WIN 2024 Preview & World Championship Special Issue (V29i12)

Photo: Vito Arujau celebrated as the 2023 NCAA champ from Cornell captured his first World championship last month in Belgrade, Serbia. (Tony Rotundo photo)

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Is there a better time of the year than now when it comes to the sport of amateur wrestling? Yes, February and March are great because of state and national championships. But in October, the World Championships have just finished and many fans are getting excited to support their favorite high school and college wrestling teams.

In the latest issue of WIN Magazine, printed Sept. 28, we hope we have captured all the great moments from Belgrade, Serbia, where Team USA captured 14 medals in 20 men’s and women’s freestyle weight classes. You’ll also find preview information on the high school and college wrestlers who look to be the ones who could make the biggest impacts this winter.

You can capture all these stories by subscribing to WIN Magazine. Simply click here or call 888-305-0606 to subscribe to WIN Magazine.

The following is a list of the stories, rankings, training pieces and unique opinion columns that make up this current issue of WIN Magazine.

Features

Page 9 – TIMES CHANGE – Rob Koll, who returned to coach at his college home at North Carolina, is among the coaches who have been forced to adapt to new rules, from the three-point takedown, to the NIL and transfer rules for athletes.

Page 10 – V AS IN VITO AND VICTORY – After going through tough times at Cornell, Vito Arujau made mental adjustments to win both an NCAA title last March and a recent World gold medal that also made his well-known father proud.

Page 11 – ILLINOIS/USA WRESTLING NOTEBOOK – Ever since Illinois made changes to leadership and put more of a focus on developing young wrestlers for the 16U/Junior Nationals in Fargo, no state has been better. Check out the numbers.

Page 12 – IOWA/USA WRESTLING NOTEBOOK – Jeff McGinness, the former two-time NCAA champ and current Simpson coach, did not originally set out to be a leader in the state in developing women’s wrestling, but takes pride in what they have accomplished.

Page 13 – KANSAS/USA WRESTLING NOTEBOOK – Freestyle national champs Ezekiel Witt of Junction City and Leiannah Landreth of Mulvane are among the 20 boys and girls wrestlers who could make the biggest impact in 2023-24.

Page 14 – WASHINGTON/WEST REGION NOTEBOOK – Justin Newby, the executive director of Washington USA Wrestling, loves the growth he has seen in the Evergreen State that continues to bring in big events like the Women’s Nationals in Spokane.

Pages 25-35 – NCAA DIVISION I WEIGHT CLASS PREVIEWS  – Over 10 pages, WIN takes a closer look at the top eight wrestlers per weight who will look to try to win All-America honors in 2024 as well as others who could make news next March in Kansas City.

Page 57 – WELCOME TO EXPECTATIONS – It’s been almost two years since Clarissa Chun was named as the first Power-5 women’s wrestling coach at Iowa and looks to now produce a championship team at a time when women’s college wrestling changes.

Page 59 – Check out the highlights of all 10 wrestlers who won 32 of 39 matches in this style, three golds and seven overall medals as Team USA also earned a second-straight World team title.

Page 64 – WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS – WOMEN’S FREESTYLE – Amit Elor may only be 19 years old, but she won a second-straight gold medal and led a contingent of American women that collected seven overall medals and finished second to Japan in the team race.

Page 67 – WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS – GRECO-ROMAN – Team USA didn’t bring home a medal in this style of wrestling, but did win 10 matches in Belgrade, Serbia, including a pair of wins by Kamal Bey and Alejandro Sancho.

Page 70 – RMN EVENTS FEATURE – Colorado’s Tommy Verrette certainly has a bright future in wrestling after winning two Fargo 16U Greco championships under the tutelage of a number of coaches, including former World champ Joe Warren.

Columns

Page 6 – Bryan Van Kley looks at the impact of today’s college rules — especially the N.I.L. and transfers and how they are impacting college wrestling.

Page 8 – Dan Gable believes USA Wrestling, coming off a strong World Championships, needs rally the wrestling rule to expand Olympic opportunities as it did a decade ago when it helped saved Olympic wrestling.

Page 15 — John Klessinger comes up with several ideas on how today’s wrestlers can keep the fire and love for the sport.

Page 17 — Zach Even-Esh, who trains wrestlers from his Underground Strength Gym in New Jersey, believes that wrestlers need to “autoregulate” how hard and when they train during the season.

Page 38 — Tristan Warner visits with Cal Poly coach Jon Sioredes on how small Division I schools can be big in the sport.

Page 39 — Kyle Klingman lists, based on past performances, who the top teams will most likely be on the college and Senior level.

Page 45 — Rob Sherrill takes a look at which high school wrestlers had the best summer, based on his RPI (Ratings Performance Index).

Page 52 — Sandy Stevens features a book that suggests healthy ways for parents to empower their kids.

Page 53 — Mike Chapman shares some hilarious stories about how wrestling stars of the past like Bill Smith and Doug Blubaugh were treated for their success … at a time before social media.

Page 78 — Mike Finn takes pride in the talent of wrestling wealth that the United States is sharing with the world.

Plus, there college rankings on pages 20 and 22, boys high school rankings on page 42 and a listing of top high school girls on page 50.

And find out more information about Race for this year’s Dan Hodge Trophy and Junior Hodge Trophy, as well as a list of who are the likely prep front-runners for the high school award.