CLARION, Pa. --- The Golden Eagles wrestling season will kick off in earnest this weekend at the Clarion Open, with nearly 300 competitors taking the mats in Tippin Gymnasium on Sunday, November 3. Action is slated to begin at 9 a.m.
 
Tickets for the event are $20 for adults and $10 for students. Children are admitted for free, as are members of the Clarion Pin Club.
 
Action will take place across nine mats throughout Tippin Gymnasium. Mats 1-6 will be located in the main gymnasium, while mats 7-9 will be set up in the adjacent auxiliary gym. All matches will be streamed on FloWrestling, and live brackets will be available on FloArena.
 
The Golden Eagles will have 34 wrestlers competing at this year's event, including three wrestlers who placed in the top-three of their respective weight classes a year ago. John Meyers (who will wrestle unattached this year) and Alejandro Herrera-Rondon each placed second at 285 and 157 pounds respectively in 2023, while John Worthing took third place at 174 pounds.
 
Once again, the field at the tournament will be a competitive one, with a number of top-ranked programs sending large contingents and a host of nationally-ranked wrestlers starting off their seasons. Ohio State and Michigan will bring their full squads, while programs such as Pittsburgh, Navy, Brown, Buffalo and Lehigh are also expected to be well-represented.
 
Below are the pre-seeds for this year's Clarion Open:
 
125
1. Brendan McCrone - Ohio State
2. Vinny Kilkeary - Ohio State
3. Nolan Wertanen - Michigan
4. Max Elton - Buffalo
5. Damion Ryan - Bellarmine
6. Garrett Lautzenheiser - Ohio State
 
133
1. Dylan Ragusin - Michigan
2. Nic Bouzakis - Ohio State
3. Max Leete - American Unattached
4. Joey Fischer - Clarion Unattached
5. Andre Gonzales - Ohio State
6. Colton Camacho - Edinboro
 
141
1. Jesse Mendez - Ohio State
2. Luke Stanich - Lehigh
3. Sergio Lemley - Michigan
4. Ryan Sullivan - Clarion
5. Ian Oswalt - Brown Unattached
6. Briar Priest - Pitt
 
149
1. Dylan D'Amelio - Ohio State
2. Ryan Burgos - Edinboro
3. Nathan Higley - Bellarmine Unattached
4. Jack Crook - Unrostered
5. Jaxson Joy - Spartan Combat
6. Kyle Schickel - Clarion
7. Dylan Gilcher - Michigan
8. Nick Vafiadis - Navy
 
157
1. Chase Saldate - Michigan
2. Paddy Gallagher - Ohio State
3. Zack Mattin - Michigan
4. Alejandro Herrera-Rondon - Clarion
5. Brock Herman - Ohio State
6. Kaleb Burgess - Buffalo
7. Ryan Michaels - Edinboro
 
165
1. Max Brignola – Lehigh Unattached
2. Beau Mantanona - Michigan
3. Bryce Hepner - Ohio State
4. Joseph Cangro - Unrostered
5. Jared Keslar - Pitt
6. Hunter Shaut - Buffalo
7. Chase Carter - Ohio State
 
174
1. Rocco Welsh - Ohio State Unattached
2. John Worthing - Clarion
3. Joseph Walker - Michigan
4. Sammy Starr - Navy
5. Grant ODell - Bellarmine
6. Rafael Knapp - Buffalo
 
184
1. Jaden Bullock - Michigan
2. Ryder Rogotzke - Ohio State
3. Chase Kranitz - Pitt
4. Zyon Hall - Navy
5. Michael Bartush - Bucknell
6. Marcus Petite - Buffalo
 
197
1. Michael Beard – Lehigh 8
2. Luke Geog - Ohio State
3. Seth Shumate - Ohio State
4. Nolan Springer - Bucknell
5. Cael Crebs - Navy
6. Andrew Liber - Bellarmine
 
285
1. Nick Feldman - Ohio State
2. Nathan Taylor - Lehigh
3. Ira Jenkins - Michigan
4. John Meyers - Clarion Unattached
5. Thad Huff - Bellarmine
6. Hogan Swenski - Ohio State