ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The 19th-ranked Navy wrestling team is set to host the 45th annual Navy Classic on Saturday at McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Md.
The preliminary rounds will begin at 9 a.m., followed by the semifinals at approximately 2:30 p.m. Championship matches are expected to start at 4 p.m. The tournament will have team scoring.
The Mids will welcome 13 teams to the 2023 edition of their annual tournament. Fans can stay up to date with live results on FloArena with links provided on NavySports.com(.)
Notes For Fans
The Navy Classic will be held at the Rollins-Luetkemeyer Athletic Center at McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Md. Admission to the event is free.
Participating Teams
Air Force, American, Bloomsburg, Bucknell, Cleveland State, Davidson, Edinboro, Kent State, Lock Haven, No. 19 Navy, No. 9 Nebraska, Ohio, Princeton, The Citadel
Projected Navy Lineup (2023-24 Record)
• 125:
Evan Tallmadge (2-1) /
Dayton DelViscio (1-0)
• 133:
Garrett Totten (1-2)
• 141: No. 18
Josh Koderhandt (3-0) /
Tyler Hunt (0-0)
• 149:
Nicholas Vafiadis (4-2) /
Luke Lucerne (0-0)
• 157:
Jonathan Ley (2-1) /
Charlie Evans (1-1)
• 165:
Tyler Sagi (2-2) /
Geno Quodala (1-2)
• 174: No. 30
Danny Wask (1-2) /
Sammy Starr (5-1)
• 184: No. 16
David Key (3-0) /
Daniel Williams (1-2) /
Zyan Hall (1-0)
• 197:
Cael Crebs (2-1) /
Jacob Lucas (4-2)
• 285: No. 10
Grady Griess (2-1) /
Jamier Ferere (4-2)
Mids In The Rankings (InterMat / FloWrestling / Amateur Wrestling News)
• 133:
Brendan Ferretti - 12 / 14 / 14
• 141:
Josh Koderhandt - 18 / 9 / 20
• 165:
Andrew Cerniglia - 24 / 25 / ---
• 174:
Danny Wask - 30 / 28 / ---
• 184:
David Key - 16 / 12 / 12
• 285:
Grady Griess - 10 / 10 / 9
Navy Notes
• Navy swept its home quad meet last Sunday to improve to 4-0 this season
• Head coach
Cary Kolat's squad shut out Morgan State, 39-0, and then routed VMI, 40-6. The Mids won 19 of the 20 bouts in the two duals and claimed bonus points in nine
• The highlight win for Navy came in the final matchup against then No. 16 Pitt. The Mids were victorious in six bouts, four of which were against nationally-ranked wrestlers, to win the dual, 21-12
• Navy improved to 26-13-2 against the Panthers and claimed its first win in the series since 1997
• Eleven Mids won their first collegiate dual match at the quad meet
• Navy won its second dual against a power-five school this season. The Mids hadn't defeated two power-five institutions in the same year since the 2019-2020 season when it beat Maryland (21-12) and Duke (39-6)
• Navy is off to its first 4-0 start since the 2017-18 campaign
• The Mids were ranked 19th in the nation in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division I Top 25 poll (Nov. 14)
• Navy earned a national ranking for the first time since Feb. 23, 2021, when it was ranked 17th in the final poll of the regular season
• The Mids have scored at least 20 points in five of their last six duals and have defeated opponents by an average margin of 18 points during that stretch
•
Josh Koderhandt (141) and
Grady Griess (285) defeated an opponent ranked in the top 10 of their respective weight class for the first time in their careers. Koderhandt upset No. 7 Cole Matthews by a 5-2 decision with a takedown with under five seconds remaining in the match. Griess used a takedown in the third period to beat No. 9 Dayton Pitzer by a 4-2 decision to clinch the dual
• Griess was ranked No. 10 at heavyweight in this week's InterMat rankings. He is the first Navy wrestler to climb into the top 10 since Cody Trybus (141) was ranked ninth leading into the 2021 NCAA Championship. The Grand Island, Neb., native is also the highest-ranked wrestler in the EIWA
•
Brendan Ferretti (133) and Griess both won the 10th dual match of their careers at the quad meet
•
David Key (184) provided the biggest victory against Pitt with a fall against No. 13 Reece Heller. He pinned Heller at 2:47 to earn the only bonus points in the dual. Key is now 2-0 against ranked wrestlers this season and has defeated both by fall
Other Mids In Action
Coach Kolat will also have nine wrestlers travel to Millersville, Pa., for Saturday's Shorty Hitchcock Memorial Classic. The tournament will begin at 10 a.m. Results from FloAreana can be found
HERE.
Shorty Hitchcock Memorial Classic Projected Lineup (2023-24 Record)
• 125:
Matthew Ricci (0-0) /
Grant Treaster (0-0)
• 141:
Venumadhava Mirel (0-0)
• 149:
James Latona (1-1) /
Kaemen Smith (3-0)
• 157:
Christian Hodges (0-0)
• 165:
Mason Collins (0-0)
• 174:
Zander Manuel (0-0) /
Jonathan Sanchez (0-0)
Navy Classic Notes
• The 2020 season is the only year the Mids haven't hosted the Navy Classic since it began in 1978. The tournament was canceled in 2020 due to Covid 19
• Navy looks to win its home tournament for the first time since 2017 when it took first place of 17 teams
• The Mids have won the team title 20 times
• Navy placed third of 12 teams in the event last season
• Last year marked just the seventh time a Mid didn't place first in his respective weight class in the tournament's 44-year history
•
Tyler Hunt (141) and Key are the only wrestlers on Navy's roster to win titles at the event. The duo placed first in their respective weight classes in 2021
• A first-year Mid hasn't been crowned a champion since Joe Locksmith (141) in 2010. Nine freshmen are in Navy's projected lineup
• Six Mids who placed last season are also expected to take the mat on Saturday (Griess, 2nd; Koderhandt, 3rd; Hunt, 5th;
Sammy Starr (174), 6th;
Jacob Lucas (197), 4th;
Jamier Ferere (285), 7th)
• Nebraska returns to defend its 2022 team title. The Cornhuskers placed first in five of the 10 bouts to claim their second team victory and first since 1997
• Seven wrestlers who advanced to the championship bout in their respective weight class last year are projected to compete on Saturday
Up Next
The Mids will enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday and be back in action for the 41st annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, the biggest regular-season collegiate wrestling tournament in the country. The two-day event will begin on Friday, Dec. 1 at the Westgate Paradise Event Center.
