2025 Journeymen Armbar Preview
2025 Journeymen Armbar Preview
Get hype for the Journeymen Armbar as NCAA D1 wrestling returns to New York's capital region!
Get hype for the Journeymen Armbar as NCAA D1 wrestling returns to New York's capital region!
The Armbar is a four-team dual meet round-robin held in Clifton Park, NY, with action happening on two mats over three sessions.
Teams
Schedule
Sunday, January 5, 2025
All times Eastern. Matchups are listed on Mat 1 then Mat 2.
11:30 AM: Maryland vs Binghamton & Lock Haven vs Columbia
1:30 PM: Maryland vs Columbia & Lock Haven vs Binghamton
3:30 PM: Maryland vs Lock Haven & Columbia vs Binghamton
Conference Represented
Each team in attendance represents a different conference, allowing each program to get three out-of-conference duals in a single day.
Maryland - Big Ten
Binghamton - EIWA
Columbia - Ivy
Lock Haven - MAC
Prior to the current season, Columbia and Binghamton would have both been in the EIWA, however starting this year the Ivy League will sponsor varsity wrestling for the first time in history, giving the six Ivy schools with wrestling programs their own NCAA qualifying tournament.
Weights To Watch
The lineups are all subject to change but the nearly 20 ranked wrestlers potentially competing could produce several intriguing matchups at multiple weights.
4 Ranked at 184 Pounds
Georgia native #9 Jaxon Smith has been one of Maryland's top performers since he arrived in College Park, Maryland. He qualified for the last two NCAA Championships and made it to the bloodround in 2023 as a redshirt freshman.
After three full seasons at 197, Smith decided in the offseason to drop down to 184. He's 8-2 so far but is coming off two recent losses, to #6 Bennett Berge and #17 Isaac Dean (although he did pick up a win over #11 Reece Heller the same weekend).
Smith has a chance to pick up three more ranked wins this weekend. Conversely, Columbia's #26 Nick Fine, Binghamton's #29 Will Ebert, and Lock Haven's #31 Colin Fegley all have an opportunity to bolster their resumes with a top 10 win.
Watch Smith beat Cornell's All-American Chris Foca at the GMU Patriot Open:
Noto & Brown at 133
Lock Haven's Anthony Noto will be the most credentialed wrestler at the Armbar, having finished in third and fourth at the 2024 and 2023 NCAAs respectively. The New York native (who hails from Lima, a few hours west of Albany) spent his collegiate career at 125 until this season, where he decided to move up to 133 for his final year of eligibility. Noto has a win over All-American Dylan Shawver this season but also dropped four other bouts, including his last three.
Noto will have an opportunity to get back on track this Sunday as he has a potential matchup with #16 Braxton Brown. The Terp from Texas has been another bright spot for head coach Alex Clemsen, qualifying for the last two NCAA tournaments.
Brown also used to ply his trade at 125 but moved up to 133 before last season. He has one more season of eligibility remaining after 2025. A #13 Noto vs #16 Brown bout could go down in the final session of the Armbar.
Two Top 20 Heavies at 285
Nothing beats a brawl between two quality heavyweights, and that's what we may see at 285lbs when Binghamton and Maryland lock horns in the first session.
#14 Seth Nevills, who wrestled four years at Penn State before transferring to Maryland and making his first NCAA tournament in 2024, could see #19 Cory Day, Binghamton's venerable anchor. Both titans are in their final year of eligibility.
The two tussled once before, last year around the same time, but at the F&M Lehman Open, in which Nevills had to injury default in the first period. Let's hope they settle things on the mat in 2025.
Brevin Cassella at 174
#12 Brevin Cassella has been a starter in the Binghamton Bearcat lineup since his true freshman year during the Covid-shortened 2021 season. Cassella went on to qualify for the next three NCAA tournaments, reaching the round of 16 last season.
Cassella bumped up to 174 after a career at 165 for his last bite at the NCAA apple. He picked up multiple ranked wins at the CKLV and could pick up a couple more at the Armbar against Lock Haven's #31 Avery Bassett and Maryland's #33 Branson John.
Watch Cassella defeat #13 Danny Wask at the 2024 CKLV:
A Top 10 Competitor at 157
Maryland has the most ranked wrestlers on their roster of the four programs participating at the Armbar and will be favorites on paper to go 3-0 in Clifton Park. Whether the Terrapins succeed in their attempted sweep depends on whether their stars, such as #8 Ethen Miller, perform to expectations. Miller went 1-2 at the last two NCAA Championships.
The Missouri native is 9-0 on the season and will be favored to go 3-0 against his competition at the Armbar.
But his opponents will certainly have a say in that matter. Tune in this Sunday to watch it all go down, live on FloWrestling!