Early Line-up Look: Northern Colorado Wrestling 2023-24

An early preview of the Northern Colorado wrestling team for the 2023-24 season.

Jul 6, 2023 by Jon Kozak

Early Line-up Look: Northern Colorado Wrestling 2023-24

Northern Colorado had a breakout 2023 NCAA Tournament with Andrew Alirez bringing home UNC’s first national champion since 1962 and a top 25 team finish. The Bears are a wrestling team on the rise with great potential in the 2023-24 season. Take a look at the below article for an early lineup look for their team next year.

Overview

Head Coach: Troy Nickerson

Assistants: Garett Kiley, Justin Oliver, Earl Hall

2023 NCAA Tournament Finish: 23rd

2023 NCAA Tournament team points: 26

2023 Big 12 Tournament finish: 9th

2023 Dual Record: 13-5

Returning national qualifiers: 3 (Stevo Poulin, Andrew Alirez, Vincent Zerban)

Returning All-Americans: 1 (Andrew Alirez)

Last NCAA champion: Andrew Alirez (2023)

Last 10 NCAA Championships:

2013: No NCAA Qualifiers

2014: No NCAA Qualifiers

2015: 46th

2016: 72nd

2017: 47th

2018: 38th

2019: 49th

2020: Canceled (COVID)

2021: 48th

2022: 44th

2023: 23rd

Click here to read other early line-up looks

125: #6 Stevo Poulin

After transferring from NC State, Stevo Poulin had an excellent first year at Northern Colorado. Poulin took home a Big 12 championship in 2023 and earned the #6 seed at the NCAA Tournament. Despite the high seed, Poulin drew eventual All-American Eddie Ventresca in the first round and lost a close, 4-2 overtime decision. Poulin then battled back in the consolation rounds by winning three-straight matches to make the round of 12 over the likes of Diego Sotelo (11-4), Jore Volk (5-3), and Jarrett Trombley (9-6).

Ultimately, Poulin came up one match short of All-American honors when he lost to eventual third-place finisher Brandon Courtney, 8-3. Though he fell short last year, Poulin is currently ranked #6 in our early NCAA rankings and will absolutely be a threat to reach the podium next season.

Poulin after winning the 2023 Big 12 title:

133: Dom Serrano

Serrano comes to Northern Colorado from Nebraska where he manned the starting 133-pound spot for the Huskers in the 2021-22 season. That year, Serrano compiled a 13-13 record but failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Serrano took the entire season off last year but should provide Northern Colorado with consistency at 133 pounds and threaten to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

141: #1 Andrew Alirez

Andrew Alirez put together a perfect season last year going 28-0 on his way to a national title at 141 pounds. Alirez was also one of the most dominant wrestlers in the country regardless of weight class compiling 19 bonus point wins - 7 pins, 5 techs, and 7 majors. With that dominant season, Alirez finished 4th in the Hodge vote behind only Mason Parris, Carter Starocci, and Yianni Diakomihalis.

As the returning NCAA champion, Alirez is currently ranked #1 in the country at 141 pounds in our early NCAA rankings. However, there is a chance we could see Alirez take an Olympic redshirt next year in preparation for the 2024 Olympic Trials. Along with his folkstyle results, Alirez also has impressive freestyle results with notable wins over Evan Henderson, Joey McKenna, Yahya Thomas, and Dean Heil. If Alirez were to take a redshirt, that would obviously take a big chunk of potential team points away from the Bears in 2024 but we should expect Alirez to make another run at an NCAA title.

Highlights of Andrew Alirez's NCAA Finals

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149: Manzona Bryant

Another Northern Colorado starter - another transfer! Manzona Bryant comes to Nothern Colorado from Lehigh where he spent 3 years in and out of the starting lineup at 149 pounds. Bryant has yet to qualify for the NCAA tournament but has recorded notable wins in his collegiate career over All-Americans Dom Demas, Max Murin, and Beau Bartlett. If Bryant is wrestling his best, he’s capable of shooting up the rankings at 149 pounds and even challenging for All-American honors next year.

157: #12 Vinny Zerban

Vinny Zerban went from the #32 seed to wrestling in the round of 12 at last year’s NCAA Tournament. Zerban only lost to eventual 4th place finisher Jared Franek (7-3) and 2-time champ Austin O’Connor (6-1). Zerban’s performance at NCAAs was illustrative of his entire season where he showed incredible potential but couldn’t quite punch through to establish himself as a consistent contender. For example, Zerban handed eventual NCAA runner-up Levi Haines an early season loss at the Bearcat Open. However, Zerban also took losses in the regular season to non-NCAA qualifiers Alex Hornfeck and Andrew Cerniglia. With a full year under his belt, we should expect more consistency from Zerban next season and for him to continue to establish himself as a legitimate contender at 157 pounds.

Zerban's win over Travis Mastrogiovanni at the 2023 Southern Scuffle:

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165: Baylor Fernandes

Baylor Fernandes is entering his third season at Northern Colorado after spending his first two years at Minnesota. Last year, Fernandes put together a winning record in his first season manning the starting 165-pound spot but fell just short of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament after going 0-3 at the Big 12 Tournament. Despite a disappointing end to the season, Fernandes proved to be a dangerous 165-pound wrestler by accumulating wins over both Legend Lamer and Wyatt Sheets.

174: Derek Matthews/Ayden Rix-McElhinney

Rix-McElhinney and Derek Matthews will likely be in a roster battle for the starting spot at 174 for the Bears. The two wrestled twice last season with Rix-McElhinney winning a high-scoring, 13-8 bout in early December but Matthews getting revenge with a first-period fall a month later. It’s also worth noting that the two met in the finals of the U20 World Team Trials where Derek Matthews won two-straight 10-0 victories over Rix-McElhinney to earn a spot on the Greco-Roman world team at 77kg.

Matthews win over Rix-McElhinney to make the U20 Greco World Team:

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184: Franklin Cruz/Andrew Donahue

Like at 174, Northern Colorado looks to have a roster battle on their hands at 184 between Franklin Cruz and Andrew Donahue. Cruz was the starter last year as a true freshman and put together a 7-6 record on the season failing to qualify for NCAAs. In redshirt, Donahue was 13-6 but didn’t secure victories over any NCAA qualifiers or ranked wrestlers. Because Cruz and Donahue look evenly matched, it’s possible Cruz could use his redshirt this season and allow Donahue to man the 184-pound starting spot.

197: Xavier Vasquez/Noah Pettigrew

Once again, Northern Colorado could be looking at another roster battle - this time between Xavier Vasquez and Noah Pettigrew. Vasquez is a 6th year senior and has started the past two years for Northern Colorado while Pettigrew hasn’t yet wrestled a college match. Meanwhile, Vasquez was 15-14 last season but failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament after going 1-2 at the Big 12 tournament.

Pettigrew was ranked as the #51 overall recruit in the class of 2022 and was a Fargo champ who originally committed to the University of North Carolina. There is a possibility that Pettigrew still has a redshirt available. If that’s the case, we should expect to see Vasquez finish out his career as the starter next season with Pettigrew taking over in 2024-25.

285: Xavier Doolin

Xavier Doolin will look to be the heavyweight starter for the second straight season for Northern Colorado. Last year, Doolin was 10-14 overall while going 1-3 at the Big 12 tournament. Doolin will have to make significant improvements from last year if he hopes to qualify for the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

What About Travis Mastrogiovanni and Adam Busiello?

After breaking down the above lineup, it’s clear to see that coach Nickerson and company have made the most of the transfer portal. In fact, there’s a chance that half of the wrestlers who will make up Northern Colorado’s starting lineup next season began their career at a different institution.

On top of the above-mentioned wrestlers, both Travis Mastrogiovanni and Adam Busiello are recent transfers that could make some noise for the Bears next season. Busiello was the #44 ranked overall recruit in the class of 2019 and originally committed to Penn State, then Arizona State, and finally Penn State again before spending the last two years at Nassau Community College. While at Nassau, Busiello earned All-American honors twice placing 6th in 2022 (at 165) and 3rd in 2023 (at 157).

Mastrogiovanni was the #39 overall recruit in the class of 2021 and spent his first two years of college at Oklahoma State. Mastrogiovanni didn’t record any signature wins in his first two years but did record a 15-4 record and showed potential to turn into a quality starter. If Zerban chooses to move up to 165, we could see Mastro and Busiello battle it out for the starting spot at 157. If Zerban stays at 157, both Busiello and Mastro will be formidable challengers to Fernandes at 165. Either way, Northern Colorado has valuable depth in those middleweights.

Busiello's win to earn All-American honors at the 2022 NJCAA Wrestling Championships:

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What Will Northern Colorado Finish At The 2024 NCAA Tournament?

Northern Colorado has progressively improved over the past 10 years and has the potential to make another big jump in 2024. With Andrew Alirez as a returning national champ and All-American contenders scattered across their lineup, the Bears have the potential to jump into the top 15 in the country. Along with being a tough tournament team, Northern Colorado will roll out a tough dual team and should present challenges to many of the top teams in the Big 12 and across the country.

Coach Nickerson after the 2023 NCAA Tournament: