I have 165 as the toughest weight class in the country. The Big Ten is well represented with eleven wrestlers ranked in the top thirty-one with only ten automatic qualifiers for Nationals.
We have Michael Caliendo ranked #6 in the country and he should get the #3 seed at Big Tens. Caliendo is 20-3 with one pin, seven tech falls and five major decisions and 5-3 vs. ranked opponents this season.
165 has a lot of depth with the eleven ranked wrestlers but the top three are solid picks. Definitely cannot be overlooking anybody in the quarterfinals at this weight.
I look forward to a potential Caliendo-Mesenbrink rematch in the semifinals. Mesenbrink won 12-6 in the dual meet.
InterMat Rankings at 165 in the Big Ten
4.Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin)
5.Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State)
6.Michael Caliendo (Iowa)
9.Caleb Fish (Michigan State)
10.Cameron Amine (Michigan)
12.Antrell Taylor (Nebraska)
15.Bryce Hepner (Ohio State)
19.Tyler Lillard (Indiana)
29.Stoney Buell (Purdue)
30.Maxx Mayfield (Northwestern)
31.Blaine Brenner (Minnesota)
2023-24 Season – Michael 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
Sat and Sun March 9-10 – at Big Ten Championships (College Park, Maryland)
Thurs-Sat March 21-23 – at NCAA Championships (Kansas City, MO)
It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.
Go Hawks!
