Mike Caliendo will be the #6 seed at 165 that may be the best weight class in the country.
Caliendo is 24-4 on the season with two pins, seven tech falls, and five major decisions. In the InterMat rankings last week Caliendo was #6.
In the first round at Nationals Caliendo will face Blaine Brenner of Minnesota. Caliendo defeated Brenner by a 19-4 tech fall at Soldier Salute at the end of December and 5-1 in the dual meet in January.
If I had to pick one of the top four seeds to face in the Quarterfinals it would without a doubt be Julian Ramirez of Cornell, Caliendo’s potential opponent. Caliendo-Ramirez would be a fun match to watch. I like that it would be right after weigh-ins on Friday morning. A possible edge for Caliendo.
This is such a tough weight that getting on the podium as an All American will be quite an accomplishment. I look for Caliendo to place and have a good tournament.
Brackets for the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships:
https://www.ncaa.com/_flysystem/public-s3/images/2024/03/13/2024NCAAd1Wrestlingbrackets.pdf
Mike Caliendo – 165
Mateo De La Pena (Cal Baptist) W-TF 23-7 1-0
Luther Open – First Place
Robert Flege (Wisconsin-La Crosse) W-MD 11-2 2-0
Allen Catour (Loras) W-TF 17-1 3-0
Bryce McDonough (Luther) W-Pin 1:17 4-0
Cooper Willis (Augsburg) W-MD 13-3 5-0
Drake Rhodes (Iowa) W-TF 20-4 6-0
Kekana Fouret (Oregon State) W-D 15-10 7-0
#2 David Carr (Iowa State) L-MD 16-4 7-1
Lucas Revano (Penn) W-MD 14-5 8-1
Kyle Mosher (Columbia) W-MD 18-5 9-1
Soldier Salute – 1st Place
R.J. Weston (Northern Iowa) W-MD 17-5 10-1
Kyle Mosher (Columbia) W-TF 20-5 11-1
Blaine Brenner (Minnesota) W-TF 19-4 12-1
Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) W-D 7-3 13-1
#19 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) W-D 8-3 14-1
#30 Blaine Brenner (Minnesota) W-D 5-1 15-1
Stoney Buell (Purdue) W-D 9-4 16-1
#24 Chris Moore (Illinois) W-TF 17-2 17-1
#15 Maxx Mayfield (Northwestern) W-TF 21-5 18-1
Beau Mantanona (Michigan) W-D 9-4 19-1
#7 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) L-D 12-6 19-2
#5 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) L-D 14-11 19-3
#3 Izzak Olejnik (Oklahoma State) W-D 7-2 20-3
Big Ten Championships – 3rd Place
AJ Rodriguez (Maryland) W-Pin 5:30 21-3
#10 Cameron Amine (Michigan) W-D 5-2 SV1 22-3
#5 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) L-TF 23-7 22-4
Chris Moore (Illinois) W-MD 18-5 23-4
#10 Cameron Amine (Michigan) W-D 8-5 SV1 24-4
Schedule for the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships
***All time listed are CST
Thursday, March 21
Session 1: Championship First Round 11 AM ESPNU/ESPNt
Session 2: Championship Second Round and Consolations 6 PM ESPN/ESPNt
Friday, March 22
Session 3: Quarterfinals and Consolations 11 AM ESPN/ESPNt
Session 4: Semifinals and Blood Round 7 PM ESPN/ESPNt
Saturday, March 23
Session 5: Consolation Medal Round 10 AM ESPNU/ESPNt
Session 6: Finals 6 PM ESPN/ESPNt
It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.
Go Hawks!
