🏀 Women's Tournament:

Bracket

Sunday

Iowa vs. LSU in the national championship

👩🏻‍🎨 Caitlin Clark's masterpiece leads Iowa

🐯 How LSU advanced

wrestling-d1 flag

Shannon Scovel | NCAA.com | December 15, 2022

4 top-25 college wrestling teams compete this weekend — here’s what you need to know

The most exciting college wrestlers to watch this season

The first few weeks of the 2022-2023 college wrestling season brought chaos, upsets and memorable moments, but as the season has progressed, things have settled slightly.

Penn State still comfortably leads the country with four No. 1-ranked wrestlers while the No. 2 Iowa Hawkeyes inch closer to showcasing their full A-team lineup. The Nebraska Huskers won their third consecutive Cliff Keen Invitational last month, and Oklahoma State won Bedlam last weekend. There has been some consistency in this early part of the year, but there are still a couple of high-profile duals this weekend and beyond that could continue to shake up the rankings and predictions.

No. 8 Virginia Tech, No. 15 North Dakota State, No. 16 Nebraska and No. 18 South Dakota State in particular will all be in action on Sunday, so here’s what you need to know about these duals and the athletes to watch:

No. 16 Nebraska vs. No. 18 South Dakota State | 3 p.m. ET Sunday, Dec. 18 | FloWrestling

Despite starting its dual season with a 1-2 record, Nebraska remains a formidable team, and the strength of this group was on full display at the Cliff Keen Invitational last month in Las Vegas. Nebraska left Sin City with three champions — Brock Hardy, Peyton Robb and Mikey Labriola — and the Huskers now head into this dual against the Jackrabbits with momentum on their side.

ELITE WRESTLING: Key takeaways from the 2022 NWCA All-Star classic

Nebraska’s Hardy, Robb, Labriola and 125-pounder Liam Cronin all hold top-ten rankings nationally with Robb and Labriola both sitting at No. 2 in their respective 157 and 174-pound weight classes. Labriola, notably, earned a statement win at the Cliff Keen Invite when he topped 2019 NCAA champion Mekhi Lewis in sudden victory to claim his tournament title.

All three top-ten Husker athletes will be favored in their bouts in the dual with the Jackrabbits, though Hardy will have a tough challenge in No. 13 Clay Carlson while Robb will face No. 22 Cael Swensen and Labriola is expected to dual against No. 18 Cade DeVos.

South Dakota State, as a team, has been impressive this year, finishing third this year at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and making a dramatic improvement from the program’s 26th-place finish in 2019. The Jackrabbits also pushed No. 9 Minnesota in their dual last weekend, and though they couldn’t top the Gophers, the gutsy performances from their stars showed that this team is here to make some noise.

While the Jackrabbits do not have the depth of Nebraska, they have a couple of dangerous athletes in their lineup who have a tendency to put up big points when it matters. South Dakota State’s Tanner Cook, specifically, is a big-time pinner, someone who may take some losses during the year but knows how to put people on their back. At 165 pounds, he’ll be a key player for the Jackrabbits in this matchup, as South Dakota State is favored at just four weights, meaning every match will matter. Cook is currently 8-1 on the year with his only loss coming against Julian Ramirez of Cornell. Though he’s never finished on the podium yet in his career, South Dakota State can likely count on him to rack up some points.

JACKRABBIT CHAMP: Watch South Dakota State grad Seth Gross win his NCAA title in 2018

The Jackrabbits also have the rankings edge at 184 pounds with Cade King, 197 pounds with Tanner Sloan and 285 pounds with AJ Nevills, the South Dakota State big man who upset NCAA finalist Cohlton Schultz in Vegas. Nevills racked up a pin against Minnesota, and he’s currently 6-3. Nebraska will also field ranked opponents at 165, 184 and 197, so look for the Huskers to fight close in those bouts and try to take the lead in the lighter weights behind their All-Americans Robb and Labriola in particular.

Few fans expected Nebraska to lose its season opener against North Dakota State, based on how the Huskers looked on paper. Can South Dakota State deliver a similar upset, or will the Cliff Keen Invite champion Huskers showcase the high potential of their lineup in this Top-25 matchup?

No. 8 Virginia Tech vs. Stanford |6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 18 | Pac-12 Live

Ranked No. 8 in the country, the Virginia Tech Hokies have been tested in a serious way already this year, battling No. 3 Ohio State team through ten weights before taking a close loss but then rebounding with a huge win over No. 10 Missouri last weekend.

With ranked wrestlers at nearly every weight and a NCAA champion in their lineup, the Hokies have a stacked squad, and they’ll be heavily favored in this weekend’s bout against Stanford.

FRESHMAN IMPRESS IN WEEK 1: Top young stars to follow this season

Virginia Tech’s biggest strength comes at 174 pounds with NCAA champion Mekhi Lewis, but the Hokies also have a top-ten wrestler at 184 pounds in No. 7 Hunter Bolen and three additional top-15 wrestlers in No. 12 Sam Latona, No. 15 Tom Crook and No. 12 Caleb Henson at 133, 141 and 149 pounds respectively.

Henson has been a breakout star at 149 pounds since he beat NCAA finalist Sammy Sasso of Ohio State in the season-opening dual, and while he has taken losses to All-American Brock Mauller and national qualifier Doug Zapf since then, he’s certainly a podium contender with great potential.

Henson will have one of the most exciting matchups of the dual, as he could face Stanford’s Jaden Abas for another test against a top-tier opponent. Abas comes into the dual with a 7-1 record, though he hasn’t faced quite the caliber of competition that Henson has seen so far. This meeting could be a great opportunity for both wrestlers to see where they stack up and assess where they need to improve before conference action begins next month.

Stanford’s best shot for team points comes at 165 pounds, where the Cardinal will roll out NCAA champion Shane Griffith to take on Virginia Tech’s Connor Brady in the only bout where Stanford is favored on paper.

So far this season, Griffith has sailed through the Menlo Open and the Appalachian State Open, racking up an 8-0 record. His best win came against national qualifer Justin McCoy of Virginia, though Brady will likely be his highest ranked foe. Griffith will be expected to win this bout, and this match will be a good tune-up for him ahead of the Southern Scuffle next month.

CARDINAL STAR: How Shane Griffith helped save Stanford wrestling in 2021

While the team score in this dual between the Hokies and the Cardinal may not be as close as the Nebraska vs. South Dakota State dual, the opportunity to watch two NCAA champions in Griffith and Lewis make this dual appointment viewing. The Hokies will also wrestle Lindenwood this weekend as they continue through their non-conference schedule.

No. 15 North Dakota State vs. Little Rock |7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 18 | Little Rock All Access

The North Dakota Bison started their season strong with their win over Nebraska, and they racked up two wins since then, one over Binghamton and one against Buffalo. The Bisons' lone loss this year came against Minnesota in a 24-9 fashion, but this North Dakota State team is generating hype and excitement with their performances in general. Led by No. 4 Jared Franek and No. 8 Dylan Droegemueller, there are some underrated powerhouse athletes within this lineup. Franek, at 157 pounds, is 3-1 on the year and fresh off a win against All-American Brayton Lee, and he's on a quest to finish on the podium for the first time in his career.

This weekend's bout against Little Rock will be another opportunity for this Bison program to come in and make a statement, but it's also a chance for the Trojans — a team that never backs down from a challenge — to take on a Big 12 foe before Pac-12 dual season starts.

These are the 80 NCAA DI men's wrestling All-Americans for 2023

Another year, another 80 Division I wrestlers earning one of the most important, distinguished honors in collegiate wrestling: an All-American finish. Here are the place-winners for 2023.
READ MORE

2023 NCAA DI wrestling brackets, preview for every weight class

The 2023 NCAA DI wrestling brackets, plus a preview for every weight class ahead of the championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
READ MORE

Penn State enters the postseason with six wrestlers ranked in the top-five

Sunday afternoon marked the end of the regular season for all of the Big Ten wrestling programs around the country, as well as most of the other conferences nationally. See where each of the top five wrestlers in every weight class stand heading into the postseason.
READ MORE