Amateur Wrestling News All-Rookie Team
2023 Amateur Wrestling News All-Rookie Team
The all-rookie team is comprised of three wrestlers at each weight class. Penn State’s Levi Haines was named the Rookie of the Year.
AMATEUR WRESTLING NEWS 2023 ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
125
1. Richard Figueroa/Arizona State (13-0)
2. Eddie Ventresca/Virginia Tech (20-9)
3. Stevo Poulin/Northern Colorado (31-7)
133
1. Aaron Nagao/Minnesota (23-6)
2. Jesse Mendez/Ohio State (19-9)
3. Gulamjon Abdulaev/Menlo College (18-0)
141
1. Lachlan McNeil/North Carolina (27-9)
2. Brock Hardy/Nebraska (30-8)
3. Casey Swiderski/Iowa State (14-12)
149
1. Shayne Van Ness/Penn State (24-7)
2. Caleb Henson/Virginia Tech (27-6)
3. Jackson Arrington/North Carolina State (23-9)
157
1. Levi Haines/Penn State (24-2)
2. Daniel Cardenas/Stanford (19-3)
3. Cael Swensen/South Dakota State (24-10)
165
1. Michael Caliendo/North Dakota State (28-5)
2. Patrick Kennedy/Iowa (21-5)
3. Alec Facundo/Penn State (19-6)
174
1. Tate Picklo/Oklahoma (25-10)
2. Luca Augustine/Pittsburgh (15-11)
3. Cael Valencia/Arizona State (12-12)
184
1. Lenny Pinto/Nebraska (24-11)
2. Brian Soldano/Rutgers (25-12)
3. Dylan Connell/Illinois (18-18)
197
1. Jaxon Smith/Maryland (23-8)
2. Carson Floyd/Appalachian State (19-9)
3. Elijah Hynes/Central Methodist (26-11)
285
1. Nathan Taylor/Lehigh (17-12)
2. Hunter Catka/Virginia Tech (19-8)
3. Trevor Tinker/Cal Poly (15-10)
ROOKIE COACH OF THE YEAR
Derek Moore, California Baptist
California Baptist rookie head coach Derek Moore led his wrestlers through the university’s first season as a DI team. The Lancers competed in the Big 12 Conference and ended the season with a 3-10 record, which included wins over Wyoming and CSU Bakersfield.
In 2007 while competing for UC Davis, Moore pulled off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history by knocking off No. 1 seed Ryan Lang, Northwestern in the finals by tech fall 17-2. He was named the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler.
The Rookie Coach of the Year dates back to 1962. The winner for that inaugural award was Nebraska’s Bob Mancuso. Other notable winners include 1963 Grady Peninger, Michigan State, 1972 Stan Abel, Cincinnati, 1977 Dan Gable, Iowa, 1980 Carl Adams, Rhode Island, 1986 Jim Gibbons, Iowa State, 1993 Lee Roy Smith, Arizona State, 1994 Rob Koll, Cornell, and 2007 Cael Sanderson, Iowa State.
Congratulations to Derek Moore and California Baptist University.
