Jack NC State 18-3 #4 Seed Opening Match: Greyson Clark (PUR) 16-8 Round two: Tom Crook (VT) 19-8 or Jordan Titus (WVU) 24-4 Lachlan McNeil North Carolina 21-6 #6 Seed Opening Match: Vance Vombaur (MINN) 16-8 Round two: Josh Koderhandt (NAVY) 22-6 or CJ Composto (PENN) 21-8 Cole Matthews Pittsburgh 16-10 #18 Seed Opening Match: Mitch Moore (RUT) 15-6 Round two: Beau Bartlett (PSU) 19-1 or Kai Owen (COL) 16-11 Tom Crook Virginia Tech 19-8 #20 Seed Opening Match: Jordan Titus (WVU) 24-4 Round two: Ryan Jack (NCST) 18-3 or Greyson Clark 16-8 149 Jackson Arrington NC State 18-3 #3 Seed Opening Match: Jude Swisher (PENN) 23-7 Round two: Joey Zargo (WISC) 20-9 or Dylan D’Emilio (OHST) 24-11 Caleb Henson Virginia Tech 25-2 #4 Seed Opening Match: Alek Martin (SDSU) 20-10 Round two: Caleb Rathjen (IOWA) 16-5 or Jordan Williams (OKST) 14-7 Finn Solomon Pittsburgh 17-10 #31 Seed Opening Match: Kyle Parco (ASU) 21-3 Round two: Corbyn Munson (CMU) 26-5 or Cody Bond (APP) 24-6 157 Ed Scott NC State 21-5 #4 Seed Opening Match: Legend Lamer (POLY) 14-10 Round two: Michael Blockhus (MINN) 15-3 or Max Brignola (LEH) 19-7 Bryce Andonian Virginia Tech 17-5 #12 Seed Opening Match: Lucas Revano (PENN) 21-9 Round two: Ryder Downey (UNI) 20-4 or Jared Hill (OU) 15-11 Sonny Santiago North Carolina 15-8 #27 Seed Opening Match: Daniel Cardenas (STAN) 24-6 Round two: Brayton Lee (IND) 11-2 or DJ McGee (GMU) 24-5 165 Connor Brady Virginia Tech 13-8 #18 Seed Opening Match: Brevin Cassella (BING) 28-7 Round two: Max Mayfield (NW) 15-15 or Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU) 21-0 Derek Fields NC State 15-4 #23 Seed Opening Match: Cameron Amine (MICH) 14-7 Round two: Izzak Olejnik (OKST) 24-5 or Domonic Baker (CAMP) 19-7 Nick Hamilton Virginia 11-7 #30 Seed Opening Match: Julian Ramirez (CORN) 22-2 Round two: Gunner Filipowicz (ARMY) 25-10 or Geno Petrucelli (AF) 22-7 174 Mekhi Lewis Virginia Tech 15-0 #1 Seed Opening Match: Cael Valencia (ASU) 11-13 or Brody Bauman (PUR) 12-14 Round two: Max Maylor (WIS) 18-7 or Jackson Turley (RUT) 15-6 Justin McCoy Virginia 17-5 #13 Seed Opening Match: Brody Conley (WVU) 24-7 Round two: Shane Griffith (MICH) 14-3 or Alex Faison (NCST) 13-12 Tyler Eischens North Carolina 13-7 #21 Seed Opening Match: Patrick Kennedy (IOWA) 15-5 Round two: Phillip Conigliaro (HAR) 24-3 or Jared Simma (UNI) 15-9 Luca Augustine Pittsburgh 14-6 #23 Seed Opening Match: Nico Incontrera (PENN) 24-5 Round two: Lennox Wolak (COL) 15-5 or Benny Baker (COR) 14-12 Alex Faison NC State 13-12 #29 Seed Opening Match: Shane Griffith (MICH) 14-3 Round two: Justin McCoy (UVA) 17-5 or Brody Conley (WVU) 24-7 184 TJ Stewart Virginia Tech 10-2 #7 Seed Opening Match: Maximus Hale (PENN) 21-8 Round two: Dylan Fishback (NCST) 17-7 or Layne Malczewski (MSU) 14-8 Dylan Fishback NC State 17-7 #10 Seed Opening Match: Layne Malczewski (MSU) 14-8 Round two: TJ Stewart (VT) 10-2 or Maximus Hale (PENN) 21-8 Reece Heller Pittsburgh 20-6 #15 Seed Opening Match: Ryder Rogotzke (OHST) 18-8 Round two: Isaiah Salazar (MINN) 21-1 or Tony Negron (ASU) 13-9 Gavin Kane North Carolina 19-9 #22 Seed Opening Match: Colton Hawkes (MIZZ) 16-6 Round two: Cameron Pine (CLAR) 23-7 or Bernie Truax (PSU) 14-4 197 Trent Hidlay NC State 24-0 #2 Seed Opening Match: Krystian Kinsey (UVA) 10-8 Round two: Max Shaw (UNC) 19-5 or Nicholas Stemmet (STAN) 28-8 Max Shaw North Carolina 19-5 #15 Seed Opening Match: Nick Stemmet (STAN) 28-8 Round two: Krystian Kinsey (UVA) 10-8 or Trent Hidlay (NCST) 24-0 Mac Stout Pittsburgh 21-6 #21 Seed Opening Match: Rocky Elam (MIZZ) 11-3 Round two: Jacob Cardenas (COR) 22-6 or Jack Wehmayer (COL) 22-11 Andy Smith Virginia Tech 16-9 #26 Seed Opening Match: Zach Glazier (IOWA) 24-2 Round two: Luke Geog (OHST) 15-8 or Silas Allred (NEB) 24-7 Krystian Kinsey Virginia 10-8 #31 Seed Opening Match: Trent Hidlay (NCST) 24-0 Round two: Max Shaw (UNC) 19-5 or Nick Stemmet (STAN) 28-8 285 Owen Trephan NC State 17-5 #8 Seed Opening Match: Bradley Hill (IOWA) 20-7 Round two: Nick Feldman (OHST) 24-5 or Keaton Kluever (HOF) 15-5 Dylan Pitzer Pittsburgh 11-5 #21 Seed Opening Match: Konnor Doucet (OKST) 19-9 Round two: Nathan Taylor (LEH) 23-3 or Trevor Tinker (POLY) 13-5 Hunter Catka Virginia Tech 13-6 #26 Seed Opening Match: Taye Ghadiali (CAMP) 32-3 Round two: Lucas Davison (MICH) 18-4 or Lucas Stoddard (ARMY) 23-14

The 2024 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships are less than a week away! In a few short days, 330 wrestlers will make the trek to Kansas City, with hopes of a national title on their minds. Now it's in a city that hasn't hosted nationals since 2003 , but by all accounts, should be a great host. Before the action on the mat starts, InterMat will go through each individual bracket and highlight the favorites, top matches to watch, and much more. The Top Seed: Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) For the first time, Greg Kerkvliet doesn’t have to worry about a Hodge Trophy winner blocking his way to a national championship. In 2021 and 2022 it was Gable Steveson, last year it was Mason Parris. Now, it’s his turn to make a case for the Hodge and get that elusive national title. Kerkvliet comes into the national tournament with a perfect 15-0 record and bonus points in over 70% of his contests. Kerkvliet is another version of this new breed of heavyweights that isn’t content to handfight and win 2-1 decisions. The nine points he scored in the Big Ten semifinals and championship bout represent his lowest scoring output of the tournament and in the final month and a half of the season. In fact, Kerkvliet was held to less than nine points only three times during the 2023-24 campaign. After winning the Journeymen Collegiate Classic during the second weekend of the regular season, Kerkvliet was selected to compete in the NWCA All-Star Match on Penn State’s campus against 2023 NCAA third-place finisher Wyatt Hendrickson. Kerkvliet needed less than five minutes to rack up an impressive 18-2 tech fall. You could probably argue that Hendrickson was feeling the aftermath of a knee injury suffered during the freestyle season; however, a win is a win. Kerkvliet’s path to a national title may not be as easy as most top seeds. There’s the possibility of a Big Ten finals rematch in the quarterfinals, as Nick Feldman is the ninth seed. The freshman, Feldman, earned the first takedown in the B1G championship match; however, it was all Kerkvliet after that. A potential semifinal could pit Kerkvliet against the only active collegiate wrestler with a career win against him, Cohlton Schultz. As the Hendrickson match got a disclaimer, Kerkvliet will get one as he was wrestling in the 2021 national tournament injured and has improved greatly since then. The Contenders: #2 Yonger Bastida (Iowa State), #3 Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force) The Conference Champions ACC: #8 Owen Trephan (NC State) Big 12: #2 Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) Big Ten: #1 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) EIWA: #5 Nathan Taylor (Lehigh) MAC: #18 David Szuba (Rider) Pac-12: #4 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) SoCon: #7 Taye Ghadiali (Campbell) Top First-Round Matches #16 Cory Day (Binghamton) vs. #17 Grady Griess (Navy) #12 Konner Doucet (Oklahoma State) vs. #21 Dayton Pitzer (Pittsburgh) #15 Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) vs. #18 David Szuba (Rider) I’m not sure what’s been more of a pleasant surprise this year, Yonger Bastida’s transition to heavyweight or his surprisingly fun social media/meme game. Another one dropped today! In both area’s Bastida has been a force; however, on the mat, he’s amassed a 24-0 record with bonus points in over 70% of his matches. Bastida put the country on notice a month into the season as he won the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational with bonus points in four of his five matches. A 5-3 win over two-time All-American Lucas Davison in the championship match was the lone regular decision. In early January, Bastida showed he could win a different style of match after he grinded out a 4-3 decision over multi-time All-American and Greco world team member Cohlton Schultz. Bastida locked up the second seed after handing Hendrickson his first regular season loss since December of 2022. In that match, Bastida showed some unreal defense and counter-offense against the dangerous Hendrickson. Speaking of Hendrickson, he’ll hold the third seed. Once again, he’s going to the national tournament with a resume that includes a boatload of bonus-point wins. 17 of Hendrickson’s 22 wins have come via fall. Last year, Hendrickson became Air Force’s first All-American in 20 years. That most recent All-American, Kevin Hoy, is also the last Air Force wrestler to AA twice. Senior Greco-Roman World Team member Cohlton Schultz comes in as the fourth seed. Schultz recently qualified the United States for the 2024 Games in Greco right before the Pac-12 Championships. Back on the folkstyle scene, Schultz captured his fourth Pac-12 title and is in line to get on the podium for the fourth time. This will be the fourth time that Schultz has had a top-five seed at nationals. Before that Schultz/Kerkvliet matchup, the Sun Devil star will likely have to go through EIWA champion #5 Nathan Taylor of Lehigh. Taylor had a breakout sophomore campaign that saw him lose only three times in 26 matches, two of which were against Kerkvliet. Early in the season, Taylor notched wins over #8 Owen Trephan and #18 David Szuba, who went on to win their respective conference tournaments. He’ll be in a position to build off a 1-2 showing at nationals as a freshman. Veteran Zach Elam slides into the sixth seed. Elam only has two losses on the year and both came against the #2 seed Bastida. Elam has been a podium threat his entire career, twice finishing in the Round of 12 and clocking in with a sixth-place finish last season. The SoCon Wrestler of the Year, Taye Ghadiali, holds the seventh seed at this weight. Ghadiali was a third-place finisher at the CKLV and holds a 12-match winning streak. In SoCon action, Ghadiali pinned or teched all of his competitors. The #8/#9 matchup on the top of the bracket is quite interesting with the ACC champion Trephan and Feldman. The pair met at the Collegiate Duals in mid-December and Trephan got the 8-6 victory; however, Feldman is wrestling much better of late and has two late-season wins over Davison. Darkhorse All-American Candidate: #13 Yaraslau Slavikouski (Rutgers) Based on seeds alone, a #13 breaking into the top ten can be unexpected. Seeing that #13 seed is Yaraslau Slavikouski, I’m not sure many people would be surprised if he were to make the top eight in his final try. Slavikouski was a sixth seed last year and finished in the bloodround. A late-season lull and a fourth-place finish at the Big Ten took Slavikouski from a top-eight seed to outside of the top ten. While he has a potentially difficult Round of 16 matchup with Schultz staring him in the face, Slavikouski is capable of making a run through the consi’s. Extreme (20+) Darkhorse All-American Contender: #21 Dayton Pitzer (Pittsburgh) I don’t know exactly what to expect from Pitt’s star freshman big man Dayton Pitzer. The Pennsylvania native came into the year with high expectations largely due to his performance at the 2022 Midlands, when he upset All-Americans Cohlton Schultz and Trent Hillger. Pitzer got off to a solid start this season, but was injured during a late-January dual versus Schultz. At the time, Panther head coach Keith Gavin said Pitzer was shut down until a potential postseason run. Pitzer returned for the ACC Championships and seemed to acquit himself well in a 7-3 loss to Trephan. He would get third, but needed to receive an at-large berth since the conference only earned two automatic berths. With another week and a half of preparation and rest under his belt, where is Pitzer? Is he capable of being a bracket-buster? His tournament will start with #12 Konner Doucet. Doucet defeated Pitzer 3-0 in his final bout before getting injured against Schultz. Should Pitzer find a way to get by Doucet, he’d likely have #5 Taylor. Pitzer is responsible for Taylor’s only non-Kerkvliet loss of the year. Again, if healthy, there’s a blueprint for Pitzer to go far in this tournament. The Team Race: There are plenty of potential team race implications involved in this weight class. Someone like Lucas Davison, in particular. At #10, he’s seeded and projected to miss the podium. In reality, I don’t think that happens. Getting Davison to wrestle above his seed certainly is positive for the Blue. There’s a scenario where Davison and Doucet meet in the Round of 12. Both squads will need those points. Speaking of the bloodround, our brackets have Trephan and Elam hitting for a spot on the podium, too. On the front side, the potential quarterfinal between Taylor and Schultz will see two top-heavy, tournament-style teams collide and one will get a guaranteed top-six finish. Projected Quarterfinals #1 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) vs. #9 Nick Feldman (Ohio State) #5 Nathan Taylor (Lehigh) vs. #4 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) #3 Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force) vs. #6 Zach Elam (Missouri) #10 Lucas Davison (Michigan) vs. #2 Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) Projected Semifinals #1 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) vs. #4 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) #3 Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force) vs. #3 Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) Projected All-Americans 1st) Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) 2nd) Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) 3rd) Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force) 4th) Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) 5th) Nick Feldman (Ohio State) 6th) Lucas Davison (Michigan) 7th) Zach Elam (Missouri) 8th) Nathan Taylor (Lehigh) Projected Round of 12 Finishers: #7 Taye Ghadiali (Campbell), #11 Josh Heindselman (Oklahoma), #12 Konner Doucet (Oklahoma State), #8 Owen Trephan (NC State) Projected Consolation Round of 16 Finishers: #15 Lewis Fernandes (Cornell), #14 Boone McDermott (Oregon State), #13 Yaraslau Slavikouski (Rutgers), #16 Cory Day (Binghamton)

The Pac-12 has one more chance to represent themselves as a conference at the NCAA Wrestling Championships. Arizona State leads with eight qualifiers while Stanford, Oregon State Cal Poly and Little Rock have five wrestlers. With the wrestlers ranked across each weight class, let’s take a look and predict where each wrestler can finish in their weight class. 125 No. 8 Richard Figueroa Ceiling: High All-American Floor: Bloodround Figueroa will have a tough matchup in the second round against Patrick McKee. Although McKee is known for his success in the wrestlebacks, his experience could lead him to a victory in the second round. Therefore, Figueroa must battle back a few rounds before most likely facing Troy Spratley. Figueroa lost 13-5 to Spratley earlier this season. No. 14 Nico Provo Ceiling: Bloodround Floor: 1-2 Nico Provo will face some wrestlers with more experience in March than him. If he can sneak past Jett Strickenberger in the first round, he will battle Drake Ayala. If he loses, Provo can wrestle Brandon Kaylor, Noah Surtin and Cooper Flynn. No. 21 Brandon Kaylor Ceiling: Bloodround Floor: 1-2 Kaylor is a long shot but can work his way through the bracket via wrestlebacks. Kaylor defeated Provo, Spratley and Jore Volk this season. In addition, he defeated Surtin in 2022, who could be one of his wrestleback matches. 133 No. 7 Nasir Bailey Ceiling: Fifth Place Floor: Bloodround Bailey is one of the lucky wrestlers in the skewed 133-pound bracket since he avoids Vito Arujau and Daton Fix. If Bailey can stick to his seeding, he will find himself beating Kade Moore and Aaron Nagao before falling to Ryan Crookham. Afterwards, Bailey can defeat Sam Latona and another wrestler to reach the fifth-place match. No. 11 Zeth Romney Ceiling: 2-2 Floor: 1-2 Romney was placed in one of the toughest spots in the bracket. If Romney wins the first round, he will face Arujau. Afterwards, Romney can see Michael Colaiocco and Jacob Van Dee. Therefore, Romney’s postseason could be short. No. 24 Julian Chlebove Ceiling: 1-2 Floor: 0-2 Chlebove starts the tournament against Dominick Serrano. If Chlebove loses, he will most likely face Braden Basile. Afterward, Chlebove can face Bailey or Nagao. Chlebove lost by decision to Bailey twice this season. 141 No. 14 Jesse Vasquez Ceiling: Eighth Place Floor: 1-2 Jesse Vasquez is a wild card in this weight class because he has not faced a handful of the wrestlers due to injuries the last two seasons. In addition, he has split two matches with Malyke Hines, lost to Tom Crook 7-5 in 2022 and only has one loss not by an injury default. Therefore, Vasquez can out wrestle his seeding. No. 26 Cleveland Belton Ceiling: 1-2 Floor: 0-2 Belton will be facing some All-American hopefuls within the first few rounds. Therefore, Belton’s only favorable matchup is the first round of consolation against Danny Fongaro. 149 No. 2 Kyle Parco Ceiling: NCAA Champion Floor: Fourth Place Parco is the only wrestler to defeat Ridge Lovett this season, beating him 4-3 in the Nebraska dual. Although Parco is not flashy, he can dominate any wrestler in this weight. On the other hand, he did lose to Caleb Henson at the beginning of the season and could see him if both are competing for third place. No. 10 Chance Lamer Ceiling: Seventh Place Floor: 2-2 If Lamer can win his first two matches, his path to All-American is in his favor. Since has yet to beat Parco, Lamer would drop to the bloodround. Afterward, Lamer has beaten several wrestlers he can run across during his time in the Big Ten. No. 26 Jaden Abas Ceiling: 1-2 Floor: 1-2 Similar to Belton, Abas will face All-American hopefuls in the first few rounds. Therefore, Abas will only have one really favorable matchup. 157 No. 2 Jacori Teemer Ceiling: NCAA Champion Floor: Fourth place Teemer’s explosiveness is unmatched in the 157-pound class. His neutral and bottom game can be unparalleled at times too. However, Teemer has weaknesses on top and when he catches his breath. Therefore, Teemer can see himself on the upset watch against a few wrestlers, including Peyten Kellar and Ed Scott. No. 6 Daniel Cardenas Ceiling: Seventh place Floor: Bloodround Daniel Cardenas has a few favorable matchups on Thursday. However, Cardenas has the opportunity to face Meyer Shapiro, Will Lewan, Teemer, and Kellar before reaching All-American status. Cardenas will have to beat some formidable opponents, but he has the capability to do so. No. 29 Legend Lamer Ceiling: 1-2 Floor: 0-2 Lamer has struggled at the NCAA Championships during his career. Last season, he went 0-2 while his freshman year, he went 2-2 as a ninth seed. After falling to Ed Scoott, Lamer will face either Michael Blockhus or Max Brignola. Lamer lost to Blockhus in 2022 but never faced Brignola. No. 31 Matthew Bianchi Ceiling: 1-2 Floor: 0-2 Bianchi is one of the lowest seeded wrestlers in the weight class. His one chance will come in the first round of consolations despite being the lower seed in every matchup. He will face Teemer in the first round. 165 No. 13 Joseph Bianchi Ceiling: Bloodround Floor: 1-2 Bianchi and Garvin face each other in the first round. Bianchi holds a 2-0 record against Garvin and should win again. Afterward, Bianchi faces David Carr. Once he drops to consolation, Binachi will have three potential toss-up matches that can have his season end early or make a push for All-American. No. 20 Hunter Garvin Ceiling: 2-2 Floor: 1-2 Garvin has yet to beat Bianchi and will most likely drop the third matchup between the two wrestlers. Garvin can win his next matchup before running across some more unfavorable opponents. 174 No. 8 Adam Kemp Ceiling: Seventh place Floor: Bloodround Since Carter Starocci drew the nine seed, Kemp will have to face the Penn State wrestler in the second round. The two wrestled last season and Starocci won 10-4. Afterward, Kemp will battle some unfamiliar wrestlers with weaker resumes. Kemp’s toughest potential matchups before placing will be Jackson Turley, whom he beat 8-5 this season, and Rocco Welsh. No. 33 Cael Valencia Ceiling: 1-2 Floor: 0-2 As the final wrestler to make the NCAA tournament, Valencia’s path is the toughest. If Valencia wins his pigtail matchup, he will face Mekhi Lewis. Afterward, Valencia will run across middle-tier wrestlers who could take care of him early. 184 No. 4 Trey Munoz Ceiling: Third place Floor: Seventh place Trey Munoz has struggled against the other top seeds in the weight class. Munoz has lost to Parker Keckeisen, Lenny Pinto, Bernie Truax and Dylan Fishback in the last two seasons. Therefore, Munoz will have to beat at least one of these guys to fulfill his seed. No. 31 Tony Negron Ceiling: 1-2 Floor: 0-2 Negron begins the tournament as a large underdog against Isaiah Salazar. If he falls to Salazar, Negron will have another tough battle against either Reece Heller or Ryder Rogotzke. 197 No. 9 Stephen Little Ceiling: Eighth place Floor: Bloodround Little lost to Stephen Buchanan 4-1 at the beginning of the season. If it is a similar result, Little will wrestle back as a favorite for a few matchups. Once Little reaches the bloodround, he would most likely need to defeat Tanner Sloan or Lou Deprez to reach All-American status. No. 18 Nick Stemmet Ceiling: 2-2 Floor: 0-2 Stemmet has beaten Max Shaw and Joseph Novak, a potential consolation matchup on Friday morning. On the other hand, Stemmet’s wins were by decision. If he does win, he would face Trent Hidlay. No. 29 Justin Rademacher Ceiling: 1-2 Floor 0-2 Rademacher’s only win against a NCAA qualifier was against Stemmet. However, Rademacher lost two against Stemmet and a handful of matches against NCAA qualifiers. Therefore, his postseason may end quickly. 285 No. 4 Cohlton Schultz Ceiling: NCAA Champion Floor: Sixth place If Schultz wins his first two matches, he will most likely face Nathan Taylor, whom he defeated 3-2 last season. Schultz will face Kerkvliet, who he also defeated in 2021. Schultz also faced Yonger Bastida this season, losing 4-3. Therefore, Schultz has an opportunity to pull off a couple of upsets and win it all. No. 14 Boone McDermott Ceiling: Bloodround Floor: 2-2 McDermott will most likely face Wyatt Hendrickson in the second round and drop to the consolation bracket. Afterward, McDermott will have a few toss-up matches that can put him within reach of an All-American status. No. 27 Josiah Hill Ceiling: 1-2 Floor: 0-2 Hill will begin against Zach Elam and could drop to the consolations. Afterward, Hill will face a few wrestlers on the verge of reaching All-American status. No. 28 Trevor Tinker Ceiling: 1-2 Floor: 0-2 Tinker is in the same situation as Hill. After facing Taylor, Tinker will need to face some middle-tier wrestlers looking to fight through the blood rounds. Team Predictions Arizona State Ceiling: Fourth place Floor: 10th place The Sun Devils' final standing will depend on Parco, Teemer and Schultz. If Parco or Teemer can win a title and Schultz out-wrestles his seed, ASU can return with another top-four finish. Cal Poly Ceiling: 25th Floor: 35th Chance Lamer and Adam Kemp are the only shots for the Mustangs to secure points in the tournament. If the Mustangs can earn around 10 points, they can find themselves fighting for top 25 status. Little Rock Ceiling: 20th Floor: 30th Little Rock relies on its young core of wrestlers. If Nasir Bailey and Stephen Little can make a run in their respective classes, Little Rock can turn heads in Kansas City. Oregon State Ceiling: 20th Floor: 30th Oregon State will rely heavily on a Munoz championship run for the majority of their points. However, if Kaylor can fight in wrestlebacks and McDermott wins a few, the Beavers can jump into the top 20. Stanford Ceiling: 25th Floor: 30th The majority of Stanford’s team points will come from Daniel Cardenas. Besides Cardenas, Provo may be a viable option for a couple of points during consolations.

The 2024 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships are less than a week away! In a few short days, 330 wrestlers will make the trek to Kansas City, with hopes of a national title on their minds. Now it's in a city that hasn't hosted nationals since 2003 , but by all accounts, should be a great host. Before the action on the mat starts, InterMat will go through each individual bracket and highlight the favorites, top matches to watch, and much more. The Top Seed: Aaron Brooks (Penn State) A move up to 197 lbs did nothing to slow down the dominance of three-time NCAA champion Aaron Brooks. Actually, he’s been more dominant than in past years. Amongst his 17 wins this season, Brooks has only had one match that ended in a regular decision. That came against #7 Zach Glazier in Penn State’s dual win over Iowa. Brooks reasserted himself against Glazier in the Big Ten finals and came away with a 19-3 tech in just over six minutes. For the year, Brooks has nine techs and four falls, to go along with three major decisions. Previously, Brooks' best bonus point percentage came in 2022-23, when it was right at 67%. Now he’s over 94%. Even with his long track record of success, this is just the second time that Brooks has entered the NCAA tournament with a perfect record. The Covid-shortened 2021 campaign was the other. Brooks has proven that he is capable of bouncing back from an unforeseen loss and sports an 84-3 career record. Anyone with a career win over Brooks is no longer wrestling collegiately, much less at the 197 lb weight class. If there were any doubts about Brooks’ ability to compete at the higher weight class he put those to rest very early in the 2023-24 campaign. In front of a home crowd, at Penn State’s Rec Hall, Brooks crushed the returning national runner-up, Tanner Sloan, 11-2 at the All-Star Classic. Sloan went on to claim the Big 12 title, losing only once in the regular season and comes to Kansas City with the third seed. Aside from the All-Star win over Sloan, Brooks has not met any of the other top-six seeds and only two of the top-ten during the 2023-24 season. That makes for plenty of potentially fun bouts this week and new matchups. For Brooks to cap off his career with a fourth NCAA title (and become either the first or second PSU wrestler to achieve the feat - Starocci pending), he might need to go through the opponent he edged to garner his first title, Trent Hidlay. Brooks won a narrow 3-2 decision over Hidlay in the 2021 NCAA finals. The Contenders: #2 Trent Hidlay (NC State) The Conference Champions ACC: #2 Trent Hidlay (NC State) Big 12: #3 Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State) Big Ten: #1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) EIWA: #4 Michael Beard (Lehigh) MAC: #25 Ben Smith (Cleveland State) Pac-12: #9 Stephen Little (Little Rock) SoCon: #13 Levi Hopkins (Campbell) Top First-Round Matches #16 Luke Stout (Princeton) vs. #17 Joey Novak (Wyoming) #13 Levi Hopkins (Campbell) vs. #20 Evan Bockman (Utah Valley) #14 John Poznanski (Rutgers) vs. #19 Wyatt Voelker (Northern Iowa) #10 Silas Allred (Nebraska) vs. #23 Luke Geog (Ohio State) #15 Max Shaw (North Carolina) vs. #18 Nick Stemmet (Stanford) Aside from perhaps 165 lbs, is there any potential final more anticipated than Aaron Brooks versus Trent Hidlay? We’ve already illustrated how dominant Brooks has been after moving up to 197 lbs. Well, Hidlay has been just as incredible. Hidlay is 24-0 and has only failed to secure bonus points in three matches on the year. Early in the season, Hidlay grabbed titles at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic and the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. At the Journeymen, Hidlay majored #4 Michael Beard, handing him his only loss of the season. In Vegas, Hidlay majored #5 Jacob Cardenas, his first of two wins on the year over the EIWA runner-up. The highest returning placewinner from the 2023 tournament is Tanner Sloan, who was the runner-up to Nino Bonaccorsi at this weight. Sloan’s only official loss this year came to #11 Jaxon Smith in the CKLV semifinals. He bounced back to grab third and started an 18-match winning streak that has carried him into Kansas City. Sloan captured the Big 12 title by edging long-time rival and three-time All-American #12 Rocky Elam, 1-0. Though they are not necessarily seeded prominently, the other contenders in Sloan’s Big 12 weight class, Elam and #3 Stephen Buchanan, both have top-three finishes at nationals under their belts. They are both prime candidates to wrestle above their seeds. Beard is looking to get back onto the podium for the first time since 2021. Last year, Beard was an EIWA runner-up, earned the fifth seed and came up a match shy of All-American status. This time he won a deep EIWA bracket that contains two past All-Americans and gets the fourth seed. His loss to Hidlay is the only blemish on Beard’s resume in 2023-24 and he heads to KC with a 20-match winning streak of his own. Beard’s conference rival, Cardenas, holds the fifth seed. Should both he and Beard advance to the quarterfinals, it could make for their third meeting this season. Beard has swept the first two. Last season, they split their two meetings with Cardenas getting the EIWA title and finishing on the national podium, in eighth place. Cardenas had to wrestle one of the toughest schedules in the nation. He had a combined eight matches against opponents who finished with top-9 seeds. One of the best stories in all of collegiate wrestling is that of the #6 seed Louie DePrez. In the second half of the 2022-23 season, DePrez retired due to injuries and quickly transitioned to the Binghamton coaching staff. About a month into the 2023-24 campaign, DePrez announced he was returning to competition and proceeded to win his first nine matches, before running into Beard. DePrez had a dual win over Cardenas, but ultimately finished third in the EIWA. The Bearcat vet doesn’t have many recent matches against the favorites, outside of the EIWA, so he could definitely be a wild card in this bracket. Perhaps the biggest surprise at this weight was the emergence of Zach Glazier as a podium threat. Glazier was a spot-starter over the last three years for Iowa behind All-American Jacob Warner. With Warner out of the picture, Glazier won the starting role and never looked back. His only two losses on the year have come to top-seeded Aaron Brooks. At the Big Ten Championships, Glazier knocked off Maryland’s Jaxon Smith, in front of his home fans, to make the title match. Aside from Brooks, Glazier hasn’t hit many of the top out-of-conference opponents, either, so he could mess up the brackets. Darkhorse All-American Candidate: #14 John Poznanski (Rutgers) 2021 NCAA fourth-place finisher John Poznanski comes in as a dangerous 14th seed. Poznanski redshirted the 2022-23 season and came up at 197 lbs and won his first 12 matches this season. He ended up dropping his final two Big Ten duals and would finish seventh in the conference, which led to a lower-than-you’d-expect 14th seed. Poznanski has a very tough first-round bout with Northern Iowa’s tough redshirt freshman Wyatt Voelker. Even if Poznanski comes up short against the young Panther, I’d expect him to be able to gather some consolation wins and push for All-American status. Should he win, that would set up a Round of 16 matchup with #3 Sloan. Extreme (20+) Darkhorse All-American Contender: #21 Mac Stout (Pittsburgh) 197 lbs really has a couple of strong tiers of competitors, so it’s difficult to picture someone outside of the top-20 making a deep impact. That being said, let’s go with the redshirt freshman from Pittsburgh. Last year, he watched his teammate Nino Bonaccorsi win a title in a bracket that largely featured many of the same competitors. Stout generally did what you would expect this season - he beat the wrestlers ranked below him and fought hard against those above him. Sometimes for freshmen, those breakthroughs come on the national stage. Stout’s opening match comes against Rocky Elam, who should be considered a national title contender, if healthy; however, he’s been very limited this season. Another angle here is that Mac’s older brother, Luke, qualified for the tournament at 197 lbs for Princeton, as well. It looks like both would have to advance deep into the tournament for them to meet. The Team Race: This is a weight where a couple of the team trophy contenders could possibly outwrestle their seeds. Iowa (Glazier) and Missouri (Elam) come to mind. Our projections have Lehigh's Beard slightly outwrestling his. Some key bouts that involve contending teams are quarterfinals with a Cardenas/Elam winner and Beard, along with the final quarter between the Glazier/Allred winner and Hidlay. Projected Quarterfinals #1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) vs. #9 Stephen Little (Little Rock) #4 Michael Beard (Lehigh) vs. #12 Rocky Elam (Missouri) #3 Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State) vs. #11 Jaxon Smith (Maryland) #7 Zach Glazier (Iowa) vs. #2 Tanner Hidlay (NC State) Projected Semifinals #1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) vs. #4 Michael Beard (Lehigh) #3 Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State) vs. #2 Trent Hidlay (NC State) Projected All-Americans 1st) Aaron Brooks (Penn State) 2nd) Trent Hidlay (NC State) 3rd) Michael Beard (Lehigh) 4th) Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State) 5th) Rocky Elam (Missouri) 6th) Zach Glazier (Iowa) 7th) Stephen Buchanan (Oklahoma) 8th) Stephen Little (Little Rock) Projected Round of 12 Finishers: #10 Silas Allred (Nebraska), #6 Louie DePrez (Binghamton), #5 Jacob Cardenas (Cornell), #11 Jaxon Smith (Maryland) Projected Consolation Round of 16 Finishers: #18 Nick Stemmet (Stanford), #19 Wyatt Voelker (Northern Iowa), #14 John Poznanski (Rutgers), #16 Luke Stout (Princeton)

This is it! All we have left is to watch the NCAA Tournament. And before that the crew got together to make their NCAA picks. Which are the best? Which are the most out there? Which are destined to fail? Watch and see:

The 2024 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships are less than a week away! In a few short days, 330 wrestlers will make the trek to Kansas City, with hopes of a national title on their minds. Now it's in a city that hasn't hosted nationals since 2003 , but by all accounts, should be a great host. Before the action on the mat starts, InterMat will go through each individual bracket and highlight the favorites, top matches to watch, and much more. The Top Seed: Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) Northern Iowa has become 184 lb U over the last five seasons with a national title from Drew Foster in 2019, a top seed at national from Taylor Lujan, and four years with Parker Keckeisen. Keckeisen has amassed a 95-5 record during his time with UNI - earning All-American honors three times and never placing lower than third. In fact, three of his five losses have come at the hands of three-time national champion Aaron Brooks, who has since moved up to 197 lbs. With Brooks moving up to 197, Keckeisen has taken over as the favorite at 184 lbs. Not only has Keckeisen gone undefeated, he’s seemed to separate himself from the rest of the pack. Only three of his 2023-24 bouts have ended without bonus points. Early in the season, Keckeisen was selected to wrestle in the NWCA All-Star Match. In the exhibition, Keckeisen rallied to defeat three-time All-American, Bernie Truax, on his new home mat at Penn State’s Rec Hall. A week after the All-Star Classic, Keckeisen went out west and won the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. En route to a title, Keckeisen majored a pair of returning All-Americans. The previous year he fell in the finals. Keckeisen was able to navigate through the Big 12 dual season and tournament, in a weight class that took six wrestlers to nationals, without issue. He posted two wins over third-seeded Dustin Plott - the second came in the conference finals and was via major decision. Over the last two years (including the All-Star Classic), Keckeisen has a combined six wins over the wrestlers who hold the second-through-sixth seeds. We’ll see how he handles being the hunted instead of the hunter - but all indications thus far are that he won’t have any problems. The Contenders: #2 Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota), #3 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State), #4 Trey Munoz (Oregon State), #5 Lenny Pinto (Nebraska), #6 Bernie Truax (Penn State) The Conference Champions ACC: #7 TJ Stewart (Virginia Tech) Big 12: #1 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) Big Ten: #2 Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) EIWA: #13 Aaron Ayzerov (Columbia) MAC: #30 Malachi DuVall (George Mason) Pac-12: #4 Trey Munoz (Oregon State) SoCon: #33 Tomas Brooker (Appalachian State) Top First-Round Matches #16 Nate Dugan (Princeton) vs. #17 Will Feldkamp (Iowa State) #12 Jaden Bullock (Michigan) vs. #21 Brian Soldano (Rutgers) #13 Aaron Ayzerov (Columbia) vs. #20 Jacob Nolan (Binghamton) #11 Colton Hawks (Missouri) vs. #22 Gavin Kane (North Carolina) #10 Dylan Fishback (NC State) vs. #23 Layne Malczewski (Michigan State) #15 Reece Heller (Pittsburgh) vs. #18 Ryder Rogotzke (Ohio State) A year after losing in the NCAA Round of 12, Isaiah Salazar has turned into one of the top contenders in the 184 lb weight class. Salazar suffered a loss the first weekend of December and has been perfect ever since. During the second week of the Big Ten dual season, Salazar picked up his biggest win over the regular season when he knocked off Lenny Pinto, 4-1. In some circles, Salazar was seen as an unknown before the Big Ten Championships. Because of the way the Big Ten schedule broke, Salazar didn’t have the opportunity to hit many of the top contenders at the weight. That sorted itself out in Maryland as he held steady against Jaden Bullock and Bernie Truax to capture his first Big Ten title. Keckeisen’s Big 12 finals opponent Dustin Plott holds the third seed. Plott was a two-time NCAA sixth-place finisher at 174 lbs and moved up to 184 in the offseason. That move proved to be a wise decision as Plott turned in his most consistent collegiate campaign to date. Plott was third at the CKLV and after Vegas, his only losses came to Keckeisen. Fourth-seeded Trey Munoz won his first ten matches of the year before having a rough showing in Vegas. He rebounded big time with a win over Bernie Truax right after the New Year. Munoz made the NCAA semifinals last year and was injured against Keckeisen, then had to forfeit down to sixth place. Pinto’s regular season saw him lose three times, all of which came to wrestlers who went on to earn top-three seeds at nationals. He did post a win over Plott before losing to him in the third-place bout at the CKLV. The same goes for Truax, Pinto defeated him in their dual clash, but lost in the Big Ten semifinals. Truax was a three-time NCAA fourth-place finisher for Cal Poly who chose to finish his career with Penn State. While he sports a relatively modest 14-4 record, Truax has done his best work in the postseason. He’s the only wrestler in this bracket with a collegiate win over Keckeisen. The seventh seed belongs to TJ Stewart a redshirt freshman for Virginia Tech - a conference champion in a deep ACC weight class. The Hokies had a few veterans who had an opportunity to win the starting role, before Stewart seized the gig. During the final two weeks of the regular season, Stewart earned a pair of high-quality wins over opponents ranked in the top-15. Though he only had ten matches under his belt, Stewart was able to earn an allocation for the ACC. At the ACC Championships, Stewart avenged one of his two losses on the year by downing 2023 All-American Gavin Kane, before winning the title with a second victory over fellow freshman Dylan Fishback. Darkhorse All-American Candidate: #14 Chris Foca (Cornell) Ok, so this is kind of cheating. Chris Foca was third in the nation last season at a loaded 174 lb weight class and spent the majority of the season in the top ten. Foca’s kryptonite proved to be fellow New Jersey native Aaron Ayzerov of Columbia who was responsible for half of six losses on the year. Luckily, they’re on different halves of the bracket and probably wouldn’t meet unless something wacky happens. After a first-round win, Foca could have a matchup with third-seeded Plott. That may not be favorable; however, Foca is capable of a deep run through the consolations. Extreme (20+) Darkhorse All-American Contender: #21 Brian Soldano (Rutgers) There aren’t any obvious picks here among wrestlers in the top 20, so why not go with Rutgers sophomore Brian Soldano. Soldano has one of the most wide-open styles of anyone in the nation. He’s capable of stringing together multiple pins and is never out of a match. Last season, Soldano was 2-2 in Tulsa, but both of his wins came via fall over opponents seeded higher than him. The Team Race: The squad expected to be in the team race that could benefit the most at this weight is Cornell, if Foca goes on a podium run. At this point, he isn’t even seeded to make the Round of 12. Projected Quarterfinals #1 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) vs. #9 Bennett Berge (South Dakota State) #5 Lenny Pinto (Nebraska) vs. #4 Trey Munoz (Oregon State) #3 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) vs. #6 Bernie Truax (Penn State) #7 TJ Stewart (Virginia Tech) vs. #2 Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) Projected Semifinals #1 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) vs. #5 Lenny Pinto (Nebraska) #3 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) vs. #2 Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) Projected All-Americans 1st) Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) 2nd) Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) 3rd) Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) 4th) Lenny Pinto (Nebraska) 5th) Bernie Truax (Penn State) 6th) Chris Foca (Cornell) 7th) Trey Munoz (Oregon State) 8th) TJ Stewart (Virginia Tech) Projected Round of 12 Finishers: #10 Dylan Fishback (NC State), #9 Bennett Berge (South Dakota State), #13 Aaron Ayzerov (Columbia), #8 Sam Wolf (Air Force) Projected Consolation Round of 16 Finishers: #18 Ryder Rogotzke (Ohio State), #21 Brian Soldano (Rutgers), #12 Jaden Bullock (Michigan), #17 Will Feldkamp (Iowa State)

The 2024 NCAA Wrestling tournament should be absolutely wild. This year seems to have more parity than we’ve seen in the last several years. By my count, I have only one weight where I believe I know exactly what will happen. Even at 197, where we have a solid favorite in Aaron Brooks (a guy going for his 4th seems like a solid bet, although it seemed that way last year also), on the other side of the bracket is Trent Hidlay, who could absolutely spoil Brooks plans and win it all himself. We’ve had more surprising outcomes is what I’m saying. So for fun here, I thought I’d put together a list of my top 10 confidence picks in B1G wrestlers who could win an NCAA title. This won’t necessarily be a B1G guy at each weight class, because maybe I don’t have any confidence in a B1G wrestler to win at a particular weight. In fact, there are a couple of weights where I have more than one B1G ranked. We’ll start at 10, and work our way to the most confident pick. Let’s begin. Honorable Mentions: A couple of shoutouts to some wrestlers who won’t be mentioned here, but I wanted to recognize. The first honorable mention is any B1G 125-pound wrestler. Literally, anyone can win this weight, which is why it’s tough to have a tremendous amount of confidence in any of them. Can you see a world where Patrick McKee goes on a run and wins it all? Absolutely. Penn State true freshmen win titles all the time, so Davis could absolutely get it done. Could Drake Ayala put it together and win an NCAA title the year after Spencer Lee finishes up? Sure! 125 is Kevin Garnett. Anything is possible. Beau Bartlett should get a shoutout here. He was the top-ranked 141 for most of the year, but I don’t have enough confidence in his offensive output to be able to put it together and get it done here. 141 is too tough, and you’ll see later on that I have two other guys I’m more confident in at the weight, but let’s give him an honorable mention here. Additionally, at 141 I’m putting in Sergio Lemley as an honorable mention. That guy just keeps getting better and has shown he’s as dangerous as anyone, so he’s getting a shoutout as well. Edmond Ruth absolutely has a path. The bottom side of the 174-pound bracket is undoubtedly easier than the top side, and in general, guys named Ed Ruth tend to wrestle really well at this tournament. Is it super likely, no. Whoever comes through on the top side should be the favorite going into the NCAA finals, but Edmond is stingy enough and good enough to get it done if the top side is just spent after going through that gauntlet. 10. Matt Ramos - Purdue, 125. I just have confidence in a guy who has been number one in the country at the wildest weight more than anyone else has this season. He’s dropped some matches here and there, but I’ve seen this guy come through on the big stage before. I know he’s the four seed, and conventional wisdom would say to pick the 1 or 3 seeds from the same conference, but I’m not doing that. I’m riding with my dude Ramos. It’s tough to have any level of confidence at a weight that has been completely crazy all year long, but the boilermaker is the one I have the most confidence in on Monday, March 18th. 9. Austin Gomez - Michigan, 149. This is where the questions begin, but again, this is a confidence ranking system. Do you have confidence in a B1G 184 to win it? Me either. How about 133? Not really. Not as much as I believe AG has a shot to win it all at 149. He’s in his final season of college wrestling and I believe he’s going to leave it all out there. Winning an NCAA title is what he came back to do, and he’s absolutely dangerous enough and capable enough to do it. I mean, we just watched this guy beat Nick Lee! Shouldn’t that count for something? He’s as dangerous as it gets and can win any match he’s in. He has a solid road to the finals and as a result, he’s someone I have confidence in. 8. Carter Starocci - Penn State, 174. A couple weeks ago, I’d have had Carter in the top three here. Clearly, a lot has happened since then though. The injury sustained during the closing seconds of the Edinboro match changed the fortunes of so many wrestlers. Also, he has an insanely tough road being the ninth seed. He’ll have to beat Mekhi Lewis, but he would have likely had to do that anyway. He’ll just have him likely on Friday morning rather than Saturday night. That being said, I still have seen enough of Carter to know that he’s not going down without a fight. This guy is literally preparing to fight people in a cage for money, so he’s the guy who I think will fight hard enough to get it done. Carter looked healthy when walking around at B1Gs, but we didn’t get to see him wrestle. Regardless, the extra time off couldn’t have hurt him, and he’ll be prepared and have a game plan to get things done. I have a huge amount of confidence in even an 85% healthy Starocci to win it all. 7. Mitchell Messenbrink - Penn State, 165. I would have Mitch higher in this if there weren’t two other NCAA Champs in his weight class. Thankfully for Mitch, those two dudes are on the top side of the bracket, so he’ll likely only need to wrestle one of them. He’s shown all season that he’s a super freak, and can buzzsaw through anyone. His pace is insane, his attack rate and variety are nuts, and his confidence seems to be on another level. Again, I know Keegan O’Toole is great, as is David Carr, but I believe in Mitch. I have confidence. He can do it! Also, I have less confidence in Julian Ramirez of Cornell, the three seed on his side of the bracket. He should have a clear path to the finals, and at that point, anything can happen. 6. Real Woods - Iowa, 141. He’s been so close so many times, and this is it for him. This is the last chance. Things just got real (pun heavily intended). A theme you’ll start to pick up on is my level of confidence in guys who have a variety of ways to score is higher than the guys who win close matches over and over. Real can score and is dangerous all over the mat, and that paired with his final chance makes me think, he’ll be able to get it done. I like his road, and in a weight where everyone has a couple losses, Real is the sort of guy who would show up at the right time and put together a nice run. 5. Ridge Lovett - Nebraska, 149. Lovett has been as close to perfect as you can get without being perfect. He’s beaten just about everyone at the weight, and just barely lost to Parco, which is not a bad loss. Again, Lovett has so many ways to win matches. You want to go on your feet? He can do that. Riding time points? Yeah, Ridge is good on top and bottom. He’s a cool customer, he’s been to the finals before, he feels like it’s his time. I have slightly more confidence in Ridge than I do in Gomez, mostly because he’s beaten Gomez twice this year, but again, anything can happen. 4. Jesse Mendez - Ohio State, 141. Mendez has looked so damn good all year. He only has the two losses all season, one to Cole Matthews and one to Beau Bartlett (which he avenged in the B1G finals). He’s absolutely deserving of the 1 seed and should be the favorite. The only reason he isn’t higher than 4 is that this weight has a lot of parity and there are too many guys that I could be talked into getting it done. Mendez though is the guy I have the most confidence in. He has looked excellent since moving up to 141, so I’m not concerned with his weight being an issue, and he can score in so many ways. Jesse is a bad dude, and he’s ready to get it done. 3. Levi Haines - Penn State, 157. This weight class is pretty wild, and there are a couple guys who could get it done. Or at least that’s how I felt a couple weeks ago. Since then, Levi Haines has looked really good and has absolutely earned the number one seed. He’s been ranked number one all year long, has beaten enough of the top guys at the weight, and can wrestle exceptionally well in all positions. Plus he gets to train with the rest of the PSU guys, so you know he’ll be as prepared as anyone. My only real concern is around his weight management, but he appears to have that under control, and should have a solid path to the finals. Haines is ready to collect his first NCAA title, and I expect it to happen. 2. Aaron Brooks - Penn State, 197. Brooks is going for his 4th NCAA championship, and possibly his second one over Trent Hidlay. That’s the expected finals matchup, and I sure hope we get it. Brooks has been as dominant as anyone has been for years, and should very likely win the Hodge, assuming he is able to get this done. I’ll never forget listening to him wrestle in the B1G finals and hearing him club Kaleb Romero last season. It was so much more physical than comes through the television. He’s been a monster at 197, and I would have him probably at 1, but Trent Hidlay is also a monster who has looked awesome at 197. This is the match I want more than anything else, but I still will go into it expecting Aaron to get it done. 1. Greg Kerkvliet - Penn State, 285. He’s a super freak and has destroyed everyone this whole year. Really he destroyed everyone not named Mason Parris last season as well, so two full years of being in complete control of everyone. He wrestles like a 174, but add 100 pounds and he’s 8 feet tall (I don’t know how tall he is, but he’s enormous). No disrespect to Wyatt, Yonger, or Cohlton, but I feel like one of these is different from the others. Greg Kerkvliet is the guy I have the most confidence in winning an NCAA title from the B1G this year.

The 2024 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships are less than a week away! In a few short days, 330 wrestlers will make the trek to Kansas City, with hopes of a national title on their minds. Now it's in a city that hasn't hosted nationals since 2003 , but by all accounts, should be a great host. Before the action on the mat starts, InterMat will go through each individual bracket and highlight the favorites, top matches to watch, and much more. The Top Seed: Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) It’s the most controversially seeded weight class of the tournament….174 lbs! What isn’t up for debate is who should have received the number one seed. Technically, the only unbeaten wrestler at this weight is Mekhi Lewis the 2019 NCAA champion, who just won his fourth ACC title. Lewis’ season had a couple-week interruption as he was injured during his unofficial All-Star bout against Carter Starocci. Once back in the lineup, Lewis was the consistent force that Hokie fans have come to know and love. Lewis may have benefited from the three-point takedown rule as his bonus point rate crept above 50% for the first time in his career. Five of his fifteen pre-NCAA bouts ended via tech fall. At the ACC Championships, Lewis claimed his fourth title by defeating Virginia’s Justin McCoy, 8-1. That was an improvement upon their dual meeting when he was only able to get away with a 2-0 win. There’s been a lot of discussion about the health of the other two NCAA champions in this bracket, Starocci and Shane Griffith. But bringing the talks back to Lewis, it appears as if he’s going into the national tournament healthier than any time since his national championship-winning performance in 2019. If the others are feeling the after-effects of their injuries and Lewis is relatively fresh, he should be the favorite to stand on top of the podium again on Saturday. The Contenders: #2 Cade Devos (South Dakota State), #3 Edmond Ruth (Illinois), #4 Shane Griffith (Michigan), #9 Carter Starocci (Penn State) The Conference Champions ACC: #1 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) Big 12: #2 Cade DeVos (South Dakota State) Big Ten: #3 Edmond Ruth (Illinois) EIWA: #7 Lennox Wolak (Columbia) MAC: #19 Alex Cramer (Central Michigan) Pac-12: #8 Adam Kemp (Cal Poly) SoCon: #11 Austin Murphy (Campbell) Top First-Round Matches #16 Jackson Turley (Rutgers) vs. #17 Max Maylor (Wisconsin) #8 Adam Kemp (Cal Poly) vs. #25 Brayden Thompson (Oklahoma State) #13 Justin McCoy (Virginia) vs. #20 Brody Conley (West Virginia) #11 Austin Murphy (Campbell) vs. #22 Peyton Mocco (Missouri) #10 Nick Incontrera (Penn) vs. #23 Luca Augustine (Pittsburgh) #15 MJ Gaitan (Iowa State) vs. #18 Ben Pasiuk (Army West Point) So, let’s get to it! The seeding at this weight class was certainly eye-opening. We knew since Starocci weighed in and injury defaulted out of both of his Big Ten matches, he would suffer from a seeding standpoint. Griffith also was injured at the end of his Big Ten semifinal and didn’t wrestle in the finals. What we didn’t know was that Starocci would get pushed all the way down to the ninth seed and Griffith had a more reasonable one - at four. The intention is to punish Starocci and not set a precedent that allows wrestlers to avoid the conference tournament and still get seeded as if nothing happened. It makes sense. But, putting Starocci at the number nine seed punishes Lewis probably moreso than Starocci - provided the Nittany Lion star is healthy. That’s the question though. Is Starocci healthy enough to win his fourth NCAA title? A follow-up may be, for a wrestler that was likely considered the best pound-for-pound in the nation, at what percentage could he be and still win? It’s almost as if Starocci can pick back up where he left off. His first match will be against Minnesota’s Andrew Sparks, the same opponent that Starocci injury defaulted against in the Big Ten quarterfinals. I’m sure it’s on Starocci’s mind that Sparks was across the mat from him when his 63-match winning streak came to an end. Griffith is also on the same half of the bracket and could face a Lewis/Starocci winner in the semifinals. Of course, that is health pending on all parties. Griffith is in his final year of eligibility after spending his first five years at Stanford. During his time with the Cardinal, Griffith made the NCAA podium on three occasions, including his incredible run in 2021 that preceded the reversal of the elimination of wrestling and 11 other sports. The bottom half of the bracket features Big 12 champion Cade DeVos as the second seed and Edmond Ruth as the third. DeVos comes in with a sparkling 21-1 record, with his only loss coming to Griffith. Though he’s yet to AA in his career, DeVos proved he was a contender at this weight by winning the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. There he downed a pair of All-Americans (who are now injured and unable to compete). Ruth made his first appearance at nationals last year and came up a match shy of placing. This year he’s been excellent with a Midlands title and only one loss against an opponent in this field (Patrick Kennedy). Before receiving a forfeit in the Big Ten finals from Griffith, Ruth outlasted Sparks and Ohio State freshman Rocco Welsh in a pair of sudden victory contests. Welsh is in Ruth’s quarter as the sixth seed. He was pulled from redshirt after a season-ending injury to Carson Kharchla and looked the part from day one. Welsh’s only losses on the year have been extremely close decisions to Ruth, Griffith, and Starocci. Also on the bottom half of the bracket is EIWA champion Lennox Wolak. Wolak, a qualifier in 2023, took it to another level this year with bonus points in three of his four conference championship bouts. He could potentially meet Ivy League opponents in his first two NCAA matches. Going into the EIWA Tournament, Phil Conigliaro was considered the conference favorite. He had only lost once in the regular season. Conigliaro ended up in fourth place after a pair of losses to Cornell’s Benny Baker. Those didn’t necessarily hurt Conigliaro in the seeding process, as he’s the number five. Darkhorse All-American Candidate: #12 Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) We’re not exactly going out on a limb here! Picking a 12th seed to get on the podium isn’t exactly an earth-shattering prediction. I do like the Round of 12 matchup with Kennedy and Conigliaro, then Kennedy to take advantage of a likely-limited Griffith and make the semifinals. Last year, Kennedy was a Big Ten runner-up and the sixth seed, but did not place partially because of upsets that happened around him, which loaded the consolations. If you want a bit more of a risky prediction, we have #14 Justin McCoy on the podium, too. He’ll likely have to go through some of the heavy hitters from the Ivy League to crack the top eight. Extreme (20+) Darkhorse All-American Contender: #25 Brayden Thompson (Oklahoma State) In some weights, it can be difficult to find a 20+ seed or two that can do damage. That’s not the case here - there are quite a few. We’ll go with the true freshman wrestling in his first national tournament, Brayden Thompson. Thompson opens his tournament with Pac-12 champion Adam Kemp, who is seeded eighth. Kemp is a veteran that hasn’t really hit many of the top competitors this year, so it's difficult to gauge how he stacks up against contenders. Thompson has had his moments during a 12-9 season. He wrestled back for third place at the Big 12 Championships and during the regular season, Thompson downed returning All-American Peyton Mocco in sudden victory. The opening-round matchup with Kemp is winnable for Thompson; however, even if he loses, I like his possible consolation path. The Team Race: There’s a lot of variance at this weight and it certainly has an impact on the team race. A title from Lewis, combined with his teammates' performances, could push Virginia Tech into that trophy neighborhood. If Griffith is close to 100%, he could place anywhere from first to third. If not, he could struggle to place. That’s a wide range of options for a Michigan team squarely in the trophy hunt. Though Kennedy is seeded 12th, he has a good show at the podium, which is surely to help Iowa improve upon their 9th place finish (based on seeds). Projected Quarterfinals #1 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) vs. #9 Carter Starocci (Penn State) #12 Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) vs. #4 Shane Griffith (Michigan) #3 Edmond Ruth (Ilinois) vs. #6 Rocco Welsh (Ohio State) #7 Lennox Wolak (Columbia) vs. #2 Cade DeVos (South Dakota State) Projected Semifinals #9 Carter Starocci (Penn State) vs. #12 Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) #6 Rocco Welsh (Ohio State) vs. #2 Cade DeVos (South Dakota State) Projected All-Americans 1st: Carter Starocci (Penn State) 2nd: Rocco Welsh (Ohio State) 3rd: Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) 4th: Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) 5th: Cade DeVos (South Dakota State) 6th: Edmond Ruth (Illinois) 7th: Justin McCoy (Virginia) 8th: Shane Griffith (Michigan) Projected Round of 12 Finishers: #8 Adam Kemp (Cal Poly), #14 Gaven Sax (North Dakota State), #7 Lennox Wolak (Columbia), #25 Brayden Thompson (Oklahoma State) Projected Consolation Round of 16 Finishers: #15 MJ Gaitan (Iowa State), #22 Peyton Mocco (Missouri), #5 Phil Conigliaro (Harvard), #16 Jackson Turley (Rutgers)

The NCAA Division I wrestling tournament kicks off on Thursday morning. Fans who did not take the day off from work will likely be tuning in to ESPN from their work computer or their phone. In the NCAA tournament, there are very few easy matches, and that is certainly true this year. The following looks at some of the toughest and most interesting matches from the first round of the event. 125: Noah Surtin (Missouri) vs. Stevo Poulin (Northern Colorado) Both of these wrestlers have accomplished a lot during their time in college wrestling, and at times they have both found themselves much higher in the rankings. Both took some uncharacteristic losses at the Big 12 tournament. Now, Surtin enters the field as the 13th seed, while Poulin comes in at 20th. Despite Surtin having the edge in terms of seeding, Poulin has won their only previous meeting. They faced off at the 2023 Big 12 tournament, and Poulin won a commanding 11-4 decision. This could easily be a first-round upset, but the winner likely only earns themselves a match against the returning NCAA finalist from Purdue Matt Ramos. 133: Julian Farber (Northern Iowa) vs. Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska) As a redshirt freshman, Van Dee went 22-8 and earned a spot in the NCAA tournament via the brutal Big Ten field. He was awarded the 14th seed, but at the same time, that seed left him with a less-than-desirable opponent. Farber enters as the 19th seed, but he holds not one, but two victories over Van Dee this season. Their first meeting came at the Cliff Keen Invitational where Farber won 9-5. About a month later, they faced off again in a dual. This time, Farber widened the gap and took an 8-1 decision victory. 141: Mitch Moore (Rutgers) vs. Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) Matthews finished fifth in the 2022 NCAA tournament and was one of the top wrestlers in the country a season ago before dropping a pair of matches in tiebreakers and failing to reach the All-American podium. This year, he took his fair share of losses and now enters the NCAA tournament as the 18th seed with a 16-10 record. Despite this, he remains a tough out. In the first round, he will face off against Moore. The Rutgers wrestler is in his sixth year of collegiate wrestling and competing for his third different school. The two met back during the 2020 season. Moore, representing Virginia Tech at the time, hung with Matthews throughout the contest, but the Pittsburgh wrestler took a 4-2 victory. This could easily turn into a low-scoring grind that could end up being settled in overtime. The winner will likely earn a chance to try to upset Penn State’s Beau Bartlett in the second round. 149: Tyler Kasak (Penn State) vs. Jaden Abas (Stanford) Penn State’s lineup depth was on display once again this season. After an injury forced Shayne Van Ness out of action, Kasak stepped into the role as a true freshman. While some might not have expected much from him, he stepped up throughout the year and ended up finishing third at the Big Ten tournament with a fall over Ethen Miller (Maryland) in the third-place match. He now gets the chance to take another step forward at the NCAA tournament. Despite earning the seventh seed, he faces a solid test in his opening match. Abas was an All-American back in 2021 and is now a four-time NCAA qualifier. Kasak’s performance here will say a lot about his prospects of reaching All-American status. 157: Will Lewan (Michigan) vs. Chase Saldate (Michigan State) Lewan and Saldate have wrestled five times in their collegiate careers, but they have not wrestled so far this season. Both of their matches during the 2023 season went to overtime with Saldate picking up his only win in the five-match series. Do not be surprised if this match ends up in overtime once again. While at Michigan, Lewan has been in 23 matches that ended in sudden victory and another 10 that were decided in tiebreakers. Lewan is the clear favorite, but this one might be close until the final whistle. 165: Joseph Bianchi (Little Rock) vs. Hunter Garvin (Stanford) It would be fair to say that the selection committee and process goes out of their way to appear objective, even when it comes at the expense of common sense. This match appears to be a pretty solid example of just that. Bianchi was a key element of the upstart Little Rock squad that had an extremely impressive season and put head coach Neil Erisman firmly in the discussion for Coach of the Year. Bianchi went 23-6 and won the Pac-12 championship. That campaign was enough to earn him the 13th seed. Unfortunately, his first-round opponent will be Stanford’s Hunter Garvin who Bianchi defeated in the Pac-12 final by a 2-1 score. Fans should be excited to see a high-quality match right out of the gate, but it would have been an easy and defensible decision to separate conference finalists. 174: Carter Starocci (Penn State) vs. Andrew Sparks (Minnesota) Starocci was the undisputed favorite at 174 pounds heading into this season, and there were not many results that would leave fans feeling differently. However, he suffered a knee injury in a late-season match against Joey Arnold of Edinboro. Starocci ended up not actually wrestling at the Big Ten tournament, where he dropped a pair of injury defaults. That performance dropped him from the clear top seed all the way to ninth. If he is right, he should still be the favorite. We should get a pretty clear answer to his health status right off the bat. Sparks has never wrestled Starocci in college, but he is a solid veteran who can give the Penn State rep a test if he is diminished due to injury. 184: Aaron Ayzerov (Columbia) vs. Jacob Nolan (Binghamton) Columbia will depart the EIWA next season along with the rest of the Ivy League schools, but for this one last season, this will be an in-conference match. Despite that, Ayzerov and Nolan did not wrestle this season. The Columbia wrestler upset Cornell’s Chris Foca in the semifinals and ended up winning the tournament. Nolan, on the other hand, lost to Foca in the consolation semifinals and finished sixth. Despite the higher finish and entering the NCAA tournament as the higher seed, Ayzerov lost the only match between these two. They faced off in the EIWA tournament last year, and Nolan won a 4-2 match. Ayzerov enters this tournament with a lot of momentum, but he will need to reverse a result from last season to continue his hot streak. 197: Mac Stout (Pittsburgh) vs. Rocky Elam (Missouri) Elam has placed in the top five at the last three NCAA tournaments. He wrestled somewhat sparingly this season and entered this tournament with only 14 matches on his season record. He made the finals of the Big 12 tournament but dropped a 1-0 match against South Dakota State’s Tanner Sloan. He might be in for another defensive match in his first-round contest here. Stout is a physically strong and impressive athlete who has kept some high scorers off the scoreboard this season. Elam will likely want to get off to a strong start with hopes of improving on his third-place finish last year, but that might be tough here against Stout. 285: Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) vs. Nash Hutmacher (Nebraska) A bout between one of the country’s best Greco wrestlers and a Big Ten-caliber defensive lineman seems like the type of fantasy booking one would see on the undercard of a Jake Paul boxing match. However, wrestling fans will get it in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Hutmacher has had his ups and downs since returning to his wrestling roots this season, but his physical ability is certainly evident. Schultz took a break in the middle of the college season to qualify 130 kg for the upcoming 2024 Olympic Games. Points might be at a premium in this one, but neither wrestler will give an inch.

The 2024 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships are less than a week away! In a few short days, 330 wrestlers will make the trek to Kansas City, with hopes of a national title on their minds. Now it's in a city that hasn't hosted nationals since 2003 , but by all accounts, should be a great host. Before the action on the mat starts, InterMat will go through each individual bracket and highlight the favorites, top matches to watch, and much more. The Top Seed: Keegan O’Toole (Missouri) This is the weight class that most wrestling fans have anticipated all year long. Last season, we were treated to a trilogy of matches between returning national champions Keegan O’Toole and David Carr. O’Toole, now famously, dropped both their dual meeting and Big 12 final before prevailing when it counted in the national finals. In doing so, O’Toole locked up back-to-back national titles at 165 lbs. This year has been and will be different between the two. An illness ran its way through the Mizzou team and forced multiple team members, including O’Toole, to sit out of their dual with Iowa State. At the Big 12 Championships, it was O’Toole who got the best of Carr. Now, with O’Toole as the top seed and Carr as the number four, they are slated to meet in Friday night’s semifinals rather than the finals. While that isn’t ideal, there are plenty of intriguing storylines at this weight, which we’ll get to later. O’Toole’s win over Carr and the top seed at nationals also has put him in contention for the 2024 Hodge Trophy. He heads into Kansas City with a perfect 19-0 record and bonus points in almost 75% of his matches. Even for the high-scoring O’Toole, that figure would represent a career-high. O’Toole tallied those numbers on the strength of seven falls and four tech falls. O’Toole starts this final stretch towards his third nation title with an 83-3 career record. Two of those losses came to Carr last season and only one occurred during an NCAA Championship event. Oftentimes, people are quick to label the Big Ten as the best up-and-down the brackets; however, O’Toole’s Big 12 bracket was deeper and contained three returning All-Americans, in addition to O’Toole. In 2023-24, O’Toole went a combined 4-0 against those past AA’s and even bumped up to defeat the eventual Big Ten champion, Edmond Ruth. The Contenders: #2 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State), #3 Julian Ramirez (Cornell), #4 David Carr (Iowa State) The Conference Champions ACC: #30 Nick Hamilton (Virginia) Big 12: #1 Keegan O’Toole (Missouri) Big Ten: #2 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) EIWA: #3 Julian Ramirez (Cornell) MAC: #29 Evan Maag (George Mason) Pac-12: #13 Joey Bianchi (Little Rock) SoCon: #16 Will Miller (Appalachian State) Top First-Round Matches #16 Will Miller (Appalachian State) vs. #17 Tyler Lillard (Indiana) #12 Garrett Thompson (Ohio) vs. #21 Caleb Fish (Michigan State) #11 Andrew Cerniglia (Navy) vs. #22 Noah Mulvaney (Bucknell) #10 Cam Amine (Michigan) vs. #23 Derek Fields (NC State) #15 Brevin Cassella (Binghamton) vs. #18 Connor Brady (Virginia Tech) So we can’t have that NCAA finals rematch that most wanted between O’Toole and Carr; however, a new challenger has emerged and makes for some fun storylines. The second seed belongs to Mitchell Mesenbrink, a redshirt freshman for Penn State. Like O’Toole, Mesenbrink is a product of Askren Wrestling Academy and Arrowhead High School in Wisconsin. Could we see an NCAA final between two high school and club teammates? Mesenbrink secured the second seed after his wild win over returning Big Ten champion Dean Hamiti. In the early going, Hamiti appeared to be on track to handing Mesenbrink his first collegiate loss. Mesenbrink was not flustered and kept the pressure on and won 13-11. Something to monitor is that Hamiti appeared to leave the mat with a pronounced limp. The top half of the bracket could see Hamiti and Carr meeting in the quarterfinals, as Hamiti now has the fifth seed. The pair met early in the season and Carr took the 2-0 win largely on the strength of his mat wrestling. That loss was the only other one on the year for Hamiti. Carr has the fourth seed in large part because of a Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational semifinal loss to Julian Ramirez. That defeat was Carr’s first at a regular season event since December of 2019 (Also the CKLV semis). After Vegas, Carr won 13 straight bouts and earned bonus points in ten of those contests. In addition to Mesenbrink, the bottom half of the bracket contains Ramirez as the third seed. Ramirez went on to take second at the CKLV, after beating Carr, as he fell to Izzak Olejnik in the finals. Ramirez recently won his second straight EIWA crown in a solid weight class that featured six eventual national qualifiers. Olejnik is also on the bottom half of the bracket as the seventh seed. He started the year red-hot with 16 straight wins; however, he took some lumps when it came to the conference dual meet portion of the season. West Virginia’s Peyton Hall (the #9th seed) handed him his first loss of the year and a few weeks later he was beaten by Carr and O’Toole. At the Big 12 meet, Olejnik got some semblance of revenge when he defeated Hall for third place. Other returning All-Americans on the bottom half of the bracket are #6 Michael Caliendo and #10 Cam Amine. The pair met twice at the Big Ten Championships and both matches needed sudden victory, and in both instances, Caliendo prevailed. Amine is a three-time All-American who missed significant time this season, but may be rounding into form at the right time. Caliendo AA’ed last year for North Dakota State, but hasn’t missed a beat after moving to Iowa. A good second-round match to watch on the top portion of the bracket is the #8/#9 bout between Hall and Antrell Taylor. The freshman from Nebraska finished fifth in the Big Ten and has a win over Amine on his resume. The winner of this bout is set up well to get on the podium, while the loser may have to pull a big upset to crack the top-eight. Darkhorse All-American Candidate: #11 Andrew Cerniglia (Navy) Andrew Cerniglia came to the Naval Academy as one of the top-25 recruits in the Class of 2020. Unfortunately, two of his previous three seasons have been disrupted by injury and he was unable to consistently show the talent that made him so highly regarded. 2023-24 was a welcome change as Cerniglia was able to get on the mat for 27 matches prior to the national tournament. Generally in good health, Cerniglia was very good, making the EIWA finals and pushing Ramirez before falling 5-3. Once the calendar flipped over to 2024, Cerniglia started the year with 13 straight wins. He’ll enter Kansas City with a 22-5 record; one of his losses came via injury default in the second week of the season. With the way Cerniglia is wrestling and the way the brackets could end up breaking, I think there’s a good chance he advanced to the Round of 12. Extreme (20+) Darkhorse All-American Contender: #21 Caleb Fish (Michigan State) One of the surprises in last year’s tournament was Caleb Fish. As the 29th seed, Fish knocked off the fourth seed, EIWA champion Julian Ramirez, in the opening round. He advanced to the quarterfinals after a slightly lesser upset, over #20 Holden Heller. Even with Fish having to rely on an at-large berth to qualify this season, we’re not getting fooled again. Especially considering Fish has a win this season over his first opponent, #12 Garrett Thompson of Ohio. Should Fish get another first-round victory, there’s a decent path for him to make the bloodround, again. The Team Race: The team race implications at this weight aren’t as strong as other weights, but there are still some intriguing points to consider. All year, Missouri has been considered a trophy threat; however, they were fourth at the Big 12 meet and tailed off in the regular season. A title from O’Toole, with a couple of bonus point wins thrown in for good measure, could be a great starting point for the Tigers. I’d keep an eye on that potential three versus six quarterfinal with Ramirez and Caliendo. That’s a guaranteed top-six finish for the winning team. Also, wrestlers like Olejnik, Taylor, and Amine are not necessarily locks for the podium, so getting there would be a plus for their respective squads. Projected Quarterfinals #1 Keegan O’Toole (Missouri) vs. #8 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) #5 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) vs. #4 David Carr (Iowa State) #3 Julian Ramirez (Cornell) vs. #6 Michael Caliendo (Iowa) #7 Izzak Olejnik (Oklahoma State) vs. #2 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) Projected Semifinals #1 Keegan O’Toole (Missouri) vs. #4 David Carr (Iowa State) #6 Michael Caliendo (Iowa) vs. #2 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) Projected All-Americans 1st: Keegan O’Toole (Missouri) 2nd: Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) 3rd: David Carr (Iowa State) 4th: Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) 5th: Michael Caliendo (Iowa) 6th: Izzak Olejnik (Oklahoma State) 7th: Julian Ramirez (Cornell) 8th: Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) Projected Round of 12 Finishers: #10 Cam Amine (Michigan), #11 Andrew Cerniglia (Navy), #21 Caleb Fish (Michigan State), #9 Peyton Hall (West Virginia) Projected Consolation Round of 16 Finishers: #16 Will Miller (Appalachian State), #19 Gunner Filipowicz (Army West Point), #14 Giano Petrucelli (Air Force), #15 Brevin Cassella (Binghamton)

The 2024 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships are less than a week away! In a few short days, 330 wrestlers will make the trek to Kansas City, with hopes of a national title on their minds. Now it's in a city that hasn't hosted nationals since 2003 , but by all accounts, should be a great host. Before the action on the mat starts, InterMat will go through each individual bracket and highlight the favorites, top matches to watch, and much more. The Top Seed: Levi Haines (Penn State) The 2023 NCAA Freshman of the Year, Levi Haines, picked up right where he left off in 2022-23. As a true freshman, Haines knocked off unbeaten top-ranked Peyton Robb to claim a Big Ten title. A few weeks later, he beat Robb for a second time to earn a berth in the national finals. Haines would end up coming up short to two-time national champion Austin O’Connor; however, he was the only freshman to make it to the 2023 finals. That loss to O’Connor is the most recent blemish on the record for Haines. He navigated through a tough schedule that included five wins over three past All-Americans without a setback. Along the way, Haines managed to bump his bonus point total up over 60% after getting additional points in only 34% of his matches as a freshman. While Haines has been able to rack up points more easily this season, he’s still been able to grind out some close wins. In the Big Ten finals, Haines was able to register a takedown on the stingy Will Lewan to get his second conference crown in as many tries. Earlier in the Big Ten dual schedule, Haines was able to survive a bout that went to tiebreakers with Chase Saldate. The 157 lb bracket is absolutely loaded! There are potential hurdles all over the place. Though Haines has earned the top seed at this weight, he still has a very difficult route to his first national title. In his second bout, he has the potential to hit three-time NCAA All-American Brock Mauller. The quarterfinals could feature a bout against one of two multiple-time All-Americans, Robb and Lewan. Each has pushed Haines into extra time. The Contenders: #2 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State), #3 Meyer Shapiro (Cornell)...the top 14 seeds? The Conference Champions ACC: #4 Ed Scott (NC State) Big 12: #5 Ryder Downey (Northern Iowa) Big Ten: #1 Levi Haines (Penn State) EIWA: #3 Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) MAC: #7 Peyten Kellar (Ohio) Pac-12: #2 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) SoCon: #19 Tommy Askey (Appalachian State) Top First-Round Matches #16 Teague Travis (Oklahoma State) vs. #17 Brock Mauller (Missouri) #9 Will Lewan (Michigan) vs. #24 Chase Saldate (Michigan State) #14 Cody Chittum (Iowa State) vs. #19 Tommy Askey (Appalachian State) #10 Jared Franek (Iowa) vs. #23 Joey Blaze (Purdue) #15 Cael Swensen (South Dakota State) vs. #18 Vince Zerban (Northern Colorado) 157 lbs has been my favorite weight class to follow all year. While Haines is undefeated and the top seed, there are plenty of quality competitors who could defeat him or prevail in a tournament setting. The weight features five multi-time All-Americans and five other AA’s. In addition, there are three talented freshmen within the top-15 seeds. Plus the talent has been dispersed relatively evenly. Each of the five seeds come from five different conferences. As mentioned above, the top quarterfinal includes Haines, Brock Mauller, Peyton Robb, and Will Lewan. Not to mention, Chase Saldate and Trevor Chumbley, both of which have made it to at least the consolation Round of 16 at nationals. The second quarterfinal on the top half of the bracket is headlined by Ed Scott, the fourth seed. Scott could have a ridiculously difficult second-round match with an opponent that was ranked in the top four for most of the season. Michael Blockhus was pinned in his first match at the Big Ten Championships by Lewan and ended up defaulting out of the tournament and was punished with the 13th seed. The winner of that bout could have a quarterfinal bout with the winner of Bryce Andonian and Ryder Downey. The electric Andonian was injured in early-January and returned for the ACC Tournament, but didn’t appear to be close to 100%. Downey emerged victorious in a brutal Big 12 weight class after a marathon conference championship win over Cody Chittum. And we still have the bottom half of the bracket. Speaking of Chittum, he could be in line for a second-round matchup will fellow freshman Meyer Shapiro. The two were expected to meet at the Collegiate Duals, but Shapiro was held out of the dual. The U17 and U20 world champion lost twice at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and hasn’t been beaten since. The winner of the potential Chittum/Shapiro matchup will have to contend with the winner of Brayton Lee and Daniel Cardenas in the quarterfinals. Lee competed sparingly during the regular season, but has looked close to the wrestler that earned All-American honors in 2021 as he finished fifth in the Big Ten. Cardenas was fifth in Vegas and a runner-up at the Southern Scuffle this year. The final quarterfinal features the second-seeded Jacori Teemer, who has multiple wins over Cardenas and was a Midlands champion. He’d have the winner of Cael Swensen and Vince Zerban in the second round. Zerban was ranked second in the nation during the regular season and was undefeated heading into the Big 12 Championships. The other quadrant on the bottom half of the bracket features MAC champion Peyten Kellar and 2023 All-American Jared Franek. Like Shapiro, Kellar’s only two losses on the year came in Vegas. He’s on a 14-match winning streak. Franek was fourth in the nation last year and fourth in the Big Ten during his only year with Iowa. Darkhorse All-American Candidate: #16 Teague Travis (Oklahoma State) Coming into the year, it appeared as if there may be a hole at 157 lbs for Oklahoma State. It took a month and seven matches at 149 lbs, but Teague Travis grabbed a hold of the starting role at 157 and never looked back. Travis won his first seven matches at his new weight class, including one over NC State’s returning All-American Ed Scott. In early February, Travis downed his former high school teammate, Mauller. Now, Travis and Mauller are set to square off in the first round in Kansas City. However it shakes out, Travis is capable of a good run, even at a weight class this deep. Extreme (20+) Darkhorse All-American Contender: #24 Chase Saldate (Michigan State) Only in a weight class this deep will you find a two-time top-five finisher in the Big Ten and a returning NCAA Round of 12 finisher at the 24th seed. Chase Saldate isn’t your typical 24th seed. In the first round, Saldate will have a familiar opponent, Lewan. This will be the sixth career meeting between the two. Saldate does have one win over Lewan, so he probably feels better than most 24th seeds in the opening round. Even if Lewan continues with a win, the consolations seem to favor another good run from Saldate. Team Race: Could this be perhaps the most pivotal weight in the team race? You have proven All-Americans that have been ranked in the top-three like, like Robb and Franek, seeded at eight and ten respectively. There’s a reason for those seeds, but frankly, both are capable of significantly outwrestling those seeds. On their best day, each could win. Getting finalist points from someone seeded eighth or tenth is a huge boost to those teams in search of a trophy. A match that we already described, Chittum/Shapiro in the Round of 16 - one of those wrestlers is just a match away from placing, and the loser will have to win multiple matches before dealing with a quarterfinal loser, just to get on the podium. Fortunes at this weight could shift so quickly or radically, based on how that bracket breaks on Thursday and Friday. Some projected matches to watch include a Franek/Teemer quarterfinal or a Shapiro/Teemer semifinal. All include wrestlers with teams expected to be in the hunt. Projected Quarterfinals #1 Levi Haines (Penn State) vs. #8 Peyton Robb (Nebraska) #5 Ryder Downey (Northern Iowa) vs. #13 Michael Blockhus (Minnesota) #3 Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) vs. #11 Brayton Lee (Indiana) #10 Jared Franek (Iowa) vs. #2 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) Projected Semifinals #1 Levi Haines (Penn State) vs. #5 Ryder Downey (Northern Iowa) #3 Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) vs. #2 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) Projected All-Americans 1st: Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) 2nd: Levi Haines (Penn State) 3rd: Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) 4th: Ryder Downey (Northern Iowa) 5th: Jared Franek (Iowa) 6th: Michael Blockhus (Minnesota) 7th: Peyton Robb (Nebraska) 8th: Will Lewan (Michigan) Projected Round of 12 Finishers: #16 Teague Travis (Oklahoma State), #14 Cody Chittum (Iowa State), #4 Ed Scott (NC State), #11 Brayton Lee (Indiana) Projected Consolation Round of 16 Finishers: #24 Chase Saldate (Michigan), #6 Daniel Cardenas (Stanford), #12 Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech), #17 Brock Mauller (Missouri)

Team Scores 1. Augsburg 95 2. Wartburg 87.5 3. Wisconsin-La Crosse 82.5 4. Johnson and Wales 76 5. Wisconsin-Eau Claire 69 6. Baldwin Wallace 61 7. US Coast Guard Academy 52.5 8. North Central 42.5 9. College of New Jersey 37 10. Loras 34 Championship Finals 125 - Joziah Fry (Johnson and Wales) maj Christian Guzman (North Central) 18-8 133 - Chase Randall (US Coast Guard Academy) fall Jaden Hinton (Baldwin Wallace) 5:52 141 - Josh Wilson (Greensboro) dec Jacob Reed (Ohio Northern) 4-2 149 - Michael Petrella (Baldwin Wallace) fall Tyler Goebel (Wisconsin-La Crosse) 4:19 157 - Nolan Hertel (Wisconsin-LaCrosse) dec Peter Kane (Williams) 4-2 165 - Nicholas Sacco (College of New Jersey) dec Noah Leisgang (Wisconsin-La Crosse) 2-1 174 - Jared Stricker (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) dec Zane Mulder (Wartburg) 10-3 184 - Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann (Augsburg) tech Ryan DeVivo (Johnson and Wales) 19-2 197 - Massoma Endene (Wartburg) maj Gabriel Zierden (Concordia-Moorhead) 12-4 285 - Tyler Kim (Augsburg) dec Michael Douglas (Wisconsin-La Crosse) 4-2 Third Place Bouts 125 - James Day (Wabash) dec Jacob Decatur (Baldwin Wallace) 1-0 133 - Joe Pins (Wartburg) fall Robbie Precin (North Central) 3:27 141 - Mark Samuel (Roanoke) dec Josiah Gehr (Messiah) 10-7SV 149 - Charlie Dojan (Wartburg) dec Eric Kinkaid (Loras) 7-2 157 - Cooper Pontelandolfo (NYU) dec Clayton McDonough (Luther) 7-3 165 - Matt Lackman (Alvernia) dec Tristan Massie (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) 4-2 174 - Zeb Gnida (Loras) dec Jason Geyer (NYU) 7-2 184 - Niall Schoenfelder (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) maj Sampson Wilkins (Castleton) 11-2 197 - Montgomery Mills (Westminster) fall Cameron Butka (Wilkes) 1:44 285 - Carl DiGiorgio (US Coast Guard Academy) dec Robby Bates (North Central) 5-2 Fifth Place Bouts 125 - Mason Barrett (Averett) dec Zac Blasioli (Millikin) 4-2 133 - Jacob Blair (Delaware Valley) dec Dominik Mallinder (Wisconsin-Whitewater) 4-1 141 - Kyler Romero (Wartburg) dec Victor Perlleshi (Johnston and Wales) 12-11 149 - Zach Sato (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) tech Colby Frost (Southern Maine) 15-0 157 - Blake Jagodzinske (Augsburg) dec Ryan Smith (Stevens) 8-5 165 - Cooper Willis (Augsburg) dec Will Esmoil (Cole) 7-5 174 - Charlie Grygas (Oswego State) dec Dejon Glaster (Millikin) 7-3 184 - Sean Malenfant (Alfred State) maj Dylan Wellbaum (Adrian) 10-1 197 - Dylan Harr (Johnson and Wales) dec Coy Spooner (US Coast Guard Academy) 3-1 285 - Rayshawn Dixon (Ferrum) dec Dylan Waller (Elizabethtown) 3-2TB Seventh Place Bouts 125 - Gavin Bradley (Castleton) dec Mac Cafurello (Roanoke) 7-4 133 - Isaias Torres (Ithaca) fall Desmond Diggs (Mount St. Joseph) 3:54 141 - Alex Samson (St. John Fisher) dec Ethan Pogorzelski (Wisconsin-Whitewater) 4-2 149 - Michael Conklin (College of New Jersey) dec Mike Glynn (RIT) 6-3 157 - Gabriel Smith (Cornell) dec Xavier Howard (McDaniel) 9-6 165 - Dustin Bohren (Loras) dec Patrick Wisniewski (Johnson and Wales) 9-6 174 - Seth Goetzinger (Augsburg) fall Stefan Major (Stevens) 4:26 184 - Jack Ryan (Oneonta State) maj Max Borton (Ursinus) 8-0 197 - Parker Venz (Augsburg) fall Ben Kawczynski (Wisconsin-La Crosse) :59 285 - Walter West (Luther) maj Peter Wersinger (College of New Jersey) 9-0

Team Scores 1. Central Oklahoma 110 2. Lander 86.5 3. Nebraska-Kearney 77.5 4. McKendree 73 5. St. Cloud State 64 6. Pitt-Johnstown 45 7. Wisconsin-Parkside 41 8. Augustana 40.5 9. Indianapolis 37.5 10. Adams State 33.5 Championship Finals 125 - Christian Mejia (McKendree) dec Jaxson Rohman (Augustana) 5-2 133 - Gabe Hixenbaugh (Montevallo) dec Gavin Quiocho (Glenville State) 4-1 141 - Zack Donathan (Tiffin) maj Nick James (Nebraska-Kearney) 13-3 149 - Jacob Ealy (Pitt-Johnstown) dec Cody Thompson (Colorado School of Mines) 12-7 157 - Gabe Johnson (Central Oklahoma) dec Nick Novak (St. Cloud State) 10-7 165 - David Hunsberger (Lander) dec Chase Luensman (Upper Iowa) 8-6 174 - Josh Kenny (Grand Valley State) fall Anthony DesVigne (Central Oklahoma) 4:47 184 - Ty McGeary (West Liberty) maj Matt Weinberg (Kutztown) 9-1 197 - Derek Blubaugh (Indianapolis) dec Dalton Abney (Central Oklahoma) 5-1 285 - Shawn Streck (Central Oklahoma) dec Juan Edmond-Holmes (Lander) 7-4 Third Place Bouts 125 - James Joplin (Lander) dec Isaiah Gamez (Adams State) 4-3 133 - Devin Flannery (Millersville) dec Reece Barnhardt (Mary) 9-4 141 - Ronan Schuelke (McKendree) maj Angel Flores (Adams State) 11-2 149 - Colby Njos (St. Cloud State) dec Dylan Brown (Central Oklahoma) 3-1 157 - Guy DeLeonardis (Glenville State) dec Jack Haskin (Lake Erie) 8-1 165 - Hunter Jump (Central Oklahoma) dec Cory Peterson (McKendree) 4-1SV 174 - Scott Joll (UNC Pembroke) maj Seth Brossard (Northern State) 16-3 184 - Billy Higgins (Nebraska-Kearney) dec Reece Worachek (Wisconsin-Parkside) 7-3 197 - Logan Kvien (McKendree) dec Jackson Kinsella (Nebraska-Kearney) 2-0 285 - Crew Howard (Nebraska-Kearney) dec La’Ron Parks (Notre Dame) 4-0 Fifth Place Bouts 125 - Zachary Ourada (Nebraska-Kearney) dec Shane Corrigan (Wisconsin-Parkside) 5-3 133 - Jeremiah Echevarria (Gannon) Maj Elijah Lusk (Lander) 13-2 141 - Tate Murty (Upper Iowa) maj Jake Niffenegger (Mercyhurst) 9-0 149 - Zeth Brower (Lander) maj Jalen Spuhler (Wisconsin-Parkside) 17-5 157 - Devin Bahr (Northern State) fall Keegan Roberson (UNC Pembroke) 2:25 165 - Cole Ritter (Maryville) maj Nicholas Coreno (Gannon) 15-2 174 - Trey Sizemore (Indianapolis) maj Brody Hemauer (Wisconsin-Parkside) 11-3 184 - Damon Ashworth (Central Missouri) maj Garrett Wells (Central Oklahoma) 11-3 197 - Dominic Murphy (St. Cloud State) maj Max Ramberg (Augustana) 14-4 285 - Isaiah Vance (Pitt-Johnstown) maj Zach Peterson (Augustana) 8-0 Seventh Place Bouts 125 - Trevon Gray (Pitt-Johnstown) dec Manuel Leija (Davenport) 7-2 133 - Ryan Ripplinger (McKendree) MedFFT Thierno Diallo (Frostburg State) 141 - Khyvon Grace (West Liberty) MedFFT Hunter Burnett (Augustana) 149 - Dean Noble (Western Colorado) maj Devan Moore (Newberry) 16-3 157 - Owen Zablocki (Indianapolis) maj Bailey Gimbor (Kutztown) 18-7 165 - Aaden Valdez (Adams State) maj Anthony Herrera (St. Cloud State) 13-0 174 - Cole Hernandez (Western Colorado) dec Cole Glazier (St. Cloud State) 12-10 184 - Anthony Yacovetti (Lander) dec Bryce Fitzpatrick (St. Cloud State) 8-2 197 - Dakoda Rodgers (Pitt-Johnstown) dec Wyatt Miller (Grand Valley State) 5-1 285 - Ryan Herman (Maryville) dec Luke Tweeton (Mary) 4-2

The 2024 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships are less than a week away! In a few short days, 330 wrestlers will make the trek to Kansas City, with hopes of a national title on their minds. Now it's in a city that hasn't hosted nationals since 2003 , but by all accounts, should be a great host. Before the action on the mat starts, InterMat will go through each individual bracket and highlight the favorites, top matches to watch, and much more. The Top Seed: Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) Two years ago, Ridge Lovett emerged as the tenth seed from a wild bottom half of a 149 lb bracket to make the national finals and All-American for the first time. That time he fought hard but ended up losing as Yianni Diakomihalis captured the third of his four NCAA titles. After a redshirt season, Lovett returned and has been better than ever. That 2022 finals run came as the tenth seed - now he starts atop the bracket. Lovett started the year ranked number one at the weight class, but really proved his mettle at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. In a weight class that featured almost the entire top-ten, at the time, Lovett captured the title with wins over a pair of past All-Americans. Not only has Lovett picked up wins this year, he’s doubled his bonus point percentage compared to his best total from a previous season (56% from 25.9%). Ultimately, Lovett would win his first 21 matches of the year before suffering a slight upset to Kyle Parco on the final weekend of the regular season. Lovett showed he was able to learn from the loss and bounced back in style with his first Big Ten championship. In the semis, Lovett pitched a shutout over Penn State freshman Tyler Kasak in the semifinals before downing Michigan’s Austin Gomez in the finals. It was the second win of the year for Lovett over the dangerous Gomez. While most do not want to engage in upperbody battles with Gomez, Lovett did not shy away from the possibility in this meeting. Lovett is looking to become the first Cornhusker to bring a national title back to Lincoln since the legendary Jordan Burroughs in 2011. However it works out, 149 lbs will produce a first-time champion, Lovett or otherwise. The Contenders: #2 Kyle Parco (Arizona State), #3 Jackson Arrington (NC State), #4 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech), #5 Ty Watters (West Virginia), #6 Austin Gomez (Michigan) The Conference Champs: ACC: #3 Jackson Arrington (NC State) Big 12: #5 Ty Watters (West Virginia) Big Ten: #1 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) EIWA: #9 Ethan Fernandez (Cornell) MAC: #11 Quinn Kinner (Rider) Pac-12: #2 Kyle Parco (Arizona State) SoCon: #18 Cody Bond (Appalachian State) Top First-Round Matches: #16 Kelvin Griffin (Lehigh) vs. #17 Graham Rooks (Indiana) #12 Ethen Miller (Maryland) vs. #21 Willie McDougald (Oklahoma) #14 Dylan D’Emilio (Ohio State) vs. #19 Joe Zargo (Wisconsin) #10 Chance Lamer (Cal Poly) vs. #23 Drew Roberts (Minnesota) #15 Corbyn Munson (Central Michigan) vs. #18 Cody Bond (Appalachian State) Even though he had a head-to-head win over Lovett, Kyle Parco had to settle for the second seed since he had a 21-3 (21-2 officially) record on the year. Parco has already placed at the NCAA Tournament during each of his previous three appearances. The 2023 tournament marked his best showing as Parco made the NCAA semifinals before finishing in fourth. During the 2023-24 regular season, Parco took third at the CKLV and defaulted out of the Midlands after losing to an unrostered opponent. The #3/#4 seeds belong to the ACC contingent of the contenders. Jackson Arrington gets the nod after his ACC finals win over returning All-American Caleb Henson. During the dual season, it was Henson who prevailed - as he did twice last year when both were true freshmen. Henson is looking to take a more direct route to the podium this year. Last season, he was also the fourth seed and was upset in the Round of 16 and had to win three straight matches to clinch All-American honors. Arrington only has two losses on the year, and after he beat Henson, he has avenged both of them. A pair of true freshmen, ones who weren’t necessarily expected to be in this position, are seeded fifth and seventh. Ty Watters came to West Virginia after being named the #32 overall recruit in the Class of 2023. With a win over an NCAA qualifier in his collegiate debut and wins in eight of his first nine matches, Watters quickly proved he was capable of competing right away. He would go on to win the Big 12 title with three bonus point wins and an injury default. Kasak was expected to redshirt and even competed early in the season at 141 lbs. After returning All-American Shayne Van Ness was lost for the year with an injury, Kasak stepped up to replace Van Ness at 149. Kasak has filled in more than admirably earning a regular season win over returning All-American Dylan D’Emilio and replicating that result at the Big Ten Championships. In Maryland, only Lovett beat Kasak, and the freshman finished in third place. As always, perhaps the most dangerous wrestler in this bracket is Austin Gomez. The 2022 Big Ten champion and NCAA All-American Austin Gomez comes in as the sixth seed. Gomez joined Michigan after the first semester and has fought to a 9-2 record. His only two losses have come to Lovett. Gomez closed the distance on Lovett from match one to match two. Their dual meeting bordered on a major decision, while the Big Ten finals was a one-point decision. Gomez does hold a pair of wins over Lovett from the 2021-22 season. For a high All-American finish, don’t count out the eighth seed, Casey Swiderski. Swiderski had an up-and-down true freshman season, but turned it on late with a Round of 12 finish at 141 lbs. This year, he moved up to 149 and has been excellent. Swiderski was the top seed at the Big 12 Championships, but was knocked off in the semis by Jordan Williams. He has EIWA champion Ethan Fernandez and Lovett in his quarterfinal, but isn’t someone who will be phased by either. Darkhorse All-American Candidate: #17 Graham Rooks (Indiana) Last postseason, Graham Rooks emerged as a legit All-American contender with some timely upsets. In the 2023 Big Ten Championships Rooks upset Gomez to make the semifinals and downed another past AA, Yahya Thomas, to finish fifth. Then in Tulsa, Rooks had upsets in his first two matches (#13 Kellyn March and #4 Caleb Henson) to make the national quarterfinals. His tournament ended in the bloodround courtesy of Michael Blockhus. Once again, Rooks has the potential for a deep run. Though he may have a second-round matchup with Lovett, the way the consolations could break might be in his favor. Extreme (20+) Darkhorse All-American Contender: #20 Jordan Williams (Oklahoma State) This is one that probably should have an asterisk to denote “if healthy.” Jordan Williams was one of the top recruits in the Class of 2022 after winning freestyle titles in Fargo on three occasions (twice as a Cadet; once as a Junior). Even so, he had to fend off a challenge from Rutgers transfer Sammy Alvarez just to secure the starting role for the Cowboys. Williams saved his best for the Big 12 Championships when he defeated qualifier Alek Martin and top-seed Casey Swiderski to make the finals. As alluded to above, Williams had to default out of the finals bout against Ty Watters. If he’s close to top form, Williams could be in for a deep run this week. The Team Race: From a team race standpoint, perhaps the most important bout in this bracket could come in the quarterfinals as #3 Jackson Arrington is expected to meet #6 Austin Gomez. A win for Gomez could put him in good position to out-wrestle his seed, while the loser had to get their hand raised in the bloodround to lock up a place in the top-eight. Though D’Emilio and Caleb Rathjen are both seeded outside of the top-12, they are both battle-tested through the Big Ten and have a decent shot at breaking into the top-eight. With NCAA tournament scoring being so dependent on your high-finishers, Lovett is obviously Nebraska’s best shot at a champion and/or a finalist. For them to challenge for that second spot, as a team, they’ll need Lovett to make it to Saturday night. Projected Quarterfinals: #1 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) vs. #8 Casey Swiderski (Iowa State) #12 Ethen Miller (Maryland) vs. #4 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) #3 Jackson Arrington (NC State) vs. #6 Austin Gomez (Michigan) #7 Tyler Kasak (Penn State) vs. #2 Kyle Parco (Arizona State) Projected Semifinals #1 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) vs. #4 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) #6 Austin Gomez (Michigan) vs. #2 Kyle Parco (Arizona State) Projected All-Americans 1st: Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) 2nd: Austin Gomez (Michigan) 3rd: Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) 4th: Kyle Parco (Arizona State) 5th: Tyler Kasak (Penn State) 6th: Casey Swiderski (Iowa State) 7th: Jackson Arrington (NC State) 8th: Chance Lamer (Cal Poly) Projected Round of 12 Finishers: #12 Ethen Miller (Maryland), #13 Caleb Rathjen (Iowa), #5 Ty Watters (West Virginia), #17 Graham Rooks (Indiana) Projected Consolation Round of 16 Finishers: #15 Corbyn Munson (Central Michigan), #21 Willie McDougald (Oklahoma), #19 Joe Zargo (Wisconsin), #9 Ethan Fernandez (Cornell)

The 2024 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships are less than a week away! In a few short days, 330 wrestlers will make the trek to Kansas City, with hopes of a national title on their minds. Now it's in a city that hasn't hosted nationals since 2003 , but by all accounts, should be a great host. Before the action on the mat starts, InterMat will go through each individual bracket and highlight the favorites, top matches to watch, and much more. The Top Seed: Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) A year ago, Jesse Mendez was a true freshman doing anything possible to grind out wins at 133 lbs. His run to the NCAA podium included three one-point wins that were decided in tiebreakers. Mendez showed some poise and guts, beyond his age, while finishing sixth in the nation. This season, Mendez moved up to 141 lbs and has tried to display more of the offensive skills that led him to being named the fourth overall recruit in the Class of 2022. Those efforts have shown on the mat and Mendez has more than doubled his bonus point percentage compared to last season (74% from 35%). More scoring has led to more consistency in the win-loss column, as well. Mendez heads into Kansas City with a 24-2 record and is fresh off an impressive showing at the Big Ten Championships. No Big Ten weight class is ever easy or light, but Mendez’s path to a title in Maryland was tougher than others. Just to make the finals, he had to unseat the 2023 conference champion, Real Woods. Their bout was one of the more anticipated of the year since Ohio State and Iowa didn’t dual this year. In the finals, Mendez struck with a late takedown to defeat previously undefeated Beau Bartlett. Bartlett was responsible for one of Mendez’s two losses on the year - it came in sudden victory during the school’s dual meet. From day one, Mendez had the rest of the 141 lb weight class on notice with a dominant performance at the Clarion Open followed by two dual wins. Then he went out to the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and claimed a title at one of the toughest weights in the tournament. To capture the championship, Mendez had to get by Ryan Jack (now the #4 seed) in the finals and returning All-American and Big Ten finalist Brock Hardy (now the #9 seed) in the semifinals. Mendez’s growth during year two in Columbus is evident. He’s proven that he can prevail in hard-fought ugly matches and he can light up the scoreboard - whichever the situation dictates. With a capable crew of contenders awaiting, Mendez will probably have to do a lot of the former to get his hand raised on Saturday night. The Contenders: #2 Beau Bartlett (Penn State), #3 Real Woods (Iowa), #4 Ryan Jack (NC State), #5 Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State) The Conference Champs ACC: #4 Ryan Jack (NC State) Big 12: #5 Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State) Big Ten: #1 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) EIWA: #11 Josh Koderhandt (Navy) MAC: #12 Wyatt Henson (Lock Haven) Pac-12: #14 Jesse Vasquez (Arizona State) SoCon: #17 Isaiah Powe (Chattanooga) Top First-Round Matches #12 Wyatt Henson (Lock Haven) vs. #21 Joshua Edmond (Missouri) #13 Jordan Titus (West Virginia) vs. #20 Tom Crook (Virginia Tech) #3 Real Woods (Iowa) vs. #30 Clay Carlson (South Dakota State) #11 Josh Koderhandt (Navy) vs. #22 CJ Composto (Penn) #15 Mitch Moore (Rutgers) vs. #18 Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) Every weight has threats from the Big Ten; however, this one is a bit different as it is the only weight this year where the top three seeds come from the Big Ten. Returning third-place finisher Beau Bartlett looked to be on track to the top seed; however, he was knocked from the realms of the unbeaten by Mendez in the Big Ten finals. Bartlett is 20-1 on the year and has head-to-head wins over most of the contenders from his conference this year. Will there be a rubber match between Bartlett and Mendez? Bartlett took the dual meeting, while Mendez evened up by winning in the B1G finals. Could this be another situation where a Penn State wrestler reverses the result from the Big Ten meet to nationals? The returning NCAA runner-up, Woods, is back for a final crack at a national championship. One sequence where he was put on his back in the 2023 finals against Andrew Alirez proved to be the difference last season. Woods came into that tournament undefeated but has taken a few lumps this year, losing three of his 21 bouts. His path back to the finals is quite difficult with a possibility of three All-American opponents, before reaching the finals. He’ll start his tournament against two-time All-American Clay Carlson of South Dakota State. During their only career meeting, Carlson downed Woods 11-4 in the 2021 Bloodround. That match took place while Woods was at Stanford and he has greatly improved in the last three years. After the triumvirate from the Big Ten atop this weight is a talented group of contenders from the Big 12 and ACC. The Big 12 is featured in seeds #5 (Anthony Echemendia), #7 (Cael Happel), and #10 (Tagen Jamison). Echemendia won the conference and has only lost once since his seventh-place finish in Vegas. The Big 12 finals saw him down Happel, 4-2. Happel was fourth in Vegas, with a win over Echemendia; however, he dropped their two subsequent meetings. Happel is also 2-0 against Jamison. Jamison is responsible for Echemendia’s most recent loss and holds wins over Sergio Lemley (#8), Brock Hardy (#9), and Josh Koderhandt (#11). The ACC features #4 Ryan Jack who finally got past long-time nemesis #18 Cole Matthews. Jack has lost three times this year, twice to Mendez and once to Matthews. The win over Matthews in the ACC finals snapped a five-match losing streak to the Panther All-American. Matthews had an extremely rough start to his 2023-24 campaign - his record after January 5th was 9-8; however, he handed Mendez his first loss of the year and reasserted himself against conference foes. Matthews went unbeaten in conference duals that included wins over Jack, All-American Lachlan McNeil, and Tom Crook. McNeil is also someone to account for in this bracket. He’ll start as the sixth seed. Last year, he was the #10 and ended up competing against his old Wyoming Seminary teammate (Bartlett) in the NCAA third-place match. Darkhorse All-American Candidate: #14 Jesse Vasquez (Arizona State) I was sitting matside at WrangleMania and witnessed a gruesome arm injury to Jesse Vasquez in only his second bout of the 2023-24 season. It was the kind of injury that everyone surrounding the mat knew was very serious and potentially a season-ender. Remarkable Vasquez made it back and was re-inserted into the Arizona State lineup on February 9th. He responded with a tech fall in his first match back. During the final weekend of the regular season, Vasquez split matches with some high-quality opponents. He defeated Malyke Hines, but lost to Hardy. Vasquez then went on to defeat his old high school teammate Cleveland Belton to claim his first Pac-12 title. Despite being a quality competitor for ASU, this will be Vasquez’s first time wrestling at nationals. Previously, he’s been a victim of some untimely injuries. Looking at the brackets, lo and behold, Vasquez meets Hines in the first round. Should Vasquez prevail again, he’d have Woods in the second round, which isn’t a great matchup - though every NCAA Round of 16 match is tough. Even if he were to drop that match, I like the way the consolations could break in Vasquez’s favor. Now that Vasquez has proven to be near his pre-injury form, his time away from the mat could work to his benefit. The rigors of a long season could wear down some of his competitors, while Vasquez is relatively fresh with only 11 pre-NCAA matches under his belt. Extreme (20+) Darkhorse All-American Contender: #21 Josh Edmond (Missouri) One of the better, but overlooked, performances from conference weekend was Josh Edmond’s third-place finish in a loaded Big 12 bracket. Edmond defeated Jamison and #13 seed Jordan Titus (via injury default). During the home stretch of the regular season, he downed the eventual conference runner-up, Happel. For his work, Edmond was given the #21 seed. That means he’ll face #12 Wyatt Henson in one of the most intriguing first-round bouts of this weight class. Henson is the MAC champion and sports a robust 35-2 record. Due to NCAA eligibility concerns, Henson competed unattached for the first half of the year and crushed the competition in open tournament. Once he was able to don a Lock Haven singlet, not much changed. He comes into KC with 19 tech falls on the year. Despite the gaudy numbers, we’re not really sure how good Henson is in relation to the stars of this weight class. Late in the year, he was pinned by #11 seed Koderhandt. Aside from that, Henson hasn’t really faced any of the typical All-American threats. A match between Henson/Edmond could help Edmond keep the momentum going or prove that Henson is the most overlooked wrestler in this bracket. The Team Race: This is a weight class where a lot of trophy-hopeful teams have prominent wrestlers expected to be in the mix. Real Woods, Ryan Jack, Anthony Echemendia, Sergio Lemley, Brock Hardy, Tagen Jamison. All have the potential for a deep run and valuable team points. At the same time, not everyone will be able to do so. There’s a chance that two or three of these guys will get left off the podium, costing their respective teams All-American points. Key matches to watch in this aspect are Lemley/Hardy in the Round of 16, Jack/Echemendia in the quarters, and Bartlett/Woods in the semis. Projected Quarterfinals: #1 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) vs. #8 Sergio Lemley (Michigan) #5 Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State) vs. #4 Ryan Jack (NC State) #3 Real Woods (Iowa) vs. #6 Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina) #7 Tagen Jamison (Oklahoma State) vs. #2 Beau Bartlett (Penn State) Projected Semifinals #1 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) vs. #5 Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State) #3 Real Woods (Iowa) vs. #2 Beau Bartlett (North Carolina) Projected All-Americans 1st: Beau Bartlett (Penn State) 2nd: Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) 3rd: Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State) 4th: Real Woods (Iowa) 5th: Sergio Lemley (Michigan) 6th: Brock Hardy (Nebraska) 7th: Cael Happel (Northern Iowa) 8th: Tagen Jamison (Oklahoma State) Projected Round of 12 Finishers: #4 Ryan Jack (NC State), #11 Josh Koderhandt (Navy), #21 Josh Edmond (Missouri), #6 Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina) Projected Consolation Round of 16 Finishers: #32 Kal Miller (Maryland), #14 Jesse Vasquez (Arizona State), #13 Jordan Titus (West Virginia), #15 Mitch Moore (Rutgers)

Here's an easy place to find all of our content related to the 2024 NCAA DI National Championships. More will be added as published. Weight Class Previews 125 133 141 149 157 165 174 184 197 285 Conference Crossover Conversation NCAA Predictions Bracket Reactions Post-Conference Tournament Show Qualifier Information Brackets NCAA Releases Final Set of Coaches Rankings' and RPI At-Large Berths Announced Who's In: Who Has Clinched Berths to the NCAA Tournament Conference-Specific Content ACC Wrestlers at the 2024 NCAA Championships Ceilings and Floors for the Pac-12 at the 2024 NCAA Championships 2024 NCAA B1G Confidence Picks Conference Tournament Results ACC Big 12 Big Ten EIWA MAC Pac-12 SoCon Miscellaneous The Last Time Kansas City Hosted NCAA's... Top First Round Matches Facts, Trends and Numbers from the 2024 NCAA Championships Making Sense of the 2024 DI Brackets A Deeper Look into At-Large Berths

The 2024 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships are less than a week away! In a few short days, 330 wrestlers will make the trek to Kansas City, with hopes of a national title on their minds. Now it's in a city that hasn't hosted nationals since 2003 , but by all accounts, should be a great host. Before the action on the mat starts, InterMat will go through each individual bracket and highlight the favorites, top matches to watch, and much more. The Top Seed: Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) Will this be the year that Daton Fix comes out on top? Since 2018-19, Daton Fix has been a contender or favorite at 133 lbs. In his first three NCAA appearances, Fix’s title run was halted in the national finals. Last season, Fix was soundly defeated by Vito Arujau in the semifinals and settled for fourth place. Despite his lack of an NCAA title, Fix has been one of the best wrestlers in the nation for his entire collegiate career. Only once has he suffered defeat prior to the NCAA Tournament. This year is no different as the Cowboy star. He sports a 17-0 record after becoming the first wrestler to claim five Big 12 Championships. Fix holds the top seed at the NCAA tournament for the third time in his career. He’s never been seeded lower than second. Like others in this weight class, Fix also has his sights set on making the 2024 Olympic Team, so he didn’t compete nearly as frequently as he had in the past and has reportedly kept in weight within striking distance for 57 kg (125.6 lbs). In the 2023-24 season, Fix has maintained a bonus-point percentage of around 65% which is generally the range he’s stuck with throughout his career. His most notable win came in the Cowboys dual win over NC State, when he majored third-seeded Kai Orine. Fix also majored his Big 12 finals opponent #8 seed Evan Frost during their dual meeting. Because of the loss to Arujau at the 2023 national tournament and his fourth-place finish, Fix started the year ranked second behind Arujau. For the bulk of the year, the top ranking at this weight belonged to Lehigh freshman Ryan Crookham; however, based on the seeding matrix, Fix was given the top seed. That seed puts him away from those two EIWA powers and on the same half of the Big Ten finalists. At this point, as the 2024 NCAA Tournament is Fix’s last opportunity to claim an NCAA title, the side of the bracket and whether it’s slightly more difficult or not, is irrelevant. Fix and the Oklahoma State staff aren’t worried about just making it onto the raised stage, they want to win. The Contenders: #2 Ryan Crookham (Lehigh), #3 Kai Orine (NC State), #4 Dylan Ragusin (Michigan), #5 Dylan Shawver (Rutgers), #6 Vito Arujau (Cornell) The Conference Champs ACC: #3 Kai Orine (NC State) Big 12: #1 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) Big Ten: #5 Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) EIWA: #2 Ryan Crookham (Lehigh) MAC: #27 Gable Strickland (Lock Haven) Pac-12: #7 Nasir Bailey (Little Rock) SoCon: #21 Ethan Oakley (Appalachian State) Top First-Round Matches #12 Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) vs. #21 Ethan Oakley (Appalachian State) #14 Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska) vs. #19 Julian Farber (Northern Iowa) #11 Zeth Romney (Cal Poly) vs. #22 Dom Zaccone (Campbell) #15 Brody Teske (Iowa) vs. #18 Derrick Cardinal (South Dakota State) It only took until the second week of the regular season for this weight class to be thrown into a loop. Arujau was the returning champion and Outstanding Wrestler at the 2023 tournament as he dismantled Fix and two-time champion Roman Bravo-Young to claim his national title. A few months later, Arujau won Final X and then a gold medal at the 2024 World Championships. With all that in mind, Arujau was stunned during his third collegiate bout of the 2023-24 season by Lehigh’s redshirt freshman Ryan Crookham. Arujau and the Cornell staff picked their spots during the rest of the regular season as Arujau was dealing with injuries and also had Olympic Trials in the back of his mind. He and Crookham met again in the EIWA and again it was Crookham who prevailed in a fun 10-6 bout. Because of his losses to Crookham and lack of high-quality wins, Arujau was relegated to the sixth seed. Crookham stormed onto the high school scene as a freshman state champion and quickly established himself as one of the top wrestlers in his class. Unfortunately, he dealt with a variety of injuries and had a limited national schedule during his final years of high school. That led to his recruiting ranking slipping a bit and he was deemed the #20 overall recruit in the Class of 2022. In addition to the Arujau win, Crookham also had an early-season victory over the returning Big Ten runner-up and All-American Aaron Nagao. Those wins coupled with him winning the starting role over a potential All-American candidate in Connor McGonagle elevated Crookham to a number one national ranking. Crookham isn’t the only impressive freshman in the weight. The seventh-seeded true freshman from Little Rock, Nasir Bailey, also fits the bill. Bailey became the first Little Rock wrestler to win a Pac-12 title and holds a 23-2 record on the year. One of those two losses was a 4-0 shutout via Arujau at the Collegiate Duals. The Big Ten finalists will be on the top half of the bracket with champion Dylan Shawver holding the fourth seed and runner-up Dylan Ragusin coming in at five. Though Shawver teched Ragusin in the conference championship bout, Ragusin did beat him twice during the regular season. Ragusin initially intended on redshirting this season, but was called into action after a season-ending injury to Chris Cannon. He proceeded to win his first 20 matches of the year before getting upset by Jacob Van Dee. Shawver was a national qualifier from Rutgers in 2022 at 125 lbs, but wasn’t able to secure the starting role last season with Dean Peterson in the mix. He was able to use a medical redshirt for the 2022-23 campaign. Back in the fold and up a weight, Shawver has been as good as ever. He’ll come to KC on a six-match winning streak. On the bottom half of the bracket is the aforementioned Orine. Orine was a 2023 All-American who has taken the next step this season. He was victorious in his first eight matches of the year, a span that included the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. In the Vegas finals, Orine majored the eventual Big 12 finalist Evan Frost. Also lurking on the bottom half is 10th seeded Aaron Nagao. He has a relatively pedestrian regular season, but looked like he may be back on track at the Big Ten Championships. Nagao finished third, losing only to Ragusin, and notched a pair of wins over Van Dee and Maryland’s Braxton Brown. Darkhorse All-American Candidate: #16 Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State) One of the big talking points entering the Big Ten Championships was the late entry of Brody Teske, which forced him into the 14th seed, regardless of any seeding criteria. What that did was set up a huge first-round bout with Teske and the third seed, Nic Bouzakis. In one of the best bouts of the tournament, Teske prevailed 15-13. That pushed Bouzakis into the consolations and he was eliminated by Jacob Van Dee before securing an automatic berth to Kansas City. The loss led Bouzakis, someone who was ranked in the top-12 for most of the year, to rely on an at-large berth. Bouzakis comes in as the 16th seed which is generally not an ideal place in any bracket. Should he win in the first round, a likely matchup with Fix awaits. Despite being a redshirt freshman, I wouldn’t expect the bright lights of the T-Mobile Arena and a date with Fix to fluster Bouzakis. He’s already competed multiple times on the world level and at every notable age-group tournament domestically. Though he had some ups and downs this year, Bouzakis has notched some excellent wins. In the Buckeyes surprising upset of NC State, he pinned Orine in less than a minute. Against Penn State, Bouzakis downed Nagao, 13-7. I don’t necessarily think Bouzakis will beat Fix; however, he’s capable of a great consolation run. That resiliency was evident in Vegas as he fell in round one then reeled off seven straight wins - four over eventual national qualifiers. Extreme (20+) Darkhorse All-American Contender: #28 Michael Colaiocco (Penn) Michael Colaiocco isn’t a name that you’d associate with a darkhorse for a potential All-American run; however, anyone with a #28 seed is typically in for a rough tournament. The #28 seed means that Colaiocco has an imposing opening match against Big Ten champion Dylan Ragusin. The two clashed earlier this year at the Midlands and Ragusin won via 15-3 major decision. While expecting Colaiocco to reverse the result of a major decision might be too much to ask, he would have a decent path in the consolations, provided no big upsets occur. Despite the seed, don’t be surprised to see Colaiocco deep in the tournament on Friday. The Team Race: NCAA team scoring is largely dependent on your big guns. The biggest gun for Oklahoma State is Daton Fix, so if they hope to take home some team hardware, a Fix win would go a long way toward ensuring it. There have been plenty of people who have posted NCAA team scores based on seeds, which is a decent starting point, but ultimately not relevant as it assumes the higher seeds will prevail. Someone who should outwrestle his seed by a big margin is Vito Arujau, who starts as the number six. Big points will be on the line in the quarterfinals as Arujau and Orine could meet - both compete for teams expected to be in the trophy hunt. The same can be said for most potential quarterfinals. We have it Fix/Ragusin and Arujau/Crookham. All of those teams are expected to finish in the top ten and could be higher with a win here. Projected Quarterfinals: #1 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) vs. #8 Evan Frost (Iowa State) #5 Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) vs. #4 Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) #3 Kai Orine (NC State) vs. #6 Vito Arujau (Cornell) #2 Ryan Crookham (Lehigh) vs. #10 Aaron Nagao (Penn State) Projected Semifinals: #1 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) vs. #5 Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) #6 Vito Arujau (Cornell) vs. #2 Ryan Crookham (Lehigh) Projected All-Americans: 1st: Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) 2nd: Ryan Crookham (Lehigh) 3rd: Vito Arujau (Cornell) 4th: Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) 5th: Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) 6th: Aaron Nagao (Penn State) 7th: Kai Orine (NC State) 8th: Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska) Projected Round of 12 Finishers: #7 Nasir Bailey (Little Rock), #8 Evan Frost (Iowa State), #12 Sam Latona (Virginia Tech), #16 Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State) Projected Consolation Round of 16 Finishers: #15 Brody Teske (Iowa), #28 Michael Colaiocco (Penn), #19 Julian Farber (Northern Iowa), #26 Kade Moore (Missouri)