It’s October and that means the 2023-24 college wrestling season is right around the corner! In order to help you prepare for the upcoming season, we’ll be previewing all 10 Division 1 weight classes. Check out the article below for an in-depth look at 133 pounds - one of the country's deepest and most interesting weights!

Returning 2023 133-Pound All-Americans

• Vito Arujau - Champ
• Daton Fix - 4th
• Aaron Nagao - 5th
• Sam Latona - 7th
• Kai Orine - 8th

Past All-Americans

• Lucas Byrd - 5th in 2021 and 2022
• Chris Cannon - 7th in 2021 and 2022

The Favorite

• Vito Arujau, Cornell

Vito Arujau put on a spectacular performance at the 2023 NCAA Tournament to take home his first NCAA Title. On his way to gold, Arujau defeated Sam Latona (8-5), Daton Fix (11-3), and Roman Bravo-Young (10-4). Arujau’s dominance over both Fix and RBY makes him the man to beat entering this season.

Vito Arujau's win in the semi-finals over Daton Fix at the 2023 NCAA Tournament:

Not only did Vito dominate at the NCAA Tournament, but over the summer he made his first senior world team by winning the US Open and Final X in a field that included Nathan Tomasello, Nahshon Garrett, and Austin DeSanto. He followed that up by winning a Senior World Title at 61kg (134.5 lbs). Vito’s World Championship performance showed he’s one of the most dynamic wrestlers in the world regardless of weight or style and will be incredible to watch during his final season at Cornell.

Title Contenders

• Daton Fix, Oklahoma State
• Aaron Nagao, Penn State
• Sam Latona, Virginia Tech

Vito Arujau might be a considerable favorite entering the year, but there’s a solid group of contenders that will challenge for the title. Daton Fix is at the top of this list as a four-time All-American and 3-time NCAA runner-up. Fix has an outstanding hitlist throughout his collegiate career that includes wins over Austin DeSanto, Michael McGee, Nick Suriano, Austin Gomez, Aaron Nagao, and a number of other past All-Americans. Despite those wins, Fix will also be looking for his elusive national title in his final year of eligibility. 

Fix and Arujau have only wrestled once in college, but they have a rich history in both folkstyle and freestyle. Arujau defeated Fix at the Olympic Trials in April of 2021, 6-5. Before that, Fix took out Arujau at the 2019 US Open in a high-scoring, 18-8 bout and all the way back at the 2015 Super 32 Arujau edged Fix in a 6-4 overtime bout. 

Fix's win over Lucas Byrd at the 2023 NCAA Tournament:

After Fix, Aaron Nagao and Sam Latona have established themselves as contenders at 133 pounds. Nagao had a breakout season in his first year as the starter for Minnesota last year and ultimately earned 5th-place All-American honors. During his All-American season, Nagao established himself as a “Top Monster” while recording notable wins over Lucas Byrd, Jesse Mendez (X2), Kai Orine, and Micky Phillippi. Now at Penn State, we can only assume that Nagao will continue to improve and challenge this year for an NCAA title. 

Highlights of Aaron Nagao's win over Micky Phillippi:

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Sam Latona handed Vito Arujau his only loss last season and also gave Vito his closest match at the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Latona’s win over Arujau occurred during Cornell’s dual win over Virginia Tech on January 6, 2023. In that bout, Latona secured the match's only takedown in the first period and held on to win 3-2. Latona is one of the few 133-pound wrestlers in the country that can match the size and length of Arujau and will look to climb the podium this year after finishing 7th place last season. 

Sam Latona's win over Vito Arujau:

The Deep 133-Pound Field

• Kai Orine, NC State
• Connor McGonagle, Lehigh
• Lucas Byrd, Illinois
• Nic Bouzakis, Ohio State
• Michael Colaiocco, Penn
• Chris Cannon, Michigan

After the four above-mentioned wrestlers, there’s a solid group of competitors that will challenge for All-American honors and look to move into the top tier of the 133-pound weight class. Headlining this group is 2023 All-American Kai Orine who finished 8th at 133 last season for NC State. Orine wrestles an incredibly entertaining style and recorded notable wins last season over Micky Phillippi, Sam Latona, and Kyle Biscoglia. Outside of his wins, Orine suffered close losses to Latona and Nagao at NCAAs putting him just outside the top tier at 133.

Highlights of Kai Orine's win over Sam Latona:

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Lucas Byrd and Chris Cannon show the depth of this weight as two wrestlers who earned All-American honors in 2021 and 2022 but failed to reach the podium in 2023. At NCAA’s Byrd suffered close losses to Daton Fix (3-2) and Jesse Mendez (4-3 in OT). However, Byrd has 3-years worth of wins that show he’ll be a threat to anyone at 133 pounds. Likewise, Cannon had a disappointing NCAAs losing to Chance Rich and Cody Phippen but recorded wins in the regular season over Aaron Nagao and Jesse Mendez. 

Nic Bouzakis also adds depth to the 133-pound field this year after redshirting last season. Bouzakis put together an 11-1 record last year while defeating national qualifiers Gable Strickland (6-0) and Kyle Biscoglia (10-6) and will be taking over the 133-pound starting spot for the Buckeyes with All-American Jesse Mendez moving up to 141 pounds. Bouzakis’ only loss was up at 141 to national qualifier Tom Crook who was notably ranked #16 before we got word he was redshirting this year. Most recently, Bouzakis made the U20 world team and won a bronze medal at the U20 World Championships in August. 

Nic Bouzakis talks about his first year at Ohio State and performance at U20 Worlds:

Connor McGonagle and Michael Colaiocco are established veterans at 133 but have yet to punch through for All-American honors. Last season, McGonagle was putting together his best year before suffering a season-ending injury at the EIWA Championships. Prior to the injury, McGonagle recorded impressive wins over Kai Orine and Micky Phillippi while only losing to Daton Fix and Michael McGee. If McGonagle is fully recovered from injury and back to last season’s form, he’ll be a contender come March.

Michael Colaiocco went 2-2 at last year’s NCAA Tournament finishing in the round of 16 but recorded wins in the regular season over All-Americans Chris Cannon, and Lucas Byrd. Colaiocco lost twice in the regular season to Vito Arujau (8-0 and 13-7) so obviously shouldn’t be considered a threat to win a national title. However, he’ll absolutely challenge for All-American honors this year. 

Sleepers & Dark Horses

• Haiden Drury, Utah Valley
• Zeke Seltzer, Missouri

There are a number of wrestlers at 133 that we could highlight who will be a factor this year. Guys like Brody Teske, Brayden Palmer, and Dom Zaccone all had solid seasons last year and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they moved into the top 10 this year. However, this category is more about highlighting guys who might be ranked low in the rankings but have shown potential to make some noise this year. 

Haiden Drury and Zeke Seltzer are the two guys we’re highlighting who could make big jumps at 133 in the 2023-24 season. Drury missed out on most of his season last year due to an injury but was an NCAA qualifier in 2022. That year, Drury took out multiple ranked wrestlers including a 6-4 overtime win over All-American Devan Turner.

Zeke Seltzer put together a solid redshirt freshman year for Missouri and is the front-runner to man the starting 133-pound spot for the Tigers this year. In the 2022-23 season, Seltzer defeated NCAA qualifiers Ethan Rotondo, Bryce West, and Jace Koelzer. We should expect Seltzer to make improvements from his redshirt year and, if he does, Seltzer could quickly move up the 133-pound rankings.

Pre-Season 133-Pound Predictions

This year, Vito Arujau established himself as not only the best wrestler in the country with his NCAA title but also the best in the World. The depth of this weight won’t make it easy for Vito, but there’s no reason why anyone should be picking anyone other than Arujau to win the title this year at 133 pounds. 

Full 133 Pound Predictions:

1. Vito Arujau, Cornell
2. Daton Fix, Oklahoma State
3. Sam Latona, Virginia Tech
4. Aaron Nagao, Penn State
5. Chris Cannon, Michigan
6. Lucas Byrd, Illinois
7. Nic Bouzakis, Ohio State
8. Kai Orine, NC State

Check out our 133-Pound Rankings HERE.