2024 NCAAs Preview • 165 pounds
RETURN TO CHAMPIONSHIPS CENTRAL
Second-Round Notes
• In an action packed match, No. 8 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) outlasted No. 9 Peyton Hall (West Virginia 11-9. Tylor opened the match with a takedown and two back points in the first. Hall cut the lead with an escape and takedown in the second. Taylor escaped to go up 7-4. Hall was in on a deep shot but couldn’t finish as the period ended. Hall escaped to start the third period and added a takedown. With the score 11-9, Hall was again deep on a single, but could not convert as the final whistle sounded.
• Returning All-Americans, #7 Izzak Olejnik (Oklahoma State) and #10 Cameron Amine (Michigan) ended the first period at 0-0. Olejnik got out for a 1-0 lead early in the second, and another stingy period results in a 1-0 lead. Amine went down in the third and got out quickly. The match was forced into sudden victory when neither could get in on a shot. In the sudden victory period, the action picked up and Amine scored on a double-leg reattack to move on to the quarters.
First-Round Notes
- Stanford’s Hunter Garvin was seeded No. 20, but scored a takedown in each period to upset Little Rock’s No. 13 seed Joseph Bianchi, 11-0
- Bucknell’s Noah Mulvaney, seeded No. 22, gave up three takedowns in the first period and trailed Navy’s No. 11 seed Andrew Cerniglia but the Bison freshman rallied with a four-point nearfall with 25 seconds left in the second period, then added a reversal and riding-time point for a 10-9 come-from-behind victory.
The following is a look at WIN’s Top-10 rated wrestlers, plus other notable wrestlers, at 165 pounds before the conference/NCAA qualifying tournaments. Go to WIN-Magazine.com for an updated NCAA preview after the qualifiers.
1. Keegan O’Toole, Missouri, Jr., Hartland, Wisc.
Note: Won the Junior Hodge Trophy in 2020.
Season/Career Record: 16-0/80-3
NCAA Resume: Fourth Nationals with a combined record of 14-1. Has won last two championships; beating Shane Griffith (Michigan) in 2022 and David Carr (ISU) last March. He also settled for third place in 2021.
Regular-season Notes: Defeated Julian Ramirez (Cornell), 13-5, Izzak Olejnik (OSU), 5-1, and Peyton Hall (WV), 8-7
2. David Carr, Iowa State, Sr.,
Canton, Ohio
Note: David’s father, Nate, was a three-time NCAA champ for ISU (1981-83).
Season/Career Record: 19-1/103-4
NCAA Resume: Fifth Nationals, starting with cancelled NCAAs in 2020. Three-time AA won a championship at 157 pounds over Rider’s Jesse Dellavecchia before he settled for third at 157 in 2022 and second last year at 165. Combined NCAA record of 16-2
Regular-season Notes: Defeated Izzak Olejnik, 8-1, and Peyton Hall, 10-3, in consecutive duals.
3. Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State, RSFr., Hartland, Wisc.
Note: Transferred last summer from Cal Baptist, where he redshirted as a freshman.
Season/Career Record: 19-0/19-0
NCAA Resume: First Nationals
Regular-season Notes: Scored bonus points in 14 matches, including majors over Caleb Fish and Cam Amine.
4. Dean Hamiti, Wisconsin, Jr.,
Joliet, Ill.
Note: Former three-time Illinois state champ from Joliet Catholic.
Season/Career Record: 24-1/77-11
NCAA Resume: Third Nationals after finishing sixth in both the 2022 and 2023 NCAAs. Reached quarters both years and has an 8-6 career mark.
Regular-season Notes: Entered Big Tens on 19-match winning streak, including 14-11 decision over Iowa’s Michael Caliendo on Feb. 18.
5. Michael Caliendo, Iowa, So.,
Geneva, Ill.
Note: Transferred from North Dakota State last summer.
Season/Career Record: 16-3/45-8
NCAA Resume: Second Nationals after finishing seventh in 2023 when he lost in the second round and won four wrestlebacks.
Regular-season Notes: Defeated Izzak Olejnik (OSU), 7-2, to end the regular season.
6. Izzak Olejnik, Oklahoma State, Sr., Bakersfield, Calif.
Note: Transferred from Northern Illinois, where he was a three-time national qualifier.
Season/Career Record: 19-4/108-29
NCAA Resume: Fifth Nationals, starting with cancelled 2020 NCAAs. After reaching the R16 in both 2021 and 2022, the former Northern Illinois All-American claimed eight last March. His career NCAA mark is 8-7.
Regular-season Notes: Defeated Julian Ramirez (Cornell) to win the Las Vegas Invite.
7. Julien Ramirez,
Cornell, Jr., Miami, Fla.
Note: Was a two-time National Prep champ at Blair Academy after starting his high school career at Tampa Jesuit.
Season/Career Record:
18-2/66-17
NCAA Resume: Third Nationals after losing in the blood round in both the 2022 and 2023 (when he lost in the first round). His career mark is 6-4.
Regular-season Notes: Upset David Carr (ISU), 4-3, at the Las Vegas Invite.
8. Peyton Hall, West Virginia, Jr., Chester, W. Va.
Note: Became Oak Glen High School’s first four-time state champ.
Season/Career Record: 21-5/84-23
NCAA Resume: Fourth Nationals with a 7-7 career mark. The All-American placed eighth in 2022, one year after he lost in the R12. Last year, he went 1-2 in Tulsa.
Regular-season Notes: Defeated Izzak Olejnik, 5-1, on Jan. 14.
9. Caleb Fish, Michigan State, Sr., Eaton Rapids, Mich.
Note: Two-time Michigan state high school champ at Eaton Rapids.
Season/Career Record: 23-6/71-32
NCAA Resume: Third Nationals with a 2-4 career record. Came close to placing last year when he defeated Cornell’s Julian Ramirez in the first round as a No. 29 seed but lost in the R12.
Regular-season Notes: Defeated Michigan’s Cam Amine, 6-4, in a Jan. 14 dual.
10. Cam Amine, Michigan, Sr.,
Brighton, Mich.
Note: Both his father, Sam, and uncle, Mike, wrestled for Michigan, as did brother Jordan and cousins Malik and Myles.
Season/Career Record: 10-5/58-21
NCAA Resume: Fourth Nationals as the three-time All-American placed seventh in 2021 and fourth in both 2022 and 2023 (after he beat Wisconsin’s Dean Hamiti in the quarters. His career NCAA record is 13-6.
Regular-season Notes: Only wrestled seven matches since Jan. 1
Others to Watch
• Garrett Thompson, a sophomore from Ohio, had compiled a 21-5 record before the MAC, after going 11-9 last winter at 157 pounds. He defeated West Virginia’s Peyton Hall, 8-5, at the Southeast Open in November.
• Nebraska’s redshirt freshman Antrell Taylor compiled a 17-5 mark before the Big Tens after going 4-5 while redshirting at 157 in 2023. Perhaps his biggest regular-season win was 3-2 sudden victory over Michigan’s Cam Amine.
• Originally a 149-pounder in 2019 when he wrestled at Hofstra, where he also qualified for the 2021 NCAAs at 157, Pitt’s Holden Heller became a Panther in 2023 and reached R16 at the Nationals. Was 12-5 before the 2024 ACCs. n
