Christian Pyles

Each new year brings tons of new angles and storylines for the team race. Last year we saw a race that really lacked a clear frontrunner the entire year with teams like Iowa, Ohio State, Missouri all having equal claim in terms of potential for the title.

In years past we’ve seen strong favorites like Penn State run roughshod through the field. This years team race promises plenty of drama as well.  My perspective in early October is that Penn State and Oklahoma State have the two best lineups top to bottom and I struggle to see a scenario where one of those teams don’t win the title. However, I see a TON of teams in trophy contention. Last year, I wrote a similar article outlining the potential teams that could contend for a trophy.

For the last 11 NCAA’s earning 3rd place had an average of 4.5 All Americans and slightly less than 1 champion. For 4th place it has been 4.4 All Americans and exactly 1 Champion. There were some instances where there were only 3 AA’s and a Champ as well as some with 4 AAs and no champ, but over the course of 10 years the formula is simple: If you get 4 AA’s and a champ, you’ll be in the mix for a trophy.

So who is in that mix?

Let’s start with a look at the top contenders and work our way down.

**All of these lineups below are predictions and not ironclad by any means.**

Oklahoma State 
125-#7 Eddie Klimara
133-Gary Wayne Harding
141-#6 Dean Heil
149-#8 Anthony Collica
157-#11 Chance Marsteller
165-#1 Alex Dieringer
174-#1 Kyle Crutchmer
184-#14 Nolan Boyd
197-Austin Schafer
285-#4 Austin Marsden


The current #2 ranked team in the country boasts a contingent of stars, proven contenders and young talent. I view this team as having 4 bona fide title contenders with Heil, Collica, Dieringer (a huge favorite) and Crutchmer. Combine that with likely All Americans from Marsden (whose lack of placing last year was more/less flukish), Klimara and a young stud like Marsteller, it is easy to see how this team can take home the title. It’s not simply placing for these guys but placing high. We saw Edinboro bring home 3rd with just 4 AA’s and no Champs. They placed high. Oklahoma State can go a few different directions with their lineup.  I think Gary Wayne is probably still the best 33 in the room, but with a crowded room, I wonder if we could see Kaid Brock or Nick Piccininni tapped to go if Gary Wayne isn't delivering.  I don't think Coach Smith holds anything back this year.  The 184/197 situation is another interesting one.  With 174 sewn up for Crutchmer, could we see Chandler Rogers make the big jump up to 84?  Big brother Jordan Rogers as well as others could contend against Boyd as well.  

I think Marsteller is a huge x-factor for this team. If he can be effective at 157 (which I expect) I believe that bodes huge for this team. The last few years we’ve seen an OSU team that peaks in March. This team may take some losses early (potentially at Kinnick against Iowa November 14th), but when it’s March we’ll see guys turn it on.

Penn State 
125-#2 Nico Megaludis
133-#12 Jordan Conaway
141-#2 Jimmy Gulibon
149-#2 Zain Retherford
157-#7 Jason Nolf
165-#11 Garrett Hammond
174-#17 Bo Nickal
184-#13 Matt McCutcheon
197-#1 Morgan McIntosh
285-#8 Nick Nevills


Penn State is currently ranked #1 and it’s not hard to figure out why. Compared to Oklahoma State’s 4 title contenders, I view Penn State as having 4 as well, with a caveat that I think Jason Nolf is a clear #2 in my mind at 157 and he would make a potential 5th title contender. I don’t think he’s a good matchup with I-Mar at all, but I really think that’s the only guy stopping Jason. He’s going to be a superstar. Unlike Oklahoma State who has a massive favorite in Dieringer, I could foresee a scenario where Penn State brought home zero titles. You figure they get a few but if Tomasello, Henderson, Tsirtsis and Cox win titles over their big 4, were any of those humongous upsets? Meanwhile, Dieringer losing is an upset in the vein of Hendricks falling to Perry in the finals.

Apart from the aforementioned 5, PSU boasts several strong All American contenders in Bo Nickal, Jordan Conaway, Matt McCutcheon and Nick Nevills. Bo is as big a wildcard as anyone coming into this season (along with Chance Marsteller, perhaps). We didn’t see him much last year, and he wasn’t able to compete this Summer in Freestyle. In a weight like 174 that lacks big time hammers like we have at 165 and 184, Bo wrestling to his potential could see him start to become a high All American contender up to a title contender.

Like Oklahoma State, Penn State peaks their guys as well as any team in the country. So you can bet you’ll see close to the best version of their squad. Both the top contenders will be blasts to watch. I am never one to take a wait and see approach with Freshman. We just see so many talents that translate. I think we’ll see it with PSU’s big 3 of Nolf, Nevills and Nickal. PSU’s title chances will rise and fall with the production of those Freshman.

Iowa
125-#3 Thomas Gilman
133-#2 Cory Clark
141- Brody Grothus
149- #3 Brandon Sorensen
157- Edwin Cooper
165- Burke Paddock
174-#5 Alex Meyer
184-#11 Sam Brooks
197-#4 Nathan Burak
285- Sam Stoll


Iowa is another team that checks the requisite boxes to be in contention for a trophy and potentially a title. I believe their biggest struggle will be overcoming their lesser spots. I am not sure that Paddock, Cooper (if he’s the guy at 157) or Stoll present a lot of current upside. They all had struggles last year. Now it’s not wise to put a ton of stock into redshirt seasons, but some of the losses these guys took really give me pause. Sorry to begin with the negative, but I believe this is what stands between them and PSU/OSU right now. Those teams just have deeper squads right now. My opinion and evaluation only.

Here’s what keeps Iowa in the title hunt. Gilman, Clark, Sorensen and Meyer(though an outside shot he may be) are guys you can say have a reasonable chance at winning. Like Penn State, though potentially to a greater degree, it is very reasonable to believe Iowa leaves NYC with no National Champions. The weights where they are good features big favorites or an abundance of talent. Meyer unquestionably slayed some major dragons last year, but when coaches focus on him as THE guy for Iowa, will adjustments and gameplans diminish Meyer’s upside? Recall he backed up the guy (Evans) who placed 6th the last three years. To be fair Evans in many of those years could have and was considered to be better than 6th and those 174 brackets were FAR tougher than they will be this year.

They have a nice base of talent behind their big guns with Burak (who is just behind 2 guys, McIntosh and Cox, I really don’t see him being able to beat), Grothus (a real wildcard down a weight) and Brooks. Brooks is a super talent and has shown he can wrestle with anybody, including Gabe Dean. However, we’ve also seen there’s a number of guys who can beat him as well. 184 is a meat grinder, and while I see him placing, I’m not sure how high he will go. I like this team, but they’ll need to have a few surprises come out of the woodwork (to an extent) to take on PSU and OSU in March.

Michigan 
125-#6 Connor Youtsey
133-#8 Rossi Bruno
141-Zac Hall/George Fisher
149-#9 Alec Pantaleo
157-#5 Brian Murphy
165-Taylor Massa/Garrett Sutton
174-#12 Davonte Mahomes
184-#12 Domenic Abounader
197-#5 Max Huntley
285-#2 Adam Coon


Some unknowns for sure with Michigan but I know for sure this squad is going to be a top to bottom behemoth with lots of talent on the bench or redshirting. I see this team winning a ton of duals, placing high (and potentially winning) some big tournaments, but I struggle to see a scenario where this team challenges for the top spot. They have a lot of good guys who I believe will place, but don’t foresee being able to win a title this year. Adam Coon is their most likely guy to win it all and Gwiaz appears to have widened the gap. So with just one true title contender, I think this prohibits them from winning it all. That said they have a legitimate 7 guys who could place outside of Coon and a few x factor guys like Massa and Hall. An issue with those 7 guys is there are possibilities that many of them do well, and still don’t place. I think Mahomes is a mega-talent with maybe as much upside as any of these guys considering the dynamics of 174.

I think Youtsey, Bruno, Pantaleo, Murphy, Mahomes,Abounader are all close to 50/50 propositions to place. Huntley is probably more likely just given the nature of 197. I really have no clue about the 165 situation for Michigan. The status/health of Massa is unknown to me and I don’t believe they want to wrestle Logan year 1. This is going to be a super salty team all year long whose year will largely be defined by the success or failures of that large group of All American contenders.


Virginia Tech 
125-#5 Joey Dance
133-Kevin Norstrem
141-#19 Solomon Chishko
149-#15 Sal Mastriani
157-#3 Nick Brascetta
165-David McFadden
174-#2 Zach Epperly
184-#16 Austin Gabel/Zach Zavatsky
197-Jared Haught
285-#3 Ty Walz


It’s hard to believe a team that a Virginia Tech team that graduated Devin Carter would find themselves ranked in the preseason top 5, but that’s the case. This squad was a blast to watch last year, and I’m expecting it to be just as entertaining this year.

Tech has one, MAYBE two potential title contenders with Zach Epperly and Joey Dance. You may say that Dance is a stretch since he didn’t place but recall beat #1 Tomasello, NCAA #2 Moisey, and NCAA #4 Gilman. Walz and Brascetta are highly ranked guys, but I struggle to find a scenario where they can beat Gwiaz or IMAR. Apart from the two title contenders they have strong AA contenders with Brascetta and Walz.

They’ve got 3 young guys with big upside in my opinion in Solomon Chishko, David McFadden, Zach Zavatsky (who will have to beat out a very tough, but injury prone Austin Gabel) and Jared Haught. Chishko, McFadden and Zavatsky were all blue chippers coming out of high school and the reports out of the room are that they are doing fantastic in the room. Including True Freshman David McFadden. If those guys can ascend to top 10 guys (or better), that is the path for Virginia Tech to finish higher. Jared Haught I view as someone who should produce better than he did last year. He checks a lot of the necessary boxes for a quality D1 wrestler. He has crisp, clean attacks, he’s strong and has a great build for 197 and is an extremely disciplined worker. If he gets more comfortable with his attacks he could be one of the big surprises of the year. While Norstrem looks to be the guy at 133, don’t be surprised if Dennis Gustafson eventually gets the nod. He tore his knee up this Spring, but if he got it healthy he’s probably Tech’s best option at 133. Potential record breaking season coming for Virginia Tech. Likely the best team in the school’s history from a talent perspective.

Ohio State
125-#1 Nathan Tomasello
133-#7 Johnni DiJulius
141-Micah Jordan
149-#10 Hunter Stieber
157-Jake Ryan
165-#2 Bo Jordan
174-Myles Martin
184-#7 Kenny Courts
197-Mark Martin
285-#17 Nick Tavanello


The defending champs will have some massive shoes to fill from a year ago with the graduation of Logan Stieber and the Olympic Redshirt of Kyle Snyder. There are also major question marks about their lineup construction. Micah Jordan to 141 seemed unfathomable a year ago when he was having great success at 157 his True Freshman campaign. However, it seem Hunter Stieber (for the time being) is set on going 149. The health of Stieber is honestly the biggest question mark of all. A 100% Stieber was my pick to win 149 last year, and he’d be my pick this year. However, I am extremely hesitant to consider him close to that guy right now. When healthy he, Tomasello and perhaps Bo Jordan at 165 could be considered title contenders. While Bo is a significant underdog against Dieringer, between his bonus potential and the relative weakness of the weight he may outscore some NCAA champs en route to a runner-up finish.

The Buckeyes could see podium finishes from Johnni DiJulius, Micah Jordan, Kenny Courts and maybe Myles Martin and Mark Martin. Those last two maybe stretches just because of a lack of information, but I’m bullish on both guys. Myles, from all reports is ready to go and has made incredible strides since heading to Ohio State (where he’s been living and training for months). While Mark Martin may not be Nick Heflin, when you consider the wide-openness of 197 and that Martin will finally get to let loose and eat, I think he’ll do well. A D1 coach emailed me this week and mentioned how guys, especially at the upper weights, usually have no issue moving up weight classes because of the athletic advantage the “lighter” guy brings makes up for many, if not all size shortcomings. I’ll take his word for it here and predict a great year for Mark Martin.
So with 2 or so title contenders and a total of 8 potential All Americans, it’s easy to see how a TOSU team clicking on all cylinders can navigate into the trophy, if not title contending conversation quickly.

Missouri 
125-Barlow McGhee
133-Jaydin Clayton
141-#3 Lavion Mayes
149-#12 Joey LaVallee/Grant Leeth
157-Luke Fortuna
165-#13 Daniel Lewis
174-#4 Blaise Butler
184-#8 Willie Miklus
197-#2 J’Den Cox
285-James Romero


Missouri, like Ohio State lost a serious amount of firepower with the graduations of Alan Waters and Drake Houdashelt. That being said, the cupboard is far from bare for the Tigers. Missouri boasts 3 bona fide title contenders with Mayes, Butler and Cox. J’Den is my pick for the title this year. Word going round is his “disappointing” finish last year has been extremely motivating for the NCAA Champ. When you combine the exodus of talent from a year ago and the fact that he’s 3-1 against McIntosh, I feel confident he’ll be the champ. Mayes and Butler are beneficiaries of weights that don’t have that clear standout guy which inserts them into the conversation for a title.

Those three are the cogs that will make this baby run, but guys like Miklus, Lavallee, Lewis, Clayton and McGhee will all bring points to the table. I love Miklus’ talent, but I can’t state enough how brutal 184 is this year. One bad draw, one big upset and one mistake can give you a brutal draw that leaves you empty-handed in a weight like this. I love the upside of Daniel Lewis and believe he places as a Freshman. We may see Leeth take the 149 spot which would send LaVallee back up to 157. I view Missouri as a tough top to bottom squad but one that will struggle to overcome its weights where they aren’t elite. To get a trophy, I think Missouri will need more than one champ and right now that looks to be a tough task.


Cornell
125-#17- Dalton Macri
133-#5 Nahshon Garrett
141-Mark Grey
149-Joey Galasso
157-#8* Dylan Palacio
165-Duke Pickett
174-#3 Brian Realbuto
184-#1 Gabe Dean
197-#19 Owen Scott
285-Jeremy Sweaney


Very excited to watch Cornell this year. The phrase “all in” is circulating through their team and I believe they are setting themselves up for their optimal lineup. This team really checks a lot of the boxes for a squad “only” ranked 8th. Preseason team rankings may be the most misleading of all the rankings.

Cornell has 3 very strong chances for an NCAA title with Gabe Dean, Brian Realbuto and Nahshon Garrett (likely in that order). People may have a “wait and see approach” with Realbuto. I’m not. He’s my pick right now to take this weight. He will be plenty big for this weight and skill for skill he will be tough to match. Look for a more consistent (which is a crazy thing to say about Gabe) Gabe Dean this year. The international wrestling in the Summer/Fall took its toll last year. It’s hard to see a scenario where he doesn’t go back to back. The Big Red title contender I am a little more cautious about is Nahshon Garrett. After the Scuffle, we didn’t see that same Nahshon Garrett we had grown accustomed to. Much of that has been attributed to the weight cut. Problem solved, right? Maybe. He’s going into an absolutely brutal weight where his skill set could be diminished. Or it could go the complete other direction. The additional weight could revive and help him return to dynamo status.

Cornell brings a very solid contingent of All American potential with Dalton Macri, a finally (I hope) healthy Mark Grey, Joey Galasso, Duke Pickett and our favorite #L40 soldier Dylan Palacio. I’ve always thought Palacio may be better suited for 157. It’s not that he got horsed around at 165, I just thought his frame would fit well at the weight below. He has some health issues to overcome himself, but I see him as a potential top 3-6 guy come March. Macri, Galasso, Grey and Pickett on paper are long shots to place, but I really believe in their talents. Especially Macri and Galasso. Cornell does a fantastic job with development. I think we’ll see that this year with this team. So Cornell has three title contenders and a total of 7 All American contenders this year by my estimations. Don’t be surprised to see Cornell shoot up the rankings.


NC State
125-Sean Fausz
133-Jamal Morris
141-#4 Kevin Jack
149-Beau Donahue
157-#8 Tommy Gantt
165-Max Rohskopf
174-Nick Hall
184-Pete Renda
197-Michael Boykin
285-#1 Nick Gwiazdowski


What a difference having a champ makes! Powered by Gwiazdowski’s #1 ranking NC State could find themselves in the thick of the trophy hunt. It’ll take a lot of things coming together, particularly continued improvement and consistency from Kevin Jack, their surprise True Freshman All American. Tommy Gantt is another key cog for the Wolfpack team race. The Senior has made strides each year, and will look to finish his career on the podium.

What NC State currently lacks is a clear additional group of potential placers. Max Rohskopf and Peter Renda have had time in and out of the rankings but haven’t performed in a way that you’d expect NCAA placement. Michael Boykin was a big time recruit, but was still acclimating to the D1 game last year. It’ll take one or all of those guys stepping up for this team to contend.

Nebraska
125-#13 Tim Lambert
133-#11 Eric Montoya
141-#7 Anthony Abidin
149-#5 Jake Sueflohn
157-#18 Tyler Berger
165-#7 Austin Wilson
174-Micah Barnes
184-#9 TJ Dudley
197-#8 Aaron Studebaker
285-#11 Collin Jensen


It’s crazy what a difference having a Champ makes? When you look at Nebraska side by side NC State you think a blowout, but in an NCAA scoring setting, it’s not quite the case. What NC State has that Nebraska lacks is a surefire stud title contender. The closest thing they have to that are TJ Dudley (who I’m expecting a breakout year from) and Jake Sueflohn. As bullish as I am on Dudley and as much as I love watching Sueflohn, I can’t put them in that class yet. What Nebraska has is a pile of guys with the goods to place. Lambert, Montoya, Abidin, Berger, Wilson and Studebaker are all guys I could see placing. Abidin is probably the most likely of that group with Tyler Berger potentially a breakout candidate himself.

I love what Nebraska does and think their coaching staff stacks up with some of the best in the nation. Losing guys like Green and Kokesh will be difficult for them, but we’ve seen Nebraska guys continue to improve during their time in Lincoln. If we see incremental improvement from all guys, this could very well be a team with a trophy considering their volume of talent.

North Carolina
125-Tyronne Clump
133-#10 Joey Ward
141-#1 Evan Henderson
149-#20 Christian Barber
157-Jack Clark
165-#4 Ethan Ramos
174-#20 John Staudenmayer
184-Alex Utley
197-Chip Ness
285-Cory Daniel


UNC is one of the teams I’m most looking forward to following this year. Between the return of Henderson, Staudenmayer and Utley, this being year one of Coleman Scott as the Head Coach, there’s a lot to be excited about in Chapel Hill. In addition to those facts, also consider the flexibility these guys have with their lineup. Can Ward REALLY make 133 effectively? If not does that send super Frosh AC Headlee into duty early (I’d doubt it). Ethan Ramos came on late, will he hold pat as a top 5’ish guy for the year, or is he ready and able to enter the top 3 conversation?

UNC has one title contender in Evan Henderson. We could see All American finishes from Ward and Ramos. Where an additional and that often necessary 4th All American could come from is a mystery. I’ll tell you this though, there’s a few guys on this roster whose placing won’t have been as out of left field as Ethan Ramos was last year at this point.

Lehigh
125-#11 Darian Cruz
133-#6 Mason Beckman
141-#15 Randy Cruz
149-#17 Laike Gardner
157-#10 Mitch Minotti
165-#14 Ryan Preisch/Dylan Milonas
174-#14 Elliot Riddick
184-#2 Nate Brown
197-#17 John Bolich
285-#16 Doug Vollaro, Max Wessell


10 for 10 ranked guys. Penn State and Lehigh are the only teams to have such a claim. More than anything that shows that while being ranked in the the top 20 is a huge accomplishment, it doesn’t exactly correlate to a high NCAA team finish. Top to bottom Lehigh will send out a quality wrestler, but you also have to consider their incredible depth as well. Guys like Scott Parker (who will redshirt), Dylan Milonas and Max Wessell could be on the bench.

I peg Lehigh as having two title contenders in Nate Brown and Mason Beckman. Both are relative long shots based on the competition, but I can see scenarios where either can make a run to the finals and at that point anything can happen. Alongside those two, Lehigh has returning All Americans in Darian Cruz and Mitch Minotti with potential placers in Randy Cruz and Ryan Preisch (or Milonas if he gets the nod honestly). Big year coming for Lehigh. Huge. The EIWA team race will be insane as Cornell looks for their 9th straight EIWA title.

Illinois
125-Francis Edelen
133-#9 Zane Richards
141-Brock Ervin
149-Caleb Ervin
157-#1 Isaiah Martinez
165-#12 Steven Rodrigues
174-#7 Zac Brunson
184-#19 Jeff Koepke
197-Andre Lee
285-#13 Brooks Black


It’s crazy that you can go 13 deep (and perhaps I could have gone further) and still have legit teams that can meet the aforementioned criteria of 4 AA’s and a champ. Illinois may only have one title contender as I see it in I-Mar, but that’s a good one to have! With Isaiah as a likely champ (with a fair share of bonus along the way), Illinois will have a number of potential placers along the way.

Zane Richards, Zac Brunson, Steven Rodrigues and even the Ervin cousins could conceivably place. I’m especially high on Brock, though he could be a year away yet. Rodrigues is looking to go up a nearly unfathomable 3 weight classes from 141 to 165! I have no idea what will happen there honestly. I continue to be high on Zane Richards. He’s someone I’ve had high expectations for a few years. There was a point last year where Zane appeared to be a very real title threat. For reasons I don’t know, things crashed and burned late in the year and he was far from that same guy. If he can regain that level and sustain it, high placement is possible.

So that’s it. That’s the team race as I see it. Who I deem a title or all american contender is only my evaluation. There are probably many areas where you’d disagree, and there will likely be several guys I over and under valued. This is merely my view of the team race in early October. A lot will change but ultimately the teams that can solve that all-too-difficult riddle of having their guys at their best when it matters most will be the teams coming home with the hardware.