2022 Final Thoughts: DI 141 lbs

 This weight class absolutely tore me apart emotionally. Highs & lows, it was a roller coaster that topped Mount Everest & saw the depths of the Dead Sea.  

What a career it was for Penn State's Nick Lee. In a decade of wrestling giants, his accomplishments go a bit overlooked but this guy was nothing short of amazing during his time as a Nittany Lion. 5-5-1-1, this guy lost only twice the last three years in what were otherwise dominant seasons. I knew he wouldn't because of who all he was up against, but had he been selected as wrestler of the tournament, I'd have been just fine with that. 

Kizhan Clarke was the story of the tournament. This is the kind of stuff you live for as a wrestling fan. What a reward it was to see him make the NCAA finals. Here's a kid that's never been an All American. This was only his second trip to the NCAA tournament. Add in the fact that he had a horrible ACC tournament. I've been informed that he was ill during the ACC's, but that doesn't change the story.  Regardless of why you wrestled poorly, it's hard to bounce back mentally after that kind of performance. It shows the mental strength of Clarke & the phenomenal coaching of Coleman Scott, Tony Ramos, Jamill Kelly & Gary Wayne Harding. This was one of the best moments of the 2022 NCAA's. 

6th-3rd-4th-3rd at the NCAA's, he won two BIG 10 titles, a Midlands title & a CKLV title. I'm not sure exactly where you put Rutger's Sebastian Rivera on the list, but I would argue that he's gotta be one of the best ever to never make the NCAA finals. 

The past two seasons I've been watching Cole Matthews of Pittsburgh thinking to myself this guy has "it" he just needs that one big win to release it. He's sorta like the DeLorean in BACK TO THE FUTURE, you knew he was capable of some serious shit, you just had to get him up to 88 mph first. He has two more seasons of eligibility left & I think he's capable of winning a national title. 

I did not go into this tournament thinking that the PAC-12 would have an overall better performance than the BIG XII.  That did surprise me. Nevertheless it was rewarding to see Real Woods finally make the award stand. His weird rivalry with Oregon State's Grant Willits where he either seems to win by a lot of points or get pinned will continue next season.  The over/under may not be great but when is the last time we saw an All PAC-12 NCAA final? 

Those were the positives....now minus Tom Petty, here are the Heartbreakers. 

5th-4th-3rd-2nd, I think unless you are absolutely in utter hate with the Iowa Hawkeyes, we all wanted to see Jaydin Eierman have a good end to his outstanding career. In all my years of watching wrestling, the NCAA tournament has reduced me to tears exactly three times. When he injury defaulted I started to lose it, but I kept it together. There was no keeping it together when Michigan's Stevan Micic embraced him in a hug, in what I feel was the greatest display of sportsmanship at this tournament. Your career is not one tournament. I preach this all the time & I'm going to stick by my words. Eierman had a great career at Iowa & whatever his future is be it international wrestling, coaching or something different this young man's future is so bright, you have to wear sunglasses just to look at it. 

If this guy's email & phone didn't blow up this weekend with, "Hey, we're looking for a coach" messages, then Coaches throughout the country need to get on the ball. Again I had to remind myself a lot that a wrestler isn't defined by one tournament. With that said, I really thought their for a while that we were seeing the old Micic that we've been missing all season.  A 7-4 decision over Carter Young of Oklahoma State & a 10-2 major over Frankie Tal-Shahar of Northwestern.  Take nothing away from C.J. Composto of Penn, who looks to be the Quakers next four time All American, but my heart sank when he put Micic on his back in overtime. Nevertheless, still a great career. 4th-2nd-3rd at NCAA's, & a BIG 10 champion.  His career might not be over yet either. There might be some World & Olympic medals in his future.  

Stevan Micic = The 2022 Johnnythompsonnum1 NCAA DI Sportsmanship Award Winner (Been doing these since 2002) 

Four years ago I remember watching two time NCAA champion Dean Heil of Oklahoma State go out onto the mat in an effort to earn his fourth All American honor. A young freshman by the name of Chad Red of Nebraska hit a cement mixer out of nowhere & before the first period was even over, ended Heil's hopes of making the award stand a fourth time.  Fast forward & ironically enough Red has the same thing done to him as he's going for his fourth All American honor.  It just goes to show you how unforgiving this tournament can be. While rewarding & triumphant on one hand, completely ruthless & unruly on the other.  There's a guy in wrestling, fairly well known that preaches a philosophy of the only reason you ever fall short of your goals is because you didn't work hard enough. Some people buy into that belief. I don't.  All of these guys, or at least nearly all of these guys pour their heart & spirits into this sport. They give it everything they have. They have an undivided focus towards their dreams, & when you look at their work ethic, their devotion, their discipline & the sacrifices they make in effort to make their dreams come true, I think such a philosophy is as ignorant & stupid as it is old and dirty.   The fact is, you have 33+ guys all wanting the same thing & there's only space for 8 of them. Those are the facts.  Unfortunately Chad Red Jr of Nebraska didn't get one of those spaces this season.  Still a fantastic career.  Three time All American & he placed three times at CKLV. 

As I contemplate the future of the 141 lbs class, I question if maybe Clay Carlson of South Dakota State might be the face of the weight class in the next two seasons. He fell short of All American this season, but still had an impressive tournament. Upset in the first round, rallied three consolation victories over some very tough opponents until getting stopped dead in his tracks by Rivera.  He put together a 33-6 record this season that included a CKLV title, a 4th place finish at the Southern Scuffle & a 3rd place finish at the BIG XII's. Someone said to me earlier, "Clay Carlson is one of the most overlooked wrestlers in the NCAA." I have to agree with that. I'm excited to see what he can do next season. 

Long winded & it seems like I'll never stop, with plenty more to say, I'll end my 141 lbs DI thoughts on Wil Gil of Franklin & Marshall. It was so rewarding to see him have an outstanding EIWA tournament and finally make the NCAA tournament. F&M is one of our smallest programs & it is such a treat to see them have success. If you knew all they were up against, and how little they have in comparison to a program like Penn State or Iowa, it would really help to put it into perspective. You just can't help but admire a guy like Gil, who represents a program like F&M. So happy to see him finally punch his ticket to the dance. 

2022 Final Thoughts: DI 133 lbs

 

Penn State's Roman Bravo-Young defeats Oklahoma State's Daton Fix in the NCAA finals for the second year in a row.  RBY has stated that he's still not sure if he's going to come back next season or not. Personally, I'd love to see him back. It makes it difficult for any other team to overcome Penn State but I've always been of the mindset if you're going to beat someone, beat them at their best.  As to Fix, he's got the Duane Goldman thing going on.  He's now finished NCAA Runner-up three times in his career. With the COVID situation, he still has two more shots at an NCAA title. I think he'll get at least one. 

I have mixed feelings on this guy & I suppose I always will.  The heart this guy shows on the mat, as he goes out & gives 100%, 100% of the time is hard not to admire. His quickness, with a relentless attack, using one of my favorite moves; the fireman's carry was fun to watch. Yet you can't ask someone like me who values sportsmanship, class & humility the way I do to be a huge fan of a guy who rarely if ever displayed any.  I've referred to DeSanto as the Norman Bates Energizer Bunny his entire career & I had good reason for it. I think too many excuses were made for his behavior, when contriteness or in the least ownership should have been made instead. He's not the only wrestler to suffer from mental health issues. His may have been publicized & discussed more than others but he's far from the only wrestler to deal with these issues. I'll always admire the fact that he was their for his team & that twice in his career he came back to a 3rd place finish to help out the Hawkeyes. Some have fallen apart after the dream of being a national champion is gone & he fought back hard not once, but twice to take 3rd for the team.  If the quote, "You only deserve what you earn" is true, then it has to be true both ways.  He earned every bit of love & praise that he ever got, and he also earned every bit of criticism too.  Wrestling in a lot of ways can be a lot like politics & one thing I hate about politics is hypocrisy. I cannot stand it when someone will do something & it doesn't depend on what they did, it depends on what party they represent as to whether their action is held accountable or dismissed.  So it's either you were fine with DeSanto's unsportsmanlike antics whether he was wearing black & gold, maize & blue, blue & white or orange & black OR you weren't. I cannot play a game of "depends on who he competed for."  So final analysis is there are things I liked about the guy & things I didn't.  Earning team points in important duals & tournaments, wrestling his heart out was great. Yelling profanities at a teammates father, not so much. 

I tell you we talk about a possible third meeting between Roman Bravo-Young & Daton Fix (& to my knowledge this would be the first time in history that wrestlers met three years in a row in the finals IF that were to happen in 2023) but I think their may be a possibility that Arizona State's Michael McGee catches up to them at some point. This guy has steadily improved every season & if history repeats itself he'll be even better next season than he was this season. 

I was happy to see Korbin Myers get back on the award stand. He's been a fun one to watch. A textbook technician in a world so full of scrambles & wildness. Great career for the Hokies, he'll be missed. 

Mark it down on your calendars, Pitt's Micky Phillippi enters the 2022-2023 season as the best wrestler in the nation yet to make All American. R12 three times in his career. People talking about how much its gotta sting for Fix to bring home silver medals three times running, I think it's a honey bee compared to the bullet ant of finishing one match shy of an NCAA medal three times. I sure hope to see him finally make the award stand next season. 

It was fun watching Oregon State's Devan Turner finally make the award stand. Isn't it ironic that in being a two time PAC-12 champion, it is the year he doesn't win it that he makes All American? That's NCAA wrestling for you. It should also be noted that Dylan Ragusin who defeated Turner 4-2 in round two, failed to place. I point that out as further proof of how difficult it is & how insanely tough this tournament can be. 

While I could say a lot more about 133 lbs in NCAA DI, I'll leave my thoughts on Air Force's Sid Flores. Dude's plain and simple a battler. Dealt with injuries last season & had to fight his way to an official varsity position this season. He wasn't expected to be an NCAA qualifier this season & after getting majored 8-0 in the opening round of the BIG 12 tournament come all the way back to a 4th place finish to earn NCAA qualification. Not all stories worth telling in this sport end with national titles. Plenty of other success stories & this was one of them. 

2022 Final Thoughts: DI 125 lbs

 WHAT A SEASON!! I've been watching wrestling since 1991 & I've been following it religiously since 2001.  This is without a doubt, the toughest season I have ever witnessed. I don't think I'll ever see a more competitive year of collegiate wrestling than what I did this year. I have a million thoughts & I considered writing them all down in one gigantic blog, but then I figured that it'd be too much for one sitting. I'm going to do this weight by weight.  Where to start? What all to say?  Here goes nothing. Bare with me. 

Very few people can say they competed for 1/4 of the BIG 10, but Nick Suriano can. It was exciting when the Nittany Lion turned Scarlet Knight decided to transform into a Wolverine for his final season. I statistically proved that in terms of stats, accomplishments, credentials & overall performances, Michigan is the best team in NCAA wrestling yet to win an NCAA team title. I'd be more than happy to provide you that article with all of the data I worked hard to collect but take it from me; never trust another publication when they tell you that you'll always have the rights to your own work. I learned the hard way that no you won't. People lie. I digress. 

The fact is when Suriano joined the maize and blue, it gave forth a hope that maybe just maybe Michigan could finally bring home the team title. That didn't happen, but I'll argue they were in the hunt. Furthermore they brought home a nice shiny silver plaque for second place. A great year for Michigan wrestling & Suriano was a huge part of it. 

You get your rear handed to you 19-6 in the EIWA finals by Vito Arujau of Cornell & then you come back a short amount of time later to avenge that loss 13-5 in the NCAA semi-finals. Is that intestinal fortitude or what? This isn't the first time something like that happened this season either. There are other examples throughout the year of guys getting beaten like redheaded stepchildren & then turning around and lashing it out against the same wrestler who had beaten them. This never used to be like this. Wrestlers used to "own" other wrestlers & I suppose they still do, but it's not like it used to be. Anymore the mentality has changed to, "You don't own me!"   What is the cause of this change? I think it's a lot of things. I don't think today's wrestler takes losses as hard as they used to. They're more resilient now.  Coaching probably has a lot to do with it. Good Coaching, to help wrestlers refocus, fix mistakes & come back from tough losses. I also think it's because we live in a day of overexposure. It's so much easier now to study opponents. Get film & really look for weaknesses & holes in an opponent's techniques and strategies. Glory made the finals & it was glorious.  So cool to see an Ivy league program with this kind of success. Brains & pains I say & I'm all for it. 

Move over J.D. Bergman, you have been replaced. Pat McKee of Minnesota is our new King of the Consolation.  There's something about a first round match that just does not agree with the young Golden Gopher but by George is he a Juggernaut through a series of brick walls once he gets put into the consolations.  Not only did he win 6 matches in route to a 5th place finish, he went out and dominated.  Intestinal fortitude. 

I refer to this young man as "Kill Lion" because that's the exact way Killian Cardinale of West Virginia wrestles. He goes out and puts it all on the line. Competes like his life depends on it. That's fun to watch. Came up short of his goal of being an All American, but still what a fantastic season. BIG XII champion, 2nd at the Southern Scuffle. He has one more season left & I'm already excited about it. 

 My heart really goes out to this guy, it really does. Look, I've lived in Iowa my entire life. I grew up an hour from Iowa City. I've lived in Iowa City. If there's anything I know well, I know how harsh your own fan base can be on you. I've seen former Hawkeyes & even current Hawkeyes get verbally torn to shreds by the black & gold faithful for not living up to expectation. When you're part of a storied program, unfortunately as Perry White would say, "it goes with the territory."  I know how rough some of the blue & white were on Hildebrandt for underperforming. I know that if I were to train 100%, technique, lifting, conditioning, ect that at my very, very best my greatest hope in a DI collegiate wrestling match would be to last the entire 7 minutes.  Yet I guess a lot of critics I read & listen to would go out there and make it look easy.  Better people than me I guess. I know that I myself can be very critical & unforgiving at times of poor sportsmanship. Hildebrandt may not have had the best season, but he wrestled a career & mind you a successful career at that. 

Here's a guy that fought injuries & trying to make the varsity lineup most of his career. Tenacity is a word used often in the sport of wrestling & for good reason. What an end it would have been for Joey Prata of Oklahoma to have ended his career as an All American and man oh man did he come close. So painfully close. Nevertheless, one match shy of placing. All things considered a great finish. 

This will be another guy I miss seeing around next season. I've always been a fan of Devin Schroder's.  Not the ending to his career he was wanting but again, these guys don't just wrestle 3 days, they wrestle an entire season. All 6 months of it. Furthermore they wrestle entire careers & I'd say Schroder had a pretty good one. He made the BIG 10 finals twice & he made the CKLV finals twice. I know I'm probably the only human being on the planet who will say this, but the NCAA's in a lot of ways is just another tournament. It may be the most important one. It may be the toughest one. But to put all of your stock on it? To look at your entire worth of a wrestler & base it all on the NCAA tournament? No, I'll claim sanity here & call everyone else crazy. There are some very good wrestlers who never made All American. Schroder's one of them. 

=== 

Is there more I could say? Oh yeah, a lot more.  All I know is that while Suriano graduates, as does Prata, we're looking at 7 returning All Americans & three R12's who all return for the 2022-2023 season.  Plus mind you, Iowa's Spencer Lee may be making a return too.  The War never ends & it never gets any easier. 

Beating Gable Steveson

 Years ago I sat down and thought to myself was there anyone that could have ever stopped Cael Sanderson in his 159-0 quest of four NCAA DI titles? The only answer I came up with that even seemed remotely viable was if Ohio State's Mitch Clark would have had one more year of eligibility Sanderson's freshman year.  He is the only person during Sanderson's era that I could have seen beating him in a varsity College match. (Well aware of the redshirt 8-6 loss to Paul Jenn at the UNI Open.) 

As good as Sanderson was, I don't think I was the only one that was a bit in shock when he did get beat in the international style. I remember the first time I saw him get beat was against Les Gutches a former Oregon State standout. Then I actually watched him get beaten person by Lee Fullhart.  He had a few other losses, some that really surprised me. I'll always believe that he's a better wrestler than Yoel Romero but it's Romero who owns a winning record against him. 

Overall I never thought I would see someone even come close to matching Sanderson on the mat. I never thought in a million years I would see someone surpass him. 

Now is it fair or accurate to say that Steveson surpassed Sanderson? That's up for debate.  The -2 in the loss column of Steveson as well as the fact that his career will most likely end 3-1-1-1 will forever haunt the Golden Gopher in terms of being referred to as the all time greatest, but let's consider a few things.  He was a 17 year old freshman & both of his losses were to Anthony Cassar of Penn State who won the national title that season. In essence I think this very fact alone gets to the root of why so many wrestling fans have such a vendetta against wrestlers receiving a 5th year of varsity eligibility.  They have dreams of incoming freshmen being the next Cael Sandersons & Gable Stevesons and know with so many returning who would have otherwise graduated, it lessens the chances of that vision becoming a reality.  Some may also point out that Steveson isn't the only wrestler to completely dominate the competition either.  Danny Hodge of Oklahoma for example, completely annihilated the competition. 46-0, 36 falls.  I'll make the argument for Steveson here for two reasons. One, Steveson wrestled 38 matches his freshman year. That's nearly as many matches as Hodge wrestled his entire career. Secondly, the competition today is far more fierce than what it was then. 

My argument for Steveson is that I've never seen someone as dominant against the level of competition as what he has been.  Even Sanderson's senior season when he was majoring, tech'ing & pinning everybody, he was still given a 6-1 match when he wrestled Jon Trenge of Lehigh the first time.  There is no equivalent to  Jon Trenge for Steveson this season. No one has came within more than  8 points of Steveson this season. 

Now one could argue that when it's all said and done Gable's final year of collegiate wrestling ends 18-0, Vs Sanderson who was 40-0 as a senior.  I argue that we could have added another 22 matches to Steveson's season & he still would have no less than majored everyone he got on the mat with. 

In the end, as to "Best college wrestler" or "Most dominant collegiate wrestler" or whatever particular distinction one would want to argue, who deserves the top honor & what order to rank our best will always be up for debate. What isn't up for debate, is the fact that while Gable Steveson may not be the very, very best of all time in these categories, he belongs in the discussion. 

Which leads me to the question that centers around the heart of this article.  What if I were taxed with finding someone to beat Gable Steveson?  What if that were my job?  Well if time constraints weren't an issue & I got full use of Doc Brown's DeLorean, I have 10 guys that I'd like to test against Steveson and here they are. 

Chris Taylor
Iowa State 

This is actually a match I think Steveson would win. The real question here is, how would Steveson handle a guy like Taylor? Steveson has never wrestled anyone even remotely close to the size of Taylor.  With the 285 lbs limit, even at his smallest Taylor outweighed the biggest opponents Steveson has faced by 125 lbs. On top of it, Taylor wasn't just a big fat heavyweight either. He was agile, quick & surprisingly technical for a man his size. If that weren't enough, immensely strong. I think Steveson would use his phenomenal speed & mobility to wear the big man out, as he patiently waited for him to run out of gas, & then strike once he was sure he was on empty.  This wouldn't be a match where Steveson was hitting blast doubles left & right, but I do think he'd walk away with the W. 

Steve Mocco 
Iowa/Oklahoma State 

I've been debating whether "The Bear" could give Steveson a match or not. A part of me thinks that his unorthodox footsweep might come into play & another part of me thinks that Steveson's athleticism might be too much for the four time national finalist. If you look back at Mocco's career, he struggled with opponents who were bigger & stronger than him. That's why Cole Konrad gave him fits when he was in college & why Tolly Thompson gave him fits when he started trying to make World & Olympic teams. He also struggled with opponents who were extremely athletic, hence Tommy Rowlands & Leonce Crump.  I take nothing away from Mocco, one of the greatest HWT's of all time & I do think he'd give Steveson a match, but I don't think he'd beat him.  

Cole Konrad 
Minnesota 

Senior Cole Konrad Vs Steveson? Now I think we have a match on our hands. By the time Konrad was a senior at Minnesota he was as big, fat, strong, & just plain good as he could be. By this time he had learned how to use his strength, his size & his weight to maximum capacity & he made himself impossible to score on.  It was like watching a wrestler Vs a bear or a gorilla. It just didn't seem fair as he'd manhandle his opponents on the mat. I think he'd give Steveson a real struggle. I really do because he'd be difficult to take down & I'm going to say he'd be impossible for Steveson to keep down. There's no way Steveson would earn riding time against Konrad. I'd put money on that. Konrad WOULD escape from Steveson. I also think Steveson would escape from Konrad too though.  This is a match I think would come down to the tiebreakers & Steveson's phenomenal gas tank could very well be the difference maker. 

Tommy Rowlands
Ohio State 

An at his best Tommy Rowlands Vs Gable Steveson is a match that interest me. I think what favors Steveson in this match is pace. Steveson can keep a pace at 100% for the entirety of the match and Rowlands often won a lot of matches by outpacing his opponents. Something that he wouldn't be able to do against Steveson. Nonetheless, I still think he would give Steveson a match. 

Carlton Haselrig
Pittsburgh-Johnstown 

He didn't always win by large margins.  Matter of fact going through the three Division I titles he won in 87, 88 & 89 (he also won three DII titles & placed 3rd in DII's in 1986) some of his matches were very close. Yet at the end of the day whether he won 12-2 or 1-0, a W is a W & Haselrig's collegiate career had a lot of W's. Yet, so does Steveson's.  I think Haselrig's strategy against the Golden Gopher would be to try and shut down his ability to score & I don't know if that game plan would work on Steveson. Minus the two 4-3 losses to Cassar, Steveson has won 85 career matches & the lowest score he ever had was against Arizona State's Tanner Hall in a 3-1 S.V. match, again when he was only 17 years old. I don't know if Haselrig would be able to score offensively on Steveson or if he could keep Steveson from scoring offensively on him. It'd be a match worth seeing though. 

Stephen Neal
Cal State Bakersfield 

A senior Stephen Neal would be someone I'm almost positive could give Gable Steveson a match.  A lot of the problem with Steveson is matching him in the categories & as far as I'm concerned Neal matches up with him pretty good. Strength, conditioning, technique, mat awareness, pace, athleticism, you name it I think the Roadrunner is even with the Golden Gopher. A for sure win? No, not saying that, but I do think in this particular case, we're looking at a tossup. 

Kerry McCoy 
Penn State 

I'd give a senior Kerry McCoy a bit of an edge over Stephen Neal's chances against Steveson for the fact that McCoy seemed more comfortable in situational wrestling than what Neal did. In fact, I think this is what led McCoy to defeat Neal in their 1997 NCAA championship match. I also think it would help McCoy against Steveson in the fact that with Steveson their is often action, reaction, counter, recounter situations & McCoy was always very comfortable in those situations.  He often won those positions too.  Again, not calling any guarantees, but I think McCoy would give Steveson fits that he hasn't experienced much in his collegiate career.  

Bruce Baumgartner
U.S. Olympian 

If you feel like I've been kissing Steveson's rear this whole article, things are about to change.  A top of his game, at the height of his international career Baumgartner? Sorry, I don't think Steveson at this moment in time could beat him. I really don't.  I know Steveson is an Olympic Gold Medalist himself & he's been more successful at an earlier age than Baumgartner, but Baumgartner when he was at his very best was one of the best wrestlers the United States has ever produced.  If someone held a gun to my head & said, "find us someone to beat Gable Steveson" an at his very best Bruce Baumgartner would be one of my first picks. 

Aleksandr Karelin
U.S.S.R./Russian Olympian 

Is this even fair? I don't know, but what it is, is fun to think about! Obviously we'd have to go Greco-Roman rules & that highly favors the Russian.  Yet it makes you wonder doesn't? Steveson highly trained in G.R. Vs an at the top of his game Karelin. How would Steveson do? Up until Karelin was upset at the 2000 Olympics, the very idea of him getting beat seemed unfeasible. It was like looking at a mathematical equation that only a genius could figure out. We just couldn't wrap our head around it. Could Steveson match that? Could he hang with the Russian? 

Aleksandr Medved
U.S.S.R. Olympian 

Time periods can make a world of difference, but there are some athletes who stand the test of time & would be superstars no matter what era you put them in. They're physical specimens that had something within in them, inherent ability, natural talent, whatever you want to call it, that made them the larger than life superstars they turned out to be. I've heard more than once wrestler say that they feel Aleksandr Medved was the greatest wrestler to ever live. Take Medved at his prime, say 1964 & put him in a freestyle match against Steveson.  Oh, that'd be a sight to see.  Even at 84 years old, I'd still say he'd be a force to be reckoned with if he were to step on the mat today. 

===

There you have it.  Don't take this too seriously. This was just a little before the start of the NCAA's article for fun. Something to ponder. Something to wonder about.  I'm sure there are other HWT's to wonder about to & how they'd do against Steveson.  

 

2021-2022 Best Redshirts

 Thus far at JT#1 we've taken a look at both wrestlers whose seasons unfortunately came to an end because of injury & we've taken a look at the best backups in the country as in wrestlers who tried out for a varsity spot & were unable to win it.  Now it's time to look at our best redshirts this season. 

I'll admit, I know for a fact that I'll miss some here.  While I pay attention to redshirts at various opens & tournaments throughout the season, they are not my expertise.  So, fair warning, I imagine you'll look through these & say, "Why isn't so & so here?"  Didn't mean to overlook anyone, but as said, when it comes to DI wrestling, redshirts are not what I know best.  

Eddie Ventresca & Cooper Flynn 
125 lbs
Virginia Tech 

Most likely the Hokie's starter next season will again be Sam Latona, but both Eddie Ventresca & Cooper Flynn will more than push him in the room.  Flynn went 15-3 this season as a redshirt with impressive wins over Korbin Meink & Zurich Storm of Campbell as well as Spencer Moore of North Carolina, Jared Van Vleet of Air Force & Jacob Allen of Navy.  Two of Flynn's three losses? Teammate Ventresca. 

James Joplin 
125 lbs
North Carolina State? 

I put the ? because I'm not 100% positive if Joplin is still at NC State or not. I recently checked the current roster & he wasn't on it. Nevertheless, regardless of where he ends up next season, he'll either be a starter or one of the best backups in the country.  This season victories over Presbyterian's Benny Gomez & Campbell's Anthony Molton. 

Braxton Brown
125 lbs
Maryland 

Maryland gets a lot of flack & criticism from wrestling fans and I don't think that those who are critical of Maryland realize all of the positive things that are happening there as of late. The Terrapins have quietly been recruiting some real talent & Braxton Brown is one of them.  This season wins over Jacob Allen of Navy, Luke Werner of Lock Haven, Jace Koelzer of Northern Colorado & Caleb Smith of Appalachian State. I am anxious to see him next season in his first varsity start. 

Dylan Ryder 
125 lbs
Hofstra 

Truth to be known, Dylan Ryder is probably the best wrestler in NCAA wrestling who has yet to make the NCAA tournament. Three seasons running he has made my "Best to Not Qualify" list.  He took the 2021-2022 season off to redshirt & he'll be back for his final season next year. As far as I'm concerned he's good enough to get 3rd at the EIWA's.  He's not beating Glory or Arujau, but other than that, fair game.  

Carter Bailey
133 lbs
Lehigh 

As good as Malyke Hines is, I wouldn't count on him necessarily being the starter for Mountain Hawks next season.  Carter Bailey is one tough hombre. He'll give Hines one hell of a match, if he doesn't upend him for the starting position.  Bailey defeated an assortment of talent this year at both 125 & 133 including Jacob Allen of Navy, Joey Fischer of Clarion, Gage Curry of Pittsburgh, Brock Bergelin of Central Michigan, Sammy Alvarez of Rutgers, Julian Farber of Northern Iowa & Kyle Burwick of Wisconsin. 

Vance VomBaur
133 lbs
Minnesota 

The Gophers are never hurting for talent are they? They already have Jake Gliva & Aaron Nagao at 133 lbs as it is & next season they'll have Vance VomBaur fighting for the varsity spot too! He has wins over Kyle Biscoglia, Julian Farber, Jack Wager & Jack Sudlarczyk all of Northern Iowa.  I'm anxious to see who wins this fatal three way between three very talented Golden Gophers. 

Boo Dryden 
133 lbs
Minnesota

Just to think, Boo Dryden was once at Minnesota too! Now he's at Nebraska & he'll most likely start for the Huskers next season, giving Coach Manning an NCAA qualifier at 133 lbs. An NCAA qualifier in 2021, this season he defeated Kyle Burwick of Wisconsin, Jack Medley of Michigan & Darren Miller of Bucknell. 

Lachlan McNeil 
141 lbs
North Carolina 

Of all freshmen in 2023, this is the guy I am most excited about.  I think he'll immediately challenge for both an ACC title & All American honors.  He defeated Ryan Jack of North Carolina State earlier this year. 

Ethen Miller
141 lbs
Maryland 

I'm not off the Maryland train quite yet. Another top notch recruit the Terrapins picked up is Ethen Miller who gave Real Woods of Stanford a good scare in a 3-1 loss at the Southern Scuffle earlier this year. 2021-2022 was not a good year for Maryland at the lower weights but between Brown & Miller, I think 22'-23' will be a complete turnaround. 

Wyatt Henson 
141 lbs
Iowa 

One of the issues that Iowa has faced in regards to keeping up with Penn State over the years has been reloading. Yet as I pointed out in my "Best Backups of 2022" article, as of late the Hawkeyes have done a great job in making sure that their sensational seniors are well replaced once their eligibility is said and done.  Wyatt Henson will fill in for Jaydin Eierman next season & he's already shown us he's capable of big things. Wins over MAC champion Quinn Kinner of Rider as well as Angelo Martinoni of CSU-Bakersfield. 

McKenzie Bell
141 lbs
Rider 

After Qualifying for the NCAA's as a freshman in 2021, Bell took the 21'-22' season off to redshirt.  He placed 6th at the inaugural Mat Men Open. 

Brock McMillen
149 lbs
Pittsburgh 

Dan Mancini did a respectable job of filling in for the Panthers this season, but I think the job at 149 lbs next season will end up in the hands of Brock McMillen.  Nothing is for sure yet, but in a 6-1 redshirt season, McMillen picked up an impressive win over Kanen Storr of Michigan. 

Chance Lamer
149 lbs
Michigan 

With all of the seniors that will be wrestling their last matches at the NCAA championships this upcoming weekend, I'm not 100% positive what weight Lamer will be at next season. There very well could be a lot of shifting of the weights. What I do know is he had himself one heck of a good redshirt season with wins over Lawrence Saenz of Cal Poly, Marcus Robinson of Cleveland State & Graham Rooks of Indiana. 

Anthony White 
149 lbs 
Rutgers 

I'm gonna miss seeing the fire that was MVB (Mike Van Brill) after he graduates this year, but I am excited to see what Anthony White can do for the Scarlet Knights.  Placing 4th at the Mat Men Open he also picked up wins this season over Brent Moore of Clarion, Max Brignola of Lehigh & Marshall Keller of Princeton. With all this noted though, he still has to over come Gerard Angelo for the starting spot. That may be harder to do on the mat, than what it'll be on paper. 

Luca Wick
149 lbs
Cal Poly 

12-0 on the redshirt season,  Wick picked up 8 falls and one tech.  If older brother Evan sticks around to help out, all I have to think is, "WATCH OUT" Pac-12 149 lbs!! 

Victor Voinovich
149 lbs
Oklahoma State 

The spot could still very well be Kaden Gfeller's by the time it is all said and done next season. However, I do think that Victor Voinovich will give him a run for his money.  I anticipate it to be one of our top wrestle-off's at the beginning of next season. 

Brock Mauller
157 lbs
Missouri 

The fact that Mauller has already placed 6th & 5th at the NCAA championships speaks for itself.  He'll be a contender next season. Only wrestling a handful of times this year, he was 5th at the Southern Scuffle & from what I heard, he was not 100% at the time of placement. 

Paddy Gallagher 
157 lbs
Ohio State 

The fight for varsity is going to be a real battle at Ohio State next season.  Bryce Hepner won the spot this season, but he'll have both Paddy Gallagher & Jashon Hubbard to contend with next season. I'm anxious to see who wins out among these three talents. 

Jared Hill 
157 lbs
Oklahoma 

Justin Thomas is going to be a hard guy to replace, but I think Jared Hill is going to do a great job.  He defeated Michael Petite of Buffalo earlier this season. 

Mike Caliendo 
165 lbs
North Dakota State 

Replacing Luke Weber next season will be the very talented Mike Caliendo.  This year he racked up victories over Tanner Cook of South Dakota State, Austin Yant of Northern Iowa & Austin Kraisser of Iowa State. 

Patrick Kennedy
165 lbs
Iowa 

After having a pretty good true freshman season, Kennedy took a redshirt this season & will replace four time BIG 10 champion Alex Marienelli next year. Along with a 6th place Southern Scuffle finish, this year alone Kennedy defeated Isaac Judge of Iowa State, Cael Carlson of Minnesota, Andrew Spates of Minnesota, Caleb Fish of Michigan State & SOCON champion R.J. Mosley of Gardner Webb. 

Holden Heller 
165 lbs
Hofstra 

An EIWA champion in 2021, Heller took off the 21'-22' season & will be returning next year. During his redshirt he defeated both Ben Pasiuk of Army & Gerrit Nijenhuis of Purdue, along with taking 4th at the Mat Men Open. 

Alex Facundo
165 lbs
Penn State 

Is Creighton Edsell keeping his spot next season? The way I hear some Nittany Lion fans speak, the answer to that question is a hard solid no. Personally I have yet to give up on Matt Lee either but there is a ton of hype for Alex Facundo. Good reason too, 12-3 this season, wins over Michael Petite of Buffalo as well as Evan Barczak of Drexel. 

Kendall Norfleet
165 lbs 
Arizona State 

Thus far, older brother Kordell has been a treat to watch & next season little brother Kendall will be joining him in the lineup. Thus far he has a win over Austin Kraisser of Iowa State. Anxious to see what he can do for the Sun Devils next season. 

Jacob Null 
174 lbs
North Carolina State 

Not positive that Null is going to stay at NC State, but it was where he redshirted at this year. Wherever he goes, I think he has a good shot at being the starter in 22'-23'. He defeated SOCON runner-up Drew Nicholson earlier this season. 

Cael Valencia
174 lbs
Arizona State 

Well he's a Valencia. That ought to tell you about anything you'd want to know, but if that isn't enough earlier this season he defeated both Hayden Hastings of Wyoming & PAC-12 Champion Tyler Eischens of Stanford. 

Joey Milano 
184 lbs
North Carolina State 

Seems like I've talked a lot about North Carolina State in this article, but in my opinion the Wolfpack has a ton of talent waiting in the wings. Milano is yet another one of them.  Earlier this season he defeated DeAndre Nassar of Cleveland State. 

Jaxon Smith
197 lbs
Maryland 

And yet another Terrapin to look forward to next season is Jaxon Smith. He'll fill in for Jaron Smith (No relation) & should do a great job of doing so. He defeated Garrett Joles earlier this season. 

Brock Delsignore 
197 lbs
North Carolina State 

Beating out Isaac Trumble for the starting spot next season? That's an awful tall order, but nonetheless Brock Delsignore is still a very tough competitor. I'm anxious to see if maybe (might not have it on him to do so) he might try 184 instead? Not sure what will happen, but he's a talent, that's for sure. Defeated Campbell's Chris Kober, three time SOCON finalist earlier this season. 

Ethan Laird
HWT 
Rider 

Everyone seems to be fixated on who will rule HWT once Gable Steveson of Minnesota steps down & is no longer around.  Tony Cassioppi? Cohlton Schultz? Mason Parris? Greg Kerkvliet? Wyatt Hendrickson?  I think a guy that we may be sleeping on here is Ethan Laird of Rider.  Now maybe he won't contend with these 5 for the top spot at HWT, but I guarantee you that he will in the least contend for 6th, 7th or 8th place at the NCAA's. I promise you that.  The three time NCAA qualifier was a match shy of a medal in 2021.  Taking this year off to redshirt he defeated Tyrie Houghton of North Carolina State as well as Luke Luffman of Illinois.  He took runner-up honors at The Mat Men Open. 

Nathan Taylor 
HWT
Lehigh 

You don't easily replace a guy like Jordan Wood. Winning 5 EIWA titles isn't something that's done every day. In fact, if Wood ends up being the only five time EIWA champion in the entire history of the EIWA it wouldn't surprise me any. Nevertheless I think Taylor will do his best. Wins this season over Ben Goldin of Pennsylvania, Jacob Slinger of Pittsburgh & Brandon Whitman of North Carolina. 

Jon Spaulding 
HWT
Edinboro 

A two time NCAA qualifier, Spaulding took off the 21'-22' season to redshirt. 

Hunter Catka
HWT
Virginia Tech 

Well ACC HWT's I got some good news & I got some bad news. Good news is, ACC champion Nathan Traxler's eligibility is up.  Bad news is, he's being replaced by Hunter Catka, 2021 NCAA qualifier.  Catka already owns a victory over ACC Runner-up Tyrie Houghton as well as Owen Trephan of North Carolina State & Seth Nevills of Penn State. 

Ryan Vasbinder 
HWT
Michigan State 

After winning  a NCAA Division II title for McKendree, Vasbinder transferred to Michigan State where he redshirted this season. A bit of a struggle for him, but I  think that's for two reasons. A - he moved up to HWT. 197 to HWT is one Hell of a jump.  It's also quite the adjustment to go from DII wrestling to DI wrestling. Now that he's had a year to do so, I'm anxious to see what he can do on the mat in 22'-23'. 

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There you have it. These are all redshirts that I'm looking very forward to next season! I know I missed some. Tell me who they are & why I should be on the outlook for them.