2024 US Open Wrestling Championships

Which College 'Won' The US Open U20 Tournament?

Which College 'Won' The US Open U20 Tournament?

In which we evaluate college performances at the US Open U20 tournament based on current and committed students.

May 1, 2024 by Andrew Spey
70kg PJ Duke vs Kody Routledge

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Because nearly all of the competitors at the US Open U20 Championships last weekend were either current students at college or high school wrestlers who have announced their college commitment, we can, for fun, assign points to athletes and their corresponding schools based on their placement and evaluate how those college performed at the Open. 

The rubric we used for points is the same as the one we use for the NCAA Tournament rankings, so no bonus points for techs or pins. We also only did points for the top 8 placers, as this article is already late enough and I didn't want to spend any extra time adding up advancement points for wrestlers that finished off the podium.

Below is a list of all the schools ranked by hypothetical points scored by current or committed students who placed at the U20 Championships in Vegas. 

RankSchoolPoints
1Penn State151.5
2Cornell55.5
3Missouri46
3Minnesota46
5Arizona State45.5
6Nebraska45
7Oklahoma State40
8Ohio State38.5
9Virginia Tech38
10Stanford37.5
11Oregon State28.5
12Columbia28
13Bucknell22.5
14Michigan20
15South Dakota State18
16Northern Iowa14.5
17Virginia13.5
17Northwestern13.5
17Illinois13.5
20Oklahoma12.5
20NC State12.5
20Cal Poly12.5
23Wisconsin12
24Michigan State11
25The Citadel10
25Purdue10
25Duke10
25California Baptist10
25Augustana10
30Northern Illinois9
30Iowa State9
30Iowa9
30Brown9
34Princeton6.5
34Penn6.5
34Air Force6.5
37Southwest Minnesota State5.5
37North Carolina5.5
37Binghamton5.5


No surprise seeing Penn State at the top of the list. That's a program that is used to being ranked #1. The Nittany Lions had commits win at 57 (Luke Lilledahl), 70 (PJ Duke), 79 (Zach Ryder), and 92 (Connor Mirasola), as well as five other medalists. 

Penn State's nine placers were the most of any school, though Cornell was close behind with eight. However, the lack of finalists ensured Cornell still finished nearly 100 points behind PSU in our hypothetical rankings. 

Helping Oklahoma State's fictional finish at the Open were two champs (Cael Hughes at 61 and Ladarion Lockett at 74) while Virginia Tech (Jim Mullen at 125), Missouri (Aeoden Sinclair at 86), and Nebraska (Camden McDanel at 97) all notched a single champ to boost their fugazi rankings. 

Arizona State had three placers in the top three to earn this highest conjectural team ranking without a champ. 

If you'd like to double-check my mat, or just want to see the results, please find below a list of all the U20 placers at the Open along with each wrestler's corresponding college program.


 57 Kilograms 
PlaceNameCollege
1Luke LilledahlPenn State
2Vincent KilkearyOhio State
3Anthony KnoxCornell
4Seth MendozaMissouri
5Isaiah QuinteroPurdue
6Aaron SeidelVirginia Tech
7Isaiah CortezCornell
8Garret RinkenNorthern Iowa

 61 Kilograms 
PlaceNameCollege
1Cael HughesOklahoma State
2Kyler LarkinArizona State
3William DekrakerNorthwestern
4Jake HockadayOklahoma
5Kyison GarciaPenn State
6Cory LandNorthern Iowa
7Zan FugittWisconsin
8Matthew BotelloUncommitted

 65 Kilograms 
PlaceNameCollege
1Bo BassettUncommitted
2Aden ValenciaStanford
3Pierson ManvilleArizona State
4Koy BuesgensNC State
5Sergio LemleyMichigan
6Drew GormanVirginia Tech
7Jaxon JoyCornell
8Gabriel BouyssouCornell

 70 Kilograms 
PlaceNameCollege
1PJ DukePenn State
2Kody RoutledgeNebraska
3Kannon WebsterIllinois
4Landon RobideauMinnesota
5Drayden MortonCalifornia Baptist
6Kael VoinovichIowa
7Isaias JimenezPenn
8Colin DupillSouth Dakota State

 74 Kilograms 
PlaceNameCollege
1Ladarion LockettOklahoma State
2Joseph SealeyPenn State
3Cameron SteedMissouri
4Vince BouzakisOhio State
5Beau MantanonaMichigan
6Zach HansonStanford
7Charlie MillardMinnesota
8Laird RootNorth Carolina

 79 Kilograms 
PlaceNameCollege
1Zack RyderPenn State
2Noah MulvaneyBucknell
3William HenckelPenn State
4Lorenzo NormanStanford
5Simon RuizCornell
6Ethan DeLeonNebraska
7Myles TakatsBucknell
8Carter BaerBinghamton

 86 Kilograms 
PlaceNameCollege
1Aeoden SinclairMissouri
2Joshua BarrPenn State
3Max McEnellyMinnesota
4Daschle LamerCal Poly
5Ryder RogotzkeOhio State
6Tate NaaktgeborenIowa State
7Kole MulhauserPrinceton
8Lucas CondonWisconsin

 92 Kilograms 
PlaceNameCollege
1Connor MirasolaPenn State
2Justin RademacherOregon State
3Michael DellagattaCornell
4Adam HaseliusColumbia
5Patrick BrophyThe Citadel
6Jack WehmeyerColumbia
7Soren HerzogAir Force
8Kael WislerMichigan State

 97 Kilograms 
PlaceNameCollege
1Camden McDanelNebraska
2Cole MirasolaPenn State
3Steven BurrellVirginia
4Thomas DineenSouth Dakota State
5Max RambergAugustana
6Ian SmithNorthern Illinois
7James BlacmanUncommitted
8Kody MarschnerSouthwest Minnesota State

 125 Kilograms 
PlaceNameCollege
1Jimmy MullenVirginia Tech
2Nicholas Sahakian    
Arizona State
3Koy HopkeMinnesota
4Aden AttaoOregon State
5Connor BarketDuke
6Alex SemenenkoBrown
7Vincent MuellerColumbia
8Josh TerrillMichigan State


As you can see, only three wrestlers placers remain uncommitted, Bo Bassett (first at 65kg), James Blacman (seventh at 97kg) and Matthew Botello (eighth at 61kg), although I doubt they stay that way for long!

And again, please let us know if you notice any errors in our data!