2024 Black Knight Invite - Top Reasons To Watch
2024 Black Knight Invite - Top Reasons To Watch
Army Wrestling is hosting the Black Knight Invitational and this year's field is loaded! Here's why you need to tune in this Sunday to watch!
Army Wrestling is hosting the Black Knight Invitational and this year's field is loaded! Here's why you need to tune in this Sunday to watch!
If you are in the area and want to stop by the US Military Academy in West Point, NY, you can also buy tickets at this link! And might I add that West Point is an enchanting and dare I say educational destination, especially this time of year.
Penn State Roster Battles
Like most D1 teams in November, Penn State's lineup is not yet decided. Several Nittany Lion roster battles could play out this Sunday in the Christl Arena.
125 Pounds
At 125 Penn State has true freshman phenom Luke Lilledahl and senior Kurt McHenry, who wrestled the first four seasons of his career at Michigan. Lightening Luke Lilledahl was the #1 recruit on the Class of 2024 Big Board but he will still have to earn the starting job.
Lilledahl has a U17 and U20 world gold medal in freestyle (and a silver medal at both age-levels as well) and there are high hopes and expectations for him to end the long All-American drought (long for Penn State anyway) that hasn't seen a 125 pounder reach the podium since Nico Megaludis won a title in 2016.
McHenry has some impressive freestyle credentials as well, winning back-to-back U17 (then called Cadet) gold medals in 2016 and 2017, five years before Lilledahl won a U17 world title.
157 Pounds
The most competitive roster battle could come at 157, as #4 Tyler Kasak and Alex Facundo will battle for the job. Facundo is coming down from 165, where he qualified for the 2023 NCAA tournament but went 0-2. Facundo is in his fourth year at State College, having taken a traditional redshirt in 2022 and an Olympic redshirt in 2024.
Kasak started last season at 141 but then moved up to 149 to fill in for an injured Shayne Van Ness. He placed third in Kansas City last March as a true freshman, then bulked up to 157 in the offseason. Kasak already showed that extra weight won't be a problem, as he defeated #5 Peyten Kellar at the All-Star Classic.
197 Pounds
197 has three Nittany Lion challengers in the mix, with #21 Lucas Cochran, Josh Barr and Connor Mirasola registered to compete. Cochran had the least amount of hype coming out of high school, but the redshirt junior has been proving his mettle on the varsity level for several seasons. Notably, Cochran capped off his 2023-24 season by bumping up to 285 in a February dual with Rutgers where he defeated All-American Yaraslau Slavikouski 8-3.
Cochran may have pole position at the moment, as he got the start in Penn State's first dual against Drexel last week, but he will face stiff competition from Josh Barr, who was ranked the #7 recruit in the nation on the 2023 High School Big Board. Barr, who competed last season while on redshirt at 184, went undefeated, going 15-0 with 11 bonus wins.
Connor Mirasola should not be overlooked as a competitor, who was also the #7 recruit in the nation but on the 2024 Big Board, however, as this is Mirasola's first year on campus, he is expected to redshirt, though don't be surprised if he wins the whole tournament anyway!
The Stars of Penn State
The Nittany Lions aren't pulling any punches for their second official scheduled event for the 2024-25 season. Penn State fans, and fans of awesome wrestling in general, will be able to see six of PSU's wrestlers that are ranked #3 or higher nationally.
Specifically, that would be: #3 Beau Bartlett at 141, #2 Shayne Van Ness at 149, #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink at 165, #2 Levi Haines at 174, #1 Carter Starocci at 184 and #2 Greg Kerkvliet at 285.
We'll also get a chance to watch blue chip recruits Zack Ryder at 184 and Cole Mirasola at 285. There is very little chance of either of those two wrestlers starting this season as long as Starocci and Kerkvliet stay healthy but you will get to check potential future Penn State starters that will almost definitely be redshirting this season.
The only weight that doesn't have a PSU roster battle or one of their big guns is 133. #8 Braeden Davis unfortunately is not registered, though the Nittany Lions will have Gary Steen in the 133lb bracket.
But back to that aforementioned six-pack of stars:
- Combined they have qualified for 15 NCAA tournaments
- They have earned 14 All-American honors
- They have made 10 NCAA finals appearances
- They have won six NCAA titles
- Only 3 are seniors (Bartlett, Starocci, & Kerkvliet)
- Van Ness & Messenbrink have three years of eligibility remaining, Haines has two
Not bad! Take every opportunity to watch them compete, in my opinion!
Rutgers Roster Battle
#19 Brian Soldano is a two-time national qualifier but the start of his true junior season has been a mixed bag. He pinned #13 Edmond Ruth at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic but lost to Harvard's #31 Matthew Walsh. Redshirt freshman Shane Cartagena-Walsh could push him for the starting spot, and is entered in the 184lb bracket with the #3 seed along with Soldano, who received the #2 seed.
Whoever has a better tournament, or wins a potential semifinal bout between the teammates, could determine who gets the starting job for the Scarlet Knights going forward.
Rutgers is also a solid crop of middleweights competed in West Point with #27 Andrew Clark and Michael Cetta at 149 (and perhaps another roster battle), Anthony White at 165, and Joe Fongaro at 141, which I know is technically not a middleweight.
Army: America's Team
If you weren't aware, Army has seven nationally ranked wrestlers registered to compete in this tournament. Don't believe me? Here, I'll name them all: #23 Charlie Farmer at 125, #24 Ethan Berginc at 133, #25 Braden Basile at 141, #19 Gunner Filipowicz at 165, #28 Dalton Harkins at 174, #27 Austin Kohlhofer at 197, and #21 Lucas Stoddard at 285.
The Black Knights will also be rolling deep at their own tournament, with multiple entries at eight weight classes. Some other unranked Army wrestlers to keep an eye on include Rich Treanor at 141, Trae McDaniel at 149, Dakota Morris at 157, and Cooper Haase at 174, all of whom received top four seeds and could wrestle their way into the national rankings very soon (and also into the starting lineup in some cases).
Army won't be contending for a team trophy at this year's NCAA tournament (though it should be mentioned that last March the Black Knights had their first All-American - Ben Pasiuk at 174 - since 2008), but you can guarantee that every competitor that dons that Army singlet is going to be forth a worthy effort on the mat. It's a team that rarely disappoints for fans looking for entertaining wrestling!
Nationally Ranked Wrestlers From Columbia, Gardner-Webb, LIU and Michigan State
Four other as of yet unmentioned programs have registered nationally ranked wrestlers for the tournament. All four of these ranked wrestlers are worth monitoring as potential All-American contenders.
#32 Robbie Sagaris could be poised for a breakout season for the Long Island University Sharks. The senior is 2-2 so far but one of those wins was over the highly regarded Rutgers 125-pounder Dean Peterson at last weekend's Journeymen Jersey Jostle.
Gardner-Webb will have their 141-pound standard bearer in the bracket, #24 Todd Carter. A 2024 national qualifier, Carter is 2-0 on the season and already defeated Army's Braden Basile 4-2 in a dual meet early in November.
Columbia's #31 Cesar Alvan will be at the Black Knight Open. The redshirt junior is one of first-year head coach Donnie Pritzlaff's most promising candidates for making the NCAA podium in March.
Michigan State will have #25 Remy Cotton at 197. The redshirt freshman is 6-1 on the season and finished as a runner-up at the Michigan State Open two weekends ago.
So watch the Black Knight Invitational this Sunday it wouldn't be a bad idea I'd recommend it!
Nothing like experience pic.twitter.com/5Nfd8uqYld
— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) September 19, 2024