Caleb Smith unlocked potential he didn’t know he had
Editor’s Note: This article appeared in WIN’s Volume 32 Issue 4, the Late December Issue.
By John Klessinger
After losing two straight matches as the No. 5 seed at 125 lbs. in the 2023 NCAA Division I Championships, Caleb Smith decided he needed a change. He already graduated from Appalachian State with a degree in marketing. With the COVID year, Smith had two remaining years of eligibility.
Smith recognized at App State he needed to grow. Before his sophomore season, he and two-time All-American Jonathan Millner trained every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 6 a.m. “I had to be uncomfortable,” said Smith. “I hated waking up early. The time was one way to do that,” he added.
With two more years of eligibility and a disappointing result at the NCAAs, Smith prayed a lot and decided Nebraska was the place he needed to go. He loved Mark Manning and his staff. Smith spoke to Olympic gold medalist and two-time NCAA champion Jordan Burroughs before going to Lincoln about wrestling for the Huskers.
Burroughs told Smith there is a standard at Nebraska. “There is an expectation that you are to work towards being the best version of yourself every day. Not only wrestling, but in everything,” Smith said. Almost immediately, Smith experienced something he didn’t feel at Appalachian State. Being in the Big Ten and a high-ranking program, everything felt bigger than him. He’d go to a store, and people knew who he was. “Nebraska was the most fun I ever had. I loved the training, the competition and the fans. It is special,” said Smith.
The transition, though, didn’t come with immediate success. Wrestling in the Big Ten was not the same as the Southern Conference. Smith lost a bunch of matches early. He struggled with his confidence. He took a lopsided loss to Minnesota All-American Patrick McKee. It changed his career. After that match, a teammate said to him, “If you are doing this for God, why does it matter if you win or lose?” remembered Smith. That realization, along with Manning’s mindset, helped Smith slowly come to believe in himself. “Manning told me to look in the mirror every day and say five times, ‘I am the best,’” said Smith. “I didn’t necessarily believe it, but every time I looked in the mirror, I said it,” he added.
Before the final match of the 2024 Minnesota dual, heavyweight Harley Andrews looked at Smith and said, “I got you.” He was talking about Smith’s loss to McKee. Anderson went out and sealed the dual with an 11-7 victory over Bennett Tabor. “I learned those guys have my back. If I’d fight for them, … more at … https://www.win-magazine.com/2025/12/26/caleb-smith-unlocked-potential-he-didnt-know-he-had/
NCAA D1 Wrestling Week 9 Roundup: Best Of 2025
We called an audible! This week’s Roundup consists of a look back at the biggest NCAA college wrestling stories FloWrestling covered in 2025!
Greetings and saultations wise and learned wrestling fans! Because of the extreme dearth of D1 college wrestling events during week 9 of the 2025-26 season, we’re going to call an audible, and instead of discussing the noteworthy happenings of the last seven days, we’re going to look back at the entire 2025 calendar year and highlight the biggest and best stories, events, and social posts that FloWrestling covered. How very!
Week 8 Rankings | Week 8 Box Scores
Roundups: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8
So what will that entail, exactly, you ask? I will tell you. I have reviewed all our metrics, tallies, and key performance indicators and will list those entries that produced the highest numbers.
Some of the data is from social media, which I will include. Other data will be from internal sources with which I will be more coy. Now, without further ado, the envelopes, please.
FloWrestling’s Best of 2025
Let’s start with the good stuff (because it’s been statistically proven that a mere fraction of the people reading this sentence will reach the end of the blog).
The Top Twitter Posts of 2025
We’re starting with Twitter (ok, fine, X), posts because I can embed Tweets in this blog but not Instagram posts, even though our IG posts get far more engagement. Just one of the fun quirks of blogging in the wrestling media capital of the world! … more at … https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/15057007-ncaa-d1-wrestling-week-9-roundup-best-of-2025
2025-26 Top 40 National High School Wrestling Rankings – Dec. 24, 2025
Notre Dame Green Pond moves into the Top 20; Green Farms Academy (Con.) jumps 10 spots to No. 26; Grassfield (Va.) and Nazareth (Pa.) join the Top 40
Happy Holidays!
With the Beast of the East completed over the weekend, we head into the holidays with several major national high school wrestling events complete, offering us a road map for where the 2025-26 season may go. Of course, there is still a ton of great action ahead of us, including some special holiday events. With that said, here is our latest Top 40 Team rankings, as you continue your holiday celebrations and prepare for a bright New Year! Enjoy
1-Faith Christian Academy, PA
Previous No. 1
Idle
2-Buchanan, CA
Previous No. 3
Won their own Zinkin Classic Tournament over Clovis and Clovis North.
3-Blair Academy, NJ
Previous No. 4
Won the team title at the Beast of the East over Lake Highland Prep by three points.
4-Lake Highland Prep, FL
Previous No. 2
Second at the Beast of the East.
5-Delbarton, NJ
Previous No. 5
Was 4-0 at the Fab 50 Duals with wins over Massillon Perry, 41-23, and Greens Farms Academy, 51-6. They did not wrestle Wyoming Seminary, which left the event without a champion as both were 4-0. The two squads have a dual meet scheduled at Seminary on February 6th, so it seems they passed on this meeting in favor of the upcoming one.
6-Malvern Prep, PA
Previous No. 7
Finished third at the Beast of the East.
7-St. John Bosco, CA
Previous No. 6
Captured the crown at the Reno Tournament of Champions, finishing ahead of Poway, Gilroy, and Allen.
8-Bishop McCort, PA
Previous No. 8
Landed in fourth of the Beast of the East team standing. … more at … https://www.si.com/high-school/wrestling/2025-26-boys-high-school-wrestling-national-rankings-dec-19-2025-01kcwn9fq30e
Maximus Konopka: On the road to greener pastures
Editor’s Note: This article appeared in WIN’s Volume 32 Issue 4, which printed Dec. 19, 2025.
By Tristan Warner
There are 490 miles that separate Greens Farms Academy in Westport, Conn. from Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
That journey was made by Jack Conroy’s squad … well, the seven student-athletes who caught an invite, that is … to the 2025 Ironman Wrestling Tournament.
What if you were told that 2025 Ironman champion Maximus Konopka, the first ever representing a school from the state of Connecticut and now the nation’s No. 1 ranked wrestler at 215 lbs., logged over 400 miles per week, in his own right, just to get to school? You read that correctly.
The Simsbury, Conn. native made the offseason move to Greens Farms Academy just before the start of his junior school year in search of the best training opportunity in the Constitution State. He does not have to go it alone, though. In fact, the future Virginia Tech Hokie’s longtime personal coach, TJ Silva, made the move as well. The two commute approximately 160 miles round trip daily to GFA for school, practice and then home.
Getting to go to tournaments like Ironman made the move worth it, Konopka says. “Simsbury High School is five minutes from my house, and Greens Farms Academy in Westport is an hour-and-a-half drive every morning,” Konopka explained. “It is a big change, but it has been worth every second. This was the decision I had to make to keep developing academically and athletically and be ready to start as a freshman and hopefully win four NCAA titles.”
Silva, who has coached Konopka since he was in the elementary leagues, saw something special in him from day one. He has continued to serve as his mentor, both on and off the mat, to this day, even cornering him in the Ironman finals where Konopka outlasted Faith Christian (Pa.) senior Cael Weidemoyer, 9-5. “When we had the opportunity to make the jump, … more at … https://www.win-magazine.com/2025/12/29/maximus-konopka-on-the-road-to-greener-pastures/
Rutgers takes team title at 61st Ken Kraft Midlands Championships behind champions Cartagena-Walsh, Catka
Dec 30, 2025, 7:26 PM EST
by Brian Reinhardt
Rutgers wins the 2025 Ken Kraft Midlands Championships.
EVANSTON, Ill. – Kicking off the holiday tournament season, the 61st annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships proved to be an exciting event as it returned to Northwestern’s campus after being held in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, for the past several seasons.
More true freshmen made headlines, this time for Virginia Tech, as Aaron Seidel (133) and Collin Gaj (149) both won titles. Also in their class, Elijah Cortez took the title at 141 pounds. He is a grayshirt who will suit up for Cornell next year.
The Big 10 was dominant in the upper weights. Ohio State and Rutgers both brought home a pair of titles. Scarlett Knight Shane Cartagena-Walsh was awarded a medical forfeit in the final at 184 pounds, while teammate Hunter Catka used a dominant third period to score a major decision at heavyweight. For the Buckeyes, it was backups e’Than Birden (165) and Seth Shumate (197) winning top honors. Pitt’s Dylan Evans earned a championship at 157 pounds. The Panthers also had runners-up at both 125 pounds and 141 pounds. The final two champions were Blake West of Northern Illinois at 125 pounds and Myles Takats of Bucknell at 174 pounds.
Rutgers bagged its first Midlands team title in program history by a half point over Pittsburgh, 93-92.5, … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2025/december/30/rutgers-takes-team-title-at-61st-ken-kraft-midlands-championships-behind-champions-cartagena-walsh-catka
No. 17 Wrestling Claims Team Title at Midlands Championships
EVANSTON, Ill. – Despite not sending a full roster, No. 17 Rutgers wrestling claimed its first Ken Kraft Midlands Championships Team Title in school history on Tuesday in Evanston, Illinois.
Behind individual titles from No. 15 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) and No. 25 Hunter Catka (HWT), along with runner-up results from No. 18 Remy Cotton (197) and No. 32 Andrew Barbosa (165), the Scarlet Knights finished with 93 team points, ahead of No. 14 Pittsburgh (92.5) and Bucknell (83).
With it being an unofficial date on its competition calendar, RU was only able to send six student-athletes to compete attached at the championships. With two attached entrants at both 165 and 197 pounds, only four of those scores counted towards the team title. “Winning a team title at this historic tournament is a pretty cool achievement,” said head coach Scott Goodale. “I’m happy for these guys that they were able to come here, compete and get it done. It’s pretty exciting to have nine out of our 10 guys place. We wrestled a lot of matches and have a lot of work to do, but we’ll build off this team title heading into our Big Ten dual schedule.”
It marks the first Midlands team title in school history after the program finished second last season and in 2017. Along with a fourth-place result from Ryan Ford (165) and an eighth-place finish from PJ Casale (197), all six entrants placed for Rutgers. … more at … https://scarletknights.com/news/2025/12/30/no-17-wrestling-claims-team-title-at-midlands-championships
DI Live Streaming Guide (12/29 – 1/4/2026)
It’s the week after Christmas and before New Year’s which means its tournament time with the Midlands, Soldier Salute, and Southern Scuffle. A few duals have been mixed in, as well. A total of 11 duals will be contested.
Since it can be difficult to figure out where and when to watch all of these events, InterMat has put together a list of all of the live-streamed events occurring this week. Below are the dates/times and how to watch each match (with links).
Since this article is a couple of days earlier than normal, I’m still looking for links for a couple of events. They will be added once available.
All times eastern
Monday, December 29:
Bucknell, Cal Poly, Central Michigan, Franklin & Marshall, Harvard, Illinois, Indiana, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Oregon State, Pittsburgh, SIU Edwardsville, Stanford at Ken Kraft Midlands, hosted by Northwestern 10:30 AM
Session I B1G+ (Links for 10 mats)
Session II B1G+ (Links for 10 mats)
Tuesday, December 30:
Bucknell, Cal Poly, Central Michigan, Franklin & Marshall, Harvard, Illinois, Indiana, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Oregon State, Pittsburgh, SIU Edwardsville, Stanford at Ken Kraft Midlands, hosted by Northwestern 11:30 AM
Session I B1G+ (Links for 10 mats)
Session II B1G+ (Links for 4 mats)
Northern Colorado at California Baptist 5:00 PM FloWrestling
Friday, January 2:
Purdue at Drexel 1:00 PM FloWrestling
Bloomsburg at Ohio 7:00 PM ESPN+ … more at … https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/47_streaming-guide/di-live-streaming-guide-1229-142026-r100723/
Pinecrest boys, South Brunswick girls win team titles at 54th annual WRAL wrestling invitational
Cape Fear’s Mac Johnson and Cleveland’s Abigail Brewer earned most outstanding wrestler honors for the boys and girls tournaments
KNIGHTDALE, N.C. – A thrilling championship Saturday at the 54th annual WRAL series of wrestling invitational, presented by HighSchoolOT, saw the 910 area code rise to the top. Pinecrest held off Corinth Holders for the boys team title while South Brunswick finished ahead of Cleveland to claim the girls’ team crown.
Cape Fear junior Mac Johnson was named the most outstanding boys wrestler at the invitational. Cleveland’s Abigail Brewer took home plenty of hardware with the girls’ most outstanding wrestler award and the plaque for most falls/least time. On the boys’ side, Metrolina Christian had a strong showing. Gavin Ulrich earned honors for the most falls/least time. Team sportsmanship trophies were presented to the Washington boys and Pinecrest girls. … more at … https://www.highschoolot.com/story/pinecrest-boys-south-brunswick-girls-win-team-titles-at-54th-annual-wral-wrestling-invitational/22289364/
Top-ranked Nittany Lions set new Division I win streak record; Second-ranked Buckeyes handle third-ranked Cyclones in Nashville
Manheim, Pennsylvania – A major college record that stood since the early 1950s fell over the weekend as top-ranked Penn State improved to 6-0 and won the program’s 77th dual meet in a row at the Journeymen Collegiate Duals in Nashville, Tennessee.
Penn State (6-0) shutout North Dakota State and then-No. 23 Stanford and remained atop the most recent NWCA Division I Men’s Coaches Poll released on Tuesday. The Nittany Lions are now tied with Division II St. Cloud State for the longest win streak in NCAA wrestling history. The Nittany Lions can take hold of the NCAA mark on January 10 at Rec Hall when they host Rutgers.
No. 2 Ohio State continued its perfect start, moving to 10-0 with wins over Little Rock, 34-9, and Iowa State, 21-13 also at the Collegiate Duals.
Iowa State split its weekend, defeating then-No. 20 Lehigh 26-11.
Fifth-ranked Oklahoma State added another ranked win with a 22-12 victory over No. 6 Nebraska in Lincoln. The dual drew 7,094 fans, setting a new home attendance record for the Huskers. Nebraska picked up a ranked win on Friday, defeating then-No. 16 North Carolina 27-9. North Carolina would pick up a solid win on the road in Cedar Falls, beating then No. 12 Northern Iowa 19-13. The Tar Heels (7-1) jumped to No. 13 this week, the highest the program has been ranked since it checked in at No. 7 in the final poll of the 2019-20 season.
No. 8 South Dakota State moved to 3-0 with a 45-3 win over Campbell. No. 9 NC State went 3-0 on the week, defeating The Citadel, George Mason and Buffalo.
Back in Nashville, No. 10 Illinois earned two ranked wins, edging then-No. 18 Cornell 21-18 and defeating Lehigh 24-12. Other ranked teams in action saw No.14 Pittsburgh earn a 23-12 win over Edinboro. Oklahoma posted two wins, defeating SIU Edwardsville 23-13 and Duke 40-6.
Cornell split its weekend, picking up a win over Little Rock. Wisconsin (8-0) remained unbeaten with three wins, defeating Lock Haven, Utah Valley and Arizona State.
Stanford earned a win over North Dakota State, while Oregon State … more at … https://nwcaonline.com/news/2025/12/23/national-wrestling-coaches-association-top-ranked-nittany-lions-set-new-division-i-win-streak-record-second-ranked-buckeyes-handle-third-ranked-cyclones-in-nashville.aspx
Taylor Smith and Hunter Moore earn ODAC Wrestler of the Week honors
FOREST, Va. – The Roanoke College wrestling team swept the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Athlete of the Week awards for the week of December 22. Taylor Smith earned Lighter Weight Wrestler of the Week accolades while Hunter Moore took home Heavier Weight Wrestler of the Week honors.
Smith, a junior from Mifflintown, Pa., went 4-1 on the way to a second-place finish at 149 pounds at the 92nd Wilkes Open Championship Friday. Smith opened with a win by technical fall (18-3 – 2:26) over Brady Quinn from Misericordia University. He then earned a 12-9 decision over Sean O’Donnell, who was competing unattached out of Duke University. In the quarterfinals, Smith registered a win by technical fall (21-5 – 6:54) over Adonis Iparraguirre from Marymount University, who is the fourth-ranked competitor in Region 3. In the semifinals, he registered a 4-1 decision by sudden victory over teammate Jackson Rowling. In the final, Smith dropped a 6-0 decision to Easton Broxterman from the U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School. Smith is currently ranked fifth in Division III and first in Region 4 at 149 pounds. Moore, a junior from Boulder City, Nev., posted a 5-0 week at 197 pounds overall that included a win in an ODAC dual with Randolph College and the weight class title at the 92nd Wilkes Open Championship. He opened his week with a tech fall (21-6 – 4:31) over Gabriel Wade in the Maroons 57-0 dual win over Randolph. Moore then went 4-0 to claim the 197-pound crown at Wilkes. … more at … https://roanokemaroons.com/news/2025/12/22/wrestling-taylor-smith-and-hunter-moore-earn-odac-wrestler-of-the-week-honors.aspx
TDR blog
After 20 seasons of publicizing wrestling The TakeDown Report’s (TDR) focus has changed to the collecting of college coaching records from North America since 1903. We will continue to recognize and reward successful wrestlers in eastern North Carolina (east of Raleigh & Fayetteville), assist with schools in starting or re-starting a team and this blog. Join us on our FaceBook Page – “The TakeDown Report” for photos and news. Please send results, stories, links and news to pass along. E-mail us at takedownreport@gmail.com
Martin Fleming, Editor
Takedown Report
Takedown Report 