Breaking down the biggest matches to watch in the 2023 Collegiate Wrestling Duals

On Monday, Dec. 18, eight wrestling teams from around the country, including six programs in the Top 25, will take the mat in Nashville, Tenn. as part of the 2023 Collegiate Duals. Let’s break down each of the 12 duals we will see as part of this event:

No. 2 N.C. State vs. No. 10 Ohio State, No. 25 Northern Iowa and Lock Haven

The No. 2 Wolfpack have been absolutely dominant this year, holding a 7-0 record after wins over Presbyterian, Appalachian State, Bloomsburg, Purdue, Army, Binghamton and Sacred Heart and outscoring those opponents 287-30. They’ll come into the Collegiate Duals as the top-ranked program and will be expected to add three more wins to their schedule following matches with Lock Haven, No. 25 Northern Iowa and No. 10 Ohio State, and though those last two matches, particularly that last match with the Bucks, won’t be easy.

If Ohio State’s full lineup is healthy and ready to compete, the Buckeyes could send ten ranked athletes onto the mat, in comparison to N.C. State’s nine, and there is a path for victory for the Scarlet and Grey with possible upset wins at 133 pounds, 184 pounds and heavyweight. But they’ll need big man No. 18 Nick Feldman in the mix if they want a chance at this. Feldman, who is currently 14-2 on the year, finished sixth at the Cliff Keen Invitational after medically forfeiting his last match to Grady Greiss of Navy, and he did not wrestle in Ohio State’s upset loss to No. 13 Pittsburgh last weekend. Without him, the Bucks sent out Hogan Swenski at heavyweight, and Swenski was subsequently majored by Pittsburgh’s Dayton Pitzer. N.C. State’s Owen Trephan could put up similar bonus points against the Buckeye backup.

To avoid the match coming down to heavyweight, regardless of who Ohio State is able to send out at the weight, the Bucks will be looking for upsets along the way. The 133-pound match between No. 5 Kai Orine and No. 12 Nic Bouzakis could be a place to pull off one of those unpredicted wins early, though Orine has looked tough this year and outplaced Bouzakis at the Cliff Keen Invitational following Bouzakis’ loss to Tyler Knox early in the tournament.  The freshman Bouzakis came to Columbus as a highly-touted recruit and has notched notable wins against No. 13 Derrick Cardinal, No. 14 Dom Zaccone, No. 20 Ethan Oakley and No. 23 Vince Santaniello, but Orine will be just the second All-American Bouzakis has had to face this year after dropping a barn-burner to Sam Latona earlier this year 7-5.

Following 133 pounds, the Bucks will have the edge against the Pack at 141 and 149 pounds, but both of these matches should be tight. Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez and Dylan D’Emilio, both All-Americans, will take on No. 4 Ryan Jack and No. 5 Jackson Arrington, a Round of 16 and Round of 12 finishers respectively, in matches the Bucks will need to win. Both Mendez and D’Emilio beat these N.C. State foes at Cliff Keen, but D’Emilio’s match was particularly tight, as he only edged out Arrington 9-8. These two weights are a chance for Ohio State to build some momentum heading into 157 pounds where Ohio State’s Paddy Gallagher will have his chance against All-American Ed Scott.

Ohio State will then be favored at 165 and 174 pounds with No. 21 Isaac Wilcox and No. 9 Carson Kharchla, and the goal for the Bucks will be to rack up as many points as possible before heading into the upperweights. The 184 and 285-pound matches could be competitive, as previously mentioned, but 197-pounds is Trent Hidlay’s weight, and the N.C. State star will no doubt aim to bonus Ohio State’s Luke Geog and do what he can to lock up the dual before the heavyweight bout even starts.

While the dual between the Pack and the Bucks will likely be the most competitive meeting N.C. State will have at this event, simply based on the probable lineups and current rankings, pay special attention to the 125-pound match in N.C. State’s dual with Lock Haven at 2 p.m. on Dec. 19 as No. 1 Camacho is set to take on No. 2 Anthony Noto in a match that will determine the top-ranked athlete at the weight.

No. 10 Ohio State vs. No. 25 Northern Iowa and Lock Haven

In addition to N.C. State, Ohio State will also wrestle No. 25 Northern Iowa and Lock Haven as part of its schedule this coming week, and the Bucks will be favored in both of those bouts. The Northern Iowa Panthers, fresh off an upset loss themselves to Columbia, are set to bring eight ranked wrestlers to Nashville, and while the loss to the Lions last week could cause this team to be underestimated, Northern Iowa is sneaky good, with five athletes in the top-15 and four athletes favored against the Buckeyes.

The key weights for Ohio State in the dual against Northern Iowa will be 133 and 141 pounds where Northern Iowa will field No. 17 Julian Farber against Ohio State’s No. 12 Bouzakis and No. 9 Cael Happel against Buckeye star No. 3 Mendez. With regards to that last match in particular, both Mendez and Happel took upset losses individually to No. 15 Cole Matthews and No. 32 Kai Owen last week, so this meeting will be all about who can rebound stronger. If Ohio State can notch wins at both of those weights as expected and possibly pick up bonus points from D’Emilio at 149 pounds, the Bucks will be in a good spot heading into a 157-pound match where Northern Iowa has an advantage in No. 12 Ryder Downey who will potentially wrestle No. 13 Paddy Gallagher a high-profile top-15 dual. These two teams could also see a ranked match at 174 pounds between No. 9 Kharchla of Ohio State vs. No. 32 Lance Runyon of Northern Iowa.

Ohio State will want to put up as many points as possible on the board before Northern Iowa’s not-so-secret weapon in No. 1 Parker Keckeisen takes the mat at 184 pounds and looks to give the Panthers an infusion of energy and confidence. Keckeisen is 10-0 on the year with 90% bonus, and he’s slated to wrestle No. 16 Gavin Hoffman of Ohio State for a clash of All-Americans in this dual. Following Keckeisen, the Panthers will also be favored at 197 pounds with No. 19 Wyatt Voelker and heavyweight with No. 9 Tyrell Gordon, though, again Ohio State’s Nick Feldman could keep that last match interesting if he’s healthy. Northern Iowa is a team that Ohio State should beat on paper, but the Panthers are scrappy, particularly at those upperweights, and they will be fired up to get a big win after that loss to Columbia last week.

No. 25 Northern Iowa vs. Lock Haven

The last dual in this set of matches will be No. 25 Northern Iowa vs. Lock Haven, a meeting where the Panthers will be favored in almost every weight. The Bald Eagles do have a clear advantage at 125 pounds though in No. 2 Noto who will look to start his team off on the right note with bonus points against Northern Iowa’s No. 32 Trever Anderson. Beyond Noto, Lock Haven will also field a ranked wrestler in No. 28 Isaac Reid at heavyweight, though Northern Iowa’s No. 9 Gordon will have the edge in that bout. Lock Haven’s opportunity to keep this dual close will have to come at 149 and 165 pounds, two weights where neither squad has a ranked wrestler in the mix.

Lock Haven has two probable starters listed at 149 pounds including Nick Stonecheck and Ty Linsenbigler, the latter of whom holds an 11-3 record on the season. Stonecheck, who is 3-5 on the year, started for the Bald Eagles last year and has been the team’s rep in all of the team’s duals this year. If he gets the nod against the Panthers, he’ll likely meet Adam Allard, a fourth-year junior with a 3-2 record on the year following an 0-2 performance at the Cliff Keen Invitational. Call this a coin-flip match.

The 165-pound match will similarly include two non-ranked wrestlers in a key meeting though this one favors the Panthers. Northern Iowa will be expected to send out Jack Thomsen — a tough transfer from South Dakota who is 6-2 on the year with career wins Cael Carlson of Minnesota and Jason Krassier of Iowa State — while the Bald Eagles are likely to field backup Eric Alderfer, per the probable starters release. Alderfer wrestled in two duals for Lock Haven this year, but both came down at 157 pounds where he took a loss to Nathan Lukez of Army 5-1 and picked up an injury default win against All-American Jacori Teemer. Lock Haven’s traditional starter at this weight, Avery Bassett, is 9-4 on the season with wins over national qualifier Bubba Wilson, but it’s Alderfer listed at the weight against the Panthers.

Even if Lock Haven wins both of these unranked matchups though and scores bonus points at 125 pounds, the Bald Eagles will be fighting an uphill battle against the Panthers.

No. 5 Cornell vs. No. 6 Iowa State

Last year at the Collegiate Duals, the Cornell vs. Iowa State match was perhaps one of the most legendary contests of the event. Iowa State head coach Kevin Dresser got creative with his lineup against the Big Red and pulled a “triple bump,” pushing Joel Devine up to 184 pounds, Marcus Coleman up to 197 pounds and Yonger Bastida, then a 197-pounder and now the No. 3 heavyweight in the country, up to 285 pounds. The Cyclones took down the Big Red 18-13 because of these three back-to-back wins, and while Devine and Coleman have since graduated, Bastida and fellow top-ten athletes No. 8 Evan Frost, No. 7 Casey Swiderski 4 David Carr and No. 5 Will Feldkamp will still be in the mix and hungry to take down Cornell once again.

If the Big Red wrestle with all of their ranked athletes, they’ll be favored against Iowa State in five matches with the most notable of those five being 165 pounds where No. 3 Julian Ramirez of Cornell could see No. 4 David Carr again after Ramirez knocked off the 2021 NCAA champion at the Cliff Keen Invitational. If Iowa State flips this match, the Cyclones could set themselves up for an upperweight run again with No. 22 MJ Gaitan and No. 3 Yonger Bastida perhaps in a position for bonus points at 174 pounds and 285 pounds. In between those weights though, Cornell will field tough foes, as the Big Red has No. 9 Chris Foca to push Iowa State’s No. 5 Will Feldkamp and No. 7 Jacob Cardenas at 197 pounds who will look for bonus of his own against No. 25 Julien Broderson.

This dual between the No. 5 Big Red and the No. 6 Cyclones will naturally be close, but, for Cornell to have its best shot at winning and reversing last year’s result, the team will need No. 2 Vito Arujau. The 2023 NCAA champion did not wrestle at the Cliff Keen Invitational, but if he takes the mat this week against No. 8 Evan Frost, he could not only pick up a top-ten win, he could swing some energy Cornell’s way. The weight right after Arujau’s, 141 pounds, will feature a No. 14 Anthony Echemendia vs. No. 16 Vince Cornella in a match that looks like a toss-up on paper, but, depending on which Echemendia we see, could favor the Cyclones more significantly than perceived.

Echemendia proved he’s a title contender when he pushed 2023 NCAA finalist Real Woods into overtime after nearly taking him down in the final seconds of regulation, but he’s also taken a loss to Cael Happel, the Northern Iowa wrestler who was pinned by No. 32 Kai Owen last weekend. In this dual against Cornell, Echemendia will be favored against his projected foe No. 16 Cornella, as he majored Cornella at Cliff Keen. Cornella, though, has also shown flashes of brilliance this season, taking 2023 third-place finisher Beau Bartlett to overtime. Both wrestlers have the potential to be in the top 10, and the winner of this bout will further solidify that athlete as an All-American threat.

The 157-pound bout is also interesting, as Iowa State freshman No. 21 Cody Chittum will take on Cornell freshman No. 15 Meyer Shapiro, both of whom came into college as highly-touted recruits and both of whom have taken several collegiate losses already. Chittum is 4-3 on the year with his best win coming against North Carolina’s Danny Nini while Shapiro is 6-2 with an impressive major over Bryce Andonian. Shapiro, however, also took losses to Trevor Chumbley and Daniel Cardenas at Cliff Keen. These are two talented athletes, and their teams will be counting on them to pull out a win, as this dual — perhaps the biggest contest of the Collegiate Duals — could come down to these freshmen.

No. 5 Cornell and No. 6 Iowa State vs. No. 13 Pittsburgh and Little Rock

Cornell and Iowa State will also both wrestle Little Rock and Pittsburgh, the latter of which is fresh off a win against Ohio State last weekend. Against Cornell and Iowa, Pitt is favored in three and two matches respectively, making these tough duals for the Panthers. The problem for Pitt is that where they are strong, in some of their best weights, Cornell and Iowa State are stronger. For instance, Pitt’s only returning All-American, Cole Matthews, comes into the Collegiate Duals ranked No. 15, but he’ll meet No. 14 Anthony Echemendia against Iowa State in a dual that now leans Echemendia’s way. Similarly, at 165 pounds, where the Panthers have No. 8 Holden Heller, Iowa State has No. 4 David Carr. Advantage Carr. The Panthers will need to count on wins from No. 17 Luca Augustine at 174 pounds and No. 17 Mac Stout at 197 pounds to stay competitive with Iowa State, but, in general, the Panthers don’t match up well against Iowa State.

Pitt doesn’t match up great against Cornell either, but, in that dual, Matthews comes in ranked higher than Cornell’s No. 16 Vince Cornella at 141 pounds, and No. 19 Finn Solomon has the edge on paper over No. 33 Josh Saunders at 149 pounds. Pitzer is also expected to beat Lewis Fernandez at heavyweight, though in that match between a young star and a veteran, don’t dismiss Fernandez. If Pitt is looking for a match to kickstart an upset, 165 pounds could be that match. Cornell will likely roll out Julian Ramirez, the same athlete who knocked off David Carr, but Ramirez has taken weird losses in his career before, and Holden Heller is on a hot streak for the Panthers. Pitt will need this one, or another upset, to keep things close with the Big Red, but the Panthers have proven they can compete with top-5 opponents before. 

Like Pitt, Little Rock will not be favored in either of its dual against Cornell or Iowa State, but four of the five ranked Trojans will have top-33 opponents against both the Big Red and the Cyclones.

These are those fur individual duals to watch:

• No. 21 Nasir Bailey (Little Rock) vs. No. 2 Vito Arujau (Cornell) and No. 8 Evan Frost (Iowa State)
• No. 28 Matt Bianchi (Little Rock) vs. No. 15 Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) and No. 21 Cody Chittum (Iowa State)
• No. 18 Stephen Little (Little Rock) vs. No. 7 Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) and No. 25 Julien Broderson
• No. 27 Josiah Hill (Little Rock) vs. No. 19 Lewis Fernandez (Cornell) and No. 3 Yonger Bastida (Iowa State)

No. 13 Pittsburgh vs. Little Rock

The fun thing about dual meets is that, depending on the makeup of a lineup, a team ranked No. 13 could have a win over a team ranked No. 10 but still be challenged by an unranked team. That’s the situation here with Pitt. The Panthers had an outstanding weekend in Columbus last weekend when they picked up a 21-13 win over the Bucks, but, now, they’ll also take an unranked Little Rock in a matchup where the Trojans are favored in four of ten weights. Flipping one weight could skew the dual in favor of the Trojans.

The problem with this plan for Little Rock will be bonus points and depth, as the Panthers have eight ranked wrestlers and will aim for bonus points where they can find them with the best potential for that coming at 165 pounds with No. 8 Holden Heller.

Neither team has a wrestler ranked in the top-33 at 125, but, at 133 pounds, we could see No. 21 Nasir Bailey vs. No. 23 Vince Santaniello in a tight contest before Pitt rolls out No. 15 Cole Matthews, the ACC Wrestler of the Week who beat All-American Jesse Mendez last week. Matthews isn’t known for bonus points, but he’ll skilled and fundamental, and he’ll look to score points for Pitt against his unranked opponent. On paper, Pitt and Little Rock are expected to split 149 and 157 pounds, before Pitt sends out Heller at 165. Heller, as previously mentioned, will want bonus points, as the Trojans will be favored in two of the last four weights with No. 15 Tyler Brennan at 174 pounds and No. 13 Stephen Little at 197 pounds.

One of the best advantages Pitt has in this dual, and in general, is its anchor. No. 10 Dayton Pitzer has been winning duals for the Panthers all season, including against the Bucks and against the Maryland Terrapins, a team that upset Pitt last season. Pitzer is 6-1 on the year with his lone loss coming against Grady Greiss in a dual that the Panthers did lose, but Pitzer is getting better and better, and he’s certainly someone who belongs in the All-American contenders conversation.

Both Little Rock and Pitt are fun teams worth watching, and seeing them dual as part of this event will be a treat for wrestling fans.